So, Natalie and I are trying to decide on whether we should go Tokyo for New Year's vacation or if we should go to China?
I think both would be great. Personally, I'm leaning towards China. What do you think, ghosts of blogger present?
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Oddness at work
Yesterday was quite an interesting day.
You see, at work, we have these special days called "working days". During working days, we don't have our usual classes. Instead, we have private lessons, supplemental lessons, or make-up lessons. So instead of having the usual 7 or 8 classes per day, I had about 3 or 4 classes every day this week. Now, what made yesterday so unusual was the arrival of a certain unwanted guest. My manager was absent yesterday. She had a wedding to attend to, much to the disappointment of myself and my coworkers. My manager is really great. She's understanding and kind, but most of all, she's good at her job. So yesterday, the district manager took over my manager's job for the day. This was our unwanted guest.
Why was she unwanted, you ask? Well, to me, it's the utter fear that she instilled unto all of the Japanese teachers that work at my school. Seriously, yesterday felt like I was stuck inside a prison. Usually, at work, things are really relaxed. We work hard but still have a chance to talk. But yesterday, all of the teacher's were scared shit less of the district manager. It was really weird. Everyone was really uptight. The district manager is really evil and picky about the most little things. For example. she DEMANDS that all cabinet doors be closed at all times. Why? I have no clue but the Japanese teachers would literally freak out if I forgot to close a door. And then, the district manager just seems like an evil person. The kind of person who's hobby is to make other people cry or who enjoys making people feel bad for doing something good. Anyways, the point is that the environment at my school was nervous and anxious yesterday. I hated it. Felt like a prison. It felt like if I were to sneeze, the Japanese people flying kick me right between the eyes instantly.
I don't know. It's kind of an insight into Japanese business culture. I don't have much of a grasp on Japanese business culture but I know that the sheer presence of a higher manager around lower workers causes Godzilla-like mass panic. Bizarre.
You see, at work, we have these special days called "working days". During working days, we don't have our usual classes. Instead, we have private lessons, supplemental lessons, or make-up lessons. So instead of having the usual 7 or 8 classes per day, I had about 3 or 4 classes every day this week. Now, what made yesterday so unusual was the arrival of a certain unwanted guest. My manager was absent yesterday. She had a wedding to attend to, much to the disappointment of myself and my coworkers. My manager is really great. She's understanding and kind, but most of all, she's good at her job. So yesterday, the district manager took over my manager's job for the day. This was our unwanted guest.
Why was she unwanted, you ask? Well, to me, it's the utter fear that she instilled unto all of the Japanese teachers that work at my school. Seriously, yesterday felt like I was stuck inside a prison. Usually, at work, things are really relaxed. We work hard but still have a chance to talk. But yesterday, all of the teacher's were scared shit less of the district manager. It was really weird. Everyone was really uptight. The district manager is really evil and picky about the most little things. For example. she DEMANDS that all cabinet doors be closed at all times. Why? I have no clue but the Japanese teachers would literally freak out if I forgot to close a door. And then, the district manager just seems like an evil person. The kind of person who's hobby is to make other people cry or who enjoys making people feel bad for doing something good. Anyways, the point is that the environment at my school was nervous and anxious yesterday. I hated it. Felt like a prison. It felt like if I were to sneeze, the Japanese people flying kick me right between the eyes instantly.
I don't know. It's kind of an insight into Japanese business culture. I don't have much of a grasp on Japanese business culture but I know that the sheer presence of a higher manager around lower workers causes Godzilla-like mass panic. Bizarre.
Friday, July 29, 2011
Boring week
My world has fallen into a routine.
On one hand, it's nice and on the other hand, well...it's routine. I wake up, eat breakfast, go to work, eat lunch, go home, eat dinner and sleep. Not very exciting for a life in Japan now is it? But hey, that's life. I feel good because I work and earn money. So that's life in Japan.
Of course, even everyday life has it's interesting points. I love walking or biking around town and catching a glimpse of a woman or man in a Kimono. I love passing by a beautiful Japanese style house. I love watching Japanese people bow to each other endlessly. For example, today there were two groups of older Japanese people and they were saying goodbye to each other. They kept bowing to each other for minutes on end while I was in the subway. What for? A simple wave and smile would've sufficed where I come from. Of course, things are different in Japan. Or during one of my private lessons, I learned from a Japanese mother that at Japanese weddings, only unmarried women are allowed to wear colorful Kimono's to the ceremony. The rest wear monotone colors. The other day, I answered the phone at my school in Japanese for the first time. Today, one of my students showed me a Japanese magic trick. There are lots of little interesting things on a day to day basis.
So, what am I getting at? I'm not sure. It's the middle of the week. And not much has happened. Thankfully, I have Natalie as well.. She is the best! Hopefully, this week will go faster and I'll be able to write about my next adventure in Japan. And I really have to vent about how bad some Japanese children are, but I'll save that for a later post. I'm in a good mood. Chow.
On one hand, it's nice and on the other hand, well...it's routine. I wake up, eat breakfast, go to work, eat lunch, go home, eat dinner and sleep. Not very exciting for a life in Japan now is it? But hey, that's life. I feel good because I work and earn money. So that's life in Japan.
Of course, even everyday life has it's interesting points. I love walking or biking around town and catching a glimpse of a woman or man in a Kimono. I love passing by a beautiful Japanese style house. I love watching Japanese people bow to each other endlessly. For example, today there were two groups of older Japanese people and they were saying goodbye to each other. They kept bowing to each other for minutes on end while I was in the subway. What for? A simple wave and smile would've sufficed where I come from. Of course, things are different in Japan. Or during one of my private lessons, I learned from a Japanese mother that at Japanese weddings, only unmarried women are allowed to wear colorful Kimono's to the ceremony. The rest wear monotone colors. The other day, I answered the phone at my school in Japanese for the first time. Today, one of my students showed me a Japanese magic trick. There are lots of little interesting things on a day to day basis.
So, what am I getting at? I'm not sure. It's the middle of the week. And not much has happened. Thankfully, I have Natalie as well.. She is the best! Hopefully, this week will go faster and I'll be able to write about my next adventure in Japan. And I really have to vent about how bad some Japanese children are, but I'll save that for a later post. I'm in a good mood. Chow.
Monday, July 25, 2011
Another weekend gone by
This weekend was interesting. It started off kind of slow, picked up again, and then slowed down. On Saturday, Natalie was under the weather so we just decided to kick it at home. Nothing much there, but it was nice to relax for a change. We seem to always be on a go, go, go pace.Sunday was a bit more eventful.
We started by going to Okayama and visiting Korakuen garden. It's supposed to be one of the 3 nicest gardens in all of Japan. Of course, this is all a matter of personal opinion but it's nice to have such a place in the city where I work. Needless to say, it was quite beautiful! Japanese gardens are so perfect. Every single tree, leaf, and hell even pebbles seem to be impeccably and deliberately placed. It's really crazy. Everything about it was perfect. All of the grass was a perfect shade of green. And there were also lots of Koi fish in the streams all around. I was really impressed by the sheer detail and work that must go into up keeping such a pristine garden. Of course, we've all seen pictures but you have to kind of just go. Anyways, Natalie and I really enjoyed ourselves. I'm excited to see more gardens in Japan and to see how they compare to Korakuen garden.
Afterwards, we spent the night eating and drinking with my coworkers. It was pretty fun. We went to a beer Garden, where you can drink and eat to your hearts content under the open sky for a few hours. I wish we had these in America. After our beer garden extravaganza, we all headed to Karaoke. Just the usual fun as always, well except for a few annoying things. All things aside, Natalie and I noticed that the first song some of the people sang was an Amy Winehouse song. We had no idea that she had passed away. I was never the biggest fan but it's always sad to hear about talented people going down the drain like that. Best wishes to her family.
This brings me to another thought. It's about the disconnect with your home country that one feels when staying abroad. Your new country becomes your reality even though you're not really a citizen and native. What I mean is that I have no freaking clue what's going on back home. When I'm in America, I hear and see all of these horror stories in the newspaper and in the news. It's really freaky and scary. However, when I'm here, it seems like nothing matters back home aside from the well being of my family and friends. Seriously, Natalie and I decided to read the news the past few days and right off the bat, it goes like this: 87 people massacred in Norway, Amy Winehouse deceased, and America is about to default on it's loans (causing a worldwide economic catastrophe). Does anything ever happen that's good in America ( and the world)?
All of this being said, it's nice to be oblivious to all of the negativity. Things to look forward to: The beach next weekend! Gonna try to report on how my battle with Japanese children is going in the meantime.
We started by going to Okayama and visiting Korakuen garden. It's supposed to be one of the 3 nicest gardens in all of Japan. Of course, this is all a matter of personal opinion but it's nice to have such a place in the city where I work. Needless to say, it was quite beautiful! Japanese gardens are so perfect. Every single tree, leaf, and hell even pebbles seem to be impeccably and deliberately placed. It's really crazy. Everything about it was perfect. All of the grass was a perfect shade of green. And there were also lots of Koi fish in the streams all around. I was really impressed by the sheer detail and work that must go into up keeping such a pristine garden. Of course, we've all seen pictures but you have to kind of just go. Anyways, Natalie and I really enjoyed ourselves. I'm excited to see more gardens in Japan and to see how they compare to Korakuen garden.
Afterwards, we spent the night eating and drinking with my coworkers. It was pretty fun. We went to a beer Garden, where you can drink and eat to your hearts content under the open sky for a few hours. I wish we had these in America. After our beer garden extravaganza, we all headed to Karaoke. Just the usual fun as always, well except for a few annoying things. All things aside, Natalie and I noticed that the first song some of the people sang was an Amy Winehouse song. We had no idea that she had passed away. I was never the biggest fan but it's always sad to hear about talented people going down the drain like that. Best wishes to her family.
This brings me to another thought. It's about the disconnect with your home country that one feels when staying abroad. Your new country becomes your reality even though you're not really a citizen and native. What I mean is that I have no freaking clue what's going on back home. When I'm in America, I hear and see all of these horror stories in the newspaper and in the news. It's really freaky and scary. However, when I'm here, it seems like nothing matters back home aside from the well being of my family and friends. Seriously, Natalie and I decided to read the news the past few days and right off the bat, it goes like this: 87 people massacred in Norway, Amy Winehouse deceased, and America is about to default on it's loans (causing a worldwide economic catastrophe). Does anything ever happen that's good in America ( and the world)?
All of this being said, it's nice to be oblivious to all of the negativity. Things to look forward to: The beach next weekend! Gonna try to report on how my battle with Japanese children is going in the meantime.
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Children
My first anti-children thread...3 weeks into my job. I'm surprised I lasted this long.
Most have been okay. Some have been excellent. Others have been shit.
Sometimes, It's just a huge power struggle between myself and the aforementioned bad kid. For example, today I had a student that came into the class late. He comes in and won't sit nicely and he keeps talking while I'm talking. He also acts disrespectfully towards me and he was also extremely violent with the tiniest little girl in the class. So then, I lost it. It was Transformers time! Good teacher - Bye! Hello Mean Teacher. I had to raise my voice numerous times and generally give him the evil eye. And giving the evil eye is not something I'm good at. I believe that a small part of my soul dies each time I raise my voice at a student. I hate it.
Just had to vent. It's not much of a story but as a teacher, it's frustrating. I feel bad for the really good kids that try hard but are surrounded by misbehaved students. They end up having to suffer the most. So unfair.
Most have been okay. Some have been excellent. Others have been shit.
Sometimes, It's just a huge power struggle between myself and the aforementioned bad kid. For example, today I had a student that came into the class late. He comes in and won't sit nicely and he keeps talking while I'm talking. He also acts disrespectfully towards me and he was also extremely violent with the tiniest little girl in the class. So then, I lost it. It was Transformers time! Good teacher - Bye! Hello Mean Teacher. I had to raise my voice numerous times and generally give him the evil eye. And giving the evil eye is not something I'm good at. I believe that a small part of my soul dies each time I raise my voice at a student. I hate it.
Just had to vent. It's not much of a story but as a teacher, it's frustrating. I feel bad for the really good kids that try hard but are surrounded by misbehaved students. They end up having to suffer the most. So unfair.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Random Recent thoughts
+ Today, there was a Typhoon in Okayama. There is a plus and minus to everything in life: the plus being that 3 of my classes today got cancelled, which is nice because I get extra time at home to relax. The minus being that there is an annoying banging sound from the wind coming from outside and it's really loud.
+While walking around Kurashiki, we noticed that the neighborhood that Natalie lives in is very...American. It's like an American suburb, except it's actually pleasant. I really don't like American suburbs. No, I hate American suburbs. The unoriginality of it just irks me.What is it about the neighborhood that makes it American? I can't quite put my finger on it. One of the things that makes it suburban is that it's not in downtown Kurashiki. It doesn't have anything going on in it. There are no attractions or nightlife areas. Just family restaurants and houses. Everything is really neat and convenient. It's very livable. It's also not like an American suburb in that it's not cookie cutter like. There is still a lot of personality and the houses are actually based on aesthetically pleasing architectural styles. It's just a really nice, quiet, and clean neighborhood. I'm diggin' it.
+We ate at a make-your-own-udon soup shop yesterday. And yes, you make it yourself.
+We officially finished planning for our Obon vacation (one of our three long vacations in Japan). We are going to Kyoto!!! I can't tell you how excited I am to visit Japan's ancient capital. It's going to be a blast.
+Yesterday I bought a raincoat for a dollar. Today, it tore.
+We just finished watching all ten episodes of Game of Thrones Season 1. What an amazing show based off probably my favorite book series ever (A song of Ice and Fire)! Even better is that the 5th book (out of 7) in the series came out last week. I'm so excited to read it.
+I still haven't found a Pokemon.
+What else? I'm very tired right now. And that's why this post is so in cohesive. Gonna get some sleep.G'night!
+While walking around Kurashiki, we noticed that the neighborhood that Natalie lives in is very...American. It's like an American suburb, except it's actually pleasant. I really don't like American suburbs. No, I hate American suburbs. The unoriginality of it just irks me.What is it about the neighborhood that makes it American? I can't quite put my finger on it. One of the things that makes it suburban is that it's not in downtown Kurashiki. It doesn't have anything going on in it. There are no attractions or nightlife areas. Just family restaurants and houses. Everything is really neat and convenient. It's very livable. It's also not like an American suburb in that it's not cookie cutter like. There is still a lot of personality and the houses are actually based on aesthetically pleasing architectural styles. It's just a really nice, quiet, and clean neighborhood. I'm diggin' it.
+We ate at a make-your-own-udon soup shop yesterday. And yes, you make it yourself.
+We officially finished planning for our Obon vacation (one of our three long vacations in Japan). We are going to Kyoto!!! I can't tell you how excited I am to visit Japan's ancient capital. It's going to be a blast.
+Yesterday I bought a raincoat for a dollar. Today, it tore.
+We just finished watching all ten episodes of Game of Thrones Season 1. What an amazing show based off probably my favorite book series ever (A song of Ice and Fire)! Even better is that the 5th book (out of 7) in the series came out last week. I'm so excited to read it.
+I still haven't found a Pokemon.
+What else? I'm very tired right now. And that's why this post is so in cohesive. Gonna get some sleep.G'night!
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Wow
My first week at work is over! I think it couldn't have gone any better. The kids were better than I expected and the classes weren't as hard to teach as I had first thought. But now, It's the weekend and it's time to forget about work. Last night, I headed to Kurashiki to hang out with Nat after work.
We ended up having dinner at some really quaint restaurant. It had really cool 1950's Japanese beer posters and a manga library to read from. I really liked it. We ate edamame and I had omurice (a rice omelette with gravy on it).
Afterwards, Natalie and I walked around town aimlessly looking at everything. Japan is so well presented. Everywhere I go and everything I see is well presented. The plants and decor are so immaculate. I've never been anywhere so sophiticated where almost everyone cares so much about appearance. Then, we also ended up trying Doppo Peach beer. Doppo is a microbrewery in Okayama city. We decided that the beer was good but that it needed more beer and less peach. We also stumbled onto a red light district of sorts. It was really strange. There were tons of drunk men and a few women dressed in Kimono's vying for all of the men's attention. The alley was really weird. When we finally walked out of the alley, a bunch of cops showed up for some reason. Weird. After, we also ended up going into a tiny little bar. The bar caught our eye because the entrance had a bunch of Christmas lights around it. It just looked interesting so we went in. The bar was really tiny! It had two really small rooms. Inside, it had darts, hello kitty pictures, backstreet boys music, and just general Japanese weirdness. While sipping our beer, the owner of the bar came up and started talking to us with whatever little English he had. He was really really friendly and curious about English and about us. We really enjoyed talking to him.
In the end, that just reaffirmed that Japanese people are some of the friendliest I have EVER met. I have not met one rude person in my three weeks in Japan. For example, yesterday, I asked some older lady in Japanese for directions and she went out of her way to take me to where I was going, all while being super friendly and helpful.
I love Japan. Today is Sunday so I'm going to head out and enjoy the beautiful weather while it's here. Apparently, a Typhoon is headed our way.
We ended up having dinner at some really quaint restaurant. It had really cool 1950's Japanese beer posters and a manga library to read from. I really liked it. We ate edamame and I had omurice (a rice omelette with gravy on it).
Afterwards, Natalie and I walked around town aimlessly looking at everything. Japan is so well presented. Everywhere I go and everything I see is well presented. The plants and decor are so immaculate. I've never been anywhere so sophiticated where almost everyone cares so much about appearance. Then, we also ended up trying Doppo Peach beer. Doppo is a microbrewery in Okayama city. We decided that the beer was good but that it needed more beer and less peach. We also stumbled onto a red light district of sorts. It was really strange. There were tons of drunk men and a few women dressed in Kimono's vying for all of the men's attention. The alley was really weird. When we finally walked out of the alley, a bunch of cops showed up for some reason. Weird. After, we also ended up going into a tiny little bar. The bar caught our eye because the entrance had a bunch of Christmas lights around it. It just looked interesting so we went in. The bar was really tiny! It had two really small rooms. Inside, it had darts, hello kitty pictures, backstreet boys music, and just general Japanese weirdness. While sipping our beer, the owner of the bar came up and started talking to us with whatever little English he had. He was really really friendly and curious about English and about us. We really enjoyed talking to him.
In the end, that just reaffirmed that Japanese people are some of the friendliest I have EVER met. I have not met one rude person in my three weeks in Japan. For example, yesterday, I asked some older lady in Japanese for directions and she went out of her way to take me to where I was going, all while being super friendly and helpful.
I love Japan. Today is Sunday so I'm going to head out and enjoy the beautiful weather while it's here. Apparently, a Typhoon is headed our way.
Thursday, July 14, 2011
day 3 outta the way
Just finished day 3 at my school. Things are going really well so far. I feel really comfortable teaching and I'm using a lot of the experience I have from last year. The only thing that is bad is the prep time. Hopefully, I can cut that down.
Today was really good as well. My last 2 classes were cancelled today so I only taught 3 classes! That's nothing! I got to catch up on planning today. So, today was good. Also, kids say and "do the darnest things". I taught time today. One o clock, two o clock, etc. I also taught the words know, laugh, and knock. My student (4 years old) kept yelling ONE COCK, TWO COCK no matter how many times I tried to correct him. Same with knock and...you guessed it. Last week, he kept saying One NOKO...this week it's one cock.
I'm starting to point my thoughts towards the weekend. What to do...what to explore? I can't wait to find out
Today was really good as well. My last 2 classes were cancelled today so I only taught 3 classes! That's nothing! I got to catch up on planning today. So, today was good. Also, kids say and "do the darnest things". I taught time today. One o clock, two o clock, etc. I also taught the words know, laugh, and knock. My student (4 years old) kept yelling ONE COCK, TWO COCK no matter how many times I tried to correct him. Same with knock and...you guessed it. Last week, he kept saying One NOKO...this week it's one cock.
I'm starting to point my thoughts towards the weekend. What to do...what to explore? I can't wait to find out
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
There are 10 green bottles...
There are 10 green bottles hanging on a fence...
I have so many children's songs stuck in my head after my first day of work. Luckily, I survived. I had a whopping 7 classes today. It was rough but I made it. I went in early today and organized all of my materials and props and lesson plans. I felt much better after that. Out of the 7 classes that I taught, I think I aced 6 of them. The one that I didn't ace was a private lesson with a 4 year old. Man, he was so bad. I knew he was going to be bad but not this bad. He couldn't sit still for one frickin second. He kept rolling around and trying to crawl through my legs while I was teaching him stuff. And then when I raised my voice at him, he would start acting all booty hurt. He also couldn't remember anything that I taught him even though I've taught the same class successfully. Afterwards...I realized that it was just funny and that there was only so much I could've done.
All in all, I feel good after my first day. However, I had help planning these lessons. The real work starts when I have to plan all of my lessons from scratch. Me and Natalie are going to try to split the planning to ease our load. Hopefully it works out. I also hope that the rest of my week, month, and year go as well as today. And if not, well...I'm in freakin Japan!!! So, I'm gonna try to catch some Z's for my second day and try not to keep singing children's songs in my head..
There are 10 green bottles hanging on the fence and if one should accidentally fall...
p.s. I made my lunch and brought it to work today. Rice, Kim chi, chicken, and dried seaweed.I don't think I've ever done that. I feel like a little kid. I'm going to go buy myself a Sesame street lunch box. Haha
I have so many children's songs stuck in my head after my first day of work. Luckily, I survived. I had a whopping 7 classes today. It was rough but I made it. I went in early today and organized all of my materials and props and lesson plans. I felt much better after that. Out of the 7 classes that I taught, I think I aced 6 of them. The one that I didn't ace was a private lesson with a 4 year old. Man, he was so bad. I knew he was going to be bad but not this bad. He couldn't sit still for one frickin second. He kept rolling around and trying to crawl through my legs while I was teaching him stuff. And then when I raised my voice at him, he would start acting all booty hurt. He also couldn't remember anything that I taught him even though I've taught the same class successfully. Afterwards...I realized that it was just funny and that there was only so much I could've done.
All in all, I feel good after my first day. However, I had help planning these lessons. The real work starts when I have to plan all of my lessons from scratch. Me and Natalie are going to try to split the planning to ease our load. Hopefully it works out. I also hope that the rest of my week, month, and year go as well as today. And if not, well...I'm in freakin Japan!!! So, I'm gonna try to catch some Z's for my second day and try not to keep singing children's songs in my head..
There are 10 green bottles hanging on the fence and if one should accidentally fall...
p.s. I made my lunch and brought it to work today. Rice, Kim chi, chicken, and dried seaweed.I don't think I've ever done that. I feel like a little kid. I'm going to go buy myself a Sesame street lunch box. Haha
Monday, July 11, 2011
Thai Pan
Just got back from a really nice Thai restaurant behind Natalie's apartment. Some of our new friends took us there for lunch and I'm really happy to say that it was a really cool place. I wasn't expecting any sort of Thai food in Kurashiki nor Okayama, but there it is. It's really well decorated and the owner is super friendly and speaks good English. That's always a plus when almost noone you know speaks English. The food was pretty good. Now, don't get me wrong. I have very high standards for Thai food and it was not nearly as good as the real thing but you know, it got the job done. The atmosphere was really nice as well.
Also, last night was a lot of fun. Me and Natalie met up with the girl that she's replacing for her goodbye dinner. We got to meet a lot of her friends who were all really nice. For dinner, we went to another nomihodai and then afterwards we went to sing Karaoke. We had lots of fun singing songs to our hearts content. Highlights included Kanye Wests Runaway and Vampire Weekend's Cousins. Hopefully, I'll be able to hang out with our new friends again. Anyways, I'm just trying to enjoy my day off. I finally had the chance to call my mom in Quebec and my family in Houston so I'm really happy about that.
Tonight, I'll be able to enjoy my first grocery shopping experience in Japan. I'm excited!
Also, last night was a lot of fun. Me and Natalie met up with the girl that she's replacing for her goodbye dinner. We got to meet a lot of her friends who were all really nice. For dinner, we went to another nomihodai and then afterwards we went to sing Karaoke. We had lots of fun singing songs to our hearts content. Highlights included Kanye Wests Runaway and Vampire Weekend's Cousins. Hopefully, I'll be able to hang out with our new friends again. Anyways, I'm just trying to enjoy my day off. I finally had the chance to call my mom in Quebec and my family in Houston so I'm really happy about that.
Tonight, I'll be able to enjoy my first grocery shopping experience in Japan. I'm excited!
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Mosquijas
An unfortunate report about Japan. Japanese mosquitoes are even better than Korean mosquitoes with their Ninja skills. We got our asses kicked. B/w me and Natalie...26.2 moquito ninja bites.
Otherwise, it's been quite a nice day in beautiful Kurashiki. We visited the Bikan historical district and I can happily say that it is really really picturesque. I also had a McShrimp burger, green tea ice cream, and a popping marble soda. We saw a gothic anime store and green tea flavored beer (I think). We also walked into a cat store. Hmmm... how to describe the cat store? Well, every item was cat themed. Police cats, Samurai cats, Ninja cats, Hello Kitty cats...they were even playing cat music (sang in cat voices). The middle of the store had cats in a big cage. Needless to say, it was ummm...strange? We also explored a Shinto shrine. I also added Kurashiki Beer and a Katana Umbrella on my list of things to try and/or buy.
and poor Natalie....I think she got about 20 of those mosquito ninja bites. Just a typically fun day in Japan.
On to the nights adventure...a night on the town! See Ya!
Otherwise, it's been quite a nice day in beautiful Kurashiki. We visited the Bikan historical district and I can happily say that it is really really picturesque. I also had a McShrimp burger, green tea ice cream, and a popping marble soda. We saw a gothic anime store and green tea flavored beer (I think). We also walked into a cat store. Hmmm... how to describe the cat store? Well, every item was cat themed. Police cats, Samurai cats, Ninja cats, Hello Kitty cats...they were even playing cat music (sang in cat voices). The middle of the store had cats in a big cage. Needless to say, it was ummm...strange? We also explored a Shinto shrine. I also added Kurashiki Beer and a Katana Umbrella on my list of things to try and/or buy.
and poor Natalie....I think she got about 20 of those mosquito ninja bites. Just a typically fun day in Japan.
On to the nights adventure...a night on the town! See Ya!
The Weeknd
Finally, it's the weekend! I've had no free time since the moment I stepped off the plane, but Natalie and I finally have the weekend to ourselves. I'm excited again and I'm excited to explore Japan.
I'm not gonna lie though, this past week was rough. I observed Spencer all week and starting Wednesday, I had my work load increased all the way through Saturday. On Saturday, I had to teach four classes. That's a lot! I thought that my classes went really well. Only one of them went sort of badly. I had to teach a mommy and me class. A mommy and me class is when the mom stays with the student in the classroom. My student is 2 years old, still in diapers, and hardly speaks Japanese. Little Eito (his name) cried almost the entire time. So, I then spent 40 minutes making a complete fool of myself. Nikola Teacher or Nikola Clown? I threw balls at myself and sang lullabies. I made up lyrics to Beatles songs and pulled every sound effect I know how to make out of my ass. It was fun. I think by the end of the class he liked me a little more. I'm sure it will be more of the same next week however.
After a hellish Saturday, my coworkers and I attended a welcome/goodbye dinner for myself and Spencer. It was fun. We went to a Nomihiodai. A Nomihiodai is a type of restaurant where you pay a set amount of money and then you get a certain amount of time to eat and drink (alcohol) to your hearts content. It was pretty fun. I really like my coworkers. I can relate to them much better than I did to the Korean women at my last job. They were much older in Korean, where as I have more in common with my coworkers now. Hopefully, we'll have fun at work.
On another note, I'd like to thank Spencer for showing me the ropes my first week. I'm sad to see him leave as he's really cool. He's also a really good teacher and I learned a lot from him this week. So Thanks Spencer!
And finally...I'm looking at you Mr. Bento box (pre made lunch boxes). If you though fast food was convenient, think again! Ronald McDonald, The King, The Colonel and Mr. Box have nothing on you Mr. Bento box. In a land where convenient stores are at every corner and every convenient store contains dozens of Bento boxes for super cheap...Mr. Bento box...you've become my best friend and my worst enemy. I know I'm not making any sense...but believe me, it's not me! It's the Bento box.
Okay, back to my senses, I'm gonna go check out Japan. I'll report back to you on any craziness I happen to stumble upon.
I'm not gonna lie though, this past week was rough. I observed Spencer all week and starting Wednesday, I had my work load increased all the way through Saturday. On Saturday, I had to teach four classes. That's a lot! I thought that my classes went really well. Only one of them went sort of badly. I had to teach a mommy and me class. A mommy and me class is when the mom stays with the student in the classroom. My student is 2 years old, still in diapers, and hardly speaks Japanese. Little Eito (his name) cried almost the entire time. So, I then spent 40 minutes making a complete fool of myself. Nikola Teacher or Nikola Clown? I threw balls at myself and sang lullabies. I made up lyrics to Beatles songs and pulled every sound effect I know how to make out of my ass. It was fun. I think by the end of the class he liked me a little more. I'm sure it will be more of the same next week however.
After a hellish Saturday, my coworkers and I attended a welcome/goodbye dinner for myself and Spencer. It was fun. We went to a Nomihiodai. A Nomihiodai is a type of restaurant where you pay a set amount of money and then you get a certain amount of time to eat and drink (alcohol) to your hearts content. It was pretty fun. I really like my coworkers. I can relate to them much better than I did to the Korean women at my last job. They were much older in Korean, where as I have more in common with my coworkers now. Hopefully, we'll have fun at work.
On another note, I'd like to thank Spencer for showing me the ropes my first week. I'm sad to see him leave as he's really cool. He's also a really good teacher and I learned a lot from him this week. So Thanks Spencer!
And finally...I'm looking at you Mr. Bento box (pre made lunch boxes). If you though fast food was convenient, think again! Ronald McDonald, The King, The Colonel and Mr. Box have nothing on you Mr. Bento box. In a land where convenient stores are at every corner and every convenient store contains dozens of Bento boxes for super cheap...Mr. Bento box...you've become my best friend and my worst enemy. I know I'm not making any sense...but believe me, it's not me! It's the Bento box.
Okay, back to my senses, I'm gonna go check out Japan. I'll report back to you on any craziness I happen to stumble upon.
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
First Lesson
A lot to complain about today.
Positives first though. I deposited all of my US money into my bank account (boring huh?). I taught my very first lesson at my school. It went well I think. The girls really liked me and they seemed to enjoy my company. They were also well behaved but man, they were so shy! Also, they are kind of a middle level class but their actual ability is just disastrous! They could hardly say anything and I was trying to teach them pretty hard sentences (from the page they are on in the book). Anyway, that's out of the way.
The negatives: The teacher I'm replacing is really good at teaching and has been really helpful at school. However, He wings his classes and doesn't do much prep work. Sure, it works for him and he's good at it and I wish I could be able to do that. However, I know that I'll never be able to completely wing my classes. So, how is that bad for me? it's bad in that I feel don't have anything to go by. I don't know how to prepare my lessons nor organize things. Basically, the new teacher to be has no teacher. It's stressing me out. I have to try to plan all of these classes and observe a bajillion classes. Also, my commute sucks. It's an active commute, not a passive one. I leave work at 9:15 pm and don't get home until 10:30 ( i also carry a heavy bike around)
okay, so I'm looking forward to being comfortable at my job. For tonight, I need to rest up and enjoy being with Natalie. Later
Positives first though. I deposited all of my US money into my bank account (boring huh?). I taught my very first lesson at my school. It went well I think. The girls really liked me and they seemed to enjoy my company. They were also well behaved but man, they were so shy! Also, they are kind of a middle level class but their actual ability is just disastrous! They could hardly say anything and I was trying to teach them pretty hard sentences (from the page they are on in the book). Anyway, that's out of the way.
The negatives: The teacher I'm replacing is really good at teaching and has been really helpful at school. However, He wings his classes and doesn't do much prep work. Sure, it works for him and he's good at it and I wish I could be able to do that. However, I know that I'll never be able to completely wing my classes. So, how is that bad for me? it's bad in that I feel don't have anything to go by. I don't know how to prepare my lessons nor organize things. Basically, the new teacher to be has no teacher. It's stressing me out. I have to try to plan all of these classes and observe a bajillion classes. Also, my commute sucks. It's an active commute, not a passive one. I leave work at 9:15 pm and don't get home until 10:30 ( i also carry a heavy bike around)
okay, so I'm looking forward to being comfortable at my job. For tonight, I need to rest up and enjoy being with Natalie. Later
Nervousness
Today, I'm going to be teaching my very first class. Yesterday, I was only observing but today I have to teach at least one. I'm really nervous since I feel horribly unprepared for this job. Hopefully, everything goes smoothly and the kids behave. I wish I had more time to think of a good class management system but nope, I'm getting thrown into the fire right away. Luckily, I've been practicing my "angry teacher" face...
I'll let you know how it goes
I'll let you know how it goes
Earthquake!
Can't believe I forgot about the most interesting part of my day in my last post.
Today, while Observing Spencer teach a private lesson in a tiny tiny classroom, I was taking notes when suddenly, I started to feel dizzy, as if the room was spinning. At first, I thought that maybe the kids in other classrooms were playing games or something, but I realized that hey, I'm in Japan and earthquakes happen all the time. The room was basically rocking back and forth slowly...almost gently. Earthquakes are an awe inspiring natural phenomenon. The ground is the one thing you expect to be stable...to never move. It's quite shocking and terrifying to realize that the very ground on which you walk is moving and changing. Anyhow, it was quite an experience...my first earthquake. There it is.
Today, while Observing Spencer teach a private lesson in a tiny tiny classroom, I was taking notes when suddenly, I started to feel dizzy, as if the room was spinning. At first, I thought that maybe the kids in other classrooms were playing games or something, but I realized that hey, I'm in Japan and earthquakes happen all the time. The room was basically rocking back and forth slowly...almost gently. Earthquakes are an awe inspiring natural phenomenon. The ground is the one thing you expect to be stable...to never move. It's quite shocking and terrifying to realize that the very ground on which you walk is moving and changing. Anyhow, it was quite an experience...my first earthquake. There it is.
catching up
Sorry I haven't been able to blog. Time has been a complete premium and I haven't had internet. Let me give you an update on the last few days.
Last Saturday was officially my last day of training. It was a really intense day! I taught THREE model lessons, one of which included real students. It went pretty well but I think the kids were really shy, especially since there were 4 foreigners in the room. I'm sure they were on their best behavior. So yeah, I'm so glad that's over because it was not fun. It was a whole week of no free time. After training, the company took us to have a really nice Japanese dinner where I had my first Sake. It was quite good and the dinner, even better. Our training group then finally had a good night out. Karaoke and then dancing. I got hit on by 3 Japanese dudes! Seriously, I had one guy just grab me from behind. Oh well...Japan is weird sometimes. Dancing was fun.
Sunday, our training group separated after being in a dorm for a week. Our manager and my new coworker Rachel came by Okayama station to take me to my apartment. Both my manager and Rachel are really really cool. I'm especially glad that my manager is so nice. Part of what makes working abroad frightening at times is the outside chance that who you work for will be a complete biatch. But nope, mine is golden. About my apartment, It's really NICE. Modern. It has all sorts of cool gizmos such as a bathroom (no toilet) that doubles as a sauna. The toilet is one of those fancy toilets that heats your tush and shoots water (into places). What else, I have a rice dispenser and I don't know it's just nice. After being shown my apartment, I headed to meet up with Natalie in Kurashiki. Natalie's apartment is not quite as new, but it IS much bigger. Definitely a plus...and Kurashiki. Wow...let's just say that it's really really scenic. It's such a nice town and I've hardly explored it.
On Monday, I spent the day with my manager running errands. We went to city hall to make my foreigner card and to the bank to open a bank account. Talking to my manager was fun as well. She speaks great English and seems to be very understanding of my culture. Outside of that, I bought a fold-able bike (about $150). It's convenient in that it folds...but that's about it. It's horribly balanced and it's very prone to doing wheelies for no reason whatsoever other than to aggravate me. Immediately after buying my bike, I went to Kurashiki (one hour) in the pouring rain. It sucked. Then, the train stopped moving for over an hour (very un-Japan like). After getting to Kurashiki, me and Natalie had a very pleasant evening exploring the Japanese equivalent of Wal-Mart. So many cool things to be bought at there.
(a note about Japan. Japan is ridiculously immaculate. For example, at the bank, I had to redo my forms 4 times. The first time, I wrote my name as Nikola Do Brunelle-Tran on my application. The teller than asks me to put my family name first. I turn it in and 30 mins. later she comes back and asks me to redo it again because there's a dash between my last name. What the hell? So ridiculous. I love it.)
So, finally, here we are, It's Tuesday night and I just finished my first day observing Spencer (whom I will be replacing) teaching his classes. Seems like I have some bad students...and a few good ones. Don't have much to say about my school yet. Let's just say it's different...stay tuned! I teach my first class tomorrow AND I get to see Natalie after not seeing her for a while.
Last Saturday was officially my last day of training. It was a really intense day! I taught THREE model lessons, one of which included real students. It went pretty well but I think the kids were really shy, especially since there were 4 foreigners in the room. I'm sure they were on their best behavior. So yeah, I'm so glad that's over because it was not fun. It was a whole week of no free time. After training, the company took us to have a really nice Japanese dinner where I had my first Sake. It was quite good and the dinner, even better. Our training group then finally had a good night out. Karaoke and then dancing. I got hit on by 3 Japanese dudes! Seriously, I had one guy just grab me from behind. Oh well...Japan is weird sometimes. Dancing was fun.
Sunday, our training group separated after being in a dorm for a week. Our manager and my new coworker Rachel came by Okayama station to take me to my apartment. Both my manager and Rachel are really really cool. I'm especially glad that my manager is so nice. Part of what makes working abroad frightening at times is the outside chance that who you work for will be a complete biatch. But nope, mine is golden. About my apartment, It's really NICE. Modern. It has all sorts of cool gizmos such as a bathroom (no toilet) that doubles as a sauna. The toilet is one of those fancy toilets that heats your tush and shoots water (into places). What else, I have a rice dispenser and I don't know it's just nice. After being shown my apartment, I headed to meet up with Natalie in Kurashiki. Natalie's apartment is not quite as new, but it IS much bigger. Definitely a plus...and Kurashiki. Wow...let's just say that it's really really scenic. It's such a nice town and I've hardly explored it.
On Monday, I spent the day with my manager running errands. We went to city hall to make my foreigner card and to the bank to open a bank account. Talking to my manager was fun as well. She speaks great English and seems to be very understanding of my culture. Outside of that, I bought a fold-able bike (about $150). It's convenient in that it folds...but that's about it. It's horribly balanced and it's very prone to doing wheelies for no reason whatsoever other than to aggravate me. Immediately after buying my bike, I went to Kurashiki (one hour) in the pouring rain. It sucked. Then, the train stopped moving for over an hour (very un-Japan like). After getting to Kurashiki, me and Natalie had a very pleasant evening exploring the Japanese equivalent of Wal-Mart. So many cool things to be bought at there.
(a note about Japan. Japan is ridiculously immaculate. For example, at the bank, I had to redo my forms 4 times. The first time, I wrote my name as Nikola Do Brunelle-Tran on my application. The teller than asks me to put my family name first. I turn it in and 30 mins. later she comes back and asks me to redo it again because there's a dash between my last name. What the hell? So ridiculous. I love it.)
So, finally, here we are, It's Tuesday night and I just finished my first day observing Spencer (whom I will be replacing) teaching his classes. Seems like I have some bad students...and a few good ones. Don't have much to say about my school yet. Let's just say it's different...stay tuned! I teach my first class tomorrow AND I get to see Natalie after not seeing her for a while.
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