Live from Japan!

This little gem, comes from a groovy little ’50s style american diner we found this weekend in Nagoya. I don’t know how long it is that women’s hearts wait. But this guy, he waits longer.

Also, apparently today is National Grammar Day. I found this out by way of Jill, who oddly seems to have posted about it in the wee hours of the morning on March the 3, not March the 4. I won’t give her too much of a hard time, however, as this is National Grammar Day, not National Calendar Day.

I am not even sure if I can officially celebrate this day, as I am not in the USA. I suppose there are also those who would rather I not participate, because I am becoming an anti-“grammar nazi”. I will, however, say a few things about grammar, and the world of english grammar here in japan. (As an english teacher, perhaps I am entitled?)

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At my school I have an oral communications textbook that I have to follow loosely. The book is broken up into chapters and each chapter focuses on a particular common conversation. I am expected to use those conversations as a jumping off point for developing and creating my own lessons on the topic.

The most recent topic was talking about your hometown, where you are from. I used this as a starting point for creating the travel posters that you see in the photo above.

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So, the unthinkable has happened. We are staying in Gifu for a second year. Actually, I will admit, staying a second year was only unthinkable to me while I was on the airplane to Japan and for about the first six weeks living in Gifu. Ever since that initial adjustment period was over, I have been pretty convinced that a second year was the right choice for us. Even though it seems like the right choice, it doesn’t mean that it was easy. I still have very mixed feelings about staying here another 18 months, and I still second guess the decision we made. Even with the second guessing, the paperwork has been signed and all there is to do is ride out the next 18 months and see what else Japan has to offer us.

Anyways, for those of you that are even mildly interested in some of the factors that I considered while making this decision, feel free to read on.

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On Friday the atmosphere around school was a little different than usual. The students were a bit more uptight, especially the 3rd year students. The teachers were a little quieter. As a foreigner, I often have a difficult time understanding what is going on around me. Usually I can catch the “vibe” or the general mood, but it is rare that I understand the cause of that mood and Friday was no exception.

On Friday the teacher that sits next to me in the staff room had a giant bag of Kit Kat candy bars on her desk. After lunch she handed me one. I was surprised to find out that the reasons why she had the huge bag of candy bars also explained the different atmosphere around school.

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If you would have asked me how I felt on Tuesday morning (Monday we didn’t work, it was a national holiday) I would have told you that I was totally, completely filled with dread. There have only been a handful of times in my life when I have felt this way and Tuesday morning was definitely one of them. As Aaron and I ate breakfast that morning, I looked at him and with big deer-in-the-headlights eyes and said, “This week is almost over, right?” As much as he wanted to humor me, he simply couldn’t. “No, in fact, it hasn’t even started yet.”

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Part of my job at Gifu Kita is teaching American culture in addition to the English language. Sometimes I am asked to do lessons on American holidays and traditions. Since the New Year was coming up, we did a really fun lesson comparing American New Year traditions to Japanese traditions. It was actually quite interesting and fun for me to learn more about how my students celebrate.

Turns out, both cultures create resolutions or hopes and wishes for the New Year. So, as a final writing exercise at the end of the class, students had to tell me about their resolution in English.

This was a good activity for them because they had already given some thought to this before I asked them to write. Also, I enjoyed the process of reading and responding to each one. It gave me a lot of insight into the experiences of my students – what they are concerned about and what they hope for.

I thought I would share a few of them with you.

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It is interesting, I have been emailed on several occasions by different people saying that our blog is inspiring, that we manage to be so positive about everything that we are experiencing. That is not a result of everything being perfect and wonderful and shiny here, I assure you. It is a result of the fact that we have made a conscious decision to make this a mostly positive place. It is a little space on the internet where we write and reflect on the interesting and enjoyable moments that we have experienced. It is a place where I, also, look to remind me of all the good things that I have experienced as a result of being here. I reread posts, especially when I am having a particularly bad day, and it helps me refresh and focus on what I have learned. As a whole, we have made the choice not to rant about bad things that happen, complain about our work or our lives, because, honestly, it is just not always that helpful and those are not the things that I want to remember and focus on ten years from now when I reread all these little essays.

That being said, today’s post is going to be a bit of complaining. One, because sometimes it is necessary to get it out on paper, reflect and move on. Two, because it may be interesting for you to hear about some of my frustrations and difficulties with being here. And, three, because I think there is something interesting and significant at the root of my troubles, something worth thinking about and considering.

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So last week I spent three days at the Gifu school for the deaf. I had been very nervous about this visit for several weeks. When I joined this program I had no idea how to teach english to students who could hear me speak english. I was somewhat terrified of trying to teach it to students who could not necessarily hear me. However, all my nervousness was not as important as I thought, for several reasons, and I ended up having a great time at the school.

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I am always amazed at how high I can get after teaching a lesson. When a lesson goes well, and the students respond positively, my energy increases. I get so excited, I feel as if I am on top of the world. (Of course the opposite is true, as well, when a lesson flops, it makes me feel like a total failure.)

The lesson I taught last week was one of those lessons. All the classes I taught it to, all 17 of them, responded really well. They had fun and I almost tricked them into learning and enjoying English. It wasn’t until the lesson was over that they realized that they were, in fact, in English class and it is supposed to be boring!

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Yesterday I took a ton of pictures in my classroom and some of the Japanese teachers took pictures of me teaching. It am so glad that I have those pictures and you will definitely be seeing a few of them over the next few days.

Last night I was showing them to Aaron and when this one, a picture of my chalkboard, came up he started to giggle. I sat there not even realizing what he was chuckling at, saying what? what? And then he pointed out that my writing on the board said SE X.

Despite having a room filled with teenagers when this was on the board, not a single one said anything. My JTE didn’t say anything either. I really do wonder if they noticed . . .