Advertisement
Published: March 28th 2008
Edit Blog Post
shima731
me with my third-year junior high school class a week before they graduated Another school year has come to a close. Graduation and closing ceremonies were held, students have gone on a two-week spring break, and teachers are in the midst of cleaning out their desks and their apartments to move to their next schools assignment. I can’t get over how destructive the Japanese teaching system is to teachers’ lives, families, and well-being. I suppose it’s nice to have a new start at a new school every three years, but what about creating a life with lasting relationships in one place?
My friend and co-teacher, Eri, is being moved to another island after living and working on Yuge for three years. She is so upset about the transition, that she was even thinking about retiring, rather than being moved again. Teachers are not notified about their new placement until one week before they start working there, so it is an extremely stressful time. Eri had thought she would be moved back to her hometown on mainland Shikoku, where she had taught before coming to Yuge. However, she will be moving to another island.
The class she has been in charge of for three years here was her favorite group of students she
shima732
me posing with Eri in her beautiful kimono and hakama on graduation day has taught (and mine too). They graduated junior high school last week and will be moving on to different high schools as Eri moves on to her new school. Eri cried throughout their entire graduation ceremony even when she had to announce their names for receiving their diplomas. I cried a couple times too because my favorite students are leaving in addition to my good friend and co-teacher.
In addition to the chaos that goes on because of the new teachers and students at this time of year, the junior high school on the island next to Yuge is closing down, and all of those students will be joining Yuge junior high school. None of the teachers or students are looking forward to this, and the student body will be going from 50 students to about 90. The school is getting new student uniforms and everything!
Other than the changeover in my schools, my adult English conversation class is losing a few people (and will probably gain a few new people at the start of the new school year). A few of the international students who study at the Yuge marine technology school have graduated and are moving
shima733
two of my best graduating students, Ikue and Akie. I coached them for the regional English speech contest this past fall. on to universities elsewhere in Japan. Qomarul and Hannif (two of my Malaysian students who are leaving) came to my final potluck dinner I hosted for the end of the school year. Everyone made delicious vegetarian food to bring, and one of my obaa-chan students even made a kind of meat substitute from soy and wheat gluten- very impressive.
However, I was pretty disappointed with the response to the food I brought. I worked really hard on a huge pot of chili to bring. I had never made chili before, but I thought it and some corn bread would be a good example of typical American food. To my surprise, the chili came out great! It was so delicious, and I was really proud of myself for making such a good dish. Yet, all of the Japanese people at the potluck dinner refused to eat it! Japanese cuisine rarely includes any kind of spicy ingredient (even wasabi is eaten rarely and many Japanese people don’t like it), so Japanese people just aren’t used to eating food with the least bit of spice in it. The chili I made was hardly spicy at all in my opinion, and the two
shima734
some of my wacky graduating students: Mio, Kaori, and Yuuna Malaysian students agreed that they thought it wasn’t very spicy. But many of the Japanese people took one small taste and poured the rest of it back into the pot. I was a little offended because every time I am given some Japanese food that I dislike, but someone made for me, I politely eat it so I don’t offend anybody. Oh well, I ended up having enough chili left over to feed me for the next few days, so it wasn’t all bad in the end.
For Easter I colored Easter eggs by myself at my apartment. Last year I made Easter eggs with all of my students, but this year Easter was during their spring break. Eri came to my apartment one last time before she moves, and I gave her a bouquet of origami flowers I made for her. It’s really nice to spend time with her since she is the only person I know with whom I can speak naturally in English. I’m going to miss her!
It’s beginning to get warmer here and the cherry blossoms will start to come out any day now. I FINALLY put my kotatsu away, and have been
shima735
my sweet student, Mitsue. She tells me that she loves me almost everyday. going out to the beach more often. It feels great after being cooped up in my apartment all winter.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.101s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 9; qc: 79; dbt: 0.0657s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
Yellow Head
E-san
sad to see them go
treat the new uoshima recruit to the yuge high school kindly =)