I just got back from a really nice 3 day vacation in Hiroshima, but before going there, I went to follow up training on Thursday and Friday. The whole thing was supposed to be for new teachers to have the opportunity to learn and refresh on some of the things that they are supposed to do at their school.
So myself, Natalie, about 20 other foreign teachers, and about 50 Japanese teachers were herded onto a couple of buses and sent to a mountain retreat where we had the pleasure of staying. Needless to say, it was an interesting two days. The actual work was pretty straightforward. The trainers were really nice, helpful, and knowledgeable. I think that I learned a lot and hopefully, I'll be able to apply some of what I learned into the office and into my classes. However, the whole thing kind of left me feeling like a bad teacher. It just seems like there are so many things that go into being a good teacher, and then there are extra things that we're supposed to do such as business related tasks and ways to fit into Japanese culture. I just kind of felt a bit underwhelmed with my abilities as an employee. I can't be that bad of a teacher or of an employee can I? Otherwise, there were definitely some positives. I did a model lesson, thought I did horrible, but my trainer told me it was really good. It's always nice to feel like you did well.
I also was able to meet a lot of my peers (within my company) and I kind of got a feel for what type of people get into this job. Almost everyone was really nice. Some were hilarious and some were not. Some were professional and some were not. Some were nice and some were not. You get the gist I hope? Overall, it was really nice to get to know everyone, share some ( alot of) laughs, and rant about certain aspects about our lives in Japan. Follow up training ended up being a very social experience, especially considering that after the first day, we had quite a bit of fun in our dorm rooms. I mean, who's idea was it to stick a bunch of young people (who are living in a foreign country and would jump at every chance to meet other English speakers)in a private dorm room with a beer vending machine down the hall? Whose ever it was, I thank thee because it was a lot of fun. Throughout the night, we played a variety of classroom friendly games such as flip cup and the ever so popular Tumbling Towers. While being shushed multiple times, we somehow all ended up wearing Yucatas, which is interesting in and of itself. The whole night culminated in all of the guys taking a really (hmmm...how should I put this?) BAD picture and having a higher up walk in on us and plead us to go to sleep, which we promptly did afterward.
So, overall, training was a good time. I'd like to do it again because sometimes, it's just nice to get away from the little pipsqueaks. And now, for some of the more interesting observations on training.
+ One of the other teachers is from Houston...from Sugarland...and went to the SAME elementary school...and the SAME middle school as me. What a trip! It's crazy to meet someone that is from almost the exact same part of the world as me halfway across the world. Although, I have to say that he is a much better Texan than me.
+ I never mentioned the Japanese teachers in my post. It's like they weren't even there. It was bizarre. While we were off having fun (and still learning and being very productive mind you), they seemed to be in some sort of 1984-esque propaganda prison camp. Whenever I asked one of them how things were going, words such as torture, not so good, and can't wait till it's over were frequently used. The whole Japanese business culture is something I'll never understand. It's rather fascinating. The amount of robotic (and feigned) professionalism that they have to produce is mind boggling. It seems soul crushing. Although I saw follow up training as an opportunity to learn, ask questions, and better myself as a teacher, it seems that for Japanese teachers, it's a test in showing off how inhumanely professional you can appear to be in front of others.
+ One of the higher ups in the company gave an interesting speech. Although he was nearly inaudible at some points, he came across as a rather nice guy. But yes, staying attentive was a challenge. The most interesting aspect of his speech was at the beginning of his speech where we had the opportunity to experience first hand what it's like to be a Japanese teacher. Before he entered the room, we had to practice standing up (simultaneously) and bowing. It seemed like a weird military drill but it definitely added to the notion that in Japan, there's a right way to do almost everything. It was just strange to juxtapose that experience with the rest of follow up training where we were just expected to be...Western I guess.
+ hats off to all of trainers for organizing an enjoyable follow-up training and my apologies on behalf of us for causing a ruckus at times
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