a failure to communicate

If only I could say it was a language issue, but honestly, I think it's more of a listening issue.

The lady in charge of the Codomo school at Ito Yokado (henceforth known as That Woman) has spent the past two weeks telling us simple folk at GEOS Isesaki what's doing. She does this in such a way that Hitomi-san will drop whatever she's doing and work on whatever it is That Woman wants her to do, despite the fact That Woman is not her boss and, indeed, has no right to tell any of us what to do. She's been making all sorts of decisions and insuinating to Hitomi-san that they are all official.

Note: That Woman has yet to speak directly to me, but she feels she has free reign to decide what to do with me.

Further, That Woman has also yet to have any sort of communication with my trainers, meaning that none of them have approved any of the decisions she's made. These include my schedule and the addition of another GEOS teacher to come to Ito Yokado two days a week to teach. Apparently, she's unconcerned that this other teacher is transferring to another school entirely and isn't available to come to Ito Yokado at all.

I spoke to one of my trainers last Friday, and he assured me that nothing That Woman has decided is official or even likely to happen. Any firm decisions made about me will come from GEOS, not from GEOS Codomo, and thus I should generally ignore anything That Woman says. Which I will gladly do.

So, as far as what the hell I'm doing in the near future is concerned, I know as little about it now as I did two weeks ago. But I do know I should generally ignore That Woman and wait to hear from my trainers before panicking about anything. Also, I am not in danger of becoming a Codomo-only teacher, which is perhaps my greatest fear, the mere thought of which makes me break into a cold sweat. The idea of teaching 30 classes of nothing but children is straight out of a nightmare for me.

The other problem is my co-workers. Don't get me wrong: I adore my co-workers, and they've shown a loyalty to me that I don't think I really deserve. But they're human, so they can be madly infuriating sometimes. One of my male students observed that giving advice to Japanese women is futile because, though they will listen and acknowledge the advice, they will ultimately reject it and continue to bemoan the situation, even if it's a good and reliable solution. I must, sadly, agree with him.

Hitomi-san is the more practical of my co-workers, recognizing the possibility of a bad situation when she sees one and not doing too much moaning about it. She tends to panic though, as she did on Thursday, when she called my trainer 10 times and emailed him thrice. I appreciate her concern, but I suggested that perhaps she was overdoing it a bit.

Benni-sensei, on the other hand, maintains a sentimental outlook on everything and becomes a confused, uncomprehending child whenever faced with something she doesn't like. When my trainer came to visit me last week, she spent half an hour trying to convince him not to close the school, like it was his decision in the first place. Once she gets an idea into her head, she clings to it, no matter how impractical it may be. She's the oldest of us, has more worldly experience, but it seems like sometimes we have to look out for her. She's forgetful, consistently late, terribly laidback, and a major pushover when it comes to kids. I get the feeling she spent too much time in California.

Anyway, my situation remains unchanged. For now, I'm definitely going to Ito Yokado, and the intent is for me to teach all of my old classes. That is, if my students don't all quit when they see how ridiculously small and inconvienent the Ito Yokado school is. However, I've had many of my students tell me (or Benni-sensei) how pleased they are that I will be teaching there, and that many of them want to continue their classes only if I'm their teacher. That's enough to put a bit of a thaw around the cold cockles of my heart. I'm unworthy of such loyalty.