I’m still trying to get used to this really weird schedule. I get up early with Kuniko, say goodbye to her, jump in the shower, and then have until about 2 in the afternoon to do whatever I want. Then I head over to the school and do three classes and get home around 7:30 at night. I just work a few hours every evening and in the end I get paid the same as when I took the train to Nishinomiya early every morning and worked all day long. I like both jobs, but having the free time is nice. The only problem is I feel guilty having all this free time during the day. It’s as if I’m getting away with something….

Anyway, today I headed over to the school and got set up. Nozaki sensei has a big whiteboard in the classroom and she leaves messages for me about the day’s classes. Today she said that one student in the second class was “afraid of Westerners” so she would try today’s class, but probably stop coming after that. Of course, I saw that as a challenge – I want to be the Westerner that makes her realize that they aren’t all so scary. I also don’t want to be to reason for Nozaki sensei to lose students (and money).

So the first class was with the youngest students. There are five students – one boy and four girls. The four girls came all together – their mothers delivered them in a convoy of bicycles. The boy, Kento, came a little later with his dad. I greeted them at the door, but Kento’s dad was having a little trouble. Kento was crying like crazy, and dad tried to leave him crying and take off. Kento freaked out even more, and dad realized that he was going to have to step up and do some parenting. I looked back into the classroom and the four girl students were staring at the little boy freaking out like they were watching a monkey at the zoo.

Kento was nowhere near being under control, and crying so hard that snot was running down his face. I gave dad some tissues and invited them both in to at least watch the lesson.

Once they settled in I started the lesson, and played some games and sang some songs with the girls. Kento watched from the safety of his dad’s lap, and quieted down a lot. Every once in a while I’d try to get him a little involved, but he wasn’t interested. At all. Kento’s dad was a good sport and sang along, tried to get Kento to say things in English, but no luck.

The last game I did was one where I hand out a fly swatter to each student. I gave one to each girl and one to Kento, too. He took it from me and held it reluctantly. Then I showed them how to play the game. I put a book, a ball and a pencil on the table in front of everyone, and then called out “Ball”. All the girls touched the ball with the fly swatter. I would call out ball, book, pencil, and they would touch the appropriate object.

Kento started to participate – and dad and I shared a look of triumph. I also noticed that the youngest girl in the class, Yuzuha, was not only hitting the object but also waving around the fly swatter and hitting other girls accidentally. I told her to be careful, but she kept hacking away like a little three year old samurai. Normally I’d wrap up the game but Kento was actually participating, and I wanted to let him have some success. So I let the little samurai go nuts for a little longer, and then finished it up.

Kento was very happy to grab a snack at the end of the lesson, and then everybody left. I guess it could be called a success. Maybe.

As for the girl afraid of Westerners, she was very quiet today but she didn’t seem like she was going to freak out. There was another shy girl who froze up when I asked questions and looked like she was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. The other three students did just fine and were my pals by the end of the lesson. I guess that some students will take longer than others to get used to me – it is only the first class.

In the evening I did a junior high class – and that was really fun. I’ve been teaching junior high level students for the past six months, so it was just perfect. The students are all interested in English and I think everyone had a really good time.

I got home at the same time as Kuniko – we met at the station and walked home together. We were a little lazy and bought some pre-made healthy dinner at the supermarket and brought that home and ate it. I was really tired for some reason, so we crashed out on the early side. I’ll have the whole morning to recover tomorrow.

Monday afternoon I went over to Nozaki sensei’s school for my first official day of work. I went over around 2:30, and since today was a short day at Takasago Minami, Nozaki sensei met me at the station and gave me a ride to her place.

We spent an hour or so talking about various logistics and things before class began. In the “great minds think alike” department, we both had prepared name tags. Hers had the students’ names already on them, and a really nice holder for each class, so we went with her name tags.

The way the day works normally is that I will get in to work around 2:45 or so, spend about an hour preparing for the classes for today, and then I’ll have three classes. The classes last about 50 minutes or so, and I have a ten minute break in between. The last class ends at 6:30, and then I’m done. Five days a month I’ll teach a junior high school class in the evening, but today it was just the normal three class day.

The classes today went fine, although I was caught in a little bit of a lurch because I had expected to spend time making our own name cards and decorating them. Since Nozaki sensei had thoughtfully covered that already, I had a 15 minute hole to fill. Actually this week we’re only really playing games and getting to know each other, so we did just fine.

Today’s students were fun – they’re a little reserved right now but I’m sure after a few weeks they’ll loosen up. One boy I can tell will end up getting written up a lot in my journal – Hiroki. The kid has ADD for certain. That’s my clinical diagnosis. There’s also Mana, a child genius who is very small for her age. Also there is Kako, a girl that seemed to know every English vocabulary I asked. The other students in her class looked at her in amazement. My favorite student from today was Ryuu, an eleven year old kid that was smart, confident and curious about English, me and my culture.

When I got home (around 7:30) Kuniko was already there. She had made me dinner (a big okonomiyaki) and so we could actually eat dinner together and hang out a little. Kuniko’s day went pretty well. She is going to be a homeroom teacher this year, and she is looking forward to that. Being a homeroom teacher means forming a tight relationship with your students, and advancing with them through school. Even though it is a lot more work, I think it is a very rewarding role to play. Kuniko seems happy about it.

More stories later as my first week continues. Tomorrow I’ll be teaching junior high students, so four classes to report on.

We spent Sunday morning tucked into the kotatsu watching movies, and we especially liked Nacho Libre – it was the right kind of stupid movie at the right time. As Meg Ryan says in her coffee commercials on TV in Japan, “Ii asa ni naru!”

After a simple lunch we caught a train and went to Kuniko’s school to sneak in and do some guerrilla paper cutting. I had some heavy cardboard that I needed to cut for my classes next week, so Kuniko volunteered the use of her school’s big paper cutter.

It was actually the first time that I have been around inside the school – before I spent some time in the waiting room but today we looked around Kuniko’s new staff room, and I walked the (very clean) hallways of the school. It has to look nice – it is a private school and they want it to be nice for visitors and prospective students.

They had two fishtanks in the hallway, and I was very interested to see that they had guppies. The guppies were really beautiful, and someone had separated all the males and put in the in one very crowded tank. Maybe there were a hundred guppies all freaking out in one tank hoping I would feed them. It kept me occupied until we got the papers cut and then got out of there.

We walked back to Kobe station to get some more exercise, and then took the train to Akashi. There we crossed the street and went into Akashi park to walk around and enjoy the cherry blossoms.

It was really good timing – just about a day or two past the peak time, and the rain from yesterday had moved on. The weather was a little cloudy, but I guess we had to take what we got. I took quite a few pictures (you can see them in the photo gallery), but I didn’t go crazy. I know I have hundreds of pictures of cherry blossoms at home from the last few years – no need to go wild this time.

We walked the park for about half an hour, and then headed back home to get organized and have dinner. I picked up some takoyaki from Vivre (it is supposed to be famous) and we snacked on that (it was really good).

After dinner Kuniko did battle in the kitchen and ended up with two dessert dishes – sakura mochi (my favorite) and mini strawberry cheesecakes. She’s taking the desserts to work to give to her new coworkers. I think that will make a good impression.

We took some of the desserts with us to her parent’s house tonight in the evening. They were just wrapping up dinner, and we sat around the table talking about Niro’s new computer (he’s really excited about that) and the upcoming rice planting. We promised to come back next weekend to help him set up the computer.

As usual we came back home with lots of vegetables, and after putting everything away we wrapped up the day with a hot bath and then we crashed out. Starting tomorrow we’ve both got new students and new classes to teach. Can’t wait…

Today was the first day in a long time that Kuniko and I could spend relaxing together with nothing really that we needed to be doing. Man, it was nice.

We slept in, had a nice relaxed breakfast, and then took a trip on the slower train to Sannomiya to walk around, do some shopping, and spend time together. We both had a couple of errands to run so we walked around casually and knocked them out.

For lunch I was tasked with choosing the restaurant. While walking towards Chinatown, I spotted a sign for yakibutadon down a alleyway, so we took a chance and went there. It paid off with a really good lunch in a nice atmosphere. The place was the kind of place I love to hang out and drink: a wooden bar with a couple of tables, a low ceiling, and a little bit of a dark atmosphere.

I had the yakibutadon, which is barbecued pork over rice with a half-fried egg and onions. Kuniko had the bibinbadon, which is a Korean style rice dish with lots of lettuce, kimchee, and bits of pork. Both our dishes were really good, and they came with a half-order of ramen so we had some soup along with it. I wouldn’t mind going back again sometime. It’s one of those back alley places that nobody will ever find, but you can take your friends there and show them how well you know the city.

While we were walking around, the weather got gradually worse, instead of getting better as the forecast had predicted. We had brought our umbrella, and that was a lucky thing. We ended up walking around Harborland near Kobe station, and enjoying the slightly wet scenery. I even did some wine tasting at a “winery” there. The wine was mainly imported from California and France, but they did have some Japanese wines made in Nagano. I asked the clerk how much it was to taste, and she said it was free. I stepped up and tried a few wines.

It wasn’t really free – in Japan there is a huge pressure on the taster to buy what you taste. Kuniko saw me tasting and warned me that we were in Japan – we have to play by their rules. Luckily, they had a good California Sauvignon Blanc that was cheaper than what we’d pay at the local grocery so I bought that and made everyone happy.

From there we headed back home, and did a few errands around town before coming back to the apartment. Now Kuniko is getting a trim at the local beauty salon, and I’m waiting for the Tigers game to come on. When Kuniko gets back, we’re going to go rent a movie and watch it tonight.

Tomorrow the weather is supposed to get better. That will be the day where we go see the cherry blossoms. I hope.

I awoke to good news – the cold that I have felt just the edge of seemed to be staying where it was – and not turning into a full blown sickness. Still, today I drank lots of tea and orange juice and had a simple soup for lunch.

Kuniko has a school dinner after work tonight, so she’ll be coming home a little late. I’m taking advantage of the situation to sneak off to the yakitori for some hot meat on sticks and cold beer. I had flirted with the idea of going to a new yakitori I found down the street, but it is a little far away from all the people, and I’m afraid it will just be full of old men. I like the yakitori near the station – it is small, cozy, the master is really nice, and there are a lot of interesting people coming and going.

Good news for Kuniko – it looks like she’ll have two days off (in a row, even). Saturday and Sunday she doesn’t have to go to school, so we’re going to go see some cherry blossoms and try to get outside and enjoy the end of the spring holidays.

Speaking of the end of spring holidays, I had some good ideas today about my lessons for next week. I was really trying to figure out something good that wouldn’t intimidate them early on. Something fun and lightweight, since we don’t have to stick to the textbook. For the new learners I’m going to just do simple introductions, and then we’ll make name cards (so I can start to learn some names). Rather than trying to cram too much into the lesson, I’ll just try to make them feel comfortable with me and the environment. Gradually I’ll teach them classroom English, and then we’ll be in good shape for May when the textbook kicks in.

For the students that are coming back from last year’s lessons with Miki sensei I’ll also need to make name cards, but we’ll do some creative decorating, and also play some drawing games. The biggest challenge for these students will be getting used to a new teacher and my style, which I have a feeling will be (a lot) more laid back than Miki sensei.

We’ll see how it goes. For now I’m going to go get my weekend on and I’ll see you on the other side…

Greetings from Thursday. Today was very quiet – Kuniko was gone at work and at a party so I had the place to myself all day. I originally had planned to take a trip out to Port Island to see the new college(s) they built out there. I saw a TV show saying how nice it is to walk around because they built a lot of parks and walkways. But, I have what feels like the precursor to a cold. Instead of going out I stayed home and stayed warm, just eating some leftovers and drinking lots of orange juice.

I’ve had this “I’m getting sick” feeling for the last two days, and so far I’ve escaped any actual sickness. Let’s hope I get away with it again.

In the afternoon I was sick of being in the house, so I took a long walk to north Okubo and then walked back. It was nice to get outside and enjoy the great weather – lots of sunshine.

Since Kuniko was off partying with her ex-coworkers from Kunei, I just worked on the leftovers from last night (lots of cheese and crackers) and watched the Hanshin Tigers fight a losing battle with the Yakult Swallows. The Tigers have a new pitcher this year from America, and he was pitching tonight. He looked really nervous but got through six innings giving up just one run. They brought in a reliever to pitch the seventh and he promptly gave up three runs. Ouch.

The fun thing about watching a foreign guy pitch was that the commentators talked all about foreign players and the experience of coming to Japan to pitch the whole night. I learned a lot of interesting things – mainly about how these players are perceived by regular Japanese people. I also like to imagine what it is like for the players themselves getting used to living in Japan. That must be a real tough adjustment.

One of the commercials during the game featured the wife of the new foreign pitcher, an American woman who was doing a promo to remind people not to drive to the ballpark, because there is no parking there. I think that is pretty much true, but the sponsor of the commercial was the owner of the team, the Hanshin railway company, who happens to own the only train line that leads to the stadium. Of course they want you to take the train.

Anyway, this American woman was explaining all this in English, and they had subtitles underneath, but they were in English too. I think they were relying on the commentator at the beginning of the commercial and at the end of the commercial to take care of the comprehension, and just use the American lady to grab your attention. Interesting…

I’m off to bed pretty soon – I need to get some rest before the cold catches up with me. Tomorrow is another off day, and it is actually my last day of spring break before school starts on Monday. If I’m feeling good I might go try a new yakitori in town…

Last night Yamaguchi sensei (a teacher at Kuniko’s school) came over after seeing a movie with Kuniko after work. Kuniko cooked up some homemade gnocchi with a creamy gorgonzola sauce. This was the second time that she has made the dish, and just like last time it was really good. There was also plenty of cheese and crackers, bruschetta and a salad. A lot of food to eat.

We sat around the kotatsu to stay warm. Lately the weather has gotten a little colder, and we already finished off the kerosene and decomissioned the heater for the year. I hope it starts warming up soon. We just sat and talked, mainly about the school and the teachers that work there. I could listen in and hear some good gossip and really practice my listening skills. When it came to talking I made lots of mistakes, but eventually got my point across. I guess that is what communication is all about.

It wouldn’t be a party without working out on the Wii, so we played a few games of tennis. Yamaguchi sensei likes real tennis, so she was determined to get better at playing on the Wii. She did much better this time – we even played some baseball and bowling to broaden her skill set a little.

We walked Yamaguchi sensei back to the station around ten, and then came back and crashed right out. Too much food tonight…

While hanging out the laundry today I noticed this car pull up at the gas station across the street. I’m not sure what was stranger – the car with two life sized dressed up Hello Kitties, or me standing out on my patio taking the picture of it.

Now you know how much free time I have this week. I was getting tired of the same old website, and it has been almost four years since I made it. Today I just went out and grabbed a template off the net and modified to suit my needs. Hope you like it…

Here’s our latest contact information:

Address:
660-13 Okubo
Okubo-cho Akashi-shi Hyogo-ken
Japan 674-0051

Our phone number is 078-935-2825

You can email me at: bryan (at) fredricks.net