Wednesday - 岩手小学校

Well, after that brief interlude of an entire month, here is my Wednesday school, Iwade Sho Gakko (Iwade Elementary School).  This is my “home school” so this is where I spend days if a different school doesn’t have school or there are no classes on a particular day.  This is also where I have been going during summer break.  That being said, I actually share this school with another ALT.  Up until now, I have had fourth through sixth grades, but the old ALT just finished before break and the new guy doesn’t arrive until mid-September, so I don’t know if they’ll want me to add a couple classes until he gets here.  There are 50 students exactly here and it also has a specialized English program.

A view of Fuji from just outside the main entrance.

The shoe closet at the main entrance.  I'm unsure what type of
bird that is on the Iwade crest.

The English Room.  We line the tables up on the left side of the
room for classes for the kids to use during "writing time."
They sit in the center of the floor for the rest of the class.

Apparently the Yamanashi City BoE is using Iwade as the guinea pig for introducing “English as a foreign language” which seems a strange way to iterate the difference.  Basically, all they are trying to change is how often the younger grades have English class and how early writing is introduced.  The old system, which all of my other schools are on, teach the alphabet just at the end of sixth grade before they graduate to junior high.  Here, however, they teach lower case in third grade, upper case in fourth grade, and have them writing very simple phrases and sentences in fifth and sixth grade.  By simple, I mean things like “I’m hungry” and “It’s on the box” in fifth and “I have a headache” and “I get up at 6:00” in sixth.  So, in theory these kids are the cream of the crop when it comes to English, but it seems the system was implemented too late for the fifth and sixth graders.  The fourth graders, on the other hand, are way beyond any of my other school’s fourth graders.  Also, they are probably the most attentive class I teach.

The English room from where I usually stand.

Traffic safety day.  They spray painted some fake roadways on the playground and set up some traffic lights.  After this day I knew why all Japanese school children crossed the street with one hand in the air.

Tuesday - 牧丘第二小学校

The school from the parking lot.

Next, Makioka Dai Ni Elementary School.  This school has an impressive hill on the way up to it which I do not look forward to taking on in the winter.  This one has 53 students, usually around 6 per grade, except the fifth grade which oddly has 16.  It's a fun school.

Strange artwork behind the unicycle rack in the genkan (entrance way).  Every elementary school in this city seems to have a pool and an impressive unicycle collection.

Trophy case.  The pictures above are aerial shots of students on the playground in a formation that spells the school's name.  I wish I had gotten a closer picture.

The second floor.

It says 英語コーナー (eigokoonaa-English Corner).  I'm not sure what to do with it yet, but behind the railing you can see the view the school commands of the valley that makes up the majority of Yamanashi Prefecture.

Again, the window to the teacher's room is right next to the entrance, though usually people come to the outside window to the teacher's room at this school.  I assume this will change in the winter.

Well, that's all for Makioka Number 2.  I neglected to take my camera to my Wednesday school this week, so it will be another week at least before I can post pictures of that one.

In other news, I take my test to get a Japanese Driver's License next Wednesday.  I've been told to expect the written test to be easy and to be failed on the driving test at least once.  I had a lesson last weekend, so hopefully I'll get it on the first try.  頑張ります (ganbarimasu - I'll do my best).  Until next week.

Monday - 牧丘第三小学校

So, finally here is my Monday School, Makioka Dai-san Shogakko (Makioka Number Three Elementary School). It has less than 29 students and no first graders this year. Apparently the board of education is perfectly content to let the school continue to operate with so few students.

In Yamanashi City, the fifth and sixth grades have 35 English lessons a year, which translates into once a week, while the third and fourth grades have 20. I believe the first and second grades have 15 or so, which means I have fifth and sixth grade classes every week and the others every other week, give or take.

The genkan, or entrance-way where you change your shoes as you enter and exit the building.

The slippers on the right are for guests and the teacher's shoes are behind those doors. Above the cabinet is a small window to the teacher's room so guests can announce themselves without having to take off their shoes and come to the door around the corner.

The teacher's room door on the left. I didn't manage to get a picture of the teacher's room unoccupied, and I am not allowed to post pictures with students or teachers in them.

The section devoted to English is the bottom right part of the wooden shelves. Groups of flashcards rubber-banded together. Also a few large children's books on the second to lowest metal shelf. (So far we've only read Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do You See? and The Very Hungry Caterpillar, both in the second grade class).

Since Maki San has no first graders, we were allowed to convert the unused first grade classroom into an English room and put various things on the walls, like the alphabet for the kids and classroom commands for the homeroom teachers for when they forget.

The English room, from the back.

Well, that's all for 牧三小 (Maki San Sho, as it's abbreviated). Tuesday's school will be coming soon.

The Apartment

Well it has taken me far too long to get around to this, but here is my apartment in Yamanashi City. It's "mansion style," like the last one, but there are some vast improvements. I'm really excited about the kitchen. It's at least twice the size of the one I had in Mito. Without further ado, the pictures.

From the front door.

The kitchen, left after the entrance and bathroom.

The laundry room. There is an empty washing machine pedestal to the left. I didn't take a picture as it is currently serving as my garbage and recycling area.

Japanese shower, where you are supposed to shower sitting in the area to the right and then soak in the tub on the left.

The stack on the right is my futon. I fold it in the morning and use it as a lounging chair.

It was completely unfurnished when I moved in. I got all my stuff on the cheap from foreigners who are moving out soon. The cardboard coffee table was an unintentional gift from Amelia.

And my closet, before I had my stuff here.

Well, that's the place. I am currently working at a different school each day, so I figure I can break up my schools into separate posts. However, that's all for now. Look for more soon.

March 13, 2011

I woke up about the same time the next morning and by this time, the nuclear plant in Fukushima had started to dominate the news. I was regularly checking the news via my kindle, and found BBC to be the most reliable source as every American site I tried was reporting on pure speculation of what might happen rather than what was actually happening. I decided, however, that it might be a good idea to be able to leave in a hurry, so I packed up my bags. I figured it wasn’t a bad move as I was supposed to be moving in a week and a half anyway. I then headed out to the Kencho to see how things were progressing there and found the news running on a TV and discussing the first explosion at Fukushima which had happened the previous day. I also, found a faucet to refill my water from, which was good news as the Kencho is only two or three blocks from my Apartment.

I then left the Kencho and rode over to my school to ask about work the following day. I found the Vice Principal, Secretary, Guidance councilor, and two first year teachers there. I helped them clean as much as I could, which wasn’t very much as it mostly required Japanese reading ability and an idea of how their filing system worked. I didn’t have what was required for either. I did clean up the fallen shelves behind the third year teachers’ desks. No one had touched that area yet.

However, most of the cleaning had already been done. Below is a meeting room where teachers without homerooms get their school lunches.

So I asked the vice principal about work and he replied that the teachers would certainly be there even if the kids weren’t. Next, I went downtown to see if anything had changed on the transportation front. I found a bus parked outside the station that was taking people to Tsukuba, halfway to Tokyo. I asked how long the buses would be running and she said the last one would leave at 5:40. I then got my second bag of rice and banana from the city office, and then headed over to my company to ask about school, get their take on the Fukushima business, and see what would happen if I skipped out on the end of my contract.

They told me as soon as I arrived that school had been cancelled for me for the next two days, so I decided to take the bus to Tsukuba taking a suitcase with me to help make the move more manageable. As it was only 3:40 at the time, I had time to ride back to my place and walk back to the station and still have half an hour to spare. I rode back home, stopping only to accept a free Dixie cup full of curry udon (udon are thick noodles usually served in a broth) from some friendly people who had set themselves up on the side of the road and were handing out food to everyone. It was actually quite good. I then rode home, turning down another offer for free food from a similar operation about 100 yards later. I then picked up a suitcase, walked back to the station and had a three hour bus ride on one of the most winding routes I’ve ever taken.

The traffic was heavy and I assume most of the main roads were still out. As I say, it took three hours. I understand that usually the trip should take under one hour. I was unsure I would be able to make it out of Tokyo before last train as the trains were on a strange schedule that I can only imagine was due to the emergency. But, it all turned out well and I caught the last train out of Tokyo. I arrived in Yamanashi fairly late, and was able to go to sleep undisturbed by earthquakes for the first time since Friday.