Culture & Education

“Eileen sensei, if you could be a yokai (Japanese demon) what would you be?” “Yokai watch” is the newest video game and anime craze to hit Japan and soon I guess the world. I pride myself on staying on top of these trends but clearly I was losing my touch as I had yet to learn the name of one single yokai. Six sets of eyes at the lunch table on me. Saying I don’t know any yokai is not an option. It would be the equivalent of asking someone from our generation “Who are Dustin and Socky?” I vaguely remember seeing some orange cat like creature and go with that, pretending that I had momentarily forgotten its name. “That’s Jibanya!” they cry. Nods of approval all round. I have passed.

It has yet to really sink in but in another two months conversations like this will come to an end as will my time on the JET programme. During my time in Japan I have been very lucky to be an ALT to six different junior high and elementary schools in picturesque Tokushima.
It’s funny now to think that just three years ago I didn’t even know Tokushima existed. I remember getting that all important phone call to let me know where I had been placed. Knowing nothing about Tokushima I asked a friend of mine, from Tokyo University, if she could enlighten me. All she could tell me was that it was on the island of Shikoku and that it was probably a very rural area. Straight away I panicked and I began envisaging my year ahead on Japan’s Craggy island.

I did some research and I consoled myself with the fact that Osaka was a mere two and a half hours away. But I am genuinely embarrassed of myself for thinking like that now. While Tokushima is one of the least populated prefectures in Japan it is also one of the most stunningly beautiful. If I hop on my bike and cycle for 30 minutes in any direction I can be completely alone surrounded by paddy fields, mountains and Shinto shrines. I will never stop being amazed at how at times I think I’ve stepped into a studio ghibli movie.
 
One of the biggest attractions to Tokushima is the Awa dance festival, which has been running for an impressive one thousand years. Awa dance is the second largest dance festival in the world, second only to Mardi Gras. You can imagine how surprised I was to find out that, after only a few days here, this usually sleepy down suddenly experiences an influx of over 1.3 million people over the 4 nights that the festival runs in August.
For the past three Awa dance festivals I have been a member of the “Awasowaren” dance troupe. We are made up of Tokushima’s foreign residents. Compared to the other professional dance troupes here we are pretty awful but on the day it doesn’t matter, we give it socks and the crowd really gets behind us. It’s a fantastic experience and something I will really miss not being a part of.
 
Another aspect of Tokushima and arguably the best part are the people and more specifically the students. As a foreigner here you will, whether you want to or not, stand out from the crowd. When I first came I had dyed my hair blonde, at the end of a day at school a 1^st grade student came running up to show me something she had clasped in her hands. I stood back expecting some species of bug to suddenly fly out but when she opened her hands she had a strand of my hair, which she had at some point during the day taken off my shoulder and had thought precious enough to keep safe all day. While this might sound a little creepy, if a little cherub faced, 6 year old Japanese kid approaches you like this I guarantee. You. Will. Melt.
 
It’s ironic that this period of living so far away from home has been the time in my life when I have felt the most Irish. I am more patriotic now than I have ever been. I love being from this small island that Japan knows very little about. The Japanese have no preconception of what it means to be Irish like they so often have of American or British people. This can definitely be an advantage as firstly, people are more curious to know something about Ireland and secondly, I can simply be Eileen, as opposed to a stereotype. I taught one third grade class three years ago how to say “dia duit” and “slán”. One class, for five minutes, three years ago and they still greet me with it! I get such a kick out of 30 Japanese kids shouting “Slan” to me as I leave their class.
 
I am incredibly jealous of those of you about to embark on your very own JET adventure. It’s a big step deciding to leave behind what you know in exchange for the unknown but that is all part of the fun. Whether you stay for one year, three or even five enjoy every moment, even the mundane, because as I look back now it’s those little conversations at lunchtime that I will cherish the most.