Just like last year, this year there is a speech contest. I'm staying after until usually around 5:30 to 6 to help out the kids with their speeches. I've even gone in a few weekends. One of my kids is doing a story about a mountain and a bird where the bird goes to the mountain every year to see if it's a suitable place to raise a family or not. Another is doing a story about her name. At Niitsuki one is doing a story on global warming effectively, and the other is doing the speech on organic fertilizer. The students, not surprisingly, all have the same pronunciation problems. They can't pronounce R, L, F, and TH. Some other problems they run into are S on the ends of words and trying to put vowels on the ends of words where they don't belong. Last year my kids did good, getting 1st in recitation, and 2nd and 3rd in composition. Hoping they do good again this year, that they all get some prize of sorts. They give prizes to the first 6 in recitation, and first 3 in composition. The top 2 in recitation and the top spot in composition get to go on to the prefectural competition. Go Jonan and Niitsuki!
Still trying to get a girlfriend, and still failing. It's hard to match up to the white guys here who are better looking and more interesting than I am. Don't really feel like giving up though. Even if I do become invisible to girls when I go hunting with the 2 white guys who really know how to kill it in that department, my friend said it best, "I only need one." Unfortunately that "one" is hard to come by.
彼女【かのじょ】 (kanojo) she; her; her; girl friend; girlfriend; sweetheart
Monday, September 10, 2012
Monday, August 27, 2012
Back to School, Dance Crew
It's freaking hot. Not as hot as Taiwan was, but still hot. I hate it when people say stuff like "that isn't ____, ____ is much _____er." Like the winter here. It gets down to -10C or so, and some people say that's not cold because they used to live in -30C winters. Ok well go outside in shorts and a t-shirt during -10C weather then. Or like when people say "English isn't hard, _____ is harder." Sigh... the self-righteousness of people sometimes.
Anyway so it's back to school today. In the morning we had an opening ceremony which I almost fell asleep through. No classes today because the kids are having tests. They have summer homework here and freak out when I tell them we don't have summer homework. Also, tests right when you come back? Killer! The students always comment on how long the American summer vacation is. It's pretty nice I tell you. For those who say it's too long, you just don't know what to do with your free time. Watching TV isn't such a bad choice!
I met some dancers over the past week. They are very cool. Hoping to hang out with them more in the future. These people are the kind I was hoping to meet ever since I got to Japan. I saw a dance performance they did on Saturday and they rocked it. They do popping and locking, most have done it for a few years now. I miss breakdancing so I'm hoping to get into dancing with these guys. My body coordination has fallen by the wayside though, hoping for a comeback!
始業式【しぎょうしき】 (shi/gyou/shiki) opening ceremony (of the school term)
Anyway so it's back to school today. In the morning we had an opening ceremony which I almost fell asleep through. No classes today because the kids are having tests. They have summer homework here and freak out when I tell them we don't have summer homework. Also, tests right when you come back? Killer! The students always comment on how long the American summer vacation is. It's pretty nice I tell you. For those who say it's too long, you just don't know what to do with your free time. Watching TV isn't such a bad choice!
始業式【しぎょうしき】 (shi/gyou/shiki) opening ceremony (of the school term)
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Back in Japan, Minato Matsuri
Back in Japan now for almost a week. It's been fun but expensive. Got to meet the 2 Pierres who are both pretty cool. Hoping to go girl hunting with one of them because it would be really nice to not be single anymore.
I got back just in time for the Minato Matsuri (Minato festival). It was really cool, the first day they had some places where you could go play games and shop for things and eat different kinds of food. They had fireworks in the evening.
I got back just in time for the Minato Matsuri (Minato festival). It was really cool, the first day they had some places where you could go play games and shop for things and eat different kinds of food. They had fireworks in the evening.
The next day they lined the main street with mostly food carts. The Olympic fencers who won a silver medal gave a speech (Go Kenta Chida! He's my teacher's son). I wasn't really listening but it seemed like they were pretty excited.
Next they had a dance on the street with all the middle schools, some of the elementary schools and some other groups participating. It was cool, except that they played the same song for 3 straight hours (with a few 5 minute breaks in-between). The name of the dance is called "Hamarainya" and means something like "let's dance."
I'll get to the price comparison pictures sometime later!
踊る【おどる】 (odoru) to dance
Sunday, August 5, 2012
Back Home
Been back in America now for pretty much 2 weeks. Got to see a lot of people I had been wanting to see and overall I'm happy with the vacation I took back here. I got asked by some people why I went home instead of taking a trip somewhere else. Of course it's because I missed my friends and family, but the real reason is because I don't have a lot of close friends left, so the ones I still have here I want to keep a strong relationship with them. I'm not sure where they'll be in a year or so, so it's good to visit them now.
It's the same every time I come back home from living in a foreign country. I get into my room and it feels like the whole trip was just a dream. It feels really weird and for a split second like I never left. I don't really like the feeling because it feels like it cheapens the experience. I don't know how to really explain it.
Next post I'm hoping to get some price comparison pictures up. Should be interesting, Japan can be pretty expensive.
年休【ねんきゅう】 (nenkyuu) yearly paid vacation
It's the same every time I come back home from living in a foreign country. I get into my room and it feels like the whole trip was just a dream. It feels really weird and for a split second like I never left. I don't really like the feeling because it feels like it cheapens the experience. I don't know how to really explain it.
Next post I'm hoping to get some price comparison pictures up. Should be interesting, Japan can be pretty expensive.
年休【ねんきゅう】 (nenkyuu) yearly paid vacation
Friday, July 20, 2012
Goodbye Rachel
Last Tuesday we had a goodbye party for Rachel at Frisa's place. We had Mexican food and it was very good. It worked out perfectly as we had planned to do this for a while but didn't know how to get Rachel invited without hinting that it was a surprise party. Frisa invited her to go eat at a Thai restaurant while drunk so she believed him. It was a good night.
During the night we showed her a video that I had made (it took a month!) that had all the ALTs saying goodbye. The video starts out with a few seconds of karaoke, followed by ALTs' goodbyes, then some pictures that I tried to arrange to tell a story (probably failed on this), then goodbyes from some of the shops that she really likes in Kesennuma. Bloopers followed, and finally credits. I also downloaded and burned to DVD all of her Facebook pictures as she had mentioned a while back that she had wanted to do that but couldn't reasonably (by the time I finished downloading all the pictures, there were over 10,000 of them).
And just last night we had another surprise (sorta) goodbye party where BOE members and ALTs met up at PinPon. More good times. The after party was at Stray Sheep, the BEST bar in Kesennuma!
Goodbye Rachel, after 5 years of Kesennuma!
I'm going back to Oregon for a while and will be back on the 10th of August, just in time for Minato Matsuri. Looking forward to it!
送別会【そうべつかい】 (sou/betsu/kai) farewell party
During the night we showed her a video that I had made (it took a month!) that had all the ALTs saying goodbye. The video starts out with a few seconds of karaoke, followed by ALTs' goodbyes, then some pictures that I tried to arrange to tell a story (probably failed on this), then goodbyes from some of the shops that she really likes in Kesennuma. Bloopers followed, and finally credits. I also downloaded and burned to DVD all of her Facebook pictures as she had mentioned a while back that she had wanted to do that but couldn't reasonably (by the time I finished downloading all the pictures, there were over 10,000 of them).
And just last night we had another surprise (sorta) goodbye party where BOE members and ALTs met up at PinPon. More good times. The after party was at Stray Sheep, the BEST bar in Kesennuma!
Goodbye Rachel, after 5 years of Kesennuma!
I'm going back to Oregon for a while and will be back on the 10th of August, just in time for Minato Matsuri. Looking forward to it!
送別会【そうべつかい】 (sou/betsu/kai) farewell party
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Japan America Differences Part 3
41. When people here are sick, they wear masks (those SARS masks if you remember those).
42. At least in middle school, every kid has to join some school club, whether it be the soccer club or the art club.
43. While America uses 3 holes on the side of its paper for binding, Japan uses 2 holes. I believe this is the main reason Japan and America sometimes have a hard time being friends.
44. In English, people congratulate each other on the new year itself "Happy new years!" but in Japanese, people congratulate each other on the rising of the sun the day of the new year (more specifically, darkness giving way to light, and indicating that a new year is upon us, but yeah).
45. Japan speaks Japanese and America speaks mostly English (you don't say!)
46. At least in my city, there are bells at certain times of the day (6 am, noon and 6 pm are the only ones I can remember at this time) to remind you what general time it is.
47. Despite Japanese people being "quiet" and "polite," the way you get the server's attention in a restaurant is to yell "Excuse me (sumimasen)!" If they aren't around, you yell louder so they can hear you in the back. In the states we usually just raise our hand or make eye contact. There is also a button in many restaurants that you can hit to make a server come over. Very convenient.
48. Not that there isn't a glass ceiling still in the states, but it's VERY apparent here and women don't have near the respect that men have.
49. Japanese houses/apartments have a small place just to take off your shoes at the very entrance of the house called a genkan. Every Japanese take their shoes off before entering someone's house. Not everyone does this in the states.
50. The Japanese say something like "excuse me" as they enter someone's house.
51. Books are read from right to left and open from left to right in general.
52. People brush 3 times a day in Japan instead of 2 (or in my case, 1 often times).
53. Japanese can't tell the difference between a green light and the first 2-3 seconds of a red light.
53. Speaking of lights, Japan calls green lights "blue" even though they are green in color.
54. Instead of DMV and emission checks, Japan has bi-yearly car inspections to determine if a car is still road worthy. It can cost around $1,000.
55. ATMs can close. WTF? Very convenient in this CASH based society let me tell you.
56. When you receive change after paying for things, they hand you the dollar bills first and then the coins.
57. A lot of Japanese sit down when they take showers on little stools.
58. Nobody says "goodbye" on the phones here. They just say something like "ok then!" or something to that effect.
59. People point to their nose when they point to themselves here.
60. Instead of just a wave when someone lets you in a car lane here, people honk or hit their safety lights for a few seconds.
It's taking a while to knock these ones out so probably going to go down to 10 at a time from now on.
42. At least in middle school, every kid has to join some school club, whether it be the soccer club or the art club.
43. While America uses 3 holes on the side of its paper for binding, Japan uses 2 holes. I believe this is the main reason Japan and America sometimes have a hard time being friends.
44. In English, people congratulate each other on the new year itself "Happy new years!" but in Japanese, people congratulate each other on the rising of the sun the day of the new year (more specifically, darkness giving way to light, and indicating that a new year is upon us, but yeah).
45. Japan speaks Japanese and America speaks mostly English (you don't say!)
46. At least in my city, there are bells at certain times of the day (6 am, noon and 6 pm are the only ones I can remember at this time) to remind you what general time it is.
47. Despite Japanese people being "quiet" and "polite," the way you get the server's attention in a restaurant is to yell "Excuse me (sumimasen)!" If they aren't around, you yell louder so they can hear you in the back. In the states we usually just raise our hand or make eye contact. There is also a button in many restaurants that you can hit to make a server come over. Very convenient.
48. Not that there isn't a glass ceiling still in the states, but it's VERY apparent here and women don't have near the respect that men have.
49. Japanese houses/apartments have a small place just to take off your shoes at the very entrance of the house called a genkan. Every Japanese take their shoes off before entering someone's house. Not everyone does this in the states.
50. The Japanese say something like "excuse me" as they enter someone's house.
51. Books are read from right to left and open from left to right in general.
52. People brush 3 times a day in Japan instead of 2 (or in my case, 1 often times).
53. Japanese can't tell the difference between a green light and the first 2-3 seconds of a red light.
53. Speaking of lights, Japan calls green lights "blue" even though they are green in color.
54. Instead of DMV and emission checks, Japan has bi-yearly car inspections to determine if a car is still road worthy. It can cost around $1,000.
55. ATMs can close. WTF? Very convenient in this CASH based society let me tell you.
56. When you receive change after paying for things, they hand you the dollar bills first and then the coins.
57. A lot of Japanese sit down when they take showers on little stools.
58. Nobody says "goodbye" on the phones here. They just say something like "ok then!" or something to that effect.
59. People point to their nose when they point to themselves here.
60. Instead of just a wave when someone lets you in a car lane here, people honk or hit their safety lights for a few seconds.
It's taking a while to knock these ones out so probably going to go down to 10 at a time from now on.
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Busy Month
So I haven't written for a while but it's not exactly because I'm lazy. Well, I am, but whatever. This month has been super busy for me as I prepare to go back to the states for a few weeks on vacation. I'm trying to figure out what I need to do when I'm back, what pictures to take to show people, etc. I also need to figure out my taxes as I've passed the deadline and have just kind of been "hiding" out and not worrying about them. Probably not a good idea but I'll deal with that back home.
Also been trying to hang out with people who are leaving this year. One of them is leaving Kesennuma after 5 years, the longest she's ever lived in one place, so that's pretty special. I'm also working on some projects that are taking up a lot of my time. They'll be well worth it when I'm done though.
I went to a place with Kevin over the weekend called Chuusonji 中尊寺 which is a temple located in Hiraizumi. I went there mainly to buy souvenirs for people back home, but also got to eat a cool dish called Wanko Soba. Picture below:
There were 24 bowls of soba and that sounds like a lot but each bowl only had a little bit in it so it worked out to be a little more than a normal meal. It was good.
This was the 2nd time I'd been to Chuusonji and it sucked because both times it was raining. Maybe if I go again it won't be raining.
Not sure if I'll get a chance to update again before I leave to the US, probably will, but if I don't, eat dirt!
Also been trying to hang out with people who are leaving this year. One of them is leaving Kesennuma after 5 years, the longest she's ever lived in one place, so that's pretty special. I'm also working on some projects that are taking up a lot of my time. They'll be well worth it when I'm done though.
I went to a place with Kevin over the weekend called Chuusonji 中尊寺 which is a temple located in Hiraizumi. I went there mainly to buy souvenirs for people back home, but also got to eat a cool dish called Wanko Soba. Picture below:
This was the 2nd time I'd been to Chuusonji and it sucked because both times it was raining. Maybe if I go again it won't be raining.
Not sure if I'll get a chance to update again before I leave to the US, probably will, but if I don't, eat dirt!
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