Training week (Feb 7-10)

Feb 7: Monday was the first full training day. I learned about the curriculum of my company and I learned one of three major types of lessons I will teach at my school in Sasebo. My trainer (American) has lived in Fukuoka for a few years, so he knows the really good spots to eat lunch. We had okonomiyaki for lunch. Okonomiyaki is kind of like a Japanese pancake. There are two types: one made with mostly cabbage, and one made with mostly noodles; both are amazing in their own way. For example, the chef puts a bowl of noodles on the grill and mixes it with various things such as eggs, onions, meat, cheese, squid or shrimp. It tastes even better when you put a little bbq sauce and mayo on top........ TRUST ME, it's delicious.

After lunch I learned more about my new teaching technique and I observed my trainer do a model lesson for me. This was my first time meeting my company's English students. In Japan's world of English teaching, students can range from 1 year old babies to 70 year old grandpas. It was really interesting chatting with the students before class. Each student has their own reason for studying English. They need your help as an English native to motivate them to achieve their goals.

After work I was in the mood for a little adventure so I decided to eat at a yatai, or food stall. I will take pictures of them this weekend, but in the meantime to save explanation, here's a link of what it looks like:
I apologize for the long link.

http://www.google.co.jp/imglandingq=yatai%20fukuoka&imgurl=http://www.rameniac.com/images/features/hakata_yatai//27.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.rameniac.com/index/comments/hakata_yatai/&usg=__P5BximrHoqwJbKnbT--F2CwXY3E=&h=480&w=640&sz=145&hl=ja&zoom=1&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=4BhRrRENmYA4OM:&tbnh=103&tbnw=137&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dyatai%2Bfukuoka%26um%3D1%26hl%3Dja%26tbs%3Disch:1&ei=IdZTTeXWKpDwvwOF2eXyCA&um=1&tbs=isch:1&start=4

These are notorious only to Fukuoka, so you won't find them in other cities. It was pretty funny because they didn't expect to see a white American guy walk in, and I didn't expect them to see someone like me walk in. Regardless, the chef was really friendly and cooked me some amazing food. I ate, had a drink and wandered back to my hotel for the night.

Feb 8: Today before work I went back one of the parks I visited last weekend. There are not many gyms in Fukuoka city so if you want to work out, you have to be a little creative. I remembered there was a children's playground at this park so I used the swing set as a pull-up bar, a balance bar to put my feet on for push-ups, a bench for dips, and some rocks to jump on. Yes, as you could imagine, people looked at me really weird, but they looked at me in a way that's like "Hm, I respect that."

Anyway, today I presented my first lesson to the same students as yesterday. It went really well, and my trainer was happy with the classroom environment. As an English teacher (just like any teacher I suppose) the key is to be really encouraging, energetic, clear, and professional. So far I'm very happy with my job and it feels really good to show my students that concepts that may seem so difficult are not that hard if they are learned in a positive setting. One of my students (an older woman) made me an origami crane for Chinese New Year that I can store my money in. According to her, all Japanese people know origami to an extent. Interesting.

I watched some Japanese TV tonight at the hotel. One show I watched was out of control. At first it appeared to typical game of BINGO with a bunch of guys wearing yukata, or casual kimono. Once three winners were announced, they were presented with a grand prize, in this case a PS3! BUT that was just the qualifying round. In order to actually win the prize these three guys had to complete the challenge. The challenge for the PS3 was (now please try to imagine): the PS3 was presented on a pedestal with two industrial-size fans behind it. The contestant started about 30ft away from the PS3 with a mini parachute (~10ft circumference) attached to him. How was the parachute attached to the contestant you say? Well, the string was attached to a hook which was lodged into the contestant's nostrils. So after the gong sounded, the contestant had to make his way towards the PS3 with the fans blowing into his face and parachute. As you could imagine, the force of the air into the parachute was strong enough to yank on the hooks and furiously pull this guy backwards by his nostrils! Besides that, the shows are pretty similar to ours; mostly dramas, cooking shows, and talk shows. The commercials are pretty creative and visual. Also at times they are pretty weird, but after seeing the Doritos' "Finger Linking Good" Super Bowl commercial, I don't know what to think about American commercials anymore either. When I come home from work every night I leave the TV on in the background to internalize the pace of the language while I'm surfing my Apple.

Feb 9: Today before work I skyped my parents for the first time since I left. It was really great to see their faces and chat about how things are going for everyone. I feel it's important to do these kind of things when living so far from home because as westernized as Japan is, the signs are still in Japanese, the people still look different, the food is different, and it's easy to feel Culture Shocked and isolated. Those who love you the most can always provide medicine to any ailments. With that medicine, stay cool and know that once you make friends and settle in, you will become a true Nihonjin at heart with unique American attributes. That's why I can't wait to get to my hometown and meet my students, go to my convenience stores, and hang out with my new friends.

The day finally came: I got to eat yakiniku for lunch! Yakiniku is grilled meat. Each table is equipped with a little charcoal grill in the middle. You order a plate of whatever meat you'd like and at your own pace, cook the meat and enjoy it with your choice of seasonings and rice. GENIUS!!!

After work I stopped by the Hyaku En Store, or Dollar Store. It's a great store for picking up everyday supplies like kitchenware, stationeries, laundry supplies, toilet trees etc. Japan is in fact one of the world's fashion capitals. I'd say 90% of shopping in Japan is aimed for women. There is a store for EVERYTHING. If you want a hair scrunchy, just go to the scrunchy store. If you want a cute scarf to go with your heels, just stop by the scarf store after you leave the heels store, but not before you stop at the cute bracelet store! Japan also has a ton of convenience stores; it seems to be pretty competitive here. Some examples are AMPM, Lawson, Discount CVS, Family Mart, and of course 7-11. These stores are truly amazing though. Besides various drinks and snacks, there are mini "TV Dinners" available and the employees heat it up in the store for you. I usually grab a little 6 piece sushi roll or the breaded chicken with rice meal.

Feb 10: After learning about the second major lesson type yesterday, I taught my first lesson with this new technique today. I received positive feedback, and also some pointers to make my teaching more effective. My trainer and boss took me out for lunch. I had some grilled yellowtail with rice, miso soup, and green tea. It's standard protocol when the boss pays for lunch, those who are being paid for must leave and take the "long way" out and meet the boss halfway on the walk back to work.

After work I tried another yatai. The first thing the guy said to me before I even sat down was, "日本語が分かる？” (Do you understand Japanese?). I told him I spoke a little and he smiled and said "Tell me words if you need, I know words." - that's a cool guy right there. Just as I sat down, an older Japanese couple sat down on the bench next to me. I figured it was a good time to practice a little bit, so I started to ask the husband how to read some of the kanji (symbols) on the menu. They were vacationing from Tokyo and we shared some thoughts with each other. It wasn't much, but it's still something to appreciate while living in Japan. I ordered yakiramen which was fried ramen noodles with some meat and vegetables mixed in. I also ordered gyouza which are kind of like Japanese perogies with meat or cheese. Amazing food once again; I have not been let down yet. After the meal I came back to hotel and here I am typing up my blog for the week.

Thank you for reading, and if you have any questions or you would like me to go check something out for you while I'm here, let me know : D
Have a great weekend I'll check back on Sunday. Remember every Thursday and Sunday!