My Work of Art
I have a real love/hate relationship with my job. On the one hand, I absolutely love what I do. Teaching English in Japan is perhaps one of the most fun things I have ever done in my life, and I recommend it for anyone. You never know what to expect from these kids, and they’ll always surprise you, whether they know more English then you expect (fuck your sumimasen), just sit there in class and stare at you in complete confusion and apathy, or make an attempt to grab your junk (which, I’m happy to say, hasn’t happened in a while).
On the other hand, I really hate some aspects of my job. I’m at Nishi Joyo right now, and I have two days left here. Then I leave, and don’t return for at least a year. I’ll never see these sannensei again in my life, and by the time I return, most of the students will have forgotten me. The teachers realize I’m here for such a short time, and thus find little reason to start any type of communication. Also, while I can tell that while I’m here I make a difference in the students’ ability, once I leave any progress I’ve made will be offset once more by half assed teachers and a lack of interest in English. So, really, what’s the point?
Still, though, I’m learning to enjoy the time I do have at each school. Here at Nishi, I experience something I never thought in my life would happen. If I walk down the ninensei hall, a group of girls will start chanting my name while doing an impromptu dance. How often in your life can you say that you spur people into spontaneous song and dance routines? I thought the same thing.
In class, we’ve been learning about Halloween. I give a little spiel about what you do on Halloween, and then I introduce some Halloween words. They’re simple things, like ghosts, carving pumpkins, trick or treat, black cat, etc. For the most part, when I’m talking about Halloween and explaining the words, the kids don’t give a damn, which is completely understandable. Then, we play pictionary… and that’s when the fun begins.
When a teacher asked me to think up a game for the Halloween lesson, I chose pictionary simply because Suzie and I were talking about it last week. I didn’t think either the teacher or the students would go for it, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. The students, even the bad students who typically sleep in class, really get into the idea. Their pictures, however, are not always what I’d expect.
For example, one round in a sannensei class, I gave the word “mummy.” One group’s artist proceeded to draw a gigantic penis. I was walking around the classroom, and of course noticed the gigantic penis on the paper, and pointed at it and said, “What the heck are you doing?” The student apologized and quickly drew bandages wrapping said penis. The group immediately guessed the correct answer.
Today I also had a unique experience to involve myself in Japanese traditional craft making… or something like that. For the final two periods of the day, artisans from Kyoto came in to teach the ninensei how to make this Japanese piece of… art… and then each student got to try their hand at it. Naturally, not wanting to miss such an opportunity, I joined right in.
Said artwork is actually much more basic than I made it seem. Essentially, you take a sheet of copper. Then, with a hammer and chisel, you make a series of indentations in the copper of a design you previously drew. The copper is then covered in with these funky gold flakes, and the result, if done properly, is actually kind of pretty. Not being able to draw, I printed out the kanji (Kanji means Japanese writing. Are you happy, Joe?) for Walrus (海象) and decided that would be my design.
Now, I know this sounds rather simple. Just hammer a series of dots, right? I figured much the same until I started. Upon hitting the chisel for the first time, I was immediately assaulted by the three Japanese artisans assigned to my classroom, speaking in very harsh tones and then taking away my hammer and chisel. At this point, I was a little scared (I had seemingly angry Japanese people now armed standing over me) and sad (I wanted to make my copper plate, dammit!).
Thankfully, all I had done was hit the thing way too hard and put a hole in the copper and a dent in the desk. After the artisans showed me repeatedly how to properly hammer the chisel, I was allowed to resume my work. I should also mention here that throughout this entire endeavor, I took up the attention of the artisans. They were supposed to help the 35 students in the classroom, but instead, they just helped me. I love being a foreigner.
After most students finished their projects, I just hung around chatting with the teacher. Soon, a plethora of the boys decided it was time to test my might. I was then involved in about 20 arm wrestling matches. I am proud to say I won, but the last 10 or so got to be kind of difficult. This was not because I tired, but rather the students, in a desperate attempt to beat me, began to cheat. First they used two hands, but it ended up instead just two boys grabbing my arm and pulling it to one side. I’m glad to know that if it even became necessary, I have more strength in my right arm then two 14-year-old Japanese boys. This may come in handy if they should start going for my junk again.
During the arm wrestling matches, one of the male teachers wandered into the classroom, and joined in the battle of strength with the students. However, once I sat down across from him, he fled the room. I mean, he just ran the hell out of there.
I strike terror in the hearts of the Japanese.
On the other hand, I really hate some aspects of my job. I’m at Nishi Joyo right now, and I have two days left here. Then I leave, and don’t return for at least a year. I’ll never see these sannensei again in my life, and by the time I return, most of the students will have forgotten me. The teachers realize I’m here for such a short time, and thus find little reason to start any type of communication. Also, while I can tell that while I’m here I make a difference in the students’ ability, once I leave any progress I’ve made will be offset once more by half assed teachers and a lack of interest in English. So, really, what’s the point?
Still, though, I’m learning to enjoy the time I do have at each school. Here at Nishi, I experience something I never thought in my life would happen. If I walk down the ninensei hall, a group of girls will start chanting my name while doing an impromptu dance. How often in your life can you say that you spur people into spontaneous song and dance routines? I thought the same thing.
In class, we’ve been learning about Halloween. I give a little spiel about what you do on Halloween, and then I introduce some Halloween words. They’re simple things, like ghosts, carving pumpkins, trick or treat, black cat, etc. For the most part, when I’m talking about Halloween and explaining the words, the kids don’t give a damn, which is completely understandable. Then, we play pictionary… and that’s when the fun begins.
When a teacher asked me to think up a game for the Halloween lesson, I chose pictionary simply because Suzie and I were talking about it last week. I didn’t think either the teacher or the students would go for it, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. The students, even the bad students who typically sleep in class, really get into the idea. Their pictures, however, are not always what I’d expect.
For example, one round in a sannensei class, I gave the word “mummy.” One group’s artist proceeded to draw a gigantic penis. I was walking around the classroom, and of course noticed the gigantic penis on the paper, and pointed at it and said, “What the heck are you doing?” The student apologized and quickly drew bandages wrapping said penis. The group immediately guessed the correct answer.
Today I also had a unique experience to involve myself in Japanese traditional craft making… or something like that. For the final two periods of the day, artisans from Kyoto came in to teach the ninensei how to make this Japanese piece of… art… and then each student got to try their hand at it. Naturally, not wanting to miss such an opportunity, I joined right in.
Said artwork is actually much more basic than I made it seem. Essentially, you take a sheet of copper. Then, with a hammer and chisel, you make a series of indentations in the copper of a design you previously drew. The copper is then covered in with these funky gold flakes, and the result, if done properly, is actually kind of pretty. Not being able to draw, I printed out the kanji (Kanji means Japanese writing. Are you happy, Joe?) for Walrus (海象) and decided that would be my design.
Now, I know this sounds rather simple. Just hammer a series of dots, right? I figured much the same until I started. Upon hitting the chisel for the first time, I was immediately assaulted by the three Japanese artisans assigned to my classroom, speaking in very harsh tones and then taking away my hammer and chisel. At this point, I was a little scared (I had seemingly angry Japanese people now armed standing over me) and sad (I wanted to make my copper plate, dammit!).
Thankfully, all I had done was hit the thing way too hard and put a hole in the copper and a dent in the desk. After the artisans showed me repeatedly how to properly hammer the chisel, I was allowed to resume my work. I should also mention here that throughout this entire endeavor, I took up the attention of the artisans. They were supposed to help the 35 students in the classroom, but instead, they just helped me. I love being a foreigner.
After most students finished their projects, I just hung around chatting with the teacher. Soon, a plethora of the boys decided it was time to test my might. I was then involved in about 20 arm wrestling matches. I am proud to say I won, but the last 10 or so got to be kind of difficult. This was not because I tired, but rather the students, in a desperate attempt to beat me, began to cheat. First they used two hands, but it ended up instead just two boys grabbing my arm and pulling it to one side. I’m glad to know that if it even became necessary, I have more strength in my right arm then two 14-year-old Japanese boys. This may come in handy if they should start going for my junk again.
During the arm wrestling matches, one of the male teachers wandered into the classroom, and joined in the battle of strength with the students. However, once I sat down across from him, he fled the room. I mean, he just ran the hell out of there.
I strike terror in the hearts of the Japanese.
posted by S A B at 7:29 AM
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