Impressions

Written on April 13...

Since moving into the new apartment Peter and I have had limited access to internet and I’ve not posted a blog in weeks. I’ll write tonight not because I’ve gained an internet connection, but rather, there are too many details of life that deserve commentary before they are forgotten. Who knows when I will actually post this! Here goes nothing...

Brief update on the living situation: Peter and I were able to move into a nice apartment in downtown Toyama just two blocks from the train station and right along the canal. This is an exceptional location for many reasons but most recently, for the cherry blossoms along the canal. Incredible! Outstanding! Trees like I’ve never seen! Like bursts of cotton candy along the spindly branches, only when you get up close can you see each individual flower and how delicate they are. This past weekend was the best. The sun came out, temperatures rose to mid-70’s and everyone and their mother (literally) was outside enjoying the blossoms. Along the canal and in parks there were picnics and gatherings all afternoon and late into the evenings; sushi platters and mini grills, sake and beer, the young and old all outside just socializing and enjoying the flowers. Thanks to our buddy, Dave, who also went to Lewis and Clark and is here teaching English, we were invited to such a picnic on Saturday afternoon. It was great to meet some Japanese people our own age (no offense to the sometimes incredibly boring teachers at school) and watch the festival activities.

I started working at Horikawa Junior High School last week. It is one of the largest schools in the area with roughly 1,000 students. There are ups and downs to this. The downs are: I’m not in a pristine mountain village teaching smaller classes and my students seem to have a bit more “tude.” Ups: I can take the tram to work every day, which runs by the apartment every 10 minutes and I only work at one school. To put this into perspective, Lindsay (Peter’s sister) and Sune (Peter’s brother-in-law) are working at eight and seven schools, respectively. Not to say that one situation is better than the other overall, only that my first few weeks of school will be less hectic.

Most shocking thing today: I was in the middle of an English lesson when a male teacher walked up to the window of the classroom (via the balcony that extends past all the classrooms) and pulled one of my students out the window... with beaucoup de force! This student had ditched out on the first 15 minutes of the lesson and Ms. Omigachi (the Japanese teacher) noticed this and reported his absence to the office. The student had returned to class, took his seat and promptly fell asleep on his desk... until Mr. Muscles came by and ripped him from his chair! Apparently, it is acceptable to use physical force on the students here. Not that the teachers hit students or anything, but they do not hesitate to grab a student’s arm and drag him/her to the principle’s office (or out the window). Although I have seen two such incidents up to this point, it seems to only happen when the student is being extremely difficult and disrespectful.

Written on April 18...

To go off of what I was mentioning before about physical contact in the school, I witnessed some heavy taunting by a group of 2nd-year boys towards another boy as I was leaving class the other day. As soon as this boy stepped out of his classroom, I heard sneering and yelling and turned to see them pull his arms behind his back and begin twisting with force. The Japanese teacher with whom I had just taught stepped in to break it up, though hardly bigger than her students, the boys seemed barely intimidated by her presence. She demanded they stay back and had me walk swiftly to the teacher’s office with the targeted boy. I don’t believe this group of boys would have dared touch me or the JTE but what surprised me was their obvious indifference to a higher authority’s presence. One kid from the group came running down the stairs as the boy and I headed to the office. It was only when I put up my hand and yelled, “Stop!” several times that he retreated. But man oh man was there animosity in his eyes towards the other boy!

I have no idea about the history between these individuals but do feel sympathy towards this one student who I have now seen seek refuge in the teacher’s office almost every day between class periods. You see, the class rotation system keeps students in their home rooms while it’s the teachers who rotate from one class room to another. With ten minutes in between each class and sometimes no teacher supervision during these breaks, this particular student has been avoiding assault by running to the teacher’s office at each break. It seems so ridiculous to me that this can happen every day, even though the teachers are well aware of the situation. But I am realizing that although most students are very well behaved, the trouble-makers are just terrors because they can get away with almost anything. Most teachers are too worn out to do any serious disciplining.

The role of a Japanese teacher extends way beyond the classroom. They must prepare lessons, correct tests and homework, coach a club sport (every afternoon and weekends, too!), eat lunch with their homeroom class, do home visits, monitor students as they clean the school, etc. I have even seen teachers standing by the tram stop near my school as students unload in the morning. Why? They are there to check skirt lengths on the girls, to see that those biking to school obey traffic laws, to make anyone chewing gum spit it out, etc.!!! Teachers here operate within a realm of mentor, parent, coach and advisor to their students. Clearly, it’s an exhausting position to hold and the teachers at Horikawa, after week two, already look haggard! Many I hear coughing and sneezing at their desks as they hurry to finish tasks between classes. (I have been washing my hands furiously any chance I get!)

I was working with one JTE last week who told me as we walked to class that he was feeling feverish and nauseous. I told him I could manage the 50 minutes on my own while he should rest a bit. Towards the end of class, I noticed him leaning against a desk in the back of the room with his head down and arms held close to his chest. “My god, this man is killing himself!” I thought. And the crazy part? (Yeah, there’s more...) It is frowned upon in Japan to miss work due to illness; it is actually highly respectable to show up to work when you’re sick because it demonstrates perseverance! Therefore, even if I take oober-good care of my health, the chronically-sick teachers at work are bound to pass me something to knock me off my feet... Oh but then I’ll just pass it on to the students when I show up to work for my “tough points.” Some things in Japan I love, others I simply don’t understand.