November 29, 2012

lessons

What I've learned in my 2 weeks of teaching English lessons:

1. Everyone in Japan really DOES like sushi. 
I mean don't get me wrong, I like sushi just as much as the next Japanese and could very easily pound 36 kilo's of it (look at me...already using the English/Standard system. Peace out Metric's!). But, when I ask my students what is their favorite food 98% of them answer, "Sushi." Now, I'm not sure if they are just saying that because it's the easy answer and they don't have to think about it or they actually DO like sushi that much. I have no clue.

2. The Google Translate app ROCKS.

3. They ALL enjoy hiking and "trekking" mountains. 
Again, I enjoy the occasional hike here and there through a mountainous terrain, but it sure ain't my hobby. Apparently Japan has it's own set of Alps and many Japanese people enjoy spending their free time on them. Who knew...

4. These people travel EVERYWHERE.
I always thought the Japanese preferred to stay on their own little island, minding their own business, inventing the next best technological phenomenon, and staying brilliant. I knew that they took the occasional trip to Disneyland so they can take a picture with every character in the park, but I was shocked when I found out most of the students have travelled to several countries in Europe and Asia, Australia, and South America. I'm so jeal...

5. I. Love. Whiteboards.
Apparently this is a hidden dream of mine because when I first used the whiteboard in one of my lessons, I pretty much exploded all over it with as much verbage I could fit on there. I may or may not have just wrote out my whole dialogue with my student on the board. I may have also wrote it in Japanese too...and I may have drawn everything they had to eat for lunch that day. I just couldn't STOP!!

I love, LOVE meeting new people and getting to know them so this has been a blast. What do they do, where are they from, what do they enjoy doing, where have they been (which is apparently everywhere), where do they want to go, what are their goals. Usually this is my first lesson with a student and from then on we do more learning and grammar lessons. So grateful for this opportunity and praying God uses this part of my life to make His name known in Japan.

5 comments:

  1. yooooo finally stumbled upon your awesome blog. will follow from now!

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  2. We should probably plan on climbing the alps when I visit. I don't see why we wouldn't after the easy time we had with Wheeler Peak.

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  3. Proud you are growing so much! My mom decided we should start this week on Japanese food one-o-one with me...aka she wants to go to eat Japanese food and is using my trip to Japan as an excuse to go out. This week our place is already picked out...soon she wants to take me to sushi. HA! We'll see how that goes. =) Love your teacher talent inside you. Whiteboards are the most amazing teaching tool. I hope you have all the fun colors, that's when the artistic being inside really comes out! Love reading your journey. Keep your faith strong! Love you!

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