You are currently browsing the monthly archive for July 2007.
Today I went to change my voter’s registration to Alabama and to apply for an absentee ballot. The clerk at the courthouse asked me, “Oh, so where are you moving?” to which I responded, “Hokkaido, Japan.” The next question has become all too familiar to me, “OH!!! That’s great!! Are you a missionary????”.
I wanted to take a minute, then, to list all kinds of responses I have gotten to my decision, both in Alabama, and in Tennessee:
“Oh, you’re studying abroad? My daughter went to Mexico once for spring break.” (BTW I’m NOT studying abroad. It’s a ‘for real ‘ ‘grown-up’ job… lots of people don’t seem to understand).
At the post office:
Me: “Do you all still offer an international media shipping rate? I want to send some books to Japan”
Clerk: “On, no, sorry. Are you sending Bibles?? Are you a missionary??”
Also at the post office:
Me: “I’d like to ship some things to Japan.”
Clerk: “Where’s he stationed??”
Me: “Who??”
Clerk: “Your husband, where’s he stationed??”
Me: “Oh, no, I’m sending them to myself. I’m moving there in a couple weeks.”
Clerk: “To be with your husband?” sigh…
At the post office when I was sending CDs to my boyfriend, Jakob, in Germany, and my dear ex-roommate Elena in Russia:
“WHERE?? RUSSIA??? And… eh…. Germany??? (with a puzzled expression)” haha, ok, so that wasn’t about Japan…
Everyone:
“Are you going by YOURSELF??? Do you know anyone there???”
“My daughter was a missionary in Africa – you all really should meet!! You’d have a lot to talk about.”
At the Maryville post office, when I was mailing a special IRS form form moving overseas and tried to mail it w/ signature confirmation:
Clerk: “Oh, you can’t do that with the IRS.”
Me: “What? Why?”
Clerk: “Well, just not with the IRS. Aren’t you filing with your husband? Can’t he help you?” I kid you not. Ok, maybe everyone else in the world knew that you can’t get signature confirmation when mailing to the IRS.. but not me..big deal! I don’t need to find a husband to show me how!
Everyone I have had to make an address change with:
Me: “Yes, I’m calling to change my address. I’ll be moving soon.”
Receptionist: “Ok, where are you moving?”
Me: “Japan.”
Receptionist: “WHERE??”
Being fingerprinted to get my FBI background check (required before departure):
Officer: “Ok, you must have done something really bad, or really good to need that.”
Me: “I hope good.. I just took a job in Japan.”
Officer: “What? WHY?”
Me: “Well, to teach English”
Officer: “Can’t you do that here?”
OK, so, it seems that traveling ALONE as a young woman overseas is not so popular in small rural southern towns. It also seems that the only people with international experience that many people are used to meeting are missionaries. There is a lot I can say on the topic of being unmarried at 22 despite the fact that most of my high school friends are. And there is a lot that I could say about missionaries, and how they often do more harm than good in a culture.. but all I really want to say, I suppose, is that I’m very proud to be living my life on my own terms, as a young independent woman. It doesn’t scare me to move to a new place with new people because I know that there are people there who live happy, fulfilling lives, and if they can, I can learn to too! I don’t know anyone now, but I’ll meet people who will grow to mean a lot to me! Second, I think I have taken on a huge responsibility to act as a cultural ambassador in another country. I want to teach others about life in the U.S. and the wide variety of experiences, but I certainly am not moving to Japan to change the culture that already exists – and functions quite well. I suppose an even bigger responsibility for me is what I do with these experiences when I come back. How are people going to learn about life abroad – that there is a whole world out there that is often curious about us and ready to interact with us, if we dare – if no one ever takes the time to teach them?
There are lots of questions swimming around in my mind thinking back on this, and anticipating what I will be up against in the rural community I am moving to in Japan – maybe questions and reactions not unlike these – or even more severe. I leave in 5 days, folks. Wish me luck.
First, I want to talk a little about the Jet Q&A in Atlanta. It was AMAZING! First, I was finally able to meet the other Wakkanai jet, Moraya! We had been in contact through the online forum, but didn’t have a chance to meet in person til that weekend! I also met a few other Jets, and after the rigorous day in discussions and lessons, Jets were invited to attend an optional cocktail hour. If you want to hear stories about me getting lost in Atlanta, please ask… but I wont waste space here talking about it 
. Those who know me well know how I feel about Atlanta anyway.
The best thing about the Q&A, by far, was being around other people who were into the same thing as me! We could make jokes that involved puns in Japanese and English that lots of people wouldn’t get. And we made fun of tattoos we had seen in “Japanese” on people at bars! We compared travel stories, and we talked a LOT about how we wanted to be perceived, as Americans, while working for Jet. It was such a breath of fresh air to be around people who understood the interest, and appreciated Japan beyond anime and karate. The thing that I think sets many Jets apart is that they don’t have that idealized notion of Japan that people in other programs seem to have. They know that, just like in America, there are good people and bad people. Adoring a culture because of some fantasy a person has worked up in his/her head about how perfect it is can be really dangerous. There are things I love and hate about the culture, and they understood that.
In the Q&A, we also talked about teaching in Japan, and introducing ourselves to our students. I got a lot of great ideas there, and drawing on past experience as a teacher (for Japanese students when I was in HS, EPE, the Writing Center, Adult Basic Education, Literacy Corps, and work at the Justice Center GED program) and as a student (Taking Spanish, French, and Japanese classes, and keeping in mind the things I have always liked in ANY teacher).
First, I want to tell a story about when I was tutoring in high school. I guess first I need to explain why I was doing that. The local college in my hometown offered a “Homework help” class to students from Denso (Japanese company) who didn’t speak English, but no one signed up to tutor! I happened to know the ESL teacher at the county school system, who mentioned it to me, knowing I might be interested. I started helping the students, who ranged in age from k-12, and found the experience really really rewarding. One girl, Ayano, always cracked me up with her ability to negotiate, even though she barely spoke English. I’d ask her to read 3 paragraphs, and we always ended up arguing until we reached a number we were both OK with her reading (1 1/2 paragraphs, and I would read the rest to her as she followed along). Really, I didn’t care that she got herself out of the 3 paragraphs, because she used her limited English to do that, and as long as she was arguing in English, she always got some points with me 
. But! The story I was getting to isn’t about Ayano! During the summer, there was no homework-help class, so some of the parents asked me if I would tutor their students at home. I agreed, and with the advice of the ESL teacher I knew, negotiated a price to charge any parents who were interested in having their students tutored for the summer. Word got around in the Japanese community, and soon I had more requests than I had time! One family moved into town, and called me just 2 days later to come meet their kids.
The older daughter (12) was bright, and cheerful, and excited to be in a new place! Neither child knew much English, but she was ready to learn, and was soon chatting away with her friends at school, and even getting in trouble in class for it, but the time fall rolled around.
The son, however, was much younger (7), and much shyer! The first day I tried to tutor him, he started crying. His parents told me to come back the next day, and the next, and every time the same thing happened. I couldn’t even get him to repeat simple phrases for me. I couldn’t imagine how he must have been feeling, having JUST arrived in a new country and being made to sit down and learn the language right then, without much time to adjust. I didn’t know what to do, until one day I had an idea. I asked a friend who had been to Japan recently to pick up some Japanese children’s books for me, because I was beginning to read Hiragana at that time. One book was The Very Hungry Caterpiller, which we also had at home, in English. I took both books to the boy’s house for the next lesson, and instead of asking him to speak English with me, I took out the Japanese children’s book. I asked him if he would help me to read, and I struggled through the first page おひさまが…のぼって…あたたかいにちようびの。。。He helped me to sound out the words, and giggled when I pronounced something funny. When we finished the book, I took out the English one, and asked him if we could try that. He was then willing to listen while I explained English sounds and letters, and helped him to read some words. I think what he needed to know was that it was OK to not know how to read, that everyone has to begin that way!
I suppose it will take me time anyway to adjust to the ability levels and needs of my students…. but this job really is meaningful to me, and I want to do well at it! This is something I have enjoyed for a long time, and I really hope I can peak students’ interest in other cultures and languages. Coming from a rural community myself, I really want these kids to know that, if they want to, they can pursue all kinds of things all over the world , and they may be surprised what opportunities present themselves!
Oh wow, I have LOTS to talk about because a lot has happened since my last entry.
First, I got some details about my placement! My せんぱい (predecessor), unfortunately, left early, so I haven’t had the best of luck getting info!! Usually Jet tells you how to contact this person, about apartment set-up, etc etc, but that didn’t apply in my case. (Though, actually, I just heard from him today and he said he HATED Wakkanai, and not much else.) Even so, I am determined! I have been joking with others that I am the ‘orphaned jet’ – sort of left to fend for myself!! However, since the Jet q&A in Atlanta, I have some new contacts! That will need to be its own entry, probably.
The lack of a senpai though has led to some mix-ups!! The person who has been helping me to get set up with my apartment and all in Japan is Japanese, and a very very sweet lady, but we have been lost in translation more than once now!! My Japanese could use some brushing up, so I’m certainly not one to criticize. But, for example, she wrote to me that my flight from Narita to Sapporo, as well as my hotel in Sapporo, and train from Sapporo to Wakkanai would be paid by my board of education. But then… I was just thrown off totally..
“The hotel charge and railroad fare from titose airport to Wakkanai
are paid for by the board of education. But in hand. So you should
bring about 20,000 yen. Right?”
but then the next e-mail said:
“Yesterday I reservationed the hotel in Sapporo and train from Sapporo
to Wakkanai !!I make advances your hotel charges and the train charges. Please pay me these charges after you come to Wakkanai.”
I was soooo confused! I hadn’t planned at all for these expenses because I was told from day one that they were covered! I e-mailed back immediately to clarify, and in a panic, contacted the Jet people at the consulate to see what the heck was going on. The next day I had an e-mail back from the person helping me in Japan which explained, more or less from what I could understand, that she had personally made the reservations for me, I believe, out-of-pocket. The board of education was planning simply to reimburse me for my travels, but because Jets are only told to bring along 200,000 yen, she was worried I’d be in a bind with all that travel, plus other start-up fees. So, she meant for me to reimburse her after my expense report to my board of education went through and they sent me the money! I felt soooooooo bad! She was really doing something unbelievably nice for me, and I had been panicked! Luckily, I didn’t act on the panic when I e-mailed her back on the second e-mail, so I think everything really turned out fine. Another Jet I met since being accepted joked with me about how your response with things for Jet always has to be “Great!” like “Oh, my class was can celled and everyone knew but me? Great! Oh, I my heating bill was taken directly from my account and I never even saw a bill? Great!” But I really did use this approach in this case! Though I was totally panicked, I replied calmly to the e-mail with a positive attitude, ready to figure out how to make adjustments. It all turned out for the best because I think I am already building a great relationship with this person – who is already doing so much to help me without having even met me! I feel really really grateful for that.
So, about my place!!! I have a 3-bedroom, kitchen, living room, and bath set-up for a mere 4,500 yen a month!! It is unbelievable!! It’s so cheap because it’s subsidized by my workplace (which is somewhat typical of Japan, especially if you must move for a job). The bedrooms are tatami. For those who don’t know, this is a very traditional arrangement! Tatami are straw floors that you sleep on on top of a futon. They are very pretty, and customary! I’m excited about it because I REALLY wanted tatami rooms! I even actually know someone whose dad is a tatami craftsman. I love this kind of tradition! And they smell so good… it’s kind of a fresh woody scent. I have a tatami pillow, and everytime I lay on it, I think it smells like Japan . Anyway, the point is, if you want to stay in Wakkanai, I have plenty of space!!!
I have also visited my grandparents since my last entry! This was a great visit overall, especially because I got to hear about my grandfather’s time in… that’s right… Wakkanai!!! He was stationed there at one time!! It’s really unbelievable that I’d be placed in the same remote town in Japan where someone in my family once lived! He was able to show me lots of slides of what Japan looked like 50 or so years ago! I think I am the only Jet who can say they had a chance to see this! The cool thing too is that a buddy of his who was stationed there too is coming to visit them in the fall – so I will be able to send pictures back for them BOTH to see of what Wakkanai looks like today! I also had an opportunity to meet my grandparent’s neighbor, who is Japanese. She is totally fluent in English and Japanese, so she works for a company to help Japanese families settle in when they move her to work for the company. She talked about how her job is a 24 hour job, because people need a lot of help in a situation like this. I couldn’t help but think of the woman helping me in Japan, and how big of a responsibility this is! This also made me really grateful for the person helping me, because I could hear from the point of view of someone doing this job what a commitment it is!
And FINALLY! The last thing I should tell you! I now have my ADDRESS IN JAPAN. I wont be there for another couple of weeks (I am spending some time in Tokyo and Sapporo for work before I move there), but if you would like the address, please e-mail me and I will give it to you! A few people have asked me what American things I would like sent there, so here are some suggestions:
-English magazines! Doesn’t matter what kind… I’d like to have them to read myself AND I can always use them in class. Even if it is something unusual or that you think might be boring to someone my age or younger, trust me, I can find a use for it in a lesson! If for nothing else, I can use it for the advertisements!
-Stickers with English words! When I tutored Japanese students when I was in high school these were a HUGE hit!
-Individually-wrapped American snacks – these are great to give to people and talk about a little bit!
-And, if you feel up to the challenge, brochures/post cards of places in the U.S. that you visit with a short description of the place! I am bringing lots of this myself, but I’d love to share friends’ and family’s adventures in the U.S. with my students as well!
