zillion junior high photos

Hello! I have recently started posting pics of some everyday, monotonous, semi-boring, humdrum pics of Japanesey life. Not sure if you find this to be the way I just mentioned it, or are actually intrigued by what I experience daily in Taneichi's schools. Perhaps you will notice that the schools are decrepid, dirty, archaic and not up to health code? You have excellent observation skills.

I have been passing my camera off to random students over the last few months, letting them capture one another in their "natural environment". Many photos are just candid shots showcasing what it means to be a junior high school student in Japan.

Click on the link above to view pics of Taneichi Jr. High (the first pic shown above) AND Shukunohe Jr. High (the pic immediately above).

This is my last week with the 3-year students at these schools, they graduate next week and are heading to high school and I will get a fresh batch of ichi-nenseis to replace the dwindling population at the school. It's been an interesting year so far, I've learned a lot in my role as "japanese student" in teacher's apparell. Don't really know if they've learned much English, but I've learned a lot of Japanese and met some great students who I hope to always keep in touch with.

Wishing for much improvement...next time around.

Yusho Tagusari

Some people wonder what keeps me so busy every day. They say relax, throw in a movie and pour a stiff one. Easier said than done. There are two things that are zapping my energy and consuming

all of my non-working/waking hours in these last 2 months.

One, is the linguistics course I'm taking so I can start grad school next August. [Note: I don't advise taking an intensive English course while living in a non-English speaking environment. And moreover, who wants to spend 2 hours studying syntactic ambiguity and inflectional morphology while living in a new country?]

The second major committment has been perhaps the most influential and meaningful experience whilst living over here. Yes, I've traveled tons and met incredible people, BUT working with Yusho IS MY only teaching opportunity (which flashback 1 year ago when I was interviewing for this job and TOLD that I would be TEACHING!!??) Working with him makes me feel like I serve a purpose over here. It's been rewarding and challenging, and given me more insight into the ESL scene.

So Yusho comes to my house every evening to study English. He was the 8th grade winner of the speech contest and has been rewarded with a 2 week homestay in Indiana. Originally, I offered to help a couple hours a week, but somehow that has manifested into 3 hours a nite. Every nite. hmmmm, so i've started putting him to work: he helps me make dinner, and teaches me Japanese, tries to answer my cultural questions and of course we have to fun a little fun...so he'll bring over his PS2. (Nothing beats Dance Dance revolution--the Japanese version).

We study what needs to be studied for the Iwate exams, but mostly work on practical conversation for when he goes to America. He leaves, ironically, the same day I do for Hawaii. He is way excited to actually put the English he has learned to use. I'm really proud of his determination. I mean, how many 8th graders in any country would spend this amount of time studying anything for 3 hours a nite.

This isn't a completely selfless gesture on my part, working with him has improved my Japanese and will ultimately help write my thesis next year. These are the opportunities that you NEVER get in the States...meeting your students outside of school!? There is so much red tape in the American education system, its nearly impossible to foster a relationship with your students, without fear of discrimination or harassment charges.

I've also realized that in the ESL/EFL classroom, establishing trust is a must. Langauge is intimate and personal. It takes a lot of nerve to practice saying the most elementary of sentences with a complete stranger who you know is analyzing and hanging on every word you say. But once that relationship is established they will take a chance, and not fear making mistakes.

I can't think of anything more worthwhile to do for a living than to help someone communicate? It only took 7 months to realize that, but had I not taken a chance on Japan...who knows where and what I'd be doing? Big risks, big rewards. (And I credit that to Isaac.)

the nitelife in t-town

I'm told Taneichi has several drinking establishments, but I seem to be routinely taken to this one. Tonite was loads of fun with Hatsumi and Junko translating most of the nite away. Ryoutsu and Takiya, friends of the ladies, joined us for another fun nite of japanglish. Tonite's main lesson focused on ways to describe one's state of intoxication. They agreed that "hammered" was ichiban kantan, though it was the first time they had heard the phrase. Why their textbooks don't cover such basic necessities in the English language, I haven't a clue. Suffice to say, these guys couldn't handle the strength

of their sake and gave us a

demonstration of what it means to be "hammered." Take some Aspirin tonite...and gear up for the next Friday! Oyasumi!

okuyama sensei(s)

These are some of my neighbors...the Okuyama's. Both are 6 grade teachers @ Kadanohama and Jonai Shogakkos. They have the most adorable children, Akari and the little guy is Tayo. They invited me over for a Hina Matsuri celebration (Girl's Festival in Japan). Quick lesson on this festival, parents honor their daughters and pray for blessings in good health, fortune and beauty. They set up a stand with a multi-tiered platform to put the fancy dolls on. They leave gifts and treats on this "altar" for the dolls and pray that the evil spirits stay away from their precious children. Traditional meals for the festival include saki made from rice, mochi, sashimi and clam soup. The picture below is a special mochi dessert, mochi being mushed rice, wrapped in a fig leaf. Tasty, kinda earthy...

fortunately the Okuyama's are thougthful, as they had already prepared a foreigner-friendly meal. THANK YOU! It was delicious!

Learning about the Hina Matsuri. Here is a model of a typical Matsuri stand, usually found in the "best" room of one's home. The dolls are figurines of the Royal Imperial Family (this tradition began some 400 yeas ago...) A 15-member set is usually set up on a 7-tier platform for a few weeks. The male and female dolls are placed close together so as to ensure love in the future.

After that lesson, being the typical teachers that they are...they decided to work on my Japanese. Out came the hiragana books of their children--several Eric Carle books to. I've got the easy hiragana/katakana down, but the kanji is ridiculous. The books I used tonite are aimed at 3 year olds though (no joke) which is a humbling reminder that my Japanese sucks. so in closing, and in a positive lite--

I had a great time with you! Next time, please come to my home! Thanks for the lessons! Ganbarimasu! Oyasumi nasai!

san-nensei tribute for Taneichi-chu

3B

3A

CoNGraTULaTIonS Taneichi-chu 9th GrADerS

Dear students,

Junior high school is finished! I'm excited, anxious and

interested to see how things will go for you next year.

I'm going to miss your genkiness.

You are the antithesis of most students in the States, which made for some unique/confusing/interesting and frustrating moments. But I learned to appreciate the differences and was able to embrace your culture. Many of you were 'reluctant' to learn English,

which proved advantageous for me

as I have ended up learning way more Japanese than I thought possible.

Guess we learned together and learned from one another.

Continue to do your best and try your hardest! Ganbatte ne! ~aNne

GoOd LuCK

"Life's a Journey, Not a Destination." ~Aerosmith

capturing the obvious and ordinary

so I was actually enjoying a nice wkd in my town when the strangness of being here and feeling semi-settled made me realize i don't have any pics of Taneichi on here. pals back in the States have said "we have seen a zillion pics of places you've been, but where do you live?" i've been taking tons of random local pics over the last 7 months, just was a bit slow in getting them to you.
the link to the gallery is above. enjoy.
~anne

light it up

ThaNks KyOkO!

Kyoko is one of my ni-nenseis at Taneichi Jr High. And the brave soul who decided to make her highlighting debut...on me! Not quite as neon looking as the last flop, but not quite the aveda-blonde i was going for either. Sigh...

I met Kyoko while practicing for the infamous speech contest, held back in September. Her English is awesome and I continue to be impressed by the way in which she is able to actually learn English from such a ridiculous curriculum.

Nevertheless, she's a doll and of the rare breed of students

who actually want to study English!

The lack of "teaching opportunities" over here is miserable, but hanging out with my students outside of school, is proving to be more fun anyway.

Selfish me, only wishes that I could have both!

bdays back home

HaPPy BirThDAy DaD!!!

Dear Dad,

Happy Birthday! I'm immediately reminded of Dylan's "Forever Young"... 54...going on 25...you epitomize youthfulness. I'm so proud of you and your accomplishments. Here's to another great year ahead with your work, family and freetime (which includes your pursuit of a 40 pound pike and hitting the jackpot on the triple 7 machine).

You've been a great teacher over the years and I've always appreciate your insight and interest you have taken in my life.

You are one of my best friends and I love YOU so much!

See you in 3 weeks...Maui here we come!!!

xxoxo love you, anne

smaLL taLK

has this blog always looked like a scrapbook? where are the normal day-to-day things that annoy me, scare me, and confuse me? truth is, those things pale in comparison to the lights of the big cities and intrigue of new countries. guess i just assumed no one wants to hear me drag on about the more mundane aspects of village life.

so you DO want to hear about it?!

ok, let's start with small talk starter number one:

"Uh,...so how's the weather?"

1. today was the first day i woke up and could NOT see my breath in my bedroom. it's been unbearably cold for so long now, my body was accustomed to condensing my morning routine into 36 minutes---the time it takes to shower (while the heater warms my bedroom) in which i can get dressed and primped/pampered for the day--all in about 3 feet of space---the maximum distance from which one can feel the effects of the heater. it's been a long winter, but i can now say that the worse is behind us. today's high was 45!

2. NEWEST realization of the day: while cooking dinner this evening, i noticed that when i opened the fridge, cold air came OUT of it. yes--that would lead one to conclude that the air INside my fridge is now COLDER than the air in my house!

3. i have retired my snow boots for the winter. They have been useful and appreciated (thanks Ciara!!) but I think that if I put them in storage, out of sight/out of mind, it just might make winter in Iwate go away too?

out went the boots and in came the galoshes. these hideous orange and green boots set me back about $9, but what proved to be the biggest selling feature was the way in which it doubles as boots used by mountain climbers on icy slopes. you know the ones with the metal spikes on the ends of them...yeah, these galoshes have spikes. they are all-terrain and perfect for this super slushy start of spring.

4. it's 9:40 pM and i am currently using only ONE of my 3 heat sources.

NO kerosene heater: cancer-free tonite baby!

No kotatsu/heated table: which means the blood in my legs is finally circulating once more and risks of any blood clotting significantly diminished.

The heated carpet is my way to warmth and it's sufficient.

I feel so FREE, not being restricted to 'my spot' under the kotatsu/next to the heater...sitting in the same 1 square foot of space for 2 months is only ONE of the many alibis I have for acting the way I do over here.

5. Lastly, I was able to throw my futon outside this morning. I haven't performed this standard practice of cleanliness since October. and doesn't that say something about my standard of cleanliness. Hanging laundry on the line made me think of the good ol' days of summer. back when i first got here and was like a kid in a candy store--learning all sorts of inconvenient, inefficient and unorthodox ways of doing the simplest tasks that back home would require absolutely no planning/thinking or questioning.

amazingly enough, after 7 months, i still have some candy store moments. Think that's why I still like being here. Well, until June, when the rainy season hits...

What's for lunch? Seriously...?!?!

Hey folks, I found this cool site online tonite (click on the link above for an english publishing of one Japanese junior high school student's diary. It's pretty fascinating to read how differently Japanese students view school, sports and life.) I decided to post some info on school lunch scene over here. I found a copy of a lunch menu for a typical junior high school in Japan on this same site. I haven't been able to eloquently describe the "variety" of foods that are served each day. I usually can't tell what it is and surely would never ask! The truth is too scary. Students in Japan haven't any choices. No accessories is rule and everyone must wear the same school uniform/which includes matching white sneakers w/ different colored laces to designate their grade. In America, we would say that's shoelace discrimination, but in Japan maintaining harmony is priority number one...so it goes unchallenged.

Oops.I've derailed, let me back up and say that students in Japan also haven't a choice when it comes to school lunch. There are no "lunch lines", no "bag lunch" options and usually no lunch rooms. Students serve lunch to each other in their set classrooms (they are even required to put on really tasteless white hospital scrubs and chef hats while serving)...they must take everything that's served and while not mandatory--it appears that 99% of the students will leave NOTHING left on their plate (in doing so would be disrespectful, wasteful and in poor taste...no pun intended). Please read on for the menu! Bon Appetit!

Public School Lunch Center: The site where all of the town's schools lunches are "manufactured". The food is then catered out to each school, so it only need be dumped onto the plates

and served usually tepid-cool

(they despise hot foods for some reason.)

that has been sitting on a tray

for 40 minutes in the teacher's lounge.> something should also be said for portion control. as i've hinted at many times before--the portions are always 1/2 the size back in America. a "salad" is about 4 tablespoons, the rice is always served in tin canisters---maybe 1.5 cups? and the fruit is always cut into some ridiculous odd-fraction, a 1/3 of an apple or a 1/4 of an orange. it may be small, but it's familiar and that makes it greatest thing on the menu!

CHECK OUT MY FRIEND ERIN'S WEBSITE WITH MORE ON THE SCHOOL LUNCH SCENE...ANOTHER PERSPECTIVE WILL ONLY FURTHER VALIDATE MY JUDGEMENT. YOU GUYS THINK I EXAGGERATE...have a looksey:

http://neffinjapan.blogspot.com/2006/02/anyone-for-school-lunch.html

JAPANESE JR HG SCHOOL LUNCH MENU

April 8 Boiled rice, milk, Japanese soup, pot-boiled cutlet, cucumber mixed with sesame dressing

April 9 Boiled rice, milk, broiled beef, vegetable salad, mayonnaise, custard pudding

April 10 Boiled rice with barley, milk, fish flour with beefsteak plant, egg soup with dried bean curd, caramelized sardines

April 13 Rye bread, milk, salad with macaroni, mayonnaise, hamburger with tomato sauce

April 14 Boiled rice, milk, seasoned laver, cooked vegetables, caramelized tuna, chopped pickled radish

April 15 Sliced bread, milk, sliced cheese, Chinese-style dish with meat and vegetables in dogtooth violet starch, ham

April 16 Boiled rice with brown algae, milk, fried melt, sauce, pickles salted overnight, orange

April 17 Roll bread, milk, orange marmalade, spaghetti napolitaine, potatoes

April 20 Boiled rice with barley, milk, curry stew, cooked chicken, jelly

April 21 Boiled rice, yogurt, tuna flour, pork soup, sauted crab soup with scrambled eggs

April 22 Roll bread, milk, margarine, broiled buck wheat noodles, Bavarian cream with fruit

April 23 Boiled rice with barley, milk, fish flour with eggs, soybeans and tangles boiled thickly with sugar, fried fish, navel orange

April 24 Milk roll bread, milk, corn potage, fried fish sauce, lettuce

April 27 Boiled rice with seaweed, milk, cooked tuna with vegetables, pork cutlet with miso sauce, pine- apple

April 28 Soft-cooked wheat noodles, milk, seasoned soybeans, meat sauce, tuna salad

April 30 Boiled rice with vegetable mixtures, milk, bean curd cooked in Chinese style, steamed shao-mai, yogurt

vday

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!!

pRECiOUs

These are pics from my smallest school, Okonai-shogakko. 25 kids in the entire elem school, another example of taxpayer's money being ever so efficiently allocated. The above pics are the combined class of first AND second graders- 7 members (my teacher friends back home are probably shaking their heads in both disapproval and disbelief.)

The picture below is the combined class of 3/4 graders (again, only 7). We played 'hospital' but shortly thereafter I started feeling a bit under the weather myself. The teachers at Okonai swore I picked up walking pneumonia in Sapporo, and though I insisted that I could give it a 1-2 Sudafed/Nyquil punch and knock it out, apparently they know my immune system better than me and off I went to the hospital. Waiting for the doctor took 30 minutes, seeing the doctor maybe 4 (1 of which was spent watching the doctor page through his English dictionary). I think he tried to say "You aren't that sick, I'm not going to give you a prescription just because you are American and overmedication is a rule of thumb." I walked back to the office trying to hide the grin on my "I-told-you-so-face", and decided not to start a battle over who knows who's immune system better. Lastly, when I got home, the best medicine yet was waiting at my doorstep. A beautiful Valentine from my friend Saori equipped with a homemade dinner & tub of honey lemon tea! Doesn't get much better than that - medicine and friendship-wise.

This marks my first time getting 'sick'. Strange that I have never experienced such cold living conditions in my life, never used so many restrooms with out toilet paper, hand soap or hot water, and never continuously stood in other people's piss using squat pots...my standard of cleaniliness has declined considerably. Yet I seem to be in tip-top shape. Could it be that absolutely nothing can survive the frigid climate of my living room? Or maybe it's because of the unappetizing, but 'nutrious' random bits of fish flesh and animal intestinal tracts I have been subjected to over here? It's a different way of life and I'm still tryin' to figure it out! Until I do, please have an extra Vday chocolate for me (but I'm not responsible for the cancer, heart disease and migraines it causes!)

Sapporo Yuki Matsuri

Sapporo Snow Festival ~ Hokkaido 2006

It's easy to feel a bit under the-hypothermic-weather while living in Northern Japan during the winter. The frigid temps inside our homes must play tricks with our minds as nearly 2 million of us ambitious folks head up to Hokkaido (the northernmost island of Japan) for what has become the largest festival in Japan. The Sapporo Yuki Matsuri (snow festival) proved to be a great way to celebrate all that white stuff I normally curse each morning. Mayumi invited me along with her pal Maiko on this short excursion. Maiko is a new best friend...really lovely, un-japanesey persona. She is an elementary teacher in Aomori-ken and former teacher in Taiwan. She speaks Japanese, English and Mandarin...I'm so envious!

We embarked on our journey, holding our breaths while boarding the ferry which was full of livestock, and arrived in Sapporo ready to see the sights.

(TOTAL: 1.5 days, 200 miles, 21 hrs by ferry, 6 hrs by bus, 2 hrs by train)

It felt great to be back in Sapporo. I made my way up there last August (about 2 weeks after landing in Japan) during the sweltering, oppressive heat. I think Sapporo is very progressive and diverse. They seem more into the international scene and in fact, made that one of the major themes for this year's snow festival. Most of the large sculptures were representations of different famous landmarks in other countries (Taiwan, Cambodia, Australia and France).

The sculptures are incredible, pictures can't capture the size and ambiance. Hundreds and hundreds of sculptures made of ice and snow line the famous walkways of Odori and Susukino. Each piece of art is intricately designed by artists from all over the world. The larger sculptures, like the one below, also provided live entertainment (game shows, fashion shows, concerts). I most enjoyed the concerts---the variety of music punk, rap, JPop and classical, was a treat for the ears.



Below, a snowman building contest. Japanese-style snowmen have 2 balls......er....well, you know what I mean.

Lights, music, entertainment---Sapporo's Yuki Matsuri was most unforgettable. If you care to see the rest of my photos click on the link above and relive the Sapporo experience.

Lastly, snow and ice are only worthy of celebration IN Sapporo...

so let winter in Taneichi END NOW!

don't ask, don't tell

My friend Munehisa made dinner for me last nite. He's a really sweet guy, so honest and sincere. Just as we are sitting down to a potato stew and fried fish dinner (everything is looking edible at this point), he decides to inform me WHAT it really is.
The fried fish looked great---how can anything fried taste bad right? He goes to his Jap-Eng dictionary thumbing through the pages to find the fish's name in English. I wait patiently, anxiety increasing with each turn of the page. The look on my face, must have been similar to this other horrific fish eating experience pictured above. Very casually and eagerly he expresses his enthusiasm and apparent approval of none other than SARDINES. gulp.
I managed to put down 2 of those (which were the size of giant prawn!) The bones, fishy taste and skin --which i could see peaking out from the fish batter that hides its unappetizing appearance.
Nice gesture Munehisa, sincerely appreciate your efforts!
But you broke the cardinal rule:
Always tell your victims AFTER they finish eating.

dinner w/ daichi's fam

Here are my 2 Taneichi-Chu favorites. You might recognize these usual suspects from a couple of weeks ago...they had a dose of America at my house. And to repay my efforts TEN-FOLD, Daichi (pictured far right) invited me to his house for.........you guessed, an incredible American feast! How do I get so lucky? What a blessing to continue to meet amazing folks in this town...it really does more than make up for a rather unpleasant working atmosphere.

I also think it's interesting how so many people I have met don't really care to learn English, but they DO want to visit America, listen to American music, talk about American movies (in Japanese) and eat western foods! So while I love the hangouts, as it is a great opportunity to share and learn culture, I also sit back miffed as to where this motivation to acculturate into western ways comes from. And if you learned a bit of the language FIRST, maybe you'd really enjoy all those crazy Japanglish translations on the t-shirts that you wear or actually understand what Madonna is singing about?!!? Someone tell me why learning the language is the LAST priority!?!? Well, until I can figure it out--another HUGE thanks goes to Etsuko-san for making a delectable meal and for her husband in providing the sake-induced entertainment! Daichi and Yusho---you guys are the coolest!

the washizu's

Hey Washizu's! Apologies in the delay of this posting! It's been so crazy - the pipes are freezing, work is always a stress and my coursework for grad school is getting difficult.........argh!!! Hanging out with you guys was such treat and offered some respite from all of these stressors waiting for me back up here. Here are some of the best pics from the weekend...

Tatsu-san is SUCH an incredible father! The affection he showed to his kids and the way he played with his kids (even doing ballet with Kakko!) was reminiscent of my father! Being with your family was a fantastic time,...so fantastic that I have to say it made me miss my own family!

Kakko is an aspiring ballerina. We read some books (in English--Chikako is always pushing her girls to learn English! It's so awesome! I don't want to knock my junior high kids, but their English rivaled theirs!!) Kakko treated us to her ballerina video lessons and even threw the leo on for full effect! ;)

Chikako must be exhausted looking after these cutiepatuties! So being the dutiful father that Tatsu is, he prepared a huge Italian/German feast, while Chikako and I caught up on the previous months. Dinner was nothing short of fantastic and so non-japanesey. FYI: Tatsu and Chikako met in America while going to University....so for them, dinners like these are the norm. Onaka ga ippai! We played some piano, did some art projects and enjoyed a brief visit by some of Chikako's English students. It was busy but the English conversation was welcomed!

Echo is such a doll! She's in the me-me stage, like the 2 year olds back in the States. And of course, since she is the cutest, how can you say no to a face like hers!

I wanted to bring something to share with their family and my Minnesota omiyage stash is almost bare..but I found these JellyBelly jelly beans. Perfect treat for these tykes. They enjoyed their strange tastes (me too! the buttered popcorn jelly beans were disgusting) Everything is such a discovery at their age..I think this picture shows that sense of fear/anxiety/interest in the 'unknown' food. II totally know what they were feeling, as everytime I'm confronted with some deranged form of fish or some wet, cold, slimy slab of sashimi.........I make this same face!

Some experiences (especially those concerning foods from foreign countries) are similar no matter where you are from. I am lucky in that I have had the opportunity to do 5 homestays now and each one is unique and challenging. But if you aren't challenged, you aren't learning. And if you aren't learning, you really aren't living.

Despite being tired and finding Japanese culture and language to be quite exhausting at the moment, I have to buck up for another 7 months of fun. (that wasn't sarcasm). it will be grand, im sure.