I was sitting on the curb watching the sun set over the rice paddy outside my apartment, when i noticed some life-like squirming on the ground. This guy met his end (nearly) in the blades of a tractor. poor thing. cool to see up close and personal though. A sting from one of these can send you to the hospital:
Showing posts with label inaka. Show all posts
Showing posts with label inaka. Show all posts
Giant Wasp
part II: photos
On Fridays after school i run ESS- English Speaking society. So at 4:30 i headed down to the language lab where i usually find my 5 members setting up scrabble and firing up an America DVD, but there was nobody there. "Okay," i thought, "They're not here yet." I popped in Monsters Inc and started cleaning up the classroom. Half an hour rolled by and i was beginning to think maybe they all gave up and went home since i was 10 minutes late to show up and unlock the room. Other students started going home around and the school was dying down. I started to feel really guilty for letting down my students. I sat down and worked on some lesson plans while watching Monsters Inc for the rest of an hour.
At 5:30 or so, I left a note on the door and went back to the teachers room, where another teacher (the teacher who used to be in charge of ESS) told me that all clubs are cancelled because midterms are next week.
"didn't your supervisor tell you? She should have let you know and and she should give you a monthly schedule. Where is your schedule?"
*sigh* later when Kyo-to sensei (vice principal) was leaving, he commented "wow youre still working!" and i said i thought there was ESS so i was waiting in the room for a while. my supervisor later called to apologize profusely for not letting me know. I hope she didnt catch too much flak for it because casually mentioning something to your boss in passing is as good as filing a formal complaint in Japan. Oops. Still though.
It's my two month anniversery since coming to Japan. Hard to believe that on July 26 i was on that flight to Tokyo trying to sleep. It is now officially fall and the weather has gone from blisteringly hot to slightly chilly in the mornings and evenings, though still sweltering during the day. As you read below, I spent the Equinox in Akizuki. Here's the proof:
this is called 'glasses bridge'
Rice fields and mountains aplenty. this place was so beautiful everything the Inaka should be.
Leaf suspended in a spider's web, seeming to hover midair.
puts his shoes back on after we pay a visit to a temple
more gorgeous rice fields
this guy was HUGE! a couple inches. The second biggest spider i've seen in Japan so far (seriously)
this is a public bathroom. yeah even the toilets are this pretty
descent down some very ancient steps
even more old steps
beautiful river, long exposure. makes his way across
Part II
Part III
autumn equinox
Tags:
Akizuki,
inaka,
japanese friends,
night school
This Tuesday was the Autumnal Equinox, marking a national holiday. I had the day off of work, and i had taken 1 day of paid vacation on Monday (I have no classes on Mondays) to extend it into a nice 4-day weekend. I decided not to travel or do anything excessively busy, but instead to hang out with friends downtown and relax. It was a good call. This week I am feeling refreshed and am not constantly running around. This has come at the expense of going out to dinner with someone almost every night, and going to Judo practice less often, but my slower heartrate is worth it, i think.
On tuesday, for the holiday, i went on a trip with Matsuo sensei, my friend who teaches in the night school. If i haven't explained this before, the night school operates between 4 and 9 PM rather than during regular school hours. It serves students who cannot attend regular high school for one reason or another, be it academic or family related. These students range in age from 18 to 70 and many of them will not go on to college, according to Matsuo sensei and he expresses the difficulty of working with students with such widely varying ability and motivation levels. A few of his students are really motivated to learn English, while some of the others refuse to pay attention. Others still dont even know the ABC's. It sounds like a very hard job. Matsuo sensei said he used to teach at the regular academic school, but switched. He describes himself as a "black sheep" among the daytime staff. He is a lot like what an American (I.e. me) would think of as a "good" teacher. He is committed to making sure the students learn the material in a real and lasting way that extends beyond passing the tests. Unfortunately, the emphasis is the other way around in Japan. Every student, especially at a high level academic high school like Asakura, has the priority of scoring well on entrance exams so s/he can go to the best colleges. Teachers are expected to lecture and students are expected to listen. While this is an effective teaching strategy for many areas of Math science, history, and maybe even literature, it falls short in the foreign language department, where students will not learn to understand the linguistic ideas unless they at least attempt to use them. This means speaking up, discussing, asking questions, and shamelessly making mistakes. These habits to sit well with Japanese teachers or students, so English instruction is, admittedly broken in Japan. Matsuo sensei, therefore, being the kind of guy he is, was often behind in his lessons compared to other teachers who went along by the book at a pace too fast for students to actually understand (this is how i have to teach). This caused problems for Matsuo sensei and though he wasnt asked to leave, he voluntarily transferred to the night school where he has more freedom to teach how he wants (but more challenges to get students to actually work)
Anyway, Matsuo and I get along, and occasionally chat for a few minutes at work. He took me out to dinner a few weeks ago and we talked about Japanese vs. American education, and our respective interpretations of WWII. He's really a cool guy. A big part of it is definitely that he likes hanging out with ALTs and foreigners because he wants the english practice, but i have come to accept that this is simply a desirable part of my personality here in Japan, rather than be offended that my new friends are not exclusively interested in me for my dynamite persona. Furthermore, i tend to appreciate the people who are excited about learning and practicing english practice anyway. they tend to be the cooler ones.
At any rate, on Tueday, we took a trip to Akizuki a lovely scenic area of Amagi that is and beautiful. There are castle ruins, ancient buildings, rivers, falls, and hordes of cherry blossom trees not yet in bloom. In the spring it is supposed to be one of the best places in Kyushu for viewing the sakura. He picked me up in his wife's van at my apartment, and we headed into the mountains. We walked around the town of Akizuki for a while, stopping for lunch in a soba shop, and eventually hiked into the mountains. I was floored by how gloriously pretty this place is. It was hot. and raining. but it didnt matter. the rain actually lended to the aesthetic of old moss-covered rocks, tall shady trees and trickling rivers.
Some beautiful images were captured. they will be in the post above.
On tuesday, for the holiday, i went on a trip with Matsuo sensei, my friend who teaches in the night school. If i haven't explained this before, the night school operates between 4 and 9 PM rather than during regular school hours. It serves students who cannot attend regular high school for one reason or another, be it academic or family related. These students range in age from 18 to 70 and many of them will not go on to college, according to Matsuo sensei and he expresses the difficulty of working with students with such widely varying ability and motivation levels. A few of his students are really motivated to learn English, while some of the others refuse to pay attention. Others still dont even know the ABC's. It sounds like a very hard job. Matsuo sensei said he used to teach at the regular academic school, but switched. He describes himself as a "black sheep" among the daytime staff. He is a lot like what an American (I.e. me) would think of as a "good" teacher. He is committed to making sure the students learn the material in a real and lasting way that extends beyond passing the tests. Unfortunately, the emphasis is the other way around in Japan. Every student, especially at a high level academic high school like Asakura, has the priority of scoring well on entrance exams so s/he can go to the best colleges. Teachers are expected to lecture and students are expected to listen. While this is an effective teaching strategy for many areas of Math science, history, and maybe even literature, it falls short in the foreign language department, where students will not learn to understand the linguistic ideas unless they at least attempt to use them. This means speaking up, discussing, asking questions, and shamelessly making mistakes. These habits to sit well with Japanese teachers or students, so English instruction is, admittedly broken in Japan. Matsuo sensei, therefore, being the kind of guy he is, was often behind in his lessons compared to other teachers who went along by the book at a pace too fast for students to actually understand (this is how i have to teach). This caused problems for Matsuo sensei and though he wasnt asked to leave, he voluntarily transferred to the night school where he has more freedom to teach how he wants (but more challenges to get students to actually work)
Anyway, Matsuo and I get along, and occasionally chat for a few minutes at work. He took me out to dinner a few weeks ago and we talked about Japanese vs. American education, and our respective interpretations of WWII. He's really a cool guy. A big part of it is definitely that he likes hanging out with ALTs and foreigners because he wants the english practice, but i have come to accept that this is simply a desirable part of my personality here in Japan, rather than be offended that my new friends are not exclusively interested in me for my dynamite persona. Furthermore, i tend to appreciate the people who are excited about learning and practicing english practice anyway. they tend to be the cooler ones.
At any rate, on Tueday, we took a trip to Akizuki a lovely scenic area of Amagi that is and beautiful. There are castle ruins, ancient buildings, rivers, falls, and hordes of cherry blossom trees not yet in bloom. In the spring it is supposed to be one of the best places in Kyushu for viewing the sakura. He picked me up in his wife's van at my apartment, and we headed into the mountains. We walked around the town of Akizuki for a while, stopping for lunch in a soba shop, and eventually hiked into the mountains. I was floored by how gloriously pretty this place is. It was hot. and raining. but it didnt matter. the rain actually lended to the aesthetic of old moss-covered rocks, tall shady trees and trickling rivers.
Some beautiful images were captured. they will be in the post above.
Land of the Excruciating Sun
Tags:
cool biz,
inaka,
summer,
wrist odor
So i'm on Kyushu, one of Japan's southern islands, and therefore nearer the equator. it's hot and muggy here. Like "step-outside-and-water-starts-condensing-on-your-face" humid, & "seems-artificially-heated-like-a-sauna" hot.
I have found that it is, in fact, true what they said about wearing an extra undershirt layer. counterintuitive though it is, an extra layer really does prevent sweat from pooling under your arms, which is a godsend in the war against summer grossness... As a matter of fact, i bought my first クールビズ, i.e. KuruBizu,, i.e."Cool Biz" workshirt yesterday and am loving it.
Cool Biz, actually, is an environmental campaign in Japan, aiming to reduce electrical (AirCon) consumption in the summer. This, apparently is being accomplished by setting a nationally required air conditionor level and marketing lighter professional clothes to the workforce. Most of them are short-sleeved and made of this awesome lightweight material. A lot of people also forego the tie and top button when rocking these eco-friendly office clothes. Even though my new shirt is long sleeved (i couldnt tell when i bought it, oh well), I am all about this comfy and vaguely environmentally-conscious Japanese practice. Of course, unspoken, the short-sleeved business suit design never made it off of the launch pad. Too soon, Japan. The world is not ready for this:
Anyway. During the first few days at work, i kept catching a whiff of some unpleasantness near me. It didnt seem like any my coworkers--Japanese people have a unique type of BO and bad breath. So i checked my armpits and found nothing but Old Spice freshness. After a couple days of this i realized it was my watch. I was appalled. the watch was strapping sweat against my wrist, ew. Now i keep it sitting beside me on my desk while I work, and i'll probably ditch it altogether after my alien registration card finally comes in and i can get a keitai (mobile phone) for telling the time. At least until it cools down in a few weeks. cause yuck, the last thing i need at this point is wrist-odor (WO).
I have found that it is, in fact, true what they said about wearing an extra undershirt layer. counterintuitive though it is, an extra layer really does prevent sweat from pooling under your arms, which is a godsend in the war against summer grossness... As a matter of fact, i bought my first クールビズ, i.e. KuruBizu,, i.e."Cool Biz" workshirt yesterday and am loving it.
Cool Biz, actually, is an environmental campaign in Japan, aiming to reduce electrical (AirCon) consumption in the summer. This, apparently is being accomplished by setting a nationally required air conditionor level and marketing lighter professional clothes to the workforce. Most of them are short-sleeved and made of this awesome lightweight material. A lot of people also forego the tie and top button when rocking these eco-friendly office clothes. Even though my new shirt is long sleeved (i couldnt tell when i bought it, oh well), I am all about this comfy and vaguely environmentally-conscious Japanese practice. Of course, unspoken, the short-sleeved business suit design never made it off of the launch pad. Too soon, Japan. The world is not ready for this:
Anyway. During the first few days at work, i kept catching a whiff of some unpleasantness near me. It didnt seem like any my coworkers--Japanese people have a unique type of BO and bad breath. So i checked my armpits and found nothing but Old Spice freshness. After a couple days of this i realized it was my watch. I was appalled. the watch was strapping sweat against my wrist, ew. Now i keep it sitting beside me on my desk while I work, and i'll probably ditch it altogether after my alien registration card finally comes in and i can get a keitai (mobile phone) for telling the time. At least until it cools down in a few weeks. cause yuck, the last thing i need at this point is wrist-odor (WO).
the friendly neighbors
read laura's post about the bugs of this fine island, kyushu. very nicely sums up the situation over here:
http://meelynn.blogspot.com/2008/08/bugs.html
I will go ahead and add one more to the list, since i live in a building surrounded on three sides by rice fields:
Brown Frogs
These guys are pretty cute and harmless, weighing in at only an ounce or two and .25 - 1.5" in length. But they are out, hopping around nook and cranny as of 6PM or so, just as the sun is beginning to go down, so it's all i can do to keep from stepping on three every pace i take towards or away from my stairwell through the parking lot.
Moreover they pick up with the screaming their tiny lungs out at around dusk, just when when the cicadas clock out. seriously, to walk around the perimeter of my jutaku at any hour of the day is to be deafened by chirping, screeching and croaking that bleeds together like some kind of organic UFO made out of bugs and amphibians.
http://meelynn.blogspot.com/2008/08/bugs.html
I will go ahead and add one more to the list, since i live in a building surrounded on three sides by rice fields:
Brown Frogs
These guys are pretty cute and harmless, weighing in at only an ounce or two and .25 - 1.5" in length. But they are out, hopping around nook and cranny as of 6PM or so, just as the sun is beginning to go down, so it's all i can do to keep from stepping on three every pace i take towards or away from my stairwell through the parking lot.
Moreover they pick up with the screaming their tiny lungs out at around dusk, just when when the cicadas clock out. seriously, to walk around the perimeter of my jutaku at any hour of the day is to be deafened by chirping, screeching and croaking that bleeds together like some kind of organic UFO made out of bugs and amphibians.
first update from Amagi
Oh my god, i am so exhausted and frazzled right now. Today I arrived and it has been really difficult and busy. I need to wake up too soon to write about it now. Being late in Japan to my first day at work would be the worst possible thing to do. For now I will just paste the email i sent off to loved ones tonight. maybe tomorrow i will replace this with a more blog-worthy edit. Here goes:
_________________________________________________________
It's 10:30. I arrived in Fukuoka today and split up with my group. met up with Takakura-sensei at the airport and she took me to my town, Amagi. She and the other teacher who accompanied her took me out to lunch at a chinese restaurant, but they had both eaten, so THEY just watched me eat, and then bought it. awkward.
They then took me to the high school where i found my desk, was introduced to teachers and the vice principal, and had to deliver a speech in Japanese that i had only looked over for the first time in the car. I said "good morning" very loudly despite it being 3 in the afternoon... because that's how it was written. everyone laughed and it was insanely emberassing because none of it came out understandably, but i laughed it off and everyone applauded at the end of my 5 sentences. ahhhh. Out of everyone ive met, including my supervisor and several other english teachers, only the vice principal has spoken to me in english i can understand. i REALLY need to get my Japanese up to speed if i'm going to succeed here.
They then took me to my apartment. someone turned on the gas, we plugged in the fridge, and discovered that the microwave and tv dont work. I was forbidden from using the bath-water heater which uses a fire-furnace. The technician said that he never tells foreigners because we might start a fire. I accidentally sprayed water on him. lots of apologies all day. I have a full bed, but no sheets yet. A girl lived here before me and there are lots of appliances and papers and books i need to throw away, but doing so can be incredible expensive and complicated here.
Tomorrow i need to be at school at 8:30, so i am packing up some gifts for the other staff and vice principal, and my textbooks, and my indoors shoes and then im going to sleep. It is very interesting here. lots of messing up so far. lots of apologizing. lots of awkwardness. Just trying to laugh it all off and come across with a really great attitude. It's hard and i'm kinda starting to get stressed out, but i will overcome!!!
Takakura sensei said i could expect Roman, my predecessor and future prefectural advisor, to come to my place around 5 and take me out to dinner with a couple other ALTs who are leaving this year. When 7 rolled around, i was starting to think i had somehow missed him or he wasnt coming. A ring at my door. another teacher from the high school who lives in my building just saying hi very nicely.
around 8 Roman showed up. and we all went out to dinner. it was such a relief to here from other people i can actually communicate with and ask them lots and lots of questions about living here. So much good advice. they were so friendly, but they all leave this week. Roman mentioned that if it's too overwhelming being the only foreigner here in Amagi, that it has already been cleared with the board of education for me to move up where he's going to be closer to the city, where there are a bunch of other ALTs. It would mean a 30-40 minute commute to work every day, but i have to admit it's appealing, even just because it's on the rail system and it would mean not having to take 2 hours to get into the capital city. and being only 20 minutes away from it. It might be a nicer balance but i want to give country life a try for a few months, if i can.
I'm sitting on the cracked linoleum floor of my kitchen, feeling a little overwhelmed, but very excited about all of this and SO happy to finally be here.
Mike
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