in the midst of a typhoon Nabi, i'm learning that staying in my apartment for a while can be a good time to do things i've put off for weeks now..such as decorating my living room and going through my "scary room" of stuff from packages and tokyo orientation giveaways.
"Nabi" means butterfly in Korean. i don't know why a typhoon would get such a pretty name but it did. It was a level 5 two days ago and now as it's hitting Okinawa it's reduced to 3. The winds are strong and the power went out briefly three times so far. I don't know if we're getting the worst of it now, or the worst is yet to come. If the wind doesn't drop below 25 knots per hour by morning, school might be canceled and i'll have one more day of doing stuff at home; although at this point i'm running out of things to do. i suppose i can always read and write these blogs. :)
school lunch:
it happens like this. After 4th hour, which could be at 12:25pm if it's a "B" schedule day or almost at 1pm if it's an A schedule, all homerooms get lunch. students each lunch in their homerooms; there are students assigned to getting lunches from the cart and bringing them into the classroom and then those same students set up trays and serve their peers lunch. Lunch for teachers works the same way; we get the same food as students and someone needs to set it up for everyone. It usually involves a couple of office ladies and a couple of female teachers doing it. On friday, I helped out, because only one woman was setting it up. There are usually three dishes at lunch and dessert. Everythign has to be served out of large pots and square dishes. So on friday we got rice and thin grilled beef, as well as a vegetable soup, a salad, a fruit medley, and a quarter of an orange. I helped pour soup for everyone and put the beef pieces on top of rice bowls. THen when i was setting out the trays in front of chairs, a teacher pulled me aside and told me that i set up the trays wrong.. she wasn't mean about, she was being helpful. She explained that rice is always put on the left of the tray and in front. soup, if there is one, is always on the right and in front; placement of everything else doesn't really matter, but chopsticks have to be in the front and easily accessed by the right hand. The reasoning is that Japanese eat with a bowl of rice in their left hand and then pick at everything else on the tray. This is not only for school lunches. As she was explaining this, i thought of all the meals i've had on Okinawa so far and realized that everytime i got a "set" meal, rice has always been on the left and soup has always been on the right. It is customary to be served everything at once in Japan. There are usually several dishes to be picked at and sampled. At my favorite izakaya (a small restaurant) a set consists of the main dish, a miso soup, a rice and five other little dishes ranging from salad, to broccoli, to seaweed to melon pieces. those five dishes vary from time to time; so onetime we got a potato salad and another time, there was an okra salad.
Once lunch is eaten, everyone picks up after themselves and clears their trays of dishes. Students do the same. In their classrooms they have their toothbrushes and five minutes is allowed on the schedule for everyone in the school to brush their teeth. Then students proceed to cleaning of various areas of the school for about 25 minutes, then they have 20 minutes or so to finish up and to do whatever else and at 1:50pm the 5th period starts. It's a very communal system and reinforces the idea that school is like a second home and teachers are like surrogate parents. It also forces students to take ownership of their environment and to take care of the "house" they learn in. Or at least that's the idea.
Over the last two days i've also been learning about bit torrent system of downloading things; so that's also been fascinating and taking up some time during this bad weather period. Although it was clear enough yesterday night for me to drive to Nago and go to an Eisa festival there, which was wonderful. I absolutely love Eisa drumming. i can't explain this draw to it that i've developed by it's beautiful, and unique only to Okinawa and so forceful in its spirit and enthusiasm.
If you're ever in Washington DC area in April, find out when the Cherry Blossom festival takes place and where; an Okinawan Eisa dancing group is sent every year. It must be a fantastic show to see; 'cause it's gotta be the best group from the islands and that would be tough to decide; the groups i saw last night were fantastic.
i'm debating whether i should go to sleep at a timely fashion, since tomorrow i might have to go to school, or to stay up for a while, since i might not. :)) difficult decisions.
cheers
Sunday, September 04, 2005
Saturday, September 03, 2005
Thursday, September 01, 2005
the village of Shioya
The last two days, the village of Shioya was celebrating the Ungami festival; this translates to "seagod," and is a time for celebrating the fall harvest/season. Shioya is a part of Ogimi but like Kijoka where I live and the smaller village of Ogimi is a separate entity as far as people who live here are concerned. The three small villages are united by one infrastructure of the Ogimi village office but were historically separate even though they are all right next to each other. Shioya is actually comprised of three distinct little neighbrohoods whose names i don't remember now. I learned all of this because of the Ungami celebrations. On the first day of the Ungami, a boat race takes place. The three boats represent the three small villages of Shioya and female priestesses (females of families of those villages) stand in the waters of the Shioya bay and encourage their men who are in the boats to steer harder and win the race. They beat drums and sing and wave colorful cloth. The three groups of women wear distinct colors as do the men in the boats. Once the boats reach the shore, the men lift up one of the main priestess from their group and bring her onto the shore.
--Unfortunately i did not witness the carrying of the priestesses because I had to go home to let two guys into my apartment to install the airconditioner; by the time i got back the priestesses were on shore and the men were carrying away the boats--
This is all very traditional and unique to Shioya because it is the only village that has females preforming all the important tasks of devotion and offerings to the shrine. These are very loose details and I apologize for that. All of my Okinawa books are at the school and I will insert more detailed information tomorrow or next week when I get my hands on them.
After the boat race, the Shioya village hosts sumo wrestling match. A stage is set up where all the important men of Ogimi sit, among them the mayor, the former mayor, the principals of schools and others. Of course, as the new "prom queen," (as Gabrielle refers to me) I was asked to sit on the stage as well. My whole school came out to the event, so I have photos of my students on the site, as well as some teachers. The sumo matches start at the elementary school level and move up through the young adults and finish with a big guy from Ogimi who is always the winner.
--ONce again, the installation of my airconditioner prevented me from seeing the entire sumo event and I had to leave when they were finished working in my apartment, which was around the time my junior high students were competing--
Today (Thursday) I came to the school, and even though i should have been in four classes, I instead spent the morning and early afternoon constructing final exams for the 1st Term for all three grades. At two o'clock i took off for Shioya once again to watch various traditional dances. Some of my students participated and i recognized some women from the village and my school's "office lady." The dancers were beautiful and very precise in their movements. It's hard to have you just look at the pics knowing that you won't know what the accompiniment is. They danced to the beat of the drums and the singing of older women. The drum beats were slower for more regal dancers and slightly faster for the "peasant" dancers. THat's the distinction I'm making but i think it's visible enough that some dancers are wearing more expansive looking outfits while others are dressed more plainly.
--this might seem like it doesn't connect...and it really doesn't, 'cause i just inserted the whole bit about the dancing after having written the rest of the blog...sorry--
It's a difficult task constructing exams for material one did not teach, but I was given old exams to look at and the textbooks which students use to figure out what to include in my versions. I am only responsible for constructing the "Listening Test," and the JTE makes up the grammar portion of the exam. My part is only worth 20% but i put in 2 days of work and i'm very proud of it, i might add. I made it colorful with clipart and photos from milwaukee and postcards of wisconsin. The old tests are similarly filled with random images; Gabrielle's logic is that it would make the students regard English with a bit of warmth rather than complete hate at having to sit through tests filled with nothing but grammar. I feel for them; it's quite boring. I don't remember how i learned German, really, but i do remember putting together sketches, making some sort of posters, reading stories and even a novel. These kids are not doing any of it; they can barely speak the language and that's by third year of instruction. It makes me wonder what is considered acceptable in the Japanese language instruction. Yet i'm here to entertain and speak English so i won't be stirring up waters just yet. But i do hope to push through some activities by mid year.
So i started in Shioya and finished on a ramble about school. Check out my fotki page; there are pics up from the Ungami celebrations; there are no descriptions as of yet, but this weekend, with a big typhoon coming, i should have plenty of time to sit on-line and give you all more details about the intricacies of Okinawan culture, including a bit about its beautiful textiles which you could see from the photos of the dancers.
The picture above was taken as i was leaving Shioya today. I meant to catch a group of girls as they sat by that wall on the left but by the time i got my camera ready, they all got up to leave and i just caught the tail end. I still think it's a good shot.
cheers
Monday, August 29, 2005
first day
all in all i can say that i had a succesful first day experience at the Ogimi junior high school. I had three classes today, two 2nd graders and one 1st grade class. In elementary school kids go through 6 grades and then 3 grades in junior high school and i believe 3 more in senior high. So a 1st grader in a junior high school is on the average 12 years old. In Japan, kids are not asked how old they are, they are asked in what grade they are in. School is everything--they inhabit it almost the entire year. Kids get to school around 8:00am; they have meeting with their homeroom teacher around 8:15am and then there are 20 or so minutes for them to hangout in their homeroom until the first hour class starts at 8:50am.. that schedule may change daily. There are two schedules my school follows: the A schedule allows for 50-min classes and the B schedule is for 45 min classes. The type of schedule is chosen depends on the activities that have to happen after school. Or so is my understanding. Right now all junior high schools are in the midst of preparing for a Sports Day, which is a huge event, and they stay after school to practice and i am told that certain classes during the day might be canceled as we get closer to the event in a couple of weeks to allow for more practice time.
but back to my first day. The students are generally excited to meet me, but are reserved, as is understandble with meeting any new authority figure (although, honestly i don't know how much authority i really have). Some kids have already seen me around the school in the last couple of weeks, but most i met for the first time today. The 1st graders were more enthusiastic and outspoken then the 2nd graders. The introduction plan was generally boring. I stood in front of the class and told them about myself with the help of visual aids (pics of family and friends and milwaukee i put together on friday). Then it was recapped for the students by Chinen sensei in Japanese, and students were then allowed 5 minutes to review their own introductions. Before the summer holidays they were given a worksheet to fill in the blanks for "My name is:...My favorite food is:....My favorite sport is:....My hobby is:... I like:....." It turns out that most kids like basketball and their hobbies are "games" and they eat nothing but apples. :))) A few students took the initiative and looked up actual answers and it was awesome to hear a student say that his hobby is "taking pictures" or another student say that he likes "grilled meat" and some girls found a way to say, "i don't have any hobbies". that cracked me up the first time i heard it, 'cause i don't have any hobbies either. :)
then the students were supposed to ask me questions, but it was like pulling teeth getting anyone to ask anything. I think in general they were afraid of mispronouncing any words in the questions they formed. From what i understand, they don't do a lot of communication activities in junior high school, so no wonder they're intimidated by an english speaker. But a few were brave and the questions were good. My last class, 2-1 (2nd graders, 1st group...in russia that would be 2A), were really fun, actually and asked quite a few good questions. I even got asked whether i had a "special boyfriend" and whether american kids wear braces.
at the end of the day there was a teacher meeting, but i spent that time working with speech contest students. Teacher meetings will be entirely lost on me; i foresee being told of what is happenning 5 minutes before it happens, and i'm accepting that. I do know, however, that tomorrow morning i get to give a short speech of introduction to the entire school. I'll be reading it. :)
Although amusingly enough, i am learning japanese words here and there, so there is progress being made and i'm looking forward to understanding a 10th of what is being spoken.
Went to a mall today to get an air con. The suckers are expensive and the installation is not cheap either. The whole thing is costing me 500$ and will be installed on Wednesday...hopefully. there are rumors of a typhoon approaching the islands, but it might be that it will bypass the main island and go for the islands near Taiwan.
i have also been wondering about the power of packiging. What will make me, a person who can't read a lick of japanese, buy a certain product versus another one? And i'm a sucker for labels to start with; give me the funkiest looking bottle with the most colorful or imaginatevely designed label and i will pay that extra 200 yen to have it. but seriously; advertising is everything for me right now, and i can't even read it. i do like the fact that most japanese items will have pictures on them of what its intended use is; so that's been saving me so far.
however, i did buy something that is not yoghurt but reminded me more of sour cream that's been watered down.. so it had to go down the drain. I'm still on the lookout for yoghurt.
i've got to get these blogs to be slightly shorter, eh? some new pics are up on the fotki page and check out Craig's blogspot--he's got a few pics of what an awesome archy site looks like (i'm so dang jealous) and a pic of yours truly.
cheers
but back to my first day. The students are generally excited to meet me, but are reserved, as is understandble with meeting any new authority figure (although, honestly i don't know how much authority i really have). Some kids have already seen me around the school in the last couple of weeks, but most i met for the first time today. The 1st graders were more enthusiastic and outspoken then the 2nd graders. The introduction plan was generally boring. I stood in front of the class and told them about myself with the help of visual aids (pics of family and friends and milwaukee i put together on friday). Then it was recapped for the students by Chinen sensei in Japanese, and students were then allowed 5 minutes to review their own introductions. Before the summer holidays they were given a worksheet to fill in the blanks for "My name is:...My favorite food is:....My favorite sport is:....My hobby is:... I like:....." It turns out that most kids like basketball and their hobbies are "games" and they eat nothing but apples. :))) A few students took the initiative and looked up actual answers and it was awesome to hear a student say that his hobby is "taking pictures" or another student say that he likes "grilled meat" and some girls found a way to say, "i don't have any hobbies". that cracked me up the first time i heard it, 'cause i don't have any hobbies either. :)
then the students were supposed to ask me questions, but it was like pulling teeth getting anyone to ask anything. I think in general they were afraid of mispronouncing any words in the questions they formed. From what i understand, they don't do a lot of communication activities in junior high school, so no wonder they're intimidated by an english speaker. But a few were brave and the questions were good. My last class, 2-1 (2nd graders, 1st group...in russia that would be 2A), were really fun, actually and asked quite a few good questions. I even got asked whether i had a "special boyfriend" and whether american kids wear braces.
at the end of the day there was a teacher meeting, but i spent that time working with speech contest students. Teacher meetings will be entirely lost on me; i foresee being told of what is happenning 5 minutes before it happens, and i'm accepting that. I do know, however, that tomorrow morning i get to give a short speech of introduction to the entire school. I'll be reading it. :)
Although amusingly enough, i am learning japanese words here and there, so there is progress being made and i'm looking forward to understanding a 10th of what is being spoken.
Went to a mall today to get an air con. The suckers are expensive and the installation is not cheap either. The whole thing is costing me 500$ and will be installed on Wednesday...hopefully. there are rumors of a typhoon approaching the islands, but it might be that it will bypass the main island and go for the islands near Taiwan.
i have also been wondering about the power of packiging. What will make me, a person who can't read a lick of japanese, buy a certain product versus another one? And i'm a sucker for labels to start with; give me the funkiest looking bottle with the most colorful or imaginatevely designed label and i will pay that extra 200 yen to have it. but seriously; advertising is everything for me right now, and i can't even read it. i do like the fact that most japanese items will have pictures on them of what its intended use is; so that's been saving me so far.
however, i did buy something that is not yoghurt but reminded me more of sour cream that's been watered down.. so it had to go down the drain. I'm still on the lookout for yoghurt.
i've got to get these blogs to be slightly shorter, eh? some new pics are up on the fotki page and check out Craig's blogspot--he's got a few pics of what an awesome archy site looks like (i'm so dang jealous) and a pic of yours truly.
cheers
Friday, August 26, 2005
Here it is--my pride and joy. Mind you it's not first thing i've had to construct for my apartment, but this one deffinately caused me more grief and joy. And i included a pic of my two sided garbage can just for fun.
Trash in Japan has to be separated and taken out on different days and the system of days and garbage bag colors differs from prefecture to prefecture. So here in the north for instance, the burnables go into "red" bags and have to be put outside on Mondays and Thursdays. The non-burnables go into "green" bags and come out on Wednesdays. I have no idea what happens to the recyclables. I think there is a separate bag and a day, i've just been collecting mine and dumping them into the recycle cans near stores. Oh, and there are no litter boxes anywhere on the streets. They are only outside convenience stores and supermarkets. Some times random recycle cans appear on big streets but they're useless if you have some paper to toss. It's all a bit weird, really, but good entertainment.
tomorrow i'm off to the waterfalls again; JETs from the south are up here exploring so i'll be joining them. Then we're all off to a beer and Aisa festival in Okinawa City and then on sunday, Chikara's party at the beach. One more "vacation" weekend before school starts on Monday.
cheers
Whoever decided to put pictures in instruction booklets was a smart person. Who needs to know what it says, when you can look at a picture 100 times to make sure that you deffinately have the part with one groove and three holes and not two grooves and no holes. Wow. I never thought constructing something could be so painfully fun. I guess now i can tackle any IKEA project. But seriously folks, if you know me at all, you know that this is the last thing i want to be doing; however, for the lack of any willing company, i spent 2 and a half hours sweating and grunting and laughing and swearing, but i only screwed up once and it wasn't a big deal and i'm very proud of myself in the end. I'm going to sell this baby for twice the price i bought it for, 'cause the time i spent putting it together is certainly worth it.
Thursday, August 25, 2005
what a wednesday is for
wednesdays have always been a day of the week i liked the most.
wednesdays in japan are proving to be the best.
actually i haven't really had one bad day in Japan yet, so i suppose it's hard for wednesdays to stand out but yesterday's wednesday managed just that.
and i don't want you to expect anything extraordinary in this post. it was just a good all around, interesting day with an ultimately accomplished feeling at the end.
i took a day off yesterday, 'cause i "worked" (hung out with friends in Naha for the conference) on Friday and Friday was an Okinawan holliday, so i get to take a day off for that anytime within the two weeks after that happens.
I decided to do some shopping and maybe put together the kitchen cabinet i bought.
the later plan failed as soon as it started when i realized i would need a screwdriver (good call, mom) and lacked one. Gabrielle didn't have one, so i decided to drive north to another village and see if i can locate one.
i discovered that a lot of little, tiny, grungy shops sell exactly the same things but they do not sell hardware supplies.
by the time i found a screwdriver (at school) i had decided to drop the idea of any handywork and drive to Nago to do some shopping for the apartment and maybe hang out with Mike (a canadian ALT).
I found quite a few things that i liked and bought; spent a couple of hundred dollars, actually. but it's all useful stuff, i'm sure.. it's still sitting in bags at home.. so i'll get to find out today after work how well i did yesterday.
towards the evening i got a call from two Group A JETs. One was in the north with his teachers and students and was wondering if i'd like to come out for dinner with them. and another called saying that she was heading north and was meeting a few people for dinner in Nago (where i already was). So i decided to stick around and 8 of us ate sushi at a mall in Nago. Good time. It's fun being surrounded by different English accents; i could most of time understand new zealenders and australians...but the irish can still be a bit difficult.
After dinner and then doghnuts at "Mr. Doghnut" (is that an American company?) Ben said he'd show me where his friend, the kite surfer aka hairdresser, has his shop.
Mind you, it was already 9pm.
So we get to the shop..which was by far the most interesting hairdresser shop I've ever been to, a little after nine. I play with the dog, a customer is seated and we wait. and wait and take the crazy puppy on a walk...and wait a bit more, and i sit down in the chair around 10:30pm.
Chikara is a cool surfer dude. His shop is celebrating one year in existence this Sunday and i'm invited. There will be jetskies and surfing and food, of course.
His shop is decorated with surf boards of all kinds, crazy, menacing comic book models, mountain goat's head hangs over the mirror in front of which hair is cut.
Equipment and decor are placed around the room on large, yellow barrels. The bathroom is a "dangerous" place, however. I thought of the show the "Young Ones"--their bathroom would probably look like the one i went into at Chikara's shop (although, if i remember correctly, the crew on the "Young Ones" managed to destroy their bathroom very frequently).
My hair was washed after it was cut. Ishikara took time massaging my scalp and i almost fell asleep...The haircut turned out to be great, i love it; and it only cost me a 1,000 yen (~9 bucks) and there's no tipping anywhere in Japan.
i left with such a good feeling, i can't even put it in words. It felt that I was at the right place at the right time doing exactly what i should be doing.
it was perfect.
now i have a new haircut in a new country that teaches me something new daily and it won't stop until the day i leave. yes!
cheers
wednesdays in japan are proving to be the best.
actually i haven't really had one bad day in Japan yet, so i suppose it's hard for wednesdays to stand out but yesterday's wednesday managed just that.
and i don't want you to expect anything extraordinary in this post. it was just a good all around, interesting day with an ultimately accomplished feeling at the end.
i took a day off yesterday, 'cause i "worked" (hung out with friends in Naha for the conference) on Friday and Friday was an Okinawan holliday, so i get to take a day off for that anytime within the two weeks after that happens.
I decided to do some shopping and maybe put together the kitchen cabinet i bought.
the later plan failed as soon as it started when i realized i would need a screwdriver (good call, mom) and lacked one. Gabrielle didn't have one, so i decided to drive north to another village and see if i can locate one.
i discovered that a lot of little, tiny, grungy shops sell exactly the same things but they do not sell hardware supplies.
by the time i found a screwdriver (at school) i had decided to drop the idea of any handywork and drive to Nago to do some shopping for the apartment and maybe hang out with Mike (a canadian ALT).
I found quite a few things that i liked and bought; spent a couple of hundred dollars, actually. but it's all useful stuff, i'm sure.. it's still sitting in bags at home.. so i'll get to find out today after work how well i did yesterday.
towards the evening i got a call from two Group A JETs. One was in the north with his teachers and students and was wondering if i'd like to come out for dinner with them. and another called saying that she was heading north and was meeting a few people for dinner in Nago (where i already was). So i decided to stick around and 8 of us ate sushi at a mall in Nago. Good time. It's fun being surrounded by different English accents; i could most of time understand new zealenders and australians...but the irish can still be a bit difficult.
After dinner and then doghnuts at "Mr. Doghnut" (is that an American company?) Ben said he'd show me where his friend, the kite surfer aka hairdresser, has his shop.
Mind you, it was already 9pm.
So we get to the shop..which was by far the most interesting hairdresser shop I've ever been to, a little after nine. I play with the dog, a customer is seated and we wait. and wait and take the crazy puppy on a walk...and wait a bit more, and i sit down in the chair around 10:30pm.
Chikara is a cool surfer dude. His shop is celebrating one year in existence this Sunday and i'm invited. There will be jetskies and surfing and food, of course.
His shop is decorated with surf boards of all kinds, crazy, menacing comic book models, mountain goat's head hangs over the mirror in front of which hair is cut.
Equipment and decor are placed around the room on large, yellow barrels. The bathroom is a "dangerous" place, however. I thought of the show the "Young Ones"--their bathroom would probably look like the one i went into at Chikara's shop (although, if i remember correctly, the crew on the "Young Ones" managed to destroy their bathroom very frequently).
My hair was washed after it was cut. Ishikara took time massaging my scalp and i almost fell asleep...The haircut turned out to be great, i love it; and it only cost me a 1,000 yen (~9 bucks) and there's no tipping anywhere in Japan.
i left with such a good feeling, i can't even put it in words. It felt that I was at the right place at the right time doing exactly what i should be doing.
it was perfect.
now i have a new haircut in a new country that teaches me something new daily and it won't stop until the day i leave. yes!
cheers
Monday, August 22, 2005
long weekend away
drove to Naha last wednesday night for a new JET orientation..first time driving a long distance (two hours) but it went well.. was stuck in traffic in Naha for a while (it's the capitol of Okinawa and quite busy) so i don't regret being placed in the north where it's calm and quiet..the conference went really well.. saw some JETs i came in with almost a month ago.. some of them are on remote islands so i haven't seen them since the airport and won't see most of them again until the mid-year conference in November..
the seminars and workshops were very useful..conducted by "old" JETs they were geared towards classroom activities, school culture and miscommunication that is likely to happen.. dealing with teachers of English and other teachers in the school..a bunch of questions about vacation time and sick leave were answered..and lots of other info was given.. we partied in Naha thursday and friday nights.. there's a bar run by two canadians in Naha called "Paul and Mike's" where JETs and other foreigners gather...good spot for strong drinks and conversation.. met an Israeli guy who's in Naha studying karate for a few months.. he might be coming up north mid-week to check out the waterfalls and i offered to drive him around the area..
checked out a dance club in Naha thursday night.. japanese kids are funny about dancing.. they all sort of line up in front of the DJ and never really face away from him, dancing in one spot without too much movement.. some kids were getting a bit crazy..but mostly just faced front and some even lit their lighters to really good breaks in the music..
the DJ played a lot of american hip hop and some reggae..
saturday 64 JETs took for the island of Tokashiki on a ferry..it's about an hour and a half trip..gorgeous green island.. sandy beaches, blue waters.. good snorkeling.. not even close to what i experienced in the Sinai but still good...
lots of good time was had.. there were block games on the beach.. (our block came in a strong second)
there was guitar playing (which i missed out on), drinking games of all sorts, rain in the night, sleeping on the beach, skinny dipping in the ocean (which i didn't miss out on) and lots of good conversation
got back on the main island mid-day sunday.. drove three people home and stopped by to get some kitchen stuff on the way.. checked out an English bookstore in Okinawa city.. it's near a lot of bases so it has a lot of stores geared towards americans.. the bookstore had some good books about okinawa and learning the japanese language, as well as lots of magazines and fiction books.. but all of it is way too pricey and i think i'll be ordering most books on-line..
still feels like i'm not in Japan some days.. feel like i'm on an extended vacation with no set rules or schedule.. although today i spent some time tidying up my apartment so it's starting to feel like i'm settling..
think i'm going to invest in an airconditioner.. it's a pricey venture but it'll be useful as a de-humidifier and a heater as well.. so might be worth it..
for all those that are wondering about gas prices...i filled up a 34 liter tank for 4200 yen today (about 40$)..you do the conversion..i'm too tired right now. :)
pics are up for the island trip and also some from Naha..i'll add descriptions over the next couple of days.. sorry..i'm lacking on time to do all of it at once..
will write more soon.. i'm told i'll have plenty of free time once school starts next week.. :)
cheers
the seminars and workshops were very useful..conducted by "old" JETs they were geared towards classroom activities, school culture and miscommunication that is likely to happen.. dealing with teachers of English and other teachers in the school..a bunch of questions about vacation time and sick leave were answered..and lots of other info was given.. we partied in Naha thursday and friday nights.. there's a bar run by two canadians in Naha called "Paul and Mike's" where JETs and other foreigners gather...good spot for strong drinks and conversation.. met an Israeli guy who's in Naha studying karate for a few months.. he might be coming up north mid-week to check out the waterfalls and i offered to drive him around the area..
checked out a dance club in Naha thursday night.. japanese kids are funny about dancing.. they all sort of line up in front of the DJ and never really face away from him, dancing in one spot without too much movement.. some kids were getting a bit crazy..but mostly just faced front and some even lit their lighters to really good breaks in the music..
the DJ played a lot of american hip hop and some reggae..
saturday 64 JETs took for the island of Tokashiki on a ferry..it's about an hour and a half trip..gorgeous green island.. sandy beaches, blue waters.. good snorkeling.. not even close to what i experienced in the Sinai but still good...
lots of good time was had.. there were block games on the beach.. (our block came in a strong second)
there was guitar playing (which i missed out on), drinking games of all sorts, rain in the night, sleeping on the beach, skinny dipping in the ocean (which i didn't miss out on) and lots of good conversation
got back on the main island mid-day sunday.. drove three people home and stopped by to get some kitchen stuff on the way.. checked out an English bookstore in Okinawa city.. it's near a lot of bases so it has a lot of stores geared towards americans.. the bookstore had some good books about okinawa and learning the japanese language, as well as lots of magazines and fiction books.. but all of it is way too pricey and i think i'll be ordering most books on-line..
still feels like i'm not in Japan some days.. feel like i'm on an extended vacation with no set rules or schedule.. although today i spent some time tidying up my apartment so it's starting to feel like i'm settling..
think i'm going to invest in an airconditioner.. it's a pricey venture but it'll be useful as a de-humidifier and a heater as well.. so might be worth it..
for all those that are wondering about gas prices...i filled up a 34 liter tank for 4200 yen today (about 40$)..you do the conversion..i'm too tired right now. :)
pics are up for the island trip and also some from Naha..i'll add descriptions over the next couple of days.. sorry..i'm lacking on time to do all of it at once..
will write more soon.. i'm told i'll have plenty of free time once school starts next week.. :)
cheers
Tuesday, August 16, 2005
an island life for me
short blog, 'cause i'm tired.
internet has been out for a few days and before that i was too busy relaxing on the island to bother with posting.
started working with two students on the speech contest. "th" sound and "v" sound seem to give them the most trouble, so if anyone has any ideas of how to teach that, aside from showing how the lips, tongue and teeth move while making sounds, please let me know..
the past weekend was a really good one, although it has been hot, it's been fun.
saturday went to check out waterfalls in the north and went swimming there. beautiful spot, lots of people, and a few marines in the bunch. was kind of weird seeing other "gaijin" (foreigners) checking out the spot where so many japanese feel that we're invading their territory.
saturday went to the Ogimi matsuri (festival) which was nice but nothing special. that evening went to Okuma navy resort, which Gabrielle and I, as residents of nearby Ogimi are allowed to enter. the resort is for all branches of the American military.. it is basically a vacation spot for the the forces on the island. there's golf, restaurant, nice beaches, water sports, activities for kids, a small store, etc.
we had mongolian barbeque there, which was very good and then watched a few drunken marines make fool of themselves by dancing in front of a live band..
a bit strange, once again, to have the ability to "enter" so to speak American territory and see young american kids everywhere..
i don't know if i exactly like having it so close, but at the same, it really makes the Okinawa experience that much more unique. One the one hand, Sunday night i enjoyed watching very traditional Okinawa drum dancing and ate Okinawan food..and the night before that i listened to an American band play "Sweet Home Alabama" while drunken boys swayed to the rhythm.
tomorrow night i'm setting off for the south. We have a conference for the new Okinawa JETs and then we're off to an island called Tokashiki or better known as "paradise" for Saturday and Sunday.
tonight we went to see the film "Island" at Camp Schwab. 4$ will get one into a newly redone movie theater...it was an interesting experience in finding settle advertisement hints.. oh wait.. they weren't subtle..were they? no... quite blatant, in fact.. the film was entertaining and the acting was decent. I especially liked Boromir as an evil scientist.
the air is cool outside my window. it rained tonight and brought the temperature way down. last night it was hard falling asleep in the heat, even with two fans going at top speed. tonight will be nicer.
cheers
internet has been out for a few days and before that i was too busy relaxing on the island to bother with posting.
started working with two students on the speech contest. "th" sound and "v" sound seem to give them the most trouble, so if anyone has any ideas of how to teach that, aside from showing how the lips, tongue and teeth move while making sounds, please let me know..
the past weekend was a really good one, although it has been hot, it's been fun.
saturday went to check out waterfalls in the north and went swimming there. beautiful spot, lots of people, and a few marines in the bunch. was kind of weird seeing other "gaijin" (foreigners) checking out the spot where so many japanese feel that we're invading their territory.
saturday went to the Ogimi matsuri (festival) which was nice but nothing special. that evening went to Okuma navy resort, which Gabrielle and I, as residents of nearby Ogimi are allowed to enter. the resort is for all branches of the American military.. it is basically a vacation spot for the the forces on the island. there's golf, restaurant, nice beaches, water sports, activities for kids, a small store, etc.
we had mongolian barbeque there, which was very good and then watched a few drunken marines make fool of themselves by dancing in front of a live band..
a bit strange, once again, to have the ability to "enter" so to speak American territory and see young american kids everywhere..
i don't know if i exactly like having it so close, but at the same, it really makes the Okinawa experience that much more unique. One the one hand, Sunday night i enjoyed watching very traditional Okinawa drum dancing and ate Okinawan food..and the night before that i listened to an American band play "Sweet Home Alabama" while drunken boys swayed to the rhythm.
tomorrow night i'm setting off for the south. We have a conference for the new Okinawa JETs and then we're off to an island called Tokashiki or better known as "paradise" for Saturday and Sunday.
tonight we went to see the film "Island" at Camp Schwab. 4$ will get one into a newly redone movie theater...it was an interesting experience in finding settle advertisement hints.. oh wait.. they weren't subtle..were they? no... quite blatant, in fact.. the film was entertaining and the acting was decent. I especially liked Boromir as an evil scientist.
the air is cool outside my window. it rained tonight and brought the temperature way down. last night it was hard falling asleep in the heat, even with two fans going at top speed. tonight will be nicer.
cheers
Saturday, August 13, 2005
Wednesday, August 10, 2005
Japan's schools: now too lenient? | csmonitor.com
Japan's schools: now too lenient? | csmonitor.com
I signed up for the Anthropology Special Interest Group within the JET community. This is the first article i was sent; thought it was interesting enough to share, especially if you're inclined towards the education field. I would love any responses to this. I'm hearing lots of different opinions from JETs about the Japanese Education system; none are too positive, but until i experience the classrooms on my own, i will decline to make a judgment as of now.
cheers
I signed up for the Anthropology Special Interest Group within the JET community. This is the first article i was sent; thought it was interesting enough to share, especially if you're inclined towards the education field. I would love any responses to this. I'm hearing lots of different opinions from JETs about the Japanese Education system; none are too positive, but until i experience the classrooms on my own, i will decline to make a judgment as of now.
cheers
Tuesday, August 09, 2005
ketai away
"ketai" means "cell phone"..and i've got one and it's spify..and boy oh boy does it have too many functions and buttons and options and camera and e-mail and just way too much stuff!!
and you can be a cool kid by e-mailing my ketai directly by sending a message from your computer to elina.kats@docomo.ne.jp
and if you want the number, e-mail me at gmail.
cheers
oh and photos are up and more photos will be added shortly of my apartment in dissaray..
and you can be a cool kid by e-mailing my ketai directly by sending a message from your computer to elina.kats@docomo.ne.jp
and if you want the number, e-mail me at gmail.
cheers
oh and photos are up and more photos will be added shortly of my apartment in dissaray..
Monday, August 08, 2005
and now we're off
internet at home! what a brilliant idea...
got it hooked up today with the help of a vice principal.. the NTT (phone company) guy showed up and brought in the line and the adapter and said something in Japanese about not being the person to hook up the internet. So i thought, hey, no problem.. i'm computer savy.. i can hook this thing up. Opened the instruction booklet and started following along with the pics, ignoring all the japanese scribbles..no go.. got stuck on the third picture..some sort of fault occured..but i couldn't understand what..very irritating to have the capability but not the ability to accomplish something.
but now it's up and running and is at a decent speed.
if anyone has Skype, let me know. My nickname is huliganjetta and i will have microphone and headphones in a couple of days. i'm also considering establishing a phone number with a Wisconsin area code for Skype so that anyone without the software could call while i'm on-line, or leave a voicemail if i'm not. brilliant, eh? (that's a mix of british and canadian for ya)
very few american JETs on Okinawa. I'm making friends with aussies, kiwis, brits, canadians, and there's even a woman from Turkey somewhere on the island. No russians, i'm afraid.. there's only a handful in the JET program and they're all on the mainland.
Block 1 had a party on saturday. First we had an athletic event that took place at a children's playground like i've never seen before. Huge constructions, made it really challenging and fun. We raced in teams and unfortunately my team did not win, but we finished at a very strong last place. :)))
Then off to the beach and grilling. Swam in the ocean for the first time. The water was quite cool because of the departing typhoon that never hit, and there were still some waves. Very nice swim.
Later there was eating and drinking and off to the bar for a late night cocktail.
The bar, interestingly enough (for anyone with any hebrew knowledge) is called "Sababa," and for others not in the know, it means "all good" or "cool" or "allright!" ..kind of like "dajobu" on Okinawa.
The owner is a Japanese surfer dude who lived and worked in Tel-Aviv for a few months. Very nice establishment with a full size pool table and fussball table.
Fun was had. I lost several games of pool and won two..
check out my photos website..the link is provided on the right. Now that i have home access, i'll be putting up all the ones i've taken so far.
cheers
got it hooked up today with the help of a vice principal.. the NTT (phone company) guy showed up and brought in the line and the adapter and said something in Japanese about not being the person to hook up the internet. So i thought, hey, no problem.. i'm computer savy.. i can hook this thing up. Opened the instruction booklet and started following along with the pics, ignoring all the japanese scribbles..no go.. got stuck on the third picture..some sort of fault occured..but i couldn't understand what..very irritating to have the capability but not the ability to accomplish something.
but now it's up and running and is at a decent speed.
if anyone has Skype, let me know. My nickname is huliganjetta and i will have microphone and headphones in a couple of days. i'm also considering establishing a phone number with a Wisconsin area code for Skype so that anyone without the software could call while i'm on-line, or leave a voicemail if i'm not. brilliant, eh? (that's a mix of british and canadian for ya)
very few american JETs on Okinawa. I'm making friends with aussies, kiwis, brits, canadians, and there's even a woman from Turkey somewhere on the island. No russians, i'm afraid.. there's only a handful in the JET program and they're all on the mainland.
Block 1 had a party on saturday. First we had an athletic event that took place at a children's playground like i've never seen before. Huge constructions, made it really challenging and fun. We raced in teams and unfortunately my team did not win, but we finished at a very strong last place. :)))
Then off to the beach and grilling. Swam in the ocean for the first time. The water was quite cool because of the departing typhoon that never hit, and there were still some waves. Very nice swim.
Later there was eating and drinking and off to the bar for a late night cocktail.
The bar, interestingly enough (for anyone with any hebrew knowledge) is called "Sababa," and for others not in the know, it means "all good" or "cool" or "allright!" ..kind of like "dajobu" on Okinawa.
The owner is a Japanese surfer dude who lived and worked in Tel-Aviv for a few months. Very nice establishment with a full size pool table and fussball table.
Fun was had. I lost several games of pool and won two..
check out my photos website..the link is provided on the right. Now that i have home access, i'll be putting up all the ones i've taken so far.
cheers
Thursday, August 04, 2005
russian musings
bit of a lag in posts, i'm afraid.
got back from the south sunday, vacuumed up some roaches, and stayed up late into the night finishing Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Good book, btw, if anyone's interested. Very saddened by the ending.
my apartment is still bare but i have most of the big essentials. On monday picked up a washing machine and a rice cooker at a resale shop for 1000 Yen. (the U.S. dollar right now is at 112 Yen). now i just need to unpack my luggage and buy some storage bins to put it all into.
last night went down to Naha to meet the group B JETs. Actually i just wanted to go to the party that evening for all JETs but had to come down earlier with our Block's leader, Ben (check out okinawajet.com for explanation of the Block system...i'm in Block 1). Don't think i mentioned that it's traditional to hand an arriving JET an Okinawan beer, Orion, as soon as they walk through the arrival gates. Everyone gets one whether you drink or not. So Ben and I handed some out, and I had one as well. NOt the best beer but doable. All the new JETs were whisked away by their supervisors, as I was the previous week, and Ben and I drove into Naha to check out an underground Naval base that the Japanese marine units fought Americans out of. Close to two hundred of them died "honorably" in the end, which in Japanese means they committed suicide as I'm sure some of you know is required of a soldier/samurai.
The shindig was held in a huge hall called appropriately "The Beer Dome"--another all you can eat and drink festivity. Lots of JETs came, old and new. I spent the evenings chatting with my group's JETs, catching up on the exciting first week's experiences. When JET programme people say "every situation is different" they really aren't kidding. Not one story is the same. Some people had homestays with supervisors. Some are sharing apartments. Some live in posh places, some are on secluded islands. Some have started teachind already, others, like me, have only been to the school once or twice. But the stories are good and fun to hear. And everyone has picked up some important Okinawan words: "dajobu" and "sugoi"...the first one has many meanings, but mostly means "all's good" "allright"...and the second one means, "excellent"....
ah. perhaps you're wondering why the post is called, "russian musings"...well, my dear friends..it is because i experienced something entirely surreal on Tuesday.
I met most of the teacher that day, they invited me to go kayking with them. Fun! A very chill way to meet the staff of my new school. My JTE (japanese teacher of english) and I were partners in a kayak..it was his first time and we chatted a bit about this and that. He seems very nice and his English is decent. All the teachers were super nice and excited to see me. Most have some English ability and we were able to communicate with gestures and facial experessions.
In the evening I was invited to their little get together .. i think the reason for it was to thank all the teachers for their hardwork during the first term and to look forward to the second term (the school year here starts in March/April, so even though the summer vacation is long, its end does not indicate the start of a new year, only the start of a new term in the middle of september).
It is traditional at these get togethers to order numerous plates and then share them by passing them around the tables. I'm glad Gabrielle and I stopped by to have a bit to eat at an Okinawan restaurant, 'cause the portions at the party were small.
The principal was getting slightly tipsy and we talked and he found out that I speak Russian, and am in fact from the former Soviet Union. So all of a sudden he starts humming an old russian tune...and then another one...and then a third one...and i'm sitting across from him with my mouth open wide in amazement. what is going on?!!?
hillarious, right? turns out, russian music and culture were very popular on okinawa a couple of decades back and some Okinawans learned russian music in junior high schools. The music teacher at the table also new a bunch of songs and composers. And then i asked if the principal knew the song "katusha," the only older russian song i could remember the words to..and lo and behold.. he is directing the whole table of teachers into singing "katusha" in japanese..as i'm singing along in russian....
ha!!!..
that's pretty sweet!...and funny..and really unique, i think.. so i have a total "in" with the principal now...they love that I eat anything, drink almost anything.. 'cause Gabrielle is a vegan who doesn't drink, so she has a hard time eating when they're all out..but it seems that they've gotten quite used to it after three years..
knowing sushi terms has been very helpful as well. at least i can order a dish and know that i'll get something i like.
wow.. long post. lots going on.
my car is in front of my apartment..but the paperwork has not been completed as of yet, so i can't drive it.
today the phone company was supposed to stop by to install my new ISDN phone line, but because of the approaching typhoon canceled the appointment. So next week i'll have more time on the net.
Right now i'm at Camp Shwab and the computer here is not allowing me to log into the mail servers.
Next week i'll also get a "ketai" (a cell phone)...and they're very cool here. can take video, pictures, download different media files..just lots of cool stuff.. i'll probably get the cheapest one available which would still be more high tech then my little Nokia at home.. :)
the typhoon is bypassing Okinawa; it hit some islands to the south and is heading for Taiwan. It's windy here and has been raining on and off, but not a real typhoon by any means. Ogimi village is holding a welcome party for me tonight and it's at a restaurant right on the ocean with a patio, so hopefully the rain will subside and we can be outside for it....i'll take pictures.
oh..and i had a question come in, so i'll answer it here. The question was from Rosemary, and she asked if i was the tallest among little people.
The answer is that i am as tall as some men..and taller then most women. Okinawan people are not Japanese for the most part..they look a bit different and some men are quite tall....but boy oh boy..the women here are extremely tiny...i've never seen so many petite women...shopping here is going to do a lot of harm to my self-image.. :)) i'm a "LL" or "extra large" in most sizes....it's quite funny actually. and i'll never be medium..'cause medium here is size 2 or 4.
it is amusing though to see people like Ben (our blockhead) stroll through town. He's gotta be at least 6'5'' so he towers over everyone! at the underground naval facility he had to bend in half in order to walk through the tunnels.... :))
i should have taken a photo of him doing it.
and i've noticed how the japanese will stare up at his height. very amuzed.
So thanx to Rosemary for the question..keep 'em coming.
hope all's "dajobu" with you'all..
cheers
got back from the south sunday, vacuumed up some roaches, and stayed up late into the night finishing Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Good book, btw, if anyone's interested. Very saddened by the ending.
my apartment is still bare but i have most of the big essentials. On monday picked up a washing machine and a rice cooker at a resale shop for 1000 Yen. (the U.S. dollar right now is at 112 Yen). now i just need to unpack my luggage and buy some storage bins to put it all into.
last night went down to Naha to meet the group B JETs. Actually i just wanted to go to the party that evening for all JETs but had to come down earlier with our Block's leader, Ben (check out okinawajet.com for explanation of the Block system...i'm in Block 1). Don't think i mentioned that it's traditional to hand an arriving JET an Okinawan beer, Orion, as soon as they walk through the arrival gates. Everyone gets one whether you drink or not. So Ben and I handed some out, and I had one as well. NOt the best beer but doable. All the new JETs were whisked away by their supervisors, as I was the previous week, and Ben and I drove into Naha to check out an underground Naval base that the Japanese marine units fought Americans out of. Close to two hundred of them died "honorably" in the end, which in Japanese means they committed suicide as I'm sure some of you know is required of a soldier/samurai.
The shindig was held in a huge hall called appropriately "The Beer Dome"--another all you can eat and drink festivity. Lots of JETs came, old and new. I spent the evenings chatting with my group's JETs, catching up on the exciting first week's experiences. When JET programme people say "every situation is different" they really aren't kidding. Not one story is the same. Some people had homestays with supervisors. Some are sharing apartments. Some live in posh places, some are on secluded islands. Some have started teachind already, others, like me, have only been to the school once or twice. But the stories are good and fun to hear. And everyone has picked up some important Okinawan words: "dajobu" and "sugoi"...the first one has many meanings, but mostly means "all's good" "allright"...and the second one means, "excellent"....
ah. perhaps you're wondering why the post is called, "russian musings"...well, my dear friends..it is because i experienced something entirely surreal on Tuesday.
I met most of the teacher that day, they invited me to go kayking with them. Fun! A very chill way to meet the staff of my new school. My JTE (japanese teacher of english) and I were partners in a kayak..it was his first time and we chatted a bit about this and that. He seems very nice and his English is decent. All the teachers were super nice and excited to see me. Most have some English ability and we were able to communicate with gestures and facial experessions.
In the evening I was invited to their little get together .. i think the reason for it was to thank all the teachers for their hardwork during the first term and to look forward to the second term (the school year here starts in March/April, so even though the summer vacation is long, its end does not indicate the start of a new year, only the start of a new term in the middle of september).
It is traditional at these get togethers to order numerous plates and then share them by passing them around the tables. I'm glad Gabrielle and I stopped by to have a bit to eat at an Okinawan restaurant, 'cause the portions at the party were small.
The principal was getting slightly tipsy and we talked and he found out that I speak Russian, and am in fact from the former Soviet Union. So all of a sudden he starts humming an old russian tune...and then another one...and then a third one...and i'm sitting across from him with my mouth open wide in amazement. what is going on?!!?
hillarious, right? turns out, russian music and culture were very popular on okinawa a couple of decades back and some Okinawans learned russian music in junior high schools. The music teacher at the table also new a bunch of songs and composers. And then i asked if the principal knew the song "katusha," the only older russian song i could remember the words to..and lo and behold.. he is directing the whole table of teachers into singing "katusha" in japanese..as i'm singing along in russian....
ha!!!..
that's pretty sweet!...and funny..and really unique, i think.. so i have a total "in" with the principal now...they love that I eat anything, drink almost anything.. 'cause Gabrielle is a vegan who doesn't drink, so she has a hard time eating when they're all out..but it seems that they've gotten quite used to it after three years..
knowing sushi terms has been very helpful as well. at least i can order a dish and know that i'll get something i like.
wow.. long post. lots going on.
my car is in front of my apartment..but the paperwork has not been completed as of yet, so i can't drive it.
today the phone company was supposed to stop by to install my new ISDN phone line, but because of the approaching typhoon canceled the appointment. So next week i'll have more time on the net.
Right now i'm at Camp Shwab and the computer here is not allowing me to log into the mail servers.
Next week i'll also get a "ketai" (a cell phone)...and they're very cool here. can take video, pictures, download different media files..just lots of cool stuff.. i'll probably get the cheapest one available which would still be more high tech then my little Nokia at home.. :)
the typhoon is bypassing Okinawa; it hit some islands to the south and is heading for Taiwan. It's windy here and has been raining on and off, but not a real typhoon by any means. Ogimi village is holding a welcome party for me tonight and it's at a restaurant right on the ocean with a patio, so hopefully the rain will subside and we can be outside for it....i'll take pictures.
oh..and i had a question come in, so i'll answer it here. The question was from Rosemary, and she asked if i was the tallest among little people.
The answer is that i am as tall as some men..and taller then most women. Okinawan people are not Japanese for the most part..they look a bit different and some men are quite tall....but boy oh boy..the women here are extremely tiny...i've never seen so many petite women...shopping here is going to do a lot of harm to my self-image.. :)) i'm a "LL" or "extra large" in most sizes....it's quite funny actually. and i'll never be medium..'cause medium here is size 2 or 4.
it is amusing though to see people like Ben (our blockhead) stroll through town. He's gotta be at least 6'5'' so he towers over everyone! at the underground naval facility he had to bend in half in order to walk through the tunnels.... :))
i should have taken a photo of him doing it.
and i've noticed how the japanese will stare up at his height. very amuzed.
So thanx to Rosemary for the question..keep 'em coming.
hope all's "dajobu" with you'all..
cheers
Saturday, July 30, 2005
i'm coming to an understanding that Okinawa is not at all Japan. Especially in the South it is very apparent.
Ate at an indian restaurant tonight surrounded by three american families.
It's a strange place but very fun.
Still doing lots of shopping for my apartment. Learning how to ask for prices, now just need to learn how to count above "10," and to tell the coins apart quickly, although that part is already getting a bit easier.
Things are expensive here and it's worth to shop around. Sorry that my posts seem to revolve around going to stores, but that's pretty much all I've been doing the last three days, 'cause my apartment is bare and I need to get it ready for living conditions before the busy life of school begins.
I'll meet my "new" car tomorrow and am really excited, although I won't get to drive it for a while, 'cause i can't get insurance until all the transfer paperwork clears and that could take 10 days or so.
And, no, I haven't been in the ocean yet.. but it's gorgeous.
but I did go to a yoga class on base this morning and that was gruelling fun.
Wow.. the gym on base is huge! And i spent some time in their library and we had Subway for lunch. :))) weird. i know.
Tomorrow we're driving back up north to check out a beer festival in Nago (a "big" city near our village) and then i'll start figuring out my apartment. Hopefully the roaches haven't gotten too comfortable in it.
If you've got questions for me, just e-mail me. I've been pretty tired every time I've posted, so my mind is all over the place; it'd be easier to know what to write if i had a question to answer.
cheers
-erina (my new name)
Ate at an indian restaurant tonight surrounded by three american families.
It's a strange place but very fun.
Still doing lots of shopping for my apartment. Learning how to ask for prices, now just need to learn how to count above "10," and to tell the coins apart quickly, although that part is already getting a bit easier.
Things are expensive here and it's worth to shop around. Sorry that my posts seem to revolve around going to stores, but that's pretty much all I've been doing the last three days, 'cause my apartment is bare and I need to get it ready for living conditions before the busy life of school begins.
I'll meet my "new" car tomorrow and am really excited, although I won't get to drive it for a while, 'cause i can't get insurance until all the transfer paperwork clears and that could take 10 days or so.
And, no, I haven't been in the ocean yet.. but it's gorgeous.
but I did go to a yoga class on base this morning and that was gruelling fun.
Wow.. the gym on base is huge! And i spent some time in their library and we had Subway for lunch. :))) weird. i know.
Tomorrow we're driving back up north to check out a beer festival in Nago (a "big" city near our village) and then i'll start figuring out my apartment. Hopefully the roaches haven't gotten too comfortable in it.
If you've got questions for me, just e-mail me. I've been pretty tired every time I've posted, so my mind is all over the place; it'd be easier to know what to write if i had a question to answer.
cheers
-erina (my new name)
Friday, July 29, 2005
what do you americans like?
americans like burgers and fries
and they like houses on boardwalks and
fancy cars with wheels on the right side
and bars with mexican food
and clubs with hip hop music
and hawaiian outings
i'm in an area of Okinawa called Chatan and it's near Kadana air force base..
it's near Camp foster and camp Lester.. marine and navy respectively.
tomorrow we're going onto Foster to take a yoga class and spend some time in the gym..
the area is filled with bars and american type restaurants.. it's a bit surreal actually...to go from a supermarket where i couldn't understand why an item marked 5200Yen rang up as 9800Yen...i was trying to buy a gas stove.. no.. not a large gas stove.. just a small two range deal.. with a small little baker for fish..
regardless.. i didn't buy it, 'cause i'm going for the cheapest.. and shopping around
third day on Okinawa.. the village of Ogimi is my home..and it's beautiful and remote.. right on the ocean.. which has its benefits and drawbacks..
benefits are easy to imagine
drawacks of course include typhoons and humidity.. but also mold and lots and lots of insects..
yesterday i came home to about 20 cockroaches.. gian ones..
not fun.. but funny..
bought some killer stuff today and tape to get all the holes filled in..
there are so many other things happenning.. but mostly it's about me setting up my life here: bank accounts, painting apartment, shopping for food and cleaners.. and also meeting the local governing bodies and board of education officials..
i wish i could show you the pictures of these officials.. they wear the coolest shirts.. they look a bit Hawaiian but the textile is made locally and is definately not cotton...
"house" is on TV.. didn't think i'd come to Japan to watch television shows in English..
although, props for CNN for showing Blair's reaction to IRA's statement of disbanding yesterday...oh ..wait.. they didn't.. i watched that on BBC..CNN where showing fishing in Mexico exlusive..
arrgh
and they like houses on boardwalks and
fancy cars with wheels on the right side
and bars with mexican food
and clubs with hip hop music
and hawaiian outings
i'm in an area of Okinawa called Chatan and it's near Kadana air force base..
it's near Camp foster and camp Lester.. marine and navy respectively.
tomorrow we're going onto Foster to take a yoga class and spend some time in the gym..
the area is filled with bars and american type restaurants.. it's a bit surreal actually...to go from a supermarket where i couldn't understand why an item marked 5200Yen rang up as 9800Yen...i was trying to buy a gas stove.. no.. not a large gas stove.. just a small two range deal.. with a small little baker for fish..
regardless.. i didn't buy it, 'cause i'm going for the cheapest.. and shopping around
third day on Okinawa.. the village of Ogimi is my home..and it's beautiful and remote.. right on the ocean.. which has its benefits and drawbacks..
benefits are easy to imagine
drawacks of course include typhoons and humidity.. but also mold and lots and lots of insects..
yesterday i came home to about 20 cockroaches.. gian ones..
not fun.. but funny..
bought some killer stuff today and tape to get all the holes filled in..
there are so many other things happenning.. but mostly it's about me setting up my life here: bank accounts, painting apartment, shopping for food and cleaners.. and also meeting the local governing bodies and board of education officials..
i wish i could show you the pictures of these officials.. they wear the coolest shirts.. they look a bit Hawaiian but the textile is made locally and is definately not cotton...
"house" is on TV.. didn't think i'd come to Japan to watch television shows in English..
although, props for CNN for showing Blair's reaction to IRA's statement of disbanding yesterday...oh ..wait.. they didn't.. i watched that on BBC..CNN where showing fishing in Mexico exlusive..
arrgh
Tuesday, July 26, 2005
typhoons and other phenomenon
so apparently there was an earthquake in and around Tokyo on saturday before we arrived. i think it measured 5 on the richter scale (7points max right?). and right now there's a typhoon going over Japan..but it's moving north and we should be allright for flying south to Okinawa tomorrow.. it's been raining non-stop since late last night (25th) and i'm about to venture out of the hotel for the first time today.
last night experienced karaoke and all you can eat and drink restaurant
the all you can eat deal lasts for a specific period of time..our Okinawa group had 2 hours..quite a lot of fun...i think i had two coctails and a beer in front of me at one point...good food too..some interesting and unknown foods were tried and enjoyed (i think).
the okinawa crew are good folks..am enjoying their company quite a bit, actually..
tonight the plan is to have dinner and drinks with a couple of russian-speaking americans. there are "real" russians on the JET program..but apparently most of them are involved with the sports activities and are not coming until august..
tomorrow i fly out to Okinawa and get to finally meet my supervisors, Gabrielle and some students
ok..being kicked off the puter
last night experienced karaoke and all you can eat and drink restaurant
the all you can eat deal lasts for a specific period of time..our Okinawa group had 2 hours..quite a lot of fun...i think i had two coctails and a beer in front of me at one point...good food too..some interesting and unknown foods were tried and enjoyed (i think).
the okinawa crew are good folks..am enjoying their company quite a bit, actually..
tonight the plan is to have dinner and drinks with a couple of russian-speaking americans. there are "real" russians on the JET program..but apparently most of them are involved with the sports activities and are not coming until august..
tomorrow i fly out to Okinawa and get to finally meet my supervisors, Gabrielle and some students
ok..being kicked off the puter
Monday, July 25, 2005
finally in Tokyo
Konichiwa....or whatever the romanized version is....just so you know ..i only have 15 min. online right now and am having a slightly difficult time typing ..the space bar is way too small and every once in a while i hit the wrong button and kana (japanese) comes on the screen.
oh..but i shall i perceviere for all of you people anxious to hear about my first days in Japan.
the flight was long but good. food was decent and i did not watch the inflight movies..i read my new Harry Potter as about half of the flight did. the airport experience went smoothly. So far i am extremely impressed by the organization of the JET programme. It is run by very helpful and cheery people who are prepared to handle large number of zombie like people.
I am staying at the Keio Plaza hotel in japan. it has a webpage but because of my time limit, i won't go looking for it. it's an extremely nice hotel and i'm staying with two other women who are going to Okinawa with me.
We just finished our first orintation ceremony and today and tomorrow there will be lots of workshops to visit. Tonight we have a reception for the whole crew (nearly 3000 people from 44 countries) and there will also be an excursion by the Okinawa people to an all you can eat/all you can drink restaurant in town. That should be fun.
What else can i tell you. I'm tired by very excited right now. Just seeing all these people here is inspiring. They're bright, warm, genuinly happy to be here; all look and talk differently and just are generous with everyone they meet.
I am gonna run right now, 'cause I think I'm missing lunch right now. and no one wants me to starve, I'm sure...especially me.
Cheers!
oh..but i shall i perceviere for all of you people anxious to hear about my first days in Japan.
the flight was long but good. food was decent and i did not watch the inflight movies..i read my new Harry Potter as about half of the flight did. the airport experience went smoothly. So far i am extremely impressed by the organization of the JET programme. It is run by very helpful and cheery people who are prepared to handle large number of zombie like people.
I am staying at the Keio Plaza hotel in japan. it has a webpage but because of my time limit, i won't go looking for it. it's an extremely nice hotel and i'm staying with two other women who are going to Okinawa with me.
We just finished our first orintation ceremony and today and tomorrow there will be lots of workshops to visit. Tonight we have a reception for the whole crew (nearly 3000 people from 44 countries) and there will also be an excursion by the Okinawa people to an all you can eat/all you can drink restaurant in town. That should be fun.
What else can i tell you. I'm tired by very excited right now. Just seeing all these people here is inspiring. They're bright, warm, genuinly happy to be here; all look and talk differently and just are generous with everyone they meet.
I am gonna run right now, 'cause I think I'm missing lunch right now. and no one wants me to starve, I'm sure...especially me.
Cheers!
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