Thoughts Before Bedtime September 20, 2010
Posted by Earthdragonette in Culinary Pursuits, Cultural Exchange, Gym Adventures, Japanese GET, Just Bizarre, sports festival, Student Moments, Taking Initiative, Weekend Recap.Tags: beyond marshal, countdown, David Bowie, Elementary Enkai, enkai, evil endorphins, fc bayern fangirl, Joey, mukade, New Kids on the Block, sports festival, TGTIDNLBIDLHE, the guy that i like a lot, the gym, the super young guy, Ultimate Win
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Who needs clever titles? Not this Dragonette. I simply call it like it is.
So, given the rather volatile (read: packed like sardines) nature of my schedule, I think that you can probably anticipate updates on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and the occasional Saturday. Thursdays are rough because I usually spend the early evening feverishly writing letters to my Friday elementary school students. Late evening is reserved for band practice. Fridays are also a bit troublesome because I go to the gym right from work and don’t get back home until 10 o’clock. By that point, I’m barely awake enough to find my toothbrush, much less write a coherent and even remotely entertaining blog post about the day’s activities.
So, thereyago. Monday – Wednesday and quite possibly a day on the weekend. Perhaps even two if I am feeling particularly inspired. Consider this my promise to you.
So, it’s Monday, and we have serious recapping to do.
Thursday
There are two new students at Thursday’s elementary school. They’re brothers, with one in the third grade and the other in the sixth. For some mysterious reason I have made it my mission in life to get the third grader to laugh by whatever means I deem necessary. It’s still early in the term and he’s having some problems adjusting and making friends. He and I also did not get off to the best start because my English class is a lot more advanced than anything he’s ever experienced before and he was super lost when we had our first lesson a couple of weeks ago. Since that (slightly unfortunate) experience, however, I do believe he’s begun to warm up to me. I find that saying really random and absurd things works well with him, because it gives him something to react to and then I can challenge his reaction.
Observe:
Me: Hey. Do you know why the swings at this school are so great?
Him: No…?
Me: Because the ones at the other elementary school are too small for my butt. But the swings here are just the right size!
Him: O_o I can’t believe you just said that.
Me: Why not?
Him: Nobody says that kind of stuff.
Me: But I just did.
Him: But, your butt isn’t big.
Me: Really? Why, thank you! You’re so nice! But, that makes me wonder: how big does a butt have to be to be a big butt?
…Etcetera.
This isn’t exactly the conversation for the intellectual elite, and perhaps it does cross into the realm of vast absurdity, but it gets him talking and laughing, which is the whole point. I suppose we should go ahead and give him a name, since I feel that he will come up again in future posts. I think we’ll call him Joey, since he was also a New Kid on the Block.
(Don’t judge. All girls have their boy bands and that one was mine.)
(Even though I was only five.)
(Shall we move on?)
Friday
Friday was a day that will go down in the annals of my time in Japan. It was a day that I experienced an event so momentous, so significant, and so utterly unbelievable that even as I type these words I have to remind myself that it wasn’t a dream.
On Friday, September 17th, 2010, after over four years working in my town, I was invited to an elementary school enkai.
For those who don’t remember, an enkai is a dinner held by a group of people (usually office workers or people who do some kind of extracurricular activity together). There is often a significant amount of celebration (think alcohol and karaoke) associated with these events, and although I regularly attend these functions with my middle school, the Board of Education, the dance troupe, The Band, or the gym group, I have never (NOT ONCE) been invited to one at either of my elementary schools. It has been a point of frustration and depression for me over the last four years.
But no longer!
This enkai will take place next Saturday which, fittingly enough, will be the day of my 17th and final sports festival in Japan. I suspect that I’m going to be feeling rather sentimental and emotional, so it’s nice that I’ll have the opportunity to mark the occasion in a special way. The whole day will be a mark of achievement for me and I’m really looking forward to it.
BREAKING NEWS: I have spoken with this school and we have come to an understanding. This understanding being that this year I do not have to participate in the mukade championship relay race. Imagine being told that you have to subject yourself to joint injury, unwanted and uncomfortable bodily contact with your teammates in front of parents and students, and public humiliation for the fifth year in a row. Now imagine that you don’t. That is my world right now, and what a wonderful one it is.
Saturday
I had a sports festival on Sunday and so I chose to go to the gym on Saturday so I wouldn’t miss the entire weekend. I’ve never been on a Saturday night before, and I was pleasantly surprised to find both The Super Young Guy and The Guy That I Like A Lot both working. In addition, TGTIDNLBIDLHE was nowhere in sight, and so that helped me to relax. I wouldn’t go so far as to say that he and I are Having Issues, but I won’t say that we’re not having issues. He still greets me with a tone that is more appropriate for the phrase: “Please go away!” as opposed to “Welcome! Please enjoy your stay!” This is of course assuming that he greets me at all, which he often doesn’t do.
Ah, international relations. How I love you. How you love me. How much we love each other.
Moving on.
Anyway, I spent the evening working out and chatting with my favorite trainers, as well as some other gym personas that showed up for the evening aerobics classes. It was fun. The Super Young Guy tried to convince me to stay until the gym closed, but I had to get back home to bake dessert for Sunday’s festival and watch the FC Bayern Munich VS FC Köln game. It was, unfortunately, not the glorious display of Bayern glory that Wednesday’s game was, but at least we didn’t lose. I will take a tie versus a defeat any day of the week and twice on Saturdays.
Sunday
The day of my second to last sports festival. To be honest, this was a very low-key day for me. I went, I took over 400 pictures, I talked with everyone from students to parents and I lent my strength to the after-festival cleanup. The weather was gorgeous – sunny with a slight breeze – and everything went off without any problems whatsoever. I’m going to risk sounding cliché and say that I feel that this day will remain in my mind forever as a snapshot of perfection. I understood everything that went on around me and (dare I say it?) I felt a part of it all.
Monday
Today is a national holiday in Japan, and so I didn’t have to go into work. Thanks to Sunday’s sports festival, I also don’t have to go in on Tuesday and so I am relishing the prospect of a very easy week. Next week will be a different story, but let’s stay focused on the present.
So, today was kind of interesting because I tried a class at the gym that I’ve been thinking about joining for a while. The class is called “Beyond Marshal,” and it’s a combination kickboxing/karate/aerobics class. Normally, TGTIDNLBIDLHE is the instructor for this class and so my fear (disdain?) has kept me away despite my interest. Tonight though, another (kindler, gentler) trainer was in charge and so I decided to give it a try.
Now, going into this class after already having worked out for two hours with weights and a cross trainer was probably not one of the most intelligent things that I’ve ever done. This goes to show you that endorphins can be nasty, tricky, and deceitful little beasts.
After my thirty minutes on the cross trainer, they were the ones saying, "GO FOR IT! WE CAN DO IT! WE AAAAAAAAAAARE POOOOOOOOOOOWEEEERRRRRRRRRRRR!"
I’m happy to say that despite the less than accurate ability of my endorphins to judge how much energy I honestly have left in my body, I think I did well with the lesson. After class, the trainer told me that starting in October she’ll be running this class every Saturday night. Since now we now know that Saturday is a time when I can see lots of people that I like, I think that this class will fit in to my schedule quite nicely.
That brings us to now, which is truly the time right before bedtime. The last five days have been rather busy (when it is not?), but now with David Bowie on iTunes and a nice breeze coming in from my balcony, I think that it’s time to rest.
And The Countdown? Yes, well, we have 190 days to go.
Sailors fighting in the dance hall
Oh man! Look at those cavemen go
In which your Intrepid Heroine has a root canal and a surprisingly good weekend February 7, 2010
Posted by Earthdragonette in Just Bizarre, Me Time, Student Moments, Taking Initiative.Tags: beef stew, elementary school, enkai, God Dish, Japan, root canal, sixth years, skillz, the evil tooth, winter term
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So, as the title indicates: Ding Dong, the evil tooth is dead!
We have a lot of ground to cover, so let’s get to it.
Friday
Although Thursday night was arguably one of the worst nights I’ve ever had (and coming from someone who’s had nineteen surgeries, that’s saying something), Friday was nothing short of spectacular. In fact, if it hadn’t been for the regular cycles of shooting pain swirling through my upper jaw, I might even go so far as to say it was one of the best days I’ve ever had at an elementary school.
To be honest, I was dreading the day when I left for work in the morning. I had three classes (two of which were going to be observed by the other teachers in the school), and I wasn’t sure I was mentally prepared to deal with the extremely hyperactive and demanding student body. Also, the evil tooth had sent a note to my Gmail account demanding regular human sacrifices starting from the 15th of this month.
Yet, in spite of these circumstances, the day turned out well. All of my classes went smoothly, I worked well with the home room teachers, and the students were feeling hyperactive but not so demanding. They were remarkably relaxed and indulgent of my need to take conversations a little slower than usual.
The memory I’d like to keep from Friday happened after I finished a class with my sixth year students. As I’ve mentioned before, I’m particularly fond of this class. They’re the loudest children in the world and they seek to take apart anything that comes anywhere near their curious, mischievous hands. They’re not naughty or bad-tempered, they’re just … kind of like Stitch on a sugar high. Only they don’t hit or bite people.
Anyway, after class ended, some of my favorites came up to me so that they could get stickers. Instead of just begging for them, though, they decided to show me some comic books that they made for language arts. The comic books were well done and very entertaining. There was a lot for me to ask about and I had a chance to make some well-timed and well-received jokes. One of my students commented about how fluent my Japanese sounded; since I generally feel as though I have the aptitude of a three-year-old child, this did my poor, illiterate and confused heart wonders.
(Also, Friday was fun because I went out with the staff of my Board of Education for grilled meat and beer. This event did a lot to take my mind off of the evil tooth, which, prior to dinner, had e-mailed me to request the entire Ender’s Game series on a tiny kindle for it to peruse.)
Saturday
So, by Saturday, I’d had enough of the evil tooth and its unreasonable demands. I awoke to it playing Lady GaGa on my iPod, and quite frankly that was the last straw. I knew that the situation was bad, and that it would probably require resolution via root canal. It was just a feeling that I had.
So, I went online and checked through the Mie JET forums to see what the ALT community at large had to say about dentists in the prefecture. To make a long story short, I found a dentist that seemed to be popular, called them and made an appointment for 10AM, printed out a small atlas from Yahoo! Maps so that I could find their office, and through the grace of good luck and perhaps some divine guidance, made it there in less than an hour.
To make an even longer story short: root canal = yes, and pain = not at all. The dentist was incredibly knowledgeable and she explained everything that had happened to my tooth and everything that the treatment would entail. The office was also not the stereotypical 1960’s version that I’ve often seen in my time in this country. It was super high-tech, and they even had a computer monitor hooked to the dentist’s chair so that they could pull up all sorts of files in addition to my pictures and x-rays. I left two hours later completely pain-free and only about $60.00 poorer (God Bless Japan’s social health care system). I have to go back about another five times to finish this treatment, but I am under the impression that the worst is over.
And, of course, the best part is that there is No Pain. This makes the world 100% Better and 250% More Beautiful.
And although I am not in the habit of patting myself on the back, I have to say that I’m pretty proud of myself for resolving this root canal business on Saturday by myself – in Japanese and sans Native Mentor.
Sometimes I have skillz.
Sunday
So, Sunday was relatively unexciting after the epic medical adventures from Saturday. But, that isn’t a bad thing; I rather like lazy, semi-productive Sundays.
The best part of Sunday was the beef stew that I made. My father and I have this routine where every weekend we make a soup together. We alternate weeks in picking recipes, and last week was my turn, so I opted for a vegetable beef stew.
This stew, although time-consuming (it was about three hours from start to finish) was nothing short of a masterpiece. It was the first proper beef stew that I’d made, and really, I do not have enough of a grasp on the mysteries of the English language to properly convey to you how juicy, how hearty, or how fragrant this God Dish is. The best I can do is give you the recipe and let you try it for yourself.
I got it from the Farmer’s Almanac:
This stew has a touch of sweetness and is not too spicy for young palates, but grownups love it, too. Served with dumplings, muffins, or homemade bread, it’s delicious on a cold winter evening.
Yield: 6 to 8 servings
- 2 pounds London broil, cubed
- 2 large onions, diced
- 2 large potatoes, peeled and diced
- 3 carrots, diced
- 3 to 4 stalks celery, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 cup tomato juice or 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons white sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground allspice
- 1 tablespoon mild paprika
- 3 tablespoons beef fat or 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose white flour
- salt and pepper to taste
Put the meat in a large saucepan or nonreactive Dutch oven and cover with water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer, skimming off any foam that rises to the top. When the broth is clear, add the vegetables, tomato juice, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, sugar, allspice, paprika, and more water if needed to cover the meat. Simmer until the vegetables are done and the meat is tender, about 2 hours.
In a small saucepan, heat the beef fat or oil. Stir in the flour until you have a smooth paste and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 to 2 minutes. Remove 1/2 to 1 cup of the broth from the stew and stir into the flour mixture until you have a thick gravy. Then pour the gravy into the stew. Add salt and pepper and correct the seasonings. Serve hot.
I didn’t do the bit at the end with the flour and fat, so my soup was thinner than my dad’s. I also added some leeks, cauliflower, cabbage, and quinoa (because I had them and thought they should make themselves useful). The one tablespoon of tomato paste is kind of silly; feel free to add more if you wish (I used about five). Also, Allspice is a herb with a mind of its own, so be careful not to overdo it.
And now, on to a slightly intense Monday. Still, this is what it’s all about, right?
Intensity = Bountiful Memories = Better Blog Posts
Have a great week!
The walls between you and I
Always pushing us apart
土日曜日Recap January 17, 2010
Posted by Earthdragonette in Enkai Aftermath, Just Bizarre, Weekend Recap.Tags: enkai, galileo, Japan, math and science, The Awesome Vice Principal, The Savant, Weekend Recap, winter term
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I think that, finally, I’m starting to settle down and get back into the swing of things here. As I pointed out before, transitioning back into my routine after being in the States for two weeks has been more than a little challenging this time around. Perhaps there is a formula involved in my adjustment process. You know, something like:
For Situations Where Number of Days in Japan < 250
Number of Days in the States + Number of Days in Japan + 2 bottles of wine + 5 hours with my students
= Adjustment Period Needed After a Roundtrip Visit Home
But, for Situations Where Number of Days in Japan > 250, we’d have to use the formula:
Number of Days in the States + Number of Days in Japan + 5 bottles of wine + 25 hours with my students
+ shopping binge with The Japanese Best Friend
+ shopping spree on Foreign Food Store websites + 2 new cultural obsessions
= Adjustment Period Needed After a Roundtrip Visit Home
The next time I make that trip, I’ll take notes and let you guys know what the results are. I could be on to something big here.
This weekend was, generally speaking, productive. My middle school had classes on Saturday so that the parents could come and watch the fifth period lesson. Sunday was spent trying to finish tying up loose ends. Unfortunately, thanks to that lovely two-day meeting last week, I’m still behind on work and I’m going to have to move the heavens and earth over the next five days to meet all of my deadlines. I’m not sure if this is going to interfere with my posting, so I apologize if I miss a couple of days. I will, at the very least, attempt to throw up links to random bits of Japanese culture for your perusal. (Although I am arguably not an expert on the subject.)
So, moving on to memories!
As I mentioned just a moment ago, I was at my middle school on Saturday. This wasn’t exactly exciting, but I did have a chance to get a lot of work done, and (as always) I enjoyed seeing my students. I spent some time with the first years, and they told me that they’ve been practicing The Jabberwocky, so they think they’ll do really well on Wednesday’s speaking check. For my part, I’m just happy that they don’t seem to hate me right now, and that they like the poem. It so easily could have gone the other way.
The specific memory that I want to keep from Saturday happened in the evening. After we finished all of the lessons and the afternoon lectures about safe cell phone use, six of the teachers and 13 parents got together for dinner, drinking, and karaoke. I got to sit next to The Awesome Vice Principal during dinner, and we had a really interesting conversation. It was probably the longest that I’ve ever spoken with him, and we touched on a variety of topics, including his travel experiences (which are quite extensive) and my plans for when I return to the States. This was also the night that I announced to the PTA that I would be staying for a fifth year, and so that topic had some air time as well.
Returning briefly to The Awesome Vice Principal, at one point we discussed a trip to Canada that he took a few years ago. His daughter was studying there at the time, and so it was a chance for the family to get together. I guess Niagara Falls made an impression on him, because to this day he still has it as the background picture on his cell phone. I’m not really sure where I’m going with this; I guess it just had an effect on me. I thought that it was quite fantastic, actually. Maybe I’m so used to being The International Thing in my town, that I become absurdly happy when I see people showcasing the international threads that run through their own life’s tapestries. It’s kind of a way for me to say, “See? See? What I’m doing isn’t that unusual. You do it, too! Okay, well, maybe you don’t pick up and move over 8,000 miles away from your native land and people… but you do have an interest in foreign affairs!”
So, Saturday was, all in all, a great night.
Sunday was not quite what I’d planned it to be. My plans for Supreme Accomplishments fell a bit short, and I spent a great part of the day cooking and watching DVD versions of literature classics (Persuasion, Hamlet, and, of course, The Reduced Shakespeare Company). I guess winter really is the season for reading epic books (or watching their dramatized versions). Because I had so many things that I was bringing back with me from the States, I had to leave some things with my dad to be shipped later. Among these was my copy of Anna Karenina, and I’ll be honest and say that I miss it terribly.
Where was I? Oh, yes. Sunday’s memory. I feel kind of silly about this, especially since I’m going to be writing about this subject right after a paragraph that praises the act of reading English classics, but … well … okay.
It’s time to introduce a new character.
Introducing: Galileo
Galileo is my new pet. He’s orange, round, and I like to throw him at the walls of my apartment to encourage the creative process. He was a birthday present from The Savant, which is to say that I saw The Savant throwing him down the hallway at school, stole him, and then asked if I could keep him as a birthday present. Since The Savant has been promising me a birthday present for about a week now, he agreed.
Galileo is a small, orange, rubber bouncy ball. He and I spent a lot of time together on Sunday because I was brainstorming about different projects that I have to do this week.
I figure that people have pet rocks, so why not a pet rubber ball? I’m not allowed to have animals in my apartment, and there are too many rocks around here for me to just pick one to love and cherish. Besides, Galileo is quite helpful. He and I have played catch several times during the last hour so that I might write the clearest and most well-rounded post for you. He is obedient and well-behaved; he always obeys the law of inertia, he never challenges my force with his mass or acceleration, and he always comes back when I throw him. Additionally, I don’t need to walk him, and I only caught him chewing on the cables once.
Okay, so now that I’ve completely overwhelmed myself with all of this talk of math and science, it’s time to wrap things up for now.
Have a great week!
Fall Term Top 10 December 19, 2009
Posted by Earthdragonette in Dance Troupe, Enkai Aftermath, Julie Gets Philosophical, Lessons Learned, Student Moments, Taking Initiative, Time to Party, Top Ten.Tags: Characters, Dance Troupe, dancing, elementary students, enkai, fall term, fievel, Japan, Mary Sunshine, my little monkey, pride, shopping, The Japanese Best Friend, The JTE, The Mentor, The Savant
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At the moment (which would be Sunday morning in Japan), I have one day left of honest to goodness work ahead of me. Today’s plan is to make cookies for my coworkers at the elementary schools and to write replies to all of the letters that I got last week from my students. Once that’s done, then this week is all about preparing for my trip on Wednesday.
(And also making Christmas cookies for my middle school students on Tuesday, but that’s more fun and less work.)
I thought about writing memories from Thursday through Saturday as I usually would, but I think that this is a good time for me to take a step back and do a Fall Term Top 10 Memory Countdown. The week is going to be a little hectic and I’m not sure what my posting schedule will be like.
So, let’s get to it!
10) Jiman (自慢)
Last Friday, I went to a Bon Enkai, or an “End of the Year Party” with my coworkers from the middle school. I really enjoy these parties because it’s a chance for us all to relax and talk about the variety of things that have happened during the year. We also play games. One game that we played this year involved choosing a card out of a deck that one of the teachers had made, and then talking about whatever was written on that card. My card had jiman (自慢) written on it. It means “pride,” and so my task was to talk about something that I was proud of.
It took me a few minutes to decide what to talk about – I had a lot of memories to go through. Ultimately, I chose to talk about the feelings that I always have right before our school does the cultural festival. Everyone always works so hard and does their best to get everything ready for the students and parents. I remember my first culture festival three years ago, and how inspired I was by what the teachers were doing. I was proud to be considered even a partial member of the faculty, and I wanted to do my best to become an active member of the team.
Every year when the culture festival comes around, I remember this feeling and renew my resolution. I’m proud to be considered a teacher at my middle school, and I’m proud of the relationships and associations that I have with the other faculty members.
Incidentally, this party was also fun because they surprised me with a birthday cake. There are definitely some perks to being born near the holiday season. ^___^
9) Inspired By Halloween
Looking back at the different lessons that I’ve done over the course of the term, I think that my best ones were around the end of October. Some noteworthy activities included: assigning my JHS students to memorize parts of Thriller, and dressing up like a witch and turning my elementary students into animals. I had a lot of fun with my students and I think that they learned a lot. Trying to find a balance between those two elements is perhaps the perpetual tightrope walk that defines my job.
8) The Japanese Best Friend and I Help The Japanese Economy
The time between September and Now was a busy time of me as far as shopping was concerned. I made several trips to Nagoya and then The Japanese Best Friend and I certainly paid our dues in Yokkaichi and Suzuka.
To some degree, I have always enjoyed shopping. I like interacting with store clerks, talking about merchandise, and considering deals and bargains. I also like buying things for other people; some of my best memories in Japan are from sitting in department store coffee shops while going over gift lists. In this vein, I suspect that my interest in shopping has increased over the last few years; it’s pretty difficult to live in Japan for an extended period of time and not become fond of shopping. Quite simply, it’s a national pastime. Every Sunday, in lieu of the religious festivities that tend to characterize the American Sunday atmosphere, Japan embarks on Commercial Celebrations of all sorts. It’s the one day of the week that most people are guaranteed a day off (unless they work in retail), and so most families go out in force.
I particularly like shopping with The Japanese Best Friend because we are very good about helping each other Not Feel Guilty for any of the following: expensive purchases, embarrassingly good bargains, afternoon tea, extravagant meals, or clothing that is on the adventurous side. Afternoons with her also inevitably involve great conversation and more than a little social commentary that puts my life into perspective.
7) Connecting With the Elusive and Mysterious 6th Graders
I think that of all the classes that I teach, the 6th grade elementary school students are the most difficult. Personality-wise, they’re at an awkward age where they don’t quite connect with the younger kids at their school, but they’re not ready to become a part of the middle school culture. Each year, this class always turns into some kind of secret society. They don’t go out on to the playground as much, and they are more likely to stay in their classroom during recess, enjoying each other’s company and reveling the various inside jokes crafted over the last six years.
Creating lessons that are both interesting and helpful to these kinds of students is always a challenge. This year has been more challenging than others because the 6th grade home room teachers have also taken on the mantle of English Education and so they’ve been preparing their own classes. So far, we’ve been able to work together, but it’s hard to tell what the students think of all these changes. I’m concerned on their behalf because I want them to feel confident and prepared for English lessons at the middle school. I also want them to look forward to these lessons, and to another year of studying with me.
As such, I’m really happy that over the last term, I’ve had the opportunity to connect with more of my 6th year students. I’ve found a stable and reliable partner in Yoshi, and there are other people who are also coming out of the woodwork. I know that we’ll become even closer when they make the move to the middle school (and I see them three times a week), but I’m happy to see what we’ve already been able to accomplish.
6) New Hobbies and Friends
This fall also saw the introduction of DJ Ozma, his family, and the Dance Troupe. It’s good that I took the initiative to get involved in this group; it’s only been a few months, but they’ve already shared a lot with each other. I know that the winter months will be a little quiet as far as festivals are concerned, but I expect that the pace will pick back up once spring starts. I’m looking forward to having a full summer with them, and to all of the events that we’ll go to together.
5) How To Be a Better Teacher in Ten Easy Steps
Thanks in part to The Mentor and The JTE’s interventions, I’ve had the chance to go to a variety of seminars and open lessons this fall. I didn’t really go to these kinds of training meetings before this year, and so it’s another way that my schedule has changed with the fourth year.
I’m really grateful for this change, though, because I’ve learned a lot from it. Even though the seminars aren’t always focused on English, they have given me some insight into how the Japanese view education: what they think is important, what methods work best, and what the goals are. This helps me to tailor my lessons more to the students and the kinds of lessons that they’re used to, and it also assists me in discussing lesson plans with my coworkers. Even though my teaching style and methods appear to be successful, I think it’s important for me to remember that there are always new things to try and new philosophies to consider. There are still a lot of things that I don’t know.
4) And The Savant’s Ego Shall Have No Dominion*
Ah, The Savant. This fall term was a busy one for him – he’s been quite feisty and active since day one, beginning with a whopper of a lie about how he broke his leg and lasting up to last Wednesday when he and Macho Man wrote each other Christmas Love Notes.
I’ve mentioned this several times, but our interactions this fall honestly have been somewhat novel – he really did ignore me for the first two years of his middle school career. I’m happy about the change, though, because I enjoy our banter. I don’t have many opportunities to be perverse and contrary (as he puts it), because most of my students don’t have the ability to understand that kind of English. I can be silly and playful in Japanese, but I can’t be sarcastic – that’s an English device.
The Savant, though. He gets sarcasm, which means that he is able to understand me more fully than most of the other people that I interact with. I’m going to miss him when he graduates next March – a part of my voice is going to be silenced, at least for a little while.
*Incidentally, since this is now the second time I’ve made a reference to this particular Dylan Thomas poem, you should go check it out if you’re not familiar with it.
3) Lunchtime Dance Sessions
Ah, Mary Sunshine. She’s someone else that I’m going to miss terribly when March 9th (and graduation) comes around. Things were really busy during the first part of the term, and so our regular recess English study sessions were put on hold so that we could attend to other duties. Since November, though, we’ve been able to reconnect through our dance practices.
I’m grateful for these practices for a number of reasons. One reason being that it’s fun to dance with her. She’s got rhythm, and combined with a great attitude it means that she learns quickly and (if I may say so) we look really cool together. It’s also fun to show somebody this part of my culture, and this part of my past. A lot of the dance moves are things that I did when I was in marching band in high school, and it’s rewarding to share them with (and pass them on to) her. In the way that The Savant understands me more fully because he gets my snark, Mary Sunshine understands me more because she gets how I groove.
2) Christmas Cards
So, I mentioned earlier that I’m going to be giving my elementary school coworkers Christmas cookies. What I’ve also arranged this year, is to give each of the home room teachers a Christmas card from their students and me. This was a little tricky to arrange, as I needed to find a contact from each grade and send them out into the world with the Christmas card for a week in the hopes that they would get their classmates to sign it. The icing on the cake of this endeavor was that they were to do it without their home room teacher seeing it.
Many things could have kept this plan from working, including neglect, a general misunderstanding of what exactly it was that we were doing, or just plain forgetfulness. The 1st year classes at both schools had some problems. One class signed it and gave it to their teacher on the very first day (instead of returning it to me a week later so that I could give the teachers their cards and cookies together), and the other class didn’t understand what I wanted and so just copied a number of random English words that they found around the school. We also had some problems with the 5th years at Thursday’s elementary school, because they made the teacher sign his own card and then they gave it to him. I’m not exactly sure what went wrong there.
The rest of the cards, however, didn’t have any problems. The kids were excited about the subterfuge involved in getting the cards signed without their home room teacher’s knowledge, and they were extremely melodramatic enthusiastic about the process. My Little Monkey was my contact for the 2nd years at Thursday’s elementary school, and I think he walked around for the entire week with the card stuffed inside of his shirt.
Still, I now have eight signed cards ready and waiting to be delivered on Monday afternoon. I hope that the teachers enjoy receiving them. I really liked putting this whole project together; I feel that it shows something special about the way that the students and I can interact with each other.
1) Fievel VS My Little Monkey
By far, my favorite memories from this fall semester have revolved around the growing Fievel and My Little Monkey saga. On one hand, you have Fievel. Formerly small, quiet, shy, and introverted, he has blossomed into a very quick, brazen, and vocal young man (at least around me). I think that he wants to become a different person than the person that he was when we first met. When I was arranging for the aforementioned Christmas Card project, I asked him if he’d be willing to help me out with his class. I could tell that he wanted to help me, but he just felt too shy. When I gave it to one of his classmates instead, he turned to me and said: “Next year. Next year I can do it. Next year, I’ll be ready to do it.” If what he says is true, and talking with me is giving him the confidence to talk and interact more directly with the members of his own class, then that’s one of the most fantastic gifts that I could be given.
On the other hand, poised against this rising star, you have My Little Monkey. It’s been funny to see them interact, because although Fievel is older than the Monkey, the Monkey is, well… the Monkey. He is loud, hilarious, incorrigible, and never, ever knows when to back down. If you could call their interactions “encounters” or “battles,” then I would say that Fievel tends to be the victor because he stays long after the Monkey has lost interest and has gone to conquer other parts of the school. Still, the Monkey always comes back, and is kind of oblivious to Fievel‘s designs for Total Julie Dominion.
It’s quite funny.
I like having them both in my elementary school life because it gives me the opportunity to cater to two very different kinds of students. Typically, I work best with the loud students because they give me more material to work with. The quiet ones are more difficult for me to reach because I have to go after the content and pull the material out of them. That can be time-consuming and very tricky; I’m still not very good at it. Working with Fievel, though, I think I’ve learned more about how the process works, and I understand the Quiet Student Mentality a lot more than I used to. With the Monkey, well, he keeps my skills honed and my wit sharp – I need it to counter his brain and all of the havoc that it wreaks.
Looking back at the many events have transpired in the fall term, it appears that somehow, someway, I am managing to stay at the top of my game (whatever that may be). These top ten memories are perhaps the most vivid and expressive ways I can think to sum up the one particularly important thought I have about this fall semester: I survived.
And soon, it will be time for a well-deserved break in the Homeland.
Listen to the bells as they ring
Listen to the message they bring
Listen to the sound
As they sing as one voice in the night
TEN STICKERS PLEASE. December 13, 2009
Posted by Earthdragonette in Dance Troupe, Enkai Aftermath, Student Moments, Weekend Recap.Tags: blessings, Dance Troupe, enkai, fall term, Japan, karaoke
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Let me make this clear if, for some reason, I have yet to do so.
My students love stickers.
Every single one of them. From the first year elementary students all the way up to the third year middle school students. Both boys and girls. The sparklier the better. Stickers are even more appreciated if they light up, have a special smell, or are actually small pictures of me that have been made into stickers (known as purikura). Since I brought them into my teaching regimen about three years ago, I have had more successful classes, and honestly, a more successful life.
The stickers are, of course, a reward for making efforts to learn and practice English, but they’re also a way to make talking to me a not-so-scary experience. When I first came here and the students didn’t know me very well, I think that they were overwhelmed by the idea of striking up a conversation with me. They didn’t know what they should talk about, and they were really nervous about using their English. With the sticker as a kind of goal, though, they could approach me without worrying that they were bothering me. They wanted a sticker, I knew they wanted a sticker, and all they had to do was ask me a question to get this sticker.
It’s quite simple really.
Also, with the introduction of the Sticker *Card*, the students have bigger prizes that they can try to get. They also compete with each other to see who can get to a certain card the quickest (I have one student who’s working on her 17th card). Receiving stickers isn’t just limited to conversation, however. Students can get them from answering questions in class or completing worksheets and puzzles.
Anyway, I’m prefacing Friday’s memory with this just so that you can understand some of the reasons behind why my elementary school visits can be so draining. Quite frankly, last Friday was insane. That’s my memory: total insanity and exhaustion. I came home and went to bed at 7.
Here’s how things broke down:
7:45: Arrived at school in the pouring rain, had eight bags with me that I dragged into the school. Got into the staff room and, after getting settled, started to make copies of worksheets that I wanted to use for the day. Was in the middle of making these copies when the staff room was invaded by four fourth year students who wanted to talk to me/ get my responses to their letters from last week/ try on my Santa hat. I eventually chased them out with promises of future rewards, praise, and love.
8:10: Had morning staff meeting
8:15-8:35: Ran around getting my classroom set up and decorated for my lessons. This involved moving three large tables and setting them up to make paper decorations for the school’s Christmas tree, and putting up lights and garland. I just barely finished everything in time for my first lesson.
1st period: Taught the fourth year students. The home room teacher had to take the morning off, so the vice principal started off teaching with me. After he saw that I had things under control, he went back to the staff room. This display of trust made my day.
Break between 1st and 2nd period: Was mobbed by students wanting to get stickers for completed puzzles and students who wanted to ask me questions for stickers.
2nd period: Taught the 5th years. This is my genius class and I can pretty much do everything in English. They don’t always understand the specifics, but they get the general idea and they prefer it that way. This is the class where almost every student (on a weekly basis) will do puzzles, ask two questions, and recite the alphabet (forward and backward) for stickers.
Break between 2nd and 3rd period: This is a longer break (about 20 minutes), and so this is when most of the school will try to come and talk to me/get puzzles and worksheets checked. The line is usually long, though, and students will often wait up to ten minutes to talk to me. Friday, some of my fifth year students were feeling frisky and they went to the staff room and dragged out some of the home room teachers and the Vice Principal so that they could go through the line, too. So, even the Vice Principal got a sticker for talking to me.
3rd period: Taught the third years. This is a very small, very sweet class, and they’re all really smart, too. I think that they made the best ornaments out of all my classes.
Break between 3rd and 4th period: More sticker/puzzle/talking time.
4th period: Furiously worked on answering letters.
Lunch: Ate with the 6th years. They’re a very loud and funny class.
Recess: 30 minutes of stickers/talking/puzzles.
5th period and 6th period: Worked on letters. Just barely finished in time so that last of the students got them before they left for the day.
Usually, I try to finish writing my letter responses before I go to school on Friday, but I had 32 letters to answer last week, and it was just too much to do given my schedule. Each response can take anywhere from five to forty-five minutes to write, depending on how complex the original letter was.
It’s my life, what can I say? The kids enjoy them so much, that abandoning this program is simply not an option – no matter how much time it takes.
So that was more or less my Friday. It was a blur of conversation, puzzles, worksheets, and, of course, the distribution of rewards. It’s kind of taxing and insane, but I like seeing the kids so excited, and my classes run smoothly thanks to all of this enthusiasm.
Saturday’s memory comes from the evening. The Dance Troupe had an end of the year party, and so we all went out to a restaurant together. We actually rented the space for the evening, and we were joined by a local band that we often go to festivals with.
I must say, I’ve gone to a lot of parties in my day, and I’ve done a lot of karaoke, but I’ve never partied or done karaoke with members of a rock band before. It was quite the experience. They brought their own instruments, and if they knew the song that a person was singing, then one or more of the members would join in on their respective instruments. In addition to accompanying karaoke tracks, they did their own set list, and they called me up to help them out with English vocals. I think you could go ahead and say that it was my fifteen minutes of fame. I think that it was one of the best parties I’ve been to in Japan (or anywhere, really), and it was all thanks to the people that I was with. Their enthusiasm and good will were absolutely amazing.
Sunday has been quiet. I’ve spent a lot of time catching up on correspondence and cleaning my apartment. After the pace I’ve going at for the past two weeks, I’m ready to slow down a little and enjoy the next week and a half before my vacation to the States. If I have to take a memory from today, I think I want it to be my general sense of health and well-being. I’m extremely thankful for it right now, because without it I never would’ve made it through this month, let alone this term. With the flu around me (in regular and swine forms), in addition to regular colds and other vague illness (and the fact that sometimes I don’t sleep), a lot of unfortunate things could have happened (and might still, for all I know).
Sometimes, it really is the small things (like stickers, great people, or good health) that can make all the difference in the world.
And then they sang a song
The rare old mountain dew
I turned my face away and dreamed about you
A farewell to summer… August 31, 2009
Posted by Earthdragonette in Top Ten.Tags: baseball, beach, Characters, enkai, ice cream, Japan, Jyona33, last, Mary Sunshine, PoEM, Rocko, running, summer, table tennis, teachers, The Awesome Vice Principal, The Savant, Two Terrific Teachers
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Aaand, we’ve hit a benchmark in this blog. My first missed post!
Admittedly, when I started out writing this blog, I didn’t expect to be able to post every single day, but I did hope to come close. Unfortunately, illness happens, and I was curled up in bed on Sunday night, hoping for those oh, so sweet arms of Morpheus. Morpheus though, is a jealous companion, and he doesn’t like me blogging when he comes to visit. I tried to catch up this morning (when it was still technically Sunday in the United States), but my Muses are fickle and they prefer coming out to play in the evening.
So, Jealous Morpheus + Moody Muses = No 土日曜日 Recap.
And yet, because I didn’t go into work today, the sense of weekend has continued. I could go ahead and write about Saturday-Monday’s poignant memories, but I think I want to do something a little different. This is the last “last day of summer vacation” that I’m going to have in Japan, and I feel that this merits a special post.
Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you:
Julie’s Top 10 Moments of the Summer
10) Dinner with teachers from the Old Middle School
From the August 9th post.
This really was a spectacular dinner. I was sad that we didn’t have a chance to go out for karaoke, but it was still amazing. I miss working with these teachers, and having a chance to catch up with them, remember old times, talk about new developments, and listen to The PoEM is a special memory from this summer.
9) Stalking Supporting my middle school’s baseball team
I don’t think that I really wrote specifically about this (some of it happened before I started the blog), but I spent a lot of time this summer watching my middle school guys’ baseball practices, practice games, and real games. They lost the district championships early on in the season (I felt really bad for The Savant because he was the team captain and took it really hard), but the first and second years trained really hard for the rest of the summer. I’m looking forward to seeing how they develop as a team – especially after they get new members next spring!
8) Running
I actually started running around February of 2007, but I was only able to keep it up through last October. After that, the days got really short, my schedule got hectic, and I got shin splints. This summer, however, I really started to miss it, and after buying the proper footwear, I hit the pavement again. I’m glad I did – I think I function better with my daily dose of Zen.
7) Fish festival!
From the August 23rd post.
This was just fun. I mean, the fish was delicious, my elementary students were cute, the families were nice, the onigiri was fresh, and the ice cream was divine. I got to be a team player and enjoy a picnic. Really, what more could one ask for?
6) Eating that stupid fish eye
From the August 18th post.
I can’t in good conscience put this in my Top 5, because it was gross. To date, I still have not eaten the following: grapes, blueberries, olives, or corn. Still, it’s a badge of honor that I will proudly wear. (EWWWW.)
5) The Trip to Toba (aside from eating the fish eye)
This trip happened before the blog, but I did write about it in the August 18thpost. I appreciated the isolated-third-worldish-we-actually-WAIT-THREE-HOURS-for-a-boat feeling. I liked walking around the island with the Two Terrific Teachers, and I especially enjoyed the dessert that The Awesome Vice Principal got for me. Actually, I loved anything having to do with my middle school teachers this summer. We had a great time together.
4) Hiking the Kumano Kodo with Rocko
Described in the 土日曜日 Recap from August 16th/17th.
I like Rocko, and I like the Kumano Kodo, so this was pretty much solid win all around. Discussing philosophy and 90’s television shows while wandering around an ancient forest road to the top of a mountain is a great way to spend one’s morning. This was then followed by The Beach, and we all know how I feel about that.
3) Spending time with Mary Sunshine prior to the All Country Table Tennis Tournament
Anything involving Mary Sunshine has to make my Top 3. She is The Favorite after all. I think that we had some great conversations this summer, and I liked being able to share even a small part of her training and anticipation. She didn’t place very high at the nationals, but she told me that she learned a lot and that she’s even more determined to keep it up. She has some tournaments scheduled for the fall, and I can’t wait to see how she does.
2) The Beach!!
From the August 8th, August 9th, August 12th, August … you get the idea.
Sun, sand, water, an iPod, and delicious Japanese food. It’s no wonder that I went, like, fifteen times.
1) A visit from Jyona33
This was something else that happened before I started writing this blog. It also involves a character that you have not yet met. I give you:
Jyona33
This was an ALT in a nearby town a couple of years ago. We met when he was a second year ALT and I was just in my first year. Although our initial exchanges were awkward, our friendship soon bloomed and now he is one of The Best Friends.* He’s back in the States now, but we talk often and he schools me on All Things Japanese and the General Direction My Life Should Take. He’s a funny person.
Anyway, Jyona33 has been out of the country for awhile, and he came back to visit for about two weeks in mid-July. He stayed with me for the better part of a week and we had a rather fantastic time exploring our towns and just talking. I got to meet some new people, see some new places, and just enjoy the frequent use of the English language outside of the telephone conversations I have with people back home. I think that his visit really marked the beginning of the summer for me, and it set the tone for the rest of it.
So there we have it. 6 weeks. 10 memories. As far as I know, my last summer in Japan is at an end. I’m a little sad – it’s bittersweet, after all. Still, there are a lot of things on the horizon and I’m looking forward to seeing where this is all going to go.
*I would go further and refer to him as the wind beneath my wings, but that would embarrass him. Assuming he ever actually reads this blog as he’s been promising to do for weeks.
“Mysteria – the spirit arising
Eldritch cries from the hill
Mysteria – the fires are blazing”
Seeing eye to eye August 18, 2009
Posted by Earthdragonette in Japanese GET.Tags: enkai, Everybody's Favorite, fish eyes, hubris, Japan, Mary Sunshine, Mr. Limpet, summer, The Japanese Best Friend, Two Terrific Teachers
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Before I get to today’s Special Memory, I want to express how upset I am on behalf of the Mieko High school baseball team. They went to the national high school baseball championship and lost by a final score of 8 to 5. Everybody’s Favorite is on this team, and although he didn’t play in the game today, I know that he must be pretty upset right now. (I’m a little unclear as to whether or not this was the final or still a semi-final, but still, it was a pretty important game.)
I would also like to point out that the experience of crowding around the television in the staff room and watching the game with one of the Two Terrific Teachers and The Awesome Vice Principal almost made it as today’s memory of choice. But, there is another that I would rather linger on.
So, today was my back to work day. I’ve been kind of grumbling about this, but it’s actually not so bad. Not only is the atmosphere so relaxed that I spend about 30% of my time listening to iTunes, but I’m also taking vacation for half a day tomorrow and all day Friday. A lot of the teachers seem to be savoring the summer months a bit more than they did last year, and so who am I to go against the flow of popular opinion? If it’s vacation mode we want, then it’s vacation mode that I’ll give them. I have no problems spending an extra two or three days at the beach.
Besides iTunes and the work that I did in fact make myself do (Julie: 1, Procrastination: 0), I also took about an hour and went down to the gym to see how Mary Sunshine was doing. She’s going to the national championships on Friday, and she appeared very relaxed and excited. She was happy that I came down, and she showed me some of the special equipment that the school let her buy for the games this weekend. She also got into a long discussion with me about what kind of souvenir she would bring back for me (eventually deciding on some kind of packaged ramen that, although incredibly smelly, is supposed to be delicious).
Part of the aforementioned discussion naturally focused on what kinds of foods I eat and don’t eat; I reminded Mary Sunshine that as far as I know, the only foods on my “Get That Away From Me Yesterday” list (besides junk food) are maraschino cherries and grapefruit. She didn’t believe me and thus started the questions:
“Fermented soybeans?” (Also known as natto.)
“I like them.”
“Fried cow guts?” (Also known as hormone.)
“Delicious.”
“Sashimi?”
“Of course.”
As she was going down the list, the teacher in charge of table tennis chimed in, “And she even eats fish eyes!”
That.
That comment.
That comment is today’s memory.
First, let me give you the context. (Warning: Story about eating fish eyes to follow.)
In Japan, it’s customary for the teachers of a given school to take a vacation together during the summer. Sometimes these trips are elaborate and expensive. I know of teachers that have gone to Korea and Bali. There are, of course, mid-range trips as well (Osaka, Kyoto, Nagoya, etc.). If everyone is really busy, or perhaps not especially close, then the trip may just be a day-long excursion followed by a nice dinner. Last year, the teachers at my middle school all went to Kyoto for a couple of days. Because I had The Japanese Best Friend with me, we had a fantastic time shopping and eating together. Last year’s staff was also really close, and so it was very much like a family vacation.
This year, although everyone at the middle school is friendly, we don’t have quite the same Magical Everybody Really Loves Everybody feeling that we had last year. In addition, the teachers have all been busy with clubs this summer, so we opted for a day-long excursion to Toba (a seaside town in my prefecture) and Kamijima Island (a 40 minute boat ride away from Toba).
Much could be said about this trip – it was only a day long, but we saw and did a lot of things. Kamijima Island was, honestly, one of the strangest places that I’ve ever been to in my life. Imagine what you would get if Japan ever became a third world country. Okay, that’s Kamijima Island. It’s so remote, and so out of touch with reality, that although there are clearly Japanese elements to it, it also feels like some lost Pacific Island of No Return. We hiked a 5km trail around the island, visiting an old shrine, an old WWII lookout tower, and two of the most lonely, isolated schools I’ve ever seen in my life.
Anyway, when we got to Kamijima, we had a nice lunch at one of the island’s restaurants (quite possibly the island’s only restaurant). Part of the meal included two medium-sized fish, presented in a very natural fashion. This is a tasteful way of saying that they still had their eyes. It did not occur to me that this was a culinary statement.
Oh, how wrong I was!
Over the course of the lunch, I happily munched away on squid, tuna, rice, and eggplant. I felt content. Empowered. Like one of the team (I was told a special dessert had been prepared for me. Yay.) Just as I was beginning to feel perhaps too comfortable, though, one of the Two Terrific Teachers fixed that. Proclaiming that he was about to eat the best part of the meal, and one of his favorite foods, he delicately plucked out and ate a fish eyeball.
Then he did it again.
I hate that my reaction was so stereotypically foreign, but it was. All I could do was gape at him, my eyes wide open and my hands over my mouth. In three years of living in Japan, no one has ever done that in front of me. The Awesome Vice Principal saw me and started to laugh.
“Are you … serious?” I asked.
“It’s delicious,” 1/2 of the Two Terrific Teachers informed me, eating another one.
“I … don’t … think … so….” I responded.
“You should try it,” he urged.
“I … don’t … think … so….” I responded, again. Then I shook my head, trying to purge my thoughts of what I had just seen. I blindly grabbed my dessert (Chocolate ice cream. Yay.) and did my best to induce brain freeze so that the memory would go away.
Let me stop and say right here that as far as food goes, I am pretty adventurous. The only food that I have turned away up until the Fish Eye Incident was a cooked, fertilized bird egg that they served in the Philippines. Although some of my friends that were with me tried and liked it, I just couldn’t get past two very important concepts: Beak and Feathers. Beak and Feathers, my friends. I couldn’t bring myself to eat them.
But other things that I’ve encountered in Japan: fugu, raw horse meat, raw cow liver, cooked organs (including stomach, heart, and lungs) … I’ve eaten and enjoyed them all. I enjoy trying new foods, even if they’re a bit unorthodox. In fact, I pride myself on it. The fact that I enjoy eating Japanese fermented soybeans (natto) is one of my All Time Personal Achievements (because let’s face it, it’s disgusting).
But I’ve always had this thing about eyeballs. I think that it goes back to when I was in 2nd grade and we all had to dissect a cow eye. My father came in as a volunteer for that activity, and he was rather thorough about showing us all of the … stuff … that is inside one of those things. I have never, ever gotten the image out of my mind. I’ve done that dissection with other animals since then, and I tend to enjoy those kinds of activities. But that is science. Clinical. Cold. Distant. Objective.
It is not lunch.
Lunch that was looking at me.
Let me also add that it’s that looking part that’s particularly important here. It’s like, the fish KNEW something that I didn’t, and it was keeping its awful secret while I consumed it. Freaky.
(I know, this is all kind of disturbing, but this was my thought process at the time; I confess to having an overactive imagination.)
Anyway, the teachers dropped the subject and I thought that I was safe. Again, I miscalculated. That evening, we went to another fancy restaurant for dinner, and about an hour into the meal the waitress brought out – you guessed it – two fish presented in a very natural fashion. Once again, one of the Two Terrific Teachers descended upon those eyeballs the way that American children dive for Oreos.
“You really should try them,” he told me.
“Why does God hate me?” I asked.
“What??” he responded.
“I asked: why do you like them so much?”
He went on to explain that, as a child, his mother had told him that the meat along a fish’s spine and the eyeballs were the most delicious and nutritionally dense parts of the fish. He had taken her comments to heart, and over the years it had transformed his palate so that he, too, advocated consuming those portions. I resisted the urge to point out that I could find nutritional elements in other parts of the fish that didn’t trick me into believing that the fish had cognitive processes equal to my own. Instead, I told him that I was fine and that I didn’t need to try the fish eye.
So, in the subtle Japanese way, he dared me.
And then in the subtle Japanese way, he double dog dared me.
And so help me, in the subtle Japanese way he triple dog dared me.
“Oh fine,” I grumbled. “I’ll eat the stupid eye.” (Julie’s impulsiveness: 1, Julie’s maturity: 0, Chance that Julie would jump off a bridge with the other teachers: Approximately 65%)
For the sake of delicate constitutions (including my own), I will not describe in detail what it was like to retrieve the fish eye [with chopsticks]. I will say that my disgust was so evident that the Principal told me that I really didn’t have to do it.
“Oh, I’ll do it all right,” I told him. “I’ve been challenged.” (Julie’s impulsiveness: 2, Julie’s maturity: nowhere to be found; Chance that Julie would willingly set herself on fire before taking the plunge off a bridge: Approximately 82%)
So, I ate it. The taste, admittedly, was actually okay. It was just like the other parts of the fish.
It was the texture that got me. And I’ll leave off my description there.
I don’t regret doing it. But for several days afterwards it haunted me. Fiercely. Even now, I can tell that it’s settled in my subconscious somewhere, waiting to show up at an inopportune time (which will most likely be at my wedding reception or some other occasion where eating food would be a good idea).
So, this was the comment that the teacher was referring to today during table tennis practice. He had been sitting across from me during the dinner and had actually not reacted one way or another to the episode (except to say that he personally didn’t like fish eyes).
I haven’t introduced this teacher yet because, honestly, I don’t know a whole lot about him. He just came to this school this past April. He teaches Japanese, coaches table tennis, is very quiet, and is married to another teacher. That’s it; that’s all I know.
So, today, when he piped up with that little tidbit that referred to that dinner, it actually made me really happy. It was a private joke between us* and something that showed me that even though he doesn’t appear to pay a whole lot of attention to me, I do think that he is taking part in my experiences. It’s easy for me to forget that even though my Japanese co-workers may not comment on my activities or even seem to notice what I do, this is not always the case. His comment, and the obvious amusement that he derived from it, made me feel closer to him and more appreciative. It was a nice feeling.
Perhaps from hereon out we’ll refer to him as Mr. Limpet.
Incidentally, Mary Sunshine is also a fan of fish eyes.
*A private joke between us and the rest of the teachers in my town, that is. This story has become legendary and I get asked about it at least once a week.
” You feel at ease as you flock with the masses.”
土日曜日 Recap August 9, 2009
Posted by Earthdragonette in Weekend Recap.Tags: baseball, beach, enkai, Everybody's Favorite, old middle school, PoEM
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So, this is our first Saturday/Sunday Recap. Consider this the weekend special – with twice the nostalgia of a normal post!
This weekend has been quite nice – very relaxing and low key. Both days have also been great because they’ve given me two very nice memories that I can write about.
First, let’s talk about Saturday.
Saturday started off with a drive down the mountain to a beach that’s about half an hour away. It’s nothing special – just a small strip of land next to a hotel. Most of the people tend to be from out of town, so there’s none of that awkward “Holy Honshu, I just saw my teacher HALF NAKED” stuff. Also, it’s never crowded, so it’s a nice place to spend a few hours.
Behold:
Taken with my cell phone, so the quality isn't the best.
So, that was a nice way to spend the early part of my afternoon. After I got back, I went out to dinner with some teachers that I worked with last year. It was a special dinner for me because these were teachers that I worked with at the middle school that the town closed, so I hadn’t seen most of them in months.
The particular memory from yesterday that I want to hold on to (and the one that I alluded to in my somewhat slipshod post from last night) happened during dinner. We were all seated around this small table and sampling from a pretty standard selection of Japanese platters (sashimi, fried chicken, grilled eggplant, fried tofu, small pieces of marinated beef, croquettes…). About halfway through the meal, we went around the table and everyone talked about what they’d been up to recently. One teacher is currently working in an elementary school, and she explained that she has some really low level students, and that she’s trying to figure out what she can do to help them. This started a discussion about teaching methods and, ultimately, the Principal gave us his Philosophy of Education Monologue (hereafter: PoEM).
Let me explain some things about the PoEM. First of all, it has made its way into every dinner that I’ve ever had with this man. Just as we can be certain that the day star will rise, we can be certain that if I have dinner with him, he will at some point recite the PoEM. Secondly, the PoEM’s contents are incredibly difficult for me to understand. This is partially because the Principal uses really difficult Japanese (i.e.: many words that I don’t know yet), and partially due to him being at least three or four beers into the evening by the time that the PoEM is unveiled. Thirdly, the PoEM is long. Very long. Not as long as Dante, but definitely as long as Tennyson – we’re talking at least half an hour. I remember that during one particularly lengthy PoEM recital (perhaps it was sometime around Christmas last year?), I managed to drink two beers, text four friends, boil eight crab legs, eat some tempura, and contemplate the sociological implications of P = NP.* Fourthly, though the contents may vary, the general message of each PoEM is the same: schools should be stable, positive institutions where the students feel safe, nurtured, and respected. Lessons should be carefully constructed so that they are enjoyable while fulfilling the above obligations.
When I worked with this Principal at the middle school last year, I admit that I occasionally found it difficult to listen to the PoEM. It was sort of like the Friday night lectures that they had when I was in college. I was always interested in the topic, and I knew that I would be a better person for having listened to what the speaker had to say. Actually, now that I think about it, listening to the PoEM was EXACTLY like Friday night lecture – and my excuse for tuning out of both was the same: the words of wisdom, no matter how wise, were potentially difficult to understand, and the alternative involved alcohol and contemplating future public displays of absurdity.
Still, even though I couldn’t always fully appreciate the PoEM, there was a comfort in knowing that it would be there, waiting for us, at every dinner. In fact, I would go so far as to say that dinners weren’t proper dinners until we’d heard the PoEM, and they weren’t complete dinners unless the Vice Principal politely brought the recitation to a close.
I hadn’t realized how much I’d missed the PoEM, and all these associations that I have with it, until yesterday evening. There we all were after four months, just as we’d been dozens of times before, talking and sharing things about our lives. And suddenly, naturally, without being forced or contrived, the PoEM was there in all of its 34 minute glory.
As I was listening to the Principal talk, I remember leaning back against the wall and reminiscing. I really did enjoy teaching at that middle school, although it was always kind of a problem for me. My main middle school (the one that I still work at) is very demanding and I never felt as though I had enough time or energy left over for the second one. There were so many things I wanted to do at that school, and the teachers and students really deserved better than what they got from me. Still, I don’t feel as though the staff ever held it against me, and they’ve always been kind. Maybe I can say here, that if my main middle school has been responsible for showing me the mind of my town (and the Japanese), then I think that the second middle school showed me the heart. I felt that last night, and it made me very, very happy.
*Not really. But I did make a two page list of songs I wanted to sing at karaoke after dinner.
Moving on to today…
Today’s memory is both short and sweet. It does, however, require that I introduce (more like reintroduce) a character. I give you:
Everyone’s Favorite
Some of you are quite familiar with this young man. He was a first year middle school student when I arrived in Japan, and he graduated last March. While I taught him, he was undeniably my favorite student (and my friends’ favorite, too). Our relationship is the stuff of legends – he called me Johnny and said the most ridiculous things in absolutely nonsensical English. I called him Buffy and harassed him constantly for wandering around the classroom barefoot and laying on the floor. He is notorious for the phrases: “I go to break a window.” “(Any verb form ever) + to the hospital.” and “I am funky boy.” He would often make me laugh so much that I had to leave the classroom.
Today I’d originally planned to go to a fish festival near my Friday elementary school, but the weather was rainy and so it was postponed. Finding myself at liberty, I decided to go to the middle school and watch a baseball game. My guys were playing against the team that they lost to at the regional tournament and I was curious to see how things would go now that they’re playing without the third graders (who have retired from their clubs).** As I pulled into the parking lot next to the baseball field, lo and behold, there he was: Everybody’s Favorite.
He was excited to see me. We’ve only talked twice since he graduated, and he had a lot of news to share – mostly about his new girlfriend. I asked him about his baseball team, and he told me he hated it because he wanted more time to see his girlfriend. I asked about school. He told me he hated it because he wanted more time to see his girlfriend. I asked him about his girlfriend. He told me that she has a part-time job and he hates it because it keeps him from spending more time with her.
Ah, to be sixteen again.
After I got him away from the girlfriend topic (which took about twenty minutes as he was interested in telling me EVERYTHING about their relationship and his hopes for it), we settled into a nice conversation with topics that ranged from what he thought about his current classmates to how long I would be staying in Japan. He caught me up on some rather spectacular town gossip, and we discussed the differences between American and Japanese middle school/high school students.
This memory is definitely a keeper; it’s nice to know that I can still have great conversations with my students even after they’ve gone on to high school. I wonder, sometimes, how aware they are of me and how strong of a presence I am in their lives. After today’s chat with Everybody’s Favorite, I felt grateful for this fourth year. It gave me the time to be a part of his life all the way through his middle school experience. It also gave me the chance to talk to him today and to see how his story is unfolding. And, quite honestly, that’s what keeps me coming back for more. I love my students’ stories – their hopes, their dreams, and their expectations (although I could do without the ones so blatantly focused on their raging hormones).
Generally speaking, these are the things that give me strength, and that help me look at my own future optimistically.
**As it turns out, they lost again, by the same score of 2-0. Sigh.
“Riding on the wings of light,
Dreaming dreams and holding tight.”
Where I Intended to Be 