Home for the Holidays

Background music: "I'll be Home for Christmas"
Current location: The black hole that is my room
Current activity: Drowning in packing

Yep. I'm getting all ready to head on home for the holidays. I can't believe it's already here. I bought this ticket back in July and yet, it doesn't feel like it's been that long ago.

I'm excited though. It shall be fun to see how much America has changed since I've been away, and see which stuff I had forgotten America has that Japan doesn't. And remember just exactly how well I handle 12-hour flights. o_O

The fun part is that I will take off from Osaka at 7pm and will land in LAS two hours before I took off.

And people say you can't do time travel. ^_^

Anyway, back to packing.

Saturdays in Japan

And last but not least: Saturdays!

Saturdays are great, since I only work 4 hours the whole day, with almost a 2 hour lunch break in between. Tis soooo nice ^_^ And I get off by 4pm. Makes it even better.

I start off the day with a 1 hour class with five 7/8 year olds; three girls and two boys. You can tell it's a Saturday morning since most of the kids look either sleepy or spaced out, but we usually can pull off a decent lesson.

My next class is filled with 5/6 year olds and they're usually all hyper and ready to go. Such a contrast to my previous class. This class, since it's only 30 minutes, usually flies by and I have trouble trying to get the whole lesson in sometimes.

The following class is a baby class. This one fluctuates all the time with who comes, but I get at least two and usually whip up the same lesson plan I had used on my favorite guinea pigs on Friday.

Then I have my lovely two-hour lunch break before heading back to teach 3 adults. This one is solely converastion, so I often introduce a subject and then am in charge of just keeping the conversation going and correcting their English or clarifying any points that they are confused with.

The next class is another baby class, usually with just one little boy, but sometimes I get more. I know it's sounds funny, but it's really hard to do a baby class with just one baby. My lessons don't last as long when there aren't other kids to prod into saying the words, so I often have to pad this class lots of extra activities in order to keep the boy entertained. I'm always really glad when I hear there will be another baby in the class.

My last class is an odd one. The girls are super quiet while the boys are super loud. Well, only two boys are really loud and if one of them is missing, the other one because as quiet as the rest of the class. So sometimes I have a really loud class that is hard to control and other times, it's as quiet as the dead and I'm struggling to get any response out of them. But they're slowly improving. :)

And this concludes my 'Week in Japan' posts. I hope you enjoyed it. ^_^

Fridays in Japan

Fridays and Saturdays are my best days; Friday because of the students and Saturday because of the scheduling.

I start off Friday with a special baby class that is really an adult class in disguise of a baby class. Basically, mothers bring their very young children with them and I get to alternatively entertain the kids and chat with the mothers in English. I currently have two mothers and they're a lot of fun to talk to. And their kids are so cute. It's a really fun class and a great way to start off a Friday.

The next class is a regular baby class, but all the kids that come are smart and very responsive which is great. I love it when I can get the whole class laughing, mothers included. This is also my favorite baby class since there are usually enough students to allow more fun in games that I make up, and the kids are smart enough to figure out what I'm trying to ask them to do. And they laugh at all my funny faces. Those are always a plus. ^_^

After a short lunch break, I then get back on my bike and head on over to Kokubunji again. My first class here is with five adorable 5 year olds; four girls and one boy. All of them get along with each other and are eager to learn English and all are very obedient. I have no idea how I got so lucky, but I love this class.

The following class is with four 5/6 year olds; one girl and three boys. These aren't quite as obedient as the former class, but all of them are eager to learn English and they are quite smart. And I can tease them. That's always a plus.

The next class is my one blight in an otherwise perfect day: four overly-energetic 6/7 year old boys. All of them have different learning speeds and all of them are always going in different directions. It's really hard to get them to focus, but I have a few tricks. They really dislike being sent outside, so threatening them with that tends to get a reaction. But alas, it doesn't last long, so I usually have to try some other tricks. Some days I manage well, and some days I don't. It's like my other class on Thursdays: always a toss up.

Thankfully, my next class is quiet calm in comparison. Three adorable and quiet girls and only three somewhat rowdy boys. Two of the girls adore me and so they hang on to every word I say. The other girl used to be very quiet and shy and, for a while, couldn't come into class without breaking into tears. But she's finally warmed up to me since she now laughs and smiles and is quite happy to come to class now. Yay!

As for the boys, one boy can focus really well while the other two aren't so good at it. But I usually don't have much of a problem with them if I give a certain stern look. Which is good since I'm usually so drained out from my last class to really put up a fight.

And then, finally, my favorite class of the week (and coincidentally my last class of the day). Eight 10 year olds; four girls and four boys, evenly split. Boys always sit on the right and the girls always sit on the left. They're so funny. But the main reason why I love this class is because I can tease them as much as I want, but when we need to get serious, they're instantly focused. It's great! And they all have nicknames that I call them and which they all hate. Hee hee ^_^ My favorite two students to tease are "Bubbly" and "Halloween", as I call them. They react so well to my teasing and yet are still having fun. And it's a lot of fun doing games with them since the two sides of genders always team up against each other. It's so much fun to egg them on, too.

And that's my 'Friday in Japan'!

Thursdays in Japan

On Thursdays, I do a lot of traveling.

First, I drive to Kanonji (over an hour away) for a weekly staff meeting. Then I have to race back in order to get on my bike and head on over to a school in Kokubunji - a 40 min bike ride away.

I teach in Kokubunji twice a week, which is good, since it's my favorite school. I get along with most of my students, and some of my best classes are there.

For Thursdays, I start out with three 5 year olds for a half hour, trying to teach them the basics of English. They can get a bit wild, but I can usually control them, and they're always ready to play ^_^

The next class is 1 hour with five very active 6/7 year old boys. I love rough-housing with these boys, but they're a handle to control in class. Three of them can focus, but two of them are always going every which way and often both are going in opposite direction of each other. So I alternate my time controlling one while yelling at the other to sit down and trying to teach a lesson to the half-focused remaining three. Some days I make it; some days I don't. It's always a toss up. But it's such a joy when I can get all five to focus on me at once, which I can usually get at least for five minutes each time, thanks to storytime. They may not appreciate lessons and can get out of hand for games, but they all will be riveted as I dramatize a storybook. ^_^

The following class is another class with boys. Despite just being two of them, they can just be as much of a handle as the former class. This is because, for some absurd reason, these kids seem to take delight in torturing me. They know how to manipulate and they're good! But, I have my own tricks and one I recently discovered is the game 'Sorry.' These boys love this game
and will do anything not to have it revoked. So now all I have to do is go 'No Sorry?' and instantly they're back in their seats, their devilish natures checked. Ha! No 5 year olds are going to beat me.

My next class is my insane class. Nine kids (sometimes ten) in the 8 year range. They'd always break up into camps. Three girls on the right who chatter non-stop; three quiet, yet devious boys on the right, always up to something mischievous; and three boys in the middle, mischievous as well, but too obvious and loud to really pull anything off. This was really hectic at first, since I'd quell one group, only to have another group act up. I could usually get two groups controlled, but never all three. But then my co-worker introduced me to the marvelous invention of chips.

Not chips as food, but colored discs/chips that I can give out as a reward for paying attention/being quiet/answering correctly, which they then give to my coworker who has worked out a reward system for how many chips they got. It has been working marvelous. Two of the boys are still have a hard time remaining quiet, but once I start grabbing chips (which implies I'll soon be awarding them), they are all ears and eager to act. It's great.

The following class is a breeze. One jr high school student who is eager to learn English. We fly through the lesson and then we always have our weekly match of Sorry. It's so much fun. We're evenly matched, so it's a toss up to who will actually win, and we really get into it. And I won this week. Hee hee ^_^

My last class of the day is a private conversation-only class with a jr high school student who was always stressed out. Poor girl. And apparently she needed to cut back on something since I was told she will no longer be coming. Sad. She was fun to talk to and finding about the latest fashions that happen within younger generation of Japan. Currently, it looks like I will be having an adult coming instead. She teaches English in the public schools in Kotohira and looks like she's seeking to improve her English. Shall be fun to help her out.

And finally, once I clean everything up, I get to bike 40 minutes before crashing spectacularly at home. Yay me!

And that's my 'Thursday in Japan'!

Wednesdays in Japan

Wednesdays are my long days (now that Tuesdays are more relaxed).

My first class is actually for a daycare about 10 minutes by bike from my apartment. The kids can range from 10 to up to 20 or more. The age is even more spread out, but I think the average would probably be around 4 or 3. These kids are so cute, though. Most of them are starved for attention and so me just chasing after them or tickling them produces the biggest smiles on their faces. It's so adorable. I get to spend only a half hour with them, usually singing songs and helping them practice the English alphabet and numbers, before I then have to take off for another class.

The next class is an adult class. I originally had two mothers that were trying to study English while their kids where in school, but now I have three college age students. This is my only adult class where I teach out of a book (the others are just conversational classes), though we only focus on it only half the time. The rest of the time is spent chatting about whatever topic catches our fancy, like dancing and testing. ^_^

I then get a short lunch break before I then have to drive 45 minutes to a school in Marugame. At this school, I work for four and half hours, doing 6 classes. My first class is another adult class, though with only one adult and it's only for a half hour. My next class is a baby class.

In baby classes, I can get less than 1 year olds and up to 3 year olds, but they all come with their mothers. The idea is for them to hear English while they're in that language learning stage, but it can be rather difficult to keep their attention. So we sing a lot, and I try to do activities that allow them to use their hands. It's rather fun trying to think up how to teach the ABC's, numbers, colors, etc, in a way that would keep a 2 year old occupied for a half hour.

After that class, I have another half hour with four 4/5 year olds who are so much fun to tease, yet get down to business when I need them to. I have got them well trained. ^_^ The following class is another half hour with three 5/6 year old boys. Two of the boys are always all over the place, while the third one is timid and can usually end up crying. At first, this class was really hard for me to handle, but ever since I started grabbing the wild boys and forcing them to sit in my lap if they refuse to pay attention, I have seemed to be able to control them better. And the third boy hasn't burst into tears for a month. Yay! Progress!

The last two classes are 1-hour long, the first with two 10 year olds and the latter with three jr high school students. Both are great to teach since they breeze through the lessons so well and we can get down to playing games and reading fun books. Plus, the latter class is at a high enough level in English where we can play cooler games such as LIFE or Quibbler, and actually get into some tense competitions. It's so much fun! ^_^

I finally finish around 8pm and then get to drive 45 minutes back home, though I tend to visit some friends that live in Marugame and end up not getting home until waaaay late. But hey, at least I have fun. ^_^

And that's my 'Wednesday in Japan'!

Tuesdays in Japan

Tuesdays used to be my most stressed and busiest days, but they're now quite nice.

Currently, I have mornings off and teach in the afternoon at the school that is within 5 min from my apartment by bike. My first class of the day is my special 3 hour class with (usually) 8 students, ranging from 4 to 10 years of age. The idea is that these kids get to experience 'coming home' to an American home after school. So, we get to make a snack together, play a game, do a fun craft, and learn a song, while intermittently learning a bunch of English phrases.

I really enjoy this class since I can rough-house with them whenever I want and still teach them cool stuff in English. And it's hilarious to watch them try out some of my more insane snack ideas ^_^

After my 3 hour class, I then have two, 1-hour classes (well, technically 50 minutes). The first one used to be one of my worst classes since there were 5 boys and one girl, all 10 years of age and all not there by choice. You know the type: the ones that are there only because their parents make them, but truly would rather be elsewhere.

The only thing they ever seemed to want to do was to play a game (we play games at the end of lessons) and that game had to be specifically Uno, or they wouldn't want to play it. Unfortunately, Uno has been banned (tis a long story), so I had quite a hard time getting them to do anything.

Then, one day, I decided to steal one particularly difficult boy's hat. The entire class gained up on me to recover the hat (and they got it back quick), but afterwards, I seemed to have gained their respect (no idea on why/how), and we've been doing much better now-a-days. It's not a great class, but it's no longer one of my worst. And I still try to steal that boy's hat, just for the fun of it ^_^

My next (and last class of the day) is one of my best classes. Two sweet girls, age 10 and 11, and both eager to learn English. Such a contrast to the one I just previously taught. These kids zip through the lessons with ease and then we spend the rest of our time playing games and/or doing contests to see who could beat the other.

Earlier in the year, I use to have a morning class where I'd have to race off to a ferry at 7:30am in the morning to teach at a daycare (with the cutest kids) for 2 hours on another island, and then race back in time to make it to my 3 hour class, making me going non-stop from 7am to 8 at night. Though I miss the cute kids in the daycare on the other island (and the fun ferry ride), I am enjoying the more relaxed morning that I now have.

And whallah! That is my 'Tuesday in Japan' in a nutshell.

Last Week of the Year!

I can't believe Christmas is in two weeks! Or that I've been here in Japan for over 7 months now. Where did all the time go?? My weeks seem to just fly by.

And speaking of weeks, this week is the last normal week that I'll be teaching this year (next week, we'll be doing a fun craft all week long. Whee ^_^). And so, to celebrate it, I'll post up what I usually do - workwise - for each day of this week.

Hope you enjoy it.