Last Sunday, some of the current teachers, Megan and Daven, took us into Nagoya, one of the bigger cities close to Tsu (I actually learned that it is the third largest city by population in Japan). We were primarily looking for some cloths for Nicole who's suit case was lost at the airport, but other than that, Megan and Daven showed us some good restaurants they found and we just looked around the many shops. We even found a guitar shop where I will be going back soon to buy a bass and amp; well that is as soon as I replenish my bank account here, I forgot how expensive this country is. Overall it was a good day and a good introduction to the area. I can see myself going to Nagoya quite a bit, it is close enough that we can go for a good day trip and hopefully enjoy a concert or two by the time the year is up.
The next day we jumped right into work mode. Our schedule consisted of training lectures from 10:00 am to noon and then 1:00 pm to about 2:30. Then we observed classes in the afternoon and evening. It was a pretty easy week filled with training lectures and observing classes, but that isn't to say that there weren't challenges to be had. Because of that, I am glad it was a relatively easy week.
First off, the heat and humidity has been a continuing struggle. At the beginning of the week, I thought I would never get comfortable. In the apartment, there are air conditioners in each room, but to save energy, they are not turned on all the time. The apartment is then generally very humid and sweat pours off of you even if you stand there. For a notoriously warm blooded individual like me, this is a little like hell. To add to that, we have a 10 minute bike ride to and from work. By the time I got to work or back home, I was literally drenched in sweat and getting in the apartment with the A/C off didn't alleviate things any. I quickly learned that the leather couch was a poor choice for relaxing. It was bad at the beginning of the week, but now I have found a couple of ways to get comfortable and I also think I have just gotten used to it. For example, right now I am sitting with a fan directed at me at full blast and I have rediscovered the wonders of cold showers from when I was living in Tommy Hall last summer. I have also begun to love the biking aspect of the job. I forgot how much I love biking.
Another obstacle has been communication. Now, improving communication is the reason I am here, but it has been hard to understand the training lectures and really get the point that the Japanese staff are trying to get across. Their English is very good, but it is difficult to get more complex concepts across such as those about the little nuances and details of teaching English here at OBC. It has definitely served as a reality check, which is always good, but it has been difficult none the less. I think it could also be because we are meeting Tsuyoshi, Naomi and Mayumi for the first time, and over time we will get to know one another better which will make communication easier.
Not all has been a struggle. As I mentioned, I love biking around. I was sure tired the first week of biking, but now it is pretty easy and a lot of fun. I think I will be buying a bike from Daven, and it is a fun one. I rode it on accident the first day and I remember it was a nice bike. Daven is a bike guy, and this is one that he has put quite a bit of time and money into.
Last week we had lunch breaks in between our lectures, so Jeff, Nicole and I (new teachers) out to lunch each day. We found a couple of good places and got to know each other better in the process. We found a great Indian restaurant called Karakata. I really like the title because of the play on words. In Japanese the name means "was spicy" and if you read it quickly, it sounds like Calcutta, the city in India. We also found a small Japanese restaurant where we made friends with the owner and what looked like a knitting gang of older ladies. We talked about teaching at OBC and we found out that the owner is famous in the area for his Karaoke singing. I know I will be going back there often to get my Japanese practice in.
The other exciting thing has been the excitement to start teaching. As I watched the classes, I got excited about how I will go about teaching the students, how I will inspire them and make it fun for them, and what I am going to learn from the experience.
With all of the lectures and observing, I was definitely ready for the holiday weekend (Monday was a national holiday here, so we had that off). On Friday, Jeff, Nicole and I went to see the new Harry Potter movie. The movie was good (I think I need to read the books) but the real entertainment came as the movie ended. The credits began to roll and as I went to stand up and leave, I realized that no one was following suit. As the credits rolled, I looked around the theater just to see if everyone else was paying attention to something I was totally unaware of. I came up with nothing. So we sat there in silence watching the credits and listening to the music. I kind of chuckled inside at the absurdity of it all. When the credits were done and the lights came up, people began to talk amongst themselves and started filling out. I later asked about why they did this and it is simply because they were waiting for the lights to come on in the theater. I hadn't realized, but in Japan, the lights in the movie theater don't come on until after the credits where as in The States, they come on at the beginning of the credits. So that was a funny experience we had on Friday.
The next day we went to Ise to watch the firework festival. Every year, 5o some odd firework makers come together every year to compete for best firework presentation. We were invited to Naomi's family friend's house where we could watch the fireworks. We met a lot of people, of which I have forgotten many names already. It actually reminded me of an American summer cook out with a Japanese twist. Many houses along the street had the grill set up in their very small backyards and just cooked up some food and watched the fireworks. The food was where the Japanese twist came in. I ate was is called sazae. It is a Japanese snail that lives in a shell about the size of a fist. The dad that was grilling showed us the snail moving in its shell before he plopped it on the grill. We were all a little skeptical of it, but it was actually pretty good. Here is a picture of one:
The next day, Jeff, Nicole and I shipped out to Kyoto for Sunday and the Monday holiday. When I studied abroad, I decided Kyoto was one of my favorite cities and that decision still holds true. It is a cool city with a very wide variety of activities. It has a busy night life area with nice restaurants and it is also home to some of the most historic sites in Japan (During WWII, America did not bomb Kyoto in order to preserve the important history there). Shortly after finding our hostel to drop off our stuff, we went to an Okonomiyaki restaurant. Okonomiyaki is like a mix between a pancake and an omlett, Japanese style of course. It is filled with meat, vegetables, ginger shavings and sometimes egg.
Although I would say I am skilled at using chop sticks, as we were eating I dropped one of my chop sticks on the ground. I was able to politely ask for another pair, but I didn't know how to say "my chop stick fell on the ground" so instead I pointed at ,my chop stick and the floor at the same time. Without giving me more than a half second of a glance, the middle aged woman who owned the restaurant ackonolaged my request with an annoyed voice and brought me a new pair. Nicole, Jeff and I couldn't stop laughing as I had just fullfilled the stereotype as the ignorant American who's not very good at using chopsticks or speaking the language. I wanted to reseem myself, but after our hysterical laughing, there was no hope. oh well.
Shortly after that we headed to the train station to visit the Fushimi Inari Shrine. This shrine has pathways all the way up the mountain that are lined with about 2,000 torii gates. It was very tiring, but the view near the top was worth it. I unfortunately did not have my camera while we were in Kyoto, so I don't have a picture of the view, but I do have a picture of the gates from when I went during study abroad:
After a day of hiking, we were pretty tired, so we went back the hostel to relax before dinner, and not a moment too soon. As we took a short nap, we were serenaded by a nice thunderstorm. I was just saying earlier that I could go for a good thunderstorm and mother nature granted me my wish.
The next day we went to Kinkakuji, the famous golden temple and the old emperors palace. Kyoto used to be the capitol of Japan many many years ago until it moved to Tokyo. There wasn't much to do there becuase the walls of the palace inside the park were closed, but there was still a lot of greenery where people come to exercise. Here is a picture of the golden temple:
That night we made it back to Tsu to get ready for classes on Tuesday. This week we have been taking over the first part of classes where we warm up the students. I have been bringing in a short powerpoint of pictures to introduce myself, my family, where I am from and what my hobbies are. For the most part it has been successful, but there is still a lot for me to learn about how to teach. Each class is at a different level, so you can't use the same wording for each class. You really have to think on your toes in order to keep the qustions coming and the conversation rolling. It is also tough with the younger kids and middle and high school kids. These classes are an extra activity for them outside of school, they are not always completely motivated to be there. Plus, they just started their month long summer vacations where they still have a couple of hours of homework per day! Time is going to be the best way to learn. After a few months, it will become second nature for me. I am already starting to think about the different things I will do to keep active. After some time getting used to work and getting the apartment set up, I plan on either taking Japanese lessons from a professor in town or signing up for classes at the local university. I have also been looking up some Japanese recipes so that I can do more cooking and learn some stuff in the process.
Well, that was a bit of a novel, but I have reached the end, for now.....
Once we get the apartment cleaned up, I am planning on posting a video tour of the place. If anyone is dying to send me anything, the address to send that to is:
Mike Lambert
C/O Orden Bunka Center
21-4 Higashi Marunouchi
Tsu City, Mie 514-0028
JAPAN
And if you would, I would like to know all of your mailing addresses.
Hope everyone is doing well and I will talk to you later.
次の時間まで
