Troublemakers at School

Hi again everyone!

As you can tell from the title, today will not be all sunshine and rainbows as usual. For those unfamiliar with its inner workings, Japan seems like a peaceful, docile, and friendly environment. The people are known to be nice and generous, with the Buddhist and Shinto religious background reflecting that. Other parts of Japan are known to be very strict, such as the insistence on punctuality and proper situational behavior/language. However, when these two opposing regimes clash, sometimes the result is a hideous bastard of Japanese bureaucracy. The educational system is one of those bastards.

In Japan, education is mandatory from kindergarten up to the end of middle school. In America, education is mandatory as well, but students can very well be barred from school for various reasons, most notably behavior. The teachers and schools have some disciplinary power to put students in their place if they are misbehaving in class, such as visits to disciplinary figures in the office, getting kicked out of class, or detentions/suspensions/expulsions.

The term "mandatory" is held to a more strict standard here in Japan than in America. Here, the students are entitled to their seat in the classroom. Students must be allowed to be in their classroom, even if they are a disruption. This basically means that the teachers have very little power to do anything to control their students. Teachers can't discipline their students in any way except for yelling at them or lowering their grade. Students can definitely be held back grades, but this is hardly ever done because teachers want to get the problem children out of the system as quickly as possible. The teachers are basically helpless.

At most of the better schools, discipline is not so much of a problem. The kids at these schools tend to be whipped into shape by strict teachers that explode in anger at the smallest infringement of the rules. This can include how you talk, stand, sit, behave, or dress. The kids usually choose to do what they are told, and dealing with the students in class is painless (though frustrating if you're trying to make them participate more). The thing to note here is that the students have a choice.

In the worse schools, lots of the students choose to ignore the teacher completely and sleep (or sometimes read a novel) in class. Nobody can stop them, since they have a right to be in the classroom and physical punishments are forbidden. Thankfully, the sleeping students don't cause a disruption, so teachers tend to leave them alone.

Then, there are some students that choose to ignore the teacher and talk to their friends instead. They are certainly annoying, and tend to get yelled at by the teachers because they make it hard for other students to pay attention. Even these students I don't have much of a gripe with, since they don't directly want to cause trouble. They only want to keep themselves entertained.

Finally, there are the kids that seek only to be a disruption. They pay attention to the teacher, but only to determine in what way is best to disturb the lesson at hand. These kids will pester their classmates, get out of their chairs and roam the room at will, and just try their hardest to piss the teacher off.

I have a few of the bad schools in the city, so I have some experience with these kinds of kids. I've had a boy that used his silver metal pencil case as a sun reflector to blind me for 10+ minutes of a class. I've had kids who got out of their chairs and just left the classroom unannounced. I've had kids drum on their desks loudly, or stick stuff into the metal heating elements on the side of the room (which they seem to particularly like doing). I've had a kid who ran about the classroom closing curtains, opening windows, and turning off lights. I've had a kid open a 3rd story window and threaten to throw a chair out, before pretending (only pretending, unfortunately) to jump out himself.

Most frequently, I've had students who are just plain rude. Their teacher would tell them to quiet down, and they would reply with "shut your mouth!" They will openly call their teacher "idiot" or "dumbass" to their face. They tend to be boys, but I've seen girls do this a few times too. The teachers who take this abuse also tend to be female, as I and other male teachers don't have this problem nearly as much, but I have been at the pointy end of this behavior a few times.

The first was, as I mentioned before, the kid who used the sun reflector. I just tried my best to ignore him and resist going over there to shove the pencil case down his throat. It got cloudy eventually, which made his attempts futile. However, there was also a kid who would not stop saying "shut up" every time the teacher or I said anything in English. I warned the kid to stop it, which kept him quiet for a little while. A few minutes later, he was at it again, so I got fed up. I walked  up to his desk, put my face centimeters away from his, and gave him the good ol' Samuel L. Jackson from Pulp Fiction. "Say that again. I dare you." That certainly wiped the goofy smile off his face, and needless to say he didn't misbehave for the rest of the class. However, I know for sure that I would have been reprimanded if my supervisor had been there.

A few months ago, the question was asked by one of the other ALTs in the prefecture: "What do we do if we had some misbehaving students?" The specific answer was, "Assistant Language Teachers are not responsible for discipline in the classroom. You should let your teacher in charge handle it." Obviously, if there are misbehaving students, the teacher in charge is not "handling it" in any way, shape, or form. Regardless, the job of the ALT is merely to be the language servant of the teacher in charge, and I was probably very out of line when I confronted the student for his behavior. I'm willing to ignore sleeping or talking students, and I can withstand students who are disruptive. I can even pent my rage when students are obnoxiously rude to their teachers, but if kids feel like they can do the same to me and get away with it, my inner sense of justice doesn't allow me to sit back and do nothing. Some things in this world must be done. I'll just need to tone it back in the future.

Well, that's enough complaining for today. Most of my students are great and a lot of fun to be around, so they make up for the rest of the bad kids. Let's just hope it doesn't get any worse.

Farewell, until next time...

Being an Asian Ninja

Poof!

Unlike the title may suggest, I'm not actually going to talk about hooded costumes or sneaky assassination techniques (as much as I would like to). Instead, I'd like to discuss what it means to be in Japan as a foreigner that looks Japanese.

For most of the other members of the JET program, being here makes you an instant celebrity. Everyone stares at you when you walk down the street, when you go grocery shopping, when you eat at a restaurant, and especially when you're taking a bath at a public bathhouse. The kids at school all want your autograph, and they're all over you during their free time. The local shops you patronize will know you by name and offer you free goods ("service", they call it), and Japanese people will go out of their way to befriend you.

I, on the other hand, am different. I don't get stared at. My kids don't fawn over me (well, most of them anyways). Sadly, I don't get "service" from local mom-and-pop stores. Worst of all, perhaps, is that Japanese people really don't give a crap about who I am. Do I sound jealous? That's because I am.

In this country, I don't look special. I look just like another Japanese person, and that first impression alone is enough to stomp many perks foreigners have into the ground. For those of you who'd like to make the outrageous claim that I distinctly don't look Japanese, I will just tell you now that you are wrong. People mistaken me all the time, and it's never without an explanation that Japanese people understand what sentient being I really am. The younger kids at school get surprised when I speak English, and they wonder why my name tag has foreign characters written on it. I get ignored by most of my fellow JETs when we cross paths in the street because I apparently "blend in with the rest of the population." Hell, when I first met some of the veteran JETs, one of them asked, "So, are you a university student or something?" All I could do was blink my eyes a few times before becoming ragingly offended. This happened all but 5 minutes after I told another newbie, "Since I got here, not a single person has thought I wasn't Japanese! NOT ONE!!"

Just today, actually, a suit-clad businessman came into the teacher's room at school looking for the head teacher. He asked me where she was, and I told him, "I had no idea." I asked the teachers near me, and they said that she had left for a little while. The guy then turned to me with a pamphlet and started explaining what I should tell the head teacher when she got back. Halfway through, I stopped him and explained, "I'm sorry, but I'm actually a foreigner. It would probably be a better idea if you explained this to one of the other teachers..." He stopped for a few seconds, and then bolted to the next nearest teacher to repeat what he just said to me. I couldn't help but snicker a little as I turned back towards my desk.

I have to admit, blending in with the population has some perks. I can sort of "be a ninja". Basically, I can go wherever Japanese people would go without anyone knowing anything is out of the ordinary. This comes in handy for walking down the street without getting harassed, or when I just want to go get a few groceries without stopping both lanes of traffic on a busy highway. It's most convenient, however, at the public bathhouses, or sentou. I can walk in there and get nekkid with all the other old Japanese dudes, and I won't get stared at for anything except the young man's physique that they wish they still had.

The local bathhouse, Adzuma-yu.

A few weeks ago, Honeybunny visited me in Aomori, and we decided to go to a local hot spring town called Asamushi Onsen for a nice dip in the cold weather. When we walked into the facility together, I had an interesting conversation with the clerk and his daughter. He gestured towards Honeybunny and asked, "Oh, where's she from?" I answered, "Actually, we're BOTH from America. California, specifically." "Oh, you too?" he replied. "Yes, I'm actually of Chinese descent," I responded. "I see. Is it your mother or your father that's Chinese [i.e. not the Japanese parent]?" he said. "Umm, actually both of them are Chinese," I retorted. "Oh... your Japanese is really good," came next. Well thanks, I suppose. Their final comment was, "people must confuse you with a Japanese person all the time." Indeed, they do. We then proceeded to enter the bath. Honeybunny had old women approach her and try to start conversation. In this region, the dialect is very mumbled and difficult to understand, so she had a hard time. I, on the other hand, was left in peace, as none of the people inside found me interesting enough to talk to. Blending in like a ninja...

Finally, a few months ago at a teaching conference across town, I had the chance to use my Asian camouflage to play a little joke. One of the speakers, who was particularly condescending and insufferable, wanted to bring a couple Japanese teachers to the front of the stage and make a mockery of their pronunciation. I rose my hand to volunteer, so he called me up. The other ALTs, seeing me chosen, raised their hands to volunteer, but he refused them, saying, "I want to use Japanese teachers so I can teach them a lesson." I silently and awkwardly stood there on stage with a guilty smile on my face while the rest of the ALTs tried to suppress their laughter. It wasn't until the speaker started explaining the exercise that my cover was blown. He spoke in Japanese, and I wasn't sure what he meant by "sagaru" (which can mean "to lower", so I thought he wanted me to lower myself. In this case, the meaning was "to step back" or "retreat", as he wanted me to back up while my partner approached). I started to bend at the knees, and then he asked me, "Are you an ALT?" I was forced to answer, "yes...," and trodded back into the audience. This time was sort of a failed ninja attempt, but I had my fun messing with him. He deserved it anyways...

Basically, the point I'm trying to make is that there are endless things for Japanese people to tease foreigners about, whether it be their looks, their accents, their behaviors, their insufficient language skills, or even no good reason at all! The only real perk about being here as a foreigner that looks Japanese is that, when Japanese people get taken by surprise and things get awkward, I get the opportunity to tease back. I need to appreciate this more, since it's the only break I'm ever going to get.

That's all for today. Ryan, out! *poof*

Preparing for Winter

So, guess what? The last 8 days of this 10-day forecast. That's what:

That's a lotta snowmen...

It's already snowed here a few times since I arrived. Even when the snow stuck, it never left a layer thicker than 2 inches. It always melted within the next 2-3 days when the sun came up.

Aomori's first snow this winter: pretty but fleeting.

I've been okay with the cooling temperatures so far. Even the last time I was biking home at night, I didn't really feel that cold while I passed a roadside thermometer flashing "2 C". The rain hasn't been that bad either, and I've gotten more used to biking on wet roads. I've been hanging in there alright, but this weather forecast only makes me feel one thing.

As a Southern Californian, I've been wary of Aomori's colder seasons. I've heeded the warning of fellow JETs, and I'm taking every precaution. I've loaded up on enough kerosene to power my heater for the next 2 months. I've bought new insulated jackets, waterproof pants, neck warmers, and burly socks. I've invested in a nicer pair of snow boots that go up almost to my knees. And, most importantly, I've added lots of long underwear to my wardrobe. You may laugh, but I promise you, this stuff is going to safe my life. You may think I'm exaggerating, but the winters here get pretty bad. Here's a photo I took from a friend who's been here for a lot longer than I have:

"I don't need a cell phone for travel," my sister said. "I'll just call you from a payphone," she said. Good luck with that. You may need to swim into there...

All I can do now is await the snow and do my best to fight cabin fever. Goodbye, and may the gods have mercy on my soul.

Overcoming Culture Shock

Hi again,

Before I left America to come to Japan, all JET participants had to participate in a pre-departure orientation. There, they told us about what we should expect and what adjusting to life in Japan would be like. In particular, they wanted to explain to us what the cultural transition would feel like. First, there would be the honeymoon period, where we excited travelers would not yet have any work to do, and we would find everything fascinating and interesting.

Orientation speakers then warned us about the next stage: culture shock. In this stage, things that are different are no longer fascinating, but irritating. We would start to miss food, activities, and people back home, and homesickness would settle in. We would try to accommodate for the things we miss by turning our homes into "little Americas" to try to escape the realities of a foreign country. Among the JET community, this stage is infamously called "Stage II."

Only a week or two after coming to Japan, I already felt some definite signs of Stage II. I often felt frustrated in grocery stores when I was searching for something that isn't a normal commodity in Japan (like fish sauce). I was angry about the exorbitant prices of certain things, like fruits or bicycle parts. I also started to miss my bikes back home, and became annoyed every time having my mountain bike would've been convenient.

Mostly, I felt anxiety about my Japanese language level. There are kanji written everywhere, and not knowing what many of them mean is exhausting for a person who likes to know his surroundings. Sometimes, I didn't want to go outside to get groceries or run other errands because I wasn't confident in my speaking ability. I'm Asian and don't look different from Japanese people at all, so when they talk to me and I have trouble responding, they look at me like I have some learning disability. It's always an awkward experience where I need to explain myself so they won't talk so damn fast or use difficult vocabulary. I just wanted to stay in my apartment and watch American TV shows all day. Being separated from Honeybunny didn't help relieve any of this.

Then, one day, I decided I would try to break free from this Stage II anxiety. I decided that my first step would be something simple: I would get a Universe (grocery store) point card. I've always wanted to get one, but I've never had the confidence to go to the counter to ask about how to get one or how to use it. I finally sucked it up and went to the service counter to ask about it. The lady was nice enough to explain it to me (even if she couldn't speak any English) and help me with filling out the paperwork. Finally, I got my point card, thanked the service lady for helping me, and walked out of the grocery store victorious. Here's my badge of honor for taking the first step out of Stage II:

It may not be much, but at least I now have a physical reminder that, even in this foreign country, I can still do things on my own and drag myself through to the next stage: cultural acclimation. Next step? Get a Japanese credit card...

*Update: I actually just got my Japanese credit card in the mail. Very nice...

My new EXTAGE card with a HUGE credit limit! =)