Jeanneabeck’s Weblog

Everyone knows that Japan has a string of national holidays called “Golden Week,” but did you know that we have a “Silver Week” as well?  Actually I didn’t know about Golden Week until I started studying Japanese and just learned about Silver Week this past weekend while experiencing it.  The two national holidays “Respect for the Elderly Day” and Autumn Equinox day fell on a Monday and Wednesday respectively leaving a the government no choice but to give Tuesday off as well creating a long string of holidays equivalent to that of Golden Week in May. 

So what did we do? 

Saturday we took a day trip to Matsumoto City where Ryan got to see Matsumoto Castle for the first time.  One of Japan’s four national treasures that comes in the castle form, Matsumoto Castle is strikingly different from the others; it’s black roof and walls has given it the nickname the “Crow Castle” while it’s close proximity to Iida makes it the perfect day trip.

 It was a bit crowded being the first day of this long weekend; we saw tourist from all over Japan and all over the world.  Ryan had a bit of culture shock seeing so many other foreigners who were speaking American and British English, French, what we think was Polish, etc.  This happens when you’re newer to a foreign country and have gone a long time without seeing many foreigners. 

Inside is a collection of period muskets  that Ryan actually knew a lot about.  He really surprised me with his knowledge.

Afterwards Ryan lead us to a ramen restaurant that advertised that their ramen was featured on a cooking tv show.  Ryan is turning out to be a ramen expert or “ramen-tsu.”  Not only was this ramen the best we’d tasted (he’s ranked it as #1 on his list of good ramen shops) but it was also at a reasonable price. 

We stopped by Frog Street on the way to an from the castle.  The street incorporates all four meanings of the word “kaeru” or frog.  It also means “return” because you’ll want to return again, “to buy” because there are many shops along the street, and “change over time” because of how the street has changed and adapted, keeping the old style but changing to adapt to the new.

We also stopped by Starbucks twice (once upon arriving and once before leaving) so I could get my fill.  It was heavenly.  Ryan had the java chip frap. on the right, and I tried the coffee jelly kind on the right.  Coffee jelly and coffee jelly drinks are popular in Japan – I have no clue why.  It was good but we ended up sharing each other’s drinks a lot. 

The rest of the weekend we pretty much stayed around home.  We downloaded audiobook for “The Lost Symbol” – the new Dan Brown book and listened to all of it while playing video games and whatnot.  Next week we’ll be going to Nagano City for more adventures (and so Ryan can get his visa re-entry permit), and in a few weeks after English camp we’ll be going to Himeji to visit Yuko and her family.

It’s interesting when you find something in another culture that isn’t even thought about in your own.  One interesting you’ll find in Japan, and now in my visit high school, are these machines.  When pressed it makes a flushing sound that lasts for about 25 seconds so that when you are going to the bathroom no one will hear the peeing sound you make.  I find it hard to believe that hearing the sound of someone else peeing is rude or embarrasing.  It’s something I’ve never thought about.  When you go to the bathroom you go.  Everyone’s human, what’s the big deal?  Apparently it’s a big enough deal in Japan – in order to save water (if there is no sound device some girls will flush the toilet before going so no one will hear them) companies, businesses and schools will buy these things.  It’s annoying for me because they’ve installed these contraptions right next to the toliet paper.  If I’m not careful I’ll set off this machine without meaning to.

On the other hand, yesterday I had to teach a class about going to the doctor/dentist and buying medicine in a foreign country.  I brought in empty boxes of cold and sinus medicine.   Apparently there’s no easy explanation in Japanese for “sinus.”  Teachers and students alike were baffled and the more the girls learned about sinus cavities and the idea of being congested there the more grossed out they became.  I ended up feeling like a freak and was happy when class ended.  What does this mean though? I suppose this means that either Japanese considers sinus headaches and congestion part of another symptom or that no one in Japan ever gets this symptom.  If I get the chance maybe I’ll ask someone more bicultural about this; chances are though I’ll just never bring up the idea of ”sinus” anything in Japan again.  Ha ha.

A few days ago the weather abruptly changed from the scorching summer heat and humidity we’d all become familiar with to fall-like weather. It’s been so nice lately; being able to comfortably snuggle between the covers at night without suffering from heat stroke.  I look forward to seeing the leaves change and to get more chances to get out and see Japan.

I’ve now realized how important it is to get out and have a vacation while being a foreinger in a foreign country.  This may sound strange to the native people here, but living in a smaller city can be trying on a foreigner.  You get tired of being stared at/treated differently/etc. and need to spend a fun weekend away.  I’m thinking that from now on I need to make sure we get out of Iida once every month or two.  With the 5 day national holiday weekend coming up we’ll be going to at least Matsumoto where Ryan can see one of the 4 most famous and traditional castles in Japan.  We also need to make a trip up to Nagano City for his visa reentry permit.   These two places, of course, are in Nagano Prefecture.  I hope to get in contact with some friends soon or otherwise plan another trip around Japan.

At the same time Iida hasn’t been to bad.  Our concert is less than a month away so the number of practices has picked up considerably.  Also we always have Kitty  and our online games.  This weekend was Kitty’s two month anniversary with us.  It feels like she’s been here at least six months.  Funny how time flies and how her small furry body has added so much extra to our home.  As Ryan says, it’s nice to have a furry around.

Summer has come and gone.  We’ve already been back in school for more than a week and this fall’s schedule is slowly filling up with English camps, speech contests, debate contests, etc. It’s the busiest time of year for ALTs and is unfortunately when the majority of ALTs begin working at a school.  I thought it wouldn’t be so bad now that I’ve experienced the fall rush.  I suppose it’s not that bad because I know what to expect, and for the most part, how to survive.  I did go on a bit of an emotional rollercoaster though, one day thinking that I was so happy that I recontracted, the next day thinking “Why the hell did I sign up for this again!” I suppose that’s normal too.  Ha ha.

Ryan and I enjoyed a fairly quiet summer.  His classes just ended today and mine began last week.  We honesty don’t do much, which is a bit sad to say.  We did go on trips around town, took part in Iida’s Puppetry Festival and Ringon Festival (Iida’s biggest summer festival) where tried just about ever kind of street food available.  Mostly though we’ve just been studying, play video games and take care of our cat at home.  Sometimes I wonder if it would’ve been better not to begin this MU TESOL grad program so soon and to be taking classes so intensly.  On one hand, I’ll have a degree by May and Ryan’s on track to earning his own degree, but on another hand we haven’t had the time or money (mostly money) to take trips outside the area.   This is definitely something to consider if you’re getting a job abroad.  While it’s good to take part in trainings and earn certifications while you’re abroad to better your future, at the same time you should take this opportunity to see and explore the new country and region of the world you’re in. 

Our school’s new ALT has arrived from Interac and he seems great.  We’ll be throwing him and his wife a welcome party tomorrow and look forward to having a great partner at school.  He seems very serious and hardworking; it seems like he’ll be getting just as much work as any JET ALT the school has ever had, but yet not be hired by the school itself (not to mention be paid less). He seems to have some perks though not being so closely tied to the school.  For one, he was given a car and can drive to and from school.  The few perks don’t outweigh the downsides, including only having a 7 month contract (until March, the end of our school year – my contract is for 12 months, until August).  Still, I’m very happy he’s here and that he’s so into his job.  If the school has any say in it, I’m sure he’ll be recontracted many times.

I go back and forth between being great at staying in contact with home and not.  This morning I was reading some random articles on the BBC world news website and saw an article about Japan’s recent earthquake. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8194563.stm  At the same time I was talking with a Japanese friend who’s living in the US who said she promptly called her parents after reading about the earthquake in the newspaper.  It was at that time I realized I probably should’ve at least written on here at the earthquake was interesting/annoying/woke me up/etc. and that I was ok.  So, sorry family members.  The earthquake wasn’t a problem at all.

It hit around 5am and was enough to wake us up.  I rolled over, hugged Ryan and said “Protect me from the earthquake, k?” and we fell back asleep.  When I woke up for work around 7 I thought, “Did that actually happen?”  That was the biggest earthquake I’d ever felt but in all actuality it wasn’t that powerful, at least where I lived.  Nothing fell off the shelves or anything, I just looked up for a few seconds and saw that we were being shaken a little. 

I’m getting my days confused now because of summer break but I believe that was the day we went to the bus stop at Iida Station to say good bye to our two students who will be exchange students in America for one year.  Talk about leaving with a bang.  I’m sure they’ll have fun telling their host families about Japan’s earthquakes once they arrive.

What are suppose to be the dog days of summer here in Japan have surprisingly been quite rainy. Summer break began Wednesday and students will have no class for the next three weeks. It’s a big difference from the 3 months I’m used to receiving back in the US, but I suppose having shorter breaks is better for students because they’ll remember what they learned. A lot of students are coming to school every day anyways to participate in their clubs which I still find funny even though I’ve been in Japan exactly one year now.

Anyway, what am I doing at school during summer break? Well, as a teacher the only way you can get out of coming to school every day is taking time off. A good number of teachers are gone from the office out on vacations, visiting family, or just taking care of personal stuff around town. While this might not sound like the funnest thing to do, Ryan and I decided that since we don’t have that much extra cash on hand and will want extra vacation in the coming months for going back to America, visiting other parts of Japan, and other countries that I’ll just go to work every day during summer vacation. I actually have a lot to do here which include editing 40 essays from the 3rd year students on their study trip to Australia, planning for the next semester, and reading ahead for my next semeter’s worth of graduate classes. It can be a bit mind numbing at times having no classes to teach and nothing but the sounds of volleyball and band practice filtering into the office from the open windows, but whenever I start to loose focus I’ll turn to my blog or whatnot to reawaken my mind.

A few weeks ago a bunch of the ALTs around my region got together for dinner at a new Indian restaurant in town.  Out of the 13 of us in the Iida City area on the JET Program only 4 are re-contracting.  The ones leaving have stayed here anywhere from one to three years, I believe, and are all heading home from what seemed to have been a great time abroad in Japan.  As we were eating the conversation wandered to why the ones who are re-contracting decided to do so.  One ALT in my area said he/she doesn’t like kids, doesn’t like teaching, and doesn’t like English as a subject, but on the other hand absolutely loves Japan, living here and learning the language.  I sat back for a few seconds and thought about this.  I’m just about the polar opposite.  I like teaching, like kids and like studying how to teach English as a second/foreign language (thus I’m earning my masters in TESOL).  While Japan is a nice country and it’s nice living here, I don’t like it any more than the next country.  I rarely study the language, and although I should definitely tour Japan more before leaving and/or take part in some cultural activities I hardly ever do so.  Sometimes in fact, I wish I was in Korea where I have more friends and feel more connected with the culture.   So I guess the guy/gal I was talking to violates eligibility criteria #13: Be interested in actively working with students and #15: Be qualified as a language teacher or be strongly motivated to take part in the teaching of foreign languages, while I violate eligibility criteria #16: Successful applicants are expected to make an effort to study or continue studying the Japanese language prior to and after arriving in Japan.  Does slopping through the JET Program intermediate level Japanese course count as studying?  ^_^;

Who’s better?  Who’s worse?  Does it matter?

- Well actually, it probably doesn’t matter.

The JET Program “is aimed at promoting grass-roots international exchange between Japan and other nations.”  In doing so, it provides thousands of assistant language teachers to local schools throughout Japan to assist in teaching English and about their home cultures while learning about Japan.  These ideas are pretty compatible; it’s fairly easy to teach about one’s culture and/or any other topic of interest through the medium of English and of course, you learn about the culture on a daily basis.  If you’re a program and your main objective is international cooperation then any professional individual who’s grown up in the targeted cultures and is interested in Japanese culture should be just fine for the job.  However, after working at a high school with an international program for a year I can still safely say that international exchange is not our main job.  Day in and day out we are teaching English.  We struggle despite the system already set in place to teach students how to read, write, speak and think in English.  This being said, I’m not convinced that it’s ok to give anyone with a college degree an ALT position.  Right now that’s the norm.  The JET Program, as well as private ALT programs like Interac and most private English cram schools only require a college degree.  ALTs with no prior experience in the classroom aren’t bad, they learn as they go, but learning how to teach while learning how to adjust to a new culture and whatnot seems like a lot to handle, and of course, you get people like the person I talked with who honestly have no interest in teaching or children.  If Japan really wants to increase the English proficiency of its students that it should look into hiring more ALTs with teaching experience for these individuals will be more comfortable in front of the classroom, be used to working with children, require less adjustment to working in a school, have many ideas regarding how to teach English, probably on average be more eager to teach, and not to mention be just as skilled at teaching about their culture.  People with degrees in education and/or experience teaching should be the norm. 

How to do this? 

Programs like JET would probably have to promote at colleges of education at the grassroots level.  Try to convince soon-to-be-teachers that spending a year abroad will make them more well-rounded educators who’ll have a greater appreciation for diversity and international initiatives.  According to the University of Missouri’s College of Education 92% of graduates get teaching jobs within Missouri!  I’m fairly certain almost everyone else gets teaching jobs within the US, most likely in neighboring States.  Probably less than 1% go abroad to teach although having teachers who are more aware of other cultures and ways of thinking would probably be great assets to any school.  I wonder if I could somehow talk to MU college of education majors about teaching abroad?

Usually “good byes” take place in March as students graduate and teachers get shuffled around by the board of education. This week though, in the past few days, we’ve been saying “good bye” to students and an ALT who have in the past year, touched our hearts.

Yesterday my 2nd year students had a farewell party for the four students who will be heading off to foreign countries within the next month.  Members of the class prepared a PowerPoint with pictures from their last year and a half together and personal notes to each student.  There was a lot of tears.  As excited as everyone is about them America, Italy and France to be exchange students for a year, everyone is really sad to see them go.  Not only were they were four of the best students in the class they were fun to have around.  I hope that I can see them when they return to Japan, meaning that I better stay on the JET Program at least three years total.  That wouldn’t be such a bad thing though.

I’m very impressed with these students and their determination.  To live and study abroad as a high school student for a whole year seems difficult, but despite any tears or fears of the unknown they’re going for it.  I wish I would have conveyed better to them that this experience will change their lives.  They will learn so much.  They will grow so much.  I’m truly happy for them and wish them the best. 

I was also  impressed by serveral aspects of this farewell party.  First of all, how even though this was a student led event it still proceeded in a sort of predictable Japanese style.  There were a lot of speeches, including speeches from us ALTs (that we didn’t know about in advance!), small gifts, a lot of bowing and a certain order for everything to take place.  What was more impressive though was the bonds these students made with each other over their past year and a half together as a class.  In America I didn’t have a homeroom class in high school, and even if high schools had homeroom classes, the students wouldn’t have had to take nearly all their classes together.  This homeroom, because they are with each other all day create really strong bonds as a group that you’d never see or experience in America. I did notice while students were milling around and eating snacks that there were separate smaller groups of students in different parts of the room.  Sometimes it’s easy to look at a class as a whole and say, “Wow, everyone’s so close to each other.”  In reality, Japan’s like America.  Some friendships are stronger than others, someone’s always on the outside looking in.

Tonight there’s an English teacher farewell party for the other ALT who will be leaving in less than a week now.  We both came to our high school at the same time through the JET Program and it’ll be sad and a little strange to work here without him. 

There were many “good byes,” but we can look forward to saying “hello” to the new ALT, as well as a new exchange student from France.

My high school recently had its biggest and best event of the year – the school festival.  Completely different from anything you’d ever experience in America, the “bunka sai” lasted three days and was a huge success thanks to all the hard work put forth by the student body.  If there’s one lesson I learned from this past weekend, Japanese students are great at working in large groups.  If given the freedom, responsibility and room for creativity, they’ll never cease to amaze you with what they can create. 

Preparations

Students had been preparing for the festival for months.  Students on the festival committee had planned out the schedule and all the events well in advance, dividing up the work among smaller committees.  At least a month prior to the festival I saw students cutting down bamboo trees from a nearby forest to build the massive entrance structure, as well as other students making t-shirt designs, making up dance routines, and rehearsing, rehearsing, rehearsing.   Each classroom got to decorate up their classroom however they liked, choosing whether they’d rather have games, make a haunted house, sell food or drinks, present about a foreign country, etc.  It seems like everyone was involved in the making of the school festival somehow. 

Friday

We only had a half day of classes Friday so that students could begin setting up their homerooms and other locations around the school for the school festival.   All desks and locker units were cleared out so that they could be moved into other classrooms, or, in the case of the lockers, be stacked and made into dividers for classrooms that were shared by two homerooms.   The transformation that took place within the school was quite impressive.

Students preparing their classrooms for the festival

Class 3-8's Classroom. They showed pictures of their trip to Australia and sold ice cream.

Saturday

Ryan came along with me to the school festival on Saturday.  The school didn’t open to the public until 1pm which gave us a chance to see all the student performances performed by students for students.  After putting the final touches on their classrooms, the students gathered in the gym to kick off the school festival.   We were entertained by the basketball club members, who took turns jumping off a trampoline to score slam dunks, by the hip hop club, who danced to appropriate and not-so-appropriate rap songs as well as cutesy Japanese songs, and by the music groups at school, which consisted of the school band and the various rock bands.  After lunch the school opened up to the public and Ryan and I were able to wander around and enjoy the festivities.  It was fun walking around the classrooms and seeing what the students had put together.  At 2pm we went to see the Karate club’s demonstration and I also went to have tea at the school’s tea house with the tea ceremony club.  It was a busy but fun day. 

School Festival Entrance. It's "Chopper" from One Piece - a popular animated show in Japan.

Festival banner. This year's theme was "Yes We Can!" Japanese kids like Obama btw.

One of the school's rock bands. They're all from the international studies program and are all wearing Australian shorts.

Outdoor Performance

Sunday

School was open to the festival all day today so we saw a lot more people wandering around the festival including some of the international students from the University of Missouri program.  It was great meeting up with friends and being able to show them around.  Some of us watched two of the student rock bands from the third year international studies class.  It was amazing seeing my students up on stage rocking out.  I got some pictures and videos of the students and the school decorations before the end of the festival.

At the end of the day students proceeded to turn the school back into normal, tearing down their decorations and cleaning up the one festive corridors and classrooms.  As I exited the school I heard some girls saying “kawaisou” or pitiful and looking at a little kitten.  This kitten must’ve been abandoned at the festival and had been wandering around, half starved to death.  From a distance it looked like the victim of some cruel joke – no tail and really short ears.  Coming closer and inspecting the cat, which one girl was now playing with, I saw that it was a Manx cat with unusually short ears.  I could feel every rib in her ribcage, every bump on her spine.  Even though Manx cats are suppose to have extra long back legs, hers appear to be too long so she walked around strangely.  She had a bit of a cold, but other than that and being starved, she was healthy, and more importantly, the cat was extremely friendly and playful.   I decided then and there she would be our pet.  One of the teachers helped me take “Kitty” home to an overjoyed Ryan, who’d been bothering me for weeks about how he missed having a “fuzzy” around the house.  Kitty has been with us nearly a week now and has been filling out nicely.  She’s the friendliest cat I’ve ever met, constantly nuzzling us and purring.  I can’t see why someone would abandon such a lovey pet.    

The cute and friendly but starved and strange Cabbit (cat rabbit) I found at school.

Kitty relaxing at home with Ryan

Monday

Monday was field day for the students.  Each class wore their class t-shirts and participated in various games on the school grounds.  Afterwards there was a bonfire lit by the flaming arrows of the Japanese archery club, a school-wide water fight, and fireworks.   I stayed through part of the water fight but headed out early because I needed to buy cat food.  It’d been a fun, but long and exhausting weekend and I was looking forward to a bit of a break.

Girls in 'stage costumes'

Running around the Bonfire

Tuesday

We had one day to recuperate from the festival.  I can’t really remember what I did – probably a whole lot of nothing.  Even though I had no specific job at the festival it was still exhausting running around with the students in the summer heat.  

The Rest of the Week

Class began again as usual on Wednesday to my dismay.  Tuesday was like our Saturday making Wednesday feel extremely long and as though we weren’t meant to be there.  Usually time seems to pass quickly at school and in Japan in general, however that was not the case for the rest of this week.  I managed to survive though and now am enjoying a 3-day weekend thanks to “Umi no Hi” or Ocean Day, another one of Japan’s many national holidays.  Ryan’s enjoying his new video game sent from America by mom and we’re both enjoying Kitty’s presence here at home.