Today's Laugh

The faculty has one big office that they all work in at my school. This includes the teachers, the counselor, the lunch lady, the principals, the nurse. Well, the students often have to come find a teacher before and after school and between classes. There’s a set protocol for announcing themselves and asking for who or what they need. Sometimes, it’s just to get a key off the rack in which case they only have to say “Excuse me (Literally, I’m being rude). I’m taking the key for such and such room. I’m leaving (Literally, I was rude. [the past tense of the first thing they said]).” If they need a teacher, they have to do the same thing and ask if the teacher is there.

Today, a student came to the door and said, “Excuse me. I’ve forgotten the name of the teacher I need.” Needless to say, everyone started cracking up. Poor kid. It’s understandable though, since it’s the beginning of the school year. I still don’t know the names of all the teachers that I work with.

Anyway, what was awesome for me was that I was finally able to enjoy something funny WITH all the teachers. I didn’t have to hear everyone laugh, and then ask “What is so funny?” And it’s all the more impressive (to myself anyway) since I was sitting at my desk on the other side of the room working on something and only overheard the Japanese. I wasn’t paying special attention or anything. Anyway, with the constant reminders that my Japanese still sucks (ie, not understanding what’s going on EVER), I have to relish the moments when I have hard evidence of improvement.

歌舞伎！！！

Wow! I am soooo exhausted, and I've already had a chance to sleep through the night. So yesterday was Kabuki Day for me. My Japanese parents took me to Kotohira for my very first Kabuki experience. It was quite a day. While there was nothing spectacular that happened really, it was just an all-around great Japanese cultural experience. But boy was it a long day and boy am I tired.


I woke up around 6:30 but laid in bed until 7:30 or so. Then I got up and cleaned my apartment a bit since it's been sorely needing it. Dishes, laundry, general pick-up. Then, I finally shaved my beard. (I don't know if I ever posted a picture with my beard at its longest. Or with my hair at it's longest. I finally got it cut.) Anyway, then I showered and Hashizume-sensei was there to pick me up at 9:30 (actually she was a bit early). She was in a kimono, which I wasn't expecting. I was in jeans. So I offered the change. At first she said no, but then I said it would be easy and she paused and thought. So, I knew the answer. After I put on slacks, we went back to her house and got her husband and our lunch for the day. When we got to Kotohira there were lots of people already there. So Mr. Hashizume dropped us off to go get good seats. We were actually some of the last people in our section, so we didn't get great seats. We didn't get any of the bench seats, only some floor seats where you have to sit "seiza", which means on your knees with your bum on your feet. Though, you could go Indian style, but with all the people, it's kind of difficult. And we were pretty jammed in there. But when her husband arrived, he noticed 3 seats at the end that were where the steps were. It was right in the foot traffic, but it allowed two of us to hang our legs down. So, we moved. And an added benefit was the fact that we no longer had a huge column blocking the middle of our view. We actually had a pretty awesome view.

I've got to explain a view things about kabuki, and this actually goes back a few weeks. (I should have already blogged about this but I was too busy at the time.) Hashizume-sensei made me a "Kabuki How-to" packet a few weeks ago. She typed up some paragraphs and worked on translating some key parts into English (even surreptitiously using me to help at times). She printed off and meticulously cut out colorful pictures to help demonstrate key concepts. Then she sat down with me when she handed it to me and helped me understand parts of it. I couldn't believe the time she put into it. Anyway, so this is where my knowledge of Kabuki began.

One special aspect of Kabuki is the way actors enter and exit. They use the "hanamichi". It's an elevated walkway that runs through the audience starting stage right and going straight to the back of the audience. And we were up in the balcony all the way to the right so that the "hanamichi" was on the opposite side of the theater from us. It made it so that it formed a nice open L shape with the stage and when the characters were entering and leaving we could see everything as one big scene. Basically, I'm saying even though we were in the cheap seats, we really had a nice view. And we didn't have cramped legs.

Anyway, so we got settled in and then Mr. Hashizume took me outside and pointed out various parts of the theater and we talked as much as we could in Japanese. And he made me stand for several pictures.

Back inside, the plays began. I was actually confused at first. I thought it was one show with an intermission. But there were three different stories with 2 intermissions. After the first show which I didn't understand, but was interesting and funny enough, we got out the "bento" that Hashizume-sensei had prepared. She had made some sandwiches and onigiri and pickles. All homemade of course. The second show was a little easier to understand. There were more actions and I actually could catch a few words. It was about two men fighting over a sword whose ownership was eventually to be decided by an elder. And if I understood the end (which was the only confusing part) the bad guy took the sword and knocked down all the other guys and ran off with the real owner chasing him. The guys who got knocked down meanwhile were laying on their backs with their hands and feet in the air doing what looked like a doggie paddle. The third show was the grandest one with the biggest costumes, a more elevated stage, a bigger cast, and the "shibaraku" which this style of Kabuki is famous for. I, of course, couldn't understand any of the details of this story. There were not very many actions that went with the dialogue. It was a love story where the hero arrives and beheads some guys and takes the woman away with him. Yes you see the heads on stage and the guys running off with blood spewing (red cloth) spewing from their necks. But before that happens, the story goes along with not much movement. People just talking. Then, when all is explained, the hero makes his entrance. "Shibaraku" ~ Wait a minute! He comes in wearing platform sandals and about 15 layers of costume to make him larger than life. His outer robe sort of ends in pant legs that are so long that he is actually walking on them inside them. Which I don't know how that works. Especially in platform sandals. Meanwhile his sleeves are about a meter and a half long with rods in them to hold them taut, like a kite, but square. He has two white feathers in his hair as well and his face is painted with red blood lines. He, of course, saves the day. But not before three stagehands help him remove three layers of kimono to reveal his belt and take apart the super-sleeves and help him get his sword out. All on stage.

Afterward, we stayed back a minute and snapped a few pictures together. And then we all walked down to the car together. Even just that would have made for an exhausting day as it was all in Japanese. But we went back to their house. We relaxed a bit in the afternoon as Hashizume-sensei got out of her kimono and went about the house doing things. But eventually she came into the den and we talked about Kabuki for a while. The conversation drifted and she showed me some of what she's been studying with English. Around 6 (or maybe 5) we started cooking dinner. That was quite a process. We made homemade sushi, tempura, and donuts. And when I say 'we' I mean, me and Mr. Hashizume only helped a little. And when I say sushi, don't think of what Americans think for sushi. Sushi in Japan, I think, just means rice that's been mixed with vinegar (and sugar and salt) and then put with something else, usually some sort of seafood either uncooked and rolled or cooked and diced up and mixed (often with egg) with the rice. We had the latter, which is "daisuki" (big like). The tempura was bamboo shoots, fish, squid, and something else. And the donuts were just regular donuts, fried and sugared. Some had "an" sweet bean paste though. There was a huge amount of food, but we managed to make a pretty big dent in it. And of course, most of the remainder came home with me.

Meanwhile, all throughout cooking and eating, it's all Japanese with the occasional English thrown in there. Hashizume-sensei LOVES to talk and when she gets going, there's no stopping her. By the end of the night, I wasn't so much physically tired, but my brain was literally shutting down. I couldn't focus any more on what she was saying to even TRY to understand. And when we were ready to leave, her husband wanted to sit and finish a TV show he had started. So, it was more talking. Somehow, I found a second wind though, and I started putting together some pretty good sentences from what I could tell. They flowed and made sense. But luckily the show ended and I was able to get home and rest. But it was a pretty amazing day. I'm so grateful to the Hashizumes.

....

ほんとにたのしかったです。歌舞伎ははじめて。日本語まだじょうずじゃない。そしてぜんぜんわからなかったです。でもいま歌舞伎のものをならいたいです。

Tomorrow is the big show!

I'm getting excited because tomorrow I'm going with Hashizume-sensei and her husband to see Kabuki. The place we are going is apparently very well known and high quality. The teacher and her husband go every year. I'm happy that I get to go with them. They are picking me up in the morning at 9:30 and the show opens around 11 and will go until around 2:30. Then we will have dinner together afterward. Should be fun.

It will be a nice end to a very long week. This was the first week of the new school year. Monday were the opening and entrance ceremonies. Yes, there's a difference. And we started classes on Tuesday. It's neat getting to see all the new students here at the school since I know them all from having taught them as 6th graders in the elementaries. Well, I don't really know them, but they are at least familiar faces. Anyway, it's time for school and I gotta get going.

(BTW I'm still working on getting updates going. With this sort of thing, if I get behind, I tend to get discouraged and stop altogether. But I need to keep documenting what I'm doing. I hope to write up all that's happened in the past month or so. A lot of fun and important things have happened. I hope to write a bunch of posts and then backdate them and then link to them in one final post like I did before. Meanwhile, I'll keep posting shorter current posts so I don't forget things.)

Gomenne!!

Sorry!!!! I've been crazy busy for about a month. First there were a few social events that came up and then there was the busyness surrounding the end of the school year and graduation and closing ceremony and enkais. Then, there was spring vacation. I went to Osaka to visit Alana again with her parents in town. We all went to Kyoto and Nara. Then we spent a day in Osaka itself. After we saw her parents off at the airport, we took a bus back to Kagawa. And it was utter craziness from there. Me the nonplanner, had actually planned way too much to do. We still managed to do most of it, and I only had to extend my vacation time by about 2 and a half hours.

I started an update last week, but then had to go out of town before I could finish. I'm still too tired to sit down and try to figure out all the things that have happened in the past month, but there were a lot of interesting things that I would like to post on, of course, with pictures. There are some really good ones too. And the good times keep rolling. Work today and tomorrow, welcome enkai tomorrow night, flower viewing party Saturday, rehearsal and maybe some more flower viewing Sunday, opening ceremony Monday, and first day of classes Tuesday.

Sorry for not being in contact with people or not responding to emails right away. I'm trying to get back into some semblance of a routine.

News

OK. So it's about time I get my butt back in gear with this blog. I actually meant to about 2 weeks ago. I started a post (below) but never finished it. So, tonight, even though I'm dead tired, I'm doing an update. Not too long like usual though. Here's that update from before.

"My dad was behind reading my blog from traveling and finally got caught up the other day [a couple of weeks ago by this point]. He let me know that I kind of left people hanging about my decision to stay or leave Japan after one year..

I have decided to stay for an additional year. So I won't be back until July or August of 2009. I was just blowing the bad-teaching practices stuff way out of proportion after that mid-year conference. It's really not so bad and it's only part of being here. And I'm enjoying most of the rest of my life here. I sometimes get lonely. I sometimes get bored. But to be honest, that happened back in Georgia. Here though, I have an incredible amount of free time. I'm getting paid very well. And I can study and practice my Japanese whenever I want. It's pretty great. (Plus, I didn't have any graduate school stuff ready. Something I'm starting to work on again.)

And I realized I left people hanging on some pictures, and one post, that I promised (or that I had mentally promised)."

So here are links to the updates/pictures below. Please check them out.

Udon

Ninomiya Visit

Naked Man Festival

Hinamatsuri

Today's Run

PS If you comment and it doesn't show up it's likely that I felt it was more appropriate as an email. Remember my email address is listed in my profile. So if your comment is becoming lengthy, that's a sign you should send it as an email. And that way I'm more likely to be able to get back to you.

Today's Run

Well, I'll start with the day. Average for the most part. I'm getting the hang of my schedule and how the teachers are and can even recall some of my elementary teachers' names these days. And even though I'm getting used to my JTEs' manners, there's one that when I work with her, it's either a homerun all the way or a complete dud. And not only that, I feel useless, used, or undervalued, usually a combination of the three. I'm trying to use it as a learning experience. I do like teaching, but I think I perhaps invest myself too much personally into it. I'd like to be able to turn it off or disconnect myself from it whenever I need to. It may sound odd or cold, but it can be useful for certain situations like today or certain comments the students thoughtlessly make. If you're too personally attached, it can strike a little too deep.

Anyway, that was a bit further than I meant to go. I was just trying to say it was a so-so morning. Lunch perked me up a bit. I had a nice talk with the kids I ate with. Played around a bit. Did half-English/half-Japanese. So I'm learning and they're learning, and we don't have to sit in silence anymore.

After lunch, I went back to the teacher's room to finish up my lesson prep for the elementary. The topic was time, so I made a giant digital clock with holes where the numbers would be so I could post it on the board and write in the numbers and erase as I needed. But I decided to be a little creative and made it a Hello Kitty clock, just for kicks. It turned out pretty well. Let me know if you wanna see pictures. Of course, when I got to the school, I realized I had forgotten to make the only thing I needed for an activity. Luckily, it wasn't hard. I just needed to write out various times for the students to use. But that got me a bit in my rush mode. Then, in class, I realized I had forgotten to bring some number flashcards so I had to run back downstairs to get them. I didn't waste the time though, I had them count with their homeroom teacher until I got back. It only took them counting to 38 for me to return. Anyway, we had a grand old time, but afterward, I was in a daze and accidentally went to the next class early. That one was just as crazy as the first one in terms of activity and genki-ness. (Have I taught you all genki yet?) It ended with a mini-concert of Edelweiss on recorders in C major with a tendency for C sharp, really sharp. But it was cute and then the teacher called the students forward who wanted to say a goodbye to me. Several did and they had nice things to say. This was the last class of the year. But I'll be seeing them next year (read: school year, meaning in April) as 4th graders.

Needless to say, I was tired afterward. But I'm training for a half-marathon in a couple of weeks. Check that. It's in about a week. I didn't realize it was so close. And my dad's been training for a full marathon for a while now. And I've been complaining to myself about the running I've been doing, maybe an hour's run 3 or 4 times a week. He's out doing at least 7 miles a day, it seems. At this point, those are his "light" days. His hards days are about 15 miles. So anyway, today I upped it to an hour and 45 minutes. Man, I didn't think it would make that big of a difference, but I'm wiped out. I think I'll still run tomorrow, but perhaps change it up a bit and do interval work instead of just straight running. Then Saturday, I can try a longer run, perhaps the full 13 miles. Then, next week, I'll lighten up a bit so energy can build up for the race.

Also, while I'm on these runs, I've started taking my iPod and doing Japanese lessons. Pimsleur's is pretty great. I recommend it to anyone trying to learn a language. I just started a few weeks ago and it's back to the basics for me, but I'm able to just run through each lesson once and move on. I think if I had started with the audio lessons right when I arrived here, I would have had to listen to each one at least twice if not more to get the hang of it. Believe me, it's a very slow and appropriate pace, but sometimes it surprises me with the complexity of some of the sentences it asks you for when you start getting to lessons 6, 7, 8 or so. With the timing, I usually end up in the middle of a lesson at the end of the run, so I usually just start back at the beginning on the next run. I like the review. Anyway, the Japanese is coming along fairly well. I always feel like it's going soooo slowly and that I'll never be able to speak with the people around me, but sometimes, I can see just how far I've come. Here's a taste. I'm not using a book to help me, so if you do know Japanese, then forgive any mistakes.

私はアイポドで日本語をべんきょうします。むずかしいです。でもおもしろいです。高瀬中学校のほかの先生といっしょにはなしたいです。それから毎日べんきょうをします。

I study Japanese with an iPod. It's difficult. But it's interesting. I want to speak with the other teachers at Takase Junior High School. That's why I study every day.

Hina Matsuri

Today was officially the Girl's Day Festival, but several of us celebrated it yesterday by going to the town of Hiketa in eastern Kagawa. The town is known throughout Japan for it's Girl's Day Celebrations. Hina means doll. So, of course, everywhere you go, you see dolls on display. But these aren't just any dolls. They are special dolls that only come out for this day. They are displayed on a 5 or 7 tiered display that looks like red felt carpeted stairs. At the top are a man and woman, like a lord and a lady. And as you go down the stairs you find the various members of their court. The reason Hiketa is well known for this festival is because almost every shop and many private citizens put out displays for everyone to view. Many dolls are a few generations old and there was one set that dated from the 1860's.


We started the tour of the town with a tea ceremony in a community center. We were served by little girls dressed up in their kimono. Then we toured the town of dolls. Some stores are completely shut down by their doll displays. Others stay open for business and just have the doll displays next to their merchandise. There was one electronics store that just looked crazy with its display next to the appliances. We stopped in a converted soy sauce factory that has an open courtyard and seemed to serve as sort of town square. Then we took a walk to one of the town's shrines. I bought a couple of ceramic dolls almost right away. I tend to be more of a tightwad or spend my money on cheap useless stuff. But I saw these and thought they were perfect right away. I started walking away but something brought me back. They were a little expensive, but I'm trying to be on the lookout for more meaningful and lasting souvenirs that I can use or display for real. These were perfect I thought. They are somewhat abstract glazed ceramic lord and lady dolls with the stand and red velvet and backdrop screen of gold fabric. They were handmade by an artist from Kagawa. I'm pretty happy with them.


Anyway, of course, pictures are to come. (They're here obviously) I've been slacking on the blogging lately. I've been meaning to post a few pictures for some previous posts and do some follow-up blogging to things that I mentioned earlier. Perhaps I'll have some time tomorrow. Now I'm tired.

Naked Man Festival

So a couple weeks ago (I decided to backdate this though), I went to the famed Naked Man Festival of Saidaiji in Okayama prefecture. You might have a certain impression of the Japanese from images you find in American pop culture. The business CEO living to work, running his corporation like a military operation, the office workers always working as a team, doing morning exercises together, staying late until all work is finished, the serious school students studying every minute of their free time (ha, as if that exists in Japan). While those images have some basis in reality, they aren't exactly true and definitely can't be generalized. However, there does seem to be an utter lack of free time. Somehow, though, the Japanese find some. And boy do they make the most of it. There is a sort of staid politeness and formality that characterizes most public interactions. But all that goes out the window when it comes to enkais and festivals.

And as you can guess from the title, they get naked at this festival. Sorry ladies, as the title also indicates, you gotta have a thingie to join in. Even though it does get covered up. You can't have a thousand men running willy-nilly 100% buck-naked. But you can have them strip down and put on what amounts to a piece of cloth designed to be a wedgie. It's called a fundoshi, and it's a loin-cloth basically. You have to buy the fundoshi and other accoutrements there for about 50 bucks altogether. Then, the men get in groups and run around the town mostly naked (remember, it's still winter) yelling and getting their pictures taken. When they are warmed up enough, they are then purified with ice cold water thrown on them by the bucket. Usually not just once. Eventually, they make it to the shrine where there is a big stage. They try to make it on the stage because at midnight, the real chaos starts. The lights go out. Then someone tosses several sacred sticks out into the mass of men. Everyone scrambles to get one. But grabbing it isn't enough. You must make it outside the walls of the shrine with the stick (and your life) still intact. And that parenthesis isn't a joke. This year one of the JET participants broke his arm. It got caught between two guys and then the men on that side shifted forward and it snapped it. If you do make it out with the stick, you are guaranteed happiness for the coming year. And I believe the sticks have monetary value, as well; one is worth about 10, 000 dollars, I believe.

No I didn't join in the mayhem this year. But it seemed like a pretty crazy adventure, and I might take part next year. We'll see. I know this is the part you wanted to see. Here are the pictures and video.

Well, the guys do have to get to the festival somehow. And it's pretty damn cold out. There were tents there to stash their belongings. This was a pretty common, but still comical, sight around the town.

Heading through town to get warmed up before being purified (aka frozen) before entering the shrine.


I think the blurriness captures the essence of thousands of naked men searching for a sacred stick while trying to stay alive.

Crazy guys running around town.

Nakedmayhem.

Ninomiya Visit

Today we had testing all day at the junior high. I usually just sit around and watch everyone working hard. But I have nothing to do. Generally, I find something to work on, lessons for elementary or Japanese studies. But a whole day of that can get boring. So, I asked Ninomiya if they could use me for the day, since I was free. And they invited me over.

I did a regular lesson with the 5th graders. It was probably good that I went; it gave me a chance to see where they are and tomorrow's lesson, which will be a continuation of today, will have parents observing.

Then I hung out with the 3rd graders for a couple periods. It was more of a cultural experience lesson for them. For one period, we learned about different Korean teas with Judy-sensei. (She is another English ALT for the school and that's her fake name. I'm not sure how to spell her Korean name. But she speaks Korean and English flawlessly while Korean is her native tongue.) Most of them were good or great, but the last one was bitter and worse than coffee. Then the next period, we learned in English how to order a drink and what to say if it's good or bad and how to order another one.

Afterwards, the 4th through 6th graders went outside for a test drive of the Honda FCX (a fuel cell powered, H2 car). It was pretty cool. (And cold outside for that matter; it was snowing a bit.) The guy passed out info flyers and gave an explanation of the car. He turned it on and showed how there was no real muffler. It just sends out water vapor. (I think... since it was all in Japanese.) Everyone got to take a ride in it around the gravel sports field. Each teacher would take a few kids from their class at a time. I got to take it for a spin as well. Meanwhile, the car is 一億円 (ichi oku en). That's 100,000,000 Yen. In other words, about a million dollors. So I can say I've driven a million dollar car. Pretty exciting.
I was supposed to stay for lunch, but unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on the perspective) no students were absent, so there was no kyushoku (school lunch) for me. It's not appropriate for anyone to eat something different, so bringing my own wasn't an option. The principal drove me back to the junior high and will come and pick me up a little before two. I'm not sure what the afternoon holds in store for me. I think I'm supposed to choose between a Japanese calligraphy class (where I might not have a writing brush or the necessary knowledge to really participate) or a Japanese lesson from the assistant principal. Not sure which one I'll do.

The Mountain Top

I've been meaning to hike to the top of a mountain in my town. You can look around from my apartment and see all these mountains around. Finally, on Tuesday, I got the urge to do it, wrote it on my after school to do list and managed to keep the desire going when I got home. When I've thought about hiking like that, I've always worried that I wouldn't find a good place to start, because houses and farms butt right up against the bottoms of the mountains. But I luckily chose a good mountain and the right side of it to go up. There was a shrine at the bottom of it and behind the shrine I found a trail that was maintained and led all the way to the tip top. It was nice. It was a nice way to get my legs moving again after the 20k on Sunday, and it finally gave me a chance to see all of Takase from above, something I've been wanting to do. So without further ado, here are the pictures:

This is the heart of Takase, Katsuma. In the distance and to the right is Ninomiya. To the left of that behind the first row of mountains is Asa. To the left outside the picture is Kamitakase and Hiji is to the lower right and out of the picture.

This is the view toward Mino and, further out, Takuma. They are also towns in Mitoyo City. You can see some of the islands in the Seto Inland Sea in the distance. I knew I was close to the sea, but when I was on the mountain I could see it so clearly.

I'd definitely like to make the hike again and regularly. And find other trails to go up.

Half-Marathon

Well I learned about the half-marathon back in September. It was on February 3rd. I thought it would be cool to do another one (did one on Thanksgiving 2006 with my dad and sister). No big deal. Except a few months later and I haven't kept up with my running. Then I'm on vacation in Thailand and Cambodia. I often use vacations to jump-start my running regime back home. But this one didn't really lend itself to running a lot. So it was my New Year's resolution (one of many) to start running again and do the half-marathon no matter what. At the mid-year seminar several people said they were going to do and that they probably were going to just register the day of. Great. I'm a procrastinator so that suited me. I managed to get serious about running again for the past two weeks. Saturday night I check the marathon website to see when late registrations would begin. Except they don't have any. Had to register by Saturday at 5. I text a few friends who seem convinced that you can still race. I go to Marugame for the marathon. No dice. I'm pretty pissed at myself. I had 5 months to figure it out and register. And I blew it. And that was after telling several people I was racing. Including a class of 34 students. Great. But I was determined. So I went back home. Relaxed a bit since the morning was sort of rough to begin with. I woke up at got a migraine which put me out of commission for an hour or so and I left later than I wanted and had to race for a train. I didn't pack up everything I wanted and then the whole not being able to register really sucked too. So after I calmed back down a bit. I loaded up. I was going to run my own half-marathon. I picked this town in Mitoyo that's way back in the mountains with no train station. I said I'd just run to that for about an hour and 15 minutes and then run back. That would be about a half-marathon. You should have seen me. I had my provisions stuffed inside my underarmor. I managed to also stuff in my iPod and my digital camera. It was a great run. The best I've felt in a long time. I let myself stop and take pictures occasionally. Never more that 2 minutes and maybe a total of 10 times the whole run. I think a couple times I stopped for closer to 5 minutes. I was technically in the town by the hour fifteen mark, but I wasn't to a place where I had been before and I wanted to keep running. So I jogged around the town some before heading back. I ended up being gone from 12:15 until 3:45. So probably a bit farther than 20k. But it was good. Here are some of the pictures I took while out. You'll see that cherry blossom season is soon upon us. Apparently there will be official cherry season watchers who will announce when it's officially time to go cherry blossom viewing.

PS. Sorry about the single paragraph. I sometimes forget to indent when I should and I'm too lazy to go back and find the right spot.

One of the first pictures of the run. Some dumped mikan (oranges). Guess after all the freezes they weren't good anymore. Typical Japanese farmer's truck in the background.


Abandoned van. Orange grove in the background.


Mountain views. The ridge to the right is entirely bamboo forest. Cool huh?


And here's a sideview of the bamboo forest.


These are some of the first cherry blossoms.


A mini-snowman. Notice only made of two balls of snow. That's the Japanese way apparently. And his eyes are mikan. Probably because they are everywhere this time of year. And about a dollar will buy 3 or 4 kilos.

Did you throw your beans today?

So today was Setsubun! It's a Japanese holiday where you throw and eat roasted soybeans. I think any beans will do actually. But it sort of marks the last day of winter and the coming of spring, which is the 4th of February on the Japanese calendar. But you throw beans and say, "Devils out; Happiness in". And it does just that. And you are also supposed to eat your age in beans.

So make sure to throw your beans!!

SNOW!!

So it snowed last night. Only in the mountains though. But still. The first snow!!! I took pictures, but I'm at school now, so I can't upload them yet. Of course, along with the snow come cold temperatures. Japan is not a fan of central air or heating in general.I'm not sure, but I think even up in the north. So at school the classrooms are all cold. In the elementary schools they do have space heaters that they turn on occasionally. At my school, I guess since there are air conditioner/heaters installed in each room,they haven't purchased space heaters. And I guess it hasn't been deemed cold enough yet to turn on those heaters. Except in the teacher's office, for which I'm glad, even though my toes still get cold. But when I was vacuuming after break -- remember opening ceremony day? I vacuumed the whole teachers' room for about an hour --I saw a mini-space heater under a teacher's desk. A very good idea that I might have to copy. Anyway, I hope to remember to post the snow pictures later. I love snow.

UDON!!!!!!

We made Udon on Friday. Udon are Japanese noodles. But they are a specialty of Kagawa, my prefecture. They are often called Sanuki udon. (Sanuki being Kagawa's former name) It was our cultural workshop for the Mid-Year JET Seminar. It was a lot of fun. And surprisingly easy. But there is an art to it and a precision to making it just right that is not so easy. So I should say, making bad to not-so-bad udon is easy. Making it just the way you like it is difficult. Udon noodles were introduced by a monk who came to Shikoku from China back in the 8th century. They are a thick flour noodle that shouldn't be too hard and not too soft. They can be eaten hot or cold. They can be eaten in a broth or with a broth on the side to be dipped in. Usually they are topped with scallions, sesame seeds, ginger and a red spice - or any combination thereof. There are variations to the ingredients that can be included with the broth. You can have meat or a fish cake, tempura or tofu, seaweed or fish flakes. I don't know all the names or types that are possible. I usually just point to choose. Or I just order the same thing as the person in front of me.

Anyway, on to the noodle making. We were at a cooking school with our instructor being a famous udon making chef who owns several udon restaurants. He showed us in steps how to make it allowing us to complete each step after a demonstration of the step. You start with 700g of flour in a bowl. Pour in 200cc of salt water (10% concentration). You mix it together by rubbing the forming dough between your hands quickly. It should result in an even dispersal of the water and a uniform texture to the flour. Then you add 150cc of the salt water a little at a time and you begin kneading the dough. You probably won't use all the water. The dough shouldn't be too soft or sticky, but it shouldn't be too hard either. Then you take the dough and and place it in sturdy plastic bags. 2 should be good. And you knead it again with your heels (no shoes). It's good to put some cardboard down. After you have kneaded it, you pull it out and roll it up. Then you knead it again. And repeat once more. Once it is sufficiently kneaded, you take it out. Then, you fold over three "corners". Then you take the last corner and the three combined corners and you try to pull them together. You must work slowly so the opposite side remains smooth and uncracked. You are trying to work the corners together so that no lines or creases appear in the dough. It should end up like small puckered mouth on the bottom of a dough mushroom. When you have the right shape, you put the mouth part down, so it looks like a proper mushroom and you mush it down with your hands. You don't knead it completely; you just want a nice round mound of dough with no cracks or creases on the top. Then you use cornstarch to dust your dough and your surface. You begin to roll out your dough into a circle with a rolling pin. It should be like a small pizza. After that, you then work it even thinner, but into a square. You can get a square by choosing where your diagonals will be and then rolling the dough on those diagonals. But you don't roll it the traditional way. You actually roll the dough onto the pin. Then you knead it out from the center while it's on the pin. Then you unroll it and move to the next consecutive corner and repeat. Make sure you are using corn starch to dust your dough and surface when you need. Eventually, it should magically take the shape of a square. It should make a rather large square. Almost a meter on each side. When, you have the right size and shape, you roll the dough onto the pin one more time, but from an edge, not a corner. Then hovering in one spot, you unroll the dough moving back and forth so that you are folding the dough over itself, like an accordion or a paper fan. Each fold should be about 2 or 3 inches. Make sure to dust the dough with cornstarch once more. Then you pull the folded dough close to you and with a sharp knife, you cut the dough into noodles. You just need to move along the folded dough and slide it as you go. The slices should be less than half a centimeter. So about 4 millimeters. Maybe even less. Be consistent as you go and make sure you slice all the way through. We didn't slice all the way through at our table and had to cut again to separate the noodles. As you're cutting stop (or have someone else) and pick up the noodles and shake the folds out and get the excess cornstarch off. Then lay them out elongated. Make sure that you separate them well where the cuts have closed up. You should have your water boiling by this point. And you plop the noodles down into the water. You should have enough water to allow them plenty of room as they boil. As you boil them for 15 minutes, you should be constantly stirring in a figure 8. If you like harder noodles, stop sooner and for softer noodles let them boil longer. Then you use a ladle or chopsticks to get them out of the water into a bowl. At this point you can add the broth or the various ingredients you plan to use. Some people will put the noodles immediately into cold water to help the noodles maintain their texture (or if they are going to eat them cold) and then heat them back up later with the broth. I think the broth is just water and soy sauce. But it's probably got more to it or at least can have more to it.

If you made it this far, wow. I really need to learn how to be more concise. It would be helpful.

Here's a couple of links to the news footage from the day. You can see me in the background of the group shot (where everyone is watching the chef demonstrate) in each of the videos. And in one of them you can see me in the background to the right wearing a brown sweater standing next to another guy who is bald in the background (That's Matt, my neighbor).

http://www.rnc.co.jp/news/index.asp?mode=1&nwnbr=2008011809

http://www.ksb.co.jp/newsweb/meta/jn08011804.asx

January Update

So, this month has been typified by a lethargy due in large part to my inability to decide whether I should recontract or not. Generally, when I have a major decision looming over my head, I tend to do anything and everything but that which would be beneficial. So, rather than discuss the issues with people close to me or make lists with pros and cons in an effort to bring myself closer to a decision, I become lazy and find activities that will take my attention away from that decision. Usually, it involves reading lots of books or playing lots of computer games. Lately, it's been the latter, but one day I read this really good French book called La grammaire est une chanson douce (Grammar is a Sweet Song). When this happens, it not only allows me to procrastinate the inevitable 'to stay or not to stay', but also to put off any unrelated by still quite important work that needs to be done. So the weekend after making mochi, I had three days to recover more fully from traveling and prepare for a presentation to be given on Wednesday to a group of Mitoyo teachers. Did I do either? No, I stayed up late and didn't really sleep in and did no planning at all. So I spent Tuesday and Wednesday preparing.

The Presentation

I really enjoyed myself. I was told to give a talk to a group of teachers and "any topic is OK, maybe American culture." I could get no other information of any use for me to plan. I finally decided on "American School Life from the Perspective of a High School French Teacher". Maybe boring, but something I know about so I can easily liven it up with anecdotes and be more comfortable than with an unfamiliar topic. Once I got going, I couldn't stop. I told them I can talk forever. And me not knowing when something is over in Japan because the cultural context clues are different didn't help the matter. So, the hour-long talk, after starting fifteen minutes late combined with my interest in the topic and the cultural misconnection, turned into an hour and forty-five minute deal. Oops. But I really tried to end it. First at 7:15, since that was an hour from when we started. I said, "Well, it's 7:15 now, and that makes it an hour. We can end there even though we haven't made it through the outline. As I said at the beginning, I planned more than I would be able to finish." Even though I wasn't done, we were at a clear breaking point in the outline with the last part not directly related to school life. It was more a discussion of methods. But no one reacted. I thought I made it clear enough that it was over. And silence isn't always fun, so I started talking again. And that happened a couple more times before finally it ended. But nonetheless, I really enjoyed myself. And the teachers said they found it interesting. (Though I know Japanese culture prevents them from giving any negative comments publically.)

Mid-Year Seminar

Thursday and Friday were given over to the JET Mid-Year Seminar. Of course, I had left my computer and important papers at the school after giving my presentation. And so I wasn't sure of the time the seminar started and I just wanted my computer so I could use email and skype. I sent a text to Matt and found out that he would be leaving at 7:33. So I planned to get up early enough to get ready and get to the school and get my things before then. ZZZZzzzzz.... I slept until 7:05. But I still managed to get up, take a shower, get dressed, ride my bike to school, get my papers and computer, ride back home, drop off my computer, grab my bag, (5 minutes left to the train coming at this point), race to the station and get on the train. I made it with about a minute to spare. This "extra" time almost resulted in me getting on the wrong train since mine hadn't actually arrived yet. It would have taken me in the wrong direction. And in a funny turn of events, Matt missed the train. Then got in the wrong section of a train and, when it decoupled from the rest of the train at a later stop, ended up going across the Seto Inland Sea. Anyway, the first day of the seminar was filled with workshops to make us better ALTs. The funny part is, most of us are gungho about doing our job well. At least at the beginning. And most of what they tell us is not news to us. It's a shame that our JTEs cannot attend the workshops with us, so that we can all have a better understanding of each other's expectations. After the first day though, I was in a foul mood. I didn't even want to eat lunch. I can't remember a time when something made me lose my appetite. It happened when I found out that all the repetitions that we do in class are actually deeply cultural. They have a name and are almost considered a cultural heritage. Definitely a tradition. I thought it was maybe just that methods were a little behind the times here for teaching English. But in actuality, these repetitions are used in all subjects in some way. I thought before that maybe I could influence the teachers to use them less and less or maybe in different ways. But I see now that it's not something that will change. The only thing that I could hope for would be that we use them less in the lessons when I am in there. But for my teachers, I think they really like having their students repeat after a live native speaker rather than the recorded ones. So maybe not so hopeful. Apparently there is a large body of Japanese research that supports the success and usefulness of this repetition. I don't know if it specifically targets language education, but if it does, it contradicts most everything that I have read or learned about language education. If it is successful, it is successful at helping generations of Japanese English learners be able to recite a dialogue (both parts one after the other) 20 years after they learned it. But as most everyone knows, reciting a dialogue is hardly communication. In the unlikely event that a situation presents itself that closely resembles one from the book, the learner may be able to actually start the conversation, but if it differs from the one in the book, chances are there will be miscommunication. Now, what the repetition does do, is help the students memorize bunches of vocabulary. If they work hard at it. And when I put a student on the spot outside of class, it may take a minute, but I can see their brain chugging away searching for a word that they know they know. And eventually, sometimes, they can put together some of those words to make something intelligible to me. Success! But it takes many, many of those opportunities for the student to be able to put all of that random vocabulary to use on their own. And it's when the students use the language on their own, that they can solidify the language in their own mind. If whatever they say is met with a response and it matches their expectation, then they are successful, and the language they used is given a power up. If they get a confused look or the wrong reaction, then they must start over at the beginning. And if they don't get these opportunities to try the language out and get feedback, then eventually time runs out and game over. Most of the useful language is gone from lack of ever being acquired. What is learned can be forgotten, what is acquired is there forever. Like riding a bike. When you are starting out, the explanations you internalize are examples of learning. When you are on the bike and your body is getting accustomed to the sensation of finding equilibrium, it is acquiring.

Anyway, see I love talking about teaching and I could go on forever. Let's just say learning about the repetition made me feel hopeless. And made me focus on whether or not I should re-contract. I had been leaning towards staying, but that made me feel like I would never be really happy at the junior high. And I only go to the elementaries so often. And even there, I don't always get to have a big impact on the lesson planning. After the seminar, I went to eat with friends and then went home.

Friday was better. We got to go in later and it was our cultural workshop. We made UDON!!! See the next post. And after that we had someone from CLAIR (a governmental organization related to JET) give a talk called "Making the Most of your Team-teaching Relationship". It was excellent and included research date from surveys they recently sent out. It was quite interesting. But again would have been made better had the audience included our JTEs. But luckily he had a copy of the notes in Japanese and I plan on showing that to my teachers.

Afterward, a bunch of us went bowling. That was good times. While we were there, we saw the Udon making workshop on the news. We were celebs. And after that we had Indian food and then I went with a group to karaoke where I fell asleep, as usual. I just can't make it through. I stayed at another JET's apartment. We got in around 3 and had to be up at 8 to get back to town to get tickets for the opening of Sweeney Todd. I stayed in town by myself after we got the tickets. I spent TOO much money on doodads at this really cool store called Loft. Then I bought some clothes (as I hadn't packed an overnight bag). I grabbed lunch from the grocery store and went to the international office where I watched the news in English on CNN until 3 when the Robin Hood the Musical auditions were being held. Some JETs are trying to get the play started to put on in June. They have done plays in the past, but it's been difficult to get interest this year. Not enough people showed up to audition. So we've got to recruit more people or it won't happen. It should be fun though if we can pull it off.

After that, a group of us went to Sweeney Todd. That was a pretty interesting if not terribly grotesque movie. I enjoyed it though. It was well done. And afterward, we went to dinner at this really cool cafe type place called Umie. Great food! But I missed the last train that would get me in at a decent time. I can either get home a quarter to 11 or 25 minutes after midnight. I always seem to miss the train by just a few minutes, too, which is incredibly frustrating. Anyway, yesterday was an almost wasted day. I started off pretty well. I did a load of laundry and had it hanging and a second one started and then I let myself get sucked back into the computer. Eventually around 10, I got up and got everything done. I picked up all the junk on my floors, cleared my kitchen table, cleaned my room, hung up that second load of laundry, did the dishes, took a shower, and got to bed. I think part of the wasted day was from not getting good sleep and just being tired. Because I felt pretty energized around 10. Obviously. Made this morning a little difficult getting up and all. But I've managed.

Monday

And once again I failed to know (either by my own deductions or by someone telling me) that I would be teaching no classes today. I mean I guess I don't mind. It's better than when I don't know I'm supposed to be teaching. But I feel like it's such a waste of my being here in Japan. Please utilize me. I'm sure there's an elementary school that would be happy to have me or maybe a kindergarten or pre-school where I could go and give students a small dose of English. But at this point it's kind of late to try and arrange something. Oh well.

Mochi!!!!!

Bet you thought my next post would be about the Thailand trip. But I'm back and already the Japanese fun starts. After a bit of boring stuff.

Work was a bit dull the first day back. I thought the re-opening ceremony would be bigger and more interesting. Instead the students came in as usual and the teachers all met for about 20 minutes. Then it was cleaning time for a half-hour. Then everyone met in the (freezing) gym for about 30 minutes where the principals talked and presented various awards. Then they had an extended homeroom after which the students went home. That was all done before 11 am. In the afternoon, there was a teachers' meeting. So I just sat in the office until 3:45.

Yesterday was more interesting. I had a couple classes where I talked about my trip and one where I sat for most of the period while the students went over a recent test. Taught a little at the end.

BUT, in the afternoon, the real fun started. I went to Ninomiya (ニノ宮) Elementary for a special day. They were making mochi. Mochi is this mushy rice dough usually used as a dessert. In the olden days, they made it by hand. You make sticky rice first. There is a big stone bowl called an usu. You have to warm it up by pouring in boiling water. But it can't be too wet, so you have to continuously pour it in and ladle it out before you start to make the mochi. When the rice is ready, you pour it in to the usu. There is a special wooden mallet called a kine. It's big and long like an ax, but the end, of course, is like a wooden hammer. You start by kneading the rice in the bowl holding the kine near the top and putting a lot of pressure on it. This gets the rice to start losing it's individual grains. After a bit, you back up and start hammering away at the rice. Usually the men use the hammer. The women have the dangerous job of taking care of the mochi. To make sure all of the rice gets mushed together, the women have to keep turning it over and pulling the rice from the sides of the usu. They do this in between throws of the hammer. It takes good timing so that their hands don't get mashed. While the hammer is down, the women wet their hands, and when the hammer goes up, they move the mochi. It doesn't take long before there is no more rice; it's just a big mushy ball that looks like dough.


Nowadays most families don't make mochi by hand. If they make it at home, they use a machine to do it. The principal wanted the students to have this experience. We did it yesterday because traditionally the Japanese will make mochi for the new year. They make "mochi-bana", mochi flowers. They take branches and wrap pieces of mochi around them to look like flowers. They hang this branch up at the entrance to their houses so it hangs over and brings good fortune and a good harvest for the following year. Mochi is white because it's made of rice, but they add red coloring to it (not sure if it's just dye or something special) to get pink mochi and a type of grass (mugwort) to get green mochi. Since the Ninomiya area is known for its green tea, they used that to make the green mochi.



The principal invited important community members and parents to come in and help make the mochi and she also asked journalists to come in. I got my picture in the paper with some of the kids and a mochi-bana branch.

You can eat mochi in different ways. You can just have a piece of mochi as is. Usually it's powdered with flour since it would be too sticky to handle otherwise. Often there is an that is rolled up inside. An is a sweet red bean paste that you can find EVERYWHERE in Japan. They put it in bread, ice-cream, mochi, cookies. It's a dessert ingredient. You think you're buying a pastry with some berries inside because that's what the picture looks like. NOPE. It's an. (pronounced AHN). You get used to it and you might even begin to like it. Anyway, that's what they did with the mochi from yesterday. But today for school lunch, there was mochi in the soup. Sometimes you can find mochi with ice-cream. The texture is very interesting. Think of a marshmallow but much thicker and less flavorful. If it's in soup, the added moisture changes the consistency. Think of cotton candy but where you can't feel the individual strands. It's like your biting into nothing, yet there is something there.

Not sure if you could ever find it in the states, but mochi is definitely worth trying.

thailand and cambodia

bangkok was cool. had some fun looking at the wats there and doing some shopping. got a thai massage as well. ate some awesome and crazy cheap street food. 5 of us ate several dishes of food with rice and had fresh squeezed orange juice for under 13 dollars.

we were in phnom penh yesterday and saw some of the city but mainly it was a stop before coming up here to siem reap. it's where angkor wat is. that's the place where tomb raider was filmed.. you know the ruins with the girl and the butterfly that she followed.

it's been amazing and hectic and jarring and breathtaking and just so interesting to see the sites and get to meet the people. tuk-tuks are sooooo fun by the way.

tomorrow is the 6 hour boat ride back to phnom penh. not so fun... especially being up until after midnight... but i had to call my family. it's christmas after all. and i figured if im already up late, might as well blog.

love everyone and miss you.

Hong Kong

Well that's a first. I was at Kansai Airport at my actual gate ready to board a full 2 hours before we took off. I wasn't thinking about the fact that Alana left on a Saturday and I was leaving on a Thursday. She said to leave plenty of time so as they left the apartment at 6am or so and had a 10am flight as well. So I was up at 5:05 and showered and dressed and left by 5:45 or so. I was a little dazed or I would have been quicker about leaving.

Nothing really of interest to say. I purchased a drink at a restaurant so I could use their internet so I could take care of some online banking stuff and check for any last minute emergency emails from Alana. I'll try and post as often as I can along the way on the trip.

From what I can tell, Hong Kong is very hazy... or smoggy. But then again I'm just at the airport. I can see some huge hotels in the distance, but I won't be able to visit here. Just passing through to Bangkok. Ended up on the plane with another JET from my prefecture sitting right in front of me. He's heading home to New Zealand. A nice 12 hours flying trip for him. Well, I don't want to ramble too long. I do enough of that.

Winter Holidays

Well, I'm just about to leave for Thailand, 11 hours and counting. (Why did I say that; I just got more nervous!) I've been sick for the past three weeks and have been lazy as a result. Well lazy with the extra things that I usually like to do, like keep up this blog, study Japanese, take care of myself. So, I haven't blogged since the 5th, I haven't touched a text book in about as long, and I have a jungle growing on the back of my neck and my fingernails need cut. But I'm trying to be happy since I'm finally feeling like I'm recovering, though I still have a bit of a cough and runny nose. And I am happy since I've made it through the end of ni-gakki (I think that's how you say the 2nd term) and am in Osaka ready to catch my flight.

I also finally managed to send out some Christmas cards and Christmas gifts. I had wanted to send out cards to a lot of people, but I was sick (and on top of that, I'm a procrastinator) and when I went to look at cards, the only place I had time to go to had ones that were super-expensive. The cost more that it would to send the card. They aren't as big with Christmas cards here. They are more into New Year's cards. The post office has a special box for them, I found out during my several trips there. And apparently they have a special system for them so that ALL the cards are delivered exactly on New Year's day. I didn't really know about this until too late as well. Maybe next time. I'll have to ask the teachers what kinds of cards you get and what you say in them. Anyway, so my Christmas mailing list was short and my gift list was even shorter. But I do love everyone and miss everyone! Even if I've neglected sending you emails that say so. And for those who I didn't manage to send something to:

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

I know I've said in others that a picture post was coming and that they haven't appeared. But the really will be posted some day. Just not until after the 8th of January at the earliest. And likely not until after that weekend after I get back. And then of course I will have a zillion more pictures to post from thailand (which will probably take 3 months to post).

Ok, I really need some sleep tonight.

Wish me luck.

Shadow Puppets and Appearance Checks

The students have been testing all week. Something like 3 tests every morning and then no class in the afternoon. They went home Monday and Tuesday, but today they stayed in the afternoon for a shadow puppet show. Somewhat similar to the bunraku I went to recently in that there was a narrator who was out in front doing the voices and narration. Behind the scenes were the characters moving, but it was all in shadow puppets. Fancy ones. They were different colors with crazy trippy backgrounds. I have no idea what was going on, but it was entertaining enough. Afterward they showed us how they do it and then they did some of the traditional hand shadow puppets that we all know and love. But they did some that I haven't seen before, like a rabbit with the whole body and tail and a swan with body and tail and a snail and a crab. It was fun.

Then, the 9th graders (sannensei/3rd year students) had to go in to get checked for their appearance. Throughout the year I have noticed teachers commenting on hair or uniform, but today it was official. They all had to line up and get checked. Tomorrow is picture day. But not a regular picture day. They will have their picture taken to go on their high school entrance exam. Their bangs can't go past their eyebrows and their sideburns can't be too long. Girls hair is expected to be shoulder-length I believe. Boy's hair can't be all funky and sticking up as is the trend these days. They have to have clean uniforms appropriately buttoned and with their class pins and name tags neatly fastened. It's pretty serious. One teacher would comment on the student while another would write notes on a class roster. I have no doubt they will recheck the student before the picture is taken. I talked with the students who didn't pass. They will be going to the barber's tonight to get their hair cut shorter.

I'm not sure how typical this is across Japan. In discussions with other JETs, I've found that some people have less strict schools or at least schools where the students are not as well behaved and much less compliant. But it's interesting.