Two: Ramblings to catch you up

Week 12. Its official: I have been here for 3 months. I have finished training, passed my test, moved to my new city, settled in to my new apartment, and begun regular teaching. I think that means I can completely and confidently say that I live in Japan, more specifically I live in Matsuyama. Right? So I thought it was time for another installment.

Originally I was going to make this a weekly thing but if you know me, that was never going to happen – that’s way too much commitment and organisation for me to accomplish. But now that I’m sick and have been resting for about a week, I have the time to write this – and have finished watching all the television I can bare without my eyes turning square. And had all the sleep that my body is physically capable of doing. However, I did just eat a whole plate of spaghetti so this post might get cast aside when I fall asleep from carbohydrate overdose. Who knows? I’ll write as much as I can until that happens. Oh and if this seems to be written by a hyperactive child then forgive me because I had a fever for 3 days and my brain feels like a lead weight in my skull. So that’s fun, I guess.

Anyway, these past few weeks have been Summer School which is a special event for the kids enrolled where they go on a little adventure in the classrooms and learn about topics and characters they don’t usually cover in their regularly scheduled classes. They are divided into 3 courses depending on their age and are mixed among students they don’t usually attend classes with. This means they interact with other kids they may not know very well or have ever met. This change in dynamic could be difficult to manage at times but the kids who attend summer school mostly want to be there as its not mandatory – its also not something that their parents historically elect for them and its something they have to want to be a part of before enrolling. For this reason it is advertised as a fun holiday activity as opposed to the typical learning based curriculum during the school term. There are crafts, organised games, team activities and a serving of English on the side to keep things educational. It was a fun couple of weeks and was worth the intense prep that led up to it. With demos, creating relevant visual aids and working with our Japanese counterpart staff it was a lot of time on our behalf but so much more on that of management. Especially for the artists who made the textbooks and accompanying materials – those things were incredible and so well put together. I was impressed.

I am extremely lucky in that my regularly scheduled classrooms are fairly close to my apartment. On my second day in Matsuyama I decided to buy a bicycle – a ‘mamacherie’ as they are commonly called here – to get around. It cost just under $200 (AUD) and I picked it up from Go Shop near Mastuyama City station. I picked out the colour I wanted from a catalogue and arrived the next day to my gorgeous bike being unwrapped right there and then. The guy who owns the shop was very helpful and has since been very kind when I finally got around to putting the seat up. My knees and I thanked him for his assistance in this endeavour.

I didn’t intend to use it to get to my classrooms but when I figured out how close they were I thought I’d give it a go. One is a 40-minute ride, another is 30 and one is 20 minutes. My fourth school however is a further and takes about an hour and a half with the time spread between 2 trains – luckily my company is staff-friendly in that it reimburses our commuting costs. I enjoy the rides and I’ve mapped out the routes with the least amount of hills for my OSH of course. I do try to get to my classrooms over an hour before my lessons start to give my face time to fade to my normal skin colour from the frighteningly red hue that arises whenever I do anything physically challenging. And no, it’s not because I’m unfit. Actually, yeah, it could be because I’m unfit. Oh, that and the 38 DEGREE WEATHER IN THIS GOD AWFUL RECORD BREAKING HEATWAVE WE ARE CURRENTLY EXPERIENCING. So I guess my answer to your question is yes, I am looking forward to the cooler months. Why do you ask?

My bike’s name is Molly. She says hi.

A care package arrived the other day. If you don’t already know my mum is brilliant and the most magnificent person I know. And even though she (most audibly) frowns on my expansive chocolate consumption (get it? Coz im expanding with all the chocolate I eat. Ha lol) at home its as though whenever I am away this fear of diabetes and other sugar related health issues dissipates and eating sugary treats is something not only encouraged but enabled with gifts of Kinder Surprise eggs, Buenos, raspberry liquorice, Malteasers and Twisties delivered straight to my door at inordinate cost to her. My mother is sweet and beautiful, she is delightfully offbeat but most of all she is wonderful – just like a Bueno. SHOUT OUT: love ya, ma. Love ya, Buenos.

We had some flooding about a month ago and I bought some sick ass welly boots. That’s cool, too. What’s not cool is that it floods in Japan. In summer. In summer, people. SUMMER. Also, there’s a freaking typhoon warning pretty much every week and it feels like you live next door to the sun because of the humidity. So, so far, Japan has a lot going for it, except, you know, the weather. The weather is not cool. At least not in summer. (Lol.)

Mmmm. What else? My kids are great. I love teaching them. They are funny little things, smart as heck, and they try as hard as H-E-double hockey sticks. Understanding Japanese does come in handy when learning to love the students, however it is for sure not essential. Because while they are humourous in their native language, as they entertain each other and attempt to connect with us teachers, their quick wit extends to their English. It really is amazing to witness.

I’ll eventually write more about the students but this is just an update to get it out there and to prove that I’m not a one trick pony. Actually being a pony could be sweet. My mane would be killer with braids and accessories. Well, if you’re reading this I am probably not a pony…yet. Eh, I’ll figure it out.

Matsuyama City on the weekends is very happening. The main streets are crawling with children up past their bedtime, people traipsing around with oversized shopping bags and police men directing these hordes as they cross from one side of the strip mall to the other. And then sometimes you’ll spot the small blonde Australian who forgot it was Saturday after teaching for 5 hours and is trying to navigate her way horizontally across the crowd as they travel vertically. And she has a bike, the ignorant hack.

Woah, did I get you? Calm your wonder and mystery, for I am that ignorant hack! Huzaah! Ok I’m tired. Good night. TTYL.

#japan #teachlife #teaching #abroad #matsuyama