CP in Canada, MTka in Odaiba

I taught all the classes today. I was a bit excited about that since I would get a chance to see if I am a good teacher or not. I think that I was put to the test today, but I think I came out on top.

The first period class was with 10^th grade kiku. They are pretty high level and I really didn’t need to do anything since the plan was for them to use the laptop computers and to do research for their presentation in two weeks on global issues like global warming. I think that is interesting in itself and they are the only class that has to give a presentation in the 10^th grade, which is a little messed up. I taught them how to use the computers in the language lab, but I’m not sure if I was supposed to or not. Most of the students were able to get online and get a minimal amount of research done, but there were a few students that couldn’t get anything done because of computer problems. I think that is a travesty since the school spent a lot of money to buy the laptops and they don’t work up to expectations.

The second period class was with 7^th grade ume. This is the first time that I’ve taught in front of them in the classroom. I worked with them one time in Hakone for the summer program, but this situation is a little different since both the teachers in the room were male. I think that can be a little intimidating for the students since it is an all girls school. We talked about animals and where they lived and body parts and plurals. They did a fairly good job with it and I didn’t really need to teach much since they all understood it. I enjoyed this class since it was the first time that I was really teaching the 7^th grade all by myself. They were a bit noisy in class today, which was weird since this class is supposed to be the quietest in the school. I think that they were a bit surprised and excited about having a new teacher teach them.

The third period class was with 9^th grade yuri. They weren’t that bad today actually. They were a bit tested with the assignment though. It was more like a math class, but and that’s why the struggled with it. I had them work on tax and tip since they will go to Santa Barbara very soon. I wanted to make sure that they had the money thing all squared away. Most of the students were actually trying it out, but it was a tad difficult for them to understand. I could have presented it in a better way to have them figure it out. I always overestimate instead of underestimate. That is the problem that I have been having lately.

The fourth period class with 11^th grade ran. They finished up the music listening activity that I started last week. We listened to the song one more time and they filled it in best they could. I think that playing the songs over and over is a little too much, so I wanted them thinking and talking more. I gave them another worksheet to work on that dealt with the songs and the meanings inside of the songs. They seemed stuck until I helped them out to see what I was asking them and then they got it and liked it. I punished a lot of students for forgetting their paper by making them write “I’m sorry I forgot my paper” on the board. It is very American style, but I think that they need to be responsible for themselves.

Fifth period was with 7^th grade yuri. They were a bit surprised to see me lead the class since I’m usually with them, but not teaching really. I’m just the assistant usually in this class. But I think they really enjoyed it. We were working on animals, where they lived, plurals, body parts and a little bit of pronunciation. I really enjoyed teaching this class, they were fun. The students were all participating and the energy in the class was good. I think it was a good way to end the day with a great class. I nailed it!

We didn’t have 6^th period today, and I don’t know why. I think it might have been because finals start tomorrow. I worked a little bit at school, but I was in rush to leave because I would be meeting a few friends of mine in Odaiba today. I got an email that they changed the time, so I was less in a rush. I needed to take care of some stuff like check my email, so I took my laptop to the LL because I have internet connection there and I still hadn’t gotten anything from the travel agency yet. I will be leaving Japan tomorrow and I don’t even have an itinerary. I also needed to get my resident tax taken care of, but I just left that with the accountant at the school so he could take care of that for me and I wouldn’t have to. I also picked up some Valentines chocolate from the office staff and another from the 3^rd year teachers, or the green grade.

It sucks a bit that I won’t be at school on Valentines Day, but I will probably have to give gifts next month on White day. I swear they time it like that so the guys get screwed because it’s an all girl’s school.

I went to Odaiba soon after I left school. The train ride there was nice. I was very peaceful and got to sit down the whole way there. Odaiba was very empty and it seemed as if not many people go there during the week. I hung out a bit and bought a “baby shower” gift for my friend that I would be meeting tonight. I got $100 gift certificate from Toys R Us for them. I met them soon after that and we had dinner at Hyaku go en, which is a Chinese restaurant. It was ok, not anything real special, but it was enough for me. EK came late, like usual and didn’t pay me back for the gift, which for some reason, I knew that would happen. It was nice to see MTka again since the last time I saw her was about 9 months ago. It made me a little depressed though since I see how fast everything is going and how I’m not prepared for it.

Going home, I had a lot of time to think about it, so it was a bit depressing. I did more research on Seoul and I found out a lot and started putting together what I wanted to do on my own since I would have to try to do on my own. I think that it is very possible to do that though since everything is so close.