Kimono and Crack-pipes: A Very Japanese Day

1. Crack pipes. Ok, we're starting from the end, but I feel I should explain this one first. Ok, I did not see, nor have I ever seen a crack pipe in Japan. I don't even know what they looked like, but tonight my new friends/second or third set of surrogate Japanese parents/grandparents decided to introduce me to "brandy tea". First of all, they turned the lights down really low. Then Noriko, the mother, poured a cup of tea. Her husband, Ichiro, poured brandy over a sugar cube that he had in a tea spoon and proceeded to light it on fire. I couldn't help but laugh to myself at how much this seemed like we were doing some kind of hard core drugs. Of course, though, it was nothing of the sort and the brandy tea tasted very good.

2. Kimono. Today was the first time I have ever worn a real kimono for winter. I have pictures, but I don't think I'll be able to load them any time soon. This week is getting really busy!!! However, I will say that it really was an experience in itself. There are a ridiculous number of ties and pieces of padding and sashes you have to put on. It's almost like if a tuxedo were a dress and twice as complicated.

3. Gingerbread cookies. I got to make gingerbread cookies today in Uji for a cooking class. It was really great! They weren't really like our gingerbread cookies, but it was close enough, especially considering I won't be able to actually have gingerbread cookies next year. :(

4. Kyoto play-time. Last night was spent out on the town in Kyoto with my friends from Uji celebrating Katherine's birthday. We actually ended up eating at TGI Friday's but we had a great time and did karaoke afterwards. Despite the fact that I'm feeling rather homesick for Christmas, I also can't help still feeling incredibly lucky to be where I am. Kyoto is a wonderful city.

Lastly, I would like to thank everyone who has sent me emails and post cards lately. As the Christmas season sets in I want to let you all know that I am thinking of you. (Also if you don't remember having given me your address, please do so now. I very well may send a gift your way.)
Love love love to you all!
Sarah xoxo

Color Me Qualified

1. Practically a certified teacher. What are the necessary skills required to run a third grade classroom in Japan? Well, whatever they are, two teachers this week have decided that I have them. Yes, twice now I have been left in a room alone with twenty-something nine year-olds and somehow the classes managed to not somehow completely implode. It was a miracle. In the one class I taught shapes via Christmas tree/ornament display and lead a card game afterwards. The second class was much easier, I was just giving a little talk about Christmas and letting the kids ask questions. So, I don't know whether I'm angry or thankful at/for these teachers. On the one hand, I think it's ridiculous that they think I could handle a major conflict in the classroom, should one arise; but on the other hand I'm flattered that they trust me enough to take charge of the class. Either way, I think it was really good for me to realize that I can do something like that. In the future I think I'll be all the more brave for it.

2. Manabi salon is OVER. I had a special class today called "Manabi Salon" (don't ask me why, but in Japan "salon" is synonymous with "classroom" sometimes...). For the class we basically sang songs and played some games. Unfortunately, since Japanese students tend to be shy, the songs were pretty low energy. On the other hand, there were 90 students, so it wasn't that quiet. Overall, the lesson went pretty well and I think the kids had fun. I'm just so glad that it's over, I was worrying about it all week. Yikes!

3. The bus lady. Today I got a present from a woman in town who I met on the bus. It's a Christmas CD of Elvis' "duets" with modern singers. Kind of funny, but I really can't get over how sweet of her it was for her to think of me. As the holidays are drawing near, it's hard to think that I won't be home for Christmas this year. There are even Christmas decorations in downtown Kyoto... Well, before this entry gets too sad, I'll just conclude by saying it is thanks to Japanese people like Yoshimi-san (who gave me the CD) and Erina (whose house I'll be going to for Christmas) that I will be able to make it through the Christmas season with a smile on my face. Really, I'll send pictures.

Thinking of you all, and missing you all very much,
Sarah xoxo

Adorable

It's been a long week of conferences, lectures and mingling so I'm off to bed soon, but I wanted to record one thing:

1. Today one of my students in middle school (an 8th grade boy) asked the Japanese English teacher if "Sarah" was my first name or my last name. Then he asked which part of my name "Emily" was. Then we told him about my last name and he was a bit confused but mostly surprised. It was just a small thing but it was moving at the same time. I couldn't believe he remembered my middle name. I guess I have a new friend in 2-2 (second year of junior high, second classroom).

Bara Babies

1. The Bara room. I got to visit the three year-olds again today and it was another wonderful day of rolly-polly-baby-laughter. I really think I'm the luckiest JET there is. Anyway, I felt pretty good about the amount of English I spoke with the kids today. Now that they know me a bit I feel like I can use more English and they're less likely to lose interest. When I say something to these kids they say things like, "she's still speaking English!" and "what are you saying?" but then they just laugh and we keep playing. Oh, and I also got to put them to sleep for their nap since I was there for the whole day. These are the days when I think, "I can't believe I get paid to do this." Fifteen sleeping babies = so adorable.

2. Bike rides after school. Today I biked to the post office to send something off to Minnesota and on the way I saw two of my elementary students. I heard them say, "Ah, Sarah-sensei" and so I called out, "bye-bye!" to them and they yelled, "bye-bye!" back to me. It's not uncommon but it makes me feel at home in Ujitawara whenever I run into my students outside of school.

3. Sara-sara. The latest thing that the students at the junior high, and the preschool have picked up on is how different my hair is from theirs. They've started messing around with it while saying, "sara-sara! sara-sara!" I believe 'sara-sara' is one of their many sound words and it means... I don't really know but apparently it can be said in regards to the consistency of someone's hair... "soft," maybe? It's actually really amazing; Japanese has tons of designated onomatopoeias like, 'byon-byon' for something that goes fast and 'kira-kira' for something shiny. Anyway, of course, they all think it's also funny that my name is Sarah, although, my favorite association will always be the fact that my name literally means "dish". Japanese can be pretty great sometimes. 

Moshi moshi

1. Moshi moshi. Today I taught some second years at the junior high and one of the taiko kids was in the class. I was helping the kids with their worksheets when someone tapped me on the shoulder. It was that one boy from taiko and he said something like, moshi moshi... something.... I don't know the rest of what he said, but he did a little dance with it. His friends were laughing near by and I could tell that they had made him do it. I felt kind of bad for the kid because I think he was a little embarrassed but I laughed it off with him and everything was okay.

2. Kosumosu (Cosmos) days. Yesterday I went to the Cosmos room at the nursery school and got to play with the kids. I feel like I'm starting to be able to use more English with them now that the kids know who I am and feel comfortable around me. This is great because I was starting to feel like I wasn't doing much good for them in terms of learning English.

3. Three day weekend! Again! I don't know if it's just me, but I feel like we get three day weekends a lot here. I think some of it is that I work on Saturdays sometimes and then get Monday off which makes it feel like a long weekend but... anyway, I'll be climbing a (small) mountain on Monday with Mamiko and then we're going to get our hair cut and go shopping... haha. It sounds funny, but I haven't gotten my hair cut since... May probably so it's about time.

4. Friends and correspondence. I don't know if I wrote to anyone about this, but I met a woman on the bus a few weeks ago who told me that she had spent about four years in Europe. Of course, I was impressed, but then she reminded me that at that time she could only contact her friends and family by mail. Since then I've really been grateful for the emails and letters that I've received while I'm here. I'm not sure if I would be able to make it for a whole year if I didn't have that kind of support and encouragement, so thank you, everyone! Keep writing to me, and I'll keep writing back! xoxo

Is it Christmas yet?

1. Singing in the office. Today I was asked to host a Christmas party/cultural event in the cultural center. We were brainstorming about what I should do (Christmas cards, present exchange) and my boss began singing "White Christmas." Before you knew it there I was singing "White Christmas" with two old Japanese men in Kyoto in early November. Oh, also they asked me if I could play it on piano- most female teachers take piano lessons in Japan. Anyway, I'm going to try. Those two years in elementary school have to be worth something, right?

2. Renée Fleming. If I can't have St. Olaf I can at least pretend I'm there while listening to a little Schubert. Side note: to all you musically inclined Olaf grads: if you have recordings you should send them my way. I'll make you famous in Japan. ;)

3. Charles Dickens: thank you for entertaining characters.
Dostoevsky: see above- also thank you for teaching me about Russia.

4. Minnesota: thank you for teaching me how to survive in the cold. Everyone here complains about the cold but I think I'm going to make it just fine.

5. Halloween. One epic night in Kyoto: bar hopping, kabob-eating, and karaoke singing until dawn. Not something I need to do every week, but not going to lie, it was great fun.

That's all I have for now. Keep warm!

Influenza!!!! Panic!!!! Part II

1. It's like a snow day...  School was closed again yesterday due to influenza. So, I thought that about 5 students had influenza (H1N1 I'm pretty sure) and now about 70 students have it. At our school that's about 1/5 of the students. So, I taught one class (in one of those medical masks, which is not easy when you're teaching a language) and then all of the teachers convened in the staff room for a meeting. I heard "influenza" and "meet outside" or I thought I did, but I didn't understand everything so I asked one of the English teachers who said, "The school will close from now, we will go home." So, I walked back to the office at the Board of Education and spent yet another day pretending to do work.

2. "Halloween!!!"  "-it's tomorrow." Last night my Uji friends and I went out to celebrate Halloween, that's right, one day early. Being busy bees in Japan, some of us have things to do on Sunday so Friday was the chosen night for Halloween mayhem i.e. Pubs and lots of karaoke. The night was a huge success as it was a smaller group of our Uji friends and the karaoke wasn't so deafeningly loud as last time. Also our prefectural adviser came out with us as well which was a trip. He's our age but is technically our "higher up." Anyway, we had kabobs as well and ended the night in a Rastafarian "bar" eating sweet potato fries and salad underneath a heavily canopied ceiling that looked like a college dorm room, just waiting to be busted for blatant disregard of fire code.

3. Japanese weather. It's 75 degrees here and sunny... and it's practically November. Just sayin', I don't mind the sun, I don't mind at all...

Influenza!!!! Panic!!!!

Ok, don't panic. That probably wasn't a smart title, but I'm leaving it.

1. School at the j-high has been closed due to influenza. Maybe 5 students have H1N1. This is good because I was actually beginning to worry about getting sick. School resumes on Friday. I'm not sure if this is an effective means of stopping the flu, but I like to think it helps.

2. I ate lunch with the 1st graders today. Today I got to spend lunch time with the most adorable 1st graders! There's one girl who always comes up to me at school to say hello and it was really fun to get to play with her and her friends out on the playground. Also, I was really impressed with one little boy who sat at the table and already knew how to say, "I like oranges". He is six years old! The 5th graders were working on that same grammar point today in class. It was interesting, though. I asked him where he had gone to preschool and it was a place I had never heard of (so probably a private school outside of Ujitawara) and the girl who was always running after me apparently went to the same preschool. Starting early makes a difference...

3. Curry: my unavoidable savior/foe. I know this is supposed to be only happy things, but this was funny. I absolutely failed at making miso soup tonight. The curry udon was the only thing that turned out. It tasted good, but wasn't what you would call a well-balanced meal. My friend Mamiko makes fun of me for eating curry all the time... I guess I just can't escape it. Oh well. :)

Soulmate(s): found

1. Three year olds. Today was my first day in the "bara," or rose, room with the three year-olds at the nursery school. They were the most adorable children I have ever met in my life. They were so tiny, but they could talk fairly well, unlike the two year-olds, and when I spoke English they would fall all around me in piles, giggling. So cute. So, so, so incredibly cute. They were also way less temperamental than the four and five year-olds. I don't think I'll be visiting them very often but I can't wait to see them all again. Oh, and the best part was when I left I stopped outside of one of the other rooms to say goodbye to some of the other kids and I heard a rushing of feet- about ten of the bara-kids had run out of their room and came down the hall yelling, "Sarah-sensei! Sarah-sensei!" My day was made.

Nothing else compares with that, but here are a few other things that happened today:

2. Taiko practice. Me and the Vietnamese beginners are getting better at our song "Don don bayashi". The best part of practice, though, was getting to see Trang. She's 24 and a mom already! Her baby is 3 years old and still in Vietnam with her husband. She's a really amazing person, I think, and really fun to be around. We play the same drum together so we have time to chat during practice. Also we got to talk to Yui who is one of the practice leaders of taiko. Yui is also really awesome. She's an incredible taiko player and really sweet. I think she wants to be a nursery school teacher, actually...

3. Halloween bingo. And I thought I would never use bingo as a lesson plan... I was wrong, and it's a good thing, too. Today was one of the most fun days at the junior high. I got to tell the class a little bit about Halloween and we had a good time playing Halloween bingo (I made a set of 25 cards for each student with pictures of vampires, werewolves etc.). It took a lot of prep time, but seeing as I had no classes yesterday it all turned out all right. Plus, it made me look really productive. Yes, I know how to wield a copy machine and pair of scissors with the best of them. I also drew some cute pictures... good times.

4. Apples and peanut butter. Thanks to my parents I have delicious peanut butter; thanks to Japan I have delicious apples. The perfect snack before bed...

Presents

  Other fun things happened today, but I think I need to let this one stand on its own:

1. In a brown envelope I received a wonderful letter from a good friend. There was also a neon pink post-it attached to what looked like a small pack of colored paper. The post-it read, "Enjoy these Anarchist posters! The blue one is my favorite."

Yoi yoi yoi yoi!

1. Omikoshi. Mini (read: rather large) shrines carried on the shoulders of eighty men- two of whom ride on top of the shrine. The scene: Ujitawara, mid-day, lots of families about, I am with my slightly eccentric/fairly shy friend Kimiyo watching three of these portable shrines (omikoshi) be carried back to their homes (respective temples/shrines).
  This day (Sunday) was one of the best so far here in Ujitwara. I had plenty of children come up to me and say hello, and I got to meet some of Kimiyo's friends. It was also a great chance to catch up with Kimiyo and explore a little bit of my town. We visited one terrific matcha ice cream store, one bakery, and one coffee/cake/ice cream shop... no actual lunch, but I can assure you, it was all delicious. :)
  I also got to meet her father and of course, as at any town gathering, some important old men. These particular old men seemed to think that I was English. They then asked if I were Canadian (not the first time I've heard this, actually; I think it's because the first ALT here was from Canada, and Kamloops, BC is Uji(not to be confused with Ujitawara)'s sister city). They were very surprised to hear I was American... I don't know why... I was wearing a scarf? Probably.
  Anyway, there were strong looking dads and dads who looked way too young to be dads, and all sorts of other guys carrying these shrines. The most amazing part was when they would lift the 30m pole off of their shoulders and toss the whole shrine from side to side and up and down yelling "yoi yoi yoi yoi!" back and forth with the men on top. There was so much gold ornamtetation on the shrine you could hear it jangling above their yelling.  But these things really were incredibly heavy. Even with 80 people carrying one (forty to each of the two poles) they had to rest every 100m or so- and by rest, I mean wander around and drink sake. Awesome. Also, they began carrying these omikoshi at 12:30 and when I was going home at 6:00 I think I heard one of them arrive at the shrine nearest to my house. Oh- they not only had to carry that omikoshi 1/2-1 mile; they had to carry it up a mountain at the end. Talk about a manly festival. Drinking sake+yelling+carrying/shaking large heavy objects = manly Japanese festival. Yup.

2. Engeki. Japanese plays. On Saturday night, all of my friends from Uji came out to Ujitawara and we had a great time at the local Japanese theatrical performance. We saw a traditional Japanese stringed instrument- not shamisen... but something else. We saw a performance of the type of flute used in Noh theatre. The best, though, was a comic play done in a style that was quite plainly, incredibly Japanese. I had seen clips of performances kind of like this before and I always wondered why they used such ridiculous voices. You know the way that kids make fun of the Japanese and Chinese languages? Not going to lie, it sounded a lot like that, even to me. I realized, though, that they weren't just making funny noises.  It's like a mock melodramatic style. Like when Americans pretend to be ridiculously English in an attempt to be melodramtic- the overblown pronunciation and exaggerated lilt, the gesturing. It's like that... only in Japanese. Not going to lie, I was a little bit proud of myself for figuring that one out... if I did in fact understand it correctly. You know what, though? I really enjoyed the play. I had someone- well, the mayor, actually- translating some of it for me, but I understood a lot and it was pretty funny. Kind of sexist, but overall very amusing. And, again, when I didn't understand the Japanese, the tone of voice was all I needed to keep me laughing. My friends who don't speak any Japanese thought it was great too. I wish I had a recording of their voices but, alas, I forgot my camera that night... Next time...

3. I got the most amazing care package from my parents today. It looks like I'll have proper Halloween candy after all... thank you mom and dad!!!

4. I had only one lesson today at the middle school, but it went really well. I got to talk to my students a bit and I'm making a little suggestion box where they can write questions in English for me and I will write them back. Looking for ways to become a better English teacher... It's can be hard since I'm really not a born language teacher... little kids I understand very well but outlining grammar and making it fun at the same time... challenging!!!! Oh well, gambarimasu!

Tea is a wonderful thing

1. Tea. I had my friend Mamiko over for tea today and we talked until I had taiko. It's really great to have a friend here in Ujitawara.

2. Taiko. We're beginning to learn a new song in taiko and it's pretty fun.

3. Children. The kids at the nursery school today were actually asking me how to say things in English. I think they may have learned something today and if it was even one word that makes me really happy.

TYPHOOOOOOOOn!

1. First typhoon experience: check. Survived a typhoon and no, I wasn't all that scared, although for an entire day prior everyone was saying, "heh~ hitoridakarane, kowaiyo!" You're alone, it's going to be so scary! I'm glad everyone is concerned about me... but the wind wasn't that bad and the power didn't go out. I think baseball sized hail is much more frightening.

2. Godzilla appeared in one of the children's books today. Apparently he is alive and well.

3.  I am going to bed early. NEMUI! I'm tired!

Barbeque at Minnesotan(esque) Lake and Another Wonderful Elementary Visit

Yesterday I went to Biwa-ko, the biggest lake in Japan. So, overall my weekend was, in the words of Saif Ali Khan, "rocking-hai!" Very exciting.

1. Barbeque at Biwa-ko with Kenji-sensei. One of the nursery school teachers took me along with his parents and his wife (who is due to have a baby in about 4 weeks!) to this amazing lake, and we got to enjoy the cool breeze under some pine trees. It was the most Minnesotan atmosphere I have yet encountered in Japan. It was a bit awkward, since I don't know them that well and they were doing so much for me (this often happens in Japan, that foreigners- being all alone- are invited to join family outings and they even plan what they will eat around what you say you like) but I just had to remind myself that this was also an opportunity for them to enjoy an afternoon in the sun. Overall, we had a great time and got along really well; and if the conversation ever dipped, Kenji was always be ready with a  joke and plenty of laughter- seriously, if Santa were younger and Japanese, it would be Kenji.

2. Books. I mentioned this before, but it is SO nice to have various materials to read in school, after school, waiting for anything. Hooray for books!

3. I visited Ujitawara Elementary School today (the one that served me hot chocolate) and it was amazing! The teachers there really know what they're doing and the kids are actually surprisingly good at English for their age. It was so cute, they kept coming up to me and telling me their names and I got invited out to recess to play jump rope. It was a great day at elementary school. Oh, I even lead a game or two- not my strong point, but I'm learning. Did I mention how cute they are? So cute.

4. Udon noodles: "Great success!" I made udon today with actual udon sauce instead of cheating and making curry udon. It was really good! That adds a whole new dimension to my diet. Now I can cook two things!

5. This week feels like another vacation because... I'm  not going to the Junior High this week! You have no idea how excited I was to see that on my schedule. Those kids are cute and wacky, but sitting at my desk is boring and anticipating what my teachers are going to ask me to do next has been pretty stressful lately. It will get better, but after last week I'm so glad to have a break. Yay.

Books, Babies and Oodles of Noodles

Today was a great day. I ate well and I got to see my friend Erina. Erina lived with my great aunt and uncle (Caroline and Dutton) for about three years when she was in high school. In fact, she's the one who first taught me Japanese. So, anyway, here's the list:

1. Eating shabushabu with Erina in Kyoto. Shabushabu is basically like fondue but with less cheese, and more tofu and vegetables. Erina and I had a great time chatting during dinner and relaxing after a long week. (Yes, today is Saturday, but I went to the nursery school undoukai, and while it was fun and the kids were cute, today still kind of feels like Friday).

2. Shopping with Erina and her cousin AND finding books! First of all, Erina's cousin was really cool. She speaks great English so we had  a fairly bilingual conversation going the whole time- she studied abroad in Vancouver. But books: I bought a book by Joyce Carol Oates which I'm really excited to read. I read a short story by her once and it was fantastic. Also, I bought Oliver Twist- the Penguin Classics edition, of course. :) For those who don't know, that was the edition we bought for our Dickens seminar last fall. It was so exciting to see all of the Penguin Classics lined up- an entire shelf!- at the bookstore. Ok, maybe you think I'm a total nerd, but I haven't seen anything like it in several months. I could have hugged that bookshelf.

3. Soba. I ate soba with a woman from the nursery school and some of her coworkers from the town office today in Shiga-ken. Shiga is a prefecture right next to Kyoto. Ujitawara's actually pretty close to it. Anyway, we drove through the mountains (beautiful!) to this tiny little store in the middle of nowhere. It had a giant sign, though, that just said "soba" or, そば, rather. Anyway, the soba was really delicious, and the atmosphere was really nice and really Japanese. We sat on the floor, of course, around a sort of dug out fireplace (which we didn't use, soba is served cold). And we were right next to a large window/door through which we could see bamboo trees waving in the wind. It was the kind of green that reminds me of Minnesota. It was really nice.

4. I got to see the nursery school students jump around today at their sports festival. It was cute, but the funniest was when they would get really confused and start crying. I know this sounds really bad, but it was so adorable. They would be organizing for a race, or an obstacle, then totally space out so that when they finally found their way back to reality everything around them had changed and they were so disoriented they just got really upset. They were fine. It was cute.

5. Mousukoshinareta. I think I'm getting more used to being in Ujitawara. And I love being this close to Kyoto. I am so lucky!

おしまい！The end (for today)

Wednesday is the day before Thursday

1. I wateched Kal Ho Naa Ho with Mamiko. Unfortunately, I think I've officially seen that movie too many times (sorry Emma!), but it was really fun nonetheless. Mamiko brought over some chirazushi.... I think that's what it's called. It's like the sweet rice that you eat with shredded egg... it may not sound like it, but it was really tasty and we laughed a lot so it was a terrific night overall.

2.  One of the girls at the middle school tried to drag me to class with her today. She's adorable. And of course she had to see the "sunflowers" in my eyes before leaving. So I opened my eyes really wide and she was all bikkuri (surprised). I think this himawari thing is somehow getting around school... sillies.

3. Tomorrow is October. Wow.

Oops!

Hello all! I went to Nagsaki last week, so I haven't written in about a week. Sorry! I'll try and give you a list of the cool things that happened in the last week:

1. "Camping" with my host family. This meant renting a cabin for one night at the closest national park and eating as much barbeque, curry, roll cake and castella (another kind of cake, which Nagasaki is "famous for") as was humanly possible.

2. Meeting up with my old friend Kei who went the same university as me in Nagsaki for the semester that I was there. He's Japanese and will graduate next spring. We also got to meet up with some new students at Gaidai (the university). It was a really fun night just talking, eating and drinking.

3. Walking around Nagasaki by myself. I know this sounds lonely and the part where I was a little bit lost wasn't really all that fun, but for the most part it was really great to spend time wandering around the city like I used to. I found my way to Meganebashi, the oldest arch bridge in Japan, and I found an artsy little shop in Hamanomachi, the shopping district.

4. I bought two hats at the mall with my host sister, Shiori. They are the cutest hats I've ever seen in my life. Yes.

5. Visiting Nathan Johndro. Nathan lives in a city called Tagawa in Fukuoka prefecture. It took a while to get there, but I really got to see another side of Japan. Even riding the train made me feel like I was somewhere new. Of course, the best part was getting to talk to Nathan in person and walk around his city with him. Good times.

6. Having some other JETs over to my apartment to watch a movie. Okay, so the movie ended up being depressing and weird, despite the fact that it was in the ROMANTIC COMEDY section of itunes. Boo face. However, Anna, Katherine and I had a good laugh over it in the end. Mostly, it was great to have them over to my apartment for the first time. I'm sure it won't be the last. We're thinking of having a Halloween party here actually.

7. Three hours of taiko practice. Basically this group keeps getting more and more amazing. I got to watch some of the more advanced people practicing and now I'm really excited about the kind of songs we might get to do in the future!

Today:

8. Meeting the teachers at my second elementary school. One of them seemed especially nice, she sat down with me while I drank the HOT COCOA that they offered me. :) I'm obviously really excited to go there again (and not just for the hot chocolate).

9. I got to see my two year-olds today again at the nursery school and they really seemed excited to see me again! I have to say, it's so adorable when they call me "sensei" because they are still speaking baby-talk so it comes out like "sen~shei". It's hard to write, but it's so cute, trust me.

10. NO BUGS! It is getting cooler and the bugs seem to have left. My apartment is a happy place. :)

On Friday Nights I Hang Out With Old Men

1. I had my "welcome party" tonight, which mostly is an excuse for the ALT employers to get together and drink, but it ended up being a lot of fun. The beginning was really awkward because I was sitting with my direct boss and my boss's boss. Also, it was literally me and five old(ish) men. What's more, old men are probably the most difficult demographic for me to understand. There was a lot of nodding and smiling tonight, although, when I was engaged and paying attention I could understand most of what was going on. I moved over to the "young folks table" half-way through (this means two men who were perhaps less than 50, but probably one of them was about 55...) Anyway, I got to talk to Okuyama-san who is my absolute favorite at the Board of Education. He's really nice and he takes the time to explain things to me. Also, I found out tonight that he speaks French! His pronunciation is really great too. Of course, despite the fact that we all had a fairly good time, I know that when I show up to work a week from now (break is coming up) no one will say anything about it. This is what I've heard. Silly Japan...

2. I made the most awesome flash cards today to use while teaching the song, "This Old Man" to the elementary school kids. I know I've said I don't like making flash cards, but these ones are colorful and a little strange ('one' opposite 'thumb', 'two' opposite 'shoe' etc.), and it really beat sitting at my desk at the junior high doing nothing (all the colored paper and the laminating machine are at the BOE).

3. This happened a few days ago but: I played Radiohead for Mamiko the other night. The look on her face was so great. She had clearly never heard anything like it. I don't think she particularly liked it, but it just tickles me that someone on the other side of the earth was responding to their music like that. Her expression was a mixture of disbelief, confusion and... fascination might be too strong of a word but... souiukanji (it's that kind of feeling).

Art

The search continues but...

1. I have acquired access to the room with the piano. We'll see if it all pans out tomorrow.

2. My plans for Nagasaki are shaping up into something of a nice trip, which I'm sure will turn out to be all too short.

3. Grad school search continues to be thrilling, terrifying.

That's all for today. : /

Byodo-in and Green Ice Cream

Okay, so I didn't eat matcha ice cream today, but I saw a lot of it.
Here's today's list:

1. Taiko. Yes, I joined a taiko group. It meets in the cultural center next to my apartment. The girls there are great, and I get to speak to 4 Vietnamese people in Japanese... talk about crazy.

2. The room we practiced in was fairly sound-proof and contained a piano... future practice room? The wheels are turning...

3. I went to Byodo-in with my friend Kimiyo (in Uji, home-town of green tea-flavored ice cream). She's really fun to hang out with. We also went to Uji-jinja. It was one of the more beautiful shrines I've been to. It was simple but really well put together... hard to explain. Also, Kimiyo speaks French; she lived in France for a year and a half. She said that next time we get together we should speak only in French and make penalties for when we use English or Japanese... needless to say, she's awesome.

Old Ladies and Ancient Temples

I am rather tired so the list will be brief:

1. Meeting up with Shinichi in Kyoto for a fun-filled day!!! It was great getting to see an old friend. :)

2. Kiyomizudera. It's an incredible temple with a huge drop off by the stage... it's in the mountains... Even though it was raining, it is the most impressive and most beautiful temple I've seen yet in Japan. I bought omamori (good luck charms) one of which was for VICTORY!!!, which I thought was pretty funny.

3. I went to my first modern Japanese play. Shinichi told me later that they were avoiding using nouns, so they would say "this thing that..." or "that is..." and never actually say what they were talking about. This made me feel a lot better about the fact that I barely understood what was going on. It was a very artsy production, though. Emo music, low lighting and lots of yelling. Great stuff. :)

4. My cappuccino had a rabbit's face on it.

5. I met a nice old lady on the bus who told me either I was so cute it made her cry, or I was so pathetic it made her cry... I'm still not sure which she meant, though I hope it was the former. :)

Ggggggggoodnight!

Sometimes grading homework makes my day

1. Here are some samples:

I went to the club.
everyday.
very tired.

I am a CHEETAH!!!!

The camp was I'm exhausted.
But I lerned many things.


2. I also went to taiko today! It wasn't crazy-awesome, but it was pretty fun. For those who don't know, taiko is traditional Japanese drumming. Also, we're going to dance souran bushi which I learned in yosakoi last year. Also, one of the leader girls there was really cool. I may soon have TWO awesome Japanese friends in Ujitawara... fingers crossed...

3. Had pancakes in Uji with my friend Anna who also speaks French, a little Japanese and English (she's Canadian). We're totally going to start a trilingual school when we get back to the other side of the Pacific. :)

Today is Wednesday.

1. Wednesday means it is half-way through the week.

2. I got to see middle school students dance to 'Don't Stop Me Now' by Queen.

3. I successfully planned and executed a simple lesson. Actually, I over-planned which was way better than being underprepared.

4. Tomorrow is Thursday.

Time flies...

Well, looks like I never did use this blog for Nagasaki. Zannen. Too bad. But, I recently came up with a brilliant idea!

You know how when you write home it's usually to complain about something? Well, in the hopes that at least some of my correspondence might be full of shiny wonderful shiawase (happiness), I thought I would use this blog to record the good things that happen to me on a daily (or somewhat daily) basis.

So it begins, here are a few of my favorite things.
As one student said today, これから、よろしくお願いします！

1. The student mentioned above who came up to me this morning at the elementary school and said, "Sarah-sensei, korekara yoroshikuonegaishimasu." This means literally, "Sarah-sensei, from now on I wish good things for us all," but it was hilarious because this is the sort of thing that people say around the office. Not something usually heard- at least I haven't usually heard it- when talking with children.

2. The fifth-grade girl who asked me what my favorite kind of classical music was.

3. Feeling somewhat prepared for lessons.

4. Daydreaming about grad school. I just found out about a program in multilingual education at NYU...

5. Real internet. :)

6. Takoyaki (fried octopus balls) party with one of the nursery school teachers. I love takoyaki and I love Kitayama-sensei. He's the best story-teller at the hoikusho (nursery school).

I could go on, but I must away, forsooth!
Please enjoying with us!!!!!
Sarah-sensei xoxo