Live from Japan!

Most of the time my classes go without any snags. There are few discipline problems for either the JTE (Japanese Teacher of English) or myself to deal with. However, one of my JTE’s is much more strict than the others. He insists that the female students wear their skirts at the proper length (they all roll them down before he enters the room), he makes sure that each and every student bows properly at the beginning of class, etc. Sometimes an issue occurs that I haven’t even noticed, when he starts scolding the student, very publicly and forcefully, it ends up making things rather uncomfortable for me and the other students.

A few weeks ago in our class he all of a sudden made me stop explaining the directions and he went over to one of the students. He made the student stand up and he started scolding him quite loudly. A minute or two passed and the student was allowed to sit down and the JTE came back to the front of the room and told me that I could continue.

Read the rest of this entry »

On Tuesday night my school had an enkai to celebrate the retirement of both of our vice principals. Given that both are retiring this year, the party was a little larger filled with all the pomp and circumstance necessary for two people who have each given more than 35 years of service to working and teaching in Gifu. They are both awesome people and they will, for sure, be missed.

At the enkai there were so many traditional Japanese foods. Many of them were recognizable to me after having seen and tried them many times. Several still were unfamiliar.

Fortunately, I was sitting at a table with people who were willing to entertain my questions about the food. In fact, it was nice because it gave us something to talk about. Most of the time I would point to an unfamiliar food and say, “kore wa nan desu ka, eigo de” (What is this, in english?). The person I asked would look at the food, think for a minute and give me a reply. I found out that one of the items I ate, after I ate it and nearly spit it out, was oyster. Good to know that I don’t like that.

Read the rest of this entry »

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?)

Read the rest of this entry »

So, I had a kind of odd day Saturday, as you can tell from the the title of this post. But let me start from the beginning of the story.

Saturday was Graduation day for the third year students. It is a very important day in the school. (The picture above is a picture of a crying Graduate that came on my chopsticks at lunch. Because, apparently, Graduation is one of the only days japanese people allow themselves to completely lose it.) It is held on a saturday to assure that parents can attend without having to miss work. All of the students attend, even first and second years who are not graduating. They attend, though the first years only sit through the ceremony, and the second years stand for a few seconds to accept the school, as it is handed over to them from the third years. Yesterday afternoon the students worked for four hours practicing for the ceremony. They literally ran through the entire ceremony once, and went over several things, including how to say “Hai” in unison. They make themselves absurdly over prepared for this ceremony.

Read the rest of this entry »

Saturday was graduation day for all the third year students at Gifu Kita high school. As far as graduations go, many things were the same here as in the U.S. However, many things were also different.

First of all, graduation here is a whole school affair. All students of Gifu Kita attend (first, second and third year students). All teachers attend. And parents are there too. The whole gym (freezing cold and unheated) is filled with people that are there to support the new graduates.

Second, there is no special attire. Graduating students wear the same school uniform that they wear every other day.

Third, graduation in Japan is a very serious affair. There was little room for celebration and excitement. Everyone wore black, almost all black. The principal had on a suit with tails and white gloves. It was quite apparent, with the mood, that despite having made it through the very serious work of high school successfully, these students still have a heavy weight on their shoulders. Most of them, in fact, do not yet know which university they will be attending in another month. Some of them still have substantial entrance exams to pass. The burden hasn’t yet been lifted, and it was obvious.

Read the rest of this entry »

Yesterday Aaron and I were pretty under the weather. We basically sat around in our pajamas all day watching movies and laying around. Drinking water and eating soup. All in all, not a horrible way to spend a day.

Despite the rest, we both woke up today feeling pretty crappy. By the time I was walking out the door to head to work, I was already exhausted.

I rode to work and taught my two classes, the first two periods of the day. My supervisor could tell that I wasn’t my usual genki self and suggested that I go home after my classes to rest and get better. So now, I am at home, resting and relaxing. I am always amazed at how kind and caring they are, it really makes going to work here so much more enjoyable.

Just the other day, while I was changing my clothes at work and getting ready to leave for the day, I heard stunning music being sung right outside the window of my changing room. It was the most fantastic acapella rendition of Billy Joel’s song, “For the Longest Time.” For a moment I thought that I was being serenaded, but then I peeked out the window between the slats of the mini-blinds to have a look at what was going on.

Right there, outside the window was a group of about ten students from the choir club standing in a circle and practicing in the courtyard. Their singing was so beautiful that I had to go outside to have a little listen.

Once I was outside several teachers rushed over to explain to me that the choir was having a little mini-concer to practice some of their English songs. They asked me whether I was able to understand the students singing in English. Of course I could!!

They proceeded to give a little chuckle and a sigh of relief. “Oh, that’s good,” they said, “because they can’t understand what they are saying.” They were just reading the words off the page. Even still, it sounded real nice!

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.

Read the rest of this entry »

The weather is getting a little colder here now as we have truly hit the heart of winter. Temperatures are still well above what we were accustomed to in Chicago, but the lack of central heating and insulation really makes managing a little different.

However, by watching people around us we have found so many ways to adapt – one of my best strategies is having a permanent layer of long underwear which is only shed when I take a shower or bath. It really does help.

I love what most of the students and teachers do around school though. Almost every woman has a blanket. They carry these blankets everywhere and wrap them around themselves to beat the chill. It is necessary for the girls who are not allowed to wear stockings or leggings with their school uniforms, and just sort of nice for the rest of us.

Yep, I also have a blanket. It has the mascot of the local donut shop on it. And, as I am writing this, it is resting on my lap, keeping me warm, despite the otherwise chilly temperatures.

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.

Read the rest of this entry »