Lunch time and classes at Taisha Sho - 16
Originally uploaded by Jason In Japan.
getting ready to serve kyushoku (school lunch)
Monday, July 25, 2005
I wear my sunglasses at night...
Izumo Concert with Taisha JH band kids - 17
Originally uploaded by Jason In Japan.
L to R: Hiroko, Masako, Aika
My sunglasses, being worn by Hiroko in this pic, were always a source of endless amusement for my students. Alas, I recently lost this pair and am now wearing an inferior back-up pair that are not nearly as cool.
Not sure why they all like to take turns trying on my sunglasses - it's not like all their parents don't have pairs, cuz they all do, but I'm happy to have them passed 'round - got some funny pics out of it.
Must spend some time soon and go shopping for a new pair. I used to have a great pair of Stussy sunglasses that fir my rather large head perfectly, but those too have gone away. This pair pictured were only about $10, but they worked great. We'll see what I can find here in Japan.
Taisha JH Volleyball team 2005-2006
Taisha JH Volleyball team 2005-2006
Originally uploaded by Jason In Japan.
Here's a pic of my JH's girls' volleyball team. I think they have basically an A team, that is mostly 9th graders and then a B team with 7th and 8th graders. I have yet to watch them play in a regular match, but I've watched them practice and they seem pretty good. Altho they lack height, they have lots of spunk and try real hard.
I was hoping to organize a match between some members of the faculty, myself included, and the girls A team, but I have yet to convince anyway with decision making powers on the merits of the whole thing. I just think it would be fun for the students to see their teachers get schooled by some of their fellow students, and I enjoy playing volleyball. So I'll keep you updated and let you know if I can get this off the ground.
Vending Machine on Nishinoshima
Nishinoshima Sports Festival - 11
Originally uploaded by Jason In Japan.
I've been planning on doing a little photo essay on all the vending machines in my town - we have machines that sell everything from beverages, to condoms, to cigarettes, to film, to batteries, to beer. So here is a pic of one to whet your appetite.
Hopefully I'll have time to walk around and snap pics of all the different ones - the sheer number of vending machines and the variety boggles the mind. Altho the interesting thing is almost none of them sell food - no chips or candy or gum or twinkies. Very sad when you've got the munchies and you're in a hurry. But I think they lack food because the other ubiquitous feature in any and all Japanese towns is the convenience store, called a "conbini" here. Like 7-11 or Circle K back home, the local Lawsons or Popular is host to all your snacking needs - if you want Japanese snacks. :)
And most of them are open 24 hours, so one is never far from a box of pocky or an onigiri (rice ball) or a tea beverage of some sort.
Anyway, this particular vending machine pictured above was spotted on the island of Nishinoshima by my friend, Nigel, and myself. We marvelled at the sheer size of the beer on offer, and the fact that you could buy a whole bottle of what looks like whiskey or bourbon right out of a vending machine. Almost all vending machines accept 1000 yen notes, the smallest paper currency they have in Japan. 1000 yen is about $10, so at first it seems odd to be sticking what amounts to a $10 bill into a vending machine, but you soon get used to it.
And I do it so often now - maybe that's why I never have any money! :)
-Jason
Trivia - Monday, July 25th
True or False: Ringo Starr was the original drummer for The Beatles.
Weekend's Answer (highlight line below):
C. 25 years
Weekend's Answer (highlight line below):
C. 25 years
Sunday, July 24, 2005
Trivia - Saturday & Sunday, July 23rd & 24th
How long does a musician or band have to wait after the release of their first record before being eligible for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?
A. Ten years
B. Fifteen years
C. Twenty-five years
D. Thirty years
Yesterday's Answer (highlight line below):
Ben Stein's
A. Ten years
B. Fifteen years
C. Twenty-five years
D. Thirty years
Yesterday's Answer (highlight line below):
Ben Stein's
Friday, July 22, 2005
Trivia - Friday, July 22nd
Complete the name of this Comedy Central game show: Win _______ _________'s Money.
Yesterday's Answer (highlight line below):
A. Chicago
Yesterday's Answer (highlight line below):
A. Chicago
Thursday, July 21, 2005
6th graders
Yokan Sho - roku nen sei - 14
Originally uploaded by Jason In Japan.
Many of my 6th grade classes are on that edge of being a bit cynical about learning - meaning that the kids are already starting to feel the pressure to succeed and are not as interested in having fun. But with the right motivation I can still get them to be silly and have a good time learning English. After all, they'll soon be in Jr High, and the world of fun songs and silly games will be only a memory.
One exception to the above are the 6th graders at Yokan Elementary - they are a really fun group and I always have a good time teaching their class.
Mostly cuz the kids in the class are really cool! Here are two of my favorites - the boy on the left is the class clown, but a sweet kid and the girl on the right is a bit shy with English, but not shy at all when it comes to everything else.
Peace & Miffy!
UNO!!
Yokan Sho - roku nen sei - 4
Originally uploaded by Jason In Japan.
UNO is a great game to play with my Japanese students. A few of them have played it before, as it is available here in Japan, but most have not. Like just about anyone, Japanese kids like to play cards, so I get to play (which is a favorite thing to do) and teach them Colors & Numbers while we play. They can put down any card, but IU have them say out loud - "Red Three" or "Blue Seven" as they place the card on the pile. So we chat a little, play, and they rub my furry arms - a favorite pastime of theirs.
Yokan Sho - roku nen sei - playing UNO
Yokan Sho - roku nen sei - 1
Originally uploaded by Jason In Japan.
I was SO HOT this day that I sweated right thru three shirts. I started the day in a solid color blue pocket t-shirt, and found out quickly that solid colors show sweat patches way more than white shirts do. So I switched to another solid shirt after I thought I'd level off heat wise, but then I had to sing "7-Steps" with one class, and that's a killer song - lots of moving around, so the sweat came a pourin'. I had this T-Shirt in my bag for kendo practice later in the day and had to put it on - I almost never wear plain T-shirts to school, as I try to look a tiny bit professional. Anyway, the colorful paper lei I was given at lunch completed the outfit and I stayed that way for the rest of the day. :)
student taken pic
Yokan Sho - roku nen sei - 15
Originally uploaded by Jason In Japan.
I like to give my camera to my students and have them take pictures of anything they want. (I have to thank my friend, Mel, for this tip - I got it reading her blog)
I often get some of my best photos that way. So I was hanging out with some of my 6th graders at Yokan Sho and I gave one of the girls my camera. Since she couldn't pose with the peace sign in the photo, she did the next best thing - extended her own hand and took a picture of the peace sign. Ya gotta love it!
Trivia - Thursday, July 21st
In which city does the film Ferris Bueller's Day Off primarily take place?
A. Chicago
B. Pittsburgh
C. Detroit
D. Toronto
Yesterday's Answer (highlight line below):
It's the only time two actors have been honored for portraying the same person. (De Niro played the young Vito Corleone in The Godfather II, while Brando played him as the older Don Corleone in the original Godfather)
A. Chicago
B. Pittsburgh
C. Detroit
D. Toronto
Yesterday's Answer (highlight line below):
It's the only time two actors have been honored for portraying the same person. (De Niro played the young Vito Corleone in The Godfather II, while Brando played him as the older Don Corleone in the original Godfather)
Wednesday, July 20, 2005
Trivia - Wednesday, July 20th
What is significant about Robert DeNiro and Marlon Brando both winning Academy Awards for their work in the Godfather trilogy?
Yesterday's Answer (highlight line below):
D. Maine
Yesterday's Answer (highlight line below):
D. Maine
Tuesday, July 19, 2005
Trivia - Tuesday, July 19th
Stephen King has a penchant for setting his novels in his home state of:
A. New Hampshire
B. Connecticut
C. New Jersey
D. Maine
Yesterday's Answer (highlight line below):
C. Julianne Moore
A. New Hampshire
B. Connecticut
C. New Jersey
D. Maine
Yesterday's Answer (highlight line below):
C. Julianne Moore
Monday, July 18, 2005
Trivia - Monday, July 18th
Which actress caused a stir for embarking on a lengthy tirade while naked from the waist down in the 1993 Robert Altman film Short Cuts
A. Glenn Close
B. Jennifer Jason Leigh
C. Julianne Moore
D. Susan Sarandon
Yesterday's Answer (highlight line below):
Robert Hughes
A. Glenn Close
B. Jennifer Jason Leigh
C. Julianne Moore
D. Susan Sarandon
Yesterday's Answer (highlight line below):
Robert Hughes
Sunday, July 17, 2005
Trivia - Sat & Sun, July 16th & 17th
In 1980, which world-famous art critic starred in a BBC documentary based on his influential book The Shock of the New?
Friday's Answer (highlight line below):
The Pepsi execs blanched at the commercial she filmed for the soda because it used parts of her controversial "Like a Prayer" video, which included cross-burning and interracial romance.
Friday's Answer (highlight line below):
The Pepsi execs blanched at the commercial she filmed for the soda because it used parts of her controversial "Like a Prayer" video, which included cross-burning and interracial romance.
Friday, July 15, 2005
Trivia - Friday, July 15th
Why was Madonna's Pepsi commercial pulled off the air in 1989?
Yesterday's Answer (highlight line below):
"Princess"
Yesterday's Answer (highlight line below):
"Princess"
self-pity rant
I mostly post positive accounts of my life here, including accounts of how much fun I have teaching and all the fun stuff I do when I’m not working.
But all is not always so rosy. JETs often complain about being underused, and while it seems spurious to complain about being paid for doing nothing, it does become frustrating. Maybe you have to experience it to fully understand. But sitting at my desk for an entire day and not being asked to help in any way even though there are multiple English classes happening throughout the day is an annoyance perhaps unique to the job of an ALT. And it is annoying. It makes you wonder if you’re not doing your job well enough to be asked to help out. Ultimately it usually means that the Japanese teachers of English that you work with have been too busy to figure out a way to include you in their lesson plan. That’s being kind - some of it has to do with laziness or reluctance or lack of imagination on their part - but I don’t want to imply that these reasons inform every decision to exclude me from their lessons. They have a lesson to teach and sometimes they use me to teach it and sometimes they don’t - some teachers use me often, meaning maybe once or twice a week when I’m not at Elementary school, and other teachers rarely or never use me. It’s a puzzle to me at times as to why, but I’ve been unable to figure out a suitable way to breach the subject without sounding indignant or accusatory.
So I arrived at work today at 8am and was expected to amuse myself until lunch time at 12:40. So I read, checked e-mail, wrote some blog entries, and even napped a little to pass the time. I don’t have any lessons to plan or papers to grade, so I really am on my own as for what I do to fill the time.
Staying for a 2nd year seemed like such an easy decision, but lately at work I’ve been thinking that perhaps I made the wrong choice. All JETs go through bouts of work-related depression like this, so I know it’ll pass. I seriously think that if I eventually decide to recontract for a third year I would have to make a change and maybe go teach at a high school just to vary my routine and keep myself interested and challenged. The sad thing is that Jr. High could be plenty interesting and challenging, but it comes down to the willingness of the Japanese teachers you’re hired to assist to let you actually assist. My current group are all very nice, but seem perplexed by what to do with me at times and my initiative to create lesson plans and English related activities are sometimes met with indifference and patronizing remarks.
I even sometimes wonder if they would miss me at all if there was no ALT at the school. Earlier this week my alarm clock failed (the battery died) and I slept right through my normal wake-up time of 6:30am. It wasn’t until one of my elementary schools called my house at 10am wondering why I had missed the 9:40 class I was supposed to teach at their school that I woke up. Needless to say I apologized a zillion times - jumped in a quick shower and rushed off to make the next class at 10:40. Later in the day I wondered why NO ONE from my Jr. High had called to see where I was or if I was OK. I have never not showed up before without calling first, yet no one from my JH seemed concerned about my empty desk and my whereabouts that morning. *sigh*
Home hasn’t been that great either lately. The loneliness of living here is starting to get to me a bit. I’ve made an effort to get out and attend some JET-related activities, but lack of general companionship is starting to make me more and more insular and hermit-like. A JET friend even joked with me the other day about it - She doesn’t have a computer at her house, and I remarked that I would shrivel up and die without my laptop and internet connection, and she said she had made friends instead. *ouch* But there is some truth to the remark. Many JETs are social gadflies with many Japanese and Western friends and are constantly out and about and involved in many activities. I am not one of those JETs. I have a small circle of JET friends who I see occasionally and no Japanese friends. And the girlfriend possibilities seem remote. I’ve resigned myself to another year of no intimate relationships, as I’ve come to accept that certain factors, like my age and my physical appearance, limit my options on the dating front. While I’m not sure the situation would be noticeably different if I were in the U.S. right now, being in Japan certainly doesn’t help in this area, so I may just have to ride out my time here solo.
My frustration with my inability to speak Japanese is ongoing and increasing, and I hope to rectify the situation a bit this summer by attending a language school for studying Japanese. At two recent events involving high school age students, I witnessed the ease with which JETs who can speak Japanese were able to converse and make a connection with the students. I am very jealous of this easy rapport that comes with being able to speak Japanese. Since I can only speak English with the kids, they most likely see trying to talk with me as “work” and are worried about making mistakes, so most simply choose not to try. Of course it’s not my job to be their “friend” but to teach them English - still, being able to talk with them and better understand their lives would make me a more effective teacher. So I will spend some time this summer really studying Japanese in an effort to bridge the gap.
Anyway, enough of this self-pity rant - it’s the weekend and today was payday, so hopefully I can go out and have some fun this weekend and chase away these blues.
Peace,
Jason
But all is not always so rosy. JETs often complain about being underused, and while it seems spurious to complain about being paid for doing nothing, it does become frustrating. Maybe you have to experience it to fully understand. But sitting at my desk for an entire day and not being asked to help in any way even though there are multiple English classes happening throughout the day is an annoyance perhaps unique to the job of an ALT. And it is annoying. It makes you wonder if you’re not doing your job well enough to be asked to help out. Ultimately it usually means that the Japanese teachers of English that you work with have been too busy to figure out a way to include you in their lesson plan. That’s being kind - some of it has to do with laziness or reluctance or lack of imagination on their part - but I don’t want to imply that these reasons inform every decision to exclude me from their lessons. They have a lesson to teach and sometimes they use me to teach it and sometimes they don’t - some teachers use me often, meaning maybe once or twice a week when I’m not at Elementary school, and other teachers rarely or never use me. It’s a puzzle to me at times as to why, but I’ve been unable to figure out a suitable way to breach the subject without sounding indignant or accusatory.
So I arrived at work today at 8am and was expected to amuse myself until lunch time at 12:40. So I read, checked e-mail, wrote some blog entries, and even napped a little to pass the time. I don’t have any lessons to plan or papers to grade, so I really am on my own as for what I do to fill the time.
Staying for a 2nd year seemed like such an easy decision, but lately at work I’ve been thinking that perhaps I made the wrong choice. All JETs go through bouts of work-related depression like this, so I know it’ll pass. I seriously think that if I eventually decide to recontract for a third year I would have to make a change and maybe go teach at a high school just to vary my routine and keep myself interested and challenged. The sad thing is that Jr. High could be plenty interesting and challenging, but it comes down to the willingness of the Japanese teachers you’re hired to assist to let you actually assist. My current group are all very nice, but seem perplexed by what to do with me at times and my initiative to create lesson plans and English related activities are sometimes met with indifference and patronizing remarks.
I even sometimes wonder if they would miss me at all if there was no ALT at the school. Earlier this week my alarm clock failed (the battery died) and I slept right through my normal wake-up time of 6:30am. It wasn’t until one of my elementary schools called my house at 10am wondering why I had missed the 9:40 class I was supposed to teach at their school that I woke up. Needless to say I apologized a zillion times - jumped in a quick shower and rushed off to make the next class at 10:40. Later in the day I wondered why NO ONE from my Jr. High had called to see where I was or if I was OK. I have never not showed up before without calling first, yet no one from my JH seemed concerned about my empty desk and my whereabouts that morning. *sigh*
Home hasn’t been that great either lately. The loneliness of living here is starting to get to me a bit. I’ve made an effort to get out and attend some JET-related activities, but lack of general companionship is starting to make me more and more insular and hermit-like. A JET friend even joked with me the other day about it - She doesn’t have a computer at her house, and I remarked that I would shrivel up and die without my laptop and internet connection, and she said she had made friends instead. *ouch* But there is some truth to the remark. Many JETs are social gadflies with many Japanese and Western friends and are constantly out and about and involved in many activities. I am not one of those JETs. I have a small circle of JET friends who I see occasionally and no Japanese friends. And the girlfriend possibilities seem remote. I’ve resigned myself to another year of no intimate relationships, as I’ve come to accept that certain factors, like my age and my physical appearance, limit my options on the dating front. While I’m not sure the situation would be noticeably different if I were in the U.S. right now, being in Japan certainly doesn’t help in this area, so I may just have to ride out my time here solo.
My frustration with my inability to speak Japanese is ongoing and increasing, and I hope to rectify the situation a bit this summer by attending a language school for studying Japanese. At two recent events involving high school age students, I witnessed the ease with which JETs who can speak Japanese were able to converse and make a connection with the students. I am very jealous of this easy rapport that comes with being able to speak Japanese. Since I can only speak English with the kids, they most likely see trying to talk with me as “work” and are worried about making mistakes, so most simply choose not to try. Of course it’s not my job to be their “friend” but to teach them English - still, being able to talk with them and better understand their lives would make me a more effective teacher. So I will spend some time this summer really studying Japanese in an effort to bridge the gap.
Anyway, enough of this self-pity rant - it’s the weekend and today was payday, so hopefully I can go out and have some fun this weekend and chase away these blues.
Peace,
Jason
Thursday, July 14, 2005
Trivia - Thursday, July 14th
Elton John actually wrote two songs for Princess Diana. What was the other song besides "Candle in the Wind 1997"?
Yesterday's Answer (highlight line below):
Days of Thunder
Yesterday's Answer (highlight line below):
Days of Thunder
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