TIUA

American Culture Tour

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American Culture Tour

I wanted to remember my experience returning to the U.S. after a year away and with a group of Japanese students.

Every year, our university subsidizes a trip for all freshmen in our English communication program to visit Willamette University in Salem, OR for five days. We call it “American Culture Tour.” Willamette University is the sister university to our school and where our students go to study abroad. This year, about 200 students, 10 teachers and a handful of admins made the trek across eight time zones and back.

Click on any photo for a larger view and full caption. More of the story below.

Before we set off, we had a series of classes to teach our students what to anticipate when traveling. We covered everything from packing, customs/security, airport plans, etc. Most students had never left Japan before and it was their first trip abroad or to the U.S. We placed a lot of emphasis on packing comfortable clothes and shoes. Americans dress a lot more casually than the Japanese. A couple of my ladies still brought their platform heels!

The airport experience was really smooth. My students were very well behaved and accepted my authority when I asked them to do something. Only one student accidentally brought a pen/X-ACTO knife combo through security, which was confiscated. In Japan (and most other countries I have traveled to), it’s not necessary to take off your shoes going through security!

The only thing out of my control happened in the airport going through customs. We had lined up when alarms and sirens started going off. Students’ phones started beeping with emergency notifications. And then the ground started to shake. We had a pretty major earthquake—actually in our home prefecture of Saitama—but we were about two hours away at the airport in Narita. A couple of the students started to freak out while myself and another teacher (Cassie, you rock!) just froze and looked at each other like, “What the hell is happening?” I have to say, we did great. But, my nerves were frayed after that. Being responsible for 17 lives in a natural disaster? No, thanks.

I think the students were excited about being in an airplane—watching movies and eating the food, ordering beverages, etc., although they were instructed not to order alcohol! We left Tokyo at 5 p.m. on Monday and arrived in Portland around 1 p.m. on Monday. Going through American customs took forever because all 200 kids were in the foreign passport line. And some of the customs agents were pills. Even I got stopped and asked for my American ID in addition to my passport.

Students and staff from Willamette met us at the airport, which was a nice greeting. My group had two Willamette students who stayed with us that week and arranged activities for my students when I wasn’t holding class.

We arrived on campus and students got their dormitory room keys and unpacked. We had a boxed lunch in the courtyard. We had beautiful weather that week! In fact, the Willamette campus was so gorgeous. Flowers blooming. The sun was out. The grass was green. The students were impressed by the “nature” and squirrels on campus and in the parks.

Speaking of lunch, is everything is bigger in America? When my students returned from their weeklong trip to Oregon last year and reported that the “food is big,” I thought, “Eh, whatever. American food is not that big in size.”

But, this year, I discovered they were right. Mea culpa. American people are bigger. The cars (trucks) are gigantic. And yes, the food portions are pretty big. At least from the perspective of the Japanese diet. Our lunch that day had a big sandwich, a bag of chips, a side of hummus, a pear and a brownie. It was awesome! But no way did anyone finish it all.

We had been awake for who knows how many hours at this point. I wish I had written down what times I actually slept. I was on a crazy schedule. I would try to sleep at midnight, but be wide awake. And if I fell asleep, I would nap and wake up at 3 a.m. ready to go. I actually slept through my alarm the first day, but I made it to class only 4 minutes after 9 a.m.

Each day, we held class in the morning for three hours. The first day, I took my students to a coffee shop, which was great because I slept through breakfast! Mmmm… Oregon definitely has great coffee. Sorry, Japan! I had an Americano and a Marionberry-basil scone. My students mostly ordered cocoa, but it was great to see them trying to read the menu and order and give the correct amount of money. I stayed out of the way and let them figure it out! A couple of students in the group emerged as leaders and helped out their peers. I had students ranging in sections (based on skill level) from three to 14 (of 15 total).

We also walked along Salem’s riverfront and saw the carousel. We popped into Salem Center mall and browsed through some stores. “Bik shi” or Victoria’s Secret was popular among the girls and everyone seemed to like Hot Topic. The second day, we went to the Salem Public Library—which I love—and we read some children’s books and Japanese manga (comics) translated into English. It was fun and somewhat academic.

One of the students chose a picture book that detailed a Japanese woman’s time in an internment camp in Oregon during World War II. The student didn’t really understand; that was a difficult one to explain. After the library, we walked to get some Dutch Bros coffee and hung out at Bush Park.

Overall, the trip was pretty relaxed. The Willamette students took care of a lot of evening activities so that I could see my family.

It was fun to see my mom and sister. My mom hauled me around town as I browsed through Trader Joe’s, Fred Meyer and Costco. She even brought me my favorite cake from the Market of Choice in Corvallis!

My sister and her boyfriend accompanied us one of the days that we took the students to Portland. The culinary highlight of that day for me was Stumptown’s cold brew coffee. Oh so good. I want another one. Please drink one for me, Cascadians. My sister and her gentleman friend were awesome and served as the navigators for that day.

My students LOVED shopping and thought the prices (even the prices at Pioneer Place) were cheaper than Japan. Favorite stores included Nike, Kitson, Forever 21 and the Made in Oregon store. Oh, and students were in love with the Safeway near campus. The worst Safeway in Salem probably. Oh well. Maybe it’s like how Robert and I were excited about going to grocery stores when we first came to Japan.

Our groups had lunch at the food cart pod downtown. One of my students said “It’s world food.” I guess she was right—Korean, Thai, Greek, Mexican, Polish, Chinese, even Japanese. But I think students mostly tried American food: “big” hamburgers, pulled pork sandwiches, hot dogs. Some had burritos or tacos, but overall, I don’t think they were into Mexican food. One of the nights, the Willamette student leaders took them to a taqueria and most Japanese students ordered fish and chips or hamburgers. Ha. When my students say they had Mexican food, I always ask, “was it spicy?” And they always say, “yes.” It makes me giggle. I love spicy food so I am a fish out of water in Japan.

My mom took my sister and I to my favorite Mexican restaurant in Salem: La Hacienda. It’s the best because they make their own flour tortillas. Along with a Negra Modelo, that was as good as I remember. I also went to Robo Taco in northeast Portland and ordered some “pork” and “sausage” tacos, which I doused in habanero salsa. YES. And +1 for vegetarian food options.

I’ll also add that in addition to amazing coffee and awesome Mexican food, Oregon has the best beer. Nobody else makes beer like Cascadians. It has color! It has hops! It has depth! Flavor! I die! It was fun shopping around and finding beers on Robert’s wish list. I also enjoyed a hoppy pint at Hair of the Dog and some sours to change it up at Cascade Brewing (on a night off! I was not on duty or in charge of any lives 🙂 ).

My other observations:

  • Portland really IS weird. I could do without randos begging our students for money while in line at VooDoo or screaming and ranting about restraining orders and gun permits in front of the courthouse. I’m glad that last one didn’t erupt in violence.
  • It’s hard to go from Tokyo back to Portland. 13 million people vs. 600,000. I do love pockets of Portland and I’m sure we’ll end up living there, but…there’s no comparison.
  • Americans are rude (but not as rude as Europeans) when compared to super-polite Japanese people. I witnessed Salemites arguing about parking spots, who was in line first and inconsequential things like that. That would never happen in Japan. The Japanese apologize and say excuse me even when they’ve done nothing wrong.

Overall, I had a really great time bonding with my students and seeing them use English in a real world setting. I got to see some of my students from last year who were studying abroad at Willamette. And I got to spend more time with some of my co-workers who went on the trip. Win, win, win. Thanks, ‘Merica.

Coming of Age

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Working with young people, I have a chance to hear about some of the “exciting” first rites of passage into adulthood. Students getting their driver’s licenses or first jobs. First forays into drinking, smoking, sex. Forming opinions. Rebellion. Normal teen stuff.

Each culture has its own definitions of the not-so-fine line between childhood and adulthood. But, in the U.S., there’s no official ceremony surrounding it. The closest thing we have is perhaps a “Sweet Sixteen” or the 18th birthday. Latino cultures have the “Quinceañera” for young women at 15 years of age. In Japan, there is a public holiday on the second Monday of January, which is deemed “Coming of Age Day” (Seijin no hi).

In Japan, the legal age of adulthood is 20—for voting, drinking and smoking. For about a year, I’ve been hearing about the preparations for this day from some of our sophomore students at the university. And finally, it was here. My Facebook feed was suddenly flooded with loads of young women in beautiful kimonos and ornate hairstyles.

Japan really is a curious mix of the old and the new. To see young women transformed from their jeans and t-shirts to feminine visions from a past era was fascinating.

I asked a few students to share the significance of this day. Maybe it’s similar to asking an 18-year-old in the states why all of a sudden they can now vote, join the military or get a tattoo. “It’s a tradition,” they say. “We’re now considered adults based on our age.”

The Coming of Age ceremony usually takes place the weekend before or around the official public holiday. Young people who turned 20 after April 2 of the previous year or 19-year-olds who will turn 20 before April 1 of the current year take part in the ceremony. Students traveled across Japan to go home for this occasion.

Akie
Akie presents a close up of her ornate hair and ‘furisode’ kimono.

Women usually go to a shop about a year in advance to be fitted for their “furisode” kimono with all of its intricacies. It’s similar to how women choose a wedding gown. It’s a chance to put your stamp of creativity and stand out in the sea of beauties. The family plays a large role and it’s not a cheap endeavor with kimonos costing in the thousands of dollars (many borrow or rent). Young women wake up early—about 6 a.m.—and go to a special salon that does hair and makeup. There is also someone who helps with fitting the furisode.

At around noon, students join their former junior high school classmates in a public hall for the ceremony. From what I understand, there are many speeches and formalities. Most of the men wear suits and a few wear the men’s version of the kimono, which is called a hakama.

Masaaki
Masaaki posing in his eye-catching hakama.

I taught Masaaki when he studied abroad in Oregon (he has now returned to Japan). His appearance stood out to me as he was one of the few who chose to rent a hakama for this day. He said three people had to help him dress in the kimono. “After I wore the kimono, I ate special lunch with my relatives gathered,” Masaaki said.

And after the ceremony? Students have a reunion with their classmates. And, then the parties! And rowdiness! “I had second and third parties. I enjoyed until next morning ‘cause we were legally able to drink alcohol!” Masaaki said.

Shuta
Shuta (back row, third from left) and his friends celebrate becoming adults.

Shuta is a student at the university. He just turned 20 in October and he traveled two hours by plane to get to his hometown of Isahaya in Nagasaki Prefecture. He wore a suit for his ceremony and he said he didn’t have enough time to rent a kimono. In October, when some of the other students surprised him for his birthday in our class, he said a few words about the significance of 20 and how he must be a man now and take schoolwork and his future seriously.

But when I ask some of my students if they feel like an adult now that they have gone through the ceremony, most of them say not really. Are they ready to vote and form opinions and explore all of the fun and not-so-fun rites of adulthood? Maybe not. And that’s OK. There’s no hurry to grow up.

Saki
Saki (left) traveled to her hometown of Kitamoto for the ceremony and class reunion. She turned 20 in November 2014.

“What’s in Japan?”

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Kawagoe Map

People have asked, Why did you move to Japan? Where are you? What are you doing?

We have been here for a month and I have taught for about a week, so I feel I can now answer such questions as a true expert. 😉

Why did we move to Japan?

From the beginning: Traveling has always been a passion of mine. I got the bug in college with month-long study abroad classes in Spain and Russia. I studied abroad for a semester in San Juan, Costa Rica. Robert and I have traveled to Mexico several times, exploring areas off the beaten path.

After I got my master’s in teaching, it was always my desire to teach abroad. But I was hired at a local school district and got swept up in a series of jobs teaching Spanish for four years. I wouldn’t change this experience for anything, mostly because of the relationships that I formed with my students. They are among my favorite people on Earth!

But, I felt like I hit the ceiling in my school district. I worked part-time and had been laid off twice previously. Year to year, there was no certainty. There was also a lack of professional development and leadership in my building.

So I reluctantly left teaching for a job as a trainer for the government, teaching adult abuse investigators throughout the state. This job paid twice as much as I made teaching. (Did I mention yet how underfunded public school educators are?) Again, I am happy that I was hired and I became proficient in the job. But still, this wasn’t the right fit for me. I applaud the people that I met who do this difficult work.

Lesson learned: high salary does not equal satisfaction. But, I have a master’s degree—couldn’t I have both salary and a position working with students?

In October, I heard about a few openings through a program at Willamette University that sends educators to a Japanese university to teach English. I had thought about applying for the position the previous year, but I was reluctant. After all, I didn’t speak Japanese and I knew nothing of the Far East.

Long story short, I took a leap of faith. I’ll never forget the phone call I got on November 30 informing me that I was hired. A chance to revisit a dream not yet forgotten!

What are you doing?

Before going to Japan, I started teaching in January at Tokyo International University of America (TIUA). TIUA is a part of Willamette University. Students from the university where I am teaching now in Japan come to Willamette to study abroad for a year.

Exchange students at TIUA
Some of my students at TIUA. I’m in there somewhere!

At TIUA, I joined a cohort of other teachers that now has 10 members. We are the second group to be hired and we have signed contracts for two years. We join a group of 10 teachers who have already been in Japan for a year. The university is hiring four more teachers this September.

Teaching at Willamette was my first foray into the world of teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL). When my family came to the US, I was thrown (I think the technical term is “mainstreamed”) into public school long before there were English as a Second Language (ESL) programs so I know firsthand how difficult it can be to navigate the English language.

When I told people I was going to teach English, I think the response I got implied, “oh, just English? I know so-and-so who taught English in such and such. It was easy.” Um, no. I think most Americans (and all people really, no matter the country of origin) are ethnocentric and think their native language is easy and don’t know the difficulties learning a foreign language past taking Spanish for two years in high school umpteen years ago. More about this in a later post.

In late March, Robert and I moved to Japan and I now teach at Tokyo International University (TIU), a private university in Kawagoe, Japan. My position is called Global Teaching Fellow (GTF) in the School of Language Communication, Department of English Communication.

Train advertisement
The GTFs on an advertisement on the train from Kawagoe. I am on the top row, second to last.

I teach six classes and their names are extensive, but mostly they focus on the following skills: reading, writing, speaking and/or listening in English. The students are divided into sections based on their TOEIC score. The TOEIC and the TOEFL are tests that measure students’ English proficiency, each with a slightly different focus.

I am teaching sections 5 and 12 of the freshman classes and 4 and 8 of the sophomores; a mix of beginner and intermediate students (well, mostly beginners—more on that later!). My class sizes are between nine to 12 students each. I have a total of 41 students. A huge feat considering I’d have these kinds of numbers in just one class in public school.

Weekly schedule
My weekly schedule

I work from about 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. most days and usually some preparation on Sunday. I have never had six “preps” before (six separate classes to lesson plan for) so this has been a huge lesson for me in staying organized. It is hectic most days, but I like staying busy and productive. I teach on the fifth floor of our building (our offices and the English Plaza are on the second floor). I am also very happy and thankful to be in the same classroom for all of my classes.

Classroom
My classroom

In my schedule, I have weekly time assignments in the English Lounge. This is a modern, newly renovated area on our floor where students come and practice using English. They can play games, order coffee, check out books, etc.

English Plaza
Oregon Cafe and English Plaza

For speaking class, students are required to sign up for 10 sessions in the English Plaza per semester. I check to see which students have signed up to speak with me and then we have conversations on topics ranging from their hobbies, travel time on the train (most students commute between 30 minutes to two hours one way to school) and their favorite member of One Direction or J-pop (Japanese pop music) artist.

Where are you?

We live in Kawagoe, Japan. It’s about 30 minutes train ride north from Tokyo. The prefecture (district/county) is Saitama. Kawagoe is the Sister City of Salem, Oregon. I have about a 15-20 minute walk to work. I love my commute. I don’t miss our 90-minute daily commute at all! I think we live in the perfect location. Close enough, but far away enough from both work and Tokyo.

Kawagoe is a college town. There are advertisements for the university on most of the trains, including one with all of our pictures. The GTF program is under the Global Teaching Institute, which also includes the TIUA study abroad program at Willamette University.

Moving here has been difficult and quite a roller coaster. But I am excited to have the chance to teach again—in a university setting no less!

Please let me know if you have any questions and I’ll be sure to address it in a future post.