yes, you may

As January comes to a close and the deep chill of February creeps ever closer, things are really heating up at work. I had ten classes plus an extended meeting in one 48-hour period, more responsibilities than I had all of last week. With next week looking just as hectic I am very tired but at the same time relieved to be doing my part. Too much idle time in the office (especially a Japanese office) makes me feel like a freeloader.

Speaking of freeloaders, my unborn child is still loafing around the womb and doing a number on Mako's insides. She had a few weeks where DJ was relatively dormant and her spirits were up as a result, but lately he or she has started squirming and kicking which leaves her feeling tired much more often. It's not as bad as it was in the first trimester - she's not sleeping in as much nor is she chained to the couch when I get home - but the suddenly energetic DJ has certainly sapped some of her strength. Sadly, DJ is still too small for me to feel anything with my hand, but that hasn't stopped me from constantly groping Mako's belly in the hope of getting some sensation of movement in there.

Getting back to the subject of getting back to work, I have to admit that conditions at school are showing signs of real improvement. After my optimism last semester was soundly smashed, I couldn't help but head into this semester with a sense of pessimism. It wasn't so bad as to sour me on this job, because if it was I wouldn't have requested a new contract, but it hung over my winter break and left me feeling uneasy about the prospect of going back to work. Instead, this semester's English plans were quickly distributed to all schools and the materials I needed were (almost) entirely printed and prepared in advance of my first day. After we had another demonstration lesson yesterday we had a long meeting and several teachers said how important it is to have the homeroom teacher be more active in English class rather than just let me (the assistant teacher by definition) handle everything. Even though I've heard this kind of talk since day one, the progress in lesson preparation makes me wonder if we might make progress in the classroom as well.

Personally I feel good about the progress I've made, both as a teacher and as a "presence" in these schools. Nearly all the students know me by name at this point and no one has called me any other names in months. I'm still sorely lacking in both the language and confidence department to truly integrate myself with my coworkers, but I'm doing a better job of just talking to other people whenever I'm sitting in the office. You'd be surprised at how many conversations I've had in recent weeks about Obama and the state of the American economy, considering I don't know enough about economics to discuss it in English let alone Japanese. I may never be able to completely fit in, especially since I'm spread across five different schools at this point, but the more people see me as a person rather than just an ALT - a commodity, a mercenary, a "striker" if you will - the better my professional relationships will be.

As far as the students go, I've found that language isn't as important as body language. I've been pushing myself to just do more, both in the classroom and in the hallways. Whether I'm having children repeat after me or just walking from class to class, I try to use as much motion as I possibly can. Waving my arms, clapping my hands, jumping up and down, even striking outrageous poses - I look ridiculous but it guarantees that the children notice me and pay more attention. This has also gone towards improving my relationship with the teachers because they are definitely impressed by my progress as a teacher and offering me a lot more compliments as a result.

So here I am, seventeen months into my tenure on JET and I'm actually starting to get used to it just as my coworkers are getting used to me. At this rate, I may actually be good at this job before my time is up. Imagine that!

Labels: Japan, JET, pregnancy, teaching