WOW!! This was an exceptional week. Not much really happened but some truely amazing things are happening. Working in this area of Japan for the past year has been one of the most trying experiences in my life. My one up boss is a bully and and a very unreasonable person. Especially if you don't do exactly as he says or even hint at questioning him on anything. It immediately becomes a case of you undermining his authority. It's so bad that if someone told you about it you wouldn't really believe that the company would keep someone like that around. Because of this person I have had to do things that I hoped I would never have to do. My fight, and several others, to get rid of this guy has finally seen a little success. Word was announced at our staff meeting this week that a new person was going to join the supervisor staff. The understanding is that the old one is on his way out in the near future. Can't be soon enough for most of us teaching in this area. That deserves a smiley face :)
On the teaching front something really weird happened at a classroom I was covering at. I had a class of 3 and 4 year olds. One boy took a look at me and started crying. This isn't all that exceptional though usually I can get them to stop calling for their mothers within 5-10mins. I couldn't with this one. His crying triggered another student to start crying, also not that exceptional. What was exceptional, and even strange, was that while they were crying I was trying to get them to stop by making strange sounds and speaking Japanese to them. Another student came up behind me and started banging on my shoulders with a block. I said "itai" which means ouch in Japanese and both these crying kids started laughing. The weird thing is that they didn't stop crying. They were crying and laughing at the same time. I didn't even know this was possible. I don't mean they were laughing with crying tears in their eyes, they were crying whaaa whaa and laughing ha ha all at the same time. It looked and sounded so strange that I started laughing which made them stop laughing and just cry. So I started saying "itai" and they started laugh/crying again. It was so strange. Anyways, they didn't really stop crying for the whole hour. Makes for a stressful lesson. I think I might get the Japanese teacher to come next month, because i am sure I will be there again.
Rainy season started this week. Somehow the Japanese know exactly which day weather patterns will take effect. Well in advance usually. They can tell you almost a month in advance when the cherry blossom trees will bloom. It's amazing. Not like the weather forecasters at home where they can't even tell you what the weather will be like that day. I love rainy season. Even though rainy season here amounts to maybe a day of rain per week here. Rain is my favorite weather. Totally relaxing for me.
My plans for the weekend are going to watch the new Tom Cruise movie Oblivion. Might not be new to the folks back in Canada but it opens in Japan today. Can't wait. Looks like it could be a good summer of Sci-fi movies. Next month Wil Smith's After Earth opens. Might even have a different name in North America. I think there are a couple more coming out this summer.
Well that's enough for now. Enjoy your weekend.
Thursday, May 30, 2013
Saturday, May 25, 2013
May 19-25
Made it through another week. This one wasn't as tiring but still fairly long. I had to cover at another classroom for my buddy who was on vacation for a couple days. He prepared me for a very chalenging day which didn't really happen. Most of the kids were quite well behaved. Having said that though, I think it was just because I am a freak of nature that they had never seen before. I am at least twice as big as their regular Native teacher and I have a very different style of teaching, especially when I am at a classroom I won't be in again in the near future. All the kids were completely fascinated by me so they spent the whole lesson staring at me and asking me questions, which I of course couldn't answer, not speaking the language and all. We all had fun so it was all good.
At my school I had to teach my least favorite kid in all my schools. I detest this child and he is only about 9 years old. He thinks I'm an idiot because I don't speak Japanese and I despise him because her is the laziest, most spoiled child I have ever encountered. He completely disrupts my lesson by talking to the other boys and saying rude things about me. I might not know what he is saying but I understand that he is being a little S**T! I think next month I might make him go sit in the corner if he acts up.
Later in the week I had to go to a private high school to assist with a couple of lessons and give a 30min presentation. The first class was on the 3rd floor and as we (the home room teacher and I) opened the door to the hallway I thought there was a fight because someone hit the wall across from the door. Turns out it was just a guy throwing his girlfriend against the wall and taking a kiss. I assume she was his girlfriend because she didn't seem to mind the activity. I think the Japanese teacher said something to them but not really sure. Next thing we went into the classroom to do the communication lesson. My job here is to stand around until such time as the regular teacher needs me to speak lines for the students to repeat. I think I delivered in the neighborhood of 8 lines of text. Not the most difficult of jobs.
Off to the next lesson which turned out to not be a lesson at all. This is the class where I had to give my 30min presentation. The name of the class is Dream Craft, not sure why. Now I was feeling a little nervous because I had only found out the day before that it was supposed to be 30mins long. I originally thought it was going to be a 5min spiel about my life. I had about an hour of prep time the night before to make a slide show and print off a few picutres of my travels and prepare a monologue. If the reaction of the teachers was any indication it went pretty well. The students seemed very interested in what I had to say even though they were to shy to ask me any questions after but thats ok too.
for the final lesson we had to deal with the 3rd graders (or 12th graders for the North Americans). This private high school is where the kids who couldn't get into a regular school go so you can imagine what kind of students are in here. It's amazing the difference between the 1st and 3rd grades. By the 3rd grade they are all on their cell phones and refuse to listen to the teacher. 2 got kicked out of the classroom and one student had a pretty serious stare down with the Japanese teacher. I was impressed with how she dealt with him cuz I would have slapped him upside the head and kicked his butt out.
Not much else happened this week. The weather has been very hot. High 20's and even a couple of 30 degree days. Summer is here and it looks a little like rainy season might start next week. I like rainy season because it's not really a rainy season as far as I'm concerned. One or two days of rain a week isn't a rainy season in my books.
Anywho, enjoy your week and I will be back with more next Friday or Saturday.
At my school I had to teach my least favorite kid in all my schools. I detest this child and he is only about 9 years old. He thinks I'm an idiot because I don't speak Japanese and I despise him because her is the laziest, most spoiled child I have ever encountered. He completely disrupts my lesson by talking to the other boys and saying rude things about me. I might not know what he is saying but I understand that he is being a little S**T! I think next month I might make him go sit in the corner if he acts up.
Later in the week I had to go to a private high school to assist with a couple of lessons and give a 30min presentation. The first class was on the 3rd floor and as we (the home room teacher and I) opened the door to the hallway I thought there was a fight because someone hit the wall across from the door. Turns out it was just a guy throwing his girlfriend against the wall and taking a kiss. I assume she was his girlfriend because she didn't seem to mind the activity. I think the Japanese teacher said something to them but not really sure. Next thing we went into the classroom to do the communication lesson. My job here is to stand around until such time as the regular teacher needs me to speak lines for the students to repeat. I think I delivered in the neighborhood of 8 lines of text. Not the most difficult of jobs.
Off to the next lesson which turned out to not be a lesson at all. This is the class where I had to give my 30min presentation. The name of the class is Dream Craft, not sure why. Now I was feeling a little nervous because I had only found out the day before that it was supposed to be 30mins long. I originally thought it was going to be a 5min spiel about my life. I had about an hour of prep time the night before to make a slide show and print off a few picutres of my travels and prepare a monologue. If the reaction of the teachers was any indication it went pretty well. The students seemed very interested in what I had to say even though they were to shy to ask me any questions after but thats ok too.
for the final lesson we had to deal with the 3rd graders (or 12th graders for the North Americans). This private high school is where the kids who couldn't get into a regular school go so you can imagine what kind of students are in here. It's amazing the difference between the 1st and 3rd grades. By the 3rd grade they are all on their cell phones and refuse to listen to the teacher. 2 got kicked out of the classroom and one student had a pretty serious stare down with the Japanese teacher. I was impressed with how she dealt with him cuz I would have slapped him upside the head and kicked his butt out.
Not much else happened this week. The weather has been very hot. High 20's and even a couple of 30 degree days. Summer is here and it looks a little like rainy season might start next week. I like rainy season because it's not really a rainy season as far as I'm concerned. One or two days of rain a week isn't a rainy season in my books.
Anywho, enjoy your week and I will be back with more next Friday or Saturday.
Thursday, May 16, 2013
May 13th week in review
I started the week off with a day of doing laundry and tidying up my apartment. Monday was easy. Tueseday wasn`t to difficult either. Just watched some TV and had an office day for work. Wednesday was altogether a different story. I had to go to a classroom that is half way between Okayama and Tsuyama. Problem is I have to go almost all the way to Okayama (1.5hr train ride) before taking a bus back towards Tsuyama. Not really a big problem all by itself, just a lot of traveling.
While I was waiting at the train station to board my train to Okayama a police officer rode up on his Cub Cadet scooter. Apparently I was having a good Japanese day because I could understand most of what he said to me. He asked me a few questions which I was mostly able to answer. I often wonder if I am answering what they asked or they are just being nice and accepting my nonsense and acting like that is what they asked. The Japanese can be real polite like that. So after realizing my Japanese isn`t so good he proceeds to ask me if I have a girlfriend! Unusually personal question coming from a person I don:t know, and if you know Japanese they tend to avoid really personal questions even when they do know you. At this point he broke out his English because I don`t know what girlfriend is in Japanese Once I understood what he was asking I told him no. Now he speaks a lot more Japanese here, of which I`m not totally sure what he is saying. The bits and pieces I am able to pick up lead me to believe he is telling me to get a girlfriend, I will learn the language really fast that way. Now we are both laughing and he decides its time to move on and find someone else to talk to. A nice interesting way to start the day.
Around 2hrs later I am at my classroom preparing my lessons for the day. This is not my regular school but I have been here often enough that all the kids know me and are very comfortable with me. Having said that, the first couple times I taught at this school I taught as though I wouldn`t likely be back or at least not for a long time. When I cover at a school I usually teach a really fun and energetic lesson not worrying about how much the kids learn so much as giving them a really fun hour with the foreigner. Classroom discipline tends to go out the window in these lessons. Turns out I have been there almost as much as the regular teacher at that school. Now when I am there the kids are really excited to see me, which is great, but they tend to think its just playtime with Jason sensei. This can be very frustrating when you actually want to deliver a quality lesson. Imagine 2 days of classes where most if not all the kids think this way. Add to that fact I don:t get home till 1am and it makes for a very tiring 2 days. Good thing I don`t have to do this every day.
On the way home from Thursdays lessons I am sitting on the train waiting to leave the station and this guy walks on. He`s bent over much like the really old granny`s(obasans) often are. I figure he has the same spinal problem that the "obasans" have. Turns out he is just really drunk. I always get a kick out of watching drunk people on the train when they are tired. Usually they tend to lean to the side when they start to fall asleep but this guy, due to his bent forward position, starts falling forward. It`s kind of funny to watch because as his torso becomes horizontal his butt lifts off the seat and just as he is about to lunge forward and fall to the floor he wakes up just enough to pull himself back. Every time he does this he moves closer to the guy beside him. That guy is starting to look really uncomfortable but he is to nice to get up and move somewhere else, that would just be rude. Finally the drunk guy falls asleep and this time he makes it all the way to the floor. I think his face was the first thing to touch the floor. I`m kind of laughing inside now. It takes the guy a few seconds to realize he has fallen before he slowly drags himself back onto the seat.
Public transportation can be a form of cheap entertainment I just wish I didn`t have to ride it so long or so often.
That`s about all that happened to me this week. I hope your week was as good or better then mine was.
P.S. I would like to thank everyone who gave me feedback on my first blog. any constructive criticism is welcome. thanks
While I was waiting at the train station to board my train to Okayama a police officer rode up on his Cub Cadet scooter. Apparently I was having a good Japanese day because I could understand most of what he said to me. He asked me a few questions which I was mostly able to answer. I often wonder if I am answering what they asked or they are just being nice and accepting my nonsense and acting like that is what they asked. The Japanese can be real polite like that. So after realizing my Japanese isn`t so good he proceeds to ask me if I have a girlfriend! Unusually personal question coming from a person I don:t know, and if you know Japanese they tend to avoid really personal questions even when they do know you. At this point he broke out his English because I don`t know what girlfriend is in Japanese Once I understood what he was asking I told him no. Now he speaks a lot more Japanese here, of which I`m not totally sure what he is saying. The bits and pieces I am able to pick up lead me to believe he is telling me to get a girlfriend, I will learn the language really fast that way. Now we are both laughing and he decides its time to move on and find someone else to talk to. A nice interesting way to start the day.
Around 2hrs later I am at my classroom preparing my lessons for the day. This is not my regular school but I have been here often enough that all the kids know me and are very comfortable with me. Having said that, the first couple times I taught at this school I taught as though I wouldn`t likely be back or at least not for a long time. When I cover at a school I usually teach a really fun and energetic lesson not worrying about how much the kids learn so much as giving them a really fun hour with the foreigner. Classroom discipline tends to go out the window in these lessons. Turns out I have been there almost as much as the regular teacher at that school. Now when I am there the kids are really excited to see me, which is great, but they tend to think its just playtime with Jason sensei. This can be very frustrating when you actually want to deliver a quality lesson. Imagine 2 days of classes where most if not all the kids think this way. Add to that fact I don:t get home till 1am and it makes for a very tiring 2 days. Good thing I don`t have to do this every day.
On the way home from Thursdays lessons I am sitting on the train waiting to leave the station and this guy walks on. He`s bent over much like the really old granny`s(obasans) often are. I figure he has the same spinal problem that the "obasans" have. Turns out he is just really drunk. I always get a kick out of watching drunk people on the train when they are tired. Usually they tend to lean to the side when they start to fall asleep but this guy, due to his bent forward position, starts falling forward. It`s kind of funny to watch because as his torso becomes horizontal his butt lifts off the seat and just as he is about to lunge forward and fall to the floor he wakes up just enough to pull himself back. Every time he does this he moves closer to the guy beside him. That guy is starting to look really uncomfortable but he is to nice to get up and move somewhere else, that would just be rude. Finally the drunk guy falls asleep and this time he makes it all the way to the floor. I think his face was the first thing to touch the floor. I`m kind of laughing inside now. It takes the guy a few seconds to realize he has fallen before he slowly drags himself back onto the seat.
Public transportation can be a form of cheap entertainment I just wish I didn`t have to ride it so long or so often.
That`s about all that happened to me this week. I hope your week was as good or better then mine was.
P.S. I would like to thank everyone who gave me feedback on my first blog. any constructive criticism is welcome. thanks
Monday, May 13, 2013
First time for everything
So I've decided to give this blogging thing a try. Don't know that I have much to say but I'm gonna say it anyway. lol. But first just a little bit about me.
I am currently living in Japan. I have lived here for 7 of the last 8 years of my life. Life's pretty good as an English teacher to children. When I came here I didn't have any experience with kids (you could even say I didn't really like them. All that screaming in public places and all.). Now I have more then I would have thought possible. Only problem is I don't speak Japanese so when I have a conversation with a child it is very one sided. lol. I just nod my head and act like I understand. There is many times when I feel that is all a kid wants, is to be heard.
I've done a little bit of traveling around Asia and other parts of the world, but when I came to Japan that was the first time I had lived anywhere outside of Canada. Much like I was in Canada, I have moved around a lot in Japan. I have lived in 5 different parts of the country (most of which I have enjoyed). I've had friends come visit me and my parents as well. I have visited several parts of Japan as well and felt like I did a good job showing them around.
I am hoping to use this blog as a place to air my thoughts and talk about things that are going on in my life right now.
What's on my mind right now, you ask? To be honest, not much at all. Just enjoying the warm weather. I was in Kyoto a couple of weeks ago. Had a really nice 3 days with my friends Nikki and Logan.
I took A LOT of pictures. Even though I had been to Kyoto 3 or 4 times before the only thing I had seen before was Kinkakuji temple, which is always worth seeing again. I have to say that Toji temple gardens was my favorite place on this trip and maybe even my favorite place in Kyoto.
Day 2 was off to Kinkakuji temple and then the "Path of Bamboo" and Tenryuji temple. Another nice garden temple.
I am currently living in Japan. I have lived here for 7 of the last 8 years of my life. Life's pretty good as an English teacher to children. When I came here I didn't have any experience with kids (you could even say I didn't really like them. All that screaming in public places and all.). Now I have more then I would have thought possible. Only problem is I don't speak Japanese so when I have a conversation with a child it is very one sided. lol. I just nod my head and act like I understand. There is many times when I feel that is all a kid wants, is to be heard.
I've done a little bit of traveling around Asia and other parts of the world, but when I came to Japan that was the first time I had lived anywhere outside of Canada. Much like I was in Canada, I have moved around a lot in Japan. I have lived in 5 different parts of the country (most of which I have enjoyed). I've had friends come visit me and my parents as well. I have visited several parts of Japan as well and felt like I did a good job showing them around.
I am hoping to use this blog as a place to air my thoughts and talk about things that are going on in my life right now.
What's on my mind right now, you ask? To be honest, not much at all. Just enjoying the warm weather. I was in Kyoto a couple of weeks ago. Had a really nice 3 days with my friends Nikki and Logan.
Logan and Nikki
Toji Temple gardens
Went to Inari temple after and then had dinner at an okonomiyaki joint that was pretty good.
Inari Temple
Kinkakuji Temple
Path of Bamboo
As you can see these are some beautiful places in Kyoto. I would advise anyone going to Japan to make a stop in Kyoto. I think you could easily spend a whole week there sight-seeing everyday till you are totally exhausted and you will still not see everything. But everything you see will be worth the memories. I know they have been for me.
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