GO: Take My Parents to Work Day

I can’t sleep. I often can’t sleep at night. It seems to be a habit of mine to suddenly remember reams of things I need to do tomorrow and yet be too lazy to get up and write them down so that my mind can relax. Add to that the fact that I know all of my friends and family are just getting up for the day back home, and it’s even harder to shut off and relax.

So, I will attempt to do some catching up on an owed blog post.

It’s been a month since my parents were here. Still, the memories of their visit are fresh in my mind. We traveled and just had time to catch up and chat. And, I took them to school with me.

Now, I must say it is a little awkward to have your parents tag along with you for a day of work. Questions, stares, etc. And well, it always seems a little strange to be introducing coworkers to mom and pop. It sort of eats away at your sense of expertise and confidence. But, it would have been utterly impossible not to introduce my parents to the people I work with everyday. In the end, it was actually fun.

We arrived at the school early on the morning of November 8th, so that my parents could officially be introduced to the kocho sensei (school principal). There was some tea and chitchat. After that, my parents and I were marched in to the staff meeting to great applause. My father was asked to give a small speech. It was lovely and his attempts at Japanese phrases sweet (I am not one to talk, as the situation is the same for me.)

Then came the best part. My mother and father joined one of my second year English classes. My supervisor, Maruhashi sensei, and I decided it might be a good idea to have my parents join the students for some group work activities. It worked out wonderfully except that my mother distracted her group with talk of Japanese baseball players (where she picked up this knowledge I will never know) and my father slowed down his group with lots of questions.

We had a great time and the students loved it. They were energetic and eager to show of to our guests. I have to say that, as awkward as the morning was, my cheeks were sore from smiling.