Japan VI: Okayama

Greetings from Japan again!

And so, I have been living in Japan for about 2 weeks now. It's still ridiculously hot and humid here. I've also gone through one week of class, minus the university classes because the universities around here haven't started yet. Here was my schedule for this week (not including Japanese class):

Monday: Junsei (5 year olds) 10:45am-11:15am [1 class]
Thursday: Eisugakkan (middle school students) 10am-3pm [4 classes]
Friday: OUS (high school freshmen/seniors) 9am-12pm [3 classes]

Once the university classes start, I should be at a different school each day. Junsei and OUS are within walking/biking distance but in order to get to Eisugakkan, I have about an hour commute by train. Once I get off the train at Daimon station, I have another 20 minute walk. What's one funny thing about all the Kake schools? They are all on steep hills...I've already lost 2 lbs. from all the walking and bike riding I do!

Thus far, I've just done introductory activities with the classes. The style of teaching I have to do at each school is very different. For example, at Junsei I am completely in control while at Eisugakkan, the Japanese teacher I work with likes mandating what we do in class. The hardest part about teaching so far is not so much directing the class but effectively communicating with with my Japanese co-teachers. The Japanese teachers don't directly tell me what they want me to do (which I just assume is a cultural difference) so I have to ask very thorough and specific questions to clarify what I am and am not responsible for. I honestly can't wait for my university classes to start even though it will be a few more classes to teach. I feel like I'll have more freedom to manipulate the atmosphere of the classroom which I think will help the students learn more. More opinions about the Japanese schooling system once I've taught a few more classes.

Japanese students aren't extraordinarily different from American students. Like any adolescent kid, they like to goof off, watch their favorite TV shows and be rowdy. Most of the kids who like sports are very particular to baseball or tennis, which are very popular in Japan. And of course, there are the few artsy kids and nerdy kids. A few things the students commonly asked me were:

"Do you have boyfriend?"
"When is your birthday?"
"What is your blood type?"

I'm convinced all the students are trying to figure out my personality type as things like astrology are very popular here...This weekend, Hannah and I went to OUS's Sports Day at Okayama Dome. The event was comprised of a series of games for the kids. Each class of kids wore a certain color T-shirt and created their own choreography to a few songs as well as a special flag. These were very entertaining to watch considering that even the male students were into the dancing! The best part was when a group of students did a dance to Lady Gaga's "Born This Way."

[The Okayama Dome]

Here are a few quirky things I've noticed about Japanese people:

• Being tan isn't popular. Being pale is. Thus, many Japanese girls will wear arm-length gloves to cover their arms while still wearing a T-shirt on sunny days and many will walk with umbrellas in order to not tan. 
• The only things that are commonly stolen here are bicycle parts or whole bicycles...
• The Japanese trifecta is coffee, alcohol and cigarettes. Choose two to do in order to participate in society.
• Japanese people are fascinated by foreigners...No matter where I go, I am guaranteed at least 3 people gawking at me. What never fails to shock me is when I enter Okayama Station and there are nothing but Asians, everywhere.
• Japanese people are extremely polite and patient. Heck, the language has several levels of politeness to address people if that doesn't give anything away.
• People in Okayama are bad drivers.

[The view from home]

So, do I miss home yet? Bits and pieces I suppose. Open spaces of healthy grass are rare where I live which makes me miss simple walks on the bike paths that run through Ohio like veins in a circulatory system. In my opinion, all the architecture here looks the same; I miss the variety that is in America. I also miss the coziness of places like Yellow Springs and The Neon in Dayton. I also miss cheap fruit. Citrus is very expensive in Japan, especially grapes! I also miss fresh air in the city. This weekend I went to Okayama City and by the time I was done with my wanderings, I had a headache from all the cigarette smoke and exhaust fumes. I also miss being able to have a handy water bottle with me! Water bottles are surprisingly expensive here so I saved the plastic water bottle I bought from a vending machine a few days ago to serve as a water bottle. Anyway, as far as home sickness goes, I'd say I'm doing fine.

This week, Hannah and I might go to Osaka since both of us have a free day on Wednesday. Other than that, it's week two of classes!