leaving the country
Jun. 29th, 2003 09:43 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jamjarI'm going to Japan for a year, in approximately one month, one the JET scheme as an ALT (assistant Language Teacher). Which basically means I'm assigned to a Junior High School, although I may also be visiting Elementary and High schools as well, to help Japanese English teachers teach English.
This is pretty terrifying when I think about it, although I've been trying not to think about it too much. Not the work- I've been teaching English for a year, and most of my classes are 16-19 year olds, although I have one student that's fourteen, and an adult class as well. I'm a satisfactory teacher, I guess.
It'll be very different over there, though, since a) the sts will have less immersion in English, b) will probably be less motivated and c) will all be Japanese. And I strongly suspect I won't have sick-notes from them, dealing with PTSD from torture in their homeland, or the cultural issues between the, generally pretty bolshy, and more inclined to argue or be a bit stroppy, students from the Congo, Senegal and West Europe, compared to the, generally a lot more reserved, Somalian girls. I doubt I'll be able to get the same debates going on government-business responsibility vs personal responsibility, without the Ukrainians and the Nigerians.
It's such a mixed bag of students I have. There are several who, I suspect, are functionally illiterate in their own language. There are others who are well-educated, and seem pretty well off. There are those here on, what is basically a gap year. There are those who miss several lessons because they're explaining to Immigration why they can't go back to their home country. There are students with a cultural background that dictates quiet, total obedience to the teacher, and others who will argue with you over every fifth word.
The system is set up so you're given subsidised accommodation, they help set up all the bank account, direct debit stuff. That doesn't scare me much either.
The two things that do are being so far away from my family- half a world away from my nearest and dearest. My little brother- I love my whole family, but I think I have the most uncomplicated feelings towards my little brother. My big brother and I are very different in personality, and while we now can get on really well, and have some really great times, there's also the fights we used to have, the things that irritate us about each other. Too close in age, too different in personality, I guess. I get on well with both my parents, but (probably more with my mum than my dad- my dad and I are too alike) there's also that same bit of frustration. My little brother is ten years younger than me. While he annoys me sometimes- to his great misfortune, he inherited the family sense of humour and the family joy in winding other people up- but he's my baby brother.
The other thing I worry about, of course, is computer access. I'll need to get a laptop, and set up Internet access and... argh. Scary stuff. I can do without a phone, but I need the modem as a line to home.
Especially because I'll have to leave most of my books behind.
This is pretty terrifying when I think about it, although I've been trying not to think about it too much. Not the work- I've been teaching English for a year, and most of my classes are 16-19 year olds, although I have one student that's fourteen, and an adult class as well. I'm a satisfactory teacher, I guess.
It'll be very different over there, though, since a) the sts will have less immersion in English, b) will probably be less motivated and c) will all be Japanese. And I strongly suspect I won't have sick-notes from them, dealing with PTSD from torture in their homeland, or the cultural issues between the, generally pretty bolshy, and more inclined to argue or be a bit stroppy, students from the Congo, Senegal and West Europe, compared to the, generally a lot more reserved, Somalian girls. I doubt I'll be able to get the same debates going on government-business responsibility vs personal responsibility, without the Ukrainians and the Nigerians.
It's such a mixed bag of students I have. There are several who, I suspect, are functionally illiterate in their own language. There are others who are well-educated, and seem pretty well off. There are those here on, what is basically a gap year. There are those who miss several lessons because they're explaining to Immigration why they can't go back to their home country. There are students with a cultural background that dictates quiet, total obedience to the teacher, and others who will argue with you over every fifth word.
The system is set up so you're given subsidised accommodation, they help set up all the bank account, direct debit stuff. That doesn't scare me much either.
The two things that do are being so far away from my family- half a world away from my nearest and dearest. My little brother- I love my whole family, but I think I have the most uncomplicated feelings towards my little brother. My big brother and I are very different in personality, and while we now can get on really well, and have some really great times, there's also the fights we used to have, the things that irritate us about each other. Too close in age, too different in personality, I guess. I get on well with both my parents, but (probably more with my mum than my dad- my dad and I are too alike) there's also that same bit of frustration. My little brother is ten years younger than me. While he annoys me sometimes- to his great misfortune, he inherited the family sense of humour and the family joy in winding other people up- but he's my baby brother.
The other thing I worry about, of course, is computer access. I'll need to get a laptop, and set up Internet access and... argh. Scary stuff. I can do without a phone, but I need the modem as a line to home.
Especially because I'll have to leave most of my books behind.
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no subject
Date: 2003-06-29 04:44 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-06-29 05:36 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-06-29 07:15 am (UTC)but that's excellent. i rather envy you. and i have an lj friend over there too--
no subject
Date: 2003-06-29 08:50 am (UTC)And an intro would be great.
no subject
Date: 2003-06-29 09:01 am (UTC)let's say your group was attacked by predators, and you witnessed lots of your friends and maybe kin killed. well, that sucks, but yeah, if there's family to tend to and other possible predators to fight off, it does your species no good if all the survivors are left curled up against a tree, like so many quivering balls of jelly. so at least if it's repressed a bit, you can deal with it little by little, at your own pace, at a sensible time. *nods* yup, makes sense to me.
cool. i'll post one in my lj, then.