Weirdly, it doesn’t feel like Christmas at all. Here in Japan, Christmas is really a couple’s day, or Japanese Valentine’s day, so it really doesn’t feel like Christmas. If anything, I guess it is making it a little easier to be here and not at home with my family. I did watch The Grinch about 3 times last night (well, I watched it via youtube and kept falling asleep but would wake up at different points, so I guess all together I watched it a total of one time). That is as Christmas as I feel this year!
It’s been a pretty good week though and I am continually learning new things. First, my teacher chronicles. It sure can be a challenge! Last Saturday, I taught eight classes: a Hello Club (0-3 years of age), three Preschool (3-6 years) classes, two Elementary A (6-9 years) classes and two Elementary B (9-13 years) classes. Of the eight classes, I would describe one, specifically a preschool class, as successful. In another preschool class, I started with five students and ended with two. One kid started freaking out once his mom put him down and he eventually left with his mom (though he did come back to an afternoon class, which really made a world of difference!). Another little girl started crying once she realized her mom wasn’t going to stay with her (and she witnessed her friend leave with his mom), and another girl started crying once I told her she had to give another student a try. Needless to say, this particular class was a hot mess, though they are kids and sometimes it is more babysitting than teaching. The other classes, specifically the older students, didn’t want to talk at all. Or in the case of one of my Elementary A classes, they talked too much, but in Japanese not English. My patience was tested this day! I’m learning to balance the whole “Good Teacher/ Bad Teacher” dynamic. It’s definitely necessary and I’m slowly but surely finding my comfort in both.
On a different note, I taught my first junior high course this week. I was really nervous as I’d only observed one before and in that observation the students played the same game for the majority of the lesson. Either way, I prepared some activities and turns out, there was only one student attending the class so it took a little pressure off. We started the class by asking each other questions to get to know one another. This student had some awesome questions: what languages can I speak, what is famous about my state in the US, what Japanese foods/cultural things do I like, etc. His English ability was pretty high, which was nice as we were able to have an actual conversation more so than me just telling him what to say. Later on, we played a board game in which he could practice the target language at hand. This ignited a new conversation because he said “Once a year, I have to ring the bell at the temple 108 times.” As it turns out, New Years is a very spiritual holiday here and people will often go to the temple on/before midnight to offer presents to their gods. As this student explained to me, there a some communities in Japan that like the sound of the bell, thus those people gather around the temple and take turns ringing the bell a total of 108 times. (I’m still figuring out why this particular number). Other communities believe the bell is too noisy, so they will light incenses at the temples and pray. This was super interesting to me, and I’m happy I could learn about it from the mouth of a Japanese person. For New Years, I’m going to Tokyo and staying about a five minute walk from a major temple, so I am looking forward to a different and new New Years experience!
Lastly, regarding my teaching experiences, this week I had Christmas parties with some of my students. We played Christmas themed games and made Christmas crafts. The JT I worked with was awesome, and we both dressed up for the occasion 🙂 Although Christmas is not the same here, it was cool to share some of the holiday spirit with my students. Enjoy the pictures below!
On Friday, my housemates had a holiday party at an izakiya (traditional Japanese pub). We took our shoes off and were offered sandals (from the establishment) if we needed to go to the restroom. The tables were positioned lower than the floor, and it was if you sat in the table. In the middle of the tables, there were hot plates in which a version of hotpot cooked. This hotpot was the best yet and consisted of: pork, shredded beef, cabbage, onions, bean sprouts, all cooked in a beef broth. Also, there was a plate of cooked tofu and cabbage heads and fried chicken over lettuce with an awesome fresh tasting, white sauce. I tried sashimi for the first time, which is very fresh, raw seafood. I specifically tried tuna and scallops. I didn’t hate it, but it will definitely take me a little more time to get used to the consistency of the raw fish. We ordered via tablets and the servers were there with your requested item within seconds of ordering it. The whole thing was an experience! In addition, there was also bottomless [red] wine, which I thoroughly enjoyed 🙂
One more day of work stands between me and 9 days of vacation! I’m very much looking forward to “me time” and doing some travel on my own. I hope everyone enjoys their holiday and I will post again soon. Until next time… Merry Christmas !!
PRECIOUS TRAVELS 