Motomiya on a rainy day

It's springtime in Fukushima-ken, meaning farmers are often out in the fields tending to their crops. Motomiya is the proud of home of rice fields galore. We're dubbed the "smallest" city in Fukushima, but there's no denying that I live in the countryside. Although I've had to adapt quite a bit, I've grown to love this place.

The following list will seem like a list of complaints; but these little things have transported me to a different way of life, where I've had to learn to change some of my ways, ha. Here are a few "Only in the Boonies"-moments that I'd like to share:
- I once had a little frog in my genkan (front entrance). That was pretty gross.
- The other day, I stepped out of my apartment and was pretty close to stepping on a snake. I yelled. It was gross.
- I tried to drive alongside the rice paddies this week, in an effort to get to my Board of Education. (Usually, I take the main arterial road). With my infamous lack of navigation skills, I got lost amidst the rice paddies. I still don't know how to successfully drive around rice paddies.
- I don't drive with road names in mind anymore; I rely on landmarks like the 7/11. To get to Soph's house, she told me to pass the "hip hop store on the left." Ha.
- I can't go to the konbini (convenience store) or local shopping areas without running into my students, their parents or my fellow teachers. Everyone is always all up in your grill. My fellow teachers will roll down their windows, and holler at me when I'm walking around the neighbourhood.
- I was a couple minutes late for work recently. My short commute is really only one-minute by car. But one day, I got stuck behind a grandpa who was driving his tractor; and the next day, another grandpa was blocking myshort cut with his trolley full of vegetables.
- My kids are expected to bike to and from school every day. But sometimes, they score a car ride from their family. A lot of them get picked up in short, white trucks with big flatbeds - these are usually used by farmers.
- A truck has started making its rounds in my neighbourhood, playing a loud song peddling "yaki imo" (roasted sweet potato). Go on Youtube, and look up the "Yaki imo" truck. You'll understand why I don't like the song. But I do like roasted sweet potatoes.
- Frogs serenade me to sleep. They're all really noisy, now that the weather's swell and the rice fields are flooded.

Spring has sprung

Spring in Japan ushers in tons of changes. The cherry blossoms sprout up in early spring, encouraging people to enjoy the pretty views underneath the trees. It’s common to enjoy “hanami” (花見), which is the Japanese custom of enjoying the views of the flowers. Throughout Japan, a splash of pink washes the landscape. In April, the Fukushima peeps organized a solid Brazilian BBQ at one of the cherry tree-lined parks.


The sakura (cherry blossoms) are the light pinks ones in the background.

In late April, students had their brief two-week “spring break.” But the kids loyally report to school every day, so that they can attend their club activities. During this time, I opted to take a trip down to Hiroshima and Miyajima. That’s a blog for another time. In a nutshell, it was quite the sobering experience.

Japan’s school year kicks off in late April/early May. At my junior high school, the third-floor was filled with the faces of 95 kiddos all dressed in their new Nichu uniforms. They graduated from the two nearby elementary schools, so I’ve already had some experience teaching them. It’s been interesting seeing how they’ve gone from being the “mature” sixth-graders at shogakko (elementary school), to the overtly genki ichi-nensei (first-graders) in junior high school.

The current san-nensei students (third-grade students aka the JHS seniors) have definitely carved a special spot in my heart. They’re probably the hardest working students, and are the least afraid to approach me in English. I was eating lunch with one of the homerooms last week, and was asking about all the school gossip. But they turned the tables on me, and asked: “Do you have a boyfriend?” This question isn’t out of the ordinary, especially since kids will be kids. But this particular student is one of the most soft-spoken kids ever, so it was pretty funny to hear him utter those words. He then giggled like a schoolgirl – pure jokes.

In Japan, teachers also face rotation at the start of the new school year. Kocho-sensei (the principal) informs those who will be leaving and staying on a one-on-one basis in his office, because everything is supposed to be veiled in secrecy. But everyone talks in the staffroom. I was able to find out who was leaving Nichu before the official “farewell” party, where the teachers are revealed. I only work with two JTEs; one of them was transferred to another city. At the end of the term, we went out for dinner and karaoke one night with my friends in Koriyama. She’s a riot!

I also lost some of my favorite elementary school teachers. Shogakko (elementary school) staffrooms are slightly overwhelming to me, since the teachers rarely understand English. There's tons of polite smiling, and many"Gomen nasai!" (Sorry!!). When I re-started my shogakko visits this month, I noticed that "Beverly Hills 90210-sensei" is no longer at Gohyakugawa. He was one of the roku-nensei (sixth-grade) homeroom teachers, and always made an effort to talk with me. Our conversations often revolved around the TV classic, Beverly Hills 90210. Apparently, he attributes his limited English skills to that show. He'd tell me things like "Ah, Burandon! Burenda! Peachy Pit!" Hilarious. I also miss Manami-sensei, who had one of the genkiest third-grade classrooms ever at Iwane. Boo boo!!

Lastly, YoVilla earned the top spots in FuJET last March. I’m now the vice president of this chapter! It was a tight race, so I’m definitely giving shout-outs to our opposition – JAlex! I am pretty excited for what’s to come!! Our first major events include a trek up the infamous Mt. Fuji, followed by Tokyo Orientation where we meet all the incoming Fukushima JETs.



We did a lot of ridiculous stuff during the campaign season. We did a video shoot in shorts, despite the fact that it was still cold outside. I could only laugh when my elementary school students saw us, then quickly sped off on their bikes after a quick hello. Kimoi ("Creepy!"). But seriously, Mateo, mad props on making the videos.