Crossword Puzzle of Names

During my very first week at my chu-gakko (jr. high) six months ago I asked all the English teachers if there was anything they needed help with or anything they wanted me to do. It was summer vacation for the kids, so there weren't any classes for me to teach or lessons to prepare. I was happy to read up on my new prefecture or study Japanese on my own-- and the English teachers hadn't given me any work-- but I figured I should at least offer to do something. All 3 of them seemed at a loss...like they didn't really have anything for me to do, but they felt like they should. So Fukuyama Sensei, the 7th grade teacher, said, "Learn the students' names." I sorta thought he was kidding, but I wanted to show that my offer to do something was sincere, so I said, "Do you have their pictures?" (because, remember, they're on summer vacation, so I haven't even met any students yet) Surprisingly, he said that they did have students' pictures...and he went to a shelf and pulled out a binder which contained all the the 7th grade students' photographs organized by homeroom. Really?! I don't know why, but it hadn't really ever occurred to me that I would learn the kids' names here. I mean, I guess it seemed sorta impossible, so I hadn't even thought of it. But now that my "Do you have their pictures?" challenge had been answered, I felt like I had to do it, and all at once I was eager to do it. What I didn't know was that what awaited me was a crossword puzzle of repeatedly intersecting names that sounded like all the same syllables rearranged in different orders-- Ichiro and Ryoichi, Takayuki and Yukitaka, Takehiro and Hirotaka-- or variations of the same syllable combinations-- Shyuhei and Shyohei and Shyojiro and Shyoya and Shyota and Kota and Ryota and Ryotaro and Kyotaro and Keitaro and Kentaro and Kensuke and Keisuke and Kosuke and Ryosuke and Ryusuke and Yusuke and Yuya and Ryuya and Fumiya and Toshifumi and Fumiaki and Akihiro and Fumihiro and Tomohiro and Masahiro and Masayuki and Kazuyuki. And then there are the girls...Ryoko and Yoko (whose difference is obvious on paper, but almost imperceptible to my ears which have been taught to hear English sounds, not Japanese sounds) and Yuko and Yuki and Miyuki and Hiromi and Aami and Ayumi and Miku and Miki and Saki and Natsuki and Nastumi and Sumika and Ayaka and Akane and Kana and Rina and Reina and Reiko and Rikako and Momoko and Momoka and Mone. WHAAAAAAAAAAAT?!?!

It has been a challenge. I think people's names are important to them and it makes them feel important when you refer to them by name. I feel nervous when I can't remember if it's Kenta or Keita, or Ryuhei or Ryohei. I feel happy when a student who didn't know that I knew his name is surprised (sometimes a little shocked, even) and smiling to hear me call him by name.