Osaka

In these final two weeks, I had the chance to accompany grade 7 students on a field trip to the Osaka museum of history (which I highly recommend) and to Doshomachi, a neighborhood historically known as a medicine hub. Today, the three top pharmaceutical companies in Japan all have their headquarters within this neighborhood. It was a new and great experience to supervise students during a field trip. One thing that surprised me was that we took the metro with a group of 30 students, which felt pretty stressful! I am writing this as I am going home from my… Read more: Week 8: Osaka

During these two weeks, we got to witness challenges that teachers face. There was the possibility of classes being online due to the Osaka Expo which contributed to the metro lines being too busy for students. It was a reminder and a great example of how prepared and flexible teachers need to be. It was pretty reassuring to see how teacher experiences can be similar in a different country. In class, I had the chance to design activities with a partner teacher. He was specifically looking for activities to engage discussion and public speaking from students. He told me that… Read more: Week 6: Osaka

This last weekend, we got to attend the school festival, where each class creates a project and decorates their class. My favorite was a room called “Midnight Museum” where you enter the class that was redecorated as a museum, and then had 45 seconds to steal 3 given artworks, before exiting through an obstacle course without getting caught by security guards. It was a fantastic display of teamwork and creativity. Some of the after-school clubs also had exhibitions, like the tea ceremony, dance, and light music club. It was a great experience to be able to see and participate in… Read more: Week 4: Osaka

The first shock came when as soon as I came out of the airport, I was warned about it, but I definitely underestimated Japanese summers! It was at least 35ºC with 100% humidity everyday for the first two weeks. That was very surprising! After our first day at the school, we quickly realized that this school was very different from traditional Japanese schools. I feel like we often have the image of a very strict and organized environment, so I was surprised to see classes that felt weirdly similar to Canadian classes with teachers employing strategies that we are being… Read more: Week 2: Osaka

I arrived back home to Calgary a few days ago and it already feels like my time in Japan was a dream. It’s so strange that something I have been looking forward to for so long is over now. I’m already missing my usual hangout spots like Namba Parks and Taito Station. I especially miss the Suito students and akll of the amazing staff. My last day at the school was very emotional. The students drew a beautiful card for me, and I will treasure it forever! Although I’m sad this adventure has come to an end, I am grateful… Read more: Home Again!