Here in Japan, many people are getting their annual health checks done.
I believe the rule is that all government employees must get an annual check, and since teachers are hired by the government, that includes me.
It all started a few weeks ago, when I came into work with an envelope on my desk. Upon opening it, I could tell it was a series of questionnaires, but I couldn't tell what it was for. The vice principal explained that it was for the annual health check, and that my appointment was on May 21st. From then on I spent a lot of free time painstakingly translating the forms so that I could fill them out.
My appointment was for 8:30am and I wasn't supposed to eat anything after dinner the day before. So I was already pretty hungry when I woke up the morning of the 21st. Instead of going to work, I went directly to the hospital, which is conveniently located right beside my apartment. I wandered into the hospital, but I wasn't sure where to go, so I enlisted the help of an employee who was observing me with a look of mild concern. He was super helpful and walked me down to the center where they do the checks. I think I must teach his kid(s), because at one point he asked my job and then started thanking me.
When I walked into the health check center, the two administrative ladies greeted me with, "Ah, Anje!", which kind of caught me off guard, but I was glad they knew who I was because it really helped me during the process. I gave them my somewhat completed questionnaires and my insurance card. Then I took a seat in the center (which was pretty much a room with exercise equipment jammed into the corners and along the walls with tables and chairs set up for waiting). After a minute or so I was called into a consultation room, where a lady basically told me we were going to start the tests and gave me a quick rundown of what the tests were.
The first stop was a urine test. Thankfully one of the admin ladies showed me where to go and then waited outside to take me to the next stop. One thing that was interesting is that they use paper cups (not plastic jars with lids) and the bathroom actually had an opening like a window which connected to the lab...but there was no door or glass or anything, so I could see and hear perfectly what was going on in there.
Next I had to get my blood taken. Not my favorite thing, and it made me feel a bit queasy, especially after not eating. They took 3 vials. The lady who took my blood brought me to the next station, which was an EKG. I always feel like some mad science experiment when I'm hooked up with wires and suction cups.
After that the EKG lady took me to wait for my X-ray. I was a little nervous because I had to hold my breath and I wasn't sure if I would understand when to do it, but it turned out fine. It was my last stop before I went back to the center. I had to wait for a while and then I had my blood pressure, eyesight, height, and weight checked.
One of the admin ladies told me I had to wait about half an hour before the doctor could see me, so I was able to walk home and finally eat something. I came back at 10:00, but it was another 30 minutes before I was able to see the doctor. Naturally, the doctor visit was quite short. She showed me all my test results, including the X-ray, and told me they were all good. The only thing was that apparently my triglyceride levels were a little high, but still okay. She checked my heart with a stethoscope and then sent me on my way.
So in all, it was about 2 and a half hours. I think it was a bit unusual though, as many schools seem to have the school nurse do most of the check or have a medical team come in and do it at the school or community center. It's also common for X-rays to be done in a big white van which travels from school to school. But in my case I went to the hospital and was able to have everything done there. I guess since its a small town and we have the hospital right here its easiest to just do it there.
Hopefully I won't have to see the inside of the hospital for another year!
Edit: A week or so later, I got another letter from them with my results. It's really great because you can see everything that was tested and get all hypochondriac about the amount of red blood cells you have and stuff. Anyway, I also got a recommendation, so it told me to take care of my diet and to get my blood checked again in 6 months (because of the triglycerides) and to go and get my eyes checked by an actual eye doctor. I ended up needing glasses! So that's been a huge adjustment for me, but I'm really glad I was able to have this check.
Showing posts with label JET stuff. Show all posts
Showing posts with label JET stuff. Show all posts
Thursday, May 21, 2015
Saturday, December 6, 2014
Tottori SDC 2014
One thing I didn't know about when I applied to be a JET was that every prefecture has a mid-year Skills Development Conference (SDC). There's no official time during which all prefectures have their conference, but they tend to be around this time of year. In Tottori this year, ours fell on December 4th and 5th (Thursday and Friday). This means that I got those two days off of regular work!
My BOE was super awesome and gave me my business trip reimbursement before I even left. Usually we have to turn in a form and then get reimbursed at some random later date. They also gave me enough to take the super express trains, instead of the local trains! Anyway, as it turns out, I didn't even need all the money. I managed to hitch a ride with R, L, and J from Koge, so it was only a couple hundred yen and a 1/2 hour train ride. Then we drove the rest of the way, which was fun. At one point we were worried that traffic was going to make us late, but luckily we arrived with time to spare - and we even stopped at a convenience store to buy R a pen!
Our SDC is held in Kurayoshi at Mirai Chushin, which is the Pear Museum. Yes, Tottori is so obsessed it even has a museum dedicated to pears. But what can I say, they're freaking delicious - I would build a shrine to them, too.
9:40-9:55 Registration
When we arrived most everyone else was already lined up. We had to sign in, which basically consisted of grabbing some papers and our PA, M, crossing our name off the list. Since the SDC is mandatory, this is one of the few times every single ALT in Tottori prefecture is in the same room. It was pretty cool!
10:00-10:15 Opening Remarks
First up we had the very Japanese opening ceremony. It was pretty short, though, and we moved right in to the first workshop.
10:25-12:25 Workshop I: Creating Activities Using the Shuttle Chat Booklet
We were divided up into several rooms and then into groups of 2 or 3. I was in a group with H. As a JHS ALTs, our task was to use this Shuttle Chat workbook and create an activity using any grammar point. We chose "can/can't". We spent about one hour preparing our activity and then another hour doing all our presentations. Although the Shuttle Chat is complete crap to work with, it was nice to share ideas with other ALTs. There wasn't a whole lot of feedback going on, though. So I guess either we were all awesome or everyone was too nice to be mean.
12:25-13:20 Lunch
After that we had lunch. Our room ended late, so I had lost my carpool buddies. Luckily I ran into R2 and ended up going for lunch with him and D. We went to a cafeteria-type restaurant just outside the museum. I ordered tonkatsudon, which ended up being this massive portion which I could not finish. It was a nice lunch though; nice to catch up with those two.
13:25-13:55 Workshop II: English Education in Tottori Prefecture
After lunch we had another workshop. However, it was really more of a lecture about the changes happening to the way English is being taught in Japan. It was good to know, but I felt like we could have used the time to discuss more important things. Anyway, one shocking statistic showed that as JHS students get older, the teachers use more and more Japanese in the class! It should be the opposite! The thing is, its definitely true - I see this every day at work.
14:05-15:35 Lecture: Demotivating Students
The last item for the 4th was a lecture from a professor from TUES. I was kind of dreading the 1.5 hour lecture, but it actually turned out to be the best part of the entire day. The speaker was a really engaging and wonderful public speaker and she was addressing us like college graduates instead of dumb foreigners. It was wonderful. She addressed some really great issues as well. I just loved it. Definitely the most helpful part of the day.
After that day 1 was over! I had a while to wait before my train, so I hung out with a bunch of other JETs and ate pear softcream. Then we took the bus to the station together - literally only a bunch of foreigners on a bus. Most of us were going back towards Tottori-shi, but my BOE seemed to be the only one who paid for the super express, so I hoped aboard alone. By the way - it was my first time riding it and it was crazy! It leans into turns, which makes the whole world shift as if you're on a rollercoaster. Actually, it started making me feel sick after a while...
The next morning was another early one. This time I had to take the train all the way to Kurayoshi. I rode the local to Tottori and then changed to a super express train from there. I arrived in Kurayoshi pretty early, so I just sort of hung around until the bus arrived. A bunch of other ALTs rode the bus with me, which I was glad of, because I wasn't sure about the stop.
9:40-9:55 Registration
Same as Thursday. This time we just had to pick up the day 2 survey.
10:00-10:00 Opening Remarks
10:15-11:45 Workshop III: Elementary School Visits.
There were several other workshops, but this is the one I had to attend. We were divided into groups of 5-6 people and had to discuss various aspects of ES visits. We talked about issues, things we did outside of class, and what we thought of the textbook Hi Friends!. It was a good chance for discussion, but it was really negative, I thought.
11:45-12:40 Lunch
Lunchtime! I was going to go for okonomiyaki with R, L, and J, but I met up with A and A2 on the way and they were going for curry, so....yeah, I jumped ship for curry instead. We went to this cute little restaurant and I ordered hamburg curry, which was a plate of curry sauce, rice, two hamburger patties, and a boiled egg. It was pretty good, but a bit too spicy for me! Anyway, I really enjoyed the opportunity to talk with A and A2.
12:45-14:35 Workshop IV: Team Teaching Examples and Ideas
I'm not sure the title of this workshop was entirely accurate. There were 3 ALT presenters. The first presenter was S, who basically gave an overview of her shadowing day (which I attended) and then talked about the importance of phonics and how she introduced it into her school. The next speaker was M, who also briefly talked about her shadowing day, but focused more on how to deal with a teacher who doesn't utilize you. She had some good strategies to share. Lastly was R3, who talked about basically an English program he created and introduced to his schools. Basically he only teaches his own class, which is an entire period of interactive story telling based on the appropriate grammar being studied. It was pretty interesting, but kind of a rare circumstance.
14:45-15:45 Workshop V: Sharing Ideas for Using the Shuttle Chat Booklet
The last workshop! In this workshop we actually got to work with our JTEs. We were in groups, so I was with two other ALTs and their JTEs. We had to present the Shuttle Chat activities we had created the day before. Actually, our JTEs had been there all day, but had their own separate workshops during the previous part of the day. It was a good workshop, but unfortunately kind of limited to that silly booklet.
So that was my first SDC! I actually enjoyed it a lot, despite early mornings, long days, and lots of train travel. It was kind of a good refresher to get me out of a funk. I feel a lot more energized and motivated now, so I'm excited to hopefully do more at school.
My BOE was super awesome and gave me my business trip reimbursement before I even left. Usually we have to turn in a form and then get reimbursed at some random later date. They also gave me enough to take the super express trains, instead of the local trains! Anyway, as it turns out, I didn't even need all the money. I managed to hitch a ride with R, L, and J from Koge, so it was only a couple hundred yen and a 1/2 hour train ride. Then we drove the rest of the way, which was fun. At one point we were worried that traffic was going to make us late, but luckily we arrived with time to spare - and we even stopped at a convenience store to buy R a pen!
Our SDC is held in Kurayoshi at Mirai Chushin, which is the Pear Museum. Yes, Tottori is so obsessed it even has a museum dedicated to pears. But what can I say, they're freaking delicious - I would build a shrine to them, too.
9:40-9:55 Registration
When we arrived most everyone else was already lined up. We had to sign in, which basically consisted of grabbing some papers and our PA, M, crossing our name off the list. Since the SDC is mandatory, this is one of the few times every single ALT in Tottori prefecture is in the same room. It was pretty cool!
10:00-10:15 Opening Remarks
First up we had the very Japanese opening ceremony. It was pretty short, though, and we moved right in to the first workshop.
10:25-12:25 Workshop I: Creating Activities Using the Shuttle Chat Booklet
We were divided up into several rooms and then into groups of 2 or 3. I was in a group with H. As a JHS ALTs, our task was to use this Shuttle Chat workbook and create an activity using any grammar point. We chose "can/can't". We spent about one hour preparing our activity and then another hour doing all our presentations. Although the Shuttle Chat is complete crap to work with, it was nice to share ideas with other ALTs. There wasn't a whole lot of feedback going on, though. So I guess either we were all awesome or everyone was too nice to be mean.
12:25-13:20 Lunch
After that we had lunch. Our room ended late, so I had lost my carpool buddies. Luckily I ran into R2 and ended up going for lunch with him and D. We went to a cafeteria-type restaurant just outside the museum. I ordered tonkatsudon, which ended up being this massive portion which I could not finish. It was a nice lunch though; nice to catch up with those two.
13:25-13:55 Workshop II: English Education in Tottori Prefecture
After lunch we had another workshop. However, it was really more of a lecture about the changes happening to the way English is being taught in Japan. It was good to know, but I felt like we could have used the time to discuss more important things. Anyway, one shocking statistic showed that as JHS students get older, the teachers use more and more Japanese in the class! It should be the opposite! The thing is, its definitely true - I see this every day at work.
14:05-15:35 Lecture: Demotivating Students
The last item for the 4th was a lecture from a professor from TUES. I was kind of dreading the 1.5 hour lecture, but it actually turned out to be the best part of the entire day. The speaker was a really engaging and wonderful public speaker and she was addressing us like college graduates instead of dumb foreigners. It was wonderful. She addressed some really great issues as well. I just loved it. Definitely the most helpful part of the day.
After that day 1 was over! I had a while to wait before my train, so I hung out with a bunch of other JETs and ate pear softcream. Then we took the bus to the station together - literally only a bunch of foreigners on a bus. Most of us were going back towards Tottori-shi, but my BOE seemed to be the only one who paid for the super express, so I hoped aboard alone. By the way - it was my first time riding it and it was crazy! It leans into turns, which makes the whole world shift as if you're on a rollercoaster. Actually, it started making me feel sick after a while...
 |
| Aboard the Super Hakuto 12! |
The next morning was another early one. This time I had to take the train all the way to Kurayoshi. I rode the local to Tottori and then changed to a super express train from there. I arrived in Kurayoshi pretty early, so I just sort of hung around until the bus arrived. A bunch of other ALTs rode the bus with me, which I was glad of, because I wasn't sure about the stop.
9:40-9:55 Registration
Same as Thursday. This time we just had to pick up the day 2 survey.
10:00-10:00 Opening Remarks
10:15-11:45 Workshop III: Elementary School Visits.
There were several other workshops, but this is the one I had to attend. We were divided into groups of 5-6 people and had to discuss various aspects of ES visits. We talked about issues, things we did outside of class, and what we thought of the textbook Hi Friends!. It was a good chance for discussion, but it was really negative, I thought.
11:45-12:40 Lunch
Lunchtime! I was going to go for okonomiyaki with R, L, and J, but I met up with A and A2 on the way and they were going for curry, so....yeah, I jumped ship for curry instead. We went to this cute little restaurant and I ordered hamburg curry, which was a plate of curry sauce, rice, two hamburger patties, and a boiled egg. It was pretty good, but a bit too spicy for me! Anyway, I really enjoyed the opportunity to talk with A and A2.
12:45-14:35 Workshop IV: Team Teaching Examples and Ideas
I'm not sure the title of this workshop was entirely accurate. There were 3 ALT presenters. The first presenter was S, who basically gave an overview of her shadowing day (which I attended) and then talked about the importance of phonics and how she introduced it into her school. The next speaker was M, who also briefly talked about her shadowing day, but focused more on how to deal with a teacher who doesn't utilize you. She had some good strategies to share. Lastly was R3, who talked about basically an English program he created and introduced to his schools. Basically he only teaches his own class, which is an entire period of interactive story telling based on the appropriate grammar being studied. It was pretty interesting, but kind of a rare circumstance.
14:45-15:45 Workshop V: Sharing Ideas for Using the Shuttle Chat Booklet
The last workshop! In this workshop we actually got to work with our JTEs. We were in groups, so I was with two other ALTs and their JTEs. We had to present the Shuttle Chat activities we had created the day before. Actually, our JTEs had been there all day, but had their own separate workshops during the previous part of the day. It was a good workshop, but unfortunately kind of limited to that silly booklet.
So that was my first SDC! I actually enjoyed it a lot, despite early mornings, long days, and lots of train travel. It was kind of a good refresher to get me out of a funk. I feel a lot more energized and motivated now, so I'm excited to hopefully do more at school.
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