Imagination

The Nagoya TV tower

As children, we use our imaginations every day. As we get older, our priorities shift and sometimes we lose the opportunity to exercise this important mental muscle. On the other hand, according to my work trainers, Japanese people almost always understand the English word "imagination," because this expression is so integrated into their everyday lives.

This dog's owner has a lot of imagination! ;)

The past several weeks have been a grueling training period for me and my five new teacher colleagues. We have struggled to master the abundance of teaching manuals and methods, as well as many Japanese practices, such as not using our feet to point to things, stifling yawns, and saying hello to absolutely everyone we encounter in the school buildings. We spent just over a week doing demo kids' lessons, with all of us taking turns impersonating children as young as 18 months old, to get a feel for how our real lessons will go.

The stress of these training days has really opened my eyes to the importance of imagination in overcoming the harsh realities of adult life. Sometimes, the only thing getting me through the long days is the time I have to play "pretend" with my coworkers — although we need to take it seriously, it really is just more fun to be a kid sometimes! Everything kids do is inspired by their natural tendency toward fun; kids simply have no tolerance for anything that bores them.

As an adult, I find that sometimes I get too stuck in reality, and then I suffer because I am bored or stressed. Case in point: my dreams lately have taken a slightly darker turn because of stress. This is suffering I don't want to stand for! I've decided on a plan of action.

De-stressing from adult life in downtown Nagoya!

My plan is to use this space to use my imagination in keeping myself creative. As a teacher, I find that creativity is my best tool on most days, rather than a sharp memory (which I don't have!) or perfect technique (certainly not my strongest asset yet). Creativity allows me to improvise and to find ways to entertain both students and myself. When I taught in the US and France, I was lucky enough to have employers who allowed me to let loose, creatively. I will have a little less freedom in my teaching here, but I see it as a challenge to up my creativity at home.

Look out for some changes on this blog: more imagination, a melding of everyday life with imaginary adventure, and who knows what else!