Interactive Forum is a competition in which a select number of junior and senior high school students in Japan get the opportunity practice their English conversational skills. Students sit in groups of about 3 or 4 and discuss various topics. The topics for junior high school students are things like ‘hobbies’ or ‘my favorite place.’ High school students discuss topics that require some deeper thought, like ‘should only English be spoken in Japanese classrooms?’ and ‘should Japanese high schools have cafeterias?’
My role in Interactive Forum both times (once in July and once in August) was judge. The judges rate students based on their individual performance, which includes English fluency, not using any Japanese, and so on. They also evaluate students based on their performance within the group: Were they afraid to make mistakes? Did they monopolize the conversation? Things like that.
While judging this kind of competition may not seem like the most difficult task, I actually found it to be quite challenging. Students put an enormous amount of time and dedication into preparing for these competitions-I’ve worked with some of my students for Interactive Forum before. And speaking English in front of a panel of different English teachers is probably scarier for the students than I can imagine. So I wanted to be as fair as possible when judging. But of course when students who are practically native speakers are thrown into the mix, I feel conflicted as a judge: give more points to the ‘native speaker’ who clearly deserves to win based on my judging criteria sheet, or give more points to the Japanese student, who might benefit more from the confidence boost that winning would give them.
While this bothered me a bit, I was glad to see that in the end, a number of different awards were presented to students for various things. And I hope that whether or not students won this competition, they walked away feeling accomplished and proud of themselves for having tried something so intimidating. I always tell my students that they are very brave for entering Interactive Forum. I know that if I were in a similar competition for people who are learning Japanese, I’d be proud of myself just for having the guts to go!
July 17th-20th: Osaka and Kyoto Adventures
Ben and I visited Osaka and Kyoto in July. And while I hate to say it, the first thing that comes to mind when I think of this trip was the HEAT. It was almost unbearable. Usually, Kyoto is one of the hottest places in Japan during the summer and this year was no exception. Not to mention that this year’s summer was the hottest one in Japan in 113 years. But other than that, we had a great time visiting the Fushimi Inari Shrine (my favorite place by far), the Golden Pavilion, Kyomizudera, and other popular spots in the area. And as we ate a quick lunch before heading home, we saw a wedding take place in Kyoto Station! Kyoto Station is Japan’s second-largest train station and one of the largest buildings in the country. It includes a shopping mall, movie theater, and tons of restaurants, smaller stores, and omiyage (souvenir) shops!
July 24th-28th: Tokyo Orientation
Tokyo Orientation takes place every year in Tokyo to welcome the new JET participants to Japan. The JETs stay at the luxurious Keio Plaza Hotel in Shinjuku for 3 nights and attend various workshops during the day, that will hopefully help them arrive in their prefectures feeling more confident about their roles as ALTs.
I was happy to go to Tokyo for this orientation. It was nice to get away from school for a few days and stay in a nice, air-conditioned hotel! My duties as a TOA (Tokyo Orientation Assistant) were as follows: (1) spending the night at an airport hotel near Narita Airport and welcoming new JET participants at the airport the next day (2) riding the bus with new JETs to the hotel in Shinjuku, while giving them announcements about Tokyo orientation and taking care of paperwork (3) assisting other TOAs in the hotel’s hospitality and information centers, which were open during the day (and night:/) for JETs who had questions, needed to use the internet, iron their clothes, etc. The orientation was a lot of work but definitely worth it in the end. I was able to stay in the Keio Plaza Hotel for free during the days I worked and I met a lot of great new and current JETs from all over Japan.
July 29th: Shopping Day with Kazumi-san (My Japanese Teacher) in Tokyo
Since I was already in Tokyo, I decided to accept Kazumi-san’s (my Japanese teacher) offer to meet at Tokyo Station and visit a bookstore and some other shops on the 29th. She took me to one of Tokyo’s largest bookstores, a Kyoto souvenir shop, and a Hiroshima food store. It was really neat because these are places I would have never known existed unless a Japanese person were to point them out. At the Kyoto souvenir shop, I was presented with a bag full of brochures (in ENGLISH) about traveling around Kyoto and the surrounding areas. Guess that means I’ll have to go back there again!
August 14th-15th: Good Friends and Good Food in Gunma!
I also visited Ben in Gunma prefecture this summer. The first night, Ben took me to “Hungry Ramen,” a family owned ramen shop in Gunma that he’s been insisting I try for a few months. It was really good! I wanted to try the potato ramen but they didn’t have it that time, so we both had the soy sauce ramen instead-not a bad choice!
The next day, we ate an okonomiyaki lunch near Takasaki Station (a major train station in Gunma prefecture) and had a Taco Rice, S’mores, and Rock Band party with his friends that night. Overall, the trip was great, except for the ride home. August 14-15th is during the middle of a Japanese holiday called “Obon” when EVERYONE travels because they have a few days off work. During Obon, families gather to honor the spirits of their dead ancestors, which includes visiting and cleaning their ancestors’ graves. So, since it was Sunday and many people were probably returning to their homes after traveling for Obon, I was squished in a little corner of the Shinkansen (bullet train) for part of the ride home. *Note to self when thinking about traveling somewhere next year during that time: don’t!*
August 18-20th: English Camp
On August 18th, 34 of the English course students from my base school (Hitachi 2nd Senior High School) and a handful of ALTs (Assistant Language Teachers) from all over Ibaraki boarded a bus at Mito station and headed to Lake Echo for English Camp. My base school holds this English Camp every year during the summer for the students in the English course. About 10 ALTs and I came together for a pre-camp planning meeting at the beginning of August and then again later for the actual camp with the students. At the planning meeting we came up with fun English games for the students, non-threatening activities that’ll give the students a chance to practice their English in a fun, care-free environment. One of the highlights of camp this year was cooking curry and rice together outside. We used really old rice containers and bowls for cooking. The students seemed to enjoy the process and the curry (at least my group’s) tasted great in the end!
Even though I had a busy summer, I’d never pass up the chance to see my friends from home in Tokyo. On August 28th I went to Tokyo and spent the day with some friends from KOC (Kids on Campus) who recently moved back to Tokyo. It’s been about a year since I’d seen them so it was really nice to catch up again. We ate lunch at a small Italian restaurant, window-shopped, and later went to a really nice cake shop for some dessert. Later that day, I met Sarah at her house in Roppongi. We went out that night and didn't get home until around 4:30am the next morning! I was surprised to see that Roppongi’s streets were still glowing and packed with people at around 4am when we started going home. Tokyo is a fun place, but can be really tiring!
September 11th: Hanging Out in Hitachi
Yesterday, Jen and I got a haircut at a cute little hair salon, called Bell House. After our haircuts, we went to the Yokape matsuri (festival) that was taking place near Taga train station. We ate some delicious little taco rolls (an unexpected, but lucky find), okonomiyaki, yakisoba (grilled noodles), and cotton candy. We even received a small container of mochi (for free!)...that is after we helped make it by pounding rice in an old wooden barrel using large wooden hammers. Before heading back to our apartments, we each bought a cold ramune that we picked out of a large bucket filled with ice. Ramune is a popular soft drink here in Japan during the summer and comes in a variety of flavors. The drink comes in a funny shaped glass bottle that is sealed with a marble. To open it, you have to push the top really hard until the little marble pops into the drink. I got original flavor and Jen got strawberry-both were great!
September 18th: Aloha!
On Saturday, I’m meeting my Mom and Dad in Hawaii for one week. I just hope the weather there is cooler than here in Japan. I’m looking forward to spending time with them and leaving Japan for a change.
All in all, given the heat this summer, I'm proud of myself for managing to get a lot done. And luckily, even though I was busy most of the time, I still managed to squeeze in a few cat naps here and there.
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| July 2010: Fushimi Inari Shrine, Kyoto |
