A busy busy week.

It started on Monday. I picked up Adam, Dan and Paul in Uozu and we headed to Minami High School for a 3 day English camp in the mountains. It's not as outdoorsy as it sounds. English camps are held by schools to give their students opportunities to interact with native English speakers outside of the classroom. Some of the camps are only a day long, but Minami High School hosts 2 one and a half day camps. The first day and a half is for the first grade students (grade 10). The second half of the first day and the 3rd day is for the 2nd grade students (grade 11).
ALTs from other schools (that'd be me) are invited to participate and plan fun, interesting, unique lessons and/or activities to present to small groups of students over the course of the camp. This year we had a range of activites from juggling to dancing to a Clue game using the ALTs as the characters. I taught the students how to play cards in English, there was a scavenger hunt, commercial making and improv story telling. A great variety for the students.
In the evening the students got together with the ALTs and had a BBQ, then it was off to bed -well at least for the teachers...the students, like any other group of teenagers stayed up all night. So you can imagine how successful the first class in the morning was...
This is my fourth Minami Engish High School Camp! This particular high school has been designated a SEL (Super Engish Language) School. That means that most of the students want to study English and international studies at a higher level than what is offered at regular high schools. The students at MHS are very enthusiastic about English and the lessons are always fun to teach. A lot of the students return for a second year at the camp and I love seeing their progress over the 2 years. I hope to do it again next year!



This is Shunsuke, a second year student whom I taught last year.


Immediately after finishing the camp and dropping the boys off in Uozu I went straight to Kurobe station to pick up Mike who came to visit for the remainder of the week! We had a great visit and managed to cram shopping, an Okinawan concert, an art exhibit, a beach BBQ, a trip to Takayama and lots of good good food into just 3 days. He brought me chocolate and shoes, needless to say I was willing to take him anywhere and do anything while he was here!!!

click here for video

English Camp

I'm off to English Camp until Wednesday!

HAPPY B-DAY JOHNNY P!!

Saturday was my John's b-day. Not my brother Johhny P, but my neighbor Johnny P!
We celebrated the occasion in royal fashion. First we dressed in Yukatta (summer kimono) and had dinner at the best restaurant in the city: Sakura Sweets.



Then, by the order of Princess Chika, we invited the local townspeople to join us for a fireworks show down by the sea. And a very fine show it was. The grand finale was a 3 song medley: The Mission Impossible Theme, Amazing Grace (as sung by Charlotte Church), and the William Tell Overture!


click here to get a taste of the musical version
here too

To end the night we went back to Nyuzen's very own 'Koshi' - a local drinking establishment that provides us with endless entertainment on any given night. If it's not the wacky bartenders with stuffed reindeer and money hats, then it's the patrons who bring their 6 and 10 year old daughters and let them dance with the wacky foreigners (that'd be us).

Princess Chika even made a special cake for the birthday boy, made with a secret ingredient...NATTO!! It's become a tradition among us isolated country folk to make cakes for each other with obscure ingredients in an attempt to get the best 'SHOCK-U' value (and keep ourselves entertained). Natto, in one word, is 'gross'. It looks terrible and smells even worse (and now that I'll be eating school lunches, I'll have the pleasure of consuming this super heathly food once in a while, joy oh joy). ANYWAY, like I said, Princess Cheeky was going for shock value (and I'm sure she was secretly hoping for gag value too). So when she brought the cake out and it looked like and ordinary cheesecake, we had to endure the song and the cutting and the handing out of pieces before we could get the reaction we were anticipating. And the reaction was....

"MMMM!!! IT'S GOOD!"

dang.

will post photos when blogger stops being retarded...

Beer, Mutton, Gaijin Traps and Night Skies

I went to Toyama tonight for dinner with Kaz and Ai-chan, two good friends I met through NOVA 4 years ago. We went to a restaurant near the station that serves lamb yakiniku (grilled meet). We don't get together that often, so whenever we can, we try to catch up on each other's lives over a beer or two after we've all finished work for the day (or we go snowboarding...). These two are getting married in December and have asked me to make a speech because I am one of few friends that know both of them equally well. It's a big honor!

Anyway, before the mutton even came we had all started in on the nama (draught) beer like it was water -come to think of it, we were never even served water tonight, hm. It's still above 30 everyday here and beer tastes sooooo good on nights like tonight. Then the lamb came. Served raw in bite sized slices, ready to grill on the mini grill placed in front of us. By the time the actual food came we were all on our second beer. I'm not sure which tasted better...

After a while Kaz's brother and sister-in-law joined us. They live in Kanazawa, the neighboring prefecture, where they own a Jamaican restaurant!! Neither has actually been to Jamaica...but what does that matter. They were in town to see a reggae show at Mairo, a local club. Kaz hadn't told them that I was going to be at dinner so they were a little shocked at first to see me sitting at the table with Ai and Kaz, full lamb bib on (think lobster bib), chowing down while using chopsticks like I was born with them in my hand.... Ahem, however once the beer started flowing on their side of the table, they were much more at ease, and I have to say, I held my own in Japanese. Ok, I answered like, 4 questions, but I'm pretty sure I laughed in all the right places...

I was half way through my third beer (I'm telling you, it must have been water, really) when it was already time for me to catch the last train home. YIKES, I WAS DRUNK!! 2.5 beers is a definite record for me! Kirsten kept me company from Hiroshima via k-tai (cell phone) on the almost hour-long train ride home (hurry up and get back here Sista!!) and then I had the pleasure of riding a bicycle home in the dark.

Now, in most other countries, I'm sure this would not pose the same kind of threat as it does in this fine land. For you see, Japan has gaijin (foreigner) traps. These are the 3 foot deep, 2 foot wide water canals that run along almost every rural road -and lucky me, I live in rural Japan!! They have a nasty way of drawing unsuspecting folk like ALTs into their clutches -especially if said folk are on bicycles, and almost certainly if they have been consuming beverages of an alcoholic nature...

But, tonight I returned to my apartment victorious! Unscathed! I used the force and it guided me safely down the middle of the road -ok, I used my ears and made sure the sound of flowing water didn't get too loud -nonetheless there was much swerving involved, especially when I was facing oncoming traffic. They could see me, but I was momentarily blinded each time. Concentrating all my efforts on forward movement, there were times when the sound of the car engines drowned out the sound of the water and I would find myself in the tractor beam -legs brushing the vegetation that lines the banks of these bone breaking, bicycle mangling, montrosities -cranking the handlebars just in time to wobble safely back onto the pavement.

And if the cars weren't enough, I was totally distracted by the night sky tonight. While being in inaka (the countryside) means harrowing, streetlightless night wandering, it does make for amazing star gazing! All the regulars were out tonight, including the Milky Way, which I must say, is a lot easier to see in Japan than Northern Alberta. No moon, however, which compounded the blind biking scenario...

So, it's now 2:00 a.m., the beer has worn off, Burle Ives is singing Ol'Dan Tucker from my computer and I'm hungry again. I think I'll grab and snack and my astronomy book and sit by the rice paddy outside my apartment and gaze a bit more.

What am I talking about??? I'm going to bed!

Congratulations Dave & Sheri

My roommate from university got married on Saturday, I wanted to go to the wedding, but couldn't make it home this summer. Fortunately I got to meet Sheri when I was home last summer and I wholeheartedly approved!!! She's wonderful, and very lucky to have a guy like Dave at her side!

Best wishes for your future together!!!

On being happy.

My mom sent me a cd a while back and there was a song on it called Happy Baby, by Shaye. It struck a chord with me.

Since I've lived on my own in Japan I've finally stopped looking for what will make me happy, and I live in the moment instead. I never did that before. I was always searching for something I didn't have. I dont' feel the need to do that now. I'm HAPPY! The happiest I've ever been.

My happiness comes from finally making choices for myself, being healthly, having amazing friends and understanding family, and just enough money to eat, and keep my car on the road. Anything after that is just gravy.

Yes, I still go after things I want (travel, sports gear, new hair color) but I know they are not what will define my happiness. It's the idea that I can actually choose to go after these things if I want to -it's the choice that leaves me content.

So, if this is it for me, that's just fine, I'm not looking anymore.

Here are the lyrics:

Standing in line at the grocery store
Reading magazines that say i should want more
There's an old boyfriend, he looks my way
I can't help but smile, I feel great today
Last night's clothes, no make-up, drinking my coffee from a paper cup

If this is it for me baby, that's just fine, I'm not looking anymore
For what will make me happy baby, that's just fine, I'm not looking anymore
Anymore

So many places I'll never see
But here and now is where I'd rather be
Too many people searching so hard
But they never look right in their backyard
I've made mistakes, that's for sure, ain't that what your life is for?

If this is it for me baby, that's just fine, I'm not looking anymore
For what will make me happy baby, that's just fine, I'm not looking anymore

(More clothes, more cash, more things, more rings)
These lines upon my face, I'd be a fool to erase cause they show my place in this world

If this is it for me baby, that's just fine, I'm not looking anymore
For what will make me happy baby, that's just fine, I'm not looking anymore

Blogger is ruining my thought processes

How do I explain this...

It seems that when something is happening to me and/or I'm trying to figure out a way to deal with a specific moment in time, my thoughts immediately turn to "how would I post this as a blog entry". So instead of actually focussing on what's going on, or even just having an experience, regardless of how minor, I'm formulating a catchy title I'm going to use to post it on my blog.

I need to go back no further than this morning to find multiples examples:

First, cleaning my apartment -I'm in the process of what I hope will be a major overhaul, but in the mean time there's a lot of simple things to be done like VACUUMING (which I loathe). So I pulled out my brand-spanking new vacuum which compared to my old one is like putting a Porsche beside a Lada.

As I turned it on and started sucking up the bunny sized dust bunnies, I was thinking, "wow, this thing really sucks hard" and before I knew it I was thinking how how that would make a good pun on my blog -"my new vacuum really sucks", haha, nudge nudge, wink, wink, get it?? Sigh, yeah.

Finally lunchtime rolled around and started thinking about what I had to eat in my apartment (nothing I was in the mood for), so I decided I should go to the little sushi shop near Nyuzen High School and immediately I began to formulate another blog entry about the couple that run the shop and how friendly they are and how they love chatting me up and giving me freebees all the time. The deserve a blog entry too...

And one of the reasons I chose the sushi shop for lunch is because it's near the post office, and I had parcels to send home. I was 100% unsuccessful there today, I had two boxes, one was recycled from a parcel sent from Canada and one from here with Japanese writing on the side. They refused to take either. Seems that Canada Post is extremely picky about what's on the side of the boxes that enter the country. So I had to be shown what was aceptable and what wasn't, and they gave me new boxes and told me I could transfer everything into these boxes and it would cost this much to send that box if I send it sea mail vs surface mail and blah blah blah...so as I stood there, smiling and nodding and understanding about 75% of what they were saying, the other 25% of my thoughts were on to how I would bitch about this on my blog when I got home and how absolutely ridiculous Canada Post has gotten about recieving parcels from overseas. It never used to be this way. I finally gave the post office staff a polite bow and told them I'd come back again later with the proper boxes. Sigh, it took me 3 months to finally transfer the boxes from my apartment to my car, maybe they'll be sent in time for Christmas now...

After hitting that wall, I was in no mood to start up on cleaning again. Besides it's insanely hot here at the moment and I was starting to feel guilty about being inside under the air conditioner all day. So I convinced myself that I should get my swim in early today, but I ws thinking I should also take advantage of the sun while I could, so a quick trip to the beach would be in order first. Bike or drive? Bike or drive? I had enough time to bike, but it was a really quite hot and maybe a little dangerous to be biking in the middle of the afternoon. I decided to risk it and transfered all the necessary gear into a backpack and hopped on my bike.

I got no further than a kilometer down the road when all of a sudden I heard a 'pfssst' and then a clunk clunk clunk. ARGH, my first flat! This in itself was already going on my workout blog before I had even gotten off my bike, but began to deserve real blog status for the sheer comedy factor that I provided for the guys who saw me.

I was cruising down Rt3 when it happened. I could see 2 guys standing on the sidewalk ahead of me and I knew I had to slow down to get by them. It was the EXACT moment that I was riding by them that I heard the aforementioned 'pfssst'. I stopped directly in front of them. Got off my bike, took one look at the tire, took one look at them, said 'punk-u, zannen desu ne' (flat tire, that sucks eh?), picked up my bike and started walking back in the direction I'd come from. They were busting a gut as I walked away. All the while, I'm thinking, great I can post this on my blog too!

I think I need to be unplugged for a while.

Let's enjoying summer fireworks!!!

I went to the Namerikawa Fireworks Festival last Friday, managed to get a few photos.

Summer Reading

For those who know me well, you know that I'm a bit of a book freak. And summer time has always been a particularly prolific reading time for me.

When I was young, the public library used to host reading contests for kids -for you Grande Prairians, that would be where the Toy and Hobby store is on downtown mainstreet (or has it changed again?). I can't remember the full details, but I think you got stamps or stickers for each book you read, and once you read a certain amount you got a prize or something, like 5 was a little prize, then at 10 you got someting bigger...We were pretty regular visitors (thanks Mom) and the kids section, which was in the basement if I remember correctly, was always a great little escape from the summer heat.

Comic books didn't count for these contests, so I tried to limit Tin Tin and Asterix as much as I could, but always ended up taking at least one of each home every time… I went through the typical phases; the Little House on the Prairie series, the Choose your own Adventure series, lots of mystery series...I used to read them every night in bed, sometimes under the covers with a flashlight - not only because I wasn't supposed to be reading so late at night, but also because it was just more fun that way!

Although I don't always have to have my nose in a book, I do like a good afternoon in a bookshop and I rarely come away empty handed. Here in Japan, the 7th floor of Tower Records in Shibuya, Tokyo is my most favorite place in the whole country. I've spent hours and hours and lots and lots of yen there, totally guilt free! When my friend Kathleen (a kindred spirit when it comes to books) came to visit, I knew I'd have no problem convincing her to indulge me in a trip to Tower Records. After about 3 hours we both decided we should actually go out and see some other things that the city has to offer, but I know we still both left reluctanly.

While non-fiction and is usually reserved for the cold, dark winter months, summer for me is spent escaping. I've got one non-fiction book on the go right now, but it's slow going. At the same time, I'm plowing through paper backs and short stories like a fireman’s going to knock on my door at any moment. I still prefer a good historical fiction book to most others, but recently I’ve taken a liking to Roald Dahl and have stumbled upon a trilogy by a Japanese writer (Koji Suzuki) that has me hooked. Extremely well translated, fast paced and just far enough from the edge to make me squirm a little. I like that.

Although hectic in many ways, this summer has given me time to read a somewhat eclectic list of books. From the beginning of last month I’ve read the following:.

Rape of Nanking by Iris Chang (non-fiction)
Snow Country by Yasunari Kawabata (fiction, translated by Edward G. Seidensticker)
The Girl Who Played Go by Shan Sa (fiction, translated by Adrianna Hunter)
Kiss Kiss by Roald Dahl (fiction, short stories)
Ring by Koji Suzuki (fiction, as in the movie, translated by Robert B. Rohmer & Glynne Walley )
The Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunant (fiction, based during the Medici era)
James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl (fiction, I think…)

Currently reading Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond (non-fiction) and the sequel to Ring, it’s called Spiral –opened it yesterday and I’m already half way through…hopefully I’ll have my hands on the 3rd in the series by the end of the month.

**If you’d like my opinion about any of the above books, please don’t hesitate to ask, I’m just not in the mood at the moment to formulate concise reviews for this blog post.

I’ve been thinking of writing about this for a while, but it wasn’t until I read Ms. World’s blog that I felt truly inspired. There are lots of beach days ahead, I'm sure my list will grow by the time school starts again. There won't be any stickers for me at the end, but I'll be just as satisfied, nonetheless.

Tatemon Festival

click here to see what i was up to last night


Sista K has written a great discription of the night, feel free to click on her blog and check it out.

I have a new job!

I haven't talked too much about the big change, but it's happened. I'm now an elementary school teacher for the city of Kurobe.

Although I'm still an employee of the JET Programme, I have a new Board of Education which is based at the municipal level rather than through the prefecture. The contract is very similar, but of course I will be teaching elementary school children, not teenagers. My workload will more than double this year. Last year I taught 10 classes a week, but this year I'll be teaching 24 -at 3 different schools.

Today I went to eac of my schools for the first time to meet the principals and some of the staff -it's summer break for students so there weren't a lot of teachers around, but at least I got to see where my desk will be at each school and check out the size and layout for each as well.

Here is a preliminary description of each:

Chuo is the biggest elementary school in Kurobe City. It also has the highest level of English according to what I've been told. There are 474 students at this school.

Mikkaichi has 352 students and is brand-spankin' new! A beautiful school with a principal who speaks English! Horray.

Maezawa is one of the smallest schools in Kurobe. Only 98 students. It's so cute!

And the most important thing about all of them is that they EACH HAVE A POOL!!! Outdoor of course, but rest assured I'll be making the most of it!

Hokkaido Day 3 and 4

Despite sitting around the campfire until late on the night we arrived we were out of bed early the next morning for some action on the rivers of Hokkaido. In the morning we put on wetsuits and canyoned in a...well, canyon of course. Basically it's like rafting, but without the raft. The river was pretty narrow and shallow for the most part, but there were some short cliffs to jump from and a few rapids that we were allowed to float through. There were 3 of us and 4 guides -not a bad ratio.

We went back to the hostel for lunch and then in the afternoon we went rafting on the Mukawa. There were two other small groups that day and there were enought guides available that we could each have our own raft. It was a pretty good afternoon, I've done bigger rapids in Jasper, but our guide made sure to make the most of what we had to work with. We definitely got wet! At the end, the guide trusted us enough to go it alone for the last bit as he went up to get the bus. It's a bit different than steering a canoe, but we managed just fine.

Thanks for the pic K!



The only injury sustained that day was Amy's finger when she got it stuck in her helmet...














We were a bit tired after the day and instead of pushing on to the next destination that night like we had planned, we opted to stay one more night at the hostel. We had a great Thai Pad dinner thanks to Kirsten and had an early night. Our goal was to make it all the way to Wakkanai the next day -the northern most city of Japan.


Our room at the hostel.







We packed up the Beetle, said goodbye to HOA (Hokkaido Outdoor Adventures) and were on the road as bright and early as Amy would allow...first stop: Furano and the lavendar fields. We took a gondola to the top of a little hill that overlooked the valley. I'd say the view was pretty good.





Another stop in Biei for some strolling and lunch and we were on the road again. We opted for expressways and bypasses when we could find them so we could at least do 80km/h. Otherwise the speed limit it 50, which makes for slooooow going.

Thanks for the pic K

Much to our surprise, we were in Wakkanai before the sun set! We found the port which we would need for the next day's trip to Rishiri Island. Then we made our way to a campsite on top of a hill which gave us a great view of the sea! We set up camp, hit the onsen and then came back to camp for instant potatoes, red adn green curry and red wine. A pleasantly surprising combination!

Unloading my Baby at the campsite in Wakkanai


The camp site



Then it was off to bed -our first night in the tent.

Here's a few more pics from K.

A little bit of Okinawa right here in Toyama

My friend Shigako plays Shamisen, a traditional Japanese instrument. Something like a 3 stringed banjo -lots of twang. Through this hobby of her's she's come to meet lots of interesting people who also play shamisen. Some just for fun, others as a career. Shamisen is used to play music from Okinawa. Okinawan music has a very distinct sound -I love it!

So this weekend Shigako invited me to come to a beach near Toyama City (about an hour away). She said that her friends who play Shamisen (and Okinawan music) would be there and they were having a bit of a get together. Who could say no to that!?

I packed up my car and headed out the door at 8:30 this morning. When I got there, the meat was already on the grill, the beer was flowing and the water was beckoning me.




It didn't take long for the two of us to jump in and cool off. It was sweltering even before noon today. And it took even less time once we were dry for Shigako to pull out her Shamisen and get everyone singing and dancing. Once it started in never stopped.







Shigako Playing Shamisen (click here for video)














Shigako's Shamisen sensei (teacher) was also there today, and he was by far the craziest of the bunch -and by that I also me the friendliest and one of the most sincere people I've met in a while.




There was also a drummer who was more than willing to put on a show for everyone.










Drummer Boy (click for video)

We were waaay at the end of the beach but people kept wandering over to check out the music. One family even brought us a whole bag of freshly caught oysters as a show of appreciation!

I befriended a little girl while swimming - I taught her how to blow bubbles while here grandmother watched and praised us both!! The little girl came over later to our picnic area to inform us that she practices Taiko (Japanese drumming) at her kindergarten and she asked if she could show us what she had learned. Everyone loved her! She was a great entertainer.

Drummer Girl (click for video)

I and others had brought watermelon to the party -can't have a summer bbq without it! A popular summer game is to blindfold people, spin them 'round and then try to get them to find the watermelon then split it open with a stick. I think it took 5 or 6 of us before we had a direct it. It was pretty tastey on a day like today. The guys had tied it to a stick and stuck it in the sea to cool for the day before smashing and eating it. Nice idea!!






As the afternoon turned into evening people started packing up to go. Shigako and I were enjoying the company of those who were left when out of the blue this man came over and invited himself to the party. He didn't speak Japanese but he did speak English, although it wasn't his native tongue for sure. He told everyone he was from Sydney Australia, but he definitely didn't have an Australian accent, more like Pakistani, which is also how he looked. He sat down right in front of me after shaking hands with everyone and before I knew it he had his hand on my knee!! Oh, I forgot to mention that he was old enough to be my father...well his hand was off my knee faster than he had put it there and that, my friends, was the end of my efforts to be polite to this guy. He basically ignored everyone around him, told me I should go for a walk with him -alone. He kept telling my how beautiful I was and that he loved Canadians (I'm sure he couldn't find it on a map...) and he wouldn't leave even when I was telling him TO HIS FACE that he was being rude. He ignored what I was saying and continued to spew random garbage about the business he runs (used cars, surprise, surprise), where he's been, where he lives... then he had the nerve to ask someone to get him a beer...needless to say, he almost ruined the end of a perfect day. I felt bad for everyone else because although they couldn't understand exactly what he was saying, it was pretty obvious that he was being extremely inappropriate (they all saw him put his hand on my knee and they all saw me swiftly take it off) and being Japan, nobody could really say or do anything to make him go away. And even though I was telling him flat out that I wasn't interested in talking to him because he was being so rude, I didn't feel it was my place to tell him to leave our area. He had been welcomed by others (before they know what kind of person he really was), so what was I to do?

This was my first instinct:

Finally I couldn't take it anymore and Shigako suggested we go for a walk, and hopefully he'd leave. But he didn't. So it was time for us to go instead. We packed up our things amid his yells (yes, he was yelling at me) to stay because I should like him and want to be with him, and he came over specifically for me, and blah blah blah, it was awful. We said our goodbyes and thankyous to everyone and unfortunately, the day came to an end.

I've had some great days in Japan, and despite the way it ended, this one ranks right up there. Sitting in the sun all day, listening to music with good people and good food... I could very well have been in Okinawa today!

more shamisen (click for video)

Hokkaido: Day 1 and 2

We left Toyama at 5:00 p.m. in the pouring rain.
We arrived at Niigata Port at 8:30 p.m. in the pouring rain.
We boarded the ferry at 11:20 p.m. in the pouring rain.

And that was the last time we saw rain.

Once on the ferry we immediately went to the sento (public bath -yes they even have them on ferries) Warmed up, dried off, got into our PJs, popped a Gravol pill and went to bed! When we woke up the sun was shining and there were blue skies in all directions.



We grabbed our cooler full of breakfast foods and headed out to the deck where basically stayed the entire day reading, lounging, sitting in the jacuzzi...it was one of the best boat rides I've ever taken.

Amychan





Sista K





We landed in Tomakomai around 5:00 and headed straight to the hostel we had booked. It took a couple of hours to get there, but we still had a little bit of daylight left when we arrived. We were given a warm greeting by the staff (we were one of two groups staying there that night) and after we settled in we sat around a campfire all evening staying warm (it was a bit cooler than we anticipated) and getting to know one another.

i'm back

lots o'stories to come...

day is done

gone the sun....


yeah. it's pouring rain.

it's my final 15 minutes at Nyuzen High School.

i'm going home to put the bikes on the car in the rain.

then i'll finish packing -yes, last minute, the only way i know how.

then K will pick up Amy up from work.

then we'll be on our way!

off to Hokkaido for a week of R&R -probably more like hard play...


see you in a week!

Baseball Highs and Lows

The end of July is baseball season in Japan. Well, for high schools anyway. The prefectures hold elimination tournaments to determine who will go to Koshien and play in the all Japan tourney.

My boys were lucky and got a first round bye. Their first game was a blow out and they won 22-6!







This is a pretty big event and lots of students, teachers, parents and alumni come out to watch. The student team managers prepare signs with each of the players' names on it -they hold these signs up when the player is up to bat so we can chant their names. The student council prepares t-shirts, banners, cheers and cheerleading paraphernalia for everyone. And the brass band plays!!! Once the game starts, it's not stop noise!!! I love it.







Game 2 was a heart breaker. We loaded up 3 busses full of students and drove all the way to Takaoka. We took the lead in the 2nd inning but lost the game on errors. These kids put everything into their sports here and it's painful to watch their dreams come to an end. There were a lot of tears from both the supporters and the players. After the game they came out and thanked everyone and each of the senior boys came up to me say thanks. I couldn't help but tear up. They are great individuals who show amazing commitment (5 or 6 hours a day) to the game. I loved going out to the field to watch them practice when I had time. As I walked towards the stands they would always stop, take of their hats and in unison, give me a big yell of acknowledgement.

Next year boys, next year!

Hokkaido's aWeek aWay

Yay. BUT...


things I have to do before we leave:

write my farewell speech (check)
clean out my desk
get my farewell speech translated in to Japanese (check)
clean out my classroom (check)
make a costco order for the trip (check)
clean out my locker (today)
go to Toyama to get my visa changed over (pending)
clean out my car (check)
say my farewell speech (check)
clean out my refrigerator (so that I can give it back to Nyuzen High School and get a new one from Kurobe city) (check)
watch my baseball boys play in the prefectural tournament (check -we won 22-6!!)
clean the rest of the appliances I have to return to Nyuzen High School (check)
attend a farewell party (toga) that will be crazy (check -yes it was crazy)

This will get me to Sunday! Then I have to shop for groceries with the girls, pack me and then pack the Beetle!

Monday, we're all going to work (my last day and Amy's too) and then we catch the Ferry from Niigata to Tomakomai that night!

edit: note none of the cleaning tasks have been completed yet....surprise, surprise, surprise

Farewell Speach -the process

I've been here 4 years. My ability to produce coherent sentences in Japanese is laughable to say the least.

This is how I was able to say my farewell speech to my students in Japanese:

First: Write the speech in English.
Second: Have a Japanese English Teacher translate it into Japanese (more importantly, using Japanese letters (hiragana) and Japanese characters (kanji).
Next: Re-write the speech in romaji (english letters).
Finally: practice pronunciation and intonation

Today I said my farewell speech in front of 600 students and teachers. It doesn't seem that long ago that I said my introductory speech! But it was. 3 years ago to be exact.

I practiced and practiced last night and this morning and was surprised at my lack of emotion as I said the words, but the minute I walked into the gym and saw all my students standing there - I lost it. I paused and sniffled and definitely produced tears while I was on the stage. I don't know if my students understood what I was trying to say exactly, but I hope they realized how important they have been to my time here in Japan.

I've got a couple of days left at Nyuzen High School before I move to my next job, teaching at elementary schools. What a change that will be!!

This photo was this morning after the speech. Some of my favorite senior boys invited me outside for a last pic together at Nyuzen High School.

stuck

I'm stuck at work.
The teachers are all in a staff meeting and it's my job to hold down the fort (staffroom) until they get back -just in case any students need to drop off assignments or something.

You may be asking yourself, "But, isn't it summer vacation?"

Yes, yes it is. But that doesn't mean there isn't any home work!

Kids are still here almost everday, taking extra classes, practicing for their club activities...it's pretty much business as usual during summer vacation.


Oh, it's 4:45, staff meeting's over! I can go home!

See ya!