The joys of downtime

One of the frustrating things about my job is the downtime.  This week, for instance, I had 2 full days of classes, but for the rest of the week students are doing exams, so there are no classes and I will spend the next three days sitting at my desk in the staff room amusing myself...

So, catching up on a bit of paperwork, talking with other teachers when I get the opportunity, reading, studying Japanese.... and writing blogs!  

So, after an hour, I've finished most of my paperwork, talked with teachers, looked up some Japanese and started a blog... it's going to be a long few days!  :P

Now leaving the gai-jin zone...

Well, it's been a busy week .... or two!  Had a great time with Mum and Ben, we played lots of cards, did lots of walking, did lots of sight-seeing, ate lots of strange things and had lots of fun.  Mum also took lots of photos!! 

Mostly we stayed close to home, but we did go to Osaka and Kyoto (on the big ferry).  At Osaka Castle a tour guide latched onto us and took us all around the outside gardens and buildings, telling us all the interesting stories.  He showed us a building which was a giant money box - literally - it was a treasury, built to survive natural disasters (especially fire) and very difficult to break into.  It even looked like a money box!  He also took us to this garden, where Dan took this photo (promised I would give him credit for it :P )  

It seems the fires in Australia are big news - all the Japanese people who talked to us asked if our homes were safe.    

We also went to Kyoto.  Kyoto was interesting - we stayed in a traditional Japanese Inn, ate a very interesting breakfast (dried, salted baby fish, tofu in broth, half  raw egg, a variety of pickles, miso soup and rice - the staff were rather surprised when we didn't finish all the food), dodged oh-so-many bicycles while walking on the footpath, found a New South Wales street directory in a bookshop and set off an alarm by trying to look inside a gate at a palace.   Setting off the alarm was rather disconcerting, but we noticed that the gardeners didn't even bat an eyelid, and figured that it must happen quite a bit.  This was reinforced by the four other people who set off the alarm while we were there.  The poor emperor - I wouldn't want to live close to that!!  

Anyway, we've left the gai-jin zone and back to being stared at.  It was nice to blend in for a few days.   

Today...

Mum and Ben have safely arrived in Japan and have been keeping busy.  We haven't done much yet - we went out for dinner with my teachers, went shopping, played cards all night, and done a little sight seeing.  Today Mum came with me to school.  I'm not sure she knew what she was getting herself into... She was asked to introduce herself to all the staff in their morning meeting.  She made good use of her small amount of Japanese and everyone was happy to meet her.  She came to my special education class, (we told them how she was looking after my cats and gave one of them a haircut! and then played games!!) and to a year 7 class.   After that she made her way to the station and will explore the countryside on a train.    

I'm only working a few days while Mum and Ben are around - I'm taking a few days off this week (11th Feb - my birthday - is a public holiday!) and I'll have next week off too.  It's been a long few weeks so I'm really looking forward to it.  And it will be fun looking around Japan more.  

We didn't spend much time in Tokyo, I had to go to work on Friday, but Ben and I did have a quick look around Akihabara, and decided that we will be spending a bit of time there on their way home. 

Traveling around Japan has been getting easier - even Tokyo wasn't all that difficult.  Who knows where I'll get to next week, but for the moment enjoying spending some time with Mum and Ben.  

I have to admit that this blog is a week or two old, but it was true then and nothing much has changed... so here it is.

Well, another week over.. this one has gone a bit slower than most.  Our third year students (Year 9 equivalent) are in their final few weeks of junior high school and are basically just preparing for entrance exams to get into senior high school, so I haven't had many classes with them.  

I think I've had on average about 3 classes a day.  

It has been very cold and rather wet (no snow this week!).  One of the disadvantages of wearing inside shoes at school is that I'm forever putting on cold shoes!  Shoes are kept in lockers in the front foyer - with the door open.  My shoes have been freezing!  No sooner do they become warm than I have to swap them for the cold pair!  

I have applied to do a Certificate of Education in Special Education, distance education through Flinders University.  I don't know whether I've been accepted or not yet, but that's the plan for my spare time at school.    

I've often toyed with the idea of doing special education and my time here has reinforced some of those ideas.  At both schools I am involved with students who have disabilities and/or learning difficulties.  I'm often surprised by the patience I have for students who are struggling.  I'm also been surprised that students have been willing to work with me even though it must be a bit scary for them to learn from someone who doesn't really speak their language.  I love seeing even very small improvements or an increase of their interest.  

Did I mention that I don't like the mayonnaise here?  I'm forever scraping it off sandwiches!!  (Eating lunch while writing this).

This week has been rather intense for the teachers (with lots of students sick, students smoking and running away to name a few) and I feel rather like I did at my first job - not really knowing what's going on..  It's been difficult knowing what to do in these situations.  At at the end of the day thinking that perhaps it's easier for the teachers to just let me do my own thing at those times.  That me helping isn't really much help at all.   

With that in mind I organised a Japanese tutor to really get my Japanese better.  While I've improved while living here (mostly listening) I'm still not very good and I think getting a tutor will be the best way to improve this.  First lesson is not for a fortnight (as fits around life..) but I'm looking forward to it.  One of my biggest problems with learning Japanese, is that their teaching isn't very flexible and they want to give me all the situations I can and can't use what they've taught me.  And yet, in real life they don't talk like that anyway!  So, hopefully this teacher will be more flexible... one can only try.