From 9/23 to 9/25 is kind of a blur. I guess that is what I get for not updating in a long time and not even writing down what I did so I wouldn’t forget. It seems like my days either are so busy with school and traveling that I can’t keep track or I am sleeping in like crazy to make up for the traveling and school. On Wednesday we ALL slept in, as much as we could, everyone was tired and slightly out of sorts due to the travel and the revelry for Nozomi’s birthday. I had already been tired from the trip and the little bit of wine I had at dinner that night just knocked me out until past noon on 9/23. I don’t remember doing much that day except for going to do grocery shopping, maybe.
The next day, 9/24, I got up late but early enough to talk with my mom and Brett on Skye before going with Nozomi to the Joetsu Plaza where I am going to teach my culture class. They were having some sort of Community Festival there and while we waited for the woman who is in charge of the international affairs office, who is hosting the classes, to get off lunch we wandered the festival. We went to the children’s flea market, where kids were selling their old things, toys and books and stuff. I bought kids puzzle of Japan and a pair of stuffed Stitch’s. We talked to Sato san (the woman in charge of the classes) about my appearance on local cable the next day and what we were going to say and do. I was terrified but Nozomi said it would be fine. From there we went to a used bookstore (dangerous for me I know) and I found some comics and books I wanted, after having to borrow money from Nozomi because we hadn’t gone to the bank yet, I got some books and was about to leave when I found my comic books I read, the entire set for about 2,500 yen. Which is cheap for 25 comics!! If it is still there when I go back with Brett and my mom that set is MINE!! We went to a 100 yen shop from there (if you don’t know what a 100 yen shop is, it is a Japanese equivalent to a dollar store and the best invention in the world!) I got some (very few things I held back from LOTS I wanted to buy because I’m burning through money to fast) things I needed and then from there we went to Katsu’s music classroom so Nozomi could have a meeting with his teacher. I went to the post office next door to send a HUGE package to my mom so I didn’t have to figure out how to carry some big things I got as gifts from Nozomi’s mom. That was an adventure, and EXPENSIVE. After that we went home and had dinner and spent time as a family.
9/25 was school. Japanese school is so very, very different from American school, for the teachers as much as the students. It starts at the entrance of the school where teachers take off their shoes, put them in shoe lockers, and switch to indoor shoes that are only for inside the school. Students do the same but they have their own lockers and their own entrances. The floors and hallways are the same grey color and there are stairs everywhere, this school has two large buildings with four levels each and one building is for teachers and the other is for students. Students have homeroom classrooms and teachers travel between each classroom and the students don’t have to move. So, teachers have a teachers room with desks in it instead of their own room that they can pile their stuff in. The teachers room is usually quiet with teachers working on grading or something like that, only talking when they are talking about school or during lunch time. They are not allowed to leave if they don’t have class and people cannot come in to visit them on breaks or lunches. The students have to wear school uniforms and are there from early in the morning until late after school because of club activities. Students are also required to clean the school, after school, they do not have custodians! In classrooms students sit quietly (for the most part) and stare at the teacher as they lecture, there is very little interaction and most of the time the students are reluctant to offer opinions or answers to questions (especially from me, the scary new person!! Lol). There is no WiFi, and the computer lab is small and usually locked. All but a few computers are blocked to the internet and even most teachers cannot access the internet except for a few special computers. They cannot bring their own computers and use the internet, just the school computers are able to connect to the internet. There are few tv screens to use in classrooms and the teachers carry around old style boom boxes to their classes to use for listening activities. Students are unfailingly polite to teachers and their interactions are defined by a set of rules for interaction between a person of a higher rank/position than the students and the students themselves. I’ve actually been bowed to by students! It is a whole different set of rules in a Japanese school. There are greetings you say in the morning and after you leave school that you say to your fellow teachers as well as to the students, and if you don’t respond to a greeting it is rude.
I had English Club after school and we talked about my trip to Kyoto and I showed them pictures, I have run out of things to talk about and think next time I’ll try teaching them a girl scout song or two if it is only me again. If Angela comes we will probably read the Alice in Wonderland book again. After school we came home and had dinner, rushing a little through it towards the end because Nozomi and I had to get ready to go to JCV (the local cable studio) to tape my tv appearance for my culture classes.
We went to the studio and I was SOOO nervous that they could al tell. The camera men and the announcer woman were all very nice and we got through it pretty well. They didn’t want me to speak in Japanese until the very end when I asked everyone to “please come” to the class. It went quickly and soon Nozomi and I were back on our way home where we both crashed asleep pretty quickly. I’ll get a copy of my tv appearance from Sato san and be able to bring it home with me.
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