Signs of the season

Work has been really hectic lately; classes have been fun but *draining*. We did Halloween lessons today. The kids listened to me talk about Halloween for a while, then made origami pumpkins and napkin ghosts. I collected the origami afterward and made poster decorations for the class:


Halloween Origami
Originally uploaded by kristi-san.

Cute, huh? It has gotten noticeably colder in the last few days. I can already tell that this "no centralized heating" business is going to be interesting. I'm so glad that I have an electric heater now. Most people here seem to use kerosene, but you have to leave the window open because of the fumes... seems kinda questionable to me, although it seems to work just fine for the majority of the Japanese population.

Btw, Niigata made the front page of the Japan Times today, though not for a happy reason:
Niigata marks one year since big quake

Date with destiny

Ok, maybe that's being a little over the top, but I took the GRE yesterday. Left Niigata at about 9:30 on a two-hour shinkansen ride to Tokyo, managed to find the appropriate building in the appropriate sector of the city, and did the deed. First of all, I have to say that taking the GRE in a foreign country is kind of bizarre. Secondly, I thought the test was difficult. I seriously felt like I guessed on 3/4 of the math section. Thirdly, I *by far* exceeded my expectations and got 710 verbal, 720 quantitative. That puts me in the right range for the majority of my desired schools and renders it such that they can't disqualify me solely on the basis of the GRE. ;) It's also better than I ever did on any of my practice tests.

I'm so relieved.

Afterward, I met up with Tina, Shelley, and Drew for dinner and dessert out in Harajuku, which was a lot of fun. It was really nice to see some familiar Seattle faces and hear about their adventures in Tokyo. For my part, I was grilled on the application process for the JET Program and had to fill them in on the details of that last painful quarter of Japanese. ;) But yeah, a lot of fun. I'll have to go down there a few more times before they leave in February. And I definitely have to spend some more time in Harajuku in the future; I went there last year to check out the gothic lolita types, but I think it seems like a fun place just to hang out. I also killed about an hour in "Snoopytown", this huge Peanuts store there. Got a couple of things for my classes. :) Managed to hop on the last train back to Niigata--it's nice living in a place that's relatively accessible to/from Tokyo.

Speaking of classes, this is going to be one heck of a week at work. I have to do a full set of self-introductions tomorrow, so I think I'm going to spend some of today revamping my visuals (now that I have my nifty laminator). And I need to finalize the Halloween activities I'm doing with my first-years on Tuesday. We're going to make origami jack-o-lanterns and napkin ghosts. What fun.

School

I've had some really great lessons lately, something I'm always thankful for. It seems like the kids are getting friendlier by the day. Highlights of the week so far? Being told I was really cute by two first-years (the amount of English they struggled with was even more endearing than the sentiment) and having a rather long conversation about what Japanese celebrities I like with another first-year student today (again, I appreciated the epic battle with English). I know that everyone emphasizes using only English in the classroom, but I've gotta say that I think that the Japanese is really helpful. Even though I generally use English, I can help the kids with their questions after they've exhausted their rather limited set of vocab to communicate with me. And I think that tends to make them want to talk to me more--because they don't have to be as afraid that we'll just hit a dead-end and start blinking at one another after a sentence or two. I switch back to English when I can, and I think it makes at least some of them try harder to communicate with me. I've noticed that the students I occasionally help in Japanese are the ones who race to spout their latest English lesson whenever they see me.

Let's see, what else... Oh, I was interviewed about anime and low birthrates in America and ran into Rosalind at a rather scary English teachers' conference at my base school today. Anyway, I'm going to try and do a few more GRE practice sets--they tend to make me want to go to sleep ridiculously early though, so we'll see how far I get.

Kansai and more adventures!

Wow, it's been busy. I need to hurry up and post this before it all gets terribly out of date and/or I forget everything. So, Friday was the fabulous Mexican fiesta at my apartment. Oh my God, the food was so good. We cooked up a tempest of tacos, burritos, chicken/shrimp fajitas, and more, and the JETs really came out in force. Anyway, it was a good time, followed by drinks and karaoke (of course).  I also got some cute presents, including a very Kristi-like Hello Kitty apron--red with pink bows.  ;)


Mexican Fiesta in Kamo
Originally uploaded by kristi-san.

Saturday, my mom and I made the six hour shinkansen trip out to Osaka and checked into our hotel, immediately after which we passed out, waking up only to eat dinner and pass out again. Sunday, we went to the park out in Nara, which I absolutely *loved*. Seeing so many deer just wandering around kinda blew my mind. They're pretty determined when it comes to their biscuits though, I've gotta say--one ripped a whole stack out of my hand still in the wrapper. :) Anyway, we saw Kofukuji and Todaiji, two shrines that have been declared World Heritage sites. The latter of the two has the largest wooden building in the world, which houses the largest Buddha statue in Japan.


At Nara Park
Originally uploaded by kristi-san.


Daibutsu
Originally uploaded by kristi-san.

After doing a little shopping in Nara, we took a train out to Kyoto and hit two more shrines: Sanjusangen-do and Fushimi-Inari Taisha. Sanjusangen-do is famous for containing 1001 statues of Kannon, while Fushimi-Inari involves a *lot* of red tori.


Inside Sanjusangen-do
Originally uploaded by kristi-san.


At Fushimi-Inari Taisha
Originally uploaded by kristi-san.

On Monday, we spent the day leisurely strolling around the grounds of Osaka Castle, the city's most famous landmark. We also did a litle bit of shopping around the city before embarking on the long shinkansen ride back to Niigata.


Osaka Castle
Originally uploaded by kristi-san.

All in all, a good weekend.  And now?  Now I'm 23.  Time to end a long post and get back to living.  Hope all of you are doing well. Oh, before I forget, taiko concert pictures from the other day are up now:


Tsubame Taiko Concert
Originally uploaded by kristi-san.

Subarashii...

I had my most fun day of teaching yet today! It was my first official visit to Tagami Junior High, so the day started off with the standard bilingual self-introductions to the staff and to all of the students (via school assembly). But then I had four very awesome lessons with two very awesome teachers and two slightly less awesome ones. Great students, too. I sustained casual non-teaching related conversations with teachers for a total of maybe three hours today! And got presents and sightseeing invites! Too bad I don't go back again for another three weeks. :)

After that, I had an amazing hour-long massage at the house of this very nice blind fellow who lives a couple of miles from my apartment. Oh, it was wonderful. I was quite amused by the fact that just about every muscle he touched prompted the comment, "Hm, this probably hurts, huh?" hehe... My neck, my shoulders, my back, my shins, my feet... all of them a mess. (My shins even prompted a "What the..?) By the time he got to my right foot, we both had to laugh at how my bones were cracking all over the place. I swear, I'm held together largely by stress. And maybe gumption. :) Anyway, I may have to make this a semi-regular occurence. A good use of $30, to my mind...

I better get some rest. I have three early lessons at Wakamiya tomorrow, then it's off to Tokyo and Narita Airport to retrieve my mom and bring her back to Kamo. That means 6+ hours on trains and about $200 in fares, roundtrip. But hey, the last thing I want is for her to get lost and end up on the other side of Honshu. ;)

Take care, all. If you happen to be in Japan, I'm having a Mexican food party this Friday at 7:00 pm. It's also nominally to celebrate my 23rd birthday, which is next Wednesday. If you're reading this, you're invited. Comment and I'll send you details.

Taiko

I went to a taiko drum concert today out in Tsubame with the usual suspects. It was quite fun, and since it was free, the price was right. Afterward we grabbed some food at a ramen shop and chatted for a while about everything and nothing... Then I came back to Kamo for another dinner date with some of the folks here. Good stuff. I took a bunch of pictures but don't have the energy to sort/upload them right now.

Anyway, I have a big day of teaching tomorrow--gotta think of stuff to do. Wish me luck. ;)

Major redecorating

What a productive day. I spent almost all of it cleaning house, doing laundry, and shopping for furniture (or moving it, with Rosalind's help), and now my apartment is a much more pleasant place to be. Seriously, I feel *so* much happier. And I think I've spent more time in my living room today than I have in the last two months, so that really says something. Just to think, a sofa, an armchair, and another bookshelf were the key to happiness all along. I still have to do the finishing touches (sofa pillows, colorful things, and perhaps a houseplant), but I think I'll try to pace my spending a bit--anyway, this is a definite improvement. That means we can have a party at my place soon, perhaps with all that Mexican food I've been hoarding from theflyingpig.com. Yum.

I've been burning CDs this evening, trying to recreate a bit of my old collection in Seattle. I have to admit, despite the convenience of mp3s and mp3 players, I find buying/burning/using CDs to be somehow more satisfying at times. Maybe it's cause I just like stuff; I'm such a packrat. Anyway, Modest Mouse, Air, Pinback, and Hot Hot Heat have rejoined the fold so far... More to come, I'm sure.

I think I'm going to shut down the computer for the night, maybe study for the GRE. That would be good. Tomorrow may end up being busy--gotta prep for a big day of teaching on Monday and it looks like I'm going to a taiko drum concert out in Sanjo in the afternoon. That's life in Japan for ya...

Busy busy

Wow, it's been busy since my last post--time for a list!

1. I submitted my Rhodes and Marshall applications today! So glad that's out of my hair. Hopefully my eight letter writers will all come through and there won't be any last minute things to deal with. On to studying for the GRE!

2. Rosalind and I joined a gym in Sanjo on Thursday! I'm way excited. We're going to try and make it a regular routine. Maybe do some of the classes as well.

3. I never realized how many muscles it takes to play the clarinet. After my power session on Wednesday, my face muscles were seriously sore. It was kinda cool though--I could feel exactly what muscles I used, something I could never do when I built up endurance slowly over seven years. Interesting pain is good.... right?

4. Playing Jeopardy with junior high kids for four straight hours takes an astonishing amount of energy.

That is all.

Adventures in clarinet-ing

So, today I picked up a clarinet for the first time in five years. I played fairly seriously back in high school but hadn't touched a horn since I toured Europe with a state band after graduation. However, despite that, today I was handed an instrument and asked to sit down and play with our junior high's group. We played together for a couple of hours--and then we went to a different school and practiced the same songs with kids from four other junior highs in the area for another couple of hours. It was a trip, let me tell you. It felt so natural. And I even remembered the vast majority of stuff--the only thing that really got me was my total lack of embochure muscles. Four hours of continuous playing was a little rough. But yeah, it was great, and the kids were very excited to have me participate. I guess they're practicing for a festival in early November. I may be playing with them, we shall see... It's the first time I've felt really comfortable at school--I should've known band would do the trick. ;) The experience did make me feel a bit old though... How on earth did five years go by so quickly?

And tonight? Tonight was another installment of cooking class with Rosalind and Saito-san. We made beef steak, sweet potato rice, a radish soup, and a seaweed salad. Yum. We asked Saito-san to hook us up with a massage place--apparently there's one in Kamo, complete with the blind masseuse that's standard in this country. I can't wait.

Anyway, I think I'm going to get to bed. I have three early lessons in a row tomorrow, and sleep definitely helps things along. :) Take care, all.

Another weekend

Saturday night in Sanjo
Originally uploaded by kristi-san.

Met up with Grace, Errol, and Johanna for a little random fun out in Sanjo last night. Apparently, Johanna came down from Niigata to lease a car from a fellow named Mr. Fujita, and he very graciously offered to take all of us out to dinner. After a few hours of feasting and drinking, there was a veritable collison of JETs as people simultaneously left concerts, returned from Thailand, and similarly converged upon a small cafe for some hanging out. It was a good time, and I even managed to catch the last train home and get a good night's sleep.

And today? Today was spent working on various projects, buying tickets for the Studio Ghibli Museum, getting pictures taken for my Rhodes application, and shopping with Grace (who also happened to be nice enough to take my pictures for me). Yay.

Tomorrow is yet another "first" day--you'd think I'd be done with those by now, huh? I'm going to Sanjo to visit Osaki Junior High, which I only visit every two weeks or so. That means I need to do my self-introduction again (bleh). Speaking of which, I should go make sure that I have everything ready...

I think my computer may be on the verge of death. The screen has been flickering alarmingly for the last couple of days. I've been starting to research new ones lately, but I hope this one can hold out at least til after grad apps are done... Hrm.

Signs of autumn...

Here I am, on the eve of another three-day weekend, this time due to the Autumn Equinox, which happens to be a Japanese national holiday. For those of you who don't know, the equinox marks the first day of fall, when night and day are nearly the same length. I can really feel the changes around here. Darkness has already begun to set in by the time I get home. The weather is noticeably cooler, too; air conditioner use has decreased dramatically, both at school and at home. How strange to think that October is just around the corner. Classes will be starting back at UW soon.

I taught my first wild group of kids today, a third-year class. There was an interesting guy who talked through probably 70 percent of the class--often very loudly. He'd done the classic trick of drawing eyes on his eyelids so that it looked like his eyes were open when he was spacing out. Anyway, it was interesting to see. They don't kick kids like that out of class here, they just proceed as normal. But while the rebelliousness is much more overt on one level, it's much less threatening in that there isn't as much bite to it... Anyway, the primary teacher had things pretty well in control, despite contrary appearances.

My other two classes of the day were quite sweet and very attentive--first years, the both of them. The kids were excited to raise their hands and even more excited to play janken (aka rock paper scissors) with me to decide who would go first during their practice dialogues. My JTE got a kick out of having me speak Italian for them. Good times.

So, how am I going to spend my three-day weekend? Studying. Writing. Reading. It's like I'm still in school, huh? I registered for the GRE the other day--October 22nd is my day of reckoning. It also means that I'll be going to Tokyo at least four times in the next month or so, which should be quite an adventure.

Time for some pointless TV.

Bits and pieces

Today a junior high student interviewed me about American traffic laws as part of an "international" research project. We're talking everything from "How many different kinds of road signs are there in America?" to "Is it legal for two people to ride a motorbike on a highway?", from "How much is the fine for driving without a driver's license?" to "What happens if you refuse to take a breathalizer test?" You know, all the questions you try to avoid knowing the answers to. I did my best, but geez. It was pretty amusing though.

I also encountered my first instance of a teacher getting halfway through a class and being like, "Well, I'm out of stuff, did you bring anything to do?" without any prior mention of activity-planning. That was fun--thank goodness for hangman.

Aaron and I went to see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory on Sunday. It was enjoyable, but I found the visuals a little overwhelming. It was a bit like sensory overload--I actually left the theater with a bit of a headache. Still, I enjoyed it. I loved all Roald Dahl's books as a kid... The movie theatre was an interesting snapshot of Japanese culture. The place was pretty full (we even had assigned seats), but it was completely silent the entire time. Aaron and I involuntarily chuckled a few times and felt totally out of place. I guess this is a pretty common thing--rumor has it that Japanese people don't like to laugh at movies in public. But I haven't verified that, so it could be incorrect. Another thing--they sit in their seats until all of the credits are finished. Interesting, huh?

You learn something new every day.

I ♥ Books

My books finally arrived in the mail today! I shipped them out the day I left Seattle, and here they are, "only" eight weeks after the fact. I really shouldn't complain though; it only cost me $16 to ship about 16 pounds of books across the Pacific Ocean. My small box of winter clothes cost twice that. Anyway, it feels like a bunch of old friends have come to join me from Seattle. The loot? The Sound and the Fury, Catch-22, Learning to Bow, To the Lighthouse, Snow Country, Closer, I, Claudis, Point Counter Point, Jude the Obscure, Atlas Shrugged, Beyond Bilateralism, and afterdark (in Japanese). This should keep me busy for a while, especially since I have less time to read as of late.

Speaking of books, I finished The Blind Assassin last night, and I *really* loved it. It's definitely going on my list of favorite books.

I can't believe September is more than half over. Time flows so strangely here at times. Big work day today. Off I go.

More random adventures...

Pottery Class
Originally uploaded by kristi-san.

Pottery Class
Originally uploaded by kristi-san.

Pottery class last night was amusing. It's always interesting, venturing into these little pockets of Japanese society and finding out what the real people are up to. In our case, they were throwing/pinching clay in a studio which seemed to be located on the grounds of the Omi Shrine, quite near my apartment. Aaron and Rosalind, my two companions in crime, were both art majors in college, so they totally impressed all the Japanese people--although one fellow seemed bent on giving advice, no matter what. As for me, I hung out with Rosalind's Japanese tutor and fashioned the beginnings of a mug. :) Good times...

While I was spacing out at school the other day, one of the Japanese English teachers showed me a scrapbook of autographed pictures that he's been keeping. Apparently, the kids occasionally write fan letters to various celebrities and occasionally get responses. The two most recent additions were Daniel Radcliffe (aka Harry Potter) and Johnny Depp. Makes sense, right? However, there were also a number of signed pictures of Peter Falk. Apparently, good ol' Columbo was quite popular with the kiddies a few years back. Hm.

Now, I have a three and a half day weekend--whoo hoo! Fridays are my standard half-days, so I only had to work for three hours this morning, and Monday is Respect for the Aged Day. After that, I came home and worked on miscellaneous computer and application stuff. I also *finally* decorated the front room of my apartment. Now all I need to do is clean and buy a sofa and the place will almost look presentable. Maybe after my next paycheck.

Keitai fun

Click here to see more pictures

Welcome to the wonderful world of taking pictures with your cell phone. For those of you who weren't aware, Japanese cell phones are truly things of beauty. Even the cheapest ones have some pretty nifty features. I accidentally bought a Japanese-only phone, instead of a bilingual one like all the other kids got, so I'm still discovering many of those features. :)

Anyway, this picture is of Grace and I hamming it up last night. I drove out to Tsubame to celebrate Paul's birthday with the usual suspects. We discovered that the izakaya (Japanese restaurant/bar) we wanted to go to closes on Wednesdays for some unknown reason, so we relocated to a yakiniku place elsewhere. It was *so* good. Yakiniku is my favorite Japanese food--I mean, what's not to like about self-grilled meat? Yum, simplicity at its tastiest.

We have two national holidays coming up next week (Monday and Friday), so most people are going on excursions around Japan or elsewhere. Grace is off to Kyoto, Nuria to Malaysia, Paul and Sarah to Kanazawa... ALTs are total jetsetters, let me tell you. After a few aborted plans to go to Osaka and Tokyo, I decided to buckle down and spend the two weekends studying for the GRE and working on my UK apps. I think life will be much better if I get this stuff done and save up some cash for my October travel plans; plus, it sounds like I may get a chance to do a few other things later on in the year. Maybe South Korea in November, maybe China in August.

Anyway, I just taught my last lesson til next Tuesday, which I'm quite happy about. I can't wait to relax... I mean, um, study. :) Going to a pottery class tonight with Rosalind and Aaron. We'll see how that goes.

Productivity

Wow, if all of my days were as productive as this one, I'd be set. Taught three pretty good lessons today (involving real English instruction and no long-winded self-introductions), read the latest Japanese news, made about 200 GRE vocabulary flashcards to add to my collection, went for a run by the Kamo River, and did my grocery shopping. On top of that, they're showing my favorite episode of The Simpsons tonight, Homer's Barbershop Quartet. Nice day.

Sports Day!

Click here to see more photos
Originally uploaded by kristi-san.

So, yesterday was the big Sports Day at Kamo Junior High. The kids had been preparing for the event for at least the last month or so, so it was exciting to finally see the fruits of their labors. Some of the other ALTs I've talked to have joked about this event being like the Olympics, with all the accompanying pomp and circumstance, and I can really see why. There were opening ceremonies (with a torch that shot out fireworks!), team cheers, speeches, relays of all kinds, parent/teacher competitions, team dance routines, and so much more!

It was an all day extravaganza (and a scheduled work day for me), so I passed the time by sitting in a covered seating area, taking pictures, and being served cold tea by junior high girls. It was very nice, although I felt a little guilty that I couldn't help out more. I participated in one of the PTA relays, which involved tossing a huge ball down a line of people. Quite fun.

So, Sports Day also marked the end of my very first week of teaching. It was pretty intense. Junior high is a really challenging age, just in terms of knowing what interests the kids and how best to hold their attention. Japanese kids seem much better behaved than their American counterparts overall, but it's a really different atmosphere. For example, kids can just "pass" on questions and choose not to answer when a teacher calls on them--something that would have been unheard of when I went to school. At the moment, most of my lessons consist on giving a 20-30 minute talk about myself and my home country/city. It's tough for me to talk about myself for that long--I usually splice in a game or two to help the kids (and myself) pass the time a little more quickly. Anyway, I hope it will get easier as I get used to the job and actually start teaching a little more English...

Anyway, since Sports Day required me to work on a Saturday, I get tomorrow off. I'm going to Niigata City with a couple of other ALTs to get my reentry permit--I need it to get back into the country when I leave to go home or to another country. I'm planning to go back to Seattle in December and then maybe head somewhere else in Asia in the spring--China, South Korea, or Thailand would be nice. We'll see how it goes.

For tonight, I think I'll work on personal statements, read a little more of The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood, and maybe try to clean/decorate my apartment (an ongoing mission). Off I go...

Mount Fuji

Click here to see more photos
Originally uploaded by kristi-san.

This weekend's adventure was the infamous Mount Fuji. The Niigata ALT crowd left around noon and drove for about six hours through the Niigata and Nagano prefectures to reach the town of Kawaguchiko. After a brief dinner stop at a Skylark (which is kind of like a Japanese Denny's), we drove up to the fifth station of Mount Fuji, an elevation of about 2305 of Fuji's total 3,776 meters. At 10:00 pm, the Niigata JETs and my friend Eric from Seattle (who is a Hiroshima JET) started up the mountain. I didn't make it all the way up, but it was still a lot of fun. I napped at one of the mountain huts and caught the 5:00 am sunrise before hiking back down the mountain. Took some fun pictures before the long drive back. Yay for Mount Fuji.

Let the introductions begin... again!

So, today marked the first official day of classes. By 8:10, the teachers had started their morning meeting and by 9:10 I was on the gymnasium stage facing a crowd of maybe 200 students and the rest of the teachers. I gave my introduction in English and in Japanese, I bowed, and then I fled to the staff room, where I essentially remained until 5:20 pm or so this evening, with the exception of a short run home for lunch. The staff room was very lively today with lots of laughter--the teachers sounded happy to be back in the swing of things. They're throwing a welcome enkai for myself and the other new teacher tomorrow--they even made a flyer for it, complete with tiny cartoon spectacled Kristi on the right-hand side:



Cute, huh? I'm totally wiped out. Getting to bed early tonight, that's for sure. I seem to remember having a list of things to do, but it all seems rather irrelevant at the moment. Gotta space out, ttyl.

Anticipation

So, school starts tomorrow, and I have to actually start doing stuff. My God, how frightening. I spent the latter half of today making visuals for my self-introduction lessons and writing out short/simple speeches in both English and Japanese. I'll have to let you know how it goes. *looking skeptical* I also visited my mysterious fourth (and final) school, Tagami Jr. High. I'm not scheduled to actually teach there until October, but it's nice to at least know where it is.

Went to the Japanese cooking class again today. We made four dishes this time around (excuse the rough English translation of dish names): sardine fry rice (rice, pickeled Japanese apricot, leaves of perilla, and sardine fry), bracken mochi (sugar, soybean flour, water, and bracken powder), horse mackerel marinade (mackerel, garlic, onion, cucumber, and tomato), and this boiled squash dish. On the whole, I liked this meal much better - I really liked the mackerel marinade and the bracken mochi. I sliced all of the fish for the former dish, which I was rather proud of. I should also note that sardine fry are really disturbing looking. Anyway, the class as fun, but I think I might not go again for a while, at least until I get into the routine of school.

September, here we go.