It's very hot

In efforts to stay cool I've been downing bottles of tea, gave the kids a bath and cleaned my shower completely since it is filling with mold at an amazing rate. Nothing seems to help, and living by myself now I can't blame someone else (sorry mom!) for my heat induced misery. I am learning to live with being hot and grossly sweaty. Yay Japan teaching me life lessons!

I am finding mold on the most bizarre things lately and the giant bugs in my house are impressively gigantic. I guess it is officially summer! YAY!

I went to climb Nokogiriyama in Kyonan this morning because I need exercise and it's a beautiful spot!

It's a rather rough climb for a gross humid day, but it's one of my favorite places in Chiba and home to Japan's largest stone Buddha!!!

This is a shot from my first time visiting the mountain. We surprised the teachers of our exchange school from Wisconsin to a climb on the mountain early in the morning the day after they arrived. We were all exhausted when we finished and we'd only walked half of it!!

The view from the top!! (not today, it was too cloudy :(  ) 

Nokogiriyama is a really fun climb, easy to get to and only costs 600 yen (about $6) for admission. There is also a ropeway that goes up the Northern side if you don't think you can make the climb. There is an observation area and snack bar at the top on that side. 

Parking is free on the Southern side lot and that entrance is only a few steps away from the Buddha and Nihonji temple. Access from Hota station is very easy too if you don't have a car.

Chiba AJET led a trip to the mountain last month and any new Chiba JETs who are interested should definitely go! It makes a nice easy day trip and there are tons of seafood restaurants and day onsen right in that area. You may want to wait until its a little cooler to go though.

http://www.mt-nokogiri.co.jp/pc/p010000.php

A little more info for those of you who can read Japanese.

About JET

So, in efforts to write more about my experience here so that I'll remember it later on, I'll have to cover a lot of things from my first year that no longer apply.

First of all, the program I came to Japan through is called JET
http://www.jetprogramme.org/
There are many recruiting companies that bring young people to teach English in asian countries, but JET is probably the best because its been around a long time, they have a fair and concrete contract, they have a great alumni association and LOTS of people to help you if you have any trouble while here.
Something to realize is that JET itself is sort of a recruiter for the prefectures in Japan, your actual contract is through your city's board of education and so, while we all have a pretty set salary, there are many things that may vary.
For example, my house is very close to my school and only costs about $200 a month in rent which is taken from my salary directly. Other JETS, especially those closer to the city, often times have to pay a lot more and may be a long commute from their schools or have very old fashioned houses with in ground toilets! Even in my town there are some people with houses and some with apartments. I think mine is supposed to be the smallest, but its still a decent size.

I have a base school that I go to everyday and so I feel like a "real" teacher. I have my own desk, the kids come to me at lunch to bring me assignments or ask me questions and I go along on school outings and drinking parties (these are really translated to "banquets" but anyone who has been to an enkai knows its just a nomikai in disguise ).
Some JETs have as many as eight different schools that they have to go back and forth to throughout the week and spend their free time sitting around at the Board of Education. I'm not saying this situation doesn't have its perks too, but just keep in mind that coming over to Japan on a program like this is an adventure and you ABSOLUTELY MUST BE FLEXIBLE! If there is one piece of advice I'd give to anyone coming to Japan its that. Be flexible. You will have bad things and good, but focus on the good, or you are going to have some pretty rough days ahead.

http://www.outpostnine.com/gaijin_smash/2004/05/

This blog is amazing and the guy is hilarious. Honestly, I read it before I was even a Japanese major and I haven't looked at it since I've become a JET, but I have fond memories. It's the experience of a large black man working as an ALT in Japan. Enjoy <3


An average day for me is waking up at 7am, getting ready and leaving at 7:40. I get to school about 10 minutes early everyday because Japanese people love punctuality ^_^ I begrudgingly back my car into my space (everyone here backs into spaces and I am a sheep ..baaaa). I park in front of the cube with a bite out of it statue.
I get out of my car and am assaulted by students who freak out when they say "hello" and I reply "Good morning!' They don't seem to realize, no matter how many times I explain it to them, that you can use "hello" at any time of the day.
I walk into school and use my nifty "Inkan" aka seal- with-my- name- cut- into- it to sign in. The inkan has my last name"Henderson" in katakana ヘンダーソンwhich is rather a lot to fit on such a tiny thing.
Once signed in I walk into the staff room and shout out a jolly "Ohayo gozaimasu!"   It sounds dumb, but it was one of the hardest things for me to learn to do, because I am overly shy and shouting when I coming and going just seems so awkward >_< I've gotten good at it now though.

I then proceed to sit hunched over at my desk and try to meet no one's eyes for the next hour.. haha because I am not a morning person at ALL. The tea lady has green tea waiting at everyone's desks which is lovely, although it's a little less delicious now that the weather is very hot everyday.  I have a mini meeting with teacher M. Most of my classes this year are co-taught with teacher M who is new to my school. She fills me in on the lesson plan and anything I need to prepare for class.

Class starts at 8:35 and runs for 50 minutes. At the start of the class the kids have to give "Rei." The previously chosen kid will command everyone to stand and then everyone together says something akin to "Please teach us!" and we all bow to each other (teachers facing kids) After this I do the greetings, it goes like this.

Me:"Good morning!"
Kids: Good moooggjhdiyhenm Kim sgujhsjsmsmbs
Me: O_O ....ooooo...k and how are you today?
Kid 1: I'm hot!
Kid 2: I'm sleepy!
Kids 3: NO!
Me: ...no? Uhm ok, well how is the weather today? *wild gestures at the window*
* Not a single kid looks up, everyone replies the same thing everyday*
Its SUNNY!
*raining outside*
Me: Really?
*dead silence*
Me: What day is it? *pointing to board where it is written*
Kids: MONDAY!!!!
Me: What is the date?
*one kid says the date, other kids stare blankly at me like I don't ask them the same thing EVERY DAY!*

On one hand I want to shout at them since they KNOW how to reply to everything and its very frustrating to have them slacking. The greetings are boring, but they are useful. I've lately just started re-asking them over and over if they don't do it right the first time and this seems to be working since they want the greeting to go by quickly.

Usually class is split up between readings of the textbook (my job) the kids practicing with me and then with partners, then there is grammar and then an activity and sometimes we watch one of the hilariously bad DVDs where a dorky otaku "Mike" hits unsuccessfully on "Emi" who is supposed to be Japanese.

At the end of class there is another "Rei" to thank the teachers for teaching.

Depending on the day I usually have anywhere from 3-6 classes. I also "volunteer" to help with some of the special education classes which I really don't mind because the kids are great, but it is tiring on the days where I have essentially no break until 6th period.

I eat lunch with the other teachers in the lunch room. At the back of the room there is a raised tatami floor. We all take off our shoes and sit on cushions around a low table where the set meal has been laid out. School lunch kind of sucks now, they changed makers this year and made the meals all "Japanese." I do prefer rice over bread and I've come to LOVE fish and seaweed and things, but "Japanese" also means there are a lot of days with the three things I cannot eat (Curry, chirimen jako and natto).  The teachers look after me though, so usually its not a problem. For example today was a curry day which meant I was only able to eat rice, yogurt and a small cucumber and tuna salad, but before I could even frown at my food I had people giving me their own stuff and ended up with extras of everything! YAY! people are so nice <3 Also the nice thing about eating with the teachers instead of in the classrooms is that the teachers usually make delicious foods (yummy desserts!) which is nice. I do want to eat with the kids, but now its been so long that I've eaten with the teachers that its just much more comfortable.

I do TRY to eat EVERYTHING I can even if it seems strange. Everything once! Curry I can't eat because I have some unexplainable allergic reaction to it that makes my head explode and literally knocks me out until I'm curled up in bed crying from the pain. Advil doesn't help, so sadly there is no curry for me :(  Natto I tried twice to eat. I can eat it in a roll of rice and seaweed; the smell doesn't get to me and the taste is fine, but it looks like *gross sorry* someone vomited in a bowl of beans, left it in the sun for awhile and then served it to you.. eww just can't do it.
Chirimen jako are tiny sardine babies that stare up at me and go "Why would you eat us? how cruel?" with their sad blue eyes *shivers* I HAVE eaten them twice this month, but I hated every moment of it.

 I have eaten whale several times since getting here *sorry guys!* It's a specialty in our area and relatively cheap. My local grocery stores sell it in their freezers for about $5 and the local souvenir shop has whale steaks and whale jerky. Its a little hard to explain and different depending how it is prepared, but basically its a mix between a steak and a fish O_O and its really dark and looks like its just made of bloooood!

http://www.fccj.or.jp/node/2568
Random article about whaling down here.
Uhh... but we do still have whale in school lunches. I had it the other day and it was yummy, my guilt washed it down well.
Seriously speaking though, most people here are extremely sensitive about the issue and really pro whaling and don't see why other people would think it a bad thing. Anyone who knows me knows I love animals, but I'm not getting in the middle of this one.

I would like to go see the whale slaughter in Wada before I leave here, my morbid curiosity gets the best of me.

After lunch I'm usually free in the afternoons. I try to do useful things, but usually end up writing furiously in my notebooks because I have dreams of becoming a YA author and seem to come up with my best ideas at work. I have gone through dozens of notebooks in the last month >_< I really wish I could just take in my computer to type. Honestly, I don't think anyone would mind, but it just seems too unprofessional.

After 6th period it's cleaning time. I am in charge of the English classroom. The kids rotate their cleaning groups, but I always work with the 2nd class of 2nd (8th) graders. They NEVER want to clean and I've had to become a little more strict lately and just say "YOU DO THIS!" They always listen to me, but if I don't directly command them they just pretend to do things. Seriously kids, you are SO OBVIOUS! learn to be sneaky! It's a good skill to have!
 I don't mind the kids slacking a bit, but I am also not going to let my classroom get trashy, nor am I going to do the work all by myself. I think US schools should save money and make the kids clean the school.... cause I'll tell you this, my kids would not be tossing trash around or making a mess of the bathrooms when they have to clean them themselves.

After another 30 minutes or so its time to go home. I am shamed to say that I don't participate in club activities. Honestly I want to spend more time with the kids, but I like going home and the thought of running around in this heat is terrible. Maybe next semester?

So! That is my school day! The only variation is Thursday and Friday when I go to elementary in the afternoons. I drive there and have a meeting with the homeroom teachers about the content and then we teach the whole grade (about 40 kids) in the gym. They are adorable and ask me strange things.

Well it's time for bed although I am sweating profusely and obviously not going to be able to fall asleep.
Hope everyone is having a nice day!

What to write?

So,  although I am perfectly fine ranting on and on about random things on here, I was wondering if anyone has good ideas for what to write and what would be interesting about this area/ be helpful for new ALTs?

If you have any good ideas then comment please! :D

Yesterday was excessively hot and I succumbed to heat fever (I'm pretty sure that is a real thing) and by the time I got back home I was very very sick! Today is better, but this sudden heat and humidity after a very mild spring is especially excruciating. Since my real air conditioning is broken and the kids ate the cord on my brand new one, I had to go buy a new brand new mini air conditioning. Despite having that and a fan both running and pointed directly at me and being wrapped in ice packs and water towels.... well let's just say that today's relatively mild weather is already this bad I don't know how I'll make it though the summer, especially if they really start cutting our power for several hours a day to conserve power. GUH
School of course has no air conditioning and most of the fans in my classroom are broken so....

But enough complaints.

For any new ALTs reading, my school situation is very simple. When I started last year I had (still have) a base middle school about 3 minute walk from my house (nice!) where I am essentially just a normal staff member and I have my own shoe space, desk, get all of the normal forms and generally follow the same schedules, go to special events, etc.

Additionally, I also had two elementary schools, each about a 3-5 minute drive from the middle school. The first school I'd go to on Tuesday afternoons and teach one class.. grades 1-4 (5th and 6th had their own special teacher). At that school I had no lesson plan whatsoever and planned, created and did lessons on my own. They had homeroom teachers to "help" but their English levels ranged from "What are you saying???????" to absolutely fluent. My other elementary school I taught at on Thursday and Friday afternoons along with homeroom teachers and an excellent English specialist.

This spring the first Elementary school was shut down and its students and some of its teachers were added to the other Elementary school which had been remade and is new and beautiful!

So, my current schedule is middle school M-F 8-4 and Elementary classes in the afternoons on Thursday and Friday. While it's nice not to have to plan the lessons for this school, I kind of miss getting to think up super fun games for the kids to do and I liked that the smaller school had very small classes (1-2nd grades were together and only 8 kids!).

Elementary school is grades 1-6 and middle school is 1st grade (7th) 2nd grade (8th) and 3rd grade (9th).   My middle school kids are great, but does anyone remember middle school? It is clearly the worst time of anyones life and they have their moments where they just want to do NOTHING. It doesn't help that they all are required to do club activities after school, on holidays and the weekends, but also most of them go to after school school and participate in marathons and things. They work hard, so it's understandable that they fall asleep a lot in class. I'm always tempted to draw on their faces with black marker, but I guess the punishments that worked when I was a kid may not work well on this generation? So I just draw on their faces in my MIND! Muahaa... the joys of teaching.

Additionally, for most of my stay here I taught English night school. While I originally signed on to "help" a friend, they dropped out and I was stuck doing it on my own. It was very terrifying having to come up with two hour lessons for students ranging from 4 years to 88 years old and I've complained incessantly about it, but it has been one of my most rewarding experiences in Japan so far.
Unfortunately, after the earthquake our community center had to cancel all night classes to preserve energy for Japan and I had to cancel my classes for the time being. It was a huge relief to have my Fridays to myself again, but if all goes well I'll start them up again in September :D (unless any of the new ALTs are interested?)

Hope that everyone is having a lovely day in places less hot and humid than Japan.

http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/

Also this is the best blog ever :D

Hello!

So, in efforts to promote wonderful Chiba, the prefecture is encouraging it's foreign residents to create blogs to talk about their experiences in Japan!

Since I highly doubt there is anyone who loves Chiba quite as much as I do and considering that I've done a rather awful job documenting my experiences of my first year as an ALT, I am happy to join in the effort!

So, first I'll tell you a little about me. I am an ALT (assistant language teacher) for the JET program, placed in southern Chiba and teaching at one middle school and one elementary school as well as teaching night classes (although these are cancelled at the moment since we cannot use the community center while Japan is trying to preserve power). I am also the southern Chiba representative for Chiba AJET, the Chiba chapter of a group which creates events for JET participants to get together and explore Japan's fun places.

I came to Japan last August (2010) and despite some homesickness I've loved (mostly) every minute of my experience here.

As far as my education, I have a B.A. in Japanese language and culture and hope to go back to graduate school for my teaching degree when I get back to the US. I studied at Chiba university my junior year of college and live in Inage. It was amazing!

So, the question most people ask me is, "Why do you like Japan so much?" I never know how to answer that question.  I always look at the progression of my interest instead. I started, as many do, with an interest in Japanese manga and anime (not a weeaboo ...) This eventually turned into a genuine interest in the Japanese language and for the first time I started studying my ass off just because I WANTED to learn, not for school or tests, but because it's something I wanted. I also became obsessed with Japanese music, very obsessed.

As time has gone on, I've lived/ gone to school/ worked in Japan and my obsession with all things Japanese has faded away and left a general appreciation for the good things here. I like that there is no litter anywhere, I like that people smile at me and thank me at McDonalds, I like that I can walk across the street at be the beach, I like that I can check my wallet in public without worrying I'll be mugged, I like that people work hard and that people don't brag about themselves, I like my crazy landlady, even when she throws bread at me so that giant birds will attack me. 

There are bad things in Japan too of course, there are bad things everywhere, but the good things tend to outweigh the bad in IMHOP and I think it's a great country for anyone wanting to study/ work/ live abroad for a bit.

For now that is all that I will write, but if anyone (family, new JETs, random internet predators) has any questions for me, please ask and I'll answer as best I can.