So…apparently I had written this a while ago, and surprise surprise never posted it. *OOps* Anyway here a random accounts that have happened…teaching a class all by myself, lunch, and a fire drill…enjoy!
Teaching:
Today I taught 1-4 (the youngest kids 7th grade here) by myself..no JTE. I loved it! I prepared best I could writing down anticipated phrases I would need to know…in the end gestures and fun faces are best. We played a fun game with their groups (hint if you say make groups…BAM the kids know exactly what to do) and used chalk boards because why would they have white boards here. I tried explaining it best I could while gesturing and doing an example, which resulted in me standing as the teacher saying a word…then running to an empty desk to be the “student” writing on the chalk board and raising my hand…etc. When asking the kids something…well all they say is okay and yes for everything until if find out they don’t really understand. So Fun!
Lunch:
I still have yet to figure out lunch… As I was going through the line putting the bowls, plates, chopsticks, and trays back in their piles….I went to put my plate down, it had the fish skin on it since it was fish that day and the teacher by me starting saying something to me pointing to my plate and then the bin with the fish in it. There was one more fish filet in there..and she was gesturing to my plate and to the bin…so my thought was she was wanting me to eat more or saying I could eat more…? Then I politely tried to half say/gesture that I was full…..and she goes ahh no…wakarimaska (do you understand) and say no wakarimasen… so then she picks up my plate and dumps my remainder food into the bin with the fish….ewwwww. So I guess now whenever I have left-over food on my plate I am suppose to wipe it into the food bin even though there is still food in there?? WHAAAAAT???? So like what do they do with left overs…toss them because now it has half eaten food from people or bones and fish skin (well to their defense I think they eat the whole fist)…eewwwww. I don’t wanna know…I just do whatever they say!
**this was back in March when I was still a noob, I have since figured out lunch and bring bentos now.
Fire Drill:
Today I experienced a fire drill….and let me just say it was quite the ordeal. First there is all the preparation before the actual alarm goes off. Then when it does go off you see the kids and teachers (in an orderly fashion of course) running out the door with their white hats on and a hand towel covering their mouths…some teachers also had hats on as well. You know because this would of course be my first thought….where is my white hat…I need my white hat before I can escape this fire! Hoping this isn’t the case in a real fire? Anyway once all the students are lined up in the dirt field, the demonstrations began by the firefighters on how to put out fire. There were 2 cones, “the fire” and three fire extinguishers in which the 3 selected students used and fired at the cones! Hooray fire out! This whole experience took about 50 minutes…L O N G E S T F I R E D R I L L E V E R.
Also I started tweeting again…life as an ALT follow me @therealrad16
Rach Anne 