Thursday, December 16, 2010
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.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
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 )
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 )
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
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.
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.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
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.
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.
Friday, December 3, 2010
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?
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?
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