Le Japanese

Was going to go hang out with the people in Ueda but decided that because it was raining I would just go out with some people more locally. So I went out with Erika, Tom, Nina, Patrick, and Nina’s friend, Dave. We went to the restaurant Rock Pool where this server (Masatoshi is his name) that we met at a bar works. After dinner, we went to that bar and he came by after work was over for him. He played pool with a couple of the others and we all chatted leisurely about random topics. Thankfully after a few drinks my Japanese language fears diminish and I use it more freely because this guy is really cool. We discussed amusement parks, movies, and music mainly in half English half Japanese conversation and I learned a lot about things in Japan from him. I think it is the coolest thing meeting Japanese people and talking to them and getting their life stories. I foresee myself hanging out with a bunch of Japanese in the near future because they all seem to be just as interested in me as I am in them. To top it off, being one of the few in the group that can speak some Japanese really helps give you an edge with the conversations. I also met a doctor at the restaurant who told us to give him a call if we ever get sick. It is crazy the number of doctors that I have run into thus far. I mean, it is a good thing if I ever do become ill but still weird just the same.

It's Exciting to Me

Had another full day of classes. Apparently me teaching 3-4 classes a day is a lot compared to other ALTs. Most only teach 1-3 a day. After school, I coached Mika with her speech for the speech contest and she is doing fantastically. Her pronunciation has improved dramatically and she has almost the whole thing down without being stuck on any words. It is still a bit hard for her to work out the ‘th’ sound. Despite people making fun of the Japanese because of the difficulty for them to distinguish between l and r sounds, ‘th’ seems to actually be more difficult for most of the students, commonly saying ‘sa’ [sank instead of thank] for the soft ‘th’ sound and “d” for the buzzing or harder ‘th’ sound [dis instead of this]. I am only thankful that English has all the sounds used in Japanese because I know how hard it is having tried to master the initial ‘p’ sound in Czech and having failed miserably.

As for memorizing it, she already has about 1/3 of it committed to memory which is fantastic. This means we have started to focus more closely on hand gestures and motions along with voice volume, pitch, tone, and all that other jazz that really makes a speech come to life. She is going to be fantastic come time for the speech contest.

Went to the mall to get a few things that I wanted/needed like hooks for putting kitchen utensils on the wall and a microSD card for my phone so I can take more photos with it. I was also looking at Nintendo DS games to occupy my time on the train and waiting for people but well I couldn’t find anything that I really liked or that I knew to be good. So I will wait until I can go to a bigger electronics store. While in the video game section, I ran into one of my students and we chatted a bit about this antenna that you can buy for the DS that gives allows you to watch tv. What a novelty! He told me to wait and ran to get his mom and brought her to see me. I introduced myself but she already knew more about me than I thought. She was super nice and her English was remarkable. We started in Japanese but it was apparent that she wanted to try her English so I decided to switch. It was really neat because we chatted as if we had known each other for quite some time. I think it is neat that I keep running into my students everywhere I go and meeting their parents is always a treat because they are so appreciative of what I am doing for their kids. We parted ways once her daughter came over and asked to go to the bathroom. I will be teaching her one of the elementary schools soon.

That evening I went to a yakiniku (grilled meat) restaurant with about 20 other people from the Saku area, all of us teaching English or just friends living in the area. It was nice because there were a lot of new people but perhaps too many to keep track of everyone’s names. I ate next to a Japanese woman named Sai. She was crazy. I have never seen a person so full of energy and life. Everything was exclaimed with WOW! and you could barely keep her from sitting still. She was fun but you could tell it was a tad abnormal. I personally loved talking to her and seeing life from such a fast-paced high-energy all-over-the-place angle. Perhaps this is something that I envy about her. But maybe thinking about it, I am very content with the way I view life and live it. In my world, things don’t have to be exciting 24/7 and not doing something is not a loss of life. Sometimes it is the downtime in life that really allows someone to grow as a person, contemplating, understanding, discovering things about oneself. If I were always on the go, never stopping, I would have a shit ton of experiences but not really understand them I fret.

I think this is an important aspect to mention to some of you reading this blog who claim your lives are not “as exciting” as mine because I am in Japan seeing and doing something different to you. But in reality, the same is true for me. I see your lives as exciting because I, too, am engaged in something that is not your experiences. Perhaps it is the tiniest thing to you like a server at a restaurant being really mean, but to me that is something I need to hear because otherwise I may forget that some servers can actually be rude. It helps me realize the similarities and differences in life. If nothing else, it makes me happy to be a part of your lives. So please, don’t think that anything is too small or insignificant because I am sure I will find it interesting especially because it is going on in the life of someone I know and care about.

I'm All Wet...Again!

It started raining today and it sucked so badly because riding your bike in the rain is no treat. The roads are narrow to begin with, sidewalks littered with students carrying umbrellas of death (they can seriously poke out an eye), and cars that are apparently all rushing to the hospital at Mach 3 speeds splashing pools of water meters in all directions. So needless to say I get to work and I look like a drowned rat for the first hour or so until I dry off. Now, normally, I would be going to my elementary schools on Thursdays but that won’t start until next week. I thought I would have a free day until Nagai-sensei asked me to team-teach with her today instead of the classes tomorrow. I was all for this idea because that would mean the teaching would be more spread out. The only downfall to this was that when the other teachers caught wind that I had two free periods they tried to shove me in to do introductions. Apparently, when I do my introduction, it is a class they don’t need to plan or do any work for. Lazy SOBs! Whatever, teaching classes makes the day go by quicker so why not.

Gospel Not For God??

Today, I think I taught super well. My team-teaching sessions with Toeda-sensei, the head English teacher, went super well, especially 6.7.8 (special needs class). I was thrilled that they invited me specifically to have lunch with them today. It ended up being a great idea. While I barely understand their Japanese, so much communication happens through our body language it amazes me. How dependent we are on the things we hear that sometimes we miss those minor things that really are at the heart of a conversation. A ちょう (chou) [butterfly] came into the room with us while we were eating lunch and it was so cool because it was a huge butterfly with massive wings. It had the most wonderful shades of brown etched and swirled into its wings. I instantly thought of the Spanish word for butterfly (mariposa) and how this is a term for gay guys in Spanish. Made me laugh inside because in this country where guys often carry purses and machismo is at a minimum (not that I’m complaining about this, I think it is great!), here flies in this butterfly and unlike the Japanese attitude about homosexuality, this insect is embraced as a creature of grace and beauty.

There were only three classes today because we all went to a local concert hall to hear gospel music performed for the second half of the day. Now some of you might be wondering how this was for me considering that I am not religious and, well, gospel music tends to be a little bit on the Jesusy side of the spectrum. It was actually quite interesting because the students and teachers did not view it as anything more than a performance art. For many, it was their first time seeing gospel music performed. The classics were done, Amazing Grace, Joyful, Joyful, etc. The students were too shy to partake in any of the actions or pleasantries that the group tried to inflict upon them. I, on the other hand, was like whatever, I know English, and I’m going to sing and clap and carry on disregarding the lyrics’ meaning. It was also at this performance that I was first told directly by three girls that I was kakkoii (good-looking/hot/cute). The one girl I distinctly remember having asked me for my signature earlier on. At least they are being more direct with me instead of just giggling in groups. Maybe I can use this to my advantage somehow. Perhaps getting them to pay attention more to what I have to say.

I’d also like to make a note about the school lunches in Japan. They are fantastic! They are super well-balanced nutritionally and always include some sort of hot soup, a salad of some sort (not the lettuce-kind you are thinking of, either), meat in some variety (usually fish), and a huge, fresh piece of bread or if it is MWF rice!!! Plus, there is this neat dynamic about the homerooms here. They are like miniature families. They eat together, study together, clean together, and I tend to see them hanging out together after school. Anywho, back to lunch. I get to enjoy these lunches each day for only ￥273 ($2.50). As far as I am concerned, this is a steal because I don’t have to make it, it is healthy, I get to try all these great new Japanese foods, and it is cheap.

My friend Shannon, whom I met at Tokyo orientation messaged me to say she was happy that she sat next to me on the bus from the airport just one month ago. It feels like so much time has gone by but in reality only one month has passed. I just keep thinking about Mat and that he will be going off to college soon. I feel like I have been the worst person in the world, not having called anyone yet, especially him. I know that he understands. I seriously fight the urge to message him a million times a day, once for each time I think of him.

"POINTY!"

Had a very enjoyable lunch with the 1^st years today. There was this one boy names Jichun (I think?) He is Chinese and for a first year was as good if not better at English than most 3^rd years! We were talking quite a bit and he was really interested in going to the United States. He seems like the kind of student that just cannot learn enough about the world. I told him to remember me if he ever comes to the U.S. and to get in touch with me. It probably won’t be for a few years before he gets the chance to go off to the US but it would be neat nonetheless to catch up with one of my students years from now in the states.

Must have been one of those days where lots of great things happen because my last period sannensei (3^rd years) were fantastic. Aside from the obligatory “Do you know ‘We are the World’?” to which I always reply yes, they asked some of the most intelligent questions I’ve gotten thus far which means these students really do know their shit. They asked me if I read Harry Potter, whether I am going to vote for Obama or McCain, and what transportation is popular in the US. The brightest question was “What do you think about the situation with Tibet and China?” I almost died when I was asked that question because it was said almost perfectly and it was not the usual Do you know…/Do you like… questions that I was accustomed to.

The most fun questions were as follows:

“Have you seen UFO?” “Yes, I’ve seen at least 10!”

“Do you like orange juice or milk?” “Hmmm, difficult question (snickers in head)…orange juice.”

“Do you like sauce or soy sauce?” (yes, apparently a question Japanese ask one another and one which I totally just made up an answer and said…) “Sauce, of course!”

“Do you have a ‘kanojo’?” [Lit.: Do you have a she?, but kanojo can also be girlfriend]

I politely replied “Nope.” (I fought the urge to say “but…”)

“Did you ever ‘pirikura’?” [They are those photobooths where you get the mini photos with stars or sceneries in the background and are insanely popular here] “Yes, with my mom.”

“Why is your nose (makes a gesture that indicates pointy)?” I laugh and explain with pictures on the board, what we call the various nose shapes in English and told them they could say mine was pointy compared to their flat noses. Now they pass me and point to their noses and say “POINTY!” Cute, really cute. Lol

A bunch of girls came up after class to look at my photos and pointed out a picture of Nick, Tom, and Berç. Three of the girls thought Nick was so kakkoii (good-looking). The one argued with them and said Tom was more kakkoii. I laughed because I knew it was because of Nick’s blond hair. They were talking about it nonstop in Japanese. I then asked them to explain the difference between kakkoii and kawaii, which are used a lot. Apparently, it is the same as we have. If you say someone is good-looking/hot you are attracted to them whereas kawaii is more like the “they are cute together” definition of cute. So they pulled out another photo of Christine and me and they said that we were kawaii together and that I was kakkoii. I showed them a few more of my friends and asked them what they thought. They then went ahead and ranked everyone for me. The results were quite interesting and I won’t divulge who ranked above others. I asked why they chose certain people over others and they said that it had to do with their face and then hair color was important. I heard the girls saying how I had so many good-looking friends and that so many of them were really tall. I think they were specifically referring to Tom, Mat, and Melina in this instance.

Went out for some ramen with Joey and Erika, Tom joining up with Joey and me later. It was really good and decently priced.

Mushroom Head

Today I went to school the normal time…for 8:30 but apparently this was too late because the ceremony had already started as I walked through the door soaking wet from my cold, rainy bike ride to school. Do you think someone would have told me to be a few minutes early today? Oh no, I was supposed to inquire about this I guess. Oh wells, I’ll put it on the “not my fault” pile and move on. So, I introduced myself to another class today. They were second year students and of all the years, they are the worst. They are not energized at all, they don’t seem to care, and good luck getting someone to even try when you call on them directly (which is a no-no here but I do it anyway). The other class that I taught was the 6.7.8 class, which is a special needs class. I am having a hard time striking a balance with these students. Their levels are all so different and some of them don’t pay attention, others are too hyper and interject all the time and I can feel myself failing inside although I know that all in all I am not doing a poor job in the least. The kids are interacting with me, they are learning some English, and hopefully they are having fun doing so. I can feel myself getting worn out by this class though. I really do have a newfound respect for the people who can teach with such diligence and perseverance day in and day out. Maybe one day, I will find this but for now, not present.

There are student teachers that came in today and will be at our school for 3 weeks. Two of them are English student teachers. I think they are really nice but they are more nervous about teaching than I was when I came here and they have the advantage over me. They attended this school, they know Japanese traditions and ways of doing things, hmmm they know the language, and well they have had formal education in this exact field. I don’t know, maybe the overcoming of the anxiousness had to do with something else inside me, some soft skill I acquired along the way. What really shocked me was their inability to speak English. Now, one would think that you should be fairly decent at using a language before teaching it. Not so much the case in Japan. I feel bad for the students because they are the ones being disadvantaged by this phenomenon. The one student teacher pretty much refused to speak to me in English and I was forced to use Japanese. Then the other student teacher complained how difficult it was to read a short passage from the student’s textbook. Now, I know that reading English comes naturally to me but maybe if it were me trying to teach English students Japanese, I would definitely fully understand the basics. I mean we are talking 9^th grade here and this person just graduated from college. I don’t know, to me there is something peculiar about this. Then I realized that maybe it was not English but just this person’s desire to study and learn languages. In a later discussion, I found out that he had studied Spanish as well. Bueno! Sino no. Why? Because he just talked about how difficult the masculine/feminine noun system is. Honestly, if you can learn 2,000 kanji, you can memorize which words are male and which are female. I think I have a lot to learn from them as well. They are my age and seem to be a great window into the world of Japan, especially the local area. We will see what happens.

My lunch today was rather exciting. I ate with Toeda-sensei’s homeroom, which was ecstatic about having me. I was thrilled because that meant that they asked lots of questions and were really friendly towards me. I was even pranked with a question by this one girl. She asked me, “Do you like mushrooms?” To this I replied, “Yes, I love them.” Terrible choice of words because after a full minute of laughter among anyone who could hear, she explained that their nickname for Toeda-sensei is “mushroom head” because as they put it her head looks like a mushroom. So indirectly, I said that I loved the head English teacher in the school. Yet, I felt privileged to have been pranked and then let in on their nickname secret. Made me feel like I was not so much a sensei but more like a friend. One of the girls that was across from me asked if I like the anime Bleach and I said that I liked it a lot, that my friend Luca and I used to watch it all the time. She got lost when I tried to explain he is from Switzerland so I left it alone. Sorry, Luca, the Japanese don’t know European geography very well.  

My artistic side shining through, lol

Heath Ledger...Way to Go and Die on Me!

So, today, again was a relaxation day. Got a text message from Erika wanting to know if I wanted to see Dark Knight in the movies. Wanting to get the Japanese movie experience, I said yes. Got myself to the train station, the nearest one being a 15 minute bike ride and got myself to Sakudaira, the main hub of life around here. There I ran into Tom and Joey who were also waiting for Erika. We all went to the theater together where I spent the most I have ever spent on a movie admission in my entire life, $18.00. Yah, so some of you city folk might be like that is normal but for me, I am used to going to the one screen cheap-o theaters where it is the old school movie at an old school price. So trying not to think about the fact that I spent that much money to see a movie I had already seen, I say down and as the movie began, I remembered how incredible it was and didn’t mind after about halfway that I had been royally ripped off. The previews did have Get Smart which I still need to see. I think I will rent it when I get a chance. Mat and a few others said it was funny and it looked it.

After the movie, we hung out at the arcade downstairs where it would seem like the Japanese are obsessed with picture booths and those crane “just go ahead and take my money” machines. Although, I must admit, it was tempting to play for my very own Totoro plush. One day, Totoro…you shall be mine. Um, yah, so I did get distracted by the fact that Time Crisis 4 was lined up right next to not only Time Crisis 3 but Time Crisis 2 as well. All three of my loves, lined up in all their plastic gun blazing glory. Oh Japan, how you know how to make a geek like me weep with joy.