Getting the warm fuzzies...

It's miserably cold. Inside. Outside. Everywhere.

I caved last week, and bought a new kerosene fan heater. Basically, it's a space heater fueled by kerosene. A fan circulates the warm air, causing the room to heat up quickly. I'm pretty sure that swirls of carbon monoxide permeate my apartment, so I leave my windows open a crack. Sadly, living in an apartment building without central heating means that any heat trumps carbon monoxide.

Add to that, I'm also the proud owner of an electric heater, an air-conditioner system which also spits out warm air, as well as an old-skool kerosene heater that I bought last year.

At school, I also face a cold situation. The hallways are unheated, so the thermometer read six degrees Celsius. The classrooms are heated, but use large space heaters. These "stoves" are filled with kerosene. When it's in use, the noxious gases float up big, cylinder pipes that lead outdoors. The kids who sit in the front row stay toasted, while those in the back hardly feel the warmth.

But amidst this ridiculous chill, I'm still getting the warm fuzzies. And it's all thanks to little moments shared with my students.

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There's little S-chan, from one of my elementary schools. After class, she slipped me a note penned in English: "Miss Llama daisuki." ("I love Miss Llama.") I'm pretty sure she meant "Gemma." I was really touched, because this is probably the first year she's practiced writing in English characters. (In Japan, I think most kids start practicing romaji in Grade 4). Cute!

At recess this week, I had two of my eighth-grade girls reveal which boys they liked. I had a feeling that A-chan liked a certain boy, since all three of us got on the same train last month. (They also happened to be wearing matching pink plaid that day. KAWAII!!) M-chan happens to like T-kun, who is my landlord's son. He's a good kid! Aww. Maaaan, I'm way too nosy when it comes to my students.

It also doesn't hurt that my 1-4 class specifically told Yoshida-sensei that they miss me. They were wondering why I haven't visited their class in so long. Darlings.