It’s hard to believe this is our last week in Osaka. Our time here truly went by so fast, and it’s crazy to think that this time next week I will be home in Calgary. I’ve been making the most of the last bit of time here.
Last week, Tom and I went to Universal Studios Japan and it was such a fun day! We arrived at 7am to get in line early so we could run straight to Super Nintendo World. Lots of other people had the same idea too, haha. We didn’t have to wait very long to go on one ride; the other ride we wanted to go on was closed so we moved on. We went on lots of rides, went through some haunted houses, and went on an “adventure” after I lost my phone. I left it on the counter at the restaurant we stopped at for lunch, but luckily the staff were able to track it down for me! Japan takes lost and found VERY seriously, so if you ever lose something while you’re here, it will probably find its way back to you if you make a lost item report!
Yesterday we met up with one of the Suito teachers for the Yodogawa fireworks festival. It was insanely busy, way busier than USJ! We watched for about 20 minutes, but then it started raining HARD. None of us had an umbrella (rookie mistake) and we had to walk back to the station in the pouring rain. Needless to say we were all soaked by then haha. It was kind of fun, and we were all laughing at how ridiculous the situation was. It was definitely a core memory of my time in Japan.
In terms of teaching, I taught a lesson last week that did not go very well at all. It was just an off day for me, the students were tired and unengaged, and I didn’t connect much with the lesson material, so that made ME feel unengaged. My mentor teacher offered some comforting words, with one thing sticking out in particular: she said that having a bad lesson doesn’t make me a bad teacher, but refusing to self-reflect and make a plan to improve would make me a bad teacher. This was so impactful for me because I put a lot of pressure on myself to be perfect right away, but that’s not realistic as an educator. As long as I keep reflecting, learning new things, and working towards being a better teacher one day at a time, then I consider that successful.
I’ll post again next week when I’m back home in Calgary, but until then, I’ll be soaking up every minute I have left here!
Elise