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.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
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. :)
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. :)
Friday, September 18, 2009
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).
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).
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
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. : /
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. : /
Sunday, September 13, 2009
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.
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.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
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!
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!
Friday, September 11, 2009
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. :)
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. :)
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