Our Life in Japan: students

Showing posts with label students. Show all posts

Jean's Cooking Class

My adult student Eriko (center) invited me to attend an American cooking class with her, hosted by a woman named Jean. *hint* Jean is the American looking one holding the blonde girl (her daughter Aiko.) During this class Jean taught the Japanese women how to make things like homemade cream of mushroom soup and pineapple upside-down cake. The Japanese woman next to Eriko is Yoshiko, the woman who gave me the kimono.

Lion Dance

My student's Mom invited us to attend a lion dance at my student's elementary school one morning. Two men in the costume danced around in a traditional fashion to the drummers' rhythm. If you can endure the lion dance and look it in the face without getting scared it's good luck and you are considered brave. A lot of the children got freaked out as the lion face got close to them, but some of them took courage and faced it without fear! It was really cute and fun to watch the dance and all the children's reactions.

Mike was allowed to put his head in the lion costume, but I wasn't because girls are forbidden for some reason.

My student Hayato.

Here is Mike putting his head in the costume. Men are treated much differently than women in Japan. Much more so than in America. But I didn't want to put my head in that sweaty thing anyway. :)

Halloween

Besides just teaching English to our students, our boss Fumi wanted us to teach American customs and holidays. We played games like "Pin the Nose on the Pumpkin," bobbing for apples, Halloween bingo, and Mike also told spooky stories in one of the dark classrooms. Pumpkins are kind of a rare commodity, and if you do find one, they are very, very small. But we did have a jack-o-lantern carving contest and gave out prizes. Halloween was a fun holiday to celebrate in Japan.

Here I am with Mike and our boss Fumiyo explaining the Halloween holiday to our Japanese students.

Mike with my students Ayano and Chiaki.

Mike dressed up as a pimp and I was a pirate. Aarrgghh matey!

Kogaku Kindergarten graduation

I taught 3 classes at Kogaku Kindergarten. They invited me to attend the graduation ceremony for the students. I don't know why graduating kindergarten is such a big deal, but it is. I guess life drastically changes once you complete the kindergarten level and move on to the "big kid" school.

A little performance on stage.

Notice how all the students have to have their hands behind their backs and all dress in uniform. Unity is key.

Some children giving a drumming performance on stage.

Summer Barbeque (Japanese Style)

We were invited to my student Kimiko's house for a summer barbeque.

On the grill: shrimp, mushrooms, snails, corn, squash, green peppers and other vegetables.

Mike and Hiro eat a whole fish on a stick.

Some of the other guests.

Hiro had to show Mike how to dig the meat out of the snail. Here is he is about to eat it.

Here's the group, minus Mike and one of the little girls that was also there.

Mike's Birthday

Mike's student Yuuta surprised him by decorating the juku and bringing a birthday cake to celebrate. Yuuta wrote "Mr. Mike Happy Birthday!" on the board. Mike's English teaching abilities paid off, eh?

Mike holding his cake and Yuuta's gift to him: framed calligraphy that says "Zutto Tomodachi" which translates to "best friends" or "friends always."

I threw Mike a surprise birthday party. We had it on Sunday after church so everyone could make it. After I got out of class at around 9:00 p.m. Saturday night I stopped at the market to grab some stuff for a surprise dinner I was making. Mike went to bed and I stayed up until the wee hours of the morning baking him a cake in our tiny microwave/oven, and making homemade tortillas. I hid the tortillas in the top of the closet and the cake in one of the cupboards that we never used. He didn't suspect a thing...it was awesome!

Here is Mike holding his card signed by all his friends.

Some of our friends in the Marugame branch.

Ed and Kari enjoying homemade tacos. The Japanese people don't like Mexican food too much, so it's rare to find taco seasoning. Luckily my mom and sister had brought some with them when they flew to Japan the previous Friday. They also brought a chocolate cake mix and frosting, something you can't find in Japan. Bless their souls for saving the day!