Kanpai!

I have had such a great time these last few days! On Wednesday morning I went to the new-teacher orientation and met the teachers from the two schools I will be working at this year. My first school is Koryo, and it is only a ten-minute bike ride from my apartment. Luckily I'll be there for two trimesters, so commuting through the winter won't be too much of a hassle. The second school I go to (in April) is Yasutomi, and due to a district restructuring, it's NINETY MINUTES AWAY. BY BUS. But I don't have to worry about that for several months. I can't believe tomorrow is September 1st! It will be my first official day of work. But if yesterday was a true indication of the school atmosphere, I'm going to have a great time.


(These are my teachers: Sakaguchi-sensei, Takeuchi-sensei, Enami-sensei, and Takayama-sensei. Kawakami-sensei was also there, but she left lunch early. They are all very warm and welcoming.)

I was afraid that Chelsea would be a very difficult name for Japanese speakers to wrap their mouths around, but apparently they are very familiar with it because it's a candy! Enami-sensei said that every child in Japan has eaten it, and most older people can sing the song they used to use in the advertisements!



First, after the orientation, my teachers took me to lunch at an American style restaurant called Royal Host. They were very impressed that I ordered a traditional Japanese meal (and that I could use chopsticks). Then we went to the school, and Enami-sensei let me borrow her track pants and a t-shirt so I could play ping-pong with the other teachers. Apparently, Koryo junior high school has paired up with the elementary school down the street and there was a huge meet-and-greet party for all the teachers. So after eating a huge brunch, and getting my butt kicked in ping-pong, we had a bigger celebration lunch while sitting on tarps on the gym floor. Then I was invited to my first enkai (work party)!

I had thirty minutes after the party at school to go home and freshen up, and then Katsuhiko-sensei came to my apartment, and we rode our bikes to the restaurant downtown. He was very nice, because even though he can't speak much English, and I can speak even less Japanese, he knew I was having the hardest time riding my new (used) bike. The seat was too high, and he lowered it for me (which I wish would have solved the problem, but I really just suck at riding a bike).

At an enkai, you sit on tatami mats around round tables, and the beer flows like water. You pay a set price (just under thirty dollars) and you eat and drink as much as possible. Since all ALTs work at different schools, I was the only English speaker in attendance, but I had the greatest time. Japanese people are very big into speeches, so anytime there is a gathering, they all take turns with the microphone, I think introducing themselves and giving thanks. Some would spend several minutes speaking to the group, and all were very funny and engaging. But I don't know much Japanese, so one of the nicest girls, Azusa (pronounced "Ahhd-tsa") stayed at the front of the room hoping she might translate a little bit of my English for the group. But I spoke Japanese! I said "Konbanwa. Watashi wa Chelsea desu. Dozo yoroshiku onegai shimasu." (Something like "Good evening. My name is Chelsea. Please look out for me, I beg of you.") And everything I said in Japanese, Azusa repeated in Japanese, which earned us great laughs. It was a wonderful ice-breaker all around!


(Azusa, Tomoko, Noriko, Yuko & Ritsuko)

Fortunately, all the twenty-something girls sat at my table, and we chattered like chickens for three hours! You can always find a way to cross a language barrier when it comes to talking about boyfriends! We were also teaching each other vocabulary, and they kept saying "Your English is SO GOOD!" And I would tease them back and say "Your Japanese is SO GOOD, too!" I'm looking forward to spending more time with all of them.

And then, the highlight of the evening: I found my way home from downtown all by myself! This city is mine!