No More Teachers, No More Books...

Last Thursday was the unofficial beginning of my summer break - unofficial as I still have tons of paperwork to keep me busy until my official break begins in August – and the weather decided to celebrate by providing the most impressive, and I can only hope the last, storm of the rainy season.

I had only been home about 20 minutes when the heavens opened. I don’t know if there is any phrase like ‘raining cats and dogs’ in Japanese, but that’s exactly what was happening. I opened all of the curtains on the windows and watched the storm rage around me from the large picture window in my living room. My view only extended about 15 feet, however, before the scene dissolved into an almost supernatural silvery grey mist, the lights of downtown Kumamoto softly glowing in the background. Adding to the magic was the loud claps of thunder whose echoes bounced around the mountains surrounding the city. For this Kansas girl, it was quite something.

With the storm raging around me, I relaxed in the easy chair in front of the picture window with Beethoven playing in the background and a glass of red and became absorbed in Hemingway’s descriptions of the heat and dust and blood of the bullfights in 1920’s Sevilla. If only the temperature was cooler and I had a fireplace with a dancing blaze, it would have been perfect.

If all of that sounds a little too highbrow and snooty, I will redeem myself by saying I finished the evening with some popcorn and Monty Python DVDs. ‘Do you like pictures,’ she asked knowingly. Wink, wink.

It was a great start to my summer break which has since been filled with aforementioned paperwork – not fun, trips to the various art museums of Kumamoto – lots of fun, cleaning – definitely no fun, and catching up on watching the movies my parents have sent me – sometimes fun.

Since I’ve been watching several new movies and have had few people to discuss my many, strongly felt opinions, I will take this opportunity to impart them to you. And now we bring you Critic’s Corner.

Lions for Lambs – I will never get those 2 hours of my life back. Who thought this would make a good movie? It was like reading a position paper for the 5th time: dry, predictable, and with filled with straw-man arguments. Horrible.

There Will Be Blood – I loved it. This is a true example of flawed masterpiece. The ending was slightly off, but brilliant overall. Is there nothing Daniel Day-Lewis cannot do?

State of the Union – A 1940’s Capra film starring Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn, this is a fascinating look at what it takes to get elected as the President of the United States and the ethical questions posited and the toll it can take on a man and his family, as well as the role the press plays in the entire process. It’s a fascinating film to watch in this election year.

The Savages – This was definitely not the comedy I was expecting. A story of a brother and sister, the always excellent Philip Seymour-Hoffman and Laura Linney, dealing with their sick, elderly father after he had been absent most of their lives. Very unsentimental and realistic, it was harrowing, but executed very well.

KU v. UNC and KU v. Memphis – No matter how many times I watch these, I still get excited and frustrated, angry and ecstatic. My heart still races and I still have tears in my eyes by the end. It suddenly occurs to me that I will miss the entire 2008-9 college basketball season. Well, that’s depressing. I’m going to have to give this some more thought. This cannot stand.

I’m finishing up my paperwork, however, and before I receive my next batch of movies from Mom and Dad, I will be traveling up to Kyoto for a few days next week. I’ve already made reservations at an international hostel and hope to meet some other foreigners in this strange land. I’m really excited and slightly nervous to finally be a real tourist on my own in such a special place. I promise lots of pictures and I’ll be writing about my thoughts and experiences soon.

- Jenny

Update and Corollary

It has just come to my attention that the bank has now been trying to contact me to sign some papers saying that they did send the money. So, I have to make yet another trip to the bank during their ever-so-limited business hours.

Corollary to previous truism - There will always be ten times more red tape than I expect.

In fact, I begin to wonder if the red tape ever ends. Perhaps there are only momentary pauses. And with that happy thought...

- Jenny

This will just take a minute, right?

I wonder how old I will be when I finally accept the truism that everything will take five times longer than I think it should, and no doubt cost at least twice as much. I keep thinking I finally understand, but then it happens again and I find myself caught by surprise.

4 days earlier: It’s the first full day of my summer break and I was going to the bank as long planned. (The banks here close everyday at 3 pm. Only the rare few are open for a few hours on Saturday, so this was the first chance I had to go to the bank in a long time.) I needed to transfer some of my earnings to my bank in Kansas and I had all of the information I could possibly need – or so I think.

I walk into the lobby to find it predictably packed. When I went to get a number, there was a computer screen that I assume was asking what kind of business I wanted to conduct. As I had no idea what anything said, I simply hit one of the buttons and got a number. Turns out it didn’t really matter what button I pressed as after a few minutes of sitting patiently, a bank representative approached me. I can only guess some alarm went off in the back rooms when I sat down – Gaijin alert! Gaijin alert! It’s this kind of discrimination that I appreciate, however, so I showed her the piece of paper that Nobie had so thoughtfully written in Japanese saying that I wished to send money to America. The lady led me to an out-of-the-way cubicle and handed me a very long form which, to my surprise, actually did have some English translations on it. Unfortunately, as I understood from the English, it was asking all kinds of information that I hadn’t a clue. What is the address of the bank that I wish to transfer the money to? What is the branch name? The phone number? Huh?

I filled out as much of the information that I could while unbeknownst to me, the lady found a young guy that spoke some English to help the whole interaction. Unfortunately, I just as little success explaining to him that I didn’t know that address, phone number, branch name of my American bank. I did have the bank’s routing number which I still believe is the only real information they needed. They didn’t actually have to physically go there. I ended up writing down an approximate address (I knew the cross-streets and town). Eventually, we reached a point where I didn’t really think I could give them anymore data and they accepted that they probably could do the transaction with the scant information I had provided. Then, of course, I had to wait another 15 minutes. I have no idea why. Finally, the lady came back with a bunch of paperwork and the gentlemen said it would take about a week for the money to go through. And I thought we were living in the age of technology. Foolish me. And not only was it going to take much longer than I thought; it cost, say it with me, three times more than I thought it would.

I wouldn’t presume to say that I have learned my lesson, but I am one step closer.

- Jenny

Awkward and Uncomfortable Party of One?

In my role as cultural ambassador to Japanese schoolchildren, I have spent the past week or so talking about the American Fourth of July. Since historically, Japan more often filled the position of conquering nation than of conquered or colonized, they really don’t have a corresponding Independence Day to reference. So, I have been telling my students that the Fourth of July is America’s birthday. (This was an easily segue in my upper level classes as they are learning the names of the months and I have been asking everyone when their birthday is. Which leads me to…)

Side note: I had never paid attention to just how confusing our names for the months were until I learned the Japanese names – ichigatsu, nigatsu, sangatsu… - which literal translate to first month, second month, third month, etc. Now, a septagon, octagon and a decagon mean a seven-sided, eight-sided and ten-sided figure respectively. So why do September, October and December refer to the ninth, tenth and twelfth months? I know the answer (I looked it up: the Julian vs. Gregorian calendar), but it feels unnecessarily complicated compared to the Japanese system. And where the heck does February come from? And I get Sunday and Monday – sun day and moon day (Interestingly enough, the Japanese names for these also translate directly to sun day and moon day)– but why are all of the rest of the days of the week named after Norse gods? All except Saturday, of course, which is either named after the planet or the Roman god of agriculture. I bet there’s a story there. Why am I still thinking about this?

Okay, I promised a less pedantic post, let’s move on. America’s birthday. My students got a kick out of learning that America is only 232 years old. Especially when I remind them that Kumamoto Castle – considered one of Japan’s great modern castles – is celebrating it’s 400th birthday this year.

I discovered the problems inherent in describing the Fourth of July as such, however, when I was eating lunch with a 6th grade class and after I went through my little spiel about America’s birthday, one of the girls tried to ask a question. As is the case when they don’t know how to ask in English and I don’t understand their Japanese, she grabbed a small notepad and pen and started to draw. My uneasiness when she drew a pregnant stick figure transformed into outright horror when she started to draw arrows indicating the baby’s entrance into the world. I have no idea what she was asking. I said something about England being America’s mother and quickly changed the subject. ‘Wow, this is good tofu.’ Oh, my goodness. Awkward.

And speaking of awkward, I occasionally get asked what Americans say in specific situations. For example, some of my 4th grade students visited me in the teacher’s room between classes the other day to ask me how to say ‘okaeri’ in English. I wasn’t sure, so I asked my coordinator who was sitting nearby. In response she asked what Americans said when someone says, “I’m home.” Ahhh, hello? Dinner’s on the table? Take out the trash? I eventually said, “Maybe, hello. But it depends.”

It doesn’t depend in Japan, though. They have very specific sayings that all Japanese from Northern Hokkaido to Southern Kyushu use. When returning home, they say “Tadaima” and get “Okaeri” in response – which I’ve discovered means ‘welcome back.’ Before eating, Japanese always say, “Itdakiamasu,” and afterwards, “Gochisou sama deshita.” While eating lunch with a 3rd grade class, the teacher asked me to translate these into English for the children. “Let’s eat” doesn’t sound quite as poetic or gracious as ‘itadakiamasu,’ it is nonetheless a decent translation. ‘Gochisou sama deshita’ translates literally to 'this was a feast,’ so I simplified it to a simple ‘thank you’ for the kids to say. There are many, many more examples. Whenever someone leaves the workplace, people say, “Otsukare sama deshita,” which literally means, ‘you must be very tired,' but is more often translated as, ‘thank you for your hard work today.’

So, I mentioned the no air conditioning in the schools, right? Brutal. Actually, despite the assumption of most everyone I meet, Kumamoto isn’t really any hotter or more humid than Eastern Kansas – at least, according to Weather.com. I do admit to rampant envy, however, when I am sitting in my classroom with two standing fans going full blast and I’m still sweating and I watch the students march past my door in their matching navy swimsuits and lime green and safety orange swim caps. That’s right, they have swimming classes once or twice a week. Every school, no matter how small, has a good size swimming pool. At first I thought it was odd, but I guess it does make since for an island nation to emphasize the necessity of knowing how to swim.

Comparing Japan to America is a favorite pastime to my students and co-workers. I am often asked if Kumamoto’s weather is hotter, more humid, rainier, etc. than America. I then do my best to explain that America is pretty big compared to Japan. The island of Kyushu is only about a sixth of the size of Kansas, though it has five times the population. So, I’m often saying that Kumamoto gets more rain than Eastern Kansas; tons more rain than Western Kansas; a little more than Seattle, and not as much rain as Hawaii.

Speaking of hot, I discovered a Sri Lankan restaurant the other week as I was wandering around downtown. Ran by native Sri Lankans, they did speak some English, so I didn’t have to tax my language skills too much, though I am getting ever so slightly more competent and confident in speaking Japanese. Back to Sri Lanka, though, I had their special Sri Lanka curry which was a three curry combination of chicken, potato, and vegetable. And though the menu indicated that you could specify the level of spiciness, they didn’t ask and I got the maximum of spice. It was so hot that I think even my Mom would say, “Well, that’s got a bit of a kick to it.” It was delicious however and I will definitely go back.

Before I end this, I should let you know that I uploaded some new pictures to my Flickr.com account. Remember to search for 'jennimcd' and you should find all of my pictures. I re-visited Suizenji Park with my camera this time and got a lot of good pictures of the gorgeous park.

Thanks for reading!

- Jenny

Do You Understand The Meaning?

A Brief Interlude -

I was walking around downtown the other day and saw a t-shirt that said, 'Do you understand the meaning?' For a few seconds, I honest to goodness started to freak out. No! I don't understand the meaning! What is the meaning?! It's one thing to spend a good part of the day not understanding what is being said or being able to read any signs because you don't know the language, but to be confronted with your native tongue and still not understand is disturbing to say the least.

I was asked the other day by one of my school coordinators if I was understanding spoken Japanese better than I did when I first came. I am, of course. It would be impossible not to have gained some knowledge, even if I wasn't trying. However, I realized that more than a better grasp of the language, I understand the Japanese mindset better. I may not really understand the words they are saying, but I have a better understanding of what they will say or ask in a given situation and can respond accordingly. It's a start anyway.

- Jenny

Happy Fourth of July!

I stopped by the drugstore on my home tonight and bought some sparklers and firecrackers. Hopefully the threatening rain will hold off for another hour or so and I can celebrate America's Independence Day in the only truly appropriate way - with beer, fire, and dangerous exploding things.

Have a happy and safe Fourth of July and please think of your fellow Americans across the Pacific who are celebrating with you in spirit.

- Jenny

Roses Are Red, Violets are Blue...

Have you ever started to sing along to a song even though you’ve never heard it before? Paused ever so slightly after saying something that unintentionally rhymed? Are you a poet and you didn’t even know it?

I never realized how pervasive the concept of rhyme is in the everyday life of the English language until I came to Japan where almost every word ends in a vowel sound. My first thought was that everything rhymed. Now, I know better. Nothing rhymes. Rhyme simply doesn’t exist here.

This has been ever so apparent in my classes when I sing popular children’s songs to the kids. So many rely on rhymes and where English-speaking kids would latch onto those rhymes immediately, these kids just look at me like with blankly. I try to stick with songs that include lots of repetition, rhythm, and most importantly actions. The Ants Go Marching is discarded for Alice the Camel.

Understanding this, I can look back to something one of my agents from OWLS said with greater appreciation. We were discussing my degree in English and some of my favorite writers. She said that she had taken an English Lit class in college, and really enjoyed the poetry of Tennyson. She liked all the rhyming. I remember thinking at the time that while I enjoy Tennyson, I occasionally feel his rhymes to be repetitive and slightly unimaginative. I can now see how his ceaselessly repetitive rhyming would be appealing to someone who spoke Japanese as a first language once they grasped the concept.

Speaking of the Japanese language did you know that the Japanese have three different systems of written language? Hiragana uses characters to represent syllables (ma, mi, mu, me, mo) to write Japanese words. Katakana uses characters to represent syllables to write words of foreign origin. And Kanji (Chinese characters) are used whenever possible. What’s funny is to see Kanji with hiragana above it for the people who cannot read the Kanji. What’s the point, I ask.

I’m fairly proficient at reading katakana and hiragana (reading being entirely separate from actually understanding it). It’s the katakana which throws me the most, though. Since it’s used to write foreign words – mostly English, though sometimes German or French – I have some expectation that I should be able to decipher the meaning. Often times, however, the pronunciation is so far removed from the original English word, I’m at a loss. A recent example of this can be found on a poster plastered all over Kumamoto. It’s for a movie (documentary?) and shows a picture of Earth from space with pictures of dinosaurs on either side. The title of the movie is Aasu – as transcribed from katakana. Aasu. I puzzled over this one for weeks. Finally, I was with Stewart when I saw the poster and asked him about it. Have you figured it out yet? Aasu is Earth. Stewart had to say it a few times and finally say, “The aasu beneath my feet” before it all clicked in my mind. I never would have put that together.

I’m sorry for the short and somewhat pedantic nature of this post. I have to get back to work teaching Japanese schoolchildren all about the Fourth of July, but I’ll try to make my next update full of fascinating and exotic things.

- Jenny