My first month in Japan!

This past month has been equally the slowest and fasted month of my life. Living in Japan is proving to be very different to just visiting, and I’m glad that now the school semester has started, I finally have some sort of routine in my life.

ALT Life:

I am currently teaching in six schools, quite a lot by ALT standards. I spend most of my time at my junior high school (ages 12-15), and split the rest of the time between my five elementary schools (ages 6-12).  They’re all so different in their own ways, and I’ve had my first day at all but one now. The opening ceremony I attended on the first day of the semester was interesting, with a very regimental assembly, and me having to give my dreaded introductory speech to a bunch of elementary students staring at me with wonder. A few of my schools have wanted me to introduce myself over the school radio at lunch times too.

I eat kyuushoku (school lunch) with my students every day, which provides the most hilarious conversation topics; mostly if I have a boyfriend, to which the children freak out when I tell them I have five. Kyuushoku is greatly different to how it is in the UK, as the meals are eaten in the classrooms, and food is served by selected students in that class who don an apron, mask and serve their classmates. Only when everyone has been served and seated, do the children shout “itadakimasu” and begin tucking in.  
 There’s a definite art to kyuushoku which I’m still yet to master. Eating a whole meal in 10 minutes whilst answering constant questions, drinking luke-warm milk, and sitting on a chair that leaves my knees by my chin are proving difficult. However, there’s something rather humbling about how the children are so polite, cleaning the classroom afterwards and always offering to take away my tray no matter how much I insist. 

In every school I’ve been to the staff couldn’t be more welcoming. Even simple gestures like having my personalised name tag on my shoe locker, or gifting me some Hello Kitty souvenirs. The English speaking teachers seem to be very excited at the fact they have a Brit for once, rather than the constant stream of Americans they’ve had in Kumamoto for a while. The non-English speaking teachers try their hardest and are always patient with me, which I’m forever grateful for. Note: if you can speak a little Japanese, no matter how many times you tell them, they will always assume you are fluent so you have to roll with it anyway!

I’ve also had a few principals observe my lessons, with one telling me he was surprised by my age because he thought I had teaching experience. Whether it’s because I don’t mind being a tit in class, or because I have the same mental age as the children and can relate, it’s really encouraging that I might not be the best, but they appreciate I’m trying and seem to be doing an okay job so far.

In terms of students, I will admit I’m starting to get favourites in different classes. Nothing cuter than a 5^th grader who can’t speak a word of English, but god the enthusiasm is there, and who now does the Usain Bolt move with me every time we meet because he told me he wants to be an Olympic sprinter. I’ve also found other girls who like the same K-pop groups as me, which results in a lot of squealing and promises for us to have regular chats about them.

Travelling:

I’ve managed to make it to a few sights here despite the fact I’ve been working since I arrived. On Mountain Day, a public holiday, I visited Suizenji Garden which is beautiful, and saw the miniature Mount Fuji replica they have there as a token gesture for the day. One day after work, I made a fleeting visit to Kurokawa onsen, the most famous hot spring village in the prefecture.
Despite the hell-ish journey, a thunderstorm in the mountains, and thinking we’d be stuck overnight, bathing in the pools watching the storm was such a relaxing experience, and I got to visit not only my first onsen, but my first mixed onsen too. That’s definitely a rite of passage in Japan, you’ll always be a different friendship level with someone once you’ve gotten naked and hopped in an onsen with them. Old ladies have no shame either, most engaged me in conversation butt naked without any attempt to wait until I was dressed.  

I’ve done a few day trips to Fukuoka too, with one seeing Haruka before she goes back to England to study her masters. The struggle of a long-distance best friend relationship is real! I’ve also got trips planned to both Okinawa, the southern island prefecture next week, and back to my favourite city, Seoul, over Halloween. In the meantime, I’ll hopefully get a change to explore Kyushu more on my weekends away from rowdy children.

 Admittedly, I do feel like a zoo animal at times, both in schools and out. I’m always hyper-aware of the whispering that follows me, being told I’m kawaii (cute) every day by 12 year olds, pubescent boys being pubescent boys...  My skin and eyes are the biggest thing to the kids, with some not understanding what freckles are and asking if I’m sick, and poking my eyes because they’ve never seen blue ones before.  One of my favourite past times is knowing someone is talking about me in Japanese, only for me to tell them in Japanese I understand what they’re saying.

Being a gaijin (foreigner) in Kumamoto especially, can be a little difficult at times, as there really aren’t many of us around. However, once in a blue moon I’ll have a little old lady chat to me at the bus stop, and even though I don’t have a clue what they’re saying half the time, they wish me luck and always ask how I’m coping with everything, especially the earthquakes.
Although I’ve gotten used to the almost daily baby-quake we experience here, most are barely noticeable. However, last week was a real wake-up call when Kumamoto had two 4.7 earthquakes within 12 hours. I heard that if it hadn’t been for the magnitude 7 quakes that hit in April, those would have been considered big. It was horrible being alone, not knowing how much longer it would last/if it would get any bigger, and just generally freaking out when things were falling down in my apartment.  I got woken up at 2am this morning by another one, still nowhere near the size of the ones in April, but it still isn’t the most comfortable experience.
Its times like that I wish I had the nonchalant attitude of the Japanese who get on with their lives without a minor heart attack like I do. Despite the impending doom of natural disasters threating Japan on a daily basis, the amount of people who I barely know checking in on me at least makes me feel loved.

So all in all, I may still have no clue what I’m doing, and I’ve spoken about myself more times than I can explain, but I’m loving my new life here and can’t wait to get involved with more things. If nothing else, I’ve taught the children that it’s not pronounced banana, its banaaaarna.