Day 24: 3rd Grade Classes

This morning's breakfast was typical Japanese traditional breakfast: miso soup, salted salmon, an egg roll, and rice with edamame (fermented beans). The beans were the interesting part of the meal, because I have heard a lot about them before actually eating them. Maybe it is better to just try new foods and hear about them from other people afterwards. That is if the food in question is not necessarily liked by all. The beans have an interesting scent to them, since they are fermented. Naomi showed me how to add the packet of sauce and stir the beans until they have a somewhat gummy consistency. The visual appeal, nor the smell, is not all that appealing. We put the beans on our rice and then gave them a try. They were...okay. Without the rice, they probably would taste just plain bad, but with the rice they were okay. The rest of the meal was great.

Before my classes today I had time to watch the production of the morning TV show by Notre Dame Broadcasting (a.k.a. the students). It had been a while since I had called my parents, so I called my mom's cell phone with a program on my computer called Skype. Using Skype it only costs me two cents a minute to call anywhere in the world! It is a great deal for anyone really. It was great talking to my mom and dad and seeing what is going on back home. I am enjoying my experience here, but I also miss my family, friends, and the fun summer activities in Wisconsin that I am used to. I can just picture the calmness of Mid Lake outside our cabin in Woodruff, Wisconsin. It would be nice to eat with the family, go fishing, ride the jetski, and play softball on Friday nights in Stoughton. I suppose that in life, it is best to break the mold once in a while. I was super excited to receive my package the other day as well. My mom sent me some things I didn't pack in my suitcase, and I was ecstatic when I got the call that a package had arrived for me. I knew it was coming, but I nearly forgot after all the happenings of the day. Just a simple note can really make my day, or anyone's day. So, never hesitate to give that little bit just to show you are thinking of someone.

Our classes with the third graders today went well. We worked numbers again today, focusing on the difference between __teen and __ty (ex. sixteen and sixty). I went through the numbers with the students repeating after me. It is always fun to test their knowledge and listening skills by saying things like, "twelve and two-ty." The catch on quickly and correct my mistakes: "No, it is twenty." This month's curriculum for English has us teaching new terms as well as new phrases. One of the sets requires us to teach transportation terms. Today I gave a quiz on different transportation terms. Before we get into practicing the terms and learning new ones, we need to assess the students current ability levels. They have not formally been taught many transportation terms, but the students can absorb new information and new English from numerous sources here in Japan. Overall, the students had a good understanding of the terms, but their vocabulary can definitely be expanded. We studied time, which is an addition to the existing curriculum, using the PowerPoint and the students' class schedule on the chalkboard.

After school I went to help with the advanced English classes. Little did I know that it was a party having a lot to do with me. We combined all of the classes for one large session in the lower level. The students each introduced themselves and then asked me a question. Most of the questions were simple: favorite food, favorite color, etc. Of course, there was one little boy with very probing questions. He asked me, "how many girlfriends do you have?" He was funny to talk with. After the interview questions we played a charades game using different types of animals. The kids really enjoyed acting like animals and guessing what their friends pretended to be. Lastly, Afrela made me play some songs on the guitar for the kids, since she heard I like to play. Before going home I spent some time on the computer preparing the lesson for the fourth graders tomorrow.

When I arrived at the Pieczulewski's home, there were two energized young girls waiting for me: Naomi and Sara. The two of them thought of a game which basically involved me walking around the house picking up polished stones they threw everywhere. At first they told me there were 59 stones, then 69, then 79, then 99, and then I quit. I had found most of the stones, but a game with ever-changing rules is not often entertaining. The games of tag and hide & seek which followed the stone game were fun. They have so much energy it is amazing. Sachiko made some curry rice and chicken for dinner! It was awesome!