My first month as an ALT

"Do you like to eat meat?"

As I often hear, the first few weeks in Japan are the most difficult. You need to go to the ward office to register your address, then you need to find a suitable means of communication, and you need to buy all the things you'll need to make your life as an Assistant Language Teacher comfortable. Even after all the training I received in Osaka, there's nothing like getting a feel for the school or schools that you will be working in, and the people who you'll be interacting with.

The night before my first day of work, I made sure to set up two alarms, I had my clothes ironed and set out neatly, and I went to bed as early as possible. The day of, I was happy to wake up to both. I climbed down from my sleeping area and made a very American breakfast, which included honey over pancakes and scrambled eggs, with some matcha green tea to wash it down. I admit, it was filling. I then geared up for work. My suit was on point and I was ready for the world. I was happy to be 10min walking distance from my school because I could sleep a little longer. After several lefts and rights, I arrived at my school. Although I've seen the street where I was to enter the school, many times the week before, I never knew where exactly to enter, so I just walked in the nearest entrance. I then became a target by the multitudes of black haired children walking around the schools premise. "Hello", I said, without trying to seem too nervous. "Hello", many of them responded with smiles on their faces. I then proceeded to find the teachers room. It was then  that I saw the first adult coming towards me. Thank Jesus. He then greeted me and we walked up to the teachers room where I was seated and asked to wait. I then met the Principal, Vice Principal, and one of the JTE's (Japanese Teacher of English). We all bowed and then we talked about where I was from and anything else they could think of. Of course they asked if I could speak Japanese, to which I replied, "a little". A safe answer is the best answer. I told them everything they wanted to know as best as I could before I was escorted into the teachers room. I was so nervous as forty something teachers were fixated on me. I began to give my self introduction while the JTE translated everything to them. At the end, everyone clapped and I went to my neatly organized desk.

Fast forward a few weeks later...

During my first few days of teaching, I was just giving my self introduction to the students, every time I mentioned that I liked Naruto or Shengeki no kyojin (Attack on Titan) their eyes lit up and they sometimes would get into a quick huddle with their peers.It was nice to try to relate to them on some level. At the end of my introductions, there was question time. Now while most of the students kept their questions simple and were mature, others just went IN. I mean they went past GO, collected their $200 and never looked back.  I didn't mind answering questions about my favorite anime characters, shoe size, marital status, and hobbies, but other questions would never have been asked in my home country.Some of the questions that shocked me were:

1) Do you like *insert teachers name*?

2) Which teacher do you like?

3) Do you like *insert female teachers name* or *insert other female teachers name*

4) Do you like *insert female teachers name* or *insert male teachers name* (I giggled)

5) Do you like meat? (the other meat...)

6) What part on a woman's body do you like most (in not so perfect English)

Some students had absolutely NO chill zone. Everything was up for discussion and I was left to fend for myself. It was fine though. I handled the questions like a true Sensei. 

Students have three years of Junior High school, so my classes were split into 1st, 2nd, and 3rd year students. The first year students had a lot of energy and loved  playing games. The second year students could speak English fairly well, so I liked to challenge them from time to time by asking long sentences. Both the first and second year students were easier to entertain. Now for the third year students. They were somewhat shy at first, even after I gave my self introduction. They opened up more after I made them laugh. They were very focused and their English level could easily be distinguished from the second year students. Over the few weeks, I even began to notice my favorite students and did my best to take notes on the classes I've been to, in order to remember the kinds of students in each class. It was great to know that a lot of them wete involved in an after school club. I teach a class that has two students that speak English very well which allows them to translate to other students. They always spoke to me after class and one even said that my class was the best one that day. This made me happy. One class that I nicked named "The Smart Alecs" seem like a mischievous bunch, but they're harmless . They always seem to be up to something, but they are good students. Then there's Tanaka-san. I never thought I'd remember a single name out of the hundreds of students, until I met Tanaka-san. I'm slowly getting to know more of the students by their first or last name, so I'm doing better than I though I would after a month.

Living close to school has its advantages, as I stated before, but there are also disadvantages. Because I live so close, I have to be on my best behavior 24/7, in fear of something I did being reported to the powerful PTA, who I have met and seemed like great individuals. Here in Japan, people's perception of you is very important, from what I was told anyway, so I'm always conscious of what I'm wearing or doing in my neighborhood. One Saturday afternoon, I decided to meet up with other ALT's at a nearby hot spot to hangout. In order for me to do get there, I had to walk past my school, so I usually always see a students when heading to many destinations. On this day, I ran into a group of baseball players, so I greeted them, made small talk, and hurried off, but not before they let me know that I was "cool". They're cool kids. Then as I was walking along the sidewalk, I noticed a kid looking me from the other side of the street while riding his bike. I though "hmm, he seems awfully attentive. Could be be one of my students?". When I noticed that he sped off into he distance, I concluded that he wasn't. I was wrong. Somehow, this kid made it to the other  side of the street without me noticing, and slowly approached me from behind with a "Hello,Brain-Sensei!". I was surprised, but we talked for a little while. he asked me what I was doing, with who, and where, in perfect English too. I answered all of his questions and then I asked what he was up to today. I learned that he was on his way to soccer practice. At the end of our conversation, we both said good bye, and he high tailed it in the opposite direction. I was impressed to see that he took the time to catch up to me and talk to me, even though I was headed in the opposite direction. The students are great. Yesterday, I was headed back home from Osaka after a failed attempt to open up a bank account. Then I looked across the street and I noticed someone that looked familiar, but again I thought that it must be nothing...please be nothing. this time, the person met me at the end of the street. It was one of my favorites. We talked about basketball practice, other methods to develop his English, and my high school ring, which caught his attention. After our conversation, we parted ways, as I was headed to the grocery store, and he was headed home.

Of course there's much I left out, but there's more that awaits me on my journey in the land of the rising sun.

Mission impossible

Wow...I can't believe I've lived here for one month already! So much has happened, and I regret making this new blog so late, but here it is. From my arrival to Tokyo Japan in August, to my ride on the Shinkansen (bullet train) to Osaka a few days later, to my trip to my official place of residence, it's been a life changing journey with many difficulties and wonderful encounters with amazing people from many walks of life.

After a week of training in Osaka, myself and the other ALT's headed off to our place of residence. It was truly a daunting experience trying to commute home using a new transportation system, but luckily, I had company. After several escalators, stairs, and a transfer from one train line to an other, we finally arrived at our destination and into the hot and humid weather. We were both hungry from the trip, so we wondered around aimlessly for somewhere to plop our bums and savor something to hold us over until we made it to our apartments. After five minutes, we asked a lady that was standing outside this nice looking French restaurant for suggestions. She seemed more than happy to walk us down the busy street of cars, people, and petite eateries. After several failed attempts to find a spot that would accommodate us and our luggage, we thanked the lady and preceded to search. After a few minutes, we decided to walk into an Italian restaurant that I remembered us passing a few times. It was a nice medium sized place, with many seats and a bar area. Two women greeted us with big smiles and helped us feel at home. I had pizza because I haven't had it in a while, followed by some Merlot. After what I went through, I felt it was necessary to celebrate. The two ladies asks us many questions, such as where were from, where lived, and what we were doing in Japan.

After we ate, the next thing on our minds were getting futons for our apartments, because I don't think either of us were planning to go exploring after we got settled. Luckily, a nice older Japanese lady overheard our dilemma, and motioned for us to follow her. After my friend and I looked at each other in confusion, the ladies from the restaurant explained in what little English they knew, that we were to follow the woman to a store that sold futons. We were both taken back by her kind offer. We then grabbed our things and followed her to a huge mall that was only three minutes away. She took us a store called Muji, which I was very familiar with, because I worked for a Muji in New York City. I remembered them being more on the expensive side there, but I thought maybe this wouldn't be the case in Japan. I was wrong, but I still ended getting a pillow and a blanket to sleep on for the night until I found a cheaper futon. The lady was so nice that after she dropped us off at the store, she came back maybe twenty minutes later to see if we were fine, then walked us to a taxi station near by, and explained to them where we both needed to go. Till this very day, I hope to run into her at the Italian restaurant so that I can give her a gift for her kindness.

Upon arriving at my Leopalace apartment, I used the key card that was given to me to open the door. Into the darkness I went. The corridor leading to my room was narrow and short, but I expected this. I pressed every single button I could find to turn on the lights, until I read an information pamphlet that explained that the breaker should be next to the front door. I walked back and forth from my room to the door and found NOTHING. After hearing someone outside my apartment, I decided to peek and see who it was. It was a Leopalace representative. Thank Jesus. He helped me find the breaker and I was finally one step closer to having electricity and WiFi! The first of many struggles and been conquered. Now, I was focused on finding a grocery store and some kitchenware. I asked an older foreigner for help and he was nice enough to show me a route, and he also introduced me to his family that has lived in Japan for over ten years. His son owns a English language tutoring service, which is nice. I even got his business card. I found a 100 YEN store and the grocery store that the older man had mentioned after walking ten minutes in the hot sun. I only grabbed toilet paper, detergent, eggs, and some other minor things. I was exhausted and ready to crash for the day. Mind you, by this point, it was probably 4pm. What a day.