Advance Warning - I'm letting off steam here!

I wrote this just after graduation but that's supposed to be a happy day so I'm posting it early!

Here are a few things that make it hard to work in Japan.

* Everyone stays really, really late.
* Everyone goes to work even when they are really sick.
* Constructive criticism and feedback doesn’t seem to exist.
* You are only supposed to say what is expected of you, not how you feel.

Don’t get me wrong, I love my job here but I sometimes wish that the politics of the workplace weren’t so hard to follow. It’s a bit like driving down the road at night when your lights aren’t working. Maybe I’m just stuck in the “Western” way but it makes much more sense! For example:

* I work hard from 8 to 5 and then I want to go home. When I have finished my work and there is nothing for me to do I don’t want to sit and “look busy”, I want to go and clean my house, cook dinner or see friends.

* When I am sick I want to curl up in my pj’s on the sofa until I get better. I’m not talking about a little headache but when you can’t talk or breathe, when your throat hurts, your nose is running, you have earache and can’t walk 5 steps without getting dizzy, then I would like to have that day off and not feel bad about it.

* If I make a lesson plan or have an idea that the teachers don’t like I wish they would just tell me. I’m not going to throw myself off a bridge because you didn’t like my ideas!

* Which one do you think I say?

“Good morning. I’m fine thanks, how about you?”
“Good morning. No, I’m not very genki today because I really love working here but I just seem to be having a crisis of confidence right now. Let’s all go for a crazy road trip next weekend and tell our life stories around a camp fire.”

Sorry for the rant, the good days far exceed the bad but today just happens to be one of the latter.

A Good Book!

I have just started reading Philip Pullman’s Dark Materials trilogy. I bought the books at home a few years ago but never had chance to read them before I left. I am really enjoying the books and I have to agree with what Phil himself said

"I've been surprised by how little criticism I've got. Harry Potter's been taking all the flak… Meanwhile, I've been flying under the radar, saying things that are far more subversive than anything poor old Harry has said. My books are about killing God."

Here’s a little trivia for any Welsh peeps reading this. Philip Pullman was educated at Ysgol Ardudwy school in Harlech, Gwynedd! I’ve been there!

Just one thing though. Why do the Americans have to change everything?
The Philosophers Stone became The Sorcerers Stone
Northern Lights became The Golden Compass
Why?

Crazy Crimes

Japan is a safe country. I have never felt safer but sometimes they get their fair share of crazy, random crimes that seem so out of place.

I can’t seem to read the news lately without something awful happening and it always has to be done in a very Japanese way (no one gets a quick death here it’s all about killing your mother, cutting her head off, putting the head in a bag, going bowling then going to the police station - true story!)

The kids seem most at risk. I can’t go a week without reading a report about how some tired mother decided to kill her kids. Usually they throw the kids off the roof of a building then jump over themselves – why?!

To keep up with the latest in Japan http://www.japantoday.com/

Busy Bee!

Up at 6:45
Catch the bus at 7:45
Arrive at elementary school 8:15
Classes begin at 8:40
4 classes – 2 of which are watched by members of the BOE
Classes end at 12:25
Catch the bus at 12:45
Arrive at high school 1:45
Interviews begin 2:00
Interviews and discussion finish 4:30
Bed 5:00 – I wish!

This is what happens when you have a random elementary day plus an open interview at your school to choose two students to study in America for a year.

My teachers wanted me to perform the English part of the interview and give the students a mark out of five for their performance. I knew it wasn’t completely fair as the first girl we interviewed always speaks to me after class and we talk about the most random things from Oasis to Hugh Grant. However, her nerves got the better of her in the interview and her English wasn’t good. I decided to give everyone two separate grades based on performance in the interview and their effort to speak English outside the classroom. Hopefully they will take it into account!

33 teeth now!

I love my dentist in Japan. Today I had one of wisdom teeth taken out and I didn’t feel a thing! I am such a baby at the dentist after the butcher I had in Chasetown but she knows me now and as long as I have travel cat with me I’m fine (don’t ask).

After she’d finished we asked to keep the tooth and she was a little confused so Dawn and I explained about the tooth fairy. She was intrigued and I found out that in Japan they throw the baby’s bottom teeth on the roof and bury the upper teeth in the hope that the new set will grow straight. She gave me painkillers and special mouthwash to use for the rest of the week. All of that cost me a grand total of 13 pounds! I am really going to miss Japanese health insurance when I leave.

20 minutes later I was eating curry for lunch as if nothing had happened!

Valentine's Day

Valentine’s Day in Japan is a golden time for the chocolate, cookie and cake sellers. However it is only the girls that shop for this day. Only the girls do the giving on Valentine’s Day in Japan and (aswell as giving chocolates or cakes to the boys they have in their sights) there are also a whole range of tomo-chocs (for friends) and giri-chocs (obligation chocolates) that are supposed to be given to the people they work with.

The politics of a Japanese workplace are so complex and often down right mind boggling so I won’t go into it!

Working in junior high schools for two years meant that Valentine’s Day wasn’t a big deal because the students weren’t allowed any sweets in school. At high school however things are a little more relaxed and the sweets were in full flow.

There was a steady stream of giggling girls at the staff room door waiting to give chocolates to their favourite teachers and, in some cases, that teacher was me – yay!

Here is what my desk looked like by lunch time

so much for my diet :(

The Frozen Waterfalls

We had heard all about the frozen waterfalls near Aso but never had the chance to go…….until today! I won’t bother boring you with the details of how we drove out there, played in the snow, took lots of pictures, ate lunch and went home (oops I just did!) Enjoy my favourite photos of the day…

We don't get snow in the city so we were excited to be driving towards it!

The falls were impressive from a distance....

.....and close up!Dawn (from Hawaii) was excited to touch snow for only the second time in her life!

Group Society

Today was Marathon day at school and no, I didn’t run! I would like to get a little fitter before I embarrass myself in front of 1000 students and teachers.

The boys had a 12km run while the girls did 6.5km!

I would always try and be absent when we had cross country at school so I was quite content to act as cheerleader today on the home stretch (actually they had to run past that part 3-4 times before finishing so I got to see everyone over and over again).

It was so sweet to see the kids struggling and then pick up a little as I started jumping up and down and urging them on in Japanese and English. A few of them were embarrassed but most of them had smiles on their faces and kept shouting things like “I don’t like running”, “No more” and “Stop now please!”

One of the things I love about Japan is the group culture. It doesn’t happen all of the time but in the schools you see kids working together in a way that just wouldn’t happen at home. One of the first year boys at my school is very large. Even though I’ve never seen anyone be mean to him he never has a huge group of friends around him.

I was quite worried today when I realised that his size wasn’t going to get him out of the 12km run even though most of the girls had over taken him on the second lap. After a few kilometers a teacher started to run with him to help him out and every time he went passed me I would cheer him on just like the others.

He was always going to be the last to finish and by the time he came to the last lap most of the other kids were well rested and lined up ready to go back to the school. I noticed the boys from his class shouting to each other and they suddenly all took off in his direction. They all joined him for the last lap and were cheering him on right until he crossed the line.

If there had been any sort of malice in it the teacher would have shooed them away which makes me believe that they really wanted to help him. I felt quite ashamed of myself as it must have been so hard for him but he still did it. I chickened out because I was worried about everyone seeing me sweaty and red-faced. Next year……..

Happy Pancake Day

All of my American friends find it hilarious that we have “Pancake Day” and don’t believe me when I tell them that right up until I came to Japan I only ever ate pancakes once a year!

I remember looking forward to it when I was little. It was the only time of year I ever saw my mother use a frying pan and I knew I had to eat whatever was for dinner (no matter how much I didn’t like it) or else I wouldn’t get any.

Well the Japan kids find it a little strange too but once I’d explained where the tradition came from they seemed interested. As a treat I was able to persuade my teacher to let me have a cooking lesson with them so we could cook and eat pancakes – English style!

They weren’t convinced about the lemon juice and sugar part and insisted on covering them with butter (yuck) but they had a lot of fun!

Teeth and Test

Despite my initial worries my dentist in Japan is the best one I’ve ever had.

Today she had some exciting news for me - I have 34 teeth!

For those that don’t know (and apparently that’s a lot of you) a normal adult is supposed to have 32 teeth! Wow – now I feel extra special : )

I passed the Japanese Language Proficiency Test Level 4 with 345 out of 400!

I don’t care what anybody says yes it is the easiest level and yes I’m sure that Tom, Dick and Harry could’ve passed after they’d been in Japan a month but

I TOOK A TEST IN JAPANESE AND I PASSED!!!!

Phil’s “Pimp n Ho” Karaoke Birthday!

When it comes to birthday celebrations Phil has the right idea. Hire out a huge karaoke room with all you can drink for a set price and go with a wacky theme.

Cake time - notice me in the back with my (apparently) scandalous skirt?!?!