today is just one of those days where i am just frustrated with the world.
over the last few days, life has suddenly become super busy, due largely to the fact that i'm moving into my new apartment on friday. there shouldn't be much packing to do, but i still need to clean up the new place a bit before i get a parade of japanese people to help me move.
between the physical action of packing and moving, other stuff has been stressing me out. taxes for one. details of my new apartment for another (when i can get electricity, gas, phone lines working, etc...whether or not to paint my place...where to even find paint). then there's the japanese test i need to mail out by either tonight or early tomorrow morning. i've been taking a JET Program administered correspondent course, and although it's been only marginally helpful, i'd still like to send in stuff on time, and try to keep on top of things.
then there's been my whole hanshin scare. since i've decided that i was going to stay a second year, i decided that i would not only attend the free conference in kobe (well, it's mandatory), but that i'd also latch on a visit to my host family in kyoto as well as a visit to a hanshin tigers game at their home stadium, Koshien.
sooo, last week, i finally figured out how many of us were planning on going to the game, so i started to search for tickets. except all legit online tickets were sold out.
*weeping into my sleeves*
but after doing a little more searching, i found a scalper's site, and started to debate over whether or not it was worth it to pay significantly more per ticket....
but luckily, i was persuaded to not be so frugal, so after some email exchanges, i finally bought the tickets yesterday. at least that's out of the way.
then there's been the mad search for hotels during my kansai stay... story short, i finally knocked that down too.
but then there's the junior high i went to yesterday and today. now, i really like the current 3rd years, and i really like the current 1st graders. it's just the second graders.... i dont know if there's much else they could do to prove to me that they haven't learned a THING over the last year they've been learning english. i'm talking about simple stuff. words like "where", "what" and "man"... stuff they definitely have learned.
it's one thing if you try and dont get it. it's another when you refuse to try because you believe you can't do it. i just can't stand the attitude towards english on this island sometimes. i understand that english is hard. but really -- the questions and activities we set up for them are mind-numbingly easy, and they still choose to take the shortcuts and just copy one another's papers. don't they see it's benefiting no one? am i asking you to do this activity for the purpose of filling out some piece of paper and turning it into me? i already know english. i'm here for YOU. i'm here to HELP you. why do you still refuse my help? why dont you try to think about what i'm saying to you instead of turning to your friends and asking them in japanese, "what did she just say?" and another thing, LOOK at me when i'm talking to. LOOK at me when you're answering. you're being RUDE when you dont.
arrrrrgh. so FRUSTRATING.
the other thing that frustrates me at this school is that my JTE always asks me to sit in the hall and interview each student one on one. and every time, it's the same result: the kids who try at english can answer the questions. the other 90% of kids just sit there, looking at everything except at me, and wait for me to feed them the answers. today was the first time it wasn't graded, but still..... i hate how he makes me do this every other time i come here. if he were to sit with them one on one and do these dumb interviews, maybe HE'D realize how low the level of that class is. until he realizes this, i dont think he's going to change the way he's teaching them.
i understand that there are just some classes as a whole who are unmotivated when it comes to english.. but shouldn't that mean that you should try new methods to encourage them? boost their confidence a little? ask them what would help them learn? what would make them care?
this week has been the first time i've really questioned whether staying a second year is a good choice for me. it's heartbreaking to see the kids who have NO CLUE what's going on in class. but what can i do? i come here twice a month. i try as best i can to harass kids during breaks, just get them to say hello.... basic stuff. ask them interesting stuff if i can. like, what singer do you like? do you like fish? basic stuff to boost their confidence in the language.
*sigh*
i really hope i'm not becoming a misanthrope. teaching is a lot rougher than i originally thought it would be. i'm not giving up on them, but it's hard to see hope sometimes.
sometimes i wonder if i'm one of those people that believes hard core that the subject i teach is the most important subject in the world. while i do believe it's really important, face it... if you want to travel the world someday, english is arguable one of the most useful languages. is it then so wrong that i want so badly for these kids to learn english and actually give a damn?....
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Monday, April 16, 2007
moving?...
since about october, i've been debating whether or not i should move. at first, i was spending money like crazy between buying stuff i needed for my home, renting a car, car insurance, rent, setup fees for this and that... by october, i was still bleeding money, so i talked to Murase-san, one of the ladies (er.. the only lady) that works in my BOE. after informing her that i had a slight interest in moving, she and another guy in our office convinced me that it would probably be a lot of trouble and money to move (key money, moving expenses, cancellation and startup fees for my phone, internet, etc). so after that, i kinda gave up on the idea of moving, and resolved to make the best of my situation.
first, a few things i need to explain.
- of the 9 of us ALTs on the island, i have the highest rent at 50,000 yen/month (a bit less than $500/month). the least expensive, from what i've heard, is around 9,700 yen/month (roughly $90/month). that's kind of a big difference. of the 9 of us, 2 of us live in privately owned housing (me and aaron), while the rest live in either high school or city-owned buildings. because the buildings are owned by the city or whoever, rent is significantly subsidized, so everyone ends up paying between $100-$200/month on rent. unheard of in the states, yeah?
- if you all remember, the new school year starts in april here, causing a massive shuffle of not only teachers, but city workers too. this means that if city or prefecture-owned apartments open up, it'll most likely happen between march and april. if they're filled up by april, you have to wait till next year before you'll really have a chance to move into cheap housing.
so, back in october, there weren't any city-owned apartments open, so i had to just suck it up and deal with my beautiful, yet expensive, home. however, the end of the school year rolled around, and Murase-san asked me if i was still interested in moving. it turns out that there was a prefecture-owned building about a 4 minute walk from where i presently am, that looked like it would be losing its current residents.
due to population and economic decline in Tsushima, the prefecture has sent fewer and fewer prefectural employees to the island. foreseeing less and less use for the building, Nagasaki-prefecture sold the building to Tsushima-city. so now city employees (like myself) get first dibs at 6 suddenly available apartments.
over my spring break, i actually got to take a look at the open apartments. if i were to move, i'd want a second floor home. my korean CIR friend, Sujin, was already set on moving, and had already decided which apartment she wanted. the apartment everyone was thinking i should take was the one next door to Sujin, which at the time was still occupied (but that guy has since left). after a LOOOOOT of thinking and mulling over the pros and cons, i decided that i valued comfort over money (that place was realllly old and about half the size, if not smaller, than my current place).
however, yesterday, me, aaron, jayne, sujin, and kim-sensei (a korean woman who teaches at jayne's high school and lives directly above jayne and is also good friends with sujin) had a potluck party at sujin's newly spruced up apartment. and i have to say, she did a very good job with the place. she really cleaned it up and turned it into a very liveable place.
which got me thinking. maybe i could do the same thing. hmmmm....
so after yet another round of deliberation yesterday, i finally decided that i want to move after all. rent is only 10,000 yen (less than $100!!). and this being sujin's 3rd apartment in this last year (she's all about saving money so she can travel), she assured me that it costs nothing to switch addresses for my phone, internet, etc). feeling a lot better about that, i went ahead and told Murase-san that i want to move after all. gosh am i a terrible person or what. *shaking head*
i found out today that the apartment is still available, but what i was worried about all day was whether or not i could break my current contract. my baker neighbors are AWESOME and the sweetest people in the world. i feel so guilty wanting to move, but yanno, you got to do what you got to do. i could tell by rereading my contract if i had to stay a year or if i could move before the end of the year... rather than asking Murase-san to ask them for me when i see my neighbors multiple times a day, i decided to be a grown-up about it and tell them myself that i was thinking about moving.
i can honestly say that i've had to say some challenging things in japanese, but this by far was the most difficult. having to explain to your landlords that you're thinking about moving because you still owe a disgusting amount of money in college loans, even though you really like your current place, but really need that extra bit of money each month... not easy. and trying to probe them for whether or not it's possible under my contract to move without having to pay for the rest of the year... it was indeed a very delicate subject.
nonetheless, i did the responsible thing and told them my reasons, and found out that i can indeed break the contract. excellent.
i have no idea when yet, but it's looking like i will move. stayed tuned for more news on that.
one more interesting tidbit. my predecessor actually lived in a different apartment when she first got here, but it was supposedly really small and really expensive (like 40,000+ yen/month). she stayed there for 6 months before finding out about my current apartment and moving in. granted it's an awesome apartment surrounded by a beautiful garden and a spacious (yes, chieze -- spacious) parking lot, i feel like a smaller but cheaper apartment will suit me. i spend all my time upstairs in my bedroom anyway. the only time i'm downstairs is when i'm cooking or eating dinner. and i hate dealing with all the random bugs that appear downstairs. this is why i'm all about moving to a second floor concrete apartment, which i'm hoping will be less hot in summer and less cold in winter (it doesn't seem to make sense, but jayne and aaron live in apartment buildings, and of the three, my apartment consistently has the most drastic temperatures).
i kinda wonder though... between me and my predecessor, if i move, that'll be the 3rd apartment in only 4 years that this position has existed. from her perspective, i'm sure she felt her successor would thank her for the amount of space gained for the money we pay. but from my perspective, i feel like my successor will thank me for the amount of money s/he will be saving (in the words of my dad, i can afford more food. spend $10 instead of $5 on dinner. count on my dad to target food references when talking to me... *sigh*). which brings me to a question i have for anyone who's reading this:
would you rather have a pretty pimp aparment that's only 2-3 years old for $500/month, or have an apartment that's half the size, old, but only $100/month?
first, a few things i need to explain.
- of the 9 of us ALTs on the island, i have the highest rent at 50,000 yen/month (a bit less than $500/month). the least expensive, from what i've heard, is around 9,700 yen/month (roughly $90/month). that's kind of a big difference. of the 9 of us, 2 of us live in privately owned housing (me and aaron), while the rest live in either high school or city-owned buildings. because the buildings are owned by the city or whoever, rent is significantly subsidized, so everyone ends up paying between $100-$200/month on rent. unheard of in the states, yeah?
- if you all remember, the new school year starts in april here, causing a massive shuffle of not only teachers, but city workers too. this means that if city or prefecture-owned apartments open up, it'll most likely happen between march and april. if they're filled up by april, you have to wait till next year before you'll really have a chance to move into cheap housing.
so, back in october, there weren't any city-owned apartments open, so i had to just suck it up and deal with my beautiful, yet expensive, home. however, the end of the school year rolled around, and Murase-san asked me if i was still interested in moving. it turns out that there was a prefecture-owned building about a 4 minute walk from where i presently am, that looked like it would be losing its current residents.
due to population and economic decline in Tsushima, the prefecture has sent fewer and fewer prefectural employees to the island. foreseeing less and less use for the building, Nagasaki-prefecture sold the building to Tsushima-city. so now city employees (like myself) get first dibs at 6 suddenly available apartments.
over my spring break, i actually got to take a look at the open apartments. if i were to move, i'd want a second floor home. my korean CIR friend, Sujin, was already set on moving, and had already decided which apartment she wanted. the apartment everyone was thinking i should take was the one next door to Sujin, which at the time was still occupied (but that guy has since left). after a LOOOOOT of thinking and mulling over the pros and cons, i decided that i valued comfort over money (that place was realllly old and about half the size, if not smaller, than my current place).
however, yesterday, me, aaron, jayne, sujin, and kim-sensei (a korean woman who teaches at jayne's high school and lives directly above jayne and is also good friends with sujin) had a potluck party at sujin's newly spruced up apartment. and i have to say, she did a very good job with the place. she really cleaned it up and turned it into a very liveable place.
which got me thinking. maybe i could do the same thing. hmmmm....
so after yet another round of deliberation yesterday, i finally decided that i want to move after all. rent is only 10,000 yen (less than $100!!). and this being sujin's 3rd apartment in this last year (she's all about saving money so she can travel), she assured me that it costs nothing to switch addresses for my phone, internet, etc). feeling a lot better about that, i went ahead and told Murase-san that i want to move after all. gosh am i a terrible person or what. *shaking head*
i found out today that the apartment is still available, but what i was worried about all day was whether or not i could break my current contract. my baker neighbors are AWESOME and the sweetest people in the world. i feel so guilty wanting to move, but yanno, you got to do what you got to do. i could tell by rereading my contract if i had to stay a year or if i could move before the end of the year... rather than asking Murase-san to ask them for me when i see my neighbors multiple times a day, i decided to be a grown-up about it and tell them myself that i was thinking about moving.
i can honestly say that i've had to say some challenging things in japanese, but this by far was the most difficult. having to explain to your landlords that you're thinking about moving because you still owe a disgusting amount of money in college loans, even though you really like your current place, but really need that extra bit of money each month... not easy. and trying to probe them for whether or not it's possible under my contract to move without having to pay for the rest of the year... it was indeed a very delicate subject.
nonetheless, i did the responsible thing and told them my reasons, and found out that i can indeed break the contract. excellent.
i have no idea when yet, but it's looking like i will move. stayed tuned for more news on that.
one more interesting tidbit. my predecessor actually lived in a different apartment when she first got here, but it was supposedly really small and really expensive (like 40,000+ yen/month). she stayed there for 6 months before finding out about my current apartment and moving in. granted it's an awesome apartment surrounded by a beautiful garden and a spacious (yes, chieze -- spacious) parking lot, i feel like a smaller but cheaper apartment will suit me. i spend all my time upstairs in my bedroom anyway. the only time i'm downstairs is when i'm cooking or eating dinner. and i hate dealing with all the random bugs that appear downstairs. this is why i'm all about moving to a second floor concrete apartment, which i'm hoping will be less hot in summer and less cold in winter (it doesn't seem to make sense, but jayne and aaron live in apartment buildings, and of the three, my apartment consistently has the most drastic temperatures).
i kinda wonder though... between me and my predecessor, if i move, that'll be the 3rd apartment in only 4 years that this position has existed. from her perspective, i'm sure she felt her successor would thank her for the amount of space gained for the money we pay. but from my perspective, i feel like my successor will thank me for the amount of money s/he will be saving (in the words of my dad, i can afford more food. spend $10 instead of $5 on dinner. count on my dad to target food references when talking to me... *sigh*). which brings me to a question i have for anyone who's reading this:
would you rather have a pretty pimp aparment that's only 2-3 years old for $500/month, or have an apartment that's half the size, old, but only $100/month?
Friday, April 06, 2007
glorious mexican food
i just died and went back to california.
for a while now, my fellow ALTs and i have been making ghetto mexican food in order to feed our cravings for mexican food. since our little island lacks a lot of crucial things needed for said mexican food, we've had to be creative.... namely, instead of using tortillas, we've been using packaged naan bread. we've been lucky that aaron's predecessor left behind a few packages of taco mix (which ran out as of last weekend).
slowly, our act has come together..... we've (ie. aaron) acquired refried beans at the last visit to the costco in fukuoka. crushed red pepper was also luckily at costco. and finally, chili powder is actually available at the grocery store at the local mall.
but tonight, we gave up on being ghetto and decided to go all out. tonight, we made real mexican food.
tonight, we made FLOUR TORTILLAS. and it was glorious.
since we were going through all the trouble of making tortillas, we decided, hey, may as well go all out and make mexican food and make our own taco mix.
so with the help of two online recipes:
- Flour Tortilla Recipe
- Taco Mix Recipe
... we had an AWESOME dinner. i seriously was on the verge of crying it was so wonderful.
i only regret not making more tortillas.... i've recently been craving appetite-satiating snacks soooo badly... i can never get full off the snacks that they sell in this country without breaking the piggy bank. oh well.
anyway, if you have time to kill and you're extremely removed from and desperate for mexican food, i highly recommend the two above recipes. enjoy!
--evelyn
ps. this craving for mexican food has been going on for a while now. jayne and i are both from california, and whenever we get on the topic of california, it always leads to mexican food. it got to the point where we were going the extra distance in thailand and even cambodia just to get our fill of enchiladas and tacos. jayne, aaron, and i have even had several mexican food parties where we've been using naan and prepackaged taco mix. thank goodness for the internet, and thank goodness there are people out there with easy to make recipes =)
for a while now, my fellow ALTs and i have been making ghetto mexican food in order to feed our cravings for mexican food. since our little island lacks a lot of crucial things needed for said mexican food, we've had to be creative.... namely, instead of using tortillas, we've been using packaged naan bread. we've been lucky that aaron's predecessor left behind a few packages of taco mix (which ran out as of last weekend).
slowly, our act has come together..... we've (ie. aaron) acquired refried beans at the last visit to the costco in fukuoka. crushed red pepper was also luckily at costco. and finally, chili powder is actually available at the grocery store at the local mall.
but tonight, we gave up on being ghetto and decided to go all out. tonight, we made real mexican food.
tonight, we made FLOUR TORTILLAS. and it was glorious.
since we were going through all the trouble of making tortillas, we decided, hey, may as well go all out and make mexican food and make our own taco mix.
so with the help of two online recipes:
- Flour Tortilla Recipe
- Taco Mix Recipe
... we had an AWESOME dinner. i seriously was on the verge of crying it was so wonderful.
i only regret not making more tortillas.... i've recently been craving appetite-satiating snacks soooo badly... i can never get full off the snacks that they sell in this country without breaking the piggy bank. oh well.
anyway, if you have time to kill and you're extremely removed from and desperate for mexican food, i highly recommend the two above recipes. enjoy!
--evelyn
ps. this craving for mexican food has been going on for a while now. jayne and i are both from california, and whenever we get on the topic of california, it always leads to mexican food. it got to the point where we were going the extra distance in thailand and even cambodia just to get our fill of enchiladas and tacos. jayne, aaron, and i have even had several mexican food parties where we've been using naan and prepackaged taco mix. thank goodness for the internet, and thank goodness there are people out there with easy to make recipes =)
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