Relocation: Fukui, Japan!

果物　Fruit! 食べ方 How to eat!

2007-07-20T05:16:00.000-07:00

So I know it fs been awhile since I've written but I thought I fd come back with something random and not very major at all: school lunch today.

Well, actually, there was no school lunch today... but people brought their own bento, a box lunch. I bought mine at a local store and complimented it with a peach and some water.

Every day I bring a bottle of water to school but as it is so hot it is never enough so I re-fill it with school water. There is a cooler with ice tea in it but I feel like it never satiates my thirst, even though it tastes good. In America the cooler would probably be ice water... which I miss very much. So, I make do with the school sink water despite everyone's astonishment that I'll actually drink it. (Water in Japan is perfectly safe, at least as safe as America anyway. But people just don't drink it except at restaurants).

With the peach, people were astonished with two things: one that I didn ft peel it first. People peel EVERYTHING here... grapes(yes grapes!!!), persimmons, apples... they never eat the skins. So perhaps to them it looked like I was biting into a nice big orange without peeling it first! Also, they were astonished I would eat any fruit without cutting it up first. Apples and other round fruit are cut and peeled, oranges peeled and quartered... everything is peeled, cut, and prepared extravagantly. They fact that I was just biting into my unpeeled peach got giggles and confused looks. So I asked a friend, gWhy does everyone think it fs so strange? h She said, gBecause it IS strange! h I asked if there was a reason why you have to peel and cut everything and she said there was no reason. PEOPLE JUST DON'T DO IT HERE. (That's an answer I get a lot to why people here do things only a certain way. Like why it's unproper for a woman to sit cross-legged. Cross-legged happens to be my favorite sitting position but everyone here sits on their legs. Ouch!) But I'm sure there must be a reason stemming from somewhere. I can think of a few (though they don ft rate high enough for me to actually care): it fs neater, some people don't like the taste of the peel, you can eat it with chopsticks if it's cut up. But for me a peach or an apple has value in their geasy and delicious snack appeal. h That is, I buy and eat them because they are ready-to-eat, no fuss, delicious snacks that nature prepared for me the way they can be eaten easily. Cut fruit is for parties! It belongs next to the little hot dogs with the tooth picks.

Needless to say, it's funny how just being myself can see so odd here to some people. I wonder what habits I fll bring back that make other Americans confused or amused.

A great trip!

2007-05-10T02:33:00.001-07:00

Well itfs been awhile since I've last written. The trip with my parents went really well. We spent the first few days in Kyoto doing sightseeing with Paul and his mom. Then my parents came to my apartment and we saw all the things around my house. Paul and I had a party for our parents to meet our friends. Then we went to Imadate, a nearby paper village, for a festival. The festival celebrated the paper goddess (a doll kept in a portable shrine), who was taken down from her temple in the mountains and brought all over the town and finally back up the mountain at night. Then on Monday my parents visited my school and lessons and afterward we headed up north to stay in a hot spring hotel. It was so much fun!

(Pictures coming soon)

2007-04-25T15:01:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! Only one day before my parents get here! I'm so excited!

Life has been pretty normal here so not much to write about but I just thought I'd check in.

I got to do a collaboration with a Japanese artist on a big piece of paper for a nearby paper village this past weekend. I actually drove back up there tuesday night after work to finish it up with her. It was one and a half hours up there but well worth it. Then it will be hanging next week during a festival my parents are coming too.

The village of Imadate is really special. There are many paper studios where they make beautiful and strong handmade paper. I don't think I can ever go back to cheap paper again. The village itself has many cute cafes, museums, galleries and history, despite being small. There seems to be a real sense of community there too. I'm really happy to be connected with the village.

Anyway, back to work. The last day and a half will go by very slowly since I am excited for my parents coming. Also they are bringing my new camera so be prepared for even nicer pictures!

Till later!
Lisa

Monkey business

2007-04-19T05:17:00.000-07:00

I was driving along on a rainy wednesday this week on the way home from my visiting school and I saw this! Do I actually live here??

Crowds and Kimonos: The Beauty of Kyoto

2007-04-12T06:05:00.000-07:00

I went to Kyoto last Sunday with my friend, Haruna. Because of the cherry blossoms, Kyoto was vibrant and filled with people. We both went to a special kimono rental place and rented kimonos for the day. They dress you in three layers of kimono. I chose a purple one and Haruna chose a tan one with purple flowers. The kimono was a little tight but more comfortable than I would have imagined. Haruna taught me the proper way to walk. I felt so elegant walking around in a kimono looking at cherry blossoms and temples! I definately lived out a childhood fantasy!

Hanami Season: Japan Takes Flowers Seriously

2007-04-12T06:03:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of various cherry blossom trees that are blooming now. When they bloom people hold festivals, and everyone goes out and looks at the trees and has picnics and such. There is even cherry blossom candy, cherry blossom tea, etc. It’s really cute! Since the trees are so beautiful they are often planted to line a street. These trees which were once gray skeletons during winter are now full of light pink flowers. It only lasts a bit longer than a week, so I am trying to enjoy them. I even went out and drew them on Monday. Japan tracks their blooming progress from the south to the north of Japan on weather and news reports. It’s taken so seriously that it’s really cute.

Beaches, Boats, Busses, and Blisters: The Mis-Adventures of Okinawa

2007-04-12T05:59:00.000-07:00

Paul and I went to Okinawa during spring vacation. Let me lead off by saying that Okinawa was great! It was warm, sunny (‘cept for the last day), and very fun. But at some points it seemed like the vacation that didn’t want to happen!

So Paul and I arrived on Friday. Our Ryokan (Japanese style hotel—they are often very cheap as in this case) was recommended by the guidebook and was very nice. It was clean and inviting and the staff, though they spoke no English, were very helpful. We had some issues trying to make plane reservations for the trip so it was nice to have everything resolved and finally be there. We spent the afternoon exploring the main center of the city. There was one long street near our Ryokan with many touristy shops and restaurants. We walked for awhile and then got hungry so we ate at a ramen restaurant. The ramen was incredible! Mmmmm… I’m hungry just thinking about it! Since we were both tired from having to get up insanely early it was an early night and late morning for both of us.

So we started out slow and late Saturday morning, figuring we’d head up to the aquarium and a beach in the northern part of the island and catch a late bus back. The bus ride is three hours up but we had to wait one hour to transfer busses and ended up eating a not-so-appealing lunch from a convenience store in the middle of nowhere. So we get up to the aquarium in the early afternoon and right away check the time for the last bus down. We find that the last bus leaves a little after 4, giving us just over two hours! So we do the aquarium in one hour and the beach in another. The aquarium was very nice and the highlight was one big room with a huge tank of fish that certainly rivals the Boston aquarium. The beach was beautiful with clear water and we swam for a little bit (in really shallow water) and talked to this cute little Japanese kid who quizzed us on our Japanese, hehe. Then we returned to the bus to begin our 3 hour decent back down. Seven hours of traveling for two hours of fun was a little rough, but we arrived back in Naha city wanting to make more of our day. We stopped at an all you can eat yakitori restaurant. Yakitori is delicious meats you cook yourself at your table. Not only did they have meat but they had sushi, different traditional Japanese foods, a small salad bar, dessert, etc. We were hungry from our convenience store lunch so the money was well spent! Full and wanting to get up early the next day we went to sleep early.

The next day we got up early and decided to eat the Ryokan’s traditional Japanese breakfast. I loved it since it was big and had rice, fish, soup, and vegetables and I like big breakfasts. I ate it the rest of the time. Since Paul doesn’t like big breakfasts he only ate it once.

We headed to Shurijo, a beautiful castle near Naha city. Luckily we could take the monorail there. The castle is very old but was destroyed many times by fire and finally by The Battle of Okinawa. It was rebuilt in the 1990s and is absolutely beautiful.

We spent all morning till early afternoon there and then we crashed for a bit at the Ryokan. We then went to the city beach. It was nothing extraordinary, but it was close enough to walk to. As soon as we got there it started to rain. Once again our beach plans were thwarted by outside forces!! So we went to dinner and planned for Monday, where we would take a ferry to the Island of (insert name here). We get up early and take the ferry there (a one-hour ride on the fast ferry). We ask where a good beach is and walk to it. The beach was absolutely beautiful! The water was crystal clear, the beach was surrounded by forests, and there were only a handful of people there. After awhile I realized there were many beautiful fish in the water, so I went to the beach shack and bought a snorkel and goggles. Not only were there beautiful fish, but coral reefs as well! I must’ve spent at least an hour looking at all the beautiful fish and reefs. What luck! Paul shared my snorkel too. Then he buried me in the sand. We headed back to Naha in the afternoon. (Like the bus the last ferry back was absurdly early—but what can you do?).

That night we had an amazing Italian dinner right by our Ryokan. It was some of the best Italian food I’ve had since Italy!

On our last day it rained so we saw the Craft Museum (The museum was moved, so it took forever to find it!) and the Pottery Museum, as well as walked along an old street with many pottery shops selling traditional pottery (the sun had come out by then). We both bought a cup. Then we finished our vacation with a trip to the movie theater and a Starbucks where we ate a light dinner and played “go,” a Chinese game similar to chess.

We returned the next morning and ever since I've been very cold!

When Do Americans Take Their Shoes Off??

2007-04-12T05:58:00.000-07:00

I was at a school farewell party two weeks ago and was sitting next to a teacher I haven’t talked to that much. We were having a conversation about Japanese verses American customs and we got on the topic of shoes. He asked a very difficult question (because it has no clear answer): “When do Americans take their shoes off?”

If you don’t know already every Japanese house has an entranceway that is slightly lower (by about 6 inches usually) than the rest of the house where your shoes are removed and left until you leaves again. Schools have lockers right at the entrance where you change to slippers or indoor only shoes. So my teacher wanted to know, since we don’t have this sort of entranceway in Japan normally, what is the cue for us to take off our shoes? I said that anytime was ok but that wasn’t enough for my teacher.

He said, “Do Americans eat dinner with their shoes on?” I said sometimes.

“Do they sit on the couch with their shoes on?” Sometimes, but they usually take them off to put their feet on the couch.

“Do they go to the bathroom with their shoes on?” Well, sometimes. (In Japan there are different slippers for the bathroom!)

“Do you only wear them on the first floor?” Anywhere is ok, I answered. But I added that my family often took them off once we entered to keep the house cleaner.

Then, here is the kicker. My teacher asked “Do Americans SLEEP with their shoes on?” Haha, I about cracked up right in front of him when he answered that. With all my answers, he still seemed unsatisfied!

I Fell Into a Gaijin Trap

2007-04-12T05:56:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago, I fell into a gaijin trap. First of all, you may be asking, “What's a gaijin?” Well a gaijin is the Japanese word for foreigner. So what’s a gaijin trap then? Is it a scam for foreigners? While some paranoid people may think so, that is not the case.

Let me explain. I was driving with a friend of mine the other day and we mentioned how we dislike something about Japanese roads. In addition to being narrow, many have... er... not rivers. But dips in the side of the road where water runs off from the mountains. Sometimes they are quite small, sometimes really big. If you’re not careful driving, your wheel (or car) could fall into them. Since they’re not seen nearly as often in many foreign countries, we gaijin are unused to them... so my friend dubbed them the gaijin traps!

So I was backing into my parking space the other day. Usually I don’t have to back in but the way the cars were parked made it necessary. Gaijin traps were “ippai” (everywhere) around my space and my wheel fell into one! At first I felt panic that I wouldn’t be able to get out. What would I DO?? It was the night before my big trip to Okinawa and I wanted to spend it packing not trying to call a tow truck in Japanese! I decided it was best to act quickly... so I speedily pushed on the gas and my car came back up easily. My car is a tank! The only damage was a scratch... no denting or anything. Instead, my car hurt the gaijin trap, knocking a stone loose.

Still Alive

2007-03-28T18:27:00.000-07:00

Hi y'all, still alive! I haven't posted in awhile since I was sick. Tomorrow I'm going to Okinawa! Be back in a week with pictures... promise!

-Lisa

Graduation

2007-03-14T00:43:00.001-07:00

In my last entry I spoke about graduation ceremony. Mainly I said it was very boring. I had to sit for two and a half hours (in a skirt suit nonetheless) listening to Japanese I didn’t understand. Also, I had been studying Japanese really hard all week, and I was tired of the language and wanted a break, so I did not even try to listen. I just sat there and thought about nothing!

Yesturday one of the English teachers at my school asked me what I thought of the ceremony. I said it was alright. She asked if it was different than an American one. I said it was the same, except there was more bowing and the ceremony was more like a high school graduation. I don’t remember my junio high graduation being nearly as formal. “Also,” I mentioned, “The speeches seemed boring because I could not understand them.” The teacher replied, “They were boring! It was very tiring to sit through the graduation.” I was surprised because I thought it might have been interesting to Japanese people. My supervisor had mentioned how she likes graduation ceremony because it shows the student’s unity, but perhaps she is more of a fan of Japanese tradition. I said so to the teacher. She said that there were not any jokes, and you had to be very quiet the entire time. I do recall that no one laughed the entire time (which is okay with me because I am always over curious to the point of insanity when Japanese people are laughing around me. I want to know what’s funny!!). In American graduations almost all the speeches have a joke or two. So I guess I didn’t miss out on much.

One thing that did strike me about the ceremony was this: as the students were marching out of the hall to forever leave the school, many of them were crying. I don’t remember students crying at my junior high graduation. I do remember many (including me) jumping for joy. Maybe they are sad to split from their friends and go to separate high schools (unlike America, where you often stay in the same town with the same people through high school, students in Japan go off to various high schools around the area and farther away). Or maybe students just show emotion more in Japan. But, I thought, there must be something special about this school if so many of the students were crying.

Tomorrow is the ceremony for the branch school. Since there are only six students graduating (as opposed to my base school’s 100 students graduating), the ceremony will hopefully be a lot shorter! Maybe I’ll even get to leave early!

Signing out,
Lisa

in italiano

2007-03-13T19:49:00.000-07:00

Hi all! I wanted to write in Italian today… sorry. If you go to dictionary.com and click on “translator” you can get a very bad translation. But, anyway, anything here that is important will probably be written about in more detail later!!!

Oggi ho deciso di scrivere in italiano. Perche?? Perche sono annoiata! Mi piace il mio lavoro molto, ma sono pochi giorni quando voglio essere fuori, caminando o giacando. Ho insegnato quattro classe oggi, ma le classe erano facile. Domani insegno tre classe, ma tutti di loro sono nella mattina. Giovedi vado al Misaki Bunko per la cerimonia della laurea. Il scorso venerdi c’era la laurea per Mikata Chugakko. La cerimonia era molta noiosa e lungha. Tutto era nel giapponese e non potevo capire molto. Mi ho seduto per due e mezzo ore pensando niente. Ma potevo tornare a casa dopo la pranza! Ho tornado e mi sono divertita per il resto del giorno.

La fine settimana era divertente. Sono andata alla citta’ di Fukui per vedere gli amici e participare nel spettacolo di talento. Le mie fotografie e la mia poesia era sul spettacolo. Il spettacolo era per un beneficenzia. Era un’evento molto bravo! Domenica mattina sono andato al American Diner con i miei amici. Ho mangiato il hamburger e lo shake. Eranno molto buono. Mi piace il cibo di giappone molto ma e buono di magiare il cibo americano qualche volta. Yum!

Allora, ho finito! Scrivo di pui a presto, promesso.

Omizu Okuri-Water Sending Festival

2007-03-12T05:05:00.000-07:00

Here is a picure of me and my friends at a festival. (A few weeks ago, but it's never too late to post). I'm on the
left and next is my friend Fumi, from Japan, my friend Rich, from England (looking rather creepy!) and Paul. The festival is
really old. You carry torches from a temple down to a river and send off holy water to Nara, which performs a festival to receive the water one week later. It was absolutely beautiful, seeing everyone carry torches and then seeing it combined with the element of water.

This one of Rich is really funny too:

Anyway, that's all for now!

-Lisa

An Expensive Gust of Wind

2007-03-06T17:48:00.000-08:00

Lately the weather has been a little strange. It was really warm this weekend so I had my windows open and I could read in my tatami room with a nice warm breeze and sunshine. It was great! Then on Monday it got really windy and they had to stop the local trains for about an hour because it was too windy to run them! On Tuesday it was less windy in the morning but the ocean waves were very strong and the whitecaps made the ocean have a beautiful shine. Today (Wednesday) it snowed and the plum trees, already in full bloom, are covered in a layer of frost that will probably be damaging.

The weather is not just a little strange, but also expensive... for me that is! (And perhaps for the plum farmers as well...) The unlucky but amusing story goes like this. On Tuesday I went to one of my elementary schools and parked next to one of the other teacher’s cars. As I opened my door, a huge gust of wind blew it open suddenly and it hit the car next to me, making a big “thud” sound. At first, when inspecting the damage, I thought it was just a little paint lost, but then I realized it made a pretty impressive dent in her car. Of course, as it always is in these situations, there was no damage to my car. “Oops,” I thought. “I’d better tell her and perhaps offer her some money... can’t be more than 100 dollars to smooth the dent out again, right?” So after the teacher’s meeting I informed the teacher about the dent. She was very nice about it, and I showed the school my insurance information, but we thought it’d be cheaper to fix without insurance. Later, someone came and assessed the damage, and the teacher in charge of the English education informed me that it would cost 500 to 600 dollars to fix! A gust of wind cost me 600 dollars!? (Note: my car cost less than this.) I’m not sure why the damage is so expensive, but Paul mentioned maybe they need to replace a whole part to fix the damage, not just pound it out. So I went on the rest of the afternoon wondering how to afford such an expensive repair.

Luckily, I found out later that I can cover it with my insurance, and it will only go up 100 dollars next year. Phew! That was a close call. Sure, a hundred dollar gust of wind is a pricey gust of wind, but I’ll take it easily over the actual cost of the repair! So now I can laugh at the situation, being no one was hurt and the teacher’s car can get repaired without a big problem for her or me. It’s just one of those things that happen in life.

March 5

2007-03-04T18:52:00.000-08:00

So I STILL have a cold! But it is getting better. Lately I’ve been studying a lot of Japanese and just recovering from my cold. I haven’t done much else. On Saturday Paul had a few friends over (me, Rich, Kimura-san, and my new friend Fumi. I met Fumi at the gym. She is in her 20s and is really nice!!). We played on Paul’s game system called the Wii. It’s a really fun game system because it’s kinda like virtual reality. You play a sports game like tennis or bowling and you actually do the swing. And you can complete with up to four people at once. There is another crazy game where you have to balance blocks or complete other challenges that require physical and mental dexterity. Also, being it’s a Japan bought game system with Japanese games, it’s good Japanese practice too! Paul also made really tasty hamburders, Kimura brought pizza, and Fumi bought delicious cake!

Today is my half day and I am going to go up to Imadate for an early dinner with my friend there. Then next Saturday some of my Italy photos and a poem I wrote are in an art/talent show with Fukui ALTs. If I win a prize I think I get money or something so wish me luck!

I will attend two graduations this week as well. One for the seniors at my base school and another at my visiting school. When I first got here it seemed like I would have the same students forever, and now they’re almost gone! Time sure has gone by fast.

Catch y’all later!
-Lisa

Lately

2007-03-01T19:12:00.000-08:00

SO may birthday was last week. It was good. The weekend before I had some friends over for italian food. I invited a bunch of people, but thought only a few were coming until the ight before when a bunch more people RSVPed. So I ended up with a whopping attendance number of 15! It was a lot of fun, but next time I'll make people RSVP earlier as if I had known so many people were coming, I probably would have gone shopping for food supplies earlier to ensure I could get everything (the store is being re-organized and I couldn't find some things!). Then the night before my birthday I went out for honey toast with some friends, and on my actual birthday I didn't do much outside of school, but in school an elementary class of mine made me gifts and we baked crackers together. They also wrote the cutest letters (in Japanese but thankfully mostly understandable!). I also got a package from my family which was awesome, a lot of emails from friends and family(thanks!), a card from my grandma, presents from my Aunt, a present from my friend Jo, a present from my superviser, and a card and present from Paul. Thanks everyone! Sorry if I missed you on this list but believe me everything was appreciated!

I've been MIA lately mostly because cold season finally got to me! Many people in all my schools are sick (some with flu, others with cold... thankfully I've only got a cold *knocks on wood*) and I had a record breaking period of general healthyness. Oh well, had to happen sometime...

Well, the last two days are exams so I've had NO CLASSES. I actually don't mind though, because between two sick days and a bunch of elementary school visits, I haven't had much time to catch up on work at my base school. I finished two projects, completely re-organized my desk, corrected a bunch of papers, and now I am studying lots of Japanese. I will be happy to get back into teaching classes though. I get restless being in the same room all day, though I suppose I shouldn't complain since that's what most jobs are like.

Lisa

しゃしん！Pictures!　(Part 2)

2007-02-18T21:58:00.000-08:00

Night time ice sculpture illumination in Susukino

Left to right: Rich, Matthew, Paul

These beautiful women in kimono just came out of nowhere

How beautiful! A castle out of snow!

AH!!!

Paul at the Ryokan packing to go home

しゃしん！PICTURES!　(Part 1)

2007-02-18T21:31:00.000-08:00

I didn't have a chance to put up pictures with my last blog entry about the Sapporo Snow Festical, so here they are!

The chocolate factory

A night scene in Sapporo city, in Susukino district

My delicious ramen! Sapporo is known for good ramen.

Rich eating his ramen. (Sorry it's sideways)

The snow maze at Sato Land, Sapporo. The picture was taken from the top of the snow castle.

You could make your own snowman. We didn't, but as you can see, many people did!

札幌雪祭り Sapporo Snow Festival!

2007-02-14T04:55:00.000-08:00

It’s been awhile since I’ve written! I’ve been really busy. On Monday I returned from a trip to Sapporo, a city in Hokkaido, the most northern Island of Japan. I went there by boat starting Thursday early morning (1am) with about forty other ALTs from Fukui to celebrate the 札幌雪祭り(Sapporo Yuki Matsuri… or snow festival). The ride up was 19 hours and I was having fun until about three hours after eating a nice plate of curry, I lost the curry due to seasickness.

All forty of us stayed at a 旅館 (ryokan-Japanese style hotel). I shared a room with Paul and our friends Rich and Tim. A ryokan is a step up from a hostel. It’s a bit more expensive but it’s nicer. We slept on futons on the floor and had our own room, but the toilets and shower/bath rooms were communal. It was definitely more comfortable than hostels in Europe I’ve stayed in. The hostel in Rome had rooms with their own showers but their was no hot water. Also, I often heard about thefts in Europe, and didn’t hear about any in the ryokan (maybe this was because most of the guests were all friends with each other). There was, however, a safe in the room for anything valuable which was nice. Anyway, I’m not sure how Japanese hostels are, but ryokans sure are a nice way to go. Another thing I liked is that you must take off your shoes and wear slippers inside. This custom keeps everything nice and clean.

Since we arrive late Thursday night my only trip out was to the conbini (convenience store) and bed. Friday morning we went to the chocolate factory, which was fun but I think the Ben and Jerry’s factory in Vermont beat this factory. We spent much of the afternoon exploring as well as eating. For dinner we ate ラーメン (ramen), which Sapporo is known for. Then we were headed to an arcade but Jody (another Fukui ALT who joined us for dinner) and I broke off from the group and just wandered around the city. We ended up at a club that had live music (instrumental style, I really liked the band) and some cool art. We danced a bit to the music and I pleasantly noticed that no guys were trying to dance with the girls, unlike American clubs where guys must think that we are just dying for a guy to come up from behind and start dancing with us! It was very refreshing, until, of course, the minute before I was about to leave and a guy said, in perfect English, “I never see a girl as beautiful and nice as you.” But, still, I’ll take one verbal compliment over someone trying to dance with me any day!

The next day Tim went off to snowboard, but our friend, Matthew, joined us and we sent to Satoland, a park slightly outside the city with a lot of snow festival things. We did the snow maze, which leads you to a castle of snow and you can stand on top to view the park! Then we road on a snow ride and ate some more ramen and did a snow slide. My toes were freezing! The day earlier my feet had been hot so I wore light socks.

We returned to the ryokan to warm up and relax a bit. I attached magical toe warmers to my socks and my feet were toasty the rest of the night. Many people were going out that night for an hour and a half of all you can eat and all you can drink for about 35 dollars, but we didn’t go. We decided that we couldn’t eat or drink enough in so short a time to justify the price, especially me! We instead went to Odori park, the main park of snow sculptures. They were huge! Some were bigger than houses. We went to the top of the tower to get a nice view. When we had seen about half, we went to Mos Burger, (think Japanese McDonalds but MUCH nicer) for dinner. Rich only got one hamburger but Matthew and I got two. Paul got three! But still, much cheaper than the all you can eat/drink event. Rich and Matthew made up a song called “Burger Benson” to make fun of Paul since he always eats so much.

Afterward we went to Susukino, just down the street from Odori park, to check out the ice sculptures and then went home.

On Sunday we went back to Odori park and Susukino to see what we hadn’t had time for the night before and then just walked around and shopped a bit. It was a nice relaxing day but unfortunately my head started pounding by the end of it. We took the ferry back that night and arrived late Monday back in Fukui-ken. The ferry ride was a lot calmer on the way back.

What a great trip!

-Lisa

2007-02-01T02:12:00.000-08:00

Back in Japan

2007-01-10T19:04:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone! It's nice to be back. I had a great time over break (as many of you know 'cause you saw me!). My brother got married, I visited friends and family, and got to enjoy the good ol' USA. I ate pizza, saw a movie (in English) and ate at a sandwhich shop that has more types of bread available than the average Japanese person can imagine. And of course I visted the best city in America, Boston. (HA! Take that my New York relatives!) :-) It was great to be home.

It's so cold here that I seriously don't need a refrigerator in my apartment! I'm not even joking! My food would probably be fine at "room temperature."

Although it hasn't gotten below freezing (it's been 1 degree Celsius) when your apartment doesn't have heat it's cold! I brought both my electric heaters into one room and closed the door but now when I want to make dinner in the kitchen or go to the bathroom I'm cold! At least my toilet has heated seats. Now I understand why they are like that. Non-heated seats get so cold! At least I can get that one room pretty warm though, and if I stay in there I am fine. Besides, I feel like the seasons are very important to the Japanese people, and feeling the cold or the heat while they are present is just another part of experiencing the season. Then I can be truly grateful for the spring. Or maybe I’m wrong and the cold has just frozen my brain cells.

So, this is day 2 since I started my resolutions. This is how I’m doing:

1. Do art 3-4 times per week. (I plan to do some art tonight, if I can warm up the room with the table.)
2. Go to gym 3-4 times/week. (I forgot my gym card last night, so had to go get it. Then I forgot my sneakers. So I gave up and went home! I have my sneakers and gym card in my car now, so I can go tonight!)
3. Pass level 3 Japanese exam. (I’ve been studying, but I’m still not sure if I passed level four. However, I’m showing progress. This is looking up. I can take it next year either in America or Japan, so let’s hope I’ll be ready).
4. Wake up at 6:30. (I pressed snooze so many times this morning that I didn’t wake up until 7... but in all fairness this was the first morning of my resolution so it may take a few days).
5. Put my keys in a good place. (I found a good place, and I put my keys there: success! But will I continue this goodness...? I think I need something that zaps me every time I put them in a bad place)
6. Spend 15 minutes every night preparing for next day. (Yep, did that, even though I wanted to watch another episode of “Scrubs.” Maybe I’ll do it tonight too!).

So... I’m showing progress. But they don't call‘em New Year's Resolutions for nothing. I got a whole year to get ‘em right. Right?

Signing out,
Lisa

I'll be home for Christmas!

2006-12-19T23:55:00.000-08:00

So today is my last day of school! Tomorrow I leave for home. I have a long trip ahead of me. It will take me about four hours to get to the airport. (If I could drive to a station half an hour away that would probably make the trip less than three hours, but I can’t leave my car there. So I have to take a train up north, wait at the station for an hour, and then go back down the way I came, sort of. And of course I have to be at the airport ahead of time. Then I have one stopover in CA and I am there for 6 hours! So lets enjoy some math!:

Home to train station: 3 minute walk
Station A to Station B: 45 minutes
Wait at Station B: 73 minutes (but I can catch an early lunch)
Station B to Kyoto: 81 minutes
Wait at Kyoto: 13 minutes
Kyoto to Airport: 48 minutes.

Time spent in airport 2.5-4 hours (depending on which train I catch)
Japan to CA: 10 hours
Time in CA airport: 6 hours
CA to home airport: 5 hours
Airport to house: 1 hour (if lucky)

TOTAL TRAVEL TIME: 1,733 minutes OR a whopping 28.8 hours (with possible add on time here!) Luckily the trip back involves less stopover time.

But, anyway, it's all worth it to be home for Christmas. :)

-Lisa

things really do break!

2006-12-14T06:09:00.000-08:00

My clock broke...

(See below post for context!)

:-P

uh oh!

2006-12-14T05:41:00.000-08:00

uh oh! look at this quote from my last post: " the front left right." I meant to say the front left Light. I'm confusing my Ls and Rs now!

I think a good 2 weeks in America where I can hear and speak lots of English will be welcomed.

Things break! But I "ganbarimasu" (perservere!).

2006-12-14T05:26:00.000-08:00

I was just speculating today and a lot of my things have been broken and fixed since I've gotten here!

Here we go:
The pipes in the shower (a few months ago my shower was leaking on my downstairs neighbor and they had to come and fix it).

My gas burner (turns out I just had the thing on it wrong, and the problem fixed itself easily)

My cell phone: It's not broken persay, but there's something wrong with the settings so some people can't call me. I need to go to the store and get it fixed, but I have to wait until someone Japanese can come with me.

My computer: my computer has broken twice, and it's brand new! I still need to get the second repair done.

My car door handle: that just broke monday, now I have to get in the passenger side. This is okay since I usually go to the passenger's side by accident, as it is the reverse from American cars and I get confused.

My car light: the front left right needs to be replaced. I will go to the nearby Honda car shop this weekend to fix above problems.

My digital camera: thought it was broken but I've since figured out it was probably faulty batteries.

My gmail account: it hasn't been working today, and the gmail site says they are working on the problem. Hence any unanswered emails there may be.

Things not yet broken, but I'm expecting it to happen if life keeps up with this pattern of breakyness!: my heaters, my refrigerator, my washer, my car itself, my apartment. (can entire apartments break?)

Things that will never be broken, which is why none of the above breakage is a big deal: my heart, my spirits, my might! :-)

Oyasumi Nippon (Goodnight Japan). Good morning America. Buona sera Italia (Good everning Italy).

Under the table - Last Friday's elementary visit

2006-12-12T21:46:00.000-08:00

I am taking cover under the table in the abandoned lunch room at a nearby elementary school. Four small elementary girls are hiding with me, making surprisingly little noise. “Mo ii kai?” (are you ready?) yells a distant voice. “Mada da yo!” (not yet!) yells one of the girls. I have not been so small in years. The table looms above me, and I have become aware of the small details of the floor; pieces of dust and the pattern of the tile. The girls lead me through the game. “Get under the table,”they instruct with simple Japanese and gestures.　

"Mo ii kai!" yells the voice again, getting closer. "Mo ii yo!" responds the girl next to me, signalling we are ready to be searched for. We crouch even smaller, but we are breathing too loudly. I pull my hood over my head to camoflauge me even more. But we are found!

Next we hide in the locker, four of us in the small space. Then we hide in the kitchen, where there are big pots for cooking rice. Then we hide in the closet, where there are extra tables folded up. Each time one girl yells "Mo ii kai?" until she finds us.

When the game is over, and I am back in the teacher's room, the teachers chuckle as I explain that I was hiding under the table in rough Japanese. When you are and English teacher in Japan, you never know what sort of game you will be pulled into!

-Lisa

天気はちょっとへんですね

2006-12-05T22:59:00.000-08:00

On Monday I was driving to school and I noticed it has snowed... in the mountains! They were a beautiful white at the tops. It was a little strange because there is still lots of green everywhere, and even many flowers. Many leaves have not fallen off the trees as well.

Then I went up to Fukui city by train in the Afternoon to get my re-entry permit (a stamp that allows me to return to Japan after going abroad). Fukui city is north of the prefecture, and about an hour and a half by train. Halfway up, after passing through a super long tunnel, we came out the other side and everything was white! It had snowed there too. I sort of dozed off on the train but when we got to the city there was no snow. Instead, there was a sun-shower. It was really strong rain, but it was only in patches. I could see it raining about 20 feet away but it was dry where I was. Then I saw a rainbow!

I got my re-entry permit in the fourteenth story of a building. After I was done the sun came out and I saw a beautiful view. 天気はちょっとへんですね。The weather is a little strange, eh?

(pictures coming soon)

The Test of DOOM! :-)

2006-12-03T18:30:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I took the Japanese Proficiency test. Paul and I left for the train station at 5:55 to catch a 6:40 train to Kyoto. It was raining as we drove, but cleared up by the time we got to the station and parked. As our train approached Kyoto, the sun rose, and the view was beautiful as the train passes Lake Biwa, the biggest lake in Japan. We got to Kyoto and grabbed some coffee (we needed to be perked up quite a bit), and then stood in line for about 45 minutes just to catch a bus to the test site, at Kyoto University. It seemed that everyone was at the station trying to get on the bus to take the test. There were people from all over Asia, and a few westerners. (I was actually surprised how outnumbered the westerners were.) When we finally got on a bus and got to the test site, we made it just in time for the 9:45 start time.

The test went well for Paul. I think it went well for me too, but I’m not sure if I passed. It was entirely in Japanese, including all the directions, and it the first Japanese test I’ve ever taken. I think my best section was the listening section, since I listen every day. Second was the kanji/vocabulary test. The most difficult for me was grammar, since I haven’t studied much grammar yet. There were many times when I had to guess, because I didn’t know the words being used or hadn’t studied a grammar point yet. I think an increased vocabulary would help me immensely, but there are only so many words you can learn in four months! (Besides, many of the words I learned that are useful for my daily life, like the word for “self introduction,” weren’t on the test).

So, I’m not sure how I did but it was a good experience. Afterward, Paul and I were gonna enjoy Kyoto but we felt really tired so after awhile we decided to go eat and then take a train home. We went to this restaurant we had been to before, although last time it had had a set menu. This time it was a little more pricey but we decided to eat there anyway (why not treat ourselves after all the hard work right?). So we sat down, and waited... and waited... and waited. The waitress never came, and we were hungry and wanted to go home. We waited about 15-20 minutes and finally decided to leave! The only other place we saw was a McDonalds so ate there! So much for sushi haha.

Well, gotta go now. More to come later.

-Lisa

test

2006-11-16T21:36:00.000-08:00

test

Chorus Practice

2006-11-15T23:43:00.000-08:00

The sounds of song are filling the corridors of the Junior High school today. The students are practicing for a chorus concert next Wednesday. I’ll miss the concert, because I’m going to a conference for JETs in Fukui Prefecture, but I have (during fits of boredom) walked around and watched the different classes perform. They sound very nice, and it’s nice to hear them singing from the teacher’s room. Some classes, obviously, are better then others, but they are all trying very hard.

I’ve been working on lots of art lately, but I am desperate to find charcoal. I just can’t find it! I may have a chance when I go to Fukui city for the conference. I am doing a lot of art partly due to the possibility of having a show in the paper-making village of Imadate. I by chance met a Japanese person, Hana, (who speaks amazing English and is very nice) who is also and artist and is working with the village now. She said if I was an artist I may be able to have a show there. I went and visited and it is really beautiful. I got to see a lot of art made from the paper and a paper-making demonstration. Then Hana and I made our own paper. It was very fun! So, if I can propose an idea to them of how I’d like to use their paper I can have a show. I am working on drawings and paintings and hope they like them.

Ah! Thirty more minutes of school left! So close, but yet… so… far…

-Lisa

Getting Colder

2006-11-07T22:57:00.000-08:00

Last night it was very cold and I tried out all the nice little heating devices in my apartment. I have a Kotatsu, which is a low Japanese table with a heater underneath. The old style used to be with coal, but now of course they use electric. It makes the room glow orange when turned on. I also inherited two electric blankets, one which I tested last night and it made my futon nice and warm. I also have electric heaters but I’m holding off until it’s cold enough! Japanese houses and apartments don’t have central heating so it’s gonna be a cold winter.

I also bought a blanket to wear on my lap once the school gets cold. The teachers do it in the winter but during the day it’s still warm enough that we don’t need a lap blanket yet. It dips down at night but still warms up during the day, making me overdressed. For instance, this morning it was so cold I didn’t want to touch my steering wheel, but by this afternoon I was too hot in my sweater. I am at my visiting school today and all of the elementary students baked fish outside by the beach. I went down after lunch and enjoyed some fresh baked (not caught by the students though) fish and some sort of shellfish. It was hard to believe that after such a cold morning I’d be sitting by the beach comfortably warm!

Well, that’s it for now. Just a weather update I suppose. By the way, it’s cold because there is no heating, but it’s stay way warmer than Massachusetts. They leaves have just started changing color. They were green all October.

PS: I’ve been studying Japanese today and am making progress! Still, I’m not confident about the test yet. At least there are no negative consequences to failing! If nothing else it’s good motivation.

busy busy busy

2006-11-06T22:51:00.000-08:00

I've been so busy I haven't written in weeks!

Ok, so let me summarize what's been going on. I'll segment posts into categories.

DRAGON BITES DON'T HURT

A few weeks ago Paul and I went to Kumagawa post town with our calligraphy teacher to see a festival. Kumagawa post town is a historical village that is a part of Kaminaka. It used to be an old post town between Kyoto and Obama (the town/city south of Kaminaka). It is really beautiful and quaint. We met up with our calligraphy teacher's friend, another elderly lady who spoke no English. Our calligraphy teacher speaks a few words, and I realized how much easier those few words made everything! However, both were very nice and we somehow communicated. We saw a street performance of people spinning plates on sticks and people dressing up as a dragon. The dragon "bit" everyone's head, as this is supposed to bring good health. Needness to say, the bite didn't hurt!

TAIKO

Taiko is the Japanese art of drumming. Lots of JETs and I went to see a famous taiko group, Kodo, on Friday. I thought that 2 hours of drumming could be boring, but these guys rocked the house! Think STOMP! but instead of the blue jeans they wore old-style Japanese clothes. (At one point some of them men drumbed in only a loincloth, and sometimes the female members wore kimono). Their beats were amazing. Traditional yet new and inventive. Wonderful...

The picture below is the other JETS and I at a museum near the Taiko performance. From left to right is Maren, Roisin, Rich, me, Jo, and Paul. Leanne is taking the picture.

JAPANESE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL: THE BREAKDOWN

I've been going to so many elementary schools lately... two per week. Here's yur average elementary school visit:

I make a lesson plan beforehand and have my superviser translate the important stuff into Japanese. (i.e. if I need some sort of materials or help from the teacher). I get there around eight in the morning. I usually introduce myself (in Japanese, ah!) during the teachers meeting at 8:10, since it's my first time at most of these schools (I go to about 11 schools). There is sometimes an assembly where I have to give a self intro in Japanese and English or do something more involved, like run a game.

I usually teach 3 classes per day and eat lunch with the students. The students all eat school lunch, up to high school where they bring a bento (box lunch). School lunch is not like in America, where you can choose from different options in a cafeteria. Everyone eats the same thing, most of the time in the classroom. There is usually rice, miso soup, some sort of cooked vegetable salad mush, and protein like fish or chicken. And EVERYTHING is eaten with chopsticks!

I always play at reccess with the students, and oftentimes it's an easy game I know or can figure out easily. But sometimes I will find myself in a game where I have no idea what was going on. In one such game a big S was drawn in the dirt with three circles outside of it. A can was put at the top of both sides of the S and kids would hop around on one foot and eventually try to kick the can over. Sounds simple, but there were definately rules and an entire methology to the game... heck if I know what they were doing!

Kids are usually very nice and there are usually a few students who act as my "ambassador." They take it upon themselves to say "let's play!" and let me know I should join their class at cleaning time. I can practice a lot of my Japanese with the students, as elementary school Japanese is nice and clear and simple. Sometimes kids are weird. Two little girls last week thought it was the funniest thing ever to pinch me in the but, and once some students thought it'd be fun to make fun of my Japanese.

Lesson success really varies on the students and the teachers. I've learned tricks to adapt. Sometimes the teacher understands some English and is very helpful. Other times, whether or not he or she understands any English, when she sees me struggling to communicate with the children she does not offer any help. Even though when I am there their role is more passive (I've even had teachers leave the room or not show up on time) I think it's considerate to help translate directions when needed. My biggest pet peeve is when the teacher doesn't read the Japanese version of the lesson plan translated just for them! However, I find the best solution is to expect the teacher not to help, and consider it a bonus when then do, and then it works out fine.

JAPANESE LANGUAGE STUDY

I have the greatest tutor, a friend of my superviser, who comes to my school every Wednesday after the students leave and tutors me. I am signed up to take the easiest level of the Japanese Proficiency exam in December. I'm not sure if I'll pass. There is just so much to know! But it is good motivation to study and if I don't pass I can take it again in the states. Japanese is a slow-going language to learn. Most second years I know have finally started to be able to speak after a whole year of study. It's definately much easier to learn here though. Every time I learn a new word or Kanji (chinese character) it's instantly useful.

KYOTO

Paul and I went to Kyoto again last Sunday. Here's some pics!

Paul and I in front of the Golden Temple:

The Philospher's Walk: a historical and beautiful path in Kyoto:

Part of the sand art at the Silver Temple. The mound is supposed to resemble mount Fuji, the tallest mountain in Japan:

Moss samples at the Golden temple showing what species of moss live there. How cute that it says "Very Important Moss (like VIP)"!!

Well, that's all folks. Hope you enjoyed looking at the pictures. I hope some of you read something too!

-Lisa

What you've all been waiting for!!

2006-11-06T22:39:00.000-08:00

THE MONKEY PICTURES!!

More Monkeys!

2006-10-11T00:17:00.000-07:00

I saw SEVEN monkeys on the way to school today! They were so cute. Unfortunately, although I had my camera, I could not take there picture because there was a car behind me and I could not stop. Oh well!

That's all for now. Maybe I can snap a pic on the way back home today.

-Lisa

Another Amazing Weekend

2006-10-10T01:09:00.000-07:00

Another amazing weekend.

While the workweeks here are just as normal as weeks in America, the weekends are where I seem to remember how amazing this country is, as well as how cool the other JETs in Fukui are. I do love teaching but I can teach anywhere, so why not here!

On Saturday, Paul and I went to calligraphy class together and our friend Rich sat in. We hadn’t talked with him too much previously so it was cool to get to know him. Then our calligraphy teacher took us to lunch to a place called “The Funky Pumpkin” or something like that. We went for lunch so it was cheap and delicious but was a pretty fancy place. We were the only people not dressed up. I almost never know what I order in Japan, unless it’s a specific type of food I know! But, to my delight, I ended up with a delicious sweet potato soup and tasty salad with green tea on the side. All for under \1,000 ($10)!

Then Paul, Rich, and I went to the Science Museum in Tsuruga. It was free! It was a pretty cool museum with a nice view of Tsuruga. Then we went shopping and Rich bought a futon, so we drove it to his apartment for him and just hung out for awhile. Then we went to dinner at our favorite curry rice spot, CoCo Ichiban. Another delicious meal for under ten dollars!

On Sunday I went to Kyoto with Paul, Katy, and Dan. Our Express Trains were late on the way there and back, which made me unhappy since we paid extra and they were supposed to be speedy. All that talk of the incredibly fast Japanese train systems is possibly exaggerated. It was a beautiful, crisp, sunny day and we all had a great time. Dan was very good with reading the maps and we got around easily. We saw a pagoda and a beautiful temple as well as the old historical part of Kyoto. I love this part, it is absolutely incredible. There are old style buildings which are filled with stores of neat Japanese things (don’t worry, you’ll all get gifts when I return!) and lots of free samples. Not to mention a few delicious ice cream places. I got green tea ice cream. Yes, it is yummy, even if it sounds strange. Then we all went to an English bookstore (I had been there last time) and were in English heaven! Of course I met other JETs there which is not surprising. One was from England but is Italian, and we spoke a little Italian. I realized my listening skills have gone down, and will plan on listening to the Italian internet radio. Then we ate lunch at this cute little Japanese place in the middle of all the huge shops. You’d almost miss the place if it wasn’t for the plastic food in the window. (The plastic food is always so convincing!) Then we took our newly bought books the the station and waited for the train. Even though we were the first ones on the train, there weren’t seats for all of us. It was already crowded from previous stops!

On Monday, Paul and I met my superviser at a festival in Obama. There is a nice museum there (where we had the summer camp) and on the second floor you could learn some Japanese crafts. My superviser’s daughter made a box. Paul and I made chopsticks and a box. It was fun! I still feel however, with all the art lesson things I’ve done, that I want to go deeper with one of them. I’ve had good introductions to crafts but haven’t been able to experiment with anything. I’m wondering if I return to pottery several times I can start to experiment, or at least paint my own pots.

Anyway, after that we went to dinner at my superviser’s house with another ALT, Alison. What a great weekend!

-Lisa

Cool Biz and the Mushi Kamikaze

2006-10-04T18:46:00.000-07:00

This morning I walked into work to discover two things: “cool biz” has ended, and there were dead "mushi" in piles on the desks and floors where I sit.

So, you’re probably like “WHAT?!” at this point. Let me explain. “Cool Biz” is a law (?) in Japan that lets businessmen and women wear short sleeves and no jackets in the hot weather, and men don’t have to wear ties. It’s a really nice law, since it gets so hot it would be inhumane to have to wear a suit jacket in 90 degree 90% humidity weather. Now everyone is back in long sleeve shirts, ties, and jackets. Of course, for me this doesn’t change much. For women you don’t have to wear a blouse or a jacket (much like the different business dress styles of genders in America) but can get away with nice slacks or a skirt and a shirt that is not too revealing. (You want your 9th grade male students to be listening to your English pronunciation, not looking down your shirt). Many teachers will change into exercise clothes at different times of the day, so it is not always so formal. In general, our school is very relaxed anyway.

Today when I walked into the teachers room the vice principal was wiping what I thought was dirt off my desk. While he is a nice guy, I was confused why he’d be taking time out of his busy morning to clean my desk. I soon found out that there were dead “mushi” (Japanese for flying ant--my vice principal was nice enough to take out a nature book, show me the proper illustration, and let me look at one under a magnifying glass!) all over the desks and floors of that section. So I took a broom and swept them up. The vice principal pointed to the lights above to explain that’s where they came from. I asked my supervisor why they all fell from the lights. “They committed suicide,” she said. “Why?” I asked, still thinking maybe she was serious. Maybe they all flew into the lights in a feeding frenzy (it seems like bugs think lights = food sometimes) and got fried. My supervisor replied, “Something bad happened and they couldn’t live anymore. So they had to end their lives.” So there was a mass mushi kamikaze. Hopefully there will be no more suicides while I am at my desk!

The speech contest went very well yesterday. I am very proud of my student. She worked very hard and did very well. At one point, she forgot what she was saying and had to backtrack a bit, but many students did this so it was no big deal. The other speeches were very moving as well and it was a really cute group of kids. One of them I found out lives right down the street from me! She seemed really nice and I’ll probably see her again as she lives so close. I told her to come by if she needs help with English homework but I don’t think she will. I will find out soon if my student won anything.

Well, that’s about it for now. My computer should be fixed in a week, and the repairs shouldn’t effect any of my data, unless something else goes wrong. I swear, no one makes anything right anymore. Did they ever?

Bye everyone!
-Lisa

Speach Contest and Pottery

2006-10-03T01:02:00.000-07:00

So it’s been a few days since I’ve written. I’ve had even more amazing times. On Sunday I got up early to help a student with the speech contest. (It’s tomorrow! Wish her luck!) She was working on pronunciation and memorization. It really is difficult for Japanese people to say a lot of sounds we have in English. For example, in the word “thanking” they don’t have the “th” sounds in Japanese so often will say “sanking.” However, with a little practice she was doing very well. Below is the speech. It was written by my supervisor, me, and the student together.

“My Wishes for Beautiful Japan

Do you have a neighbor? Is your neighbor kind and powerful? Mine is. She sings for us every day and always gives us food. She gives life.

She brings fish for my father’s fishing nets in the steam of the summer and ice of the winter. Her waves carry a constant reminder of our source of food. Because of this, my family never wasted a bite of fish. “You should even eat the bones,” my father once said. So I ate the bones.

Recently, we had an Australian boy stay with our family. At dinner, he left food in his bowl. I wanted him to finish, even though his culture was different. “Please eat, because….” I felt sad when I saw food left in the bowl. Was it that he did not like our food? No. There was something deeper, but all I could think was that I always finished everything, even fish bones. I could not explain why I was uneasy.

I do remember my father telling me about the fish the sea provided. He said, “The fish give us their lives. We must not waste these precious lives.”

Maybe this was the answer. We must finish everything because it is a gift from nature. Before dinner we say Itadakimasu. This Japanese saying literally means, ‘’I am receiving this food with thanks.”

Who are we thanking? We are thanking our neighbor, the sea. We are thanking the nature and people who bring this food to us.

Families have less time to explain Itadakimasu because of their busy lives. In one study, most elementary school students drew themselves eating dinner without their families. We are forgetting our values which the old Japanese people worked hard to pass on. I am proud of Japan’s philosophy, but I am worried that we are forgetting.

Not everyone forgets. In a nearby school the teachers and students added more words to Itadakimasu that convey its deeper meaning. Now the children of that school understand this deep feeling of gratitude. My wish for Japan is that adults will pass down these strong values to the children of Japan. When I am older I wish to pass down these values as a teacher and parent.

I have one final wish for Japan. I wish that we can understand ourselves well enough to explain our culture to foreigners. If I had another chance to meet the Australian boy, I would tell him about our thanks to nature. I believe he would understand me, and would say, “I love Japan more than ever now. It is a beautiful country.”

Thank you.”

We are very proud of the speech and the student’s effort and hope she does well tomorrow!

Meanwhile, I’ve done some pottery! Sunday afternoon I went to find out about pottery classes at a place called “Parea Wakasa” ten minutes from my house. It’s a community center, with a library, gym (I’ll be using this in the winter!), theater, day care center, café, etc. It’s a nice modern building and has a good atmosphere. I think I will spend a lot of time here. The café even had bagels! I like the library a lot but unfortunately there are few books in English and you have to stumble across them. But there was a nice Japanese man there who spoke a bit of English who I think was telling me I could get books they don’t have through inter-library loan. So perhaps there is a free source of English books! I’ll have to check this out once I finish the ones in my apartment.

Anyway, there are also pottery classes offered there, and Paul and I took them. Paul did well! We were the only students that day and the teacher didn’t speak much English, but what a good way to expand my Japanese vocabulary! We made two pots each and they will be glazed for us (we chose the color) and sent to our schools. I’m going to keep going when I can and hopefully move up to a more advanced level.

Anyway, I have to go for now, but thanks for reading! My computer is still being repaired (they are waiting on ordering a part… I wonder what they are ordering…) so it may be awhile before I’m online again. Until then, take care everyone and call my cell phone!

Hugs,
Lisa

Amazing Day

2006-09-30T20:32:00.000-07:00

Yesturday I had the most amazing day! Paul and I went to the house of Yamada sensei, a teacher at his visiting school. Yamada sensei is an amazing Go player. (Go is a really challenging game, like chess, with black and white pieces. You are supposed to win the most territory. It was created in China a long time ago and is popular in Japan like chess is in the states and other western countries).

So we went to his house to play go with him. First we ate at an amazing sushi place. The sushi comes around on a conveyer belt and each plate is $1 to $4 and you can just pick any sushi you want as it comes around. Cheap and delicious!

So then we went to his house. It's a beautiful house in the city of Obama just south of Kaminaka where I live. It's not huge, but very nice and clean. He has a wife, and a daughter my age who goes to university. She invited her friend over and there were 6 of us. First Yamada sensei played go with Paul and I AT THE SAME TIME. I mean, two games at once. And he beat both of us, despite helping both of us immensely! He really is amazing. After a few rounds of Go we played another Japanese boardgame called Shogi with the daughter and her friend. We were at their house for HOURS, sipping tea and playing games. It was so much fun. None of them spoke much English but we found ways to communicate.

After that Paul and I stopped at a Pachinko parlor on the way up. We decided it was worth a try. It's sorta like a casino, except they are ALL OVER the place. There were 3 in between Yamada sensei's place and mine. They are big bright buildings that are often surprising to see next to rice fields. Needless to say I don't know if I understand why the Japanese (or anyone really) sees a huge appeal in them. It was cool to try but, really, I'd rather go to an arcade or something. You don't really have much control over the game and so it's really just like like any slot machine.

Well, that about sums it up. About to go and take my first pottery class! More later.

-Lisa

At Work

2006-09-27T23:09:00.000-07:00

Well whataya know? I CAN log into my blog at work! Don't expect this to happen too much though!

I haven't been able to talk to anyone for awhile now since my computer broke and is being repaired. And the school internet blocks email sights... but the blog site is not blocked.

Of course, now from this address all the controls on the blog are in Japanese.

So I have a free period right now and have completely exhausted studying Japanese. I am studying every wednesday right here at school with a friend of my superviser's. I am really lucky. She is really nice, and although I am her first student, she is a very good, smart teacher. I am learning a lot. But right now my head is going to explode!

Two days ago some students were taking a test. Afterward, they correct their own work with red pens. As I was standing behind one student, I noticed he didn't have a lot of the answers right. He was holding the red pen but not correcting his work. His other hand hovered over his pencil, but he knew I was stading behind him. The other students were finishing up, and I could tell he was waiting for me to leave so he could "fix" his answers. So naturally I stayed put. Finally he can't wait any longer and he quickly grabs the pencil and starts to cheat, right there in front of me! So quickly say, quietly but sternly, "Sumimasen! Aka!" (Excuse me! Red!) He was so shocked that I noticed he was cheating (because I'm obviously blind) and also that I spoke to him in Japanese. I was really funny.

Needless to say, JAPANESE KIDS ARE NOT BETTER BEHAVED THAN AMERICAN ONES. Sure they may be thinner, and look nicer in their smart uniforms, but when you break it down kids are kids. There are cultural differences, but they are still children.

Monkeys!!

2006-09-13T02:04:00.000-07:00

I saw 4 monkeys today!! They are all over the place on the drive to my visiting school. They are so cute! Although when I asked the children if they like monkeys to my surprise they said no. Then I found out it's 'cause they steal food haha. So I said "Bad Monkeys!" I got a laugh.

I love my visiting school. I get to hang out with elementary students as well as Junior High students and since it's smaller I feel like I can have a more personal relationsip with my students. It's difficult for me to learn Japanese names and I don't think I'll ever know all 300 at my regular school. But I can easily remember the 30 names of children at the visiting school. Classes are fun and relaxed. I love both my schools but Misaki (my visiting school) is a nice mid-week change of pace. I get to leave earlier too (4:30pm) and so I get home around the same time or earlier than usual even though the drive is a little farther.

Hope you all in the west are sleeping well as I type this. The people in my building are all going out to dinner tonight! So I will get to meet everyone! Better bring my dictionary and phrase book and hope that I can join in the conversation!

Lisa

PS: Isn't my new plant cool? It's green and kinda glows purple!! I've never seen anything like it.

So much has happened!

2006-09-11T03:11:00.000-07:00

First of all, I have started teaching!! So far I really like it. I teach mostly with Yoshimoto sensei and Naito sensei. My first week of classes went well. I really enjoyed them. I had to do my self introduction to the students. I would speak, showing pictures of my family and Boston, and they would have to fill in a worksheet about me to test their comprehension, and then they'd have time to ask me questions. I got some funny questions. The funniest was "Where you in Tsuruga (a nearby city) with your boyfriend 2 days ago?" I was so shocked! See, since there are almost no foreigners here, if a student sees me she can pick me out very easily from the crowd. So obviously she saw me and Paul! Then almost immediately after a wise kid asks "What do you do with your boyfriend." So I answered "I go to Tsuruga." Then he asked "What is your boyfriend's name?" and I said he didn't have a name and pretended to cry. The Japanese teacher got a kick out my my answer! (As well and the students). So I guess Paul and I will have to cover for each other all year. ;-)

The school is different than American schools. First of all, there is cleaning time every day and the students will clean the school! I help them out in the teacher's room. They sweep the floor and then run these wet rags on it to wash it! No mops or anything! I eat school lunch. I think if I had chosen not to eat it, I would be the only one not doing so. It's really good! You usually get rice, soup, some salad thing that usually has fish in it, and another course that is fish or meat. We got a little dessert the 1st two days, but haven't since... :-/ I think my predeccessor didn't eat it because she was a vegetarian, and it's not so vegetarian friendly, but it's great for me. No preparation and it's cheap. I think it's only 200-300 Yen ($2-$3).

The first day of school I had to get up on stage and introduce myself in English and Japanese!! How intimidating! Luckily my superviser helped me compose the Japanese part.

On wednesdays I go to a different school which is a bit farther. It's out on a peninsula and it's an absulutely georgeous drive!! I feel like every wednesday will be vacation. The school is really relaxed and small. All the classes are 3-5 students. I really like the English teacher. He is very jolly and makes lots of jokes. We were walking down from one of the classes and stop at a group of pictures that the elementary students had just made. He starts cracking up! I'm looking at the pictures... and though they are cute, don't see the joke. I asked "what's funny?" He starts pointing at pictures saying "That's you, that's you there, that's you again...." Then I notice that "Lisa sensei" is written in Japanese under a good portion of the pictures. How cute!!

The Drive to the Wednesday School:

It is so nice to finally have a car. Everything ended up working out and I am really happy. I like my car a lot. It is a bit old but looks nice and seems to be running fine with the new battery. I just got the tires changed and man are Japanese mechanics efficient. But anyway, it's a no-fuss, service-oriented attitude which I really like. And now I can grocery shop and I bought things for my apartment and it is slowly feeling more like home.

I have been taking calligraphy classes with Paul, Jo, Roisin, Leanne, and Mauren. Japanese calligraphy is completely different than western calligraphy. You use a brush, and it's all about getting the stroke right. At least so far. We learned only 3 or 4 strokes so far, it takes awhile to perfect them. The teacher will often take us out afterward to eat or last week she took us to the festival in Tsuruga.

Jo and Mauren doing calligraphy:

The festival was cool. All these food carts are on the street and some game carts too. (Like, throw the ball into a hole and win a prize type games). The food is great! All sorts of types.

Tsuruga Festival:

Yesturday I went to Kyoto! Naito-sensei (my superviser) and I were at a student's house helping her with her speach contest essay after school. Her older sister, who is a senior in high school, speaks excellent English and loves showing foreigners her country invited me to come with her Sunday! So we just went to Kyoto! Her mother took us. We drove to a train station and then rode the train. Her mother didn't go in the temples since she had seen them so many times, but walked around and looked at shops with us. They are such a nice family!! I had a lot of fun. Not to mention, Kyoto is the coolest city ever. There is something for everyone. First of all, there are plenty of modern streets and shops if you are looking for the excitement of Tokyo. There are also many temples and when you enter them they are surrounded by nature and it is easy to forget that you are in the city. There is also the old section of Kyoto with cute little shops and TONS of free samples of candies and tea. It was amazing!

Kyoto's old streets with a temple in the background:

Anyway, I've written so much! I think that's it for now!

Bye,
Lisa

Summer camp and Mikatagoko

2006-08-27T05:18:00.000-07:00

This past week has been filled with many events. First of all, I did a summer camp on tuesday. The summer camp was unlike an American one. It was a one day event, held at a cute museum in Obama, a small city (more like a big
town) 20 minutes south of here. We cooked Shepards pie with the children (the museum had a special cooking room with 4 free-standing cooking units!--so efficient and ingenious... it was a sink, oven, and burner combined into one "island" that converts into a table to eat on when finished). We were only aloud to speak English to the children who were so cute! Some were very shy, but all were well behaved and helped clean up without one complaint. Then we all talked to the children about themselves, and all were impressed with the pictures of my "Japanese" room at home and with the sculpture studio. And I brought clay for them to touch. None of the children were from my school. Paul did the same camp with me. Sometimes I checked to see if the children understood me by pointing to a picture of dad and saying he was my "mother" and other funny things like that. The day went rather well.

Wednesday I went up to Fukui city for the contract signing ceremony that everyone has to go to. Paul and I stayed with Katie, who lives between Fukui city and our area of Fukui. There as an after party that all JETs were invited to but we would have had to pay for a cab back to the train station and we didn't feel like going. Instead we hung out at Katie's and talked and watched some cool videos she had.

Thursday and Friday I got to go to my school! I corrected lots of summer english homework. The children are not in classes yet but some were at the school and I got to say hi.

On Saturday I went up to Tsuruga for a Japanese calligraphy lesson. The teacher is so nice! She brought us to look at some calligraphy ad then took us to lunch! Next week we will start to do some actual calligraphy. Then in the afternoon I saw my school's band perform. They were so cute, and very talented!

Today (Sunday) Paul and I biked around the five beautiful lakes of Mikata, "Mikatagoko." You can rent bikes at Mikata station. It was great fun! Unlike Fuji, which I will not do twice, haha, I'd do this again with any visitor. It is so beautiful and rigt in the neighborhood! Paul and I both forgot our cameras (duh!!) but here is a pic of them from the internet. Don't worry! It's so close by that I will definitely return frequently, so I'll have some pics of my own soon.

Well, that is it. My brain is fried by the Japanese sun. I have school tomorrow and get to meet my superviser! I think I've written enough for now. Peace y'all!

-Lisa :)

Fuji?!?!? Who would climb that? It's above the clouds!!!

2006-08-21T04:49:00.000-07:00

So the Fuji climb! This is a post I've been meaning to do for a week. I think I've needed this entire time to recover!!

Fuji is a very important mountain in Japan. Many artists have depicted it, and it's well known throughout the world. It's shape is absolutely beautiful. It extends beyond the clouds into the heavens.

I climbed at night, and didn't notice until daytime as I descended that the actual mountain is pretty ugly!

Now don't get me wrong, Fuji has a lot to offer. It has beautiful views, really incredible lava rock of all sorts of colors such as reds, purples, and browns, and many friendly posts on the way up and down offering a square of tatami to sip a bowl of soup on. But as mountains go, it's not like there were incredible trees or thngs to look at on the way, but just rock. It is a volcano, which I often forget. (Thankfully it is dormant).

We started climbing at night (all 40 JETS, mostly newbies) in order to reach the summit by sunrise. On the way up Paul and I met many people we already new, and one we hadn't met, Katie. A group of us ended up sticking together by the 6th or 7th station, which was nice. Ok, so Fuji has 10 stations. People start at the fifth, and the summit is the tenth. There are other mini stations along the way as well. You can rest, go to the bathroom, or buy food at them. You can't throw out any trash anywhere on the mountain though, so you are stuck carrying empty water bottles with you the entire route down.

The beginning part of the climb was very difficult, since we were just getting used to the lack of oxygen. We had to stop very frequently in order to catch our breath. I've never felt my heart beat so fast! Between the 7th and 8th station it got easier as our bodies adjusted, but it was time for some hard core climbing. The climbing was either up steep stone paths on on loose rocks/gravel so it was incredibly hard to climb up without sliding all over the place.

By the time we got to the eigth station we were stuck in a line! There seemed to be a million people on the mountain and we couldn't budge. It was a blessing in disguise at first, because we got to slow down and rest, but then it got really annoying since sunrise was nearing and we just wanted to get to the summit. Finally, we decided that a station between the eigth and the top would be good enough to see the sunrise. And check it out, it was beautiful:

So we chilled near the top of the mountain and ate some soup and warmed up as the sun rose. It was like nothing I have ever seen before. It was a sunrise above the clouds. It was so beautiful.

After we felt rested we continued to the top, to be met with yet more lines!

It took forever to get to the top because of this. Despite our fatigue, Paul, Katie, and I dodged around people to the top. Still, by the time we reached the top we only had 10 minutes to enjoy the summit!

But of course this is time enough to take pics! This one is one Paul took of me and Katie. Check out how the mountain is above the clouds!!

Then the descent came.

I thought the decsent would be easy, but I thought wrong! I had been climbing since 9pm the night before, and it was 7am, so I was tired to start out with. And you can't simply walk down the mountain. You sorta have to slide down, since you are walking on loose bits of lava rock. It was very hard on the knees, and there was no relief from the sun. I would have taken a picture, but I was too preoccupied with how I would ever reach the land beneath the clouds again, much less make the bus on time!

However I did make it down. I was one of the last people to make it and the bus left right after I got there. However, not everyone made it to the summit, so I am happy I made it all the way. I definitely understand the old Japanese proverb now: "He who climbs mount Fuji once is wise, he who climbs twice is a fool." This phrase, to me, basically says that it is worth it to do it once, but that there is no reason to put yourself through all that to see the same thing twice! I'm glad I did it but I don't plan on climbing it again... ever. Sorry if anyone wanted to do this with me during a visit here. Forget about it! :)

In total, my climb clocked in at 13.5 hours, with a few short breaks included. How I ever got up and down again I don't know. But such sweet victory... :)

The quiet before the storm

2006-08-17T06:15:00.000-07:00

I just took a nice walk to a vending machine to get tea. Well, I took the walk more to take a walk, and got the tea cause tea sounded nice. It is beautiful and breezy out. There was a light rain shower, and lightning in the distance. I hear there is a typhoon coming in from the south. Whether or not it happens, this night is truly the quite before the storm. I have had a day to relax and be alone before everything starts: the mount Fuji climb, summer camps, teaching, meeting my supervisor.

I am glad I can take this time to rest so I will be refreshed for the things to come.

I'm not in Kansas anymore...

2006-08-17T06:13:00.000-07:00

Hmm how to sum up what has been going on? On Wednesday I went up to Tsuruga to a festival. Tsuruga is a nice little city on the water, and they have a beach that is separated from the city by a thin pine forest/park. The beach is surrounded by mountains. I could even see ones in the distance through the length of the horizon. The beach itself is a bit rocky; the sand isn’t as smooth as back home but the water was warmer! Paul and I went in after an initial unease that the water wasn’t clear enough to see to the bottom. But there didn’t seem to be anything underneath besides rocks thankfully!

There were lots of other Fukui JETs there and we had a barbecue. The flag you see on the tree was made just for us by a JET and a JET’s visiting brother. We didn’t need the flag to spot our group though, I’d say we stuck out very easily. I have never been anywhere with so little diversity! Well, I do have to say that there is a lot more diversity between Japanese people themselves than Americans may realize. Though I haven’t seen sizes of people like I do in America, their heights, sizes, and shapes vary quite greatly from each other. However, any foreigner, unless Asian, sticks out a ton. But I think the Asian foreigners have it a little harder, since they are expected to speak Japanese and not do stupid things. A non-Asian foreigner can get away with making stupid mistakes, of which I’m sure there are many.

Anyway, the barbecue food was amazing. I brought some watermelon, lol! I figure if you have too much of something, it’s best to share it. Needless to say it seems everyone was happy. I really like the JETs in general. They seem, among other good qualities, to really care about each other. I feel like if I had a problem I’d have a ton of support.

Pretty much the entire city of Tsuruga must’ve come to the festival. Before the fireworks people lit lanterns and sent them out to the sea. I think it has something to do with the end of the holiday, Oban, and sending ancesters back to the underworld by sea. It was beautiful. The fireworks display started after that, and was amazing. It was probably one of the best and longest displays I’ve ever seen!

Today I bought a broom at a shop around the corner. There is not much near where I am, but I noticed a housewares shop while walking the other day. So I went to get a broom. They only had brooms that looked to be the appropriate height for short Japanese grannies, but I bought it anyway. I didn’t think to look at the price, so when the nice lady rang it up I was shocked to see that it was $14! Ooops… So I bought it, since I didn’t want to offend the lady since I’d probably see her around town all year. The second I bring it outside a little (insignificant) piece breaks off. So much for the phrase “you pay for what you get.”

I think the shops are overpriced because only a few people will go to them every day and will pay for being able to walk there. All the shops are attached to houses, and as I enter there are either chimes announcing my presence or I have to yell “sumimasen!” (“excuse me!”) to get the person from their house. Then the shop owner will open a sliding wood door to expose their husband/wife watching TV sitting on tatami.

I’m definitely not in Kansas anymore…

People have definitely tried to have conversations with me. I can’t wait until I understand more, because I’m sure they’d be interesting conversations if I understood them! The first question I get (and usually the only one I understand) is “Doko kara?” or “Where are you from?” If the conversation is able to go any further it’s because that person studied English in High School, or is really good at miming, lol.

Well that’s it for now. Above are some pics of my apartment. I have 2 tatami rooms (both almost empty, I want to put nice plants or something in them, a nice big kitchen (but with little counter space), and a nice big living room/bedroom. I have plenty of space for visitors!!! So please, come on over! (Just warn me first).

By y’all!
-Lisa

PS: My toilet is amazing! When it flushes water comes out at the top for you to rinse your hands. It has two bidet settings, and heated seats as well. How about that!

First Week and a Half

2006-08-15T05:26:00.000-07:00

My first week started with Tokyo Orientation. I didn't see much of Tokyo so I will have to go back. Orientation was long, but I was excited to finally be in Japan. JET lag wasn't so fun the first few days--it took awhile to adjust. I'd have to say that by now I am adjusted, but it took at least 5 days to feel normal again.

One of the first things I thought was cool about Japan was the availability of Tea. There was a hot pot for making tea in my hotel room and all sorts of non-sugared iced teas at the convenience store.

After Tokyo we took a long and beautiful long bus ride to Fukui-ken. Japan is so green! There are mountains covered with forest everywhere. And all the rest stops are so pretty and have good food and nice gift stores. We ate lunch at one and I had nice soba noodles.

One thing that is cool is that they have snacks like sushi or rice-based foods at convenience stores and such, so you can get a more nutricious snack. At American corner stores all you can really get is junkfood.

We spent the next few days in Fukui City at the prefectural orientation. Then we finally got to go to our apartments.

I am truly in the country. I am right by the train station, which is
convenient, but there is not much around besides rice fields and
houses. I absolutely love it. It's a bit annoying without a car,
however, since there's no grocery store near me. I went shopping last
Friday with an English teacher from my school, and am still ok for a
bit. Besides, I've gotten 1.5 free watermelons since I've gotten
here! The half of watermelon from my neighbors, 3 Japanese university
students, who knocked on my door with it seconds after I arrived. The
other half from the cell phone company when I signed up to get a
phone. So I had watermelon for dinner tonight!

I went to this amazing Sushi place today in a small city in the
prefecture. The Sushi goes by on a conveyor belt and it's a buck a
plate (2 pieces of sushi). So I had an entire sushi mean for 5 bucks.
And five plates really does fill you up.

Well, I'm getting tired, and am gonna get going. I'll post more soon!

Getting close!

2006-08-01T20:39:00.000-07:00

Four days till I go! I can't believe it's almost time. I had an amazing time with some of my good friends Saturday. They came to my house and ate dinner and just hung out. And last Tuesday I went to Boston and hung out with Sabrina, Diane, and Karley. I had a blast. Sabrina and I ate ice cream and walked through the common and then met up with Diane and Karley and ate at this restaurant in Quincy Market called "Dick's Last Resort." They're rude to you there, and we were so shocked when the waitress was throwing our silverware at us and being all rude. Then she wrote these funny sayings on balloons that she attached to our heads. The pictures are Sabrina and me in the Common, and me, her and Diane with the balloons.

Paul is here this week ad it's so nice to see him again! Today my mom took us out to lunch at "On the Border" and we had a good time. My parents and I played "memory" at dinner tonight--a fun game!

Goodnight for now,
Lisa

Preparation underway

2006-07-25T05:58:00.000-07:00

Well I finished packing up a big box which I'll ship out today. I've had a good couple of days. My dad's birthday was Saturday and we had a nice dinner with the whole family plus my brother's fiancè, Sarah. My room's pretty messy right now! (As shown in the picture). I only have one Japanese class left (so sad). Then Friday I'll see my brother's band play, which will be fun!

And Paul is coming up soon!

Well, that's about it for now.

-Lisa

Fukui Preparation

2006-07-22T11:03:00.000-07:00

I have two weeks left till I go to Japan! I am going through the JET (Japan Exchange and Teaching) Programme to be an English Teacher at Mikata Chugokku (Mikata Middleschool) in Fukui, Japan for 1 year. For info on Fukui go to www.fuku-e.com.

I've been taking Japanese twice a week in Boston and it's been going well. Now I'm packing and trying to get all ready for my trip.

Well, that's it for now. I'm sure there'll be more interesting stuff to say after I get there.

-Lisa

Relocation: Fukui, Japan!

果物 Fruit! 食べ方 How to eat!

A great trip!

Monkey business

Crowds and Kimonos: The Beauty of Kyoto

Hanami Season: Japan Takes Flowers Seriously

Beaches, Boats, Busses, and Blisters: The Mis-Adventures of Okinawa

When Do Americans Take Their Shoes Off??

I Fell Into a Gaijin Trap

Still Alive

Graduation

in italiano

Omizu Okuri-Water Sending Festival

An Expensive Gust of Wind

March 5

Lately

しゃしん！Pictures! (Part 2)

しゃしん！PICTURES! (Part 1)

札幌雪祭り Sapporo Snow Festival!

Back in Japan

I'll be home for Christmas!

things really do break!

uh oh!

Things break! But I "ganbarimasu" (perservere!).

Under the table - Last Friday's elementary visit

天気はちょっとへんですね

The Test of DOOM! :-)

test

Chorus Practice

Getting Colder

busy busy busy

What you've all been waiting for!!

More Monkeys!

Another Amazing Weekend

Cool Biz and the Mushi Kamikaze

Speach Contest and Pottery

Amazing Day

At Work

Monkeys!!

So much has happened!

Summer camp and Mikatagoko

Fuji?!?!? Who would climb that? It's above the clouds!!!

The quiet before the storm

I'm not in Kansas anymore...

First Week and a Half

Getting close!

Preparation underway

Fukui Preparation

果物　Fruit! 食べ方 How to eat!

しゃしん！Pictures!　(Part 2)

しゃしん！PICTURES!　(Part 1)