March's 12 on 12

Opps, I forgot to do my monthly 12 on 12 blog...here it is.
Umbrella lockers in Kyoto.
A sign on a building in Kyoto

In the teachers work room at school. This is the month calender of events that will take place. It is updated around the 1st of the month by a teacher whose job it is to do. We also have this schedule on paper, but it is nice to be able to look up and see it (if you can read Japanese, that is)
Here is an open gate (I am still working on getting a video for you Jack so you can see how the gate opens...give me some more time)
A box of chocolates Mitch received from one of his English conversation students. I just love the things they write in English!!
This was a postcard that was used to advertise the Through Each Other's Eyes photo exhibit that was held here in Himeji. Any idea why I took a picture of it to show you? (Hint: I am not from Alizona)
This is another way the Japanese education system insures that students learn...they have to purchase their books for class...several times a year. This is the 1st graders (who will become 2nd graders in April) purchasing their books for next year. They will spend about $100 for textbooks and workbooks.

Something else here in Japan with my name on it (OK so it is in plural form, but it is still my name and it is not Christmas stuff!!)
This is my hanko. In Japan your signature is a stamp that is registered with the city or bank. I use this everyday for the attendance book at school.
This is the case for my hanko. I found this at the 100 yen store ($1 store). You can go cheap like me, or you can spend hundreds of dollars on fancy cases and even get matching cases if you like.
This is the teachers schedule board. From what I can figure out, the color blocks are the classes the teacher is teaching. The empty brown ones are times went eh teacher is not available for teaching (or trading). Those are mainly used for part time teachers.
Mine is the 4th from the bottom (6th if you are counting the blocks). The red dot on the #7 indicates that it is the English conversation class (I think). Mine all have red dots and the teachers who teach with me only have red dots on the class I teach with them.

I hope you enjoyed another month of 12 on 12. Please let me know if there is anything else you would like to learn about here in Japan. I only have 4 more months left, so tell me soon. And I am still upset that I went to all that trouble to create the sign test (back in January) and not one single person has told me how they did. I can see that many people are reading my blog (from all over the world), but hardly anyone comments....