Right,
okay, here we go. Lots of time to cover here. Forgive me for writing
up a list of things to talk about.
End
of term and graduation
Spring
break
New
term: New teachers and students
Golden
week
Plans
for the rest of term
Stuff
like books, films, TV and games
It’s
certainly been a while. I could list all the little excuses that have
kept me from a word processor these past months, but that wouldn’t
interest you. And ultimately they would be nothing but excuses.
Needless to say, it’s been a tough enough time finding the energy
to do anything in my free time, and recounting the highlights of my
weeks has been low on the old priority list. But that changes today.
Today you get it all.
The
term ended towards the end of March, to much fanfare and revelry.
Lamentably I was unable to attend this year’s graduation, being
held up with work at elementary school. Being one of the biggest
events of the year, and the last time to see the old third years
before they leave, it was truly unfortunate to have to miss it. I
even got a few startled looks from the other teachers in the staff
room at elementary after they saw that my junior high’s graduation
was on that day. “Peter,” one teacher said, “you didn’t go to
graduation?!” “Sensei,” I replied, “I was teaching your
class while it was happening.” I didn’t intend to guilt trip, but
there was an undeniable satisfaction at his grimace. But no matter. I
got chances to say goodbye over the next few weeks, and still see a
few of them around. A few even tried to add me on Facebook, which was
touching if a little, how should I put it, professionally dangerous.
After
that came Spring Break. Japan has ruined me for Spring holidays. I
remember our Spring Break in Doshisha all those years ago: a whole
month plus change to tour the country and blow off steam. I was lucky
to get those three days of leave that I scrimped together. Could have
taken more, but I do need to save up. Lots of overseas trips planned
for the coming year. And that means lots of paid leave time. Leave
time I can’t just take any time I like.
So
Spring Break was spent relaxing wherever I could, and attending
professional development seminars to avoid having to go to work. Not
that I didn’t enjoy the relaxed atmosphere of a school without
students; I got some killer reading done in the staff room over the
holiday. Roaring through Wheel of Time 7, which I am told is where it
starts going downhill. Enjoying it so far, but we’ll see. But time
with friends trumps time at school, even if it’s in a professional
setting. It was certainly enjoyable, however. Presented a lesson that
I thought was especially good one afternoon, and spent another filing
away conversation activities for later use. A whole day was spent in
front of a computer creating something beautiful, an ESL resource
that will likely never see the light of day. It’s funny what we as
humans decide is important. Steph and I have to fly to the UK over
the Summer, which requires careful planning and consideration. But I
haven’t spent even a fraction of the energy I used up writing We’re
Talking of the Dead on flights and Foreign Office appointments, which
are decidedly more important. I swear, I cut out a chunk of my soul
and crammed it into the computer that day, or so it felt when I
finally left for an enkai in town, staggering about with wearied
limbs and a splitting headache. Why was I built like that, to take
such pleasure in pushing my limits for something inane while avoiding
real responsibilities? Another question for the big man when I reach
heaven, I suppose. I have quite a list already.
Next
comes the start of the new term. It’s always fascinating to see the
kids take off their old roles and struggle into new ones. The new
second years were all puffy chested with pride at being the seniors
at last, which made them much more agreeable and excitable where
English was concerned. The usually chaotic second years calmed down
within days of making the progression to their final year, and some
even went so far as to become shy.
I wouldn’t have believed it unless I’d seen it myself. But then
there’s the new lot, the first years, and they are just excellent.
Having taught them for two years already, they were already very
familiar with me and my lessons, but I had no idea they’d be so
eager to see someone they knew. These first weeks of lesson have been
an absolute breeze. They catch on quickly to what I’m trying to
explain, nodding their heads and shouting ‘okay!’ even when told
not to, and bless their hearts they are actually trying
to do what I tell them to. Give it time, and they’ll realise that
cheating the system is more fun. But for now it seems the possibility
of not asking the required questions in English and just using
muttered Japanese does not occur to them, something I’m very glad
of. I also know far more of their names, though a mistaken name does
still warrant outright mockery. That’s the one drawback with being
known as an elementary guest teacher: they do not take me seriously.
‘Oh, it’s only Peter. He doesn’t get
angry.’ Well, let them think that. Maybe I’ll show them.
A
new year means more than just new students. There are five new
teachers at the school this year, including one who’s an English
teacher. Mr. Koyama and I are getting along famously so far, though
his style of class is very textbook, not the sort I’m so familiar
with. But he’s flexible with his plans, and has made it clear that
I’m welcome to suggest whatever I think is best for the class. His
English is also far better than that of his predecessor, wherever she
is now. A bigger surprise came from the assignment of the new
principal of the school. You ever see that movie Kindergarden Cop?
You imagine what it must have been like for those kiddy actors to
have the Terminator walk into their classroom and announce in his
rock-cut no-nonsense tones that he was to be their new homeroom
teacher? Well, that’s a little like how it felt having the head of
the Guidance Division of the Board of Education arrive at school one
day, and tell me in clear and nigh-perfect English that she would be
staying.
In
many ways, Shiba-sensei’s presence is a great opportunity for the
school, and for me as an ALT. She is intimately familiar with how
ALTs operate in Kobe City, and already knows what makes for a good
team teaching lesson of English. She is unbelievably encouraging and
supportive, and being able to talk to the principal in unrestrained
English is excellent for knowing where to be and what to be doing at
any given time. Plus, I won’t have to bow and scrape so much to get
that aforementioned time off when Steph and I eventually get married.
I guarantee that she will bend over backwards to get me on a plane
home. It’s also excellent leverage for the other teachers in the
school, knowing the ex-Guidance Division principal as well as I do.
They’re less likely to look down on me, not that they really did
anyway, knowing that I’m well-connected. But, see, this is where
the problems start. When I was told who was going to be my new
principal by the new
head of the Guidance Division, he clapped a hand on my shoulder with
a sympathetic smile and said, “Sorry.” My teachers are scared of
her because they know how exceptionally driven she is to get things
done, and my OTEs in particular are despairing that this year is
gonna be a tough one. A few days ago, Shiba-sensei (or am I supposed
to call her by her title now?) sat me down in her office and went
over her plan for the year. Our school was going to host the
observation lesson for our block of four schools this year, I already
knew that. It was also going to host a KICP, a sort of mega-lesson
involving other ALTs from across Kobe, send kids to Summer School
during the holiday and
prepare a speech for November’s English Festival. And that’s just
the stuff we know about already. There’s gonna be a ton
of extra little English events occurring over the year, and we will
have a hand in every last one, if Principal Shiba gets her way.
Professional development, pushing your boundaries, looks good on a
CV, blah blah blah. I’m gonna be exhausted
come Christmas! And my OTEs are already planning to kill the woman, I
think. And me, for being her faithful servant. I will
try to do my best this year, but it’s not making me very popular so
far.
Right.
So, that’s the half way mark. Feel free to go get a drink of
coffee, check that Facebook newsfeed, take a walk around the room to
get circulation back into your legs. I’ll be here when you get
back.
Golden
Week’s a funny thing. For one, it’s not even a proper week. Still
had school between Tuesday and Thursday, though I shouldn’t
complain. After all, Golden Week was the last mid-week holiday we’ll
be getting for a long, long time. We had big plans, Steph and I.
Well, a big
plan. We were going to make one of our occasional Costco trips,
though we were often reminded how foolish heading to that cattle farm
on a holiday sounded. We didn’t, in the end, but that was for the
four-day weekend. On the Sunday before we had a great evening out
with a couple of friends in Osaka, after a walk around ourselves
visiting the usual places. There’s a bar there run by a bunch of
foreigners with a video game feel to it. There’s old consoles
dotted around which you can play when you feel like it, and we
happened to be there for a trivia night on top of that. Tricky stuff,
and Steph and I left early to be sure we got the last train home, but
certainly a lot of fun. Our teammates won, in the end, though they
later told us it was a mad dash to the train to make it home. We sure
are proud of them, and secretly not sure we would have been any help
anyway.
I’m
sick at the moment. Not real sick, not anymore, but suffering the
last gasps of one nasty cold. It was a cold that began Thursday night
of Golden Week, keeping me from drinking with my teachers like I’d
planned to, but it quickly escalated. I think my body was aware of
the holiday, and the chance to let out what it’d been keeping in.
It was so rubbish. I felt awful. So, no Costco. Instead, Steph and I
played Minecraft together for what must have been three days
straight. An entertaining way to spend Golden Week, I suppose, and
certainly relaxing, though I did have to blink away phantom boxy
edges of the world that sometimes materialised on the edges of my
vision. We have a four-storey tower, which Steph built up as I dug
down. Also an expansive farm with wheat, potatoes, carrots, cocoa
beans and pumpkin, and an automated defence system for the corners of
the house. Steph’s been exploring further and further out, and
making enough maps to threaten the world’s sources of paper, while
I’ve been strip-mining hell to make a sweet tower out of Nether
Brick. It was a busy four days. I did okay this last week, didn’t
suffer too much, but I’m still full of sniffles and my stomach
feels like it’s been punched a few times too many. Give it a few
more days, maybe this weekend, and it oughta clear itself up.
Urgh,
everything feels so busy right now. It’s only Thursday, but it
feels like it should be Friday. I don’t want to have to go back to
school tomorrow, even though the lessons should be straightforward. I
guess that’s what comes from having only a single lesson today; the
whole thing feels stretched out like an eternity. Bring on the
weekend, and the Star Wars marathon!
So,
what’s left for the rest of term? The third years are off to
Okinawa tomorrow, along with a third of the staff, and they’ll be
back on Wednesday ready for tests. There’s plans in the air for
next weekend’s sports day at my elementary schools, which I should
probably attend. Year before last I got Monday off for going to the
music festival at elementary, but this year’s vice-principal is not
so generous. I’ll just have to go out of the goodness of my heart.
Been teaching a little to the new first years at elementary recently.
Cute, cute kids. It feels like a lot of them know me already somehow,
though I’m sure not all of them can have older siblings in the
school already. I got a few shouting my name before I introduced
myself, and they all recovered from their fearful uncertainty of the
pale-skinned giant very quickly. Already have a few golden questions
from the little guys. “Peter-sensei, where are you from?” “I’m
from England.” “Oh. Did you come here on the Hankyu train line?”
“No, by plane.” “Wow!” I can’t imagine myself being so
young once, but I guess I must have been. They also seemed to think
it was hilarious that I didn’t know the school song that I’d
never even heard before, as though being to be a teacher required me
to sing it off by heart in an interview. And the ever-popular
disbelief that I can store two complete languages in my head at the
same time.
Life
continues as normal for the next month or so, then. No big plans or
anything particularly noteworthy. Summer officially starts with the
scavenger hunt in June. The team is almost assembled (ahead of time,
in an attempt to avoid last year’s debacle) and the theme chosen.
It’s a surprise. You’ll see. And probably disapprove. No big film
trips planned; the last one was the excellent Iron Man 3 and there’s
nothing we’re really gonna trip over ourselves to go see. Saw the
trailer for World’s End, which is looks exceptional, though I wish
I hadn’t now. It did ruin the surprise, and though I’m sure it’ll
still live up to its legacy I’d’ve liked to have been surprised.
Game of Thrones continues very well, though right now it seems to be
easing itself into the pre-climax lull that ate up over half of the
latest series of Walking Dead. Now that
was a disappointing conclusion. It’s starting to feel like the
show’s lost its way, and it’s gotten too careful with things like
character life and mental state. I mean, you remember the last series
finale? It was brutal, to say the least, and totally made up for the
sluggish pace of the rest of it. This time around was comparatively
tame, and that was not what I’d come to expect about the show.
Having said that, I’ll still keep watching. I just think it’s
ironic that I had been looking forward to Walking Dead more, where I
have no idea what’s gonna happen next, but am in fact enjoying Game
of Thrones more, where I’ve already been told by the original
author that he means to kill off everyone I ever show the slightest
attachment to. The show is good enough that, although I know it’s
just gonna break my heart, I can’t stop caring. Good stuff.
I
guess if I’m talking about TV, I can also talk about Alan Wake. I
mean, it’s a game, but it’s totally also a TV show. Finished the
first two “episodes” so far, and am loving it. More than I loved
The Ball, which was not at all. I mean, it’s well-written for one
thing, or “well-written” like a proper less-than-believable
supernatural drama on TV. So it’s cheesy in places, but in the
right
places. And it plays well, too. Also finished LA Noire recently,
which I also enjoyed despite it making me want to rip my hair out in
places. I mean, I know
that the guy’s lying to me, and I can prove it to the suspect no
problem, but it’s proving it to the game
that really got to me. When I give the right
answer only
to have it throw it back in my face!
I was
right, Phelps! I was!
That Routine ranking was all your fault,
not mine! Hear me?!
Ah,
now, here’s a bit of game news that should interest most of you.
Over Golden Week I picked up a copy of the new Tomodachi Collection
game for 3DS, and it is excellent. The game has you make your friends
in little Mii form and put them to work on an island where they work,
play, fight and fall in love. And you lot have made some proper weird
choices, I tell you. I mean, putting the Slenderman in was probably
my own fault, but it can’t excuse everything. Like a certain
Australian acquaintance of mine who tried to seduce my mother. Needed
some heavy-handed action to quash that
little problem. Some of you have shut yourselves in your rooms and
refused to come out. Some of you have had some pretty brutal
arguments. But I won’t let you get married until Mii-Pete and
Mii-Steph do! And that’s
taking its sweet time, I tell you. Dangerously close to friendzoning
on more than one occasion.
And
on that note, time for me to go. Might be able to get through episode
3 of Wake before I need to sleep. That’d be nice.
Thanks
for reading.
