I love White Day. It's a brilliant Japanese invention.
Last month, I complained about how Valentine's Day is a money-making holiday intended to give people multiple guilt trips and how White Day will be unfair because guys only give back to the girls they love.
Turns out I was wrong. Today, I was smothered with box after box of chocolates and cookies all packaged really nicely by my male colleagues. I complained about how chocolates given out because of obligation will not taste as good.
I take all that back because I'm enjoying all this sugar overload. SCORE!
Friday, March 14, 2008
Sandwich Man and Cream Stew
Today, celebrities came to our school. A few members of a famous Japanese comedic group called the Sandwich Man visited the junior high school that I teach at. One of the members from the group is supposedly an alumnus of our school. After seeing him, I think this guy was an alumnus from a long time ago.
There was quite a big deal made over him. His arrival was made top secret and was kept from the students until half an hour before his scheduled arrival. When students found out they were coming, all of them started screaming like school girls...which some of them are.
The school counselor asked me if I knew who the Sandwich Man are. I told him no because I rarely watch Japanese TV. He told me that the Sandwich Man are newcomers and that Cream Stew, another comedic group, is a lot more famous.
All I could think of was how much these groups sounded like delicious lunch menu.
There was quite a big deal made over him. His arrival was made top secret and was kept from the students until half an hour before his scheduled arrival. When students found out they were coming, all of them started screaming like school girls...which some of them are.
The school counselor asked me if I knew who the Sandwich Man are. I told him no because I rarely watch Japanese TV. He told me that the Sandwich Man are newcomers and that Cream Stew, another comedic group, is a lot more famous.
All I could think of was how much these groups sounded like delicious lunch menu.
Friday, March 7, 2008
Abandoned
Waah...I feel like an abandoned child!!
Earlier this week, the students had a goodbye party and rehearsal for graduation. When the graduating students marched in for the rehearsal, I couldn't help but feel like a proud momma and tears rolled down my face. Yes, I'm a crybaby, I know. What will happen when the real thing happens on Tuesday?
Maybe it's because I see this group of 3rd graders a lot more often than the others or maybe it's because their English skills are better than the first and second grade students, but I feel like a big part of what I liked about this school or my life in Japan will leave me.
I'm afraid that my remaining time in Japan will be less meaningful.
On top of that, I had another shock today. Today is the day when all staff members meet with the principal to decide their fate for the next school year. In Japan, the school year starts in April, so it doesn't give anyone anytime to do anything.
In this city, there's a policy by the board of education that requires everyone to change schools every-so-often. This includes the principal. I've been told that a regular term is 3 years, but some people in my school have been there for 7 years.
Perhaps, that's why I was so surprised when my school nurse told me that she couldn't stay here for another year. This was her 7th year at our school and I thought she would move on to an 8th.
It's not fair! She's my favorite person in school!! She's my lunch buddy, the first person I went to an onsen with, the person who always offers me rides home, the person who's the most concerned about me when I got sick and so much more. She's like a mom to me when I'm miles away from my own. Simply put, she's one of the reasons why I chose to stay in Japan for another.
Needless to say, I kinda feel like crap now.
Earlier this week, the students had a goodbye party and rehearsal for graduation. When the graduating students marched in for the rehearsal, I couldn't help but feel like a proud momma and tears rolled down my face. Yes, I'm a crybaby, I know. What will happen when the real thing happens on Tuesday?
Maybe it's because I see this group of 3rd graders a lot more often than the others or maybe it's because their English skills are better than the first and second grade students, but I feel like a big part of what I liked about this school or my life in Japan will leave me.
I'm afraid that my remaining time in Japan will be less meaningful.
On top of that, I had another shock today. Today is the day when all staff members meet with the principal to decide their fate for the next school year. In Japan, the school year starts in April, so it doesn't give anyone anytime to do anything.
In this city, there's a policy by the board of education that requires everyone to change schools every-so-often. This includes the principal. I've been told that a regular term is 3 years, but some people in my school have been there for 7 years.
Perhaps, that's why I was so surprised when my school nurse told me that she couldn't stay here for another year. This was her 7th year at our school and I thought she would move on to an 8th.
It's not fair! She's my favorite person in school!! She's my lunch buddy, the first person I went to an onsen with, the person who always offers me rides home, the person who's the most concerned about me when I got sick and so much more. She's like a mom to me when I'm miles away from my own. Simply put, she's one of the reasons why I chose to stay in Japan for another.
Needless to say, I kinda feel like crap now.
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