Communication, the key to happiness

A few months back I attended a meeting where ALT's were discussing problems at work and I was shocked. It wasn't so much a discussion as a whine. For example more than one ALT had asked to book holiday over the school vacation period. Two months ago. And they still hadn't heard anything back. Now forgive me if I'm wrong but if this was back home in the UK or USA or Australia or wherever these ALT's are from, don't you think you would have asked again if taking holiday would be possible after a week or two? Why should it be any different here, all you have to do is ask 'excuse me, did you get a chance to discuss my holiday with the head teacher?' and they will tell you yes or no, but at least you have reminded them that you want to take holiday. After all Japanese teachers (and all other teachers I have met) are busy and they may have forgotten that you asked to take holiday, and it is not pushy or rude to remind them as long as you do so politely and give them a decent amount of time to have tried (i.e. a week or so).

This is genuinely how I interact with my teachers and I have never had any problems resulting from bringing subjects like this up because I always try to do it in a non-offensive way. For example never criticise the person you are talking to, or another coworker, and always place the blame on yourself for something not going right. Hopefully, if you follow these guidelines you will have a stress free a work environment.

It may or may not be news to some of you to hear that the Japanese government is aware that Japanese people sometimes have trouble communicating with each other as well as with foreigners. Recently they have started trying to develop strategies to improve communication between people, so why not as an ALT try to help the process and figure out ways to better communicate with your teachers? Just always remember to be polite, sometimes unnaturally so!

It's important to listen carefully

I went for lunch with my teachers today. Very enjoyable in fact, we went to a restaurant I have never been to before and it was a good mix of people. As usual I understood a few words of the conversation here and there, or the general gist of what was being said. Or I thought I did. The teachers were talking and they mentioned 'Satoko', a common Japanese woman's name. So far so good. However the next word I understood was 'chinko' the Japanese word for penis (the reason I know this word is far more complicated than you could imagine and is not from the usual dirty words are fun to learn strain of studying). So i am sitting there in this conversation, wondering why my teachers are talking about a penis and a woman, given that they would only normally discuss this kind of thing with close friends, i.e. not with work colleagues over a bowl of soba. Eventually i decided to raise this with the Maths teacher on my left (who incidentally was the one who was speaking and mentioned the words together). She starts rolling with laughter. Literally rolling around in her seat, alternating between hitting m shoulder and burying her face into it. Somewhere in the middle of this the other teachers start to wonder what is going on, at which point the maths teacher splutters 'jinko' before dissolving into fits again. Inspiration dawns, they were not talking about penises. They were using a word which i had never heard before (incidentally which means population for anyone interested). So with the maths teacher incapacitated it is left to me to explain. The male teachers roar with laughter, however the other two female teachers remain slightly unimpressed. Oh well some mistakes are destined to happen. On a daily basis. Sometimes it is important to listen more carefully.

language barrier

I am used to sitting in a room and making up my own story. In fact it has gotten to the point where I dont even listen to the conversation half the time. Today was no exception. I was sitting in a Japanese tea ceremony lesson, watching, enjoying, not particularly listening. I understood when people were being told off and what they had done wrong. I was content. However when me and my Japanese friend left, she told me she didnt understand half the words they were using, despite the fact they were speaking in Japanese. For me there was no difference to my normal situation. Sometimes its more satisfying being a foreigner in Japan.

Welcome

About me
I am a 23 year old British girl living on a remote island in Okinawa Japan. I am currently in a relationship with a 26 year old Japanese guy who lives approx 1,500km away. Oh, and did I mention I speak only basic Japanese and he speaks only basic English? I work as an assistant English teacher in three Japanese high schools and owning up to that fact makes all the potential grammatical and spelling mistakes even more embarrassing. Working in a Japanese high school is challenging, with cultural differences between my method of thinking and that of the students and staff always leaves me open to potential embarrassment. Luckily these are usually things which can be laughed off, or I get a light whack around the head and we move on.


Why cultural collage?
Because that is what I feel like I have become as a person. I was born in Scotland, and during the first six years of my life I moved to Boston, USA; Ontario, Canada and England. By the way, for any non-Brits reading this, Scotland and England are in fact different countries with different education and legal systems. Put all of these countries in a human blender and hit 'start'. Leave to season for 15 years and then add Japan. Result: your very own cultural collage in an easily accessible interactive format.

I hope to use this blog as a place to discuss techniques for international relationship building, both professional and personal and also for job hunting. You see I love Japan, but I have been here for two years and I am ready for a change. So in August I will be heading back to England and joining in the great battle against the recession. So I will record my long distance, Internet based job hunt here and hopefully you will also add your input.

Until next time
K