If you were to walk through the hallways of a primary school in Japan in the time between periods, you would think that there is no such thing as order or rule in the schools here. You would not completely correct, but it certainly does seem that way sometimes. Students are all over the place, running and playing and roughhousing around, doing things that would certainly get them a bit of a scolding back in the US.
After getting over my initial surprise and confusion though, it started to make more sense. Those breaks between periods give the kids a chance to use up a lot of the energy that might otherwise get let out during class time. That is not to say that during class all of the kids are perfect little angels, because that is definitely not the case, but overall I think it helps the situation. And since the rules with regard to roughhousing and physicality are a bit relaxed, sometimes that even extends to the teachers getting in on it too.
Like just yesterday, for example, when I went downstairs after cleaning time and came upon some students and their homeroom teacher, just closing up the room that they were cleaning. The students kept messing with the teacher, and I jokingly said "judo?" to the teacher, since I knew he was trained. He kind of laughed and the one student started to back away a little.
Two seconds later the kid was on his back in the hallway with the teacher on top of him saying "ippon!" (one / winning point) and the student repeatedly saying "bad teacher! bad teacher!" It was pretty hilarious.
After the teacher let him back up the kid just kept saying "bad teacher!" and joking around. In the US the teacher could easily face a lawsuit and termination but here it is not even a consideration. Maybe there is a balance between the two extremes, but I feel like maybe that balance ought to be a little closer to this side of the Pacific rather than the other.
Regardless of any pedagogical debate though, watching the two of them go flying through the air and hearing the students English (protests made my day, and what more can you really ask for?
judo chop!
-greg.
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Monday, December 10, 2007
it's turkey time... [2007.12.09]
Okay, so this is a bit after the fact, and way after Jess' wonderful piece (with pictures!):
euphemistical kashi
but better late than never, I reckon.
Jess K., Nathan, Christina, and I all met back in New York during the course of various pre-departure events. We all bonded even more during the (extended) wait to get on our flight to Tokyo, chilling on the floor at the terminal. Tokyo had the four of us thick as thieves, with several people thinking that Nathan and I actually went to college together, rather than meeting two days prior, much to our amusement. It was in Tokyo that we all decided that three months later, we would get together for Thanksgiving.
Now Jess and I live about three hours apart in Nagasaki Prefecture, and Christine technically lives in Nagasaki but way off on an island north of here, so it's a bit of a trek. Nathan though, he lives alll the way up in Miyagi Prefecture, which is quite a bit north.
Despite the distance, we planned it out over the months, and come the Sunday after Thanksgiving, three out of four of us were sharing table space at Jessica's house along with her father, her husband Scott, and her neighbor Alex (Christine couldn't make it). It was glorious!
While we didn't eat any actual turkey meat, we did have a pretty serious spread otherwise, with mashed potatoes, candied yams (WITH the marshmallows), green beans & bacon, salad, barbecued chicken, REAL Stovetop stuffing (thanks to Jess' parents), and gravy. We still had some turkey representation though, with an adorable (and soft!) plush turkey that Christina sent me (thank you!) and the bottle of Wild Turkey Kentucky Bourbon that Nathan brought. I'd never had Wild Turkey before, but we sure had some that day!
It really was a wonderful weekend, and it was really nice to be able to spend some time with good friends to make being away from the US for such a family-centered holiday not so bad at all.
sentimental *BRURRP* future love,
-greg.
ps: with apologies to Azad, Jim, Matt, and anyone else who has ever seen the movie Gigli. gobble gobble.
pps: man, that last one ("tie game") was positively littered with grammatically [wow, that is horrible] mistakes. i shouldn't write these at like one in the morning anymore...
euphemistical kashi
but better late than never, I reckon.
Jess K., Nathan, Christina, and I all met back in New York during the course of various pre-departure events. We all bonded even more during the (extended) wait to get on our flight to Tokyo, chilling on the floor at the terminal. Tokyo had the four of us thick as thieves, with several people thinking that Nathan and I actually went to college together, rather than meeting two days prior, much to our amusement. It was in Tokyo that we all decided that three months later, we would get together for Thanksgiving.
Now Jess and I live about three hours apart in Nagasaki Prefecture, and Christine technically lives in Nagasaki but way off on an island north of here, so it's a bit of a trek. Nathan though, he lives alll the way up in Miyagi Prefecture, which is quite a bit north.
Despite the distance, we planned it out over the months, and come the Sunday after Thanksgiving, three out of four of us were sharing table space at Jessica's house along with her father, her husband Scott, and her neighbor Alex (Christine couldn't make it). It was glorious!
While we didn't eat any actual turkey meat, we did have a pretty serious spread otherwise, with mashed potatoes, candied yams (WITH the marshmallows), green beans & bacon, salad, barbecued chicken, REAL Stovetop stuffing (thanks to Jess' parents), and gravy. We still had some turkey representation though, with an adorable (and soft!) plush turkey that Christina sent me (thank you!) and the bottle of Wild Turkey Kentucky Bourbon that Nathan brought. I'd never had Wild Turkey before, but we sure had some that day!
It really was a wonderful weekend, and it was really nice to be able to spend some time with good friends to make being away from the US for such a family-centered holiday not so bad at all.
sentimental *BRURRP* future love,
-greg.
ps: with apologies to Azad, Jim, Matt, and anyone else who has ever seen the movie Gigli. gobble gobble.
pps: man, that last one ("tie game") was positively littered with grammatically [wow, that is horrible] mistakes. i shouldn't write these at like one in the morning anymore...
Friday, December 7, 2007
tie game [2007.12.06]
You know, I have generally tried my best to avoid what I perceive to be the cliché things to write about when it comes to my experience as an English teacher in Japan, but I am going to forego all that and just come out and say it:
Japanese squat toilets are damned difficult to use.
It has been said a million times over, and really it is just the fact that most "Westerners" (Euro-centric?) did not grow up using one, but it is really rather annoying to be in an elementary school trying to squat over this little elementary-sized hole in the floor and get done what you have to get done before your next class needs to be underway. And that's not even taking into account the necessary cleaning maneuvers afterwards!
The potential difficulties of this somewhat (personally) confounding method of waste disposal are thrown into even starker relief in the case of Oshima Junior High, where one is situated in a stall immediately next to another stall containing a Toto Washlet 3000 Super Waste-Matic Hyper Plus, a contraption privy to the most modern amenities, including but not limited to: bidet! spray wash! variable water pressure! heated seats!! Truly quite the contrast.
On the up side though, the other day I was shopping in a department store and was offered a sample of some udon and soba noodles. I took my noodles and hungrily started slurping away, downing them in no time. I heard the woman remark to one of her co-workers on my skills, not with chopsticks, but with the slurping itself! It is actually quite polite to slurp your noodles, as it not only has the practical effect of cooling them but also is just good manners.
So if you come to Japan, make sure to practice slurping up your noodles with a minimum of splashing, it'll have everyone suitably impressed. Just don't forget to strengthen those leg muscles up plenty before you come too, just in case. Ah the wonders of cross-cultural exchange.
future i-feel-like-i'm-in-the-past love,
-greg.
ps: was it too subtle? did anyone catch it?
pps: oh, and of course get your legs ready if you go to Morocco, or India, or....
Japanese squat toilets are damned difficult to use.
It has been said a million times over, and really it is just the fact that most "Westerners" (Euro-centric?) did not grow up using one, but it is really rather annoying to be in an elementary school trying to squat over this little elementary-sized hole in the floor and get done what you have to get done before your next class needs to be underway. And that's not even taking into account the necessary cleaning maneuvers afterwards!
The potential difficulties of this somewhat (personally) confounding method of waste disposal are thrown into even starker relief in the case of Oshima Junior High, where one is situated in a stall immediately next to another stall containing a Toto Washlet 3000 Super Waste-Matic Hyper Plus, a contraption privy to the most modern amenities, including but not limited to: bidet! spray wash! variable water pressure! heated seats!! Truly quite the contrast.
On the up side though, the other day I was shopping in a department store and was offered a sample of some udon and soba noodles. I took my noodles and hungrily started slurping away, downing them in no time. I heard the woman remark to one of her co-workers on my skills, not with chopsticks, but with the slurping itself! It is actually quite polite to slurp your noodles, as it not only has the practical effect of cooling them but also is just good manners.
So if you come to Japan, make sure to practice slurping up your noodles with a minimum of splashing, it'll have everyone suitably impressed. Just don't forget to strengthen those leg muscles up plenty before you come too, just in case. Ah the wonders of cross-cultural exchange.
future i-feel-like-i'm-in-the-past love,
-greg.
ps: was it too subtle? did anyone catch it?
pps: oh, and of course get your legs ready if you go to Morocco, or India, or....
Thursday, November 22, 2007
echoes of spain [2007.11.21]
There are two things that I have had in my head from Hiroshima that I've wanted to write about but never got around to writing, and this is one of them.
"Hiroshima?", you might ask, puzzlement plastered all over your face.
"Yes, Hiroshima", I would reply. Even though it has been more than a month (a bit longer really, wow), and even though I have just gotten back from another trip to Nara (more on that later), the two things that I still have left to write about are important enough to merit inclusion in the logs, even at such a late date.
But what does Spain have to do with Hiroshima? Well, after going to Nara and being having Madrid come to mind even there, I am beginning to think that part of the reason that I see little pieces of Spain when I am there is because Madrid was the first city that I really got to know. Perhaps that is strange, living so close to New York, but it is true.
That isn't all of it though. The very first night we were in Hiroshima, Alice and I were chatting with one of the other travelers in our hostel, a girl from the US. At one point I turned to apologize to a guy who was sitting near by because we weren't really including him. He then apologized for not really being able to speak English. "Where are you from?", I said. Why, "Spain", of course!
That pretty much made my day right there. We launched off into this crazy discussion ("no manches!"), just talking about all sorts of things. He's originally from Asturias (woo Elena y Marlene!!) but lived for a while in Madrid in the neighborhood next to where I lived (Barrio del Pilar). Not only that, but he was a policeman in the Canary Islands, and he knew about their amazing honey rum. Memo, he knew about the rum!! It was a beautiful moment, sharing that love of ron con miel. That was only the start of what would turn into cause for a mighty powerful feeling of nostalgia and longing.
The next day Alice and I went to a sacred island off the coast of Hiroshima (the other thing I still want to write about) and got back to the city with evening well underway. Instead of going back to the hostel and cleaning ourselves up, we went off in search of this Jamaican restaurant that Alice had heard of. Along the way we passed a spot where some major avenues intersected with trees lining the wide sidewalks and I could not think of anything but Plaza de Cibeles, where the night buses come in Madrid. I spent more than a few nights walking down to Cibeles with Ana and Elena, talking in the wee hours of the morning, and the little similarities in Hiroshima brought out some serious nostalgia.
The last thing, and probably the most ridiculous, happened the last night we were there. Somehow Alice and I got onto the topic of sangria and how we both thought it was pretty great and that turned into a mission to find some. We saw a place that looked promising, and lo! they actually had it, but they were just closing. We saw another place with a Spanish sounding name and went upstairs to check it out.
The place was incredibly fancy looking and not what we expected at all. Dimly lit, cushy atmosphere, it seemed more like a place to drop $25 on a glass of wine rather than somewhere to find some good sangria. I decided to ask anyway but the bartender had no sangria to speak of, as expected. It was then that the only other patron, a Japanese girl in her early twenties, turned from her seat alone at the end of the bar and asked us if we were looking for someplace to get some sangria.
Creepy eh? But we told her yes anyway. She made a call on her cell phone, and told us that she new a place. Alice and I looked at each other, both sort of doubting, but then we both shrugged and took the "what the heck?" route. Now, any sane person with half a brain would be a little skeptical of following a tipsy Japanese woman to an unknown place in a city that they had less than three days experience with. Well, we were, but we were in the hopping commercial / bar district and I at least figured that as long as we stayed in main areas that we would be fine.
We arrived at our destination without being waylaid by any cutthroats or vagabonds and our guide knocked on the door of "Casa de Fujimori". I couldn't believe it as I walked in the door ; it was like crossing six thousand miles in a single step. There was serrano ham on the stone walls, wooden crossbeams all over the place, and a nice big bottle of sangria on the table.
Apparently our friend from the first bar had called her friend who was the owner of the restaurant, who was eating dinner. He gave us sangria, wine, serrano ham, nabe (Japanese hotpot) and kimchi. We spoke in Japanese, Spanish, and English. Simply put, it was amazing, and a wonderful way to finish off our time in Hiroshima... basically by going to Spain with some Japanese people.
The more I travel the more connections I make with people and places, making ever more difficult to really get everyone I care about in one place. I'd much rather have it this way though. I think my friend Ana Belén said it best: "el mundo es pequeñito y nosotros somos como aviones". If you don't speak Spanish, well, it's really pretty.
seriously long-winded future love,
-greg.
ps: all right, if you don't speak spanish, to me it means that as big as the world is there can never be real distance between friends.
"Hiroshima?", you might ask, puzzlement plastered all over your face.
"Yes, Hiroshima", I would reply. Even though it has been more than a month (a bit longer really, wow), and even though I have just gotten back from another trip to Nara (more on that later), the two things that I still have left to write about are important enough to merit inclusion in the logs, even at such a late date.
But what does Spain have to do with Hiroshima? Well, after going to Nara and being having Madrid come to mind even there, I am beginning to think that part of the reason that I see little pieces of Spain when I am there is because Madrid was the first city that I really got to know. Perhaps that is strange, living so close to New York, but it is true.
That isn't all of it though. The very first night we were in Hiroshima, Alice and I were chatting with one of the other travelers in our hostel, a girl from the US. At one point I turned to apologize to a guy who was sitting near by because we weren't really including him. He then apologized for not really being able to speak English. "Where are you from?", I said. Why, "Spain", of course!
That pretty much made my day right there. We launched off into this crazy discussion ("no manches!"), just talking about all sorts of things. He's originally from Asturias (woo Elena y Marlene!!) but lived for a while in Madrid in the neighborhood next to where I lived (Barrio del Pilar). Not only that, but he was a policeman in the Canary Islands, and he knew about their amazing honey rum. Memo, he knew about the rum!! It was a beautiful moment, sharing that love of ron con miel. That was only the start of what would turn into cause for a mighty powerful feeling of nostalgia and longing.
The next day Alice and I went to a sacred island off the coast of Hiroshima (the other thing I still want to write about) and got back to the city with evening well underway. Instead of going back to the hostel and cleaning ourselves up, we went off in search of this Jamaican restaurant that Alice had heard of. Along the way we passed a spot where some major avenues intersected with trees lining the wide sidewalks and I could not think of anything but Plaza de Cibeles, where the night buses come in Madrid. I spent more than a few nights walking down to Cibeles with Ana and Elena, talking in the wee hours of the morning, and the little similarities in Hiroshima brought out some serious nostalgia.
The last thing, and probably the most ridiculous, happened the last night we were there. Somehow Alice and I got onto the topic of sangria and how we both thought it was pretty great and that turned into a mission to find some. We saw a place that looked promising, and lo! they actually had it, but they were just closing. We saw another place with a Spanish sounding name and went upstairs to check it out.
The place was incredibly fancy looking and not what we expected at all. Dimly lit, cushy atmosphere, it seemed more like a place to drop $25 on a glass of wine rather than somewhere to find some good sangria. I decided to ask anyway but the bartender had no sangria to speak of, as expected. It was then that the only other patron, a Japanese girl in her early twenties, turned from her seat alone at the end of the bar and asked us if we were looking for someplace to get some sangria.
Creepy eh? But we told her yes anyway. She made a call on her cell phone, and told us that she new a place. Alice and I looked at each other, both sort of doubting, but then we both shrugged and took the "what the heck?" route. Now, any sane person with half a brain would be a little skeptical of following a tipsy Japanese woman to an unknown place in a city that they had less than three days experience with. Well, we were, but we were in the hopping commercial / bar district and I at least figured that as long as we stayed in main areas that we would be fine.
We arrived at our destination without being waylaid by any cutthroats or vagabonds and our guide knocked on the door of "Casa de Fujimori". I couldn't believe it as I walked in the door ; it was like crossing six thousand miles in a single step. There was serrano ham on the stone walls, wooden crossbeams all over the place, and a nice big bottle of sangria on the table.
Apparently our friend from the first bar had called her friend who was the owner of the restaurant, who was eating dinner. He gave us sangria, wine, serrano ham, nabe (Japanese hotpot) and kimchi. We spoke in Japanese, Spanish, and English. Simply put, it was amazing, and a wonderful way to finish off our time in Hiroshima... basically by going to Spain with some Japanese people.
The more I travel the more connections I make with people and places, making ever more difficult to really get everyone I care about in one place. I'd much rather have it this way though. I think my friend Ana Belén said it best: "el mundo es pequeñito y nosotros somos como aviones". If you don't speak Spanish, well, it's really pretty.
seriously long-winded future love,
-greg.
ps: all right, if you don't speak spanish, to me it means that as big as the world is there can never be real distance between friends.
Friday, November 9, 2007
do the monster mash! [2007.11.09]
I had a few opportunities for some fun Halloween activities here in Oshima at the junior high and West Elementary. I wish that I had that song, actually; I feel like the cheesiness of it would translate even across languages and cultures. Or maybe they would just look at me with that "who is this crazy person?!" look. Good times either way, really.
The first three classes I did were at West Elementary for the 3rd, 5th, and 6th, graders. It was on the schedule that they gave me, so I ran with it. They learned some Halloween vocab, the homeroom teacher and I gave them a "trick or treat" demonstration, and then everyone made masks out of paper plates and yarn that they decorated with markers and then used to do a little trick or treating of their own. I did the same thing with the 4th graders this past Thursday (11/8), but this time with the added benefit of a loads of goody bags and some other props that Mom put together and sent. She made 53 little goody bags, one for every student!! They all were super appreciate and really enjoyed it. I put the extra stuff in the teachers' room for them to share, so I hope they enjoyed it!
The other Halloween bit was at Oshima Junior High. Kita-sensei wanted to do have a Halloween party for the second year English Elective class's first lesson. She had so many crazy props, it was awesome! We did this class after I got my Halloween supplies but before my second visit to the elementary school, so I was able to steal some treats for the junior high kids and petition Mom for more supplies.
Kita-sensei went hardcore on this one, it was really awesome. We took over an empty room and covered all the windows with black trash bags to make it darker. She had this giant hanging fabric pumpkin person thing as well as streamers and garlands and a light-up jack o' lantern! We taught them some words, they did a word search, and then they went "trick or treating" with some of Kita-sensei's props but the real kicker was at the end when they all went bobbing for apples!! Oh, and they all seemed to like candy corn, which I thought was surprising; I thought for sure it would be too sweet.
Unfortunately I only have pictures of the junior high's trick or treat getups and nothing from West yet. I'm working on it! Until then, check these out.
flickr
sugar-rushing future love,
-greg.
The first three classes I did were at West Elementary for the 3rd, 5th, and 6th, graders. It was on the schedule that they gave me, so I ran with it. They learned some Halloween vocab, the homeroom teacher and I gave them a "trick or treat" demonstration, and then everyone made masks out of paper plates and yarn that they decorated with markers and then used to do a little trick or treating of their own. I did the same thing with the 4th graders this past Thursday (11/8), but this time with the added benefit of a loads of goody bags and some other props that Mom put together and sent. She made 53 little goody bags, one for every student!! They all were super appreciate and really enjoyed it. I put the extra stuff in the teachers' room for them to share, so I hope they enjoyed it!
The other Halloween bit was at Oshima Junior High. Kita-sensei wanted to do have a Halloween party for the second year English Elective class's first lesson. She had so many crazy props, it was awesome! We did this class after I got my Halloween supplies but before my second visit to the elementary school, so I was able to steal some treats for the junior high kids and petition Mom for more supplies.
Kita-sensei went hardcore on this one, it was really awesome. We took over an empty room and covered all the windows with black trash bags to make it darker. She had this giant hanging fabric pumpkin person thing as well as streamers and garlands and a light-up jack o' lantern! We taught them some words, they did a word search, and then they went "trick or treating" with some of Kita-sensei's props but the real kicker was at the end when they all went bobbing for apples!! Oh, and they all seemed to like candy corn, which I thought was surprising; I thought for sure it would be too sweet.
Unfortunately I only have pictures of the junior high's trick or treat getups and nothing from West yet. I'm working on it! Until then, check these out.
flickr
sugar-rushing future love,
-greg.
Saturday, November 3, 2007
mid-year conference [2007.11.03]
This doesn't really have so much to do with the JET ALT Mid-Year conference as it has to do with the events of the first night of the conference.
Basically, the beginning of the night was a complete debacle, exacerbated by my lack of a cell phone. Not having a cell is not really a big deal until one needs to coordinate several groups of people into one cohesive merry-making unit; in that case its utility becomes immediately apparent.
There was lots of calling (thanks Dino!) and fumbling and trying to figure things out, as well as confusion and misinformation. In the end, I managed to meet up with Jess (friend from New York), we gave up on Christine (also NY) and burgers, Dino got delayed in the hotel for a long time, Jyoti couldn't find a shirt, and Ellen had no issues whatsoever. So Jess, Jyoti, Ellen and I ended up going to Nagasaki's Chinatown to get some Chinese food, but not before Dino and Jyoti went up on the roof of the hotel where I joined them for some fantastic views.
Chinatown was ridiculous. "Ridiculous" as in "incredibly tacky and stereotypical". I actually couldn't believe it when I saw it at first, I thought I was at a theme park. Past the big plastic looking entry gate and the neon dragon there were flowing water displays and traditional-ish sounding music emanated from many of the buildings.
I guess I was supposed to feel like I was "really in China!", but I just felt like some stupid tourist in a really glitzy trap. The food was good and not too expensive though, so I guess alls well that end's well. The portions were a bit small and overall the experience just made me miss Far East Taste like whoa.
Afterwards there was a Halloween costume party organized by Miss Jennifer Willett wherein much money was raised for Laotian Commotion to build a new school. There were some awesome costumes (I hope the Blues Brothers won), but Jess and I ducked out early to play some Initial D and Taiko no Tetsujin! Taiko no Tetsujin being possibly the greatest rhythm game ever made, featuring taiko drums and musical treats ranging from "Turkish March" to the "Super Mario Brothers" theme, with a whole lot of crazy in-between. I'll have to get a video of Mario next time...
Oh, and the conference was actually pretty good too. How about that?
newly-inspired love from the future,
-greg.
Basically, the beginning of the night was a complete debacle, exacerbated by my lack of a cell phone. Not having a cell is not really a big deal until one needs to coordinate several groups of people into one cohesive merry-making unit; in that case its utility becomes immediately apparent.
There was lots of calling (thanks Dino!) and fumbling and trying to figure things out, as well as confusion and misinformation. In the end, I managed to meet up with Jess (friend from New York), we gave up on Christine (also NY) and burgers, Dino got delayed in the hotel for a long time, Jyoti couldn't find a shirt, and Ellen had no issues whatsoever. So Jess, Jyoti, Ellen and I ended up going to Nagasaki's Chinatown to get some Chinese food, but not before Dino and Jyoti went up on the roof of the hotel where I joined them for some fantastic views.
Chinatown was ridiculous. "Ridiculous" as in "incredibly tacky and stereotypical". I actually couldn't believe it when I saw it at first, I thought I was at a theme park. Past the big plastic looking entry gate and the neon dragon there were flowing water displays and traditional-ish sounding music emanated from many of the buildings.
I guess I was supposed to feel like I was "really in China!", but I just felt like some stupid tourist in a really glitzy trap. The food was good and not too expensive though, so I guess alls well that end's well. The portions were a bit small and overall the experience just made me miss Far East Taste like whoa.Afterwards there was a Halloween costume party organized by Miss Jennifer Willett wherein much money was raised for Laotian Commotion to build a new school. There were some awesome costumes (I hope the Blues Brothers won), but Jess and I ducked out early to play some Initial D and Taiko no Tetsujin! Taiko no Tetsujin being possibly the greatest rhythm game ever made, featuring taiko drums and musical treats ranging from "Turkish March" to the "Super Mario Brothers" theme, with a whole lot of crazy in-between. I'll have to get a video of Mario next time...
Oh, and the conference was actually pretty good too. How about that?
newly-inspired love from the future,
-greg.
Monday, October 29, 2007
are you, my judge?
Imagine, if you will, a teachers' room. This room is filled with the entire staff of the junior high school you attend, all twenty-four of them, and they are not happy. In fact, they are sporting some of the coldest, most serious expressions you have ever seen. And there you stand before them, with four of your friends, all tasked with making your apology. Would you be able remain steady in the face of this array of educational might and stern disappointment?
Well today five girls from the third year had to do just that. They were caught late last week chewing gum in the school, something that is taken very seriously here in Japan. Only one of them did not cry at some point, and one in particular was very upset. They all came in and stood in a row at one end of the room and had to make an apology to the whole room, and I don't mean that they just said "I'm sorry" and were free to go. I obviously don't know what they said really, but it was all fairly lengthy and involved.
When they had all finished, Watanabe-sensei, the head second grade teacher, had some stern words for them. After he lectured them, he went around the room to see if the Principal, Vice-Principal, or other teachers had anything else to say, but they all just nodded their assent to what he had already said. Only after this was finished were the girls allowed to go.
All of the teachers took this matter very seriously, but it seemed to me that the third grade teachers were particularly upset, especially Kawaguchi-sensei and Nakayama-sensei. After the girls had left, both teachers spoke, I would imagine as part of their responsibility as the homeroom teachers for 3-1 and 3-2, respectively. Nakayama-sensei was clearly upset, but Kawaguchi-sensei was even more visibly bothered by what they did, to the extent that after she finished she actually started crying a little at her desk with her head down.
You might think it a little extreme, but it makes a lot more sense when you consider the incredibly developed sense of group identity in Japan; everyone in a group is affected by the actions of its members, which makes Kawaguchi-sensei, as the leader of that group, even more invested than the average member of said group.
It's pretty understandable then that she would get so upset that they would bring disgrace and embarrassment like that, especially right before the Culture Festival this coming Friday. I think maybe they were chewing gum during practice or something, because I kept hearing the word for Culture Festival when they were apologizing. Maybe they were in danger of not being allowed to participate? I am not sure and I didn't want to ask given how serious everyone was.
So things aren't always peaches and cream but if that's as bad as it gets then I think that is just a-okay. This is in sharp contrast to Dino's other high school on the mainland, where he forgot his jacket in class and went back at the end of the day and it was gone. Gone I tell you!! Who steals the teacher's jacket? Geeze. Oh I guess someone did break into my junior high though two or three weeks ago and steal some of Kawaguchi-sensei's clothes from her locker. Yeah, that's pretty messed up. We still don't know what that was about. Kinda blows your mind a little, huh?
Other than that though it's a wonderfully safe and friendly place and the kids are awesome. Just don't go to Nishisonogi High School if you want to keep your jacket.
tough love from the future,
-greg.
ps: does anyone besides Azad recognize my subject line? where is Fred King when i need him....
Well today five girls from the third year had to do just that. They were caught late last week chewing gum in the school, something that is taken very seriously here in Japan. Only one of them did not cry at some point, and one in particular was very upset. They all came in and stood in a row at one end of the room and had to make an apology to the whole room, and I don't mean that they just said "I'm sorry" and were free to go. I obviously don't know what they said really, but it was all fairly lengthy and involved.
When they had all finished, Watanabe-sensei, the head second grade teacher, had some stern words for them. After he lectured them, he went around the room to see if the Principal, Vice-Principal, or other teachers had anything else to say, but they all just nodded their assent to what he had already said. Only after this was finished were the girls allowed to go.
All of the teachers took this matter very seriously, but it seemed to me that the third grade teachers were particularly upset, especially Kawaguchi-sensei and Nakayama-sensei. After the girls had left, both teachers spoke, I would imagine as part of their responsibility as the homeroom teachers for 3-1 and 3-2, respectively. Nakayama-sensei was clearly upset, but Kawaguchi-sensei was even more visibly bothered by what they did, to the extent that after she finished she actually started crying a little at her desk with her head down.
You might think it a little extreme, but it makes a lot more sense when you consider the incredibly developed sense of group identity in Japan; everyone in a group is affected by the actions of its members, which makes Kawaguchi-sensei, as the leader of that group, even more invested than the average member of said group.
It's pretty understandable then that she would get so upset that they would bring disgrace and embarrassment like that, especially right before the Culture Festival this coming Friday. I think maybe they were chewing gum during practice or something, because I kept hearing the word for Culture Festival when they were apologizing. Maybe they were in danger of not being allowed to participate? I am not sure and I didn't want to ask given how serious everyone was.
So things aren't always peaches and cream but if that's as bad as it gets then I think that is just a-okay. This is in sharp contrast to Dino's other high school on the mainland, where he forgot his jacket in class and went back at the end of the day and it was gone. Gone I tell you!! Who steals the teacher's jacket? Geeze. Oh I guess someone did break into my junior high though two or three weeks ago and steal some of Kawaguchi-sensei's clothes from her locker. Yeah, that's pretty messed up. We still don't know what that was about. Kinda blows your mind a little, huh?
Other than that though it's a wonderfully safe and friendly place and the kids are awesome. Just don't go to Nishisonogi High School if you want to keep your jacket.
tough love from the future,
-greg.
ps: does anyone besides Azad recognize my subject line? where is Fred King when i need him....
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