More pics from my life:
http://uwec.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2100616&l=e000d&id=59501063
And pics from my biking and apartment:
http://uwec.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2100617&l=ac7cd&id=59501063
I’ve never doubted God’s existence before. I’ve ignored him though. Ignoring God led to the best, and subsequently, worst year of my life.
I’m actually here to write about people. Specifically, the people I’ve met in Japan. These people are mostly gaijin or foreigners, because admittedly, these are the people I’ve been spending the most time with.
Who should I begin with? (Or is it With whom should I begin? I really have no idea why I’m a teacher…)
Ruth- Ruth is from Scotland. I met her right away the first morning of orientation in Tokyo. We introduced ourselves to each other, I was Luther and she was “Rth.” “What?” I said. “Rth,” she answered. “What?” I said again. “Ru-uth,” she emphasized this time. You see, “Ruth” is from Scotland. They speak and entirely different form of English over there, only about 65% compatible to Midwestern English, or at least I could only understand about 65% of what she said that initial conversation. Now it’s much better. Today I’m about 19 out of 20 words compatible.
Ruth is a great girl, very honest very real. The kind of girl who goes to church on a Sunday morning and within minutes of stepping back into her house has a gin and tonic in her hand. (This is actually a self-admitted true story.) During our initial conversation she said to me, “I’ve been told to look out for you.” I at first thought this was a warning “Look out for that Luther guy…” but what she meant was to look for me in Japan. Ruth had done the Navigators summer missions BEST program last year, the same one I had signed on for this summer. I obviously pulled out because I was accepted to JET, but they still knew who I was and that I would be here. It was a blessing to meet another Christian right away. There aren’t very many of us here in Japan. Less than 1% of the Japanese population identify themselves as Christian, and I’ve only met 4 other Christian ALTs.
Ruth keeps inviting me to go to Church with her and some people she knows from last summer, but I keep being out of town or wanting to sleep. I’ve been having so many crazy adventures that I’m just ready to have some normalcy for awhile. I’ve been exhausted and up and around all over the place. I haven’t wanted to turn anything down. Like today’s excursion to the Izu peninsula with Ruth and Liz for onsen (basically a day spa, but not as expensive and very popular among most Japanese).
That brings me to Liz. Her real name is Elizabeth Trevathan which gives her the same initials as E.T. This was immortalized by her portrayal of the character in her small group’s skit at the English Retreat. They rode in her bicycle and she even delivered 75% of E.T.’s vocabulary: “E.T. phone home.” (I believe the only other word he knows is ‘friend,’ but correct me if I’m wrong. Does a loud shriek count as a vocab word?)
Liz is from New Zealand and is desperately cute. She lives right around the corner from Ruth, but her living situation is nowhere near as cush. Poor girl just wants to sleep and cook and bathe without rubbing up against grime and mold. And her teachers haven’t been the most helpful either. New Zealand English is easier to understand than Scottish, but I still have to concentrate. Why do I have to have to start with the most neutral accent as my basis for English? I wish I knew some fancy form and then got the privilege of listening to my smooth, sensual, deep sexy voice all the time.
Luke is from New Zealand too. He’s a bit older than I am, but still in his 20s. Luke taught English in Korea for 4 ½ years. He has his master’s degree in Linguistics and wants to get his doctorate so he can teach English at a University in Japan. He’s going to have to learn Japanese first though! Luke is a chain smoking, staggering drunk. No, that’s too harsh. I have seen him take an extra couple of steps while under the influence, so that’s where the title comes from. He says cigarettes are too damn cheap here. Luke is honestly a great guy too. He has made my time here much more enjoyable. He likes to use his hands to gesture while talking, especially this one where he pinches his fingers and his thumbs of each hand and then points them at about eye level while squinting his eyes slightly. He then begins to unwrap a tiny invisible gift in mid air while still talking about whatever it is he’s talking about. Possibly reciting the lyrics to some New Zealand parody band’s song. Luke and I are going to sit out on the sea wall and smoke cigarettes some evening this week.
More on the people I’ve met coming up in future posts. Right now I have to do some ironing because my washing machine doesn’t have an agitator, leaving me the agitated one. (Wow, that was a dad joke…notice the visual and aural similarities between “dad joke” and “bad joke.”)
Monday, September 17, 2007
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Okay
An admission:
These blogs are fun, but they're not the full experience- I don't write the entirety of my thoughts and feelings, nor do I write about the entirety of my experiences. There simply isn't enough time or space, and I censor some things for the sake of the young-eyes out there ;-). Having said that, if anyone is interested in specific information, or what I feel at any particular moment (because it sure changes) e-mail or skype is the best way to talk. I'm getting the internet at my house tomorrow!!!! (WOOO!) After 7 weeks of waiting. (I have to take a half day off of work too to meet the guys at the apartment). So Skype is going to be an easy and free way to talk via computer. My skype address is luther.flagstad
One comment before I run out the door to mail a package before 5pm-
Like I mentioned before, currency paper bills less than 1000 yen are rare (I haven't come across any yet.) So there are $5 coins, $1 coins, 50 cent (yen) coins, 10, 5, and 1. 1s are pretty useless and feel weightless. My wallet has a tendency to collect much weight from metal currency, and to prove my point, I counted them this afternoon. (I bought a special wallet with a giant coin pocket on the inside).
8 - $1 coins
1 - 50 cent coins
23 - 10 cent coins
3 - 5 cent coins
10 - 1 cent coins
And this is actually kind of low for the average number of coins I have in my back pocket. I keep thinking my computer screen is tilted while sitting at my desk. And my lower back hurts for some reason.
These blogs are fun, but they're not the full experience- I don't write the entirety of my thoughts and feelings, nor do I write about the entirety of my experiences. There simply isn't enough time or space, and I censor some things for the sake of the young-eyes out there ;-). Having said that, if anyone is interested in specific information, or what I feel at any particular moment (because it sure changes) e-mail or skype is the best way to talk. I'm getting the internet at my house tomorrow!!!! (WOOO!) After 7 weeks of waiting. (I have to take a half day off of work too to meet the guys at the apartment). So Skype is going to be an easy and free way to talk via computer. My skype address is luther.flagstad
One comment before I run out the door to mail a package before 5pm-
Like I mentioned before, currency paper bills less than 1000 yen are rare (I haven't come across any yet.) So there are $5 coins, $1 coins, 50 cent (yen) coins, 10, 5, and 1. 1s are pretty useless and feel weightless. My wallet has a tendency to collect much weight from metal currency, and to prove my point, I counted them this afternoon. (I bought a special wallet with a giant coin pocket on the inside).
8 - $1 coins
1 - 50 cent coins
23 - 10 cent coins
3 - 5 cent coins
10 - 1 cent coins
And this is actually kind of low for the average number of coins I have in my back pocket. I keep thinking my computer screen is tilted while sitting at my desk. And my lower back hurts for some reason.
Monday, September 10, 2007
Typhoon
Biking in a typhoon. Not recommended. Not recommended whilst wearing work clothes. In my defense, I had taken my shirt and tie off before I left my house and wrapped them up in my backpack instead. But I left the pants on. Oh, I had full rain gear on. Good rain gear too, left by my predecessor. This rain gear is really rain proof. It's just not submergable proof.
I made it about four-fifths of the way before feeling an odd sensation in my crotchile area. Almost like I was slowly peeing my pants except it wasn't warm. And then the inevitable "oh, no..." There really wasn't anything I could do other than continue on to the high school and do a damage assessment upon arrival.
Luckily I had hopped back inside my house after taking a step outside to fetch an extra pair of socks. I figured I may need them. I wish my foresight had continued up my legs. I gingerly stepped into the school and began to undress in the entrance way. Peeling my rain pants from my body, I revealed the largest fake pee stain I have ever seen on a pair of pants still attached to one's habit. What happend was that while biking my lap was open and susceptible to collecting a small pool of water. This obviously happened almost immediately and remained that way for the entire bike ride. Lying at the bottom of this pool was the zipper to my rainpants. Most zippers are not watertight, and this one was no exception.
One of the office ladies walked by at about this point and saw my predicament. She asked if I had a towel, I said no, and she literally ran into the office to search for an extra one. This was quite kind, but I think my pants were a little past the dabbing dry point. I used the towel on my feet before I put on my extra socks. Getting to the teachers locker room I undressed and hung my pants over one of the barriers. I just stood there awhile in my soaked boxers wishing there was more time between me and standing in front of my first class for the day. I put my wet clothes back on and headed for the teachers room.
Luckily I was there early enough so most of the other teachers weren't there yet. Sitting at my desk I could hide "the spot." The heavy rain and loud thunder continued while several teachers crawled in late from a long commute. I noticed that there weren't many students around either.
A few minutes later Kyoto-sensei stood up to give the morning announcements. I couldn't understand what he was saying, but afterwards one of the JTEs explained that morning classes had been canceled! I put down the lesson plan I was working on (titled "the difference between 'pee' and 'rain'") and relaxed. I had 4 more hours to sit at my desk, play on the internet and let 'er dry.
Thus proves the saying, "every (typhoon) cloud has a silver lining!"
I made it about four-fifths of the way before feeling an odd sensation in my crotchile area. Almost like I was slowly peeing my pants except it wasn't warm. And then the inevitable "oh, no..." There really wasn't anything I could do other than continue on to the high school and do a damage assessment upon arrival.
Luckily I had hopped back inside my house after taking a step outside to fetch an extra pair of socks. I figured I may need them. I wish my foresight had continued up my legs. I gingerly stepped into the school and began to undress in the entrance way. Peeling my rain pants from my body, I revealed the largest fake pee stain I have ever seen on a pair of pants still attached to one's habit. What happend was that while biking my lap was open and susceptible to collecting a small pool of water. This obviously happened almost immediately and remained that way for the entire bike ride. Lying at the bottom of this pool was the zipper to my rainpants. Most zippers are not watertight, and this one was no exception.
One of the office ladies walked by at about this point and saw my predicament. She asked if I had a towel, I said no, and she literally ran into the office to search for an extra one. This was quite kind, but I think my pants were a little past the dabbing dry point. I used the towel on my feet before I put on my extra socks. Getting to the teachers locker room I undressed and hung my pants over one of the barriers. I just stood there awhile in my soaked boxers wishing there was more time between me and standing in front of my first class for the day. I put my wet clothes back on and headed for the teachers room.
Luckily I was there early enough so most of the other teachers weren't there yet. Sitting at my desk I could hide "the spot." The heavy rain and loud thunder continued while several teachers crawled in late from a long commute. I noticed that there weren't many students around either.
A few minutes later Kyoto-sensei stood up to give the morning announcements. I couldn't understand what he was saying, but afterwards one of the JTEs explained that morning classes had been canceled! I put down the lesson plan I was working on (titled "the difference between 'pee' and 'rain'") and relaxed. I had 4 more hours to sit at my desk, play on the internet and let 'er dry.
Thus proves the saying, "every (typhoon) cloud has a silver lining!"
Thursday, September 6, 2007
Better
The next 2 days of teaching went Soooo much better than my first day. Yesterday I had 3 lessons and today I had 2, all 5 of them being my self-introduction. I guess I just needed that first day to figure out timing, sentences and order. I had a ton of fun and the kids enjoyed it too. My self presentation was more of a lecture style than future classes will be, but that's the way I wanted it because this is their chance to learn (or at least hear) the things that make up me, Luther Flagstad. We practiced and practiced saying my name. Mostly just the "th." Even with demonstration, most students were very hesitant to stick their tongues out beyond their teeth! This to me seems a very simple thing to do. I don't know if they didn't want to stick out their tongues (being polite?), or if it was physically difficult to do because they've never had to do it speaking Japanese. Anyway, several of them did very well and I encouraged them to come say my name to me in the hallways to practice. The kids really liked me using Google Maps to zoom in on the US, Minnesota, Roseville and finally, my house! (Ah, Sugoi! Oh, Cool!) You can even see one of our cars on the driveway quite clearly. Then I panned over to Japan talking about my flight and my arrival in Shizuoka. I got the idea from another ALT named Michael who lives in Florida.
I had my first "teaching moment" during today's second lesson. There have been warnings of a typhoon headed our way into Shizuoka, Japan. Typhoons are fairly common on this part of the east coast. There was one about 6 weeks ago, and now another one is underway. Typhoons are similar to hurricanes with thunderstorms, high winds and huge waves. Last night I walked out along the sea wall to watch the waves. They were crashing against the cement and sending 6-7 meter plumes of water into the air. It was quite scary and fantastic. My kyoto-sensei showed me today a map of the typhoon's predicted path. It should hit us full force tonight at about 11pm- the center of it is supposed to pass pretty much directly over Kambara at 3 am, and it will have moved on by 9 am tomorrow morning. Because of this many shops and restaurants and events have been cancelled. With about 5 min. left in my second lesson, Kyotosensei came over the loudspeaker and announced that class for the rest of the day was cancelled as well. There were loud cheers and all the kids started talking at once (this was about 10:30am!). I was given a couple of more min. to wrap up my lesson so I taught the kids the phrase "Good News!" They liked it and I could hear a few of them saying it as they were leaving the class.
Even though the kids went home, we teachers need to stay. Like I said before, a teacher's job never ends here in Japan. A few of the teachers took nenkyu (paid leave or paid vacation) this afternoon to pick up their children, secure their houses, etc. I packed my rain gear today, so I'm going to tough it out and bick back to the station. I can hear the winds picking up outside now. Let's hope the trains are still running when I get there- otherwise it's going to be an interesting bike all the way back to my house...
I had my first "teaching moment" during today's second lesson. There have been warnings of a typhoon headed our way into Shizuoka, Japan. Typhoons are fairly common on this part of the east coast. There was one about 6 weeks ago, and now another one is underway. Typhoons are similar to hurricanes with thunderstorms, high winds and huge waves. Last night I walked out along the sea wall to watch the waves. They were crashing against the cement and sending 6-7 meter plumes of water into the air. It was quite scary and fantastic. My kyoto-sensei showed me today a map of the typhoon's predicted path. It should hit us full force tonight at about 11pm- the center of it is supposed to pass pretty much directly over Kambara at 3 am, and it will have moved on by 9 am tomorrow morning. Because of this many shops and restaurants and events have been cancelled. With about 5 min. left in my second lesson, Kyotosensei came over the loudspeaker and announced that class for the rest of the day was cancelled as well. There were loud cheers and all the kids started talking at once (this was about 10:30am!). I was given a couple of more min. to wrap up my lesson so I taught the kids the phrase "Good News!" They liked it and I could hear a few of them saying it as they were leaving the class.
Even though the kids went home, we teachers need to stay. Like I said before, a teacher's job never ends here in Japan. A few of the teachers took nenkyu (paid leave or paid vacation) this afternoon to pick up their children, secure their houses, etc. I packed my rain gear today, so I'm going to tough it out and bick back to the station. I can hear the winds picking up outside now. Let's hope the trains are still running when I get there- otherwise it's going to be an interesting bike all the way back to my house...
Sunday Drive
Here is a picture of me after my first day of classes: harrowed, but hanging on. I think I said earlier that I punted and the kids made a touchdown on their opening drive. That’s not quite true. I punted and they returned it for a touchdown.
Ok, ok, let’s not get too hard on ourselves…
I had one lesson today. And it was with the class that I had the English camp with, so maybe that makes a difference. I know that I think their English level is a lot higher than it actually is. Imagine trying to sit through a 10 or 15 min. presentation of a person entirely in Japanese. At some point you check out and start talking with your neighbor. I just hope the kids don’t treat me too casually this semester because I was their camp “counselor” a few weeks ago. Camp counseling was great. You could wind up the kids, get em all high on sugar, teach them a bunch of annoying songs, keep them up all night, run them silly in the woods and then dump them off on their parents at the end of the week. But here, I’m the parent who has to deal with them if I get them all wound up. So, there has to be many more activities, I have to move more slooooowly, and I have to engage their producing skills as much as possible. Get them in small groups. Get them with a partner. Have them work towards a goal that can only be reached using English. Lecturing is never going to work on this level.
All in all, ok. Tomorrow I will move a little more slowly and cut out a bunch of what I say about myself. I planned an activity where students have to go around and interview each other, so hopefully that will replace my blabbering over their blabbering. Cuz that’s what we sound like to each other. Literally. Except they can’t make the ‘l’ and the ‘r’ sounds, so to me they sound like they’re ‘buraburuingu.’
Let’s leave this lesson on a high note. Two things that worked better in my lesson: teaching my name, and playing the guitar. I will spend a little more time tomorrow teaching my name. Teaching the ‘th.’ I told them it was ok to stick out their tongues at me. I doubt any of them got the joke. But after class and after school many students who saw me were saying my name with a really exaggerated ‘ttthhhhhh’ and it was really great. Also, I did a cloze activity where the students filled in words that were missing in a lyrics sheet of the song I sang. I played and sang “Wouldn’t Have Nothing” from the movie Monsters’ Inc.
This past weekend I went for a lovely Sunday Drive. I was meaning to get up and started about 10am, but decided to get 12 hours of sleep instead, so after getting up and getting something to eat and doing some laundry I got started at 3. Which I thought would have been totally fine given how long I thought my afternoon to do list would take. Basically it consisted of 2 items:
To Do:
1. Bike to Shimizu
2. Buy Hannah a Birthday present
I began my ride off in the direction of Shimizu, not knowing what roads were daijyoubu (alright, or ok) to bike on….excuse the interruption....I just got jumped up because I had rice warming (and thus dehydrating) in my rice cooker. I have no idea how to work the thing, I just press buttons until I think it is going. Oh, so weird to be eating this much rice. I had the fan above the stove going too because I had made ramen (fairly similar to the ramen in the states) going on the stove. The fan leads straight outside through my wall; a little lid opens up when I pull the string to turn it on. Thus, being open to the world, my lovely bug friends try to fly through it into my house. As I was typing this I kept hearing a ‘ting’-ing in the kitchen and went to investigate. Yep. It was Mr. Bug trying to fly through a spinning metal blade. My bowl of ramen was right underneath the fan and I’m pretty sure that this meal was flavored a la Mr. Bug’s innards. Back to the story.
I knew where Shimizu was but I didn’t know specifically what roads to take, so I just started off in the general direction. The road I was on took me into Yui, Kambara’s next door neighbor and only a 20 min. walk away. I had never been farther than the grocery store or konbini (convenience store) so I was pretty excited. Not 2 blocks beyond this I stopped to take my first pictures. There was this little graveyard up on the hill from the road that was absolutely fantastic. Well, as fantastic as a graveyard can be I guess. I am still just awed by the organization of the cities around me. We’re considered “out in the country” yet every flat space is occupied by road or building. It’s the order of buildings that fascinates me. Apartments are propped right up next to gas stations which are flat against houses which are flat against grocery stores which open up to parks and another house then a rice paddy. Then a train station, restaurant, apartment and a graveyard. There really doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason…or city planning. The graves seemed to be little shrines to an entire family, if my understanding of kanji is superb enough. There was even a Japanese man there burning incense at one of the gravestones. Many graves had long, wooden stakes with beautiful kanji brushstrokes placed in front of them. Maybe they were prayers or well wishes. Past the graveyard were another apartment and a string of power lines, but beyond that you could see a view of the ocean and in the distance green hills softened by the haze. I love the contrast of concrete and lush forest.
I fell more in love with Yui the further I biked. I wanted to stop at every shop and every open garage to take in the life each one of these individuals exudes. There were stairs going up through the floors of garages and tiny counters selling vegetables and fish. And banks and posters and children and bicycles. I loved it. My road soon came to the major throughway so I had to turn right up into the hills. The whole area from the foothills of Fuji on the Ocean down to Shizuoka City and beyond is squeezed right up against the ocean by steep, green mountain. In Yui there can’t be more than 200 meters between the ocean and the slope, so the city grows dense and wide. Here is where Shoguns and samurai would pass on their way from the ancient capital Kyoto to the new capital Edo, which would later become Tokyo. Many famous paintings were created by men right here in the Kambara area because of this road. That’s why the south side of Mt. Fuji is so much more famous that the north side.
Going up the steep road I had to get off and walk my bike several times. Even on this incline there were still houses and shops. On the way I stopped by a shrine to look around and take some pictures. It didn’t seem to be widely used because it was in kind of shoddy shape, and the swimming pool nearby was filled with a grass green glop. I continued on, always taking the high road rising higher and higher. Soon there were orange groves on the sides of the road. These orchards became my main companion for the next hour or so of my trip. Every once and a while there would be a rusted metal track and a basket of some sort attached to the top where it could be hauled by motor up and down the hill carrying oranges. I never saw anyone working, but there were a few cars parked along the way, so obviously these fields were still tended to.
I figured out I was on the Satta Pass by the signs that said “Satta Pass.” I was over taken by one car along the way which I ended up seeing at the only rest stop I encountered. Here there were bathrooms, a lookout and what appeared to be a trailhead for hiking. It was cloudy, but had it been clear there would have been a majestic view of Fujisan rising up out of the ocean. I have been told that it is much easier to see him in the winter when the air is not so humid. All the better, for in the winter he will also be robed with his garments of snow.
I never made it to Shimizu (sorry Hannah). I only went as far as the light and my hunger would let me. I spent a some time staring out over the Okitsugawa river watching the Shinkansen fly by overhead while old men fished down below. Another strikingly beautiful contrast- the leisure of fishermen overlaid by the breakneck speed of commuters rushing by. The first time I saw the Shinkansen was from a distance of about 1 kilometer while I myself was riding the local train. It literally took my breath away. I have never seen anything so fantastically death-defying.
I biked back along the edge of the throughway completely in the dark on what I (hope) was a bike path. I only had the tiny wheel powered headlamp that pointed 2 meters in front of me so I had to take it whiteknuckled. It was a solid 50 min. of biking on flat ground to get back to my house.
Well Hannah, I talked to you on Saturday so you know I’ve picked you up a couple of things already, but I’m still looking and asking people where to find one more gift to send in a package home. I should still make it in time for your 21st.
Luther
Ok, ok, let’s not get too hard on ourselves…
I had one lesson today. And it was with the class that I had the English camp with, so maybe that makes a difference. I know that I think their English level is a lot higher than it actually is. Imagine trying to sit through a 10 or 15 min. presentation of a person entirely in Japanese. At some point you check out and start talking with your neighbor. I just hope the kids don’t treat me too casually this semester because I was their camp “counselor” a few weeks ago. Camp counseling was great. You could wind up the kids, get em all high on sugar, teach them a bunch of annoying songs, keep them up all night, run them silly in the woods and then dump them off on their parents at the end of the week. But here, I’m the parent who has to deal with them if I get them all wound up. So, there has to be many more activities, I have to move more slooooowly, and I have to engage their producing skills as much as possible. Get them in small groups. Get them with a partner. Have them work towards a goal that can only be reached using English. Lecturing is never going to work on this level.
All in all, ok. Tomorrow I will move a little more slowly and cut out a bunch of what I say about myself. I planned an activity where students have to go around and interview each other, so hopefully that will replace my blabbering over their blabbering. Cuz that’s what we sound like to each other. Literally. Except they can’t make the ‘l’ and the ‘r’ sounds, so to me they sound like they’re ‘buraburuingu.’
Let’s leave this lesson on a high note. Two things that worked better in my lesson: teaching my name, and playing the guitar. I will spend a little more time tomorrow teaching my name. Teaching the ‘th.’ I told them it was ok to stick out their tongues at me. I doubt any of them got the joke. But after class and after school many students who saw me were saying my name with a really exaggerated ‘ttthhhhhh’ and it was really great. Also, I did a cloze activity where the students filled in words that were missing in a lyrics sheet of the song I sang. I played and sang “Wouldn’t Have Nothing” from the movie Monsters’ Inc.
This past weekend I went for a lovely Sunday Drive. I was meaning to get up and started about 10am, but decided to get 12 hours of sleep instead, so after getting up and getting something to eat and doing some laundry I got started at 3. Which I thought would have been totally fine given how long I thought my afternoon to do list would take. Basically it consisted of 2 items:
To Do:
1. Bike to Shimizu
2. Buy Hannah a Birthday present
I began my ride off in the direction of Shimizu, not knowing what roads were daijyoubu (alright, or ok) to bike on….excuse the interruption....I just got jumped up because I had rice warming (and thus dehydrating) in my rice cooker. I have no idea how to work the thing, I just press buttons until I think it is going. Oh, so weird to be eating this much rice. I had the fan above the stove going too because I had made ramen (fairly similar to the ramen in the states) going on the stove. The fan leads straight outside through my wall; a little lid opens up when I pull the string to turn it on. Thus, being open to the world, my lovely bug friends try to fly through it into my house. As I was typing this I kept hearing a ‘ting’-ing in the kitchen and went to investigate. Yep. It was Mr. Bug trying to fly through a spinning metal blade. My bowl of ramen was right underneath the fan and I’m pretty sure that this meal was flavored a la Mr. Bug’s innards. Back to the story.
I knew where Shimizu was but I didn’t know specifically what roads to take, so I just started off in the general direction. The road I was on took me into Yui, Kambara’s next door neighbor and only a 20 min. walk away. I had never been farther than the grocery store or konbini (convenience store) so I was pretty excited. Not 2 blocks beyond this I stopped to take my first pictures. There was this little graveyard up on the hill from the road that was absolutely fantastic. Well, as fantastic as a graveyard can be I guess. I am still just awed by the organization of the cities around me. We’re considered “out in the country” yet every flat space is occupied by road or building. It’s the order of buildings that fascinates me. Apartments are propped right up next to gas stations which are flat against houses which are flat against grocery stores which open up to parks and another house then a rice paddy. Then a train station, restaurant, apartment and a graveyard. There really doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason…or city planning. The graves seemed to be little shrines to an entire family, if my understanding of kanji is superb enough. There was even a Japanese man there burning incense at one of the gravestones. Many graves had long, wooden stakes with beautiful kanji brushstrokes placed in front of them. Maybe they were prayers or well wishes. Past the graveyard were another apartment and a string of power lines, but beyond that you could see a view of the ocean and in the distance green hills softened by the haze. I love the contrast of concrete and lush forest.
I fell more in love with Yui the further I biked. I wanted to stop at every shop and every open garage to take in the life each one of these individuals exudes. There were stairs going up through the floors of garages and tiny counters selling vegetables and fish. And banks and posters and children and bicycles. I loved it. My road soon came to the major throughway so I had to turn right up into the hills. The whole area from the foothills of Fuji on the Ocean down to Shizuoka City and beyond is squeezed right up against the ocean by steep, green mountain. In Yui there can’t be more than 200 meters between the ocean and the slope, so the city grows dense and wide. Here is where Shoguns and samurai would pass on their way from the ancient capital Kyoto to the new capital Edo, which would later become Tokyo. Many famous paintings were created by men right here in the Kambara area because of this road. That’s why the south side of Mt. Fuji is so much more famous that the north side.
Going up the steep road I had to get off and walk my bike several times. Even on this incline there were still houses and shops. On the way I stopped by a shrine to look around and take some pictures. It didn’t seem to be widely used because it was in kind of shoddy shape, and the swimming pool nearby was filled with a grass green glop. I continued on, always taking the high road rising higher and higher. Soon there were orange groves on the sides of the road. These orchards became my main companion for the next hour or so of my trip. Every once and a while there would be a rusted metal track and a basket of some sort attached to the top where it could be hauled by motor up and down the hill carrying oranges. I never saw anyone working, but there were a few cars parked along the way, so obviously these fields were still tended to.
I figured out I was on the Satta Pass by the signs that said “Satta Pass.” I was over taken by one car along the way which I ended up seeing at the only rest stop I encountered. Here there were bathrooms, a lookout and what appeared to be a trailhead for hiking. It was cloudy, but had it been clear there would have been a majestic view of Fujisan rising up out of the ocean. I have been told that it is much easier to see him in the winter when the air is not so humid. All the better, for in the winter he will also be robed with his garments of snow.
I never made it to Shimizu (sorry Hannah). I only went as far as the light and my hunger would let me. I spent a some time staring out over the Okitsugawa river watching the Shinkansen fly by overhead while old men fished down below. Another strikingly beautiful contrast- the leisure of fishermen overlaid by the breakneck speed of commuters rushing by. The first time I saw the Shinkansen was from a distance of about 1 kilometer while I myself was riding the local train. It literally took my breath away. I have never seen anything so fantastically death-defying.
I biked back along the edge of the throughway completely in the dark on what I (hope) was a bike path. I only had the tiny wheel powered headlamp that pointed 2 meters in front of me so I had to take it whiteknuckled. It was a solid 50 min. of biking on flat ground to get back to my house.
Well Hannah, I talked to you on Saturday so you know I’ve picked you up a couple of things already, but I’m still looking and asking people where to find one more gift to send in a package home. I should still make it in time for your 21st.
Luther
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Here is a letter I wrote to my grandparents that explains a few things. Written this past Friday.
Hello Grandma and Grandpa from Japan!
Thanks for the message- I got it on my phone this morning. Today is my last day of summer "vacation." I've been coming into work 5 days a week, but it's been pretty lax since the students aren't here. In Japan teachers have to be at school 5 or 6 days a week all year round. I didn't know this at first, but when school starts tomorrow (a Saturday!) and the students and teachers will have school every other Saturday for the entire term. However, since I am an ALT I don't have to come in on Saturdays, just tomorrow. I will be giving a short speech in Japanese that I wrote and had one of the English teachers help me translate. I will be speaking in front of all the teachers and then in front of all the students, about 40 teachers and 450 students in all.
Next week I will be doing a self-introduction lesson 11 times- for most of the classes here at Ihara High School. Then after that I'll be planning about 5 or 6 lessons a week. I'm pretty much in charge- the Japanese Teacher of English may or may not be in the classroom while I'm teaching!
My new refrigerator was delivered yesterday. My old one worked, it was just tiny. So I went grocery shopping last night and biked my groceries home. It is not like shopping in the US. This past year I cooked about 60 meals for me and my roommates so I got fairly good at grocery shopping/knowing what to buy/finding things for low prices. But here they don't even have many of the staples that I would buy for meals back home. Ground chuck is hard to come by, no canned fruit, no baked beans, no pizza! There is a much smaller section of pasta as well. And the cereal shelf is only about 6 feet wide and 4 feet tall. Back home there was a whole aisle dedicated to cereal.
I've been pretty busy- been spending most of my free time getting things organized and hanging out with other ALTs from other cities. We have been out to eat at all kinds of restaurants. Two nights ago I was at an Indian restaurant run by an Indian man who spoke Japanese. I had mutton curry. Yaki soba is one of my favorite foods that I've had so far. It is basically noodles that are boiled then fried with little bits of vegetables and a soy/barbeque type sauce. I've made the instant version at my apartment several times. My house is pretty much clean. I spent 6 hours cleaning the kitchen and about 4 hours cleaning the bathroom. Even the walls needed to be scrubbed.
Been riding my bicycle a lot. Today it was raining so I bundled up in the full rain gear my predecessor left me, was glad for that. I think it is illegal to bike and hold an umbrella at the same time. I have aircondition now in the apartment, but it also isn't 90 degrees everyday so sleeping has been better.
I hope grandpa's vision is better- maybe he'll enjoy golfing more if he can see the ball himself. Hunting will be more enjoyable too I would imagine.
What have you been doing lately for fun? Been on any more elder hostels? I got a postcard from Sonja I think... it wasn't signed at the bottom so I'm only guessing...
Love,
Luther
And a letter I wrote today in response to an e-mail from another ALT friend:
Dear Ruth,
The kids might like me, but they sure were rowdy. I think my first lesson went terribly. I started out right away screwing up the order of my lesson plan, so it didn't really work out. How do you keep kids who are divided up into groups on task? How the hell do you teach kids who can't speak English?
Ok, I will do some soul searching to find the answer.
I think my self-introduction plan was difficult because I spend too much time talking about myself. It just goes way over the kids' heads. So I think I'll shorten it quite a bit and add in a different activity. And rearrange so they're doing an activity in groups right away. I sort of started off nervous and then punted and the kids scored a touchdown on me their opening drive.
How have your first lessons gone?
Your Friend,
Luther
That was just a taste of my first day- I’m doing some writing tonight so stay posted.
Hello Grandma and Grandpa from Japan!
Thanks for the message- I got it on my phone this morning. Today is my last day of summer "vacation." I've been coming into work 5 days a week, but it's been pretty lax since the students aren't here. In Japan teachers have to be at school 5 or 6 days a week all year round. I didn't know this at first, but when school starts tomorrow (a Saturday!) and the students and teachers will have school every other Saturday for the entire term. However, since I am an ALT I don't have to come in on Saturdays, just tomorrow. I will be giving a short speech in Japanese that I wrote and had one of the English teachers help me translate. I will be speaking in front of all the teachers and then in front of all the students, about 40 teachers and 450 students in all.
Next week I will be doing a self-introduction lesson 11 times- for most of the classes here at Ihara High School. Then after that I'll be planning about 5 or 6 lessons a week. I'm pretty much in charge- the Japanese Teacher of English may or may not be in the classroom while I'm teaching!
My new refrigerator was delivered yesterday. My old one worked, it was just tiny. So I went grocery shopping last night and biked my groceries home. It is not like shopping in the US. This past year I cooked about 60 meals for me and my roommates so I got fairly good at grocery shopping/knowing what to buy/finding things for low prices. But here they don't even have many of the staples that I would buy for meals back home. Ground chuck is hard to come by, no canned fruit, no baked beans, no pizza! There is a much smaller section of pasta as well. And the cereal shelf is only about 6 feet wide and 4 feet tall. Back home there was a whole aisle dedicated to cereal.
I've been pretty busy- been spending most of my free time getting things organized and hanging out with other ALTs from other cities. We have been out to eat at all kinds of restaurants. Two nights ago I was at an Indian restaurant run by an Indian man who spoke Japanese. I had mutton curry. Yaki soba is one of my favorite foods that I've had so far. It is basically noodles that are boiled then fried with little bits of vegetables and a soy/barbeque type sauce. I've made the instant version at my apartment several times. My house is pretty much clean. I spent 6 hours cleaning the kitchen and about 4 hours cleaning the bathroom. Even the walls needed to be scrubbed.
Been riding my bicycle a lot. Today it was raining so I bundled up in the full rain gear my predecessor left me, was glad for that. I think it is illegal to bike and hold an umbrella at the same time. I have aircondition now in the apartment, but it also isn't 90 degrees everyday so sleeping has been better.
I hope grandpa's vision is better- maybe he'll enjoy golfing more if he can see the ball himself. Hunting will be more enjoyable too I would imagine.
What have you been doing lately for fun? Been on any more elder hostels? I got a postcard from Sonja I think... it wasn't signed at the bottom so I'm only guessing...
Love,
Luther
And a letter I wrote today in response to an e-mail from another ALT friend:
Dear Ruth,
The kids might like me, but they sure were rowdy. I think my first lesson went terribly. I started out right away screwing up the order of my lesson plan, so it didn't really work out. How do you keep kids who are divided up into groups on task? How the hell do you teach kids who can't speak English?
Ok, I will do some soul searching to find the answer.
I think my self-introduction plan was difficult because I spend too much time talking about myself. It just goes way over the kids' heads. So I think I'll shorten it quite a bit and add in a different activity. And rearrange so they're doing an activity in groups right away. I sort of started off nervous and then punted and the kids scored a touchdown on me their opening drive.
How have your first lessons gone?
Your Friend,
Luther
That was just a taste of my first day- I’m doing some writing tonight so stay posted.
No title
Sorry, don't have time to write something extensive now. Classes have started- I have my first lesson in 1 1/2 hours, ah! Please check out the pictures- one of the albums has comments under them, the other album I will write an entry about tonight or tomorrow.
Around Shizuoka City and opening ceremony at my high school:
http://uwec.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2098150&l=dd09e&id=59501063
Sunday Drive:
http://uwec.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2098154&l=eff83&id=59501063
Luther
Around Shizuoka City and opening ceremony at my high school:
http://uwec.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2098150&l=dd09e&id=59501063
Sunday Drive:
http://uwec.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2098154&l=eff83&id=59501063
Luther
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