First taxi - 4/13

 

It is for the first time taking a taxi. Here in Tokushima, you need to call a taxi. Uber is not available in this city. I had to do some grocery shopping. I went to Fusi Grand which is like a shopping mall. 

All Japanese taxis seemed to have an automatic door for passengers. Once the taxi stopped, the rear door was opened for me. Sometimes, the taxi driver will come out and greet you. It took about 10 minute to get there. About 2 mile from my apartment. It is bigger than Mega Donki and the goods here seemed to be a bit more high quality and expensive. I tried to find Metamucil. I bought some but it quickly ran out. The staffs working at the Pharmacy section did not understand English and could not Speak English at all. I spent almost 10 months to study Japanese, but I could not speak anything either, except 私は日本語が話せません.

I went to a Sushi section and was amazed by the price. They are about 40% of what I would pay for in Genji, Hello Sushi, or Maru in Saginaw and Midland. This fresh sushi is about $12. The fish were very fresh and the rice was just right. I think I will keep eating as often as I can until I feel sick of sushi.

Second day - 4/12

 Today's class was worse in that students had much less following. About half of students did not understand any bit of whatever I said even though they were really simple English sentences. It tells how bad the English education is in Japan. Korea is not an exception even though things have improved in recent years.

Today's class is for Junior students. About half of them this class is the first class they take all in English. 

How can I manage this class for almost 4 months? It will be a big challenge.

4/11 - First day of class

 I was told that whatever I prepared for teaching may have to change. That was right.

Today's class is for Cross Cultural Communication, a senior level class. Even though most students have had taken two or more classes in English, more than half of them seemed to be completely not understanding me. I tried to speak as slow and as accurately possible, but still I could sense less than half understood.

So, how can I teach these students? 

My students major in International Study. The department of International Study has three foreign faculty: one from Canada, one from Australia, and one from UK, all speaking English as a native tongue. They also speak Japanese quite well. 

I was sitting in Susan's class (one from Australia, recently retired but teaching as an adjunct). Her class is for freshman. She spoke both English and Japanese! I might need to prepare for Japanese translation. Doh!

Interestingly, about half students want to learn about Korean culture. Well, that will work for me. I will think about teaching Hangul and introduce some K-pop music and K-drama.

First Day of work - 4/10

 My office is right next to the international student office. It is quite spacious. The office even has a medium size refrigerator and a sink for washing hands. Nice!

I am staying at the guest house which is just 5 minute walk to the office. A supermarket (Mega Donki) is also about 5 minute walk. Mega Donki is just like the Walmart. It has everything: food, clothes, electronics, ...

This is the tallest building in Shikoku University. 

Went to the City Hall with Hashimi sensei to apply for residentship, get medical insurance, and open a bank account. Overall it took over four hours. The office workers at the City Hall were extremely kind and patient. Even though those processes were complicated in Japan and took a long time, they were all smiling and helpful.

This is a $3.50 udon at the City Hall. It tasted better than $10 udon in the US. The noodles and soup were just right.

April 9

I could not sleep well again. I got up at 6 am and went for a bike ride again. Went further than yesterday, exploring the other part of the road along the river. I could see many people riding bike, running, and playing baseball and soccer.

 Susan invited me over a lunch at a restaurant. The restaurant is called aqulier. I don't know what that means. Susan said it is a French, but I can't find a French word for it.

After lunch, we went to an old house renovated to a modern style. The owner does not live there, but the place is often used for exhibitions and some special occasions. The house was built over 100 years ago, and interestingly it was renovated by an Indian architect. 

The final stop was at a gelato shop. Again, it was quite delicious. 

Now, I need to spend some time to prepare for the first week of class.

First day - April 9

 I did not sleep much in the airplane and I hoped I could fall sleep easily at the first night. However, I couldn't. I did not bring any sleeping pills and the usual lullaby (those Japanese instructional videos in YouTube) did not work. I tossed and turned a lot, and eventually at 6 am, I got up and decided to go for a bike ride. A city bike was provided for me. It is quite small, but I could still ride comfortably. 

The weather was nice. Even though it was early in the morning, it was just about 50 degree. I did not know where to ride, so I just followed the road along the river. There is a very nice prefectural highway, but I was not sure whether I could ride on the highway, so I was riding along the road beside the highway. Anyway, even though it is allowed, it won't be a good idea to ride on the highway with a city bike. It would be nice if there is a dedicated bike path along the river.

Even though it was early, there were some people running, biking, and playing soccer and baseball along the river. When I came back, it was still early, so I went out for a run.

Running along the river is always fun, especially early in the morning. It was mid 50s, so it was perfect. I saw a few people running, and they were all fast runners. I could not quite keep up with them.

Susan is a professor at Shikoku University. She is from Australia and recently retired. She still teaches as an adjunct. She has a friend visiting from Australia. It was very nice of her to invite me over a breakfast at a rural restaurant. The food was delicious and looked good too.

Tokushima is a small city. This restaurant did not have an English menu. I wonder when I can read this kind of menu.

After breakfast, we stopped by at a local bakery. It is called bakery square (パン広場). Many pastries look similar to those I can find in Korean bakery. The price was quite cheap. It is definitely cheaper than in US, and about the same or a bit cheaper than in Korea. 

I had lunch with Dr. Luxton with his wife Naomi. They were quite nice. We went to a Japanese restaurant and had kara age, sushi, fried potato, chicken, ... They all taste good.

After coming back to my apartment at around 1:30 pm, I just fell sleep till night. Could not quite get over the jet leg yet.

On the way to Japan to work as and exchange professor (交煥敎授) in Japan - April 7

 My flight got canceled due to a severe weather.

I was still lucky to find a flight next day. The flight from Chicago to Tokyo is completely booked. Lots of young students. Maybe they are just going to Japan to start a new semester?

Interestingly, schools in Japan start on early April.

I could see Evanston and Northwestern university before landing to ORD. Such a beautiful day. I cannot believe there were huge thunderstorms a day before.

This shot is made when the plane flew over Anchorage. Again, a really beautiful day. I'd like to come and visit Alaska one day.

My bike case looked quite big. At the check in at the MBS airport, it appeared that the AA staffs were not quite sure whether the size of the case case would fit in the small plane. Its length is over 4 feet. 

I had to check out the case and check in again at Tokyo Haneda airport. Now the case looked almost as tall as the staffs working there. It appeared that they never had seen such a large case. They also wanted to inspect the content. Anyway, the bike case was eventually eventually cleared.

Japanese people are well known for social order. It was easy to see that on an escalator. All people were lined up on the left side and made a room for those who could pass on the right hand side.

The plane was supposed to arrive at Tokushima airport at 7 pm, but I lost a connection flight at Haneda and it arrived at 9:30 pm. It was too late for dinner with Dr. Luxton who came to meet me at the airport. However, it was nice to see some bread, fruits, and snacks at the apartment. The apartment is quite spacious and modern. 

Many things in Japan are small in size compared to US. However, I have not seen any bread in US as think as what you see here. The bread was quite good, close to those you can find in a fine bakery, not like those in US grocery stores. 

Feel like to write something for an exciting opportunity

 I received an invitation from Shikoku University in Japan to work as an exchange professor.

I will be teaching three courses: Comparative Culture for the 3rd year students, Cross-Cultural Communication for the 4th year students, and another English language course for Shikoku community people. The students are from International Studies Department.

I feel excited about this opportunity. It may sound strange that a non native English speaker like me is chosen for the job, but I think I can do a very good job. 

I started learning Japanese through Duo Lingo since last June, so it's been over a year. I start picking up some common conversations in Japanese anime and drama. I hope I can engage in basic conversations once I start teaching in this April.