English Teaching and Me

This post is more or less for the cathartic effect I'm hoping expressing my feelings will have, as well as to memorialize the way I feel for when I'm deciding whether or not I'm going to extend my contract.


I have 2 different English lesson commitments outside of school; one is with the local community center teaching 11 elementary school kids ranging from 4-6th grade, and one is 1-on-1 with a 3 year old in my apartment complex. Let's try to figure out which one I like more.


Dealing with elementary kids in school is tough enough, as they often do NOT want to be learning English (not that I blame them...when I was that age, I didn't really want to do anything but read Encyclopedia Brown and play Mega Man), but when you remove the homeroom teacher who commands respect and fully wields their native language, it ups the difficulty a notch. Factor in the fact that they're from different years and different groups and that also makes it tougher. Then add in the fact that this is AFTER school, meaning it's cutting into their own time and they're often not there of their own volition. Finally, throw in my fairly easy-going and forgiving nature and you have a recipe for the biggest waste of well-intentioned parental funding I can imagine.


This class is a joke, and I am not blameless. The first day, I went in with the mentality that I was going to be teaching motivated, bright students eager to further their studies. Well, the kids are smart but they're certainly not motivated. One of my struggles is that anytime I try to introduce something REALLY new, their eyes glaze over and they develop the "why should I care, I'm never going to need English" attitude. This is the same attitude every kid gets when faced with sin curves, essays exploring the deeper points of Alfred Prufrock, or any other subject to which they are un-inclined. If kids care, they'll learn it. If not, good luck forcing them. And I have to force them.


I made the mistake of not only letting them talk, but letting them bring things to class. I've seen magazines, homework, even the occasional Nintendo DS. I make several attempts to stop them, sometimes even taking the items away, but realize it's more or less futile as I'm sure the kids can tell I am unable to truly discipline them (that's in my contract...no discipline). This means none of the head-smacking, parental conferences, or whatever other recourse there is for a normal teacher. I'm pretty much at my wits end on how to get these kids involved, and it's the single event in the week I look forward to the least. Less than getting up for work on a Monday. I find myself looking at my watch every 5 minutes, speaking English to unattentive kids.


My 3 year old lesson is almost the complete opposite. The little boy is overjoyed to see me, remember pretty much everything I teach him, and his mother is constantly making sure he's paying attention. They ask me for extra copies of the materials I bring, constantly confirm lessons, and pay well in advance. Even though we mostly play the time by ear (30mins to 1 hour depending on his behavior), the hour often flies by and I find myself hanging out longer. It's a lovely family with another toddler, though I have yet to meet the dad. Also the only family I've seen with Christmas lights in the whole city (though it IS early), hanging off an apartment veranda no less.

I understand both attitudes, which is why it's difficult for me to begrudge the children. While I don't look forward to teaching the large group, I understand WHY they're the way they are. English teaching in this country is often sporadic (1 hour a week tops for elementary), poorly organized (no set curriculum), and taught in a manner more to inspire dread than spark interest. My job is to make English fun, but if the kid is upset at the very prospect of learning English, I find it difficult to overcome that. It's not impossible, as I've seen some problematic students start to come around and participate in class, but I certainly am not holding out hope that all these kids will be passing TOEFL tests anytime in the future.

I suppose one of the reasons I like my work is the kids who DO get it. The idea that you can develop a vocabulary in a foreign language by the time you're a 6th grader astounds me, especially if you only have class for an hour a week. I didn't hit my first foreign language until HS, like most people, and though I did well, I believe it was due more to the fact that

a) I was driven to succeed and get into college
b) Spanish had a number of words that were similar in English
c) I didn't have to learn a new set of characters, meaning I could READ the Spanish, even if I didn't know the meaning.

If you've never tried learning a language with different characters than your native toungue, it can be quite daunting. I signed up for Japanese as a soph at USC and that first week of hiragana seemed impossible. Japanese is often considered one of the more difficult languages to learn to write, due in large part to 2 alphabets and something like 10,000 kanji with individual meanings and multiple readings, but I imagine it's just as difficult going from something like Chinese to Russian or Spanish to Arabic. Basically learning to attribute sounds to a picture, then internalizing that picture so that you can read/write it as fluidly as you can your own language is obviously not easy, and I often find myself questioning my choice of study.

It seems like Japanese is an illogical choice. There are very few countries in the world that use the language (I'm counting Brazil and the US since they have decent Japanese populations...otherwise it's just Japan), it's difficult with multiple verb conjugations, varying accents, dialects, levels of politeness, and specialized usage, it's not a country on the upswing like China, and with the amount of time and energy I've put into it, I probably could have become fluent at Spanish and started on French. At the same time, succeeding in a difficult task, applying myself and achieving understanding, forcing myself to adapt to a culture foreign in so many ways (countryside, foreign language, new job, new friends, new foods, blah blah blah) are methods I use to measure my growth as a person. I feel like I'm still taking the safe path a bit, since JET secures housing, work, blah blah for you, but I just wasn't ready to do it myself.

Can I do this for another 8 months? Another 20 months? I suppose we'll know in February, when I turn in my contact extension forms.

Trip to LA, highlights

Day 1: Landed 30 minutes early, got through customs in about 20 minutes, and was out the door before I was supposed to arrive. Went home with the parentals, had some bomb Peruvian seafood at Mario's, did the Costco, bank, shopping thing, picked up the tux, went to a BBQ joint and had tri-tip, baby backs, excellent chili and fries. Passed out after watching a single South Park episode, probably around 9 o clock.

Day 2: Bank again to deposit that lovely re-location check from our old apartment, headed into LA to meet up with LAUSD folks for lunch at Langer's. Mmm, pastrami. Hung out for a bit, headed back to my brother's apartment, got some Gears of War 2 in, then headed to Weiland's for happy hour. Drank, ate, and fell asleep at the bar by 10. Went back to bro's place, stayed up til about 4 playing video games.

Day 3: Met up with Ben in Pasadena, played some Guitar Hero, went to Roscoe's for some chicken and waffles...and syrup...and gravy. I still can't get over how good that combo tastes, or how bad it must be for me. We went to my brother's place to watch USC eventually dominate Stanford, Kat came by, and we had Chano's. After the game, headed back to LM and Aug and Rach came over to hang out and shoot the breeze. Can't remember the last time we did that...probably since HS. Re-packing begins.

Day 4: Wedding time! David was kind enough to drive me out there, along with his gf, and I got to see some people I hadn't seen in a while. Met Eddie's baby, shot the shit with the boys, danced with the girls, ate, drank beers, sang to Journey, and had a rockin' good time. Too bad it was so short. Got home, went for more Mexican at Molcasalsa and headed back to LA. Pulled an all-nighter playing Madden, and got ready to get on a plane.

Update on my airplane situation: got a $150 voucher. I figure that kind of makes up for the extra $50 bucks, plus 3 hours, plus exacerbation of a sore throat I got from walking around Japan at 1 in the morning.

Ice to see you

Yesterday I woke up, got ready for work, and walked outside. When I got into my car, I experienced something I had never experienced before: ice on my windshield. Even when I used to go to the mountains in the snow, I can't remember there being ice...and it's not even the end of November yet. Getting snow tires soon, but may have to buy one of those scrapers as well.

Another first: Masuku

Or mask. I'm sure folks have seen these face masks used by celebrities like Michael Jackson and Madonna when they're traveling, or just hiding their face in public, but in countries like Japan, they're used to prevent catching a cold from others who have them, help reduce the effect of pollen related allergies, prevent others from catching your cold, or in some cases, lined with a Vicks vaprorub type solution and actually used as medication.

My throat hurt basically the first day I was in LA, thanks in no small part to the amount of smoke from the various fires. Traveling on little sleep couldn't have helped, nor could the quick temperature change from around 50 in Japan to close to 90 in LA the weekend I was there. It's gotten worse since that first day, and I probably have my own habits to blame (staying up late, drinking beer, not really eating ANY veggies or fruit in LA). In any case, on my virgin mask voyage, here's how I look at work today.

Trip to LA, initial post

So before I get into all the good stuff that happened in LA, I'm going to bitch and moan about how annoying it was getting back to Japan.

I have to preface this with how I got from Japan to the US in the first place. I flew from Kansai airport to Haneda in Tokyo, then transferred via train to Narita in Chiba, from which I flew to LA. In order to get to Kansai, I drove 90 minutes to Kobe airport, parked at the ferry station, and took the ferry from Kobe to Kansai. Parking is free if you take the ferry, and since my return flight was set to land in Kansai at about 9 pm, I knew I'd need my own means to get home. The ferry stops running at about 10:30 pm, which would have given me plenty of time to grab my luggage from a domestic flight, take the bus to the ferry station, and get to my car around 10. I'd be home by midnight, with time to rest for work the next day.

Much like Hannibal from A-Team, I love it when a plan comes together. It's equally as irritating when it doesn't.

I almost missed my flight boarding. I was at the airport a good 2 and a half hours early, but didn't realize boarding for my flight FINISHED half an hour before departure. I had my headphones on at the gate, but noticed someone running so I took them off in time to hear the phrases "final boarding" and "fly standby tomorrow." I grabbed my bag and got on the plane.

My flight out of LAX was delayed 90 minutes. I was sort of sleeping during that hour and a half sitting in the airplane, but the official reason was "unscheduled maintenance." Obviously we'd rather be late than deal with something the mechanic didn't think should wait, but it was still a bad omen. I also missed ice cream sandwich time while a lady next to me had 2...made me wonder if she jacked me.

We landed about 80 minutes after the scheduled time, and I hustled to the baggage claim. I had originally given myself about 3 hours and 15 minutes to get from Narita to Haneda for my flight from Tokyo to Kansai, a trip which takes about 2 hours by train. Since I had lost 80 minutes of that buffer, it was basically I grab my bags immediately and hop on an express train leaving as I get there and run to my terminal if I was going to make it. It took 20 minutes for my bags to emerge, so I knew it was impossible.

Asked at the desk and Northwest rescheduled me for a flight out of Tokyo at 9 (originally 7:50), but it didn't end there. Since I had parked my car at Kobe airport and taken a ferry to Kansai and since the ferry stops at 10:30 and my flight landed at 10:15, I couldn't make the boat (which would have been 10 bucks). I asked around and had to hustle to get a train (16 bucks). As I was changing trains, I literally walked through the doors of the last train on my route as they were closing. At another transfer point, I misread my instructions and walked off the train, only to luckily look at a map on the platform and realize my mistake. I got to Sannomiya in Kobe around 12:45 and took a taxi the rest of the way (30 bucks). I drove exhausted for 90 minutes and got home at 3:15-3:30.

On a side note, along the way, I noticed a sign listing the temperature: 0. After 4 days in 90 degree weather, it was quite a change.

My Japanese Haircut

I had been on the fence about getting a haircut here for awhile. Some folks know that when I studied abroad here for 6 months, the prospect of a feminine J-boy haircut was so repulsive that I ended up with shoulder length hair. In the summer. In a country where humidity must reach 143%. My hair has been refusing to stand in the afro pattern for a week or so now, only exacerbated by the continuous wearing of my bald cap for Halloween presentations/parties. After a week of walking around looking like I was wearing a black helmet, I stopped by one of the few places that advertised their price. I was going for a 1900 yen haircut.

The barber shop had a bunch of magazines dedicated to both men's and women's hairstyles, and I chose one that I thought looked decent. What I got didn't really match the picture, and came out as more of a faux-hawk than I wanted. Either way, I'm rocking this at least until I'm back in the States, and maybe longer.

But the real story is the haircut experience. I've never been one for salons of any kind, usually preferring to get my hair cut in places where the people don't speak great English and there's a liquor store next door, so this was a bit of a surprise. The neck shave was standard barber fare, but they shaved my FOREHEAD and my cheeks. Japanese men get their eyebrows shaved at the barber, and I had to tell him to leave mine alone. I got some kind of moisturizer or something rubbed into my face, and hot towels heaped on me about 3 times (those felt good though, especially in this 9 degree Celsius weather). I opted for no shampoo as well.

My friends and I often discuss the feminization of the Japanese men, from their large wallets to their hair to their clothes, and I feel like I experienced a certain aspect of that.

Ultimate Frisbee Tournament - Akashi

A couple of weeks ago I took part in an Ultimate Frisbee tournament in south Hyogo. Our team is a fairly rag tag group of foreigners and Japanese folks who just like playing the game, which I found out was not the case with most of our competition. What we ran into were university club teams with full on uniforms, warm ups, plays, and multiple squads. The disparity in skill and physical fitness was readily apparent, but I'm pretty sure our post-game cheers were the best. Our team is called Tajima Gyu (which means Tajima beef, what is known worldwide as Kobe beef) and we went 1-3. We placed second in the frisbee golf putting competition, in which I took part, and took first in the dive-and-catch, won by Ryoko and Mark. Good times, even though it took place on a rainy beach in about 65 degree weather. Lots of friendly folks, some amazing dogs and freestyle frisbee tossers, and a post-tourney trip to a sento, or public bath.

Wadayama Torafusuzindaiko

I played taiko drums once a week in LA for about 8 months before I left, starting from scratch with a bunch of other beginners at a small temple in Little Tokyo. Our teacher was a resident monk who had taught for years in Norcal and brought his expertise not only in the play but the construction of taiko drums to our little group. It was me, some little kids, and a bunch of adults. Playing once a week for an hour and a half or so isn't enough to improve much, especially when our group was a bit irregular in terms of attendance. I was excited to latch onto a group once I got here.

I tagged along with one of the other teachers from one of my ES, and enjoyed the practice so much I started showing up all the time, every Tuesday and Friday evening. I didn't get to play much as they were either teaching local HS kids a song for their culture festival or preparing for performances at the summer festivals around Wadayama, but I tried to soak up as much as I could. Going from songs that were maybe 2 or 3 minutes long with 4 or 5 sections to 8-10 minute songs with 4 different kinds of drums and 10-15 sections was daunting to say the least. I usually sat in the back, just watching and hoping I could remember some of the stuff.

I'm making my debut tomorrow, at a wedding of all things. I'm only playing the simplest song in the repertoire, one that involves dancing around almost as much as the actual drumming, but I couldn't be happier. I still feel like an outsider at practice, because the conversations display an intimacy that can only be borne out of time spent together, sweating and studying and struggling at the same problem. I've managed to spend some time with some of the folks, and they're all friendly, but I still can tell I don't belong yet. Maybe getting a performance under my belt will speed that up.

Halloween Weekend

Friday - enkai with the Board of Education, other ALTs, and some teachers. It was at Tsubohachi, where every drinking party seems to be these days, and costed me a cool $40 to drink and eat almost to my heart's content. Unfortunately, I talk too much and didn't manage to quite fill up the way I was hoping. Drank plenty though. Went bowling afterwards with some of the ALTs and Japanese English teachers, and while I broke triple figures, our team lost by 4 pins and we had to buy juice for the other squad. I also fell asleep in my car around 10:30 thinking I could nap and drive to a bar. Woke up around 1:30 and headed indoors.

Saturday - Spent the day doing nothing...ate ramen, worked out, then waited for Gareth's epic Halloween bash in Yabu, a party attended by what had to be 75 people. I went as an old, fat, bald man with ridiculous eyebrows. There were some fantastic handmade costumes (a full Spongebob outfit, a Godzilla outfit, and perhaps best of all, a hand-dyed and painted Joker costume. Pretty creepy. Got drunk, took shots, danced, took goofy pictures, passed out at the base of the stairs, and woke up with a sore throat. Great times.

Sunday - Woke up, helped clean Gareth's house of empties, and went to grab ramen with JJ. Dropped him off, parked, decided I couldn't move and slept in my car for a couple of hours. Was woken up by Mark and Yoko and spent the whole day goofing around with them...took bento up to Takeda Castle, did purikura, ate yakiniku, then went FINALLY got into my house around 8 pm. A couple of friends dropped by until I had to leave for a friend's birthday karaoke party. Put my costume on for the 4th day in a row and sang karaoke for a couple of hours with the owner of a ramen shop at which I am a regular, some of is family and tons of other foreigners. His daughter is this quiet little thing, but sang Japanese death metal with lyrics unfit for repeating.

Monday - Woke up at 11, headed to Jusco at 12 to pick up supplies for the Ikuno BBQ held by organized by other JETs. Drove up with JJ, Meghan, and Mark and played frisbee, ate like 2 kilos of meat, and took some nice pictures of the surroundings before night fell at like 5 pm and we ended up getting out of there.

After heading back to Wadayama, we ended up at Joyfull for some unneeded calories before doing purikura and heading home. A LONG weekend in which I spent too much money, consumed way too many calories, and had way too much fun. I wish every weekend was like this.