Thursday, February 14, 2008
Two is better than one
It was a very stressful decision, but after changing my mind every 2 minutes for the last month I decided to stay in Japan for another year. So everyone who has NOT come to visit me now has a year and a half to get it together and get their butts over here. For everyone who has visited (thanks BK, Tina, and Erin), why not come a second time? :)
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Happy New Year from Thailand!
I am currently in Chiang Mai, Thailand and have spent my winter school break thus far traveling around the southwest coast of India and the last couple days in Chiang Mai. Tomorrow my friends and I will go to Bangkok to celebrate New Years, then head back to Japan.
India was amazing until the very end of our stay. We flew into Bangalore where spent the night at nice hotel in a shady looking part of town rampant with stray dogs. This part of town was supposed to be one of the better parts , which we all found somewhat disturbing.
The next morning we caught a flight to Trivandrum, which is much further south, then took a train to Alleppey. We spent a couple days there and rented a boat to take us through the backwaters of that area. This was pretty amazing. We were there during a multi-day festival as well which was pretty cool to see. Everyone we encountered was very friendly and tried to speak with us.
From Alleppey we hired a cab to take us to Munnar where there are huge tea plantations. We discovered that Tetley Tea is grown and packaged there. The cab ride was terrifying as there don't seem to be any traffic laws and people constantly pass each other at high speeds and drive into oncoming traffic. Honking seems to be required when passing someone or making a turn in any direction. The constant sound of honking only adds to the terror. We made it in one piece though and it was worth it because Munnar is one of the most beautiful places I've ever been. We spent Christmas Day and Boxing Day there, then shut out our eyes and headed to Fort Cochin with the cab. Our cab driver went his own way after that and was overjoyed to be rid of us I think.
Fort Cochin was our favorite spot in India as it was much more touristy than the other places we had visited. In the other towns we had been nearly the only tourists, but in Fort Cochin we were part of the tourist mob and street vendors, adults and children, constantly came at us like flies. We had one night there and were happy to leave.
The next day we flew to Bangalore where I had an unfortunate encounter with a veggie croissant at the airport. The rest of my trip has been ruined because I became really ill a couple hours later with food poisoning and have not yet recovered. We took 2 flights to get to Chiang Mai, Thailand, both of which were hellacious for me. My body finally recovered a bit once in Chiang Mai, but I've not been able to eat much more than toast and have been dealing with stomach aches and nausea every day. I hope to recover somewhat by tomorrow as we will fly to Bangkok to celebrate New Years. After that it's back home to Japan, which will be a huge relief.
I hope everyone is well and had a great Christmas. Happy New Year!!!! I will post pics and more about my trip once I'm back in Japan.
India was amazing until the very end of our stay. We flew into Bangalore where spent the night at nice hotel in a shady looking part of town rampant with stray dogs. This part of town was supposed to be one of the better parts , which we all found somewhat disturbing.
The next morning we caught a flight to Trivandrum, which is much further south, then took a train to Alleppey. We spent a couple days there and rented a boat to take us through the backwaters of that area. This was pretty amazing. We were there during a multi-day festival as well which was pretty cool to see. Everyone we encountered was very friendly and tried to speak with us.
From Alleppey we hired a cab to take us to Munnar where there are huge tea plantations. We discovered that Tetley Tea is grown and packaged there. The cab ride was terrifying as there don't seem to be any traffic laws and people constantly pass each other at high speeds and drive into oncoming traffic. Honking seems to be required when passing someone or making a turn in any direction. The constant sound of honking only adds to the terror. We made it in one piece though and it was worth it because Munnar is one of the most beautiful places I've ever been. We spent Christmas Day and Boxing Day there, then shut out our eyes and headed to Fort Cochin with the cab. Our cab driver went his own way after that and was overjoyed to be rid of us I think.
Fort Cochin was our favorite spot in India as it was much more touristy than the other places we had visited. In the other towns we had been nearly the only tourists, but in Fort Cochin we were part of the tourist mob and street vendors, adults and children, constantly came at us like flies. We had one night there and were happy to leave.
The next day we flew to Bangalore where I had an unfortunate encounter with a veggie croissant at the airport. The rest of my trip has been ruined because I became really ill a couple hours later with food poisoning and have not yet recovered. We took 2 flights to get to Chiang Mai, Thailand, both of which were hellacious for me. My body finally recovered a bit once in Chiang Mai, but I've not been able to eat much more than toast and have been dealing with stomach aches and nausea every day. I hope to recover somewhat by tomorrow as we will fly to Bangkok to celebrate New Years. After that it's back home to Japan, which will be a huge relief.
I hope everyone is well and had a great Christmas. Happy New Year!!!! I will post pics and more about my trip once I'm back in Japan.
Saturday, October 13, 2007
I am from the city of Corumbus in the state of Oreo
Last week the students had exams every day. That was great because I didn't have to teach and had plenty of time to plan this week's lessons and study Japanese. The exams, however, did not go so well. Most of the students did not study at all it seems. And if they had studied, English would not have been at the top of the list. There are good reasons for this though. A day in the life of one of my students would go something like this:
Go to school at 7:00 or 7:30 am to practice his/her club activity. Club activities here are generally sports, but can also be kimono club or English club. That last one is kind of a joke because only four students belong to the club, and only one ever shows up. Yet we still try and meet twice a week. Every student counts apparently.
Practice club activity until 8:15 when school begins. Classes end at 3:10, followed by a 10 minute break, then cleaning for 20 minutes. Yes, I said cleaning. At most Japanese schools the students do the cleaning. This includes sweeping, cleaning the bathrooms, and taking out the trash. One of my extra duties is to act as a "volunteer" to help the students with the trash. It is very complicated here and has to be separated into five or six different bins, which include burnables like food waste and paper; plastic bottles; cellophane and similar plastics; metals; and glass. I help make sure that burnable trash is not put into the bins for plastic, etc. Not my favorite thing, but whatever.
After cleaning go to club activity and practice until 8:30 or 9:00 pm. Students are at school for 13-14 hours during the week! Even on the weekend they generally go to school to practice their club activity or have a match.
After club activity, go home and maybe study. But what probably happens is that they eat, take a bath, and go to bed. They seem to be exhausted every day and for good reason. They are at school for so long that they generally don't have time to study and, as I said before, if they did English would not be at the top of the list. You're required to pass an English exam to get accepted to a university in Japan, but 75% of the students at my school won't go on to university. So not only is English not a priority, but it's a pain in the butt and is being forced upon them for no reason.
So, back to my test... My students are at a fairly low level of English comprehension, so I have to make my lessons and tests fairly easy. As I was grading the tests I realized that a couple of the questions were a bit too hard, so I felt kind of bad. But the other questions were not and I was very disappointed in the overall scores.
The test material included my self-introduction and greetings from around the world. One of my self-intro questions was "Kate is from the city of Columbus in the state of Ohio." The "l" in Columbus and the "hi" in Ohio were left blank. Students had to fill in the letters. These sounds, especially the "l," are very difficult for them. Still, I thought that this question wasn't too hard since most of the word had been given to them. I was wrong because quite a few students left that question blank or gave the wrong answer. The funniest answer was "Kate is from the city of Corumbus in the state of Oreo."
One of the greetings from around the world questions included a map of the world with a few countries numbered, including the US. Students had to label the US and a few of them could not do this. Instead they labeled it as Canada, South America, and even Tibet. I was baffled as to why 100% of them did not answer the question correctly. I guess that kids can be ignorant everywhere because many American students probably can't point to Japan on a map.
We'll see how the next test goes...
Go to school at 7:00 or 7:30 am to practice his/her club activity. Club activities here are generally sports, but can also be kimono club or English club. That last one is kind of a joke because only four students belong to the club, and only one ever shows up. Yet we still try and meet twice a week. Every student counts apparently.
Practice club activity until 8:15 when school begins. Classes end at 3:10, followed by a 10 minute break, then cleaning for 20 minutes. Yes, I said cleaning. At most Japanese schools the students do the cleaning. This includes sweeping, cleaning the bathrooms, and taking out the trash. One of my extra duties is to act as a "volunteer" to help the students with the trash. It is very complicated here and has to be separated into five or six different bins, which include burnables like food waste and paper; plastic bottles; cellophane and similar plastics; metals; and glass. I help make sure that burnable trash is not put into the bins for plastic, etc. Not my favorite thing, but whatever.
After cleaning go to club activity and practice until 8:30 or 9:00 pm. Students are at school for 13-14 hours during the week! Even on the weekend they generally go to school to practice their club activity or have a match.
After club activity, go home and maybe study. But what probably happens is that they eat, take a bath, and go to bed. They seem to be exhausted every day and for good reason. They are at school for so long that they generally don't have time to study and, as I said before, if they did English would not be at the top of the list. You're required to pass an English exam to get accepted to a university in Japan, but 75% of the students at my school won't go on to university. So not only is English not a priority, but it's a pain in the butt and is being forced upon them for no reason.
So, back to my test... My students are at a fairly low level of English comprehension, so I have to make my lessons and tests fairly easy. As I was grading the tests I realized that a couple of the questions were a bit too hard, so I felt kind of bad. But the other questions were not and I was very disappointed in the overall scores.
The test material included my self-introduction and greetings from around the world. One of my self-intro questions was "Kate is from the city of Columbus in the state of Ohio." The "l" in Columbus and the "hi" in Ohio were left blank. Students had to fill in the letters. These sounds, especially the "l," are very difficult for them. Still, I thought that this question wasn't too hard since most of the word had been given to them. I was wrong because quite a few students left that question blank or gave the wrong answer. The funniest answer was "Kate is from the city of Corumbus in the state of Oreo."
One of the greetings from around the world questions included a map of the world with a few countries numbered, including the US. Students had to label the US and a few of them could not do this. Instead they labeled it as Canada, South America, and even Tibet. I was baffled as to why 100% of them did not answer the question correctly. I guess that kids can be ignorant everywhere because many American students probably can't point to Japan on a map.
We'll see how the next test goes...
Sunday, October 7, 2007
Let them eat pancakes!
I had my first visitors a week ago when my sister's friends made a stop in Kanazawa. (See pic below with two guys on the left.) I had never met either of them before, but agreed to meet up with them for dinner and what turned into a fun night of karaoke. I can't believe I typed those words, but yes, I did have fun at karaoke. I won't sing by myself, but will scream along to "Say It Ain't So" and "Total Eclipse of the Heart" when prodded.
My friends and I took them to an okonomiyake restaurant for dinner. Okonomiyake are Japanese "pancakes," but are nothing like American pancakes. These are made of flour, water, shredded cabbage, ginger, egg, and the meat, seafood, vegetables, or tofu of your choice. They are so yummy and it's fun to show newcomers how to make them.
One of my friends will show you step-by-step how they're made:
First grease up the grill, then mix your ingredients thoroughly, otherwise your pancakes will taste like crap. We found this out the hard way our first time.
Then put half of your mixture on the grill with your meat, seafood, or in my case tofu, next to it. You can see an egg is also cooking next to one of the pancakes. This was a bit premature and is not recommended until after the pancake is nearly finished.
Next put your cooked meat, etc., on top of the cooking mixture, followed by the remaining mixture.
Make sure your pancake is nearly ready on both sides, then cook the egg next to it. When the egg is ready, put it on top of the pancake, then top with a soy-based brown sauce and mayonnaise. (I skip the mayo because I am not of fan, especially of the Japanese kind.)
My friends and I took them to an okonomiyake restaurant for dinner. Okonomiyake are Japanese "pancakes," but are nothing like American pancakes. These are made of flour, water, shredded cabbage, ginger, egg, and the meat, seafood, vegetables, or tofu of your choice. They are so yummy and it's fun to show newcomers how to make them.
One of my friends will show you step-by-step how they're made:
First grease up the grill, then mix your ingredients thoroughly, otherwise your pancakes will taste like crap. We found this out the hard way our first time.
Then put half of your mixture on the grill with your meat, seafood, or in my case tofu, next to it. You can see an egg is also cooking next to one of the pancakes. This was a bit premature and is not recommended until after the pancake is nearly finished.
Next put your cooked meat, etc., on top of the cooking mixture, followed by the remaining mixture.
Make sure your pancake is nearly ready on both sides, then cook the egg next to it. When the egg is ready, put it on top of the pancake, then top with a soy-based brown sauce and mayonnaise. (I skip the mayo because I am not of fan, especially of the Japanese kind.)
Thursday, October 4, 2007
I'm a believer in the problem solving powers of Starbucks
I never frequented Starbucks while at home, but have found myself there quite a bit since arriving in Japan. There seems to be one on every block in the city center (just like home) and it's become a super convenient meeting place. The workers at one particular Starbucks also seem to have the ability to solve a variety of problems—even though they barely speak English and most of my friends and I barely speak Japanese.
I went to a furniture store last weekend to buy a few things so I wouldn't feel like I was living in some guy's apartment, which I basically am since the last couple teachers in my position were men, and the apartment and the crap in it have been passed down with the job. (By crap, I do mean crap, but will get to that in another post.)
My friends and I do not have cars and are at the mercy of public transportation or our bikes. This can be a problem when purchasing large objects or just a lot of stuff, which we did at this place. One friend can speak Japanese fairly well, so she was able to arrange to have our stuff delivered. Amazingly I only had to pay $9 for that service! It was worth it, except for the hassle a couple days later when all of my stuff was delivered except for a large mirror. I was able to speak enough Japanese to communicate that the mirror was missing and understand that I had to call a number the next day to sort it out.
So I left my apartment to meet friends for dinner. We were meeting at Starbucks, of course, and I received a phone call from a man who did not speak English right before I arrived. I told him in Japanese that I did not speak Japanese and he, in turn, told me in English that he did not speak English. We weren't able to communicate anything else, but he would not hang up. I arrived at Starbucks while on the phone with him, passed the phone to my friend who does not speak Japanese either, then started asking everyone there if they spoke English. One high school student said he spoke a little, but wasn't able to help after I passed him the phone.
Finally a Starbucks employee who spoke a "little English" came over. I gave him the phone and hallelujah! he was able to translate enough to tell me that another driver had shown up at my apartment with the mirror and wanted to know when I would be home. We sorted out a time and I was able to get my mirror that night.
The moral of the story is that not being able to speak the language of the country you're living in stinks, but fear not! Starbucks may be an evil organization in some ways, but can help with much more than coffee. This is not the first time Starbucks has saved the day. And I'm sure it won't be the last.
I went to a furniture store last weekend to buy a few things so I wouldn't feel like I was living in some guy's apartment, which I basically am since the last couple teachers in my position were men, and the apartment and the crap in it have been passed down with the job. (By crap, I do mean crap, but will get to that in another post.)
My friends and I do not have cars and are at the mercy of public transportation or our bikes. This can be a problem when purchasing large objects or just a lot of stuff, which we did at this place. One friend can speak Japanese fairly well, so she was able to arrange to have our stuff delivered. Amazingly I only had to pay $9 for that service! It was worth it, except for the hassle a couple days later when all of my stuff was delivered except for a large mirror. I was able to speak enough Japanese to communicate that the mirror was missing and understand that I had to call a number the next day to sort it out.
So I left my apartment to meet friends for dinner. We were meeting at Starbucks, of course, and I received a phone call from a man who did not speak English right before I arrived. I told him in Japanese that I did not speak Japanese and he, in turn, told me in English that he did not speak English. We weren't able to communicate anything else, but he would not hang up. I arrived at Starbucks while on the phone with him, passed the phone to my friend who does not speak Japanese either, then started asking everyone there if they spoke English. One high school student said he spoke a little, but wasn't able to help after I passed him the phone.
Finally a Starbucks employee who spoke a "little English" came over. I gave him the phone and hallelujah! he was able to translate enough to tell me that another driver had shown up at my apartment with the mirror and wanted to know when I would be home. We sorted out a time and I was able to get my mirror that night.
The moral of the story is that not being able to speak the language of the country you're living in stinks, but fear not! Starbucks may be an evil organization in some ways, but can help with much more than coffee. This is not the first time Starbucks has saved the day. And I'm sure it won't be the last.
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Omiyage gallery
Omiyage are gifts given when invited to dinner or a party or, in the case of everything I've shot, food stuffs brought back for your co-workers after going on a trip. The teachers will usually bring back a box of small packaged sweets that can easily be shared amongst the others. Omiyage was overflowing my first couple weeks of school due to summer vacations and long school sports trips.
Most of what I tried was mediocre. The Japanese seem to love sweet bean desserts, but I can't say that I'm a big fan. What I didn't try involved seafood, including cookies made with "delicious clams," as my co-worker said. Cookies and seafood never occurred to me as a good combination, but I guess I have been proven wrong.
Below are some of the things I sampled (and some I didn't).
Above is banana cake that wasn't bad. It was one of the better cakey things I've had here.
Above is something that reminded me of a dry English muffin filled with sweet bean paste. It was OK, but not a favorite.
The cracker above is something I didn't try as it contained the previously mentioned delicious clam.
The leaf shaped cakes above contained sweet bean paste like the "English muffin," but the outside was more like cake and was therefore better, in my opinion.
The gelatinous bean thing above was packaged really beautifully, but wasn't a love.
The orange gelatinous ball (above right) was amazingly good. It tasted like pumpkin and was therefore great. Anything that tastes like pumpkin is good in my book. The green rectangle tasted like sweet potato and was not as good, but still enjoyable.
The best sweet I've had here by far is the ginger cookie pictured above. It beats ginger snaps and gingerbread by miles.
The cupcake above did not compare to cupcakes from home. I was slightly disappointed. And the cookie to its right was just OK as well.
The sweet rolls above were really good. They were filled with some sort of cream and packaged really nicely. (As all omiyage sweets are.)
I didn't try the cookies above, but thought they were really cute.
Last, but not least, is the mandarin flavored sweet. This was really very good. It's sitting on top of my Japanese text book, which has not been getting very much mileage since school started. Also pictured is a fan, which is a necessity in the summer.
Most of what I tried was mediocre. The Japanese seem to love sweet bean desserts, but I can't say that I'm a big fan. What I didn't try involved seafood, including cookies made with "delicious clams," as my co-worker said. Cookies and seafood never occurred to me as a good combination, but I guess I have been proven wrong.
Below are some of the things I sampled (and some I didn't).
Above is banana cake that wasn't bad. It was one of the better cakey things I've had here.
Above is something that reminded me of a dry English muffin filled with sweet bean paste. It was OK, but not a favorite.
The cracker above is something I didn't try as it contained the previously mentioned delicious clam.
The leaf shaped cakes above contained sweet bean paste like the "English muffin," but the outside was more like cake and was therefore better, in my opinion.
The gelatinous bean thing above was packaged really beautifully, but wasn't a love.
The orange gelatinous ball (above right) was amazingly good. It tasted like pumpkin and was therefore great. Anything that tastes like pumpkin is good in my book. The green rectangle tasted like sweet potato and was not as good, but still enjoyable.
The best sweet I've had here by far is the ginger cookie pictured above. It beats ginger snaps and gingerbread by miles.
The cupcake above did not compare to cupcakes from home. I was slightly disappointed. And the cookie to its right was just OK as well.
The sweet rolls above were really good. They were filled with some sort of cream and packaged really nicely. (As all omiyage sweets are.)
I didn't try the cookies above, but thought they were really cute.
Last, but not least, is the mandarin flavored sweet. This was really very good. It's sitting on top of my Japanese text book, which has not been getting very much mileage since school started. Also pictured is a fan, which is a necessity in the summer.
Veggie heaven!
I have been starved for good vegetarian food since I arrived and am tired of going to restaurants and having to explain what I can and can't eat, only to be served something with pork or shrimp. People here don't get it. Pork is not considered to be meat by some, which is ridiculous. It runs around on four legs and has to be slaughtered like other animals, doesn't it? That is my rant for today... All of my frustration was disappeared for a while yesterday after 2 bus rides, 15 minutes of walking around lost, a phone call to the restaurant for directions, then finally getting PICKED UP by one of the owners, only to realize during the very short car trip that we had walked pass the restaurant and not noticed it because it is nondescript and off the beaten path. The restaurant in question is macrobiotic, vegan and serves amazing food. And I could eat everything on the menu without fear of pork making an unwanted appearance!
I went with two friends—one a fellow veggie and the other a carnivore. Below is a pic of our meal. It consisted of miso soup, organic brown rice, soy chicken, daikon salad (daikon is a yummy Japanese radish), seaweed salad, and some other stuff I could not name. It was all delicious... But it's too bad (or maybe a good thing) that it's a pain for me to get to, because I could easily go there several times a week.
Sorry for the boring post, but I had to share the joy :)
I went with two friends—one a fellow veggie and the other a carnivore. Below is a pic of our meal. It consisted of miso soup, organic brown rice, soy chicken, daikon salad (daikon is a yummy Japanese radish), seaweed salad, and some other stuff I could not name. It was all delicious... But it's too bad (or maybe a good thing) that it's a pain for me to get to, because I could easily go there several times a week.
Sorry for the boring post, but I had to share the joy :)
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