Things that sadden me. #2

I found out today that Peter Camejo died on September 13. A great man died and sadder than his death is that very few people got to know who he was. Peter Camejo was a great American who dedicated his life to inform other Americans about their rights and the rights of others. I had the pleasure of meeting Peter Camejo on two occasions. The first time I met him was at a Green party even when he was running for Governor of California. He was a very intelligent, funny and charismatic man. The second time I ran into him was in 2002 at an anti-war protest in San Francisco. If you ever got a chance to hear any of his speeches you could tell right away that he was a selfless man who cared dearly about the well being of the world. He was a very eloquent politician, loved by the left and feared by the right. Ronald Reagan deemed him a very dangerous person because of his participation in the anti-Vietnam war protests. He also marched with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Selma, Alabama. America has lost a great person and he will be missed.

Things that sadden me. #1

I am not saying all Republicans are racist. Most are ill informed voters who do not have access to balanced news. They believe all the lies that are spread by their party. Democrats are also guilty of blindly following their political party. But there has to come a time when certain things become transparent. I am appalled by the Republican/anti-Obama campaign adds and the big racist (gags) they are selling. As a person of color I am offended and as a human being I am sadden. Not only are republicans lying to the American people about Obama's record, they are treating the American people like idiots by repeating these lies in public outlets after the lies have been proven to be false. If the lying isn't bad enough the McCain supporters are getting away with A LOT of racist "gags". If it isn't bad enough that they call Obama a terrorist, they keep saying that he is a Muslim (like if its a bad thing), when it was his father's religion not his. Obama is a very cultured man and lucky to be so. He has a better understanding of the world and is not ethnocentric like the people who oppose him. It sickens me how the McCain supporters have made outright racist remarks about Obama and yet they have not been called out as what they are Racist. Some are making money out of racism. They sell buttons tying Obama to terrorist, dolls of Obama as a monkey and even selling waffle mix with a picture of Obama as a racist black stereotype on the front and a picture of Obama wearing a Muslim headdress on the top of the box. You can like McCain, but if you honestly believe he is someone who will protect the interests of the American people you are clearly ill informed. McCain can't even call out the racists in his own party. Boy what a Maverick. If I was running for office and someone who supported me said anything racist towards any group, rest assure that I will not hesitate in calling them out. I will NEVER let anyone get away with dehumanizing another person. I have compassion for people of different cultures, I am not afraid to speak out for those who do not have outlets to speak out for themselves, and I know that violence begets violence. If i know this why doesn't a man 45 years my senior know this? As a woman who will have biracial children one day, I do not want to live in a country where they treat an intelligent self made man with such disrespect only because of his cultural background and the color of his skin. I find it extremely disgusting that this is still allowed in the United States. For a party who claims to hold high Christian values they are being hypocritical by turning their backs on Jesus teachings of compassion and loving thy neighbor. What about thou shalt not lie? It's sickening how they use Christianity for political gain, and easily forget it in their own lives. If only God would come down from the heavens and say "STOP SPREADING HATE IN MY NAME!" I am not a perfect person but I know this, I would never treat anyone as if they were below me. I am not a religious person but I am a person of faith in a greater power who embodies goodness. I cannot claim my beliefs are better than others because I am not all knowing. I believe if you live a good life, help people, accept them as they are and defend their rights, then you are a good person and you are okay with me. It doesn't matter to me what god you believe in because you obviously believe in a higher power that makes you want to be a good person. I am lucky to be open minded and I thank my parents for showing me a life of compassion. I was raised Catholic and I was taught that God expects us to love each other, help each other and respect each other.

New friends and Sports Day

I’ve been Internet deprived for a few days but that does not mean nothing has happened here in Japan. I’ve visited my second Elementary school and I’ve taught more classes at the Jr. High. Finally I am getting the hang of Jr. High students. Some are really sweet and talk to me while others just plain ignore me and try to avoid eye contact. Two little girls made a really good impression on me and are the reason that I am not as discouraged as I was before about being accepted by the Jr. High students. The two girls came up to me one day while I was sitting on my desk and they introduced themselves to me. One said, “Hello, I can’t speak English well” and I told her “But, that was great”. She said, “Oh thank you, my name is ______” (I really can’t write about my students in detail). Then after her friend said “my name is ______, nice to meet you”. Three days later while we were preparing for the sports festival the two girls came up to me again and said, “Remember us? We introduced ourselves last time”. I said, “Oh yes I remember but I don’t remember your names”. They told me their names once more Ten minutes had passed and they came back and said, “What are our names?” I got one correct and I missed the other one by two letters. They left then they came back and said, “Third time, what are our names”. I got both of them and I will not forget this time. Those girls were so sweet they didn’t give up on me. Then 20 minutes passed and they came back with two other friends and introduced them. I still haven’t forgotten the names of all four girls and I will try to memorize more students’ names. Sports Day was unlike anything I’ve experienced or seen in the United States. The children were responsible for setting up all of the equipment for their Sports Day celebration. They set up all the tents, chairs, bleachers, and decorations. They even made all of the pom-poms, and posters. The days before the celebration they were preparing all their cheers, rehearsing the events and setting up all the equipment. Sports Day consisted of various relay races, competitions among classes (grades and homerooms). They also involved the community in a conga line. It was a lot of fun to watch. In a school of 200 students two were sent to the hospital for serious “Sports Day” injuries, and many suffered minor scrapes and bruises (that made me squirm). The students were really brave and after they got bandaged they rejoined the activities. After sports day was over the students took down all the equipment and put it back in storage. Joe and I were both impressed with how involved the students were in the set up and clean up of their Sports Day event. After the event was over Joe and I also helped in the clean up and the students were constantly thanking us.

Update on the slugs and a little about my first classes.

First slugs, they are gone. I think we took care of them. We've only seen one inside in the past week. I can rest at night now. (Knocking on wood)

I began teaching on Wednesday. On Wednesday I taught three classes my self-introduction lesson. It was a PowerPoint presentation with a few pictures. It was really short. My first students were so shy it was a little discouraging. Since they weren't participating the lecture ran short, but my supervisor the JET (Japanese English Teacher) improvised. The second class was a little tough because a couple of the kids were rowdy and I had a hard time talking over them. I wanted to yell "BE QUIET!" but I couldn't. My third class the students were just right. They participated and they were the right amount of quiet. They were also the only ones that tried a bit of the Tapatio salsa I brought. They were all screaming "Karai!" (spicy) and some made noises as if they wanted to throw up. I was laughing uncontrollably and I was saying "oh no!". In my third class there was also a little girl that looked so much like my cousin Nadia. She immediately became my favorite student. Not because she looked like my cousin (which didn't hurt either) but because she was really good at speaking English and volunteered a lot during my presentation. When I eventually got home on Wednesday all I wanted to do was sleep. I was so tired and I didn't really think I had it in me to teach these students.

Thursday! Today I taught 4 classes at an elementary school and all I can say is that I LOVED IT. I loved every second of it. These kids were so wonderful. Not only were they cute but they were also the most willing to use English. They knew a few words but weren't shy to repeat the things I would say or even play with me. I loved them. Let me tell you one thing about these kids... they were NOT camera shy. Here are a couple of pictures of my little darlings along with the teachers.