Thanks to everyone who made picture requests. I was able to take care of a couple of them today, but was too chicken to stay out in the humidity for too long -- better luck next time, right?
Anyway, here's the outside of the apartment (mine is the one on the top left hand corner -- the blue shirt is my flag):
The apartment shot is nice, but without a doubt, this next one was the most important discovery I have made to date. Not 50 yards from my apartment...the ultimate in fast food...
Yes. It's true!
MOS BURGER!!. Anyone who has ever been here before knows how much the food rocks (^ ^).
Sniff...(happy tears).
And there's ice cold beer in the joint on the other side of the street.
It's like...fate.
I can only imagine what the locals were thinking when they saw me take this one:
Well, it's nice for me to know where I am (^ ^).
I visited Maki Nishi JHS for the first time today via bicycle, following my supervisor, Mr. Tanabe, along the back streets of Maki. His ability to sense oncoming vehicular dangers is not limited to the motorized vehicles in which he drives -- me? I was thrown back, for some reason, to a time when I was comforted by the presence of my helmet and trusty training wheels; a happy place, indeed. (It was difficult for me to resist the temptation to start yelling, "Auntie Em! Auntie Em! We're not in Kansas anymore!" This would be funny if you, dear reader, were able to see the bike I've been issued -- it would be charitable to refer to it as a 'classic.'
In an attempt to bolster my confidence, I was about to refer to, "That which doesn't kill me...," but I'm not interested in dabbling in irony. Give me a few weeks.
So...back to Maki Nishi. Nishi, as mentioned in earlier posts, means 'west.' From what I've been told, this is the school where I will spend most of my time. The geography of the school is very interesting, as it is located in the middle of a rice paddy field; it's protectors being two large mountains a stones throw away. I enjoyed the opportunity to gaze at the postcard-esque view -- that was until I almost got side-swiped by an over anxious Toyota pick up. I could have taken 'im.
It was not until we pulled into the parking area when I realized I had made an error of biblical proportions -- I mean, the kind that would incur real Wrath of God type stuff: I forgot my indoor shoes.
Folks, cover the kids' ears...
5,4,3,2,1...
Ok...let 'em go.
Mr. Tanabe assured me that it was no problem and that the school had slippers that I could use for the morning. I would just need to bring a pair for tomorrow.
After I realized the crisis had been averted, Mr. Tanabe ushered me into the building and up to the teacher’s room where I met 37 staff members. Ah yes, simple -- just like the B.O.E. The head dude will ramble off a few lines about me, I bow a few times, and then we move on. Aces.
Then I heard the principal utter that one sucker-punching word to me, “Hai, shoukai….” To the lay-person, you would say, 'introduction.'
Ok...what's 37 x 2?
So I've got 74 (not including Mr. Tanabe's) inquisitive eyes with matching ears waiting for the brilliant recitation of the speech I had no doubt been preparing for for oh so many months. Now, where was that helmet? How about those training wheels?
From what I remember, the gem boiled down to me being from NY and very happy to be working in Japan; I love Japanese food, culture, etc. The school should be confident (I'm pretty sure I said, "confident") that I will do my best to help the students achieve their goals. Oh, and if I happen to make mistakes while speaking Japanese, please correct me.
I must not have uttered any curse words or anything bad like that because they all cheered at the end. Could have been a mercy killing, though.
Anyway, they plopped me down at my new desk, ironically, next to where the school nurse sits. She greeted me with a warm smile and, yet again, I fought the temptation to make a crack and ask her what round it was.
I spoke with Ms. Shida -- who speaks no English so I muddled along with my limited Japanese -- for about 20 minutes or so. She was pleasant and accommodated my efforts with smiles and encouragement. Her most effective piece of advice was I should take it slow. She was not the first to recommend this, so I took it to heart. It's a bit tough to live with a NY schedule on Maki time...
Misters Satoh and Sugita, two of Maki Nishi's English teachers, took me on a tour of the school, letting me pop into classrooms and observe some student gatherings. I was shown classrooms for special ed., science, music, cooking, shop (metal and wood), and gyms – where girls were practicing volleyball on one side, and the boys were doing basketball exercises on the other.
On the upper level of the gym, there were students practicing ping pong (two floors, pretty swank). Every now and then a group would stop, marvel at me, then say ‘Hello,’ or ‘Good morning,’ collectively – as was the case with the volleyball girls. They rushed over as a group after an impromptu meeting and saluted me with a big, ‘Good morning!’
This made me very happy.
Team based exercises might be the way to go in the beginning. Build them up to monologues...
Afterwards, we went to another gym where it looked like the students had just finished Judo practice. Mr. Sugita (head of the English department) asked if I played sports. I mentioned some of my athletic past, emphasizing an interest in baseball and the martial arts. Mr. Sugita doubles as the baseball coach of the school -- his hard earned tan being proof of his dedication. He was pleasant to speak with and I look forward to working with him in September.
Mr. Sato struggled a bit more with English but was no less accommodating. I put any questions I had for him on the back burner and let him recite some of the ones he had no doubt been preparing for quite some time.
The next stop was the swimming area where students were practicing laps and various dives. I was introduced to the captain, a small girl who looked much younger than her peers. She exclaimed in Japanese that she couldn’t speak English. I tried my best to ask her simple questions. We were able to work out a few words, which was encouraging. Day one: marginal success.
So my first tour of duty took me through the jungles of a public JHS; something I had yet to see from a teacher's perspective. I chuckled about this one on the way back to the faculty office; if these people could have seen ME in JHS...those in the know, keep it to yourselves...
I finished the morning off at my desk, perusing lesson plans left by my predecessor. They were very thorough and informative, and while I scanned the many pages and pictures, I began imagining the classroom and what type of confidence and preparedness I might bring to my students. The mask of concentration I wore did well to cover the inquisitiveness that was growing within; a desire to get in there and start making a difference.
At that point, I remembered Ms. Shida's advice and focused my eyes, soaking it all in -- I'll change the world tomorrow... Tonight, I'm hitting Mos Burger (^ ^)
Keep surfing!
Brendan
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