Spirited Away

It’s exam week.  You know, as a teacher, I’ve found that you really want all of your students to do well on the test.  Even the ones that drive you nuts in class.  You want to see them succeed and you want to see that smile they get when they see a good grade.  You can just imagine them going home and showing that test to their parents with pride.

Unfortunately, not all of them do well.  Most of my students have done pretty well so far.  I even had a 100%.  But there are a few scores that just made my heart sink.  I found myself looking over those tests again trying to find a way to add a point here or there.  Not that that would be fair to the other students.  And I didn’t change any grades, but oh I wanted to!  How can I give a student a 55%?  Or a  40%?  But that’s what the student earned.  I just hope they aren’t crushed.

I’m in the middle of preparing the semester exams for my classes and it got me thinking about something: What is the deal with these students being so stressed over this exam?  I mean, they really are.  The ones that are old enough to comprehend that they’re taking a test, that is.  The little ones just think it’s another activity

I guess part of the issue is the attitude toward education here in Japan.  They take it much more seriously than Americans do (as a whole - there are plenty of serious American students out there, as well as a few “lazy” Japanese ones).  For them, there is a right answer for everything.  Any other answer is unacceptable.  And for things like grammar, math, science, this can certainly be true.  2 + 2 is always 4; you can’t debate about it.  But what about the rest?  What about learning how to have a conversation?  In America, I think we learn from an early age how to express what we think.  That’s how adults speak, so we learn to copy them.   The freedom to express ourselves is very important to us, so it’s natural for us to learn how to do it, even at the expense of good grammar.  Granted, sometimes we Americans don’t censor ourselves as much as we should, which makes us seem outspoken and rude at times.  But what is conversation if it isn’t about making yourself understood to someone else?  Having come from this way of thinking, I find that when I learn a new language, I want to learn the basics ASAP so that I can convey my meaning.  So what if I conjugate a verb incorrectly?  If I say “Can I have drink water?”,  someone is bound to understand I’m asking for a drink of water.  I don’t get embarrassed if I don’t say it properly.  Besides, that’s how you learn - by practicing and being corrected.

I’m definitely not saying that Japanese people don’t know how to express themselves.  They certainly do, as long as it’s in their own language.  But when it comes to learning a different language, I think they get so concerned about speaking properly, that they fail to say anything at all.   I think they feel that if they can’t say it properly, they shouldn’t even try.  Why risk a “wrong answer”?  So they don’t try.  I’ve observed this sort of uncomfortableness and unwillingness to speak English several times since I got here.  It’s not at all a desire to be rude; it’s actually the opposite.  I think they’re afraid I’ll think they’re ignorant.  Which, of course, I never would.

So my dilemma is this: How do I teach confidence?  I can drill them and drill them on grammar all day long and they’d be perfectly happy to answer me.  But that doesn’t help them learn how to converse.  What, are they going to write notes to foreigners?  Do they plan on only using the dialogues in their textbooks (Do you like Latin music?  No, I don’t.  Is that your bag?  Yes, it is)?   One way or another, they have to learn how to speak.  I’m sure God didn’t intend for us to have fellowship in silence.  The trick is finding a way to help and encourage them overcome their anxiety.

I do want to say that I am so very thankful to all the people here who HAVE tried their hardest to speak to me in English.  There are many of them - translators, co-workers, students.  They’ve been an invaluable source of encouragement as well as information.  My hope is that they are the example that these students will follow.

I was talking to a visiting pastor recently and he asked how I came into a relationship with Christ.  When he heard that I was taught as a girl to mistrust Christians, and that no one else in my family is a believer, he replied, “Wow.  So it really is a miracle that you became a Christian.”  I had never thought of it this way.  But I guess it’s true.  What a miracle that, against all the odds, I was drawn into a saving relationship with Jesus.  What a miracle that, even though my family was telling me that this gift being offered to me was fake/bad/dangerous, God opened my heart to take it.  But then I started thinking that it’s ALWAYS a miracle whenever anyone accepts Christ.  Yes, there are people that have a little help or encouragement from friends or family.  But the rest of the world is against us.  It claims to offer us freedom, happiness, and so much more than Jesus can.  And isn’t it against our very nature to accept salvation through Christ?  We want what we want, and we are convinced we can do it ourselves.  No matter how intelligent or sweet the words of our loved ones, they cannot change what’s in our hearts.

Thank you, Lord, so much for the miracle of this new life in Christ Jesus.

For homework last week, I assigned one of my classes to make a list of adjectives that can be both negative and positive, depending on the usage.  They then had to use it in one positive sentence and one negative sentence.  One of my students chose the word “smart.”  Her usage was absolutely correct, but I had to chuckle at her negative example sentence:

Positive: His son was very smart.

Negative: Don’t get smart with me.

I love being an English teacher!

Well, the inevitable has finally come to pass: some of my students have figured out that I don’t understand Japanese.  Not that this is a very interesting revelation in itself.  But if you follow a certain train of logic (which, mercifully, not all of my students are capable of), you will come to the horrifying conclusion that I have no power to control the class.  Yes, it’s true.  While I may have been an imposing, if not a little short, figure to the NSC Youth Group, none of it matters if you can’t speak the language.  Consequently, I lost COMPLETE control of my class last week.  And I truly mean complete.  It happened the moment the Japanese helpers (Nozomi and Mrs. Taniguchi) left the room.  The students had been a little feisty even with them there, but as soon as they walked out, all hell broke loose.  They were shouting.  They were chasing one another.  They were hiding behind the movable bulletin boards.  One of them, I kid you not, was jumping up and down on a table.  And there was absolutely nothing I could do.  I didn’t know how to reprimand them in Japanese, and they pretended not to understand my English.  All I could do was stare around the room slack-jawed and disbelieving. It was like something out of a movie.

Rest assured, Mrs. Taniguchi came back in, quickly assessed the situation from the hallway, and entered the room  shouting in an extremely commanding voice.  I have no idea what she said, but it took only seconds for them to sit down and close their mouths.  She was pretty frightening.  Most of them looked more than a little scared.

I think I will ask Nishikawa sensei to teach me some basic commands during my next Japanese lesson.  Maybe even some not-so-basic ones, such as “Stop jumping up and down on that desk right now!”  or, “Don’t make me get Mrs. Tanaguchi!”

Do you know what the difference between an American barbeque and a Japanese barbeque is?  As I mentioned before, they were all wearing sweatshirts.  But the biggest difference was the food.  When I hear the word “barbeque”, it conjures up pictures of hamburgers and hotdogs, sometimes chicken, potato salad and watermelon.  My mouth actually starts watering.  But here’s what the menu was at the Japanese barbeque I attended:

- Fish, grilled until it was black and crispy (which might have been a mistake)

- Squid

- Some kind of weird jello/tofu type thing that I’ve seen before and tastes like absolutely nothing but they say it’s healthy so I ate it anyway, grilled

- Yakisoba (fried noodles)

- Rice (of course)

- Butajiru (miso soup with pork)

Make no mistake, it was delicious!  Just very odd.  I mean, soup?

On a completely unrelated topic, I found out that some of my English students here in Japan are now reading my blog.  How exciting!  I’m so proud of them!

Last Saturday, I was teaching my high school class about homestays and the different rooms found in a house.  You know: kitchen, bathroom, living room, etc.  So they were asking about a living room and I was trying to tell them about living rooms vs. family rooms, and I finally just “drew” a picture of the house I lived in when I was their age.  They were shocked at the size!  Believe me, we did NOT have a huge house, at least not by American standards.  It was good-sized, but I had plenty of friends with larger ones.  It was great - I have never seen them so interested in anything else I’ve taught so far.  The thing that surprised them the most, though, was that we had more than one bathroom.  They just could not wrap their heads around having more than one toilet or shower.  They all said they wanted to move to America after that

Another big difference here is the way people dress for the weather.  Lately, it’s been in the high 70’s  and even as high as 80 here.   I know many of you girls will understand when I tell you that I painted my toenails and broke out the sandals and capris.  But no kidding, I went to a barbeque on Tuesday and people were still wearing sweatshirts.  And I was the one they talked about!  Jen and her “summer style”.  You know what?  It’s warm!  I’m guessing that this is cool weather compared to what will come in the real summer months, and maybe I’ll be sorry that I gave in so quickly.  But there is no way I am going to wear a sweatshirt when I’m standing out in the sun on an 80 degree day.   So let them say, “Oh, she dresses like such an… American.”  Let them gawk at my awesome summer tan that seems to be completely unacceptable and ridiculous here!  It’s fine.  If I have to be forced to live in a tiny box of an apartment, then I might as well be comfortable and look good doing it

I haven’t had any problems with the food here thus far.  There have been some interesting dishes, but overall I’ve really enjoyed Japanese food and have not really missed food from home too much.  But Saturday night, I came home after class and it smelled like someone in the apartment was cooking tacos.  It just about killed me.

(Actually written on March 26th.　Sorry for the delay)

After observing Japanese television these last 2 months, I have learned an important fact: No one in the Japanese entertainment industry is a match for the juggernaut that is SMAP.  Believe it or not, SMAP is a boy band.  Their name stands for Sports Music Assemble People.  Neither one of these facts will help you to understand why SMAP is so big in Japan.  Honestly, I don’t know that anyone can explain it, yet it’s true that you can turn on almost any channel at any time and you will see at least one member of SMAP.  They sing, act in TV dramas and films, lend voices to anime characters, do commercials, host variety shows, and participate on various game shows.  They are EVERYWHERE.  They have this one variety show called “SMAP x SMAP”, and a segment of it is “Bistro SMAP.”  During this segment, they don chef’s hats and cook for guest stars.  Cameron Diaz, Madonna and Will Smith have all appeared on the show, so you know it’s fairly popular here.  They also parody various TV shows (many of them their own) and sing with guest stars on their show.  Last night, they sang with pop group has-beens Toto, known for such 80’s classics as ”Rosanna” and “Africa” .  It was one of their more pathetic episodes.

The thing that makes them different from U.S. products like Backstreet Boys and N’Sync is that they have been wildly successful both together and in pursuing their own projects, without having to resort to “reality” shows like “Nick & Jessica.”  You never see them on the news because of a “wardrobe malfunction” or a drunken brawl (though I read that one of the member was involved in a “traffic altercation” some years ago and was banned from public appearances with the group for a short time).  I have no idea what they are really like, but they seem like the nicest bunch of guys you’d ever meet.  I assume they’re funny, because there seems to be a lot of laughing on their variety shows.  They’re not all great singers (maybe only 2 of them are pretty good, 2 are so-so, and 1 should just have his mic shut off), but they’re determined and sincere.  I guess that gets you pretty far here, because people keep buying their CDs and watching their shows.    

Another note about Japanese TV is that is sometimes throws me off when I see Amaerican stars on commercials.  Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Cameron Diaz, Tommy Lee Jones and Orlando Bloom are all currently in TV commercials here.  And Tommy Lee Jones’ face can be seen frowning from many drink vending machines around town, as he is the spokesmodel for Boss beverages.  The first time I saw Brad Pitt in a commercial, I didn’t realize it was him until the commercial was over.  I had to think for a second and remember where I was.  Alright, and I know you’re wondering what my reaction was to the Orlando Bloom commercials.  He does commercials for a product line called UNO.  One commercial is for hair wax, and the other is for face wash.  I saw the hair wax one first when I was half-asleep and thought I was dreaming.  I hate to admit it, but he’s even a bad commercial actor, and I don’t feel the slightest inclinaiton to buy UNO products.

Sometimes, the urge to goof around in class is overwhelming.  For instance, when we are repeating sentences like, “Brush the dog.  Pet the cat.  Pick up the hamster.  Feed the fish,”  I just want to say, “Kick the dog. Slap the cat.  Step on the hamster.  Flush the fish.”  I mean, I would never actually DO those things, nor would I encourage anyone else to do them.  The ASPCA does not need to put me on a 10 Most Wanted list or anything.  But I just want to see if they’re listening, or mindlessly repeating.  The adults are easy.  I slip things into the dialogues with them.  For example, we were working on apologies one day, so the conversation sounded something like this:

“I’m sorry for setting your house on fire.”

“That’s okay.”

“This is the first time I’ve ever set someone’s house on fire.  I feel terrible.”

“Don’t worry about it.  These things happen.”

The class really liked that one.  I just hope they don’t think that it’s common in America for neighbors to go around setting one another’s houses on fire.