The tutors consists of volunteers, mostly (all?) women. You get assigned to one as you arrive and most of the time you are their only student for the class, which indeed is a luxury. Present level is noted on a paper and after the class a summary is added. This to help the student and tutors keep the pace. You bring your own material and together you figure out what help is needed to progress with the self studies. My tutor for the day, Fujii-san, knowing English well (quite rare in Japan I have found out) had the good sense to use lots of Japanese which had me thinking hard to understand and keep up.
Of course you both focus to make that progress, though many times discussions at the end go into a common interest in talking about and comparing things in each others home countries. Being very open about things here, you can be in for a surprise or two when talking. This time was no different, as I was let in by one of the organizers with a story about a former boyfriend that died cause of mysterious circumstances.
I came a bit late and as I had to fill in the application, I didn't have time to have a look at the rest of the class as I sat in the front row. Interesting to see if there are any other westerners attending. So far I have seen no one when walking around these past few days. Not expecting to see anyone in this area, as it is too far from central Tokyo were it all happens. So I'm quite a sight here. Adults are very discreet in looking, though the kids are not, which makes it fun to pick up on.
After being married for 11 years, my Japanese is still an embarrassment to me. I know lots of words, though speaking I'm not even close to doing. Just uttering single words and hoping for the best. So me attending the class here is a new start for me. Wish me luck!
