So, I will probably not post as often once the school year starts but right now I just have so many thoughts on my mind so bear with me...hopefully I am not boring you.
I went to an etiquette workshop today. I learned a lot such as: it is impolite to blow your nose in public, don't eat while you are walking, don't unwrap omiyage (gifts, souveniors) in front of the giver, accept business cards very gently with two hands, when you go out to eat everyone should pay equally (even if you did't eat/drink the same amount), among many other tips and polite phrases. I realize that after eating Morrocan food/style with Rachid I like to have bread with everything and to scoop up food. I should ask if this is ok in Japan.
I have realized that I don' t even introduce myself to JETs anymore because otherwise you have the same conversation over and over. Instead, for example, when I would sit at the table for a meal I will just ask someone if they did anything last night or how they liked the workshop (instead of going through name, where they are from, where they are going, what grade level they will be teaching, etc.). I will have to introduce myself a lot more in the next few weeks (but in Japanese)...which will be even more exhausting.
I have never been around so many regional variations/accents of English. It is so kewl. There are people from all over with different accents (i.e. from UK, New Zealand, Singapore, Trinidad, southern US, Japan, etc.) It is really great to have so many different kinds of people coming to Japan (and many for different reasons). Some have never been here and speak no Japanese to people who have studied/lived here for an extended period of time and could translate a government document. And we all are here for different reasons with different goals but will serve a common purpose.
I am greatful that I will only be at one school. Some people will visit 19 schools! That would be ALOT of self introductions.
I like that as time goes on we are getting more and more specific information. For example today we had a workshop with ideas for lesson planning and teaching strategies. Although I studied education in college it was still helpful information (although I wasn't too excited about the mock lesson plan - because I have done so many before). To be honest, sometime it feels like a slap in the face to have programs like JET and Teach for America where participants have no education training...when my classmates and fellow licensed teachers have worked really hard to learn teaching strategies, pedagogy, issues in education, etc. I do see the benefit in these programs, however, because then there are advocates for education outside of the educational field.
Last night our prefectural group had an informal outing. Our group was too large so eventually we ended up at an Irish pub. Some people wanted to go to a Japanese place (since we are in Japan) so a few of us found a nice quiet Japanese restaurant. We had trouble with the menu but it was motivating to see other JETs try to order in Japanese. We ended up asking if they had certain dishes that we were familiar with (soba and korokke). It was exciting to be able to read at least some of the menu...at least the things in katakana (foreign or borrowed words put into Japanese syllables - the favorite example of this is Makudonarudo or McDonald's).
Tonight our prefectural group had a more formal outing but I decided not to go because of the price (6,000 Yen - approximately $60 USD - the exchange rate right now is 104.26 yen to 1 USD). So I went out with another group....they decided to go to a similar place for 4,500 yen. A few of us in the group were trying to save money so we ended up at a ramenya or ramen shop. I ordered ramen with miso broth, egg and spinach. It was very delicious and filling. Oishii (delicious). The ramen here is much different than the Maruchan packets I am used to back home. One of the other JETs and I were attempting to have a conversation with one of the other customers. The guy kept laughing and speaking fast. I didn't understand everything he said but got some of it. Long story short he ended up paying for all of our meals! (five people). That was definitely an experience that I won't forget! On our way back I tried to help the group make karaoke reservations for 10 people at 10:00 p.m. I then tried to ask for a discount and they gave us one. It is really motivating to be able to use Japanese...so I need to study more so I don't have to constantly pull out the dictionary. One of my goals here before I come home is to have a grasp of basic conversational Japanese. I hope I can keep up this motivation to try to speak to native Japanese speakers.
Tomorrow morning we head to Fukui!!!
I went to an etiquette workshop today. I learned a lot such as: it is impolite to blow your nose in public, don't eat while you are walking, don't unwrap omiyage (gifts, souveniors) in front of the giver, accept business cards very gently with two hands, when you go out to eat everyone should pay equally (even if you did't eat/drink the same amount), among many other tips and polite phrases. I realize that after eating Morrocan food/style with Rachid I like to have bread with everything and to scoop up food. I should ask if this is ok in Japan.
I have realized that I don' t even introduce myself to JETs anymore because otherwise you have the same conversation over and over. Instead, for example, when I would sit at the table for a meal I will just ask someone if they did anything last night or how they liked the workshop (instead of going through name, where they are from, where they are going, what grade level they will be teaching, etc.). I will have to introduce myself a lot more in the next few weeks (but in Japanese)...which will be even more exhausting.
I have never been around so many regional variations/accents of English. It is so kewl. There are people from all over with different accents (i.e. from UK, New Zealand, Singapore, Trinidad, southern US, Japan, etc.) It is really great to have so many different kinds of people coming to Japan (and many for different reasons). Some have never been here and speak no Japanese to people who have studied/lived here for an extended period of time and could translate a government document. And we all are here for different reasons with different goals but will serve a common purpose.
I am greatful that I will only be at one school. Some people will visit 19 schools! That would be ALOT of self introductions.
I like that as time goes on we are getting more and more specific information. For example today we had a workshop with ideas for lesson planning and teaching strategies. Although I studied education in college it was still helpful information (although I wasn't too excited about the mock lesson plan - because I have done so many before). To be honest, sometime it feels like a slap in the face to have programs like JET and Teach for America where participants have no education training...when my classmates and fellow licensed teachers have worked really hard to learn teaching strategies, pedagogy, issues in education, etc. I do see the benefit in these programs, however, because then there are advocates for education outside of the educational field.
Last night our prefectural group had an informal outing. Our group was too large so eventually we ended up at an Irish pub. Some people wanted to go to a Japanese place (since we are in Japan) so a few of us found a nice quiet Japanese restaurant. We had trouble with the menu but it was motivating to see other JETs try to order in Japanese. We ended up asking if they had certain dishes that we were familiar with (soba and korokke). It was exciting to be able to read at least some of the menu...at least the things in katakana (foreign or borrowed words put into Japanese syllables - the favorite example of this is Makudonarudo or McDonald's).
Tonight our prefectural group had a more formal outing but I decided not to go because of the price (6,000 Yen - approximately $60 USD - the exchange rate right now is 104.26 yen to 1 USD). So I went out with another group....they decided to go to a similar place for 4,500 yen. A few of us in the group were trying to save money so we ended up at a ramenya or ramen shop. I ordered ramen with miso broth, egg and spinach. It was very delicious and filling. Oishii (delicious). The ramen here is much different than the Maruchan packets I am used to back home. One of the other JETs and I were attempting to have a conversation with one of the other customers. The guy kept laughing and speaking fast. I didn't understand everything he said but got some of it. Long story short he ended up paying for all of our meals! (five people). That was definitely an experience that I won't forget! On our way back I tried to help the group make karaoke reservations for 10 people at 10:00 p.m. I then tried to ask for a discount and they gave us one. It is really motivating to be able to use Japanese...so I need to study more so I don't have to constantly pull out the dictionary. One of my goals here before I come home is to have a grasp of basic conversational Japanese. I hope I can keep up this motivation to try to speak to native Japanese speakers.
Tomorrow morning we head to Fukui!!!
1 comment:
but wait...there are IRISH pubs in Japan? LoL!
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