a month later . . .

A month later, I can honestly say that I am adjusting well to the Japanese culture and lifestyle. I feel like I have found my rhythm and teaching style at school, and I am finding my way around Yokohama. Exploring the area I live in has been ejoyable now that the weather is cooler and less humid. When I first arrived it was miserable! I cannot imagine what it will be like in the dead of summer.

School has been getting better and better. My writing classes are the best because it is an elective class so the students are truly eager to learn. Plus, they are the S2 level, which is the equivalent of a high school junior in the States. Their comprehension of English is developed enough that I can speak normally and they still understand the basic idea of what I am communicating. That makes class fun. When they try to speak to me in return, it's lots of fun. I appreciate their efforts in speaking English because I know they are shy, but still willing to try. I keep having to remind myself, though, that these girls are working in a foreign language so I cannot pack the class hour with tons of different activites. I usually end up skipping different parts of my lesson because I over-plan. I guess that is better than not planning enough.

I guess my only complaint about school (which really is not a complaint at all) is that I get bored really easily. Now you are probably thinking that I'm a slacker and not working hard enough. Ok, let me explain to you why I get bored easily . . . While student teaching and long-term subbing, I had only one class hour of prep during the day, totaling 5 prep hours a week. I taught all five classes in a row and had last hour as my prep hour. That was rough. I had a headache at the end of every day and often felt light-headed from having to talk so loudly non-stop from 7:45 AM to 1:30 PM. Since my schedule was hectic, I learned how to manage my time so I could leave as soon as possible. Even though it did not always work that way, for the most part, I got better at time management. With my current schedule here, however, I have so much prep time during the day that I get bored. I teach 18 classes per week out of a typical 40-hour work week. Each class is only 45 minutes long. We also have a 30 minute chapel every morning and get 50 minutes for lunch every day. We are required to arrive at 8:10 AM and can leave at 4:10 PM. I always leave right at 4:10, which is really nice. Basically, if I did my math correctly, I teach 13.5 actual hours during the week and have 13.5 hours of prep. All other time is lunch, chapel, and time between classes. What a cushy job, huh?

Last week I filled my time by tracing and coloring pictures of pets for my J1 level classes (7th graders). I laminated them to use in class for a team-version of tic-tac-toe. The girls had fun. Plus, it was nice to have a tangible, visual of the pets to pass around as we were learning about them. This week is mid-term exam week for the students. We have half-days all week long, which is great for us conversaional teachers because since we do not give any tests, we can leave right at 1:00. The other teachers, though, stay later because they have test grading to do, as well as lots of averaging. They calculate grades the old-fashioned way--with paper, a pencil, and a calculator. Talk about time-consuming. Then once the final grade has been calculated, teachers enter students' grades into the special grade computers at school to print out report cards, progress reports, etc. That is where the information is stored. I also have to calculate grades, but once I determine a final grade for my students, my grades get averaged with the English teachers' grades for one overall measure of the students' abilities in English. Basically once my average is calculated, I am done with grades. It's easy.

Aside from school, life is good. I will start teaching Sunday school at Yokohama Union Church, which is right next door, beginning the first week in October. Apparently the church has not had a Sunday school for kids for several years now, so another lady came forth and volunteered herself to start one. The problem was, though, that she could only commit to the 2nd and 4th Sundays of every month. The situation was mentioned to me, and I volunteered to cover the 1st and 3rd Sundays. I would love to teach every Sunday, but for now we are alternating. Apparently there are a lot of English-speaking children in this area, so if we can build a strong enough children's program here, I think that will draw in more numbers for the church!! Let's hope so!! Pray for us . . .

Green House is also going well. We do not officially open until October 22nd, though, but students have been coming anyway. We never turn them away if they come so we have been gathering together just to hang-out. Most girls at the schools that we (meaning Green House team members) teach at are not Christians, so when they come, we really try to welcome them by making it an enjoyable experience. It's time for fellowship, English-practice, snacks, and tea. :) Once we get started with Green House, I'll be able to give more information and specifics on how it is set-up or run.

The longer I am in Yokohama, the more I try to figure out what my purpose will be here. You know me, I am organized and like to have my ducks in a row, but in this situation, I am learning to let God lead. I think of it as a dance--just God and me. If I try to lead, the dance is not fluid, not beautiful, and we end up stepping on each other's toes. However, if I let God lead as it should be, the dance is smooth, enjoyable, breathtaking. There are surprises with every turn and spin, but going through the thrill of the surprise and then returning safely to the arms of your dance partner is what makes the dance so liberating.

first week of school

Finally coming to Friday was such a great feeling. The only downfall is, though, that I did not teach a full week of classes because school did not officially start with students until Wednesday this week. I at least got in three days of teaching. Every class went better and better, which I am thankful for.

My very first class was kind of a flop because my pace was too quick and I'm sure the students didn't understand what I was communicating to them. Also, this class is a writing class, so comprehension is key. I am not allowed to speak in Japanese to the students, though. The native English speakers get in trouble if we do so! That really makes things difficult for writing. My next class after that went great, though. This class is the youngest grade level: J1, which would be the equivalent of 7th grade in the US. They're really cute and I felt bad because they sat there with their mouths gaping open, completely overwhelmed with all my English. I think I was speaking too fast as well. Nevertheless we played some singing games to help them practice their introductions and practice saying things like, "this is..." or "that is..." Fun stuff.

A lot of my classes are giggly and wiggly and just plain girly. They like to snicker and turn around in their seats to say little things here and there to each other. I nipped that in the butt right from the start with all the classes I have had so far. I simply explained that when I am talking, they are not. Most of them sat there with their mouths gaping open in shock, but I didn't have a peep out of them during inappropriate times for the remainder of class.

These girls are so funny. On the first day of classes, I was walking with Nathan (another conversational English teacher who is also the manager of the Green House long with his wife, Nozomi) to our first class because they were near each other. Some girls said, "atarashii sensei?" asking if I was the new teacher. Nathan nodded and the girls responded by saying, "kawaiiiiiiiiiii!!" They were calling me "cute." It's funny hearing that come from students who are younger than me. Anyway, I got that a lot during the day. Other girls would see me and, not recognizing my face, call out, "Kyasarin?" (katharine?) I would turn, smile, and wave. During class, though, I asked my students to all call me Ms. Herbert as we are instructed to be called by the English department. I thought it was cute that students were calling me by my first name and so excited to see me.

Definitely, the welcome from the students has been the greatest. They are so enthusiastic to meet me! Most of them are shy and hesitant to come up to me, but I simply smile a lot and try to be as welcoming and approachable as I possibly can be. At the same time, though, I make sure to start off strict so the students come to respect me as their teacher rather than a new foreigner. I feel confident about the year so far, so that is reassuring.

We also had our first Green House meeting on Thursday. We are hoping to use the first month as team building time so there were no students. We prayed over the ministry and shared our summer events with one another. I am hoping for an excellent year. Please pray for us.