My name is R.T. Williams. I am an American who has lived in Japan for over 30 years. I came here to teach high school students as an assistant teacher, but got married to a Japanese teacher, and ended up getting a great job at a local university. I grew up in a small town in Washington State in the US. It is about 4 hours by car to Seattle from my hometown. I studied International Relations at California State University and wanted to be a high school geography teacher. But, I fell in love with my wife, had a son, and have really enjoyed my experience in Japan.
Visite an elenamentary school
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One of the things that foreign teachers do if you live in Japan, is to make one shot visits to kindergartens or elementary schools. Occasionally, I visit junior and senior high schools, too. Once, I was asked to visit a very rural elementary school. It was before smart phones, and I had to find my own way. All of the information was in Japanese, but I had been studying for a while, and I was confident in my ability to figure it out. I was asked to take part in a special event, and the elementary school teacher in charge warned me very sternly, “Whatever you do, don’t be late.”
Found a way on a map but…
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I found the route on a map, and made it so I was about 20 minutes early. I checked the kanji on the letter I received from the school and the kanji on the gate of the elementary school. I found my way into the teachers’ room, and there was only 1 teacher there. Obviously, it was the middle of class time. The teacher looked at me very inquisitively and asked, “The Principal?” Usually when you visit a school, the first thing you do is to visit the principal’s office. So, I just said, “Yes.” Then, she showed me to the principal’s office.
Nice conversation over a cup of coffee
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I was very much welcomed by the principal, and felt really at home. He was all smiles, and asked me to take a seat. He started asking about me. Again, this was pretty standard for a school visit. A few moments later, the teacher who had first welcomed me, brought in some coffee. The principal and I kept talking. It was a very pleasant conversation, and I almost forgot that I was going to give a presentation.
Panicked to know that I was in a wrong place
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Well, we finished our coffee after about 10 minutes had passed, and suddenly the principal asked me a very important question: “So, why are you here today?” Suddenly I panicked and realized I must be in the wrong place. There was less than 10 minutes before I was scheduled to start, and I remembered the teacher’s warning, “Whatever you do, do not be late.”
Why wait 10min. to say an important thing!?
I found out that there were 2 schools. One is called___________ and the other is ___________. The principal at the school told me not to worry, and that he would call the principal at the other school. But, I still knew that the teacher in charge of the event was going to be upset at me.
On one hand, I thought to be upset at the principal at the first school. But, I cannot overstate how nice and polite he was. I am sincerely glad that I met him. But, it did take him over 10 minutes to ask me why I was there. I was even able to finish all of my coffee. It only goes to show that Japanese can sometimes be TOO nice and polite.