Ohtsu Junior High

At the beginning of this school term in January, I started at a new junior high school. In order to provide native English speakers in as many classrooms and for as many students as possible, we ALTs spend one term at a small or middle sized school, and the other two school terms at a larger sized school. So I’m now at Ohtsu Junior High School.
Ohtsu JHS has about 600 students. That’s only 100 students more than Yumesaki JHS, but it is enough to give the school a bigger feel. That, and the fact that it’s more in the middle of an urban area. Yumesaki JHS was at the edge of town with a mountain behind it.
My commute is significantly more complicated, but a bit shorter, which means I get to sleep in 15 minutes later than last year and that makes me very happy! Plus, my friend Sue and I commute together and we have 45 minutes twice a day to catch up! I leave on the 6:57 am bus to downtown where I catch the train. At the first stop, I change to another train and continue on for about 15 minutes. Ohtsu JHS is about a mile from the train station, so then I walk for 20 minutes. Or, I bike. A previous ALT bought a bike and left it with the school for future ALTs. I keep the bike at a bike shed next door to the train station. For $20 a month, the bike is safe and kept out of the elements, and the owner says a friendly good morning to me everyday! (He says more, but I only understand the “good morning” part of it). I can bike to school in under 10 minutes, which during winter is definitely a good thing!
As I mentioned, Ohtsu is a bigger school and has some “big city” problems. Now don’t worry, I’m not talking about weapons or drugs, or even swearing. Remember, this is Japan. Yesterday the entire student body (all 600 of them) was called into the gym after school for an assembly for some “discipline”. I didn’t know exactly what might have happened, but I texted my friend Heather: “Somebody did something and now everyone is in the gym getting scolded. Except me, alone in the staff room”
Heather: “That happened once at my school when a kid got caught smoking”
Me: “I hope it’s more interesting than that” (I was feeling bored and in need of some drama)
Me, later: “Just found out – some kids hid some slippers as a joke” (not exactly the high drama I was hoping for)
Heather then regaled me with text messages about events when she was in high school and the discipline that resulted (or did not result) from them. To protect the identity of who killed the duck, I’ll end the text message transcription here.
But, as I’m sure you’re thinking, in a school in the US, it would have to be something like a bomb threat to prompt the teachers to call all the students into the gym for some discipline. Here in Japan, it’s a harmless practical joke, involving shoes, no less (I’ve told you before how hung up they are on changing shoes!).
So life at Ohtsu is going well, as long as I keep a close eye on my shoes! I’m definitely kept busier here than at Yumesaki! And in addition to the usual after school activities, Ohtsu has lots of interesting clubs – kendo, judo, tea ceremony, and flower arranging. I feel sorry for the swim team though. The pool is, of course, an outdoor pool. Because the students belong to one club for the entire year, the poor swim club only gets to swim for a couple months. The rest of the year they spend running around the building!

Since I'll be gone next week sightseeing with my parents, here is my February 12 on 12, a bit early.

Some girls at school. I didn't realize it last term, but this sailor uniform is by far the most common junior high school uniform in Japan. The uniform (skirt, blouse, tie and blazer) at Yumesaki was unusual for a junior high).The central courtyard of the school.View from the second floor of the school looking towards the tennis courts. You can barely make out the large canal on the right side.A particularly scenic part of my bike ride to school.

Another nice bit of scenery on my bike ride. This is the building, where the community's yatai (the big portable shrine you saw in my festival photos from last fall) is housed.

These photos are of Hiramatsu, the little, unstaffed train station near school.This week's flower arrangement by the school's ikebana club. It has orchids in it. My ikebana arrangement from my community center class. It has gebera daisies in it and tree branches with new leaves.

Next week, my parents and I have an ambitious itinerary filled with temples, shrines, castles, and museums. I'll post lots of photos in a week or so.