Anyways, after my last post complaining about some of my trouble students, I think it's time for some praise for my good ones. One 3rd year (remember, that's 9th grade in America) student does most of his English work in cursive, which is not taught at all at this level. That means he went out on his own and taught himself. To write in neat cursive. Very impressive, I'd say. Another one of my 3rd year students (one who doesn't do any work) is an AMAZING artist. I mean, not just for a teenager. His drawings are the BEST I have seen in person. Most of them are of crazy demon-like creatures, or cartoon characters, but seriously, I think he has the creative talent to be a cartoonist right now, as a 15 year old. The English teacher in me wants him to study and excell at English, but a part of me honestly thinks "does he need to?" I mean, why should he have to learn another language if he is obviously more suited towards the arts. I just really, really hope he doesn't opt out of an arts or technical high school to become a farmer (which, in this area, is probably what his parents did). That would be a tragedy. One of my 2nd year students is fluent in English. I found out that he was born in Australia, and has a British father and a Tibetan mother. He doesn't spell in English really well, and seems to be fluent in Japanese too, so I don't think he was raised in an English speaking country. My point is, of all the kids, he probably has a right to be bored and sleep through class, but is always kind, attentive, and participates fully. There is another 3rd year student who is kinda bad at English. His handwriting is very sloppy, and his comprehension just isn't really there. He does TRY though, and that makes all the difference in the world. Most of the baseball playing jocks like him who found out 2 years ago that they just didn't understand English have completely turned off and given up on it. He has not, and in my book, that earns you a lot of respect. He also is an avid fisherman, and has told me (in Japanese) about the big bass and carp he has caught, and asks me when I will start fishing in Japan. The last one I'll tell for now is...well...kind of ego boosting. There is a 3rd year girl who has a pretty big crush on me. It's very cute, and because of it, I think she tries a lot harder in English so she can impress me.
Also, here is an artist's rendition of me by a student (but not by any of the students mentioned above):
Tessa says it looks like I belong in a Harry Potter movie, but I think I look quite dashing (that's my neck tie on the bottom) don't you think? BTW, "Mr. Kurisu" is the closest thing to "Mr. Chris" in the Japanese language.
That's all for now, but I'll leave you with topics of upcoming updates! In no order: Making a Pizza in Japan, Japanese JH Student Pop Culture, Driving in Japan, Japanese Customs, and many more! Bye!
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