My Apartment

Okay I know. Its been a very long time since I have updated. I have been preoccupied with work as well as adjusting to living here (still not yet fully adjusted). There is a lot to talk about and putting it all in one post would be ridiculous. So I will be posting a bunch throughout this week and next.

Figure I will start with my apartment. I took pictures for you as well as a video.
The video at the end explains a little bit about my place.

Here it is:

My Door


Stairs to my floor


View from hallway



The hot springs in right under that mountain


Entrance way with ghetto door


Looking into my room


My Kitchen



My living area



My Kotatsu with awesome set up


My desk


Desk area window view




Looking in from window area


My bedroom




My Balcony...guess what all that stuff was used for...


Can you find it


To the bathroom





Here is a video tour




Yea its pretty nice and comfortable for me.

First week of classes

So I am done with my first week of teaching, and it had many ups and downs. I started on Wednesday since it was the first of the month. My schedule is as follows:

Monday
All day @ Higashi Kawanobori Elementary School

Tuesday
All day @ Nishi Kawanobori Elementary School

Wednesday
Morning @ Takeuchi Elementary School
Afternoon @ Takeo Kita Middle School

Thursday
Morning @ Wakaki Elementary School
Afternoon @ Takeo Kita Middle School

Friday
All day @ Takeo Kita Middle School

My first day was so-so. I had been working on my self-introduction lesson for awhile, and it was decent, with pictures and cool videos and all that jazz. But on the day of my first classes I woke up early to put some finishing touches on it and my Microsoft office somehow corrupted itself. I could not open my PowerPoint at all. I could not believe that it was happening. I spent the early morning trying fix it but it was far too deep of a problem to fix that quickly. So I was freaking out. I had to use my flash drive and the school`s computers so my PowerPoint lacked all its jazz that was hosted on my computer... so lame. But I pulled through and it was only a minor disaster... not a complete one.

The worst was when I went to my middle school in the afternoon. Their projecter was not working for some reason and I had to hold the computer up like an idiot in front of the class who could not see a thing on the screen. So all in all that class kinda sucked. I went home and worked on my computer for six hours before I fixed the problem. I had to go deep into the comps registry which I hate doing, but it worked eventually and I got Microsoft office working again.

The next day was AMAZING! I taught at Wakaki Elementary School in the morning which has got to be the best school ever! The kids are so Genki(full of energy and high spirited)! I love them all! My favorite is one of my 4th grade girls named Hana(means flower). She is the cutest thing ever! When I walked into the classroom she ran right up to me and hugged me. She just kept holding on to my arm and kept petting me while she just talked and talked and talked. I played with her and the group of kids that was surrounding me following her lead.

I added some things to my intro and made it a lot of fun! After the class I had to go to the teacher room but Hana wouldn`t let me go alone so we walked there together while she clung onto my arm (^o^) I decided that if I ever have a daughter I hope she is just like Hana.

The rest of the classes at Wakaki were awesome too. I love how physical we are allowed to be with the kids. I can tickle them, give them noogies, pick them up or even bop them on the head if they misbehave. The more you mess with them The more the kids love you.

My middle school went really well too. The students were much more responsive and they seemed to have fun and were genuinely interested in me. One of the kids really likes English and he loves to talk to me and ask me questions.

Today was kinda rough. I am at my middle school right now actually. I finished the three lessons that I had today, all of which were my self-into. But today is the day that I teach the second and third years at the middle school. The second grade class was not too bad. They seemed to have fun, but the third grade students are really quiet and not Genki at all. In Japan, the older you get in school the less Genki you become. This is due to various factors, but I think the largest is the High School Entrance Exams. They have tons of stress put on them to do well and get into a decent High School... so many of them get burnt out, or worse, and they reject school all together and become "trouble students."

Out of the two thrid year classes, one of them is pretty bad. It has a few troubled students in the class. I am not sure what they are so pissed about... but they are. Either they have some bad stuff going on in their life, or they just have a problem with school in general. I can tell that they aren`t horrible kids though. They still stay in their seats and stay quiet, but you could just tell they are not happy. I wish there was a way I can help them come out of their slump... but I have no clue how to go about it. I don`t think they would be too thrilled if I tried anyway.

Next week I do my intros at Higashi and Nishi Elementary School. Those are my all day elementary schools so I think it will be pretty cool.

So that's the jist of it. I can`t believe I wanted to teach High School. That would have sucked! Elementary is where it is at! The kids are amazing! The only dark area in my schedule seems to be my Fridays with the 3rd year middle school students.

Whatever though, I STILL HAVE HANA!!! I love her! I only get to teach her once a month but I will make an effort to see her every week. Next year I will teach her every week since she will be in fifth grade :)

Soigi,
Jonathan

My body hurts!

I have been doing so much lately! I barely have any time for myself. I am thinking this will change as classes start this Wednesday.

Other than orientation seminars in the city, I have had an extremely eventful month. On Saturday I went high up into the mountains of Nagasaki where we hiked down a valley to a waterfall area known as Ryutosen. There we jumped off cliffs over 50 feet high into the deep waters(like 60 feet deep!) of the ravine. It was one of the scariest but thrilling things I have ever done. I can`t even begin to explain how intense it was. There were many diving spots surrounding each pond that varied in height and mental difficulty. I jumped off each one a few times each, but I`d be lying if I said it was easy. It took me a few minutes to overcome my fear on a few of them. The freakiest of all was the main waterfall. That was the one around 50 feet up. Looking down and realizing how high you are is daunting. I still can`t believe I did it.

The next day I was so sore! But I had to go to the river in Kubota to race Dragon Boats. We had a team of 16(7 paddlers on each side, a rudderman, and the skipper who kept us in sync with a drum). We had to race toward a buoy, U-turn around it and go back again. IT WAS SO HARD! It was within the top 10 most taxing things I have ever done. I have aches and massive blisters to prove it. The first race we got third place out of four. The second race we claimed first to make it to the semi-finals. Those were timed and we were outdone. But we did fairly well seeing as we made it to the semi-finals against some serious competition. The ones who made it even further were insanely fast... almost twice our speed. There is a lot of technique that goes into it that we lacked.

Anyway I am sore in every part of my body today. It hurts to move. And my blisters are getting in my way. But I will live. I have to bring my A-game for Wednesday`s classes. My introduction lessons are nearly complete.

I healed my body at the Omachi Onsen which is a really awesome hot spring in the mountains of omachi. When we were soaking in the outdoor onsen it began to thunderstorm. Sitting there in the pool of hot water while cool rain poured down on us, while looking up at the lightning in the sky.... it totally topped off my weekend. My experiences just keep getting better.

The more I think about it the more I realize I may be here for awhile. This place is actually really cool. The environment is so wild and adventure is abundant. Plus, I realize how easy it is for me to travel around Asia. I have gotten great ideas from a friend who travels all the time. I plan to go to some pretty amazing places. I am already creating some itineraries. The longer I stay here, the more I will travel. It really is a great deal... this JET thing.

Pictures real soon!

Soigi ne,
Jonathan

A very different Japan

Ohayou Gozaimasu Minasan!

I finally have some time(and internet from school) to make a post. I am not sure where to start. I guess I can explain my area a little bit.

Takeo is in Saga Prefecture in Kyushu Japan. It is one of the smallest prefectures as well as one of the poorest. Most people laugh when they hear I live in Saga. It is extremely rural, but very beautiful. Mountains surround my city on all sides, and there are plenty of hot springs and hiking trails. I will definitly have a peaceful life here. Luckily, I am in one of the more urban areas of my city. Most people are a bit jealous of my location as it is centrally located near a train station, and has plenty of bars and clubs within walking distance. I still have a LOT of exploration to do. I really want to navigate the mountains and understand more about what my city has to offer. If I ever long to be in a big city, Fukuoka is only and hour away by train.

My apartment is awesome. It is very spacious. I set it up so there is a lot of open floor space. My entertainment area consistes of my desk, large monitor, speakers, laptop, and gaming systems. It is my sanctuary for when I just want to indulge in seclusion. My kitchen has everything I need. I have already used it for making a few dishes, but if I feel lazy, I can go to the rotating sushi place near me, or head to some other tasty places. Another goal is to figure out all the good restaurants in Takeo. I know of a few, but there are so many...I cant wait to try them all.

My life so far has been busy. Not so much actually working, but just trying to figure out how I am going to live, teach, use my time in general has been challenging. I want to make sure I have some good lesson plans to start with.　That way I can begin tweaking my style as I get experience. It takes awhile to do this when you have to come up with most of your own curriculum. I am having a hard time trying to figure out what to teach which grades. I have some leads though.

Outside of school I am having trouble figuring out how to get involved in the community. I want to join some local clubs, but the list I was handed from the City Culture Hall is limited, and nothing really interesting was on there. I may have to venture outside of my city to find a decent club, or I might find something that is not run by the city. I would join clubs at the schools, but the schools I am at are for very young kids and they dont have very solid clubs. I also would do less participating and be more of a ambassador for english. I still plan to join them every once and awhile.

I feel one important thing I must do is travel. Even though I like Takeo, I will need to get out every once and awhile. I have four weeks of vacation per year so I have plenty time off. I want to visit China and Korea, as well as other places throughout Asia. I will go back to Tokyo quite often too.

Well, thats good enough for now. My main goal now is to get used to living here. I`d like to become more confortable with my city, get to know it better, and make some more local connections. Hopefully I can find a good club or two for that.

I`ll update more often from this point on, and with smaller posts :P

Mata ne,
Jonathan

Starting fresh and Preparing for a new Life!

Disregard my lame attempt at updating this blog last semester. Much has happened and I had the best six months of my life while I lived in Chiba. I would give anything to have it last forever. Things end and I move on, but I will never lose contact with those important people in my life.

Actually, I will be back there soon! After a long and extremely difficult applications process, I was accepted into the Japan Exchange and Teaching Program (JET). I will be an Assistant Language Teacher in Takeo City, Saga Prefecture in Kyushu, Japan! I will post later on the details of my position.

I leave on the 24th of July (in five days!) and I am extremely excited but super busy as well. I want to make sure I have a successful introduction into my new position, so I am working hard on bringing anything that will help me do that.

My first month there will consist of many parties with peers and supervisors, and a lot of preparation for classes. I will continue to post my experiences and let everyone know how I am doing. For now I have a lot to do so...

Matta ne,
Jonathan