306 Steps to Detroit

Hello there. The last three days were rather busy ones.

First off, Friday. Jeremy and I were going to KVCC for a conference on diversity, and it had just snowed. I was rushing when I shouldn't have been and slipped on the ice on the steps of our building. My lower back landed on the edge of a step, and my 'yoru-zakura' tumbler from Starbucks Japan fell from my hand. I spent the rest of the day wincing at my sore back, and lamenting my lovely, now useless, travel mug. u_u It's okay if you cry for it, too... Before we left campus, we stopped by to pick up pedometers from the Wellness Director, Ken. We're gonna try and "walk across America." Then we drove off to the conference, which was pretty interesting--I suppose I took a few things away from it. Immediately after, Jeremy and I jumped in the car and headed off for Detroit. Apparently my pedometer thinks it took us 306 steps to get there, and was only .14 miles away. If only! Well, the reason we went to Ford Field in Detroit was to watch the Sweet Sixteen game between the University of Kansas and Villanova. Dan and his dad already had tickets themselves, so Becca decided to join us. It was a pretty dull game for us, Kansas maintained a pretty significant lead over Villanova the entire time, but we had fun. The best part was KU winning--heh heh. Which meant they would play again Sunday night and our tickets got us in then, too! However, Jeremy had business to attend to back here on Saturday, so we had to come back and then head back out to Detroit AGAIN on Sunday. I was really wishing my pedometer spoke the truth at this point...

The game on Sunday was a lot more tense, and a much better game overall. ^^; Of course, it doesn't hurt that we won again--so now KU is off to the Final Four! They played Davidson this time--a small school, but they had a lot of bite! They certainly gave KU a run for their money, always within a few points of them, sometimes getting ahead. It was really nerve-wracking, but a lot of fun.

It was also great to hang out with Becca and Dan again. It had been about a month since we saw them last. Nothing really exciting to report--we just caught up on the little stuff and spent time together.

I'll get our pictures from Ford Field up soon, if I can. ^_^ Rock Chalk, Jayhawk, KU!

~In Loving Memory~

Of Young Adult novels and Japan Quiz bowlers

Hi again. I had a busy weekend. Well, technically it was a busy Friday and Saturday... but anyway...

Friday I went to a seminar about teens and reading, called Teens on Track. An author whose book I fell for in college was attending, Sharon G. Flake. I read "The Skin I'm In" in a class and used it with the Honors 10th grade students I was working with when I did my internship. I received a very positive response from all the kids--even the boys, despite the main character being a girl. It deals a lot with self-image and bullying, which are things teens can relate to--and the fact that the story is just a good story doesn't hurt. ^_^

I learned about a TON of new YA books that will be on the shelves soon, or are already waiting there, so if you want to hear about any, feel free to ask. I'm really excited to get my hands on some of these new books. (It will help the wait for Paolini's book 3 pass faster!!)

So then I high-tailed it to Ann Arbor, where I participated in the 15th Annual Michigan-Japan Quiz Bowl. It was a pretty hectic, stressful day and a half... but I had a great time. ^_^ It was so wonderful to see over 400 students there with a love of Japan and Japanese! I got to reconnect with a lot of the teachers I've been getting to know over the last year or so, too, and that was great. I look forward to helping out next year, and invite you to help out or just come watch, if you're in the area next year! ^_^

So I got to have a lazy day today~ wheee~ Though, I should get working on homework! ^^; I've got a big test in Japanese class on Thursday, so I'm gonna go get to it. Jya ne!

A Day in the Life of a Nihongo-no-sensei

Yesterday I spend the day at a high school, observing a teacher of Japanese. It was a really cool experience, since I never had the opportunity to take Japanese in high school myself, but I hope to be able to teach it someday soon.

The school itself was gorgeous. It's band new and I really like the way it was built. Classrooms are grouped together in 'pods' so teachers of similar subjects are nearby. There was even a storage room for all the teachers to share together. Close to the pod was a large office, divided into separate desk spaces for each teacher. It seemed very nice--the teachers were able to keep all the 'teachery things' they needed in the school, but in an office environment, instead of the classroom.

The classes themselves that I observed were really great. I felt that the students were really into studying Japanese, and their teacher is fantastic. I got to see a whole spectrum of classes--first years to fifth, standard lessons and independent studies, and I even got to stick around for a Japan Club meeting. ^_^ I also had a lot of opportunities to speak to the teacher about what goes on 'behind the scenes' and how the curriculum was created and how she chose materials for the classroom. Since Japanese is not one of the most popular languages taught in schools (yet!), I feel like I left with a lot of great ideas to help make the Japanese language acquisition process a better for my future students. ^_^

Updates

Hello, dear reader.

First I want to update you on old news. Over the last school year I've been taking classes at MSU to get certified to teach Japanese. It's been so fun. I really love my adviser, Dr. Mutsuko Endo-Hudson. I really enjoyed her Advanced Spoken Japanese class last semester, and am now enrolled in a Japanese teaching methods course she is instructing. I feel like I've learned a lot already, but I'm not sure if it's enough yet... But, I suppose I always feel that way. Tomorrow (3/6) I'll be visiting the classroom of a high school Japanese teacher, and I'm really looking forward to it. It's a great opportunity to see someone in action, doing what I hope to do someday, and ask her some questions.

Second, since I've been able to take some great Japanese classes at MSU, I got the courage to try the Japanese Language Proficiency Test again this year. The test has four levels: one being the most advanced, four being the least. In 2005, I attempted the level 3 test with Marisha. We had to drive out to Chicago for it, as it's the closest test site available. (There are only around 8 or 10 in the U.S.) Happily, we both passed! In 2006, neither of us felt very prepared for the next step, so that year slipped by. This year, however, two of my Advanced Spoken Japanese classmates said they were going to try level 2, so I took the opportunity. I didn't make the decision 'til late October, started studying around then, and was just barely passing the practice tests I was taking before the exam. I just got the notice late last month, and perhaps you saw it in my Facebook status but... I managed to squeak into the passing bracket. ^^; (Passing is 60%+, I got 64.5% ^^; ) But now I have a big question... should I retake it, try to better my God-awful score? Or, since the actual score percent doesn't mean a whole lot to those who look at them (universities, employers, etc) as much as the fact that you passed, should I just move on to level 1? hahh....

Okay, more news... hm. Jeremy is currently grad-school-searching. He's applied to a few and we're hoping to hear back soon so I can start getting more specific in my job searching. I feel like it's pretty necessary, this time, for me to find a full time job, since my income will be supporting us. Being a substitute teacher these last few years has been nice, since I've been able to pursue a Japanese endorsement for my certificate, tutor some kids in Japanese, and run errands and the like when I've needed to... but I don't think it's going to help sustain us too much next school year. :P I haven't had much luck so far, finding a job... but, really, school-wise it's pretty early. I'm hoping I'll get more hits when the summer starts.

That's pretty much the big, old news, I guess. Currently, I'm enjoying Spring Break. Although, since I'm only taking 2 classes at MSU, it isn't really much of a break. ^^; But it is nice not having to drive there twice a week this week! This weekend I'll be heading over, though, to help with the Michigan-Shiga Exchange Program. I applied for a chaperon position for their 2-week exchange program but didn't make it--however, I was invited to join the committee. This weekend is a big briefing for the students and chaperons going, and for the parents. It sounds like fun, and I hope to do some networking. ^_^ It was really cool to meet a lot of Japanese teachers when I went for the interview, so I look forward to seeing them again. And it's going to be fun, being a part of such an exciting adventure for these students!

Next weekend is the Michigan Japan Quiz Bowl. I stopped by last year and was really amazed by it. At my high school, we couldn't study Japanese, so I'm getting involved in, like, a whole new world, it seems! Elementary through high school kids compete at the MJQB, answering questions in Japanese, or about Japan. This year I'm volunteering as a time-/scorekeeper. I'm really looking forward to it. ^_^

Okay, this has been long enough. Hopefully I'll be keeping up with myself better so I won't be doing this again. ^_^

See ya!

Back at it

Oh boy, it's been like... a year and a half since I've blogged... ^^; Well, since I left Japan, it didn't really seem like my life was interesting enough to 1) even bother writing about or 2) believe people were going to be reading this. >_> So, what makes me think either 1 or 2 is true today?? Well, nothing, to be honest... I've just gotten hooked on Facebook since I created my account, oh, a week ago, and I guess I feel like sharing. Besides, writing is good exercise for the brain, isn't it...?

Alright, I'm gonna stop here and test this puppy out. Bye!