The Zietlow's Take Over Japan

What do you think is the hardest part about teaching abroad? Is it cultural differences? the job itself?... the language barrier? I think many people that have spent time teaching in other countries would agree that the hardest part about working in another country is being away from family and friends. Of course, if you're lucky like me you develop your own work family while here but there's always something missing. Being here for over a year, its worn me down at times realizing that it will be months before I can make it back home. You start to miss those little things, like the smell of mom baking cookies, Little Caesars Pizza,  or that random bum on the corner giving you the finger just because.

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A few months ago, I was talking with my brother Ryan about applying to work here at MeySen. Both he and his wife, Sarah, were looking to make a change. I thought they would be a great fit for the school but  I figured there would be no way on God's green earth that they would actually even apply let alone accept a position. They had a house, jobs, loans to pay, cars, and a 2 year old child. It doesn't exactly sound like a recipe for new adventure. They seemed to be on that path of Date-marriage-job-house-kid-retire. All of a sudden, its 30 years later. Basically, they were set on the path that 99.9% (gross exaggeration) of people  fall into, in the 1950s. Its the kind of life that frightened me, which is probably why I'm sitting on a computer in Japan right now. 

Anyway, I figured there was no chance that things would work out, that they would actually decide to come out here and join this adventure. Wellll God showed me a thing or two about making things work. Literally all the chips fell so perfectly for them to come here. Right after they applied, they got interviews set up. I knew that MeySen liked them but also knew that most hires are for the next year which is in February. Having Zachary, their son, it would be really difficult trying to make ends meet until they came in February. They needed to come in the summer for it to work out right. They also needed at least one full-time position (most summer hires start as subs) and to sell their house within a month.

Around the time they interviewed, MeySen just happened to need a kindergarten teacher to fill ASAP and could use a good sub to go into the fall. Ryan and Sarah were hired just like that! Because of all the paper work, they had just time to sell away their house, cars and most everything they needed. It all just fit right into place like they were supposed to be here. 

Leading up to them coming, people seemed to ask me everyday about them or when they were getting. To be completely honest, I was still kind of in disbelief that they would actually be coming here. I've been out here on my own little adventure for a year and a half. All of sudden, I had family coming to not only visit but work alongside me. It was something I'd maybe picture growing up but I don't think I ever pictured our lives intersecting in Japan. I couldn't wait for them to arrive, I had been thinking of a million things I wanted to show them and teach them from my year of experience. 

Zachary looking down from my loft.

Last week, they finally got here after a little flight trouble (it runs in the family). Saturday morning, I brought Ryan to show him my class and campus. I told my kids he was my grandpa and they didn't even second guess it. Most guessed his age around 50 to 60 :)! 

Zachary falling asleep at T-Rolls

For the rest of the weekend, I became their tour guide of Sendai, Japan. It was kind of a cool perspective for me. It wasn't so long ago that everything here was so foreign to me. We were running all over so much, that I was starting to feel their jet lag. Zachary got it the worst. He fell asleep at dinner time both Saturday and Sunday. He also would wake up around 3 in the morning. Not sure why they decided to put a 2 year old on the second floor of an apartment haha! 

"Wait for me Greg! I'm coming!"

Sarah has been jumping right into her job and seems to really like it. Ryan is playing house husband everyday because he technically doesn't start until September and somebody has got to watch Zachary. It will be interesting to see how they think of everything as they all get into the full swing of it. I know I love the job!


So what's it like having some of your family move to Japan? For me, tonight kind of sums it up. I get to go to work and then come home and stop by my brother's house for dinner and be with family. 







P.S. Be on the look out for a Japanese sitcom called "American Kazoku." Its about a loud family that moves to Japan and their brother lives across the street. They make many cultural faux pas and anger the neighbor living below them, hilarity ensues. 

Drunk parade leader dancing with us at the corner.

Camping in Fukushima

Last weekend, we took the high school students to camp at Bandai in Fukushima Prefecture. The first thing most people think about when they hear the word Fukushima is the nuclear disaster that devastated    Japan and sent panic across the ocean. What most people don't know is that Fukushima is a beautiful prefecture with a rich history and breathtaking landscapes (cue the Japanese pipe music). Last year, we were supposed to go to Bandai for 3rd grade summer camp but the widespread fear of anything Fukushima kept us away. Even today, most people are hesitant to buy fruit that was grown in the prefecture. Where we were was far out of the exclusion zone and had nuclear readings at or below normal levels.

Saturday after waving off the buses and cleaning our rooms, we jump right on a bus with 30 high school students for a 3 hour journey to Bandai. I had one of the biggest groups with 8 of my 11 8th grade boys coming. Our first activity was to go canoeing down the river. All went well until one of the students riding with me thought it would be smart to stand up while splashing the girls on the river. Luckily we didn't tip. There were several others that did.

at the hostel

From there, we went headed to our hostel up in the mountains. The view all weekend was amazing. We were right up among the clouds. The hostel itself was, much like any other in Japan, is about as inviting to look at as a prison cell. Saturday night was full of marshmallow roasting and basketball. I had one of my smallest student eat 11 hot dogs. I called him Kobayashi  for the rest of the weekend. 


Sunday, we woke up at 6 AM, did our morning stretches (cracks me up everytime) and headed to a nature hike and park golf. We hiked with our kids through the woods to this beautiful waterfall and at the end of the hike was our golf course.


Park golf is a pretty big deal in Japan. Its basically chipping with a smaller club shaped like a driver and a big ball that almost looks like it belongs on a pool table.  Its pretty tricky to get the right power to  make it in the whole. I ended up +5 for 9 holes and got beat by kobayashi, who claimed to be left handed only to dominate right handedly.

the ball and club

the course

All in all, it was a great weekend to bond with my students and see a little bit more of Japan. I'll be heading out again at the end of the month with my 3rd graders.

June: Surfs Up!

At MeySen, June is one of the busiest times of the year. This is probably why I haven't been posting too often lately. Also, it feels odd posting about the same thing I did I year ago but I figured I'd give an update anyway.

We start out with two weekends of Friend's Day. Friend's Day is the big beast of an open house. We have horses, cheesecake, hot dogs, cookies, and more. All of this on top of teaching our students in front of about 30 parents and family members. The Takamori Friend's Day had great weather and flew right by. I spent my time there selling cookies. I still cannot figure out why they don't bake cookies in Japan. There are tons of bread shops and bakeries but you hardly ever see a fresh cookie. It just doesn't make sense. Anyway, I spent all morning trying out my skills as a Japanese cashier. I tried to be authentic as I could while still dressed as a cowboy. 

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Friends Day Food Booths!

People that have been to Japan will notice a big difference between the way they run things in the stores. At every store I've been to here, they all welcome each person as they walk in. Then every time you walk near an employee they welcome you (Irashaimase). Also, you put everything into a basket basket or bag when you get in the store. Then the cashier transfers it to another basket. Be careful grocery shopping! Bags to take home aren't free at grocery stores so you need to be sure to ask for one or grab the little thing by the counter that says you want a bag. Also, the cashier will tell you the exact price of everything as she rings it up and then tell you the amount of money while counting it to you everytime. If you don't know any Japanese, it can feel like they are trying to hold a conversation with you.

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The Maruyama Friend's Day went off without a hitch...except for the rain. It poured in the morning and right after my class got out. My class went well. I even broke out a little "Mr. Zietlow's Famous Game Show" that I used during my student teaching at Ravenna. All in all it was a great day.

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Last weekend, we got some much needed relaxation at our cabin in Shiogama. Shiogama is an area about 30 minutes away that was hit really hard by the tsunami. On the way to the cabin, you can see a lot of progress since the earthquake. Lots of new or remodeled buildings and not nearly as much debris as last year. There is also a lot of empty lots right by our cabin.  Our cabin was spared because its on the top of a hill. As you drive past the area below the hill, everything is leveled. Apparently, there used to be stores and really nice houses right by our cabin. The weather was beautiful all weekend and the food was awesome. We had enough steak for about 40 people but had about 20. Sadly, my eyes were bigger than my stomach. I think I'm slowly developing a Japanese appetite out here. 

God Bless the Broken Road

Gnarly Dude!

Also, last weekend, I got to check something off my bucket list: SURFING! I have always wanted to go surfing mainly because I wanted  to  use words like "bro" "righteous" and "gnarly" without sounding like a poser.  A friend from GrapeSeed had an open spot Sunday morning and I jumped on it. It was one of those experiences of "How did my life get to this point, I'm surfing in Shiogama, Japan." It also provides a unique perspective surfing in the water right were a tsunami wave came in and devastated the area. 

To be honest, surfing is waay harder than it looks. I think I swallowed more salt water trying to just sit on the surfboard waiting for a wave than actual surfing. I did catch a few waves though. There is really nothing like the first time you ride a wave. Its like this perfect harmony between you, your board and the ocean. Bro its pretty righteous! I'd recommend everyone try it at least once.

Breakfast

Fresh Whale from the Fish Market

I have a ton of stories that I always think about writing about but then I just get too lazy so I apologize to the people that have been salivating for my next update. Also, a lot of things that seem pretty cool are becoming normal now. My kids always say funny things but I usually forget what they say by the time to post it. I still crack up every time the cute  kindergartners say "Good Morning!" to me when I get to work in the afternoon. I don't think I've had a "normal" week in quite a while, there's always a project, bible talk, MeySen Birthday Party, or something going on. Between June 1-July 17, only get 2 free weekends with nothing to do. This weekend I get to go to Fukushima (yes that Fukushima) for camp with the high schoolers. Then, July starts the camp season for all the other grades. 

May Update:Philippines and Hippos

As I've gotten busy, I keep thinking of ideas to post and then never get around to writing them so here's a brief update on my life in May.

MEYSEN: Life is pretty much floating one week into the next. The kids are getting into the groove of everything. I've actually been observed by people from all over the place in the past few weeks. As some of you know, MeySen  is the pioneer school for GrapeSeed, which is now in hundreds of locations around the world. Schools that want to use GrapeSeed come to MeySen to check it out. In the past two weeks, I've taught in front of people from L.A., China, Myanmar, South Korea, and other parts of Japan. I like to think of it as a privilege to teach in front of all these people. It shows that my bosses think of my class as an example. My students love it too, they feel like celebrities.

I also got the chance to go with the K4 (4 year old) kids to the Yagiyama Zoo for a field trip. I take any chance I can get to work with those kids. They are amazing! Most of them come into K4 with little to no English ability and within weeks they are holding conversations. We went around to all the exhibits... and reached the Hippopotamus. Picture a bunch of 4 year olds with their faces right up against the glass and boom! The hippo starts to let nature flow right out of his rear end. I couldn't tell who laughed harder, the students or the teachers.

This weekend starts our busy time at school. We have Friends Day , the craziest open house you will ever see. After that we visit our cabin and then start summer camps through July.

WEDDING in the Philippines:

One of my friends who I grew up with was getting married in the Philippines in May and I knew I just had to go if I could. We had always talked about going to the Philippines together as kids but it never worked out. At the end of April, I found out I could go and set it all up.

It turned out to be about 3 airports and 3 planes each way with only about 2 days to enjoy the Philippines. Last summer I spent a week there and ended up being sick so it really hampered my experience. The islands themselves are beautiful and the people are very friendly (but be careful in the city).

Saturday was the wedding. The church was one of those places you picture in movies. There was this 400 year old Spanish church in the middle of Boljoon set against the ocean. Birds were flying through the beautifully crafted building as they said their "I dos." The only draw back is that it was hot as the surface of the sun. I think my friend's brother almost passed out during the 2 hour ceremony.

The wedding itself was pretty normal compared to what I've seen in America, the only difference is that we all wore these traditional Filipino shirts made out of Pineapple. Also, there were "primary and secondary sponsors." I never quite figured out why you needed them but there were about 20 people on each side of the aisle as sponsors.

After the wedding, they  take pictures with literally everyone and then head across the street to the reception. By the time we got there, I was starved and blazing hot.  We sat around for a while and all of a sudden we had to process in. I'm thinking "Yes I can finally have food." After the procession it got a little different. The bride and groom went around to every single table and took pictures with them.

Woohoo Food...wait they have to cut the cake and smash it in each others face first. Woohoo food!...wait in comes the wine parade. Woohoo food...wait start the speeches (thank you Bert for keeping in short). Woohoo food... wait lets play a 10 minute version of the Celine Dion singing "The Prayer." Woohoo food...ladies first!

The food was great and it wouldn't be a Filipino celebration without roasting a whole pig. I counted 3 little piggies that never made it back home but they were delicious.

After dinner there were a few other things that were different from my normal wedding experiences. They had a dollar dance which you actually pin the dollar to the brides dress. Also, they had fire dancers, and a Latin dancing couple. Then they lit lanterns to send into the night sky. At the end of the reception the bride and groom had to open their gifts in front of everyone. It was pretty interesting. I'm just glad I'm not the 4th person to get them a blender haha.

I had all day Sunday to hang out in Boljoon but it was super hot.  Much like vampires, most people there hide in the shadows until night time. I did end up playing what was the hottest basketball game of my life. I was drenched in sweat after about 2 minutes. I played embarrassingly bad.

The next day I spent from 4:30 AM to 12 PM getting back to Sendai. It was exhausting but I'm happy to announce no major FLIGHT DELAYS for the second trip in a row.  

Golden Week: KOREA!

During the first part of May, Japan has several holidays that line up together in one week called Golden Week. Basically, it means that I get all but two days off for a week. As I've said before, whenever any of us gets more than two days off we are looking to travel somewhere. A few friends and I decided to look into Korea. Luckily, we found a pretty cheap deal and even got to have a day to spend in Tokyo.

Thursday morning, we got to Tokyo at 5:30 AM. So what can you do at 5:30 AM in Tokyo on a holiday you ask? badabapaba I'm lovin it (Mc Donalds). The place was actually packed, mostly with people who were just getting finished with their night out at 6AM. Tokyo likes to party apparently.

It was pouring rain and I didn't even have an umbrella. We were planning on visiting all these places that were out doors so it was kind of a buzzkill at first. Then we decided to just go for it. We dropped our bags off at the hostel. I also got my first nose bleed in 10 years just waiting at this hostel.  Kind of random.

--- random side story. At the hostel we were just kind of hanging out when one of the owners started talking to me in Nihonglish. He was a very nice guy. He was telling me all about the area. He said he actually is an engineer that worked in Fukushima during the meltdown. Something about how he had to close the doors when it went down. Kind of crazy if its true. ---

We headed all over Tokyo all day, We started at the Palace then headed to a shrine, and Tokyo Tower, all while it was pouring rain. My shoes were soaked with that disgusting squishy feeling every time I stepped. Also, my nose started bleeding again near the Tokyo tower. If you want more people to stare at you while you are in Tokyo, I reccommend being Gaijin (not Japanese) with a ball of tissues held up to your nose walking through train stations.

For lunch we headed to Outback Steakhouse. This was my first time there in years. One thing a lot of teachers like to do in Tokyo is hit up Outback, Hard Rock, or TGIFridays while there since we don't have anything remotely close to that in Sendai. We actually succeeded in going to Outback and TGIFridays for lunch and dinner on that day.

We packed a lot into our one day in Tokyo before heading back for the night. Though I've lived here for over a year now, it was my first time I've been able to check out Toyko. In Sendai, I don't really feel like a tourist around town because I live here.  In Tokyo, I felt like I was an American tourist and it was great! Tokyo is awesome.

Outside the Palace

A pagoda in Asakusa

Tokyo Tower

Friday morning, we headed to the airport and Korea. Korea was beautiful. A lot of Seoul is a city with gorgeous mountains in the background. Its also very cheap. I spent about $250 the whole weekend and even when shopping. Friday night, we went around town by our hostel and at a traditional Korean bbq place that you cook your meat right at the table. We had no clue what to do. There were about 10 different things spread around the table and some random meat. It was all delicious though.

Korean Food: Korean food is pretty delicious. The hard part is that everything is written in Korean so unless there are picture menus you've gotta play roulette to find out what you are getting. Pretty much everything comes with Kimchee which is kind of like pickled cabbage. Sounds gross but its actually pretty good. I reccommend bulgogi soup. Its basically meat thinly sliced in this delicous broth.

Korean People: The people of Korea are generally pretty nice from my encounters. The younger crowd seems to be able to speak English well enough with a very natural accent. We actually had a girl give us a free tour of Gyeongbokgung palace who sounded like she was from California. Also random fact, Koreans age starts with when they are born so they are actually 1 to 2 American years younger than their Korean age.

Also, we ran into a guy trying to help us get back home. He accidentally took us to the wrong place so he jumped in a cab with us and helped get us there. He also paid for the cab ride. Imagine having that happen in New York haha.

Korean Places:


Its actually really easy to get around Seoul by  subway. I recommend getting the Tmoney (Seoul City Pass) card. Its a card you put money on and beep your way through the subway. Also, you can use the card on subway vending machines and cab rides!

Theres a ton of shopping around Korea. The random local shops are your cheapest route for souvenirs.

Gyeonbokung

Changing of the Guard

Also, there are a lot of palaces and iconic buildings. We made it to the Gyongbokung palace Saturday as they were having some special parade for Children's Day. Sunday we made it to the Changeokung palace and another that I can't remember the name of which had this once a year ceremony. There were tons of people lined up to watch the ceremony. We were pretty lucky to randomly catch the ceremonies. Unfortunately, I was hoping to get to check out the DMZ but it didn't quite fit in time-wise to our plans.

We did get to check out Avengers in 3D though, which was awesome. I highly recommend it. In Japan, a lot of American movies either come 3 months later or not at all and its super expensive. I've actually done a pretty good job of going to a movie theater at least once during all of my vacations to these other countries.


Friday, we headed back. For the first time ever, I made it back to Japan with no delays, power outages, cancelled flights, etc.  We also headed to HardRock Cafe in Tokyo on the way back. I think I spent more money on meals in Tokyo than I did the whole vacation in Korea. All in all, another great vacation!

See you soon Philippines! Who wants to meet in Europe in August!?

Year 2 Back to the Beginning

About 3 weeks ago, I started teaching my 2nd group of students in Japan. Its been an interesting challenge being a 2nd year teacher.  The kids are great but there are definitely those times that I go "how do you not know this? Oh Ya I haven't taught you that yet." I sometimes feel like I'm teaching kids how to breathe. I have to reteach every thing that I took for granted a few weeks ago because, I had those kids trained. It definitely shows how much I actually taught my students over the last year. Outside of feeling like a record player on repeat, I've got a fun group this year. I have 8 boys and 5 girls. They all have their own personalities.

Last year at this time, I was just coming back from America after the earthquake so I missed out on a lot of the start of the year things. I had a great teacher that was teaching my class for a month before I took over so a lot of the basics were taken care of by the time I got them. This year, I've gotten to mold the students from scratch my way. I've had some great times with these kids already.

The big rolly slide

The sledding hill

This past Saturday, we went to Manyo Park for a field trip. Manyo Park is essentially a big Jungle Gym/training ground for Most Extreme Elimination Challenge. Basically, there are tons of obstacles that circle this mountain. The first thing we got to try was probably the worlds longest rolly slide, reminded me of my days at Mullally Park on the orange slide except 10 times longer.  If you sit on slide your butt will go numb by the end of the ride. The kids actually stand on it and squat. Its pretty crazy.

There is also the first non-snow sledding hill I've seen. The kids loved it. You can get going down it pretty fast. If you fall off though, it burns.

...STAFF BBQ

Today, we had our annual MeySen international staff bbq. They set up the grills right on our soccer field. There was soo much good food that you probably take for granted in America. We had burgers, hotdogs, spinach dip, pasta salad and a lot more. It was awesome. After eating, we all played kickball. Every year we put the two schools against each other (Maruyama and Takamori). This essentially when we get to feel like kids again. I feel like every work environment should have an annual kickball game. It just brings out this pure joy that a lot of workplaces can be missing. It was a lot of fun, Maruyama (my school) dominated yet again 22-6.

All in all, it was a great day to just be outside and relax with my fellow foreigners (and Japanese too). Our school now has about 40ish foreign staff and it keeps growing. They are definitely a reason why I stayed another year. Its great to have that group of people that are going through the same struggles here trying to find a place in the Japanese world.

My First Year as a Teacher...in Japan

During my first year in college, I was assigned the book My First Year as a Teacher for my entry level teaching class. In the book, there were several different teachers sharing their stories, from teaching at risk students, to being live in teachers at boarding schools. I remember wondering what my first year as a teacher would be like. 6 years and several thousand miles later I never expected this...

Its hard to believe that a year as a 3rd grade Immersion English teacher has passed already. Its amazing to  look back at everything and see how differently this year could have been. Its hard to believe that last April I was home after the huge earthquake and contemplating not coming back at all. The biggest thing pushing me to come back was this feeling that I had 14 third graders that expected me to be their teacher.

This group of kids would grow to almost feel like my own kids here. I spend 6 days a week with them and have probably explored more of Japan with my students than I have without them. We've been to youth hostels, hiked mountains, water parks, museums, caroling, and more on top of trying to teach them English. I feel like I could write a novel about the personalities of each of my kids; What they like dislike, struggles etc.

I have so many great memories with each of the students that its next to impossible to break it down to each of them. I could  tell my students favorite memory of me (at least to tell to me!) though, which I'm slightly embarrassed to share. The 3rd grade students created this booklet "Day at MeySen" which they got a chance to write about their teacher and I had to stop half of them from writing this story. Here's the abridged embarrassment:

Everyday we have playtime with the kids for about 25 minutes. No matter what I dress in, I always try to run around with the kids and play with them. That day, I believe we were all playing soccer. My clothes were a little dressy for soccer but I thought nothing of it... Well I came back inside and we go to the corner where the kids are sitting on the floor and I'm on a stool about to dive into English. Then, I notice the kids laughing and pointing. My students are usually pretty controlled so I was wondering what the deal was. One student blurts out "uh, Mr. Greg your pants are ripped" I had ripped my pants right down the middle. All the kids were cracking up. As I tried to cross my legs for the rest of the corner time, the only thing I could do was laugh with them and try to explain how its inappropriate to laugh at other people when something goes wrong (ya I shouldn't have laughed either haha). For the rest of the year, it was kind of a rolling joke with the class about me splitting my pants at the end of the day.

As some of you may know, Japanese school year starts in April and ends in March. That leaves very little time between one grade and the next. I basically started getting rid of things for last year as I'm preparing for the new students. Next Tuesday, its going to be crazy to start up a class with look at 13 less familiar faces in front of me and restart the whole process of what I'm expecting. I don't know how you veteran teachers do this every year. Though looking back on my memories of this past year, I can start to see why.

PS please check out another teachers blog here: She is working to help students in  her home country of Ghana.
http://kasemoart.blogspot.jp/