A Day in the Life: Day 2

Day 2, School A

Now I’m back at JHS! The morning routine is still the same, wake up, fold up the bed, eat breakfast, get ready, etc, etc. However, today was a little different because it was trash day, which truly is a blog post by itself. I think I’m supposed to sort my garbage into 17-21 different categories. The best part of the garbage collection is that you write you name and area (think neighborhood, so Sellwood, Pearl, Alameda) on the bag. Apparently, if you don't sort your trash correctly, it will come back to you. I have a tremendous fear of my trashing suddenly appearing on my doorstep one day after work, but I think that since I’m a foreigner, they take it easy on me.

Today, I was at school A, the smallest JHS with 46 students, and about 12 minutes away by car. I only visit this school once a month, and then every other month I visit twice. The luxury of a small JHS is the small class sizes, which is a nice break from constantly shouting during ES classes! Work started at 8:30am and my first class was at 8:35am with the 3^rd graders (or 9^thst period, I had 2^nd period free, which was spent going over the other 2 classes later in the day. You’ll find out in a few days that at the other JHS I don't get to see a lesson plan, I merely show up and do whatever they ask (usually on the spot). 3^rdst graders (or 7^th graders), and we practiced have a conversation about asking for directions. The lesson was extra special because 4 Board of Education members and the principal and vice principal came towards the end and evaluated the class for about 10 minutes. They were evaluating all of the teachers at the school today, so it wasn’t like we were in trouble. In the Japanese school system, every 3 years teachers get transferred to a different school, I still haven’t found out why, but I just know they do. The JTE at school A is on her 3^rd graders). I must say that I enjoy this JHS the most because the Japanese Teacher of English works very hard to incorporate me into the lesson plans. In JHS if you remember, I’m very much an Assistant English Teacher. So after 1 period was spend with the 1 year, meaning that in March when the school year ends, she will be transferred. Where she goes is partially based on what they saw in class today.

After 3^rd period, I had 4^th period free before lunch. I first must apologize, but I didn’t get a picture of lunch today, but it consisted of: milk, a Satsuma orange, white miso soup, pork something (I passed), a mixture of veggies, and a bowl of rice. I wouldn’t say that today’s lunch was my favorite. Once lunch was complete it was recess and then cleaning time. In my general observation, I would say this JHS is much more relaxed than the other JHS, mainly because there are so few students. It’s definitely a nice break from Elementary School.

Now that I’m writing about my day, it really was a special/exceptional day because for 5^th period (since I didn’t have a class), I got to help the 3^rd graders make green tea udon noodles with 6 high school girls from a close high school. It was some sort of an exchange because earlier in the year, the 3^rd graders made green tea from scratch and gave it to them. Then today was their gift in return and I just happened to be present! It was a fun process to watch and it was extremely easy to do. The end result was tasty udon, although it really didn’t taste like green tea, even though it looked like it.

The beginning

Mixing the ingredients with....chopsticks!

Kneading the dough

Look how "green" it looks, yum!

Pasta maker/cutter device

Udon noodles ready for the boiling water

Cooking the noodles (in white is the HS girl, in purple is JHS)

Rinsing and cooling the noodles

Almost ready to eat!

After the udon adventure, I had one more class during 6^th period with the 2^nd graders (or 8^th graders). In this class we worked on having a telephone conversation, and it just happened to work out that I needed to play 2 roles, Mrs. Jacobs and Amanda. Let’s just say that I tried to explain the humor in it, since whenever someone calls the home phone and I answer the first thing I usually get is “Amanda, you sound so much like your mother!” I would say it was mildly accepted. When 6^th period was over, I had about 45 minutes to do whatever before my full workday was over.

Once the school/workday is over, I’m free to do whatever I want. Usually, I brave the 20-minute drive into Kani City to the gym I belong to. I can’t lie, it is a hassle to get there mainly because it is really close, but with traffic and poorly timed lights, it makes the drive feel long. So after work is usually dedicated to the gym, maybe a quick trip to the grocery store, dinner, usually a TV show that I missed on the Internet, and a book.

There you have it, day 2. Look out for day 3: coming to Amanda's blog soon!

I Love 4 Day Weeks!

Hello Wednesday!

Well, I’m halfway through the week, and it’s flying by like usual. I completed my second full rotation through my 6 schools. Now, I go back to JHS an the timing is perfect! Don’t get me wrong, I love the little kids, but since I spent the last 3 days (and 3 days in a row is rare in ES) at the toughest ES, it was time for a break. I apologize for my rant, but I’ve learned how much of an impact the homeroom teacher (HRT) can have on a class. I taught 2 lessons to 4 classes (2 in 5^th grade, 2 in 6^th grade) and I’m quite amazed by the behaving and participation in the different classes, and I believe this reflects on the energy and the support of the HRT. Let’s just say, I’m not a big fan of the HRT that takes a seat with the students while I’m “teaching” them about colors and clothes. It’s a bummer, but there isn’t a whole lot I can do about it except talk to the HRT. Well, there you have it, my rant for the day/week. Lesson learned: the involvement and energy level of the HRT is essential for the success of English class, one ALT’s “genki-ness” or energy cannot support an entire class, trust me, I gave it my all.

Side note: I don’t remember ES well, but it seems like half of the school is sick! And no matter what school I’m at, this is the same case. Here, everyone who is sick wears a mask over their face, it is kind of creepy. What has this taught me? Well, I wash my hands like someone with OCD, I’m constantly washing my hands before and after class, lunch, recess, and cleaning period. I don’t want to get sick, so I’ve made it this far, I’m hoping it lasts until Christmas time. The odd part about the mass sickness is that the weather is still beautiful! Highs everyday are still in the high 70’s and lows are in the mid 60’s, not quite terrible weather for middle of October!

I couldn't help but take a picture of school lunch from Tuesday. We have (starting from the bowl): some soup with veggies that you put the Udon noodles in, milk, green tea, a slice of apple, assorted veggies seasoned with little bits of some kind of leaf that everyone eats here (it was quite strong), and finally, on the stick is "gohemochi" or ごへもち . The reason I took this picture was because at the first festival in Mitake, I had gohemochi and absolutely loved it (you'll remember I wrote about it), and in my self-introduction, I said that I liked gohemochi. Well, maybe the school lunch gods were listening and I finally got my gohemochi. Think tightly packed rice on a stick dipped and grilled in a sweet sauce.

Here are some assorted photos from the past week:

Halloween Package from Mom! THANK YOU!!!!!!

The Japanese-take on Halloween Candy

The view from my apartment

Weekend Adventures

This past weekend was a lovely 3-day weekend thanks to the national holiday yesterday (it was Health and Sports Day). I spent the weekend doing a whole lot of nothing (not like my last 3 day weekend adventure to Kyoto).

On Saturday, the Watanabe’s daughter, Ayumi took me to her friend’s house, who happened to be an ALT in my town about 8-9 years ago. So this guy, actually lived in the same apartment and taught in the same schools, taught about a coincidence. I’m guessing he was 4 ALTs before me. He was very insightful and he asked me all sorts of “how are you adjusting” type questions. I met his wife (Ayumi’s friend) and their 5 year-old daughter. After we left their apartment, it was lunchtime, so Ayumi suggested Mos Burger. I had never been to one, but I knew it was fast food. She told me that Mos Burger is a healthy, organic fast food place, but after eating there, I highly doubt that. I ended up having a teriyaki chicken burger, but it didn’t seem any “healthier” than a burger at McDonalds. Once I got back to Mitake, I had a trek ahead of me. The previous night, I rode my bike to the train station (about 4/10^th of a mile from my apartment) but I ended up getting a ride home later that night. Well, I needed my bike to make errands a little easier (trying to save the planet here). So, in a constant downpour, I believe it was another typhoon, I walked to the train station and to my dismay, the bike lock decided it had enough and called it a good life. There I was, in the pouring rain, my shoes are soaked, my rain pants are soaked, and my umbrella is crumbling under the weight of the rain. I ended up leaving my bike at the station and walking home (an subsequently, took my car to the grocery store instead).

Pictures from the Sakae Area of Nagoya

Sunday was the best day of the weekend! I planned my brief trip to Nagoya earlier in the week and it was a success. I went to the Apple Store and completed my genius bar appointment in ALL Japanese…go me! I had lunch at Subway, and let me tell you, that turkey sandwich was amazing! It is very hard, if not impossible to find turkey in grocery stores. Next was the foreign food store! Oh the comfort that food from home brings! I bought tortillas (I can’t wait to make fajitas this week!), oatmeal, muesli, and whole wheat pasta! My last stop was at the bookstore, I bought “The Next 100 Years” and so far, it’s very interesting.

Yummy Rose and Vanilla flavored soft-serve (apparently, we have a World famous rose garden in my town or just outside of it)

Monday was Mitake’s Festival, but I’m still not sure what it celebrated. I had lunch at the Watanabe’s house with 4 of their grandkids. We had: rice and bonito sashimi, rice with tuna, cucumber, carrots, tofu, eggs, and mushrooms (my favorite), chicken nuggets, soup, and salad. Basically, all of the works! I think they are trying to expose me to all the varieties of Japanese cooking, and so far, I’ve enjoyed it all. After lunch, we walked to the downtown area of Mitake and watched the parade of nicely dressed men in suits playing the taiko or flute. I think there were 9 towns represented. I do know that this festival has something to do with the Shinto religion, as the men are carrying portable shrines.

A Day in the Life

I figure that you all are interested in my daily teaching life, so I thought I'd chronicle a day at each school. As of today, Friday October 8th, it will take me 14 school days to make a full rotation through each school. Just to give you a taste of the crazy 6-school rotation, I'll share my October school visit schedule with you. Each letter refers to a school (A, B, C are JHS, and D, E, F are Elementary Schools). All schools are basically in pairs, so A-D, B-E, C-F. So starting Oct. 1st: E,..., E, F, D, E, F,...X, F, F, A, B,...B, B, B, C, C,...C, D, E, E, F. So yes, lots of changing. I put extended periods for weekends and an X for the National Holiday. As you can tell, I move around a lot, meaning I'm usually bringing everything I need to and from work with me. The upside is that I can say that I'm so cool that I get 7 desks.

Ok, so a day in the life: Friday, October 8th. School F

Every morning I wake up around 6:45am. The first thing I do is put my futon (my bed) away. I sleep on a mattress-like pad and below that is a foam pad. So in total, I sleep about 3-5 inches above my lovely tatami mat floor. After storing my bed, you must or it will start to mold, I go through my beautification routine. It's funny because in college, I spent much more time on appearance. Now, it takes me about 15 minutes total to get ready. I'm sure once winter hits, it will take me longer to get ready, as I will need to dress in more layers (I’m not looking forward to the cold weather). Next is breakfast, usually consisting of imported granola, a banana, and an English muffin. Yes, very "American" I know, but that's fine by me. Then, I have about 30 minutes to catch up on the news that I missed and chat with friends and family, since it is usually 3-4 pm in Portland. Today, I left at 8:05am, as I had a 10-minute drive to school, and my day officially starts at 8:20am.

I had an extremely easy day today. I didn't have a first period class, so I cut up some stickers, talked with the other staff members in the office, and even tried my hand at a Japanese "can you spot the 5 things that have changed?" game. I only saw one thing. Then the principal tried and about 10 minutes later, he spotted them all. Impressive.

For second period, I gave a self-introduction to 3^rd graders. I was surprised at the English level of this class. There was a boy who asked me questions in English, mainly questions involving “like or dislike”. The reason I’m so impressed is that this boy is taking private English lessons once a week and he is up to things he will learn in 5^th and 6^th grade. After that class, there was a 45-minute break, so I went outside and played Onigokori, aka tag, with the 3^rd graders. I had a free period for 3^rd period, so I went over some 5^th and 6^th grade lessons that I will have on Tuesday. Next, I had 4^th period with a 4^th grade class, yet again, another self-introduction lesson. After 4^th period was lunch! There was yakisoba, squid, a salad consisting of: kiribashidaikon, carrots, bean sprouts, and cucumber, a hot dog bun (“bread”), a blueberry jelly for dessert, and milk. It was a tough day to not eat pork, as the yakisoba was full of it. I also opted to pass on the squid; I figure that if I’m not going to eat it, then someone will. I ended up having a cliff bar halfway through the afternoon to subside my hunger pains from only having milk, a hotdog bun, a salad, and a blueberry jelly.

After lunch is recess! At recess I made my usual rounds, played some soccer with 4^th graders, tag with 1^st-3^rd graders, and then kickball with 3^rd-4^th graders. After recess is cleaning time. For 15 minutes students (in groups of 5) are assigned to a certain portion of the school to clean. I helped sweep a 4^th grade classroom. Once cleaning time was over, I had a 10-minute break and was “summoned” by some 4^th graders. They literally come to the teachers’ room and escort you to the classroom. So, once self-introduction #46 was complete, I headed back to the teachers’ room to finish the day. I didn't have a 6^th period (remember, I told you I had an easy day). So, sadly I just sat in the teachers’ room researching my day trip to Nagoya (apple store, foreign food store, and some shopping). I ended up typing about half of this post on my phone during my free time. Consequently, I could hear the other office staff talking about me literally behind my back about using my phone. If the school computers weren’t so slow I would’ve just typed it on the school computer, and no one would’ve known, but typing on my phone, oh man, that got a response (person 1: “what is she doing” person 2: “ah, she is using her cell phone”, person 1 looks at the board to see I have no more plans for the day, person 1 says, “Amanda, you are done for the day, but you need to have a meeting with the other teachers”). Oh well, I was being productive with my time, since I was lucky enough to have a predecessor who planned everything in great detail, my job has been pretty simple so far. Basically, having 3 free periods in a day is a little much; I like 2 free periods, or even 1.

So, finally after my meetings with the teachers, I left at 5:15, or about 70 minutes later than I’m supposed to (the good news is that I get to leave that early on another day!).

There you have it. Day 1 of “A Day in the Life of Amanda”.

Ah, the comforts of home!

Random Questions from my self-introductions: What color is the water in America? What time is it in America? Why isn’t the Statue of Liberty holding ice cream?

Flowers, School Lunches, and Recess Games

So yet another week has flown by. Here are some highlights! I’m currently on my elementary school portion of my 6-school rotation. Earlier this week I was at the largest ES and I taught 3 classes of 5^th graders about “I like” and “I don’t like”. During a break between classes (I taught 1^st, 2^nd, and 4^th periods), I was craving a refill of green tea, so I walked out of the teachers’ room to the rest/relaxation room, most similar to a lounge. I ran into a boy and his teacher making torayaki (とらやき)or Japanese pancakes (think 2 pancakes stuffed with custard in the middle). This boy was probably 4^th grade but he was actually in the 7^th grade program, or the special needs program. They were kind enough to offer me a piece of the torayaki and it was quite yummy. I ended up staying and talking with the boy and his teacher for about 20 minutes. I tried to teach him to say “yummy” but he wasn't having it. I offered to make Christmas cookies with him in December. I’m already looking forward to it! I would love some recommendations about what we should make, the period is only 45 minutes, and so it has to be relatively quick.

Here is my lunch from Tuesday. It was interesting. Rice, umeboshi (dried plum….very sour), soup, deep fried tofu covered in pork sauce, random veggies, and a Satsuma. Although I wasn't too enthused with the lunch choice, recess definitely made it a thing of the past. I made some new friends and played a very worldwide game with them, tag. The kids all have 2-sided hats, red and white, which they are required to wear when they are outside. There were 3 oni’s or demons, in red hats and everyone was running from them, if you got tagged by them, you had to return to “jail” or some corner that your teammates could rescue you from. (I know I played this game in ES). Thankfully, the bell rang just in time or else I think my whole team would’ve been in jail.

Random Fact of the Day: I noticed that in all 6 schools, the teachers’ room at each school is located in the SW portion of every school/main building. Odd?...I think so. I’ll have to do some research.

Just for kicks, here is another school lunch. Green tea, veggies, a fish (definitely passed on him), deep fried beans, milk, rice, a beef stew that you pour on the rice, and a slice of pineapple. Yum!

Hello October!

Lucky me, this week started off amazing. I taught 3 awesome 6^th grade classes at the largest elementary school (633 students!). After school, I met the Watanabe’s and they took me to our “downtown area” to watch a music practice for another festival. This Mitake festival (I don’t know the name yet, sorry) will take place on Monday (Oct. 11^th) and it celebrates something with the Shinto religion and a moving alter-like item around town. The music practice was only men (women aren’t allowed), and these men practice every night prior to the festival. There were about 13 men and they each took turns playing a bamboo flute or the drums. The challenge is that the 6 songs are only taught by sight. Meaning there is no sheet music to use. It would be similar to memorizing a book, but someone would only read it to you, and you couldn’t read it yourself. I actually got to try out both instruments (yay for being a foreigner) and it was quite fun. I can wait to see the pictures that Mr. Watanabe took of me playing each instrument.

On Tuesday, I went to introduce myself to 1^st and 2^nd graders (I only have 8 self introductions left) and teach one 6^th grade class. I was warned that this would be my toughest school, and well, it is. It requires a lot of patience and it’s definitely a learning experience, but who doesn’t need a challenge. Tuesday wasn’t a spectacular day for the 6^th grade class (meaning, quite terrible), they acted very inappropriate and rude. After class the HRT (homeroom teacher) had about ½ the class, mainly the students who misbehaved, come to the teachers’ room and apologize to me. That one action completely turned my day around, which was an awesome feeling. I mean, the previous day I taught the exact same lesson and it went so well! I guess that can give you an insight to the varying students and teachers at the schools I work at. The most interesting part of the apology is that while the first group (they came in 2 waves, about 15 students total) was apologizing, the principal came out and asked why there was a group of 6^th graders talking to me. Well, it was quite the embarrassment for those students to get caught by the principal. In the end, here is my cultural note: in Japan, the worst form of punishment is humiliation, especially when it’s in front of a lot of people or superiors. The principal later apologized again for the students’ actions, because as the leader of the school, the action of the students reflects on the principal. Remember when the Toyota recall happened and the newspapers/online media wrote about the head of Toyota stepping down? Well, that was fueled from the belief that as the leader, you are ultimately responsible for everything (….now, if the US could take a note and stop blaming everything on someone else…).

Yum...Kaiten Sushi

Road Trip + Dance Party + Soccer = ALT Soccer Tourney CHAMPS!

Hopefully I’ve captured your interest with the title of this post. Trust me when I say, I’m telling the truth. This weekend was the annual fall All-Japan ALT Soccer Tourney at the Sania Sports Complex in Sugadaira, Nagano Prefecture. On Saturday morning, bright and early at 6:15am, we hit the road looking for adventure and a victory! About 250km and 4 hours later, we arrived in the quaint little ski town of Sugadaira.

On the road to Nagano! Gas station, a vending machine stop, and instructions of how to use a Western toilet:

The journey took us through many towns and several tunnels, why ever go around a mountain, when you can go through it (I’m fairly certain that’s the motto here, I’ve never seen so many tunnels). The toll-roads/expressways are similar to US Interstates and Highways, except that the rest stops in Japan are amazing! They have 24-hour convenience stores, gas stations, clean bathrooms (see picture), restaurants, etc. The rest stops are much more frequent too. To take toll roads in Japan, there are 2 ways to go about it. First, you can hop on and just take a ticket and pay the amount at your exit. Or, you can get an ETC (Electronic Ticket Card) machine installed in your car (usually only newer cars have them) and you are charged a flat fee to drive on the toll-road. Roundtrip we paid 10,000 yen or roughly $115. If we would’ve had an ETC machine, we would’ve paid 2,000 yen or roughly $25. Big difference! If I was planning on doing a lot of traveling by car, I would definitely get an ETC machine in my car.

Welcome! Hotel and Sports Complex

The tournament was held outside, in temperatures around the mid 60s. There was a consistent breeze that kept it the perfect temperature for players on the field, but on the sidelines, you definitely needed jackets and pants. However, being 1100m above sea level, with mainly blue skies, we had ample time to get a tan/burn. I’m actually nursing a nice burn on my forehead/scalp right now. The first day of the tourney was 4 games, 15-minute halves, 6 people on the field, and a half-size field. We ended up winning our first 2 games and tying the last 2. Our last fame was a fight, we were down 0-2 with about 10 minutes to go in the game and we made a comeback! In the end, I think we were all pleased with how we played, but we were ready to relax! After 4 games, my body was dying to stop moving, so we went back to the hotel and straight down to the onsen/hot spring. Sitting in the hot water felt wonderful after the day, and I would’ve stayed there all night if I could have. There was a dinner and after that, a dance party/club/bar option. I stayed for about 2 hours, but at 11pm, I was exhausted and went back to my room and to sleep. I left 4 remaining teammates at the party and from their stories, it sounded like it was a good night for everyone.

Sunday morning came way too painfully. My body was very sore from the previous games, and as I write this (Tuesday night) my body still aches. We had breakfast, packed up our belongings, and headed to the field a little after 10am (yes, they were very generous with the starting times…hey, we aren’t professional athletes!) We played 2 games (and actually lost them both), but when the ranking came out, we were the 2^nd seed. Unfortunately, the 1^st seed had to leave early (like they do every year, since they have an 8 hour bus ride to their prefecture). Before the finals, we had a curry lunch (yummy!) and after our thoughtful captains decided we were too tired to play another game, we would decide the game on a sudden death shootout. 5 players from each team would get a free kick at the opposing goalie. I somehow managed to play goalie for this bit, since I had the experience of playing goalie in middle school (yes, I was very qualified). But, I felt semi-confident in the situation because it was so much less stressful than a golf tournament and I had watched Molly play so many times, that it almost felt natural…thanks Molls. In the end, we won 3-2, I got to save 3 shots and score a goal of my own. I would say it was a successful tournament; we got a trophy and everything.

After a 4-hour drive back (AND a stop at Starbucks!), I was exhausted. However, I had previously accepted an invitation to have dinner with the Watanabe’s (the nice couple that have essential adopted me). We drove to the neighboring town of Kani and ate at Bronco Billy’s Steakhouse. I can’t lie, it wasn’t too bad, and it definitely had the feel of a steakhouse, except for the chopsticks…

The view of the ski lift from right outside of the hotel (awesome, I know) and of course, Starbucks!

So here I am, 2 days after returning from Nagano. Still incredibly sore and proudly displaying my war wounds on my knees (and my new tan lines are pretty cool too). I had a great time and I’m already looking forward to defending our title at the summer ALT soccer tournament in June.

Go Gifu Pirates. OOOOSSSSSSSS. (side note: “oooosssss” is a cheer that the students did at Sports Day, and it is quite catchy)

I present, the "oooosssss-ing" Gifu Pirates. Champions of the Fall ALT Soccer Tournament!