Okay. I swear I will finally get caught up.
Thursday-After my horrible day on Wednesday, things calmed down and went back to normal on Thursday. I was back at the junior high school. I'm finally beginning to figure out my role at the JHS, which is nice. I really like one of my English teachers. She's very pleasant to talk to and VERY helpful. The other day, she was looking at my English board and asking me questions about my life back home, American holidays, etc. Today (Monday) was a minor celebration for the harvest moon. The office lady was trying to tell me about it, but I had no idea what she was talking about, so she went and got my English teacher. She explained the ENTIRE history and cultural festivities about it. She's awesome! Anyway, that night I had my stupid night class. Blarg. This is the class that I HATE! Ian went with me, and I cannot tell you HOW much BETTER it was! I think it was partially that Ian was there to help, partially that I figured out how to deal with kids, and partially that I wasn't taking any shit from anyone. When one kid starting running around acting up, I'd point at him and say something like, "STOP!" It turns out that authority does indeed translate in any language. :) That class was about 800% better, and on our walk home, we stopped for a Coke to celebrate.
Friday- I really can't think of anything big and/or interesting that happened on Friday other than Friday night. I had to stay a little later at work b/c some kids had to come and practice vocab words with me. Japan has a very indirect society, so the Japanese don't always say what they need to say. For example, I was supposed to get off of work at 4:20, but my English teacher asked me if a couple of students had come to practice vocab words with me. I told her no. I didn't even know that they were supposed to come! She asked me what time I left, and I told her. It was already 4:00, and this was basically our conversation:
Her: "It will be difficult for them to practice with you before you leave. They are in homeroom now......."
Me: (knowing that this is the indirect Japanese way of asking me to stay) "Would you like me to stay late?"
Her: "I think that would be nice."
Once I got home, Ian and I were like fat American blobs that night. He made some AWESOME curry for supper. I never thought I liked curry until I got here, but it's freaking delicious and soooooooo easy to make over here b/c they sell all ready-to-make easy packets at the grocery. After that, I don't know what made me search it, but I found episodes of Teen Mom on MTV.com. Before you judge me, know that I already judge myself. :( I HATE myself for watching that show, but dang it! It's like a train wreck that you just can't look away from. I'm pretty sure we killed brain cells watching those 7 episodes. Ian admitted to liking it. Well, not liking it, but agreeing that it's a train wreck that you just have to keep watching! Plus, we were just tickled to be watching American TV. A show like that would NEVER work in Japan. They don't really have any issue w/teen pregnancy over here.
Saturday-Ah, I love Saturdays. We woke up late. I made hashbrowns and eggs, and I got to skype both of my sisters. Ian and I had planned on hiking Mt. Ichifusa on Saturday, which is the closest big mountain. We left around 12:30 and arrived around 1:00. Our poor little car was definitely making some unfriendly noises going up the mountainside. The hamsters running the engine really sounded like they were ready to give out. Not only that, but the road was this tiny little one lane road with drop off on one side and mountain rock on the other side. Not a lot of wiggle room if we met someone, you know? We drove up as far as we could and got ready to hike the rest. At the beginning of the trail was a beautiful waterfall and stream area. Ian had a good time climbing around it. :) The trail up was definitely not fun. It had just rained, so the mostly stone pathway was wet and slippery, the dirt parts were muddy, etc. We got all the way to this temple area, but we weren't sure where the path was after that. There was a tiny little narrow pathway behind it, but a big log crossed the pathway, so we weren't sure if that was the Japanese way of saying "please do not proceed, honorable hiker." :) Instead, we went back down and found a gravel pathway to walk along. It took us around the side of the mountain but not up. Ian said his knee was starting to hurt, so we had to turn around.
On our way back, we stopped at this lake and dam area. I've heard that that area is beautiful when the cherry blossoms bloom. There was a really cool suspension bridge hanging over the lake, so of course we walked across that and down onto a peninsula that jutted into the water. Ian is a boy. I have concluded that when around water, big sticks, rocks, etc, boys will forever be boys. He showed me a really cool trick. Since there was a peninsula, it protected the inside area from the river current, so it was very still. He found a long piece of bamboo driftwood and said that if you scrap the bottom of the still water, you can release methane gas from the gunk decomposing on the bottom. As it turns out, it was true! Bubbles popped up! We enjoyed the little peninsula area for a while. We threw rocks in the river, wadded, found some pretty marble and granite rocks, and left as the sun sank.
On Saturday night, we got together with some friends. I realized how SMALL our house is compared to other friends. Seriously, out of all of the ALTs in our gun, our house is by far the smallest. :( Other people have two or three bedroom houses or actual kitchens, but we have a house that is slightly smaller than our old apartment in Paducah. Anyway, it was fun to hang out with everyone. Gosh, we talked about anything and everything! Some conversations were completely random and stupid, but we all had an awesome time!
Sunday- Well, we had planned on getting up and going to church in Hitoyoshi and spending the day there, but......we didn't. We flip-flopped back and forth on whether to go to church or not, but we finally decided not to. It's just that there's no way in heck that we'd have any idea what the readings are, and we really don't feel like we'd get anything out of it. We'll go, but we just didn't go on Sunday. Instead, we slept in. I made a delicious big American breakfast that morning....biscuits, eggs, and gravy. Yay for America in Japan! It turned into a nearly two hour long process b/c I couldn't get the dang oven to preheat, and then I ran out of milk, so Ian had to run to the grocery so that we could finish breakfast, lol.
We did go to Hitoyoshi that afternoon. We wanted to explore it a bit more. We've been there, but we really haven't taken the time to explore it. Our first stop was the "Walmart" store. We really don't know the name of many stores here, but we kinda make up names for them. :) For example, in Yunomae, there is the "happy fun store" b/c there are smiley faces on the side of the building. We have no idea what the store's name is, but we call it that b/c of the smiley faces, lol. Anyway, at the "Walmart" store, we probably spent two hours just walking up and down the aisles looking at stuff and thinking what we needed for the house. I bought a pare of scissors for Ian's hair. Yep, I cut it....more about that later. ;)
We went to McDonald's again. I wasn't really that crazy about the idea, but Ian wanted big, fat, greasy burger, and fries did sound pretty good. It's always an adventure when going out to eat. There's a lot of pointing at items and saying the Japanese equivalent of "please." lol.
We ended our day by touring the ruins of Hitoyoshi Castle. It was actually really cool! There weren't any buildings left, but the steps up, up, and up and the stone walls were still there. We walked around, and watched the sun set over the river.
When we got back, we settled in for the night. I called home on skype, and got some pretty interesting news. I've been nagging my parents to get their passports so that they can come and visit me. Mommy wants to, but she doesn't want to come alone. I can't say that I blame her. The last time she flew was in the 70s, and I feel like a thing or two has changed since then. :S Daddy's been a bit more stubborn about the deal. Before I left, he told me that he doubted he would come over here, but last night when I said that he should visit and asked him if he thought any more of it, he basically said maybe. I know that maybe isn't yes, but it's one heck of a step up from no!! Family members and friends reading this, peer pressure him to come! I know he'd love it over here. It's basically a page right out of National Geographic, so it's right up his alley!
Whew! Hopefully you've read this whole thing and made it to this party. Sorry for the word vomit, but I had to catch up.
Monday, September 12, 2011
Saturday, September 10, 2011
A down day
I'm a slacker, I know. It's been several days since I've updated. I would say that I've been busy, but that would be a lie. Yes, I have been working full time, but I still have plenty of time at night to blog, but two things either happened: 1) Ian decided to be a computer hog, or 2) I decided to find other things to do than blog. Anyway, I'll try to briefly catch you up on things that have happened since Wednesday.
Wednesday- Oh, Wednesday. It was a very dark day for me. I had to go to the elementary school. I'm only at the elementary school one day a week, so I don't know the people or my role over there near as well as the junior high. I knew it was going to be an awkward day. I suppose some of it is my fault b/c the last time I was there, I should have asked for a schedule of classes, what time classes begin, and other important questions. When I first got there, I was the only teacher in the teacher's room. At the junior high school, someone teaches a certain subject. The math teacher only teaches math, the science teacher only teaches science, etc so the maximum number of classes they'll have in one day is four, and then return to the teacher's room. At the elementary school, a teacher will teach all subjects for an entire grade. Therefore, it doesn't seem to be uncommon for there to be an empty teacher's room. This can be very problematic for me since I have no idea what I'm doing there.
I found the vice principal and asked for a schedule. He kinda explained to me my schedule for the day. I'm not sure if the vice principal wants to practice his English, is very interested in the foreigner, has a crush on me, or what, but he REALLY enjoys talking to me. His English is.....interesting, and my Japanese is non-existent, so communication is special. Here's an example of our conversations:
(Blah, blah blah=Japanese that I don't understand.)
VP: blah blah blah blah blah New York blah.
Me: Oh, New York!
VP: blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah money.
Me: Money, yes.
VP: blah blah blah music blah blah blah.
Me: Music. I like music.
Yeah, it's awkward. Why can't everyone just speak Am-murr-i-can? lol.
Here's another thing that was weird about the day. I had NO IDEA what I was doing in the classes. I wasn't even sure who my English teachers were last week when I was there, so I wasn't sure who to speak with about lesson plans. Gah. In addition, last week, I asked if I should bring materials for a self-introduction (maps, my scrapbook, American money), but the answer was no. I brought them just in case, and guess what was asked of me? A self-introduction! However, the classes were really fun. I love elementary school students! They're still really excited about English, and it's pretty much fun and games. Junior high English is a lot more rigid in structure, and the students are MUCH more bored/and/or don't care about English. Elementary school students are MUCH more fun!
After my classes, I thought I'd get to go back to the teacher's room and lesson plan, but I was invited to some sort of dance practice. It was soooooooooo cute to see the kids try to dance, but have no idea what they're doing! I kinda feel like that sometimes here. I actually feel like a baby sometimes b/c I can't communicate to others, and I don't understand others. I also was invited to a PE class. Wow, the things that they did would never fly in the States. Instead of our typical push-ups, sit-ups, and jumping jacks, it was more like watching a cheerleading practice. They were doing lifts, making human pyramids, and all kinds of crazy things like that. Then, they had to make pairs and do certain exercises that would never by allowed in the US b/c someone would say that it was "gay".
Since I wasn't familiar with the schedule or routine in the elementary school, a couple of times students had to come to the teacher's room and basically be like, "Melissa-sensei is supposed to be in our class now." Awesome. It always boosts your self-esteem whenever a fifth grader knows more than you. :(
The final straw was lunch time. I've been eating school lunch, and it's great! On Wednesday, a kid had to come and get me and tell me it was lunch time and to come eat with his class. Once I got up to the class, fortyish fifth grade students were patiently waiting on me to arrive. Everyone had his or her nice tray of delicious looking food in front of them. In Japan, you have to wait until everyone is present and ready before anyone begins eating lunch. The student showed me where to sit. It was the only place that didn't have a school lunch tray. I suppose the homeroom teacher automatically realized something was up b/c he came over and said, "blah blah blah blah blah bento." A bento is a little lunch that you bring or buy at the store. I said, "school lunch?" and a look of horror ran across his face. He told me, "one minute" before he raced off down the hallway. Apparently, I was supposed to bring my lunch that day and had no idea. I was mortified. Forty fifth grade students had to wait on me as they had their lunch sitting right in front of them staring them in the face. Pretty sure I made some enemies that day. When lunch was over, I returned to the teacher's room. Apparently, word had spread that the dumb foreigner didn't bring her lunch. The vice principal told me, "blah blah blah blah lunch box blah blah." I have never done this before, but I went into the rest room, locked the stall door, put the toilet seat down, and had a good cry. :( I really didn't want to show my face. I sent Ian a text to have pity party materials ready when I got home.
Needless to say, I'm not too excited to go back to the elementary school on Wednesday. I feel like a big fat failure there. :(
Ian did have pity party materials ready, which was awesome. He had gone to the super and bought a pizza, coke and fanta (so we could make spetzi!), and two chocolate bars. It's true. Chocolate really does help most situations.
Wednesday- Oh, Wednesday. It was a very dark day for me. I had to go to the elementary school. I'm only at the elementary school one day a week, so I don't know the people or my role over there near as well as the junior high. I knew it was going to be an awkward day. I suppose some of it is my fault b/c the last time I was there, I should have asked for a schedule of classes, what time classes begin, and other important questions. When I first got there, I was the only teacher in the teacher's room. At the junior high school, someone teaches a certain subject. The math teacher only teaches math, the science teacher only teaches science, etc so the maximum number of classes they'll have in one day is four, and then return to the teacher's room. At the elementary school, a teacher will teach all subjects for an entire grade. Therefore, it doesn't seem to be uncommon for there to be an empty teacher's room. This can be very problematic for me since I have no idea what I'm doing there.
I found the vice principal and asked for a schedule. He kinda explained to me my schedule for the day. I'm not sure if the vice principal wants to practice his English, is very interested in the foreigner, has a crush on me, or what, but he REALLY enjoys talking to me. His English is.....interesting, and my Japanese is non-existent, so communication is special. Here's an example of our conversations:
(Blah, blah blah=Japanese that I don't understand.)
VP: blah blah blah blah blah New York blah.
Me: Oh, New York!
VP: blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah money.
Me: Money, yes.
VP: blah blah blah music blah blah blah.
Me: Music. I like music.
Yeah, it's awkward. Why can't everyone just speak Am-murr-i-can? lol.
Here's another thing that was weird about the day. I had NO IDEA what I was doing in the classes. I wasn't even sure who my English teachers were last week when I was there, so I wasn't sure who to speak with about lesson plans. Gah. In addition, last week, I asked if I should bring materials for a self-introduction (maps, my scrapbook, American money), but the answer was no. I brought them just in case, and guess what was asked of me? A self-introduction! However, the classes were really fun. I love elementary school students! They're still really excited about English, and it's pretty much fun and games. Junior high English is a lot more rigid in structure, and the students are MUCH more bored/and/or don't care about English. Elementary school students are MUCH more fun!
After my classes, I thought I'd get to go back to the teacher's room and lesson plan, but I was invited to some sort of dance practice. It was soooooooooo cute to see the kids try to dance, but have no idea what they're doing! I kinda feel like that sometimes here. I actually feel like a baby sometimes b/c I can't communicate to others, and I don't understand others. I also was invited to a PE class. Wow, the things that they did would never fly in the States. Instead of our typical push-ups, sit-ups, and jumping jacks, it was more like watching a cheerleading practice. They were doing lifts, making human pyramids, and all kinds of crazy things like that. Then, they had to make pairs and do certain exercises that would never by allowed in the US b/c someone would say that it was "gay".
Since I wasn't familiar with the schedule or routine in the elementary school, a couple of times students had to come to the teacher's room and basically be like, "Melissa-sensei is supposed to be in our class now." Awesome. It always boosts your self-esteem whenever a fifth grader knows more than you. :(
The final straw was lunch time. I've been eating school lunch, and it's great! On Wednesday, a kid had to come and get me and tell me it was lunch time and to come eat with his class. Once I got up to the class, fortyish fifth grade students were patiently waiting on me to arrive. Everyone had his or her nice tray of delicious looking food in front of them. In Japan, you have to wait until everyone is present and ready before anyone begins eating lunch. The student showed me where to sit. It was the only place that didn't have a school lunch tray. I suppose the homeroom teacher automatically realized something was up b/c he came over and said, "blah blah blah blah blah bento." A bento is a little lunch that you bring or buy at the store. I said, "school lunch?" and a look of horror ran across his face. He told me, "one minute" before he raced off down the hallway. Apparently, I was supposed to bring my lunch that day and had no idea. I was mortified. Forty fifth grade students had to wait on me as they had their lunch sitting right in front of them staring them in the face. Pretty sure I made some enemies that day. When lunch was over, I returned to the teacher's room. Apparently, word had spread that the dumb foreigner didn't bring her lunch. The vice principal told me, "blah blah blah blah lunch box blah blah." I have never done this before, but I went into the rest room, locked the stall door, put the toilet seat down, and had a good cry. :( I really didn't want to show my face. I sent Ian a text to have pity party materials ready when I got home.
Needless to say, I'm not too excited to go back to the elementary school on Wednesday. I feel like a big fat failure there. :(
Ian did have pity party materials ready, which was awesome. He had gone to the super and bought a pizza, coke and fanta (so we could make spetzi!), and two chocolate bars. It's true. Chocolate really does help most situations.
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Tuesday
So, it's been a few days since I last updated. Sorry. One night I posted pictures, and that took up a lot of time, and then Mr. Ian seems to have been a computer hog the rest of the nights. I cannot wait until my laptop gets here! I guess I could blog on my iphone, but something tells me that it wouldn't be fun, and my thumbs would probably kill me after that! So here's what's happened since Monday:
Tuesday- I love Tuesdays. Not only do I get to wake up later, but I get off earlier, and I visit the nursery schools. One down side of my iphone is that if I forget to completely exit out of skype, it still says that I'm online. Therefore, I had two people try to call me before 7:30AM that morning. Blarg! The first unfortunate caller was Kim, and I just hung up on her to stop the loud ringing (sorry, dear!). The second caller was my sister, Christina. I gave the phone to Ian and said, "Make it stop!" lol. Once I actually woke up, I was able to call both of them and chat before I went to work. I think it's silly, but I have to go to the BOE for fifteen minutes before I go to the nursery schools. It's just enough time to get nothing done. However, it was a wonderful surprise to go to the BOE and see a care package from my sisters. Thanks again, Christina and Amanda! After that, I had two nursery schools to visit. I love the kids. They are all so cute!! I don't even care that they pull on me or get snot on my flashcards. :) I played two games. We reviewed numbers 1-10, and the first game we played involved the kids lining up at the end of the classroom with the numbers 1-10 written on the board. I would call out a number, and the kids would race to the board to slap it. Wow. I really should have rethought sending 15 hyper pre-schoolers racing toward the board. One girl fell and skinned her knee. I swear I thought the board was going to break! Needless to say, we didn't play that game for very long. The next game, I put cards on the floor with numbers 1-10 written on them. I would call out a number, and the kids had to grab all of the 5s, 2s, or whatever number I called. One kid started crying b/c he never got to slap a card. I resolved that problem by sneakily scooting a 7 beside him and calling out "7!"
After the nursery schools, I went to the junior high school. I'm still not 100% completely sure of my role there. It's so different here b/c in America, we're used to a boss saying, "Here's what you need to do. Get this to me by the end of the day." or whatever. Here it's like you have no idea what to do unless you ASK. Sometimes my English teachers will give me a task, but generally I have to ask if I can help or what I should prepare for class. :)
After school on Tuesday, we planned to meet up with Krista to go swimming in a nearby river/lake area and dinner afterwards. The water was FREAKING cold, but we got in anyway. lol. Ian tried to dam the river like he always does with waterways. Krista and I walked to the lake area and threw rocks in. There's something cathartic about throwing rocks. :) It gets dark here about an hour sooner than at home b/c Japan doesn't have daylight savings time, so we left around 5:45. Krista told us about a restaurant in Yunomae, and it was DELICIOUS! Ian and Krista had curry, but I got some fried egg chicken thing over rice. It almost had a sweet taste to it, which was great!
Darn. I was going to play catch-up, but then Ian needed the computer for other purposes. I promise I'll play catch-up tomorrow b/c it's Friday! Yay!
Tuesday- I love Tuesdays. Not only do I get to wake up later, but I get off earlier, and I visit the nursery schools. One down side of my iphone is that if I forget to completely exit out of skype, it still says that I'm online. Therefore, I had two people try to call me before 7:30AM that morning. Blarg! The first unfortunate caller was Kim, and I just hung up on her to stop the loud ringing (sorry, dear!). The second caller was my sister, Christina. I gave the phone to Ian and said, "Make it stop!" lol. Once I actually woke up, I was able to call both of them and chat before I went to work. I think it's silly, but I have to go to the BOE for fifteen minutes before I go to the nursery schools. It's just enough time to get nothing done. However, it was a wonderful surprise to go to the BOE and see a care package from my sisters. Thanks again, Christina and Amanda! After that, I had two nursery schools to visit. I love the kids. They are all so cute!! I don't even care that they pull on me or get snot on my flashcards. :) I played two games. We reviewed numbers 1-10, and the first game we played involved the kids lining up at the end of the classroom with the numbers 1-10 written on the board. I would call out a number, and the kids would race to the board to slap it. Wow. I really should have rethought sending 15 hyper pre-schoolers racing toward the board. One girl fell and skinned her knee. I swear I thought the board was going to break! Needless to say, we didn't play that game for very long. The next game, I put cards on the floor with numbers 1-10 written on them. I would call out a number, and the kids had to grab all of the 5s, 2s, or whatever number I called. One kid started crying b/c he never got to slap a card. I resolved that problem by sneakily scooting a 7 beside him and calling out "7!"
After the nursery schools, I went to the junior high school. I'm still not 100% completely sure of my role there. It's so different here b/c in America, we're used to a boss saying, "Here's what you need to do. Get this to me by the end of the day." or whatever. Here it's like you have no idea what to do unless you ASK. Sometimes my English teachers will give me a task, but generally I have to ask if I can help or what I should prepare for class. :)
After school on Tuesday, we planned to meet up with Krista to go swimming in a nearby river/lake area and dinner afterwards. The water was FREAKING cold, but we got in anyway. lol. Ian tried to dam the river like he always does with waterways. Krista and I walked to the lake area and threw rocks in. There's something cathartic about throwing rocks. :) It gets dark here about an hour sooner than at home b/c Japan doesn't have daylight savings time, so we left around 5:45. Krista told us about a restaurant in Yunomae, and it was DELICIOUS! Ian and Krista had curry, but I got some fried egg chicken thing over rice. It almost had a sweet taste to it, which was great!
Darn. I was going to play catch-up, but then Ian needed the computer for other purposes. I promise I'll play catch-up tomorrow b/c it's Friday! Yay!
Monday, September 5, 2011
I knew today was going to be a good day.
I knew today was going to be a good day when I woke up and could vividly remember my Vampire Diaries dream. Make fun of me as you will, but it is a deliciously wonderful show. A big shout out to Morgan Hillard for reminding me about it. Since we talked about it yesterday, that's probably why I had the dream. :)
Today was the first Labor Day that I've worked. The US could learn a lot of things from Japan, but one thing Japan could learn from the US is not to work on Labor Day. I made peanut butter cookies to take to work today. They seemed to go over pretty well. Everyone is amazed that I put peanut butter in cookies.....perhaps because peanut butter comes in tiny little jars, or that it's about $5 for that tiny jar, or even that peanut butter isn't really used that much over here.
I had to use the office computer today. I cannot wait to get and use my own laptop again. Ugh. The office computer has a Japanese keyboard. It's sooooooooooooooo much different. For example, I would try to type something, add in a contraction only to have it show some random hiragana. The contraction button is actually the same button as 7. Instead of the ampersand, the contraction is there. It was all weird and turned around like that. Also, say I wanted to do a simple task like copy and paste something. Nope. Can't. Every direction is written in Japanese. Say I want to use Word to type something. I have no idea. Not only is Word written in Japanese, but the programming is different. Blarg. Needless to say, I CANNOT WAIT FOR MY LAPTOP TO ARRIVE!!
I only had two classes today. We played a review game for past participles. I had made a scavenger hunt. Students had to go around and ask the questions in the boxes, such as "Have you been to America?" "Have you taken the train to Hitoyoshi?" "Have you heard of President Obama?" "Have you seen Mt. Aso?" etc, and respond with "Yes, I have" or "No, I haven't". If the person answered yes, then they signed your box. It was a fun activity. I got to play, so I was racing around the room asking questions along with the kids. Kids are really shy here. I had to basically pounce on some kids because I could tell that they were trying to avoid me like the plague. lol. The question "Have you been to America?" I put in there so that they would HAVE to ask me a question, but you would definitely be surprised at the number of students who would prefer to have an incomplete worksheet over ask Melissa-sensei a question. After the scavenger hunt, my English teacher asked the students questions about me and my life in America as sort of a quiz to see how much they remembered. One of the questions was "What state is Melissa-sensei from?" No one EVER wants to be called on in Japan. EVER. No one really volunteers answers. Every time my English teacher calls on someone, he or she wallows around in his or her seat before standing up, taking a few minutes to compose an answer, and responds. I heard one of the girls in the front row mutter "Kentucky" under her breath. I motioned for her to speak up, and she looked horrified and shook her head. lol. It's just so different that NO ONE will EVER volunteer answers!
This afternoon, I worked on my English board. I have a special bulletin board beside the library for English related things. My plan is to post things about each month on the board. For example, this month is Labor Day and 9/11. Next month will be Halloween. November will be Thanksgiving, etc, etc. I also have a "featured foreigner" section on my board. A big shout out to Brittany Fiscus for giving me that idea! In my "featured foreigner" section, I will display a special person in my life at home in the US. This month is Ian. Yes, I know he's not currently in the US, but I assumed that this will allow students to get to know the other mysterious foreigner in town a little better. *Bonus: if you come and visit me in Yunomae, I will put your picture on the board and make you my featured foreigner for the month!!* I also have a "Melissa's mail" section in which the students write me letters. They don't have to be big or long or anything special, but if they want to write me a note, they place it in the giant envelope, and I will write back to them. So far I have no letters. :( Hopefully the idea will catch on!
I'm on the prowl for post cards. I promise to send them as soon as I can. We really haven't been able to locate them anywhere. I asked a few friends where to find post cards, and they said that they're in touristy spots......which explains why I can't find then in Yunomae. :) We're going to Hitoyoshi on Sunday, which is the closest largeish town to us. It's about the same size as Paducah. We're hoping to (maybe) find post cards there. I promise that they're on the way.....eventually!
Today was the first Labor Day that I've worked. The US could learn a lot of things from Japan, but one thing Japan could learn from the US is not to work on Labor Day. I made peanut butter cookies to take to work today. They seemed to go over pretty well. Everyone is amazed that I put peanut butter in cookies.....perhaps because peanut butter comes in tiny little jars, or that it's about $5 for that tiny jar, or even that peanut butter isn't really used that much over here.
I had to use the office computer today. I cannot wait to get and use my own laptop again. Ugh. The office computer has a Japanese keyboard. It's sooooooooooooooo much different. For example, I would try to type something, add in a contraction only to have it show some random hiragana. The contraction button is actually the same button as 7. Instead of the ampersand, the contraction is there. It was all weird and turned around like that. Also, say I wanted to do a simple task like copy and paste something. Nope. Can't. Every direction is written in Japanese. Say I want to use Word to type something. I have no idea. Not only is Word written in Japanese, but the programming is different. Blarg. Needless to say, I CANNOT WAIT FOR MY LAPTOP TO ARRIVE!!
I only had two classes today. We played a review game for past participles. I had made a scavenger hunt. Students had to go around and ask the questions in the boxes, such as "Have you been to America?" "Have you taken the train to Hitoyoshi?" "Have you heard of President Obama?" "Have you seen Mt. Aso?" etc, and respond with "Yes, I have" or "No, I haven't". If the person answered yes, then they signed your box. It was a fun activity. I got to play, so I was racing around the room asking questions along with the kids. Kids are really shy here. I had to basically pounce on some kids because I could tell that they were trying to avoid me like the plague. lol. The question "Have you been to America?" I put in there so that they would HAVE to ask me a question, but you would definitely be surprised at the number of students who would prefer to have an incomplete worksheet over ask Melissa-sensei a question. After the scavenger hunt, my English teacher asked the students questions about me and my life in America as sort of a quiz to see how much they remembered. One of the questions was "What state is Melissa-sensei from?" No one EVER wants to be called on in Japan. EVER. No one really volunteers answers. Every time my English teacher calls on someone, he or she wallows around in his or her seat before standing up, taking a few minutes to compose an answer, and responds. I heard one of the girls in the front row mutter "Kentucky" under her breath. I motioned for her to speak up, and she looked horrified and shook her head. lol. It's just so different that NO ONE will EVER volunteer answers!
This afternoon, I worked on my English board. I have a special bulletin board beside the library for English related things. My plan is to post things about each month on the board. For example, this month is Labor Day and 9/11. Next month will be Halloween. November will be Thanksgiving, etc, etc. I also have a "featured foreigner" section on my board. A big shout out to Brittany Fiscus for giving me that idea! In my "featured foreigner" section, I will display a special person in my life at home in the US. This month is Ian. Yes, I know he's not currently in the US, but I assumed that this will allow students to get to know the other mysterious foreigner in town a little better. *Bonus: if you come and visit me in Yunomae, I will put your picture on the board and make you my featured foreigner for the month!!* I also have a "Melissa's mail" section in which the students write me letters. They don't have to be big or long or anything special, but if they want to write me a note, they place it in the giant envelope, and I will write back to them. So far I have no letters. :( Hopefully the idea will catch on!
I'm on the prowl for post cards. I promise to send them as soon as I can. We really haven't been able to locate them anywhere. I asked a few friends where to find post cards, and they said that they're in touristy spots......which explains why I can't find then in Yunomae. :) We're going to Hitoyoshi on Sunday, which is the closest largeish town to us. It's about the same size as Paducah. We're hoping to (maybe) find post cards there. I promise that they're on the way.....eventually!
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Beach Party Weekend
Hey gang. When I left off in my last post, I was telling you about the typhoon. It didn't hit anywhere near our beach, but that didn't stop it from affecting our weekend. Krista picked us up in Yunomae around 12:45, and it was very breezy here. The entire way there, the wind blew through the trees so hard, not to mention the rain. Blarg. Rain is the last thing you want to see on your beach vacation weekend. It took about 1.5 hours to get to Ashikita, and luckily it wasn't raining at the time. We were a bit early, so we decided to explore the beach. We wandered by our bungalows on the hillside, down a questionable "pathway" to the ocean, and when we got out of the trees and onto the actual beach, holy crap! Standing beside the ocean, it seriously felt like we were going to get blown away. The wind was so strong!! We were at a pier, and we walked along a sidewalk to get to the beach. We're pretty sure the beach there was man-made b/c it wasn't very big. The view was beautiful, though! Across the way, we could see the islands of Amakusa. Despite the cloudy sky and rough surf, it was still gorgeous!
We assumed that we had killed enough time, so headed back to the bungalow area to check in. We met a few other ALTs in the parking lot and asked if we were going the right way. They said yes and that we would know it when we got there (with sly little smiles on their faces). We pulled up to the bungalows, and music was blasting from one, people were standing in the parking lot doing stupid things, and some guy swung off of light pole. Ian affectionately named it "Little America." hahahahaha. It's a good thing that we had our own little isolated area because if we had any neighbors around, I'm pretty sure we would have scared them off. :) We got checked in and changed and went back to the beach. This time, we actually got in the water. While the current didn't seem that strong, it definitely pulled us down the beach. None of us were stupid enough to go too far out in the rough surf. Ian and I decided to dig a hole. It's pretty much what you do at the beach, right? Someone asked us if we were digging a hole to China, but Ian said, "No. I'm digging a hole to America." HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Get it? We're on the other side of the world, so now we have to dig a hole back to American, not China!
Later that night, we BBQed. There were nice BBQ pits in front of each bungalow, so basically each cabin grilled out. We had a feast of meats and veggies. Delicious. At this time, the booze began to flow forth like milk and honey, so EVERYONE was getting rather wasted. The night progressively got more and more interesting. :) Without going into too many details, there was a banjo sing-a-long, illegal fireworks on the beach, and some pretty deep conversations about the meaning of life.
I really did not enjoy sleep last night. The futons were NOT cushioned very well, so it might as well have been like sleeping on the ground. :( In addition, we went to bed around 1 and woke up around 8. However, the worst part of the night was the 4 AM mukade attack. Disgusting. Mukade are poisonous centipedes in Japan that everyone hates/fears and are hard to kill. Someone noticed one in the bedroom earlier in the night, but nothing further came of it. I had also seen one outside by the BBQ grill. Four people slept in the bedroom and another four in the living room space (including the Reeds). Around 4 AM we hear a scream followed by several potty mouth words and a series of smashing sounds coming from the bedroom. The mukade had crawled across one girl's face, was flung across the room, began headed for the other sleeping people, and was immediately beheaded. Imagine trying to sleep after that. Every little itch or twitch my body had I was petrified was a mukade. We also killed two cockroaches in the cabin.
All in all, the weekend was very nice. We had a great time! One downside of being fourteen hours ahead of the States is that Monday always comes sooner. :( I don't care what country you live in. You're still going to dread Monday.
We assumed that we had killed enough time, so headed back to the bungalow area to check in. We met a few other ALTs in the parking lot and asked if we were going the right way. They said yes and that we would know it when we got there (with sly little smiles on their faces). We pulled up to the bungalows, and music was blasting from one, people were standing in the parking lot doing stupid things, and some guy swung off of light pole. Ian affectionately named it "Little America." hahahahaha. It's a good thing that we had our own little isolated area because if we had any neighbors around, I'm pretty sure we would have scared them off. :) We got checked in and changed and went back to the beach. This time, we actually got in the water. While the current didn't seem that strong, it definitely pulled us down the beach. None of us were stupid enough to go too far out in the rough surf. Ian and I decided to dig a hole. It's pretty much what you do at the beach, right? Someone asked us if we were digging a hole to China, but Ian said, "No. I'm digging a hole to America." HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Get it? We're on the other side of the world, so now we have to dig a hole back to American, not China!
Later that night, we BBQed. There were nice BBQ pits in front of each bungalow, so basically each cabin grilled out. We had a feast of meats and veggies. Delicious. At this time, the booze began to flow forth like milk and honey, so EVERYONE was getting rather wasted. The night progressively got more and more interesting. :) Without going into too many details, there was a banjo sing-a-long, illegal fireworks on the beach, and some pretty deep conversations about the meaning of life.
I really did not enjoy sleep last night. The futons were NOT cushioned very well, so it might as well have been like sleeping on the ground. :( In addition, we went to bed around 1 and woke up around 8. However, the worst part of the night was the 4 AM mukade attack. Disgusting. Mukade are poisonous centipedes in Japan that everyone hates/fears and are hard to kill. Someone noticed one in the bedroom earlier in the night, but nothing further came of it. I had also seen one outside by the BBQ grill. Four people slept in the bedroom and another four in the living room space (including the Reeds). Around 4 AM we hear a scream followed by several potty mouth words and a series of smashing sounds coming from the bedroom. The mukade had crawled across one girl's face, was flung across the room, began headed for the other sleeping people, and was immediately beheaded. Imagine trying to sleep after that. Every little itch or twitch my body had I was petrified was a mukade. We also killed two cockroaches in the cabin.
All in all, the weekend was very nice. We had a great time! One downside of being fourteen hours ahead of the States is that Monday always comes sooner. :( I don't care what country you live in. You're still going to dread Monday.
Friday, September 2, 2011
(Say it just like Nemo.) First day of school! First day of school! First day of school!
Hey gang. Yesterday was the first day of school. It was definitely.....different. There were a lot of ups and downs. For example, an up would be that both opening ceremonies at the junior and elementary were MUCH less stressful than I thought they were going to be. :) Yay! I don't have any idea what anyone said, but I was able to give my speech in English, so that was awesome. After the opening ceremonies, there was cleaning time. A wonderful thing about Japan is that there are no janitors at the school. The students are the janitors. Everyday, there is a "cleaning time" in which the students clean the school from top to bottom. It really helps b/c they won't make messes or discard trash in the hallway b/c they know they'll have to clean it up later. Anyway, on the first day of school, cleaning time was longer and in the morning. I told my English teacher that I didn't have any clothes to change into, so she let me go home and change. :) When I got back, I asked what I could do and was handed a broom. I swept everywhere....including the men's locker room. Oops. Apparently I wasn't supposed to go in there. My English teacher pulled me out and said, "That's the men's room" as she pointed to the kanji sign. Oops. I was just trying to clean!
I had three classes yesterday, two eighth grade classes and one seventh grade. My English teacher told me that the eighth grade classes were taking tests the next day (you have to remember that it is mid-semester in Japan), so the tone in those classes were much more serious. I gave my self-introduction using maps, my scrapbook, coins, and other American items. It's so much easier to do that with native speakers. I got a lot of blank stares. I think the next time I give my self introduction, I'll have to jazz it up....make a power point or something....maybe make a game out of it. After I gave my intro to the eighth grade classes, it was back to studying as usual. We had a review sheet to go over, and I had the task of pronouncing the words on the page. My seventh grade class was much more fun. They didn't have the test, so my teacher allowed me to give the self-intro for the entire class period. After I gave my presentation, the kids asked me questions. I got things like, what's your favorite Japanese food? What's your favorite book? Who's your favorite singer? Do you know Japanese? etc, etc, etc. Then, I had the opportunity to ask them questions, so I asked, where should I travel to in Japan? What Japanese foods should I try? etc, etc. It was a lot of fun to go back and forth asking and answering questions!
One thing that is VERY different than the States is the school lunch. There is no cafeteria here. Instead, the kids eat in the classroom. They organize their desks into three long row-like tables. The students are responsible for serving one another. They put on the lunch lady garb of hair net, apron, and face mask and dish up the daily special. School lunches are HUGE, and you're expected to clean your plate. I felt ridiculously full after lunch. Also, the only drink served with lunch is milk. I wouldn't mind that so much, but a) it is warmish milk....ick, and b) it's whole milk....ugh. One of the down periods of the day was lunch. While the food was excellent, the conversation wasn't. The other tables were chit-chatting, but the table w/the foreigner was DEAD SILENT. I tried to initiate conversation, but it didn't work. *crying* The kids were mean to me!!! :( lol. Whatever. Today's lunch was better. I ate in a different classroom, and I ended up playing thumb war with the boys. One of the boys totally creamed me, but another boy I beat.
Last night, I had my night conversation class again. Please remember that last week, I didn't even know I was teaching this class, so I had nothing prepared. This week wasn't much better. I tried!! I had lots to do, but the kids in that class almost drive me to drink. There are four boys in that class that are wilder than bucks. I don't know Japanese, so I can't say things like "SIT DOWN!" or "BE QUIET!" Last night, they were doing handstands and judo move on each other. I made them sit down, but it wasn't a few minutes before they were acting up again. I asked my supervisor today if Ian could come to my class w/me. She said yes, so hopefully two versus eight is better odds.....hopefully.
On a much lighter note, we're headed to the beach tomorrow! Woot! All of you people in Kentucky who are 11 hours away from the gulf coast, I just wanted you to know that we are a mere 2 hours (at most) away from beautiful beaches. I don't want to brag, but......... ;) PS, if you've been keeping up with Japanese weather, then you know that there's a typhoon approaching the coast. No worries. a) Never, ever, ever worry about us if you hear about a typhoon in Japan. We've got soooooooooooooo many mountains around us, that a typhoon could NEVER reach here. b) Yes, we are headed to the coast tomorrow, but the typhoon isn't coming in our direction. We're on Kyushu, the southern island, and the typhoon is headed for southern Honshu in the Osaka area. It's been breezy and cloudy here all day, but no need to worry....I promise! If you're really interested, here's a link to a map of the projected path of the typhoon:
http://www.wunderground.com/tropical/tracking/wp201115.html#.TmChjhrKN_Q.facebook
I had three classes yesterday, two eighth grade classes and one seventh grade. My English teacher told me that the eighth grade classes were taking tests the next day (you have to remember that it is mid-semester in Japan), so the tone in those classes were much more serious. I gave my self-introduction using maps, my scrapbook, coins, and other American items. It's so much easier to do that with native speakers. I got a lot of blank stares. I think the next time I give my self introduction, I'll have to jazz it up....make a power point or something....maybe make a game out of it. After I gave my intro to the eighth grade classes, it was back to studying as usual. We had a review sheet to go over, and I had the task of pronouncing the words on the page. My seventh grade class was much more fun. They didn't have the test, so my teacher allowed me to give the self-intro for the entire class period. After I gave my presentation, the kids asked me questions. I got things like, what's your favorite Japanese food? What's your favorite book? Who's your favorite singer? Do you know Japanese? etc, etc, etc. Then, I had the opportunity to ask them questions, so I asked, where should I travel to in Japan? What Japanese foods should I try? etc, etc. It was a lot of fun to go back and forth asking and answering questions!
One thing that is VERY different than the States is the school lunch. There is no cafeteria here. Instead, the kids eat in the classroom. They organize their desks into three long row-like tables. The students are responsible for serving one another. They put on the lunch lady garb of hair net, apron, and face mask and dish up the daily special. School lunches are HUGE, and you're expected to clean your plate. I felt ridiculously full after lunch. Also, the only drink served with lunch is milk. I wouldn't mind that so much, but a) it is warmish milk....ick, and b) it's whole milk....ugh. One of the down periods of the day was lunch. While the food was excellent, the conversation wasn't. The other tables were chit-chatting, but the table w/the foreigner was DEAD SILENT. I tried to initiate conversation, but it didn't work. *crying* The kids were mean to me!!! :( lol. Whatever. Today's lunch was better. I ate in a different classroom, and I ended up playing thumb war with the boys. One of the boys totally creamed me, but another boy I beat.
Last night, I had my night conversation class again. Please remember that last week, I didn't even know I was teaching this class, so I had nothing prepared. This week wasn't much better. I tried!! I had lots to do, but the kids in that class almost drive me to drink. There are four boys in that class that are wilder than bucks. I don't know Japanese, so I can't say things like "SIT DOWN!" or "BE QUIET!" Last night, they were doing handstands and judo move on each other. I made them sit down, but it wasn't a few minutes before they were acting up again. I asked my supervisor today if Ian could come to my class w/me. She said yes, so hopefully two versus eight is better odds.....hopefully.
On a much lighter note, we're headed to the beach tomorrow! Woot! All of you people in Kentucky who are 11 hours away from the gulf coast, I just wanted you to know that we are a mere 2 hours (at most) away from beautiful beaches. I don't want to brag, but......... ;) PS, if you've been keeping up with Japanese weather, then you know that there's a typhoon approaching the coast. No worries. a) Never, ever, ever worry about us if you hear about a typhoon in Japan. We've got soooooooooooooo many mountains around us, that a typhoon could NEVER reach here. b) Yes, we are headed to the coast tomorrow, but the typhoon isn't coming in our direction. We're on Kyushu, the southern island, and the typhoon is headed for southern Honshu in the Osaka area. It's been breezy and cloudy here all day, but no need to worry....I promise! If you're really interested, here's a link to a map of the projected path of the typhoon:
http://www.wunderground.com/tropical/tracking/wp201115.html#.TmChjhrKN_Q.facebook
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Hitoyoshi
Alright....on to finish yesterday's story.
I was at the elementary school yesterday. A common question to get here is "What sport do you play?" I'm like....er....um....I don't really play sports. Instead, I usually say volleyball, badminton, or hiking. It so happens that my English teacher at the elementary school is the volleyball coach, so when I told people I liked volleyball, they were like, "OMG! You HAVE to play since so-and-so is the coach!!!" Apparently, I'm joining the volleyball team. I will play the position of handicap for the team. ;)
Yesterday was a flurry of activity at school. Since today was the first day of class, everyone was running around trying to get last minute things completed. It was crazy!
Last night when I got home, Ian asked me if I wanted to go to Hitoyoshi. I was like, "Why?!?!" He said that he had found the nearest Catholic church and was wanting to confirm his findings. I really didn't want to go b/c I wanted to go for a walk instead, but I'm glad we went. It takes about 40-50 minutes to drive there. Ian had google maps lead us straight to the church. It's fairly easy to find, so we're going to try to go at least every other weekend. We think (I say think b/c everything is written in kanji) Mass is at 9:00AM on Sundays. After visiting the church, Ian said, "I kinda want a big, fat, greasy burger." I haven't had a burger since I left (it has officially been a full month.....yay!), and I agreed that it sounded good. We found a McDonald's. I know it's horribly stereotypical for the Americans to go to McDonald's in a foreign land, but when you want a burger, you want a burger! It makes sense, but it kinda sucks for us b/c McDonald's is kinda expensive. We probably spent $15ish just on the two of us. We didn't really get anything special, but whereas McDonald's in the States is cheap food, McDonald's here is a little bit more expensive. After supper, we walked across the street to what we called "Walmart". It was fabulous! It had everything we could need. We really can't get a lot of things in Yunomae. Actually, we were blown away by the size of the grocery side. Our little super market is Yunomae is probably half the size of Supervalu in Paducah, and I feel like that's being generous. We finally found flour. We weren't sure it was flour, and we wanted to make sure that we were buying flour and not a sack of corn starch, so I used my phone to translate the word for flour and went up to the first person I saw to confirm that the bag we had in our hands was flour. Success....it was! I'm sure I've complained about the.....specialness of our car. Let's just say that it smells like the 80s and the hamsters running the engine are on their last leg. :) On our drive home, we were stopped at a red light. We kept hearing a noise and thinking, what is that?? It seemed to be coming from the concrete bank and woods to the right of us. Ian was the one to finally figure it out after a couple of lights and this mysterious noise following us that it was our car. Yep, our car makes some pretty horrendous noises. lol.
I know I should continue to write in order to get caught up with today's first day of school events, but I'm beat. I promise...tomorrow I shall get caught up!
I was at the elementary school yesterday. A common question to get here is "What sport do you play?" I'm like....er....um....I don't really play sports. Instead, I usually say volleyball, badminton, or hiking. It so happens that my English teacher at the elementary school is the volleyball coach, so when I told people I liked volleyball, they were like, "OMG! You HAVE to play since so-and-so is the coach!!!" Apparently, I'm joining the volleyball team. I will play the position of handicap for the team. ;)
Yesterday was a flurry of activity at school. Since today was the first day of class, everyone was running around trying to get last minute things completed. It was crazy!
Last night when I got home, Ian asked me if I wanted to go to Hitoyoshi. I was like, "Why?!?!" He said that he had found the nearest Catholic church and was wanting to confirm his findings. I really didn't want to go b/c I wanted to go for a walk instead, but I'm glad we went. It takes about 40-50 minutes to drive there. Ian had google maps lead us straight to the church. It's fairly easy to find, so we're going to try to go at least every other weekend. We think (I say think b/c everything is written in kanji) Mass is at 9:00AM on Sundays. After visiting the church, Ian said, "I kinda want a big, fat, greasy burger." I haven't had a burger since I left (it has officially been a full month.....yay!), and I agreed that it sounded good. We found a McDonald's. I know it's horribly stereotypical for the Americans to go to McDonald's in a foreign land, but when you want a burger, you want a burger! It makes sense, but it kinda sucks for us b/c McDonald's is kinda expensive. We probably spent $15ish just on the two of us. We didn't really get anything special, but whereas McDonald's in the States is cheap food, McDonald's here is a little bit more expensive. After supper, we walked across the street to what we called "Walmart". It was fabulous! It had everything we could need. We really can't get a lot of things in Yunomae. Actually, we were blown away by the size of the grocery side. Our little super market is Yunomae is probably half the size of Supervalu in Paducah, and I feel like that's being generous. We finally found flour. We weren't sure it was flour, and we wanted to make sure that we were buying flour and not a sack of corn starch, so I used my phone to translate the word for flour and went up to the first person I saw to confirm that the bag we had in our hands was flour. Success....it was! I'm sure I've complained about the.....specialness of our car. Let's just say that it smells like the 80s and the hamsters running the engine are on their last leg. :) On our drive home, we were stopped at a red light. We kept hearing a noise and thinking, what is that?? It seemed to be coming from the concrete bank and woods to the right of us. Ian was the one to finally figure it out after a couple of lights and this mysterious noise following us that it was our car. Yep, our car makes some pretty horrendous noises. lol.
I know I should continue to write in order to get caught up with today's first day of school events, but I'm beat. I promise...tomorrow I shall get caught up!
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