OJT over, RAAA!!!

Had OJT for two more days. 1:20 - 9:00. I complain, its a long two days, hahaha! But training really isn't that fun. Well I imagine that working the whole day isn't that fun either. But training on the 2nd day, I had to teach 3 lessons, a step up from yesterday's 1 lesson. I reckon I did ok, and was getting observed from different teachers that day. Basically I just took one of their lessons and they observed and commented on me.

The third day was quite similar, except that I had to teach four lessons, 2 back-to-back, so I had much less time to prepare than I was used to the previous days. In the end it turned out to be ok. I got good comments from the people observing me.

The last day ended with all the staff working late at Kawasaki going for a drink at a nearby place called the Hub. Was a good night, but its funny, nights out tend to end early because the trains stop at around 12:00-1:00, and even earlier if you have to change trains to get home. Staff live all over the place, not necessarily where they work (which I am lucky enough to have, working and living in Tsunashima), so some people have to leave earlier (eg. 11:00) to get home before the last train. I left with some others leaving early because I was pretty dead tired. But TRAINING WAS OVER! It was good though, had a good training experience, and all the people at Kawasaki were great, seems like a good branch to work at.

OJT Day 1

Today was the first day of OJT (on the job training). I started at about 1:30.

Its a pretty nerve-wracking experience. Getting ready to teach your first class. Basically, I talked with my trainer, who is an AT (Assistant Teacher). His name was Daniel, a guy from the US; really nice guy, soft-spoken, looks exactly like Michael Bluth from Arrested Development, for those of you who may have seen it.

We talked about student expectations first, and how we should meet them (nonsense), then we got to the real meat, like looking at student files (after seeing which students I would be teaching in one lesson) and choosing a lesson that none of them had done before. I was preparing to teach a group of 4 students, level 7A, which is the high of the low. The level system in NOVA works like this:
Best...1 2 3 4 5 6 7A 7B 7C..Worst

So these 7A's could speak English ok, and I could communicate with them quite comfortably. Their biggest problems at this stage seemed to be pronunciation and fluency, since some of them struggled to make sentences. They're really good at reading and writing though, I guess they've been taught in school.

Anyway, before I taught the lesson, Daniel suggested I should do this lesson which comprised of ordering a pizza by phone. So basically, there's all this vocab and main language that the students should learn in this lesson, like "Yes, I would like a medium margherita please," and maybe "Can you hold the onions" (no onions...hehehe). The lesson is broken up into different sections, but its a bit boring describing all this.

All you need to know is that I was pretty nervous going into the lesson for the first time, I taught the first half (20 mins) and then Daniel took over. I managed to do alright, thank goodness. The students are really nice too, they're there to learn and are really eager and friendly.

Day 1 of OJT complete, 9:00pm.

I went to a Thai place just near our building in Kawasaki (name of the station area) with Jody (close right), Chris (far right, Melbourne guy!), Kristen (centre) and Sarah (left). We're all NOVA-employed except for Sarah, she's Kristen's best friend from back in Portland, Oregon; just visiting. Pretty good day, good food at night, goodnight...

Orientation

Today was orientation day, starting at 1:30 in Shinjuku.
Travelling to Shinjuku requires me to take one train to Shibuya, and then another train to Shinjuku. It took around an hour from the time I left my house, to the time I arrived in front of the NS building where Nova was (23rd floor).

Shinjuku is a very busy place, regardless of the time it seems. One of the main roads I travelled down to get to the NS building is filled with lots of shops on each side, I remember seeing a "The Suit Company" shop, where the shirts were pretty cheap, around 5000Y but I don't know if they're any good or not. But in my mind, shirts are shirts. There was also a Yamaha building, though I didn't get the chance to go into.

Orientation was pretty dull except for the fact that I got to meet up with Amy (New Zealander) and Laura (Aussie), the two girls I met in the airport when I first arrived. There was another guy named Travis, who's from Perth, but had been staying in Japan for 3 months already before deciding to seek employment with Nova. Anyway, that was it: 4 of us for orientation. Apparently we were one of the smallest groups EVER, according to the staff conducting the orientation. My roommate's orientation was around 40 people, so this was a vastly different dynamic.

So I've finally found out my timetable and where I'll be working for the rest of the year most likely. What sucks is that out of 5 days, I've got three 10am starts. Simon (roommate) has one early start. Considering that you working people back home all start at 9am everyday or earlier, I don't have much to complain about, hehehe! But given my options, I could have started late everyday! I'm gonna have to get used to waking up early, darn it. My week starts on a Saturday, and ends on a Wednesday, with Thursdays and Fridays off. I'm gonna have to see about changing to a Sunday, so I can actually go to church, but I don't know how easy that's gonna be yet.

The photos you see, the ones in the daytime are of Shinjuku. There's two with a really nice building/s design, which are the Tokyo Government Building NO. 2 (closer) and No. 1. These were right next to the NS building, so I took the opportunity to take some photos. But I feel so conscious, like a TOURIST! Sticking out like a sore thumb. The other photos in the late evening are of Shibuya, just outside one of the main station exits. There's a massive junction filled with tons of cars and people crossing, and some fairly high buildings with giant TV screens advertising stuff. All very cool.

The cubicle

First day I went out by myself.

Firstly i went to the payphone by the local Lawson's to try and call mum. Totally forgot it was a Sunday and called the RMIT office. No answer, of course. Then I decided since I'm at the payphone, just give my brother a ring. And coincidentally he happens to be at Fungus! Where everybody screams something while I talk through the speaker phone...crazy but cool. Reminded me of everyone back home, made me feel a little sad I was here all by my lonesome self, but that's cool. On to business.

There was no agenda for the day, except looking for a phone. I travelled to Yokohama, where apparently the Vodafone shop there had people who spoke English. Seriously, its actually pretty hard to find your way around the train stations, particularly at busy ones like Yokohama, which is seriously quite large. All the different exits and stuff not to mention the tons of people, and signs in Japanese all add up to make it a confusing experience, especially by myself. Anyway, I made it to this underground shopping centre which is probably integrated into the station, but I walked outside then in, called "the Diamond", tons of stores everywhere...its massive, anyway I made a beeline for the Vodafone shop.

MEt a lady who could speak English (awesome) and got to looking at plans and stuff. The cheapest way for me seems to be signing to a 2year contract, and the lowest plan is like 3,500Y, about $44/month, sucks, I don't really pay anywhere near that much for my phone back home. Oh well...I have to get a phone anyways.

Rest of the day was pretty standard. Got some lunch at the underground supermarket which is almost IN the Yokohama station. Bought what I thought was a jam donut (ended up having some funny bean paste in it, not THAT bad, and not red bean, thank goodness!), a sausage roll (never again), and some fried pork patties (not that good either). THe funny thing about Japan is, its kinda rude to eat while walking or on the move, basically anywhere in public. So I figured I couldn't eat until I went all the way home! About 20 mins out. Anyway, I ended up stuffing up the train system, took a "limited express" train which passed my station, had to catch one back a couple of stops. By then I couldn't be stuffed about cultural etiquette, so I ate those hot fried pork patties in the station.

I went to an internet cafe just before going home from Tsunashima station. That's where I said hi! to Janice, grace/danica/jenny, chara, lauren, and ting. Hey u guys, wonder if you remember! Got some photos of that tiny place. The stall I sat in last time had a PS2 hooked up to the PC as well, how cool. Can play all these funky online games and stuff...for 380Y an hour and an additional 100Y for following hours. NOt that cheap, I think.

This is too long...I'll try to be more concise next time, jaa! (that's supposed to be a casual goodbye)