Wow, I’ve been in Japan for a month already! So far I’ve
been really busy figuring out the yearly schedule, planning the yearly schedule
and finally working out some new lessons (which is taking the most of my
time!). What took up most of my time is to create a new curriculum
and already plan the activities which I am intending to use this term. At least
for most of my classes I have a bit more leeway when it comes to lesson
planning.
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| Rice paddies |
I’ve also been busy writing a skit for the English Club. The
stakes are high, not only because I am the new ALT and I have to prove myself,
but also because last year the 2nd years won the contest! Wow…
But, what have I been up to lately other than planning
lessons?
Well, we went to Shizunami beach twice.
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| Shizunami Beach |
We also went to Lalaport (a mall) which is in Iwata city.
Note: there are no malls in Kakegawa!
We finally received our new dining table and couch.
A creepy guy, shopping with his wife, took a photo of me. (¬▂¬)
We finally received our internet.
I lost my phone at the ATM. Then the next day the bank returned
it to me. They even apologized that they switched off my alarm which was
ringing non-stop!
I had my welcoming party at a very nice Italian restaurant
in Kakegawa with most of the English teachers.
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| Starter: a very creamy, cold corn and olive oil soup with a savoury ice cream. |
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| Entree: Miniature leaf salad (locally sourced - like everything in the restaurant) and smoked fish salad |
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| Main: Tomato spaghetti |
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| Spumoni-like dessert, Passion Fruit ice cream and watermelon sorbet |
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| Rooibos tea! Most of the teachers tried it, and actually liked it, especially with a slice of lemon! |
The food was fantastic and the
company was great! It was interesting to see how everybody became more relaxed
and open, leaving the office behind. It was very nice to see my colleagues
outside of the very formal school environment. The strangest thing, like many
people have wrote about before, is that usually at social events or enkai what
happens at the enkai, stays at the enkai. That being said, this wasn’t a real
enkai, but more a welcoming dinner. Even though they were a bit more relaxed, my
teachers still were very mannered and only touched on topics which, typically, in
the West, will be received with a slight frown. Everybody made jokes and even
got a lot more “personal” by asking the BIG Question …
How old are you?
My age was received with great surprise! And now it’s out
there – I am the kohai (the subordinate junior) by far…
Then, Friday when I arrived at the office, everyone thanked
me for last night (I didn’t pay for anything, but thank you for thanking
me for joining you and giving me a fantastic dinner party –
wow, the Japanese truly have such fantastic manners). Not only that,
some of the teachers will chit chat, which is something they rarely did before
hand - there was even a joke about my age thrown in the conversation. Again.
Friday was the school's opening ceremony, so I had to make my
self-introduction speech today in front of 700 students and about 60
colleagues. I wasn’t as nervous as I thought I would be, and I didn’t even make
any mistakes. I even received some compliments, although I'm sure I made so many mistakes when it comes to the bowing!
And so, after a month in Japan,
I am finally “Welcomed” as part of the group, which to me, is a great honour. When you are in a society where most often you’re seen as the gaijin,
the ultimate outsider, who is making one too many cultural faux pas, you feel really
happy to be noticed as worthy of the group (even if that group still sees you
as the kohai, with no social standing in the Japanese society). At least they
see you as the kohai with no social standing who is worthy enough of being part
of their group!
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