Mary Newton

Scaredy Cat!

Literally.

Yesterday when I was sitting at the computer, preparing for class, I heard a few girls in the hallway scream. I just figured they were getting excited about something or other; but then a couple of girls that were in the teachers room also screamed. I looked to my left and I see this blur of golden fur fly by me and into the closet room at the end of the staff room.

WHAT IN THE WORLD?

Turns out a cat got into the school and was desperately trying to find its way out. It came out of the room, ran behind the computer desk, and jumped onto the filing cabinets on the other side of the room. There are big, regular windows on either side of the staff room. There are also windows above those. The cat was trying to jump to where the top window was -- I guess he thought it was open, but of course there wasn't anything to grab onto and it just fell each time (and knocked off rulers, books, etc.) The cat then proceeded to meow the most horrified meow I have ever heard -- as if it were screaming bloody murder.

One of the teachers opened the bigger window and after a second of getting it's bearings, it jumped...two floors down to the gravel parking lot. I guess they say cats always land on their feet. I am assuming the cat is okay, but I didn't hear about it or see it after that.

So yes, that's my second cat story from this school. Last year there was this cat that would always come into my International Understanding Class and just kinda hang out with us. Cute.

On a totally unrelated note: Why do I get laughed at for eating a whole apple? Is it just some weird Western thing? I don't get it.

New Movie Coming!

Actually, maybe more than one.

The Omura team (Meg, Zara, and I) are at it again. You may remember us from the movie Let's Go Shopping. =)  We are in the process of editing our latest video -- "Let's Enjoy Cooking." I'll have it posted by this evening, so please make sure to check it out!

On Monday I went to Isahaya to watch Track and Field. I really enjoyed sitting in a stadium among the mountains and trees and watching all the events. I managed to stay sun burn free (!!!) EXCEPT on my knees. I'm not sure how one manages just to get sunburned on their knees, but I pulled that one off pretty nicely.

Yesterday (Tuesday) was a day off. The people that I sent my computer battery through called me to tell me that they are sending my battery BACK TO ME because it's "too dangerous" to ship. This spoiled my mood. I am having the worst luck trying to ship anything home. Luckily, however, things started working in my favor. Dell wants less than half the price of the battery if you can't ship it back to them, which actually turns out being less than shipping it home and then to Dell. Woohoo!!

To cheer myself up, I went to the park to read. I've been doing this a lot lately. I think that the park is my favorite place in Omura, for sure. =)

I'll have pictures and the VIDEO up later today. For now, I have my last class of the day. Time to give a speaking test! Ganbare kiddos!

Basketball!!

Yesterday I went to watch the two basketball games that my basketball girls were playing in. The first one didn't start until 11 am, so I had a laid back Saturday morning, which was nice. I watched the first game and was on my feet the whole time. It was a tight game from beginning to end, but we ended up winning the game! How exciting!

And they are off! We are the ones in the black uniforms (which surprised me because I thought for sure we'd be the white).

The second game didn't start until 3:30, so I had a nice picnic lunch to myself in our lovely park. I read my book, watched the jumping fish jump across the pond, and even saw a beagle that looked and acted just like Mandy! Awww, I miss my dog!! After lunch I still had some time, so I went to Starbucks, enjoyed a Red Bean fappuccino, and read some more. STILL having some time, I went shopping and bought a new top. Finally, time for the next game!

This time we were wearing the white uniforms. We ended up losing this game (pretty badly), but the girls fought all the way to the end. Nagasaki West is a good team.

So yesterday I learned that schools here don't have school colors -- hence the black and red / white and blue uniforms. Each team has at least two different uniforms and they wear them based on what the other team's colors are. Not too different from what we do in the States, expect the colors are so random. What fun is that? Also, they have sweats that are different colors, too. It's so confusing!

Before and after every game, they bow and THEN shake hands. Of course they bow...it's just funny to see it on the court.

After the last game I went home and Meg and I went to our favorite Izakaya up the road. The people there definitely know us and greeted us with a "long time no see!" That's so darling -- we have a regular spot! Nice.

Ok, better get off to the softball cheering! I don't think I will be out there long, which means a longer day for me!

Shipping is not impossible...

...but it IS a huge headache. Zara drove me and my big box of  clothes to the Kuroneko ("Black cat - UPS shipping service) and it turns out that it would be around 20,000 yen to send it sea-mail. No way I'm paying almost 200 dollars for that box. The volume of this box was only a little bit off (for the post-office standards), so my plan is to buy the smaller box, pack what I can, and part with the rest of the stuff. I thought for sure that I would be able to send the same box back home that was sent to me in the first place, but I was wrong.

However, I was able to ship my laptop battery home without a problem. It was expensive, but still cheaper than buying a new battery. Thank goodness. Dell also gave me an extension on the 10 day window to a month. *whew*

On a much happier note, yesterday at school was so much better than I expected it to be. Yesterday was the opening ceremonies for the huge prefecture wide sports competition that is going on this weekend, so we only had 3 shortened classes in the morning. Originally I wasn't supposed to have any classes, but it got changed so that I had 2 (instead of my usual three). Two classes isn't bad, but recently Friday's have been my least favorite days because the students just don't listen to anything and truly disrespect me and the JTE. However, I walked into my classes armed with good lesson plans and an optimistic attitude and both of them turned out to be really good classes. So much relieve on my end. Then, the students that were marching in the opening ceremonies left and the rest of us cleaned the outside of the school. I was actually  sort of dressed up yesterday, so I helped minimally, but ended up having some really good conversations with my third years (who I rarely see anymore). REAL conversations. They all became sad when I told them that I was leaving at the end of next month -- aww! They also wanted to know what Tim was up to. They haven't forgotten you, Tim! :) They were all in shock when I explained to them what you are doing. =D When we finished, I started talking to another group of students about music and movies and tv shows. That was fun, too.

Before I left school, I went up to the men's locker room and, with a lot of other teachers, watched (on the TV) our students march in the opening ceremonies in Sasebo. How exciting!!

So, a little bit about this prefecture-wide sports competition. Basically there are all kinds of sports being played all over the prefecture. If you aren't playing, you go to watch and cheer. Today I am going to the basketball game here in Omura. Tomorrow I am going to watch softball here in Omura and then on Monday I'll be in Isahaya (about 10 minutes from Omura by fast train) to watch Track and Field. I was going to go watch Kendo tomorrow in Isahaya, but the place was too difficult to get to without a car.

The game starts in less than an hour, so I better get moving. I'll take pictures!!! :)

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Yesterday I had three classes, which included 2 first year classes and 1 second year class. In my first year classes, they are in the middle of giving short (they have to be at least one minute long) presentations on a subject they choose to write about. In my second year classes, the JTE and I are trying to get them to express their opinions and even do simple debates. I know this is difficult because we tried to do it in my Japanese classes in college. I would probably be able to do debates better now, but that's not the issue here.

Yesterday, the JTE that I teach the second years with was not there. I decided that trying to explain and, more importantly, getting them to participate in a debate without the JTE would be too difficult and not worth my time. Instead, I decided to do a lesson on RESPECT because in my opinion, the second years act so disrespectful to both me and the JTE during class. Not all of them, of course, but enough of them to make the mood and environment of the class turn into one that does not stimulate learning. For example, in this class that I am referring to (which is made up of 39 girls), the girls that sit in the front are, for the most part, always attentive and ready for our lessons; however, the girls in the back will not, for the life of them, stop talking/chatting/doing other things (not English related) no matter how many times I stop talking (to get their attention) or how many times the JTE asks them to be quiet. Quite frankly, I've had it up to HERE with it -- it's not fair to the other students and it's spoiling my experience as a teacher -- the fact that they do not show respect to their teachers or peers.

So I decided to try to do something about it. I burned a CD with Aretha Franklin's song Respect and the Erasure song, A Little Respect on it. I printed out the lyrics to Respect for them and God help me, sang the song in front of them (I can't really carry a tune -- I was just trying to get their attention). During the song, the girls in the back that always talk...yep, they were still talking. I asked them to make pairs and think about what RESPECT means to them and how they can show respect in class (our class), at home, and with friends. I even explained in Japanese, so I knew they understood their assignment. In the end, I ended up writing all the reasons down on the board and I asked them to make a simple sentence with one of the options I had written on the board (so, you know, they could think about actually doing that one thing during class). Here's all they had to write down:

"In class I will show respect by _______ing ___________." And the blanks were already on the board...they just had to write it down. THAT'S ALL! I said (in Japanese too) that this was their grade for the day. I still had a good number of students NOT do it because they weren't paying attention to me.

To make my day more frustrating, I went to my first year class right after that. It was presentation day. We had given them two whole class periods to work on it -- not to mention any extra time they decided to work on it (yeah right...I learned after my first lesson that my students don't do any homework I assign). Let's just say that the presentations was awful -- they hardly tried. And I know that instead of really working on them during class, they were just talking anyway. My JTE was furious and gave them a good stern talking after the bell. I have to hang on to some hope that the presentations in other classes are going to go better...but there is only so much hope in me -- especially when the same thing happens in almost every class.

Alright, so that was my rant. I don't think I complain much on here, but it's really getting to me and I'm not sure what to do to make my situation better. I can have the JTEs talk to them and I HAVE talked to some of them already. If there are any other ALTs that read this and have had similar problems, would you mind sharing your solutions with me? Thank you!!

The Start of Another School Year

I have returned from my fun-filled trip through Kyoto, Osaka, Himeiji, and Hiroshima! I have a multitude of pictures that I promise to post and write about, but that will have to wait in that they are all on my computer at home at the moment. I do, however, have a story to share with you that I just got told about.

Today was the "first day" of school for my high school. I'm putting "first day" in quotes because really, classes don't start until Wednesday. Today, the now second- and third-year students arrived for opening ceremonies. It was the usual thing -- stand up, bow, sit down, listen to the principal drown on and on, stand up, bow, sit down, etc. Then they all went to their new home rooms for the year. The process was repeated this afternoon for the incoming first-years. I sat through the whole thing and my comment on how the principal cannot stop talking remains true. I was fighting the urge to not fall asleep in front of all the first year's parents. Tomorrow is testing in the morning (Japanese, English, and Math) and more ceremonies (taimenshiki -- meeting each other all together) in the afternoon.

However, my JTE just told me something that the principal said this morning when he was announcing all the new teachers to the students. He said that many of the teachers look OLDER than they really are...some as much as 20 years older (than they really are)!! Can you believe this guy? My JTE told me that she thinks he's out of his mind. I have to agree. You only use that phrase with little kids...not grown adults. How insulting!!! I think he needs a little dose of good 'ol Japanese modesty, if you ask me.

20 more minutes and I'll be on my way to the post office to pick up a package my Mom sent me! Thank you, Mom!! Oh happy day!! =)

Last Day of School and Farewell Enkai

Yesterday, Friday, was the last day of the school year. Instead of classes, the students and entire staff cleaned (of course) and then had closing ceremonies. The beginning was like any other school assembly. Awards were given (this time to students from the archery and broadcasting clubs) and the principal made a long (and drawn-out) speech. But then, the teachers who are being transfered or who are retiring took the stage and each one of them was recognized. Among the group of teachers leaving are the vice principal, two English teachers (Shinya being one of them...he's going to study for his teacher's license test), the math teacher that sits next to me (my Japanese study friend -- I'm going to miss him, but I think he's finally retiring, so best of luck to him), a man that works in the office downstairs (he always asked if I was genki...nobody else does that. Aww...sad!!!), and a good number of younger teachers that I have had parties with.

First, the principal recognized each teacher with memories and best wishes. After that, each teacher had a chance to thank everyone and say their own thoughts and feelings. Here is a picture (as best as I could get) of the 16 teachers who will be leaving us.

This whole experience was very heart-felt and moving. The younger women teachers...and even the PE teacher (on the right...the only woman sitting with the men; she's been at this school for 6 years) fought back tears as they addressed the school. The students were in tears and I even saw tears in some of the other teachers sitting around me. The youngest of the women teachers cried through the whole thing. I talked to her after and found out that she is being transferred to Shimabara (an island) to work in a high school that's even bigger than ours (because there is only one high school on the island). She was really upset about having to move. I don't blame her. The system that they have to follow is very strict and hard on personal relationships; but like my mom said, job security is a very important thing. I'm sure she will preform very well at her new school, the thought of moving is just a scary one indeed.

When it was all over, some select students went up to the stage and presented each of the 16 teachers. It was a nice gesture.

After, all the students had one last home room. One of my students told me that she was very sad because their home room teacher is leaving. I don't know this teacher well because I never really got to talk to her besides the couple of times she thanked me for helping her students clean, but her class has a really nice dynamic. I can see why she was so sad. After home room, a lot of the students were hanging around the staff room instead of going home. I snapped a picture with a couple of my close students:

Later that night, we had the farewell enkai. I must say, this was the best enkai I have had since the first one. It was pricey, but the food was exquisite and I had some real conversations. At the end, all 65 or so of us (lots of people for a party, huh?) gathered in a circle, linked to each other, and swayed while singing the school song. I really wish I could have gotten a video of that, but alas, I was one of the ones swaying and singing (well, more like humming...I tried). Then all the teachers that are staying made a bridge with our arms and all the leaving teachers went under. That was neat and funny because most of them were drunk. ha.

We took a bus that the restaurant provided and on the way back, I snapped a couple of photos:

Aww! The one on the left is the one that is moving and upset about it. She looks like she is crying, but she's laughing. haha. And hey! The guy in the back is the math teacher that helps me study Japanese. Sweet.

And this is Mizukami Sensei -- history and Japanese archery teacher. He's really cool, and his English is really good. Mom, Dad, Tim...he told me to tell yall that he is my new boyfriend. Haha :)

The bus dropped me and the other JTE (the one who has been here for 8 years and is now leaving) off at the school. I rode my bike home, but got some cool shots since I was at the school ALL by myself (something that's never happened).

Omura Castle, at night from my school. And check out the moon! It looks like a flying fireball.

Big tree = Big shadow. No more tarps on the school! Hooray!

Yesterday was a great day. Now I have a week of planning and nothingness for a week. Then next Sunday...oh the adventures begin! :)

The school year is coming to a close

This week is the last week of the school year. I can't believe it! The students are anxiously awaiting Friday's closing ceremonies so that they can have their short 2 week break before they start their next year. 2 weeks!!! Our vacation time at home between grades is about 2 months. The students still get summer vacation, but it's still not as long as what we get back in the States.

Anyways, I can feel their anxiety from the moment I step in the classroom. They are rowdy, inattentive, and pretty much not interested...even with games and chocolate as prizes. Granted, if I'm teaching with a good JTE, we can get them to quiet down and get involved in the Jeopardy game we are playing, but there still is a lot of chattering going on. Having classes after finals never seemed like a good idea to me -- what is the motivation to pay attention? And even though I prepare and bring candies, that still doesn't motivate the majority of them. Well, at least I tried and gave them something fun to do -- some groups really got into it and luckily they ended up being the winners. I prefer to give the prizes to teams that really deserve it. =)

Tomorrow is announcement day; meaning that the teachers that will have to leave and transfer to other schools are told tomorrow. Japan's educational system works in strange ways, but I can see the advantage of it. Every few years, teachers (young teachers, especially) are made to transfer to new schools at the end of the school year. Essentially they are given 2 weeks to pack up, move, get settled in to their new home (if they have to move), and acquainted with their new school. I think I heard that every teacher, or most teachers, (at least for Kyushu) have to go and work on an island. Can you imagine being told that you have to move miles and miles away to a sparsely populated island to teach? What if you have family or you just bought a house? One of my JTEs told me that you get to put your top picks, but that's never guaranteed. You have to be ready for anything, I suppose.

It's a tough situation.

The good part about this though is that smaller and "poorer" schools will receive quality teachers...a problem that we struggle with at home.

We'll find out tomorrow who leaves and who stays. My JTE told me that we might be losing 3 of our 5 JTEs. This is good for me only in that I will have the opportunity to really start fresh and get my teaching goals off the ground. Oh, that and there's an enkai (party) on Friday because of it! =)

Brrr! Please put the window panes back in!

Hello!! It is cold in Omura today...high of 44 F (6 C) -- which is hard to adjust to after a weekend of weather in the 70s. Okinawa was so wonderful and I promise I will blog on it very soon, but for now I want to tell you about the construction on my school.

When there is construction on a building, they put up massive structures that allow the workers to work on the building (like at home); but as an added precaution, they also put this tarp (in this situation, a gray one) around the building as well. This tarp doesn't allow sunshine in, so you can imagine how cold and dark it is inside. Yuk.

Today in the hallway, they are replacing the window panes, which means that there are huge holes in the wall to let cold air blow through. I'm just glad my students don't have to be here today for that! (There is achievement testing all this week, so they don't have to be here...and I, in turn, do not have classes at all this week -- boy was I surprised to see that on the calendar this morning!)

Also, what I don't understand is how students can be in a productive learning environment when there is drilling, hammering, and talking RIGHT outside their windows. On Friday, I had to teach one of my classes by myself. Luckily we were just playing a game, so once they understood the directions, they didn't have to strain to hear me. The drilling was so loud I literally had trouble hearing myself. How can anyone have class in that kind of situation? My supervisor said she had to stop talking and just write everything on the board.

Graduation Day 2007

Congratulations to all junior high and high school graduates today, March 1st, 2007. Yes, the school year in Japan is coming to an end for most; and it ended today for all graduates. For the rest of the students, school will end at the end of March and begin again around April 9th (not much of a break, huh?). But for today, I got to experience a Japanese high school graduation first hand! It is quite different from the customs back home -- and it is definitely a more somber/heart-felt ceremony. There was no hootin' and hollerin', no air horns, no beach balls, no cap-throwing (but there were no caps to be thrown anyway), and no cheering. There were more tears than anything (it really was quite sad). I was thinking today that at my high school graduation, everyone was so happy to be moving on with their lives. However, I went to a huge school (around 1,000 people in my graduating class versus the 195 students here), so I didn't have the opportunity to get to know everyone like these kids do. After spending three years together, in the same class (meaning that the same class has all the same classes together and their own room -- they don't move during classes), in club activities, and outside of school, I can understand why they were so sad to be done. I'll miss seeing the ones that I knew (I only really taught one third year class -- the rest are first and second years). Best of luck to all of you!

I took some pictures and will explain the process through them. Enjoy!!

Some of my cute second year students. I really like this picture. =) It really captures the essence of Japanese high school girls.

A bit blurry, but here is a multitude of girls waiting to go down to the gym for the ceremony. Yes, my school is mostly girls (about 80% girls, 20% boys).

Me and Saya (a second year) outside the gym. I wore a suit today for the occasion (the first time I've had to since I've been here) and a skirt (I always wear pants). I got so many double takes today. Heehee. :)

Here come the graduates! They still had to wear their uniforms and the girls still had to have their hair tied back, but they did get to wear those cool little flower pins on their shoulders. The gym was broken down like this. LEFT: teachers/administrators; parents in the back. MIDDLE: third years (graduates), second years, and then first years. RIGHT: special guests, dignitaries, PTA members, and parents in the back. It was a full house (even for a Thursday morning). I saw a lot of mothers (some with small children), but not many fathers. Differences: my HS graduation took place at night and at a big outdoor pavilion, not during the day; and the younger students weren't there unless they were there to support their friends/siblings. Definitely lower key here in Japan. Also, today was nationally a graduation day -- I was watching the news on Super Graduates in Hokkaido. Their gym looked JUST like ours (set up the same way)!   

Receiving their diplomas. Our school isn't too large, so all the students were able to get their diplomas and walk. Their homeroom teacher would call out their name when they were next and they would respond with a loud "HAI!" and proceed to walk. The man with the white gloves is the principal. He was also wearing coat tails -- apparently the thing principals have to wear on graduation day -- I thought it looked silly, but then again I've never actually seen someone (in person) wear coat tails, so that was neat to see. The lady to the left is a second year teacher. She was wearing a beautiful kimono that was identical to the one that my supervisor wore. Pictures to come!

"Congratulations." "Thank you." (Of course they bow instead of shake hands!) The whole graduation process took only an hour. There was only applause after all the names were called. Like I said, no hootin' and hollerin' or dancing across the stage. What I found interesting was that they jumped right into giving out the diplomas -- the speeches and singing came after. A second year student gave the third years thanks and good wishes in her speech. The third year student started crying in the middle of her speech!! It was so sad! The principal made a speech, they sung the national anthem and the school song, and then...it was over.

The graduates leaving the building. Look how sad they look! The girl in the back is even crying (a lot of them were).

Just for comparisons sake, this was me (and my friend Zach) at my high school graduation. No gowns and caps for my high school students. I wonder if the girls get to wear kimonos for college graduation? I think I'm going to ask.

And finally, a picture of me and my supervisor in her beautiful kimono/hakama. I didn't even recognize her at first -- she's a Japanese beauty!!

There isn't any kind of Operation Graduation for these kids, but one girl did say that she was going to her grandma's tonight. :) What a day! I am glad that I got to see graduation in Japan! =)