My Teaching World / General Update August 4, 2010
Posted by Earthdragonette in Apologies, Cultural Exchange, Student Moments, Summer Vacation.Tags: computer issues, Everybody's Favorite, fc bayern fangirl, fievel, hannah montana, hermione, kanemoto, my little monkey, shiritori, stern des sudens, summer camp, summer pictures 1, summer vacation, The Child, the whistler
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Welcome back ~ to both of us!
I’m sorry that this week has gotten off to a slow start. I’ve had some computer issues that I’ve been dealing with and I also may or may not have completely destroyed my sleeping schedule on Sunday/Monday so that I could watch a game between FC Bayern and Schalke 3. In addition, I’m taking a trip to Tokyo this weekend and so my schedule has picked up and grown a bit hectic thanks to those preparations.
Quite possibly the Best Team Song Ever
Now, though, my computer is working and My Beloved Bayern is hard at work training and not playing games that make me get up at 2 o’clock in the morning. Let’s move forward, shall we?
As I mentioned before, it’s summer vacation in Japan now and so my Teaching World has been relatively quiet over the last few weeks. June and July were quite busy, though. I had open lessons at my middle school and a lot of small projects that I had to finish. While all this was going on, I do believe that it was Moments With Students that kept me (relatively) sane. Some highlights include:
Everybody’s Favorite making a triumphant (and hilarious) visit to show off all that he’s learned since leaving middle school. He further declared that middle school is better than high school in every conceivable way and that I am not allowed to return to the States.
The Child continuing to vex me in ways that only he can manage. Still, he’s decided that he actually wants to attempt to go to high school and so he’s become a great deal less snarky and more studious over the last few months. I’m still not sure what his chances of success are; it’s difficult to correct years of intellectual neglect in only about six months. Still, I’m pulling for him and I’m hoping to help him in any way that I can.
The Whistler and I have been playing word games in the hallway over the last two months or so. It’s actually the same word game – a popular little mental exercise called Shiritori. The idea is that you say a word and then another person has to take the last letter of that word and make a new word. “Egg” could lead to “goblin,” which leads to “nest,” which leads to “turtle,” etc. We’ve been playing the same game during cleaning times and 10 minute breaks. A winner is declared when one’s opponent can’t come up with a new word. Considering we have hours in between turns, I think this is probably the Shiritori Game That Will Never End. At present, it’s my turn and the last word was “thought.”
Hermione and I have spent a lot of time together. If it weren’t for her and Hannah Montana, I probably would be significantly more sad and lonely. I made both of them happy right before the break because I arranged for the second year class to watch the new Tim Burton version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. That was probably the most successful movie day I’ve ever done.
Kanemoto and I have also interacted a lot during the first term. He seems to be adjusting to the middle school, and I go out of my way in every way, shape, and form to annoy him. There are just some students that one can’t help trying to frustrate and provoke at every turn, and Kanemoto is that student for me. I can’t begin to describe how much fun it is to see him grow increasingly agitated as I take him to task (for the fortieth time in an hour) for not writing me a letter in English. The best part is that when he finally breaks (which he does every time) and scolds me in ardent, exasperated Japanese, I always look at him blankly and tell him that I don’t speak Japanese so he’ll have to do that once more in English. The magical part of this entire relationship, though, is that these little confrontations actually work. I’ve gotten some absolutely smashing letters from him as a result.
So that’s more or less what’s been happening on the middle school front. The elementary schools have also been busy. The weekly 5th and 6th year lessons are a constant worry, but I’ve seen some real growth and progress in my students so I can’t complain. My Little Monkey has been remarkably scarce, but Fievel and his brother have been my little shadows at every possible moment. In addition, I attracted some new fans after showing my classes a slideshow about England; I’ve had a lot more letters from 3rd through 6th graders newly inspired by all things international. I’m planning on putting together a presentation about the trip I’ll take to the States in December, so I look forward to sharing that with them as well.
Perhaps the most significant and entertaining activity on the elementary front were the two-day long summer camps that I went to at the end of July. Wednesday/Thursday saw me cooking, singing, and otherwise frolicking with Thursday’s elementary school, and then Thursday/Friday focused on Friday’s school. It was a busy three days for me, but I was able to take a lot of great pictures and I think that I connected with some students in a way that I hadn’t been able to before.
And… I think that’s a pretty fair overview of My Teaching Word, which will continue to be on hold until September 1st. I’m using my summer vacation as best as I can, and look forward to trips with my friends, afternoons at the gym, visits to the movie theater, and days at The Beach.
I’ll leave you with some pictures from the summer.
Making curry and rice.
I enjoy taking pictures of fire.
This would be more fire.
Fire in Flower Form
FC Bayern Deutschermeister ja so heißt er mein Verein,
Ja so war es und so ist es und so wird es immer sein
Let’s 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.
Thank God for chocolate chip cookies. February 14, 2010
Posted by Earthdragonette in Apologies, Just Bizarre, Lessons Learned, Student Moments.Tags: avatar, elementary school, elementary students, emo, fievel, Japan, Japanese, Mary Sunshine, my little monkey, sixth years, teaching get, The Mentor, The Savant, update
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Because they are what saved my sanity this week.
I apologize for more or less taking a week off from writing. This week was a bit “difficult,” because I was “feeling culture shock” and so slightly “emo.”
When I first got to Japan, I clung to the belief that the longer I was here, the less I would suffer from culture shock. This is both true and not true. Although it doesn’t happen to me as often as it did when I first arrived, there are still moments when I feel confused, overwhelmed, misunderstood, and unappreciated. I think the more that time passes, the more my culture shock manifests when I feel as though my schools are taking advantage of me or being even ever-so-slightly condescending about my foreigner status. Once the month of February begins, the chances of me getting this kind of culture shock increase exponentially. For a variety of reasons (which I will not go into, but one of them happens to be that all of my pets tend to die in February), I am not a fan of the second month of the year.
And on that note, let’s move on…
So we appear to be seven memories behind schedule. To keep this from becoming unnecessarily long, we’ll just quickly go day by day.
Monday
This was the beginning of my Ms. Grumpy McGrumpgrump phase, so looking back on this all I really recall is a dark cloud of … er, grumpiness. One saving grace about the day, though, happened when I went by Thursday’s elementary school to talk to The Mentor about the class we were going to have on Wednesday. When I arrived, the teachers at the school were extremely friendly and welcoming. Even The Mentor, who occasionally bristles at me interrupting his afternoon plans so we can chat, was happy to see me and quite helpful.
Tuesday
This was one of those days where I Did. Not. Want. To. Go. To. Work. This happens very rarely, and even I was surprised by the vehemence of my emotions. Still, I pulled myself together and managed to get out the door and to school. I’m glad that I was able to do this, because the class I had with The Savant, Mary Sunshine, The Boss, Hyde, and The Policeman was worth it. More than worth it. It’s probably the best class I’ve ever had with them, and we’ve had some pretty amazing ones.
The kids have been testing a lot lately, and so I thought a free day with a music video and a trivia/review game would be good therapy for them. I was right, and we all really enjoyed the activities. I’m not sure if the kids were inspired, insane, or perhaps some combination of the two. Whatever it was, they were hilarious. The Savant took it upon himself to police and overly analyze every team’s answer to every question given, and he challenged me on obscure grammatical points. The Boss kept flattering me in an attempt to get me to call on his team again after they’d given an incorrect answer. At one point Hyde tackled The Savant in an attempt to keep him from answering a question. I don’t think I’ve ever laughed so hard in class before. Those 50 minutes made my week.
Wednesday
This was a pretty standard day at Thursday’s elementary school. I was here a day early because we had a holiday on Thursday, and so my schedule shifted around a bit. Anyway, after school, I spent a rather enjoyable fifteen minutes goofing off with Fievel and his brother, who had to stay behind to wait for their bus. The War Between Fievel and My Little Monkey has more or less resolved into a stalemate. When The Monkey is around, Fievel tends to make himself scarce, and when Fievel is around, The Monkey quickly loses interest. Usually Fievel gets to me first, and so I haven’t had a chance to see The Monkey a lot since the third term started. Still, both are around to some degree and both still regard me as a walking, talking jungle gym.
Wednesday was also noteworthy because I got to see Avatar for a third time. ^_____^
Thursday
I was thankful because my second visit to the dentist to deal with this root canal treatment went well. Days without tooth pain are, by default, good days.
Friday
This was spent at, not surprisingly, Friday’s elementary school. Although I’m tempted to use some time I spent with my sixth years as this day’s memory, something else happened that was more exciting.
On Wednesday of last week, the teachers at Friday’s elementary school had a meeting about the English program. I wasn’t able to attend the meeting (mostly because I wasn’t invited), but the principal came by my desk on Friday to talk to me about it. To make a long conversation short, here’s what she told me:
1) The fifth and sixth grade teachers want more of my input regarding their lessons during this next school year.
2) The first through fourth grade teachers are also willing to make more time to talk to me prior to our classes.
3) The teachers are interested in having me involved in other subjects besides English.
Yeah, number three made me do a double take, too. I was most definitely *not* expecting that little gem.
So, here’s the story as far as I understand it. The teachers know that my plan is to go back to the States to teach, and they’ve noticed that I’ve been going to a lot of the training seminars and lectures around town. I suppose this has made an impression on them, because now they’re interested in having me in more of a “ALT/Teacher in Training” role. I think the rationale here is that it will give me an opportunity to get more experience, and it will also create a closer working relationship between the homeroom teachers and me. With this system, they’ll feel a bit more comfortable around me and we can talk more about what could happen in the English lessons.
To make this happen, I think the plan is for me to start observing some of the regular language arts and math classes. If things go well and I begin to get involved, then the school is open to me eventually trying my hand at teaching a lesson or two myself. I didn’t even know that this opportunity was possible, and I’m really excited about it. As you can probably surmise, this news did a lot to soften the negative mood I’d been in throughout the week.
And seeing Avatar a fourth time didn’t hurt, either. ^_^
Saturday
This was a very lazy day for me. I made chocolate chip cookies and made more plans for Spring Break. As of now, my plan is to head up to Osaka on March 26th and stay for a couple of nights. I have an appointment at day spa for Saturday morning and tickets to see Wicked on Saturday night. I am very, very, very excited about this trip. I am also very, very, very happy that I’ve been able to arrange the details of this trip by myself.
Sunday
I spent the morning getting some things together for school and then went to watch open lessons at my Friday elementary school in the afternoon. (Open lessons are lessons held for the parents to observe.) I had a rather hilarious ten minute giggle-fest with my sixth year students before their lesson began, and that episode combined with a rather fantastic lecture that I heard in the afternoon helped to round out my ascent from the depths of Grumpy.
This next week is going to be somewhat long and intense. I have (as usual) a lot of things I need to get planned and made, and then next Saturday I’m going to a day-long seminar on elementary English. Hopefully, this will give me some fresh ideas and perspective.
And hopefully, I’ll be able to keep all of you with me along the way this time. ^_~
Tan sólo he venido
a estar contigo
a ser tu amigo
a compartir con mi Dios
“First, us. Then you can go home.” January 12, 2010
Posted by Earthdragonette in Julie Gets Philosophical, Student Moments.Tags: fievel, homesickness, Japan, Mary Sunshine, The Savant, video games, winter term
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The title for today’s post was brought to you by Mary Sunshine, who, sensing that I am still somewhat suffering from homesickness and am more mentally aligned with Oklahoma instead of Okinawa, offered me her point of view.
I debated whether or not I should let my students know that I’m feeling pangs for my homeland. On one hand, I don’t want them to think that I’m not happy to see them (because I am), but on the other hand, there is a significant part of me that has yet to return to Japan. It’s not having an effect on my work or anything, but it means that it’s hard for me to focus on certain things like, say, Japanese culture. Here’s an example: My students have been nudging me to watch T.V. in the evenings so that I’ll have more of an idea of what they’re interested in. This is a fantastic idea, but kind of difficult for me because I don’t like television. Since my return from the States, committing to this idea has become even more problematic, because I’d rather spend the evening listening to recordings of The Reduce Shakespeare Company’s radio show. Or reading short stories by Hermann Hesse. Or making pierogies. You get the idea.
Anyway, I opted for the route-of-honesty, and was rewarded with honesty in return. Mary Sunshine and I discussed my trip during lunch and during cleaning time today, and she was definitely what the doctor ordered: interested in what I did, curious about the deeper significance of it all, and adamant that I need to finish my business here before she (and the rest of the students) will “let me leave.”
That conversation, combined with The Savant’s almost impossible to understand summary of his first ten hours in the new Kingdom Heart’s game, and the brief conversation I had with Fievel when I stopped by the elementary school in the afternoon, did a lot to soothe some of the aches and pains of the recent transitions. They’re all small, yet unquestionably profound reminders that I have a role here. There are people who wake up in the mornings and look forward to seeing me.
I can’t really ask for any more than that.
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
My children abuse me because they love me. December 10, 2009
Posted by Earthdragonette in Student Moments.Tags: elementary students, fall term, fievel, Japan, Japanese, my little monkey
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Seriously, though. I’m starting to wonder if there’s such a thing as helping a child acquire too much confidence.
Today’s memory (which I don’t have a lot of time to write about, unfortunately) comes from Fievel, who is now just plain cheeky when it comes to our interactions. He has long since soundly defeated My Little Monkey in the battle for my attention during recess, and he is positively gloating about it. The Monkey’s dignity can be seen stretched out between long posts on any given beach in Japan, much in the manner that the Greeks used to set up trophies with articles gathered from their vanquished foes.
Still, I really enjoy this feistier, snarkier Fievel. He’s positively hilarious. Below is a sample of some of today’s interactions:
Fievel: Ask me an English question.
Me: Okay, do you have money?
Fievel: Yes, I do.
Me: Can I have some?
Fievel: No way.*
*Please note that this “No way” was probably the most definite “no way” that he could’ve given me. Its meaning actually surpasses the simple sense of “No way,” and lands somewhere in the realm of: “No way, you have to be kidding me, I wouldn’t give you money if you were blind, barefoot, covered in your own filth and attracting carrion, in the rain, struggling uphill. In the cold.” **
**Also please note that after he answered me in this fashion, he immediately began to search my folders for a sticker.
Another interaction:
Fievel: I want another question.
Me: No way.*** You’ve already gotten, like, fifteen stickers today. I’m cutting you off. You’re becoming an addict.
Fievel: I’ve only gotten eleven! ****
***Note that this was a polite version of “No way.”
****Also please note that a single sticker card only has places for twenty stickers. Apparently finishing half a card in less than a day when he doesn’t even HAVE English class is too slow for some people.
Fievel was also entertaining because his desire to remain an entire sticker card ahead of his brother is so strong, that any time his brother was denied an extra chance to get a sticker (which happened anytime a new person came along that wanted to talk to me), he would chortle with glee. I chose that word specifically for this situation, mind you. It wasn’t a giggle. It wasn’t a chuckle. It wasn’t a guffaw or a snort or a snicker. So help me God, he chortled, and danced around, swinging my arms in time with his steps. I probably needn’t add that he did this with an expression of absolute triumph.
But by far, the highlight of my day happened right near the end of the lunch recess. Fievel and his brother were both hanging around, trying to get one last sticker out of me before cleaning time started. Eventually, I decided that the best way to settle this would be to pit them against each other in an “English Alphabet Writing” competition. I wrote out the letters A through L on the board and gave them both a marker. Fievel was visibly agitated, and with good reason: he actually doesn’t know how to write English letters and his brother has been working with them for most of the year. I could see that he felt as though I were throwing him to the wolves.
Imagine his shock when, after telling them to start, I grabbed his hand and started drawing the letters for him. We went through the big letters, the small letters, and then I threw in the Greek alphabet just to be extra ridiculous. His brother didn’t have a chance in the world, and he couldn’t decide if he was amused or indignant. Fievel was caught between unstoppable laughter and acute embarrassment; I admit it was all quite the spectacle. After it was over, he turned to me and said: “I can’t believe that just happened.”
Welcome to my world, little guy.
Let’s Try Version 2.0 November 28, 2009
Posted by Earthdragonette in Julie Gets Philosophical, Student Moments.Tags: elementary students, fall term, fievel, Japan, Japanese, letters, shopping, The Japanese Best Friend, The Mentor
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Okay, and here we are!
I hope that everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving holiday. I was fortunate enough to speak with some of you and I’m looking forward to catching up even more when I visit the States next month! (Only twenty-four days to go!)
I’ve done a little bit of thinking since I last posted, and I’ve made a few decisions regarding this blog. Since I already have a few months behind me (and a group of people who seem to enjoy reading my posts), it seems silly to stop production now only to then pick up again in April.
Still, the old theme of “365 Days, 365 memories” is no longer applicable. Faced with Writers Block and a Thematic Drought of sorts, I have turned to the wisdom of Douglas Adams and found this remarkable little quote:
“I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I intended to be.”
I think that this sums up the last three and a half years quite nicely. People often ask me about the ideas that I had about Japan before I came here, and how they’ve changed since then. That is a very difficult question (with a long and windy answer), but the shortest response I have is, well, more or less that very quote. Did I intend to work 60+ hour work weeks? Did I intend to find a family? Did I intend to get into designer purses? Did I intend to switch careers in a drastic way not once but twice? Did I intend to love, worry, angst, and fawn over my students?
No, not really. But I do. I do, and the kind of experience I’m having as a result is, I think, the kind of experience that I really wanted to have when I got on that airplane three and a half years ago.
And, as I said last August, the time has come to share it. Granted, my days aren’t always interesting, always positive, always funny, or always immediately insightful or obviously meaningful. Still, you’re all welcome to take a deeper look into what it is that I do and the world that I have created/been invited to live in. Consider this an invitation for the next seventeen months. I suspect at the end of this, we’ll all find ourselves having gone places we didn’t intend to go yet having ended up where we wanted to be.
All off that being said, what memories do I have from the last few days?
Thursday
Thursday was interesting because the elementary school was still out of sorts thanks to the flu. The third and sixth grade classes were suspended until Friday, and both the third and sixth grade home room teachers were sick and at home (this includes The Mentor, who hasn’t been sick a single day in the entire time I’ve known him). I’m not sure why the flu is so bad this year; it really is having its way with the people of my town. Every year the season is kind of intense, and it’s not unusual for a grade or two to be sent home for a few days. This year, though, we’ve had several school-wide shutdowns and major meetings and festivals have had to be cancelled.
I’m also not sure why I am still healthy. I thought about this a lot on Thursday. Out of all the teachers in town, because I visit so many schools and encounter so many different sets of germs (and am usually a Magnet for Hugs, Piggyback Rides, and Hand Holding) I’ve long been of the opinion that illness is inevitable. Yet, as of November 28th, I appear to be fine.
The only reasons I can think of for my good fortune are a) I’ve already had this strain of influenza (or one close enough to it so that my body has managed to defend itself), b) my diet/lifestyle is somehow helping me combat this or c) I have been blessed by an unseen and unknown divine entity who will eventually become upset at my lack of gratitude and rain pneumonia and primordial fire down on me.
Anyway, with the third years out on Thursday, this meant that Fievel was absent from the day’s activities. His older brother, however, was at school and he gleefully spent every spare moment he had with me in the attempt to collect as many stickers as possible. (I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned this or not, but my students get stickers for talking to me in English. They put the stickers on their card and then redeem the card for prizes. Anyway.) Fievel is currently in the middle of his 9th sticker card, while the brother is just finishing his 8th. The competition between the two is fierce, but as long as Fievel keeps writing me letters, his lead is pretty much guaranteed. Watching his old brother’s efforts to try and catch up (however futile they may be) was pretty entertaining.
Friday
After last week’s Lesson Marathon, it was nice to have a relatively relaxed day at Friday’s Elementary School. This is the school where the students really like to write me letters, and my memory from Friday is related to this, and involves a new character.
Yoshi
Yoshi is a sixth grade student and has only recently become a major figure. Towards the end of the first term, he decided that he was really interested in English after all, and he began to write letters to me. Yoshi’s overall enthusiasm is fairly constant, and he always comes to talk to me during breaks. He has also become more forceful and outgoing in class. I mentioned that last month I had to do two classes by myself, and he was a big help to me in explaining the activities and organizing the kids for the games that we did.
Anyway, his recent letters have become slightly lackluster since his responses to my questions haven’t been much more than one-word blurbs (usually in Japanese). So when I wrote my most recent response to him, I kind of prodded him for a longer, more proper letter. I also included a blank sheet of paper so that he could use that for writing to me (he’s been writing his responses on the letters that I’ve written to him).
After I gave him the letter, though, I started to worry that I’d been too strict, and that he would blow me off. So, I was really happy when he showed up after school with the kind of letter that I’d been hoping for. A full page of English and Japanese with actual answers to the questions that I’d asked.
My position here is strange because although I’m a teacher, I don’t always carry authority. Many of my students probably see me more as an older sister figure. As such, it was nice to see him do something because I’d asked it of him.
Saturday
-_-;; I have a really busy week coming up. So, I more or less used Saturday to catch up on work. I spent a lot of time working on letters to my elementary school students. I know that I talk about these letters a lot (they are a huge part of the work I do for the elementary schools), so I’ve decided to copy one of them for your enjoyment. This one is from a fourth year student – she’s the best letter writer that I have. ^__^ If the words are in bold, it means that she actually wrote that part in English. Anything else was, of course, in Japanese. ^_^
(The letter may seem a little spastic, but it’s because she was responding to things that I wrote my last letter to her.)
Dear Julie,
Thank you for always writing me letters!
By any chance, is Dostoyevsky the author of the book that you’re reading now?
If that’s the case, then we have a book called “The Brothers Karamazov” at my house.
I think the cover looks really scary.
If you’re talking about fall foods, then I really like tangerines!
I eat one a day.
It sounds like you really like them, too!
In fall, I like chestnuts, yams, apples, and persimmons.
My future dream is to speak English fluently.
I also want to be a really good piano player.
(By the way, your letter set is really cute!)
Your Japanese is really good!
You study it a lot, don’t you?
I want to go to America when I grow up.
Where do you think I should go?
You want to study Polish?
When do you think you’ll do that?
How many people are in your family?
I have four people in my family.
I have a mother, father, and little brother.
See you!
A lot of the letters that I get are along those lines. Although, obviously, not all of them reference Russian literature. (Incidentally, I’m actually reading Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina.)
So, yes, Saturday was spent answering letters like that. And Sunday … Sunday will be for more work. I have a lot to do as far as getting ready for this week of chaos. Lessons, meetings, seminars, and Thanksgiving dinner await.
Still, as I said, I think it’s right where I intended to be.
In a parallel universe, I update my blog every day. Part II. November 15, 2009
Posted by Earthdragonette in Apologies, Julie Gets Philosophical, Just Bizarre, Lessons Learned, Student Moments.Tags: Aunt Mia, culture festival, dancing, elementary students, fall term, fievel, Japan, Japanese, Jyona33, karaoke, late posts, meetings, mochi, my little monkey, old middle school, Rocko, The Mentor, thursday elementary school, Two Terrific Teachers
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I hope you took the opportunity to stretch your legs, get a beverage, grab a snack, let the dog (or cat) out during our break.
Now, back to my attempts to end Rampant Procrastination.
#11: I Guess I Like Attention?
I do write a blog (kind of…) after all. In fact, I think that liking attention is a requirement if one wants to be a teacher. Those who feel unnerved by many sets of curious eyes on their person, seeking wisdom, answers, and snark need not apply. That sort of thing.
So, given this personality quirk that I have, it makes sense that I would want to find a way to participate in the middle school culture festival, which I did by dancing during a very brief talent show segment. The schedule for the festival went thusly:
9:00: Opening Ceremony
~ Performance from the elective music classes (students performed on traditional Japanese instruments)
~ Speeches from 10 students about a variety of topics
~ Presentation from the student health committee on drug abuse
~ Presentation from each grade
~ First years: 20 second speeches about their first year in middle school
~ Second years: small play about an activity they’ll be doing this month (For two days, they’re going to go out and work in a variety of the town’s businesses. They’ll work in everything ranging from restaurants to hospitals to gas stations.)
~ Third years: presentation about their trip to Tokyo last April
~ Lunch break (At about 11:15)
~ Huge BINGO Game
~ 1:00: Talent show (which included my dance)
~ Afternoon chorus competition between the different classes
~ Special Guest: Traditional Japanese storyteller
~ 3:30: Closing Ceremony
And that was pretty much it. I wandered around for most of the day, taking pictures and talking to students and their families. My dance was something I’d put together myself, set to Chris Brown’s Forever. I think it went quite well – the kids certainly had fun with it.
#12: Reasons that I love karaoke
I’m not the best of singers, but I do like to do it. Unfortunately, I’ve found more often than not that karaoke in the States is a very public, very embarrassing, and often very unpleasant experience. The Japanese karaoke experience is totally different, especially if you go to a karaoke establishment. You get your own room, your own television/stereo equipment, and you can use a phone in the room to order a variety of refreshments. Jyona33 and I probably owe the success of our friendship to Disney duets and Bonnie Tyler.
Recently, I went out with Rocko, and I’ll go ahead and let you know that the boy has game. He can rap. Seriously. I will admit to my superiority on Sir Mix-A-Lot’s Baby Got Back, but that’s about it. For the real deal, you need to hook up with 50cent, Eminem, and Rocko.
#13: The growing dichotomy that is my life
This isn’t a specific moment exactly, but rather a growing feeling I’ve had over the last month. Put very simply: I go to work and immerse myself in whatever school I happen to be in. I play around with my students, discuss a variety of topics with the teachers, go to planning meetings and training seminars, have dinner with friends on weekends, dance my heart out on Wednesdays and Sundays, and sometimes speak coherent and intelligent Japanese.
I also spend hours talking to friends on Skype, read Anna Karenina, memorize Shakespeare (because everybody should), stalk Jay Sean’s new singles, and have dreams of somehow marrying Stephen Colbert.
Sometimes, I’m not exactly sure which country I’m living in, or which world for that matter.
#14: Visiting old friends… my second culture festival
I’ve talked on occasion about The Middle School That Closed. Earlier this month, my town’s new middle school (the one that resulted from the merger of the three that closed) had their first culture festival. I wanted to see my old students, so I decided to attend. I didn’t stay for very long – just long enough to see their morning speeches and performances. They also had their chorus competition in the morning, and that was very cute. Aunt Mia was present, and she and I had the chance to talk a little before she had to run off. I still predict that she is somehow going to end up godmother to my children.
#15: And The Flu shall have no dominion (over me)…
Although it’s everywhere. My schools have been cancelling classes left and right and it’s been weeks since all of the grades have been present at the same time. Two weeks ago all of my third year JHS students were sent home for the week (14 had the flu) and then last week my second years were shut out (10 cases there). It’s the second time this year that my second years have had this happen to them. The teachers are really stressed because everyone is behind in their lessons, but the students are obviously enjoying all of this vacation time.
So far, by some miracle, I’ve managed to stay healthy. I had a scare two weeks ago, because I started to feel out of sorts. I’m not exactly sure what it was, but it passed by without making too much of a fuss, and I’ve remained well enough to venture into the wild and germy frontier. I still predict that I’m going to get Swine Flu.
#16: Fievel VS The Monkey, Part 2
I think it was on the 5th of November that I saw Fievel make an actual claim on me in front of The Monkey. It really stands out in my memory, though, because it just showed how feisty my previously silent one is becoming.
The students had to leave school early because of a big meeting that the teachers were preparing for. I had my work more or less under control, and so I spent some time with the kids while they were waiting for the last bus of the day. Fievel decided to assert his newfound power over me and asked me to give him a piggyback ride. The Monkey saw this, got jealous, and tried to interrupt the whole process.
I kid you not – as soon as The Monkey tried to block Fievel and climb on my back, Fievel looked at him and said (quite clearly and without any hesitation whatsoever): “NO. MONKEY DOWN!”
Success! English has been acquired!!!
#17: Playing With The Big Kids
On November 6th, my Thursday elementary school had a huge meeting that most of the teachers in my district were invited to attend. All of the teachers were required to have open lessons, which were then followed by a lecture from the 5th and 6th grade teachers. After a small break, everyone broke up into smaller groups to ask the home room teachers questions about their lessons.
Although I don’t always understand everything that’s said at these functions, I like to go because, well, it’s an opportunity to learn more about teaching theory (which is where I am admittedly pretty weak). For the open lesson and small meeting portions, I stuck close to The Mentor, since I find his lessons to be consistently well planned and executed.
Overall, I really enjoyed the meeting. I also enjoyed the Celebrity Effect, because a lot of people were not expecting me to be there, and I got to see my presence distract them from their own lives (if only momentarily). I found the overall theme of the meeting to be extremely interesting. It focused on a teaching model by which students are encouraged to approach problems individually, and then through their own efforts and discussion with their classmates, broaden and deepen their knowledge of the given subject. The open lessons were supposed to be examples of this model in action, and then the last meetings of the days were opportunities for other educators to respond to the model and to the way that the school is trying to implement it.
It’s a little frustrating for me, because there are so many things that I wish I could ask or discuss with my fellow teachers, but that kind of Japanese is still out of my reach. Still, I think that I benefitted from attending the meeting. I particularly enjoyed sitting next to one of the Two Terrific Teachers and being his comment partner through the last meeting. Do not be fooled – Japanese people are polite, but snark exists in this culture and it is alive and well. ^o^
#18: If you haven’t ever made sweet potato, tofu, and coconut milk curry…
…then you should, because it is delicious. It is so delicious that it actually qualifies as a memory from this fall season. I make it once a week, eat it for two or three days, and enjoy a slice of nirvana. When I look back on Autumn of 2009, I will most assuredly recall sweet potato and coconut milk curry.
#19: It’s Sunday – let’s go to a festival!
My third festival of the year was at my Friday elementary school. The schedule for this festival was a little different from the one that my middle school had:
~9:00, opening ceremony
~ Fun Corner (1 hour)
~ Mochi Making Event
~ Lunch and Recess
~ Fun Corner #2 (40 minutes)
~ Closing ceremony (at about 2:00)
The Fun Corners were a series of stations set up around the school that the students went to. There was a jump rope station, a juggling station, a station for playing with traditional Japanese toys (kendama and spinning tops), a station for origami, and one for wood crafting. I spent a lot of my time with the origami corner, where my superior motor skills were invaluable to the first and second year students. I had a very odd moment where I looked around and realized that I (the American) was actually leading Japanese school children through the origami process. I suppose that sometimes, authority figures are authority figures regardless of nationality.
(Also, just to squeeze this in here: mochi is a rice cake that’s made by pounding down a special kind of cooked rice. By itself it doesn’t have much of a taste, but it’s often eaten with special soy powder, fruit, or red bean paste. Fresh mochi is a gift from the gods, and I’m so happy that I have an elementary school where they make it once a year.)
#20: Did I say this before? Sometimes I am not very smart.
I’ve asked my Thursday elementary school if I can dance at their culture festival. I’ve yet to hear back from them, but I hope that they’re willing to indulge me as I really want to contribute something to the day. Besides, it gives me an excuse to make up a new dance routine.
In a parallel universe, I update my blog every day. Part I. November 15, 2009
Posted by Earthdragonette in Apologies, Dance Troupe, Just Bizarre, Student Moments, Taking Initiative.Tags: culture festival, d.j. ozma, d.j. ozma jr., dance practice, Dance Troupe, elementary students, fall term, fievel, ice cream, Japan, Japanese, michael jackson, my little monkey, Rocko, thriller
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Unfortunately, that universe is so close to me, and yet so far away. Following Brian Greene / Elegant Universe – esque jargon, that universe and my universe are slices of cosmic bread on the cutting board of reality. Unfortunately, those slices are completely oblivious to each other, except in a vague way that occasionally inspires the bittersweet and humbling taste of guilt.
It’s sort of what I feel whenever I forget to answer e-mail (also one of my well-known vices…)
Ahem.
So, welcome back! How are you today?
Things have been quite busy, as usual. Let’s skip the chitchat and get down to business. I have 26 memories that need to be announced and elaborated on. To break it up a bit, and keep things from getting too long winded (too late…), I’ve got ten listed here, another ten listed in Part II, and the last six (AS WELL AS AN ABSOLUTELY FASCINATING ANNOUNCEMENT) in Part III.
Apologies as usual for the “Lists and Lists Galore” method of blogging that I seem to be embracing. ^_^;;
Here we go!
#1: October 21st: Dance Practice Hilarity
This was a dance practice that we held before a pretty substantial festival that we went to the following weekend. We all already knew the dance that we were going to do (D.J. Ozma’s Macchibo), and so we spent two hours sitting around, talking, and occasionally practicing the dance. At one point, we decided to work on our timing, and so we did the dance while standing in a circle. This was hard for me, though, because seeing everyone else dancing mirror-image fashion really confused me. I pointed this out, and one of the troupe members turned around and did the dance with his back to me, thus prompting a flurry of comments about his backside and me complaining just so that he’d turn around and give me a chance to look at it.
-__-;;;
There are times when I wish I didn’t understand Japanese. Although the whole thing was, admittedly, pretty hilarious.
#2: Fievel VS My Little Monkey Saga: Part I
As I pointed out in an earlier post, Fievel is becoming bolder, and I began to wonder at one point he and My Little Monkey would run into conflict with each other. I was right to expect some overlap, but surprised that Fievel is turning out to be the winner in the Epic Battle for Julie’s Love and Attention. The thing about My Little Monkey is that, while he is a persistent little monkey, he is also easily distracted, and if I don’t respond to his demands/requests/questions/comments/concerns RIGHT WHEN HE HAS THEM, then there is a chance (however slim) that he will lose interest in me and go off somewhere else.
Fievel, however, is constant, and never, EVER loses interest. Every possible break that exists in the school’s schedule, he darts to my side, English sticker card in hand. And he doesn’t leave. Come rain or hail or sleet or snow, the child simply refuses to go.
(Sorry about that.)
Seriously, though, he is, at present, the victor in the Fievel VS Monkey battle, if only because he just never gets up and eagerly seizes on any spare moments of attention that My Little Monkey’s absence allows. Also, he gets bonus points for being infinitely lighter than the Monkey, so I’m more willing to entertain his requests to be carried around.
You know, there are some days where I wonder if I mightn’t be a jungle gym.
#3: Disturbing Yet Heartfelt Movies are Disturbing Yet Heartfelt
I’ve been hanging out a lot with Rocko lately, and so he took the opportunity a few weeks ago to show me some of his favorite movies. One of them, It’s All Gone Pete Tong, was one of those movies that I started out kind of disliking, but then fell in love with. It’s, more or less, about a drugged out D.J. that loses his hearing and eventually finds a path to a redemption of sorts. It was extremely interesting, but one of those films that stayed with me for a while. Rocko felt the need to show me Children of Men the day after we watched It’s All Gone Pete Tong, and so by the time I went home that weekend, I was kind of in a state where I questioned my existence and the value of reality.
Because, you know, that’s what you do sometimes.
#4: A Significant Way That The Universe Wins: Baskin Robins Is In Japan
And not only that, but I was able to get Halloween flavors. Although, to be honest, I like their regular chocolate flavors better.
That’s pretty much it. I just like ice cream.
#5: Serious Bonding With the Dance Troupe
October 25th, the troupe all piled into a couple of cars and we drove down to Owase to celebrate the seventh annual Kumano Kodo festival. It wasn’t all that large, but there were a really large number of dance troupes there, so I was able to see a lot of different dancing styles throughout the day. There were some that were obviously influenced by Chinese dance styles, and then one group did a pretty respectable version of Michael Jackson’s Thriller (I was particularly fond of that one).
The day was really, really cold and rainy, though, and so when we weren’t dancing (we had a three-hour break at one point), we all huddled inside one of the buildings, ate festival food, talked, and occasionally napped. It was really relaxed and reminded me a lot of the trips that I went on when I was in band in high school. I also spent some time with D.J. Ozma Jr. – we played cards and, at one point, played catch with a ball that was in the shape of Doraemon’s head.
#6: Culture Festival Preparations Are Fun
The culture festival for my middle school was on Halloween, and so the week up to it we were all busy trying to clean and decorate the school, finish art projects, put the final touches on musical performances, and occasionally sleep. Every year that I’ve been in Japan, I’ve done a performance with the music club, but since the club doesn’t really exist anymore, I haven’t been doing anything this year. This left me with a little (a very little) free time, and so I was able to spend my afternoons wandering around and helping various student committees.
My favorite afternoon was the one that I spent with the student government. Every year, the school puts together a huge mural of 105 individual sheets of paper that, together, make a large and elaborate design (the art teacher likes me, and so I always get to do a piece of the mural, too). Anyway, the student government is responsible for assembling this to some extent, and I decided to help them out. It took us a couple of hours to tape everything together and get it ready to transport to the gym, but we had a really great time together. They’re all intelligent, somewhat quiet second year boys, but they were super lively when we worked together. We spent a lot of time joking around in English and Japanese. (They really surprised me with how much English they wanted to use around me).
It was an unexpected and lovely afternoon.
#7: No, Really, I Enjoy This
I must, because the week before the middle school culture festival, I averaged about 3.5 hours of sleep per night. This was due to trying to get my part of the mural finished, to practicing a dance that I performed for the students, to staying on top of my work, and also to doing some extra special Halloween-related preparations for my elementary schools.
God, I love coffee. And my students.
#8: Darkness falls across the land…
So, every year, I show my first year JHS students Michael Jackson’s Thriller. It’s short, sweet, and relatively easy to understand even if the students don’t have a Japanese translation in front of them (which I did provide them with this year, but still).
This year, though, my first year students have a very special, very intense love for the King of Pop. I think that knowing about him before his death made that unfortunate event more meaningful. It seems to me that they hold him as some kind of symbol of the English world and the link that they have to it. He’s their favorite artist to watch, and every time they see the projector set up for class, they hope that they’re going to see another one of his songs.
Anyway, given this interest, I decided that this year, I wanted to make the Thriller lesson a little more extensive and interesting. So, after we watched the music video, I gave them a copy of the spoken section (the part where Vincent Price scares everybody … ever). You know the part:
Darkness falls across the land
The midnight hour is close at hand
Creatures crawl in search of blood
To terrorize y’alls neighborhood…
I told the students that they had to memorize four lines of it and recite it to me for a speaking check. The bonus for them was that for every extra line that they memorized, they would receive two extra credit points. At first, the students were skeptical – although I made the worksheet in such a way that they could read the English words, they didn’t understand a lot of them, and I think that the idea of a recital really made them nervous.
But, they pulled through, and quite well! The activity turned out to be surprisingly popular – especially because they got to chant about blood, death, and zombies (which are all subjects that teenagers enjoy to some degree). (One student did manage to memorize the whole thing…)
I was vastly entertained whenever I heard them practicing in the hallways during cleaning time. It was particularly funny because as soon as one student would start, others would join in. I’m only half-joking when I say that at one point I began to have serious concerns about my students inadvertently raising the dead.
Luckily, though, that does not seem to have happened.
#9: I Turned My Kids into Animals
Halloween really is a great time of year for English lessons. As you saw earlier, it gives me an opportunity to be slightly wackier and more creative than usual.
This year, I switched my curriculum around so that my first and second year elementary students would be studying animals during the month of October. This was the perfect backdrop to, well, dressing up like a witch, turning on some Disney Parade music (which all of my students identified before the first measure had finished), and “casting a spell” that turned them into a variety of animals. It was something that my music teacher did when I was in first and second grade, and I thought that my students would like it, too.
I turned out to be right, although I’m still fending off questions as to why I drive to school when I claim to be able to fly on a broom. Children are such curious little beings, aren’t they? They also don’t forget anything.
#10: I Also Wore a Gypsy Costume
This was part of my strategy for the activity described in #9. With a few modifications, it easily doubled as a witch’s costume. I was really nervous about wearing it to school, though, because it looked pretty ridiculous to me and I thought that my schools might object to it on the grounds of it looking unprofessional.
Imagine my shock, however, upon discovering that all of my co-workers loved this dress. I guess they thought it was really cute, and they told me that it was the kind of outfit I should feel free to wear every day. I walked around for two days feeling like a small, vulnerable puppy dog that everybody wanted to take home with them. It was surreal, and just goes to show how this country can still surprise me – even after almost three and a half years.
Where I Intended to Be 