Visit To Aishima
Today was a day where I couldn't believe I was actually getting paid to be a tourist! There are three islands off the coast of Hagi - Oshima, Aishima and Mishima. Today we went out on the ferry to Aishima, the island with the smallest population. There are no shops at all, and with a village of only 80 people it would be hard to keep anything a secret there. A school was built in Aishima in the 80's when the Japanese economy was booming and there were about 20 or so students. Today there are only 7 in total, including elementary and junior high! There is also a nursery (under 7's) of four. The school buildings are beautiful and the teacher/student relationship is very family-like.
Most of the teachers live on Aishima in teacher's housing, away from their families in Hagi. The education system is very different here because they control who works where, and for how long. This is much unlike NZ where you can find a teacher still at the same school they started at 30 years before. These teachers are usually absolute pros or dried-out boring prunes. In Japan, the Superintendant of the B.O.E moves a teacher every 3-4 years, and principals are rotated even more frequently. So the vice-Principal of Aishima did not choose to be there, just as our supervisor did not choose to work at the B.O.E office. He tells us often that he really misses his students and that his is starting to forget his English! While it is not an ideal system, I think its probably better NZ in a lot of ways.
The ferry ride was 40 mins and left from Hagi Port at 8am. It was a good calm trip, and when we got there the V-P met us and drove us very steeply up what must have been roads but were in reality paved goat tracks. There were fields and fields of watermelons, the crop Aishima is famous for. People in Aishima are either watermelon farmers or fishermen. We were told that fishermen earn good money which is why they voluntarily live so far out.
Once at the school we spent the morning helping 2 students prepare for the English speech competition which is to be held at the end of September. They were slightly behind compared to the other kids we've coached so far, but they were quick learners. There is a lot of job satisfaction with one-on-one teaching, you realise how much progress a student can make with a native speaker. They try so hard and are so thankful. I just love my job and can't wait to start full-time teaching on Sept 1st, although I know there will be some daunting moments.
Speaking of islands, on my second week of teaching I will be going out to Mishima for 2 days. Because it is a long and expensive ferry trip out there, the B.O.E will put me up at a local ryokan. A ryokan is a traditional Japanese-style hotel, you sleep on futons, wear a loose kimono-type robe and eat the Japanese food provided. Sounds like an authentic slice of rural Japan. Dan is jealous because he doesn't get to go. I think this is probably a good thing though, he gets seasick quite easily. Today on the return trip it was sunny but very windy and the sea was quite choppy. Our little ferry was crashing and rocking through the waves, I really should have been using the free time to study my Hiragana flash cards. Alas instead I was up on the open deck enjoying the cool wind and sea spray, pretending to be Kate Winslet on board the Titanic. Unfortunately Dan was feeling too queasy to shout "I'm the King of the world!". Oh well.
Obane-san our supervisor told us today that my new inkan (Japanese signature stamp, a requirement for legal documents) will be ready on Tuesday, meaning that my car will possibly be ready for me to purchase next Thurs/Fri. I don't know whether to laugh or cry that buying my car is now entering its third week of negotiations! Shopping trip in Yamaguchi City here I come!
Most of the teachers live on Aishima in teacher's housing, away from their families in Hagi. The education system is very different here because they control who works where, and for how long. This is much unlike NZ where you can find a teacher still at the same school they started at 30 years before. These teachers are usually absolute pros or dried-out boring prunes. In Japan, the Superintendant of the B.O.E moves a teacher every 3-4 years, and principals are rotated even more frequently. So the vice-Principal of Aishima did not choose to be there, just as our supervisor did not choose to work at the B.O.E office. He tells us often that he really misses his students and that his is starting to forget his English! While it is not an ideal system, I think its probably better NZ in a lot of ways.
The ferry ride was 40 mins and left from Hagi Port at 8am. It was a good calm trip, and when we got there the V-P met us and drove us very steeply up what must have been roads but were in reality paved goat tracks. There were fields and fields of watermelons, the crop Aishima is famous for. People in Aishima are either watermelon farmers or fishermen. We were told that fishermen earn good money which is why they voluntarily live so far out.
Once at the school we spent the morning helping 2 students prepare for the English speech competition which is to be held at the end of September. They were slightly behind compared to the other kids we've coached so far, but they were quick learners. There is a lot of job satisfaction with one-on-one teaching, you realise how much progress a student can make with a native speaker. They try so hard and are so thankful. I just love my job and can't wait to start full-time teaching on Sept 1st, although I know there will be some daunting moments.
Speaking of islands, on my second week of teaching I will be going out to Mishima for 2 days. Because it is a long and expensive ferry trip out there, the B.O.E will put me up at a local ryokan. A ryokan is a traditional Japanese-style hotel, you sleep on futons, wear a loose kimono-type robe and eat the Japanese food provided. Sounds like an authentic slice of rural Japan. Dan is jealous because he doesn't get to go. I think this is probably a good thing though, he gets seasick quite easily. Today on the return trip it was sunny but very windy and the sea was quite choppy. Our little ferry was crashing and rocking through the waves, I really should have been using the free time to study my Hiragana flash cards. Alas instead I was up on the open deck enjoying the cool wind and sea spray, pretending to be Kate Winslet on board the Titanic. Unfortunately Dan was feeling too queasy to shout "I'm the King of the world!". Oh well.
Obane-san our supervisor told us today that my new inkan (Japanese signature stamp, a requirement for legal documents) will be ready on Tuesday, meaning that my car will possibly be ready for me to purchase next Thurs/Fri. I don't know whether to laugh or cry that buying my car is now entering its third week of negotiations! Shopping trip in Yamaguchi City here I come!
posted by Rosie at
8:11 pm
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