English as she is spoken

Last Saturday, Dave and I had the great privilege of being invited to the Japanese School with whom The British School shares a building, to judge their spoken English competition.  There were many students who took part and they all seemed amazingly calm in such nerve wracking circumstances.  Some had to recite a speech made by President Obama about education, some had to write and then repeat their own argument for or against something and then we had recitations from The Odyssy (odd choice, I thought) and from Ceasars "Lend me your ears" speech.

To be honest, I was in awe of them all.  None of them had English as a first language but all of them spoke with such fluency that it put even first language speakers to shame.  I doubt many of my fellow students at 14 could have spoken so well, and so publicly (apart from the one who went on to be a politician, of course). 

The judging was very difficult - the criteria given to us was very demanding.  The students had to look the part, sound the part and give the impression of being the part!  A huge task.  They all did brilliantly, some more brilliantly than others!  The other judges were a Professor from Waseda University and a teacher of English at the school.  We did well and managed to pick all the right students to win.  One girl gave a fabulous presentation on the power of happiness only to burst into tears when she heard she had first prize!  There was a certain irony, we thought.

Another interesting day in the life of the Williams's.

Thoughts on Jet Lag

I have been suffering from jetlag for five days now.  It is nearly over - I am quite sure but I have come to the conclusion that it is like a mild form of  mental illness. 

1. You can't sleep when others are sleeping and you inhabit a world that is dark and grey, flinching from the bright lights that herald the morning sun - knowing you will only want to go to sleep now that everyone has woken up.
2. You find it impossible to eat when others do.  You feel hungry at the most odd times - I actually ate two breakfasts one day - one at 4 am and the other, with Dave at the right time.  It felt right.  Lunch is a no-no but come 3pm I was reaching for the kitkats and anything else that had a million calories a bite.  Dinner?  Well, that's a little easier, you see, it should be your lunchtime in that other place.
3. You do odd things.  Why did I leave that glass in the wardrobe with the sweaters - as my husband kindly pointed out? And why did I put my diary in the fridge?

Thankfully these symptoms pass and you get back into the swing of things.  I had rather thought that the more transitions I made, the easier it would become to adjust - it seems to be the opposite.  Flying to England is not such a problem - it takes 36 hours and I am back on track but coming this way, east, is a nightmare and it is the same for everyone I talk to about it here.  Weird, isn't it?  Still, as I quickly remind myself - it's a bit of a privilege to be able to moan about jet lag, isn't it?