April 5th, Day 7: Today was my first official day of work in the office since yesterday was dedicated to campus tours and orientation meetings. There’s so much to learn at a new job! Not only am I learning about my role as an English teacher in Japan, but I’m also absorbing smaller things like where to find exacto knives and how to use the printer. Luckily my coworkers are very understanding and helpful when I forget things. For lunch, I went to what they call the “Shokudo”. It was described to me as a cafeteria, but it was actually an open kitchen space in what appeared to be someone’s house. I served myself some pork noodles, soup, scrambled eggs with mushrooms, and cooked vegetables. I won’t be eating here once students come because we’ll all eat together in the classroom. The Shokudo is for teachers of older students or who teach later into the evenings.
April 6th, Day 8: Was woken up at midnight by an earthquake. It was a small one so the only thing that I really noticed was the creaking sound in my walls. All is well, but there may be more of these smaller earthquakes from the aftershocks of the March 16th earthquake. After a day of work in the office/classroom, I went to the store while the sun was setting, not realizing it would be very dark when I was done. It’s only a short walk to the grocery store from my apartment and although I was in a new city without phone service or any source of protection, I did not feel scared. I read a statistic before leaving that said 98% of women feel safe walking around Sendai at night. I believe I have nothing to worry about which helps me feel braver.
April 7th, Day 9: What a productive day! I started off with a test of my memorization of songs and chants by my trainer. At my school, they require teachers to learn, practice, and memorize the songs, chants, and poems for each unit to ensure student-focused lessons rather than content-focused lessons. After testing and preparing more labels and posters for my classroom, I went to the bank to set up my bank account and pick up my ATM card. I also went to the doctor’s office (accompanied by a most-helpful translator) for a health check-up which is required for any kindergarten teachers in Japan. After another few hours of preparing, cleaning, and decorating, I went home and attempted laundry for the first time. Instead of boring you with details of my washing machine troubles, I’ll just say I’m happy I didn’t flood my apartment or destroy any of my clothes.
April 8th, Day 10: Spent 10 hours at work today. Well minus the 43 minutes I took for lunch. There’s much to be done before the first day of school! Feeling a bit tired to write any more at the moment, so it’s off to bed at 9:00pm. It’s easier to go to sleep earlier when there’s no one to talk to…
April 9th, Day 11: SAKURA TREES 🌸
I went with a group of teachers to see the blossoming cherry blossoms today! As the weather gets warmer, the cherry blossoms begin blooming all around Japan. They have yet to bloom in Sendai, but we saw some very pretty flowers today in Shibata. If you know me, you know I loved picnics, so I was thrilled to sit down between the river and the Sakura trees to snack on some Japanese treats. After our picnic, we walked through Fukuoka Castle Park and took a slope car to the top of the hill which provided us with a stunning view of the city. It almost reminded me of the view of Portland from the Pittock Mansion… Just without all the skyscrapers. Sendai is actually very similar to Portland with its river, proximity to snowy mountains, proximity to the beach, green trees, and frequent showers. It’s nice to be reminded of home while out in nature.
We ended the trip with some Japanese soup curry and it hit the spot! Mine came with a pumpkin croquette which was heavenly. Did you know it’s offensive to tip in Japan? They also do not typically allow you to take your leftover food to-go. Learning as I go…
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April 10th, Day 12: I devoted my Sunday to relaxation and preparation for a big week! This morning, I watched a Livestream event from the Oregon Symphony to celebrate their 125th anniversary. Isn’t it crazy that I was watching a performance at 10:00am on Sunday, April 10th that was simultaneously happening at 6:00pm on Saturday, April 9th? My head starts spinning when I think about it too hard. With each day that goes by, I grow more and more thankful for the technology that connects me with the people I love. FaceTime, email, Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, and iMessages are helping me feel less alone on this new, scary journey.
April 11th, Day 13: First day of kindergarten!!!!!!!!!!!
It has finally begun! The reason why I am here! After much anticipation, I finally met my precious group of kindergarteners. Along with the 16 four-year olds, I also met their parents. I cannot explain the joy in my heart! The students only know a small amount of English, so I will be using lots of hand motions and pictures to communicate for these next few weeks. It’s hard to get to know them right now, because they don’t quite understand things like “How are you?
and “What is your favorite ____?” in English. Luckily, there are translators in the building who will help us get started 🙂 At the end of the “opening ceremony” this morning, all kindergarten classes campus-wide sang a song in Japanese. Even though I had no idea what they were singing about, my eyes welled up with tears because my dreams were finally a reality and it was all sinking in. That sounds entirely dramatic, but it’s true; I have been waiting for years and years to teach in Japan and today it officially happened. I feel so blessed. My students are sweet, respectful, brave, and just the right amount of silly. And to top it all off, I have amazing coworkers who have welcomed me, answered all my questions, and lent me many helping hands. Is this too good to be true? I’ll have more to share about my class later, but for now, I’m swirling in first-day euphoria.