Barack, Paper, Scissors...

I'm pretty exhausted. Things at the elementary schools (shougakkou) are going very well, all things considered. I'm building a rapport with teachers and students, and though it's fallen off a bit lately, the teachers are more or less involved in preparation and navigating the class through the day. It's not the horrific nightmare I imagined before...but, it IS extremely demanding. My back hurts, my feet hurt, I spend most the day yelling over kids so my throat is sore, and I feel genuinely run-down.

I guess what I'm trying to say, as well is that...well, I'm failing myself, in a strange way. In a previous blog, I swore that I would put in the minimal effort at these schools as a kind of boycott to keep myself sane and illustrate a clear break between my job and my life, and so that, when we have the upcoming meeting in April to talk about this plan's success or failure, I would be able to cite evidence (besides my aching body, and diminishing spirit) as to why the plan simply asks too much.
And instead, despite my plan to care less about my job and let myself fall short as a teacher for these kids, I'm working harder than ever. I'm giving them more evidence as to why I should spend the rest of my time here working this hard at the shougakkou. I swore I wouldn't care, and instead I'm putting more energy into every class and every day. And all because I can't look kids in the eye and not try my hardest. ...Damned kids, anyway...

So, there you go, Japan. You're getting one year of 100 percent, I guess.
I am very happy that I decided to only remain for one year, because they'd come to expect this level of exertion all year next year - and I really don't think I could stand it.

All that said, there are a few anecdotes from today worth retelling:

-While telling students to copy my gestures and tone of voice while saying "I'm hungry, sad, happy," etc. I said "Woo! Yay!" after happy. The students copied so well that I made a little song out of their contributions. I broke into beatbox, and in between beatboxing went very oldschool by saying "When I say 'Woo!' you say 'Yay!' Woo! *Yay!* Woo! *Yay!*" The students complied enthusiastically, and I was happy to make a little music with them.

-An activity we did today, called the "Key Word Game," required some call and response. When I shout a word, the students shout it back and clap twice. Out of boredom and perhaps a bit of frustration, I just started saying "Jake's Great!" as a way to make myself laugh at my situation. I'm a little ashamed when I tell you that I became a little drunk with power, and perhaps was a little carried away. I made them continually chant "Jake's Great! Jake's Great!" for about thirty seconds . . . before it was earnestly taken up independent of my goading. I had a brief moment of Kurtz' madness, as detailed in the Heart of Darkness, and wondered about the possibility becoming a like God to these tiny devotees, sitting atop a throne while leading them in chant as they build me a great temple as well as beating them at basketball without really trying. I shook the dream from my clouded mind and returned to the menial chore of teaching.

-Lastly, this is something I should've written about a long time ago. "Rock, Paper, Scissors" is incredibly popular in Japan; among children, adolescents and adults. Here, they call it "janken". The chant goes "Saishou gu, janken pon!"

[There have been many jokes made by foreigners about the cultural relevence of the janken. It solves all manner of social issues, such as squabbling over a parking space, or an extra hamburger patty (as evidenced by my previous adventures), etc. There are some gaijin among us who go so far as to postulate that the Japanese government bases most of their decisions on the will of the janken . . . which, while ridiculous, would explain why this country has gone through 4 or 5 prime ministers in as many years. You can't throw a brick in Japan without hitting a resigning politician. ...God, if only it were that easy in America. We couldn't have been any clearer to Bush, really . . . Annnnyway, I digress, but only slightly.]

Today, I saw children janken-ing, and they asked me to join them. Instead of the chant of "Saishou gu, janken pon!" I adlibbed "Saishou-bama, Yes-We-Can!" which was immediately mimicked by the students. The rest of the day, I heard laughter in between the new call.
...I sincerely hope it gets taken up, if only for a while. I could call it "Barack, Paper Scissors"!

Here's hoping that the Obama presidency is guided by higher principles than Rock, Paper, Scissors. On the other hand, I think the Bush presidency could've benefitted from a higher success rate of it's policies if they would've adopted such measures....by about 33%?