BBQ and Mukade #2 - Unrelated

BBQ#2 + Mukade #2 - Mostly Unrelated.

Ugh I found another mukade when I woke up this morning. Thankfully it was not in my bed or upstairs, it was downstairs by the shoes. Although I don't feel very happy about poisonous centipedes creeping around my shoes so much, but I'd still rather them there than in my bed. (shudder)

I sprayed it, put it under a piece of paper towel, and put a cloth towel over it. I find this is the most efficient way to kill bugs. Less mess, and less having to look at it. It reacted immediately to the pesticide, writhing and seizing. God it's really hard to do that to an insect, but you can't really release them because they just get bigger and come back into your house and eat you (that's just science). So you have to get rid of them, unfortunately. I didn't want to squish it but I think I gave it a rather agonizing last few moments (more like 35 minutes). It was still alive when I left for work, but just barely. So I swept it out the door. Blech.

I came home to grab my textbooks after a short meeting with Aimi-sensei this morning (truth be told I utilized the "meeting time" I had allotted myself to run errands because I didn't want to go back to the BOE). As I left to go back to work I noted that the mukade was gone. I wonder if a bird had picked him up or if he had crawled into the grass. Either way is pretty terrible, considering I probably poisoned the bird. Ugh. It boils down to the fact that I am a horrible person, I suppose.

Last night I went to a BBQ by the Urashima Shrine with Tsuji-sensei. Of course she had Anyway T-sensei and myself and the PE teacher (Ohada-sensei) who is about our ageish (probably 27?) walked down to the shrine with our CC Lemon (lemon soda with the vitamin C of 70 lemons per serving!) and grapes. There we met a bunch of the neighborhood ladies who are sooooo nice.

It took about 35 minutes for them to get the fire lit since they were using the most burnt looking wood I have ever seen. But they managed! The neighborhood kids all played "ketchi bo-ru" or "catch? baseball?" There was a liiiiiittle kid, about 3 or 4 years old I would guess who was the most adorable person there. She ate more food than anyone, it was incredible. Once they got the fire going, we had yakiniku (grilled beef) yakitori (grilled chicken) yaki yasai (veggies) and one of the ladies had brought home made onigiri (rice balls, soooo good). It was mouthwatering. Much beer was had as well. They have canned screwdrivers here! (for those of you who didn't go to "college", a screwdriver is orange juice and vodka). In a can!!!! Amazing! I mentioned to the women that me and the rest of the folk we call America can't sit like the Japanese do. They just sort of squat. I don't think I can even physically do that, much less hold the position for an hour. I sat American-style instead, on my butt. They were surprised that not everyone can sit that way. Well gee in other countries we have ... chairs... and toilets... and couches. I think that would do it. Anyway it was fun to hang out, but at the same time it was a bit boring for me. I mean aside from the language barrier, its not even interesting to hang out with a bunch of moms in the states if you don't know them and aren't really their age or anything. They chattered on about T-sensei being all married and stuff which was cute. And from there, I have no idea, I zoned out.

The most exciting part of the evening was the fireworks because kids in the inaka are totally allowed to play with fireworks. I think that is awesome. T-sensei made me go light some although the inner American child was screaming " NOOOO YOU'RE NOT ALLOWED! YOU'LL BURN YOUR ARMS OFF!!!!" but I didn't burn my arms off at all, and in fact I had a good time. Even the little baby was walking around with a sparkler. Sparkler is a word Japanese people can't say (in case you ever need one).

Supaaaa...supaaaka....raaa....?
sssspark-lerrr
Spaakurrruuura
NO.

and so on. My feet were destroyed by new bugs, "ka" or to us, MOSQUITOES, my arch nemesis. I have about 8 bites on my feet alone, they are murder. Because bug bites no your feet never just itch, they swell and fester and make you unhappy all night and all day. Good times!

My Neighbours Rock; My BOE is Clean

Office Employees Clean Office ; 26,000 Insects Found Dead

I met a few more neighbors and had a cleaning party with my staff at the Board of Education. It's been a crazy few days! For the cleaning party we stopped work around 2pm and went to work piling papers and cardboard boxes that could be recycled and sorting out things. In Ine, the junior high school kids do a recycling thing twice a month, and they drive around to certain areas to pick up corrugated boxes and paper and things. But, you need to put them into tidy piles and tie them with string so the kids can move them easily. I think it's a really good idea to recycle things and also to take care when doing so. Japan is really big on sorting the trash. There are a million categories ; plastic bottles, aluminum cans, glass items under a certain size, large heavy items, normal garbage, paper, and pura, which is things marked with プラon the wrapping (usually wrappers or plastic bags). Then there are things for Styrofoam as well. And no it wasn't easy figuring all this out!

So then we proceeded to sort, wrap, tie, and carry things down to the holding area. After that we swept up the masses of dead bugs and plant debris from around the windows and the floors and swept and vacuumed and mopped until we drowned in our own perspiration. Usually around 3pm it's about 96 degrees outside the humidity is just killer, so everyone was sweaty. But we got to change into less work-type clothes, so everyone was in sweats and crummy old shirts and things. I got to wear cookie-pants (stretchy pants for eating cookies) for the first time at work and a T-shirt. I have to say, that cleaning, although hot and sweaty, was a lot more fun than the usual grind. I don't think they do this every Friday, but maybe once a month? We all watched baseball and ate ice cream after it was done, and then went home. I have to say, I've never been prouder of a clean office! I guess when you do something yourself you do get that satisfaction from it. Although I still don't feel like cleaning my house.

Today I started to clean the house... just washing sheets and towels and vacuuming and scrubbing down the kitchen. It's just too hot to do everything at once. I took a break to grab sugar and milk from the store and to fill up my gas tank. The gas station owner is this really awesome nice guy, although I have a hard time understanding him. But he's very patient and kind, which is cool. On my way back from the errands, I met another neighbor, Michiko, who is the wife of my neighbor the retired English teacher (whose name, of course, I can't remember). They are super nice. Her English is really good, although she loves to say over and over "I can't speak English I can't speak English!" but with her English and my Japanese it's very easy to talk, actually. His English is better even and he's super nice as well. So they helped me figure out what days the garbage goes out and where to put things and so forth, it was very very helpful, because I really had no idea... and my garbage was starting to pile up. She also invited me in for tea, coffee, beer, or sake! She says. They are my favorite people right now, and it's awesome having two slight English speakers in close proximity. She told me that Ine only has 2'600 people living here, which doesn't shock me. But she says everyone is very nice, which I agreed with. The best was when I was asking about garbage, and she couldn't remember how to explain things so she grabbed my hand and started running towards her house with me in tow. She was ridiculously fast for a 5 foot tall 50-year old woman, I couldn't stop laughing. She then called out her husband. It's funny, cuz when married couples with children talk to each other they call each other "mother" and "father" in honorable terms. No "Oh, honey buggles?" It's "otoosan?' or "okaasan?" things like that. She told me she has a daughter my age, although I couldn't quite communicate with her on where this mystery girl was. Otherwise I would totally invite her to hang out and go to the beach and teach me how to make proper rice balls, cuz the ones I made yesterday were TERRIBLE.

It's really been fun getting to know the neighbors, and this is the first time I say that and actually mean it.

I really wish I could remember any of their names. I'm so bad at this. I only remember the names that I've heard before. Like Yumi, or Yukiko, or Tanaka. Easy ones like that.

Anyway, tomorrow I am having nine people over to go to the beach and destroy my house, but it'll be really awesome to have the company and to show them around! Plus I am looking forward to the seaside drive, it's kind of fun.

Ine Residents poke and taunt spiders

Honjo Spider Harassed by Neighbours

At work lately I have been making lesson plans for my elementary students! As such, I am in the middle of a very annoyingly long lesson for colors. I am making a color game, where kids get to wear color badges (or flashcards that name colours on string) and when I hold up a flashcard that has their colour on it, they jump in the rainbow circle! Sometimes the flashcards will have more than one colour, so more kids have to jump. Challenging for all minds. For older kids I might photocopy spare cards and have them grab the colour, and whoever has the most cards wins! For smarter kids, I could have the same only when they have a card (like, red) and I show something red, they have to call out "red!" in English, and if they forget the word or don't do it, they have to put the card back. And so forth.

Anyway I am halfway done with the game. Then my coworker came around and said he wanted to show me the classrooms in the elementary school next door. So I went with him and we looked around the adorable classrooms. The desks look like they are made for elves. So then he says "OK, I am a first grader, teach me!" Now, how the hell am I expected to teach a 50 year old man about colours when my lesson isn't done and my colour game is half done???? So I explained the game, and he didn't get it. I had to use all of my broken Japanese and demonstrate a zillion times. Then he was like "I understand" and told me my flashcards were too small for the class. I KNOW! THEY ARE FOR THE GAME THEY ARE NOT FLASH CARDS!!!!

So frustrating! Anyway.

I mentioned the bugs yesterday, including the enormous spider that was splayed across my porch! After arriving home from a long day at work, I knew it would still be there. Spiders have a tendency to hang out in their webs and eat bugs all day, from what I've read in books. So there it was, waiting for me, as I got home. Luckily a neighbor noticed me and came over. We said a quick hi and she saw me looking at the bugs. And I said "why are all the spiders at my house? There aren't anywhere else!" She laughed and got her broom. So we sort of picked the spider up and brushed him aside. Or.. her, are spiders girls or boys? They can be both right? Anyway, the spider was on the ground and stopped moving. We were oohing and aahing over its interesting yellow and white patterns. It was a really alien looking spider, after all. Finally the neighbor woman started poking it with the broom and we giggled as it ran away. It ran into the grass and had the hardest time getting into the tall blades and hiding.

Not so big now, are you spider? Can't even take a walk in the grass. Psht.

I am going to get attacked by that same spider in my sleep, just for shaming it. I can feel it.

Then I had some delicious beef (at least I think it's beef) and rice, watched all of my Harry Potter movies and fell into a deep sleep. It was glorious.