All Good Days Start With Bayern Wins October 26, 2010
Posted by Earthdragonette in Cultural Exchange, Dance Troupe, FC Bayern Munich, Gym Adventures, Julie Gets Philosophical, quick quips, Student Moments.Tags: clemente, culture exchange, fall term, fc bayern fangirl, Halloween preparations, hermione, Schweinsteiger Awesome, The Band, the dance troupe, the gym, The Japanese Best Friend, The JTE
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I firmly believe this, and it’s an official part of the “get at least eight hours of sleep and eat a good breakfast” dogma that surrounds my evening-to-morning behavior. Granted, getting up at 3:30 in the morning to watch Bayern win games often contradicts the “eight hours of sleep” part, but inconsistency is just one of those quirks that one learns to live with.
So, first of all, a Bayern win automatically necessitates showing this video/sound file:
And then this video shows us the much-exalted second goal. This video also shows why (as I have always maintained) Basitan Schweinsteiger is a demigod who breathes in oxygen and exhales awesome. Keep in mind that he was the player that got us the first goal as well.
So, it’s been about a week since I checked in. I apologize for the delay, although I did know that my schedule was going to get pretty rough. The end of this month is an extremely busy time for my junior high school, and then I’m also trying to pull together a Halloween event for one of my elementary schools. In addition, The Dance Troupe went to a festival, The Band has been recording and practicing new songs, life has been active at The Gym, I’ve finalized everything regarding the new car, and I’m nearly done with graduate school applications.
I think that things will probably settle down by mid-November.
So, briefly and in no particular order, here are 7 memories from the past 7 days:
1) The junior high school had a massive open-school event last Wednesday where all the teachers in our town came to inspect and comment on our lessons. By and large, the English lesson I did with the JTE was one of the favorites. I credit enthusiastic students and a few moments of well-executed improvisation on the part of the English teachers.
2) Clemente is one of the funniest people I’ve ever met in my life. In the days leading up to to the open-school event, he helped me stay sane with wry and well-timed quips. He also continues to sing We Are the World at random moments, and it does my heart a world of good.
3) I’ve formed a connection with the sixth graders at Thursday’s elementary school over the system of cursive writing. For some reason, they are extremely taken with it and we’ve become Extremely Good Friends now that I’ve taught them how to use it to write their own names.
4) I met The Japanese Best Friend last Saturday and we had a long, leisurely lunch together. Plans are now in full swing for next month’s Thanksgiving shindig. Early reports suggest that The Mentor will be attending.
5) The Dance Troupe and I headed south on Sunday to attend the largest of the festivals that invite us to dance. We danced on three separate stages, with our last performance being the best. I got to enjoy The Celebrity Magic for most of the afternoon, which was mostly strange but it also had its entertaining moments.
6) Hermione and I had a conversation on Monday where she found out that I will “most likely” be leaving in March. She was not pleased, and although I want to talk about it with her on a more comprehensive level, I’m not sure that I’m allowed to do so. Japanese schools are very secretive and deliberate when it comes to teachers that are transferred at the end of the school year. Normally, this behavior doesn’t apply to ALTs, but I’ve been here so long and I’m leaving at such an unusual time, that I’ve been told by some Authoritative Powers that I need to keep my situation quiet for the time being. So, she is left with suspecting that I will leave but not knowing for certain. Either way she’s mad. -_-;;
7) I made a slideshow about Halloween to show my students. It has Disney cartoons, lots of pictures, a time-lapsed video of pumpkin carving and a section that highlights Michael Jackson’s Thriller. It’s quite spiffy, if I do say so myself.
And on that note, I better be off. I have another four days of Spectacular Spectacles ahead of me and much to do.
Wo wird lauschent Angegriffen wo wird Täglich Spioniert?
wo ist Presse wo ist Rummel wo wird immer Diskotiert?
I like updates and I cannot lie … October 11, 2010
Posted by Earthdragonette in Cultural Exchange, FC Bayern Munich, Gym Adventures, Julie Gets Philosophical, Just Bizarre, Lessons Learned.Tags: car accident, fall term, fc bayern fangirl, field trips, german soccer team fangirl, gym adventures, Japan, long phone calls, new lessons and friends, TGTIDNLBIDLHE, the masked man
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So we have, as usual, a lot of content and not a lot of time for me to write about it this morning. There’s one specific incident that I want to linger on, so let’s briefly touch on the other Events of Note:
1) The Car Accident
I’d intended to write a longer post about this, but perhaps its better not to dwell on Unfortunate Events. To make a long story short, as I was waiting to merge into traffic after getting off of the expressway last Tuesday, somebody hit me from behind. Luckily, nobody was hurt. In addition, the police and insurance companies have determined that it was entirely the other person’s fault and he is supposed to pay to have my car fixed. I suspect, however, that the cost of repairing my car is going to be more than the car is actually worth, so I’ll probably just get money to buy another (not very good and slightly unsafe) automobile. I was initially emotionally distraught at the thought of losing my car (and still am to a certain degree), but things could be a lot worse and I’m willing to be flexible at this point.
2) Field Trips!
Thursday was entertaining because I got to go to a small theme park outside of Nagoya city with my first year JHS students. It’s called Little World, and it’s set up so that visitors can explore what houses, food, and clothing are like in other parts of the world. I’ve been to this theme park many times (about once a year for the last four years), so I wasn’t anticipating finding anything new to be excited about. However, on the way to the park I was perusing the map and I discovered that the area of the part of the park dedicated to Germany is actually dedicated to Bayern. This information did something strange to me, because as soon as we got to Little World I dashed to the German section (all the way at the back of the park) and made my students take an absurd number of pictures of me pointing to signs that had “Bayern” written on them. Still, I’ve never claimed to be sophisticated or not easily excited/amused.
3) Friday it Rained. I skipped the gym, came home, and had a four-hour conversation with my father.
4) Saturday it also Rained. So much that I normally would not have gone out except that The Japanese Best Friend and I had one of our International Dinner Nights planned. We had a lot of fun, and I got to watch The Haunted Mansion, which wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be. OH, ALSO, GERMANY WON ITS SOCCER GAME AGAINST TURKEY.
5) Sunday morning The Super Young Guy and I drove each other to hysterics (think: mass giggle fit) while goofing off during my workout. For somebody who has been chastised for talking to me too much, he doesn’t seem to be all that fazed.
6) Monday was the Most Ridiculous Workout Ever (and the main event I want to highlight)
So, Monday was a national holiday in Japan and I had the day off. In addition, the gym organized a special series of lessons meant to tempt their customs away from revelry and games of all sorts. I was a little curious about a special event that they were holding at 7 in the evening. It was advertised as 90 minutes of the three most intense classes that the gym has to offer (one is body shape/muscle toning and the other two are combination martial arts/aerobics lessons). It sounded interesting, so after running some errands I made my way to the gym by 6:30 and got ready for the lesson.
The lesson was entertaining if only because the gym staff made a huge event of it. They had special shirts and pants, they played special music, and one of the trainers dressed up as a Power Ranger. The first lesson (one of the aerobic martial arts ones) was a little rough for me because it was conducted by none other than TGTIDNLBIDLHE who, not surprisingly, has kind of a sadistic “OF COURSE EVERYBODY CAN DO FIVE HUNDRED AND FORTY TWO SQUATS IN A ROW” attitude. This was the lesson where I had to keep reasoning with myself as to why throwing up in the gym studio would be a bad idea.
The second lesson was also a little rough because it was the strength training portion and I was feeling drained. This is where things got very interesting, though, because to my utter shock TGTIDNLBIDLHE took up a position behind me and, well, became my buddy. You see, we had about seven of the gym trainers spread around the room, helping out the different participants and just generally offering encouragement. After he’d finished his class, TGTIDNLBIDLHE was free to offer support and he spent about 95% of the lesson doing that for me. He checked my posture, suggested alternatives when I found something to be a little too difficult, and offered constant encouragement and what I would guess to be about two hundred high-fives. This was all spectacularly fun during the third lesson, when my energy returned with a vengeance and we were both feeling really silly and full of endorphins:
POOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWERRR!!!!!!
Still, you have to remember that TGTIDNLBIDLHE has been so aptly named because since the day I got to the gym he has been nothing but Snarky and Not Nice. On more than one occasion I’ve considered asking him to stop greeting me when I come into the gym just because he sounds so insincere when he does it and it makes me feel bad. I cannot for the life of me fathom what inspired this change in attitude, although I’m certainly happy that it’s happened. I’m not sure if it’s a change that will last outside of this class, but the genuine and not-superficial smile that he gave me after the class finished leads me to believe that some kind of truce has been called. I’m not saying that we’re going to become BFF, but at least I don’t have to worry about him hating me. So, this is a good thing.
Therefore, I do believe another name change is in order. Henceforth, TGTIDNLBIDLHE will now be known as “The Masked Man.” I say this because he was wearing a mask throughout most of yesterday’s workout (it might have been what gave him the courage to show me such kindness) and because it’s so hard for me to figure out what he’s all about. He is a mystery.
Code Monkey get up, get coffee
Code Monkey go to job
The Dancing World July 28, 2010
Posted by Earthdragonette in Cultural Exchange, Dance Troupe, Julie Gets Philosophical.Tags: DJ Ozma, girlfriend, macchibo, summer vacation, the dance troupe, unnecessary angst
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I’m running a little behind this morning (I’m blaming it on the misty, rainy summer morning), so this will be a shorter post. Since this is theoretically supposed to be about Wednesday, and I have dance practice on Wednesday nights … you can see the thought process.
So, what’s going on with the Dance Troupe?
Not a whole lot, actually. We’re having some issues with keeping our member numbers at a decent level. This problem has more or less arisen because two of the regular members [a husband and wife] just had a baby not too long ago and so they haven’t had time for practices or festivals. Also, the remaining members (myself included) have had really hectic schedules lately and so we’ve had to cancel a lot of events.
Something else that’s making this time a year a little less active than normal is that we’re working on a new dance. DJ Ozma has become obsessed with Avril Lavigne’s Girlfriend, and after viewing hundreds of hours of video from her concerts, he’s put together a dance for the troupe to do when I sing the song. This is more or less what we’ve been working on, but we’re still not ready to perform it. I think that we might have it together by the beginning of October, if everything goes well and we can keep up with our practices. Until then, if we do go to festivals, it will be good old Macchibo:
I’m not exactly sure how the Dance Troupe feels about spending so much time practicing so that they can be my backup dancers. I know how I feel about the situation: uncomfortable. Thoroughly and extremely uncomfortable. When I joined the dance troupe, my intention was to stay in the background, keep my mouth shut, and learn how to do traditional (and not so traditional) Japanese dances. I did not expect to hook up with a rock band and then have both the band and the Dance Troupe mold their shows around my performance.
I’ve spoken before about the general anxiety I feel in this “pop star” role. About how my singing has been limited to the occasional classical performance or private karaoke boxes with my friends. Admittedly, I’m used to dancing in public but I’m not used to being front and center. Heaven help me now that I’m trying to do both at the same time (not as easy as I thought it would be). I am constantly plagued by the thought: “Are you guys absolutely sure you think I should be doing this??“
I suppose for the present the answer they’re giving me is “Yes.” I certainly can’t fathom it, although DJ Ozma told me last night that The Band likes having me around because I’ve given them a breath of fresh air. I’m new, and unpredictable, and I guess they like the challenge of putting it all together.
If this is truly the case, then I can rest a little easier at night. Unpredictable and challenging I can definitely do. Polished, on key, and confident … those traits are a little trickier.
And … that’s about it as far as the Dancing World goes. I’ll leave you with a video from a live performance of Girlfriend. We’re not using all of the dancing in this, but it’s given DJ Ozma about 80% of his routine.
I know that you like me
You know it’s not a secret
Sometimes, I’m Afraid of Making Mistakes June 17, 2010
Posted by Earthdragonette in Japanese GET, Julie Gets Philosophical, Just Bizarre.Tags: Japan, Japanese, jet, lisa douglas, mr. coke, my japanese sister, peaks and valleys, spring term, The Band, the dance troupe
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A sentiment that, I hear tell, is echoed by many of us nervous human-creatures.
Thursday was,another very long day. Things went well at the elementary school; my classes were fun and the students were very enthusiastic and sweet when they came to visit me during recess. I spent some time chatting with Lisa Douglas, and then the Vice Principal (having observed that I was out of sorts) told me to leave work an hour early. Normally that would be a suggestion that I would dismiss, but yesterday I seized it with thankful, trembling hands and more or less flew home so I could take a nap.
The evening found me undecided as to what to do. I still had letters to write, and normally I would have attended to that, but I also had band practice looming ahead of me. I was still having a lot of problems with the end of Girlfriend. A few weeks ago, I spoke with My Japanese Sister about this issue. She’s a really great piano and voice teacher and I asked her for some advice in how to train my voice to hit those last few notes. Her suggestion was to back down and sing them in a more classical style which, although doable, didn’t sound right to me when I tried it during practice.
So, I came to the conclusion that I was going to have to practice the song until I hit those last notes in a non-classical style. So that’s what I dedicated my evening to: singing this ungodly song a seemingly infinite number of times, recording most of my sessions, and trying to figure out what I could do to make myself sound better.
Around eight-fifteen I could feel that I was making progress, but it was as this point that The Other ALT intervened; she sent me a text asking me to stop my vocal exercises. I called her and apologized profusely and my evening’s practice came to a grinding halt. The walls of the apartment building are quite thin, and although I was practicing in my shower with the door shut, it just wasn’t enough. I know she doesn’t like the song, and so I certainly didn’t begrudge her for wanting me to stop singing.
Still, the experience left me somewhat … emotionally … fragile, should we say? I suppose if I’m going to be perfectly honest then I might as well tell you that as soon as I got off the phone with her, I more or less emotionally collapsed under the weight of, oh, the last six months/4 years. Eventually, I dragged myself to the computer and did what I always do whenever the Infinite Spaces of the world Fill Me With Dread. I called my parents.
In this case, since it was my mother’s birthday and I didn’t want to harass her with the angst eruption from Mt. St. Julie, I called my father instead. I’m not exactly sure how he had the patience for my hysteria very rational and thorough account of the day’s grievances. But he did, and I eventually calmed down.
My situation upset me for a variety of reasons, but there are two specific points that caused me a fantastic amount of emotional distress. The first was the thought that my neighbors had been aggrieved by my practice session. I certainly don’t want to bother anyone with what I do in the evenings, and the idea that other people had had to put up with my very poor attempts to sing a rather obnoxious song was upsetting.
The second point of grievance and mortification was that even with the practice session, I still couldn’t sing the song. I began to question ever joining The Band in the first place, and repeatedly lamented that the guys had invited me without knowing what they’d gotten themselves into. I keenly felt the pressure of singing this song and also trying to figure out a dance so that I could make this summer season a success for The Band and The Dance Troupe. I never wanted to be a Pop Idol, and I became thoroughly convinced that the idea was ridiculous.
So, it was with this mentality that I went to band practice.
When I got there, it was obvious that I was upset. The Drummer (I promise I’ll get these bios out soon) asked me if I felt okay enough to practice and still looked concerned when I said that I would be fine.
We started out without the lead singer (hereby known as Mr. Coke, although the explanation for this will have to wait) and ran through JOYFUL a few times. The guys are still trying to get the music down, but it’s starting to come together. Eventually, Mr. Coke arrived and we turned our attentions to Girlfriend. The first time we sang the song, I could tell that something was a little different, but it wasn’t until the third run through that things finally came into focus.
Although it might have cost me the goodwill of all the people living within a square kilometer of my apartment, my evening practice session was not in vain. I was able to sing the song. All of it.
And what’s more, is that we all noticed this change at the same time. As soon we finished the song, the guys were generous with their comments. I can’t even begin to express how much it soothed me. My performance wasn’t perfect, but now we had something to work with and after going through the song a few more times, the whole singing experience had completely changed. For some reason, doing this song is now outrageously fun and ridiculous. We all sensed this new vibe, this new wave of energy, and the feeling brought us together.
We went on to practice our other songs, and now that my voice is coming in clearer we have the opportunity to play with the various arrangements to make things more interesting. Overall, it was a long practice, but it was arguably the best one I’ve had yet. At one point I even felt comfortable enough to tell the guys about what had happened earlier in the evening. They thought that it was hilarious. They also said that I shouldn’t worry about the offense overmuch; being loud is a natural byproduct of being in a rock band.
When I was talking to my father earlier in the evening, he told me that life has its peaks and valleys, and that we can’t be afraid of making mistakes because it limits us no matter where we are in those mountains. On Thursday night, I very quickly climbed to a peak from a rather wretched valley. I’m not sure who or what deserves credit for that ascent, but I’m grateful all the same.
JOY to JOY to JOY to poppna BABY
JOY to JOY to JOY to Happyna PEOPLE
Can I Be Honest? June 16, 2010
Posted by Earthdragonette in Julie Gets Philosophical.Tags: emotional things, homesickness, Japan, jet, spring term
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I’m homesick.
This feeling is not the homesickness that I have been familiar with since the day I arrived in Japan. This is not me feeling frustrated because I can’t get a properly cooked hamburger anywhere within 75 km of my apartment (although that frustration does indeed exist at present). This is also not me lamenting the “oh so fantastically ridiculous hahahaha” Japanese culture that I am saturated with on a daily basis.
No, this feeling is something all together new and ridiculous. It’s a constant buzzing in my mind, a not-so-subtle attempt to avoid cooking any and all Asian food, a perpetual pang of longing whenever I see a TGI Friday’s advertisement. (That last point is particularly significant because I don’t even like TGI Friday’s all that much.) How’s this for a statistic? I spent over twelve hours on Skype last weekend.
I suppose, therefore, the recent changes I’ve made to my schedule are an attempt to keep me focused on Japan in the here and now. I don’t head back to the States until next March, and I don’t want to spend so much time keeping track of (let’s face it – irrelevant) sales at Whole Foods that I’m blind to the opportunities around me.
Recently, the news of my upcoming departure has really started to make the rounds and the reactions that I’ve gotten from most students has been a double-edged sword. On one hand, it’s nice to know that I’m liked so much. On the other hand, children can be vehement and vengeful creatures when wronged. I am employing full use of my sarcastic faculties when I say that I’m looking forward to riding the Rollercoaster of Emotionally Adjusting Students for the next nine and a half months.
On the other hand, this upcoming change has produced a lot of great conversations with the students who are less focused on tearing apart the fabric of my emotions and self-worth. Many have finally asked me why I came to Japan in the first place and why I feel like I need to leave now. In short, what’s changed over the last four (but will eventually be almost five) years?
This is a huge topic, and one that I could explore via numerous posts. The short and simple answer is that I came to Japan to grow and learn and now I feel it’s time to go grow and learn somewhere else. There are still many things that I don’t know about Japan or about myself, but I feel as though another environment is more suited to the things that I’m interested in pursuing. This sentiment is really not so profound; countless people come to this conclusion on a daily basis.
As such, my own knowledge of this motivation (along with my new-found love for informative podcasts, the Daily Show and activities not done purely for the sake of Internationalization) means that my United States-centered separation anxiety is growing by the day. I suspect that summer will help me relax and calm down, but I still have four weeks until that blessed event.
Until then, I suppose I need to hold on to each moment for all that it’s worth, and try to stay patient with myself and others around me. This is not going to be easy because patience is, I’ve found, one of the first things to disappear when humans feel overwhelmed and out of sorts.
Perhaps I’m on my way to becoming a stereotypical rock star.
kimi no koe o kikasete
Sa bouken shiteminai
tanoshii koto hajime yo
asobitai!
Julie: Good for the earth? June 2, 2010
Posted by Earthdragonette in Julie Gets Philosophical.Tags: awareness, environmental angst, Japan, jet, middle school, podcasts, spring term
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So, given my recent and frequent use of podcasts to get caught up on the world’s affairs, it’s not surprising that I have become more aware of Environmental Issues. I like to think that I’ve always been conscious about these things on some level; since my years in grade school I have recycled without question, carried my own bags into grocery stores whenever possible, and I don’t buy products if I don’t think I can get rid of the waste in an earth-friendly fashion.
Still, with the news of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and a recent news story I heard about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, I have been more sensitive to subjects related to the health of the planet. Perhaps it’s appropriate then that I spent Wednesday afternoon cleaning up the side of a roadway with some of my first year students.
These kinds of environmental projects happen a couple of times a year, and they’re aimed at beautifying the areas around our school and the town itself. Some students and teachers stayed behind to work on the school’s gardens, but others ventured out to off-campus locations. My group and I went into the mountains and picked up trash and debris alongside a popular road.
Good things about this excursion: goofing off with my first years, who happened to be very chatty, outgoing, and silly students. We rapped in English (with them giving me my backup rhythms) and talked about how their studies and club activities are progressing. Also, there is something satisfying about picking up garbage. It’s unappetizing, and somewhat frustrating work, but at least one feels as though one is doing something good.
Bad things about this excursion: seeing the blatant disregard for the health of the local forests.
I don’t mean to pick on Japan with the following comments. Honestly, I think that what I saw is characteristic of humanity, and so you will most likely find this no matter where you go.
My students and I began our cleanup by walking along just one side of the mountain road. After awhile, we decided to turn back and so we crossed the street and hugged the opposite side. This side of the road, however, was right next to the mountain’s drop off and had a very dense and steep forest beside it. This was where all of the garbage was to be found.
It kind of broke my heart. All of us had been in really great, cheerful moods on our way up the road. We found the occasional coffee can or cigarette pack, but otherwise the street was remarkably clean. Down the hill, though, and beneath the trees (where no one from the road could see), it was a veritable junkyard. We found televisions, mattresses, old vacuum cleaner pipes, and piles of hairspray bottles.
Most of what we found are items that are a bit of a hassle to get rid of in Japan. The recycling/trash pick up program here is notoriously difficult to navigate. I guess that some people in the community have gotten tired of trying to figure it out, and so they’ve chosen to just throw their trash down the mountain in hopes that, I don’t know, the local mountain elves will welcome the taste of plastic and toxins in their mushrooms. Perhaps what particularly ruffled me was the obvious reasoning behind their choice of location: if nobody can SEE the trash, then it doesn’t matter if it exists or not.
Unfortunately, we weren’t able to spend a lot of time on those piles of garbage in the forest. Not only was there too much for us to pick up, but the hill was really quite steep and it was too dangerous to let the students go after a lot of what we saw. It was a very somber situation – seeing these piles of waste and having to walk away.
Still, this is certainly an event that is worth remembering (not that I think I could forget). It shows that no place is excluded from the current problems facing our environment. In the meantime, I suppose the only thing that I can do is to try to assume as much responsibility as possible for the garbage that I make, and to help out with community cleanups whenever the opportunity presents itself.
Yes, my friends. We are living in interesting times.
In my hour of darkness
She is standing right in front of me
Speaking words of wisdom
Let it be
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.
Prelude May 18, 2010
Posted by Earthdragonette in Julie Gets Philosophical.Tags: deep thoughts, improv everywhere, slight homesickness, spring term
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Japan answers: “Well, to start with, we have some fantastically rainy and dreary weather for you! Please enjoy copious amounts of wind and water!”
Thank you, land of the rising sun.
Unfortunately, I don’t have a lot of time for this post – an uncomfortable and frequent state of affairs these days. There was something noteworthy that happened on Tuesday, but in thinking about it, it’s connected to a larger set of events (issues?) that I’m going through right now. I don’t mean to be so vague, it’s nothing earth shattering I assure you. Much of it is related to the “Language Teacher” VS “Assistant Language Teacher” roles and the space in between that I appear to inhabit.
I’d like a little more time to think about this before presenting it to you, so I’m going to wait. In the meantime, please enjoy something non-Japan related, but definitely a bit of mischief that makes me smile and look forward to the prospect of going back to the States next April:
You got a tan and I got a sunburn
Keep on Chasing Rainbows, Fly High April 20, 2010
Posted by Earthdragonette in Cultural Exchange, Japanese GET, Julie Gets Philosophical, Student Moments.Tags: Japanese, jet, kanemoto, laughter, mosh pit, my #1 fan, penelope, reconciliation, stragglers, The Mentor
4 comments
Okay, so I may or may not be in the throes of a very intense Avantasia obsession. For those not in the know, Avantasia is a side project created by Edguy front man Tobias Sammet. It is also one of my favorite groups. It just came out with two new albums; I will probably listen to very little else for the next several weeks.
Pay particular attention to way that the chorus, Tobi, Jorn Lande, and Bob Catley dance around each other from 5:37 to 6:04. This may be my most beloved 27 seconds in the world of music.
~ So ~ that has very little to with Japan. But my day was (understandably) Japan-focused. So let’s direct our energies towards my memories, shall we?
Today’s weather was rainy and miserable, but I enjoyed myself. I’m also happy because I’m going on a field trip with my first years tomorrow and I think that it will be a lot of fun. I’ll be traveling with My #1 Fan and Kanemoto, so goodness knows what will happen.
Looking back, there are two particular events that I’d like to highlight.
The first happened after lunch (which in itself was enjoyable because I had a great chat with Penelope). Before I could return to the teacher’s room, my first years dragged me into in a mosh pit so that they could speak English and get “Julie Money” from me. (I used to give out stickers to reward efforts to communicate with me in English, but Julie Money is easier. It is also significantly more popular. ) This was entertaining and a quite fun.
Eventually the crowd died down, and I decided to walk around the school to see if I could inspire some stragglers to speak with me. On the second floor by the library, I found a mixed group of first and second year boys (mostly members of the ping-pong club). They greeted me with a surprising amount of enthusiasm and we proceeded to chat for about fifteen minutes. Other students eventually gathered around as well, but it was more civilized than the mosh pit.
I’m fond of this interaction because I had the chance to talk to students who are not part of my usual crowd. These are boys who I don’t speak with unless it’s related to a classroom activity, and so prior to our talk I couldn’t have said much about their ability to freely converse. I wasn’t unhappy with the content of our conversation; they genuinely wanted to know certain things about me and they did their best to ask it in English. I also gave away an absurd amount of Julie cash, and so they were happy with the exchange as well.
The rest of my day was busy preparing lesson plans for my elementary lessons, and it was while I was meeting with teachers at Thursday’s elementary school and speaking with The Mentor that the second Noteworthy Memory took place.
I don’t think I’ve ever properly explained my situation with The Mentor. I hint at it on the Cast of Characters page, but I think that’s about as much background as I’ve given you. It’s a kind of epic story, with a lot of twists and turns that I don’t understand and probably never will. The short version is this: I’ve worked with him since I arrived, when I first got here he was dismissive although not unfriendly. I went through a period where I had very poor lessons, he became dismissive and angry with me, and I grew to fear him more than any one else on the planet. In an attempt to redeem myself and wrestle my circumstances into submission I began to plan lessons in such a way that I felt he would be comfortable. Over time, my efforts paid off and he began to treat me like a human being. A few outside of school seminars, several after school meetings dedicated to discussing education and problem students, and almost four years of team teaching have finally Melted The Ice.
I wouldn’t go so far as to say that we’re friends, but he is most certainly one of my favorite people.
Okay, so that was … not … short.
Well, like I said: it’s an epic story.
The reason that I’ve gone to all of these efforts to get into The Mentor‘s favor is that he’s quite simply the best teacher I’ve ever seen in my life. His control over his classes is absolute, and the adoration and affection that he receives from his students is unparalleled. He works himself into the ground eight times over for their benefit; no activity is too time consuming and no personal crisis is beneath his notice. He was the one who taught me to think about why students do what they do. He showed me how, as a teacher, my responses to student behavior are critical and can have tremendous consequences without me even knowing it. Because of him, I was compelled to find a reason to make my position in this town a position that others could respect. The thought that this incredible teacher would find my lessons expendable or annoying was Not Acceptable. His anger with me indicated that I had alternative ways of conducting myself, and so I truly owe any and all my success to him.
On a more personal level, is also the only teacher to have ever reached out to me when I’ve needed help. He’s the only one who has been willing to cross cultural and linguistic lines to help me improve my lessons. Over time, he’s extended his assistance into other areas (like culture or sports festivals), and so I also owe a lot of my non-English activities at Thursday’s school to him as well.
So … that’s The Mentor. And, as I said about 400 words ago, he figures into Tuesday’s second memory.
I got to Thursday’s elementary school at about 4:15, and I briefly met with the first through fourth home room teachers to discuss some ideas that I have regarding the content of this year’s lessons. When that was finished, I went by to chat with The Mentor about this week’s class. What began as a discussion about our lesson turned into a discussion about the English curriculum, and then we started to talk about how the new first years were adjusting at the middle school. This topic led to dialogue about problem students and books that he’s reading now to help him understand how he can work with them and integrate them into the rest of the class. He wants me to read these books, but he knows that the Japanese is still above my level. By the time that we finally parted ways, we’d talked for almost an hour.
I think what made me so happy about this exchange is that I feel as though he was telling me that he believes that I could be a teacher that works well with problem students. Given our history, I am (understandably) Ridiculously Happy whenever I receive positive reinforcement from him. I’m so glad that I was able to meet with him on a level playing field and discuss topics that we both find interesting. In addition, something exceptionally pleasant about our exchange was how much we laughed. To me, shared laughter is an indication of shared perspective. When I first got to Japan, he was the last person in the world I thought I would intellectually and socially reconcile with.
I am so glad that in that respect, I was totally and utterly mistaken.
Oh boy the ice will break
You’ll just feel your heart rending
Where I Intended to Be 