I feel like I'm "growing my teeth" as a teacher. I'll be honest, there have been many many growing pains, but I know that the experiences I'm gaining each day will be invaluable in the long run.
The students at my school are extremely diverse, which makes the job incredibly challenging. I've been working with 8 year old's who are intelligent, multi-lingual kids. Then there's the 60 year old's who rely on a digital translator for nearly every sentence spoken but are purely happy to converse with a foreigner. Often times, these two lessons happen within the same hour.
I've also been training business men who work for major companies and groups of children who can hardly contain their excitement when they see my unfamiliar-looking features.
As my teeth grow in, I'm learning how to bite with discipline when necessary, explain advanced concepts in the cleanest of terms, and most importantly, floss out all of my unnecessary words during a lesson. It is all about helping the students gain confidence in speaking for themselves in a different language. The more I ramble in English, the more confused looks I receive.
It has been three weeks since I fully immersed myself into a new culture. I am now starting to feel settled in with the flow of things. I am a minority in the town where I reside and accepting this has helped me build momentum in the last few days.
Moving to Japan has definitely made me stay aware of my surroundings. There is an importance in this. I’ve become in awe of what’s happening around me because it’s all so unrecognizable. My spacial awareness is stimulated by the most basic of things nowadays. Grocery stores, washing machines, and even toilet rooms in this part of the world are often unbelievable to witness. But for the locals, of course this is not the case. A train ride into Nagoya is simply another familiar routine, similar to if I were commuting into Philadelphia.
The students at my school are extremely diverse, which makes the job incredibly challenging. I've been working with 8 year old's who are intelligent, multi-lingual kids. Then there's the 60 year old's who rely on a digital translator for nearly every sentence spoken but are purely happy to converse with a foreigner. Often times, these two lessons happen within the same hour.
I've also been training business men who work for major companies and groups of children who can hardly contain their excitement when they see my unfamiliar-looking features.
As my teeth grow in, I'm learning how to bite with discipline when necessary, explain advanced concepts in the cleanest of terms, and most importantly, floss out all of my unnecessary words during a lesson. It is all about helping the students gain confidence in speaking for themselves in a different language. The more I ramble in English, the more confused looks I receive.
It has been three weeks since I fully immersed myself into a new culture. I am now starting to feel settled in with the flow of things. I am a minority in the town where I reside and accepting this has helped me build momentum in the last few days.
Moving to Japan has definitely made me stay aware of my surroundings. There is an importance in this. I’ve become in awe of what’s happening around me because it’s all so unrecognizable. My spacial awareness is stimulated by the most basic of things nowadays. Grocery stores, washing machines, and even toilet rooms in this part of the world are often unbelievable to witness. But for the locals, of course this is not the case. A train ride into Nagoya is simply another familiar routine, similar to if I were commuting into Philadelphia.
I took this picture while shopping today. It made me think of where I came from. It motivated me to leave you with this final message.
J. S
I want to remind you, whoever may be reading this, to stay aware of what is around you. To observe the people who cross your path each day because you can learn from the most subtle of encounters. Our elders display wisdom to be absorbed. The youth are on a path that we may have already completed, but observing them can serve as a sort of life review. Here is a reminder to avoid the distraction that rests within your pocket when immersed in your environments. It is a screen that can benefit happiness and knowledge, yes, but it is also a blinder to the mountain that we all exist on. If we can continue to be aware of the sights that surround us, of the people that are near us, then we can continue to move forward together.
J. S
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