The Saikai City ALTs (and friends!) got together last Saturday for our going away party. If you hadn't guessed by now, yeah, we got rick rolled.
(And if you aren't familiar with it, rick rolling is an internet meme where someone pulls a switch on you, tricking you into watching Rick Astley sing "Never Gonna Give You Up" instead of what you thought you were going to see. The voice that comes out of this guy combined with the dancing...)
Dino set the whole thing up, and he did a damn good job of it. Thanks Dino! The first stop was the all-you-can-eat meat place. We reserved their separate karaoke room, so we had the room to ourselves for three hours of grilling all sorts of meat combined with as much ridiculous karaoke as we felt like. (note: it was a fair bit of both). Dino brought a camera so that the three people leaving (me, Claudia, and Elizabeth) could say a little something to go with the presents we were all leaving for our successors.
The rick roll came at the end of our reservation, when Wendy's husband Ron queued it up and everyone (yeah, everyone) ended up singing it together for the last song before we went to stage two back in Oshima. If you just listen to the song and don't watch the ridiculous video, I think it's all right. But maybe I've just got a positive association, ha.
Dino (again, rock!) knows this great Filipino bar in Oshima called Pico Poco, so we went there for more karaoke. You'd think we do this stuff all the time! Personally it takes a certain kind of atmosphere for me to do any kind of karaoke at all, but we all were having a good time with it.
My personal highlight of the night came from Wendy and Ron, but not the rickroll. See, Ron is actually a reggae singer back in Jamaica and that boy can SING. Up until now Wendy had not gone up to sing a single song, content to provide "backup" from the comfort of her seat.
They picked out "Bob Marley - Is This Love?" and for this song she got UP. She can sing too! How about that? Watching them sing it together was just beautiful. And let me tell you, it was a pretty damn good night, but that just shows you how nice it was to see them singing this song for it to top everything else.
It'd be nice if all of the other goodbyes could be as fun and entertaining as this one. I've got my last day at one of the elementary schools this Thursday, and school in general is only in session until next Friday, the 18th. So now I'm trying to get my speeches written and everything else squared away. It is not going to be a fun process. I'll probably even cry some when I have to give my speech at the junior high next Friday. It's also crazy busy and things are starting to ramp up, so this might be it for me. We'll see.
mad love from the never gonna give you up,
-greg.
ps: just to be clear, i am really excited to be coming home and seeing everyone. it's just, you know, that's kind of outweighed at the moment by having to say goodbye to all of these people that i've spent the last year really getting to know and become close to. kind of rough. but i love you guys a lot! it'll even out. silly world traveling, haha.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Sunday, June 29, 2008
soft drink deception [2008.06.29]
Drew went home today. Well, technically he is in the process of going home as I write this, probably just about to depart from Nagoya to San Francisco, and then on to JFK. It's a bit of a journey.
It's a little strange, because I've never considered my apartment "big", but it was completely fine for the two of us this past month while he was visiting. (being roommates in college probably helped). Now though, it seems positively HUGE. Just, you know, a little lonelier.
On the way to the airport today (waking up at 515am!), we stopped at a 7-11. Browsing the drink selection, I came across the gem you see before you:
I'd seen an ad for this new Fanta "Shaker" so I figured I'd give it a shot. I mean, who doesn't love orange Fanta? So I gave it some hearty shaking, popped it open, and took a swig!
Imagine my surprise upon guzzling down little bits of orange jelly as well. If I had looked a little more carefully at the can I would have seen that it says "jelly" (well, ゼりー) and that the jelly is the reason for the shaking. Egad! I think the only drink that I can take with jelly in it is Aloe (that's A-lo-e).
In related Drew-going-home news, Andrew was kind enough to let me pack his extra duffel and take it home for me. We got to Nagasaki Airport and told her that he wanted to check three bags. She wrote down the charge for the third bag on a piece of paper and showed it to us.
I was expecting something between $25 and $50, so I read it as twenty-two hundred yen (about $21 or so). But NO, it was actually twenty-two THOUSAND yen, which is quite a bit more. The woman helpfully suggested that he take it on the plane as his carry-on, with his monstrous backpack counting as a "personal item". Since he is still in transit I don't know how he will fare when he checks in for the international flight, but I am hoping that the cost isn't so high, because I'd rather not drop $200 on an extra bag. Suspense!
It's been quite a good month, and now I've only got one left here. What?! Time for the last scramble to make sure everything is in order to get home with a minimum of hassle and stress.
Hahahaha. In the very least, it'll be a busy month. I think there's one weekend day where I don't have anything to do. Maybe. But I'll be loving every minute of it. Keep an eye out for the results of the upcoming ping pong tournament in Nagasaki City...
future love (but not for much longer,
-greg.
ps: check out these awesome pictures my friend Jess took when she visited us in Oshima with her husband Scott. especially check out the mini dunk contest...
It's a little strange, because I've never considered my apartment "big", but it was completely fine for the two of us this past month while he was visiting. (being roommates in college probably helped). Now though, it seems positively HUGE. Just, you know, a little lonelier.
On the way to the airport today (waking up at 515am!), we stopped at a 7-11. Browsing the drink selection, I came across the gem you see before you:
I'd seen an ad for this new Fanta "Shaker" so I figured I'd give it a shot. I mean, who doesn't love orange Fanta? So I gave it some hearty shaking, popped it open, and took a swig!
Imagine my surprise upon guzzling down little bits of orange jelly as well. If I had looked a little more carefully at the can I would have seen that it says "jelly" (well, ゼりー) and that the jelly is the reason for the shaking. Egad! I think the only drink that I can take with jelly in it is Aloe (that's A-lo-e).
In related Drew-going-home news, Andrew was kind enough to let me pack his extra duffel and take it home for me. We got to Nagasaki Airport and told her that he wanted to check three bags. She wrote down the charge for the third bag on a piece of paper and showed it to us.
I was expecting something between $25 and $50, so I read it as twenty-two hundred yen (about $21 or so). But NO, it was actually twenty-two THOUSAND yen, which is quite a bit more. The woman helpfully suggested that he take it on the plane as his carry-on, with his monstrous backpack counting as a "personal item". Since he is still in transit I don't know how he will fare when he checks in for the international flight, but I am hoping that the cost isn't so high, because I'd rather not drop $200 on an extra bag. Suspense!
It's been quite a good month, and now I've only got one left here. What?! Time for the last scramble to make sure everything is in order to get home with a minimum of hassle and stress.
Hahahaha. In the very least, it'll be a busy month. I think there's one weekend day where I don't have anything to do. Maybe. But I'll be loving every minute of it. Keep an eye out for the results of the upcoming ping pong tournament in Nagasaki City...
future love (but not for much longer,
-greg.
ps: check out these awesome pictures my friend Jess took when she visited us in Oshima with her husband Scott. especially check out the mini dunk contest...
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
overwhelming [2008.06.17]
There is no way that I will ever be able to describe all of the amazing things that I have experienced here. I try to pick some of the things that I think will reflect the overall picture the best, but really it is something that could never truly be accomplished. Currently I've got at least a half dozen things that I want to write about, but for the moment I'll just run with the kindergarten for a minute.
Father's Day in Japan is the same as it is in the US, so this past Sunday Andrew and I moseyed over there in the morning to help all the little chilluns during the "My First Cooking With Daddy" event they had going on.
Before getting down and dirty with our culinary selves though, we had to get properly kitted out, which means apron, bandana, and face mask. Hygiene first! It was really cute watching all the little kids peeling and cutting the carrots and potatoes, with some guided assistance from daddy dearest (and the two of us of course). Yeah, there were four and five year olds cutting and peeling. They did it with lots of supervision, but they nonetheless were doing it themselves. Then we moved the tables out of the way, put down some tarps, and started chowing down.
The fact that they actually cut the vegetables themselves is pretty impressive, and I think it bears some further thought. Working in kindergarten I get to see how much free reign these kids get, and I feel like it's more than the average one would get in the US. They pretty much run amok all over, and that's O-K. They're only four or five, but they're like little people already! I suppose this wouldn't be such a revelation to someone who's ever actually had children, but my time at the kindergarten is really the first time I've had extended contact and interactions with the same small child / children.
There might have been more, but there's just too much! Gotta trim the fat fat...
future love from incheon airport,
-greg.
ps: Okinawa. rainy season, not a whole lot of rain, amazingly beautiful. so beautiful. also the first place i've ever seen an A&W restaurant, home of "All-American Food". it had been a while since i'd last had a root beer, and it was delightful. Drew is way faster with pictures than me, so go enjoy his stuff here.
Father's Day in Japan is the same as it is in the US, so this past Sunday Andrew and I moseyed over there in the morning to help all the little chilluns during the "My First Cooking With Daddy" event they had going on.
Before getting down and dirty with our culinary selves though, we had to get properly kitted out, which means apron, bandana, and face mask. Hygiene first! It was really cute watching all the little kids peeling and cutting the carrots and potatoes, with some guided assistance from daddy dearest (and the two of us of course). Yeah, there were four and five year olds cutting and peeling. They did it with lots of supervision, but they nonetheless were doing it themselves. Then we moved the tables out of the way, put down some tarps, and started chowing down.
The fact that they actually cut the vegetables themselves is pretty impressive, and I think it bears some further thought. Working in kindergarten I get to see how much free reign these kids get, and I feel like it's more than the average one would get in the US. They pretty much run amok all over, and that's O-K. They're only four or five, but they're like little people already! I suppose this wouldn't be such a revelation to someone who's ever actually had children, but my time at the kindergarten is really the first time I've had extended contact and interactions with the same small child / children.
There might have been more, but there's just too much! Gotta trim the fat fat...
future love from incheon airport,
-greg.
ps: Okinawa. rainy season, not a whole lot of rain, amazingly beautiful. so beautiful. also the first place i've ever seen an A&W restaurant, home of "All-American Food". it had been a while since i'd last had a root beer, and it was delightful. Drew is way faster with pictures than me, so go enjoy his stuff here.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
maybe it's their fault [2008.06.10]
I would have written about this earlier but I got sidetracked a little. You know, trip to Okinawa with Drew, that sort of thing. But this takes precedence, because it was that important.
I ask you to first recall the scene and atmosphere described in the last bit I wrote, about the pep rally: the formality, the subdued clapping, the speeches. Imagine it, feel yourself surrounded by it, then clear it completely from your mind; because when it's actually game time here, people do it RIGHT.
I'll start with the preliminaries. There were events going on all over Saikai City but the first day Andrew and I opted for Oseto to check out the triple threat of soccer, tennis, and basketball. We went to the first soccer game of two (there are only three teams in Saikai) and cheered for our boys along with a few other parents. Luckily one of the kindergarten teachers was there too (her son's the captain) so she showed us over to where we could get loud. Between the three of us we showed plenty of support for our kids, hollering all the way to their 10-0 victory.
Yeah, ten to zero. We couldn't go to the second game, but they won that one 14-0. This awarded them the coveted "victory flag", an incredibly nicely made flag of thick, embroidered material that is rotated every year, with pendants hanging from it for each year's winner. I believe there are currently four consecutive "Oshima" pendants. Dynasty, anyone? Throw that diamond in the air.
Unfortunately neither boys' nor girl's tennis fared quite as well as soccer, although the girls were able to log some victories at least. After a lunch break spent bonding with the soccer boys, we went over to see how our basketball girls were faring. I'd seen them play in two games before, so I was pretty sure they would be fine, but it was still anyone's guess.
My uncertainty was completely unfounded. First game: 98-21. NINETY-EIGHT. The game we saw ended up at 90-32, again in Oshima's favor. Another team, Oseto, beat their opponent by 50 points or so, and Oshima was set to play them in the next day's schedule.
Before finishing the day we stopped by the school to get news about baseball to see if they had won their game that day, allowing them to move on to day two. They had! The game was also set to be early because of a rainy forecast for the second day's final.
This game was not a soccer or basketball style blowout. By the bottom of the seventh (junior highs play seven innings) after two outs the score was 1-0 in favor of Oshima thanks to a beautiful squeeze play in the third or fourth. Saikai North was in a good position for scoring though, with runners on second and third. The batter slapped out a solid line drive, but our second baseman made a fantastic dive to stop the ball and get it to first, ending the game and securing another victory flag for Oshima to display for the coming year.
That only left basketball's final two games. It all came down to the last game, Oshima versus Oseto, both teams 3-0 thus far. Up until this point Oshima's cheering section had consisted of some parents and the two big white guys with sporadic cheering at best, and Drew and I had decided that if nothing else then we would certainly yell our heads off for the girls in the final showdown.
Luckily some other teachers had arrived to cheer on this last contest of the day, bolstering our numbers a little, giving us a few more voices to add. A few more voices seemed to be insignificant though, compared to the might that Oseto had mustered. See, we were on their home court, and all of their other teams that had finished had turned out to watch the game. They filled the whole section of seats across from us, giving them at least 80 people, if not more. We had maybe 15. But we had something special.
We had Katsuki sensei.
The man is a cheering machine. Drew and I had planned to cheer a little, get loud, you know, but less than a minute into the game he had started a chant. And we picked it up.
And he just kept GOING. We cheered for almost an hour straight. Katsuki sensei led the offensive chants and he recruited me to lead the defensive ones (with big support from Drew). He even had a special cheer for timeouts. We cheered during the timeouts! The only lull in the chanting came during halftime. Oseto might have had more voices than us, but there was no way they could match our pride or dedication.
We weren't completely alone either, because between myself, Drew, and our coach's wife, we had recruited the teams from both Seihi (the coach lives there) and Saikai South to our cheering section. These kids were awesome, and one especially friendly kid went home with Drew's "courage" bracelet. He was great, even teaching us the offensive cheers in the middle of chanting for the defense.
The result of all this untiring support? It was a fierce contest initially, but then Oshima pulled away, leading 30-10 at one point. Oseto fought back with intensity though, stopping the Oshima offense and playing their hearts out. Both teams gave it everything they had, and you can't help but respect that, but in the end Oshima managed to finish it with a seven point lead, bringing home the third victory flag for Oshima.
I don't think I have ever been so invested in a sporting event, whether it was one I was playing in or not. The baseball game was mighty intense, but this basketball game trumps everything. I am so proud of all the Oshima athletes, they are amazing, but I have a special spot for our basketball squad.
in the future let your game speak,
-greg.
ps: our defensive chant was "DE-FENSE *clap* *clap*", but ironically Katsuki sensei started it the first time, not me. no one seemed to have a problem with it though, so i guess it's common enough.
I ask you to first recall the scene and atmosphere described in the last bit I wrote, about the pep rally: the formality, the subdued clapping, the speeches. Imagine it, feel yourself surrounded by it, then clear it completely from your mind; because when it's actually game time here, people do it RIGHT.
I'll start with the preliminaries. There were events going on all over Saikai City but the first day Andrew and I opted for Oseto to check out the triple threat of soccer, tennis, and basketball. We went to the first soccer game of two (there are only three teams in Saikai) and cheered for our boys along with a few other parents. Luckily one of the kindergarten teachers was there too (her son's the captain) so she showed us over to where we could get loud. Between the three of us we showed plenty of support for our kids, hollering all the way to their 10-0 victory.
Yeah, ten to zero. We couldn't go to the second game, but they won that one 14-0. This awarded them the coveted "victory flag", an incredibly nicely made flag of thick, embroidered material that is rotated every year, with pendants hanging from it for each year's winner. I believe there are currently four consecutive "Oshima" pendants. Dynasty, anyone? Throw that diamond in the air.
Unfortunately neither boys' nor girl's tennis fared quite as well as soccer, although the girls were able to log some victories at least. After a lunch break spent bonding with the soccer boys, we went over to see how our basketball girls were faring. I'd seen them play in two games before, so I was pretty sure they would be fine, but it was still anyone's guess.
My uncertainty was completely unfounded. First game: 98-21. NINETY-EIGHT. The game we saw ended up at 90-32, again in Oshima's favor. Another team, Oseto, beat their opponent by 50 points or so, and Oshima was set to play them in the next day's schedule.
Before finishing the day we stopped by the school to get news about baseball to see if they had won their game that day, allowing them to move on to day two. They had! The game was also set to be early because of a rainy forecast for the second day's final.
This game was not a soccer or basketball style blowout. By the bottom of the seventh (junior highs play seven innings) after two outs the score was 1-0 in favor of Oshima thanks to a beautiful squeeze play in the third or fourth. Saikai North was in a good position for scoring though, with runners on second and third. The batter slapped out a solid line drive, but our second baseman made a fantastic dive to stop the ball and get it to first, ending the game and securing another victory flag for Oshima to display for the coming year.
That only left basketball's final two games. It all came down to the last game, Oshima versus Oseto, both teams 3-0 thus far. Up until this point Oshima's cheering section had consisted of some parents and the two big white guys with sporadic cheering at best, and Drew and I had decided that if nothing else then we would certainly yell our heads off for the girls in the final showdown.
Luckily some other teachers had arrived to cheer on this last contest of the day, bolstering our numbers a little, giving us a few more voices to add. A few more voices seemed to be insignificant though, compared to the might that Oseto had mustered. See, we were on their home court, and all of their other teams that had finished had turned out to watch the game. They filled the whole section of seats across from us, giving them at least 80 people, if not more. We had maybe 15. But we had something special.
We had Katsuki sensei.
The man is a cheering machine. Drew and I had planned to cheer a little, get loud, you know, but less than a minute into the game he had started a chant. And we picked it up.
And he just kept GOING. We cheered for almost an hour straight. Katsuki sensei led the offensive chants and he recruited me to lead the defensive ones (with big support from Drew). He even had a special cheer for timeouts. We cheered during the timeouts! The only lull in the chanting came during halftime. Oseto might have had more voices than us, but there was no way they could match our pride or dedication.
We weren't completely alone either, because between myself, Drew, and our coach's wife, we had recruited the teams from both Seihi (the coach lives there) and Saikai South to our cheering section. These kids were awesome, and one especially friendly kid went home with Drew's "courage" bracelet. He was great, even teaching us the offensive cheers in the middle of chanting for the defense.
The result of all this untiring support? It was a fierce contest initially, but then Oshima pulled away, leading 30-10 at one point. Oseto fought back with intensity though, stopping the Oshima offense and playing their hearts out. Both teams gave it everything they had, and you can't help but respect that, but in the end Oshima managed to finish it with a seven point lead, bringing home the third victory flag for Oshima.
I don't think I have ever been so invested in a sporting event, whether it was one I was playing in or not. The baseball game was mighty intense, but this basketball game trumps everything. I am so proud of all the Oshima athletes, they are amazing, but I have a special spot for our basketball squad.
in the future let your game speak,
-greg.
ps: our defensive chant was "DE-FENSE *clap* *clap*", but ironically Katsuki sensei started it the first time, not me. no one seemed to have a problem with it though, so i guess it's common enough.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
go team! [2008.05.28]
This coming Sunday and Monday is the All-Saikai Junior High School Sports Tournament and things look to be pretty serious. Every sports team (club) from all eight of the junior highs in Saikai City will be competing at locations throughout the area (remember that in this case "city" is more like "rural township") and unfortunately it is physically and temporally impossible for me to make it to all of the various games and matches. Perhaps I should say "we", since Drew (my old roommate) will be arriving on Friday for a long visit.
In preparation for all that, we had a pep rally today at school. Well, "pep rally" would be the equivalent event in the US, but I would hardly apply that word and all that it entails to today's assembly.
To start, there are only about 130 students in the school, making it substantially more difficult to have crowds of yelling and cheering students. Another barrier to crowds of yelling and cheering students is a bit more formidable: Japanese culture. First though, some context.
There is only one non-sport club at Oshima JHS, and the art club's only been around since this past April. This is fairly common, from what I can gather, or in the very least the majority of clubs are sports clubs. Students only belong to one club, and that club becomes their group. Occasionally students will change clubs between years, but this isn't overly common I don't think.
So for the assembly, the students that aren't on one of the teams sat and waited in the gym, seated on the floor as usual (only the graduation and entrance ceremonies merit chairs, and that's because they put down a special rubber floor). They put some marching music on the PA (the same as in the Sports Day last weekend, which is its own story), and all of the teams marched into the gym in turn, to the applause of those of us waiting inside.
That was about as "peppy" as it got. It bears noting that the applause was the standard "I have to clap" applause, and there was certainly no "hooting" and / or "hollering" involved in any way whatsoever. Well, except from me, but I'm a crazy foreigner.
Once in the gym, everyone stood up and bowed to begin the assembly, and then the teams took turns hustling up on stage, introducing their members, bowing with a hearty "onegaishimasu!" and hustling off the stage, with varying levels of loudness and enthusiasm. After that there was a speech from the principal, a speech from a student council member, and then we all sang the school song. The assembly was closed with a bow, and then the each team got together for their team picture.
Not quite the old "rah rah siss boom bah!" is it?
forget love, let's crush the future opposition!
-greg.
ps: oh, "onegaishimasu" means... hm. well, it gets used all the time actually, but it is kind of like asking someone for a favor, or for support, or as a nice way to ask for something or.... it's polite, and it's important, but don't quote me on the rest.
In preparation for all that, we had a pep rally today at school. Well, "pep rally" would be the equivalent event in the US, but I would hardly apply that word and all that it entails to today's assembly.
To start, there are only about 130 students in the school, making it substantially more difficult to have crowds of yelling and cheering students. Another barrier to crowds of yelling and cheering students is a bit more formidable: Japanese culture. First though, some context.
There is only one non-sport club at Oshima JHS, and the art club's only been around since this past April. This is fairly common, from what I can gather, or in the very least the majority of clubs are sports clubs. Students only belong to one club, and that club becomes their group. Occasionally students will change clubs between years, but this isn't overly common I don't think.
So for the assembly, the students that aren't on one of the teams sat and waited in the gym, seated on the floor as usual (only the graduation and entrance ceremonies merit chairs, and that's because they put down a special rubber floor). They put some marching music on the PA (the same as in the Sports Day last weekend, which is its own story), and all of the teams marched into the gym in turn, to the applause of those of us waiting inside.
That was about as "peppy" as it got. It bears noting that the applause was the standard "I have to clap" applause, and there was certainly no "hooting" and / or "hollering" involved in any way whatsoever. Well, except from me, but I'm a crazy foreigner.
Once in the gym, everyone stood up and bowed to begin the assembly, and then the teams took turns hustling up on stage, introducing their members, bowing with a hearty "onegaishimasu!" and hustling off the stage, with varying levels of loudness and enthusiasm. After that there was a speech from the principal, a speech from a student council member, and then we all sang the school song. The assembly was closed with a bow, and then the each team got together for their team picture.
Not quite the old "rah rah siss boom bah!" is it?
forget love, let's crush the future opposition!
-greg.
ps: oh, "onegaishimasu" means... hm. well, it gets used all the time actually, but it is kind of like asking someone for a favor, or for support, or as a nice way to ask for something or.... it's polite, and it's important, but don't quote me on the rest.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
this is your life [2008.05.14]
You work your way on top of the shard of broken pottery sitting in your little plastic basin and look up at the children hunched over, staring at you. They are excited, but eventually they lose interest or else are hustled along by one of their teachers. You try to climb up the plastic, only to slide right back down the side.
You stop and listen: you hear no scraping from the basin next to you. In fact, there probably isn't even a basin there anymore. Only you.
They put you in the metal trough sink sometimes and wash the brown water out of your tub, cleaning it and putting fresh water in. The little ones throw you your food and squeal in delight as you eat it down.
Every Wednesday, I look down at you as you look up at me, trying in vain to scale the plastic sides of your tub, thumping when you inevitably hit the bottom after losing your grip. You might as well be Sisyphus, except you tricked no one to be here; you are simply slow and interesting to children.
You are Biggest Sad Turtle, and this is your life. You are Biggest Sad Turtle, and you are possible the only thing that is sad in all of Oshima Kindergarten.
But you are very very sad.
in the future, deserve's still got nothing to do with it,
-greg.
You stop and listen: you hear no scraping from the basin next to you. In fact, there probably isn't even a basin there anymore. Only you.
They put you in the metal trough sink sometimes and wash the brown water out of your tub, cleaning it and putting fresh water in. The little ones throw you your food and squeal in delight as you eat it down.
Every Wednesday, I look down at you as you look up at me, trying in vain to scale the plastic sides of your tub, thumping when you inevitably hit the bottom after losing your grip. You might as well be Sisyphus, except you tricked no one to be here; you are simply slow and interesting to children.
You are Biggest Sad Turtle, and this is your life. You are Biggest Sad Turtle, and you are possible the only thing that is sad in all of Oshima Kindergarten.
But you are very very sad.
in the future, deserve's still got nothing to do with it,
-greg.
Saturday, May 10, 2008
employment opportunities [2008.05.09]
If I ever fail in pursuits related to computers or languages I know that I will always have a future as a cat-herder. It's close enough at least to what I do every Wednesday when I go teach at the kindergarten here in Oshima.
In Oshima there are two classes, divided by age group. The Flower group is for the 4-5 year olds and the Rainbow group is for 5-6 year olds. The Rainbow kids graduate up to elementary school at the end of the year, and the Flower group becomes the new Rainbow group.
Now, the Japanese school year runs from April to March, so up until the end of the previous school year I had 31 crazy, wonderful, all-over-the-place little munchkins running around every Wednesday morning during my hour long English class. Twelve of them graduated in March but I got a fresh crop of 11 itty-bitty four year-olds in April, and that's just a totally different animal. That could almost be a literal statement, based on the difference that four months of kindergarten makes in how these kids behave. The cat-herding description is even more accurate now.
My days at the kindergarten run from 10am-3pm. Technically the kids generally leave at 2pm, but afterwards the teachers clean a little and then have "tea time". That's what the they call it, a little pinch of English mixed into the Japanese. English class itself runs from 1030-1130, and then after that it's chaos, lunch, then some more chaos, with general kindergarten-type learning stuff thrown in for good measure.
Overall these kids are warm, friendly, curious, innocent, and adorable. That's a lot of adjectives, but they deserve it. Of course there's the kid who cries as soon as he gets to school and then refuses to eat lunch, the one who cries if he gets too excited, and the little spoiled one who's always bothering the other kids and throws a tantrum if he doesn't get what he wants, but they're four years old, what should one expect?
All of the different schools have their own perks and charms, but I really love the simple joy and fun of the kindergarten and the younger kids. Ironically, I get to talk to them almost more than the junior high kids because I realized that English Only with five year olds is stupid.
walking through the future jungle,
-greg.
ps: speaking of six year olds, some of the first graders asked me yesterday if i was from the US. when i said yes, one of the girls asked me if i was going home to America that night. she couldn't believe it when i said i lived in Oshima. i love it.
pps: "walking through the jungle" is quite possibly their favorite book. crocodile!
In Oshima there are two classes, divided by age group. The Flower group is for the 4-5 year olds and the Rainbow group is for 5-6 year olds. The Rainbow kids graduate up to elementary school at the end of the year, and the Flower group becomes the new Rainbow group.
Now, the Japanese school year runs from April to March, so up until the end of the previous school year I had 31 crazy, wonderful, all-over-the-place little munchkins running around every Wednesday morning during my hour long English class. Twelve of them graduated in March but I got a fresh crop of 11 itty-bitty four year-olds in April, and that's just a totally different animal. That could almost be a literal statement, based on the difference that four months of kindergarten makes in how these kids behave. The cat-herding description is even more accurate now.
My days at the kindergarten run from 10am-3pm. Technically the kids generally leave at 2pm, but afterwards the teachers clean a little and then have "tea time". That's what the they call it, a little pinch of English mixed into the Japanese. English class itself runs from 1030-1130, and then after that it's chaos, lunch, then some more chaos, with general kindergarten-type learning stuff thrown in for good measure.
Overall these kids are warm, friendly, curious, innocent, and adorable. That's a lot of adjectives, but they deserve it. Of course there's the kid who cries as soon as he gets to school and then refuses to eat lunch, the one who cries if he gets too excited, and the little spoiled one who's always bothering the other kids and throws a tantrum if he doesn't get what he wants, but they're four years old, what should one expect?
All of the different schools have their own perks and charms, but I really love the simple joy and fun of the kindergarten and the younger kids. Ironically, I get to talk to them almost more than the junior high kids because I realized that English Only with five year olds is stupid.
walking through the future jungle,
-greg.
ps: speaking of six year olds, some of the first graders asked me yesterday if i was from the US. when i said yes, one of the girls asked me if i was going home to America that night. she couldn't believe it when i said i lived in Oshima. i love it.
pps: "walking through the jungle" is quite possibly their favorite book. crocodile!
Thursday, April 24, 2008
goooooooooaaaaaaaaal [2008.04.24]
Today was BEAUTIFUL.
Really I could just end this there and it would be a pretty accurate characterization of the overall theme of the day, but I might as well expand on things a little.
Today was a sort of field / recreation day for all of the Oshima / Sakito schools. Yep, all of them. We were all supposed to be together, but for some reason it ended up just being the junior high, East Elementary, and the kindergarten being in one place, with the other schools off in other locations. Maybe it had something to do with the crazy heavy rain yesterday, but I don't really know.
The day's festivities started out at each individual school, so I can only comment on the junior high. Everyone assembled on the school's field for the opening business, and then it was a big hunt for 100 or so little cards that the student council had hidden around the grounds. After that the cards were collected and we all set off for Wakkodo no Mori (maybe I spelled that right?), which means something like Young People's Forest and consists of some sports fields and a small mountain / big hill looking out over the ocean. The park itself would have been enough but we were surrounded by hills covered in trees filled to the top with all sorts of green leaves. A couple times I just stopped and looked around to take everything in.
It was maybe a few kilometers to the park (after the beach but before the high school, for the five or six people that know what that means), and it didn't take us very long to get there. Once we arrived, everyone assembled once more before the chaos was unleashed. Myself, I went straight for the soccer field.
Basically, with the exception of the time specifically allotted for lunch, we were constantly playing soccer. We were there for four hours. It was phenomenal. We had representatives from all three years of junior high school as well as a couple elementary school kids. This does not include all of the random kids that would run across the field in the course of their own games. As far as teachers go and in addition to myself we had Nakayama-sensei, Nakamura-sensei, Hayashi-sensei, and Nagano-sensei, so it was a pretty ridiculous array of players. The field got a little crowded, but it was wonderful.
I only stepped out for a bit to go play with the kindergarteners, partly because I want to get a lot of face time with the new kids to make them comfortable, but also just because I love them and they are adorable. Mostly we played what amounts to a variant of Red Rover (with added Rock Paper Scissors), but a couple kids challenged me to sumo as well. Like I said, they are adorable.
Now of course though we are all tired and thinking that maybe Friday would have been a better day for the outing, especially because you can't have a big school event without having a celebratory party that evening. So, we're not quite done yet. Since it is only Thursday though, there probably won't be any second or third outings after the main event...
So the recap: tired and sunburned after a day chock full of running around and playing with some great kids. I told you it was beautiful, right?
ridiculous mexican soccer announcer future love,
-greg.
ps: but oh MAN i had no idea how badly i got sunburned until i got home. maybe it's the lower latitude?..
Really I could just end this there and it would be a pretty accurate characterization of the overall theme of the day, but I might as well expand on things a little.
Today was a sort of field / recreation day for all of the Oshima / Sakito schools. Yep, all of them. We were all supposed to be together, but for some reason it ended up just being the junior high, East Elementary, and the kindergarten being in one place, with the other schools off in other locations. Maybe it had something to do with the crazy heavy rain yesterday, but I don't really know.
The day's festivities started out at each individual school, so I can only comment on the junior high. Everyone assembled on the school's field for the opening business, and then it was a big hunt for 100 or so little cards that the student council had hidden around the grounds. After that the cards were collected and we all set off for Wakkodo no Mori (maybe I spelled that right?), which means something like Young People's Forest and consists of some sports fields and a small mountain / big hill looking out over the ocean. The park itself would have been enough but we were surrounded by hills covered in trees filled to the top with all sorts of green leaves. A couple times I just stopped and looked around to take everything in.
It was maybe a few kilometers to the park (after the beach but before the high school, for the five or six people that know what that means), and it didn't take us very long to get there. Once we arrived, everyone assembled once more before the chaos was unleashed. Myself, I went straight for the soccer field.
Basically, with the exception of the time specifically allotted for lunch, we were constantly playing soccer. We were there for four hours. It was phenomenal. We had representatives from all three years of junior high school as well as a couple elementary school kids. This does not include all of the random kids that would run across the field in the course of their own games. As far as teachers go and in addition to myself we had Nakayama-sensei, Nakamura-sensei, Hayashi-sensei, and Nagano-sensei, so it was a pretty ridiculous array of players. The field got a little crowded, but it was wonderful.
I only stepped out for a bit to go play with the kindergarteners, partly because I want to get a lot of face time with the new kids to make them comfortable, but also just because I love them and they are adorable. Mostly we played what amounts to a variant of Red Rover (with added Rock Paper Scissors), but a couple kids challenged me to sumo as well. Like I said, they are adorable.
Now of course though we are all tired and thinking that maybe Friday would have been a better day for the outing, especially because you can't have a big school event without having a celebratory party that evening. So, we're not quite done yet. Since it is only Thursday though, there probably won't be any second or third outings after the main event...
So the recap: tired and sunburned after a day chock full of running around and playing with some great kids. I told you it was beautiful, right?
ridiculous mexican soccer announcer future love,
-greg.
ps: but oh MAN i had no idea how badly i got sunburned until i got home. maybe it's the lower latitude?..
Friday, April 11, 2008
let's do the time warp again! [2008.04.11]
I usually get up at five of seven or thereabouts, so when I woke up today and saw that it was a quarter after I jumped out of bed and started getting ready.
Well, okay, I rolled over and grumbled inwardly to myself for five minutes and then grudgingly worked my way to a standing position. It is mighty difficult to "jump" out of bed when one's bed is a mat on the floor.
Semantics aside, I rushed through a slightly compressed version of my morning routine, went out the door, and looked over at East Elementary. I was a little confused to see two lone people jogging around the field as opposed to the expected hoard of small children, but I brushed it aside, thinking that perhaps they had already gone inside.
Riding my bike out of my neighborhood I surprised someone else who was jogging, which seemed strange because I had never seen anyone jogging in the morning before. My suspicions were even further aroused when I passed Nakayama-sensei's apartment and his car was still sitting cozy in his space. This was completely unprecedented and provoked great confusion on my part.
When I turned out of my block and onto the street next to the little harbor (or "boat basin") my mind was in full revolt. Where were all of the shipyard workers?! There should be a steady stream of men in brown jumpsuits riding bycicles, but there was barely a trickle! I looked across the water to the junior high and saw only two cars in the parking lot. Eh?! My fears were confirmed when I turned the corner and glanced at the clock across from the little square: SIX fifty five, not seven!!
I turned into the school's parking lot and Kawaguchi-sensei opened the door laughing as I rode up to her car. She had come early to prepare for her day, but the Vice-Principal wasn't quite there yet to open the school. I was so stunned, I just kept saying "I don't understand.." and she kept laughing. A whole hour of sleep! Why?!
On second though, let's not do this particular time warp ever again.
future love, now with 4% more future!
-greg.
Well, okay, I rolled over and grumbled inwardly to myself for five minutes and then grudgingly worked my way to a standing position. It is mighty difficult to "jump" out of bed when one's bed is a mat on the floor.
Semantics aside, I rushed through a slightly compressed version of my morning routine, went out the door, and looked over at East Elementary. I was a little confused to see two lone people jogging around the field as opposed to the expected hoard of small children, but I brushed it aside, thinking that perhaps they had already gone inside.
Riding my bike out of my neighborhood I surprised someone else who was jogging, which seemed strange because I had never seen anyone jogging in the morning before. My suspicions were even further aroused when I passed Nakayama-sensei's apartment and his car was still sitting cozy in his space. This was completely unprecedented and provoked great confusion on my part.
When I turned out of my block and onto the street next to the little harbor (or "boat basin") my mind was in full revolt. Where were all of the shipyard workers?! There should be a steady stream of men in brown jumpsuits riding bycicles, but there was barely a trickle! I looked across the water to the junior high and saw only two cars in the parking lot. Eh?! My fears were confirmed when I turned the corner and glanced at the clock across from the little square: SIX fifty five, not seven!!
I turned into the school's parking lot and Kawaguchi-sensei opened the door laughing as I rode up to her car. She had come early to prepare for her day, but the Vice-Principal wasn't quite there yet to open the school. I was so stunned, I just kept saying "I don't understand.." and she kept laughing. A whole hour of sleep! Why?!
On second though, let's not do this particular time warp ever again.
future love, now with 4% more future!
-greg.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
special uninvited guest [2008.04.07]
... came in through the back door.
Except that's not right at all. Tomorrow is the entrance ceremony for all of the new students at the respective schools and, just like they did for graduation, East Elementary has sent me an invitation to attend. Katsuki-sensei, the new English teacher, said that being a special guest is certainly something to experience; he has never been invited as an honored guest. Maybe I am not really normal, but I think I would rather not be.
In this role I am included with all of the various important heads of everything: Board of Education, city representatives, principals, distinguished members of the community, police chiefs... pretty impressive eh? Generally everyone is taken into a special room and given some tea, some little cakes or something, and they can chat and whatnot until they are led to their special seating area right before the event begins. So what have I done to merit rubbing elbows with such an illustrious group? Absolutely nothing.
I am there because I am the foreign English teacher, the perpetual guest. While I do try to appreciate the consideration and honor of it, in many ways it is just another reminder that I do not really belong.
At the kindergarten graduation I was on the side of the room with all of the important people when I would have much rather been on the other side of the room with the teachers that I work with and have become friends with. When I sat with all of the specially invited guests at East Elementary's graduation I would have vastly preferred to be sitting with Nagao-sensei sharing in the happiness and pride of his daughter's graduation. Only at the junior high's graduation did I sit with the other teachers, and there is nowhere I would have rather been.
But that's pretty rare I guess, so tomorrow I will drink my tea and eat my cakes and enjoy it. To be fare, being a sometimes teacher at four schools means I am not a full-time teacher at any of them, and I am incredibly grateful for the ever-present kindness. This is not a complaint in any way, it is simply an alternate perspective. In the pre-Japan prep they say that being the "gaijin star" is simultaneously the best and worst thing about coming here. Damned if that ain't the truth.
mom always said i was special,
-greg.
Except that's not right at all. Tomorrow is the entrance ceremony for all of the new students at the respective schools and, just like they did for graduation, East Elementary has sent me an invitation to attend. Katsuki-sensei, the new English teacher, said that being a special guest is certainly something to experience; he has never been invited as an honored guest. Maybe I am not really normal, but I think I would rather not be.
In this role I am included with all of the various important heads of everything: Board of Education, city representatives, principals, distinguished members of the community, police chiefs... pretty impressive eh? Generally everyone is taken into a special room and given some tea, some little cakes or something, and they can chat and whatnot until they are led to their special seating area right before the event begins. So what have I done to merit rubbing elbows with such an illustrious group? Absolutely nothing.
I am there because I am the foreign English teacher, the perpetual guest. While I do try to appreciate the consideration and honor of it, in many ways it is just another reminder that I do not really belong.
At the kindergarten graduation I was on the side of the room with all of the important people when I would have much rather been on the other side of the room with the teachers that I work with and have become friends with. When I sat with all of the specially invited guests at East Elementary's graduation I would have vastly preferred to be sitting with Nagao-sensei sharing in the happiness and pride of his daughter's graduation. Only at the junior high's graduation did I sit with the other teachers, and there is nowhere I would have rather been.
But that's pretty rare I guess, so tomorrow I will drink my tea and eat my cakes and enjoy it. To be fare, being a sometimes teacher at four schools means I am not a full-time teacher at any of them, and I am incredibly grateful for the ever-present kindness. This is not a complaint in any way, it is simply an alternate perspective. In the pre-Japan prep they say that being the "gaijin star" is simultaneously the best and worst thing about coming here. Damned if that ain't the truth.
mom always said i was special,
-greg.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
a curious array of footwear [2008.03.26]
Imagine, if you will, the school gym. All of the students are here, sitting on the floor in rows according to grade, class, and gender, and all of the teachers are standing beside or behind them. Everyone has just finished singing the school song before sitting down, and the principal has gone up onto the stage to address everyone for the closing of the school year. You look around and are impressed by the seriousness of it, the students all in their uniforms, and the teachers garbed in their finest business attire.
Until you look down and realize that all of the teachers have basketball shoes on.
This is something that never fails to make me smile. People don't generally have "nice" inside shoes to go along with their normal casual ones, and they certainly don't generally have two pairs of gym shoes (which are different), which leads to all sorts of interesting footware combinations when circumstances dictate that a higher level of dress is required. I have seen special exception taken only once, for the graduation ceremony that just recently happened, but that is it.
While the suit + basketball style brings a smile to my face and I wish that it would catch on more in the US, it didn't really serve to change the mood from a solemn one this past Wednesday for the closing ceremony, because it was also the farewell ceremony for the teachers that would be leaving.
The school year in Japan runs from April to March, and generally teachers are moved between schools every three or four years. Teachers that graduate with their teaching degree but have yet to pass the wicked hard prefectural exams have a maximum of one year to work at each school, after which they have to wait to see if any openings appear.
Between those two factors, Oshima Junior High said farewell to 11 teachers on Monday, almost half of our total staff. Included in that group is Kita-sensei, one of the English teachers that I work with, and our vice-principal, who is just pretty great. Umino-sensei, Nagao-sensei, and Matsuo-sensei, three out of five of the third grade teachers that I sit and have become really close to, are leaving as well.
It was pretty easy then to relate to the students who were crying as all of the teachers made their farewell speaches. Afterwards each teacher was presented with a bouquet of flowers by one of the students that they had developed a close relationship too. It was a really nice moment, but really sad too.
You might think that having to rotate so often would make it just another part of the job, but it's just not like that. Almost everyone up on that stage had tears in their eyes, even the guy who is always joking. There were a few dry eyes I guess, but they were not the majority.
It is hypocritical to not want them to leave, because I will eventually do the same, especially since it is not their choice. I do it anyway. Apparently the new teachers are all announced, and the new office manager was even in today to learn how everything works. I've heard that the new English teacher really loves ping pong. We shall see.
Meanwhile everyone helps the old teachers with the moving out process: cleaning, carrying, stuff like that. One of the good things about the rotation being a regular part of the Japanese school system is that there is an established process for it, much like the rest of Japanese culture, and everyone knows what is going to happen and what they are supposed to do.
Unless, of course, you've never done it before and miss the first day of move-out help because of a miscommunication. Dammit! Sorry Nagao-sensei.
frustrated love from the future,
-greg.
ps: i recently got some more new (old) pictures up. old cause they are from when i went to Nara with Alice... in november. i will catch up eventually. (flickr)
Until you look down and realize that all of the teachers have basketball shoes on.
This is something that never fails to make me smile. People don't generally have "nice" inside shoes to go along with their normal casual ones, and they certainly don't generally have two pairs of gym shoes (which are different), which leads to all sorts of interesting footware combinations when circumstances dictate that a higher level of dress is required. I have seen special exception taken only once, for the graduation ceremony that just recently happened, but that is it.
While the suit + basketball style brings a smile to my face and I wish that it would catch on more in the US, it didn't really serve to change the mood from a solemn one this past Wednesday for the closing ceremony, because it was also the farewell ceremony for the teachers that would be leaving.
The school year in Japan runs from April to March, and generally teachers are moved between schools every three or four years. Teachers that graduate with their teaching degree but have yet to pass the wicked hard prefectural exams have a maximum of one year to work at each school, after which they have to wait to see if any openings appear.
Between those two factors, Oshima Junior High said farewell to 11 teachers on Monday, almost half of our total staff. Included in that group is Kita-sensei, one of the English teachers that I work with, and our vice-principal, who is just pretty great. Umino-sensei, Nagao-sensei, and Matsuo-sensei, three out of five of the third grade teachers that I sit and have become really close to, are leaving as well.
It was pretty easy then to relate to the students who were crying as all of the teachers made their farewell speaches. Afterwards each teacher was presented with a bouquet of flowers by one of the students that they had developed a close relationship too. It was a really nice moment, but really sad too.
You might think that having to rotate so often would make it just another part of the job, but it's just not like that. Almost everyone up on that stage had tears in their eyes, even the guy who is always joking. There were a few dry eyes I guess, but they were not the majority.
It is hypocritical to not want them to leave, because I will eventually do the same, especially since it is not their choice. I do it anyway. Apparently the new teachers are all announced, and the new office manager was even in today to learn how everything works. I've heard that the new English teacher really loves ping pong. We shall see.
Meanwhile everyone helps the old teachers with the moving out process: cleaning, carrying, stuff like that. One of the good things about the rotation being a regular part of the Japanese school system is that there is an established process for it, much like the rest of Japanese culture, and everyone knows what is going to happen and what they are supposed to do.
Unless, of course, you've never done it before and miss the first day of move-out help because of a miscommunication. Dammit! Sorry Nagao-sensei.
frustrated love from the future,
-greg.
ps: i recently got some more new (old) pictures up. old cause they are from when i went to Nara with Alice... in november. i will catch up eventually. (flickr)
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
a precursor [2008.03.19]
The third year junior high school students graduated yesterday, but I'm not going to talk about that really right now, or rather I am not going to talk about the whole of it.
You see, the mother of one of my students was waiting at the entrance of school yesterday to give all of the teachers a little piece of cake that she had made, nicely wrapped in individual little bags. This in itself is really sweet, but the way she wrapped it carried with it the typical Japanese attention to detail, especially when it comes to presents.
Now, there is a whole subset of humor devoted to making fun of the Japanese use of English (aka "Engrish"), often with pretty good reason. English is used because it's different, and exotic, and often gets pretty butchered in the process. This was not one of those instances.
flickr
Maybe it had to do with the overall tone and character of the day, but it just struck me as simple and beautiful.
proud, happy, sad, but mostly full of (future) love,
-greg.
ps: the cake was also yummy, which is a nice bonus.
You see, the mother of one of my students was waiting at the entrance of school yesterday to give all of the teachers a little piece of cake that she had made, nicely wrapped in individual little bags. This in itself is really sweet, but the way she wrapped it carried with it the typical Japanese attention to detail, especially when it comes to presents.
Now, there is a whole subset of humor devoted to making fun of the Japanese use of English (aka "Engrish"), often with pretty good reason. English is used because it's different, and exotic, and often gets pretty butchered in the process. This was not one of those instances.
flickr
Maybe it had to do with the overall tone and character of the day, but it just struck me as simple and beautiful.
proud, happy, sad, but mostly full of (future) love,
-greg.
ps: the cake was also yummy, which is a nice bonus.
Monday, March 17, 2008
the stage is set, the green flag drops! [2008.03.13]
All right, basically only my brother will get that subject line reference (and even he might have forgotten by now), but I figure by this point I have made enough obscure references that it's pretty much par for the course, so I hope that I can be excused.
This particular missive does not concern automobile racing (as the subject may or may not suggest); no the meat of the matter lies in a far different sort of competition, one that I am a bit overdue in elaborating on. I am of course talking about the Saikai City 3rd Annual Table Tennis Tournament. I would also like to note that Saikai City has only existed for about three years.
So it was that the Oshima Club piled into three cars rolled out at 8am on a Sunday morning to make our way to the hallowed battleground that would bear witness to this, Saikai's Day of Reckoning. We arrived at Seihi Town's Tulip Arena a short time later and surveyed the field.
I don't know about everyone else, but I was certainly impressed by the set-up. There were a dozen tables set up inside of what looked like a basketball gym, although for the life of me I couldn't find where the hoops had gone too. They certainly weren't hanging from the ceiling. We warmed up a little, and then everyone started to get ready for the main event. I knew that my comrades were serious, but even I was surprised when many of them pulled off their windbreakers to reveal jersey's with either complementary or matching colors. It was on like Voltron baby.
Obviously I lost my first match.
Oh, my second one too, knocking me out in the first round and pretty out of any ping pong until after lunch, though I didn't realize that I would have more opportunities to play later. That doesn't mean that I had nothing to do though, as the loser keeps score for the next match, and I had plenty of my friends' matches to watch.
Unfortunately they all pretty much lost too, even the crazy old sensei who is wicked good. Eh?! Two of our guys did redeem our club though, making it through the first round, with one even going on to finish third overall. Still though, it was kind of nuts.
It gets even better when one takes into account our opponents. While there were a few local clubs in attendance, as well as maybe one or two high school and college teams, the vast majority of competitors there were junior high school students. Let me tell you, these kids were freaking wicked. You'd have to practice two or three hours a day for at least a year or two to get that good, preferably with a coach. Oh, well, I guess they do, which maybe explains it a little, but still, just wicked good.
The only thing that kind of got to me were a few of the kids that were just bad sports yelling "yes" or "good" in Japanese after every point and stuff like that. There was one girl in particular who had possibly the most annoyingly high-pitched voice that I have yet heard, so that no matter where I was it reached me. Even more unfortunately, she used it to say yell "lucky" or "don't mind" any time her opponent, or her friends' opponents, got a point. Oh man.
That was a minor thing though, and overall the day was glorious, even though my random junior high partner and I lost in the first doubles round and I got whomped by all the old man in the "large ball" round robin tournament. When I started the day I set two goals: win a game and no shutouts. Well, in doubles we did win our first game of the match, but let's just say it was pretty tough going keeping up with that second goal in large ball.
Of course afterwards Oshima Club all got together for a big dinner party. I love my Oshima Club. Rock!
On (another) completely unrelated note (this is becoming an odd habit), you should go watch this little video that my Aunt Kirsten sent me. It's about this group of guys that drove this crappy little plastic Eastern European communist-era cars across half the world to raise money for orphans in Cambodia. Check it out:
trabant trek on cnn
still full of ping pong love for the foreseeable future,
-greg.
ps: holy craaaap that was long, sorry.
This particular missive does not concern automobile racing (as the subject may or may not suggest); no the meat of the matter lies in a far different sort of competition, one that I am a bit overdue in elaborating on. I am of course talking about the Saikai City 3rd Annual Table Tennis Tournament. I would also like to note that Saikai City has only existed for about three years.
So it was that the Oshima Club piled into three cars rolled out at 8am on a Sunday morning to make our way to the hallowed battleground that would bear witness to this, Saikai's Day of Reckoning. We arrived at Seihi Town's Tulip Arena a short time later and surveyed the field.
I don't know about everyone else, but I was certainly impressed by the set-up. There were a dozen tables set up inside of what looked like a basketball gym, although for the life of me I couldn't find where the hoops had gone too. They certainly weren't hanging from the ceiling. We warmed up a little, and then everyone started to get ready for the main event. I knew that my comrades were serious, but even I was surprised when many of them pulled off their windbreakers to reveal jersey's with either complementary or matching colors. It was on like Voltron baby.
Obviously I lost my first match.
Oh, my second one too, knocking me out in the first round and pretty out of any ping pong until after lunch, though I didn't realize that I would have more opportunities to play later. That doesn't mean that I had nothing to do though, as the loser keeps score for the next match, and I had plenty of my friends' matches to watch.
Unfortunately they all pretty much lost too, even the crazy old sensei who is wicked good. Eh?! Two of our guys did redeem our club though, making it through the first round, with one even going on to finish third overall. Still though, it was kind of nuts.
It gets even better when one takes into account our opponents. While there were a few local clubs in attendance, as well as maybe one or two high school and college teams, the vast majority of competitors there were junior high school students. Let me tell you, these kids were freaking wicked. You'd have to practice two or three hours a day for at least a year or two to get that good, preferably with a coach. Oh, well, I guess they do, which maybe explains it a little, but still, just wicked good.
The only thing that kind of got to me were a few of the kids that were just bad sports yelling "yes" or "good" in Japanese after every point and stuff like that. There was one girl in particular who had possibly the most annoyingly high-pitched voice that I have yet heard, so that no matter where I was it reached me. Even more unfortunately, she used it to say yell "lucky" or "don't mind" any time her opponent, or her friends' opponents, got a point. Oh man.
That was a minor thing though, and overall the day was glorious, even though my random junior high partner and I lost in the first doubles round and I got whomped by all the old man in the "large ball" round robin tournament. When I started the day I set two goals: win a game and no shutouts. Well, in doubles we did win our first game of the match, but let's just say it was pretty tough going keeping up with that second goal in large ball.
Of course afterwards Oshima Club all got together for a big dinner party. I love my Oshima Club. Rock!
On (another) completely unrelated note (this is becoming an odd habit), you should go watch this little video that my Aunt Kirsten sent me. It's about this group of guys that drove this crappy little plastic Eastern European communist-era cars across half the world to raise money for orphans in Cambodia. Check it out:
trabant trek on cnn
still full of ping pong love for the foreseeable future,
-greg.
ps: holy craaaap that was long, sorry.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
a watershed moment [2008.03.12]
Today I realized just how long I'd been in Japan, and it had nothing to do with the impending end of the school year / graduation craziness.
No, my revelation was prompted by something rather removed from the ceremony and life changes facing my third year junior high students. I found the truth staring up at my from my lunch tray, tiny eyes fixed within the crunchy confines of its miniature body.
Yep, we had the little crunchy fish for lunch today (kozakana / 小魚, literally "little fish"). Our phenomenal school lunch center rotates them in every once in a while, and although that fact in itself does nothing to diminish my praise for them, I still inwardly groaned a little when I saw the kindergarten teacher scooping it onto everyone's rice. Perhaps a visual reminder will help you to remember why I would groan:
She even threw some extra on there for me. Ha. I was not daunted though, having decided pretty much upon arrival that no matter what they put in front of me I would eat it all. Paying for it would be enough of a reason, but I will pretty much try anything at least once and in the case of eating in school I also feel like I should set an example, especially at the kindergarten. So I grabbed my chopsticks, snatched a pile of the little buggers, and went to work.
The damned thing about it though... I liked it. They tasted good to me. I enjoyed it, even.
What is this place doing to me?
Whatever it is, I'm not complaining.
extra crunchy future love,
-greg.
No, my revelation was prompted by something rather removed from the ceremony and life changes facing my third year junior high students. I found the truth staring up at my from my lunch tray, tiny eyes fixed within the crunchy confines of its miniature body.
Yep, we had the little crunchy fish for lunch today (kozakana / 小魚, literally "little fish"). Our phenomenal school lunch center rotates them in every once in a while, and although that fact in itself does nothing to diminish my praise for them, I still inwardly groaned a little when I saw the kindergarten teacher scooping it onto everyone's rice. Perhaps a visual reminder will help you to remember why I would groan:
She even threw some extra on there for me. Ha. I was not daunted though, having decided pretty much upon arrival that no matter what they put in front of me I would eat it all. Paying for it would be enough of a reason, but I will pretty much try anything at least once and in the case of eating in school I also feel like I should set an example, especially at the kindergarten. So I grabbed my chopsticks, snatched a pile of the little buggers, and went to work.
The damned thing about it though... I liked it. They tasted good to me. I enjoyed it, even.
What is this place doing to me?
Whatever it is, I'm not complaining.
extra crunchy future love,
-greg.
Saturday, March 8, 2008
driving miss daisy? [2008.03.08]
Today I drove down to Nagasaki to buy some used books from another JET that had posted them for sale on the email list. You might ask yourself what possessed me to drive nearly an hour and a half to the city, on single lane roads and itty-bitty side streets, just to pick up some books. Well even if the books weren't of the really interesting type (including a Korean phrasebook, woo!), today it would have been worth it for the drive alone.
I'd caught the hint of spring hiding about before, but today was the first day that it actually stepped out and said "hey!" Cool enough to need a light jacket, but with the sun was shining enough for me to be able to roll down the windows and really enjoy it. Trees are beginning to bud everywhere, garden shops and front steps are packed with flowers, and even on my way out of the neighborhood I'm greeted by a long row of clover lining the road with big ole yellow flowers in full bloom.
Of course, the coming of spring is synonymous with the blossoming of the Japanese cherry trees, which has yet to occur. Everyone with a TV should be readily apprised of that event though, as there are forecasts every night on the news, chronicling the northern movements of the "cherry blossom front", the wave of the blossom's first blooms.
Unfortunately spring also heralds the end of the school year here in Japan, which runs from April to March, which means that very shortly I will be saying goodbye all of my third year junior high students. My older kindergarteners will be moving up to elementary school, which means I go from seeing them once a week to maybe once every month or so if I'm lucky.
Japanese teachers rotate every few years or so as well, so that adds even more people to say goodbye to, including some of the teachers that I have grown the closest to.
Basically I can frolic and be merry in the lovely springtime weather I just can't do it with all of the people that I have grown to know and love thus far.
On a completely unrelated note, I was also visited by two guys who wanted wanted to talk to me about Jesus Christ. I feel like that would not happen anywhere else in Japan except for Nagasaki, for historical reasons the only prefecture with Christian influence in its history. Their material also apparently comes from the "Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society" out of Pennsylvania. A little touch of home almost?
tired "ephemeral nature of life" cherry blossom cliché from the future,
-greg.
I'd caught the hint of spring hiding about before, but today was the first day that it actually stepped out and said "hey!" Cool enough to need a light jacket, but with the sun was shining enough for me to be able to roll down the windows and really enjoy it. Trees are beginning to bud everywhere, garden shops and front steps are packed with flowers, and even on my way out of the neighborhood I'm greeted by a long row of clover lining the road with big ole yellow flowers in full bloom.
Of course, the coming of spring is synonymous with the blossoming of the Japanese cherry trees, which has yet to occur. Everyone with a TV should be readily apprised of that event though, as there are forecasts every night on the news, chronicling the northern movements of the "cherry blossom front", the wave of the blossom's first blooms.
Unfortunately spring also heralds the end of the school year here in Japan, which runs from April to March, which means that very shortly I will be saying goodbye all of my third year junior high students. My older kindergarteners will be moving up to elementary school, which means I go from seeing them once a week to maybe once every month or so if I'm lucky.
Japanese teachers rotate every few years or so as well, so that adds even more people to say goodbye to, including some of the teachers that I have grown the closest to.
Basically I can frolic and be merry in the lovely springtime weather I just can't do it with all of the people that I have grown to know and love thus far.
On a completely unrelated note, I was also visited by two guys who wanted wanted to talk to me about Jesus Christ. I feel like that would not happen anywhere else in Japan except for Nagasaki, for historical reasons the only prefecture with Christian influence in its history. Their material also apparently comes from the "Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society" out of Pennsylvania. A little touch of home almost?
tired "ephemeral nature of life" cherry blossom cliché from the future,
-greg.
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
ill tidings born on the breeze [2008.03.04]
Yesterday morning I opened the door to go to work and was greeted by a strange sort of haze, giving the daylight this strange sort of suffused quality. I looked up as I was going down the steps from my apartment and saw the sun trying to shine through but only half-succeeding, to the point that I could look at it without much more discomfort than staring into a normal household incandescent bulb.
This seemed kind of strange to me but I didn't really give it any more thought, not even when I got in my car and found it much dirtier than it normally would be. I park near a tree though, so I figured that was it.
Actually I didn't really know what was going on until after I had been at work for a bit when Nagao-sensei started talking to me about "yellow sand" from China and pointing outside. I was extra confused until he pointed at me and made a coughing sound, which made me realize that the "yellow sand from China" had actually been blown to Oshima from I guess whatever desert in China would make that geographically feasible.
I just thought that was kind of nuts though, that the wind picked up these huge quantities of sand from China, carried it over the East China Sea, and the proceeded to dump it on Oshima, causing the aforementioned strange solar effects. Even worse, poor Nagao-sensei had just washed his car the day before. Damn. It's certainly something I didn't have to think about back in New Jersey, anyway.
eerily filtered future love,
-greg.
This seemed kind of strange to me but I didn't really give it any more thought, not even when I got in my car and found it much dirtier than it normally would be. I park near a tree though, so I figured that was it.
Actually I didn't really know what was going on until after I had been at work for a bit when Nagao-sensei started talking to me about "yellow sand" from China and pointing outside. I was extra confused until he pointed at me and made a coughing sound, which made me realize that the "yellow sand from China" had actually been blown to Oshima from I guess whatever desert in China would make that geographically feasible.
I just thought that was kind of nuts though, that the wind picked up these huge quantities of sand from China, carried it over the East China Sea, and the proceeded to dump it on Oshima, causing the aforementioned strange solar effects. Even worse, poor Nagao-sensei had just washed his car the day before. Damn. It's certainly something I didn't have to think about back in New Jersey, anyway.
eerily filtered future love,
-greg.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
finish him! [2008.02.27]
Monday afternoon I got home from work and was thinking about ping pong the next day. I've still been going mostly every week to play with the crowd of intense older folks that I've befriended (who are all wicked good, basically), but on Monday I wasn't very excited about going the next day. I love ping pong, but it felt like I was just going and playing on autopilot, not really enjoying it like the epic contests of old.
Of course that meant this weeks round of battles would be more exciting then ever. I've never really tried to "learn" how to play before, I just kind of did whatever felt natural and was reasonably effective, but these people are SERIOUS. There is a method to practice, and when you practice you play one way, focusing on consistency and technique, and then when you play it's all about the win. The thing is, I have finally started getting a handle on the technique and control that they want for practice, which is huge.
It doesn't hurt that I got to play the last half hour with the teacher, who is 77+ and better than anyone. This man just loves ping pong, and that's all there is to it. He is the one that was training back in October for the All-Japan disabled championships (he is nearly deaf). Some people have described me as a monkey when I play ping pong, but he is the only one there who really brings that out to the fullest, making it an all-out go-as-hard-as-you-can sort of battle. Well, he doesn't have to go all-out, but he pushes me to, and the whole time we're laughing and smiling. Perfection in ping pong, more or less.
All of this is basically leading up to this coming Sunday, when apparently there is some sort of tournament in the nearby town of Seihi. They have invited me to go with them to tournaments before, but this is the first time that I will actually be around to go, so it is pretty damn exciting. It'll be the first time I've ever really played in something organized (MRHS Senior Trip doesn't really count), so I will have to do my best to represent the strong tradition that I have participated in, from The Cellar and PPNN, to THE15, T2, all the way to this new chapter in Oshima.
Obviously I'll try and bust out a Kano on some fools, but in all likelihood if I am facing younger versions of the people I play with now it will be me getting the Temple of Doom treatment.
go big or go home love from the future,
-greg.
Of course that meant this weeks round of battles would be more exciting then ever. I've never really tried to "learn" how to play before, I just kind of did whatever felt natural and was reasonably effective, but these people are SERIOUS. There is a method to practice, and when you practice you play one way, focusing on consistency and technique, and then when you play it's all about the win. The thing is, I have finally started getting a handle on the technique and control that they want for practice, which is huge.
It doesn't hurt that I got to play the last half hour with the teacher, who is 77+ and better than anyone. This man just loves ping pong, and that's all there is to it. He is the one that was training back in October for the All-Japan disabled championships (he is nearly deaf). Some people have described me as a monkey when I play ping pong, but he is the only one there who really brings that out to the fullest, making it an all-out go-as-hard-as-you-can sort of battle. Well, he doesn't have to go all-out, but he pushes me to, and the whole time we're laughing and smiling. Perfection in ping pong, more or less.
All of this is basically leading up to this coming Sunday, when apparently there is some sort of tournament in the nearby town of Seihi. They have invited me to go with them to tournaments before, but this is the first time that I will actually be around to go, so it is pretty damn exciting. It'll be the first time I've ever really played in something organized (MRHS Senior Trip doesn't really count), so I will have to do my best to represent the strong tradition that I have participated in, from The Cellar and PPNN, to THE15, T2, all the way to this new chapter in Oshima.
Obviously I'll try and bust out a Kano on some fools, but in all likelihood if I am facing younger versions of the people I play with now it will be me getting the Temple of Doom treatment.
go big or go home love from the future,
-greg.
Friday, February 15, 2008
seriously mia [2008.02.15]
It's been a while, I guess. I've been sort of running all over the place, so you will have to forgive my slacking in the writing department. Here's the rundown.
Christina came right after Christmas, and we traveled from Tokyo down to Kyoto and then on to Hiroshima on the shinkansen (bullet train). Tokyo was hectic, of course, but I finally made it to the Dragonfly Cafe, something that my friend Nathan got us all set on doing when we were in Tokyo for orientation and got there right as it closed. It was really classy with amazing food. I tried to go there with my Pops later but it was closed, making me 1 for 3, but that's jumping ahead.
Kyoto was our New Year's stop, and we stayed in two different ryokan (traditional Japanese inns). The first ryokan was a smaller affair run by an old couple, and it had a really warm welcoming feeling, even if the temperature was not so warm inside. The second one was more impersonal, but we got to experience the crazy kaiseki ryori dinner (fancy Japanese haute cuisine) that the smaller place just wasn't equipped to handle. The room maids just kept bringing out all these myriad little dishes that literally covered the whole table. It was nuts.
If you're curious, New Year's was spent watching K1 Fighting on TV, partially due to our first ryokan's midnight curfew. It was nice though, taking a relaxing soak in the really really hot bath and then just kind of chilling.
Overall Kyoto was pretty awesome, especially Fushimi Inari Taisha, which was swarmed with people New Year's Day who were making the first shrine visit of the year. It was great to go back to Hiroshima too, even though none of the restaurants that I wanted to go to ended up working out. There was a random tapas place though, of all things. I miss my friends in Madrid, haha.
Now Dad is here in Oshima after I met him in Tokyo and we went up to Sapporo in Hokkaido for their Snow Festival. What started with a few college students who were then joined by soldiers from the Self Defense Forces has become a festival attended by more than 2 million people from all over the world. They had huge snow sculptures created by large organizations, including several units of the SDF, as well as a whole variety of smaller ones created by teams in competition.
So lots of crazy traveling and good times were had by all. Tomorrow we're going to the Nagasaki Lantern Festival, which basically amounts to a big Chinese New Year celebration. No pictures of any of that stuff is really online yet, but there's some sort of recent random Christmas ones and some from a visit to Kumamoto in the usual place (flickr).
I'll try go get back to being on point in the near future. Oh, and I turned in my papers a few weeks ago, so I will officially be coming home in August. I like my job, and I love the people, but I miss everyone back home too much to stay another year.
heavily delayed future love,
-greg.
ps: can something from the future really be late?
Christina came right after Christmas, and we traveled from Tokyo down to Kyoto and then on to Hiroshima on the shinkansen (bullet train). Tokyo was hectic, of course, but I finally made it to the Dragonfly Cafe, something that my friend Nathan got us all set on doing when we were in Tokyo for orientation and got there right as it closed. It was really classy with amazing food. I tried to go there with my Pops later but it was closed, making me 1 for 3, but that's jumping ahead.
Kyoto was our New Year's stop, and we stayed in two different ryokan (traditional Japanese inns). The first ryokan was a smaller affair run by an old couple, and it had a really warm welcoming feeling, even if the temperature was not so warm inside. The second one was more impersonal, but we got to experience the crazy kaiseki ryori dinner (fancy Japanese haute cuisine) that the smaller place just wasn't equipped to handle. The room maids just kept bringing out all these myriad little dishes that literally covered the whole table. It was nuts.
If you're curious, New Year's was spent watching K1 Fighting on TV, partially due to our first ryokan's midnight curfew. It was nice though, taking a relaxing soak in the really really hot bath and then just kind of chilling.
Overall Kyoto was pretty awesome, especially Fushimi Inari Taisha, which was swarmed with people New Year's Day who were making the first shrine visit of the year. It was great to go back to Hiroshima too, even though none of the restaurants that I wanted to go to ended up working out. There was a random tapas place though, of all things. I miss my friends in Madrid, haha.
Now Dad is here in Oshima after I met him in Tokyo and we went up to Sapporo in Hokkaido for their Snow Festival. What started with a few college students who were then joined by soldiers from the Self Defense Forces has become a festival attended by more than 2 million people from all over the world. They had huge snow sculptures created by large organizations, including several units of the SDF, as well as a whole variety of smaller ones created by teams in competition.
So lots of crazy traveling and good times were had by all. Tomorrow we're going to the Nagasaki Lantern Festival, which basically amounts to a big Chinese New Year celebration. No pictures of any of that stuff is really online yet, but there's some sort of recent random Christmas ones and some from a visit to Kumamoto in the usual place (flickr).
I'll try go get back to being on point in the near future. Oh, and I turned in my papers a few weeks ago, so I will officially be coming home in August. I like my job, and I love the people, but I miss everyone back home too much to stay another year.
heavily delayed future love,
-greg.
ps: can something from the future really be late?
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