look to the right of the page where the links are and you can see 'my workout journal' this is where i've been posting lately since it's more relevant there. i'm doing my first triathlon (sprint distance) this weekend. my bike has decided to fall apart on me....ok, that's a slight exaggeration, but it's giving me trouble for the first time and i feel like freaking out.
argh.
have a great weekend everyone!
Saturday, July 15, 2006
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
What I'm missing at home
My Aunt and Uncle have purchased an island on the eastern arm of the Great Slave Lake and invited everyone to come up for a fishing trip. So last weekend my parents and some other family members took a trip up to Northern Canada. Looks like everyone had a great time.
My parents drove up to Fort Resolution and then took a plane to my Uncle Sandy's island. It took two days and two nights to get there.
They spent the next 4 days fishing off the dock and out in boats on the water. Here are some photos from my Uncle Wes. Looks like I missed out on a fabulous trip!
My Dad, Uncle, cousins and Grandpa.
My Uncle, Dad, cousin and Mom
My Grandpa and his big catch!!
Noah and my Mom. It's a family tradition to whittle swords and knives and stuff out of wood when we go on camping trips. It was always the best souvenir we took home. Looks like my Mom is teaching the new generation!
Mom and Noah.
Farewell to the Nyuzen High School Teachers
It's over and done with. The official farewell from the teachers and to the teachers is now but a fond memory. The dinner started at 6:00. The principal got up and made an opening speech in which I was to follow with my own departing words. Thing is, I wasn't drunk yet, and neither were any of my teachers. I just didn't have the courage to get up and stumble through my speech quite yet. So I asked if I could say it later in the evening. Of course they complied with my request and so without further ado, the drinking began! -oh and the eating too....
The custom in Japan is to never pour your own drink and to never let someone else's glass become empty. At these kinds of parties, we sit at low tables (no chairs), and food is served on big plates (help yoursef-style). Sake (Japanese alcohol) and large bottles of beer are placed on the table and quickly emptied -usually people of lower status or rank pour for their sempais (seniors) but of course, guests of honor are always treated by everyone. I didn't move from my spot all night. Teachers were contstantly coming to me, beer in hand, to pour me a drink. Usually you take a drink from your glass first, allow them to fill it, and then take another drink. You have to be careful in this process not to take in too much each time. I've learned to take small sips but you can't fool everyone, and sometimes I'm forced to finish what's in my glass before it's filled again. Needless to say, after a day in the sun, the beer started working it's magic and I was totally ready to say my speech!!
But before I got up to talk I was presented with a thank you gift from my school.
I was handed a money envelope AND a wrapped shikishi (the square cardboard, gold rimmed plaque for messages). I knew right away what it was. I could feel the envy oozing from the other teachers in the room.
Here's the background:
One of the P.E. teachers here, who was at one time a national wrestling champ and the coach of the national team, is also a master calligrapher. He's pretty famous for both disciplines and all the teachers rave about how much his work is worth. They all say they could never afford anything that he has created (usually this calligraphy is done on sheets of paper and then mounted somehow, i.e. on a banner to hang on a wall. He's invited me to a few shodo (calligraphy) sessions in the past but he pretty much gave up on me as soon as he saw me hold the brush with my left hand. BUT, we share the PE teacher bond thing and I've always enjoyed listening to his stories about training camps in the States.
At one of our shodo sessions last year he put his hanko (official stamp that's used instead of a signature) on one of my measly attempts and the other teachers made sure to tell me how valuable that was. But secretly I was hoping that he'd give me something he'd created...
Lucky me!!
I was later told that I am the only ALT at Nyuzen High School that they know of who has recieved something from him.
This teacher had written a message in old kanji -the oldest style, as he explained. I don't have it with me right now and can't remember the exact reading something like 福如雲 and it basically means: Luck is in the clouds, luck comes from the clouds, luck is born in the clouds (these are all interpretations from different teachers). He said that most people can't read the kanji, but the image that it creates in people's minds is what is more important anyway.
Very very cool.
And then it was time for me to make my speech. I got up and apologized for my lack of ability first and then dove right in! I got a great response, I'd say something and get 'oh's and 'ah's, or 'subarashi' (wonderful). Each little reaction from the teachers gave me more confidence. I was thanking all of them for being so supportive, kind and generous to me and they were shouting 'you're welcome' in English! It was great.
I'll have to do this (make a speech) one more time for my students next week. Only I won't have any beer to get me through it!!! I told that to one of my senior teachers and he just laughed and said 'Gambatte' (do your best).
After the first party inevitablly comes the second party. Usually at a small local bar, usually a place with karaoke, and with my teachers, usually a place with hostesses...these are women who come and sit at the table with the men and pour them drinks, get them cigarettes, generally entertain. It's probably not that weird when it's only men... Sometimes I think they forget I'm a girl. Oh well. We had fun anyway. Me and 7 male teachers (the female teachers bailed on me -probably because they knew where we were going) took a big taxi bus to this place and took over the joint. We sang karaoke all night-in English and Japanese -all dedicated to me of course! Haha.
The last train home was at 11:30, so we had to finally pack it in. We stood outside in the rain, bowing to each over and over before I reminded them all that they were going to miss their train. They looked at me, with my bag and a 40 pound bouquet of flowers and panicked about how I was going to get home. I told them my bike was at the school and I was going to ride home. HA, that went over well. I then had to convince them that that was the BEST way. They reluctently let me go and I headed back to the school in the rain, sans umbrella (about a 10 minute walk). I got on my bike, balanced my flowers on the handlbars, and slooooooowly headed for home. My headlight on my bike is useless so I was using the force to guide me down Nyuzen's narrow, unlit roads. I managed to avoid the ditches and arrived safely at my apartment soaked to the bone, but slightly more sober than when I started. Over all it was a great, great evening.
Just think, I'll be doing it all over again in a few weeks at my WELCOME party!!!
The custom in Japan is to never pour your own drink and to never let someone else's glass become empty. At these kinds of parties, we sit at low tables (no chairs), and food is served on big plates (help yoursef-style). Sake (Japanese alcohol) and large bottles of beer are placed on the table and quickly emptied -usually people of lower status or rank pour for their sempais (seniors) but of course, guests of honor are always treated by everyone. I didn't move from my spot all night. Teachers were contstantly coming to me, beer in hand, to pour me a drink. Usually you take a drink from your glass first, allow them to fill it, and then take another drink. You have to be careful in this process not to take in too much each time. I've learned to take small sips but you can't fool everyone, and sometimes I'm forced to finish what's in my glass before it's filled again. Needless to say, after a day in the sun, the beer started working it's magic and I was totally ready to say my speech!!
But before I got up to talk I was presented with a thank you gift from my school.
I was handed a money envelope AND a wrapped shikishi (the square cardboard, gold rimmed plaque for messages). I knew right away what it was. I could feel the envy oozing from the other teachers in the room.
Here's the background:
One of the P.E. teachers here, who was at one time a national wrestling champ and the coach of the national team, is also a master calligrapher. He's pretty famous for both disciplines and all the teachers rave about how much his work is worth. They all say they could never afford anything that he has created (usually this calligraphy is done on sheets of paper and then mounted somehow, i.e. on a banner to hang on a wall. He's invited me to a few shodo (calligraphy) sessions in the past but he pretty much gave up on me as soon as he saw me hold the brush with my left hand. BUT, we share the PE teacher bond thing and I've always enjoyed listening to his stories about training camps in the States.
At one of our shodo sessions last year he put his hanko (official stamp that's used instead of a signature) on one of my measly attempts and the other teachers made sure to tell me how valuable that was. But secretly I was hoping that he'd give me something he'd created...
Lucky me!!
I was later told that I am the only ALT at Nyuzen High School that they know of who has recieved something from him.
This teacher had written a message in old kanji -the oldest style, as he explained. I don't have it with me right now and can't remember the exact reading something like 福如雲 and it basically means: Luck is in the clouds, luck comes from the clouds, luck is born in the clouds (these are all interpretations from different teachers). He said that most people can't read the kanji, but the image that it creates in people's minds is what is more important anyway.
Very very cool.
And then it was time for me to make my speech. I got up and apologized for my lack of ability first and then dove right in! I got a great response, I'd say something and get 'oh's and 'ah's, or 'subarashi' (wonderful). Each little reaction from the teachers gave me more confidence. I was thanking all of them for being so supportive, kind and generous to me and they were shouting 'you're welcome' in English! It was great.
I'll have to do this (make a speech) one more time for my students next week. Only I won't have any beer to get me through it!!! I told that to one of my senior teachers and he just laughed and said 'Gambatte' (do your best).
After the first party inevitablly comes the second party. Usually at a small local bar, usually a place with karaoke, and with my teachers, usually a place with hostesses...these are women who come and sit at the table with the men and pour them drinks, get them cigarettes, generally entertain. It's probably not that weird when it's only men... Sometimes I think they forget I'm a girl. Oh well. We had fun anyway. Me and 7 male teachers (the female teachers bailed on me -probably because they knew where we were going) took a big taxi bus to this place and took over the joint. We sang karaoke all night-in English and Japanese -all dedicated to me of course! Haha.
The last train home was at 11:30, so we had to finally pack it in. We stood outside in the rain, bowing to each over and over before I reminded them all that they were going to miss their train. They looked at me, with my bag and a 40 pound bouquet of flowers and panicked about how I was going to get home. I told them my bike was at the school and I was going to ride home. HA, that went over well. I then had to convince them that that was the BEST way. They reluctently let me go and I headed back to the school in the rain, sans umbrella (about a 10 minute walk). I got on my bike, balanced my flowers on the handlbars, and slooooooowly headed for home. My headlight on my bike is useless so I was using the force to guide me down Nyuzen's narrow, unlit roads. I managed to avoid the ditches and arrived safely at my apartment soaked to the bone, but slightly more sober than when I started. Over all it was a great, great evening.
Just think, I'll be doing it all over again in a few weeks at my WELCOME party!!!
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
Sports Day
Today was sports day at my school. Not the big one, the little post finals sports day where each class competes against each other in various activities. On today's line up was beach volleyball, volleyball, mini-soccer and soft-ball. It was hot and humid today both inside and out so I chose to be out. I watched softball all day and now I'm sun burned. Fun.
We also had a mini pep rally for the baseball team who will be competing in the prefecutural tounament this weekend. My kids are great, but they definitely lack cohesive school pride. They tried practicing a cheer and I could hardly hear them. I can yell louder than all my students put together!!
The day's almost over and I've got one more thing to do today...my farewell party. It's not really my farewell party...there's always a party after events like sports day, it just falls conveniently within the time that I'm leaving so now it has become my farewell party. Oh well. I would be looking forward to it a lot more except that I have to say a speech - in Japanese. I am still quite ashamed at my inability to pick up this language. I get better and better at understanding it, listening to it but to respond. To actually produce coherent sentences is still beyond my ability. I've written the speech out in English and have asked one of the English teachers to translate it for me. It's now 4:00, the party starts at 5:30. I don' t have the speach back yet...sigh. I'm going to have to drink a lot of beer tonight to get through this.
We also had a mini pep rally for the baseball team who will be competing in the prefecutural tounament this weekend. My kids are great, but they definitely lack cohesive school pride. They tried practicing a cheer and I could hardly hear them. I can yell louder than all my students put together!!
The day's almost over and I've got one more thing to do today...my farewell party. It's not really my farewell party...there's always a party after events like sports day, it just falls conveniently within the time that I'm leaving so now it has become my farewell party. Oh well. I would be looking forward to it a lot more except that I have to say a speech - in Japanese. I am still quite ashamed at my inability to pick up this language. I get better and better at understanding it, listening to it but to respond. To actually produce coherent sentences is still beyond my ability. I've written the speech out in English and have asked one of the English teachers to translate it for me. It's now 4:00, the party starts at 5:30. I don' t have the speach back yet...sigh. I'm going to have to drink a lot of beer tonight to get through this.
Monday, July 10, 2006
Busy Busy July
Thursday afternoon I had to attend a farewell party in Toyama city for all leaving JETs. You may think that's strange, but it's because I'm leaving the prefectural board of education as a High School ALT and switching to a new employer -the Kurobe Board of Education. So offically I am leaving my post. It was short and sweet, but still an afternoon's travel to Toyama. I tried to make the most of it by meeting up for lunch with some of the actual leavers -thanks Jake, Andy and Brian for joining me! After the meeting some of us went for a quick bite/drink -OK, I only stayed for a quick drink. There were other's with grander ideas...
The three in the first photo finished the bottle that I'm holding in the second photo - ANIMALS!!
On Friday I went all the way to Fushiki (it's on the other side of the prefecture -takes about 2 hours for me to get there) for an international day at a fellow third year ALT's High School. I just talked about Canada for 50 minutes. I tried using power point (for the first time) and it ended up being just a slide show. BORING. Oh well, I love talking about West Edmonton Mall. Although, it really is one of those places you have to see for yourself.
Like I posted in my workout journal, I signed up for a triathlon this weekend. The only thing is that I really haven't trained for it and there's so much going on this month -this week in particular- that I'm a bit concerned I'm going to fall apart before I finish. I managed to rush home after the international day and hop in the pool before heading to Colare for the annual farewell dinner for the leaving JETs. REALLY, there are goodbye parties all month, I'm not kidding!! Jenn, Amber, Kate, Amy and Gillian were all there to say their goodbyes. A lot of students came as well as the regular Colare crowd. It's always fun and a little bizarre and I think that's why I keep attending these events. You just never know what kind of conversation you're going to have.
Saturday was the annual JET farewell party, put on by the ALTs in Toyama Prefecture -see I told you -party party party. It's held in a small town called Toga which is tucked way up inside the Japan alps. There's an international campsite where we rent cabins and have a big BBQ. I wasn't going to go this year, it's usually just a big drinking binge, but K and Johnny and I decided we could make a day of it if we left early in the morning and found a mountain to climb before the party. I love my neighbors!!
K and I did a quick internet search before bed on Friday and found a mountain that seemed like it was close enough to where we were going to be. So we packed up the Beetle and were on the expressway at 9:00. We got into Toga Village around 10:30, nice and early, with lots of time to explore. We saw sign for a Meditation Centre -Kirsten had heard about it before and so we decided to check it out. It was the best decision of the day!! It was awesome. We got there just in time to see some Nepalese dancers, we explored the two buildings that housed some Buddhist Mandalas and sculptures, and most excitingly...we had Nepalese food for lunch!! It was great! We were served by the same people who were doing the dancing earlier. One of the men spoke great English and we had a nice conversation. They were visiting for 5 and a half months on a sister city program. This is the tenth time their villages had had this kind of exchange.
After reluctanly leaving the Meditation Centre we drove to the campsite to see if anyone was there and to find out any information on nearby mountains to climb. A finger was waved to a point down the road and off we went. K's instinct told us to follow a gravel road and after one false start wading through a river, we were headed up a mountain trail by 2:00.
2 hours and 5km later we were at the top! The view was pretty much zero as the clouds were low. Supposedly you can see the whole Tateyama mountain range from this peak. We could see the bushes in front of us...
We stopped long enough for a quick snack and then headed back down the mountain...after all, we had a party to attend. The heat and humidity, combined with the mud and muck left us no choice but to visit an onsen before making an appearance at the campsite. We went for a quick bath at a local onsen to get the salt and mud off and then put our squeeky clean bodies back in the car and headed to the campsite.
The drinking had already started and we had had such an amazing day already that the party was kind of anti-climactic. We did enjoy ourselves though -cooked our own dinner of SPICEY Thai noodles and other savoury snacks, stayed for the awards (popularity contest, which, surprise surprise, none of the Nyuzen JETs won...haha, zannen desu yo ne!!!!) and then we packed up the Beetle again, took on an extra passenger and hit the road for home. Stories of hand grenades and handfulls of Poppycock kept me awake for the twisty ride home.
I was asleep before my head hit the pillow and before I knew it it was 6:30 and I was prepping for my SUNDAY adventure into the mountains!!!! VW ROAD TRIP TO TAKAYAMA. I've written enough for today. I'll just leave pics.
The three in the first photo finished the bottle that I'm holding in the second photo - ANIMALS!!
On Friday I went all the way to Fushiki (it's on the other side of the prefecture -takes about 2 hours for me to get there) for an international day at a fellow third year ALT's High School. I just talked about Canada for 50 minutes. I tried using power point (for the first time) and it ended up being just a slide show. BORING. Oh well, I love talking about West Edmonton Mall. Although, it really is one of those places you have to see for yourself.
Like I posted in my workout journal, I signed up for a triathlon this weekend. The only thing is that I really haven't trained for it and there's so much going on this month -this week in particular- that I'm a bit concerned I'm going to fall apart before I finish. I managed to rush home after the international day and hop in the pool before heading to Colare for the annual farewell dinner for the leaving JETs. REALLY, there are goodbye parties all month, I'm not kidding!! Jenn, Amber, Kate, Amy and Gillian were all there to say their goodbyes. A lot of students came as well as the regular Colare crowd. It's always fun and a little bizarre and I think that's why I keep attending these events. You just never know what kind of conversation you're going to have.
Saturday was the annual JET farewell party, put on by the ALTs in Toyama Prefecture -see I told you -party party party. It's held in a small town called Toga which is tucked way up inside the Japan alps. There's an international campsite where we rent cabins and have a big BBQ. I wasn't going to go this year, it's usually just a big drinking binge, but K and Johnny and I decided we could make a day of it if we left early in the morning and found a mountain to climb before the party. I love my neighbors!!
K and I did a quick internet search before bed on Friday and found a mountain that seemed like it was close enough to where we were going to be. So we packed up the Beetle and were on the expressway at 9:00. We got into Toga Village around 10:30, nice and early, with lots of time to explore. We saw sign for a Meditation Centre -Kirsten had heard about it before and so we decided to check it out. It was the best decision of the day!! It was awesome. We got there just in time to see some Nepalese dancers, we explored the two buildings that housed some Buddhist Mandalas and sculptures, and most excitingly...we had Nepalese food for lunch!! It was great! We were served by the same people who were doing the dancing earlier. One of the men spoke great English and we had a nice conversation. They were visiting for 5 and a half months on a sister city program. This is the tenth time their villages had had this kind of exchange.
After reluctanly leaving the Meditation Centre we drove to the campsite to see if anyone was there and to find out any information on nearby mountains to climb. A finger was waved to a point down the road and off we went. K's instinct told us to follow a gravel road and after one false start wading through a river, we were headed up a mountain trail by 2:00.
2 hours and 5km later we were at the top! The view was pretty much zero as the clouds were low. Supposedly you can see the whole Tateyama mountain range from this peak. We could see the bushes in front of us...
We stopped long enough for a quick snack and then headed back down the mountain...after all, we had a party to attend. The heat and humidity, combined with the mud and muck left us no choice but to visit an onsen before making an appearance at the campsite. We went for a quick bath at a local onsen to get the salt and mud off and then put our squeeky clean bodies back in the car and headed to the campsite.
The drinking had already started and we had had such an amazing day already that the party was kind of anti-climactic. We did enjoy ourselves though -cooked our own dinner of SPICEY Thai noodles and other savoury snacks, stayed for the awards (popularity contest, which, surprise surprise, none of the Nyuzen JETs won...haha, zannen desu yo ne!!!!) and then we packed up the Beetle again, took on an extra passenger and hit the road for home. Stories of hand grenades and handfulls of Poppycock kept me awake for the twisty ride home.
I was asleep before my head hit the pillow and before I knew it it was 6:30 and I was prepping for my SUNDAY adventure into the mountains!!!! VW ROAD TRIP TO TAKAYAMA. I've written enough for today. I'll just leave pics.
Thursday, July 06, 2006
back to normal
haha, thanks to everyone who asked me if I was ok after that last post.
I'm fine -really.
I've realized part of the issue is my apartment. It's tiny and it's cluttered and I have to make some decisions about my possessions and learn to live with less or I'm going to go crazy. When I thought I was going to move to Kurobe I had grand ideas that I'd purge myself of a lot of unwantables - well, more like unneedables. Now that I'm staying put, I have to decide if I should still purge. I think I should. I need to haul out everything in my closets (there are boxes I haven't opened since I put them there 3 years ago). That space could definitely be used for more important things -like my snowboard -which is leaning against a wall at the moment.
I wish I could drill holes in the walls....then I could put up shelves and get things off the floor. As it is, I have shelves that pretty much go to the ceiling, and if they don't, then I've got stuff stacked on top of them that does. If there were ever a serious earthquake I'd be toast. They'd be digging my out from under books mostly. The Niikawa JET library takes up a lot of my apartment space, but for some reason the books don't bother me, there's something very comforting about being surrounded by all those books. It's the stacks of paper, and the trinkets and the clothes and the rest of it that irritates me.
My friend Amy is leaving JET this year and she's moving out of her apartment at the moment. She has to decide what to keep for the girl that will take her place and what to throw away. She took a bunch of her stuff to a flea market not too long ago and she said it felt great to give her stuff to people who she knew appreciated it. I remember seeing one in Uozu a few years ago, maybe if I find one close to Nyuzen I'd be willing to part with things.
So, that's the goal. Simplify.
I'm fine -really.
I've realized part of the issue is my apartment. It's tiny and it's cluttered and I have to make some decisions about my possessions and learn to live with less or I'm going to go crazy. When I thought I was going to move to Kurobe I had grand ideas that I'd purge myself of a lot of unwantables - well, more like unneedables. Now that I'm staying put, I have to decide if I should still purge. I think I should. I need to haul out everything in my closets (there are boxes I haven't opened since I put them there 3 years ago). That space could definitely be used for more important things -like my snowboard -which is leaning against a wall at the moment.
I wish I could drill holes in the walls....then I could put up shelves and get things off the floor. As it is, I have shelves that pretty much go to the ceiling, and if they don't, then I've got stuff stacked on top of them that does. If there were ever a serious earthquake I'd be toast. They'd be digging my out from under books mostly. The Niikawa JET library takes up a lot of my apartment space, but for some reason the books don't bother me, there's something very comforting about being surrounded by all those books. It's the stacks of paper, and the trinkets and the clothes and the rest of it that irritates me.
My friend Amy is leaving JET this year and she's moving out of her apartment at the moment. She has to decide what to keep for the girl that will take her place and what to throw away. She took a bunch of her stuff to a flea market not too long ago and she said it felt great to give her stuff to people who she knew appreciated it. I remember seeing one in Uozu a few years ago, maybe if I find one close to Nyuzen I'd be willing to part with things.
So, that's the goal. Simplify.
Monday, July 03, 2006
a little off these days
Something's been going on...I think it's an accumulation/formulation/combination of a multitude of factors which have all collided to make me 'Super Bitch' this week. It started with the end of my very last class EVER at Nyuzen High School. I still have to work here until the end of the month, but I don't teach for the month of July. I got back to my desk after the class and wanted to throw something. Usually I just want to cry, but this time I was just MAD!! What's that all about? I think it SUCKS that I have to leave a job that I love so much. Yes, I'll probably like my new job but DAMN, it's gonna take a lot to compare to this place.
So that was the start of it. After that class, anything and anybody that crossed my path has been a direct target for my grumpiness. The thing is, it's irritating being irritable. Everytime I've opened my mouth somthing nasty has come out - Thumper's unforgettable mantra, "If you can't say sumpin' nice...." just hasn't been workin' for me.
Thursday evening was our monthly Colare International dinner -the chili that Gillian made was tasty-delicious. I rode my bike to Kurobe from my apartment (it's about 7 or 8km) and I was cruising on Route 8 (the main road -not quite a highway but always busy busy busy). I really was CRUISING -32.4km/h according to my speedo. I was on the right side of the road, riding on the sidewalk (which is built for bikes as well as pedestrians) -you'd likely get squashed like a bug on Route 8 if you chose to NOT ride on the sidewalk -it's full of big trucks and not so competent drivers. Like the guy who nearly hit me trying to turn into a company parking lot - he hit the breaks, and I squeezed my breaks -both of them, my back end fishtailed and then I yelled a few choice words that even if he didnt' speak English, I'm sure he knew exactly what was going through my head...
I was rattled. I showed up for dinner hot, sweaty and a bit shakey. Everyone's chatting and being friendly and I still wanted to throw something.
BUT THAT'S NOTHING COMPARED TO WHAT HAPPENED TO KIRSTEN ON HER WAY TO WORK TODAY!!! AT LEAST I DIDN'T MAKE CONTACT WITH THE CAR. SHE DID. NO BROKEN BONES BUT THAT DOESN'T MATTER, THE GUY STILL HIT HER!!
K, I HOPE YOU'RE FEELING BETTER TOMORROW!!! XOX
So where was I?
OK, so back at work on Friday...I have to evaluate the mini-dramas that my second years (grade 11s) presented. Each student had to evaluate each of the other groups (that was part of their evaluation...). So, let's do the math. 5 classes of 40 students each, 12 groups per class, they each had to evaluate 10 of those groups. 40x5x10= 2000. 2000 comments that I have to read through, correct and rewrite onto a sheet that I can give back to the groups...sometimes I'm not as smart as you all think I am. I've got 3 classes finished, plus I have to mark listening exams for 400 students.
Friday night was a nice break from my black cloud. K and I got dressed up in Yukata (summer, cotton Kimono) and went to Toyama for an early Canada Day beer garden celebration. The sucky part of this night was that our friend Chika, whom we had invited had to work overtime and therefore couldn't come -but more importantly, she couldn't help us with our yukata!!! We found a site on the internet, complete with a over-cute cross-eyed Japanese cartoon model to take us through each step.
We managed to dance our way into them satisfactorily enough to catch the train to the Toyama on time. We met up with some fellow ALTs -Canadian and honorary Canucks and had an all out drinking and eating fest for 2 hours. The reason we wore yukata (besides it being summer and festival season) was because it was half price if you did!! Kirsten, Adrianna and I managed to get a bit of attention with our golden tresses and yukata! It makes for quite the combination.
Jimmy, the future King of Canada, brought sparklers and after dinner we went out to a park and lit up the night. K managed to convince half the group to wade through the water thingy in the park and I managed to convince her to pose...
We caught the last train home and I was in bed around midnight -had to be, I had to work Saturday morning. Back to marking papers....
Fortunately I had the afternoon off so K and I biked to Yamanokoshi (a pottery shop/bar up towards the mountains). We stopped in to say hello to the new American girl who's been hired there and then biked down to the river side for some frisbee. THIS IS WHERE THE GRUMPINESS STARTED AGAIN. You see, we have a pretty fun group of people in this area and most of them are pretty active and like to play sports. I had had a request to round people up for some ultimate frisbee, but for some reason or another people failed to repsond to my text messages and there were only 5 of us at the field -not enough to play, and even if there was we probably wouldn't have played anyway because the wind was blowing pretty hard. I felt bad because Jake had driven all the way from Kosugi (50some k) to come and play and we had to cancel. Grumpy. We decided to onsen instead and that helped to ease some of the tension.
We gorged on Pizza Jamboree for dinner (happy factor continued to rise) and then went to Uozu (two towns over) for the release of Mark and Rob's (aka the Bento Boys) CD at a bar called 135s. Grumpy factor begins to take hold again. Don't get me wrong, the CD's great and I love the Bento Boys, but minor details throughout the night prevented me from having a GREAT time. I know, I know, tragedy. But when you're already in a hole, going deeper never feels better...it just gets darker and colder.
I didn't manage to get to sleep until after 3:00. Sunday I had to get up and go to Toyama to get my driver's license renewed. Not such a big deal except I had to sit through a 2 hour lecture on 'safety driving' all in Japanese. I was keen for the first 12.6 minutes as I played with my electronic dictionary, figuring out kanji that I should already know (add irritation points) but then it just became too tedious and I switched to short stories by Roald Dalh for the rest of the presentation.
The storm cloud that had settled over me for the past 4 days stayed with me on the drive home. Route 8 at 4:00 on a Sunday...what was I thinking? My weekend was over basically, I wouldn't be home until well after 5:00, pool's already closed so no swim -yucky weather, so no bike ride...
I realize that all of my little complaints are just that, little. BUT, when you're feeling just a bit off like I had been, everything seems that much more negative, unbearable, disappointing, unfair, irritating, and annoying.
Today, I got up, rode my bike to school, got right to work marking papers. I had decided not to start this week the way I had ended the last. Then I got the text from K saying she had been hit by a car. That's when I realized I really had nothing to complain about at all!!
So that was the start of it. After that class, anything and anybody that crossed my path has been a direct target for my grumpiness. The thing is, it's irritating being irritable. Everytime I've opened my mouth somthing nasty has come out - Thumper's unforgettable mantra, "If you can't say sumpin' nice...." just hasn't been workin' for me.
Thursday evening was our monthly Colare International dinner -the chili that Gillian made was tasty-delicious. I rode my bike to Kurobe from my apartment (it's about 7 or 8km) and I was cruising on Route 8 (the main road -not quite a highway but always busy busy busy). I really was CRUISING -32.4km/h according to my speedo. I was on the right side of the road, riding on the sidewalk (which is built for bikes as well as pedestrians) -you'd likely get squashed like a bug on Route 8 if you chose to NOT ride on the sidewalk -it's full of big trucks and not so competent drivers. Like the guy who nearly hit me trying to turn into a company parking lot - he hit the breaks, and I squeezed my breaks -both of them, my back end fishtailed and then I yelled a few choice words that even if he didnt' speak English, I'm sure he knew exactly what was going through my head...
I was rattled. I showed up for dinner hot, sweaty and a bit shakey. Everyone's chatting and being friendly and I still wanted to throw something.
BUT THAT'S NOTHING COMPARED TO WHAT HAPPENED TO KIRSTEN ON HER WAY TO WORK TODAY!!! AT LEAST I DIDN'T MAKE CONTACT WITH THE CAR. SHE DID. NO BROKEN BONES BUT THAT DOESN'T MATTER, THE GUY STILL HIT HER!!
K, I HOPE YOU'RE FEELING BETTER TOMORROW!!! XOX
So where was I?
OK, so back at work on Friday...I have to evaluate the mini-dramas that my second years (grade 11s) presented. Each student had to evaluate each of the other groups (that was part of their evaluation...). So, let's do the math. 5 classes of 40 students each, 12 groups per class, they each had to evaluate 10 of those groups. 40x5x10= 2000. 2000 comments that I have to read through, correct and rewrite onto a sheet that I can give back to the groups...sometimes I'm not as smart as you all think I am. I've got 3 classes finished, plus I have to mark listening exams for 400 students.
Friday night was a nice break from my black cloud. K and I got dressed up in Yukata (summer, cotton Kimono) and went to Toyama for an early Canada Day beer garden celebration. The sucky part of this night was that our friend Chika, whom we had invited had to work overtime and therefore couldn't come -but more importantly, she couldn't help us with our yukata!!! We found a site on the internet, complete with a over-cute cross-eyed Japanese cartoon model to take us through each step.
We managed to dance our way into them satisfactorily enough to catch the train to the Toyama on time. We met up with some fellow ALTs -Canadian and honorary Canucks and had an all out drinking and eating fest for 2 hours. The reason we wore yukata (besides it being summer and festival season) was because it was half price if you did!! Kirsten, Adrianna and I managed to get a bit of attention with our golden tresses and yukata! It makes for quite the combination.
Jimmy, the future King of Canada, brought sparklers and after dinner we went out to a park and lit up the night. K managed to convince half the group to wade through the water thingy in the park and I managed to convince her to pose...
We caught the last train home and I was in bed around midnight -had to be, I had to work Saturday morning. Back to marking papers....
Fortunately I had the afternoon off so K and I biked to Yamanokoshi (a pottery shop/bar up towards the mountains). We stopped in to say hello to the new American girl who's been hired there and then biked down to the river side for some frisbee. THIS IS WHERE THE GRUMPINESS STARTED AGAIN. You see, we have a pretty fun group of people in this area and most of them are pretty active and like to play sports. I had had a request to round people up for some ultimate frisbee, but for some reason or another people failed to repsond to my text messages and there were only 5 of us at the field -not enough to play, and even if there was we probably wouldn't have played anyway because the wind was blowing pretty hard. I felt bad because Jake had driven all the way from Kosugi (50some k) to come and play and we had to cancel. Grumpy. We decided to onsen instead and that helped to ease some of the tension.
We gorged on Pizza Jamboree for dinner (happy factor continued to rise) and then went to Uozu (two towns over) for the release of Mark and Rob's (aka the Bento Boys) CD at a bar called 135s. Grumpy factor begins to take hold again. Don't get me wrong, the CD's great and I love the Bento Boys, but minor details throughout the night prevented me from having a GREAT time. I know, I know, tragedy. But when you're already in a hole, going deeper never feels better...it just gets darker and colder.
I didn't manage to get to sleep until after 3:00. Sunday I had to get up and go to Toyama to get my driver's license renewed. Not such a big deal except I had to sit through a 2 hour lecture on 'safety driving' all in Japanese. I was keen for the first 12.6 minutes as I played with my electronic dictionary, figuring out kanji that I should already know (add irritation points) but then it just became too tedious and I switched to short stories by Roald Dalh for the rest of the presentation.
The storm cloud that had settled over me for the past 4 days stayed with me on the drive home. Route 8 at 4:00 on a Sunday...what was I thinking? My weekend was over basically, I wouldn't be home until well after 5:00, pool's already closed so no swim -yucky weather, so no bike ride...
I realize that all of my little complaints are just that, little. BUT, when you're feeling just a bit off like I had been, everything seems that much more negative, unbearable, disappointing, unfair, irritating, and annoying.
Today, I got up, rode my bike to school, got right to work marking papers. I had decided not to start this week the way I had ended the last. Then I got the text from K saying she had been hit by a car. That's when I realized I really had nothing to complain about at all!!
Wednesday, June 28, 2006
I really should start posting regularly again. Sorry about that -especially to the people back home. I'm pretty busy at work these days with final projects and exams. They keep me busy, unlike most other times of the year.
Had a big BBQ this weekend at the beach and enough people must have made sacrifices to the sun gods, because we had a great day! We set up a big tent that I picked up for cheap. K went overboard on food and drinks, I made chili and potato salad and almost everyone else who came also made contributions to the all day eating fest. There was food and drink to last us from 1:00 to 11:00!!! Lee brought his grill out, as did Johnny. People took turns cooking most of the day. They'd just pull something out of a cooler or bag, stick it on the grill and somebody would inevitably eat it!
We swam in the sea, played frisbee, made a bonfire, had pseudo s'mores, a HUGE b-day cake was devoured in a matter of minutes, the fireworks lasted a couple of hours, and nobody got injured!!!!
A great day, thank you to everyone who came out, especially my Japanese friends who travelled from Toyama and as far as Oyabe to come and celebrate with me!
Thanks to Johnny, Kirsten, Amy, Lee, Chika, Tomo, and Mihoko for doing a fabulous clean up job. There was quite a disaster by the end of the night. We managed quite well in the dark. I spent the majority of Sunday sorting out the recylables and sweeping out the sand from EVERYTHING!! Well worth it, as we managed to come away with only 2 bags of garbage at the end.
If you've got any photos, please send them my way, I didn't get a chance to take many...
off to the beach (you'd think I was packing for a week...)
Tomoko and Koutaro
'my' boys! I invited some of my High School kids to come to the party -5 of them showed up and stayed allllll day!! I think they had fun. I know I did!
THE CAKE!! K, Amy and Johnny ordered this from 'the flying pig' (costco online) notice it says 'Rinea and Scott'. Scott's b b-day is also the 19th, but he couldn't make it to the bbq.
Had a big BBQ this weekend at the beach and enough people must have made sacrifices to the sun gods, because we had a great day! We set up a big tent that I picked up for cheap. K went overboard on food and drinks, I made chili and potato salad and almost everyone else who came also made contributions to the all day eating fest. There was food and drink to last us from 1:00 to 11:00!!! Lee brought his grill out, as did Johnny. People took turns cooking most of the day. They'd just pull something out of a cooler or bag, stick it on the grill and somebody would inevitably eat it!
We swam in the sea, played frisbee, made a bonfire, had pseudo s'mores, a HUGE b-day cake was devoured in a matter of minutes, the fireworks lasted a couple of hours, and nobody got injured!!!!
A great day, thank you to everyone who came out, especially my Japanese friends who travelled from Toyama and as far as Oyabe to come and celebrate with me!
Thanks to Johnny, Kirsten, Amy, Lee, Chika, Tomo, and Mihoko for doing a fabulous clean up job. There was quite a disaster by the end of the night. We managed quite well in the dark. I spent the majority of Sunday sorting out the recylables and sweeping out the sand from EVERYTHING!! Well worth it, as we managed to come away with only 2 bags of garbage at the end.
If you've got any photos, please send them my way, I didn't get a chance to take many...
off to the beach (you'd think I was packing for a week...)
Tomoko and Koutaro
'my' boys! I invited some of my High School kids to come to the party -5 of them showed up and stayed allllll day!! I think they had fun. I know I did!
THE CAKE!! K, Amy and Johnny ordered this from 'the flying pig' (costco online) notice it says 'Rinea and Scott'. Scott's b b-day is also the 19th, but he couldn't make it to the bbq.
Sunday, June 18, 2006
Two more busy weekends
Last Saturday was a busy day. I went to Toyama in the afternoon and got a new tattoo! Chikako, a good friend from Nyuzen helped me make the appointment and then came with me to the studio. The place is quite famous in Japan -people from Osaka come to Toyama to get their Tattoos done. Here's the link to their studio: Gaman. Yes, they do Yakuza (Japanese 'mafia') tattoos. They were the friendliest bunch of people I've met in a while. We had a great afternoon in the studio. Thanks Chika for being there with me!
After the tattoo (an outline of my VW Thing -pics to come). Chika and I headed to Kirsten's house for a bake off!! I was a judge as Kirsten, Jimmy and Scott showed off their culinary skills in the sweets department. It was a wonderfully painful evening. I'll let the photos speak for themselves:
On Sunday I was up early and off to Kamiichi town for another day with the private English school that I help teach every couple of months. This time the theme was summer and as always, I had a fun time with the students.
In the afternoon Amy, Kirsten and I went for a bike ride and managed to make it into the next prefecture. You can read about it on my workout blog.
Yesterday I went to Takaoka to watch the annual ALT Charity Show. It was great as always! Jimmy stole the hearts off all with his Pavaroti performance. There was hip hop, penny whistles and belly dancing -all before the main event!
Today (Sunday) and, well, Father's Day I guess. Kirsten and I went for a short bike ride and then to the Nyuzen Festival where we must have said 'HALLO' at least 100 times to here CUTE CUTE students who were wandering around taking in the festivities.
Tonight's the second game for Japan in the world cup. I watched them get defeated last weekend -it was the first time I've ever watched a full soccer game...it' s just not my sport. But I'm trying to learn more! Really I am. But who can really give the World Cup any attention when the OILERS ARE GOING TO THE SEVENTH GAME OF THE STANLEY CUP.
C'MON PEOPLE, GET YOUR PRIORTIES STRAIGHT!!!!
After the tattoo (an outline of my VW Thing -pics to come). Chika and I headed to Kirsten's house for a bake off!! I was a judge as Kirsten, Jimmy and Scott showed off their culinary skills in the sweets department. It was a wonderfully painful evening. I'll let the photos speak for themselves:
On Sunday I was up early and off to Kamiichi town for another day with the private English school that I help teach every couple of months. This time the theme was summer and as always, I had a fun time with the students.
In the afternoon Amy, Kirsten and I went for a bike ride and managed to make it into the next prefecture. You can read about it on my workout blog.
Yesterday I went to Takaoka to watch the annual ALT Charity Show. It was great as always! Jimmy stole the hearts off all with his Pavaroti performance. There was hip hop, penny whistles and belly dancing -all before the main event!
Today (Sunday) and, well, Father's Day I guess. Kirsten and I went for a short bike ride and then to the Nyuzen Festival where we must have said 'HALLO' at least 100 times to here CUTE CUTE students who were wandering around taking in the festivities.
Tonight's the second game for Japan in the world cup. I watched them get defeated last weekend -it was the first time I've ever watched a full soccer game...it' s just not my sport. But I'm trying to learn more! Really I am. But who can really give the World Cup any attention when the OILERS ARE GOING TO THE SEVENTH GAME OF THE STANLEY CUP.
C'MON PEOPLE, GET YOUR PRIORTIES STRAIGHT!!!!
Japanese TV
I wish I could share all the bizarre things I see on Japanese TV.
Even though I still don't understand everything -I can pick up enough now to figure most programs out. The other thing that helps is that most programs are extremely visual. In other words they use a lot of computer generated images to help explain whatever they're talking about and subtitles that prove to be very useful at times (I can check words on my dictionary or look at the kanji characters and figure out the meaning).
Japanese TV is comprised of a lot of variety/talk shows where there is a panel of celebrity guests who, along with us, the audience, are watching some king of event unfold. The panel offers relief (mostly comedy)and provides commentary for the event at hand. It can be anything from sports events, to relationship issues to animal antics.
I'm writing about this because I just finished watching a short program about a guy who hopped on his bike, armed with a GPS system and rode around Tokyo for 11 hours. He, of course had a camera man with him documenting his ride as well as the panel back at the studio commenting on his progress (but not telling us the actual goal). All they would reveal were short updates of of a map of Tokyo now strewn with red lines of the tracking that his GPS system was providing as he rode around. In the end, he finished back at the studio where the panel of guests were waiting to greet him.
He handed over his GPS system to some official computer guy who uploaded it onto a screen and finally the audience was shown exactly what he was trying to do. In etch-a-scetch fashion, the red lines (his 11 hour route around Tokyo) began to form an image. The lines zigged and zagged through Tokyo, sometimes he rode up and down the same street which created a thicker line on the map. The final image (I was anticpating The Mona Lisa or at least Hello Kitty) was simply the mascot of the TV program being aired. That's it, that's all.
11hours, and 78 km later, he had drawn a picture of an already compter generated image. I wish I had the finished image to show you, but it hasn't been posted on the internet yet) or not that I could find. But in looking for it, I came across previous exersions by the same guy. You can check it out here: http://www.nhk.or.jp/nj/housoukiroku_2005.html#39
Even though I still don't understand everything -I can pick up enough now to figure most programs out. The other thing that helps is that most programs are extremely visual. In other words they use a lot of computer generated images to help explain whatever they're talking about and subtitles that prove to be very useful at times (I can check words on my dictionary or look at the kanji characters and figure out the meaning).
Japanese TV is comprised of a lot of variety/talk shows where there is a panel of celebrity guests who, along with us, the audience, are watching some king of event unfold. The panel offers relief (mostly comedy)and provides commentary for the event at hand. It can be anything from sports events, to relationship issues to animal antics.
I'm writing about this because I just finished watching a short program about a guy who hopped on his bike, armed with a GPS system and rode around Tokyo for 11 hours. He, of course had a camera man with him documenting his ride as well as the panel back at the studio commenting on his progress (but not telling us the actual goal). All they would reveal were short updates of of a map of Tokyo now strewn with red lines of the tracking that his GPS system was providing as he rode around. In the end, he finished back at the studio where the panel of guests were waiting to greet him.
He handed over his GPS system to some official computer guy who uploaded it onto a screen and finally the audience was shown exactly what he was trying to do. In etch-a-scetch fashion, the red lines (his 11 hour route around Tokyo) began to form an image. The lines zigged and zagged through Tokyo, sometimes he rode up and down the same street which created a thicker line on the map. The final image (I was anticpating The Mona Lisa or at least Hello Kitty) was simply the mascot of the TV program being aired. That's it, that's all.
11hours, and 78 km later, he had drawn a picture of an already compter generated image. I wish I had the finished image to show you, but it hasn't been posted on the internet yet) or not that I could find. But in looking for it, I came across previous exersions by the same guy. You can check it out here: http://www.nhk.or.jp/nj/housoukiroku_2005.html#39
Wednesday, June 07, 2006
Another busy weekend
I have been avoiding 2 busy weekend days in a row for most of the spring but this weekend I had two big events. The first was the Toyama Elementary School/ALT Sports Day. This is the 4th year I've participated in this event, and it's fun and rewarding every time!
Elementary students from around the prefecture come to a huge sports facility in Toyama city and play organized games with around 30 ALTs for the afternoon. It's an all day affair for the ALTs as we get there around 10 to do a run-through and to get organized before the kids arrive. We are split into teams by color -red, blue, yellow and white. I was on the white team this year. We had about 20 kids on each team. Although everything is translated into Japanese for the kids, we still explain everything in English as well and the kids love it!
Thanks for the photos Phil!
Sunday I was up at 3:45 a.m. for a VW event that was to start at 9:30 in Kawagoe, Saitama Prefecture near Tokyo. 5 of us went together in Hamada-san's Bus, we stayed until around 4:30 and then headed back home because we all had to work the next day!
I even got to drive for part of the trip! I was a little shocked that they asked/trusted me and very pleased by this -ha. Especially since I had no problems once I figured out the friction point on the clutch. Of course I drove through the only wet part of the trip, but luckily there were lots of tunnels. It had been a long time since I had driven something so big. Mom, I've got to give you tons of credit for driving us around in the big green beast all those years. Now I know where you get those pipes from!
And my ego was boosted even more when the next guy to drive go in and couldn't do it. We didnt' even get up the exit ramp to the expressway before we changed drivers again. Granted, he's only been driving for 4 or 5 years and he drove a Type 3 and now a Ghia during that time...but c'mon! So I have to give credit where credit is due -thanks Dad for teaching me how to drive. Well, first thanks for not abadoning me on the side of the road every time I got out of the car and refused to drive any further during one of your lessons....AND, thanks for giving me the know how to listen and handle a quirky engine.
My buddy Kazz joined us from Tokyo and we spent the day admiring some very awesome dubs. There were two Kubelwagens and only one Thing at the event, but plenty of buses to keep me occupied all day. I met a guy who lived in California for 5 years and is into buses, we exchanged e-mail addresses and hopefully I'll get an opportunity to see him again at more events.
Because it was a swap meet and not a show, people had all kinds of things for sale in front of their dubs. Probably the most random were dress shoes for men and women. Others were selling the usual -models, t-shirts, stickers etc. Shigeo (the Bug Works shop owner) drove his newly restored cabriolet to the event (puck trailer in tow) and had a booth set up for his stuff. I'm not sure how much money he made, but people were really admiring his Beetle and I think that was his main goal.
our first pit stop - of many...but not for food, only gas and cigarettes -that's what I get for travelling with men, um, boys.
the view
Hamada-san brewing coffee for everyone upon arrival.
RARE!!!
Rusty but trusty.
BBQ anyone?
This is a '73 Thing. Mine's a '74 so it has the added side vents. I like the white top. Like everyone else, he got his parts from the Thing Shop
Elementary students from around the prefecture come to a huge sports facility in Toyama city and play organized games with around 30 ALTs for the afternoon. It's an all day affair for the ALTs as we get there around 10 to do a run-through and to get organized before the kids arrive. We are split into teams by color -red, blue, yellow and white. I was on the white team this year. We had about 20 kids on each team. Although everything is translated into Japanese for the kids, we still explain everything in English as well and the kids love it!
Thanks for the photos Phil!
Sunday I was up at 3:45 a.m. for a VW event that was to start at 9:30 in Kawagoe, Saitama Prefecture near Tokyo. 5 of us went together in Hamada-san's Bus, we stayed until around 4:30 and then headed back home because we all had to work the next day!
I even got to drive for part of the trip! I was a little shocked that they asked/trusted me and very pleased by this -ha. Especially since I had no problems once I figured out the friction point on the clutch. Of course I drove through the only wet part of the trip, but luckily there were lots of tunnels. It had been a long time since I had driven something so big. Mom, I've got to give you tons of credit for driving us around in the big green beast all those years. Now I know where you get those pipes from!
And my ego was boosted even more when the next guy to drive go in and couldn't do it. We didnt' even get up the exit ramp to the expressway before we changed drivers again. Granted, he's only been driving for 4 or 5 years and he drove a Type 3 and now a Ghia during that time...but c'mon! So I have to give credit where credit is due -thanks Dad for teaching me how to drive. Well, first thanks for not abadoning me on the side of the road every time I got out of the car and refused to drive any further during one of your lessons....AND, thanks for giving me the know how to listen and handle a quirky engine.
My buddy Kazz joined us from Tokyo and we spent the day admiring some very awesome dubs. There were two Kubelwagens and only one Thing at the event, but plenty of buses to keep me occupied all day. I met a guy who lived in California for 5 years and is into buses, we exchanged e-mail addresses and hopefully I'll get an opportunity to see him again at more events.
Because it was a swap meet and not a show, people had all kinds of things for sale in front of their dubs. Probably the most random were dress shoes for men and women. Others were selling the usual -models, t-shirts, stickers etc. Shigeo (the Bug Works shop owner) drove his newly restored cabriolet to the event (puck trailer in tow) and had a booth set up for his stuff. I'm not sure how much money he made, but people were really admiring his Beetle and I think that was his main goal.
our first pit stop - of many...but not for food, only gas and cigarettes -that's what I get for travelling with men, um, boys.
the view
Hamada-san brewing coffee for everyone upon arrival.
RARE!!!
Rusty but trusty.
BBQ anyone?
This is a '73 Thing. Mine's a '74 so it has the added side vents. I like the white top. Like everyone else, he got his parts from the Thing Shop
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