snippets of the past month. . .

there are many things here i still do not understand. . .i mentioned earlier something called ふとうこう,which i still do not know the exact translation for. . . but it has something to do with the free pass system and students who cannot (or maybe just do not) come to school everyday. . .

two students in the junior high school miss class regularly. . . especially mondays. . . they both stay in the dormitory during the week, so once they get away from home, they are forced to get up every morning and get to school. . . not only get up and to school but also to clean the dormitory for about fifteen minutes. . . first thing, every morning. . . again, i don't understand why they don't come. . . even more so, i don't understand why they are in the class they are in. . . this is where the free pass system comes in. . . several students in the junior high school cannot read and write japanese well. . . partially because they never went to class in elementary school. . . but they are somehow in the same class as everyone else. . . in japan, everyone moves up, every year with his/her class. . . no one is ever held back. . . this continues until the end of junior high school when students take their exams and have interviews to get into the high school of their choice. . . those that do not pass or do not want to go on end their education here. . .

in the elementary school fifth grade class, i have a girl who falls into this same ふとうこう category. . . from the little information i was finally able to squeeze out of the school counselor, she is depressed because her mother left. . . she almost never comes to school. . . but her brother, who is in junior high school, attends school almost every day. . . anyway, えり(her name is eri) came to school today for my class. . .that is all. . . to take my english class. . . i teach her class once a month. . . somehow english and sports are the only motivating factors in her life (i hate to see people depressed. . . especially kids. . .it doesn’t seem fair). . . she is very cute and quite confident (especially one on one). . . relates well with her classmates (or at least appears to have some good friends). . . a bit of a tomboy. . . probably knows more english than anyone else in her class. . .but it’s so sad! why will she not come to school? and why is she allowed to miss school??? does this happen in america?

i am realizing how little i know about the workings of the american school system . . . granted i know it well as a student. . . but as a teacher?? those are two very different perspectives! are there students who come to school only once or twice a week (if that)? and students who get by with this free pass system?

oh! the other large problem i have is that students almost never do their own work! they constantly 'cheat' off each other. . . cheating by my american standards that is. . . what I call cheating is often considered healthy group work here. . . granted there is something to be said for group work (which they do A LOT of) and learning through teaching your peers. . . and some of the students are amazing teachers. . . but flat out copying really gets to me. . . the students get really mad at me when i stop them or take away their papers before they finish copying the answers. . . i don't really know if i am supposed to do anything about it, since it is the main classroom teacher’s job to discipline, but it bugs me beyond belief. . . ms. kawamura hasn't told me to stop. . . in fact, i think she has become a bit more strict about it. . . anyway. . .

now that i have ranted about how annoyed i get with the school system, it is time for a few positives. . .

two quick reasons why i love my job. . .
'i am gold toilet.'
'i'm a chicken'
the first was a summary of a day long trip i took with two members of my community class to eat うどん(udon) in 香川 prefecture (maybe an hour from kahoku. . .still on shikoku) and then visit the gold tower, which included gold shoes and a gold toilet. . . the second was from a fourth grade student in response to me holding up a picture of a chicken and asking 'what is this?' i am quite certain that he had no idea that 'i'm a chicken' has other meanings in english. . . yet he must have heard the expression somewhere because all of his previous answers used 'it's a . . .'

what else? oh! my birthday is in a week and a half (november 19th). . . hint, hint ;) . . . haha, really though. . . one of my friends is planning something for friday (nov 18th). . . i think it’s a trip to an おんせん . . . but it’s a surprise, so i am not certain. . . on saturday (my actual birthday), i think some members of my community class are planning a surprise pizza party for me. . . this one guy makes amazing pizzas! . . . i could be completely off on both of these, BUT i saw several things i wasn’t supposed to see. . . on tuesday, the pizza guy was talking quietly to some of the other students with a sheet that said something about ‘home away from home’ and ‘november 19’ . . . cute! people here are so good to me. :) to top it all off, the fourth harry potter movie comes out on november 26th with a sneak preview that i may be going to on the 19th. . .

also, if i have not told you. . . i have two dance concerts this month. . . one on sunday the 13th (ballroom dance with the old folks. . . well, middle aged to old). . . and one on sunday the 20th with my martha graham instructor. . . i will be ‘rain’ with a bunch of little kids. haha. . . yesterday she asked me if i would do a solo in her april dance theatre performance. . .not with little kids as rain, but a solo that she wants to choreograph for me. . . exciting, huh?

hehe. . . the entire office just stopped everything to help me find this restaurant in なんごくwhere i am supposed to meet someone for dinner tonight. . . every time i ask a question everyone in the room stops to help. . . quite amusing really.

okay, that is enough for now. . . really sorry that i am not able to update my blog more frequently. . . i always have so much to say!!! so much more has happened in the past month. . . i moved to the second floor of the dormitory (i guess the superintendent and jr. high principal had a bit of a disagreement on this one when i came. . . my friend – one of the few people that tells me the whole story – said it is because the first floor is not as safe for a single woman. . . it’s all the same to me, since i am living in the highland, kansas of japan, where people leave their keys in the car when they go to the store and have open markets with no clerks – just a box to drop some money in – trusting that everyone will pay) although the move was a bit of a pain, i like many things about my new room (e.g. i now have an automatic washing machine) . . . oh! the superintendent finally took me to dinner!! we went to this AMAZING french restaurant in kochi –guess he knew the chef. . .what else? . . .winter has made it’s way to kahoku (not winter as i knew it in minnesota, but winter as i know it in kahoku without heaters in the classrooms! how crazy is that? i suppose it is similar to minnesotans not have air conditioners in the summer??? maybe not. . . anyway, i am learning to wear many, many, many layers, as mornings are freezing and afternoons are average). . .last bit of info for now. . . kahoku had its largest festival last thursday – ‘the festival of the kawakami shrine – to pray for a rich harvest. (too much to say about this . . . i will try to post pictures soon). . .

really, i need to stop now so that i can go get lost trying to find this restaurant. . .

other fun stuff. . .

some people are like slinkies...
not really good for anything, but they still bring a smile to your face when you push them down a flight of stairs. (thank you mother . . . this was a fun one to translate for one of my coworkers)

saying goodbye california sun, hello midwest
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/07/business/07move.html?emc=eta1
(kind of like saying goodbye chicago, hello highland, kansas)



ahhhhh!!!! i almost forgot to share the most exciting information of the past month!!! two of my girls competed in a jr. high english speech contest last saturday. . . i thought, oh, they will do okay. . . maybe one of them will be lucky and get third or fourth place. . . nope. . . we got first and second place!!! i love my students. :) now, i have to keep them motivated for contest number two on november 26th. . .

okay, now おわります．