Ena Update: Fall has Arrived!
Dusk in the mountain top town of Akechi, a newly acquired tributary of Empire Ena.I am much more than a geisha chaser. I am an Assistant English teacher. Behold, the fruits of my labor!
Kana is a third year junior high school student, which is the equivalent of 9th grade in the US. If you can't read it, click on the image and a larger version will pop up. (^-^)
KAWAII! How cute is this? Written by a second year (8th grade) student who does not like a lovery boy named Kazunori (^_<) These are just a few of the smile-inducing journal letters my Beautiful Mountain School students write me every week. Although it is optional, most of them try to write at least once a week, and many even write three times a week. I'm always excited to see a huge stack of letters waiting in my mailbox when I visit, and spend more time writing back then I do preparing for class (>o<). I've learned so much about my kids through these little letters, and they've learned a lot about writing! The improvement we've seen is incredible, both in their vocabulary and sentence structure (although is obviously still far from perfect). Having the opportunity to write about anything they want, without the pressure of being graded, keeps the students motivated and keeps me up to date on everything about them, especially since I don't get to visit as much as I used to. This connection to my students, and the relationships that it has fostered, is what makes being an ALT worth all the hours of absolute, brain-numbing boredom.
Let's Kimono!
It's not everyday that a gaijin like me gets invited to a Japanese wedding. Excuses, occasions and opportunities to wear kimono are almost as scarce. Thanks to the awesome sensei's at my beautiful mountain school and Colin's conveniently wafu (japanese style) wedding, I was able to do both
I hadn't honestly considered wearing a kimono because I knew how difficult it would be. Getting your hands on a kimono is no easy task. Buying one is out of the question, as the ensembles can cost tens of thousands of dollars. At $500, renting one, which many young people do for their coming of age ceremonies (seijin shiki) was just as improbable. With just over a week left, I asked my JTE at the beautiful mountain school what I should wear. She acted as if there was no other option. "Kimono! Of course!"
As we sat chatting in the little tea room of the teacher's office, she very casually mentioned Colin's upcoming wedding, and how nice it would be if only I could wear kimono. "That would be good, wouldn't it?" The art teacher smiled, immediately offering to ask his wife, who, as it turnse out, is a master of kisuke, wearing and dressing people in kimono
"And I have many kimonos!" The couselor shot to the edge of her seat, clasping her hands together in excitement. "I can lend you one! I have furisode from seijin shiki, with beautiful, long sleeves It would look so nice on you!"
"Lucky, Melissa!" My JTE smiled at me over our cups of green tea.
Since I needed to be at the wedding hall in Nagoya (a good one hour train raide from Ena) at 10 AM, I decided to get my hair done the night before. Why, you ask? In Japan, only conbinis (conveinience stores) open before 10AM. For a hair stylist to come in early to do my hair, it would cost about 70$. So basically, it wasn't an option. Even if I had the money, I had to be at the art teacher's house at 7AM to get dressed. There was no time. So I got my hair done at 6:30 PM the night before(everything closes rediculously early too- that was their latest appointment) and slept hunched over my computer desk trying not to ruin it.
Despite the difficulties involved, wearing such an incredibly beautiful kimono was worth it. I'm so thankful for the never-ending kindness of everyone at the beautiful mountain school, especially the best JTE ever, Kachi Sensei. Arigatou ne!