JET Charity Musical

Last night was the opening performance of the JET musical, "A Jungle Tale". So, pretty much all of us within reasonable commuting distance got ourselves down to the Niigata Kenmin Kaikan to support the cause. I guess that Niigata ALTs have been doing a volunteer musical every year since 1998 to raise money for good causes. Over the last two years, the proceeds have gone towards the Papua New Guinea Association, and a bunch of JETs will actually be traveling out there to build schools and housing for teachers. A pretty amazing project overall. The actual musical itself was pretty entertaining - an adaptation of "The Jungle Book", it was performed in a mixture of English and Japanese (for the benefit of the mixed audience) and incorporated musical selections ranging from "Thriller" and "We Will Rock You" to "Kung Fu Fighting" and "Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better". I only had my point-and-shoot tonight, so I didn't manage to get many good pics - here's one of the monkey crew though (look for Rosalind on the far right):


Monkey Antics, JET Charity Musical
Originally uploaded by kristi-san.

Afterwards, we headed back to the station for a quick round of yakiniku (yay!) before heading to the after-party at the Immigrant's Cafe. A small group of us (myself, Melissa, Aaron, Nuria, Phil, and his Japanese friend) migrated over to Hot Spot and ran into one of the more bizarre crowds I've yet encountered here. The place was *packed* for some kind of hip-hop dance competition and the fashion was like a serious flashback to the early/mid 1990s (think gangsta Asian). There were also a number of [extremely large] players from the Niigata Albirex basketball team there - btw, when you're that tall, you just look weird. Seriously. Anyway, we made the best of it:


At Hot Spot (Again)
Originally uploaded by kristi-san.

Up Late in Niigata City
Originally uploaded by kristi-san.

Nuria & Aaron
Originally uploaded by kristi-san.

Back to work tomorrow!

Let the good times roll...

So, the last few days have been the happiest I've had here in Japan. Work is going *amazingly* well. I'm busy, I'm teaching a lot, planning tons of lessons, interacting with students verbally and via written diaries - it's amazing. A total 180 from where I was before the holidays. The week just flew by - and I actually felt a pang of regret when I formalized my decision to end my contract on Wednesday. I'm really astounded at how much happier it's made me, just the simple act of giving me stuff to do.

On Wednesday, Rosalind and I went to the last installment of our Japanese cooking class. It was fun - I even wore the ridiculous Hello Kitty apron she gave me for my birthday. We made mazezushi (sushi rice), shredded vegetables with meat and miso, greens and egg soup, brown sugar and sesami seed cookies, and "milk"-dipped strawberries. It was pretty tasty overall. I made the cookies, which were quite nice. And quite cute as well. They took class photos, so maybe I'll be able to get my hands on one sometime. They even had a little closing ceremony - very Japanese.

The halfway point

As of today, I have officially been in Japan for six months - meaning that my contract is up in just another six months. In honor of the occasion, all Niigata ALTs spent the past two days at a mid-year conference in Niigata City. Rosalind and I drove up from Kamo together yesterday morning and managed to find the Prefectural Education Center, despite a slight detour. The conference itself mainly consisted of some speeches and a bunch of workshops - I felt like I got a lot more out of the workshops this time, now that I've actually been teaching classes for a while. When you first come to Japan with the JET Program, they really bombard you with training and preparation - which is great, except for the fact that you don't really know what you'll be doing, so you really have no context for all of the information. Anyway, I came home with a bunch of ideas for new activities and games - can't wait to try them out.

Last night a bunch of us went to dinner at a random but surprisingly pleasant Thai restaurant in Niigata City before hitting up the charity party for this year's Niigata JET musical at Shame. It was great fun, especially seeing people that I hadn't seen since the summertime. And of course, I have to do the obligatory photo blitz (making up for my recent pictoral shortcomings, you see):


Kristi, Grace, and Josie - Thai Restaurant, Niigata City
Originally uploaded by kristi-san.

Cooperative Eating - Thai Restaurant, Niigata City
Originally uploaded by kristi-san.

Aaron & Kristi - Charity Party, Niigata City
Originally uploaded by kristi-san.

Kristi & Melissa - Charity Party, Niigata City
Originally uploaded by kristi-san.

Reunited at Shame - Charity Party, Niigata City
Originally uploaded by kristi-san.

Antics by Jon & Kristi - Charity Party, Niigata City
Originally uploaded by kristi-san.

Johanna, Ros, & Kristi - Charity Party, Niigata City
Originally uploaded by kristi-san.

There are a few more here. Anyway, now I'm at home and glad to be here. Planning on getting a whole lot of sleep tonight - back to work tomorrow. Yarr....

Niigata as No.1–No.5 in Japan

So, the Japanese are really into ranking things, whether they be the three most beautiful gardens in the country or the best parks for viewing cherry blossoms in spring. Everybody here has got something to be proud of, it seems. I recently ran across this list of some things in which Niigata makes the grade, relative to the other prefectures in Japan:

No.1
Number of Nationally Designated Important Tangible Folk Cultural Properties (14)
Gross Rice Output (200 billion yen)
Cut Tulip Flower Shipment Value (26.3 million flowers)
Metal Kitchenware Shipment Value (16 billion yen)
Nitted Ware Shipment Value (38.9 billion yen)
Oil Production (460,846 kl)
Natural Gas Production (1,654,205,000 m3)
Kerosene Heater Shipment Value (31.0 billion)

No.2
Natural Park Area (316,955 ha)
Total Real Length of National and Prefectual Roads (6,632 km)
Length of National Express ways (383 km)
Number of Bathing Beaches (77 beaches)
Number of Sake Breweries (105)
Number of Designated Traditional Crafts (14)

No.3
Number of Skiing Grounds (74)
Number of Migratory Swans (7120)
Sake Shipments (60.3 billion yen)

No.4
Number of Hot Springs with Lodging Facilities (145)

No.5
Land Area (12,582 km2)

Rice, sake, hot springs, skiing and a lot of land - that's pretty much the world of scenic Niigata.

As if waking from a deep sleep...

It's strange, I feel so much more lucid than I have in months. I feel like I'm really *in* Japan for the first time, now that I don't have to worry about grad school apps and things back at home. In the last two weeks, I've probably had more social activity than I did in the month previous. And I feel like I can put a lot more effort into my teaching than I have been. It feels really nice.

I spent yesterday evening at Rosalind's, eating Thai green curry, drinking wine, and watching Serendipity, the latter of which was kinda ridiculous but fun. What a nice relaxing evening in Kamo, nothing better for a cold winter night. I think I'm going to spend this weekend catching up on my home life, now that I am feeling so much better. May have to do a little shopping as well. Just a little though - gotta save money for all of these trips. :)

I forgot to mention that I saw Memoirs of a Geisha last week with Sarah and Phil. I thought it was all right, though not as good as it could have been. Still, it kept me entertained for three hours, which is about all I was really looking for. ;) I thought this review of it in the Japan Times was pretty interesting: Welcome to Kyoto, California

Japan is *the* place to be...

Didn't you know? Seriously. I don't think I've mentioned it here, but it's kinda ridiculous how many people from Seattle are in Japan right now. Granted, I did major in Japanese in college, but some of these are totally and utterly random coincidences. Tokyo, of course, is the center of all things - Chan, Tina, Shelley, and Drew are doing the study abroad thing at Waseda and Aoyama, and Star just arrived to start a two-year research gig at Keio. Moving a little outward, I hear the other Tina is teaching somewhere in Saitama and just discovered that Andrew Enomoto is studying abroad in Chiba. Further south on Honshu, we find old friend Eric and former classmate Alexis down in Hiroshima-ken, both doing the JET Program. Honors-type and former apartment neighbor Raka is out in Hyogo-ken (also JET), along with a huge group of Seattle people that I don't really know (it's a sister-city thing). Shikoku is playing host to Yarun (JET), one of my residents from back in my RA days, and Andrew Kim (JET), a former Japanese major who is *hilarious*. And Kiley, another former resident of mine, is living it up on Kyushu, down in Fukuoka (yet another JET).

I'm sure there are more I'm forgetting and a bunch who I didn't really know well enough to keep track of - but it sure makes Japan feel more like home when you know there are so many familiar faces floating around. And of course, that doesn't even count any of the wonderful people I've met since coming to Japan - like Grace, Aaron, Melissa, Johanna, Steph, Heather, and the numerous others who haven't yet jumped on the blogging bandwagon.

I'm glad the weekend is approaching. Today was a pretty minimal day at work, although it wasn't really boring. The kids have been amazingly friendly lately. I "taught" two classes, which consisted of watching a video of Japanese horror stories (in Japanese) and listening to my English teacher recite a horror story called Yuki-Onna (Snow Woman) from memory (in English). I'm not really sure what that did for the kids. I mean, the story memorization was really impressive, but there's no way the students (1st years) understood it - it was kinda like it was for my entertainment. He actually asked me to go back to the teacher's room after he was done with his recitation. Hrm. On a side note, I'm pretty sure the [non-English-speaking] Japanese teachers were laughing at me when I left today - something about me giving too many "hai" answers and not enough elaboration. But you know, I don't really want to start a conversation when I'm trying to flee the office. :) Ah well, laughter is good... right?

One of my goals for this year in Japan was to learn to worry less. It's a tough thing to work on, but maybe I'll get it down one of these days.

Off to a running start...

So, I had my mid-year teaching evaluation today. I was pretty nervous about it, considering that I hadn't been to my base school for almost a month and had no idea what classes I'd be teaching, let alone what kind of lessons. My supervisor from the prefectural board of education in Nagaoka came by, talked to my JTEs for a half hour, watched me teach a 50-minute lesson, and then critiqued the lesson afterward. All in all, it went well - and most importantly, it's over. Thank goodness. *phew*

It's felt really good to start working again and get back into the swing of things. The days have been passing quickly, which is a good sign - it means I'm enjoying myself. The things I'm most excited about right now are some unexpected travel opportunities! If all goes well, I'll be hitting up the Sapporo Snow Festival in February, South Korea and Seattle in March, and China in May! I can hardly wait. :) It's nice to have little landmarks in time to look forward to. It's so crazy that I can do some of these trips over a weekend...

Anyway, I think that's all for now. More adventures to come, I'm sure...

New Year's and nengajyou...

So, I'm back in Japan, and in lieu of a more chronological update, I thought I'd take the time to tell you a little about the Japanese custom of nengajyou, or New Year's Day cards. Instead of sending Christmas cards, Japanese people send these postcards so that they arrive on the 1st of January. The post office guarantees delivery on the first if they are marked "nengajyou" and are posted within a time limit, from mid-December to near the end of the month. Most of the postcards have the Chinese zodiac sign of the new year as their design - 2006 is the year of the dog.

Anyway, I came home to find several of these nengajyou in my mailbox, a couple made by my students:


New Year's Day Postcard
Originally uploaded by kristi-san.

This one reads something like: "How are you? It was fun to meet you during the third semester. **This is romaji!" (Romaji is Japanese written in roman characters.)


New Year's Day Postcard
Originally uploaded by kristi-san.

This one says something like: "I'm sorry this New Year's card is late. Your English class is very fun! Let's enjoy this year, too."

This one is from a Japanese friend:


New Year's Day Postcard
Originally uploaded by kristi-san.

And this one is from Rosalind's supervisor:


New Year's Day Postcard
Originally uploaded by kristi-san.

Anyway, nengajyou are kinda fun - it was nice to have some friendly mail to welcome me back. Hope all of you are doing well!

Signs of life from the Emerald City...

So, I'm alive! I've been in wonderful rainy Seattle for the last week and a half, gorging myself on all of my favorite foods and seeing all of my favorite people. Shopping with Camden, watching movies with my brother, lunching with Ran and Maria and John and lots of folk, chatting it up at the Honors Office... It's strange to think that I haven't been in the U.S. for almost six months - it doesn't feel like I've been away for a single day. Anyway, now things are dying down and people are beginning to head off to their respective corners of the globe. I've been horrible about taking pictures, but here are a couple from a get-together at Cafe Ladro out in Fremont.


Old Friends
Originally uploaded by kristi-san.

What are you doing with that camera, Camden?
Originally uploaded by kristi-san.

But wait wait, the truly exciting news: As of about 30 minutes ago, I'm totally finished with my graduate school applications! Granted, that doesn't mean that the schools have actually received all of the appropriate materials and it sure doesn't mean that they'll actually accept me, but ... it's a step. ;)

Anyway, that's all I want to say for now. There's too much to do to spend too much time dinking around on the computer! Hope all of you are well!

Unquestionably Winter

Snow has settled in to stay here in Kamo as of late - I ventured out for a little bit today to take a couple of shots:


Snowy Omi Shrine, Kamo
Originally uploaded by kristi-san.

Also, I don't think I've mentioned it before, but Japan has an interesting method of melting the snow on the roads. Instead of using salt, they've equipped many streets with a kind of built-in sprinkler system that turns everything to mush:


Keeping Roads Safe, Japanese-Style
Originally uploaded by kristi-san.

On Monday night, Rosalind and I ventured out to Niigata City to see a jazz concert being sponsored by the U.S. embassy. Apparently, Niigata-ken was one of the top two prefectures that donated money to Hurricane Katrina relief efforts, so the concert was a "thank you" for that generosity. Only three were scheduled around Japan - in Tokyo, Kobe, and Niigata, surprisingly enough. Anyway, it was very lively and provided ample opportunity to chuckle at the gigantic differences in African-American and Japanese culture as the two tried to interact on stage. But yeah, it was great fun. Everyone got really into it. Good times were had.


Doreen's Jazz (and Japanese Guests) - Niigata Thank You Concert
Originally uploaded by kristi-san.

Work has been really incredible busy, with lots of special things to plan for here and there. Taught my first English elective class on Tuesday, doing a bit of a murder mystery game for the kids. Next Monday I'm teaching my first handicapped class. The students have been extremely friendly lately, very much in the holiday spirit. I finished my apps for University of Michigan, University of Chicago, and University of Wisconsin in the past few days. Columbia is my next project, since the deadline was extended until December 19.

And to close, a summary of what's going through my mind these days:

Grad School Apps Left: 6
Days Until I Fly Home: 7
Number of Classes Left in 2005: 8
Days of Work Left in 2005: 4

It's raining, it's pouring...

Niigata has been a very rainy place as of late. Snow has been falling in the more western parts of the prefecture, but in the middle (or chuetsu) region, it has been nothing but gray skies and steady rain. Even now, I hear the drops steadily pelting my windows... I went into Nagaoka for my monthly Board of Education meeting today and took a quick snapshot to capture the very typical weather:


Rainy Nagaoka
Originally uploaded by kristi-san.

I just returned from my first bon-enkai or "forget the year" party out there. It was fun hanging out with the other prefectural ALTs and generally having a good time, particularly since I rarely see that set of folks.

I got my second completed app under the belt today - after much deliberation, UCLA went into the mail this morning. Supplementary materials and writing samples are also winging their way to Columbia, Chicago, Michigan, and Wisconsin. (The rest of their apps are my project for this weekend, oh joy of joys). Seriously, this whole process is like a second full-time job.

Ohisashiburi!

It's been a while! And of course, lots and lots has happened. You know what that means - time for a list!

1. Berkeley Application: Submitted!
That's right, that's right! 1 down, 10 to go!

2. Upcoming Clarinet Solo - Date TBA
The music teachers at my base school recently walked up to me and handed me a copy of the solo clarinet part for Sing Sing Sing. Oh God.

3. Haircut at a Japanese Salon!
So, despite my initial reluctance, this it turned out to be an *amazing* experience. A Japanese friend recommended a salon in Kamo. It started out with a consultation (per usual). And then there was the shampooing. I think I know how it feels to be a car going through an automatic car wash - that's how practiced and quick this guy's movements were. It was wonderful. And it lasted like 5 minutes or so. And then he rinsed. And then he shampooed my hair for another 5 minutes. And then there was the conditioner. And then there was a head, neck, and shoulder massage. And then my hair was cut. And then there was another shampoo. And then it was time to blowdry and flat-iron. Two hours and 4800 yen later, Kristi was finally able to wear her hair down again. *smile* A girl from the salon even walked me to my car in the rain so my hair wouldn't get wet...

4. English Day at Niigata Women's College
I spent the majority of my Saturday talking to Japanese college girls. They're all studying English, so their school lured in a whole slew of ALTs with promises of free food and about $100 in compensation. It was a *lot* of fun. I met a lot of nice girls and got a lot of cell phone numbers. It was also exhausting beyond all belief though. They rotated through in half-hour sessions, so every thirty minutes you had to start a new conversation with two or three girls. It's hard to be on for that long... Afterwards, one of the girls slipped me a little note, complete with pictures of cats, the Space Needle, and a little self-portrait - and her contact information, of course...


English Day at Niigata Women's College
Originally uploaded by kristi-san.

5. Fun in Niigata City
Melissa, Aaron, Kate, JP, Nuria, and I decided to have ourselves a good time out on the town:


Outside the Immigrant's Cafe, Niigata City
Originally uploaded by kristi-san.

At the Hot Spot, Niigata City
Originally uploaded by kristi-san.

Niigata ALTs Love Purikura
Originally uploaded by kristi-san.

6. Winter Shopping!
So, I mentioned that I got paid $100 to talk to Japanese students, right? Well, guess what I did with it. :) Seriously though, people are saying it's going to snow any day now, so I went on a little shopping excursion. I bought the most amazing pair of boots ever. And a down coat that's very much in the Japanese fashion (fur-trimmed hood and all). But very warm, of course. Fun stuff.

Ok, that's enough for now - it's past my 10 pm bedtime, as sad as that is. :) Back to work tomorrow... Hrm...

Kanazawa Weekend

Hey folks. So, Kanazawa was amazingly wonderful. The city has the reputation of being like a more manageable version of Kyoto, and you know, it's kinda true. It really is a fantastic place to go, even for just a weekend. Highlights included:

• Kenrokuen, one of Japan's most famous parks and a *perfect* place for picture-taking
  
• Ninja-dera, Edo-era hideout for the Maeda clan, complete with 23 rooms, 29 staircases, pitfalls, trap stairs, and a well that is rumoured to contain a secret tunnel to Kanazawa Castle
  
• Yasue Gold Leaf Musem, an informative place to learn about Kanazawa's most famous craft (and drink tea with real gold leaf in it!)
  
• Yakiniku *three times* in three days
  
• The new Harry Potter movie
  
• Renaiss Aqua Park, home to spas, pools, food, and amazing massages (and a perfect place to end a great weekend)

Anyway, Chan and I had a lot of fun. Despite my desire to see as many different places as possible, I wouldn't mind going back again. Highly recommended. Here are some of the pictoral highlights:


Yakiniku in Kanazawa
Originally uploaded by kristi-san.

Kanazawa Station
Originally uploaded by kristi-san.

Ishikawa-mon Gate, Kenrokuen
Originally uploaded by kristi-san.

Japanese Wedding, Kenrokuen
Originally uploaded by kristi-san.

Kotojitoro Lantern, Kenrokuen
Originally uploaded by kristi-san.

Kenrokuen, Kanazawa
Originally uploaded by kristi-san.

Demonstration at the Yasue Gold Leaf Museum
Originally uploaded by kristi-san.

Yasue Gold Leaf Museum
Originally uploaded by kristi-san.

Click here to check out the full set if you have time. I had lots of fun with my camera. Anyway, it's time for me to get some dinner and figure out how I'm going to teach "does/does not" tomorrow morning. Oh, and shore up those Berkeley essays, which are finally coming along. Why does the first app have to be simultaneously the most difficult and the most important? Figures. Take care, people.

Another Monday, Monday...

Went to Tagami Jr. High today, one of the "one-shot" schools that I only visit every two weeks. I generally enjoy this school. The two female teachers are great; one of them is a complete sweetheart. And I got to see some of the posters the kids made about me last time:


Kristi's Profile
Originally uploaded by kristi-san.

Kristi's Profile
Originally uploaded by kristi-san.

That last one cracks me up, too. "She looks like Japanese." The "We like her" is sweet though. Sweet kids. I should mention that the "facts" listed on the above posters are not necessarily true though. You've gotta give answers the kids can understand, ya know?

Anyway, did a chunk of work on my Berkeley personal statement this afternoon. And I just finished eating what turned out to be a pretty tasty beef and tomato stew. I'll get the hand of this dish yet. Off to maybe do some more work. Time is passing so quickly today...

Had a rather nice day at school today. Taught three fairly successful third-year classes, with activities primarily prepared by myself. Even the petulant ones warmed up a little (I have a feeling they appreciate me not crucifying them on their last speaking test). Also got a fair amount of Japanese studying done. It's nice to remember how much of this language I already know. I'm taking the advanced level of the JET correspondence course and have yet to come across any new grammar. New (or forgotten) kanji? Of course. But not grammar. And not too much vocab. Granted, it's not really that legitimate a course. But it's still gratifying. ;)

Oh, I forgot to mention that yesterday my JTE (Japanese Teacher of English) at Kamo Jr. High brought my back some omiyage from Kamo Norin, the city agricultural high school: cucumbers, mushrooms, and pears grown by the students themselves and eggs from the chickens they raised. And some cake things that they evidently made, too. Nice, huh?


Omiyage from Kamo Norin High School
Originally uploaded by kristi-san.

Feeling cheerful and happy to be in Japan (still wish they had central heating though).

Grad app extravaganza...

I finally made myself settle on a grad school list. The lucky contenders are: UC Berkeley, Princeton, Cornell, Harvard, UC San Diego, UCLA, University of Michigan, Columbia University, University of Chicago, University of Washington, and University of Wisconsin. The heartbreakers were Stanford and GWU. But after finally wrenching out a decision, I went for it and sent out all my transcripts and GRE score reports. And I got the informational packets sent out to my letter writers, with a month's notice til the first deadline. At least I can concentrate on writing now.

Just for fun, I thought I'd post my teaching "stats" for last month. My Board of Education makes me compile a report every month, so I might as well put it to some use, right? ;)

October 2005 Teaching Stats
Number of days visiting schools: 18
Number of days actually teaching: 14
Number of classes taught: 37
- 1st year: 14
- 2nd year: 9
- 3rd year: 14
Vaction time: 1 day, 4 hours

Back to Japan (mentally)

So, I'm pretty much back to my normal living-in-Japan routine--no more visitors for a while. Feels a little weird, but it's also quite nice not to have to spend hours and hours on the shinkansen every weekend. Spent most of today lying in bed, watching mindless TV and working on the new website for the Northwest Film Forum. No better way to numb the brain. Also had lunch with Grace and Rosalind at Pinokio's.

Anyway, I think I'll share some school pictures with you. The first is from a [very belated] welcome enkai that Grace and I went to with our Osaki Jr. High teachers on Thursday night. It was quite fun. And I got to experience daiko for the first time with Grace; daiko is a service that will drive your car home for you after you've gone out drinking, since Japan has zero tolerance for drinking and driving.


Osaki Welcome Enkai
Originally uploaded by kristi-san.


The next ones are from the big research presentation festival at Wakamiya Jr. High. The students have been working on various projects for the last couple of months, resulting in my sometimes getting interviewed about everything from traffic laws in America to anime to cold prevention strategies. Tuesday was their chance to show off their research via poster presentations and speeches. The latter gave me the first opportunity to experience the truly Japanese phenomenon of adherence to a program. Normally, what happens when part of an event finishes early? You move on to the next part, right? Well, not in Japan. In Japan, you sit quietly until the assigned time for the next activity comes along and then proceed. During the last part of the day, third-year students were supposed to give 20 minutes speeches that really only lasted 5-10 minutes, resulting in a lot of this waiting. I thought I was going to die. But except for that, it was a good time.


Wakamiya Research Day
Originally uploaded by kristi-san.



Wakamiya Research Day
Originally uploaded by kristi-san.


The girl in the last picture is one of my favorite students. I recently discovered that her mother works at one of our local karaoke haunts--I totally see the resemblance now.

I think that's all, folks. More to come.

Traipsing around Tokyo and Niigata

It's been so busy lately that I haven't had time to post at all! But it's been tremendous fun. There's too much to tell to compress into one little entry, but long story short? Adam came to Japan for eight days and we had an amazing time sightseeing in Tokyo and around Niigata. We had crazy adventures and made random Japanese friends at almost every turn. Some of the pictoral highlights are below.


Classic gothic lolitas in Harajuku


Studio Ghibli Museum, Mitaka


Sensoji, Asakusa, Tokyo


Gotokuji, Setagaya: The origin of the maneki-neko

Click here to see more photos from Tokyo


Kamo Jr. High Choir Contest


Approaching Yahiko Village


Kristi at the Yahiko Chrysanthemum Festival


Little girl at Yahiko Shrine


Yahiko Mountain


Morning at the Omi Shrine, Kamo


Kamoyama Squirrel Park, Kamo

Click here to see more photos from Niigata

There's a lot more to tell, but I think I'll just leave it at that for now. More stories to come!