how to teach (part 2)

training - day two

on my way to training the second day i grabbed my lunch from the department store on the way to the school. the basement level of the store was filled with little stands and booths - part food court, part marketplace. i picked out a ready-made tray of food (since i didn't know the names of anything) and went outside to find a bench to eat on. my meal consisted of some chicken on a stick and a couple of grilled rice balls accompanied by some unidentifiable condiments.

back in class we were taught about more pieces of the nova class. we learned some basic classroom management tactics. then we taught parts of a couple more classes. it was stressful. the idea that some day i would have to fill out student evaluations for 4 students in the 10 minutes between classes seemed ludicrous. my biggest challenge was still developing role plays - my stories were far too complex and involved.

the ever adventurous jeremy and i found a little counter service place around the corner from nova for dinner called yoshinoya. there we feasted on bowls of miso soup, and rice topped with thin slices of beef (this was before the american beef "mad cow" scare) for not a lot of yen. let me tell you, this is heaven in a bowl, topped with pickled ginger. it wasn't until much later that i discovered that this was a large chain in japan - alas, not in marugame.

that evening in my hotel i found an episode of one of my favorite shows (favorite after the x-files), ALIAS on tv. i was so excited that i didn't even care that it was dubbed in japanese.

training - day three

by the third day i was really starting to feel confident in my classes, provided i had my lesson plan in hand. i was even starting to see how maybe i could write comments in less than 10 minutes. still the thought of teaching classes back to back was a little un-nerving. my lesson planning was still taking forever. at this rate i feared i'd be spending all my waking hours trying to plan my classes.

this last day of training was a very sad day, as well. no, not because i was sad to be leaving okayama (though i was - i like cities). not because i was sad to part ways with weird jeremy. but because my venus de milo pen finally kicked the bucket. *sigh*

how to teach: a crash course

orientation

when i first arrived i was given a huge packet of information. maps, directions, my key, and a train ticket to my orientation. on the monday following my arrival i headed to okayama for orientation. i managed to take the right train *and* find the school without too much difficulty.

the big question on my mind at this point was "how soon can i transfer to a city?". webber, our orientator, said it would be possible after my probationary period was over (2 months). i wasn't convinced, but there was so much information being thrown at us that i didn't have time to care.

the highlight of our orientation was the free meal - webber took us all out to some pizza place. not your average american pizza, but still recognizable. after dinner we were sent home, which seemed a little pointless to me, since i was supposed to come back the next day to begin my 3 day training.

when i got back to my place natasha was back from work eating her dinner. i made myself a little snack and was pleased to be told that CSI was going to be on - IN ENGLISH - and that it was on almost every monday night. i also learned that on saturday there was often an english movie on tv.

training - day one


the next day i was back in okayama. i had read in my guidebook that there was a kaitenzushi (rotating sushi bar) place near the school, so i made it my first mission to find this place. when i finally did, i took a seat at the counter and tried to watch and learn. when i still couldn't figure out how to get tea, an old woman sitting near me decided to educate me. she didn't speak a word of english, but she got me up to speed quickly. the tea bags were on the counter along with tea cups. all along the countertop were spigots which poured out the hot water. chopsticks. ginger. et voila.

i was really quite amused by the whole experience. watching and waiting for the plate of sushi i wanted. trying to match plates to pictures on the menu to words in my phrase book so i would know what i was eating. my only disappointment was the tako, octopus. yuk. at the end your plates are counted up and priced by color. easy, fun, and cheap.

still loaded down with my overnight bag i went straight to the school to begin my training. our class consisted of only myself and one other boy, jeremy. there was a lot of talk to start with, the sequence of nova lessons, the levels of students, and the timing of the class. we started by planning a couple of role plays and before we knew it we were thrown in to teach part of a class.

my first class went mostly as planned, i was able to guide the students in the role play and scribble a few notes about their efforts. my second class didn't go as well. my role play was planned for 3 characters, but only 1 student had shown up for the class. i got a little panicky and flabbergasted. but i got through it.

my training partner, jeremy, wasn't much of a talker, so i managed to fill in for him. i went on and on about the fabulous kaitenzushi place i had eaten lunch. and after talking it up so much, we decided to go there on our dinner break. only this time *i* was the one doing the educating.

after a long first day i was ready to pass out in my little hotel room. but before i could sleep i had more sample lessons to plan....

next time, training continues

exploring marugame

before natasha left for her trip she explained to me how to get to the nova branch in marugame. she even drew me a map. and since it was such a beautiful day, warm and sunny on the first of november, i was excited for a walk. later in the evening some of the nova teachers would be meeting at a restaurant called bamiyan near the school, if i wanted to meet them. i set out with my shoulder bag and my sunglasses.

i managed to weave my way through the center of marugame and find the long, rice paddy lined road that would lead me out to nova. i kept walking. and walking. i came across a drink vending machine and bought myself some sort of green tea drink. and i kept walking. and walking. almost positive at this point that i had missed some of the landmarks natasha had described. but maybe not. so i kept walking.


eventually i saw the bright pink glow of the promise land - aeon town. compared to most of my walk, the large strip mall was like the big city. there was a restaurant (bamiyan), a 100 yen store, a pharmacy, a discount store, a supermarket, a video arcade, a book store, and of course - a nova english school. i felt relieved to have actually found the school, one less thing to worry about on my first day of actual work. but i headed straight for the max valu supermarket (food excites me) - which made the marunaka supermarket i had gone to the day before look like a farm stand.

inside the massive (and air-conditioned) store was every food i could imagine and thousands more i could not. i wandered the aisles for a good hour or so. i found rice - which i hadn't been able to find at the marunaka (not that it wasn't there, mind you, i just couldn't find it in my weakened state) - and a few other little things. after i made my purchases i sat on the bench outside trying to plan my next move.

it seemed too early yet to hang around and wait for the other teachers to finish work. so i opted to walk home with my purchases while the sun still shone and perhaps borrow the extra bike to come back in the evening. so i started walking. (can you see where this is going?) and walking. and eventually started getting really tired of lugging that 2kg bag of rice. but i trudged on. now that i was certain i hadn't passed any landmarks though, i didn't have the fear of being lost.

by the time i reached the town center i was feeling confident in my sense of direction. it hadn't steered me wrong yet. and i felt certain that there was a more direct root back to the flat than the one i had taken. so i walked. and walked. then i was starting to feel like maybe i didn't know where i was going...

it was getting darker. my arms were tired of carrying the rice. as i passed a random beer vending machine i stopped to make a purchase, feeling that i would want a beer when i got back. if i got back... i found myself near the river, which i was certain was near my flat. so i followed it for a ways.

followed it until a wild dog started barking at me and following me. and then 10 of his closest friends followed suit. needless to say i was scared to death, trying to put on a cool face, telling them to go home (do stray japanese dogs understand english commands?), envisioning having to tell people that i was mauled by wild dogs on my 3rd day in japan (and they say japan is so safe!).


after getting myself away from the dogs i decided that maybe i was wrong about the river. or maybe it was a different river. so i headed up the next main looking road i found. but following this road was actually taking me *farther* from where i wanted to be. eventually i found the raised tracks of the local train - which i was certain there was only one of - and i followed them home.

i plopped my exhausted self down on the little sofa and cracked open a beer. when i had finished the beer i went to the kitchen to cook myself one of my favorite comfort foods - rice. then i settled in to watch the ninth gate, knowing full well that there was no way in hell i was trekking out there again today.