My new job

As I've now been working at my new job for a little over 2 months, I think it's high time I write a little update to let people know how it's going.

ECC is one of the largest English teaching companies in Japan.  In a previous blog I wrote about two week training in Tokyo (with a super fun group of fellow trainees!).  At the end of March I began observing classes at our Fukushima school, and I began teaching my first classes in April.

In a typical week I have 16 kids classes, 3 adult classes, and a handful of one-on-one adult lessons.  I teach all ages:  my students range from 2 years old to 72 years old.  While I taught several adult classes at Izumi Lutheran Church last year, this is my first real experience with kids classes.  The classrooms are small (when compared to a typical American classroom) and carpeted.  In the kids classes everything happens on the floor; there are no tables or chairs.  Depending on the age of the kids, we're running around, jumping up and down, crawling on all fours, playing games, and kneeling or sitting on tiny cushions for the entire lesson.  It's a lot of work for this 30+ year old man!  I was completely exhausted after my first couple weeks of teaching.

ECC "Kid's English World" - notice the lack of tables and chairs in these pictures

 
At ECC the kids classes are a complete English immersion experience.  That means that for the 60 minute class there's no Japanese allowed at all, not even to explain a specific instruction or a game.  I've definitely run into a few challenges because of this, particularly with my little 5 year-olds.  Trying to teach a game to kindergarteners is complicated enough when you're speaking the same language!  Add to that the fact that this is the first time they've taken an English class without their parents present.  What new adventure will each day of teaching bring!?  During the first two weeks of classes at least one of my littlest students would cry at the scary, bearded giant that greeted them with a big smile and a strange foreign language at the door of the classroom. . . It's gotten much better (thankfully!) but still these 5 year-old classes will be my biggest challenge this year, I think.  It's a good thing they're so darn cute!

Another challenge has been learning students' names.  I have over 90 children's names and faces to learn.  Remembering names is not my forte to begin with, and Japanese names are still a little tricky for me.  Sometimes when I'm lying in bed at night I'll mentally run through the list of kids in my classes that I had that day.  Is her name Ayako, Ayaka, Aiko, or Akiyo?  Is his name Haru, Haruki, Haruto, or Hayato?  Yikes!

My fellow co-workers at ECC in Fukushima are great!  There are two other native English-speaking teachers (my brother-in-law, Joel, and another man from England) and three very kind Japanese staff that do a TON of work to keep things at the school running smoothly.  There are also a few other Japanese teachers who teach English at our school.  It makes all the difference having such great people to work with - I definitely don't take it for granted.  One of the staff at ECC headquarters in Tokyo mentioned that the Fukushima school is one of the happiest schools in the company.  I believe it.  There's a lot of fun and smiles every day at work!

Another perk:  my commute to work.  Do you remember my "Thursday Commute" blog last year?  Well, my daily commute to work this year is about 10 minutes on foot. . . . 7 minutes if I really 'hoof it' !

The extra income is also a blessing for Haidee and me.  However, working at ECC also means extra expenses. . . . like clothing, for instance.  After only 6 weeks of teaching kids classes (kneeling and crawling around on the carpeted floor) I found a hole in the knee of one of my brand new pairs of slacks!  Haidee (being the very talented seamstress that she is) sewed a patch on in order to salvage the pants. . . but I won't be able to wear them to work again.  What was I going to do!?  I'd heard horror stories from other tall, foreign English teachers about trying to buy dress clothes in Japan.  The styles and cuts are different that what I'm used to, and to find a pair that actually fits, I was told, could turn out to be pretty pricey.

Imagine my surprise (and great relief!) when Haidee and I, at only the second store we stopped at, found not one, not two, but THREE pairs of pants that fit great and were all on sale for a grand total of less than $100.  I'm usually not even that lucky shopping in the States!  It looks like teaching kids classes won't burn a hole in my pocket, although it may burn a few more holes through the knees of my slacks. . .

A hole in my pants after only 6 weeks!  What am I going to do?

sporting the new clothes!