日本での体験をアメリカの家族と共有ーーーマーレン先生

Over the break I was able to visit the United States and see my family. It was really cool to share my stories about Japan with them! I am the only one of my family who has been to Japan and they had a lot of questions. Everyone was surprised to hear that I have been commuting by train everywhere. In my state, the only way you can travel is by car. There is not enough public transportation for people to use it regularly. They were also surprised to hear that I usually walked around with yen. In America, people usually use credit cards. It is unusual for people to walk around with a large amount of US dollars.

 

I brought my family a lot of Japanese candy and they were excited to try all of the different flavors. I brought home a bunch of different kitkats, Pure gummies, and chocolates. Matcha was especially popular amongst my cousins! My grandmother really liked the strawberry kitkats as well. All of them really wish they could have tried different types of udon and ramen I described as well. All in all, it was really fun to be able to share a bit about my life in Japan with my family!

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!

華道ーーーエマ先生

On Monday, I went to Ikebana club and tried Japanese flower arrangement for the first time! It was so much fun and I really enjoyed it. I have been interested in trying Ikebana, but didn’t know anything about the theory behind it, so it was very interesting to learn more. Ikebana is so much more than just putting flowers in a vase. It is a disciplined art form with a long history and established rules. Ikebana brings together nature and humanity. The artist uses natural materials, but puts a part of themselves into the arrangement. I have always felt a deep closeness with nature, and Ikebana honors this feeling. I also like the visual style of Ikebana. It is much more simple and minimal than western style floral arrangements.  I’m quite pleased with how my first arrangement turned out, and I definitely want to try Ikebana again!

 

合唱祭（アメリカとの相違) －－－マーレン先生

This week was the Fujimura Chorus Festival. It was very exciting to see all of the students perform. For the past month and a half they have been singing and practicing after school and during lunch. It has been very enjoyable to hear them as I walk from class to class and made seeing the festival so much more fun! I was very excited to see that one of my classes won first place!

 

In the United States, only the students in the choir class would perform at a choir concert. All students, however, could perform in a Talent Show. Usually there will be a Talent Show once a year at American schools and students can audition with a song, dance, or other talent. Only a handful of people get to perform. I like that everyone gets to be involved in Japan! It’s cool to see a new spin on a familiar tradition.

日米入学試験比較ーーーエマ先生

Entrance Exams

Recently, we have had shortened or cancelled classes because of Junior High School entrance exams. This is a very interesting concept for me, because in America, there are no entrance exams for either Junior or Senior High School. Students are assigned to schools based on where they live, not on exams. The good thing about this system is that students live near their schools, within an area where they can ride a school bus for free. I was very surprised by how long some students commute to get to Fujimura each morning, and by the fact that there are no school busses. In America, some families will move in order to get their children into a certain school district. In Japan, there is more responsibility on the student, and it starts from a young age. There is pressure for students to get into a good Junior High School, so that later they can get into a good High School, so that later they can get into a good university. In America, the important University entrance tests don’t usually start until 11^th or 12^th grade. There are other standardized tests, but overall, I think that exams are more important in Japan than in America. I think that there are pros and cons to each country’s way of doing it, and I have enjoyed learning more about the Japanese system.

-          Emma Sletteland