World Heritage Presentation

My apartment is decorated for Christmas and just in time; it was decided that the apartment complex needed a fresh coat of paint (No, it didn’t), so bright and early Saturday morning the scaffolding and tarps went up. Now the light that filters in is tinted blue and there are strangers outside my second floor balcony. It’s weird. Thankfully, the guys have been cool so far. They seem to be taking extra precaution to work facing away from the windows as much as possible. Nevertheless, I’m pretty bummed that they are going to be working from now until Christmas.  

 

The semester is winding down, as evidenced by the stacks of final exams and notebooks on all the teachers’ desks. I finally feel like I can breathe a big sigh of relief. It’s been fun, but I’m ready for a break!

 

Despite believing that teaching is not the path for me, I’ve been trying really hard to improve as a teacher the past six months. This past weekend I gave a very short, mini-presentation at a “My Share” event with my local chapter of JALT (Japan Association of Language Teaching).

 

In the beginning, I wasn’t very keen on attending these meetings, but I’ve certainly seen the light. I’ve learned something I could use the very next day at each meeting I’ve attending.

 

For my part, I chose an activity I teach with my 2^nd year students in their Cross Culture class: A UNESCO World Heritage poster and Scavenger Hunt. Sabina and I developed this in response to the zombie-like states our students slipped into after relying on the textbook too much. It’s a simple, 4 days project and is malleable to younger or older students.

 

A rough outline is as follows:

Day 1- Pair assignment and research.

I used a deck of cards and had students find their partners. While that was happening, I wrote a list of 20 UNESCO sites on the board. I tried to make as even a spread as possible, and this time I did not include any from Japan since the goal of the class is international awareness. Students were free to choose any of the places written on the board, but it was first come, first serve.

 For research, I allowed them to do so in Japanese but warned them that they needed to translate without using the internet as it usually transforms Japanese into a pile of unintelligible “English” goo. They needed to find out: where their site was located, when it was recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage site, and five additional interesting facts.

 Pretty straightforward, right?

 

Day 2+3: Making posters

In their pairs, the class made posters advertising their sites. I had allowed them to use one photo they printed up from Day 1, but any other drawings needed to be done by hand, or using pictures they printed up in their free time. They were given freedom to design their posters however they wanted. The results were mixed paragraph styles of information, ordered lists, and bullet points placed helter skelter over the paper.

  My favorite one had to be the poster done by the poor group that got saddled with Auschwitz. It was surprisingly lighthearted, but that may have been due to the fact that the Japanese co-teacher, my co-ALT, and I made guest appearances. I’m not sure what it says of the students’ opinions of me that I’m the “Gas Chamber” mascot…

 

Day 4: Scavenger Hunt

  This is where all the hard work pays off! I went through each poster and made a question using the information the students had provided. Sometimes the questions had the location name, so they were pretty easy to zero in on. Other questions required careful reading of each poster.

  For the scavenger hunt, each pair was given a set of 4 questions. They had to work together, go around the room, look through the posters, and answer the questions. When they finished the first 4, I checked them and gave them the next set. All together there were 20 questions- one for each poster.

 

Reaction: Students really enjoyed getting to socialize with their classmates during Days 2 and 3, and the competitive element of Day 4 was positively received. The students do not practice speaking English but they do have to comprehend written questions. They particularly liked seeing their classmates artistic abilities!
 

Looking all professional

During my JALT presentation I admit I was a bit nervous. However, this is a project that I am very confident about, and I only had to be up in front of others for 15 minutes to explain, so it was no problem. The other teachers reacted kindly, and many nodded their understanding and approval. One even told me that he planned to implement it for his own classes! That made me feel very proud.

 Like I said, I don’t think teaching is my career calling, but I’m striving to make my classes efficient and enjoyable!

Culture Day

   Living in Japan, I am surrounded by "culture". Japanese language, Japanese style TV, manga, food, history, fashion, transportation, morals, ethics... But really, culture is relative, and you only realize what you are experiencing is "culture" when you're out of your normal "culture". The line between my American culture and my Japanese culture is blurry times, and I find myself no longer starry-eyed over things I once was. Those elements of "culture" have become normal.

   The first weekend of November was a 3 day weekend, celebrating, betcha can't guess, Culture Day. Once upon a time-about 100 years ago- it was celebrated as the Meiji Emperor's birthday. The Meiji Emperor (given name:Mutsuhito. Fun fact: all the Japanese emperor's name's have ended in ~hito since forever ago) was head of state during Japan's transformation from a feudal nation to a highly industrialized world power.After the second world war, it was eventually reinstated as a national holiday. This year, I actually did something culture-y!

    Ever made sashimi? Neither had I, but I've lived here long enough that I now am starting to see the spare bits and pieces of fish at the market less as "Ick!" and more as "Hm, how could I cook THAT?". Sashimi is just another one of those things that I was too scared to try making by myself.

    Enter Junji, a friend of TG's, who was born and raised in the Shikoku region. He is a Renaissance Man, with a wide pool of knowledge and a generally uncle-ish manner. We went over to his house to be shown how it's done, Mind you, sashimi is the actual fish. All that "sushi" people are eating is actually the name of the vinegared rice. So delicious...

    Anyway, so the first stop was the fish market, where we picked out some mackerel pike, Japanese amberjack (yellowtail), and red sea bream. The fish mongers were nice enough to clean out the insides, but we had the joy of chopping the heads off ourselves.I'm not squeamish, so that wasn't an issue, but man I need to work on my knife skills. It was labor intensive: Remove the scales (if needed), hack off the head, slice in half around the spine, repeat on the other side, remove the ribs from both flanks, slice a skinless fillet. I was terrible about slicing the flanks off, but decent at taking the skin off. After we were left with out fillets, we then cut them into bite-sized pieces. For sashimi, it is very important that you NOT wiggle your knife back and forth while cutting the fish. It messes up the fat deposits. 

    Throwing the rice together was sticky, messy affair, but the end result was a feast! Coupled with the fish head soup Junji made, his homemade beer, and hot coffee when the wind picked up in the evening, it was a lovely day.I haven't made sashimi since that weekend, but now I know if I really want to impress any visitors that I have the perfect menu hidden up my sleeve!

Fall again

Time flies when you are incredibly busy. 

Here's what's been going on:

* I've been volunteering up a storm! I played one of several Mama Ducks to the new JETs who arrived in summer, am helping staff an American culture booth at an International Fair, and am part of a team organizing events within my prefecture for our ALTs. Next week, we are having a huge urban scavenger hunt- hopefully we don't lose anyone.

*I'm learning! Well, sort of. I'm taking a Japanese Linguistics & Pedagogy course that I (excitedly) passed the entrance requirements and now I am (not so excitedly) reading about dialect evolution and proliferation. I subsidize this with actual "learning" from a few fabulous non-fiction books I have read recently. For whatever reason, I've been on a Russian History kick.  

* I've been saving money like crazy! In part because I've been busy, I find that I am exhausted on the evenings and weekends and just long for a quite evening at home. 

* I survived several attempts on my life by Mother Nature. No, not really, but in the past few months Saitama had a freak tornado, a direct hit from a typhoon that I had to trundle through to go to work (It was "too dangerous" for students, but teachers were forced to come in), and Sakurajima, a very active volcano in Kagoshima Prefecture, farted clouds of ash in my direction for several days on end.

Sakurajima, what an ash hole.

* Halloween! It just passed and was much less crazy than last year. I didn't attend any parties- there was yet another typhoon, but even if the weather had been nice, I was in Okinawa with a girl friend trying to unwind.

I found a hermit crab. His very unorginal name was Hermy.

* Painting! With stress and a hectic lifestyle (apparently, this is the burden of being a 3rd year), hobbies and personal enjoyment are even more important to keep up. At one of my visit schools, the art teacher took a liking to me and we have passed many a free period chatting and painting. He is currently working on a portrait of me and my horse, Finnegan, as a Christmas gift. It's a really sweet gesture and I cannot to wait to see what it looks like when it is finished.

Let's Making Umeshu

Drinking is a huge part of socializing in Japan. In fact, it’s often said that the Japanese really only let their guard down and speak their true feelings in the presence of alcohol-whether or not they are drunk. The portmanteau “nommunication” is a combination of the Japanese verb nomu (“to drink”) and communication. It is well understood by the expat community and fairly well in the Japanese community.

I’ve had my fair share of drunken experiences- from receiving unwanted advances from men who felt they had the right to get a response from me to heartfelt confessions. I’ve become a regular at my local standing bar and made several Japanese friends there. The owner doesn’t care if I come in and just order food or non-alcoholic beverages. That kind of easy-going, laid-back atmosphere is what has kept Sabina and I going back. 

Nommunication at its best!

One of my favorite alcoholic drinks in Japan is umeshu, usually translated as “Plum Wine”. It’s not really a wine, per se, it’s a liqueur. I normally drink it on the rocks, although I have been known to add a bit of tonic water and drink it that way. It’s sweet, but not overpowering if aged properly. 

It’s also incredibly easy (and legal) to make at home!  I completely missed the bottling season last year, and when I saw the plums are being sold in the grocery stores this year I decided that now was the time to act.

So, I acquired a glass jug and supplies from some friends and set off to make my umeshu. Like I said, it’s pretty easy. 

I had to buy the plums-it is essential that they be unripe-some rock sugar and the appropriate alcohol. Technically I could have gone with any brandy or shochu over 35% alcohol, but I chose to buy the specially matched fruit liquor. 

Picking out the stems while listening to mindless J-TV

 Next, I washed and dried the plums and used a skewer to pick out the stems. After that, I layered the sugar and plums in the jug, then poured in the alcohol! I have a little alcohol left over and I am very tempted to try making other fruit liqueurs. There is a kiwi recipe that has me intrigued.

Ready to go. See you in a few months!

After sealing up the jug, I tucked it away in the back of a closet. Some say you can drink it in 3 months, but I think I might wait until the new year. Aging definitely helps the clarity of umeshu. I can’t wait to tell you about it! Keep an eye out for another post in about 6 months!

Leaving Sons

It’s been an interesting past few weeks, to say the least. I have definitely found myself longing for vacation, and at the same time not looking forward to the changes that are going to happen come the end of July.

My roommate is leaving. She’s going back to the UK to go back to school; she got in to her dream Ph.D. program with a full ride. I’m so proud of her. But the apartment will feel empty without her. Less tea will be made. Less Britishisms will be bestowed upon me.

On the business front, it’s going to be weird having 2 new people working in the Board of Education to be the overlords/advisors of all things Saitama. I grew quite fond of the two who are leaving, but their time on JET is up. I’m going to miss them and their guidance.

When I think about it, this whole counting-down-the-days business really reminds me of the end of high school, and the end of my study abroad program. Change is weird. Big changes are really weird. I know, I know, I’m not at all verbose (As an aside, I’m fairly certain living here and using so much simple English on a daily basis has regressed my vocabulary. I don’t think I’m nearly as eloquent as I used to be).

The fact of the matter is, since The Guy and my roommate and so many other JET Program participants I know are handing in their visas and going home this year, I feel the musty, sweaty breath of Time breathing down my own neck as well.

When I came to Japan 2 years ago, I had a very concrete idea of what I thought was supposed to happen-what I expected was going to happen. I was going to stay on JET for 3 years and hopefully be married or at least planning my wedding by now. I didn’t know what I was going to do once my 3 years had passed, but I figured I would be alright being a homemaker for a bit while working on improving myself and cultivating hobbies.

However, that wasn’t to be. I’m obviously seeing a new guy, and while I don’t know if I necessarily want to make a permanent return to the United States anytime soon, I now know for a fact that I don’t want to stay in Japan forever. Luckily, the guy and I seem to be on the same page about this.

It still doesn’t answer the bigger question of what the next plan is. I have no idea! And seeing people around me leaving, going home, moving on to new things, it makes me feel terribly inadequate that I haven’t found my niche yet. JET has been a wonderful, amazing experience, but it’s not a line of work I want to do forever. I’m sure my parents or some wise, sage folks in my life would point out that knowing what you DON’T want to do is just as helpful. They have a point, although it’s still very intimidating to consider that I have 13 months to get my life in order.

A lot of life changes happened within the first 6 months of being back in Japan, and having double that amount of time hypothetically should mean I will be ok. In the meantime, however, I’m distracting myself with all sorts of things!

My fellow Californian Kira-kira and I are going to be taking over as leaders of the Saitama AJET organization. Basically we work to connect our local group of JET participants with each other, with other JETs, and keep them informed of new changes and going ons of the program. The Guy was actually the previous leader of Saitama’s AJET; his enthusiasm is contagious and lord knows I am a meticulous planner and highly organized.

I’m also working out travel plans since I’ve been flooded with “OhmygodIonlyhaveayearleftwheredoIwanttogo?!” anxiety.

I’ve been doing training to become a volunteer for JETs.

I’ve been doing heaps of non-fiction reading, taking pleasure in learning new things and trying to see issues from different viewpoints.

I’m hoping to continue my Japanese study in the fall with a language and pedagogy course (allowing that I pass the test required to take the course).

And I signed up to be a volunteer for this summer’s Saitama Orientation. I’m looking forward to being a Mama Duck again and hopefully helping out some of the new arrivals in any way possible.

Next time I will try not to have a generic post. This one sort of ran away with me. I promise to stay on task!

Shanainagins!

My lovely friend Shaina came to visit over Golden Week at the beginning of May. It was awesome having a little slice of home with me for 10 wonderful days in Japan! Now that I think about it, maybe one of the reasons I haven’t really been homesick is because every couple months someone from California has been able to visit me. Regardless, it really is nice having a familiar face around!

Since she was here for Golden Week-the busiest travel and holiday time in Japan- I didn’t have to work much and we went on a little mini vacation together. In the end, I got to cross 2 things off my Japan Bucket List!

One of the first things we did was take an overnight bus to Hiroshima. The parks and museums dedicated to peace and nuclear disarmament are beautiful and thought provoking. The energy of Hiroshima is relaxed compared to Tokyo, but it hasn’t completely forgotten the horror that befell it 70 years ago
.

The best way to relieve the heaviness of Hiroshima, in my opinion, was going to Bunny Island! During the war, the island functioned as a secret poison gas making factory (in clear violation of the Geneva Convention buuuuut that’s a completely different ranting story). With the Occupation, the factories were destroyed and rabbits soon overran the island. Rumor has it that they are the offspring of released test bunnies, but others say they descend from school rabbits. Either way, the result is smile inducing cuteness!

 Shaina was brave enough to sample all the food I threw in front of her, including Hiroshima’s local specialty: raw oysters!

Miyajima-a UNESCO World Heritage site

The remainder of our time together was spent nosing around Tokyo and enjoying a few relaxing days together. We trekked out to the foothills of Western Saitama for the annual Shibazakura blooms and were stunned by the gorgeous carpet of flowers.

 The super “Japanese” thing we did was kimono rental in Kawagoe with a few other friends! For 2100 yen ($20 USD), we were outfitted in kimono, socks, shoes, hair accessories and bags and allowed to wander the surrounding area for almost 8 hours. Those things are surprisingly difficult to walk in, and the shoes aren’t  helpful either. Still, it was fun, even if we did have to get a bit vocal about not having cameras rudely shoved in our faces. Ah, the allure of being a non-Japanese person in Japan doing something Japanese. It’s so….mythical. To the Japanese, that is.

Oh my word, I have a job?

The fun thing about teaching overseas is usually the funny things my students write on their papers.

Things like “My father, who likes cheese, makes me happy”. For a while, I kept track of every silly and hilarious non sequitur I came across but I soon realized that I would spend more time logging them than actually instructing.

I enjoy my job, although sometimes the slow months wear too slowly and I find myself frustrated at “the system”. It’s particularly tough because there is absolutely nothing I can do to change it or influence it.

However, as I’m sure anyone in the teaching profession will tell you, the students are what make the days of tedious grading, planning, and desk warming worth it. 

The current fad for school kids is to take photos like this, recreating an attack from the popular anime "Dragon Ball"

 I teach at 3 senior high schools in Saitama Prefecture. One is within walking distance from my apartment in Iwatsuki which is great for the snow days we had this spring. It focuses on International Culture, so there is a 3 year course dedicated to furthering internationalization. Additionally, there are more foreign-born and mixed raced students at this school.

My second school is a Commercial High School located a few stops down my train line. When the weather is nice I usually bike the 25 minutes or so to that school. Most of the students enter the workfield straight after graduation, so English isn’t necessarily a priority for them. They are all excellently behaved and the staff is quite laid back at that school. Plus, there is a friendly calico kitty that hangs out around the houses across the street from the school. Seeing her before or after class always cheers me up.

My third school is a standard, run of the mil high school. Most students don’t go on to university, but they don’t enter white collar jobs either. It’s the farthest away with a 20 minute train ride and then a 10 minute bicycle ride from the station. There isn’t much else except rice fields, a convenience store, and a few fast food joints around. This is the school I’ve had the most problems with during my time on JET; I am expected to come up with games and lesson plans without the aid of a computer or internet, some of the staff blatantly take advantage of having me in the classroom and don’t lift a finger to help or participate, and the communication so poor that I often have no idea what I’m walking in to.

This spring, the staff at the school shocked me by acting incredibly friendly and outgoing towards me. There is a new principal who likes to chat occasionally in English, and the art teacher and I have become friends. In fact, he encouraged me to come to the art club after school! So, for the first time in a long time, I am painting again. It’s so wonderful. I wish I was there more often!

Ladies and gentlemen, how we get to school. We fly.

Next up, Golden Week shenanigans! Or should I say Shanainigans…?

Cooking and Bento

I think a few entries back I talked about cooking. Well, I’m going to talk about it some more, so I hope you have a snack in hand!

The first year I ever lived alone I dropped a significant amount of weight. Most of it problem had to do with the fact that I was a broke exchange student who could barely afford to buy the mushy head of cabbage on sale, but a lot of it also was because I had no idea what I was doing. Some of my more notorious lunches at home in San Diego consisted of an entire box of Mac N’ Cheese, or baby carrots with peanut butter and Poptarts, or a whole can of Bush’s Baked Beans-I want my retroactively throttle myself too. Suffice to say, my year abroad taught me how to cook on a budget. A very tight budget.

Now that I actually have a salary, I’m a bit more lax about paying extra for good produce (except the $30 watermelons), and since New Year I have made a conscious effort to up the ante on my diet.

I’m proud to say that my meat consumption has dropped, I seldom eat any sort of refined or processed foods, and sugary snacks are a thing of the past. Occasionally I DO get a craving, and I will usually go with it. Thing is, my body feels better for it. I also haven’t gotten sick nearly as often as I did in the years past, despite working with diseased teenagers.

Last week, while perusing a department store’s going out of business sale, I decided to treat myself to a new bento box (They wanted $19, I got it for $11!). I have since used it every day to pack myself a yummy, healthy lunch that is devoid of the fried, greasy and mayonnaise laden foods typically found in my school’s purchaseable lunch order.

This is shrimp, so not meatless. It was an unusual bento day.

 Cooking in a Japanese kitchen is not without its challenges; I have approximately 2 square feet of countertop. It’s just big enough to put a cutting board on. I have 2 gas burners, one of which is designed to turn itself off if it thinks you are cooking too long. Cookies, cakes, brownies and all things baked are done in my convection oven that doubles as a microwave. I didn’t have a toaster until recently, so all toasting was carried out by the fish broiler. My crockpot has been a godsend (Thanks, mom!) and I used it a lot this winter for all sorts of things. 

Oh, remember what I said about meat? I meant it when I said I consumed less, although that’s also because the cuts of meat available here are pretty limited. No turkey, and no lamb. It’s a cruel world. Tons of pork, however I’m not a huge fan of pork, and beef is extortionate. What’s an omnivore to do?

My roommate and I decided to make an order with “The Meat Guy”, an online English meat seller. They are a bit pricey, but the quality and selection is fantastic. We ordered a 3kg (6 lbs) “Mystery Box” and crossed our fingers.

I was pleasantly surprised! There was only 1 item that I think may have to be given away-and that was beef tendon. Unless…anyone have ideas for cooking tendon? The rest of the stuff was exciting: beef tongue, 6 pork chops, 2 kinds of sausage meat, 3 all-beef sausage links, a rack of spare ribs, a crocodile leg, ground camel, and ground kangaroo.

No one sells buns either, so we made do with a baguette.

What to do with Roo? Simple. Meatloaf, my dear friends! Oh my, were we the talk of the staff room when we brought that in! And then we made some Roo burgers to finish it off. Yum yum!