Mon. Aug. 5 – Feels like my first day of school

“La, la, la, la, la, la, la….” I hummed. I’ve always had a feeling my random outbursts of song would come handy one day. I was trying to teach one of my students how to master the pronunciation of the letter “l.” She was struggling with the word “clapping.”
D. and I went to my base school today. Almost three hundred students attend this junior high school, where I’ll be spending the bulk of my time.
Just like it says in all the books I’ve read, we took off our outdoor shoes and placed them in our shoe lockers. I slipped my indoor shoes, and off we went to meet the kocho-sensei (ie. Principal). I was pretty anxious while sitting in his office, and forgot half of my self-introduction even though I had nailed it last night.
I was then brought to the teachers’ room. Here, the desks are grouped according to the teachers’ assignments. The administrators sit at the front of the room, while the homeroom teachers for each grade have their desks clumped together. My desk is placed with the second-year teachers. Everyone seems really friendly.
Mariko-sensei is one of my English teachers. I forgot to bring a coffee mug today, so she kindly gave me a Snoopy mug during our coffee break. She’s only a year older than me, but she’s been an English teacher for a couple years now. We’re going out for dinner later this week! I look forward to making some social connections – being stuck in my apartment is getting old.
On a random note, Mariko-sensei hair was up in a ponytail and she was sporting her athletic threads. There was one point in the morning where she changed into a smart skirt and top, but then she changed back. It’s pretty awesome that I can revert back to my fashion sense circa fourth-year at Carleton. When things got too hectic, I’d simply go to my night classes in sweats. Serenity now.
Helping out the English speech contestants was the task for today. That’s why I was trying to teach one of the students how to pronounce the letter, “l.” To be an amazing contestant, these kids need to master the following components: pronunciation, gestures and intonation. I feel like I’m in Grade 8 drama class with Ms. Tyndale again. The girls seem really sweet, and I noticed they giggled when I tried to introduce myself in Japanese. D. did some acting exercises with them, causing these girls to shout: “I love you! I love you! I love you!”
After lunch, we were assigned to write a skit for speech contest. I can’t say it’s my best work, but what do you expect with a skit called “The Princess and the Special Helper.” I wish my sarcasm would translate well into my work here, but I figure I should lay off for a bit.
I do have some ideas of things I’d like to teach my kids before I leave Japan. I may, or may not, be joking.
- For any advanced students, I’d like them to learn Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody.”
- Greetings/farewells, such as: “sup jigga” and “peace out”
- My favourite words/sayings: “awkward”; “Where is the nearest Starbucks?” and “homeslice/homeboy.”
And here’s my final thought: So, I popped by the school gym today. Funnily enough, there was one kid who was sitting outside of the gym; he looked absolutely miserable. Sitting on the gym’s front stoop, he was busy burying his head into his lap. I’m guessing he was super tired from all of the work these kids do during the summer. (It seems like the kids are always DOING something, even if it’s their summer vacation right now. I definitely admire their hard work ethic). I was taken aback as all the kids dropped their basketballs, and rushed over to me to start bowing. Apparently, their coach told them to greet the teacher. (It’s normal to do that, I guess). I thought it was pretty cool to see dozens of kids run over to me, and start bowing.
Later days…