Her songs and spells

And an attempt by me when I couldn’t find the words...

I’d asked a friend for something to put up on my fridge and the line she gave me was a play on the expression ‘to play or keep your cards close to your chest’ or not to tell others what you are intending to do. The image she created was of a card player holding her cards close to her chest, but holding them face out. Of someone guarded and secretive, yet bold and open.

But I couldn’t find any words to do with cards so I chose songs and spells instead – something revealing, something compelling. And something to suggest her contradictions – her many selves, the rarest of which being the most expressive and inspired, and perhaps the best...

Just a t-shirt away

When I lived in Japan I collected a whole bunch of t-shirts with Japanese-English printed on them. 

I especially love the ones that are grammatically correct but have little – or no – meaning at all. And the spelling mistakes are quite endearing.

Wearing these shirts and hoodies reminds me that Japan is sometimes just a t-shirt away...

Very, very thank you!

Anyone who has taught English in Japan (especially at junior or senior high) would have ended up with a pile of these: thank you messages from students. I worked as an ALT (Assistant Language Teacher) on the JET (Japan Exchange and Teaching) Programme for two years and loved it – it was the best start for a teacher with little experience (participants actually need none and no teaching qualifications) because it involved so much creative and energetic teaching, a lot of interaction and very little marking!

These were written by some of my first grade students at Ojima Junior High in Nagaoka where I was based for two years. I had met them when they were still at elementary school so knew them well and they were a genki bunch – they got on very well with their young Japanese teacher and were always keen to take part. I really enjoyed my lessons with them.

And these are some of the comments students made on a thank you card I received at another junior high where I filled in for a few months. Although I was only there a short time (so short I seem to have forgotten its name!), I remember this school as one of my favourites. It was much smaller than Ojima and on the outskirts of the city, and I can’t say I was looking forward to simply filling in there as I trudged to school through thick snow from the bus stop down the road on my first day. But I was met with such excitement (I soon found out I was the first woman ALT these students had had), curiosity and enthusiasm that it was impossible not to enjoy my often noisy and sometimes quite boisterous classes.

They were written by some of the third graders I taught. A few students wrote only in Japanese and a few only drew me pictures, but most tried to write their thank yous in English. You can pretty much guess which are from the boys! 

You look very beutiful.

You are teaching a little time. But very interesting.

You are beutiful woman! Thank you!

I want to be like YOU!! So you are very beautiful.

I love you.

You are nice girl!!

Very thank you!!

I wanted to study with you more and more.

I was glad to meet you!!

Good. Very good.

You are good smile!!

You are nice body.

You are GODDESS.

Good for you!!

I am ENGLISH! Thank you.

You are very cute!! 

My favourite is this last one – despite the unfortunate mistake, the boy who wrote this was actually quite good at English, and bright and sharp. I really enjoyed his honesty after so many over-excited compliments...

I was grad to see you. I’m good at English. And I want to study English more and more. I will go to South Africa some day. <- It’s a lie.

Good friends

I’m a hoarder of words, especially handwritten words on notes, letters, cards and postcards, and I recently found this in a box of old papers. It’s almost twenty years old..!

It’s good to know that my friends thought of me when I missed a day of school... And of course I couldn’t wait to get back..!

Chapter 1

I found the beginning of a story at my bus stop last week.

I still don’t know who wrote it but I’ve been going up to campus and down again, imagining the two of them... She must get on at my stop but does he? Did he see her read it? Did she blush, laugh or smack him with an armful of books?! Perhaps she was quite cool and gave nothing away. Would he have been bruised or a little bit smug? Maybe he was knocked off his feet!

I sat on the bus smiling and wondering what their next chapter would be. And what title they would give their story. And how many chapters it would have...

I wonder where he wanted to take her.

And, of course, I wonder if she relented and went with him?