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?”