Anyone for darts?

Now, I've never really played darts much, but when asked to come to a birthday party for another ALT playing darts, I figured that I might as well.

Surprisingly enough it was a lot of fun.  We went to a little "Dart Cafe".  It was rather small with tables along one side, a bar in the corner and three dart machines along the other wall.  The dart machines were pretty cool - they were electronic in the way that they did all the scoring and there was lots of games that could be played.  The darts were like regular darts except that they had a plastic tip that were designed to stick into the board.  

We played a few games just me and Daniel, a few with everyone in the group and other various games (Dan even found a game called 'Cricket').  Somehow the Aussies managed to win the pairs, Dan won the individual match (8 of us) and in all games we held our own.  Beginners luck was clearly on our side.  

Despite that the next time we play we will be gong without beginners luck, we are both keen to play again.  Which shouldn't be too difficult as they seem to go to a few places every weekend.  

I also discovered that I have the next week off work (I knew there were lots of public holidays coming up, but I wasn't expecting a whole week), so if was definitely worth going.   

Hope you all had a good Christmas and are enjoying watching the cricket - the real cricket!  Watching score cards just isn't the same as watching it on TV.  

Fun with Special Ed

Today I attended a pottery class with the special education class.  Last week when I had lunch with them the teacher and students showed me what they had been making in pottery classes.  The teacher then invited me to come along too!  I carefully blacked it out in my timetable so no-one could book me in for a class.   

I'm not sure if it was the pottery or communication that was more artistic - the teacher has as much English as I have Japanese!  But we did have fun!  The kids had lots of fun saying "very good" (in English) and encouraging me with my pottery.  They also offered me lots of looks at what they were doing, so I could say "very good" to them too!   

I'm not sure what I made - a bowl (of some description), a tallish cup/vase/toothbrush holder and a flatish plate.  I'll decide what they are when they come out and decide what I need in the house and name it accordingly.  

Hopefully we'll be able to arrange another time that I can go back and finish them off.   

My other class today went rather well too.  Today (and yesterday and the day before) we only had 3 periods of class because there are parent/teacher interviews for the last 3 periods.  I seem to think that the kids can go home, but they are included in the interview as well.  So, it has been a rather quiet few days.  And quite boring... but I'm getting plenty of reading done.  

Anyway, my other class today.  95% English spoken in Class!  This is the first class that has come anywhere near that.  I pretty much took the class and the teacher clarified things occasionally, but not very often.  I guess it also shows that the students are becoming more comfortable with me and are happy to try and work things out for themselves without everything being translated.  The language and explanations weren't that technical - months and dates etc, but it was ALL English!   

Hmmm, nup, nothing else interesting to tell you.  Daniel and I are going out for dinner with the English teachers for a little Christmas party tonight.  And no, just because they're English teachers, doesn't mean that they will speak English!  But you get that!  

The question is, can the postie read English?  He could be confused by the constant supply of tea.   One day in particular, we received two different packages, from two different people, both with "tea" on the declaration form. 

So, why are we importing all this tea?  We're in Japan, the land of green tea.  

Anyone who has known us for a while will know that reformed coffee snobs - turned Dilmah Jasmine tea drinkers couldn't possibly survive on Japanese tea alone!  So, our very kind and sympathetic mothers have been diligently been posting tea bags over for us.  We have even been recycling our tea bags to get as much as we can out of them!  (Before you all start feeling sorry for us and reach for a tea bag, envelope and our address, I recently told mum that she didn't need to send any for a while - we're beginning to build up a stockpile - all that recycling and stuff!). 

Anyway, I really just wanted to say thanks.  Thanks everyone for the assorted packages, tea bags, and more recently Christmas cards.  We really appreciate it!    

The plan...

It was great to see the family yesterday.  (Thanks Ben for setting it all up).  I'm pleased I got the chance to say hi, and hear some of  what you've been doing.   It was also a good reminder that I haven't written much lately.  I guess life becomes normal where ever you are, but I'll try and let you know some of the things that have been going on for me...

We had a little bit of snow last weekend.  Ok, it melted when it touched the ground, but it was definitely snow!  Apparently that's about as much snow as we really get in Kita Kyushu, but the kids do get really excited about it.  

We are currently trying to decide how long to spend in Japan.  We are looking at staying another year.  I'm thinking of doing some distance education - Graduate certificate in Special Education teaching through Flinders Uni.  This job provides me with lots of opportunities to do extra study.  Usually I will have an hour free when I'm not doing anything and sometimes I will have three or four hours of twiddling my thumbs and trying not to fall asleep.  During the school holidays I go to our main Board of Education office to amuse myself for weeks on end... Plenty of time for study.  We haven't decided yet, but seriously thinking of it.  Besides, it will mean that more people might get the chance to visit! 

Is it really Christmas time?

It's strange to think that it's Christmas time. It really doesn't feel that way. For one thing it has become rather cold. I noticed that it was 11 degrees in one classroom this week (and that was after lunch!) and 10 degrees in the corridors. Doors are left open in the corridors (the front door, the doors leading to other buildings) so basically it's the same temperature inside as outside. But not only that, there's none of the things that usually go on at Christmas. No Christmas parties are being organised (yes, there still will be a staff party – any excuse for a party), the kids aren't preparing for a end of year event, no Christmas lights bus trips, no Carols by Candlelight.... More than that, I guess that there is no feeling of urgency. It's not the end of the school or working year, so it's just a short winter break. There are a few Christmas trees and lights around the place and occasionally I will hear carols in a shop. But all the shops are advertising Christmas Cakes! What is a Christmas Cake? I hear you ask. Prettily iced and decorated sponge cakes. Everyone asks if we eat Christmas cakes.

The kids (and teachers) have been very interested to hear what we do for Christmas. I have been showing the kids some pictures about Christmas in Australia, which they have been very interested in.   Everyone has been fascinated about Christmas bonbons.  See, it's the little things that are most interesting!

Some Japanese people celebrate Christmas, (mostly by eating cake!), mostly families with small children. Sometimes they will have a plastic tree and parents will by presents for the children. But kids never buy presents for others. They will usually just have a special meal together, not a whole day like most of up commit to with our family.

In Japan Christmas is not a public holiday. To have the day off I have to use my annual leave. Which I am thinking of doing, especially as there is no double-time pay! New Years on the other hand is a very important time of year, they have lots of holidays and write New Years cards to everyone. Knowing Japanese people I'm also expecting lots of fireworks.

So, hope you are all enjoying the bustle and energy of Christmas. And the Christmas carols (I'm not missing them!). Remember to take some photos about the “ordinary things” we do over Christmas so I can show my students how it's done.

It will be very strange to be away from you over Christmas, but probably not too difficult as it doesn't even feel like the right time of year.    

Ok, just a little about me....

It has suddenly turned to winter and has become a little chilly.  The teachers now all cry "sumui, sumui" (cold, cold).  We had some sleet today and even a few snowflakes.    Last week I was a little cold so I bought a jacket on my way home, just in time it would seem.  

School has been going well.  I was finding I was getting bored during the day when teachers weren't taking me to their classes, but I have discovered that if I start reading my book someone always asks me to do something - even other teachers who don't speak English!  (The PE teacher invited me to watch the year 9 students' dancing performances).   So this week has been very busy.  I have also been doing more things in class and creating worksheets.  I guess it just took some time for the teachers to trust me.  The teachers seem happy with the worksheets I create (especially if there are pictures on them) and what I've been doing independently in class.  

It has been interesting marking student's work and identifying problem areas.  So many students don't leave any spaces between words.  There are no rules about leaving spaces, using full stops or capital letters in Japanese writing, so while I understand why these problems keep cropping up I still find it frustrating.  The teachers have really enforced using capital letters and full stops, but even they don't seem to recognise the importance of spaces between words.  When I briefly talked about the importance of spaces between words the teacher was surprised that I recommended they should leave a little finger's width between words.  I also tried to explain that if you write the words "to me" without leaving a space you get a completely different word.  I think a few students understood, but it's still a work in progress.  Soon I will start marking things wrong if there are no spaces between words.....

At home we're beginning to remember which days which rubbish goes out and remembering to take it out.  We're becoming more competent at using our electrical appliances and learning how to do to really tricky things like using the timer on the kettle and rice cooker so it's ready when I wake up in the morning.  Other people's noise is still frustrating at times, but we're probably not the quietest neighbours to live with either.  I haven't played the saxophone much, I really don't want to give the neighbours a good reason to complain about me, but I have discovered that I can play on the weekends without disturbing others.  At least, everyone else is really noisy on the weekends, so I figured that I can be too!  

I really miss you all, and I miss Australia, especially the space and clean air.  I'm sure that when I return I will have a new appreciation for those things which I've taken for granted.             

Enjoying the local spectator sport

If cricket is like a banquet, sumo wrestling is like a Japanese formal meal - lots of little bits with lots of tradition, ceremony and talking.  

Today we spent the day at a sumo tournament.  (1-6pm)

It was interesting, fun and I would even consider going again.  But next time we might go for one of those seats which are cushions on the floor.  I don't think the seats were designed for gaijin.  

The event was made up of lots of bouts.  The two sumos would be announced, get onto the platform, do some squatting exercises and a side kick in the air (they're surprisingly flexible and agile), glare at each other, prepare to start, then walk away.  The would wipe their face, throw some salt onto the floor and prepare again.  They could go through these steps a few times before they actually started wrestling.  (Apparently there is now a four minute restriction, but before that they could significantly delay the match).   The match begins when both opponents touch their knuckles to the floor.  The it's fast!  Often within a few seconds the game would be over.  A few times it ended spectacularly with one opponent being hurled out of the ring, other times, it was just a foot over.  But every match was fast and powerful.  

If you ever get the chance to see a game, take it!   Just remember to take your own snacks... we were a bit hungry by the end of the day.  

Bush Walk... Err, Mountain Climb?? (Sunday)

Hope you all had a good weekend.   I think I've been fighting a cold, so last week and the first half of the weekend I spent a lot of time sleeping.  To make up for taking it easy yesterday we went bushwalking.  Actually they called it "mountain climbing" and although not what I would normally call mountain climbing, I guess it wasn't far from the truth.  

Daniel and I went with the English teachers from one of my schools.  We started out early (despite not being able to find our house key and missing the train, we didn't miss the meeting time), caught a train to meet the others.  We then had to drive for about 2 hours to 

get there.  

I guess the most interesting thing about the hike, apart from discovering that I was fitter than I thought, was seeing the differences between Japan and Australia.   Sometimes the little things like black lady birds 

with red dots, or bigger things like autumn leaves in a forrest.  (Correct me if I'm wrong, but most of the bush in Australia seems to be native fauna and not change colour, right?).  I have to say that I was also amazed about the number of crabs in the bush/forrest - while there was a lot of water and

 water falls, I didn't expect to see crabs...  

In contrast to most of the bush walking I've done in Australia (walking to go somewhere with both up and down hills) we walked (climbed?) up for 2 hours, got to the top and had a cup of coffee (in zero

 degree temperature, wearing a short sleeve shirt.  I guess I didn't really take the suggestions of a jumper seriously, it was a little cold) then walked down the exact same route.  If not for all the waterfalls and beautiful autumn leaves I would've been disappointed to take the same path.  

My knees are a little sore today - I don't think they're used to walking the one direction for so long.  Down was especially difficult.  I only slipped a few times..  

After our mountain climbing it was time for lunch.  Daniel was very brave sampling all the food.  

We then had a wander around the small town at the foot of the mountain.  It's known as "small Kyoto" because of the old buildings and the atmosphere of the town.   We went to the museum on the site of the old castle (which had been burnt down years before).  

Dan:  And once again our net access is down - trying to organise for our wireless modem to be picked up and repaired in the next few days ..   Another Aussie here, Cheng, has been very very kind in helping us with our computer problems (lending us another lappy for a while, equipment for me to test with, etc) and making the phone calls/visits to the Internet Provider..  Thanks Cheng!!!  So good to have a friend close by that can speak decent Japanese - it's really inspiring me to learn more!!!  (Or import JB for times when Cheng can't help!)    Anyway - we're not in email/skype range much over the next week or so ..  well, even skype phone has been mucking up a lot - try catching us there if you like - but no guarantees!  Hopefully all sorted...  soon...

Dan:  PS:  Nomes will probably post photos soon - just a bit hard to today..   In the mean time - if you haven't checked the gallery (link on the left) in a while there may be some newish photos there to give you a laugh :)

Hmmm, hot chips...!

Daniel has been asking me for a while now if I've found hot chips.  so, like a good little wifey I found -what I thought was- hot potato wedges (chips), they were even sprinkled with salt!  

Unfortunately I almost inadvertently poisoned Daniel - what I thought was salt was actually sugar and they weren't made from potato. 

Ok, I'll admit, I began to have some suspicions soon after I bought them, "Hmm, that was strange, was that sugar?!" but I kept them to myself (they were only suspicions after all) and let Daniel make his own discovery.

Needless to say that we wont be trying those again.  We might just have to wait until we get back to Aussie land!   

Festivals and Ferries

Still having problems with internet - sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.  

I went to school today (yes - it's Sunday!) and tomorrow - (a public holiday) because the students are having a cultural festival at school.  This seems to entail a lot of singing, but more about that tomorrow.  After the festival all the teachers are going out for a party.  To compensate for working today and tomorrow I'll be having Tuesday and Friday off work, so if anyone wants to ring, that will be a good time.  

Due to it being a Sunday, the buses weren't running very regularly, so I caught the first bus that came past my bus stop this afternoon, which took me to the ferry terminal, so I caught the ferry home.  The ferry cost 100 yen ($1) but it only took 2 mins to cross!  Still it was fun and took less time than waiting for my bus!  

This bridge reminds me of San Francisco.. It apparently doesn't remind people from San Francisco of it though...  Daniel's keen to go exploring and see if he can find Starfleet Academy however..  Wish him luck.

A coffee break (Saturday)

Well it's been three months now.  It has been such an interesting experience - seeing how other people live.  While I have adapted to the garbage disposal system and getting used to always taking my shoes off, I don't think I'll ever get used to people sniffling or not being able to eat while I walk.  

I am becoming more familiar with the public transport system and getting to know my way around.  

Last week there was quite a large fire near our house.  Curiosity lead me to snooping around this morning and I found where the fire had been.  It really hit me when I saw it - the houses in that area were built so closely together I was amazed that the damage wasn't worse.  As it was one house was completely burnt down and the one next to it was gutted.  I have a new respect for the fire department and firefighters in Japan; they did a very good job at containing it.  

I'm sitting in a cafe and last time I was here the refilled my coffee, but no-one has today :(  I would ask, but I don't know if they normally do - perhaps they were just being nice last time!  

Ok,"Slurpy Noodles" has just sat down next to me - stuff the coffee - definitely time to leave!  

I haven't really forgotten you!!

Wednesday

I bet you all thought now that Daniel is in Japan with me I've forgotten all about you! You're wrong. Mostly wrong anyway. It has been great having Daniel around and I did put off writing because it was great spending time with him and showing him around. Unfortunately I put it off for too long - within a few days of Daniel's arrival, neither of our computers were working! Occasionally one will work for a few days, but never quite long enough for me to write.

So, I'm writing this up now - while I'm at school and will type it up the next time I find a computer. (Sunday: Currently one of our computers is working and we've also borrowed a friends).

One of my teachers was absent today (found out 5 minutes after my class with her was supposed to start), so I spent a bit of time practising my address. Interesting order: postcode, city, area (like state), street block, apartment number. Practising the kanji is more difficult, but at least I understand it a little better now.

(Incidently my teacher had a headache, but only had half a day off! She still wasn't well when she arrived at 12:30, but felt that she didn't have a choice. They don't call in relief teachers and the students just have individual study time.)

The weather is really nice at the moment - sunny days, but not hot (according to Naomi, very humid according to Daniel) and cooling off during the evening.

School has been going well - I'm getting to know the teachers and what they want me to do. Some of the highlights have been the special education classes. They are very enthusiastic and the classes have been lots of fun. I have been able to give a lot of suggestions for the classes and ususally run most of it. The kids are also getting to know me (I have lunch with them on Fridays) although some of them still speak fast Japanese to me and are surprised when I don't understand. At least now I know what words they know and can use them in conversation.

I've also had some fun with the year 9 classes. In their textbook was a story about cross-cultural incidents and my teacher asked to me share one of my own with the class. So, I told the story of wearing my outside shoes inside at a school. Although it was rather challenging for them a few of them understood it well.

The year 8 classes on the other hand, tend to be a little more frustrating - I think year 8 kids are the same in every country! But the textbook really doesn't help - the dialogue we were working on this week went something like this:

A: Did you watch Harahara Times last night?
B: Yes, I did. Did you?
A: Yes. It was so exciting!
B: Really? It was boring to me.

They then had to practise this with each other, although could change the TV show and the adjectives.

At the airport..... waiting

At the airport.... very tired and waiting for a very late plane,　but it has been a good few days. Last night　I traveled up to Osaka on a ferry (a very big ferry which was more like a cruise ship) and today I wondered around Osaka. I didnt really do much sighseeing, but I had a good look around Osaka Castle.

You will have to forgive me for the punctuation errors - using a Japanese keyboard, which doesnt always do what you want it to do　like apostrophies or randomly changing to Japanese.

Did I mention that I:m waiting for Daniel:s plane, which is about an hour late? I came rather early because I was sick of walking around. I:m actually looking for a quiet place where I can curl up and sleep for a while. I didn:t sleep well on the ferry - I:m still not used to sleeping in a room with other strangers. The comfort level was also a little low　even compared to what I:m used to. Didn:t sleep well the night before either. I think I might have been a little excited.

There:s so much to write and tell you, but not all now. I:m paying for the internet with 100yen - 1 dollar - coins and I just used my last one. Just wanted to let you know that all is going well - I didn:t get lost in Osaka, Daniel;s on his way, and I;ve got today and tomorrow off work. The teachers have　asked us out to dinner on Friday night - they seem pretty keen on meeting Daniel.

This keyboard is really quite frustrating....there is a tiny space bar and whenever I hit a button on either side where the space bar usually is, it tries to change my writing to Japanese. And I can;t for the life of me find an apostrophe - rreally aorry about the semi colons showing up everywhere - they;re where the apostrophe usually　is and it;s easier to continue using that than nothing at all.

Anyway, going to find a coffee or something. Or some sleep. Good thing i put in an exctra book - already 50pages through!

Japan - the country of the long weekend!

It's funny listening to all you Aussies talking about the long weekend. Anyone would think you don't have many. I on the other hand am not feeling the need for a public holiday as I feel I just had lots. I checked my diary, and it not only feels like I've had lots, I have had 2 long weekends last month and having another one next weekend!

It seems that in Japan people often go away for weekends, rather than taking time off work and going on a holiday. So, I guess this suits the Japanese lifestyle and work ethic. Remember too that traveling in Japan isn't as time consuming as traveling in Australia. Apparently it's unusual for people to spend more than one night at a hot spring, which is a very popular destination.

The thing that really amuses me is that people go away for a weekend (overnight) and buy souvenirs for all they friends or colleagues!

Incidentally I counted the public holidays in Japan and in Australia. 17:10 our (Japan's) win.

So enjoy your long weekend, don't sleep it all away.. enjoy it because it's a long time until your next one!! I've got 3 public holidays next month too!

A Silly Shoe Story...

Now we all know that Japanese people never wear shoes inside (slippers only or inside shoes at school) and Japanese people know that we do wear shoes inside... But I had a lot of difficulty explaining in class today that there are no rules about where you wear your shoes. Sometimes I wear my shoes inside and sometimes I don't. Sometimes I wear slippers, sometimes I have bare feet. Sometimes I even go outside in bare feet! ("You go outside with no shoes?!!!"). They never go outside in bare feet!

The class was about "must" and "mustn't". These were the sentences provided in the text book:
In Japan:
You mustn't wear your shoes inside.
You mustn't wash in the bathtub.
You must drive on the left side of the road.

In America:
You wear your shoes inside.
You must wash in the bathtub.
You must drive on the right side of the road.

When the students asked me if I wore my shoes inside in Japan, I pointed to the first rule.

The students were a little confused about washing in the bath until I explained it was so the floor doesn't get wet. And I found out that Japanese people don't wash in the bath because other people in the family use the water. It also works because their whole bathroom is a giant shower with a bath next to it.

They were rather amazed that we had a few things in common - like driving on the same side of the road and we both use degrees celcius / kilometres / kilos.

But they just could not comprehend that I don't wear special slippers to go to the toilet!! "So what do you wear when you go to the toilet?" "Whatever is on my feet at the time - sometimes shoes, sometimes bare feet."
The way they giggled behind their hands and repeated it to each other made me feel like I had said something scandalous! I must admit that I didn't really comprehend their reaction! I also made some fast readjustments to my thinking, "this is actually important, who would have thought putting on a pair of slippers to go to the toilet would have been that important?!"

I now have the dilemma that I now know how important this is to them, so maybe I should start putting on toilet slippers.... Honestly, it just seems more trouble than it's worth - it's another shoe change into a pair of plastic slippers that usually look quite small, just to go to the toilet. (I have discovered that my size 8/1/2 feet are huge! Ladies LL (Large Large) shoes are about a size 7 and they don't make ladies shoes any bigger than that!).

In Japan - so many rules about shoes
In Australia - wear whatever you feel like!

It will be interesting to how much has rubbed off when I return to Australia.....

By the way, did you know that you often have to take your shoes off at restaurants and in fitting rooms at shops? At restaurants there will sometimes be lockers, otherwise they just go in the entrance. No, I haven't lost any shoes yet, but then again, I don't think anyone would want giant shoes! I guess that also makes it easier to tell them apart. All the kids at school have their name written on their shoes!

Enkai Weekend (work party!)

You haven't experienced Japan until you've experienced enkai! I've now been in Japan for 2 months and have been to 2 work parties plus a weekend which I'm sure counts for at least 5!

Saturday morning meet at the school at 10am, jump on the bus, get handed a beer. Drive for 2 hours (sat next to Urabe - an English teacher) and arrive at a beer factory. Go on tour and get free beer. Eat traditional Japanese food for lunch. This was pretty much the pattern of the weekend - drive, drink beer and eat traditional Japanese food, with a few baths thrown in.

After lunch we went to a winery for wine tasting! Actually, didn't really enjoy the wines much, but the spirits on the other hand... Next to the winery was a place where we could sample Japanese spirits. They were very interesting - especially the sesame spirit - you could distinctly taste the sesame flavour.

We continued onto the traditional Japanese hotel/onsen. Once the bus driver eventually found the place! I've never been on a bus where the driver got so lost, had to ask so many people for directions or take so many 3 point turns!

Notice how the word "traditional" keeps cropping up? That was another very important aspect of the weekend.

Onsen! Hot springs! Take your clothes off in your room, put on your yakuta (dressing grown) go to one of the hot springs (I think the hotel had 6 or so public baths, in different locations in the hotel, some were inside, others outside). Take off everything (but you can cover yourself with a little hand towel) and go wash beside the pool and then jump in! They were very hot and relaxing, although a little hotter than ideal for me. In the time that we were there, I went in three different pools. I much preferred the outside ones as there was a slight, refreshing breeze, but I wasn't sure about only being half in the water....

Traditional Japanese dinner:
I was a bit surprised when dinner was about to start and we were getting ready to go to the dining room, but we were still wearing out yakuta (often it seems that no-one tells me things that everyone knows - at least all Japanese people). Yep that's right - dinner in our dressing gowns! Good thing I put some underwear on while the others were doing their hair - I was just getting as ready as I could before sneaking a look at what they were going to wear. Although it felt a bit strange, and I had to keep checking that I was still decent throughout dinner, it was really comfy!

The food was mostly delicious, although those orange things that look like jelly babies nearly killed me. I seem to think that they might be made of fish eggs. Certainly not orange jelly babies on sticks! Now the sashimi (raw fish) was very yummy, as was the mushroom and lemon soup. As dinner (and drinks) continued the karaoke machine came out and the singing began. I'm already beginning to recognise the favourite songs that come out at every enkai. I'm also surprised that we sing the school song (one of the songs from sport day) and we all put our arms around each other and sing a song that is sung at weddings. I'm getting much better at reading Japanese and was sort of able to sing along, although I could've sung anything and they wouldn't have been able to hear me over themselves!

9pm or so and the party finishes - time to go to the next party! That was held in on of the rooms. Drinks and nibblies came out and we just relaxed and chatted. I did more relaxing than chatting, but you get that! I did talk a bit to the two English teachers that were there and the home economics teacher speaks English very well.

11pm or so and that party finishes - time for another dip in the onsen. This one was outdoors - the breeze was nice and refreshing.

12 or so and it's bedtime! While I'm becoming quite accustomed to the futon on the floor, I look forward to my next trip to a traditional Australian hotel where I can sleep in a bed! And I do miss my pillow! I was rather amused that the traditional Japanese hotel does not have a traditional Japanese toilet, but a western toilet!

Awoken at 7:30 for a early morning onsen dip before breakfast.

Breakfast: yep, you guessed it - a traditional Japanese breakfast! Now I have a personal philosophy: one should never eat strange things for breakfast! And no amount of cultural courtesy will change this. I quite enjoyed the miso soup with small muscles and even the salmon (ok, maybe my definitions of "strange" are changing!). I guess the sweet scrambled egg cubes were ok, but I don't know it will ever be a favourite. The fruit was yummy and I had plenty to drink: green tea (Japanese), coffee, orange juice and beer. I guess it's the Japanese version of a champagne breakfast! But I didn't eat the pickled veges and didn't even try the orange thing (I've sort of gone off orange foods!).

Fruit picking (once the bus driver found the place..)
When I found out that we were going fruit picking I put in my sneakers and some clothes I could move in and not mind getting dirty. I really didn't need to bother. We walked into the grove and and I picked three nashi (cross between an apple and a pear) by gently twisting them off the branch. Every piece of fruit was in a paper bag - no wonder the fruit here is so expensive! The three nashi cost me 900yen = $9, so while not cheap, it should be pretty fresh and do me for a few lunches.

Lunch at a traditional Japanese restaurant (I'm sure you can guess) and then home.

I guess the place we went to was about 2 hours away, but difficult to tell with that bus driver and all the toilet stops and souvenir stops!

If anyone wants to visit an onsen when they come and visit, just let me know. At least I now know onsen etiquette!

All in all it was a very good weekend and I got an opportunity to see some of Japan and get to know the teachers a little better. I some interesting conversations with Urabe about the differences between Japan and Australia (she has spent some time in Australia and is interested in Australia). In Australia we are definitely taught to think about things, have our own opinions and question things. We are encouraged to ask questions and there are no stupid questions. In Japan you are not to ask a stupid question or make a mistake. In Urabe's opinion, most Japanese people tend to be pesimistic, while Australians are more optomistic: "she'll be right."

Well, time to get ready for a new week.. hope you all have a good one and enjoy your traitional Aussie homes!

Listening to the rain...

Listening to the rain..... did I mention that it rains lots over here? Usually for only a short while (an afternoon or an evening - not multiple days and rarely whole days). As a result everything is so green. There are lots of trees and mountains and even the weeds on the side of the road are big, green and leafy! There are no water restrictions and it is ok to spend ages in the shower. When people wash their dishes in the sink, they don't use a plug, but wash under running water. I've tried looking for a plug but haven't been able to find one. So, I'm currently washing my dishes Japanese style (but I sure go through lots of detergent this way).

There is also a lot of lightning tonight and eventhough my curtains are closed, it's still flashing through.

I guess I didn't expect Japan to be this green - what with so many people living so closely - but there are lots of trees around which just add to the general clutter. Even Sydney feels open and clutter-free after being in Japan. I'm beginning to understand why people say that Australia is so open and peaceful.

Peaceful... yes, I miss this. Japan is so noisy! I know I've said this lots, but really, tonight I was talking with someone at the train station and I had to stop talking while the announcement was going because I couldn't talk over the top of it. On the bus, the driver talks the whole time into a microphone - about which stop is coming up and lots of "thank you very much"s. This is very interesting, as Japanese people seem to be very softly spoken generally and it's us "westerners" who talk and laugh loudly. I guess we're all accustomed to different types of noises. I'm still getting used to the noises in Japan, but I'm quite happy to go to sleep to the sound of the rain...

Things I'm getting used to...

I borrowed a book from the library today about gaijin (foriegners) and had quite a laugh, so I thought I'd add a few of the pictures to this. And, yes, I have been in all these situations!

It also got me to thinking about how I'm becoming more accostomed to these things.... here are some other examples.....

While shopping:

• Putting my own groceries into plastic bags
• Not handing the cashier the money but putting it in the little tray provided
• Getting a plastic bag - even when I buy one thing and don't need one (Japan is good at recycling but not the "reduce" aspect)

Regarding shoes:

• Taking my shoes off as soon as I get home (in Aus it was usually the third thing: go to the toilet, get a drink, take off shoes - now it's the first - even before putting on the air conditioner!)
• Changing into indoor shoes at work - eventhough they don't go with what I'm wearing (often you will see people wearing a nice shirt and pants with socks and thongs...it just seems wrong)
• Not wearing shoes in a changeroom at shops (the look of horror is the giveaway - they reserve a look just for shoe violations)

At home:

• Not doing my cleaning at midnight (the walls are rather thin)
• Airing my futon once a week or so or whenever I remember
• Mail arriving on weekends
• Sorting and putting out garbage (can only put out certain garbage on certain days)

Out and about:

• Taking an umbrella every time I go out
• Seeing kids in their school uniform on weekends
• Being stared at
• Random coming up to me and saying "hello" and/or practising their English on me
• Squat toilets
• Not automatically using the wrong escalator - I'm sure they're the wrong way around, I keep expecting the up one to go down and the down one to go up
• Not walking across pedestrian crossing unless there is a green signal (pedestrian crossings are at traffic lights and you can't cross if there's a red signal) although I'm still working out when to walk at other times - people give way to me when I'm not expecting it and often don't when I thought they would..... yes, very confusing.
• Ignoring noises - ok, still working on this one, there's noise everywhere - traffic lights play music when you can walk, there's music at stations, in shops, at school (different tunes for different times of the day), trucks driving around selling stuff (I presume)
• Seeing dogs with pretty clips on thier ears being walked by their owner - literally! Owners often carry their dog!!
• People laughing at my accent!

The shoe is on the other foot

I check for mail. I take all of it up the five flights of stairs to my apartment (yes, the only thing worse than junk mail is junk mail in Japanese which you have to take home because there are no rubbish bins outside), sort out the mail with my name on it (in Japanese), decide whether it's a bill or put it in the too hard basket.

Today I took the "too hard basket" to one of the English teachers who very kindly helped me out. Some of the things we found were:

• a notice that my gas (or electricity???) bill was coming soon
• a form that I could fill in if I want my gas to be directly debited (I labeled it and put it aside)
• a form to fill in for my compulsory pension payments
• information about my internet (haven't had any bills for this and was becoming concerned)

The teacher said that she recently filled in the pension payments form, but there was an easier one which they could send out upon request. So she rang them up for me (assured them that I haven't been in Japan for 6 years) and got a form to be sent to me. The she rang someone else who was employed by the same people who employ me who said that it was already taken care of. Sigh of relief and that paper went in the bin. She also made a call to organise direct debiting for my internet connection, something I was wanting to do, but never had the energy to explain it in my non-existent Japanese.

She also said that she would be happy to help me with this anytime.

When another teacher asked me how I felt about this, I realised that I was quite amused (usually it's me helping other people) and grateful. I also hadn't realised how much trust is being placed on the person who is helping. When I get back to Australia, I have a feeling that I'll probably be more patient, helpful and sensitive towards people in that situation, now that I know what it's like for the shoe to be on the other foot!

Observations about Sports Day

• A family outing - the whole family turns up with an elaborate picnic lunch, table and chairs or rug and the video camera!
• There's not much room on the oval for spectators sitting down so people were all standing watching. Their picnic rugs are tables were all around the school - in any available area, walkways, everywhere!
• There is one individual race (100m sprint) all other races are relays and team events.
• All students participate in all events (even students with special needs).
• Maintaining the team is more important than winning!
• Doing your best is more important than finishing the race unscathed. The most useful phrase I learnt this week was "daijyobu desuka?" Are you okay?
  
• Races and competitors do not have to be equal. Often there would be relays were girls and guys would be racing against each other or one of the students with special needs would be running (quite a bit slower than the others) but I never heard "It's not fair" or got the impression that the students even thought that. It was a very strong team mentality and you didn't question/complain but always support your team - no matter what.
  
• Music accompanies everything! I'm discovering a new appreciation for silence!
  
• How you enter and leave the oval is more important that what you do on the oval. (Ok, I'm not really sure about this one, but we did spend hours practising and I know that it was very important).
  
• The day is not complete without a folk dance and of course is more interesting with the principal, Aussie ALT and any other teachers close by joining in - even if they don't know the dance!
• All that time practising marching and most families (80% or so) didn't arrive until it was over! They also all left once the last race was finished - they didn't wait for any of the formalities afterwards.
• Students brought out their chairs from their classroom to sit on during the day. When they took them back inside they had to dunk the chair legs into buckets of water and then dry them before taking them back inside!
  
• We used the toilets which were inside, so a tarp had been laid down from the door to the toilets so that people didn't have to take off their shoes and inside didn't get dirt inside.

Some interesting races:

• Every race was a relay!
• There was no high jump, long jump, shot put, etc....
• There were some running relays and some obstacle relays.
  
• 3-legged races (relays) - they were the fastest 3 legged races I have ever seen - they were sprinting! It was pretty impressive.
• 3 legged relay that every time they got back the next group had an extra person until there became 10 people!
• Mukade: this means "dangerous worm" or centipede (in Japan, centipedes are venomous and quite dangerous). The students of each class would form a line, tie their legs up together and then race! Very cool, very dangerous, very impressive!
• Cowboy: 3 students have another students on their shoulders. Student on shoulders has a ball (like a volleyball) tied to some rope. They run then student on shoulders has to knock over a big tin can with the ball while on their shoulders. When they get it they run back (students still on shoulders) and the next group goes. The teams have 5 or 6 groups that have to do this.
• Teachers relay: Yes I was in this. While I was told that I was in it, I was given no idea of the format or time or anything, but apart from that it went fine. (My supervisor suggested that I would know what was going on if I knew Japanese!). Although I'm still a bit confused, because it seems that we weren't actually competing against anyone.

It was a very interesting day and lots of fun! A lot of time went into it (especially for marching and mukade) but I believe it was a success and it was certainly an experience for me.

Stopped by the gaijin police!

Lesson learnt: When in a foreign country ALWAYS carry your passport or equivalent. Ok, everyone already knew that, but the lesson was reinforced for me. I guess I think of my passport/gaijin (alien) card the same way I think of my drivers licence - it's always a good idea to carry it, but..

While on my way home from work with Cheng (JET who lives next door) 2 guys asked us to wait a minute in Japanese (yes - my Japanese is good enough to understand this!). My first thought was that they wanted me to take a photo of them (we were standing underneath a castle!) as one of them started getting something out which could've been a camera. But no, it was a police badge! He then asked if we could talk for a few minutes. He said it was their job to investigate foreigners.

They were both quite nice and even had a sense of humour (I imagine that this would have changed very quickly if I had not produced my gaijin card!), and once they realised that my Japanese was limited to understanding "please wait" spoke very good English!

We sat down, gave them our gaijin cards and they proceeded to copy down all the info. They also asked lots of questions:

The usual questions: Why are you in Japan? How long have you been here? Where are you working? Where are you coming from now? Where are you going now?

Complicated questions that required long explanations: Why are you here if your workplace is at X and your home is at Y? (A completely different direction!) (Yes, but we are employed by the board of education and had a work meeting in this suburb...)

And some not so expected questions - Do you love Japan? Do you speak English at these meetings? (They also seemed a bit surprised that Cheng was Australian even though he looks Asian. Asked him a few questions about that!).

Then they took down out phone numbers. Incidentally I feel really silly telling people that I forget my phone number and because I don't have a mobile phone (yet) it's not even in there! Fortunately Cheng remembers my phone number! (Might have to put a copy in my purse).

While this probably took about 15 minutes and was quite painless, it did reinforce the importance of always have appropriate ID. I always carry it.. but I might not think to take it if I was just going for a walk. I will now.

Concerning trains

Have I mentioned that people are really friendly in Japan? So often they will go out of their way to help.

This morning a man from the station caught me just before I bought my train ticket. He pointed me towards the computerised ticket machine. I just figured that the other machine was out of order, but he was trying to tell me something.... I had no idea what and so I showed him my usual train fare. Somehow he was able to show me how I could purchase multiple train tickets.

He didn't have to do that, in fact, it would've been much easier for him not to, but he noticed me catching the train at the same time everyday and tried to save me some money. He also caught me on a day that I didn't have to run up the stairs to make my train.
I catch two trains to get to the school I'm currently going to - one is a normal electric train, the other is a much smaller train. Both take between 5 and 10 minutes so it's hardly worth getting out my book. It takes me about 10 minutes to walk to the station from my house and 10 minutes to walk to the school.

First week of school

Snapshots of my week...

The teachers:
The teachers are all lovely and happy to talk with me – even if they don't know much English. I've had a few chats with the special education teacher, the Japanese teacher and the home economics teacher, among others.

So, what has been going on?
Preparation for the sports carnival! A very important event which is on next Sunday. The preparation includes spending hours practising marching and jogging in formation. This week I have spent 8 hours watching and I'll probably be spending most of every day next week doing the same. I'm going to come home very tanned! Wearing a hat is not compulsory, so only about 20% of students wore a hat! (Don't forget it's summer here – equivalent to February in Australia, but a bit more humid). I wore a hat and sunscreen and still got burnt!

English classes:
In between practising for the sports carnival I've had a few English classes. This have gone quite well. I've talked about myself and Australia mostly.

In class the students are taught a very formal greeting, “Hello, how are you?” “I'm fine thank you, and you?” “Fine thank you.” While this works well in a classroom situation when they all say it together, they also respond this way down the street! Some time we might have to teach the students an informal greeting!

Lunchtime:
I've been having lunch with the students. The students have lunch at their desk in their classroom and there is usually a free desk that I can sit at. I've mostly been eating sushi for lunch (rice wrapped in seaweed with some sort of fish in it – but it's very cheap about $1 for a roll or a triangle) sometimes with some fruit. The students all have rice and vegetables with some meat in a lunch-box. It's been a good chance to spend some time with the students. Eventhough the conversation is limited we have been getting to know each other.

Yesterday I had lunch with the special education class. This was quite fun. I think they enjoyed having me and the teacher said I could come everyday! I haven't had lunch with all the classes yet, but I'll reserve Fridays to have lunch with them.

Out for dinner with the English teachers:
Last night the English teachers took me out for dinner. It was a great to spend time with them away from work. It was nice and relaxed and we had a good time getting to know each other better.

The food was rather interesting. It started off with a few pieces of raw fish (actually, I quite enjoy raw fish!) and some salad. Next came the main course. We were given the raw meat and vegetables and cooked it on the table in a very tasty broth. In the pot we had various bits meat, including stomach(?) it was rather interesting with a very strange texture. I guess I'll have to adapt to the beef in Japan - not quite what I'm used to in Australia. All in all, it was very tasty and the veges and tofu were particularly yummy!

So, when is Daniel coming over?
Daniel has been very busy at work recently, either he's thought of lots of things that he wants to do before leaving or has realised that when there is no misses to come home to he can work all night! We talk over on the computer everyday which makes it much easier. Daniel's visa is almost ready, so he'll probably come in the next 2 weeks or so (give or take).

Second day of school

Today was my second day at school. I spent most of my day at my desk, but had the chance to have lunch with some students and talk to teachers after class. The students all had exams today so there were no classes. Imagine - exams second day back at school! How well do you think Aussie kids would do?

The teachers I'm working with all seem like they want to work with me in preparing classes which is exciting. I think they might still be getting used to my accent, as in the past they've had Americans and Canadians. The students are really nice and most say "hello" and "goodbye", but most of the conversations seem to be me asking, "Do you like sport?"

Meeting the English teachers.... what not to do

I went to one of my schools today and met with some of the teachers that I'll be working with. Although it got off to an awkward start (I very accidently wore my outside shoes inside) the day went really well and I'm looking forward to working there.

So, do you want to know how I committed one of the worst faux pas possible?

I started off wrong by entering through the carpark which leads to the back entrance. There were no cars in the car park and I was actually wondering if anyone was around when a group of boys showed up and lead me to the staff room. As I followed them I somehow had crossed from outside to half outside (inside shoes are required here too) without realising and then suddenly I was inside and in the staff room! Half outside is the area between buildings, where plastic turf has usually been laid down.

I think I got a few laughs from the boys before they disappeared. So there I was in the staff room, in my outside shoes trying to figure out where I had gone wrong. I know these rules, I was being careful, but somehow it just happened!

I said hello to a lovely teacher who teaches art, then asked her where I could put my shoes. She had some difficulty understanding until I pointed to my shoes (still on my feet) and said somewhat apologetically, "Outside shoes."

She nearly fell over! "Outside shoes?!!" She quickly disappeared and returned with a pair of generic plastic slippers.

She relaxed considerably after they were on and took me to the front door and gave me a shoe locker.

Apparently I didn't damage relations because after that she brought me a cup of coffee (good thing I like it strong, black with no sugar because that's what I got; they generally don't ask - just give!) and showed me around.

When I left I noticed that my name was on the shoe locker!

I guess that she'll be telling some stories at home tonight.

I've been so careful about not wearing shoes inside but it just happened so fast!!! Opps!


My Japanese English Teacher arrived once the shoes had been sorted out! He was really friendly and introuced me to the other teachers there. Neither the principal or vice principal were in, but I was able to meet a lot of the staff. I spent most of the time working on an introductory lesson where I introduce myself to the class. I then printed some pictures that I'm thinking of using. Seeing as a few of the teachers were interested in the pictures, I'm hoping that the students will be too! The teachers all knew Ian Thorpe and with a bit of prompting recognised Steve Irwin, although they didn't recognise Hugh Jackman (X-men), hopefully the younger ones will. The teachers knew Crocodile Dundee, but I thought this might be a bit old for the students.

Since I've been in Japan the most common question that I've been asked is if I like vegemite. At first I would give a general, "yeah, it's ok," but I've decided that it's just easier to say "yes!" or "It's really yummy on toast for breakfast!" People also ask me if I like Tim Tams and eat them all the time or by sucking coffee through them. Vegemite and Tim Tams both feature in my presentation.

My school is pretty small - 218 students in years 7, 8 and 9. I'll be there one week a month and assist in teaching in all classes while I'm there. There are 7 classes all up - 3 year 7 classes and 2 classes for both years 8 and 9.

One thing that keeps coming up is how limited I feel because of my limited Japanese language skills. I'm currently investigating a few classes so that I can really start improving my Japanese.

NO - Traditional Music/Theatre

Today we were involved with some traditional Japanese music/theatre called "No" (Pronounced Noh). First we went to a small cottage and watched a group of children practise playing the drum and singing under the guidance of a musician. Then we had a go!

After much concentration we finished up and went to another practice session for children - this time they were practising how to stand up and walk on tatami mats and how to use a fan. Although it was rather repetitive, it was interesting to see the importance placed on traditional forms.

After lunch there was more music, similar to that in the morning with the addition of different drums and a flute. Voice is often used more as sounds than as singing. The music doesn't have much melody, but is more about the sounds of life. Actually, it was rather loud with a lot of banging and whistling! After a short performance we watched the children have a go and then we had a go.

The little drum that you can see me whack really stings the fingers! Straight arms, floppy hands, whack the side of the top and your fingers twang on the top. Ouch!

As much as I enjoyed it, I think I'll stick with the saxophone!!

A busy week

As you might have guessed from the title - it has been a very busy week, so this will just be a general run down of what's been going on. At least, that's how I'll start it and we'll see where we end up!

General Summary:
The mystery cream did fix my mozzie bites without any scary side effects. The unbearable humidity has been slightly lessening so that it is just very hot. I'm starting to drink a lot more coffee as I'm not that fond of the Jasmine tea that I've found. (Daniel: you might want to pack a box or two when you come over). I've been washing my dishes after every meal, or any time that I have more than 3 dirty dishes! One of the outcomes of living on your own, there's no-one else to spend time with, so you might as well do the dishes! I'm still sampling the Chelsea lollies (we tried them at my party) that Jia-Lin recommended. So far I've tried 6 varieties! Hmm, just tried the banana and coconut milk flavour (aren't you impressed that I could read it?!) and it's pretty good - it tastes like a banana paddle pop.

I attended some Japanese language classes last week (Monday and Tuesday) which were organised by the Board of Education. They were quite worthwhile. I took it as an opportunity to ask lots of questions and practise my limited Japanese. A few of us will be meeting once a week to continue practising together.

On Tuesday afternoon we watched a performance of traditional Japanese music and then were included in a big group lesson. I have to admit that I don't remember what this instrument is called, but it was fun learning to play. Well, honestly it was difficult to play too - I didn't understand what the instructor was saying and had difficulty understanding how to read the music. But apart from that, it was easy!!

On Wednesday we were involved in a seminar for Japanese English teachers. We watched some presentations and examples of team teaching which we will be doing. The thing that stood out most was the rapport between the Japanese English teachers and the Assistant English teachers. They currently work together and they worked very well together. Hopefully I will be with a teacher who is just as happy to work with me.

The week finished with International Camp. This was for students who are either from another country or have lived in another country. There were about 50 or 60 children there of varying ages, about 3-15 years old, a number of parents and teachers also attended. Most students were from Japan but had lived in other countries.

[Ok, that was kinda weird - I bought what I thought might haven been milk to go into my tomato soup, I though it could have been cream which is what I was really hoping for but it was like sour milk! I'm hoping it's more like drinkable natural yogurt! It seems to be going ok in my soup, it was just a bit of a shock! There is a straw on the side of the container with instructions of how to put it in, so apparently people drink this! ]

Ok, back to the camp! Everything was pretty much in Japanese. My powers of observation were required to work overtime! For one of the first group activities we were sitting in a circle and a Japanese leader explained the game - in Japanese. Everyone started off clapping and someone in the circle changed that to another action. Another person had to guess who was making the changes. Easy right? You've all played it before? It's slightly more difficult to put it together when it's in another language, but that's not a problem if you can just play along and copy what everyone else is doing. That was fine until the other JET was asked to lead. He gave me the "what is happening here?" look but by that time I was able to describe the game.
The Japanese teacher then tried to talk to me in Japanese because obviously I understood the language. She soon caught on.... The whole camp was like that - I had to pick up what was happening just through my observations and a little bit of English and Japanese.

We were also asked to provide a cultural activity for the kids. This is not something that I've had much experience with, but apparently no-one else had because no-one else wanted to take any initiative with it. Thankfully one of the other JETs had an idea which I could run with and it all worked out quite well. We introduced a few of our countries to the kids (Australia, Scottland, Wales and Canada) and we stood in the corners of the room. When I said a country they had to move to that corner (hop like a kangaroo to Australia, skate like a hockey player to Canada, roar like a lion to Scotland and fly like a dragon to Wales (not England!). It worked really well and I think they even might have learnt something, if not, they had fun!

Did I mention that people from Wales really don't like England? For that matter, neither do the Scottish! I've heard so many times over these few weeks: I'm from Scotland, not England. I'm from Wales, not England! It's very interesting. But apparently they do like Australia! The Welsh JET was telling me that he always goes for Australia in the cricket! I guess being so far from England has given us a very different relationship.


This has become a lot longer than I was meaning it to be, but it has been a busy week!

Implicit trust...

It's the technical things that are difficult - like asking for a cream to make itchy mozzie bites not itch. Actually it ended up not being too difficult, I did what any of the English students at Mission Australia would do and just showed the shop assistant the bites (good thing they were just on my legs!) and gave a "please help me" look. So she gave me a cream, which I hope is what I was after. The only words I can read on the cream are: cream and tube - I could guess that! What's more, there are no pictures on it! How am I supposed to know what it is?!

The real challenge was asking the shop assistant if they had any insect repellent.... I didn't get very far with that. In the end I smiled and said "arigato gosimasu" (thankyou), paid and left. Definately wasn't worth the effort to explain. I have been looking for insect repellent for the last few days without any success. The closest I found looked ok, but the container said "insecticide" I decided that it wasn't really worth the risk. I'll keep looking.

So, regardless of what the cream is called, what the instructions and warnings are, I put it on, blissfully ignorant and hope for the best.

The mozzies here are really nasty! They are not just maddeningly itchy, they also really hurt when you scratch them and have been keeping me awake at night. Lesson to be learnt: Don't go walking in the bush just after it rains.

Oh and for anyone who's not an Aussie - mozzies are mosquitoes.

Becoming home

Had a really good day. I just took it easy this morning and this afternoon went for a walk. I explored parts of Edamitsu that I hadn't seen yet. It's always interesting investigating new places, but even more so as I'm beginning to think of this as home.

I eventually made my way to a big shopping centre. 6pm on a Saturday night and it was still open. In fact, when I left at 8:30 it was still open!! I would have to say that my shopping, while possibly not necessary was very worthwhile. I bought a number of things to make my apartment more comfortable and feel more like home - a mug (yay!), indulgence coffee, grated cheese, camembert cheese, scented oil (jasmine and eucalyptus), a thermometer and a lounge-like banana chair (carrying it home and on the train was not the easiest!). I also found some of the purfume I like - might buy that when I get paid. It's nice to have my apartment smell a bit more like me.

Unfortunately dinner didn't go quite as well as the rest of the day. The meat I bought a few days ago had gone off. Note to self: use meat as soon as you buy it! So, I had an omelette.... again! I'm almost sick of eggs! I think I've had eggs for at least one meal everyday for the past week or two!

Tonight was the first time I've watched fireworks while sitting at the station and on a train. They were being let off at Space World. That would make three times in the last 2 weeks that I've seen fireworks! I told you Japanese people love them! Apparently they also let them off at sport games when home/favourite teams win!

While my bedroom is a nice temperature, my thermometer is telling me that the temperature in the rest of the apartment is 30.6 degrees, and 59% humidity! And yes, it is midnight, and yes, it does feel that hot!!

Anyway, goodnight!

Safe and boring tourist caves?

Have you ever been to Janolen caves in NSW, Aus? I went a long time ago, but what I remember was that they were very big (no chance of claustrophobia), light, reasonably dry, very pretty colours (no touching the formations!) and almost wheelchair accessible.

That's how my caving experience began today. A smooth, lighted path into a cave with lots of other people. At first it was quite boring and I was wondering if it was actually worth 800 yen ($8). There were people (a surprising number of small children) going both directions and we occasionally had to step aside and wait for a minute. But as it got slightly narrower it became more interesting - a bit more of a squeeze to get through, negotiating other people coming the opposite direction and ankle deep water to walk through. As were kept walking it became more tricky and definitely more wet until we were wading through knee deep and rather cold water, dodging rock formations and trying not to hit our heads! Then we got to where the lights were off! A number of people turned back at this stage, this could've been due to the complete darkness or because you had to crawl through water and low ceilings to continue. So, we felt our way through the cave and waded our way through water now coming up past our knees (which didn't really matter at this point).

Useful information when you start a walk is knowing where the walk finishes. As the spaces got narrower and more filled with water we began wondering if the cave went in a loop or formed a dead end. When most of our group decided that they didn't feel like swimming and turned back, we discovered that it was in actual fact a dead end! It was a rather wet walk back.

So our rather boring cave walk became very fun and interesting! But next time I might consider taking a torch!




By the way, no photos for this as my camera battery was flat from all those fireworks photos! But maybe this was a good thing considering how wet I got...

Fireworks! - Wednesday night

It's definitely been a busy few days. Between work, walking and doing some touristy activities on the side I've only just had enough sleep to keep going.

How many photos of fireworks do you need to take to get a good one? Lets say 50? I've probably got half a dozen good photos of the fireworks I saw last night! How long do you need to watch fireworks to get half a dozen good shots? I think it ended up being about an hour of continuous fireworks. Lots of fireworks! In the last 2 weeks that I've been here I've seen more fireworks than I've seen in my entire life! I think Japanese people like their fireworks!


I caught the train (I've never been on a train so crowded!) to a suburb (town? city?) on the water, a river I think. On the other side of the river is another suburb, both of which let off fireworks, competing with each other. So it was quite an impressive display. What I found more interesting was that so many people would dress up, squish onto trains and go watch an hour of fireworks all on a Wednesday night. It seems that they turn everything into a festival which involves lots of dressing up in kimonos, food and drink stalls and fireworks. As a result the atmosphere was amazing. People sat down where ever there was space and ooohed and ahhhed with the fireworks. Then the fireworks ended, we all lined up to file into the station and onto the train.

I'm anticipating that while I'm in Japan I may very well become quite good at taking photos of fireworks!!

Photos!

Either you're starting to get really bored with these and need something different or you have so much spare time that you're keeping up with me. Either way, I have something for you -- photos!!

I bought a camera that fits in my pocket that I'm taking with me everywhere. Now while I still feel a little silly taking photos, I have began. Mostly I've taken photos of my apartment, the surrounding area and a few other shots that have caught my interest. Let me know if there's any that you don't understand or anything that you're curious about.

Where are these photos you ask? To the right of this page! There is a link to my photos. Otherwise if you get stuck finding the link, you can go directly there... http://picasaweb.google.com/naomi.c.palmer/

While in some ways it doesn't feel like you're (I'm) far away at all - I am interacting with many of you just as much as when I'm at home - I still miss you! Thanks for keeping in touch and all the little messages. I hope you feel like you're part of what I'm doing - I am thinking of all of you!

Remember there is plenty of room at in my apartment (you know this as you've now seen the pics) and you're welcome to visit.

Americans, food and tatami bugs....

Actually I've got nothing interesting to write, I just thought I'd write a few lines because I don't feel like making dinner.

I now have internet! I thought it was difficult to organise a plan and understand what they were saying when they spoke English. Now when they speak Japanese - that's really difficult! In between a few different staff and a nifty computer on display that could translate Japanese/English we organised something. I have internet, it works, at the end of the day that was really what mattered.

That means I'll be much easier to catch - in between Skype, facebook, email and photos I put on Picasa everyone should be able to keep in touch. I'll be sending an email with some of these details in it, but if you have any probs let me know.

On a cultural note:
Have you noticed how loudly Americans talk? It is like they have no awareness of the situation and their level of noise. I'm wondering if they just talk at the same level no matter the situation. I do occasionally feel a little conspicuous walking down a street (or through a shop or on a bus) with them . I wonder what the Japanese people think about these gaijin (foreigners) who talk so loudly in another language.

I mentioned this to the other Aussie, he laughed and agreed , so it's not just me :)

Japanese people are really nice. I'm impressed that they never give off the "I'm sick of dealing with this person who can't even speak properly" vibe. The salesmen who assisted me with organising internet for me were so patient. They always come across as wanting to help as much as they can, and nothing is too much trouble. I think Australian's sometimes let those negative feelings show when dealing with customers.

A number of people have asked me if I like Vegemite. I typically give a "oh, yeah, it's not bad" type answer, but I'm thinking of changeing that to be a little more affirmative. Especially as I thought Vegemite on toast would have been really nice this morning, or even better, a cheesy-mite scroll from Baker's Delight (Ben, have one for me sometime). It would appear that Vegemite and Tim Tams are seen to be our iconic foods in Australia.

While we're on the topic of food.. I bought a loaf of bread yesterday; 6 slices, no crusts and slightly sweet. Still, it was nice for a bit of variety.

I guess the only other item of interest is that it would seem that I have bugs in my tatami mats. Tatami mats are very finely woven from some sort of reed. They are made into mats which cover the floors in the bedrooms. Unfortunately there are a few drawbacks to having them: you can't leave a futon (matress) on the floor, but have to put it away every day so that it doesn't get mouldy; it's rather delicate so you have to be really careful about what furniture you put on it; it's really not a good idea to spill food or drinks on it and yes, they sometimes have bugs. They are microscopic but do bit (equivalent to a mozzie or flea bite). My supervisor bought me some "Danni killer", so we'll see how well I follow the picture instructions and hopefully I don't need to know any of the written instructions!

While writing this has been rather fun (as always), I'm starting to get hungry and no-one else is offering to cook me dinner (where's a husband when you need one?). So, I'll catch you all later!