Sunday, May 19, 2013

Two Turtles- A special 1 year anniversary blog story

Today marks me and Carmon's first anniversary, and to celebrate I've done something a little different but hopefully charming.
A year after the wedding and the two of us have found ourselves teaching English. At my school, the kids LOVE it when I read them a book. Even though it's not Japanese, they get a kick out of hearing their English teacher tell a story in his native tongue. And of course there's the drawings, too. So, in honor of my beautiful wife, I've decided to write out our story... A brief summation of our story- but interpreted through the eyes of a second grader. Anyway, without further ado, here you have it.



Two Turtles

There once was two turtles. 





A boy turtle and a girl turtle.







The two turtles met in college, 
and it wasn't very long before the two became best friends.





They studied together, they played together, 
they ate lettuce and sang beautiful songs together. 
They were, after all, best of friends. 



During their time at Turtle University,
 the boy Turtle had the chance
 of a lifetime to go and study abroad. 


He would travel many miles away 
to learn about other types of turtles 
and all their different and peculiar shells.


He got to experience many new things 
and made many new turtle friends.



But eventually, he had to go back 
home to Turtle University.
 He was sad to leave his new friends 
but happy to see his best friend back home.




When he arrived at home
 there she was,
 waiting. 




The two turtles had so much to talk about. 



The boy turtle told the other about all his new friends and all the fun and exciting shells he saw. 


She too had many exciting and fun things to tell him. So the two stayed up all night and talked...


And when morning came they weren't done talking!
So they continued to talk and tell stories...
laughing and crying,
dancing and singing,
walking and running,
together.


For days...

and weeks...

and months....

In fact, the two turtles kept on all the way till they graduated from college.




And after that they didn't know what to do. 

"Should we go find turtle jobs?" 
they thought, 
"should we go become Turtle professors?"



The thought of being "Dr. Turtle" was appealing;
 however, something just wasn't right.




The turtles thought.


...and thought. 




Till one day the girl turtle remembered
 all those stories they use to tell each other 
and all the fun they remembered having. 



So the two turtles decided to go 
and visit all those places, together!





They packed their bags and brought
 as much stuff from home as they
 could fit on their shells. 


Then they swam.
...and swam.
...and swam.
...and swam.





And when they arrived,
 they found a nice shady place to sleep. 

They must have been tired.


And when they woke up, 
they were amazed to see and experience all the new 
and wonderful things around them.


And that was the start 
of their turtle adventures together. 



The END. 








Happy Anniversary Carmon!
I LOVE YOU

Thursday, May 16, 2013

DODGEBALL: Fun AND Dangerous.

Recess time can be pretty fun at Ishikawa Elementary. Fun and dangerous.

As soon as those kids finish lunch, clean up, and brush their teeth, they slip out of their in-side shoes and into their outside one's. So far, my recess experience has mostly been comprised of me joining any random grouping of kids, typically whoever grabs me first, and from there, attempting as best I can to interpret what exactly they have planned for me to do.

Some times I'll be ambushed by seventeen third graders wanting me to play soccer with them. Other times I'll suddenly have five or six first grade girls hanging on my legs and arms with no purpose other than to be...well, hanging on me. Every day so far I've had at least ten little girls come up right by me, stop, tag me, take six quick steps away from me, turn around and stare at me... and then hope that that'd be enough to entice me to chase them.
Still, there are other times where I am happily herded in some strange and foreign game of which I have no clue how to play. That doesn't matter though, the kids just dig me being there.
One thing Carmon and I have quickly found out - If you don't look Japanese and you live in Japan, you're kind of a novelty.
Despite my inability to speak Japanese, I've managed, albeit through much trial and error, to understand most of the games the kids play. But there is one game I've needed no introduction to.

DODGEBALL
(fun AND dangerous)

So the main reason I'm writing this post tonight is because of a horrifying and hilarious experience that happened today at recess. Well, maybe not so hilarious.
It was just like every other recess so far. The large dirt field provided no shelter from the scorching sun which further established my farmers tan and sweat stains. And if the heat weren't enough you have the extreme brightness of it all that keeps me consistently squinting. It's like the white dirt doubles as a mirror or something. The constant sea of motion from the blue red and white hats could almost be viewed as therapeutic if it weren't for the contesting screams, laughter, and "MAISON SENSEI!"'s  (admittedly, I really love hearing that).
Today's game was dodgeball. A favorite of mine and the kids. Except today the game somehow went from dodgeball to "Let's just throw the ball in the Soccer goal." I obliged. About ten kids acted as goalies, taunting us "throwers" to try and get the ball past them.
Well, I've made this rule for myself to not ever, EVER, actually throw the ball as hard as I can. You know, so I don't accidentally murder a child. However, during our game, all of us were getting pretty pumped up and rowdy. And as the game progressed I kept moving further and further away from the goal when throwing --- the kids think I'm the hulk when they see me throw halfway across the field. It's awesome.
"Let's ENGLISH!" 

Anyway, so we're playing, having fun, and the kids have me moved so far back from the goal that there's no chance I'm gonna get the ball in there. So I start thinking...

"I should just throw the ball as hard as I can and totally make it in! The kids would eat that up!"

What? There's nothing wrong with that, right? I mean, I'm totally away from any kids I can see and by the time the ball makes it anywhere near the goal it will have lost most of it's momentum. What's the risk?
Please keep in mind I don't know anything about physics. So...

I break my rule.
I throw the ball.
I throw it HARD.
It's one of those old school rubber P.E. balls with more air in it than a brand new Firestone tire.

You know what I'm talk'n 'bout...

(the following all happened under half a second)

The ball leaves my hand and instantly yields a much lower trajectory angle than anticipated.

I worry. Apparently I had forgotten (till this instant) there's over 500 children running any and every direction all over the field.

Horrifyingly, a small child runs somewhere between me and the goal.

.00087 seconds later...

...Contact. 

The ball hit's this little boy's head dead center in the side of the face.

Instantly, he hits the ground, uncertain if he'd been shot or hit by a train.

I'm freaking out. Like, "Oh no I've killed a kid." So I run to him as quick as I can and the boys on all fours with one hand cupping the side of his head. I say, "Daijobu?" "Sumimasen!" "Gomennasai!" "Daijobu?" Which is as close to "Are you ok, I'm sorry, I'm sorry" as I can get in Japanese.
The kid definitely wanted to cry but he was super tough and didn't want to do it in front of everyone so he just sucked it up and joined the game! The boy reluctantly assured me he was ok but I think he was so taken by surprise he didn't know what to think.

NOTE: For all you worries out there, he was fine. I had my eye on him the rest of the day and made sure he was feeling fine before recess was over.

Moral of the story:
Don't ever break your one rule.

Especially Batman




Thursday, May 9, 2013

Overindulgent with Chalk

So everyday I use a chalkboard extensively. I like to draw and it's always been a dormant desire of mine to be in a situation where I actually needed to use one. 
So now, I'm an elementary English teacher- teaching kids who don't speak English- in Japan- and the only tools I have are repetition and visual stimulus. 


None of those kids would have ever understood the phrase, "I wish to ride a dinosaur" without the aesthetic aid of a cowboy on a triceratops. 

You could say I've been a little over-indulgent with the chalking of the board. 

Maybe too over-indulgent...

You see, with the exception of my gigs with Souled Out and other jazz bands I've never consistently had to wear dress pants. And dress pants and chalk don't really like each other. There's nothing more contrasting then a stroke of pink chalk dust you unknowingly brushed off on your solid black slacks. 

Ok so who cares, right? Surely this post isn't about how Mason uses chalk now. 

No. There's more. 

The whole point I'm trying to make is this: IF you're wearing slacks 
AND you're a brand new foreign English teacher trying to not look like an idiot
AND you've been anywhere remotely close to a chalkboard... 

...Just be cautious about picking wedgies. 
 

Monday, May 6, 2013

A thorough introduction to our Japanese life


It’s been a bit over three weeks now and I’m finally getting around to this. Sorry. God has made me to where I can’t write unless my butt is comfy. Today our couch arrived and so here we are.



So, where do I begin?
Let’s just start off with the basics and branch out from there.



THE JOB 

Carmon and I both work teaching English for the Mito City Board of Education.

Where’s Mito? 

Mito is about a 20 minute train ride from the Ocean to give you some perspective. I can bike there in an hour. 

Anyway, Carmon teaches at a junior high and I teach at an elementary. While we are both the only native English speakers at our school, the purpose and functions of a junior high and elementary are very different. I have a lot more freedom in the way I teach English. I can play games with the students, make lesson plans, sing songs, dance and shout and have fun. They’re elementary school kids after all (1st through 6th grade). Ultimately, my job as an elementary school teacher is to make sure the kids have a positive outlook on learning English and give them a (small) basis for which to begin junior high.

Carmon teaches junior high and from what we can tell so far it’s a much more controlled environment. Understandably too. In Japan, every student must take a High School entrance exam that plays a significant part in what direction your education will go from there on out. So, junior high is a place where a lot of work and studying gets done. As far as teaching English, Carmon has only been doing that for a week so we don’t have much to say about that …yet.



My School

Ishikawa Elementary. 

My name tag -
"Ma-I-So-N     Do-Ra-Mu" 

It’s got about 500 or so kids in it and has maybe 30 teachers. Instead of teachers moving entire classes around to go to history class, or math or whatever... in Japan there's a home room and the teachers rotate as needed (although in Elementary the home room teachers pretty much teaches everything). The majority of schools in Mito all have native english speakers. They call them AET's -Assistant English Teachers. Hey, that's me! 
Generally, AET's visit each class once a week teaching whatever is on the curriculum. At Ishikawa there are about 18 classes. Three 1st grade classes, three 2nd grade classes, etc... Each day has 6 periods (with the optional free time/club 7th period). On average, I'll teach about 4 or 5 periods of the day with free/planning time left over. What's great about Ishikawa is that they have a devoted English Classroom where all the students go. This makes my job pretty great because not only do I not have to worry about lugging all my materials and worksheets around the entire day, but I get to have my classroom set up with everything I might need. 

(One of my Self-introduction classes)


My class room is a big, open, desk-less space at the top corner of the NorthWest wing. It has a fantastic view and came stocked with lots and lots of english teaching resources (thanks previous AET's)! 

Check it out!

What's even greater than my awesomely cool English room is that I've kind of been implemented in the Schools marching band. 
Oh ya, and one thing I should mention about Ishikawa is that they're considered to have the best Elementary marching band in Japan. Like, ALL of Japan. 
I don't know how it happened but once some of the teachers found out I can play drums and I taught private lessons back in the States they we're super excited. So excited, in fact, that during my school's assembly (to welcome me) they had a marching snare set center stage for me to play. Even though I hadn't touched a pair of Ralph Hardimon's since 2008, I think the little kids enjoyed watching me play. 

Just look at that technique!
Anyway, I must have made a good impression because since then the School's band director has allowed me to work with the drumline everyday this past few weeks. Yes, I am on cloud 9 and I'm the luckiest man in the world. Not only do I get to teach English to some of the cutest, most respectful children on the planet, I get to be a part of their extracurricular percussive activities! What?! I still can't believe it. I even got a jacket!
60% of the time we groove every time. 

Keep in mind that Marching band in Japan is almost an entirely female thing. From my understanding, when students enter Elementary they have to choose between athletics and the arts. As a result, most of the boys go with sports and most of the girls do band - or something else in the Arts. I think this is kind of a bummer. On the other hand, it makes for the most adorable marching band you've ever seen. 

(I'd be posting pictures and videos of my students BUT our contract restricts us from that. Some precautionary privacy thing... psh.)  

The following picture is as close as I can get to what I get to experience every day. 
...except my drumline is cuter. 

More about Japanese Schools...
From what I can tell, Japan is definitely a group-think culture with a clearly defined hierarchy. Nothing... and I mean nothing... is done without considering the group. Perhaps this is most evident in the school system. 

The Teachers Room

In every school in Japan there is a teachers room. Every teacher has their own desk, and there is two connected rooms towards the back; the printing room and (of course) the "tea room". The main area is filled with two rows of desk sitting adjacent to each other. At the head of the room is the Koucho Sensei. He's the head dude principal guy and generally a hands-off manager. Next to him is the Kyoutou Sensei. He (or she) is the one that does much of the "hands-on" managing. Next to them could either be a head coordinator or disciplinarian or both. 
If you can't visually see it I'll go ahead and say it. 
AET's aren't exactly at the top of the Totem pole. 
If I ever need anything, say, like vacation time or help understanding some Kanji- I would likely NOT go to Kocho Sensei. I must work my way up the ladder starting with the head english teacher or perhaps the secretary.  But, because I'm a foreigner and because I don't know Japanese and because I'm generally clueless as to 90% of the customs and culture of Japanese school systems everybody is/has been rather forgiving and flexible with me. What might be entirely inappropriate and insubordinate for a Japanese teacher might be forgivable should I do it unknowingly. 

Like for instance... 

Whistling... Considered very rude in the workplace. 

Wearing your inside shoes inside...on carpet. 

Resting your hands in your pant pockets...has a perverted association with it.

Washing your face with your hand towel. 

All of these things I've had to learn first hand. Thankfully, my teachers are super kind and find all most of my cultural mistakes humorous rather than offensive. 

One of the most amazing things I've seen so far in Japan is the people's pursuit of cleanliness. I walk around outside and it's hard to spot trash. Anywhere. In Mito City, at school, around my neighborhood... anywhere! It's crazy. What's more crazy is that cleanliness and taking responsibility of your environment is instilled in children from the very start. 

Lunch & Cleanup Time

Ok, so everyday every student and teacher has the exact same lunch. I've heard that some other schools have a day once a week where the students can bring their own but my experience has been everybody eats the same thing. Again, this goes back to the community culture. When it is time to eat, 4 or 5 students from every class go and collect everything needed for that particular class - the bowls, the soup, the milk, the wash clothes, etc. Everything is already prepared but not distributed. So, when the time comes, everybody puts on their little white apron and little white mouth mask and little white hat and the service begins. Every student has a part in making lunch happen. Some set the utensils out, some pass out the milk, some wash down the tables with a wet rag, some are pouring the soup into each bowl. 

It's the most precious thing you will have ever seen. ***

And they do this in every class starting in kindergarten all the way up to junior high. 
Once the meals are ready, 3 or 4 students get up to the front of the class and read off a little informative thingy. What are they saying? I have no idea. I think it's a few things about what exactly we're eating, maybe some light news and announcements. I really don't know. But it's cute. It's all so cute. 
Once they're done, we "Itadakimasu" it and start chowing down. How's the food?

I LOVE IT!
Once finished with the meal, the class begins cleaning up. It's pretty much just like before but in reverse. And after they clean up from lunch they'll have an hour or so long recess and then come right back and... have clean up time. There are no janitors in the schools. Students are 100% responsible for taking care of their designated area. I'll be walking around during this time and see some kids vacuuming, others are mopping, taking out trash, cleaning the chalkboard, rinsing sinks, etc, etc... 
It's really a sight to see. I wish I could film it just to give you a glimpse of the whole ordeal. And it's not just a terrible labor time for the kids. They enjoy it. It's more about taking responsibility for what's yours and doing something about it together- with other students AND teachers.  It's easy to see how having clean streets is possible after seeing what they done in school growing up.  

My commute to school is made easy via my 6 speed collapsable bike. It's about a 15-minute ride. Along the way I pass by a "Lawsons" which is a popular convenient store (think OnCue but 1/5 the size), our laundry mat (if we need to machine dry our stuff) and a few coffee shops and bars.

Thug Life*

Some Recent Fun


The best way to travel around Japan really depends on where you want to go. I can ride my bike anywhere in Mito if I need to but I can get a 3 dollar bus ticket to Mito station which then will get me anywhere in Japan. 

Senior photos anyone?

Two weeks ago a big group of AET's went hiking on Mt. Tsukuba. It was gorgeous, but Carmon and I nearly died.
If you're from Oklahoma, it's just barely taller than Mt. Scott in Lawton. 
You can't go hiking without the right gear, either. 

Shameless plug*
All the girls that went on the hike (most of them AET's)
Just this last week Carmon and I took a couple day trips out to some popular tourists spots. We went right in the middle of one of the most busy national holidays so it was insanely crowded. On Friday we took a two-hour train ride to Ashikaga flower park. Carmon's been dreaming of going since she saw a screensaver of some tree's there at her old work. 

Japan's famous "Wisteria" tree!





Iphone's Panorama is my JAM!


The next day we took a trip out to Oarai. I really wanted to see the ocean and there happens to be a fantastic Aquarium there to so we made it a day! 





And you can't go on a day trip to the beach without the right gear! 
Shameless plug*


Ok, that's all I got for now. There's a million more things going on and a billion more things I could tell you about. Food, friends, weird encounters, earthquakes, ironman 3... the list could go on. And now that I have a couch it should be much easier to keep this thing posted. Till next comfy butt session... chow!






















*** Carmon does not believe this is correct English. I believe she is wrong. You decide.