With some of the time off I had this week, I took the opportunity to explore some of the island. I drove to the Onogame on the northern tip of the island. The drive there took about an hour and followed this stunning coastal road through several small fishing villages and farming communities. The Onogame is a geological formation that was worshipped originally by the Ainu people, the indigenous inhabitants of Japan. Now it is seen as a turtle or dragon god, who protects the ships of the island. Apparently in the spring and summer, the entire area is covered with day lilies, and it is one of the most popular tourist spots in Sado during the season. I will definitely have to make sure I return during this time.
Yesterday was also my first day on the job! I had a good time introducing myself to all the classes I will be teaching. I had a presentation where I showed the students where I came from, my interests, and my hobbies. Then they all introduced themselves to me using English. The kids were all very sweet and excited to meet me. They were also quite curious about me and asked me a lot of questions. The school seemed nice and pretty new. There were a lot of specialized classrooms like a home economics room, science room, arts and crafts room, computer lab, and a very big gym. They even had a chicken coop where the students take care of the chickens! It was just nice to finally start the job I have been waiting so long for. I’m looking forward to getting to know the students and teachers with whom I’ll be working.
I have begun to meet some the other ALTs who work on Sado as well. It seems to be a tight knit community, I imagine because of the isolation of living out here. They are all Americans. I suppose the local government just prefers to teach the American style of English. Anyway, it’s a pretty diverse mix of Americans: we seem to all be from different states. Furthermore, most of the ALTs have come within the last 3 months. Everyone has been very friendly, and I will be meeting the other ALTs tomorrow. Honestly, everything has been going well here so far and I am really enjoying living here.
Sam in Japan 
Sounds like a great first day at the school! It’s great you are getting to know the area and starting to meet some of the other teachers. What fun it all must be. Great writing, too, by the way!
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Great post, Sam! So happy you are finally starting the job you waited so long for. Like the pictures, too!
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What were some of the questions that the kids asked? Curious as to what they want to know about Americans, America. Agree with Erika re your writing!!!!
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Thanks! It was mostly just basic school kid questions like favorite color, favorite food etc. A few of the let’s say “class clown” types tried to ask me if I had a girlfriend and which girl in class I thought was prettiest. One girl asked me “what is the most important thing to you?” I had to think about that for a second.
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Your photo re Onogame nakes me think that the Ainu have similarities with other Pacific Islander peoples in that their culture was based on an irrevocable and reverential sustenance provided by the great waters of the Pacific.
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Hi Sam! So nice to learn about your experiences in Sado so far! How exciting to live in and explore such a special place. I’m really looking forward to your future posts for sure. I hope that you’ll really enjoy working with your students – you’ll learn as much from them as they’ll learn from you:)
Karen B.
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