May 12

WIT Life #92: Doumo arigatou, Sensei Watson!

Anecdote Article, Translating/Interpreting, WIT Life Add Comment (2)

WITLife is a periodic series written by professional Writer/Interpreter/Translator Stacy Smith (Kumamoto-ken CIR, 2000-03). She starts her day by watching Fujisankei’s newscast in Japanese, and here she shares some of the interesting tidbits and trends together with her own observations.

Last week there was an interesting article in the NYT about Chinese teachers who are sponsored by their government (with additional support from local school districts) to come teach here in the States for up to three year.  It reminded me of JET, as well as my own experience first learning Japanese in high school.  The article featured a young woman teaching in rural Oklahoma, and the cultural roadblocks she encountered along the course of her job (American students lack of geographical knowledge, pregnant teenagers, etc.).  I love the quote she provides at the end of the article regarding what she hopes to impart to her students: “I want my students to have a sweet, sweet memory of taking Chinese.  They won’t remember a lot of words, but I want them to remember the beauty of the language and the culture.”

It calls to mind the power of teachers and how a good one can have a dramatic effect on your future.  As for me personally, I can definitely say that I would not be where I am today without the existence of my amazing high school Japanese teacher, Sensei Watson.  It was her unique teaching style and incorporation of non-traditional methods, like showing us 紅白歌合戦 (kouhaku uta gassen or New Year’s Eve Singing Content) and having us write 年賀状 (nengajou or New Year’s greeting cards) before Oshougatsu that initially made me curious about this country that seemed to be so different from my own.  I am eternally grateful to her for getting me started on my lifelong  journey of discovering Japan!