Work Week Two

Monday was my first day to "teach," as indicated in my previous post. But Tuesday was my first day to actually teach a lesson. For some reason, the first graders were combined into one class that day. So my first class had 90+ students! The lesson didn't go according to plan. But thankfully six-year-old kids don't really notice when something isn't quite up to par. And they appeared to have enjoyed their first lesson with me. So while I'll consider it to have been a success, I'm happy that my classes won't usually have that many students in them at one time.

Wednesday, on the other hand, was a complete fiasco. I biked to school; and having not been on a bike in seven years, I felt like I looked like an intoxicated person as I tried to stay upright. But added to the ignominy of long-forgotten-bike-riding skills was riding in cats-and-dogs rain so that when I arrived at school after my 15-20 minutes commute, I was thoroughly soaked. But, as I'm finding to be the rule when talking about Japanese people, the teachers at the kindergarten were incredibly nice and gave me a towel to dry off and some hot tea to warm up before they introduced me to the kids.

I'd been forewarned about the behavior of kindergartners, and their tendency to kancho others. But foreknowledge and actual experience are two different things, for the word kancho means enema. The kids will clasp their hands together with their index fingers forming a gun and jab people in the rear or crotch while yelling kancho. Thankfully, when the teacher heard me saying "No!" to the offending kids she told them to stop and had them apologize. So I was never kanchoed again. But later during snack time other kids grabbed my chest. They'd also grabbed my sides, as if they were tickling me. So I'm not going to make anything of the kanchoing or grabbing, since they were done by innocent kids. But, it is rather disconcerting to be grabbed at and poked in one's private places, regardless. Added to the drenching commute and the kanchoing was the fact that I didn't know I needed to bring my lunch with me. (I eat the school lunch at my other school.) So when it came time for the kids to eat their obentos (boxed lunches), I planned to eat a candy bar I'd had in my purse for a week. But the principal (I assume) had the teachers' room manager go out in the pouring-down rain to get me lunch. No sooner had I finished eating a portion of someone's miso soup, tomatoes, and cheese than the manager walked in with a large selection of sandwiches, sausage rolls, and other items for me. To cap off the day, I had coffee and snacks at a table by myself, like I was at the kids' table, rather than at the empty desk in the teachers' desks bullpen before having to ride back home in the rain. My first experience at this school was unfortunate in many ways. But the teachers are extremely nice. The kids really are adorable. And I know it wasn't indicative of all the Wednesdays to come.

Thursday was the holiday known as Showa's Day. Showa (I believe this is more of a title than a name.) was the emperor of Japan prior to the current emperor. And April 29th, his birthday, is a national holiday. So what did some Americans do to celebrate the former Japanese emperor's birthday? We ate Mexican food in Tsukuba (affectionately known as Scuba) about an hour away. It was by no means like the Mexican food I've grown accustomed to eating. (Do Tex-Mex restaurants in the States serve a poached egg on arroz con pollo?) But it was great to eat chips and salsa nonetheless.

Friday was back to work; and I taught three classes of third graders and one class of fourth graders. My third grade lesson was delivered differently each time. And the students still need time to adjust to my teaching style. But I felt that the lesson went more along the lines of how I'd planned it to go than did the first grade's lesson.

Friday night began the Golden Week holiday. Golden Week 2010 is three one-day holidays (Constitution Day, Greenery Day, and Children's Day) that occur on May 3rd, 4th, and 5th. So it's a time for the entire country to be on holiday. I've enjoyed Golden Week so far, as I've spent time with old and new friends on Friday and visited Yokohama and Kamakura on Saturday and Sunday. But I'll save those stories and photos for another post.

Until next time...