There are good weeks, and there are bad weeks. Last week was probably more of a good week than a bad week. I was pretty busy, so I didn't have any time to sit around wondering what I'm going to do in my new found spare time. Last week I had to do some nighttime English conversation classes for adults. Technically, these aren't part of my contract, but I have a deal in place where I get a few early finishes or late starts in compensation for these classes. Besides, the classes only happen twice a year, for four nights each time. If you asked me honestly, I would tell you that I don't want to do them. They are really, really pointless (from a learning perspective).

My old conversation school boss used to regularly tell me how pointless most conversation classes were, which is kind of strange considering he runs a conversation school. But he's right. The two most important things for being a successful foreign language student are motivation and commitment. Students need some sort of motivation to force them to learn (such as learning because they are going to live overseas, or because they are trying to get a promotion at work) and they need to put in the time (regular classes - more than one hour a week - regular self-study etc.). 99% of students who go to conversation schools in Japan have neither of these. They show up once a week for their one hour lesson, and do no study at home. They have no purpose for studying other than the vague goal of 'being able to speak English'. My boss used to go through the numbers all the time. One hour a week, about 45 weeks a year = 45 hours of English immersion. How about saving that money and taking a vacation in an English speaking country. One week vacation, 12 hours a day of exposure = 84 hours of English immersion. It would be cheaper too, and probably more fun.

Anyway, back to the conversation classes. These students are even worse off. They come to eight one-hour classes per year! For the high level students (amazingly, there are a few high level students hiding in my tiny town) it's not a real problem. They have a solid language base, and we basically just talk about stuff. It's a chance for them to dust off their English brains. But it is definitely pointless for the beginner class. How are you supposed to teach anything useful in four one-hour lessons. It usually takes two or three lessons for them to relax and open up. By the time they do, it's all over. Sorry, come back in eight months.

So, last week was good because I did the conversation classes, and they turned out ok. Thursday and Friday were particularly hard because I had my monthly children's English classes too. On those days I started work at 8am and finished about 8:30pm. Oh, and on Friday night I had a party for my volleyball team. That was interesting. They all started at 6:00, but I came late because I had English classes until 8:30. By 8:30, most of them were pretty tanked. There were a couple of mothers of my junior-high school students that had joined the team because of a lack of numbers. Man, they were crazy. Usually, they are very quiet and mother-like, but give them something to drink and they go nuts. One lady in particular is the mother of one of the quietest, shiest, most gentle girls I know. I didn't realise it until that night, but she and her mother are like black and white. Her mother was completely nuts.

Saturday was also good. There was a 'Harvest Festival' in the high-school for all the students and families in town. There were some games and performances, but the purpose of the event was to share the town's harvest. The high-school cooked soba noodles for everyone, the junior-high school cooked a pork and vegetable soup, and the elementary school was supposed to make rice cakes. The rice cake making was canceled because some of the kids had been diagnosed with the nasty Norovirus, and there was a fear it would spread (as it has through much of Japan recently). Norovirus is usually transmitted through food by infected food handlers, so this was probably a good precaution. Nobody wants to get the Norovirus. Wiki says "The disease is usually self-limiting, and characterized by nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal pain. General lethargy, weakness, muscle aches, headache, and low-grade fever may occur. Symptoms may persist for several days and may become life-threatening in the young, the elderly, and the immune-compromised if dehydration is ignored or not treated."

The festival was ok, the food was good, and on Saturday afternoon I did a little shopping in Asahikawa.

So, that was a good week.

It was around 4:00am on Sunday morning that the bad week started. Usually, I sleep from night through to morning without any problems, but early on Sunday morning something just wasn't right. I got up and went to the toilet. Hmm. Nothing special there. Wait a minute. BLEEEHHHH! BLEEEEEHHH! BLEEEEEHHH! (that's the sound of me vomiting my guts up)

Ok. That wasn't fun. Back to bed.

20 minutes later. BLEEEHHHH! BLEEEEEHHH! BLEEEEEHHH! (that's the sound of me vomiting my guts up again)

Ok. That wasn't fun either. Have a small drink of water. Back to bed.

30 minutes later. "Oh crap!" (literally). Run to the can, make it just in time. PSSSHHHHH! PSSSHHH! PSSSSHHH! (you can guess what that sound is). Sitting on the can, recovering. "Oh no!". BLEEEHHHH! BLEEEEEHHH! BLEEEEEHHH! (that's the sound of me vomiting my guts up again, while sitting on the can)

I'll spare you the rest of the details, but this continued for most of the day. It was probably the least enjoyable day I can remember since I cam to Japan.

On Monday, I finally managed to hold down some liquid. I called work and told them I was taking Monday and Tuesday off, then I went off to the local hospital. Since Saturday night it had been snowing heavily, but I hadn't noticed because I'd been completely out of it since then. I was pretty surprised when I went outside and there was about a metre of snow on the ground, and heavy snow was still falling. I managed to drive to the hospital without crashing and met with the doctor. The doctor on duty was a fairly young guy I know. We've met a few times at various social events and he comes to the English classes (his English is very good). He confirmed that some nasty person had given me the Norovirus, probably at the festival. He put me on a drip for a few hours, then sent me home to get rest. Apparently there is no medicine for Noro. Your body kills it off, it just takes time. So I spent Monday afternoon watching the cricket on my computer (gotta love those retransmitted broadcasts from India) and Tuesday watching movies. I was able to eat a little on Tuesday, but not much.

It's Wednesday now, and I'm back at work. I feel a fair bit better. I turns out the English teacher's wife had a baby daughter today, so he's not here and all the English classes were canceled. This means that I have nothing to do, which is fine by me. So here are a few pictures from the festival. Maybe you can help me find the naughty little person who gave me the Norovirus: