Also, since I posted a little bit ago-
On a worksheet that I had handed out for Halloween, which had a drawing of a bat, one 6th grader edited it so that the bat was saying "death" (spelled 'deth') with a heart after it. This during a lesson when I taught them that English word (the 6nens are into the scarier stuff), and I thought they weren't listening. Just goes to show you...
Monday, October 27, 2008
Verbal Snapshots
Well, my camera chord is still in Sanpoku. My sanity, I know not where. My workload has increased quite a bit (yea, verily, more even), hence the two week lag in between posts. I don't really have time for a proper post today either (perhaps never will until I get internet in my apartment- which is a process unto itself. I swear I can hear the jingling of bells and smell the fumes of an animal upon the altar whenever I try to approach the issue), but, just so everyone knows that I am still alive, here are some items from the last two weeks.
1. My Denshi Jisho's (electronic dictionary's) entry for "oblivion" utilizes the drug "Nembutal" as an example: "He took two Nembutal and slipped into oblivion."
2. For whatever reason, the bunkasai (culture festival) at one of my shogakkos had a sugar cane plant standing in with the exhibits of PTA-created art. No name plaque. No explanation. Just a random sugar cane plant. Now that the festival is over, it has been dismembered and the stalks lie in a box in the teacher's room, awaiting I know not what fate. At any rate, we've got sugar cane here in Arakawa-machi, Japan.
3. For whatever reason, "Dracula" and "Frankenstein" are in wide parlance here, but not the word "vampire." Just one of those things that you discover teaching English around Halloween.
That's all for now. Hopefully (and I know I said this a long time ago) I will get my camera chord back and be able to actually post some photos. Until then...you know...hang tight.
1. My Denshi Jisho's (electronic dictionary's) entry for "oblivion" utilizes the drug "Nembutal" as an example: "He took two Nembutal and slipped into oblivion."
2. For whatever reason, the bunkasai (culture festival) at one of my shogakkos had a sugar cane plant standing in with the exhibits of PTA-created art. No name plaque. No explanation. Just a random sugar cane plant. Now that the festival is over, it has been dismembered and the stalks lie in a box in the teacher's room, awaiting I know not what fate. At any rate, we've got sugar cane here in Arakawa-machi, Japan.
3. For whatever reason, "Dracula" and "Frankenstein" are in wide parlance here, but not the word "vampire." Just one of those things that you discover teaching English around Halloween.
That's all for now. Hopefully (and I know I said this a long time ago) I will get my camera chord back and be able to actually post some photos. Until then...you know...hang tight.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
...and what`s really new...
Hahahaha no posts for 10 days and now two in one! Good luck ever keeping up with this blog. All the same, I had an experience this afternoon that was surreal enough that I thought I would share it quickly.
First, it is worth noting two things: my "outside shoes" that I wear to work on any given day are actually pretty nice black leather shoes, but since they have been outside ever they are prohibited for indoor useage in Japan.
Second, One of the great strengths of the American psyche is the ability to wing it. Certainly other countries have this MacGyver-like ability as well, but Americans have it too. Conversely, Japan`s strength seems to be having a rigid social system and massive advance planning such that there are no surprises. For example, all my JTEs (JET lingo for Japanese Teachers of English) speak pretty good English (other JETs have not been so lucky), but I have still had to teach them all the word "improvise." One who speaks better English still I taught the phrase "flying by the seat of your pants."
Now, today on the schedual was a "marathon"- which is Japanese for any kind of race at all (this one turned out to be 3k and 5k for the girls and lads, respectively). I had seen it, and assumed that as the ALT my duty would be to cheer the kids on in English. Not that I mind my usual duty, but it`s not terribly exciting.
The plan changed when I was approached by a pair of 3nensei girls (in America- high school freshman) who invited me (in English- they had probably worked on it for a bit with a dictionary) to run with them. On the one hand, I was wearing my shoes that were designed to withstand the rigors of the office carpet, or maybe even floorboards, as well as nice pants and a button-up shirt. On the other hand, here was an opportunity to do something spontaneous, slightely stupid, and good for rapport. Also, they went to the effort of figuring out the invitation in English. I decided to run 3k wearing my nice work clothes (although I did lose the tie beforehand), and it was big fun.
I`m not sure whether this has some sort of moral or pithy conclusion- it`s just one of those things that happens over here (to foreigners). I`ll leave it at that for now.
First, it is worth noting two things: my "outside shoes" that I wear to work on any given day are actually pretty nice black leather shoes, but since they have been outside ever they are prohibited for indoor useage in Japan.
Second, One of the great strengths of the American psyche is the ability to wing it. Certainly other countries have this MacGyver-like ability as well, but Americans have it too. Conversely, Japan`s strength seems to be having a rigid social system and massive advance planning such that there are no surprises. For example, all my JTEs (JET lingo for Japanese Teachers of English) speak pretty good English (other JETs have not been so lucky), but I have still had to teach them all the word "improvise." One who speaks better English still I taught the phrase "flying by the seat of your pants."
Now, today on the schedual was a "marathon"- which is Japanese for any kind of race at all (this one turned out to be 3k and 5k for the girls and lads, respectively). I had seen it, and assumed that as the ALT my duty would be to cheer the kids on in English. Not that I mind my usual duty, but it`s not terribly exciting.
The plan changed when I was approached by a pair of 3nensei girls (in America- high school freshman) who invited me (in English- they had probably worked on it for a bit with a dictionary) to run with them. On the one hand, I was wearing my shoes that were designed to withstand the rigors of the office carpet, or maybe even floorboards, as well as nice pants and a button-up shirt. On the other hand, here was an opportunity to do something spontaneous, slightely stupid, and good for rapport. Also, they went to the effort of figuring out the invitation in English. I decided to run 3k wearing my nice work clothes (although I did lose the tie beforehand), and it was big fun.
I`m not sure whether this has some sort of moral or pithy conclusion- it`s just one of those things that happens over here (to foreigners). I`ll leave it at that for now.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
What`s new...
I realized this morning, as activity spiralled around me in my chugakko teacher`s room, that it had been 10 days since my last post. This is partly due to job-related stress, and partly (read: mostly) due to the fact that I forgot my camera at a fellow JET`s apartment, which had all kinds of awesome pics on it. Pics, as a matter of fact, of a bamboo-lantern matsuri, which may well be the coolest thing I`ve been to since coming here (although I guess it can`t beat out Kodo). It also contains pictures of a nifty taiko concert I went to up in Murakami proper (not as good as Kodo, but still very good). For these and other images stay tuned- I just need to get my mits on my camera again and I`ll put some picture posts up.
In the meantime, as I mentioned, this job can be stressful sometimes. Times like when you are informed that you are giving a mini-concert on the banjo at your shogakko`s bunkasai (culture festival), or just the overall energy drain of working with small children. So for the last week or so, I`ve been contemplating what exactly I want to do with the shogakko part of my career. Working at the chugakko, while the teachers are open to input, they generally prefer to create their own lesson plans and write me in as a part of them. Fair enough. At the shogakko, I am not provided with a curriculum, nor, I suspect, am I even expected to really have one.
This kind of free-and-easy atmosphere would probably be great for someone with some teaching experience under their belt, but I have trouble coming up with activities suited to small children (what do you mean they can`t form a line without adult supervision??). This then, is my challenge. That, and finding a way to make the subject interesting to 6th graders- whose stone-wall-like countanence often greets me at the beginning of English lessons with them. Sometimes I can break the ice, and sometimes the ice breaks me (I swear I can hear "nearer my God to thee" playing faintly somewhere nearby as the classroom decends into chaos).
Actually, the difficulty with 6th graders is as much cultural as age-related. Certainly adolescents can be difficult anywhere, but in Japan the standards for what is considered "childish" are markedly different from in America. To wit- 6th graders here unabashedly love upset the fruit basket. They`ll play English upset the fruit basket for an entire period, practically unsupervised. That`s the one that comes to mind immediately, but there are others. Suffice to say, children (and, I would argue, adults- more on that in a later post, methinks) in Japan enjoy more playful/squirrely activities than American children. The problem is, I don`t know what (in their minds) is the cut-off between activities that are goofy fun and activities that are patronizing (and after having to sing that blasted Noah and his arky-arky song in Junior high camp, I live in mortal terror that I would ever subject another human being to same experience-if I ever work with children in America, there will be frost on the flowers in Tartarus before I ever make 6th graders sing something like that...).
Alright- now everyone`s up to date on the psychological situation of an untrained English teacher. Whew. As I said, when I am able to retrieve my camera I`ll update on my other activities here, and have some more general "Japan interest" type posts. Until that time (probably after this weekend sometime), peace out.
In the meantime, as I mentioned, this job can be stressful sometimes. Times like when you are informed that you are giving a mini-concert on the banjo at your shogakko`s bunkasai (culture festival), or just the overall energy drain of working with small children. So for the last week or so, I`ve been contemplating what exactly I want to do with the shogakko part of my career. Working at the chugakko, while the teachers are open to input, they generally prefer to create their own lesson plans and write me in as a part of them. Fair enough. At the shogakko, I am not provided with a curriculum, nor, I suspect, am I even expected to really have one.
This kind of free-and-easy atmosphere would probably be great for someone with some teaching experience under their belt, but I have trouble coming up with activities suited to small children (what do you mean they can`t form a line without adult supervision??). This then, is my challenge. That, and finding a way to make the subject interesting to 6th graders- whose stone-wall-like countanence often greets me at the beginning of English lessons with them. Sometimes I can break the ice, and sometimes the ice breaks me (I swear I can hear "nearer my God to thee" playing faintly somewhere nearby as the classroom decends into chaos).
Actually, the difficulty with 6th graders is as much cultural as age-related. Certainly adolescents can be difficult anywhere, but in Japan the standards for what is considered "childish" are markedly different from in America. To wit- 6th graders here unabashedly love upset the fruit basket. They`ll play English upset the fruit basket for an entire period, practically unsupervised. That`s the one that comes to mind immediately, but there are others. Suffice to say, children (and, I would argue, adults- more on that in a later post, methinks) in Japan enjoy more playful/squirrely activities than American children. The problem is, I don`t know what (in their minds) is the cut-off between activities that are goofy fun and activities that are patronizing (and after having to sing that blasted Noah and his arky-arky song in Junior high camp, I live in mortal terror that I would ever subject another human being to same experience-if I ever work with children in America, there will be frost on the flowers in Tartarus before I ever make 6th graders sing something like that...).
Alright- now everyone`s up to date on the psychological situation of an untrained English teacher. Whew. As I said, when I am able to retrieve my camera I`ll update on my other activities here, and have some more general "Japan interest" type posts. Until that time (probably after this weekend sometime), peace out.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Oh no! Text only post!
As the name would imply, there won't be any pictures this time. Alas. I was running a bit late this morning and didn't take my camera along with me when I went to work.
Japanese autumn is kicking into gear here, with the weather getting somewhat cooler, and notably greyer (the leaves haven't changed yet, so there's nothing to neutralize the grey). I may have mentioned that Niigata-ken gets more rain than Seattle in a previous blog, I cannot remember. In any event, it does, and it follows that we have a lot of cloudy days here, especially during the winter months. Another fun fact- Niigata gets more snow than anywhere in the world outside of the arctic circle. Anywhere. Sometimes the fall from a single storm (and storms are frequent) will have to be measured in meters. it's not snowing yet, but obviously I'm having to get ready for it.
I invested some yen in a nice new kotatsu- a table with a heated underside. There's nothing like them in America, but in a country where houses have basically no insulation (or in at least one house I can think of in Newton, KS), they can be quite nice.
After a month at my various schools, I'm also getting settled into the rhythms and idiosyncrasies of my new job. One thing I'm learning is to take it easy on the Elementary school planning- I was very stressed about the lack of constructed curriculum and set schedule, but then the school started canceling and switching a number of classes, sometimes on the day I had them. If anything, it was a relief to me, because I know now that aren't expecting and English performance extraordinaire, but just a decent lesson covering some aspect of English (maybe- mostly just a decent lesson covering something...).
I'm going home soon, to snuggle with my kotatsu and maybe read a book. A fellow JET happened to have some Tom Robbins on their shelves (Another Roadside Attraction- in case you were curious), so right now that's what I'm reading. I'm trying to study some Japanese every night with my denshi jisho in hand, but the brain gets weary after a while and needs something soft to gum at. Gum gum.
I'll try to cobble together something about Japanese culture or something in a bit here- the particles from the avalanche of moving here are re-freezing into a solid mass again, and I don't have as much chaos in my life to write about just now (blessedly). Once I've done a little more reading (read-translating), a little more playing of games, and a little more living here in general, I'll have more to say. For the time being, I'm going to go get some groceries (hot chocolate mix if I can find it) and settle down for a quiet evening. Oyasuminasai!
Japanese autumn is kicking into gear here, with the weather getting somewhat cooler, and notably greyer (the leaves haven't changed yet, so there's nothing to neutralize the grey). I may have mentioned that Niigata-ken gets more rain than Seattle in a previous blog, I cannot remember. In any event, it does, and it follows that we have a lot of cloudy days here, especially during the winter months. Another fun fact- Niigata gets more snow than anywhere in the world outside of the arctic circle. Anywhere. Sometimes the fall from a single storm (and storms are frequent) will have to be measured in meters. it's not snowing yet, but obviously I'm having to get ready for it.
I invested some yen in a nice new kotatsu- a table with a heated underside. There's nothing like them in America, but in a country where houses have basically no insulation (or in at least one house I can think of in Newton, KS), they can be quite nice.
After a month at my various schools, I'm also getting settled into the rhythms and idiosyncrasies of my new job. One thing I'm learning is to take it easy on the Elementary school planning- I was very stressed about the lack of constructed curriculum and set schedule, but then the school started canceling and switching a number of classes, sometimes on the day I had them. If anything, it was a relief to me, because I know now that aren't expecting and English performance extraordinaire, but just a decent lesson covering some aspect of English (maybe- mostly just a decent lesson covering something...).
I'm going home soon, to snuggle with my kotatsu and maybe read a book. A fellow JET happened to have some Tom Robbins on their shelves (Another Roadside Attraction- in case you were curious), so right now that's what I'm reading. I'm trying to study some Japanese every night with my denshi jisho in hand, but the brain gets weary after a while and needs something soft to gum at. Gum gum.
I'll try to cobble together something about Japanese culture or something in a bit here- the particles from the avalanche of moving here are re-freezing into a solid mass again, and I don't have as much chaos in my life to write about just now (blessedly). Once I've done a little more reading (read-translating), a little more playing of games, and a little more living here in general, I'll have more to say. For the time being, I'm going to go get some groceries (hot chocolate mix if I can find it) and settle down for a quiet evening. Oyasuminasai!
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