RAIny SEASon

Today's 7-day forecast for Northern Japan...

July 2 - 9, 2006

Sunday: Rain. Mostly cloudy. Mild. 64'F

Monday: Numerous showers. Cloudy. Mild. 66'F

Tuesday: Broken clouds. Mild. 68'F

Wednesday: PM showers. Mild. 68'F

Thursday: Lots of rain. Cloudy. Mild. 73'F

Friday: Sprinkles early. Morning clouds. Mild. 68'F

Saturday: Rain. Mostly cloudy. Mild. 62'F

The rainy season began in early June.

The first 3 weeks were great.

Everything became green and alive.

The cool ocean breeze was refreshing.

...haven't seen the sun in weeks...

The rainy season ends in late July.

Looks like this summer is a wash.

sayonara #5: yamato-sho

This is Taneichi's teeniest school...11 students in first-sixth grade, plus a whopping 4 teachers and both vice principal & principal...i'd say they have things pretty well under control. This is the last year Yamato will be used, the kids will combine with Taneichi Elem next spring. This marked the third time I visited the school and though its very old and crumbly, the setting up high in the mountains is so gorgeous (think "Sound of Music" landscapes....) They were so kind and accepting of my foreigner status, one would think that I make weekly visits to their school. Good to see some of those 'cultural barriers' being knocked down.

Though the small schools aren't the best way to allocate funds in this area, it sure does make teaching fun! The teachers are really flexible with the schedule and its so low-key it almost feels like little America. It's always a refreshing change from the military-styles at the junior highs. The day ended with a ceremonial song and cheer, presentation of a beautiful book with portrait drawings of me, and many many many pictures. Today's goodbye was a bit emotional and I'm starting to worry about saying goodbye to the schools that I DO visit weekly.

Many more mascara-free days ahead...

Below, the fifth/sixth graders (yes, 4 of them) plastered the board with some words of inspiration for me when I return to the States...

"Study hard" (I will!),

"don't forget us" (I won't!),

and "come back again" (I hope so!)Yamato Elementary School, 2006

sayonara #4: nakano-sho

My morning started with a short emotional breakdown. I had to stand in front of everyone while their cute little angelic voices harmonized this really sad, but beautiful melody. At first, i did everything i could to disconnect myself from the moment, but that made the tears flow even more. Japan has been fantastic, and the teary goodbyes are a part of the experience. I'm not going to cop out and detach from all the things that I have loved, just to ease the separation. The rest of the day improved, with many smiles and laughs. And pain, perhaps, for the little guy below....(ps: he is MY favorite kid at Nakano!) And those of you blog stalkers might recognize him from previous postings, more specifically the "Genkiest kid award" post...what a doll. i'd adopt him for sure, if it wasn't for his really loving (and possessive) parents!


i've learned so much about the teacher i want to be, the life i want to live and the person i want to become....wow, how sappy is that! i feel 'at peace' with things now. like im ready to pack up the memories and move on to another adventure. i had 2 goals in coming to japan...to teach and to travel. looking back now, i can say that its been really rewarding, both personally and professionally. goal achieved.

its time to move on.

むざかしね

いことがあったらわらうのではなくてわらっているからいことがある。

"We don't smile because something good happens;

rather something good happens when we smile."

7 weeks left and its going to be blissfully bittersweet. The community is reaching out more and more each day, despite the omnipresent day of departure. I couldn't be more thankful for their constant support,...right up until we part ways on the train platform.

Such incredible people. So selfless, so genuine and so unforgettable.

がんばった日本

This is Miyamoto, the hottest defender on Japan's Soccer team. Yesterday, Japan was handed its final loss in the World Cup by Brazil (4-1). Brazil is the top-seeded favorite, so scoring even one goal was a small victory on the day. Unfortunatley, even beautiful guys like Miyamoto can't motivate me to watch an entire soccer game.

im hungry

seaweed soup and inedible fried fish parts, aren't cutting it anymore. the mere sight of it causes me to lose my appetite entirely and i just can't stomach it anymore. in truth, i never did care for Japanese food (or seafood in general), but i could fake it. however after 11 months of no say in what i can and/or am willing to consume, has caused my tastebuds to rebel and refuse to choke down "western foods" like beef hearts, horse and raw chicken. now that im in the home stretch and i know the many tasty delights that await my return, meals have been a challenge (especially the mandatory school lunch & its daily mystery menu.) i don't eat school lunch in the States (where it is recognizable)! i hope that by talking about delicious foods, my appetite will be satifised! here are my top 10 foods i will devour upon returning home:

1. my Dad's fish (which comes withOUT the head, fins, tail, bones and scales)
2. Chipotle: spicy chicken burrito (i never did find mexican food in japan, im craving it now)
3. Ciattis: manicotti (i've never found palatable cheese..that will be a treat)
4. Mom's grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup (home cooked anything will be amazing)
5. Mexican Village: fajitas
6. Green Mill: pizza (NOT japanese-style pizza which is drenched in ketchup, mayonaise and has a raw egg cracked over the top of it)
7. applesauce, cornbread and cinnamon raisin oatmeal (these have always been my staples)
8. Timberlodge: no I'm not going to continue choking down teeny bits of beef like i was FORCED to do over here (starvation being the alternative). but I love Timberlodge's cajun chicken pasta and their bread w/ the special garlic spread
9. Granite City: anything, but a chicken sandwich & waffle fries would be a treat at this point!
10. Coldstone Creamery: yknow, i've only been there twice. but im craving real ice cream, not the 'snow-cone' style ice cream in japan. and the few times i do eat ice cream, i want it to be a decent serving size. none of this 1 measuring cup stuff...i want the instant-3 lb-weight gain type! and Coldstone, if memory serves me right, is just the place!

oh, and one more thing
11. raspberry margaritas from Applebees.



actually, just looking @ that list makes me full.

sayonara #3: よういちえん

This is one of the pre-schools in Taneichi, and my absolute favorite place to visit! I lucked out and got to hangout with the little tykes yesterday AND today. I'm a bit shot from the intensive bout of Japanese conversation (but ANY communication in ANY language is a treat) and my appendages are sore from the kids hanging off of me. but no pain no gain so i wont complain. today was another 'sayonara' so I wanted to give each kid an extra special dose of TLC. plus i had the chance to work with one of the BEST teachers in this community: Rumiko-Sensei. Thank you SO much Rumiko-san for your kind words and helpfulness! It is refreshing to see teachers like you, who LOVE what they do!
Yudai & Takahiro. Give them a few years & they'll be pretty studly.
Sayaka & Rina. 2 of my biggest fans...the admiration goes both ways :) these young ladies tried so hard to communicate and I am grateful for their help!
Kosei is the sweetest kid ever.

And he ALWAYS has this adorable grin on his face.

Wonder if there are any 'nanny' opportunities in Taneichi.... ;)

さようならさくら！

colors, animals, body, numbers...i tried to give them a dose of everything. surprisingly, i don't think it was all that overwhelming. early ESL/EFL instruction does dictate the successfulness of language acquisition. if only i could have visited this school at least once a week...who knows what could have been possible! at this age, they are NOT shy/fearful and are willing to try! 2 of perhaps the MOST important elements in learning a new language!

i realize that the kids will likely forget everything i have taught them this year...mainly cos they are still learning colors/numbers/animals IN JAPANESE! but i KNOW that these kids have had a great experience with a foreigner...and to me, that is a success. and something that can be built upon in the coming years. 11 months ago, the typical mouth-dropping, blank-stare "Oh, look - there's the foreigner..." comments were to be expected. 6 months ago, I was disappointed that I still would receive 'that treatment' and was feeling like my 'job' here wasn't all that significant. but now i think i have them trained: ALL kids in this community RUN to me, SHAKE MY HAND and usually GIVE ME A HUG!

I think my job at the elementary schools was successful. baby steps. grassroots "internationalization' is painstakingly slow and a definite patience-zapper, but now---almost ONE YEAR later...i can truly see the difference i have made in this commuunity.

Taneichi Yoichien : 2005-2006

my job: 1 month to go

sometimes i wonder who is more frustrated by this English curriculum: me or the students ?

my new moms

Back row = mothers of Fukuhiro (Tomie-san), Kosei & Ryou

Front row = mothers of Atsushi, Yusho (Koko-san) & Yuki (Keko-san)

The last 5 weekends have been spent with my adoptive parents...all 6 of them. These mothers, of the baseball team's players, have been so kind and fun. We've had so many laughs and made some lasting friendships. Parents are kind of 'untapped' territory for me,...having spent much time with friends my age, students and teachers....hanging out with student's families has been a first. I enjoy their relaxed care-free ways and their genuine interest in my culture. Even though communication can be somewhat challenging, Tomie-san has been our go-to translator. Her English is superb (she has a sister living in Chicago so English is actually useful for her!) I'm so lucky to have met up with Tomie because it has opened so many doors and eased the communication with these great folks that otherwise, would have made chatting nearly impossible.

While no one could ever replace my amazing family back in Minnesota...these women have really shared their 'motherly ways' with me. I'm so grateful!

it was a great season!

L-R: Kosei (3B/P), Fukuhiro (U), Atsushi (1B/P), Ken (RF),

Yusho (LF), Yuki (SS), Ryuetsu (2B), Satoru (C), Ryou (CF) Thanks for letting come to practice, your team was the first baseball team I've ever really been a part of. Baseball has its challenges in comparison to softball, so thanks for teaching me!

...there were so many good times...

Congratulations on a successful season. You had so much talent on your team! 9 ninth graders who were all great friends and loved the sport. As a coach, I would have been so proud to have a team like yours! Good luck in your high school careers!

a sayonara to sports

Sayonara to the sports season. Above, is a shot from the last 'pep rally' on the year. It was a quick season for me, as I spent the last 4 weekends hitting up tons of games and tourneys around the prefecture,

but good things must come to an end.

this past weekend was the final tournament for ninth grade students (as next year they are --cross your fingers--off to various high schools around Iwate.) why do they finish mid- year? cos they are suppose to focus on studying for THE biggest test of their lives that inevitably determines their outcome in life. if they don't score well on the high school entrance exam, they will end up at a less than desirable high school (which means really lousy teachers that are rumored to be 'unable to teach them enough to pass the BIGGEST test of all' to enter a university).

can you imagine the pressure a 15 year old kid must feel to have already chosen a career and researched the best high school for preparing them for that job?! while these kids slave away studying hours on end (many attending 'juku' or cram schools which can cost about $1000 a month), they forget about the TEENIEST bit of fun in their lives (their club activities) and focus entirely on academics, in the hopes of their dreams panning out.

it's interesting to note, for my teacher pals anyway, that there is absolutely NO tracking or ability groups from preschool through ninth grade. but isn't it ironic that the high school and university systems

are strictly based on tracking!

while the ninth graders are studying, the seventh and eighth graders (most of which are not allowed to participate competitively are finally given an opportunity to PLAY! side note: in the States, even if you play a 'team sport' like baseball...there is a TON of competition amongst the players because usually the BEST kid plays, regardless of age. the coaching philosophy is much different over here...the first year players must simply learn by watching. one full year of practices (3 hours a day, 6 days a week, for 49 weeks a year) and the only incentive or motivating force is ONE game in which they are all given a couple innings/periods/quarters

to show the coach their skills.

the more i read about Japanese social and academic philosophies, the more i can't understand it. living here can be so frustratingconfusingbutinteresting! im trying to stay really positive cos 2 months from now (exactly 2 months to the day!) it will be my last day in this country. and those first few weeks spent reculturating to American philosphies will bring about another round of culture shock. what a whirl.

The softball, volleyball and baseball teams. All of which lost in the final rounds of competitions today. Good work kids! I'm proud of you! Good luck hittin the books!

Int'l Fest 2006

Taneichi's 1st Annual International Festival

がいこくじんのぶんかさい

June 11, 2006

たねいちのたいくかん

Taneichi's ALTs from left to right: Laura, me, Zach, Damian & Eamonn

Zach & I are from America. I work at 2 junior high schools and 10 elementary schools. He works at 4 local junior high schools, this is his wife Laura. Damian is from England and works at Taneichi High School. Eamonn is from Northern Ireland and works at Ono High School (the village that recently merged with Taneichi).

I wanted to give back to our gracious community, so I planned and organized this festival. The other ALTs made it possible, doing it solo would have been chaos. Thanks to them for their efforts! Pictured above is the stage area where we set up information about ourselves...photos, old yearbooks, pictures of friends and family etc. I also made a little play area for the pre-schoolers that couldn't participate in the other games--ABC puzzles, American cartoon coloring sheets and a bunch of those really BIG books (in English of course). All of us ALTs are leaving this area, so I thought it best to hold a rummage sale to get rid of our junk and lighten our suitcases. The sale was semi-successful, and the money raised went to our local library to buy English books. What a samiritan I've turned into eh? ;) The rest of the day was spent playing games that involved simple English and the focus was on communication! Because I work with all of these elementary schools kids, I knew about how much they could handle and all ALTs agreed, it really couldn't have gone any smoother. We were so lucky! No technological dificulties either...strange but true!

Since this was sorta my doing, I took the responsiblity of emcee-for-a-day. It was really great and felt so good to 1. teach 2. actually feel purposeful and 3. make English fun! We had about 120 people turn out, so it was smaller than anticipated, but a nice size group for all the games we had planned. The activities included various English topics: days of the week, colors, body parts, clothing, numbers and simple greetings.

We were able to share our music from our home countries with them during the games and admittingly, in the effort of time, we downloaded a bunch of "JockJams" tunes to get the kids extra spazzy. wow, listening to those tunes brought a wave of 4th grade nostalgia...but the kids really enjoyed it. We also each made a short powerpoint presentation on our countries (England, Ireland and America). It was a lot of information but with the help of my friend/student Rintaro, we were able to quickly translate the important stuff. Rintaro did an incredible job & the students really enjoyed an 'older Taneichi student" helping emcee the event. We made a great team!

While Rintaro's job was to translate, there were some times where the ALTs only demonstrated a game or activity and the students, little sponges that they are, were able to quickly pick it up through imitation and modeling. This is a style that I think would work wonderful in the junior high school classroom too. These kids played SO many new games during the festival and not one of them had any questions or was lost and confused....just goes to show that maybe the Japanese English teachers are enabling their students to be helpless. The Japanese teachers are training the students to wait for the translation, when they should be training the kids to listen for contextual clues and read body language/gestures and tone of voice. How do they think people like me, complete Japanese rookies, learned as much Japanese as we have....through translation? No way, no one can ever translate things for me. I have trained my ears to listen and shockingly, I've magically been able to remember what I hear. To each their own, suppose this strategy doesn't work for everyone, but it's worth a try as the current state of affairs is ridiculous!

get these kids interested in English now and that first 'usually-terrifying' year of junior high english class might actually be productive. my goal and reason for doing this festival was to thank the community AND to obliterate the 'fear factor' that is associated with English. all day, we repeated "mistakes are OK", "do your best" and "try!" the environment wasn't scary and intimidating and based on perfection, like that in the junior high schools. it was such a great day because i could see every kid excited, motivated and fearLESS of english! that in itself, made the day successul!

Thanks to Saori for filming the event for me! Can't wait to see it! I'm so happy Shyou and Ryou came as well! They are young and couldn't participate in some of the games, but just being around foreigners is such an important step in building a healthy friendship with people who aren't Japanese!

One of my fave pics on the day,...this is my supervisor's son. Isn't he cute! Here, we are playing a relay game where I call out an article of clothing and they must run to a huge pile of 'foreigner clothing' and dig out whatever it is and put it on. This little guy is pretty bundled up in our not so japanesey-sized clothing!

Apologies for not posting this earlier..its been a really long but good week and I was having some problems posting pictures on Blogger for some reason. Overall, this festival marked one of the most memorable 'teaching' days I have ever had in Japan. I'm so thankful for everyone that participated: students, parents, supervisors, other ALTs, the office and the staff at our gym. Couldn't have done it without your help! Thanks for sharing in the day and making it a success! Internationalization @ the grass roots level can be so challenging and changes are slow, but maybe that's why its so rewarding!

final pep rally

As my time in the Japanese schools dwindles to about 15 days..., I've found a renewed interest in the formal and rigid style of the pep rallies. Maybe its cos I know I will never experience something like this back in the States, unless I join the Army, or maybe I've come to appreciate order and the way such routine student assemblies take away any need for planning or preparing. The students, always on auto-pilot mode, know exactly where to go/what to say/where to stand. its so rehearsed that the teachers don't have to say a word. The self-discipline and self-motivation of the students is unparelled.

taneichi-chu baseball

back row: atsushi, me, ken, ryo, yusho, fukuhiro, Sugishita-sensei

front row: seiyu, satoru, yuki, kosei, ryuetsu

a bunch of stallions.

"coaching" these self-motivated, focused and talented kids wouldn't be all that challenging compared to some of the teams i have had the 'pleasure' of coaching over the years. in the States there are always a couple players who could care less about the team's record, choosing to be 'on the team' for purely social reasons and usually create all the drama on the team. i don't get it, in Japan, the kids haven't a choice what sport to play AND they still show up every day (for 3 hour practices with a monotony akin to Catholic Mass), yet play with so much heart you would think it was their favorite sport. i practice with this team several days a week and it has become one of my favorite activities during the week and the students (and their parents..who I travel with to all of the games) have become really great friends! Yes, most of my friends these days are about 5'6 and 15 years old. some of the greatest times I have had with junior high school students have come about through baseball and they are times that i will certainly miss, but never forget. the 'true' classroom and teaching opportunities are ballparks, judo gyms and stadiums.

さようならおこないしょがっこせ！

Okonai Elementary...all 24 of 'em.

No teary goodbyes, just a really sweet day with some great kids. I told them not to be sad about saying sayonara, but to be happy we had so many great hangouts this year. Not sure if they caught the gist of it, but it makes me feel better to think of it like that!

cheese. i don't think this school has ONE shy kid. which makes my job a whole lot easier and more enjoyable!
english class should always be this much fun!
first and second graders. so loveable.
third and fourth graders. so spazzy.
fifth and sixth graders. SO impressive! they knew how to write their names in Romanji and had all prepared several interview questions for me IN ENGLISH! びきりした！すばらし！

I'LL NEVER FORGET YOU! あなたわされない！

studly

Taneichi's coolest
Another first, ME shaving someone's head! The things I get to do over here! Japanese baseball rules say everyone MUST have shaved heads...i told Yuki that years from now I will look at these pictures with friends and they will say, "Oh, isn't that nice. You even found time to visit the hospital for kids with cancer..."
Yuki is the star shortstop with a quick glove and sweet swing. He is also one of my favorite people at Taneichi-chu. Hilarious, sweet and smart, Yuki is one of those kids that makes you never want to leave Japan. But I must go, so I hope he will take me up on my offer to do a homestay with me someday...
Naoya (judo), Yuki (baseball) & Minori (tennis).

The Dodgers or the Yankees? I'd put money on Taneichi!