Saturday, July 31, 2004
comtemplate in sitting..
When I woke up this morning, I didn't think that I would get hit by a Buddhist monk. I practiced zazen today. With the schedule that I have had recently, I forgot about it. One of my yoga classmates called me as I was getting dressed, so I headed down the street to meet them. After the 20-min drive, we were at the temple and greeted by the monk.
The zabuton [cushions] were already on the floor. All of the instruction was in Japanese (of course) but I was able to follow the instructions given by the monk.... sit on the zabuton in lotus position...straight back...hands rested in your lap, left palm in right with thumbs touching...eyes looking towards the floor at a spot a short distance ahead....think of nothing....just be....if thoughts come in, let them go out....think of nothing....WACK!....think ofnothing that wooden stick that just came down on you. While practicing zazen , the monk or a monitor walks around to make sure that you have proper posture, do not fall asleep, do not slouch, and are concentrating. I was hoping that the monk would not sit down behind me. When he does, it means that 1) he will tap your shoulder; 2) you will put your hands in prayer position and bow; 3) after you sit back up, he will strike you on the shoulder with the stick; 4) you will put your hands in prayer and bow; and 5) get back to zazen. It didn't hurt (a little sting!) but it was surprising though...LOL!
After the zazen was over, we got schooled in shojin ryori [devotion cuisine]. Like everything else in J, there are a good number of rituals that one must do to dine the proper way. There is a certain way to open your handkerchief that holds your dishes...a certain place to put the bowls and chopsticks...a place to put your napkin. Once everything was laid out, a server came to give us rice...before serving the person sitting next to me and I bowed, then she served. To get her to stop we had to do a hand signal, then bow afterwards so she could move to the next pair of diners. The same thing was done for the tsukemono [vinegared veggies...in this case, raddish] and the gomashio [a sesame and salt mix]. Everyone said the usual itadakimasu before eating.
The servers came around and gave everyone a second serving, so I had a four-year old moment b/c everyone was waiting for me to eat my WHITE rice. It was porridgy and tasted good with the gomashio , however I do not usually do white rice and thought I could get away with not eating the last bit....not so! No wasting here. After I finished my rice, I returned to 27-year old Takeyah and then we all received green tea in our rice bowls. During the second round of serving each person got at least one piece of tsukemono, which we placed in our green tea. Then we were told to rinse our tsukemono and gomashio bowls in the larger rice bowl with the green tea....omoshiroii [interesting!]....rinse the spoon...then with the chopsticks, use the piece of tsukemono to wash the inside of the bowl and eat it....wipe off the chopsticks...drink the tea. "There you go!"...no waste...wrap everything up and we're done.
It was a great experience. I got the hook-up, like usual, b/c one of my yoga classmates bought a "script" that you are supposed to practice writing. I need to get t translated, but the paper is provided so you can trace the characters and follow the given order. I wasn't expecting my day to begin like that, but it was what I needed to get me to finally open the zen meditation book that I bought in Kyoto. It was cool....and the "nice body" commentary didn't stop b/c I was at a temple! [NO! it wasn't the monk who said it] I was invited to go to a ceremony in mid-August, so if I am around I plan on going to that ....tanoshikatta [it was enjoyable!]
The zabuton [cushions] were already on the floor. All of the instruction was in Japanese (of course) but I was able to follow the instructions given by the monk.... sit on the zabuton in lotus position...straight back...hands rested in your lap, left palm in right with thumbs touching...eyes looking towards the floor at a spot a short distance ahead....think of nothing....just be....if thoughts come in, let them go out....think of nothing....WACK!....think of
After the zazen was over, we got schooled in shojin ryori [devotion cuisine]. Like everything else in J, there are a good number of rituals that one must do to dine the proper way. There is a certain way to open your handkerchief that holds your dishes...a certain place to put the bowls and chopsticks...a place to put your napkin. Once everything was laid out, a server came to give us rice...before serving the person sitting next to me and I bowed, then she served. To get her to stop we had to do a hand signal, then bow afterwards so she could move to the next pair of diners. The same thing was done for the tsukemono [vinegared veggies...in this case, raddish] and the gomashio [a sesame and salt mix]. Everyone said the usual itadakimasu before eating.
The servers came around and gave everyone a second serving, so I had a four-year old moment b/c everyone was waiting for me to eat my WHITE rice. It was porridgy and tasted good with the gomashio , however I do not usually do white rice and thought I could get away with not eating the last bit....not so! No wasting here. After I finished my rice, I returned to 27-year old Takeyah and then we all received green tea in our rice bowls. During the second round of serving each person got at least one piece of tsukemono, which we placed in our green tea. Then we were told to rinse our tsukemono and gomashio bowls in the larger rice bowl with the green tea....omoshiroii [interesting!]....rinse the spoon...then with the chopsticks, use the piece of tsukemono to wash the inside of the bowl and eat it....wipe off the chopsticks...drink the tea. "There you go!"...no waste...wrap everything up and we're done.
It was a great experience. I got the hook-up, like usual, b/c one of my yoga classmates bought a "script" that you are supposed to practice writing. I need to get t translated, but the paper is provided so you can trace the characters and follow the given order. I wasn't expecting my day to begin like that, but it was what I needed to get me to finally open the zen meditation book that I bought in Kyoto. It was cool....and the "nice body" commentary didn't stop b/c I was at a temple! [NO! it wasn't the monk who said it] I was invited to go to a ceremony in mid-August, so if I am around I plan on going to that ....tanoshikatta [it was enjoyable!]
a proud granola moment!
they had veggie food at the newbie orientation! i was so happy to walk into the welcome reception to see the little "suitable for vegetarians" and "vegan" signs! a few hours earlier, during the "being a veg in j" workshop, i was telling the participants that we had to speak up and let the organizers know that there is a community of people that has a need. at the orientation planning mtg, i spoke with one of the program coordinator and recapped my experience from last year's orientation. i sent him information about vegetarianism and sample menus and he said that he would pass it on to the correct person (but he couldn't guarantee that anything would change). i am glad to know that my efforts paid off in an amazing way. first the welcome reception...next the world! okay maybe not, but at least they might stop serving the Japanese "curry" dishes as a veggie option b/c they don't "see" the meat in it.
YEAH!
YEAH!
Friday, July 30, 2004
customer service...
in J, when in doubt, the foreigner is always wrong. on wednesday i put my luggage at the cloak room b/c i planned on meeting a friend for lunch in harjuku, then coming back to the hotel to get my stuff before heading back to Mutsu on the train. after catching breakfast, i decided to take my luggage with me to save time of going back and forth. so i go to the counter, give in the claim card to get my bag. the other woman tells me that she can't give me my bag b/c i didn't have the ticket that matched. when i looked at the bag, i see that she is referring to another ticket that was on my bag from 5 days before. now, this ticket was there when i gave the bag in, but now that I want my bag back I have to have a "claim ticket". so to make the story short{er}, she ends up pulling the "i don't understand English" move, calls the front desk and then gets set straight. i think for the first time, an attitude came out when i ended up just saying "just give me my bag" while my friend went around to the side of the counter to retrieve my bag.
later on, i was on my second train home and then a dude said that i was in his seat. to make the long story even shorter, i knew that i bought a ticket that left Tokyo at 356p, which means my second ticket should have said 702p. well, when the conductor came by to fix the confusion, i was told to go to the un-reserved section b/c my ticket was wrong. the ticket i bought was for the previous train. and like he said my second ticket was for the previous train. it was claerly a mistake made by the ticket counter dude, but i was told that i needed to go to another section although there were seats available :( so I opted to stand up for the ride. so the part where this foreigner was wrong was b/c i didn't check the 2nd ticket. the conductor kept telling me that bought a ticket for the previous train. although i insisted that my initial ticket was for the correct time, he insisted that I was wrong....so in the end the gaikokujin [foreigner] is wrong, like always!
later on, i was on my second train home and then a dude said that i was in his seat. to make the long story even shorter, i knew that i bought a ticket that left Tokyo at 356p, which means my second ticket should have said 702p. well, when the conductor came by to fix the confusion, i was told to go to the un-reserved section b/c my ticket was wrong. the ticket i bought was for the previous train. and like he said my second ticket was for the previous train. it was claerly a mistake made by the ticket counter dude, but i was told that i needed to go to another section although there were seats available :( so I opted to stand up for the ride. so the part where this foreigner was wrong was b/c i didn't check the 2nd ticket. the conductor kept telling me that bought a ticket for the previous train. although i insisted that my initial ticket was for the correct time, he insisted that I was wrong....so in the end the gaikokujin [foreigner] is wrong, like always!
Thursday, July 29, 2004
made it back to life w/o so many neon signs.
Saturday, July 24, 2004
TO....
the newbies are coming...the newbies are coming! i am here in tokyo getting ready to do the Tokyo Orientation for the new JETs. should be a lot of fun. i met up with a friend for the first time yesterday. she and i have vibed a lot on the telephone and via e-mail, but we never met each other. unfortunately, is leaving in a few days to go back to the US :( it was cool though hangng out before she left...PLUS we went to that lovely restaurant where I can get the vegetarian Japanese meal! it was great!
Thursday, July 22, 2004
spike!
Student: Takeyah-sensei, will you take part in the teacher volleyball matches tomorrow?
Me: I wasn't invited to play...[sigh]...But that's okay, I won't be here anyway. I have a business trip.
[maybe they checked my schedule in adavnce and saw that I was busy...although I highly doubt that]
I have an end of the semester party today. There is supposed to be a non-smoking section and vegan food for me to eat. Updates will definitely follow.
Me: I wasn't invited to play...[sigh]...But that's okay, I won't be here anyway. I have a business trip.
[maybe they checked my schedule in adavnce and saw that I was busy...although I highly doubt that]
I have an end of the semester party today. There is supposed to be a non-smoking section and vegan food for me to eat. Updates will definitely follow.
Wednesday, July 21, 2004
in brighter news!
i am diggin' my kyoto-sensei [vice principal]. i submitted my this-is-what-i-am-doing-for-the-not-really-"summer vacation" form to him today. i had two substitute holidays to take, so i decided to put them b4 and after a wknd and take my last nenkyu [vacation day] with it to give me 5 days to do ???? basically he sent the form back with the English course chairman, with some notes that translated loosely to say don't use your vacation day, takeyah! just take a four-day holiday like everyone else who teaches at this school just like you! you deserve it and everyone esle gets the days, so why not you too! now you can have 8 days off w/o usng your vacation time YEAH! So I am not sure where I am going, but most likely it will be out of this country!...or maybe further south!
JTE?....are you really?
i'm not even going to get into a conversation about that.
I had to say that to one of my JTEs today. We were trying to decide which two (out of 6) students should participate in an upcoming speech contest. it would be too much for me to even backtrack about him, but he is the same one who:
- tries to teach his 3rd-year Intensive English Course students in Japanese as much as possible
- distracts the students when they are trying to learn English in class
- refuses to take time to plan lessons with me
- told me that had to teach his class last Friday b/c he had to do some work for the junior high school English experience day last Friday
- didn't really do any work for the junior high school English experience day (found that out today!)
- didn't want to help two of his students with their speeches for the self-composed essay-writing speech contest b/c their abilities are high and he is afraid (found that out today! also found out that no other teachers at my school wanted to help these two students b/c their abilities are high)
- acted like "somebody done stoled his bike" when they asked him to use Englsh today when we were trying to judge the speech contest recitation candidates
- refused to speak at all after they asked him to use English
he officially gets on my nerves...
I am glad that do not have any more classes until the end of august. happy last day of the semester to me!
I had to say that to one of my JTEs today. We were trying to decide which two (out of 6) students should participate in an upcoming speech contest. it would be too much for me to even backtrack about him, but he is the same one who:
- tries to teach his 3rd-year Intensive English Course students in Japanese as much as possible
- distracts the students when they are trying to learn English in class
- refuses to take time to plan lessons with me
- told me that had to teach his class last Friday b/c he had to do some work for the junior high school English experience day last Friday
- didn't really do any work for the junior high school English experience day (found that out today!)
- didn't want to help two of his students with their speeches for the self-composed essay-writing speech contest b/c their abilities are high and he is afraid (found that out today! also found out that no other teachers at my school wanted to help these two students b/c their abilities are high)
- acted like "somebody done stoled his bike" when they asked him to use Englsh today when we were trying to judge the speech contest recitation candidates
- refused to speak at all after they asked him to use English
he officially gets on my nerves...
I am glad that do not have any more classes until the end of august. happy last day of the semester to me!
the next movement
just had an earthquake about 15 min. ago...oh! just had one about 1 min. ago too! if I were in the US, I would not consider them to be small ones, b/c you can clearly see things moving around and swaying. but, it is clear that I have adjusted b/c i have just been sitting around waiting for it to pass so i can finish checking e-mails.
Tuesday, July 20, 2004
4-day wknd...
i had a really great wknd. i went to kodomari beach for a soccer tournament. it was really cool to go and hang out on the beach. i FINALLY went camping! YEAH! my first time. J has really great camping facilities (and you can honestly camp out anywhere). although the weather was not very sunny, i took a mini-dip in the beach. i believe i got a smidge browner...and that's good! the team did much better than i thought they would, so that was really nice. i am seriously thinking of joining the team next year, so that will be a LOT of laughter fun! the tourney was sat. and sun. so i got up to watch the frst few matches then headed back south to meet JS at Asamushi beach for a bbq that his friend was throwing.
SIDE NOTE: "heading back south" may seem strange, b/c although kodomari beach is really not that far from me, it took me about 3.5 hours to get there. the upper part of aomori-ken has "U"ish shape. i could take the ferry west across the water, but to take it w/ your car cost almost 10,000YEN which means that this sistah was driving instead of taking the ferry. it was a nice drive though
the asamushi bbq was pretty good and the weather was much nicer than at kodomari. i didn't do too much talking (mostly J-folx) and JS only knew the organizer. it was nice to hang out w/ him though, b/c we rarely get a chance to hang out. after that, i was SOOOOOOOO hungry b/c i hadn't really eaten anything substantial since the previous night of camping. we went to one of the two restaurants where i can eat in aomori city (see GRANOLA MONOLOGUE below). after getting something to eat, I hooked up w/ ES for one of my favorite activities here KARAOKE! we were there until 1AM, then headed back to ES' apt.
yesterday was marine day, so that meant a day off for me! so after eating a good breakfast, i spent the day helping ES and a few other ALTs get ready for their English club's end of the year bbq. we had things set up pretty good, but it raned, and rained, and rained, so that put a seriously wet damper on me...but the students were still very active and interested in using their polite high pitched voices (that almost reached annoying level...sometimes, a high concentration of the "high pitched polite voice" can be a bit much...LOL). we left there, then TB and I talked about going to see the latest HP movie (the HP boy used to wear a striped scarf). we ended up just going back to her apt and relaxing and talking for the rest of the evening. i stayed there until almost noon today. i had a substitute holiday to make up so i took today off to [procrastinate about] get[ting] some things done.
the wknd went by very fast. but, at least i have the wonderful memory of a LARGE bump on my forehead from either a spider or ant bite from camping on Saturday! YATTA!
GRANOLA MONOLOGUES:
in aomori cty, there are two restaurants that i go to. one is an Indian one, that now has a veggie menu and the other is an SE Asian mix restaurant. JS and I went to the later and i ordered my usual dish. the same one that i ordered not too long ago in May and June when was there. it sn't a vegge dish, but they never seemed to have much issue making it vegan for me...BUT on that day all of a sudden it was tabun, chotto muzukashii [maybe, a biit difficult]. although it translates to maybe, a bit difficult , in J, that really means "no". so the woman went back to the kitchen to consult w/ someone and then came back and said a whole bunch of stuff (i didn't catch some of it). ME: dekimasuka [can you do it?] HER: dekinai .....THAT is ridiculous! all of a sudden, they turmed into the average J restaurant...that quickly! i was bothered...very bothered...so I ended up eating a too expensive salad that had a tasty dressing but wasn't substantial...can't wait to go to Tokyo this week and get some good food!
SIDE NOTE: "heading back south" may seem strange, b/c although kodomari beach is really not that far from me, it took me about 3.5 hours to get there. the upper part of aomori-ken has "U"ish shape. i could take the ferry west across the water, but to take it w/ your car cost almost 10,000YEN which means that this sistah was driving instead of taking the ferry. it was a nice drive though
the asamushi bbq was pretty good and the weather was much nicer than at kodomari. i didn't do too much talking (mostly J-folx) and JS only knew the organizer. it was nice to hang out w/ him though, b/c we rarely get a chance to hang out. after that, i was SOOOOOOOO hungry b/c i hadn't really eaten anything substantial since the previous night of camping. we went to one of the two restaurants where i can eat in aomori city (see GRANOLA MONOLOGUE below). after getting something to eat, I hooked up w/ ES for one of my favorite activities here KARAOKE! we were there until 1AM, then headed back to ES' apt.
yesterday was marine day, so that meant a day off for me! so after eating a good breakfast, i spent the day helping ES and a few other ALTs get ready for their English club's end of the year bbq. we had things set up pretty good, but it raned, and rained, and rained, so that put a seriously wet damper on me...but the students were still very active and interested in using their polite high pitched voices (that almost reached annoying level...sometimes, a high concentration of the "high pitched polite voice" can be a bit much...LOL). we left there, then TB and I talked about going to see the latest HP movie (the HP boy used to wear a striped scarf). we ended up just going back to her apt and relaxing and talking for the rest of the evening. i stayed there until almost noon today. i had a substitute holiday to make up so i took today off to [procrastinate about] get[ting] some things done.
the wknd went by very fast. but, at least i have the wonderful memory of a LARGE bump on my forehead from either a spider or ant bite from camping on Saturday! YATTA!
GRANOLA MONOLOGUES:
in aomori cty, there are two restaurants that i go to. one is an Indian one, that now has a veggie menu and the other is an SE Asian mix restaurant. JS and I went to the later and i ordered my usual dish. the same one that i ordered not too long ago in May and June when was there. it sn't a vegge dish, but they never seemed to have much issue making it vegan for me...BUT on that day all of a sudden it was tabun, chotto muzukashii [maybe, a biit difficult]. although it translates to maybe, a bit difficult , in J, that really means "no". so the woman went back to the kitchen to consult w/ someone and then came back and said a whole bunch of stuff (i didn't catch some of it). ME: dekimasuka [can you do it?] HER: dekinai .....THAT is ridiculous! all of a sudden, they turmed into the average J restaurant...that quickly! i was bothered...very bothered...so I ended up eating a too expensive salad that had a tasty dressing but wasn't substantial...can't wait to go to Tokyo this week and get some good food!
Friday, July 16, 2004
electronic yukata
My people here go out of their way for me ALL the time! That's is wonderful. Last night as I was heading out the door for yoga, one of my older friends (from my Eikaiwa class) calls me and says that she was looking for yukata for me to wear at the festival. She was looking online trying to find it specifically for me b/c the night before, we were at the community center after my class and I joined the odori [dance] practice for the festival. They asked me to join the festival and I said that I need to get yukata , so here we are, the next day and she is shopping for me! So I went to her house last night around 930p so she can see what colors and patterns I like. At at around 830a this morning, she e-mails me with a selection to chose from....now, taht makes me feel special b/c it's EARLY and you are on line shopping for ME! LOL! Really sweet! I have to get some really nice gifts for a good number of people when I leave here :)
Wednesday, July 14, 2004
the fits
i almost had the fits and broke out with the jitters today...i looked around but couldn't find it. I looked in two places, this was the third. Even looked for something similar, but couldn't find it...until I peeked around the corner and found the brocolli! I was truly bothered that I couldn't find brocolli. I don't know what I would have done if the stores stopped selling brocolli...at first I thought well maybe for some strange reason it's out of season in J...but "out of season"? that didn't make sense to me...so I pressed on. As a result of my perseverance, I ate a wonderful bowl of veggies a few minutes ago. Too bad was quite the anxious one and bit my lip in the process....LOL!
Nihon-jin
Oh!...so NOW I'm Japanese?! Every month, my school takes money out of my paycheck (b4 I get paid). On top of that, the English teachers also come and ask me for money on payday. The money in both cases is used for parties (either school-wide or for English teachers). There are a good number of cases where I still have to pay for parties on top of these monthly fees. So far it hasn't been much of an issue with the exception of the food, or lack there of. THIS is definitely reflected in the records here.
I decided that over the next year, my 2nd here, that things would be different. I have bent, swayed, bowed and all of the things required to fit in, make peace and not cause complications. With all of that, at almost every event (that I pay for) I come back with issues about the food. My recent illness has confirmed my new attitude about how to deal with these events. No more paying to watch other folx suffocate me with cigarette smoke. No more paying to watch folx watch me starve while they chow down on food. No more...which brings me to today.
There is supposed to be an end-of-the-semester-good-job-playing-sports-today party next week. Initially, I said I would go, but then I asked 'Will there be smoking in the room?' This is Japan, so they laughed at my question and said, 'Yes'. Then I asked if they could have a separate smoking section of the party. The organizer said 'No'. Cool. My response was, 'I would like to receive my money back' (4500YEN) b/c I would not attend b/c I cannot be around all the smoke anymore. I was told that they would look into it. That was on Friday or Monday. So today my supervisor comes and say that the organizer said I can't get my money back b/c it would not be fair. When other teachers are too busy or have business trips, they don't get their money back, so neither can I. My response was that I cannot attend b/c A) It is a hazard to my health B) You do not provide food for me....so is that much of a choice?! Since when am I 'like the other teachers'? Any other time, when there are events, party invites, or accolades to be given, I am not the recipient b/c I am not 'a [Japanese] teacher'. But now that I asking for my money back (which turns out to not be a difficult task), I am treated like everyone else....
I decided that over the next year, my 2nd here, that things would be different. I have bent, swayed, bowed and all of the things required to fit in, make peace and not cause complications. With all of that, at almost every event (that I pay for) I come back with issues about the food. My recent illness has confirmed my new attitude about how to deal with these events. No more paying to watch other folx suffocate me with cigarette smoke. No more paying to watch folx watch me starve while they chow down on food. No more...which brings me to today.
There is supposed to be an end-of-the-semester-good-job-playing-sports-today party next week. Initially, I said I would go, but then I asked 'Will there be smoking in the room?' This is Japan, so they laughed at my question and said, 'Yes'. Then I asked if they could have a separate smoking section of the party. The organizer said 'No'. Cool. My response was, 'I would like to receive my money back' (4500YEN) b/c I would not attend b/c I cannot be around all the smoke anymore. I was told that they would look into it. That was on Friday or Monday. So today my supervisor comes and say that the organizer said I can't get my money back b/c it would not be fair. When other teachers are too busy or have business trips, they don't get their money back, so neither can I. My response was that I cannot attend b/c A) It is a hazard to my health B) You do not provide food for me....so is that much of a choice?! Since when am I 'like the other teachers'? Any other time, when there are events, party invites, or accolades to be given, I am not the recipient b/c I am not 'a [Japanese] teacher'. But now that I asking for my money back (which turns out to not be a difficult task), I am treated like everyone else....
Tuesday, July 13, 2004
just press [PLAY]
i was a human voice recorder today! AGAIN! if I can be completely replaced by a CD or tape player and get the same results, is it necessary to have me "teach" the class? if everything i say is translated, is it really an English class? if you translate the entire passage on the board, do the students "really" understand English?
CLASS #1 : students showed their lack of maturity by not listening and "actin' a fool" while I am trying to teach them English. The lesson is something that 1st graders could do in about 20 minutes...our class was 40-mn and we ddn't finish the lesson....they go on my nerves
CLASS #2 : same age as CLASS #1. students really enjoyed the activty and actually opened ther ears to listen to what i was saying. And what did they say when a Japanese traslation was offered..."No, thank you."...they got on my good side ;)
CLASS #3 : same age as CLASS #2 and #1, but different teacher. students not interested in paying attention or speaking that funny thang called English. And why would they...this IS only an English class. We did a different lesson, but I was asked to stand and read some dialogue. Students were asked to repeat. I said it. They repeated it. That was how I was used in the class. I had no energy for this today, so I was not genki...this class almost got on my last nerve (for the day)
This was at my technical HS...and now, I think they want me to come there on Mondays too. If they ask me to come on Mondays, would it be too demanding of me to request that we do real classes as opposed to the translate-the-human-recorder-version? I like teaching with one of the teachers, he's cool, but the other teacher's style (or lack thereof) irrtates me. By the time CLASS #3 was over it was the end of the day, so I was happy to gather my items and break out!
CLASS #1 : students showed their lack of maturity by not listening and "actin' a fool" while I am trying to teach them English. The lesson is something that 1st graders could do in about 20 minutes...our class was 40-mn and we ddn't finish the lesson....they go on my nerves
CLASS #2 : same age as CLASS #1. students really enjoyed the activty and actually opened ther ears to listen to what i was saying. And what did they say when a Japanese traslation was offered..."No, thank you."...they got on my good side ;)
CLASS #3 : same age as CLASS #2 and #1, but different teacher. students not interested in paying attention or speaking that funny thang called English. And why would they...this IS only an English class. We did a different lesson, but I was asked to stand and read some dialogue. Students were asked to repeat. I said it. They repeated it. That was how I was used in the class. I had no energy for this today, so I was not genki...this class almost got on my last nerve (for the day)
This was at my technical HS...and now, I think they want me to come there on Mondays too. If they ask me to come on Mondays, would it be too demanding of me to request that we do real classes as opposed to the translate-the-human-recorder-version? I like teaching with one of the teachers, he's cool, but the other teacher's style (or lack thereof) irrtates me. By the time CLASS #3 was over it was the end of the day, so I was happy to gather my items and break out!
Monday, July 12, 2004
"no bake" ideas...
we finally got a chance to try the chocolate "no bake" cookies in English club. the students didn't show up for almost a half hour after the start tme. so, i had to begin the activity with a get-here-on-time-or-i-will-not-do-this-club-anymore-b/c-you-are-wasting-my-time speech. they understood...or so they said, so we'll see if they change their behavior. i told them that i wasn't angry or mad, i just want them to be on time (like they would be if this were volleyball or soft tennis)...but back to the cookies...survey says:
GROUP 1: turned out good and delicious. they only put 1/3 of the cocoa so theirs were as chocolaty as they were supposed to be.
GROUP 2: still not sure how they turned out. we had to put them in the freezer overnight in hopes that they would solidify by tomorrow morning. ths group's cookies turned out the worst and they were the 3rd years students had an English teacher helping them.
GROUP 3: GREAT! This group (English club advisor and I) had the best cookies and everyone came over to eat ours b/c they were OISHII .
Cookies!?....maybe (GROUP #3's cookies)
I plan on making these at home one day b/c they don't require an oven (and that's right up my alley considering I don't have an oven), the ingredients are readily available and it only takes about 20 minutes to make them.
my initial plans today were to go out to dinner with a friend but i had to cancel :( when i made the arrangements, i completely forgot that I had English club today. after making cookies i went to the store and in search of some swimming shorts, but ended up buying a yukata and a Kitty-chan shirt.
GROUP 1: turned out good and delicious. they only put 1/3 of the cocoa so theirs were as chocolaty as they were supposed to be.
GROUP 2: still not sure how they turned out. we had to put them in the freezer overnight in hopes that they would solidify by tomorrow morning. ths group's cookies turned out the worst and they were the 3rd years students had an English teacher helping them.
GROUP 3: GREAT! This group (English club advisor and I) had the best cookies and everyone came over to eat ours b/c they were OISHII .
Cookies!?....maybe (GROUP #3's cookies)
I plan on making these at home one day b/c they don't require an oven (and that's right up my alley considering I don't have an oven), the ingredients are readily available and it only takes about 20 minutes to make them.
my initial plans today were to go out to dinner with a friend but i had to cancel :( when i made the arrangements, i completely forgot that I had English club today. after making cookies i went to the store and in search of some swimming shorts, but ended up buying a yukata and a Kitty-chan shirt.
The big 'TO DO'..
I have a lot of things that I have to get done over the next few weeks. Most of it relates to the workshop and seminars that I will be presenting in, JET SIG stuff and some of it is personal stuff. My apartment has taken a turn for close to 'the worst'. Since having so many business trips back to back, I haven't had a chance to put everything back where they belong...thus it looks like a suitcase has exploded!
I want to get a sewing machine...but I have no ￥ right now to invest in that luxury. So I will be handsewing some things for now. My handsewing is pretty good, so I am not too worried about durability...it is just time-consuming...but that is the cost of creativity.
I had a great weekend. I went to help DW get ready for her wedding, then went to the shower on Sunday which was nice. I made a gift basket for them that included lavendar eye bags...made by me. They liked it and someone else asked me if I made baskets to sell...if there is an interest, perhaps I'll do custom orders to make some extra ￥ . I also went to Hachinohe to hang out with a friend. I had a nice time with karaoke and dancing...a nice time was had by all!
I want to get a sewing machine...but I have no ￥ right now to invest in that luxury. So I will be handsewing some things for now. My handsewing is pretty good, so I am not too worried about durability...it is just time-consuming...but that is the cost of creativity.
I had a great weekend. I went to help DW get ready for her wedding, then went to the shower on Sunday which was nice. I made a gift basket for them that included lavendar eye bags...made by me. They liked it and someone else asked me if I made baskets to sell...if there is an interest, perhaps I'll do custom orders to make some extra ￥ . I also went to Hachinohe to hang out with a friend. I had a nice time with karaoke and dancing...a nice time was had by all!
Thursday, July 08, 2004
The new soul of soca....
J folx are up on their music. One of my students in my adult Eikaiwa asked me if I knew a specific artist. I said no b/c I didn't know the name. She handed me a copy of a CD. I happen to be scanning some popular music webstes and came across the artist's name. So I pop in the CD that she gave me...the song is an old song that I know and like, but I didn't know it was THAT popular...the artist is being considered the new soul of soca...hmmmm...i wonder what my parents think about that....
Wednesday, July 07, 2004
Doing the math on English...
My average student..
Posesses the basic ability to cope with simple matters concerning daily life in English. Able to communicate in limited circumstances if visiting or living overseas. Able to exchange general information about oneself in simple English. The student is 1) Able to converse about common daily topics (make simple conversation on the telephone, leave messages, etc.) 2) Able to read materials about common everyday topics (simple news articles, letters, pamphlets, etc.) 3)Able to write about common everyday topics.
This is all according to the STEP (Society for Testing English Proficiency) Test...but it does NOT add up. Most of my students will have achieved the next level up (2nd grade) by the time they graduate. This, according to this test, puts them at a Japanese high school graduate level. In reality, the average student cannot do the above.
hmmmmm....
Posesses the basic ability to cope with simple matters concerning daily life in English. Able to communicate in limited circumstances if visiting or living overseas. Able to exchange general information about oneself in simple English. The student is 1) Able to converse about common daily topics (make simple conversation on the telephone, leave messages, etc.) 2) Able to read materials about common everyday topics (simple news articles, letters, pamphlets, etc.) 3)Able to write about common everyday topics.
This is all according to the STEP (Society for Testing English Proficiency) Test...but it does NOT add up. Most of my students will have achieved the next level up (2nd grade) by the time they graduate. This, according to this test, puts them at a Japanese high school graduate level. In reality, the average student cannot do the above.
hmmmmm....
Monday, July 05, 2004
The Rain :: 13:21 self-portraits
:: 13:21 Self-Portraits ::
So long farewell...
Governor's JET Farewell Party
Let's Bunkasai!
Some shots from the bunkasai...
:: The Bunkasai Parade ::
DY and TR in "Jaws' Mouth" at "Universal Studios Takumin" :: My 2nd year students :: An interesting sign [yet to be interpretted]
:: The Bunkasai Parade ::
DY and TR in "Jaws' Mouth" at "Universal Studios Takumin" :: My 2nd year students :: An interesting sign [yet to be interpretted]
Sunday, July 04, 2004
will my manager approve?
the mini photo shoot that I just had in front of my house was very entertaining. i passed by my friend's craft store to talk to her for a bit and give her some yarn that I got for her from the US. i haven't been there since April! i used to go in once a week, but since going back to the US, I have been running around and taking some "me" time during the week. so anyway, we sat, talked, and crafted like old times so it was great. she then invited me to a bbq that she was having, so i was there for about another hour. the bbq ended up being with some PTA folx from my school. although I couldn't understand most of the convo, it went from teachers to the bunkasai to the dude across the river. someone there gave me a ride home. as we were getting ready to leave, her daughter called and all TOO excited that THE TAKEYAH-SENSEI was in the car with her mother. so we took a detour and picked the daughter and her friend up and it was like a star siting (again!). so by the time we got to my house, after sitting at a green light admiring everything that is ME, the keitai and cameras were out...it was cute b/c even the mother was all too excited...which led to the photo shoot in front of my house...LOL
Tako sai!
This weekend has been pretty eventful. On Friday, I went to the Governor's Farewell party for returning JETs. I honestly had a much better time than I expected. Everyone looked great and it was good to see people that I haven't seen in a while (some of them, since last year).
On Saturday, I headed to work for our cultural festival. I must admit that after watching the opening ceremony video highlighting what we would expect, I am impressed by these students and what they are able to produce. The games, videos, movies, restaurants that they put together for these two days are...awesome! To see some of my students who usually give a lack-luster performance go all out truly let's me see their abilities. I was always aware of their abilities, however this event proves what I believed all along....the students can do a lot, but the results will only be high if we have expectations...great expectations!
On Saturday, I headed to work for our cultural festival. I must admit that after watching the opening ceremony video highlighting what we would expect, I am impressed by these students and what they are able to produce. The games, videos, movies, restaurants that they put together for these two days are...awesome! To see some of my students who usually give a lack-luster performance go all out truly let's me see their abilities. I was always aware of their abilities, however this event proves what I believed all along....the students can do a lot, but the results will only be high if we have expectations...great expectations!
Friday, July 02, 2004
taking it back to the '80s
Breakout (Swing Out Sister)...I Think We're Alone Now (Tiffany)...Manic Monday (Bangles)...Funkytown (Lipps, Inc.)...You Keep Me Hangin' On (Vanilla Fudge remake)...I Like Your Smile (Shanice).
I was just reminded of how much 'older' than my students I am. I am really not that much older, but they make it seem that way. The second year students (born in 1987) just came in to get my assistance for the karaoke section of their bunkasai cultural festival display. They had an MD of songs that they wanted me to help identify. Of course they sing these songs and listen to them often but don't know the names, artists (or real words). When I do listening activities with my students, they never seem to know any of the songs I choose. So when they put in the MD, I was not expecting to be taken through the 80s! Now I know where to select songs from...most of the songs were from b4 these students were born (but they don't know that!)...quite funny :(
In other bunkasai news: just when I thought I wasn't involved, I realized that my name was placed on my 2nd year students' shirt (how touching)...I am sure to find a few other little 'takeyah' things throughout the festival. Although I am not involved in any way, the students seem to like to indirectly include me by drawing pictures, putting my name in things, or asking me to say one line in their play. I will make my film acting debut in a second year class' movie about a student who falls in love w/ a teacher...NO! I am not the recipient of the student's love.
I was just reminded of how much 'older' than my students I am. I am really not that much older, but they make it seem that way. The second year students (born in 1987) just came in to get my assistance for the karaoke section of their bunkasai cultural festival display. They had an MD of songs that they wanted me to help identify. Of course they sing these songs and listen to them often but don't know the names, artists (or real words). When I do listening activities with my students, they never seem to know any of the songs I choose. So when they put in the MD, I was not expecting to be taken through the 80s! Now I know where to select songs from...most of the songs were from b4 these students were born (but they don't know that!)...quite funny :(
In other bunkasai news: just when I thought I wasn't involved, I realized that my name was placed on my 2nd year students' shirt (how touching)...I am sure to find a few other little 'takeyah' things throughout the festival. Although I am not involved in any way, the students seem to like to indirectly include me by drawing pictures, putting my name in things, or asking me to say one line in their play. I will make my film acting debut in a second year class' movie about a student who falls in love w/ a teacher...NO! I am not the recipient of the student's love.
