In a few hours, it will be November, and thus will begin NaNoWriMo.
What is NaNoWriMo? It's National Novel Writing Month, where thousands of writers (some actually published! but most not) attempt to write 50,000 words in one month. Why, do you ask? Well, because writing takes focused effort and concentrated practice, and the only way to become a better writer is to write! Setting a specific goal during a specific time is an excellent method for staying on task and reaching the goal.
Also, we're all probably a little insane (but we're also writers, so that goes without saying).
If you've been reading my blogs for a while, you know that I like to write. I like to write so much that I minored in Creative Writing in college, and I'd still like to get my Masters of Fine Arts in Creative Writing in the future. In short, I love to write.
I have been participating in NaNoWriMo since 2003, and last year was the first year that I met the 50,000 word goal. It was not easy, but it was one of the most fulfilling things I've done in my life. The novel (still uncompleted) was set in Jacksonville during WWII, and I still work on it every once in a while. For NaNoWriMo, however, one must start fresh, with a mere idea and 0 words.
This year, I am stepping away from historical fiction and moving back into the fantasy realm. I got the idea from a Jonathon Coulton song called "Skullcrusher Mountain." The plot: a powerful sorcerer decides that he wishes to marry, so he kidnaps several girls and brings them to his castle and forces them to compete for the right to marry him. Except, none of them want to marry him. It's a fantasy version of a reality show! Maybe it's a little loopy, but I'm enjoying it. My cast of characters includes the wife-hunting sorcerer, his house steward (who is equally powerful but only uses his magic to clean house), a mute female main character who is the heroine of the story, a cannibal, a vice-laden holy man, and two gigantic salamanders who breathe fire (except one of them doesn't because he thinks it's bad for his health).
Anyway, the next month should be an exceptionally crazy journey, what with taking on NaNoWriMo and keeping up with my teaching responsibilities as well. But that's what makes NaNoWriMo so wonderful! Writing 50,000 words while still managing to have something resembling a life!
So, at the stroke of midnight, I will be planted at my desk in my little apartment, ready and willing to make this the BEST NaNoWriMo ever! It IS NaNoWriMo's 10th anniversary, after all - time to pull out all the stops!
for more information on NaNoWriMo: http://www.nanowrimo.org
Friday, October 31, 2008
Thursday, October 30, 2008
I have time, so I'm posting.
Is it "visit an English language school and ask for an interview" week or what?
Usually, Isesaki GEOS averages 1 interview a week - that is, we usually only have 1 person stop by and inquire about our classes and maybe signing a contract. The interview process is really long and quite involved, taking about 2 hours to complete. My role is short and simple, in that (if the prospective student is of a high enough level) I come in and do a level check to see which class would fit them best. It takes about 10 minutes to do. I get a little extra money if they decide to sign up for a class, but William told me it that I may get 2-3 interviews a month.
In the previous two weeks, Isesaki GEOS has perfomed exactly 1 interview. This week, we've already done 6. Yowza. That's four walk-ins and two appointments, of which I've only done one level-check. Actually, I should have done a second one, but the lady can only come to Monday classes, and because that's my day off, she would have to attend one of Benni-sensei's classes.
This sudden influx of potential students has kept us on our toes, especially Hitomi-san. Because of personal issues, she goes home between 5-7pm. The past two days, she hasn't left until long past 8pm.
Despite this, I still took the train this morning to Maebashi so Benni-sensei and I could do important things, like shop for books and eat lunch. We are swapping language lessons: I will teach her English (which she already knows pretty well), and she will teach me Japanese (which we all know I don't know all that well). There's a big bookstore at a mall in Maebashi, so she took me there to pick out lesson books. Ended up with "Japanese for Busy People," which looks fairly uncomplicated and something I can handle. My main concern is learning how to read and figuring out how to distinguish between katakana and hiragana. This confuses me endlessly.
After going to the mall, Benni-sensei took me to a little out-of-the-way Korean barbecue restaurant, which was awesome. They gave us so much food, it kept coming and coming. We started with marinated bean sprouts (yummy), followed by soup, salad, and a huge bowl of rice in quick succession. The meat course was beef, lean and fatty cuts, which we cooked on a grill right on the table. Man, that was delicious, though I found it hard to do like Benni-sensei and eat it straight off the grill. My tongue is still a little burnt. We were also served Japanese cucumbers with grated carrot and curry, which I did not enjoy so much. Finally, for dessert, we had fresh figs, which were very good. (funny sidenote: before coming to Japan, I'd never eaten a fig, now I have eaten three.)
Then we drove back to Isesaki, where we went to a furniture store for me to buy something to put in the bathroom to have room for all my crap (I don't have magnetic walls! although, the ceiling is magnetic, but that wasn't very helpful). We also went to look at cell phones, because I really need to have one. The store we went to was in the last day of a campaign for October, offering a specific phone free with a two-year contract. Normally, I don't like getting into a contract with cell phone companies, but it's a decent deal, I liked the phone (uncomplicated and with an English option), and I'd like to stay in Japan for two years anyway. The saleslady was very nice and allowed me to fill out a contract and reserve a phone even though I won't get my gaijin card until next week. Yay for awesomely nice Japanese people!
It is a really nice phone, white with green features, and it has a camera and that's about it for extras (Benni-sensei says, "Camera, but no tv, are you sure that's okay?" and I assured her it was - I don't think she understands that my last phone came from a drugstore of all places). I get 62 minutes a month (with the option to upgrade at any time), and the whole package runs me about $30/month. Which is not too bad, I think. I don't plan to use my phone overly much, but even if I decide to upgrade, it'll never cost me more than $50/month. Roughly equivalent to my phone bill back in the States, but with a camera and email, so I'm not complaining.
And then we came back to GEOS and actually did some work! Thursdays are awesome because my first class isn't until 6pm, and I only have 2 private students. One is adorable little Rio, who is a little genius, I think. She's way too advanced for the Rocky book, so she's got other play and activity books to go through. She still acts really shy with me, but her mother said that last week, she talked about me all evening, so I guess that's a good sign.
There, so that was my day! Next Thursday, I go to pick up my gaijin card (which is really an alien registration card), get my hanko (a signature stamp) and open a bank account, and get my cell phone. Yay!
Usually, Isesaki GEOS averages 1 interview a week - that is, we usually only have 1 person stop by and inquire about our classes and maybe signing a contract. The interview process is really long and quite involved, taking about 2 hours to complete. My role is short and simple, in that (if the prospective student is of a high enough level) I come in and do a level check to see which class would fit them best. It takes about 10 minutes to do. I get a little extra money if they decide to sign up for a class, but William told me it that I may get 2-3 interviews a month.
In the previous two weeks, Isesaki GEOS has perfomed exactly 1 interview. This week, we've already done 6. Yowza. That's four walk-ins and two appointments, of which I've only done one level-check. Actually, I should have done a second one, but the lady can only come to Monday classes, and because that's my day off, she would have to attend one of Benni-sensei's classes.
This sudden influx of potential students has kept us on our toes, especially Hitomi-san. Because of personal issues, she goes home between 5-7pm. The past two days, she hasn't left until long past 8pm.
Despite this, I still took the train this morning to Maebashi so Benni-sensei and I could do important things, like shop for books and eat lunch. We are swapping language lessons: I will teach her English (which she already knows pretty well), and she will teach me Japanese (which we all know I don't know all that well). There's a big bookstore at a mall in Maebashi, so she took me there to pick out lesson books. Ended up with "Japanese for Busy People," which looks fairly uncomplicated and something I can handle. My main concern is learning how to read and figuring out how to distinguish between katakana and hiragana. This confuses me endlessly.
After going to the mall, Benni-sensei took me to a little out-of-the-way Korean barbecue restaurant, which was awesome. They gave us so much food, it kept coming and coming. We started with marinated bean sprouts (yummy), followed by soup, salad, and a huge bowl of rice in quick succession. The meat course was beef, lean and fatty cuts, which we cooked on a grill right on the table. Man, that was delicious, though I found it hard to do like Benni-sensei and eat it straight off the grill. My tongue is still a little burnt. We were also served Japanese cucumbers with grated carrot and curry, which I did not enjoy so much. Finally, for dessert, we had fresh figs, which were very good. (funny sidenote: before coming to Japan, I'd never eaten a fig, now I have eaten three.)
Then we drove back to Isesaki, where we went to a furniture store for me to buy something to put in the bathroom to have room for all my crap (I don't have magnetic walls! although, the ceiling is magnetic, but that wasn't very helpful). We also went to look at cell phones, because I really need to have one. The store we went to was in the last day of a campaign for October, offering a specific phone free with a two-year contract. Normally, I don't like getting into a contract with cell phone companies, but it's a decent deal, I liked the phone (uncomplicated and with an English option), and I'd like to stay in Japan for two years anyway. The saleslady was very nice and allowed me to fill out a contract and reserve a phone even though I won't get my gaijin card until next week. Yay for awesomely nice Japanese people!
It is a really nice phone, white with green features, and it has a camera and that's about it for extras (Benni-sensei says, "Camera, but no tv, are you sure that's okay?" and I assured her it was - I don't think she understands that my last phone came from a drugstore of all places). I get 62 minutes a month (with the option to upgrade at any time), and the whole package runs me about $30/month. Which is not too bad, I think. I don't plan to use my phone overly much, but even if I decide to upgrade, it'll never cost me more than $50/month. Roughly equivalent to my phone bill back in the States, but with a camera and email, so I'm not complaining.
And then we came back to GEOS and actually did some work! Thursdays are awesome because my first class isn't until 6pm, and I only have 2 private students. One is adorable little Rio, who is a little genius, I think. She's way too advanced for the Rocky book, so she's got other play and activity books to go through. She still acts really shy with me, but her mother said that last week, she talked about me all evening, so I guess that's a good sign.
There, so that was my day! Next Thursday, I go to pick up my gaijin card (which is really an alien registration card), get my hanko (a signature stamp) and open a bank account, and get my cell phone. Yay!
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
rewind: my motel room
So, you want to see pix of my apartment? Well, too bad! (Seriously, I'm working on getting videos, but it's taking longer than I anticipated, for reasons I don't want to get into right now). Instead, you get to witness the marvelousness of my motel room, in which I dwelled for six nights. Actually, I slept remarkably well in this tiny little room, and I spent hours in it without going insane. I'm not sure what that suggests about my psyche.
I am standing next to the bathroom door and directly in front of the room door. That's how small the room was. Enough room for bed, desk, chair, and TV. Japanese TV is hilarious, by the way (except for the news, which is boring in any language). There are more shows of people sitting in panels and making guesses about things than I could count. I watched anime, cooking shows, travel shows, generally anything that caught my eye and was more than just people sitting around and talking.
The bed, which was just big enough for me, though the blanket was a little short. Very low, but very comfortable, more so than my apartment bed because the motel bed has a thicker mattress and sits on something soft. The pillow was a little weird, and I'm glad Genna told me about them beforehand. It wasn't filled with anything soft; instead it was filled with pellets (I think she said they were wheat germ? One of my students said that "macaroni" is also used sometimes). Seriously, you could single out the pellets and roll them between your fingers. Everytime I moved, it made weird crunchy noises. And yet, it was surprisingly comfortable. Although the pellets themselves were a little hard, they made a nice cushion. My real complaint was that it was too damn small.
The toilet, which was quite majestic in its own way. The bathtub/shower is to the left, and it was very small. The important thing here is the toilet, which has buttons. None of which I pressed, because I know how a bidet works, and I preferred not to get sopping wet. But the toilet does all kinds of wondrous things, and its pressure is magnificent. I LOVE Japanese toilets. I have yet to break any. Americans could learn a lot by studying Japanese toilet technology. My apartment toilet isn't as fancy or space-agey, but I like it just the same. It has something the motel toilet doesn't: a faucet on the top where clean water comes out so you can rinse your hands off. That is totally nifty.
And here's a view of the motel itself. First Inn is strictly a business motel, which explains why it's a little spartan in its functionality. It has both Japanese and Western style rooms, and the staff - speaking no English at all - was very helpful and considerate. I basically live right across the street from it and see it every day.
I am standing next to the bathroom door and directly in front of the room door. That's how small the room was. Enough room for bed, desk, chair, and TV. Japanese TV is hilarious, by the way (except for the news, which is boring in any language). There are more shows of people sitting in panels and making guesses about things than I could count. I watched anime, cooking shows, travel shows, generally anything that caught my eye and was more than just people sitting around and talking.
The bed, which was just big enough for me, though the blanket was a little short. Very low, but very comfortable, more so than my apartment bed because the motel bed has a thicker mattress and sits on something soft. The pillow was a little weird, and I'm glad Genna told me about them beforehand. It wasn't filled with anything soft; instead it was filled with pellets (I think she said they were wheat germ? One of my students said that "macaroni" is also used sometimes). Seriously, you could single out the pellets and roll them between your fingers. Everytime I moved, it made weird crunchy noises. And yet, it was surprisingly comfortable. Although the pellets themselves were a little hard, they made a nice cushion. My real complaint was that it was too damn small.
The toilet, which was quite majestic in its own way. The bathtub/shower is to the left, and it was very small. The important thing here is the toilet, which has buttons. None of which I pressed, because I know how a bidet works, and I preferred not to get sopping wet. But the toilet does all kinds of wondrous things, and its pressure is magnificent. I LOVE Japanese toilets. I have yet to break any. Americans could learn a lot by studying Japanese toilet technology. My apartment toilet isn't as fancy or space-agey, but I like it just the same. It has something the motel toilet doesn't: a faucet on the top where clean water comes out so you can rinse your hands off. That is totally nifty.And here's a view of the motel itself. First Inn is strictly a business motel, which explains why it's a little spartan in its functionality. It has both Japanese and Western style rooms, and the staff - speaking no English at all - was very helpful and considerate. I basically live right across the street from it and see it every day.
And, as you can see in the background, MOUNTAINS! I can't walk anywhere in this town without seeing mountains, the novelty of which still hasn't worn off for me.
Okay, so that was the motel. I hope to get an apartment post up by the end of the weekend, but I make no promises!
Monday, October 27, 2008
Halloween is over.
Yeah, for me it is. This week was the week to give kids their "special lesson" on Halloween, and then, on Sunday, we had our school Halloween party. This was highly entertaining, since it was my first official work party, and it was all for the children. I believe a total of twenty-nine kids showed up, and I was pretty much put in charge of the ones ages 7+, of which there were about eighteen. Now, my room is pretty small, and I consider it somewhat miraculous that I got all eighteen of them in there without much damage done. Half of them were my students, the other half belonged to Benni-sensei, who had all the younger kids. She had them in the bigger activity room, but they made way more noise and a bigger mess than my group did.
Obviously, the school couldn't afford to give pumpkins to every single kid, so we had little oranges (mikans) to give to them. The ones that got to the party early were put to work drawing faces on them. They turned out pretty cute. The two boys in the picture are my students; the girls are Benni-sensei's.
Some of the kids came in costume. The first pic is Rio (not to be confused with Ryo, who is sitting next to her), my 4-year old private lesson student. As you can guess, she LOVES Disney Princesses and is absolutely adorable - sounds like someone else I know, hmm? (yeah, I'm talking about Cyra, except Rio is cute in Japanese AND English, ha ha). She's a very bright little girl, and her mother wants her to learn to read English so she can get into an international school next year. The bottom picture shows Nene and Ayuka, also my students.
The lady with the guitar is Benni-sensei. She is very talented when it comes to music, and she wanted to teach the kids a Halloween song, and it took me a while to convince her that there really wasn't a song that would be easy for non-native kids to learn. She finally settled on "You Are My Sunshine."
I was instructed to give a Halloween lesson for about twenty minutes, and I had no idea what to do with 18 kids in that time span, so I settled on having them draw. I got them to do both pumpkins and ghosts, and then I had them do a word find that was too difficult for some of them, but they seemed to enjoy it. They all stayed on task, and they cleaned up the whole mess afterward (it was astounding, I blinked, and the next thing I knew, the table was clear and the kids were gone).
The girl in the last picture is Arisa, one of my shyer students. She's a very good artist, so I wanted to make sure I got her ghost in a picture. Behind her, hunched over his ghost (who has hands and is wearing a suit and glasses) is Yuudai, who is easily one of my best students and is quite fun besides.
After the "lesson," Benni-sensei led the whole group to two of our neighboring businesses for pre-arranged trick-or-treating. The first was a flower shop (Floralies), the second a drug store (Marue, which we go to frequently anyway, sometimes once a day). This attracted quite a few stares and kept us adults on our toes because some of the younger kids don't have full awareness of their surroundings yet. Plus, pedestrians don't appear to have automatic right-of-way in Japan, even if they're a pack of thirty or so kids.
The kids were all brought back safe and sound, fortunately, and they were promptly fed sandwiches. That went rather smoothly, considering we had a total of about forty people crammed into the activity room and stuffing their faces. Then, everyone was brought back out to the lobby area and there was a gift exchange. I'm told that Japanese people love to give gifts, which is the only explanation I can come up with as to why a gift exchange was planned into a Halloween party. But it made everyone happy, and who can argue with something that makes people happy?
Finally, costume prizes were handed out (all three to young kids, I noticed; Hitomi-san looked a little wide-eyed when Benni-sensei asked her to judge), pictures were taken, and then the children were released to their rapidly-arriving parents.
All in all, it was quite fun. We made it through without incident, which I consider a pretty good success. The only fit thrown was by one of the student's year-old brother, who by the end of the night was sick and tired of being held by anyone who get could their hands on him. He was dressed as a little bunny and was pretty darn cute all right, but even he was done with by the end of the night. Can't say I blame him.
So, the next party will probably be a Christmas party in December. Japanese people don't celebrate Christmas, but this is an English-speaking school, so it follows English-speaking holidays (Easter is also on the calendar). That, I'm thinking, should also be a fairly entertaining evening.
Obviously, the school couldn't afford to give pumpkins to every single kid, so we had little oranges (mikans) to give to them. The ones that got to the party early were put to work drawing faces on them. They turned out pretty cute. The two boys in the picture are my students; the girls are Benni-sensei's. Some of the kids came in costume. The first pic is Rio (not to be confused with Ryo, who is sitting next to her), my 4-year old private lesson student. As you can guess, she LOVES Disney Princesses and is absolutely adorable - sounds like someone else I know, hmm? (yeah, I'm talking about Cyra, except Rio is cute in Japanese AND English, ha ha). She's a very bright little girl, and her mother wants her to learn to read English so she can get into an international school next year. The bottom picture shows Nene and Ayuka, also my students. The lady with the guitar is Benni-sensei. She is very talented when it comes to music, and she wanted to teach the kids a Halloween song, and it took me a while to convince her that there really wasn't a song that would be easy for non-native kids to learn. She finally settled on "You Are My Sunshine."I was instructed to give a Halloween lesson for about twenty minutes, and I had no idea what to do with 18 kids in that time span, so I settled on having them draw. I got them to do both pumpkins and ghosts, and then I had them do a word find that was too difficult for some of them, but they seemed to enjoy it. They all stayed on task, and they cleaned up the whole mess afterward (it was astounding, I blinked, and the next thing I knew, the table was clear and the kids were gone).The girl in the last picture is Arisa, one of my shyer students. She's a very good artist, so I wanted to make sure I got her ghost in a picture. Behind her, hunched over his ghost (who has hands and is wearing a suit and glasses) is Yuudai, who is easily one of my best students and is quite fun besides.
After the "lesson," Benni-sensei led the whole group to two of our neighboring businesses for pre-arranged trick-or-treating. The first was a flower shop (Floralies), the second a drug store (Marue, which we go to frequently anyway, sometimes once a day). This attracted quite a few stares and kept us adults on our toes because some of the younger kids don't have full awareness of their surroundings yet. Plus, pedestrians don't appear to have automatic right-of-way in Japan, even if they're a pack of thirty or so kids.
The kids were all brought back safe and sound, fortunately, and they were promptly fed sandwiches. That went rather smoothly, considering we had a total of about forty people crammed into the activity room and stuffing their faces. Then, everyone was brought back out to the lobby area and there was a gift exchange. I'm told that Japanese people love to give gifts, which is the only explanation I can come up with as to why a gift exchange was planned into a Halloween party. But it made everyone happy, and who can argue with something that makes people happy?
Finally, costume prizes were handed out (all three to young kids, I noticed; Hitomi-san looked a little wide-eyed when Benni-sensei asked her to judge), pictures were taken, and then the children were released to their rapidly-arriving parents.
All in all, it was quite fun. We made it through without incident, which I consider a pretty good success. The only fit thrown was by one of the student's year-old brother, who by the end of the night was sick and tired of being held by anyone who get could their hands on him. He was dressed as a little bunny and was pretty darn cute all right, but even he was done with by the end of the night. Can't say I blame him.
So, the next party will probably be a Christmas party in December. Japanese people don't celebrate Christmas, but this is an English-speaking school, so it follows English-speaking holidays (Easter is also on the calendar). That, I'm thinking, should also be a fairly entertaining evening.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Sara-sensei is a teacher.
I know it's fun to hear about all the food I've been consuming, but I do other things too, like teach. That's my job after all, and I've had a couple people ask me to talk a little bit more about it. What, Sara-sensei takes posting requests? Sort of. I have a list of things I want to post about, but since my apartment is still not exactly in the greatest shape, I'm putting that off a little longer.
So . . . about being a Native English Teacher in Japan. It's fun. It's hard work, but it's fun too. I don't know if I think that because I've only been at it about two weeks now, but I love the English language, and being a big, gigantic nerd is a real boon with this job. I thoroughly encourage my students to ask me questions about obscure grammar/spelling rules because it sends me off on a quest to find the answer. I like puzzles. I told one of my private lesson students that, and she laughed and said I was in the right job then.
I have a total of 21 classes, which I divide into four types: Sprint, Active, Kids, and Private (which actually go back to being one of the first three classes, but they pay more, so they get their own category.) My favorite classes are Active classes with 2+ students because you can get more conversation going, and I'm there pretty much as a mediator and helpful grammar checker.
Sprint classes are firmly structured and focus on learning a grammar point (such as the proper way to word a sentence when giving a compliment), followed by a period of using that grammar point in conversation. I wasn't so keen on these at first, but they're growing on me. I still follow the structure, but I've found that if I get a little creative, students respond better. I only have two lower-level Sprint classes, and one of them is with a guy from Peru, and I understand his natural speaking pattern a little better than I do with my Japanese students. He puts a Spanish twist on a lot of his words, and since I can recognize that, we have a common meeting ground. He's actually really good with conversation, he's more concerned about learning the proper grammar. It takes me 30-45 minutes to write a Sprint lesson plan, depending on what else I'm doing (I usually watch a movie or listen to music while I work, it actually goes faster that way because the noise helps me focus). I'm lucky because my school has a whole library of lesson suggestions for Sprint classes, and a lot of the props are already prepared. Usually, I just have to decide what I want to use and then make copies and keep everything organzied. For a couple, I've had to make my own props (cutting out magazine pictures, for example, to match with adjectives), but that doesn't take too long either.
Active classes are way more flexible, and that seems to be a little scary with Japanese students sometimes because they have to offer more original responses. Getting opinions out of them is like pulling teeth, but I like these classes because when the students do start talking, they usually have good things to say. All of my students are pretty intelligent (they're learning a foreign language, so they'd pretty much have to be), and they run the gamut from bored housewives to teenagers to office workers to scientists (seriously, one of my students is a horticulturist who crossbreeds onions). So, they've all got really good opinions and can back them up well, once they get going. The hard part is getting them to talk. They'll sit and think about their answers for a few minutes, and it's less getting the English right and more figuring out exactly what their opinions are. Active classes are really easy to plan, especially because the books come with Teacher Guides and there are plenty of activities in the books to fill class time. I can do an Active lesson plan in about 15 minutes, with a little extra time for making copies if I need them. One book was published in England, so I've had to look up a couple of phrases/words here and there to figure out exactly what they're saying, but otherwise, it's my favorite. The last class I did with this book (with my horticulturist student) studied a Shakespeare sonnet, and I had a blast. The student was completely intimidated, but he did an awesome job and ended up feeling pretty proud of himself. Easily the best class of the week.
Kids classes are the hardest to prepare, I think, because I have to make sure that I have enough activities to keep them busy all the time. I have six kids classes (not including a private lesson with a four-year old, but she's so well-behaved and on the ball that I have no problem with her), and they're arranged according to age. This is a somewhat bad idea, I think, because some of the classes are terribly mismatched. I have one class with 2 10-year olds who are on very different levels. Fortunately, the higher level student is a girl and she's pretty well behaved if I have to slow things down to help the boy. In a class with four 12-year olds, though, the one girl is a little slower (no less intelligent, just slower with her replies), and the rest of them get a little impatient with her. I consider myself lucky the boys are actually nice boys; they may make a snide comment or two, but they listen to me and do as I say if I keep on top of them. The only class I really am not overly fond of is the one with two 5-year old boys because they haven't quite figured out who's in charge here. I'm starting to wonder in Japanese kids don't get any discipline until they get into school, because these two can be outright brats sometimes, and one of them has a younger brother who's even worse. On a good day, they're okay; on a bad one, the only thing I can do is keep them focused on doing something to distract them from wandering around the room and causing trouble.
Kids classes also have Teacher Guides, which I use profusely for writing lesson plans because there's a lot more going on here than just grammar. They're learning phonics, writing, listening, speaking - a whole bevy of things. It's pretty intense, but at least it keeps them busy. Fortunately, I only have to write three lesson plans because I have two classes of each type. It takes me about 45 minutes to do one of them, mainly because I'm having to stop and find games to play, or make lots of copies, or listen to the cds to figure out what work they're going to have to do. For the younger kids, I also have to learn songs and the hand gestures that go along with them. My private lesson girl stopped me once and showed me the "right" way of doing one song, so at least she's being patient with me too.
And then there are the private lessons, which are usually a conglomeration of the above. I have a couple who come together, and they don't like the book (which is too advanced for them and was probably pushed upon them by the old manager), so their class is mostly just conversation. I use the book as a jumping off point to ask them questions, and then we just go where we please. It's quite pleasant. Last week, we had a long discussion about the relocation of American Indians and the Japanese government's treatment of the native Ainu in Hokkaido. Another private lesson is with a woman who wants to learn business English so she can work for her husband's company. So, again, that's a lot of conversation, using a book to help her learn new phrases and how to use them correctly. And then I have one woman who has Sprint classes with Benni-sensei (the JET) but wants private lessons with a NET so she can practice conversation with a native speaker.
So . . . about being a Native English Teacher in Japan. It's fun. It's hard work, but it's fun too. I don't know if I think that because I've only been at it about two weeks now, but I love the English language, and being a big, gigantic nerd is a real boon with this job. I thoroughly encourage my students to ask me questions about obscure grammar/spelling rules because it sends me off on a quest to find the answer. I like puzzles. I told one of my private lesson students that, and she laughed and said I was in the right job then.
I have a total of 21 classes, which I divide into four types: Sprint, Active, Kids, and Private (which actually go back to being one of the first three classes, but they pay more, so they get their own category.) My favorite classes are Active classes with 2+ students because you can get more conversation going, and I'm there pretty much as a mediator and helpful grammar checker.
Sprint classes are firmly structured and focus on learning a grammar point (such as the proper way to word a sentence when giving a compliment), followed by a period of using that grammar point in conversation. I wasn't so keen on these at first, but they're growing on me. I still follow the structure, but I've found that if I get a little creative, students respond better. I only have two lower-level Sprint classes, and one of them is with a guy from Peru, and I understand his natural speaking pattern a little better than I do with my Japanese students. He puts a Spanish twist on a lot of his words, and since I can recognize that, we have a common meeting ground. He's actually really good with conversation, he's more concerned about learning the proper grammar. It takes me 30-45 minutes to write a Sprint lesson plan, depending on what else I'm doing (I usually watch a movie or listen to music while I work, it actually goes faster that way because the noise helps me focus). I'm lucky because my school has a whole library of lesson suggestions for Sprint classes, and a lot of the props are already prepared. Usually, I just have to decide what I want to use and then make copies and keep everything organzied. For a couple, I've had to make my own props (cutting out magazine pictures, for example, to match with adjectives), but that doesn't take too long either.
Active classes are way more flexible, and that seems to be a little scary with Japanese students sometimes because they have to offer more original responses. Getting opinions out of them is like pulling teeth, but I like these classes because when the students do start talking, they usually have good things to say. All of my students are pretty intelligent (they're learning a foreign language, so they'd pretty much have to be), and they run the gamut from bored housewives to teenagers to office workers to scientists (seriously, one of my students is a horticulturist who crossbreeds onions). So, they've all got really good opinions and can back them up well, once they get going. The hard part is getting them to talk. They'll sit and think about their answers for a few minutes, and it's less getting the English right and more figuring out exactly what their opinions are. Active classes are really easy to plan, especially because the books come with Teacher Guides and there are plenty of activities in the books to fill class time. I can do an Active lesson plan in about 15 minutes, with a little extra time for making copies if I need them. One book was published in England, so I've had to look up a couple of phrases/words here and there to figure out exactly what they're saying, but otherwise, it's my favorite. The last class I did with this book (with my horticulturist student) studied a Shakespeare sonnet, and I had a blast. The student was completely intimidated, but he did an awesome job and ended up feeling pretty proud of himself. Easily the best class of the week.
Kids classes are the hardest to prepare, I think, because I have to make sure that I have enough activities to keep them busy all the time. I have six kids classes (not including a private lesson with a four-year old, but she's so well-behaved and on the ball that I have no problem with her), and they're arranged according to age. This is a somewhat bad idea, I think, because some of the classes are terribly mismatched. I have one class with 2 10-year olds who are on very different levels. Fortunately, the higher level student is a girl and she's pretty well behaved if I have to slow things down to help the boy. In a class with four 12-year olds, though, the one girl is a little slower (no less intelligent, just slower with her replies), and the rest of them get a little impatient with her. I consider myself lucky the boys are actually nice boys; they may make a snide comment or two, but they listen to me and do as I say if I keep on top of them. The only class I really am not overly fond of is the one with two 5-year old boys because they haven't quite figured out who's in charge here. I'm starting to wonder in Japanese kids don't get any discipline until they get into school, because these two can be outright brats sometimes, and one of them has a younger brother who's even worse. On a good day, they're okay; on a bad one, the only thing I can do is keep them focused on doing something to distract them from wandering around the room and causing trouble.
Kids classes also have Teacher Guides, which I use profusely for writing lesson plans because there's a lot more going on here than just grammar. They're learning phonics, writing, listening, speaking - a whole bevy of things. It's pretty intense, but at least it keeps them busy. Fortunately, I only have to write three lesson plans because I have two classes of each type. It takes me about 45 minutes to do one of them, mainly because I'm having to stop and find games to play, or make lots of copies, or listen to the cds to figure out what work they're going to have to do. For the younger kids, I also have to learn songs and the hand gestures that go along with them. My private lesson girl stopped me once and showed me the "right" way of doing one song, so at least she's being patient with me too.
And then there are the private lessons, which are usually a conglomeration of the above. I have a couple who come together, and they don't like the book (which is too advanced for them and was probably pushed upon them by the old manager), so their class is mostly just conversation. I use the book as a jumping off point to ask them questions, and then we just go where we please. It's quite pleasant. Last week, we had a long discussion about the relocation of American Indians and the Japanese government's treatment of the native Ainu in Hokkaido. Another private lesson is with a woman who wants to learn business English so she can work for her husband's company. So, again, that's a lot of conversation, using a book to help her learn new phrases and how to use them correctly. And then I have one woman who has Sprint classes with Benni-sensei (the JET) but wants private lessons with a NET so she can practice conversation with a native speaker.
So, it's a variety of classes, and if I take a couple hours a day, I can get all my lesson-planning done in a good amount of time. And they're fun because it's a subject I know pretty well and love quite a bit. The only classes I generally feel a little nervous about are the kids classes, mainly because I'm never sure if I have enough prepared for them (so much so that I generally over-prepare for them, which makes me feel better), but they go by so quick that I usually don't have time to worry about it.
And there you have it. It helps being such an English geek, because even simple grammar rules (such as the proper usage of simple present tense) make me happy. And the students have noted that I seem to enjoy it, so that probably helps. Maybe the novelty will wear off in a while, but for now, I'm loving every minute.
Friday, October 24, 2008
Japanese Food Journal - Izakaya
An izakaya is a Japanese bar - there are bars and pubs in Japan, but an izakaya is more traditional in spirit, having separate rooms with low tables and cushions for sitting and a menu with a smorgasboard of options to choose from. (at least, that's how the one I went to was like) Patrons order from the menu and pass the dish around the table, so it's more of a free-for-all than a sit-down meal. Drink-wise, you can get just about anything, from traditional sake to imported wines to beer to cocktails familiar to even a casual drinker.
The best part about going to an izakaya is the company. I found myself seated amidst our Japanese hosts, and they very kindly introduced me to the essence of going to an izakaya, which is, quite simply, to eat, drink, and be merry.
They ordered the food items, I simply enjoyed the food. I told them I'd try anything they offered to me, and they didn't disappoint me when they started setting food on the table.
We began with an assortment of veggies, pickled, if I'm not mistaken. The carrots and yellow cucumbers were my favorites. The only thing I didn't really enjoy (for the entire evening) was daikon, Japanese radish. It looks nothing like the little red radishes that Americans know, but it doesn't taste any better than them. I'm not a big radish fan anyway, so I wasn't surprised that I didn't like it. It was the only thing I took that I didn't finish completely - one bite was plenty.
This was followed by Korean pancake, roughly equivalent to okonomiyaki, though apparently made with less cabbage and more curry. This is very popular in Japan, but I prefer okonomiyaki. With the Korean pancake, there's more pancake than filling, and with okonomiyaki, I like how much flavor goes popping into your mouth with every bite. It's more fun to eat and tastier too.
Then was brought out a pot filled with octopus and squid for us to cook over heat. It was so-so. Again, both of them are fairly rubbery, and I get bored chewing, and the flavor is very subtle and not very interesting. I had only a little bit of each, which was enough for me.
My hosts were delighted to find out that I like sashimi, so they ordered some. The tuna was absolutely heavenly, no surprise there. It just melts away in your mouth, mmmm. The scallops were also good, and there was a white fish I can't remember the name of that was quite tasty.
At this point, a bowl with small chunks of meat was passed around, and when I asked about them, I was told it was an "organ." I had only the vaguest sense of what that meant, but I tried it anyway and thought it was good. Not so tender, a little tough, but with an excellent flavor. After further questioning, I was told it was from a bird, and another of the English teachers and I came to the conclusion that it was gizzard. To which point our hosts readily agreed, and there followed a hearty discussion about the consumption of turkey.
They saved the best for last though. Near the end of the party, I was offered a small plate with a row of thinly sliced meat, seasoned and lightly cooked. My host placed a large bit of chopped leeks on a piece of the meat and presented it to me. In answer to my question, she said, "Cow's tongue." Well, I'd come too far to be scared of a muscle, and it looked good and smelled good, so down it went. No disappointment there, except that I didn't get to have another piece of it because it was eaten in no time flat. That was quite sensational, and I wouldn't balk at eating it again.
So, other than the daikon, I am pleased to report that my first trip to an izakaya was a roaring success, and I can't wait to do it again.
for more information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Izakaya
The best part about going to an izakaya is the company. I found myself seated amidst our Japanese hosts, and they very kindly introduced me to the essence of going to an izakaya, which is, quite simply, to eat, drink, and be merry.
They ordered the food items, I simply enjoyed the food. I told them I'd try anything they offered to me, and they didn't disappoint me when they started setting food on the table.
We began with an assortment of veggies, pickled, if I'm not mistaken. The carrots and yellow cucumbers were my favorites. The only thing I didn't really enjoy (for the entire evening) was daikon, Japanese radish. It looks nothing like the little red radishes that Americans know, but it doesn't taste any better than them. I'm not a big radish fan anyway, so I wasn't surprised that I didn't like it. It was the only thing I took that I didn't finish completely - one bite was plenty.
This was followed by Korean pancake, roughly equivalent to okonomiyaki, though apparently made with less cabbage and more curry. This is very popular in Japan, but I prefer okonomiyaki. With the Korean pancake, there's more pancake than filling, and with okonomiyaki, I like how much flavor goes popping into your mouth with every bite. It's more fun to eat and tastier too.
Then was brought out a pot filled with octopus and squid for us to cook over heat. It was so-so. Again, both of them are fairly rubbery, and I get bored chewing, and the flavor is very subtle and not very interesting. I had only a little bit of each, which was enough for me.
My hosts were delighted to find out that I like sashimi, so they ordered some. The tuna was absolutely heavenly, no surprise there. It just melts away in your mouth, mmmm. The scallops were also good, and there was a white fish I can't remember the name of that was quite tasty.
At this point, a bowl with small chunks of meat was passed around, and when I asked about them, I was told it was an "organ." I had only the vaguest sense of what that meant, but I tried it anyway and thought it was good. Not so tender, a little tough, but with an excellent flavor. After further questioning, I was told it was from a bird, and another of the English teachers and I came to the conclusion that it was gizzard. To which point our hosts readily agreed, and there followed a hearty discussion about the consumption of turkey.
They saved the best for last though. Near the end of the party, I was offered a small plate with a row of thinly sliced meat, seasoned and lightly cooked. My host placed a large bit of chopped leeks on a piece of the meat and presented it to me. In answer to my question, she said, "Cow's tongue." Well, I'd come too far to be scared of a muscle, and it looked good and smelled good, so down it went. No disappointment there, except that I didn't get to have another piece of it because it was eaten in no time flat. That was quite sensational, and I wouldn't balk at eating it again.
So, other than the daikon, I am pleased to report that my first trip to an izakaya was a roaring success, and I can't wait to do it again.
for more information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Izakaya
Thursday, October 23, 2008
rewind: movies I watched on the flight to Japan
I fully intended to sleep most of the flight, but I ended up sleeping only about 90 minutes. Instead, I tortured myself with bad movies. Hooray!
The Incredible Hulk
Two words: utter crap. That's a crappy way to begin a movie (seriously, overdone pantomime with the credits? it was cheesier than a goofy silent movie) and end a movie (um, what?). In fact, the whole movie sucked in ways that can't be enumerated. If this is how you're going to treat graphic novels, you shouldn't be allowed anywhere near them. I'm talking to you, Hollywood!
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
I can't imagine that anyone who has any sort of respect for the Indiana Jones series would enjoy this movie. In fact, I can't imagine anyone who has any sort of respect for anything in general would enjoy this movie. It's time to quit when you've gotten so formulaic that you might as well be a Dan Brown novel. You know what doesn't belong in an Indiana Jones movie? Aliens. Forget Harrison Ford and the utter ridiculousness of his stunts. Even his scene-chewing antics can't overshadow the fact that this was an Indiana Jones movie about aliens.
Hancock
Um . . . why? What's the deal with the screenplay here? Did some pages go missing during filming and nobody noticed until after post-production when it was too late to do any more shooting? I love Will Smith (his choice of scripts lately has just not been all that great), and I liked the rehabilitating superhero angle, but the rest of it was just confusing. The plot twist? Stupefying. And predictable. But mostly stupefying.
Leatherheads
Didn't get to watch all of it, but what I saw was entertaining. Nice vaudevillian touches, very true to the era. I also appreciated the World War I scenario, that being a special interest of mine. I'm actually sorry I didn't get to see how it ended, even though I could guess because it's still a predictable Hollywood movie. But at least it wasn't confusing. And there weren't any aliens.
The Incredible Hulk
Two words: utter crap. That's a crappy way to begin a movie (seriously, overdone pantomime with the credits? it was cheesier than a goofy silent movie) and end a movie (um, what?). In fact, the whole movie sucked in ways that can't be enumerated. If this is how you're going to treat graphic novels, you shouldn't be allowed anywhere near them. I'm talking to you, Hollywood!
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
I can't imagine that anyone who has any sort of respect for the Indiana Jones series would enjoy this movie. In fact, I can't imagine anyone who has any sort of respect for anything in general would enjoy this movie. It's time to quit when you've gotten so formulaic that you might as well be a Dan Brown novel. You know what doesn't belong in an Indiana Jones movie? Aliens. Forget Harrison Ford and the utter ridiculousness of his stunts. Even his scene-chewing antics can't overshadow the fact that this was an Indiana Jones movie about aliens.
Hancock
Um . . . why? What's the deal with the screenplay here? Did some pages go missing during filming and nobody noticed until after post-production when it was too late to do any more shooting? I love Will Smith (his choice of scripts lately has just not been all that great), and I liked the rehabilitating superhero angle, but the rest of it was just confusing. The plot twist? Stupefying. And predictable. But mostly stupefying.
Leatherheads
Didn't get to watch all of it, but what I saw was entertaining. Nice vaudevillian touches, very true to the era. I also appreciated the World War I scenario, that being a special interest of mine. I'm actually sorry I didn't get to see how it ended, even though I could guess because it's still a predictable Hollywood movie. But at least it wasn't confusing. And there weren't any aliens.
Japanese Food Journal: Takoyaki
Takoyaki, for the uninitiated, are octopus dumplings. I shall remember it fondly as my first real introduction to Japan.
I didn't get to spend much time at Will's farewell party, because I was dead on my feet, so while it was my first outing in Japan, I don't think it counts because I wasn't lucid. I did, however, get to have a couple onigiri (rice balls) and a few plums, which are delicious and are now my new favorite fruit. They're aren't like the plums we get at American grocery stores, being smaller in size and much sweeter.
Anyway, Will was invited to a takoyaki party on Sunday, and he asked if I wanted to go too, and I said sure. (when I agreed to go, I'm not entirely sure I had any idea what I was agreeing to, that's how out of it I was). I was still quite tired Sunday when I woke up, but I didn't want to just slouch around in my motel room, so I was glad to go to Maebashi with him. Sunday had a lot of firsts for me, including my first train ride, in which I probably took far too much glee.
But this is about food, specifically takoyaki.
I get the feeling that octopus can be served many different ways, but this was a specific type of party, one that dealt with takoyaki balls. There is a cooking machine designed just for making takoyaki balls. I have no idea what went into the batter because I didn't make any myself (being too enamored with the food presented to me and too engaged in conversation), but I'm assuming it's octopus, batter, and some veggie-type things. Whatever it was, covered in mayo and tonkatsu sauce, it was delicious. Octopus I'm not so keen on by itself, but in ball form, it's less rubbery and more palatable.
Also served was a delicious beef and potato dish brought by another one of the guests. It was rather like a stew, bone-in beef served in its brother. The beef just fell right off the bone, and it was so tender and juicy. I believe it's called nikujaga, but I neglected to write it down, so I could be wrong. Whatever the name, it was heavenly. The potatoes were perfectly done too, and quite flavorful.
There were two new vegetables that I tried. The first was Japanese eggplant, which is different from the Italian eggplant that Americans are used to. It's smaller and not the same color, but it also tastes very good grilled. There was also a cucumber-like vegetable used in a salad, and that I didn't like so much. It had a very bitter taste, and I could have done without that.
But for the most part, everything was insanely yummy.
And there was pocky, quintessentially Japanese. Mmm.
After the takoyaki party, we went out to an izakaya, which is a food journal entry all unto itself.
to read more about takoyaki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Takoyaki
I didn't get to spend much time at Will's farewell party, because I was dead on my feet, so while it was my first outing in Japan, I don't think it counts because I wasn't lucid. I did, however, get to have a couple onigiri (rice balls) and a few plums, which are delicious and are now my new favorite fruit. They're aren't like the plums we get at American grocery stores, being smaller in size and much sweeter.
Anyway, Will was invited to a takoyaki party on Sunday, and he asked if I wanted to go too, and I said sure. (when I agreed to go, I'm not entirely sure I had any idea what I was agreeing to, that's how out of it I was). I was still quite tired Sunday when I woke up, but I didn't want to just slouch around in my motel room, so I was glad to go to Maebashi with him. Sunday had a lot of firsts for me, including my first train ride, in which I probably took far too much glee.
But this is about food, specifically takoyaki.
I get the feeling that octopus can be served many different ways, but this was a specific type of party, one that dealt with takoyaki balls. There is a cooking machine designed just for making takoyaki balls. I have no idea what went into the batter because I didn't make any myself (being too enamored with the food presented to me and too engaged in conversation), but I'm assuming it's octopus, batter, and some veggie-type things. Whatever it was, covered in mayo and tonkatsu sauce, it was delicious. Octopus I'm not so keen on by itself, but in ball form, it's less rubbery and more palatable.
Also served was a delicious beef and potato dish brought by another one of the guests. It was rather like a stew, bone-in beef served in its brother. The beef just fell right off the bone, and it was so tender and juicy. I believe it's called nikujaga, but I neglected to write it down, so I could be wrong. Whatever the name, it was heavenly. The potatoes were perfectly done too, and quite flavorful.
There were two new vegetables that I tried. The first was Japanese eggplant, which is different from the Italian eggplant that Americans are used to. It's smaller and not the same color, but it also tastes very good grilled. There was also a cucumber-like vegetable used in a salad, and that I didn't like so much. It had a very bitter taste, and I could have done without that.
But for the most part, everything was insanely yummy.
And there was pocky, quintessentially Japanese. Mmm.
After the takoyaki party, we went out to an izakaya, which is a food journal entry all unto itself.
to read more about takoyaki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Takoyaki
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
rewind: I sing the praises of Vancouver.
I. A haiku about Vancouver.
Ahem. Cue beat music.
Thank you.
(proof that we were in Vancouver! ladies, hope it's alright that I'm posting this!)
Ah, Canada, the land of candy that Americans have never heard of and could only dream about. Behold the glory that is the Crunchie bar. Witness the wonders of the hazelnut filling. Puzzle at the complexity of icewine chocolates. Melt in the divinity of maple sugar candy. Wonder at the joy of Turkish Delight wrapped in chocolate.
Ahem. Cue beat music.
Vancouver, mountains,beautiful; snow-white, snow-cold,but go there you should.
Thank you.
II. Genna's camera captures Vancouver.
(proof that we were in Vancouver! ladies, hope it's alright that I'm posting this!)
III. Food I ate in Vancouver.
Ah, Canada, the land of candy that Americans have never heard of and could only dream about. Behold the glory that is the Crunchie bar. Witness the wonders of the hazelnut filling. Puzzle at the complexity of icewine chocolates. Melt in the divinity of maple sugar candy. Wonder at the joy of Turkish Delight wrapped in chocolate.
Translation: I consumed mass quantities of candy while in Vancouver. I probably ate my weight in Crunchie bars, because sponge toffee is the best invention in the history of the world. And, yes, there was actual Turkish Delight, which I now love more than ever. I don't think I was too far off from it when I tried my hand at it, I just think I got the timing wrong with the cooking. Oh, well, I'll try it again someday. Maybe I'll even get to Turkey some day and have some of the real McCoy!
Had also some unappetizing Chinese food (sorry, Sarah, maybe I should have had the chicken BALLS!), a Subway sandwich, a delectable BLT, delicious lobster rolls, french fries with mayonnaise (a Canadian favorite), and a gyro. Or two. But it had nothing to do with the falafel guy. Nothing at all. Really.
IV. In transit to Japan.
The Vancouver airport is the nicest airport I've been to. It has dioramas inside it. It's like taking a trip to a freaking museum. It is the awesome. In fact, Vancouver is TEH AWESOME. Srsly.
the skinny on my internet situation
I still do not have internet in my apartment, which is the only thing causing me any grievance at this moment. My rent includes internet, and it is supposed to be super-easy to use, but so far, I have only met a wall of non-cooperation. For now, my internet is reduced to my use of the computer at work, and that means no Skype for me. I am hoping to have this rememedied by next week, but I must rely on the availability of the Japanese teacher to explain the (Japanese) instructions to me. William (the previous teacher) thinks it is broken somehow, so he couldn't show me how to use it or what to do to get it fixed. I think it requires making a phone call to Leo Palace, and I'm not sure if I can do that on my own, given my extremely limited command of Japanese.
I can't promise it will be up and running by next week, but I'm hopeful. It is a challenge I am willing to face, and I will be victorious! Until then, I'll do what I can with what I have.
I can't promise it will be up and running by next week, but I'm hopeful. It is a challenge I am willing to face, and I will be victorious! Until then, I'll do what I can with what I have.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Sara-sensei in Japan.
Alright, so I'm already in Japan. But I have two whole weeks to catch up on . . . most of it food-related.
Who am I? I'm Sara-sensei, and I teach English at a GEOS school in Isesaki, Gunma-ken. Which is in Japan. In addition to being an English teacher, I am also a writer, a Sims 2 addict, and a lover of food, especially Japanese food. So, when I say I'm here for the food, it's only partially true. I'm also here for the English.
What can you expect to see in this blog? First, you can expect to see some posts from events of the past two weeks. Second, you can expect to see LOTS of posts about food. Some of it I'll be making myself, and all of it I will be personally eating. Third, you can expect assorted posts about my life here in Isesaki and how much I love it here. Fourth, you can expect pictures. Yes, this is a multi-media event. Don't get carried away now.
Why am I writing this blog? Because I am full of words, and they have to come out somehow. And, for some reason, the computer at work won't load MySpace, and I can't post my blogs there. I'm feeling withdrawal symptoms.
So, sit right back and you'll hear a tale, a tale of a fateful trip, except this one starts with a long flight across a big ocean and a girl who has always wanted to see more of the world.
Who am I? I'm Sara-sensei, and I teach English at a GEOS school in Isesaki, Gunma-ken. Which is in Japan. In addition to being an English teacher, I am also a writer, a Sims 2 addict, and a lover of food, especially Japanese food. So, when I say I'm here for the food, it's only partially true. I'm also here for the English.
What can you expect to see in this blog? First, you can expect to see some posts from events of the past two weeks. Second, you can expect to see LOTS of posts about food. Some of it I'll be making myself, and all of it I will be personally eating. Third, you can expect assorted posts about my life here in Isesaki and how much I love it here. Fourth, you can expect pictures. Yes, this is a multi-media event. Don't get carried away now.
Why am I writing this blog? Because I am full of words, and they have to come out somehow. And, for some reason, the computer at work won't load MySpace, and I can't post my blogs there. I'm feeling withdrawal symptoms.
So, sit right back and you'll hear a tale, a tale of a fateful trip, except this one starts with a long flight across a big ocean and a girl who has always wanted to see more of the world.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)