Of course, our main business for being in Japan in the first place was teaching English, and particularly English conversation. The little eikaiwa in Mukogaoka developed a very good reputation, and but for the emergence of the McEnglish giants like Nova, would undoubtedly have had a waiting list But we were happy to get by with a (seasonally-adjusted) average of about 60 students of all ages, which paid the bills and kept everyone in o-sake.
On Tuesdays I went upcountry to Kaibara to take some business English and juku classes and Nadia held the fort in Sanda. On arriving home about 9pm, I was invariably greeted by the sound of laughter wafting from the classroom. The last class of the evening was in full swing. This was Nadia's favourite class, comprising four young woman who were friends and who, over the course of years, became our friends. They enjoyed studying but were, well, funny, and a lightness pervaded the house. I would go in and say hello and bring in a bowl of crisps, CC Lemon or cold tea.
Occasionally the class swelled to five or six, but the core remained consistent- Rika, Akiko, Naoko and Chihiro. The shot above is a bit of a fake really, since we were essentially posing 'in action' for the camera. And Nadia is taking the shot, maybe for publicity. I can't remember.
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