Sports Day (運動会) is not for the Weak

Japan is known for many things.

Cars.

SEGA. (Nintendo).

Electronics in general.

Kimonos. (Geisha).

Rice. Sushi!

Anime. (Manga).

Movies. (Godzilla, The Ring, etc.)

Karate.

Skinny people.

Old people.

Sumo. (People).

Mt. Fuji!

Sakura (Cherry blossoms).

Sailor Uniforms.

運動会

...say what?

Yes, it's that time of year again where an event so purely Japanese that it makes you laugh (or possibly cry in pain) is held rain or shine. Undoukai (運動会), or Sports Day, is a school wide event that happens in elementary, junior high, and senior high school. It puts classrooms against each other as they compete in traditional (relay races) and non-traditional (have you ever seen kids run with a bamboo pole while another is willingly hanging from it only to set the pole down and have that kids climb up the pole and place a flag at the top only to have the next kid climb up just to take down the flag?) as classmates unite and display Japan's infamous ability to maintain a uniform society. For instance, the ability to stretch on command at the exact same time. This are the same stretches that were recorded by Ansel Adams in his Manzanar Collection from over fifty years ago that I used for my thesis project. Though I somehow doubt Enya was playing in the background in an internment camp...



School's start training up to a month in advance and even cut regular classes short (or skip periods all together) in order to train for the glorious event. It's an all-day affair that was suppose to be held on a Sunday (but due to a typhoon was rescheduled for a Tuesday holiday) and is amazing to watch as the entire school shows amazing acrobatic abilities.


There are even events for teachers to compete, but since I visit so many different junior high schools they didn't ask me to participate. However, I was encouraged to join the training for undoukai while sporting a lovely skirt.

...yay...

At least the kids got a kick out of me tripping and falling everywhere. There was an event in which the entire class jumps rope together. At first I kept tripping and making everyone laugh. But once I got the hang of it, I began jumping circles around them - literally! USA represent yo.

Anyways, I was in shock and awe as I watched some of the most complicated relays I have ever seen. We definitely need to take note and practice this for the next family reunion:

大阪に行きましょう! (Let's go to Osaka!)

Alright. So I'm in Japan - living on Shikoku to be more exact. That doesn't seem to mean a lot to many people and I understand. After all, no one says to themselves,

"I want to go to Japan. Hmmm, it's made up of four main islands. Let's pick the most obscure, least visited one!"

It's understandable. When I think of Japanese cities off of the top of my head I come up with:

Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Nara, Hiroshima, Sapporo, Nagasaki, Kobe

These span three of the four main islands: Hokkaido, Honshu, and Kyushu.

Eh...Shikoku not so much.

Don't get me wrong, Shikoku is gorgeous with untouched beauty and spiritual landmarks. It's nice to live in a peaceful manner after battling University for four years. However, there are times when a big city is appreciated, or a city in general. That is where traveling comes in. Last weekend, I ventured to the main island of Honshu and stayed in Osaka for the weekend with four (charming) lads: Alan, Derry, and Louis of Dublin, Ireland and Tom of London, England. Here they are drinking energy drinks to prepare for the Osaka nightlife

The girls all had school obligations and it's always good to travel with men in foreign countries for safety purposes. We stayed in a capsule hotel (think a classy version of the morgue) where the men and women were divided into different wings. This is true Japanese style.











On the first day of my trip, Tom and I hit two major sites: the Osaka Aquarium KAIYUKAN, which is one of the largest in the world and manages to include monkeys; and the Osaka Museum of History, which (surprise!) gave a Japanese rendition of the history of Osaka. The aquarium was amazing, though so crowded I could hardly breathe. I was ready to go foreigner on them and smash my way through but as an "ambassador" of America, I just grinned like an idiot while thinking bad thoughts.



We also went on one of the "largest" Ferris wheel's in the the world. I was excited until I discovered that it took 15 minutes to complete one rotation, that we only got to ride for one rotation, and the point of the ride was to enjoy the view - which on a cloudy day in an industrial city like Osaka - wasn't much. YAY!

That night we met up with the Irish boys and enjoyed a night of dinner and dancing which ended with me trying to drag them back to the hotel in the wee hours of the morning as the only sober and coherent person left in the group.
Later that day we said goodbye to one member of our group as he returned home to Ireland and then headed off to the famous Osaka Castle were I was attack by mosquitoes yet again. The site itself was impressive though. However, only two of our four remaining members went inside. The idea was to take turns, but the boys were so enamored that they took over an hour until the castle was closed for the evening! Grrr.

The evening was spent at a game arcade before catching the night ferry home.

So ends my first traveling experience in Japan.

I'm still exhausted thinking about it.

THE apartment

I live in an apartment (you can tell this is going to be good).

Two floors above me is the regional adviser David so fear not.

Two blocks away is the main street in my city.

Three blocks away is a giant supermarket all-in-one is it Fred Meyers? type of building.

Nine blocks away is City Hall.

Eleven blocks away is the main post office.

15 minutes bike ride away is the mall (that's right, BIKE RIDE).

OMG there is a Seattle's Best Coffee but no Starbucks- heresy.

The schools I teach at are too far away.

The End.

PS. Pictures of my apartment:

My "bedroom" complete with tatami floors and and futon for a bed.














The living room, and the kitchen. There is no oven. Just like the good o'le days in college. Any furniture you see was provided for me as I am too lazy to go shopping. However, the white bookshelf next to the TV houses my DVDs complete with my Astaire and Rogers collection. (cheers!)

Jikoshokaijyanai!

It is sufficient to say that orientation emphasized 3 things.
1) JET is a wonderful experience
2) There is a huge network for JETs- don't worry!
3) Jikoshokai or self-introduction

The first two were boring and repetitive - of course I am honored to be accepted and if I need something I will know to ask for help. The third was more useful since I was brainwashed into believing that for the first month or so of teaching, all I would have to do is talk about myself and could I please bring pictures? However, upon my first day, I realized that someone lied to me. It was already time for teach-teaching!

Orientation should have covered this topic more.

I was given a lesson plan that day and it stated that before my first class of second years (translation: 8th graders) my duties were: To make a worksheet, check an English speech, decorate an English room, record a model English speech and so one. Then, during fourth period please follow the attached Team-Teaching plan details below:

There was dead silence during my warm-up introduction. The best part was I got to use the new posters I had made during my free period:After my stunning debut, I acted out various emotions and asked questions. During pair work I walked around and helped different groups. Afterward there was JEOPARDY on the chalkboard with questions in regards to my speech (shows just how much they were paying attention) and the new grammar points. My favorite: emotions category. I would say "What am I?" before constructing my face in some ridiculous manner, waiting for a student to raise his or her hand and say "You look..."

Awesome.

The highlight was lunch and recess. No contest. The students took turns serving food in the classrooms and I swear, when I saw what they had to wear, I nearly lost it. Gillian had warned us at orientation that this might happen but nothing compares to the real deal. Long white coats, masks, and matching hats, it was a science in the making. It was GOLD.

I ordered a bento since I wasn't a regular teacher and when I opened it, it was filled with Japanese goodness:

Delicious, no?

I tried to "share" with my students, but they politely declined. Afterward I went to the English room, not realizing there was recess. Out of no where a flock of girls ran toward me, grilling me in Japanese. I tried to get them to speak in English and was asked the usual questions: "How old are you?" "Do you have a boyfriend?" "Do you have someone you like?" (the next day I was asked "Do you like to eat bananas?") and so on. The highlight was when one girl said she had a boyfriend and I was like DARE?! (who) over and over and chased her across the 2nd year floor.

Later, I was asked to correct the English homework from summer break. That took time right into clean-up period. When I announced my victory over homework, I was rewarded with a rag and asked to clean off the desktops. As I did, students helped and asked me if this was my natural hair color. Why yes, it is. Thanks.

I relaxed in the computer lab for the following hour, before my speech contest students arrived. The next two hours were spent on voice training and pronunciation.

So concludes my first day on the job. Shall we repeat tomorrow at a new school?

A bug's life...

If there is one thing that I have noticed since my time in Japan, it's that there is a plethora of natural beauty and wildlife - especially on an off-the-shore island such as Shikoku. Unfortunately, the wildlife I have seen thus far has consisted of cats, dogs, and insects.

Japanese dogs and cats are a bit smaller than I am use to.

The insects...are larger.

And many.

No wonder Godzilla was able to be born in such a country.

Now, I've gotten use to the cicada, which just might make the most annoying sound on Earth. Ever seen the movie Dumb and Dumber? In it, Jim Carrey's character attempts to replicate the most annoying sound in the world. Well, while nails grating on a chalkboard does have its unpleasantness, being stalked by a bug you can't see but hear in surround sound is definitely worse. And even more unattractive! It's like a giant moth with the tenacity of a cockroach (we have those here too). They tend to live in every single tree in existence and when they die, they fall onto the sidewalk where I run over them with my bike.

Satisfying.

Second, there are a variety of dragonflies and butterflies that come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors. It's amazing and beautiful and when a butterfly the size of a bird jumps out at you from the bushes, a little scary (I'm not going to lie).


Third, are the spiders.

I hate spiders.

Yes, they're wonderful and support the eco-system and if I ever saw a cockroach caught in a spider's web, I would silently cheer.

However, that is no excuse for how big they are here and how everyone seems to not care that they're EVERYWHERE! On the roof, in my house, even in the schools! I was visiting one of my junior high schools with David (my RA and fellow apartment resident and co-worker) when one of the teachers came up to us trembling and pointed under the desk. Of course I looked, there's a language barrier that seperates me from common sense. Underneathe was the biggest spider that I had ever seen that wasn't a tarantula. I bolted in the other direction and David took a cup to capture it. I caught it on film. Watch the legs:



Fourth are the fruit flies that seem to live in my apartment. I went to a mandatory seminar in a neighboring city for work that lasted two days. When I returned to my house I noticed an increase in the number of said bugs flying around my aparentment. Annoyed and more than slightly tired, I took a shower. Upon my exit into the kitchen, I glanced at the garabage and sighed at the sight of sesame seeds everywhere. I looked closer and noticed they were covered in sauce and pondered what I could have possibly eaten that would have caused such a mess.

Then I remembered: I don't have sesame seeds in my current diet.

I grabbed my glasses to make a final decision on what the hell was going on and it hit me. These weren't sesame seeds: they were eggs. And upon closer inspection - larvae moving around. I nearly vomited everywhere. I prompty ran to the store with my wet hair and purchased cleaning products and poisions. I still have nightmares.

So in conclusion: there are bugs. Everywhere. All the time. Big ones. And sometimes, when you least expect it, they will fall on your head in the middle of a phone conversation, scare you into screaming bloody murder until you realize it's not another spider but a praying mantis, and make for a good story.

It's just like riding a bike kids...

Before I came to Japan, I did not know how to ride a bike. That is not to say that no one ever took the time show me - quite the opposite really. When I was in primary school, my family would take me down to my grandparents quiet neighborhood and attempt to get me onto a bike. I even had training wheels on the bike at my home. However, I never quite mastered the concept of balance and when my grandfather finally let go of the bike and I was on my own...I ran into a parked car.

That officially ended my biking career. Sorry Lance Armstrong.

However, the move to Japan has brought up an exciting new challenge: learn to ride a bike to school or leave the house at 0630 hours in order to get there on time. Realizing it is more likely for me to oversleep than get into a biking accident, I was tutored by a very lovely couple who were visiting my RA (who is conveniently located two floors above me). They took the t me to teach me how to balance and by the end of the first day I could wobbly get 2-3 meters. However, as I decided to practice on my own later that evening, I realized that I did not now how to actually stop the bike. Since the wall was fast approaching (since when do parking lots have walls, honestly?) I used the only available resource at hand - my leg. Details below:


It was pretty intense. Anywho. So now it's about building endurance and getting to a comfortable speed that doesn't allow matronly women to pass me by on the sidewalk.

...

The latest biking accident(s) happened two days ago. I arrive in a neighboring town after spending the evening with friends and I was returning to one of their houses to sleep. There were four of us, two men who were both 6'5"+ and two girls who were 5'6"- and only three bikes. I did not have a bike but since I didn't know where I was going and was obviously female (and therefore weaker?!) it was decided that one of the men would give up his bike. Now, just try to imagine getting onto a bike that is adjusted for a man at least a foot taller than you. That's 12 inches or 30cm!!

Since I couldn't readjust the seat, just getting on proved to be a challenge. I teetered after my two biking companions while the other guy just started walking. I was slowly coming into my own when a sharp turn across the street had the bike skid out from under me and I flew sideways screaming (sorry family), "Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit!"

My male biking companion turned around and steadied me back up so I could literally get back on the bike and we started out again. Things were running smoothly (well, I had yet to die) when we came alongside a road that had a very narrow bike path before dropping off into a rice field. A hugh truck was coming and I, being the nervous girl who sometimes leans the wrong way, decided to brake and wait it out. Unfortunately, since I forgot just how high the seat was, I went to put my leg down and it kept going, along with the rest of my body and the bike, straight into the rice patty.

Delicious.