Wow. That year flew by. In retrospect, so much has happened, but it feels crazy to think that right around the corner is 2012.
Last weekend, two great things happened to end the year off pretty well for me: Yasuda decided to have a hot air balloon for the town children to have rides on. I got to go twice! It was lovely and I saw people smile so hard, my face hurt for them. It was almost more exciting for the students' parents than it was for the kids themselves!
That evening, I made the first ever attempt to have a middle school dance for the students. I had initially invited the entire 'Chugei' area, which included Tano-cho, Nahari-cho, Umaji-mura, Kitagawa-mura, along with my own Yasuda-cho. HOWEVER, my fellow JETs didn't quite push the event too much, so only my students came. At school, I had a sign-up sheet for them and only about 12 or 13 signed up. There were about 5 maybes. When the time came for the dance, typical Japanese style, students were there pretty much at five or earlier. My 12 that had signed up showed first. Then more and more kept coming. I think we ended up with maybe 30 or more! It was crazy! I didn't have enough food, but I didn't care. I couldn't believe they actually danced, too! Not all, of course, but more than I expected. Even some guys danced! we didn't have slow songs, just dance-y ones. They didn't like to hear anything but what they already knew and each song in Japan has a corresponding dance they know with it. They looked to us foreigners for the foreign song dances, with no response. It was nice and I plan to try again at the end of the year in March. Mostly because I love my sannensei (3rd graders - or 9th grade in the U.S.).
I gave my elementary school students silly bands for presents. They liked them a lot. It's cute to see how a completely different culture takes to things that are popular elsewhere. I had every grade in every school make Christmas cards as well, which went over quite well. Something strange about Christmas here is that it considered a "couple's" holiday, so the junior high schoolers all looked at me crazy when I told them to give the card to their mother or father. Today the Kidergarten and elementary school Christmas parties are happening. It's cute, but strange to see Japan's version of Christmas at times. . .
2011 was quite the struggle for me in many ways. I had visited the hospital and obtained injuries way too many times, battled boredom and stress in the workplace, and had my emotions stretched to their limits many times. NOW, I'm dealing with an even more frustrating issue. . . I requested a job transfer in the JET Program so that I could join Steven in Fukuoka. We had so many hoops to jump through including having to tell them that we were seriously engaged and intended to marry before the following year ended. We felt like that was easy enough to say we would do, but I needed to change the words "willing to wed in Japan" to "intend to wed in Japan" or the answer would be no for sure. That wasn't good enough either, so I had to make it "will wed in Japan at ~date~" and then I received an OK. They had granted me a transfer! My supervisor explained that all that was left was to wait for CLAIR to tell us if there was a contracting organization that wanted me. SO exciting!!! . . . . . . The last few minutes of my last day before winter break I was told that they changed their minds.
Apparently, they found some snafu in the contract that said, if I were to move to another place to be with a spouse, they would need to have a full-time, contracted job which the spouse would be able to stay at until they were 60 or so, like the rest of the government workers in Japan. In other words, he is not Japanese, so I can't go. End of story. To make it better, this rule is written only in the Japanese part of the contract, not the English translation, so I can't even see it to prove it. We were willing to do whatever they wanted to make this work out. What the hell happened? Now no one even claims to know why I thought I was accepted. Fuck that. Now, looks like I'll be finding a new job in July or August, probably with Interac or some private company. It's just frustrating and I can't believe it happened or that it is legitimately a reason not to allow someone a transfer. >_<
At this point I have two states of mind about this place and this job:
1. I can't wait to get the fuck out of here and move to Fukuoka just to spite them. I'm tired of these people and this house and everything and it couldn't end soon enough.
and
2. I really need to make the most of my remaining time here. I want to see these friends I've made while here as much as possible, clean my place thoroughly, see more of this island and places nearby, and leave a lovely impression on everyone so that maybe they will talk about me as much as they do about David, my predecessor.
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
I'm freezing. . .
Many things to say, but only one thing on my mind at the moment, really. . . I'm so effing COLD! >_< It isn't that the temperature is ridiculous. It's actually somewhere between 40 an 45F, 4-7C at night and is warmer in the day by about 20 degrees Fahrenheit, 10 degrees Celsius. That's not the big issue. The biggest problem is that there is no real way for me to keep this place warm inside.
The walls of homes are no longer made of paper in Japan, but they might as well be. Japan has this love for glass, concrete, and fake wood. (Actually, there are many places with real wood, but it is cut about 20cm thick and usually used as a table or wall piece.) I don't think they believe in insulation in this country. Basically, whatever you are feeling outside, it's about the same in your home.
At school, especially the junior high school, there are nothing but glass sliding doors all over the place connecting to the outside world. At this time of year, they open up a lot of these doors and create a nice breezy ice box for the students to enjoy. They claim it "brings in fresh, healthy air". I think they need to notice the little girls and boys walking around the schools with heat pads and blue lips and make another assessment of that situation. . .
My shower is in a room attached to my kitchen. The second that shower door opens up, all the steam fills the kitchen for a few minutes and then sneaks out the drafty kitchen window. When I get out, I have to go through the cold kitchen, up the cold and frighteningly steep stairs, and into the freezing cold bedroom. Upstairs, the two rooms both have those same drafty windows which mysteriously let a constant cool breeze flow through the whole top floor. YAY!
I have had people come over to my place and tell me how much they like it, how cute it is, how they'd love to have a house instead of a tiny little apartment. LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING: in summer, when all you have to do is turn on a fan or the A/C box to cool down your entire place and, in winter, when all you have to do is turn on a little space heater or change that A/C box to the heat setting to warm up your ENTIRE place, please think about this boiling hot or freezing cold house that you would have loved. . . while you are lazing about in comfort.
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
These Give Me Good Feelings.
First of all, this video. Is gorgeous. Gives me incredibly good feelings. I guess I'm just a big hippie at heart, but nature is so stunning that I have no idea how people would ever pass it by without noticing or (even worse, today's situation) want to destroy it. Anywho, I could go on forever about that shit. . . watch and enjoy. . .
Secondly, I finally got to go to Fukuoka to see Steven! The trip was only frustrating because it was the first time I was doing it. I went to many places I had never been to before and I just hate being tired, confused, and longing to just be laying down somewhere with my beau. I drove to Ikku, near Kochi City, took a bus from Ikku to Okayama, then a shinkansen (bullet train) from Okayama to Hakata Station in Fukuoka.
Ikku was crazy confusing when it came to finding a parking spot, but I hope next time will be much easier. An overly-helpful man showed me how to get to the shinkansen to buy tickets and where to stand for it. It was really quite an enjoyable ride, very fast and comfortable. I got the "ju-seki" seats which meant we had to find an open seat anywhere on the first three cars and sit. It costs about 円2,000 less to do it this way and it really wasn't a bother, since I got there earlier than the rest. Steven met me at Hakata Station to show me the way to his place. I had no idea just how big Okayama and Fukuoka Cities were going to be! MAN I live in a tiny place. . .
While in Fukuoka, I really didn't get to see, erm, Fukuoka. Friday night, I was beat, so we just stayed in. Saturday, all day, Steven's Wajiro Junior High School staff had a volleyball tournament which was, of course, followed by an enkai (drinking party). They were great fun and very excited to meet me. One girl reminded me of my friend Naomi quite a bit, only twice as Japanese.
The latest bus leaving Okayama on Sunday was at 2:20, which was incredibly irritating to find out. This meant I had to leave Hakata around noon. Only one and a half days in Fukuoka. . . While packing, I realized I had left my shinkansen ticket in my wallet which I had left at the Izakaya (pub) the night before! What a damn mess. Today I had to mail the ticket I bought to replace the lost one to Steven so he could try to get the money back for the first one I purchased. What can I say, I am accident inevitable. . . Though it was brief, it was a nice weekend.
Thirdly, THIS video:
Lately, I keep thinking "wow, it's so warm!" during the day and "how effing freezing!" at night. I enjoy and hate this time of year. With the warmth, I'm finding mosquitoes and mossie bites all over me as well as my nightly slugs (which have tripled in size since the summer). With the cold, getting a shower, waking up in the morning, and going to use the toilet downstairs after I've been in my cozy, warm bed are a real bitch. WOO!
It's hard to believe it's almost X-mas. . . In Japan, just like in the U.S., as soon as Halloween is over, the Christmas stuff comes out! Because I really feel like I haven't contributed much of anything to my town as far as cultural exchange, I'm throwing a Winter Dance Party for the JHS students! I have no ifdea how well this will go. . . instead of making it solely for my school, I decided to invite the entire Chugei area, which means the neighboring towns of Tano, Nahari, Umaji, Kitagawa, and mine - Yasuda. I hope a lot of kids come. I'm really excited because, in America, middle school dances are always a bit awkward, but here, it's going to be insanely awkward. . . so we'll have face-painting, games, and snacks to try to keep them calm.
I'm pretty sure Steven and I are planning a trip to Korea over winter break, since Fukuoka is so close. We'll see how that goes, though.
Can't wait!
Finding Oregon from Uncage the Soul Productions on Vimeo.
Secondly, I finally got to go to Fukuoka to see Steven! The trip was only frustrating because it was the first time I was doing it. I went to many places I had never been to before and I just hate being tired, confused, and longing to just be laying down somewhere with my beau. I drove to Ikku, near Kochi City, took a bus from Ikku to Okayama, then a shinkansen (bullet train) from Okayama to Hakata Station in Fukuoka.
Ikku was crazy confusing when it came to finding a parking spot, but I hope next time will be much easier. An overly-helpful man showed me how to get to the shinkansen to buy tickets and where to stand for it. It was really quite an enjoyable ride, very fast and comfortable. I got the "ju-seki" seats which meant we had to find an open seat anywhere on the first three cars and sit. It costs about 円2,000 less to do it this way and it really wasn't a bother, since I got there earlier than the rest. Steven met me at Hakata Station to show me the way to his place. I had no idea just how big Okayama and Fukuoka Cities were going to be! MAN I live in a tiny place. . .
While in Fukuoka, I really didn't get to see, erm, Fukuoka. Friday night, I was beat, so we just stayed in. Saturday, all day, Steven's Wajiro Junior High School staff had a volleyball tournament which was, of course, followed by an enkai (drinking party). They were great fun and very excited to meet me. One girl reminded me of my friend Naomi quite a bit, only twice as Japanese.
The latest bus leaving Okayama on Sunday was at 2:20, which was incredibly irritating to find out. This meant I had to leave Hakata around noon. Only one and a half days in Fukuoka. . . While packing, I realized I had left my shinkansen ticket in my wallet which I had left at the Izakaya (pub) the night before! What a damn mess. Today I had to mail the ticket I bought to replace the lost one to Steven so he could try to get the money back for the first one I purchased. What can I say, I am accident inevitable. . . Though it was brief, it was a nice weekend.
Thirdly, THIS video:
Lately, I keep thinking "wow, it's so warm!" during the day and "how effing freezing!" at night. I enjoy and hate this time of year. With the warmth, I'm finding mosquitoes and mossie bites all over me as well as my nightly slugs (which have tripled in size since the summer). With the cold, getting a shower, waking up in the morning, and going to use the toilet downstairs after I've been in my cozy, warm bed are a real bitch. WOO!
It's hard to believe it's almost X-mas. . . In Japan, just like in the U.S., as soon as Halloween is over, the Christmas stuff comes out! Because I really feel like I haven't contributed much of anything to my town as far as cultural exchange, I'm throwing a Winter Dance Party for the JHS students! I have no ifdea how well this will go. . . instead of making it solely for my school, I decided to invite the entire Chugei area, which means the neighboring towns of Tano, Nahari, Umaji, Kitagawa, and mine - Yasuda. I hope a lot of kids come. I'm really excited because, in America, middle school dances are always a bit awkward, but here, it's going to be insanely awkward. . . so we'll have face-painting, games, and snacks to try to keep them calm.
I'm pretty sure Steven and I are planning a trip to Korea over winter break, since Fukuoka is so close. We'll see how that goes, though.
Can't wait!
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
What happened to October!? Been A While, ね. . .
Well, well, well. . . I can't believe October flew by like that (and November is half way through, too)! There was so much going on, though, that I just never got around to writing anything up. I will try to sum things up as best as I can. . .
October 2nd, Steven finally arrived in Japan. He was in Tokyo for orientation with Interac, the company he works for. In my opinion, they are pretty shit, but they gave him a job and that's what matters. As I was going to Tokyo the 7th to meet him, Interac let him know that he had indeed been placed and was supposed to leave for his city on the 7th around 2, an hour after I arrive. BASTARDS! However, we worked it out and he ended up flying to his Contracting Organization that morning, meeting them, and flying back to Tokyo that same evening. Poor guy, probably jet-lagged and everything taking 2 flights the same day.
Tokyo was not as big and confusing as I thought it was going to be. Somehow, I managed to navigate the city with ease, even when I was sometimes lost. . . it was easy to get back on track again. We met up with my friend Mamiko, who showed us around a little, taking us to a Kyushu (which is the island Steven is on now) food festival. We visited Harajuku, watched the Rockabilly dancers in Yoyogi Park, went to a lovely cafe with an art gallery, nice selection of beer (for Japan), and trees sticking up through the tables, and made lampwork beads with some awesome Japanese hippie guys. Steven and I found the best curry soup place in Japan. We had a wonderful (and expensive) three and a half days together until he had to go back to Fukuoka and I had to fly to the US for my small holiday/ friend's wedding.
In the US, everything was a bit strange. Many things were how I expected; too big, rude, loud, and rushed. I almost cried in the airport when the luggage guy growled at me for being in his way after the other luggage guy told me to be there. Pathetic, I know, but it was a bit of reverse culture shock. I got over it quickly. . . I felt the need to have cash at all times, since Japan is such a cash culture. I had forgotten about the whole "card culture" in America. My darling friend, Justine, picked me up and I'm pretty positive my time there was non-stop from that point on. I showered at her place to get rid of that "just been dragged around the world for the past 20 hours" feeling and we headed out right away. It was Tuesday, $2 pint night, so we went there. I had hoped to meet up with many other friends there at the same time, but no contact, no showing up, and I was too knackered even if they had been there. . .
It really was lovely getting to see old friends again. Debora and Adrian were preparing for their wedding. It was strange to see them in my old place, but they did make it very very nice, as opposed to my mess of clutter and electronics. Lindsay came to hang out despite her living outside the city now and her father being in the hospital. Kayla had a new beau (who I'm not terribly sure of yet, as a protective friend of that darling) and he was around for a while, too. We all had a great Moroccan dinner together to celebrate the couple's marriage.
My friends Emily, Ijeoma, and Mercedes also met up in the city and we ate at a Mandarin restaurant that we went to back in our City Year days. It was a lovely reminder of good people and the things they are doing as the river of life flows on.
Justine's boyfriend turned 21 and we celebrated with Bloody Marys at brunch.
I got to see both my mother and father in a very short time period, which is always nice in a strange way. My father came to have lunch and Justine came along to that as well. My mother came the day after that to Debora's wedding. It was a gorgeous event, perfect for the Jewish/ Portuguese/ Neo-Hippie/ Culture-loving couple. I was a bridesmaid, along with Kayla and Debora's high school friend, Valeria.
Immediately after the wedding, I went back to Justine's and packed for my flight a few hours later.
The trip back to Japan was a mess. . . I left my passport in Justine's car and I knew she didn't have her phone, so I had to wait until she got back home to have her return to the airport at 5am. Luckily she didn't live too far away. I just made the flight. In Texas, I also just barely made the flight. First, I waited for baggage which, it turned out, had been already put on the connecting flight. Second, I traveled to the area which was supposed to be the departing gate: gate 9. There was no gate 9, only 8 and right next to that, 10. WTF!?!? I asked the woman at 10 and she said "It's supposed to say 'gate 35' and that is on the other side of the airport. . . you better hurry because it's final call!" >_< I ran as fast as I could, with my name blaring over the loudspeaker. . . "STEPHANIE STONER, LAST CALL FOR THE FLIGHT TO TOKYO!!!" Fucking embarrassing. . . Made it back to Tokyo Narita airport and asked the woman at arrival gate how I should get to the Haneda airport in time for the flight to Kochi. "You are just barely going to make it," she said. In a calm panic (if that's possible) she helped speed me through customs and onto a bus for Haneda. This was probably the most relaxing time of travel. Haneda to Kochi was not too bad (except for the fact that somewhere along the way I had gotten some kind of head cold, making the descent into Kochi excruciatingly painful) and Kondo sensei met me at Ryoma airport to drive me home. How CRAZY! There was an art meeting that weekend. It was nice, we chatted about upcoming things, like a show we wanted to make and an art book we wanted to create between us. I volunteered to go first, which proved to be a difficult task. . . This is what I came up with, anyway:
The second grade junior high school class had an outing at a semi-famous pastry factory which took a long time to get to, a long time to wait for beforehand, and a very short time to actually tour. Because we ended so soon, the teacher in charge decided it would be fun to have another trip, so we went to the Noichi Zoo. It was both sad and adorable. The welcome sign was shocking to me. The giraffes and hyenas were probably the best parts of the tiny zoo, which only just got giraffes a few years ago. Good times. . .
My predecessor's predecessor, Nathan, came to Yasuda one day to visit the places he used to work and live. He is from Minnesota and was very sweet and so was his wife, Katie. The students mostly remembered him, even though he was here about six years ago. I showed him what I've made of the house, which he was in when he was the Yasuda-cho ALT, and he claimed it was pretty much the same. It was a nice opportunity that I doubt many JETs get to experience.
Yasuda had the Konomine shrine festival, which was tiny and adorable. In the day, they had moved the 1,500 or so pound golden shrine to the beach a long way away and at night, they partied on. There was a little performance of "four Gods and a demon" as well as the usual little food carts and games. My students went nuts every time we walked by each other in the tiny streets, which was quite often.
There was also a festival in Kitagawa Village where we, once again, did kyudo archery. Since I had done it last year, I was kind of the teacher for the non-Japanese speakers. We all did really well, though. Such a great and unique experience.
Throughout October, I helped at a few Halloween parties dressed as a black cat. The only thing I had to buy was a pair of stockings since Steven and I purchased some cat ears last year for the jungle party. They were exhausting but good fun. On real Halloween, I dressed as the Yasuda train station character since a few of us thought it might be cute. There is a famous cartoon in Japan called "Anpanman" and the cartoonist from that was a Kochi-ite. He also drew our station characters on the east side of Kochi. That being said, only the people on the east side of Kochi really know what they are, so no one at the giant Kochi City Halloween Party knew who the hell we were. I wanted to be gory, since that's a big part of why I enjoy Halloween, so I put a fish hook on my neck with a bunch of blood. That made me feel a bit better. We went out dancing after we left Hirome, this popular food place in the city. Dancing was lame as always, but we had a decent time.
We crashed at our friend Johnny's place somewhere just outside the city. I didn't feel like I had drunk too much, but the next day, I was sick until about 3pm. We didn't know where the train was and some lovely lady drove us back to Kochi City to get my car. I had left my keys at Johnny's but, luckily, had a spare. Lucy drove as I continued spewing the entire way back. I woke up around 8 to have my first meal of the day. Train wreck. . .
My Halloween lessons went well. I had bought a giant bag of candy in the U.S. big enough for every student in Yasuda. They all loved them. I don't think teachers ever give students candy here, so they were almost in tears they were so excited. They've always loved me, but they really loved me after that.
Steven came to visit Kochi/ Yasuda on November 4th. It was amazing to have him back here again. It felt as though he had never left! Everyone was excited to see him, ask about Fukuoka, etc. We had a party to celebrate, for which I made a trivia game. That was frustrating but great fun. I love trivia games. . . they bring me back to my time in Australia. We had a really busy time that weekend, with Aki Culture Festival, the trivia party, and Yasuda town sports day/ sports day enkai (party).
It was sad to see him leave after such a short time, but I plan to go there the 25th of November. I have applied to transfer from Kochi to Fukuoka for next year. The process has been irritating, to say the least. I really really hope it happens but, if it doesn't, I am seriously considering leaving JET to pursue a position with another company in Fukuoka anyway. We may very well have to get married in order to make this happen. . . fucking idiots. . . We're going to make it work out, no matter what.
I assisted with the English testing called "Eiken," which is a very serious thing for many Japanese students. I interviewed junior high school and high school students. Some were so nervous that I thought they were going to vomit or have a heart attack right in front of me. We were paid quite well for it and had a "delicious Japanese lunch" AKA Japanese bento box lunch, and a lovely treat from the Aki bakery, "Yogashi Club": cheesecake, macha / cream roll, and a cream puff, mmm. I hope I get asked to do it again. . .
The other day, it was November the eleventh of two thousand eleven (11/11/11) and at 11/11/11, 11:11 AM, I was teaching fourth graders the names of vehicles. We played a game I made up where I shout out the name of a vehicle and they have to form it with their bodies according to certain rules. Very cute. I wanted to strangle the third graders, but ４年 was great, since they have a very domineering teacher this year. At 11/11/11, 11:11 PM, I was singing karaoke (Queen's "We Are the Champions") at a tiny place in Nahari town with the other Chugei area JETs and some of the members of our various Boards of Education. Great fun.
Well, longer than I wanted, but that sums up what has happened worth mentioning, I think. . .
Life is rolling along and it's hard to believe the end of 2011 is here. . .
October 2nd, Steven finally arrived in Japan. He was in Tokyo for orientation with Interac, the company he works for. In my opinion, they are pretty shit, but they gave him a job and that's what matters. As I was going to Tokyo the 7th to meet him, Interac let him know that he had indeed been placed and was supposed to leave for his city on the 7th around 2, an hour after I arrive. BASTARDS! However, we worked it out and he ended up flying to his Contracting Organization that morning, meeting them, and flying back to Tokyo that same evening. Poor guy, probably jet-lagged and everything taking 2 flights the same day.
Tokyo was not as big and confusing as I thought it was going to be. Somehow, I managed to navigate the city with ease, even when I was sometimes lost. . . it was easy to get back on track again. We met up with my friend Mamiko, who showed us around a little, taking us to a Kyushu (which is the island Steven is on now) food festival. We visited Harajuku, watched the Rockabilly dancers in Yoyogi Park, went to a lovely cafe with an art gallery, nice selection of beer (for Japan), and trees sticking up through the tables, and made lampwork beads with some awesome Japanese hippie guys. Steven and I found the best curry soup place in Japan. We had a wonderful (and expensive) three and a half days together until he had to go back to Fukuoka and I had to fly to the US for my small holiday/ friend's wedding.
In the US, everything was a bit strange. Many things were how I expected; too big, rude, loud, and rushed. I almost cried in the airport when the luggage guy growled at me for being in his way after the other luggage guy told me to be there. Pathetic, I know, but it was a bit of reverse culture shock. I got over it quickly. . . I felt the need to have cash at all times, since Japan is such a cash culture. I had forgotten about the whole "card culture" in America. My darling friend, Justine, picked me up and I'm pretty positive my time there was non-stop from that point on. I showered at her place to get rid of that "just been dragged around the world for the past 20 hours" feeling and we headed out right away. It was Tuesday, $2 pint night, so we went there. I had hoped to meet up with many other friends there at the same time, but no contact, no showing up, and I was too knackered even if they had been there. . .
It really was lovely getting to see old friends again. Debora and Adrian were preparing for their wedding. It was strange to see them in my old place, but they did make it very very nice, as opposed to my mess of clutter and electronics. Lindsay came to hang out despite her living outside the city now and her father being in the hospital. Kayla had a new beau (who I'm not terribly sure of yet, as a protective friend of that darling) and he was around for a while, too. We all had a great Moroccan dinner together to celebrate the couple's marriage.
My friends Emily, Ijeoma, and Mercedes also met up in the city and we ate at a Mandarin restaurant that we went to back in our City Year days. It was a lovely reminder of good people and the things they are doing as the river of life flows on.
Justine's boyfriend turned 21 and we celebrated with Bloody Marys at brunch.
I got to see both my mother and father in a very short time period, which is always nice in a strange way. My father came to have lunch and Justine came along to that as well. My mother came the day after that to Debora's wedding. It was a gorgeous event, perfect for the Jewish/ Portuguese/ Neo-Hippie/ Culture-loving couple. I was a bridesmaid, along with Kayla and Debora's high school friend, Valeria.
Immediately after the wedding, I went back to Justine's and packed for my flight a few hours later.
The trip back to Japan was a mess. . . I left my passport in Justine's car and I knew she didn't have her phone, so I had to wait until she got back home to have her return to the airport at 5am. Luckily she didn't live too far away. I just made the flight. In Texas, I also just barely made the flight. First, I waited for baggage which, it turned out, had been already put on the connecting flight. Second, I traveled to the area which was supposed to be the departing gate: gate 9. There was no gate 9, only 8 and right next to that, 10. WTF!?!? I asked the woman at 10 and she said "It's supposed to say 'gate 35' and that is on the other side of the airport. . . you better hurry because it's final call!" >_< I ran as fast as I could, with my name blaring over the loudspeaker. . . "STEPHANIE STONER, LAST CALL FOR THE FLIGHT TO TOKYO!!!" Fucking embarrassing. . . Made it back to Tokyo Narita airport and asked the woman at arrival gate how I should get to the Haneda airport in time for the flight to Kochi. "You are just barely going to make it," she said. In a calm panic (if that's possible) she helped speed me through customs and onto a bus for Haneda. This was probably the most relaxing time of travel. Haneda to Kochi was not too bad (except for the fact that somewhere along the way I had gotten some kind of head cold, making the descent into Kochi excruciatingly painful) and Kondo sensei met me at Ryoma airport to drive me home. How CRAZY! There was an art meeting that weekend. It was nice, we chatted about upcoming things, like a show we wanted to make and an art book we wanted to create between us. I volunteered to go first, which proved to be a difficult task. . . This is what I came up with, anyway:
The second grade junior high school class had an outing at a semi-famous pastry factory which took a long time to get to, a long time to wait for beforehand, and a very short time to actually tour. Because we ended so soon, the teacher in charge decided it would be fun to have another trip, so we went to the Noichi Zoo. It was both sad and adorable. The welcome sign was shocking to me. The giraffes and hyenas were probably the best parts of the tiny zoo, which only just got giraffes a few years ago. Good times. . .
My predecessor's predecessor, Nathan, came to Yasuda one day to visit the places he used to work and live. He is from Minnesota and was very sweet and so was his wife, Katie. The students mostly remembered him, even though he was here about six years ago. I showed him what I've made of the house, which he was in when he was the Yasuda-cho ALT, and he claimed it was pretty much the same. It was a nice opportunity that I doubt many JETs get to experience.
Yasuda had the Konomine shrine festival, which was tiny and adorable. In the day, they had moved the 1,500 or so pound golden shrine to the beach a long way away and at night, they partied on. There was a little performance of "four Gods and a demon" as well as the usual little food carts and games. My students went nuts every time we walked by each other in the tiny streets, which was quite often.
There was also a festival in Kitagawa Village where we, once again, did kyudo archery. Since I had done it last year, I was kind of the teacher for the non-Japanese speakers. We all did really well, though. Such a great and unique experience.
Throughout October, I helped at a few Halloween parties dressed as a black cat. The only thing I had to buy was a pair of stockings since Steven and I purchased some cat ears last year for the jungle party. They were exhausting but good fun. On real Halloween, I dressed as the Yasuda train station character since a few of us thought it might be cute. There is a famous cartoon in Japan called "Anpanman" and the cartoonist from that was a Kochi-ite. He also drew our station characters on the east side of Kochi. That being said, only the people on the east side of Kochi really know what they are, so no one at the giant Kochi City Halloween Party knew who the hell we were. I wanted to be gory, since that's a big part of why I enjoy Halloween, so I put a fish hook on my neck with a bunch of blood. That made me feel a bit better. We went out dancing after we left Hirome, this popular food place in the city. Dancing was lame as always, but we had a decent time.
We crashed at our friend Johnny's place somewhere just outside the city. I didn't feel like I had drunk too much, but the next day, I was sick until about 3pm. We didn't know where the train was and some lovely lady drove us back to Kochi City to get my car. I had left my keys at Johnny's but, luckily, had a spare. Lucy drove as I continued spewing the entire way back. I woke up around 8 to have my first meal of the day. Train wreck. . .
My Halloween lessons went well. I had bought a giant bag of candy in the U.S. big enough for every student in Yasuda. They all loved them. I don't think teachers ever give students candy here, so they were almost in tears they were so excited. They've always loved me, but they really loved me after that.
Steven came to visit Kochi/ Yasuda on November 4th. It was amazing to have him back here again. It felt as though he had never left! Everyone was excited to see him, ask about Fukuoka, etc. We had a party to celebrate, for which I made a trivia game. That was frustrating but great fun. I love trivia games. . . they bring me back to my time in Australia. We had a really busy time that weekend, with Aki Culture Festival, the trivia party, and Yasuda town sports day/ sports day enkai (party).
It was sad to see him leave after such a short time, but I plan to go there the 25th of November. I have applied to transfer from Kochi to Fukuoka for next year. The process has been irritating, to say the least. I really really hope it happens but, if it doesn't, I am seriously considering leaving JET to pursue a position with another company in Fukuoka anyway. We may very well have to get married in order to make this happen. . . fucking idiots. . . We're going to make it work out, no matter what.
I assisted with the English testing called "Eiken," which is a very serious thing for many Japanese students. I interviewed junior high school and high school students. Some were so nervous that I thought they were going to vomit or have a heart attack right in front of me. We were paid quite well for it and had a "delicious Japanese lunch" AKA Japanese bento box lunch, and a lovely treat from the Aki bakery, "Yogashi Club": cheesecake, macha / cream roll, and a cream puff, mmm. I hope I get asked to do it again. . .
The other day, it was November the eleventh of two thousand eleven (11/11/11) and at 11/11/11, 11:11 AM, I was teaching fourth graders the names of vehicles. We played a game I made up where I shout out the name of a vehicle and they have to form it with their bodies according to certain rules. Very cute. I wanted to strangle the third graders, but ４年 was great, since they have a very domineering teacher this year. At 11/11/11, 11:11 PM, I was singing karaoke (Queen's "We Are the Champions") at a tiny place in Nahari town with the other Chugei area JETs and some of the members of our various Boards of Education. Great fun.
Well, longer than I wanted, but that sums up what has happened worth mentioning, I think. . .
Life is rolling along and it's hard to believe the end of 2011 is here. . .
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Charlie
A few days ago I did it. I flushed the little bastard down the washing machine drain. Apparently, I didn't do a good enough job the first time. Tonight, there he was again, Charlie Junior, sitting mockingly on the shower room floor, in all his Huntsman glory. I sneakily grabbed the shower hose and turned it on with my foot, spraying a powerful blast of good ol' H2O on Jr. As before, he struggled to get away, trying to run his little wet body up the wall, but to no avail. He did manage to make his way behind the mashing machine, but I sprayed over it, under it, next to it, until his lifeless body flowed out and down the drain. I turned the washer faucet on to make sure he didn't somehow grasp the pipe. I hope he's gone for good now.
I've been dealing with Huntsman spiders my entire time in Japan. Imagine a skinny tarantula the size of your open hand, fingers spread. My second week or so here, there was one in my tiny closet of a toilet room, which people from my BOE had to come and kill for me. I had no idea about them, no one had warned me. I left that little bitch in the toilet room for about 24 hours. The next day, they froze him to death and he shriveled up into nothing.
I don't know why I didn't get that freezing spray. I suppose I've been trying to live and let live. a few months ago, there was a Huntsman in my kitchen, about the size of a child's hand. I spoke to him for about an hour. Sounds ridiculous, I know, but I named him Charlie and told him the ground rules for the "Live and Let Live" game:
1. No going into the toilet room or shower room, try to stay out of the bedroom.
2. If he discovers that we are, in fact, in the same room, he is not to move AT ALL.
3. No attempting to sneak by me in any of the rooms or staircase.
4. If any of the rules are broken, I have the right to kill him any way I see fit.
Now, for months I had not seen my little friend, Charlie. He heard the rules and followed them well. A little over a week ago, though, I was walking up the stairs when I heard a small thud and looked to see what had fallen. It was a giant Huntsman. I immediately flinched back down the stairs, which he decided to climb up a little, then stop. Fair enough, he wasn't moving. I was about to get a shower, so I figured by the time I got out, he'd be gone. Nope - I searched for his little skinny, hairy, brown body and found it on the side of a step. I thought if I went quickly, he'd stay there. Nope - he bolted up the stairs, onto the wall, and into the bedroom. The last time I saw one in the room, it was on the wall by my bed and walked across, falling on top of a pile of clothes, so I have since kept my bed about 30cm away from the wall so there was less of a chance that one would be on my bed. I saw the little shit crawling in that gap and was so glad I had moved the bed. He disappeared and I decided to go to sleep anyway. My calmness came from the thought that these guys are around, whether I see the or not all the time, so why should I worry about it. Also, they're harmless unless provoked, eat cockroaches, and their venom would only make me slightly uncomfortable if anything even happened.
So back to about an hour ago. . .
I flushed Junior down the drain and felt better about things. I had just gotten my body wet in the shower, when I look up on the wall right in front of my face and see a HUGE Huntsman. I must have squealed like a piglet. My thoughts were flying all over the place; "When did that one get here? Is this possibly the parent of the baby one I just flushed, looking for revenge? Has my friend CHARLIE grown up!?" The squeal must have sent vibrations through the shower room, because he left off the wall and landed near my feet. I jumped up on the edge of the bathtub and grabbed the shower hose, spraying violently all over the damn place. THEY MOVE SO FAST!!! He ran behind the washer and I kept spraying, but this guy was much stronger than the little one I drowned earlier, so he hung on. I kept my eye on the giant spindly legs around the corner of the washer during my entire shower.
I spoke to him. I let him know that he was NOT to move during my shower or I'd kill him. He spitefully kept twitching his legs around (probably trying to dry off), but I kept my distance. I told him to stay there until he heard me go upstairs. I edged out of the room, dried myself off and turned off the light. I told him that if he was indeed my friend Charlie, that the game was on and he'd earned his one-way ticket to hell if I saw him again.
I've been dealing with Huntsman spiders my entire time in Japan. Imagine a skinny tarantula the size of your open hand, fingers spread. My second week or so here, there was one in my tiny closet of a toilet room, which people from my BOE had to come and kill for me. I had no idea about them, no one had warned me. I left that little bitch in the toilet room for about 24 hours. The next day, they froze him to death and he shriveled up into nothing.
1. No going into the toilet room or shower room, try to stay out of the bedroom.
2. If he discovers that we are, in fact, in the same room, he is not to move AT ALL.
3. No attempting to sneak by me in any of the rooms or staircase.
4. If any of the rules are broken, I have the right to kill him any way I see fit.
Now, for months I had not seen my little friend, Charlie. He heard the rules and followed them well. A little over a week ago, though, I was walking up the stairs when I heard a small thud and looked to see what had fallen. It was a giant Huntsman. I immediately flinched back down the stairs, which he decided to climb up a little, then stop. Fair enough, he wasn't moving. I was about to get a shower, so I figured by the time I got out, he'd be gone. Nope - I searched for his little skinny, hairy, brown body and found it on the side of a step. I thought if I went quickly, he'd stay there. Nope - he bolted up the stairs, onto the wall, and into the bedroom. The last time I saw one in the room, it was on the wall by my bed and walked across, falling on top of a pile of clothes, so I have since kept my bed about 30cm away from the wall so there was less of a chance that one would be on my bed. I saw the little shit crawling in that gap and was so glad I had moved the bed. He disappeared and I decided to go to sleep anyway. My calmness came from the thought that these guys are around, whether I see the or not all the time, so why should I worry about it. Also, they're harmless unless provoked, eat cockroaches, and their venom would only make me slightly uncomfortable if anything even happened.
So back to about an hour ago. . .
I flushed Junior down the drain and felt better about things. I had just gotten my body wet in the shower, when I look up on the wall right in front of my face and see a HUGE Huntsman. I must have squealed like a piglet. My thoughts were flying all over the place; "When did that one get here? Is this possibly the parent of the baby one I just flushed, looking for revenge? Has my friend CHARLIE grown up!?" The squeal must have sent vibrations through the shower room, because he left off the wall and landed near my feet. I jumped up on the edge of the bathtub and grabbed the shower hose, spraying violently all over the damn place. THEY MOVE SO FAST!!! He ran behind the washer and I kept spraying, but this guy was much stronger than the little one I drowned earlier, so he hung on. I kept my eye on the giant spindly legs around the corner of the washer during my entire shower.
I spoke to him. I let him know that he was NOT to move during my shower or I'd kill him. He spitefully kept twitching his legs around (probably trying to dry off), but I kept my distance. I told him to stay there until he heard me go upstairs. I edged out of the room, dried myself off and turned off the light. I told him that if he was indeed my friend Charlie, that the game was on and he'd earned his one-way ticket to hell if I saw him again.
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Accidentally Racist?
Well, it's that time of year again when the students of Japan everywhere strap white and red bands and hats to themselves and run around the baseball field like crazy people for fun in an event called Sports Day! It's quite an enjoyable and ridiculous time, really. They train every day starting a few weeks prior to the event and give it their all every time, in true Japanese fashion. They have races, many of which are running, but some of which are just a bit crazy and difficult to explain. . . I'll talk about them later, though. . .
This time around, I was asked to participate in their "folk dance" part of Sports Day. While we were all baking in the sun waiting for the students' meeting to finish, the other female staff members and I had a conversation. I was wearing a t-shirt and shorts, while they were covered from head to toe in layers of clothing. I heard them priding themselves on their genius cover-ups and discussing the difference between light and dark colors being in the sun. The teacher in black was ridiculed while the one in light blue was praised for being so smart about her color selection.
Every day we hear Japanese people say "atsui, ne!? which means, "Boy, isn't it hot!" It is pretty hot in the sun here, possibly more so than in Philadelphia, anyway, but I find myself really angry when I hear this statement made in this kind of situation.
I once brought it up to my Eikaiwa (English Conversation) class. Why the hell do Japanese women complain about how hot it is and then cover themselves in multiple layers!? I've been told various things. . .
I was born with a tan. I'm not so sure they understand that. I always have one because of my ethnicity, not because I spend all day in the sun. Yeah, I'm not covered head to toe, but even if I were, my skin color is only ever going to get darker than what it is. They think that every other country outside Japan loves to tan, so we just don't bother trying any way to protect ourselves. That's where darker people come from. That's why we have so much more cancer than them, too.
One of the teachers asked me, "Are you not worried about the sun on your skin?" I told her plainly that I had sunscreen on and sunglasses. What else would they like me to do? I tan very, very easily, but I would rather be cool in my t-shirt than sweating to death under these stupid layers of 'skin protection!' I doubt they are trying to be offensive and racist, but I've heard similar shit my whole life and I already have my own issues about my skin getting darker without this notion that my skin color is ugly factoring in.
When we practiced yesterday, there was one other teacher, a Japanese woman with decent English, who was wearing a hat but only a t-shirt. She was immediately accosted by the other women about covering up. Today, when we practiced again, I saw her wearing a nice white jacket over her t-shirt. She said "When I was young, it was OK, but now, it's not OK." Which means, "When I was a child, unaware of the need to be gorgeously pale and only interested in my comfort and joys of playing in the sun, I didn't bother covering up like this, but now you have to in order to be socially acceptable to the other women of Japan." I think it's terrible that they push their ideas onto one another like this.
I have lived here over a year now and I just felt like I needed to express my disgust with the fact that the tone of your skin is an issue in Japan. I'm not too sure it's racism. . . colorism?
This time around, I was asked to participate in their "folk dance" part of Sports Day. While we were all baking in the sun waiting for the students' meeting to finish, the other female staff members and I had a conversation. I was wearing a t-shirt and shorts, while they were covered from head to toe in layers of clothing. I heard them priding themselves on their genius cover-ups and discussing the difference between light and dark colors being in the sun. The teacher in black was ridiculed while the one in light blue was praised for being so smart about her color selection.
Every day we hear Japanese people say "atsui, ne!? which means, "Boy, isn't it hot!" It is pretty hot in the sun here, possibly more so than in Philadelphia, anyway, but I find myself really angry when I hear this statement made in this kind of situation.
I once brought it up to my Eikaiwa (English Conversation) class. Why the hell do Japanese women complain about how hot it is and then cover themselves in multiple layers!? I've been told various things. . .
1. They're afraid of cancer.I realize all of these points are somewhat valid, but it still frustrates me to see these women try so desperately to keep the sun from touching them at all times. When women drive, they wear long gloves. They have long sleeves underneath their t-shirts just in case the sun is near. They have these hideous and obnoxious hats that cover them out like umbrellas (yet they don't wear sunglasses). Often, too, they use an umbrella for shade. Many of their skin creams have whitening agents in them. I can't stand, however, to hear the excuse that it's an old tradition or thought that tan skin is ugly. They DEFINITELY still think this today. Why are they so ashamed to admit this?
2. They think it's hotter to have the sun touching your actual skin.
3. There's this ancient mindset that tanned skin is less beautiful than lighter skin, so they avoid sun like the plague in order to keep themselves nice and pasty. Back in the day, only the poor farmers and laborers were tan, while the wealthy and classy people had lovely, light skin.
4. Everybody else does it. That's just how it is. . .
I was born with a tan. I'm not so sure they understand that. I always have one because of my ethnicity, not because I spend all day in the sun. Yeah, I'm not covered head to toe, but even if I were, my skin color is only ever going to get darker than what it is. They think that every other country outside Japan loves to tan, so we just don't bother trying any way to protect ourselves. That's where darker people come from. That's why we have so much more cancer than them, too.
One of the teachers asked me, "Are you not worried about the sun on your skin?" I told her plainly that I had sunscreen on and sunglasses. What else would they like me to do? I tan very, very easily, but I would rather be cool in my t-shirt than sweating to death under these stupid layers of 'skin protection!' I doubt they are trying to be offensive and racist, but I've heard similar shit my whole life and I already have my own issues about my skin getting darker without this notion that my skin color is ugly factoring in.
When we practiced yesterday, there was one other teacher, a Japanese woman with decent English, who was wearing a hat but only a t-shirt. She was immediately accosted by the other women about covering up. Today, when we practiced again, I saw her wearing a nice white jacket over her t-shirt. She said "When I was young, it was OK, but now, it's not OK." Which means, "When I was a child, unaware of the need to be gorgeously pale and only interested in my comfort and joys of playing in the sun, I didn't bother covering up like this, but now you have to in order to be socially acceptable to the other women of Japan." I think it's terrible that they push their ideas onto one another like this.
I have lived here over a year now and I just felt like I needed to express my disgust with the fact that the tone of your skin is an issue in Japan. I'm not too sure it's racism. . . colorism?
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
A-Kaiwa and the Juku 'Boys'
About a month ago, I played bass for a band in Kochi called "A-kaiwa and the Juku Boys" (originally comprised of all males). The drummer coulsn't be at the show, so the bass player took the opportunity to jam on the set while I took over on bass. The show went pretty well, considering it was in Kochi City, haha. There was even a good mix of both gaijin and Japanese people! They danced, they cheered, they really enjoyed it. I was really glad to have a lot of support in this as well. Before the show, I got all light-headed and jumpy. A little dancing calmed me down, though!
EPIC! I'd love to do it again. . . I think next time, I'd like to be the singer, though. :)
EPIC! I'd love to do it again. . . I think next time, I'd like to be the singer, though. :)
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)