A Proud Moment

My proudest moment in teaching so far was the English debate tournament last week. After working with my second year students (Mirai, Naoki, and Shogo) for over two months, staying after school until 6:30 or 7 every day, and not allowing anything less than perfection, our efforts paid off more than I or the Japanese coach, Kondo Sensei, could have imagined.

I felt the first round of the contest, which included 18 teams from all over Miyazaki prefecture, was not indicative of our actual abilities, because we competed against two weak teams. So, while we made the next round and did very well (and we were very excited about this, don’t get me wrong!) I also had this nagging feeling that if we had been against the other teams who made the next round, we would not have made it. The first year team, who I also coached, did very well, but they happened to be pitted against the team who went to the all Kyushuu tournament last year and which had two girls who had lived in America and thus had excellent English. So, they did not make the semi-finals (and, disappointingly, lost by only a few points).

So, the day of the semi-finals arrived. Six teams from Miyazaki prefecture would be competing against each other for the coveted top two spots, and these two teams would go on to the all-Kyushuu contest. (For those of you who are wondering what Kyushuu is, that is the Southernmost island of Japan, where I live, with nine prefectures. So to make the Kyushuu contest is the highest honor). I felt confident in my students, but also knew how good the other teams were, so I was trying not to set my hopes too high. We had the first round of debates in the morning, with two groups of three teams. The top team from each group would go on to Kyushuu, and then in the afternoon the top two would compete against each other for the first prize of the day. I was soooo nervous watching my kids, probably more than they were. They did very well, but so did the other teams, and I knew it would be a very close contest.

While waiting for the results, we had lunch together, and as we did, I really felt close to the students and Kondo Sensei. We really felt like a team, and I felt nothing but pride and happiness for the kids. I knew that, no matter what happened, we could go home happy for all of our hard work. Finally, it was time for the morning results to be announced. We all sat there, hoping. My heart was about to leap out of my chest and I felt physically sick. After waiting to hear the judges make their comments, which of course took an excruciatingly long time, they announced the results…Miyazaki Omiya!!! I let out an audible gasp and felt a rush of pride for my students. We were going on to the tournament!

But that wasn’t even the best part of the day. After we heard the results, we practiced for about an hour while waiting for the final round between us and the other high school (the same school who went to finals last year…definitely a formidable opponent) going to Kyushuu. The final round was held on the stage in the college auditorium, in front of all of the teams, teachers, and judges. I will never forget how awesome it felt to see my kids on stage in front of everyone, ready to take on the debate. And take it on they did. Everything we taught them, all of the hours of practice, all of the kids’ spectacular talent seemed to come together, almost magically. The constructive speech by Mirai was fantastic. Her English was nearly perfect and she put such passion and emotion into it! Then she did a phenomenal job of answering questions from the other team. She calmly answered every one of them intelligently. They asked really good, difficult questions, but she answered them without any sign of faltering. Then, the questions that Shogo asked the other team were excellent. He really attacked the weak points of their argument. Finally, there was Shogo’s rebuttal…all I can say is that I sat there in utter shock and amazement as he tore apart the other team’s argument and then delivered a fantastic closing speech as if he were a native English speaker. I actually got goosebumps watching him! When they announced that we won first place, I thought about how wonderful it can be to teach and to see your students reach their fullest potential. 

We got a lot of compliments after the debate. The head of the English teachers in Miyazaki prefecture (I think?) called the team the “Fantastic Three.” A teacher from one of the best high schools in the prefecture asked us what our “secret” was. I had some high school boys come up and say to Mirai that they knew she would win, because she was so cute.  One of the judges talked to us for a good ten minutes, saying that it was “heaven” to watch us and that we would be a force to be reckoned with in Kyushuu. The other judge, my friend Nick, told me that he put his pen down during Shogo’s rebuttal because he was so caught up in watching him make his speech. But, the best part of the day was when Kondo Sensei told me what Shogo said to her…that they could not have done it without me. That made everything, all of the hard work and late nights and frustrations, worth it ten times over. We came back to Omiya with our heads held high to an ecstatic reception from the teachers and principals.

Here we are! This is why I teach…for moments like this.

Long time no post!

Hello everyone! I've been very busy the last month, and finally got time to sit down and write.

Mainly I've been busy helping the school debate team. I coached two teams, first year and second year, and we had the initial contest two weeks ago. My second year team made the finals (yay!) so I have been coaching them after school...I usually don't get home until 7 or 8. They are awesome kids and I hope we can do well in the next round!
Aside from school, I have been making quite a few fun trips with other ALTs. On October 9th, I went to Nobeoka...that is a town about 2 hours north of Miyazaki City. There was a Noh play in the auditorium going on that day, and I met up with some other ALTs there. For those of you who don't know, Noh is a very traditional, slow-moving, hypnotic Japanese play. Of course, it was all in Japanese (and I heard it is archaic Japanese....kind of like modern English speakers watching a Shakespearean play), so I had to guess what was going on by using visual cues. It was very beautiful to watch, but very long....three hours to be exact. I am definitely glad I had the cultural experience, though. That night, I went to an izakaya with some friends. An izakaya is a kind of restaurant in Japan where you can order a lot of beer (yesss) and eat a lot of delicious, unhealthy and fried foods--chicken namban (fried chicken with a tangy sauce), pizza, spring rolls, fried rice....yum!
The next day, Stephanie and Kieran and I walekd around Nobeoka. We ended up seeing the ruins of Shiroyama castle, which were up a very steep hill. After the long climb, the view was definitely worth it.

We also drove around the countryside, and I got some great pictures:

That night, we went to Takanabe town for a lantern festival. This was soooo awesome. It was at night, and it was in this forest clearing with torches and all kinds of people dressed in traditional clothes, so the atmosphere was wonderful. We climbed up a hill, guided by small lanterns, and found ourselves in a forest clearing FILLED with gorgeous, handmade lanterns. It was absolutely stunning. I think I want this at my wedding reception....
The next weekend was equally awesome. I went on a trip to Kagoshima, a nearby prefecture to the south and west of us, with Asha and Ben. They were both awesome travel buddies, and we had a blast. We didn't really make plans, we kind of just went with our instincts, and it worked out really well. We took a train to get there, and the first thing we did upon arrival was wander around aimlessly looking for a hotel. After running into a couple of sketchy ones, including one where the receptionist was clearly inebriated, we found one that suited our fancy, and proceeded to go to a restaurant and get drunk at 3 in the afternoon. awesooommmeee....
Then we decided to go to an onsen, since Kagoshima is famous for them. What with getting off at the wrong stop on the train, and then not being able to find the sand onsen once we made it to the area, it took us a couple hours to get there. But when we did, it was totally worth it!

Basically, we wrapped ourselves in these robes, and then went down to the sand pits on the beach (the actual seashore was steaming, because of the heat below the surface!) and then laid down while people buried us in the warm sand. It was a strange sensation, since the sand was so heavy...I could feel my pulse beating in every part of my body. But it felt really nice.

The next day, we took a ferry ride over to Sakurajima, Kagoshima's active volcano. We spent the whole day on the island, enjoying the views, stopping at a public spa, and enjoying more beer...haha. The volcano was smoking the whole time we were there....I felt kind of like a Hobbit....



This weekend, I went to Saito for the annual fire festival and flower viewing. The first thing we did was wander around, looking at the cosmos flowers. I live in a place where the flowers bloom in November...how lucky am I?? The fields were surrounded by mountains, and there were also some really old burial mounds...we actually walked inside one of them and were slightly creeped out...It was really narrow and low, and the stone walls were covered in moss. We also found some adorable kids who kept following us and trying to talk to us in English. :)

Burial Mound
Then we watched the fire festival. We got to see a replica of a house being burned and some men and women dancing in gorgeous traditional attire...plus a lot of sword and torch wielding. From what I understood, the girls represented the most beautiful princesses in the land, and then the prince had to choose one princess to marry (after this the house was lit on fire....symbolic of the wedding I think) and there was also a reenactment of a battle.There was beautiful music (mainly flutes and drums) as well. Afterwards, we also watched some amazing Taiko drummers.
Now, for some random tidbits I'd like to call "Only in Japan..."
1. It's Colonel Sanders....dressed as Santa Claus! Apparently, in Japan, a lot of people eat KFC at Christmas time. Also, Christmas decorations are already out in the stores....see video below.
2. Where else could you find such an adorable congregation of fuzzy llamas?!
3. Harry Potter 7 movie poster!!!!!!
4. Flowers blooming in my neighborhood....in November
Well, that's all for now! Miss everybody lots!!!!

It's getting cooler...

...thank God!!! When I ride my bike to school in the morning (a 40 minute trek that has some crazy hills to climb), I am much more comfortable. In August and September, I would arrive at school drenched in sweat from the already cruelly hot sun. Now, there is a delicious, cool breeze in the morning and just the right amount of warmth from the sun. Yay! I can't wait until the leaves start changing, although I've been told that that doesn't really happen until November. However, I may regret the loss of the hot weather when it is December and I have to live without central heating for the first time in my life.

I haven't posted for awhile, but life has been sort of calming down recently. I am settling into a routine. I have gotten to the point where I think of my remaining time in Japan with confidence and contentment, as opposed to fear or homesickness (which happened quite frequently at the beginning). I know what is expected of me at school, I am familiar with many of my colleagues, and I have been teaching for about a month. (More about teaching in my other blog...I intend on finally updating that one!) I am also steadily learning more Japanese and have done some admittedly small, but significant, things by myself. For example, I have: gone to the post office and mailed packages, set up wireless internet in my apartment, checked out books from the super nice ladies at the international center (they have a bunch of English books, including Harry Potter!) and bought furniture! Exciting stuff. :)

I haven't done much traveling or gone to any huge social events recently, but I intend on going to some cultural events and festivals in the near future. About three weeks ago, there was a big JET beach party. I had a blast! I was actually able to overcome my shyness--which usually strikes at big social events--and have some really good conversations with several people! Adding to the awesomeness was a beer festival just up the beach. I think I tried 6 or 7 kinds of beer (the best kinds, I thought, were the stout beers....sooooo nutty and delicious)....and a Sam Adams for nostalgia's sake. We also had some grills set up, so I had some delicious grilled chicken and eggplant. Nicole and I hitched a tent and slept on the beach...and in the morning, I got up and watched the sun rise. Absolutely stunning....


That day, I went with Stephanie, Nick, and Keith to an onsen. For those of you who don"t know, an onsen is a Japanese hot spring, or spa. This one was in a hotel right on the beach (with a great ocean view!). This was definitely an interesting experience. There was a male onsen and a female onsen. You go in and completely strip, and then wash your body before getting in the hot spring water. At first this was kind of awkward, being naked with a bunch of strangers, but you get used to it quickly. And the water was soooo clean and rejuvenating. Definitely not like being in a hot tub at, say, a Best Western where you have no idea what sorts of nasty things are in the water. This water was the purest you can get. After relaxing in the hot water, you sit under a little "waterfall" that massages your back and then get into a sauna. When you feel ready to pass out from heat, you submerge yourself in a cold bath. Let me tell you, the sensation of getting in the cold bath after the heat is incredible. I felt soooooo relaxed. Then you can repeat the process. I definitely intend on going back.

A couple of weeks ago, I went with two of my colleagues to the ruins of Obi Castle in Nichinan City. The ruins were stunningly beautiful. I literally felt as though I had time travelled. Where the original castle used to be was the greenest, most peaceful forest I have ever seen. After walking around the ruins, we went on a "tour" of the city as part of our entrance fee. We stopped in an adorable cafe and had a great conversation with the owners, who had been to America. We also got to try some local foods, and pick up some souvenirs.
We also went to a wonderful seafood restaurant for lunch. It was right on the ocean, on a cliff, and the restaurant was filled with little pools where they kept the lobsters and clams. It doesn`t get much fresher than that! They brought us our seafood raw and we cooked it ourselves on a grill next to the table.

I have been having fun with the other JETs in the city--going out to the awesome "80s" bar and karaoke-ing until the wee hours of the morning, having dinner at an awesome Indian restaurant (with the best cheese and garlic nan EVER), and going to yoga classes on Wednesday nights. Last weekend, my apartment buddies and I had a game night at Nicole's apartment and much hilarity ensued. We played "Trailer Park Wars" and re-enacted the scene on the front of the Japanese twister game. Good times :)

For all of you back home, I have good news! I am coming home for Christmas!! I leave Japan on December 18th and will be home until the 6th of January. Can't wait to see everyone!

Love and miss you! :)