Christmas Time is Here
Per usual, I am so late in updating the blog. With the upcoming holiday and our long-anticipated reunion with Greg, Michelle and Allison Matysik drawing nearer and nearer, I haven't been thinking about writing much lately. But here I am, at 18:32 (6:32pm), sitting down at our macbook, finally trying to remember one wonderful, Christmasy celebration we had in Minami-Alps earlier this month.
At the beginning of December, our friend, Megan Walton, asked me and Matt if we would be willing to help out at an International Christmas event in Minami-Alps on Saturday, December 11th. Seeing as we had nothing else planned, we agreed and then didn't think much else of it. We figured it would just be some little event--nothing too special--and then we could come home and resume our everyday routine of reading books, listening to music, eating lots of snacks, and watching unhealthy amounts of the TV show LOST. However, that rainy Saturday in early December made our stay here in Japan a little more meaningful.
Walking into the center in Kosai on Saturday morning (after, might I add, Matt and I both had teacher's drinking parties--called an enkai--the previous night and had stayed out rather late, singing karaoke and yucking it up with our respective co-workers), we felt tired and rather indifferent to the impending event. Crowding into a small back room, filled with other ALTs and local Japanese residents, we were immediately handed a schedule of the day's events and then practiced some Christmas songs. I was handed a few things to carry into the larger auditorium, and as we began to set up the tree and the decorations, and practiced our "reindeer dance" in the main lobby, I started to feel the Christmas spirit creep into my bones. When I found that a shabby, felt Mrs. Claus outfit had been placed in my cold hands, I didn't even hesitate to done the outfit--as goofy as I might look.
As the small children started to arrive (some were so young they could barely walk yet), Matt, Megan, Mark, and I went to greet them at the entrance. However, I think we counted that, in total, we made thirteen kids cry just by smiling, waving and wearing "scary" Santa caps. Oh
well! As we pranced into the auditorium, singing "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" and wearing our felt get-ups, I had a brief flashback to many Christmas' ago, when I was just a little kid staring at the big, jolly Mall Santa sitting on his cushioned throne. I felt elated (and I'm sure the smiling faces and wide-eyed children helped my giddy mood as well). We danced, sang, acted, and mingled with the kids and while having pre-K and elementary school children hang on you all afternoon tires you out pretty well by day's end, it was the most rewarding thing I have done here in quite some time.
Working every day with high school students--who are not only hormonal but unmotivated and uninterested in both your language and your culture--I think I often forget that I can only experience a small portion of Japan through them. Branching out, participating in local events,
interacting with younger children and adults who are enthusiastic about English language education is what is most exciting about cultural exchange (as far as my own experiences have proved). Having a small child, who can only say "Santa-san," want to come up to you and touch your hand, to crawl all over you like you are special jungle-gym, to look into your eyes and to give you a big, toothy grin--this is what I wanted my daily life in Japan to be like. And while I have my share of disappointments with school--and with life in Japan in general--it's these moments that I hope will shape my future remembrances of living and working in a foreign country.
At the beginning of December, our friend, Megan Walton, asked me and Matt if we would be willing to help out at an International Christmas event in Minami-Alps on Saturday, December 11th. Seeing as we had nothing else planned, we agreed and then didn't think much else of it. We figured it would just be some little event--nothing too special--and then we could come home and resume our everyday routine of reading books, listening to music, eating lots of snacks, and watching unhealthy amounts of the TV show LOST. However, that rainy Saturday in early December made our stay here in Japan a little more meaningful.
Walking into the center in Kosai on Saturday morning (after, might I add, Matt and I both had teacher's drinking parties--called an enkai--the previous night and had stayed out rather late, singing karaoke and yucking it up with our respective co-workers), we felt tired and rather indifferent to the impending event. Crowding into a small back room, filled with other ALTs and local Japanese residents, we were immediately handed a schedule of the day's events and then practiced some Christmas songs. I was handed a few things to carry into the larger auditorium, and as we began to set up the tree and the decorations, and practiced our "reindeer dance" in the main lobby, I started to feel the Christmas spirit creep into my bones. When I found that a shabby, felt Mrs. Claus outfit had been placed in my cold hands, I didn't even hesitate to done the outfit--as goofy as I might look.
As the small children started to arrive (some were so young they could barely walk yet), Matt, Megan, Mark, and I went to greet them at the entrance. However, I think we counted that, in total, we made thirteen kids cry just by smiling, waving and wearing "scary" Santa caps. Oh
well! As we pranced into the auditorium, singing "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" and wearing our felt get-ups, I had a brief flashback to many Christmas' ago, when I was just a little kid staring at the big, jolly Mall Santa sitting on his cushioned throne. I felt elated (and I'm sure the smiling faces and wide-eyed children helped my giddy mood as well). We danced, sang, acted, and mingled with the kids and while having pre-K and elementary school children hang on you all afternoon tires you out pretty well by day's end, it was the most rewarding thing I have done here in quite some time.Working every day with high school students--who are not only hormonal but unmotivated and uninterested in both your language and your culture--I think I often forget that I can only experience a small portion of Japan through them. Branching out, participating in local events,
interacting with younger children and adults who are enthusiastic about English language education is what is most exciting about cultural exchange (as far as my own experiences have proved). Having a small child, who can only say "Santa-san," want to come up to you and touch your hand, to crawl all over you like you are special jungle-gym, to look into your eyes and to give you a big, toothy grin--this is what I wanted my daily life in Japan to be like. And while I have my share of disappointments with school--and with life in Japan in general--it's these moments that I hope will shape my future remembrances of living and working in a foreign country.
posted by Julie and Matt at 6:30 PM
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