Establishing “Sensei PJ”

I’ve been laying low lately because I’ve been pretty sick with a cold. I am feeling much better, though not 100% I am back to feeling more like myself. Also, I have been working a lot this month, so I haven’t explored too much or traveled outside of Nagoya; however, I now know where in the city I will be working for the rest of the year AND I have found an apartment in that respective area! I am making big moves and working closer to establishing myself here in Japan. I am very excited for myself 🙂

As far as teaching experiences go, I am having a really positive experience. I definitely think teaching is among one of my many callings. Each class I teach, I feel more and more comfortable with the students as well as my own teaching style. I am pushing myself daily to evaluate levels within each class, so I can cater lessons to those particular students and their language abilities. I am quickly learning that in many ways I have to be willing to be silly and to put myself out there because they are kids and (luckily!) respond well to my humor. Although there are positive aspects in working with all age groups I teach, I am recognizing that I truly enjoy preschool students. They are fun and full of energy, and many are super affectionate. (That may be the baby crazy in me, but I love young kids!) They are excited to learn too, which makes the job a little easier. Playing games and singing songs keeps their interest, which I appreciate because it gets me moving too! In addition, many of these students, especially the younger ones, have never seen someone that looks like me (at least not in person), so they are intrigued by me. Some preschoolers start off terrified by me, but almost always, as the class develops and time passes they become more at ease. That being said, some preschoolers walk in and instantly vibe with me. For example, this past week I had a preschool boy walk into the classroom and say, “Hello! Nice to meet you!” with so much enthusiasm, not mention the cutest accent, it was incredible. For the majority of classes, we are currently taking a specific English test (Eiken), so most aids and posters in the classrooms are covered. As this student started to realize that all the decorations were covered in the room, he started pointing and yelling “WHAAAA? WHAAAA? WHAAAA?” Naturally, I started mocking him and he ate it up! We did that for a good three minutes. Then when I introduced myself: “My name is PJ, PJ Sensei” (sensei meaning teacher), he could not stop saying my name and for some reason, really liked saying it. It was too cute! As we reviewed for the test, it became evident that his English skills were more advanced than most, though he thoroughly enjoyed my physical movements used to remember particular animal names (jellyfish being his favorite as we moved our arms like jelly). When class was over, the JT and myself saw the students out to their parents. My little buddy waved and said “see you!” then walked a few feet, turned around, waved again and said “see you!”… I think he did this a good five times as he walked away from the classroom! As you can imagine, my heart just melted 🙂 I had another student a couple weeks ago that could not stop touching my hair. My hair was down and curly that particular day and every time I turned away from him, he would reach over his desk and start running his little fingers through my hair. To me, it was hilarious! I feel in most cases I would be so annoyed, but I realize women do not have my type of hair here; he was just so fascinated by my hair texture I couldn’t tell him to stop.

Last week, I had my older elementary students guess where I’m from. I got: India (which, as a surprise to me, I get a lot here), Australia, Brazil (I get this one all over the world!) and Italy. Weirdly enough, none of them guessed the States and were kinda surprised when I told them! The elementary students are entertaining because I am able to have more diverse conversations with them. They, too, welcome my humor and body language to describe particular things; I think “dance” is the one that always gets them to laugh no matter the age because I always shimmy and/or move when I use this word. I am able to form more meaningful relations with the older elementary students because of the conversations we can have. They are able to learn about my family, what sports and foods I like as well as other personal details like places I have traveled and languages I speak. This is so interesting to me: many Japanese really aren’t interested in leaving this country, although they are interested in learning different languages. The students are always blown away by the number of languages I can speak and that I am super motivated to learn Japanese in addition. If anything, I hope it inspires them to explore and use their language skills to see and experience new places.

On another note, I took my first bath last night. I realize this may sound strange, but taking baths are a traditional practice here in Japan. Many of the showers are small rooms that include bath tubs. The process is to wash yourself first, then enter into the tub to solely relax (rather than sit in your own filth). It was so relaxing, I can’t believe I just found out two weeks ago our house has men/women bath tubs! Also, I appreciate this traditional practice of washing yourself prior to entering into the tub— that was always my issue back in the West because I never understood the appeal to sitting in your own filth, but the Japanese have it figured out, and very much to my benefit!

Lastly, I felt super immersed in Japanese [food] culture yesterday. For lunch, I chose to eat “tako yaki,” which are fried balls of a mashed potato-like substance and octopus. The epitome of me embracing this food was when I saw part of the octopus and its suction cups or suckers come out of the fried ball. I mentally encouraged myself a little, then stuck the whole thing in my mouth and chewed until I could swallow. I literally couldn’t stop laughing out loud because it was just so bizarre! An older couple sitting beside me did look a little alarmed because like I said I could not stop laughing, but it was such a fun/funny experience to me. I have a feeling I won’t forget that experience or feeling for awhile.

Until next time…