When I was a kid my parents took me and my brother to Universal Studios in Hollywood. There were a lot of amazing things, but the thing that stayed with me to this day was a show, based on the character of Conan made popular by Arnold Schwarzenegger. The show itself was so-so, but as the audience came into the auditorium at the very beginning of the show, the stage was shielded by a curtain of water. The water fell in streams from the ceiling into a small moat that separated the audience from the stage. It was noisy and it made the air humid but there was something exotic about it that I’ll never forget.
That is why I don’t seem to mind the rainy season in Japan. Outside right now it is exactly like a curtain of water, and the air is wet and warm and it reminds me very much of that day at Universal. Some teachers said that it may last all week and weekend.
My first class today was a lecture on international understanding, and I spoke with seven students who had different reactions to what I was talking about. I lectured on trying to keep an open mind about different cultures, and I told them what things Japanese people do that would be considered crazy in America, and also what Americans do that would be considered strange or rude in Japan. We watched parts of the movie “Mr. Baseball”, and I tried to get them to point out behavior that they thought was abnormal. Overall I thought it went better than last weeks lecture, and I hope the students will remember that there are other cultures walking around Japan besides their own.
I worked with Miyake sensei on her listening skills just before lunch. We had a good talk about her weekend, and we’ve been talking about current events and politics more to expand her vocabulary a little bit more. She’s getting quite good at expressing her thoughts in English. She’s dying to speak more, though, and she really enjoys studying English. It is a good combination – and it is showing some results.
In the afternoon I had a class with Tsutsumi sensei, and we talked about how the new ALT will be fitting in, and how she will work the class once she arrives. It is becoming apparent that it will be a challenge for everyone at first, but I think it is a good thing to shake up the teachers a little bit. It will be tough at first on Brenda (the new ALT) when she gets here, though.
I came home in between rain showers, and spent around two hours looking at jobs and careers on the internet. There are a lot of jobs out there, but only occasionally does the perfect-sounding one show up. I’m keeping an eye out – hopefully something will show up.
Kuniko and I bought sausages at Carrefour last night, so I’m getting everything ready for when she gets home. She has to work the study room tonight, so she won’t be home until after nine. Tomorrow is Friday, though, so there is an end in sight.
