In Japan, it is bonenkai season, which are essentially "end-of-the-year" parties. I have one lined up with my staff in a few weeks, and it's supposed to be the one party where everyone goes crazy, eats, drinks, and says "fuck you" to the burdens of the past year. I'm excited for it because I still haven't had much chance to mingle with my co-workers, and because it is 16,000 Yen (~$200), it better be worth it.
I wanted to share with you what my daily routine looks like here in Sendai. I previously talked about my first day of work for both my main school and elementary school, but I hadn't yet talked about how I go about my daily work days. Allow me to share...
[Waking Up]
The night before work I pick out my outfit for the next day. This includes placing my trousers on my wooden couch and tying my tie. The reason being is that starting now, it is beginning to get really cold in Sendai, so in the morning, I am pretty cold. I set my alarm for 6:35, and usually awaken with about ten minutes before 7:00. I spend ten minutes on morning business, and am out the door by 7:00.
[Commute]
From the moment I leave my door, my commute to work is appx. 35-40 minutes. This commute includes walking, subway, and local bus. I first take the subway, and then get on a bus that drops me off in front of my elementary school. Every morning, I hope that there is a seat on the bus. It's usually filled with high schoolers, so sometimes I get unlucky and have to stand. I also strategically select my seat (if given the opportunity) to avoid contact with my special needs students that hop on the bus halfway during my trip. This is because they have a tendency to perform non-stop talking in Japanese, in a quiet bus, during a time when my iPod is my only friend.
[Pre-lunch]
I have a majority of my classes before lunch, which range from three to four classes a day. Early in the morning when I arrive to work, I start doing lesson plans and establishing my gchat conversations for the day when I have free time. There is a morning meeting, which I barely understand, but choose to be present for. On Mondays I teach an elective class on my own, and on Fridays I teach a special needs class. Around this time, I am usually anxious for lunch.
[Lunch]
Japanese school lunches are ten times better than American ones. They're an actual meal, and will consist of either:
A) Rice, Main dish with meat, Side dish, Soup, Milk (and possibly Fruit)
B) Bread Roll, Meat to put in that bread roll, Side dish, Soup, Milk
I usually root for the first option. My school lunches have ranged from curry to udon, from a plain hot dog to kimchi fried rice, etc. I like it because it's relatively cheap for me (around 250 Yen per meal), but it can be high in calories. Granted the portions are pretty small, so I doubt it'll affect me that much. After lunch there is a twenty minute break, where I either make lesson plans or go talk to students.
[Post-Lunch]
There are two periods after lunch where I usually don't have classes... this is the time when I usually begin to fall asleep, lol. I try hard to keep myself busy, but I'm sure even my JTE next to me have seen me perform the head tilt a few times.
At 15:30, we have a school clean-up time, where students are assigned areas of the campus to clean up. They have to sweep and use a towel to wipe the floor. This is also a time where I talk to my students and make them practice their English outside of class. Has it gotten me in trouble? Yeah- a girl hates me for it, but come on... all I did was ask for the day of the week!
[16:00]
At 4PM, my contract allows me to end work... however, in Japanese society, workers do overtime like mad, so I usually try to stay after to look good. My first bus is at 16:19 anyway, so the earliest I leave school is around 16:15. It's a game because I try to find the best opportunity to say goodbye, without feeling bad. The latest I've stayed at school was 18:00! But some teachers stay even longer, so mad props to them... but I gotta go home and make dinner!
So that's a small glimpse of what my average work day looks like. During school, I don't really talk to my co-workers due to my lack of Japanese, but I hope that will change soon. I chat with my JTEs plenty, but everyone else is a bit harder. Funny that the teachers at my elementary school are so much more willing to speak to me in English. I appreciate that!
Once I get home, I usually cook/buy dinner right away because I'm starving, and then head out to my local gym to work out and soak in the hot bath house. Following that, it's sleep time, and I rinse and repeat until the weekend comes.
Thanks for reading again! More to come on my Japanese adventures.
Typical lunch at my school. We need our own chopsticks as well!
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