My first rainy day...


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September 10th 2006
Published: September 10th 2006
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Sports Day PracticeSports Day PracticeSports Day Practice

The students practice random "events" like this group jump rope. They will compete against the other grades September 17 on Sports Day.
This is my first rainy Sunday. So I actully have time to sit down and work on the blog! Life has been extremely busy as of late, with the first week of school wrapping up Friday, "enkai" to attend as well as birthday parties and travel. Sitting at home this morning I am finally able to ponder the many changes affecting my life at the moment. I am settling into a routine and feeling more comfortable in my surroundings.
My flat, located in the suburbia of Hojo shi, is about 20 minutes north of Matsuyama by local train. A bike ride from city center requires just under an hour, although that is considering you travel with a road bike. Many Japanese refer to my location as "inaka" but I would beg to differ. Nothing against "inaka" (countryside), but my flat is within a 5 minute walk of 3 major grocery stores, a home store, the train station, bus station, hospital, post office, and home store. Not to mention all of the random little shops closer the boardwalk. Things are very convenient here. Minus the location of my supervisor which is the Matsuyama Board of Education and therefore at least 20 minutes
Sports DaySports DaySports Day

Someone is going to eat it soon...
and 4$ away. That's ok. I have been relying on my fellow coworkers and JTE for assistance in deciphering the mail I can't read and finding the community swimming pool.
Hojo Kita, my base junior high school, has been great as a starting point for teaching. All of the English teachers can boast at least the conversational level of English which is very helpful for me. I can forsee this as a unique situation in comparison to many of my other schools. The students are great as well. I haven't had a class that doesn't listen, and many of the students are excited to get to know me. My defining features for them are the long eyelashes (real, I promise...but the kids pull on them just to be sure), and my weight (they seem amazed that I don't weight a ton more than the rest of them and I am still white...?).
The weekday routine is as follows...
Wake up early and make the 2 minute bike ride to my base school. Teacher's meeting (during which I nod and try to pay attention to the nothingness I don't understand). Every once in a while I can pick out a few
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Hojo Kita school practice fields.
words or even my name. Then I really try to listen! Teaching classes. I switch classrooms every day, so I have taught 7th, 8th and 9th graders thus far. Each time I am asked by the English teachers to give a self introduction and then play some type of game in which the students can display their comprehension. A common phrase is: "let's have fun learning English!" The lessons have all gone very well and afterwards I hang out with the students in the hallways. They love Spongebob Squarepants (so mom, you might have to send more of those stickers soon!) I eat lunch in one of the classrooms I have taught at that day. School lunch isn't too bad. Although I am not too picky, so make your own judgements. Either rice or bread, a steamed veggie salad, and soup or curry. We had a fish filet one day that was pretty good but very oily. After lunch we practice for Sports Day (coming up on September 17th). I spend 2-3 hours with the 9th grade girls sweating out the dance practices under the hot sun in the dirt school fields. Imagine a baseball field stretching the size of a football field and you have the school sports grounds. No grass here!
I stick around school until 5 or 5:30 and then head home for a run to the beach and catch the sunset. Cook dinner, practice some Japanese, and pass out by 10pm.
As for the weekends...there is no regular schedule here! Kochi last weekend on the Pacific coast to visit some JETs and go surfing. This weekend I had an enkai with my school staff (welcome drinking party...for me!) and Friday night was spent celebrating Grant's bday up in Okudogo, the Matsuyama JET "real world" mansion (about 15 JETs living togethor in one apartment building in the mountains). And now the rain. Hopefully it will let up enough so I can go for a run this afternoon...

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4th December 2006

I hate you.
Just kidding. But I can't believe you teach 7th 8th and 9th graders and they LISTEN to you! If I can get my kids to stop talking for 4 minutes I consider it a good day. Its funny because my roommate and I were talking about teaching in Japan--his sister was visiting and It made me remember you were there--and we joked that the kids would be silent and say things like "lets have fun learning english." I got a letter from one of my kids the other day that said "Dear Mr. Horst, I know it is your first year teaching at this school and I think you are doing the worst job a human being could possibly act like." Anyways, though, if you had any interest, we should have our kids be penpals. jesselhorst@gmail.com Best! Jesse

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