April 21, April 22

So, I have finally started transcribing my journal online. I have written so much more than I thought I would, and just getting caught up is going to be something of a project, so bear with me, please. I’ll probably intersperse “journal entries” with more bloggy-posty stuff. If you have anything you want to hear more about, just give a shout out, and I’ll try to oblige.


These are transcribed entries from the journal I am writing in at school. I started the journal for a number of reasons, one of the main ones being that I didn’t have internet yet so I couldn’t post things online. The other being that I had free time on my hands. These entries are slightly modified, but mostly for grammar. I suppose you’d never know either way. Surprisingly, I had way more to say than I thought. Unsurprisingly, I have been bad (abysmal) at keeping my online entries up to date with my written ones. Someday, the dates will match but for now…These are the voyages of a long time ago in a galaxy far far away:

April 21, 2009 kaayobi (Tuesday)
It might just be me, but I think that the second year class is way crazier than, well…they’re crazy. I’m pretty confident they are trying to hook up K Sensei and I; they keep asking us if we are in love. Sometimes they ask us if we are having sex (in English!) when we are both there. Awkward. Kids are jerks, but at least they are interesting.

My first year students are just too shy. One, they don’t know enough English to be interesting, and two, they prefer to ignore me. In their defense, I was pretty boring in today’s class. I have a bad habit of coming in flat on the first class of the day.

My job is basically that of an entertainer, but sometimes I feel like I should also not be a distraction. These two roles do not play nice with each other, and so I am still stuck. It’s definitely a balance routine that I have not mastered. (ok, so its only been a week) As one of the notebooks I bought for various notebook-y things says, “There is no royal road to learning.”

Speaking of learning, I am still mastering katakana, and the last few characters are elusive. Reading is still a chore/adventure, and at restaurants Winston and I are developing a habit of deciphering the menu after we have ordered. This is ok, because ordering is usually some combination of guessing, gestures, and confused stare, with the end result being the owners/waiters/whoever just making us whatever they feel like we should have ordered. So far the results have been delicious.

Yesterday we had Japanese pizza, which is more like an omelet, but much more delicious. The ordering process (and it was) mostly revolved around Winston and I confirming that we were in the right place for Japanese pizza, and then conveying Winston’s “allergy” to fish. When we tried to read the menu, the owners (2) would run to the freezer and grab whatever it was we were asking about and bring it out to show us. Now I know that tako is octopus and ika is squid.

After ordering, we “chatted” with the owners (the Nikka Sans) and figured out the rest of the menu (yakiniku is bbq meat. Remember this, it becomes increasingly important later) as well as introduced ourselves to the owners. Like everyone, they were surprised – I’d like to think impressed – at how old (young) we were, and happy (but less surprised) to hear that we were English teachers. I have really enjoyed meeting people in restaurants because they are all very friendly and eager to help/teach me Japanese. We also received business cards (my first!) which is a big deal in Japan. All in all, a successful dining experience.

April 22, 2009 suiyobi (Wednesday)
I had quite the hectic morning, but it all definitely ended in the positive. First, I hit the snooze button twice this morning, a poor choice. As a result, I left the apartment at about 7:40. Not good. It takes at least 15 minutes to get to work, and Japan is a 10-minutes-early kind of place. Fortunately, Kimitsu is a help-the-gaijin-out sort of place, and I steamrolled to work in record time, 14 minutes. As a consolation prize, AFI’s (I think) new single was playing on the English radio station. (Its actually the Yakota army/navy base station) I get in my car, and it was the most refreshing, vitalizing emo-pop-punk I’ve ever heard. Truly, music to my ears.

So I arrive at work 5 minutes early, fearing that I’m 5 minutes late Japan time, only to see two teachers entering the building, mere moments before me. This is a good sign, and I was relieved. My day starts as usual, with some Japanese practice and review and my morning cup of tea, brought to me be Mizono San, the tea man. My schedule was light today, just the one class at 4th period, and a private lesson for 2nd period. I settle in for some Japanese studying after the daily morning teacher meeting.

But then, oh wait, K. Sensei forgot to add a class to my schedule, and yes, it’s a new lesson for class 21 (second year, class 1) during, that’s right, 1st period. No prep, no real information about the lesson plan at all. Just me and my game face. Show time! Fortunately for me, 21 is the super genki (spirited) easily excitable, and really fun class, so it is a piece of cake, and we all know, I love me my clutch performances. The class was great, K. Sensei was apologetic, I scored major points, and had a great time. Alex: 2, Life’s crazy twists and turns: 0.

Of course, our 1st period class runs way late, and we rush to go to the private lesson only to arrive to an empty classroom. Due to another scheduling error, we have no private lesson, and thus ends my morning.

On to the afternoon! It must be the sunshine today, or yesterday, but today had been very strange. A sannensei (3rd year student) got into an argument with the art teacher, A. Sensei, that lasted about 20 minutes. It turned into a straight up shouting match and more than one teacher was involved. I was lead to believe that this a rather rare occurrence in Japan (its not really common in America is it, though?) and it seemed pretty serious. It was interesting to watch, because in some ways, I completely understood what was happening – a 14 year old girl was arguing (vehemently) with 3 of the senior female teachers. Apparently being a 14 year old girl is a universal affliction. On the other hand, I had no idea what the argument was about or the actual level of significance of the event. In a country dedicated to the preservation of harmony, shouting matches seem pretty out of place. In America, this would have been a big deal, but it would have lost most of its significance after the issue was resolved. I wonder what the long term implications of this event will be. (for those wondering, nothing as far as I can tell. Japan is pretty big on either letting things be or massively suppressing feelings. I haven’t decided. Also, kids seem to get a lot of leniency on the harmony thing) Good thing I’m just an ALT. As long as they use English, all I have to do is smile and say “good English,” which is exactly what happened after the fighting cooled off.

And the day goes on. Oh wait, more trouble during lunch. (yeah, this was all before lunch) The 2nd years are the most rowdy class, but usually in a good, positive way. But today, one kid poured soup down the back of another student. WTF!? Then the soup-pourer starts to break down and cry when the teacher confronts him about it. Now, in his defense, crying is pretty common among men in Japan, so that was the normal part of the event. 15 minutes and 2 teachers later, the whole thing is resolved, and life goes on like nothing happened. It must be the sun today.