Saturday, August 7, 2010
Friday, August 6, 2010
Crazy Island Life
Entry #5
FIRST OFF, sorry for the insanely long entry! And pictures will come later!!!
We left the hotel about 9 am on Wednesday morning to Haneda airport, which is the airport for domestic travel in Tokyo. Once we got there we had to check our baggage, mine was almost overweight; actually, I think mine probably was overweight, but they let it slide. In Japan, domestic travel baggage weight limit is 44 lbs and I received about 5 extra pounds worth of material at Tokyo Orientation. It looked like I was one kilo over, but the woman at the counter told me I was “サーフ” (pronounced, say-fuh), meaning I was safe—whew!!
Our plane (all of the Kagoshima JETs took the same flight from Tokyo to Kagoshima, about 25, so we took up a good 1/4 of the plane) departed around 11:30 am. It was one of the most interested take-offs. First, the warning video that they presented was absolutely adorable. Second, they had cameras attached to the front and bottom of the plane; as we took off, they turned the cameras on, so that through the TV on the plane we could actually watch take-off as if we were in the cockpit. Once we got high enough up in the air, they turned the camera on the underside of the plane on. It was pretty cool to watch!
We got into Kagoshima and were instantly greeted with a wall of heat and humidity. WHEW! As soon as we exited the baggage claim there was a blockade of Old JETs and our supervisors waiting to pick us up. They all had signs made with our names and the location we would be employed. Taka (who is not my supervisor, but I’m not quite sure what he does. He simply told me he is on the computer all day. So, I know he works at the Board of Education with me, but I have no idea what he does. I also know that he is relatively new, because he pours everyone’s drinks when we got out as a company together) picked me up from the airport at Kagoshima. We had about two hours to kill before the flight from Kagoshima to Okinoerabu. We walked around and ended up grabbing some coffee and chatting (all in Japanese, you’ll be proud mom!) about what we like to do, Okinoerabu, Japan, and so many other things.
The plane we took from Okinoerabu was SOOO tiny. Actually, you had to walk out of the airport to board it. And it only holds, maybe, 50 people. It was a scenic flight though, the clouds above the ocean were beautiful and it was amazing passing over tiny specks of islands. The flight to Okinoerabu (which, I have been told locals only call it “Oki-erabu”) was just a little over an hour.
Once we got to Okierabu Airport (SUCH A TINY AIRPORT), Maki-Sensei, my supervisor, greeted us. He took me to the Board of Education, where the rest of my luggage was waiting, I gave a quick introduction, which was followed by lots of “Nihongo ga jouzu!!!” (Skilled at Japanese), which actually isn’t a sign of how adept I am at Japanese – They say that to any foreigner who can speak Japanese. But they were impressed at how much I knew, and that I could read Hiragana, Katakana, and quite a few Kanji (the different Japanese alphabets). From there, everyone at the Board of Education (about 10 people) took me to my apartment and inspected it. I tried to ask how to use all the appliances and everything. I didn’t get too much time, because afterwards they took me back to the Board of Education where some other workers were waiting. Then, all of us headed to a restaurant for my Welcome Party and drinks. They were amazed that I could use chopsticks, eat fish, and drink sake. I was really tired, though, so about three hours into it my supervisor took me to another restaurant to meet Joy. Joy is a Fillipino woman who lives on Erabu and can speak English, Japanese, and Filipino quite well! He said that she would be taking me around the next day to get some of my neccesities. After that, we went to the grocery store to get some breakfast items consisting of: bananas, bread, and butter – the essentials obviously, .
After that, Joy dropped me off at home. Tried to use the toilet and it flooded; tried to find my ethernet connection and I couldn’t. So, I did the sensible thing, I plopped down in the middle of the floor and cried. Looking back, I’m so embarrased, but I was jet-lagged (still am actually), exhausted, and my toilet flooded. I finally figured out my ethernet connection and skyped mom and just cried my sob story to her. I was scared that something creepy and crawly would crawl all over me. So, Mom, the amazing person that she is, told me to keep skype on as I slept so she could make sure.
I woke up the next morning much better. I was able to get my toilet fixed (well, actually, my supervisor and Joy were able to call someone to fix the toilet—because the pipe behind my toilet was not tightened completely). My supervisor picked me up from my apartment to take me to work. I worked for a few hours and then Joy picked me up to get a few essentials, like my foreigner card, bank account, cell phone, and groceries. We bought tons, tons, tons of cleaning supplies, some more food, and some necessities for the house (like toilet paper!). She also introduced me to some of her other Filipino friends, Marie, Cleo, and Honey – all of whom speak English. They have completely embraced me as a sister and Joy, who is about 45, acts like their mother and said if I ever need anything to let her know. That day we came back to the apartment and put the towels I used to soak up my toilet into the washing machine. We turned it on and then left to grab some other things for the apartment, when we came back water was coming out of my apartment door. My washing machine flooded! So, Joy called a guy named Shin. Shin is Japanese, but has lived in different parts of America his whole life until recently. He now owns a fishing business and sawmill on Erabu. Anyways, Joy called Shin and he came over to help us clean up all the water and fix the washing machine.
It was so refreshing to talk with Shin. Unlike Joy, who is amazing but she has a heavy Filipino accent, he speaks English like someone off any street in the U.S. He also said that he has a freezer full of essential American food, like hamburgers, steak, lasagna and tons of goodies. And if ever I’m craving some American food, I’m close enough to Okinawa to go over, plus Shin goes there often and we often have some of the guys off the base in Okinawa come down… so Shin said I can ask any of them to grab me something if I want. Once we fixed the washing machine he called a friend of his, Jonathan, who owns a scuba diving business in Erabu. Both of them were friends with Sarah and helped her out with all parts of her apartment. So, Jonathan came over, and brought a house-warming present of mixed fruit beer (actually, really really good) and the guys helped me just fix up the aparment. They helped me put away all of my groceries, helped me figure out how to use the bath, moved the dining room table, and killed a spider. Afterwards, we sat around my kitchen table and chatted.
Both of them swim, scuba dive, go spearfishing, free diving, snorkeling, and fishing – they invited me to come and learn how to do all of this too. And, they invited me to a festival that’s going on on the other side of the island in Ch’ina (pronounced Chee, like cheetoh, Nah) on Saturday. After they left, Joy invited me out to grab a bite to eat and a drink at a local restaurant where the owner is really very friendly and has given me dinner/lunch for free. Once I got home, I fell right asleep.
But, I woke up this morning at 5 am! Just woke up and decided that it was the perfect time to clean. I vacuumed the whole apartment, scrubbed down my tub and shower, cleaned dishes, did a load of laundry, all while listening to Mamma Mia. By the time my supervisor came to pick me up at 8:15, I had done all that and taken a shower, eaten breakfast, and was ready to go.
Today, I’ve been at the office the whole day. I don’t really have anything to do, because I have not begun lesson-planning with the other English Teachers, but I’ve tried to keep myself busy with reading Japanese language learning books, teaching books, and getting familiar with everything. Today though, my supervisor took me to all the schools to visit all the principals and vice principals and different English teachers. I gave my introduction about 10 different times today. I really feel confident in my speaking abilities and held pretty free-flowing conversation. I can even joke in Japanese, which I didn’t realize I knew how to do. But, I am VERY VERY happy that I studied abroad in Osaka. Osaka has a special dialect that is pretty unique and pretty fun to use. So, all of the comedians speak in this dialect and I know a few words and phrases. So, when I say I studied in Osaka, I also say I know some Osaka-Ben, which gets people everytime. They love when I use the phrases I know. And, today while talking with the Principal and Vice-Principal of one of my Elementary Schools, Uchijiro, my supervisor even said I was the happiest and funniest ALT they’ve ever had. Pretty excited about that.
Now, I am back at the Board of Education. I won’t actually have many office days once the school year starts on September 1st, but until then I’ll just be coming into the office. So, I’m trying to keep myself busy, but one way to do that is making this blog entry! Anyways, I have read through some of the teaching materials and made some ideas and example lessons for when I begin teaching. About 30 minutes ago Emily (the ALT from Tokyo Orientation who lives on the island right next to mine, Yoron) called and invited me to her island for a matsuri (pronounced, MA like ma-ma – TSU – RI like re-lax, it means FESTIVAL) next weekend. So, I’m doing pretty good now. I’ve made some friends here and am enjoying the nice climate, there is almost a constant breeze and the past two days it has rained in the late morning almost like clockwork. I think once I get more involved I’ll enjoy it even more. I’m just still trying to get used to living on my own… it’s so weird not to come home to roommates or family and I think that’ll be the hardest challenge. PLUS, missing out on family stuff; even though I missed out on that stuff while in college, I was always able to go back for a weekend if I wanted. So, I know I can do it, it will just take some getting used to.
Hopefully you enjoyed the insanely long entry, so much has happened. I feel like most of my entrys might be about this length. There is just so much going on and so much to do. I really think for the most part I really lucked out, I am on a beautiful island with a good number of English speakers, the ability to go to beautiful Yoron and Okinawa, and the chance of a lifetime to go scubadiving, freediving, spearfishing, whale-watching, and turtle-watching.
FIRST OFF, sorry for the insanely long entry! And pictures will come later!!!
We left the hotel about 9 am on Wednesday morning to Haneda airport, which is the airport for domestic travel in Tokyo. Once we got there we had to check our baggage, mine was almost overweight; actually, I think mine probably was overweight, but they let it slide. In Japan, domestic travel baggage weight limit is 44 lbs and I received about 5 extra pounds worth of material at Tokyo Orientation. It looked like I was one kilo over, but the woman at the counter told me I was “サーフ” (pronounced, say-fuh), meaning I was safe—whew!!
Our plane (all of the Kagoshima JETs took the same flight from Tokyo to Kagoshima, about 25, so we took up a good 1/4 of the plane) departed around 11:30 am. It was one of the most interested take-offs. First, the warning video that they presented was absolutely adorable. Second, they had cameras attached to the front and bottom of the plane; as we took off, they turned the cameras on, so that through the TV on the plane we could actually watch take-off as if we were in the cockpit. Once we got high enough up in the air, they turned the camera on the underside of the plane on. It was pretty cool to watch!
We got into Kagoshima and were instantly greeted with a wall of heat and humidity. WHEW! As soon as we exited the baggage claim there was a blockade of Old JETs and our supervisors waiting to pick us up. They all had signs made with our names and the location we would be employed. Taka (who is not my supervisor, but I’m not quite sure what he does. He simply told me he is on the computer all day. So, I know he works at the Board of Education with me, but I have no idea what he does. I also know that he is relatively new, because he pours everyone’s drinks when we got out as a company together) picked me up from the airport at Kagoshima. We had about two hours to kill before the flight from Kagoshima to Okinoerabu. We walked around and ended up grabbing some coffee and chatting (all in Japanese, you’ll be proud mom!) about what we like to do, Okinoerabu, Japan, and so many other things.
The plane we took from Okinoerabu was SOOO tiny. Actually, you had to walk out of the airport to board it. And it only holds, maybe, 50 people. It was a scenic flight though, the clouds above the ocean were beautiful and it was amazing passing over tiny specks of islands. The flight to Okinoerabu (which, I have been told locals only call it “Oki-erabu”) was just a little over an hour.
Once we got to Okierabu Airport (SUCH A TINY AIRPORT), Maki-Sensei, my supervisor, greeted us. He took me to the Board of Education, where the rest of my luggage was waiting, I gave a quick introduction, which was followed by lots of “Nihongo ga jouzu!!!” (Skilled at Japanese), which actually isn’t a sign of how adept I am at Japanese – They say that to any foreigner who can speak Japanese. But they were impressed at how much I knew, and that I could read Hiragana, Katakana, and quite a few Kanji (the different Japanese alphabets). From there, everyone at the Board of Education (about 10 people) took me to my apartment and inspected it. I tried to ask how to use all the appliances and everything. I didn’t get too much time, because afterwards they took me back to the Board of Education where some other workers were waiting. Then, all of us headed to a restaurant for my Welcome Party and drinks. They were amazed that I could use chopsticks, eat fish, and drink sake. I was really tired, though, so about three hours into it my supervisor took me to another restaurant to meet Joy. Joy is a Fillipino woman who lives on Erabu and can speak English, Japanese, and Filipino quite well! He said that she would be taking me around the next day to get some of my neccesities. After that, we went to the grocery store to get some breakfast items consisting of: bananas, bread, and butter – the essentials obviously, .
After that, Joy dropped me off at home. Tried to use the toilet and it flooded; tried to find my ethernet connection and I couldn’t. So, I did the sensible thing, I plopped down in the middle of the floor and cried. Looking back, I’m so embarrased, but I was jet-lagged (still am actually), exhausted, and my toilet flooded. I finally figured out my ethernet connection and skyped mom and just cried my sob story to her. I was scared that something creepy and crawly would crawl all over me. So, Mom, the amazing person that she is, told me to keep skype on as I slept so she could make sure.
I woke up the next morning much better. I was able to get my toilet fixed (well, actually, my supervisor and Joy were able to call someone to fix the toilet—because the pipe behind my toilet was not tightened completely). My supervisor picked me up from my apartment to take me to work. I worked for a few hours and then Joy picked me up to get a few essentials, like my foreigner card, bank account, cell phone, and groceries. We bought tons, tons, tons of cleaning supplies, some more food, and some necessities for the house (like toilet paper!). She also introduced me to some of her other Filipino friends, Marie, Cleo, and Honey – all of whom speak English. They have completely embraced me as a sister and Joy, who is about 45, acts like their mother and said if I ever need anything to let her know. That day we came back to the apartment and put the towels I used to soak up my toilet into the washing machine. We turned it on and then left to grab some other things for the apartment, when we came back water was coming out of my apartment door. My washing machine flooded! So, Joy called a guy named Shin. Shin is Japanese, but has lived in different parts of America his whole life until recently. He now owns a fishing business and sawmill on Erabu. Anyways, Joy called Shin and he came over to help us clean up all the water and fix the washing machine.
It was so refreshing to talk with Shin. Unlike Joy, who is amazing but she has a heavy Filipino accent, he speaks English like someone off any street in the U.S. He also said that he has a freezer full of essential American food, like hamburgers, steak, lasagna and tons of goodies. And if ever I’m craving some American food, I’m close enough to Okinawa to go over, plus Shin goes there often and we often have some of the guys off the base in Okinawa come down… so Shin said I can ask any of them to grab me something if I want. Once we fixed the washing machine he called a friend of his, Jonathan, who owns a scuba diving business in Erabu. Both of them were friends with Sarah and helped her out with all parts of her apartment. So, Jonathan came over, and brought a house-warming present of mixed fruit beer (actually, really really good) and the guys helped me just fix up the aparment. They helped me put away all of my groceries, helped me figure out how to use the bath, moved the dining room table, and killed a spider. Afterwards, we sat around my kitchen table and chatted.
Both of them swim, scuba dive, go spearfishing, free diving, snorkeling, and fishing – they invited me to come and learn how to do all of this too. And, they invited me to a festival that’s going on on the other side of the island in Ch’ina (pronounced Chee, like cheetoh, Nah) on Saturday. After they left, Joy invited me out to grab a bite to eat and a drink at a local restaurant where the owner is really very friendly and has given me dinner/lunch for free. Once I got home, I fell right asleep.
But, I woke up this morning at 5 am! Just woke up and decided that it was the perfect time to clean. I vacuumed the whole apartment, scrubbed down my tub and shower, cleaned dishes, did a load of laundry, all while listening to Mamma Mia. By the time my supervisor came to pick me up at 8:15, I had done all that and taken a shower, eaten breakfast, and was ready to go.
Today, I’ve been at the office the whole day. I don’t really have anything to do, because I have not begun lesson-planning with the other English Teachers, but I’ve tried to keep myself busy with reading Japanese language learning books, teaching books, and getting familiar with everything. Today though, my supervisor took me to all the schools to visit all the principals and vice principals and different English teachers. I gave my introduction about 10 different times today. I really feel confident in my speaking abilities and held pretty free-flowing conversation. I can even joke in Japanese, which I didn’t realize I knew how to do. But, I am VERY VERY happy that I studied abroad in Osaka. Osaka has a special dialect that is pretty unique and pretty fun to use. So, all of the comedians speak in this dialect and I know a few words and phrases. So, when I say I studied in Osaka, I also say I know some Osaka-Ben, which gets people everytime. They love when I use the phrases I know. And, today while talking with the Principal and Vice-Principal of one of my Elementary Schools, Uchijiro, my supervisor even said I was the happiest and funniest ALT they’ve ever had. Pretty excited about that.
Now, I am back at the Board of Education. I won’t actually have many office days once the school year starts on September 1st, but until then I’ll just be coming into the office. So, I’m trying to keep myself busy, but one way to do that is making this blog entry! Anyways, I have read through some of the teaching materials and made some ideas and example lessons for when I begin teaching. About 30 minutes ago Emily (the ALT from Tokyo Orientation who lives on the island right next to mine, Yoron) called and invited me to her island for a matsuri (pronounced, MA like ma-ma – TSU – RI like re-lax, it means FESTIVAL) next weekend. So, I’m doing pretty good now. I’ve made some friends here and am enjoying the nice climate, there is almost a constant breeze and the past two days it has rained in the late morning almost like clockwork. I think once I get more involved I’ll enjoy it even more. I’m just still trying to get used to living on my own… it’s so weird not to come home to roommates or family and I think that’ll be the hardest challenge. PLUS, missing out on family stuff; even though I missed out on that stuff while in college, I was always able to go back for a weekend if I wanted. So, I know I can do it, it will just take some getting used to.
Hopefully you enjoyed the insanely long entry, so much has happened. I feel like most of my entrys might be about this length. There is just so much going on and so much to do. I really think for the most part I really lucked out, I am on a beautiful island with a good number of English speakers, the ability to go to beautiful Yoron and Okinawa, and the chance of a lifetime to go scubadiving, freediving, spearfishing, whale-watching, and turtle-watching.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Orientation Day 2
Orientation Day 2 – Part 1
It’s about 12 in the afternoon here, only halfway through the second day of orientation, but already it’s been tons more helpful than yesterday. Attended a Q&A session titled “Daily Life of an ALT in Japan”, where the girl, Em, who’s on the island next to mine was one of the presenters. It was really informational and we learned a lot about how to present ourselves and what to expect the first few weeks on the job.
I’m surprised the number of people who are on JET that don’t know or have very limited Japanese knowledge. I have to say, I’m really impressed by them. I just can’t imagine living in the middle of nowhere and not knowing the language at all. I feel that they’re more courageous than me, because I don’t think I could, or would, come on JET without any Japanese knowledge.
Anyways, back to Orientation. The Q&A session was really helpful. We learned tips on how to give good self-introductions to various classes, as well as ways to dodge personal questions. Like… do you have a boyfriend or are you married… questions that many of the younger kids will ask. One of the girls said she likes to answer these with “Shh… it’s a secret”. She said the kids go crazy about it! I might just use that if I’m asked.
I also attended a workshop called “Team-Teaching: Demonstration and Effective Lesson Planning” for Junior High Schools (middle schools) and learned different lesson plans I can use as well as how to best utilize the technology in the classroom. I’m really glad I brought my little video camera, the Japanese Teacher of English (JTE) said he loves to use videos! I’ll be sure to try and create some quick videos. You can actually download the video to your computer, edit it, then download the edited video to your I-pod and use a cord to connect your i-pod to a tv in the classroom. So handy!
I also double-checked the amount of schools I’m teaching at: I’ll be teaching at 10 schools in my city, 2 of which are Junior High Schools (JHS), 2 are kindergartens, and the other 6 are elementary schools. For the JHS’ I won’t really have to do much lesson planning, the teachers of these two schools will utilize me more for games, activities, pronounciation, and creating videos and projects for the students. However, at the elementary schools (which I’ll visit on Mondays), I’ll be doing the lesson plan. So, I want to attend a session here at Orientation on “Creative use of Teaching Materials and Designing Lesson Activities” for Elementary schools. After that session I’ll have my prefectural meeting and find out more about how I’ll be getting to my tiny island. Then, I want to attend a session called “Driving in Japan” and “Thriving as a Rural Jet” except I’m not sure how much that session will pertain to me… since I’m in a kind of unique situation. Well, I’ll let you know how it all goes later tonight!
Part 2
The “Creative Use of Teaching Materials and Designing Lesson Activities” for elementary schools was really educational, I was surprised at how much we learned. Lots of activities we can do to help students learn. We were also taught what our primary objectives were, we are to create a “zest” for language learning in the students we teach. We reach this objective by following a series of steps the government thinks is the best way students learn. The steps are: 1) listening, 2) memorization, 3) reading, and 4) speaking.
After that I went to my prefectural meeting to learn about how we are getting to our placement and how the rest of our luggage is arriving. From Tokyo, I have to take two flights to reach Okinoerabu. One flight flies out of Tokyo to Kagoshima, the most southern tip of mainland Japan. The other flight leaves Kagoshima to my island. We will be shipping our main piece of luggage from the Keio Plaza Hotel to our placement (should take about a day to arrive), then we are allowed one carry-on and one purse to bring on the flight. So, I’m shipping my main luggage… I took out my money and passport and one extra set of business attire and put in my backpack. My purse will actually be my camera bag. We leave the hotel at 9 am sharp. And leave on our flight from Tokyo at about 11:30 am. We will arrive in Kagoshima a little after 1 pm. Once there, our supervisors will meet us there. Most of the new Kagoshima JETs will head by car to their placements, but myself and the other island JETs will be met by our supervisors and will take another plane ride to our placements. Should take about an hour and a half. So, I’ll arrive at my placement Wednesday evening.
I also met two other people on islands surrounding me. So, from what I know so far Em (the girl who is my prefectural advisor) lives on Yoron the most southern island in Kagoshima Prefecture (right before Okinawa); then I live on Okinoerabu; then a new JET (I can’t remember his name) lives on the next island, Tokunoshima with a few other recontracting JETs; then another guy lives on Amami-shima with a few other recontracting JETs. It was nice to meet other islanders and Em told us we will all become fast friends. Em also told me that, for some very bizarre reason, Okinoerabu is inhabited by boatloads of very good-looking foreign and Japanese men – I had no idea! Also, Em has assured me I will have a great time with my placement and contracting organization. Before, I was thinking of going to the workshop called “Managing Expectations with Contracting Organisation”, but she told me not to go because I won’t really need to manage expectations. That the Contracting organisation is quite nice and will love me as long as I’m bubbly – pretty sure I can manage that.
After our Prefectural meeting, I went to a workshop called “Driving in Japan” which was pretty boring. I can’t decide if I will keep my predecessor’s car or get a scooter. It will all depend on prices. PLUS, I’ve already invested in rain pants and a rain jacket… I feel that a scooter is in my future!
After that, I decided not to go to the “Thriving as a Rural JET” because I was told that as an islander it wouldn’t pertain to anything that I’ll experience. So, my roommate Mandie and I hit the town and went out in search of food. We found a place called My Kitchen and ordered a sandwich, Melon soda, and french fries. Very delicious!
After that we got back to the hotel and repacked our bags and brought our one big bag down to the main lobby to be shipped.
Then, a friend’s family of Mandie’s friend met us and took us out to dinner and to check out the observation deck in Roppongi. It was a beautiful sight and is supposed to be one of the best views of Tokyo. Check out my pictures!
Sorry for a crazy long entry, just so much to cover. I probably won’t update until late tomorrow or the next morning. And I may not be able to use skype until tomorrow night.
Love and Miss you all!
It’s about 12 in the afternoon here, only halfway through the second day of orientation, but already it’s been tons more helpful than yesterday. Attended a Q&A session titled “Daily Life of an ALT in Japan”, where the girl, Em, who’s on the island next to mine was one of the presenters. It was really informational and we learned a lot about how to present ourselves and what to expect the first few weeks on the job.
I’m surprised the number of people who are on JET that don’t know or have very limited Japanese knowledge. I have to say, I’m really impressed by them. I just can’t imagine living in the middle of nowhere and not knowing the language at all. I feel that they’re more courageous than me, because I don’t think I could, or would, come on JET without any Japanese knowledge.
Anyways, back to Orientation. The Q&A session was really helpful. We learned tips on how to give good self-introductions to various classes, as well as ways to dodge personal questions. Like… do you have a boyfriend or are you married… questions that many of the younger kids will ask. One of the girls said she likes to answer these with “Shh… it’s a secret”. She said the kids go crazy about it! I might just use that if I’m asked.
I also attended a workshop called “Team-Teaching: Demonstration and Effective Lesson Planning” for Junior High Schools (middle schools) and learned different lesson plans I can use as well as how to best utilize the technology in the classroom. I’m really glad I brought my little video camera, the Japanese Teacher of English (JTE) said he loves to use videos! I’ll be sure to try and create some quick videos. You can actually download the video to your computer, edit it, then download the edited video to your I-pod and use a cord to connect your i-pod to a tv in the classroom. So handy!
I also double-checked the amount of schools I’m teaching at: I’ll be teaching at 10 schools in my city, 2 of which are Junior High Schools (JHS), 2 are kindergartens, and the other 6 are elementary schools. For the JHS’ I won’t really have to do much lesson planning, the teachers of these two schools will utilize me more for games, activities, pronounciation, and creating videos and projects for the students. However, at the elementary schools (which I’ll visit on Mondays), I’ll be doing the lesson plan. So, I want to attend a session here at Orientation on “Creative use of Teaching Materials and Designing Lesson Activities” for Elementary schools. After that session I’ll have my prefectural meeting and find out more about how I’ll be getting to my tiny island. Then, I want to attend a session called “Driving in Japan” and “Thriving as a Rural Jet” except I’m not sure how much that session will pertain to me… since I’m in a kind of unique situation. Well, I’ll let you know how it all goes later tonight!
Part 2
The “Creative Use of Teaching Materials and Designing Lesson Activities” for elementary schools was really educational, I was surprised at how much we learned. Lots of activities we can do to help students learn. We were also taught what our primary objectives were, we are to create a “zest” for language learning in the students we teach. We reach this objective by following a series of steps the government thinks is the best way students learn. The steps are: 1) listening, 2) memorization, 3) reading, and 4) speaking.
After that I went to my prefectural meeting to learn about how we are getting to our placement and how the rest of our luggage is arriving. From Tokyo, I have to take two flights to reach Okinoerabu. One flight flies out of Tokyo to Kagoshima, the most southern tip of mainland Japan. The other flight leaves Kagoshima to my island. We will be shipping our main piece of luggage from the Keio Plaza Hotel to our placement (should take about a day to arrive), then we are allowed one carry-on and one purse to bring on the flight. So, I’m shipping my main luggage… I took out my money and passport and one extra set of business attire and put in my backpack. My purse will actually be my camera bag. We leave the hotel at 9 am sharp. And leave on our flight from Tokyo at about 11:30 am. We will arrive in Kagoshima a little after 1 pm. Once there, our supervisors will meet us there. Most of the new Kagoshima JETs will head by car to their placements, but myself and the other island JETs will be met by our supervisors and will take another plane ride to our placements. Should take about an hour and a half. So, I’ll arrive at my placement Wednesday evening.
I also met two other people on islands surrounding me. So, from what I know so far Em (the girl who is my prefectural advisor) lives on Yoron the most southern island in Kagoshima Prefecture (right before Okinawa); then I live on Okinoerabu; then a new JET (I can’t remember his name) lives on the next island, Tokunoshima with a few other recontracting JETs; then another guy lives on Amami-shima with a few other recontracting JETs. It was nice to meet other islanders and Em told us we will all become fast friends. Em also told me that, for some very bizarre reason, Okinoerabu is inhabited by boatloads of very good-looking foreign and Japanese men – I had no idea! Also, Em has assured me I will have a great time with my placement and contracting organization. Before, I was thinking of going to the workshop called “Managing Expectations with Contracting Organisation”, but she told me not to go because I won’t really need to manage expectations. That the Contracting organisation is quite nice and will love me as long as I’m bubbly – pretty sure I can manage that.
After our Prefectural meeting, I went to a workshop called “Driving in Japan” which was pretty boring. I can’t decide if I will keep my predecessor’s car or get a scooter. It will all depend on prices. PLUS, I’ve already invested in rain pants and a rain jacket… I feel that a scooter is in my future!
After that, I decided not to go to the “Thriving as a Rural JET” because I was told that as an islander it wouldn’t pertain to anything that I’ll experience. So, my roommate Mandie and I hit the town and went out in search of food. We found a place called My Kitchen and ordered a sandwich, Melon soda, and french fries. Very delicious!
After that we got back to the hotel and repacked our bags and brought our one big bag down to the main lobby to be shipped.
Then, a friend’s family of Mandie’s friend met us and took us out to dinner and to check out the observation deck in Roppongi. It was a beautiful sight and is supposed to be one of the best views of Tokyo. Check out my pictures!
Sorry for a crazy long entry, just so much to cover. I probably won’t update until late tomorrow or the next morning. And I may not be able to use skype until tomorrow night.
Love and Miss you all!
Monday, August 2, 2010
Orientation Day 1 Part 2
Orientation Day 1 – Part 2
So, orientation has been pretty informational so far. I was able to make it until about 3 pm before I crashed. I was listening to a presentation for JETs in multiple schools when I just couldn’t focus on anything but how tired I was. I think Jetlag hit all of us at the same time. I’m pretty sure the informational session after that one was empty.
All the sessions I went to were pretty interesting, but after a while it seemed like they couldn’t really go into detail about anything specific and it was all generalizations like “try to try anything once”. But, I’ve really enjoyed it so far. BUT, I think I was smart to go get a cat nap so I could focus for later sessions. Now, I’m about to go to our Welcome Reception tonight.
OH! We met with our prefecture today – Good news! One of my prefectural advisors (basically like someone who watches over people in their prefecture) is on the island right next to me. As soon as I introduced myself to her she exclaimed: “You’re the other islander!” Apparently only two new JETs are being appointed to this island region… there are a lot of other JETs there but they’ve been recontracting. She told me my luggage will most likely be there when I get to the island. She said I am in for the best next year (or few) of my life. She is actually going onto her third year and she said we will become best friends, like it or not, because we only have each other to really hang out with. She’s from the UK and really nice (super energetic… or, as the other Program Coordinators keep telling us to be… very genki (genki is Japanese for energitic/healthy)).
She told me that I will want to have a car because I may want to transport materials to and fro, around the island since I am the only JET there. So, tomorrow I’ll be attending the sessions: Thriving as a rural JET, Driving in Japan, and Managing Expectations with your Contracting Organisation.
Also the girls I am rooming with both flew out of Detroit too and one of the girls is flying to Kagoshima as well. Very exciting.
And, Mom and Dad, you will be relieved to know that I have met plenty of perfectly normal and nice people here. ((we were a little worried over a few of the people we saw at the airport going on JET)).
We had a really nice Opening Ceremony, I can’t get over how formal this place is. All of our dishware is china and the silverware looks like silver. The maids have uniforms and the men wear butler uniforms with bowties and white gloves.
…
Just got back from a night out with my prefecture. Tons of fun, to say the least. My prefecture (Kagoshima-Ken) is full of Brits (us Americans, the four of us, are definitely a minority here). We went out karaoking and had a blast. Who knew singing Justin Beiber at a Japanese Karaoke Bar in Tokyo could be so fun. My friend took video, so once she uploads it I’ll post some.
Love you all!
So, orientation has been pretty informational so far. I was able to make it until about 3 pm before I crashed. I was listening to a presentation for JETs in multiple schools when I just couldn’t focus on anything but how tired I was. I think Jetlag hit all of us at the same time. I’m pretty sure the informational session after that one was empty.
All the sessions I went to were pretty interesting, but after a while it seemed like they couldn’t really go into detail about anything specific and it was all generalizations like “try to try anything once”. But, I’ve really enjoyed it so far. BUT, I think I was smart to go get a cat nap so I could focus for later sessions. Now, I’m about to go to our Welcome Reception tonight.
OH! We met with our prefecture today – Good news! One of my prefectural advisors (basically like someone who watches over people in their prefecture) is on the island right next to me. As soon as I introduced myself to her she exclaimed: “You’re the other islander!” Apparently only two new JETs are being appointed to this island region… there are a lot of other JETs there but they’ve been recontracting. She told me my luggage will most likely be there when I get to the island. She said I am in for the best next year (or few) of my life. She is actually going onto her third year and she said we will become best friends, like it or not, because we only have each other to really hang out with. She’s from the UK and really nice (super energetic… or, as the other Program Coordinators keep telling us to be… very genki (genki is Japanese for energitic/healthy)).
She told me that I will want to have a car because I may want to transport materials to and fro, around the island since I am the only JET there. So, tomorrow I’ll be attending the sessions: Thriving as a rural JET, Driving in Japan, and Managing Expectations with your Contracting Organisation.
Also the girls I am rooming with both flew out of Detroit too and one of the girls is flying to Kagoshima as well. Very exciting.
And, Mom and Dad, you will be relieved to know that I have met plenty of perfectly normal and nice people here. ((we were a little worried over a few of the people we saw at the airport going on JET)).
We had a really nice Opening Ceremony, I can’t get over how formal this place is. All of our dishware is china and the silverware looks like silver. The maids have uniforms and the men wear butler uniforms with bowties and white gloves.
…
Just got back from a night out with my prefecture. Tons of fun, to say the least. My prefecture (Kagoshima-Ken) is full of Brits (us Americans, the four of us, are definitely a minority here). We went out karaoking and had a blast. Who knew singing Justin Beiber at a Japanese Karaoke Bar in Tokyo could be so fun. My friend took video, so once she uploads it I’ll post some.
Love you all!
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Orientation Part 1
Blog Entry # 4 – August 2, 2010
Jet lag is definitely kicking in. While I was able to get some pretty great sleep last night (with the help of some Tylenol PM), my roommates and I all woke up at around 5 am.
I don’t think I explained the rooming situation and everything here. Because there are about 6-700 JETs who come in with each orientation, there are about 3 people to a room. So, I have two other roommates. We all flew out of the same airport (Detroit) and so are from around the area.
Dragana! Guess who I had breakfast with this morning, Neil A.! For those of you who don’t know, Dragana has a friend that she went to school with who’s on JET. We chatted once about it. And, by chance, I sat down and ate breakfast at the same table as him. Even crazier, his room is right next door. Small world! I told him about you teaching English in China and now we’re thinking of visiting together.
Anyways, here is the picture of my roommates hanging out before we head down to Orientation today.
Today, Monday, is the first day of our Orientation. It’s a packed schedule and I’m still trying to decide which presentations to go to. Once I go to all the presentations I’ll updated, either later tonight or tomorrow morning (because I’ll probably be up at 5 am again )
Also, here are some pictures of the view from my room in the daylight. You can see tons more. Do you see the red and white tower in the distance on the right hand side of the picture, that’s Tokyo Tower (I think).
Heading down to Orientation Part 1, Day 1. Tell you all about it later.
Check out pictures HERE!
Love you,
Steph
Jet lag is definitely kicking in. While I was able to get some pretty great sleep last night (with the help of some Tylenol PM), my roommates and I all woke up at around 5 am.
I don’t think I explained the rooming situation and everything here. Because there are about 6-700 JETs who come in with each orientation, there are about 3 people to a room. So, I have two other roommates. We all flew out of the same airport (Detroit) and so are from around the area.
Dragana! Guess who I had breakfast with this morning, Neil A.! For those of you who don’t know, Dragana has a friend that she went to school with who’s on JET. We chatted once about it. And, by chance, I sat down and ate breakfast at the same table as him. Even crazier, his room is right next door. Small world! I told him about you teaching English in China and now we’re thinking of visiting together.
Anyways, here is the picture of my roommates hanging out before we head down to Orientation today.
Today, Monday, is the first day of our Orientation. It’s a packed schedule and I’m still trying to decide which presentations to go to. Once I go to all the presentations I’ll updated, either later tonight or tomorrow morning (because I’ll probably be up at 5 am again )
Also, here are some pictures of the view from my room in the daylight. You can see tons more. Do you see the red and white tower in the distance on the right hand side of the picture, that’s Tokyo Tower (I think).
Heading down to Orientation Part 1, Day 1. Tell you all about it later.
Check out pictures HERE!
Love you,
Steph
First Night in Tokyo
Hey All!
So, finally arrived in Japan safe and sound. It was a bumpy ride here, so it was hard to sleep on the plane. So, I'm very thankful for comfortable beds at our hotel.
We (JETs) are staying at the Keio Plaza Hotel in Shinjuku, Tokyo. My flight arrived in Tokyo around 5 -- the JET Programme actually had a pretty efficient system set up (which suprised me, especially since Detroit's JET Programme Pre-Departure orientation was pretty hectic). There were tons of JETs, volunteering with Tokyo Orientation, placed around the airport. They told us where to go, so I never felt disoriented.
Once we arrived and went through customs, I sent off two pieces of luggage through a courier so I currently have one peice of luggage, my backpack, and my camera bag. I should get the luggage I shipped in a while (hopefully its not too long of a wait!)
It is very hot and humid here. Everyone kept telling me how humid it would be in the summer, but you don't really realize it until you're here. I'm really hoping it won't be too bad on the island with the ocean providing a nice breeze.
I have pictures uploaded on my account on Photobucket, so click HERE to check them out. Just pictures of the room and the view from the room.
Well, going to grab some dinner and go to bed. I'm so tired after that crazy long and bumpy flight.
Love you all!
Steph
So, finally arrived in Japan safe and sound. It was a bumpy ride here, so it was hard to sleep on the plane. So, I'm very thankful for comfortable beds at our hotel.
We (JETs) are staying at the Keio Plaza Hotel in Shinjuku, Tokyo. My flight arrived in Tokyo around 5 -- the JET Programme actually had a pretty efficient system set up (which suprised me, especially since Detroit's JET Programme Pre-Departure orientation was pretty hectic). There were tons of JETs, volunteering with Tokyo Orientation, placed around the airport. They told us where to go, so I never felt disoriented.
Once we arrived and went through customs, I sent off two pieces of luggage through a courier so I currently have one peice of luggage, my backpack, and my camera bag. I should get the luggage I shipped in a while (hopefully its not too long of a wait!)
It is very hot and humid here. Everyone kept telling me how humid it would be in the summer, but you don't really realize it until you're here. I'm really hoping it won't be too bad on the island with the ocean providing a nice breeze.
I have pictures uploaded on my account on Photobucket, so click HERE to check them out. Just pictures of the room and the view from the room.
Well, going to grab some dinner and go to bed. I'm so tired after that crazy long and bumpy flight.
Love you all!
Steph
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