Working!

So this post took me 2 weeks to get to finishing. I wrote this bit early September:

[On my way to school today, I was suddenly struck by a strange realisation:

It isn't as hot anymore.

Sure, my shirt was still soaked by the time I arrived at school and the staff room AC is still turned up all the way, but every time I passed under shade, there was a hint, just a hint, of autumn. The heat isn't suffocating anymore. The sea breeze is actually cool. Lazy clouds, softening sunlight, the lot. And the cicadas finally shut up.

Unfortunately the start of autumn is also the start of school. And labor day here in Japan is in May so forget the long weekend moral boost.

Yep. Work.

So school. You learn rather quickly that good teaching is a balancing act. You'll get eaten alive if you spend hours and hours on a class plan and the kids don't listen in class, but if you don't plan at all the students stop caring about class and it's a slippery downhill slope from there. Having JTEs (Japanese Teachers of English) around helps a ton because, at the very least, THEY are excited about your class. And, of course, every good teacher should remember that, once, we too were the misbehaving miscreants that wanted nothing more than to sleep/eat/talk/text in class. You just have to rough it out and bring even more energy to the table. Don't forget to charm the alpha males/females of the class either. They're the cheat buttons for getting the class under control!]

Right so now, 4 weeks into actual teaching, I thought I'd take a little time out to tell you all about my visit school. Conveniently located 40 minutes south of Himeji on a FERRY, Ieshima High School (Ieshima is the name of the island) is a cozy little school with a student population approximately the size of an Orgo 2 class. And roughly the same why-do-I-have-to-go-through-with-this-crap attitude as well. Watch out, I'll starting making "Only at Ieshima" jokes pretty soon.

The ferry ride isn't really that bad. Honest.

The island has a cozy population of 2000, and in a city like Himeji, it provides a nice bit of boonies flair. It's gorgeous during the day, everyone is friendly so long as you're not trying to teach them English, and if you know where to look, this is where you can get literally-right-out-of the-sea-fresh seafood to take home for dinner. Literally.

Pretty, eh?

It's Japan, so naturally there's a shrine.

And to top it off, I teach there twice a week, which is a nice change of atmosphere from the industrial toxins I breathe in at Shikama. But the draw back, you ask? Well... let's start with the 5:30 am alarm I have to set to get to school on time. Then there's the completely unmotivated students, the completely disappointed students (who can't look at me beyond my asian skin color), and the completely asleep students.

But then again, they love me outside of class. I took my parents there last weekend when they came to visit and the kids were all over me. Which is always nice ^_^

..........

Back at Shikama, I come to accept that I'm not really teaching the 1st years since I only see them once every two weeks. My 5 third year students though, I love like they were my... hmm. Well, students. I'm in that in-between age where "siblings" doesn't cut it, but "children" is just weird. You get the point.

So for you other JETs out there interested in seeing what I'm teaching them right now, I give you my freshman year World Cultures syllabus... World Cultures. These kids only have another 3-4 months with me, and I know that's no where near enough time for me to make drastic changes to their English level. So I'm going to have them leave the school with a better understanding of the world outside Japan. In hopes of inspiring them to do great things.

Also it was an easy excuse for me to talk about Duke Basketball culture. ;-)

Yeah. Me. At Indy. This was on the AP. I'm awesome.

So we've brainstormed different aspects of culture (there are over 15), and each lesson I have so far has been based in one of those aspects. DukeBluePlanet videos for the day on sports, home made Linguine Puttanesca for the day on food, fun stuff. I've also given them a term project to present a cultural aspect of their choice. Just to give them a sense of what humanity is all about. Not that I know all of it. Also, mnemonic devices are always fun because you're making them doodle. What's fun in kindergarten is still fun when you're 60!

Right, so, before I sign off on this article, other happenings in the last 3 weeks.

- I bought a TV and PS3 and 2 games for cheap(ish)
- I've decided on an electric piano that I will purchase either today or tomorrow
- I found an AMAZING Kaiseki restaurant right in my area.
- Sports day turned into pouring rain day turned into we're-gonna-cancel-but-you-still-have-to-sit-at-your-office-today. After we sat and waited for 3 hours at the stadium.
- Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert made me sad... because I can't make it to their rally on October 30.
- Homecoming made me sad because I missed it.
- But that's ok because I'm stuffing my face with the BEST Japanese cakes EVER.

This slice of heaven? Only a 2 minute walk away.

Lastly, I pledge to you the reader, now, to update my blog every week. Even if it is just a "I'm so busy c@|\| 1 h@5 h3lp p1z"

So. See you next week!