Teaching in Japan and the Dangers of Kanchou!

Well it’s another sunny day in Kure, it’s about 30 degrees out and a tad humid. The weather hasn’t been as bad as I thought it would be and I’ve been able to stand the humidity so far. Fall is just around the corner and it should be getting much cooler pretty soon. Yesterday I visited another one of my elementary schools in Ato, the stop between Kawajiri and Yasuura. The funny thing is that they want to pick me up from Yasurra by car, even though it is much easier for me to just go there myself by train as I pass Ato to go to Yasuura. Anyways, I have 5 elementary schools that I visit on a rotating basis, averaging 2 per a week. Elementary school is lots of fun as the kids are just adorable. Last week, I taught at this one school up in the mountains and I had 5 kids in one class and 7 in the other. The kids are were great and I really enjoyed spending time with them.

The school yesterday was a bit bigger and the most formal out of the 3 I have had so far. The principal welcomed me and I chatted with this portly middle age woman in Japanese, she was really nice and I was able to understand most of what she said. Then I went into the gym where the kids had a welcoming ceremony for me. The principal introduced me and I gave a short speech in Japanese, then this one kid marched in front of me and gave me a welcoming card. It ended with the kids singing “It’s a small world after all” in Japanese, why they sing that, I don’t have the slightest clue. I then taught 4 classes and the kids were great. Doing my self introduction with them is a lot more fun as you get tons of ooohs and ahhhs when you show them the pictures. They also love getting the free penny and ask me like a million questions. This one kid had like short shorts on and his hand never went down as he kept on asking me the most amusing questions. During lunch I played basketball with a few of them and just chatted with some of the kids. They are just so innocent and energetic, it always causes me to crack a huge smile and I really enjoy these days immensely. A few kids made me a welcoming necklace and drew me some pictures. Pretty damn adorable I must say, even though one kid did a light KANCHOU, which is a super weird Japanese custom or gesture they you do on friends. Adult and kids basically put their hands together and form a large point with their index finger and try to stab you up the ass! I kid you not, luckily the kid just kind of did a half kanchou and didn’t hit any vitals, I turned around and told him a stern no. I remember during the Tokyo orientation, they told us to beware of the Kanchou.

As for Japanese factoid #4, it has to do with elementary school. Well for recess all the kids and teachers go outside and usually do an exercise. Most schools have a stretch session with a set pattern and it has funky Japanese music in the background. It’s actually really quite cute and fun to watch, asuka knows the movements so feel free to ask her someday. However, at Ato elementary, the kids do jump rope. The teachers and kids seriously go nuts and some are pretty damn good at it, I tried to join in as best as I could.

Also, for lunch in Japanese schools, it’s usually made at the cafeteria and the whole school eats the same food. In the boonies where I live, all my schools prepare their own lunches, and the calorie content is even listed. I eat pretty much everything they give me, though sometimes I wish I got a bit more to eat cause by 4^th period I can eat a panda. The only thing I don’t eat is natto- which is fermented beans. You either love it or hate it, and a lot of Japanese people love it. It smells like crap…seriously and it’s a sticky gooey bean. Ughh, I’m actually going to get it for lunch today. Yea but anyways, so since the whole school eats the same thing, the students help to bring lunch to the classrooms and they wear a costume that looks like a doctor’s outfit. It’s pretty cute to watch, especially when the grade 1 and 2’s carry these lunch pails on the stairs with their outfits. Yea the kids are all pretty darn adorable and I have a lot of fun teaching those classes. You also get lots of hugs and kids asking you to do stuff. Oh the pikachu statue at the bottom is a time capsule the elementary school made in 2000, only in Japan I tell ya.... Also check out the new politcal posters I put up from 2 blogs ago.