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Classes went without a hitch, but weren't amazing. After school the fun began. I talked with a group of boys for 20 minutes. The beauty of it was that they approached me. I didn't have to struggle for stuff to say. They told me about shaving, that kyoto-sensei has curly hair, how to play janken (rock, paper, scissors), what the name for a light is, and how poorly they did on their English midterms (the best in this group was 50/100). But they were doing fine coversing with me in Japanese andd English. I felt really great. I had to hurry home because kyoto-sensei was picking me up to take me to the mall in Ashikaga. On the way home my bike light crapped out, so it was a very dark ride home (thank goodness there was almost a full moon). Anyway, he picked me up and took me to the train station to pick up his oldest daughter. (She is 28 and goes to college in Chiba-ken. She commutes everyday from Gunma to Chiba.) We went to the Aptiva mall and bought presents for the marathon race (which will be on Sat). I guess he wanted our help to pick out the prizes. After that, his daughter and I made Godzillaland print club. (This was really cool because we made giant-size ones that were sepia instead of color.) They did a little grocery shopping and shared the food on the way home. (can't beat fried chicken and donuts!) I was just in time for my private student. He decided to discuss the gender problems in Japan. It was really interesting. Apparently, he is in the minority, because he doesn't think women should give up their jobs when they get married. He says that women who depend on their husbands are considered to be more attractive than those with jobs. He said that Japanese women pretend to be feminists, but they really aren't. Most are preoccupied about being pretty and finding a husband who is rich and successful. It is called the "Cinderella complex." He said that women here don't fight for equality. Most assume that they will give up their jobs once they get married. This is true even for all the women who go to college. Most women don't have jobs that are considered permanent. This is partly because of the women and partly the decision of the companies who hire these women. The stats he gave said that many women work part time and the average wage is 850 per hour (~$8). This isn't very much at all. I think it would be almost impossible to live on your own with this salary. Most women are not in professional positions, but are office ladies or tea ladies (~secretaries). My student senses that most women don't make any effort to change this, and that men are happy with this situation also. HE said that I and other AETs have a unique opportunity to spread the word about Western culture. We can get the young girls to look beyond shopping and looking pretty. To show them that there is more to life that fashion and every highschool kid in the country wearing baggy white socks. I know he's sright. It is so easy for us to forget the reasons why we are here. There is more to being an AET than teaching English (this might be the least important reason). Japan is a homogeneous society (compared to most other nations) and the people don't get the opportunities we do to see other cultures and digest other ideas. So I think I need to work on my attitude towards my job. Anyway, I felt really good after the lesson. I have a unique opportunity and so do my students. But it is up to me to make the best of the situation. I don't need to teach the girls to burn bras or anything, I should at least bring to their attention the differences between our cultures. Women in the US don't have to choose between their careers and marriage. But I think many Japanese women still do. Plus there are many other issued I could bring to the attention of my students (ie America is not the only country that has cool stuff. The Japanese tend to call anything Western, American. This is not true, and boy do the Brits let me know it!). IT's cold and my fingers are blue. Good luck with finals all you Augie folks (or forks as my students would say).
Valerie
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