(written several hours ago)
I have very poor Internet access at the moment so I can't post anything. It's annoying timing, since I have all this time at home now it's holidays. But anyway, I've been writing random posts the last few days...
(am trying several times to post this. My Internet access is very, very slow and keeps stopping. When my Internet is like this, it's easier for me to access Blogger than, say, email, because email has more screens to go through.)
Thur 27 Dec
Ureshii! (I'm happy!) I've signed up for Internet. I won't get it until the second week of January, but who cares? Right now I can only access the 'net sitting cross-legged on the floor in the exact same spot in my room, waiting and waiting for things to load. It hurts my back, and I've wasted so much time waiting for the slow connection.
Plus, earlier in the week, I couldn't use the Internet at all. I don't like being at the whim of someone else's connection. What if they stop their Internet service altogether? Then *I* don't have it. I'd like to say I made the moral decision not to 'borrow' someone else's wireless, but the truth is, if their wireless was *good*, I probably would have just continued using it...
***
Today was a good day at work. I only had two private lessons.
K, the student who got drunk yesterday, came in for three classes today (he was only supposed to have two today, but he had to make up the class he couldn't make yesterday due to the fact that he was lying on the floor of the interview room, inebriated).
He was very apologetic and bowed with many 'sumimasen's, haha... He is one of my favourite students though because he is able to infuse the most boring classes with energy and humour.
The other private lesson was with my Mexican student. His favourite lesson style is just free conversation, which I enjoy very much, because he is easy-going and has plenty to say.
I was also lucky enough to behold the practice for a play some of the students will be doing. The lead actor (a guy, who is playing the most beautiful woman in Japanese folklore) came in to practice with Jim. It was so hilarious, I wish I had a video camera. The student is a natural, and he is going to wear his sister's yukata. I could hear them practicing while I was making my lesson materials. Later, they practiced in the lobby and I got to join in, taking some of the extra parts.
***
I've been very busy lately preparing for this 'fun day' we're having at the end of next week. It's a day of fun lessons and games; students can come and join in on any class they like. I am running a few games like Taboo and Pictionary, as well as a class on Aussie culture and language, a class on idioms, and a couple of others.
There is a lot of work involved in planning a class from scratch. I had to create enough Taboo cards to last an hour (we don't have the game here, and we need to use much simpler vocab), I've been making up handouts for my Aussie lesson, and making up lots of 'drill cards' for my idioms class. It's fun work though, the kind of thing I enjoy.
Fri 28 Dec
Okay, as it happens I can't get any Internet access at all today. This is pretty annoying, so I'll just type on my computer...
I had my first shamisen lesson today. It was great fun. It's been a long time since I tried to learn a new musical instrument for the first time. I'm going to have another lesson next week. After that, I'm not sure. It would be nice to continue and also have my own shamisen to practice on. But shamisen are expensive, and the shamisen class is in Ueno, in Tokyo. It takes me just over an hour to get there, so the only time I can really do it is Monday, my day off...
***
I speak differently when I talk to students. I cut about 90% of idioms out of my language. Sometimes I will use idioms so I can explain what they mean, but I know that any time I do use an idiom, I will have to explain it, and you don't want to constantly stop what you're saying. I didn't realise how much my speaking had changed until an advanced-level student asked me to speak using casual Australian. I couldn't do it!
In Australia my spoken English was often pretty atrocious. I'd often say things like 'I could totally go a burger' or 'I reckon I've had about enough of this' or 'this is a bit of alright' (pronounced 'this izza bit of alroight...')...
Now, I'm a changed person. I instinctively aim for the simplest, clearest ways of expressing things. This is only with students and all Japanese people (in other words, 'only' with almost everyone I speak to :)). When I talk to Jim or (rarely) another Westerner I do immediately revert to 'normal' speech. But I find it very difficult to do it with students, even at their request.
I tell you what though, I never realised just how many idioms there are in the English language. An idiom is basically any phrase where the words do not take on their literal meaning, but have a different meaning. There are stacks of them. ;)
Sat 29 Dec
Today I got up at about 1pm, which is pretty disgraceful. Like, I *know* I won't be able to get to sleep until 3am tonight, but somehow it doesn't stop me... They have these trucks that drive around the neighbourhoods here with megaphones, broadcasting messages. Today there was an annoying one playing children's music. I don't know what they are all about. I can still 'sleep in' through them though...
Today was the first day in ages that I didn't take a train anywhere but just mooched around in my own 'suburb'. What I did (in mid-afternoon, by the time I was finally ready to go outside...) was walk down the street to the Cafe de Crie... I sat there over two cappuccinos and read a book I bought yesterday. It's a book of the correspondence between Bernard Shaw and Ellen Terry and it was published in 1931. It seemed an appropriate sort of book to read in a place called the Cafe de Crie, sitting before the window, looking out at the rain-drenched streets, with people smoking nearby. I don't know why...
For the first time I realised what was meant by 'cutting' pages, as many pages were bound together (fortunately not all of them, as the book has nearly 500 pages!) It feels strange to cut the pages of a book that's over 75 years old. What it actually means is that this book has existed for 75 years, yet I am the first person to ever read these pages. And how strange that this book, published in Great Britain so long ago, should come to be in a bookshop in Jimbocho, Tokyo.
Yesterday I went to Jimbocho after my shamisen lesson. Jimbocho is an area of Tokyo known for its many second-hand bookstores. I had a good time wandering its streets. Most of them were Japanese, of course, but I did find this one bookstore where most of the books were in English, and most of them too intellectual or classical for me. Helene Hanff (who wrote 84 Charing Cross Road) would have had a ball in there; I saw many of her favourites in there; it's due to her that I heard of Ellen Terry in the first place. But I bought three books and was happy. :)
Anyway, where was I? After lingering at the Cafe de Crie, I went walking the main streets near my house. I should try to describe them, but I'm not very good at that sort of thing. There are lots of small, specialty shops that seem to be locally owned. There are a couple of chain stores - a McDonalds and a Mister Donut, for example - but most of them are 'hole in the wall' stores, a little bit ramshackle, with home-made posters and goods piled higgledy-piggledy in the windows.
The street itself is not what you would call picturesque - it's not exactly sparking and modern, and there are quite a few telephone wires, and shop curtains - but when there are lots of people about, the street has a kind of cool market feel. There are lots of older ladies lining up to buy their fish or vegetables, and people loading up their bicycles with fresh produce. There are fish shops, lots of fruit and vegetable shops, watch shops, glasses shops, shoe shops, crockery shops, electronics shops; all sorts. And there are really only locals that shop there, because this area is not famous for anything.
I like it very much.
This area is only 5-10 minutes' walk from my apartment. So when I went down a side-street to check out the markets there, I figured I'd just walk around the block and take a different route back onto my own street (it was literally two streets away from my street). BAD IDEA. Don't ask me how it was possible to get lost for two hours. Don't ask. All I can say is that the area in which I live is a total rat's maze of endless small side streets and irregularly designed blocks, and it was not long before I had no idea whatsoever of the points of the compass; I didn't even know which general direction the train station was - it could have been any direction at all, for all I knew. Also, this is just a vast, sprawling suburban neighbourhood, so there's not much by way of public maps, signs, and directions.
I kept thinking at any moment that I'd run into a familiar street, and don't really like asking for directions - I was quite enjoying my walk for a while anyway - but eventually I was forced to ask for directions. The first lady I asked, I was worried she was going to try to walk with me the whole way, taking her ages out of her way, but in the end, she gave me a long, complicated stream of directions, of which I understood almost nothing. But I said, 'hai, wakarimashita, wakarimashita, arigato gozaimasu' (yes, I understand, I understand, thank you) several times, and she left me. (Of course I didn't understand, but I didn't want her to feel obliged to walk me the whole way there!)
The second lady I asked, I actually understood a good deal of what she said (it helped that by this stage, I was closer to my destination and thus it was easier to explain); she used lots of the words from the 'Japanese for Busy People' lesson I studied recently - hidari, massugu, shingo, kousaten (left, straight ahead, traffic light, crossing).
The third girl I asked gave me the blessedly reassuring, single-word answer 'massugu' (straight ahead), so that was easy enough. :)
I still can't believe I got quite as lost as I did. I think I was heading north instead of east and thus never even hit the train station... but I erroneously thought I had crossed the tracks early on, so I was completely disoriented. I mean, I've never claimed to have a great sense of direction, but two hours was a new low, even for me... hahaha!
Anyway, the moral of the story is, Always Walk Back The Same Way You Came!
***
I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas, and I wish you all the happiest of new years. :)
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Quick note
This is just a quick note to say thank you to Catherine, Jo, Fi and Stace - I went into work on Christmas Day and found two lovely Christmas gifts waiting in my pigeonhole. (I am eating BBQ Shapes right now as I type this. :)) Thank you so much! I've been enjoying watching Summer Heights High deleted scenes - it will come in handy for my New Year's break - and eating Byron Bay cookies. The photo is on my table and I just ran out of soap, so all the gifts are much appreciated. :)
Actually, the gifts were the only part of the day that felt like Christmas! I had quite a good, relaxed day at work, but it certainly didn't feel like Christmas. So it was extra nice to get them. :)
Today we had a Christmas party at work (yes, the day after Christmas - today was the first day I could go into Starbucks and not have to listen to Ella Fitzgerald singing 'White Christmas' for the hundredth time). About eight students came. It was fun. One of the guys - I mentioned my funny student who gestures like an Italian? - had four beers in a very short period of time. He got very red in the face and kept declaring the same things over and over again. He got completely drunk and had to lie down in the interview room to recover. He was supposed to have a private lesson with me after the party but he wasn't up to it (mind you, this is around lunch time...) so he kind of staggered off home. It was pretty funny.
I joined the library today, so I have enough reading material to last me for the New Year's break. I've also found myself a second Japanese teacher, and will take lessons with her sporadically (she can't teach me every week). And on Friday I'm going to take a lesson in the shamisen (traditional Japanese three-stringed musical instrument). Should be interesting!
My Internet has been unusually bad the last few days. I've decided I'm sick of it, even though it will be expensive and a big hassle to organise, tomorrow I am going to try to arrange to get Internet. There's no doubt it *will* be a hassle, everything is when you don't speak Japanese. But I don't want to spend the next 11 months sitting hunched over the laptop in the one corner of the room where the Internet works, spending an hour trying to access one or two pages... Whatever happens with this, I probably can't get it installed until after the New Year's break, so I may be a bit hard to contact depending on whether my connection improves or not.
Anyway, I'm going to *try* to post this and watch some more Summer Heights High. :)
Actually, the gifts were the only part of the day that felt like Christmas! I had quite a good, relaxed day at work, but it certainly didn't feel like Christmas. So it was extra nice to get them. :)
Today we had a Christmas party at work (yes, the day after Christmas - today was the first day I could go into Starbucks and not have to listen to Ella Fitzgerald singing 'White Christmas' for the hundredth time). About eight students came. It was fun. One of the guys - I mentioned my funny student who gestures like an Italian? - had four beers in a very short period of time. He got very red in the face and kept declaring the same things over and over again. He got completely drunk and had to lie down in the interview room to recover. He was supposed to have a private lesson with me after the party but he wasn't up to it (mind you, this is around lunch time...) so he kind of staggered off home. It was pretty funny.
I joined the library today, so I have enough reading material to last me for the New Year's break. I've also found myself a second Japanese teacher, and will take lessons with her sporadically (she can't teach me every week). And on Friday I'm going to take a lesson in the shamisen (traditional Japanese three-stringed musical instrument). Should be interesting!
My Internet has been unusually bad the last few days. I've decided I'm sick of it, even though it will be expensive and a big hassle to organise, tomorrow I am going to try to arrange to get Internet. There's no doubt it *will* be a hassle, everything is when you don't speak Japanese. But I don't want to spend the next 11 months sitting hunched over the laptop in the one corner of the room where the Internet works, spending an hour trying to access one or two pages... Whatever happens with this, I probably can't get it installed until after the New Year's break, so I may be a bit hard to contact depending on whether my connection improves or not.
Anyway, I'm going to *try* to post this and watch some more Summer Heights High. :)
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Yuki Matsuri ni ikimasu!
Woohoo! I'm going to the Sapporo Snow Festival next year!!
If you've never heard of it, it's this thing here.
I mean, just look at those pictures! I get to see that next year!
I'm just going up there for two nights; I've organised to have one day off work in February. I've never been to Hokkaido before so I'm looking forward to seeing the city, and seeing some snow. It should be pretty cold up there!
I still have to book accommodation though... it's a difficult time of year, there will probably be about two million tourists during the snow festival...
If you've never heard of it, it's this thing here.
I mean, just look at those pictures! I get to see that next year!
I'm just going up there for two nights; I've organised to have one day off work in February. I've never been to Hokkaido before so I'm looking forward to seeing the city, and seeing some snow. It should be pretty cold up there!
I still have to book accommodation though... it's a difficult time of year, there will probably be about two million tourists during the snow festival...
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
More random updates...
Last week I went outside the department store building where I work, to get my usual coffee, and what did I find but a full gospel choir! There were about 80 of them, Japanese people, but singing English Christmas carols and some popular gospel tunes ('Joyful Joyful' was one, I seem to remember). They were really good! With the faster songs they even did the whole swaying, clapping gospel choir thing.
Lots of passers-by were stopping and smiling. It was very infectious.
***
I got a haircut on the weekend. To get there I went along Motomachi street, near Chinatown. This street is pretty cool. It reminds me of a street in Paris or Sydney (okay, so Paris and Sydney are pretty different...)... the road is small, quiet, and one-way, and the street is lined with designer stores. Of course I didn't buy any designer goods but I had a nice cappuccino and salami pesto sandwich in a bakery.
The hairdresser was cool; the teacher I replaced told me about him. hahah... he was quite a young, cool guy. The haircut he gave me was okay - I'd say, so-so ('so-so' is an expression that Japanese students use all the time) - but I will go back to him because the service was so good, I feel like I am already 'his' customer.
When I first went into the salon, he was making endless small talk with his client. After he was done with her, he started with me - a continual stream of questions and conversation. It was fun, and I couldn't help thinking - hairdressers really are the same all over the world.
The hairdresser speaks English, but punctuated with the most 'anou's and 'sou ka's I've ever heard... a lot of Japanese people use the occasional Japanese word or phrase when they are thinking - 'etouuu' ('uhh...') is common. My manager often says 'nandarou...' (which means something like 'let me think...').
I have one really beginner student who sometimes simply says Japanese sentences instead of English ones, because she simply lacks the words. I'm pretty proud of myself - one student said he went to a casino, and she asked me a question in Japanese. I translated it 'how much money did you lose?' I could understand enough Japanese to work out what she wanted to say.
I can understand pretty well all of the train announcements now. 'mamonaku' means 'presently'. 'kakueki teesha' means 'local train'. 'Omiya-yuki' means 'bound for Omiya'. Then there's 'doa ga shimarimasu - go-chui kudasai' ('the doors are closing - take care please')
***
I've more than doubled the size of my wardrobe since I came here: two new jumpers, six new shirts, two new tops, two new pairs of shoes, a new jacket for work, a padded jacket, gloves, pyjamas and thermals. It's pretty bad really. I'm not even done yet. I'd like another couple of pairs of shoes, and some black pants, and new jeans.
***
Reading hiragana and katakana has proved more difficult than I first imagined. I had pretty well learned the hiragana before I moved to Japan, and a few katakana. In my first week in Kyoto I kept looking up the hiragana and katakana on signs to practise and learn the characters I didn't remember. Since then I have intermittently practised reading hiragana and katakana in my textbook, on signs, and from children's books.
Despite all this, I still haven't *mastered* them. I still have to *think*. I guess some things, you can't just learn by osmosis. You have to study them properly, until you really know them. Just because you're surrounded by Japanese characters all day, it doesn't mean you'll magically learn them all without any real effort.
The one thing I do seem to be gradually improving in without studying, is numbers - I understand them more quickly. Sometimes now, I can understand how much money someone is asking for, without looking. Haha... but not that often...
The other day I got a letter. I thought it was for the previous resident, as the label was all in Japanese. But actually it was for me (from my insurer). Seems I don't even recognise my own name any more. Haha... I've had to write my name in katakana a few times now... and write my year of birth in terms of the Emperor's reign.
Did you know that? I was pretty surprised! On official documents, you write your birthdate as the year of the Emperor's reign. For example, if you were born in 1980, you were born in the year '55'... the 55th year of the previous Emperor's rule. This year is 19 - the 19th year of the current Emperor. My train pass had 19/12/11 as the end date - meaning 11 Dec 2007... who would have thought?
***
When I first got my teaching schedule during teacher's training, I had no private lessons. But now I have quite a few. This week I have four; next week, at least four, but different ones... it's kind of a quiet time of year, and next week there are no 'official' lessons, so it's a popular time for 'once-off' lessons.
One of my regular private students, K, is great. He has so much energy, and a great attitude. He takes so many classes! I can't describe this guy but he's hilarious. He's so outgoing and always smiling, and he gestures like an Italian, and over-emphasises almost everything. Very unusual for a Japanese guy!
Jim, my fellow teacher, says that when he is teaching, he always over-emphasises words and gestures so that the students will at least slightly emulate him - because students rarely emphasise words and feeling enough unless really encouraged to do so. (In his words, 'I give 150%, so they will give me 20%...') He says K is the only student who emulates him exactly and goes just as over-the-top. He says they look so ridiculous together, over-acting every expression...
Whenever I say 'are you ready?', K will exclaim 'come on!' and put up his fists like he's ready for a fight. Hahah... Jim told him that a big guy like him shouldn't say that, or he'll scare people...
My other private lessons? Next week I have a couple of once-off private lessons with a Mexican student. I think he's about the only non-Japanese student at the school. He's a cool guy and speaks fairly good English. You can really notice the difference in attitude between him and most Japanese students. For example, he's quite friendly, and not shy about asking questions, and has a strong, firm handshake (most Japanese people give 'wet fish' handshakes).
You can also notice the difference in how he speaks English. He doesn't know as much vocabulary as the Japanese students in his level, but his sentence structure is much better - he's one of the few students in the school who uses 'the' and 'a' correctly - since Spanish is so much more similar to English than Japanese is.
Another private student is a flight attendant. We kind of teach her whatever she feels like learning, but it can be a little difficult for me to wing lessons like that... she's good for a conversation though. I can spend a long time preparing for these lessons.
Another private student is a uni student who is just having a few once-off classes for free conversation. I'm happy to 'freely converse' with her, but I'm not sure how beneficial it really is... and it seems pretty expensive for a conversation..
Then there's my regular whom I am teaching business English too, but the English is too advanced for him, nice guy though he is. So it's somewhat boring as all I can do is drill pronunciation over and over...
Lots of passers-by were stopping and smiling. It was very infectious.
***
I got a haircut on the weekend. To get there I went along Motomachi street, near Chinatown. This street is pretty cool. It reminds me of a street in Paris or Sydney (okay, so Paris and Sydney are pretty different...)... the road is small, quiet, and one-way, and the street is lined with designer stores. Of course I didn't buy any designer goods but I had a nice cappuccino and salami pesto sandwich in a bakery.
The hairdresser was cool; the teacher I replaced told me about him. hahah... he was quite a young, cool guy. The haircut he gave me was okay - I'd say, so-so ('so-so' is an expression that Japanese students use all the time) - but I will go back to him because the service was so good, I feel like I am already 'his' customer.
When I first went into the salon, he was making endless small talk with his client. After he was done with her, he started with me - a continual stream of questions and conversation. It was fun, and I couldn't help thinking - hairdressers really are the same all over the world.
The hairdresser speaks English, but punctuated with the most 'anou's and 'sou ka's I've ever heard... a lot of Japanese people use the occasional Japanese word or phrase when they are thinking - 'etouuu' ('uhh...') is common. My manager often says 'nandarou...' (which means something like 'let me think...').
I have one really beginner student who sometimes simply says Japanese sentences instead of English ones, because she simply lacks the words. I'm pretty proud of myself - one student said he went to a casino, and she asked me a question in Japanese. I translated it 'how much money did you lose?' I could understand enough Japanese to work out what she wanted to say.
I can understand pretty well all of the train announcements now. 'mamonaku' means 'presently'. 'kakueki teesha' means 'local train'. 'Omiya-yuki' means 'bound for Omiya'. Then there's 'doa ga shimarimasu - go-chui kudasai' ('the doors are closing - take care please')
***
I've more than doubled the size of my wardrobe since I came here: two new jumpers, six new shirts, two new tops, two new pairs of shoes, a new jacket for work, a padded jacket, gloves, pyjamas and thermals. It's pretty bad really. I'm not even done yet. I'd like another couple of pairs of shoes, and some black pants, and new jeans.
***
Reading hiragana and katakana has proved more difficult than I first imagined. I had pretty well learned the hiragana before I moved to Japan, and a few katakana. In my first week in Kyoto I kept looking up the hiragana and katakana on signs to practise and learn the characters I didn't remember. Since then I have intermittently practised reading hiragana and katakana in my textbook, on signs, and from children's books.
Despite all this, I still haven't *mastered* them. I still have to *think*. I guess some things, you can't just learn by osmosis. You have to study them properly, until you really know them. Just because you're surrounded by Japanese characters all day, it doesn't mean you'll magically learn them all without any real effort.
The one thing I do seem to be gradually improving in without studying, is numbers - I understand them more quickly. Sometimes now, I can understand how much money someone is asking for, without looking. Haha... but not that often...
The other day I got a letter. I thought it was for the previous resident, as the label was all in Japanese. But actually it was for me (from my insurer). Seems I don't even recognise my own name any more. Haha... I've had to write my name in katakana a few times now... and write my year of birth in terms of the Emperor's reign.
Did you know that? I was pretty surprised! On official documents, you write your birthdate as the year of the Emperor's reign. For example, if you were born in 1980, you were born in the year '55'... the 55th year of the previous Emperor's rule. This year is 19 - the 19th year of the current Emperor. My train pass had 19/12/11 as the end date - meaning 11 Dec 2007... who would have thought?
***
When I first got my teaching schedule during teacher's training, I had no private lessons. But now I have quite a few. This week I have four; next week, at least four, but different ones... it's kind of a quiet time of year, and next week there are no 'official' lessons, so it's a popular time for 'once-off' lessons.
One of my regular private students, K, is great. He has so much energy, and a great attitude. He takes so many classes! I can't describe this guy but he's hilarious. He's so outgoing and always smiling, and he gestures like an Italian, and over-emphasises almost everything. Very unusual for a Japanese guy!
Jim, my fellow teacher, says that when he is teaching, he always over-emphasises words and gestures so that the students will at least slightly emulate him - because students rarely emphasise words and feeling enough unless really encouraged to do so. (In his words, 'I give 150%, so they will give me 20%...') He says K is the only student who emulates him exactly and goes just as over-the-top. He says they look so ridiculous together, over-acting every expression...
Whenever I say 'are you ready?', K will exclaim 'come on!' and put up his fists like he's ready for a fight. Hahah... Jim told him that a big guy like him shouldn't say that, or he'll scare people...
My other private lessons? Next week I have a couple of once-off private lessons with a Mexican student. I think he's about the only non-Japanese student at the school. He's a cool guy and speaks fairly good English. You can really notice the difference in attitude between him and most Japanese students. For example, he's quite friendly, and not shy about asking questions, and has a strong, firm handshake (most Japanese people give 'wet fish' handshakes).
You can also notice the difference in how he speaks English. He doesn't know as much vocabulary as the Japanese students in his level, but his sentence structure is much better - he's one of the few students in the school who uses 'the' and 'a' correctly - since Spanish is so much more similar to English than Japanese is.
Another private student is a flight attendant. We kind of teach her whatever she feels like learning, but it can be a little difficult for me to wing lessons like that... she's good for a conversation though. I can spend a long time preparing for these lessons.
Another private student is a uni student who is just having a few once-off classes for free conversation. I'm happy to 'freely converse' with her, but I'm not sure how beneficial it really is... and it seems pretty expensive for a conversation..
Then there's my regular whom I am teaching business English too, but the English is too advanced for him, nice guy though he is. So it's somewhat boring as all I can do is drill pronunciation over and over...
Sunday, December 16, 2007
This post is mostly about food, for some reason...
It's getting really cold now. It will get quite a bit colder than this, though. Today I tried to find a nice warm, padded jacket - everyone wears them here - but they all make me look like the Michelin Man.
I've been trying out origami; I bought a book of patterns. It's fun. What I like about it is that you can't rush it, or do other things at the same time. I'm used to surfing the 'net while typing an email while listening to music while channel surfing on TV... But with origami, you have to sit and focus on what you're doing.
I went to church again today. It's pretty good, and I like the service. The fact that the youth pastor is really good looking also doesn't hurt... The only thing I don't like is the whole 'small talk' aspect of meeting lots of people you don't really know. It would be the same anywhere, I know. Here, it's slightly more difficult because most of the congregation are Japanese - or look Japanese - so you can't tell at a glance whether they will even speak English or not (a lot of them do, but not all).
I think it's time I started taking the initiative and inviting people to do things. I am enjoying life here but the main thing I want to be doing, that I'm not doing, is just generally having more experiences out and about in different places in the cities... for example, when I go out by myself I tend not to go into any buildings if I can't understand where I'm going. Trying out new restaurants with different types of food - the kind of place where you need the restauranteur to explain how to eat each dish - and go to places that require local knowledge.
I realised that the main reason I'm shy about going into restaurants by myself isn't primarily because I'm shy about speaking Japanese. I just don't like going into restaurants by myself. I mean, even in Australia, I don't like going into restaurants by myself - restaurants are such social places.
What I am enjoying are frozen dinners, supermarket meals, and convenience store meals. That sounds bad... but they're so good and cheap! For dinner tonight, I had some gyoza (Chinese dumplings - 'jiao zi' in Chinese), a small frozen pizza, some Vietnamese cold rolls, a slice of baked cheesecake and a mini Kit Kat. Okay, I ate too much...
The convenience store has a selection of pre-packaged meals that they'll heat up for you. There are some really good rice dishes, and some pasta dishes, and this nice udon laksa... it's like, sure, if I tried, I could probably cook meals slightly better than the convenience store meals. But these meals are like $4 or $5 and require No Preparation Time From Me. When you get home at 10pm, you don't feel like cooking anything but the most simple stir-fry...
I do have a few bad temptations, as far as food goes. There are some really delicious frozen cream-based pasta meals that I like. I cook them in my toaster oven and slather them with parmesan. One of these meals costs under $4 and it's very filling; not like Australian frozen dinners where you always need something else to supplement the meal...
(I'm finding that most things here are cheaper than back home. I never thought of Australia as an expensive country, but it seems that with the strength of our dollar, we are more expensive.)
Then there's the chocolate croissants, but actually these aren't such a temptation as the bakeries nearest work are not so great; I only eat one when I haven't eaten breakfast and have no time to eat something decent.
Gyoza are a huge temptation. I always loved jiao zi but never found them often back home. In Japan they're everywhere. And they're soooo good... but they're fried in a lot of oil...
I'm also eating burgers a little more often than back home. My usual lunch is at Subway, but some days after an afternoon of teaching, my 'hamu to chedda cheezu tosuto' just isn't enough, so I get a Becker's Burger... they're so good...
Apart from that, I guess I'm not so bad. The desserts here, for example, usually don't tempt me that much. Today's cheesecake was a rare exception. :)
I don't know why I'm rambling on about food... it's not like I'm hungry, having eaten so much... I always say you shouldn't go into a supermarket when you're hungry. That's probably why I ended up buying far too much this evening. I bought about eight things I felt like eating and only got through half of them, hahah...
What did I do today, apart from go to church? Hmmm... I came back through Yokohama station and tried to go shopping to buy a padded jacket... it really is so cold... I'm wearing the kind of clothes I would wear for winter in Australia, and the cold just bites through them like I'm not wearing them at all.
The shopping centres around Yokohama station are labyrinthine... I get so lost. I bought a few bits and pieces, including - I'm ashamed to say - more food. I bought Tim Tams (I'm such a sad Australian... you can only find them in specialty shops, but I've found a few of them...). I found Time Out bars as well! And green curry sauce... mmm... I want to eat Thai green curry, enough that I will actually be motivated to cook it. I haven't had it since I moved here. I also bought an Indian curry sauce which looks good. The only curry I've had here is 'curry rice', a peculiarly Japanese invention which, while not bad, is just not the same. I have a rice cooker, but I think I'll just buy pre-cooked steamed rice from the convenience store.
(Convenience stores really are convenient. There are three within three minutes' walk of my house. I even pay my utilities bills at the 'conbeni'.)
You can really find most foods here if you put your mind to it. Though sometimes only a particular variety of a food is common.
For example, virtually all Italian restaurants serve these huge but anaemic spaghetti dishes with a meagre sprinkle of mushrooms or clams or small bacon pieces or whatever... I find the sauces a bit disappointing. I'd love a rich, hearty, tomato-ey lasagna full of mushrooms and onion... mmm... or maybe penne pasta bake... some type of pasta other than spaghetti...
Another example is bread. Virtually all bread is white, and very thickly sliced. It's fresh and delicious. But it's bloating, especially in the morning. I'm so used to eating multigrain bread, which I prefer, that I struggle to eat breakfast at all now. So now I am buying rye bread, the only other option available. It's very similar to white bread - in Australia it probably wouldn't be called rye at all - but slightly more palatable.
Generally I'm eating about as wide a variety of food here as I would back home. And to be honest I don't eat that much Japanese food; only when I eat out with others. When I'm really hungry, I want something filling and hearty, and sometimes Japanese food just doesn't fit the bill. I do love Japanese noodles though, and I like nabe and shabu shabu (both forms of Japanese hotpot).
Okay, I'm really sounding food obsessed... what else did I do today... then I came back home, ate (too much) dinner, *finally* got rid of my HUGE bag of cardboard boxes and papers (this kind of garbage is only collected once a month, so they have been waiting a long time), had a bath, and spent a couple of hours surfing the web collecting idioms and proverbs for use in teaching.
Japanese people love baths, they are for relaxation as well as washing, and nearly all Japanese people love going to hot springs and the like. I've never been big on baths but I'm kind of getting into it, mostly because it's so cold...
Students really have trouble with my accent when I say the sound 'ni-'. For example, a whole class of people were stumped by the simple question "did you have a late night?" They kept repeating the word 'nought?' 'nate?' in confusion. Then again last week, a student couldn't understand me when I said "the ninth floor".
When Jim, my co-worker with his 'standard American' accent, says these words, everyone understands. We both tried out saying them to the Japanese staff. To the two of us, they sound so similar, but to Japanese people, apparently not!
I've been trying out origami; I bought a book of patterns. It's fun. What I like about it is that you can't rush it, or do other things at the same time. I'm used to surfing the 'net while typing an email while listening to music while channel surfing on TV... But with origami, you have to sit and focus on what you're doing.
I went to church again today. It's pretty good, and I like the service. The fact that the youth pastor is really good looking also doesn't hurt... The only thing I don't like is the whole 'small talk' aspect of meeting lots of people you don't really know. It would be the same anywhere, I know. Here, it's slightly more difficult because most of the congregation are Japanese - or look Japanese - so you can't tell at a glance whether they will even speak English or not (a lot of them do, but not all).
I think it's time I started taking the initiative and inviting people to do things. I am enjoying life here but the main thing I want to be doing, that I'm not doing, is just generally having more experiences out and about in different places in the cities... for example, when I go out by myself I tend not to go into any buildings if I can't understand where I'm going. Trying out new restaurants with different types of food - the kind of place where you need the restauranteur to explain how to eat each dish - and go to places that require local knowledge.
I realised that the main reason I'm shy about going into restaurants by myself isn't primarily because I'm shy about speaking Japanese. I just don't like going into restaurants by myself. I mean, even in Australia, I don't like going into restaurants by myself - restaurants are such social places.
What I am enjoying are frozen dinners, supermarket meals, and convenience store meals. That sounds bad... but they're so good and cheap! For dinner tonight, I had some gyoza (Chinese dumplings - 'jiao zi' in Chinese), a small frozen pizza, some Vietnamese cold rolls, a slice of baked cheesecake and a mini Kit Kat. Okay, I ate too much...
The convenience store has a selection of pre-packaged meals that they'll heat up for you. There are some really good rice dishes, and some pasta dishes, and this nice udon laksa... it's like, sure, if I tried, I could probably cook meals slightly better than the convenience store meals. But these meals are like $4 or $5 and require No Preparation Time From Me. When you get home at 10pm, you don't feel like cooking anything but the most simple stir-fry...
I do have a few bad temptations, as far as food goes. There are some really delicious frozen cream-based pasta meals that I like. I cook them in my toaster oven and slather them with parmesan. One of these meals costs under $4 and it's very filling; not like Australian frozen dinners where you always need something else to supplement the meal...
(I'm finding that most things here are cheaper than back home. I never thought of Australia as an expensive country, but it seems that with the strength of our dollar, we are more expensive.)
Then there's the chocolate croissants, but actually these aren't such a temptation as the bakeries nearest work are not so great; I only eat one when I haven't eaten breakfast and have no time to eat something decent.
Gyoza are a huge temptation. I always loved jiao zi but never found them often back home. In Japan they're everywhere. And they're soooo good... but they're fried in a lot of oil...
I'm also eating burgers a little more often than back home. My usual lunch is at Subway, but some days after an afternoon of teaching, my 'hamu to chedda cheezu tosuto' just isn't enough, so I get a Becker's Burger... they're so good...
Apart from that, I guess I'm not so bad. The desserts here, for example, usually don't tempt me that much. Today's cheesecake was a rare exception. :)
I don't know why I'm rambling on about food... it's not like I'm hungry, having eaten so much... I always say you shouldn't go into a supermarket when you're hungry. That's probably why I ended up buying far too much this evening. I bought about eight things I felt like eating and only got through half of them, hahah...
What did I do today, apart from go to church? Hmmm... I came back through Yokohama station and tried to go shopping to buy a padded jacket... it really is so cold... I'm wearing the kind of clothes I would wear for winter in Australia, and the cold just bites through them like I'm not wearing them at all.
The shopping centres around Yokohama station are labyrinthine... I get so lost. I bought a few bits and pieces, including - I'm ashamed to say - more food. I bought Tim Tams (I'm such a sad Australian... you can only find them in specialty shops, but I've found a few of them...). I found Time Out bars as well! And green curry sauce... mmm... I want to eat Thai green curry, enough that I will actually be motivated to cook it. I haven't had it since I moved here. I also bought an Indian curry sauce which looks good. The only curry I've had here is 'curry rice', a peculiarly Japanese invention which, while not bad, is just not the same. I have a rice cooker, but I think I'll just buy pre-cooked steamed rice from the convenience store.
(Convenience stores really are convenient. There are three within three minutes' walk of my house. I even pay my utilities bills at the 'conbeni'.)
You can really find most foods here if you put your mind to it. Though sometimes only a particular variety of a food is common.
For example, virtually all Italian restaurants serve these huge but anaemic spaghetti dishes with a meagre sprinkle of mushrooms or clams or small bacon pieces or whatever... I find the sauces a bit disappointing. I'd love a rich, hearty, tomato-ey lasagna full of mushrooms and onion... mmm... or maybe penne pasta bake... some type of pasta other than spaghetti...
Another example is bread. Virtually all bread is white, and very thickly sliced. It's fresh and delicious. But it's bloating, especially in the morning. I'm so used to eating multigrain bread, which I prefer, that I struggle to eat breakfast at all now. So now I am buying rye bread, the only other option available. It's very similar to white bread - in Australia it probably wouldn't be called rye at all - but slightly more palatable.
Generally I'm eating about as wide a variety of food here as I would back home. And to be honest I don't eat that much Japanese food; only when I eat out with others. When I'm really hungry, I want something filling and hearty, and sometimes Japanese food just doesn't fit the bill. I do love Japanese noodles though, and I like nabe and shabu shabu (both forms of Japanese hotpot).
Okay, I'm really sounding food obsessed... what else did I do today... then I came back home, ate (too much) dinner, *finally* got rid of my HUGE bag of cardboard boxes and papers (this kind of garbage is only collected once a month, so they have been waiting a long time), had a bath, and spent a couple of hours surfing the web collecting idioms and proverbs for use in teaching.
Japanese people love baths, they are for relaxation as well as washing, and nearly all Japanese people love going to hot springs and the like. I've never been big on baths but I'm kind of getting into it, mostly because it's so cold...
Students really have trouble with my accent when I say the sound 'ni-'. For example, a whole class of people were stumped by the simple question "did you have a late night?" They kept repeating the word 'nought?' 'nate?' in confusion. Then again last week, a student couldn't understand me when I said "the ninth floor".
When Jim, my co-worker with his 'standard American' accent, says these words, everyone understands. We both tried out saying them to the Japanese staff. To the two of us, they sound so similar, but to Japanese people, apparently not!
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Bits and pieces again...
I saw a sign that said: "It is keep off per classification yard."
What?
***
In a tourist magazine I read the following disclaimer:
"The publisher bears no responsibility for the contents of this publication."
Then who does?
***
There was this show teaching English. They had an English guy teaching English. The irony is that though the English teacher was teaching correct English, the subtitle guy subtitled it wrongly. Eg:
"Singing song is fun."
"Riding wave is fun."
Should really help to improve Japanese people's English...
***
We went to Kamakura on Monday and went hiking. We didn't *mean* to go hiking. What happened was we saw this kind of bushwalking trail and walked to the start of it. A nice Japanese lady passing said 'nagaiii - long way!'. But the sign pointing to the place where *we* wanted to go said '0.6km'. So we began to walk. There were many stairs, slopes and uneven paths. After about 45 minutes, we came to a sign saying '1.5km' - pointing back to the place we had come from.
After about 2.5 hours, and at least 4km of hiking, we finally reached the other end of the trail...
***
Every time I find something bearable to have on TV in the background, the show changes into something really irritating. I gradually become aware of hyperactive Japanese guys shouting at each other, and have to resume channel-surfing...
***
The other day I went to the bathroom and found this message in the cubicle:
"HOW TO FLUSH THE TOILET: The toilet will automatically flush when you place your palm at the point." (There was an accompanying illustration.) Only in Japan do you need instructions on how to flush a toilet. I've never seen so many different ways of doing it. Quite often it will just do it, seemingly randomly, of its own accord. Whether you're finished or not!
What?
***
In a tourist magazine I read the following disclaimer:
"The publisher bears no responsibility for the contents of this publication."
Then who does?
***
There was this show teaching English. They had an English guy teaching English. The irony is that though the English teacher was teaching correct English, the subtitle guy subtitled it wrongly. Eg:
"Singing song is fun."
"Riding wave is fun."
Should really help to improve Japanese people's English...
***
We went to Kamakura on Monday and went hiking. We didn't *mean* to go hiking. What happened was we saw this kind of bushwalking trail and walked to the start of it. A nice Japanese lady passing said 'nagaiii - long way!'. But the sign pointing to the place where *we* wanted to go said '0.6km'. So we began to walk. There were many stairs, slopes and uneven paths. After about 45 minutes, we came to a sign saying '1.5km' - pointing back to the place we had come from.
After about 2.5 hours, and at least 4km of hiking, we finally reached the other end of the trail...
***
Every time I find something bearable to have on TV in the background, the show changes into something really irritating. I gradually become aware of hyperactive Japanese guys shouting at each other, and have to resume channel-surfing...
***
The other day I went to the bathroom and found this message in the cubicle:
"HOW TO FLUSH THE TOILET: The toilet will automatically flush when you place your palm at the point." (There was an accompanying illustration.) Only in Japan do you need instructions on how to flush a toilet. I've never seen so many different ways of doing it. Quite often it will just do it, seemingly randomly, of its own accord. Whether you're finished or not!
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Bits and pieces
I got a new mobile phone. It's certainly the nicest phone I've ever had. For example, I can make video calls. I can use it as a camera or video recorder. I can use it as a voice recorder. I can download music or surf the Internet. It has games, and I can download more. I can download TV shows and watch them. I can send emails. Tonight I was playing with it. I downloaded some free ringtones from the Internet on my laptop, then used Bluetooth to transfer the ringtones to my phone. Now my ringtone is 'Ice Ice Baby', haha.
Oddly, the only thing I can't seem to do successfully is send an SMS! People here seem to send emails to other phones rather than SMSes... I don't really get it yet... every phone has an email address. I am still trying to figure out how to set mine!
***
In the last three and a half weeks I have bought thirteen books. I'm slightly ashamed to admit it! I really need to make the effort to join a library, now that I finally have my alien registration card. (Yes, I am an alien in Japan!)
In my defense, several of the books are to help me study Japanese...
***
Oh, as I mentioned in my last post, I think I found the church I want to attend. It's in Yokohama and the church originated in Hawaii. The pastors wear leis, and everyone greets each other with alohas during the announcements, haha... I really liked the service.
The church has maybe 40 or 50 people? It has a very warm atmosphere. Within ten seconds of my walking in, the lead pastor had given me a hug (a 'side hug' :)) and someone had written me a name tag with smiley faces on it.
The congregation is maybe 60% Japanese, 40% other nationalities. The service was bilingual, so for the announcements, sermon etc, someone would speak in Japanese and then in English. The worship was mostly in English but for some of the songs, we sang first in English and then the Japanese equivalent. The message was really good, simple and sincere. And one thing I liked is that everyone who preached or talked smiled a lot.
***
Here's what I ate for dinner a couple of nights ago. (This is a fairly typical sort of dinner for me.)
A small hot fried rice patty with chicken from the convenience store.
A few tinned apricots. It took me about ten minutes to wrest open the can without a can opener.
A small cauliflower cup-a-soup (had about half, tipped the rest out).
A piece of toast with cheese and Vegemite.
A chocolate cookie.*
A few sips of some vile, concentrated 'multivitamin pack' drink.**
*(My connecting station has a cookie stall. It's really bad because whenever I cross platforms - ie, every day - I have to walk past this stall. The smell of freshly baked cookies hits your nose as soon as you start climbing the stairs. They smell SO good. Even though they are kind of expensive, I have bought them three times...)
**According to the package, it is made from about 25 different fruits and vegetables, so it's unsurprising that it doesn't taste very good. I mean, a drink with asparagus, eggplant, sweet potato, tomato and fennel in it? But I'm consciously trying to consume enough fruit and vegetables so I can stay healthy.
Lots of people get sick at this time of year. A lot of my students have had colds. It's not surprising - the cold weather, the continual moving from a hot to a cold environment and vice versa, and the proximity with so many other people...
For example, you are waiting for a train at the end of the day, and when it arrives, you see that it is wall-to-wall people, and the windows are fogged up from the effect of so many people breathing in there. You get in there and there's a kind of warm, cloying atmosphere, and half the people are wearing surgical masks (people wear these when they have colds), and every second person seems to be sniffling or coughing. It's like walking onto an incubator for disease!
Last weekend I had a new low. I got up at 1:15pm. I went to bed at 1:30 the day before. That's nearly 12 hours in bed. And at this time of year, it's dark at 5pm. So I got to 'enjoy' four hours of daylight. Admittedly, that day was very overcast and the light was dull, so that's probably why it didn't wake me.
But getting up at 1:15pm meant I couldn't get to sleep until about 4am the next day, which was a work day, so I didn't get enough sleep, which meant the night after that was another 12-hour sleep...
The trouble is, it seems I am predisposed to get up just in time for work, whether I start work at 9am or 12:45pm... haha... oh well, the good thing about it is that I'm always getting plenty of sleep so if I feel like I'm coming down with something, I can sleep it off properly.
***
For the first 2-3 weeks of training and teaching, I was on a total high and very full of confidence. Since then, I've gone back to normal. I'm still enjoying myself and doing well, but I'm just more like my usual self. :)
***
The other day I took my first ever 'peak hour' train, the kind you imagine when you think about Japan. I thought I had done this before, but not so. This time, it was peak hour, *and* one train got taken out of service. Everyone had to get off the train - there was at least two or three hundred people on it - and join the already long lines of people waiting at the station for the next train (which in turn, was already full). But people don't stop when the train seems full. They just keep getting on.
Now I realise that a 'full' train is not just wall-to-wall people. A 'full' train is where you find yourself thinking 'it's lucky I'm not wearing foundation today, or this guy (whose shoulder my face is pressed into) would be getting white marks on his suit'. A 'full' train is where you are pressed against - not just touching, but pressed against - at least four other people. Hahah!
Oddly, the only thing I can't seem to do successfully is send an SMS! People here seem to send emails to other phones rather than SMSes... I don't really get it yet... every phone has an email address. I am still trying to figure out how to set mine!
***
In the last three and a half weeks I have bought thirteen books. I'm slightly ashamed to admit it! I really need to make the effort to join a library, now that I finally have my alien registration card. (Yes, I am an alien in Japan!)
In my defense, several of the books are to help me study Japanese...
***
Oh, as I mentioned in my last post, I think I found the church I want to attend. It's in Yokohama and the church originated in Hawaii. The pastors wear leis, and everyone greets each other with alohas during the announcements, haha... I really liked the service.
The church has maybe 40 or 50 people? It has a very warm atmosphere. Within ten seconds of my walking in, the lead pastor had given me a hug (a 'side hug' :)) and someone had written me a name tag with smiley faces on it.
The congregation is maybe 60% Japanese, 40% other nationalities. The service was bilingual, so for the announcements, sermon etc, someone would speak in Japanese and then in English. The worship was mostly in English but for some of the songs, we sang first in English and then the Japanese equivalent. The message was really good, simple and sincere. And one thing I liked is that everyone who preached or talked smiled a lot.
***
Here's what I ate for dinner a couple of nights ago. (This is a fairly typical sort of dinner for me.)
A small hot fried rice patty with chicken from the convenience store.
A few tinned apricots. It took me about ten minutes to wrest open the can without a can opener.
A small cauliflower cup-a-soup (had about half, tipped the rest out).
A piece of toast with cheese and Vegemite.
A chocolate cookie.*
A few sips of some vile, concentrated 'multivitamin pack' drink.**
*(My connecting station has a cookie stall. It's really bad because whenever I cross platforms - ie, every day - I have to walk past this stall. The smell of freshly baked cookies hits your nose as soon as you start climbing the stairs. They smell SO good. Even though they are kind of expensive, I have bought them three times...)
**According to the package, it is made from about 25 different fruits and vegetables, so it's unsurprising that it doesn't taste very good. I mean, a drink with asparagus, eggplant, sweet potato, tomato and fennel in it? But I'm consciously trying to consume enough fruit and vegetables so I can stay healthy.
Lots of people get sick at this time of year. A lot of my students have had colds. It's not surprising - the cold weather, the continual moving from a hot to a cold environment and vice versa, and the proximity with so many other people...
For example, you are waiting for a train at the end of the day, and when it arrives, you see that it is wall-to-wall people, and the windows are fogged up from the effect of so many people breathing in there. You get in there and there's a kind of warm, cloying atmosphere, and half the people are wearing surgical masks (people wear these when they have colds), and every second person seems to be sniffling or coughing. It's like walking onto an incubator for disease!
Last weekend I had a new low. I got up at 1:15pm. I went to bed at 1:30 the day before. That's nearly 12 hours in bed. And at this time of year, it's dark at 5pm. So I got to 'enjoy' four hours of daylight. Admittedly, that day was very overcast and the light was dull, so that's probably why it didn't wake me.
But getting up at 1:15pm meant I couldn't get to sleep until about 4am the next day, which was a work day, so I didn't get enough sleep, which meant the night after that was another 12-hour sleep...
The trouble is, it seems I am predisposed to get up just in time for work, whether I start work at 9am or 12:45pm... haha... oh well, the good thing about it is that I'm always getting plenty of sleep so if I feel like I'm coming down with something, I can sleep it off properly.
***
For the first 2-3 weeks of training and teaching, I was on a total high and very full of confidence. Since then, I've gone back to normal. I'm still enjoying myself and doing well, but I'm just more like my usual self. :)
***
The other day I took my first ever 'peak hour' train, the kind you imagine when you think about Japan. I thought I had done this before, but not so. This time, it was peak hour, *and* one train got taken out of service. Everyone had to get off the train - there was at least two or three hundred people on it - and join the already long lines of people waiting at the station for the next train (which in turn, was already full). But people don't stop when the train seems full. They just keep getting on.
Now I realise that a 'full' train is not just wall-to-wall people. A 'full' train is where you find yourself thinking 'it's lucky I'm not wearing foundation today, or this guy (whose shoulder my face is pressed into) would be getting white marks on his suit'. A 'full' train is where you are pressed against - not just touching, but pressed against - at least four other people. Hahah!
Outing
(click a photo to see a larger version)
Today I went to Yoyogi Park, in Tokyo. It was a nice, sunny day so there were lots of people lying around in the sun or having picnics, joggers, people walking dogs, young couples sitting by the lake, kids with icecreams, people taking photos of the autumn leaves, and quite a few random performances. Lots of people were playing the bongos and other drums. They weren't busking or anything, just having fun. Some people were practising circus tricks - juggling and so on. Everyone seemed to be having a good day.
After that I went to Harajuku, the place famous for its Sunday freakshow. Girls dress up in outrageous costumes and hang out, and masses of tourists take their photos. Apparently a lot of the girls who come to pose in wild outfits suffer bullying at school, and so use this kind of wild cos-play as an escape... I also heard that the girls hope to get their photo in a magazine, as fashion photographers often come to Harajuku to take photos of the wacky fashions. At any rate, this is the first place I've been in Japan where there were as many foreigners as Japanese people.
There's no way to describe Harajuku. It was pretty funny and everyone was having a blast. As you come out the park, first you walk past this huge gaggle of girls who are wearing the most outlandish clothes - looking like video game characters, or Bo Peep, or goths, but looking quite self-conscious considering they are there to strut their stuff... there is this one Japanese guy just dancing in a really random way by himself, and then some foreigners joining in, and everyone laughing riotously... over here a couple of guys are playing guitars... nearer the station, several people are painting and selling portraits... everyone has cameras out... a guy wearing pink pyjamas, a pink hair bow and holding a pink bunny, is holding a sign saying 'Free Hugging'... lots of people run up to get a hug...
I liked Yoyogi Park a lot, and Harajuku was fun. I think Tokyo is a cool place to visit, but whenever I take the train through Tokyo I feel glad I don't live there. There's just endless tall buildings in every direction. Now, Yokohama is still more of a concrete jungle than Adelaide, but I think it's much nicer to live there than Tokyo. A more liveable city.
(I did see something cool in a Tokyo metro station - an automatic shoe-shiner. You pay x yen into the machine and stick your foot in. I saw a guy with his foot in there... hahah...)
After that, I attempted to go back to Yokohama to go to church (I liked the one I went to last week), but with the so-called 'map' I had, that would have been a miracle. (Maps of building locations seem to be uniformly hopeless. They have a few so-called landmarks - a bank or store - but no street names. I couldn't find any of the landmark buildings on the map, let alone my destination. The church doesn't have a regular building but has a couple of different buildings it uses. I found last week's destination with no problem, but this week...)
So I wandered lost for a while until it was half an hour into the service, then decided it was too late (I was no closer to finding it than when I started). So instead I walked down toward the harbour front. I had a nice walk; I found a random park, and the streets were lined with trees literally *pouring* off their yellow autumn leaves. It was very pretty.
Again, it was a nice day and, being a Sunday, all the families were out. There were heaps of couples with small children; I think they had some kind of event for children near Yamashita Park.
I really, really like Yokohama. I like the harbour area especially. There's lots of open air and it's so different to anywhere I've ever been before.
Last night I went to Korea Town in Kawasaki after work. I went with Jim - the other foreign teacher (not his real name) and a couple of students. We went to a yakiniku restaurant. I've never been to one before and it was a lot of fun. Basically they bring you trays of the meat you order and you barbecue them yourself on a grill in the table. It was really delicious and everything had its own sauce for dipping. I even ate tongue (Jim pointed out the imprint of the taste buds on the tongue!) and enjoyed it! It wasn't a whole tongue or anything, just a thin slice of it, barbecued and dipped in lemon sauce.
I was so happy, there's just something about eating a whole lot of delicious food. :) And it's not a meal you bolt down and finish - the meal lasts a long time and you savour it, waiting for each small batch of meat to be done and eating it while it's hot. The pork was great - you dipped it in two different types of sauce and wrapped it in a lettuce leaf, covered in spring onions and garlic... mmmm!
The students are advanced level students and we had some interesting conversations. We talked a bit about accents and Jim and I compared our own. (I always thought I didn't have a very strong Australian accent. But now, whenever I hear myself reading a dialogue in class after listening to the Americans reading it on the CD, I can hear how strong my accent actually is!)
I taught them Lenny's expression, 'my stomach is smiling'. :)
I am getting used to sitting at a table Japanese style (ie, sitting on a cushion on the ground rather than on a chair) and have had lots of chopstick use! Other than that I haven't done much socially with other people, but tomorrow I'm going to Kamakura with another girl from training (a different one to before; this girl lives a lot further away but she wants to go to Kamakura too).
Today I went to Yoyogi Park, in Tokyo. It was a nice, sunny day so there were lots of people lying around in the sun or having picnics, joggers, people walking dogs, young couples sitting by the lake, kids with icecreams, people taking photos of the autumn leaves, and quite a few random performances. Lots of people were playing the bongos and other drums. They weren't busking or anything, just having fun. Some people were practising circus tricks - juggling and so on. Everyone seemed to be having a good day.
After that I went to Harajuku, the place famous for its Sunday freakshow. Girls dress up in outrageous costumes and hang out, and masses of tourists take their photos. Apparently a lot of the girls who come to pose in wild outfits suffer bullying at school, and so use this kind of wild cos-play as an escape... I also heard that the girls hope to get their photo in a magazine, as fashion photographers often come to Harajuku to take photos of the wacky fashions. At any rate, this is the first place I've been in Japan where there were as many foreigners as Japanese people.
There's no way to describe Harajuku. It was pretty funny and everyone was having a blast. As you come out the park, first you walk past this huge gaggle of girls who are wearing the most outlandish clothes - looking like video game characters, or Bo Peep, or goths, but looking quite self-conscious considering they are there to strut their stuff... there is this one Japanese guy just dancing in a really random way by himself, and then some foreigners joining in, and everyone laughing riotously... over here a couple of guys are playing guitars... nearer the station, several people are painting and selling portraits... everyone has cameras out... a guy wearing pink pyjamas, a pink hair bow and holding a pink bunny, is holding a sign saying 'Free Hugging'... lots of people run up to get a hug...
I liked Yoyogi Park a lot, and Harajuku was fun. I think Tokyo is a cool place to visit, but whenever I take the train through Tokyo I feel glad I don't live there. There's just endless tall buildings in every direction. Now, Yokohama is still more of a concrete jungle than Adelaide, but I think it's much nicer to live there than Tokyo. A more liveable city.
(I did see something cool in a Tokyo metro station - an automatic shoe-shiner. You pay x yen into the machine and stick your foot in. I saw a guy with his foot in there... hahah...)
After that, I attempted to go back to Yokohama to go to church (I liked the one I went to last week), but with the so-called 'map' I had, that would have been a miracle. (Maps of building locations seem to be uniformly hopeless. They have a few so-called landmarks - a bank or store - but no street names. I couldn't find any of the landmark buildings on the map, let alone my destination. The church doesn't have a regular building but has a couple of different buildings it uses. I found last week's destination with no problem, but this week...)
So I wandered lost for a while until it was half an hour into the service, then decided it was too late (I was no closer to finding it than when I started). So instead I walked down toward the harbour front. I had a nice walk; I found a random park, and the streets were lined with trees literally *pouring* off their yellow autumn leaves. It was very pretty.
Again, it was a nice day and, being a Sunday, all the families were out. There were heaps of couples with small children; I think they had some kind of event for children near Yamashita Park.
I really, really like Yokohama. I like the harbour area especially. There's lots of open air and it's so different to anywhere I've ever been before.
Last night I went to Korea Town in Kawasaki after work. I went with Jim - the other foreign teacher (not his real name) and a couple of students. We went to a yakiniku restaurant. I've never been to one before and it was a lot of fun. Basically they bring you trays of the meat you order and you barbecue them yourself on a grill in the table. It was really delicious and everything had its own sauce for dipping. I even ate tongue (Jim pointed out the imprint of the taste buds on the tongue!) and enjoyed it! It wasn't a whole tongue or anything, just a thin slice of it, barbecued and dipped in lemon sauce.
I was so happy, there's just something about eating a whole lot of delicious food. :) And it's not a meal you bolt down and finish - the meal lasts a long time and you savour it, waiting for each small batch of meat to be done and eating it while it's hot. The pork was great - you dipped it in two different types of sauce and wrapped it in a lettuce leaf, covered in spring onions and garlic... mmmm!
The students are advanced level students and we had some interesting conversations. We talked a bit about accents and Jim and I compared our own. (I always thought I didn't have a very strong Australian accent. But now, whenever I hear myself reading a dialogue in class after listening to the Americans reading it on the CD, I can hear how strong my accent actually is!)
I taught them Lenny's expression, 'my stomach is smiling'. :)
I am getting used to sitting at a table Japanese style (ie, sitting on a cushion on the ground rather than on a chair) and have had lots of chopstick use! Other than that I haven't done much socially with other people, but tomorrow I'm going to Kamakura with another girl from training (a different one to before; this girl lives a lot further away but she wants to go to Kamakura too).
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