gray jelly, GAGGING!

I am hating the school lunch lately. Everyday I dread 12:20. It is my own personal culinary torcher chamber! Oh man, I am shuttering just thinking about it. There is this weird vegetable/mystery that they seem to serve in everything. (dry heaving) You fellow ALTs tell me if you know what it is. Its gray and jelly like and has black speckles. I can not handle it even on my plate let alone ingesting it. (Hold on, I need to take a minute)

I was in the grocery store today and had to leave cause I was getting nauseous at the sight of all the school lunch foods I hate. Like daikon, it does not have any flavor really, but I cannot stand it. Or the soup, every day the same soup, it has this smoky taste, and those weird gray things floating in it, AHHHHHHHHHHH Tofu everything has the worst tasteless tofu in it. I like tofu OK its just every day, its driving me mad! Even rice is making me a bit queasy now a days. I think its cause I must eat it every day and its usually the only thing I can stomach so I make sure to finish the entire portion even though i did not even want it in the first place. Today I just could not do it. I could not force down ANYTHING and as usual the kids at my table all commented on the fact that i had not eaten anything and the teachers giving disapproving looks. One little girl asked "on a diet?" NOoooooo, I'm not on a............yes! YES! I am on a diet! Yes that is it! So now that is going to be what I tell everyone. I think it is easier to understand and except rather that "Your food makes me gag." And the Japanese are ALWAYS asking you "Can you eat Japanese food?" When I first got here I was like "Yeah! I love sushi and udon, ramen, tempura, yakiniku, yakitori, yum yum gimme some! " but those are the Japanese foods that made it to the states and those specific ones made it for a reason. Cause they appeal to our western pallets. Now, everyday I eat things that are so unappealing, my body feels the need to let me know that it will not, not hold that gray jelly down for long, so dont put in in here cause it aint stayin!!

I mean I knew there were things that would gross me out. But honestly I did not realize how much I would grow to hate the food here. Shhhhh...dont tell anyone.

I eat Japanese food EVERYDAY and I think that is why i have developed such an aversion. Plus I am "encouraged" to finish my meal. (I never do, unless its curry day!) If I was having Japanese food every week or so, things would be different, but well obviously there is a problem because I have now been writing for the past 20min about how horrible the food is!!!

Not like there is something wrong with Japanese food in particular. I am quite curtain I could wipe up a meal full of Southern staples that I would find delicious, but would make the average Japanese person shutter.

Anyway, I just needed to vent about all of that.

OH! And I also hate squat toilets, but I am not going to go into the details about why those suck. You can use your imaginations.

I am having a great week though. Teaching is going really well. Tomorrow is my last day at Togashiranishi. And Tue will be my first day at my third school (Ina). Its a holiday and so will only be working Tuesday and Wednesday next week! So thats awesome!

Below are pics of me getting my fortune at the temple in Asakusa. You put 100yen into a slot, then you pick up that canister and shake it. There is a hole at the bottom and a chopstick comes out. On the end of the chopstick is a number in kanji. You find the corresponding number on the chest of drawers, pull your fortune out of the draw and VIOLA!

I got another good one! Yippie!

It said that I have been traveling since I was a child and that I will continue to do so!! WOW! And some other good stuff, cant remember now.

Well have a good week and be glad you dont have to use a squat toilette, or eat all of your own personal gross out foods everyday for lunch. HAHAHHAHAHAH

Talk to you soon.

The Collective Sleep

Today was my first day at my next school Togashiranish Sho Gakko. I have 3 schools and I rotate between them.

I went to the sneakers and suits convention today! At 1:00 all the teachers in Toride City came together for a meeting. There were about 250–300 teachers all together. A few ALTs (which is what I do) came as well. We all met at one of the local Junior High schools and sat in the FREEZING cold (I don't think Japanese schools are heated!!!) gym for speeches. This is what I observed: It is perfectly acceptable to sleep during assembles and meetings. About 3 minutes into the assembly during the first speaker's speech, about half the auditorium began to nod off. It was hilarious to watch every one's heads bobbing forward as they fell asleep! One guy even started snoring!! HAHAHAH. Apparently this happens in meetings and assemblies like this ALL THE TIME!! As soon as someone starts talking the Japanese start to get sleepy, even if they are not actually tired. I think this comes from when they were in school. They often let kids sleep in class here and so I think this behavior is ingrained in them since childhood. At one point I am sure 80% of the audience was sleeping!

The teachers really pulled out all the stops for today's sneakers and suits convention. One of my principals was wearing this lace turtle neck with a hot pink track suit Jacket, and pencil skirt, white stockings and Nikes!!! It was pretty awesome.

Hot Dog Soup

I eat lunch with the kids every day. I love it. I eat what they eat, which is the school lunch. In Japan, the kids don't eat in a cafeteria, the lunch is brought to their class room and the kids serve the food to the other kids, even the lil ones serve it up! I love the whole thing. I sit at one of their tables and they all talk (in Japanese) about what they should ask me, and how to say it in English. We never talk about much, but it's just fun to hang out with them. The questions they ALWAYS ask me are: Do you have a boyfriend? (I was even asked this in a 2^nd grade class) What is your favorite color? and What is your favorite food? After lunch is teeth brushing time. It is literally a time designated on the schedule. After lunch they play this one song over the P.A. All the kids get out their toothbrushes and off they go. It makes a lot of sense actually; we should do that in the States!!

Sometimes the lunch is great, sometimes it's bad and sometimes it's just strange. Like today for lunch I had cold broccoli covered in a dressing of some kind, hot dog soup????????? (It was soup with tiny cocktail weenies floating around in it!!) and a dough nut. That was my lunch. It was weird. Good but weird.

I love teaching. It's the best when the kids see you coming down the hall towards their class and they run towards you to carry your bag, or some run back to the class and yell "Majori Sensei!!!" and the other kids run out to see. What a stroke to your ego to make an entrance like that every day!!! And sometimes when I walk into the girl's bathroom some of the girls scream when they see me!!! HAHAHAH it's so funny! Or if I say hello to the kids sometimes the shy girls scream.

Also I need to tell you all that the hooky poky has saved my life!! Every time I finish my lesson and there is still 5 minutes of class, I pull out the good ol' hooky poky. The kids freakin LOVE IT!!! I have done the hooky poky more times in the last week than I ever did as a kid. I don't have it on a CD so I sing it. Man I am so glad you guys can't see me jumping around in the middle of a circle of a bunch of 4^th graders, screaming "ya do the hooky pooky and ya turn yourself around" and shaking my butt!! I laugh to myself every time.

 

The Mecca of Cute

This weekend I worshiped at the shrine of Snoopy and hung out with the Harajuku Girls! Me and S went to Harajuku on Sunday.

Sunday is when all the kids come out and dress in crazy cosu-pure at the entrance of Yoyogi Park. We also shopped around; there are a ton of fun stores in Harajuku. Kiddyland is probably the best place on the planet, it is a 7 floor cuteness Mecca! Each floor has different souvenirs from different characters; Disney, Pink Panther, Sanrio, Random Japanese characters, Totoro, My Little Pony and so on. You can buy everything from umbrellas, to toilet paper holders. It's AWESOME!!! We also went to the huge Snoopy store (probably the biggest in the world) then the 5 floor 100 yen shop ($1 store).

Something I found really strange about Japan is that people wear surgical masks if they are sick. So you will see people in public wearing them ALL the time. Even if they are all dressed up, old, young, EVERYONE. At first I really thought it was weird. But now I totally get it. And if I see someone like sneeze on the train without and mask on, I get all grossed out and upset. Because you are in such close proximity to people all day, especially on train and at rush hour (which is when I travel, there are not pushers on the platform, but it feels like it!!!) it's out of courtesy that you cover your mouth if you are sick. Maybe I will wear one when I get sick!!!!! I will take a picture if I do. I should. I will.

6th graders

Hey guys!!!

WOW I have had the CRAZYEST WEEK!!!! I taught for the first time on Tuesday. I was really nervous, but so excited overall. I had all these fun games planed and I just could not wait. I was teaching the 6^th graders and I had been warned that they were really going to be hard. But, you know, I figured I could handle it. Well my lesson fell on its face. They did not want to participate, they thought it was lame. Their teacher sat at the back and read a book giving me NO help whatsoever. I sped through my lesson and got out of there!!!! Ran straight for the bathroom and cried. I spent the next period in there, and then I had to come out and teach ANOTHER 6^th grade class. I was so upset. But I pulled myself together and went in there. This lesson did not go quite as badly, but it still did not run smoothly. At least I got them to play one of my games. But again the teacher left the room!!!! Could not believe it!! The teachers are never supposed to leave the ALTs alone with the students for a long period of time. I was really frustrated with my situation. I felt like if I had their support it would have made it easier. Anyway, I got to leave school early, (THANK GOD!!) to go pick up my alien registration card. Yes, I am an alien. I got home and just felt really badly about my whole situation. I was feeling like teaching was going to be like that every day. And that would have been unbearable. I went to sleep which is what I do when I can handle what's going on.

I got up the next day and revised my lesson plan. I usually have a few periods off in the morning which is great because it gives me a chance to prepare for the following days lessons and it means I don't really have to do any work when I get home. So I changed my lesson plan a bit. I was armed and ready for the 3^rd graders. I was ready to be humiliated and again and to run out or f there crying. But my lesson went really well. The 3^rd graders were delightful. They participated in all my games they sang along with the corny CD I used to play "my name is.." Hot Potato and they were just generally wonderful and into the whole thing. Plus there teacher was so helpful and supportive!!! She was great she explained what I wanted them to do in Japanese; she organized them and kept them from getting too rowdy. The rest of the day I taught another 3^rd grade class and a 5^th grade class as well. Both went really well. Having the Japanese teacher there to help you and support you makes all the difference!!!

So my week continued on like this. After the first week I have now taught each class once (except for the 1^st and 2^nd graders) and had a really great time doing it!!! Eating lunch with the kids is a blast too. It sucks I don't know more Japanese! They are really cute and funny and ask you the craziest questions.

My day usually goes like this:

Get to school at 8:00.

First class at 10:45

Class

Class

Lunch with one of the classes at 12:30

Then there is recess, I usually go outside and play with the kids

Then it's clean up time, I don't clean up but usually prepare for the final lessons of the day

Then I teach a class
p>Have the last period off

Go home at 5:00

It's a pretty great schedule. I usually teach 3 or 4 lessons a day. Then I have the rest of the day to prepare.

Overall I really love teaching. It is hard, but it can be so much fun. I taught 6^th grade again on Friday and they weren't so bad, so maybe I just need a little experience. I definitely need more experience. The first time I teach a lesson (I usually teach on lesson 4 times) It never goes too well, but the second time I have had a chance to think about what works and what doesn't and make the changes. So when I go in there a second time and give the lesson again things are a lot more organized and planed out. Teaching Elementary School is so wonderful, but it is really exhausting. I get home and crawl right in bed.

Last night was the teacher welcoming party. It was really expensive to go (the Japanese often entertain at restaurants so when you get invited to a party its usually going to coast you the food and drinks and coast of renting the room) It was a lot of fun though. It was one of those traditional Japanese restaurant layouts, long tables, tatame mats, soji screens and chairs on the floor, but the food was Chinese. This kind of saved me because, had it been traditional Japanese food, I might have offended my Principal (who I was sitting next to!!) by not eating the raw egg and seaweed salad. I LOVE lots of Japanese foods, there are just others that would have made me lose my lunch right there on the tatame mats!!

So anyway, it was an all you can eat all you can drink deal. The food was great and so was the beer. Suddenly the door slid open and one of the male teachers walked in dressed as a Geisha!!!! HAHAHAH it was so funny, he did this dance to a pre recorded traditional Japanese song that was about Ino Sho Gakko (my school) it was so funny. Then another teacher came in dressed as a high school girl (kinda sick I know!!) and had a big stick and was yelling at us all about something. It was apparently very funny, but obviously I did not get the jokes. But a middle-aged Japanese man in a sailor suit and a wig is funny enough for me. They also had me and the other 2 new staff, come up front and make speeches. I got a Japanese friend to help me with mine and I read from my lil piece of paper and all the teachers were very impressed. Then they brought in these HUGE flower potted things, and gave them to us, which was very sweet of them!

I got home at around 9:00 at night and crawled straight into bed. I woke up this morning at 6:00 to a slight vibration. Yes that's right folks I felt my first earthquake!!!! It was very miner, but still very exciting. I had heard people describe feeling the earthquake as being thrilling. I thought that was absolutely ridiculous, and was dreading feeling one. But its kinda true. It is very exciting to experience one!! HAHAHA I was very sleepy and stayed in bed because I knew it was a small one.

Anyway, I am going to stay in today even though it is so gorgeous outside, because I need to save my money. I am possibly going into Tokyo tomorrow to do some sightseeing.Im going to take advantage of the good weather and hang out some laundry.

Ja mata!

Pogo sticks and unicycles….why?

(Me and Kika climbing Mt Tsukuba (Sophie came too). Well we did not really climb it, but we ate lunch at the top.)

(YES...that is a Totoro doughnut. He was cream filled and delicious)

So I have had my first two days. They have been interesting. I have not actually taught yet, I have just interacted with the staff and worked in the staff room, but boy has it been something else.

Yesterday, after my first day, I had a meltdown. Yesterday was really heard. I had my first case of sever culture shock and home sickness. It was crazy. I just felt like my school and the people that worked there were really unfriendly. They weren't really that bad, but this was my day.

Yesterdays experience:

I came in and barley got a hello. The entire day I sat at my desk and fiddled around because I did not know what else to do. No one ever told me what I was meant to be doing and really I had no idea. I read over the previous ALTs lesson plans that had been left for me. That was interesting and helpful, but it only took up a few hrs. The rest of the time I farted around. The people at my school don't speak English so they barely spoke to me. I guess no one had been given charge of me because no one looked after me, showed me around the school or introduced me to everyone. I was left on my own all day. And I guess that's just how they do it here (I later found out that is totally normal here for ESL teachers). I was so surprised though!!!! Anyway after spending the day pretending to write lesson plans and being talked over, I was a bit on edge. By the time I arrived home I was so home sick and feeling lonely and lost. I had a tantrum and could not get in touch with anyone. It sucked. But after a time I cooled down with the help of friends and boyfriend.

Today was so much better. I guess I knew what to expect today. And…I brought candy so at least they had to talk to me!!!hahahahahah

Yeah today was so much better. I brought stuff, work to do and I worked on some Japanese phrases to use and I think the teachers felt a little more comfortable so they used the little English they know. That all made it better.

Now….here is my little story: I have read a lot about peoples experience teaching in Japan. They all talk about how the Japanese ask the English teacher to do this really last minute, like pull games and activities and entire lessons out of there ass's. Well I experienced that fist hand today.

I was sitting in the teacher's lounge doing work, when I looked up and all the teachers were gone except for me and the other new teacher (a women who teaches 3^rd grade) she turns to me and says "I so nervous, you too?" hummmmm…..nervous about what I think to myself…?? Suddenly the vice principle runs over and say to me "you make speech now?" What? WHAT?????!!!!!

I get up and he leads me and the other teacher into the gym where everyone…EVERYONE….the students, teachers, staff, moms….everyone is sitting patiently waiting for me. I think OK, this will be OK. Then he leads us onto the stage!!!!A series of bowing ensues with each speaker. The proper hierarchical order is followed with me last (obviously) so I get up and do just as the other teachers have done. Bow to the others on stage, bow to the stage, walk, bow to the podium, walk forward, bow to the students (and almost hit my forehead on the mike, wish I had, it would have been really funny) I stumble through a Japanese introduction of myself (which the Japanese are always impressed with, even if you spit out "hi, I Marjorie. Good days", they think you're a genius). So then I go into this cheesy speach about learning English!!! YEAH!!!! (No one claps, which was weird) then I do the whole bowing ritual again and go back to my seat. (Note: I am a bowing freak now, anytime anyone bows at me, it is like by body takes over and we do this dance of bowing deeply then the bows become smaller and smaller until it's just a nod. I bow a lot in the day.)

The whole thing was pretty hilarious; I wish you all could have seen it. Here is the thing though. How could I have not seen that coming? Like I said I know they do this. I got totally blind sided though. WHY!!!????

Other things about school: Snack time. It's AWESOME! AWESOME I TELL YOU! At about 3:30 all the teachers start to rush around grabbing cups from your desk. (I drink about 8 cups of green tea a day, not by choice mind you!) They start making the rounds, they drop off your tea (they always make mine weak, I don't know if they think I can't handle it, which I can't, or if they just don't like me) Then they start dropping of little individually wrapped snacks. There is always 'osembee' (Japanese rice crackers which I LOVE!!!!) and cookies, and then there is always something really strange and awful which I eat anyway and then spend the rest of the day trying to figure out what on earth it was!!! But it's pretty wonderful; there are usually about 5 different snacks on my desk by 4:00. What a great thing.

OK, all Japanese children can ride a unicycle. What is with THAT?? All day while I am at my desk and I looked up and like little girls in pig tails ride slowly by the window on unicycles followed by a boy or two on a pogo stick. They all look in at me and wave and yell "hellllooooo". Their play grounds here are pretty bleak. It's a gravel field with an ample supply of unicycles and pogo sticks and then this strange jungle gym that goes way too high and looks really dangerous and that is it.

Overall I am loving it all. Even though I don't get to talk to anyone EVER, I rather like just observing all the Japanese behavior and rituals. It's the sociologist in me I guess. Sometimes I even take notes. DORKY! At some point I will either lose my mind or become a mute if I continue to be unable to communicate things like "I am going to the bathroom"

I wish I could send pics but we are not allowed to take pics except for on festival days.

Well wish me luck for my second week. I will be teaching finally. I am so nervous. And on Friday I have my first staff drinking party to attend. I hope we Karaoke. My new favorite to do is Stevie Nicks 'Dreams' HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH…………. it is though.

I will write again about my weekend which was also really interesting.

Love you all,

Byeeee

White sneakers and suits!!!!!!

取手
Toride

So much has been going on these past few days. Today I had a meeting with the board of education in 取手. Two other teachers and I introduced ourselves to the board. Then my Japanese helper and I rode around and went to all my schools. We went in and I introduced myself to the teachers and principal and had a chance to ask questions and everything. It was really fun and I started getting really excited about work. There was a great difference in how the schools received me... The first school we visited and the one I will be working at the most, initially did not seem very interested in me at all and they kept talking about the last ALT. That kinda sucked. I have my work cut out for me there. I brought some candy from home, I only have enough for one school and I think that is the school that is going to get it, cause they seemed pretty unimpressed with me. But the other two schools were very welcoming and nice.

After touring all the schools my Japanese helper got in touch with the previous teachers at two of my schools. So I will be meeting with them this weekend. Hopefully they will give me some tips on the schools (both of these teachers are still with the company and both still living in 取手).

Something that frustrates me, it's really petty, but whatever. OK so the teachers are all dressed in really casual clothes like sweat suits and track suits. They are dressed much more casually than Elementary school teachers at home would be even. I have still got to wear a suit because my company makes us. But the problem for me is that, you know in Japan you take your shoes off when you come inside; well all the teachers buy indoor shoes which for some reason MUST BE SNEAKERS!!?? So they want me to be in a suit and white sneakers!!!!?????? WHAT??? I don't know if I can do that!! It just hurts my fashion sense too much. It's not like I am this really fashionable person or anything but WHYYYYY??? WHY must I wear white sneakers with a black suit?? It is just so tacky!!! My Japanese helper and I were out shopping this evening and she was pointing to all the shoes that would be appropriate for indoor shoes. I was asking, how about these nice black flat slip-ons, or these casual loafers?? NO, NO these and these (hideous white sneakers, hideous sneakers)

This all goes back to an overall idea in Japanese schools, which is really different from schools back home. Here in Japan the teachers do not do things that the kids cannot do. For example, they don't want you to ware designer brands, they don't want the kids to see you eating candy, chewing gum or drink soda or juice. They don't want you to eat your own lunch when the kids must eat the school lunch. It's so different from at home were we have this attitude that "I am an adult you're a kid, I get to do it and you don't cause I am older and I paid my dues" It's not like that at all here! We are really discouraged from doing things that the kids are not allowed to. Like for instance I will be buying into the school lunch program, only cause its really cheap and so I will have a chance to hang out with the kids, otherwise they will not let you sit with the kids if you bring your own lunch, anyway they serve milk with the lunch and I had to ask special permission to have water with my lunch. They can be so strict about those sorts of things. The school said it was OK, but to please not drink anything else but 'tap water' I cannot even have bottled water. I will also be expected to finish my meal cause the kids must. Over all you don't get any special treatment. The whole idea is pretty interesting!

So in other news, I received my first bill today. It was a water bill. I found this process quite interesting too. The water company comes out to the building and goes around and checks the meters on all the apartments and then prints out a slip (that is your bill) and puts it in your mail box. Then you go to the convenience store and pay the bill. It's so different!!!!

I am doing all my banking through the post office, which is very different from home. Can you even bank with the post office at home? But I like it OK. You get what looks like a check book in the mail after you have signed up for a postal account. When you go to the ATM you insert you checkbook (it's not a check book but looks like one, there are no personal checks in Japan) into the machine. Then you type in your code. And make your transaction. Then the ATM digitally writes your transaction onto the bankbook and gives you your cash or whatever. It makes so much sense cause then you have a record of all the transactions on your account with you at all times. And every time you use the machine it will update your lil book so it records any transactions made on your account like deposits or withdrawals or whatever.

Another thing that fascinates me: in the bathroom when you flush the toilet the water that is used to rinse the toilet first comes out of the top of the toilet out of a faucet and into a hand basin so you can wash your hands with this water. It is really smart design and so eco friendly.

I have become more accustomed to the trash system, but I keep missing my trash pickup times so the trash is gathering in my kitchen!!! It will get better soon though.

Ummm..Let's see…..what else……OH there is a public bath down the street from me!!! I am dying to try it out! Maybe I will do that tomorrow night! It is only $5 and it is open till 1am. My Japanese helper said its great to go to the bath and then hit the bar afterwards. She said there is a nice bar inside. Having a beer after a hot bath sounds AWESOME!! I will write you guys about my experience with that!! HAHAHA

Tomorrow I am going into Tokyo to do some last minute sightseeing before I have got to start work. I have made a new friend who lives in my town and we are going exploring together. I think we are going to go to the Sony showroom to play with all the latest gadgets. It should be fun.

OK well I will write you all later,

Byeee