Japanese Class/ A new friend.

Every Friendays, I have a Japanese class to teach.

My student is an adult lady from China married to a man from Pakistan. That status already interested me enough and got curious what kind of person that is. What is she doing in Kobe? What sort of things is she interested in? Are we going to be good friends? Are we going to be able to share our beliefs and exchange opinions even we have such different "ways" of living?

KICC (Kobe International Community Centre) have a free Japanese lesson for foreigners who live in Kobe city for 6 months. This is a contract and even though it is a volunteer, Japanese teachers who are registered there are taking this very seriously and there are many new Japanese learners at so many different levels. Some are just beginners and will start their Hiragana and easy greetings and others will spend this class time talking about politics or business, or even to go over their graduation thesis, in JAPANESE!! Amazing.

So the first meeting was very nice. She looked very calm and peaceful and she was very relieved that I could use English so when she doesnt understand, I could help her out. We decided how we wanted to do this class, and agreed on "No textbook". She actually had studied her textbook but she had forgotten almost everything so she wanted to keep up with her everyday conversation skills.Well, i thought then it is better to "practice" than "learn" so i asked to

1.Come up with a question for me.

2.Write a short diary of what she has done that day or the week.

3.Review what we studied in class.

Thats all- and i used picture cards and picture dictionaries that KICC has. It is much more useful to use these materials than all "written" sentences with no illustration, it bores me out, and it bores me out so badly that i almost hate to teach.....

So this idea worked very well. and we are using "絵で見る日本語” picture dictionary in Japanese and the last lesson we did the page onはなしあう、　やくそくする。　and there are several senteances like やくそくどおり、のこさずたべる。

As we promised, he finished his plate.

so when we talk that in english it is so different so when we learn the language, it is so importatnt to THINK in that language as well, if we translate everytime, it takes time, and its waste of time.... so she really like my class so far and i love my student so far. We both love cooking. so we never run out of cooking topic. She wanted to know how to cook さといも、so i gave her the idea on 煮付け。　煮付け　is a very common japanese dishes and you can almost 煮付け　everything/ fish, vegis, meat, and she tried it and actually brought the potatos then after a lesson, i was off so she invited me to go to her friend's house with her.

At first i thought it was really nice and a very "foregin" way because a Japanese person would never ask to go with them to a friend's house without asking that friend first for a permisssion but i could tell she and this friend are very close and welcome new friends so of course i said "YES, i would LOVE to" so we walked and walked then went to se a new friend.

it was a family from Pakistan, and i met a lady and her three children. The youngest was just 2 months old and he was soooooooooooo adorable. A three year old girl, she was the most beautiful girl i had every seen in my life. She had such a beautiful eyes and curious look on her face "who is this new person who has been looking at me and smiling so big" i often told her "come here and play with me! do you wanna show me your toys?" and her mom was very happy that i liked kids and i was friendly with her. When i got invited in, i sat at the table and just relax, and the ladies started cooking in the kitchen. I was very comfortable. In Japanese houses, normally when you go in, you are to sit and pick what i wanna drink and just do nothing, but I also went into the kitchen and just had a casual conversation like we were friends from before. I felt so right and comfortable with them somehow even i dont know them and i just met them. It was a Japanese kitchen but it smelled different since there were different kind of spices and they were cooking Chapati, which is bit like Soft Taco shell, and just fell in love with this taste. and i ate and ate. This was the good thing about them too, because they offered me food and told me to eat a lot, and i took their words, and i didnt have to worry that I was eating too much or something like that, like i worry a lot at Japanese friends house.  We talked a lot about education, and also told each other about ourselves, where they shop for gloceries, and all that. She also asked me what do I think of drinking the tap water after the Tsunami because of the radiation stuff, and I told her im not so sure since i have filter and its no problem but i would be extra careful with an infant, i mean its never too much to be careful^^

And after sometime, the three year old girl got used to me and she started to play with me. We played some lego, and i held a two month old baby and really felt "Oh my gosh, how would someone hurt this precious thing, i cannot believe the abusing/ Im holding a human being, and i would do anything, everything to protect him. love him. and care for him"

i could feel that to a friend's baby, and im sure I will be so spoiled to my own. hahaha!! but the three year old big sister, is not big enoigh, she came to me and wanted to cuddle. I felt it was so sweet and i cuddled her and sang to her. "You are the cutest girl ive ever seen, and you are the sweetest ive ever known, your eyes are so beautiful and i fell in love with them. you are the center of the world and only one...." and she was soooooooooo cuddly and i kind of senced that she was jelous, everyone is so cuddly and huggy with the baby but not a "big sister" and it makes her sad sometimes. I am an only child so i had never felt this way but as I have been teaching for years, now I know that the kids feel this way.

So we had a good bonding time, then now she didnt want me to go. I told her "i will come back and play with you more next time. So we became good friends today, right?" and she said "No"

I dont know how much she understood since she speaks her native language at home with her parents- but we actually didnt need words, i could understand kids, and kids understand me.... it was so sweet. She even told that she was coming with me!! haha.

Well after unexpected food and god conversation, we left her house and stopped by at the small foregin food store where you can buy different spices and veges. In front of that store there is a Muslim Musk where my friends visit often. I had never seen that or maybe didnt pay attention before.

So last Friday was such a worthwhile for me, people who have different believes and background cam come together and sit at the same table to eat same food. I know its not that simple- but even for a shor time, it was a Shrink of "world peace". To understand them, by listening to them, look in their eyes when you talk to them, share your ideas without being scared of judgments. they live their life in their own way with respects and they find happiness in that. I get curious to their life and have a peek, ask them questions and enjoy the conversation. When people are ignorant, they go ahead and judge people without knowing the truth, or even without trying to know the truth. Thats wrong. It doesnt mean we have to think the same way. I can respect their lifestyle. I dont have to copy it. I dont have to judge it. Just KNOW that there are this type of lifestyle.

I hope my friendship will last forever and more and more people will be friends no matter what situation. everyone wants to be happy, that is to all religion, all races, all spieces I think.

I learn so much by teaching. and this time, its not only by teaching children. I teach Japanese to an adult, that means I am kind of representing Japan. but i hope she will learn "me" through a "maybe Japanese" glass. Someday I want to invite them to my home. That would be so nice.