Oh. My. Goodness. Today was my first day to teach. And I got to play with the kindergartners! I should have worn different clothing while I was playing with them, as I fell on my rear in the dirt, got muddy water splashed all over my pantleg, and had little snotty hands touching me. And I'm sure I looked a sight as I climbed on the playground equipment and ordered dirt-food takeout in my suit. But there is no way on earth I could have denied a little kid who was begging sensei to play. From the moment I stepped foot on the playground all these pink-hatted and yellow-hatted kids came running up to me. Some were shy and had to be coaxed to talk while others eagerly said hello. But almost all grabbed my hand and tugged me in the direction where they wanted me to play -- on the jungle gym, in the dirt, near the chickens, on the slide....
My favorite memory of the day is when they pulled me toward a concrete tunnel. I had to squat down to fit into it and then waddle my way through to come out the other side. When I was not more than three feet into the tunnel (It was probably 10-15 feet long.), a girl on a tricycle came barreling through from the other side. But when I turned around to try to go back out the way I'd come in, there were at least 10 kids crammed into the tunnel behind me. And then more came in from the exit! I felt like the old woman who lived in the shoe. And I loved every moment of it! Only next time I play with the kindergartners, I'll wear appropriate clothing.
Until next time...
Monday, April 26, 2010
Friday, April 23, 2010
Oh, what a night!
When people say that the Japanese are hospitable people, they aren't kidding! Yesterday was my first full day at work; and shortly after I arrived, the brother of one of the teachers who sits next to me in the teacher's room arrived to serve as my translator for the morning. He returned to Japan three weeks ago, after having lived in the States for the past 17 years. And he will continue to come for the next month or so for 15 minutes each day to help translate while the teachers and I make plans for my English lessons during each day's morning break. I highly doubt that any of the other schools have hired a translator to come to school to work with their AETs, especially when a few teachers in the school already speak good English (despite their doubts!). The funny thing of it is that our paths appear to have crossed several years ago when I was living in Texas, as he competed in a college athletic event at the university where I was working at the time. Small world, huh?!
The type of enkai I'd been told might occur and had been nervous about the past two months never came to fruition last night. I actually had a lot of fun at my first enkai of the evening and am glad I made the decision to go to the second. The first enkai was more formal and was held in a reception room at a very nice hotel in town. The new teachers to the school were introduced to the returning teachers. The kocho-sensei (principal) said kind words about each of us. (But who knows what he actually said about me!) And the new teachers made a speech to the returning teachers. Thankfully, Japanese wasn't expected from me this time.
For as slender as the average Japanese person is, wow, do they know how to eat! I have never eaten an eight-course meal before. So to eat my first one in Japan and then go to another restaurant in the same evening to eat even more food was quite an amazing juxtaposition to behold. The evening's main meal, of which I tried and truly enjoyed everything I ate, entailed a green salad with salmon and octopus; shrimp, bream, and tuna sashimi (raw seafood; By the way, can anyone tell me what bream is?); roasted pork in a sweet sauce with greens and potato; shrimp and squid in a Chinese red chili sauce; medium-rare steak in a pepper sauce with potatoes; cold soba (buckwheat) noodle soup; and fruit and a small (think one-inch-square) piece of cake for dessert. (Yes, I know that's only seven courses; but I can't remember what the eighth one was!)
But now that I think about it, perhaps the reason for eating at the second enkai is because my coworkers didn't actually eat much at the first one! While I stayed seated at my table and ate practically everything of each dish that was put before me, my Japanese coworkers almost immediately stood up after the first course was served and floated from table to table as they refilled each other's drinks. So those who continued on to the second enkai of the evening at a restaurant across the street ordered more food. I had some wonderful chocolate soft serve ice cream for dessert and tried the fried chicken cartilage that another one of the new teachers ordered. Although the flavor was good (It really did taste like chicken!), the texture was disgusting. Chicken cartilage will not be going on my list of dishes to order again.
Although enkai does translate to drinking party, I was able to see last night that it didn't have the connotation I'd been expecting. That's not to say, though, that all enkai are the same. Some can be more like college or bachelor parties once the men and the women have dispersed into separate groups. But while large quantities of Sapporo beer were consumed (as were other alcoholic beverages, teas, and juices) nobody got out of control. In fact, the shy Japanese just became more extroverted, albeit with florid faces since their bodies don't metabolize alcohol well. And the Japanese who said that they spoke very bad English prior to the evening's festivities proved themselves to have more mastery of the language than they had believed!
The teacher whose brother is my translator drove me home. (She was one of the evening's emcees and is crazy fun while being a teetotaler.) As we pulled up to my apartment she told me that all of the Japanese teachers think that I am a very good AET. I laughed and asked how, considering that I haven't taught one lesson yet. She said that when I introduced myself at the school on Thursday, I told everyone that I must learn Japanese; and then when I said "Konban wa" (good evening) in my enkai speech, people were further impressed. I'm 100% illiterate and 99.9% ignorant of the spoken language. And my understanding of Japanese ways and customs is not much better. But I want to make good relationships with these friendly people. So I'm glad that my love of language learning and a casually tossed out phrase of greeting have prepared the way for that.
Until next time...
The type of enkai I'd been told might occur and had been nervous about the past two months never came to fruition last night. I actually had a lot of fun at my first enkai of the evening and am glad I made the decision to go to the second. The first enkai was more formal and was held in a reception room at a very nice hotel in town. The new teachers to the school were introduced to the returning teachers. The kocho-sensei (principal) said kind words about each of us. (But who knows what he actually said about me!) And the new teachers made a speech to the returning teachers. Thankfully, Japanese wasn't expected from me this time.
For as slender as the average Japanese person is, wow, do they know how to eat! I have never eaten an eight-course meal before. So to eat my first one in Japan and then go to another restaurant in the same evening to eat even more food was quite an amazing juxtaposition to behold. The evening's main meal, of which I tried and truly enjoyed everything I ate, entailed a green salad with salmon and octopus; shrimp, bream, and tuna sashimi (raw seafood; By the way, can anyone tell me what bream is?); roasted pork in a sweet sauce with greens and potato; shrimp and squid in a Chinese red chili sauce; medium-rare steak in a pepper sauce with potatoes; cold soba (buckwheat) noodle soup; and fruit and a small (think one-inch-square) piece of cake for dessert. (Yes, I know that's only seven courses; but I can't remember what the eighth one was!)
But now that I think about it, perhaps the reason for eating at the second enkai is because my coworkers didn't actually eat much at the first one! While I stayed seated at my table and ate practically everything of each dish that was put before me, my Japanese coworkers almost immediately stood up after the first course was served and floated from table to table as they refilled each other's drinks. So those who continued on to the second enkai of the evening at a restaurant across the street ordered more food. I had some wonderful chocolate soft serve ice cream for dessert and tried the fried chicken cartilage that another one of the new teachers ordered. Although the flavor was good (It really did taste like chicken!), the texture was disgusting. Chicken cartilage will not be going on my list of dishes to order again.
Although enkai does translate to drinking party, I was able to see last night that it didn't have the connotation I'd been expecting. That's not to say, though, that all enkai are the same. Some can be more like college or bachelor parties once the men and the women have dispersed into separate groups. But while large quantities of Sapporo beer were consumed (as were other alcoholic beverages, teas, and juices) nobody got out of control. In fact, the shy Japanese just became more extroverted, albeit with florid faces since their bodies don't metabolize alcohol well. And the Japanese who said that they spoke very bad English prior to the evening's festivities proved themselves to have more mastery of the language than they had believed!
The teacher whose brother is my translator drove me home. (She was one of the evening's emcees and is crazy fun while being a teetotaler.) As we pulled up to my apartment she told me that all of the Japanese teachers think that I am a very good AET. I laughed and asked how, considering that I haven't taught one lesson yet. She said that when I introduced myself at the school on Thursday, I told everyone that I must learn Japanese; and then when I said "Konban wa" (good evening) in my enkai speech, people were further impressed. I'm 100% illiterate and 99.9% ignorant of the spoken language. And my understanding of Japanese ways and customs is not much better. But I want to make good relationships with these friendly people. So I'm glad that my love of language learning and a casually tossed out phrase of greeting have prepared the way for that.
Until next time...
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Work Week One
On my 20-minute walk in the rain on the way to the bus terminal this morning, I noticed two things: First, inside an office, the employees were doing their morning exercise routine. I don't know if what they were doing was actually tai chi, but I wondered if I'll be doing morning exercises at my schools. I kind of hope I will be. And second, who knew manhole covers could be pretty? Whoever had the idea of putting a design of sakurabana (cherry blossom) on the covers received an appreciative fan today, as they gave me something nice to look at while my head was down against the blowing cold rain.
Day four on the new job finally felt like a workday, despite the fact that I've been wearing a suit all week. Monday was spent at City Hall all day, applying for gaijin (foreigner) identification cards and a bank account. It literally was a lot of sitting around and waiting interrupted by a walk across the parking lot for Indian food. Tuesday was spent in training with the AET sempai (senior teachers); and Wednesday was more of the same. But today we put what we learned during yesterday's training to good use, as we went back to City Hall to meet several of the employees of the Board of Education and visited our main schools for the first time.
We were formally presented to the Superintendent of the Board of Education this morning and received our certificates to teach English before being formally presented to the kyoto-sensei (vice-principals) of our schools this afternoon. At both ceremonies, there was a lot of bowing on everyone's part, a lot of hospitality extended on their part, and a lot of mangled Japanese on my part. Five times today I had to say "Watashi wa (my name) desu. Watashi no shogakko wa (school name) shogakko desu. Yoroshiku oneigaishimasu." And I said it differently each time. But I appreciate their graciousness in accepting my bumbled attempts to speak Japanese.
My elementary school is newly renovated and very nice. The teachers and administrators seemed extremely nice; and as an added blessing, there are a few English-speaking teachers in my school. Tomorrow is a half day for students/full day for teachers. On Monday I'll be at the kindergarten connected to my elementary school. Tuesday is a half day for students, as all the teachers in the city are conducting afternoon visits to their students' homes this week. On Wednesday I'll be at my third school, another kindergarten. Thursday is a national holiday. And Friday is another half day for students before heading into a five-day weekend for Golden Week (a week in which two national holidays fall). So my first full day to teach English at the elementary school will be two weeks from today. What a way to ease into a new job!
Tomorrow night is my welcome enkai, literally translated as drinking party. I'm looking forward to getting to know my coworkers outside the school, since Japanese people's at-work personae are different from their away-from-work personae. But I'm not looking forward to being around a lot of drunk people. Enkai are extremely important in Japanese society; and it's encouraged that we attend as many as possible so that we can create deeper relationships with the other teachers and staff. However, more than one enkai occurs in an evening. And several (expensive) enkai occur in a school year. So depending on how tomorrow night goes, the next enkai I write about may be the closing enkai of the year.
Until next time...
Day four on the new job finally felt like a workday, despite the fact that I've been wearing a suit all week. Monday was spent at City Hall all day, applying for gaijin (foreigner) identification cards and a bank account. It literally was a lot of sitting around and waiting interrupted by a walk across the parking lot for Indian food. Tuesday was spent in training with the AET sempai (senior teachers); and Wednesday was more of the same. But today we put what we learned during yesterday's training to good use, as we went back to City Hall to meet several of the employees of the Board of Education and visited our main schools for the first time.
We were formally presented to the Superintendent of the Board of Education this morning and received our certificates to teach English before being formally presented to the kyoto-sensei (vice-principals) of our schools this afternoon. At both ceremonies, there was a lot of bowing on everyone's part, a lot of hospitality extended on their part, and a lot of mangled Japanese on my part. Five times today I had to say "Watashi wa (my name) desu. Watashi no shogakko wa (school name) shogakko desu. Yoroshiku oneigaishimasu." And I said it differently each time. But I appreciate their graciousness in accepting my bumbled attempts to speak Japanese.
My elementary school is newly renovated and very nice. The teachers and administrators seemed extremely nice; and as an added blessing, there are a few English-speaking teachers in my school. Tomorrow is a half day for students/full day for teachers. On Monday I'll be at the kindergarten connected to my elementary school. Tuesday is a half day for students, as all the teachers in the city are conducting afternoon visits to their students' homes this week. On Wednesday I'll be at my third school, another kindergarten. Thursday is a national holiday. And Friday is another half day for students before heading into a five-day weekend for Golden Week (a week in which two national holidays fall). So my first full day to teach English at the elementary school will be two weeks from today. What a way to ease into a new job!
Tomorrow night is my welcome enkai, literally translated as drinking party. I'm looking forward to getting to know my coworkers outside the school, since Japanese people's at-work personae are different from their away-from-work personae. But I'm not looking forward to being around a lot of drunk people. Enkai are extremely important in Japanese society; and it's encouraged that we attend as many as possible so that we can create deeper relationships with the other teachers and staff. However, more than one enkai occurs in an evening. And several (expensive) enkai occur in a school year. So depending on how tomorrow night goes, the next enkai I write about may be the closing enkai of the year.
Until next time...
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Food, Fridges, and Fellowship
Having arrived in Japan on Friday, my memories of these past three days are quite fuzzy. Physically I've been awake. But mentally? Most assuredly not always. I know I've done lots of eating - fried rice at a ramen house and at a Thai restaurant; edamame (Japanese soy beans), soba noodle soup, tempura shrimp, cucumber rolls, and "Mexican tortilla" rolls at a buffet-style sushi restaurant where one chooses from the food that passes by on a conveyor belt (quite fun!); and hot chocolate at Starbucks.
My buddy, C.G., who has been an Assistant English Teacher here for more than five years has been so great to help me start to feel comfortable in my apartment and with navigating the city. I've gone shopping to begin furnishing the homey touches to my apartment, since the apartment's three previous residents were guys whose tastes were more sparse than mine. (I wish I'd had my camera with me so that you could see the tricked out refrigerators that they have for sale here. I will be purchasing one since the one that comes with the apartment is a dorm-room sized cube, which considering the size of the apartment and the kitchen, is properly proportioned, I suppose. And the supplemental one purchased by a previous AET stands only waist-high.)
Although there is Japanese peanut butter, it is whipped and more like a dessert topping. So I was super happy when I found the natural peanut butter that I love at an imported foods store, considering that the traditional Japanese breakfast is mainly rice and natto (sp?) (fermented soybeans that one would hope taste better than their scent implies). However, buying a "loaf" of non-white bread constitutes three slices and a "loaf" of white bread constitutes eight slices. So peanut butter on toast for breakfast will be a treat; and oatmeal, thankfully supplied by C.G. and Costco-Japan(!), will be a regularity.
But the best experience that I have had so far was while worshiping with other Christians this morning. There is a large English-speaking group in the church, including people outside of the teachers from my AET program. So there is an English-speaking Bible class before the service; and the service is conducted in both Japanese and English. It was so amazing to see people of different backgrounds, nationalities, and languages united in worshiping God. At church today were native Japanese, African-Americans, Caucasian Americans, an Ethiopian American, a Honduran American, a Japanese American, a Canadian, and who knows what other hyphenated labels. Though we came from different places around the world, grew up speaking different languages, and may not have been able to communicate with each other without an interpreter, the realization that we all love God and were worshiping Him brought tears to my eyes.
Until next time...
My buddy, C.G., who has been an Assistant English Teacher here for more than five years has been so great to help me start to feel comfortable in my apartment and with navigating the city. I've gone shopping to begin furnishing the homey touches to my apartment, since the apartment's three previous residents were guys whose tastes were more sparse than mine. (I wish I'd had my camera with me so that you could see the tricked out refrigerators that they have for sale here. I will be purchasing one since the one that comes with the apartment is a dorm-room sized cube, which considering the size of the apartment and the kitchen, is properly proportioned, I suppose. And the supplemental one purchased by a previous AET stands only waist-high.)
Although there is Japanese peanut butter, it is whipped and more like a dessert topping. So I was super happy when I found the natural peanut butter that I love at an imported foods store, considering that the traditional Japanese breakfast is mainly rice and natto (sp?) (fermented soybeans that one would hope taste better than their scent implies). However, buying a "loaf" of non-white bread constitutes three slices and a "loaf" of white bread constitutes eight slices. So peanut butter on toast for breakfast will be a treat; and oatmeal, thankfully supplied by C.G. and Costco-Japan(!), will be a regularity.
But the best experience that I have had so far was while worshiping with other Christians this morning. There is a large English-speaking group in the church, including people outside of the teachers from my AET program. So there is an English-speaking Bible class before the service; and the service is conducted in both Japanese and English. It was so amazing to see people of different backgrounds, nationalities, and languages united in worshiping God. At church today were native Japanese, African-Americans, Caucasian Americans, an Ethiopian American, a Honduran American, a Japanese American, a Canadian, and who knows what other hyphenated labels. Though we came from different places around the world, grew up speaking different languages, and may not have been able to communicate with each other without an interpreter, the realization that we all love God and were worshiping Him brought tears to my eyes.
Until next time...
Friday, March 19, 2010
Nietzsche was wrong.
This afternoon I received an e-mail from M.T., the minister's wife at the church where I'll be worshiping in Japan, which, among other things, stated that this year's application process was very competitive. I don't know how many people applied; but apparently it was a considerable amount. To read this news from her is humbling, for I am sure that many if not all the other applicants would have made fine teachers. But it also affirms my absolute certainty that this move to Japan is not just an exciting opportunity but also a divinely-appointed opportunity. Too many prayers have been answered to be written off as coincidence. Mr. Nietzsche, God isn't dead. He's alive and active in the lives of those who seek Him.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
My Journey with God to Japan
In 1999, I was hired to teach English with a private company language company in Japan. At the time I felt that God was calling me to return to Japan to teach English. (I had gone to Japan in 1998 with Let’s Start Talking, an organization whose mission is to teach English using the Bible.) But I got scared, so I backed out. It's been the biggest regret of my life; and I've thought off and on throughout the years since that one day I should go. In fact, as recently as spring 2009, I'd contacted a teacher at a local community college to ask about getting into her Elementary Japanese I class during the next fall semester because I was planning on going to Japan within the next couple of years. While finances prevented me from enrolling in the class, little did I know that I would be leaving before having had the chance to complete that first year of Elementary Japanese.
For many reasons, I'd been asking the Lord since late-summer or early-fall to show me how He wanted me to serve Him. In November I reconnected with a former co-worker and friend, M.T. While we were talking on the phone about my work dissatisfaction, she asked me about my biggest regret. When I told her about not having gone to Japan in 1999, she told me that the only way I would get rid of this regret was to go and teach English in Japan and that she thought I needed to do it. I thought it was a ridiculous thing for me to consider at my age. But I told her that I'd pray about it. I prayed that I would know beyond a shadow of a doubt that this was what the Lord wanted me to do. After several days passed, I couldn’t tell if this was what the Lord wanted me to do. So I prayed specifically that someone with no prior knowledge of my current consideration for teaching English in Japan (which was everyone in the world other than two friends, M.T. and C.A.) would ask me about it by November 30. On November 29, I was at my mom's house to help her put up her Christmas tree when my brother handed me a stack of papers. He said that they were 10 years old and that he didn't imagine I'd want them. But since they were mine, he was giving them to me to decide what should be done with them. They were envelopes from supporters for my summer 1998 LST mission and printouts of e-mails that I'd sent to Mom and her sisters while I was there. I was so excited because I felt like this was my answer. But then my brother asked me if I ever planned to return to China or Japan. So then I knew that I had my answer – God wanted me to go to Japan in 2010!
I got reconnected with J.O., the trainer from my summer 1998 LST mission, in early December to apply for a position as an Assistant English Teacher. Although I also reapplied to the organization that hired me in 1999 and was invited to Los Angeles for an interview on January 19, I couldn't get away from work. After many more answers to specific prayers, I realized that God was calling me to work with children in a public school system, for on January 18, J.O. told me that he would like to recommend me for hire. Ten days later I found out that I definitely would be joining the AET program and went to Oklahoma City over Valentine's Day weekend for orientation with the other new AETs.
As excitingly in my mind, I will be connected with a church, which was something else I had been praying about. I met the minister and his family when I was in Japan 12 years ago; and I reconnected with them during my last few months at ACU. So it's really interesting to me to consider that perhaps the reason God called me to ACU in the first place (which I have always believed that He did), was to get me back to Japan, for they are the ones who put me in touch with J.O.
I'm flying to Japan on April 15 to teach for the next year. But if the public school system likes me and I like the work I'm doing, I can see myself staying for at least one more year. I'm so excited to be working with children! I hadn't foreseen myself returning to school to get my teaching certification since I have earned two degrees already. But Dostoevsky had it right when he said, “The soul is healed by being with children.” I know that just because God has called me to do this and just because I like kids doesn't mean that this is going to be an all-rainbows-and-butterflies experience. I'm sure I'll get homesick, have culture stress, and face other challenges. But I look forward to seeing how God works in me and through me while I'm there.
For many reasons, I'd been asking the Lord since late-summer or early-fall to show me how He wanted me to serve Him. In November I reconnected with a former co-worker and friend, M.T. While we were talking on the phone about my work dissatisfaction, she asked me about my biggest regret. When I told her about not having gone to Japan in 1999, she told me that the only way I would get rid of this regret was to go and teach English in Japan and that she thought I needed to do it. I thought it was a ridiculous thing for me to consider at my age. But I told her that I'd pray about it. I prayed that I would know beyond a shadow of a doubt that this was what the Lord wanted me to do. After several days passed, I couldn’t tell if this was what the Lord wanted me to do. So I prayed specifically that someone with no prior knowledge of my current consideration for teaching English in Japan (which was everyone in the world other than two friends, M.T. and C.A.) would ask me about it by November 30. On November 29, I was at my mom's house to help her put up her Christmas tree when my brother handed me a stack of papers. He said that they were 10 years old and that he didn't imagine I'd want them. But since they were mine, he was giving them to me to decide what should be done with them. They were envelopes from supporters for my summer 1998 LST mission and printouts of e-mails that I'd sent to Mom and her sisters while I was there. I was so excited because I felt like this was my answer. But then my brother asked me if I ever planned to return to China or Japan. So then I knew that I had my answer – God wanted me to go to Japan in 2010!
I got reconnected with J.O., the trainer from my summer 1998 LST mission, in early December to apply for a position as an Assistant English Teacher. Although I also reapplied to the organization that hired me in 1999 and was invited to Los Angeles for an interview on January 19, I couldn't get away from work. After many more answers to specific prayers, I realized that God was calling me to work with children in a public school system, for on January 18, J.O. told me that he would like to recommend me for hire. Ten days later I found out that I definitely would be joining the AET program and went to Oklahoma City over Valentine's Day weekend for orientation with the other new AETs.
As excitingly in my mind, I will be connected with a church, which was something else I had been praying about. I met the minister and his family when I was in Japan 12 years ago; and I reconnected with them during my last few months at ACU. So it's really interesting to me to consider that perhaps the reason God called me to ACU in the first place (which I have always believed that He did), was to get me back to Japan, for they are the ones who put me in touch with J.O.
I'm flying to Japan on April 15 to teach for the next year. But if the public school system likes me and I like the work I'm doing, I can see myself staying for at least one more year. I'm so excited to be working with children! I hadn't foreseen myself returning to school to get my teaching certification since I have earned two degrees already. But Dostoevsky had it right when he said, “The soul is healed by being with children.” I know that just because God has called me to do this and just because I like kids doesn't mean that this is going to be an all-rainbows-and-butterflies experience. I'm sure I'll get homesick, have culture stress, and face other challenges. But I look forward to seeing how God works in me and through me while I'm there.
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