Last Friday was the first day of term. That evening we of course had a work party to celebrate. We ate at a 'Chinese' restaurant in Nikaho. I say 'Chinese' because it is not really what I would call Chinese. The food is just the Japanised versions of Chinese food that Japanese people eat all the time, not the real thing at all. But it was edible, that was the main thing.
On Saturday I had been expecting to go to Omagari to see a fireworks competition which is the biggest and most popular in Japan. Each year I have been here my plans to go have been thwarted, and this year was no exception. I was going to go with Atsuko, Toshi and Miwa. We were going to go in Atsuko's car. Now all three of them dislike driving. Even though the trip to Omagari only takes 1 1/2 hours (three hours on the day of the fireworks) my friends decided that they would need three drivers to accomplish that feat. But it turned out that Miwa would not be able to drive Atsuko's car because the insurance only covers people above 30 years of age. Both Atsuko and Toshi thought 'But that means I will have to drive for three hours total! No way!' and started arguing with each other over the phone about who would do the larger portion of driving. Eventually they both decided that they did not want to go, and that was that. This was not decided until Saturday morning, so I did not have time to find another way to Omagari.
Now, I don't drive so I can't be sure, but I was under the impression that two 1 1/2 hour stints of driving in one day is quite manageable for any driver. My Dad, Mum and sister have all driven the 9 to 10 hour journey between Wellington and Auckland in a single day at least once each. Although that journey is difficult, it is still doable. Three hours out and three hours back shared over two drivers is nothing compared to that, don't you think?
Anyway, instead of watching fireworks, Atsuko, Miwa and I ate lunch at a Japanese restaurant and went to Aeon in Honjo. I was home in time for dinner.
On Sunday I performed in a festival in Yuzawa. Yuzawa is a town quite far inland from here, further than Omagari. It took about 2 hours to get there. It was a parade-style festival. We, with several other yosakoi teams, performed our dances in rotation along 2km of roads. It took over 2 hours. I got a little sunburnt despite wearing sunblock because I sweated the sunblock off in the heat. Periodically and at the end we did easy dances all together, and that was the hardest part. Especially since we had five or six 'last time's. It was very tiring indeed. My dinner was conbini onigiri, fried chicken, cheese and pudding. When I got home at 7pm I was so tired and aching that I could not move. I napped, woke up long enough to sort a few things out, and then was asleep again before 10 o'clock. And I was still tired and achy on Monday.
On Monday torrential rain and thunder started in the afternoon. If I had left at the normal time I would have avoided it but I had to stay late to tutor a student for next weeks speech contest in Honjo. I didn't take an umbrella (not that I would have wanted to use one in a thunder storm) so I got very wet. The students are not allowed to leave school in a thunder storm, which I thought was strange. Most kids in NZ would ring someone to come and get them in such weather, but there are not actually teachers stopping them from leaving the building. I had to ask the teacher at the door for permission to let me out. He was saying "It's too dangerous, too dangerous," even though I could quite clearly hear that the thunder was still 7 miles away. Anyway, I escaped and sprinted to Max Valu so that I would have food to eat that evening. When I finished, the rain was even harder so I decided to wait a few minutes to see if the rain would let up a little. There were many other people waiting too. But that just pissed me off! I mean, I was waiting because I had to walk all the way home in the rain. Those other women were waiting because they didn't want to get wet between the door and their cars in the parking lot! The woman beside me waited for five minutes before deciding to run for it. It turned out that her car was the closest car to the door. It was less than five metres away! And it wasn't locked so she didn't need to fumble with her key or anything, she just needed to hop in. I mean, how pathetic can you get? The rain never did let up, so I just walked home in the torential rain, sans umbrella.
What do you think? Are Japanese people weak? Am I crazy? Which is it?
It rained on Tuesday and yesterday too. Now, I know people are supposed to feel horrible and sad on rainy days, but I have been feeling happy. It was so hot before, but the rain cooled things down. Apart from that many of my shoes are damp, the rain has been welcome. It is not the constant, clinging pervasive rain of the rainy season; it is fresh cleansing rain and thunderstorms that add character to the atmosphere.
Yesterday I was at the elementary school. My desk this year is near the large windows, and facing them. The roof overhangs the walls by quite a bit so the windows can be left open in the rain so long as the wind is not too strong. I had no classes so I sat all day in the staffroom at my desk, mostly alone, with the sound of rain and thunder all around me because four very large windows on two sides of me were wide open. I was so, so happy.
Thursday, August 31, 2006
Thursday, August 24, 2006
Boredom
I am so bored, and at the same time so angry at myself. I mean, it is the last day of the summer holidays. I have lasted throughout the whole of the summer holidays without too much difficulty, but now on the last day it is too much. I am writing this post simply as a last-ditch attempt to stay awake.
Hmm . . . what can I say? . . . Guess I will talk about the weather.
As I wrote last month, this year's rainy season lasted for a long time. It turns out that the insanely hot season is also determined to go on for a long time. In Japan in the middle of summer, there are a few weeks when the weather is not hot but sweltering. Temperatures rarely drop below 30 degrees even here in the north, and down south they are usually above 35 degrees. It is so humid that the water has trouble staying in the air despite the heat. This weather usually lasts until the obon festival and no longer. But not this year.
It is a week and a half after obon and yet the weather is only just changing today (and it has not changed much). I saw the weekly weather report on Sunday evening, and the weather lady promised me that from yesterday the weather would be alternately rainy and cloudy, bringing a welcome break to the hot weather. On Tuesday, the weather lady gave a more precise forecast. Wednesday - rain in the morning, cloudy in the afternoon. I woke up yesterday all excited with thoughts of cooling rain, and then a second later noticed the lack of pitter-pattering on my window. A glance out the window brought all my hopes crashing down around my ears. It was sunny. On the way to work, two rain drops fell on me before the meager clouds evaporated and the day became hot and sunny just like the day before.
Today there are a few clouds which occasionally pass in front of the sun, but the gaps of blue between them are heart-breakingly large. At about nine o'clock this morning, the heavens opened and I thought This is it! The rain has finally come! But the rain ended again five minutes later and the day warmed up. It it slightly cooler than the past week, but only a little.
Every day when I get home from work it is 37 or 38 degrees inside my apartment. I know this because the ALT before me left me a thermometer. I wish I could leave a window open but I can't. My apartment is at street level with my window right beside the road. My windows have no latches on them. If I leave them just a little bit open, anyone could pull them all the way open and then climb inside.
Yesterday was my English conversation class. A new student joined us for the first time. I met Saya for the first time not long after I came to Japan. She was friends with some people I went to karaoke with. She knew some English, and because I knew very little Japanese then, I talked with her for a while. I saw her once more in Denkodo, where she helped me converse with the salesperson when I went to pick up my computer Tsurara-chan. A week after that, Saya moved to Canada to study English and to work at a travel agents. Last month Saya came back to Japan, and I saw her in a bar in Honjo. I was talking to her for a while. Although my Japanese is a lot better, I still talked to her in English because she is so good now. I think her English is a lot better than my Japanese, although she says the same thing of me.
Anyway, Saya asked if she could come to my English class during the months that she is back in Japan, because at the moment she has no other opportunities to use English. I warned her my class is low level, but said she was welcome to come anyway. So she did. Between Saya, Toshi and Miwa, quite a rapid English conversation got going mid-class. All the older ladies, however, were utterly lost. After Saya introduced herself (with a level of English even Toshi and Miwa had trouble keeping up with) I asked everyone to introduce themselves to Saya. First they thought they were supposed to ask questions of Saya, and then they introduced themselves with "My name is . . . " followed by an account of what they did the week before. (We usually talk about the previous week at the beginning of class - that was why they got confused). The younger three students were laughing behind their hands. When we moved onto a simple activity things were okay, but the free talk, since it broke from the established routine, was a disaster.
I wish my class could be split into two levels, a high level and a low level. Since younger people joined my class, a definite gap in ability between two groups of students has formed. The older long-time students who come to class for the social opportunity have low level English. The younger people (Toshi, Miwa, Saya and to a certain degree Atsuko) who joined because they wanted to practice English and/or were already friends with me have a much higher level of English, and can even use idioms and colloquialisms they picked up from TV.
What can I do? How can I keep the activities within the older ladies' capabilities and yet keep it interesting for the younger folk? I don't think there is one easy answer to my problem.
Hmm . . . what can I say? . . . Guess I will talk about the weather.
As I wrote last month, this year's rainy season lasted for a long time. It turns out that the insanely hot season is also determined to go on for a long time. In Japan in the middle of summer, there are a few weeks when the weather is not hot but sweltering. Temperatures rarely drop below 30 degrees even here in the north, and down south they are usually above 35 degrees. It is so humid that the water has trouble staying in the air despite the heat. This weather usually lasts until the obon festival and no longer. But not this year.
It is a week and a half after obon and yet the weather is only just changing today (and it has not changed much). I saw the weekly weather report on Sunday evening, and the weather lady promised me that from yesterday the weather would be alternately rainy and cloudy, bringing a welcome break to the hot weather. On Tuesday, the weather lady gave a more precise forecast. Wednesday - rain in the morning, cloudy in the afternoon. I woke up yesterday all excited with thoughts of cooling rain, and then a second later noticed the lack of pitter-pattering on my window. A glance out the window brought all my hopes crashing down around my ears. It was sunny. On the way to work, two rain drops fell on me before the meager clouds evaporated and the day became hot and sunny just like the day before.
Today there are a few clouds which occasionally pass in front of the sun, but the gaps of blue between them are heart-breakingly large. At about nine o'clock this morning, the heavens opened and I thought This is it! The rain has finally come! But the rain ended again five minutes later and the day warmed up. It it slightly cooler than the past week, but only a little.
Every day when I get home from work it is 37 or 38 degrees inside my apartment. I know this because the ALT before me left me a thermometer. I wish I could leave a window open but I can't. My apartment is at street level with my window right beside the road. My windows have no latches on them. If I leave them just a little bit open, anyone could pull them all the way open and then climb inside.
*+_+*+_+*+_+*+_+*+_+*+_+*
Yesterday was my English conversation class. A new student joined us for the first time. I met Saya for the first time not long after I came to Japan. She was friends with some people I went to karaoke with. She knew some English, and because I knew very little Japanese then, I talked with her for a while. I saw her once more in Denkodo, where she helped me converse with the salesperson when I went to pick up my computer Tsurara-chan. A week after that, Saya moved to Canada to study English and to work at a travel agents. Last month Saya came back to Japan, and I saw her in a bar in Honjo. I was talking to her for a while. Although my Japanese is a lot better, I still talked to her in English because she is so good now. I think her English is a lot better than my Japanese, although she says the same thing of me.
Anyway, Saya asked if she could come to my English class during the months that she is back in Japan, because at the moment she has no other opportunities to use English. I warned her my class is low level, but said she was welcome to come anyway. So she did. Between Saya, Toshi and Miwa, quite a rapid English conversation got going mid-class. All the older ladies, however, were utterly lost. After Saya introduced herself (with a level of English even Toshi and Miwa had trouble keeping up with) I asked everyone to introduce themselves to Saya. First they thought they were supposed to ask questions of Saya, and then they introduced themselves with "My name is . . . " followed by an account of what they did the week before. (We usually talk about the previous week at the beginning of class - that was why they got confused). The younger three students were laughing behind their hands. When we moved onto a simple activity things were okay, but the free talk, since it broke from the established routine, was a disaster.
I wish my class could be split into two levels, a high level and a low level. Since younger people joined my class, a definite gap in ability between two groups of students has formed. The older long-time students who come to class for the social opportunity have low level English. The younger people (Toshi, Miwa, Saya and to a certain degree Atsuko) who joined because they wanted to practice English and/or were already friends with me have a much higher level of English, and can even use idioms and colloquialisms they picked up from TV.
What can I do? How can I keep the activities within the older ladies' capabilities and yet keep it interesting for the younger folk? I don't think there is one easy answer to my problem.
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
Some pictures
I believe I have already posted this picture here, but I added a border and petals to make it nice and pretty, just for the hell of it.
I took this photo last year at the Kanto festival. I cleaned it up the other day, and made the lanterns look more like they did in real life.
(You can click on both pictures to see larger versions.)
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
Another week of summer
After work last Wednesday evening, I went with Atsuko and Toshi to see the Kisakata fireworks. We found Atsuko's friends Naomitsu and Mariko, who had claimed an area on the beach with a plastic tarpaulin, and then set out various foodstuffs and alcohol to consume during the fireworks performance. Atsuko and Mariko were the drivers so they were quiet, I am quiet even while drinking, and Naomitsu is a quiet, responsible person even after beer too. But Toshi is not. He was loud. He was yelling, cheering, and clapping even when nothing was happening. All the other people around us were either moving to another spot on the beach or were laughing at the obviously drunk man. Then Toshi decided to lecture Atsuko on what type of woman she ought to become in order to catch a husband. As if Toshi is not also single and in his thirties. He went on and on, and made Atsuko cry. But it turns out he was very drunk indeed, because when we made a move to leave, he could not stand up and I had to carry him. Even though I was annoyed at him for being an ass, I still had to feel sorry for him because he is so very bored here in Nikaho City, and he wants so badly to go back to Tokyo, or to Okinawa, or anywhere that isn't Nikaho really. The morals of this story: I am too nice to stay angry at people for very long; and no matter how big and muscly Asian men get, they are still weak weak weak when it comes to alcohol (seriously, he didn't drink that much).
On Thursday and Friday I was at the Prefectural Education Centre for this years JET Akita Orientation. Up until now the conferences have all been held in Akita City, but this year it was held in the Centre so that money could be saved (the Centre has a free dormitory, so no hotel fees were needed). Unfortunately, the Centre is out in the middle of the wops. Seriously, it is not even in greater Akita City area, but in a small town called Tenno which is a part of Katagami City (pop 32,000). The only place that sold food anywhere near the Centre was the town Lawson (convenience store). No restaurants, no supermarkets. Nothing. The conference itself was very boring for me, being the third Akita Orientation I have been to, and the ninth JET conference altogether. Usually at the conferences we have a big party at a restaurant on the first and/or second evening. But because there were no restaurants to speak of in the area, we had a party in the Centre. The food that was available: pizza, chips and beer. Something healthy would have been nice.
There was a party on the Friday evening too, but I couldn't go because Sean, Jonathan and I were taken back to Nikaho City by town car. Instead, the three of us went out in Kisakata. We ate at a place by the beach which had some nice foods. The highlight of the evening was definitely the 'takoyaki nanoni gyoza' - gyoza that looked like takoyaki. They even incorporated takoyaki batter, bonito flakes and mayonaise into them. OMG!
On Saturday morning my computer did not turn on properly, so I spent until well into the afternoon fixing that horrid lump of machinery. It had a fault in one of it's 'system 32' files that luckily could be fixed with the Scan Disc application. Of all the places to get a disc fault at . . .
I did nothing much on the Sunday either. At six in the evening, I received a phone call from Toshi, who was in Kamakura Station near Tokyo. Couldn't really hear what he was saying because Kamakura Station is very busy, especially early on a Sunday evening.
Yesterday I was at work. In the evening I went to yosakoi practice, and then after that to Atsuko's house. It seems that Atsuko is also not very good at holding grudges, because Toshi was there playing on her Playstation long before I got there. We ate expensive food Toshi brought back from Tokyo. Very expensive food. He appears not to be accustomed to his lower Nikaho salary yet: he thinks he is still rich. Toshi was addicted enough to the video game he was playing that he did not have much to do with our conversation. Atsuko and I just ate the expensive desserts and gossipped.
Today I went to Kamagadai in the morning, and then to the BOE to finally get all that rent business sorted out. What a relief that was. And then I ate gyuudon and the cake I mentioned in the last post. Yay.
On Thursday and Friday I was at the Prefectural Education Centre for this years JET Akita Orientation. Up until now the conferences have all been held in Akita City, but this year it was held in the Centre so that money could be saved (the Centre has a free dormitory, so no hotel fees were needed). Unfortunately, the Centre is out in the middle of the wops. Seriously, it is not even in greater Akita City area, but in a small town called Tenno which is a part of Katagami City (pop 32,000). The only place that sold food anywhere near the Centre was the town Lawson (convenience store). No restaurants, no supermarkets. Nothing. The conference itself was very boring for me, being the third Akita Orientation I have been to, and the ninth JET conference altogether. Usually at the conferences we have a big party at a restaurant on the first and/or second evening. But because there were no restaurants to speak of in the area, we had a party in the Centre. The food that was available: pizza, chips and beer. Something healthy would have been nice.
There was a party on the Friday evening too, but I couldn't go because Sean, Jonathan and I were taken back to Nikaho City by town car. Instead, the three of us went out in Kisakata. We ate at a place by the beach which had some nice foods. The highlight of the evening was definitely the 'takoyaki nanoni gyoza' - gyoza that looked like takoyaki. They even incorporated takoyaki batter, bonito flakes and mayonaise into them. OMG!
On Saturday morning my computer did not turn on properly, so I spent until well into the afternoon fixing that horrid lump of machinery. It had a fault in one of it's 'system 32' files that luckily could be fixed with the Scan Disc application. Of all the places to get a disc fault at . . .
I did nothing much on the Sunday either. At six in the evening, I received a phone call from Toshi, who was in Kamakura Station near Tokyo. Couldn't really hear what he was saying because Kamakura Station is very busy, especially early on a Sunday evening.
Yesterday I was at work. In the evening I went to yosakoi practice, and then after that to Atsuko's house. It seems that Atsuko is also not very good at holding grudges, because Toshi was there playing on her Playstation long before I got there. We ate expensive food Toshi brought back from Tokyo. Very expensive food. He appears not to be accustomed to his lower Nikaho salary yet: he thinks he is still rich. Toshi was addicted enough to the video game he was playing that he did not have much to do with our conversation. Atsuko and I just ate the expensive desserts and gossipped.
Today I went to Kamagadai in the morning, and then to the BOE to finally get all that rent business sorted out. What a relief that was. And then I ate gyuudon and the cake I mentioned in the last post. Yay.
The Lost Children
Out of the 45 first grade students we have at Konoura Jr. High, only 40 can be said to come to school on a regular basis. The other five children, for one reason or another, feel that they cannot face the pressures of Jr. High life. I don't quite understand what happened. All the students attended Elementary fine. One of the girls was in the English club there, and I remember her as an insanely energetic, confident girl who was always laughing. Now she is shy and introverted. What is more scary is that the change occured over the two weeks between the end of Elementary and Jr. High.
Another of the boys was also a confident young fellow at Elementary. He came to the Jr. High every day for the first month of term and then all of a sudden he just disappeared. On the few days he does come to school he looks absolutely terrified, as if he is ready to burst into tears at any moment.
Another student had a physical disability last year which held him back for a while. He is fine now, but he is emotionally in an even worse state than the other lost children. If his mother drops him off at school he refuses to enter the building and then runs back home.
Why is this happening? Is it the stress? I know that Japanese kids are under more pressure than NZ kids are. But apart from the boy who dissappeared after one month of Jr. High, the kids were not even at school enough to find out just how much stress they would personally be under. There is something else going on with them, and it scares me sometimes.
I was watching the news the other day, and there was a segment about these lost children. Apparently this year there are 120,000 Elementary and Jr. High kids in Japan who refuse to go to school. 120,000? Sure Japan has a lot of people, but that is what, 3 or 4% of all school children? More? That's insane! Apparently these children are studying through correspondence courses, but why should they have to?
I personally think that the lack of proper counselling and mental health awareness in Japan may be a major cause of this problem.
On a lighter note today I ate a half-sponge-half-cheesecake, with chopsticks. Because, you know, I am Japanese.
Another of the boys was also a confident young fellow at Elementary. He came to the Jr. High every day for the first month of term and then all of a sudden he just disappeared. On the few days he does come to school he looks absolutely terrified, as if he is ready to burst into tears at any moment.
Another student had a physical disability last year which held him back for a while. He is fine now, but he is emotionally in an even worse state than the other lost children. If his mother drops him off at school he refuses to enter the building and then runs back home.
Why is this happening? Is it the stress? I know that Japanese kids are under more pressure than NZ kids are. But apart from the boy who dissappeared after one month of Jr. High, the kids were not even at school enough to find out just how much stress they would personally be under. There is something else going on with them, and it scares me sometimes.
I was watching the news the other day, and there was a segment about these lost children. Apparently this year there are 120,000 Elementary and Jr. High kids in Japan who refuse to go to school. 120,000? Sure Japan has a lot of people, but that is what, 3 or 4% of all school children? More? That's insane! Apparently these children are studying through correspondence courses, but why should they have to?
I personally think that the lack of proper counselling and mental health awareness in Japan may be a major cause of this problem.
* * *
On a lighter note today I ate a half-sponge-half-cheesecake, with chopsticks. Because, you know, I am Japanese.
Personality Test
Because I am bored . . .
Advanced Global Personality Test Results
|
And the summary of these results I was given:
trait snapshot:
introverted, irritable, feels invisible, observer, depressed, does not enjoy leadership, reveals little about self, dislikes large parties, feels undesirable, does not like to stand out, submissive, suspicious, emotionally sensitive, not a thrill seeker, solitude loving, likes silence, fragile, second guesses self, negative, unadventurous, fearful, weird, focuses on people's hidden motives, paranoid, phobic, dependent, cautious, avoidant, semi intellectual
Umm, yeah. I guess that's me. But according to the 'trait snapshot,' I have no good qualities, only negative ones. How rude. I especially love the 'semi intellectual,' like I don't quite qualify.
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
Long weekend
Just a short post to let you know what I did over the weekend.
On Saturday I performed at a festival in Nakasen, a town that is over an hour and a half away by car. I didn't get home until 7.30pm, and then after a five minute shower and a costume change, I left again. I went with some friends to find a reggae party someone had heard about at a beach near Akita City. We went expecting to find music and alcohol spread out over the nice wide Shimohama beach, but instead the party was in a little room behind the beach. Heaps of people were crammed into the party room like sardines, so instead my friends and I decided to hang out on the beach (still close enough to hear the music), let off fireworks and generally enjoy haning out by the sea on a nice clear summer evening.
We soon got hungry, and decided to head back to honjo to eat. By the time we got there, it was 12pm so our only option for dinner was Gusto. Oh joy. Got home at 3am, rinsed the sand from between my toes and then slept so that I could get up at midday and go to Tsuruoka (Yamagata Prefecture) to see a movie (A Tale of Earthsea, or whatever it is going to become when translated to English), and to buy foreign food such as Tim Tams and muesli from the Yamaya in Sakata City. The movie was not all that good, and certainly did not do Ursula Le Guin's books justice. But I have seen many, many movies that were worse, so it was not a total waste of time. Oh, and I now know what sparrowhawk is in Japanese: haitaka.
On Monday and Tuesday I had holidays. On Monday I performed in a small festival in Konoura. Yesterday I visited my friend at work and then performed at a bigger festival in Konoura. Everyone in the whole town was there, so I spent the whole evening saying "good evening," or "konbanwa" until my voice was hoarse.
Today I have work, or rather I am at school surfing the internet. Tomorrow I will leave for a two day business trip.
Y'know, despite having no work, I am really quite busy.
On Saturday I performed at a festival in Nakasen, a town that is over an hour and a half away by car. I didn't get home until 7.30pm, and then after a five minute shower and a costume change, I left again. I went with some friends to find a reggae party someone had heard about at a beach near Akita City. We went expecting to find music and alcohol spread out over the nice wide Shimohama beach, but instead the party was in a little room behind the beach. Heaps of people were crammed into the party room like sardines, so instead my friends and I decided to hang out on the beach (still close enough to hear the music), let off fireworks and generally enjoy haning out by the sea on a nice clear summer evening.
We soon got hungry, and decided to head back to honjo to eat. By the time we got there, it was 12pm so our only option for dinner was Gusto. Oh joy. Got home at 3am, rinsed the sand from between my toes and then slept so that I could get up at midday and go to Tsuruoka (Yamagata Prefecture) to see a movie (A Tale of Earthsea, or whatever it is going to become when translated to English), and to buy foreign food such as Tim Tams and muesli from the Yamaya in Sakata City. The movie was not all that good, and certainly did not do Ursula Le Guin's books justice. But I have seen many, many movies that were worse, so it was not a total waste of time. Oh, and I now know what sparrowhawk is in Japanese: haitaka.
On Monday and Tuesday I had holidays. On Monday I performed in a small festival in Konoura. Yesterday I visited my friend at work and then performed at a bigger festival in Konoura. Everyone in the whole town was there, so I spent the whole evening saying "good evening," or "konbanwa" until my voice was hoarse.
Today I have work, or rather I am at school surfing the internet. Tomorrow I will leave for a two day business trip.
Y'know, despite having no work, I am really quite busy.
Friday, August 11, 2006
Something of interest
Here is something I submitted to DeviantART you may be interested in: Winter and Summer: a comparison. Click on the image to zoom in.
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
A busy week
It looks as if the rainy season has finally ended. Too bad there is a typhoon on the way.
I have had a very busy week. On Friday I performed at a festival in Honjo. Straight after the festival ended I changed clothes and then went out with my friends. It was Amanda's last night in Honjo, and Amelie the new Honjo ALT's first night out in Honjo. Amelie went home a little early, but the rest of us were partying until 4am. The sun was rising as I walked to Amanda's apartment. That morning, Amanda's bosses came over to help turn the power off and such. Then we went to the train station. My train south left 10 minutes before Amanda's train north so while everyone was still giving presents to Amanda and such, I had to say goodbye. As Amanda said, us ALTs can always meet again because we all like travelling.
I went home, had a shower, slept for an hour and a half and then got up again to get ready to go out again. Atsuko came over to lend me a nicer obi for my yukata and then we went to Honjo with Miwa, all three of us wearing yukata, to watch the Honjo fireworks. On Sunday I performed at a small event in Akita City.
Now it is hot and icky and the teachers seem strangely reluctant to use the aircon that was installed in the staff room during spring. Why???
I have had a very busy week. On Friday I performed at a festival in Honjo. Straight after the festival ended I changed clothes and then went out with my friends. It was Amanda's last night in Honjo, and Amelie the new Honjo ALT's first night out in Honjo. Amelie went home a little early, but the rest of us were partying until 4am. The sun was rising as I walked to Amanda's apartment. That morning, Amanda's bosses came over to help turn the power off and such. Then we went to the train station. My train south left 10 minutes before Amanda's train north so while everyone was still giving presents to Amanda and such, I had to say goodbye. As Amanda said, us ALTs can always meet again because we all like travelling.
I went home, had a shower, slept for an hour and a half and then got up again to get ready to go out again. Atsuko came over to lend me a nicer obi for my yukata and then we went to Honjo with Miwa, all three of us wearing yukata, to watch the Honjo fireworks. On Sunday I performed at a small event in Akita City.
Now it is hot and icky and the teachers seem strangely reluctant to use the aircon that was installed in the staff room during spring. Why???
DeviantART
The new version of DeviantART is up. I think it is much better than the last one. They have finally made the search function practical. One can now search by category and keywords at the same time. Wow! Also, user page comments have become nested, and the 'recent deviations' box now shows thumbnails for four devations and not just one. Excellent! Take a look at my user page.
Friday, July 21, 2006
Again
Wow, I haven't written for ages! Oh, and the date on this post is utterly wrong because it has been sitting in 'drafts' for two weeks or so. It is actually the 3rd of August, a Thursday).
The other week, right after I wrote my last post, I had some visitors from the Board of Education. First, the person who has been my supervisor since April (and I have met three or four times) came and told me I will be getting a pay cut. I don't really understand why, since all ALTs are supposed to receive the same after tax salary. The other two ALTs in Nikaho City are from America, and Americans don't pay Japanese tax. New Zealanders do, so I have been receiving more money than them and then paying Japanese tax. My supervisor told me I had been receiving too much and needed to take a pay cut. Whatever. To tell the truth, we are all getting paid much less that we were told we would be getting paid before we came here. Not quite sure how that works.
At the same time I was told that the BOE wants to change the method in which they help me pay my rent. Previously, I have paid 25,000 yen and the BOE has paid 20,000 yen. From now on, they want to give me 20,000 yen, and I will then pay 45,000 yen. Which at first seemed reasonable to me, because it streamlines their accounts without affecting me. Then my supervisor told me that the BOE had stopped paying the 20,000 yen in April. You'd think they would have told me at the time, wouldn't you? Or tell me to change my payment to the full 45,000 yen, or to give me the 20,000 they owe me. And how about my poor landlord who is missing 80,000 yen? But it's alright because they reimbursed me the missing 80,000 yen with last months pay. Oh, wait. That was 80,000 yen before tax. I actually only got about 75,000 yen. And since all the details for paying my landlord are at the BOE, I have to get the money out of my bank account and take it back to them. I mean, come on. That's just ridiculous.
After that, three more people came from the BOE to talk to me. Apparently I have been transferred to the general department, although I'm not quite clear on when this came into effect. My new bosses introduced themselves to me. They seemed reluctant to speak to me; they just kept shoving printed sheets of English at me. This was despite the fact I was replying to them in Japanese. Then they started talking about an intensive Japanese language course that will be held in Akita City during the summer. They asked me if I wanted to go, but I said I will be very busy over summer. Then they told me that they have already enrolled me in the course, and showed me the sheet confirming my enrollment. Also, they have enrolled me in the level one class! "Level one?" said I. "Yes," said one of them, pointing to the description of that class, which was written in both English and Japanese. For those who have never studied Japanese before . . . I mean, come on. We were having the conversation in Japanese! And yet, they didn't seem to understand why I was concerned. They've enrolled me in the course for the ALTs that will arrive later this month. *sigh* When I told them that the course was 'too easy,' that I already have people who help me with my Japanese, and that since the course runs over a weekend I will probably be too busy anyway, they told me to think very carefully about the course, and give them my descision next week and, oh, if I don't want to go then they will have to cancel my enrollment (said as if this is something they really, really don't want to do).
The whole mess could have been avoided if they had spoken to me at least once before enrolling me in the course a) to see if I wanted to / had time to go and b) to check whether I had, in the last two years, actually studied Japanese. I talked to the other ALT's in Nikaho City and they were also annoyed about the Japanese course thing. We ended up cancelling our reservations.
Last week on Monday the summer holidays started. I used paid leave on Monday and Tuesday, indending to go for walks to investigate the new beach that just opened in my town and to take pictures of the scenery. Of course it rained both days and so I stayed home. Last Saturday I attended a party in Honjo. The party was a goodbye party for Amanda, who will be returning to America in a few days time. We had heaps of fun despite the sadness factor.
On Sunday morning Tshepo (the Nikaho and Nishime Sr. High School ALT) and I helped Amanda clean her kitchen, take out trash etc. As a thank you, we got to search through all the stuff Amanda will not be taking home with her and take what we wanted. I got a futon, some halloween stuff (to use at Kamagadai), some toiletries, teabags and books.
The books were things I would not usually read but that look interesting anyway. I got a stack of Marian Keyes books, The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory, a book called Sophie's World which has something to do with philosophy, a battered copy of Romeo and Juliet, and an obscure Penguin Classics book, something about some guy's diary of conditions within rural Russia during the 1800's (and yes, I do want to read it). At the moment I am working on Sushi For Beginners and enjoying it far more than I thought I was able to enjoy a mainstream fiction. Maybe it's because I am an adult woman now and can sympathise. Also, since I went to Dublin in January I can picture where the story is taking place. I am very much looking forward to reading The Other Boleyn Girl. Coincidentally, it is the book selection of the month at The Book Bitches, a blog I found recently (by clicking on the little rolling "Blogs updated at . . ." on the blogger.com frontpage).
Atsuko came over to Amanda's place too. She received some stuff, bitched about Toshi (again) for Amanda's and Tshepo's entertainment, and then became driver for Tshepo and I so that Amanda could get ready to go play badminton. We three went to Aeon to get drinks and for Atsuko to get icecream, and then Tshepo said he wanted to go to Uniqlo. While we were there, Atsuko invited Toshi to hang out with us (despite aforementioned bitching). We all eventually ended up in a restaurant in Kisakata eating pseudo-Italian food (although I will admit the lasagne was actually really good). Toshi was a very loud and embarassing dinner companion. The three beers probably had a lot to do with that. I felt sorry for Tshepo because the conversation kept slipping into Japanese and Tshepo still can't speak it.
Tshepo became tired, so we dropped him home and then Atsuko, Toshi and I bought junk food and went back to Atsuko's house to hang out some more. Since Atsuko's house is so damn huge, there was plenty of room for us to stay over. Atsuko dropped Toshi back at his house the next morning so he could go to work. I had Monday off so I was OK. When Atsuko came back, she immediately started bitching about what a weirdo Toshi is. I said, "But you looked like you were having fun last night."
"That's because I'm Japanese. I don't show emotion on my face, but I'm thinking 'I hate you, I hate you, I hate you!'" Yeah right, Atsuko.
On Tuesday I had been planning to go for the walk I had not been able to take the week before, but of course it was raining. Heavily. This year's rainy season just doesn't know how to finish. Everyone keeps telling me how exceedingly strange the weather is. Is there anywhere in the world that is experiencing normal weather?
Yesterday I went to Kamagadai to help out with preparing students for next term's English speech contest. In the evening I taught my English conversation class. I asked them to do an activity from the textbook, but everyone kept coming up with excuses to put off doing the task. Everyone was speaking Japanese so I asked them repeatedly to speak English. Usually they speak for a short while in English then return to Japanese until I remind them again. Yesterday everyone just ignored me. It was hot and so they felt lazy, and they all just ignored me. I felt so frustrated and insignificant. Usually teaching my conversation class is like herding cats. Last night it was like herding air.
All my students decided that for the next two weeks the class will be on holiday so they can go to summer festivals. They didn't ask me. They didn't ask the supervisor of the class, which they really ought to do. They all just decided not to come next week or the week after, and are going to ring around the other students who weren't there last night to make sure that no one comes. Really, feeling very insignificant just now.
I am going to be performing yosakoi several times over the coming weekend. I hope I can find the time to write about it.
The other week, right after I wrote my last post, I had some visitors from the Board of Education. First, the person who has been my supervisor since April (and I have met three or four times) came and told me I will be getting a pay cut. I don't really understand why, since all ALTs are supposed to receive the same after tax salary. The other two ALTs in Nikaho City are from America, and Americans don't pay Japanese tax. New Zealanders do, so I have been receiving more money than them and then paying Japanese tax. My supervisor told me I had been receiving too much and needed to take a pay cut. Whatever. To tell the truth, we are all getting paid much less that we were told we would be getting paid before we came here. Not quite sure how that works.
At the same time I was told that the BOE wants to change the method in which they help me pay my rent. Previously, I have paid 25,000 yen and the BOE has paid 20,000 yen. From now on, they want to give me 20,000 yen, and I will then pay 45,000 yen. Which at first seemed reasonable to me, because it streamlines their accounts without affecting me. Then my supervisor told me that the BOE had stopped paying the 20,000 yen in April. You'd think they would have told me at the time, wouldn't you? Or tell me to change my payment to the full 45,000 yen, or to give me the 20,000 they owe me. And how about my poor landlord who is missing 80,000 yen? But it's alright because they reimbursed me the missing 80,000 yen with last months pay. Oh, wait. That was 80,000 yen before tax. I actually only got about 75,000 yen. And since all the details for paying my landlord are at the BOE, I have to get the money out of my bank account and take it back to them. I mean, come on. That's just ridiculous.
After that, three more people came from the BOE to talk to me. Apparently I have been transferred to the general department, although I'm not quite clear on when this came into effect. My new bosses introduced themselves to me. They seemed reluctant to speak to me; they just kept shoving printed sheets of English at me. This was despite the fact I was replying to them in Japanese. Then they started talking about an intensive Japanese language course that will be held in Akita City during the summer. They asked me if I wanted to go, but I said I will be very busy over summer. Then they told me that they have already enrolled me in the course, and showed me the sheet confirming my enrollment. Also, they have enrolled me in the level one class! "Level one?" said I. "Yes," said one of them, pointing to the description of that class, which was written in both English and Japanese. For those who have never studied Japanese before . . . I mean, come on. We were having the conversation in Japanese! And yet, they didn't seem to understand why I was concerned. They've enrolled me in the course for the ALTs that will arrive later this month. *sigh* When I told them that the course was 'too easy,' that I already have people who help me with my Japanese, and that since the course runs over a weekend I will probably be too busy anyway, they told me to think very carefully about the course, and give them my descision next week and, oh, if I don't want to go then they will have to cancel my enrollment (said as if this is something they really, really don't want to do).
The whole mess could have been avoided if they had spoken to me at least once before enrolling me in the course a) to see if I wanted to / had time to go and b) to check whether I had, in the last two years, actually studied Japanese. I talked to the other ALT's in Nikaho City and they were also annoyed about the Japanese course thing. We ended up cancelling our reservations.
Last week on Monday the summer holidays started. I used paid leave on Monday and Tuesday, indending to go for walks to investigate the new beach that just opened in my town and to take pictures of the scenery. Of course it rained both days and so I stayed home. Last Saturday I attended a party in Honjo. The party was a goodbye party for Amanda, who will be returning to America in a few days time. We had heaps of fun despite the sadness factor.
On Sunday morning Tshepo (the Nikaho and Nishime Sr. High School ALT) and I helped Amanda clean her kitchen, take out trash etc. As a thank you, we got to search through all the stuff Amanda will not be taking home with her and take what we wanted. I got a futon, some halloween stuff (to use at Kamagadai), some toiletries, teabags and books.
The books were things I would not usually read but that look interesting anyway. I got a stack of Marian Keyes books, The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory, a book called Sophie's World which has something to do with philosophy, a battered copy of Romeo and Juliet, and an obscure Penguin Classics book, something about some guy's diary of conditions within rural Russia during the 1800's (and yes, I do want to read it). At the moment I am working on Sushi For Beginners and enjoying it far more than I thought I was able to enjoy a mainstream fiction. Maybe it's because I am an adult woman now and can sympathise. Also, since I went to Dublin in January I can picture where the story is taking place. I am very much looking forward to reading The Other Boleyn Girl. Coincidentally, it is the book selection of the month at The Book Bitches, a blog I found recently (by clicking on the little rolling "Blogs updated at . . ." on the blogger.com frontpage).
Atsuko came over to Amanda's place too. She received some stuff, bitched about Toshi (again) for Amanda's and Tshepo's entertainment, and then became driver for Tshepo and I so that Amanda could get ready to go play badminton. We three went to Aeon to get drinks and for Atsuko to get icecream, and then Tshepo said he wanted to go to Uniqlo. While we were there, Atsuko invited Toshi to hang out with us (despite aforementioned bitching). We all eventually ended up in a restaurant in Kisakata eating pseudo-Italian food (although I will admit the lasagne was actually really good). Toshi was a very loud and embarassing dinner companion. The three beers probably had a lot to do with that. I felt sorry for Tshepo because the conversation kept slipping into Japanese and Tshepo still can't speak it.
Tshepo became tired, so we dropped him home and then Atsuko, Toshi and I bought junk food and went back to Atsuko's house to hang out some more. Since Atsuko's house is so damn huge, there was plenty of room for us to stay over. Atsuko dropped Toshi back at his house the next morning so he could go to work. I had Monday off so I was OK. When Atsuko came back, she immediately started bitching about what a weirdo Toshi is. I said, "But you looked like you were having fun last night."
"That's because I'm Japanese. I don't show emotion on my face, but I'm thinking 'I hate you, I hate you, I hate you!'" Yeah right, Atsuko.
On Tuesday I had been planning to go for the walk I had not been able to take the week before, but of course it was raining. Heavily. This year's rainy season just doesn't know how to finish. Everyone keeps telling me how exceedingly strange the weather is. Is there anywhere in the world that is experiencing normal weather?
Yesterday I went to Kamagadai to help out with preparing students for next term's English speech contest. In the evening I taught my English conversation class. I asked them to do an activity from the textbook, but everyone kept coming up with excuses to put off doing the task. Everyone was speaking Japanese so I asked them repeatedly to speak English. Usually they speak for a short while in English then return to Japanese until I remind them again. Yesterday everyone just ignored me. It was hot and so they felt lazy, and they all just ignored me. I felt so frustrated and insignificant. Usually teaching my conversation class is like herding cats. Last night it was like herding air.
All my students decided that for the next two weeks the class will be on holiday so they can go to summer festivals. They didn't ask me. They didn't ask the supervisor of the class, which they really ought to do. They all just decided not to come next week or the week after, and are going to ring around the other students who weren't there last night to make sure that no one comes. Really, feeling very insignificant just now.
I am going to be performing yosakoi several times over the coming weekend. I hope I can find the time to write about it.
Thursday, July 20, 2006
With crossed fingers
Today it's sunny. Maybe, just maybe, the rainy season is ending. I hope so, because I've been bad of health over the last week, due mostly to the bad weather I'm sure.
Last Saturday I helped out with a club for small children called the 'Challenge Club.' The challenge in question is English and internationalization. The club meets twice a month, and the small children and their parents study easy English and listen to guest speakers. I was the guest speaker and helped out with teaching English too. I spoke about New Zealand (in Japanese!) showed pictures of New Zealand, and taught the children how to play coin rugby. It was lots of fun, and nice to spend a rainy Saturday morning doing something productive.
On Monday I hung out with Atsuko. First we were going to go to a barbeque at Sumiko's house, but it was raining and the barbeque was cancelled. So we were going to take painting supplies to Sumiko's house and paint pictures, but Sumiko didn't reply to our messages. Atsuko and I ate lunch in Nikaho, went to Daiso to buy canvas, and bought junk food at Max Valu. Eventually Sumiko said that she was busy, so we went back to Atsuko's house.
Atsuko lives in such a big house! It's like a mansion! I couldn't believe it. It was the biggest house I've ever been in that hasn't actually been a country manor converted into a museum or a castle. Atsuko has a whole floor to herself. Although her floor is not as big as the first floor, it is still about three or four times as big as my apartment.
Anyway, we just ate junk food, cooked dinner and hung out. We didn't even get around to painting. That evening I started to feel unwell, and that is how I have been ever since. Damn rainy season. My voice refuses to remain in my throat for extended periods of time. It especially likes to fail me in the middle of doing word pronunciations in English class.
Last Saturday I helped out with a club for small children called the 'Challenge Club.' The challenge in question is English and internationalization. The club meets twice a month, and the small children and their parents study easy English and listen to guest speakers. I was the guest speaker and helped out with teaching English too. I spoke about New Zealand (in Japanese!) showed pictures of New Zealand, and taught the children how to play coin rugby. It was lots of fun, and nice to spend a rainy Saturday morning doing something productive.
On Monday I hung out with Atsuko. First we were going to go to a barbeque at Sumiko's house, but it was raining and the barbeque was cancelled. So we were going to take painting supplies to Sumiko's house and paint pictures, but Sumiko didn't reply to our messages. Atsuko and I ate lunch in Nikaho, went to Daiso to buy canvas, and bought junk food at Max Valu. Eventually Sumiko said that she was busy, so we went back to Atsuko's house.
Atsuko lives in such a big house! It's like a mansion! I couldn't believe it. It was the biggest house I've ever been in that hasn't actually been a country manor converted into a museum or a castle. Atsuko has a whole floor to herself. Although her floor is not as big as the first floor, it is still about three or four times as big as my apartment.
Anyway, we just ate junk food, cooked dinner and hung out. We didn't even get around to painting. That evening I started to feel unwell, and that is how I have been ever since. Damn rainy season. My voice refuses to remain in my throat for extended periods of time. It especially likes to fail me in the middle of doing word pronunciations in English class.
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