I spent the night in Nagasaki city at a friend’s place last night. It can take anywhere from 30-50 minutes to get from my place to downtown taking the back roads which have speed limits and lots of traffic lights. I wanted to be sure to get to school on time, so gave myself 50 minutes and took the highway which usually cuts the time in takes in half. All was going well until the last 5 km to school. The traffic was horrendous…it took almost 25 min for just the last stretch.

When I arrived on the school grounds, I had like a minute and a half to get to my desk. Being late is a big no-no here…especially for the morning meeting when all the staff (70 some teachers, secretary staff, vice-principal and principal) gather to announce the day’s schedule. I left my car by the front entrance, grabbed my purse, ran into the shoe changing place, left my outdoor shoes out, and sprinted up the stairs taking them 3 at a time. As I set foot in the staff room the second bell rang (which is when the greeting begins. As the bell starts going, everyone yells ‘ohiyo gozaimasu' [good morning], and they go straight into the day’s agenda while the bell continues its last ding dong.)

I made it on time!!

Unfortunately, my desk is way on the opposite side of the room, so as the morning meeting began I was still clicking (I hate my shoes) across the room to get to my desk.

Not the best way to start the day..... but hey, it's all good.