Catherine-Long time no see

Hello all,

I'm sorry that I am a terrible blogger. I just tend to forget that this is here which is why it's fortunate that Patrick and Sara are such good bloggers. I could tell you all about the various things I've been doing since my last post but as it's been several months I won't. Instead I will talk about all the recent events.
For our job we work at one school for one year. The catch is that we start work at the beginning of second term rather than first term. Recently, meaning the end of July, we all ended our last term at our old schools and prepared to head to our new ones. For me this meant cleaning out my desk, saying goodbye to all the teachers and students at Josei during various events. To say a proper farewell to the students I gave a speech in English and in Japanese telling the students how much I loved working at Josei and how much I would miss them all. I cried two lines into it but I had come prepared with tissues. After my speech a student of mine gave me one in return. He had written in both English and Japanese and though the English was not perfect I was very impressed and moved by what he had to say. I was also given a bouquet of flowers. It was very nice.
At the end of the day, after my farewell to the students, I went to a nomikai with all the teachers from Josei. There I gave another speech that was much shorter and ended with the line, "Please drink a lot." I am happy to say that they had no trouble complying. This nomikai was a chance for me to say goodbye and thankyou to the people I had worked with for a year. I really loved being and Josei for a lot of reasons but the staff that sat around drinking and talking with me was a big part of it. I miss them already.
The next major event for me was actually a series of events, namely Board of Education seminars spread out over the course of this past week. These seminars included the four new AET's: Rylan, Alicia, Kim, and Dan. These four were all SICE students and had been to Morioka before for four months on a homestay program that included two and half days a week teaching English but I still felt a little like a senpai. We spent time going over teaching methods for both middle school and elementary and talked about living and working in Morioka. We had a contract ceremony to start the year off right, visited our new schools to introduce ourselves, and attended workshops with other teachers about teaching English.
Tomorrow is the first official day at school for all the AETs but Rylan. He is in the Tamayama area and will be visiting all five of his schools tomorrow. I am looking forward to starting at my new school, Kuroishino Jr. High, and I hope that it will be another great year.
As I think back over the past year at Josei and in Japan I feel like I have learned a lot about Japan and Japanese culture but I also think that I will always be surprised. I know that I have learned a lot about being an English teacher because I had three amazing role models to learn from and I'm glad but I also think that I will still make a lot of mistakes. Teaching may be a process of learning everyday how you can mess up and then never doing that again.
Well that's enough.

Until the next time I remember or am reminded,

Catherine

Earthquake

Yesterday morning there was a relatively powerful earthquake in our prefecture. Some roads collapsed. But, the four of us are fine-- we all had dinner together last night-- and are all safe.

Although we certainly felt it here in Morioka, we were far from ground zero.

Catherine-Long Catch Up Blog

Dear all,
Sorry I have not posted in a really long time. The quick version is that three days after our Thanksgiving extravaganza I broke my wrist in an accident and so I haven't written. Here is the list of things that I need to tell you about: my school's staff trip to Hakodate, the broken wrist itself and all the connected hospital goodness, the winter here, my new computer AKA major electronics purchase in Japan, the New Year, and the transfer in and out of two American girls to and from my school.

Hakodate

Hakodate is a port city in the southern part of Hokaido. It is a beautiful city and I really enjoyed my visit there a lot. We went up to Hakodate-yama and saw the night view which is one the three most famous in the world.


While in Hakodate I also did a lot of shopping. I even bought a fish. The hotel we stayed in was very nice and we were in Japanese style rooms with tatami mats and futon. The hotel also had a nice salt/sea water bath with really nice views. I got to spend a lot of time with members of the staff other than the English teachers and after this trip I felt like I knew them all a little better and that we had a better relationship.
Also I got to ride on the shinkansen there and back which I love.

Broken Wrist

I broke my wrist, as stated above, four days after Thanksgiving and the day after I got back from Hakodate. It was a Sunday so I had to go to the emergency hospital because none of the others were open. I was riding down the hill in front of my apartment when a car sped out of a parking lot. I tried to stop so I wouldn't hit the car and I flipped over. I landed on my wrist and my bike landed on top of me. When I got up the car was gone and I had to call my friend for help. Apparently Japanese people really don't want to get involved in things so no one stopped to help. At the emergency hospital I first had to wait while they put a folder together for me. Then I waited in at #2 for a while and I was asked a few questions. Then I was sent to wait at #4 where I got some x-rays taken. It hurt a lot. Not so much as an ice pack was offered to ease my suffering. I was sent back to #2 to wait some more then I got called in to see the doctor. She put me in a temporary cast, told me I had to have surgery, and asked me if I wanted the medicine that you can drink or the kind you "use from the back." As you might have guessed I went for the drinkable kind. I got referred to a second hospital where they were going to do the surgery. My school was called and the next day bright and early my Kyoto sensei and the head English teacher, Nakano sensei, met up with me at the hospital to wish me good luck.
Hospital number two had a similar process to the first one. We gave them the referral and they made a folder for me. Then we waited some more. Then they cut the temporary cast off and took some x-rays with a significant period of waiting between those two things. Then we waited again to see the doctor. This doctor was amazing and worth the wait because he told me I didn't have to have surgery and he found the second break in my wrist. Thus began my four week long cast adventure. It is off now in case you are too lazy to count. Add in three more doctor's visits( all the waiting included), a lot of inconvenience, some pain, and a terrible need to wash my arm and you have the whole story. Here's a picture.Winter in Morioka

In a word, horrid. It's cold. There's a lot snow and a lot ice. It drops below freezing almost as soon as the sun goes down. I have been told by several people that this is the coldest winter in Morioka's recent history. I have gotten so used to being cold that my room seems warm when it's fifty degrees F inside. Sixty-five is positively balmy. I have slipped and fallen on the ice twice already and I have a sneaking suspicion that I am not done. I'd put up a picture here but there's no need to be depressing.

New Computer

So I had been saving for five months to buy a new computer and I saw one on sale at a good price so I got my friend and fellow AET Paul to come have a look at it. He used to be a CS major need I say more. It had all the whizzes, bangs, and whirls it was supposed to so I bought it. I relaunched the OS into English and everything has worked out great for me since. This was a fairly bloodless process for me. I have to say though that I am not technically minded and have a very limited range of needs from a computer so that probably helped. Also I got Paul who one understands computers and two speaks better Japanese than me to talk to the sales guy. If you are like me when it comes to computers and you have a Paul you'll be fine. Something to note though is that electronics here are much more expensive than in the states and I actually got a good deal on my computer because I took advantage of a New Year's sale.

New Year's or oshogatsu

In Japan oshogatsu is the major holiday. Think of Christmas in the states as example of the fellow feeling and rigmarole. There are sales in shops for the days before and after. The country practically closes for five days. There are special foods made and eaten, families are visited, and everyone makes a visit to the shrine for luck, good wishes, and to buy new omamori(protection charms). I did all of these things. I visited the relatives of a teacher at my school and I ate a lot of really good food. His mother-in-law is an amazing cook. I went to the Sakurajima jinja to make my New Year's wishes and to buy new omamori with my two friends.
Later on that day we went to the public bathes and then went out partying to celebrate oshogatsu. We went to dinner and drank a lot. We went to karaoke and drank a lot. We then went to an after hours bar and drank a lot more. It was a lot fun and I feel we did oshogatsu proud.


Two American Girls

This pair of sisters came to Morioka and my school about a month. They are nice girls and very smart. Their mom is Japanese and their father was an American. They lived in Japan when they were very young but neither one of them had ever been to school here. The older went to yoichien only. Their coming was a big surprise and caused a lot of concern in the teacher's room because we knew very little about the girls. Only their names and that they didn't speak Japanese. I was surprised myself and worried and glad that I was there to help them transition all at once. They were at the school a little over two full weeks before winer vacation began. I began giving them basic Japanese lessons to start with and Kyoto sensei was able to set up extra Japanese lessons for them three times a week. I found myself acting as a homeroom teacher to these girls. The other teachers came to talk to me about their progress in classes and their concerns for the girls' welfare. I also gave them guidance and pushed for keeping them in the classroom with the other students despite their lack of Japanese ability. When the social studies teacher wanted to start catching them up on their work I found English language articles of the same information and made worksheets asking after important information and teaching related Japanese keywords. I gave them daily Japanese assignments and did my best to help them. I really enjoyed that but I have to confess that I was glad when break came because it gave me a chance to slow down and deal with the stress. Now the girls are moving again to Chiba and today they came to school to exchange the last few papers, return the uniforms, and say goodbye to class mates. I will miss them. I was both glad to help them and pleased to be considered capable of doing it. At the same time I'm not sure I was ready for the responsibility. Their leaving has taken the uncertainty away. I won't have to go up to the other teachers and admit it was too much for me but I now no longer have the chance to prove that I could do it. I don't know if I am more disappointed or relieved. I am can certainly say that it has been a learning experience and has pushed the boundaries of my inventiveness more than a few times. Wonderfully enough they have been expanded.


Well you are now all officially caught up on the major events.

Best of,
Catherine

Thanksgiving (Written by Patrick)

The four of us had Thanksgiving together with the Earlham students on the SICE program, their host families, and many other people who have some tie to Earlham.

When I was on SICE, we only had four students, so the Thanksgiving was rather lacking. This year, however, with about a dozen students on SICE, we had a comprehensive selection of both Japanese and American cuisine, including cranberries (!!!) and mashed potatoes. Chicken took the place of turkey, but that's just because turkey is outrageously expensive here.

Unfortunately, there are no pictures of the feast because I think that in our hunger we all forget to bring our cameras.

And although Thanksgiving is not a holiday here, we had Friday off, as it was some variety of labor day.

Patrick- First snow of the new season

Last night it was melting on contact, but when I woke up this morning (the view from my backyard, as it were):

This is a Kotatsu

Dear all,
I talked to my brother earlier and was unable to accurately describe a kotatsu so I took some pictures to use as visual aids.


This is a whole and complete kotatsu. It's made up of a table, a futon, and a zabuton which is a futon that goes under the table on the floor.
This is a picture of the zabuton with a cushion on top of it that you sit on and the large futon lifted up. You sit on the cushion and cover yourself with the big futon. It's very snug and warm.
This is a picture of underneath my kotatsu. The heater's is on the bottom of the table. The cord leads to a switch.
This is the switch. You can turn the heater on and off with it. The temperature control for the heater is on the side of the heater itself so you can control the temperature from just warm to really, really hot.
This is a better if slightly sideways picture of the heater. You can see the temperature knob.

The heater shoots out heat which is then trapped by the encasing futons and then you can put your feet and part of your legs under the table and get all toasty warm.

I hope that this has been a helpful description of a kotatsu.

Cheers,
Catherine

What Morioka Castle Once Looked Like

Since Morioka still advertises it as a castle town, though the castle was destroyed, I was always curious what it looked like. Well, thankfully, I found these posters at my school during the cultural festival which give one some idea:

Sara- Hachimangu Festival

Patrick and I went to the Hachimangu festival on September 15th. The festival is for three days, from the 14th to the 16th. The 16th was also a national holiday (The day would roughly translate to 'Respect the Elderly day'.) so it was a day off for everyone.


Hachimangu Festival is the festival of Hachimangu Shrine which is of the Shinto religion. (Shinto-shrines, Buddhism-temples)
Unfortunately I don't have any information about the festival but it was very fun to go to and beautiful to watch. They have an evening parade of floats down the main street, and on the 16th, they had an archery on horseback ritual performance. Unfortunately, I couldn't figure out the time for it and missed that but hopefully I will see it next year and post about it. The archery is called Yabusame and it is a very traditional and time honored practice.

Here are some pictures that I took.





The floats are very elaborate and you can see the male kabuki like figures in the front and the women figures were on the back of the floats.

The large orange gate way is called a Torii and it is the gate way for all Shinto shrines.




Inside the grounds of the shrine, there are many food and game vendors. As you can see, you have the typical cotton candy vendors, but you also have game booths such as 'Kingyosukui' which translates to 'Goldfish scoop'. You get to scoop up live goldfish and you can keep the ones that you catch. If you have the bad luck of not getting any, you usually get to keep one. Unfortunately, I couldn't take a picture of such a booth, but there's also the 'kujibiki' booths where you pay to get a scrap of paper with a number. Then you get the prize according to the number.
There are also food booths so Patrick and I had dinner there by going around and trying out different foods. Here's a yakitori booth (shishkabobs-usually chicken).
As you can see, there were a lot of people there, but that's only half of the booths and people at the shrine.



































At the shrine, there are many places to pray. This is a little shrine but I'm not sure to what god it is dedicated to. Then there were the Zodiac shrines which are the tiny round stones that are hollow inside. Inside you would see the figures of each zodiac animal. Patrick and I went to see the Rat shrine.
Then this is Hachimangu. It is very big and perhaps you can not see, but there are long thick ropes that hang down. These ropes have bells attached to the top and you throw in some money into a collection box, then ring the bell, clap your hands three times and pray or make a wish to the gods.
There were also dancers at the shrine.

Catherine- Flooding

So for the past two and a half days it has been raining pretty much constantly. The rivers no longer have banks. They are now wide and high. I stopped on the bridge by my school today to look at the river. The river has risen by 2 and 1/2 to 3 meters in the past two days. It's amazing. The water used to be very clear but now it is muddy and opaque. There are trees partially covered by the water from the rising river. There have been floods all along the Kitakami river and in one place the river overflowed and ate a bicyclist. They are still looking for him now. There are businesses with a foot of water on the floor and floating trashcans. I've never seen anything like it.
Catherine writes in addendum:
So I never heard back about the bicyclist one way or another but I just wanted to update you on the river. The banks have now fully returned and dried out. The pathways are once again seeable and the steps that led down into the river for summer waders and swimmers are back. The water is clear and slow moving again.

Salary

Here is a basic rundown on our salary. Those who are considering working in Morioka will probably find this quite useful.

The figures are all in yen. To make it easy (and about 15% inaccurate in your favor) you can simply think $1= 100 yen.

Annual Salary: 3,600,000 yen

Monthly Salary (gross): 300,000
Health Insurance: 12,500
Pension(*): 21,000
Unemployment: 2,500

Apartment Rent: 42,000
Water: 3,000-4,000
Electricity: 3,500
Gas: 5,000-8,000 (**)

Cell Phone: 2,000-4,500 (at the low end, I use only two or three times a month; the high end assumes fairly frequent use but no excesses like TV, etc)
Internet: 3,200-4,500 (price just depends on where you live and the services that are available)

Transportation: 0
Bicycles are wonderful. However, you may be up to an hour or so by bike from your school. When it gets really cold, this can be bad, so thankfully there are some buses. One can apply for reimbursement for the bus expense to and from the school.

School fees: 0-5,500
Some schools have a snack fee that you can optionally pay to eat snacks at the school. Other schools-- well, mine only actually-- collect large fees each month for, well, it's not exactly clear, but you may not be able to avoid paying it.

Net after rent, utilities, and mandatory deductions: ~190,000-210,000 yen/month

Water, electricity, and gas usage assume conservative but frequent use. My apartment has slightly higher rent than some of the others.

(*): The government returns the pension money at the end of the program, assuming we complete our contract, which is a nice little bonus at the end of the two years.
(**): Gas price is confirmed after a few months of being more expensive than originally posted. Hot showers of even moderate length are expensive. The monthly fee (for any use) is about 2000 yen; after that, it's what you use.

Final note: nearly all bills are paid by direct deposit (it's set up as part of your orientation) so the only way you'll screw up payment is if you overdraw your account.

Patrick- Photo: $100 in coins

The stack of coins in this photo is valued at 10,000 yen, which is roughly $90 right now but has been between $80-100 in the past few years. Japan has the highest valued coin currently in circulation in the world, at 500 yen (about $4.50). That means there are no bills under 1000 yen (about $9). So you have to be extra careful not to let all the change spill out of your pocket.

I will use this stack of coins to pay for part of my rent tomorrow. It's a little bizarre to think I will be paying for ~25% of my rent in change.

Catherine- The all Iwate English Speech Competition

Catherine writes: I'm sure that my fellow AET's will have a lot to say about this but for my part I have to say this was pretty intense. The competition draws students from middle schools all over Iwate. There are two kinds of speeches; recitations and orations. A recitation is a student reading a story from one of the textbooks or the textbooks supplemental material. They are judged on pronunciation, clarity, and the use of gestures and facial expressions. An oration is a student reading a speech that he or she has written and prepared themselves. They are judged using the same criterion as the recitation. This part of the competition is the more prestigious of the two and the awards are literally larger.
The students are ranked against each other rather than some outside criterion the only marker they have to follow is for time. The speech cannot exceed five minutes or it is penalized. For the orations the choices of topic are limitless but the for the recitations the stories must come from the textbooks so there is a lot of repetition. The students went based on their year in school and which story they picked. This means that the judges could and did hear up to twenty recitations of the same story over and over again.

I was there to support two students that I have been helping for the past weeks. They both conducted themselves admirably but did not take top prizes. When the kids and I started working their pronunciation was so bad I had trouble understanding them, they made many mistakes many times over. By the time we were done they had both improved by leaps and bounds in terms of both clarity and pronunciation. I'd say they improved by at least %50. I was very proud of their efforts. I know that not taking a prize was disappointing for both of them but they went so far in a very short time that I can't help but feel good about them. When I started this job I was told that there would be students who just didn't want to learn or who really wanted to but just couldn't for some reason. That the biggest impact I was likely to make was in terms of international understanding. Today what I did in the classroom and my abilities to teach English made an impact. I know that they are both better English speakers because I was able to teach them and I'm glad. That's kind of a self-centered attitude but I hate feeling like I'm being paid to speak my native language rather than teach it. Today was the proof that I taught English rather than just spoke it.

Patrick writes: I actually did not attend the speech competition, but I'm glad it's over. I was drilling students for about two hours per day for the past three weeks, and you can only hear the same five minute speeches so many times before you start to lose it. I couldn't believe they wanted to practice so much (of my three students, one didn't want to practice, and two did very much; of those two, one hated going to track and field and the other actually enjoyed English). I am happy that one of my students won fourth place in the speech contest proper.

Catherine- My very first taihuu (typhoon)

So Friday was the very first typhoon I have ever experienced. I went to Kita Kuriyagawa elementary school to do my very first visit. When I got up that morning I just thought it was raining however I was mistaken. In Morioka it rains a lot. Almost everyday but in a typhoon it rains for 10 to 12 hours straight and it's a consistently heavy rain.
The kids got sent home early because of the rain. The kyoto sensei or vice-principal coordinated with all of the teachers and students over the PA system. First everyone got dressed in their rain gear and got out their umbrella and then the the students were organized and sent off with a teacher based on where they lived near to the school. The teacher walked the whole crowd of students to their home street and saw them safely off. During this whole time the vice-principal made announcements as to which street was going when and answering phone calls from parents. I waited while all of these machinations took place. Until every student had made it home safely and all of the teachers had returned I could not go home. I had been given a ride to the school by one of the teachers and none of them were able to even think about me until the kids were home safe. I really admire this attitude and the way the teachers and vice-principal handled this situation. They all knew what they were doing and they all worked together for the best interests of their students.

Sara- Morioka Sports Day

On September 4th, Morioka had a Track and Field competition for all the junior high schools. It took place in a very large stadium and 23 out of 26 schools participated. My school, Shitakouji came in 1st place for the boys and 2nd for the girls.

The track and field is what one might expect, except for the cheering. Each school groups together and not only do they have set cheers that all the students have to say, but they also change their uniforms to form various writing. These cheers are usually led by three boys who are the leaders of the cheer squad. Look for them near the end of the video.

Patrick writes: You may not believe it at first, but cheerleaders are not only male, they actually all wear clothes here. They don't do any slutty dances, either. Instead, they actually lead cheers. I was taken aback at first, too.

Catherine- Adjusting to Life in Japan

I don't know about my fellow AET's (assistant English teachers) but some of the things I am having the most trouble adjusting to are not related to the fact I'm in Japan. I live alone for the first time in my life. I don't have a roommate, house mates, or family around to make noise and be there when I get home. I am saved all the hassles like dirty dishes in the sink that aren't my own or the washing machine being in use every time I want to wash clothes but I am left with a totally empty house. There is no one to say, "I'm home" to or to say "good morning" to; there's no one to fight with. My things are never moved from where I drop them but there is no one to help me clean up.
I have always been an independent person completely comfortable with my own company but now that I know it is not possible I really miss having someone around. I have great friends. My job is a lot work but has many compensations. I love being in Japan meeting new people and seeing new things. At the same time I really miss arguing with my mother in person.

Patrick- The Somewhat Crappy Banking System of Japan

Rather than giving a lengthy explication of the banking system, I will here simply list several points of interest:

* Japan does not have national bank chains; instead, if people need nationwide access to their money (and often even if they don't), they use a post office savings account. The Japanese post office is, or rather would be, if it were to be privatized, the largest bank in the world.

* If you are signing up for a bank account and make one mistake on the form, you can't white it out/cross it out/edit it at all. You have to start over.

* Ditto if the bank employee makes a mistake for you.

* It is difficult for foreigners to get credit cards in Japan, mainly because it's hard to prove residency.

* Further, credit cards are very different from the US versions anyway. There are two basic kinds: one that you charge to and then the full balance is debited from your account at the end of each month (glorified charge card) and another that you specify how many installments at the time of payment. In other words, I buy a PS3 (hypothetically) for $600 and when I charge it the clerk asks: "how many times do you want to pay?" I'm feeling masochistic so I say "twelve" and then for the next twelve cycles the installment plus interest is automatically deducted from my account. This is not easy to adjust.

* Debit cards are not really available, although the Japanese credit cards are similar to the US debit cards.

* Most people do not have a checking account. Nearly everything is (or can be) paid in cash.

* This absence of ways to pay for things (particularly online) is somewhat alleviated by the fact that you can take your utility bill or some online store bills and other notices to one of the many convenience stores and pay off your balance there. It's convenient, but perhaps not quite as convenient as automatically deducting it from your account.

* Thankfully, you can automatically deduct your bills from your account. But, it takes two months to set up. No joke. You write down all of your account information and then for the next two months you have to pay at the convenience store until they "set you up." Apparently there is nothing like the EFT system in the US.

* On the plus side, when you withdraw or deposit money, whether at the bank or through an ATM, if you haven't forgotten it you can insert your little bank book and automatically get all transactions since your last visit (including those processed automatically, like debits for utilities and rent and whatnot) printed on it. This is much nicer than a bank statement because it keeps your whole history right there in your pocket, and tells you exactly how much you have saved/left.

* If you screw up when you put in your pin number at the ATM (two or three strikes and you're out), it eats your card. Then you have to wait two more weeks for a new one.

* The bank is open only when we are at work. It opens at 10 and closes at 3, Monday through Friday only.


All in all, the banking system isn't terrible, but it's not nearly as convenient as the US system. On the other hand, Japan's health insurance system is much better (cheaper), which is probably more important.

Obon

Obon is in the middle of August and is a holiday lasting several days where families visit the graves of their ancestors. Obon is a celebration of the Shinto religion and the belief behind the celebration is that the spirits of one's ancestors returns to Earth to visit. For this reason, lanterns are often light out side of houses to guid ancestors back to homes. At the end of the week, special lanterns are lit and are released into a near by river to guid the spirits back into the spirit realm. In many places in Japan, this special event at a river is called Toronagashi.

In Morioka, however, it is called Funekko Oroshi. This is because part of the celebration involves setting aflame boats (about twenty, one for each neighborhood) full of fireworks on a river. (In Japanese, the word for boat is fune). Although bad for the environment, it is quite a spectacle.

As the people (mostly men, and a few women) who pull the boats down the river are nearly naked, it is also I imagine quite dangerous, since the fireworks and debris could be seen spilling out of the boats.

At the end of the festival, several hundred fireworks were shot off as men set paper lanterns out to float down the river.

Watch the video (about three and a half minutes long, no sound) below. The people are a little compressed because the original video is widescreen but on the internet it has to be a square rather than a rectangle.

Morioka Weather

Our first few weeks it was quite hot here, but thankfully it has cooled down significantly. I have found that this week leaving the windows open is sufficient to stay cool.

Although Morioka is inland enough that we are not particularly at risk for typhoons, they do significantly increase the precipitation. In the past two weeks, it has rained on perhaps ten days, usually for an hour or more.

Morioka Junior High Schools

In Morioka, there are about twenty public junior high schools. As an ALT (Assistant Language Teacher), our job is to work at one of those junior high schools for an entire year as an assistant/team teacher. During that time, the job also requires that we visit several elementary schools once or twice each. Our contract is for two years, and at the end of our first year (next July), we will switch to another junior high school.

Thus, Catherine, Paul, Sara, and I do not work together, but rather separately at individual schools. There are also three other ALTs on the Earlham program in Morioka in the same situation (they arrived last year).

There are a few major differences between Japanese and US junior high schools. First, all Japanese junior high schools include seventh, eighth, and ninth grade. There are no 6-7-8 or 7-8 schools.

Second, all of the students are required to wear uniforms. This does not mean they have to wear a certain kind of clothes like a dress code, but rather they must all wear the exact same shirt, dress, etc. This includes shoes, which are color-coded to the year of the student. It follows that jewelery and such are also not permitted.

Teachers, however, can dress fairly casually. In fact, as long as you show up looking somewhat decent, you can get away with changing into gym clothes and wearing shorts and a tshirt for the rest of the day.

Third, and perhaps the largest difference and the one most important to understanding our jobs, is that students stay in the same room with the same group every day and teachers move from room to room. So, the same group of students are with each other all day. This is called a homeroom. Each teacher is responsible for one homeroom, and they meet together at the beginning of the day and the end of the day. This is a chance for the teachers to really bond with a specific group of students. Of course, as assistant teachers, we do not have a homeroom of our own that we are responsible for, but we can visit other homerooms.

In addition to their daily meetings, students eat lunch in their homeroom. Some schools have a (very healthy) school lunch, while other schools require all students to bring their lunch and provide only milk. But since there is no cafeteria and there is one teacher eating with thirty students or so, there is not such an opportunity for delinquency that a cafeteria allows.

Further, students are responsible for cleaning their own homeroom. This generally means they are maybe a bit more careful to avoid causing a mess.

Because teachers rotate rather than students, and students all have the same classes, it allows for very flexible schedules. Students often have different classes in a different order each week. This simplifies taking field trips and doing special activities, since all classes can be rescheduled and one need not worry about penalizing one class consistently if the activity is late in the day, or early in the morning.

In the teachers' room, all teachers have their desks. Teachers are grouped by the grade they teach, and they sit in order of the length of time they have spent at the school. Many teachers transfer (or are forced to transfer) from school to school after four years.

Also, there is a national curriculum. This means that all the schools use similar textbooks and are covering basically the same material within a week or so of any other given school. Further, textbooks then need only include what will be taught, and since there are no optional materials, the textbooks are a good deal thinner and lighter than their US counterparts.

Lastly, the Japanese school year begins in April, and the first term ends sometime in July. Summer vacation stretches from July to August; thus, as we begin teaching at our schools, we are fortunate to be able to join them at the beginning of the second semester, a logical entry point.

Welcome!

Sara's Birthday- 11 August 2007

From left to right- Catherine, Sara, Paul; front- Patrick

Hello, everyone. In this blog Catherine, Paul, Sara, and I will write about our experiences as Assistant Language Teachers (ALTs) in Morioka, Japan. We arrived in Japan on July 30 and will be teaching English in junior high schools in Iwate prefecture for two years.

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