My Teaching World / General Update August 4, 2010
Posted by Earthdragonette in Apologies, Cultural Exchange, Student Moments, Summer Vacation.Tags: computer issues, Everybody's Favorite, fc bayern fangirl, fievel, hannah montana, hermione, kanemoto, my little monkey, shiritori, stern des sudens, summer camp, summer pictures 1, summer vacation, The Child, the whistler
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Welcome back ~ to both of us!
I’m sorry that this week has gotten off to a slow start. I’ve had some computer issues that I’ve been dealing with and I also may or may not have completely destroyed my sleeping schedule on Sunday/Monday so that I could watch a game between FC Bayern and Schalke 3. In addition, I’m taking a trip to Tokyo this weekend and so my schedule has picked up and grown a bit hectic thanks to those preparations.
Quite possibly the Best Team Song Ever
Now, though, my computer is working and My Beloved Bayern is hard at work training and not playing games that make me get up at 2 o’clock in the morning. Let’s move forward, shall we?
As I mentioned before, it’s summer vacation in Japan now and so my Teaching World has been relatively quiet over the last few weeks. June and July were quite busy, though. I had open lessons at my middle school and a lot of small projects that I had to finish. While all this was going on, I do believe that it was Moments With Students that kept me (relatively) sane. Some highlights include:
Everybody’s Favorite making a triumphant (and hilarious) visit to show off all that he’s learned since leaving middle school. He further declared that middle school is better than high school in every conceivable way and that I am not allowed to return to the States.
The Child continuing to vex me in ways that only he can manage. Still, he’s decided that he actually wants to attempt to go to high school and so he’s become a great deal less snarky and more studious over the last few months. I’m still not sure what his chances of success are; it’s difficult to correct years of intellectual neglect in only about six months. Still, I’m pulling for him and I’m hoping to help him in any way that I can.
The Whistler and I have been playing word games in the hallway over the last two months or so. It’s actually the same word game – a popular little mental exercise called Shiritori. The idea is that you say a word and then another person has to take the last letter of that word and make a new word. “Egg” could lead to “goblin,” which leads to “nest,” which leads to “turtle,” etc. We’ve been playing the same game during cleaning times and 10 minute breaks. A winner is declared when one’s opponent can’t come up with a new word. Considering we have hours in between turns, I think this is probably the Shiritori Game That Will Never End. At present, it’s my turn and the last word was “thought.”
Hermione and I have spent a lot of time together. If it weren’t for her and Hannah Montana, I probably would be significantly more sad and lonely. I made both of them happy right before the break because I arranged for the second year class to watch the new Tim Burton version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. That was probably the most successful movie day I’ve ever done.
Kanemoto and I have also interacted a lot during the first term. He seems to be adjusting to the middle school, and I go out of my way in every way, shape, and form to annoy him. There are just some students that one can’t help trying to frustrate and provoke at every turn, and Kanemoto is that student for me. I can’t begin to describe how much fun it is to see him grow increasingly agitated as I take him to task (for the fortieth time in an hour) for not writing me a letter in English. The best part is that when he finally breaks (which he does every time) and scolds me in ardent, exasperated Japanese, I always look at him blankly and tell him that I don’t speak Japanese so he’ll have to do that once more in English. The magical part of this entire relationship, though, is that these little confrontations actually work. I’ve gotten some absolutely smashing letters from him as a result.
So that’s more or less what’s been happening on the middle school front. The elementary schools have also been busy. The weekly 5th and 6th year lessons are a constant worry, but I’ve seen some real growth and progress in my students so I can’t complain. My Little Monkey has been remarkably scarce, but Fievel and his brother have been my little shadows at every possible moment. In addition, I attracted some new fans after showing my classes a slideshow about England; I’ve had a lot more letters from 3rd through 6th graders newly inspired by all things international. I’m planning on putting together a presentation about the trip I’ll take to the States in December, so I look forward to sharing that with them as well.
Perhaps the most significant and entertaining activity on the elementary front were the two-day long summer camps that I went to at the end of July. Wednesday/Thursday saw me cooking, singing, and otherwise frolicking with Thursday’s elementary school, and then Thursday/Friday focused on Friday’s school. It was a busy three days for me, but I was able to take a lot of great pictures and I think that I connected with some students in a way that I hadn’t been able to before.
And… I think that’s a pretty fair overview of My Teaching Word, which will continue to be on hold until September 1st. I’m using my summer vacation as best as I can, and look forward to trips with my friends, afternoons at the gym, visits to the movie theater, and days at The Beach.
I’ll leave you with some pictures from the summer.
Making curry and rice.
I enjoy taking pictures of fire.
This would be more fire.
Fire in Flower Form
FC Bayern Deutschermeister ja so heißt er mein Verein,
Ja so war es und so ist es und so wird es immer sein
Let’s have some ICE CREAM. June 9, 2010
Posted by Earthdragonette in ice cream, Just Bizarre, Student Moments.Tags: hannah montana, ice cream, Japan, Japanese, jet, Mary Sunshine, school lunch, spring term, The Child, the dance troupe
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Because I’m running behind schedule today and can’t seem to flesh any of my thoughts out into a full post.
~ Recently, I’ve been really disappointed with the caliber of the lunches at my schools. The menus have been bizarre (yesterday’s was white rice, a small piece of fried fish, and a weird sour vegetable salad-esque thing) and the taste not that tasty. Everyone eats the same thing at my schools (all the students and staff), and so we’ve been collectively suffering over the last month or so. Yesterday, The JTE and some other teachers took part in a rant after lunch, which was quite entertaining. I also got to complain, so that was a nice bonding moment.
~ I have an equation for you: Mary Sunshine : last year :: Hannah Montana : this year. Over the last few weeks, I’ve been spending a lot of time with my pop-culture queen, and I’ve discovered that it’s ridiculously fun to tease her during class. To this end, I’ve started using her name in a lot of my games and activities, and I made her a zombie in the Zombie Listening Test from a couple of weeks ago. She responds to my gestures of affection with various forms of physical abuse, but I’m starting to get used to this method of communication.
~ The Child had a very good day, which made up for the massive headache he gave me on Monday. While I was working with him on Wednesday, I was struck by how much he’s grown up over the past four years. I know that he doesn’t think a lot about his future (except to dismiss it as boring and tiresome), but I kind of hope that he rallies and decides to become a teacher. I think that he would be a good one.
~ I finally had a chance to go back to dance practice last night. The Dance Troupe and I have a small festival on Sunday. It should only last about five hours, so I don’t think it’s going to be too taxing. We’re doing the same dances that we worked on last year, although DJ Ozma is hard at work on coming up with a routine for Avril Lavigne’s Girlfriend.
~ Looking at the weather forecast for next week depresses me. The Rainy Season is indeed upon us.
Never wanted to know, never wanted to see
I wasted my time until time wasted me
Let’s state the obvious! June 1, 2010
Posted by Earthdragonette in Julie Gets Philosophical, Just Bizarre, Me Time.Tags: fievel, hannah montana, kanemoto, Mary Sunshine, The Child
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We have seven weeks until summer break!
But really, who’s counting?**
However, until those blessed days of ice cream, visits to the beach, and nationally televised high school baseball tournaments arrive, I still have about a hundred classes left ~ give or take. There also may or may not be a wealth of other happenings and obligations. I really don’t want to be the kind of person that ignores the present in favor of drooling over future prospects, though, so let’s pull back from this summer-oriented daydreaming and focus on what’s been going on in the here and now.
To be honest, I’ve been having some difficulties figuring out what to write about in this post. It’s not that I don’t have good memories from the past few days. For example:
Friday: The school had a special event second period that ran long and prevented us from having English class with the 5th graders. They were completely ruffled and absolutely enraged and by the experience, which did my heart a world of good. It was also vastly entertaining to watch them try to reschedule the class themselves. They were only placated when we promised to do two periods of English this Friday. Kids wanting more classes, who knew?
Saturday: I had a spectacular dinner with My Japanese Sister and her family. I was particularly pleased with my menu (one can never go wrong with homemade bread and beef stew), and it was nice to catch up with them again. It’d been quite awhile since our last dinner together.
Sunday: I’ve had this image in my mind for quite some time of using Sunday mornings to work out at the gym, go by a local farmer’s market, and eat Indian food for lunch. I was delighted to see this plan come to fruition; not much gives me more pleasure than seeing a collection of ideas become a bona fide routine.
Monday: I did a day of speaking checks. Four periods of speaking checks to be precise. I don’t know that we can say I’m doing a good job of encouraging and promoting conversational English. However, I believe we can say that I’m not doing a bad job of it. I still feel as though there are miles to go before I sleep.
Tuesday: The Gym. Also podcasts.
I think that perhaps one of the reasons that it’s been a little hard for me to reflect on my circumstances recently is that part of me is a little wary and unsure of these new routines. For so long, just about every waking moment I had was dedicated to class preparation. Working on nights and weekends wasn’t an option – it was just what I did. I started to notice, though, that the process really did leave me feeling very tired and more than a little stressed out.
To some degree, that kind of effort is required with my kind of job. I don’t have a lot of guidelines or rules or formal procedures that I can follow; I’ve had to more or less create my role. Having such a vast world of possibility and potential to work from is overwhelming (to say the least). My job is like a huge ball of clay, and the only way that I have been able to shape it into some kind of profitable state has been to put in a great deal of time and energy.
This year, though, I’ve started to take a step back. This isn’t to say that I’m not busy (on the contrary, my work hours are more packed than ever). It’s just that I’m feeling more of a need to take time to focus on other parts of my life, I suppose. Whether it be listening to podcasts about international politics or going to the gym or singing with the rock band – part of me is trying to establish a role here that is not directly linked to my status as an English teacher or a foreigner.
I guess part of me feels guilty for this move away from my work. I feel as though the students would benefit from some of the activities/projects that I used to do regularly. On the other hand, I go through each day with the knowledge that I’m going to be leaving this town next March. Perhaps what’s happening now is an initial shift away from here and back home; a shift from Japanese Julie to American Julie.
Still, as Mary Sunshine once told me, “first [take care of the students, then [I] can go home.” It’s important for me to remember what’s kept me here, and what brings more joy to my day – even more than going to the gym or listening to the BBC News. The Child’s jokes, Kanemoto’s letters, the rival between Fievel and My Little Monkey, Hannah Montana’s laugh. Perhaps these are the keys to soothing the next ten months of restlessness.
I can see the way you look at me
And even when you look away I know you think of me
**I am.
Back from my vacation before taking a vacation. April 29, 2010
Posted by Earthdragonette in Apologies, Culinary Pursuits, Cultural Exchange, Student Moments.Tags: elementary students, feijoada, hannah montana, hermione, Japan, jet, kanemoto, my #1 fan, new first years, recaps and apologies, spring term, The Awesome Vice Principal, The Japanese Best Friend
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And, we’re back. I think. I hope.
I apologize for suddenly dropping off the face of the Blogsphere for about a week. My workload suddenly and severely increased last week and then I’ve been sick for most of this week. We can thank one of my extremely overzealous and somewhat unhealthy students for giving me a lovely bacterial infection last Friday. Thankfully, it seems to be gone now.
I wish I had more to report besides work and illness, but that’s more or less been my life for the past week. The school year is picking up in earnest and I am met with an abundance of English enthusiasm from my students no matter where I turn. This is a good thing, though. I am not complaining. I’ve worked very hard for a very long time to convince these children that Foreign Language is Fun! It’s about time that I get to enjoy the fruits of my labors.
So, I suppose that I’m behind on memories here. My last post was April 20th, so I need to account for the last nine days. That’s a fairly substantial task, so we’d best be getting to it.
1) I went on a field trip with my first year middle school students. We made butter, spoke in English, and drove the home room teachers crazy. I had a lot of fun talking with Kanemoto, who tried to establish a line of credit as far as my English Reward system is concerned. It seems that I am going to have to take a course in micro and macro economics in order to run things efficiently.
2) I met my new first year students at Thursday’s elementary school and it was Love At First Sight. This is the first class I’ve ever encountered where the entire group has come to play with me during lunch time – and they want to play in ENGLISH. We haven’t even had class together yet, and they already know how to sing Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes.
3) Last week, I got an unholy number of letters from the students at Friday’s elementary school. And the new year finally begins in earnest.
4) Saturday was rainy. I may or may not have been homesick. I made brownies and watched movies. Then I went out and saw Alice in Wonderland at the movie theater. This movie made me exceptionally happy because of the rampant Jabberwocky references. I guess the 23rd/24th was the weekend when most of my students went to see Alice as well, because my second years (who you may recall had to memorize the Jabberwocky last year) were Very Excited that they Got the References to the Poem. And in this way, an honest-to-goodness English teacher was born.
5) I cleaned on Sunday. And made this soup! My father and I really like Brazilian food, and so it was his idea to make feijoada (black beans and pork soup). It was one of our better ideas – I really enjoyed it!
6) On Monday, my second year students and I discussed the Jabberwocky. Kanemoto also followed me around most of the day so that he could speak English and get more money. I also got a ridiculous number of letters from my first year students. The students’ enthusiasm is good. Very good. Very, very good as a matter of fact.
7) Tuesday I was at Thursday’s elementary school because of a schedule change. We were supposed to go on a small field trip, but the weather was rainy and so it was postponed. Things worked out rather well, though, because I had more time to get to know the new first year students. One again, the entire class (all nineteen students) came to talk to me during recess and we had a lot of loud, giggly, ridiculous fun.
8) This was a particularly entertaining day. During the lunch break, Hannah Montana, Hermione, Kanemoto, My #1 Fan, and some other students all gathered around me to speak English (and get Julie Money). Hannah Montana and I were in rare form, and just about everything that happened was very loud and very funny. Lucky for me, despite the excessive volume, The Awesome Vice Principal did not get mad at me (this time).
9) On Saturday morning, The Japanese Best Friend and I are heading up to Tokyo for a few days. We’ve decided to save money by driving instead of taking the train, and so we’re preparing for this venture by stocking up on movies and snacks. To this end, Thursday baking zucchini bread, shopping for supplies, and trying to get organized.
And, that’s a very quick rundown of what’s been going on. I apologize (once again…) for the sudden breakdown in communication. Hopefully we’ll be back on track next week!
On a journey to the stars
Far below, we leave forever
Dreams of what we were
Tuesdays Begin and End with ICE CREAM April 6, 2010
Posted by Earthdragonette in ice cream, Student Moments.Tags: Aphrodite, avril, changes, clemente, elementary school, first years, hannah montana, hermione, ice cream, Japan, jet, meetings, new student ceremony, penelope, spring term, The Awesome Vice Principal, The Mentor
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Ice cream is definitely the theme we’re working with for Tuesday’s “memory to cherish forever.” Not only is it impossible for me to choose just one meaningful moment out of so many, but in the afternoon, The Awesome Vice Principal (in an action true to form) surprised the staff room with delicious soft cream and Popsicles.
So, let’s get started. ICE CREAM.
~ I really enjoyed seeing my new first year students, and was very proud when they officially matriculated. I think that they were happy to see a familiar face at the middle school, and I was able to help them with small bits of etiquette and direction throughout the morning. It’s nice to know that they trust me, and that I can assist them through this transition.
~ There were lots of opportunities to interact with my 2nd and 3rd years, too. I spent some quality time with Hannah Montana, The Child, Penelope, Avril, Aphrodite, Clemente, and Hermione. Listening to their opinions about school politics and gossip is one of the best parts of my job.
~ Speaking of Clemente, he said one of the nicest things to me during one of the mid-morning breaks. Every class year is assigned a home room teacher and a sub-home room teacher. They take care of class planning and various administrative tasks. He told me that the third years thought I would be assigned as their sub-HRT and that they were really disappointed when I wasn’t. I explained that my position as an ALT keeps me from doing things like that, but I was touched by the thought. As I’ve said in the past, little comments like that one make me happy.
~ After all of the students had gone home, the middle school staff dragged tables and chairs outside and we had a huge picnic lunch underneath the cherry blossom trees. The weather was absolutely perfect for it, too: warm and sunny with a slight breeze. The new school nurse is a really funny lady, and she declared the dessert platter the property of the female staff members and told the men that they’d have to pay rock-paper-scissors with us if they wanted anything from it. With stunts like that one, I can tell that she and I are going to be friends.
~ In the afternoon, I had a really nice meeting with The Mentor at Thursday’s elementary school. As I previously surmised, not a whole lot is changing about my schedule this year (despite the heart attack and nervous breakdown that my town’s administration gave me last February). I will still (more or less) be teaching the first through fourth years. The only real change from last year is that I’ll be teaching the fifth and sixth grades once a week, and so that increases my class load a bit. I’m not really worried about it, though. I have a feeling that things will work out fine.
~ A final memory from yesterday that I’d like to hold on to happened just before I left to go home. After we’d finished our ice cream, Apollonius invited us to the lunchroom so that he could show us how to use the new electronic Smart Board that our school just bought. It’s an electronic whiteboard that connects to computers, televisions, projectors… just about anything really. We spent about half an hour looking at its various features, and even took about ten minutes to play a game using Japanese kanji. Running back and forth to this blackboard to win points for my team was surprisingly fun. I liked how this rounded out the events of the day, and put many things into perspective. We’re all here to learn – even the teachers – and we’re supposed to do anything we can to help each other in this process. I like being a part of a team that takes this task seriously.
Wednesday will be the first day that the students are in school during the mostly-normal hours, although the first years will go home early. I’m sure I’ll have more than a few memories to regale you with when all is said and done. I anticipate a lot of very loud, very spastic interactions.
I’m a friend by your side
Never gonna be alone
Super Duper Mega Spring Break Update March 30, 2010
Posted by Earthdragonette in Apologies, Culinary Pursuits, Cultural Exchange, Japanese GET, Julie Gets Philosophical, Me Time, Student Moments, Time to Party.Tags: celebrity, cultural identity, ducktales, french food, hannah montana, hermione, Japan, Japanese, jet, Jyona33, late posts, one year to go, osaka, osaka girl, osaka hyatt, room service, spring break, The Child, The Japanese Best Friend, unnecessary references to literature, wicked, winter term, zelda
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And so I’m back from my adventures. I would apologize for the slight tardiness of this post, but with my recent habits I’m starting to sound like a broken record. How about this? Every time I write a post … even if it’s on time … let’s just assume that I’m sorry that it’s late. Consider this a veritable blank check of apologies and prostrations for my tendency to choose baking bread over blogging.
Whew. Now that that’s out of the way~
I can’t believe that my painstaking planned dream vacation in Osaka is Over. I won’t lie to you – I had a very intense and very real emotional reaction when the shuttle bus pulled away from the hotel to take me to a nearby subway station last Sunday morning. I don’t know what it is about hotels but I just love them. LOVE them. It isn’t even the “being waited on hand and foot” element because my favorite part is breaking that “customer/employee” wall and getting the staff members to tell me about themselves. I think it’s just that hotels are just groovy. I love everything from the smell to the little “ding!”s of the elevators to room service.
Room service.
Don’t even get me started on how much I love the concept and perfect execution of room service. The fantastic and tangible wonder that I used to experience on Christmas morning? Yes, that’s now been transferred to anytime a hotel employee rolls in a silver covered tray of food into my room.
So, in an attempt to wrench myself away from this theme of hotelphilia before I inspire myself to compose a sonnet on behalf of the Hyatt Regency Osaka, let me direct us towards the content of my trip. Or, rather, to my three favorite memories from the trip. After that, I’ll have some words about this “end of the school year” time that we’re currently swimming through. In addition, expect poignant closing remarks about how I am 366 days from leaving Japan for good (and-I-really-REALLY-mean-it-this-time).
Osaka Memory BEST THREE!!! (As the Japanese would title this.)
Number 3: Eating a full-course French dinner on the top floor of the Osaka Regency Hyatt Hotel
Is it even possible for me to make that memory title sound even more highfalutin? In all seriousness, though, I think that Friday’s dinner might make it in my Top 5 Best Dinners of All Time. (Which sounds to me like a worthy post in of itself. We’ll just save that idea for a rainy-nothing-is-happening-at-all-and-you’re-tired-of-me-talking-about-The-Child day.)
After I arrived at the Hyatt, I spent some time in the gym before deciding to visit one of the hotel’s many famous restaurants. I was torn between French and Italian, but opted for French because I don’t have a great deal of experience with that type of food and I was in the mood to spoil myself. The French restaurant in this Hyatt is also (as I mentioned before) on top of the hotel. It was actually the vast influence of Jyona33 that made me favor the restaurant on that particular point.
Jyona33 is extremely fond of the New York Bar at the Tokyo Park Hyatt Hotel. Not only is it the setting for numerous scenes in the movie Lost in Translation, but it also is one of his favorite places in the entire world. Situated on top of the hotel, you can see the most amazing view of the Tokyo skyline. I do actually think that he counts it as a point of personal attack against him and our friendship that I have yet to visit this bar.
Anyway, because I’m the Osaka Girl to his Tokyo Boy, it only made sense for me to spend my first night in the Osaka Hyatt in its version of the New York Bar, which also offered a spectacular view of the city (even more breathtaking in the setting sun). I was the first person in the restaurant for dinner, and so I had the staff to myself for the first twenty minutes or so. This was great fun for me, because it didn’t take them long to figure out that I speak Japanese. That, my general youth, and my “I’m just happy to be here” attitude made us all BFF for the evening.
It was particularly entertaining for me, because I would tell one waiter something about myself and then another waiter would stop by my table a little while later and pick up the conversation from that point. I suppose from this I can deduce that they were discussing me in the kitchens, which normally would make me cry “Celebrity!” and fill me with dread. This time, though, I found it amusing and it seemed to cement our kinship. They kept me well supplied with bread, champagne, and tea. I told them what it was like to teach in the Japanese countryside. There were also occasions where they practiced their English with me, and for once I didn’t feel exploited.
Six courses, some champagne, some tea, and two hours after I arrived, I veritably floated down to my bedroom. In my four years here, I have had a variety of meals in a variety of venues with a variety of people. I thoroughly enjoy eating freshly caught fish with my students or grilled cow organs with my slightly wicked and shocking coworkers. But I have no problem enjoying the more international, expensive, and elegant side of Japan. None whatsoever.
Number 2: Reconnecting with an old friend and recalling that I am not as misanthropic as I often perceive myself to be.
When I first moved to Japan, I endeavored to join a soccer team that worked out of Matsusaka. In doing so I met a former JET, we’ll call her Zelda. In addition to the affinity for video games (hence the name), we’re also linked through my best friend from college. It turns out that they went to high school together and knew each other well. It is indeed a small world after all. At any rate, my association with the soccer team faded, but my friendship with Zelda remains to this day.
Zelda is currently living in Osaka and so we decided to meet for lunch on Sunday. We found each other with relative ease and proceeded to a spectacular Vietnamese restaurant. A bowl of pho, some spring rolls, and two hours later, she and her boyfriend bade me Bon Voyage at the Kintetsu train station.
Because of my work schedule and the social commitments that I regularly make with my Dance Group, my coworkers, or my Japanese friends, I really don’t have many opportunities to socialize with people who are truly fluent in English – and fluent they way that I am. The Japanese Best Friend is certainly fluent, but if I started to whistle, say, the theme to DuckTales, I don’t think that she would appreciate it the way that I do. Conversations really do take on a particular spin if you can make vague references to books, movies, songs, or people and have your associates understand you with little to no effort on their part.
Over time, I’ve adapted to not making these kinds of references in conversation. It’s as if I’m a radio station and when I broadcast on a normal day, I leave out the heavy metal, the political commentary, and the occasional risqué aside. When I meet with people like Zelda, though, I suddenly have the option of playing Sonata Arctica or offering an opinion about healthcare. There are, I also find, more opportunities for the well placed “that’s what she said” joke, which can be a valuable conversation maker (or breaker). I don’t always choose to use these elements, granted, but at least the option is there.
Wow, that was a lot of buildup for this particular memory. It also slightly takes away from Zelda because she’s starting to sound like a vehicle through which I can more fully express myself as a cultural entity. This was not exactly the point. She is, on her own merits, exceptionally funny and interesting to spend time with.
Still, the luncheon with her was an opportunity for me to remember that I like to talk to people. I like to hear what they do and listen to their stories. I enjoy making them laugh, and finding the right strings of humor and absurdity to tug on so that I can create all sorts of hysteria. I forget this sometimes, and in doing so I spiral downward into this belief that I prefer my apartment/cave/hobbit hole to the light of the Daystar and Those Who Would Frolic in It.
In truth, what I suspect what I prefer are conversations that do not focus on my superficial elements – be they foreign or American. This means that I probably don’t do well with meeting new people, because new associations often begin with the superficial and progress to the meaningful. This, among other things, leads me to believe that I will spend my entire life flirting with the role of the Byronic Hero(ine).
Still, lunch with Zelda, aside from being just a regular grand time, also gave me a lot to think about on my train ride home. I like to think of myself as stretching out my potential on a daily basis, but there really are some elements of my character that I can’t attend to while I’m in my current situation. This revelation is good for me to keep in mind, because it reminds me that there is more growth to be had once I get back to the United States.
Number 1: Seeing Wicked in Japanese
The summer before my senior year, I worked for the St. John’s Alumni office. It’s one of my fondest memories from college. My two bosses were genuinely funny, warm, and interesting people and they were very supportive of me throughout some rather difficult and trying times. In addition, they were responsible for another dinner that qualifies for a spot in my Top 5 Best Dinners of All Time. (That really is a post that I should focus on.)
So, the summer before my senior year, both of my bosses became obsessed with the musical Wicked, and subsequently drew me into their fanaticism. I listened to the soundtrack every day for three months while I worked out in the gym. During slow periods at work, it was not unknown for one of us to burst into song only to then be joined by the other two. They were fortunate enough to eventually see the stage show, but circumstances kept me from doing the same.
Until last Saturday night.
Knowing the play as well as I do and understanding Japanese to the point that I can, I wasn’t worried about the musical being in Japanese. In fact, I think in many ways, this play is almost more Japanese in feeling than Western. At the heart of the play is the conflict between Elphaba and Galinda/Glinda. One is, well, a Byronic Hero(ine), and the other is super cute, perky, and often superficial. This dichotomy is well-known to the Japanese and it shows up a lot in their books, movies, and music. I think that the actors fully understood their characters; all of the performances were simply superb.
What was particularly wonderful for me was that for the first time, I felt as though I were a real member of the audience. Whenever I go and see movies in Japan, I usually see them in English with Japanese subtitles. This means that I often understand jokes at different times or in different ways than the other audience members. Oftentimes, many asides and quips aren’t even translated. Nine times out of ten, my reactions to the movie are completely out of sync with everyone else’s.
On Saturday, though, we all went through the story together. Granted, there were some times when I found something to be particularly humorous that others did not, or they caught something in Japanese that I didn’t. For the most part, though, we were all on the same page. We were emotionally moved in the same way and at the same points; there was no sense of comprehension hierarchy or cultural ownership. We were all there to see and appreciate the exact same thing.
So, in addition to Wicked being a fantastic play, it did a lot to soothe the perpetual “one of these things (i.e. that-would-be-you-Julie) is not like the other” feeling that I often carry around with me. In this way, my weekend of relaxation in Osaka was truly made possible.
And now here, we are, the last day before the Spring Term begins (more or less). The New Student Entrance ceremony is next Tuesday, and then I believe that classes start on Thursday. We’ll have about a week or so of adjustments, meetings, and orientations, and I suspect things will settle down around the week of the 12th. This term is one of the longest in the school year, and won’t finish until the middle of July.
As we finish with the winter term, though, I find myself feeling reflective and thoughtful. There are a lot of “end of the year” ceremonies, dinners, and activities afoot right now, and I can’t help but think that next year they will focus (to some degree) on me. My students (Hermione and Hannah Montana in particular) were in a frenzy for some time before I reassured them that I wouldn’t be leaving this year. I dread their reactions when I finally depart next April, but I’ve resolved to cross that bridge when I come to it.
In the meantime, we’re on the edge of a new year full of new experiences and new opportunities. The Japanese Best Friend and I are going to Tokyo for a small vacation at the beginning of May, I hope to go back to Osaka sometime in the next few months, Jyona33 may very well be visiting us in July, and there is still talk that I may be allowed to move into the bigger apartment in my building.
So, those are the things that I’ll focus on for the moment. We have 366 days left, and we’re going to be very busy.
Odorou, minna issho
sore ga jinsei da
odoreba kokoro ga
aruku harebare to
Let’s not forget about the pretzels March 16, 2010
Posted by Earthdragonette in Julie Gets Philosophical, Lessons Learned, Taking Initiative.Tags: adjustments, cinnamon rolls, clemente, hannah montana, hermione, Japan, Mary Sunshine, pretzels, running, The Child, winter term
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First things first:
The Official Osaka Countdown Clock puts us at 9 days or about 225 hours away from the much-anticipated okonomiyaki lunch in Namba! I would start packing, but I’m afraid I have plans to use those clothes before my departure. Alas. -_-;;
Moving on to a more reflective tone, I think that we can safely say that Tuesday was more upbeat and productive than Monday was (although I did not make bread today). I managed to get a significant amount of work done, and then I’ve also narrowed down my Weekend Cooking Project to either cinnamon rolls or soft pretzels. The cinnamon rolls are slightly tricky, because I’m technically observing Lent right now and all chocolate and pastries are off-limits until April 4th.
Although I could, theoretically, invoke the more forgiving interpretation of this pre-Easter trial and break Lent on Sunday to indulge in cinnamon goodness, I’m not sure that this idea is wise. I’m presently leaning towards the pretzels because I could make a lot of them on Monday and give them out to my schools next week. This makes Sunday a little more bearable, because it’s already going to be taken up with making lamb stock, crafting the Soup of the Week, and baking bread.
Anyway, this is more or less my inner cooking monologue, and all that really matters in the great scheme of This Blog is that I spent a little bit of time today researching my cooking options.
As far as memories go,Tuesday was interesting. Tuesday was the day that I took the initiative to seek out new interactions with my students that will, in time, develop into next year’s routine. Of course, the seeds of this routine have already been planted. After all, we’re already familiar with many of the characters I goofed around with today (Hannah Montana, Hermione, Clemente, The Child). Still, the times that I choose to linger around my students and the places that I choose to do this lingering – those are different now, and we’re all making adjustments.
I’m not sure how to qualify the exact memory I’m taking with me. It was … vivid. Vivid and …. alive.
I’ve mentioned before that I enjoy running and that I’ve finally started to get back into a running regimen after my winter break. Last year, when I went running during the spring, I always left work at 4:15 so that I could run around my village before it got dark.
Today, though, I felt like doing something different. Instead of leaving work at 4:15, I changed into my running clothes, grabbed my iPod, and settled for doing large laps around the school for about forty minutes. I wasn’t sure how the other teachers or the students would react, but I didn’t think that they would be against me getting a little exercise.
It turns out that everyone was incredibly enthusiastic about it. The principal praised me for healthy initiatives, thus removing any potential administrative barriers to my jogging. Additionally (but most importantly), my students mobbed me before they left school for the day. They were mostly interested in what I was listening to on my iPod, but they were also curious about the running itself. I often forget that my students are very physical beings (they can’t help it with all of the time they dedicate to their clubs), and one of the quickest ways to spark their interest and garner respect is to show them that I have some kind of physical skills; I do not spend all of my time making lesson plans, speaking English, and learning Japanese.
Incidentally, the other quickest way to spark their interest is to give them food. But, I can’t exactly do that every day.
I nearly forgot to mention – I did chance to see Mary Sunshine briefly after school. She came by to see her home room teacher and ask him a few questions, so I took the opportunity to say hello and lament about the tattered shreds of my lonely ALT heart. We caught up for a bit before I took my leave to start the aforementioned exercise.
It’s as I said before, though. I’m still suffering the pangs of Empty Nest Syndrome, but I’m recovering – just as my former-third years are. I don’t want to go so far as to say that Time is a Great Healer, but I will say that Time, if viewed with the correct perspective, creates opportunities to make changed circumstances into something new and interesting. I still have a lot of things to do – projects that await completion, odd ideas that deserve to see the light of day, and students to charm and/or bully into doing their homework.
And let’s not forget about those pretzels and cinnamon rolls.
If I could make these moments endless
Now we, too, shall start preparing for the new year. February 2, 2010
Posted by Earthdragonette in Background, Student Moments.Tags: Aphrodite, avril, britney, carroll, Characters, clemente, hannah montana, hermione, Japan, Japanese, lewis, Macho Man, Mary Sunshine, penelope, Sailor Moon, snow white, The Child, The Savant, the whistler, winter term
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First and foremost, I’d like to apologize for the rampant grammatical errors that wrecked havoc with my last post. I think I’ve managed to catch and neutralize most of them, but I suspect that it damaged my well-educated and scholarly image. I wasn’t joking about the necesity of using the ICE CREAM format; I only had about twenty minutes to write yesterday’s post and so there wasn’t nearly enough time to edit.
Okay, so now that that’s out of the way, on to Tuesday’s post. Thankfully (for all of us), I’m writing this in the evening and I have time to devote to all the joys of writing. The brainstorming, the webbing, the flow charts, the … awkward moments when I can’t think of the phrase I want to use to convey the actual process of writing without using the phrase “actual process of writing” because it sounds wordy, and the editing to make sure that my tenses are consistent!
Today was interesting because although my third years were back, they were so busy with preparing for their high school entrance examinations and interviews that I didn’t have many opportunities to interact with them. We’ll have a class tomorrow (the first time in a while), so I’m looking forward to that. In the meantime though (and as I tried to indicate indicated in yesterday’s post), I’ve been spending more time with my second and first year students.
I had a particularly entertaining conversation with Aphrodite today, because Valentine’s Day is quickly approaching and it’s the Japanese custom for women to give men hand baked chocolate goods on February 14th. (The boys are supposed to return the gesture with [store-bought] white chocolate products on March 14th.) The problem here is that Aphrodite hates (and I do mean HATES) cooking, and so she suffers through this holiday year after year. I think her problem is hilarious and find great satisfaction in teasing her about it.
The feeling of camaraderie that I felt with her and the other second years during this exchange was tangible. I wouldn’t say that it’s on part with the comfort I have with, say, Mary Sunshine, but I could feel the potential for a more substantial “older sister” kind of relationship. I do know everything about her love life, after all.
So, in the spirit of the season, I think that it’s time for us to get ready for the next school year as well. We can do this by reminding ourselves of our key first and second year students and including some new names. Tomorrow, assuming that nothing absolutely extraordinary happens, we can do the same with the sixth year elementary students.
So, what do we have?
2nd Years:
The Familiar:
The Child
This student is one of my favorites. Ever. But he has been my greatest challenge since I first conceived of striving against adversity in any form. He is temperamental, extremely intelligent, unapologetically sarcastic (which is kind of amazing because Japan doesn’t do sarcasm), easily bored, easily frustrated, easily discontent with losing, easily discontent with winning. Some days he loves me and no one else is allowed to talk to me, and some days he requests that I go somewhere and die. His English is the best in the school as far as pronunciation goes. He likes to collect English translations of Japanese comics.
Clemente
Like Roberto Clemente, this student is the epitome of charity and work ethic. He is also one of the most genuine individuals that I’ve ever met and is honest beyond question. He often helps me work with The Child and he’s just a fun kid to be around. Clemente is in the baseball club and he is both a fantastic first baseman and an amazing catcher. Recently, I’ve been talking with him more often and he’s quite hilarious.
Penelope
Just as Penelope is the literary icon of faithfulness, ingenuity, work ethic, sincerity, this girl plays this role at the middle school. She’s the kind of person to go to a presentation that nobody else cares about. She will not only go to it, but she will sit up straight the entire time, take notes, and then ask questions afterwards and it’s all completely authentic. She cares that much. This is one student that has made me a better person for having known her. She is the current Student Council President.
Aphrodite
She is one half of the school’s Super Couple – we spend a lot of time talking about our love lives (both the good parts and the bad parts). She’s quite lively and sweet; I really enjoy interacting with her and I get most of my romance gossip from her. She’s also one of my best letter writers, so I’ve learned a lot of great Japanese from her. I suppose it would probably be okay to mention here that she’s been dating Macho Man for the last year.
The Newcomers:
Snow White
There is just something about this student that tugs at my heartstrings. She is incredibly sweet, and she has this unusual combination of insight and innocence that makes her remarkably genuine and empathetic. I think that I feel the most like a teacher when I’m around her. Perhaps she is one of the few that looks at me as an authority figure, and she takes what I say to heart.
Avril
Smart, sassy, and more than a little rock and roll, Avril will say the things that other people are thinking. This isn’t to suggest that she’s rude or mouthy, she’s just very clever and does not suffer fools. I like her because she’s very direct and clear about her opinions, and this makes interacting with her both entertaining and enlightening.
1st Years:
The Familiar:
The Whistler
My favorite first year student. He’s genuinely interested in English and always goes the extra mile to make sure that he understands what’s going on. I call him The Whistler because we have a thing (dating back to his elementary school days) where we whistle when we’re around each other. It’s quite fun – we copy each others’ responses, try out various songs that we both know, and comment on what happens around us.
Hannah Montana
This girl knows more about current American pop culture than I do, thus the name. High School Musical is, I believe, her favorite. She’s Penelope’s younger sister and she has that same honest spirit. I like to eat lunch with her and her friends because she always does her best to use the recent classroom grammar to communicate her feelings. She’s on the kendo team and I respect her a lot for trying such a difficult club. Recently, she’s started to write me letters about once a week and so we’re starting to get to know each other better.
Sailor Moon
Kind of a Japanese culture reference here, but let’s just say that this girl has two unbelievably long pigtails, an overwhelming addiction to junk food, and an equally overwhelming addiction to the spoken word. Still, she is hilarious, and she says the most ridiculous, sensational things. Her mom and I are buddies and we always spend a lot of time together at festivals (usually with her mom repeating the only five English words she knows while I try to keep up).
Newcomers:
Hermione
Just like her namesake (from Harry Potter), Hermione is extremely studious (at least about English) and very energetic. She takes great pride in overcoming the challenges that I throw at the students in class, and is extremely vocal when I do things she doesn’t like (say, for example, not showing Michael Jackson videos). She thinks that my Japanese is funny and takes it upon herself to quiz me whenever she can. I haven’t been doing so well recently and she’s starting to declare me a lost cause. I told her that we could trade and SHE could teach English, but she was pretty vocal about not liking that idea.
Britney
Brittney is interesting. Normally, it would be easy to categorize her as one of the non-studious popular girls that only cares about boys and makeup… but she’s very intelligent. Extremely intelligent, really, and she likes English so she does well in my class. I’m not exactly sure what it is about English that she likes and I can’t say anything about how she performs in math or science class, but she always knows what’s going on in my lessons and I like the kinds of things that she says. And, outside of class – you guessed it. We talk about boys and makeup … in English.
Lewis
Lewis was particularly taken with The Jabberwocky, and even to this day greets me by saying: “Julie! One, two! One, two! And through and through!” Lewis is entertaining because if he doesn’t talk, I think he forgets to breathe and loses consciousness. So, he pretty much talks all. the. time. Still, what he says tends to contribute to the conversation/lesson/positive nature of the environment, and so it’s pleasant to hear – once you’ve gotten used to it.
Carroll
Lewis’s partner in crime. Also a fan of The Jabberwocky, although not exactly a fan of English. He’s a very nice boy, though, so I forgive him for more or less spending my entire class praying for the clock hands to move faster. My entire plan for the rest of the third term revolves around getting him caught up so that the second year of English doesn’t destroy him.
And, there you have it. The big names that will be playing more prominent roles over the next few months. I’m sure that there will be others that we’ll have to add in the future, but this should do for now.
I believe in miracles
They happen every day
Two Words: ICE CREAM! February 1, 2010
Posted by Earthdragonette in Dance Troupe, ice cream, Student Moments.Tags: culture festival, Dance Troupe, dancing, elementary students, hannah montana, hilarity, Jyona33, the first years, winter term, wisdom
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Where ICE CREAM = I Cant Exactly Choose (Raccoon!!) Enjoy All Moments!
Yes, just to show that there is always time for ICE CREAM (and thus, time for a post), I present to you in short, spastic bits, the contents of my weekend and Monday. It’s crude and inartistic at best, but in the interests of not progressing to a “Saturday-Sunday-Monday-Tuesday!!! Update!!!!”, it is quite necessary. I should be able to get back on a regular posting schedule as of Tuesday evening.
(Fun English Fact: It’s not “unartistic,” it’s “inartistic.” Fancy that.)
Onward!
~ Saturday, I cleaned. Cleaned and cleaned and cleaned and cleaned. I also righted the balance of the universe with an epic conversation with Jyona33. I suppose I should be concerned with the degree to which this man has an influence over my daily affairs, but we all need a few people like this in our lives. Otherwise, who would tell me where I should go on vacation in Japan? Or how to subtly convey to my coworkers that I would rather they not ask me about how I lose weight? Or instruct me on how to improve in the centipede race?? These are heavy topics that require the most delicate and thoughtful of consultations.
~ Saturday, I also danced. Danced and danced and danced and danced. I danced in preparation for:
~ Sunday’s Culture Festival!
Actually, let’s take a break from our ICE CREAM and go into a little more of a prose style here, because the events of Sunday are worth slowing down for.
In short, it was chaotic. I don’t think I’ve ever been so busy at a culture festival, and this includes the years when I was co-running the music club at the middle school. Those years required a lot of preparation ahead of time, but after our performance at 9:30 in the morning I was free for the rest of the day. That was most definitely not the case last Sunday.
The morning started out responsibility-free. I showed up to work, and then went to the gym to entertain the third year students until the rest of the classes and their parents arrived. We then watched presentations from all the classes, most of which were musical ensembles of some sort. I have to say that the first and sixth grade classes stole the show.
Many of you are already aware of the deep affection I feel for The First Years. To say that they are my favorite class does not properly express the emotion I feel for them; it’s more substantial than that. They are, honestly, the most amazing group of children I think I’ve ever encountered. They’re sweet. They’re enthusiastic. They can dance. And most importantly, they are so fantastically innocent and earnest in their beliefs that they do the most ridiculous things.
Here’s an example: during the first month of school, The Mentor caught them running down the hallway. He’s the sixth grade teacher and so already quite an imposing figure to their first year minds. The Mentor can also be very intimidating, so 99.9% of the time his commands are followed. (And I have it on good authority that the one student sometime, somewhere, who didn’t do what The Mentor asked was never heard from again.)
Anyway, so The Mentor caught them running in the hallway and told them to stop. He explained that students are not supposed to run in the hallways at school and that it’s dangerous. The First Years were so taken with this notion and so altered by this encounter, however, that they took him to mean that they’re not allowed to run at school EVER. Their home room teacher was eventually able to convince them (after about a week) that they are allowed to run outside. Yet, to this day, if they ever see The Mentor watching them when they’re on the playground, they always slow down to a walk.
Now, how can you possibly not be enamored with these children??
So, given these emotional lenses that I had on while watching their performance (a recitation about their class and how much fun school is), it’s no surprise that it was my favorite. To be fair, the sixth grade play about traveling through time and bringing back noteworthy inventions from various historic eras was pretty sweet, too. I was impressed with how clear and loud their voices were; their public speaking has improved a lot over the last couple of years.
Okay, so the presentations ended at around eleven and then I lent a hand cleaning up the gym. This took awhile, though, and it only left me with about ten minutes for lunch, after which I went back to the gym to do my dance. I’d debated whether or not to leave my handsprings in the routine, but it was good that I did since I think that move was the crowd favorite. My dance was followed by the sixth grader’s final concert (they like to get dressed up, form bands, and sing to the school) and the afternoon activity corners.
As you will probably recall, my dance troupe lead one of the afternoon sessions, and that was also entertaining (if a bit busy). The kids did a really great job with memorizing the dance and I liked helping them out. The various five to ten minute breaks were also enjoyable as the children sought fit to drag me into a variety of games (most of them requiring me to chase the children around the gym). Some of my middle school students also stopped by, and so it was fun to chat with them when I had the time.
Okay, moving slightly back into ICE CREAM form now, let’s recap the specific memories we’re tagging here:
Saturday: Jyona33 provides timeless wisdom to aid me on my life’s journey
Sunday: I am a dancing fool and The First Years’ performance left me in such a state of beatitude that I hereby pledge my life (for the next year and three months) to giving them the best English lessons I can.
That leaves us with Monday!
Monday was quiet, and perhaps marked by numerous interactions with Hannah Montana and Aphrodite. The Savant and Mary Sunshine were at a high school orientation, and so my usual suspects weren’t around. This time of year is always interesting, because although the third year students haven’t graduated yet, they’re not around as much and I don’t do many things with them in class. It’s the time of year when I start to shift my attentions more to the first and second years, and I try to prepare to say goodbye. We only have about a month and a half left of the term, and it’s going to go by quickly.
Hold on to your hats, ladies and gentlemen. A lot of interesting things are coming our way.
This is my personal space, THAT is YOUR personal space… October 20, 2009
Posted by Earthdragonette in Student Moments.Tags: elementary students, fall semester, hannah montana, Japan, personal space, The Awesome Vice Principal
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My Students: Yes, Julie, and we also want YOUR personal space.
This is the theme of this week, as it would seem. Regardless of national law, natural law, or just plain personal preference, I cannot seem to keep these children from holding my hands, hugging my arms, jumping on my back, or playing with my hair. This is normal for the elementary school students, but this week it’s the middle school where the offenders are hiding out. The most troublesome of the bunch is Hannah Montana, who I am going to psychologically terrorize (in a totally safe and legal way) if she doesn’t stop tickling me. -_-;;
Although Tuesday, this was kind of entertaining. During lunch time, Hannah Montana and Co. came to see me, and we decided to hang out on these benches near the school entrance and talk. This eventually turned into a paper-rock-scissors tournament, where we got into two lines and the people at the front of the lines paper-rock-scissors. The winner got to stay, and the loser went to the back of her line. Whenever I was at the front, I’d usually make my opponent answer an English question as well.
Violation of personal boundaries came about because whenever Hannah Montana was behind me, she draped herself over my back, played with my hair, and occasionally tried to tickle me. Occasionally the girls would switch which team they were on, and I soon got this treatment from all of them. Except for the tickling – only Hannah Montana is foolish gutsy enough to do that.
This group of first years is so funny, because whereas last year’s batch was very focused on Becoming Junior High School Students Very Quickly, this group is really still interested in being Elementary Students. With a few exceptions, they’re not interested in dating, they still like to play sports and color, and they would really prefer having a 20 minute recess in the mornings.
It was a very cute, simple, and fun lunch break. I liked it. Unfortunately, The Awesome Vice Principal wasn’t quite so enthusiastic about our jovial games. In retrospect, we were being pretty loud, and I got kind of a grumpy look when I returned to the teacher’s room after the bell had rung.
Still, I’m not really feeling all that contrite about it. Children are loud, giggly, touchaholic beings. It’s part of their charm, and one of the reasons that I like them so much – they’re always reacting, always moving, always having opinions, always searching.
It is, essentially, why I like my job. ^o^
You’re alive, said the Maker
And he smiled at the Aardvark…
