That's what April brings -- new life. We celebrated Easter not too long ago, and this year especially I was reminded of how precious Easter should be to us. I won't lie, but I easily get caught-up in the busyness of life and the routines of my daily schedule, so I often forget to take a step back to really remember the purpose of what I'm doing or even celebrating. It gets really hard, especially when the commercialism for holidays definitely overpowers the origin and true meaning to what we are celebrating. In Japan, Easter isn't recognized like Christmas or Valentine's Day, so I wasn't distracted by the Easter bunny, pastel candies, and chocolate eggs. Instead, this year I could focus on being with my church family by celebrating Christ's resurrection with them. The night before Easter, I felt excitement and anticipation as I lay down to sleep much like a little kid on Christmas Eve, eager for morning to come. I had never felt that before.Then Easter morning came. I can't even describe my sense of 'completeness' as I entered the sanctuary and saw the families that I have grown to know and love all there to celebrate Christ's resurrection. He is alive and we were constantly reminded of that throughout the day. After the service, we were supposed to do お花見 (ohanami) which is "cherry blossom viewing" by having a picnic at Motomachi Park, however, the temperature was pretty cold, so we had our picnic in the sanctuary, then walked together through the park and around Yamate-cho where I live.
Beautiful.Walking through the park for ohanami felt as if all of creation was celebrating Christ's resurrection with the rebirth of nature. The cherry blossoms were in full bloom and the greenery was brightening into a livelier shade. For me, this was the best way to celebrate Easter.
The following Friday we began classes for the new school year. I teach the same grade levels this year, which is great, but my class schedule has all changed. On Mondays I teach 2 classes, Tuesdays I don't teach any classes at all, but still have to be at school, then Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays I teach five classes each day. The J3 (9th grade) students I had last year are now S1 (10th grade) students so I get to teach them two years in a row! I am so excited about that because these students last year were our core group to come to Green House. I am hoping that another year with them will strengthen our relationship and that hopefully I can continue to plant seeds. Along with them, I am also teaching an English composition class. Once again, I taught these students last year as S1 students, so I am hoping that the same relationship will continue with them. This class is great because there are only 15 girls, so I can really invest a lot of my time in their writing to help them develop their skills. We are working on a journaling project, and through their journals, I plan to actually write back to them to cultivate a sense of trust to develop relationships even further.
Now for the biggest change -- my new J1 students. These are the students who are fresh out of elementary school, completely new to Ferris. They are so cute! Right now they walk around all wide-eyed and fresh-faced, excited to have passed the entrance exam into Ferris, and yet completely intimidated by the next six years they will spend here. They look like little elementary school girls wearing Ferris' uniform. :o) Their first week of classes is designed as an orientation, with the other teachers basically holding their hand as they learn their new schedule and the way Ferris operates. Because they are eased into the school year, it wasn't until the third week in April that I actually taught them for a full week. At the end of that week, though, I felt my body physically drained because I was doing more acting than teaching. These girls have had very little English experience, and since I have to hold my classes in ONLY English, I found myself acting and having to use a lot more energy in order to make myself understood. Otherwise, simply explaining in plain spoken language would leave the girls completely unsure of their task. Whew...talk about an exhausting style of teaching!
Despite this fact, though, I am thoroughly enjoying this group of students. They are such eager learners! No joke, but they honestly sit with their hands folded nicely on their desks, use great posture, and lean slightly forward as they listen eagerly to anything I say. That is something you don't see in the States. Since they are just out of elementary school, I can teach them fun 'kiddie' songs. I taught one of my classes "Jesus Loves Me" along with the sign language, and we sang it for their parents one day when they were allowed to come and observe their daughter's classes for the afternoon. We even translated the song orally for their parents, so there is no way they didn't get the message. Little by little, we're planting seeds. I am so excited for this class because I get the experience of a fresh start with a brand new group of students.
So, with this spring season, comes the new, warmer climate which is such a relief after the unusually cold winter we had in Yokohama without central heat, the new experience of starting all over with Ferris' newest students, the new school year that I am so excited about, and the celebration of new life, both with the blooming of nature and the reminder of Christ's presence among us.
