One-Point English Conversation Class

Trevor, down in Akagi, does this little mini-eikaiwa on the local television station. He showed us some video clips from a DVD. The shows are mostly kinda boring, with classroom-style English lessons, but in each episode there is a skit. A really funny skit. When we saw them, I fairly begged him to put them online. And now he has.

One-Point English Conversation Class

You'll need to download each one to view it. My personal favorite is "That Stupid Girl."

Someone of influence up in Unnan City caught one of these programs and liked it, so they're going to be broadcast up there soon. How much longer can it be before this crazy show takes Japan by storm?

Edit 3/21/05: For those of you having trouble watching the movies, Trevor recommends downloading the XviD Codec at this site: http://www.xvidmovies.com/codec/
You don't need to know what XviD or a codec are; just pick the one you need (for Windows or Mac; if you use a different OS, you probably already know how to fix this problem) and install it.

You probably heard it here first.

Nita and Yokota will be merging on March 31st, and the new town's name will be Okuizumo. "Oku," as Tane-sensei pointed out to me, means "back" or "bottom," and Izumo is the name of the eastern region of Shimane Prefecture. Nita and Yokota are tucked into the lower eastern corner of the prefecture, so I guess the name is appropriate. The name is already associated with this area, as there's already some stuff around here called Okuizumo this and Okuizumo that. The Okuizumo Orochiloop is the only thing that comes to mind right now, but I've seen it elsewhere.

The towns' Boards of Education: I don't know if they're merging employees, or if just Nita BoE is getting the axe. The "new" BoE will be the Yokota BoE, and I have no idea who will be staying or going, but I'm glad that at least they chose to use that building; it's newer, and the AC works better.

Whether or not I'll be moving to Yokota in July is still up in the air. Though I think I've reached the point where I'd rather move (for a variety of reasons) than stay where I am, though if you'd asked me five months ago, I would have said I wanted to stay in Nita, given the choice. The towns have always shared the junior high school ALT evenly, so they alternate which town the ALT lives in, and those who stay for more than one year have to move to the other town. Now that they will no longer be different towns, it seems (judging by what Tokue-san, my quasi-supervisor at Yokota, said to me last week) that I could just stay in Nita. I'll see what I can do about moving, but my guess is that wherever I end up in August is where every JHS ALT will live until... well, until the end of the JET Programme, I suppose.

I'm not even kidding...

If you send me Cadbury creme eggs, I will send you Hello Kitty toilet paper.

Send me e-mail to the address at the bottom of the sidebar, and we can discuss details.

I can't believe

I just bowed to my supervisor
over the phone.

The birds and the bees

Today is one of those days that feel like a midsummer morning, just before the air has gotten hot. It's a balmy 6C outside right now, and the sky is blue blue. And after visiting the Nita Town Board of Education every other Monday for seven months, I've finally realized that the nests that hang under the eaves at the neighboring town office aren't those of wasps, but some sort of bird. I should have known better, because the openings are much larger than what wasps require, but today is the first day I can remember actually seeing anything in those nests. And they are full of birds.

They look cozy.

I'm enjoying the relative quiet of the BoE before I go to Minari Elementary in half an hour. I have no idea yet what I'll be doing with the second graders, but that's not unusual. The fifth grade teacher faxed me a lesson plan, photocopied out of an English lesson plan book.

Oh, wait, I just realized I do know what I'll be doing with the second graders. The second grade teacher is the mother of one of my students at Nita Junior High School, and she (the student) gave me the lesson plan two weeks ago. And it's still in my purse. Safe safe.

After lunch, I'll be off to Fuse Elementary (that's "foo-say," not the thing what's used instead of a circuit breaker). I think I've seen the fifth grade class there before, but almost every time I go I'm there to teach the sixth graders; I haven't seen any of the younger kids, except to walk by them in the halls. I guess that makes more sense than spending all my time with the younger kids and not teaching the older. So today I'll be talking to the sixth graders about graduation ceremonies in America. I don't know when they'll be graduating, but it'll be soon. The senior high school students have mostly all graduated, and my junior high school students will graduate next week. I look forward to seeing the sixth grade students as first grade students in the junior high school (U.S. seventh grade is the same as Japanese first grade junior high school). I'll probably be the only teacher any of them know at their new school, and the experience of other JHS JETs is that the sixth graders who move up to JHS are their best buddies (and also more likely to pull the dreaded kancho, but I think they're less likely to try to pull that on a female JET).

Coupla links

Signe's brother found this website containing several articles written by a JET in Kyoto: I am a Japanese School Teacher

And I stumbled upon Japundit on Saturday, and thought this particular article was interesting. Most of them are, actually, but anyone who can demonstrate that the Guinness Book of World Records has made a mistake gets kudos from me.

On finickiness

Dad e-mailed me yesterday to ask what I wanted for my birthday. I thought about it for a while, then wrote back and told him what I really wanted:

IBC root beer.

Every time I tell someone out here about root beer, I have to spend four minutes explaining that, no, it's not beer, no, it doesn't even taste like beer, and no, I don't know why they call it root beer. Except for Joe's theory, that it used to be called "herbal tea," but in order to increase manly man sales they changed the name to something more "masculine."

No, I don't know who they are, either.

So if Dad mails the root beer on Monday like he said he would, I'll be able to bring them to eikaiwa a week later on my birthday. Woo! Nothin' like kickin' back on a chilly late-winter evening in your local community center with some cold ones and watching your eikaiwa students politely sip on their non-beer carbonated beverages just to be polite.

I'm sure that's exactly what's going to happen, cos most of the Japanese I know are such picky eaters that one marvels at how long they've maintained their member-in-good-standing status within the international community.

Mabel and I have discussed this several times. I think my problem in understanding this pickiness is that, to me, Japanese food is exotic and, well, the Japanese eat lots of Japanese food, so they must like exotic food. I never consciously thought this, but after being surprised several times to see Japanese people turn away food that I thought was delicious, I realized that's exactly the presumption I'd been operating on all along.

In November or December, I attended one of my first Japanese classes, at the invitation of the traveling school councelor at Yokota JHS who is one of the volunteers for the group. Some of them (including the aforementioned Ueda-sensei) had just returned from a trip to Thailand, and in true Japanese fashion had brought gifts of Thai desserts to share with the group. There were these lovely, little sandwich-type cookies, very light and with lovely flavors like pineapple and coconut. Wegmans sells things like this, and when I worked there I used to hork some of the broken ones from the freezer. Yum! But not for everyone else there that night. These things aren't very large, but they broke them up into smaller pieces and nibbled at them. "Oishii, yo!" I said, popping a whole one in my mouth. But they could not be swayed.

I'd told my eikaiwa class about Reese's Peanut Butter Cups ("PeaNUT butter!") in December, so when I was in New York during the holidays, I picked up a box of peanut butter cups at Sam's and included it in the packages I mailed myself. After the packages arrived, I brought some peanut butter cups to the next eikaiwa. "These are Reese's Peanut Butter Cups," I proudly proclaimed. Mabel was there, too, and she'd never had them before, either, so this was a new experience for everybody. I distributed the peanut butter and chocolate orange goodness... and everyone ate exactly one cup. No one touched the second one in their package. Except for me, of course. But even I had become accustomed to the Japanese diet, and said, "Wow, these really are sweet." When I was in high school, I would buy packages of minis when they were on sale (especially after holidays when CVS was trying to dump the holiday-themed packages) and eat them like I was going for the world record. But no longer. I'd also bought a 44oz bag of the peanut butter cup minis and small KitKat bars, which I keep by my computer desk and do not share with anyone; after two months, I'm about three-quarters of the way through.

But I digress. It didn't bother me so much that no one thought the Reese's Peanut Butter Cups were oishii, but that, as Mabel told me later, one of the guys had made a yuck face after eating his. She didn't tell me who it was, and I didn't see it myself, so I'm glad I don't know who it was. But we agreed that we have three words for any Japanese who turn their nose up at Western food:

Raw. Horse. Meat.

Mabel went to an enkai with her teachers where they tried to get her to eat this stuff. She vehemently refused. Gag me with a spoon. I think raw fish is delicious, but keep me away from uncooked mammals, thank you. Or birds. Or amphibians. In fact, let's just stick to the fish.

And earlier this week the Yokota school lunch included a large helping of natto salad. Natto doesn't make the school menu here nearly as often as it does in other places, but that's okay cos it's a taste I don't feel any pressing need to acquire. Natto is slimy slimy, and tastes like vomit. So the teachers kind of chuckled when I finished the rest of my lunch and returned to the lunch table to dispose of my natto salad, virtually untouched. Watanabe-sensei proclaimed, "I like natto very much."
"Do you want this?"
She paused. "Really?"
"Yeah, I'm just going to throw it out."
"Ah, thank you!"
Cool. Got rid of my natto salad, and didn't feel like a loser for chucking it.

So I think I'll just bring one or two bottles of IBC to eikaiwa with some paper cups. If they really like it, I'll bring more the next week.

Let's Asking Originally!

I've spent the last six days reading through the comments on this post on Chez Miscarriage.

Wow. For two reasons, wow. One, that people dish out flak like that. Two, that I actually read through the whole thing.

I was going to post a comment of my own, but since it was somewhat off-topic, I thought I'd just post it here.

Some people commented on the distinction between a true "drive-by" and insipid questions or observations. By the time people had started bringing this point up, I was already noticing the trend myself. While some suffered at the hands of egregiously insensitive people, others complained about nothing more than hearing the same things over and over again, and getting sick of providing the same answers.

Story of my life. Or, at least, the last eight years of my life.

When I was finishing high school, conversations always seemed to go,

What college are you going to?
S.U.
What are you going to major in?
Physics.
Oh, physics! That's hard. I could never do that.
... Okay.

When I started college, it was,

How do you like college?
I like it fine.
What are you majoring in again?
Physics.
Oh, physics! You must be smart. I could never do that.
... Okay.

When I was finishing college, it was,

Are you going to grad school?
Not right away.
What kind of job are you looking for?
I'm not sure yet.
You know, I'll bet you could teach.
Yep. I bet I could.

After I graduated from college and was working part time, it was,

So, have you found a job yet?
Not yet. Promise I'll tell when I do.
You know, I'll bet you could teach.
Technically.

After I found out I was going to Japan, it was,

Tell me again when you're leaving for Japan?
July 24th I fly out of JFK.
You're going there to teach physics, right?
No... they have their own physicists there.
You must be excited.
Yep!

When I arrived in Japan, it was,

Do you use chopsticks?
Yep.
[brief demonstration]
You are very good at using chopsticks.
Thank you.
Are you accustomed to Japan?
A little.

When I went home for Christmas, it was,

OHIO!
... What?
Oh-HIGH-Oh.
Ah. Ohayou gozaimasu.
How's Japan?
Japanerrific.

The problem with the curt answers I sometimes give, out of sheer boredom with the conversation, is that they turn people off. Sometimes that's okay, as most of the offenders are friends of my parents and I feel no obligation to maintain anything more than a superficial relationship with most of them. But during the holidays I met up with people I liked whom I hadn't seen in months, and the only thing they could come up with was, "How's Japan?" I think some of them may have interpreted my Emilyesque "Japanerrific" reply as a desire to end the conversation, but closer to my true motivations was that I was simply trying to reflect the nature of their question in my own answer.

How's Japan?
Okay. Economy's good, but the birthrate's down. Koizumi's brought in an entirely new cabinet to boost his party's popularity.

And I'm sure that's not what you want to hear.
Work with me, people! Ask specific questions!
Before I flew home, I was reading on BigDaikon about how most JETs who had moved back home had learned that it was best if they didn't talk about their experiences in Japan unless asked directly—I'm sure this goes for anyone who has lived overseas. Most of their friends and family were curious at first, but quickly lost interest because their experiences over the last few years had had so little in common with the JET's experiences in Japan. So, for the most part, I tried to keep my mouth shut unless I was asked. This was a big mistake. I was only home for three weeks: I should have blabbed about Japan non-stop until everyone was sick of my company. The thing is, I don't know where to start, because everyone's curious about different things. That's where you come in. Wanna see my visa? My foreigner identification card? Some Japanese cash? I'm happy to play show and tell.
But please, for the love of heated toilet seats, don't resort to, "How's Japan?"

No Pony

Back in my freshman year of college when I worked in the law school copy room, a few of us were just sitting around doing nothing in particular between the "must have photocopies NOW" rushes. One girl was talking about her particularly romantic weekend with her boyfriend, and another one sighed, "I want a boyfriend!"
I laughed, then sighed, "I want a pony!" She saw the humor in my comment, and we had a good chuckle.

But I'm sighing now.

It's not even an issue of jealousy. Most of the JETs I know are single, and I don't envy any of them who have left their significant others back home; this is the best time in my life to move halfway around the world, unattached as I am.

Still...

Normally my baseline is a general feeling of, "Yeah, I'd like a boyfriend, but I'm in no hurry to get one." Sometimes it weirds me out to think of spending the rest of my life attached to someone, and sometimes it's the most pleasant thought in the world, but most of the time I'm simply content.
But there's something about Japan... probably not Japan itself, but there's something about me being in Japan that makes my desire for attachment stronger. I feel sorrowful lonesome at times, during a period of my life when I'm experiencing so many new things, and the people with whom I am normally close can't understand. I have friends here, both Japanese and foreign, and they're all great, but I'm beginning to wish more and more for someone I can call mine. Someone with whom to be quiet together. Someone to whom I can say, "You know what So'n'so said today?" and he knows exactly why it's so hilarious. Or poignant, or whatever.

I suppose I can be thankful that I don't have some Mr. Unattainable in mind; that would drive me truly insane. Been through that before.

Here I am
Take my hand
Lead me to the promised land
I'll take you there
if you're ready
Dance with me in some fields
Move with me, you've got the deal
You can't hide
Disguise is futile

Make me see summer is ready
Make me feel complete
Take me to the forever show
Make me feel complete

-shapeshifter, "Move with Me"

Jesus Hits Like an Atom Bomb

Among the things we did in Hiroshima City last weekend was a brief visit to a decent-sized music store that has a jazz section. Jazz! I miss jazz music! So of course I had to buy three five eight CDs there (not all jazz), one of which was Chanticleer's newest album, How Sweet the Sound: Spirituals & Traditional Gospel Music. The first song on this CD? "Jesus Hits Like an Atom Bomb."

From the lyrics printed in the extra Japanese liner notes:

(You know now) Ev'rybody's worried
'bout that atom bomb.
Well, no one seems worried about the day my Lord shall come.
(You better) set your house in order,
(well He) may be coming soon,
and He'll hit like an atom bomb when he come, when he come.

In 19 hundred and 45, the atom bomb became alive.
In 19 hundred and 49, the USA got very wise.
They found that a country across the line
had an atom bomb of the very same kind.
People got worried over the land,
just like the people in J-pan. [Japan]
God told Elijah He'd send down fire,
send down fire from the sky.
He showed old Noah by the rainbow sign,
it won't be water but fire next time.

(Oh well now) Ev'rybody's worried (don't you know)
'bout that atom bomb.
Well, no one seems worried about the day my Lord shall come.
(You better) set your house in order,
(well He) may be coming soon,
and He'll hit like an atom bomb when he come, when he come.

Now don't you get worried, bear in mind,
trust King Jesus and you shall find
peace, and happiness, joy divine,
with my Savior all the time.
God told Elijah He'd send down fire,
send down fire from the sky.
He said he would, and I believe He will,
He'll fight your battles if you keep still.

Ev'rybody's worried
'bout that atom bomb ...

... And He'll hit...
And He'll hit like an atom ...
Hit like an atom ...
Hit like an atom bomb when He come, when He come.
(You better straighten up and fly right 'cause He may be coming soon.)

Widdershins

Yesterday I got into my first car accident.
I'm fine, Dad's fine, the car is mostly fine, and there were no other cars involved.

I drove to Osaka to pick Dad up from Kansai Airport yesterday. And that is one long, crazy drive. We agreed that when anyone else comes to visit me, they should definitely fly into a closer airport (Izumo, Yonago, or Hiroshima) or resign themselves to taking the bus to Matsue. Osaka has no snow, and was relatively warm as we were driving back (and getting lost in Kobe—but that's another kettle of fish).

Saijo is a town in Hiroshima Prefecture, just across the border from Yokota. So we were almost home when I took a lefterly curve a bit too fast (~60km/h). The air was freezing, and it was snowing lightly, but the road was clear... except for this one stretch of ice. I felt the car sliding, and then we were spinning counter-clockwise for ages, and I had a vague sense that something dangerous was happening, and that I must be dreaming but probably wasn't. I don't remember if the car made one full rotation or two, but when it finally stopped, I realized my feet weren't on any pedals, so I guess I did well.

I pulled over and we got out to survey the damage. Not too bad, except the left foglamp is broken, and the front left signal is broken, too, and now the left signal blinks twice as fast as before, so there's some circuitry damage as well. The left headlight is a bit damaged, but still works. Dad noticed a bit of fluid running downhill—from beneath the car, it appeared—but it didn't smell or feel oily, so I'm not sure what it is. Maybe antifreeze. Then Dad said, "Let's get out of here, before someone does the same thing and crashes into us." So we were off. I drove very slowly back home, with visions of the car careening off the Okuizumo Orochiloop, which we still had yet to pass. (The photo is the first one on that page.)

But we're gonna take her out on the road again today, to drive to Akagi where we'll meet with Trevor and Matt, and ride down with them to Miyoshi, and take the train to Hiroshima. The roads look dry here, and it's not too cold outside, so we should be set. Gotta get back up on that horse.

Once bitten, twice shy

At eikaiwa (English conversation class) last night, only Tanabe-san (the man who organizes the class) and Kenji (the teacher at Yakawa Elementary) were there, so instead of playing a game with the proverb cards I'd borrowed from Tane-sensei, we just talked about English and Japanese proverbs.

After looking over the list of English proverbs, Kenji said, "I think there are more positive English proverbs than Japanese."
"Oh, I'm sure they just picked the positive ones for these cards." So I looked through my notebook for some proverbs I'd remembered on my own. "Like this one: 'The lesser of two evils.' This is a saying we use when we have to make a decision between two bad things. Some people said it during the last U.S. election between George W. Bush and John Kerry. 'Bush... Kerry... I'll pick the lesser of two evils.' In fact, some people say that about every election." They thought that was funny.

"Or this one: 'Once bitten, twice shy.'" I bit my hand to show "bitten," and said, "If something or someone hurts me once, I will be careful around it two times. I mean, not exactly. For example, if I pet my neighbor's dog, and the dog bites me, then I will stay away from that dog for a long time."
"Ah," said Kenji. "We have a similar proverb. 'Atsumono ni korite namasu o fuku.'"
Tanabe-san laughed. "Have you heard it before?" I asked him. He hadn't. Kenji explained: "It means I burn my mouth with hot food, so next time I blow on cold food." He looked it up in his electronic dictionary (many of which contain idioms), then laughed and showed Tanabe-san. "What is it?" I said.
He showed me the screen. Next to "Atsumono ni korite namasu o fuku" was written, "Once bitten, twice shy."

Bad news and not-so-bad news

So Dad's missed his flight.
Highly uncharacteristic, I know, but I guess he misread his departure time.
Fortunately, he was able to re-book for the same time the following day. In fact, his entire flight itinerary has been shifted one day into the future, so he will also be leaving Japan one day later.

The bad news: I'd planned on having Dad visit Yokota JHS next Wednesday, and then taking that Thursday off so I could drive him back to Osaka. Now that he's leaving on Friday, I need to take that day off to drive him, but Thursday is still up in the air. I've e-mailed Ikeda-sensei to ask if it would be possible for Dad to come in again on Thursday—this will allow me not to use up an extra day's nenkyu (paid personal leave). She will tell me to talk to Kyoto-sensei (vice-principal), which I know is the proper way to go about it, but what I really want to find out from her is whether this change will inconvenience her and Watanabe-sensei; if it will, there's no point in me asking Kyoto-sensei, as far as I'm concerned. The last time I explained this reasoning to her, either I didn't communicate it very well, or she was being purposefully obtuse about it, cos she only reiterated the necessity of talking to Kyoto-sensei first. Anyway, Dad has volunteered to "walk around town" for a few hours if I need to work on Thursday, so that's another option; the third option is for me to take both Thursday and Friday off, which again leads me to the problem of inconvenience. Ikeda's suggestion that I not come in on Friday leads me to think that this won't be much of an inconvenience, though.

The not-so-bad news: The changed flight itinerary doesn't change my plans for the weekend, which was to go to Hiroshima City with Dad and some other JETs on Saturday and maybe stay the night. I had planned to just lay low on Friday to let Dad acclimate somewhat to the time zone, so all we have to do is skip that part. Dad has no problem with this.
Last week I requested nenkyu for today (I guess it is today now, isn't it?). For about ten minutes after I got off the phone with Dad, I actually considered going in to school (Nita JHS) tomorrow. But my apartment still looks like a disaster relief zone (umm, except without the death toll), so a full day to clean in a non-panicked state will be nice.

Gmail Invitations

So after feeling not left-out at all for a few days, I have finally found myself among those Gmail users who have suddenly been given 50 Gmail invitations. Woo.

And since I have nothing better to do with them, I'll give them away to whoever wants one.* Just leave your current e-mail address in the comments section of this post, or e-mail me at the address in the sidebar.

Oh, and to make this at least marginally worthwhile for me: if I give you an invitation, tell at least one person about this blog. I know, some of you will pocket your invitation and walk away chuckling, "Sucker...." But even if I never learn of it, a certain sorrow will have entered my life. Don't let that happen.



*Terms of service are subject to change without notice. Offer void where prohibited. The Gmail invitation is provided "as is;" Em makes no guarantees, either express or implied, that Gmail will always be available, accessible, uninterrupted, secure, and error-free, nor does Em warrant the quality of e-mails sent through Gmail. Use Gmail at your own risk. Floss regularly.

The Quiet American

Ikeda-sensei just gave me something to chuckle about.
Michihata-sensei is a social studies teacher at Yokota JHS. His wife once attended my English conversation class. (I don't remember who she was; she probably introduced herself by her given name.) Michihata told Ikeda that his wife's impression of me was that I was a quiet American. "She said you were the only quiet American she's ever met."

Oh, that was a hoot. "How many Americans has she met?" Ikeda didn't know.
"If she's only seen Americans on TV, well, only the loud Americans get on TV. The quiet Americans don't make it."


She's also concerned about me working on Friday, two weeks from today. Dad's plane leaves from Osaka at 7pm, so I'll be driving him there and driving back afterward. I'd told her I'd probably be in the next day. "I usually don't get to bed until after midnight, anyway."
"I am worried about the snow," she said.
"It's two weeks away; maybe the weather will be okay." Pointing to my calendar, I said, "I should know a couple of days before if the weather will be bad. If it's too bad, then maybe I won't come in on Friday."
"Ki o tsukete! (Be careful.) I don't want you to die!"
"Well, I don't want to die, so we're good!"

Groundhog Day

Isn't it funny how, despite whatever miserable weather February 1st brings, it always seems to clear up for Groundhog Day?

Yesterday there was talk of stopping the buses because of the snow, which would have meant sending the students home early. The bus company decided instead to delay their runs for this morning, so school started two hours late today... but of course the teachers had to be in at 8:10 like usual.

"We are adults," Ikeda-sensei said, explaining why we had to be there on time.
"So are the bus drivers!" I protested.
She was unpersuaded... not that she likely had a say in the matter. But even if the bus company's decision to delay their runs was not influenced by the school, shouldn't it indicate that maybe the roads aren't safe for anybody?

So the drive home yesterday was my most harrowing driving experience yet: the main roads had last been "plowed" hours earlier, visibility was poor, and students who didn't dare walk on the buried sidewalks carefully picked their way along the streets, occasionally moving over to let the cars pass. Mabel had asked if I wanted to go out for dinner, and while nothing sounded lovlier than eating tasty food at the cozy warm "Italian" restaurant in Yokota, I realized how impossible that would be when I pulled into Mabel's parking lot. It had clearly not seen anything vaguely resembling a plow, and my door pushed about 4cm of snow out of the way when I opened it. It was then that I knew I couldn't just wait out the storm (which showed no signs of abating) but had to get home before dark. Getting back out of the parking lot, pushing and packing snow as the car went, was definitely a trick. My little car is brave.

Visibility this morning was better and worse. It didn't snow at all while I was on the road, and the bounds of the streets are more well defined, but since they were never thoroughly scraped, the snow that remains on them is hard-packed and highly reflective in the morning sun. I usually hum some Copland or Holst to distract myself from the psychological component of my photosensitivity, but sometimes it's too bad even for that.

I discovered that my car has anti-lock brakes; that is to say, when I pulled out of the parking lot down the little hill to the street, the brake pedal started pumping under my foot. For some reason. I hadn't even started to slide. My car is smart, but sometimes she's a little too smart for her own good, making executive decisions like when to change gears and when to go into ABS mode without conferring with me, resulting in much frustration and gnashing of teeth.

This entry was composed entirely on my cell phone. It took two hours to write, and contains 2,811 characters. The sky was sunny when I began, and now it's snowing again, just like yesterday.
(>_<)

Big Kerosene Heater

In the Yokota JHS teachers room, This is the shrine at which we pay our respects several times a day.

Most ritual prayers involve the sacred incantation, "寒い…　寒いですよ！"

The Futile Pursuit of Happiness

One thing I've learned from being in Japan is that it doesn't often do me much good to predict how I'll feel at a given point in the future. I thought not being home for Thanksgiving would totally bum me out, but I was okay. I thought buying a Nintendo DS would provide me with hour upon hour of gaming pleasure, but really it hasn't had nearly that impact. I thought having a car would merely be convenient; now I can't imagine what I'd do without one. I'd like to get a minidisk player for my car, but I have a feeling I'd soon adjust to that, too, and no longer appreciate it so much.

What's nice is that according to this article, I'm not alone.

My Day in a Nutshell

Well, I just discovered that my refrigerator, washing machine, 1200W heater, telephone/fax machine, and toaster oven are all on the same circuit. Though the fridge, washer, heater, and phone were all on at the same time, this wasn't a problem until 10 seconds after I turned on the microwave. Yep, that's on the same circuit, too. Fortunately, it was just the breaker I had to flip, not a fuse I had to buy, so I turned off the heater, flipped the switch, and waited for my microwave tasties to finish cooking before I turned the washer back on.

Oh, and the modem, too. And since my laptop is now recharging, I guess that was also on the same circuit. I didn't test the TV, but if we assume that it also wouldn't have worked, then every electrical outlet in my apartment is on the same switch. There are three of them, so one must have been for the lights, since they didn't go out. The third one... maybe for the water heater? I dunno.

Edit 1/28/2005: The television plugs into the same outlet as my halogen lamp, which did get cut. And the water heater is on the same circuit as everything else, as I discovered when I later tried to wash my hands. Fortunately, it heats the water as it's needed, not stored in a big tank, so getting hot water to run again was just a matter of turning the heater back on and waiting 15 seconds.


I stayed home from school today with a cold. Yesterday, Tane-sensei and I discussed the next lesson for the san-nensei (third year students). There's a dialogue in the textbook between Mark, one of the recurring characters in the New Horizon textbooks, and a doctor. He goes in complaining of a headache; she looks in his throat, decides he has a cold, and gives him some medicine. Tane and I had a long conversation discussing this lesson, which digressed severely to my middle school days. After we wrapped things up, my throat felt sore, and I thought it was cos I'd just talked so much. How funny to show symptoms of a cold immediately after discussing a doctor's visit skit.

But it didn't go away, it got worse. So I went to the hospital this morning. Tane said I should go there, rather than the town doctor, cos they speak English at the hospital. That turned out to be not-quite-true, but they were able to help me with a bilingual manual. And they had a surgeon come down and examine me, because the regular ENT doctors don't speak English. I had my insurance card, which I carry with me all the time at the advice of our Prefectural Advisors, and the bill for the hospital visit was 970 yen (~$9.50), and the medicine the doctor prescribed me was 260 yen (~$2.50). It comes in little pouches of powder, and I'm supposed to take one at each meal for three days (nine pouches all together). You tear open the pouch, and swallow the powder with some water. And I think it's supposed to make me sleepy? I'm not sure I understood the pharmacist. I took a long nap after I got home, though I hadn't taken any medicine at that point. I took some about an hour ago, and I don't feel sleepy now.

I wouldn't have even bothered with the whole hospital/doctor thing—my cold isn't that bad—but I'm pretty sure I need to have seen a doctor in order to get paid sick leave.

What sucks about living between two countries:

Five minutes before my taiko drum lesson, I discover that the sports bra I bought at Kaufmann's back in Syracuse and had shipped to me with a host of other items that just arrived last Wednesday still has attached to it the plastic security thing that can only be removed by a Special Plastic Security Thing Remover. Angry!

Unless, of course, someone knows how to remove one of these things with Ordinary Japanese Household Items.

This just after I get an instant message from my brother telling me that a package, which should have been mailed to my apartment in Japan, has turned up on Meadowbrook.

This list of Things that Suck about Living Between Two Countries is by no means complete, but I'm late for taiko, so it'll have to do for now.