Ketchup!

Okay, so we are well overdue for an update here. I have been a busy fellow. October 10th marked my last day at the mountain school, Ikawa. The day was also an end of term for the students. And as there were only ten of them, each one had to stand up and give a speech. I could not tell you what they spoke about, for it was all Japanese. The seventh graders read their words directly off sheets of paper, the eighth graders had note cards, and the ninth graders had theirs memorized.

As their ceremony ended, the focus shifted toward me, the departing ALT. I stood on stage and the oldest student addressed me of behalf of the students and teachers. I then gave a small speech, and they gave me a couple lovely gifts. I received a photo album of my time there and an Ikawa Mempa, a handmade wooden lunchbox special to the area. At one point before receiving one, I inquired about purchasing such a lunch box. There would have been a three month wait. After their gifts, I gave them mine. I grabbed my guitar and played a song. The night before, the science teacher (whose apartment shares a wall with mine) asked me to play guitar for the teachers and students. I agreed, and shifted through the songs I know, trying to find the appropriate one. I did not find such a song, so I wrote it. At the time of its performance, the song was not yet 12 hours old. Perhaps I will post it here some time, but it is not quite ready yet. Just imagine it to be really fantastic.


With a three day weekend for a buffer, I began my time at my next school, Ozato Junior High. I live on one edge of the downtown area, and Ozato is on the other end of downtown. So it is a perfect 25 minute bike ride away. Lately I have been shopping the raingear aisles as I do intend to bike every single day. On that first day, same as Ikawa, I was asked to stand up and address the student body. Except this time it was 727 students. With 21 separate homerooms, I spent two weeks giving my self introduction lesson.

There is no questioning the differences between the city and country kids. While my last batch was quiet and shy, the current crew is what I would expect of junior high students, but with a splash of elementary maturity. On average I can dedicate at least half my day to staring at my desk, so I try to break it up by strolls through the hall. Without fail, I am confronted by students in the hall, and every conversation goes like this:

Student - “Davin, hello!”
Me - “Hello/hi/howdy”
Student – (giggles)

Sometimes there is a student that will try for a better exchange, and they do alright. But mostly it is the above conversation, and that takes place maybe three dozen times on a slow day. I am the recipient of many giggles and much attention these days. To say that I am irritated or above such attentions, would be false. I do enjoy my current celebrity and do not look forward to its eventual waning. Every teacher should meet such enthusiasm when entering the classroom.

So much more active! While Ikawa’s extracurriculars were limited to badminton, Ozato offers the works. In my free time I wander around and have watched judo, table tennis, art club, basketball, brass band, chorus, kendo, and more. In my self introduction I talk about ultimate Frisbee, and have subsequently been invited to play it with the P.E. class and an enthusiastic group of boys after lunch. One boy in particular is responsible for coming to retrieve me for game play. With them I have also played “police & thieves,” but had to turn down dodgeball, as I was sick. And in doing so, the students were quite concerned.

It goes well. I am digging this placement. The downtime is monotonous, but the rest puts me on my toes. Working alongside four different teachers for 21 classes should keep things shifting.


More to come
And plenty to say
But we’ll pickle that plum
Another day.