17 Chapter 17 - An Autumn of Change

After several months living and working in Japan, Kate feels more comfortable with her new life. She enjoys the beautiful autumn foliage and yakiimo. 

Download PDF - Chapter 17 SCRIPT & GLOSSARY

SLOW Eigo is an English learning project specially designed for comfortable, immersive learning, and built on the understanding that people learn best when they feel relaxed, connected, and motivated to try.

Your creator and host, Anne Roop-Takata, holds a Master’s degree in Education and has over 30 years of experience in teaching and curriculum development, including 20 years supporting Japanese students of all ages and learning goals.(See bio for more details)

Slow Eigoは、心地よく英語の世界に入り込みながら学べるように特別に設計された英語学習プロジェクトです。人は、リラックスし、つながりを感じ、やってみようという気持ちがあるときに最もよく学べるという考えに基づいています。

制作者兼ホストのアン・ループ・タカタは、教育学の修士号を持ち、30年以上にわたり英語教育とカリキュラム開発に携わってきました。そのうち20年間は、さまざまな年齢や学習目的を持つ日本人学習者をサポートしてきました。（詳しくはプロフィールをご覧ください）

Thank you for hanging out with us at Slow Eigo. Keep listening, keep learning. 

Podcast Website: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2355349

Transcript

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Slow Ego Audio Reader. Book one Stories from an A LT in Japan, part three, finding My Rhythm, chapter 17 and Autumn of Change. I've been in Japan for five months now. I arrived in early August. The cicadas were chirping loudly, and it was sweltering hot. By October, everything changed. The autumn leaves were gorgeous and the weather was perfect. I spent a lot of time. Visiting temples and hiking in the colorful mountain forests. Everywhere I looked, it was beautiful. I felt at peace. It is true that Eastern Canada is famous for its beautiful autumn foliage, but on the West coast where I am from, most of the trees are evergreens, like Christmas trees. This was my first time. Experiencing such bright and dramatic autumn colors. My neighbors Yuka and Cazo, a couple who moved here from Tokyo, introduced me to Moon viewing, or osu. They invited me to their small farm. Where we sat outside and admired the moon and stars while eating rice balls. They called dango. It's funny, of course we can see the moon from Canada too, and we do appreciate it, but we don't have a tradition. Like osu, it was lovely. My little house is surrounded by rice fields and I was fascinated by the rice harvest. It's so different from the massive fields and machines I'm used to. Here I could really see the hard work, and I felt more connected to the people, the land and the food on my table. It gave the expression a deeper meaning for me. Perhaps my happiest discovery in autumn, in Japan is yakimo. I get excited when I hear the Yakimo truck approaching. There is something very wonderful about eating a roasted sweet potato straight from the hot coals on a cool autumn day. Things have been going pretty well at the schools where I've been teaching the a LT before me. James was a hard act to follow. He was very popular, but I'm starting to build my own relationships with the students and teachers. It takes time. I know that. And of course, I am making mistakes along the way. Just yesterday. I wore my toilet slippers to the class again. The first time I was embarrassed, but now I just laugh at myself. It takes time to learn new habits. Besides, besides these moments are opportunities to talk about cultural differences, for example. In Japan, there are many rules about shoes and slippers. This has been tricky for me. I appreciate it, but it's hard to get into the habit after all. In Canada, it's normal to wear your outside shoes in the schools, hospitals. Public washrooms, even inside houses. It's mid-December now and we are finishing up the fall term at school. I've learned a lot about teaching. About Japanese culture and traditions, and I know there is still so much more to discover. I feel much more comfortable now in my role as an A LT in my home among the rice fields and in my life in Japan. I've found my rhythm.