First Impressions

My Apartment

Besides the rather illogical placement of the one power outlet in each room there isn’t a lot to complain about as far as the apartment goes. The roomie and I have been getting along just fine. She leaves almost every weekend to visit friends of hers in Iberaki so I get plenty of alone time.

Kitchen

Fridge decorated with magnets

The toilet room

The sink and laundry room

The smallest tub ever!

Entrance

My room

My bed

My closet

The School

So far I think I’m really going to like teaching at Felice (that is if I can ignore the Christian undertones which should be pretty easy since that part is in Japanese).  It seems as though I will have a lot autonomy in my classroom which suits me well. There is a ‘curriculum’ to follow (more like a text book) but I am free to order and teach it as I like. Like most schools the administration is a bit disorganized but everyone is willing to help and for the most part have been really pleasant about everything. 

Front door

Playground

Training

The first month was spent doing various training with the obligatory, but time wasting, repetition of information. We began by learning how to use Grapeseed which is our ESL program. On the third day of the exhausting training session I learned that the material for grades 3-5 are almost completely different and thus the majority of the training is inapplicable to my class. Of course.

The week of observations went well and I had a lot of fun getting to know the students. Their English is quite high and they were very interested in learning about me.

That was followed by a week of practice teaching. I practiced in grade 2 with a very laid back and helpful teacher called Mr. Jordan. It was so hard to remember to put the Mr. in front of Jordan, and impossible not to think of my brother every time I said his name. This part of the training was the most beneficial and gave me a chance to interact with the students I will be teaching. 

The Area

My ride to school

I’m living in Isesaki in the prefecture of Gunma. It’s located in the middle of Japan about 3 hours from Tokyo. Isesaki is extremely rural, more so than I thought it would be. There is not a lot to do around here and it has been difficult (but not impossible) to make friends. Gunma is home to many mountain ranges which makes a lovely backdrop, but unfortunately they are only accessible by car. Other than that there are rice fields, grocery stores, restaurants, and a few parks. 

Getting Around

The school has provided me with a much used bike for my transportation purposes. Being that the area is so flat you might at first think that biking around would be easy here. That would be true if it weren’t for the wind. I’m talking an average of 15mph on a good day and 30 mph on a bad day. My legs will be nothing but muscle by the end of my contract.

Everything I need is less than a 15 minute bike ride including the train station. The station connects with all cities in the area and with a few transfers to most of the major cities on Honshu. As with most train systems it is easy to figure out and I have used it a few times without undo complications.

Before moving to Poland three years ago I sold my car and have barely driven since. So I was really happy that school provided a driving lesson before unleashing me on the road. It is a bit disorienting to drive on the opposite side of the road on the opposite side of the car but I make do. I say a little mantra to myself every time I take a turn so that I remember to stay in the left lane and look the correct way. Besides turning on the windshield wipers instead of the turn signal 7 out of 10 times, I seem to be doing just fine. I managed to drive to Cosco and back all by myself last week.

My Social Life

As I mentioned above it hasn’t been easy to meet people here. I take every opportunity that arises to get out there and make some friends. Most of the things I’ve gone to I discovered because of a facebook group I belong to for expats living in the area.

My first week I met a group of ALT’s (English teachers in the public schools) for dinner at a Peruvian restaurant. Yes, I said Peruvian. There is a high percentage of Peruvian (and Brazilian) expats living in the area. Go figure. I was super excited that I could read the menu and order for myself. Thank you high school Spanish. Dinner was yummy and the company was entertaining. But the most exciting bit of info I gained is that there is a soccer tournament coming up in a few months. Yay!

Oh, yes! Polish vodka in Japan

Next on the social calendar was an international party hosted by Gunma University in Maebashi (a neighboring town). I brought a couple of co-workers with me and one accommodating fellow expat, Chris, met us at the train station and showed us the way. At the event, I met a lot of ALT’s and students who are studying abroad. There was food, socializing, and a trivia game. Since then I have been in touch with Chris and an Indonesian grad student named Haru who acted as my translator during trivia.

The following weekend I had my co-worker Katelyn and Haru over to my place where we drank beer, wine, whiskey, and Zubrowka. It was quite a night.

Part of the bar crowd

The next week I had off from work. I wish I could say that I spent it traveling around Japan, but unfortunately weather and money didn’t allow for that. I did met an ALT for dinner that Monday, and attend the going away party for all the teachers of Felice on Tuesday. Other than that I spent a lot of time relaxing, organizing, reading, and watching TV. Friday night I went out with some co-workers to the (as in the only one) bar down the street called Enjoy. It was all you could drink for 2 hours for about $25 with a bit of food. Not a bad deal. I met some cool locals and a pair Aussie’s and had an all-around good time.

Ginko bean I think. Tasted like a lima bean.

This past Saturday there was a failed attempt to go to a fund raiser for Save the Children. Long story, but basically I couldn’t find it. So instead I went to a restaurant with Katelyn, the Aussies, and two locals. We ate, we drank, we chatted. I have a feeling I’ll be hanging out with those cats often. 

The cherry blossoms are out and man are they pretty. My work had a hanami last week, which is kind of like the Japanese word for picnic but I'm pretty sure it always involves the cherry blossoms. Anyway, it was after work at Kazoji Park. We feasted on Cosco pizza and sushi under illuminated cherry blossoms. After dinner we rode a roller coaster and a ferris wheel.

My roomie and I ate at a noodle restaurant to the pleasing sound of other patrons slurping away.The food was yummy and it was the first time I ate Japanese food out. Seems ridiculous, doesn't it? After we ate the owner came over and gave us each a free bamboo toy. I'm not sure how to describe it. It looks like a helicopter blade. You launch it from your hand and it flies.

My Classroom

We were given a week to set up our classrooms and I assumed that would be enough time to get everything done. Oh, how I was mistaken. We had meetings, health checks, and other obligations to do as well. So I wound up working 7-5:30 and 7-6:30 on Thursday and Friday. Even with the help of Katelyn the classroom is still not finished. It’s passable for now, but I have a lot of work yet to do.