Americans, Teaching and the strange sensation of Hiroshima

OJT.

On the Job Training.

And man, how intense was this. 3 hectic days. 21 hours of information overload and nervous teaching.

Apparently I am now a NOVA teacher. Still on probation mind you, but a NOVA teacher. It's an odd feeling. Being conditioned intensely for 3 days in the methods used to train the students I feel that it is very easy to become a corporate robot, spewing out the technique and lesson plans for the next twelve months. The other side of me, fights this with all my spirit. I will teach the lessons in my own style, paying attention to the lesson plans, and the aims of each one, but making the students enjoy their time in my company and going away with a joy in their hearts and a little knowledge in their heads.

Hiroshima

This was more like the Japan I wanted to be surrounded by. People, giant buildings with large advertisments (some with giant recorded video feeds), and a general sense of the cosmopolitan.
I travelled up from Saijo with Jason ( the American, who lost his bags) and departing the train at Hiroshima ekyimae (station in Japanese), one could immediately tell this was going to be a more hectic experience of Japan than Saijo.

Hiroshima is the only city in Japan with a working city tram system, and as we boarded, I could feel my heart race. Fed by another fresh experience. You pay when you depart the tram, and at only 150 yen for a 20 minute, 1 mile plus journey it was a great experience.

Finding Nova Hiroshima Honko was little problem either. At the far end of a covered arcade called Hondori, it was a narrow 6 storey building with the familiar Nova sign above the entrance.
Hondori Arcade is a collection of cafes and shops that stretches from the Hiroshima "red light" district to the Peace Park. A wide, covered avenue that saw a mixture of businessmen, schoolgirls and fashion victims.

My fellow OJT students were all Americans, and to be honest all very pleasant despite my sometimes dislike of American "loudness" or their brash personalities. I guess after 3 days of intense training we all formed a bond on some level, so the 5 of us, shared this common bond.
There was one girl, who thought it was hilarious that I had different words for the Americanized textbooks i.e - Pants - Trousers; Closet - Cupboard etc

I won't bore you with training techniques, but my actual teaching experiences were something else. NOVA teach all age ranges from 13 - 60+ (kids have special classes), in class sizes of 1 to 4. The students are graded on ability and have 40 minute lessons, although sometimes they have more than one at a time. My favourites were a little old lady who despite being on a low level understood what complimentary meant, a retired lady who imagined she was Madonna, Mother Theresa, Julie Andrews and Michael Jackson in the same lesson, another retired lady who decided to tell me the best resturants in Hiroshima and a girl who, when I pretended I was David Beckham, veered from the lesson aims and asked my how my wife was.....

On the second day, because we didn't start until 1pm we all visited the Peace Park and A-Bomb Dome. How a space so beautiful and serene could come from such a scene of devistation is a wonderful testament to the spirit of the Japanese people. The A-Bomb dome is a beautiful, yet sad monument, at the same time eerie and fascinating.

The most moving building, was a small but wonderous construction that was underground. Built in memory of the dead of Hiroshima, we walked down a wide gently sloping spiral path, stopping at intervals to read the information about that fateful day. Upon reaching the bottom, we entered a large circular room, with a small but beautiful fountain in the centre. Around the walls were 145,000 or so tiles. One for each victim. However it depicted the scene of devistation as seen from the centre of the blast in a sombre 360 degree vista. It was a sad and silent moment.
It mad me feel grateful that I had not been alive in those days to see such destruction and reckless abandonment, and yet fearful for the state of the modern world.

And I haven't even started teaching yet...