January 23, 2017
JET teacher Teresa's January blog post!
Happy New Year and best wishes for a new beginning!
I hit the road running in this new year. I started things off with an omurice (my first one ever) and a Taiko performance on New Year’s Day. Personally, I think of me having the omurice as me experiencing new things without fear in 2017 and the Taiko performance as the strength I will carry forward.
In fact, I am planning on taking more trips throughout Japan and countries around me this year.
My first trip was to Kyoto for an English teaching seminar. Kyoto was absolutely breathtaking with its countless temples, but the crowds of people immediately reminded me of Tokyo.
I stayed in the heart of Kyoto in a hotel reserved by the seminar. This seminar focused on teaching English through English with active learning. Even though the seminar was only two days long, participants successfully completed a myriad of tasks, such as writing a team teaching plan, performing the plan with a Japanese English teacher, observing other teachers, and criticizing their classroom performance. It was a priceless experience.
Amongst these activities, we also had a grand meal with over 10 different courses served! I had never been as full as I was then. I was taught to never leave food as it’s a waste and insult to the workers who had helped farm, harvest, and cook it, but I could not bear to swallow another bite!
I have more pictures of more food, but it won’t fit in this collage!
At the end of the seminar, we were told that they were going to choose two winners for the best teaching plan and performance. I really had no idea, but my team had won first place! They awarded my team a box of chocolate because of the great teamwork we had. I am very grateful for the chocolates and want to say even here that this prize was a team effort!
For those interested, this seminar is run by ACROSS, a non-profit, self-funded organization of English teachers in Japan
Cheers!
Teresa