So our new ALT is confirmed!! At first we thought she'd be coming with Group C (which is really late!) but it turns out she'll be coming with Group B, which is much better! Unfortunately, I won't be in Towada for the first five days or so after her arrival, but hopefully I can be sufficiently helpful afterwards. ^_^
(Out of curiosity, any new Aomori-bound JETs reading this?)
Some unsolicited advice to incoming ALTs (selections from and additions to my "So you're moving to Japan" and "More thoughts on moving to Japan" posts from last year):
- find and join your local JET community now! For Aomori-bound JETs, there's the Aomori Listserve and Aomori JETs Facebook group. A lot of people are selling cars now, and chances are (unless you're in a big city like Aomori City) you're going to want one!
- if you've renewed your passport within the past year, bring your old passport with you; ditto if your current driver's license is less than 3 years old (if you weren't allowed to keep your old license, consider getting a copy of your driving record to prove how long you've been driving) -- this will save you a LOT of hassle if you decide to stay for a second year and need to get a Japanese driver's license
- IF you can comfortably wear Japanese-size clothing (if you're tall, it might be difficult...) and you're NOT going to an ultra-rural town/village, only bring clothing that you REALLY like and always wear (the more versatile, the better) because chances are you're going to buy clothing in Japan and it's a pain to have to donate/throw away a lot of clothing when you're leaving
Rough Japanese Clothing Sizes (from Uniqlo, a fairly ubiquitous Japanese clothing store chain):
MEN (XS-XL):
Length: 150-185 cm
Chest: 78-112 cm
Waist: 66-100 cm
WOMEN (XS-XL)
Length: 149-166 cm
Bust: 74-98 cm
Waist: 57-81 cm
Hips: 82-106 cm
Shoe sizes are also comparatively limited:
MEN: 24-29 cm
WOMEN: 22-24.5 (Some stores may have L or LL sizes which go up to 26 cm, but the selection is generally quite limited.)
- for females, remember that deep-cut tops and clothes that ride up/down to expose skin are not so great for an office/school environment; people WILL comment, even if not to your face
End of advice. (Again, see previous posts for more detailed suggestions.)
As always, the onset of summer makes me remember being a newly arrived JET and feeling worried but excited and insecure but eager. I remember loving the school visits right from the get go, even though I always felt like I could be doing so much better.
And I remember talking to my parents a few weeks into teaching and telling them: "Sorry, but I think I'm going to stay here for two or three years." (Before I came I was positive I was going back after one year.)
It's a strange feeling, looking back, seeing how far I've come, and knowing that this next year will be my last.
After almost two years, I'm finally reaching the point where I don't have to spend a lot of time planning lessons and making materials before every single (elementary) school visit. Of course I still try to come up with new games, and I still have to make materials on occasion, but I'd say I can prepare for visits in 30 minutes or less at least 60% of the time now. (Even three months ago I'd probably have said I was spending 60 minutes or more preparing for 70% or more of my elementary visits...)
Now I'm more concerned about making documentation (bilingual lesson plans, school schedule translations, etc.) for my successor. Having benefited a lot from the various materials left by previous ALTs (and Andy, of course!), I want to pay it forward and leave my successor with as many game ideas and information about school life/events (mainly at Kirita) as possible.
That said, my goal since my first year has been to make life both easier and harder for my successor than it was for me. I'd like it to be easier in the sense that s/he will have even more information/materials available to use than I had when I first came. But I'd like to leave Towada having done such a good job and having made such a lasting impression in my work that whoever comes after me will really have to work hard to live up to the schools', teachers' and students' expectations.
Friday, June 12, 2009
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Tired every day...
I won't say that I've been too busy to post--because I spend waste a lot of time on Facebook, randomly surfing the net, etc.--but I will say that I've been too tired to post lately because of the amount of time I've been spending at school.
And when I say "school" I mean Kirita, specifically. Out of five visits to Kirita so far this month, I've only left at my scheduled time (5pm) once. The rest of the time I've been leaving between 6pm and 7pm (usually around 6:30pm). And this "overtime" is on top of elementary school visits before Kirita on two mornings, and two lunch time eikaiwas with the teachers.
So yeah, I really haven't felt like doing anything more strenuous than web surfing, reading books/manga, or watching anime/J-dramas after coming home for the past little while. I really don't know how regular Japanese teachers put up with the crazy long hours! And at least I know that when spring/summer/winter vacation comes, I can actually go on vacation and not worry about school for a while, whereas they usually still have to go to school! It's a crazy life!
And when I say "school" I mean Kirita, specifically. Out of five visits to Kirita so far this month, I've only left at my scheduled time (5pm) once. The rest of the time I've been leaving between 6pm and 7pm (usually around 6:30pm). And this "overtime" is on top of elementary school visits before Kirita on two mornings, and two lunch time eikaiwas with the teachers.
So yeah, I really haven't felt like doing anything more strenuous than web surfing, reading books/manga, or watching anime/J-dramas after coming home for the past little while. I really don't know how regular Japanese teachers put up with the crazy long hours! And at least I know that when spring/summer/winter vacation comes, I can actually go on vacation and not worry about school for a while, whereas they usually still have to go to school! It's a crazy life!
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Embrace the inaka
I recently learned that the first person who was chosen to come to Towada declined, and so now we're waiting on a reply from an alternate. If this person accepts, s/he'll be in Group C and won't get to Towada until around the 20th of August. If s/he also declines, the next alternate probably won't make it until September. @_@
I seriously hope this person decides to come to Towada! We already have probably at least 50% more school visits/classes than the average ALT with three of us in the office, so it'll be a problem if there's only two of us available.
Now I can understand that most people want to work down south and/or in the big cities when they apply for JET, but if they don't have family/relationship or other concrete reasons to request a specific place, I really wish they wouldn't write off JET just because they've been placed in Northern inaka (rural) Japan.
Particularly when they've been placed in TOWADA!
Yes, we have a lot more work than many other ALTs, but in my mind, Towada is one of, if not the best places to teach as an elementary/junior high one-shot (or semi-regular) ALT.
I mean, most schools/students have a fairly high level of English (even first graders can usually be taught question and answer patterns and not just words) and behavioural issues are generally the exception rather than the rule. Also, thanks to the hard work of previous ALTs, the schools/teachers have a pretty high level of trust in ALTs and, for the most part, do their best to make good use of us in classes. In elementary schools in particular, apart from some fifth and sixth grade classes (where they're following the new Eigo Note textbook very closely), most teachers are more than happy to accept suggestions for changes to the lesson plan. (Actually, many want the ALT to take complete control of the class.)
As a teacher, it's a pretty sweet team-teaching set-up.
In terms of working in the inaka in general, the best argument in its favour I've heard is that you can get an experience of Japan that couldn't be had any other way. Big cities are pretty much big cities anywhere in the world. Sure visiting is different from living/working there, but you can get a pretty good feel for a big city even if all you do is travel there as a tourist. It's easy to remain an anonymous outsider in a big city--particularly if you're a one-shot and don't get as much of a chance to develop close relationships with your schools/students.
On the other hand, when you work in the inaka, you often become an important part of the community itself. Kids are thrilled when they recognize you on the streets/in the stores. You get invited to participate in various community events. Sure, sometimes it's a lot of extra work/expectations, and there are times when it probably feels like you're being observed all the time, but for me, the community aspect is the second best part (the first being teaching, of course) of being here in Towada.
Being in Northern Japan in particular has many inconveniences, I know: travel is expensive and time-consuming; winters are a pain; people's exposure to English is generally on a lower level than in the south. But, then again, how many people (even among native Japanese) can say that they've been to, for example, the Tohoku region? That they've participated in the Aomori Nebuta (I still haven't, actually), visited Lake Towada, seen cherry blossoms in Hirosaki, or watched fireworks at Omagari? (Incidentally, both Lake Towada and Hirosaki are mentioned, respectively, in the first and third grade New Horizon English textbooks used across the country.)
I definitely would never have been able to say I'd...
...seen the Hotokegaura and gone off-roading in Sai
...or that I'd eaten "Arandoran curry" (cheese in a ball of meat on rice with curry) and seen Osorezan ("one of the three holiest sites of Japan" according to the pamphlet) in Mutsu...
...if I hadn't been placed in Aomori Prefecture!
(By the way, you can see more pictures of my weekend excursion to visit Carly in my Facebook album: Sai Mura and Shimokita Peninsula)
Admittedly my rosy perspective on the inaka is heavily based on the fact that I landed a placement in Towada--if I could go back and choose my placement, I wouldn't give up Towada for anything, not even to be able to live in Hiroshima and eat okonomiyaki at Sankanou on a regular basis!--but I think many fellow Aomori and other inaka ALTs would agree that there as many benefits to living in the inaka in Northern Japan as there are to living in a big city in Southern/Central Japan. They are different benefits, to be sure, but I think that if people gave it a chance, they'd come to think that they didn't really need the big city benefits as much as they thought they did.
I seriously hope this person decides to come to Towada! We already have probably at least 50% more school visits/classes than the average ALT with three of us in the office, so it'll be a problem if there's only two of us available.
Now I can understand that most people want to work down south and/or in the big cities when they apply for JET, but if they don't have family/relationship or other concrete reasons to request a specific place, I really wish they wouldn't write off JET just because they've been placed in Northern inaka (rural) Japan.
Particularly when they've been placed in TOWADA!
Yes, we have a lot more work than many other ALTs, but in my mind, Towada is one of, if not the best places to teach as an elementary/junior high one-shot (or semi-regular) ALT.
I mean, most schools/students have a fairly high level of English (even first graders can usually be taught question and answer patterns and not just words) and behavioural issues are generally the exception rather than the rule. Also, thanks to the hard work of previous ALTs, the schools/teachers have a pretty high level of trust in ALTs and, for the most part, do their best to make good use of us in classes. In elementary schools in particular, apart from some fifth and sixth grade classes (where they're following the new Eigo Note textbook very closely), most teachers are more than happy to accept suggestions for changes to the lesson plan. (Actually, many want the ALT to take complete control of the class.)
As a teacher, it's a pretty sweet team-teaching set-up.
In terms of working in the inaka in general, the best argument in its favour I've heard is that you can get an experience of Japan that couldn't be had any other way. Big cities are pretty much big cities anywhere in the world. Sure visiting is different from living/working there, but you can get a pretty good feel for a big city even if all you do is travel there as a tourist. It's easy to remain an anonymous outsider in a big city--particularly if you're a one-shot and don't get as much of a chance to develop close relationships with your schools/students.
On the other hand, when you work in the inaka, you often become an important part of the community itself. Kids are thrilled when they recognize you on the streets/in the stores. You get invited to participate in various community events. Sure, sometimes it's a lot of extra work/expectations, and there are times when it probably feels like you're being observed all the time, but for me, the community aspect is the second best part (the first being teaching, of course) of being here in Towada.
Being in Northern Japan in particular has many inconveniences, I know: travel is expensive and time-consuming; winters are a pain; people's exposure to English is generally on a lower level than in the south. But, then again, how many people (even among native Japanese) can say that they've been to, for example, the Tohoku region? That they've participated in the Aomori Nebuta (I still haven't, actually), visited Lake Towada, seen cherry blossoms in Hirosaki, or watched fireworks at Omagari? (Incidentally, both Lake Towada and Hirosaki are mentioned, respectively, in the first and third grade New Horizon English textbooks used across the country.)
I definitely would never have been able to say I'd...
...seen the Hotokegaura and gone off-roading in Sai
...or that I'd eaten "Arandoran curry" (cheese in a ball of meat on rice with curry) and seen Osorezan ("one of the three holiest sites of Japan" according to the pamphlet) in Mutsu...
...if I hadn't been placed in Aomori Prefecture!
(By the way, you can see more pictures of my weekend excursion to visit Carly in my Facebook album: Sai Mura and Shimokita Peninsula)
Admittedly my rosy perspective on the inaka is heavily based on the fact that I landed a placement in Towada--if I could go back and choose my placement, I wouldn't give up Towada for anything, not even to be able to live in Hiroshima and eat okonomiyaki at Sankanou on a regular basis!--but I think many fellow Aomori and other inaka ALTs would agree that there as many benefits to living in the inaka in Northern Japan as there are to living in a big city in Southern/Central Japan. They are different benefits, to be sure, but I think that if people gave it a chance, they'd come to think that they didn't really need the big city benefits as much as they thought they did.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Hiroshima Day 4 - Shukkeien
(Back dated to 5 May 2009)
I was still full from the okonomiyaki the night before, so I skipped breakfast and let myself sleep in a little. I'd packed the night before, so after brushing my teeth, changing, etc., I only had a few things to put away and I was ready to go. With all the omiyage, my luggage was pretty heavy, so I decided to splurge on a taxi ride to the station (even though it would've only been a 10-15 minute walk).
At the station, I dumped everything but the essentials into a coin locker and headed out for Shukkeien, a garden near the station. In my pre-departure planning, I hadn't actually planned to go to Shukkeien, but since I'd already looked through the Fukuya book selection, I didn't really feel like shopping (what was originally on my itinerary).
I wasn't expecting the admission fee, but since I was already there, I paid for the (slightly discounted) combined park and Hiroshima Prefectural Art Museum ticket. And I'd have to say it was quite worthwhile. The park was really a nice, relaxing walk and I took a ton of pictures. And it was really huge!!
The Art Museum was pretty interesting, too. They had an interesting mix of domestic and international artists displayed; they even had a Dali painting!
On my way back to the station from the Art Museum, I stopped at Family Mart to buy some onigiri and drinks for dinner on the train ride back. I wandered around the Fukuya B1 food section a bit (and bought gelato!) and then wandered around the Asse (store) as well.
It was still pretty early, but I was tired of walking around and ended up collecting my stuff from the coin locker and going into the Shinkansen area a bit before 12pm. Thankfully, unlike Kyoto Station, they had a decent waiting area and I was able to sit down (on a chair!) and just chill for 20 or so minutes before going up to the platform.
Then it was a long set of train rides back.
Oh, and remember how I'd parked at the onsen next to Misawa Station? Well, I've done it before and never had a problem, but apparently they've gotten wise to the trick and I found a yellow "please don't park here" sign taped to the driver side window. Thankfully it wasn't an actual parking ticket (which it definitely would've been in Toronto or any big city), so I was able to say "OK, I'll take the Towada-Misawa Totetsu next time" without having to pay for the lesson learned! ^^;;
And that was the end of my Hiroshima "hitori tabi." After the trip, I've got to say that Hiroshima is now my #1 ranked travel spot in Japan, and Hakodate has been pushed down to #2. The thing is, it's a really convenient/easy place to travel around for English speakers. Pretty much everything--transportation, attraction, etc. information--is available in English and it's a small enough city that you can easily walk to any of the major attractions within the city center within 15 minutes. And Miyajima is easily accessible by a combination of streetcar/bus/train + ferry.
Of course, the clincher for me, as I've indicated previously, was finding Sankanou. It's probably my favourite restaurant in all of JAPAN right now! If I lived in Hiroshima, I'd probably go there at least once a week! As it is, I'm planning on writing a letter to the Master-san, and trying to work my schedule/budget so I can go back at least once before going back to Canada for good!
[Edit: After reading the comment, I realized I forgot to post the link for my Facebook album photos!! Here it is: Shukkeien Park.]
I was still full from the okonomiyaki the night before, so I skipped breakfast and let myself sleep in a little. I'd packed the night before, so after brushing my teeth, changing, etc., I only had a few things to put away and I was ready to go. With all the omiyage, my luggage was pretty heavy, so I decided to splurge on a taxi ride to the station (even though it would've only been a 10-15 minute walk).
At the station, I dumped everything but the essentials into a coin locker and headed out for Shukkeien, a garden near the station. In my pre-departure planning, I hadn't actually planned to go to Shukkeien, but since I'd already looked through the Fukuya book selection, I didn't really feel like shopping (what was originally on my itinerary).
I wasn't expecting the admission fee, but since I was already there, I paid for the (slightly discounted) combined park and Hiroshima Prefectural Art Museum ticket. And I'd have to say it was quite worthwhile. The park was really a nice, relaxing walk and I took a ton of pictures. And it was really huge!!The Art Museum was pretty interesting, too. They had an interesting mix of domestic and international artists displayed; they even had a Dali painting!
On my way back to the station from the Art Museum, I stopped at Family Mart to buy some onigiri and drinks for dinner on the train ride back. I wandered around the Fukuya B1 food section a bit (and bought gelato!) and then wandered around the Asse (store) as well.
It was still pretty early, but I was tired of walking around and ended up collecting my stuff from the coin locker and going into the Shinkansen area a bit before 12pm. Thankfully, unlike Kyoto Station, they had a decent waiting area and I was able to sit down (on a chair!) and just chill for 20 or so minutes before going up to the platform.Then it was a long set of train rides back.
Oh, and remember how I'd parked at the onsen next to Misawa Station? Well, I've done it before and never had a problem, but apparently they've gotten wise to the trick and I found a yellow "please don't park here" sign taped to the driver side window. Thankfully it wasn't an actual parking ticket (which it definitely would've been in Toronto or any big city), so I was able to say "OK, I'll take the Towada-Misawa Totetsu next time" without having to pay for the lesson learned! ^^;;
And that was the end of my Hiroshima "hitori tabi." After the trip, I've got to say that Hiroshima is now my #1 ranked travel spot in Japan, and Hakodate has been pushed down to #2. The thing is, it's a really convenient/easy place to travel around for English speakers. Pretty much everything--transportation, attraction, etc. information--is available in English and it's a small enough city that you can easily walk to any of the major attractions within the city center within 15 minutes. And Miyajima is easily accessible by a combination of streetcar/bus/train + ferry.
Of course, the clincher for me, as I've indicated previously, was finding Sankanou. It's probably my favourite restaurant in all of JAPAN right now! If I lived in Hiroshima, I'd probably go there at least once a week! As it is, I'm planning on writing a letter to the Master-san, and trying to work my schedule/budget so I can go back at least once before going back to Canada for good!
[Edit: After reading the comment, I realized I forgot to post the link for my Facebook album photos!! Here it is: Shukkeien Park.]
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