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.