Let the Sho(gakko) begin!

Spring break has come and gone for the kiddies and teachers here. Though, of course we all still show up to school for work and the kids for various club activities during break. It's also an emotional and big transition time for everyone because in April, the new school begins. So there's new staff and kids moving on to their next grade. I feel a bit renewed and a little more like I know what I'm doing and my first weeks of classes have been good. The new staff has been friendly though I miss my super funny/crazy Kyoto (VP) Sensei at the junior high and some of the other staff that departed. The "ohayogozaimasu"s in the morning just arent the same (sniff sniff).

It is adorable to see my old 6th graders now in uniform at the junior high. Granted some of their uniforms are huge on them, especially the smaller boys. So cute! They look like dresses on them. I'll have to sneak pics of them at some point.

The big vacation/trip time here is coming up. Golden Week, is an accumulation of different holidays including Boys Day (which is now called Childrens Day) so people are decorating with big Koi fish flags around town. Instead of waiting though, Scott and I are heading back to the States! Well, kind of. We will be meeting my family in Hawaii for a week! Its our first time there so I'm psyched and psyched to have a little break on American soil. So if you don't see me online for a bit, just know I'm soaking in the sun somewhere on a beach in Waikiki.

Doggie rescue

Yesterday we were on the highway on our way to a cherry blossom festival and Scott noticed a sad dog on the side of the road. He made me turn the car around and we pulled over while Scott got out to check on the dog. At first, we thought it might've been hit or hurt, but it didn't seem to have any injuries. Scott comforted the dog for a bit and it seems that it got lost and trapped on the side of the road. The dog was shaking and terrified, it even peed itself. Aww. Scott decided to name her "Pisser".

She was a very pretty dog with light brown eyes and looked like a puppy. Scott carried her into the woods a bit and we hung out with her. She wouldn't go off on her own for a while and kept following us, but finally she started jogging up the road... hopefully back to her home.



Dedicated to Angela Lopez Compa

Idio(t)syncracies

Easter was turning out to be a good day and we were excited because Scott’s sisters were flying in that night. All was well until we decided to stop and get gas. Usually we go to the full service stands by our house so it’s no problem. But we stopped at a self service and in our haste I decided to put diesel fuel into our newish car! I have no excuse except that I’m an idiot and just grabbed a hose and stuck it in the car. Sigh...

This foolish action has spiraled into a big mess, but it also exemplifies the madness and kindness of the people here. First, the gas attendant helped us push the car back into the parking lot after it died when we tried to start it (luckily it didn’t blow up!). Then when we found out the gas station didn’t have the equipment to fix the car, he literally ran over next door to the car dealer to see if they were still open. Sadly they weren’t so the gas station allowed us to leave the car overnight. Our kind neighbor Kevin came to pick us up, and all was well for the night.

The next day I asked one of my teachers to help me call the station and see if I could go pick up the car the following day on my day off. Naturally they were a little pissed that we were taking up a spot in their small parking area so they asked me to move the car that day. Then my teacher called her AAA to see if they could tow it and then called her cousin who is a mechanic to see if he could fix it. Then the manager of the gas station called and was pretty mad about my car being left there so that was scary, but then he called back and said a friend of his at a shop could tow it and fix it up. Amazing! Even though we were putting them out and the whole thing was my fault, they were still offering ways to help.


In the end it took some more
maneuvering in which I managed to ask help from three other car places, but it got fixed and I made some new friends or maybe they all hate me and hate foreigners now! Luckily it didn’t cost too much to fix and we were able to use it and drive Scott’s sisters around. And we’re never doing self service again! Well, some of my teachers said they’re too scared to use self service so I felt a little better. I think I managed to thank everyone that helped me with a little gift, but hopefully we won’t have any more car drama!

Gladuation day

March marks the end of the school year here in Japan so I had to say some goodbyes. I didn't realize how many goodbyes I would end up saying though. Most of the 6th graders I teach will be moving on to the junior high school I also work at, but at two of my schools, I had to say farewell to them.

Then at my junior high, all the 3rd year students graduated. They have been stressed out with entrance exams and some of them had to take the exams multiple times. They all have to take the exams and then choose a high school to go to. They also have an interview to go through with for their prospective high schools. It all sounds pretty nerve wracking. I saw some students crying and being consoled by teachers throughout the month.


The graduation ceremony was another new experience. I went to the rehearsal so I had a little bit of an idea of what it would be like, but I didn't expect to see so much crying! The ceremony was very militaristic and stoic, but also solemn and emotional. Not the party ours are like at home. All the students are involved and they practice standing up and sitting down and bowing in unison, like soldiers. They also had some speeches from the principal and PTA. They also sang the national anthem, the school song, and a couple of other songs that were sad and about saying goodbye and friendships and such.



Some of the girls graduating were already crying and sniffing, but when students made their speeches, everyone was crying. Four students spoke, each representing their homeroom class. One girl was already crying before starting her speech, but the boys also cried during their speeches. When they talked about how special the school and teachers are here and thanked their families for their support, it got to everyone. Even our stoic principal was crying. I looked around the room and noticed the male teachers and students had started crying too. The speeches were very heartfelt, not a written valedictorian speech like back home. One girl talked about how her mom wished her a good day every morning and when she got home from school, there was always a warm meal waiting for her. Aww!



Some of the students move far away from home for high school so they may be away from their families for the first time next year. For kids here too, school is their life. They are here for hours after school doing sports or club activities and on weekends and during spring break as well. They become very close to their teachers and the staff here. So it makes sense why graduation is so emotional for them where as it’s a celebration back home.



The school staff also has to deal with transition. Before every school year begins, they are told by the Board of Education whether they will stay at their school another year or be transferred somewhere else. Usually 3 years is the max they stay at one school, sometimes a little more than that. They don’t know where they will be transferred or what grade or subject they’ll be teaching until a week or two before the new school year starts. Some have to move their whole family or move to one of the smaller islands here in Nagasaki.

Needless to say, the last couple weeks of school have been tense. My main school had 8 teachers leaving which is a lot for one school. The staff here is very much like a family so it is really sad to see them leave. It’s definitely going to be a different vibe here, especially since our fun, kooky vice principal is leaving too.


We had a big enkai party which was fun and nice to say goodbye to people, but some people were a mess! Definitely drinking more than previous parties and lots of crying. It was rough, but nothing that some karaoke and more drinking couldn’t solve.
(The man in the photo is a real sweetheart and requested a duet with me, Elvis Presley's "Can't Help Falling in Love". Awww!)

So. a lot is going down and classes start next week… wish me luck!

Attack of the lobster feet!

These funky socks are called "tabi" socks and as you can probably figure out, they are either made to make your feet look like lobster claws or they are made for wearing slippers. We've noticed though that the farmer men here wear rubber boots shaped this way also and some industrial workers also. If we do some gardening maybe we'll get some too. It will be very rewarding to see the socks and boots fit perfectly together.

Hangin on the stoop

We had such lovely spring weather last week. The sun was shining and we just spent one Saturday afternoon just hanging out outside in our backyard. Our adorable 8 month old neighbor has just learned to sit up on her own and she decided to chill with Scottie on our stoop. It was too adorable, I had to share!

Since then there's been a lot going on that I want to eventually blog on and catch up on including... my junior high school's graduation and teachers having to transfer to other schools for next year at a moment's notice, drama with the car again(!), and at present, Scott's two sisters are visiting us for the week. Stay posted!

Bridge and tunnel

After discerning a message from Scott's work, we found out that he was being invited to a Saturday visit to the big Mitsubishi Factory in Nagasaki City. Those that wanted to go were all going together in a bus, but somehow Scott's buddy at work talked us into driving separately. It worked out since I got invited as well, but it was kind of awkward. I guess his buddy didn't want to get stuck in the bus with everyone and didn't want to hang out as a group so he told the boss that he would be showing us around Nagasaki so then we had to lie that it was our first time there in case we were asked. Oy!

Anyway, his buddy is a little crazy, but a sweet man and it all worked out in the end. We drove to the factory, just a bit southwest of the city by all the shipyards. The ships out there are huge, the biggest I've ever seen. We got there early so Scott decided to take some pics of the factory. Then he got surrounded by three dudes in hard hats asking him what he was doing. I'm sure it must've seemed pretty suspicious to them, a foreign guy randomly taking pics of their factory. Luckily his buddy was able to explain we were there for a visit.




Turns out Scott's boss's son works at the factory and gave us the tour. It was cool to see how huge the factory was and how huge all the equipment they use there was. Scott and his coworkers got to see all the pieces they make and how they fit into the end products.




So no pictures of the inside of the factory, but we also drove around the area for a bit and went to this new bridge, the Megami Bridge. I think it's only a few years old. It was a pretty bridge, very clean design, and popular for walks and bike rides.

After walking halfway across the bridge and taking pics, we had lunch in Chinatown. Some champon noodles, one of Nagasaki's specialties that is a delightful mix of seafood, vegetables, broth and thick noodles.



It seemed like Scott's buddy wanted to show us around more so we walked over to the famous Meganebashi Bridge (glasses bridge) and took some pics. There were a lot of students visiting from all over Japan walking around and we talked to some from Tokyo. They were excited to speak a little bit of English with authentic foreigners. Glad to be of service!