The Coming of Spring and the ‘Great Boredom’ of 2008
The snow is melting, and I get sad! By this time next month all the snow will likely be completely gone, and my snowboarding sojourn will be at its end. It’s probably a good thing, as I was starting to become rather single-tracked, as pointed out by my good friend Lauren. I really have nothing to talk about these days except snowboarding and snowboarding-related activities. It’s great in my head, but utterly mundane to everyone else. I’m beginning to see how skaters, surfers and other similar sports enthusiasts can become obsessed with the lifestyle, slowly becoming incapable of functioning like a normal human being.
But no matter! With the coming of spring comes the possibility for broader travel through Hokkaido, as well as finally getting around to hiking around the islands near Wakkanai. With just about four months left in Japan, I had better start getting around to this soon, lest I never get to see the inactive volcano and Japanese edelweiss.
But on more work-related issues, it seems there’s a good chance that I am more or less done with elementary school teaching in my village until June! I couldn’t believe my ears when my supervisor politely told me that it’s standard procedure to resume their English education later on in the year. This in effect means that the elementary schools receive a paltry 6 months education, split between 6 schools and utterly ineffective in achieving any meaningful level of preparation for Junior High School. While I absolutely love teaching the elementary schools, I really don’t see the point of it all if I only get to teach them once a month for six months each! Heather recently attended a seminar thing in Wakkanai where the topic of just what the objective of it all was. She raised the very valid point of whether educators in Japan want to help students understand English or simply pick up a few handy phrases. Given the increasingly prominent role Japan plays in the world economically and socially, one would think the answer would be of the former, but it isn’t…
…But I am mostly just grumpy because it means long days at the Junior High, where the students are teenagers and, thus, are significantly less-eager to learn anything (because they know everything! Duh!). Lots of coffee shall be drunk and I think I’m going to be reading at least two electronic books per week. It’s a shame, because there’s a lot more I could be doing in the schools, but it seems everyone here neither wants, nor is legislated for, extra usage of the Gaijin. I asked my supervisor to send a fax to all the elementary schools, offering my services to anyone who wants extra English lessons, but knowing the rigid protocol of Japanese curricula – even in the lower grades – I’m not holding my breath.
Bah! An old-timer ALT in Nayoro who knew my predecessor mentioned that he’d also expressed similar dissatisfaction in his two year stay here, and was one of the primary reasons of his electing not to re-contract for a third year. To be honest I’m amazed he managed two years of the frustration. It’s sad, as this is the really the only problem with the village. It’s not unique to Sarufutsu, as most have similar experiences, but it’s frustrating nonetheless.
Pessimism aside, I am quite looking forward to some spring weather. After -15 degree weather, even this relatively sweltering 2-5 degree weather has me feeling hot. Spring soars to 15 degrees, the average winter temperature in Jo’burg! I just hope the giant mosquitos stay away until well into July!
