Please Use Me!

I feel so underused whenever I am in junior high school. At the average, I only have about 3 classes and that’s it. Not that I am complaining(or am I?). It is an easy life but I feel that I could have done more or at least, the JTE could have made use of me more. I do not have any complaints in my elementary classes because they are always full at 5-6 classes a day and me doing 70-100 percent of the lesson.

The Life of a Chicken Curry

Today, I found a copy of the school’s newsletter on my desk. I usually ignore it but something caught my eye. “命のチキンカレー”.the life of a chicken curry. It was an article written by the principal recounting the essay of the same title, that he just read. The said essay was written by a 3rd year student in Aichi Ken who went to a poultry farm and personally experienced how to butcher a chicken. It seems that the said poultry farm is a regular “come-experience-it-yourself” and at first, they students were told the following “自分の手で鶏にナイフを入れ、チキンカレーを作る“or literally, “knifing the chicken with your own hands and make chicken curry”. Sounds so crude but fortunately for some of the students, it seems that they learned how to value life more because of the experience.
It all boiled down to appreciation of blessings and life particularly to their school or how they eat their school lunch. In Japanese schools, as much as possible, they have to eat everything served to them and not leave a morsel behind because it is wasteful. If you are interested in reading the essay, here it is. I would have translated it but it is too long for my translation powers. The principal went on to discuss about the meanings of the Japanese greetings before and after me亜ls。It was also my first time to hear about it thus I am sharing it here. This is a crude translation of his article.
“Do you know the meaning of “いただきます”(itadakimasu) and “御馳走様”? First, let me explain about “itadakimasu”. Everything that we eat, from the vegetables, animals, and fish were all living things. They also had their own lives. And so we are literally saying “we are about to partake of that life that they had”. The life that other living things had is now used to continue our own lives. And when we say “itadakimasu”, we are all thankful for those lives.

Now how about”御馳走様” （gochisosama）? This is said to give thanks to those who prepared the meal for us. The character [馳] has a [馬] horse in it. This suggests [走る] “to run”. The next character [走る], means “to run”. Even the “go” [御] is said to have the meaning of [走る]. Thus [走る] is used 3 times in this case. [御馳走] means “The person who prepared this meal has gone to different places to gather these ingredients and he did his best to make it delicious that I might be able to eat and enjoy my meal”.

In all my seven years here in Japan, it is only now that I understood the specific meaning behind this particular part of Japanese culture. There is no telling what I will learn again tomorrow.

(To those who can read kanji and are interested about the original essay by the student, click the link here 命のチキンカレー )

Mario-Luigi

I am back at my 2nd high school and I will be with them for the whole month of December. I thought they were my favorite but after being from my other JHS who are so serious and focused to the point of looking and acting like military cadets sometimes. However, seeing these boisterous, fun but most of the time really unnecessarily noisy students, (even in class), I have to think again.

They do seem more enthusiastic but to the point of showing no respect to their teacher. I see students standing and going to their friends’ seats even while the teacher is explaining. I am most disturbed because one particular student who is causing distraction and disruption in class is a Filipino. He claims to know English and understand whatever I say but his grammar is wanting and he refuses to do the assigned worksheets. What’s more, he is in cahoots with a student who I think has ADHD and thus need extra help, badly. I so pity those students who have genuine interest in learning and studying but have to endure their noise.

Anyway, in one of my 3rd year class, the boys have somehow developed a call sign for me. We have somehow gone into the habit of them saying “Mario” and me, answering “Luigi” back. It’s innocent enough so I let them, plus, I thought it would break some barriers and encourage them to talk to me more. But perhaps my one-month absence from their class is too much that when I came back, they tried their English on me. After class, the Mario-Luigi Banter followed plus a “shall we dance?” My guess is, they recently watched the movie “Shall we Dance” which is also originally Japanese. We exchanged a few sentences then off I went. However, as I walked away, I heard somebody say the “F_ _ _ Y _ _”. I looked back, not smiling, indicating that I understood what they said. And then, again, which I ignored. The third and fourth time, I thought, I really had to do something because, I was personally offended already. Granting that they are only trying out their English on me, I don’t want them to learn English using curse words besides I refuse to be the recipient of such an offending phrase, which originally was not really offensive. How it became to be such is perhaps a result of man’s abuse , again. So I went back, with my sternest face and somehow the culprit has already been warned. I confronted their leader and asked him who was shouting the phrase. Of course they wouldn’t say. I left their midst with a sharp retort of “If you don’t know the meaning of the word, don’t use it because it is not good”. Whether they understood it or not, I am not sure but perhaps my face and my voice said it all because the following days, the Mario-Luigi banter is gone and they do their “shifting eyes” whenever I meet them in the hallway.

My Lunch Hour 2 (Their dreams)

I had lunch with one of my favorite classes at one of my elementary schools. Our conversation went towards their dream for their future because they were asked to write something for their yearbook. Here’s the translated version:

Pupil A: My dream is to go to Tsukuba University and study Library Science and then work in a library.
Me: Why Tsukuba University and library science?
Pupil A: The course is good at Tsukuba University and I love to be surrounded with books!
( I so admire this kid. To have such a specific dream at that early age is something!)
Pupil B: My dream is to be a permanent employee at Tokyo Disneyland but I won’t mind if it’s Disney Sea too!
Pupil C: If you do that, you’ll have to work till late at night! (TDR closes at 9PM)
Pupil B: I don’t care it will be fun! (Clearly she still has a hangover from their recent field trip to the place.)
Pupil C: Mine is to find a beautiful, rich, and perfect wife and be happy all my life!
Me: What is a perfect wife for you?
Pupil C: Somebody like Marya sensei! (I don`t know where he got that idea.)
Me: But I’m not rich! (Notice how I did not deny the beautiful and perfect part.)
Pupil C: Well, it’s OK because I will provide for her but it would be better if she were rich.
Me: So how would you provide for her?
Pupil C: I will work for a company that will pay me aa high salary. (Good luck with that kid, Iand great hours too I hope!)
Pupil D: My dream is to be a lawyer! I will go to Harvard!
Me: Good for you! You should do well in your English then.
Pupil D: I didn’t think about that.

My Lunch Hour

I always look forward to kyuushoku or lunch time! One, because for somebody who doesn't eat breakfast, school lunch is such a feast. Two, it is really delicious (more on this on the next post). And three, there is always something new to be learned from my lunch hour discussion with the children. Some of my fellow ALTs told me that sometimes, they'd really welcome a break from school lunch. I can't really blame them because it could really be exhausting too! But for me, I only eat lunch together with the children in my elementary schools and not in my junior high schools thus I always welcome the chance to spend time with them especially those in the lower grades.

Most of the time, they'd ask me things like my favorite food, my birthday (and that of my husband, son and daughter), where I bought my watch and for how much, why do I like Japan, etc. But there are also instances when I am really taken by surprise by what is running in their bright little minds. Just the other day, I had my lunch with the first graders. They are so cute and so enthusiastic and the only thing that's making not want to bring them home is that I already have my own.

So anyway, it all started with the usual awe-filled realization that I am a "gaijin!" and "Eigo jouzu desu ne!". Big surprise! Hahaha! And they'd ask themselves things like "How come you can speak English so well?" or "How come you know the English words for so many things?" and somebody would shout "Gaijin dakara! (Because she's a foreigner!)" And suddenly they said something about Korea. And it suddenly evolved to what is happening in North Korea. And to my surprise, the discussion moved to the complexities of a nation going to war with another and why Japan shouldn't go to war, etc. etc... First Graders!!! Oh my, I was speechless! I couldn't cope up with their Nihongo much less with their political views! Whew! Now that is something that I am missing! An intellectual discussion! Who would have thought I'd get it from tiny 7-year olds!

And today, I was with the fifth graders. They are learning social graces. They were encouraged by their teacher to be polite and do at least a small talk with me while I was in their room. The group I was with did more than that. The gangly boy across me, who had been eating quite a lot, as most of the girls gave their food to him, suddenly talked to me in English! He never was so active in class but I came to know that he is also going to an English conversation school. Then, he opened his desk and took a cute little paper crane he made and said that I can have it. How timely that, I have been lugging these origami papers in my bag lately in the hopes that I would learn some origami after staying here for almost 7 years! And thus, I had my first origami lesson.

And to end this post, here is a riddle I learned from my third graders last Wednesday.
"にんじんは何歳ですか？" (Ninjin wa nan sai desu ka?) --- in English literal translation: How old is the carrot?

This Month's (November) Satisfaction Level

I made a lot of activities for my high school this month. Some were big hits and some were just average. The rating of course depend on the satisfaction level of my JTEs, which, I have learned to decipher. If they really liked it, they won’t stop praising it till the lesson for all the sections is over. If they didn't like it, they’d say something like “hmmmm so, well that was a good activity but maybe it’s too difficult for the students.” Don’t you just love how polite they can be?

There is Joy everyday…

In my opinion, the best joy in the life of a teacher is when she knows that she is able to effect a positive change in her students. Before I came to Japan to study, I was a teacher at the university. I have seen many students fail and pass my courses. I saw them graduate college and high school. I saw in their eyes the dreams that they have and the will to achieve their respective dreams. Although compared to elementary, college level students are already a bit cynical and jaded by the realities of life but there is still that spark of youth, idealism and enthusiasm. That spark is what I always look for whenever I enter a class.

Now that I am teaching junior high school and elementary school students in Japan, I can see a lot of sparks every time. My heart jumps whenever I see enthusiasm for learning from my students especially in the elementary and kindergarten. But, I am most moved when I see a bit of light where there was none. It is like seeing a weak, drooping plant suddenly springing to life with the water it has just received.

Dealing with children of ages 3 to 16, I can see varying levels of enthusiasm. Sometimes, I see extremes in just one class. One day, they’d go through my class like zombies and then the next they’d be like wild animals suddenly out of their cages and of course on good days, they’d be well behaved, participative and cooperative in class. Whatever day it is, I always try to see something that would make my day. Even just one student who would stay after class to talk to me in gibberish English or even if there is only one hand raised out of 30, that is already enough to lift me up. I refuse to be dragged to a sea of desperation and negativism because I noticed that if I consent to it, I’d slip back to speaking Japanese to the kids which of course, would defeat the purpose of me trying to teach them English.

Kindergarten / Hoikuen 1 - Jaaa oppai misete!

There are two types of preschools here, the yochien and the hoikuen. I have been to both to teach English to the kids. Well, actually, not strictly to teach but to get the children to be accustomed to foreigners. Hoikuens are bigger preschools and they have more teachers because they are like daycares where working parents can leave their children (2-months-old to 5 years old) from 8 in the morning to as late as 7 in the evening.

Last Friday, I went to a hoikuen. It is at the eastern-most part of the city near the port. I was pleasantly surprised when I found that the community "bus" that goes to that are is actually a van which is mostly used by grannies thus one enjoys their chatter as the van cruise along the port with its music playing so that everybody would know that the bus is near.

Anyway, I was welcomed by the Enchou sensei (Principal) who I later learned, is just a year younger than my mom. She gave me a tour of the place and told me that it is a first time for the school to have a visit from an ALT.

The day started with the morning greetings outside the school. And after I have introduced myself, we did the morning exercise to the tune of Totoro's "Arukou!", with about 10 children hanging on me, shouting my name. Oh dear... it is all so cute and heartwarming.


Unchi Watching anyone?

My first class was with the 4 year-olds where we played fruit basket. The teachers had me teach the children how to pronounce the colors right (that is, orange is "orange" and not "orenji" or grapes are "grapes" and not "gure-pu").I had the children close their fists at the last syllable. Even the teachers did it and I can say it effectively removed the hanging "tsu" and "to" in "furutsu basketto".

The second class was with the 3 year-olds where we played "Trip to Jerusalem" and I used my English songs. Then, because there was still time, I had them follow me around just chanting "walk", "sit down","stop", "stand", "turn around" and "clap". Boy they went wild when I suddenly say "sit down" while they were still standing up. Then the classing "head, shoulders, knees and toes". By the end of the 30 minutes, they were already humming the song and doing the gestures.

The third class, where I spent most of my time until it was time to go home was with the 5 year olds. They are more behaved and obedient. We did the color bingo, some more songs, gestures, fooling around and ate lunch together. After lunch, it was a free time for the kids where they can do whatever interest them. Some grabbed their crayons and drew. For a while, I stayed with the drawing groups showing my ABC flashcards and had the ABC song played in the CD.

A budding artist!

Then I went to the more active group who decided to play house which turned into a restaurant and I was their customer. When I told them I don't have money to pay for what I ate, they laughed and went through a lot ruckus. Then I asked if I can just wash the plates instead and they said no, it won't do. Then the 2 boys who are ever so clever told me with naughty twinkles in their eyes, "Jaaaa okane nai kara, oppai misete!" (Well because you have no money, show us your breasts!) My mouth went, "whhhhaat???" And that started a "breast-themed" discussion until it was time for everybody to go out and do some physical activities.

In between the English, fun and excitement are some squabbles, tears and scrapes. Regardless of nationality, children are the same. I had a nice chat with the principal before I went home and we talked about the joys and rigors of parenting and teaching and English education. The more I am with these kids, the more I believe that they are the real "国際人"- kokusaijin or literally translated as "International people" defined as "people whose minds are open to international community". Their innocence and warmth know no color, go beyond any language barrier and discrimination. I think that adults should go back to the basics and learn from the children. And thus I think that English learning should begin at that age too.

And at a different note, the more I visit these preschools, the more I am motivated to build one!

Elementary School 2

My students at one elementary school are going to Tokyo for their year-end school trip next week. And because Tokyo to most of these kids would mean seeing/meeting a lot more foreigners than they are used to, the teachers thought it would be a good practice for them to practice their English conversation skills. So instead of the usual Eigo No-to today, I helped them with their dialogues. If you are in Asakusa in the morning of the 25th and groups of children suddenly approach you and ask what your favorite food or place or how long will you be in Japan, I hope that you will gamely answer their questions. They were so eager to practice their question/conversation with me that I didn`t have the heart to tell them that we don't usually say Hi, what’s your favorite and Bye to a stranger.But well, I hope those unsuspecting foreigners will find humor in the situation.

One of the students asked me last week what my favorite Disney character is. She said she has a lot of money and will buy me an omiyage when they go to Disneyland. It is against policy to accept any gift or favor from the children and I wouldn`t want to not accept her gift when they come back so today, I had a little chat with the teacher-in-charge and warned him about the student's plan. The teacher smiled and understood.

My classes today were pretty good and all of the HRTs (HomeRoom Teachers) were eager to participate in the lessons.The children had fun shouting numbers and just plain fooling around with each new vocabulary that was introduced to them.

Priceless....

The target sentence for today`s lesson was, “When I was two, my sister was born.” And as usual students were told to take down everything that they were able to catch from the conversation. Of course, sino pa ba ang @ag-uusapan kundi buhay ko. I had to bring pictures of my sister and my family too.

Seen in one of the papers:
“When I was 2, my sister was boring.”

– Hehehehe if my memory serves me right, she was indeed!

Top of the World

I don’t know what is in Carpenters but it seems that the students find their songs easy to follow. I was informed that our 3rd year class began singing their song since April and they are already on their third song. That being, Top of the World. They now dance and sway to Mr. Postman and Thank you for the Music. It is just so good to see them singing English songs which they really understand and find fun in doing so too. This school is so musical that it seems as if all of the students are gifted with beautiful voices…

The answer of the day during our crossfire:
Me:
If today was the last day here on earth, what will you do?
Answer: “I will play soccer!”

----There goes one die-hard soccer fan!

Priceless....

Crossfire answer of the day:
If the last money that you have is only 500yen, what will you buy?
“I will buy orange juice!”

---Either he didn’t get the question (or I wasn't clear too) or he just loves orange juice so much!

Priceless....

After doing a mini dialogue with the JTE, the students were asked to write down any and all of the Englsh phrases that they can make out of our conversation. Seen in more than one of the students' memos:

“I have chocolates. Are you hungry? Please have yourself!”

- Now that would be very filling indeed!

Elementary School 1

Today, I was off early to school because the elementary school I am scheduled to visit today has an English time at 8 AM. It was just a 10- minute live video broadcast in school but they asked me to be featured on English time. The in-charge told me to do another jikoushoukai or self-introduction but as the whole school already knows who I am, I thought that that would be a boring topic. Besides after two months of talking about myself, I am already sick of saying the same things over and over again that I have also come to the point of questioning whether my hobby is really such and is mango really my favorite fruit? Oh well…

So anyway, to be different I thought it would be interesting if I wear the Igorot costume that my sister lent me. It would be another good opportunity to introduce culture to the children. But as the video is also being broadcasted to the first-graders, I had to use really simple English. Surely they wouldn’t be able to understand if I explained the meaning of each line, design or the fiber it was made of. So to make things easy, it became a study of colors (red, green, yellow, black and white) and instead of me wearing it, I asked for a volunteer to join me and model the tapis and vest. Needless to say, everybody had fun and it was also a great lesson for me. I didn’t know till today the symbolism of the Igorot tapis.

Today was full of fun. The teacher-in-charge of the English program joined me in my first 4 classes and he was the main teacher. I practically don’t prepare anything everytime I visit this school as everything has been photocopied and prepared and all I do is talk and follow the prepared lesson plan. But there are also times when I think the prepared lesson was so boring and lacking. Like today. I couldn’t help but suggest a game so that the children would at least be more active in class. How to suggest? The following is a crude direct translation of what was said in Japanese:

Sensei: I think today’s lesson was great and effective. You really have a great connection with the kids especially when you play that guitar. It really drove them wild.
Sense: Really? Thank you…
Me: Yeah,. But I noticed that we have about 5 minutes left in the class, do you mind if I let the children play a game in the next class? It will not take up too much time plus, we would be using the target conversation that we learned today. But we don’t have to do this today, only if we have some time left.” (which of course he understood that yes, the lesson was good but boring and please please let me do the game!)

Of course, I don’t always get my way but I think they appreciate it that the request was worded in a way they would do it. Anyhow, after the main lesson, I let the children play the “typhoon” game again. They had a blast last time and they asked for an encore plus it is applicable in today’s lesson. I love going to this school because you can just feel their enthusiasm for English- from the pupils to the teachers.
And because it is Friday, there is no last period so the children went home early. I joined the principal at the gate and we bid our bye-byes to each of the children. It ,of course, included some high-fives, and last minute storytelling by the children, which was, all in all, fun!

The Printing Room/ Insatsushitsu

If there is one thing I would like for the schools back home to have, it is the Printing Room, with all the gadgets and accessories.

On my first week, I was printing my own handouts but as I reflect on it, that could create a big hole in my already pockmarked pocket so I gathered my courage to ask for permission to use from the vice principal. They’ve got all sorts of printers. One that is used for less than 30 copies, one for bulk copies, another for colored, and all sorts of punchers and cutters and binders and oh my goodness, they all work too!

Now, if only schools in the Philippines have all these, I think it would lessen complaints (and even rallies) from the teachers who are paying for their teaching materials out of their already meager salaries.

I remember the ordeal one has to go through before one can get her exams or posters printed. They’d look at you as if you have been squandering the government’s nonexistent millions. I had experience teaching at two state universities both for college and high school students and if I only needed like 30 copies, I’d rather have them photocopied at my own expense. And yes, no colored realia then! Just the old Manila paper technology.

I think that the insatsushitsu would be like a taste of heaven for public school teachers in the Philippines!

Note to self: Really have to buy a small digicam so I can take pics wherever I go.

Ohhh like a model!!!

One thing I noticed about my JHS now is that most of the teachers are “oshare” or fashionable. To be fair with the other school, it was sports festival preparation when I was going there so all I saw them wear were tracksuits, which, of course, were also as fashionable as one would expect. Today, I wore a suit because I saw that they have some sort of closing ceremony in the afternoon. I generally wear the usual blouse and slacks or skirt and sometimes with a coat depending on the weather but only because all the teachers dress so well that I thought I need to keep up. We were advised to be a notch higher when it comes to dressing but if I go another notch higher than these teachers, I’d look like I’m going to my child’s graduation ceremony so I just wear what is decent and available. As I sat on my desk today, my two neighbors told me that I always dress well, like a model! Normally, I’d be red with pleasure and embarrassment over the compliment but perhaps 6 years in Japan have made me immune to such compliments especially if I can't distinguish whether they are “tatemae” or not.

And they went on to rave over my “figure” and the fact that I just gave birth 4 months ago. (I think they just ignored my bulges or that my blouse was really a good fit that it hid them). Anyhow, I chose to have a good day and thus, I chose to bask on their compliments whether true or not, I don’t care. I feel good…

First class, the JTE suddenly asked me to do a crossfire while she runs back to the faculty room to get something. (that’s another one to get ready for everyday!)

English for the day:

Me: If you have one wish, what would it be?
Student: I wish for a good dinner!

---- My guess, the kid is already fed up with yoshinoya LOL.

And today is also one of those days. Yesterday, the JTE (Japanese Teacher of English) asked me if I could prepare something for the next lesson as she herself has no idea what to do. The next lesson was just reading and there was no new grammar or vocabulary to be introduced but the story is about gestures. I thought it would be a perfect time to introduce culture so I prepared different pictures of gestures used around the world. Well, I only prepared 6 and I explained the meanings in simple English. My mistake... I should have made it into a game or something. Don't explain! Demonstrate! Of course, it flopped hehhhe. The kids were bored.

The consequence? The JTE cancelled my class with the same subject next week. Well, whether that was the cause or not, I don't really know but I won't even waste my time assuming hehehhe. Today, we are doing a back to back class on the same section and she asked me to prepare another activity. Ahh! Second chance! Well, win some, lose some.

Observation class Part 1

Be prepared…
Today, my schedule is to visit JHS#2 which is fastly becoming my number 1 JHS. I was supposed to have 3 classes today but my first period was cancelled. I saw from the schedule that I was supposed to play games with the students and help with the activity, what that exactly meant, I really don’t know so to be on the safe side, I prepared several activities in order not to be put on the spot should the JTE suddenly ask for an activity. From our orientation, we were told that we are also activity traders thus we must have a plethora of activities prepared for all kinds of lessons.

It pays to have a husband who is a graphic designer and who takes interest in what I do. Rad, as usual, made my activity handouts.

As it turned out, it was not used but the JTE graciously said she will use it in our next class. She has everything planned and prepared for today so all I did was to read and help the students in making their sentences.

A hundred visitors….
At the morning uchiawase, we were told that about a hundred of teachers coming all the way from Kyushu and Hokkaido, will come and observe the classes. About 15 or so dropped by our 4th period class to observe. You gotta hand it to the Japanese. Never in my life have I seen an event in school visited by a hundred people and yet life in school is as usual and the visitors tried hard to be as conspicuous as possible so as not to disturb the classes. In the Philippines, I just bet, it would have been a festival with just about everybody scurrying to make sure things go well and talking in excitement.

Now, (as I am writing this on the piano at the hall), some 30 teachers are observing a class in Japanese. Imagine 30 students and about 30 teachers (each armed with a clipboard and a camera or a videocam), all cramped inside the classroom and yet, the class is as normal as it is on a normal day. If I were a student, it would have felt as if I was under a microscope being dissected and had I been the teacher, that would have been an unnerving experience. But no, everything and everybody is cool and comfy. Or at least, they looked cool and comfy.

The meeting with the BOE

August 31 - I met with the BOE today. It seems that even if I have already been hired by the company and moved to our new apartment, there is still a chance of being rejected if the BOE doesn’t like the ALT. My supervisor thus warned me that he might be asking some mundane questions just to let the BOE hear how I speak. I was also informed that the BOE has rejected a Pinoy ALT before because of his “strong” accent.

I would like to describe how the meeting went and the Japanese way of negotiating but it is a thing best experienced first hand. Suffice it to say that we were not made to go and pack up our things again.

Some bits and pieces from the interview.
BOE: Since you have been speaking English since you were a child, do you think you want to be like an American or other native English speakers?
----- or at least that’s what I understood from the translation… and duhhh???

BOE: Since you speak several languages, what comes to your mind when say, you see a thing that needs translation?
------ I told them that when I was learning Japanese and the Sensei would show a picture of a flower, my mind would go “flower”, then “sabong” then “bulaklak” then “hana”. They were quite satisfied, I think as I heard several “Naruhodo”.

BOE: Did you write your dissertation in Japanese?
------ I think that if I answered “yes” to this question, I would not be in my work now.

Other questions were on how should I make the lessons fun and interesting and if I would be able to anticipate the needs of the JTE in every lesson. Of course they stressed on the importance of being an “assistant” to the main teacher.

I was not nervous during the interview but looking at their faces, and gestures, I have to admit that the thought that they’d reject me crossed my mind. They were, as our Japanese liaison put it, “poker-faced”. And that is very normal in a meeting. It helped though that my supervisor was looking at me encouragingly.

I can do interviews anytime but that is one interview I’d be happy not to do again.

What will you read here?

Why blog again?
From what little time I already have left in my daily grind, here I am adding another task. But this is a new experience for me and I want to share it in the hope that somehow whatever I post here would be of help to some ALTs especially Pinoy ALTs out there.

What’s to blog about?
I am a Pinoy ALT who is being dispatched to Japanese Junior High Schools, Elementary Schools and Kindergartens. I have been in this job for a month now (well it's two now since I wrote this) and being new at this, there has been a lot of surprises and lessons that I have encountered and come to appreciate. I won’t be blogging about the English language, but rather, about the job, the school system, and sometimes the relationships that come about.