Before I came to Japan, some of you might recall my excitement at the prospect of finally being considered exotic. Well, exotic I now am, and as usual, it’s not exactly what I planned.
This point was driven home in my first few minutes of my first full day at work. I had just entered the school and was placing my shoes in my locker – we have to wear special shoes for inside use – when three first grade boys passed by and stopped dead in their tracks when they saw me. They stood motionless for a moment, so I smiled and said hello. Suddenly, the boy in the middle pointed at me and started to yelp excitedly, ‘Eigojin! Eigojin!” (That means English person.) This continued for about 20 seconds - which sounds like a short period of time unless you actually have a young child yelling and pointing at you like you are a monkey in a zoo in which case I can tell you it, it feels like an eternity. Though I will admit to being probably slightly more amused at the whole spectacle than a monkey would be.
On the other end of the spectrum, I was having lunch with a fourth grade class the other day and as they were getting things ready, a girl approached me with a piece of paper and a pencil. With her little bit of English and my limited Japanese, I figured out that she was asking for me to sign my name on the scrap of paper. As my Mom will attest, my signature is completely illegible, so it took quite some concentration to write it clearly. Then, of course, all of the kids in the class started to scramble for a piece of paper and clamber for my signature as if I was some sort of rock star. This began as a slightly more flattering illustration of my exoticism, but ended on a more annoying note as I struggled to sign all thirty to forty pieces of paper while maintaining some legibility.
So the lesson, kids - be careful what you wish for. I wanted to be exotic, but didn’t realize I was coming to a country where exotic isn't as celebrated as it is in America. There is an old Japanese saying, “The nail that stands up will get pounded down.” To an American, or at least me, that sounds threatening. To the Japanese, I suppose it is reassuring. While something or someone that is different can be intriguing, they also find it to be faintly discomforting. Americans celebrate the unique. Japanese celebrate the average and ordinary.
That being said, I am enjoying my job teaching these young kids more than I thought could be possible. They are so excited to see me and come to my class. We play games and sing songs and just have a great time. And as I said in one of my earlier posts, I eat lunch with the kids in their classrooms. I rotate between the classes and they treat me as their honored guest. It’s quite fun.
Now, what do you remember of school lunches? Let me tell you, it’s nothing to lunch time in a Japanese elementary school. First, the kids themselves make the lunches in their cooking class, which I have yet to have a chance to visit to my disappointment. Then, a small group of students from each class carry all of the dishes and food to each classroom. There are few things more precious than seeing two little first grade kids dressed in their caps and aprons struggling to carry a bucket full of rice to their class. When they reach their classroom, they set up a small line and serve their classmates. Everyone waits until everyone is sitting down with food before beginning to eat. And these Japanese school children clean their plates, let me tell you. I have yet to see a kid not eat something.
It’s slightly embarrassing, as the first few days I ate with them, I couldn’t finish all of my meal. And I don’t think I was able to convince them that I really did like the food, I was just too full to finish it. I have since learned how to take back what I can’t eat before we start eating. And it is truly funny to see these little kids race back to the food line to grab the mostly rice that I put back.
I have to say that I thought I liked carbs before I came to Japan. I have since realized that I have nothing on these tiny little women and kids. They can eat more rice in one sitting than I can eat all day. It’s incredible. Lunches are usually a combination of soup, rice, salad, a maybe a piece of fish or chicken. Salads almost always feature pickled cucumber, which is kind of weird to be honest, though oddly enough, pretty good. Nobie says that isn't necessarily a Japanese thing in particular, but an example of the Japanese using what is in season and abundant in the area. Perhaps in the winter, I won't be able to find a pickled cucumber if my life depended on it. It's all about the area and the season. Anyway, one day we had a salad or slaw of pickled cucumber, sliced onion, and boiled octopus. Not bad. The soups are almost always a broth with vegetables and tofu, occasionally adding chicken or pork. The other day we had the most delicious egg drop soup I’ve ever had and I made Nobie promise to teach me how to make it.
Other than the school lunches, I do have a few new food experiences to share. Last Monday and Tuesday, some friends of Stewart and Nobie were visiting the are with some of their friends – two American couples and an Indian couple – so both nights we went out to eat. The first night, we went to a Yakitori restaurant where I tried basashi. I hinted at this in my last post, and if any other you looked it up: yes, it really is raw horseflesh. It’s considered a Kumamoto specialty and is usually served, as it was here, as sashimi with a spicy ginger and onion soy sauce. Not only did I eat it and enjoy it, but I would seriously consider ordering it again.
The next night, we went to a restaurant featuring more of an international menu. We had German style sausages, California style pizza, and Mediterranean style squid. It was all delicious. And the intelligent, adult conversation was a welcome relief from eating lunch with young children that I can barely communicate with.
Coming soon – They’re letting me loose on the open road. Watch out Kumamoto.
- Jenny
Monday, April 28, 2008
Thursday, April 24, 2008
It’s a Hello Kitty World
…and I’m just living in it.
No longer the ‘Land of the Rising Son,’ Japan is now the 'Land of the Cute’ ™ Stewart Johnson. While in the rest of Asia, it is the Year of the Rat; in Japan, it is the Year of the Mouse. I kid you not.
In a recent publication of a magazine targeted to foreigners in Kyushu, there is a Top Ten list of ways to fake Japanese fluency. Number 3 said: Girls, memorize ‘”kawaii.” You are now fluent. If you haven’t guessed it, ‘kawaii’ means ‘cute.’ And the only good to come of this is Stewart’s impression of Japanese girls squealing ‘kawaii!” It's almost worth it.
After Nobie and I went to the ramen shop I was talking about in my last post, she took me cell phone shopping. I basically sat quietly for a half an hour as she talked to the sales girl about purchasing a cell phone for me. Nobie knew that I only really wanted the phone for work and emergency purposes and was hoping to find the cheapest one possible. So, after about seven or eight minutes, the girl goes into the back and comes back with a pink iridescent phone with small white butterflies decorating the outside. I was about to say something when Nobie turned to me and said that it was free. For a split second, I thought about asking if perhaps there were any free phones that weren’t pink, but I thought better of it. So, now I have a pink cell phone that when I close it, white butterflies fly across the cover. It’s very kawaii.
And it starts early. In my first day at school, three second grade girls came into the teachers’ room - all of the teachers have their work desks in one large room along with the Vice Principal and occasionally, the Principal – and through another teacher’s interpreting, told me that I was very cute. Now, ‘cute’ is a term that is usually only ascribed to me by elderly people to whom perhaps anyone younger than fifty is considered a ‘cute, young person .’ I am rarely called ‘cute’ by three little girls who are simply the textbook definition of the word. But since I have resolved not to use that term, I had to tell them that they were adorable. Which, of course, was interpreted into ‘kawaii.’
Like many things, however, what can be considered charming in a young child is rarely as charming when the person grows older. One of the OWLS coordinators that manages my work through the Kikuchi School Board is a young woman perhaps my age. She shadowed me my first day at work to help introductions and make sure that I was comfortable. She also drove me to my first school and afterwards to the school I was going to the next day to ensure I was comfortable with my commute. I don’t believe I can possibly do justice in describing her car, but I will do my best. Here goes.
Like my phone, it has a pale, iridescent pink exterior. Inside, the seats were covered in white leather Hello Kitty covers. On top of that sat a hot pink feathery pillow to sit on. Matching the pillows, which adorn every seat, is a feathery cover for the dash that sat so high, I worried slightly that she couldn’t see the road over it. The steering wheel and every lever exposed were covered with white Hello Kitty covers. The rearview mirror also had a Hello Kitty cover. Decorating the backseat were numerous Hello Kitty pillows and hanging from the handle bars above each window were - you guessed it – Hello Kitty plush dolls. The visual will be burned into brain for as long as I live.
It’s getting late here, so I think I’ll end this. I’m having a great time teaching English to these young, rural children. I promise to talk more about them next post as well as the great food experiences I’ve had recently. One hint: basashi.
- Jenny
No longer the ‘Land of the Rising Son,’ Japan is now the 'Land of the Cute’ ™ Stewart Johnson. While in the rest of Asia, it is the Year of the Rat; in Japan, it is the Year of the Mouse. I kid you not.
In a recent publication of a magazine targeted to foreigners in Kyushu, there is a Top Ten list of ways to fake Japanese fluency. Number 3 said: Girls, memorize ‘”kawaii.” You are now fluent. If you haven’t guessed it, ‘kawaii’ means ‘cute.’ And the only good to come of this is Stewart’s impression of Japanese girls squealing ‘kawaii!” It's almost worth it.
After Nobie and I went to the ramen shop I was talking about in my last post, she took me cell phone shopping. I basically sat quietly for a half an hour as she talked to the sales girl about purchasing a cell phone for me. Nobie knew that I only really wanted the phone for work and emergency purposes and was hoping to find the cheapest one possible. So, after about seven or eight minutes, the girl goes into the back and comes back with a pink iridescent phone with small white butterflies decorating the outside. I was about to say something when Nobie turned to me and said that it was free. For a split second, I thought about asking if perhaps there were any free phones that weren’t pink, but I thought better of it. So, now I have a pink cell phone that when I close it, white butterflies fly across the cover. It’s very kawaii.
And it starts early. In my first day at school, three second grade girls came into the teachers’ room - all of the teachers have their work desks in one large room along with the Vice Principal and occasionally, the Principal – and through another teacher’s interpreting, told me that I was very cute. Now, ‘cute’ is a term that is usually only ascribed to me by elderly people to whom perhaps anyone younger than fifty is considered a ‘cute, young person .’ I am rarely called ‘cute’ by three little girls who are simply the textbook definition of the word. But since I have resolved not to use that term, I had to tell them that they were adorable. Which, of course, was interpreted into ‘kawaii.’
Like many things, however, what can be considered charming in a young child is rarely as charming when the person grows older. One of the OWLS coordinators that manages my work through the Kikuchi School Board is a young woman perhaps my age. She shadowed me my first day at work to help introductions and make sure that I was comfortable. She also drove me to my first school and afterwards to the school I was going to the next day to ensure I was comfortable with my commute. I don’t believe I can possibly do justice in describing her car, but I will do my best. Here goes.
Like my phone, it has a pale, iridescent pink exterior. Inside, the seats were covered in white leather Hello Kitty covers. On top of that sat a hot pink feathery pillow to sit on. Matching the pillows, which adorn every seat, is a feathery cover for the dash that sat so high, I worried slightly that she couldn’t see the road over it. The steering wheel and every lever exposed were covered with white Hello Kitty covers. The rearview mirror also had a Hello Kitty cover. Decorating the backseat were numerous Hello Kitty pillows and hanging from the handle bars above each window were - you guessed it – Hello Kitty plush dolls. The visual will be burned into brain for as long as I live.
It’s getting late here, so I think I’ll end this. I’m having a great time teaching English to these young, rural children. I promise to talk more about them next post as well as the great food experiences I’ve had recently. One hint: basashi.
- Jenny
Monday, April 21, 2008
At least there's no Celine Dion....
Domo. Domo. Domo. Imagine I am bowing twice for every domo. That is how sorry I am for this late update. I’m sure you’ve been climbing the walls thinking about the poor man’s Reno and wondering what I could possibly mean by that. Well, let me tell you...
Pachinko. I don’t know what it is either. But on every corner in every town there is a Pachinko Palace. Yes, you heard me. Pachinko Palace. They’re everywhere. In a ghost town, the Pachinko Palace is the last place to go out of business. Stewart said no bank has ever turned someone down when they are investing in a Pachinko Palace. Apparently, there are just no bad locations or over-saturation of these shadowy businesses.
Now, to give you a better idea of Pachinko Palaces: think The Sands in the late 70’s. That will give you a visual of the outside. Inside, imagine the smokiest, most crowded, loudest casino you’ve ever visited or seen on television. Well, that’s close enough. And here’s the kicker, there is only one game: Pachinko, and it’s a slot machine game. You heard me, that’s it.
How can these be so popular? There are no shows; so on one hand, I guess that means no Celine Dion or Toni Braxton which can only be a good thing. But it also means no Wayne Newton which I consider a tragedy. No clubs, restaurants, or bars. No poker or roulette. I’m sure you can come up with a few more things Vegas has that I won’t mention because I’ve been warned that kids are reading this blog. But we both know what you’re thinking about and no, none of those either. So again, I ask. How can these be so popular?
And popular they are. They open at 10 am every morning and appear to be packed just about around the clock. All of them. I would guess that Kumamoto has maybe 50 Pachinko places in the city limits, maybe 75. All of them are busy. And these are good size buildings. Three or four floors full of slot machines. I just don’t get it.
To make things even more shady, gambling is illegal in Japan. Technically, Pachinko Palaces get around this by operating something like Chuck E. Cheese. You don’t win money, but tickets which you can exchange for prizes. I can hear your outrage from here. After you exchange your tickets for a stuffed animal or something, you take that prize to the back door, where “they” buy it back for probably about a fourth of what they paid for it and about a tenth or what you actually spent playing the game. And that’s if you do well. But , it gets better. “They” are actually North Koreans sending the money back to North Korea straight into the hands of Kim Jong Il and his cronies. And like many things they don’t like, Japan just don’t think about it. Actually, maybe I am more like the Japanese than I think….
So, that’s poor man’s Reno. These things are everywhere in Japan. To give you an idea, a town like Lawrence would probably have about 10 Pachinko Palaces, maybe 15. It’s disturbing if you want to know the truth of it.
Also, everywhere in Japan are vending machines. They all sell drinks, though. No food or candy. Just drinks and occasionally cigarettes. And most of the drinks are very small. Because apparently, it’s considered bad manners to walk and drink at the same time. So, Japanese buy these small cans that cost just as much as the big ones and stand by the vending machine and drink it all before continuing on their way.
A few more odds and ends. I’ll talk about my first few days teaching English in my next post.
Nobie and I had lunch yesterday at a traditional Ramen shop. And whatever you are thinking in regards to the instant ramen you can buy at any grocery store or gas station, forget it. There is absolutely no comparison between the two. This was just mouthwatering delicious. It was called ‘Sapporo style’ ramen, and consisted on a pork broth with lots of vegetables and ramen noodles. Just fantastic. We also had a small plate of what I call potstickers, but Japanese call ‘gyouza“. It was all fantastic, which just made the musical choice all the more head-scratching. I'm eating amazing homemade ramen, when suddenly I listen to the music and hear, "My milkshake brings all the boys to the bar..." Odd.
Later that evening, Nobie made stirfried pork with kimchi – spicy fermented cabbage, which was very good. And for dessert, we had small doughnuts called ‘Okinawa doughnuts,’ but Stewart and I call ‘okie-does.’ We’re going to patent the term and make a ton of money off of it. How the Japanese never thought of it, I’ll never know.
I’ll post again soon with the details of my school days. Thanks for reading!
- Jenny
Pachinko. I don’t know what it is either. But on every corner in every town there is a Pachinko Palace. Yes, you heard me. Pachinko Palace. They’re everywhere. In a ghost town, the Pachinko Palace is the last place to go out of business. Stewart said no bank has ever turned someone down when they are investing in a Pachinko Palace. Apparently, there are just no bad locations or over-saturation of these shadowy businesses.
Now, to give you a better idea of Pachinko Palaces: think The Sands in the late 70’s. That will give you a visual of the outside. Inside, imagine the smokiest, most crowded, loudest casino you’ve ever visited or seen on television. Well, that’s close enough. And here’s the kicker, there is only one game: Pachinko, and it’s a slot machine game. You heard me, that’s it.
How can these be so popular? There are no shows; so on one hand, I guess that means no Celine Dion or Toni Braxton which can only be a good thing. But it also means no Wayne Newton which I consider a tragedy. No clubs, restaurants, or bars. No poker or roulette. I’m sure you can come up with a few more things Vegas has that I won’t mention because I’ve been warned that kids are reading this blog. But we both know what you’re thinking about and no, none of those either. So again, I ask. How can these be so popular?
And popular they are. They open at 10 am every morning and appear to be packed just about around the clock. All of them. I would guess that Kumamoto has maybe 50 Pachinko places in the city limits, maybe 75. All of them are busy. And these are good size buildings. Three or four floors full of slot machines. I just don’t get it.
To make things even more shady, gambling is illegal in Japan. Technically, Pachinko Palaces get around this by operating something like Chuck E. Cheese. You don’t win money, but tickets which you can exchange for prizes. I can hear your outrage from here. After you exchange your tickets for a stuffed animal or something, you take that prize to the back door, where “they” buy it back for probably about a fourth of what they paid for it and about a tenth or what you actually spent playing the game. And that’s if you do well. But , it gets better. “They” are actually North Koreans sending the money back to North Korea straight into the hands of Kim Jong Il and his cronies. And like many things they don’t like, Japan just don’t think about it. Actually, maybe I am more like the Japanese than I think….
So, that’s poor man’s Reno. These things are everywhere in Japan. To give you an idea, a town like Lawrence would probably have about 10 Pachinko Palaces, maybe 15. It’s disturbing if you want to know the truth of it.
Also, everywhere in Japan are vending machines. They all sell drinks, though. No food or candy. Just drinks and occasionally cigarettes. And most of the drinks are very small. Because apparently, it’s considered bad manners to walk and drink at the same time. So, Japanese buy these small cans that cost just as much as the big ones and stand by the vending machine and drink it all before continuing on their way.
A few more odds and ends. I’ll talk about my first few days teaching English in my next post.
Nobie and I had lunch yesterday at a traditional Ramen shop. And whatever you are thinking in regards to the instant ramen you can buy at any grocery store or gas station, forget it. There is absolutely no comparison between the two. This was just mouthwatering delicious. It was called ‘Sapporo style’ ramen, and consisted on a pork broth with lots of vegetables and ramen noodles. Just fantastic. We also had a small plate of what I call potstickers, but Japanese call ‘gyouza“. It was all fantastic, which just made the musical choice all the more head-scratching. I'm eating amazing homemade ramen, when suddenly I listen to the music and hear, "My milkshake brings all the boys to the bar..." Odd.
Later that evening, Nobie made stirfried pork with kimchi – spicy fermented cabbage, which was very good. And for dessert, we had small doughnuts called ‘Okinawa doughnuts,’ but Stewart and I call ‘okie-does.’ We’re going to patent the term and make a ton of money off of it. How the Japanese never thought of it, I’ll never know.
I’ll post again soon with the details of my school days. Thanks for reading!
- Jenny
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Just One More Working Stiff
There are 66.07 million poor working stiffs here in Japan. And now you can add one more. My first day of work is tomorrow. Let’s begin at the beginning - not my usual starting off point, but then again, I like to be unpredictable.
I’d been personally applying for teaching positions here in Japan for about two weeks now, and had been getting pretty discouraged. The people I spoke to had all warned me that finding a teaching position with a company that could sponsor my work visa would be difficult for two reasons. The first being that the school year began on April 1st and the majority of teaching positions had already been filled for the next 6 months. And second, a few months before I came to Japan, one of the major chains of conversation schools had closed unexpectedly with some controversy and the job market had been flooded with English teachers looking for employment. So, I was still looking, but I was also looking for jobs back in the states and was working on a backup plan for when I had to leave Japan in two months when my temporary visitor’s visa ran out.
And then fate intervened. Nobie was on one of her interpreting jobs when her boss, through the company she contracts out from, asked if she knew of a native English speaker interested in teaching in a nearby school district. She said she just might know of someone ;)
The company both Nobie and I now work for is called OWLS Co. Ltd. They employ English interpreters, translators, and - most importantly – teachers. They employ almost 100 teachers, called ALTs (Assistant Language Teacher). These ALTs are sent out to a number of school districts to assist the Japanese teachers. The teacher OWLS had set up for the Kikuchi school district had to leave unexpectedly and his post needed to be filled immediately. They were discouraged as the Kikuchi area is kind of rural and they were finding it difficult to find someone who would be willing to go there.
So with Nobie’s recommendation, which Stewart said is the most important thing here in Japan – resumes and experience do not count as much as who you know, I headed to Kokura, a large city on the northwest shore of Kyushu, for an interview. This called for me to travel by train for the first time, not counting my small trips to town on what is really more like a subway. Nobie took me to the Suizenji Station early Tuesday morning and helped me by my round-trip tickets to Kokura and back. Luckily, I was able to stay on one train the entire way and didn’t have to worry about switching trains halfway. The trip took about 2 and half hours, but felt much longer with all of the stops we made. The train itself was very nice, however, and as I got on at one of the first stops, I was able to get a seat in the front with lots of legroom.
I arrived in Kokura a little more than an hour before my interview, so I grabbed a bite to eat from the food court in Kokura station. I went to what they call a deli / bakery which has all kinds of baked goods, sweet and savory. I grabbed what was basically an individual pizza with ham, onions, and spinach and a bottle of water and ate in the cafeteria area. Also in the food court was a Mr. Donut and a Mo’s Burgers. These establishments can be found everywhere in Japan.
Slight tangent: My culture shock comes in small waves rather than one big surge. One such wave came in the food court with the pandemonium around me. Most of the din came from the workers at Mo’s Burgers and is indicative of much of Japanese customer service. They certainly seem to equate loudness with enthusiasm. There were three women working the counter and at least one worker visible in the back, and ALL of them would welcome a new customer… very loudly and repeatedly. In fact, they will start greeting when a person is halfway across the room if they so much as look as if they are on a trajectory towards the vicinity of the Mo’s counter. There is also a lot of bowing going on. And for Japanese, to do something once – bowing, greeting, thanking, etc. – is never as good as doing it three or four or even five times. It's unsettling.
Tangent over.
So, I grabbed a bite to eat and headed towards the building in which my interview was being held. I still had about an hour and the building was said to be very close, but I wanted to give myself plenty of time to get lost once or twice. Turns out, there was a skywalk that took me straight to the door of the Asia-Pacific International Market (AIM building) where OWLS has their office. It only took about 4 minutes, so I sat in the lobby reading – I am halfway through Camus’ The Stranger, which I am enjoying tremendously – until about twenty minutes before my interview time when I headed up to the 8th floor and found the OWLS office. Before I could even introduce myself, they knew whom I was and ushered me into a small interview room and the woman I was meeting, Ms. Konishi, was right in and we got started. First, I had to take an English test which was kind of fun to be honest, at least I knew I would do okay on one portion of the interview. When she returned we talked for about an hour and when I left, I was fairly confident that I would be offered the position.
Turns out my confidence was well-founded as by the time I returned home about three hours later, Ms. Konishi had already called with a job offer which she then emailed to me hoping for a response that evening. I called back and accepted. And though I knew they were in a hurry to fill the position, I am still kind of surprised at how quickly everything is happening. Tomorrow, I will go to meet with the Kikuchi Board of Education and a few of the teachers with which I will be teaching, then my coordinator with OWLS will drive me up to Kokura where I’ll first go through my contract and get all of the paperwork in order, then I will be taken to a local elementary school where I will observe another ALT teaching in a classroom. And that will conclude my training.
My first day as an ALT in the Kikuchi school district is Friday. Yes, Friday the 18th. Immediately. Eek.
A little bit more about my job. I’ll be traveling between four elementary schools in Kikuchi. My day will go from 8:15 to 4:30, Monday through Friday. And though I won’t be teaching the entire day, I will have to be in the school working on materials and my preparations. I will also be able to look in on some of the other classes as well, which I am pretty excited about. Ms. Konishi mentioned a cooking class, and Nobie went into more detail about it later. She said it’s basically what we would consider Home-Ec for sixth and maybe fifth graders. They learn how to make rice, fried eggs, miso soup, etc. That’s what I want to learn how to make! I have a feeling I will become very familiar with the cooking teacher.
And about halfway through my interview, Ms. Konishi went on what I believed was a slight tangent asking if I liked Japanese food. Turns out, she had a very valid reason for asking. The students eat their lunches in the classroom and the teachers are expected to each the school lunch with them. She wanted to make sure that I didn’t have a problem with that, which I assured her that I didn’t believe I would.
Anyway, I’ll be teaching mostly 3rd through 6th grades, and occasionally 1st and 2nd. And I won’t be teaching them English. Rather, I will be instructing them on how to interact with foreigners in English. Basically, the difference is that in elementary school, they are not graded on this. It isn’t until Jr. High that they must take English classes for a grade. This all means that elementary school kids love English time and activities, as they don’t have to worry about taking any tests on it. Which is nice. The more they enjoy it, the more enjoyable it will be for me as well.
Ms. Konishi said that my primary job is to be a good example of an American and Westerner to these children that have most likely never met a gaijin before. She said that everything I do or say will be interpreted as what all Americans do and say. That’s somewhat intimidating, but I’m not too worried. My parents raised me right :)
The school year started on April 1st, so I am coming in a few weeks late. And their school year is year round, so my contract ends with OWLS on March 31, 2009. I’ll have the entire month of August off, though unpaid, which I can do whatever I want. Perhaps, I'll take that time to visit Seoul or Taipei.
The other school breaks I will have to work, but I will be given 10 paid holidays, which I am encouraged to take during the Winter Break (Dec. 25 – Jan. 7) and March Break. I also get the 20 national holidays off. And speaking of national holidays, perhaps the biggest string of these comes April 30 – May 5, which is called Golden Week and has about four holidays grouped together.
And that’s all the information you’re going to get for now ;) Basically, because that’s about all the information I have at this time. Suffice to say, I have a lot of things to take care of in the following weeks including how in the hell I’m going to get to these schools. If I haven’t mentioned it already – and really, at this point you should have looked it up – Kikuchi is very near where I am staying right now. I am going to look for an apartment, so I don’t impose on Stewart and Nobie for much longer, but it’s not necessarily an urgent matter. No matter what, however, I need to figure out where these schools are and how to reach them: be it by bus, bicycle, or something else. Nobie knows someone that might, emphasis might, have a car that they would be willing to give me, which would have many advantages as well as disadvantages. The option of buying a used scooter is also being bandied about. I like the scooter idea for just the romanticism of it more than anything. They make me think of the movie, Roman Holiday; and if you don’t know what I’m talking about, then run don’t walk to the nearest video store and rent it. Audrey Hepburn, Gregory Peck, Rome, scooters, nuf said. The reality of Kyushu and the rainy season is not quite as romantic, unfortunately.
It’s getting late and I need to get ready for tomorrow, so I’ll finish this up. Next time, seriously will be about poor man’s Reno.
No new food updates, but I did see a fun t-shirt the other day. ‘General Thinking, My Mind Killing.’ Ummmm…. Ditto?
- Jenny
I’d been personally applying for teaching positions here in Japan for about two weeks now, and had been getting pretty discouraged. The people I spoke to had all warned me that finding a teaching position with a company that could sponsor my work visa would be difficult for two reasons. The first being that the school year began on April 1st and the majority of teaching positions had already been filled for the next 6 months. And second, a few months before I came to Japan, one of the major chains of conversation schools had closed unexpectedly with some controversy and the job market had been flooded with English teachers looking for employment. So, I was still looking, but I was also looking for jobs back in the states and was working on a backup plan for when I had to leave Japan in two months when my temporary visitor’s visa ran out.
And then fate intervened. Nobie was on one of her interpreting jobs when her boss, through the company she contracts out from, asked if she knew of a native English speaker interested in teaching in a nearby school district. She said she just might know of someone ;)
The company both Nobie and I now work for is called OWLS Co. Ltd. They employ English interpreters, translators, and - most importantly – teachers. They employ almost 100 teachers, called ALTs (Assistant Language Teacher). These ALTs are sent out to a number of school districts to assist the Japanese teachers. The teacher OWLS had set up for the Kikuchi school district had to leave unexpectedly and his post needed to be filled immediately. They were discouraged as the Kikuchi area is kind of rural and they were finding it difficult to find someone who would be willing to go there.
So with Nobie’s recommendation, which Stewart said is the most important thing here in Japan – resumes and experience do not count as much as who you know, I headed to Kokura, a large city on the northwest shore of Kyushu, for an interview. This called for me to travel by train for the first time, not counting my small trips to town on what is really more like a subway. Nobie took me to the Suizenji Station early Tuesday morning and helped me by my round-trip tickets to Kokura and back. Luckily, I was able to stay on one train the entire way and didn’t have to worry about switching trains halfway. The trip took about 2 and half hours, but felt much longer with all of the stops we made. The train itself was very nice, however, and as I got on at one of the first stops, I was able to get a seat in the front with lots of legroom.
I arrived in Kokura a little more than an hour before my interview, so I grabbed a bite to eat from the food court in Kokura station. I went to what they call a deli / bakery which has all kinds of baked goods, sweet and savory. I grabbed what was basically an individual pizza with ham, onions, and spinach and a bottle of water and ate in the cafeteria area. Also in the food court was a Mr. Donut and a Mo’s Burgers. These establishments can be found everywhere in Japan.
Slight tangent: My culture shock comes in small waves rather than one big surge. One such wave came in the food court with the pandemonium around me. Most of the din came from the workers at Mo’s Burgers and is indicative of much of Japanese customer service. They certainly seem to equate loudness with enthusiasm. There were three women working the counter and at least one worker visible in the back, and ALL of them would welcome a new customer… very loudly and repeatedly. In fact, they will start greeting when a person is halfway across the room if they so much as look as if they are on a trajectory towards the vicinity of the Mo’s counter. There is also a lot of bowing going on. And for Japanese, to do something once – bowing, greeting, thanking, etc. – is never as good as doing it three or four or even five times. It's unsettling.
Tangent over.
So, I grabbed a bite to eat and headed towards the building in which my interview was being held. I still had about an hour and the building was said to be very close, but I wanted to give myself plenty of time to get lost once or twice. Turns out, there was a skywalk that took me straight to the door of the Asia-Pacific International Market (AIM building) where OWLS has their office. It only took about 4 minutes, so I sat in the lobby reading – I am halfway through Camus’ The Stranger, which I am enjoying tremendously – until about twenty minutes before my interview time when I headed up to the 8th floor and found the OWLS office. Before I could even introduce myself, they knew whom I was and ushered me into a small interview room and the woman I was meeting, Ms. Konishi, was right in and we got started. First, I had to take an English test which was kind of fun to be honest, at least I knew I would do okay on one portion of the interview. When she returned we talked for about an hour and when I left, I was fairly confident that I would be offered the position.
Turns out my confidence was well-founded as by the time I returned home about three hours later, Ms. Konishi had already called with a job offer which she then emailed to me hoping for a response that evening. I called back and accepted. And though I knew they were in a hurry to fill the position, I am still kind of surprised at how quickly everything is happening. Tomorrow, I will go to meet with the Kikuchi Board of Education and a few of the teachers with which I will be teaching, then my coordinator with OWLS will drive me up to Kokura where I’ll first go through my contract and get all of the paperwork in order, then I will be taken to a local elementary school where I will observe another ALT teaching in a classroom. And that will conclude my training.
My first day as an ALT in the Kikuchi school district is Friday. Yes, Friday the 18th. Immediately. Eek.
A little bit more about my job. I’ll be traveling between four elementary schools in Kikuchi. My day will go from 8:15 to 4:30, Monday through Friday. And though I won’t be teaching the entire day, I will have to be in the school working on materials and my preparations. I will also be able to look in on some of the other classes as well, which I am pretty excited about. Ms. Konishi mentioned a cooking class, and Nobie went into more detail about it later. She said it’s basically what we would consider Home-Ec for sixth and maybe fifth graders. They learn how to make rice, fried eggs, miso soup, etc. That’s what I want to learn how to make! I have a feeling I will become very familiar with the cooking teacher.
And about halfway through my interview, Ms. Konishi went on what I believed was a slight tangent asking if I liked Japanese food. Turns out, she had a very valid reason for asking. The students eat their lunches in the classroom and the teachers are expected to each the school lunch with them. She wanted to make sure that I didn’t have a problem with that, which I assured her that I didn’t believe I would.
Anyway, I’ll be teaching mostly 3rd through 6th grades, and occasionally 1st and 2nd. And I won’t be teaching them English. Rather, I will be instructing them on how to interact with foreigners in English. Basically, the difference is that in elementary school, they are not graded on this. It isn’t until Jr. High that they must take English classes for a grade. This all means that elementary school kids love English time and activities, as they don’t have to worry about taking any tests on it. Which is nice. The more they enjoy it, the more enjoyable it will be for me as well.
Ms. Konishi said that my primary job is to be a good example of an American and Westerner to these children that have most likely never met a gaijin before. She said that everything I do or say will be interpreted as what all Americans do and say. That’s somewhat intimidating, but I’m not too worried. My parents raised me right :)
The school year started on April 1st, so I am coming in a few weeks late. And their school year is year round, so my contract ends with OWLS on March 31, 2009. I’ll have the entire month of August off, though unpaid, which I can do whatever I want. Perhaps, I'll take that time to visit Seoul or Taipei.
The other school breaks I will have to work, but I will be given 10 paid holidays, which I am encouraged to take during the Winter Break (Dec. 25 – Jan. 7) and March Break. I also get the 20 national holidays off. And speaking of national holidays, perhaps the biggest string of these comes April 30 – May 5, which is called Golden Week and has about four holidays grouped together.
And that’s all the information you’re going to get for now ;) Basically, because that’s about all the information I have at this time. Suffice to say, I have a lot of things to take care of in the following weeks including how in the hell I’m going to get to these schools. If I haven’t mentioned it already – and really, at this point you should have looked it up – Kikuchi is very near where I am staying right now. I am going to look for an apartment, so I don’t impose on Stewart and Nobie for much longer, but it’s not necessarily an urgent matter. No matter what, however, I need to figure out where these schools are and how to reach them: be it by bus, bicycle, or something else. Nobie knows someone that might, emphasis might, have a car that they would be willing to give me, which would have many advantages as well as disadvantages. The option of buying a used scooter is also being bandied about. I like the scooter idea for just the romanticism of it more than anything. They make me think of the movie, Roman Holiday; and if you don’t know what I’m talking about, then run don’t walk to the nearest video store and rent it. Audrey Hepburn, Gregory Peck, Rome, scooters, nuf said. The reality of Kyushu and the rainy season is not quite as romantic, unfortunately.
It’s getting late and I need to get ready for tomorrow, so I’ll finish this up. Next time, seriously will be about poor man’s Reno.
No new food updates, but I did see a fun t-shirt the other day. ‘General Thinking, My Mind Killing.’ Ummmm…. Ditto?
- Jenny
Monday, April 14, 2008
The English, How She is Spoke.
Nobie has been incredibly busy this past week with back to back interpreting jobs, often keeping her on the road, and Stewart has been working to get the Johnson Language Institute, their language school, ready for the start of the school year next week. As they’ve been busy, I have taken the opportunity to wander around and explore not only the Kumamoto downtown area, but also the suburban neighborhood the Johnsons live in.
This past Friday afternoon, I even made my first solo restaurant visit. I can hear the oohs and aahs right now. In all honesty, I do have to admit that I hedged my bets by going to a place named ‘Breakers Café and Surf Shop’ and which had some English written on the chalkboard outside. Inside it was an American style looking café where you order at the counter and have your food delivered to your table. I had been practicing my Japanese the entire train ride into town and I felt almost prepared for whatever the young woman at the register could throw at me. That was until the conversation actually began.
I started off with a simple ‘Hajimemashite’ – a very polite way of saying hello and after what I assume was a long, but polite greeting on her part, I trotted out my familiar ‘Sumimasen ga, watashi no nihongo wa yoku ni.’ – meaning “Excuse me, but my Japanese is very poor.” But before I could launch into my long rehearsed routine, basically asking her for whatever the special of the day was, the girl interrupted me to say that she knew a little English. Unfortunately, it turned out we were both overestimating our language skills. Thankfully, with a lot of pointing to the menu – which did have some English translations on it – and even more patience on the young girl’s part, I ended up with a ham, cheese, and egg bagel sandwich with french fries and a coke. It was very good, though the sandwich had a lot more lettuce and sprouts on it than one would expect in America as well as mayonnaise, which seems to be ever-present in lots of Japanese cuisine. I deemed this one a success, however, and vow to find a restaurant with no English translations next time. Shouldn’t be that hard, actually.
Observing English usage in Japan is an interesting and often frustrating pastime, I must admit. I see English quite often on store signs and t-shirts. It’s rarely English as you and I know it, though. To give one example, there are shops all over Kumamoto advertising themselves as ‘cut houses’ which sound like butcher shops to me. One even said, ‘Cut – Parm Shop.’ I thought maybe it was a place to buy cheese. Not even close. They are beauty salons. They ‘cut’ hair. And apparently ‘parm’ is really ‘perm’ as in ‘permanent.’ Salons are also known by the slightly more understandable label of ‘hair-make shops.’
Another odd observation I’ve had is that often the only English on a store sign full of Japanese is the ‘Est. in 2002’ as if that’s the really important part to someone who only speaks English. In fact, almost all stores have a ‘born on’ date on their storefront even if it’s only a few years old and it’s always in English. I have no idea why.
Stewart’s favorite sign in English, or rather the bane of his existence as he must confront it almost daily on his way to the school is a sign for a strip mall, which is apparently called, “Big the Big.” It’s in huge blue letters and simply impossible to ignore. And every time we pass, I can’t help but wonder what it means. It’s as if my brain simply refuses to believe that it is meaningless. I'm convinced that fifty years from now I’ll realize just how deep it really is.
Different from the dilemma ‘Big the Big’ poses, I find that T-shirts provide the best examples of the English language at it’s most peculiar. I saw one the other day that said, ‘Let the golden moonbeams fill your mind.’ Another one said, ‘A gift from all of your furry forest friends.’ Now, if I saw these in America, I would simply think they are being purposefully whimsical and not think anything more about it. Here, I constantly wonder if they really understand what it says or if they just like the way it looks, which I suppose if perfectly valid, though maddening.
It does strengthen my stance against Chinese character tattoos, however, or really any tattoo in a language one is not fluent in. Who knows how many people are walking around with a tattoo they think says ‘wild at heart’ when it really means ‘soup in the kitchen’ or ‘dud in the bedroom’ or worse.
So many t-shirts are covered in perfectly grammatical English, and yet none of the phrases or sentences really seems to have any connection to the next. I am constantly reading and re-reading them to see if I am simply missing something or not thinking profoundly enough.
On the food front, I am now a proficient at making homemade fried rice, of which I am very proud. I have tried steamed bamboo shoots, which have very little flavor. And I had perhaps the best tempura I have ever had at a cramped, cheap little place just off Shimotori that you have to get your own water or tea from a tap in the back corner of the shop. The food was delicious.
Fingers crossed on the job front. I’ve also checked into taking some free Japanese lessons at the Kumamoto International Center.
Coming next: The poor man’s Reno. You heard me. Reno.
- Jenny
This past Friday afternoon, I even made my first solo restaurant visit. I can hear the oohs and aahs right now. In all honesty, I do have to admit that I hedged my bets by going to a place named ‘Breakers Café and Surf Shop’ and which had some English written on the chalkboard outside. Inside it was an American style looking café where you order at the counter and have your food delivered to your table. I had been practicing my Japanese the entire train ride into town and I felt almost prepared for whatever the young woman at the register could throw at me. That was until the conversation actually began.
I started off with a simple ‘Hajimemashite’ – a very polite way of saying hello and after what I assume was a long, but polite greeting on her part, I trotted out my familiar ‘Sumimasen ga, watashi no nihongo wa yoku ni.’ – meaning “Excuse me, but my Japanese is very poor.” But before I could launch into my long rehearsed routine, basically asking her for whatever the special of the day was, the girl interrupted me to say that she knew a little English. Unfortunately, it turned out we were both overestimating our language skills. Thankfully, with a lot of pointing to the menu – which did have some English translations on it – and even more patience on the young girl’s part, I ended up with a ham, cheese, and egg bagel sandwich with french fries and a coke. It was very good, though the sandwich had a lot more lettuce and sprouts on it than one would expect in America as well as mayonnaise, which seems to be ever-present in lots of Japanese cuisine. I deemed this one a success, however, and vow to find a restaurant with no English translations next time. Shouldn’t be that hard, actually.
Observing English usage in Japan is an interesting and often frustrating pastime, I must admit. I see English quite often on store signs and t-shirts. It’s rarely English as you and I know it, though. To give one example, there are shops all over Kumamoto advertising themselves as ‘cut houses’ which sound like butcher shops to me. One even said, ‘Cut – Parm Shop.’ I thought maybe it was a place to buy cheese. Not even close. They are beauty salons. They ‘cut’ hair. And apparently ‘parm’ is really ‘perm’ as in ‘permanent.’ Salons are also known by the slightly more understandable label of ‘hair-make shops.’
Another odd observation I’ve had is that often the only English on a store sign full of Japanese is the ‘Est. in 2002’ as if that’s the really important part to someone who only speaks English. In fact, almost all stores have a ‘born on’ date on their storefront even if it’s only a few years old and it’s always in English. I have no idea why.
Stewart’s favorite sign in English, or rather the bane of his existence as he must confront it almost daily on his way to the school is a sign for a strip mall, which is apparently called, “Big the Big.” It’s in huge blue letters and simply impossible to ignore. And every time we pass, I can’t help but wonder what it means. It’s as if my brain simply refuses to believe that it is meaningless. I'm convinced that fifty years from now I’ll realize just how deep it really is.
Different from the dilemma ‘Big the Big’ poses, I find that T-shirts provide the best examples of the English language at it’s most peculiar. I saw one the other day that said, ‘Let the golden moonbeams fill your mind.’ Another one said, ‘A gift from all of your furry forest friends.’ Now, if I saw these in America, I would simply think they are being purposefully whimsical and not think anything more about it. Here, I constantly wonder if they really understand what it says or if they just like the way it looks, which I suppose if perfectly valid, though maddening.
It does strengthen my stance against Chinese character tattoos, however, or really any tattoo in a language one is not fluent in. Who knows how many people are walking around with a tattoo they think says ‘wild at heart’ when it really means ‘soup in the kitchen’ or ‘dud in the bedroom’ or worse.
So many t-shirts are covered in perfectly grammatical English, and yet none of the phrases or sentences really seems to have any connection to the next. I am constantly reading and re-reading them to see if I am simply missing something or not thinking profoundly enough.
On the food front, I am now a proficient at making homemade fried rice, of which I am very proud. I have tried steamed bamboo shoots, which have very little flavor. And I had perhaps the best tempura I have ever had at a cramped, cheap little place just off Shimotori that you have to get your own water or tea from a tap in the back corner of the shop. The food was delicious.
Fingers crossed on the job front. I’ve also checked into taking some free Japanese lessons at the Kumamoto International Center.
Coming next: The poor man’s Reno. You heard me. Reno.
- Jenny
Friday, April 11, 2008
Far Above The Golden Valley
Cause I'm a Jay, Jay, Jay, Jay, Jayhawk
From Lawrence on the Kaw!
Go KU!
2008 NCAA Basketball Champions
Of course, I couldn't watch the game on TV here, so I was glued in front of my computer watching the box score on CBS Sportsline. Thankfully, Stewart and Nobie live in a house and not an apartment, or I might have caused some complaints with my yelling. I was sure I was going to have a heart attack about the time the game went into overtime and since I was in the house alone, no one would find me until it was too late. Game over, KU wins. Crisis averted.
I am hoping to get copies of the KU-UNC and KU-Memphis games, fingers crossed. My everlasting gratitude guys.
I was slightly put out that I didn't receive the thank you email from Bill Self like the KU student body did, I think they should have included KU alums. Of course, today I got the email written specifically for KU alums - basically wrapping a thin congratulations on supporting the Jayhawks around a plea for more money :) Do you think I can include some kind of note with one of my student loan payments? This is for the 2008 Men's Basketball team? I might try that.
On the day before the championship game, I did see a ten year old boy with a University of Kansas t-shirt on and got very excited. According to Stewart, if any Japanese kids know of an American University, odds are it will be KU. But of course, I responded. If asked about KU, however, they would not name Brandon Rush, or Danny Manning, or even Wilt Chamberlain. In Japan, KU was the home of Dr. James Naismith. Naismith, was not only the inventor of basketball, but also practically the patron saint of the YMCA. And though Christianity hasn't really gained a stronghold in Japan, the YMCA has. They're everywhere and just about every Japanese boy has played at one. Interesting, no?
Well, this wasn't the post I was planning to write on the absurdities of the English language in Japan. That one's coming, I promise. I just wanted to let y'all know I was still kicking and thank y'all for reading my little blog. There are many so more people reading it than I ever thought would be, thanks to my family's talking it up apparently :) It is a nice feeling to think that a few folks back home are interested in my adventures in the Land of the Rising Sun. It makes me feel still connected.
I have been very busy these last few days applying to different schools and jobs here. It's not quite as easy as I thought it would be to find a job, but Nobie called last night and thinks she has a possibility, so fingers crossed. I'll let you know how it turns out.
Please be patient with me and keep coming back! Rock... Chalk... Jay... Hawk... K.... U.....!
- Jenny
From Lawrence on the Kaw!
Go KU!
2008 NCAA Basketball Champions
Of course, I couldn't watch the game on TV here, so I was glued in front of my computer watching the box score on CBS Sportsline. Thankfully, Stewart and Nobie live in a house and not an apartment, or I might have caused some complaints with my yelling. I was sure I was going to have a heart attack about the time the game went into overtime and since I was in the house alone, no one would find me until it was too late. Game over, KU wins. Crisis averted.
I am hoping to get copies of the KU-UNC and KU-Memphis games, fingers crossed. My everlasting gratitude guys.
I was slightly put out that I didn't receive the thank you email from Bill Self like the KU student body did, I think they should have included KU alums. Of course, today I got the email written specifically for KU alums - basically wrapping a thin congratulations on supporting the Jayhawks around a plea for more money :) Do you think I can include some kind of note with one of my student loan payments? This is for the 2008 Men's Basketball team? I might try that.
On the day before the championship game, I did see a ten year old boy with a University of Kansas t-shirt on and got very excited. According to Stewart, if any Japanese kids know of an American University, odds are it will be KU. But of course, I responded. If asked about KU, however, they would not name Brandon Rush, or Danny Manning, or even Wilt Chamberlain. In Japan, KU was the home of Dr. James Naismith. Naismith, was not only the inventor of basketball, but also practically the patron saint of the YMCA. And though Christianity hasn't really gained a stronghold in Japan, the YMCA has. They're everywhere and just about every Japanese boy has played at one. Interesting, no?
Well, this wasn't the post I was planning to write on the absurdities of the English language in Japan. That one's coming, I promise. I just wanted to let y'all know I was still kicking and thank y'all for reading my little blog. There are many so more people reading it than I ever thought would be, thanks to my family's talking it up apparently :) It is a nice feeling to think that a few folks back home are interested in my adventures in the Land of the Rising Sun. It makes me feel still connected.
I have been very busy these last few days applying to different schools and jobs here. It's not quite as easy as I thought it would be to find a job, but Nobie called last night and thinks she has a possibility, so fingers crossed. I'll let you know how it turns out.
Please be patient with me and keep coming back! Rock... Chalk... Jay... Hawk... K.... U.....!
- Jenny
Saturday, April 5, 2008
Underneath the Cherry Blossom Tree
…far, by now, from those lofty hills
I still imagine the cherries up there, how the breeze
played with thronging petals…
- Ki no Tsurayuki – Kokinshu 87
There are simply no words I can use to describe the beauty of cherry blossom season here in Kumamoto. Pictures do it no justice, though I have certainly tried. Like Tsurayuki, I will forever be haunted by images of the multitudes of small, pale pink flowers fluttering in the wind. The only image more evocative than cherry blossoms gleaming in the sunlight is the vision of them glowing by a combination of the moonlight from above and paper lanterns hanging from the branches below.
We’ve enjoyed about a week now of cherry blossoms at their peak according to Stewart and given how the weather has cooled, we might have another week or so before they begin to fall, a sight I’m anxious to see as a lot of poetry and literature has been dedicated more to that event than to the actually blossoming.
I’ve not been the only one to enjoy the cherry blossom season, however. Though they witness it every year, the Japanese regard the blooming of cherry blossoms as an almost holy occasion. They gather by the hundreds – and sometimes maybe closer to the thousands – to picnic under the shade of the cherry trees. In fact, in some of the research I have done, the area shaded by a cherry blossom tree is regarded as a sacred space in Heinan poetry, often referred to as tokoro.
A large number of the picnics during the day are families, often with little kids running around kicking soccer balls and playing catch. At night, however, picnics are mainly large groups of business associates. As I’ve been told, the youngest male in the office is charged with securing a nice picnic spot – usually requiring him to take the day off work and sit on a large blue tarp provided at various points around Kumamoto Castle and wait until nightfall when his associates arrive with the sake and sushi. It doesn’t sound like a half bad proposition to me, a day of sitting in the sun with a good book and some good food.
In fact, it sounded so nice that I took an afternoon earlier this week and did that exact thing. On a nice piece of grassland between the southern wall of Kumamoto Castle and the bank of the Tsuboi, facing a pretty line of cherry blossoms on the bank across the narrow river, about fifty other people and I enjoyed picnics on the warm, sunny day. I bought some direct-from-heaven-via-street vender yakitori of chicken and pork and a bottle of green tea from a vending machine - which are absolutely everywhere – and settled down with my favorite book, a collection of Hemingway’s short stories. It was a picture perfect day with the sun warming my face and the cherry blossoms swaying in the breeze.
Back to the Japanese business people, however, they will gather at night under the cherry blossoms and give long toasts and speeches praising the company and predicting good fortune. And observing the number and size of the bottles of sake and chochu – a vodka-like alcohol – consumed during these picnics, I have to believe they end the evening quite hammered.
The Japanese even have a name for this – not the getting hammered part, but the gathering for picnics under the cherry blossoms. They call it hanami, meaning literally, “flower viewing.’ And it is not for picnicking under the tree in your front yard, either. Hanami is specifically reserved for places like Kumamoto Castle where you are surrounded by hundreds of people. Perhaps the best way to describe it is by saying that you’re not really celebrating New Years unless you are in Times Square. Stewart says it’s because the unofficial religion of Japan is not Shinto or Buddhism, but being Japanese. The act of being with so many other Japanese people enjoying the same thing is akin to a religious ceremony. It is the sense of community and togetherness, which is so important to them.
This year, however, they are sharing this religious event with a gaijin and they definitely are aware of it. At first I thought I was ruining some of their pictures of the beautiful scenery as I walked through the shot. When I said something to Stewart though as we were putting our shoes back on after walking through a temple and I saw a man taking a picture several feet away, Stewart corrected me. We weren’t ruining his shot; we were making it. He had been waiting for a few minutes for us to come out of the temple so he could get a shot of the gaijin. Since then, I have noticed several people surreptitiously taking my picture. Nobie and Stewart tease me that all of the promotional materials for next year’s cherry blossom season are going to have pictures of me surrounded by cherry blossoms. Even the gaijin enjoy the cherry blossoms!
More food updates: Nobie bought some traditional Japanese snack food for us to enjoy. I insisted that they not tell me what it was until I tried it all. And after trying it, I insisted on knowing what I just tried, which turned out to be dried squid cracker (very salty, very smelly), dried strips of cuddlefish (like chewing robe and just about as appetizing), and cheese strips with cod (tastes like cheese). I’ve also tried some traditional Japanese desserts like sweet potato cakes (okay, but very dry), and sweet bean paste (not nearly as awful as I imagined, though I still do not believe beans should ever be part of a dessert).
I'll have more tags and descriptions on my pictures at Flickr.com soon. And coming up, Japanese absurdities in the English language.
-Jenny
I still imagine the cherries up there, how the breeze
played with thronging petals…
- Ki no Tsurayuki – Kokinshu 87
There are simply no words I can use to describe the beauty of cherry blossom season here in Kumamoto. Pictures do it no justice, though I have certainly tried. Like Tsurayuki, I will forever be haunted by images of the multitudes of small, pale pink flowers fluttering in the wind. The only image more evocative than cherry blossoms gleaming in the sunlight is the vision of them glowing by a combination of the moonlight from above and paper lanterns hanging from the branches below.
We’ve enjoyed about a week now of cherry blossoms at their peak according to Stewart and given how the weather has cooled, we might have another week or so before they begin to fall, a sight I’m anxious to see as a lot of poetry and literature has been dedicated more to that event than to the actually blossoming.
I’ve not been the only one to enjoy the cherry blossom season, however. Though they witness it every year, the Japanese regard the blooming of cherry blossoms as an almost holy occasion. They gather by the hundreds – and sometimes maybe closer to the thousands – to picnic under the shade of the cherry trees. In fact, in some of the research I have done, the area shaded by a cherry blossom tree is regarded as a sacred space in Heinan poetry, often referred to as tokoro.
A large number of the picnics during the day are families, often with little kids running around kicking soccer balls and playing catch. At night, however, picnics are mainly large groups of business associates. As I’ve been told, the youngest male in the office is charged with securing a nice picnic spot – usually requiring him to take the day off work and sit on a large blue tarp provided at various points around Kumamoto Castle and wait until nightfall when his associates arrive with the sake and sushi. It doesn’t sound like a half bad proposition to me, a day of sitting in the sun with a good book and some good food.
In fact, it sounded so nice that I took an afternoon earlier this week and did that exact thing. On a nice piece of grassland between the southern wall of Kumamoto Castle and the bank of the Tsuboi, facing a pretty line of cherry blossoms on the bank across the narrow river, about fifty other people and I enjoyed picnics on the warm, sunny day. I bought some direct-from-heaven-via-street vender yakitori of chicken and pork and a bottle of green tea from a vending machine - which are absolutely everywhere – and settled down with my favorite book, a collection of Hemingway’s short stories. It was a picture perfect day with the sun warming my face and the cherry blossoms swaying in the breeze.
Back to the Japanese business people, however, they will gather at night under the cherry blossoms and give long toasts and speeches praising the company and predicting good fortune. And observing the number and size of the bottles of sake and chochu – a vodka-like alcohol – consumed during these picnics, I have to believe they end the evening quite hammered.
The Japanese even have a name for this – not the getting hammered part, but the gathering for picnics under the cherry blossoms. They call it hanami, meaning literally, “flower viewing.’ And it is not for picnicking under the tree in your front yard, either. Hanami is specifically reserved for places like Kumamoto Castle where you are surrounded by hundreds of people. Perhaps the best way to describe it is by saying that you’re not really celebrating New Years unless you are in Times Square. Stewart says it’s because the unofficial religion of Japan is not Shinto or Buddhism, but being Japanese. The act of being with so many other Japanese people enjoying the same thing is akin to a religious ceremony. It is the sense of community and togetherness, which is so important to them.
This year, however, they are sharing this religious event with a gaijin and they definitely are aware of it. At first I thought I was ruining some of their pictures of the beautiful scenery as I walked through the shot. When I said something to Stewart though as we were putting our shoes back on after walking through a temple and I saw a man taking a picture several feet away, Stewart corrected me. We weren’t ruining his shot; we were making it. He had been waiting for a few minutes for us to come out of the temple so he could get a shot of the gaijin. Since then, I have noticed several people surreptitiously taking my picture. Nobie and Stewart tease me that all of the promotional materials for next year’s cherry blossom season are going to have pictures of me surrounded by cherry blossoms. Even the gaijin enjoy the cherry blossoms!
More food updates: Nobie bought some traditional Japanese snack food for us to enjoy. I insisted that they not tell me what it was until I tried it all. And after trying it, I insisted on knowing what I just tried, which turned out to be dried squid cracker (very salty, very smelly), dried strips of cuddlefish (like chewing robe and just about as appetizing), and cheese strips with cod (tastes like cheese). I’ve also tried some traditional Japanese desserts like sweet potato cakes (okay, but very dry), and sweet bean paste (not nearly as awful as I imagined, though I still do not believe beans should ever be part of a dessert).
I'll have more tags and descriptions on my pictures at Flickr.com soon. And coming up, Japanese absurdities in the English language.
-Jenny
Friday, April 4, 2008
Pictures of Kumamoto Castle
Hello my Western friends!
I'm working on my next blog post, but until then I've set up an account at Flickr.com to post pictures for y'all to see. I'm still organizing and tagging most of them, but I have got a set of pictures of Kumamoto Castle y'all can check out. Just follow the link below.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/25083690@N03/sets/72157604289819240/
And check back soon for my thoughts on Kumamoto Castle and cherry blossom season.
- Jenny
I'm working on my next blog post, but until then I've set up an account at Flickr.com to post pictures for y'all to see. I'm still organizing and tagging most of them, but I have got a set of pictures of Kumamoto Castle y'all can check out. Just follow the link below.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/25083690@N03/sets/72157604289819240/
And check back soon for my thoughts on Kumamoto Castle and cherry blossom season.
- Jenny
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