Circa mid August
So just got back from a weeklong orientation in Kagoshima city (the main city in my prefecture). It was a...well...good orientation I guess. I still haven't actually learned too much about how to teach a class (practice makes perfect!) but it was good to make some friends and meet some new people. The orientation was split into two parts, the first was a business type event where we had meetings and presentations and such and the second was a cultural/language orientation. All 50 of us headed out to a remote area in the mountains of Japan (yes it was that beautiful) for a three day adventure.
Most of the people running the orientation didn't speak much english, but through some rough japanese, we got some great stories. They had all (for the most part) done the Japanese "Peace Corps", a 2 year program in a developing country either teaching/farming/etc. One had taught math in Ghana, another had done work in South America (all over). It was interesting to hear them talk about their international experience and made me think about what my future may hold...but alas, more on that one (as usual) later.
The culture classes were pretty cool, we did flower arrangement and tried on Kimono's. I had never done flower arrangement before and was unsure of what to expect. I'm still not exactly sure how to describe it...basically it is a way of arranging flowers in a vase. Yes, people devote their lives to this. But, being Japanese, it is much more than just arranging flowers, it is about arranging the flowers in such a way as to express your feeling, as to cultivate your mind and soul (much like meditation), and to learn to appreciate (and find the beauty) in the simple. It is very "asianesque", but there is some sort of rhyme and rhythm to it (I just don't know what that is!).
So just got back from a weeklong orientation in Kagoshima city (the main city in my prefecture). It was a...well...good orientation I guess. I still haven't actually learned too much about how to teach a class (practice makes perfect!) but it was good to make some friends and meet some new people. The orientation was split into two parts, the first was a business type event where we had meetings and presentations and such and the second was a cultural/language orientation. All 50 of us headed out to a remote area in the mountains of Japan (yes it was that beautiful) for a three day adventure.
Most of the people running the orientation didn't speak much english, but through some rough japanese, we got some great stories. They had all (for the most part) done the Japanese "Peace Corps", a 2 year program in a developing country either teaching/farming/etc. One had taught math in Ghana, another had done work in South America (all over). It was interesting to hear them talk about their international experience and made me think about what my future may hold...but alas, more on that one (as usual) later.
The culture classes were pretty cool, we did flower arrangement and tried on Kimono's. I had never done flower arrangement before and was unsure of what to expect. I'm still not exactly sure how to describe it...basically it is a way of arranging flowers in a vase. Yes, people devote their lives to this. But, being Japanese, it is much more than just arranging flowers, it is about arranging the flowers in such a way as to express your feeling, as to cultivate your mind and soul (much like meditation), and to learn to appreciate (and find the beauty) in the simple. It is very "asianesque", but there is some sort of rhyme and rhythm to it (I just don't know what that is!).
Japanese class was a blur, I was put in the top class (mistake) and was lost for a good part of the time, although I did start to catch on to a few things here and there. My class was full of interesting characters, not as a bad thing (if you're reading this, unlikely as that is...), but just a very diverse group of individuals.
Until lata,
Josh
Below are some photos of us going to a beach on the island (The one below is an airport).
Below are some photos of us going to a beach on the island (The one below is an airport).
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