It's a Departure: Trading Forks for Chopsticks

End of the School Year Celebrations

2010-03-06T22:27:00.000-08:00

We're nearly to the end of our school year in Japan, and although the students are really busy with schoolwork, tests, etc, their schools still find the time to celebrate their accomplishments.

Like America, Japanese students have graduation ceremonies when they leave elementary school and junior high. Apparently the actual ceremonies are very formal - all teachers in suits, a speech from the Kochou Sensei (principal), a few speeches from students, and the awarding of certificates or diplomas. However, they also have assemblies or events a week or two before to give everyone a chance to celebrate the graduating students in a more fun and creative way.

A few days ago I was lucky enough to attend one of these special events. It took place Tamatsukuri-Nishi Elementary, the smallest one I teach at with only 47 students! As a result of the size, the school has a really strong community and everyone seems very bonded together. The program took place in the gym, which had been decorated with tons of orange and yellow tissue flowers as well as painted posters of each graduating 6th grader, and paper stars hung all over some large curtains. The 6th graders had a little processional, walking under arches of paper flowers held up by the younger students. Then each of the younger grades presented, in turn, presents they had made (art, crowns, etc) and little performances to honor the graduates.

The 1st graders played bell instruments, then held up big drawings they had done of each 6th grader, and the audience had to guess which kid it was supposed to be. Very cute. The 2nd and 3rd graders put on a little mini-play involving lobsters, tadpoles and turtles - they had made their own costumes as well, hilarious! I wish I could have understood what they were saying, although I did get a few things. The 4th and 5th graders did skits of the 6th graders, gently poking fun at them and getting some good laughs. Then the 6th graders did their own skit, apparently all about pairs of students vying to see who was going to be the tallest by the end of the year ;) Because there's a lot you can do to influence that? Who knows, it was just fun getting to see their creativity and humor.

After all the kids had celebrated each other, a local professional ocarina musician played for us all. He used at least 5 different ocarinas, ranging in size from fitting in the palm of his hand to the size of a flower pot! Impressive.

I felt honored to be invited to watch all of this, and I have to say it was a treat to see the students' humor and imagination really being allowed to flow. I have certainly learned that the Japanese aren't nearly as uptight, formal and reserved as Westerners usually assume they are, but there is definitely not as much room for children to pursue individuality and flex their imaginations.

I'm really proud of all of my students - I have bonded with many of them, and feel sad that I won't get to see how they turn out as they get older. But I will always remember them, and hope they will remember me at least a little bit.

A City Frozen in Time...and Temperature

2010-02-19T19:14:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone! We're counting down the days until we come back. It looks like we will return on March 26th (to the USA) and to Seattle on April 2nd. Yay! But today's post is about something we did last Sunday. I'm going to try and make this with less words, and more pictures. We had an invitation to go to Oouchijuku with a Japanese family of one of Tessa's students that we have befriended. They once lived in Fiji, and speak English pretty well, so communication is easy. They have also been very kind to us, occasionally helping us out with issues of Japanese life that we have had. The Hanyu family is Shuichi (father) Kyoko (mother) Ken (son) and Risa-chan (daughter), and they currently have a Korean homestay Kei-chan. They drove us out there (4 hours each way!!!) and though the time in the car was a bit grueling, we had a great time. Oouchijuku is a small town made of old-style traditional housing. We thought is was an amazing cultural opportunity to see these old buildings, but also since it is so much further up North, it was also a chance for us to see some snow, which we don't really get down where we are. The city was beautiful and we had a great time. I do remember that before we left, cousin Ron asked me to try to get some pictures of buildings with an old-style grass roofs, so Ron, many of these pictures are for you. Check them out everyone:

From left to right, Kei-chan, Risa-Chan, Ken-kun.

This was a hot ramen noodle eating contest. the little kid in the foreground with a microphone kept yelling very loudly "Gambare!" over and over again (which is like saying "good luck!", but more directly translated as "do your best!"). It was really cute.

I really love this picture.

You use the spicy leek sort of like a fork to eat the ramen, and take bites of while you eat. Very tasty.

Tessa, Risa, and Ken in some sort of igloo-type structure.

I have no idea what is going on here.

Thanks for viewing!

Tokyo Day 4: "The Futuristic District" and ....fire fighter drills?

2010-01-25T01:38:00.000-08:00

Hello Friends Near and Far (well, mostly far),

Here's the rundown of our final day in Tokyo - I know at least one person has been clamoring for it, and the rest of you probably only look at this every once in awhile ;)

We woke up early to check out of our hotel, but they conveniently allowed us to leave our bags there as we weren't actually leaving the city till the late afternoon. In planning for our trip, I had read that there would be an annual New Year's event called "Shobo Dezome-shiki"or, "The New Year's Fire Review". This is something put on by the Tokyo Fire Department, and would feature acrobatic stunts on ladders - what's not to love? The event was taking place in Odaiba, a district of futuristic-looking architecture built on man-made islands in Tokyo Bay. The area has tons of other attractions, so we really wanted to see it.

Well, getting to Odaiba involved taking the monorail out and over the Bay, which made for great sights. The train takes a big loop around Odaiba, and with an all-day pass we could get on and off whenever we wanted. First stop - Tokyo Big Sight, a large convention/exhibition hall, for the event.

Here are two pics we took right after getting off the monorail:
I don't know about you but when I imagine how the future will look, gigantic saws are the first thing that come to me ;)

Anyway, there were lots of people heading to the same place, so we figured it was a really popular event. Firemen were stationed at various points of hallways and courtyards, passing out fire safety and emergency procedures pamphlets. Finally, we walk into a big exhibition room (expecting to see a hushed crowd waiting for the performance to start) - and see fire trucks, safety info booths, kids trying on fire fighting suits, and guys wearing big cartoony Fire Extinguisher costumes. Yeah....

Well, we eventually realized that there was going to be a show outside, and hurried to find seats (not real seats, just kneeling in front of the already full risers). Amazingly enough we found a English program, and saw that the acrobats didn't come on for an hour. So, we waited and tried to look interested as group after group went by - paramedics, firefighters, volunteers, junior leagues, etc. The crowd absolutely loved it, but we were kind of hiding our yawns. Finally, the acrobats appeared, and although the show was pretty short, it was definitely impressive.
After the acrobats finished we made a hasty exit, hopping back on the monorail and getting off at a more attraction-heavy area. We found ourselves at something called Mega Web, basically a big Toyota showroom housing the latest technologies. Chris got to do a virtual test drive (of some kind of future car system that brakes for you) while sitting in this drive simulator:
We also got a shot of this very, very large ferris wheel (unfortunately not in our budget):
We finished the outing by wandering around some interesting shopping areas and checking out views across the Bay.
This is a nice shot of the Rainbow Bridge.

From Odaiba we headed back to the hotel to pick up our things, and made our way to Tokyo Station to wait for our bus to Asou. We had a lovely time in Tokyo - I can't tell you how nice it was to get into a city again. Our town has its own charms, and it's definitely nice to see the stars in the nighttime sky, but city living means there is always something new to do or see. Seattle, we're talking about you, too.

Thanks for reading!

-Tessa

Tokyo Trip Part 3: Maid Cafes? Oh my!

2010-01-19T00:24:00.000-08:00

Sorry about the lapse in updates about the Tokyo trip. Here comes part three! We didn't have much planned for this day, other than an evening performance of Kabuki. This gave us a chance to sleep-in (yay beds!) and explore around Akihabara. It's an interesting area, one of the busiest in Tokyo and known as a large shopping area for electronics, anime/manga (Japanese comics), and video/computer games.

It is also a fantastic place to people-watch, as all manner of people traverse its busy streets daily. There are also the Maid Cafes where you can go have a bite to eat while being doted on by a young Japanese girl wearing a maid outfit. These places generally cater to Japanese men who are obsessed with manga, video games, and especially the young girl caricatures which often feature prominently in both. We didn't go into one, but we saw plenty of "maids" walking up and down the streets handing out fliers for their establishment. Think of these places like a Japanese version of a "Hooters" restaurant for nerds. Pictures of some "maids" looking for potential customers, and one of their fliers:

If you're REALLY curious, you can check out the website for one of them: http://candyfruit-strawberry.com/ I think it's mostly work safe, but I can't read any of the Japanese on the page, so visit at your own discretion. Anyways, we didn't go into any of those places, instead settling on a nice normal Western-style (as in European/American, not "Old West") cafe. As we walked around and browsed the shops, we saw a few interesting things:

Yes, that is a mouse pad of an anime girl that has her breasts as the protruding soft jelly-like area where your wrist rests. Classy. They also had pornographic computer games that you'll have to leave to your imagination because we did not take pictures of them.

That last one really creeps me out. After more walking around, I heard a familiar tune cutting through the Tokyo noise. Me: "Is that...Yes...Yes! It's the original Super Mario Bros. theme music!" Like a siren's call, I was drawn to a building by which time the music had changed to the classic Legend of Zelda theme. We entered and followed the signs up to the fifth floor, where there was an arcade of old school video games. It was like a mecca video gamers who grew up in the 80s. Atari, Nintendo, Neo Geo, you name it, if it was old and Japanese, they had it. Tessa played some Tetris while I played some original Super Mario and then Mega Man. Ah, good times:

A throne fit for a king!

Or should I say, Queen?

I even met a celebrity!

It was reeeeally smoky in there, and reminded me what it was like to go to a club or bar before Washington state's smoking ban. Yuck.

We then headed to the Ginza area to get in line to buy tickets for Kabuki at the Kabuki-za theater. While waiting in line, we met some nice Austria who (impressively) spoke perfect English. We chatted with them for a while about life in Japan (she lives in Tokyo with her husband who was there doing research as a physicist) and other general things. The show itself was pretty awesome, though we were way back as far as you could go. We only paid to see one act (about an hour) but it was amazing and well worth it.

A countdown for how many days the historic Kabuki-za theater has left until it is torn down to build a new theater. We were pretty lucky to see it.

That evening, after the show, we went to a bar advertised in the back of our program. It had all drinks and food for 300 yen, not a bad deal, except that each order of food had incredibly small portions. It was still quite fun as it was the first time we had been in a real bar since we've been in Seattle. We got back in a bit late and tired from the long day, but satisfied. Stay tuned for Day Four: The Future is Here, Today! Coming soon, I promise!

Day 2 in Tokyo

2010-01-12T00:32:00.000-08:00

Hi All,

Tessa here, Chris' often-absent blogging partner (he intimated that he wouldn't cook us dinner until I posted our Day 2 entry).

So where were we - ah yes, waking up in Tokyo feeling so refreshed (seriously loved sleeping on that mattress, we contemplated stealing it from the hotel, but it's hard to stuff things like that in a shoulder bag).

Ready to take on the city, we hopped on the subway - alas, it was already too late in the morning for me to try out the Ladies Only car, to my utter disappointment ;) - and headed to the world-class Edo-Tokyo Museum. This museum specifically highlights the birth of Edo (what became Tokyo) in the late 16th century through to the present day. It takes you through different ruling shogunates, the arrival of Western traders and goods, devastating fires and earthquakes, and the changing culture. We ended up going through some of the exhibits backwards, but it still made quite an impression. It was especially fascinating (and at times heartbreaking) looking at how the city fared during WWII. A little awkward to be reading the English description of the days surrounding the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings, while standing next to an older Japanese couple. How different our perspectives must have been, although hopefully no true animosity remained on their side.

The museum had tons of models, both miniature and life-size.
These two are from the life-size model of a Kabuki theatre:
Here's Chris squeezing into a wooden carrying box, we never found out the name (or found anyone who wanted to lug Chris around).
We also happened to be lucky enough to catch a short museum presentation of Japanese Noh Theatre, an artistic tradition going back to the 14th century. This form of theatre often tells stories through song and dance, and the performers are always masked. Chris and I studied a little bit of Noh in college, as well as some Kabuki, so this was pretty cool. Here are the two performers:

After lunch we changed venues, making our way to the Asakusa district (pronounced A-sak-sa). This area is famous for its Buddhist temple, Senso-ji . Here's the gate to the temple:

However, we didn't get much time in the temple itself because of the crowds; we did squeeze in to toss some coins and say a prayer (being careful not to hit the guards who were standing with big screen box things over their heads to not get pinged in the face!). The real reason for the crowds, we learned, were the countless souvenir stalls. You could barely get around aisles to check anything out, but we did make a few purchases which some of you family members will see when we come home. We also ate freshly okaki, or fried rice crackers, and had a dinner of yakitori (like meat kebabs) and some kind of pancake/noodle dish that we see at festivals but don't know the name of.

We didn't actually get up the nerve to buy any of these octopus (you could choose the one you wanted and hand it to the cook to grill it)
We then went home to rest our feet a bit before hitting the last hotspot (excuse my pun) the Ice Bar! Yep, it sounds just like what you might picture. This is one of those places you will only ever find in a city like Tokyo. You walk into a tiny entryway, pay a fairly steep cover charge (which Chris assured me was worth it to experience a true Tokyo novelty attraction) and then the attendants hand you ridiculous-looking hooded cloak/ponchos with attached gloves. Then you open the door, and whoosh it's cold! You walk into a room literally made of ice - ice bar counter, ice walls, ice tables, ice benches, etc. We even got little glasses made of ice for all of our drinks!

We were there around 7pm, so it wasn't quite hopping yet - but still fun and bizarre. We kept saying to each other, "Are we really here? This is crazy." Anyway, we had a couple of drinks, took pictures, and then after 45 minutes or so, it actually got a little boring. Maybe if it had been busier, with energetic music and a lively atmosphere we would have stayed longer, but in a small room like that with hardly any people, the novelty wears off. However, we enjoyed ourselves and didn't regret it a bit, and we'll always remember doing something so strange.

The day was long and a bit overwhelming (Tokyo is just so huge) but we ended it in a style usually reserved for rich and very eccentric people ;)

Thanks for sticking with me through my ramblings - stay tuned for Day 3: Maid Cafes, old Nintendo collections, and Kabuki theatre!

Tokyo Trip, Part One: A Hotel Bed

2010-01-08T22:42:00.000-08:00

We took a four day, three night trip to Tokyo from 01-03 to 01-06. Tessa and I had been to Tokyo a few times already, it's about a 2.5 hour bus ride from where we live, so it's definitely doable as a day trip, but since Tokyo is so huge, we still hadn't seen much of the city. We originally planned on going somewhere else in Japan for our big winter vacation, but high travel costs nixed them. Anyways, we had a great time and will be telling you all about it in 4 parts. This is part one.

We woke up early Sunday morning and caught a bus at 7:40 am, conveniently a two minute walk away from our apartment. To kill time we listened to iPods and did crossword puzzles and the like. About 2.5 hours later we arrived at Tokyo station. Since we couldn't check into our hotel until 2:00 pm, we immediately hopped on the subway and headed to Harajuku to see if we could see some of the famous crazily dressed cosplay partakers. We unfortunately didn't see many, but did get a picture of these two:

The good news though, was that the Meiji Shinto Shrine was also nearby, so we decided to check it out. The place was PACKED, far more people than usual there. We later found out that the number of people was due to a combination of the New Year's holiday, the upcoming Coming of Age Day holiday, and some kind of anniversary of the Shrine. We got to walk amongst the throngs of people, but were not able to go inside the shrine. Still, it was very interesting and beautiful, and we were able to buy a few souvenirs take some pictures:

After we walked around there for a while we decided to go to our hotel and just drop off our bags at the counter so we wouldn't be burdened by them while we explored our next stop. Quick side note, we took the subway everywhere we went. Tokyo is so huge, and their subway system is pretty great, though a bit confusing sometimes. The Tokyo subways are famous for the amount of people that ride it every day, especially during peak times when people are going to or coming from work. It can get so packed that it is not uncommon for women to get groped by a horny Japanese man while they are all packed in there, and the woman can't run or often see who is doing it. To combat this, some subway cars are marked for "women only" in the morning:

Luckily, we never experienced anything like that, had a pleasant time on the subway, and were only packed in like sardines once.

Anyways, when we got to the hotel, they told us that our room was available early (score!) and we could check in immediately. We were thankful for that because we were already a little tired from getting up early and walking around with our bags all morning. Our hotel room was on the tenth floor, and a little on the small side, which was fine because we were not expecting anything huge. What we were really looking forward to was the bed. We sleep on a futon on the floor at home. Now, you can take that mental image of an American futon and throw it out the window, because Japanese futon are quite different. Ours accounts for about 5 inches of padding when we add up all the layers of things covered by our sheets, resting atop the hardwood floor. Traditionally, the Japanese roll them up or fold them after they wake up in the morning. The idea of sleeping on a mattress and box spring up off the floor was something we longed for, and we were not disappointed. A bonus of the room was that it also had a beautiful day and night view of the Imperial palace gardens and the Tokyo skyline:

You can see Tokyo Tower (basically a copy of the Eiffel Tower) lit up on the right side.

After we rested up a bit, we decided to walk around the Imperial Palace (where the emperor and empress live) which was very close to our hotel. The walk around is about the length of walking around Greenlake in Seattle. Honestly, if I had that to walk around on a daily basis, I would probably get a lot more exercise in Japan. The palace (where tourists and the general public are almost never allowed), is surrounded by a moat and some nice gardens:

After that nice long walk, the sun was going down and it started to get cold, so we went back to the hotel where we watched crazy Japanese television programming before going to bed. A long, but adventurous day. And so ends Part One of Chris and Tessa's Big Tokyo Adventure! Stay tuned for Parts Two through Four! If you have any questions just ask us. How, you ask? It's easy. At the bottom of this post you should see something that says "x comments" (x being how many comments that post has). Click that to see what others have said and write your own comment/question. If you have a question, Tessa and I will answer it promptly, and you can check back for our reply. So simple! See you next time for Part Two: The Coldest Bar In Japan.

Sunset Over Lake Kasumigaura

2009-12-29T00:04:00.000-08:00

I think we've mentioned before, but in case we haven't, we live next to the second largest lake in Japan. Unfortunately, it's dirty and polluted and you can't swim in it, but it does make for some nice scenery. I remember one time in class, the Japanese teacher asked a student (in English) "Do you want to swim in Lake Kasumigaura?" The purpose being to teach the grammar point of "Do you want to ~ ?" The student gave him a look that seemed to say "I'm not swimming there, you're crazy!" I know a lot of people go fishing there, so I asked the teacher if people ate the fish from there, and he said "Uhh, it is...possible...but uh...I don't want to. It would depend on how hungry you are." So there you go. Anyways, now that Tessa and I are on winter vacation (fuyu yasumi) we need excuses to get out of the apartment (at least before our big trip to Tokyo) for some fresh air, and the lake is a nice enough area to walk, especially right before sunset. See below:

That is a small Shinto (I believe) shrine. You see small shrines like this by the road all over the place.

The Rainbow Tower, Namegata's only claim to fame. It's also pretty boring inside.

This was spray painted on a wall under a bridge. I have no idea why.

Nice shot of the light reflecting off the bridge. It's the best I can do with the crappy 5.0 mega pixel no zoom digital camera we have. That's all for now, we leave for Tokyo on the morning of the 3rd.

Kurisumasu in Japan

2009-12-20T00:33:00.000-08:00

In case you didn't know, the Japanese love them some Christmas. It's not a religious holiday over here of course, but a secular one. One of my teachers explained to me how they celebrate Christmas and New Years as the opposite to how they are celebrated in America. For Christmas day they go out and party, and for New Year's, they stay inside and celebrate with family. New Year's is much more spiritual. All the super markets and department stores have Christmas decorations everywhere, and playing Christmas music. Some of the music are the old classics in English, but some are in Japanese. One store has a Japanese version of Santa Claus is Coming to Town playing on a continuous loop. It's all in Japanese, except for the chorus of "Santa Claus is coming to town" and for some reason they throw in a random "merry Christmas" here and there. I have also heard a Japanese Jingle Bells that was similar.

Last week sometime, a friend of ours invited us to a Japanese Christmas party in Kashima put on by the Rotary Club. Yes they have Rotary Clubs. We were pretty nervous, as we didn't know what to expect, and we are both naturally shy when it comes to the unknown, but part of the reason for this whole trip was to do something out of my comfort zone, so we decided to do it. We went to the hotel where it was being held (pretty big for the area) and pushed open the large double doors into the large banquet room. We knew we were a little late, so what would await us on the inside? A lot of Japanese people silently eating, then looking up to see why three foreigners (including our friend) had interrupted them? Naw, not exactly. It was much like I imagine something like that would be in America. A buffet of Japanese and Western foods, and many tables scattered around filled by Japanese people having a grand time, and someone playing Disney favorites on the piano. We got some food and sat down to eat with friends of our friend, and had a good time. At some point, they started having kids play musical chairs for prizes. First, really young kids, then older elementary school aged, then Junior and High school. After that they asked for parents to come up. I laughed and remarked to Tessa that we would (thankfully) not be playing since we didn't qualify. But I was wrong. The slightly tipsy Japanese emcee dragged me up there anyway much to Tessa's delight and my chagrin. Out of like 15 adults, I got second place somehow (with Tessa giggling all the way), and won a box of snack things. Afterward, a random old Japanese man vigorously shook my hand and thanked me for playing. Thankfully, there is justice in this world, as they had another round of musical chairs for adults and dragged Tessa up there. She got FIRST PLACE and won a larger box of snacks. Later in the night they had some kind of raffle and ended up with some nice flowers, and a giant bag of rice (about 30 pounds) that the winner didn't want. It was a really fun night.

We're getting close to Christmas and our winter holiday here. We have to work Monday and Tuesday, then have Wednesday off (national holiday for the Emperor's birthday), then back to school on Christmas eve (what's the point?). We have Dec. 25th through Jan. 11th off, though Tessa has to go back for one day on Jan. 8th for some reason. We love and miss you all. Happy holidays!!!

2009-12-09T04:48:00.000-08:00

"Oh the weather outside is frightful..."

Well, just cold, really. We just bought de-icer for our cars, but Chris has only used it once. We have another 2 weeks of school, and then we'll be able to sleep in past the time of day when you need de-icer ;) I've been listening to Christmas music for a little while now, and while it cheers me up, it also makes me pretty homesick. I love this time of year, but it's hard without family and friends. Luckily Chris and I have each other, and we have a lot of fun. I just made him a christmas mix CD for his junior high kids, and I'm already laughing imagining them singing We Wish You a Merry Christmas and Santa Claus Is Coming to Town. (By the way, they call him Santa-san)

I'm sure we'll have more to post about Christmas in Japan, and pictures too! Our town recently put up a great show of lights at the community center, so we'll try getting some snaps. It's not what we're used to, but it'll do for now.

107 days left over here!

Thanksgiving in Japan

2009-11-28T19:55:00.000-08:00

Hi patient blog-readers!

Chris and I cooked our own Thanksgiving Dinner yesterday. Obviously the Japanese do not celebrate Thanksgiving (although they do have a national holiday on Nov 23rd called Labour Thanksgiving, but it's not a big deal) so we both had to work on the actual holiday.

Dinner posed a bit of a quandary for us, as we are pretty limited in cooking equipment/resources. The Japanese don't really eat turkey (never seen it once, in 8 months) so that was out of the question. Not that we had an oven to cook one in anyway. We wanted to find something at least a little special to base the dinner around, so Chris cooked up some pepper steaks. I took a step into the unknown and made Beer Cheese Soup for the first time, and cobbled together something that was based in part on an online recipe, as well as what was available in the store. It ended up being pretty tasty, but you wouldn't want a very big helping ;) Good for roll dipping, though. I love yams, so we got the closest thing to them: Imo . I mashed them with some butter and milk, then sprinkled brown sugar over the top - delicious!

We found some kind of odd little cake for dessert, and I also made some no-bake chocolate peanut butter corn flake treats.

All in all, a pretty good mini-feast. We missed our family and friends, but we managed to create some of the normal holiday spirit, and ended the evening by watching Miracle on 34th Street - the movie does start on Thanksgiving, so technically it was all within November traditions. Plus, if you know me you know I start getting pumped for Christmas pretty early, so I was dying to see a holiday classic.

Check out the pics from our little dinner:

"Climbing" Tskuba-san

2009-11-15T04:19:00.000-08:00

Last weekend on Sunday (Nov. 8th) Tessa and I climbed Mt. Tsukuba. They call it "Tsukuba-san" (kinda like "scuba-sahn"), the "san" suffix being the same they apply to people to denote honor or reverence. Basically they call it Mr. Tsukuba. Anyways, while it's not the world famous Mt. Fuji, it is locally quite famous, and we have been trying to get a chance to get out there to climb it for a while now. It is 2,877 feet high (for some really interesting historical info go here). It's almost a two hour drive from the trail head, so we left home at about 9:30 am to make a day of it. I have to admit that when we got to the base of the mountain, we were a little intimidated. Both of us have gotten a bit out of shape recently, not having much to do but hole ourselves up in our apartment, so the looming mountain looked quite daunting. We decided that this time we would forgo the actual hiking up the mountain trail in favor of the cable car that takes you up to the middle of the two peaks. Mt. Tsukuba has two peaks, a male and a female side. The cable car is angled like the steep side of the mountain and took us straight up the steep (35% grade at some points) mountainside in ten minutes. Once the cable car got us to the middle of the two peaks, we picked the male side and began the hike up. It was strenuous, but not too far. At the top there was a small Shinto shrine, and we witnessed some people praying at it. Unfortunately, it was a bit foggy at the top, so our view was a bit obscured. Usually one can have a panoramic view of the whole Kanto plane, but alas. Maybe next time. On our way down the peak, we randomly ran into our coordinator from our company. She and her group had hiked all the way up the mountain (next time, I vowed) and poked fun at us for taking the cable car up. We then decided to hike down the mountain, which we did. It took about an hour and a half with rests, and it really wasn't easy. The trail was quite rocky and rooty from all of the trees, but we made it. So yeah, we may not have climbed *up* the mountain, but we climbed *down* it; that has to count for something, right? I'll answer that question, yes, yes it does. The following three days, Tessa's and my legs were INCREDIBLY sore (did I mention we were out of shape?). Walking up stairs was tough, but walking down them was torturous. I also heard later from seasoned Tsukuba-san scalers that going down was more difficult, so there you go. Anyways, we got some great pictures, this area of Japan is really beautiful in the fall, and not too cold yet too. The first picture is from my iPhone of a sunset over Lake Kasumigaura, and you can see Mt. Tsukuba in the distance. I took it about a month ago, but I added it here to give a bit of perspective. Enjoy!

Beautiful sunset. Mt. Tsukuba is left of center in this shot.

The beautiful fall mountainside.

I am conquering Mt. Tsukuba!

Scaling the rocks.

The shrine at the top of the male peak.

Beautiful fall colors at the top of the male peak.

The view of the cable car tracks down the mountainside.

Action shot of the cable car moving down the mountain.

Pros and Cons of Living in a Rural Area

2009-11-03T00:02:00.000-08:00

Sorry again for the lack of updates. So as anyone who has read this blog or talked to us since we've been here knows, we live in Japanese farm country. Not just rice mind you, but sweet potatoes ("imo"), corn, pumpkins, persimmons, watermelons, wheat, etc. Most people in this area live the "simple life" of rustic farm folk. Then you have us citified foreigners ("gaijin"). We stick out pretty well here, sometimes getting double takes from people or stares from children. This actually is part of the reason why our jobs exist, to help acclimate Japanese children into seeing a non-Japanese person. It is important in a country where 99% are Japanese and 99.9% are Asian, and especially important in rural area where the numbers are further skewed. Living in this rural area has pros and cons.

Cons: Boring, Isolated, Expensive to Travel
Not much to do here. No nightlife to speak of, and very few people who speak English around us. It's a good thing Tessa and I have each other here, or else I don't think we would be able to do this. There is a feeling of isolation when you know of only one other native English speaker within a 30 minute drive from where we live (and he doesn't really have anything in common with us). There are a few other people we've met around the area, but they live further away, and it's difficult to get together sometimes. Also, if we want to visit a bigger city, like say, Tokyo, it takes a long time and can be pretty expensive. We were thinking of going to Hokkaido for winter break, but couldn't afford the travel, so we are going to spend three nights in Tokyo in January.

Pro: Quiet, Nice Scenery, Inexpensive, Cultural Experience
Hey, what the heck are those things in the sky? Stars? Huh? Being away from a major city center is a nice and quiet life free of bright lights and noise. It is kind of nice. There is also some beautiful scenery and sunsets. It's not nearly as expensive as living in the city, for rent or for buying everyday items. There also is a nice extra cultural experience. Now I know what you're saying, isn't just living in Japan itself a cultural experience? Well yeah, I suppose it is, but living in the sticks gives us a chance to experience a life that few foreigners get to see. It's that kind of experience that I will be able to take with me for the rest of my life.

A couple of weeks ago I heard some drumming coming from outside our apartment, so I went to investigate. Around the corner, I saw a large cart on large wooden wheels sitting in the parking lot of the city hall. It was topped by a large statue of what looked like a Japanese Samurai. Down the street, I saw many Japanese men and children dressed in traditional clothing pulling ropes attached to another one, pulling it down the street. It was also topped by a statue, and a bunch of Japanese men playing traditional flutes and drums. I watched another one get pulled in too. After they were pulled in, the adults kicked back and started drinking beer and Chu-Hi (sorta like a Japanese Mike's Hard drink). At 9:45 am. That's just how they roll here though, I suppose. This was all part of some sort of local town festival. Anyways, I bring this up because I just think that we're pretty fortunate to see this kind of thing. How many Americans have seen these festivities specific to the tiny town of Aso in the small city of Namegata in the rural Prefecture of Ibaraki? Not many. But Tessa and I have, and so will you (in pictures below):

Night shot!

Extra Eigo (English) Lessons

2009-10-21T04:22:00.000-07:00

Hi All,

As you are all busy with your own lovely lives, so are Chris and I. Getting settled into life in Japan has meant that posting updates hasn't felt quite as urgent or essential as it once did. We talk to family members and a few friends over Skype fairly regularly, and they get the mundane, every day stories. All the rest of you get is the Big News, which doesn't happen much these days.

Anyway, I thought that I would share a bit about my non-regular lessons. As you know, I teach 5th and 6th graders pre-planned and pre-provided English curriculum. But nearly every day I also teach an extra lesson for one of the 1st-4th grade classes, and these I get to plan myself. The smaller schools combine the 1st and 2nd grades (ichi and ni nensei), or the 3rd and 4th grades (san and yon nensei), and rotate the lessons so I see each grade a few times a month. Because of the length of time between these special classes it's not really feasible to create a progressive English curriculum that we keep building on; the kids usually forget at least 50% of what they learned between classes anyway. As a result, I just plan good stand-alone lessons: Colors, Animals, Food, etc. My goal is for my students to have a good time and to develop a positive association with English (and foreigners).

They generally love me; this is not actually a result of any of my personal qualities. The kids are naturally curious about foreigners and find me a total novelty. I may be the first English-speaking person some of them have ever seen in the flesh, let alone spoken to. They like my blue eyes and light-colored hair. Nearly anything I teach is a) new to them, b)reminds them of the "cool" English TV shows and movies they watch, and c) not real schoolwork, and therefore way more fun.

Many times a day I hear "Hello!" or, "Tessa Sensei, Tessa Sensei!" along with a hodgepodge of English they have learned from me or their older siblings. They love when I eat lunch in their classrooms because it gives them a chance to show off. For example: I'm sitting, eating my rice, and feel a tap tap and one of the kids has leaned over to me to say, "Tessa Sensei, Yes We Can!" (giggle giggle giggle). Or "nice to meechu", or my favorite, "Hello, mayonnaise Yuka!" (they sometimes hear "my name is" as "mayonnaise"). I'm grateful the kids are having fun with me and my lessons, because by the time they're the age of Chris' Junior High students, English class involves actual homework and tests and loses a bit of its cool factor.

These last two weeks I've taught my favorite 1st-4th grade lesson yet: Body Parts & Monsters. Isn't the correlation obvious? ;) First I teach the kids the names of the more basic body parts, we sing Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes several times (getting faster and faster each time of course), and then I call out Monster body parts for them to draw. For example, 2 green heads or 6 yellow eyes, or 10 short rainbow legs. They have to pass their drawings down the row after adding each body part, so they end up with really funny pictures. Then I have the kids walk around and share their pictures, wishing each other Happy Halloween.

In Japan it seems like personal expression and creativity isn't always encouraged, and valued much less than fitting in with the group. For example, whenever my 5th and 6th graders have to draw pictures of their favorite foods, sports, animals, etc, they all draw things the same way. And if there's a picture in the textbook of what they want to draw, they make sure to copy it exactly. Literally, if kids are drawing grapes, the grapes all look exactly alike. And they get frustrated if they can't make something look "perfect". It's a bit unnerving for me, actually. Anyway, with the Monster Body Parts lesson they kind of had permission to exaggerate and just do whatever they wanted. It was really neat to see so many completely unique monsters ;)

By the way, today marks the 210th day we've been in Japan - we have about 5 months left in this adventure. Coming up, we're going to another Kashima Antlers soccer game on Saturday, a Halloween party with other ALT's on the 31st (still not sure about costumes - no Value Villages over here to find costume pieces at), and looking forward to 3 different Japanese holidays (read - days off!) in November.

Hope Fall where you are is as beautiful as it is in Japan!

-Tessa

Happy Accidents

2009-10-04T01:43:00.000-07:00

Yay for happy accidents! Tessa and I were driving through Itako (a town near where we live) looking for an Italian restaurant to got to for Tessa's birthday. We did find the restaurant (though it's unclear whether or not it is currently open for business, I guess we'll find out later) but we somehow also found an amazingly beautiful field of flowers. We didn't even know it existed, but apparently it is free for people to walk through, enjoy, and pick! The weather was nice, and we had a very pleasant stroll among the flowers (that we don't know the name of). Pictures below:

Guarded by Japanese scarecrows!

The flowers that we brought home. And yep, that classy vase was a $3 bottle of wine.

Japanese JHS Student Pop Culture

2009-09-28T01:21:00.000-07:00

Aaaaaaand, we're back. Sorry about the lack of updates lately. Tessa and I are done with the summer vacation and back in the rigors of the school year, and we've been too tired/lazy to update. We really, really appreciate you reading though!

So anyway, Japanese Junior High School students, like American JHS students, have their own niche in the realm of pop culture. They are taken in by the various fads of fashion, music, memorabilia, and entertainment that are rife in any capitalist society. I would like to share with you some of the current ones I have witnessed.

First, memorabilia. Almost everything the students bring with them to class has some type of slogan or character imprinted on it. The most popular character (by far) is the character of Stitch from the Disney movie Lilo and Stitch. Disney has a HUGE draw in Japan. I'd say they control almost all of the non-anime cartoon/comics in Japan. Which is not too surprising, given what we know about the Disney company. Tokyo Disney Land is a very popular destination for Japanese vacation goers. The surprising thing is how Japanese culture has latched onto the character of "Stitch", especially given the fact that it was released 6 years ago (in Japan). Though Lilo and Stitch was made by Disney, it was certainly not one of their high budget/high grossing movies. I always thought it was an underrated Disney movie that never got the play it deserved, but in Japan it is EVERYWHERE. Stitch's likeness is by far the most popular cartoon likeness I see on an everyday basis, and I see him on everything from folders to pen cases to random sketches the students draw. I think the allure might have something to do with the Japanese's fascination with Hawai'i, another popular vacation destination. Of course the Pixar movies are well represented, as well as the Japanese anime/manga industry.

Second, music. Ah, to be 13 again. remember the crap music you used to listen to? Well, Japan has the same stuff, just (mostly) sung in Japanese. The J-Pop the kids listen to is mostly terrible, and I sometimes have to listen to it during lunch at the schools. The current faves are: Glay, Greeeen, Hey! Say! JUMP (the "JUMP" stands for Johnny's Ultra Music Power), and many others. They sing pop music in Japanese and sometimes English (hilarity ensues!) but usually the English is confined to a few lines like "Because I love you", etc.

My students also love Japanese comedians. I don't know much about them, but they always want me to say "Toose!" like the Japanese comedian in this youtube video (see it at about 20 seconds in). Whenever I do it, they crack up, but I don't really know why.

That's it for now ja, ne!

P.S. "ja ne" is sorta like Japanese for "see you!"

Undo Kai - Sports Festival!

2009-09-09T03:29:00.000-07:00

Since the first day of the 2nd Term (Sept 1st), schools across Japan have been practicing hard for their sports festival. Chris and I have had few lessons to teach (in C's case, none last week) as the students are all extremely busy working on the individual events of the festival, as well as all the transitions between activities, order of events, etc. Families attend the festivals, and if they are involved in the PTA, they may even participate in certain events. Typical of the Japanese culture, order and perfection in the presentation of the school's festivals are almost more important than how the competitions turn out.

Last Saturday, we went to the festival of one of Chris' schools, Sakuragawa Junior High. It took place on the track field, and families basically camped out all around it, sitting on tarps and putting up huge umbrellas. No one wears sunglasses here (too reminiscent of the Japanese mafia, the Yakuza, or so I've heard...) so umbrellas and sun visors are everywhere. Anyway, we got to sit under the teachers' tent with a great view of the action. After what seemed like endless speeches from the Principal, team captains, and random old men (we think they were PTA....?) and a solemn salute to the Japanese flag, things got underway.

The festival lasted all day, and featured such events as sprinting, tug of war with huge rope and bamboo poles, relay races with inflated waist-high colored balls, beanbag toss into baskets on high poles, and the Samurai game. This was one of the most-anticipated events, involving one boy (the "Samurai") sitting on another boy's shoulders with his legs held up by two others. These boys represented the Samurai's horse. Then all the units ran into the middle of the track and the Samurai tried to knock each other off their "horses". No punching or kicking was allowed, but it was still pretty barbaric!! Seeing puny 7th grade boys being wrestled down by huge 9th graders was hard to watch - still, American football's no better. The day also involved the 3 teams (named Galaxy, A Fixed Star, and Comet) doing a cheer routine before each event they competed in.

The elementary school festivals are happening in the next few weeks, and they have some different events. Instead of waist high ball relays, two teams form semi-circle lanes around the track, and try to get huge, 5 foot tall inflated balls pushed down their lane, around a cone, and back up the lane again. There are also dance routines (some humorous, some more traditional), marching bands, and special obstacle relay races where the runners have to grab a card along the way, which tells them which obstacle they have to face: running under a long net, jumping several times through a hula hoop, or running around a standing baseball bat 5 times with their forehead on the handle.

These festivals are all oriented towards building school spirit and team efforts. It's been really fun getting to see these public school traditions!

End of the Summer

2009-08-31T02:27:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is our first day back to school after 6 weeks off. Truth be told, it got boring at times (there ain't much to do where we are if you don't want to spend much money), but we had a lot of fun and relaxed a lot. A few days ago we went to the Ueno Zoo near Tokyo. It was really great, had a variety of animals, though unfortunately no Giant Panda (their famous one Ling Ling died a little over a year ago). Working the last two summers at the Woodland Park Zoo, I couldn't help but compare the two, and while you probably have a little better view of some of the animals, their living areas often seemed a little too small and sparse. WPZ in Seattle has some really amazing natural-looking enclosures. Pictures of the zoo trip at the bottom.

We also had a really fun BBQ on Saturday in Kashima on the beach with some other English-speaking ALT friends. Good people + good food = good times. We had wagyu beef burgers (!!) and fresh scallops cooked over the grill on their own shells (!!) along with chicken, veggies, chip and salsa, etc. A nice Western-style BBQ this time. Afterwards we went lakeside and viewed perhaps the best fireworks show we've ever seen.

I'm going to let this go now, with woah there's a typhoon going on outside (see Tessa's post below about it) and today I've had my worst allergy attack in months. Yecchh! Anyways, bye for now!

America= Hurricane. Japan=Typhoon....

2009-08-31T02:03:00.001-07:00

Hi All,

Reporting live from Namegata, where we've been in the middle of Typhoon Krovanh all day today and most of last night. It's our first one, and while we haven't seen any trees uprooted we've definitely been impressed.

Apparently, a typhoon is the same thing as a hurricane, or tropical cyclone. The name just refers to geographic locations: typhoons for west of the International Date Line in the Pacific Ocean, and hurricanes for east (typhoons in Asia, hurricanes in America).

Anyway, we've had heavy gales and blowing rain for the last 18 hours or so. In Japan, many homes and apartments have big metal sliding panels that cover your windows, which you would definitely close in case of a typhoon. But each of our two windows has a stuck slider, making the wind blow through them, causing it to feel almost like an earthquake. It's not very serious where we are, but I know that in Kashima (45 min away on the Eastern coast, and very windy most days) they cancelled classes at the English school where our friends work.

As some of you might have heard, yesterday Japan held Parliamentary elections and there was a huge power shift. It was expected by many, but the Democratic Party won by a 3 to 1 ratio over the Liberal Democrats who have been in power since WWII. As evidence of Chris' comedic influence on me, I say that this typhoon is merely the winds of change......

get it? Winds of change? Yeah, I know. . .

Well, tomorrow we go back to school for the start of Term 2. I actually had to iron today for the first time in 6 weeks. We've been here 5 months now, and look forward to getting through this next term quickly.

Enjoy the beginning of Fall everyone!

Japanese Style Barbecue or "Yakiniku"

2009-08-23T17:13:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we went to a BBQ hosted by our coordinator from the company we work for and some of her friends and family. A couple of the other ALTs in the area were also invited, so the 4 of us piled into one tiny Suzuki Alto (the backseat of which I assure you is as or more uncomfortable than that of an old VW Beetle) and we carpooled to the beach city of Oarai about 1.25 hours away. While riding on the way, I noticed a small green tree frog had attatched itself to the outside of the car, very near the window of the front of the car. The windows were down because it was hot and the air conditioning didn't work, and eventually the little frog hopped inside the car, across the dash, to the driver's side. After a few tense minutes in which we were worried the little frog would then jump onto the driver, he hopped out the other window and began to cling for dear life on the side mirror. Ken (the driver) rolled his window up so it couldn't hop back in, and the frog stayed attached for a good 20 minutes until he (Justin decided its name was Gary) got uncomfortable and tried to move but lost his grip and went flying off the car. Godspeed Gary, wherever you are...

When we finally found the BBQ site we were greeted by our smiling coordinator Naomi, a very nice Japanese woman our age who is our contact to the company we work for. Her sister, nieces, and friends were already there, and we helped get things set up. The site was not quite on the beach, but very close to it. Justin and I helped start the fire and get the coals burning (without lighter fluid) and we munched on veggie snacks while we waited for the coals to heat up. They tossed in potatoes wrapped in foil to bake, and we set up a wire mesh-like pan over the coals and tossed on veggies like onions, eggplant, bean sprouts, and others. They then laid on some fatty strips of pork (bite size, but not actually bacon). The way the Japanese do BBQ is after things are done grilling, they grab the bits with chopsticks and dip them into this amazing thin sauce called "ebara" and eat. Very, very tasty. After the pork, they added thin strips of beef, and just kept piling it on. Then came the fresh prawns. Later, they even put on this big flat pan and fried up some yakisoba (grilled noodles), which apparently is common at Japanese barbecues. Everything was delicious, and there was as much beer as I could drink to wash it down with. We also played a lot with Naomi's niece and nephews (age between 2 and 3) who were completely adorable. They were very shy at first, but in the end they were challenging me and Tessa to races and repeating things we would say to them in English. A good time all around.

One of the interesting things about Japanese BBQs is that instead of a kind of potluck where everyone brings something, often times they will have one person bring everything, and charge a fee to those attending. It cost us about $24 each, but it was worth it for the food, beer, and chance to interact with some great Japanese folks around our age and a little older.

The next day (today) we found out the true price of that BBQ, in the form of mosquito bites. Tessa has over 20 on her legs, and I have about 10 on my legs and 3 on my arm. They itch just as much as they do in America. Luckily, Tessa had the foresight to bring hydrocortisone creme with her from America. Only 1 more week left of summer break! :( We go back to work on September 1st. Thanks for reading, we miss you all!

Sharks!!!!

2009-08-17T01:41:00.001-07:00

Hi All,

Once again, I've neglected this blog. . .but I'm making up for it today with some very cool pictures. For months, Chris has been dying to visit the Aqua World in Oarai, a really neat beach town/city about 75 minutes north of us on Japan's easter coast. This place is nationally famous, so we finally set the alarm a little early (it's summer break, we're allowed to sleep in!) and made a day of it.

It was a Monday, so we expected a lighter crowd - no luck! We literally had to park on the sidewalk, with the full blessings of the lot attendant. The Japanese will park their cars anywhere without a second thought, this much I have learned.

Anyway, the Aqua World is pretty huge, and we walked through many different halls and rooms of gigantic tanks containing all sizes and varieties of sharks, tropical fish, sea turtles (yay!), mondo-crabs, eels, manta rays, octupi and more. We were almost equally entertained by the hundreds of awestruck Japanese toddlers, pointing and shouting "kore, kore!" ("that, that!").

We had heard about a great dolphin show (although a little subdued after recently reading an article on Japanese amusement parks' notorious mistreatment of dolphins) and waited with a mob of families to get into the arena. We made it down to the 2nd row, nearly empty because that's where you get splashed the most, but we thought, why not? The staff were handily selling plastic tarps for 300 Yen, but we wanted to brave it. The show was pretty great, if fairly short at 23ish minutes. Still, these animals perform several times a day, maybe they should shorten it even more!

The dolphins were really neat. A cheesy host spoke in Japanese while instrumental Disney power ballads played in the background, but we were just focusing on these creatures that were kicking balls with their tails, leaping many many feet in the air, and launching their human trainers across the pool with great splashes and pizazz. Later another trainer brought out a seal to do sort of a comedy routine where he would cover his eyes with his flippers, clap, balance beach balls ("beach-ey baru") on his nose, and generally impress everyone. Let's hope these animals aren't worked too hard and actually get more space than just the arena pool to live in.

Later we got some lunch (we were glad to see that the food court didn't sell fish, that would have just been insulting) and watched the Humboldt penguins outside - they're the same species as the ones at the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle.

Hope you like these pictures - what a great day!

PS: Although the food court inside the aqarium didn't sell fish, on the other side of the gift shop by the entry, you could find any seafood item your heart desired, hopefully not from the nearby exhibits. . .

EARTHQUAKE!!!

2009-08-09T04:47:00.000-07:00

Since we've been in Japan, we've felt quite a few quakes and tremors. I'd say about 2 or so per month. At first, we were a little surprised, like "whoa, I think we just had an earthquake!" when we felt our first tremor or two. Then, it got to the point where we would feel it, yawn, and wait for it to pass. I guess I shouldn't have been too surprised, I mean we ARE on the Ring of Fire here, but growing up in the Pacific Northwest USA, I've been through less than 5 earthquakes that I can remember. Anyways, tonight we felt a bigger and longer quake. It started like all the others, but kept going, and shaking harder. Then our apartment started to sway a little. Tessa and I just kind of looked at each other like "uh, ok, is it going to stop soon?" It felt like we were in a subway car. It eventually subsided, but if it had gotten any worse, I would've dove under the crappy little table we have. Everything is fine though, at least here, no harm done. Early reports having the quake being between 6.9 to 7.1 in magnatude, off the East coast of Japan, sorta by Tokyo. Hope everything is OK there too.

Heaa Katto

2009-08-08T02:52:00.000-07:00

At long last I just got my first hair cut in Japan. Yes, after 4+ months I finally bit the bullet and got my ears lowered. I have a forehead now! I had been putting it off for awhile now because I had been really nervous about getting it without being able to speak the language. It can sometimes be difficult to get your hair cut the way you want it even when you speak the same language, so I was a little terrified. Before going in I armed myself with a few phrases that I thought might help, but I didn't really need them. I picked a style out of a magazine that I felt looked closest to what I wanted, crossed my fingers and hoped for the best. First, a nice young Japanese woman led me to the back to get my hair thoroughly washed and conditioned, and a nice scalp massage. After that, I was then led to the stylist's chair where I attempted to explain what I wanted in broken Japanese. The woman then gave me a "massage" which mainly consisted of her hitting my shoulders and upper back repeatedly. She was then replaced by the man who would end up cutting my hair. I re-explained to him and, he cut away. He actually chatted me up quite a bit, and though there were a lot of language difficulties, we were able to communicate through the little Japanese I knew. Anyways, my hair didn't turn out 100% the way I wanted it (he way over-layered it) but given the circumstances, it's not too bad, I think. See below:

Before: 4+ months of shaggy hair

After: Clean cut all-American good boy (though still with a 5 o'clock shadow). Much, much better, I'd say.

Our vacation is half over, only 3 weeks left. We'll have to make the most of it. Bye!

But Wait, There's More!

2009-08-02T19:46:00.000-07:00

So, we took a lot of pictures on our trip to Kyoto. I didn't want to clutter up the blog with all of them, so I posted them to my flickr site here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/99336709@N00/sets/72157621786455961/with/3777654786/ Enjoy the pictures!

We sure had a great time. Tessa wrote a great and long account of the trip (see the post below) but I just wanted to share a couple tidbits from my perspective.

The first 24 hours were pretty rough. About 10-11 hours of bus riding, no showering and less than an hour of sleeping. We were wet from the rain and from the humidity when it wasn't raining. Once we finally checked in and slept on a bed (!!!) and showered, we were OK. You have to understand, we haven't slept on a bed since our training in Mito back in the first week of April. Our apartment has a Japanese style futon, which is nothing like the American couch/bed combo on a frame. Our futon is basically a few pads and comforters stacked on top f each other and covered by a sheet. It has no frame, and rests on the floor. Because of this, it is also very important to hang it outside and air it out at least once a week to prevent mold/mildew and things like that. So, long story short, bed = us very excited.

As Tessa said, I really liked the "Genghis Khan" platter we ate in Kyoto. Grilled lamb, bean sprouts, pumpkin, green peppers, and that sauce. Normally I don't go for those kinds of veggies, but the sauce that we had to dip them in was delicious, or "oishii" as the Japanese would say. I don't know what the sauce was, but it was thin, kinda like a broth, sweet, spicy, and flavorful. Mmmmmm....

My favorite place we visited was probably Nijo-jo, the ancient Japanese castle formerly occupied by the Shogun. We got to walk inside a palace inside of it, which was really cool. The floorboards inside squeak with a distinct, unique sound, a design so that guards could hear any intruders. There were also many different tatami lined rooms that had beautiful paintings on the walls and sliding wooden doors. Sadly, cameras were not allowed inside.

Well, I don't have much else to say, other than what Tessa already said. Hopefully I'll be able to get postcards out to people soon. Bye!

Back to the homeland. . .

2009-08-02T17:39:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone,

Chris and I returned from Kyoto on Friday night, but I'm only now summoning the mental strength to blog about our trip. There was just so much to see and do there - it's overwhelming trying to describe it all! But here goes. A warning: it's going to be loooong. Feel free to skim instead.

Last Monday afternoon, we caught a "highway bus" (kind of like the equivalent of the US' Greyhound system) down to Tokyo. Arriving around 4pm, we immediately went to buy our tickets for the overnight "Dream Bus" to Kyoto, having decided it would save on hotels and be much cheaper than the Shinkansen (or Bullet Train). We chose the 11pm departing bus because we didn't want to get to Kyoto so early in the morning that everything was closed. Of course, this left us with about 6 1/2 hours to kill in the meantime. And it was pouring buckets outside. (Somehow, whenever we go down to Tokyo it starts raining - maybe it senses our NW auras)

Anyway, we walked over to the Imperial Palace Gardens to look at the swans in the moat. Yes, they call it a moat. But it was really coming down and we worried about our bags getting mildew before we'd even gotten to our destination. So, we made our way down into the bowels of Tokyo Station, which turned out to be, you guessed it, a huge shopping center. Shopping is truly king in this city. You could find bikinis, sake, fancy deli meats, Hello Kitty t-shirts, and just about anything else you can imagine, and all this just in Tokyo Station! We had a quick dinner and people-watched, although it quickly became high-heel-watching due to the overwhelming abundance of stiletto or platform clad women, usually with very very short skirts or shorts. How can they spend all day walking in those? It's beyond me. . .

Finally, after multiple card games, walking in circles around the station, scouting for available benches (which are few and far between) we were able to get on the bus. We booked the cheap one, so we shouldn't have been surprised that the bus was just like any other, and ill-equipped to host sleeping passengers. Yes, there were curtains pulled so that most of the street lights couldn't get in, but that was it. Anyway, I estimate that we each got maybe an hour of sleep, broken into very small chunks. So, getting off at Kyoto Station at 6:15 am, we were already exhausted. But our hotel wouldn't check us in until 2pm - despite having advance warning of this, we still cursed the gods...So, more walking around for 2+ hours until the station Tourism Office opened and we could get maps and subway directions in English. We decided to drop our stuff off at the hotel early, so at least our shoulders could recover a bit.

After unloading (and looking longingly at the elevators taking people up to their rooms), we walked over to what we thought was Nijo-jo Castle, but turned out to be the Imperial Gardens of Kyoto. We discovered a lovely little shrine down one of the paths, where several cats were hanging out watching the coi swimming in the moat. Yep, another moat. And more coi - the Japanese really love their coi ponds. We also saw tons of turtles swimming around with them, which cheered us up enough to continue wandering around.

By the way, let me just tell you that when you arrive in Kyoto in the morning, your ears will be assaulted with a deafening buzzing. Apparently, it's the world headquarters for the cicada population, and they all buzz to each other for about 9 hours from morning till late afternoon, then mysteriously stop before dinnertime. Walking around in the Imperial Gardens, we started noticing all of these big brown, dead bugs on the pathways. At first, we just thought it was weird and tried not to step on them. Then we came upon a tree where there were several of these things basically attached to the bark. Upon closer examination, however, Chris the Animal Expert pronounced the bugs just empty carapaces (old exo-skeletons) of the cicadas. So, the park is littered with bug shells, basically.

Later, we watched part of a baseball game, ordered yummy frozen coffee drinks at a coffee shop with A/C and soft chairs, and then made our way back to the hotel to sit on their couches and wait till check-in. Chris had the great idea to ask them if we could go up early, and they relented. Nap time! A good 4 hours later, we emerged showered and with renewed energy.

We had been given a restaurant guide by the hotel, and we made our way to the Gion district (where all the famous Geisha lived back in the day, and where a select few still apparently work). We walked along the river, which at night is beautiful with lantern-bedecked restaurants and shops along its banks. We found our restaurant, which was pretty hole-in-the-wall but a fabulous find. This place could maybe fit 8 or 9 people inside, where everyone sits at the bar. We chose the "Genghis Khan" set, and watched as the cheerful chef put a big pot in front of us that had hot coals and flames inside, then set some kind of rounded grill cover on it. Then he poured on bean sprouts, green peppers, onions, etc. When they were mostly cooked, he added chunks of fresh mutton (which I had never actually eaten before) and handed us little dishes of sauce with chopsticks. We were instructed to just take what we wanted directly off of the grill pot, and dunk them in our sauce before eating. Let me tell you, one of the best meals I've ever had. I think Chris was even more in love with it, though, as he couldn't stop eating the bean sprouts and veggies, not just the meat. He raved about it the whole trip, actually ;)

Later we just walked around the neighborhood, and even caught the end of a special shrine being carried over a bridge by a huge crowd of men in traditional white robes and pants. There was a lot of yelling, and incense. We ended up walking around a huge shopping area, and just checking out the Kyoto nightlife.

The next day we had a lot to see. After breakfast in a famous Kyoto coffee shop, we found the correct Nijo-jo Castle. The day was hot and humid, in the heaviest sense imaginable. My shirt was drenched before noon. The castle was really neat, though. You have to take off your shoes, as per Japanese custom in nearly any highly respected place. As you walk, you notice the floor creaking a lot. Apparently this feature was an intentional design, so that guards could easily detect any intruders. The walls of each room were carved or painted with hawks, nightingales, and just really lovely ancient scenes. They even had mannequins set up in traditional costume with placards reading about their position in the room and what that signified about their status.

Next we took a bus (having bought 2-day all-access cards that let us on the subway and all buses) to Kinkaku-ji Temple. This is one of the most famous temples in Kyoto. One minute you're just walking up a very normal paved path through some trees, the next minute you're staring at a huge golden pavilion, which is literally painted in golf leaf and very impressive. A great photo op, let me tell you. We took a path all the way around the pavilion, and picked up some really neat postcards and trinkets.

Our last major stop of the day was the Ryoanji Temple, which houses a famous Zen rock garden. We were ushered inside, where there were at least 25 other tourists just sitting quietly either staring at the garden or praying. It's not a very big rock garden, only 30m x 10m. It consists of raked gravel and 15 small boulders, although apparently from any angle in the garden you can only see 14. The Buddhist concept behind this was that only through Enlightenment would you be able to see the 15th stone. Pretty neat.

That night we just picked up some food and collapsed in bed to watch bizarre Japanese tv shows, a memorable one involving a moody teenage boy who turns out to be a vampire, and may or may not have a questionable relationship with his teacher. He was also followed by an older man who might have been Satan, but we really couldn't figure it out.

The next day (our last in Kyoto) we started out with The Museum of Kyoto, which happened to be just a few blocks from the hotel. The first room had to do with the history of Japanese cinema, which was pretty interesting. Lots of black and white pictures of movies that looked a lot like Hollywood film of the same era, complete with cheesy titles and strange hairdos. Although there were a few Samurai films thrown in, and a huge replica of the Oscar won for Kurasawa's Rashomon. The 2nd floor had really cool models of the way different districts of Kyoto looked hundreds of years ago, and the progression of Kyoto as cultural capital of Japan. We tried not to break the bank buying postcard prints of amazing paintings, but the temptation was strong.

Later we took a bus up to Ginkaku-ji Temple (not to be confused with Kinkaku-ji). After getting off we still had to walk up a hill to the temple, and passed by tons of different touristy shops and stands, and women in kimonos offering tastes of fruit-flavored mochi (rice dough pastry). Once through the gate (all the temples and shrines have huge wooden gates, sometimes painted red, which are really just kind of A-shaped archways) there was a really peaceful air. The main pavilion was being worked on, but there was a rock garden, beautiful little bridges and ponds, and lovely bamboo fences. Little shrines were tucked away around corners or down narrow pathways. We took a path that led up a hill, where you could get a fantastic view not only of the temple, but also Kyoto - I loved this place, my absolute favorite thing in Kyoto.

Afterwards we took a bus back down to the Higashiyama district, near Gion, to wander through Maruyama Park. This place is literally packed with shrines and beautiful gates. Lanterns hung everywhere. There were neat fountains with metal cups with long handles, where you are supposed to purify your hands before praying. Other shrines had long ropes that you pull to ring a bell before praying, ostensibly to get the spirits' attention? Many of the people we saw praying were older, which seems to make sense considering the generational divide in this country.

That night, we returned to the Gion district to find some dinner - we stopped in a little place that made good tempura and grilled meat, where we met the proprietor who spoke very good English. We chatted for a bit, he was surprised to learn that we were ALT's - I think 99% of the non-Japanese visitors to Kyoto are tourists on vacation, so people were always surprised that we could speak a little Japanese, like saying the proper thing before eating "itadakimasu" and after eating "gochisou samadeshita". Afterwards we walked to Gion Corner, where they produce short performances of Japanese artistic and creative mediums. A sampler of Japanese culture, if you will. We saw snippets of the tea ceremony, flower arrangement, court music and dance, Japanese harp, geisha dance, Kyogen (comic interludes between longer pieces, very vaudevillian) and Bunraku, puppet theatre. The last two were our favorites, of course. We had actually studied them a bit at WWU, so it was amazing to watch live.

Later we sat by the river and just soaked it all in. We are so lucky to be able to experience these things - the whole trip, we kept remarking how much our families and friends would love to see this or that. Of course, we're really blessed to get to share these things with each other - in 20 years we'll still be able to remember these experiences and be so glad we came to Japan together.

The next morning we rose early, got to Kyoto Station and bought our tickets back. No night bus this time, thankfully. We spent all of Friday on buses, first from Kyoto to Tokyo, then Tokyo to Aso where we live. We were exhausted, but it was nice to be back in our quiet little town. And we still have 4 weeks left of vacation! I think our next order of business is to make up our own board game. We'll let you know how it goes ;)

Random Pictures

2009-07-21T23:18:00.000-07:00

Today's post is a small collection of random pictures I took with my iPhone, some are Engrish pics, but not all. Enjoy!

Taken at an odd souvenir stand in the Tokyo Subway. I was pretty shocked by the "I <3 cancer" ash tray. Interestingly enough, they also had little pocket ash trays that had the same writing on them. They are like a small, flat coin purse that could fit in your wallet. You are supposed to use it when you are out and about, so you won't have to pollute the ground with your cigarette ashes.

This is one of my new favorites.

Those dots on the "BARKING" are rhinestones.

This is a poster at the community center where we have our Japanese Conversation class. So in case you were wondering, yes the Japanese do have Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts.

Yep, we saw Harry Potter in the theatre, in English with Japanese subtitles.

"Laugh Yeah! Grow Fat!" I can't even remember what that was written on.

Thanks for reading everyone! We're on summer vacation now (yay!) and of course, the weather decided to start getting bad (boo!). It's still pretty warm, but very cloudy, moist, and often rainy. Here's hoping for better weather!

Summer Vacation/ Natsuyasumi Has ARRIVED!

2009-07-17T00:11:00.000-07:00

Hello, Hello, I'm back from the dead!

Or at least back from the burned out, tired, unmotivated place I was living in for the last little while. Hey, I guess I truly know how my father and two brothers feel now - although I actually have it a lot easier; no grading! I'm almost tempted to become a career classroom teacher just so I can have the summers off....but not enough to really go for it. I enjoy teaching, but I think I can do better work for kids outside of the classroom.

Today was an interesting day, being the last day of the term (1 down, 2 to go). I actually taught 3 classes this morning, but the kids were SO over it. Then I sat down for bento (lunch from home/store) with the Kochou Sensei, Kyoto Sensei, #3 Sensei, Secretary, Tea Lady and School Nurse. Talk about an awkward 20 minutes...only one of them speaks any English, really, and he's not even that comfortable speaking to me unless necessary. They would all speak for a few minutes, stuff food in their mouths (the Japanese eat SO fast), then an awkward silence would settle for a bit, everyone kind of looking anywhere but at the rest of the group. Then the Kochou Sensei passed around a little pot of homemade Umeboshi http://en.wikipedia.org./wiki/Umeboshi. Of course I took one, but man was it hard to swallow. It's like a pitted, extremely sour, pickled fruit. I can usually eat most things, but this was pretty tough...

After lunch I was officially finished with classes, but I still had to go to my last school for their end of term ceremony. The school had asked me to give a speech, although I was pretty fuzzy on what they wanted me to talk about. Anyway, I arrived and was hurried into the gym, where the kids and teachers were waiting. I watched the Kochou Sensei, Kyoto Sensei and #3 Sensei each address the kids, although I can only guess what they spoke about. Then a student from each grade stood up and said something to the crowd, maybe about what they had worked on over the term? Then the Kochou Sensei brought out some kind of placard with antlers attached....yeah, no clue. Maybe a metaphor about watching out for pointy, dangerous situations over the summer break? Finally it was my turn to speak - I was told to please speak in English (although no teachers there even speak it...) So I just talked about what Americans do over their break: swimming, picnics, BBQing, visiting family, playing games, etc. Then I told them what I would be doing over the break in Japan (beach, Kyoto trip, beach, beach, beach, Tokyo, beach). I think a few of my 6th grade students understood some of the words I used, and could get a very basic idea of what I was saying.

Then we were done, and back in the teacher's room someone handed me a neon yellow plastic sash to wear with something in Japanese written on it. I followed everyone out to the field, where after a few announcements and safety reminders, the teachers all walked the kids home. It was actually sweet, kind of safely delivering the kids directly home after a good term. I held hands with a 1st grader the whole way, and though I didn't understand a word of what she said to me, she still seemed happy enough to walk with the English teacher. It was really hot walking them home, but happily the Kyoto Sensei was waiting for us near the last house, and drove us back to the school in his car, with A/C thankfully. Then the Kochou Sensei said something to me about a "secret service" or "secret employment." I figured out they were telling me it was ok for me to leave early (rather than sit there for 2 more hours doing absolutely nothing), and that it was just our little secret. Woohoo!!!

Now I'm home, and the fact that we have 6 weeks completely free hasn't really sunken in yet. In the next week the only plans we have are to drive up to Mito (where company HQ is) to switch out Chris' car, and maybe a trip to Tokyo to do some errands. I do have one meeting with the 5th and 6th grade homeroom teachers next week, where I just might be allowed to give some feedback (I'm dying to give them notes, seriously...).

I hope you are all enjoying your summer - now I am too!!

-Tessa

Poetry

2009-07-13T01:47:00.000-07:00

On a recent assignment, my 3rd year students were asked to write simple 4 line poems in English (not haiku). After writing 2 of said poems, one of my students went and wrote the following poem on his own:
--------
Why do people hurt each other?
Is there anything good in that way?
There is just a decay of their heart.
Because they can't have heart, they can't feel sad.
But they are still human, they will have grief.
So, I'll say, stop beating!
I can't understand why they keep beating.
Go back to the true heart.
----------

Ok, so I cleaned up the spelling mistakes and the grammar a bit, but I mean come on. That is amazing stuff for a 14 year old who is (most likely) in his 3rd year of learning English. I just wanted to share that with all of you.

Also, here is an excerpt from the 3rd year's textbook. It is a story that I have had to read to them many times, and now they are working on memorizing it and repeating it back to me (in 4 section chunks).

-------
A big, old tree stands by a road near the city of Hiroshima. Through the years, it has seen many things.

One summer night the tree heard a lullaby. A mother was singing to her little girl under the tree. They looked happy, and the song sounded sweet. But the tree remembered something sad.

"Yes, it was some sixty years ago. I heard a lullaby that night, too."

On the morning of that day, a big bomb fell on the city of Hiroshima. Many people lost their lives, and many others were injured. They had burns all over their bodies. I was very sad when I saw those people.

It was a very hot day. Some of the people fell down near me. I said to them, "Come and rest in my shade. You'll be alright soon."

Night came. Some people were already dead. I heard a weak voice. It was a lullaby. A young girl was singing to a little boy.

"Mommy! Mommy!" the boy cried.

"Don't cry," the girl said. "Mommy is here." Then she began to sing again.

She was very weak, but she tried to be a mother to the poor little boy. She held him in her arms like a real mother.

"Mommy," the boy was still crying.

"Be a good boy," said the girl. "You'll be all right." She held the boy more tightly and began to sing again.

After awhile the boy stopped crying and quietly died. But the little mother did not stop singing. It was a sad lullaby. The girl's voice became weaker and weaker.

Morning came and the sun rose, but the girl never moved again.
-----------------

So yeah. It's kinda awkward being an American reading a sad story about the horrors of the nuclear bomb dropped on Hiroshima. The students don't really care though, they think it's hilarious to hear the "Mommy! Mommy!" part. Teenagers...When I first read this, I was struck by how sad it was, but that emotion is lost on them somehow...

So I know what you are all thinking, where the heck is Tessa? Doesn't she post on this blog too? She's a bit burned out and promises to post more when our 6 WEEK SUMMER VACATION starts in 4 days. Woooooo! Remamber, ANYONE can post here! Your comments are what helps keep us going! That's all for now. As my students are fond of saying, "seeyou!"

Learning English

2009-07-11T01:57:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lack of updates lately, I promise to commit to updating more regularly! I also apologize if this post is exceedingly boring. If you don't want to learn about language difficulties, than skip to the bottom, where I quickly recap the past two weeks.

I am constantly impressed with Japan's commitment to learn the English language. It is the only foreign language they teach at any level (except, possibly at college), and it is particularly difficult for the Japanese to learn. First of all, it uses a completely different alphabet, though it is pretty easy to learn, and the Japanese have grown up seeing those letters everywhere they go. The biggest hurdle is the speaking of English. There are many sounds found in the English language that are not found in Japanese, whereas pretty much all the sounds in Japanese can be found in the English language, so it's not too terribly hard for us to speak it, if we know what to say. The Japanese language does not have the following consonant sounds: "th", "v", "l". Also, with the exception of the sound of "n", all of the letters in their alphabet are either a vowel or a consonant followed by a vowel, so sometimes they have trouble not adding a vowel on the end of a hard consonant sound. e.g. "boat" becomes "boato". The "th" is replaced by a "z", the "v" with a "b". They have an "r" in their language, but it is very soft, and actually sounds half-way between an "r" and an "l". Therefore, when my students say "right" and "light" it sounds exactly the same, and they cannot hear the difference between the two when I say it. I have to admit, it can be kind of funny at times, like if they wanted to say "I'm having a problem with my vowels" it would come out "I'm habing a problem with my bowels". Also, they don't have an "s" followed by an "ee" sound, but instead have a letter "shi" which sounds like the English word "she". So "Seattle" becomes "Shiaturu" and "city elections" becomes "shity erections". Most of my students work hard and like the challenge of English.

So, as I have said before, Tessa and I are attending a class and working on learning Japanese. I think we can now finally read the two easier scripts, hiragana and katakana, and I am even picking up a few kanji here and there. Below is a picture of various friends and family members' names in katakana that I wrote while bored passing time in the teacher's room. Below the names is what they would sound like phonetically in English. You probably need to click on the picture to make it large enough to see whose name is whose.

Remember, vowels in Japanese are consistent, so "a" always sounds like "ah" as in "car", the "i" always sounds like "ee" as in "keen", the "u" always sounds like in the word "tune", the "e" like in "get", and the "o" like in "toe".

OK, enough with that stuff. What have we been up to? Last weekend we celebrated the 4th of July in typical American fashion by0 swimming in the ocean, BBQing tasty meats, and lighting off fireworks on the beach that I purchased at 7-11. Our crowd was a surprisingly diverse group of fellow English teachers that (with us) included 5 Americans, 1 Canadian, 1 Italian, 1 Irishman, 1 Japanese, and 1 Australian. It was a blast. Literally. Then on Sunday we actually went to our local cineplex and watched the new Transformers movie. Apparently they regularly show American movies everywhere here, and in English to boot, with Japanese subtitles. It was pretty expensive at $17 a pop, and the movie wasn't that great, though entertaining at least. It is nice to know we won't have to miss out on our must-see movies when they come out in the theatres, though sometimes we will have to wait a few months for them to get here. One movie we don't have to wait for though, is the new Harry Potter, which comes out next week. Can't wait!

This weekend has been pretty low-key. We went to the one landmark in Namegata, a 4 story tall tower in the middle of nowhere. There is a nice panoramic view from the top, but there is not much else to it aside from a very large and random collection of hundreds of different spherical objects, from salmon eggs to old glass buoys to ball bearings. There was a cool vegetable market nearby though. OK, that's enough for now, more to come later. Bye!

Yes, WEE-KEND! (sorry, I couldn't help it!) :)

2009-06-27T17:02:00.000-07:00

So, we look forward to the weekend just as much as any hardworking person. There's not much to do around here, and there is about zero night life, but we still find fun things to do. Last weekend we went to Kashima, a town near the coast with a population of around 60k to go see a professional soccer game. The stadium there is world-class, and despite being in a relatively small town (the stadium holds about 40k, 2/3rds the town's population) it hosts Japan's most successful soccer team, the Kashima Antlers. Tessa had gotten us coupons from her school that allowed for 1,000 yen (about $10) tickets, and we felt we couldn't pass it up. The stadium was really nice (it was where Japan played Korea in the World Cup) and the fans were very dedicated. We found seats (GA) near the most loyal fans who were up on their feet the entire match. A week later, I still have their fight songs and chants stuck in my head. It was the first soccer game I had attended, and we had a really great time. The home team won 1-0. Pictures below:

MMMMmmmm, stadium food! Yep, that's a seasoned hamsteak on a stick.

This weekend, we decided to go to the beach. We're only about 45 minutes from the coast, and it's not like we were going to have a good time holed up in our apartment in 90 degree and 80% humidity weather. Besides, this time of year is the "rainy season" in Japan, so we have to take the nice days when we can get them. We made ourselves a nice little picnic, drove out to Kashima, and found a beach. On the drive down, we actually heard the Beach Boys on the radio, saw palmtree-lined roads and surf shops, and with the bright sun shining, it felt like we were driving down the coast of California. Like the first time we went to the coast, we didn't find a public beach, we just sorta drove towards the water until we found a place to pull off and park our car. The beach was pleasant and not very crowded, only a handfull of surfers and old fishermen fishing off the jetty. I went out into the ocean, and the water was perfect. Not so cold that it numbs you (like say, the water in the puget sound) but cold enough t be very, very refreshing. The waves were a bit too big to do any real swimming, but not quite big enough for there to really be adequate surfing (though it didn't stop the surfers there). After that we laid out on our sheet and worked on our tan, or at least whatever tan you can get through SPF 50 sun block. We walked around a bit, then called up some other ALTs living in Kashima that we had met 2 weeks ago. They were about to arrive at a beach 10 km south of us to hang out and drink beers, so we went out and joined them. They are a cool group of guys from Kansas, California, Vancouver, and Ireland, respectively. One even brought his fishing pole on a lark and decided to go try fishing off a near-by jetty. I told him I'd eat anything he caught, thinking he would have no chance since he didn't know what he was doing. Much to my suprise, we saw him from a distance excitedly running towards us with his pole and a small ocean fish dangling from the end of it. He caught it on his first cast. Thankfully, he didn't make me eat it, and wasn't able to catch anything else that evening. We hung around until about 6:30 and drove home. A very nice and relaxing day.

When we are hard up for cash or the weather is lousy, we can always entertain ourselves by going to a clothing or stationary store and finding some great "Engrish" items. Some recent ones:

Front:

Back:

That's all for now, Ja ne!

If You Can't Stand the Heat in the Kitchen...

2009-06-23T01:18:00.000-07:00

Get into the air conditioned bedroom. Ahhhhh...Today was very hot and humid, I'd say about 85 degrees F and very humid. There was a nice breeze blowing in, but it was still a warm breeze. I'm starting to wonder how hot it needs to get for the schools to turn on the air conditioning, which they clearly have. I have a feeling that it's only going to get hotter.

Anyways, after my last post complaining about some of my trouble students, I think it's time for some praise for my good ones. One 3rd year (remember, that's 9th grade in America) student does most of his English work in cursive, which is not taught at all at this level. That means he went out on his own and taught himself. To write in neat cursive. Very impressive, I'd say. Another one of my 3rd year students (one who doesn't do any work) is an AMAZING artist. I mean, not just for a teenager. His drawings are the BEST I have seen in person. Most of them are of crazy demon-like creatures, or cartoon characters, but seriously, I think he has the creative talent to be a cartoonist right now, as a 15 year old. The English teacher in me wants him to study and excell at English, but a part of me honestly thinks "does he need to?" I mean, why should he have to learn another language if he is obviously more suited towards the arts. I just really, really hope he doesn't opt out of an arts or technical high school to become a farmer (which, in this area, is probably what his parents did). That would be a tragedy. One of my 2nd year students is fluent in English. I found out that he was born in Australia, and has a British father and a Tibetan mother. He doesn't spell in English really well, and seems to be fluent in Japanese too, so I don't think he was raised in an English speaking country. My point is, of all the kids, he probably has a right to be bored and sleep through class, but is always kind, attentive, and participates fully. There is another 3rd year student who is kinda bad at English. His handwriting is very sloppy, and his comprehension just isn't really there. He does TRY though, and that makes all the difference in the world. Most of the baseball playing jocks like him who found out 2 years ago that they just didn't understand English have completely turned off and given up on it. He has not, and in my book, that earns you a lot of respect. He also is an avid fisherman, and has told me (in Japanese) about the big bass and carp he has caught, and asks me when I will start fishing in Japan. The last one I'll tell for now is...well...kind of ego boosting. There is a 3rd year girl who has a pretty big crush on me. It's very cute, and because of it, I think she tries a lot harder in English so she can impress me.

Also, here is an artist's rendition of me by a student (but not by any of the students mentioned above):

Tessa says it looks like I belong in a Harry Potter movie, but I think I look quite dashing (that's my neck tie on the bottom) don't you think? BTW, "Mr. Kurisu" is the closest thing to "Mr. Chris" in the Japanese language.

That's all for now, but I'll leave you with topics of upcoming updates! In no order: Making a Pizza in Japan, Japanese JH Student Pop Culture, Driving in Japan, Japanese Customs, and many more! Bye!

Itako Ayame Festival

2009-06-13T22:13:00.000-07:00

Hello Friendly Blog Followers!

Yesterday was the best day Chris and I have spent in Japan so far. It started with a pre-9am knock at the door from our internet company. The man fiddled with our telephone jack, then confirmed that the connection was indeed good to go. We still needed to wait for our modem to be mailed to us, but it was progress!!!

In the afternoon, we drove down to Itako, the somewhat larger city next to Namegata. I mean, we saw a jazz bar, so it must have a nightlife. [One of my principals (called Kocho Sensei), who taught English about 20 years ago, told me a few weeks ago about a special festival in his city. He had arranged a special outing with a few other ALTs who work in Kashima, the city east of Itako on the coast of Japan. He invited Chris and I along, and of course we couldn't turn it down.]

Anyway, after driving around for awhile trying to find the designated meeting spot, we found it, parked and met up with my Kocho Sensei. We followed him, barely (the Japanese walk very fast), into the Ayame Garden (Iris Garden). There were people everywhere looking at the flowers - apparently they only bloom in June, and Itako residents make the most of it! We wandered over little bridges, down narrow pathways, over to the bank of the river that runs next to the garden. His wife was waiting and handed us our boat tickets, then we quickly shook hands with the other ALT's and a few of the Japanese homeroom teachers they work with, then were ushered into a long-ish wooden boat. It fit about 10 people, plus a man standing in back dressed in some kind of traditional costume who was pushing us down the river with a long wooden pole.

This boat ride was so neat. It was sunny and warm; we kept floating under quaint little footbridges, and every time we passed another boat everyone in it would wave and say something in Japanese that must have meant "Enjoy your ride" or "Nice to see you smiling today". I'm just assuming this because everyone was so darn pleasant.

The ride lasted 30 or 40 minutes, then when we got back the Kocho Sensei led us on a walk through the garden. We took pictures, soaked in the culture a bit, and got to know the other ALTs. Afterwards, the Kocho Sensei invited us back to his house which was all of 5 minutes away. Apparently, working as a Kocho Sensei pays pretty well, because on top of owning some house along the river bank that he pointed out, he also owns a small building and lives on the top floor with his wife. There's a restaurant that rents out the first floor, which we learned makes for convenient deliveries. We walked in, took our shoes off (pointed towards the door, of course) and as we entered the main room, we saw a large raised floor surrounded by sliding screen doors, making a closed dining room of sorts. His wife opened the doors for us, and let me just say, the feast laid out was an awesome sight. I would have taken a picture if I had known them better, but it might have been a little awkward....Anyway, there were two huge platters of sushi (at least 7 or 8 kinds: fatty tuna, scallop, sea urchin, salmon roe, shrimp, etc), another two huge platters of tempura (chicken, prawns, scallops, etc), dishes of roast pork, etc. Then Mrs. Kocho Sensei began handing out the drinks. Beer, canned cocktail mixes (like juice and sake), expensive sake, etc. Later, some Japanese vodka, called Shochu http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shochu, was brought out - Chris really liked it. We all introduced ourselves in Japanese (the Kocho Sensei's wife is a 3rd grade teacher, and he used to be a teacher, so there's always a lesson going on), and got to know each other. We ate, talked, drank, then more of each, then took a break outside on the patio where a delicious fruit plate appeared. Then back inside for yet another treat: Sweet Mochi, with different fillings...mine had something caramel-like and some cream inside. Heaven, pure heaven.

Just before 8pm, the Kocho Sensei announced that it was time for Twilight Ayame - when all the lanterns are lit in the garden and on the bridges, and The Bride (apparently a young bride in Itako is selected every year for this festival) walks through the garden. We got there, and it was even more beautiful than in the afternoon. It was a bit chilly and mist was spreading. The lanterns glowed, parents walked around holding their bundled up toddlers, and there were about 200 camera tripods set up along the river and dotted throughout the garden. What felt like ages later, the Bride finally appeared. We learned that she was actually an American ALT, but she really was getting married, so qualified somehow to take part. She was wearing a really beautiful white, old fashioned wedding kimono, with some huge head/hairpiece (she definitely didn't have long black hair like a Japanese bride would have, so the wig was important, I guess). She wore the traditional slippers with wooden blocks that you walk on. She was presented to everyone, then began the slow procession through the garden to wear a wooden boat was waiting for her. Everyone took a million pictures. Finally, she got into the boat, supposedly surrounded by many jugs of expensive sake, and then off she went to meet her groom (as legend goes).

This was all pretty amazing to watch and be a part of. Chris and I kept turning to each other as if to say, "Are we really doing this? This is fantastic!" It was a day we won't soon forget.

Hope you enjoy these pictures,

Tessa

PS: We got out internet stuff in the mail this morning, and I'm posting from our apartment!!! I even did a Skype webcam call with my brother! Posts should be a little more frequent now.

You Want Flair, I'll Show You Flair! ;)

2009-06-12T01:54:00.000-07:00

If Tessa's sweet and cute elementary school kids say "the darnedest things" Then my surly JH students say the damnedest things. More on that in a bit. As I think I have said before, the JHs have 3 grades, 1st, 2nd and 3rd (the equivalent of American 7th, 8th, and 9th grades). The first graders are mostly happy, energetic and eager to learn, or as the Japanese say, "genki". Second grade is where the students divide into 2 groups, those who hate English and those who love it. I'm watching the split happen before my very eyes, and it's kinda fascinating to watch. A 2nd grade student who at the beginning of the year was excited and attentive now will only turn his back to the teachers and flirt with the girl behind him during class. Some of my 3rd grade students (depending on the day, about 25% of them) do absolutely no work in class and either chat with other students, sleep, stare into space, or doodle. The problem is that the students are not really graded. On ANYTHING. Sure, they have exams and homework and progress reports, but all they are really for is to let the student know where they stand and what they need to work on. They do not need to reach any type of academic achievement in order to pass on to the next grade or graduate. As long as they show up, they pass. What they do need to do however, is pass entrance exams to get into high school. Going to high school is not required in Japan, though nearly all do. Some student though, who know they are headed to a technical high school rather than an academic one, know that there will be no English portion on their entrance exams and thus do not bother with learning it. They do have to show up though, and it gets kind of frustrating. The worst though, is when the students get unruly or distracting. I have no authority other than to tell them to please stop, and it is actually against the law to send a student out of the classroom unless he/she is beating the crap out of someone. One of my second grade students thought the other day, that it was more important to spend his time in class constructing a ninja throwing star out of 4 razor blades tied together with string. When I brought this to the attention of the JTE, she attempted to confiscate it from him, but I'm pretty sure she failed, and he was not repremanded for it, as far as I am aware. In America, doing something like that would probably get you suspended or expelled...

Anyways, yes, they say the damnedest things. One 3rd grade student (who never does his class work) has made it his mission to get me to unwittingly say dirty words in Japanese. I caught on to his game in time before he got what he wanted, but he still felt like he had to explain what it meant:

HIM: "(something in Japanese)" Repeat!"
ME: "No, no no, heheheh"
HIM "Pleeeeeeeeeeease!........It mean bigo penis!" (he pronounced like 'pen is', as in 'the pen is blue')
****He then gestures on his body, insinuating the size of his own****
ME: "uhhhhhhh.......I don't know what you are talking about....goodbye!"
HIM: ****stopping me from leaving**** "I rike-o bigo pen-is. eh? eh? eh?"
ME: "Sorry, I don't know what you mean, goodbye!!!"

And I ran away. He kept trying for a couple more weeks, but I think he has given up now...At least I hope so.

That said, I have some wonderful and amazing students, so many stories to tell, but they will have to wait, because I have hogged the computer for far too long, and it is Tessa's turn. Ja ne!

(Japanese) Kids say the darndest things....

2009-06-05T01:23:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone!

I've been called out on posting less frequently than Chris - in my defense, teaching 20-24 lessons per week plus doing Japanese homework is exhausting. Still, we started this blog for a reason, so....

Last week was really productive. We finally (after 2 months!) got a recycling bin from the local city hall - we didn't know we could get one there, and only just figured it out last week - so now we're not putting things in the wrong bags or in other neighbors' already full bins. I think the garbage men were starting to hate us, but now we're in the clear.

We also figured out that the internet company we had signed up with had the wrong address for us, but our helpful company coordinator spent over 30 minutes on the phone with them (they don't speak English, of course) and got them to agree to come install it a week from tomorrow. Then she took us over to a Yamada Denki, kind of like a Best Buy, but with a horribly cutesy little jingle that plays over the speakers about every 5 minutes. Anyway, she translated for us as we shopped for phone plans, and after a few hours (!) we went home with fancy new cell phones. Mine has a news ticker constantly running across the screen. Not that it's in English, however. But at least we can now call each other, or our company if something happens.

Another ALT moved into our apartment building last week, right next door to us. He's from PA, very nice, and teaches at more elementary schools than me - 10 compared to my 8! He arrived in Japan last Tuesday, and started teaching Monday of this week. He's also never taught before. So, Chris and I have been showing him around and going over lesson plans with him. It's nice to have someone else to talk to and hang out with. Obviously Chris and I love each other, but another English speaking pal is welcome!

School has been going by more quickly lately, as I get to know the kids better and develop a rapport with them. I'm learning more Japanese, and they're learning more English, so there's more of a mutually understood kind of shorthand when I'm explaining games and activities. I usually like the outgoing kids best, because they're the most creative and motivated communicators. There's a 6th grade class I see every Wednesday that I just love - it's a really small group, but they seem to try harder to talk to me, and tease me a lot. One of the girls there is called "The Comedian"; she is always joking, and using funny voices in English. A male classmate of hers is probably my favorite. Chris and I saw him playing baseball at a park during Golden Week, and when he realized Chris was my "boyfriendo" he discovered a whole uncharted territory for teasing me. I call him "Ichiro" because he's so into baseball, but the other day after he said something impressive in English class, he said I shouldn't call him Ichiro anymore. I should call him "God". Or "Baseball God", if I preferred ;)

I also get girls randomly coming up to me from behind to run their hands through my "pretty hair", and commenting on my blue eyes and "you have color contacto?" Almost every day I have some great comment to pass on to Chris. He gets even more interesting comments from his junior high students, but I'll let him post about those.

That's about it. Here are the few pictures we took in Tokyo (more next time we go, I promise), and one of a Gokiburi (cockroach) that we found in our bedroom a few weeks ago. It was huge! (Chris doesn't agree) The minute I saw it scurrying towards me, I jumped up shrieking like a poisonous snake was about to attack. Obviously, cockroaches aren't a serious physical threat.....but what can I say, I'm from the Pacific Northwest and we just don't see those kinds of things.

As I say to each class at the end of the lesson, Goodbye Everyone! See You!

Behold the Ushiku Daibutsu

2009-05-31T01:23:00.000-07:00

Today we visited the world's tallest statue, which is of Buddha, in Ushiku (wiki Ushiku Daibutsu). It wasn't too far away from where we live, maybe an hour and twenty five minutes. It was pretty great, I gotta say, the highlight of our trip to Japan so far, I think. The thing is about 120 meters tall and was built in 1993. In person it's kind of ominous and imposing. I half expected it to come to life and start walking around like the Statue of Liberty in Ghostbusters 2. "Buddha SMASH!" Seriously though, it was a great experience. We got to go up inside it, where there is a museum and gift shop, among other spiritual rooms and artifacts. There was a room that housed hundreds of golden buddha statues that lined the walls like wallpaper. Outside the Buddha, there is a sort of park with flowers, craft and food shops, and a pond with some humongous fish (carp, I think) clamoring on the edge of the water for people to throw them some food pellets that you can purchase nearby. When we left the Daibutsu (Buddha in Japanese) we discovered that it was pouring down rain. Although we got soaked, that wasn't the lowlight of the day. On our way out we saw a crowd of people out of the rain under a tarp in front of a stage, so we decided to investigate. The "show" that was going on was a woman inducing two very sad looking monkeys on leashes into doing tricks for the amusement of the crowd. They were wearing shirts and looked very depressed, especially when one of the monkeys was forced to bow after he had jumped over a very high obstacle. The worst part was when one of the monkeys was sitting on a block off to the side waiting his turn. He turned his back to the audience as if he was too ashamed to look at them. The woman, seeing this, turned his block around so he would be forced to look at the audience, but still he tried to just look down. As depressing as that was, it didn't put a damper on the entire day, and we have now returned to our home area tired and hungry. Check out the pictures below!

Tokyo

2009-05-28T02:12:00.000-07:00

Tessa and I went to Tokyo for the first time on Sunday. We rode a bus, which which only took 1:20 or so. The purpose of the trip was mainly to find the American Embassy so that when I actually do have to go there on a week day sometime soon, I won't get lost. That said we got a little lost looking for it which s a little surprising, considering its size. In Tokyo, almost all the embassies are in the same area, we passed by Spain's, Switzerland's, and other countries' until we eventually found America's, which was humongous, taking up an entire city corner with guards posted at the many entrances. After finding the Embassy, we took the subway to Shibuya (in Tokyo) to try to buy a cell phone. We wanted to buy one in Tokyo because there would be someone who spoke English there, which there was, but they were all out of the cheap phones we wanted, so we didn't get one. We walked around a crazy busy shopping district, where there is an intersection so big that hundreds of people cross it when the lights are red. We saw all manner of people there, very different from the ones in the quiet little hamlet we live in. It was also raining, but we had fun anyway.

I wanted to thank Aunt Debra for her suggestion of David Sedaris' "When You Are Engulfed in Flames". I downloaded an audiobook of it, read by Mr. Sedaris himself, and it was thouroughly entertaining. The bits about his stay in Tokyo were particularly amusing, as I can relate to all of his observations.

I have so much more t write about, but I'm tired and the library is about to close, so for now, sayonara!

A Day in the Life. . .

2009-05-19T02:21:00.000-07:00

Ok, here's a typical Tessa day from start to finish:

6:15-7am: Waking up, but trying to ignore Chris' alarm as he hits snooze at least 2 or 3 times

7am-8:15am: Getting ready for work; this sometimes includes a Japanese shower (scrubbing down and rinsing outside of the tub - there's a big drain the floor - then if there's time a soak in the actual tub). And breakfast of course, which usually consists of corn flakes, instant coffee and an apple.

8:15am: Leave for work, although every day I'm at a different school and the leave time depends on the distance I have to go. Mondays I walk to a school a few minutes away, but Fridays I have to drive 35-40 minutes.

The drive: I usually turn on the radio, and if I'm not still too sleepy I listen to the lovely classical music they play.

8:45-9am: I arrive at my AM school (although Mondays and Thursdays I am just at one school all day because they have more classes for me). I park the car, gather my bulging bag of supplies - this week it included fly swatters, laminated Feelings cards, bingo sheets, and more! - and enter the building, putting my outdoor shoes into my assigned cubby, and putting on my indoor shoes.

9am: My work day officially starts. I enter the "shokoin shitsu", or teacher's room, and say "ohaiyo gozaimasu" (the u is silent). This signifies that I am ready to work. Now I sit and prep for my first lesson, or just make smalltalk with the office people (kocho sensei - principal, kyoto sensei - vice principal, #3 (head teacher, subs in for any sick teacher), secretary, and tea lady (she brings green tea and coffee to everyone at various times of the day, cleans bathrooms, weeds and waters the grounds, and smiles a lot).

9:25-12:10pm or so: Anywhere from 1-3 lessons. I always see the 5th and 6th graders, but sometimes a school wants me to do a special lesson with another class. I've seen all ages, and they always love getting the special lesson from the Eigo Sensei.
(From around 10:15-10:30am the kids have recess and teachers have teatime/prep/meeting)

12:15ish: Kyushoku! (Lunch). I usually eat with a 5th or 6th grade class, but sometimes the schools have me eat with a different grade each week. The food is delivered to each school, where the tea lady usually warms it up or divvies it up by class. Each class rotates kids to bring the food and trays to the rooms, to serve it, and to lead the lunchtime blessing of sorts. (as one teacher pointed out, they make praying hands but "no one really believe in Buddha"). The kids all say "itadakimase" and that means we can now eat. I bring my own chopsticks and a small handkerchief, because napkins basically don't exist in Japan. Lunch usually consists of soup (miso, chowder, or a surprise), rice, veggies, and some kind of piece of fish or meat. Today we had spaghetti, a croissant, ham and spinach w/mayo dressing, and a kind of egg casserole or something.
The schools all play music during lunch, too. I've heard everything from gentle classical tracks to an instrumental medley from The Little Mermaid, to the Rocky theme music, to the Star Wars theme, to J-Pop, to mall muzak. It's kids' choice, I think.

1:00-1:35: (If I have a PM school I drive there between 1-1:15pm). Recess! I usually hang out on the playground, and say hello to the droves of 1st-4th graders that flock to me. If they don't have a class with me, my mystique remains more intact apparently. Sometimes I play dodgeball, volleyball or soccer with the kids.

1:35-1:45ish: Souji, or cleaning time. Chris already touched on this. Some of my schools seem surprised that I would want to help, as fewer teachers pitch in. But I help when I can.

1:50pm-3:30: More lessons, or if I only have one class in the PM I sit in the teacher's room and make notes on the lesson, plan games, and do busy work.

3:30-4:45: More busy work, I check email if I can, and generally just chat with teachers. My lessons are planned by the Board of Education, so I don't have a ton to do outside of the classroom. Now that C and I are doing the Japanese conversation club I can read the textbook and do homework during the lulls.

4:45: After getting my timesheet stamped, I say "osaki ni shitsurei shimasu" - this means "I'm sorry to leave before you" and it lets everyone know I'm going home.

4:45-5:15: Drive home. Radio stations play a bizarre mix of Western songs at this time. I heard Lenny Kravitz, U2, and a really trippy Peter, Paul and Mary song in one 15 min. stretch once.

5:15-7pm: Rest at home, swap day reports with Chris, make dinner. Usually stir fried chicken with rice, or grilled fish and ramen. The "just add water" ramen in Japan is worlds better than any Cup o' Noodle in the US.

7-9:30: Listen to a few podcasts, play cards, iron our work clothes for the next day, etc.

9:30-10:00 - Bedtime! Another day in the can.

Ok, that's all for this installment. Hope all is well on the Western Front.

What you can and can't find...

2009-05-19T01:50:00.000-07:00

So far, off the top of my head, here is a list of items I have been able to get, or not, in the farming area of Japan.

CAN
Milk (only really sold in 1-quart size or smaller though)
Bread -- Basically just white. Their loaves of bread are about 50-75 % an American loaf, and have only 6-8 really thick slices.
Peanut butter -- or should I say, peanut cream? Like a cross between peanut butter and caramel, this stuff has got to be even worse for you than regular peanut butter, which we were able to find eventually.
Tequila -- Jose Cuervo, over-priced but oh so nice. The Japanese liquor of choice is whiskey by far (remember Bill Murray in Lost in Translation -- "Suntory time..." ?)
A newspaper in English. -- Thank you The Japan Times
Cheese -- In very small quantities and over-priced, but not bad.
Pizza fixin's -- I can make pizza! Expect more on that in a later update.

CAN'T
Good beer -- Seriously, the stuff readily available here is terrible.
Wheat-free options -- Much to Tessa's chagrin.
Rice Noodles -- You'd think, right? They gotta be around here somewhere, I says.

That's what I can think of off the top of my head. In other news, we are getting paid for the first time on Saturday (yay!) and possibly taking our first trip t Tokyo on Sunday.

We also are now enrolled in a once a week "Japanese Conversation Club" to help us learn to better read, write, and speak Japanese. Just a little insight into the Japanese language, it is fairly easy to speak, when you know what to say, but can be very difficult to read and write. They have three different alphabets. First, is Kanji, nigh on impossible for a foreigner to learn in a short amount of time because it is very complicated and has over 30,000 different characters, almost 2,000 of which are essential for daily use. It is based on the Chinese alphabet. People and place names are always in Kanji, as well as most other things. We're not touching that one. We're working on Hiragana, Japan's own script, and Katakana, the alphabet they use for foreign and loan words. Their characters are comprised mainly of syllable sounds and 5 vowels. This is of course on top of "Romaji" (what they call roman characters) which has recently became wide-spread in use. It would look like the teacher has indeed become the student. OK, time to give Tessa the computer now. Sayonara!

Japanese School Life

2009-05-12T01:50:00.000-07:00

One thing that has surprised me is Japanese students' liberal use of the "rock, paper, scissors" game, or "janken" as they call it. They use it as a catalyst for many other games, or to decide who out of a group has to do an undesirable task. Every JH student jankens at least once a day, I'm certain.

Once a day, at every Japanese school they have cleaning time called "souji". This is usually about 15-20 minutes of quiet, methodical manual labor. The purpose of this (according to the schools) is not so much to clean the school (although it certainly does the trick, they don't have any janitors as far as I can see) but to instill a sense of responsibility on the students. At the very least it teaches them to be the neat freaks that most Japanese have grown into. The cleaning tasks have a wide range from sweeping, to wiping tables, to weeding the grass fields, to cleaning chalkboard erasers. The teachers are of course expected to help, and everyone from the principal on down does their part. At Sakuragawa I usually sweep the classroom floors, and at Edosaki I help out the other ALT sweeping debris from behind the school.

As many of you know if you know me well, I am a picky eater. You may wonder then, how I am faring in Japan, a country whose cuisine I never really cared for while living in the US. There are mixed results. At the schools, you are pretty much required to eat the school lunch with the students in their classroom (there are no cafeterias) and there are no options. Whatever the meal of the day is, that is what we ALL get served, no one is allowed to bring their lunch, unless perhaps they have specific allergies or dietary concerns, but I have never seen that happen. They do publish the schedule of lunch a month beforehand, but of course it is in Japanese, so every day is like Russian roulette for me. Sometimes the entree is a nice slice of fish or a bowl of curry (which I have discovered in Japan that I really, really like) and sometimes the dish comes with miso soup with plenty of tofu and/or seaweed or a hard boiled egg saturated in soy sauce. One thing it always has though is a salad, usually chock full of pickles and/or slathered in mayo or vinegar, things I absolutely detest. The Japanese sure do love their mayo. I am expected to set a good example for the students and clean my plate, though that certainly doesn't always happen. I usually choke down the things I don't like and savor the bits I kinda sorta like. At least the school lunch is really cheap (less than $2.50 each), and I AM eating healthier as a result.

OK, done with that long-winded post, hope it wasn't too boring. Also, if anyone has any specific questions, please ask! We would be more than happy to answer them for you. Remember, ANYONE can leave a comment here. Later!

It's not the heat that gets you...

2009-05-10T00:24:00.000-07:00

Crazy weather lately. Friday morning we were awoken by a loud rainy and windy storm. Friday evening was a torrential downpour, just crazy, with thunder and lightning to go with it. Then Saturday and Sunday was hot and sunny. Today (Sunday) was about 90 degrees F and close to 100 percent humidity. It's a good thing our apartment has an air conditioner...if only we could figure out how to properly use it, because of course, the controls are all in Japanese. I think I got it working though...One of the tougher things lately is trying to stave off boredom. There really is nothing to do in our town, even on the weekends, and right now we are a little too strapped for cash to do much traveling. We have played many games of Rummy, Uno, Mille Bornes, San Juan, and Yahtzee, they're starting to wear a little thin.

One interesting development is that we are seriously considering climbing Mt. Fuji (or as the Japanese call it, Fuji-san) this August when we have no school. I never would have thought it to be very possible before coming here, but the more research I do, the more plausible it sounds. Will keep you updated on that as the info comes.

That's it for now. Later!

2009-05-08T02:25:00.000-07:00

We found Mexican food for our 3 year anniversary! Margaritas, tacos, and cheese - but no beans anywhere!
Just one of the funny named stores in Tsukuba.
Anyone want to buy a chicken for dinner?
A local traditional dance troupe for kids, we think. Part of a festival for Golden Week in our town.

Look Ma, no dryers in Japan!!!
Chris' impressive cooking skills - documented for the first time!

Chris posing at the ocean off the Eastern coast of Japan, near the city of Kashima.
Another little friend.
Our cozy little kitchen.
Our apartment building is the tan one seen just over the bushes, with the white window shutters. Our unit is on the 2nd floor, furthest to the right.
A small shrine/cemetery just up the hill from our apartment building.
Sue, this is for you. From the pet aisle in a local drugstore.
Our lovely Western toilet! When you flush, water comes out of the little faucet spout and re-fills the tank.
Our first night in the apt - the only kitchenware we possessed was a cup, a very small pot, and like one fork. Resourcefulness was definitely called for.
Cherry blossoms just blooming in Mito during our first week in Japan.
The building in the center of the river (off in the distance) was our hotel in Mito.

Part of the Mito Station shopping center and downtown skyline.

Pictures!

2009-05-02T19:21:00.000-07:00

So here are a few photos I snapped with my iPhone (about all it's good for here in Japan, sadly). Some are great "Engrish" pics, one of a little "friend" we found outside our apartment (green bug) and one of my fly ride, a green Suzuki Alto (3 cylinders of fury!). Enjoy!

Up (to) date

2009-05-01T18:04:00.000-07:00

So yeah. Japan is great! We live in a small rural (and I mean rural) town in the Ibaraki prefecture (like a Japanese state) called Namegata. There are rice fields as far as the eye can see. I'll probably post pictures of them later when we get internet access at home (hopefully at the end of May). Right now I am posting from our local library. I have seen one white person here other than Tessa and I since we have been in Namegata.

It is the start of Golden Week in Japan, which is three seperate holidays conveniently placed at the start of the week, so including the weekend, we get 5 days off in a row. We probably won't be able to do much during this time (money is still a bit tight until we get our first paycheck) but at least we'll be able to relax. There is a really nice aquarium in Oari that we'll have to visit sometime.

In case I hadn't said yet, I work at two Japanese Junior High Schools, one three days a week, and one two days a week. Basically, my job entails planning games and worksheets to be used in the classroom during my planning periods, and providing a native English speaking example in the classroom. Everyone at both schools has been very nice and accomodating. I like both schools for different reasons. Sakuragawa JH (which literally means "Cherry Blossum River") is very small, but very new, clean and high-tech. It's easier to get to know the teachers and the people there because there is less of them to know, and I'm there more often. Edosaki JH on the other hand is HUGE, 2-3 times larger, which is nice because I can blend in a bit better, and there is another ALT there too. His name is Lito and he is from the Phillipines. He's very nice and has a wealth of knowledge about living in Japan, which he has done for 7 years. The children at both schools are great. They are always very excited or embarassed to talk to me, and most of the time very curious. The Japan JHs have 3 grades: first year, second year, and third year, which by American standards would be 7th, 8th, and 9th grade. The fist years have little to no English experience. They are very eager to learn, though. The second years are somewhat eager, and the third years...not so much. Some of the third year students blatantly do no work at all in the class and either sleep or sit there and stare.

That is all for now, hopefully I'll be able to post one more time during the holiday, maybe even some amusing stories and annecdotes! Ja, ne!

Blogging at the Tamatsukuri Library

2009-05-01T17:52:00.000-07:00

Hello again! Wow, two blog posts in one week, all this internet access is too much for me to handle!!! Haha...nothing could be further from the truth.

Japan's Golden Week begins tomorrow (although unofficially, people started celebrating last night). It goes from May 3-6, and basically combines several different holidays, including former holidays that have been replaced by new ones. I think (don't quote me on this) that during Golden Week, Japan celebrates the current Emperor's birthday, Greenery Day, Kid's Day (or just Boy's Day in the past), and a few other things. Of course, anything that gives Chris and I 3 days off (plus the preceding weekend) is fine by me!

On the list for these 5 days:
-tomorrow there is supposed to be a big boat festival on our lake, complete with a really old-fashioned boat being launched and cruising around for awhile
-maybe a trip to Tsuchiura, a city with a pop. of around 150,000 where there are actually things to do! We just want to explore the options.
-On Tuesday C and I celebrate our 3rd anniversary of unmarried couplehood, so we're driving to Tsukuba (pronounced Scuba) to find the only Mexican restaurant in our prefecture. C is really looking forward to beans and cheese and tequila!
-Maybe a drive out to the eastern coast to the town of Oarai, where there is a really neat-sounding aquarium. I'm talking big - they have dolphins! We drove past the town on our way to Mito for training, and it really reminded me of Santa Cruz, CA.
-Rest and Relaxation!!!

In global news, Swine　flu has now hit Japan. Our coordinator just emailed us with an official warning from the Japanese Ministry of Health, basically telling us not to travel to Mexico, and if we leave Japan for a trip, when we return we'll have to be tested at the airport. Otherwise, it's not a big deal. We're so used to seeing the face masks everywhere by now, that it wouldn't make any difference seeing more of them. I haven't worn one yet, but if I start getting sick I'll be expected to wear it at work, at least between lessons.

The other day, one of the homeroom teachers I work with asked me how many Japanese words I knew. Doubting myself, I said "uh, maybe 15??". Later, I realized I had completely underestimated my language acquisition during the last month. I actually wrote down all the words and phrases I've learned, and it's near 80! I'm sure I left a few off the list, too. So hurray for me! I'll be fluent in no time, right?

We signed up for home internet service, but it takes a month, apparently, so some time around May 30 I'll actually be able to post pictures! (I don't want to put them on any public computers...)

Over and Out.

3 Weeks of no internet is too long!

2009-04-24T19:22:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone,

I know you've all been holding your breath since our last post, so sorry if anyone has died of asphyxiation in these long 3 weeks. We still have no internet in our apartment, but hope to get that taken care of ASAP. We can check email at some of our schools, but it's not a place where we can blog from.

SO....We are living in a small, but fairly comfortable apartment in Asou, Namegata City. Asou used to be a tiny town, but 4 years ago it joined with a bunch of other nearby towns and became Namegata City. Think of it as a kind of neighborhood. All of Namegata City is extremely rural. We are practically surrounded by rice paddies and vegetable fields. We are constantly driving past old Japanese farmers, standing in the middle of their rice paddies working, or driving tractors down the highway very very very slowly....It's like this all over our prefecture, apparently. So no internet cafes, only one library (30 min away from our apt), and a few different shopping "plazas" we can get to within 20 or 30 min.

We loaded up at a few different 100 yen stores, where we found housewares, clothes drying racks (no dryers here!), and other miscellaneous goods. It took me at least a week to find some kind of lotion that was meant for my face (the first time I bought something that advertised a "beautiful skin experience" it turned out to be soap). Yes, aisles full of products labelled in Japanese characters is always an adventure.

School is pretty good. My first week was exhausting, what with meeting all the teachers, principals, etc, and going through a lot of the cultural niceties that I don't quite understand yet. Lots of green tea, lots. Now that I know how to drive to each school, and know the teachers I'm working with, it's much easier. I am provided with one lesson plan each week that I teach to all of my classes, with minor differences depending on the teacher. So on Mondays I am just getting a feel for that week's lesson, but by Friday I could do it in my sleep. Sometimes a class is doing a test or something, so the school throws a younger grade at me, assuming I have a lesson I can do with them. At first I was a bit overwhelmed - but grateful for all my preschool/daycamp experience. At least I know kids' songs and games I can pull out of my back pocket to do with younger kids.

I don't think anyone wants to read a 5 page blog post, although I could write 50 at this point. So I'll save some for next time. If you have Q's, please post them and I'll try to answer them in my next post.

Hope life is busy and happy for all of you - without internet we're fairly isolated. We don't even know what's going on in global news, so if something huge happens, don't expect that we'll know immediately.j

Take care, and practice your hashi (chopsticks) skills so you can keep up with us when we come back!

-Tessa Sensei / Miss Tessa (all my students call me one or both of these titles)

Japan, like woah.

2009-04-24T19:21:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lack of updates! We dont yet have net access at home, and we can't update our bog from the schools. More exciting info to (hopefully) come soon!!!

Training is done!!!

2009-04-01T00:38:00.000-07:00

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibaraki_Prefecture

Here's the link to the general area we will be living in, the Ibaraki prefecture. Our apartment will be in the town of Tamatsukuri, which is roughly 13,000 people. We haven't seen it yet, but Chris will be doing his interview with his Board of Education in Inashiki tomorrow, and he'll see some of the landscape on his drive down. Wish him luck!

I don't start till the 13th, so I don't know yet when I'll have my interview. These interviews are more for the BoE to get to know our personality and make sure we look presentable and capable. Today we practiced some Japanese, and worked on creating a short, formal introduction to the BoE or principal (and a more fun one for the first day of school when we introduce ourselves at an assembly). I'm feeling pretty good about pronunciation, but of course I need to really memorize my intro because I'll be doing at least 4 or 5 at each school I start at - that's 5 *8, so roughly 40 intros!!!

So for the next few days, we'll be hanging around our hotel in Mito, getting our hankos (signature stamps with a special character that we like or find special meaning in), and maybe doing a few local train trips to check out the region.

Hopefully the next time I post I'll have pictures to post of our area - it's a neat city!

Over and out.

Done with Training Day Two

2009-04-01T00:23:00.000-07:00

Today was less intensive so that was nice. Now I have more time to post, so I'm going to try and give as much of that info as possible.

We have been in Japan for 4 days now I think. I haven't quite had a huge culture shock yet, but things are still a bit strange. Here in Mito, there is a lot less printed English around, but it is there in some places there is, like on the cars. There are all the makes of Japanese cars that you would find in the States, like Toyota, Honda, Suzuki, Mazda, etc; but not the Models. The Models are all written in English on the backs of the cars, but they are weird ones I've never heard of, like the Toyota Noah or the Honda Wish.

There are vending machines EVERYWHERE. Not snack machines, but beverage machines that dispense everything from soda to juice to water to hot coffee in cans and even beer. In one city block there usually is at least one machine on each side of the street, at least from what I have seen in Mito and Narita.

If you have ever seen pictures or videos of Japanese people wearing white surgical masks, I can tell you, they really do wear them here. If you have a cold or flu or any type of illness like that you are expected to wear one, and I have seen people wearing them everywhere I have gone.

The Japanese do not sign their name. On anything. They have a small stamp called a "hanko" that is about the diameter of a dime in the characters of their name. Tessa and I each need to get one to secure a "gaijin card" (basically a green card) and need that to get a Japanese bank account. Our name will have to be in Katekana (one of the scripts the Japanese use).

Oh, and tomorrow I have a meeting with the Board of Education in the area I am teaching in...hopefully that goes well.

Quick Update

2009-03-31T17:18:00.000-07:00

We are now in Mito for training. Yesterday was an intense day of information overload that I dont have the time to post about now. We did find out a few bits of important information though. I will be teaching at 2 Junior High Schools in Inashiki, and Tessa will be teaching at 8, count'em, 8 elementary schools each week in Namegata and surrounding area. We will be living in a single apartment in Tamatsukuri. We will each be driving our own car that we will have to lease from the company for about $180 per month, including insurance. I start April 6th, and Tessa on the 13th. It would appear that we are some of the lucky ones. Some of the ALTs who arrived here were informed that there were no more full-time positions available. Heart lost out on some of the contracts to provide ALTs to the schools, so some ALTs only have the option of teaching part-time in Tokyo and living in a guest house and/or finding other work. Luckily, we don't fall into that group...That's all I have time for now, I will post more when we have the time.

***It is important to note that this was a decision of the various school boards, not the company we are working for.

The first 24 hours (or so)

2009-03-28T22:23:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone,

Chris has already posted the details of our flight, customs experience, hotel, etc. This is going to be a short one from me because I'm pretty exhausted - woke up at 3:30am today! I'm going to nap a bit so that we can stay up later and get ourselves on more of a schedule.

Here are a few pictures we took so far today. The first one is from my first episode of culture-shock. We were literally 50 feet off the plane, and I stopped in the ladies' room. The first thing I noticed were the ceiling to floor stall doors. But when I got into one, I thought I had opened the wrong door. There was no toilet. Only a porcelain trench built directly into the floor. All I can say is, Japanese women must be super flexible if that's what the typical toilet is like.

The car picture above might seem normal, but the name of the car is a "NOAH" - so, I had to post it for my big brother Noah.

We had a pretty good breakfast this morning at our hotel - it was a buffet featuring Japanese breakfast and Western breakfast options. The Western stuff included omelets to order, bacon, french toast, cereal, etc, while the Japanese spread included rice, cold noodles, miso soup, tofu, and various unknown meats and vegetables. Asian breakfast foods are apparently much closer to what they eat the rest of the day, rather than saving certain foods for only evening or morning.

Then we took a longish walk through the area around the hotel. It was only 6:45am or so (and a Sunday) so hardly anything was open and no one was out. But we did see interesting signs - one read "Yankee's Crew Lounge", another was apparently an American Old-West themed store/coffee shop called "Big Country" (see above). We went into a convenience store where I bought some tweezers and lotion (for your face I think, but I'm not 100% sure) - the clerks didn't speak any English and the screen that lists your purchases had so many characters and anime characters all over it that I couldn't even figure out how much I owed. But hey - we're here to learn!

Later we caught the hotel shuttle into the Narita city mall. We had wanted to see a nearby temple, too, but were so tired that we agreed we would see temples in other towns during our year in Japan. The stores were a bit overwhelming - one had like 10 rows of small anime books. I'm not used to seeing stacks and stacks of books without one word or letter that I recognize! One store was called Mother Garden - it was full of cutesy kids' toys, clothes and stuffed animals. Mainly cartoony-looking stuffed white seals wearing a variety of funny hats and clothing. One kind even sang "You Are My Sunshine" when you pressed its flipper;) I'm going to have so much fun shopping for my three nieces and my nephew!

Today at the mall, I was happy to find a "regular" toilet, although it wasn't without its own oddities. When you sit down on the seat, the sound of water running is played out of a speaker (so no one can hear your own noises, I think?). Then there were various buttons that I didn't understand, probably for bidet functions... Things are certainly interesting here!

We walked out of the mall only to see our hotel shuttle bus pulling out of the parking lot - and the next one didn't come for another 1.5 hours. So we passed the time playing cards on a bench, and I think I counted about ten different little kids who stopped to stare and/or point at us. I hadn't really gotten any strange looks until today - I'm relieved to see that kids are kids regardless of country or nationality.

Now we're lounging around in the hotel room, and will probably take a nap soon.

Over and out,

Tessa

We Are in Japan

2009-03-28T12:43:00.000-07:00

We left Sea-Tac at about 1:10 pm in a small DHC-8 twin-prop plane bound for Vancouver, BC. One quick flight later, we were in Vancouver and ready to leave North America; which we did, at about 3:15 pm in a Boeing 747-400. It was easily the largest airplane I've ever flown in, with two floors of passenger seating. It was about a 9.5 hour flight, which of course was long, but the plane was fairly comfortable. We were seated on the right hand side of the plane on the window and the seat next to it. Thankfully there were video screens in the back of the seats in front of us that had a variety of computer games, crappy movies (Madagascar 2, The Day the Earth Stood Still, Sweet November, etc.) and other things to help keep us entertained.

After we finally touched down at Narita airport we went through immigration, got our bags, went through customs, then changed some of our US cash into yen. We then waited for a shuttle to take us to the Hotel Radisson. Driving through Narita, I was surprised at how many American companies had a stronghold in the city. We passed by two 7-11s, a Mobil gas station, ads for McDonalds and Coke. A lot of things were in Japanese and English too. I don't expect that to be the norm everywhere in the country, but it will help ease us into the culture, I think. Driving on the left side of the street in a right-hand drive car might take a while to get used to, if we ever get the opportunity though. Just being in the bus and watching us drive through the city was hard enough!

We arrived at our Hotel at about 7:00 pm Japan time/3:00 am Seattle time. We were quite tired, as I'm sure you can imagine, and fell asleep by about 8:30 pm, waking up this morning at 4:00 am Japan time. The hotel is nice, and it seems most of the workers here are bi-lingual, which makes sense given the amout of tourism they must get here. There is also an "American Sports Bar" and "California Restaurant" here too. Interesting note, like in the US, the hotel here had a copy of the bible in it, but also a copy of the teachings of Buddha.

Japanese money is interesting. So far what I have seen is 1, 10, 50, 100 yen coins and some paper yen notes that don't look too different from some of the newest US dollars. The 50 yen coins have a hole in the middle. My first Japanese purchase was a bottle of apple juice from a vending machine.

Tessa will post soon too, hopefully.

Less Than 13 Hours till Takeoff!

2009-03-26T23:43:00.000-07:00

ACK! What am I still doing up? I can't turn my brain off. Too much information to process, and re-process, and on and on.

We said goodbye to 5615 Phinney Ave N. today, our first apartment together and a place of many happy memories for us. Except for the mold problem. Really not going to miss that. . .

Tomorrow we get up around 7am or so, pack a few last minute toiletries, get our documents together, and bid Seattle a fond farewell.

Our first plane takes off around 1pm, then we arrive in Vancouver, BC around 2pm. Around 3pm we get on our Japan Air flight and 1o+hours later we arrive at Narita Int'l Airport! (1:30am-ish PST, 5:30 pm Saturday Japan time!!) Then we take a shuttle to the nearby Radisson hotel and either crash into bed or stay up for hours on end, depending on how we respond to jet lag and time zone issues.

Monday morning we go back to the airport, catch a bus, and 2 hours later arrive in Mito, where our company headquarters are located. We will stay in a small hotel there for several days.

Tuesday morning we begin training, and supposedly will meet a Board of Education, whose directors will ask us fairly superficial questions, and when we pass with flying colors, we might just finally find out what city/town we'll be living in for the next year!!!! We'll also meet 30 or so other ALTs (Asst. Language Teachers) who will all be from other english speaking countries - can't wait to see where they're all from! We may make some good friends that we can hook up with later on.

Wednesday - more training.
Thursday - Moving to our new apartment somewhere within the Kanto region of Japan???
the next Monday - our first day teaching in Japanese schools (we think...)

There's a lot going on for us in the next several days, but we'll try to post at least once from our hotel in Narita just to let everyone know we've landed safely.

Take care, and we hope you'll leave a comment to let us know how you're doing!!

The Home Stretch is in Sight

2009-03-24T08:45:00.000-07:00

We got a lot of moving things done yesterday, packing took a load down to the dump and a load down to our storage unit. Hopefully today we can get the last of our "big" things out of the apartment, i.e. a couple boxes, the mattress, one TV, a coffee table and an end table. We have less time today because I have to pick up my work Visa at the Japanese Consulate, teach my last class for SCT, switch vehicles with Tessa's dad, and drive up to Everett for dinner with my dad. At this point, we're shooting to have everything done by Thursday. Every day, we keep getting closer and closer...

On Sunday my mother threw a going away party for me. It was really a lot of fun, and it was great to see so many family members that I haven't seen in awhile. Everyone was so supportive of our trip. There was also a huge spread of yummy food that I am sure to miss in Japan.

Well, time now to take a shower and get ready for another long day...

Packing up!

2009-03-20T22:03:00.000-07:00

It's really that time. Chris and I leave in exactly a week, and while we've made some headway there's still a ton to do! I just took this picture, which only shows about 1/3 of our box-filled, half-packed apartment. It's difficult to "find your center" when your home base is chaos. . .ugh.

Tomorrow we take most of the furniture to our storage unit, and will continue schlepping boxes over the next few days, thanks to my Dad's trusty pickup. (Actually, Dad's the trusty one) I haven't seen the unit yet, and keep having images of everything not fitting!

Next week we'll be cleaning the apt, not sleeping, running errands, packing what we're actually going to take to Japan, not sleeping, trying to study Japanese phrases, organizing our customs/flight info, picking up medical documents, dropping lots and lots of stuff at the Goodwill, trying to see friends one last time, visiting family members, not sleeping, and finally, picking up our visas from the Japanese Consulate - mine will be ready only 24 hours before we fly out, how's that for a nail-biter? Hmm....I don't know if this list is long enough ;)

The next time I post, I hope to God that we've received our placement in Japan! Then I can post links to info about that area, and start to find out a bit about it myself. Then I might start sleeping a bit more.

Please message or email Chris and I with your mailing addresses (if we don't already have them) so we can compile a good postcard list!

Take care, and send us luck!

Packing up.

2009-03-08T22:49:00.000-07:00

This last week Tessa and I have finally started packing our things up. So far it has mostly been books, DVDs, X-box games, Vinyl LPs, etc; things we won't be needing for now. I loaded up the first round of boxes in my car and dropped them off at the storage space today. And so the move has begun...

Tessa spent this weekend visiting family on Orcas Island. Her family is spread out a lot more than mine, stretching all up and down the West coast and into New York. I'm fortunate enough to have my entire immediate family withing a 1.5 hour drive. I'm kinda starting to realize that I've taken their proximity to me for granted. I haven't visited them as much as I should have, and now I'm going to be away for (slightly) over a year without seeing them. Not to mention the friends I'm going to miss as well. I spent last night bar-hopping with Alina and some of her friends, and some mutual friends I have not seen in a while. To all my friends, I'm going to miss every one of you. Tessa and I are going to do our best to update this blog regularly so you all will know what's going on with us. Please let us know what is going on with you too!

We leave in less than 3 weeks, and I have 10 days left at Sears. Everything is going so fast!

24 Days to go!!!

2009-03-03T18:18:00.000-08:00

In some ways, I wish the trip was here already. The anticipation is getting too much to handle. However, looking at the list of things we have to do in those 24 days makes me glad we have them. I don't know how it will all happen. I may start praying for heavenly assistance.

We're still waiting for our visas to show up. I'm watching the mail like a crazy woman, but it doesn't seem to hurry anything up. I guess watched pots and all that. . .

I may be vigilant about visas, but for packing up the apartment? That's a different story. I know it needs to be done, but it's going to be such a big chore that it's starting to loom over me like a black cloud of doom. I think I'm also nervous and a little sad to pack up our life that we've built together in our apartment. Obviously we'll still live together in Japan, but in the beginning we're not going to have much and the apartment there is going to be tiny and barren. But there's something to be said for de-cluttering your life to such a degree - we're going to take only the essentials with us, so it'll be a lesson in undoing our own materialistic tendencies.

Before I go, I'll leave you with this short youtube video. It was produced by our employer, the Heart English School, to entice young college grads like ourselves into moving to Japan to teach.

Enjoy the songs, they're my favorite ;)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-akA3FXF5B0

Going Without for One Year

2009-02-15T13:31:00.000-08:00

I have been making a list in my head of all the things I will miss while being in Japan for a year. In no particular order:

-Friends and family --- Hey, anyone want to go to Japan on vacation in the next year? eh? eh?
-Cheeses, especially Tillamook medium chedder
-Micro brews, especially Mac and Jack's
-Cereal
-Going to indie rock concerts
-The familiarity of Western Washington
-Improv
-Western theatre
-Mexican food
-American TV ---Thank goodness for Hulu
-A decent sized living space
-Cheap bars/happy hour
-My DVD collection
-Going to see the Mariners

Probably lots more too, but that's what I have off the top of my head. Of course, in absence of these things I will be forced to assimilate myself into Japanese culture, which is good -- it's part of the reason for this adventure -- but I know it's going to be tough. I've never visited another country before, other than Canada (and that really doesn't count) and I have lived my whole life in Western Washington state. I am probably most worried about the food situation. I'm not the most adventurous eater, and really the only type of Asian food I enjoy is Teriyaki, which is not traditional Japanese cuisine. I'm sure I'll survive, but it is not going to be easy.

One Step for Tessa & Chris - One Step closer for all of our kind

2009-02-13T18:11:00.001-08:00

Plane tickets - purchased!!! We fly out of Seattle Friday March 27th, make a quick connection in Vancouver BC, then we arrive at Tokyo's Narita International Airport Saturday March 26th!! We also make reservations at a nearby hotel for Saturday and Sunday. We wanted a few days to adjust to the time difference before our training starts. On Monday the 30th we'll check out, and take a bus ride up to Mito, where we will begin our 2 day training the next day. We'll stay there until our apartment is ready for us, although of course we still don't know where that apt. will be.

It feels like time has been going so quickly since we started this process - I can't believe we leave in 6 weeks! I went and purchased my international driver's license today, although I am hoping I will find an excuse to not have to drive on the other side of the road. . .I'm a wimp, what can I say?

We still have so much to do :
-reserve storage unit
-buy some professional clothing items (no jeans in the classroom!)
-sell Chris' car
-pack up our apt, and try and decide what to take with us to Japan
-meet with bank rep about international financial transactions (we will need to transfer Japanese funds over to our US accounts to pay bills while we're gone)
-many, many other small details.

Send us calming thoughts, please!

I'm an Authorized Author too!

2009-02-08T22:44:00.001-08:00

My turn for an obligatory post, just to let all of you readers from my side of the aisle know that I will be writing on here too.

In case you'd like to know more about the area we will probably be working and living in:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibaraki_Prefecture

We'll let you know what city/town we're assigned to as soon as we know. Apparently we could find out this crucial info even as late as the day we start training - ridiculous! But we're learning that we just have to go with the flow. This state of mind should help us sleep at night while we're waiting for our visas to arrive. . .

Can't wait to post more news and info for all you friends and family. Feel free to post questions and comments!

Obligatory First Post

2009-02-08T21:57:00.000-08:00

This is Chris and Tessa's blog chronicling their 1 year adventure in Japan as ALTs (Assistant Language Teachers) teaching English in Japan. We wanted to start this before we left to give everyone an idea of what we are doing to prepare before we leave. I think I'd like to start out by answering some FAQs. As of yet, we are still in Seattle prepping for the move. We will be most likely be leaving on Friday, March 27th, but plane tickets have not yet been bought. Our contract will have us employed from April 1st 2009 to March 31st 2010. We still do not know exactly where we will be living, but it is likely to be somewhere in the Kanto region, perhaps Mito or Ibaraki. We will be working 4 days a week in a Japanese Junior High, and one day a week at an elementary school. At the Junior High we will be basically the in-classroom English native-speaking support for a Jappanese teacher of English (whose knowlege of the English language is not necessarily great). At the Elementary school we pretty much create our own curriculum and teach it as we will. We are contracted out to the schools by a company called Heart Corporation. As of yet Tessa and I know little to nothing of the Japanese language. Tessa and I will be living together (as we have for the past year and a half) in what will likely be a tiny apartment no bigger (maybe smaller) than a dorm room. That is some of the basic cold information, I will post more of my thoughts, feelings, ruminations, hopes, and fears later.