Rest in Peace, Michael Jackson

Pop music legend Michael Jackson died last week after suffering from a cardiac arrest at home, the media has reported.

I was on my futon sipping my morning coffee, and found this out from dozens of status updates on my friends’ Facebook pages. (It’s crazy to think how news keeps filtering through different avenues as time progresses, no? Oh, J1000…)

MJ’s influence has touched people all over the world. Everyone has a “MJ-related” story.

At school, we use a series of English textbooks called “New Horizons.” There are some songs by Stevie Wonder and Mariah Carey on some pages.

Michael Jackson’s “We are the World” is printed in the third-year textbook. Most of my students quickly flip through the textbook, and probably overlook the English songs. But last year, some of my san-nensei (ninth-graders) used MJ’s song as the centerpiece for their creative writing assignments.

My favorite skit? Shou asked Miki on a date. “Hey, Miki! Do you know Michael Jackson? We should go to his concert together. On a date.” She rejected him! (The poor kids had to “perform” their skits in front of me. Amazing).

My kyoto-sensei, who is a darling and makes sporadic attempts to converse with me, uttered the words "Mai-ka-ru Ja-ko-so-nu?!" on Friday. We had a moment as I gestured that I was surprised such an icon died. Kyoto-sensei couldn't believe MJ was only 50.

MJ, thanks for reminding us that, "We are the world. We are the children. We are the ones who make a brighter day."

Living the “funemployment” dream

I’m basically “funemployed,” a recently coined term that describes twenty and thirtysomethings who reject the typical 9 to 5 in order to pursue happiness in leisurely activities. (There was a nice read about “funemployment” in the Globe and Mail last week).

Don’t get me wrong – I do have an 8-4 job. And surprisingly, I am “invited” to more classes per week than the average JET. But my duties are quite limited -- I don’t have to plan lessons for my junior high classes. Sometimes, I need to create a worksheet or a skit to demonstrate the language target of the day. I do other random things to make an English presence at school, like update my bulletin board and talk to kids throughout the day. I am starting to increase my visits with the kids during their club practices after school. This week, I invited myself to learn how to play soft tennis with the first and second-grade girls! Ha.

I think most ALTs will agree that the job is definitely more about the influence we have beyond the classroom walls. It’s about simply getting kids enthusiastic when learning English. It’s about making them aware that there are different ideas and cultures outside of Japan. I think I’m slowly achieving these ideas in minute ways.

I was doing my groceries the other night, and a kid yelled: “Gemma-sensei!” His mom whispered back to him, probably wondering why he was yelling after a foreigner. When she found out I was his English teacher, she nudged her kid closer to me so that we could talk for a second. We exchanged our basic aisatsu (greetings), as the kid grinned ear to ear.

The junior high school kids are now comfortable with me, and treat me like their older sister. I like playing cards with the little seventh-grade boys, who also show me their magic tricks.

The older kids keep me up to date on the latest gossip, so I know which students are currently dating and who likes whom. The ninth-grade boys now enjoy hamming it up when I take their pictures, and graciously thank me when I let them janken (“rock, paper, scissors) over my unopened apple jelly. They also thought it would be hilarious to make me stick my face near a tin box; when they flipped it open, it was filled with their classroom pets: beetle-like bugs. Ew. They laughed as I exclaimed two of their bugs were dead. (Sure enough, all eight bugs were dead the next time I visited their classroom).

So, my time outside the classroom is pretty relaxed and fun. I also have loads of time to take off from school. I’ve been lucky enough to travel to several places this year. I’ve bopped to house music in Tokyo’s largest nightclub until 4 a.m. I’ve seen several historic shrines and temples in Kyoto twice. I saw the infamous paper cranes associated with the story of a young Hiroshima bombing victim. I’ve eaten deep-fried foods and kimchee on the streets of Seoul. I’ve gotten lost in the wintry streets of Sapporo, looking for an ice bar.

My list goes on. I am really quite fortunate that I have this time in my life to be “funemployed.”

Things can get frustrating out here – I often get tired of the communication barriers. But I’m learning to exert LOTS of patience. I need to remind myself that I have some pretty sweet kids, teachers, new friends and amazing travel opportunities. As the saying goes, the world is my oyster. Let's stay funemployed for as long as it stays feasible, no?