Long Hair I Do Care

It's no surprise to those who know me that my hair is a very big deal. Growing up, I've had both short and long hair, and I've even donated my hair to Locks of Love. In 11th grade, I grew my hair long, and it's been that way ever since. After high school, I began to dye my hair starting with simple highlights and going extreme with half blonde/half black hair (not ombre). Afterwards, I settled for the brunette look and after I got tired with that, I tried ombre. I have a very serious love/LOVE relationship with my hair, and I put complete faith in my hairstylist who has been doing my hair since 6th grade. Since 6th grade, people! My hairstylist, Margarita, knows my hair and knows how to dye it. If I show her a picture of a hair color or style, she will give me that exact same color and style. She never disappoints! Every time I've gone dark to light or visa versa, she makes it into a process so that the color is rich. In Miami, I've had hairstylist friends of friends who try to solicit their services, and I always tell them that I'm happy with my hairstylist and changing would be like cheating on her. Sorry, but NOT sorry.

Before I left to Japan, she dyed my hair once again, but this time changed the color subtly so that when it grows out, it would match with my natural hair color, which sits between a ashy and dirty blonde.  My hair grows like bamboo so after a few months, I needed to get my hair done again. This is an issue in Japan since most hairstylists here are not familiar with foreign hair. I don't mean to be a jerk; Asian hair, black hair, caucasian hair differ in color and texture. There is one girl here who wanted her light brown hair dyed darker. Her hairstylist BLEACHED her hair blonde, and then dyed it dark. They didn't know how to do work with hair that is not black. Therefore, with reluctance, I asked a close teacher/friend where I could get my hair done. She made an appointment for me at her salon in Chatan, which is known for having a a stronger foreign/military presence. 

We drove together to Chatan and I showed a picture of what I wanted. Essentially, I wanted a ombre with more contrast. In Okinawa, my sun lightened my hair and my roots came in, so I wanted to be a little "milk chocolate" on the top and have it fade to my golden blonde at the bottom. So with my broken Japanese, and my friend translating as well, the hairstylist set to work. Two gorgeous Japanese men worked on my hair and they brushed the dye into my hair. They told me that they were experts in gratiation (Japanese for ombre) and I relaxed a little. After they finished the top, they changed dyes and proceeded with the bottom portion of my hair. 

After the dye set, they moved me to wash it out. At first, handsome guy #2 (who I think was the assistant, or hairstylist in training) washed my hair, but he switched with another lady because they were so busy. I was kind of bummed, because it felt like I was getting a massage. The lady wasn't so great and for a while she washed the ends. Actually, I think she washed the ends, I couldn't tell what the hell she was doing back there because I couldn't feel it. When I sat back down at the station with wet hair, I began to panic because my hair looked extremely dark. 

Another women came to blow dry my hair. This is when my stress levels rose because she finger dried my hair. I looked around and noticed that it was the standard procedure. However, my hair is wavy/curly so as she dried it, it turned into a puffy mess. I was also upset, because everyone complimented my hair saying that I had a natural perm and how pretty it looked. I wanted to ring their necks. I looked like Hagrid and I refuse to walk out looking like that. As I sat in my Hagrid hair, I noticed that the blond portion of my hair looked like an ashy blonde, almost white or grey. I wanted the Earth to swallow me. Gorgeous guys came back an styled my hair. They reassured me that it would lighten. I knew that, but it was absolutely nothing like the color I wanted. Luckily, it was not expensive and I left for home with the intent to wash my hair 3 or 10 times to lighten it.

I'm not leaving here looking like this!

After I used the all of the shampoo I had, I successfully lightened my hair, and I even got the grey blonde to revert back to the golden blonde. I am happy with it now, because it's great winter hair, but I wish I hadn't gone through all of that stress. 

My hair before
(Red eye reduction -___-)

Assessing the damage
(Nice styling though!)

After 3 or 10 washes
(My own curls)

Dance like everyone is watching

A few months ago I received a call from my Board of Education asking if I would like to take traditional Okinawan dance classes with international students from Peru, Argentina and Brazil. I figured that it would be like a once-a-week type of deal so I joined. Instead, dance practice was conducted everyday for two hours in preparation for a performance in front of all the members of the Board of Education. Yikes! For this performance, I learned the Kagiyadefu (woman's part), a very slow but graceful Okinawan dance.

The Kagiyadefu is not a difficult dance when compared to my time as a ballet dancer. However, the pace is slow and sometimes the dance does not follow the rhythm of the music. Moreover, instead of teaching the basic 8 count, I had to listen to the lyrics for cues. Because the dance is a traditional Okinawan dance, the lyrics are also in a traditional Okinawan language, called Unchinaguchi. A lot of those studying Japanese will say "RyūKyū-ben" or RyūKyū dialect, but this is incorrect and you will be firmly corrected in Okinawa because it's considered a completely separate language from Japanese. After several weeks of practice, I perfected the Kagiyadefu. 

I had to make sure I didn't step on the outter kimono while dancing

My dance life in Okinawa has continue Udui Kuwadisa, at my towns cultural festival. Unless it's for a performance, practice is held Wednesday and Thursday at a performance center in Ginoza. What I love about this is the sense of community from the other dancers who I consider my Japanese aunts (although they are old enough to be my grandmothers). On practice days, I usually skip dinner because they always feed me. I've even been surprised a few times with snacks, such as cakes, secretly stuffed into my purse. Most of the women's names end with a "ko," and since I'm become part of their dance horde they affectionately call me "Gabiko" and, when I'm in costume, I'll introduce myself as 「うちなんちゅう我美子」"Unichinanchū Gabiko" (Okinawan person, Gabiko).  

Auntie attempting to contain the mane, while I'm acting silly with this crazy makeup!

Dancers with Sensei

Taiwan: The Heart of Asia

After experiencing the Okinawan island life for some time, I felt an itch to leave and start my international travels. Taking advantage of a three-day weekend, and requesting a day off of work, two fellow OkiJETs and I set out sights to Taiwan, Okinawa's closest country.

The night before my departure, I picked up Tka in Okinawa City and we spent the night at Alley's in Nishihara. The next morning, we headed out ridiculously early to beat the traffic to Naha Airport. The traffic was horrendous and, what's worse, Google Maps decided to guide us to a frickin' golf course (Thanks Obama)! We had to call out to a pedestrian and ask for directions but fortunately we were not far off.

We made it to the airport just in time to check in and pass the security checkpoint. No one had breakfast that morning and we were expecting to get food at the terminal but since Peach Airlines does not taxi at a terminal, the terminal only sold boxed souvenir food. We met up with some other OkiJETs, who were also headed to Taiwan, and they gave us an apple to split between the three of us. Best apple of my life! We also met with Wendy a Singaporean OkiJET who was off to visit family in Taiwan. She marked our subway map for the best hot spots in Taipei and offered to guide us to Taipei's main subway station since we were all headed there anyway.

The flight was ridiculously short, but I spent the entire hour yawning and attempting to pop my ears since scuba diving temporarily damaged my inner ear. Once we reached Taipei, our main priority was to eat. We walked about a block or two until we found a small cafe that had an menu in English and food that would satisfy everyone, especially me with my food particularities. Afterwards, we headed to our hotel.

Lovely Travel Ladies

A hour passed and we still had not found our hotel. The map that Tka brought was not detailed enough but we  knew the street and were headed in the right direction. I used every bit of Mandarin Chinese that I knew to ask about location of our hotel. Every question was met with people pointing for us to go further down. We even stopped at a convenience store to ask for directions. At one point, we were so frustrated because one person would tell us to go further down and another person would tell us to come back the way we came. Finally, we walked into what we thought was our hotel. It wasn't, but the women working the front desk personally walked us to our hotel. We were so grateful!

As I was moving my suitcase to my corner of the room, I hear Alley laughing and telling us to check out the bed. When I sat on the bed, it felt as though I sat on concrete. This was the hardest bed on God's green Earth! I picked up the pillow assuming that would be just as terrible but, to my relief, it was fairly soft. I looked to Alley who was still laughing now on her hand and knees saying "It's like basement sex!" That's when I lost it, because I could imagine that on a terribly hard and uneven floor. The joy surged through me as I realized I would be spending a few days on the concrete bed (sarcasm). After we settled, we headed out into Taipei.

Taipei at night reminded me a little of New York with its crazy traffic and slightly dirty atmosphere. The only difference was the abundance of scooters. Aside from my ear problems, I also had a terrible cough and the exhaust fumes from the hundreds of thousands of scooters forced me to purchase cough drops at a convenience store. 

The night markets in Taipei were like Jesus, in that they were perfect. Japanese clothes are cute, but sometimes they can get pretty funky with their prints, "Engrish," frills, and fabrics. The clothes at the night markets were surprisingly of good quality, ridiculously cheap, and stuff that I'd actually wear. More importantly, at every corner there were people selling yummy fruits and pastries, along with the nauseating Stinky Tofu. I got the most use of my Chinese while shopping because I could ask for the prince and bargain by saying it was too pricy. 

Taiwan: The Land of Scooters

The next couple of days involved some sightseeing at Longshan Temple, Taipei 101, and trips to more night markets.

Longshan Temple is a reconstructed Buddhist/Taoist temple in the Wuhua district of Taipei. Although situated on a busy street, Longshan Temple created a peaceful atmosphere with a gorgeous waterfall and a large dragon statue at the enterence. Once inside the temple, there were hundreds of people praying and giving food and flower offerings. 

Taipei 101 is the second largest building in the world with the world's elevator (my ears did not appreciate this). The first two floors consisted of a high-end mall with recognizable brands that I could never afford. At the top, we had an spectacular view of the city as well as a view of the damper ball, which balances the building during storms or earthquakes.

Leaving Taipei, we had a some trouble finding the bus terminals, and we also ran into some trouble or shall I say caught some attitude with the airline personal regarding the weight of our carry-on bags during our check-in. 

I definitely want to go back to Taiwan for a longer weekend and continue shopping sightseeing.

Dying of laughter at Longshan Temple

Hospitals in Japan: Closed for your Inconvenience

If you get sick in Japan and need to see a doctor, you must do so between Monday through Friday from 8am – 5pm. Closed on weekends and during national holidays. Also closed on days and times that are most convenient for you. This is not an over exaggeration! Hospitals in Japan close on evening and weekends. So if you break your arm while trying to twerk on the doorframe of some sacred Buddhist temple, you’ll have to suck it up until Monday or the next morning. I knew about the ridiculousness of Japanese hospitals prior to my arrival, but I didn’t realize the inconvenience until I needed to see a doctor. About a month after my arrival to Japan, I became ill and needed a specific antibiotic, I decided to hold off until my half-day, Thursday, to see a doctor because my mother I packed medicines from home and refused to take a personal day. 

Put a Pokemon Bandaid on it and wait until Monday

Thursday came, I left work and headed to the hospital. As I walked into the hospital, I immediately felt something was amiss. There were no receptionists at the front desk and the lights were turned off, so I walked around musing at the similarities between my life and a horror video game. I assumed that I was on the wrong floor and proceeded up the elevator only to reach a floor with hospitalized patients. I quickly backtracked and returned for the first floor to find someone that could help me. As I was snooping around, I found sign with the opening hours for the hospital. Using my very limited Japanese, I found the name of my specific clinic within the hospital and realized that the clinic closes after noon on Thursdays. Thursday was their half-day too! Eventually, an old woman, who I wasn’t sure worked there, approached me and told me to come during lunch break or to take a personal day. I thanked her and returned home feeling defeated. 

(You may remember that I mentioned this next part from a previous post, see here)

It has been joked about that I could smile and excuse myself out the door whenever I wanted in the Japanese workplace. Since I refused to take any personal time, I decided to test that theory on Tuesday and do just that. I excused myself from work about an hour and a half early. Half way to my car, the principal stopped me to say that I was leaving early. I walked back to tell her about my situation, but she continued the conversation saying that she missed the opportunity the previous day (because of a typhoon) to give me a huge bag of okra and sweet potatoes. Turns out, I mistranslated what she said. She said that I was leaving quickly ("fast" and "early" are the same word in Japanese). Either way, I felt bad and told her what was going on anyway. She couldn't care less that I was leaving early, as long as I used the veggies she gave me. 

At the hospital, which was now open, I checked in with the receptionist and filled out various forms. I was escorted to the waiting area, where they called me in to take my blood pressure and measure my weight and height. I met with a doctor, who surprising spoke English, and he asked me about my symptoms and prescribed me the Japanese equivalent to my usual American medicines. SUCCESS! 

Case closed!

The Finest Wilderness is Beneath the Waves (Part 2)

The weekend of the ocean dives occured a couple days before a typhoon slammed into Okinawa. However, we were given the green light to dive and I once again met with Jan and my dive-mates. This time, I was given a full-body wetsuit, since I almost froze in the pool during the contained dive, and, to my relief, a significantly smaller thank. Jan made a passing comment that anyone under 50 kg. ( or 110 lb.) required a smaller tank and elaborated that he had never met an American under 50 kg. (I withheld the tidbit that I am ethnically Hispanic, teehee).

Once we placed the gear in the boat and arrived at the dive spot called, I was geared up and pushed into the water. I mean that quite literally because Jan literally pushed me into the water. It was actually just a small nudge, but I found it hilarious. Nevertheless, my mirth was cut short as a series of issues began to unravel. I misjudged the circumference of my waist as my weight belt (which also adds weight for controlled buoyancy) began to slide down my hips and around my thighs making it difficult to tred water. Because of this issue, I removed my repirator to inform Jan that I was in trouble. This was a huge mistake! The waves slammed into me in all directions as I shouted, causing me to inhale water. I became exhausted in my struggle to tread and quickly lost my breath. Jan instructed me to swim to the boat and hold on to a side rope while he readjusted my weight belt. With the regulator back in my mouth, I was able to slow down my breathing and catch my breath. In retrospect, I should have dived down, hunched over and adjusted it myself, but whatever. Once that dilemma was over, it was time to dive down and check out the the underwater forest.

Okinawa has an amazing array of sea life from the ugly and harmless to the beautiful and deadly. During my descent, I watched a sea snake pass above me as I tried to hug shoo'ed fish that invaded my personal space. Within the first 10 minutes, I encountered the venomous Lion fish (a.k.a. scorpion fish; a.k.a. that fish with zebra stripes)! I learned from multiple aquarium visits to keep away, but it was fascinating to see the fish up close (as little as 10 feet) in its natural habitat. I also played with a large sea cucumber and and felt the underside of an extremely large starfish. Moreover, Jan guided us to the illustrious Blue Cave located in Maeda Point, where we performed our dive skills

Fact: 99.9% of monsters found in animes are based on real animals (source: Me) 

Even with my life hack jotted down into the deepest portions of my mind, I was unsure if my abilities as I begrudgingly looked up to check the distance to the surface; just in case. When it came to my turn, I slowly let water into my mask, closed my eyes to protect my contacts, and breathed to calm my nerves. Then, I took in a large breath and used my life hack to blow out the air through my nose. I opened my eyes slightly and realized that I cleared about half the mask. It was working! I took in another breath and cleared the rest. Suc-f&*%ing-cess! In another dive, it was required that I remove my mask, return it, and clear the mask. For this skill, I closed my eyes and began to remove my mask. This should have been effortless, but my mask snagged on to my hair making it difficult to remove. As I floated with my eye closed breathing into the regulator, I felt a hand on my leg. I opened by eyes in surprise, but closed them a split second later as I mentally cursed in the realization that I may have ruined my contacts. In my efforts to detangle my mask, I kicked causing me to slowly ascend. Jan brought me back down and I continued to detangle my mask. Once it was free, I place it back on my face and cleared my mask without realization. Bam! Later, I would perform other skills such as the Tired Diver's Tow, Controlled Emergency Ascend, Buddy Breathing, Regulator Recovery and compass skills, as well as a written test to complete my Open Water Diver certification.

<3

The Finest Wilderness is Beneath the Waves (Part 1)

After I almost drowned in the ocean as a child, I had always been hesitant about water-related activities. Hundreds of Venezuelan Bolivares were wasted on swimming lessons so that I can later specialize in sunbathing and people watching. This had to change! I am firm believer of taking extreme measures in order to face your fears. A few years ago I went skydiving in order to conquer my fear of heights, and I decided early on that it was time that I did the same with my fear of the wilderness beneath the waves. 

Dont touch me! I'm tanning!

A fellow OkiJET referred a local dive shop and it was there that I made my appointment to become a certified Open Water Diver (OWD). Unfortunately, an ideal three-day weekend had been completely booked by local OIST University students and, because of this, my ocean dives were scheduled 3 weeks after my contained dive lesson. 

The day of the contained dive, I packed by bikini and headed to Onna Village where met with Jan my diving instructor. Jan was a German fellow who moved to Japan sometime ago and settled down with a Japanese wife. At first, his accent was a little rough and hard to understand, but I could sympathize with the difficultly of expressing in a non-native language. He packed the gear and we met with  French dive-mates at a pool where, after basic equipment instruction, I shimmied my way into a ridiculously tight wet suit and strapped on my air tank.

This was the first of many problems as I struggled to stand with the heavy tank strapped onto my back. Moreover, the back plate (which adds weight to level out my buoyancy in the water) was digging into my hips bones from the back. Eventually, the straps were readjusted, but the tank was still too heavy as I made the trek to the pools edge. Once I was in the water, the elephant-sized tank felt as light as a feather, but I passingly worried about my exit from the water.

Once in the water we were asked to perform various skills that are essential for safe diving. The first skill was simply breathing with the regulator. It's human nature to hold you breath, but doing so could result in damaged lungs. I accomplished this skill without any issues. The next skill was breathing in with the regulator but blowing the air out through my nose. However, I could only blow out a few snorts, until the water filled my sinus making it seem as though I was drowning. This specific skill was just not happening for me and it turned out it would be the bane of my scuba experience. The next skill involved removing water from inside of the mask while underwater. Guess what that involved? You guessed it! Blowing the air out through my nose! As I lifted my mask to fill it with water I began to slightly panic once again because the water that collected into my nose had gone into my sinus. I tried to blow the water and air out, but the air would escape out through the sides of my mask instead of the bottom. I tilted my head back so that my bottom of my mask would be the lowest point, but I ended up swallowing water through my sinuses. Once again, I failed this skill.

An example of mask clearing. You know, that skill I can't do.

You could image my frustration as I was told that I could not become certified if I could not perform this skill. Moreover, this skill will be more difficult to perform in the ocean. As the day progressed, I doubted my decision to become certified. Aside from the issue with clearing my mask, the only other issue I had was equalizing my ears. As you dive, the pressure builds and you need to be able to release the pressure. We do it often in airplanes and elevators through swallowing and yawning ("popping your ears") but since those a bit difficult to perform while something is in your mouth, it needs to be done a different way. You guessed it! By breathing out through your nose! F&%$!

I'm just kidding! Well, you do need to breathe out through your nose, but you pinch your nose so that the air escapes via your ear canal simultaneously releasing the pressure. Surprisingly, I could do this, but it wasn't without its difficulties. I had to equalize my ears often and it took me longer to dive down because of it. I would sink a foot or two and I would feel a squeezing pain within my ears. This isn't necessarily a skill issue because everyone's body is different. Moreover, Jan reassured me that it is fairly common, for those with sensitive ears, to need more time in order to adjust.

Since I had a few weeks until the ocean dives, I bought a mask from the dive shop to fit my small face. I tried to practice the mask cleaning, but the results were the same - failure. Therefore, I used the best source of information acquisition known to man: The Internet. There, I found a simple little life hack that would change everything: 

If you flatten your tongue to the roof of your mouth, you will always blow the air out of your nose!

Did you try it?

Not so "Easy Peasy" but very "Japanesey"

If I am to do any justice to the Internet community or to those who are interested in the JET Program (or any other program for that matter), then I would have to be frank and state that living in Japan is not easy. 

What?! What's so hard about living in a country that is so technologically advanced that they invent robots that can play the violin just for frickin' fun? If you don't know that answer or need to brush up, read the article "5 Things Nobody Tells You About Living in Japan" and become enlightened.

Japan doesn't sh*t glitter and Pokémon.
 Well, maybe not glitter.

In the U.S. I am a fairly independent person who has no problems whatsoever with everyday situations. This is simply not the case in Japan. Due to the need of constant assistance for the most mundane task, I feel as though I have regressed from adulthood. One reason for this juvenility is the huge language blockade. It’s a “blockade” because if it were something physical, it would look something like Gandalf the Grey standing on the Great Wall of China quoting that epic line:

Although I studied Japanese for quite some time, it didn’t prepare me for in-depth or complex conversations. It’s difficult to develop friendships or work-relationships when the language blockade does not let you pass the superficial. Luckily, the language blockade has not disrupted my relations with students as they thrive on superficial conversations. Japanese children are like tiny, drunk friends that love to comment on appearances. So far, they find my intonations (when speaking Japanese) and gestures cute, but I wouldn’t consider myself as “cute” when I speak English. Therefore, as a result of the language blockade, my personality has not carried over when I speak Japanese. 

Outside of work, the language blockade is affecting everything from making appointments to filling out forms. Stores or companies can refuse to assist me because they cannot explain (nor would I be able to understand) complex contractual terms. However, in cases when I am assisted by a patient employee, things will, and need to be, repeated to make sure that I completely understand. The smallest accomplishments feel like I’ve won the lottery, while failures feel as though my life is forever ruined. It’s a real roller coaster ride of emotions.  The language blockade doesn’t make me want to run back to the U.S, but it does motivate me to work harder on my Japanese in order to communicate more efficiently and so that I can show these Okinawans the true loca that I am. 

You May Call Me "Gabi-sensei"

How could I forget about the main purpose of coming to Okinawa? Just kidding! I didn't forget, but I have been extremely busy these last few weeks. Now that I have some downtime, I'll  update everyone on my ALT life in Okinawa. 

I am the Assistant Language Teacher or "ALT" at three elementary schools in my village of Ginoza (see below). I have been told that teaching at the elementary level is the most fun and rewarding because the curriculum is flexible and the students are eager to learn English. I can say, without conviction, that this is true. So far, the 5th and 6th grade teachers have been very open with communication and will often meet with me before class to discuss the day’s lesson. For the other grades, I plan the lesson based on an unofficial curriculum that all the schools seem to have and will ask the teachers to translate the game's rules (more of a T1 role). I have been successful in my lessons thus far, and I hope that this pattern continues. The students are sweet and very energetic, but I noticed that the younger the student, the more willing they are to participate. Therefore, I have included my self-made English class passport cards for the 5th and 6th graders who are "too cool for school" as an incentive to participate. If they participate, they receive stickers. It seems a bit strange, but kids go bat-shit crazy over stickers. I wish I could take credit for the passport, but I got the idea when I visited from a former friend who was also an ALT.

I also try to incorporate a lot of American cartoons and Japanese anime into my teaching materials. Any thing Disney works! Mickey Mouse and the gang as well as well as some throwback characters like Chip and Dale (...Rescue Rangers!) are very popular. Phineas and Ferb's Perry the Platypus has a fandom as well as the Minions from Despicable Me. However, you can't go wrong with One Piece. 

 

M. Elementary has undergone some drastic renovations (update not reflected on their website) and the school provides a fantastic view of the ocean. Within the teacher’s room, the staff and assistant teachers will often gossip with me or invite me to help with the school's festival preparations. I feel the most relaxed at M., in terms of manners, because I feel as though they have overlooked my "foreign-ness" and have stopped treating me like I am a guest. I find this interesting because I have spent the least amount of time at the school due to typhoons and three-day weekends.

A female principal, who spends most of her time gardening or attending meetings, oversees the elementary school. She is very sweet, plump, and jolly, and provides me with fresh veggies and flowers whenever she gets the chance. She's like the Japanese Mrs. Claus! Just to give an example: 

One day, I needed to leave work a little early to go see a doctor. It's been joked about that I could smile and excuse myself out the door whenever I wanted in the Japanese workplace. I decided to test that theory and do just that. Half way to my car, the principal stopped me to say that I was leaving early. I walked back to tell her about my situation, but she continued the conversation saying that she missed the opportunity the previous day (because of the typhoon) to give me a huge bag of okra and sweet potatoes. Turns out, I mistranslated what she said. She said that I was leaving quickly ("fast" and "early" are  the same word in Japanese). Either way, I felt bad and told her what was going on anyway. She couldn't care less that I was leaving early, as long as I used the veggies she gave me. 

The vice principal for M. Elementary is very comedic. He often greets me in English and is always game to practice every chance he gets. He seems very excited about my presence at the school, and has once commented that my boyfriend is his rival. However, he doesn't set of my creeper sirens (yet). My only gripe is that there is one teacher assistant who is still dead frightened of me. Dead frickin' frightened! He's a few years younger than me and our interaction has not gone past hellos and goodbyes. I also had this same interaction with the 6th grade teacher, who is my same age, but he has since opened up now that we teach classes together. I have the most fun in his class because the boys in the classroom are real class clowns. They goof around, but they are doing it while actively participating so it's fun.

Funny Story:  During their self-introductions, the main class clown told me he was on the baseball team. I asked if his position was the bench, and he felt the burn. Gabie-sensei's got jokes!

 

K. Elementary is my favorite school thus far. They have a very diverse set of teachers who are not only interested in practicing English, but also like to practice their Spanish with me as well. I also have the closest thing to a JTE, as there is a specific teacher who co-teaches English class with me for 5th and 6th grade.  The principal is a woman who is the polar opposite of M. Elementary's principal. She is a very refined, proper, and assertive woman, but still kind in her interactions with me. The vice principal is a Japanese Robert DeNiro. Seriously! He looks like Robert DeNiro! He loves golf and was ecstatic hear that I am from Florida, the land of golf courses. 

The girls at K. Elementary are locas and often ask me to play volleyball with them during break since I told them I played throughout middle and high school. They like to gossip with me, and I like to ask about their classmate crushes. It's really cute because the girls have no reservation concerning their love confessions. On the other hand, the boys are still fairly reserved with me, especially the 6th grade boys. I figure they are battling with there hormones and having a young and fairly attractive teacher makes them a bit uncomfortable (I'm sorry, but I'm not sorry).

Funny Story: During my first days of work, I was pleasantly surprised when one of the TA's, who also teaches high school history, scooted up next to me to ask what the Native Americans called the U.S. before Christopher Columbus discovered it. Although extremely random, I was happy to answer questions that deviated from my personal life.

G. Elementary was a little intimidating at first because it has double the teachers and students of my other two schools. However, the 5th grade teacher, who speaks English very well, has made my transition smooth. She is definitely an amazing teacher and our teaching styles complement each other favorably. We were both recently observed and evaluated by the G. Board of Education. Under normal circumstances I would have been extremely nervous, but we plan lessons so smoothly that it was really a piece of cake – even if we had around 10 people observing in the room. Yikes! 

 The only complaint is that this school seems to be a bit more rigid than my other school in terms of how they expect the students to behave. I get the sense that the students aren’t as cheerful in this school. One moment of complete shock was when I gave my self-introduction presentation to the 6th grade class. No amount of genki-ness on my behalf could shake their zombie-like expressions and responses. They were simply not amused. This has been the case sense, as refer to them as "The Satan 6th Graders." I just try to do my best to stay energetic, but I have to keep my eye on a few misbehaved children. Prior to Sports Day, the 6th graders did warm up enough to me to pull me aside and ask questions. I would have been glad under any other circumstances but the questions started with my age and ended with how to say various perverted words in English (tits, masturbate, sex, etc. I know WTF!). Those little demon children even included gestures with those questions! I wanted the earth to swallow me as I looked around for a teacher to pull me out of that awkward situation. Either way, I just told them that the words didn’t exist in English. Sometimes you can’t expect these things because they are kids, but I learned for next time how to cut the hentai (perv) questions short. I've also had one instance where I yelled at student who blatantly disrespected me during class. It hasn't happened since, but I made a good example out of him. I also teach English to four students with learning disabilities. I try my best to keep the lessons simple, engaging, and very hands on. I’m not exactly sure of the nature of their disabilities, but I try to use English games that incorporate a lot of hand-eye coordination. 

Aside from the issues with little demon children, I definitely bonded with some of the younger teachers (who are closer to my age), and I believe my time there will be great,

Funny Story #1 : One of those teachers that I bonded with may or may not have a crush on me. The custodian was commenting on my looks and suggested that the teacher tell me that I am beautiful. He looked me dead straight in my eyes and said, "Later." Moral of the story: Innuendos transcend language barriers. 

Funny Story #2: I think one of the boys from the 5th grade class may or may not have a crush on me (haha). He's the only boy in all of my schools that asks me to have lunch with the class (usually it's the girls who ask). I also see him every so often around the cultural center because he takes sanshin class (I think) while I take dance class. Either way, before class, he was writing his name (Yuuto) on the board in Roman letters. I told him he could write his name like "Yūto" since he has a double "u" in his name. A little later in class, the kids were asked to make their own shirts. He made a baseball shirt with "Yūto" on the back. <3

Middle School Sport's Day, Okinawan Lucha Libre, and Neo Park Zoo

Undokai (運動会) or sports days is a big deal in Japan, with teachers canceling classes to practice various sporting events. The Sports Days for my elementary schools aren't until later this month, but I was asked by my board of education if I would like to participate in the middle schools sports day as part of a relay. I had just finished getting over a terrible cold, so I was extremely happy to participate and be active once again. On Saturday, I laced up my running shoes and walked to the middle school. There, I met up Justin, the middle school JET, and my two other teammates who were Japanese-Pervian and Japanese-Argentinian. We were officially mcticially the international team. I was extemely nervous because I didn't realize that so many people attended these events. The principals and vice principals from my schools were there too! No big, I'm only representing my whole damn country! We were running the 4X2, and  I was the second runner. Ultimately, we got second place and won a box of tissues. I will be swimming in tissues in Japan since I get them just by entering a store. Afterwards, I felt no obligation to stay, and I left. 

The same week, I went to an Okinawan lucha libre match. It sounds just as corney as it sounds: masked individuals perfomring choreographed pro-wrestling moves. It was cheesy, it was sweaty, it was japanesey, and I frickin' loved it! 

Do you even lift?

I also went to Neo Park Zoo, which is a little less than a zoo and more of an aviary. There were hundred of birds that you could feed, and other animals such as capybaras, lemurs, bats, and wallabies. There was a petting zoo of small animals such as guinea pigs, rabbits, and dogs. The dogs were a little weary of people. I noticed that some would almost corner the dogs to pet them, which made the dogs snap in aggression. I just knelt down and waited for them to come to me. I think they could tell I was an animal person <3.

This little one asked to be picked up and just plopped right down.

I also decided to be a little loca and feed the ostriches. These birds are immense and very intimidating. But when do you get the chance to feed them? Exactly! Never! My first time was a huge fail because my hand was at the same level as the birds beak, so it just clamp down it's mouth on my hand. Surprisingly it didn't hurt, but it scared the crap out of me. For my second attempt, I lowered my hand and it worked!