Last week we had our ALT training in Hiroshima, from Tuesday to Thursday. I fear I gave the Wednesday rather harsh marks in my assesment - mainly because my supervisor turned up and TOTALLY cramped my style! In all fairness, I think every high school supervisor came, but I was unprepared for the shock. The first I had heard of his possibly coming was Jeff pointing out in an email that our supervisors were invited. When the weeks passed silently and my supervisor never said anything to me, I assumed he had declined the invitation. So I did a huge double-take on Wednesday when I walked down into the stairs into the auditorium and two steps after passing Tanto, my brain registered what I had just seen. Jeff had expressed a desire to meet this amazingly surly and sour man I worked with, so I called Jeff back to introduce him. As Jeff has promised he would, he shook Tanto's hand and thanked him effusively for being so helpful to me. Smartarse.
I was moaning about him and trying to hide (apart from anything else, I was letting my wrist tattoo get a few day's fresh air, wearing my thin loose watch instead of my huge rubber one cranked up tight so it covers everything). Jeff pointed out that for the workshops we were split into several rooms and then into several groups, so there were minimal chances I would be in his group. So Jeff had to work hard not to fall about laughing when he saw Tanto was in our room and - you guessed it - in my group.
For the first two workshops we were in a group of four - Tanto, myself and two other ALTs. I noticed that after Tuesday, speaking only to native speakers, our speed of speech had really picked up and the JTEs (Japanese Teachers of English) were really struggling to follow. So I purposefully busted my ass asking Tanto questions, slowly with simple English, during the ALT discussion, to try to make sure he felt he was adding to the conversation. It was super awkward because often you could see he had prepared an answer to the original question or discussion point, so his answer didn't even fit my question, but the other two ALTs were really good about taking his comment and making a big deal of it. It felt a little like babysitting, to be honest. Trying to find the balance between patronising and ignoring!
For the last workshop, we were with two other high school ALTs and their JTE supervisors. This time one of the other ALTs was sitting between Tanto and I, so I felt relieved of the pressure to spoonfeed him bits of conversation and try to make him interact like a NORMAL person. Luckily for Sophie, sitting between us, he must have showered that day because his body odour was under control. During that conversation, Katie, Sophie and I talked quickly and didn't make any extra effort to include the JTEs. Having said that, both the other JTEs did add things to the conversation, particularly explaining the Japanese holidays that were our 'lesson planning topic.' The woman was trying to be really helpful while the older bloke cracked a few jokes with a big grin. Tanto? He sat in stony silence the whole time. Not a word. Due to the seating arrangements, I couldn't see him, but I wouldn't be surprised if he had his eyes closed. Yup, he's that special.
Before that last workshop, in the toilet queue, Katie had laughed at me about my antisocial supervisor being here - he's getting famous! She commented on 'wanting to meet him'. When I came back into the workshop room to realise she was sitting with the delightful Tanto and I, I couldn't help but laugh. I was feeling too tired from the last two workshops to do a 'Oh Tanto, please meet my friends Katie and Sophie', so I just did super obvious rolling eyes to my right to indicate 'that's the one!' Katie gave me a grin and her supervisor, sitting opposite me, gave me a puzzled look.
Other than that, the training was good fun. It was a good chance to hang out with the ALTs we have been meaning to but haven't got around to catching up with since August, find out who is staying another year and catch up over drinks and ugly sweaters. Apologies if I already mentioned the sweaters, but the drinks and dinner evening was themed 'Cosby sweaters'. Jeff went for a subtle black, purple and green (very authentic, I'm pretty sure Dad used to teach in one like it...) while I went for a brown and aqua one that had been knitted by someone with commitment issues - every row seemed a new pattern. Jeff and I were big fans of the theme - obviously cheap and weather appropriate, it also provided bundles of fun both shopping (picture Jeff and I laughing our heads off trying on the ten ugliest sweaters we could find in front of an op-shop mirror, while other shoppers avoid us in case our clothing taste is infectious), then wearing them at the bar. Everyone had made a real effort and there were some truly amazing sweaters. Lots of 80's cool - and some 'wasn't even cool then'. It was a good night.
Of course, anyone who has anything to do with funding might be wondering if I actually did anything but socialise during the training. However, I did get some good ideas - particularly one JET's suggestion of having students keep a journal where they add an entry each week and they get more stamps for more entries. I think it is BRILLIANT because my school is so worried about my students grades that they are changing me Oral Communication textbook for a Grammar one (ugh!), so I think regular composition will be EXCELLENT practise. Of course, more importantly, I'm excited because I think my students will LOVE writing these entries because I'm going to be heavy-handed with stickers, stamps and coloured pens in my marking and replies. Considering my students will do anything for a stamp on their sheet (a full sheet and they get a paper certificate... nope, still don't get the attraction!), I think I'll get some great compositions for shiny stickers!! I have high hopes for this - particularly because the teachers will be really behind me in an effort to get their students grades up.
Having mentioned snowboarding in the title I should refer to it here... On Saturday Jeff and I made it to the mountain for our first boarding this winter. I was blown away how well Jeff did - I think he even managed to not bail on his first run! That's terribly worded, but you know what I mean. He is such a little sports freak that I don't think he's gone backwards at all over the year - I think he has picked up exactly where he left off. He cemented his incredible first day by going over a jump with a dip between the takeoff and landing, so you have no choice but to get considerable air. He didn't land it every time, but he had about a 50% rate. As for me, I had a play around trying some other things I remember from my Ruapehu lesson years and years ago (hmm... was when Jeff and I had been together a short time, so actually about five years ago!), doing a little turny thing up the mountain and leading away on the other foot (feels like trying to use your knife in your left hand!) and jumping random lumps of snow. I am slowly acknowledging a fear of jumping despite all my protective gear and snowboarding is starting to feel horribly like horseriding, where I knew that my own nerves were making me mess up and the more nervous I got, the more I messed up. Vicious circle. But when you are nervous of jumping your horse any higher, you turn to other pursuits - games, trekking, dressage, etc. So I want to figure our some other things I can do on my board that will help me improve without riding off mini cliffs. Besides, Jeff's getting good at that and... err... I wouldn't want to steal his thunder.
Actually the other thing I want to do this winter is try skiing again. I haven't done it since I was 17 - when I went to Ruapehu with Emilie (Anderson) and her mum - but I skiied a fair amount when I was a kid, so I'm curious how much the muscles still remember. I just hope it's not like riding a bike, because I suck at that...
Charly
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