先生たちとの交流ーーーエマ先生

Last weekend, I joined the other teachers on an overnight enkai at a hotel in Yugawara, Shizuoka. It was my first time being invited on an overnight enaki event in Japan. It was really fun, and was such a great opportunity to get to know and spend time with the teachers outside of school, in a social setting. It was at a really nice hotel with onsen. The hotel provided yukatas to wear, so I decided to try one. It was my first time wearing a yukata, and I really liked it! It was very comfortable and I felt very elegant.

 

Dinner was excellent. It was traditional Japanese food. There were so many different kinds of food, all served on different dishes. Usually American food is just one main dish served on one plate. During dinner, we played bingo, a quiz game, and a charades game. It was so much fun, and I was the first winner at bingo! After dinner, I enjoyed the onsen with some of the female teachers, and then headed to bed. In the morning, there was a big breakfast buffet with many different western and Japanese options. I mainly stuck to the foods I knew. For me, it is a strange idea to have fish for breakfast, but this is very normal in Japan.

 

Overall, the enkai was a really great event, and I’m so glad that I was invited to attend. In the United States, it is very common to spend time with your coworkers outside of work. But it is usually much more casual – just people meeting up unplanned after work, not going to a pre-planned event like an enaki. Also, it’s not very common to go to an overnight social event at a hotel. I think that maybe enkais are popular in Japan because most people are very busy and work a lot, so it is more difficult for them to casually hang out with coworkers. Either way – casually like in the United States, or at an organized enkai like in Japan, spending time with your colleagues is great!

 

              - Emma Sletteland

高校卒業式(アメリカとの相違)－－－エマ先生

Last week, I attended the high school graduation ceremony at Fujimura. It was my first time to see a graduation ceremony in Japan, and I found it very interesting to compare it to graduation ceremonies in the United States. The ceremonies in each country are fairly similar, but with a few differences. To me, the Japanese graduation ceremony seemed very serious. Graduates wore their school uniforms and flower corsages. In the United States, students wear special graduation caps and gowns, and their choice of formal clothing underneath their gowns. When the students walk into the ceremony, a “class song” chosen by the students is played. Graduates walk onto stage to receive their diplomas, and shake hands with the principal. There is usually lots of clapping and cheering from friends and family in the audience. Once everyone has received their diplomas, students turn the tassels on their caps from right to left, and then throw their caps up in the air in the celebration. It is a very light-hearted and joyful affair. At the end of the ceremony at Fujimura, I saw some girls crying as they walked out of the gym. This reminded me of my own high school graduation – I definitely cried during my ceremony. Regardless of what country you are in, graduating high school is a big deal, and the students should feel very proud.

 

- Emma Sletteland

卒業式－－－マーレン先生

It is almost the end of the school year here in Japan, which is a very different than what I am used to back in the United States. A typical American school year starts in September and ends in June. I think the Japanese school year actually makes a lot more sense for students. With three distinct trimesters, there are breaks more evenly spread throughout the year. As a student, I would think that is a better system. American students may get nearly three months off, but they typically have less breaks throughout the school year as a result.

  
              I was also very excited to see my students graduate. A few of my classes when I first started here were third year high schoolers and this was my first time as a teacher that I got to experience end of school graduation ceremonies with my own classes! It was so nice to cheer them on and see what a Japanese graduation ceremony looks like. I am very proud of my students!