入学校式 and Daikon Legs

Today was Entrance ceremony for the new first-years. I would write it up a nice little play-by-play of the event, but truth be told, it was exactly the same as the last 4 or 5 ceremonies I have already blogged. Lots of speeches from the same people. Many a name called, many a bow exchanged, and so on for about an hour and a half. The interesting thing is that I got to check out the freshman class for the first time. These will be MY students. They looked so grave as the marched into the gymnasium/auditorium today. Grave as hell, poor things.

One poor, unfortunate class consists entirely of boys. 40 of em. Ah, they must've been seething as they discovered their homeroom assignment today, and looked around at the other classes which are evenly divided between testosterone and estrogen. I'd've been pissed (like that double contraction?). the best part is that this all-boys class seems to have all of the bigger guys in it who look like they practice judo. There is also one boy who, i'd estimate, is about 6'2". No joke. All that nonsense about Japanese being small is hogwash. These kids come in LARGE, even at 15.

The second-year homerooms were also shuffled and wound up with one all-boys class too. I dont understand why they are doing this, as it seems like a recipe for disaster, but hey, it's not mine to judge. Well it is, but I will do so quietly and on the internet. Vice Principal tried to explain this restructuring to me, but I didn't really get it, other than that it has something to do with the gender-divided gym classes and or the electives (Art, Music, Calligraphy). I will report back if i figure this out.

One interesting thing about today's ceremony that differed was that the parents and guests were asked to put away their own folding chairs, then the new students were instructed to put them on dollys and cart them into storage by themselves. this struck me as rude, but I guess it is intended to set a serious/strict attitude about our school. I was chatting with one of the new English teachers as the chairs were being sorted and she asked me how years I have been living in Japan. Later, in the break room as we fixed our respective coffee and tea, she asked me if I had studied Japanese in college. Apparently the basic Japanese I have accrued so far was enough to make her assume that I had been here several years already. She was surprised that I was only 8 months in. That made me all happy and proud inside. One advantage of living where out here in the rice-paddy wilderness is I do get a lot of practice. But unlike many assume, this is not sufficient to absorb Japanese skill. Many inaka ALTs spend years in the countryside and still can't order food. I think the advantage lies in the fact that... what litle studying i DO accomplish pays off immediately and is quickly cemented by high volume practice. After learning a new grammar point I frequently hear things my Japanese friends have said to me over and over again replaying in my head, with a new cloud of understanding. Suddenly there is a feeling of having reached a tiny, incrementally wider threshold of ability. And that is a nice feeling.

One more thing I want you to know about: Daikon Legs. Daikon legs are basically the Japanese equivalant of American "cankles," except that the meat aggregates not around the ankles, but the at calves, and the phenomenon seems to be naturally/genetic opposed to McDonalds-induced.

To clarify, these are daikon:

...a kind of white, arm-sized, Japanese radish

And THESE...

...are Daikon Legs. Get it? (creepy escalator photo courtesy of google images). Perhaps surprisingly, Japan is full of these legs, proudly bulging within thin layers of nylon. Not to say that these legs belong to chunky ladies. No, no, quite contrary, they are typically found at the bases otherwise petit women. What do you make of it, dear reader?

integration, reintegration, disintegration

This is my 100th post. How appropriate that it comes at this juncture; having been in Japan almost half a year. Though i will almost definitely be recontracting for year 2 (unless something catastrophic happens in the next 2 weeks), I am halfway through my first 1-year contract with Fukuoka Board of Education

So if you didn't gather, I spent the last 2 weeks in America, and now I'm back in Japan. Apologies for not blogging whilst still in the US of A. I had every intention to do so, but somehow the whole break managed to slip by as I ran from destination to destination.

I was really looking forward to my reverse-culture-shock in America. Indeed, when I deplaned, everything seemed strange and new. There were foreigners everywhere! and English everywhere, and holy cow, i was literate! I was meandering slowly through the concourse towards baggage claim, when I overheard some Japanese coming from across the hallway. I stopped and looked back to spot a Japanese couple who had come in on my flight, trying to retrieve a luggage cart from the Smart-Cart vending rack thing. In Japanese airports, carts are complimentary and simply provided near the baggage claim area, so the couple were perplexedly trying to pull a cart away from the corral without feeding the machine to unlock it. I turned around to offer a little assistance, and in Japanese, pointed out the payment slot. Oh how proud i was to tell them that it costs 300 yen. To return countless tiny favors Japanese people have done for me as a complete idiot in a country where I have no idea what is going on. I didnt even have to stop to think about why they couldn't figure it out because i have the clearest idea of what it's like to be in a place where the obvious to everybody else, can seem cryptic and impossible. They said thank you in English and i said "You're welcome" in my English teacher voice. What a "I'm a Japanese-speaking badass" moment that was. Oh you can only imagine. (Small victories, guys. bear with me).

So i was pleasantly enjoying my reverse culture shock. I met up with my dad outside who picked me up and we had lovely conversations on the way home about Japan and Japanliness. Then when i got home, suddenly the family dynamic snapped me out of it. The noise, the Nintendo wii, the foodstuffs. I was no longer a visitor from Japan, I was a son/older brother. And just like that, it was as if I'd never left. I was my same old criticizing, quietly observing the strange family dynamics self again.

America has changed a lot, though. Some of this is getting used to the Japanese standards of things, like how people in stores and restaurants seem so pushy by comparison for not greeting me with a smile.

See, in Japan, every time you enter the premises of a business, the clerks and employees are all trained to yell IRASHAIMASE (Welcome! Can I help you??) in the highest, most nasal voice possible. This is supposed to sound the most subservient. If they dont do this effectively, they can get fired. I actually hate it because the subservient voice is extremely annoying and ear-splitting, but i have to admit, something seemed off in America without it. Or perhaps it was just the lack of constant attention and fake friendliness, where clerks just say how much you owe without the grace of a complete sentence or intonation.

My 13 days in America were quite productive. I spent time with my family, of course. And my grandma, who lives all the way out in New Jersey (well in Florida, this time of year) came to cold, harsh Chicago for several days, just to see me while i was home. It was really a pleasure to spend time with everyone, and though we didn't do much real "catching up" per se, there was almost a sense that we didnt have to. It was as if things were untouched and the same as before. Like i had never left. We talked about day-to-day stuff and we complained and stressed each other out. Intense though the dynamic can be, it's a constant that is nice to come back to.

The day after i arrived in America, we went to my brother's and sister's piano recital, which was an excellent re-culturation experience. Everyone was decked out in their holiday sweaters and it was set in this old church. Joe occupied himself by putting his feet up on the kneelers and flipping through the bible. I occupied myself by biting my lip.

Lewis came into town a few times to visit, and i got to see a lot of good friends from high school, a lot of good friends from after high school, as well as some people i have rarely hung out with in the past, but am beginning to correspond with more, either by chance or by eclipsing interests in travel and Japan. It's interesting that I can continue to make new relationships in Oak Park, despite not having lived there in about 5 years now. Nevertheless, i hung out for the first time with many new people and seem to be developing new friendships. This is admittedly mostly due to facebook.

Needless to say I ate a ton of Chicago pizza, italian beef, as well as Diner and Mexican fare.

I played magic.

I drove around Oak Park collecting restaurant take out menus, which i brought back to Japan with me to use in my classes. I really want to encorporate elements of the real world into my lessons. It can make all the difference when you show them real pieces of life in the foreign language, rather than trying to teach from textbook illustrations.

I went to visit Margaret, who has babysat for my family since my birth. She lives around Ashland and 63rd, so i took the CTA out to her neck of the woods to meet her for the first time in my adult life. The other side of the green line is another world indeed and it was a really great experience. She picked me up at the train station and suggested we drive BACK to River Forest to get lunch. I said that was ridiculous and said we oughtta eat around there.

"Well we usually eat Soul Food"

"great!"

So I had the most delicious fried chicken and candied yams and Mac and Cheese at a popular soul food join around Ashland and 80th. sugoooi.

It's long past quittin time now, yet i remain at my desk, so i will have to continue this update with my reintegration (re-re-culture shock) to Japan when i return.

Catcha later, beautifuls!


the loving family at supper


hannukkah


New Years party: Soul Train


the midnight soul train arrives


cheap gas!


packing important American things

small victories: ordering pizza

oh man, i just ordered pizza in japanese and it was like the most difficult stressful thing ever.

but by now you are surely aware, dear reader, that no pizza-related obstacle is too great a challenge for your hero. I knew what had to be done, and i sprung into action. Gather round the electric heaters, children, for a tale of Illiadic proportions is about to be unfolded.

First of all, the place is called Chicago Pizza, and it's been calling out to me for nearly 4 months. Not only is it named after my hometown, but they also have a reputation as the best pizza in the prefecture, and the place is in my own little town. It's not really Chicago-style, of course, but it's reputably less like Japanese pizza and more like real pizza than usual. Furthermore, i see their little scooters zipping around everywhere, and they have been dropping fliers and $5-off coupons in my mailbox for three months. Needless to say it's been on my to do list.

So tonight is cold and i couldnt bring myself to ride my bike to the local izakaya tonight. So i got off my butt, picked up the phone, and dialed. If course first I wrote up a gameplan with all my information written out in phoenetic japanese, in the order i expected them to ask for it-- phone number: "zero-hachi-zero... roku-yon-zero... etc." Pizza: Magnum Meat -- "Magunaamu mii-to" Crust: heavy -- "he-bii"

So i called, and made it through the gauntlet of questions awkwardly. So awkwardly. I knew i had done well when she finally said some stuff real fast and something about an amount of minutes and a price. victory is mine!!!

a guy just called me again to confirm my address and phone number. I must have freaked out the phone girl. I can imagine it now:

*click*
Hey Ryosuke...
Yeah?
Some ridiculous foreigner just called and tried to order a small Magnum Meat
haha
But i couldn't understand him like at all. I mean i THINK i got his address. MAYBE.
Crap, what should we do?
Well you speak some English, right? Call him back and check.


*ring ring*
aaaaa... Mushi mushi!
Ah! .....hel-lo!
Hello!
Chicago Pizza desu.
(proceeds to check my address and number in Japanese)

Update:
OMG it just came. I'm clearly a genius.





I am gonna go enjoy this wonderfulness under my kotatsu. oh victory, you taste so sweet. sweet and meaty.