I am illiterate.

What would you do if this arrived in your mailbox?



Or this?


What about this?


Well, I would probably do something like this:


(Wow, Jenn's hilarious, she's trying to read her water bill upside down! Ha ha!)

"But Jenn," you say, "Harry studied Japanese for three years at university! Surely he is able to help you with all of these bills that are in your name!" Well, no. That is not the case. "Jenn!" he says. "You write the date here! See? That's the kanji for year, month, and day!"

Fortunately, I have finally learned how to write my name in katakana. It looks like this:
ジエンイフアー　トーマス　　(Pronounced "Jienneefuaa Tomasu." My students looked at me like I was crazy when I introduced myself as "Jennifer.")

One of my responsibilities as Kongo Koko's newest teacher is facilitating E.S.S. (English Speaker's Society).

The English Speaking Society's contribution to the whiteboard of club activities. Really makes you wonder why there are only 4 members.

Last week at ESS, we played Monopoly (yes, Monopoly is still quite possibly the most boring game ever made). The board was bilingual, but the game was played almost entirely in Japanese. I likewise found it baffling. It was really good for my Japanese comprehension (ni juu ichi dollaru!), but I am not supposed to speak any Japanese with the students.

I like the students at Kongo quite a lot. They are really nice and friendly, they just don't have any English conversation skills whatsoever. (This fact becomes quite appalling considering that every single student in Japan starts studying English at the age of 12, some even younger. My students are the equivalent of juniors and seniors. You'd think after 5+ years of English classes they'd be able to say a grammatically correct sentence the simple present tense.) I feel hopeful about helping them learn to speak English, however, if only because most of them are very enthusiastic. I cannot walk the halls without hearing "Jenneefaa! Herroooo!" from all directions.