as usual, i was watching my daily 10 minutes of tv in the morning. today they talked about new-age parking lots, and i have to give them credit -- they sound pretty cool.
first, it's valet. duh.
second, it's 1000 yen to start, and 300 yen per 30 minutes.
let's say you're shopping in the mall. you buy something. you buy a lot of stuff let's say. carrying it around the rest of the afternoon is going to be a pain, yes? instead of carrying it around, your bags can be passed along to the parking service, and one of the valets will bring your bags to your car for you. this is included in the price of your parking.
next, say you buy cake or something that requires refrigeration. they will keep your items in a fridge until you're ready to leave.
as you're paying for parking at a machine, if you have kids, a clown will sneak up on you out of nowhere to entertain your kids for you.
when you're ready to leave, you walk up to one of these stations that has a large barcode (hard to describe.. not the skinny bar, fat bar types you see in the States, but instead, it's square and looks like some sort of decorder with all these black blobs). some phones (like my kick-ass one) have built-in barcode readers. soo, hold up your phone to the barcode, tell your phone to read it, and on your phone, you'll see a map pop up of that parking lot, telling you how to get to your car. nuts.
apparently, they have the garage also divided into female and male drivers. the female spots are slightly wider than the male ones, because apparently, we don't know how to pull out of a parking spot (i slightly took offense at that one).
at the end of the segment, the commentators said something to the effect of "with the advent of these parking garages, i guess we'll see less fathers at the mall." haha... stupid, but i think it's a fair statement.
the whole time i sat there watching this, i couldn't stop shaking my head, partly because i thought, "this is soooo japanese." partly because i was fascinated that they seemed to have thought of everything. and partly because a little part of me was dying inside, wondering how japanese people can think it's ingenious to come up with the ultimate parking garage, and still fail to realize that hey, insulation in your home ain't a bad idea after all.
Thursday, November 30, 2006
quality day of engrish
i went to two elementary schools today, and for some reason, i kept seeing quality engrish, which i just have to share...
- at my first school, we were doing a Christmas lesson, which included flash cards, memory, and BINGO. it took a while for the kids to fill out a 3x3 BINGO card, especially since some were trying to be fancy and write out the words in English as opposed to hiragana. words to choose from included Santa Claus, bell, angel, wreath, socks (it was written on her card, and i felt bad about correcting the teacher...), tree, cake, star, and present. as i peered over one girl's shoulder, i nearly died laughing: she had written "wrath."
- at my second school, one of the teachers handed me today's lesson plan, which was apparently food themed. as i scanned the list of words that i would be teaching, something caught my eye that totally threw me off. look at this list, and you tell me what doesn't fit =P :
- during lunch with the 4th and 5th graders at my second school, i was looking around the room at my students, when i noticed a large boy with an English sweatshirt on. written in Oakland A's script was the single word, Sturdy.
- on my way home, i walked by a bicycle with something written on the seat. when i looked closely, it read: Hip UP Saddle.
gotta love my island =D
- at my first school, we were doing a Christmas lesson, which included flash cards, memory, and BINGO. it took a while for the kids to fill out a 3x3 BINGO card, especially since some were trying to be fancy and write out the words in English as opposed to hiragana. words to choose from included Santa Claus, bell, angel, wreath, socks (it was written on her card, and i felt bad about correcting the teacher...), tree, cake, star, and present. as i peered over one girl's shoulder, i nearly died laughing: she had written "wrath."
- at my second school, one of the teachers handed me today's lesson plan, which was apparently food themed. as i scanned the list of words that i would be teaching, something caught my eye that totally threw me off. look at this list, and you tell me what doesn't fit =P :
- tomato potato lettuce cabbage carrot onion cucumber
- bread bum rice
- flour egg
- during lunch with the 4th and 5th graders at my second school, i was looking around the room at my students, when i noticed a large boy with an English sweatshirt on. written in Oakland A's script was the single word, Sturdy.
- on my way home, i walked by a bicycle with something written on the seat. when i looked closely, it read: Hip UP Saddle.
gotta love my island =D
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
japanese middle schoolers and uniformity
if you're wildly opposed to generalizations and stereotypes, then please read no further.
despite being in a very neutral mood right now, i feel the need to share my thoughts on japanese middle schoolers, and my occasional frustrations with them.
but first, think back to your days in middle school and high school. if you semi-cared about what the teacher was talking about, what would you do? you'd nod, right? or squint a little if you didn't know what was up? or if the teacher asked a question, and you weren't positive your answer was right, but you wanted to take a chance anyway and be heard, you'd raise your hand and answer the question, right?
that's what i feel class should be like. you pay attention, send the teacher signals that you're understanding what's going on or not, and on occasion, dare to be different, raise your hand, and try answering the teacher's question. at least that's what i feel classes in the States are like.
but not in japan. at least not in junior high school. maybe it's just because i'm teaching the foreign language class that i get so many blank stares and non-moving bodies aimed in my general direction. it's so frustrating to know that most likely half or more of the class knows the answer to my question, but no one dares to speak up.
which brings me to the point of this rant: uniformity is [in this case] bad.
let me explain a bit more. seeing how i'm constantly jumping around from school to school and classes ranging from 1st grade in elementary school to 9th grade in high school, i've gotten a little sample of what classroom atmospheres in japan can be like. from the time japanese kids are in their beginning years of elementary school, they're taught to be a part of the whole. to be one in a unified mass.
there are 3 things i can think of off the top of my head that i feel are unique to the japanese student experience. the first is cleaning. everyday, every school will have a "cleaning time" where every student and teacher has to clean a certain part of the school, from wiping windows, sweeping or mopping floors, emptying garbage... everything but scrubbing toilets. everyone has to work together to clean the school; hence, everyone's role is equally important.
secondly, there's the recent development of kyuushoku (給食）, which is the school lunch that's served in the classrooms. each student helps in the picking up of the class's food, delivering it to the classroom, serving food, cleaning off desks if necessary, bringing trays of food to each person's desk, and bringing dirty dishes and utensils back to the distribution point where they picked up the food to begin with. so no cafeteria; you eat in your classroom with your classmates and homeroom teacher. again, everyone has to work together to pass out food and clean up. plus, you can't start eating until everyone's ready. you start and end your meal together with unified chanting of set phrases.
thirdly, in at least middle schools here, you don't move around from classroom to classroom for every subject. instead, your teacher comes to you. soo, your classroom is your home. you and your classmates have the same schedule. you take the same classes, move around as a flock, eat together, breathe together, work together; everything but sleep together (that's not meant to be dirty).
with that said, back to my point. uniformity is sometimes bad. why? at least from my perspective from the front of the classroom, it looks like if everyone doesn't know the answer together, no one can know the answer individually. this is a grave overstatement, i know, but i sometimes get that feeling from some of my schools.
similarly, i was in one of my second year classes the other day, and i asked them, "What to you want to be?" and to say one more thing in addition to what you chose, but they all lacked creativity in their answers. They dont quite get yet that in a foreign language class, you can make up stuff. lie like crazy. have wild answers. that's what makes a foreign language class fun. I was trying to give them examples like, "I want to be a baseball player so i can be famous," and "I want to be a cat so i can sleep all day." instead, they bit off the example i put on the board (I want to be a nurse so i can help people), and was getting answers like "i want to be a taxi driver so i can help people," and "i want to be a police officer so i can help people." frustrating i tell you.
i just think back to one of my first days of class with one of my junior highs. i was doing my intro, and said, "this is my mother. what is 'mother?'"
*silence*
moments like that just made me want to HULK SMASH! them all. you're telling me a room full of 3rd years who've studied English for 3 years didn't know the word "mother?" i'd think we have more serious issues than learning to speak up.
days where students either dont know how or dont try to make crazy/amusing statements, or even try to break away from the mold on the board and experiment with the new grammar point, make me long for the days when i was in a language class. i can understand if you haven't a clue what's going on and don't raise your hand, but kids, look alive sometimes. nod. or blinker faster. give me a little hope. dare to be different once in a blue moon. individuality isn't such a bad thing. a little confidence sometimes doesn't hurt.
despite being in a very neutral mood right now, i feel the need to share my thoughts on japanese middle schoolers, and my occasional frustrations with them.
but first, think back to your days in middle school and high school. if you semi-cared about what the teacher was talking about, what would you do? you'd nod, right? or squint a little if you didn't know what was up? or if the teacher asked a question, and you weren't positive your answer was right, but you wanted to take a chance anyway and be heard, you'd raise your hand and answer the question, right?
that's what i feel class should be like. you pay attention, send the teacher signals that you're understanding what's going on or not, and on occasion, dare to be different, raise your hand, and try answering the teacher's question. at least that's what i feel classes in the States are like.
but not in japan. at least not in junior high school. maybe it's just because i'm teaching the foreign language class that i get so many blank stares and non-moving bodies aimed in my general direction. it's so frustrating to know that most likely half or more of the class knows the answer to my question, but no one dares to speak up.
which brings me to the point of this rant: uniformity is [in this case] bad.
let me explain a bit more. seeing how i'm constantly jumping around from school to school and classes ranging from 1st grade in elementary school to 9th grade in high school, i've gotten a little sample of what classroom atmospheres in japan can be like. from the time japanese kids are in their beginning years of elementary school, they're taught to be a part of the whole. to be one in a unified mass.
there are 3 things i can think of off the top of my head that i feel are unique to the japanese student experience. the first is cleaning. everyday, every school will have a "cleaning time" where every student and teacher has to clean a certain part of the school, from wiping windows, sweeping or mopping floors, emptying garbage... everything but scrubbing toilets. everyone has to work together to clean the school; hence, everyone's role is equally important.
secondly, there's the recent development of kyuushoku (給食）, which is the school lunch that's served in the classrooms. each student helps in the picking up of the class's food, delivering it to the classroom, serving food, cleaning off desks if necessary, bringing trays of food to each person's desk, and bringing dirty dishes and utensils back to the distribution point where they picked up the food to begin with. so no cafeteria; you eat in your classroom with your classmates and homeroom teacher. again, everyone has to work together to pass out food and clean up. plus, you can't start eating until everyone's ready. you start and end your meal together with unified chanting of set phrases.
thirdly, in at least middle schools here, you don't move around from classroom to classroom for every subject. instead, your teacher comes to you. soo, your classroom is your home. you and your classmates have the same schedule. you take the same classes, move around as a flock, eat together, breathe together, work together; everything but sleep together (that's not meant to be dirty).
with that said, back to my point. uniformity is sometimes bad. why? at least from my perspective from the front of the classroom, it looks like if everyone doesn't know the answer together, no one can know the answer individually. this is a grave overstatement, i know, but i sometimes get that feeling from some of my schools.
similarly, i was in one of my second year classes the other day, and i asked them, "What to you want to be?" and to say one more thing in addition to what you chose, but they all lacked creativity in their answers. They dont quite get yet that in a foreign language class, you can make up stuff. lie like crazy. have wild answers. that's what makes a foreign language class fun. I was trying to give them examples like, "I want to be a baseball player so i can be famous," and "I want to be a cat so i can sleep all day." instead, they bit off the example i put on the board (I want to be a nurse so i can help people), and was getting answers like "i want to be a taxi driver so i can help people," and "i want to be a police officer so i can help people." frustrating i tell you.
i just think back to one of my first days of class with one of my junior highs. i was doing my intro, and said, "this is my mother. what is 'mother?'"
*silence*
moments like that just made me want to HULK SMASH! them all. you're telling me a room full of 3rd years who've studied English for 3 years didn't know the word "mother?" i'd think we have more serious issues than learning to speak up.
days where students either dont know how or dont try to make crazy/amusing statements, or even try to break away from the mold on the board and experiment with the new grammar point, make me long for the days when i was in a language class. i can understand if you haven't a clue what's going on and don't raise your hand, but kids, look alive sometimes. nod. or blinker faster. give me a little hope. dare to be different once in a blue moon. individuality isn't such a bad thing. a little confidence sometimes doesn't hurt.
Sunday, November 26, 2006
A 短歌 (tanka)* for the Jimny
Suzuki Jimny
Piece of crap finally gone
No more feeling bad.
Situation just dragged on.
Thank you Ushijima-san!**
*A tanka is a type of poem that goes 5-7-5-7-7. In other words, two lines longer than a haiku.
**Ushijima-san is the mutual friend who found a buyer for me
Piece of crap finally gone
No more feeling bad.
Situation just dragged on.
Thank you Ushijima-san!**
*A tanka is a type of poem that goes 5-7-5-7-7. In other words, two lines longer than a haiku.
**Ushijima-san is the mutual friend who found a buyer for me
Saturday, November 25, 2006
ridiculously good day
He’s finally out of my life. After 3 months of seeing him multiple times every single day, he’s finally gone. Thank god.
Who’s this mystery person I speak of? None other than Jimny. My Suzuki Jimny I should say. The big hunk of metal i bought off of my predecessor. Through some miracle, a mutual friend managed to find someone who would buy my car, and tonight, my friend and the buyer came over. There were issues starting it up (the battery was shot), but after replacing it with a new one, the engine FINALLY started. The man got in the car, drove it off the driveway in front of my home, and now it is finally out of my life. What a wonderful day =)
Even though i sold it for much less than i bought it for, at this point, seeing that car angers me so much that i would pay someone to get it out of my sight. The money i’m getting feels more like a bonus than anything else at the moment.
Also due to some freak happening of nature, the weather was beautiful today. For the first time in what feels like a month, i woke up from the SUN filling my room. It’s been freezing and super windy for the last few weeks, and seeing sun on a weekend nonetheless is quite miraculous.
Bored with nothing to do, David and i went furniture window-shopping. I think i may have found a cabinet for all the plates my predecessor bought (and i suspect never used). It was awesome though. David, being a 6’2” hairy white guy, and me being a 5’4” undercover gaijin, the lady who runs the store totally thought we were married (lol) and that i was japanese with exceptionally good English. David also being a goofball, would not stop with all the married-couple-looking-for-furniture-for-their-new-home jokes. Needless to say, i was dying of laughter the whole time. Just about the best joke he came up with was this:
Me: (pointing at a wooden baby high chair) What baby needs an excessive wooden chair like this?
David: Our baby does.
Indeed, it’s been a good day. And now i’m off to make some yakisoba. Mmmm mm!
--Evelyn
quintessential island songs
as karaoke is one of the few pastimes on this island that's readily available (and by available, i mean a 30 second walk from my front door), my friends and i have had multiple excursions just singing the night away. and till now, i've noticed that there are usually one or two songs that always show up, and they're always one of the only japanese songs any of us will attempt. and after having them both stuck in my head the last week or so, i thought i'd share them with the rest of you. if you ever want to impress people who've lived on an island in japan (yes, i know, all of japan is an island), sing these songs for them ;D
島唄
THE BOOM
でいごの花が咲き 風を呼び嵐がきた
でいごが咲き乱れ 風を呼び嵐がきた
繰り返す悲しみは 島渡る波の様
ウージの森で あなたと出逢い （※ウージはさとうきび）
ウージの下で 千代(ﾁﾖ)にさよなら
島唄よ風に乗り 鳥とともに海を渡れ
島唄よ風に乗り 届けておくれ
私の涙
でいごの花も散り さざ波がゆれるだけ
ささやかな幸せは うたかたの波の花
ウージの森で 歌った友よ
ウージの下で 八千代(ﾔﾁﾖ)の別れ
島唄よ風に乗り 鳥とともに海を渡れ
島唄よ風に乗り 届けておくれ
私の愛を
海よ宇宙よ 神よ命よ
このまま永久(ﾄﾜ)に 夕凪を
島唄よ風に乗り 鳥とともに海を渡れ
島唄よ風に乗り 届けておくれ
私の涙
島唄よ風に乗り 鳥とともに海を渡れ
島唄よ風に乗り 届けておくれ
私の愛を
ララ ララララ ラララララ ・・・・・
(taken from http://www.hi-ho.ne.jp/momose/mu_title/shimauta.htm)
島人ぬ宝 （しまんちゅぬたから）
BEGIN
僕が生まれたこの島の空を
僕はどれくらい知っているんだろう
輝く星も 流れる雲も
名前を聞かれてもわからない
でも誰より 誰よりも知っている
悲しい時も 嬉しい時も
何度も見上げていたこの空を
教科書に書いてある事だけじゃわからない
大切な物がきっとここにあるはずさ
それが島人ぬ宝
島唄
THE BOOM
でいごの花が咲き 風を呼び嵐がきた
でいごが咲き乱れ 風を呼び嵐がきた
繰り返す悲しみは 島渡る波の様
ウージの森で あなたと出逢い （※ウージはさとうきび）
ウージの下で 千代(ﾁﾖ)にさよなら
島唄よ風に乗り 鳥とともに海を渡れ
島唄よ風に乗り 届けておくれ
私の涙
でいごの花も散り さざ波がゆれるだけ
ささやかな幸せは うたかたの波の花
ウージの森で 歌った友よ
ウージの下で 八千代(ﾔﾁﾖ)の別れ
島唄よ風に乗り 鳥とともに海を渡れ
島唄よ風に乗り 届けておくれ
私の愛を
海よ宇宙よ 神よ命よ
このまま永久(ﾄﾜ)に 夕凪を
島唄よ風に乗り 鳥とともに海を渡れ
島唄よ風に乗り 届けておくれ
私の涙
島唄よ風に乗り 鳥とともに海を渡れ
島唄よ風に乗り 届けておくれ
私の愛を
ララ ララララ ラララララ ・・・・・
(taken from http://www.hi-ho.ne.jp/momose/mu_title/shimauta.htm)
島人ぬ宝 （しまんちゅぬたから）
BEGIN
僕が生まれたこの島の空を
僕はどれくらい知っているんだろう
輝く星も 流れる雲も
名前を聞かれてもわからない
でも誰より 誰よりも知っている
悲しい時も 嬉しい時も
何度も見上げていたこの空を
教科書に書いてある事だけじゃわからない
大切な物がきっとここにあるはずさ
それが島人ぬ宝
僕がうまれたこの島の海を
僕はどれくらい知ってるんだろう
汚れてくサンゴも 減って行く魚も
どうしたらいいのかわからない
でも誰より 誰よりも知っている
砂にまみれて 波にゆられて
少しずつ変わってゆくこの海を
テレビでは映せないラジオでも流せない
大切な物がきっとここにあるはずさ
それが島人ぬ宝
僕が生まれたこの島の唄を
僕はどれくらい知ってるんだろう
トゥバラーマも デンサー節も
言葉の意味さえわからない
でも誰より 誰よりも知っている
祝いの夜も 祭りの朝も
何処からか聞えてくるこの唄を
いつの日かこの島を離れてくその日まで
大切な物をもっと深く知っていたい
それが島人ぬ宝 それが島人ぬ宝
それが島人ぬ宝
※ 「島人」の読みは“しまんちゅ”
(taken from http://www.hi-ho.ne.jp/momose/mu_title/shimancyunu_takara.htm)Friday, November 24, 2006
good day
despite the wet and cold weather, i:m having an unusually good day. yes, i:m typing from work. i have to retreat to the bat cave every friday afternoon, and since i have nothing to do, i thought i:d tell you about the good mood that i:m in.
first of all, i:d like to point out what a weird week i:m having. last week was my birthday, and that meant seeing a lot of my fellow foreingers. since they have to venture all the way down the island, they tend to stick around and hang out the following day. that meant seeing english-speakers all weekend.
i had work mon-wed and thanks to Labour Thanksgiving Day, i had thursday off. but here:s the funky thing: i had to go back to work on friday (now). so thursday felt like saturday, but all of a sudden the next day was work. and today feels like a thursday since i:m in such a good mood, but lo and behold, it:s suddenly the real weekend. yeah, i have no sense of what day of the week it is right now.
i had a really hard time motivating myself to come to work today, but i:m super glad i did. i went to my second largest elementary school today, and since i had the 1st, 2nd, and 6th graders on monday, today was the 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders. all of my students were so well behaved today.. it was awesome. i actually had a fun time teaching today. not that i never have fun, so much as it:s rare that i come out of a day of teaching and still feel good about all my classes. a good day indeed.
for lunch, i ate with the 4th graders, and it was the class with all the girls i hung out with at the school picnic i went to. those girls are hilarious. after lunch, they figured out how ticklish i am, so several of the girls in the class and i started dying as we ran at each other trying to out-tickle one another. wow, if i were a guy, that:d sound so wrong, but anyway, i was laughing like a maniac and so were they. good times. times like these make me really happy i decided to take a chance and come to japan to teach.
my good day comes with interesting timing too. last night i saw the majority of the ALTs on the island, and we all started talking about recontracting. up till now, i:ve been thinking that i:ll most likely stay for a second year, but after talking to alicia, for the first time, i started thinking, maybe it:s not a good idea to stay. at our mid-year conference, the pref. advisor was saying how not knowing what you:re doing the rest of your life is not a good reason to recontract. that and procrastinating from entering the real world back home is a bad reason.
honestly, i dont know waht i want to do with the rest of my life. i still tell people that i want to go into nursing, but i:m just not sure. i like the thought of helping people, and being able to translate for people on occasion. but the nightmare stories i hear of getting crappy work to do... that deters me. friends have suggested being a physical therapist or physician:s assistant before too. i definitely dont want to be a doctor, and thats about the only thing i know for sure. will staying here an extra year make a big difference in the grand scope of my life?
my main goal while being in japan is to learn japanese, and i feel like in the 3 months that i:ve been here, i haven:t learned much... yet. now that i:m settled in and getting my nerd on, i foresee myself really sitting down and starting to study again (my brain is hungry...). gut instinct says that two years of living here will improve my japanese tremendously. maybe even become fluent. i:m tired of packing up my life and moving every year. it:d be nice to know that all the work i:m putting into making my apartment my home has long term benefits. it:d also be nice to know what i:m doing next year as opposed to always starting my augusts/septembers at square one. decisions decisions.
sorry for the rant... i have until january to decide, so until then, i:m probably going to have this conversation with myself countless times. for those of you who know what you want to do with the rest of your life, i applaud you. one of the consequences of being the youngest of 3 kids: too much flexibility. necessary when one is younger and needs to niche pick, but only leads to indecision later.
...and now my brain feels like mush.
hope everyone back home is enjoying thanksgiving dinner! go to bed early and prepare yourselves for black friday. oh, how i miss getting up at 5am the day after thanksgiving to road trip with my siblings down to gilroy to shop. sorry i:m breaking tradition this year, guys. have fun! be thankful!
--Evelyn
first of all, i:d like to point out what a weird week i:m having. last week was my birthday, and that meant seeing a lot of my fellow foreingers. since they have to venture all the way down the island, they tend to stick around and hang out the following day. that meant seeing english-speakers all weekend.
i had work mon-wed and thanks to Labour Thanksgiving Day, i had thursday off. but here:s the funky thing: i had to go back to work on friday (now). so thursday felt like saturday, but all of a sudden the next day was work. and today feels like a thursday since i:m in such a good mood, but lo and behold, it:s suddenly the real weekend. yeah, i have no sense of what day of the week it is right now.
i had a really hard time motivating myself to come to work today, but i:m super glad i did. i went to my second largest elementary school today, and since i had the 1st, 2nd, and 6th graders on monday, today was the 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders. all of my students were so well behaved today.. it was awesome. i actually had a fun time teaching today. not that i never have fun, so much as it:s rare that i come out of a day of teaching and still feel good about all my classes. a good day indeed.
for lunch, i ate with the 4th graders, and it was the class with all the girls i hung out with at the school picnic i went to. those girls are hilarious. after lunch, they figured out how ticklish i am, so several of the girls in the class and i started dying as we ran at each other trying to out-tickle one another. wow, if i were a guy, that:d sound so wrong, but anyway, i was laughing like a maniac and so were they. good times. times like these make me really happy i decided to take a chance and come to japan to teach.
my good day comes with interesting timing too. last night i saw the majority of the ALTs on the island, and we all started talking about recontracting. up till now, i:ve been thinking that i:ll most likely stay for a second year, but after talking to alicia, for the first time, i started thinking, maybe it:s not a good idea to stay. at our mid-year conference, the pref. advisor was saying how not knowing what you:re doing the rest of your life is not a good reason to recontract. that and procrastinating from entering the real world back home is a bad reason.
honestly, i dont know waht i want to do with the rest of my life. i still tell people that i want to go into nursing, but i:m just not sure. i like the thought of helping people, and being able to translate for people on occasion. but the nightmare stories i hear of getting crappy work to do... that deters me. friends have suggested being a physical therapist or physician:s assistant before too. i definitely dont want to be a doctor, and thats about the only thing i know for sure. will staying here an extra year make a big difference in the grand scope of my life?
my main goal while being in japan is to learn japanese, and i feel like in the 3 months that i:ve been here, i haven:t learned much... yet. now that i:m settled in and getting my nerd on, i foresee myself really sitting down and starting to study again (my brain is hungry...). gut instinct says that two years of living here will improve my japanese tremendously. maybe even become fluent. i:m tired of packing up my life and moving every year. it:d be nice to know that all the work i:m putting into making my apartment my home has long term benefits. it:d also be nice to know what i:m doing next year as opposed to always starting my augusts/septembers at square one. decisions decisions.
sorry for the rant... i have until january to decide, so until then, i:m probably going to have this conversation with myself countless times. for those of you who know what you want to do with the rest of your life, i applaud you. one of the consequences of being the youngest of 3 kids: too much flexibility. necessary when one is younger and needs to niche pick, but only leads to indecision later.
...and now my brain feels like mush.
hope everyone back home is enjoying thanksgiving dinner! go to bed early and prepare yourselves for black friday. oh, how i miss getting up at 5am the day after thanksgiving to road trip with my siblings down to gilroy to shop. sorry i:m breaking tradition this year, guys. have fun! be thankful!
--Evelyn
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
feeding the addiction
hands down highlight of my day: coming home to a care package filled with 3 POUNDS worth of Plain M&Ms, an assortment of gummi rings, and a tube of Blistex (har har...).
thank you sooo much Harrington!!! o(^ ^)o
--Evelyn
PS. I've been shivering allllll day.... *sniffle*
thank you sooo much Harrington!!! o(^ ^)o
--Evelyn
PS. I've been shivering allllll day.... *sniffle*
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
realizations
today has been a day of random realizations and for me, rude awakenings. maybe that's an exaggeration. it's suddenly hit me that..
1) this is the first november in at least 17 years that i haven't been enrolled in school. isn't that crazy?
2) i can't stand trying to be tough and resist the cold anymore. i finally gave in and set up my kotatsu (basically a coffee table with a built in heater) in desperation. my masochistic goal was to make it to december without using it, but i'm sick of cold feet, so i finally took out the kotatsu blankets and plugged it in. and it is sooooo nice. november 21st. not bad. close enough to december, right?
3) today is at least the 4th or 5th time i've felt like i'm borderline losing my voice since starting to teach. today was particularly bad in that i really wouldn't have made it through my 3 classes had i not been chugging water and sucking on cough drops the whole time. at the rate that i'm going, i'll sound like hole-in-her-neck-from-years-of-smoking Debbie by the time i return home. whenever that is.
4) i am not invincible after all.
1) this is the first november in at least 17 years that i haven't been enrolled in school. isn't that crazy?
2) i can't stand trying to be tough and resist the cold anymore. i finally gave in and set up my kotatsu (basically a coffee table with a built in heater) in desperation. my masochistic goal was to make it to december without using it, but i'm sick of cold feet, so i finally took out the kotatsu blankets and plugged it in. and it is sooooo nice. november 21st. not bad. close enough to december, right?
3) today is at least the 4th or 5th time i've felt like i'm borderline losing my voice since starting to teach. today was particularly bad in that i really wouldn't have made it through my 3 classes had i not been chugging water and sucking on cough drops the whole time. at the rate that i'm going, i'll sound like hole-in-her-neck-from-years-of-smoking Debbie by the time i return home. whenever that is.
4) i am not invincible after all.
quote of the day
during lunch with my 2nd graders at one of my junior high schools (in Tsutsu, my southernmost school), i asked everyone something and got one of THE most randomest responses ever:
Me: So were all of you born in Tsutsu?
*pause*
Boy: I love you?
Me: So were all of you born in Tsutsu?
*pause*
Boy: I love you?
Saturday, November 18, 2006
birthday surprises
i had last night, which can only be described as one of the best birthdays EVER. the only other one that can compare was the time my drawmates and i all went to San Francisco, and at the end of the day, 3 more of my friends magically appeared and we all went to see The Lion King on stage. All sorts of great memories.
Yesterday was equally as shocking. So on Wednesday, i talked to Sujin, the Korean CIR from Pusan. She said she had something to show me on Friday, but that it'd be around 8pm. I figured we'd eat dinner together or something along those lines first.
After going to my junior high in the morning, from 2pm onwards i'm usually at my BOE on friday afternoons. i sat there and didn't do much of anything, but since i was in my bat cave by myself, it didn't really matter (the office is in the new shopping mall building, and since the outer room is small, my and Aaron's desk has been left in the backroom which i've deemed the Bat Cave). Around 3:40, Ueda-san (the young guy that works for Aaron's city at my BOE) comes into the batcave holding a tray with a cup of coffee and a plate with just a plastic yellow fork.
Thinking, why is HE serving ME coffee? He disappears out the door, and 2 seconds later reappears with a box that obviously contains pastries. After thanking him like crazy, i asked if anyone else in the front room wanted any cake, and he said, "There's a lot of people there that can't eat sweets, so go ahead."
After he left again, i was in that room by myself. I looked around, saw a bunch of boxes and stacks of paper laying around, and thought, "Somehow, i can't bring myself to eat this by myself. I think that would be the saddess caking-eating i've ever done." So i didn't. i decided to wait until after dinner to eat it with Sujin and hopefully Jayne (David's new and more appropriate name after a character from Firefly) and Aaron.
Determined to call home, i spent about an hour after coming home trying to setup Skype, and i would highly recommend it! Talked to my parents for about 15 minutes and it cost less than 40 cents! Excellent, excellent.
Afterwards, i gave Sujin a call, and finally decided on eating okonomiyaki at my place before going to the thing at 8. I had promised her when i went to her place for dinner, that the next time we ate it would be okonomiyaki since i'm a big fan. So, i went out, bought some materials for the okonomiyaki, made a salad, and called her over. They turned out huge and took a while to heat up, but we both thought they came out well =)
Then, it was off to whatever she was going to show me. Now keep in mind, Sujin is the type of person who is genuinely SUPER nice, very accomodating, very responsible, and honest. Which is why when we ended up in front of Roxy's (a burger joint in town), she said, "I have to talk to the old guy here really fast," i believed her. I followed her in since i know the waitress there, and as i step inside, i look off to the right where our gaijin troop usually sits, and see a blond head of hair.
"That's odd..."
As i walk in further, i realize, "Wait! i know that blonde head! Whoa, David North is here too--- wait..."
And then i realize that EVERYONE is there. Even the way northerners came down!! Everyone but Oliver was there (to be expected). I was soo touched.... speechless in fact. Aaron had apparently contacted everyone and told them not to say Happy Birthday to me all day unless they had to, that way i'd think they'd all forgotten (which i did...), and had organized the surprise party. Surprised indeed.
The wonderful and excessive people they all are, they got me presents!! Honestly, i take birthdays as a time to spend with people that mean a lot to me, and it's more about being surrounded by good friends and good company than about cake and presents. Maybe i think that way because my parents never got me anything; they feed, clothe, and shelter me. They always believed that was enough, and i totally agree.
But yes, my islanders = AMAZING. Panda slippers that look super warm from Sujin, candy and a compiled CD from Master Lees (a mixed tape, dare i say =P [sorry, Avenue Q reference...]), my favorite Japanese omiyage of all time called Hakata Torimon (below)
Yesterday was equally as shocking. So on Wednesday, i talked to Sujin, the Korean CIR from Pusan. She said she had something to show me on Friday, but that it'd be around 8pm. I figured we'd eat dinner together or something along those lines first.
After going to my junior high in the morning, from 2pm onwards i'm usually at my BOE on friday afternoons. i sat there and didn't do much of anything, but since i was in my bat cave by myself, it didn't really matter (the office is in the new shopping mall building, and since the outer room is small, my and Aaron's desk has been left in the backroom which i've deemed the Bat Cave). Around 3:40, Ueda-san (the young guy that works for Aaron's city at my BOE) comes into the batcave holding a tray with a cup of coffee and a plate with just a plastic yellow fork.
Thinking, why is HE serving ME coffee? He disappears out the door, and 2 seconds later reappears with a box that obviously contains pastries. After thanking him like crazy, i asked if anyone else in the front room wanted any cake, and he said, "There's a lot of people there that can't eat sweets, so go ahead."
After he left again, i was in that room by myself. I looked around, saw a bunch of boxes and stacks of paper laying around, and thought, "Somehow, i can't bring myself to eat this by myself. I think that would be the saddess caking-eating i've ever done." So i didn't. i decided to wait until after dinner to eat it with Sujin and hopefully Jayne (David's new and more appropriate name after a character from Firefly) and Aaron.
Determined to call home, i spent about an hour after coming home trying to setup Skype, and i would highly recommend it! Talked to my parents for about 15 minutes and it cost less than 40 cents! Excellent, excellent.
Afterwards, i gave Sujin a call, and finally decided on eating okonomiyaki at my place before going to the thing at 8. I had promised her when i went to her place for dinner, that the next time we ate it would be okonomiyaki since i'm a big fan. So, i went out, bought some materials for the okonomiyaki, made a salad, and called her over. They turned out huge and took a while to heat up, but we both thought they came out well =)
Then, it was off to whatever she was going to show me. Now keep in mind, Sujin is the type of person who is genuinely SUPER nice, very accomodating, very responsible, and honest. Which is why when we ended up in front of Roxy's (a burger joint in town), she said, "I have to talk to the old guy here really fast," i believed her. I followed her in since i know the waitress there, and as i step inside, i look off to the right where our gaijin troop usually sits, and see a blond head of hair.
"That's odd..."
As i walk in further, i realize, "Wait! i know that blonde head! Whoa, David North is here too--- wait..."
And then i realize that EVERYONE is there. Even the way northerners came down!! Everyone but Oliver was there (to be expected). I was soo touched.... speechless in fact. Aaron had apparently contacted everyone and told them not to say Happy Birthday to me all day unless they had to, that way i'd think they'd all forgotten (which i did...), and had organized the surprise party. Surprised indeed.
The wonderful and excessive people they all are, they got me presents!! Honestly, i take birthdays as a time to spend with people that mean a lot to me, and it's more about being surrounded by good friends and good company than about cake and presents. Maybe i think that way because my parents never got me anything; they feed, clothe, and shelter me. They always believed that was enough, and i totally agree.
But yes, my islanders = AMAZING. Panda slippers that look super warm from Sujin, candy and a compiled CD from Master Lees (a mixed tape, dare i say =P [sorry, Avenue Q reference...]), my favorite Japanese omiyage of all time called Hakata Torimon (below)
and a head-bobbing toy (see below) 
that i've wanted for a while because it's soo adorable and sooo soothing from Rob (i've named it Bob.... ingenious, no?!), and last but not least, the most impressive thing of all from Aaron: a Hanshin Tigers Akahoshi 53 jersey!!!
So i can't find a picture of it at the moment, but it's basically the above jersey with a 53 on the front, and AKAHOSHI 53 on the back. Seriously, this is going to be a family heirloom. You laugh, but i'm serious. Literally, back in April or whenever it was, i told several people, when i go to Japan, i'm going to get this jersey, i'm going to wear it all the games i go to, and this WILL be a family heirloom. Yes i'm crazy. Yes i love this team to pieces. Yes, i love Akahoshi. No, i dont know why.
While we were still at Roxy's, all of a sudden the lights dimmed down, and the owner came out with a huge ice cream sunday with a paper Happy Birthday tiara, candle, and sparklers coming out of it. Quite awesome (and delicious!).
After Roxy's, we swung by the Coco's (the ONLY convenience store on the island), and then it was off to karaoke. Lots of fun songs were sung; quite a few japanese songs too. i completely butchered "Eternally" by Utada, but it was the only song slow enough for me to read. And speaking of trip down memory lane, i sang Waterfalls by TLC, and not even the radio version, but the real one with Left-Eye's rap in the middle. Somehow, it's become my thing that i HAVE to rap a song before a night of karaoking is done. Though honestly, i'm running out of songs that i know.... I'll gladly take suggestions though =)
By the time karaoke was over, it was 1:15ish, and deciding to be random, the Davids, Rob, Aaron and i went to get Aaron's car then went for a joy ride. We went up to Kamizaka, which is a lookout point over the ria in Mitsushima. Since Aaron has a kei car (small), and since there were 5 of us, needless to say, it was quite a cozy ride. But i must say, it was one of the most hilarious and enjoyable joy rides i've had in a long, long time. Being 1:30 in the morning, it was pretty dark out, and seeing how Tsushima only has windy, narrow, mountainous roads, deer and ten coming out at night to play only make driving all the more scary. Many, many good memories made.
As was my whole evening. From okonomiyaki to a surprise party to karaoke to joy-riding, all very, very memorable and fun. Thank you everyone for the birthday wishes, and especially to my islanders for the trek down south and the amazing love and joy you've brought to this poor soul on a cold November day. Thank you!!!
--Evelyn
Hmm...I still have yet to eat my cake...
While we were still at Roxy's, all of a sudden the lights dimmed down, and the owner came out with a huge ice cream sunday with a paper Happy Birthday tiara, candle, and sparklers coming out of it. Quite awesome (and delicious!).
After Roxy's, we swung by the Coco's (the ONLY convenience store on the island), and then it was off to karaoke. Lots of fun songs were sung; quite a few japanese songs too. i completely butchered "Eternally" by Utada, but it was the only song slow enough for me to read. And speaking of trip down memory lane, i sang Waterfalls by TLC, and not even the radio version, but the real one with Left-Eye's rap in the middle. Somehow, it's become my thing that i HAVE to rap a song before a night of karaoking is done. Though honestly, i'm running out of songs that i know.... I'll gladly take suggestions though =)
By the time karaoke was over, it was 1:15ish, and deciding to be random, the Davids, Rob, Aaron and i went to get Aaron's car then went for a joy ride. We went up to Kamizaka, which is a lookout point over the ria in Mitsushima. Since Aaron has a kei car (small), and since there were 5 of us, needless to say, it was quite a cozy ride. But i must say, it was one of the most hilarious and enjoyable joy rides i've had in a long, long time. Being 1:30 in the morning, it was pretty dark out, and seeing how Tsushima only has windy, narrow, mountainous roads, deer and ten coming out at night to play only make driving all the more scary. Many, many good memories made.
As was my whole evening. From okonomiyaki to a surprise party to karaoke to joy-riding, all very, very memorable and fun. Thank you everyone for the birthday wishes, and especially to my islanders for the trek down south and the amazing love and joy you've brought to this poor soul on a cold November day. Thank you!!!
--Evelyn
Hmm...I still have yet to eat my cake...
Friday, November 17, 2006
this and that
I’m not sure why, but lately, i’ve been in super weird moods. For example, yesterday, i got super angry at the world. Well, more specifically, angry at my predecessor. Long story short, she sold me a car for $500 before i arrived in Tsushima. I get here, realize it’s a piece of crap, can’t drive it because it’s manual with no power steering, figure i’m a danger to myself and everyone on the road if i use it, so i went out and got myself a leased car (it’s a wonderful Honda Life. I call her Snow White o(^ ^)o ). After getting my leased car, i tried selling it, didn’t work out because the car’s shaken (government mandated car inspection once every two years) runs out in December, it’s an old car, and would probably cost more to keep up than to just scrap it. In other words, i bought i car i can’t use and can’t sell. Thus, i have to scrap it. Damn her.
This car issue is just about the only thing that has repeatedly stressed me out since getting here. I seriously believe that once i get rid of it, as in it’s no longer parked outside my home and reminds me each time i come in and out that i have to do something about it, that quality of life will go up a notch. I will be happier. More importantly, i won’t feel guilty and stressed out. Let this be a lesson to all of us: NEVER buy a car you’ve never seen or test driven before, no matter HOW CHEAP you think it is. There, i’ve said it.
Moving on.
As of last week, i’d honestly say that my japanese hadn’t improved much since getting to Tsushima, largely because i’ve been really lazy about studying or reading newspapers and the like. I have no idea why, but the last 2 or 3 days, i’ve been on a Japanese-geek-high, and have been studying day in and day out. More importantly, i’ve been stopping random teachers and office workers to teach me Tsushima-ben and Nagasaki-ben (ben = dialect). Maybe this is just me, but i feel like when i know what to listen for, i’m much more likely to hear it.
2 examples.
First, before going to Kyoto last year to study abroad, during one of our orientations, we were given a short list of Kansai-ben that we were likely to hear often. And indeed, after i studied that list, my comprehension of random conversations between my host family members or just people in general, went up significantly.
Second, i could totally be remembering this incorrectly, but when i took Developmental Psych freshman year, i think i heard this one experiment where they sat kids in front of the tv, and every now and then, they’d insert a voice randomly speaking German. What did the kid’s brain waves look like? You’d think that because they’re hearing something foreign, their brain activity would be all over the place, but actually, when the German came on, their brains didn’t react at all, and when their native language came on again, brain activity resumed.
In the same way, i honestly believe that once i know what to listen for, i’ll be able to understand what’s going on around me. Equipped with my short list of local dialect words, i actually have noticed, “Hey, that person just said ----!! That means ----!!” Exciting for me indeed. Maybe now my taxi drivers wont have to repeat themselves about 15 times before i register what they’re saying to me. Or maybe they can, i dont know, learn to ENUNCIATE. Wouldn’t that be splendid? =P
In other news, i have officially chosen a favorite [Japanese] comedian (second, of course, only to Dave Chapelle). His name is Jinnai Tomonori, and his skits are like crack. Once you start watching them, you can’t stop. He speaks a ton of Kansai-ben, but his timing is so on key that even if you dont really understand what’s being said (like me), you’ll still think it’s a riot (like me). Here are some of my favorite acts:
Alibis Through Sound: http://youtube.com/watch?v=F5fyU-8hNgs&mode=related&search=
Lost and Found: http://youtube.com/watch?v=-Z3HtVUGsYI
Quiz Show: http://youtube.com/watch?v=etgZ9uC75ls&mode=related&search=
Counting Sheep: http://youtube.com/watch?v=yqz6ePoWyoA
Tetris: http://youtube.com/watch?v=9bXyZTF2TH0&mode=related&search=
And speaking of the devil, i found out yesterday morning during my daily 10 minutes of tv-watching, that he just got engaged. Yay for him! Funny people deserve to be happy.
Finally, i think i’ve found a new pastime on this island. And no, it’s not more laminating. It’s putting puzzles together! Rob has a room and table perfect for puzzle assembly, so last weekend he, David North, and I started on a 1000 piece puzzle of Himeji Castle. I think i’m going to hate sky blue after this, but it’s all good.
And with that, i’m off to enjoy the rest of my birthday o(^ ^)o Darn, no more shocking people by saying, “I’m 21.” Oh well, i had my fun!..... Wow, i’m spending my year being 22 on an island off of South Korea... I wonder what this year has in store =)
--Evelyn
This car issue is just about the only thing that has repeatedly stressed me out since getting here. I seriously believe that once i get rid of it, as in it’s no longer parked outside my home and reminds me each time i come in and out that i have to do something about it, that quality of life will go up a notch. I will be happier. More importantly, i won’t feel guilty and stressed out. Let this be a lesson to all of us: NEVER buy a car you’ve never seen or test driven before, no matter HOW CHEAP you think it is. There, i’ve said it.
Moving on.
As of last week, i’d honestly say that my japanese hadn’t improved much since getting to Tsushima, largely because i’ve been really lazy about studying or reading newspapers and the like. I have no idea why, but the last 2 or 3 days, i’ve been on a Japanese-geek-high, and have been studying day in and day out. More importantly, i’ve been stopping random teachers and office workers to teach me Tsushima-ben and Nagasaki-ben (ben = dialect). Maybe this is just me, but i feel like when i know what to listen for, i’m much more likely to hear it.
2 examples.
First, before going to Kyoto last year to study abroad, during one of our orientations, we were given a short list of Kansai-ben that we were likely to hear often. And indeed, after i studied that list, my comprehension of random conversations between my host family members or just people in general, went up significantly.
Second, i could totally be remembering this incorrectly, but when i took Developmental Psych freshman year, i think i heard this one experiment where they sat kids in front of the tv, and every now and then, they’d insert a voice randomly speaking German. What did the kid’s brain waves look like? You’d think that because they’re hearing something foreign, their brain activity would be all over the place, but actually, when the German came on, their brains didn’t react at all, and when their native language came on again, brain activity resumed.
In the same way, i honestly believe that once i know what to listen for, i’ll be able to understand what’s going on around me. Equipped with my short list of local dialect words, i actually have noticed, “Hey, that person just said ----!! That means ----!!” Exciting for me indeed. Maybe now my taxi drivers wont have to repeat themselves about 15 times before i register what they’re saying to me. Or maybe they can, i dont know, learn to ENUNCIATE. Wouldn’t that be splendid? =P
In other news, i have officially chosen a favorite [Japanese] comedian (second, of course, only to Dave Chapelle). His name is Jinnai Tomonori, and his skits are like crack. Once you start watching them, you can’t stop. He speaks a ton of Kansai-ben, but his timing is so on key that even if you dont really understand what’s being said (like me), you’ll still think it’s a riot (like me). Here are some of my favorite acts:
Alibis Through Sound: http://youtube.com/watch?v=F5fyU-8hNgs&mode=related&search=
Lost and Found: http://youtube.com/watch?v=-Z3HtVUGsYI
Quiz Show: http://youtube.com/watch?v=etgZ9uC75ls&mode=related&search=
Counting Sheep: http://youtube.com/watch?v=yqz6ePoWyoA
Tetris: http://youtube.com/watch?v=9bXyZTF2TH0&mode=related&search=
And speaking of the devil, i found out yesterday morning during my daily 10 minutes of tv-watching, that he just got engaged. Yay for him! Funny people deserve to be happy.
Finally, i think i’ve found a new pastime on this island. And no, it’s not more laminating. It’s putting puzzles together! Rob has a room and table perfect for puzzle assembly, so last weekend he, David North, and I started on a 1000 piece puzzle of Himeji Castle. I think i’m going to hate sky blue after this, but it’s all good.
And with that, i’m off to enjoy the rest of my birthday o(^ ^)o Darn, no more shocking people by saying, “I’m 21.” Oh well, i had my fun!..... Wow, i’m spending my year being 22 on an island off of South Korea... I wonder what this year has in store =)
--Evelyn
Thursday, November 16, 2006
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
my addictions
Since coming to Tsushima, i have inadvertently developed two addictions. The first is not too hard to guess: chocolate.
Now, most things in Japan are not sweet enough to me. Sadly enough, to my Korean friend, Japanese sweets are too sweet, which i can only assume means that when Korean people eat American sweets, they feel like they're going to go diabetic. ANYWAY, i managed to make it through my first month here without buying chocolate. But one random day at the grocery store, i decided to reward myself with a bar of DARS, and since then, it's been all downhill.
While nothing will ever compare to Plain M&Ms, a good ol' Crunch bar, or one of those fun size Hershey's Milk Chocolate bars you get during Halloween, I have managed to find a suitable replacement. And the winner is.... Morinaga Milk Chocolate! I discovered this based solely on chance. Fate made it only 78 yen. Fate made it mine.
But today i discovered an even more brilliant chocolate product. What is it? you ask. LOOK!
Literally! LOOK Cafe a la Mode is THE BOMB. So get this: there are 12 pieces of chocolate inside. BUT, there are 4 different flavors, so each piece is already separated and its own entity. The four flavors in this package are Espresso, Caramel Latte, Cafe Latte, and Almond Latte. MMMM MM! Espresso realllly hits the spot. And this lucky find was only 75 yen!
On to addiction number 2. So, if you know me well, i'm really into making stuff with paper, right? Well, seeing how I'm now a pseudo-teacher, that occasionally means making materials for my students. Particularly flash cards and games. So what do i do to make sure my materials survive being used over and over again? That's right. I laminate them! Every school i go to has lamintor, but not necessarily laminating sheets. SO, so long as i have my own sheets, i can use their laminator all i want. Sooo, the other day when i was shopping at a home improvement store, i stumbled upon cheap laminating sheets. 100 sheets of A3 film for only 1700yen! Japan has a weird paper system, so A3 is the size of two A4 sheets, A4 being slighty longer and skinnier than Letter-sized paper in the States. Bottom line: huge sheets of film. Cheap. Plentiful. Ability to laminate to my hearts content =)
I now look forward to making cards and the like. i used to worry over how long they would last, but with the advent of my beautiful laminating sheets, i can screw up a billion times and still not feel bad. Yay to making stuff with paper!
And now that you've probably started shaking your head at me and started thinking, "Oh, Ev," in your head, i'm going to stop rambling about chocolate and laminators. Even though they are both some of the most AWESOMEST things ever made by man ;D
--Evelyn
Now, most things in Japan are not sweet enough to me. Sadly enough, to my Korean friend, Japanese sweets are too sweet, which i can only assume means that when Korean people eat American sweets, they feel like they're going to go diabetic. ANYWAY, i managed to make it through my first month here without buying chocolate. But one random day at the grocery store, i decided to reward myself with a bar of DARS, and since then, it's been all downhill.
While nothing will ever compare to Plain M&Ms, a good ol' Crunch bar, or one of those fun size Hershey's Milk Chocolate bars you get during Halloween, I have managed to find a suitable replacement. And the winner is.... Morinaga Milk Chocolate! I discovered this based solely on chance. Fate made it only 78 yen. Fate made it mine.
But today i discovered an even more brilliant chocolate product. What is it? you ask. LOOK!
Literally! LOOK Cafe a la Mode is THE BOMB. So get this: there are 12 pieces of chocolate inside. BUT, there are 4 different flavors, so each piece is already separated and its own entity. The four flavors in this package are Espresso, Caramel Latte, Cafe Latte, and Almond Latte. MMMM MM! Espresso realllly hits the spot. And this lucky find was only 75 yen!On to addiction number 2. So, if you know me well, i'm really into making stuff with paper, right? Well, seeing how I'm now a pseudo-teacher, that occasionally means making materials for my students. Particularly flash cards and games. So what do i do to make sure my materials survive being used over and over again? That's right. I laminate them! Every school i go to has lamintor, but not necessarily laminating sheets. SO, so long as i have my own sheets, i can use their laminator all i want. Sooo, the other day when i was shopping at a home improvement store, i stumbled upon cheap laminating sheets. 100 sheets of A3 film for only 1700yen! Japan has a weird paper system, so A3 is the size of two A4 sheets, A4 being slighty longer and skinnier than Letter-sized paper in the States. Bottom line: huge sheets of film. Cheap. Plentiful. Ability to laminate to my hearts content =)
I now look forward to making cards and the like. i used to worry over how long they would last, but with the advent of my beautiful laminating sheets, i can screw up a billion times and still not feel bad. Yay to making stuff with paper!
And now that you've probably started shaking your head at me and started thinking, "Oh, Ev," in your head, i'm going to stop rambling about chocolate and laminators. Even though they are both some of the most AWESOMEST things ever made by man ;D
--Evelyn
Monday, November 13, 2006
Halloween Part II
So within the span of 2.5 weeks, i had 5 Halloween parties. The first was at Nishi Elementary school in Fiona's neck of the woods. The second was at Izuhara's new mall geared towards the children of my town. Third was in Mitsushima (the neighboring town) geared towards the chidlren of that town and planned mainly by Aaron. Fourth: my special strong-English-program elementary school (both Lurch and i went). Fifth: one of my small elementary schools threw a party anyway despite it being 5 days after Halloween..
The following are from the Mitsushima party. Let's enjoying!
The Mario Brothers!
Look! it's me and Death from Bill and Ted's Bogus Adventures!!
Our Iki brethren. Iki is the next island over from us, and 5 ALTs came over for what seems to now be an annual tradition.
The entire English-teaching foreinger crew for miles! Here's all 9 of us ALTs in Tsushima plus Patrick (the former JET who loved Tsushima so much that he came back. he makes very rare appearances, so this is a rare moment indeed). Our 5 Iki peeps are also here.
The three pinata's that Lurch and I made. Note to you all: don't use layers upon layers upone layers of newspaper. The pinata will never open that way. Also, don't stuff the pinatas with jelly cups (like those small lychee jellies). It WILL make a mess when it falls. Bachelors #1 and 3 went to the special English school, while the middle one went to my 5th party with me.
....and i can barely keep my eyes open. Time for bed!
The following are from the Mitsushima party. Let's enjoying!
The Mario Brothers!
Look! it's me and Death from Bill and Ted's Bogus Adventures!!
Our Iki brethren. Iki is the next island over from us, and 5 ALTs came over for what seems to now be an annual tradition.
The entire English-teaching foreinger crew for miles! Here's all 9 of us ALTs in Tsushima plus Patrick (the former JET who loved Tsushima so much that he came back. he makes very rare appearances, so this is a rare moment indeed). Our 5 Iki peeps are also here.
The three pinata's that Lurch and I made. Note to you all: don't use layers upon layers upone layers of newspaper. The pinata will never open that way. Also, don't stuff the pinatas with jelly cups (like those small lychee jellies). It WILL make a mess when it falls. Bachelors #1 and 3 went to the special English school, while the middle one went to my 5th party with me.....and i can barely keep my eyes open. Time for bed!
school picnic pictures
pictures from my school picnic:
The lunches of the 4 girls who adopted me for the day, and my lunch. Guess which one wasn't made by her loving Japanese mother?
My lunch buddies! My favorite is Rika, the one on the right. She's going to break so many hearts someday.
Magori-sensei, who has exceptionally good English for an elementary school teacher, got ambushed by a ton of students and got absolutely caked in those flower buds i was describing. See how evil little kids can be?
Me and my posse! Aren't they adorable???!!
The lunches of the 4 girls who adopted me for the day, and my lunch. Guess which one wasn't made by her loving Japanese mother?
My lunch buddies! My favorite is Rika, the one on the right. She's going to break so many hearts someday.
Magori-sensei, who has exceptionally good English for an elementary school teacher, got ambushed by a ton of students and got absolutely caked in those flower buds i was describing. See how evil little kids can be?
Me and my posse! Aren't they adorable???!!the phantom taxi driver
within my first week of being in Tsushima, my supervisor had taken me around to each of the 4 taxi companies that i was told to use throughout the year. i was told i can use whichever i want, switch off every week or whatever i felt like.
here are my following four first impressions:
Company #1: I walk into the headquarters/tiny office, where i see 4 or 5 friendly, jovial guys. plus one super cute young guy. Score: very high. i think i'm going to like this company.
Company #2: In their tiny office are a few middle aged men. seem friendly enough. no one that seems like an evil jerk or anything. Score: neutral.
Company #3: I walk into their tiny office, and as my boss is introducing me, i take a look around at the 5 or so guys in there. Literally, each man has a cigarette in his hand, the room reeks of chain smokers, and they all look like sleaze to me. Score: I hate smokers. Thus, i'm NOT a fan of this company.
Company #4: No office that i see. just a line of taxis with their drivers sleeping inside their cars waiting for the Bat Signal. Score: one notch above neutral since the guy that my boss was talking to seemed genuinely nice and cool.
Now, if you recall what i said about company #1, there was a cute guy in the office who i saw for not even a split second, but from the glance that i got, i thought he looked pretty young. Company #1 being my favorite from the start, i use them the most frequently since 1) almost all the drivers are really friendly and i genuinely have good conversations with them, and 2) i get carsick in their cars the least out of the 4 companies. Out of all the riding i do around town, i'd say i use that company about 60% of the time. When you combine that with the 3 months that i've been here, you'd think that i'd ridden with each of the drivers at that company at least once.
By last month, i'd given up hope that i saw a cute guy, much less a young one. But the day of the Halloween party in Izuhara, i swear, i saw that guy driving people around, and literally was in histeria telling my fellow foreigners that "That's the guy i saw!!! I think that's my cute guy!!" Of course, no one else saw who i was pointing to. Taking into account how blind i am, i could have made him up that time too for all i knew.
That is, until today. FINALLY. FINALLY, finally, my day arrived. Or i should say, he arrived. After three months of thinking that i'm insane and not only blind, but delusional, my cute taxi driver came to pick me up. And he's indeed young. 27 to be exact (yes, yes people. i'm still 21...). And for that half hour i got to stare at the back of his head and his left ear, i was on a school girl high. Good morning indeed!
Actually, i had an exceptionally good day. First was finally meeting my phantom taxi driver, then i nearly made a hole-in-one during "Grand Golf" at my elementary school as we were playing with the old people who live in the surrounding area (my ball hit the wiring surrounding the goal. if that wire wasn't there, it would have gone in), ate some kick-ass cake during lunch with the old people, and finally filled my heaters with kerosene so they actually, you know, HEAT my home now. Literally, when i got my upstairs heater filled and plugged it in to try it out, when that first blast of warm air shot out, i literally had a smile from ear to ear, shouted out with glee, and belted out an evil cackle as i celebrated the victory of owning a beautiful heater.
hmm... looking back at how much i've gone on during this entry about my disappearing taxi driver, really, i have no intention of doing anything about it. he's way out of reach, and to be completely honest, there's someone else on my mind that i'd rather see for 10 seconds in person than sit 3 hours everyday 8 inches away from my already-divorced-once-phantom driver. but alas, even he's more out of reach, and i mean that in both the literal and poetic sense. *sigh* sometimes it truly pains me to realize how much of a child i am living in an adult's world.
at any rate, i'm going to post pictures now. enjoy!
--Evelyn
here are my following four first impressions:
Company #1: I walk into the headquarters/tiny office, where i see 4 or 5 friendly, jovial guys. plus one super cute young guy. Score: very high. i think i'm going to like this company.
Company #2: In their tiny office are a few middle aged men. seem friendly enough. no one that seems like an evil jerk or anything. Score: neutral.
Company #3: I walk into their tiny office, and as my boss is introducing me, i take a look around at the 5 or so guys in there. Literally, each man has a cigarette in his hand, the room reeks of chain smokers, and they all look like sleaze to me. Score: I hate smokers. Thus, i'm NOT a fan of this company.
Company #4: No office that i see. just a line of taxis with their drivers sleeping inside their cars waiting for the Bat Signal. Score: one notch above neutral since the guy that my boss was talking to seemed genuinely nice and cool.
Now, if you recall what i said about company #1, there was a cute guy in the office who i saw for not even a split second, but from the glance that i got, i thought he looked pretty young. Company #1 being my favorite from the start, i use them the most frequently since 1) almost all the drivers are really friendly and i genuinely have good conversations with them, and 2) i get carsick in their cars the least out of the 4 companies. Out of all the riding i do around town, i'd say i use that company about 60% of the time. When you combine that with the 3 months that i've been here, you'd think that i'd ridden with each of the drivers at that company at least once.
By last month, i'd given up hope that i saw a cute guy, much less a young one. But the day of the Halloween party in Izuhara, i swear, i saw that guy driving people around, and literally was in histeria telling my fellow foreigners that "That's the guy i saw!!! I think that's my cute guy!!" Of course, no one else saw who i was pointing to. Taking into account how blind i am, i could have made him up that time too for all i knew.
That is, until today. FINALLY. FINALLY, finally, my day arrived. Or i should say, he arrived. After three months of thinking that i'm insane and not only blind, but delusional, my cute taxi driver came to pick me up. And he's indeed young. 27 to be exact (yes, yes people. i'm still 21...). And for that half hour i got to stare at the back of his head and his left ear, i was on a school girl high. Good morning indeed!
Actually, i had an exceptionally good day. First was finally meeting my phantom taxi driver, then i nearly made a hole-in-one during "Grand Golf" at my elementary school as we were playing with the old people who live in the surrounding area (my ball hit the wiring surrounding the goal. if that wire wasn't there, it would have gone in), ate some kick-ass cake during lunch with the old people, and finally filled my heaters with kerosene so they actually, you know, HEAT my home now. Literally, when i got my upstairs heater filled and plugged it in to try it out, when that first blast of warm air shot out, i literally had a smile from ear to ear, shouted out with glee, and belted out an evil cackle as i celebrated the victory of owning a beautiful heater.
hmm... looking back at how much i've gone on during this entry about my disappearing taxi driver, really, i have no intention of doing anything about it. he's way out of reach, and to be completely honest, there's someone else on my mind that i'd rather see for 10 seconds in person than sit 3 hours everyday 8 inches away from my already-divorced-once-phantom driver. but alas, even he's more out of reach, and i mean that in both the literal and poetic sense. *sigh* sometimes it truly pains me to realize how much of a child i am living in an adult's world.
at any rate, i'm going to post pictures now. enjoy!
--Evelyn
Saturday, November 04, 2006
random updates
Nothing truly exciting has been happening lately, but to briefly update you all on what's been going on in my life:
- i FINALLY finished reading High Fidelity by Nick Hornby. This is seriously the first book i've read for fun since The Da Vinci Code a few years back. That plus the fact that reading nothing but Bio and Chem textbooks for the last few years has caused my ability to read for long periods of time to go down (as in i can read something for about 10 minutes before i being to majorly pass out). An accomplishment: I think so!
- I went on a death walk with one of my schools. Actually, they called it an 遠足（えんそく）, which translates to a picnic or school field trip. Normally, you think, "oh picnic! how fun!" Let me explain why i wasn't. First, the elementary school i was with is perched on a very steep hill. AND, there's a super narrow busy road that leads to it from downtown/where i live. With that said, we had to walk from the school to across from the city office, which is pretty close to where i live. Rather than walking that narrow busy road with 100+ kids, we took a side street where no cars usually go, but adds about 20 more minutes of walking. That leg of our trip (from the school to the city office-ish) took over an hour. Plus there were some crazy steep hills.
After visiting the museum that is across from the city office (where i was falling asleep from Japanese listening overload), we continued walking to a park. Except that park is perched on yet another extremely steep hill. That leg of the trip had to have been at least another 50 minute walk, majority uphill. *screaming*
The actual time spent at that park was pretty fun. During the walk, these 3 4th grade girls befriended me, and their friends befriended me at the park. Those girls are now my favorite students at that school (picture of us coming soon).
Granted, since we walked to the park, we had to walk back to school too. That walk was about another hour. All in all, we had spent about 3 hours or less at the park, and the rest of the "picnic" marching ourselves from place to place. That just may be the last time i get fooled into going on a japanese "school picnic"!!
- I started to play the koto! It's the japanese piano i suppose you can say. It's long, has 13 strings, and sounds very asian. I asked one of my junior high teachers to teach me as i know she really likes playing it. Literally, she taught me how to play in 20 minutes, and at the end of the 20 minutes, i was already playing my second song. It was shockingly easy to learn, although mastering technique is another story. Even though i can't practice very often, it'll be a cool random thing i can go back to the States being able to do.
- I also started playing badminton again. Considering it's been 4 years since i've played, and when i was at the peak of my playing in high school i majorly sucked, I'd say 4 years hasn't changed much. However, not that i dont have the pressure of games that'll count for my school or my peers judging me, i feel a lot more relaxed as i play in Tsushima (although it's SUPER intimidating that everyone that plays has been doing it every week for the last several years and everyone is SUPER good).
- I'm finally done with my Halloween parties! 5 parties in all this year, which is 5 more than i usually have. Pictures of those coming soon too.
- Tomorrow i'm headed out to Nagasaki for our mid-year conference (even though i've only been here for 3 months). This probably would have been an excellent time to go traveling around Kyushu as the trip is paid for by the city, but i really am not in the mood to travel. Plus, there's nowhere particularly thrilling that i'm really gungho about seeing. I'd rather pocket the extra money they're giving me and apply it towards my winter vacation (which is still yet to be determined).
Time to pack!
--evelyn
- i FINALLY finished reading High Fidelity by Nick Hornby. This is seriously the first book i've read for fun since The Da Vinci Code a few years back. That plus the fact that reading nothing but Bio and Chem textbooks for the last few years has caused my ability to read for long periods of time to go down (as in i can read something for about 10 minutes before i being to majorly pass out). An accomplishment: I think so!
- I went on a death walk with one of my schools. Actually, they called it an 遠足（えんそく）, which translates to a picnic or school field trip. Normally, you think, "oh picnic! how fun!" Let me explain why i wasn't. First, the elementary school i was with is perched on a very steep hill. AND, there's a super narrow busy road that leads to it from downtown/where i live. With that said, we had to walk from the school to across from the city office, which is pretty close to where i live. Rather than walking that narrow busy road with 100+ kids, we took a side street where no cars usually go, but adds about 20 more minutes of walking. That leg of our trip (from the school to the city office-ish) took over an hour. Plus there were some crazy steep hills.
After visiting the museum that is across from the city office (where i was falling asleep from Japanese listening overload), we continued walking to a park. Except that park is perched on yet another extremely steep hill. That leg of the trip had to have been at least another 50 minute walk, majority uphill. *screaming*
The actual time spent at that park was pretty fun. During the walk, these 3 4th grade girls befriended me, and their friends befriended me at the park. Those girls are now my favorite students at that school (picture of us coming soon).
Granted, since we walked to the park, we had to walk back to school too. That walk was about another hour. All in all, we had spent about 3 hours or less at the park, and the rest of the "picnic" marching ourselves from place to place. That just may be the last time i get fooled into going on a japanese "school picnic"!!
- I started to play the koto! It's the japanese piano i suppose you can say. It's long, has 13 strings, and sounds very asian. I asked one of my junior high teachers to teach me as i know she really likes playing it. Literally, she taught me how to play in 20 minutes, and at the end of the 20 minutes, i was already playing my second song. It was shockingly easy to learn, although mastering technique is another story. Even though i can't practice very often, it'll be a cool random thing i can go back to the States being able to do.
- I also started playing badminton again. Considering it's been 4 years since i've played, and when i was at the peak of my playing in high school i majorly sucked, I'd say 4 years hasn't changed much. However, not that i dont have the pressure of games that'll count for my school or my peers judging me, i feel a lot more relaxed as i play in Tsushima (although it's SUPER intimidating that everyone that plays has been doing it every week for the last several years and everyone is SUPER good).
- I'm finally done with my Halloween parties! 5 parties in all this year, which is 5 more than i usually have. Pictures of those coming soon too.
- Tomorrow i'm headed out to Nagasaki for our mid-year conference (even though i've only been here for 3 months). This probably would have been an excellent time to go traveling around Kyushu as the trip is paid for by the city, but i really am not in the mood to travel. Plus, there's nowhere particularly thrilling that i'm really gungho about seeing. I'd rather pocket the extra money they're giving me and apply it towards my winter vacation (which is still yet to be determined).
Time to pack!
--evelyn
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)