What Comes Next

I arrived in Japan almost a month ago, but I have the feeling that my job really starts tomorrow. I'll be going to TJHS in the morning for opening ceremonies, which means that I'll mostly be watching speeches. Every occasion in Japan calls for speeches. It's possible that I'll also be giving a brief self-introduction in Japanese.

On Thursday, I'll have my first day in the classroom. I'm not sure how many students will be in each class, but it will most likely be fewer than 10. The first lesson will be my self-introduction. I've prepared a number of laminated A4 size pictures of Idaho, family, and the things I like. I'm hoping to get the students involved in my introduction rather than simply giving a presentation about myself, but I don't know how well the planned activities will go over. It seems like there's no way of knowing until you're actually in the classroom. I'm already somewhat nervous about it, but I've been reassured that the students at this school are very good. The problem I'm most likely to have is that they may not want to speak up or ask questions.

Starting next Monday, I'll be going to YJHS two days a week. It's a much larger school, and I've heard that the students can be a handful. Technically it's the Japanese teacher's job to keep them under control, but the way I run the activities will play a large part in whether the students pay attention or not. I'm worried about making things interesting and keeping the class moving forward. Another concern is just getting to school. I'll be taking the bus, and the schedules and signs are all in kanji, which I can't read. My supervisor has written out the name of the bus I need to get on, the time it should come, and the name of the stop I need to get off at, but I'm still concerned about getting where I need to go. I think it's in my nature to want to know exactly how to get to a place before I go there; I usually do a trial run before the first time I go somewhere for an appointment. Still, things will most likely turn out fine, and if they don't, I'll just have to deal with whatever happens.

I've been given a good deal of information about how classes are organized and what kind of activities the other ALTs use, but I still feel like I don't really know what's going to happen. I probably won't have a good understanding of what I'm supposed to be doing until I've been in class a few times. That makes me kind of uneasy because I always have this desire to do everything right the first time. It's not exactly a reasonable expectation. I may be a quick learner, but I can't expect to know everything about my job before I've even started. Figuring out my role in the classroom could take a while, and it will differ for each teacher I work with.

In terms of the things I'm looking forward to, there will be another Yosakoi practice tomorrow night and a performance on Saturday. I don't know the details of where we're performing, but I think it's in a suburb. It should be fun. I'm not sure who I'll be riding with, but they always seem to find a way to get me there. The team has been really supportive and has gone out of their way to include me.

Random side note: this morning I found a tiny spider in my bowl of cereal. It grossed me out enough that I threw out the cereal and ate an English muffin instead. I'm hoping it's not a precursor to the larger spiders that Japan is famous for. The only thing that bothers me about sleeping on a futon is being at face level with any insects that get into my apartment. I'm really hoping I never get any mukade (venomous centipedes). Apparently they always come in pairs, and their bite is very, very painful.