I TRAVEL
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Turning Japanese
Scottish writer Iain Maloney spent two years teaching English in Inuyama, a small town in Japan. Here, he writes about his experiences
he door slid shut with a bang
and all four customers
turned and stared. I squeezed my way along the narrow space between walls and stools. perched myself on an empty one and opened my phrase hook.
‘Biru . . .' Pause to look at book.
‘. . . Kudasai.'
My beer arriyed and with it the questions. By |()pm my new h‘ic‘ttds were leading me to a pub-carn— tattoo shop so I could he introduced to the English-speaking Bosnian owner. We played darts. ate tacos and drank sake infused with ginseng and snake yenom.
‘l'm a bit tired.‘ I emailed my mother. ‘but Japan seems yery' nice.‘
I spent my first evening sitting on the balcony of my new flat with a can ot‘ Asahi beer and a cigarette. It had been one hell of a day. I‘d been told that I would be an‘iying in the middle ot‘ the rainy season. lair enough.' I thought. ‘l'm from Scotland: I can cope with rain.‘ But after being in the country for three minutes I was soaked through. eyen though there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Humidity is something the Scottish weather just doesn‘t do. and I don‘t like it: leaying the airport was like walking into a
96 THE LIST 4—18 Oct 2007
hangoy‘cr. I lie“ physically tlc‘llalc‘tl. eycry‘ ounce ol' energy I‘d held in
reserye sapped by the simple act ol‘
walking.
()n the train I was squashed against strangers. lace against glass. struggling to breathe. Between stations and stolen gasps I caught glimpses ol' my new home. The architecture was Stryict—stylc‘.
l‘unctional and featureless rather than the l‘llllli‘isllc‘ [Hm/e RHIIIH'I'
look promised by the guidebooks.
l was met at the airport by my new boss. We reached lnuyama and conlidently l‘ollowed the map to my flat. I stopped and bought some noodles t'rom a conyenience store and stood eating them as my boss
AFTER BEING
IN THE COUNTRY FOR THREE MINUTES I
WAS SOAKED THROUGH, EVEN THOUGH THERE WASN'T A CLOUD IN THE SKY
looked hour the cross on the map to the multi-storcy car park we were standing in.
‘I don‘t think this is it.' he said.
‘Nolr
'NtI.‘
On one side ol. the car park was a teruple. ()n the other a corrugated structure reminiscent iii a crack house. I was too jet—lagged to care. .-\n old woman looked at the ruap. and conlirmcd that we were indeed in a car park.
The yiew trom my balcony: to the north the Japanese signs blinked inyitingly and traditional roots cury ed oy er /.en gardens. The south was reminiscent ol' small-town .-\merica: a long straight Main Street lined with neon burger and bar signs. Karaoke bars and stishi shops on one side. l)enuy 's and .\lcl)onald‘s on the other. liast meeting West with my flat at the epicentre.
I worked tor .\'o\a. the biggest priyate language school in Japan. l'nlike .lli'l‘. which places teachers in state schools. Noya is lol' ice- paying students oi all ages. It is ideal for the lirst-timer' to Japan: the company organises all the paperwork and accommodatitin and arranges for you to be met at the airport.
lnuyama Castle and the surroundng area afforded the perfect backdrop as Iain Maloney learned the art of teaching sensai-style
I had pictured teaching as a distraction lr‘oni the Important business ol tray ellrug. tilllllslllf.‘ heayily and belting out (ir‘een llay tracks in karaoke bar's. lt wastrt ,\ly pupils were aged between two and 7H. alid as Nina is a coll\crsallon \c‘lttltil they practice cltalllltg lty. well. chatting. You don't haye to worry about students repeatedly asking you to esplarn the ‘present continuous past perlcct suluunctiye'. you‘re ruore likely to be asked. ‘why don‘t westerners take their shoes oll in [he littllscd. tll‘ ‘lltm till I get a British girliriendfl" ‘l'wo questions I am still unable to answer.
'l‘caching the children was an absolute joy as they they weie energetic. inn and mostly well behay ed. l'orty minutes ot stomping and shouting around a classroom. playing baseball and snap. and getting paid lot it‘.’ ll this is work then I'll do a l-l-hotu sliilt. Besides. nothing cart heat the oyerwhelnung i‘ecling ol .\lr \layagi like wisdom you get the lirst time a child bows low and says: ‘(iood Inornrng.