With the end of my contract quickly approaching, I have resolved to update this blog at least once a day for the next month. It’s going to be difficult with all the other obligations I’ve got going right now, but it is something I feel I should return to.
Last weekend was a rather busy one. On Saturday, the Amakusa ALTs all met in Ushibuka to participate in the annual haiya. Though there are other haiya festivals, even in Amakusa, Usibuka’s is considered the most famous. A haiya, from what I’ve gathered, is a festival meant to grant good luck to fishermen and ensure a fruitful fishing season. The main attraction is a large parade where different groups dance to music played throughout the city.
In the Ushibuka Haiya, the ALTs have their own group called “Hello, how are you?” and we try to get as many people involved as we can. This year, almost every ALT in Amakusa joined in, even Doug, who had only arrived the day before. We also had a number of Yatsushiro ALTs come and participate. Combined with the Amakusa Friends group, a local international exchange organization, we had a pretty sizable team. We gathered before the event for a small party and dance practice. It was a good opportunity to see and talk with everyone and I had a lot of fun helping teach the dance to the first year ALTs and those who hadn’t been able to make it in previous years.
The parade lasted about two hours. We got a number of compliments on our dancing from the spectators and other groups. This year, I felt confident enough to dance up front, but still made a few mistakes, especially when I was distracted by people I knew. I didn’t see too many people from my area, but a few of my students were there and I waved to them. Two members of our group received prizes for their dancing.
After it was all over, we returned our rental clothes and visited a few of the food stalls set up around the city. As fun as dancing is, I really like the time before and after where we can run around and talk to the people in the town. Case in point, at one stall, there was a little girl who was incredibly excited to see foreigners, which is strange since kids are usually shy around us. I saw her hovering around as everyone ordered food and decided to introduce myself. She told me her name (Kokoro) and we shook hands. A tiny detail to be sure, but I really like moments like that. We got some delicious crepes and Anne managed to snag the last of the flavored french fries, which she shared with everyone. Though there was a party afterward, we weren’t able to attend and ended up leaving around 11, getting home an hour later.
The next day was parent's day at my junior high, which meant working on Sunday to ensure that as many parents as possible cold come and observe the classes. Honestly, most of the day was pretty standard, with only one class being watched by the parents. My school did seem to place additional importance on the English program though, ensuring that English was one of the few classes during the period where the parents came, that it was a first grade class, and discussing it during the meeting we had 6th period. The meeting was really the only bad point of the day, other than coming in on Sunday. Initially, my JTE told me I wouldn’t have to go, but when it came time to leave for the meeting, I was told not only would I have to go, but I would have to give a brief self-introduction to the parents. This really isn’t that big a deal, but some warning would have been nice and it’s times like these that remind me that I’m not always viewed as an equal among the teachers. I’ll save the rant for another day, but basically if you consistently fail to clue me in to the duties and events you want me to participate in (for example, forgetting to tell me that there’s going to be a party until the day before it happens) you really shouldn’t be surprised that I’m not investing in a relationship with you.
After the meeting, the parents split off into groups by grade and had meetings with the homeroom teachers. I helped the parents find their group as they came down the stairs. Having only ten minutes until my work day was finished, I packed up my things and watched the first graders practice tennis for the first time. It was a bit nostalgic for me as I thought back to when I first started practicing with the second grade students, who are now much better than me.
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