Japanese Lessons - for FREE!

Hello again. Unfortunately, I didn't think to take pictures today, but I did had an interesting experience.

Early on in Kobe, Russell and I were directed to the International House to get help setting up our daily needs in Kobe. They helped us find a bank and set up our cell phones when all the cell phone providers said it was impossible. That sort of thing. While we were visiting, we also discovered that they offer free Japanese tutoring. There are some criteria, of course. You have to be able to stay for six months of tutoring, you must have been living in Kobe for at least a month, and you have to understand that your tutor will not be a trained professional, but a volunteer from the community. After your six months is over, you cannot reapply for four more months. During your six months, however, you meet for two hours a week. All lessons are one on one. Seems pretty good. Russell started last month and has been meeting with a retired elementary school teacher for the last two weeks. I was not able to sign up last month because the open registration was on a day when I had to work all morning (registration doesn't start until 10:00, and all forty slots fill up in the first hour or so.)

This month, however, the first fell on a Monday - so I had the first period of the day free and was able to sign up. I thought the office opened at 9:00, so I arrived at 8:00 and went to take the elevator. No luck. I could go to the 21st floor and the 19th floor, but not the 20th floor - they weren't open yet. I went to the Starbucks on the corner and waited until closer to 9:00. At ten-to, I tried again and this time I was able to go to the 20th floor. There were already two other people in line ahead of me, and more came on my heels. The office didn't open until 10:00. Around 9:45 some of the workers came out and gave us forms to fill out with our contact information and hours of availability. At 10:00 we were paraded into a waiting room where we were eventually called out for a short interview. The interview consisted of questions like, "Is it alright if your teacher speaks English? Is it alright if your teacher can only speak Japanese? How much writing do you already know?" Things like that. I was able to do the whole interview in Japanese, which I was very proud about. This may have qualified me for a teacher that only speaks Japanese, though, so we'll see. Now, my general background goes on their website with everyone else's and I wait until one of the tutors who is available chooses me from the list. Hopefully I will hear in the next couple of weeks. I'm excited to start learning Japanese.

To be honest, I feel like I have lost quite a bit of Japanese these last two months. I pretty much only speak English with Russell, and I am not allowed to speak Japanese with my students. I don't really know anyone else around these parts, and my Japanese is bad enough that most clerks will try to help me with their broken English. While I regularly use two or three verbs, I really need little else for basic survival, so I haven't really learned anything else. Its not the best situation. I am also hoping to find some conversation partners soon. The International House has a board where you can post a greeting and hope someone wants to meet for a language exchange. I tried to write to one woman, but she never wrote back. I will try a few more people. I also want to see if Kei from the cafe down the road might be interested in a language exchange. She is Korean, not Japanese, but she speaks fluent Japanese (far better than I do) so maybe she will agree. That would be fun.

I will keep you posted!

In other news, I received a care package from my mother. Along with other things I needed, she sent me several bags of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups - a treat I have been wanting to share with my students. Reese's does not exist in Japan (even though almost all other American treats do) but we have a picture board at the school with a picture of Peanut Butter Cups. Only one of my students has tried then before (when she was in Canada) and she was lamenting with me their total absence in Japan. My plan is to save the treats for the last midterm this week (the worst one) and then give out the peanut butter cups as rewards for surviving. I hope they like them. I'm anxious to see their reaction. I will definitely post about it.