It’s Been Awhile!

Hey guys! It’s been almost a month since I’ve posted anything. Sorry about that! I’ve been quite busy with all of the events going on. First of all, good news! I finally got internet at home! (about a week or 2 ago) and I’m loving the accessibility of it! You won’t believe how much we take internet for granted…

In other news! We have an event called “sports day” in Japan, or 運動会 which can more directly be translated to something like “exercise meet.” I have been asked multiple times whether we have this in America and when I tell them that we don’t, they’re always so surprised! Basically, instead of doing actual sports, the students compete in a series of events (all exercise related) which may or may not be an actual competition of athleticism. Honestly, it ranges from “very athletically involved” to “luck of the draw.” Events include a relay (of just pure running), a relay (where obstacles are placed throughout the course and a game of “rock paper scissors” decides which route you take), tug of war, team cheering, and much much more. Of course, I can’t post pictures of any of my students but it was a really fun and interesting time. I even had to run in the teacher’s relay for one of the events! And, because I work at multiple schools, I ended up attending 3 separate sports days!

This weekend, I have an ultimate Frisbee tournament in Tottori (which is on the main island of Japan and about a 5 hour drive). We’ll be staying the night on the field in tents and having a giant BBQ. I’m pretty excited but also exhausted just thinking about it. I also have tentative plans to climb a mountain with a friend on Monday. Speaking of which, Monday is a public holiday, so I don’t have work. Japan had a movement to place as many of their holidays as possible on Mondays to allow for 3 day weekends, and less need for their employees to take holiday to turn public holidays into mini vacations. It seems to have been effective! I feel pretty relieved when I have a random 3 day weekend, and I feel much less inclined to use vacation days.

As for teaching, I’m still trying to figure out what my role is in each classroom. It seems to change constantly, making it hard to gauge what I should be doing in each. I’m sure I’ll figure it out soon! The hardest part is the fact that my Japanese is sub-par, making explanations quite the journey for both me and the students! I also probably say a lot of things awkwardly, but if they get the point then that’s good enough for now I suppose! I’ll work on being more correct later.

Well, this is a decent update on me! I hope to be proactive with a post about, and pictures of this weekend!

 

Until next time xx