It’s amazing to think Christmas is in eleven days. Students have had exams, so I had been doing a whole lot of nothing until this week. My December monthly report looks pretty bare, with “テスト”written in half the dates and nenkyu or public holiday in many of the others (these foreign words stand for “test” and “paid vacation,” respectively). This week includes Christmas lessons for the ichinenseis at Araya and the ninenseis at Kita Ko. When I told the ichinenseis today that I was sending gifts to America for my family and that my family was sending gifts to me, the students asked again how old I was. Apparently, twenty-one is too old to be receiving presents. I disagree.
I spent last weekend in Tokyo with some friends from the prefecture. Basically, we looked at shrines, walked around parks, shopped, did an epic purikura (photo booth pictures which look like Lisa Frank vomited on them), went to an onsen that actually allowed tattoos, and ate all the ethnic foods we can’t get in Akita. And it was a blast. I got back into Akita City at 7:30 on Monday morning, an hour before I had to go to work. It was snowing quite heavily, there were about two inches of snow on the ground, I had all my bags, and I ran out of time for coffee. My apologies to my class during first period. I’ll do better next time.
I got myself pulled together by sixth period, and we had loads of fun. Two students at two different times told me that my hair was different (You’ve never seen me with night bus hair before, kids), so I explained to them what a “bad hair day” is, and how sometimes it is unavoidable. We worked on correct English pronunciation of katakana words, a game in which the JTE pronounces a word with a Japanese accent and then the students correct the pronunciation. Sometimes they have no idea what changes they are looking for, so they will just change intonation (salada-sALada-salADa-saLADa-salaDA), until they figure out what they actually need to do, like drop the ‘a’ off the end. Snowboard is also a tough one. Earphone was hilarious (e-ya-hone is basically how they say it).
Today, I introduced students to the wonderful American invention of scratch-and-sniff stickers. I demonstrated, and they didn’t seem to believe me until they tried it themselves. Shocked gasps. Sniff again. “Eeeee, sugoi!” (translation: Hey, Cool!). I’m kind of surprised they didn’t already know what they were. Whoever invented scratch-and-sniff stickers had the soul of a Japanese teenager.
Next week I head to Miyazaki-shi to spend Christmas with the incomparable Rick and Martha Synder (PSYCHED!), and then spend five days in Tokyo over New Year’s. I’m staying in a capsule hotel, which should be a riot, and then taking the shinkansen (bullet train) back to Akita, which I have been told is like spending four hours on a super space ship.
A quick note on how much Celsius doesn’t make sense - My kerosene heater in my house tells me the temperature of the room and then the temperature it is set at. When I turn it on in the morning after it has been off all night, or when I come home from work, it often reads 8 or 9 degrees. Now…I know that this doesn’t really mean 8 or 9 degrees, but there is no way for my American consciousness to get around the fact that 8 or 9 degrees ABOVE ZERO, no matter what scale you are using, is still really cold. And thus, everything feels colder to me because it all sounds like it’s much colder. My complete lack of conversion skills also doesn’t help. I want Fahrenheit back.
Happy Christmas to all! Send me your address if you would like a postcard.
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Exam-am-am-am-am...
Students have had exams all of the last two weeks. Which means I hang out at the office for English-language consulting purposes and occasionally to mark stuff. I do have the disadvantage of only being able to mark certain things, because as far as Japanese-to-English translation goes, I’m pretty worthless. And because I have four schools, the exam period, which would only take three days at any particular school, takes two weeks since they all have different schedules. This morning on the train to Oiwake all the students on the train had their composition books out and were pouring over geometry graphs and handwritten notes. I miss having such studying to do, and it made me feel old to recall when I was a senior and was studying my ass off and cramming information in my head that I knew I wouldn’t remember mere hours before a test. Sigh.
Yesterday at one school I was helping to check translations with my JTE (Japanese Teacher of English, for those of you who haven’t been keeping up with the shop-talk), and, boy, were there some winners! The model answer was supposed to go something like “I used to skate cheerfully like a child, but now I skate elegantly like an adult,” (it was a newspaper quote from a Japanese figure skater who recently made a come-back at a competition). One student wrote, “My skating used to be naughty, but now it is like an adult’s skating.” The use of naughty here is brilliant.
Another student wrote, “But now my skating has become adulty.” And I think this person should get props for the invention of a new adjective.
In a different section of that same exam, a student wrote “This picture’s topic is that children are simple animals.” We have a low opinion of children, apparently.
Several students also invented the word “satisficated,” which I plan to start incorporating into my daily vocabulary. And although I appreciated the comedic aspect of these answers, they still got marked wrong. Because, well, they are wrong.
I am going to Tokyo this weekend, and then return to normal teaching next week, when I am also having my window in my shower room fixed, a request which turned into a much bigger deal than I anticipated. What started with, “Hey, I can’t close the window in my shower because the corner hits the side of the building, and it’s now winter,” became two separate visits from the repair man and an upcoming multiple-hour fixing session.
For the present, I am sitting in the office next to the big window and the heater, watching the rain fall on the fields outside and drinking my fifth cup of coffee in three hours. I haven’t been this caffeinated in a long time…since last week…so I’m not planning on stopping now.
Yesterday at one school I was helping to check translations with my JTE (Japanese Teacher of English, for those of you who haven’t been keeping up with the shop-talk), and, boy, were there some winners! The model answer was supposed to go something like “I used to skate cheerfully like a child, but now I skate elegantly like an adult,” (it was a newspaper quote from a Japanese figure skater who recently made a come-back at a competition). One student wrote, “My skating used to be naughty, but now it is like an adult’s skating.” The use of naughty here is brilliant.
Another student wrote, “But now my skating has become adulty.” And I think this person should get props for the invention of a new adjective.
In a different section of that same exam, a student wrote “This picture’s topic is that children are simple animals.” We have a low opinion of children, apparently.
Several students also invented the word “satisficated,” which I plan to start incorporating into my daily vocabulary. And although I appreciated the comedic aspect of these answers, they still got marked wrong. Because, well, they are wrong.
I am going to Tokyo this weekend, and then return to normal teaching next week, when I am also having my window in my shower room fixed, a request which turned into a much bigger deal than I anticipated. What started with, “Hey, I can’t close the window in my shower because the corner hits the side of the building, and it’s now winter,” became two separate visits from the repair man and an upcoming multiple-hour fixing session.
For the present, I am sitting in the office next to the big window and the heater, watching the rain fall on the fields outside and drinking my fifth cup of coffee in three hours. I haven’t been this caffeinated in a long time…since last week…so I’m not planning on stopping now.
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
11/29/11, Or, The Day I Ran out of Creative Titles
Happy almost December! It’s hard to believe I have been in Japan for over four months now, a thing which marks not only the longest I have been out of the States, but also the longest I have gone without driving. The days of being able to ride my bicycle are quickly drawing to a close as well, as the inevitability of massive amounts of snowfall draws nearer. Currently, we are experiencing a somewhat strange but still appreciated 50 degree streak. It’s rainy, but really quite warm, a nice change as my house begins to look more and more like a den where I will hibernate all winter and less like a pit stop on my way to doing more exciting things. I broke out the heated carpet last night. That was an excellent choice. I have this inclination that the more fabric I put around the warmer my house will be. I’m not sure this is actually true, but it’s the premise I am operating under at present, and it makes me feel warmer, if nothing else.
I am making a long weekend trip to Tokyo next-next weekend. That should be a hoot.
Yesterday at Kita Ko I literally had nothing to do all day. Exams are coming up next week, so every teacher is cramming to cover the material the students need to know for the exams, which basically means that I am not team-teaching with anyone. I have vocabulary review classes today and tomorrow at Araya, and then I don’t think any more classes till December 12. I am trying to think of things I could prepare that might be useful (life-size Scrabble pieces? Endless trivia questions, divided into categories by topic and level? Scategories worksheets?) instead of studying Japanese for an hour and then reading NPR for the next five hours like I did yesterday (in my defense, I was woefully behind on the news).
In all that spare time, I also researched all the different kinds of things you can make in a rice cooker, including but not limited to, rice, soup, casserole, and cake! I have no microwave, which means I have no oven, and I also don’t cook. So in an attempt to harness what little culinary pursuits are within my power, I looked up how to make biscuits on a stovetop (do-able) and cookies on a stovetop (definitely not so do-able), in the event that I decide my true calling is baking and I take it up. I doubt it’ll happen. But one can hope. I’ll probably just end up buying some candles that smell like baking cookies and call it good.
Side note on the oven business, when I was trying to explain Thanksgiving to my students, I told them about the turkey and the stuffing. They kept asking questions like, You cook a whole turkey?, and How big is the turkey?, and Does everyone do this?.
And then it dawned on me. A Japanese “oven” is a microwave, i.e., it is the size of a microwave, and there is no way in hell you could ever fit a turkey in there, much less a turkey stuffed with stuffing. No wonder they were confused! So I proceeded to confuse them further and explain that in fact, people in America had real ovens about the same size as their desks (“Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!”), and that, dear students, is how you could cook a whole turkey at once. They didn’t believe me that we all had ovens that large. They further didn’t believe me when I told them that my house actually had two ovens, and one of them was bigger than the desk. My JTE also looked at me like TWO ovens was inexcusable excess of kitchen appliance. But what can I say? Blowin’ minds, one class session at a time.
I am making a long weekend trip to Tokyo next-next weekend. That should be a hoot.
Yesterday at Kita Ko I literally had nothing to do all day. Exams are coming up next week, so every teacher is cramming to cover the material the students need to know for the exams, which basically means that I am not team-teaching with anyone. I have vocabulary review classes today and tomorrow at Araya, and then I don’t think any more classes till December 12. I am trying to think of things I could prepare that might be useful (life-size Scrabble pieces? Endless trivia questions, divided into categories by topic and level? Scategories worksheets?) instead of studying Japanese for an hour and then reading NPR for the next five hours like I did yesterday (in my defense, I was woefully behind on the news).
In all that spare time, I also researched all the different kinds of things you can make in a rice cooker, including but not limited to, rice, soup, casserole, and cake! I have no microwave, which means I have no oven, and I also don’t cook. So in an attempt to harness what little culinary pursuits are within my power, I looked up how to make biscuits on a stovetop (do-able) and cookies on a stovetop (definitely not so do-able), in the event that I decide my true calling is baking and I take it up. I doubt it’ll happen. But one can hope. I’ll probably just end up buying some candles that smell like baking cookies and call it good.
Side note on the oven business, when I was trying to explain Thanksgiving to my students, I told them about the turkey and the stuffing. They kept asking questions like, You cook a whole turkey?, and How big is the turkey?, and Does everyone do this?.
And then it dawned on me. A Japanese “oven” is a microwave, i.e., it is the size of a microwave, and there is no way in hell you could ever fit a turkey in there, much less a turkey stuffed with stuffing. No wonder they were confused! So I proceeded to confuse them further and explain that in fact, people in America had real ovens about the same size as their desks (“Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!”), and that, dear students, is how you could cook a whole turkey at once. They didn’t believe me that we all had ovens that large. They further didn’t believe me when I told them that my house actually had two ovens, and one of them was bigger than the desk. My JTE also looked at me like TWO ovens was inexcusable excess of kitchen appliance. But what can I say? Blowin’ minds, one class session at a time.
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Snow, and Other Details
I’m on fire with these blog posts.
I really didn’t do anything over the weekend except clean house, watch Pushing Daisies, and reply to emails. Oh, I did move my bed from one corner of the bedroom to the other. That was exciting. It used to be under the window when it occurred to me that I would probably be warmer if I moved the bed away from directly underneath the window. So I did. And I actually like the way the room looks better now, as well being warmer while I sleep. Go me.
I am also going to force myself to get kerosene this week. Because the snow is happening and winter is a’comin’! Japan, for all its efficiency, missed the boat on winter preparations. Nothing has central heating. Nothing has insulation. And everything has single-pane windows. In addition, half their houses are made of rice paper and tatami, and they use kerosene heaters to heat everything. WHAT. This is the opposite of making sense. But I can’t do more than buy some thick curtains, blankets, a heated carpet (‘cause, yeah, we have those! And heated tables. Be jealous.), and settle down into the system.
Annnnnndddddd…It has just occurred to me that the minuscule details of my daily life does not become any more exciting to the reader just because they happen in Japan. My apologies.
Snow hasn’t actually stuck yet, but there have been several days of flurries. I was informed by some of my teachers that it is a bit early for snow in the area, but I was also told that this past September was unusually rainy and cold, so I’m guessing these two weather irregularities are connected. Fortunately for me, I have the Indian restaurant just a short 30 second walk away, so we at least know I won’t starve this winter.
Speaking of my friendly neighborhood Indian restaurant, I filled up my first point card there! 500 yen off my next purchase! In my defense, many visitors have also used my point card…I haven’t actually bought that much curry and nan. Point cards are the thing here. Even more than in the States. Every store is always giving away point cards. Malls have them, stores in those malls have them…so you can actually swipe two or three points cards with every purchase!
Tomorrow I get to use music in my ichinensei class. I have reused my relative pronoun Jeopardy game so many times already, and I will again, and the song was chosen partially because of the relative (adverb) in the title. This pattern of lessons has left me extremely aware of whenever I use relative pronouns/adverbs in speech or writing. Am I using them correctly…Do I really use them that often…Should I use them there…Why is there so much to think about when utilizing relative pronouns and adverbs…? It does mean, however, that I know “relative adverb” and “relative pronoun” in Japanese. I’m sure one day that information will be helpful to me.
Wednesday is a public holiday here, so there is a Thanksgiving dinner potluck at one of the ALTs houses. I have never missed a Thanksgiving dinner before…Aunt Ruth, I’m gonna miss your rosemary rolls…so that’s a little sad. But Christmas is definitely in the air here. It has been since the day after Halloween. There are Christmas trees in all the stores and Christmas music (in English) being played at Starbucks (which does have gingerbread lattes!), though I still refuse to participate in Christmas until after Thanksgiving. Old habits die hard…or don’t die at all. So Happy Thanksgiving all!
I really didn’t do anything over the weekend except clean house, watch Pushing Daisies, and reply to emails. Oh, I did move my bed from one corner of the bedroom to the other. That was exciting. It used to be under the window when it occurred to me that I would probably be warmer if I moved the bed away from directly underneath the window. So I did. And I actually like the way the room looks better now, as well being warmer while I sleep. Go me.
I am also going to force myself to get kerosene this week. Because the snow is happening and winter is a’comin’! Japan, for all its efficiency, missed the boat on winter preparations. Nothing has central heating. Nothing has insulation. And everything has single-pane windows. In addition, half their houses are made of rice paper and tatami, and they use kerosene heaters to heat everything. WHAT. This is the opposite of making sense. But I can’t do more than buy some thick curtains, blankets, a heated carpet (‘cause, yeah, we have those! And heated tables. Be jealous.), and settle down into the system.
Annnnnndddddd…It has just occurred to me that the minuscule details of my daily life does not become any more exciting to the reader just because they happen in Japan. My apologies.
Snow hasn’t actually stuck yet, but there have been several days of flurries. I was informed by some of my teachers that it is a bit early for snow in the area, but I was also told that this past September was unusually rainy and cold, so I’m guessing these two weather irregularities are connected. Fortunately for me, I have the Indian restaurant just a short 30 second walk away, so we at least know I won’t starve this winter.
Speaking of my friendly neighborhood Indian restaurant, I filled up my first point card there! 500 yen off my next purchase! In my defense, many visitors have also used my point card…I haven’t actually bought that much curry and nan. Point cards are the thing here. Even more than in the States. Every store is always giving away point cards. Malls have them, stores in those malls have them…so you can actually swipe two or three points cards with every purchase!
Tomorrow I get to use music in my ichinensei class. I have reused my relative pronoun Jeopardy game so many times already, and I will again, and the song was chosen partially because of the relative (adverb) in the title. This pattern of lessons has left me extremely aware of whenever I use relative pronouns/adverbs in speech or writing. Am I using them correctly…Do I really use them that often…Should I use them there…Why is there so much to think about when utilizing relative pronouns and adverbs…? It does mean, however, that I know “relative adverb” and “relative pronoun” in Japanese. I’m sure one day that information will be helpful to me.
Wednesday is a public holiday here, so there is a Thanksgiving dinner potluck at one of the ALTs houses. I have never missed a Thanksgiving dinner before…Aunt Ruth, I’m gonna miss your rosemary rolls…so that’s a little sad. But Christmas is definitely in the air here. It has been since the day after Halloween. There are Christmas trees in all the stores and Christmas music (in English) being played at Starbucks (which does have gingerbread lattes!), though I still refuse to participate in Christmas until after Thanksgiving. Old habits die hard…or don’t die at all. So Happy Thanksgiving all!
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Play-by-Play: Part II
The week continues.
Day Three
I have three classes, all sannenseis (the equivalent of high schools seniors). At Kanano I see the third graders all the time, while I rarely do at my other schools. Sometimes at Akita High, which is quite the contrast to Kanano because Akita High students have the highest English, and Kanano students the lowest. I think the two of those are my favorite schools.
The first class of the day we again played Jeopardy. 3E has 37 boys and two girls, and one of the girls was absent that day. Because it has so many boys, anything involving keeping score and winning is appealing, so they got really into it. We also did shiritori (write a word on the board, the next student writes a word that starts with the last letter of the previous word, and so on and so forth to infinity), and these boys came up with more words than some of the other classes had. I was so proud. These kids don’t really give a damn about English, so that fact they got into anything I had to offer at all makes me happy.
My second class was with 3H, a class with 38 girls and one boy. The gender ratios at this school are all over the board, because of the specialties they choose. E is engineering. H is home economics. I have had 3H twice before, more than any other class there, all of which I have only had once, if at all (there are still two straggler classes which haven’t been subjected to my self-introduction lesson yet. God help them…and me, because I don’t want to do that again). My JTE (the sweetest lady EVER) came up to me beforehand and basically asked if I had time to come to 3H because they really like me, wanted to see me again, and had been asking for me. Of COURSE, I have time! And hey, I give the people what they want. That, and I really like 3H too. The girls had little papier-mâché gyoza drying in the windowsills of the classroom.
Last period was a sannensei class I had never had before. That accused self-introduction lesson. I got cocky, though, about the ‘being able to pick out baseball player’ thing, and so the students had me spend a quarter of the class period figuring out who the seven baseball players in the class were. My hair give-away didn’t really apply this time, since only one of the seven actually had short hair. Every time I had one of the boys stand up, they would all say, “Eeeeeeeeeeeee.” And I’m thinking…Gee, kids, does that mean I’m right or wrong about this one? Eventually, though, we worked it out.
The baseball coach is also an English teacher at Kanano, and he sits behind me in the teacher’s room, so when he isn’t busy (which isn’t that often), we talk. I told the boys I knew their coach, and they all love him, so we bonded over a mutual tomodachi. One of the boys in that class is going to become a sumo wrestler next year, and it’s really interesting to see how much students in each class unite together. Every student in 3L wanted me to know that one among them was destined for fame, was special, because by being associated with him, they take part in that fame and special-ness. Each class becomes a little family. They take care of their own.
When I go to Kanano next month, the students have exams, so I don’t have any classes. Which makes me sad, because I love being in class at that school. I suppose I’ll just wander hallways instead, where my name gets screamed from classrooms and down hallways. It’s all so young and alive – like the plants they grow.
Days Four/Five:
I go to Akita High. Thursday morning I met them at Sensyu Park for a concert of “jazz and pops.” Every year each high school gets some special event for them by the Prefectural Office, and this concert was Akita’s. This was cool not only because I got to sleep in, but because I got to go to a free concert with some famous saxophone player named Malta. It was the strangest thing because he is Japanese, but he came on stage and screamed “Alright, alright, ladies and gentlemen, how are you doing?” into the microphone. I didn’t know what to think. But then he did this long explanation of how jazz worked…I think. It was in Japanese. I heard the word for ‘music’ a bunch of times. Eventually he did Stevie Wonder’s “Pick up the Pieces” with the piano, upright bass, and drum players he had on stage with him. It really took me back.
To America, that is.
On Friday I had two sannensei classes, which I just go to and correct the sentences they write on the board. One class, 3D, I was specially requested to attend by the students. Last time I was there, these two boys in 3D asked me to skip the class I was going to go to and come to theirs instead. So I talked to their sensei and arranged going to that class next time.
When I got to class, we talked about the phrase “a rolling stone gathers no moss” (the sensei gives them an English proverb and a riddle every class period), and whether it had a good meaning or a bad meaning. These kids are sharp.
I recognized the two boys I had talked to last time, and one of them made me a tiny, perfect pink paper crane, and he explained the Japanese custom to me. They also all asked me when I was coming back to that class. I think students are under the impression that I just show up to classes whenever I want, not that scheduling is a beyond complicated affair in these schools, ever-changing and sometimes I am not even informed about those changes until after they happen. But it’s cute they want me there.
And then I went home and watched Twin Peaks. One episode left!
I also watched my first anime episodes this weekend. Students talk about anime all the time, asking me what my favorite character in some series I have never heard of is, but I never have any idea what they are referring to or what information they want from me. And I’m so illiterate on the topic that I can’t even lie my way out it.
Also, I am never going to have a better excuse to watch anime than the fact I live in Japan right now. So now is the time to dapple in this huge culture experience I have never, well, experienced before. And I quite enjoyed the foray.
Day Three
I have three classes, all sannenseis (the equivalent of high schools seniors). At Kanano I see the third graders all the time, while I rarely do at my other schools. Sometimes at Akita High, which is quite the contrast to Kanano because Akita High students have the highest English, and Kanano students the lowest. I think the two of those are my favorite schools.
The first class of the day we again played Jeopardy. 3E has 37 boys and two girls, and one of the girls was absent that day. Because it has so many boys, anything involving keeping score and winning is appealing, so they got really into it. We also did shiritori (write a word on the board, the next student writes a word that starts with the last letter of the previous word, and so on and so forth to infinity), and these boys came up with more words than some of the other classes had. I was so proud. These kids don’t really give a damn about English, so that fact they got into anything I had to offer at all makes me happy.
My second class was with 3H, a class with 38 girls and one boy. The gender ratios at this school are all over the board, because of the specialties they choose. E is engineering. H is home economics. I have had 3H twice before, more than any other class there, all of which I have only had once, if at all (there are still two straggler classes which haven’t been subjected to my self-introduction lesson yet. God help them…and me, because I don’t want to do that again). My JTE (the sweetest lady EVER) came up to me beforehand and basically asked if I had time to come to 3H because they really like me, wanted to see me again, and had been asking for me. Of COURSE, I have time! And hey, I give the people what they want. That, and I really like 3H too. The girls had little papier-mâché gyoza drying in the windowsills of the classroom.
Last period was a sannensei class I had never had before. That accused self-introduction lesson. I got cocky, though, about the ‘being able to pick out baseball player’ thing, and so the students had me spend a quarter of the class period figuring out who the seven baseball players in the class were. My hair give-away didn’t really apply this time, since only one of the seven actually had short hair. Every time I had one of the boys stand up, they would all say, “Eeeeeeeeeeeee.” And I’m thinking…Gee, kids, does that mean I’m right or wrong about this one? Eventually, though, we worked it out.
The baseball coach is also an English teacher at Kanano, and he sits behind me in the teacher’s room, so when he isn’t busy (which isn’t that often), we talk. I told the boys I knew their coach, and they all love him, so we bonded over a mutual tomodachi. One of the boys in that class is going to become a sumo wrestler next year, and it’s really interesting to see how much students in each class unite together. Every student in 3L wanted me to know that one among them was destined for fame, was special, because by being associated with him, they take part in that fame and special-ness. Each class becomes a little family. They take care of their own.
When I go to Kanano next month, the students have exams, so I don’t have any classes. Which makes me sad, because I love being in class at that school. I suppose I’ll just wander hallways instead, where my name gets screamed from classrooms and down hallways. It’s all so young and alive – like the plants they grow.
Days Four/Five:
I go to Akita High. Thursday morning I met them at Sensyu Park for a concert of “jazz and pops.” Every year each high school gets some special event for them by the Prefectural Office, and this concert was Akita’s. This was cool not only because I got to sleep in, but because I got to go to a free concert with some famous saxophone player named Malta. It was the strangest thing because he is Japanese, but he came on stage and screamed “Alright, alright, ladies and gentlemen, how are you doing?” into the microphone. I didn’t know what to think. But then he did this long explanation of how jazz worked…I think. It was in Japanese. I heard the word for ‘music’ a bunch of times. Eventually he did Stevie Wonder’s “Pick up the Pieces” with the piano, upright bass, and drum players he had on stage with him. It really took me back.
To America, that is.
On Friday I had two sannensei classes, which I just go to and correct the sentences they write on the board. One class, 3D, I was specially requested to attend by the students. Last time I was there, these two boys in 3D asked me to skip the class I was going to go to and come to theirs instead. So I talked to their sensei and arranged going to that class next time.
When I got to class, we talked about the phrase “a rolling stone gathers no moss” (the sensei gives them an English proverb and a riddle every class period), and whether it had a good meaning or a bad meaning. These kids are sharp.
I recognized the two boys I had talked to last time, and one of them made me a tiny, perfect pink paper crane, and he explained the Japanese custom to me. They also all asked me when I was coming back to that class. I think students are under the impression that I just show up to classes whenever I want, not that scheduling is a beyond complicated affair in these schools, ever-changing and sometimes I am not even informed about those changes until after they happen. But it’s cute they want me there.
And then I went home and watched Twin Peaks. One episode left!
I also watched my first anime episodes this weekend. Students talk about anime all the time, asking me what my favorite character in some series I have never heard of is, but I never have any idea what they are referring to or what information they want from me. And I’m so illiterate on the topic that I can’t even lie my way out it.
Also, I am never going to have a better excuse to watch anime than the fact I live in Japan right now. So now is the time to dapple in this huge culture experience I have never, well, experienced before. And I quite enjoyed the foray.
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Play-by-Play: Part I
Let’s talk about my week so far.
Day One:
I went to Kanano, my agricultural high school. I had one class, during which we played a relative pronoun Jeopardy game I had created for another school (recycling lessons, for the win). I learned that at Kanano, they just expect me to have activities prepared to do, before I know what classes I will have, how many, what levels, and if I have had that class before. I had had my schedule for about ten minutes when my JTE came up and said, “We have class together today. What activities do you have?”
But it’s okay. Now I know that’s how that school operates. The students’ level of English is across the board the lowest out of all my schools, but I always love going to Kanano. So I had the one sannensei class, and I ate a dried persimmon (kaki, in Japanese). I left early that day because my base school needed me to come and coach a girl for her college English interview this Saturday. Apparently, my taking nenkyu last Friday threw off their preparation schedule (oh, well – it was approved, I was sick, and I don’t feel bad about that), so my supervisor wanted me to come in and coach Yuki. I’ve been working with her English essays for a while now. So we talked, and I went home and watched Twin Peaks.
Day Two:
Because I had left early the day before, one of my Monday classes got moved to Tuesday, which means I taught five out of the six class periods. That’s a lot, even by Japanese teacher standards, because they rarely teach more than four in a day, most of the time three. Four of these five were self-introduction lessons, the lesson which I could do in my sleep because I have done it at least fifty times since school started back up in September. I literally never want to do it again.
First period, ichinenseis. I had second period off. Third period I had 2L. I have had this class before, so we did Jeopardy again, and they were awesome. “An animal that is often kept as a pet, is bigger than a mouse, and doesn’t like cats” was met with shouts of Tiger, Lion, Cheetah, Capybara (a word which every Japanese teenager seems to know), Marmot, Hamster, and Rabbit. The answer we are looking for is Dog, kids. Dog. Which they finally did figure out, after I stopped laughing hysterically at the names of Safari animals being shouted at me. They also guessed Zebra as the Oregon State animal. Wrong continent, guys, but good guess.
After we finished all my questions, they demanded Round 2 (which does not exist), so I gave them the task of figuring out what my middle name was. I gave them the first letter, “M,” and their first guess was Michael, followed by Mark, and Matthew. We finally got around to Mary, which they pronounce like Marie, so I let them have it. A group of boys in front were the closest to the correct answer, so I gave them fifty bonus points, and then another ten after they said, “Jessie-Sensei so beautiful, so beautiful” very emphatically and about thirty times. I can be swayed by flattery.
Two more self-introduction lessons.
Cue 2B Class. Last period of the day. Self-intro lesson. Okay, so generally there are a lot of boys at this school, and generally they tend to talk a lot. The extroverted kind of boy. Almost half of every class is on the baseball team or the rugby team. My time in Japanese schools has taught me to make friends with the baseball team, because again generally they have the most hilarious things to say in their broken English. I walk into class, hear rumblings of my name sweeping through the aisles of desks, along with “beautiful,” and “cue-to, cue-to.” I still haven’t quite figured out why they say everything twice.
So I do my little speech about myself and where I’m from, show pictures, etc. There were these five boys sitting kind of in the middle of the classroom, and every so often one of them would throw out some hilarious phrase in English. For example, I said I had been in Japan for about three and a half months and it was my first time here, and one of the boys smiled and yelled Welcome! at me. Later, I said that I spent one semester of university in England, and another boy sighed and said, A wonderful life. And the whole time I’m thinking, I love this class, and these kids will be my friends. I found out one of the girls in that class (who didn’t look overly Japanese and was wearing what I would deem to be hipster glasses) lives right next to me, and the girl sitting behind her told me that since I didn’t have a boyfriend, all of the boys in the class wanted me, so I could have them if I wanted. There were fourteen boys. I told her that would be a lot of boyfriends to keep track of. The class also thought I was psychic because I picked out all the baseball players by sight (secret: the baseball players cut their hair very, very short, shorter than the rugby teams does. That's how you can tell).
Then I got a tour of the farm. When I say this is an agricultural high school, I don’t mean that it is located in the middle of nowhere. What I mean is that the students are studying agriculture. It’s like a specialty they pick when they enroll. The letters after their year number indicate which track they are on. So on campus there is a working farm that the students run themselves. The ichinenseis every year plant rice in the rice paddy behind the school. There are orchards, vegetables, greenhouses full of flowers, a hen house (they sell eggs at the school office), pigs, and two cows. I fed a cow, and the English club told me about how the farm works and what they have growing there. It was really beautiful – everything about that school is alive. The students spend their time learning how things grow and move (my 2B class told me their previous period had been a lesson in fruit), and that has a definite effect on the atmosphere of classes, students, and teachers. Everyone is very kind there, and the students very young and lively. It really is lovely.
And then I went home and watched Twin Peaks. I only have about seven episodes left. The plot’s getting’ crazy.
Day One:
I went to Kanano, my agricultural high school. I had one class, during which we played a relative pronoun Jeopardy game I had created for another school (recycling lessons, for the win). I learned that at Kanano, they just expect me to have activities prepared to do, before I know what classes I will have, how many, what levels, and if I have had that class before. I had had my schedule for about ten minutes when my JTE came up and said, “We have class together today. What activities do you have?”
But it’s okay. Now I know that’s how that school operates. The students’ level of English is across the board the lowest out of all my schools, but I always love going to Kanano. So I had the one sannensei class, and I ate a dried persimmon (kaki, in Japanese). I left early that day because my base school needed me to come and coach a girl for her college English interview this Saturday. Apparently, my taking nenkyu last Friday threw off their preparation schedule (oh, well – it was approved, I was sick, and I don’t feel bad about that), so my supervisor wanted me to come in and coach Yuki. I’ve been working with her English essays for a while now. So we talked, and I went home and watched Twin Peaks.
Day Two:
Because I had left early the day before, one of my Monday classes got moved to Tuesday, which means I taught five out of the six class periods. That’s a lot, even by Japanese teacher standards, because they rarely teach more than four in a day, most of the time three. Four of these five were self-introduction lessons, the lesson which I could do in my sleep because I have done it at least fifty times since school started back up in September. I literally never want to do it again.
First period, ichinenseis. I had second period off. Third period I had 2L. I have had this class before, so we did Jeopardy again, and they were awesome. “An animal that is often kept as a pet, is bigger than a mouse, and doesn’t like cats” was met with shouts of Tiger, Lion, Cheetah, Capybara (a word which every Japanese teenager seems to know), Marmot, Hamster, and Rabbit. The answer we are looking for is Dog, kids. Dog. Which they finally did figure out, after I stopped laughing hysterically at the names of Safari animals being shouted at me. They also guessed Zebra as the Oregon State animal. Wrong continent, guys, but good guess.
After we finished all my questions, they demanded Round 2 (which does not exist), so I gave them the task of figuring out what my middle name was. I gave them the first letter, “M,” and their first guess was Michael, followed by Mark, and Matthew. We finally got around to Mary, which they pronounce like Marie, so I let them have it. A group of boys in front were the closest to the correct answer, so I gave them fifty bonus points, and then another ten after they said, “Jessie-Sensei so beautiful, so beautiful” very emphatically and about thirty times. I can be swayed by flattery.
Two more self-introduction lessons.
Cue 2B Class. Last period of the day. Self-intro lesson. Okay, so generally there are a lot of boys at this school, and generally they tend to talk a lot. The extroverted kind of boy. Almost half of every class is on the baseball team or the rugby team. My time in Japanese schools has taught me to make friends with the baseball team, because again generally they have the most hilarious things to say in their broken English. I walk into class, hear rumblings of my name sweeping through the aisles of desks, along with “beautiful,” and “cue-to, cue-to.” I still haven’t quite figured out why they say everything twice.
So I do my little speech about myself and where I’m from, show pictures, etc. There were these five boys sitting kind of in the middle of the classroom, and every so often one of them would throw out some hilarious phrase in English. For example, I said I had been in Japan for about three and a half months and it was my first time here, and one of the boys smiled and yelled Welcome! at me. Later, I said that I spent one semester of university in England, and another boy sighed and said, A wonderful life. And the whole time I’m thinking, I love this class, and these kids will be my friends. I found out one of the girls in that class (who didn’t look overly Japanese and was wearing what I would deem to be hipster glasses) lives right next to me, and the girl sitting behind her told me that since I didn’t have a boyfriend, all of the boys in the class wanted me, so I could have them if I wanted. There were fourteen boys. I told her that would be a lot of boyfriends to keep track of. The class also thought I was psychic because I picked out all the baseball players by sight (secret: the baseball players cut their hair very, very short, shorter than the rugby teams does. That's how you can tell).
Then I got a tour of the farm. When I say this is an agricultural high school, I don’t mean that it is located in the middle of nowhere. What I mean is that the students are studying agriculture. It’s like a specialty they pick when they enroll. The letters after their year number indicate which track they are on. So on campus there is a working farm that the students run themselves. The ichinenseis every year plant rice in the rice paddy behind the school. There are orchards, vegetables, greenhouses full of flowers, a hen house (they sell eggs at the school office), pigs, and two cows. I fed a cow, and the English club told me about how the farm works and what they have growing there. It was really beautiful – everything about that school is alive. The students spend their time learning how things grow and move (my 2B class told me their previous period had been a lesson in fruit), and that has a definite effect on the atmosphere of classes, students, and teachers. Everyone is very kind there, and the students very young and lively. It really is lovely.
And then I went home and watched Twin Peaks. I only have about seven episodes left. The plot’s getting’ crazy.
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Upside Down and Backwards
I’m really bad at this updating regularly thing.
The last few weeks have been good. I went to Thailand for a week, to visit my girl, Kaitlyn, from uni who is studying abroad in Bangkok this semester. And I know I’ve already mentioned this trip, but I’m going to talk about it again. Because this is my blog, and I can do what I want.
When I walked into the airport Bangkok airport at five a.m., I realized that I literally knew no words in Thai. I couldn’t say hello, I couldn’t say thank you – and that had never happened to me before. Every country I have visited, I have known at least a few words in the language. Even when I went to Sweden, I had spent enough time on Swedish websites leading up to the trip that I knew some words. And Swedish is a basically intuitive language anyway. Thai, however, is tonal and therefore not intuitive and also completely unavailable to me. Signs around the airport pointed to bathrooms and Muslim prayer rooms. The airport was strangely divided into floating levels, with escalators and elevators interrupting the flow of every floor and skyways providing views of the floors below. Thai script covered notice boards. The thing about Thai script is that some of the symbols look like English letters, just upside down and backwards, so when my brain saw the marks, it sought to make sense of them through the lens of what it already knew, so I would see English words, just upside and backwards, all the time. Even though they were completely not there. Like some twisted I SPY book, all the time.
Speaking of language, I spent several hours of my school week last week studying Japanese, partially because it suddenly occurred to me how stupid it was not to study at school where I was surrounded by Japanese people who could answer any questions I might have. Duh.
Also, I think I might finally be done giving my self-introduction lesson. I had a few straggler classes that I finished up the last two weeks. One of my ninensei classes greeted my JTE and I with “Good afternoon Ms. Imano and….*mumblemumble* New Teacher!” And then when I told that class that Justin Beiber was, in fact, Canadian, not American, they checked the nationality of every Western artist they knew.
“Beyonce…American?”
“Yes, Beyonce is American.”
“Lady Gaga…American?”
“Yes, she is also American.”
Glad we got that straightened out.
Today I have one reading class with the ichinenseis. I am spending every day this week at Akita High, and I am teaching three ichinensei classes entirely on my own on Thursday. My JTE told me I could do whatever I wanted, and since Halloween is only a few days after my classes, I am going to do a Halloween lesson with them. So I’ve been working out that lesson plan and preparing for it. It’s the first real lesson plan I’ve made, first class I’ve taught on my own, first class I haven’t had a translator for, first everything basically. Wish me luck! I really like the students at this school, especially the ichinenseis, and their English is comparatively better than my other schools, so I think it should go okay. I only have to make one lesson plan that I can use for all three classes, so that makes it easier as well.
In other news, I have only been to the Indian restaurant directly in front of my house three times, but they already all know me there and say hello to me whenever they see me. Which tells me that I am becoming Sandra Bullock in both While You Were Sleeping and Two Weeks Notice, when she calls Mr. Wong and orders way too much Chinese food all the time. I knew it would happen, but I don’t think I was quite prepared for it to happen this quickly. Their Channa Masala is just so good!
The last few weeks have been good. I went to Thailand for a week, to visit my girl, Kaitlyn, from uni who is studying abroad in Bangkok this semester. And I know I’ve already mentioned this trip, but I’m going to talk about it again. Because this is my blog, and I can do what I want.
When I walked into the airport Bangkok airport at five a.m., I realized that I literally knew no words in Thai. I couldn’t say hello, I couldn’t say thank you – and that had never happened to me before. Every country I have visited, I have known at least a few words in the language. Even when I went to Sweden, I had spent enough time on Swedish websites leading up to the trip that I knew some words. And Swedish is a basically intuitive language anyway. Thai, however, is tonal and therefore not intuitive and also completely unavailable to me. Signs around the airport pointed to bathrooms and Muslim prayer rooms. The airport was strangely divided into floating levels, with escalators and elevators interrupting the flow of every floor and skyways providing views of the floors below. Thai script covered notice boards. The thing about Thai script is that some of the symbols look like English letters, just upside down and backwards, so when my brain saw the marks, it sought to make sense of them through the lens of what it already knew, so I would see English words, just upside and backwards, all the time. Even though they were completely not there. Like some twisted I SPY book, all the time.
Speaking of language, I spent several hours of my school week last week studying Japanese, partially because it suddenly occurred to me how stupid it was not to study at school where I was surrounded by Japanese people who could answer any questions I might have. Duh.
Also, I think I might finally be done giving my self-introduction lesson. I had a few straggler classes that I finished up the last two weeks. One of my ninensei classes greeted my JTE and I with “Good afternoon Ms. Imano and….*mumblemumble* New Teacher!” And then when I told that class that Justin Beiber was, in fact, Canadian, not American, they checked the nationality of every Western artist they knew.
“Beyonce…American?”
“Yes, Beyonce is American.”
“Lady Gaga…American?”
“Yes, she is also American.”
Glad we got that straightened out.
Today I have one reading class with the ichinenseis. I am spending every day this week at Akita High, and I am teaching three ichinensei classes entirely on my own on Thursday. My JTE told me I could do whatever I wanted, and since Halloween is only a few days after my classes, I am going to do a Halloween lesson with them. So I’ve been working out that lesson plan and preparing for it. It’s the first real lesson plan I’ve made, first class I’ve taught on my own, first class I haven’t had a translator for, first everything basically. Wish me luck! I really like the students at this school, especially the ichinenseis, and their English is comparatively better than my other schools, so I think it should go okay. I only have to make one lesson plan that I can use for all three classes, so that makes it easier as well.
In other news, I have only been to the Indian restaurant directly in front of my house three times, but they already all know me there and say hello to me whenever they see me. Which tells me that I am becoming Sandra Bullock in both While You Were Sleeping and Two Weeks Notice, when she calls Mr. Wong and orders way too much Chinese food all the time. I knew it would happen, but I don’t think I was quite prepared for it to happen this quickly. Their Channa Masala is just so good!
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
How Office Attire is Beyond My Understanding
A brief note on Cool Biz…
Cool Biz is the term coined for the more casual attire allowed in the workplace during the Japanese summer, due to increasing temperatures and decreasing use of air con in an attempt to conserve resources. This means teachers ditch the suit jackets and don the shirt sleeves. Generally speaking, women get away with wearing more casual attire than men, so I’ll admit that I have worn basic tee shirts to work before. Because no one cared.
Cue autumn break.
Upon my return to the office yesterday, suddenly everyone, including the women, have suit jackets on. And ties. And pencils skirts. And all of those formal clothes we have been avoiding all summer. In their defense, the office and classrooms do get quite cold, because on the flip side of not turning on the air con is also not turning on the heat, so more layers is actually beneficial during those many hours where I sit at my desk at the end of the row of ninensei teachers, contemplating life and occasionally team teaching when I’m lucky. So it’s not actually the switch from tee shirts to business suits that I’m barraging here.
It’s the fact that no one mentions the switch out loud and that everyone just seems to know intuitively when it’s going to happen.
I was not warned. I was not given the inside scope into the apparently inbred cultural knowledge of when it becomes time to take that jacket off the hanger in the back of my closet and wear it to work. Because God knows I brought enough of them, and I am actually excited to wear all those clothes it’s been too warm and too casual in the office to wear. I desire nothing more than also to put my pencil skirt and pinstripe jacket to good use. But I cannot do that in a timely manner when no one tells when it’s going to happen.
It’s also a fact that this knowledge is apparently school-specific.
I was not going to be duped twice. The next day, today, I was going to be prepared and not show up to work two notches below the formality of the rest of the teaching staff. I wore that pinstripe jacket with pride.
But then I got the office at one of my other schools only to discover that Cool Biz had apparently not ended there. The air was less formal in this office, as though casual dress eased its way out more gently and with less abruptness. Some wore jackets. Some wore the same cardigans they wore before autumn break.
I just don’t know what to think anymore.
Cool Biz is the term coined for the more casual attire allowed in the workplace during the Japanese summer, due to increasing temperatures and decreasing use of air con in an attempt to conserve resources. This means teachers ditch the suit jackets and don the shirt sleeves. Generally speaking, women get away with wearing more casual attire than men, so I’ll admit that I have worn basic tee shirts to work before. Because no one cared.
Cue autumn break.
Upon my return to the office yesterday, suddenly everyone, including the women, have suit jackets on. And ties. And pencils skirts. And all of those formal clothes we have been avoiding all summer. In their defense, the office and classrooms do get quite cold, because on the flip side of not turning on the air con is also not turning on the heat, so more layers is actually beneficial during those many hours where I sit at my desk at the end of the row of ninensei teachers, contemplating life and occasionally team teaching when I’m lucky. So it’s not actually the switch from tee shirts to business suits that I’m barraging here.
It’s the fact that no one mentions the switch out loud and that everyone just seems to know intuitively when it’s going to happen.
I was not warned. I was not given the inside scope into the apparently inbred cultural knowledge of when it becomes time to take that jacket off the hanger in the back of my closet and wear it to work. Because God knows I brought enough of them, and I am actually excited to wear all those clothes it’s been too warm and too casual in the office to wear. I desire nothing more than also to put my pencil skirt and pinstripe jacket to good use. But I cannot do that in a timely manner when no one tells when it’s going to happen.
It’s also a fact that this knowledge is apparently school-specific.
I was not going to be duped twice. The next day, today, I was going to be prepared and not show up to work two notches below the formality of the rest of the teaching staff. I wore that pinstripe jacket with pride.
But then I got the office at one of my other schools only to discover that Cool Biz had apparently not ended there. The air was less formal in this office, as though casual dress eased its way out more gently and with less abruptness. Some wore jackets. Some wore the same cardigans they wore before autumn break.
I just don’t know what to think anymore.
Monday, October 3, 2011
Two Months and Counting
It’s been a long time. I’ve been busy.
I have been in Japan for a little over two months now, and I love it. I am settling in and working to make my apartment the kind of place I want to live for the next two years (yes, I am staying at least two years). The temperature in Akita has plummeted over the past week, so now instead of fans and open windows, I have down comforters and socks. I’m going to order kerosene for my heater (Japan doesn’t believe in central heating) and buy an electric blanket when I force myself to go to Nitori tomorrow. I am also going to spend far too much money on a fancy French press at Starbucks. Pretty much because I can.
I spent the previous week in Bangkok, Thailand, visiting my dear, dear friend and loveliest of travel companions, Kaitlyn. I visited some tourist-y things on my own time – Grand Palace, unbelievably large Reclining Buddha – but mostly we just hung out and got Thai massages and ate street food and drank three chaa nom yens every day. It was a dream, to see my friend from home outside of that setting and to share that foreign setting with her. It was similar to meeting up with Olivia in Paris a year ago. Happily surreal.
The students have just returned from mid-term exams last week and their one day of fall break. Cool biz summer wear is over, so almost all the teachers and students have donned their suit jackets for the more formal winter season. I visited one class today, where I didn’t do much because my JTE was returning exams. In Japan, the students are given a copy of the answer sheet and their exams back, so in addition to the teacher marking the tests, the students also check to make sure the teacher didn’t make any mistakes. One thing I love about the Japanese school system is how much responsibility students are given over their own education. They clean the schools, they double check their exams, they come on weekends and during breaks so they can study and practice club activities. It gives them a lot of pride in their work and in their school, something which is painfully lacking in American schools, I think. It’s colonizing, yes. But that doesn’t mean it’s all bad.
I am also working on learning Japanese myself. A community center in the city offers free classes on Thursday nights, so I have been going to that for the last several weeks, with many of the other city ALT’s. The textbooks are all in kana, which means I re-learned that during one long, unoccupied afternoon in the deserted teacher’s room. Today I printed out a four-page vocabulary list of the verbs I didn’t know, so I can learn those as well. The summer I spent cramming my brain full of Japanese definitely had its strengths, which I see far more now that I am here than I did when it was happening and causing me to dream in nonsensical Japanese vocabulary, but the class structure and textbook definitely lacked in learning the Japanese words for things. We worked with no more than ten verbs for one year’s worth of language. I’m trying to remedy some of that now.
When I am not in class, I hang out in the teacher’s room. If I’m lucky, I have things to mark or worksheets to prepare. But the thing about English is that it’s my native language – which means that it takes me far less time to do the same thing than it takes any of my JTE’s. So I finish stuff quickly and then resume staring into space. Now that I have Japanese textbooks, I study those, because I have free time, and it looks a lot better to be studying language than fiddling with my kaitai (oh, see what I did just there? That’s Japanese for cell phone).
I have thirteen classes this week, I think, at two of my schools. Tally ho!
I have been in Japan for a little over two months now, and I love it. I am settling in and working to make my apartment the kind of place I want to live for the next two years (yes, I am staying at least two years). The temperature in Akita has plummeted over the past week, so now instead of fans and open windows, I have down comforters and socks. I’m going to order kerosene for my heater (Japan doesn’t believe in central heating) and buy an electric blanket when I force myself to go to Nitori tomorrow. I am also going to spend far too much money on a fancy French press at Starbucks. Pretty much because I can.
I spent the previous week in Bangkok, Thailand, visiting my dear, dear friend and loveliest of travel companions, Kaitlyn. I visited some tourist-y things on my own time – Grand Palace, unbelievably large Reclining Buddha – but mostly we just hung out and got Thai massages and ate street food and drank three chaa nom yens every day. It was a dream, to see my friend from home outside of that setting and to share that foreign setting with her. It was similar to meeting up with Olivia in Paris a year ago. Happily surreal.
The students have just returned from mid-term exams last week and their one day of fall break. Cool biz summer wear is over, so almost all the teachers and students have donned their suit jackets for the more formal winter season. I visited one class today, where I didn’t do much because my JTE was returning exams. In Japan, the students are given a copy of the answer sheet and their exams back, so in addition to the teacher marking the tests, the students also check to make sure the teacher didn’t make any mistakes. One thing I love about the Japanese school system is how much responsibility students are given over their own education. They clean the schools, they double check their exams, they come on weekends and during breaks so they can study and practice club activities. It gives them a lot of pride in their work and in their school, something which is painfully lacking in American schools, I think. It’s colonizing, yes. But that doesn’t mean it’s all bad.
I am also working on learning Japanese myself. A community center in the city offers free classes on Thursday nights, so I have been going to that for the last several weeks, with many of the other city ALT’s. The textbooks are all in kana, which means I re-learned that during one long, unoccupied afternoon in the deserted teacher’s room. Today I printed out a four-page vocabulary list of the verbs I didn’t know, so I can learn those as well. The summer I spent cramming my brain full of Japanese definitely had its strengths, which I see far more now that I am here than I did when it was happening and causing me to dream in nonsensical Japanese vocabulary, but the class structure and textbook definitely lacked in learning the Japanese words for things. We worked with no more than ten verbs for one year’s worth of language. I’m trying to remedy some of that now.
When I am not in class, I hang out in the teacher’s room. If I’m lucky, I have things to mark or worksheets to prepare. But the thing about English is that it’s my native language – which means that it takes me far less time to do the same thing than it takes any of my JTE’s. So I finish stuff quickly and then resume staring into space. Now that I have Japanese textbooks, I study those, because I have free time, and it looks a lot better to be studying language than fiddling with my kaitai (oh, see what I did just there? That’s Japanese for cell phone).
I have thirteen classes this week, I think, at two of my schools. Tally ho!
Friday, August 19, 2011
Umbrellas and Trash Bags
Starting tomorrow, I will have been in Japan for one month. It rained all day yesterday, a detail which involved a comic series of errors on my part as I tried to navigate my own bike to the train station while holding an umbrella. This is harder than it sounds, mostly because the umbrella catches the wind (and it’s windy, since it’s raining) and pulls the bike back and forth, a bike which is controlled by only one hand, since the other hand is holding the umbrella. In addition, I had a heavy backpack with laptop in the basket on the front of my bike, which threw off my weight equilibrium even more. So all and all, I almost took out a woman who walked out of a store and did not look where she was going (Hello, Lady, raining outside. Increased stopping distance for bicycles. Pay attention) and almost crashed into several telephones poles. But I got there! Albeit rather soaked from my ten minutes of pride at the beginning of my bicycle journey which didn’t allow me to use my umbrella. Because I’m from Portland and we make fun of tourists who use umbrellas. But the warm rain coating my clothes and an impending meeting with the principle of one of my schools turned this badass Portlander into a rain-pansy in about fifteen minutes flat. My shame is great.
In other news, I have Internet at my house now. Kind of. I need to call Softbank (my cell phone provider) and ask a series of question, including but not limited to, if I use the wifi router you gave me for free, will you start charging me. Because that’s the rumor floating around the ALT set. That Softbank screws you. And it’s a rumor that I would be inclined to believe, because at this point my cell phone plans sounds too good to be true, and I need to check the details. Also, I was supposed to pay the bill on the 16th through direct deduction from my bank account, but I checked today and nothing has been deduced, so…check on that too. So much checking must happen here.
I have now visited all four of my schools, and I am very excited about all of them. The English teachers are all very nice, although I can’t for the life of me remember any of their names. I am at my base school all next week, which includes a welcome ceremony for yours truly, and I got invited to my first enkai today by the Akita High teachers. So next Monday, first work party, for the win. I have been working on my self-introduction lessons, but I can only write about myself for so long before I lose all perspective on what is actually important. I made a Powerpoint, which will help me stay on track. But I don’t do my first lesson until September 5, so I still have much time to work that out. I need to figure out where I can print pictures here. I’ve been told the conbini do basically everything for you, so I’ll check into that.
And I need to find red garbage bags. The trash system here is ridiculous, so “burnable trash,” which was explained to us as “trash you can burn,” goes in the red bags, whereas everything else, which you apparently can’t burn, goes in the green ones. And I have some green bags left from Anna, but no red, and really red is more important, because in this last month I have learned that life goes through way more burnable trash than non. The things I am discovering.
In other news, I have Internet at my house now. Kind of. I need to call Softbank (my cell phone provider) and ask a series of question, including but not limited to, if I use the wifi router you gave me for free, will you start charging me. Because that’s the rumor floating around the ALT set. That Softbank screws you. And it’s a rumor that I would be inclined to believe, because at this point my cell phone plans sounds too good to be true, and I need to check the details. Also, I was supposed to pay the bill on the 16th through direct deduction from my bank account, but I checked today and nothing has been deduced, so…check on that too. So much checking must happen here.
I have now visited all four of my schools, and I am very excited about all of them. The English teachers are all very nice, although I can’t for the life of me remember any of their names. I am at my base school all next week, which includes a welcome ceremony for yours truly, and I got invited to my first enkai today by the Akita High teachers. So next Monday, first work party, for the win. I have been working on my self-introduction lessons, but I can only write about myself for so long before I lose all perspective on what is actually important. I made a Powerpoint, which will help me stay on track. But I don’t do my first lesson until September 5, so I still have much time to work that out. I need to figure out where I can print pictures here. I’ve been told the conbini do basically everything for you, so I’ll check into that.
And I need to find red garbage bags. The trash system here is ridiculous, so “burnable trash,” which was explained to us as “trash you can burn,” goes in the red bags, whereas everything else, which you apparently can’t burn, goes in the green ones. And I have some green bags left from Anna, but no red, and really red is more important, because in this last month I have learned that life goes through way more burnable trash than non. The things I am discovering.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Akita: Week Two, Or, How I Learned to Love American Keyboards
So two days ago I moved into the apartment, WOOT, which will be mine for as long as I am here. Considering that I am basically paying nothing for this place, and it’s really large, especially for one person (I have an extra bedroom that has stuff [read, like four extra futons] in the closet and that is it), it’s great. It’s close to school, the Daiso, a couple grocery stores, not too far from the station…etc.
It’s been interesting living in a city where tourists rarely come. In the grocery store the other night for instance. Just me. And a bunch of food I couldn’t identify. It took me forever to find tofu, and I never did find the bread. I went back last night to find the bread. To go with my $10 little jar of peanut butter, which I bought at the foreign food store. I also bought pasta, just so I wouldn’t starve while figuring out what every-package-that-looks-identical-to-me-but-has-different-kanji-on-it-that-I-can’t-read-so-it-must-be-different is. I’m sure I’ll figure it out. Or eat out a lot. Mostly likely the latter.
Also, no Internet at home till August 15. The English-speaking guy said that was basically the earliest I could get an appointment, since they conveniently don’t do evening visits, which means it had to be on a weekend, a holiday, or a day I take off work. Which ended up being okay, because I get absolutely a bunch of days of with this job, including five that must be taken before September. So 25 in total for the year. So I was taking the 15th off anyway, and now I get Internet then. Double score.
A couple days ago, I filled in a form (a formality, really) to request my special summer leave. This required the writing of many, many, tiny, tiny kanji. Anna had made me a sample. Tomoko-sensei told me she would do it if I didn’t want to try. But I put on my big girl pants and concentrated a lot on the many tiny lines that made no sense to me. “Oh, you tried!” Tomoko-sensei said when she looked at it. And then she took the form to the vice principle. And they laughed about it. And I’m thinking it was one of those, oh, look at the cute foreign girl trying so hard, kind of things. Hopefully.
Also also, my computer that I use at school wasn’t hooked up to the printer, so a guy came to fix it, and he printed out a page that said “OK!” and put it on my desk. Hilarious.
It’s been interesting living in a city where tourists rarely come. In the grocery store the other night for instance. Just me. And a bunch of food I couldn’t identify. It took me forever to find tofu, and I never did find the bread. I went back last night to find the bread. To go with my $10 little jar of peanut butter, which I bought at the foreign food store. I also bought pasta, just so I wouldn’t starve while figuring out what every-package-that-looks-identical-to-me-but-has-different-kanji-on-it-that-I-can’t-read-so-it-must-be-different is. I’m sure I’ll figure it out. Or eat out a lot. Mostly likely the latter.
Also, no Internet at home till August 15. The English-speaking guy said that was basically the earliest I could get an appointment, since they conveniently don’t do evening visits, which means it had to be on a weekend, a holiday, or a day I take off work. Which ended up being okay, because I get absolutely a bunch of days of with this job, including five that must be taken before September. So 25 in total for the year. So I was taking the 15th off anyway, and now I get Internet then. Double score.
A couple days ago, I filled in a form (a formality, really) to request my special summer leave. This required the writing of many, many, tiny, tiny kanji. Anna had made me a sample. Tomoko-sensei told me she would do it if I didn’t want to try. But I put on my big girl pants and concentrated a lot on the many tiny lines that made no sense to me. “Oh, you tried!” Tomoko-sensei said when she looked at it. And then she took the form to the vice principle. And they laughed about it. And I’m thinking it was one of those, oh, look at the cute foreign girl trying so hard, kind of things. Hopefully.
Also also, my computer that I use at school wasn’t hooked up to the printer, so a guy came to fix it, and he printed out a page that said “OK!” and put it on my desk. Hilarious.
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Akita City: Week One
I have arrived safely and in one piece. And so did all of my luggage, which basically is my body weight packed in color-coordinating and oh-so-stylish suitcases (which both weighed 48 pounds at the airport FOR THE WIN) and duffels. And said bags are all still packed up, my clothes and books sufficating after a far too long confinement, since I don't move into my apartment until Tuesday evening after work. I dropped off the big suitcase, the backpack, and a few other small things there today when my predessor showed me how to work all the appliances in the apartment. Making the shower hot is gonna be something of a chore.
Honestly, though, I love the place. It's huge. It's convenient. It's mine. At least as long as I stay here. My pred is leaving me a lot of stuff, really useful stuff, so there won't be much I need to buy in order to make the place livable for me. Other than a coffee pot. That's gonna have to happen STAT.
She also gave me her bike today, so that I could ride around the city and start to figure out how to get places. Now, I know that I have problems with directions. Right and Left are really hard. Maps work better if you flip them upside down. However, in Japan none of the roads have names or signs with those names on them, and, I mean, if we're being real, even if they did, it's not like I can read kanji. But at least then I could match pictures. But no such luck. So - combine no road names or signs, with a route I've never taken before, with my inability to get anywhere effectively, with my further inability to ask for help (my Japanese is not nearly that good, and the directions unit was the hardest for me in class anyway), with cars driving on the opposite side of the road, and you have me, biking in circles for a hour and half when it should have taken about 30 minutes to get from the apartment to my hotel. But I did find it. After I wanted to bike into the river just to make the pain stop. Then I walked to the station. Walking felt safer.
And then I bought dinner, and the walking thing went really well. There are paper lantern displays hanging all over the city for the upcoming Kanto (paper latern) Festival. It's one of the major festivals in the Tohoku region, so I'm pretty excited about it.
Tomorrow I have to figure out how to bike from the hotel to my school so I can get there Monday. Everyone in the office has been very kind to me, and I like the atmosphere, even though there isn't much to do right now. Students are on summer vacation till the end of August. I'm planning my self-introduction lesson and taking care of paperwork. I have my own file and shoe cubby and plastic tag thingee that says when I'm there and everything.
Let's hope I don't get too terribly lost tomorrow.
Honestly, though, I love the place. It's huge. It's convenient. It's mine. At least as long as I stay here. My pred is leaving me a lot of stuff, really useful stuff, so there won't be much I need to buy in order to make the place livable for me. Other than a coffee pot. That's gonna have to happen STAT.
She also gave me her bike today, so that I could ride around the city and start to figure out how to get places. Now, I know that I have problems with directions. Right and Left are really hard. Maps work better if you flip them upside down. However, in Japan none of the roads have names or signs with those names on them, and, I mean, if we're being real, even if they did, it's not like I can read kanji. But at least then I could match pictures. But no such luck. So - combine no road names or signs, with a route I've never taken before, with my inability to get anywhere effectively, with my further inability to ask for help (my Japanese is not nearly that good, and the directions unit was the hardest for me in class anyway), with cars driving on the opposite side of the road, and you have me, biking in circles for a hour and half when it should have taken about 30 minutes to get from the apartment to my hotel. But I did find it. After I wanted to bike into the river just to make the pain stop. Then I walked to the station. Walking felt safer.
And then I bought dinner, and the walking thing went really well. There are paper lantern displays hanging all over the city for the upcoming Kanto (paper latern) Festival. It's one of the major festivals in the Tohoku region, so I'm pretty excited about it.
Tomorrow I have to figure out how to bike from the hotel to my school so I can get there Monday. Everyone in the office has been very kind to me, and I like the atmosphere, even though there isn't much to do right now. Students are on summer vacation till the end of August. I'm planning my self-introduction lesson and taking care of paperwork. I have my own file and shoe cubby and plastic tag thingee that says when I'm there and everything.
Let's hope I don't get too terribly lost tomorrow.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Four Days and Counting . . .
I leave soon. Very soon. There are the beginnings of piles all over my room - yes, I want it; no, I don't - and I have about forty pages left in Crime and Punishment. I obsessively made lists all day yesterday.
I called the airport today and reserved a bunch of yen to be picked up tomorrow (goodbye, life savings). The idea of currency blows my mind. It's like, the paper is real, but what it represents - value - isn't really real. We move numbers on electronic databases and call that capitalism. How does that make sense? I propose we go back to the days of trading purple seashells and bartering for food. It's simple, and it doesn't involve interest.
I also re-did my blog theme...because I hadn't in three years, and my options are way, way cooler now. Bringing order to chaos since 1990!
Also-also, I bought black TOMS that I can never wear outside. Score.
I called the airport today and reserved a bunch of yen to be picked up tomorrow (goodbye, life savings). The idea of currency blows my mind. It's like, the paper is real, but what it represents - value - isn't really real. We move numbers on electronic databases and call that capitalism. How does that make sense? I propose we go back to the days of trading purple seashells and bartering for food. It's simple, and it doesn't involve interest.
I also re-did my blog theme...because I hadn't in three years, and my options are way, way cooler now. Bringing order to chaos since 1990!
Also-also, I bought black TOMS that I can never wear outside. Score.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Destination: Known
I have finally heard from my Contracting Organization (hereafter known as, CO) in Japan. There was about a week where they thought I was ignoring them because I hadn't replied to their email, but in fact that email had been sent to an older email address and shuffled off into the junk mail folder without my permission. But that's all in the past now...my predecessor, Anna, my supervisor, and I are all on the same page (and email address) now.
DRUM ROLL PLEASE.
I'm living in Akita City, Akita. It's the biggest city in the prefecture, but is considered rural by most of Japan. It's about 300,000 people. I have a relatively large apartment on the fourth floor of a government subsidised apartment building. Which means, it's outrageously cheap, especially considering what other JET's in urban areas pay. I am very excited about it! Anna, who lives there now, really likes it, and it sounds just wonderful. (However, I admit I may have some romantic expectations tied to this place...but that doesn't make it seem any less magical).
It has a balcony. 'Nough said.
I'm working with four high schools in the area. They all sound fairly different, so I should get to work with students from different backgrounds and with different expectations for using their English. I think I'm either running, or volunteering to run, a couple English clubs at some of these high schools, which will also allow me to get to know some of my students better. I'm really excited about all of this as well.
I'm still getting details about my position and situation, but thus far it all seems just about as close to perfect for me as I could have hoped. Google Akita City...it's gorgeous. When I get there, Anna will still be in the apartment, so I will get to meet her, and she can show me around a little. But that does mean I have to stay in a hotel for almost a week...which is also okay. In the end, it's way more convenient and cheaper than any of my other options. And I got no problem with hotels.
Anyway, that's where the Japan situation is. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. I'll be finding out more and more as my countdown to leaving shortens. Cheers!
DRUM ROLL PLEASE.
I'm living in Akita City, Akita. It's the biggest city in the prefecture, but is considered rural by most of Japan. It's about 300,000 people. I have a relatively large apartment on the fourth floor of a government subsidised apartment building. Which means, it's outrageously cheap, especially considering what other JET's in urban areas pay. I am very excited about it! Anna, who lives there now, really likes it, and it sounds just wonderful. (However, I admit I may have some romantic expectations tied to this place...but that doesn't make it seem any less magical).
It has a balcony. 'Nough said.
I'm working with four high schools in the area. They all sound fairly different, so I should get to work with students from different backgrounds and with different expectations for using their English. I think I'm either running, or volunteering to run, a couple English clubs at some of these high schools, which will also allow me to get to know some of my students better. I'm really excited about all of this as well.
I'm still getting details about my position and situation, but thus far it all seems just about as close to perfect for me as I could have hoped. Google Akita City...it's gorgeous. When I get there, Anna will still be in the apartment, so I will get to meet her, and she can show me around a little. But that does mean I have to stay in a hotel for almost a week...which is also okay. In the end, it's way more convenient and cheaper than any of my other options. And I got no problem with hotels.
Anyway, that's where the Japan situation is. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. I'll be finding out more and more as my countdown to leaving shortens. Cheers!
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Over the Ocean, Through the Woods
I leave for Japan in twenty-five days. I'm moving to Akita province, pretty much as northerly and westerly as you can get. Still waiting on the details of my placement, aka, where exactly in this relatively large, yet unpopulated, province I am moving to, what age I'm teaching, what my apartment is like, whether I need to get an International Driver's permit, etc.
Right now, I'm in the process of preparing for my leaving as much as I can without really knowing too much about where I'm going. This includes getting rid of stuff that I won't be taking with me...which is actually quite a bit of stuff. It's amazing how much I can get rid of when I look at it and think, will this be relevant to my life in the next one to three years? If the answer is yes, it gets put back. If the answer is no, it goes away. I only need to emotionally let go of an item once before I can say goodbye for good. Once it goes in the get-rid-of pile, I pretty much forget about it. A sign that things are highly disposable to me? Probably.
Although I'm disposing of piles and piles of clothes, I have only been able to part with a handful of books, maybe ten, and some of those were because I had two copies of the same thing. Two copies of all of Shakespeare's sonnets? Not necessary. So one went away. This whole process is making me realize how much stuff I have, how much stuff I utilize on a daily basis. It's a lot. And a lot of it is just that disposable. I either don't really need it, or it can be easily replaced by something just like it. There is a lack of truly unique stuff in my possession. I have more blank notebooks than filled ones, I have more CD's I don't listen to than ones I do. It's materialism at its finest, partially because I am a marketer's ideal prey. I buy things with cool names and flashy advertising because I can, because I do things that make me feel good about doing them.
But things are disposable. I forget what I have more than I remember. And now I'm weeding through things in stages, parting with things in waves, piles at a time. Because I have twenty-fives days left before my entire life gets packed into two suitcases and a matching duffel bag. Stuff takes up space, sometimes more space than life does. I'm trying to reverse that.
Right now, I'm in the process of preparing for my leaving as much as I can without really knowing too much about where I'm going. This includes getting rid of stuff that I won't be taking with me...which is actually quite a bit of stuff. It's amazing how much I can get rid of when I look at it and think, will this be relevant to my life in the next one to three years? If the answer is yes, it gets put back. If the answer is no, it goes away. I only need to emotionally let go of an item once before I can say goodbye for good. Once it goes in the get-rid-of pile, I pretty much forget about it. A sign that things are highly disposable to me? Probably.
Although I'm disposing of piles and piles of clothes, I have only been able to part with a handful of books, maybe ten, and some of those were because I had two copies of the same thing. Two copies of all of Shakespeare's sonnets? Not necessary. So one went away. This whole process is making me realize how much stuff I have, how much stuff I utilize on a daily basis. It's a lot. And a lot of it is just that disposable. I either don't really need it, or it can be easily replaced by something just like it. There is a lack of truly unique stuff in my possession. I have more blank notebooks than filled ones, I have more CD's I don't listen to than ones I do. It's materialism at its finest, partially because I am a marketer's ideal prey. I buy things with cool names and flashy advertising because I can, because I do things that make me feel good about doing them.
But things are disposable. I forget what I have more than I remember. And now I'm weeding through things in stages, parting with things in waves, piles at a time. Because I have twenty-fives days left before my entire life gets packed into two suitcases and a matching duffel bag. Stuff takes up space, sometimes more space than life does. I'm trying to reverse that.
Friday, April 29, 2011
A Graduation Benediction
Today was Baccalaureate chapel. I was asked to say the benediction near the end of the service, and this is the prayer I came up with. These prayers are all taken and edited from the Oxford Book of Prayer, with the loving assistance of my professor, Julia Young.
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Please stand for the benediction.
This is to be a charge for us, so you need not bow your heads, close your eyes, or fold your hands, but in your listening, I hope you may focus on these words, compiled from the prayers of past people of faith. May these words take root in your hearts today.
After the benediction, please remain standing for the doxology and the recessional.
Now receive the benediction.
Almighty God, bestow upon us the meaning of words, the light of understanding, the nobility of diction and the faith of the true nature.
And grant that what we believe we may also speak.
O Thou who through the light of nature has aroused in us a longing for
The light of grace, to Thee, I give thanks, Creator and Lord.
For from God, through God, and in God, all is, which is perceptible as well as spiritual;
That which we know and that which we do not know, for there is still much to learn.
Eternal Light, then, shine in our hearts,
Eternal Goodness, deliver us from evil.
Eternal Power, be our support,
Eternal Pity, have mercy on us.
God, who art three in One,
Grant us love’s eternal three –
Friendship, rapture, constancy;
Lord, till our lives be done,
Grant us love unending.
Bless us, God of loving.
You are wisdom, uncreated and eternal,
The supreme first cause, above all being,
Sovereign Godhead, sovereign goodness,
Watching unseen the God-inspired wisdom of Christian people.
Raise us, we pray, that we may understand
The supreme, unknown, ultimate, and splendid height
Of your words, mysterious and inspired.
There, all God’s secret matters lie covered and hidden
Under the darkness both profound and brilliant, silent and wise.
You make what is ultimate and beyond brightness
Secretly to shine in all that is most dark.
In your way, ever unseen and intangible,
You fill to the full with most beautiful splendor
Those souls who close their eyes that they may see.
And I, please, with love that goes on beyond mind
To all that is beyond mind,
Seek to gain such for myself through this prayer.
Though Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom with Thee and the Holy Spirit, be all honour and glory,
World without end, Amen.
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Please stand for the benediction.
This is to be a charge for us, so you need not bow your heads, close your eyes, or fold your hands, but in your listening, I hope you may focus on these words, compiled from the prayers of past people of faith. May these words take root in your hearts today.
After the benediction, please remain standing for the doxology and the recessional.
Now receive the benediction.
Almighty God, bestow upon us the meaning of words, the light of understanding, the nobility of diction and the faith of the true nature.
And grant that what we believe we may also speak.
O Thou who through the light of nature has aroused in us a longing for
The light of grace, to Thee, I give thanks, Creator and Lord.
For from God, through God, and in God, all is, which is perceptible as well as spiritual;
That which we know and that which we do not know, for there is still much to learn.
Eternal Light, then, shine in our hearts,
Eternal Goodness, deliver us from evil.
Eternal Power, be our support,
Eternal Pity, have mercy on us.
God, who art three in One,
Grant us love’s eternal three –
Friendship, rapture, constancy;
Lord, till our lives be done,
Grant us love unending.
Bless us, God of loving.
You are wisdom, uncreated and eternal,
The supreme first cause, above all being,
Sovereign Godhead, sovereign goodness,
Watching unseen the God-inspired wisdom of Christian people.
Raise us, we pray, that we may understand
The supreme, unknown, ultimate, and splendid height
Of your words, mysterious and inspired.
There, all God’s secret matters lie covered and hidden
Under the darkness both profound and brilliant, silent and wise.
You make what is ultimate and beyond brightness
Secretly to shine in all that is most dark.
In your way, ever unseen and intangible,
You fill to the full with most beautiful splendor
Those souls who close their eyes that they may see.
And I, please, with love that goes on beyond mind
To all that is beyond mind,
Seek to gain such for myself through this prayer.
Though Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom with Thee and the Holy Spirit, be all honour and glory,
World without end, Amen.
Out of a Far Country: A Review
Out of a Far Country, by Christopher and Angela Yuan, presents the dual memoir of a mother and son as each struggles to find God amidst heartache, confusion, and loss. With each chapter switching between the perspective of the mother and that of the son, two simultaneous but parallel - and occasionally even opposite - stories are told.
The book opens in 1993, with Christopher telling his traditional Chinese parents that he is gay and thereby ‘officially’ becoming a member of the gay community, where coming out to ones’ parents is seen as a milestone event. Angela balks at her son’s open rebellion of the values he grew up with, just as Christopher finds freedom in revealing his long-kept secret, to his parents’ chagrin.
However, after Angela discovers her own freedom in God and the Bible, she begins to repair what has so long been broken in her life – her lifeless marriage, her cold heart, and her anger towards her son. She stops at nothing to let Christopher know that both she and God love him, no matter his decisions.
Meanwhile, Christopher’s involvement in the gay nightclub scene spirals out of control after he tries ecstasy for the first time, becomes a drug dealer, is involved in a series of homosexual relationships, and eventually is busted by the DEA for possession and selling drugs, specifically ice. During his time in prison is when he too finds the redemption of God, stops doing drugs, begins dealing with an HIV positive diagnosis, and realizes that God wants holy sexuality from him, not just heterosexuality.
The memoir is a touching account of a mother’s unfailing love, a son’s prodigal-like return to his family, and the hope that can be found in God. Although Christopher does not shy away from graphic detail of his time as a drug dealer and user, he does avoid it when it comes to his homosexuality. Thus, this story reads less as a treatise on dealing with homosexuality and Christianity than an account of a junkie finding God and the faithful love of his mother. Either way, the focus is less on the specifics of the sin than on the feel-good redemption of two lost souls, who find each other as they also find hope.
The book opens in 1993, with Christopher telling his traditional Chinese parents that he is gay and thereby ‘officially’ becoming a member of the gay community, where coming out to ones’ parents is seen as a milestone event. Angela balks at her son’s open rebellion of the values he grew up with, just as Christopher finds freedom in revealing his long-kept secret, to his parents’ chagrin.
However, after Angela discovers her own freedom in God and the Bible, she begins to repair what has so long been broken in her life – her lifeless marriage, her cold heart, and her anger towards her son. She stops at nothing to let Christopher know that both she and God love him, no matter his decisions.
Meanwhile, Christopher’s involvement in the gay nightclub scene spirals out of control after he tries ecstasy for the first time, becomes a drug dealer, is involved in a series of homosexual relationships, and eventually is busted by the DEA for possession and selling drugs, specifically ice. During his time in prison is when he too finds the redemption of God, stops doing drugs, begins dealing with an HIV positive diagnosis, and realizes that God wants holy sexuality from him, not just heterosexuality.
The memoir is a touching account of a mother’s unfailing love, a son’s prodigal-like return to his family, and the hope that can be found in God. Although Christopher does not shy away from graphic detail of his time as a drug dealer and user, he does avoid it when it comes to his homosexuality. Thus, this story reads less as a treatise on dealing with homosexuality and Christianity than an account of a junkie finding God and the faithful love of his mother. Either way, the focus is less on the specifics of the sin than on the feel-good redemption of two lost souls, who find each other as they also find hope.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Language, Reality, Whatever
I wrote the opinion piece for the upcoming issue of the Talon. I was assigned the position that "swearing affects faith," but, because I swear like a sailor, it was something of an intellectual exercise to figure out how to defend a position I not only disagree with, but actively resist. This is the result.
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Words are powerful. The words we speak define the types of thoughts that we can express, and it is through words that we explain to those listeners around us who we are. Seen in this light, language itself defines me as an individual and also peoples’ perceptions of me. Words exist, both written and spoken, as the most common and efficient means of communication with others. Thus, language use should not be taken lightly, because in a very real way language works to define both personality and integrity.
This same principle applies to the use of profanity. By swearing (or conversely, not swearing), we are making a statement about the kind of individuals we are. Whether we like it, or always realize it, people do judge character based on the language a person uses and how it is used. Ignoring this fact can result in sloppy, unintentional impressions which do not accurately reflect the true nature of a person. I don’t think this is necessarily an issue of whether swearing itself is right or wrong, but of appropriate behavior in certain situations and of us, as speakers, being aware of the kinds of effects those behaviors have on others.
Expressing faith is no different. When I was attending community college, one of the ways I chose to express my faith to my peers was through my choice not to swear. Profanity runs rampant on most campuses, so my choice to show that I was different was through speaking differently than my peers. This approach was inoffensive and implicit; it didn’t push Christianity down anyone’s throat, but instead introduced my character through my language use. In this way, I was able to set myself apart obviously, but still subtly.
Profanity is also contextual. Words often exist on a scale of ‘better’ or ‘worse,’ and although these standards are arbitrary and change with time, geography, and situation, the capricious nature of words needs to be considered. There is nothing faith-like about offending a person through needless profanity, so in order to avoid the possibility of causing undue offense and harm to one’s testimony, it is better to avoid the use of swear words at all. In this way, one’s own faith is unhampered and one’s impression on others also remains intact.
Language presents a unique opportunity to witness without being invasive, threatening, or overly evangelistic. If faith should come through actions and not just professed declarations, abstaining from swearing can only have positive effects on both faith itself and on perceptions of faith by others. Therefore, if we want to portray images of being people of faith, our language should also reflect that goal.
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Words are powerful. The words we speak define the types of thoughts that we can express, and it is through words that we explain to those listeners around us who we are. Seen in this light, language itself defines me as an individual and also peoples’ perceptions of me. Words exist, both written and spoken, as the most common and efficient means of communication with others. Thus, language use should not be taken lightly, because in a very real way language works to define both personality and integrity.
This same principle applies to the use of profanity. By swearing (or conversely, not swearing), we are making a statement about the kind of individuals we are. Whether we like it, or always realize it, people do judge character based on the language a person uses and how it is used. Ignoring this fact can result in sloppy, unintentional impressions which do not accurately reflect the true nature of a person. I don’t think this is necessarily an issue of whether swearing itself is right or wrong, but of appropriate behavior in certain situations and of us, as speakers, being aware of the kinds of effects those behaviors have on others.
Expressing faith is no different. When I was attending community college, one of the ways I chose to express my faith to my peers was through my choice not to swear. Profanity runs rampant on most campuses, so my choice to show that I was different was through speaking differently than my peers. This approach was inoffensive and implicit; it didn’t push Christianity down anyone’s throat, but instead introduced my character through my language use. In this way, I was able to set myself apart obviously, but still subtly.
Profanity is also contextual. Words often exist on a scale of ‘better’ or ‘worse,’ and although these standards are arbitrary and change with time, geography, and situation, the capricious nature of words needs to be considered. There is nothing faith-like about offending a person through needless profanity, so in order to avoid the possibility of causing undue offense and harm to one’s testimony, it is better to avoid the use of swear words at all. In this way, one’s own faith is unhampered and one’s impression on others also remains intact.
Language presents a unique opportunity to witness without being invasive, threatening, or overly evangelistic. If faith should come through actions and not just professed declarations, abstaining from swearing can only have positive effects on both faith itself and on perceptions of faith by others. Therefore, if we want to portray images of being people of faith, our language should also reflect that goal.
Water for Elephants: A Review
Water for Elephants, a novel by Sara Gruen, tells the story of young Jacob Jankowski as he reminisces about his transition from upstanding veterinarian-in-training to fully integrated circus worker. The novel involves Jacob as an old man in a nursing home, struggling to cope with his wavering vitality and familial connection by filtering his surroundings through the memory of his youth in the traveling circus, The Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth.
After Jacob loses his parents in a fatal car crash, he runs away from his orderly life at Cornell, where he has been studying to be a veterinarian. Penniless and lonely, he jumps a train in the middle of the night - a decision that places him into the hands of fate. This train ends up being a circus train, and through the goodwill of August, the equestrian director, and the rough but lovable dwarf, Walter, Jacob becomes a vital part of circus life, as he uses his knowledge of animals to become the circus’ very own veterinarian.
Jacob’s newfound sense of belonging is jeopardized, however, when a friend becomes irreversibly ill and Jacob works to prevent him from being ‘redlighted,’ when the circus goes into debt over a supposedly stupid elephant, and when Jacob falls in love with Marlena, August’s wife and the circus’ star performer. Jacob shows his resourcefulness by befriending and training Rosie, the elephant, who becomes the show’s biggest money maker after Jacob crosses her language barrier. However, his desire to do the right thing and to protect Marlena pits him against the politics and shady practices of greedy Uncle Al, the manager of the circus, and against August, whose jealousy and violence ostracize him from both his wife and his friend.
This novel presents a vivid and delightful insider’s look at circus life during the 1930’s, while still engaging with the class and ethical issues of that setting. Jacob is unendingly likeable as a protagonist, and the cast of colorful supporting characters provides entertaining and haphazard scenarios of both humor and loyalty. However, the overall plot remains rather formulaic, occasionally feeling rushed and shying away from the details which would really bring the story to life. The dual development of Jacob as both an old man and a youth progress the novel on several stages with depth and delight, but underdeveloped main characters, such as Marlena, who acts more as device for Jacob to do good than anything else, and predicable plot devices keep this novel at the level of enchanting, but not challenging.
After Jacob loses his parents in a fatal car crash, he runs away from his orderly life at Cornell, where he has been studying to be a veterinarian. Penniless and lonely, he jumps a train in the middle of the night - a decision that places him into the hands of fate. This train ends up being a circus train, and through the goodwill of August, the equestrian director, and the rough but lovable dwarf, Walter, Jacob becomes a vital part of circus life, as he uses his knowledge of animals to become the circus’ very own veterinarian.
Jacob’s newfound sense of belonging is jeopardized, however, when a friend becomes irreversibly ill and Jacob works to prevent him from being ‘redlighted,’ when the circus goes into debt over a supposedly stupid elephant, and when Jacob falls in love with Marlena, August’s wife and the circus’ star performer. Jacob shows his resourcefulness by befriending and training Rosie, the elephant, who becomes the show’s biggest money maker after Jacob crosses her language barrier. However, his desire to do the right thing and to protect Marlena pits him against the politics and shady practices of greedy Uncle Al, the manager of the circus, and against August, whose jealousy and violence ostracize him from both his wife and his friend.
This novel presents a vivid and delightful insider’s look at circus life during the 1930’s, while still engaging with the class and ethical issues of that setting. Jacob is unendingly likeable as a protagonist, and the cast of colorful supporting characters provides entertaining and haphazard scenarios of both humor and loyalty. However, the overall plot remains rather formulaic, occasionally feeling rushed and shying away from the details which would really bring the story to life. The dual development of Jacob as both an old man and a youth progress the novel on several stages with depth and delight, but underdeveloped main characters, such as Marlena, who acts more as device for Jacob to do good than anything else, and predicable plot devices keep this novel at the level of enchanting, but not challenging.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Dangerously Educated
"It must be allowed that learning does take away something, as the file takes something from rough metal, the whetstone from blunt instruments, and age from wine; but it takes away what is faulty; and that which learning has polished is less only because it is better" - Quintilian
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We talked in class briefly the other day about the dangerous elements of education, especially in regards to theology. That, somehow, becoming educated is a greater evil than maintaining ignorance, because education, the university setting, exposes students to bad theology, bad philosophy, bad ideas. Some pastors even pride themselves on their lack of education. But I wonder why this is, that if one can get an education, why one wouldn't. Is there something better about not being exposed to things and ideas? Yes, learning can be dangerous, but so is crossing the street, and that doesn't stop me. In fact, I think I prefer my education (and my street-crossing) dangerous, because I'm not sure I would truly be being educated (or truly be getting to the other side) if it wasn't.
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We talked in class briefly the other day about the dangerous elements of education, especially in regards to theology. That, somehow, becoming educated is a greater evil than maintaining ignorance, because education, the university setting, exposes students to bad theology, bad philosophy, bad ideas. Some pastors even pride themselves on their lack of education. But I wonder why this is, that if one can get an education, why one wouldn't. Is there something better about not being exposed to things and ideas? Yes, learning can be dangerous, but so is crossing the street, and that doesn't stop me. In fact, I think I prefer my education (and my street-crossing) dangerous, because I'm not sure I would truly be being educated (or truly be getting to the other side) if it wasn't.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
I Dream in Diamonds - A Conceit
I haven't updated this blog since I used it for advanced expos last semester. And I rarely post poems. Except for my last post. So this happens to be an odd coincidence. But I wrote this poem for Genres class this semester, and thus I send it out into the world.
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Pretty, but useless, thoughtless.
Cubic zirconia,
I hated my April birthday because diamonds
Have no color
And I was never given a necklace with a real diamond.
I watched darkness swallow the dusk in a moment.
The night is a bracelet of black pearls,
Uneven but smooth,
Unending and circular.
It shines sometimes, when the moon flirts with the trees,
Clouds playing a paper fan over the eyes of the coquette.
I prefer black pearls,
Especially over diamonds.
I wanted to wear that night like a vintage gown,
With glass beads and cream pearls for stars,
Metal and stone.
The sand, the oyster, the alloys, the rocks,
All natural things.
I held a paper fan over my eyes and flirted through a dream.
A boy, his eyes like sapphires.
He wore that grey pinstripe suit like the foggy pre-dawn hour.
He threw stones onto my fingers, circular and hollow,
And he lavished my arms with amulets of moonstones,
And we were happy, I think.
Because I couldn’t sleep,
Because I couldn’t dream,
Outside of the rocky waves he made behind my eyes and outside my window.
His eyes were rubies.
I needn’t be scared, he said,
His voice wrapping around my throat as a diamond necklace for an April birthday,
As real diamonds, hard enough to scratch out his ruby eyes,
Hard enough also to cut the night which I was wearing away from my opal skin.
He glimmered red light then,
The red light of a garnet red planet,
And I wanted the sapphires back, as brooches to pin the dark onyx around my shoulders once again,
Stripped bare, stripped blank, no prongs of gold or silver or rose gold to hold it in place.
The pearls scattered, a sinew chain snapping, when they fell to the ground,
Slipping into corners
Chased by the glassy, starry beads,
And I was the bold, agate moon again,
His eyes deep violet amethysts that burned crevasses into my bald surface.
As the dawn rose then,
His grey suit turned copper,
The setting for the hard purple gems.
He moved a stone cold hand over my bleached face,
Swiping the fading light from behind my cloudy paper fan, stealing it away from me
As he rode into his rightful place
In the sky.
Nightless then, lightless,
I awoke with only a necklace to show for it, an April birthday’s real diamond,
A dream.
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Pretty, but useless, thoughtless.
Cubic zirconia,
I hated my April birthday because diamonds
Have no color
And I was never given a necklace with a real diamond.
I watched darkness swallow the dusk in a moment.
The night is a bracelet of black pearls,
Uneven but smooth,
Unending and circular.
It shines sometimes, when the moon flirts with the trees,
Clouds playing a paper fan over the eyes of the coquette.
I prefer black pearls,
Especially over diamonds.
I wanted to wear that night like a vintage gown,
With glass beads and cream pearls for stars,
Metal and stone.
The sand, the oyster, the alloys, the rocks,
All natural things.
I held a paper fan over my eyes and flirted through a dream.
A boy, his eyes like sapphires.
He wore that grey pinstripe suit like the foggy pre-dawn hour.
He threw stones onto my fingers, circular and hollow,
And he lavished my arms with amulets of moonstones,
And we were happy, I think.
Because I couldn’t sleep,
Because I couldn’t dream,
Outside of the rocky waves he made behind my eyes and outside my window.
His eyes were rubies.
I needn’t be scared, he said,
His voice wrapping around my throat as a diamond necklace for an April birthday,
As real diamonds, hard enough to scratch out his ruby eyes,
Hard enough also to cut the night which I was wearing away from my opal skin.
He glimmered red light then,
The red light of a garnet red planet,
And I wanted the sapphires back, as brooches to pin the dark onyx around my shoulders once again,
Stripped bare, stripped blank, no prongs of gold or silver or rose gold to hold it in place.
The pearls scattered, a sinew chain snapping, when they fell to the ground,
Slipping into corners
Chased by the glassy, starry beads,
And I was the bold, agate moon again,
His eyes deep violet amethysts that burned crevasses into my bald surface.
As the dawn rose then,
His grey suit turned copper,
The setting for the hard purple gems.
He moved a stone cold hand over my bleached face,
Swiping the fading light from behind my cloudy paper fan, stealing it away from me
As he rode into his rightful place
In the sky.
Nightless then, lightless,
I awoke with only a necklace to show for it, an April birthday’s real diamond,
A dream.
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