will around the US - 飛んでる風船

To the big city

2011-04-29T08:34:00.003+09:00

I did it. Today I moved in to an apartment in New York City.

But lets back up a little.

I told some, didn't tell many. I'm not in Japan anymore. About a month ago, I packed up the stuff in my tiny apartment in Chiba and came back to the US for good. A number of stresses influenced the move, not least the disruption and uncertainty surrounding the earthquake/tsunami/nuclear threat. I wasn't directly affected by the disaster (though I faced tons of train cancellations), I got rattled more than usual. Messed me up. Aftershocks, not being able to get home, shoddy food supply...on my already fragile-from-school psyche, not the best. So I did something a little out of the ordinary and slightly reckless. I left.

Did I make a smart decision? Remains to be seen. Do I have a plan from here on? Not anything concrete. But does it feel right...?

I made a promise to myself before I left 6 months ago that if I couldn't find what I was looking for at the University of Tokyo, I would leave. If anything, I stuck to my word. And that counts for something. But it doesn't mean I feel good at the moment.

Which brings me back to the present: a move to NYC. Back when I got home, I found out about a room in a friend's apartment that was open. I jumped on it - living at home doesn't suit me. But there are many unanswered questions from now, like, "where will you work?" and "how long will you stay there?" and "what were you thinking?!" I don't have a good answer for any of those. But what I do know is that I am really excited...but also really scared. I don't know how I'll do, (first time living in a big city and all) and I'm terrified of failure, going broke, and ending up back at home anyway.

But I remind myself that I'm still in recovery mode, taking it slow trying to regain what optimism and confidence I had before I left for Japan 8 months ago. I don't know if this city is the right place, but its got a vibe that I need now. And the uncertainty here is a lot different than what I went through last month.

And in Starbucks, the female cafe version of "No Women, No Cry" is playing: "Ev'rything's gonna be alright...ev'rything's gonna be alright"

So much for progress

2010-12-04T19:12:00.003+09:00

Bleh.

...is the word to describe what I've experienced so far studying at the University of Tokyo. I've been here for almost two months now, and I don't feel or see how I'm growing or going to grow from my experience here. If anything, it feels like a step backwards: I think my Japanese ability is waning, and my writing skill isn't being tested here (most times, I'm editing other group members' work!). This isn't the "challenge" I've come for.

In my last year as an English teacher, I was stoked to go into the world and make a difference, partially fueled by the poor company situation I had in Nagano. At that time, I thought studying in an English program in the best University in Asia would be a good idea. But, after seeing how things work, I'm beginning to regret the decision. And although some good days bring me back to focus towards making progress, more often than not I find myself where I am right now: trying to see how the education here will make me a better person and help me do great things.

One would think that the reputation of this school would mean the best minds, best opportunities, best vision of the future. There are some great minds, but many of them have been with the University of Tokyo for their entire professional lives, and from talking with many of them, it seems like they've lost touch with the rest of the people out there. There are some good opportunities - there was a business competition to pitch ideas for new uses of OLED lights, and the finalists would fly to Germany - but it fell through due to lack of interest.

And finally, vision of the future. One class I'm taking this semester is about sustainability and internationalization of the University of Tokyo. I was kind of surprised to find out that there are no projects out there trying to use newer technology to come up with new ideas to improve those things. They are way behind most schools in the US or Europe, who have already began/developed such programs (Cooling beams at MIT? Geothermal heat store system in ETH Zurich? Nice!). There's also no real clear-cut plan for the future.

For that class, my suggestion was to include something "Wow!" in the next plans. I had a lot of fun preparing it, because I got to look into all of the other inspiring projects going on around the world. Problem is, I then realized that I probably should have gone to one of those places.

The other assumption I had about this place was that I'd find students with the same fervor I had to change things. Sustainability, right? Changing the ways we think about everyday life, right? In the same class as I talked about above, we did interviews about backgrounds and aspirations after finishing the program. I interviewed a nice Chinese girl who's studying about making compact cities in China. When asking her about what she was planning to do after she finished, she told me she was going to get a PhD, become a professor in China. Cool. But then, asking her about why she was studying sustainability, she replied "Actually, I don't care much about sustainability...but there's a scholarship!" It turns out that's the case with several of the students here - the career is the end goal. In addition, many of them are already married or have serious significant others.

The scholarship...it really is great. Full tuition, a flight to and from Japan, and a monthly stipend for living expenses. It's one of the main reasons I came here instead of go to another country, or even the US. And while I can't keep up the lavish lifestyle of a JET teacher, I'm still doing alright for myself. Found Costco and Ikea nearby, school food is good and cheap, and taking the train around is real nice. Sadly, all these cool things have nothing to do with school. And, although it's the University of Tokyo, the campus where I am is quite far from Tokyo city center - about 30 miles. It's been more expensive and time-consuming to get to Tokyo than I would have liked. Which is really a let-down, since I could see myself being there studying until late at night and going back to class the next day, but the money just isn't there (well...there's JET money left over, but it would go quick. Not very sustainable, one could say).

I'm disappointed with the experience so far. Compile that with a tight budget, and that I've done the whole Japan thing before, it's making it quite difficult to find motivation to work hard. So then, how to make things better?...is what I'm thinking about a lot lately. I need to see progress. I run on progress. And having new, awesome experiences. I feel like I haven't moved much from where I was last year, stuck in the clutches of RCS. I want to work hard, I want to do something incredible. But is this the right way? Is there a way to that here?

I keep telling myself "Just trudge on through, you'll get somewhere. And besides, it's free!!" But the "it's free" argument is getting pretty weak. Here's to hoping this all clears up sometime soon.

India, Round

2010-08-09T17:59:00.002+09:00

Time for a break from India, time to

India, Round 2

2010-08-04T15:44:00.003+09:00

Well...it's been about 2.5 months. I realized about a week into the trip that it was a bad idea to not take a computer along with me...internet was scarce - expensive to use some places, non-existent in others. But now, sitting at my home in NJ with not too much on the plate, I'm already starting to reminisce. Figure I can let some of that out by finally continuing what I started, writing about some of the craziness that the world brought me over the almost-2-month stretch after I left Japan. Here goes.

TRAINS IN INDIA

Coming from Japan, I was expecting a lot in the way of transportation. Big mistake. Some of the best and worst times that I had in India were related to trains. Step into one of the big central stations in a city and you'll quickly get a look at how insane life is there. People. EVERYWHERE. And not just walking through or in a ticket queue - anything from homeless dudes and beggars hoping for your extra rupees, touts fighting over your taxi fare (with included trips to their "brother's" shop. How nice of them!), or wealthier families sitting on blankets in the middle of the floor (and very much in the way) with bags upon bags of luggage. It is a madhouse. Now add the regular people flow of about Shinjuku station in Tokyo during the evening rush, and a maze platforms, and you have yourself a perfect nightmare. Awesome.
Here's me, a clueless foreigner aiming for the 6:00 a.m. from New Delhi to Agra. Arrive at the station about 5:57, no idea where I was. I rush into the station, bags in hand and on back, ignoring all the weird looks. I see platform 16. Crap. I'm on the wrong side of the station - my train is on track 1. I hear the old windows 3.x "Ta-daaa!" sound and an announcement that my train is leaving shortly. Pushing my way through the masses on the walk above the platforms - 10...9...8... Making progress, thread a couple more needles in the crowd, 5...4...3... crap! I hear my train starting to leave. It takes one last burst of adrenaline to make it to the platform, where I see the super-express rolling of the station. Uh oh.
Now.
If this were Japan, or most places in Europe, I'd be screwed. Doors shut and locked for departure.
But wait!
I'm in India! The doors are wide open and I see people hanging out the door saying goodbyes and whatnot. One IndyJones-style leap with my luggage, and I'm aboard the moving train. Not the most relaxing way to start, but at least I learned that I'd do well if cast in a western. Yippey-eye-oh-kai-eight o' clock arrival in Agra, after a nice breakfast on-board. Nice!

There are more crazy train stories from India in store, - highlights include creepy train stations and an 18-hour long-haul. To be continued tomorrow. Stay tuned!

India, Round 1

2010-05-16T17:25:00.002+09:00

Mentally. Exhausted.
So far India and I have gotten along alright (so far) on a love/hate basis. There is so much going on in this place that there's no way I'll begin to understand by the end on my short 8 days here. But, its been a crazy learning experience so far.
India has a huge learning curve for foreigners coming with little or no knowledge about the way things work, like I was when I stepped off the plane. This became real apparent when I booked train tickets from the airport kiosk. It took an inordinate amount of time to do so...first off, the kiosk dude wasn't there and took 30 minutes to return. Second was the ridiculousness I had to go through to just get change for big bills (India pet peeve #1 - it seems like when you need small change for something, noone has it, or won't give it up). The whole ordeal took about 2 hours to do, just at the limit of the time that the driver for my hostel was there for. Luckily, due to traffic, I was able to call the hostel and get a ride relatively easily, which was lucky because the place was in the middle of nowhere, crazytown, south delhi. But that first ride... seeing continous rows of tiny shop after tiny shop (behind piles of garbage and dirt on the sidewalks) was a good look into what to expect while travelling this place.
The hostel was awesome, had a charismatic owner that spoke almost flawless English - too bad the same couldn't be said about the some of the other staff... (India pet peeve #2 - people that can speak a little English have a really difficult time communicating because of poor pronuncitaion - I can't tell if their speaking English or Hindi). Still, there was unlimited purified water (allbeit 35 C water), and the place was pretty clean, which was a relief after going through the surrounding area. Met lots of cool people, hung out at some interesting places, and got tout-ed pretty hard one of the days (subject for another time). Also learned about bargaining for transportation, the ridiculous distances between places in India, and how to stay calm on roads without rules when riding in a golf cart's younger brother.
More posts later, gotta go buy another liter of water for the 45 C heat.

Tales of Interest! (or 色々)

2010-02-22T09:03:00.005+09:00

I spent yesterday flinging myself into an airbag. It was great.

I finally broke the news about grad school at U Tokyo to some teachers at the school. One of them is a first grade teacher who deals with the problem students most of the time. About an hour after I told her, she came into the teacher's room in tears.
- "What's wrong?"
- "All the teachers that I like are leaving!"
D'oh.

In Hiranai in Aomori Prefecture (the place I was last year), there is a religious community that worships a god in one of the mountains. I visited every once in a while to judge an English speech contest at their high school. I'm still in touch with the teachers there, and last week, they sent me an overview of their religion and charity work, in English, that they were going to use at an overseas conference. I proofread the thing, which didn't take that long because the English teacher that wrote it is quite capable. Still, because they're ridiculously nice, they're sending me a 3000yen (~$30) bookstore voucher. Score!

Went to school on a Wednesday a few weeks ago, and found out I had a fever of 39 C (~102 F). Of course the head teacher sent me home and told me to see a doctor. I drove about 10 minutes to the big hospital in the area, as the local clinic was closed on Wednesdays. It was pretty crowded, but I got in to see someone within about an hour. First thing I got was the notorious swine flu test (I swear they swab the brain with that thing). It came back negative, but the doctor still diagnosed me with flu. To make a long (and not fun) story short, I wasn't better and hadn't eaten anything significant by Sunday, so I went back to the hospital. They set me up with some tests and an IV for food. I got the results back on the next Wednesday - it was a bacteria that caused gastroenteritis (stomach "flu"). Could've been solved with antibiotics back when it started. Great! I already felt better, so I didn't go back for more meds. But I was left with some fun parting gifts, including 6 kg (~12 lb) of dropped weight, low blood pressure, and plenty of extra pills and capsules. Anyone want some Tamiflu?

Grad school stuff is almost over. Everything looks okay for the scholarship, now I just need to change my visa, take care of storing my stuff (and ship some stuff to the US), decide what to do this summer, sell the car, tell the company I'm leaving, and try to prepare my successor for this school. Oh yeah, and work, I suppose.

Good times, good times.

The next step...

2010-02-12T12:04:00.004+09:00

It was early December. The school in which I work was crazy. Students were off the wall and teachers weren't doing anything about it. I was thinking of ways to escape the fate of being here another year, so I shot an e-mail to the University of Tokyo's International Office. There was a program in Sustainability Science that I had a slight interest in, because it was taught in English and the topic of study is pretty open-ended. Originally on the program's website, it was written that I could not apply as an international student because I was living in Japan. So I gave them a conundrum.

"Well, I'm going to leave Japan in March, so I won't be here for the other test in August... what should I do?"

It came back that I could apply as a foreigner as long as I returned to the US. So I ran with it.

I wrote the four essays they required. I wrote a research plan. Then I wrote another one. Then I visited them three days before the December 31st deadline, threw the previous two plans and wrote a third. がんばった。

But one of the letters of recommendations I requested from a professor back at he beginning of December didn't come on time. I was told by e-mail that I wasn't eligible.

A few days after the deadline past, I got another e-mail, saying that I could be eligible if the letter arrived by the 15th. It didn't. And again I was told by e-mail that I wasn't eligible.

On the 22nd, I got yet another e-mail that informed me that they received the letter, and that I was put back on the list of eligible applicants.

Last Friday, February 5th, I got the acceptance e-mail for the program. Along with it is another set of applications for the scholarship that accompanies acceptance. One of the requirements? A letter from the Dean of my college, due on February 24th.

I feel like I should be more excited about getting in, but I've had no time to yet, and the scholarship isn't guaranteed, so there's still the outside chance I won't go. I feel blank. Burned out. Being tangled in red tape hasn't been a fun experience.

Besides red tape, I'm still tangled with the idea of staying in Japan rather than going somewhere else for school. Japan is a great place to live. But there are plenty of places out there that I haven't been to yet.

February 24th will be an important day. I'll know if I'm committed to Japan for two more years, or if I'll be around for one more while I apply elsewhere.

I have learned a couple things, though:
- upper echelon schools are reachable for grad school, even if you've been out of school for a while
- waiting for things outside my control to happen sucks. A lot.

In any case, I'm ready for the result. Time for a break from limbo. Let's deciding!

我慢検定、1級 (Patience Test, Level 1)

2009-12-01T10:02:00.013+09:00

I'm still in the process of figuring out what to do next year, and as always, the most difficult part is taking the step towards something.

This week, I've been considering applying to JR (Japan Railway) East to try and procure a job that would have some relationship with what I want to do in school next (transport). While it doesn't seem to be what I'm looking for, I've found out some interesting things about Japanese jobs in my research.

I was going to apply to be part of the "Green" staff (nothing to do with being "eco"), which consists of doing four jobs at four locations: ticket counter, ticket entrance, information kiosk, and travel bureau division. Looking through the job description, I saw that a new employee might have to switch spots up to 4 times in one year. This doesn't come as a surprise as most Japanese companies have you work multiple places to be a more rounded worker. For me, I thought, "Oh! I'd be useful in an information role, especially since there are usually plenty of foreigners lost in the labyrinthine stations in Tokyo!" Optimistically, I plowed my way through the online application. But as I continued on, I started to get disheartened at how poor of a candidate I was turning out to be. Under the qualifications section, there were several boxes for different kinds of certification for service positions. One that particularly stood out was the "サービス接遇検定," or "service and reception test, level 2." I knew about tests for levels of academic subjects, but...service? What is it based on? How big your smile is? How much keigo (super-polite language) you can pack in one sentence?

...so I looked into it. It is a test (split into written and interview sections) on how to react to different situations in a workplace, for example, what you shouldn't say to a regular at a coffee shop who says, "This coffee tastes a little different than it usually does!" (The answer is: "It's the same as usual, might it be your imagination?")

So without any qualifications, I'm letting the application sit in my browser, collecting digital dust.
But, I'm not feeling too down. Going through this way is the method other Japanese people will use, and Japanese is a category in which I don't quite belong. My next option would be to inquire directly, which I'm going to work on later this week.

One more interesting point about the job is the pay, specifically the bonus. If you haven't heard about Japan, bonuses are high. Foreign teachers don't get them, but the people that do get almost a significant boost twice a year or one lump sum based on performance and attendance. In this job, the base is so-so (180000￥ a month), but the bonus per year is...well... (~700000￥) The more smile lines, the more you bank.

Getting a position outside of the education field is a huge challenge in Japan (part of why I want to do it), but red tape and knowing I'll probably have to work 25 hours a day are the major turn offs. That, and knowing that there are tons of tests out there that I should take if I want a specific job. The only ones I hold now are frustration with Japan, 2級, and indecision, 1級. And what does that get me?

A job teaching English at a Japanese school.

A somewhat sticky situation

2009-11-04T15:10:00.008+09:00

Yesterday after class was finished, a second grade girl infamous for being reckless came into the 1st grade teacher's room, demanding that a set of improvised paper (trump) cards be returned to her. They were taken from her brother in another class, where he and a friend were playing during the lesson. When it was explained to her that they may not be returned until her brother apologized, she had a temper tantrum, the likes of which I haven't seen yet in Japan. Words between her and two female teachers were had, and they weren't nice words. She was flagrantly rude to the teachers, making fun of the way they addressed her, telling them off (with a sharp urusai!) multiple times, and even cutting off a teacher mid-sentence by answering her cell phone (of course, illegal in school). After the exchange she cursed them off with a biting Shineh! (Die!) and stormed out of the teacher's room.

There are almost 600 students at my school right now, and about 5% of them are troublesome - not all on the level of the girl described above, but enough to create a large discipline problem. I spend most of my time in the 1st grade teacher's room, and almost every day I hear a lecture from a teacher to a student about discipline. There are some repeat offenders, but I'm always surprised at the scope of students who do things that they just shouldn't do (such as write "Die, ~~~~-sensei!" on the blackboard.

I've witnessed long lectures at assemblies from teachers about how the students need to "get out of elementary school" and how "our school can't move forward if it stays this way," but the situation doesn't seem to get much better. In the case of the 1st graders, it's driving several of their teachers crazy. One, in particular (also an English teacher), has been really struggling lately - she was in tears this morning because of her students' mischief. Rather than refer to the situation as "elementary school," this grade's teachers call it "the zoo."

It's disheartening to see the same thing happen day after day, and watch as things that the students are told by their teacher are forgotten once back with their classmates. There have been several times recently when I've wanted to step in and give verbal lashings to exceptionally bad kids, but held back because I didn't think it would have a positive effect. In the classes with funky students, I've become more rigid and more ready for any shenanigans that might break out. As a result, the bad kids don't like me (I've also received a Shineh! recently), but I'm more of a help in class.

Still, though, I've only been here for three months, and I haven't endured what other teachers here have endured for much longer. I have an enormous amount of respect for the teachers that put up with them without complaint - some will have to deal for 2.5 more years of the same. I ask if I can help from time to time, but mostly get "Oh, no, it's okay" as a response. They're dealing with it in their own way, which is fine, but as a result its tough to have a close relationship with them.

Card girl came back in 5 minutes later to look again. She went through the teacher(that took the cards)'s things, threatened to break her glasses, knocked over her books, and kicked in a drawer of her desk before given a second lecture about her behavior, then she stormed out again. What can you do? With violent students, teachers here tread a thin line between appropriate discipline and making sure their stuff doesn't get damaged. I am on the sideline wanting to help, but at the same time, not sure if I should get involved. It's a weird and difficult situation. The school is very high tension, and it feels like something's going to snap soon.

I'm staying alert for damage control.

~コッチ

P.S.
In other news, I found out that I can't apply directly to University of Tokyo, which is/was a candidate for grad school. I'd have to take an exam in August and pay 30000￥ as a screening fee. The reason for this ridiculousness? Because I live here. Thanks, Japan. さすが！

To a certain special Japanese cuisine:

2009-10-21T13:37:00.016+09:00

I tried. I really tried.

I knew you were coming. I heard whispers of your name in the hallways. You were to make yourself known in the daytime, in all of your glory.

I recognized your fragrance when I entered the room. You sat apart from the crowd in your own little box. From the faces of others in the room, I could already tell you were having an effect, as would be expected from a name of this caliber.

As you made your way towards me, I was filled with an anxious optimism. I knew that within the confines of your white wrappings, you held the prestige and culture of an entire nation - distinction that can only come with time.

As the appropriate niceities were spoken, I slowly unravelled that which was inside the box. And there you laid, naked before me, and I trembled as two of my senses were arrested by your form and aroma. Hesistating ever so slightly, I allowed two more senses to fall to you as I delved into your container and stole part of your substance. With a sensation that only you can bestow, I was innervated in a way that I had only experienced once before.

But alas, I quickly grew less fond of you as you lingered within me. You became caustic and bitter. I tried to recitfy your nature by modifying your appearance with spices, dressings, and grains, but that, too, was a fruitless effort. There were no means possible to conceal your fierce, acute personality. And although I am now through with our initial encounter, I know other parts of me still are burdened with finishing this affair.

And so, I must apologize to you, natto, for leading you to believe that we might have had a meaningful relationship. My once hopeful optimism has turned into the realization that I cannot allow you to exist inside of me again. I was naive.

So farewell, natto! Know that I will think earnestly about our meeting, but in no way do I desire to meet again. If our paths cross are to cross again, be not offended by my apathy. I wish to move on, and I think our separation will be the most effect means to that end. You have a country of adoring fans who will appreciate you much more than I will.

And so I leave you, natto, not with a bang, but with an upset stomach.

Good day.

Some things

2009-10-04T02:21:00.004+09:00

Tonight I drank with the teachers at my new school for the first time. I would stay another year if the situation were different.

The moon is only good when full or new.

The rest of the world needs 代行.

I will marry a Japanese woman, because she will look the same at 45 as she does at 25.

The word "desultory" if fitting for many occasions.

No more shochu, please.

~コッチ

The Dark Side of ALT

2009-09-27T15:48:00.007+09:00

I made a mistake.

I contracted with a private company who dispatches English teachers to schools in the middle of Japan. There have been substantial differences between this situation and the JET program, of which I was a member until August of this year. I am now located in Saku City, on the middle-east side of Nagano prefecture. While the location of this place is prime to get around Japan, there have been several hindrances with this company that prevent me from getting used to life here. And it's frustrating.

Most boards of education pay the same amount for English teachers, no matter where they come from. In JET, you get this base salary (minus insurance, pension, etc.), as well as flights to and from your location, and transportation fees, moving in money, etc. It's a good deal. Where I am now, the company receives the full of that base salary, tells the teacher to bear the transportation fees, and takes out some of the salary for profit. In the end it saves the board of education a lot of money, and the company is happy. But not necessarily a good deal for the teacher.

There are a few things that are particularly bugging me right now:
- Paying for transportation to training events
Being in Nagano, it takes the longest and costs the most for me to get to training (in Yorii, Saitama). The one day I went in August, I spent 8000 yen (~$80.00) to get there and back, only to spend the day listening to things I already knew.
- Jumping through hoops to get things done
In JET, I could just talk to my board of education, or even just the head teacher at my school if I needed to leave to go to the bank or the post office. Now, I need to call the company, who calls the board of ed., who calls the school, then repeat backwards. The reason this is done is because if I leave without permission before my time is done, the board of ed. will fight to withhold money from the company, and it becomes one big clusterf***. All over maybe 30 minutes where I'll be doing nothing anyway.
- Paid-holiday-screwed
With this company, I get school holidays off. Normally, this is good, as I'd get a ton for summer break. But, since I started in August, I don't get them. Quick background - teachers usually get 20 days paid leave. Hence, I should get 10, since its a half year. However, with the current plan, I get around 7. Since it would be better for me to have 10 and be able to choose, I asked the company about this, to which they responded, "You can't have paid holiday with that plan for 6 months, and you only get to choose 5 of those days, we get to choose the other 5." Ugh.
- Pay delay
Payday used to be the 21st of each month for the month that I was in (so, August's pay in August), but here, I get paid for this month at the end of NEXT month. Which means that since I started in August, I haven't gotten paid yet. And since all of the moving fees have been taken out, and I have to pay next month's rent this month, I get a pretty paltry paycheck. I know that I'll get a good chunk back at the end of my time, but since I want to do things now, and not later, I've had to dig into what I had saved up. And I'm not happy about that. It's causing me to be more frugal and not take off on an impulse, when I really want to (for example, I had the chance to meet a friend in Tokyo today, and I didn't take it - sorry mate, I regret not coming).

Yes, I'm only in this until midway through March, but I feel like it's time I could have better spent doing something else. And yeah, good things are coming from this, like really bearing down on what and where graduate school will be. But when the situation is not ideal and emotions run high, it's easier to make rash decisions. 注意してください。

I have to learn to get around this. Time to focus on finding squirming room between rocks and hard places.

Rant over.

~コッチ

Run Ragged

2008-06-18T22:52:00.004+09:00

The new AIM screen name will be AomoriOmelet. Add on up!

I've been really busy lately...elementary schools, baseball, and car issues have consumed lots of time lately.

Elementary schools are a mixed bag compared to junior high schools. Some days it'll be great, and other days it will suck. Big time.
Elementary school days start late and end early. This doesn't mean less classes then usual, it just means the day is packed. It's good because it keeps me busy and seems like its over before it starts it seems. Plus, since there's little to no English spoken, its the best chance to practice Japanese. But, on the flip side, that means I can't speak English all day (a brain-strainer). Classes are tough... they can be fun, sometimes the kids are eager just to hear words from the guy with blond hair's mouth. Other times, though (more common with younger kids), its out of control. Screaming, teachers attempting to keep order... it can get bad. In elementary schools, I also clean the school with them and play with them at recess, which can be equally double-edged. Rowdy classes and running games at recess are the perfect recipe for a bad day. On the other hand, though, a day with attentive students and baseball or soccer at recess equals a really good day. Either day is usually a recipe for a nap in the afternoon.

Something that always hangs on my mind when I go to elementary schools is the infrequency of visits and English. In Japan, English is not a subject taught everyday, of course, and the students very rarely use English outside of the one-class-a-month they have with me. They forget quick. I spend time reviewing greetings more than anything. But, I find that elementary school visits are more for the "making English fun!" cheesiness than for the actual learning. Which is good, maybe. Maybe I'm inspiring kids to study English harder when they are older.

Or maybe I'm just the foreigner. Which is good. Maybe.

Don't Try This at Home

2008-06-02T23:52:00.003+09:00

Time to take a break from the school chats and go on to one of the "only in Japan" stories I've had so far.

One night last year, I was juggling two events between two groups of friends. I had gone to karaoke in Aomori and was planning to meet some friends for other shenanigans later in the night at Misawa, a town about 1:30 away by train.
I took the second-to-last train at 9:00 from Aomori to Misawa and arrived at my destination around 10:30. I came out of the station with some directions to a friend-of-a-friend's house where we were meeting up before going out. The directions, though, were a little shady, and I only had an intersection of two streets to go by, which in a medium-sized town like Misawa could take a little while to find. After wondering around a little while, I walked down a street with a sign pointing to one of the two streets that was part of that intersection. After walking for 2 or 3 minutes, a black car with blue neon lights on the bottom pulls up besides me. Theres one 25-ish looking guy in the driver's seat, and he learns over and asks me (in Japanese), "Where are you going?" I told him the directions that I was given, and after a second of thought, he says, "That's not close. Get in."
Here I was on a somewhat dark street in the middle of some town, with a stranger asking me to get in his car. All the alarms in my head back from those old, "Don't accept candy from strangers!" posters in elementary school were screaming in my head. No way...I thought...there could be any number of bad things that could happen if you get in that car. But, instead of politely refusing, my hand reached for the door, opened it, and I plopped myself onto the guy's rather comfortable leather passenger seat.
So we drive. We kept driving until we found the intersection, but it wasn't anywhere near a residential area. So what does this guy do? He doesn't throw me out. He waits in the car as I call my friend, who gives me more detailed directions, and the driver and I go through them step by step until I reach his house. On the way, we talk about music and movies, but I can't remember which ones he said he likes. It was strangely normal, and he was just an ordinary guy. An ordinary guy who took about 30 minutes out of his Saturday night to drive a foreign stranger to some house. And asked nothing in return. The only thing I had on me at the time was a few beers that I had to start myself off once I arrived, but I gladly offered them, and he took them.
If I were anywhere else in the world at that point, I don't think I would have gotten in the car. But its something about Japan... something that made me feel 100% comfortable about getting in.

People will talk about incredible events that restore faith in humanity. It wasn't one of those for me. Everything from opening the car door to get in and opening the car door to get out at my friend's house...just went its course. At that time, my mind said to itself, Everyone in Japan does this, and I went along with it. And in the end, what might seem a scary experience was just...normal. Wouldn't be weird if people everywhere else in the world were like that? And looking back, I have to wonder what the guy was thinking to pick up some random foreigner walking the streets. Was he scared? Or was it a normal thing to him, too?

I'll leave all that difficult thinking to all you people out there. I have a day of insanity at an elementary school tomorrow, so I'm going to go sleep. Bye bye for now.

Hello again

2008-05-31T22:43:00.003+09:00

Well, I knew it was going to happen, but I didn't realize it would be so long. I feel like I've been in a sort of stasis lately. Nothing much has been happening since the last post, and it's not like I haven't had the time to post, but this place seems to have a way of draining any writing that I want to do.

I left off last time at schools and school sizes, eh... to sum it up, big classes are tough, small classes are better. This is the general rule, but of course, there are exceptions.
The way that Japan runs class is that for main classes (English, math, history, Japanese), teachers go to students, rather than vice-versa. I think they do that because it's convenient for the students to have everything in one room, and it also encourages them to not forget anything and to be on time. At most schools, if the students have something they forgot (wasuremono 忘れ物）, they have to skip recess and clean the halls with rags on their knees (which is pretty exhausting AND embarrassing).

In other news, I joined the town hall's baseball team this year. Its great to be out playing again, especially because I had once though that my baseball-playing would end with the end of high school before I came here. I practice every weekday with the team, but its been an interesting experience thus far trying to fit in with the team. On the outside, everyone is friendly, and encourages me to play different spots, and is amazed (and I mean like "Whoa!") that I can field a ground ball... but on the inside, besides not being able to speak with them real well (they speak in very thick Tsugaru dialect...more on that later), I'm not part of their group from work, so I'm 2x the foreigner. I still don't know my role on the team, but its fun, so I do it. It especially helps to play after a day at an elementary school, which is usually insanity.

I'll continue with elementary school vs. middle school next time. Also, be on the lookout for another screenname in IM shortly, if you read this. I need to get rid of the old one. Until then, peace.

Hiranai Town について...

2008-03-20T23:57:00.002+09:00

Before going further with stories, might as well start from the beginning...

Right now, I'm living in Aomori Prefecture in a sparsely populated town called Hiranai. About 15,000 people live here, but spread over a fairly wide area. I teach English at Hiranai's 3 junior high schools and 7 elementary schools. The schools vary greatly in number of students, ranging anywhere from 20 to 200. The discrepancy comes from the difference in number of school-age kids between different parts of town. Hiranai actually used to be a number of smaller towns in the past, and back then schools were built accordingly. Many of them have special traditions local to the area - for example, in one small elementary school in a fishing village, all the students play big daiko drums to honor the scallop fisherman's lifestyle (Interestingly enough called the "Scallop daiko", or ほたて太鼓). So, going to each school can be a different experience, especially in smaller elementary schools where it seems like they try hard to preserve a area's traditions.

Besides school traditions, the size of classes makes for different experiences in different schools as well. At the biggest school of over 200, some classes have 35-40 students. At the smallest schools, classes can be less than five students. Some schools combine grade levels because there are so few students for one grade. Each size has its pros and cons, of course, but that is for another time.

Sleepiness has hit me pretty hard, so I'm done for now. More about schools and some about the town next time.

A long time coming

2008-03-12T01:26:00.002+09:00

Japan:
I decided to start this log (finally) to document a few of the experiences I've had here on the other side of the world. Updates will come as things happen and when I shunt my laziness to write about what has happened until now. Until then, ciao.