Day 33: Basketball

Chuck and did not have English classes today, so my plan was to catch up with my emails and blog entries. It is not often that I get time along to work, and it was not about to happen today at school. Mr. Yukita and Sister Beatrice were back at school today after their near two week trip to America. Mr. Yukita brought me a package of beef jerky for a little taste of home. He administered an English listening test to a group of students before school, so I observed the assessment. The students basically had to look at a picture and pick the correct descriptive phrase out of three possibilities.

This morning I had a meeting with Shimizu Sensei, the head of the committee overseeing my stay and teaching activities here at Notre Dame Elementary. I scheduled the meeting mainly to discuss my formal evaluations, which need to be submitted to St. Norbert College in order for me to graduate. It is a bit frustrating that SNC uses the same evaluation for overseas student teachers as for those people student teaching in the United States. I think that the goals should be the same, but in a place like Japan where the culture and language is so different, I think other factors should be taken into consideration as well. All I know is that I am working hard, doing my best, and seeking out additional teaching opportunities everyday. This Wednesday I will be teaching English to a group of parents, and next week I will be teaching a group of parents about the United States. It will be fun teaching even outside of the regular school hours.

Today I played a ridiculous amount of basketball. During the students recess I was monitoring the students in the gym, which is right next to my office. Instead of just standing there I joined the game along with another teacher. After a lunch of fried pork, fried chicken, vegetables, and rice, I had limited time to work in my office before my next class. Shimizu Sensei asked for me to help her class during their P.E. lesson. We split the class into two groups: dodgeball, and basketball. I took the basketball kids to the Second Court and split them up into two teams. Shimizu Sensei even gave me my own whistle! I felt so powerfulJ. After school today we had our weekly club activities for the students. Guess what I did…Yes, I played basketball. We worked on dribbling the ball different ways before actually playing games. Anytime I can teach, get exercise, and have fun with the kids is great time for me. It was quite humid today, though. This rainy season’s horrible humidity is starting to be a daily occurrence.

After the club activities, Yuko Hotta picked me up and we went to a sports facility where Junpei was getting private swimming lessons. They have a really nice complex, including areas for every type of physical activity: dancing, swimming, weight lifting, racquetball, etc. We watched Junpei swim from a lobby on the floor above. Junpei is funny to watch no matter what he is doing.

For dinner tonight we had some tako (octopus), cheese fondue, unagi (eel), salad, and a sort of omelet with beef inside. Junpei’s grandparents drove here today from Himeiji for a visit; they are great people to spend time with. Junpei’s grandfather is very proud of the things he has built around the house, and the garden which he works on himself. Apparently he got stung by a bee in the garden today. It might not sound like a big deal, but the bees here are huge! They all wanted to see pictures of me and my family again, even though they have seen them before. After looking at all the pictures they told me that I have to bring my girlfriend next time I come to Japan. Junpei’s grandpa smiled and suggested Lindsay and I have our honeymoon at their house in Himeiji! These are the nicest people ever.

Junpei and I built some things with legos for a while in his room. He always wants to play with me. I have come to realize, though, that I do not even need to play. Usually Junpei just wants me to be in the same room. Still, it is fun to actually play with him from time to time. Before long we were all sitting in the living room upstairs watching their favorite baseball team, the Hanshin Tigers. I was tired and went to bed before the end of the game. Tomorrow will be a big day for me, since I will be playing in the 2006 Beatrice Cup Tennis Tournament!