So I love Public Holidays in Japan, especially since I work within the school system. Schools in Japan, or at least the elementary and middle schools, don’t get very long “holiday” holidays like schools in the States do… three weeks for Christmas, one for Easter/Spring Break, two to three months for summer. Instead, Japan loves to sprinkle the 20 or so national holidays all over the calendar. This past Monday, we had a day off from school for the Respect the Aged day, and next Tuesday is the Autumn Equinax. October 13th (Monday) is Health and Sports Day, and November 3rd (also a Monday) Culture Day. So instead of the long summer and long fall semester with perhaps 2 days for Thanksgiving like in America, instead there is the month long summer holiday in August and then 6 day-long holidays from September to December. I can’t say just yet whether I like this system better, but it sure does break up the weeks nicely.
And… it’s great for traveling.
As a JET, you only get so many days off, and only of a certain kind. For instance, out of the school year, I can get 3 days sick leave, and 20 days just for general use.* Well those 20 days are quite precious things, especially if you’re planning to return to the States over Christmas or summer like I am, but what’s the good of being in Japan if you don’t travel a little? So, you keep a keen eye out for public holidays, especially those that land right beside a weekend, and you seize them, because it ensures one more day of sightseeing/travel time without the need to take nenkyuu (aka, those 20 special days.)
This weekend I seized on that Respect for the Aged Day weekend, and I visited Kyoto. Fortunately, I have a CIR (Coordinator for International Relations-the “other” JET) friend who is nicely settled only 25 minutes away from Kyoto by train, and she invited several of us unfortunate inaka JETs to visit.
Now my prefecture is tiny. Very tiny. So tiny, in fact, I take for granted just how big the rest of Japan is. From my humble little train station to the capital city, the “slow” train takes right around an hour and fifteen minutes, and I’m on the other side of the prefecture. Logically, I know that my town to Tokyo is not a day trip, but it’s difficult to appreciate it until you’re actually living it.
Friday night, the ride to a transferring station, and the hop off my island, took around an hour and a half, no more. And suddenly, I’m in Okayama, with no idea how to buy a shinkansen bullet train ticket.
For those unfamiliar, the shinkansen is God’s gift to the wary and wealthy traveler. From Okayama, Kyoto would take about 3 1/2 hours by slow train. But by shinkansen, it’s barely an hour. However, by virtue of this, the bullet train is quite expensive. You can go with an unreserved seat, which is generally $20-30 more expensive than a slow train ticket, or a fancy reserved seat, which is $20-30 more expensive than the unreserved. The dumb answer is to go with the unreserved, but a bullet train with 16 cars may only have the first 3 or 5 for unreserved seats, so they go like hot cakes.
I, unfortunately, didn’t have a whole lot of time, so I just ate the cost, after the hour it took me to figure out where I was going and how to say where I was going. (I’ve gotten used to the geographical kanji of my area, which can be just as annoying as name kanji, but unfortunately I hadn’t had the presence of mind to look up what the kanji for Kyoto was.)
Overall, the shinkansen is pretty darn nice; big seats, a trolley, and if you don’t get too easily car sick or travel at night, some nice snapshots of Japanese countryside. The landscape from Okayama to Kyoto was primarily tunnels, but there were some very nice views of towns tucked into picturesque mountain valleys.
But if I was overwhelmed with Okayama, Kyoto Station was a whole new beast. We spent quite a bit of time in there over the weekend, and I’m still a little confused as to where the shopping area is in relation to the Shinkansen Line and the regular JR line. I was the first of the delegation to arrive, and even with cell phones, it still took us a few minutes to find each other. Worse yet, living in inaka, I’ve gotten into the habit of, if I’m meeting JET friends, to just look for the tall and/or white person. This proved impossible in Kyoto, not only because of the sheer mass of humanity, but because-well, I hadn’t seen that many foreign people in one area since the Tokyo Orientation! I am calling the kettle black here, but they were all quite obviously foreign, too… With traveling backpacks stuffed to capacity or several large rolling suitcases. I felt quite at home, with my small-ish duffel bag and purse, quite as if I lived so close I hadn’t bothered packing for more than two or three days. But then, you’ve never known real frustration like lugging a huge backpack around somewhere like the prefecture capital.
The delegation slowly began to arrive, until we got news that one of our party, coming from the far North, had gotten stranded in Tokyo. Apparently the last train to Kyoto runs at 9:30, and he missed it by about 5 minutes. He tried the night bus-which the attendant said was full-and got taken hostage by Tokyo Station security guards who wouldn’t let him leave without a ticket, even though a police officer had let him in so he could just cut through the station to get to the east exit. Between this and that, he spent the whole night wandering Tokyo-which, apparently, isn’t as interesting as you would think, unless you’re into street racing and 50 year old prostitutes.
But the next morning, our delegation was complete, and we set off for the first sightseeing item on our list: the red Tori gates. I unfortunately am pitiful at place names, but these Gates are one of those sites that’s recognizable on sight. They are absolutely breathtaking in person, especially since they just seem to keep going and going, up and up the mountain… so we too kept going, up and up the mountain. What an amazing view of the city, since the Gates are only one or two stops outside Kyoto Station on the way to Nara. But geez, what a climb. I’ve never been more resentful of Japanese etiquette against tank tops-at least those avoid the monstrous pit stains that ensue with any kind of traveling here whatsoever. Japan has to be one of the most humid and hilly areas I’ve ever been to, and yet the general populace seems to insist on being covered head to toe whenever possible (see “Sports Day.”) Still, the Tori gates were worth it, for the beautiful sights and giant spiders.
The crazy thing about sightseeing is that even if you plan your day well ahead in a reasonable fashion, it still somehow ends up taking longer than you expected. After the Tori gates, we traveled right into Kyoto and took a city bus to the Kiyomizudera Shrine, tucked up into the corners of the mountains surrounding the old capital. It was not quite as cluttered as other shrines had been with buildings, and the shrine itself seemed to grow out of the mountainside. Best of all, there was a part of the shrine that only opened about every 30 years, and we happened to land on that 30. Inside were candles lit in prayer, and enormous statues, made of both stone and metal. The metal was obviously very old, in that it was starting to turn that green rusting color even though it was clearly polished. The stone statues featured men-demons with terrifying, glowing eyes and breastplates that looked like monsters. In the dark, with just the flickering candlelight, the effect was both terrifying and awe-inspiring. There was also a beautiful little baby pavilion surrounded by trees, and a waterfall that supposedly gave wisdom, health, and longevity (but not all of them-you have to choose two of the three.) On the way back down, we stopped in one of the many, many shops and had some delicious green tea ice cream. A young Japanese guy also came up and introduced himself-his father had had a job somewhere in Illinois, and his English was impeccable enough that he kept throwing “like” into sentences (slang-the true mark of someone who has learned by living.)
The next stop for sightseeing was the Silver Pavillion, and then possibly stopping into Gion on the way back to the CIR’s place for a taste of the nightlife. By that time of the day, we were all getting a little run down, and the only thing we’d eaten all day was some Starbucks for breakfast and the ice cream. We stopped in a nice little sit down restaurant for supper, but by the time we finished, the Pavillion had closed. It’s not totally surprising that attractions around Kyoto closed by 5:30 or 6… it’s dusk by 5, and night by 7 pm. So instead, we took the subway into the “hip” part of Kyoto where all the young people and foreigners hung out, grabbed some snacks, and sat next to the river, enjoying some spontaneous band music on the bank.
The next day we started off as early as possible for the Nijo Castle. Nijo Castle was built by the Shoguns around 1500-1600 as a home in Kyoto, right beside the emperor before he moved to Tokyo. For another who has read “Across the Nightengale Floor,” it’s also the place the story was based on. The Shogun was worried about ninjas attempting to assassinate him in the night, so they invented this genius type of floor… it squeaks when you step on it, but it’s impossible to predict. Unfortunately, I couldn’t take pictures inside, but the place was very spread out and huge; most of the paintings on the sliding doors were still in tact, and even four hundred years later, the place gave off a sense of grandeur. The grounds were especially lovely, with a nice deep pond, and a moat filled with giant koi fish.
After Nijo Castle, we took the long ride into Nara, to the south of Kyoto. Nara is very famous for its deer population-smaller than white tails, but tame as can be, tame to the point of being really annoying if you have any kind of food. About a fifteen minute walk from the train station, you’ll also find the giant Buddha… and when I say giant, I mean GIANT. You can see the building from three blocks away… it was wider than my high school, and at least 10 stories high. Inside was housed three figures, the central one the Buddha sitting on a giant lotus petal with figures floating around behind him. And it was… HUGE. I estimate that one of his fingers is just about my height. There was also a pillar with a hole in it that I might have been able to squeeze through… If you make it, you’re guaranteed a year of good luck. But we got there right before closing time, so the guard wouldn’t let us try.
After the Giant Buddha, we all headed back to the CIR’s place and had some delicious home-cooked Japanese food (though strike me down if I can tell you what it was, or even what was in it.) By the next morning, our adventure was over, and I was back on the trains, winding my way to the island.
It’s too bad about the whole stupid-Internet thing, because I had a fantastic weekend. Sometimes when I’m just hanging out in my apartment or sitting at my desk in school, I forget that I’m actually halfway around the world from where I started, but traveling around-and trying to figure out the train schedule-really makes me feel as if I’m in Japan.
Well, that, and school lunches. But that’s a topic for another day.
*20 days is about the average, but ESID (Every Situation is Different), so the number of days off really depends on the contract.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
This Isn't Culture Shock. This Is Culture Rage.
So in case I haven't mentioned, I hate Internet in Japan. I mean I hate it... a LOT. I have been without Internet connection at my house since I moved here, and honestly, while word processing and chess are swell, without Internet my sparkling new Mac is really just a pretty paperweight.
Yes, I can use Internet at school, and yes, other JETs in the area have offered it. But the things I desperately need to do or want to do-putting together grad applications, emailing professors, reading academic articles to keep up on coursework, chatting with friends, and playing videogames-are all time consuming things that are generally not encouraged when I'm sitting at a desk working. At the moment, I'm waiting in that 15-20 minute nexus when my contract is done for the day but I have English speeches to grade, so I say to hell with etiquette, I'm pissed.
Two weeks ago I spent my Sunday fruitlessly trudging around my capital city, a good hour train ride and $10 one way, trying to find wireless connection. Other JETs swore by both Starbucks in the capital, but I tried BOTH, and both failed. (I'm not sure if they were broken or the free wireless had been suspended... the language barrier is especially annoying in technical situations.) This was a week and a half after my supervisor said he would look into Internet, and I haven't seen nor heard hide nor hair of him. I finally got so fed up last Monday I signed up for YahooBB through yahoobbapply.com, and hoped that within two weeks or so they'd hook me up, send me a modem, and we'd be set.
But no. Of course. What was wrong with me? This is Japan. Japan hates Internet.
Today the guy in charge of YahooBB Apply emailed me and told me I was on hold to get service. See, there are only so many avaliable "ports" in my area, and they're all being used, so I can fill out ANOTHER application and wait a month to just sit here and hope somebody stops using the service, OR I can go with another service that costs about $50 a month WITHOUT "extra" instillation costs, which will be about $30-60, and that is if they don't have to ripe out any wires.
Worse part, the guy is emailing my Yahoo account, which I can read at work, but for some bizarre reason emailing BACK is prohibited, so I either have to wait until Friday when I can get to my OTHER school, OR try to text-reply on my cellphone.
This is so unbelieveably ridiculously stupid. I think if Internet service took this long and was this red-tapped in the States, there would be mutiny. I'm close to it. It's been nearly two months, and that's the longest I've gone without Internet, well.... ever. At least at camp I had the weekends or the occassional free time on Eric's. And while other people may scoff, Internet is my only connection to the outside world.
Worse yet, it seems as if everyone else-even the new JETs-have it. How did they get it so fast? Why am I having such hard luck with it? Who do I have to kill to get a modem around here?!!
Yes, I can use Internet at school, and yes, other JETs in the area have offered it. But the things I desperately need to do or want to do-putting together grad applications, emailing professors, reading academic articles to keep up on coursework, chatting with friends, and playing videogames-are all time consuming things that are generally not encouraged when I'm sitting at a desk working. At the moment, I'm waiting in that 15-20 minute nexus when my contract is done for the day but I have English speeches to grade, so I say to hell with etiquette, I'm pissed.
Two weeks ago I spent my Sunday fruitlessly trudging around my capital city, a good hour train ride and $10 one way, trying to find wireless connection. Other JETs swore by both Starbucks in the capital, but I tried BOTH, and both failed. (I'm not sure if they were broken or the free wireless had been suspended... the language barrier is especially annoying in technical situations.) This was a week and a half after my supervisor said he would look into Internet, and I haven't seen nor heard hide nor hair of him. I finally got so fed up last Monday I signed up for YahooBB through yahoobbapply.com, and hoped that within two weeks or so they'd hook me up, send me a modem, and we'd be set.
But no. Of course. What was wrong with me? This is Japan. Japan hates Internet.
Today the guy in charge of YahooBB Apply emailed me and told me I was on hold to get service. See, there are only so many avaliable "ports" in my area, and they're all being used, so I can fill out ANOTHER application and wait a month to just sit here and hope somebody stops using the service, OR I can go with another service that costs about $50 a month WITHOUT "extra" instillation costs, which will be about $30-60, and that is if they don't have to ripe out any wires.
Worse part, the guy is emailing my Yahoo account, which I can read at work, but for some bizarre reason emailing BACK is prohibited, so I either have to wait until Friday when I can get to my OTHER school, OR try to text-reply on my cellphone.
This is so unbelieveably ridiculously stupid. I think if Internet service took this long and was this red-tapped in the States, there would be mutiny. I'm close to it. It's been nearly two months, and that's the longest I've gone without Internet, well.... ever. At least at camp I had the weekends or the occassional free time on Eric's. And while other people may scoff, Internet is my only connection to the outside world.
Worse yet, it seems as if everyone else-even the new JETs-have it. How did they get it so fast? Why am I having such hard luck with it? Who do I have to kill to get a modem around here?!!
Thursday, September 11, 2008
At the Tokyo Orientation, they warn you that while learning Japanese will make your life much easier here, your job is actually to speak English, and speak English you should. Fortunately, my Japanese is far too weak to have anything but a mere scratch of a conversation, so I end up speaking English to students purely out of need to get SOMETHING across. However, I don’t imagine that my English teachers mind overly much. Still, the kids aren’t eager to speak in English, and despite very hyperactive talk around me at lunch, not many of them make an attempt to speak with me. It’s actually kind of bemusing to say “How are you?” to a student, who was able to answer the question just fine at the beginning of every single English class of their lives, but somehow when you say it, they must hold a UN conference with their friends before they reply in English,” I don’t speak English.”
Still, I was afraid I would get no Japanese practice in at all, especially not practical sentence structure, which I need the most work on. Then today I taught my first classes, since my self-introductions were finished (correction: I taught my first five classes. It’s pretty rare to have five classes in one day-at my other school it’s only two or three-but it certainly makes the day fly by) and I found, to my delight, the teachers explained English sentences on the board with both verbal and written Japanese. Fantastic! While the kids were scribbling notes on English, I was scribbling them on kanji and sanuki bun, the local dialect. It’s the perfect opportunity to review or explore grammar forms.
At this point, I haven’t proven myself yet, so I’m still kind of a tape recorder/thing for the kids to parrot, but so far, I’ve been having tons of fun. The hardest part is standing for five of the six hours of the day, but otherwise I’m really enjoying myself.
In other news, still no Internet at my apartment, but I finally said Hell, and just signed up for it myself (with help.) With any luck, I’ll have Internet within 15 days, so just in time to post pictures of both my junior high school’s Sports Festivals.
I’m pretty stoked, actually. I’ve never seen a Sports Day, and they seem like such a corner of the Japanese education life- it’s like not knowing about Homecoming in America or something. And at my base school, I’ve apparently been signed up for the Teachers’ relay team.
… The kids have chewed through my stickers though. Why, oh why, 100 Yen Store, must you be a 20 minute bike ride away? I’ve still successively resisted the temptation to buy a car, scooter, or something similar that I don’t have to sweat through my clothes to drive, for which I pat myself on the back. As I think I’ve mentioned, my town is quite nice, but damn if it ain’t a one horse kinda place. I have a grocery store, sans avicados, and a tasty udon shop, so I suppose in a really strict sense I’ve got everything I need, but darn it, I need stickers! These kids demand stickers!
Another activity this month that I look forward to with anticipation is my city’s English speech contest, held on a Friday near the end of September. My city is actually split into quite a few towns, and I am assigned to two of the six or seven towns, which has created an interesting dilemma for me. I tutor a sannensei and ninensai (so, 9th and 8th graders respectively) at both of my schools, and of course the objective is to get them as polished as possible so they can win. I’ve been trying very hard not to have favourites, and not to compare in my head who is better-honestly, every single one of them is a trooper. Harking back to my high school years, I remember how unpopular public speaking in English was, but these students are willing to stand up and speak, memorized, in a foreign language before they’ve even hit high school. The Forensic nerd in me weeps at the very beauty of it. And each of them has their own particular strengths. One sannensai has hilarious delivery-he manages to be funny in a foreign language. The other one has fantastic pronunciation with only the barest accent. And all of them have their weaknesses. I just hope that my direction is enough to get them a high rank. It’s not so much about the trophy, but I want them to walk away with solid confirmation that they have a certain finesse with English. I think it would really help boost the confidence of some of them, who are intrinsically shy.
In a last bit of personal news, I have 1 day to decide if I am doing the 3kyuu, and if I am, I must somehow figure out how to get a 3x4cm picture of myself AND how to pay at the post office or bank when the damn post office and bank are ONLY open during the hours I am at school! Seriously, this thing is harder to apply for than a passport! If I do end up missing the deadline, I’m not too heartbroken; I was nervous about spending that money and failing, with only 3 months to prepare, and while I’m studying for the GRE in November. If I study for 3kyuu for next December, I conceivably have a shot of doing very well, and who knows… if my tutor thinks I’m good enough, maybe I’ll study for 2kyuu in July instead. That’s a complete cake in the sky dream, of course, but hey, Japan was made for dreaming.
Still, I was afraid I would get no Japanese practice in at all, especially not practical sentence structure, which I need the most work on. Then today I taught my first classes, since my self-introductions were finished (correction: I taught my first five classes. It’s pretty rare to have five classes in one day-at my other school it’s only two or three-but it certainly makes the day fly by) and I found, to my delight, the teachers explained English sentences on the board with both verbal and written Japanese. Fantastic! While the kids were scribbling notes on English, I was scribbling them on kanji and sanuki bun, the local dialect. It’s the perfect opportunity to review or explore grammar forms.
At this point, I haven’t proven myself yet, so I’m still kind of a tape recorder/thing for the kids to parrot, but so far, I’ve been having tons of fun. The hardest part is standing for five of the six hours of the day, but otherwise I’m really enjoying myself.
In other news, still no Internet at my apartment, but I finally said Hell, and just signed up for it myself (with help.) With any luck, I’ll have Internet within 15 days, so just in time to post pictures of both my junior high school’s Sports Festivals.
I’m pretty stoked, actually. I’ve never seen a Sports Day, and they seem like such a corner of the Japanese education life- it’s like not knowing about Homecoming in America or something. And at my base school, I’ve apparently been signed up for the Teachers’ relay team.
… The kids have chewed through my stickers though. Why, oh why, 100 Yen Store, must you be a 20 minute bike ride away? I’ve still successively resisted the temptation to buy a car, scooter, or something similar that I don’t have to sweat through my clothes to drive, for which I pat myself on the back. As I think I’ve mentioned, my town is quite nice, but damn if it ain’t a one horse kinda place. I have a grocery store, sans avicados, and a tasty udon shop, so I suppose in a really strict sense I’ve got everything I need, but darn it, I need stickers! These kids demand stickers!
Another activity this month that I look forward to with anticipation is my city’s English speech contest, held on a Friday near the end of September. My city is actually split into quite a few towns, and I am assigned to two of the six or seven towns, which has created an interesting dilemma for me. I tutor a sannensei and ninensai (so, 9th and 8th graders respectively) at both of my schools, and of course the objective is to get them as polished as possible so they can win. I’ve been trying very hard not to have favourites, and not to compare in my head who is better-honestly, every single one of them is a trooper. Harking back to my high school years, I remember how unpopular public speaking in English was, but these students are willing to stand up and speak, memorized, in a foreign language before they’ve even hit high school. The Forensic nerd in me weeps at the very beauty of it. And each of them has their own particular strengths. One sannensai has hilarious delivery-he manages to be funny in a foreign language. The other one has fantastic pronunciation with only the barest accent. And all of them have their weaknesses. I just hope that my direction is enough to get them a high rank. It’s not so much about the trophy, but I want them to walk away with solid confirmation that they have a certain finesse with English. I think it would really help boost the confidence of some of them, who are intrinsically shy.
In a last bit of personal news, I have 1 day to decide if I am doing the 3kyuu, and if I am, I must somehow figure out how to get a 3x4cm picture of myself AND how to pay at the post office or bank when the damn post office and bank are ONLY open during the hours I am at school! Seriously, this thing is harder to apply for than a passport! If I do end up missing the deadline, I’m not too heartbroken; I was nervous about spending that money and failing, with only 3 months to prepare, and while I’m studying for the GRE in November. If I study for 3kyuu for next December, I conceivably have a shot of doing very well, and who knows… if my tutor thinks I’m good enough, maybe I’ll study for 2kyuu in July instead. That’s a complete cake in the sky dream, of course, but hey, Japan was made for dreaming.
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Riding Trains
One of my favorite features of Japan is the trains. Mass transportation in general fascinates me, since in America it's practically impossible to find decent public transportation in smaller cities or towns, and in Japan, it's just so gosh darn amazingly efficient.
There is nothing quite like sitting back in a seat, knowing you'll reach almost any destination in a reasonable amount of time, and watch the beautiful countryside roll by. From my town to the capital, there's a particularly amazing stretch where the train rides right along the seashore, with dark little islands popping up out of the flat horizon like turtles in a dark, steamy pool.
Still no Internet at my apartment (I'm borrowing from a fellow JET.) It's nearing on painful, communication with the outside world... Or communication at all. I'm trying to just soldier through, but it leaves a slightly bitter taste in my mouth that the first one or two months is the hardest time to adjust, and yet the time when they leave you the most vulnerable... no phone, and only very expensive contact with family and friends back home. So the only people left to talk to are those here, who are inevitably wrapped up in their own stuff and largely uninterested beyond the polite ackowledgement. After all, THEY made it through culture shock, why are YOU having such a rough time with it?
During the week, it isn't so bad. The school day can be pretty draining, and what with studying for various tests, it sucks up the daylight hours with satisfaction. I'd even wager that the weekdays are when I like being in Japan the best. I feel like I have a purpose, and I have at least a vague idea what I' meant to do (Speak English!)
The weekends, though, can be downright depressing. Most of the other JETs have already made plans, conveniently forgetting to mention them to you-or perhaps just generally forgetting. But when you're hungry for friendship in a foreign country, any sign that you're not welcome, even an unintentional one, can be quite a sting.
I mean, really. Making Japanese friends is notoriously difficult, and so if you're lonely, you're sort of stuck with who's around. But what a way to be friends... not accepted, or maybe even not liked, but just sort of a tag-along. I'm not looking for my bestest friend in the whole wide world, but I have too much to accomplish to spend time with people who don't want me there, out of either general dislike or mere indifference.
And it's never a nice thing, to be forgotten.
It's all so strange... they warn you about adjusting to another culture, but they never warn you about having to deal with people from your own. Then again, such lame Powerpoints urging you to "be friendly" and "just be yourself!" wouldn't be very helpful. Who can teach you to be a popular and likable person? And if such a thing could be taught, well, I wouldn't have this problem.
I suppose it's just all part and parcel of this experience. Shut up and soldier through. Take comfort in what you can.
There is nothing quite like sitting back in a seat, knowing you'll reach almost any destination in a reasonable amount of time, and watch the beautiful countryside roll by. From my town to the capital, there's a particularly amazing stretch where the train rides right along the seashore, with dark little islands popping up out of the flat horizon like turtles in a dark, steamy pool.
Still no Internet at my apartment (I'm borrowing from a fellow JET.) It's nearing on painful, communication with the outside world... Or communication at all. I'm trying to just soldier through, but it leaves a slightly bitter taste in my mouth that the first one or two months is the hardest time to adjust, and yet the time when they leave you the most vulnerable... no phone, and only very expensive contact with family and friends back home. So the only people left to talk to are those here, who are inevitably wrapped up in their own stuff and largely uninterested beyond the polite ackowledgement. After all, THEY made it through culture shock, why are YOU having such a rough time with it?
During the week, it isn't so bad. The school day can be pretty draining, and what with studying for various tests, it sucks up the daylight hours with satisfaction. I'd even wager that the weekdays are when I like being in Japan the best. I feel like I have a purpose, and I have at least a vague idea what I' meant to do (Speak English!)
The weekends, though, can be downright depressing. Most of the other JETs have already made plans, conveniently forgetting to mention them to you-or perhaps just generally forgetting. But when you're hungry for friendship in a foreign country, any sign that you're not welcome, even an unintentional one, can be quite a sting.
I mean, really. Making Japanese friends is notoriously difficult, and so if you're lonely, you're sort of stuck with who's around. But what a way to be friends... not accepted, or maybe even not liked, but just sort of a tag-along. I'm not looking for my bestest friend in the whole wide world, but I have too much to accomplish to spend time with people who don't want me there, out of either general dislike or mere indifference.
And it's never a nice thing, to be forgotten.
It's all so strange... they warn you about adjusting to another culture, but they never warn you about having to deal with people from your own. Then again, such lame Powerpoints urging you to "be friendly" and "just be yourself!" wouldn't be very helpful. Who can teach you to be a popular and likable person? And if such a thing could be taught, well, I wouldn't have this problem.
I suppose it's just all part and parcel of this experience. Shut up and soldier through. Take comfort in what you can.
Monday, August 18, 2008
Of Festivals and Gold Medals
So it's very nice to know that three years worth of kanji studying (Japn 101, 102, 201, 202, and 301) has prepared me for.... the JLPT Level 4, the easiest level of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test. Seriously... No, really, seriously?? There are even some kanji and adjectives I haven't yet learned. *Sigh* Well, at least I have my work cut out for me. I was really, truly hoping I could conquer Level 3, since Level 4 (the grammar and kanji at least) are largely review, but with the GRE to study for as well (the GRE needs to be taken sometime before November, and the JLPT can only be taken once a year on the first Sunday of December) I'll just have to resign myself to being really lame.
In other news, I'm trying very hard to get over the guilt of using the Internet in the teachers room. I've pretty much been using it only for Japanese study, but... I mean, come on. Gimme a break, huh?
Transitioning is a tricky thing.I haven't spoken to many of the teachers who are just floating around the teachers' room... I'm too nervous about how bad my Japanese is, and they seem either uninterested or too shy to approach me. I hope once my books arrive from the States and I can begin properly studying grammar forms (my worst spot; off the top of my head I can manage only simple sentence structure like "X は Y です.") Until then, I smile and try to say good morning and good night to whomever looks my way.
I tried cooking bread in my rice cooker yesterday. What a fiasco! Not because of the rice cooker, itself... I'm not sure if I added too much milk, or water, or what, but the batter was just sort of a slimy wet mess. I tried adding more and more flour, but even after half my bag of flour it was still too sticky and runny to form into a ball. Still, it's bread that for sure doesn't have a stick of butter in the middle of it. (The last-no kidding-five loaves of bread I've bought at the store have looked perfectly normal but had some sort of butter/paste in the middle.)
The last week has been festival on top of festival. Last Wednesday after work I took the train into our main city and watched an hour's worth of fireworks. Quite different than American fireworks, with the constant big bangs until about 15 minutes later you get a final, definite HUGE bang and then its over. The fireworks for the festival were about an hour or so long with 3 to 5 minutes sudden pauses, and no one could tell when they were actually over. The food was quite good, though I stayed ｆａｒ away from squid on a stick. On Friday I visited a friend on her island, and there were-you guessed it-more fireworks! I think I'm actually firework-ed out.
Unfortunately, I missed the biggest festival this side of Japan because I had to visit with my English teacher, and Thursday was the only day she was avaliable. I regret it... but maybe next year I can steal away. I'm trying to save all of my vacation days for either visiting the States over Christmas, or visiting far reaches of Japan/Asia like Hokkaido or Korea.
Unfortunately I still don't have pictures for you all. ごめんださい。Photobucket doesn't want to recognize my computer. Like I said... technology is becoming my savior to recognize my computer. Like I said... technology is becoming my savior and my oppressor over here.
If there is one part of my experience with Japan I am almost completely unhappy about, it is how much I have missed the Olympics. Because of the time difference, all of the best events are during the day, and the news coverage at night is usually only of Japanese athletes and particular victories. That said, it's very interesting to view the Olympics through the lens of another country....I admit, I have never found badmitton so enjoyable to watch. And I find myself adopting Japanese athletes as my own; for instance, cheering on the Japanese women's softball team against Argentina (they kicked butt, by the way) or actually yelling when Kitajima won his first gold in the 100 meter (though I saved the jumping up and down for the relay race when the Americans destroyed the French in the final 10 seconds.) Considering how bad the American coverage has been towards American athletes (like the men's and women's gymnastics team, or the men's track and field) maybe it's a good thing I'm hanging out in a corner of the world that just gets extra excited when one guy wins one gold.
In other news, I'm trying very hard to get over the guilt of using the Internet in the teachers room. I've pretty much been using it only for Japanese study, but... I mean, come on. Gimme a break, huh?
Transitioning is a tricky thing.I haven't spoken to many of the teachers who are just floating around the teachers' room... I'm too nervous about how bad my Japanese is, and they seem either uninterested or too shy to approach me. I hope once my books arrive from the States and I can begin properly studying grammar forms (my worst spot; off the top of my head I can manage only simple sentence structure like "X は Y です.") Until then, I smile and try to say good morning and good night to whomever looks my way.
I tried cooking bread in my rice cooker yesterday. What a fiasco! Not because of the rice cooker, itself... I'm not sure if I added too much milk, or water, or what, but the batter was just sort of a slimy wet mess. I tried adding more and more flour, but even after half my bag of flour it was still too sticky and runny to form into a ball. Still, it's bread that for sure doesn't have a stick of butter in the middle of it. (The last-no kidding-five loaves of bread I've bought at the store have looked perfectly normal but had some sort of butter/paste in the middle.)
The last week has been festival on top of festival. Last Wednesday after work I took the train into our main city and watched an hour's worth of fireworks. Quite different than American fireworks, with the constant big bangs until about 15 minutes later you get a final, definite HUGE bang and then its over. The fireworks for the festival were about an hour or so long with 3 to 5 minutes sudden pauses, and no one could tell when they were actually over. The food was quite good, though I stayed ｆａｒ away from squid on a stick. On Friday I visited a friend on her island, and there were-you guessed it-more fireworks! I think I'm actually firework-ed out.
Unfortunately, I missed the biggest festival this side of Japan because I had to visit with my English teacher, and Thursday was the only day she was avaliable. I regret it... but maybe next year I can steal away. I'm trying to save all of my vacation days for either visiting the States over Christmas, or visiting far reaches of Japan/Asia like Hokkaido or Korea.
Unfortunately I still don't have pictures for you all. ごめんださい。Photobucket doesn't want to recognize my computer. Like I said... technology is becoming my savior to recognize my computer. Like I said... technology is becoming my savior and my oppressor over here.
If there is one part of my experience with Japan I am almost completely unhappy about, it is how much I have missed the Olympics. Because of the time difference, all of the best events are during the day, and the news coverage at night is usually only of Japanese athletes and particular victories. That said, it's very interesting to view the Olympics through the lens of another country....I admit, I have never found badmitton so enjoyable to watch. And I find myself adopting Japanese athletes as my own; for instance, cheering on the Japanese women's softball team against Argentina (they kicked butt, by the way) or actually yelling when Kitajima won his first gold in the 100 meter (though I saved the jumping up and down for the relay race when the Americans destroyed the French in the final 10 seconds.) Considering how bad the American coverage has been towards American athletes (like the men's and women's gymnastics team, or the men's track and field) maybe it's a good thing I'm hanging out in a corner of the world that just gets extra excited when one guy wins one gold.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Stealing the Internets
I consider myself a bit of a technophile. I just love the electronic gadgets, the fiddling around and the discovery of some brand new application or tool deep inside a device that may fit in the palm of your hand.
But Japan has proven more than a challenge to my love of technology.
First off, I get computers at both of my junior high school desks. Hurray! Unfortunately, they are both completely and totally in Japanese. Ive figured out some tools, thanks to the reliability of PC functions (I was quite impressed with myself for setting up the language tool bar so I could type words in English) but some others are still a complete mystery. And when it comes to more impressive, more complicated functions, well, I might as well be beating a rock with another rock. And of course using the nifty Japanese keyboards is an adventure unto itself, where it seems absolutely impossible to get an apostrophe in English.
This would not be such an issue, except that last Sunday, the Internet mysteriously died at my apartment. My predecessor informed me he had left it on until the 20th, by which time I would have my gaijin card and could begin the long, red-taped process of creating my own. (One of my first lessons in Japan: there is no such thing as too much red tape.) I tried everything, turning it off, turning it back on, turning the computer off and on, the modem AND the computer, unplugging every wire I could get to. Nothing. No response.
The logic would be that my predecessors Internet simply cut out early. However, my phone is also tied to the modem, and thus the land line, and it functions just fine. So why would the phone, which arguably seems to be linked to the Internet, work, but the Internet itself doesnt?
The short story of it is, I am resigned to using whatever Internet I can steal away here at school.
As a rule, I try not to use the Internet except for Japanese studying or vocab/kanji checking. However, this week is the Obon festival, and though my vice principal has been fleeting in and out all day, there have only been two teachers in the staff room, and one of them left by about 10 am. Ive been correcting a speech for the English competition, but translating from Japanese into more proper English is making my brain explode a little.
(Ex: `It readily went to McDonalds in Japan and was terribly courageous though was able to order in the United States.` I translated as `I could order bravely from McDonalds in Japan, but in the United States I wasn`t very courageous.`)
So, a small... um, two hour long... break was in order.
Honestly, not having Internet was a little bit rattling. Having no Internet and no cell phone here is rather like to being left on a deserted island. A deserted island with lots of rice. I cant contact my supervisor, any of my teachers (for those days that I, oh, I dont know, get lost on the bus for two hours), or any other JETs in case of OMG CULTURE FREAKOUT.
Fortunately, this weekend was quite busy with prefecture orientation and a Japanese baseball game. On Monday, after hours and hours and hours of confusing applications (youd think I was buying a kidney and not a keitai) I received my very own phone.
And it has a TV function! No, seriously, I can watch TV on my cell phone! And browse the Internet (the TV is free, the Yahoo! browser is not.) I have even an email address on my cell phone... I think. I have no idea quite how to work all of it (they call texting email, and actual email is something else, and then theres SM and SMS! Mail, so it all gets very confusing.)
But still, cell phone! And I also received my gaijin card, so Internet is only a few more dozen applications away. I am a card-carrying member of Japan... literally!
Work has been both overwhelming and boring. Helping with the speech contests has become kind of like a hobby, trying to think of new ways to help them wrap their mouths around l and th sounds. The kids are great sports... though in one speech, a student sometimes substitutes an h sound in the middle of -sit- and..... well, I managed to take a few deep breaths and not fall over laughing as he said it over, and over, and over again.
I miss everyone from back home, though honestly, it still feels as if good ol Wisconsin is just a hop, skip, and jump away. Which is weird, since an hour long train ride to the capital city of my prefecture feels like an eternity whenever I start making plans with people.
Im starting to have my surprises and my `well this sucks` and `this is cool!` moments. I am trying very hard to focus on the positive, and not let snags mess up the upcoming year for me.
But I must say one thing. Bicycling in Japan, or at least in rural Japan, sucks monkey balls. Hard. All the streets are pretty narrow, and sidewalks are an act of God when you actually come across them... otherwise you have about three feet to four feet wide shoulders, with zooming vehicles of death on one side, and Gaijin traps on the other (otherwise known as rice paddy irrigation channels.) Additionally, my prefecture has the highest number of automobile accidents in all of Japan.
Which is bizarre to me, because it seems as if nearly everyone in Japan at least owns a bicycle and uses it fairly frequently. Ive certainly seen more bikes here in these past few weeks than I think I saw all year in Wisconsin. Just one of those interesting dichotomies, I guess.
Though Im not thinking -Interesting!- on that long bike ride from here to the next town over. Next time... Im just gonna take the train.
But Japan has proven more than a challenge to my love of technology.
First off, I get computers at both of my junior high school desks. Hurray! Unfortunately, they are both completely and totally in Japanese. Ive figured out some tools, thanks to the reliability of PC functions (I was quite impressed with myself for setting up the language tool bar so I could type words in English) but some others are still a complete mystery. And when it comes to more impressive, more complicated functions, well, I might as well be beating a rock with another rock. And of course using the nifty Japanese keyboards is an adventure unto itself, where it seems absolutely impossible to get an apostrophe in English.
This would not be such an issue, except that last Sunday, the Internet mysteriously died at my apartment. My predecessor informed me he had left it on until the 20th, by which time I would have my gaijin card and could begin the long, red-taped process of creating my own. (One of my first lessons in Japan: there is no such thing as too much red tape.) I tried everything, turning it off, turning it back on, turning the computer off and on, the modem AND the computer, unplugging every wire I could get to. Nothing. No response.
The logic would be that my predecessors Internet simply cut out early. However, my phone is also tied to the modem, and thus the land line, and it functions just fine. So why would the phone, which arguably seems to be linked to the Internet, work, but the Internet itself doesnt?
The short story of it is, I am resigned to using whatever Internet I can steal away here at school.
As a rule, I try not to use the Internet except for Japanese studying or vocab/kanji checking. However, this week is the Obon festival, and though my vice principal has been fleeting in and out all day, there have only been two teachers in the staff room, and one of them left by about 10 am. Ive been correcting a speech for the English competition, but translating from Japanese into more proper English is making my brain explode a little.
(Ex: `It readily went to McDonalds in Japan and was terribly courageous though was able to order in the United States.` I translated as `I could order bravely from McDonalds in Japan, but in the United States I wasn`t very courageous.`)
So, a small... um, two hour long... break was in order.
Honestly, not having Internet was a little bit rattling. Having no Internet and no cell phone here is rather like to being left on a deserted island. A deserted island with lots of rice. I cant contact my supervisor, any of my teachers (for those days that I, oh, I dont know, get lost on the bus for two hours), or any other JETs in case of OMG CULTURE FREAKOUT.
Fortunately, this weekend was quite busy with prefecture orientation and a Japanese baseball game. On Monday, after hours and hours and hours of confusing applications (youd think I was buying a kidney and not a keitai) I received my very own phone.
And it has a TV function! No, seriously, I can watch TV on my cell phone! And browse the Internet (the TV is free, the Yahoo! browser is not.) I have even an email address on my cell phone... I think. I have no idea quite how to work all of it (they call texting email, and actual email is something else, and then theres SM and SMS! Mail, so it all gets very confusing.)
But still, cell phone! And I also received my gaijin card, so Internet is only a few more dozen applications away. I am a card-carrying member of Japan... literally!
Work has been both overwhelming and boring. Helping with the speech contests has become kind of like a hobby, trying to think of new ways to help them wrap their mouths around l and th sounds. The kids are great sports... though in one speech, a student sometimes substitutes an h sound in the middle of -sit- and..... well, I managed to take a few deep breaths and not fall over laughing as he said it over, and over, and over again.
I miss everyone from back home, though honestly, it still feels as if good ol Wisconsin is just a hop, skip, and jump away. Which is weird, since an hour long train ride to the capital city of my prefecture feels like an eternity whenever I start making plans with people.
Im starting to have my surprises and my `well this sucks` and `this is cool!` moments. I am trying very hard to focus on the positive, and not let snags mess up the upcoming year for me.
But I must say one thing. Bicycling in Japan, or at least in rural Japan, sucks monkey balls. Hard. All the streets are pretty narrow, and sidewalks are an act of God when you actually come across them... otherwise you have about three feet to four feet wide shoulders, with zooming vehicles of death on one side, and Gaijin traps on the other (otherwise known as rice paddy irrigation channels.) Additionally, my prefecture has the highest number of automobile accidents in all of Japan.
Which is bizarre to me, because it seems as if nearly everyone in Japan at least owns a bicycle and uses it fairly frequently. Ive certainly seen more bikes here in these past few weeks than I think I saw all year in Wisconsin. Just one of those interesting dichotomies, I guess.
Though Im not thinking -Interesting!- on that long bike ride from here to the next town over. Next time... Im just gonna take the train.
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Springtime for Hitler
Another hot day. Ready to test your Calsius skills? Today is Kagawa-ken, it was 35 degrees. Take a guess how much that is Fahrenheit-that's right. Over 85 degrees. Ah, hot, sticky goodness.
It's been a busy weekend. Today has been very chill... Mostly me sitting here at home, taking a feeble stab at Japanese cooking. Instant curry, hey! It's fun to not be able to read instructions on food-thank God for pictures! Course pictures can be just as confusing... I think I might have bought chips that taste like buttered bread. And getting my rice cooker to work has consisted of randomly pushing buttons and seeing what happens. With early evening setting in, I'm going to take another look around town and get some pictures, if I can. I'd have pictures for you all, but my darn card reader is putting up a fight. Far as I can tell, I've downloaded everything I need, but still my computer stubbornly refuses to recognize it. Which is a real shame, because I've got some wonderful pictures from the last few days.
Friday was a lot more relaxing at school. One of my JTEs brought me some delicious lunch and salted rice balls, which were DELICIOUS. The music teacher also invited me to listen to the Brass Band Club, who has a competition on the 4th. They were doing a compilation of Broadway songs, and I made the mistake of singing along to "Springtime for Hitler." So, they asked me to sing the lyrics for them. For anyone who isn't familiar with "The Producers," it goes a little something like this....
"Springtime for Hitler and Germany,
Rhindeland's a fine land once more
Springtime for Hitler and Germany,
Watch out, Europe!
We're going on tour!"
Well my JTE was having some trouble translating, so I said," Oh, it's a comedy musical about Germany invading Europe!" She explains it to the students, and their faces just sort of freeze in shock and horror. Unfortunately, my Japanese is too weak to fully explain "satirical humor," so... poor kids. It was like I told them they were playing a song from "I Killed My Puppy With a Crowbar."
Friday night a bunch of local JETs gathered a local eatery (and by local, I mean 15 minutes by train and 10 minutes by foot. Close enough.) I forgot how awkward it is being around new people. I haven't had to dance the Social Scene jig in a while, and I felt quite rusty. Constantly reminded yourself not to talk too much or be too perverted is quite exhausting, but everyone seems very nice, and the food wasn't so bizarre. Though I think they fed me chicken knuckles.... and Japanese mayonnaise.
Saturday we went to a barbecue in Tadotsu, and me and another new JET got to compare notes. I really miss everyone that I met in Tokyo-the JETs here have been incredibly nice and helpful, but there's something about sharing fears and excitements with other new people... for the other JETs, it's totally old-hat, and for us, it's AMAZING. I still find trains a thing of wonder.
After the barbecue, we went to a festival in a nearby town, which was a whole lot of standing and water-throwing. Mostly men from the town carried this 80 meter straw dragon through the streets, and people threw water on it to wish for rain and good luck. I managed to avoid getting drenched... except for my pants. Those didn't avoid the onslaught.
I haven't experienced culture shock just yet, I think. Unless shock involves extreme confusion and nerves. I'm missing people back home a lot, but I suppose I'm lucky... I get along pretty well no matter where you stick me. Of course, I'm not cut off from people just yet. We'll have to see how well I fare then. I just hope I can get a hold of someone, when and if that happens. I'm on the edge of my seat waiting for a Gaijin registration card so I can get a phone, Internet, and bank account. Until then, I send this message out into the void.
Good night, sweet void. You've served me well this day.
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