Well, today I actually had to teach a lesson for the first time. I had spent the previous Friday and Monday at my junior high school, but did not engage in any lessons. There were two opening ceremonies that I attended and then spent the remainder of my time at my desk preparing for later lessons and studying Japanese.
Today was different. I went to one of my elementary schools. I only spend one day a week there, but teach 5 lessons on those days. The day began with an assembly where I was called in front of the student body and was briefly interviewed by on of the teachers.
After that, the lessons began. I have to admit that my first lesson was not exactly perfect. I forgot some points and didn't feel as if it went quite as well as I hoped. I do think that the kids enjoyed it though, at least for the most part. As the day progressed, I became far more comfortable and formulated a bit more flow to the lessons.
During part of my lessons, I would briefly let the students glimpse a flashcard of different countries' flags. Some of the students seemed to know which flags I was going to show next before I would even give them a chance to view them. It wasn't until the 4th lesson of the day when, after going through all of the cards again without surprising the students that one of them pointed to the large tv behind me and let me know that they could see me reflection in it, thus giving them a heads up on the flashcards.
I quite enjoyed myself while teaching, but one of the more difficult parts of the day was actually lunch. Lunch took place in the classroom of my next class. The whole event was quite interesting to see. All the students help out, but they are dressed like an olden time hospital. All the kids have white smocks, hair nets and face masks. They brought the meal to each desk individually. I think they decided to give me the smallest desk in the room however. My legs nearly reached the top when sitting comfortably. In order to fit under the desk, I had to contort them into a form somewhat less comfortable.
Next came the meal. My skills with chop sticks are not too bad, but it was quite a fiasco trying to eat the bean salad one at a time. I have to say, that there were at least 4 things in the meal that I could not identify with any specific certainty. I do know that there were green beans in the meal. It was probably the first time since working at the cannery that I had eaten them, but kids are expected to finish their entire plate and so must I as well.
I had two more classes after lunch and they went much smoother. I felt that the students did enjoy it quite a lot and hope that the following lessons continue to get better as they did over the course of the day. One of the strangest things that happened today was at the end of 4 of the classes. Going through a brief Q and A, I was asked how old I was. I asked the student to guess and 3 of the 4 times, they were correct. A bit strange, but I guess it just means I look my age
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Saturday, March 31, 2012
So It Begins...
Wow, so it has been a busy first week and a half here in Japan. I only just got internet access yesterday, so I will give a brief rundown of everything that has gone on thus far.
The trip didn't exactly begin on the best terms. The flights went quite well, even though I couldn't sleep on the way over the ocean. The problem was that one of my bags ended up being left back Stateside. Luckily the bag with my jackets and pants arrived with no issue.
After arriving in Fukuoka, I met a few other ALTs coming in at the same time. There was a 45 minute drive and we finally arrived at the location where training was taking place at about 11:15 that night. The twenty-four hour journey to get there had finally ended, but I didn't get a whole lot of time to relax as training started at 8:00 the next morning.
Training the first day was not a whole lot of fun, just a lot of Do's and Don'ts really. At the end of the day, I was quite tired and ended up sleeping in the shared bunk room by about 10 that night. The next day was more or less the same as far as training and info as the day before, but we did get the following day off so that night was spent getting to know our fellow trainees.
About half of the group was from the US, but the rest were from Canada, the UK, the Caribbean and a few other locations. We spent the free time preparing for the upcoming week, chatting and mostly just enjoying the beautiful but windy weather. At one point I fell asleep out in the sun for about an hour, something that I wouldn't normally expect to be able to do back home in Oregon this time of year. Little did we know what was in store for use the next few days.
As Monday morning rolled around, the morning started with a brief pep talk from our local trainers letting us know how seriously the week would be taken. They checked to make sure everyone was clean shaven and looking their best. We piled into the conference room and the real training began. There was a gentleman named Cedric who called one of the trainees up to do a brief intro like they would do to their class. Lets just say that Cedric's style of criticism was...blunt. He would send people back to their seat after about 10 seconds or less. He would pick them apart with extreme brutality. Needless to say, by the end of the day the majority of the class was terrified of going in front of the group.
The next day began similarly to the first. A few people were destroyed by Cedric, but then we began more specific training to our age ranges. This was quite a bit more enjoyable. At the end of the day, Cedric called for a volunteer to give a brief presentation of one of the lessons we discussed during the day. After a short pause with no response, I decided to have a go at it. Despite the severity of his comments, I did want to get Cedric's opinion on my abilities.
After a few deep breathes, I started up my lesson, expecting to be interrupted at any moment and torn to smithereens. Much to my surprise, the interruption never came. I was allowed to finish the short lesson and while he wasn't praising of my performance, Cedric was far less critical than he had been for the most part.
I was encouraged, but still felt I had a lot of work to do to be ready for our final presentations the next day. Working with a few of the fellow trainees, I was up until about 2:00am practicing. In the end, I think it paid off because my final presentation went well. I wasn't thrilled with it, but I believe it was better than some of the others I saw.
That night, everyone was very pleased to be done with training. Nearly all the trainees and several of the trainers spent the evening relaxing in a cafeteria room drinking some beer and talking. It was a nice way to end the week.
The following day we were sent off to our actual apartments. It was a bit sad to say good bye to some of the people I had met over the week, but hopefully I'll be able to meet up with them at some point. Thankfully, the journey wasn't too bad because Interac had gotten us tickets on the shinkansen (or bullet train) so it was only about 3 hours to get from on place to the next. Luckily, once again, I did have a few people who are living in the same complex as I am. Two young ladies named Glenda and Cassie, from Jamaica and England respectively, are just down the way from me.
There was a person waiting to meet up with us at our final stop and they took us to get everything registered and setup. I also met the gentleman whose spot I am taking over this year because he is moving to a different city. He gave me a few tips as well as a couple of items for my apartment.
The next day, Naho was there and able to help me go around and get some essentials as well as some fun amenities. Unfortunately, Naho forgot her camera connection cable, but hopefully the next time she is able to come by she will bring it and I can post some pictures and videos of my place and car.
This upcoming week, I actually start classes and begin teaching. I will be meeting with principals from 5 schools. It should be fun, but a little hectic once again. I will post a new update soon, letting you all know how it goes.
The trip didn't exactly begin on the best terms. The flights went quite well, even though I couldn't sleep on the way over the ocean. The problem was that one of my bags ended up being left back Stateside. Luckily the bag with my jackets and pants arrived with no issue.
After arriving in Fukuoka, I met a few other ALTs coming in at the same time. There was a 45 minute drive and we finally arrived at the location where training was taking place at about 11:15 that night. The twenty-four hour journey to get there had finally ended, but I didn't get a whole lot of time to relax as training started at 8:00 the next morning.
Training the first day was not a whole lot of fun, just a lot of Do's and Don'ts really. At the end of the day, I was quite tired and ended up sleeping in the shared bunk room by about 10 that night. The next day was more or less the same as far as training and info as the day before, but we did get the following day off so that night was spent getting to know our fellow trainees.
About half of the group was from the US, but the rest were from Canada, the UK, the Caribbean and a few other locations. We spent the free time preparing for the upcoming week, chatting and mostly just enjoying the beautiful but windy weather. At one point I fell asleep out in the sun for about an hour, something that I wouldn't normally expect to be able to do back home in Oregon this time of year. Little did we know what was in store for use the next few days.
As Monday morning rolled around, the morning started with a brief pep talk from our local trainers letting us know how seriously the week would be taken. They checked to make sure everyone was clean shaven and looking their best. We piled into the conference room and the real training began. There was a gentleman named Cedric who called one of the trainees up to do a brief intro like they would do to their class. Lets just say that Cedric's style of criticism was...blunt. He would send people back to their seat after about 10 seconds or less. He would pick them apart with extreme brutality. Needless to say, by the end of the day the majority of the class was terrified of going in front of the group.
The next day began similarly to the first. A few people were destroyed by Cedric, but then we began more specific training to our age ranges. This was quite a bit more enjoyable. At the end of the day, Cedric called for a volunteer to give a brief presentation of one of the lessons we discussed during the day. After a short pause with no response, I decided to have a go at it. Despite the severity of his comments, I did want to get Cedric's opinion on my abilities.
After a few deep breathes, I started up my lesson, expecting to be interrupted at any moment and torn to smithereens. Much to my surprise, the interruption never came. I was allowed to finish the short lesson and while he wasn't praising of my performance, Cedric was far less critical than he had been for the most part.
I was encouraged, but still felt I had a lot of work to do to be ready for our final presentations the next day. Working with a few of the fellow trainees, I was up until about 2:00am practicing. In the end, I think it paid off because my final presentation went well. I wasn't thrilled with it, but I believe it was better than some of the others I saw.
That night, everyone was very pleased to be done with training. Nearly all the trainees and several of the trainers spent the evening relaxing in a cafeteria room drinking some beer and talking. It was a nice way to end the week.
The following day we were sent off to our actual apartments. It was a bit sad to say good bye to some of the people I had met over the week, but hopefully I'll be able to meet up with them at some point. Thankfully, the journey wasn't too bad because Interac had gotten us tickets on the shinkansen (or bullet train) so it was only about 3 hours to get from on place to the next. Luckily, once again, I did have a few people who are living in the same complex as I am. Two young ladies named Glenda and Cassie, from Jamaica and England respectively, are just down the way from me.
There was a person waiting to meet up with us at our final stop and they took us to get everything registered and setup. I also met the gentleman whose spot I am taking over this year because he is moving to a different city. He gave me a few tips as well as a couple of items for my apartment.
The next day, Naho was there and able to help me go around and get some essentials as well as some fun amenities. Unfortunately, Naho forgot her camera connection cable, but hopefully the next time she is able to come by she will bring it and I can post some pictures and videos of my place and car.
This upcoming week, I actually start classes and begin teaching. I will be meeting with principals from 5 schools. It should be fun, but a little hectic once again. I will post a new update soon, letting you all know how it goes.
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