So life at school has been fairly slow the last couple of weeks so i have had plenty of time to catch up on my reading and thinking. I have been reading a book called Kata. Which is about the Japanese way of doing things, more formally called Shikata. At first it was just the same old stuff i had learnt in my first 6 months here. But after spending some time thinking and talking with my teachers at school, I have learned alot of interesting things.
Before I came here, i had read many books on the general etiquette of Japan but this one tops them all. Two of the most interesting things i learnt include seating arrangement at dinners etc and office arrangement. Sasaki sensei sent several long moments explaining this to me. It depends on where the door is in a Japanese style room, to where the most important guest sits. They have these formal parties called Enkai, and this is most important when attending them. I went to one when i first got here and was sat in the middle near the door. Which i thought meant that i was the least important person. But Sasaki sensei says that they dont think like that. It is the other way, the most important people are seated in the right places and then everyone else can sit where they want. It is a big no no to sit in the wrong place.And the most important person is usually the furtherest from the door. Who knew seating could be so important?
Sasaki sensei just said that this is a very old way of thinking and that people our age dont always worry about it. Such was the case when a group of teachers from school went out for my welcome dinner. We all just sat where we wanted.
And in the office.....whoa this gets complicated. So the manager sits at the front of the room to supervise. Then the table are put in rows with them back to back. This means that everyone can see and hear what is going on. And the section manager has a desk at the top of each of these groups of desks. His assistant sits at one of the front desks. Then based on importance the rest of the team are placed at desks. So i took Sasaki sensei into our teachers room. And we looked at it and i asked questions. Turns out ours is based on homerooms. And the assistant teachers sit closest to the door. Thus the importance factor. Makes sense when u think about it.
I then asked Sasaki sensei how he knew all of this. And he said that most Japanese adults know these things but dont know why they are done like that. All the new things i learn each day just keep stacking up.
I also had a very interesting conversation with many of the teachers in the English Teacher's room at lunchtime. Apparently, they got a small bonus today because the way that their pay is calculated has changed. And the teacher with three children gets more money than anyone else because he gets about $50 a month allowance per child. Now, i dont know if this happens in Australia but i was surprised to hear them talking so freely about money. I asked Gomi sensei some questions later and found out some very interesting facts.
Here is the classic example:
Kawana Sensei is married with three children. He gets $50 extra in his pay per month for each child. He only gets this because his wife doesnt work. If she had a full time job, they wouldnt get the child allowance.
If Kawana Sensei got divorced and his wife remarried and the children lived with his wife. She is still unemployed. Her new husband would get the child subsidy and her ex-husband would still have to pay maintence. He doesnt still get the money and have to hand it over. It changes automatically.
And here is the best part, i could still be living at home with my parents at 25. My mum is unemployed and dad works full time, and i am studying or unemployed and the child allowance continues.
Gomi sensei also talked about the "working poor". Young and old people who earn less than $20,000 a year are unable to survive in Japan. And they are not eligible to get married or have children because they are too poor. AND they arent eligible for government monetary assistance. Which also means that they dont have insurance for health etc.
Another interesting thought came from a lady i met when my parents were visiting. She had been living in Japan for 30 years and was married to a Japanese. BUT had not mastered the language or even tried based on her attitude to it. She said that everyone in the apartment complex knows her and thus she doesnt need the language to buy groceries etc. That was just so strange to me. I have only been here 6 months but I have found it necessary to learn basic everyday Japanese. It is quite strange to me that she could live in a country for that long and not even attempt to learn the language. They obviously had no children as that would present a problem too. She giggled and made a joke about it and i think deep down she was embarrassed about it but still she made no effort. HOW DOES SHE FUNCTION? It must be a very lonely life.
Well that is all for now. Hope you can all understand my ramblings.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
It snowed in my city......
SNOW, SNOW, SNOW, SNOW, SNOWSo i got up and went about my morning routine. I opened the curtains just before leaving my apartment but left without opening the lace curtains. I noticed that it said that it was going to rain so i picked up my umbrella and then headed out the door. When i got outside i thought that it was raining already. Till i noticed that it was white and bigger than rain. I almost cried i was so excited. It was only very small bits to start off with but it was awesome having it fall on me as i walked.
It just so happened that this was also the day that Heath Ledger was discovered dead. So my friend Shane and i were talking about that and then as a fellow aussie we also went crazy about the snow. I spent the whole train and bus ride to school watching the snow fall and hoping that it would be thick enough for me to make a snowman. I sat and watched it snow all morning and took more photos than i could count with my hands and toes. I have included a couple of them. One of the teachers came outside and took the photos above this. And the best one is of when a snow flake fell on my nose just as he took the photo.
It was so exciting and hopefully will happen again in Feb, which is the coldest month here. Here's hoping.
School field (normally brown)
Sunday, January 27, 2008
The parental units come to Japan
Mum and dad came to visit me in Japan for two weeks. First we went by Shinkansen to Kyoto and Hiroshima. The above photo was taken from the Shinkansen on the way to Kyoto. So awesome. I had never seen Mt Fuji so clear before.
Our first stop was Kyoto. We went on a Kyoto tour that went to the Golden Pavillion, Kiyomizu Dera and Sanjusan Gendo( 1000 statues of kannon). We also went to Nijo Castle, which was the Shogan's castle when Kyoto was the capital of Japan. The photos above are of us at the Golden Pavillion and Kyoto from Kiyomizu Dera (Temple). The reflection on the lake at the Golden Pavillion was spectacular. We also visited a Temple that was in the movie Memoirs of a Geisha.
Then we headed by Shinkansen to Hiroshima. We spent one night in a hotel near the Peace Memorial Park. Mum and dad went to the museum which i had already seen and i had a sleep. Then we i showed them around the park. I showed them the A-bomb Dome(above right) and the Children's Memorial (above left). They both found it very moving. And much like my first visit there, it makes you think about the bombing and whether it was right or wrong. Very powerful to walk around the park.
Then it was onto an island just off of Hiroshima. It is called Miyajima. We took a private ferry over which was good cause we got to go down the river that runs through Hiroshima and feed the seagulls while on the boat. We stayed in a traditional Japanese Inn called a Ryokan. Where we slept on futons on the floor and ate in our room. They would come and lay out the meal on the table and then when we were finished they would come and put our beds out for us. There was a public bath as well which i like but the parents were too keen on. We rented bikes and rode around the island, just taking in the sghts. It was great fun and I found it so funny watching the parents riding their bikes around. I ride to the station each day so no probs for me but they were not accustomed to riding. But by the end of the day, the parents were really enjoying themselves. The other photo above was at the Ropeway, where u can go up and see other islands near Miyajima. There are meant to be monkeys up there but i have been up there twice and still not seen them. It the nicest part of the holiday cause we were just wandering around on this tiny island and enjoying the peace and quiet. The streets are very small and old Japan. So it was very nice. Tiny little shops and food stores.
The next place was Mt Fuji. We went to stay in a small town called Kawaguchiko. We went on a lake cruise and saw the reflection of Fuji san in the water. We also went up the ropeway. We couldnt get as many photos as we would have liked because the sun reflected off the snow on the top of the mountain. We went out to dinner with a friend i met on facebook who is also an Aussie and a teacher in Oz. Kaccey and her boyfriend Bernardo went to have yakiniku with us. So Korean bbq. It was so good. I love the veges and seafood part of the meal. You cook them on a bbq in the middle of the table. It was really great.
After we first arrived, i took my parents to visit my host parents from 2006. We had homemade udon noodles and tempura. It was awesome. We played two up. And i practiced my Japanese. Dad said that at one stage i was just talking in Japanese without thinking about it. So that is really great cause that was my main aim for coming here.
The photo on the right is in Tatebayashi. My grandparents had a rotary exchange student 30 years ago from Japan, Keiko. And i have spent some time with her since coming here. So i took mum and dad to visit her. Mum and Keiko hadnt seen each other in 30 years so it was really nice. We had sushi and salad and fried chicken. It was a really nice afternoon. The most special part was the cakes that Keiko got. Both with 'Welcome to Japan' on them. It was so special. Plus it has taken a little while for Keiko's kids to become less shy with me and it was good this time. They actually talked to me and smiled.
We also went on a day tour to Nikko. I had been trying to get there for 6 months. And there was snow an it was so pretty. I had a great time taking lots of photos. The lunch we had was part of the tour and it had many things from the Nikko region in it. We went to Kegon Waterfall and a temple and shrine. Also I got to make my first snow angel and had a snow fight with my dad. He got me good in the face and i got him in the side of the face and it went in his ear. Very fun.
We also visited my school, which was good cause now they know what i am talking about. And mum and dad went on a Tokyo tour while i went to work. And we just explored around my station. We went to dinner with my friend Kim at the King George Pub in Omiya (dad latched onto this name cause it rolls off your tongue - Omiya. He said it was his fav city. So crazy). I wanted my parents to try the burger at the George. And my friends Ryohei and Shane came over for some home cooked spag bolo made by my mum. We watched this crazy Japanese game show....which there are plenty of.
It was really nice to have them here and show them my life here. I was really sad when they left. It was nice to have the company but also to just have my parents here to have fun with.
Oh and they bought me an oven so now i can cook real food. YEAH!!!Roasts...........
Here are the links to my photos. Check them out........especially the snow ones......so awesome.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=37011&l=d1a82&id=684506290
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=37190&l=d31fa&id=684506290
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=37798&l=52f5e&id=684506290
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=37802&l=cae05&id=684506290
An eventful December in Japan
Bollywood nightDecember was filled with many different activities. Seeing autumn leaves for the first time, playing soccer for the first time ever, a fire drill and an xmas party with my English club at school. Outside of school, i went to an xmas party at an orphanage, Bollywood fundraiser, saw my first blimp, tried the mega tamago (egg) and mega tomato burgers at maccas, visited a kindie as santa's elf with two other ALTs and attended xmas lunch with my friend Kim and her English class.
WHOA!!!!!!!! So busy. The highlight was of course the autumn leaves. Coming from Alice Springs and never having seen the leaves change like that, this was a very special experience for me. I went to the Green Centre, which is a big park near my house and i just wandered around taking photos of the leaves. I know I know, sounds so strange taking photos of leaves. BUT once you see the photos u will understand. The colours were so awesome, pink, orange, red and golden. It was amazing.
Soccer for the first time was interesting. So much fun but not as fun as touch rugby. I felt abit out of place cause didnt really know the rules or positions but i guess that will come with time. It was a fun afternoon of mucking around with mates and was topped off with a starbucks with my aussie mate Shane. Who couldnt play the whole game cause he got taken out by one of the other players and I (desert girl) was freezing so we went to warm up.
Xmas party with my English club students was really great. They came along to the language lab and made an xmas poster. Then they got to pick either Mrs Claus or Santa and dress up and i took photos of them to put on their poster. Sounds really juvenile for year 12s but they loved it. It was all in English and we listened to xmas carols and it was fun.
The orphanage was outstanding. It was so hard to leave them by the end of the day. They were abit shy to start off with. But each of us brought something for them to do. I brought balloons and bubbles. I spent about an hour blowing them all up and the kids ran around with them. Such simple things amuse little kids. The bubbles were messy but the kids loved them. It was great fun watching them chase the bubbles around the room. We coloured in pictures and had piggy back races. It was a fun afternoon. And by the end of the afternoon one young boy came up to me and sat on my lap with a book. He just wanted a cuddle while he looked at the photos. And eventually after the piggy back races, he fell asleep. It reminded me of when my friend's little boy used to do that when i was in Oz. They go all floppy after awhile but my friend Tiff and I both had kids fall asleep on us. So while everyone was going crazy, we just sat back and watched. I think my boy just liked being cuddled. And it was nice because i miss my friends' kids very much.
My first blimp was just floating around one arvo when i was coming home from the shops. I thought maybe it was some new type of airplane the Japanese had invented. Cause there were windows like a plane on it. U know for passengers. Anyway, i went up to the 10th floor of my building and waited till it got closer. It was huge and so cool. Still unaware of what it was I posted the photos on facebook and then a mate told me what it was. May not sound exciting to you but it was the strangest shape and so odd to just see it floating along. Not something i would see in Alice Springs or in Adelaide where i went to uni.
Next came my trip to Maccas with one of my year 12 students. Naomi spends many afternoons with me when classes end. She practices her English (which is awesome btw) and i practice my Japanese. She also helps me with my Japanese course that i am doing. Sometimes i have questions and she is always helpful. Anyway, here in Japan, you get your vouchers for things on your mobile phone. No paper ones here. Quite a good idea i think. So she set it all up on my phone and off we went to try these new burgers they had. They are based on the mega mac but one has egg in it and the other tomato. Kinda an extra thing to it. So we got one of each and cut them in half so we could both try them. I liked the tomato one the best. But i felt so sick afterwards. Mega mac are just too big for me. And i also ate large fries. No thanks to maccas again. Although the sauce on the burgers was so good and different to Oz.
The three ALTs (Assistant Language Teachers) from my city went to an kindie to give out xmas pressies. Mario and i were the elves and George played santa. After presents, the kids could ask santa san (polite way of addressing someone is san) some questions. They asked things like how do u fly and things like that. The best was when they asked George what santa's fav food is. Last year George said bacon. But this year Santa liked apples. It was so funny.
And my final activity in December was attending an xmas party at my friend Kim's house. Her English students came as well. There was turkey and veges and there was a Japanese twist to it as well. We had sushi and some special treats from Hokkaido - smoked cockles.
A good end to a very tough six months in Japan.
Here are the links to my photos
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