November Blog

PROLOGUE
November is the month where the cold sneaks up on you. It hits like a brick through a sound proof glass window. This month temperatures continue to rise and drop in unexpected waves, and I am driven to taking hot baths every night for warmth. The kerosene stoves have come out at school and I’ve relearned how to use my heater along with my electric blankets, halogen fan, and newly repaired kotatsu (heat table). Fortunately, the amount of social and work-related business I’ve had this month has distracted me from the sudden drop in temperatures.

GENERAL
I’ve been continuing to work hard on my Japanese: pedagogy and linguistics course. It’s nice to use my noodle for a change and it’s a really welcomed challenge for me! I’m learning a lot about grammar especially between paying more attention in higher level middle school classes. 3rd years for instance were learning noun phrases such as ‘I don’t know who you are’, which takes the question word ‘who’ and turns it into a phrase instead of a question… anyway I never said I wasn’t geeking out about it. I was also recently contacted by CLAIR because they had chosen one of my essays from my advanced Japanese course last year to post on their JET Programme website! Neat! Granted, I failed that course with flying colours but it’s still an honour to be nominated (bats eyelashes).

LEIGH & STEVE
Other than that, in the first week of November I was visited by my friends Leigh and Steve. They had been in Kyushyu (a southern area separate from the mainland, Honshyu, made up of nine prefectures) for a stint and were returning to say goodbye to their Tango-parents, the Yoshidas (and to me!) before returning to the United States via Nepal. Those two are what you might call, ‘globe-trotters’. When they were here, Natanya joined us for a weekend of onsen in Taiza, dining on udon in Miyazu, and general socializing with people around the town. I was really in awe of how many people Leigh had come to know in her two years here in Tango, and I have to admit I was a bit envious at how many people wanted to see her before she left. I live here and I don’t think half that many people want to see me! Ah well, it was nice driving around in the last of the warm weather. It was very sad saying goodbye to them after our last supper together at the Yoshidas. I was really grateful to get to see the Yoshidas again because Kumi has been in and out of the hospital with some sort of colon cancer. She seems smaller and has lost a considerable amount of weight, but she looks really happy and healthy and it’s a huge relief. I came home that night to find out that my computer had gone into an iComa and wouldn’t wake up!

FIELD TRIP
I spent one of the early Saturdays in November going on a field trip with my students to an area called “Umi-hoshi Park”, or ‘ocean star park’. We varnished wood that will soon be made into a water-wheel (but perhaps by different students) and went hiking in the autumn leaf-strewn mountain paths. It was really enjoyable to spend some time outside of school with my students, and they seemed interested in talking to me and actually have been ever since. I’m not a very outgoing person, and I tend to keep to myself, so it’s taken me awhile to warm up to the students I teach… but now it’s a really nice feeling to walk amongst them without feeling like an outsider to the extent I was feeling it before. We can’t all be that ALT who jumps around shouting in broken Japanese and making friends, can we! Due to the field trip’s bout of cold, rainy weather, I spent the following day sick in bed with a cold.

OSAKA & IMAC RECOVERY
I recovered enough to spend my day off going down to Osaka that Monday to meet Ian and to drop off my ailing desktop computer at the only apple store in the area. I took the highway bus, which was considerably easy. Natanya was kind enough to house me in Kaya so I could catch my bus from nearby her house. Ian and I had lunch and caught up over coffee after my computer was dropped off. We then spent a frantic hour searching for my bus terminal. I had foolishly not paid attention to where the bus had left me off, and it turns out that there are about 5 bus terminals in and around Osaka/Umeda Stations… so in the nick of time we found a bus guy who knew where our terminal was and we ran for it. I got there 6 minutes before my bus left and there was no time for beer, which was very disappointing. However it was great to have Ian along to keep me calm when I was certain I would not only miss my bus, but have no other way of getting home that night. I slept very well when I finally made my way home that night, and the highway bus was extremely relaxing because I zoned out and listened to NPR podcasts for the 2 and a half hours we drove through the dark highway. Osaka is far too big; lesson learned.

RECITATION CONTEST
The following week was crunch time for the Recitation Contest, in which students from junior high schools in the Yosano District compete for fabulous prizes (coloured folders and a certificate) by reciting stories from their text book in English. As it was last year, I didn’t entirely understand what curriculum the judges were basing their decisions on, but the students were all very good! My two groups of first year students both brought home coloured folders as did my third year student. My second years, who were sadly not recipients of coloured folders, were disappointed but satisfied with their performances, which was fine by me. It was also really nice to see some of the other teachers in the area who look like they’ve early settled into Tango, which is also a relief. Tango is certainly less social than it was last year, for better or for worse. It seems like everyone has small groups of about 2-3 people that they cling to. I am included in this pattern with Kate and Natanya, so it’s nice to see other ALTs with their students from time to time. After the contest, I drove down to Kyoto to pick up Brendan and Kevin from Kyoto Station. However I hd gotten the times mixed up and had to kill 6 hours around Kyoto. I spent 4 of those hours studying in a Starbucks across the street from the station. Afterwards, I met up with Rachel2 and Ian and we ate fruits on the steps of the station and looked out at the 50 foot tall Christmas tree and all of its pretty coloured lights. At times like this, I have no arguments with X-mas decorations going up on November 1st. I met Brendan and Kevin and drove them home in my tiny car.

BRENDAN AND KEVIN VISIT JAPAN
Their visit was really nice! They were excellent house guests. They brought me loads of hand soap (it smells so good and feels so soft!) and more importantly they brought me Swiss chocolates and Kalhua! They ate all of my rice, which I couldn’t believe, but it was so nice having friends around and it was interesting hanging out with people who don’t have the same job I have for a change. One night they came with me to Honeycomb Café to meet Yasuka, a girl I had been in contact with through Toko and Kate. She was really awesome and the pairing of my two weirdo friends from college and a Japanese person I’d never met with before was really interesting. Yasuka sold me, Natanya and Kate tickets to the Nutcracker in early December (or the くるみ割り人形, the walnut-dividing doll).

That week, I took a day or two off to take Brendan and Kevin around the Tango Peninsula. I took them around my town and to meet all my 1st year students from Ine and Honjo Junior High Schools. The Ine students REALLY enjoyed how tall Kevin is. He kept hitting his head on the doorways. Then I took them to Amanohashidate, where they tried to see the dragon in the sky. I took them later on to Taiza and to the same onsen I’d gone to with Leigh. On that day it was snowing! We all got to be in our separate onsen in the snow, which was my first experience with something so very stereotypically Japanese. Sadly no monkeys… although Brendan and Kevin did manage to see a group of Ine monkeys by the temple on the hill.

Eventually I went down to Kyoto to join up with the boys and to hang out with the Kyoto-ites at the monkey café eating hamburgers and drinking leftover liquors in Rachel2’s house. The next day we high-tailed it on the shinkansen (bullet train) to Tokyo! Natanya joined us to balance out the gender imbalance.

TOKYO VISIT

Our first night in Tokyo we ate at a cool bar in Akihabara and did some over-priced karaoke. Everyone got pretty into it by the end, especially Brendan! Afterward we went back to our youth hostel and hopped in the indoor onsen before having a nice night’s sleep.

The next morning, Natanya and I went to the MoT (The Tokyo Museum of Contemporary Art). It was a really fantastic museum! We walked around the permanent collection and saw all sorts of abstract but very enjoyable “art”. Our favourite was a phone booth with a disco ball and ipod installed into it. If you get into the booth and close the doors, all you can see are endless reflections of yourself. Then you’re meant to get into the music and dance to your heart’s content, while everyone outside the box can watch you and giggle. We deemed this the Boogiebox™ and were using it for about 25 minutes… there was also a video about two guys who caught an octopus and carried it around Tokyo so it could meet city folk and other octopi (octopod?). Everyone naturally wanted to eat it, but it escaped narrowly and was eventually returned to its home.

After postcard shopping, we went over to Shinjyuku and wandered around the crowded pedestrian areas looking at pretty neon lights and stores. Then we took a train to Harajyuku to buy Natanya some glitzy socks (I bought a hat that I will probably never wear!) We then joined the boys for a delicious and glutinous Chinese food dinner in Asakusa, where our youth hostel was.

Our last day in Tokyo was kind of a failure. We got up really early to see the fish market but either we got there too late or the fish market was really low key due to the federal holiday…
whichever the case, there were no fish to be found! We got up at 6:30am for NOTHING!!! After that Natanya and I went home and packed our things to go to Osaka and then home. I said goodbye to the boys and we stole their JR Passes so we could save money on our shinkansen home.
RETURN TO OSAKA
Osaka was PACKED. Natanya and I fought our way through the throngs of people and hopped a cab to the apple store where I picked up my computer. We had just enough time to get back to the hidden bus terminal (without too much trouble) and grab bagels and then our bus home. The bus was late and Yumi was waiting at Miyazu station to pick me up because she is my guardian angel. From her house, I picked up Kirby-kun and drove home, where I became sick for the second time this month (d’oh!).

EPILOGUE
The month isn’t over yet! We still have Thanksgiving at Natanya’s at the end of this week, but I think I’ll save that for another entry as this one has found it’s way into a novel. Until then, let us hope my immune system kicks in and the snow stays away for another month or two…

Hooray for Wood

In order to procure a day off on Monday to head down to Osaka to revive my poor iMac (it breaks annually!) I went on a school field trip to somewhere.

I didn't have any idea where we were going actually or what we would be doing! As it turned out we went to a little "world energy design park" in Hioki, the next town over from Ine. The bus ride was fun because the trees have turned all sorts of colours here and it was nice to be able to look at them instead of having to look at the road.

It was field trippy, which was a bit fun in itself. We were told about the park's design and how it's all about reusable energy (solar power and stuff). Then we were told they were building a water wheel for a little 'swiss chateau' (it was the size of a closet). So we got to work varnishing the wooden pices they would use to build it. There's a twinge of child labour in that, if you ask me. I mean... not chlid labour, learning. It was actually a lot more fun than I thought it would be. It was really cold outside but I had my warm Rochester sweatshirt (from the airport, where sweaters were $30 instead of $60 on campus!)

Some first year girl said "your sweatshirt looks warm. Can I have it?" and I said "yeah you can, if you can read it." They couldn't. They froze.

Anyway while varnishing, I was adopted by two second year girls who have never talked to me before and we basically hung out for an hour and they asked me how to say stuff in English. This is the stuff that's supposed to happen more often to remind me of why I like my job! Although 50% of that is my fault because I hide in the teachers' room all day (IT'S WARMER).

We varnished things that will some day be an actual contraption. Although we may never live to see that day.

Then we went on a long hike in the hills and saw... hills! And a precariously placed tree house over a cliff full of small children. Japan is a generally precarious place for small children. No helmets on bikes, no seatbelts in cars. I mean kids are made of rubber so I can understand the lack of concern, but stiiiill, if you get HIT by a kid in the head it still leaves a bruise. That's all I'm saying. Aside from hills and autumn foliage, there was a wooden train that you could ride! But we didn't get to ride it, so we had to walk along the tracks instead. I felt rather cheated by the photos of laughing children on the fun wooden train. Laaaame. I guess this is what poor kids do on field trips -- skip the fun stuff and do the venue's chores (like varnishing and gardening). Just an observation.

I spoke to my English-speaker student K-chan and to the two teachers who secretly speak English but only when they are bored and I'm around H-sensei and I-sensei. It was kind of nice having to communicate as best I could in Japanese since my English teacher wasn't around today.

Also M-sensei (the hot one) completely disappeared after lunch. We decided that he'd gone to meet a secret lover in the forest. Wahahahaha.

Then we had lunch... and DAMN Japanese moms just love their kids more than American moms. I've never had such a spectacularly prepared lunch (aesthetically). It's retarded how nice their lunches were... and I felt ashamed of my peanut butter and banana sandwich on cold toast that I'd thrown together mere hours before. However they thought it was 'cool'. Because they don't know better.

After lunch we went into the woods and cut small shoots of bamboo and collected them for 90 minutes. That's all we ever did with the bamboo and I have absolutely no idea why.

Then we made dragonflies out of construction paper and drew on a piece of wood. I guess all the visiting schools do it. So my kids wrote out things in random kanji and laughed hysterically at it. Presumably it was funny! I meanwhile, when prompted, simply wrote "Hooray for Wood!" and felt accomplished.

Now I am at home curled up in blankets because it's freezing and I am probably going to get a terrible cold from being out in the cold air for so long... oh well! Too bad this will be the busiest weekend EVER. Next adventures may include a bus ride to Osaka and having nothing to do for 6 hours on a Monday in a city.

Think about what you're tryin' to do to me~

Woooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I don't think I've ever felt prouder of the people of my native country! Well done, you guys!!!! I'll never doubt you again. D'aww... come here, I feel prepared to hug you.

I am in the ruralest of rural Japan, far away from polls and TV and people down the street (who speak English). I got all my updates from people text messaging me from the US (oh... technology)... but I thought that my circumstances made these fairly historical moments more interesting, so here goes.

I found out that Obama had all the electoral votes he needed as I was eating omuraisu (omelet stuffed with rice and vegetables and smothered in ketchup... Japanese cuisine!) and I shouted "WOO!!!" in front of my eating coworkers. Then I explained to them the "woo-worthy" circumstances and they agreed that Obama was good. Mostly b/c his name translates so perfectly into Japanese!

To my greater shock, Virginia went democrat??? Oh my GOD! I was blown away! I had expected exactly the opposite! Well done to every Virginian who voted at the polls or through absentee. I am thankful to you, and unfortunately cannot claim the same victory since I registered to vote in New York state and my vote has never mattered! hehe. Anyway it must feel good that your vote DID matter. REALLY did. yaaaay!!!

The sky seemed bluer today as I joined the students and teachers to take the flowers out of the flower beds along the road and fertilize them to keep the soil fresh through the winter (it's coming!) we found many interesting bugs, mushrooms and a large frog.

After school (still in a VERY good mood) I went to calligraphy class and made a half assed attempt at doing a large paper thingie for my parents for x-mas. Afterwards I hopped in my car and began the 15 minute car ride through the dark deserted roads home. During this drive, a song came on the radio: "Think" by Aretha Franklin. Boogy-ing down the dark road, Aretha belted out her chorus,

"Freedom! Freedom! Freedom! Freedom! Freeeedoooom --oooOoohh FREEDOOOOM!"

and I just BURST into tears. I don't think I had allowed myself to feel the extent of my relief and happiness. I rolled down the windows, turned up the radio and screamed "WOOOOOO-HOOOOOOOO!!!!!" to all the trees and empty fields that would listen.

This is big! This is one of those big moments that you gotta reach out and hug because you're only alive for so many big GOOD moments in history and the high only lasts for so long!

This is big for our country, big for our health care system (I hope), for our economy, for our children, for our grandparents, for civil rights, for equality, for international relations (lord knows we need them to be better), for war, for peace, for boys and girls and men and women and this is big for me.

So go do yourself a favour (oh hell, favor) and scream "woohoo!" into an empty field.

Hell. yeah.

Rachel