A dash of flavor in an otherwise bland bean soup
So. Golden Week came and went. I'm not in detail-mode at the moment, but I will say that I got to visit my host mom's hometown in Kyushu (gosh, I'm so bad with names; who's-knows-where-town), and that I really enjoyed myself. I'm glad the trip was extremely short, though. There were a lot of undercurrents flowing that kept tension high, and kept me making expressions like this: o_O. Yeah. Later!
I wanted to say that I got two new students at Yutaka Elementary today! I think they came at the beginning of May, but I guess that means that they've only been in school for less than a week. Last week only had class on Thursday and Friday, and they started on May 1st, I believe. The students are American born Marika (1-nen) and Reika (3-nen). I actually taught Reika when she was a first grader for about a month when I first arrived in 2006, and after that the family was off to Russia. Marika was four and in nursery school/pre-school at the time, so I didn't meet her. I think Reika is fourth-grade age wise but she's in third grade here. Probably due to what they're studying in fourth grade, or how much kanji she knows or something similar. Well, anyway, they're back from Russia, and they'll be here for the semester. According to Marika (who got it from her mom), the Kobachichi family will be heading to America next. Mr. Kobachichi was a ALT a few years ago, and he fell in love with Mrs. Kobachichi (who lived in Kubi) and they got married and had little baby Kobachichis. (Gosh, I love that name. ^__^)
I haven't actually ever met Mr. or Mrs. Kobachichi, but I kind of feel connected to them through their children. The girls have learned a whole lot about living in other countries and learning the languages the last few years, but one things I've noticed in both girls (besides their cuteness and wonderful American English accents) is that they're incredibly lonely. Granted, I only saw them for one day for about two-and-a-half hours total, but that's the feeling I got from both of them. I was happy to hear that they were happy that I was there to speak English to, though. I want to do something special for them to make them smile, but I'm not sure what that'll be just yet.
I don't know how to react to kids who speak English. I'm just so surprised to hear such clear English come out of their mouths, I don't immediately think about the fact that to the homeroom teacher and the other kids in the class, Reika and Marika are staying things that can't be understood. Well the first grade teacher, Nakano-sensei, understands what's being said, but she's not really bonding with her student, Marika. Nakano-sensei's been getting the cold shoulder from what I could see at lunch. I think that Marika understands more than she seems like she does, but she doesn't want to try..? I also think that she's really young and that it's hard to adjust to a bunch or changes for just three months. She's also probably not used to all the responsibility kids here have compared to what might be happening at home. She says she thinks she was four when she was here the first time, so that would explain why she doesn't know what state or city in America her family lived in before they began their grand tour.
I know that this is a great and wonderfully enriching cultural opportunity for the Kobachichi girls, but I don't know if I could subject my kids to all the moving around they've been dealing with. If they were planning on staying in Japan longer than three months, it would probably be easier, but...eh. I don't know. Maybe this is the last leg of their travels for a while. Maybe the kids can be settled in one place sooner or later. Probably it's easier for Reika to adjust because she remembers her time here better (being nine years old or so now). My spouse and I would really have to think through any globetrotting with a family. I'm just more of a homebody, though. But thanks to all their moving around, the kids have English and Japanese (both spoken at home) and a little Russian under their belts to make up for all the moving and shaking. And perceived loneliness.
Okay, that's enough for now. The Kobachichi girls sure do speak out in class more than I'm used to. Or, rather, it's startling because it's in English. Random comments abound in elementary school classes in general. And I think one of my resident goofy fifth-graders, Masaya-kun, might be developing feelings for Reika. He said her name three or four times before class this afternoon, and he was probably staring at her and her little sister at lunch, just like the rest of the kids were. They're so exotic to the Yutaka kids, that it's like they're movie stars. I told Marika at lunch today that everybody loves her hair and her skin and her eyes, and they just think she and her sister are really cool, so they want to look at her all day long. Marika giggled at that, but I'm thinking it's the truth. I had a mini-light flash in my head at that. Even though I complain about the kids probably not adjusting well at first, I'm glad the Kobachichis came back to Yutaka-machi.
I wanted to say that I got two new students at Yutaka Elementary today! I think they came at the beginning of May, but I guess that means that they've only been in school for less than a week. Last week only had class on Thursday and Friday, and they started on May 1st, I believe. The students are American born Marika (1-nen) and Reika (3-nen). I actually taught Reika when she was a first grader for about a month when I first arrived in 2006, and after that the family was off to Russia. Marika was four and in nursery school/pre-school at the time, so I didn't meet her. I think Reika is fourth-grade age wise but she's in third grade here. Probably due to what they're studying in fourth grade, or how much kanji she knows or something similar. Well, anyway, they're back from Russia, and they'll be here for the semester. According to Marika (who got it from her mom), the Kobachichi family will be heading to America next. Mr. Kobachichi was a ALT a few years ago, and he fell in love with Mrs. Kobachichi (who lived in Kubi) and they got married and had little baby Kobachichis. (Gosh, I love that name. ^__^)
I haven't actually ever met Mr. or Mrs. Kobachichi, but I kind of feel connected to them through their children. The girls have learned a whole lot about living in other countries and learning the languages the last few years, but one things I've noticed in both girls (besides their cuteness and wonderful American English accents) is that they're incredibly lonely. Granted, I only saw them for one day for about two-and-a-half hours total, but that's the feeling I got from both of them. I was happy to hear that they were happy that I was there to speak English to, though. I want to do something special for them to make them smile, but I'm not sure what that'll be just yet.
I don't know how to react to kids who speak English. I'm just so surprised to hear such clear English come out of their mouths, I don't immediately think about the fact that to the homeroom teacher and the other kids in the class, Reika and Marika are staying things that can't be understood. Well the first grade teacher, Nakano-sensei, understands what's being said, but she's not really bonding with her student, Marika. Nakano-sensei's been getting the cold shoulder from what I could see at lunch. I think that Marika understands more than she seems like she does, but she doesn't want to try..? I also think that she's really young and that it's hard to adjust to a bunch or changes for just three months. She's also probably not used to all the responsibility kids here have compared to what might be happening at home. She says she thinks she was four when she was here the first time, so that would explain why she doesn't know what state or city in America her family lived in before they began their grand tour.
I know that this is a great and wonderfully enriching cultural opportunity for the Kobachichi girls, but I don't know if I could subject my kids to all the moving around they've been dealing with. If they were planning on staying in Japan longer than three months, it would probably be easier, but...eh. I don't know. Maybe this is the last leg of their travels for a while. Maybe the kids can be settled in one place sooner or later. Probably it's easier for Reika to adjust because she remembers her time here better (being nine years old or so now). My spouse and I would really have to think through any globetrotting with a family. I'm just more of a homebody, though. But thanks to all their moving around, the kids have English and Japanese (both spoken at home) and a little Russian under their belts to make up for all the moving and shaking. And perceived loneliness.
Okay, that's enough for now. The Kobachichi girls sure do speak out in class more than I'm used to. Or, rather, it's startling because it's in English. Random comments abound in elementary school classes in general. And I think one of my resident goofy fifth-graders, Masaya-kun, might be developing feelings for Reika. He said her name three or four times before class this afternoon, and he was probably staring at her and her little sister at lunch, just like the rest of the kids were. They're so exotic to the Yutaka kids, that it's like they're movie stars. I told Marika at lunch today that everybody loves her hair and her skin and her eyes, and they just think she and her sister are really cool, so they want to look at her all day long. Marika giggled at that, but I'm thinking it's the truth. I had a mini-light flash in my head at that. Even though I complain about the kids probably not adjusting well at first, I'm glad the Kobachichis came back to Yutaka-machi.