My Last Elementary Visit

A thousand tiny paper cranes and books full of letters from my Oi Elementary students. Usually students write short messages on shikishi, but my 5th and 6th grade classes insisted they needed more space. Instead they wrote me letters which the teacher bound up into little books.

After bursting the flood gates during my last day at the Beautiful Mountain School, I knew my last day at elemntary would be tough. When I first came to Ena as an ALT, I visited 16 different schools. Usually I went to a different school everyday, which made getting to know the teachers and students very difficult. I mostly visited elementary schools, which was fun at first, but soon became very taxing. Often the teachers at the school forgot to prepare for my visit, without asking me to prepare something, and I was thrown into classrooms of almost 40 students with minimal Japanese and no teaching ability. Many times the teachers walked out, sat down and read a book, or stood in the corner , completely detatched from the chaos that would ensue.

For the past year and a half, however, I have been assigned to 3 main schools, including one elementary: Oi Sho. I've always loved it there. The teachers are kind and cheerful, helpful during and interested in the lessons, and the students are genki and adorable. Before I began my lessons there, the students would see an ALT maybe 2 or 3 times a year. I was fortunate enough to begin teaching there once a week, and the incredible progress the students made before my eyes astounded and encouraged me. I learned a lot during my first year as an elementary ALT, and from the start at Oi I planned my own lessons and activities. I was always in charge of the class, and the students always participated and enjoyed the lessons. I really began looking forward to my visits, even though I would continually stress about the lessons and activities I planned. Students would often come talk to me during free time, recess and after school, trying to use the English they had learned. I realized that just having an ALT in the school on a regular basis makes a huge difference to the students, motivating them to speak in English and giving them a genuine chance to do so. The relationship the ALT has with the students is the biggest motivating factor of all. If the students like the ALT, and feel close to them, regardless of how little interest they have in English, they will try to learn and use it.

My experiences at Oi Elementary have been some of the most challenging, rewarding and fun of my JET career. I'm so grateful to have had the opportunity to get to know the children there and to make so many beautiful little friends. I will never forget them.

The Oi's Outdoor Soji Crew, including the famous "Monkey Man" (front and center).

5th graders... 3rd graders...
2nd graders...

Johnny Depp Meets Japan's Elementary Students!

The Two Things I Love the Most: Johnny Depp and Ridiculously Cute Japanese Kids!

Japan Intervie - More free videos are here

I watched these as soon as I woke up this morning, and they made my day! The first one is a clip of Johnny Depp being interviewed by two kids from a international school in Gunma Prefecture during his Pirates 2 Promotion.

The second is from his recent visit to Japan to promote Pirates 3. PLEASE watch them! AS Johnny says, he"ll never forget this as long as he lives. "It's one of the most beautiful, poetic, strange and haunting things I've ever seen in my life." Welcome to Japan, Johnny. Welcome to Japan.





Did I mention I love Johnny Depp? LOVE him!

A Day in the Life...

A la "Stick Figure Masterpiece Theatre"...

In a cruel twist of fate... a la excellent English of Beautiful Mountain School's second year students.

Oshi (close)! I am pretty delicious, if I do say so myself (^-^)

Alive and well, uneaten by unagi (eel) and enjoying every last minute with my super-cute students. God bless them. Every one!
Kickin' it with the kings of the jungle gym. Ena-san, R E P R E S E N T!

Oi Sho: A Happy Place

Energetic, Motivated, Smiley! The 3rd graders of Oi Sho. Do these guys look familiar? JAPAN!

It's so nice to be back at shogakko. Ah, elementary School. What can I say about Elementary school?

Well, I spent recess getting farted to death by 2nd graders, at which point the offenders piled on top of my listless body, tickling me to tears. It was fantastic--especially since they were fake farts-- which I then spent the rest of the day dodging in the hallways.

Other than that, I had only one class because 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 6th grade classes were cancelled due to some kind of incredible epidemic.

So this is how I amused myself.

(^o^) Oh my~! What is my hand doing? What has become of me?!?

Shakai no Mado: Your Social Window

Transalation: Shakai no mado: Social window, society's window.

Welcome to the ever-interesting world of Japanese idiomatic expressions. I don't care how good your Japanese is, I'm betting this is something only living in Japan can teach you-until now. I doubt they covered it in Japan-go 101, but hey, I could be wrong. Here goes:

Allow me to set the scene. An innocent, enthusiastuc ALT, (AKA, Me) doing her best to be genki (energetic and entertaining) despite the fact that the temperature inside the school is zero and the teachers have decided that, since so many students have been catching colds, they should start keeping the doors and windows open (What the $#$%@%@Q@#%# ?!) As she jumps, dances, and karate-chops her way around the room, pretending to play "Simon Says" in a crude attempt to survive the bitter cold...

Student: Sensei?

Teacher: Yes?

Student: Society's window.

Teacher: Huh? (clueless).

Student: Social Window! (Trying to be discreet).

Teacher: WHAT the heck is that? Social window? What does that mean? (loud and obnoxious. If everyone wasn't listening before, they are now).

Student: It's open.

Sensei: . . . Oh...

So, what does it mean?

Japan!

Things I'm thankful for...

My elementary school students. Love them! Kawaii-sugiru (too Cute), and so much fun!

Welcome to the Jungle

This kid is straight buggin' yo!

Ah, summer. Warm weather. Watermelon. Bugs the size of small animals!

One of the great things about my elementary schools is that they raise monster-size beetles as pets and play things for the students. You can't imagine the joy this brings me when, upon arriving at school, my overly-excited students try to introduce me to their beloved beetles. Instinct tells me to scream and run in the opposite direction, which the kids interpret as their cue to chase me around with the above mentioned beetles until I am rescued by a sympathetic teacher (rarely) or a game of dodgeball! Fun fun fun! The fun never ends! (Note: This picture was taken at full zoom, which with my little camera didnt keep me far away enough.)

I can run, but I can't hide.

As the days grow warmer, the many insects that inhabit this island exponentially increase in size, strength and number! Last week after returing from a hard day of beetle-fleeing at the biggest elementary school in Ena, I heard Colin shout, dash up the stairs and knock on my door in the span of about 3 seconds! Some kind of mischief was obviously afoot. I opened the door to a shaken shadow of a man who informed me that a mukade was attempting to invade his apartment, humbly requesting my assistance.

For those of you who are not familiar with Japan, you'll discover the opposite of a pleasant surprise when you visit during the warmer seasons. Japan is not only home of the fearless samurai and mysterious geisha, but to a massive, poisonous centipede called the mukade, known to grown up to 17 cm in length and kill small children and elderly people with a single bite! For someone who has a many-legged-bug-phobia ( that would be me), mukade are the epitome of evil. Not only are they the size of small puppies, but they move with a disturbing amount of speed.

By the time I descended to the battlefield, the creature had taken cover under a large piece of cardboard. When Colin flicked it away, what apeared to be a small black snake with spiny red legs and pinchers scurried out, sidewinding its way to Colin's door. Frozen with fear I watched as it tried to squeezed itself underneath the crack of the door. For a moment it was stuck before it disappeared. We stood in horror.

Me: Holy crap! Its in your apartment! You gotta open the door!

C: What? are you crazy? I aint goin' in there!

Me: You gotta! You gotta get it before it disappears and attacks you when your sleeping!

This is just an example of what we were dealing with, although ours was much longer! Mukades enjoy hiding in and under people's futons, wreaking havoc on unsuspecting gaijin and inflicting severe pain.

When Colin finally mustered enough courage to open the door, the mukade clung to a crevice carved out of the door jam. We knocked it out with a long piece of cardboard (where is all this cardboard coming from?) and, having cleared the path, Colin made a weapon run into his apartment. He emerged weilding a small knife he had gotten as a gift from Nepal, and like a true insecta-soldier, began hacking away at the little monster samurai-style. It actually made noises as blood and chunks muscle (?) squirted out from the slashes in its black armor, but continued its frantic retreat unphased (like the dark knight in Search for the Holy Grail: None shall pass!).

I remembered my teacher had told me that mukade are impossible to kill unless you cut them completely in half, like, with scissors (which her young son enjoys immensly) or pour boiling hot water on them. I relayed this information to a sweaty and tiring Colin, whos vengence would not rest. He continued haking away as the doomed devil scrambled across the pavement, leaving a trail of black blood in its wake. Finally he flicked the wounded beast into the overgrown jungle infront of his stoop.

Time: between 4 - 5:30 PM.

Curious cat that he is, Colin went back out at 11:30 PM to make sure it was dead. Unfortunately, it was still moving. Needless to say, I immediately invested in a special white powder that promises to repel mukade if you sprinkle it all around your home.

On the plus side of this whole summer jungle story, I have a newfound fondness for frogs! Super-cute little frogs are hoppin' around all over the place! Look how cute and little he is! Not the boy, the frog on his finger tip!