Fun with Kids

Don't you just love that face? That's what makes English classes all worth it.

  Kidswow English

    Yesterday, after finishing school, we rushed off to teach English.  When we arrived at the town's pavilion two of our girls were already outside playing.  Quickly my dad, Tiffy, and I unloaded our numerous bags of teaching supplies, and entered the building to set up for classes.  Tiffy slid the heavy curtains aside.  I flipped on the lights.  Dad began rearranging the tables and chairs to be more suited to teaching.  
    Our two little charges, both about six years old, ran in to try to get 'rides' as we slid the tables into their places.  As soon as the fun was over they danced out of the room again to use the remaining ten minutes before class to play outside.  Our third student arrived and pulled out a few toys.  She set up the makeshift Air Hockey game that we use on occasion.  With a foam toys for 'mallets', a poker chip as the puck, and two tables slid together to make the "frictionless" Air Hockey table, we began.  Normally the students don't really know how to play Air Hockey, thus I have to take it easy so that they have a chance.  Generally I try to keep the scores as even as possible without showing that I'm missing their shots on purpose.  But this little girl was different.  She knew how to play and was intent on winning.  I was amazed that we were keeping neck and neck and I was actually playing hard.  We were even until some lucky shots brought her to ten while I was still at eight.  With actual competition I enjoyed the game immensely!  

                                                                                     Our class in 2010!

   Four o'clock came so we gathered our flock together and began the class.  Once all our students had arrived we brought them together to teach them a Christmas song: We Wish You a Merry Christmas.  They got a start on it, so hopefully in the few weeks before our annual Christmas party they'll have it memorized.  After we taught several more lessons we went on to picture Bingo, a fun way to review lessons.  Then I set up a few Test Try games. The concept of Test Try games is to have any kind of activity (throw a ball through a hoop, ring toss, roll a ball and knock down something...) then the teacher takes a set of flashcards.  Each child comes up and says several flashcards (the Test), then goes on to Try the game.  Yesterday I set up two activities so that the kids could choose which one they wanted to try. 
    Our first class soon ended.  There were ten minutes for the kids to say goodbye and leave and for the next group to say arrive and say hi.  While the kids left and arrived Dad, Tiffy, and I quickly set up for a second classes.  In the second hour we have two groups of kids, I teach one with Tiffy and Dad teaches the other.  When we asked if they knew the Christmas song that we introduced last week, they said yes.  Soon the room we filled with voices as they sung We Wish You a Merry Christmas.  My second class with four delightful girls whizzed by with lots of fun and laughs.  We reviewed lessons, introduced new material, played a test try game, and at the very end we combined both my class and Dad's to teach them the "Gloria" part of Angels We Have Heard on High.
    A little before six o'clock we were packing up and the kids were saying goodbye.  We lingered outside the pavilion a little to give the kids a couple more hugs and friendly pokes before we hopped into the car and drove home.  Yesterday I had a lot of fun with all those little kids, and look forward to being a part of their lives again next week. 

Kanata and Kota in our backyard.

Arisa, one of 'my' girls

                                         Several of the kids playing in our backyard during our summer's kid's parties

Station Panic

     Japan's train system is usually extremely punctual.  You can rely on the trains and subways to get you to where you need to go.  But on November 5th I was coming home with my sister from Rokko Island (about an hour drive from our house).  We stepped off the Rokko liner, hurried through the ticket gates, and around the corner.  Immediately I knew that something was wrong.  There were lines of people in the normally small peaceful station.  Japanese was blaring out of loud speakers.  People were talking, grumbling, and looking around anxiously.  Everyone seemed to have a cellphone, and was either talking to someone or texting them.  I looked on the sign which normally posts the times of the upcoming trains.  It was blank.
   "There must have been an accident."  I murmured to my sister.  Carried along for a moment by the confusion in the atmosphere, I could feel panic trying to grab a hold of me.  Then I thought of an alternate route to get home so I knew we'd be fine.  I worked my way up to the ticket gates where a train conductor was explaining the situation in Japanese.
   "Are there any trains?" I asked a lady next to me as we sought the attention of the train conductor.
   "I don't know." she replied. "I'm going to ask."
    Seeing that the train man was rather flooded with curious and anxious people seeking information, I backed out of the way to consult my sister about our plan of action.  A moment later the lady I had questioned returned saying,
   "There's a train on the track. You're going to Sanomiya, right?"
   "No," I responded, "I need to get to Amagasaki." (the opposite direction)
   "Oh, then you should ask the man," she gestured toward the train conductor.
    Thus encouraged, I made my way to the train man and asked if there were trains going to Amagasaki.  He replied that there was one sitting on the track.  I turned to tell my sister that we could still use this train line.   We quickly bought our tickets and hopped on the waiting train.  The loudspeakers were still blaring and I only caught some of what they said.  People were patiently sitting in the train or standing on the platform. I tried to read my book, but the atmosphere was too tense.  I tried to listen to what was being said through the speakers but I kept missing the announcements.  I wondered what had happened, and how long we would have to wait.  I was curious about how the staff handled the situation, so I sat in the train watching what went on around me.  Finally, after sitting in the train for about ten minutes with no sign that we would be leaving soon, I turned to a kindly looking Japanese lady sitting beside me.
   "What happened?" I asked, "Was it an accident?"  She nodded.
   "Where?" I wanted to know. She told me the name of the station.  We'd be passing it on the way to Amagasaki so my sister and I wondering if we'd see some smashed up train with ambulances hurrying people to the hospital.
   After perhaps twenty minutes the train finally got under way.  We passed town after town and the people packed in, relieved that there was at last a train.  When we arrived at the station where the accident had been, we saw nothing unusual, nothing noteworthy.  The weren't people hurrying about, nor a train flipped onto it's back, nor a dented platform.  The train pulled away and we wondered what kind of accident it was.
   At Amagasaki we changed trains and headed towards Sanda.  When we arrived we checked the bus schedule.  Seeing that it would be about a half an hour wait we wandered to McDonald's for lunch.
   There to our delight we met one of our friends who said she'd give us a ride home.  Thus we avoided the bus ride and the twenty minute trek in the rain.

   We arrived home from our adventure on the generally reliable train system a little wet, a little tired, and still curious about what happened.

Glowing Mountains

       Japan.  A land of many hills, many houses, and many people.  Japan.  A beautiful land, a place full of temples and shrines, castles and kimonos, traditions, customs, and intricate etiquette.

        Autumn in Japan is one of my favorite seasons!  The trees are turning colors, displaying their full beauty, before shedding their leaves for the winter.  The mountains are brimming with the brilliant yellows, oranges, and reds of the trees.  The weather cools down from the humid sticky summer, to bring a refreshing break before the winter wind blows in from Siberia.
    Fall is the perfect time to take hiking expeditions and explore new paths in the numerous tree-covered hills.  Recently I went on a hike on an old train route no longer in use.  The air was delightful, the scenery was gorgeous, the route led us through tunnels, over bridges, and winds along a beautiful river.  The Japanese maple trees were just beginning to change colors.  I enjoyed the sound of the river as we hiked.  At times there was a roar as the water fell over rocks and made tiny waterfalls.

    Walking through the tunnels I was amazed at how narrow they were!  I would have thought that for a train the tunnels would need to be as wide as the ones for cars.  But I suppose with trains being fixed to a track, train tunnels need not have nearly as much room as ones for cars.  I so enjoyed the hike in God's creation, and a chance to hangout with friends.

 

    Truly autumn is one of my favorite times of year.  I'm kind of sad as the weather is beginning to turn cold. But winter has many fun things about it too! So as one season slips into the next I have mixed feelings.