the next chapter: Professional Development

Tokyo....the city that never sleeps. No, nevermind, that was us that didn't sleep....

A Peace Corps friend once told me that you could tell if you really loved a place by the return flight. At the time, he had just returned to Belize from the States and he wasn’t quite sold on his new country just yet. Last weekend I went to Tokyo for a professional development conference and it was upon my return that I remembered Ed Worrell’s words of wisdom. I was definitely excited to come back to see my family, but after an amazing trip to new lands, Dhaka didn’t seem as exciting as when I first arrived.

I have been so fortunate to go on two overseas trips from Dhaka thus far. Many teachers will not even get to go on one. (I still haven’t written about Malaysia yet, but that will come as soon as things cool down here. I will confess as to why I have been so busy in the latter part of this entry.) The school sent four of us teachers to Tokyo to learn more about the Middle Years Program for IB. My part of the workshop had to do with PE and secondary school. I am quite enjoying teaching high school. Although I will admit that I am a much better primary school PE teacher. Anyhow, I learned a bunch about the MYP program and what is expected from the PE end of things.

One of the great things about the workshop was the networking. I met almost thirty other PE teachers from various countries and it was very interesting to hear what they had to say about teaching, their schools, life abroad, etc… I will say though, I was one of very few Americans. One of my colleagues asked me why I thought so few Americans seemed to be in the international teaching scene, and I really couldn’t say why. Who knows, maybe after reading this blog people might change their minds and jump ship!? I enjoy talking to other PEers because they always have a different spin on things and quite often you learn either new ideas or new approaches to teaching.

Let’s backtrack a bit here. I mentioned that I went to Tokyo with three other teachers. Lorinda, aka Kate from Australia, Sholu, aka Monique from the U.K and Tahsina from Bangladesh. Then of course me, Cool Papa aka Larry from the U.S. or Canada depending on what part of the night you talked to me. We made sure to work very hard during the day so that we could enjoy the evenings to their fullest! I was actually quite surprised as to the enthusiastic nature in which my counterparts wanted to partake in local activities or some might say, paint the town. Another great thing about the trip is that it gave me a chance to really get to know a couple of my colleagues outside the school setting. Kate and Monnie were a riot, instant fun, just add those two. At one point I told the ladies I might have to come out of retirement just to show them how it’s done. Fortunately I am still retired, but I still managed to stay up way past my bedtime!

So where do I begin? I guess I will start this story by saying what happens in Tokyo stays in Tokyo. Kidding. No, actually I have never been to Japan and I really didn’t know what to expect. I had seen the movie Lost in Translation so I didn’t know if what I was expecting was going to be real or not. I was expecting to end up on the streets of Tokyo late night in a colorful camouflage shirt after some karaoke. Some of that happened, but not quite like the movie. Confession: I did pose for a picture with the owner of a bar as Matthew Mcconaughey.

The evenings usually began quite tranquil. We did a bunch of shopping since real shopping is nonexistent in Bangladesh. Tokyo was crazy!!! It reminded me of a super clean NYC. They had all these super high-end shops everywhere. I think the that I only saw one homeless person the entire time I was there, granted we didn’t go everywhere, (but it sure did seem like it). Kate’s step-Grandmother is Japanese and so for the earlier part of the evenings we had a personal tour guide. Medori helped us navigate through the labyrinth called the Tokyo subway system (http://www.tokyometro.jp/rosen/rosenzu/pdf/rosen_eng.pdf ). I couldn’t believe how many lines this subway system had on it.

Instead of writing about the evenings, I will just post some photos and you can make up your own story. The bottom line was, the workshop was amazing. I feel more relaxed about my job now that I know what the heck is going on. I am also feeling more inspired to teach, not just teach, but be one of those Dead Poet Society kind of teachers. I am feeling very fortunate to be in the situation that I am in and I can’t wait for the next adventure. Which will hopefully be India in December. Oh by the way, I have from December 4th to January 4th off.

Inspired, overwhelmed, tired, ready, curious, rejuvenated, feeling a bit of wanderlust

Please enjoy the pictures. Sometimes pictures tell a better story than words.....