The Teacher Learns
by Doreen Anderson

I didn’t know the language, didn’t know the customs, and didn’t know what to expect as I left behind all I did understand and traveled to Numazu, Japan to open a new school. Although a little apprehensive, I felt very proud to have been chosen as the teacher and curriculum developer for Katoh Gakuen, Japan’s first English Immersion School. I was provided an unlimited budget for school supplies (something unheard of here in “the States”), a huge classroom, a totally furnished and rent free apartment, and a salary of about $48,000.00, (which seemed pretty good to me in 1992).

I lived with the family of Katoh Gakuen’s principal, Mr. Inoue, while my apartment was being prepared. The Inoue’s always made me feel right at home, but it wasn’t until after I learned more about the customs of the Japanese people that I understood just how special they had treated me. In Japan, it is the custom to wash and shower off outside of the tub, and then to soak in it’s warm water. Since everyone bathes before getting into the tub and it takes a great deal of water to fill the tub, the whole family soaks in the same water. Customarily, the father uses the tub first, then any male children, then female children, and finally, the mother. While I was living in the Inoue’s home, I was always asked to go bathe first, even though I should have followed Mr. Inoue and his son, at the very least. Looking back on it now, I am still touched by the extreme honor this family bestowed on me.

Once the students in my class felt comfortable with me, they showed the same excitement, exuberance and eagerness to learn that you would find in any first grade class. I learned that “kids are kids,” whether in Oregon or Japan. I learned that parents, on the other hand, are very different. I was amazed at how seriously these parents took education and how highly they respected teachers. Speaking through a translator at parent conferences, I told one set of parents that their daughter would learn English much more quickly if she and her friend would stop playing with each other’s hair during the lessons. I had just wanted the parents to speak to their daughter about her behavior; you can imagine my horror when the girl came in the next day with what had previously been beautiful waist-length hair, now cut to just below her ears! I learned then to consider what the possible consequences might be before I ever reported anything to parents again.

During the numerous sight-seeing trips I took in Japan, I was touched by the friendliness of the people I met (including some villagers who had never seen a Caucasian) and the breathtaking beauty of the land. Japan is similar to Oregon in that it has many beautiful hills, mountains, forests and of course, the ocean. I was shocked when I first visited the ocean to find that the beach was black, this being due to the “sand” being made from lava rock. I visited snow-capped Fuji, which is very similar in size and form to our own Mt. Hood. One disheartening difference I discovered during my trips out to the country was the amazing amount of litter along the of the roads, which is totally incongruent with the way the Japanese keep their homes and schools. (They did have several “neighborhood cleanup” days while I was there, but I don’t understand why they allowed the littering in the first place.)

One lesson I learned while I was in Japan actually helped me to better understand the history of my own country’s people. While most of the people I met in Japan were extremely kind to me, I cannot say that all of them were. One night I decided to visit a nightclub in Numazu and was hurt and humiliated when the person at the door would not allow me to come in. When I found someone who could translate for me, I learned that “gyjin”, (a negative name for foreigners), were not allowed in the nightclub unless accompanied by a Japanese person. This rule was made because in the past, American military personnel stationed in Yokohama had come in and “broken up the place” after getting drunk. I was very hurt that I was judged as potentially destructive just because of the color of my skin. Later that same month, I came across a restaurant that would not allow me in because I was a “gyjin,” even though this time I was accompanied by a Japanese friend. These experiences taught me for the first time what it was truly like to be discriminated against, and I finally understood just how devastating the Jim Crow Laws had been to black Americans.

I learned a lot in Japan. I had some wonderful experiences and some not-so-wonderful experiences, but I grew as a person because of them both. I’m thankful for the people I met and the friends I still have as a result. Someday I will go there again, but next time, I think I’ll learn the language first. I’ll take more C.D.s, too...listening to the same five C.D.s over and over again gets old pretty fast!