If anyone would ever happen to stumble upon this, looking for some sort of "real blog" from me... you can check out my tumblr... :] This was only a school assignment!


:D

Learning to Bow

When I heard about juku, I was not fully aware of my reaction. I did not necessarily enjoy the idea of students having to study excessively, and did not think it was practical. Many other teachers and even some parents thing juku is somewhat impractical, but many students are motivated to do well in school as well as learning English. Juku cram schools use mostly the same textbooks as the students' schools, so the students get bored quickly in class since they have already reviewed the material in the juku schools. Yet, most students and children seem to enjoy them, or at least are motivated to learn English.

Graduation day has finally come. I will truly miss [most] students that I have taught, and that I knew well. Almost all the parents of children came to the school at promptly 8:00 am. Many people were bowing to each other, but everyone bowed to Japan's flag while the National Anthem played. The day before the graduation, students practiced for more than two hours straight on how to bow correctly during the graduation. I would not make my students do this if I were a teacher in the United States. Many speeches were said, although almost all of them were practically the same. I hope these students of mine are prepared for their futures and the real world.

Cho and I enjoyed spring in his hometown. At first, I thought the sakura trees would sprout cherries! But alas, I was wrong and they only sprouted blossoms. Yet, they were beautiful; I wish we had these sorts of trees in America. It was sad to hear that Cho was not marrying Cheiko. Cho told me this news, and yet he did not seem very upset. They both seemed to know that they were not meant for each other.

The death of Kenzo Saikawa stunned me. I would not think that a child of this school would commit suicide, no matter how depressed he or she would be. Denver and I discussed this matter, both in remorse. We agreed that the principal and main teachers should have enforced the rules much more, and not have let the other students torment Kenzo so much. It is good to hear, however, that Japan is still a very safe place. I wish the numbers of murders or other victims in the United States could be as low as the number in Japan. I have learned that students in schools are learning and incorporating much violence into their lives, however. I read in the newspaper recently that two students have killed their teachers! ;___; These students have sadly resorted to using the method of stabbing. It is quite late now, and I am feeling very sad to the recent news. Now, I shall depart, but I will be sure to write soon!

Learning to Bow

I truly enjoy the tradition of getting up every morning, and bowing while proudly saying "onegaishimasu!" I have done it for approximately six months now, and I will continue to do it. I have noticed that as the year is progressing, less students are running around between classes and less students are late to school each day. I taught the students a few new phrases, such as "I eat lunch at..." and "I go to bed at..." They enjoyed this, but when we moved on to reading textbooks most of the students seemed bored.

When I started explaining to them about the racial problems in the United States and explained to them that we are all one people, they learned a new vocabulary word. "Same." I was very surprised that they already know this word, as I would think they had heard this word before if I said it. After explaining more about racial discrimination in various state in the US, we moved on to telling stories. I told the folk tale of "Paul Bunyan". The students enjoyed this tale very much and clapped and cheered whenever I spoke his name. After this, some of the students read to me the story of "The Peach Boy" while acting it out in a small skit.

Once again, I drew a sketchy map of The United States of America, and once again, the students mimicked me - "Thheeee United States of America". I taught them about the east, west and midwest areas and how my ancestors came to live in these areas. As I went over the story of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki while teaching the phrase "I think it is...", many of the students were very enthusiastic since they could relate to the story, as it was about their own country.

After school, I finally planned to visit Tokyo. Many of the teachers and other colleagues of mine discouraged this, but my college friend named Cho liked the idea. He had his friend Hara to meet me at the train station. I think Tokyo is a great city blossoming with youth, although it is changing the Japanese culture, which many people (especially old people) do not like. I went on a "go-con" with Cho Hara, and a couple of friends of theirs. Hara's friend was very rude and kept putting down American people, but I grew to live with it. It was quite fun to start out, but as we fought for twenty minutes and then after they deserted me, we all agreed it was not fun at all. We also have decided that we will have to come back to visit Tokyo and do this again, but make it much better!

After our "go-con", we went skiing. Tomo and I went down the easiest path as we are not too good of skiers, and I have never skied here, or anywhere in Japan for that matter. Now I am tired and I must go, but I will be sure to write soon!

Learning to Bow

I did not like the hospital. Not at all. The crutches were too short, and they were only sticks from trees. The nurses were quite harsh, and demanded answers right away. When I asked for the help from another doctor, many were quite surprised. This truly embarrassed me, and many people are still asking me questions about it. After I was able to walk again, I was very glad that my friends would bring me food and accessories at my apartment. Another person asked me "can you use chopsticks?" though. ;_;

The idea of Trash Day in Japan, and at Sano Junior High is a great thing. I truly enjoyed picking up trash with the students; I had a very fun day. I think the students enjoyed it too. They enjoyed playing "trash games" as well as roaming the city. I hope this will occur more often throughout Japan, since this concept will help the country thrive.

I was very surprised when I received a spork instead of traditional Japanese chopsticks during lunch time. Although there were chopsticks available for use, the recommended utensils were sporks. The available chopsticks were made out of plastic, and shorter than others that I have seen.

Both the Shinto and Buddhist religions are both amazing. Although they have two different beliefs entirely, people can live in Japan with both of these without suffering. The shrines were very nice, although simple. The children were always at my side, asking me if I saw any ghosts. That night when I fell asleep, I saw Mt. Fugi. This hopefully means I will have good luck throughout the next year!

Learning to Bow

I have many opinions of the school. My strongest thought is that their rules are too strict. If a student does not follow the rules and a teacher does not catch them, the ninth-grade boys will give them harsh punishment. Their required socks, hair and uniform regulations seem also too strict. The boys have to wear a black top with brass buttons and black pants. During winter, turtlenecks are unacceptable, although sweaters may be worn over the white shirts that everyone is required to wear. Girls must wear the same, but the shirt and pants must both be blue.

Another thing that bothered me about the school regulations is that only boys can be strong, and only girls can be pretty. Boys must do "boyish" things while girls must do "girlish" things. I think no matter who they are, they should have the opportunity to do whatever they wish.

The "Welcome Party" was very nice. The food was very good, and so were the drinks. Many people wanted to fill my glass with drinks of all sorts, and I was surprised how kindly I was treated. People no longer asked me "Can you eat with Japanese chopsticks?", but instead "Are you enjoying the food?". I have noticed that many of the people that I saw in the welcoming party when I arrived have become much less shy, and have talked a lot to me recently. The night clubs were the same as the ones in the United States, and I am glad that I only went [was forced] into one. Now I must go, as it is very late, and I must go to bed and prepare for tomorrow.