THE Test
I know…it has been a long time between blogs. This, however, means that I have been kept busy visiting several schools. It has been a great week so far with the exception of a request by the office.
Both Monday and Tuesday I went to Uchinoura Elementary School. Due to the amount of schools that I visit now after the town merger, I have many more classes that I have to visit at each school. If you recall, teaching English for non-native speakers in elementary school is like hosting a TV show or actually becoming Barney on speed with a strict exercise regiment. Being this animated though, really brightened my day and reminded me of what I like so much about my job. The kids are just so excited to see me and try to communicate with me that it makes the 6 hours of non-stop singing and dancing worthwhile. In addition to these visits, I hosted a after-school English game challenge in Ginga Arena for first, second and third graders. The task proved to be a bit daunting since the first graders hardly know any English and the third graders don’t really want to learn the same thing over. So, every time I introduced something very basic, I usually lost the attention of the older children. When I introduced something too advanced, I lost the attention of the younger ones. The one miracle game that worked amazingly was Duck, Duck, Goose. However, I changed it so that every few times we would use different animals (i.e. Cat, Cat, Dog; Fish, Fish, Bird).
The down side of my job. Tuesday afternoon, I was handed a blue envelope with my name on it and asked, “Do you understand?” I said, “No.” They opened the envelope for me. Everyone gathered round. They took out a small, plastic re-sealable bag with two plastic vials in it and a color pamphlet. One guy began to so eloquently illustrate how one has a bowel movement, while another frantically went for the online translator. The actor then pretended to get one of his droppings. He then pulled a stick out of the vial and stuck it in his imaginary poo. They pointed to the online translator where I read the words I was dreading -- stool test. They told me to type it in so they can do a back translation to make sure I understood. I typed it in but they got back what translated to chair test. I assured them I understood. They then told me I had to do this after two different bowel movements in the next 36 hours. Let’s just say they were lucky they got one. I asked why they needed this and they said that it was part of the health check (yearly physical) that I had to take like all the other public workers. I remarked that this wasn’t part of last year’s exam. They informed me it was a new addition. Fortunately, I went through all the different station less than an hour ago, and there were no more “new additions”.
A quick update on Cristina. Her wound is healing nicely. She will most likely get the next wisdom tooth extracted on October 1st. As for her Japanese driver’s license, she took the driving test for the fourth time and was failed once more. This time she was driving to slow. She didn’t reach 50kph and immediately break where the speed limit is 50kph. Last time I checked though, a speed limit was just that, a limit, a maximum, not a requirement. She’s taking it really hard because it is so taxing on her, her office and me.
This weekend, we are going to the nearest capital city northwest of us, Kumamoto. We are really excited about just hanging out in a new city and being able to read a book in a café, walk around new parks, shop on new streets and just get away from the countryside for a while. We hope to also use this time to plan our winter holiday to Cambodia and Thailand.
I know this entry is short, but I must prepare for my school visit today. I am going to one of my new schools in the next town and am a bit nervous. I’m preparing some props to introduce myself. I hope everyone is doing well. Hope to hear from you soon.
Both Monday and Tuesday I went to Uchinoura Elementary School. Due to the amount of schools that I visit now after the town merger, I have many more classes that I have to visit at each school. If you recall, teaching English for non-native speakers in elementary school is like hosting a TV show or actually becoming Barney on speed with a strict exercise regiment. Being this animated though, really brightened my day and reminded me of what I like so much about my job. The kids are just so excited to see me and try to communicate with me that it makes the 6 hours of non-stop singing and dancing worthwhile. In addition to these visits, I hosted a after-school English game challenge in Ginga Arena for first, second and third graders. The task proved to be a bit daunting since the first graders hardly know any English and the third graders don’t really want to learn the same thing over. So, every time I introduced something very basic, I usually lost the attention of the older children. When I introduced something too advanced, I lost the attention of the younger ones. The one miracle game that worked amazingly was Duck, Duck, Goose. However, I changed it so that every few times we would use different animals (i.e. Cat, Cat, Dog; Fish, Fish, Bird).
The down side of my job. Tuesday afternoon, I was handed a blue envelope with my name on it and asked, “Do you understand?” I said, “No.” They opened the envelope for me. Everyone gathered round. They took out a small, plastic re-sealable bag with two plastic vials in it and a color pamphlet. One guy began to so eloquently illustrate how one has a bowel movement, while another frantically went for the online translator. The actor then pretended to get one of his droppings. He then pulled a stick out of the vial and stuck it in his imaginary poo. They pointed to the online translator where I read the words I was dreading -- stool test. They told me to type it in so they can do a back translation to make sure I understood. I typed it in but they got back what translated to chair test. I assured them I understood. They then told me I had to do this after two different bowel movements in the next 36 hours. Let’s just say they were lucky they got one. I asked why they needed this and they said that it was part of the health check (yearly physical) that I had to take like all the other public workers. I remarked that this wasn’t part of last year’s exam. They informed me it was a new addition. Fortunately, I went through all the different station less than an hour ago, and there were no more “new additions”.
A quick update on Cristina. Her wound is healing nicely. She will most likely get the next wisdom tooth extracted on October 1st. As for her Japanese driver’s license, she took the driving test for the fourth time and was failed once more. This time she was driving to slow. She didn’t reach 50kph and immediately break where the speed limit is 50kph. Last time I checked though, a speed limit was just that, a limit, a maximum, not a requirement. She’s taking it really hard because it is so taxing on her, her office and me.
This weekend, we are going to the nearest capital city northwest of us, Kumamoto. We are really excited about just hanging out in a new city and being able to read a book in a café, walk around new parks, shop on new streets and just get away from the countryside for a while. We hope to also use this time to plan our winter holiday to Cambodia and Thailand.
I know this entry is short, but I must prepare for my school visit today. I am going to one of my new schools in the next town and am a bit nervous. I’m preparing some props to introduce myself. I hope everyone is doing well. Hope to hear from you soon.
posted by Jesse at
9:01 AM
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