Archive for September, 2014
September 6, 2004 – Touring Noborito
Posted by Barniferous in Friends and coworkers, Hello House, Keikyu-Kawasaki NOVA, Lux on September 9, 2014
Another schedule update at work. This month I will be working Sundays at Keikyu Kawasaki NOVA. Sunday is one of the busiest days, so it’s fantastic to be at Keikyu which is more relaxing than Kawasaki NOVA.
After work, Archie came back to the Noborito area with me. I showed off Hello House and we went for beer with Lux. A good time was had by all!
September 5, 2004 – The insanity continues
Posted by Barniferous in Kawasaki Nova, Teaching English on September 9, 2014
The insane scheduling continues! At the end of the day I had to stay an extra 30 minutes to finish writing my files.
After each lesson, teachers are required to evaluate the student’s performance during the lesson. There are a few categories to rank (vocabulary, pronunciation, etc), and then a space for comments. Proper comments should include specific references to both strong and weak points during the lesson, and to provide suggestions on how to improve. Good comments help the next teacher, and also provide information to the students if they request to see their files.
Writing a proper evaluation and comments can take some time. Naturally, doing evaluations and comments for four students takes four times as long.
In the evening classes, there are 10 minutes between lessons. During busy months like September, it is likely for a teacher to have four students in every lesson. If you get out of your lesson a few minutes late, it doesn’t leave much time to squeeze into the overcrowded teachers room, write comments, give files to the next teacher or put them away, and locate your next lesson’s files and room number. That time gets smaller if you need to take a bathroom break. The easiest solution is to write up the student’s files after the last lesson of the day.
Recently with all of the full classes I have been regularly spending time after the last lesson finishing up my paperwork. It’s no fun, but it needs to get done.
September 4, 2004 – Too many Andrews from Canada
Posted by Barniferous in Friends and coworkers, Kawasaki Nova, Teaching English on September 9, 2014
Once of the recent additions to Kawasaki NOVA is a teacher named Andrew from Canada. Unfortunately for him, I am already Andrew from Canada, and I have been around for almost a year now.
Teachers are usually referred to by their first names by students and staff. In the event that there are similar names, the country of origin comes into play. For example, a branch could have a British Steven and an Australian Steven. Having two Andrews from Canada is guaranteed to cause confusion.
I asked the secondary Andrew what his middle name was, and he said “Archibald”. I asked him if he was okay with people calling him “Archie”. He said yes.
He looked nothing like this
Before he could ask why, I quickly went to the front office and asked the Japanese staff to change other Andrew’s name to Archie in the schedule system. Apparently I now have some level of credibility, because they made the change without question and without confirming with any of the supervisors.
Once again, I am the only and original Andrew from Canada. Victory!
September 3, 2004 – More September rush
Posted by Barniferous in Kawasaki Nova, Teaching English on September 3, 2014
Today was the opposite of yesterday. My afternoon was busy, but my evening was INSANE. So many students!!
September 2, 2004 – The September Rush
Posted by Barniferous in Kawasaki Nova, Teaching English on September 2, 2014
September is the second busiest month at NOVA, and my afternoon was a good example. Lots of full classrooms, lots of new students. My evening was normal, which is to say busy for other branches.
January is the busiest month at NOVA. Apparently a lot of people decide they will study English as a new year’s resolution.
September 1, 2004 – Too many cameras
Posted by Barniferous in Greater Tokyo Area, Kawasaki Nova on September 1, 2014
Today was my first day back to work after four days off. Urgh! The good news was that I am finally back at Kawasaki NOVA on Wednesdays and have my good kids class back. They were all really great today!
After work I went to buy a digital camera from Yodobashi Camera, which is conveniently located next to Kawasaki NOVA. When I walked into the camera section I realized that I was in completely over my head. There were at least 100 different models in prices ranging from cheap to crazy expensive. I don’t know anything about digital cameras, and my Japanese ability is too limited to have a meaningful conversation with the sales staff. I gave up for the day and went to the internet cafe to do some research. After spending some time online, I think I will be buying a 4 megapixel Sony camera.
Who knew that a camera store in Japan would have so many choices?
August 31, 2004 – Gyukaku and Homestar Runner
Posted by Barniferous in Friends and coworkers, Life in Japan, Lux on September 1, 2014
In the morning I went to the immigration office to update my alien registration card (aka gaijin card). All foreign residents of Japan are required to carry their gaijin cards around at all times, and to keep the information up to date. Failing to do so would be a bad idea.
In the afternoon I went shopping with Zoe, who is also enjoying a day off. We went to Yodobashi Camera to inquire about internet connections. Unfortunately it would have taken a month to get hooked up, leaving me with only about a month of internet before the expected date of my transfer. At this point it’s really not worthwhile to go through the trouble. While in Yodobashi, I resisted the urge to buy a DVD burner, but I did end up getting some cool futon covers and a new pillow.
In the evening Zoe, Lux and I went to Gyukaku again and then spent time watching Homestar Runner. My mini-holiday is now over.
August 30, 2004 – Who are you, brutha?
Posted by Barniferous in Hello House, Life in Japan on September 1, 2014
Today I made very good use of a day off. I watched a bunch of episodes of CSI on my computer, worked on the website, and played video games.
Zoe is one of the few people with an internet connection at Hello House. She has been using her connection to download TV shows. Today she hooked up with CSI season 1. Thanks Zoe! (note: downloading TV shows is bad, don’t do it!)
I am very excited about my new game – Total Extreme Wrestling; a wrestling management simulator. You run a wrestling promotion, hiring wrestlers, booking events, and deciding who wins and how. In addition you create storylines and characters, and try to keep your promotion profitable. It is incredible addictive for pro wrestling fans or business simulator fans. So much fun!
(2014 Update) Some people might be reading this and wondering “Hey, why did you spend your time in Japan watching TV shows from back home and hiding in your room playing video games?”. My first reason is money. Staying in my room watching TV and playing video games is relatively cheap compared to the limitless opportunities to spend money in the Greater Tokyo area. I am getting to see a lot of cool things in Japan, but I am also trying to send some money home to pay off student loans as well.
The second reason is my personality. I do like to spend time with friends and get out of the house. However, I also need a good amount of “me time” as well. Teaching English requires me to be happy and outgoing in the classroom. Some days this comes naturally, other days it is harder to do. After teaching I sometimes like to take time to recharge my social batteries by not interacting with anyone.
Drinking in Japan 
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