Tuesday, January 30, 2007

Interviews

Hi everyone! Sorry I haven't updated much lately, and thank you for reading my blog, anyway. I'm still working on getting internet in my apartment, and once that happens I will be able to update more and add pictures, finally. Apparently Yahoo needs to check my information with some other internet/phone company and then check with my landlord and then they can do it. Ridiculous.

But anyway, I've been thinking that I should put something here about how I spend my time at work and one of our main jobs is interviewing prospective students, so I'll tell you about that. The interview has two main goals - to place the student in the right lesson for his or her level, and to get him or her to come to our school instead of one of the many, many other schools (I'd say the second goal is most important as far as management is concerned). So when you have an interview, you check that your jacket is on and your company pin is straight on your lapel, then you get out a business card, which you hand to the prospective student when you walk in. During the interview you're supposed to fill out a sheet called 'My First Lesson at (Company Name) ' while you ask the student lots of questions. The sheet has spaces for phrases, vocabulary and pronunciation, so you write things down when the person makes mistakes and go over it with him or her, just like in a lesson. The idea is that they can see some improvement after just the 15 minute interview and they'll want to sign up for more. Usually students are very shy, but sometimes we get some talkative ones, and those interviews are especially fun. I've had two prospective students tell me in the last couple of days that they saw my picture on our website and wanted to meet me, which is a little strange but I guess it means I look friendly. The guy I interviewed today told me that he's not sure which lesson he would take, but the important thing is that it's one of my lessons and he kept mentioning places and saying we should go together. I felt a little strange about that, but one of the Japanese teachers told me it's good I can attract students that way, so maybe I should be flattered. She told me not to mention my boyfriend to him or he might leave our school, but I think she was joking.

Ok, thanks for reading! More soon, I promise!
Cate

Sunday, January 14, 2007

Advertising

One of the most popular ways to advertise in Japan is to pass out small tissue packets with little brochures inside or stapled to the packets. You get so many of these walking around that eventually you have to stop taking them or they'll take over your life. I really don't understand why stores here even sell tissues. Anyway, my company does this and our branch puts the pictures of its three foreign teachers on the little fliers that they pass out, which makes me feel like a celebrity. They also have our pictures on the sandwich-board sign that sits outside our building but the pictures are so dopey that I'm not particularly proud of that one. I took a picture of the sign that I will post on here when I get my internet access. Maybe if I work here long enough I'll make it into one of the brochures that they use all over the country so I can be famous all over Japan and not just in my little home.

Ok, I hope you enjoyed this little culture note. Oh, and this can serve as incentive for you all to visit me - you can stock up on kleenex!

Cate

Monday, January 08, 2007

New Year's Eve

Hi Everyone! Akemashite Omedetou (Happy New Year)! Sorry I haven't been updating much - I'm hoping to finally get internet access at home sometime in the next few days and I plan to put up a bunch of pictures then, so I've been waiting for that.

New Year's in Japan is a very important holiday, and, it turns out, a quiet, family time, which we discovered when we tried going out on the 31st. I went to Okayama, where I had my training in November, because most people I know here in Fukuyama went out of town. I met a teacher from Canada who arrived here recently and we had dinner with a few other people at the apartment of an ex-Marine who has lived in Japan for 13 years and now writes textbooks. He also does the voice of one of the characters in one of our textbooks, so it was very exciting to meet him. After dinner we went to an Australian-themed bar for the countdown to midnight, and a teacher from Stratford Upon Avon had written out Auld Lang Syne a bunch of times so we could sing at midnight. They play the tune here when stores are closing, so everyone knows it. After midnight we went dancing until maybe 4 or 5 in the morning and finally went to bed.

Part of the Japanese tradition for New Year's is to go to a shrine on the 1st, but I didn't end up doing that. They also have lots of traditional New Year's dishes called Osechi, and my coworker, Marina, and I did make one of those yesterday. It was made with sweet potato and chestnut. For more information on traditions of Japanese New Year's, you can look at my host mother's blog linked on the left (okasan's blog) and see pictures of the huge crowds that turn out for the post-New Year's bargain sales. They definitely do look similar to the after-Thanksgiving sales in the U.S. I think it's best to avoid setting foot in a store for the first few days of January if at all possible.

Thanks for reading! And thanks for the comments!