This in itself has been an adventure. I am on day 2 and my feet are killing me and all I want to do is apologise to some of my school teachers. I have started with the traditional introduction lesson of “this is me and this is my country”.
The classes are all completely different. Some are interested because their English is bigger, some just sleep, others ask questions, some are dead silent. I have learnt quickly not to judge their interest by the response in class but rather by what happens after when they get to talk to me individually or in smaller groups, which makes things much easier to handle and avoids potential depression. So far I have received a sketch from one student, had my eyelashes touched and examined and the best yet was when on student came to find me afterwards to show me some of her Bleach toys. This was made all the sleeping kids worthwhile as this student particularly hates English and shows no interest in anyway. So never underestimate the power of popular culture.
I am also learning about what they are interested in. One class was intrigued to learn Xhosa. Jacob Zuma more useful than I ever imagined. They love the fact that he has more than one wife and laugh when I say he is Zulu – this particularly funny too me because Zulu in Japanese means “cheat”. And swimming pools. They are amazed that I have a swimming pool at home. Also Hudson’s blazer and crazy uniform is of great interest. They can’t seem to understand why SA doesn’t have sensible summer and winter uniforms like Japan. I am not sure either. In fact I am sure that was a yearly topic of debate. Though I can’t say the new Hudson High uniforms are much better.
Though it seems as though things are looking interesting at least for the next year and hopefully I will get to engage the students as I learn more about them. Jong Steyn still receives smiles of delight and is not a permanent school desk fixture.
After class I took a trip with my supervisor to my second school. I teach there on Tuesdays. It turns out that at a school the size of Hudson, I have 2 classes. One has 6 students that other has 8. When I say the school is the size of Hudson I mean the buildings are. There are 3 classes in the entire school and they only use 3 classrooms. It is somewhat disturbing to see a huge empty building that would usually been filled with voices in noise. The worst part was thinking about the how we in South Africa don’t have enough schools, teachers or facilities. In Japan they have too many schools and not enough students. I would like to propose a student exchange programme where they ship in kids to Japan to study in classes where they have textbooks and teachers that care.
In fact SA could learn some important lessons from the Japanese Education department in honour of Jacob Zuma’s surprise school visits. Here are a few:
Being a teacher is one of the most respected positions in Japan, it is up there with doctors.
Teachers are government employees, paid with tax payers money and therefore have an obligation to earn the money they are paid by the people by working hard and being dedicated to their jobs.
As government employees, teachers have to set an example to others. *
Teachers (and in most jobs) do not take all their paid leave, and usually only take about half. It is considered important to show you dedication to work by spending as much time at school as possible. **
* I do believe in holidays but I think that there are problems with teacher dedication in SA.
** This can be tricky when you can’t j-walk and have to walk half way down the road to get to a zebra crossing.
Friday, August 28, 2009
My First Adventure
The JET programme seems to be obsessed with orientations. I have now had 3, well 2 and a half. The second one for the Oita JET’s was held on Monday and Tuesday in Oita and so in honour of my newfound vechicler freedom I decided to head down on the Sunday and explore Oita City. As much as I love Kunisaki it is nice to get into the real world. And it was great.
It was the first time since arriving in Japan that I felt as though I was in the country I had imagined from TV and movies. Small towns are always different and Oita City had the hustle and movement of a big city full of shoppers. This was not something that I felt in Tokyo where we had spent most of the time in the hotel – only venturing out in groups of newbies to a small area of Shinjuku.
After I had booked into my box at the hotel I headed out to the shopping district of Oita, with its 3 main department stores – Parko, Fores and Tokiwa. Having spent the last few weeks shopping at ¥100 stores I could have closed my eyes and sniffed my way to Louis Vuitton.
Tokiwa department store was pretty amazing, and I shudder to imagine what such stores are like in Tokyo and Osaka. There was at least 8 stories of stuff to buy – including all the brand names like Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Burberry. And the best bit was finding out I could buy a Gucci handbag without forfeiting food and rent for 3 months. The only problem was that I was now in real world prices instead of the warm fuzzy feeling of things only costing R10. But this didn’t stop me from spending a whack at Clinique (I feel that this was a just investment as many face products here contain bleach).
I tried the whole “waterfall” effect and headed to the top and just sauntered down from floor to floor. Department stores are truly wonderful things and much better than malls. Well, SA malls anyway. Also I could walk into Gucci and get greeted by enthusiastic employees rather than with the usual “do you really think you can affording anything here” look sported by minimum wage earning teenagers.
One of fun parts was the parking at Parko. I ended up there accidently and I ended up driving my car onto a Ferris wheel contraption. My car was then whisked away into the gloom above. When I collected it they rotated the parking bays until my car appeared again. Not something I would try in South Africa.
I at one point came across a pet store. And now I understand why there aren’t that many pets around – they are ridiculously expensive. The only animal in the store under ¥100 000 was a cat for ¥85 000 (R8500). The puppies – which were adorable – were anything from ¥120 000 – 150 000 (for the most gorgeous miniature yorkies). That’s half a month’s salary. Even with all my cats hyperchondriatic hospital visits she has not come near that. The store also sold the most amazing paraphernalia – including dog nappies to keep your pooch hygienic when wearing its designer outfits.
And then there was some work stuff.
It was the first time since arriving in Japan that I felt as though I was in the country I had imagined from TV and movies. Small towns are always different and Oita City had the hustle and movement of a big city full of shoppers. This was not something that I felt in Tokyo where we had spent most of the time in the hotel – only venturing out in groups of newbies to a small area of Shinjuku.
After I had booked into my box at the hotel I headed out to the shopping district of Oita, with its 3 main department stores – Parko, Fores and Tokiwa. Having spent the last few weeks shopping at ¥100 stores I could have closed my eyes and sniffed my way to Louis Vuitton.
Tokiwa department store was pretty amazing, and I shudder to imagine what such stores are like in Tokyo and Osaka. There was at least 8 stories of stuff to buy – including all the brand names like Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Burberry. And the best bit was finding out I could buy a Gucci handbag without forfeiting food and rent for 3 months. The only problem was that I was now in real world prices instead of the warm fuzzy feeling of things only costing R10. But this didn’t stop me from spending a whack at Clinique (I feel that this was a just investment as many face products here contain bleach).
I tried the whole “waterfall” effect and headed to the top and just sauntered down from floor to floor. Department stores are truly wonderful things and much better than malls. Well, SA malls anyway. Also I could walk into Gucci and get greeted by enthusiastic employees rather than with the usual “do you really think you can affording anything here” look sported by minimum wage earning teenagers.
One of fun parts was the parking at Parko. I ended up there accidently and I ended up driving my car onto a Ferris wheel contraption. My car was then whisked away into the gloom above. When I collected it they rotated the parking bays until my car appeared again. Not something I would try in South Africa.
I at one point came across a pet store. And now I understand why there aren’t that many pets around – they are ridiculously expensive. The only animal in the store under ¥100 000 was a cat for ¥85 000 (R8500). The puppies – which were adorable – were anything from ¥120 000 – 150 000 (for the most gorgeous miniature yorkies). That’s half a month’s salary. Even with all my cats hyperchondriatic hospital visits she has not come near that. The store also sold the most amazing paraphernalia – including dog nappies to keep your pooch hygienic when wearing its designer outfits.
And then there was some work stuff.
Monday, August 17, 2009
My First Festival
This weekend I finally ventured out of the house and into real world Japan. This weekend was Obon, a traditional holiday where the spirits of the ancestors return to their homes. The shops were full of this moulded sugar sweets that are left out as a meal for the ancestors. I had tried some earlier in the week only to find out later that I had been eating dead people food. Most of the teachers took time off from Thursday to visit their families’. As a result things were very quite during the week and I spent most of my time studying Japanese and doing some research and work.
On Saturday I joined the other two Kunisaki JETs and 2 other folk and we headed to the tiny island of Himeshima（ひめしま） to watch the traditional Shinto Fox Dance Festival or Kitsune matsuri （狐まつり）. Himeshima is a small island off the north east coast of Kyushu. The name means “Princess Island” and has a population of roughly 2,640 for the entire 6,85km2. It is known for two things - the afore mentioned festival and its tiger prawns.
The tiger prawns or kuruma ebi (車えび) are best eaten in season, which is October and eaten in the traditional island or odori (おどり) style ie. alive and ‘dancing’. To do so you are have to grab a live, wriggling tiger prawn out of the bowl placed in front of you and rip of its head. While is still squirming you peel it, dip it in soy sauce and proceed to eat it raw. They are farmed on the island but if you can they say your should opt for the wild ones. They are incredibly beautiful for bottom feeders, with dark stripes and rainbow tails.
However the reason for our visit was the Fox Dance Festival. We took the ferry from Kunimi port and spent the ride to the island spotting jelly fish in the water. I am not too fond of boats – especially ferries as they have a tendency to overload and sink, a situation not improved by the abundance of jellies. The island does not look like much from afar, in fact the initial view dominated by a cement factory and other commercial enterprises. But, once on land this all changes.
The island was in festival mode so there were a multitude of stalls selling a verity of street food from kushiyaki (くしやき grilled meat skewers) to squid on a stick. There were also French dogs (i.e. corn dogs I am not sure why they were French unless it was poodle?!?).
We followed the main road to the Kannonzaki Peninsula on the north of the island where we climbed the hill to reach the Sennin-do. It was spectacular – a tiny temple built on a rock over the sea. As you descend to read the temple you just see this small building surrounded by rocks, sea and secluded (but sadly not very clean) beaches. The walk there was also interesting with lots of little shrines along the path. With the amazing scenery of blue oceans and green islands it was the first time I felt I really was in Asia.
There is a lot more on the island that I missed and I would like to go back and hire a bicycle for the day to see the rest. The island also has come great onsen and in November and June it is the stop over for millions of butterflies as they make their way between Okinawa and Gifu.
After a lunch of the speciality fried chicken, squid on a stick for the more adventurous and shaved ichigo (いちぎ) ice we spent an hour having a long conversation in Japanese with 3 other visitors. I didn’t understand much of it expect to say World Cup and Soccer when mentioning my nationality. Sayaka, was our translator and the rest of us mostly spent our time laughing and grinning like baka (ばか idiots).
The main event was held at various spots on the island with the dancers moving from stage to stage. All in all there were about 20 different dances. They took place on a circular stage with a taiko drum in the centre. There was one song that was sung repeatedly and the music did not stop for the full 2 hours of the show. The drummer and the singers were replaced regularly. The dances and costumes were beautiful and the performers ranged from tiny children to adults. The kids were the highlight though just from their outfits. The main dance was the last one, with school kids dressed in white jumpsuits, with umbrellas and lanterns and their faces made up as foxes. They must have been completely exhausted by the time they were done, and certainly sick of all the photos.
Just as it all finished we had to rush to make our ferry back to the mainland. I started to panic a bit when they loaded is like cattle into the car hold, as that would be last place I want to be when it sinks, but we were allowed to ascend to the deck.
My rest of my photos from the festival can be found at this link: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=144019&id=514335750&l=66846d84db
Unfortunately I was unable to get many of the dances, as my camera is not very good at capturing motion at night.
A note on the banks:
I was finally able to obtain a bank account today. I arrived early with my support – Hirakawa-sensei – and when the bank opened I was met by all the staff (over 20 of them) who were standing to great the awaiting customers. It was completely surreal and it felt as though they might salute. I know am the proud owner of a bank book where they register all my transactions made at the bank – it feels very archaic after spending the last 8 years doing internet banking. As far as I know there is no Internet banking and my cash card will be POSTED (it will take a while to get used to the security here) to me. ATM’s are only open between certain hours and the fees are dependant on the time you use them. So 8:00 – 8:45 weekdays is ¥105 (+/- R10), 8:45 – 18:30 is free and so on. My bank is purely prefectural so should I leave Oita I may struggle to find a place to withdraw money in other cities. In which case I will have to get a post office account, which is accessible throughout Japan.
So there really is very little to complain about when using South African banking services – technology wise. Though I do appreciate the service here. In fact they even spent 30 minutes helping me to fill out my various gas and electricity forms so that the amounts would get debited directly from my account. They even posted it for me. However, Hirakawa-sensei said that it took far to long and that they didn’t know what they were doing when it should be part of the job. I was amazed that they were even willing to help me with something that was pretty much non-bank related - this is one of the intercultural service delivery mysteries.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Glossary of terms
This has been introduced to avoid confusion when referring to Japanese words and popular culture
Onsen – a hot mineral spring used for bathing
Mukade – giant centipedes that bite
Horse sashimi – raw horse (they also eat raw whale and dolphin)
Ian Thorpe – Australian swimmer and Olympic gold medallist known for his large flipper feet
NOTE: It is not acceptable to place images of the students on the Internet like Facebook. I was able to take photos but I am not allowed to share them so my images of Yufuin are mostly of the scenery*.
*Also I am sorry Henri but there are no onsen pics either. You will just have to come visit – and bring your own food because you will starve.
Onsen – a hot mineral spring used for bathing
Mukade – giant centipedes that bite
Horse sashimi – raw horse (they also eat raw whale and dolphin)
Ian Thorpe – Australian swimmer and Olympic gold medallist known for his large flipper feet
NOTE: It is not acceptable to place images of the students on the Internet like Facebook. I was able to take photos but I am not allowed to share them so my images of Yufuin are mostly of the scenery*.
*Also I am sorry Henri but there are no onsen pics either. You will just have to come visit – and bring your own food because you will starve.
My First Onsen おんせん
This was one of the highlights and no trip to Japan would be complete without a visit to one. The camp had an indoor onsen so it was more like a large Jacuzzi bath complete with jets. You have to wash yourself thoroughly before entering the bath. The idea is not to get clean but to relax. I am looking forward to being able to go to an outdoor one in winter while it snows.
My First Mukade
This was not entirely fun but at least I was surrounded by other people and brave male centipede warriors and not trying to deal with it at home. Alone.
Apparently the one that we saw, and subsequently destroyed, was a dust mukade. It was about 10cm long and they are kinda hairy looking with really long thin legs. They also have an upturned tail that they say can sting. Apparently they tend to lurk in pairs and if you kill one you have to burn it in order to prevent its partner from coming to find it. I remember seeing smaller, similar looking ones in Woodstock.
Apparently the one that we saw, and subsequently destroyed, was a dust mukade. It was about 10cm long and they are kinda hairy looking with really long thin legs. They also have an upturned tail that they say can sting. Apparently they tend to lurk in pairs and if you kill one you have to burn it in order to prevent its partner from coming to find it. I remember seeing smaller, similar looking ones in Woodstock.
My First Earthquake
This occurred during lunch on the first day. It was pretty uneventful actually for these reasons:
1. I had to informed that it was occurring
2. There was no rush to hide under tables
3. I didn’t quite believe them at first.
But despite that it was still more emotionally exciting and now I can say I have experience my first natural non-disaster.
1. I had to informed that it was occurring
2. There was no rush to hide under tables
3. I didn’t quite believe them at first.
But despite that it was still more emotionally exciting and now I can say I have experience my first natural non-disaster.
My First School Camp
Yufuin High School English Seminar
Date: 5-7 August 8 月 5-7曰
Place: Yufuin
Getting there:
I had been thoroughly briefed by my supervisor before hand on my transport plan. It required that I get up at 5am and catch a bus and two trains to get to Yufuin (hopefully) by 10am.
So after an early start and some other drama I made it to the bus stop in time. I had to catch the bus to Kitsuki but this relied on me taking the bus that arrived at 6:41. I had been told repeatedly that the Japanese transport system is incredibly reliable and that everything runs on time – this usually comes with a bunch of facts about bullet trains. However, the bus that arrived at 6:41 my time I was pretty sure was going to Oita City due to my limited kanji abilities. So I attempted to use my limited Japanese skills:
Me: Kore basu wa Kitsuki e ikimasu ka?
Bus driver: (long rant in Japanese)
Me: Kitsuki ka Oita?
Bus driver: (long rant in Japanese with violent hand crossing signals)
Me: atode?
It was at this point that I decide to trust my instinct and kanji abilities and wait for the next bus. Which proved to be correct.
The buses here certainly are very reliable and easy to use – if you catch the right one. They are also very slow, as they have to stop repeatedly to pick up and deposit passengers. When you get on you have to take a ticket and the fair for your ticket number is displayed above the driver on a board. You then pay as you get off and tends to be based on the honour system as the driver can’t really check that the amount you are paying is correct.
The next problem was getting off at the right stop. I was assured that the bus would stop at the train station. I had intended to ask the bus driver to tell me when we got there (Eki ni tsuitara oshiete kudasai), but since my last few attempts at communicating in Japanese had ended to dismally I decided to go with the tried and trusted system of “I’ll know it when I see it”. This wasn’t the best idea and did result in one or two moments of panic when I thought I may have guessed wrong. In the end the station was unmistakeable. And so began stage 2 of my journey to the mountains.
I opted at this point to go straight to the counter and just ask in English how to get to Yufuin, and as luck would have it the man behind the counter spoke pretty good English and gave me detailed instructions on where to change trains and which platforms I would need to be at.
Unfortunately, I had forgotten to bring my orange but luckily I didn’t need it in the end.
In my brief travels I have found that the trains are much more pleasant than the buses. You may not have the scenery but provided you don’t have to stand it is much more comfortable.
I was able to change trains rather easily though I did have to take the late train to Yufuin. I was also in a carriage with 30 preschoolers all in their white uniforms (a crazy colour for small children but they were pristine) and hats.
The Japanese people have this amazing ability where they are able to sleep in the most amazing places and positions. This is a skill that I am determined to develop.
The camp:
Yufuin is in the mountains and is know for its hot springs or onsen (おんせん). The camp was at a conference facility in the mountains, surrounded by trees and mist. It made a nice break from Kunisaki as it was much cooler and less humid. Once again I was greeted by the familiar in door slippers – giant, floppy, plastic, green things that I had to cling to with my toes in order to keep them on. I am confused as to how it is difficult to find shoes in my size yet they have no problem providing indoor shoes that could fit Ian Thorpe.
My job was to be a group leader for 7 school students along with another more experienced ALT. We spent the 3 days taking the kids between classes and helping them with the exercises. Classes included drama, dance, art, sports, treasure hunt and a quiz show. All activities were intended to fun and encourage the students to communicate in English. My group’s play Hiroyuki and the Dragon was selected by the other students to be performed in front of the camp. It was hilarious even if the story was a bit confused and relied entirely on the Riko’s dragon performance and Hiroyuki’s popularity with the girls.
Throughout the camp was a murder mystery that the students had to solve. The ALTs performed a number of skits and the kids then had to decide who the killer was by talking to the characters and obtaining clues by bribing them with mystery money earned during class. In the end there were only a couple of students that got it wrong.
There English was very impressive once you got them to talk. I had some wonderful conversations with some of the kids about all kinds of things but mostly food and movies and music. Though one girl called Maki did ask me who I though the next big economic superpower would be. True story.
The food:
This was my first introduction to a weird variety of Japanese food. It was a rather interesting experience. The meals provided were quite spectacular and incredibly good – far better than the food I ever received at camp – and there was lots of it. I was amazed at how much the students ate, completely cleaning their plates down to the last grain of rice, and yet they are still all so tiny and skinny. I quickly learnt to finish my food so as to avoid being questioned about not liking the cuisine. This required a large amount of self-control was not always so easy as often you didn’t know what you were getting until you sat down and tried it. I had one delightful experience where we were preserved our food. The plate included a delicious looking pasta salad, which after further inspection revealed some anemone looking white stuff. I then broke rule 1 and asked what it was and was told that it was crab. This was immediately followed by the question “Do you eat crab?” To which my negative “not in South Africa” response was met by “Oh then you must try it”. It was not the most pleasant experience but I managed to finish it and by the end of camp I had managed to get the meal system down. After the crab experience I am actually now looking forward to eating the horse sashimi speciality in Oita.
Miso soup and I have also come to an understanding and our relationship is just not going to work. We tried and failed and I am pretty sure things are not going to work out to well between seaweed and myself either. They did cook the most amazing beef (at least I think it was beef) the one lunch time and almost anything deep fried is good.
My guide to eating Japanese food*:
1. Don’t ask what it is. It just makes it harder.
2. Unless you are sure of what you are getting don’t take large amounts.
3. Don’t panic – you can always eat the rice.
4. If it looks like beans then it is seaweed. In fact if it is green and defiantly not lettuce then it is seaweed.
*According to the current saffer, Lee-ann, after you spent some time here you no longer look at things and think “aaaww cute” but rather “hmmm, I wonder what that tastes like?”
Date: 5-7 August 8 月 5-7曰
Place: Yufuin
Getting there:
I had been thoroughly briefed by my supervisor before hand on my transport plan. It required that I get up at 5am and catch a bus and two trains to get to Yufuin (hopefully) by 10am.
So after an early start and some other drama I made it to the bus stop in time. I had to catch the bus to Kitsuki but this relied on me taking the bus that arrived at 6:41. I had been told repeatedly that the Japanese transport system is incredibly reliable and that everything runs on time – this usually comes with a bunch of facts about bullet trains. However, the bus that arrived at 6:41 my time I was pretty sure was going to Oita City due to my limited kanji abilities. So I attempted to use my limited Japanese skills:
Me: Kore basu wa Kitsuki e ikimasu ka?
Bus driver: (long rant in Japanese)
Me: Kitsuki ka Oita?
Bus driver: (long rant in Japanese with violent hand crossing signals)
Me: atode?
It was at this point that I decide to trust my instinct and kanji abilities and wait for the next bus. Which proved to be correct.
The buses here certainly are very reliable and easy to use – if you catch the right one. They are also very slow, as they have to stop repeatedly to pick up and deposit passengers. When you get on you have to take a ticket and the fair for your ticket number is displayed above the driver on a board. You then pay as you get off and tends to be based on the honour system as the driver can’t really check that the amount you are paying is correct.
The next problem was getting off at the right stop. I was assured that the bus would stop at the train station. I had intended to ask the bus driver to tell me when we got there (Eki ni tsuitara oshiete kudasai), but since my last few attempts at communicating in Japanese had ended to dismally I decided to go with the tried and trusted system of “I’ll know it when I see it”. This wasn’t the best idea and did result in one or two moments of panic when I thought I may have guessed wrong. In the end the station was unmistakeable. And so began stage 2 of my journey to the mountains.
I opted at this point to go straight to the counter and just ask in English how to get to Yufuin, and as luck would have it the man behind the counter spoke pretty good English and gave me detailed instructions on where to change trains and which platforms I would need to be at.
Unfortunately, I had forgotten to bring my orange but luckily I didn’t need it in the end.
In my brief travels I have found that the trains are much more pleasant than the buses. You may not have the scenery but provided you don’t have to stand it is much more comfortable.
I was able to change trains rather easily though I did have to take the late train to Yufuin. I was also in a carriage with 30 preschoolers all in their white uniforms (a crazy colour for small children but they were pristine) and hats.
The Japanese people have this amazing ability where they are able to sleep in the most amazing places and positions. This is a skill that I am determined to develop.
The camp:
Yufuin is in the mountains and is know for its hot springs or onsen (おんせん). The camp was at a conference facility in the mountains, surrounded by trees and mist. It made a nice break from Kunisaki as it was much cooler and less humid. Once again I was greeted by the familiar in door slippers – giant, floppy, plastic, green things that I had to cling to with my toes in order to keep them on. I am confused as to how it is difficult to find shoes in my size yet they have no problem providing indoor shoes that could fit Ian Thorpe.
My job was to be a group leader for 7 school students along with another more experienced ALT. We spent the 3 days taking the kids between classes and helping them with the exercises. Classes included drama, dance, art, sports, treasure hunt and a quiz show. All activities were intended to fun and encourage the students to communicate in English. My group’s play Hiroyuki and the Dragon was selected by the other students to be performed in front of the camp. It was hilarious even if the story was a bit confused and relied entirely on the Riko’s dragon performance and Hiroyuki’s popularity with the girls.
Throughout the camp was a murder mystery that the students had to solve. The ALTs performed a number of skits and the kids then had to decide who the killer was by talking to the characters and obtaining clues by bribing them with mystery money earned during class. In the end there were only a couple of students that got it wrong.
There English was very impressive once you got them to talk. I had some wonderful conversations with some of the kids about all kinds of things but mostly food and movies and music. Though one girl called Maki did ask me who I though the next big economic superpower would be. True story.
The food:
This was my first introduction to a weird variety of Japanese food. It was a rather interesting experience. The meals provided were quite spectacular and incredibly good – far better than the food I ever received at camp – and there was lots of it. I was amazed at how much the students ate, completely cleaning their plates down to the last grain of rice, and yet they are still all so tiny and skinny. I quickly learnt to finish my food so as to avoid being questioned about not liking the cuisine. This required a large amount of self-control was not always so easy as often you didn’t know what you were getting until you sat down and tried it. I had one delightful experience where we were preserved our food. The plate included a delicious looking pasta salad, which after further inspection revealed some anemone looking white stuff. I then broke rule 1 and asked what it was and was told that it was crab. This was immediately followed by the question “Do you eat crab?” To which my negative “not in South Africa” response was met by “Oh then you must try it”. It was not the most pleasant experience but I managed to finish it and by the end of camp I had managed to get the meal system down. After the crab experience I am actually now looking forward to eating the horse sashimi speciality in Oita.
Miso soup and I have also come to an understanding and our relationship is just not going to work. We tried and failed and I am pretty sure things are not going to work out to well between seaweed and myself either. They did cook the most amazing beef (at least I think it was beef) the one lunch time and almost anything deep fried is good.
My guide to eating Japanese food*:
1. Don’t ask what it is. It just makes it harder.
2. Unless you are sure of what you are getting don’t take large amounts.
3. Don’t panic – you can always eat the rice.
4. If it looks like beans then it is seaweed. In fact if it is green and defiantly not lettuce then it is seaweed.
*According to the current saffer, Lee-ann, after you spent some time here you no longer look at things and think “aaaww cute” but rather “hmmm, I wonder what that tastes like?”
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
My First School Day
First off I want to say that I wish I had attended a Japanese High School. Today I was given a tour of the school and I certainly don’t remember robot construction being anywhere on our curriculum.
Kunisaki High School is the result of the merge between 3 different High Schools (kõtõgakkõ こうとがっこう) - an academic, agricultural and a technological. So the kids here can either do the typical school subjects or they can grow food and plants or build giant robots that will eventually take over the planet. Though if any of these had been an option at Hudson at least once a year someone would get bust trying to grow weed in the greenhouses. Not to mention there would have been endless corridor robot wars. In fact the robots that I witnessed in construction were for a robot fighting competition (I think) and were called Kintaro and Bear, after 2 characters from Japanese folk law. They were quite spectacular.
My education seems quite limited and lacking now and when the Armageddon comes I certainly won’t be able to rely on Matric maths for my survival. I will have to knit socks in exchange for food.
High School in Japan is optional but about 93% of students continue to study further so that they can get into Universities and Collages. My school has 3 grades of 6 classes with about 40 students in each, 1-1 – 3-6. Classes are numbered according to grade and course. Classes 4 and 5 are agricultural and the 6th classes are technological. The rest are academic. By the sounds of things I will be teaching all of them. This also means that the English abilities are better on the academic side.
School starts at 8, but the students are often here much earlier to partake in club activities (so anime does have its benefits). Classes finish at 4:15 and are then followed by more club activities. During the day the students are also required to help clean the school – something that could benefit South African Schools as we had it way too easy. Teachers are extremely dedicated to their jobs and will often stay as late as 9pm. So I not only have to adapt to a new system but a new mindset as well.
Kunisaki High School is the result of the merge between 3 different High Schools (kõtõgakkõ こうとがっこう) - an academic, agricultural and a technological. So the kids here can either do the typical school subjects or they can grow food and plants or build giant robots that will eventually take over the planet. Though if any of these had been an option at Hudson at least once a year someone would get bust trying to grow weed in the greenhouses. Not to mention there would have been endless corridor robot wars. In fact the robots that I witnessed in construction were for a robot fighting competition (I think) and were called Kintaro and Bear, after 2 characters from Japanese folk law. They were quite spectacular.
My education seems quite limited and lacking now and when the Armageddon comes I certainly won’t be able to rely on Matric maths for my survival. I will have to knit socks in exchange for food.
High School in Japan is optional but about 93% of students continue to study further so that they can get into Universities and Collages. My school has 3 grades of 6 classes with about 40 students in each, 1-1 – 3-6. Classes are numbered according to grade and course. Classes 4 and 5 are agricultural and the 6th classes are technological. The rest are academic. By the sounds of things I will be teaching all of them. This also means that the English abilities are better on the academic side.
School starts at 8, but the students are often here much earlier to partake in club activities (so anime does have its benefits). Classes finish at 4:15 and are then followed by more club activities. During the day the students are also required to help clean the school – something that could benefit South African Schools as we had it way too easy. Teachers are extremely dedicated to their jobs and will often stay as late as 9pm. So I not only have to adapt to a new system but a new mindset as well.
Monday, August 3, 2009
My First Week
So my first week of Japan has finally ended though with the amount of stuff they cram into orientation it feels like weeks. I think it is part of a cunning plan on the organisers to keep us from getting home sick. Not that you can when you are blinded by the neon lights of Shinjuku. But yes orientation was busy and I spent about 3 days just meeting new people and explaining that I was South African and NOT British.
The flights were long. Joberg to Hong Kong was tiring but the plane itself was awesome. Loads of TV and movies and you could chose what you wanted to watch when you wanted to watch it. At one point there was a unison viewing of America’s Next Top Model followed by heated debate between my fellow SA JETs.
There is a definite obsession with health and swine flu in the East. At Hong Kong airport they had even closed the drinking fountains to prevent the spread of H1N1. Anyone who is remotely sick wears a mask as a courtesy to others. Something I don’t think would ever work in South Africa as people already have a problem branding themselves as ‘sick’.
The trip from Narita Airport to Tokyo wasn’t too thrilling as Tokyo like Germany has walled off its highways to stop the noise. I did however drive past Tokyo Disneyland – which was kinda hard to miss. They are obsessed with Disney here, Winnie the Poo and Stitch are found everywhere. And I also got to see the Tokyo Tower, but unfortunately the trip to the top will have to wait until my next visit.
Although I had vowed to get some sleep on Sunday the lure of Shinjuku was too great and we went to explore. It took me 15 minutes to find an electronic store and they do not lie when they tell you that it is all about the selection. After finally hunting down an adapter we went in search of food and after much debate and un-unanimous agreement not to end up at McDonalds we found a small izakaya ｨｻﾞｶｬ (sounds so Xhosa) and so began the first attempt at ‘real’ Japanese food. Unfortunately the place we had picked required that you chose and pay for your food at a vending machine with thumbnail images of the food. So you could have been ordering anything. And what I did order could have been. It did not look the slightest bit appetising but at least it didn’t have any tentacles. It turned out to be delicious and consisted of stir-fried (finally shaved) beef with rice and a side order of miso soup – which I still have not really got the hang of yet.
What followed next was 2 days of lectures and discussions on teaching and being a JET and all the things that go with living in Japan. This includes installing a strong sense of fear with regards to the implications of drinking and driving. The alcohol limit here is ZERO - they say you can’t even sniff alcohol and drive – and people that let others drink and drive are also held responsible for their actions. Should a JET get caught drinking and driving you will be fired, deported, have to pay large sums of money and there is a good chance that your supervisor will get fired too. So no pressure or anything (such a law would never work in SA – could you imagine the strikes for peoples rights).
In between all of this was one intense night of karaoke where all I can say is that the South African’s can hold there heads high. Also one’s ability to speak Japanese is greatly improved with consumption of bi-ru ﾋﾞｰﾙ (not to be confused with biru ﾋﾞﾙ) and osake ｫｻｹ.
We also spent an evening at the South African Embassy and were given, yet more, resources for teaching. This followed with a trip on the Tokyo underground where we got lost and one of members geriatrically harassed some of the locals. The subway was terrifying. It was 9pm which is their rush hour as most people only leave work at this hour. Joss however, was still able to make friends on the subway.
After the rush that was Tokyo it was nice to get to Oita. It is a very green area and it gives me the impression of being unkempt. All I want to do is clean it up. It is rather reminiscent of the garden that was our plot in my old Hudson Ave House. It is very tropical. Complete with bugs. In fact I did not expect that coming from the third world to the first that I would be confronted with such untamed wildlife. There are spiders everywhere, and allowed to co-habit quite peacefully with the rest of us. So far my house is only the property of small web building, squishables. But in my brief visit across town to the other JETs homes I met with 2 large rain spider like ones. So if I don’t make it through this year it will be bug related. At least they are only around in summer, so only another month or two to go. And hopefully whatever is living in my roof eats them.
My house is huge. The living area is the size of my entire bachelor flat. I have 3 rooms (6 tatami mats big), bathroom, toilet and kitchen. It will take a while but I am slowly making it my own. At least there is space for visitors. I have also inherited some weird stuff – including 6 boxes of easy mac that expired in 2007.
My supervisor has been wonderful and endured all the pain of my passport and money exchange attempts. She was really apologetic about the 2 hours spent waiting at the bank to change money (this was after we were told they don’t accept travellers cheques) and kept saying how patient I am - I didn’t say that it was due to all my practice with South African banks – so I am guessing that this is not common to Japan. Unfortuanly she is going to the UK for 2 weeks so I will be floundering on my own for a bit. But the other English teachers at the school are also very helpful so it won’t be too bad I am sure.
The students that I have met are too sweet. I kept getting called kawaii ｶﾜｨｨ, which will take some getting used to. That’s not to say I don’t like it! They are all shy but very friendly and I am constantly being waved too and giggled at. I am really looking forward to teaching them. I met one boy today called Wakato (I think) who is the Japanese equivalent of Steve Holt! I have developed a new tactic that when I hear giggling or am being talked about that I go up and talk to the students because they tend to be too shy to speak to me directly. Unfortunately none of my students will be at the summer camp that I am a part of this week. Last year some students claimed to have seen a ghost and this has lead to reduced numbers. The teachers also had to stay up all night calming the students down. Ghosts seem to be a sensitive issue here.
Anywho that is about if for now. You can find links to my photos on facebook below.
JHB to Hong Kong
Tokyo
Oita - Week 1
The flights were long. Joberg to Hong Kong was tiring but the plane itself was awesome. Loads of TV and movies and you could chose what you wanted to watch when you wanted to watch it. At one point there was a unison viewing of America’s Next Top Model followed by heated debate between my fellow SA JETs.
There is a definite obsession with health and swine flu in the East. At Hong Kong airport they had even closed the drinking fountains to prevent the spread of H1N1. Anyone who is remotely sick wears a mask as a courtesy to others. Something I don’t think would ever work in South Africa as people already have a problem branding themselves as ‘sick’.
The trip from Narita Airport to Tokyo wasn’t too thrilling as Tokyo like Germany has walled off its highways to stop the noise. I did however drive past Tokyo Disneyland – which was kinda hard to miss. They are obsessed with Disney here, Winnie the Poo and Stitch are found everywhere. And I also got to see the Tokyo Tower, but unfortunately the trip to the top will have to wait until my next visit.
Although I had vowed to get some sleep on Sunday the lure of Shinjuku was too great and we went to explore. It took me 15 minutes to find an electronic store and they do not lie when they tell you that it is all about the selection. After finally hunting down an adapter we went in search of food and after much debate and un-unanimous agreement not to end up at McDonalds we found a small izakaya ｨｻﾞｶｬ (sounds so Xhosa) and so began the first attempt at ‘real’ Japanese food. Unfortunately the place we had picked required that you chose and pay for your food at a vending machine with thumbnail images of the food. So you could have been ordering anything. And what I did order could have been. It did not look the slightest bit appetising but at least it didn’t have any tentacles. It turned out to be delicious and consisted of stir-fried (finally shaved) beef with rice and a side order of miso soup – which I still have not really got the hang of yet.
What followed next was 2 days of lectures and discussions on teaching and being a JET and all the things that go with living in Japan. This includes installing a strong sense of fear with regards to the implications of drinking and driving. The alcohol limit here is ZERO - they say you can’t even sniff alcohol and drive – and people that let others drink and drive are also held responsible for their actions. Should a JET get caught drinking and driving you will be fired, deported, have to pay large sums of money and there is a good chance that your supervisor will get fired too. So no pressure or anything (such a law would never work in SA – could you imagine the strikes for peoples rights).
In between all of this was one intense night of karaoke where all I can say is that the South African’s can hold there heads high. Also one’s ability to speak Japanese is greatly improved with consumption of bi-ru ﾋﾞｰﾙ (not to be confused with biru ﾋﾞﾙ) and osake ｫｻｹ.
We also spent an evening at the South African Embassy and were given, yet more, resources for teaching. This followed with a trip on the Tokyo underground where we got lost and one of members geriatrically harassed some of the locals. The subway was terrifying. It was 9pm which is their rush hour as most people only leave work at this hour. Joss however, was still able to make friends on the subway.
After the rush that was Tokyo it was nice to get to Oita. It is a very green area and it gives me the impression of being unkempt. All I want to do is clean it up. It is rather reminiscent of the garden that was our plot in my old Hudson Ave House. It is very tropical. Complete with bugs. In fact I did not expect that coming from the third world to the first that I would be confronted with such untamed wildlife. There are spiders everywhere, and allowed to co-habit quite peacefully with the rest of us. So far my house is only the property of small web building, squishables. But in my brief visit across town to the other JETs homes I met with 2 large rain spider like ones. So if I don’t make it through this year it will be bug related. At least they are only around in summer, so only another month or two to go. And hopefully whatever is living in my roof eats them.
My house is huge. The living area is the size of my entire bachelor flat. I have 3 rooms (6 tatami mats big), bathroom, toilet and kitchen. It will take a while but I am slowly making it my own. At least there is space for visitors. I have also inherited some weird stuff – including 6 boxes of easy mac that expired in 2007.
My supervisor has been wonderful and endured all the pain of my passport and money exchange attempts. She was really apologetic about the 2 hours spent waiting at the bank to change money (this was after we were told they don’t accept travellers cheques) and kept saying how patient I am - I didn’t say that it was due to all my practice with South African banks – so I am guessing that this is not common to Japan. Unfortuanly she is going to the UK for 2 weeks so I will be floundering on my own for a bit. But the other English teachers at the school are also very helpful so it won’t be too bad I am sure.
The students that I have met are too sweet. I kept getting called kawaii ｶﾜｨｨ, which will take some getting used to. That’s not to say I don’t like it! They are all shy but very friendly and I am constantly being waved too and giggled at. I am really looking forward to teaching them. I met one boy today called Wakato (I think) who is the Japanese equivalent of Steve Holt! I have developed a new tactic that when I hear giggling or am being talked about that I go up and talk to the students because they tend to be too shy to speak to me directly. Unfortunately none of my students will be at the summer camp that I am a part of this week. Last year some students claimed to have seen a ghost and this has lead to reduced numbers. The teachers also had to stay up all night calming the students down. Ghosts seem to be a sensitive issue here.
Anywho that is about if for now. You can find links to my photos on facebook below.
JHB to Hong Kong
Tokyo
Oita - Week 1
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