Practically the Fourth

It seems that my hard work is paying off. Call me overeager, but I have been consistently going out of my way to make a good impression with my coworkers. I have been staying longer than I need to, getting involved with student activities, spending time with the students and teachers during my breaks, and generally working above and beyond the scope of my wage. But then again, that's what all of the teachers do. And while some other ALTs might call me a sucker for not taking my personal time, I have been trying (maybe in vain: our language barrier and my youth (inexperience, lack of qualification) will always be an obstacle) to be perceived as part of the team.

It seems that my hard work is paying off. I was personally invited to the going away party for one of the teachers, which I've heard is somewhat of a rare honour for an ALT. The event took place in a private room of a restaurant in Sendai. Strangely enough, there were unusually strong winds that day, and the railways actually closed down as a precaution, making transit for many of the teachers complicated to impossible. Anyway, those of us that could make it enjoyed a (for me, novel) meal of Yaki Niku. It is translated as barbecue, but the style involves grilling your own meat and vegetables on the grate built into the table. Different regions offer their own specialities (Hokkaido is famous for lamb Yaki Niku, for instance) and we had beef and chicken. And as much fun as the culinary experience was, what really made the event unforgettable was spending time with all of the teachers outside of a professional context. While some workplaces would see such a party as an obligation with no real change of tone from work, this occasion was a fascinating and relieving inversion of the rigid formalities of daily life in the teachers' room. It felt more like a gathering of friends than of mere colleagues. While the return to school and its formal timbre was a bit jarring, I very much look forward to future events outside of school.



One of my friends is an ALT in Murata and the following Sunday, he arranged for us to not only attend, but participate in the morning parade of Murata's Hotei Matsuri festival. We wore hapi and helped pull a float through the streets on what I must say was a particularly pleasant fall day. The parade was repeated four times throughout the day, so I not only have shots of my perspective, but also as a spectator. The scene actually reminded me quite a bit of Upper Arlington's Independence Day parade. You'll probably watch the following videos and think I'm crazy, but there you have it.