Wednesday's Song

Today was a good day, but I have literally been on the go from the moment I woke up. Long, busy week (again), but I definately feel like I am getting satisfaction out of my work and am even looking forward to more of it. It was really nice to catch up with Brianne last night, and really made me realize there are a lot of people I have some catching up to do with (both here and at home), but my schedule is getting more limited by the day.
Bunkasai
This week, the focus is on ESS and the upcoming cultural festival, or bunkasai*. Nozaki Sensei and I went to an electronics store and a 'home center' (think Home Depot/Menards) after school to pick up some materials, including plywood and cardboard, for ESS. It was the second day in a row I left school after 6pm and it's probably going to happen again tomorrow. At least there's a clear sense of comradery about it.... not the only tired soul this week.
Back on the Chain Gang. Classes.
I also had some really good classes today where I really connected with the kids (especially one first-year class where we were all laughing a lot, the second-year class where I had them speaking Norwegian... I adore those kids...even though a few devious boys are always asking me questions like things about innapropriate things like drinking & smoking, and the third-year class where I am working with small groups to prep them for the upcoming english proficiency test. I've come to realize that when I work hard, they work hard... and it pays off, but just makes for long days
Lessons for the Teacher
During our speech class, we showed clips from some ESL classes in America (my coworker visited several schools in December) and Japan, and it was really interesting to see my students' reactions to non-Japanese ESL students. Namely, a speech by a girl from latin America and one from China. One of my students, who is basically fluent after years of private-tutoring from an Australian woman in the area, was suddenly very keen and almost competitive, when he saw other profficient Japanese high school students speaking (like he had met his match).
Pedagogical Approaches - Learning How to Learn
It also triggered a lightbulb to go on in realizing that in addition to coaching my students to just get over the initial 'shyness' factor and open up to being comfortable with mistakes in English (an esp big roadblock in this culture), it might also be beneficial to teach them HOW to learn. The ESL students had a good flow, probably from mimicking native speakers in their surroundings. Ok, I am a visual learner myself, but with the focus on grammatical structure in English classes here, I am more clearly recognizing the students have trouble switching from their normal pedegogical approaches to my more direct, spoken approach when they meet with me. They need to know how to learn to SPEAK (or be comfortable enough with the concept that they can switch to speaking without stumbling over grammar). For example, I was oberving one girl writing out what she wanted to say (in the air) before she felt comfortable saying it. Basically, she was checking the grammer because it was within her boundaries; while relying on her pure speaking abilities still is not. Hmm, it's a lot to say about a little thing... but it's something I want to work on. I guess I do really care that these kids improve.
Dinner in Asagiri
So anyways... tonight I met the two nurses (or "health teachers", as they say in Japan) for dinner. We went to a really lovely restaraunt near the Akashi bridge, and then I went for a long stroll with one of them along the pier. The scenery was absolutely breathtakingly beautiful.. The changing colors of bridge's lights spanning across the water and into the distance, halted by the large black mass where the mountains of Awaji rise out of the sea. The only sign of Awaji being small flecks of light gracing the hills, here and there, with a humble, green ferris wheel in the distance and headlights appearing in a single file line from the bowels of the dark island to cross the mighty bridge.
As we were walking, I discovered an onsen next to the water (and a public bath next to my school, too!), so I'll be back. Oh, and on a random note... a wild ferret ran across our path, coming from the beach. Funny end to the night.

Sidenote: Dinner was at a traditional Japanese　restaraunt that my coworker knew about. We ordered way too much food for three, including ochatsuke/お茶漬け - where you pour green tea onto a bowl of rice and mix it with a sour plum, shredded slamon & pickled veggies.. During dinner, I was having trouble eatting the ochatsuke (kind of soupy, so difficult with chopsticks) and my coworker told me to just pick up the bowl and shovel the food into my mouth with my chopsticks, which is actually the polite way to eat the dish. Ok, so I took the advice and was a lot easier, but it made me realize I might be kinda screwed when I come home this summer. My everyday table manners are shot. For example, I don't think slurping noodles (rude to bite them - the louder you slurp, the better), yelling 'excuse me!' at waitresses to summon them, and picking up all your dishes and holding them in your hands - and sometimes shoveling the food into your mouth - while you eat is going to fly with the folks at home. Ironically, it's become more natural to me as time has passed and I'm doing a lot of it without even noticing. Given that, I'm sure I'll slip up and get some looks this summer, but I'm curious to see what my friends and family find strange about my mannerisms when we are reunited!

*The Cultural Festival (文化祭, bunkasai) is a huge event at Japanese schools. One day a year, every student - together with thier homeroom - prepares some kind of performance or demonstration. Remember, in Japan, students stay in their homerooms all day long, with the same people in each class, while the teachers come to them. Schools, not classes, are divided by level, so everyone in the same homeroom takes the same math class, for example. It makes sense when you consider the emphasis on 'unity' in Japanese culture, and because of this system, the students get pretty close (can you imagine getting to do a dance or peice of art together with 39 of your closest friends?!).
On the big day, it's like an open house, with things going on everywhere. The performances are in the gym, but students also have things in their homerooms. Many (HR) classes do a dance (choreography is often taken from a music video). This year, my ESS club is presenting "Prom" (taking prom pics), one class is making a haunted house, and another homeroom is making a huge statue of the Statue of Liberty to put in the garden in the middle of our school.