And... Geruma!

Geruma is amazing because it's an entire school that is still half the size of the classes most ALTs teach. There are 11 elementary students, three junior high students, and seven pre-schoolers. There are no fourth graders nor any ninth graders. There are 14 staff for 14 elementary and junior high students.

I arrive via speedboat to the Aka port at about 8am and get picked up by the woman who runs the cafeteria. We drive 4-5 minutes across the bridge and to the village on the other end of Geruma. She also gives me a ride back at 3:20 for the 3:30 boat. Some days, like tomorrow, I have a sixth period class which ends at 3:50. If I hurry we can just barely make the 4pm departure of the Queen Zamami (fast catamaran passenger ferry) to Zamami. But it's incredibly windy tonight so chances are good the Queen will be canceled and I will have to wait at the Aka port until the last speedboat at 5:30. What do I do for 1.5 hours? Nap. Study Japanese. Stare blankly.

The school is on the right and the gym on the left, with the library, cafeteria, and nurse's room on the first floor. We even have a full 200m track!

The view from the classrooms. Yesterday a flock of boats off the point prompted many of the staff and students to break out the binoculars in hopes of seeing whales. No dice, though.

This is a picture I took before Geruma's late September sports day. Note how turquoise the water is - probably due to the 5% summer cloud cover instead of February's 95%.

Me teaching the 7th grader, Karen. Is this a posed picture? Perhaps.

The three first graders during music practice. The second grader, Hana, is standing.