chatting with Chugakusei - let's meet Yuko

I'm in the process of reposting a bunch of my short vids to YouTube, because the problem I was having with the sound sync seems to have been fixed. So some earlier videos that were really hard to watch are now much better.

But this particular video is not a repost, but a new vid with one of my favorite kids from last year, Yuko. She graduated in March and is now entertaining her ALT at high school, but she used to come and hang out with me at lunch and play Ticket to Ride and ask me funny questions.

Enjoy,
Jason

drawing day at IT with 9th graders

drawing day at IT with 9th graders - 73.jpg
Originally uploaded by Jason In Japan.

Friday, April 20th, was the annual drawing day we have at my Jr High with all the students going to areas around the school and drawing for the day.

The san nen sei (9th graders) always walk up to IzumoTaisha shrine - a beautiful place, and if the weather is nice, a great place to hang out for the day and draw.

So I tagged along and took tons of pictures (I uploaded about 90 of them to my Flickr site) and shot some short videos too.

It was cloudy, but not too cool - a nice day for a picnic lunch and some nice conversations with my current class of 9th graders - I've been their ALT since they were 6th graders at shogakko, so we all know each other pretty well by now.

Enjoy the pics!
-J

chatting with Chugakusei - 9th graders at Izumo Taisha

Here is a great vid of some of my coolest 9th graders (san nen sei) chatting with me on camera at Izumo Taisha, where they went for a day-long visit to sketch the shrine and its surroundings as part of an art class assignment. Some chatted readily, while others pretended to be camera-shy. Momoko brushes me off by calling me "papparazzi" but she loves to shout out answers from off-camera. Enjoy the vid, and check out my YouTube site for two other videos from that day - Friday, April 20th.

TJH Track & Field at Hamayama Park

TJH Track & Field at Hamayama - 15.jpg, originally uploaded by Jason In Japan.

This Saturday and Sunday I hung out with my Track and Field team at Hamayama Park, the local sports park.

Saturday was a nice enough day - warmish and mostly sunny, but today was cloudy and rainy and much cooler.
Two of our team did well - Miki came is 2nd in the 100 meter dash among all the girls competing -and Gamoh kun came in first in the boys' high jump - the rest of the team did OK.
I had fun hanging out and chatting and of course, taking pictures.

I also watched my A-team Baseball team - they had a tie game going in the 7th inning, the last inning they play at this age, so they played one extra inning - both teams scored one run, so the game was 3-3. How to decide who goes on to play in the championship game and who plays in the third place game?? JANKEN of course!
Yes, that's right, they had the entire team line up facing the other team and they went down the line, position by position (first base, pitcher, etc), having each pair play rock-paper-scissors to see which team would advance. Of course it was a tie and came down to the last pair - our center fielder threw paper and their team threw scissors and it was all over - we would play for third place while the other team would play for the championship. Only in Japan!! :)

Chatting with Chugakusei - 9th graders on the Track & Field team

Here are some of my great 9th graders on the Track and Field team chatting with me between races last Saturday at Hamayama Park.

Enjoy!
-Jason

my Brass Band perform a famous Anime song

I've been trying to get out to see my kids perform and play as much as possible recently. Just this past weekend, I saw my Jr High teams compete in Volleyball, Girls' tennis, Baseball and Boys' tennis.

Here is a video of my great Brass Band playing a song from a famous Japanese cartoon. There is no drama club at my school, so if a student wants to perform, they can join the band (boys and girls) or the chorus (only girls) and they'll get some stage time.

I'll try to upload a bunch of other videos this week, so check back for more updates soon.

-J

ALT invasion at Taisha Sho

ALT invasion at Taisha Sho - 8.jpg, originally uploaded by Jason In Japan.

Once again this year, I invited my friends from Izumo to come over to my local elementary school and help my soon-to-be 6th graders prepare for their April school trip to Hiroshima.

This year Chris, his wife Susie, CIR Judy, Mark, Eric, Ewan and Rusty helped out and we all had a good time practicing a dialogue with the kids for when they have to talk to foreigners in the Peace Park.

Thanks to everyone for helping and I hope some of you can do it again next year.

-Jason

Taisha Sho Spring concert

Taisha Sho Spring concert - 1, originally uploaded by Jason In Japan.

On Sunday I went to a kendo tournament in the morning and then to the Spring concert put on by my local elementary school -Taisha Sho.

I had a lot to think about over the weekend concerning my job and my future in Japan, but I think I've come to a decision that is best for me.

This picture just makes me happy. It kinda sums up why I stay in Japan in a way.

I'll post more pictures from that day soon.

Hope you are happy too! ;)

Ise Jingu - day three

Ise Jingu - 3.jpg, originally uploaded by Jason In Japan.

Eric and I headed out of Kyoto to nearby Mie prefecture on Day three of our trip. It was a Monday, so a little less crowded, but being Spring Break and a decent day weather-wise, there were still plenty of people visiting Ise Jingu - the most sacred of all Shinto Shrines in Japan.

Read more about this very important place in Japan here:
http://www.isejingu.or.jp/english/index.htm

We had about 3 hours to tour both the inner and outer shrines, but the scenery was so nice and the walking around so pleasant that the time just flew by and we had to get back on our train for the 2 hour trip back to Kyoto.

Enjoy the pics!
-Jason

March Sumo Tournament in Osaka

March Sumo Tournament in Osaka - 5.jpg, originally uploaded by Jason In Japan.

My 4-day trip to Osaka and Kyoto started on Saturday with many of us meeting at the Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium to watch the penultimate day of bouts in the Spring Grand Sumo Tournament.

We got lucky in that the final match of the day was a showdown between the reigning champion, Asashoryu, and the steadfast up-and-comer, Hakuho. Asashoryu won this day, forcing a playoff the next day, which Hakuho won, clinching him his 2nd championship since become ozeki.

click here for more pics of the 8 of us stuffed into our box seats and more sumo action. (look to the end of this update on my Flickr sites for some great sumo pics from Linda - thanks Linda!)

-J

March 2007 at USJ

March 2007 at USJ - 18.jpg, originally uploaded by Jason In Japan.

Went to USJ for the 2nd time this past month during my Spring Break.

Went with a great group of friends from Shimane, including Rob, Jon, Linda, Jen and Eric - all pictured here wearing the 3D glasses for the Spider-Man ride.

We had a great time, got lucky with the weather and over-ate at the Hard Rock Cafe when we were done at the park.

Click on this pic to see many more from that day.

-Jason