She’s everywhere. Serene and regal, her image stalks me from ad posters plastered all over the walls of almost every commuter train station I pass through. She’s always photographed against iconic Japanese backgrounds: a serene temple surrounded by deer and cherry blossom trees, a ryokan inn heated by the steam of a nearby hot spring. […]
“Teaching” English
Once Bitten
From a student’s homework: My son practice the kendo, that is traditional Japanese sport using a wood sord [sic]. He always come home after practice with crying because he was bitten by his teacher for learning the Japanese samurai’s spirit. “For,” is a tricky beast, with about as many grammatical uses as an octopus has […]
Hostess Cupcake
The two year-olds have been ganging up on me lately, ever since Kazuya had the brilliant idea of asking me if class was over when it was only halfway through. Because I feigned hurt feelings, Kazuya decided this was to be our inside joke and now asks me if class is finished every 30 […]
Sticker Theory
Stickers are a joy. I’d long forgotten their simple charm but upon accepting a job working with children, stickers have once again permeated my world. I absolutely love buying stickers. The stationery and gift store near my apartment has racks and racks of them marching along the walls, offering a bewildering variety of shapes and […]
Campfire Stories from Japan, Part II
Before I resume my Campfire Tales from Japan, I would like to share with you my first attempt at creating a soumen experience at home: Another picture of food: I must really be turning Japanese. From the left corner: grilled eggplant and pumpkin, meat croquettes, Sean’s bowl of tsuyu dipping sauce, chilled soumen, tako su […]
Campfire Stories from Japan
Back, now, from the summer camp I was trying to prepare for last week when the humidity locked me inside. It’s been blissfully rainy and cool for the past couple of days, which means the door now opens easily and I take advantage of it to the fullest, sometimes swinging it open and shut simply […]
Rewrites
After the day’s grammar lesson, our adult students have the opportunity to tell us a brief story, so that we can check their grammar. Part of the reason our students come to our school is for hardcore corrections, the reasoning being that without the correction, they could just crack open an English textbook with their […]
Sleeping in Coffins
This is the comic strip I think of each Friday when I encounter Mia, one of my 4 year old students, in the bathroom right before class. In addition to sharing a 3:30 appointment, Mia and I also apparently share a bathroom schedule, which I think says more about my recent green tea overload than […]
Freedom of Speech
The children aren’t supposed to speak Japanese in class, but they do. I’m supposed to discourage them but, out of laziness and selfishness, I don’t. Lazy, because when they speak Japanese to each other I can tell if they understand the day’s lesson and selfish because I’ve learned more than a few good turns of […]
Old and/or Clueless
My students have discovered that I – old and therefore clueless – might know something worth knowing from time to time. In between learning games, they love to find out exactly what knowledge is rattling around in this aged brain o’ mine. “Mario to Luigi shitteru?” they demand. “Yeah, I know Mario and Luigi.” “Ehhhhhhhh!!!!!!” […]