There are a couple of times a year that I find myself reflecting upon my life and its direction more than at other times. It’s probably similar for most people, the beginning of the year and before my birthday. As my birthday is in the beginning of March I find myself looking inward a lot in the first two months of the year. This year is no exception.
For Wayne and I, we know we only have one more year left in Japan before we head back to Australia. It hadn’t always been planned that way, there were times we thought we’d stay here until we’d put children through kindergarten to give them a good bilingual start, others when we thought we’d be going back to Aussie shores this March to start a family. There have even been brief moments when the stress that living in another country can add to a marriage that I’ve feared we’d be returning to Australia at different times.
With time rushing by as it seems to do, I start to look at why we came here in the first place and what I want to achieve before I leave.
Coming to Japan was not a long thought out decision, but rather an impulse that felt so right. I had lived in Japan for three years and was back in Australia as an ex-gaijin trying to find my feet once again. I found that the gaijin part of me never went away. Japan had seated itself in my heart and was there to stay. It was in my fourth year back in Australia that as desperate to grow roots in the country as I was, the universe seemed to be telling me that wasn’t where I was supposed to be.
It was a bad year. Only months after moving in with a friend, a new man in her life wanted them to live together so I needed to find a new home. Wayne and I spent weeks going from one rental inspection to another until we found the perfect place. It was an early 1920s Queensland Colonial with polished wood floors, pressed ceilings and a huge second bedroom with perfect light for my studio. It is the type of place I have always wanted. Our request to sign a long lease was denied and instead, we signed the standard 6 month lease with assurances that we could renew it at the end of that time.
In the space of a handful of months, both before and after the move, bad luck seemed to visit our door. Between the two of us, we suffered through the deaths of four people close to us. My new job went sour and I and other staff found ourselves having to seek legal advice to be paid the wages we were due. In the next few months I found myself changing jobs a number of times, something I’d never done before. I came very close to buying a small art gallery with a coffee shop, but that deal also fell through.
I was then finally in a job that I loved, an English school with a real international selection of students. My boss was a true inspiration in her passion for teaching and life. My fellow teachers, all so intelligent, well traveled and funny, quickly became dear friends. My classes were great and often I had classes filled with people from all different cultures. Students changed and then I had a class with all Japanese women. I loved the class but a homesickness for Japan set in. I had the feeling I could be doing the same job in Japan.
The final blow came suddenly. Right after getting engaged, I had just lost two people very special to me and was still in the midst of grief. We got a letter to say that the owner of the house wanted to move family in there and so would not be renewing our contract in a month’s time.
Something snapped that night. I felt that every attempt I’d made that year to put down roots had failed. I felt that the universe was telling me that Australia was not the place I was supposed to be at that time. Wayne and I made the very difficult decision that I would come to Japan for a year. On my own. We would hold off wedding plans until I came back, I just needed to get away, to come back to Japan, to photograph, to finish the book I was writing.
The next morning I awoke at 4am. I had a large order for my sideline business to get out that day before I left for work. I touched Wayne’s shoulder and began to cry. I couldn’t imagine not waking up next to him every morning. In my studio I managed to work while tears ran down my face. Suddenly, a light bulb went off. He was looking for a change, looking for a break from his business. Why couldn’t he come with me? We didn’t have a mortgage yet, no children. What was tying us down? At five, as the sun was just beginning to give a golden glow to the bedroom, I touched his bare shoulder once more, this time to wake him.
“Why don’t we sell everything we own and just go, go to Japan together?” I asked.
As the sleep in his eyes wore off, I could almost see the thoughts turning over in his head. After fifteen minutes he agreed. “Yep, let’s do it!”
And that’s exactly what we did.
The decision to move back has been a much harder and drawn out one. For months last year we were on a rollercoaster of uncertainty. I’m sure I drove my workmate nuts, everyday telling them, “We’ve decided to stay” and the next, “We’ve decided to go.” While the resolve changed everyday, how I felt about it changed by the hour. It was a relief when we came to a final conclusion, regardless of what it was.
So for now, we have one more year, and a bit, left in Japan. It’s hard not to get lost in the teaching and with making extra money to put towards a house and a family. It’s hard not to get caught up on the fact that I should be, at this later stage in life, concentrating on being in my best shape to have a child. Somedays, it’s hard not to get frustrated with cold teacher’s rooms and crappy school lunches that I now know I’ll have to put up with for another year. But for the next year, I’m going to try my hardest to do what I came here for in the first place. To write, to photograph, to soak up and to journal the creative inspirations this place has to offer.
Just one more year.
Showing posts with label gaijin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gaijin. Show all posts
Sunday, February 03, 2008
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Domestic Violence
I've renamed my "Help Me Help Me" class to the "Domestic Violence" class. I think it's a name I've stolen from Badaunt, sorry Badaunt, but it's a name that fits so well with this group. A lot of punching goes on, but it's all between friends and strangely, they seem to enjoy it, both the hitter and the hit-ee.
I feel like I probably should get mad at them, but I don't feel angry at all. They make me laugh.
A lesson with them can go something like this;
Student, pointing to his friend; "He's M, he's M"
I look at him confused, ""M", what do you mean "M"? I have no idea what you're talking about."
"You know, "M", he's "M"!" The student then punches his friend really hard in the shoulder and explaines, "See, he's "M", I'm "S" and he's "M"".
I just shake my head, laugh and walk away.
I feel like I probably should get mad at them, but I don't feel angry at all. They make me laugh.
A lesson with them can go something like this;
Student, pointing to his friend; "He's M, he's M"
I look at him confused, ""M", what do you mean "M"? I have no idea what you're talking about."
"You know, "M", he's "M"!" The student then punches his friend really hard in the shoulder and explaines, "See, he's "M", I'm "S" and he's "M"".
I just shake my head, laugh and walk away.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Cold
As in, I have a cold and I am cold.
And I'm very grumpy about it.
It seems like I'm on some sort of six-weekly cold cycle. That's how often I've been catching them lately. Other than the obvious I-feel-crappy-so-I'm-grumpy grumpiness, I am grumpy about the fact that I am cold. All day. Every day. Well, at work at least.
The staffroom I sit in all day when I'm not in class is really not comfortable, and most of the time, it's downright freezing. I rug up as much as I can taking into consideration that the classrooms are warm and if I dress too warmly, I'll sweat in class. At my desk, I wrap my bottom half in a blanket, wrap a pashmina around my shoulders, wear disposable toe-warmers in my shoes, drink hot tea and still I get waves of cold shivers running up and down my back. I swear it's because I spend the day feeling so cold that I get sick.
Today is the first time that all of the heaters in the room have been turned on. There have been days when only two of the five heaters are on and we've sat and shivered all day long. I know it's not just me, two of the other foreign teachers I work with feel it too and they are from cold cities.
I wonder, do the Japanese teachers feel cold as well and just not complain? Is it a matter of the Japanese ideals of gaman (perserverence) and shoganai (it can't be helped) being at play here?
I don't think it's a Japanese thing. Wayne has said that the staffrooms of the schools where he teaches are lovely and warm. I don't believe it's even a (my school name...) thing either. The high school teachers rooms are also very cosy. It's this room. There is one person who decides how many heaters can be turned on on a given day and everyone else has to live with his decision.
There are official heater and airconditioning turning on days in the year and that day is abided by regardless of the temperature. Last year, the heating-turning-on-day was December 1st, so when I came to school on the third and fourth, I was dressed expecting the room to be warm. It wasn't. There were no heaters on at all, a day or so later, sure enough, I was sick with a horrible 'flu that included loosing my voice and having to take time off work.
So not only do I get to be uncomfortable all day at work, I then get sick and get to be uncomfortable with those symptoms at home too. And then, top it off with the stress of possibly loosing my voice.
If I wasn't drinking tea in an effort to try to warm myself up, I would not drink at all here. Going to the bathroom is almost like torture. It's outside, freezing and the water to wash hands is so cold it's painful. Sadly no Japanese heated toilet seat for this school. And I won't get started on the lack of availability of anything warming to eat for lunch......
I really enjoy my job, I like teaching, I like my students, I like the teachers and staff I work with. It's just such a bummer that it is such an uncomfortable place to work in for parts of the year.
And I'm very grumpy about it.
It seems like I'm on some sort of six-weekly cold cycle. That's how often I've been catching them lately. Other than the obvious I-feel-crappy-so-I'm-grumpy grumpiness, I am grumpy about the fact that I am cold. All day. Every day. Well, at work at least.
The staffroom I sit in all day when I'm not in class is really not comfortable, and most of the time, it's downright freezing. I rug up as much as I can taking into consideration that the classrooms are warm and if I dress too warmly, I'll sweat in class. At my desk, I wrap my bottom half in a blanket, wrap a pashmina around my shoulders, wear disposable toe-warmers in my shoes, drink hot tea and still I get waves of cold shivers running up and down my back. I swear it's because I spend the day feeling so cold that I get sick.
Today is the first time that all of the heaters in the room have been turned on. There have been days when only two of the five heaters are on and we've sat and shivered all day long. I know it's not just me, two of the other foreign teachers I work with feel it too and they are from cold cities.
I wonder, do the Japanese teachers feel cold as well and just not complain? Is it a matter of the Japanese ideals of gaman (perserverence) and shoganai (it can't be helped) being at play here?
I don't think it's a Japanese thing. Wayne has said that the staffrooms of the schools where he teaches are lovely and warm. I don't believe it's even a (my school name...) thing either. The high school teachers rooms are also very cosy. It's this room. There is one person who decides how many heaters can be turned on on a given day and everyone else has to live with his decision.
There are official heater and airconditioning turning on days in the year and that day is abided by regardless of the temperature. Last year, the heating-turning-on-day was December 1st, so when I came to school on the third and fourth, I was dressed expecting the room to be warm. It wasn't. There were no heaters on at all, a day or so later, sure enough, I was sick with a horrible 'flu that included loosing my voice and having to take time off work.
So not only do I get to be uncomfortable all day at work, I then get sick and get to be uncomfortable with those symptoms at home too. And then, top it off with the stress of possibly loosing my voice.
If I wasn't drinking tea in an effort to try to warm myself up, I would not drink at all here. Going to the bathroom is almost like torture. It's outside, freezing and the water to wash hands is so cold it's painful. Sadly no Japanese heated toilet seat for this school. And I won't get started on the lack of availability of anything warming to eat for lunch......
I really enjoy my job, I like teaching, I like my students, I like the teachers and staff I work with. It's just such a bummer that it is such an uncomfortable place to work in for parts of the year.
Thursday, December 27, 2007
The Christmas That Isn't
I remember the Christmasses of 1998 and 2005. They weren't particularly different and it's not that I remember them in any great detail. What I do remember is savouring them. During both, I knew I'd be living in Japan the following years.
Before coming here the first time in 1999, I knew that as Japan isn't a Christian country, not to expect Easter or Christmas. That year, Easter passed without any acknowledgement what-so-ever. I even worked on Easter Sunday.
Imagine my surprise in November when the department stores and shopping centres began selling Christmas decorations, playing Christmas carols and started taking orders for their version of a Christmas cake (a fluffy sponge cake with lots of cream and strawberries).
Over the next couple of months, I was lulled into a false sense of celebration. I bought and sent Christmas cards, helped in numerous Christmas parties for students at the school I worked and was looking forward to the dinner party planned on Christmas night.
Knowing that I'd otherwise be alone on Christmas morning, my friend Jodie invited me to stay with her on Christmas Eve. We could open our presents together she suggested. Her Japanese husband would be working that day, as would most Japanese, as it's just a normal working day. This fact should have clued me in to the real Japanese Christmas spirit, or rather lack there of. I happily accepted, gave her phone number to my family so they could call me on the day and packed the ingredients for the rum balls I was planning on making for the dinner party that night.
The morning started off well with a fellow ex-pat to celebrate with . While rolling the rum balls however, I realised I needed more coconut.
"Just go down to the supermarket," Jodie suggested.
I was shocked. The supermarket was open on Christmas Day? Really, it made sense, it was a normal business day after all and really quite convenient in my current prediciment.
Part of me wishes I never had gone. A tiny piece of my love for Japan died in those very moments.
I arrived at the supermarket. The same carols were playing, the same decorations on sale, though now at 50% off, the same Christmas cakes on display and housewives wandering through the aisles doing their same old grocery shopping.
I was furious, I wanted to scream, I wanted to cry, I felt betrayed. It was Christmas Day and this was so not Christmas. For months, there had been a feeling of "Christmas is coming... Christmas is coming.." and now it had come, no-one cared. They had taken everything commercial and cute from the season and none of the spirit. It was a bit like someone continually telling you that they really wanted you to come to a party and then giving you the cold shoulder when you did.
I wanted to grab the grocery-shopping-Christmas-ignoring housewives by the shoulders, shake them and say "This is it! This is Christmas! Don't you understand?!?"
Instead, I quietly bought my shredded coconut, left the centre and cried.
Now every year that I'm living in Japan and November rolls around, I get a mixture of excitement and panic about the approaching Christmas. I don't want to feel that anger and dissapointment again. I don't want the hipocracy that is Christmas in Japan rubbed into my face again.
I can't really plan a Christmas dinner with many people as most of my ex-pat friends return "home" for the holidays, and my Japanese friends are working and don't quite understand. For me, the solution is to travel. I know I'm not going to have the same family and friends with me, I know I'm not going to be eating the same Christmas treats but I do know I'll be doing something special and different. This has become my personal Christmas in Japan tradition.
So far at Christmas, I've been to Singapore, Osaka and Kobe, Hakuba and this year, to Matsumoto. For Christmas meals I've eaten Chinese, Mexican, English Pub food, Indonesian and Spanish, none of them in anyway Christmassy, but all of them special.
As long as my family and friends are in my heart and I keep this one day of the year special, I'll have Christmas no matter where I live.
Sunday, December 23, 2007
Blacklisted
Tomorrow morning, Wayne and I are off for a short trip to Matsumoto in Nagano. As it's a short trip, we're lucky that we don't have much luggage and will be able to do the 30 minute walk to the station with our bags (one backpack and my camera bag). You see, I'm pretty sure we've been blacklisted by the cab company in town....
The first time I ordered a taxi to pick us up was a year ago (to the date actually) when we were going to Nagano to go snowboarding. Being a smallish town, I didn't book in advance but thought I would call with plenty of time to spare. I had however forgotten that it is bonenkai (end of year, or as some say.... forget-the-year) parties.
The guy at the taxi dispatch told me the wait would be about 20 minutes. After 40 minutes I was really beginning to worry. I called the company again, and they told me the taxi had come to our place already. I assured him they hadn't so he said they would be there soon. Another five, then ten, then fifteen minutes went by. I had called the company one hour before we needed to leave and now there was five minutes left. We had an expensive overnight bus booked and needed to get the train to get there in time.
Luckily, our neighbour arrived home and offered to take us to the station. I ran up to our apartment and rang the cab company to cancel the cab. The dispatch guy was now surprised that we hadn't been picked up yet, but promised me, a car would be there in ten minutes, I told him that we really had to leave now and insisted on cancelling the order.
Our snowboards and Christmas present laden bag was loaded into our neighbours BMW, we ran up the stairs to the station, just made the train, then ran from the train station and just made it to the bus.
The next time I ordered a cab, it was in the middle of the day with no warning. I was told a taxi would be by in five minutes. After 20 I rang the company. The conversation went something like this (though in Japanese...)
"Hi, I ordered a taxi 20 minutes ago and it hasn't arrived yet. This is Melanie from .. (insert address here...)"
"Ah Melanie-sama. No, you've been picked up already."
"No, I haven't. I'm still waiting."
"No, you were picked up about 15 minutes ago."
"No, I can assure you, I wasn't. I'm still here waiting outside the front of my apartment. A taxi came down the next road about 15 minutes ago and picked someone else up, but it wasn't me."
"No, he picked you up. He said he picked up a foreigner. You've already been picked up."
(Now, I have to say at this point, that the person who was picked up in the next street was Japanese, and that chances of the taxi driver having picked up another foreigner is very slim - there are few of us that live in my town)
"No, honestly, I haven't. That's why I'm calling. Maybe someone else took my taxi. Could you please send another one?"
"No, no-one would have taken your taxi. He picked you up. You don't need another one, you've already been picked up."
"No, really I haven't. I've been waiting out the front the whole time and I'm still here. Could you please send another one?"
"Oh, OK, if you're sure you haven't already been picked up."
Another taxi came around and picked me up five minutes later.
The next time we needed a taxi was when we were going to Vietnam in summer. Early in the evening before, I once again called the company. Again in Japanese, it went something like this...
"Hi, I want to reserve a taxi for tomorrow morning."
"Yes, address? Time?"
"It's (... insert address..) for 6.30am."
"No, we're all booked up." Was the reply barked at me. No apologies. Just a direct "Muri" (impossible).
"Oh, well how about 7am?"
"Muri."
"Umm... how about 6am?"
"Muri."
"5.30?"
"Muri."
Mmmm... Personally, I find it hard to believe that on a normal workday, all the taxis have been booked out between 5.30 to 7am. I was panicked and called a friend who came to our rescue. He very kindly offered to get up at 6am on the first day of his holidays to drive us to the station.
There are two companies in town, so I do have to get the number for the other. In the meantime, I'm glad that we can walk to the station tomorrow!
The first time I ordered a taxi to pick us up was a year ago (to the date actually) when we were going to Nagano to go snowboarding. Being a smallish town, I didn't book in advance but thought I would call with plenty of time to spare. I had however forgotten that it is bonenkai (end of year, or as some say.... forget-the-year) parties.
The guy at the taxi dispatch told me the wait would be about 20 minutes. After 40 minutes I was really beginning to worry. I called the company again, and they told me the taxi had come to our place already. I assured him they hadn't so he said they would be there soon. Another five, then ten, then fifteen minutes went by. I had called the company one hour before we needed to leave and now there was five minutes left. We had an expensive overnight bus booked and needed to get the train to get there in time.
Luckily, our neighbour arrived home and offered to take us to the station. I ran up to our apartment and rang the cab company to cancel the cab. The dispatch guy was now surprised that we hadn't been picked up yet, but promised me, a car would be there in ten minutes, I told him that we really had to leave now and insisted on cancelling the order.
Our snowboards and Christmas present laden bag was loaded into our neighbours BMW, we ran up the stairs to the station, just made the train, then ran from the train station and just made it to the bus.
The next time I ordered a cab, it was in the middle of the day with no warning. I was told a taxi would be by in five minutes. After 20 I rang the company. The conversation went something like this (though in Japanese...)
"Hi, I ordered a taxi 20 minutes ago and it hasn't arrived yet. This is Melanie from .. (insert address here...)"
"Ah Melanie-sama. No, you've been picked up already."
"No, I haven't. I'm still waiting."
"No, you were picked up about 15 minutes ago."
"No, I can assure you, I wasn't. I'm still here waiting outside the front of my apartment. A taxi came down the next road about 15 minutes ago and picked someone else up, but it wasn't me."
"No, he picked you up. He said he picked up a foreigner. You've already been picked up."
(Now, I have to say at this point, that the person who was picked up in the next street was Japanese, and that chances of the taxi driver having picked up another foreigner is very slim - there are few of us that live in my town)
"No, honestly, I haven't. That's why I'm calling. Maybe someone else took my taxi. Could you please send another one?"
"No, no-one would have taken your taxi. He picked you up. You don't need another one, you've already been picked up."
"No, really I haven't. I've been waiting out the front the whole time and I'm still here. Could you please send another one?"
"Oh, OK, if you're sure you haven't already been picked up."
Another taxi came around and picked me up five minutes later.
The next time we needed a taxi was when we were going to Vietnam in summer. Early in the evening before, I once again called the company. Again in Japanese, it went something like this...
"Hi, I want to reserve a taxi for tomorrow morning."
"Yes, address? Time?"
"It's (... insert address..) for 6.30am."
"No, we're all booked up." Was the reply barked at me. No apologies. Just a direct "Muri" (impossible).
"Oh, well how about 7am?"
"Muri."
"Umm... how about 6am?"
"Muri."
"5.30?"
"Muri."
Mmmm... Personally, I find it hard to believe that on a normal workday, all the taxis have been booked out between 5.30 to 7am. I was panicked and called a friend who came to our rescue. He very kindly offered to get up at 6am on the first day of his holidays to drive us to the station.
There are two companies in town, so I do have to get the number for the other. In the meantime, I'm glad that we can walk to the station tomorrow!
Thursday, December 06, 2007
Exam Answers
We're on the downhill run to the holidays now! Yah! Just two more weeks to go and then about three weeks off. Not sure what we're doing yet, but thinking of going somewhere for a few days. Does anyone have any suggestions? I want to go somewhere I haven't been before and I've done the big sites and cities.
We've just finished the last exams for the year and there were some answers that brought a smile to my face. I thought I might share....
From Junior High, in answer to the questions;
"Who cooked your breakfast this morning?"
My breakfast eat my family.
My breakfast cooked my mother.
I cooked my mother.
Cock brakefast is my mother.
It's dreakfast cooked my mother this morning.
It my mother cook to for breakfast
Where did you do your homework last night?
I homeworked in the hoom last night.
Where did you brush your teeth yesterday?
I brashed my teachers in the bathroom.
I washed the thieves in the bathroom.
I brashed my pea in the bathroom.
I blash your teach in the kitchen.
I brush south in the bath yesterday.
In one question the high school students had to describe Sam's and my personalities. Some of the results were;
Melanie is cheerful. She is big voice and her smile is cute.
She is cheerful because her class time is very interesting and exciting.
She is like rabit because she is very praty.
Melanie is very cheerful, because she is loved everyone.
She is cheerful and easygoing, because her smile is beautiful and she makes us happy.
He is gentle. He always listens my boring and not-well-English story happily.
We've just finished the last exams for the year and there were some answers that brought a smile to my face. I thought I might share....
From Junior High, in answer to the questions;
"Who cooked your breakfast this morning?"
My breakfast eat my family.
My breakfast cooked my mother.
I cooked my mother.
Cock brakefast is my mother.
It's dreakfast cooked my mother this morning.
It my mother cook to for breakfast
Where did you do your homework last night?
I homeworked in the hoom last night.
Where did you brush your teeth yesterday?
I brashed my teachers in the bathroom.
I washed the thieves in the bathroom.
I brashed my pea in the bathroom.
I blash your teach in the kitchen.
I brush south in the bath yesterday.
In one question the high school students had to describe Sam's and my personalities. Some of the results were;
Melanie is cheerful. She is big voice and her smile is cute.
She is cheerful because her class time is very interesting and exciting.
She is like rabit because she is very praty.
Melanie is very cheerful, because she is loved everyone.
She is cheerful and easygoing, because her smile is beautiful and she makes us happy.
He is gentle. He always listens my boring and not-well-English story happily.
Saturday, November 24, 2007
Today I'm loving
- My husband. The dear sweet man has moved out of our shared office space to allow me to create my own design studio. You can see the before shots here. Hopefully, I'll have some shots of the end product in a few days.
- My new studio. It's still coming together but looks great so far. I feel so inspired!
- Volume 2 of the Beautiful Songs Compilation Album
- Long, warm, super soft socks
- Starbucks Chocolate Mint Mocha - I ordered my first ever coffee today! I'm not a coffee drinker, but I think I could be hooked.
- Japanese space solutions, they have some great ideas in the stores
- 100yen shops (OK, I love these every day)
- My life
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Fingerprints
A little while ago I wrote about how there are times, living in Japan as a foreigner, I feel like I am under suspicion purely for being non-Japanese and Japan's new policy of fingerprinting and photographing all foreigners entering Japan. The fingerprinting practice has now been implemented and so is in a lot of the press for English speakers now.
To be honest, once I get over the conditioning that it is only for criminals, I don't have a problem with fingerprinting itself. What I do have a problem with is that it is only for foreigners. The implication seems to be that it is the gaijin to be feared, and not their fellow countrymen. When if comes to foreigners, Japan seems to have a guilty-until-proven-innocent mentality. I know America has the same practice and maybe I would feel equally offended getting fingerprinted there, though with America, differences of race don't come into it.
In the explanation video, terrorist bombing attacks in America, Bali, Morocco, Spain and London are listed. Never do they talk about the worst terrorist attack in their own country in 1995, the Sarin gas attack, an attack on Japanese, by Japanese. I find the video quite condescending when they try to pass the fingerprinting practice off as being partly to protect the foreigners. Let's be honest Japan (or the government at least), you don't really care about the foreigners, you're too busy worrying about what you think we're going to do to you.
While I'm on the subject of safety in Japan, it is for the most part a very safe place to live in. The recent trend of random street slashings however is a disturbing one. Until this week, I wrote it off as being a "big city" problem and not something to worry about where I live. That has now changed. Two days ago, a girl from our school was chased down the street by an old man with a knife. He was believe to have been seen outside one of the school gates again yesterday.
To be honest, once I get over the conditioning that it is only for criminals, I don't have a problem with fingerprinting itself. What I do have a problem with is that it is only for foreigners. The implication seems to be that it is the gaijin to be feared, and not their fellow countrymen. When if comes to foreigners, Japan seems to have a guilty-until-proven-innocent mentality. I know America has the same practice and maybe I would feel equally offended getting fingerprinted there, though with America, differences of race don't come into it.
In the explanation video, terrorist bombing attacks in America, Bali, Morocco, Spain and London are listed. Never do they talk about the worst terrorist attack in their own country in 1995, the Sarin gas attack, an attack on Japanese, by Japanese. I find the video quite condescending when they try to pass the fingerprinting practice off as being partly to protect the foreigners. Let's be honest Japan (or the government at least), you don't really care about the foreigners, you're too busy worrying about what you think we're going to do to you.
While I'm on the subject of safety in Japan, it is for the most part a very safe place to live in. The recent trend of random street slashings however is a disturbing one. Until this week, I wrote it off as being a "big city" problem and not something to worry about where I live. That has now changed. Two days ago, a girl from our school was chased down the street by an old man with a knife. He was believe to have been seen outside one of the school gates again yesterday.
Japan, is it really US you need to worry about?
Update
j donuts has put together a great post linking to other people's thoughts on this matter. It's a really interesting and somewhat scary read. You can find it here.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Monday, November 19, 2007
Snow
It's now officially really cold, I saw snow this morning! Admittedly, the snow was capping a mountain in the distance, but it was snow none-the-less. I swear I saw three snowflakes yesterday swirling in the air, but Wayne thinks I was imagining it.
I was hoping some semblance of warmth would hold out for a few more days. We plan to re-arrange the apartment this coming long weekend and was hoping to wait until then to pull out the heaters and winter clothes. Yesterday, I wore a blanket around the apartment but still my fingertips were frozen and made it hard to type.
Last night I gave in and dug out a couple of heaters. And a dig it was. If you've ever lived in a Japanese apartment, you know how precious space is, our heaters were buried in the back of a cupboard under suitcases and backpacks. I haven't gotten out winter clothes yet but have been wearing what I like to think of a bohemian style of layers to survive. I did have to go to the 100yen shop to buy some gloves for the bike ride to school as my fingers couldn't wait.
You would think that once I got to school, I would be warm, but the opposite is true. The floor in the staffroom is freezing and with the Japanese culture of having to wear slippers inside, I can't wear my lovely warm boots during the day. I have a lap blanket I use and have been known to wear a down jacket and scarf at my desk to stop asthma attacks from the low temperature. Adrianne is already wearing her down jacket in the staff room today.
Our school is undergoing major construction at the moment and in the process, we lost one of our classrooms. Most of the time it's OK as one teacher will conduct the class in the student's homeroom. During interview tests however, we need both. What has happened this testing period is that one teacher has to sit outside in the cold, sunless, windy corridor. Thank goodness it's Sam and not me! Poor Gareth has three hours of interview tests to do there today! To make things scarier - it's cold now, but our next tests are in February when we'll be in the depths of winter and our new building won't be up then. And then don't even get me started on the female teachers toilets that are outside.....
On a happier note, I have to say, my husband is wonderful. He knows how much I hate this weather and so on cold nights, he goes to bed before I do, lies on my side and warms it up for me. How sweet is that! He even, admittedly not so happily, allows me to warm up my cold hands on his warm body parts. It's like having a living, breathing, large sized water bottle. Last night, he braved the low temperature and got me chocolate that I was craving and then this morning, he let me stay in while he went out and did the recycling by himself. Isn't he great! I'm not sure what I did to deserve him, but don't tell him that.
I was hoping some semblance of warmth would hold out for a few more days. We plan to re-arrange the apartment this coming long weekend and was hoping to wait until then to pull out the heaters and winter clothes. Yesterday, I wore a blanket around the apartment but still my fingertips were frozen and made it hard to type.
Last night I gave in and dug out a couple of heaters. And a dig it was. If you've ever lived in a Japanese apartment, you know how precious space is, our heaters were buried in the back of a cupboard under suitcases and backpacks. I haven't gotten out winter clothes yet but have been wearing what I like to think of a bohemian style of layers to survive. I did have to go to the 100yen shop to buy some gloves for the bike ride to school as my fingers couldn't wait.
You would think that once I got to school, I would be warm, but the opposite is true. The floor in the staffroom is freezing and with the Japanese culture of having to wear slippers inside, I can't wear my lovely warm boots during the day. I have a lap blanket I use and have been known to wear a down jacket and scarf at my desk to stop asthma attacks from the low temperature. Adrianne is already wearing her down jacket in the staff room today.
Our school is undergoing major construction at the moment and in the process, we lost one of our classrooms. Most of the time it's OK as one teacher will conduct the class in the student's homeroom. During interview tests however, we need both. What has happened this testing period is that one teacher has to sit outside in the cold, sunless, windy corridor. Thank goodness it's Sam and not me! Poor Gareth has three hours of interview tests to do there today! To make things scarier - it's cold now, but our next tests are in February when we'll be in the depths of winter and our new building won't be up then. And then don't even get me started on the female teachers toilets that are outside.....
On a happier note, I have to say, my husband is wonderful. He knows how much I hate this weather and so on cold nights, he goes to bed before I do, lies on my side and warms it up for me. How sweet is that! He even, admittedly not so happily, allows me to warm up my cold hands on his warm body parts. It's like having a living, breathing, large sized water bottle. Last night, he braved the low temperature and got me chocolate that I was craving and then this morning, he let me stay in while he went out and did the recycling by himself. Isn't he great! I'm not sure what I did to deserve him, but don't tell him that.
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Good Morning Baltimore!
Wayne and I went on a date last night. It was fun. After a spot of shopping and dinner, we went and saw Hairspray. It was a blast. I'm a big fan of the original movie so was eager to see if this one measured up. It didn't disappoint.John Travolta was brilliant as Tracy's overweight mum, Edna Turnblad. Not quite as special as Divine was in the original, but still great.
I could tell that Wayne was worried about the movie when Tracy broke out in the first song, "Good Morning Baltimore". He stiffened ever-so-slightly and I could just tell he thought he wasn't going to enjoy it. He hasn't seen the original, so didn't know what to expect. It didn't take long for him to relax, I think it was the line about the flasher (incidentally, a cameo by John Waters) that he realised it wasn't going to be your run-of-the-mill musical.
It's funny watching a movie like that in Japan. Wayne and I were the only non-Japanese in the cinema and we were the only ones laughing. Much of the humour in the film either doesn't translate, is too quick or the Japanese don't have the same cultural references to understand. Lines like "You need a good stiff one", references to the kids being beautiful and "white" and to "Negro Day" were lost on all of the audience but us.
Before the movie, we saw the trailer for the Simpsons Movie. It is so strange hearing the characters in Japanese. While this isn't the movie trailer here's a TV commercial that might help you get an idea of the strangeness.
There are a few differences in the movie going experience between Japan and Australia. The first would have to be the ticket price, it's much higher in Japan, but the one I find most disturbing, is the lack of chocolate, or any sweets at the concession bar! Popcorn is on offer, but otherwise my choices include hot food such as fried chicken. What is a movie without something sweet?
Friday, November 16, 2007
The things they say
A gem from today’s interview test;
"My grandfather is strange. He tells me not to study....... He really likes sake. He drinks too much. I think he will die of cancer of the liver."
And on a totally unrelated topic... KitKat in Japan comes out with new flavours each season. I have to say I'm in love with the latest - Cookies and Milk KitKat. The KitKat wafer is covered in white chocolate that is filled with crushed chocolate cookies. Yum!
"My grandfather is strange. He tells me not to study....... He really likes sake. He drinks too much. I think he will die of cancer of the liver."
And on a totally unrelated topic... KitKat in Japan comes out with new flavours each season. I have to say I'm in love with the latest - Cookies and Milk KitKat. The KitKat wafer is covered in white chocolate that is filled with crushed chocolate cookies. Yum!
Interview Test Time
I never did get around to writing up the rest of my teaching days. It's been a busy week. On Monday and Wednesday, I had extra classes scheduled in and on Tuesday I had a recording session for the junior high practice and listening tests. On top of that I've been catching up on marking and been attacked by hordes of students every day before school, after school and at lunch times as they want their interview test preparations checked.
This testing period has gone so fast! We've started interview tests today! Our students are graded in three different area; their classwork, an interview test and a listening test. Each is worth a third of their final score. We conduct interview tests a week before their listening test.
This interview test is pretty cruisey for the junior high kids as long as they have prepared. They just have to tell us a little about someone from their family, half of it being in past tense. The previous two tests they had 16 questions to answer in 2 minutes, so the process was quite manic.
After the interview tests and listening tests are finished we still have a couple of weeks left of school. The junior high classes will be doing grade-free Christmas based lessons and games, so it's a lovely festive end to the year. And then... holidays! Yah! Wayne and I aren't going anywhere to far these holidays in a bid to save money. I'm really looking forward to it though as I have so many craft and design projects planned.
Bring on the holidays!
This testing period has gone so fast! We've started interview tests today! Our students are graded in three different area; their classwork, an interview test and a listening test. Each is worth a third of their final score. We conduct interview tests a week before their listening test.
This interview test is pretty cruisey for the junior high kids as long as they have prepared. They just have to tell us a little about someone from their family, half of it being in past tense. The previous two tests they had 16 questions to answer in 2 minutes, so the process was quite manic.
After the interview tests and listening tests are finished we still have a couple of weeks left of school. The junior high classes will be doing grade-free Christmas based lessons and games, so it's a lovely festive end to the year. And then... holidays! Yah! Wayne and I aren't going anywhere to far these holidays in a bid to save money. I'm really looking forward to it though as I have so many craft and design projects planned.
Bring on the holidays!
Friday, November 09, 2007
Fridays
I enjoy Fridays, and not just because it's the last day before the weekend. The last day for us native teachers that is, the Japanese teachers and students often have school on Saturday. I like Fridays because I have two junior high classes that are a ball to teach.
My first one, the first period of the day are really smart, attentive and energetic. There are no personalities that really shine out more than the others, but they are all sweet. One girl is tiny, about the size of a small seven year old. What she lacks in size she makes up in energy and has an infectious smile. Today in class, the students were doing an exercise where they had to interview many of their classmates. One boy came to tell me that he was finished, he had filled the paper. I told him that was great and asked if he could go and help some other students. He happily said yes and then I got a series of bows from him as he walked backward to the other students and said thank you many times. I can't imagine getting that from a twelve year old Australian student.
My second junior high class is in the last period of the day. It's my favourite junior high class of the week. It's funny really, I start, first thing Monday morning with my least favourite class and finish, last thing Friday afternoon with the best. The dynamics in this class are great. I put it down to the fact that the alpha male lived in America for a number of years and has excellent English. All the other boys want to be just like him, so they work their butt off and compete to do better than him. It really makes my job easy. One boy, H, is a little strange, but keeps us all amused with his antics. The girls in the class are a delight and we often laugh at how crazy the boys are.
In between the two, I have a high school class. They are mostly great except for one girl that gets on my nerves a bit. She talks the whole way through the class.
I'm tired by the end of the day though as my last two classes are back-to-back and are on opposite sides on the campus, so I always have to dash to make it in time.
Adrianne teaches one of my students from last year. I remember him fondly for just how truly dense he could be. In an interview test he produced "My mother.... my mother.... my mother cooks eat me" to the question "What club do you belong to". At the time he was so proud of himself for getting out the reply. Well today, Adrianne showed me a piece he had written about medicinal foods.
"I would like to try ginger. Because, I want to do a lot of poop and I want to make my poop a good shape."
Ummm... thanks for that information......
My first one, the first period of the day are really smart, attentive and energetic. There are no personalities that really shine out more than the others, but they are all sweet. One girl is tiny, about the size of a small seven year old. What she lacks in size she makes up in energy and has an infectious smile. Today in class, the students were doing an exercise where they had to interview many of their classmates. One boy came to tell me that he was finished, he had filled the paper. I told him that was great and asked if he could go and help some other students. He happily said yes and then I got a series of bows from him as he walked backward to the other students and said thank you many times. I can't imagine getting that from a twelve year old Australian student.
My second junior high class is in the last period of the day. It's my favourite junior high class of the week. It's funny really, I start, first thing Monday morning with my least favourite class and finish, last thing Friday afternoon with the best. The dynamics in this class are great. I put it down to the fact that the alpha male lived in America for a number of years and has excellent English. All the other boys want to be just like him, so they work their butt off and compete to do better than him. It really makes my job easy. One boy, H, is a little strange, but keeps us all amused with his antics. The girls in the class are a delight and we often laugh at how crazy the boys are.
In between the two, I have a high school class. They are mostly great except for one girl that gets on my nerves a bit. She talks the whole way through the class.
I'm tired by the end of the day though as my last two classes are back-to-back and are on opposite sides on the campus, so I always have to dash to make it in time.
Adrianne teaches one of my students from last year. I remember him fondly for just how truly dense he could be. In an interview test he produced "My mother.... my mother.... my mother cooks eat me" to the question "What club do you belong to". At the time he was so proud of himself for getting out the reply. Well today, Adrianne showed me a piece he had written about medicinal foods.
"I would like to try ginger. Because, I want to do a lot of poop and I want to make my poop a good shape."
Ummm... thanks for that information......
Thursday, November 08, 2007
Thursdays
I've been meaning to write about my classes for a while now, so here goes, day-by-day.
I work at a private secondary school. It's difficult to get entry into, co-ed and contains both junior and senior high schools. I teach the first grade of each. It's a good combination actually, as the junior high kids are so genki, they're fresh, their excited and excitable. The high school kids are old enough and have enough English to be able to talk to about things and to joke with, so their lessons can get interesting.
At our school, they do three types of English each week, I teach the third component, communicative English. In junior high I concentrate on phonics and am a pronunciation Nazi. But to their credit, my students now know the difference between a (l) and (r), a (b) and (v), can produce a good (th), exercise the muscles in the face, mouth and tongue to get the right sound and are now starting to lip-read. I'm so proud!
So, Thursdays. I have three classes, first, third and fifth periods.
My day starts with a high school class. They are a little different to most of my other high school classes, as all the students are new-comers to the school. They haven't been formed into this school's mould yet and I have to remind myself at times, that they haven't been doing this style of class for three years previously like the other classes have. A number of the students in that class have lived overseas. One in Singapore, one in France and another recently returned from a year's home stay and studying in America. The class has a high level of English as long as I don't ask them to volunteer an answer. Then I'm only greeted with the tops of every one's heads while they stare at their desks, and silence. I think it's because the kids who have come back from other countries are self conscious that they might make a mistake and the others are too embarrassed to speak in front of them. Other than that, they are mostly a good class. The girl that lived in France loves to talk to me and is a great student and one boy really makes me laugh. One day I told him that our next class was going to be a fun games class. He asked if we could have a party and have cake. I told him that sure, if he wanted to bring cake, I'd be very happy. He then told me, in very careful English "No, I would like to be treated to some cake". Cute!
My second class of the day is a junior high lesson. The kids in this class are so polite, they are just adorable. They laugh at my silly jokes (and really, what teacher doesn't like that?), try really hard and when completing a worksheet will raise their hands and say in very enunciated English (very rounded and proper), "Excuse me Melanie, how do you spell....." There are lots of "please"s and "thank you"s during that lesson. In today's class we were covering vowel digraphs so they delighted in being able to yell out "oi" and "oy". Every now and then, we broke out into a "Oi, noisy boy!" and their faces just lit up.
My last lesson of the day I have nick-named my "Help me, help me" class, as that's what a number of the boys yell out all lesson. They're not a "good" class, but they are a lot of fun to teach. One of the boys always makes me laugh. Let's call him "T". T has a lot of energy in class, though I can't say it's alway focussed where it should be. He sometimes talks in class, but if I turn to glare at him, he whacks, hard, his friend that he was talking to, tells him to "shut up" and then turns to me with a butter-won't-melt-in-my-mouth smile and tells me "He's a bad boy." I should get angry, but I just can't help smiling. The girls are a delight, as they are in most of my classes. One girl, Y, is a great student and came to me with a piece of writing she'd done, all marked out with pauses and inflections just in case she needed to present it to class. Another boy doesn't always do a lot of the classwork, but always stops me in the halls for a short chat in English whenever he sees me. His English is good and he will usually come up with something smart and funny to say.
Today, now classes are over for the day, I'm busily trying to finish writing a test and catch up on my marking. It's been a good day.
I work at a private secondary school. It's difficult to get entry into, co-ed and contains both junior and senior high schools. I teach the first grade of each. It's a good combination actually, as the junior high kids are so genki, they're fresh, their excited and excitable. The high school kids are old enough and have enough English to be able to talk to about things and to joke with, so their lessons can get interesting.
At our school, they do three types of English each week, I teach the third component, communicative English. In junior high I concentrate on phonics and am a pronunciation Nazi. But to their credit, my students now know the difference between a (l) and (r), a (b) and (v), can produce a good (th), exercise the muscles in the face, mouth and tongue to get the right sound and are now starting to lip-read. I'm so proud!
So, Thursdays. I have three classes, first, third and fifth periods.
My day starts with a high school class. They are a little different to most of my other high school classes, as all the students are new-comers to the school. They haven't been formed into this school's mould yet and I have to remind myself at times, that they haven't been doing this style of class for three years previously like the other classes have. A number of the students in that class have lived overseas. One in Singapore, one in France and another recently returned from a year's home stay and studying in America. The class has a high level of English as long as I don't ask them to volunteer an answer. Then I'm only greeted with the tops of every one's heads while they stare at their desks, and silence. I think it's because the kids who have come back from other countries are self conscious that they might make a mistake and the others are too embarrassed to speak in front of them. Other than that, they are mostly a good class. The girl that lived in France loves to talk to me and is a great student and one boy really makes me laugh. One day I told him that our next class was going to be a fun games class. He asked if we could have a party and have cake. I told him that sure, if he wanted to bring cake, I'd be very happy. He then told me, in very careful English "No, I would like to be treated to some cake". Cute!
My second class of the day is a junior high lesson. The kids in this class are so polite, they are just adorable. They laugh at my silly jokes (and really, what teacher doesn't like that?), try really hard and when completing a worksheet will raise their hands and say in very enunciated English (very rounded and proper), "Excuse me Melanie, how do you spell....." There are lots of "please"s and "thank you"s during that lesson. In today's class we were covering vowel digraphs so they delighted in being able to yell out "oi" and "oy". Every now and then, we broke out into a "Oi, noisy boy!" and their faces just lit up.
My last lesson of the day I have nick-named my "Help me, help me" class, as that's what a number of the boys yell out all lesson. They're not a "good" class, but they are a lot of fun to teach. One of the boys always makes me laugh. Let's call him "T". T has a lot of energy in class, though I can't say it's alway focussed where it should be. He sometimes talks in class, but if I turn to glare at him, he whacks, hard, his friend that he was talking to, tells him to "shut up" and then turns to me with a butter-won't-melt-in-my-mouth smile and tells me "He's a bad boy." I should get angry, but I just can't help smiling. The girls are a delight, as they are in most of my classes. One girl, Y, is a great student and came to me with a piece of writing she'd done, all marked out with pauses and inflections just in case she needed to present it to class. Another boy doesn't always do a lot of the classwork, but always stops me in the halls for a short chat in English whenever he sees me. His English is good and he will usually come up with something smart and funny to say.
Today, now classes are over for the day, I'm busily trying to finish writing a test and catch up on my marking. It's been a good day.
Tuesday, November 06, 2007
If you are alien
Sam just bought a new bike and on the front of the manual, was written in English;
Ahh... nothing like a good little piece of Engrish to put a smile on your face.
"FOR YOUR SAFETY AND COMFORT, IF YOU ARE ALIEN WHO
LIVE IN JAPAN, PLEASE ASK SOMEONE WHO UNDERSTAND THIS MANUAL TO MAKE DETAILED EXPLANATION FOR YOU".
Ahh... nothing like a good little piece of Engrish to put a smile on your face.
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Attack of the Translation Software
My dad arrived in Japan yesterday to teach in Tokyo for a couple of days. It didn't take him long to find a good example of why not to use translation software;
Usually when he comes to Japan on business, his office books his return flight a few days after he's finished the course he teaches so that he can come and stay with me, near Nagoya, for a few days. Sadly, this time a different person booked his trip and didn't know about this, so he's flown all the way here and we won't get a chance to catch up face to face. It's especially dissapointing as we had planned to celebrate his 60th birthday which is next week. I believe he will be seeing my cousin though, who lives in Tokyo and has recently married a sweet Japanese woman.
Enjoy Japan dad!
"Message from the Hotel Manager
I newly prepared the room with a massage chair. It relaxes slowly and gets.
* The visitor of reservation also does procedure, such as check-in, to an annex in the main building front."
I newly prepared the room with a massage chair. It relaxes slowly and gets.
* The visitor of reservation also does procedure, such as check-in, to an annex in the main building front."
Usually when he comes to Japan on business, his office books his return flight a few days after he's finished the course he teaches so that he can come and stay with me, near Nagoya, for a few days. Sadly, this time a different person booked his trip and didn't know about this, so he's flown all the way here and we won't get a chance to catch up face to face. It's especially dissapointing as we had planned to celebrate his 60th birthday which is next week. I believe he will be seeing my cousin though, who lives in Tokyo and has recently married a sweet Japanese woman.
Enjoy Japan dad!
Tuesday, October 09, 2007
A bit of a bump in the road
I can quite rightly say that I feel like I've been hit by a truck. It was a small truck at least.
Wayne and I had a full weekend planned this past weekend, though it didn't go quite as expected. Strangely enough, this time last year, we had the same weekend planned, but didn't make it to any of the festivals as Wayne was diagnosed as being "diseased in the head" and was admitted (or should I say commited) to hospital. I'm thinking of boycotting the same weekend next year.....
We started off the weekend well, did a bit of work, ran a few errands and had a really yummy pasta and pizza lunch. We then headed off to Mino city, in Gifu Prefecture that is famous for its paper. There, I stocked up on yuzen washi. The lovely town with preserved old wooden buildings was in full swing preparing for its annual lantern festival that we planned to go to that night.
We then started making our way to Seki, to meet our friend Natsuki and check out the Seki Hamono Festival, or rather the Seki Cutlery Festival. Sounds exciting doesn't it! It would be more accurate to call it the Seki Things-You-Can-Cut-Stuff-With Festival, as it is mainly swords and knives, hense Wayne was very eager to go. Sitting in the car at a red light, Wayne and I were reflecting on how nice it was to actually get out of the house for once and that we should do it more often, when BANG our car was thrown forward and bodies thrust about like car crash dummies.
When my brain stopped rattling, I looked behind us at the small truck that had run into us, and just as I was thinking that I needed to pull into the side street, there was a police man in the windscreen gesturing for us to do so as soon as the light turned green. They had seen it all happen.
The little old man that had hit us was shaking and confused. I didn't want to say anything to him as a friend of mine had dug herself into a hole in a similar accident a few years ago. She had gotten very angry at the man who had hit her new car and then later apoligised for yelling at him. He tried to use that apology as evidence that the accident had been her fault.
The two young policemen were friendly and helpful. It's funny what goes through your head at the time, I was thinking "I'm glad they saw what happened, I'm really glad I have a Japanese drivers licence and I really hope they don't tell me off for not having my learner driver sticker on the car like my Japanese licence says I should even though I've been driving for 14 years, three of those in Japan."
After a quick call and a chat to one of the policemen, Natsuki came to our aid. Communicating with the old man was difficult and we needed his details for the insurance company. Natsuki struggled with him for about half an hour until we finally got his name, address and phone number.
Luckily, there was very little damage to the car or to us. The hatchback now can't be opened so that will require repairing. If we had the same accident in Australia, it would be considered to be 100% the other guys fault. Not so in Japan. We are considered 5% liable, simply for being there.
We still made it for a quick look at the blades at the Seki festival, but still feeling shaken (quite litterally) and rather achey, we decided to skip the Mino Lantern Festival. The next morning we rose early, donned our festival happi coats and spent a day participating in a local village harvest festival. Rain hampered our festival plans for Monday, but to be honest, by then we were ready for a rest and a bit of quiet.
Wayne and I had a full weekend planned this past weekend, though it didn't go quite as expected. Strangely enough, this time last year, we had the same weekend planned, but didn't make it to any of the festivals as Wayne was diagnosed as being "diseased in the head" and was admitted (or should I say commited) to hospital. I'm thinking of boycotting the same weekend next year.....
We started off the weekend well, did a bit of work, ran a few errands and had a really yummy pasta and pizza lunch. We then headed off to Mino city, in Gifu Prefecture that is famous for its paper. There, I stocked up on yuzen washi. The lovely town with preserved old wooden buildings was in full swing preparing for its annual lantern festival that we planned to go to that night.
We then started making our way to Seki, to meet our friend Natsuki and check out the Seki Hamono Festival, or rather the Seki Cutlery Festival. Sounds exciting doesn't it! It would be more accurate to call it the Seki Things-You-Can-Cut-Stuff-With Festival, as it is mainly swords and knives, hense Wayne was very eager to go. Sitting in the car at a red light, Wayne and I were reflecting on how nice it was to actually get out of the house for once and that we should do it more often, when BANG our car was thrown forward and bodies thrust about like car crash dummies.
When my brain stopped rattling, I looked behind us at the small truck that had run into us, and just as I was thinking that I needed to pull into the side street, there was a police man in the windscreen gesturing for us to do so as soon as the light turned green. They had seen it all happen.
The little old man that had hit us was shaking and confused. I didn't want to say anything to him as a friend of mine had dug herself into a hole in a similar accident a few years ago. She had gotten very angry at the man who had hit her new car and then later apoligised for yelling at him. He tried to use that apology as evidence that the accident had been her fault.
The two young policemen were friendly and helpful. It's funny what goes through your head at the time, I was thinking "I'm glad they saw what happened, I'm really glad I have a Japanese drivers licence and I really hope they don't tell me off for not having my learner driver sticker on the car like my Japanese licence says I should even though I've been driving for 14 years, three of those in Japan."
After a quick call and a chat to one of the policemen, Natsuki came to our aid. Communicating with the old man was difficult and we needed his details for the insurance company. Natsuki struggled with him for about half an hour until we finally got his name, address and phone number.
Luckily, there was very little damage to the car or to us. The hatchback now can't be opened so that will require repairing. If we had the same accident in Australia, it would be considered to be 100% the other guys fault. Not so in Japan. We are considered 5% liable, simply for being there.
We still made it for a quick look at the blades at the Seki festival, but still feeling shaken (quite litterally) and rather achey, we decided to skip the Mino Lantern Festival. The next morning we rose early, donned our festival happi coats and spent a day participating in a local village harvest festival. Rain hampered our festival plans for Monday, but to be honest, by then we were ready for a rest and a bit of quiet.
Friday, September 07, 2007
My Husband's Third Nipple
Well, Wayne doesn't acually have a third nipple, but I think that may be the rumor that will be going around town soon.
Wayne joined my gym the other day. He's wanted to join it for a while, but was "forbidden" to do so because he has a tattoo. It's a rather large tattoo, taking up most of his rather large chest. Tattoos are frowned upon in Japan because of their connection to yakuza. Even though it's quite doubtful that a foreigner would be yakuza, ink-work can still make many Japanese feel uncomfortable. For this reason, Wayne can't enter many of the wonderful Japanese hotsprings.
So for a while now, he's been attending the city gym, but the weights there are very light and he doesn't get the workout that he wants. We went to the gym last weekend to ask for special permission for him to join. I (my Japanese is much better than Wayne's so it is almost always me that asks things in Japanese) asked very nicely that if no-one ever gets to actually see his tattoo, could he join.
They hummed, and hahhed then reiterated that no-one could ever see it, then it would be ok. And I mean ever! We also had to agree that no-one would see it outside of the gym either! They justified that if he was in another public place and his tattoo was visible, another gym member might see it and get scared.
At the gym he can't use the pool or the public bath. He also has to be careful when going to the shower. So in a country where people are quite comfortable with public nudity (in certain sex segregated envirnoments that is), Wayne has to walk to the shower fully covered up with a t-shirt on top. He takes his clean t-shirt to change into in the shower cubicle which he makes more private by hanging his towel over a rail so that nothing can be seen above the door either. I'm sure people are going to start wondering and then talking about why this large, strange foreigner is so shy about his chest. "Hey, maybe he has a third nipple", is my guess to what they might think.
It's a pity in a way, because to be honest, I think it's a chest worth showing off.
Over the last week, I've discovered that there are pros and cons to having my personal trainer husband at the gym with me. The main advantage is that I work harder. The main disadvantage is that I work harder. Boy am I sore today!
Wayne joined my gym the other day. He's wanted to join it for a while, but was "forbidden" to do so because he has a tattoo. It's a rather large tattoo, taking up most of his rather large chest. Tattoos are frowned upon in Japan because of their connection to yakuza. Even though it's quite doubtful that a foreigner would be yakuza, ink-work can still make many Japanese feel uncomfortable. For this reason, Wayne can't enter many of the wonderful Japanese hotsprings.
So for a while now, he's been attending the city gym, but the weights there are very light and he doesn't get the workout that he wants. We went to the gym last weekend to ask for special permission for him to join. I (my Japanese is much better than Wayne's so it is almost always me that asks things in Japanese) asked very nicely that if no-one ever gets to actually see his tattoo, could he join.
They hummed, and hahhed then reiterated that no-one could ever see it, then it would be ok. And I mean ever! We also had to agree that no-one would see it outside of the gym either! They justified that if he was in another public place and his tattoo was visible, another gym member might see it and get scared.
At the gym he can't use the pool or the public bath. He also has to be careful when going to the shower. So in a country where people are quite comfortable with public nudity (in certain sex segregated envirnoments that is), Wayne has to walk to the shower fully covered up with a t-shirt on top. He takes his clean t-shirt to change into in the shower cubicle which he makes more private by hanging his towel over a rail so that nothing can be seen above the door either. I'm sure people are going to start wondering and then talking about why this large, strange foreigner is so shy about his chest. "Hey, maybe he has a third nipple", is my guess to what they might think.
It's a pity in a way, because to be honest, I think it's a chest worth showing off.
Over the last week, I've discovered that there are pros and cons to having my personal trainer husband at the gym with me. The main advantage is that I work harder. The main disadvantage is that I work harder. Boy am I sore today!
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
Dancing in the Street
Wow! That holiday went fast!
We had timed our return from the trip to be back in time for a festival in a friend's village. We had missed many of the summer festivals this year, but luckily caught a few at the end.
I wrote about the Obon Festival last year and one of the dances we went to. I really enjoy the atmosphere at the Bon-Odori (Obon Dances), I love the way everyone dances together, often dressed in yukata (summer kimono). It's an unabashed celebration of life and traditional culture, something you rarely see in Australia unless it involves a beer or two.
We had timed our return from the trip to be back in time for a festival in a friend's village. We had missed many of the summer festivals this year, but luckily caught a few at the end.
I wrote about the Obon Festival last year and one of the dances we went to. I really enjoy the atmosphere at the Bon-Odori (Obon Dances), I love the way everyone dances together, often dressed in yukata (summer kimono). It's an unabashed celebration of life and traditional culture, something you rarely see in Australia unless it involves a beer or two.
This summer I also went to the Nagoya Do Matsuri. This is another dance festival, but many teams compete against each other. We went to watch it on the Saturday in Sakae when the teams were dancing their way down the street. The day was stinking hot. I felt terribly sorry for the dancers out in the sun, in hot looking costumes. The energy they exuded however was really impressive.
Again, I've only got a few photos up into my Flickr account so far, but more will gradually be added.
Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.
A quick question, what do you think of the slide show style in the blog?
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