My wonderful friend Paula wrote this about her life in Japan and I think it was worthy of a blog spot...
Thought you might be interested in what daily life is like in Japan for me.
Daily routine Monday to Friday. I wake up at 7:30 and get dressed. I live in a parking space - literally, that is the size of my apartment. I love it though, its easy to keep clean and find stuff and I have decorated it mostly peach. Although most of my friends sleep on futons, I have a sofa that unfolds into a bed (which I didn't realise for the first three months!), so I sleep on that. My main room (aka bedroom/living room/computer room etc) has one wall as a window which is great in the warm weather (now to November) but proved a little chilly in the winter (and by chilly I mean FREEZING!). The thing to do in Japan is have a table that has a built in heater under it. You put a big blankety duvet thing over the table, turn it on, slip your legs under and roast slowly. Its fabulous, but I can no longer justify using it in the spring as it's up to about 20 degrees already.I live on the 6th floor (although there is no 4th floor and no 4th numbered apartment as the word for 4 is the same as the word for death!). So I race down in the lift at 7:50 to get a tram from across the road. Sometimes I run into (not literally) my neighbour who is New Zealand/Taiwanese. There are about 10 westerners living in the building. The tram takes me to the train station (which is halfway to my school). And I walk the other 10 minutes to school. I could cycle it quicker but you can't cycle in the rain or snow so I haven't been able to recently but I think as of the new term (next week) I will start again. My normal school is a middle school so the students are between 12 and 15. There are 750 students (so its one of the biggest in my area) and about 60 teachers. As soon as I walk in I change into my indoor shoes (can't be traipsing outdoors dirt into the school). I rush to be at my desk by 8:15 (this is by far the hardest part of my job). I sit next to the head English teacher who is about 55. She is a real tough cookie who is always the first to react to a problem and she is really good to me. I bring my laptop into school where there is conveniently a wireless network so that I can run both my laptop and my iTouch. :)I normally teach about 3 classes a day. This involves me escorting the regular English teacher to the lesson, bowing with the students, doing greetings and then standard lesson stuff that is meant to looke educational. I have to make worksheets and stuff. Generally it all goes smoothly (except the one time I had my zip undone!). The teachers range from help to hinderance. The students generally are still mastering 'I like baseball' so there's not much room for experimentation. They do come up with some gems though: One student wrote about his summer vacation to the seaside and ended it with: lets enjoy be octopusses together. It made me soo happy. I get lunch at school with all the other teachers. this means that I pick up a tray from the kitchen area in our staffroom and carry it to my desk. It generally comprises of a vegetable soup, some small fish and veg, and a bowl of rice. And always a carton of milk. Its generally delicious. We all eat the same thing and then clear our trays and stack them at the front of the kitchen. Some days we get strawberries too :) The students eat the same thing as we do. They eat in their homeroom classrooms and the homeroom teacher eats with them. After lunch I generally succeed in passing the 3 or so hours by studying Japanese and reading the times online. I think I told you that I write for and edit the local JET community newspaper here so I also try and get a bit of that done during the day. At about 3 the students all clean the school. They have tiny little cloths that they race up and down the corridor with. It is extraordinary. They LOVE it!In the afternoon most kids stay until 6 or so doing club activities. Like baseball or brassband. Every student does something. I, however, leave school at 4. I go for a run around the park near my house (it has a zoo in it!) for about half an hour after work, but I think that will have to change soon as it will be baking by that point in the afternoon from April. I get home about half past 4 and make a toasted cheese sandwich as I walk in (the advantage of having your kitchen in your front hallway :). I normally have something to do in the evenings. I eat with friends at least twice a week and I have a Japanese lesson on Wednesdays. I cook (microwave) my own dinner about once a week, if that. I have 2 visiting school, which are both primary school. These are loads more fun and I am good friends with the two women I teach with there. The kids are FANTASTIC at English and love it and me. They point at my eyes and my hair and love how round my head is. The lessons tend to be games in various guises so I basically am a clown in these lessons. I love primary schools. I come home with my pockets full of acorns and origami hearts.
Thought you might be interested in what daily life is like in Japan for me.
Daily routine Monday to Friday. I wake up at 7:30 and get dressed. I live in a parking space - literally, that is the size of my apartment. I love it though, its easy to keep clean and find stuff and I have decorated it mostly peach. Although most of my friends sleep on futons, I have a sofa that unfolds into a bed (which I didn't realise for the first three months!), so I sleep on that. My main room (aka bedroom/living room/computer room etc) has one wall as a window which is great in the warm weather (now to November) but proved a little chilly in the winter (and by chilly I mean FREEZING!). The thing to do in Japan is have a table that has a built in heater under it. You put a big blankety duvet thing over the table, turn it on, slip your legs under and roast slowly. Its fabulous, but I can no longer justify using it in the spring as it's up to about 20 degrees already.I live on the 6th floor (although there is no 4th floor and no 4th numbered apartment as the word for 4 is the same as the word for death!). So I race down in the lift at 7:50 to get a tram from across the road. Sometimes I run into (not literally) my neighbour who is New Zealand/Taiwanese. There are about 10 westerners living in the building. The tram takes me to the train station (which is halfway to my school). And I walk the other 10 minutes to school. I could cycle it quicker but you can't cycle in the rain or snow so I haven't been able to recently but I think as of the new term (next week) I will start again. My normal school is a middle school so the students are between 12 and 15. There are 750 students (so its one of the biggest in my area) and about 60 teachers. As soon as I walk in I change into my indoor shoes (can't be traipsing outdoors dirt into the school). I rush to be at my desk by 8:15 (this is by far the hardest part of my job). I sit next to the head English teacher who is about 55. She is a real tough cookie who is always the first to react to a problem and she is really good to me. I bring my laptop into school where there is conveniently a wireless network so that I can run both my laptop and my iTouch. :)I normally teach about 3 classes a day. This involves me escorting the regular English teacher to the lesson, bowing with the students, doing greetings and then standard lesson stuff that is meant to looke educational. I have to make worksheets and stuff. Generally it all goes smoothly (except the one time I had my zip undone!). The teachers range from help to hinderance. The students generally are still mastering 'I like baseball' so there's not much room for experimentation. They do come up with some gems though: One student wrote about his summer vacation to the seaside and ended it with: lets enjoy be octopusses together. It made me soo happy. I get lunch at school with all the other teachers. this means that I pick up a tray from the kitchen area in our staffroom and carry it to my desk. It generally comprises of a vegetable soup, some small fish and veg, and a bowl of rice. And always a carton of milk. Its generally delicious. We all eat the same thing and then clear our trays and stack them at the front of the kitchen. Some days we get strawberries too :) The students eat the same thing as we do. They eat in their homeroom classrooms and the homeroom teacher eats with them. After lunch I generally succeed in passing the 3 or so hours by studying Japanese and reading the times online. I think I told you that I write for and edit the local JET community newspaper here so I also try and get a bit of that done during the day. At about 3 the students all clean the school. They have tiny little cloths that they race up and down the corridor with. It is extraordinary. They LOVE it!In the afternoon most kids stay until 6 or so doing club activities. Like baseball or brassband. Every student does something. I, however, leave school at 4. I go for a run around the park near my house (it has a zoo in it!) for about half an hour after work, but I think that will have to change soon as it will be baking by that point in the afternoon from April. I get home about half past 4 and make a toasted cheese sandwich as I walk in (the advantage of having your kitchen in your front hallway :). I normally have something to do in the evenings. I eat with friends at least twice a week and I have a Japanese lesson on Wednesdays. I cook (microwave) my own dinner about once a week, if that. I have 2 visiting school, which are both primary school. These are loads more fun and I am good friends with the two women I teach with there. The kids are FANTASTIC at English and love it and me. They point at my eyes and my hair and love how round my head is. The lessons tend to be games in various guises so I basically am a clown in these lessons. I love primary schools. I come home with my pockets full of acorns and origami hearts.
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