Spring Break!

(fyi, I wrote this last Thursday and forgot to post it.  I'll update with details about this weekend later)

Unluckily for me, my supervisor thinks it's a good idea for us to "work" during spring break.  Usually I have no problem working during vacation time (for those of you who know what I did my last three spring breaks at Willamette, you know what I'm talking about), but I have NOTHING to do.  Technically, we're supposed to be planning lessons, which is a problem if I don't even plan lessons during the school year.  I could prepare a schedule for my elementary school lessons, but the last I heard from them is that they weren't even sure when I would be going to elementary school, and "they'd contact me" when they knew what was going on.  Furthermore, at junior high school, my co-teachers really take the "A" part of "ALT" seriously.  I don't mind because this makes my role less formal, which in turn makes it easier for me to talk with the students.  True, I have more free time on my hands, but they're so new at English and the Japanese system emphasizes grammar (which I can't teach in Japanese). 

Anyway, long story short, I had tons of free time during school, and now I have even more.  What this means is, if I have something to write about, there will be more posts.  :)

Yesterday was the last day of school.  Classes actually ended on Tuesday, but learning in classes ended long before that.  On Monday, my co-teacher invited me to join his classes for "TT" (team-teaching) in the gym.  I changed into workout pants and went to the gym to find the students (in their matching track suits) dividing themselves up for basketball.  I'm not a very good basketball player, but I figured I could probably hold my own against kids who were (mostly) smaller than me.  Not that I really had a choice because they had previously assigned me to a team.

However, before we cranked out the basketball hoops, we played dodgeball to warm-up.  American dodgeball, as popularized in the film starring Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, and (my favorite) Justin Long, is very different from Japanese dodgeball.  American dodgeball is played with many balls, Japanese dodgeball is played with one; American dodgeball is played in a rectangular court with a line down the middle, Japanese dodgeball is played on a rectangular court with an inner rectangle and a line down the middle; "out" players in American dodgeball sit on the side and do nothing, "out" players in Japanese dodgeball actively participate.  Anyway, it took me a while to get the hang of it, but now I believe Japanese dodgeball to be far superior to American dodgeball.

Basketball was fun because I actually played pretty well.  I think it's mostly because I'm used to playing with guys who are bigger/more aggressive/far superior players than me.  Also, after 90% of the girls just stood there and did nothing, my co-teacher declared that a basket made by a girl would be worth 10 points.

On Wednesday, after a short, uneventful closing ceremony, I visited Dojin Gakuin, a children's home located a few minutes away from my train station.  It was a lot of fun and the kids were really sweet. When we were playing, somehow the conversation shifted to zombies.  By the end of the day, we were all joking with each other that we were going to eat brains.  I don't think they really believed me because the director invited me to come back and play with the kids again since I live so close.

After udon and McDonalds coffee, I raced home to prepare good-bye gifts for the teachers that were changing schools.  Initially, I only planned to give a present to the art teacher (who always goes out of his way to talk to me) and one of the office ladies (who is super nice and brought me an Eiffel Tower keychain from Paris).  However, of course, if I give a present to two people, I have to give a present to the others.  As it happened, I wasn't listening carefully enough to the principal's speech and it turns out the art teacher wasn't really leaving.  Furthermore, I forgot the office lady's present in my apartment.  whoops.

Anyway, dinner was at this great little French restaurant in Hanno.  My vice-principal's brother-in-law owns it, so we rented out the whole restaurant, and my VP kept bragging that he helped to design the menu and chose the champagne, red, white, and "sparkling apple" wine that accompanied dinner.  I usually prefer white wine to red wine, but last night's red was perhaps the most delicious wine I've ever had.  One of the teachers took a sip then said she was worried that it was so easy to drink because that meant she would be getting drunker.

There was a nijikai (literally, "second party") after dinner, but I chose to pass.  I was offered a ride home (which means I wouldn't have to walk back from the train station).  Furthermore, they all could stumble into school at any time today, while I had to report to the BOE bright and early.

Anyway, that brings me to now.  I'm writing emails, updating my blog, etc, all without the wonderful blessings of wireless internet. boooo...

The Godfather and Ally McBeal

This past week was unusually low-key.  Thursday was 春分の日(Vernal Equinox Day) and a national holiday.  Many Japanese people honor the day by going to temples and shrines to pray to their ancestors.  I celebrated by sleeping in and watching Ally McBeal on DVD.

Saturday morning and nearly all of Sunday was spent in the same way.  On Saturday afternoon, Dan, Sabrina, Tori, and I visited the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography in Ebisu.  One of the exhibits displayed surrealist photography, and Dan and I tried to explain "surrealism" to Tori in our limited Japanese (I think we failed).

After the museum, we headed to Ikebukuro for dinner and movies. The Godfather trilogy started at 8pm, and we left the theater at 5:45 the next morning.  I fell asleep during the third one (between 2:45 and 5:30), but I've been assured that I didn't miss much.

Things are pretty relaxed this week.  The one exception is Wednesday.  Closing ceremony, after that some Saitama JETs and I are visiting a children's home in Hidaka, after that is the end of the school year enkai.  I'm told this is the biggest drinking party of the year.  Every staff member will be there, and, luckily for me, I'm getting a ride to and from the restaurant.

卒業式

Last week Friday, I attended my first Japanese graduation.  It was enormously different from every graduation ceremony I’ve ever been to.  When I think of graduation, I think of general joy and excitement about what lies ahead.  I think of noisemakers and general rowdiness.  Last week’s ceremony contained very little of these.  The staff all wore black suits (the principal wore a coat with tails), and the students wore their uniforms.  The students marched in, and later up to the stage, with military-sharp turns and four count, 45 to 90 degree bows.  Everyone cried.  One of my co-teachers had to pause while reading the names of the students in his homeroom class to wipe his eyes.  The principal, vice-principal, and representative from the BOE all had tears running down their cheeks.  The previous class president, as representative of the graduating class, cried through the entirety of his speech and had to step away from the podium twice to compose himself.  I had difficulty understanding the speeches, so I gave up trying to understand him through sobs and watched the students react to his words.  Perhaps the image that will stay with me the longest is of the interaction between two of the “cool” graduating boys (you know the type, 15 year old boys who think they’re amazing and therefore have little need to pay attention in class except to make jokes).  One of the boys sobbed into his hands, the other (sitting directly behind him) tapped him on the shoulder and offered him a pack of tissues.  The boy in the front took one and offered the pack back, but the boy in the back shook his head and patted him on the shoulder, which just made the boy in the front cry harder.  That’s the moment I started to cry. 

The students collectively sang their class song from the chorus contest in November.  They struggled through it (even though they’ve been practicing for a week), and the second the song was over, there was a collective sob from about 75% of the students as they started crying harder.  It was crazy.

One of my students ran up to me after the ceremony with a letter in her hand.  She gave it to me, and managed to say (in Japanese) “Thank you for taking care of me” (which is a common thing to say in this situation).  She apologized for not being able to speak in English at the moment (I was impressed she could speak at all since she was crying so hard), but continued to thank me.  Then I did something essentially forbidden in Japanese culture.  I gave her a hug.  At first she tensed up as if she was thinking “what is she doing to me?” but she quickly relaxed and started crying into my shoulder.  I miss hugs.

Anyway, no event in Japan is complete without a follow-up 宴会　(enkai: dinner party).  We celebrated graduation at a Japanese-style restaurant.  Dinner was delicious and accompanied by large amounts of alcohol.  I think the most interesting question of the night has to be “Hawaii… In Hawaii… tobacco… good taste?  Good taste?”  My response was, in Japanese, “I’m not really sure, but I think they taste the same, but in Hawaii many people smoke marijuana.”  The look of shock on their faces was amazing.  They then asked me how Hawaiian beer tastes.  Anyway, I didn’t drink that much because I had to get up early the next morning.

On Saturday, I went on a trip with the office staff of my school.  Actually, I think the administrators (principal, vice-principal, and head teachers) were the only men invited, but all the female staff members were invited.  I believe this is because we went on a nature walk to see the flowers.  It was pretty amusing because the women would fall behind (looking at flowers or stopping to sample something at a booth or buying omiyage (souvenirs)), and the men would wait and smoke until we caught up.  I think this happened four or five times.  

We had lunch at a really nice restaurant.  I believe this lunch to be the most expensive lunch I’ve ever had, beating lunch in Ginza by quite a bit.  Lunch was 8000 yen ($80.80 American based on the exchange rate at 7:15 this morning).  It was delicious, but not really memorable.  They did a lot of creative things with ume (pickled plum) and tofu.  We had ume juice, some sort of cold tofu in bamboo, grass tempura, and the usual sashimi.  Overall, I felt pleasantly full after lunch, unlike usual staff meals (like Friday night) where I feel like I ate too much.  It was a good day.

Sunday was another day of soccer.  The group was significantly smaller this week (I think because of St. Patrick’s Day today), but I still think we had a good time.  I’m not as sore today, which I would like to attribute to being in better shape (but in reality we cut practice shorter).  Oh well, I can believe what I want to believe.

Children's home, soccer practice, belly-dancing, hanami, and more quality George time

Okay, so I need to update more often.  I was flipping through my photos and I realized I have not just one or two events to update you all on, but five.  Bad me.

A few weeks ago (mid-February) a group of us went to a home for children who have no parents.  It was a lot of fun.  I wanted to steal this child, but I managed to resist.  As you can tell by the other photo we tore it up (literally) and made valentine's day cards.  Quite a few people, Liz included, were afflicted with "シール病気" (sticker illness).

Last weekend was Dasai soccer practice.  The Saitama JETs get together ever other week (weather permitting) and play soccer in preparation for the big tournament in Nagano in June.  We played for about 3 hours, and I shocked myself at how much I remembered from high school.  However, I'm not quite as in shape as I was back then (the next day my JTE asked me why I was walking like an old woman).  

Friday night was excellent as well.  My friend Kara is an amazing belly dancer and she performed in a cozy little restaurant in Omiya.  The group consisted of a bunch of people I kinda knew, but not really, so it was fun to essentially get to know other JETs that I hadn't

 really talked to before.  The main exception was Albert.  Unfortunately, he had to leave early so we made plans to meet up the next day.

Saturday, lunch with Albert.  In true Tokyo fashion, we rejected Japanese food and ate at TGIF.  That reminds me, last last Friday, I went out with Liz, her friend from Australia, and a bunch of JETs.  Unfortunately, I got there late so I didn't eat anything.  I think that may have been a factor in our decision to eat there.  We met up with his hot other half for another meal (btw, they're really cute together.  Just thought I'd share).  We talked about Little Mermaid on broadway and Wicked.  I was a happy person.  Anyway, they went back to work and Albert and I ended up wandering around Yoyogi park where we stumbled upon some cherry blossoms.  We also saw some jugglers, tap dancers, and a lot of couples playing with those velcro ball things that you catch on paddles that are strapped to your hand.

After an extensive search for a tie rack in Tokyu Hands, I made my way up to Omiya for more quality time at the George.  Let me back up a week.  At soccer practice, I talked with Anna and her boyfriend (two more of the elusive "I know who you are, but I don't think I've ever actually talked to you" people), and as a result, she invited me to her birthday celebration the following week.  Okay, back to this weekend.  As it was her birthday, we all ensured there was always a drink in front of her.  However, she got back at us all by guilting us into drinking to keep up.  Luckily for me, everyone else went to the station at the same time.  I ended up catching a taxi home from my station (instead of riding my bike) and I managed to somehow rip the zipper off my jeans (Don't ask me how.  Or where the zipper is).  I also had a 50 minute long phone conversation with a roomful of drunk guys who were playing poker.  It was during this conversation that I learned that the recontracting conference in May has been cancelled.  I'm very disappointed.  :(

Which brings me to today.  As my favorite Sundays usually go, I slept in (with my bottle of water close at hand), watched a bunch of TV, and cleaned.  I think I really need to talk with my supervisor about the paint in my apartment, because the beige paint is chipping and somehow dripping purple down the walls of my bath room.  I think that's a bad sign.