I'm back at the BoE for the last time in several weeks so I'll take this opportunity to waste my time writing this blog.
Yesterday was my first day of school, my first classes being the Year 6s at Miyazu Primary. It went better than I thought it would. Two days before this Nishihara-san and I went to meet the head Year 6 teacher to discuss a lesson plan, which went fine and dandy with Nishihara-san there. As we were walking back to the BoE afterwards I mentioned that I had never really spoken to a children before. “Can I come to your first lesson?” was the surprising reply. Nishihara-san is usually so busy with her daily tasks and extra last minute tasks given to her on a daily basis (on Wednesday it was hornet extermination with another BoE worker at one of the junior high schools) that she doesn't have the time to do stuff like this. This could only mean that she was worried I would fudge it up. She may have also heard that I didn't have enough energy in my practice lesson I did at the Kyoto AET seminar in front of the other AETs (who had to act like typical Japanese kids). She had nothing to worry about as it turned out. The kids were all pumped up and I sort of fed off that energy so we had a great tine playing a guessing game for my introduction where I gave them two options for each question and they had to run to the side of the class that corresponded with the option they thought was correct. When I asked “How old am I?” with the options 23 and 34 most kids ran to the 34 side of the room, and when asked why, they said because you're tall. Going by that rate by the time I'm 30 I should be nearing 180cm, the future is looking bright (and tall). I had no trouble communicating with the teachers and the kids which was a relief so everything ran smoothly. Nishihara-san was at the back of my first of three classes, taking photos which I have yet to see. Before that I had to say an introduction speech at the morning assembly along with another new teacher and a new student. My one-page speech had to be shortened down to the bare essentials as requested by the principal so that made it easier for me.
After my last class it was lunchtime and here at the primary schools they have school lunches. School lunches are the bane or saviour of AETs dietary needs. These meals are made by the school cooks and are served by a chosen group from each classroom to all the students in the classroom. A large bowl of seaweed covered rice was placed in front of me (larger for me because they thought I needed it), along with a small bowl of miso, a plate of tempura vegetables (after realising a spoonful of cucumbers was served with it, I asked them to not dish it out to me) and a small carton of milk with a straw. I love Japanese cooking and am not too fussy about what I eat, so this cheap meal is a life-saver from the usual bought luch boxes I get on my BoE days that cost so much by the end of the week, and it's about the only time I get my veges. Other AETs who are fussy eaters usually hate school lunches and end up getting permission to bring their own lunches. In the clasroom we sat with our tables in a circle and I answered all their questions about schools in New Zealand and my hobbies as we ate.
It was strange to see how different the classes were even though all three classes I taught were Year 6 classes. It really depends on the homeroom teachers disposition and class size as to how the students are going to act. I luckily had very enthusiastic teachers and big classes of 25-30 students so the kids were pumping and curious, but I've heard not all of my teachers will be like that. Some are kind of quiet and some are totally uninterested in English so will not participate at all, making the kids uneasy and follow the teachers lead. Miyazu Primary is the biggest school I have with the biggest class sizes, but most of my schools are far away tiny rural schools with classes as small as two students going up to about eight students. It's also interesting that you can tell which are your special needs students almost as soon as you walk in the door. I had one girl hold on to my arm for the entire second class and
After lunch I went home (one of the perks of teaching at primary level, I only have half days unlike Maggie at the junior high schools who has to stay there all day regardless of whether she has classes or not) and I ended up sleeping all afternoon to be awoken by Maggie when she got home at 5pm. I'm guessing she had a slightly sour expression at my coming out bleary-eyed and tousled after enjoying a long nap while she had to sit at her school (I know I would) but my eyes weren't really open by this stage so I couldn't tell. She had gotten a message from Rob requesting a meet up for dinner so after watching some more Red Dead Redemption glitch videos on YouTube, where animals are placed by NPCs but with the programming for animal movements still applied (I recommend these videos for a good laugh, search 'Red Dead Redemption Bird Man') we headed off to our usual haunt, Tondaya, for dinner with Rob. Although we have eaten here several times for lunch this was the first time we had had dinner here and we were invited to sit at a table with couple of local guys enjoying a beer and some fresh fish. One of the guys had travelled extensively throughout Europe even though he didn't speak much English and shortly after we arrived another guy with long dyed blonde hair, joined their group. He had lived in Canada and Australia for several years but was too shy to talk to us so the other guys spoke for him. Rob and I both had shrimp tempura and rice while Maggie had the meat, rice and miso set we usually have for lunch. The guys who we were talking to offered us all beers but Maggie and I don't drink it so sat out that round content with coke and cream soda (with real cream!) as the guys spoke to us, complimenting Rob on his manliness the whole time. By the end of this the guys were so awestruck by Rob they asked him to come back and have a drink with them some time and shook his hand (and only his). Maggie guessed that they probably thought we were his bitches as a lot of the guys in town thought a previous JET Jared, who frequently was seen with both his girlfriend and my predecessor Kim, was their keeper.
On Monday I visited two other schools including the most furtherest to get to school, Yourou Primary which will take nearly an hour by bus and walking to get to. This time Nishihara-san drove us (in the mayors fancy new hybrid car, as the BoE car was in use – this car was so fancy, that everything was electronic and Nishihara-san had to spend at least five minutes trying to turn the car on) and as we ascended the hill that the school sat atop of we noticed a ute in front of us with the limb of a tree tried onto the back, extending well past the back of the utes tray. “Ah, that must be the principal!” Nishihara-san declared when she noticed the danger level of everything on the ute was reaching critical. When he reached the top of the hill and got out, wearing an old, stained tracksuit, he greeted us cheerfully and invited us in for tea. His name is Yamamoto-sensei and he is one of the most interesting folk I've met here, he tries to spend as much time as possible outside and gets the kids into gardening and outdoor activities. He also loves building things. As we left I noticed the jungle-gym in the playground had been rather crudely modified with a large limb of a tree bound to the top bars of the metal structure, extending precariously out beyond one side with a swing made of rope hanging down from it. It was clearly Yamamoto-sensei's handiwork, and when I mentioned it to Nishihara-san she said the BoE school inspectors frequently ask him to stop making dangerous playthings for the kids, but he ignores them and keeps doing it. Judging by the new tree limb he had acquired on the back of his ute, he had his mind set on modifying something else. I am prepared to be enlightened when I teach my first classes there next Monday.
Despite saying I was not going to do kyudo again on this trip to Japan, I surprisingly found myself at the local kyudo dojo on Wednesday night. This place is on the outskirts of Miyazu next to one of the loveliest parks in town famous for its cherry blossoms and autumn colours and as I sat watching the students practice (they are all about in their fifties or above, but there is a young boy who is just starting out), listening to the cicadas going berserk outside in the surrounding forest, I decided to take it up again. The dojo master is one of the most skilled in Kyoto Prefecture and his students frequently win competitions because he is strict on form – probably the most important aspect of the martial art, more so than actually hitting the target. The whole process of walking into the shooting area and notching the arrow on the bow takes a long time and is all measured and assessed. You must take three steps to walk to your position, sliding your feet along the floor so that they don't actually lift off from the floor, then you must lower yourself slowly to a kneeling position without bending your back while holding you bow straight up in the air, notch he arrow to it slowly, rise again straight-backed slowly, lift your bow above your head, pull down, line up your target then finally fire. Everything is measured. Time to do each position, footsteps taken and how long your stride should be, angles of your foot placement, distance from your head and shoulder your bow should be as you are doing the four steps of spreading your bow, etc. Because the students in my kyudo club at school wanted me to get to the stage of firing an arrow quickly they had me bypass all these form steps so I'm learning everything again from scratch so I don't miss anything and after a year and a half of going to all three lessons each week I should be at competition level. And I'll finally get a snazzy black hakama and white gi to wear.
So that has been the week so far. This is probably going to get posted at the same time as last weeks entry as I have no internet at home now because the routers being a dick, and I can only apply for internet of my own by using the internet. Argh! I don't think I have anything planned for this weekend as the Yourou Junior High sports festival I planned to accompany Maggie to is off due to a fast approaching typhoon, so I've been told to stay at home. I guess I should catch up on the cleaning as the tatami mats are getting dirty an the shower needs demoulding. Yay! *Kermit the Frog dance.* For the next two weeks I have classes everyday (shock horror!) so I probably won't update this for a while as my days will be filled with manic kids and long naps.
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