This past weekend was a rather uneventful weekend, but productive, to say the least. I spent some quality time with Natalie (but when do I not?) and we did some really good Christmas shopping. Thanksgiving is barely over and we've all but killed our Christmas shopping list. That's probably a record for me because I usually wait till the very, very last minute. Yes, I'm one of those people. But considering that I live in Japan, I don't really have a choice...unless I want to be one of those people that gives his Christmas gifts two weeks late.
Christmas shopping is always one of those things I dread. I always feel like my Christmas gifts are a bit subpar and it's always a pain in the butt to try to decide what to get. There are so many cool things to choose from and then of course you have to set a budget for everything. I wish I didn't have to budget but that's reality right? Plus there are the crowds. Ah, the dreadful crowds! Japan is apparently no different in that department. For a country that is over 90% Buddhist or Shinto, Christmas sure is popular. I suppose it's because gift giving is one of the most intriguing cultural aspects of Japan and also one of the more popular things to do, Christmas or not. I don't really have any idea why Christmas is so popular here (it wasn't too popular in Korea, that's for sure). I can't complain though. It's always nice to feel some Christmas spirit. The only thing that is different (so far) is that I haven't seen any homes with any decorations, big or small. That's definitely one of the cool things about America; the Christmas decorations.
This weekend also happened to be the grand opening of a new mall in Kurashiki. It's the big event of the year so it seemed like all of Japan was stuffed into this tiny little big mall. Definitely like sardines in a can. But either way, it was fun exploring the new mall. There are a lot of cool stores in Japan. Everything is slightly more interesting. Fashion is nicer and every little thing a ma jig is cooler, in my opinion. What's really interesting though is how American the Japanese malls feel. For one, they are filled with American brands like Disney, Toys R us, Nike, etc. And then there's just the feel of the malls. They look like American malls, from the decor to the size of them. I can't put my finger on it actually. They just feel so damn American...except that they are filled with Japanese people and they're just classier in a Japanese sort of way.
So yeah, we explored this new mall, and we were really unproductive for a while. Maybe it's because we were stuck on walking around and exploring the new stores, but it ended up frustrating me because we were neither Christmas shopping nor winter clothing shopping (our second goal). By the end of the day though we had purchased a pretty decent amount of Christmas gifts.
Today was pretty much more of the same. We finished up our Christmas shopping and bought some much needed winter clothing. It's pathetic how badly equipped for winter Texans are. Usually, throwing a jacket over your T-shirt, running to your car, and waiting for your heater to turn on is enough to survive even the most grueling of Texas winters. Not so where we live. It's mostly because our main methods of transportation are our bikes and our feet. So yeah, we spent a small fortune on winter stuff. It was fun though.
I'm also really excited to hear that the NBA lockout has all but officially ended. As a huge Rockets fan, I was really bummed to hear that the season was a hair's length from being cancelled. I need my basketball. Although I probably won't be watching any games this year, I can still watch highlights and read about the games! I'm really excited to see where my team is headed this year. Championship, right?
But yeah, other wise, I've got a long week ahead of me. I'll be looking forward to finishing up the Wire (3 more episodes), taking some fucking names, and kicking some ASS at my school. By that, I mean that I'm going to be an awesome teacher...or am I?
Monday, November 28, 2011
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Earmuffs
+ I need earmuffs. It's cold...brrr...
+ if it feels like late fall when you're walking around outside, it feels like the middle of February when you're on your bike. I'm worried about what the middle of February will actually feel like on a bike. Post-apocalyptic Antarctica?
+ Another breed of turd nugget has emerged during my parent ops: The student whose parents are absent but decides to act extra retarded for the day, hence ruining a good class for the rest of the students who are actually acting better than usual.
+ Pay day is tomorrow. I very exciiiite.
+ Happy Thanksgiving to everyone back home!
+ if it feels like late fall when you're walking around outside, it feels like the middle of February when you're on your bike. I'm worried about what the middle of February will actually feel like on a bike. Post-apocalyptic Antarctica?
+ Another breed of turd nugget has emerged during my parent ops: The student whose parents are absent but decides to act extra retarded for the day, hence ruining a good class for the rest of the students who are actually acting better than usual.
+ Pay day is tomorrow. I very exciiiite.
+ Happy Thanksgiving to everyone back home!
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
NO vember
So, it's been a few days since I've written on here. I've sort of had my plate full, but with nothing really big going on. This is going to be one of those posts that is all over the place. So, when you have many things to say and nothing major to say, you make a list. Here goes:
+ I had the day off today. It's a random day to have off considering that it breaks up my work schedule nicely. I'm not complaining though. I've asked a few Japanese people what this holiday is about and I could never seem to get a clear cut "BAM BAM" answer but apparently, today is Japanese labor day. It seems like every time I ask someone what a particular holiday or festival is about, I can never get a clear cut answer. Either way, I don't mind these random holidays. There is nothing better than a one day week.
+ Speaking of my one day week, this is the first time in a long long time that I've done almost nothing. Today, I woke up, called my family (for the first time in some time since I've been away quite frequently) and spent the rest of the day lounging about, eating, watching TV, and generally being lazy. Of course, I was a bit productive in other things, but for the most part, I was a lazy bum. It was a much needed day off.
+ Speaking of watching TV, Natalie and I just finished watching Season 4 of HBO's the Wire and we're about halfway through Season 5. And all, I have to say is WOW. What a ridiculously great show! It's so good. I'll try my hand at a full review when I finish with Season 5. Preparing my TV critic's hat...3..2..1...
+ And also speaking of family, it seems like everyone in Houston and Canada is doing quite well. The big news is that my family in Houston just moved to a new house. I'm not sure how I feel about that, to say the least. I'm sure the house is nice and all, and they sound happy about the move. I'm excited to see it. It's just that I feel like I had just started to feel comfortable with the house in Sugar Land, especially considering that I've been away from home for years. It will feel weird coming to a new house.
+ Me and Nat went to a pretty awesome Thanksgiving party with all of the trimmings this past weekend. It's something that was really unexpected since I had pretty much convinced myself that a proper Thanksgiving is something I'd never get to experience while living in Asia. Turkey's don't seem to be a hit with the native's after all. But yeah, the dinner was delicious: Turkey, mashed potatoes, veggies, stuffing, cranberry sauce, yams (kind of prepared by me and Nat), bread rolls, and pumpkin pie. The food coma afterwards was definitely well worth it. More importantly was the fact that the party was a lot of fun. One thing that Natalie mentioned recently was on the sense of community that we feel as English teacher's. After all, we are a minority group in a foreign country. Everyone is really friendly and it's nice to see that sense of community. Thanksgiving was fun in that respect.
+ Last week marked the beginning of the truly awkward Parent's observation week at my school. I was very unfortunate to experience such a disastrous event last year but this year, the school I work for has decided to kick up the ante. While I was only observed for a grand total of 40 minutes between 2 classes last year, this year I am being observed in each and every class that I teach for the full class. Yes, even the parent's that I teach are bringing their own 80 year old parents to observe me! Either way, it's no fun. It's just a nerve wrecking experience for the students (who want to do well in front of their parents), the parents (who want to make sure their kids are enjoying the course and that they are getting their money's worth), the company (who wants to make sure the parents are happy), and the teacher (for very obvious reasons). So far, Operation Parent has gone okay for me but since I've only been observed 6 times, I expect that the upcoming week where I get observed 20 times will be slightly more stressful.
+ Concerning Operation Parent, it's very interesting what having a parent in the classroom will do to a child's behavior. There are kids who decide that they suddenly can't say a word (in any language: Japanese, English, or Swahili...doesn't matter). Then, there are kids who can't say anything properly. My favorites are obviously the bad kids that decide that they want to behave really well for their parents. This serves the double purpose of slapping the teacher in the face (in that now we know that the little turd nugget just chooses to be a little turd nugget) and it also shows the parent's how awesome their child and teacher are (NOT). My least favorite of course are the good students that all of a sudden decide to dress up as little turd nuggets for the week. All of a sudden, they think that rolling all over the classroom as if there were an uncontrollable fire in the middle of the classroom is okay. It's not. Turd nuggets...
+ This brings me to my next point concerning Parent Ops. It gives nobody a real idea about what the classroom is all about. Everyone is either on their best (or worst) behavior. It all makes for a very interesting week in Japan. I'm sure I'll look back on this one fondly.
+ Winter is Coming. Yes, that was my attempt to reference one of my favorite books. But what I meant was that it's getting cold. We're scrambling to come up with winter gear before it kicks our ass. Speaking of winter gear, Japan has this awesome thing called Heat Tech clothing. Whatever it is, and whether it's even Japanese...I don't care. I just know that it's warm. Really warm.
+ That probably concludes my list of thoughts. I'm sure that there are more hanging around in what we call my brain but they don't seem to want to come out and play at this time. Our plate is all full for December already. We've got Christmas parties, Christmas shopping, birthday parties, trips out of town, and then Tokyo! It should be another eventful month. I can't wait. Oh also, look out for another photomic bomb on Natalie's Facebook in the next few days.
+ I had the day off today. It's a random day to have off considering that it breaks up my work schedule nicely. I'm not complaining though. I've asked a few Japanese people what this holiday is about and I could never seem to get a clear cut "BAM BAM" answer but apparently, today is Japanese labor day. It seems like every time I ask someone what a particular holiday or festival is about, I can never get a clear cut answer. Either way, I don't mind these random holidays. There is nothing better than a one day week.
+ Speaking of my one day week, this is the first time in a long long time that I've done almost nothing. Today, I woke up, called my family (for the first time in some time since I've been away quite frequently) and spent the rest of the day lounging about, eating, watching TV, and generally being lazy. Of course, I was a bit productive in other things, but for the most part, I was a lazy bum. It was a much needed day off.
+ Speaking of watching TV, Natalie and I just finished watching Season 4 of HBO's the Wire and we're about halfway through Season 5. And all, I have to say is WOW. What a ridiculously great show! It's so good. I'll try my hand at a full review when I finish with Season 5. Preparing my TV critic's hat...3..2..1...
+ And also speaking of family, it seems like everyone in Houston and Canada is doing quite well. The big news is that my family in Houston just moved to a new house. I'm not sure how I feel about that, to say the least. I'm sure the house is nice and all, and they sound happy about the move. I'm excited to see it. It's just that I feel like I had just started to feel comfortable with the house in Sugar Land, especially considering that I've been away from home for years. It will feel weird coming to a new house.
+ Me and Nat went to a pretty awesome Thanksgiving party with all of the trimmings this past weekend. It's something that was really unexpected since I had pretty much convinced myself that a proper Thanksgiving is something I'd never get to experience while living in Asia. Turkey's don't seem to be a hit with the native's after all. But yeah, the dinner was delicious: Turkey, mashed potatoes, veggies, stuffing, cranberry sauce, yams (kind of prepared by me and Nat), bread rolls, and pumpkin pie. The food coma afterwards was definitely well worth it. More importantly was the fact that the party was a lot of fun. One thing that Natalie mentioned recently was on the sense of community that we feel as English teacher's. After all, we are a minority group in a foreign country. Everyone is really friendly and it's nice to see that sense of community. Thanksgiving was fun in that respect.
+ Last week marked the beginning of the truly awkward Parent's observation week at my school. I was very unfortunate to experience such a disastrous event last year but this year, the school I work for has decided to kick up the ante. While I was only observed for a grand total of 40 minutes between 2 classes last year, this year I am being observed in each and every class that I teach for the full class. Yes, even the parent's that I teach are bringing their own 80 year old parents to observe me! Either way, it's no fun. It's just a nerve wrecking experience for the students (who want to do well in front of their parents), the parents (who want to make sure their kids are enjoying the course and that they are getting their money's worth), the company (who wants to make sure the parents are happy), and the teacher (for very obvious reasons). So far, Operation Parent has gone okay for me but since I've only been observed 6 times, I expect that the upcoming week where I get observed 20 times will be slightly more stressful.
+ Concerning Operation Parent, it's very interesting what having a parent in the classroom will do to a child's behavior. There are kids who decide that they suddenly can't say a word (in any language: Japanese, English, or Swahili...doesn't matter). Then, there are kids who can't say anything properly. My favorites are obviously the bad kids that decide that they want to behave really well for their parents. This serves the double purpose of slapping the teacher in the face (in that now we know that the little turd nugget just chooses to be a little turd nugget) and it also shows the parent's how awesome their child and teacher are (NOT). My least favorite of course are the good students that all of a sudden decide to dress up as little turd nuggets for the week. All of a sudden, they think that rolling all over the classroom as if there were an uncontrollable fire in the middle of the classroom is okay. It's not. Turd nuggets...
+ This brings me to my next point concerning Parent Ops. It gives nobody a real idea about what the classroom is all about. Everyone is either on their best (or worst) behavior. It all makes for a very interesting week in Japan. I'm sure I'll look back on this one fondly.
+ Winter is Coming. Yes, that was my attempt to reference one of my favorite books. But what I meant was that it's getting cold. We're scrambling to come up with winter gear before it kicks our ass. Speaking of winter gear, Japan has this awesome thing called Heat Tech clothing. Whatever it is, and whether it's even Japanese...I don't care. I just know that it's warm. Really warm.
+ That probably concludes my list of thoughts. I'm sure that there are more hanging around in what we call my brain but they don't seem to want to come out and play at this time. Our plate is all full for December already. We've got Christmas parties, Christmas shopping, birthday parties, trips out of town, and then Tokyo! It should be another eventful month. I can't wait. Oh also, look out for another photomic bomb on Natalie's Facebook in the next few days.
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Photo Ops
So yesterday, my co-workers, manager, and I took a group picture together. I'm not sure what the photo is for. Could be for the website or it could be for some other purpose. Either way it's irrelevant. The thing is that we took a perfectly nice picture. Everyone looked rather presentable and the six of us were standing in rows of three: three kneeling in the front and three kneeling in the back. Each of our heads (within the row) were about a foot apart from each other. These details, however, are a little more noteworthy.
Today, I got to experience first hand what Japanese perfectionism is all about. I feel like Japan approaches perfectionism like the Taliban approaches extreme religious views. That it to say, it's extreme. My hunch is that most Japanese people aren't that perfectionist but that the people at the top of the corporate world really care about appearing perfect. When I arrived at work today, my manager notified myself and the rest of the Japanese staff that our picture had failed to meet the standards of Japanese perfection. Instead of having our heads be one foot apart from one another, we needed to be about an inch or two from each other. Basically, we needed to be able to smell one another's breaths. My manager even showed me our old picture with a little graph drawn on it to show just exactly how our heads should be placed.
So, yeah, no big deal right? Well, this new photo shoot took us about 20 minutes to complete. Here were some of the reasons why we had to retake the same picture a million time:
And also, I don't want to pigeon hole every Japanese into being some kind of freakish robot. That couldn't be further from the truth. Their individuality often shines brightly but it just seems like Japan as a whole cares way more about these types of things than just about everywhere I've been (including Korea). But hey, I've hardly been anywhere, right?
Today, I got to experience first hand what Japanese perfectionism is all about. I feel like Japan approaches perfectionism like the Taliban approaches extreme religious views. That it to say, it's extreme. My hunch is that most Japanese people aren't that perfectionist but that the people at the top of the corporate world really care about appearing perfect. When I arrived at work today, my manager notified myself and the rest of the Japanese staff that our picture had failed to meet the standards of Japanese perfection. Instead of having our heads be one foot apart from one another, we needed to be about an inch or two from each other. Basically, we needed to be able to smell one another's breaths. My manager even showed me our old picture with a little graph drawn on it to show just exactly how our heads should be placed.
So, yeah, no big deal right? Well, this new photo shoot took us about 20 minutes to complete. Here were some of the reasons why we had to retake the same picture a million time:
- Our chins weren't in a straight line.
- Our bodies weren't even with the company logo (on the wall)
- Our hair was hiding one another's faces.
- Our bodies were incorrectly rotated
- Our smiles weren't big enough
- Our eyes were closed
- The front row wasn't aligned properly with the back row
And also, I don't want to pigeon hole every Japanese into being some kind of freakish robot. That couldn't be further from the truth. Their individuality often shines brightly but it just seems like Japan as a whole cares way more about these types of things than just about everywhere I've been (including Korea). But hey, I've hardly been anywhere, right?
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Lost and Find It For You
So on the way home for Hattoji, Natalie and I were unlucky enough to leave a really nice item on our train. So usually, when you lose something on a train that is heading away from your town, you kind of just say forget about it. It's never coming back you know? Someone will take it. Being the realist that I am, I had given up. But luckily for us, Natalie didn't and she suggested that we inquire about our lost item at the lost and found.
I honestly thought that it was a bad idea because seriously, in any place in the world, the lost and found counter is as useless as bringing sword to a gun fight. They don't usually do anything except accept what people bring back (which is not often) or collect things they find in their respective building. Not so in Japan. Upon arrival at the lost and found counter, we were cordially welcomed and asked to provide a description of our item, where it was left, when it was lost, and our contact information. We were told that we would receive a phhone call notifying us on whether they had it or not.
Withing an hour, we received a phone call saying that they had the item and that we could pick it up later that evening. So that means that they literally sent someone to retrieve it where it was left (implying that noone thought about taking it for their own personal use) and then put it on another train so to that it could come back to where we were. To me, that just blows my mind. Only in Japan...the land of if it's lost, they'll find it for you.
I honestly thought that it was a bad idea because seriously, in any place in the world, the lost and found counter is as useless as bringing sword to a gun fight. They don't usually do anything except accept what people bring back (which is not often) or collect things they find in their respective building. Not so in Japan. Upon arrival at the lost and found counter, we were cordially welcomed and asked to provide a description of our item, where it was left, when it was lost, and our contact information. We were told that we would receive a phhone call notifying us on whether they had it or not.
Withing an hour, we received a phone call saying that they had the item and that we could pick it up later that evening. So that means that they literally sent someone to retrieve it where it was left (implying that noone thought about taking it for their own personal use) and then put it on another train so to that it could come back to where we were. To me, that just blows my mind. Only in Japan...the land of if it's lost, they'll find it for you.
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Hattoji
This weekend, Natalie and I (and 9 other people) made the trek all the way out to an international villa tucked away in a little place called Hattoji. An international villa is basically a place set out by the Japanese government specifically designated for foreigners to rent out and be able to experience Japanese culture. To be honest, before going to Hattoji, I had no idea where and what we were going to. I thought that it was just going to be a bunch of being drinking in a villa, but honestly it ended up being more than that.
Hattoji is a really nice area. The villa is way up in the mountains and nestled in a valley. There is not a store in sight. Every house is traditional, and it's all very rural. It's extremely quiet and free of pollution. The villa itself was a highlight. It was a like a house straight out of a Samurai movie set. The place had tatami mats, screen doors, and even a hearth in the middle of the house to cook food on. It was really special and as soon as we got there, everyone knew that we were going to be in a for a good weekend. Besides just staying in the place, we went out and explored a bit of the surroundings. There was a small festival going on and like all other Japanese festivals I've been to, I had no idea what it was for but that didn't stop me from enjoying what turned out to be one of the stranger things I've seen in Japan (and that's saying a lot). Having lived in Texas for a long time, it was a pleasure to see Japan representing Texas. At the festival, there was a group of about 20 elderly women (in their 60's I'd day) dressed in jeans, cowboy hats, red cowboy shirts, cowboy boots, and other awesome cowcessories doing their best country dance number to a techno version of John Denver's "Take me Home". It was quite a sight to see. They were the least smiley group of Cowgirls I've ever seen, but seemed to love it anyways. Either way, it was strange to see especially considering that we were in the middle of nowhere and the festival was sparsely attended. And so, that was the festival in a nut shell. I also got to enjoy some roasted squid, sweet potato fries, and some very icey Ice cream. Japan sure is fun.
Throughout the day, we got to explore more of the surroundings such as a nearby Temple hidden in a quite forest. It was creepy but it is nice to enjoy those types of places as usually they are filled with tourists. We also observed a skilled wood carver at work, which was impressive. Otherwise, it was just nice to spend the day with a really fun, funny, and nice group of people. Everyone was super friendly and easy to get along with. It always makes for a memorable trip. We ate Nabe (Japanese stew) for the first time and played a lot of fun drinking games. I ended up playing one of the most fun games of King's Cup that I''ve had the pleasure of playing in a long time. Some of the rules that were added were things like no pronouns, no pointing, and prohibiting the use of the word drink. By the end of the game, we resorted to cave man English such as "English is the becoming hardness" and "man there imbibe now". We listened to some good music and even had an awesome guitar player to listen to at one point. It was all in the name of fun.
On the second day, things were a little more lax. We hiked up a small mountain and explored more of the considerably beautiful surroundings. We were all a little tired but it didn't stop us from enjoying the rest of our time there. In the end, Hattoji is a place I'd really like to go back to. It was really beautiful, peaceful, and even mysterious at times. Just being able to breath in some fresh air and to be free of noise pollution is a treat in and of itself. I'm hoping to find other hidden gems with Natalie so that we can escape the bustle and noise of the city.
Hattoji is a really nice area. The villa is way up in the mountains and nestled in a valley. There is not a store in sight. Every house is traditional, and it's all very rural. It's extremely quiet and free of pollution. The villa itself was a highlight. It was a like a house straight out of a Samurai movie set. The place had tatami mats, screen doors, and even a hearth in the middle of the house to cook food on. It was really special and as soon as we got there, everyone knew that we were going to be in a for a good weekend. Besides just staying in the place, we went out and explored a bit of the surroundings. There was a small festival going on and like all other Japanese festivals I've been to, I had no idea what it was for but that didn't stop me from enjoying what turned out to be one of the stranger things I've seen in Japan (and that's saying a lot). Having lived in Texas for a long time, it was a pleasure to see Japan representing Texas. At the festival, there was a group of about 20 elderly women (in their 60's I'd day) dressed in jeans, cowboy hats, red cowboy shirts, cowboy boots, and other awesome cowcessories doing their best country dance number to a techno version of John Denver's "Take me Home". It was quite a sight to see. They were the least smiley group of Cowgirls I've ever seen, but seemed to love it anyways. Either way, it was strange to see especially considering that we were in the middle of nowhere and the festival was sparsely attended. And so, that was the festival in a nut shell. I also got to enjoy some roasted squid, sweet potato fries, and some very icey Ice cream. Japan sure is fun.
Throughout the day, we got to explore more of the surroundings such as a nearby Temple hidden in a quite forest. It was creepy but it is nice to enjoy those types of places as usually they are filled with tourists. We also observed a skilled wood carver at work, which was impressive. Otherwise, it was just nice to spend the day with a really fun, funny, and nice group of people. Everyone was super friendly and easy to get along with. It always makes for a memorable trip. We ate Nabe (Japanese stew) for the first time and played a lot of fun drinking games. I ended up playing one of the most fun games of King's Cup that I''ve had the pleasure of playing in a long time. Some of the rules that were added were things like no pronouns, no pointing, and prohibiting the use of the word drink. By the end of the game, we resorted to cave man English such as "English is the becoming hardness" and "man there imbibe now". We listened to some good music and even had an awesome guitar player to listen to at one point. It was all in the name of fun.
On the second day, things were a little more lax. We hiked up a small mountain and explored more of the considerably beautiful surroundings. We were all a little tired but it didn't stop us from enjoying the rest of our time there. In the end, Hattoji is a place I'd really like to go back to. It was really beautiful, peaceful, and even mysterious at times. Just being able to breath in some fresh air and to be free of noise pollution is a treat in and of itself. I'm hoping to find other hidden gems with Natalie so that we can escape the bustle and noise of the city.
Monday, November 14, 2011
Hiroshima Re-Dux
As previously mentioned in my last post, last weekend marked my second visit to wonderful Hiroshima city. I had been wanting to write about our trip there since I returned but there has just been no time. I've been going out of town very frequently the last few months. That has definitely been a big, positive change from life back home, and even life back in Korea. While living in Seoul, it was just so easy to just wing it because let's face it, we were in a big city. Living in a smaller, more rural city has forced us to make more plans on the weekends...hence why we've been away so often and it's been hard to find time to do much of anything. I'm really enjoying it however.
So, on to Hiroshima...the last time we visited Hiroshima, we were mainly there to experience the Sake festival but ended up being able to learn a bit about Hiroshima's very dark recent history. This time, armed with a three day weekend, we thought it would be cool to head to Hiroshima as a way to visit nearby Miyajima Island (supposedly one of the three most beautiful places in all of Japan). We got to explore quite a bit of Hiroshima, outside of it's nuclear history.
So once again, Hiroshima is a really nice place. I find it nice in that it's one of those cities that is not too large, but yet still big enough (in comparison to where we live) to not get bored. It's also easy to navigate, has some very nice scenic spots, and is in close proximity to some nice day trip worthy places.
On our first day, we did a lot of walking and wondering, and just essentially taking in the city one step at a time. We found a second hand store that was selling some really, really nice clothes for rock bottom prices and we got to take advantage of that. That was definitely a nice surprise. We ate Hiroshima style Okonomiyaki for the second time in a famous district of Hiroshima that specializes in making these very delicious pancakes. Hiroshima Okonomiyaki is different from it's more famous Osakan cousin in that the ingredients are cooked separately and expertly stacked upon one another, as opposed to being mixed together and cooked. I think overall, I like the Osaka style better but that may be because of first impressions. I was unbelievably drunk the first time I ate it, but I have to say that the second time around, it was much better. It's a very distinct Japanese dish.
Throughout our walk (we were searching for a place to have a brew), we saw all sorts of interesting places and people. We ran into the usual assortment of booking clubs. Those places never cease to amaze me. I just don't understand how Japan can support these places. You pay to be entertained by some very unattractive men or women dressed in the least tasteful outfits known to man (whom also happen to have by far the worst haircuts ever. Well, nothing is worse than the mullet). Either way, we checked out some arcades as well. Another interesting thing about arcades in Japan are the UFO catches. Usually, while playing UFO games, prizes include mostly an assortment of stuffed animals and maybe some toys. But because it's Japan, we can find bags of chocolate, ice cream, bikini clad anime characters, and animal suits. It's really strange but always entertaining. Just walking around in Japan (with a beer in hand) is always a lot of fun. After failing in our search for a suitable place to drink, we settled on an intense 2 man Karaoke session. Karaoke is so much fun when the two people involved love the exact same songs.
Our second day was a little bit more chill. Because of the rainy weather, we decided on a museum day. Along the way we stopped for some really delicious Mexi Cali food, which was a nice find considering Mexican food doesn't seem to be all that popular out here (it should be). Just getting to the museum was a bit of an adventure, we had to trek through a really long tunnel and then up to a really modern escalator-filled walkway. It was an interesting entrance, and fitting, considering that we were going to a modern art museum. The museum itself was quite nice: modern and really large windows. I don't know how to describe it. It was just really modern architecture. The art itself wasn't the best I've seen, but there were definitely some note worthy places. Many of them were related to the Atomic bomb. After the museum, we decided that it would be a good idea to check out Hiroshima's only indie theater. Movie theaters in Japan are really expensive ($20) and offer a subpar selection of films, in my opinion. We were surprised to find that the movie theater was only 10 bucks a pop and offered some quality flicks for us to enjoy. The day's English offering was The Ghost Writer, a film by Roman Polanski. It was a pretty good flick, but it was just really nice to enjoy a quality flick on a nice and comfy French styled movie theater.
On our final day, we visited nearby Miyajima Island (about 40 minutes away from Hiroshima by tram and ferry). Miyajima Island is famous for having the huge Japanese style Tori gate (the red ones that define Japan) in the middle of the sea. It's called the floating gate. It's one of the most famous tourist destinations in all of Japan. So we got up early to see the gate and the place was still filled with tourists. It was a bit annoying but it didn't detract too much from the beauty of the island. One of the highlights was being able to witness a Japanese wedding. There was a wedding going on at the island's very famous temple, complete with the bride and groom dressed in elaborate Kimonos. The couple were watching an Ancient Noh performance (Japan's oldest form of theater) being performed on Japan's oldest Noh stage. It was really surreal watching the wedding and the performance. We felt really lucky (but felt bad for the bride and groom who were being photographed by hundreds of curious tourists as if they were Brad and Angelina in the flesh). We also got to eat some really delicious oysters, which Hiroshima is famous for apparently, and took many pictures with the local deer that happen to roam the island. Natalie was even attacked (very slowly) by one.
Overall, it was another great vacation worth mentioning. Probably the only negative of the whole trip was that our hostel smelled like feet...really smelly feet. And nobody likes smelly feet...
So, on to Hiroshima...the last time we visited Hiroshima, we were mainly there to experience the Sake festival but ended up being able to learn a bit about Hiroshima's very dark recent history. This time, armed with a three day weekend, we thought it would be cool to head to Hiroshima as a way to visit nearby Miyajima Island (supposedly one of the three most beautiful places in all of Japan). We got to explore quite a bit of Hiroshima, outside of it's nuclear history.
So once again, Hiroshima is a really nice place. I find it nice in that it's one of those cities that is not too large, but yet still big enough (in comparison to where we live) to not get bored. It's also easy to navigate, has some very nice scenic spots, and is in close proximity to some nice day trip worthy places.
On our first day, we did a lot of walking and wondering, and just essentially taking in the city one step at a time. We found a second hand store that was selling some really, really nice clothes for rock bottom prices and we got to take advantage of that. That was definitely a nice surprise. We ate Hiroshima style Okonomiyaki for the second time in a famous district of Hiroshima that specializes in making these very delicious pancakes. Hiroshima Okonomiyaki is different from it's more famous Osakan cousin in that the ingredients are cooked separately and expertly stacked upon one another, as opposed to being mixed together and cooked. I think overall, I like the Osaka style better but that may be because of first impressions. I was unbelievably drunk the first time I ate it, but I have to say that the second time around, it was much better. It's a very distinct Japanese dish.
Throughout our walk (we were searching for a place to have a brew), we saw all sorts of interesting places and people. We ran into the usual assortment of booking clubs. Those places never cease to amaze me. I just don't understand how Japan can support these places. You pay to be entertained by some very unattractive men or women dressed in the least tasteful outfits known to man (whom also happen to have by far the worst haircuts ever. Well, nothing is worse than the mullet). Either way, we checked out some arcades as well. Another interesting thing about arcades in Japan are the UFO catches. Usually, while playing UFO games, prizes include mostly an assortment of stuffed animals and maybe some toys. But because it's Japan, we can find bags of chocolate, ice cream, bikini clad anime characters, and animal suits. It's really strange but always entertaining. Just walking around in Japan (with a beer in hand) is always a lot of fun. After failing in our search for a suitable place to drink, we settled on an intense 2 man Karaoke session. Karaoke is so much fun when the two people involved love the exact same songs.
Our second day was a little bit more chill. Because of the rainy weather, we decided on a museum day. Along the way we stopped for some really delicious Mexi Cali food, which was a nice find considering Mexican food doesn't seem to be all that popular out here (it should be). Just getting to the museum was a bit of an adventure, we had to trek through a really long tunnel and then up to a really modern escalator-filled walkway. It was an interesting entrance, and fitting, considering that we were going to a modern art museum. The museum itself was quite nice: modern and really large windows. I don't know how to describe it. It was just really modern architecture. The art itself wasn't the best I've seen, but there were definitely some note worthy places. Many of them were related to the Atomic bomb. After the museum, we decided that it would be a good idea to check out Hiroshima's only indie theater. Movie theaters in Japan are really expensive ($20) and offer a subpar selection of films, in my opinion. We were surprised to find that the movie theater was only 10 bucks a pop and offered some quality flicks for us to enjoy. The day's English offering was The Ghost Writer, a film by Roman Polanski. It was a pretty good flick, but it was just really nice to enjoy a quality flick on a nice and comfy French styled movie theater.
On our final day, we visited nearby Miyajima Island (about 40 minutes away from Hiroshima by tram and ferry). Miyajima Island is famous for having the huge Japanese style Tori gate (the red ones that define Japan) in the middle of the sea. It's called the floating gate. It's one of the most famous tourist destinations in all of Japan. So we got up early to see the gate and the place was still filled with tourists. It was a bit annoying but it didn't detract too much from the beauty of the island. One of the highlights was being able to witness a Japanese wedding. There was a wedding going on at the island's very famous temple, complete with the bride and groom dressed in elaborate Kimonos. The couple were watching an Ancient Noh performance (Japan's oldest form of theater) being performed on Japan's oldest Noh stage. It was really surreal watching the wedding and the performance. We felt really lucky (but felt bad for the bride and groom who were being photographed by hundreds of curious tourists as if they were Brad and Angelina in the flesh). We also got to eat some really delicious oysters, which Hiroshima is famous for apparently, and took many pictures with the local deer that happen to roam the island. Natalie was even attacked (very slowly) by one.
Overall, it was another great vacation worth mentioning. Probably the only negative of the whole trip was that our hostel smelled like feet...really smelly feet. And nobody likes smelly feet...
Monday, November 7, 2011
Re Trained
I just got back from a really nice 3 day vacation in Hiroshima, but before going there, I went to follow up training on Thursday and Friday. The whole thing was supposed to be for new teachers to have the opportunity to learn and refresh on some of the things that they are supposed to do at their school.
So myself, Natalie, about 20 other foreign teachers, and about 50 Japanese teachers were herded onto a couple of buses and sent to a mountain retreat where we had the pleasure of staying. Needless to say, it was an interesting two days. The actual work was pretty straightforward. The trainers were really nice, helpful, and knowledgeable. I think that I learned a lot and hopefully, I'll be able to apply some of what I learned into the office and into my classes. However, the whole thing kind of left me feeling like a bad teacher. It just seems like there are so many things that go into being a good teacher, and then there are extra things that we're supposed to do such as business related tasks and ways to fit into Japanese culture. I just kind of felt a bit underwhelmed with my abilities as an employee. I can't be that bad of a teacher or of an employee can I? Otherwise, there were definitely some positives. I did a model lesson, thought I did horrible, but my trainer told me it was really good. It's always nice to feel like you did well.
I also was able to meet a lot of my peers (within my company) and I kind of got a feel for what type of people get into this job. Almost everyone was really nice. Some were hilarious and some were not. Some were professional and some were not. Some were nice and some were not. You get the gist I hope? Overall, it was really nice to get to know everyone, share some ( alot of) laughs, and rant about certain aspects about our lives in Japan. Follow up training ended up being a very social experience, especially considering that after the first day, we had quite a bit of fun in our dorm rooms. I mean, who's idea was it to stick a bunch of young people (who are living in a foreign country and would jump at every chance to meet other English speakers)in a private dorm room with a beer vending machine down the hall? Whose ever it was, I thank thee because it was a lot of fun. Throughout the night, we played a variety of classroom friendly games such as flip cup and the ever so popular Tumbling Towers. While being shushed multiple times, we somehow all ended up wearing Yucatas, which is interesting in and of itself. The whole night culminated in all of the guys taking a really (hmmm...how should I put this?) BAD picture and having a higher up walk in on us and plead us to go to sleep, which we promptly did afterward.
So, overall, training was a good time. I'd like to do it again because sometimes, it's just nice to get away from the little pipsqueaks. And now, for some of the more interesting observations on training.
+ One of the other teachers is from Houston...from Sugarland...and went to the SAME elementary school...and the SAME middle school as me. What a trip! It's crazy to meet someone that is from almost the exact same part of the world as me halfway across the world. Although, I have to say that he is a much better Texan than me.
+ I never mentioned the Japanese teachers in my post. It's like they weren't even there. It was bizarre. While we were off having fun (and still learning and being very productive mind you), they seemed to be in some sort of 1984-esque propaganda prison camp. Whenever I asked one of them how things were going, words such as torture, not so good, and can't wait till it's over were frequently used. The whole Japanese business culture is something I'll never understand. It's rather fascinating. The amount of robotic (and feigned) professionalism that they have to produce is mind boggling. It seems soul crushing. Although I saw follow up training as an opportunity to learn, ask questions, and better myself as a teacher, it seems that for Japanese teachers, it's a test in showing off how inhumanely professional you can appear to be in front of others.
+ One of the higher ups in the company gave an interesting speech. Although he was nearly inaudible at some points, he came across as a rather nice guy. But yes, staying attentive was a challenge. The most interesting aspect of his speech was at the beginning of his speech where we had the opportunity to experience first hand what it's like to be a Japanese teacher. Before he entered the room, we had to practice standing up (simultaneously) and bowing. It seemed like a weird military drill but it definitely added to the notion that in Japan, there's a right way to do almost everything. It was just strange to juxtapose that experience with the rest of follow up training where we were just expected to be...Western I guess.
+ hats off to all of trainers for organizing an enjoyable follow-up training and my apologies on behalf of us for causing a ruckus at times
So myself, Natalie, about 20 other foreign teachers, and about 50 Japanese teachers were herded onto a couple of buses and sent to a mountain retreat where we had the pleasure of staying. Needless to say, it was an interesting two days. The actual work was pretty straightforward. The trainers were really nice, helpful, and knowledgeable. I think that I learned a lot and hopefully, I'll be able to apply some of what I learned into the office and into my classes. However, the whole thing kind of left me feeling like a bad teacher. It just seems like there are so many things that go into being a good teacher, and then there are extra things that we're supposed to do such as business related tasks and ways to fit into Japanese culture. I just kind of felt a bit underwhelmed with my abilities as an employee. I can't be that bad of a teacher or of an employee can I? Otherwise, there were definitely some positives. I did a model lesson, thought I did horrible, but my trainer told me it was really good. It's always nice to feel like you did well.
I also was able to meet a lot of my peers (within my company) and I kind of got a feel for what type of people get into this job. Almost everyone was really nice. Some were hilarious and some were not. Some were professional and some were not. Some were nice and some were not. You get the gist I hope? Overall, it was really nice to get to know everyone, share some ( alot of) laughs, and rant about certain aspects about our lives in Japan. Follow up training ended up being a very social experience, especially considering that after the first day, we had quite a bit of fun in our dorm rooms. I mean, who's idea was it to stick a bunch of young people (who are living in a foreign country and would jump at every chance to meet other English speakers)in a private dorm room with a beer vending machine down the hall? Whose ever it was, I thank thee because it was a lot of fun. Throughout the night, we played a variety of classroom friendly games such as flip cup and the ever so popular Tumbling Towers. While being shushed multiple times, we somehow all ended up wearing Yucatas, which is interesting in and of itself. The whole night culminated in all of the guys taking a really (hmmm...how should I put this?) BAD picture and having a higher up walk in on us and plead us to go to sleep, which we promptly did afterward.
So, overall, training was a good time. I'd like to do it again because sometimes, it's just nice to get away from the little pipsqueaks. And now, for some of the more interesting observations on training.
+ One of the other teachers is from Houston...from Sugarland...and went to the SAME elementary school...and the SAME middle school as me. What a trip! It's crazy to meet someone that is from almost the exact same part of the world as me halfway across the world. Although, I have to say that he is a much better Texan than me.
+ I never mentioned the Japanese teachers in my post. It's like they weren't even there. It was bizarre. While we were off having fun (and still learning and being very productive mind you), they seemed to be in some sort of 1984-esque propaganda prison camp. Whenever I asked one of them how things were going, words such as torture, not so good, and can't wait till it's over were frequently used. The whole Japanese business culture is something I'll never understand. It's rather fascinating. The amount of robotic (and feigned) professionalism that they have to produce is mind boggling. It seems soul crushing. Although I saw follow up training as an opportunity to learn, ask questions, and better myself as a teacher, it seems that for Japanese teachers, it's a test in showing off how inhumanely professional you can appear to be in front of others.
+ One of the higher ups in the company gave an interesting speech. Although he was nearly inaudible at some points, he came across as a rather nice guy. But yes, staying attentive was a challenge. The most interesting aspect of his speech was at the beginning of his speech where we had the opportunity to experience first hand what it's like to be a Japanese teacher. Before he entered the room, we had to practice standing up (simultaneously) and bowing. It seemed like a weird military drill but it definitely added to the notion that in Japan, there's a right way to do almost everything. It was just strange to juxtapose that experience with the rest of follow up training where we were just expected to be...Western I guess.
+ hats off to all of trainers for organizing an enjoyable follow-up training and my apologies on behalf of us for causing a ruckus at times
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Follow Up Training
I'm off to follow-up training this morning. My school is taking me and Natalie (and a bunch of other foreign teachers) to the mountains for a 2 day training session. I'm a bit tired right now, so I'm not especially excited about the prospects of learning for two days. Either way, I'm hoping that it turns out to be an enjoyable weekend. The good thing about this training is that I get an extra day off on Saturday as a go reward for having to training and If you know my work schedule, you know that that equals a 3 day weekend for me. I'm really excited about my first day off in what seems like quite a long time. Gotta think of something fun to do while I'm off playing the role of mountain student..
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