Random Pictures

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!

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

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:
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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

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!) :)

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...

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

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.