The Circle is Now Complete: Now I am the Master

What a neat picture of such an iconic scene. Thanks Google!

When I left Spokane, I was but a learner. Now I am the master.

Admittedly the Star Wars reference is a bit loose. I am not a master of evil nor am I waging war against, well, anyone at all. But it is odd to think that just a few years ago I was a student. Now after magically being transported to Japan via Delta Airlines, I am now a teacher, a sensei.

Granted my role is pretty simple. I am assisting a teacher who already has lessons planned and a curriculum to adhere to faithfully. I am simply here as a native, fluent speaker of English, to assist in pronunciation and spelling, create games when needed, to be a cultural ambassador, and be a friend to the students. Some teachers will undoubtedly be more willing for me to have an active role in the class--others will simply ask that I be a human recorder.

And that is quite alright. I idealistically left the U.S. with the simple desire to serve in whatever capacity is asked of me. Despite my hubris above, I am no master. The learning never ends even as a teacher. Each class I participate in I am learning how to be a better teacher as well as studying Japanese and Japanese culture. Living and teaching in Japan is an exhilarating, albeit slightly tiring, experience with plenty of room for growth.

I don't remember if I mentioned this but I am teaching at four schools: Midori Elementary twice a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays, Saganoshima Elementary and Junior High School on Wednesdays, Sakiyama Junior High on Mondays, and Sakiyama Elementary on Fridays. Saganoshima is by far my smallest school with only 7 students while Midori is huge hosting around 300 students. Sakiyama Junior High has around 25-30 students while Sakiyama Elementary could be 100-150 students. It is one hell of a spectrum. And of course the students are on a spectrum too from super excited and talkative to very shy. It will take some work but as an introvert by nature, I am confident I can relate to the shyer students. I am also here for comic relief often by accident. The situations I fall prey to are enough to make any person laugh or simply snort and carry on. Why, I had three such experiences today. The first was during cleaning time.

Every day Japanese kids are required to clean the school for about 15-20 minutes. In a school like Saganoshima, which is big in relation to the seven pupils in attendance, it is impossible to clean the school. Thus cleaning time is more symbolic than anything else: it cultivates a sense of responsibility, care, and investment in both the student and teacher. Hearkening to my gym days I volunteered to mop but didn't realize mopping was more a science than an art in Japan.

The mop itself is like a giant circular electric toothbrush. You put into the water and push into a spinner that soaks up water. After that you put into a spinner above the bucket which spins out excess water. Seemed straightforward to me. Unfortunately when I tried to plug the mop into the water spinner, it loosened and became unhinged. My teacher would fix it, demonstrate, and then give me the mop again. It broke again. And again. I am by far one of the most kinesthetically challengd residents in Goto. I think I spent half of cleaning time figuring out how to get the mop to work. It was a good for laughs at least. And then cleaning time ended. I kept going because I wanted to finish a room. No. Once cleaning time is done, it is simply done.

I also got my hair cut today without the help of a friend translator. Naturally I didn't understand 80% of the conversation but I made do and came out looking good by my humble standards. A hilarious old Japanese woman cut my hair. I think she offered to set me up with her daughter (or any Japanese woman apparently). Simply fantastic. I think I will go back once my hair looks like a mop again.

Then on my way back I executed a perfect classic Will maneuver. I decided to drive down a side road, which I have jogged along several times. Unfortunately the section I used was for pedestrians only so I quickly approached a roadblock. I backed out an angle hoping to turn around and face the road the right way. Then I realized a substantial ditch threatened to swallow my small car--bigger than some of Spokane's more gargantuan potholes. I got out ok but looked like a clueless idiot to several pedestrians.

Today I was reminded that signs are important.

I didn't really discuss my classroom experiences thus far. That will be the subject of my next post. Thank you for reading my tangential post. Stay tuned for more.