Week 2

Our second week is now drawing to a close. It certainly feels a lot longer than that since we stepped off the plane in Tokyo.

Kobe skyline

We kicked off the week with a trip to a junior high school and some talks on how to be a good ALT. We picked up plenty of useful info to get us going.This then finished quite early so we had a chance to go shopping in the Sannomiya (the main shopping area of the city).

On Tuesday we headed to our schools for the first time. I set off a touch too early and ended up getting to school over an hour early! The school itself looks like something out of the cold war. Technology is certainly very sparse inside the school too. I will try to remember to take some pictures soon.

The teachers are all very friendly and the Kyoto Sensai (vice-principle) speaks English which is a huge help as he is my boss. I was taken on a tour of the school which is pretty empty as no classes are running. The school sports clubs are all in full swing so I got to watch some of a girls basketball match. I am to be teaching 2^nd grade only. This will amount to about 7 lessons a week with one day spent in an Elementary school. My first day was only a half day as I had to get back to the flat to have the landline phone connected.  With landline fitted we are now only a few short weeks from having our own internet. Over 50mbps speeds at £15 a month oooooooh yeaaaaah!

Wednesday was a full day in school and I was taken out to a lovely soba restaurant as a welcome to the school. The teachers I was with told me I looked very old for 24 but otherwise they were nice. The rest of the day was spent reading teaching materials to figure out what I am supposed to be doing. I’ve been told to keep games to a minimum as some of the classes are difficult to control. We shall have to see how much of that is true and think of other ways in which to motivate the kids into speaking English.

Thursday and Friday were spent at the board of education building doing Japanese language lessons. This was great fun even though Rachel and I were put in the intermediate class so it was quite challenging. However, in the end the difference between the intermediate class and the beginners wasn’t too great. The advanced class on the other hand just spent their time chatting away in Japanese. We were taught a lot of vocabulary and verb use that would help us make construct self-introductions in Japanese. I will be required to stand up in front of the school in September and a give a short speech in Japanese.

After Thursdays lesson we went over to a 280 Yen restaurant (where all dishes and drinks are 280 yen) and had a little party. The grub, the beer and the company were great. Was a good way to have a cheap night too!

ALTs unwind after a hard days learning

We finished off our lessons on Friday by giving a speech about ourselves in Japanese in front of the other jets and some of the board of education staff.  I managed to memorise my little speech and it seemed to go down well. After speeches it was time to head to the Hub for happy hour. The Hub is a British themed pub with cheap drinks and giant Gin & Tonics. The place pretty much had every JET in Kobe in it. Dining was catered for a nearby Ramen restaurant. I had a spicy Ramen at level two spiciness (out of a total of five levels), which was still enough to make my lips go numb. An after party was then held at a tiny place owned by the brother of one of the board of education managers.  The place was miniscule but we had some nice snacks of fresh tomatoes and deep fried shrimp and the drink was kept flowing. The Board of education manager actually ended up popping in and taught us all a good Japanese drinking game.

The smallest bar in the world

To round the week off there was the beach party on Saturday. We volunteered to help deliver the food and booze from Costco to the beach via a bus and a train. This meant having to get up in the morning but we were willing ot make that sacrifice for the greater good. This was especially as we wanted a Costco membership so that we can get things delivered from there. The food included two foot wide pizzas, wraps, sushi, cookies, crisps and muffins the size of a baby’s head!

A feast fit for gaijin (foreigners)

Throwing the wannabe rugby ball

On the beach I tried my hand at some American football and wasn't terrible at it. Throughout the day I did a bit of swimming along with general mingling and getting to know people. Plenty of food, drink and fun was had by all.  The evening was then concluded with fireworks on the water’s edge, although the firework operators were somewhat inebriated. We all got out alive and another crammed full week is now over, plus we have summer school games to look forward to next week!