Today I went to Oi Elementary School to talk with some of the English teachers there. I wrote an essay on my thoughts on the current state of American politics, which Kojima-san translated into Japanese for me since I didn’t have enough time to do myself. They read it and then we were supposed to discuss it.
However, Japanese adults are very shy about discussing their opinions. Well, really they are shy about just about everything. So it turned into a discussion between me and Kojima-san, in Japanese, with an audience.
It was fun, but I had hoped for a more interactive audience. Hooray for Margaret the performing monkey.
They showed me their new English software. It is basically a DVD, sort of like the one I used to study Japanese only EXTREMELY simplified for elementary students. A lot of “Hi” “Hello” “My name is….” drill work.
But I basically got to see another Japanese elementary school. Enough to assure me that they are all sort of dark, dreary, dirty places. They seem more like prisons than schools to me. The hallways are freezing because they don’t heat the whole building, only the rooms, and the students clean so nothing actually gets cleaned. This school had an unmistakable smell of urine…not what you expect when you think of Japan huh?
Friday, February 27, 2009
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
I didn't do it again
I didn’t do it again!!!!
Back to work (>_<)
Also,at calligraphy tonight 2 things happened.
1. I mentioned that I do school visits and one of my friends, who is a teacher, asked if she could invite me to her school! Yay more fun work.
2. I talked to my friend crush about skiing today.
Back to work (>_<)
Also,at calligraphy tonight 2 things happened.
1. I mentioned that I do school visits and one of my friends, who is a teacher, asked if she could invite me to her school! Yay more fun work.
2. I talked to my friend crush about skiing today.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
I did it again!
My second official sick day. I didn’t feel well in the morning so I took my first non pre-meditated sick day.
Monday, February 23, 2009
I did it!
My first official sick day. Yesterday I decided I was feeling overwhelmed, was getting sick, and had worked all day Friday and all day Saturday and just needed a free day to relax so I took a sick day. I have a cold so it isn’t inappropriate.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Taiko
Today we went to a taiko performance in downtown Kyoto. It was pretty amazing to watch a bunch of other people play. Some of them were very similar to our group members. It was even cooler because they played a few songs we knew so we could pretend to play along in the audience.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
World Festa
The next morning (after Nara) Matt came in from Kyotango and Laurel joined us at Mister Donuts before we hopped on the bus to go to the International Center for the Warudo Fesuta (World Festa). This is an event designed to bring together a large group of foreigners from different countries to introduce traditional foods from their country. This year it was Foods You Eat in February.
Do you see my dilemma?
1. What is “American food”?
2. What is American food that we eat especially in February?
The whole separating food by season thing is a Japanese way of thinking. We just don’t do it, nor do we need to. America just imports the things it doesn’t have so we have most of our foods year round. It isn’t like Japan where cherries just stop showing up in stores at a certain time or you freeze in your apartment so you eat hot nabe in February.
So I chose to do chocolate covered strawberries because of Valentines Day and because everyone else was doing a real meal and I thought a dessert might be nice.
So I packed up my nearly 170 chocolate covered strawberries and went off to the center with my faithful sidekicks (eventually the discussion of seasonal goods led to a very interesting encounter….that comes up later…read on.)
At the event I set up my strawberries, which soon began sweating so I stood over them fanning them with pieces of paper. I probably looked like an idiot. BUT, everyone kept coming up saying how good the strawberries looked.
I was told I had to give a short speech explaining how to make the strawberries and then about food mileage….Unfortunately I had asked last week if I would have to speak and my boss said no…so I had left all my prep work at home (I should know better). So I had nothing on food mileage and just sort of made a few jokes about the American bringing dessert and buying tons of chocolate alone….
It was a bit embarrassing because my supervisor had come just to hear me talk, but I appreciated the support. He even took some pictures for me. So we gave him a strawberry as he dashed off to the office.
When they finally began letting the poor people eat, my table got kind of rushed. People came back for 2nds, and 3rds, and 4ths. Kids were taking handfuls of chocolate covered strawberries. It was kind of amazing. They all kept apologizing for taking more, but said how good they were. I had enough so I didn’t mind. It was cute to watch the kids just walk up and take again while the adults sheepishly walked up and asked permission.
I think it was on the way back that I mentioned something about 季節限定 kisetsu gentei, which means seasonal limit, or seasonal goods in most circumstances. It is used to identify what foods are only sold for a certain season (for example, my favorites, the Kit Kats). Matt, who knows a lot of Japanese, asked about what I meant and when I explained he was like
“Oh! Level Up!” accompanied by a very geeky dragonball z like move. (the Japanese actually do say Level Up when they improve in certain things, taking it from video games).
This led to a long discussion eventually culminating in the creation of our own ALTs of Kameoka plus Matt from Kyotango Comic Book. Yes…a comic book of a video game.
I will hopefully soon be adding our character sketches. I doubt you will find it as funny as us, seeing as there are some inside jokes, but in case anyone is interested I will try to get some images up on the blog (^_^)
Do you see my dilemma?
1. What is “American food”?
2. What is American food that we eat especially in February?
The whole separating food by season thing is a Japanese way of thinking. We just don’t do it, nor do we need to. America just imports the things it doesn’t have so we have most of our foods year round. It isn’t like Japan where cherries just stop showing up in stores at a certain time or you freeze in your apartment so you eat hot nabe in February.
So I chose to do chocolate covered strawberries because of Valentines Day and because everyone else was doing a real meal and I thought a dessert might be nice.
So I packed up my nearly 170 chocolate covered strawberries and went off to the center with my faithful sidekicks (eventually the discussion of seasonal goods led to a very interesting encounter….that comes up later…read on.)
At the event I set up my strawberries, which soon began sweating so I stood over them fanning them with pieces of paper. I probably looked like an idiot. BUT, everyone kept coming up saying how good the strawberries looked.
I was told I had to give a short speech explaining how to make the strawberries and then about food mileage….Unfortunately I had asked last week if I would have to speak and my boss said no…so I had left all my prep work at home (I should know better). So I had nothing on food mileage and just sort of made a few jokes about the American bringing dessert and buying tons of chocolate alone….
It was a bit embarrassing because my supervisor had come just to hear me talk, but I appreciated the support. He even took some pictures for me. So we gave him a strawberry as he dashed off to the office.
When they finally began letting the poor people eat, my table got kind of rushed. People came back for 2nds, and 3rds, and 4ths. Kids were taking handfuls of chocolate covered strawberries. It was kind of amazing. They all kept apologizing for taking more, but said how good they were. I had enough so I didn’t mind. It was cute to watch the kids just walk up and take again while the adults sheepishly walked up and asked permission.
I think it was on the way back that I mentioned something about 季節限定 kisetsu gentei, which means seasonal limit, or seasonal goods in most circumstances. It is used to identify what foods are only sold for a certain season (for example, my favorites, the Kit Kats). Matt, who knows a lot of Japanese, asked about what I meant and when I explained he was like
“Oh! Level Up!” accompanied by a very geeky dragonball z like move. (the Japanese actually do say Level Up when they improve in certain things, taking it from video games).
This led to a long discussion eventually culminating in the creation of our own ALTs of Kameoka plus Matt from Kyotango Comic Book. Yes…a comic book of a video game.
I will hopefully soon be adding our character sketches. I doubt you will find it as funny as us, seeing as there are some inside jokes, but in case anyone is interested I will try to get some images up on the blog (^_^)
Friday, February 20, 2009
Friday Afternoon at the Temple of the Giant Buddha
Today, instead of my normal half day, I met my supervisor, Kagawa-san at the station at 10 and we went to Nara for the Mid-Year CIR Opinion Exchange Conference. I tend to dread these things for at least 2 weeks before I have to go and then find that I wasted all my time worrying and actually learn something from them… (sounds like my M.O. right?). This training session was no different. I dreaded it and dreaded it, but then actually enjoyed it.
You see, I lack one distinct quality that most other CIRs have in spades….confidence in my Japanese ability. When CIRs get together it is like one big giant pissing contest.
“I translated this for the Governor of Such and Such”
“Well, I had to interpret for the King of La la land”
“My supervisors don’t correct my Japanese, I correct theirs….”
You get the idea. (can you tell I enjoy hyperbole a bit?). Anyway, I usually find myself annoyed with most CIRs til I find some of the normal ones.
Back to the beginning. I met Kagawa-san at Kameoka station at about 10 am. Now, we sit next to each other every single day, but I don’t know that much about him. What with him being very very quiet and shy, and me being quiet and shy in my Japanese office (bet you can’t picture that…), we don’t actually converse that much. He’s a sweetheart but I find it difficult to start conversations sometimes at work (outside of the office I am a chatterbox), and his shyness makes him less likely to start the conversation too. However, our 2 hours traveling together made a huge difference I think. We were both able to ask each other questions and have a good time I think.
We talked about how he grew up in Kameoka and how I am visiting his old elementary school next Friday. We talked about my parents visiting soon and what I plan to do with them, and how surprised he was at how much travel I have done in Japan (this was my 3rd trip to Nara and his first….even though he has lived 2 hours away his entire life).
Since it was his first time to Nara and we were getting in a few hours early, I suggested that we go sightseeing. It turns out that our meeting site was just a few feet from Todaiji (the temple in Japan with the largest Buddha statue in the world).
We had to take the Kintetsu Line rather than JR (which I am used to) because it was cheaper and the office was paying for the trip, so I wasn’t 100% sure how to get to Todaiji from the Kintetsu station. We walked around a little til we found the right bus. He actually seemed excited about going (I dunno if I’ve mentioned it before, but I have had a little trouble determining what it is that my supervisor actually likes……)
As we were waiting, I realized I should warn him about the deer. He can be a bit skittish, or at least he always seems to be a bit nervous about animals…so I figured I should mention the deer. I felt certain he would know of them (I knew of them before I ever went to Nara but apparently not all Japanese people know that Nara is famous for the crazy deer).
So I casually look over at him and say
Me: “Are you ok with deer?”
Kagawa: “Deer meat is ok, yeah.”
Me: “No no, live deer?”
Kagawa: “Oh….why?”
Me: “Well they are all over the place at Todaiji. They come right up to you and will eat out of your hand.”
Kagawa: “Really? That’s really scary.”
Me: “No they’re really calm don’t worry. One once came up and ate a ticket out of my purse.”
Kagawa: “Watch your wallet, you don’t want them to eat that…you’d have to start all over again.”
Ha, he’ll never let me forget about my wallet again. Then he told me I should have waited to buy a new one in Korea next weekend.
Well, scared or not, I was not letting him get out the main experience of Nara: the deer. So as we walked down the path to Todaiji I pointed out the vendors selling rice crackers for the deer. Apparently that was enough. He went to buy the crackers but the hungry deer (conditioned just like Pavlovs dogs) crowded around him. He started to run away so I took the crackers from him.
That was when I got bit by a deer…on my butt.
They are pretty tame animals though and it was more a nibble than anything else. But I was covered in some deer slobber by the end of passing out all my crackers. Kagawa-san kept saying how scared he was but he was laughing too, so I think he enjoyed it.
After Todaiji we got some lunch. I was going to order curry udon but then decided spicy soup plus a cold/runny nose in front of your supervisor was not the best idea ever.
The we got a present for our colleagues who were at the office. We got, at Kagawa-sans suggestion, deer poop…chocolates meant to look like deer poop. Ha.
Then we walked up to the meeting location. Luckily a couple of CIRs I knew were there. Ian from the Kyoto office was there so we got to catch up on a few things.
During the actual training we were split into groups to discuss our opinions and issues. I was lucky because a friend of mine from Wash U was in my group. I think he and I are the only 2 CIRs from Wash U right now….but I’m not sure. He happens to live in Nara.
During the discussion one of the topics we discussed was getting NEW people to join our events, rather than always having the same people attending. We talked about using the Japanese obsession with all things CUTE and creating little characters (see Hikonyan, or even just Hello Kitty). So one of the guys in my group, a 4th year who seemed very uninterested in attending this conference, decided to draw a character for my town…Kame-Lincoln (why Lincoln, I have no idea…possibly because Lincoln is popular right now because he was just named one of the best presidents in history, or his birthday or the comparisons to Obama, or cuz this kid was crazy). Now in Japanese Kame means Turtle (which is why I often refer to Kame-oka as Turtle Hill (oka= hill).
So the mascot, if you can imagine, was a small turtle with a beard and top hat.
He drew this on our presentation paper and presented to the entire group, including my supervisor (who apparently thought it was pretty funny…either that or he was amused by just how embarrassed I got).
In the next group we discussed problems in our office. I learned that I am really quite well off compared to others. I have a lot of responsibility and am always pretty busy. I have enough projects to keep me busy even when I have no actual current assignments. Most of the CIRs I talked to said they spent most of their time studying….
The Japanese woman in our group decided to draw a Kame-Lincoln on this new page as well…Only the beard was a mustache that made it look like Kame-Hitler…which I thought was hilarious.
After it was all done we hopped on the special express and got home early, which was good because I was getting sick and also had to make over 150 chocolate covered strawberries that night. When talking about the strawberries, I mentioned that I preferred apples…and Kagawa-san asked me if we had apples in America. I kind of chuckled and said yes…yes we do have apples in America.
I actually had a pretty good time making the strawberries, though I went through almost 20 bars of Meiji Chocolate (Japan’s version of Hershey’s?) and had to go to the store halfway through to buy about 10 more (making the check out lady look at me strange and also asked if it was for my boyfriend….since it was so close to Valentines Day). While I wanted to ask her why I would buy my boyfriend like 10 bars of Hershey’s grade chocolate for Valentines Day…I instead just said it was for work and no, I would not be eating it all alone. Every flat surface of my apartment was covered in strawberries.
You see, I lack one distinct quality that most other CIRs have in spades….confidence in my Japanese ability. When CIRs get together it is like one big giant pissing contest.
“I translated this for the Governor of Such and Such”
“Well, I had to interpret for the King of La la land”
“My supervisors don’t correct my Japanese, I correct theirs….”
You get the idea. (can you tell I enjoy hyperbole a bit?). Anyway, I usually find myself annoyed with most CIRs til I find some of the normal ones.
Back to the beginning. I met Kagawa-san at Kameoka station at about 10 am. Now, we sit next to each other every single day, but I don’t know that much about him. What with him being very very quiet and shy, and me being quiet and shy in my Japanese office (bet you can’t picture that…), we don’t actually converse that much. He’s a sweetheart but I find it difficult to start conversations sometimes at work (outside of the office I am a chatterbox), and his shyness makes him less likely to start the conversation too. However, our 2 hours traveling together made a huge difference I think. We were both able to ask each other questions and have a good time I think.
We talked about how he grew up in Kameoka and how I am visiting his old elementary school next Friday. We talked about my parents visiting soon and what I plan to do with them, and how surprised he was at how much travel I have done in Japan (this was my 3rd trip to Nara and his first….even though he has lived 2 hours away his entire life).
Since it was his first time to Nara and we were getting in a few hours early, I suggested that we go sightseeing. It turns out that our meeting site was just a few feet from Todaiji (the temple in Japan with the largest Buddha statue in the world).
We had to take the Kintetsu Line rather than JR (which I am used to) because it was cheaper and the office was paying for the trip, so I wasn’t 100% sure how to get to Todaiji from the Kintetsu station. We walked around a little til we found the right bus. He actually seemed excited about going (I dunno if I’ve mentioned it before, but I have had a little trouble determining what it is that my supervisor actually likes……)
As we were waiting, I realized I should warn him about the deer. He can be a bit skittish, or at least he always seems to be a bit nervous about animals…so I figured I should mention the deer. I felt certain he would know of them (I knew of them before I ever went to Nara but apparently not all Japanese people know that Nara is famous for the crazy deer).
So I casually look over at him and say
Me: “Are you ok with deer?”
Kagawa: “Deer meat is ok, yeah.”
Me: “No no, live deer?”
Kagawa: “Oh….why?”
Me: “Well they are all over the place at Todaiji. They come right up to you and will eat out of your hand.”
Kagawa: “Really? That’s really scary.”
Me: “No they’re really calm don’t worry. One once came up and ate a ticket out of my purse.”
Kagawa: “Watch your wallet, you don’t want them to eat that…you’d have to start all over again.”
Ha, he’ll never let me forget about my wallet again. Then he told me I should have waited to buy a new one in Korea next weekend.
Well, scared or not, I was not letting him get out the main experience of Nara: the deer. So as we walked down the path to Todaiji I pointed out the vendors selling rice crackers for the deer. Apparently that was enough. He went to buy the crackers but the hungry deer (conditioned just like Pavlovs dogs) crowded around him. He started to run away so I took the crackers from him.
That was when I got bit by a deer…on my butt.
They are pretty tame animals though and it was more a nibble than anything else. But I was covered in some deer slobber by the end of passing out all my crackers. Kagawa-san kept saying how scared he was but he was laughing too, so I think he enjoyed it.
After Todaiji we got some lunch. I was going to order curry udon but then decided spicy soup plus a cold/runny nose in front of your supervisor was not the best idea ever.
The we got a present for our colleagues who were at the office. We got, at Kagawa-sans suggestion, deer poop…chocolates meant to look like deer poop. Ha.
Then we walked up to the meeting location. Luckily a couple of CIRs I knew were there. Ian from the Kyoto office was there so we got to catch up on a few things.
During the actual training we were split into groups to discuss our opinions and issues. I was lucky because a friend of mine from Wash U was in my group. I think he and I are the only 2 CIRs from Wash U right now….but I’m not sure. He happens to live in Nara.
During the discussion one of the topics we discussed was getting NEW people to join our events, rather than always having the same people attending. We talked about using the Japanese obsession with all things CUTE and creating little characters (see Hikonyan, or even just Hello Kitty). So one of the guys in my group, a 4th year who seemed very uninterested in attending this conference, decided to draw a character for my town…Kame-Lincoln (why Lincoln, I have no idea…possibly because Lincoln is popular right now because he was just named one of the best presidents in history, or his birthday or the comparisons to Obama, or cuz this kid was crazy). Now in Japanese Kame means Turtle (which is why I often refer to Kame-oka as Turtle Hill (oka= hill).
So the mascot, if you can imagine, was a small turtle with a beard and top hat.
He drew this on our presentation paper and presented to the entire group, including my supervisor (who apparently thought it was pretty funny…either that or he was amused by just how embarrassed I got).
In the next group we discussed problems in our office. I learned that I am really quite well off compared to others. I have a lot of responsibility and am always pretty busy. I have enough projects to keep me busy even when I have no actual current assignments. Most of the CIRs I talked to said they spent most of their time studying….
The Japanese woman in our group decided to draw a Kame-Lincoln on this new page as well…Only the beard was a mustache that made it look like Kame-Hitler…which I thought was hilarious.
After it was all done we hopped on the special express and got home early, which was good because I was getting sick and also had to make over 150 chocolate covered strawberries that night. When talking about the strawberries, I mentioned that I preferred apples…and Kagawa-san asked me if we had apples in America. I kind of chuckled and said yes…yes we do have apples in America.
I actually had a pretty good time making the strawberries, though I went through almost 20 bars of Meiji Chocolate (Japan’s version of Hershey’s?) and had to go to the store halfway through to buy about 10 more (making the check out lady look at me strange and also asked if it was for my boyfriend….since it was so close to Valentines Day). While I wanted to ask her why I would buy my boyfriend like 10 bars of Hershey’s grade chocolate for Valentines Day…I instead just said it was for work and no, I would not be eating it all alone. Every flat surface of my apartment was covered in strawberries.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Tommu Cruuzu Ya
Today was my presentation to the 6th graders at Shotoku Elementary School. I gave a presentation for about an hour and a half on American culture, the lifestyle of the American student, and Valentines Day to about 49 students.
These are the days I live for. Really. I love this job. \(^^)/
I spent most of last night doing my final preparations for the presentation. They wanted me to teach greetings commonly used in America, but as the kids are taking English, they all already knew how to say most of the common ones. So I decided to play a gesture game. So I made four sets of cards with different phrases on them. I had the kids separate into 4 groups and gave each a set of cards. Then I stood in front of them and did a gesture, then had them guess what it meant, based on the cards they had. Most of them did really well, and it was a really fun way to get them interacting with me.
Then I made them all a Valentines Day gift. I had used most of the conversation hearts my parents sent me, so I emptied the leftover boxes into a bowl and then made sets with saran wrap and red and pink twist ties. I also made one of those shoe boxes we used to all make for our class parties and showed them kids valentines.
The speech itself went over fairly well. Before I even started I was surrounded by a group of 12 of them, all introducing themselves and then asking me if I remembered their names...
"I'm Akiko"
"I'm Momoko"
"I'm Kirasaldkfjakldsjf" (that kid mumbled)
"I'm Nagaki"
Then they'd each yell "Do you remember me??" "My name my name?"
And of course they were all moving around and darn it English names are hard enough... But I did my best and a few of their names actually stuck.
They were all super jealous of our 3 month summer vacation, but didn't think it was so great when they learned how short our other vacations are. They screamed when I told them my house has a basement, and couldn't believe that my kitchen was as big as most of their apartments.
I played something called a Maru Batsu quiz with them (True False), having them stand if it was true and stay sitting if it were false. This got them moving so they stayed interested.
They all had a lot of questions too, about English, why I study Japanese, American food, cars, etc.
I should have practiced more, because I messed up when speaking and relied on my script too much, but I think I am getting sick and am losing my voice as well. Because of my throat issues I mispronounced a few words and the kids laughed, but it was good natured and they all seemed pretty impressed with me.
Then I passed out the candy and they got really excited. As I was passing it out, one boy waved me over....
Boy: "Magaretto sensei...he thinks you look like Tom Cruise"
I laugh and turn to my colleague (who has also said this to me) and tell her
"Did you hear that Kojima-san, he thinks I look like Tom Cruise"
At which point ALL the students look at me and....
"Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah" "Tommu Cruuzu ya!" "kyaaaaaaaaaa" chatter chatter chatter....
to which I laugh and just say
"But Tom Cruise is a boy.....(*´ο`*)=3"
I guess I can't escape it. And it probably didn't help that with my throat sore and scratchy I sounded a bit mannish....
Then we went to have lunch. In Japan the students have 1 classroom and don't move. The teachers move around instead. They also eat lunch in their classrooms and they cook it themselves. Today was mini hot dogs, soup, and some vegetable mix. They drink milk. The teachers eat the same food as the kids. Today they were also toasting bread on the stove in the classroom (by stove I mean space heater).
During lunch they kept firing questions at me, and invited me to play soccer with them...but unfortunately I had only brought heels so I couldn't...Also, the kinda cute teacher was almost a professional soccer player before becoming a teacher, so I am glad I didn't go outside and make an ass out of myself.
So I stayed inside and played games with the kids who didn't go out. I looked out the window at one point and 2 kids on the playground, probably 4th or 5th graders saw me and started pointing...then they yelled to their classmates who were inside....
"Hey look! Look up at the window up there...there's a foreigner...an English speaking person.. No no Up there."
I couldn't help but laugh... it's like being a celebrity.
At the end they had me sign several sheets of paper and gave me a few presents before I walked back to the principals office for coffee and a meeting with the teachers who brought me in.
During the meeting we talked about my studies and what I do and about the cute teachers soccer skills before Kojima-san drove me back to the Center.
These are the days I live for. Really. I love this job. \(^^)/
I spent most of last night doing my final preparations for the presentation. They wanted me to teach greetings commonly used in America, but as the kids are taking English, they all already knew how to say most of the common ones. So I decided to play a gesture game. So I made four sets of cards with different phrases on them. I had the kids separate into 4 groups and gave each a set of cards. Then I stood in front of them and did a gesture, then had them guess what it meant, based on the cards they had. Most of them did really well, and it was a really fun way to get them interacting with me.
Then I made them all a Valentines Day gift. I had used most of the conversation hearts my parents sent me, so I emptied the leftover boxes into a bowl and then made sets with saran wrap and red and pink twist ties. I also made one of those shoe boxes we used to all make for our class parties and showed them kids valentines.
The speech itself went over fairly well. Before I even started I was surrounded by a group of 12 of them, all introducing themselves and then asking me if I remembered their names...
"I'm Akiko"
"I'm Momoko"
"I'm Kirasaldkfjakldsjf" (that kid mumbled)
"I'm Nagaki"
Then they'd each yell "Do you remember me??" "My name my name?"
And of course they were all moving around and darn it English names are hard enough... But I did my best and a few of their names actually stuck.
They were all super jealous of our 3 month summer vacation, but didn't think it was so great when they learned how short our other vacations are. They screamed when I told them my house has a basement, and couldn't believe that my kitchen was as big as most of their apartments.
I played something called a Maru Batsu quiz with them (True False), having them stand if it was true and stay sitting if it were false. This got them moving so they stayed interested.
They all had a lot of questions too, about English, why I study Japanese, American food, cars, etc.
I should have practiced more, because I messed up when speaking and relied on my script too much, but I think I am getting sick and am losing my voice as well. Because of my throat issues I mispronounced a few words and the kids laughed, but it was good natured and they all seemed pretty impressed with me.
Then I passed out the candy and they got really excited. As I was passing it out, one boy waved me over....
Boy: "Magaretto sensei...he thinks you look like Tom Cruise
I laugh and turn to my colleague (who has also said this to me) and tell her
"Did you hear that Kojima-san, he thinks I look like Tom Cruise"
At which point ALL the students look at me and....
"Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah" "Tommu Cruuzu ya!" "kyaaaaaaaaaa" chatter chatter chatter....
 |  |
to which I laugh and just say
"But Tom Cruise is a boy.....(*´ο`*)=3"
I guess I can't escape it. And it probably didn't help that with my throat sore and scratchy I sounded a bit mannish....
Then we went to have lunch. In Japan the students have 1 classroom and don't move. The teachers move around instead. They also eat lunch in their classrooms and they cook it themselves. Today was mini hot dogs, soup, and some vegetable mix. They drink milk. The teachers eat the same food as the kids. Today they were also toasting bread on the stove in the classroom (by stove I mean space heater).
During lunch they kept firing questions at me, and invited me to play soccer with them...but unfortunately I had only brought heels so I couldn't...Also, the kinda cute teacher was almost a professional soccer player before becoming a teacher, so I am glad I didn't go outside and make an ass out of myself.
So I stayed inside and played games with the kids who didn't go out. I looked out the window at one point and 2 kids on the playground, probably 4th or 5th graders saw me and started pointing...then they yelled to their classmates who were inside....
"Hey look! Look up at the window up there...there's a foreigner...an English speaking person.. No no Up there."
I couldn't help but laugh... it's like being a celebrity.
At the end they had me sign several sheets of paper and gave me a few presents before I walked back to the principals office for coffee and a meeting with the teachers who brought me in.
During the meeting we talked about my studies and what I do and about the cute teachers soccer skills before Kojima-san drove me back to the Center.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Girl Scouts of Japan
I love days like today. Days where all the work you have put in comes together and the event you have been planning works out just about as perfectly as you could have hoped.
Days where all the stress seems worthwhile because you feel like you are making an impact on people.
Today I gave the first of the 3 speeches I am scheduled to give in February.
Now, just about everyone knows that I overdo it when it comes to planning events. While it means I put a lot of extra stress on myself I am generally able to plan for any possible problems and my events usually go pretty well. Giving speeches in a foreign language is not easy. Usually you end up talking about things you don't know the vocabulary for and it is more difficult to memorize or ad lib.
I used to over prepare for giving speeches in English (anyone remember the College Connections insanity?), and I do about the same for speeches in Japanese. I have been preparing my powerpoint and writing the speech for about 2 weeks now for this presentation. They basically asked me to give a speech for about an hour about American Girl Scouts and my experiences.
Today I spoke in front of a group of about 50 Japanese Girl Scouts from ages 7 to 18. They were so adorable. They all have the same little blue uniforms and were just really energetic. Most of my days are spent at the office where I don't do much more than translate or layout newsletters or write speeches (which I enjoy, but sometimes it gets old), so being around youth in Japan is a nice change.
I put in a TON of extra work for this presentation. I don't want to be boring and I really want people to take something away from what I present. So I had my Mom send me my sisters old Girl Scout vest (hers was WAY more impressive than mine), an old badge book, my pictures from my Wider Opportunity trips, etc. I even made a scrapbook out of the pictures.
I also made a powerpoint even though I wouldn't have a screen, but so they could see pictures. I printed out color copies (much to the annoyance of my supervisor), and made each of them a SWAP.
SWAP is a Girl Scout tradition. When we go on trips or meet new Girl Scouts we give them a little craft we made that has a pin. I usually did something about Missouri (like little bottles of water from the Missouri River), etc. but this time I made them all an American flag pin with red, white, and blue beads and safety pins. So 11 pins per SWAP and 50 girls.......about 500 pins. I emptied 3 stores of their safety pins. And then the beads. It took hours. Then I wrote little tags, in both English and Japanese so they knew who it was from and when they got it....more hours.
But the looks on their faces when I handed them out made it worth it.
Also, I set up a craft so they could make their own SWAP. It was Thinking Day, which is a day where people think about other countries and their cultures. But I told them that it is also important to think about your own culture so you can teach others. So I made little postcards, complete with stickers for stamps and boxes for the zip code, and asked them to decorate the front with things they thought represented Japan.
I brought all the supplies (which cost me about $50).
All worth it to see them thinking about how they would describe their culture. Some of them were extremely talented.
They asked some great questions too. I got to talk about Japanese men (they go to beauty salons, wear pink and purple, and are really shy around girls), and Japanese food, and my time as a Girl Scout.
I also got to meet some of the leaders, one of whom had phenomenal English, and was invited to some of their future events. It was an interesting exchange for me too. I learned that Japanese Girl Scouts begin their meetings by singing the promise instead of just reciting it, and they have cute little hand gestures before saying "itadakimasu" when eating. (sort of like "here is the church, here is the steeple" but for "praying" before a meal).
At the end of the day the Girl Scouts had to write a short report on their experiences, and the leaders let me read some. It is a great feeling to read that your presentation made people want to learn more about America or even visit America, as well as about other countries. Of course they could just be BSing the assignment, but I would like to think I had some influence.
In the end I even got my money back because they payed me about $50 to speak.
Afterward, the woman in charge called my supervisor at the Kameoka Exchange Center to tell her how much the girls enjoyed the program and how much they appreciated all the work I put in. And that is all I need to know that over-doing it is worth it. The result makes it worth it. I get a lot of value out of knowing that my presentations are enjoyed.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Barentain??
Ah, Valentines Day. The day when men and women spend money to prove their love for each other....
or in Japan, the day when women by chocolate for just about every man they know.
In Japan, Valentines Day is a holiday where women give chocolate to men and usually don't receive anything. There are two kinds of chocolate: giri choco and honmei choco... ie. Chocolate I give because I have to and Chocolate I give because I love you. You can tell the difference by the packaging, supposedly, as honmei choco is far more ornately wrapped.
I was terrified of handing out my chocolate to my coworkers and accidently telling them I love them....
So on the Monday after Valentines Day I gave everyone homemade chocolate covered strawberries. It went over really well and I didn't have to worry about professing a non-existent love to one of my co-workers. (^_^)
Now, on March 14, the Japanese have White Day, which is when the men reciprocate and buy the women chocolate...we'll see how that goes.
Now, this was the first Valentine's Day I have spent alone since I was about 15...and I expected to feel a bit sad or lonely or whatever, but I didn't. Maybe it is just being in Japan and not being surrounded by big red heart balloons and love songs and also the fact that I have like 2 male friends that I see on a regular basis, but it just seemed like any other day.
Plus I did spend the day with Laurel...I had a speech the next day so we spent the morning at Mister Donuts drinking coffee (seriously, unlimited free refills of coffee is a TERRIBLE idea...couldn't stop shaking). Then we went to McDonalds for dinner, very romantic. It was so American.
Now, as we walked into McDonalds, I got my first official proposition from a Japanese guy....
He was a young teenager standing outside McDonalds wearing one of those hockey masks from the Friday the 13th movies...and he shouted at me...
"Watsu Appu" (what's up)
"Barentain???" (I believe this meant that he wanted me and Laurel to be his Valentine...)
I felt very special. I guess that is how Japanese guys get girls...yelling at them and covering their faces. (⌒▽⌒)ノ＿彡☆バンバン！
or in Japan, the day when women by chocolate for just about every man they know.
In Japan, Valentines Day is a holiday where women give chocolate to men and usually don't receive anything. There are two kinds of chocolate: giri choco and honmei choco... ie. Chocolate I give because I have to and Chocolate I give because I love you. You can tell the difference by the packaging, supposedly, as honmei choco is far more ornately wrapped.
I was terrified of handing out my chocolate to my coworkers and accidently telling them I love them....
So on the Monday after Valentines Day I gave everyone homemade chocolate covered strawberries. It went over really well and I didn't have to worry about professing a non-existent love to one of my co-workers. (^_^)
Now, on March 14, the Japanese have White Day, which is when the men reciprocate and buy the women chocolate...we'll see how that goes.
Now, this was the first Valentine's Day I have spent alone since I was about 15...and I expected to feel a bit sad or lonely or whatever, but I didn't. Maybe it is just being in Japan and not being surrounded by big red heart balloons and love songs and also the fact that I have like 2 male friends that I see on a regular basis, but it just seemed like any other day.
Plus I did spend the day with Laurel...I had a speech the next day so we spent the morning at Mister Donuts drinking coffee (seriously, unlimited free refills of coffee is a TERRIBLE idea...couldn't stop shaking). Then we went to McDonalds for dinner, very romantic. It was so American.
Now, as we walked into McDonalds, I got my first official proposition from a Japanese guy....
He was a young teenager standing outside McDonalds wearing one of those hockey masks from the Friday the 13th movies...and he shouted at me...
"Watsu Appu" (what's up)
"Barentain???"
I felt very special. I guess that is how Japanese guys get girls...yelling at them and covering their faces. (⌒▽⌒)ノ＿彡☆バンバン！
Friday, February 13, 2009
Fail! ―(T_T)→ サクッ
So, today, I failed.
I failed EVERYTHING.
Thank God it was a half day or else I would have cried in the bathroom at work... or faked sick and left.
Today I woke up to a phone call from my supervisor...Yep Margaret slept through her 3 alarms and woke up at 8:40, 20 minutes after I should be at work. Also, it was my day to lead the morning meeting, so my failure meant that someone had to do my job.
If you know me at all you know that one thing that makes me the most uncomfortable is being late. I take time very seriously.
So after apologizing profusely to my supervisor and telling him I couldn't take the day off because I had to prepare for my presentation the following week, I jumped up and tried to get ready, but couldn't keep from crying from frustration.
When you are startled awake by a phone call it is hard enough to think clearly, let alone think clearly in a foreign language...so I struggled to explain that I wasn't sick, just tired.
I show up at the office, having skipped breakfast and dashed out the door the moment I got my clothes on (cold clothes since I had no time to warm them under the kotatsu...), and my boss (Ito-kacho) bursts into a huge smile when he sees my "oh so humiliated face" walk in the door. I bow low several times and apologize and then ask who did the morning meeting for me, and then repeat.
Then, I have to get color copies for my Girl Scout presentation on Sunday. I figure my supervisor could tell me what company I should go to...instead he takes me to the mayor's office to get color compies, the whole time muttering about how I should have had the Girl Scouts do this for me (technically this was private work, which I didn't quite realize, so using office supplies is a no-no). Failure #2
Then, I passed out my completed newsletter. However, it takes me a long time to read all the kanji names and put them in the right mailboxes, so surrounding people saw me and jumped in to help. Failure #3.
Finally 11:30 came around and I got to go home.
I worked on my presentation, finishing the gifts I was giving out (See post on Girl Scouts Presentation), before heading back into work at 6pm for the lecture series.
This is where my day got a bit better. The lecture hall was sort of full so I sat in the front row (eek, intimidating even in America).
The presentation itself was fairly difficult. It was about equal rights in the workplace, etc. The speaker had us line up in order of our birthdays, without speaking. It was here that I learned how different gestures can be. I tried to tell them my birthday was November 24, and I somehow ended up as December something. But, this did put me close to my friend crush….
I have this friend crush in my office. He is this adorable, younger guy who just seems like he’d be nice, but I am too nervous to strike up a conversation, and rarely have the time seeing as he is in a different department. So we ended up in the same group for the next activity.
We went to grab our things then group up, and since I knew him I tried to stay near him so I didn’t lose the group (not to sound insensitive, but sometimes people do look a LOT alike here, especially with uniforms). So I went and stood next to him… our conversation went something like this…
Me: You’re group 13 right?
Him: Right
Me: Ok Good.
Him: Do you know where everyone went?
Me: No, but I have a very memorable face, so let’s just stand here and let them come to us (笑)
Him: laughs (⌒▽⌒)ノ＿彡☆バンバン！
He he, I made a joke in Japanese. You see it’s funny because I was the only foreigner there…and people were staring
So we ended up in the same group and I got to learn a few things about him. He is in a band, and plays the guitar and bass guitar. In the group we played a game where we had to talk to our neighbors and then introduce them to the group (woo hoo, public speak in a foreign language…eek, I signed up for this expecting a lecture, not group ice breakers). Don’t ask me what that had to do with human rights…I got lost.
Everyone seemed quite impressed that I was there…yay.
Then it was home for some Arrested Development and Love Shuffle with the foreigners.
So I survived...
I failed EVERYTHING.
Thank God it was a half day or else I would have cried in the bathroom at work... or faked sick and left.
Today I woke up to a phone call from my supervisor...Yep Margaret slept through her 3 alarms and woke up at 8:40, 20 minutes after I should be at work. Also, it was my day to lead the morning meeting, so my failure meant that someone had to do my job.
If you know me at all you know that one thing that makes me the most uncomfortable is being late. I take time very seriously.
So after apologizing profusely to my supervisor and telling him I couldn't take the day off because I had to prepare for my presentation the following week, I jumped up and tried to get ready, but couldn't keep from crying from frustration.
When you are startled awake by a phone call it is hard enough to think clearly, let alone think clearly in a foreign language...so I struggled to explain that I wasn't sick, just tired.
I show up at the office, having skipped breakfast and dashed out the door the moment I got my clothes on (cold clothes since I had no time to warm them under the kotatsu...), and my boss (Ito-kacho) bursts into a huge smile when he sees my "oh so humiliated face" walk in the door. I bow low several times and apologize and then ask who did the morning meeting for me, and then repeat.
Then, I have to get color copies for my Girl Scout presentation on Sunday. I figure my supervisor could tell me what company I should go to...instead he takes me to the mayor's office to get color compies, the whole time muttering about how I should have had the Girl Scouts do this for me (technically this was private work, which I didn't quite realize, so using office supplies is a no-no). Failure #2
Then, I passed out my completed newsletter. However, it takes me a long time to read all the kanji names and put them in the right mailboxes, so surrounding people saw me and jumped in to help. Failure #3.
Finally 11:30 came around and I got to go home.
I worked on my presentation, finishing the gifts I was giving out (See post on Girl Scouts Presentation), before heading back into work at 6pm for the lecture series.
This is where my day got a bit better. The lecture hall was sort of full so I sat in the front row (eek, intimidating even in America).
The presentation itself was fairly difficult. It was about equal rights in the workplace, etc. The speaker had us line up in order of our birthdays, without speaking. It was here that I learned how different gestures can be. I tried to tell them my birthday was November 24, and I somehow ended up as December something. But, this did put me close to my friend crush….
I have this friend crush in my office. He is this adorable, younger guy who just seems like he’d be nice, but I am too nervous to strike up a conversation, and rarely have the time seeing as he is in a different department. So we ended up in the same group for the next activity.
We went to grab our things then group up, and since I knew him I tried to stay near him so I didn’t lose the group (not to sound insensitive, but sometimes people do look a LOT alike here, especially with uniforms). So I went and stood next to him… our conversation went something like this…
Me: You’re group 13 right?
Him: Right
Me: Ok Good.
Him: Do you know where everyone went?
Me: No, but I have a very memorable face, so let’s just stand here and let them come to us (笑)
Him: laughs (⌒▽⌒)ノ＿彡☆バンバン！
He he, I made a joke in Japanese. You see it’s funny because I was the only foreigner there…and people were staring
So we ended up in the same group and I got to learn a few things about him. He is in a band, and plays the guitar and bass guitar. In the group we played a game where we had to talk to our neighbors and then introduce them to the group (woo hoo, public speak in a foreign language…eek, I signed up for this expecting a lecture, not group ice breakers). Don’t ask me what that had to do with human rights…I got lost.
Everyone seemed quite impressed that I was there…yay.
Then it was home for some Arrested Development and Love Shuffle with the foreigners.
So I survived...
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Friend Crush
Us Kameoka JETs have come up with a new term...it's called the friend crush. This is a Japanese guy who we want to be friends with. We tend to have trouble meeting Japanese people our age so when we come across one we want to become friends with, he is our friend crush...there is no romantic interest (though most of them believe I will end up marrying a Japanese guy.....)
So at calligraphy class today I had my first real conversation with my friend crush. He is this cute guy who is just kinda quiet and is really good at calligraphy. He was sitting next to me and I was trying to come up with a way to talk to him when he talked to me first!
Though only to tell me I was doing something wrong ＿|￣|○
But it ended up being a short conversation. Then I was talking to sensei about Japan etc. and about how nothing is better than nabe and kotatsu and my friend crush totally laughed and smiled
ヘ(^_^ヘ)(ノ^_^)ノ
Seriously though, getting a Japanese person to come out of their shell and interact with you is not always easy...some of them tend to be extremely shy. So hooray for a step in the right direction.
So at calligraphy class today I had my first real conversation with my friend crush. He is this cute guy who is just kinda quiet and is really good at calligraphy. He was sitting next to me and I was trying to come up with a way to talk to him when he talked to me first!
Though only to tell me I was doing something wrong ＿|￣|○
But it ended up being a short conversation. Then I was talking to sensei about Japan etc. and about how nothing is better than nabe and kotatsu and my friend crush totally laughed and smiled
ヘ(^_^ヘ)(ノ^_^)ノ
Seriously though, getting a Japanese person to come out of their shell and interact with you is not always easy...some of them tend to be extremely shy. So hooray for a step in the right direction.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Another year
Today I re-contracted.
I signed the papers, had my interview, and was officially rehired for 2009-2010 (^_^)
I can't say I was actually nervous, since I have heard that it is very rare for a JET to be refused (though apparently it happened last year to one of the Kameokans...), but you know me, I worry about things like this. I never think that people think I am doing a good job.
I have known since my first day that I would be re-contracting. For me the scary part about coming to Japan was the unknown. Once I arrived in Tokyo I knew I would be here for at least two years.
Now that I have been here for 6 months and seen just how much my Japanese has improved in a short time, I am fairly certain I will be here for 3....
Which means I will be here til I am 25 ヘ（。□°）ヘ
Hooray for being a クリスマスケーキ (Christmas Cake)*...
But I am actually really excited about this decision. I think I am going to get a lot out of this experience and it will help me experience more possible career avenues for the future. (ugh, I really am becoming Japanese...double use of experience...let's enjoying!)
*It has been requested that I explain this term. A Christmas Cake is a Japanese term for an unmarried woman 25 years or older....You wouldn't buy Christmas Cake after Christmas would you (ie. the 25th)?
I signed the papers, had my interview, and was officially rehired for 2009-2010 (^_^)
I can't say I was actually nervous, since I have heard that it is very rare for a JET to be refused (though apparently it happened last year to one of the Kameokans...), but you know me, I worry about things like this. I never think that people think I am doing a good job.
I have known since my first day that I would be re-contracting. For me the scary part about coming to Japan was the unknown. Once I arrived in Tokyo I knew I would be here for at least two years.
Now that I have been here for 6 months and seen just how much my Japanese has improved in a short time, I am fairly certain I will be here for 3....
Which means I will be here til I am 25 ヘ（。□°）ヘ
Hooray for being a クリスマスケーキ (Christmas Cake)*...
But I am actually really excited about this decision. I think I am going to get a lot out of this experience and it will help me experience more possible career avenues for the future. (ugh, I really am becoming Japanese...double use of experience...let's enjoying!)
*It has been requested that I explain this term. A Christmas Cake is a Japanese term for an unmarried woman 25 years or older....You wouldn't buy Christmas Cake after Christmas would you (ie. the 25th)?
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Journey to the land of ice and snow
When my wallet got stolen in Europe, it made it impossible for me to send my deposit to the people in charge of the trip I was planning to take to the Snow Festival in Sapporo, Hokkaido. I was really disappointed because the Snow Festival is one of the things I have always wanted to experience in Japan, but without my bank card I couldn't send the money.
A few days after realizing I would have to cancel the trip, my friend Sean called me with some news…he had found a tour package to Sapporo for the week before the Snow Festival for about $300 round trip, including 2 nights in a hotel. The trip I was planning to take would have been about $800... so I signed up.
This weekend I left the main island of Japan for the first time. Up til now, all travel I have done within the country has been on Honshu. We flew out of Kansai International Airport on Friday afternoon.
Immediately I was surprised because taking a domestic flight in Japan is like taking a train…EASY.
When going through security….
-you don't have to take off your shoes
-you don't even have to take off your coat
-liquids can be carried on; no plastic baggies and small bottles
-you don't have to show your I.D.
-you only have to take out your laptop (ie. No unpacking and re-packing)
Can you imagine? I barely remember what travel was like before it became such a hassle. Taking a domestic flight in Japan is like traveling back in time. It took us less than 10 minutes to get our tickets and get through security….
The flight was short, only about 2 hours, and then we were in Sapporo.
Sapporo is COLD. It is around the same latitude as Berlin I think, and Berlin is COLD. So we went off in search of our hotel…2 nights and a round trip flight for $300…I must have been staying in a hell hole right? WRONG!
After getting lost a few times (ie. Walking too far and having to turn around), we made it to our hotel. It was really really nice. Huge lobby, really clean, comfortable beds…awesome…the type of place I stay when my parents are paying the bill (^_-) but I can afford.
Liz and Phil were really tired (Phil had the flu (T_T)) so Sean and I went off in search of a ramen restaurant alone. It was a cute little ramen shop around the corner from our hotel. Nothing overly special, but the little Mom and Pop shops are always the best.
Hokkaido is famous for lots of different kinds of food; ramen, crab, sea urchin, caramels, milk, cheese….etc (in case you didn't know, the Japanese are obsessed with food. I sat in on this lecture about tourism in Kameoka and they said that over 50% of people travel in order to try the food that is special to a certain location).
The next morning we started fairly early and hopped on the train to go to the Asahiyama Zoo…a zoo? I went to Hokkaido to go to a zoo? A zoo 2 hours away from where I was staying?
Yep. It is the most famous zoo in Japan. Most zoos are really sad in Japan. They are dark, and small, and the animals look miserable. But at Asahiyama, all the animals were really active. The polar bears were fighting and playing; the red pandas were running all over their little obstacle course; the seals were swimming through tunnels; the lions, tigers, panthers, leopards, etc were all running around their cages. Every animal was so much more active than I have ever seen them at any zoo. There was even a penguin march where the zoo keeps herded the penguins around the pathways. It was adorable. All in all, totally worth it.
One of my favorite things about traveling in Japan is that riding on trains offers you the opportunity to really see the country. Our 2 hour train ride out to the zoo gave me an amazing view of the mountains in Hokkaido and the trip back was accompanied by a beautiful sunset into the mountains.
Hokkaido in winter, as I have said, is COLD. The streets were all covered with layers of ice a couple of inches thick…everywhere. After getting off the bus from the zoo I totally slipped and fell right on my butt in the middle of the sidewalk. Thankfully I didn't get hurt (wait, I have made it through a trip without getting sick, getting anything stolen, getting hurt, or getting scabies!!!!! Can I keep it up? Let's find out….)
After ensuring that I did not have a concussion, we headed back into the Sapporo area and went to this little town known for it's canal (large creek? small river? I dunno the best word for it…). It was really cold by this point. Snow was piled up higher than my head on the edge of the sidewalk, and people had made their own snow sculptures. This is when we discovered the sand bottles. There were these little stands on each street corner, like the ones that sell newspapers in the States, filled with bottles of sand. You can take a bottle and use the sand to keep yourself from slipping on the ice and then you just return the empty bottle to one of the other stands. Yep, the Japanese are brilliant…in such simple ways.
While walking around that area I realized how close we were to the ocean, when I walked right by it.....It was dark, which always makes the ocean scarier, but it made me excited for when it gets warmer and I can go visit Matt out by the beach.
After that, we decided to go get dinner…where else but the Sapporo Brewery? The brewery is a pretty big tourist attraction with a huge dining hall. We got lamb yakiniku (meat you grill yourself at the table). And we had a couple of special beers they don't sell outside the brewery. We wanted to spend a lot more time there, but they were closing so we had to sort of rush through dinner and head back. Sean and I decided to walk back to the hotel to get a tour of the city.
Sapporo is a really beautiful city at night. We got some great pictures of us goofing around as we made our way through the city. We found the street that will be hosting the Snow Festival next week and they were just beginning the building of some of the ice/snow sculptures. The snow sculptures are HUGE, and the main ones are generally created by the Japanese Self Defense force.
The next morning Sean and I set off to find the snow sculptures. Luckily we found the main part of the street sectioned off for the exhibit. There was a huge one of the Japanese Olympic Gold Medal winners, including the one of Kitajima surging out of the water with his arms stretched out (man I was SO tired of seeing that back in August) and also simpler ones of Snoopy or Pon de Lion (the mascot of Mr. Donuts).
While walking down the street we saw this older lady slip on the ice. Her granddaughter caught her but the woman couldn't get up so we ran over to help. It made me wonder how many hip replacements are done in Hokkaido a year....it must be a higher percentage than other, less icy places.
It started to snow pretty hard around this point so we walked back up toward the TV tower and went inside for a bit before heading to Nijo market. Nijo market is a fish market where we decided to get lunch, fresh crab...mmmmmm. Seriously, living in Missouri, I never really got a taste for seafood, but fresh crab is amazing. I also even got up the guts to try sea urchin...this brownish yellow gunky lookin stuff. It was kind of briny tasting but not too bad when mixed with rice.
After that we braved the snow storm, which had now become much stronger. We cut through a shopping center, and a group of Hokkaido-ans laughed at how cold I looked and offered me a taste of the drink they were selling, hot milk and something (I didn't quite catch what it was....but it sounded like they said something about corn....). It was sweet tasting and really warm, which was great in the cold, so we stood around chatting with the locals while warming up.
Then we made our way to Sapporo station so we could catch the bus to head back to the brewery. We decided we wanted to take the tour. We didn't have much time because we had to get out to the airport to catch our flight, so we rushed through the museum to get to the tasting section. They were offering their chocolate beer, which sounds disgusting, but it really was just like a softer version of Guinness, so I loved it (though Guinness is better, but at about $9 a glass I don't get it much out here)
（￣へ￣）
Then we took some random pictures in the igloo out front and the barrel shaped telephone booth before I went to the gift shop...where I found Hokkaido milk Kit Kats (I believe I have gone over my obsession with flavored Kit Kats...I think I have about 9 of the sweet potato flavored ones in my office to take to lunch, but they are limited time so I have to get them while I can....ok, I'm pathetic, I know...)
We were running late so we RAN to catch the bus and then took an unintended tour of Sapporo since we grabbed the bus with the slower, longer route....
Luckily we made it on time and got to the airport without any issues. We did our final shopping, where I was finally able to pick up some chocolate covered potato chips (yep, a Japanese invention, no matter how American it sounds) and a couple other famous items of Hokkaido, including melt in your mouth caramels that reminded me of the Werther's Originals my grandfather used to keep in the candy drawer.
After that it was back to Kameoka.
A few days after realizing I would have to cancel the trip, my friend Sean called me with some news…he had found a tour package to Sapporo for the week before the Snow Festival for about $300 round trip, including 2 nights in a hotel. The trip I was planning to take would have been about $800... so I signed up.
This weekend I left the main island of Japan for the first time. Up til now, all travel I have done within the country has been on Honshu. We flew out of Kansai International Airport on Friday afternoon.
Immediately I was surprised because taking a domestic flight in Japan is like taking a train…EASY.
When going through security….
-you don't have to take off your shoes
-you don't even have to take off your coat
-liquids can be carried on; no plastic baggies and small bottles
-you don't have to show your I.D.
-you only have to take out your laptop (ie. No unpacking and re-packing)
Can you imagine? I barely remember what travel was like before it became such a hassle. Taking a domestic flight in Japan is like traveling back in time. It took us less than 10 minutes to get our tickets and get through security….
The flight was short, only about 2 hours, and then we were in Sapporo.
Sapporo is COLD. It is around the same latitude as Berlin I think, and Berlin is COLD. So we went off in search of our hotel…2 nights and a round trip flight for $300…I must have been staying in a hell hole right? WRONG!
After getting lost a few times (ie. Walking too far and having to turn around), we made it to our hotel. It was really really nice. Huge lobby, really clean, comfortable beds…awesome…the type of place I stay when my parents are paying the bill (^_-) but I can afford.
Liz and Phil were really tired (Phil had the flu (T_T)) so Sean and I went off in search of a ramen restaurant alone. It was a cute little ramen shop around the corner from our hotel. Nothing overly special, but the little Mom and Pop shops are always the best.
Hokkaido is famous for lots of different kinds of food; ramen, crab, sea urchin, caramels, milk, cheese….etc (in case you didn't know, the Japanese are obsessed with food. I sat in on this lecture about tourism in Kameoka and they said that over 50% of people travel in order to try the food that is special to a certain location).
The next morning we started fairly early and hopped on the train to go to the Asahiyama Zoo…a zoo? I went to Hokkaido to go to a zoo? A zoo 2 hours away from where I was staying?
Yep. It is the most famous zoo in Japan. Most zoos are really sad in Japan. They are dark, and small, and the animals look miserable. But at Asahiyama, all the animals were really active. The polar bears were fighting and playing; the red pandas were running all over their little obstacle course; the seals were swimming through tunnels; the lions, tigers, panthers, leopards, etc were all running around their cages. Every animal was so much more active than I have ever seen them at any zoo. There was even a penguin march where the zoo keeps herded the penguins around the pathways. It was adorable. All in all, totally worth it.
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| From Hokkaido Videos |
One of my favorite things about traveling in Japan is that riding on trains offers you the opportunity to really see the country. Our 2 hour train ride out to the zoo gave me an amazing view of the mountains in Hokkaido and the trip back was accompanied by a beautiful sunset into the mountains.
Hokkaido in winter, as I have said, is COLD. The streets were all covered with layers of ice a couple of inches thick…everywhere. After getting off the bus from the zoo I totally slipped and fell right on my butt in the middle of the sidewalk. Thankfully I didn't get hurt (wait, I have made it through a trip without getting sick, getting anything stolen, getting hurt, or getting scabies!!!!! Can I keep it up? Let's find out….)
After ensuring that I did not have a concussion, we headed back into the Sapporo area and went to this little town known for it's canal (large creek? small river? I dunno the best word for it…). It was really cold by this point. Snow was piled up higher than my head on the edge of the sidewalk, and people had made their own snow sculptures. This is when we discovered the sand bottles. There were these little stands on each street corner, like the ones that sell newspapers in the States, filled with bottles of sand. You can take a bottle and use the sand to keep yourself from slipping on the ice and then you just return the empty bottle to one of the other stands. Yep, the Japanese are brilliant…in such simple ways.
While walking around that area I realized how close we were to the ocean, when I walked right by it.....It was dark, which always makes the ocean scarier, but it made me excited for when it gets warmer and I can go visit Matt out by the beach.
After that, we decided to go get dinner…where else but the Sapporo Brewery? The brewery is a pretty big tourist attraction with a huge dining hall. We got lamb yakiniku (meat you grill yourself at the table). And we had a couple of special beers they don't sell outside the brewery. We wanted to spend a lot more time there, but they were closing so we had to sort of rush through dinner and head back. Sean and I decided to walk back to the hotel to get a tour of the city.
Sapporo is a really beautiful city at night. We got some great pictures of us goofing around as we made our way through the city. We found the street that will be hosting the Snow Festival next week and they were just beginning the building of some of the ice/snow sculptures. The snow sculptures are HUGE, and the main ones are generally created by the Japanese Self Defense force.
The next morning Sean and I set off to find the snow sculptures. Luckily we found the main part of the street sectioned off for the exhibit. There was a huge one of the Japanese Olympic Gold Medal winners, including the one of Kitajima surging out of the water with his arms stretched out (man I was SO tired of seeing that back in August) and also simpler ones of Snoopy or Pon de Lion (the mascot of Mr. Donuts).
While walking down the street we saw this older lady slip on the ice. Her granddaughter caught her but the woman couldn't get up so we ran over to help. It made me wonder how many hip replacements are done in Hokkaido a year....it must be a higher percentage than other, less icy places.
It started to snow pretty hard around this point so we walked back up toward the TV tower and went inside for a bit before heading to Nijo market. Nijo market is a fish market where we decided to get lunch, fresh crab...mmmmmm. Seriously, living in Missouri, I never really got a taste for seafood, but fresh crab is amazing. I also even got up the guts to try sea urchin...this brownish yellow gunky lookin stuff. It was kind of briny tasting but not too bad when mixed with rice.
After that we braved the snow storm, which had now become much stronger. We cut through a shopping center, and a group of Hokkaido-ans laughed at how cold I looked and offered me a taste of the drink they were selling, hot milk and something (I didn't quite catch what it was....but it sounded like they said something about corn....). It was sweet tasting and really warm, which was great in the cold, so we stood around chatting with the locals while warming up.
Then we made our way to Sapporo station so we could catch the bus to head back to the brewery. We decided we wanted to take the tour. We didn't have much time because we had to get out to the airport to catch our flight, so we rushed through the museum to get to the tasting section. They were offering their chocolate beer, which sounds disgusting, but it really was just like a softer version of Guinness, so I loved it (though Guinness is better, but at about $9 a glass I don't get it much out here)
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Then we took some random pictures in the igloo out front and the barrel shaped telephone booth before I went to the gift shop...where I found Hokkaido milk Kit Kats (I believe I have gone over my obsession with flavored Kit Kats...I think I have about 9 of the sweet potato flavored ones in my office to take to lunch, but they are limited time so I have to get them while I can....ok, I'm pathetic, I know...)
We were running late so we RAN to catch the bus and then took an unintended tour of Sapporo since we grabbed the bus with the slower, longer route....
Luckily we made it on time and got to the airport without any issues. We did our final shopping, where I was finally able to pick up some chocolate covered potato chips (yep, a Japanese invention, no matter how American it sounds) and a couple other famous items of Hokkaido, including melt in your mouth caramels that reminded me of the Werther's Originals my grandfather used to keep in the candy drawer.
After that it was back to Kameoka.
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