Late-2007 Top Ten
So I planned to type out some of my big Xmas lesson stories and such, but I keep putting it off, and I'm a little afraid that I'll continue to do so until I can no longer remember what those stories, in fact, were. But this guy came into the office yesterday (one of the younger employees who likes to try out his 5 words in English, and whose name I'm not sure I ever actually learned), and he started talking about how Japan likes to do "Year's Top Ten ____" stories. After letting that conversation sink in overnight, it occurred to me that a "Top Ten" might serve as a good place-holder while I get my act together. :)
I'm fairly convinced that October->December must be the busiest time for anyone anywhere. You'd think it might not be so bad in a country that doesn't celebrate Thanksgiving or Christmas (not in a wide-scale religious way, anyway) or have quite so significant a winter break as we've got State-side, but no. Fall through December was the absolute busiest time of the year last year, and it was again in 2007. Between school festivals, office parties, holiday lesson plans, changing weather, and the looming New Year, things are just crazy. Or were. January has, of course, arrived, and what's looming now is the annual JET frustration period--those 4 dead months of our JTEs saying, "We will be taking/going over/studying for the test today, so you can stay here, in the teacher's room." Day, after day, after day. Jan-April is the Japanese testing season, during which most English classes are conducted in Japanese. Why? Not sure. But with that ahead, I'm pretty proud of myself for building up some solid, office-compatible hobbies to fight the inactivity.
But anyway, through the fall/early winter, I was quite the busy bee, and despite the stress, it was a good season. Here's my Top 10 of the season, more or less in chronological order (I've covered some of these in previous posts, so sorry 'bout the repetition):
1. The renewal of my contract with JET. Since I've moved into my second year, things have started to move much smoother. Not only because I know how things work now, but because my coworkers/bosses/etc. KNOW that I know how things work now, so they're giving me a little more freedom. Less breathing down my neck, more trust that I'm actually a self-sufficient human being who can handle life in a foreign country (despite the SUPER MIDDLE OF NOWHERE-NESS of where I'm living). I never thought I'd be so happy just to be able to take the bus home from work, instead of having to wait around for one of my BOE people to drive me.
2. The writer's conference in Surrey, BC. The conference itself had its disappointments, but it did provide a much-needed kick in the head for me to get more serious about my writing. Since returning, I've joined a writing critique group, and that's been totally awesome. I feel like my writings has made leaps and bounds just since October.
The con was also a big accomplishment just in the going, because it was the first time I've organized such a trip completely on my own, and I'm quite proud of myself for it. A part of me still can't actually believe that I got the idea a year beforehand, and my drive to go actually stuck with me right through the end of Oct., 2007. It's almost like I'm actually an adult. ;)
3. The Halloween party with my eikaiwa. I invited two fellow gaijin from nearby towns, and we gathered at a Kanita ryokan (traditional inn) for a quiet party of chatting and eating. We also made it a costume party, so I showed up as a pirate, one of the other gaijin (a previous Kanita JET) showed up as a devil, and one of the attendees actually managed a more than passable scarecrow getup, complete with fake arms and bits of straw poking out of her shirt. It was awesome. ^_^
4. Moments with the kids. Back in November, we had a fight break out during lunch one day at Kanita elem--two of the boys were picking on one of the girls. I spent the bulk of lunch with the girl in the bathroom after we broke it up, feeling completely helpless for my lack of sufficient Japanese to comfort her. Some time after that, the same girl came up to me at the end of a lesson and said, "Mel-sensei. I'm happy...this class." To my reply of, "Oh, good!" she beamed and ran off into a giggling cluster of her friends (who'd been standing behind her for support), squealing, "I did it!" ^_^
5. The BUS RIDE FROM HELL. At the JET mid-year seminar in Hachinohe, after the demonstration class, we all loaded into two chartered buses that would drop off the people returning home by train at the station, and then take the rest of us back to the hotel. It took us TWO HOURS to make a [normally] 20-minute trip from the station to the hotel at the end of the conference, due to the record snowfall, heavy traffic, and a...less-than-aggressive bus driver. I know it seems like an odd thing to include in memorable moments, but it was pretty hilarious. We were moving so slowly that we had people walking up and down the aisles to work out the cramps in their legs, people were using their cell phones to blast sing-along music, and we even had one guy dash off of the bus for a pit stop that took him somewhere around 45 seconds. I think we scared the bus driver. There was serious talk of mutiny toward the end, there. ;)
6. The bounenkais. I've outlined the awesomeness of the Tairadate JH bounenkai (End of the Year party)in a previous post, but even before that one came the Sotogahama Board of Ed. Going to work with these people, you'd never think they'd be so capable of cutting loose outside the office. Get a few drinks in them, and they even get up the confidence to come over and have a chat with the gaijin. Give them a few MORE drinks and throw them in a karaoke joint for the nijikai (after party), and it's downright fun. I love watching them act out the enka songs (let's call enka..."traditional folk music"). I performed my signature "Hotel California," and then had several encores for English songs, which gave my ego a healthy boost. ;)
7. The discussion of my demonstration class at Tairadate JH. After the class, we went down to the Principle's office ("we," being several attending teachers from that school, plus a visitor from the prefectural Board of Education), where we talked about the lesson. I had some demo classes last year, but what was great (and memorable) about this one was that I realized my Japanese had improved to the point that I understood about 95% of what the teachers were saying in their comments. On top of that, the Pref. BoE visitor had lots of praise for my performance. That's always nice to hear. What's more, he speaks EXCELLENT English, but he made all of his comments to me in Japanese--an odd, but appreciated, courtesy. :)
8. Christmas lessons at Tairadate. Not only did we make Christmas cookies and chocolate-covered pretzels (successfully, I might add), but this year was the first time ever that I have participated in a Can Can kick line to [Chipmunks version of] Jingle Bells. How many people are there in the world who've done THAT? What was even better, was that the students actually initiated it. As they milled around the room filling out their bingo sheets for the game, one of them spotted the other two teachers and I swaying to the music. She started rushing around the room to finish her sheet, and the minute she was done, she hurried over to stand next to me. The next thing I knew, the line of kids was snaking all the way around the room.
Following this, I performed an EXTREMELY over-acted Celine Dion impression to the musical tunes of the diva singing Feliz Navidad. (Ever heard her recording of that? It's INSANE.) The kids made me do it twice, and the second time, the teachers actually joined in as my fake backup singers. I had everyone on their feet, clapping and dancing around. Even better, I heard them singing Feliz Navidad out the door and through the halls, and after school, the teachers told me they were singing it all the way down the road on their way home at the end of the day. An excellent Christmas gift for a teacher...despite the small cost to her dignity along the way. ^_^;
9. The eikaiwa Christmas party. We got the eikaiwa classes from Kanita, Yomogita, and Hiranai (three separate towns with three different JETs) together and threw a Christmas party in Aomori City. About 20 people came, including some English teachers from the JHs, which was really great. The food at the first place was very good, but prior to our arrival, the JETs had done a lot of talking about karaoke (you know, Christmas party, Christmas carols...). We heard there would be a machine in the party room, so we were all pretty excited... That machine must've been THE oldest, most outdated antique among karaoke machines across Japan. It had NO good songs whatsoever (not a single English song), which caused quite a stir among the three of us--perhaps myself, more than anybody. So at about 9:00, it was time to leave, and someone stood up and said, "Our time has run up, and we will have to be moving on to the nijikai. The place isn't decided yet, but--"
"KARAOKE!" I...suggested. ^^
We ended up at a nearby karaoke place, where some 12 of us crammed into a little sound-proofed booth and sang the night away...until 11pm. :)
10. Spending the New Year at my supervisor's house. I decided not to go home this year, and the holidays can be a dismal time to spend alone. My supervisor had invited me (post-last year's NY) to spend the 2008 NY together. I'd been wondering all year long if she would remember when December rolled around, and to my great relief, she did. I spent three nights at her house up in Minmaya (on the tippy top of Japan's main island), where I played with her AWESOME dogs, had a traditional Japanese New Year's feast, enjoyed some satellite TV, and met a bunch of her family. A great way to end the year, and a wonderful way to start the new one.
Happy Year of the Rat, everyone!
The first sign of the Chinese Zodiac (aka, the "Jyuunishi" in Japanese). Ambitious, yet honest, as all the Chinese restaurant place mats say. The rat is a creative problem solver and a hyperactive worker, respected for his/her resourcefulness. Traditionally, rats/mice are signs of good fortune to come.
You're a rat if you were born in:
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