Hokay, so I have my laptop at work and I have about 10 minutes before it’s Cleaning Time. So, Imma try to do a little update for ya’ll.
So…what to write about…
Well, I haven’t been up to much aside from work. Am I a workaholic? Hmm…definitely seems like it at times…but really it’s just that this is one of the busiest times of the year for Japanese schools (or at least for my school).
Anyhoo, I’ve been prepping lessons, discussing them with teachers, teachin’ and playing with the students in the English Club. Compared to other schools, my teaching schedule is really odd and irregular. The only thing that has been staying is my bi-weekly 3nensei writing class. It’s not tough to teach but I have to ready to deal with translation variations and to give other examples or expressions on the spot. It’s not something I’m very good at so I’m always preparing for these lessons.
The 1nensei have all these orientation meetings, camp, physical examinations and summer uniform fittings to go to and so my lessons have been pushed and pushed back. At least I’m doing some teaching. Otherwise I’m just brainstorming and prepping for future lessons (a lesson well learned after my first year. Always have a lesson ready. For random “Can you teach this class now?” moments.
And soon it’ll be my school’s Culture Festival. There are soooo soooo many events going on those 2 days that I’ve never been able to attend all of them (it’s heart-breaking when you have groups of students begging you, and sometimes pulling you, to go check out their class’s program.) And prepping for it will start in about 2 weeks. If things go like they did last year, I’ll be uber busy again. So…I may disappear off the edge of the world for a bit. Haha. :P
(But I’ll give ya’ll a little chisme…I *might*, just *might*, play the piano for my school’s festival. That is, my skillz haven’t gone completely down the drain…)
Outside of the work-realm, I do have a trip coming up. It’s been a long-awaited, long-planned trip with my Oxy Ohana!!! And this time, we’re going overseas~~ We’re going to the land down under. But I still need to pack and prep for this trip…so I highly doubt I’ll be able to write again before the trip. So, I’ll see ya’ll in about a week or so~
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Hmm - Food For Thought
Ever since high school, I’ve liked to bake something for the holidays and for my friends for their birthdays. And I’ve still continued to do so. But lately, I’ve been told a lot that my cakes/chocolates seem like 売り物. Which means they can see it being sold in a bakery/store. Now add this to the “seeds” one of my friends has “planted” in my brain…and my mind begins to wonder beyond the daydreaming realm and into the possibility realm. I mean, I already enjoy baking stuff. So...why not have my own bakery/cafe???
Ideas Ideas.
But can we pull it off?
(Now, before ya’ll start to freak out and overanalyze “we” there, (*ahem, cheese-monkey, ahem*), I’m saying “we” because there’s someone, who makes fantastic coffee that could be combined very well with my “specialty” carrot cake, that I’ve been talking about this with)
Ideas Ideas.
But can we pull it off?
(Now, before ya’ll start to freak out and overanalyze “we” there, (*ahem, cheese-monkey, ahem*), I’m saying “we” because there’s someone, who makes fantastic coffee that could be combined very well with my “specialty” carrot cake, that I’ve been talking about this with)
New Beginnings
For the new readers:
In Japan, the school starts in April. So a couple of weeks ago, some teachers got shuffled about (it’s very common in Japan) and my new 1st years (what we’d call sophomores) have come back from “camp.” “Camp” at my school means that for 3 days, they go to a large campsite, learn the school rules, learn the school song, get to know each other, build bonds, discuss their goals for the year/high school life and get yelled at a lot. I’ve yet to go to one but from what I’ve gathered, that seems to be what goes on. They do come back more “high-school-student-ish” than “junior-high-school-student-ish.”
Anyway, so some teachers got shuffled about. Luckily, it wasn’t a huge blow as it was last year when half the English Department got transferred! It felt as though 1 teacher from each department was transferred. But I still find it a sad and unsettling time. What bummed me out this year was that my vice-principal, who was very 元気 and used to be an English teacher, got transferred after 1 year!!! Usually teachers don’t get transferred until they’ve at least been at a school for 3 years. However, some teachers end up staying a school for a really long time (Like my recently transferred 書道 teacher who managed to stay at my school for 22 years!!!)
Now, because I mainly teach the 1st years, I don’t get many opportunities to talk with the newly-transferred-teachers who are teaching the 2nd and 3rd years. But among the newly-transferred-teachers in my grade, one of them speaks Italian! He lived in Italy for 6 years so we can kinda communicate using Italian and Spanish. And I believe another teacher is a graduate from my school. Haha. It’s funny how many of them end up teaching here.
And it looks like I'll be teaching more classes this year! Woohoo~
Not only do I get to teach the 3rd year Writing class again, but I might get another 3rd year class to teach!!! Now, if I can find a way to enter the 2nd year classes...muahahahahahaha!
In Japan, the school starts in April. So a couple of weeks ago, some teachers got shuffled about (it’s very common in Japan) and my new 1st years (what we’d call sophomores) have come back from “camp.” “Camp” at my school means that for 3 days, they go to a large campsite, learn the school rules, learn the school song, get to know each other, build bonds, discuss their goals for the year/high school life and get yelled at a lot. I’ve yet to go to one but from what I’ve gathered, that seems to be what goes on. They do come back more “high-school-student-ish” than “junior-high-school-student-ish.”
Anyway, so some teachers got shuffled about. Luckily, it wasn’t a huge blow as it was last year when half the English Department got transferred! It felt as though 1 teacher from each department was transferred. But I still find it a sad and unsettling time. What bummed me out this year was that my vice-principal, who was very 元気 and used to be an English teacher, got transferred after 1 year!!! Usually teachers don’t get transferred until they’ve at least been at a school for 3 years. However, some teachers end up staying a school for a really long time (Like my recently transferred 書道 teacher who managed to stay at my school for 22 years!!!)
Now, because I mainly teach the 1st years, I don’t get many opportunities to talk with the newly-transferred-teachers who are teaching the 2nd and 3rd years. But among the newly-transferred-teachers in my grade, one of them speaks Italian! He lived in Italy for 6 years so we can kinda communicate using Italian and Spanish. And I believe another teacher is a graduate from my school. Haha. It’s funny how many of them end up teaching here.
And it looks like I'll be teaching more classes this year! Woohoo~
Not only do I get to teach the 3rd year Writing class again, but I might get another 3rd year class to teach!!! Now, if I can find a way to enter the 2nd year classes...muahahahahahaha!
News~
So, the news has changed a bit. A couple weeks ago is was pretty much nothing but HUGE BOLD headlines about the earthquake, tsunami and the of the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant. Now, of course there are still articles about all of them but there seems to be less (And that’s because I’m not much a newspaper reader…or news watcher…).
In terms of the news in Fukuoka, it seems to have calmed down. I hear less talk about it and it feels like things at work have gone into full throttle with the usual hussel and bussle of the beginning of the new school year.
So, everyone back at home/other side of the world. I’m still OK and there’s not reason to worry. ^^v (I’m also not lacking a lot of sleep. So I don’t need an intervention either. ;P)
In terms of the news in Fukuoka, it seems to have calmed down. I hear less talk about it and it feels like things at work have gone into full throttle with the usual hussel and bussle of the beginning of the new school year.
So, everyone back at home/other side of the world. I’m still OK and there’s not reason to worry. ^^v (I’m also not lacking a lot of sleep. So I don’t need an intervention either. ;P)
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Ey, ¿que honda?
Hey readers! (And welcome, new readers!)
So, it’s been a while since I’ve last written. Quite a while really. But it’s not understatement when I say, “I’ve been busy.” If you any of you personally know me, you’d totally understand what I’m talking about. But besides that fact, in light of everything’s that been going on here in Japan (and in response to all the emails and conversations rotating around “Are you back yet?” and “You should come back,” comments, I figured now’s a good time to write again about my daily shenanigans and keep you guys in the low paranoia level.
So, let’s begin.
As I’m writing this, I can’t remember when was the last time I posted. I don’t recall if I wrote before/during/after winter break…but right after winter break I’ve been pretty crazy busy. Mainly due to 2 projects that work that just sucked any free time I had. One more than the other (like, I even lost some sleep…ugh…)
Project A: Video Lesson
When I went home for Christmas, I made sure to take pictures of pretty much everything I did in LA and took video when it was possible. (Taking pictures wasn’t too difficult since some friends already call me “paparazzi”. It was the taking video bit that I’d usually forget about…). After I came back to Japan (and spent New Year’s with a friend and with my host mom), I started to work on a video for my students. I’m not a computer geek and computers tend to hate me so it took some time to learn the tricks of iMovie and get the music to start and fade out where I wanted them. Then I made questions for the students to answer, did the lesson 10 times (new readers: I teach all of the first years, equivalent of sophomores, and there’s 10 classes of 40 students), graded their handouts and recorded their scores. Right after this I started planning and preparing for the English Speech Contest.
Project B: English Speech Contest
So, in my school, all of the first years must write their own speech and then we hold preliminary rounds in each class to choose the student who will continue in the Speech Contest. Usually there are about 2 students per class that continue with the contest but occasionally we pass more. Anyway, the time consuming part was getting them to start to write their essays. Most of them didn’t seem too thrilled about it so getting excited for it was a bit of a challenge. Learning from last year’s craziness, I did more lessons with them on how to write. I knew it wouldn’t be easy but I didn’t expect it to be heavily overwhelming for some students. So I made sure to explain everything. But, for their rough draft, once I finished correcting their grammar, I wrote questions all along the sides to help them expand their speeches (and to make it more coherent). THAT took way more time than I had anticipated.
And then, in came a busy cloud. 3rd year’s English Essays!!! This year was the first time I taught at least one senior class on a weekly basis. But usually my part is done by winter break (since they’re mainly preparing to take their college entrance examinations). However, many of the teachers were asking me to help with the English Essay portion of their entrance exams! So, on top of grading/correcting/commenting/asking my 1st years’ Rough Drafts, I was lesson planning/prepping/correcting/guiding/advising the 3rd years! So, I felt like there weren’t enough hours in a day.
This went on for about 2 weeks.
Once I finally finished working with all the rough drafts (did you do the math?), I did 10 lessons explaining more on writing a speech, giving small grammar lessons (based on common mistakes I corrected), answering questions and talking one-on-one with the students who were either slacking off or having a really hard time, I thought I had some free time. But no. As soon as I had finished that second round of classes to start them on their 2nd drafts, their deadlines started coming in. So again, I was correcting all of their speeches. But this time around, as much as I wanted to, I didn’t ask them questions to help them with their speeches because the semester was almost going to end. I needed the last week of the semester to hold the preliminary rounds.
And the last day of the rounds was my busiest day!!! 1st and 2nd period I had preliminary rounds, 3rd period was a co-worker’s Open Class (so I checked it out), 4th was another preliminary round, then I had lunch (oh yea, I had skipped breakfast so I was soooo hungry), 5th was the last preliminary round, 6th was spent tallying up the points, going over my notes to choose the best speaker and writing the list of the students who will continue in the contest and finally, in the 7th period, I announced who would continue.
Phase 1 of the English Speech Contest ended. Oh man…I slept so much that weekend. And it felt sooooo nice.
Now, I’m busy with other things but at least now I shouldn’t be working too late…
Phase 2 will start when the new school year starts. So…maybe mid-April?
Bleh…I only wrote about 2 things and one of them took so much space…
Anyway, clearly, things are fine in my area. Maybe my next one will be more on what’s been going on but first I wanted to let ya’ll know why my replies to your emails have been delayed (or very short-answered…)
So, it’s been a while since I’ve last written. Quite a while really. But it’s not understatement when I say, “I’ve been busy.” If you any of you personally know me, you’d totally understand what I’m talking about. But besides that fact, in light of everything’s that been going on here in Japan (and in response to all the emails and conversations rotating around “Are you back yet?” and “You should come back,” comments, I figured now’s a good time to write again about my daily shenanigans and keep you guys in the low paranoia level.
So, let’s begin.
As I’m writing this, I can’t remember when was the last time I posted. I don’t recall if I wrote before/during/after winter break…but right after winter break I’ve been pretty crazy busy. Mainly due to 2 projects that work that just sucked any free time I had. One more than the other (like, I even lost some sleep…ugh…)
Project A: Video Lesson
When I went home for Christmas, I made sure to take pictures of pretty much everything I did in LA and took video when it was possible. (Taking pictures wasn’t too difficult since some friends already call me “paparazzi”. It was the taking video bit that I’d usually forget about…). After I came back to Japan (and spent New Year’s with a friend and with my host mom), I started to work on a video for my students. I’m not a computer geek and computers tend to hate me so it took some time to learn the tricks of iMovie and get the music to start and fade out where I wanted them. Then I made questions for the students to answer, did the lesson 10 times (new readers: I teach all of the first years, equivalent of sophomores, and there’s 10 classes of 40 students), graded their handouts and recorded their scores. Right after this I started planning and preparing for the English Speech Contest.
Project B: English Speech Contest
So, in my school, all of the first years must write their own speech and then we hold preliminary rounds in each class to choose the student who will continue in the Speech Contest. Usually there are about 2 students per class that continue with the contest but occasionally we pass more. Anyway, the time consuming part was getting them to start to write their essays. Most of them didn’t seem too thrilled about it so getting excited for it was a bit of a challenge. Learning from last year’s craziness, I did more lessons with them on how to write. I knew it wouldn’t be easy but I didn’t expect it to be heavily overwhelming for some students. So I made sure to explain everything. But, for their rough draft, once I finished correcting their grammar, I wrote questions all along the sides to help them expand their speeches (and to make it more coherent). THAT took way more time than I had anticipated.
And then, in came a busy cloud. 3rd year’s English Essays!!! This year was the first time I taught at least one senior class on a weekly basis. But usually my part is done by winter break (since they’re mainly preparing to take their college entrance examinations). However, many of the teachers were asking me to help with the English Essay portion of their entrance exams! So, on top of grading/correcting/commenting/asking my 1st years’ Rough Drafts, I was lesson planning/prepping/correcting/guiding/advising the 3rd years! So, I felt like there weren’t enough hours in a day.
This went on for about 2 weeks.
Once I finally finished working with all the rough drafts (did you do the math?), I did 10 lessons explaining more on writing a speech, giving small grammar lessons (based on common mistakes I corrected), answering questions and talking one-on-one with the students who were either slacking off or having a really hard time, I thought I had some free time. But no. As soon as I had finished that second round of classes to start them on their 2nd drafts, their deadlines started coming in. So again, I was correcting all of their speeches. But this time around, as much as I wanted to, I didn’t ask them questions to help them with their speeches because the semester was almost going to end. I needed the last week of the semester to hold the preliminary rounds.
And the last day of the rounds was my busiest day!!! 1st and 2nd period I had preliminary rounds, 3rd period was a co-worker’s Open Class (so I checked it out), 4th was another preliminary round, then I had lunch (oh yea, I had skipped breakfast so I was soooo hungry), 5th was the last preliminary round, 6th was spent tallying up the points, going over my notes to choose the best speaker and writing the list of the students who will continue in the contest and finally, in the 7th period, I announced who would continue.
Phase 1 of the English Speech Contest ended. Oh man…I slept so much that weekend. And it felt sooooo nice.
Now, I’m busy with other things but at least now I shouldn’t be working too late…
Phase 2 will start when the new school year starts. So…maybe mid-April?
Bleh…I only wrote about 2 things and one of them took so much space…
Anyway, clearly, things are fine in my area. Maybe my next one will be more on what’s been going on but first I wanted to let ya’ll know why my replies to your emails have been delayed (or very short-answered…)
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Stuff that’s been going on
Hey hey~
Ok, so yea, I suck at keeping this updated. >.<;
So I’m gonna separate this into “Past Craziness” and “Current Shenanigans.”
Past Craziness:
Surprises Galore!
It all started with Julie and I wanting to throw Lupita a surprise birthday party. It then rolled over to “Let’s surprise Julie too!” which then ended up being 2 surprises for her (because our gift to her was a getaway trip to an onsen but we wanted to go when it was still cold and therefore was a really really early birthday present. And then we still threw her a surprise dinner party. Ha-cha!). Then it just became a crazy “Let’s surprise her too” tunnel and so Erika had her little surprise dinner, Mayu had a surprise dinner outing and home dinner party and we even threw a little surprise farewell dinner for Julie. And now I’d like to take a small break from surprises (it gets a little hard to remember who knows what and what’s a secret from who sometimes…well this last time it was because there were 3 surprises and I was starting to forget who knew what!! Ah…)
筑紫祭
So at my school’s Cultural Festival, I did my usual judging of the speech contest. Which also means helping the students prep for it. But this year, I also got to work with my ESS kids and their English play. In ways, I was their scriptwriter, director and understudy. Hahaha. But it really seemed like we were just goofing off and having fun. :D
And then, the Home Ec teacher asked if I’d be interested in baking with the Home Ec club. They usually bake tons of cookies, put them into cute little bags and sell them during 筑紫祭. She knows I love to bake so of course I decided to help! So all of these things, being done around the same time meant that I needed a double, or an assistant. Being that I have neither, I was staying at work really late. I mean, it was dark out when I’d leave. And sometimes the last group of teachers would be walking about the school to lock it up. This was the second time I’ve seen my school in the dark. But this time I had my camera so I took some night shots. Sadly, it doesn’t do much justice. It had just a little bit of creepiness to it. But maybe it’s just because I’m a horror fan and it looked like a setting for a horror film. :P
Current Shenanigans:
I had a college buddy come visit me for a week! She was actually in Japan for 2 weeks but she was visiting another college buddy up in Hiroshima first.
It was an awesome time with her. It was to catch up and to show her about my city. And we got to go shopping! (It’s been a while…) Then together we went to visit another college buddy further south of me. That made it even more fun. But, the typhoon was not so much fun. Luckily it didn’t hit my area but we did get a lot of rain and strong winds (which together means you’ll get wet. With or without an umbrella. Yea!… -_-“). But because we stayed indoors, it rather felt like a vacation and it was nice to A: catch up on sleep and B: just chill.
Then right after this was the uber crazy Soumen Dinner Party/Mayu’s Surprise Birthday Party/Julie’s Surprise Farewell Party. And since I had spent the previous days away from home, I was up early that Saturday morning to clean, straighten out my place, run errands, finish the surprises (cake and photo albums) and generally getting ready. Despite waking up early, we party hard-y-ed till almost dawn. We could have kept going but half of the members were getting really tired. (boo~)
About one week later, it was Julie’s last night and her cousin decided to throw her a farewell BBQ (mmm. Yummy meat). And we all decided to wear yukatas just because. Hehe.
Sadly though, I was unable to spend the night or see her off at the airport because I had made plans to take a day tour with my office ladies like 2 months in advance. But the day trip was fun!! Hot, but fun. We went about Kumamoto and picked our own melons, got grapes and watermelon, went to a winery, saw a historic place, went to a famous river (which was really cool. Like cold cool). And had yummy food.
The next day, I went to a teacher’s house to have dinner. Her husband is also a teacher but at a different school but his ALT lives at my jutaku so we went together. Unfortunately, the moment we decided to head over to their place, it was pouring rain! (Evil rain! I know you’re out to get me!) Luckily though, there was a taxi outside so I snatched it before it left. Mahaha!
We had tacos for dinner (which were quite yummy. I want more~) and did some nice chatting. Got a little lost on the way back (it’s crazy how much the streets change in the dark…) but we got back alright (and there was no rain! Haha!).
Oh, the only other update would be that I fear my tendonitis if coming back. Noooooooooooooooooo.
I think I have only 1 more chance for this super-strong shot and after that…if my tendonitis comes back…I’ll have to get surgery… o_O;;
Ok, so yea, I suck at keeping this updated. >.<;
So I’m gonna separate this into “Past Craziness” and “Current Shenanigans.”
Past Craziness:
Surprises Galore!
It all started with Julie and I wanting to throw Lupita a surprise birthday party. It then rolled over to “Let’s surprise Julie too!” which then ended up being 2 surprises for her (because our gift to her was a getaway trip to an onsen but we wanted to go when it was still cold and therefore was a really really early birthday present. And then we still threw her a surprise dinner party. Ha-cha!). Then it just became a crazy “Let’s surprise her too” tunnel and so Erika had her little surprise dinner, Mayu had a surprise dinner outing and home dinner party and we even threw a little surprise farewell dinner for Julie. And now I’d like to take a small break from surprises (it gets a little hard to remember who knows what and what’s a secret from who sometimes…well this last time it was because there were 3 surprises and I was starting to forget who knew what!! Ah…)
筑紫祭
So at my school’s Cultural Festival, I did my usual judging of the speech contest. Which also means helping the students prep for it. But this year, I also got to work with my ESS kids and their English play. In ways, I was their scriptwriter, director and understudy. Hahaha. But it really seemed like we were just goofing off and having fun. :D
And then, the Home Ec teacher asked if I’d be interested in baking with the Home Ec club. They usually bake tons of cookies, put them into cute little bags and sell them during 筑紫祭. She knows I love to bake so of course I decided to help! So all of these things, being done around the same time meant that I needed a double, or an assistant. Being that I have neither, I was staying at work really late. I mean, it was dark out when I’d leave. And sometimes the last group of teachers would be walking about the school to lock it up. This was the second time I’ve seen my school in the dark. But this time I had my camera so I took some night shots. Sadly, it doesn’t do much justice. It had just a little bit of creepiness to it. But maybe it’s just because I’m a horror fan and it looked like a setting for a horror film. :P
Current Shenanigans:
I had a college buddy come visit me for a week! She was actually in Japan for 2 weeks but she was visiting another college buddy up in Hiroshima first.
It was an awesome time with her. It was to catch up and to show her about my city. And we got to go shopping! (It’s been a while…) Then together we went to visit another college buddy further south of me. That made it even more fun. But, the typhoon was not so much fun. Luckily it didn’t hit my area but we did get a lot of rain and strong winds (which together means you’ll get wet. With or without an umbrella. Yea!… -_-“). But because we stayed indoors, it rather felt like a vacation and it was nice to A: catch up on sleep and B: just chill.
Then right after this was the uber crazy Soumen Dinner Party/Mayu’s Surprise Birthday Party/Julie’s Surprise Farewell Party. And since I had spent the previous days away from home, I was up early that Saturday morning to clean, straighten out my place, run errands, finish the surprises (cake and photo albums) and generally getting ready. Despite waking up early, we party hard-y-ed till almost dawn. We could have kept going but half of the members were getting really tired. (boo~)
About one week later, it was Julie’s last night and her cousin decided to throw her a farewell BBQ (mmm. Yummy meat). And we all decided to wear yukatas just because. Hehe.
Sadly though, I was unable to spend the night or see her off at the airport because I had made plans to take a day tour with my office ladies like 2 months in advance. But the day trip was fun!! Hot, but fun. We went about Kumamoto and picked our own melons, got grapes and watermelon, went to a winery, saw a historic place, went to a famous river (which was really cool. Like cold cool). And had yummy food.
The next day, I went to a teacher’s house to have dinner. Her husband is also a teacher but at a different school but his ALT lives at my jutaku so we went together. Unfortunately, the moment we decided to head over to their place, it was pouring rain! (Evil rain! I know you’re out to get me!) Luckily though, there was a taxi outside so I snatched it before it left. Mahaha!
We had tacos for dinner (which were quite yummy. I want more~) and did some nice chatting. Got a little lost on the way back (it’s crazy how much the streets change in the dark…) but we got back alright (and there was no rain! Haha!).
Oh, the only other update would be that I fear my tendonitis if coming back. Noooooooooooooooooo.
I think I have only 1 more chance for this super-strong shot and after that…if my tendonitis comes back…I’ll have to get surgery… o_O;;
Thursday, August 5, 2010
久留米花火大会２０１０
So last night was the 久留米花火大会 (Kurume Fireworks Festival). And being the biggest fireworks festival in Fukuoka, many many MANY people go watch. So, most of us ALTs make plans with our blocks to go and watch it together (also since the ALTs that just arrived wouldn’t have known about it or wouldn’t have known how to get there…unless they knew Japanese and then I they’d be ok.)
But yes, speaking of new ALTs, I met just about all the new ALTs in my area. This year, some high schools went back to JET (so they decided to not continue with the private companies) and so these ALTs have no predecessors. So I imagine they have many questions. But sadly, maybe not the kind I can answer (every school is different which makes every situation different…the best help here would be from a predecessor…*le sigh…).
Anyhoo, back to the main event. The festival!!!
So, yesterday, I kinda raced back home to take a quick cold shower and change into my yukata (summer kimono). I decided to wear the one my host mom bought me 3 years ago (yes, I have 2) and then decided to go for a challenge and do the obi myself. The obi that came with this yukata is pre-set so that I don’t have to worry about making the bow. But, I wanted to try a new obi I had bought maybe a year ago. So, standing in front of the mirror for maybe 13 minutes trying to figure it out do I notice I did the same mistake I did the year before: I folded the sides of the yukata “left over right” instead of “right over left.” Left over right is intended for deceased people…so I was something of a zombie last year… -_-“ But I noticed this time! But sadly it also meant I had to un-do it all and start over. Ugh. But I managed to finish in time to then help my friend dress into her yukata. And she had the pre-set obi so hers was easier to put on.
Then after some waiting for the rest of the block members to gather, we ventured off to the train station where we squished ourselves into an already packed train to get to Kurume. Personally, I think last year was more crowded… hmm…
*Fast Forward*
So we get to the tarps that our friends who live near Kurume set out and sat down. After a little while, the festival began. In Japan, the fireworks run for more than 15 minutes.
They run for an hour.
No really. The festival began at 7:40pm and ran until 9:10pm. So I got to play around with the settings of my camera and managed to get some good ones (woot~).
But of course, since it’s one of the biggest festivals, going back means lots and lots of traffic…both in terms of cars and people. Some of my buddies decided to head back before the festival ended to try to beat the crowd. But some of us lingered to the very end. So we took our time getting up, throwing away our trash, folding the tarps and taking pictures. (And there was even an announcement that because the station was heavily crowded, everyone should take their time walking back to the station. hehe).
So we did. We even stopped by the little stands in the shrine area to check out the kids trying to scoop up goldfish with a paper paddle. But still, we had to wait in a really long time for…maybe half an hour? (possibly more) And then we got squished into a train (not that squished but yes, quite crowded) and returned home.
And now some pictures for you!
But yes, speaking of new ALTs, I met just about all the new ALTs in my area. This year, some high schools went back to JET (so they decided to not continue with the private companies) and so these ALTs have no predecessors. So I imagine they have many questions. But sadly, maybe not the kind I can answer (every school is different which makes every situation different…the best help here would be from a predecessor…*le sigh…).
Anyhoo, back to the main event. The festival!!!
So, yesterday, I kinda raced back home to take a quick cold shower and change into my yukata (summer kimono). I decided to wear the one my host mom bought me 3 years ago (yes, I have 2) and then decided to go for a challenge and do the obi myself. The obi that came with this yukata is pre-set so that I don’t have to worry about making the bow. But, I wanted to try a new obi I had bought maybe a year ago. So, standing in front of the mirror for maybe 13 minutes trying to figure it out do I notice I did the same mistake I did the year before: I folded the sides of the yukata “left over right” instead of “right over left.” Left over right is intended for deceased people…so I was something of a zombie last year… -_-“ But I noticed this time! But sadly it also meant I had to un-do it all and start over. Ugh. But I managed to finish in time to then help my friend dress into her yukata. And she had the pre-set obi so hers was easier to put on.
Then after some waiting for the rest of the block members to gather, we ventured off to the train station where we squished ourselves into an already packed train to get to Kurume. Personally, I think last year was more crowded… hmm…
*Fast Forward*
So we get to the tarps that our friends who live near Kurume set out and sat down. After a little while, the festival began. In Japan, the fireworks run for more than 15 minutes.
They run for an hour.
No really. The festival began at 7:40pm and ran until 9:10pm. So I got to play around with the settings of my camera and managed to get some good ones (woot~).
But of course, since it’s one of the biggest festivals, going back means lots and lots of traffic…both in terms of cars and people. Some of my buddies decided to head back before the festival ended to try to beat the crowd. But some of us lingered to the very end. So we took our time getting up, throwing away our trash, folding the tarps and taking pictures. (And there was even an announcement that because the station was heavily crowded, everyone should take their time walking back to the station. hehe).
So we did. We even stopped by the little stands in the shrine area to check out the kids trying to scoop up goldfish with a paper paddle. But still, we had to wait in a really long time for…maybe half an hour? (possibly more) And then we got squished into a train (not that squished but yes, quite crowded) and returned home.
And now some pictures for you!
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
*Sniff Sniff*
Lately, I’ve been going down memory road as I ride my bike to work.
Why?
There’s a row of houses that have many flowers in front of their houses. And these flowers are flowers that are either at my parent’s home or my hometown.
Like…the flowers that I’d always pass when I’d walk to church with my parents. They have a very strong…honey (?) smell and so whenever I smell them, I immediately see the flowers in my head and then I feel like I’m going to church. Haha. (But then I realized I’m not home and am riding my bike and should be careful about the car coming up behind me)
Then I pass a house that has many roses. Since my mom loves roses, she usually has some about the house.
It’s a never-fail effect:
I smell roses -> Mom pops into my head.
(But then a car crossing in front of me quickly bursts that thought-bubble)
What I found surprising was that instead of making me homesick it just made “home” that much more of a special place.
:)
Monday, April 5, 2010
The New School-Year Has Started~
So in Japan, in the interval between the end of the year and the start of the new academic year, there is a special, high-tension day. It is the announcement day of the list of the teachers that will be transferred. Once a teacher has taught at a school for 3 years, s/he can be transferred. But some teachers somehow manage to stay a school for longer (some have been at my school for 13 years!). But it’s not something you apply for so it’s really just a game of chance.
When this happened last year, I was mainly confused by it and then downfallen at the fact that some of the teachers I’ve been trying to build friendships with were leaving!
This year, I knew it was coming but I didn’t expect to have almost half the department transferred out or to have so many teachers in general transferred! So it was quite sad but I was mainly upset about one particular teacher. This one teacher was one of the few I really got along with and whom I would joke around with. I was afraid of this teacher leaving last year (when I first heard about this) but luckily it didn’t happen. But it did this year…*SIGH* What made it a little harder was hearing one of the students who really liked this teacher too say “Being a 3rd year is going to be rough! I can’t do it without that teacher!”
I can still contact this teacher (so we can meet up and have coffee or something) but it’s going to be sad not working together anymore…
Today we had the Opening Ceremony for the new academic year. The new teachers were introduced as well as the new Principal and Vice-principal (both of whom seem to know English! Score!). But it’s crazy to see my first 1st years as 3rd years (seniors) now. I’m in disbelief that they’ll graduate in one year…time sure does fly by!
Tomorrow is the Entrance Ceremony and I’ll meet my new 1st years. Exciting~
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Rain and Snow Knocked on my Window…
So Wednesday morning, somewhere around 3 or 4 in the morning to I got woken by crazy rain and snow hitting my window due to the violent winds that were blowing. Not only was it a rude awakening, I continued to be woken up until I actually had to wake up to get ready to go to work. Luckily by the time I left my apartment, it was only lightly snowing and the ferocious winds had stopped.
This totally sucked for my students since Class Match had to be held indoors. So the boys who had signed up for soccer now had to play ping pong. But they all seemed to have fun despite the bitter cold (still amazed some of them were in their shorts…).
But as always, day 2 is vicious. Because the ３年生 have graduated, there are inter-class games. My kids tend to be competitive anyway but once it becomes the ２年生 versus the １先生…not only do they step up their game, the cheering intensifies. I enjoy trying to document this whole event. However, the stray dodgeball balls are something to fear…especially when the softball girls are playing…hehe.
But back to the crazy weather. It’s March and it should be getting warmer and warmer. It was until this week and we suddenly dropped to freezing degrees and then got snow and rain… And although it continued to snow that day it never piled up so we couldn’t even have a snowball fight. Saaaaaaad.
Hmm…because it was getting warmer, we were expected to have the sakura blossoming for the middle-end of this month. But after this random cold front…could it have been pushed back? Hmmm…
Hopefully there’ll be some around for my block’s 花見 event. (Hanami comes from the kanji of “Flower” 花 and “To See” 見． So it’s usually translated as “Flower Viewing.” But in the Japanese culture, “Hanami” implies picnicking underneath a sakura tree and drinking sake.)
This totally sucked for my students since Class Match had to be held indoors. So the boys who had signed up for soccer now had to play ping pong. But they all seemed to have fun despite the bitter cold (still amazed some of them were in their shorts…).
But as always, day 2 is vicious. Because the ３年生 have graduated, there are inter-class games. My kids tend to be competitive anyway but once it becomes the ２年生 versus the １先生…not only do they step up their game, the cheering intensifies. I enjoy trying to document this whole event. However, the stray dodgeball balls are something to fear…especially when the softball girls are playing…hehe.
But back to the crazy weather. It’s March and it should be getting warmer and warmer. It was until this week and we suddenly dropped to freezing degrees and then got snow and rain… And although it continued to snow that day it never piled up so we couldn’t even have a snowball fight. Saaaaaaad.
Hmm…because it was getting warmer, we were expected to have the sakura blossoming for the middle-end of this month. But after this random cold front…could it have been pushed back? Hmmm…
Hopefully there’ll be some around for my block’s 花見 event. (Hanami comes from the kanji of “Flower” 花 and “To See” 見． So it’s usually translated as “Flower Viewing.” But in the Japanese culture, “Hanami” implies picnicking underneath a sakura tree and drinking sake.)
Monday, February 15, 2010
Crazy but Awesome Weekend
So Valentine’s day just past by. And yes, I’m behind in sending cards…gomen! ><;;
This past weekend, Lupita and I had one of our Mexican Fiestas. Since it was near Valentine’s, it was a mix of a block-event-Mexi-Nite and a Valentine’s day event for our block (sadly though, not everyone came…). So, of course, this meant that Lupita and I were up to our usual business and work work work for preparing for all the craziness. (Going to at least 3 stores each to find all the right ingredients, doing the baking before hand, which in this case was Thursday, starting the prep work Friday night and then cooking all day Saturday and leaving us only about an hour or so to get ready.) And this time around, I ended up napping before the party started…I was that tired before it even started!
But it seemed to have turned out well. The food was good although it went by really fast this time around. Lesson learned. Our invite list will need to be a max of 20 people. No “ifs,” “ands,” or “buts.” Which really sucks for us because then we feel like we’re being mean but…I don’t want to get Lupita in trouble with her neighbors and I’d like to not be so tired after our parties…But that’s a different topic-
This time around, my Oxy Ohana came!! (They are some of my college buddies that are also doing the JET thing). One of them came Wednesday night so it was really awesome to have some more hanging out time with him. He even came to my school! I think my kids enjoyed talking to a friend of mine. We ended up talking to a group of 3rd years (high school seniors) for about an hour! About movies, sports, bands and whatnot. He was a little blown away since he teaches at elementary schools and junior high schools.
This on Thursday we went to the mall to get last minute ingredients and lunch. After that was baking, talking, baking, laughing, baking, eating take out, baking and more baking. Friday was working, showing my friend around, ESS fun, dinner with my co-hosts and meeting up with another buddy from my Oxy Ohana!
Saturday was mayhem. Cooking, cleaning, frying, mixing, beating, shredding, cutting, dicing, blending since 9:45am. And somehow we always just on the dot with getting ready…ah…but they seemed to have really enjoyed the food. ^^ But I ended up knocking out on the sofa around 3 or 4am…only to randomly wake up around 8am and seeing futons and bodies all around me. Oops…By that time though, the party was swindling down.
Sunday was spent cleaning, making French toast for my buddies, watching a movie and just chilling. Then I took my Oxy Ohana to the station where we sadly said our good-byes. But I should soon be meeting up with them again. :D
And now…I want to sleep…
zzZZzzzZZZZZzzzzzZzzzzZZZzzzzzZZZZZzzzzzzzZZZzZZZzzZzzzzzzzZzzzZzzz
This past weekend, Lupita and I had one of our Mexican Fiestas. Since it was near Valentine’s, it was a mix of a block-event-Mexi-Nite and a Valentine’s day event for our block (sadly though, not everyone came…). So, of course, this meant that Lupita and I were up to our usual business and work work work for preparing for all the craziness. (Going to at least 3 stores each to find all the right ingredients, doing the baking before hand, which in this case was Thursday, starting the prep work Friday night and then cooking all day Saturday and leaving us only about an hour or so to get ready.) And this time around, I ended up napping before the party started…I was that tired before it even started!
But it seemed to have turned out well. The food was good although it went by really fast this time around. Lesson learned. Our invite list will need to be a max of 20 people. No “ifs,” “ands,” or “buts.” Which really sucks for us because then we feel like we’re being mean but…I don’t want to get Lupita in trouble with her neighbors and I’d like to not be so tired after our parties…But that’s a different topic-
This time around, my Oxy Ohana came!! (They are some of my college buddies that are also doing the JET thing). One of them came Wednesday night so it was really awesome to have some more hanging out time with him. He even came to my school! I think my kids enjoyed talking to a friend of mine. We ended up talking to a group of 3rd years (high school seniors) for about an hour! About movies, sports, bands and whatnot. He was a little blown away since he teaches at elementary schools and junior high schools.
This on Thursday we went to the mall to get last minute ingredients and lunch. After that was baking, talking, baking, laughing, baking, eating take out, baking and more baking. Friday was working, showing my friend around, ESS fun, dinner with my co-hosts and meeting up with another buddy from my Oxy Ohana!
Saturday was mayhem. Cooking, cleaning, frying, mixing, beating, shredding, cutting, dicing, blending since 9:45am. And somehow we always just on the dot with getting ready…ah…but they seemed to have really enjoyed the food. ^^ But I ended up knocking out on the sofa around 3 or 4am…only to randomly wake up around 8am and seeing futons and bodies all around me. Oops…By that time though, the party was swindling down.
Sunday was spent cleaning, making French toast for my buddies, watching a movie and just chilling. Then I took my Oxy Ohana to the station where we sadly said our good-byes. But I should soon be meeting up with them again. :D
And now…I want to sleep…
zzZZzzzZZZZZzzzzzZzzzzZZZzzzzzZZZZZzzzzzzzZZZzZZZzzZzzzzzzzZzzzZzzz
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Valentine's Day
Yesterday I was talking with my co-worker/host mom #2 and I asked her if she was planning something for Valentine’s Day. She said no because she has nobody. I teetered my head to the side and asked, “Well, what about your family? Are you not doing anything with them?”
“No. Valentine’s is a lover’s day.”
Somewhere in my head I always understood this but at the same time I also always viewed Valentine’s Day as a day so eat sweets and share it with your loved ones which includes family and friends. It can also be because at home, we also call it, “Dìa de la Amistad,” or “Friendship Day.” After I explained this to my host-mom, she said that only recently have people been giving chocolates to their friends as well. But not her. She does and gives nothing. (Or so she said.) And since we have a playful relationship I said, “So…I won’t give you any cookies.” Her slightly blank/slightly shocked face was the reaction I was hoping for. Immediately after she says, “No. You should make me a big heart. A big heart just for me.” Hahaha. She’s so awesome.
Actually…she was trying to convince me to make a heart-shaped carrot cake (because so far that’s her favorite of my baking goods). But I feel heart-shaped cookies will work better (since this way I can place some on everyone’s desk.)
v(^_^)v
“No. Valentine’s is a lover’s day.”
Somewhere in my head I always understood this but at the same time I also always viewed Valentine’s Day as a day so eat sweets and share it with your loved ones which includes family and friends. It can also be because at home, we also call it, “Dìa de la Amistad,” or “Friendship Day.” After I explained this to my host-mom, she said that only recently have people been giving chocolates to their friends as well. But not her. She does and gives nothing. (Or so she said.) And since we have a playful relationship I said, “So…I won’t give you any cookies.” Her slightly blank/slightly shocked face was the reaction I was hoping for. Immediately after she says, “No. You should make me a big heart. A big heart just for me.” Hahaha. She’s so awesome.
Actually…she was trying to convince me to make a heart-shaped carrot cake (because so far that’s her favorite of my baking goods). But I feel heart-shaped cookies will work better (since this way I can place some on everyone’s desk.)
v(^_^)v
Trying to update...
Small update from 1/18...
"Hello hello~
Well, it’s quite a while since I’ve written anything and it’s already the new year! Whoa!
I don’t remember what I have and haven’t written about…so I think I’m going to do as I did once before and start from the post recent and move backwards (hopefully re-connecting with where I left off)!
So now I can see my laptop screen again. (Finally!) It’s not because I got it fixed but because I bought a new one. Ugh…so expensive…but so far soooo worth it!
Anyhoo, I’m back in Japan after a 3-week break back at home. Ah, it was so nice to be back in LA, eating my mom’s food, being silly with my family and being able to fully understand everything around (then again…not such a great thing…). And I got to meet up with some buddies! Sadly not all of them…but at least some. ^^ The funny bit how a little more than half of my suit cases were filled with omiyage (souvenirs) on the way home and just about the same spaced was filled with omiyage coming back to Japan. Ahahaha! But so far, everyone has been enjoying (or did enjoy) their gifts. Yay! Yay!
And it was so great to be with my family again. Since my parents and cousin visited me last year, it didn’t feel like it was away from home for so long. But then I noticed that for a while now, I’ve only seen the winter LA. And then once I noticed that I had a lot to be updated on from my family, I fully realized that I have been gone a long time. It was a bit sad but it also makes going home more special. (And there’s that little voice in my head again that sometimes teases me saying, “That’s what it’s going to be like from now on~.”
Hmm… :\
…
I almost can’t believe I’ve already been back in Japan for a week and a half. Not even 24hrs after returning have I been so busy again!!! It feels like I’ve been back for longer! (which now makes me feel better about the fact that I still have my carry on bag in the living room…but then again, it still have things I brought for my students…)
One thing that was a nice surprise was that last week it snowed!!! And not like last year where it’s all pretty as it falls down but full one snow where you could have a decent snowball fight and even make a big snowman! But since it was pretty cold in the morning, I wore my wool stuff to work. Yes it kept me warm, but then I noticed I didn’t consider having a snowball fight with my students! Ah! FAIL. But I enjoyed watching them have a snowball fight. Hehe. I did run around the school taking pictures of the snow. Then I emailed some to my family! That week, they were having rain…but not cold frozen rain like I had.
Another thing that was fun as a play I watched with my students! The funny thing was how surprised the students and teachers were when they saw me. Hahaha. Not many of the teachers knew what day I got back to Japan. But my supervisor did (since I left an itinerary with her) and she called me up Sunday night and invited me to watch this play the next day (Monday the 11th was a national holiday in Japan: coming of age day). So I said I’d go. That morning, I was amazed to see many women wearing kimonos. And even more surprised to see huge crowds of them in the city, Tenjin. Only then did it dawn on me, “Coming of Age Day. Duh.” (It’s like what a quìceñera is to Mexicans and a “sweet 16” is to Americans). Once I found the theatre, I began to look for where the teachers were. As I got closer, I passed 2 teachers and they stopped and said, “Uwa!” hahahaha. They were so surprised. And most of the other teachers did the same once I found them. Hehe. My students seemed really happy to see me (we did the double-handed-super-excited-hand waves to each other ^^).
The play was performed by high school students from Okinawa!!! I never would have guessed they were high school students (well, until I saw them up close and noticed how young they really were). (Okinawa is the southern-most island in all of Japan. It’s kinda like the Hawai’i of Japan).
Those I guess are the main things to update ya’ll on…not sure how much further back I should go…"
"Hello hello~
Well, it’s quite a while since I’ve written anything and it’s already the new year! Whoa!
I don’t remember what I have and haven’t written about…so I think I’m going to do as I did once before and start from the post recent and move backwards (hopefully re-connecting with where I left off)!
So now I can see my laptop screen again. (Finally!) It’s not because I got it fixed but because I bought a new one. Ugh…so expensive…but so far soooo worth it!
Anyhoo, I’m back in Japan after a 3-week break back at home. Ah, it was so nice to be back in LA, eating my mom’s food, being silly with my family and being able to fully understand everything around (then again…not such a great thing…). And I got to meet up with some buddies! Sadly not all of them…but at least some. ^^ The funny bit how a little more than half of my suit cases were filled with omiyage (souvenirs) on the way home and just about the same spaced was filled with omiyage coming back to Japan. Ahahaha! But so far, everyone has been enjoying (or did enjoy) their gifts. Yay! Yay!
And it was so great to be with my family again. Since my parents and cousin visited me last year, it didn’t feel like it was away from home for so long. But then I noticed that for a while now, I’ve only seen the winter LA. And then once I noticed that I had a lot to be updated on from my family, I fully realized that I have been gone a long time. It was a bit sad but it also makes going home more special. (And there’s that little voice in my head again that sometimes teases me saying, “That’s what it’s going to be like from now on~.”
Hmm… :\
…
I almost can’t believe I’ve already been back in Japan for a week and a half. Not even 24hrs after returning have I been so busy again!!! It feels like I’ve been back for longer! (which now makes me feel better about the fact that I still have my carry on bag in the living room…but then again, it still have things I brought for my students…)
One thing that was a nice surprise was that last week it snowed!!! And not like last year where it’s all pretty as it falls down but full one snow where you could have a decent snowball fight and even make a big snowman! But since it was pretty cold in the morning, I wore my wool stuff to work. Yes it kept me warm, but then I noticed I didn’t consider having a snowball fight with my students! Ah! FAIL. But I enjoyed watching them have a snowball fight. Hehe. I did run around the school taking pictures of the snow. Then I emailed some to my family! That week, they were having rain…but not cold frozen rain like I had.
Another thing that was fun as a play I watched with my students! The funny thing was how surprised the students and teachers were when they saw me. Hahaha. Not many of the teachers knew what day I got back to Japan. But my supervisor did (since I left an itinerary with her) and she called me up Sunday night and invited me to watch this play the next day (Monday the 11th was a national holiday in Japan: coming of age day). So I said I’d go. That morning, I was amazed to see many women wearing kimonos. And even more surprised to see huge crowds of them in the city, Tenjin. Only then did it dawn on me, “Coming of Age Day. Duh.” (It’s like what a quìceñera is to Mexicans and a “sweet 16” is to Americans). Once I found the theatre, I began to look for where the teachers were. As I got closer, I passed 2 teachers and they stopped and said, “Uwa!” hahahaha. They were so surprised. And most of the other teachers did the same once I found them. Hehe. My students seemed really happy to see me (we did the double-handed-super-excited-hand waves to each other ^^).
The play was performed by high school students from Okinawa!!! I never would have guessed they were high school students (well, until I saw them up close and noticed how young they really were). (Okinawa is the southern-most island in all of Japan. It’s kinda like the Hawai’i of Japan).
Those I guess are the main things to update ya’ll on…not sure how much further back I should go…"
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Sake Festival
So about a month ago, on Friday evening, when I was just about to leave work, a co-worker handed me a flyer. Since I was literally walking out the door when he gave it to me, I said thanks, put it in my backpack and went home. …and forgot about it…
Then on Saturday evening, I got ready to do hardcore studying for my JLPT exam and in my study book was the flyer. This time I took my time to read it and it was a flyer on a sake festival that would be held in my city (at a place near one of the train stations. In other words, really really close to me). Then I looked at the dates: that weekend!! So I missed the Saturday one and Sunday was the last day. I wanted to take advantage of something going on in my city so I emailed some of my buddies (in Japan, cell-to-cell texting is actually emailing. You even get to create your own cell email address!). After a little while, a plan was made.
The next day, we had lunch at Baby Face. It’s an Italian-Japanese restaurant. Good, but not really Italian… Oh, and some of my students had lunch there around the same time my friends and me had lunch. Hahaha.
After lunch, we met Julie at the train station and then found the festival. There was no entrance fee but we did have to buy our own little sake cup. But it was only 100yen!!! (~$1) And then we got to sample various sake, ume-shu (plum wine) and sho-chu (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sh%C5%8Dch%C5%AB). There was also one sake that was the most expensive to buy and the only one that you had to pay 300yen to taste! And yes, I tried it and yes, it was awesome. That one had to be the smoothest sake that I’ve tried so far. But I didn’t buy a bottle. Although it was really tasty, it’s out of my budget. Maybe if there was some really big thing to celebrated I’d actually buy it. But since there are no/have been no huge things to celebrate here, I don’t need to buy it.
One of the booth was sake from a neighboring restaurant. One that serves bees. And sure enough, there were bees at the bottom of their sake bottle. It reminded me of the tequila with a worm in it…
I didn’t try this sake because I don’t know if I’m allergic to bees. But they’re always around pollen so I’m also afraid I’ll react to the pollen that may be on them…so I just let everyone else describe the flavor to me. Most of them just said, “It tastes like bees.” Yes, very descriptive. But clearly not the group’s favorite.
We also got to go inside the brewery (the festival was held right outside a sake brewery) and there were a few in there to try as well! Most of these were the chilled sake but one of them was a grape one. That one tasted just like juice. It was hard to believe there was any liquor in it.
A funny moment during the festival was when we tried the sho-chu. Apparently Lupita and Julie don’t really like it and so they would makes faces after every little sip they’d take. And I was next to them, trying to suppress my giggles. But it looked like Julie really didn’t want to drink it anymore so I drank her sample. Only then did Lupita turn, noticed Julie’s cup was empty and tried to pour her sho-chu into Julie’s cup! Ahahahaha. But I drank her sample as well. But in their defense, straight sho-chu is pretty strong. When I had it with my host dad over a year ago, he served it with hot water. Speaking of my host dad, I bought a bottle of that sho-chu for him. Hehe.
In the end, we went to McDonalds, bought fries, hung out at my place until dinner and then went to our favorite hamburger spot: Son House. What a day. Never before had I been tipsy at 4 in the afternoon!!! (The festival was 11 – 4) When we tallied up how many samples we had tried, we came to roughly around 13 cups (“roughly” because some servers filled the cup to the top and some servers only gave us half the cup. Which is more than enough for a taste really). 13 cups of sake/ume-shu/sho-chu!!! That’s just madness! But what was more insane was it was only 400yen!!! (~$4)
Oh! And there was a booth selling sake manju as well. (manju is a red-bean pastry with the outing consisting of flour, buckwheat and rice powder). I found it cute and amusing that the woman selling it to me was asking me if I knew there was sake in it and if I’d be ok. Hehe. But I honestly couldn’t taste the sake in it. But doesn’t alcohol lose its alcoholic characteristic when it’s cooked/baked???
Anyhoo~
kampai!
(cheers!)
Then on Saturday evening, I got ready to do hardcore studying for my JLPT exam and in my study book was the flyer. This time I took my time to read it and it was a flyer on a sake festival that would be held in my city (at a place near one of the train stations. In other words, really really close to me). Then I looked at the dates: that weekend!! So I missed the Saturday one and Sunday was the last day. I wanted to take advantage of something going on in my city so I emailed some of my buddies (in Japan, cell-to-cell texting is actually emailing. You even get to create your own cell email address!). After a little while, a plan was made.
The next day, we had lunch at Baby Face. It’s an Italian-Japanese restaurant. Good, but not really Italian… Oh, and some of my students had lunch there around the same time my friends and me had lunch. Hahaha.
After lunch, we met Julie at the train station and then found the festival. There was no entrance fee but we did have to buy our own little sake cup. But it was only 100yen!!! (~$1) And then we got to sample various sake, ume-shu (plum wine) and sho-chu (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sh%C5%8Dch%C5%AB). There was also one sake that was the most expensive to buy and the only one that you had to pay 300yen to taste! And yes, I tried it and yes, it was awesome. That one had to be the smoothest sake that I’ve tried so far. But I didn’t buy a bottle. Although it was really tasty, it’s out of my budget. Maybe if there was some really big thing to celebrated I’d actually buy it. But since there are no/have been no huge things to celebrate here, I don’t need to buy it.
One of the booth was sake from a neighboring restaurant. One that serves bees. And sure enough, there were bees at the bottom of their sake bottle. It reminded me of the tequila with a worm in it…
I didn’t try this sake because I don’t know if I’m allergic to bees. But they’re always around pollen so I’m also afraid I’ll react to the pollen that may be on them…so I just let everyone else describe the flavor to me. Most of them just said, “It tastes like bees.” Yes, very descriptive. But clearly not the group’s favorite.
We also got to go inside the brewery (the festival was held right outside a sake brewery) and there were a few in there to try as well! Most of these were the chilled sake but one of them was a grape one. That one tasted just like juice. It was hard to believe there was any liquor in it.
A funny moment during the festival was when we tried the sho-chu. Apparently Lupita and Julie don’t really like it and so they would makes faces after every little sip they’d take. And I was next to them, trying to suppress my giggles. But it looked like Julie really didn’t want to drink it anymore so I drank her sample. Only then did Lupita turn, noticed Julie’s cup was empty and tried to pour her sho-chu into Julie’s cup! Ahahahaha. But I drank her sample as well. But in their defense, straight sho-chu is pretty strong. When I had it with my host dad over a year ago, he served it with hot water. Speaking of my host dad, I bought a bottle of that sho-chu for him. Hehe.
In the end, we went to McDonalds, bought fries, hung out at my place until dinner and then went to our favorite hamburger spot: Son House. What a day. Never before had I been tipsy at 4 in the afternoon!!! (The festival was 11 – 4) When we tallied up how many samples we had tried, we came to roughly around 13 cups (“roughly” because some servers filled the cup to the top and some servers only gave us half the cup. Which is more than enough for a taste really). 13 cups of sake/ume-shu/sho-chu!!! That’s just madness! But what was more insane was it was only 400yen!!! (~$4)
Oh! And there was a booth selling sake manju as well. (manju is a red-bean pastry with the outing consisting of flour, buckwheat and rice powder). I found it cute and amusing that the woman selling it to me was asking me if I knew there was sake in it and if I’d be ok. Hehe. But I honestly couldn’t taste the sake in it. But doesn’t alcohol lose its alcoholic characteristic when it’s cooked/baked???
Anyhoo~
kampai!
(cheers!)
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Real Update: End of August to September
Alright, it’s time I fill you in on stuff that’s been going on since my last real update (which was when…August?!?! Aiya…)
Hokay, so after the crazy extravaganzas with my cousin, I started to help plan out stuff for my Block and really get to know the new JETs. So we had a dinner and karaoke event. Sadly, not everyone was able to make it but it was still a blast! (It’s awesome when you’re with a crowd that also likes to go karaoke. ) After karaoke-ing, Matt, Lupita and I decided to head to do some more karaoke-ing. But we went to Matt’s preferred karaoke place instead of staying at the one we were at… It turned out to be quite interesting. After a while, Matt decided to go mingle with the guys in the karaoke room across from us (there were windows and we waved at each other before…so I guess he wanted to make more friends). But then Matt didn’t return so it was really just Lupita and me singing…till some of those guys came over to join us. Hahaha.
Fast forward…
That Sunday, I met up with Lupita nd Julie for dinner and then we all met up with Kimiko-sensei to go on the Hakata cruise. Hakata is a couple of train stops away from me and it’s the station that everyone around has to go to to transfer to get to other prefectures and to get on the Shinkansen (Bullet train). That cruise was quite fun! It was a night cruise so we were able to see all the lights from the cities around the bay. And the breeze was rather nice too.
Fast Forward…
The next weekend, I went to Sasebo with my girlies (Julie and Lupita). We did the cruise around the 99 islands of Sasebo, daydreamed about just lounging about our favorite island and ate the famous Sasebo Burger (which has a bit too many things in it in my opinion…so so so stuffed after eating that…). But we actually stayed at Huis Ten Bosch hotel, not in Sasebo. Huis Ten Bosch is a Dutch area. …it’s kinda like a theme park… And it’s famous for it’s annual flowers. They have a tulip season and a rose season (there may be more…but I think the Tulip one is the most famous). And in the park there’s a CG movie theatre where you can have your face scanned and then added into the movie! It’s pretty cool and fun to watch. We all bought a print out of our CG pictures. Hahaha. (There’s different roles in the movie: the brain, the protectors, the elders and…one other…hmm…)
Fast forward…
Sports Day!!!
This was my second Sports Day and the only thing that was upsetting was that my battery life is too short now!!! >.<” I was unable to take pictures to my heart’s content. Saaaaaaaaad. But I did manage to get some awesome pictures and even some video of “kibasen.”
Kibasen is possibly the most anticipated sport during sports day at my school. The boys (this is a “boys only” sport) get split into groups of 4. In each group, one boy is designated as “the rider.” The other boys become part of “the horse.” The 3 boys lift “the rider” up and go head to head with another group. “The horse” boys have to keep their “rider” steady and keep him from falling down. Both “riders” wrestle and try to get the other to fall off his “horse.” …this may not make a whole lot of sense…but once you see it, it does. :P It can be quite intense and dangerous. And so some boys and most of the male teachers “spot” each wrestle group and if needed, soften the fall of the boys.
Oh! I was asked to participate again this year! This time, it was a student-teacher obstacle course. It was soooo much fun. But sadly, my block didn’t get first place. T_T. I did, however, help shorten the gap between my block and the winning block.
(I was the third runner and I had to first bite off some bread from a clothes line and then run to another table, open a bottle of soda, chug it down and then run to pass the blue sash.)
Fast forward…
For “Silver week” (as special 5 day weekend that occurred in September), Lupita and I headed to Beppu, Oita. Which is known for it’s onsen (hot water springs). Our aim this vacation was to chill and relax. And relax we did. Unfortunately, we tried to book rooms a little to late and so were unable to stay there for the whole break. But we made sure to take in what we could in those 2 days (we went to the onsen twice in one day!)
Then we got to go to a Fukuoka Hawks Baseball game!!! And thanks to Mike, some really awesome seats behind home base!!!!! It was awesome. And so exciting. And we could’ve won had Matsunaka-san not choked!!! Arg!!
And that pretty much concludes what happened until the end of September. Next up, October shinanigans. ^^v
Hokay, so after the crazy extravaganzas with my cousin, I started to help plan out stuff for my Block and really get to know the new JETs. So we had a dinner and karaoke event. Sadly, not everyone was able to make it but it was still a blast! (It’s awesome when you’re with a crowd that also likes to go karaoke. ) After karaoke-ing, Matt, Lupita and I decided to head to do some more karaoke-ing. But we went to Matt’s preferred karaoke place instead of staying at the one we were at… It turned out to be quite interesting. After a while, Matt decided to go mingle with the guys in the karaoke room across from us (there were windows and we waved at each other before…so I guess he wanted to make more friends). But then Matt didn’t return so it was really just Lupita and me singing…till some of those guys came over to join us. Hahaha.
Fast forward…
That Sunday, I met up with Lupita nd Julie for dinner and then we all met up with Kimiko-sensei to go on the Hakata cruise. Hakata is a couple of train stops away from me and it’s the station that everyone around has to go to to transfer to get to other prefectures and to get on the Shinkansen (Bullet train). That cruise was quite fun! It was a night cruise so we were able to see all the lights from the cities around the bay. And the breeze was rather nice too.
Fast Forward…
The next weekend, I went to Sasebo with my girlies (Julie and Lupita). We did the cruise around the 99 islands of Sasebo, daydreamed about just lounging about our favorite island and ate the famous Sasebo Burger (which has a bit too many things in it in my opinion…so so so stuffed after eating that…). But we actually stayed at Huis Ten Bosch hotel, not in Sasebo. Huis Ten Bosch is a Dutch area. …it’s kinda like a theme park… And it’s famous for it’s annual flowers. They have a tulip season and a rose season (there may be more…but I think the Tulip one is the most famous). And in the park there’s a CG movie theatre where you can have your face scanned and then added into the movie! It’s pretty cool and fun to watch. We all bought a print out of our CG pictures. Hahaha. (There’s different roles in the movie: the brain, the protectors, the elders and…one other…hmm…)
Fast forward…
Sports Day!!!
This was my second Sports Day and the only thing that was upsetting was that my battery life is too short now!!! >.<” I was unable to take pictures to my heart’s content. Saaaaaaaaad. But I did manage to get some awesome pictures and even some video of “kibasen.”
Kibasen is possibly the most anticipated sport during sports day at my school. The boys (this is a “boys only” sport) get split into groups of 4. In each group, one boy is designated as “the rider.” The other boys become part of “the horse.” The 3 boys lift “the rider” up and go head to head with another group. “The horse” boys have to keep their “rider” steady and keep him from falling down. Both “riders” wrestle and try to get the other to fall off his “horse.” …this may not make a whole lot of sense…but once you see it, it does. :P It can be quite intense and dangerous. And so some boys and most of the male teachers “spot” each wrestle group and if needed, soften the fall of the boys.
Oh! I was asked to participate again this year! This time, it was a student-teacher obstacle course. It was soooo much fun. But sadly, my block didn’t get first place. T_T. I did, however, help shorten the gap between my block and the winning block.
(I was the third runner and I had to first bite off some bread from a clothes line and then run to another table, open a bottle of soda, chug it down and then run to pass the blue sash.)
Fast forward…
For “Silver week” (as special 5 day weekend that occurred in September), Lupita and I headed to Beppu, Oita. Which is known for it’s onsen (hot water springs). Our aim this vacation was to chill and relax. And relax we did. Unfortunately, we tried to book rooms a little to late and so were unable to stay there for the whole break. But we made sure to take in what we could in those 2 days (we went to the onsen twice in one day!)
Then we got to go to a Fukuoka Hawks Baseball game!!! And thanks to Mike, some really awesome seats behind home base!!!!! It was awesome. And so exciting. And we could’ve won had Matsunaka-san not choked!!! Arg!!
And that pretty much concludes what happened until the end of September. Next up, October shinanigans. ^^v
Thursday, November 5, 2009
どうしよかなぁ～
The forms are out.
The wheels are turning.
The list making has started.
The question has come again: to re-contract or not to re-contract...
どうしよ～？？？
なんか、ここにいるのを感じているけど頭に小さ声が「家族は怒れる」と言っている．．．
よく分からない～！！！
これから、よく考えま～す！
The wheels are turning.
The list making has started.
The question has come again: to re-contract or not to re-contract...
どうしよ～？？？
なんか、ここにいるのを感じているけど頭に小さ声が「家族は怒れる」と言っている．．．
よく分からない～！！！
これから、よく考えま～す！
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Current craziness
I'm calling this week "Week of Hell." Here's what it consists of:
~Prepping for an important meeting (making outlines, discussing with my co-presters, making revisions, typing, printing, meeting with kyoto-sensei, staying late at work, meeting between classes
~Halloween lesson: prepping/teaching that lesson
~Prepping for a Halloween party (dealing with invite list, organizing the potluck, buying ingrediants, cooking, baking cleaning, taking necessary things to Lupita's)
~Jogging (it's been a de-stresser lately)
~General cleaning
~Aggravated tendonitis (thank you outline. Not to mention I've started to get the carpel tunnel pain again...my wrists are just bad!)
~napping (notice it's not "sleeping")
~Reunited with my caffiene addiction
~supposed to be studying for my JLPT...
~biking single-handedly
~dealing with headaches and random 5-second stomachaches
...that's all I can remember at this moment...
~Prepping for an important meeting (making outlines, discussing with my co-presters, making revisions, typing, printing, meeting with kyoto-sensei, staying late at work, meeting between classes
~Halloween lesson: prepping/teaching that lesson
~Prepping for a Halloween party (dealing with invite list, organizing the potluck, buying ingrediants, cooking, baking cleaning, taking necessary things to Lupita's)
~Jogging (it's been a de-stresser lately)
~General cleaning
~Aggravated tendonitis (thank you outline. Not to mention I've started to get the carpel tunnel pain again...my wrists are just bad!)
~napping (notice it's not "sleeping")
~Reunited with my caffiene addiction
~supposed to be studying for my JLPT...
~biking single-handedly
~dealing with headaches and random 5-second stomachaches
...that's all I can remember at this moment...
Monday, October 19, 2009
The Double-Edged Disassociation...
So for some time now I’ve noticed that I have a disassociation problem. I somehow know 2 things I have planned but I somehow I keep them separate in my head. Maybe it has to do with the way I think about each of them (in a way, I categorized them differently in my head and therefore I miss the fact that they’re related in some very important way…which usually results in me racing with time…)
Hokay…that may not have made any sense to you. Here’s an example:
Let’s say that I have a big exam in 2 weeks. But the day before, I have a paper due for a different class. And just for shits and giggles let’s also say my club is having an event right before the deadline of the paper. Now, because they’re all different (2 different classes and one club event) I will most likely forget that they’re all overlapping in terms of time. Not until the week that they’re all occurring will it really dawn on me that they’re all really close to each other and that in terms of time, I’m screwed. So prior to this I’m alright and I have no doubt that I can do it all but come that week, I’ll start to freak out and panic. (But I always manage to get it done in the end…just a bit stressful getting there)
So why am I writing about it?
I was walking about the other day and I noticed that this disassociation problem that I have has also applied itself to the fact that I’m so far away from home. In some place in my head I know that I’m not home, that I’m in Japan and that I’m overseas. But that same area in my brain never really got down to thinking about how freakin’ far I really am and how crazy it still that I’m living by myself. Then I thought about how trippy it must have been for my cousin to come and see my apartment. I think because I came fresh out of college, my apartment had a bit of that “dormitory” feel to it (aside from the fact that I get my own kitchen and bathroom!). I remember my cousin mention how it was weird for her to think, and see, my apartment. But I never really got the full effect of it (until like 1 or so weeks ago).
And I think this problem is also why I end up being so busy. I end up agreeing to do many things (personal things and grouping things) and only the month of (or like 2 weeks before the events) do I really noticed how booked I really am. I’m not joking when I say that my weekends get booked about a month before! It’s rare to have that weekend to myself. I think that’s why Monday has become my Whatev Night. And consequently, my TV night.
Anyhoo, I randomly felt like writing about that. Not sure how much sense that made to you guys…but at least I got it out of my system. :P
Hokay…that may not have made any sense to you. Here’s an example:
Let’s say that I have a big exam in 2 weeks. But the day before, I have a paper due for a different class. And just for shits and giggles let’s also say my club is having an event right before the deadline of the paper. Now, because they’re all different (2 different classes and one club event) I will most likely forget that they’re all overlapping in terms of time. Not until the week that they’re all occurring will it really dawn on me that they’re all really close to each other and that in terms of time, I’m screwed. So prior to this I’m alright and I have no doubt that I can do it all but come that week, I’ll start to freak out and panic. (But I always manage to get it done in the end…just a bit stressful getting there)
So why am I writing about it?
I was walking about the other day and I noticed that this disassociation problem that I have has also applied itself to the fact that I’m so far away from home. In some place in my head I know that I’m not home, that I’m in Japan and that I’m overseas. But that same area in my brain never really got down to thinking about how freakin’ far I really am and how crazy it still that I’m living by myself. Then I thought about how trippy it must have been for my cousin to come and see my apartment. I think because I came fresh out of college, my apartment had a bit of that “dormitory” feel to it (aside from the fact that I get my own kitchen and bathroom!). I remember my cousin mention how it was weird for her to think, and see, my apartment. But I never really got the full effect of it (until like 1 or so weeks ago).
And I think this problem is also why I end up being so busy. I end up agreeing to do many things (personal things and grouping things) and only the month of (or like 2 weeks before the events) do I really noticed how booked I really am. I’m not joking when I say that my weekends get booked about a month before! It’s rare to have that weekend to myself. I think that’s why Monday has become my Whatev Night. And consequently, my TV night.
Anyhoo, I randomly felt like writing about that. Not sure how much sense that made to you guys…but at least I got it out of my system. :P
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Small Update
Hokay so, I'll be taking on the JLPT again.
GANBARIMASU!!!
After over a year of living in Japan, my Japanese has improved. But is it good enough to pass the second level of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test??? Stayed tuned to find out!
So, because I'll mimic my 3先生 and dedicate almost every minute of my day to studying, I'll be online less frequently. But I'm pretty sure I'll escape from being surrounded by Japanese to go back to one of my mother languages.
BUT my computer hasn't been fixed yet so I've also been online less and less these days because I only get about an hour use with the battery.
Right, computers.
So, when I have some free time (this has been busy with different things), I'll call Dell and then decide whether I should gaman with my computer until it can get fixed (either until they can send the details to Dell in Japan or until I go back home) (*gaman = deal) or just go ahead and buy a Japanese computer for the meantime. I will say that I am leaning towards buying a Mac but since they are quite expensive it makes me a little hesitate to go ahead and buy one now. But, I think my answers will become more clear after I the Dell call.
Other than that, work is keeping me busy as well. Yesterday (and tomorrow I'll go back) I was at Fukuoka Nogyo High School. It's an agricultural high school and so English is not one of their prioirity classes (so it's not heavy on the grammar end and the kids rather openly show they're not interested in English. Well, the ones that aren't do...). So it was fun where it's more activity based learning but a little frustrating with the students who talk while their JTE is talking. But since they're not really my kids, I can't really do anything.
Anyhoo, the few kids that are interested in English make it worth while. :]
The crazy thing is that I heard the school has a PONY! A pony! ¡¿Que que?! Having roosters and cows makes sense but a pony?! Really?! This school is quite interesting.
Oh! And Halloween is coming up! Yay!
Lupita and me are thinking about having a small Halloween party. Yay! Downside is I have to work November 1st because it's my school's birthday anniversary. So I can't stay out late trick or treating. :[
Oooooooo...now I wanna make Rice Krispy Treats...
GANBARIMASU!!!
After over a year of living in Japan, my Japanese has improved. But is it good enough to pass the second level of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test??? Stayed tuned to find out!
So, because I'll mimic my 3先生 and dedicate almost every minute of my day to studying, I'll be online less frequently. But I'm pretty sure I'll escape from being surrounded by Japanese to go back to one of my mother languages.
BUT my computer hasn't been fixed yet so I've also been online less and less these days because I only get about an hour use with the battery.
Right, computers.
So, when I have some free time (this has been busy with different things), I'll call Dell and then decide whether I should gaman with my computer until it can get fixed (either until they can send the details to Dell in Japan or until I go back home) (*gaman = deal) or just go ahead and buy a Japanese computer for the meantime. I will say that I am leaning towards buying a Mac but since they are quite expensive it makes me a little hesitate to go ahead and buy one now. But, I think my answers will become more clear after I the Dell call.
Other than that, work is keeping me busy as well. Yesterday (and tomorrow I'll go back) I was at Fukuoka Nogyo High School. It's an agricultural high school and so English is not one of their prioirity classes (so it's not heavy on the grammar end and the kids rather openly show they're not interested in English. Well, the ones that aren't do...). So it was fun where it's more activity based learning but a little frustrating with the students who talk while their JTE is talking. But since they're not really my kids, I can't really do anything.
Anyhoo, the few kids that are interested in English make it worth while. :]
The crazy thing is that I heard the school has a PONY! A pony! ¡¿Que que?! Having roosters and cows makes sense but a pony?! Really?! This school is quite interesting.
Oh! And Halloween is coming up! Yay!
Lupita and me are thinking about having a small Halloween party. Yay! Downside is I have to work November 1st because it's my school's birthday anniversary. So I can't stay out late trick or treating. :[
Oooooooo...now I wanna make Rice Krispy Treats...
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
...Oh how they hate me...
My forever long battle with computers is...still continuing...
:/
My laptop's backlight has decided to give way and so I can't really see my screen. Unless I decided to go for odd angles that allow me to see what I'm supposed to be seeing but then I easily lose where the mouse pointer is...ugh...
Anyhoo, so I'll be MIA 'til I get a new computer. I'm able to do this post because my uber friendly co-worker, one who took a look at my sick laptop, is lending me his spare monitor for the time being.
So...I'll make mental notes on what to write about.
Mata ne~
:/
My laptop's backlight has decided to give way and so I can't really see my screen. Unless I decided to go for odd angles that allow me to see what I'm supposed to be seeing but then I easily lose where the mouse pointer is...ugh...
Anyhoo, so I'll be MIA 'til I get a new computer. I'm able to do this post because my uber friendly co-worker, one who took a look at my sick laptop, is lending me his spare monitor for the time being.
So...I'll make mental notes on what to write about.
Mata ne~
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