I have been meaning to write about the bad day for awhile, but just couldn't find the motivation. I mean, who really wants to relive a bad day? Today was a good day and I feel like spewing all over this blog about how much I love my students and the teachers I work with and living in this town. So first I will talk about the good day and hopefully I will have the momentum to finally finish last week's post about the bad day.
Good Day
I biked to work. The weather was a bit overcast, but it was a nice, cool morning that felt truly autumnal. I love not only knowing that it's autumn, but feeling it when I step outside. Biking to work is a great way to start off the day. I bike along the river, headed upstream towards the mountains. There are so many mountains layered on top of each other and the clouds cast shadows on them so they look green, blue, and everything in between. I passed by my boss as he was walking to work and we chatted briefly.
Today I taught at the middle school. Ten members on the Board of Education marched into the classroom in their business suits and stood in the back watching me. Ten! I forgot that today was the day members high up on the Board of Education were supposed to come watch me. Seems like a silly thing to forget, but I'm glad I did otherwise I might have been more nervous than I already was. During that class, I told them my mom's name is Yuki and they giggled because why does Emily-Sensei's mom have a Japanese name? Then they figured out I was half Japanese and gasped. One student verbatim said, "びっくりした!” which means "I was surprised!" It's funny how people at home think I'm "Asian" and people here don't even wonder for a second if I'm Japanese.
The class before lunch was one of my 9th grade classes and they were by far the best behaved class I have worked with so far. They tried hard and were engaged. I ate with them for lunch and the four girls who sat around me were so nice and tried to speak English with me. Usually that doesn't happen since Japanese students tend to be very shy when meeting strangers; especially strangers that speak another language!
During the break my co-worker showed me some of the comments the students made on a survey they filled out after class. It was all in Japanese, so I can't fully rewrite what they said because I can understand Japanese but I can't remember verbatim how they said it in Japanese. I can only remember what they said via the English translation. This was the part that made my day.
Most of the students said it was a fun or interesting class. One student said that even though English is hard and I (Emi-Sensei) spoke only in English, she could understand a lot of what I said so she thought it was a good class. More than a couple students said that I am 明るい, or cheerful, and that they were happy to meet me and thought the class was fun. My teacher told me later that usually her students are tired or not engaged and that she thinks the students pay more attention when I come to class. She also told me that she herself does not usually like Mondays, but they aren't so bad now since we get to work together. I cannot tell you how happy this made me. I feel the same way! I was worried before because the students are so shy around me and I can't tell if they really care about me being there or if I really make much of a difference. But to read the comments and hear from my coworker that so many of them had fun in my classroom wiped all of those worries away.
The following and final class of the day was fantastic. I felt even more comfortable than I normally do. I joked around with the students and some of them were bursting into giggle fits! The students tend to not make eye contact with me when I ask them questions they immediately look to their friends to seek their help. So I started stepping in front of their friends so that they have to look at me and for some reason they think that's the funniest thing on Earth. I'm glad they think that because then I can get them to make eye contact with me, try a little bit harder, and they don't feel so embarrassed about it!
Good Day
I biked to work. The weather was a bit overcast, but it was a nice, cool morning that felt truly autumnal. I love not only knowing that it's autumn, but feeling it when I step outside. Biking to work is a great way to start off the day. I bike along the river, headed upstream towards the mountains. There are so many mountains layered on top of each other and the clouds cast shadows on them so they look green, blue, and everything in between. I passed by my boss as he was walking to work and we chatted briefly.
Today I taught at the middle school. Ten members on the Board of Education marched into the classroom in their business suits and stood in the back watching me. Ten! I forgot that today was the day members high up on the Board of Education were supposed to come watch me. Seems like a silly thing to forget, but I'm glad I did otherwise I might have been more nervous than I already was. During that class, I told them my mom's name is Yuki and they giggled because why does Emily-Sensei's mom have a Japanese name? Then they figured out I was half Japanese and gasped. One student verbatim said, "びっくりした!” which means "I was surprised!" It's funny how people at home think I'm "Asian" and people here don't even wonder for a second if I'm Japanese.
The class before lunch was one of my 9th grade classes and they were by far the best behaved class I have worked with so far. They tried hard and were engaged. I ate with them for lunch and the four girls who sat around me were so nice and tried to speak English with me. Usually that doesn't happen since Japanese students tend to be very shy when meeting strangers; especially strangers that speak another language!
During the break my co-worker showed me some of the comments the students made on a survey they filled out after class. It was all in Japanese, so I can't fully rewrite what they said because I can understand Japanese but I can't remember verbatim how they said it in Japanese. I can only remember what they said via the English translation. This was the part that made my day.
Most of the students said it was a fun or interesting class. One student said that even though English is hard and I (Emi-Sensei) spoke only in English, she could understand a lot of what I said so she thought it was a good class. More than a couple students said that I am 明るい, or cheerful, and that they were happy to meet me and thought the class was fun. My teacher told me later that usually her students are tired or not engaged and that she thinks the students pay more attention when I come to class. She also told me that she herself does not usually like Mondays, but they aren't so bad now since we get to work together. I cannot tell you how happy this made me. I feel the same way! I was worried before because the students are so shy around me and I can't tell if they really care about me being there or if I really make much of a difference. But to read the comments and hear from my coworker that so many of them had fun in my classroom wiped all of those worries away.
The following and final class of the day was fantastic. I felt even more comfortable than I normally do. I joked around with the students and some of them were bursting into giggle fits! The students tend to not make eye contact with me when I ask them questions they immediately look to their friends to seek their help. So I started stepping in front of their friends so that they have to look at me and for some reason they think that's the funniest thing on Earth. I'm glad they think that because then I can get them to make eye contact with me, try a little bit harder, and they don't feel so embarrassed about it!
I ended my day playing soccer. That's the best way to end a day. I drove 40min to Mutsu City to play at the fantastic Sports Dome they have up there for what they call "Futsal Time," which is basically pick-up soccer. There were about 17 men and 2 women, me being one of those women. Two! It was fine, though, because men tend to play quicker so it was challenging and fun. These were the most organized pick up soccer games I have ever played in. The had an organizer, rotated teams, had timed halves, and everyone was pretty honest about the ball going out of bounds. All in all, I made some new friends, got in a good workout, and really enjoyed myself.
Now for the bad day.
Bad Day
Imagine if you lived in a tiny town in, say, Vermont with a population of about 4,000 people. You have only 7 channels on your TV, most shops close around 7pm, there are virtually no restaurants, and the primary grocery store is a small convenience store--a high class 7-11, if you will. Everybody speaks English and you have never met a person who is anything other than a white American and you've never been to New York City or Boston. Heck, you haven't even been to any town with a population over 400,000 people. Then, one day, a Japanese lady moves in. She knows how to do some kick-ass karate, she dresses sort of funny but it's interesting, and she doesn't speak much English. That is the type of situation I am in right now. People here think I'm interesting and everyone knows everything about me. They have read about me in the town magazine (I have had people come up to me with their magazine and say, is this you?) and they know where I live.
Naturally, people here are curious about me. Most people are shy and don't want to try speaking English, but there are a handful who are more than eager to practice English with an actual foreigner! Never seen one of those before! Every time I say something about American culture, they either say it's interesting or "cool." I can not tell you how many times people have told me that something I wear or say or do (like playing soccer) is "so cool." It was a little weird at first, although quite flattering. I empathize with a fellow JET when he says, "I think this is the first time in my life I was ever considered 'cool.'" It's great to meet people who are excited to learn about my culture, a culture I never found particularly interesting before now. But one man in my town took it too far.
Let me rewind to about 5 days prior.
At the town festival there was a man who was mentally disabled, to some degree. I say some degree because he can speak fluent Japanese, remembered my name, occupation, and the fact that I speak English both days I saw him at the festival. At the risk of sounding ignorant, but in an effort to make the point clearer, this man does not have something as severe as Down Syndrome. Rather, he has something more akin to what, say, the fictional character Forrest Gump had. He was quite touchy by fixing my clothes and patting on the shoulder, although he did not just act this way toward me, but other women at the festival. He kept talking to me like a dog. He kept saying, "Emi! Emi! Ha. Emi! Konnichiwa!" I would say Konnichiwa back and he would laugh at how amusing it was that I could say Konnichiwa. I didn't like that, but he is mentally disabled so I figured I should have more patience. My friend later told me that he asked where I lived and told me to lock my doors and windows. I don't know if she was trying to make me feel more protected by saying that, but as you can imagine I felt very uncomfortable.
Later that night there was another man who made inappropriate comments and gestures to me at a casual dinner with fellow government employees and no one reprimanded him for acting that way towards me. It's not that the people here aren't nice or protective, it's Japanese culture. Nobody wants to be confrontational or make things more awkward or stand apart from the rest of the group. Whatever. I won't say I got over it because I am still upset and hearing him say that he wants to come by my house (whether or not he was joking, I am not 100% sure) doesn't make it any easier for me to live alone in a house in a foreign country and isolated town. But I did inform my coworker, boss, and neighbor about it. Since I had dealt with the matter, I moved on and enjoyed my weekend.
The next Tuesday I had a wonderful time with JET friends that came up to visit me for the holiday. We climbed a mountain, went to a hot springs bathhouse, cooked, and watched the sunset (pictures to come). It was magnificent and I was ready to go back to work the next day.
The morning of my bad day I was just about to change for work when my doorbell rang. Not having pants on, I scrambled to put them back on and hesitated because my friend had told me earlier that week to lock my doors and not answer the doorbell. I waited awhile and peeked out the window, but couldn't see anything. What the heck, it was broad daylight and people were out and about for work. I decided to crack the door open in case it was my neighbor. Lo and behold, it was creepy man number 2. The mentally disabled one from the festival.
My heart stopped for a second. If I was told to lock my doors because he might come to see me, that means he might be dangerous or have ill-intentions, right? I wasn't sure. I just knew he wasn't supposed to be at my house. I said hi and then told him "Okay. You need to go. Byee!"
He put his hand on the door as if to open it wider. I told him, "NO. Okay? NO. Goodbye." and closed the door in his not-so-happy looking face. I scrambled for my phone and called my supervisor, who didn't pick up. Right then I heard a knock on my window. He DEFINITELY should not be knocking on my window. I called my neighbor and by that time he was gone.
Now, as disconcerting as this episode was, it got much worse when I discovered that he had come to my house before. My neighbor had sent him away a few days before when he told her that he came to "Learn English." She told him that he should go to the Board of Education to ask about that, not my personal residence. This is upsetting for a number of reasons. First, he knows what "Don't come here" in Japanese means. If he can remember all of this information about me and can figure out not only where I live but how to get there by himself, he can remember when my neighbor told him "Don't come here." Second, my windows are open all the time. I usually have the shades drawn, but did he see into my bedroom window when I was changing? Probably not. But to think that he was outside my house on two occasions without me knowing made me VERY uncomfortable.
The worst part was I didn't know how to communicate in Japanese properly. I can say, "Am I safe?" or "Why did he come?" But I can't say things like "Why did you tell me to lock my door and windows? Because he has ill-intentions or because it's your job to ensure my safety so you're taking extra precautions? To be honest, telling me to lock my door and windows and suggesting that I not answer the door has VERY negative connotations."
I went to work that day because I sure as heck didn't want to be at home. I drove to the wrong school. I forgot to bring my indoor school shoes. Luckily, teaching took my mind off of everything and I had fun with the kids. I didn't want to go home that day. Not only because of the man that came to my house, but the other man as well! He "joked" about coming to my house, but now it didn't seem all that implausible that he was joking.
Not to worry, friends and family. I am perfectly safe and have dealt with the matter, but suffice to say that it was a very unhappy day.
Now for the bad day.
Bad Day
Imagine if you lived in a tiny town in, say, Vermont with a population of about 4,000 people. You have only 7 channels on your TV, most shops close around 7pm, there are virtually no restaurants, and the primary grocery store is a small convenience store--a high class 7-11, if you will. Everybody speaks English and you have never met a person who is anything other than a white American and you've never been to New York City or Boston. Heck, you haven't even been to any town with a population over 400,000 people. Then, one day, a Japanese lady moves in. She knows how to do some kick-ass karate, she dresses sort of funny but it's interesting, and she doesn't speak much English. That is the type of situation I am in right now. People here think I'm interesting and everyone knows everything about me. They have read about me in the town magazine (I have had people come up to me with their magazine and say, is this you?) and they know where I live.
Naturally, people here are curious about me. Most people are shy and don't want to try speaking English, but there are a handful who are more than eager to practice English with an actual foreigner! Never seen one of those before! Every time I say something about American culture, they either say it's interesting or "cool." I can not tell you how many times people have told me that something I wear or say or do (like playing soccer) is "so cool." It was a little weird at first, although quite flattering. I empathize with a fellow JET when he says, "I think this is the first time in my life I was ever considered 'cool.'" It's great to meet people who are excited to learn about my culture, a culture I never found particularly interesting before now. But one man in my town took it too far.
Let me rewind to about 5 days prior.
At the town festival there was a man who was mentally disabled, to some degree. I say some degree because he can speak fluent Japanese, remembered my name, occupation, and the fact that I speak English both days I saw him at the festival. At the risk of sounding ignorant, but in an effort to make the point clearer, this man does not have something as severe as Down Syndrome. Rather, he has something more akin to what, say, the fictional character Forrest Gump had. He was quite touchy by fixing my clothes and patting on the shoulder, although he did not just act this way toward me, but other women at the festival. He kept talking to me like a dog. He kept saying, "Emi! Emi! Ha. Emi! Konnichiwa!" I would say Konnichiwa back and he would laugh at how amusing it was that I could say Konnichiwa. I didn't like that, but he is mentally disabled so I figured I should have more patience. My friend later told me that he asked where I lived and told me to lock my doors and windows. I don't know if she was trying to make me feel more protected by saying that, but as you can imagine I felt very uncomfortable.
Later that night there was another man who made inappropriate comments and gestures to me at a casual dinner with fellow government employees and no one reprimanded him for acting that way towards me. It's not that the people here aren't nice or protective, it's Japanese culture. Nobody wants to be confrontational or make things more awkward or stand apart from the rest of the group. Whatever. I won't say I got over it because I am still upset and hearing him say that he wants to come by my house (whether or not he was joking, I am not 100% sure) doesn't make it any easier for me to live alone in a house in a foreign country and isolated town. But I did inform my coworker, boss, and neighbor about it. Since I had dealt with the matter, I moved on and enjoyed my weekend.
The next Tuesday I had a wonderful time with JET friends that came up to visit me for the holiday. We climbed a mountain, went to a hot springs bathhouse, cooked, and watched the sunset (pictures to come). It was magnificent and I was ready to go back to work the next day.
The morning of my bad day I was just about to change for work when my doorbell rang. Not having pants on, I scrambled to put them back on and hesitated because my friend had told me earlier that week to lock my doors and not answer the doorbell. I waited awhile and peeked out the window, but couldn't see anything. What the heck, it was broad daylight and people were out and about for work. I decided to crack the door open in case it was my neighbor. Lo and behold, it was creepy man number 2. The mentally disabled one from the festival.
My heart stopped for a second. If I was told to lock my doors because he might come to see me, that means he might be dangerous or have ill-intentions, right? I wasn't sure. I just knew he wasn't supposed to be at my house. I said hi and then told him "Okay. You need to go. Byee!"
He put his hand on the door as if to open it wider. I told him, "NO. Okay? NO. Goodbye." and closed the door in his not-so-happy looking face. I scrambled for my phone and called my supervisor, who didn't pick up. Right then I heard a knock on my window. He DEFINITELY should not be knocking on my window. I called my neighbor and by that time he was gone.
Now, as disconcerting as this episode was, it got much worse when I discovered that he had come to my house before. My neighbor had sent him away a few days before when he told her that he came to "Learn English." She told him that he should go to the Board of Education to ask about that, not my personal residence. This is upsetting for a number of reasons. First, he knows what "Don't come here" in Japanese means. If he can remember all of this information about me and can figure out not only where I live but how to get there by himself, he can remember when my neighbor told him "Don't come here." Second, my windows are open all the time. I usually have the shades drawn, but did he see into my bedroom window when I was changing? Probably not. But to think that he was outside my house on two occasions without me knowing made me VERY uncomfortable.
The worst part was I didn't know how to communicate in Japanese properly. I can say, "Am I safe?" or "Why did he come?" But I can't say things like "Why did you tell me to lock my door and windows? Because he has ill-intentions or because it's your job to ensure my safety so you're taking extra precautions? To be honest, telling me to lock my door and windows and suggesting that I not answer the door has VERY negative connotations."
I went to work that day because I sure as heck didn't want to be at home. I drove to the wrong school. I forgot to bring my indoor school shoes. Luckily, teaching took my mind off of everything and I had fun with the kids. I didn't want to go home that day. Not only because of the man that came to my house, but the other man as well! He "joked" about coming to my house, but now it didn't seem all that implausible that he was joking.
Not to worry, friends and family. I am perfectly safe and have dealt with the matter, but suffice to say that it was a very unhappy day.