Part-Time Work--Not Too Shabby!

Lately, I have been home most of the day, except Wednesdays and Thursdays. On Wednesdays I have a 4 year old little girl named Riko for a playmate. Last week was my first day. I met her mother, Noriko, at Izukogen Station, which is about 20 minutes south of Ito on Route 135 (its like Phillips Hwy or Pearl Road). She took me to what she called an "accomodation" which is like a restaurant/hotel for business people staying in the area. Her husband manages the restaurant, so the whole family has a small apartment within the accomodation. She took Riko and me inside and we settled into our 90 minute playtime. Noriko wants me to play with Riko and talk to her in English so that she will become as used to it as a native speaker. So we started with animal noises, and then Riko wanted to throw, kick, and hit a ball back and forth. It is such a relief to be able to just enjoy a child's company without having to worry about discipline or saying, "Pay attention" all the time. Noriko pays me 2500 Yen every week for playing with Riko. This week, I will meet one of Riko's playmates and we will all play together. It is a wonderful experience, and I am glad to be gainfully employed.
After plytime is over, I go home for a little bit and then at 6:00 I meet three ladies from the Board of Education in Ito. They each pay me 3000 Yen for 90 minutes of English lessons. Last week, we talked about restaurants and how to order food. This week, I think I will do business introductions and such. At 7 pm, Miyuki gets out a tea set and we all have tea. It's really enjoyable.
On the 2nd and fourth wednesday of each month, I meet with another lady from the Board of Ed. who has two middle schoolers. She wants them to improve with English, so I will start Wednesday tutoring them for 3000 Yen each per session.
On Thursdays, I try to go to free Japanese lessons offered by the Ito International Relations Committee. I go at 10 am and 1 pm, and I feel like i am learning a lot. I have learned a bunch of greetings and niceties, and am begining to learn how to use verbs. This Thursday, I have to have all of the Hiragana alphabet memorized in order. I have already doen a little it, and the letters on the signs are beginning to make sense. It won't be long before I can read a large number of signs in Japanese.
Hopefully, soon, I will start to fill up the other days of the week, but for now, I am glad to have something to do one day a week. Please feel free to email me, write, or call any time, as the times I am not working, it would be great to be in contact with my peeps back home.
Ja ne!