Dear Santa…..

Dear Santa,

       

        For Christmas I wish that I had the ability to understand everything my students say to me. Although their English and my Japanese are both improving, there is so much lost in translation that I miss out on everyday. For Christmas, I want to understand what they whisper to one another right before they burst out in laughter, what they are saying as they cry and reach to be picked up, and what they are saying as they tug on the bottom of my shirt, excitedly telling me a story where I only pick up a few words here and there. I know it's too late for you to grant my wish by this Christmas, but can you please work on it for next Christmas? Thanks Santa, and enjoy the cookies!

Love,

       Allie

Christmas Trees: Round Two

More fun with Christmas trees!

Aurora's Christmas Tree

For Americans, Christmas is perhaps the biggest holiday of the year. Although it has its roots in religion, it’s become widely celebrated by most people, despite whether or not they’re religious. For me personally, Christmas has always been about family and the traditions we have to celebrate the most wonderful time of the year.

At the center of our Christmas traditions, is the decorating of the tree. Long before I was born, my parents started collecting ornaments, each unique and with their own sentimental value. Every Christmas since we were old enough to help, my younger brother and I have been designated as my mom’s little assistants in decorating the tree.

And every year we alternate between whose turn it is to have their paper angel placed on the very top, the most scared place on the entire Christmas tree. As children we used to bicker between whose turn it was, and who went the year before.  Amazingly enough, the objects being discussed are simple paper angles we made in preschool that have a photograph of our faces glue to the front, that my mother has kept, protected, and cherished, for the past twenty-something years; She’s a good mom.

Since I am away from my family for the holidays, I wanted to find a way to share this tradition with my Aurora class. I took inspiration from Miss. Dinora, the Rainbow class’s sensei, and made a giant paper tree on the wall of my classroom. In an attempt to fuse together Christmas and Japanese culture, I used origami paper for the kids to decorate the ornaments with. I wanted the Christmas tree to represent both my culture and theirs, as the exchange we are sharing is present everyday in the classroom. 

And just like the ornaments on my family's tree, each child's ornament was unique and special.

Hand Printed Christmas Trees

With a little bit of green paint, paper, and basic decorations, the kids in Aurora got to get their hands dirty and make their very own Christmas trees. They love every opportunity they have to stick their hands in a tray of paint, so each kid was eager to participate, and they all listened and followed directions better than ever.

Arigato Day and Little Sprinkle Cakes

If you're a child in America, you know the story of Thanksgiving, beginning with the first year you enroll in kindergarten. Every November, the curriculum focuses on the history of the holiday, and how the Pilgrims and Indians came together to share a giant feast in friendship, after a long season of harvest. It isn't until high school when the truth finally emerges. As it turns out, the history isn't as sweet as the pumpkin pie on your family's dinner table,  and the history you know is more fairytale-esk, rather than historically correct. 

Every four years my birthday and Thanksgiving fall on the same day, and that day just so happened to be this year. Working in an international school, I always jump at the opportunity to share my culture with my class, since they share theirs with me everyday. I wanted to find a way to share both my birthday and Thanksgiving with my Aurora class and this was the best way I found to do so….

I started by beginning that Thanksgiving is a day where everyone in America finds something that they REALLY like, and they say, "Thank you," for its presence in their life. The second explanation we gave the students was that Thanksgiving is, "Arigato Day." I know this sounds incredibly over simplified, but I am standing before a group of three-year-olds, who are English Second Language learners. I actually thought this was a decently clear explanation of the holiday. I told them that on each Thanksgiving, families gather together and put many different dishes of food on the table. Since most of them are unaware of what a turkey is,  I told them we eat a giant chicken who has been named Turkey. Once again, I know this is slightly inaccurate but you get the point. I explained that the most important part of the holiday is eating a big meal that you helped cook with your family, and telling them that you love them, and you are thankful to be with them.

I followed by sharing with them that this year I am thankful to be in Japan and to be spending time with Aurora. This is my third year away from home for the holidays, and with my family thousand of miles away, there isn't much I can do to settle the feeling of homesickness that starts to sneak its way into my life during this time of the year. Although working at The World is just a job, the kids in Aurora have started to feel like my Japanese family. I love every one of them, no matter how much they push my buttons, and each one of them makes me happy in a different way. I spend more time with them than I do anyone else, and they are the biggest part of my experience abroad. And then there is Yuki, my Japanese teacher in Aurora. Yuki is more than just that, she is my wonder partner. She is my strength. She helps calm me down in stressful situations, and helps to pick me up on tiring days. We share the same goals, the same ideologies, and most importantly, the same sense of humor when it comes to working with the kids. I couldn't do this job without her, and I couldn't imagine having been paired with a better person. Aurora really has become my family, and I wasn't sure how to express to them how thankful I am to have them in my life. I couldn't imagine it without them.

( The morning began with two of my co-workers surprising me with birthday gifts :D )

After I explained Thanksgiving, and shared what I was thankful for, it was their turn. They each had a chance to share with the class the thing they were most thankful for. The result was the most Japanese, "I am thankful for…" list, ever created.

At lunch I brought in two plates of cupcakes I made for the class. In America, its very common to bring in treats for your class when it's your birthday, and I wanted to do the same for Aurora. 

I explained that because it was Thanksgiving and my birthday, I wanted to share a special treat with them to celebrate dates that are important in my life. I told them that sharing my cupcakes was a way to include them in my birthday and to share food the way we do on Thanksgiving. 

I'm not sure if they understood the meaning behind the day, but I could tell by their little chocolate covered faces that they enjoyed the treats that accompanied it.