hey all,
Another pretty decent week. Classes went ok, and my part time job was more fun than the first time. The guy who gave it to me said that the first day is always the best, and from there it gets worse, but I thought the second day involved more teaching, better class structure, etc. The students are good too, and I guess they like my teaching style.
Today, I've given my room a savage cleaning. Yes, savage. Piles of receipts from March and April til now, printouts, hiking maps, hand-drawn road maps and train schedules, empty boxes for my phone, clippers, and electric toothbrush, American pennies, and underneath it all, dust bunnies. Clothes, both clean and dirty, littered the floor, and my school bag and climbing bag took up whatever floor space wasn't already occupied.
So the receipts and empty boxes have been pitched, hiking maps stored, and clothes sorted. There's not really anywhere to put the school bag and climbing bag, but now that the clothes are where they should be, I can walk instead of hopping from clear area to clear area. I even broke out the vacuum.
At the moment, Michi and I are planning what to do today. Possibly indoor rock climbing, but we're going outdoors tomorrow with 4 outdoor club members, and I don't want to be too worn out for that. We were going to have lunch with a friend of hers, but that has fallen through, so I'm thinking lunch and a study session afterwards.
The trip tomorrow should be pretty good. We're heading over to Koutakuji, which is halfway between Odawara and Tokyo, and actually quite near Hon-Atsugi (where I went on the leech hike and saw the dragons burned).
Cheers,
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Baby!?!?!
hey all,
No, I'm not having a baby. Michi is not pregnant, and we're not setting any dates for marriage. But during our dinner and movie date, the question did come up: don't you want kids?
The question raises all sorts of qualms for me. Delving into my family's history, kids have tended to get shafted by their fathers, at least on my father's side of the family. My father's father's father (paternal grandfather's father, if that makes it any simpler), was killed in a street robbery when my paternal grandfather was quite young. He became a heavy drinker later in life, and my father, the oldest of 5, took the brunt of his drunken violence.
My own father never drank, but his temper was no less scary to a child, and I remember being angry at him and afraid of him as a child, and even into my twenties. Following an episode I don't care to recount right now, I gradually cut him out of my life.
As if going through puberty were not trial enough, my parents began a lengthy, tumultuous divorce procedure when I was around 12-13 years old. My parents had been fighting for years, but with the divorce it became a tug of war over me and my brother.
That is my experience with fatherhood. Why would I want to inflict something like that on my hypothetical children? Obviously, I am not my father, nor his father or any of the fathers in my mother's family. I can tell myself that I am not doomed to make the same mistakes, but even thinking about the divorce or some other painful experience from my childhood is enough to start the tears flowing, with promises never to let that happen to my own children; the only sure way being never to have any children.
Many of the women in my life have told me that they sense a great kindness in me, from my mother and Michi, friends, and co-workers, to sometimes random strangers. Personally, I feel like Wolverine or the Hulk: capable of kindness, but with an inherent savage rage lurking in the background. Only the wish to be different from my father keeping the violence in check. Melodramatic or cliched, maybe, but that's how I feel. Can a person like that really raise a child without devastating emotional scars, or make a relationship last?
I have been debating this with myself since my teens, to no resolution. Sometimes I think about what I'll do with my own children, forgetting that just a few weeks, days or hours earlier I had decided never to have any. Of course, having kids (in the current socially accepted sense) goes together with marriage, and I've been debating that too for over a decade. The majority of my relationships have been so short-lived, or at least reared major problems early enough that I've been believing that I'd be alone forever.
Maybe in some sense, I've been believing that I don't deserve love or happiness, that I'm incapable of giving that to others. Do I believe any different now? Maybe not all the time, but I'm trying.
Needless to say, the question has brought about a lot of self-reflection.
Anyway, the date was really good. We made gyoza, soup, and sabayon, and watched Zatouichi, about a blind swordsman who wanders around helping peasants in need.
No, I'm not having a baby. Michi is not pregnant, and we're not setting any dates for marriage. But during our dinner and movie date, the question did come up: don't you want kids?
The question raises all sorts of qualms for me. Delving into my family's history, kids have tended to get shafted by their fathers, at least on my father's side of the family. My father's father's father (paternal grandfather's father, if that makes it any simpler), was killed in a street robbery when my paternal grandfather was quite young. He became a heavy drinker later in life, and my father, the oldest of 5, took the brunt of his drunken violence.
My own father never drank, but his temper was no less scary to a child, and I remember being angry at him and afraid of him as a child, and even into my twenties. Following an episode I don't care to recount right now, I gradually cut him out of my life.
As if going through puberty were not trial enough, my parents began a lengthy, tumultuous divorce procedure when I was around 12-13 years old. My parents had been fighting for years, but with the divorce it became a tug of war over me and my brother.
That is my experience with fatherhood. Why would I want to inflict something like that on my hypothetical children? Obviously, I am not my father, nor his father or any of the fathers in my mother's family. I can tell myself that I am not doomed to make the same mistakes, but even thinking about the divorce or some other painful experience from my childhood is enough to start the tears flowing, with promises never to let that happen to my own children; the only sure way being never to have any children.
Many of the women in my life have told me that they sense a great kindness in me, from my mother and Michi, friends, and co-workers, to sometimes random strangers. Personally, I feel like Wolverine or the Hulk: capable of kindness, but with an inherent savage rage lurking in the background. Only the wish to be different from my father keeping the violence in check. Melodramatic or cliched, maybe, but that's how I feel. Can a person like that really raise a child without devastating emotional scars, or make a relationship last?
I have been debating this with myself since my teens, to no resolution. Sometimes I think about what I'll do with my own children, forgetting that just a few weeks, days or hours earlier I had decided never to have any. Of course, having kids (in the current socially accepted sense) goes together with marriage, and I've been debating that too for over a decade. The majority of my relationships have been so short-lived, or at least reared major problems early enough that I've been believing that I'd be alone forever.
Maybe in some sense, I've been believing that I don't deserve love or happiness, that I'm incapable of giving that to others. Do I believe any different now? Maybe not all the time, but I'm trying.
Needless to say, the question has brought about a lot of self-reflection.
Anyway, the date was really good. We made gyoza, soup, and sabayon, and watched Zatouichi, about a blind swordsman who wanders around helping peasants in need.
"We feel that to reveal embarrassing or private things, we have given someone something, that, like a primitive person fearing that a photographer will steal his soul, we identify our secrets, our past and their blotches, with our identity, that revealing our habits or losses or deeds somehow makes one less of oneself."
~ David Eggers, A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius
Cheers,
~ David Eggers, A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius
Cheers,
Friday, October 23, 2009
School and Weekend
hey all,
So this week has gone relatively well. Not an incredible amount stuff going on at work, because my junior high school had their mid term examinations, so no classes for a few days. I helped out by making some tapes for the teachers to play during the listening portion of the tests, but other than that, I've been studying kanji, making flashcards, and reading.
I taught at the elementary school today, and this time they didn't try to steal my bike, which was nice. Lessons went pretty well, but I find I'm usually tired by the time Friday rolls around, which is kinda sad because I'd like to show my elementary classes a little more energy.
The big news is that I started a part time job yesterday at a small eikaiwa (English conversation school). One of my fellow ALT's decided to take a break from doing lessons on Thursdays, so he needed to find a replacement and offered the position to me. Right now, it's just Thursday evenings for a couple hours, but these kind of places have high turn over rates, so if I stick with it, I might get to take over more days. There is a lot more one-on-one teaching, since you're only dealing with 1 or 2 students at a time, and at least the first day was pretty fun. They wanted me to work weekends as well, but I refused. I should have asked if they would pay $60/hr for that time, but that would have amounted to refusing to work during the weekends anyway. No way am I giving up Michi-time or rock climbing time.
Speaking of which, Michi and I are doing a dinner and movie thing tomorrow: cooking dinner together, then watching a samurai movie that she recommended. Maybe Sunday we'll take a day trip to Nikko to see the autumn leaves, which are supposed to be spectacular.
Tonight I actually went to an outdoor club social night, and met up with several of the climbing members. Since I've started dating Michi, I almost feel like I've been neglecting the climbers in the club. Michi and I have gone climbing by ourselves maybe twice, and since we've been going out, I've only organized 2 trips for the club. So I'm thinking about organizing an outdoor climbing trip for the club next Saturday, but not sure where yet. Maybe Yugawara again, but as a day trip. I'd kinda like to do somewhere in Okutama, but it seems like the transportation is just not as convenient as for Yugawara.
That's all for now.
Cheers,
So this week has gone relatively well. Not an incredible amount stuff going on at work, because my junior high school had their mid term examinations, so no classes for a few days. I helped out by making some tapes for the teachers to play during the listening portion of the tests, but other than that, I've been studying kanji, making flashcards, and reading.
I taught at the elementary school today, and this time they didn't try to steal my bike, which was nice. Lessons went pretty well, but I find I'm usually tired by the time Friday rolls around, which is kinda sad because I'd like to show my elementary classes a little more energy.
The big news is that I started a part time job yesterday at a small eikaiwa (English conversation school). One of my fellow ALT's decided to take a break from doing lessons on Thursdays, so he needed to find a replacement and offered the position to me. Right now, it's just Thursday evenings for a couple hours, but these kind of places have high turn over rates, so if I stick with it, I might get to take over more days. There is a lot more one-on-one teaching, since you're only dealing with 1 or 2 students at a time, and at least the first day was pretty fun. They wanted me to work weekends as well, but I refused. I should have asked if they would pay $60/hr for that time, but that would have amounted to refusing to work during the weekends anyway. No way am I giving up Michi-time or rock climbing time.
Speaking of which, Michi and I are doing a dinner and movie thing tomorrow: cooking dinner together, then watching a samurai movie that she recommended. Maybe Sunday we'll take a day trip to Nikko to see the autumn leaves, which are supposed to be spectacular.
Tonight I actually went to an outdoor club social night, and met up with several of the climbing members. Since I've started dating Michi, I almost feel like I've been neglecting the climbers in the club. Michi and I have gone climbing by ourselves maybe twice, and since we've been going out, I've only organized 2 trips for the club. So I'm thinking about organizing an outdoor climbing trip for the club next Saturday, but not sure where yet. Maybe Yugawara again, but as a day trip. I'd kinda like to do somewhere in Okutama, but it seems like the transportation is just not as convenient as for Yugawara.
That's all for now.
Cheers,
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
7 Months
hey all,
So this past weekend marked the 7 months point of my stay in Japan. I feel like I've slowed down my pace of taking pics of food, because I often eat the same things as I've been eating for the last couple months. Also, I feel a little awkward taking pics of my meals with Michi, since that kinda takes us out of the moment, and I think highlights the fact that I'm a foreigner here, who might someday return to the US.
So this past weekend marked the 7 months point of my stay in Japan. I feel like I've slowed down my pace of taking pics of food, because I often eat the same things as I've been eating for the last couple months. Also, I feel a little awkward taking pics of my meals with Michi, since that kinda takes us out of the moment, and I think highlights the fact that I'm a foreigner here, who might someday return to the US.
Monday, October 19, 2009
How to Spend A Weekend, Part 2
hey all,
Michi and I did in fact go on our rock climbing trip together, and it went about as well as it could go, which is to say it was amazingly fantastic.
We met up at the train station, and I gave her a Casablanca lily as a make-up present. Made it over to Yugawara, and headed over to Maku-yama koen, which is where the rock climbing is. We spent almost the entire day there, and decided to leave just as it was starting to rain. Other than the rain as we were leaving, the weather was really good: a little on the cold side and a little cloudy, but when you're rock climbing, both those are advantages. We got to climb some routes we hadn't tried before, and also visited some ones we had tried on the outdoor club trip to Yugawara this past September.
The hotel we stayed in was incredible. Traditionally dressed Japanese hostesses greeted us and guided us to the room, and we took an hour long bath in the public onsens that the hotel had. After soaking away some of the soreness from climbing all day, we were treated to a tasty multi-course Japanese meal in our own room: first 5 or so dishes of appetizers, miso soup that was cooked right at our table, rice, ume-shu (plum liquor), several types of fish, etc. And finally the dessert: some sweet tofu with fruits.
For Sunday, I had originally thought we might go hiking, but we were still feeling really good, so after another delicious Japanese meal in the morning, we went back to the park and climbed all day Sunday too. Re-visited a few sites from the first trip there, and tried some new ones. The weather was warmer and sunnier than Saturday, so we tried to climb in the shade as much as possible.
I've been teaching Michi how to lead climb, so she practiced that on some easy routes, and she is really good at coaxing me into climbing routes that are just outside my comfort range, so we're both improving quite a bit. I'm consistently climbing most 5.10's and even doing passable on some 5.11's. For reference, 5.12 is widely considered the cut off between professional rock climbers and amateurs.
Please just listen to "Woman From Tokyo" by Deep Purple or "Such Great Heights" by Postal Service so I don't have to get all gushy here.
Cheers,
Michi and I did in fact go on our rock climbing trip together, and it went about as well as it could go, which is to say it was amazingly fantastic.
We met up at the train station, and I gave her a Casablanca lily as a make-up present. Made it over to Yugawara, and headed over to Maku-yama koen, which is where the rock climbing is. We spent almost the entire day there, and decided to leave just as it was starting to rain. Other than the rain as we were leaving, the weather was really good: a little on the cold side and a little cloudy, but when you're rock climbing, both those are advantages. We got to climb some routes we hadn't tried before, and also visited some ones we had tried on the outdoor club trip to Yugawara this past September.
The hotel we stayed in was incredible. Traditionally dressed Japanese hostesses greeted us and guided us to the room, and we took an hour long bath in the public onsens that the hotel had. After soaking away some of the soreness from climbing all day, we were treated to a tasty multi-course Japanese meal in our own room: first 5 or so dishes of appetizers, miso soup that was cooked right at our table, rice, ume-shu (plum liquor), several types of fish, etc. And finally the dessert: some sweet tofu with fruits.
For Sunday, I had originally thought we might go hiking, but we were still feeling really good, so after another delicious Japanese meal in the morning, we went back to the park and climbed all day Sunday too. Re-visited a few sites from the first trip there, and tried some new ones. The weather was warmer and sunnier than Saturday, so we tried to climb in the shade as much as possible.
I've been teaching Michi how to lead climb, so she practiced that on some easy routes, and she is really good at coaxing me into climbing routes that are just outside my comfort range, so we're both improving quite a bit. I'm consistently climbing most 5.10's and even doing passable on some 5.11's. For reference, 5.12 is widely considered the cut off between professional rock climbers and amateurs.
Please just listen to "Woman From Tokyo" by Deep Purple or "Such Great Heights" by Postal Service so I don't have to get all gushy here.
Cheers,
Friday, October 16, 2009
What a Day
hey all,
So keeping in my tradition of making people pissed off at me before trips, Michi and I got in a fight last night.
So I spent most of today wondering whether we'd still be doing our rock climbing trip. At the moment, we've sent a few emails back and forth and it looks like we're still on.
My classes at the elementary school went really well today, and overall I was feeling good as I left work, only to discover that my bike was missing from the school parking lot. Where did it go? Who took it? Did someone just move it to a different spot? I explained what I thought to a secretary, who passed on word to a teacher, until finally the principal and vice-principal were involved in wondering what could have happened to my bike.
I spent a good 40 minutes describing the bike and going over security footage, and was about to phone The Company, when one of the teachers exclaimed "Atta!" which is Japanese for "It's here." And there it was, magically returned to the spot where I left it.
Apparently, the school owns a number of bikes. These bikes apparently use the same type of key as mine, and somehow they were able to move it to some storage place. Basically, they tried to steal my bike. Even if the bikes used the same type of key, one would think that different keys would not work on different bikes. So I bought another lock on the way home: if they want to steal my bike next week, they'll need a hacksaw.
Cheers,
So keeping in my tradition of making people pissed off at me before trips, Michi and I got in a fight last night.
So I spent most of today wondering whether we'd still be doing our rock climbing trip. At the moment, we've sent a few emails back and forth and it looks like we're still on.
My classes at the elementary school went really well today, and overall I was feeling good as I left work, only to discover that my bike was missing from the school parking lot. Where did it go? Who took it? Did someone just move it to a different spot? I explained what I thought to a secretary, who passed on word to a teacher, until finally the principal and vice-principal were involved in wondering what could have happened to my bike.
I spent a good 40 minutes describing the bike and going over security footage, and was about to phone The Company, when one of the teachers exclaimed "Atta!" which is Japanese for "It's here." And there it was, magically returned to the spot where I left it.
Apparently, the school owns a number of bikes. These bikes apparently use the same type of key as mine, and somehow they were able to move it to some storage place. Basically, they tried to steal my bike. Even if the bikes used the same type of key, one would think that different keys would not work on different bikes. So I bought another lock on the way home: if they want to steal my bike next week, they'll need a hacksaw.
Cheers,
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Exception
hey all,
It just occurred to me that there is in fact a very famous exception to the white/other male-Asian female combo: Bruce Lee and his white wife.
Pretty decent day at school today: actually taught 3 classes. My second year students are banned from school thanks to flu, and my 1st year teacher hasn't said a word to me in over a month, so that leaves me just 3rd year classes to teach. Thank god I teach at the elementary school tomorrow: at least they give me a consistent 4 classes each time.
Cheers,
It just occurred to me that there is in fact a very famous exception to the white/other male-Asian female combo: Bruce Lee and his white wife.
Pretty decent day at school today: actually taught 3 classes. My second year students are banned from school thanks to flu, and my 1st year teacher hasn't said a word to me in over a month, so that leaves me just 3rd year classes to teach. Thank god I teach at the elementary school tomorrow: at least they give me a consistent 4 classes each time.
Cheers,
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Time Passing Slowly and Some Reflections
hey all,
As I'm sure you're all familiar with, when you have something you're looking forward to in the near future, time seems to slow down, making the anticipated event seem farther and farther away. For me, that event is what I've began thinking of as my "big weekend" with Michi. Appropriately, things have inexplicably slowed down a bit at work, so that I've recently only been teaching two classes per day (average used to be around 4), which leaves me 6 hours of free time....in which I have nothing to do except think about this weekend. I've taken to walking around the school grounds rather than sit at my desk.
Today I bought another 6 sets of flashcards (another 666 cards in total: 111 in each set), as I've filled up all my other ones: some 333 with kanji, 666 with words, and 222 with verb conjugations. Both the words and kanji actually over- and under-estimate how many I know: I might forget a couple kanji or words that I've written down, but there are still kanji that I can read that I haven't entered, and words that I know that I haven't written down yet.
Requests to The Company for information regarding possible positions next year have been disappointing. No, they probably don't have any office positions available. They might have part-time elementary school positions available in Tokyo, but that means getting at least 1 other job just to make the same amount of money as I do now: same pay for much more hassle. Boo.
In case anyone has been wondering, no, I most likely will not return to the US this year. Because Michi and I have extremely limited time together, we both have taken to making plans for long vacations several months in the future. For example, this weekend we're going to Yugawara, but we're already making plans for a 3 day holiday in late November (probably spending it at her family's second house near Ogawayama), and for Christmas break (probably spending part of it in Nikko, hiking, sightseeing, and relaxing in onsen). I booked Yugawara 2.5 weeks in advance, and there were only 3 rooms left at the hotel, so yes, I'm finding it is necessary to think ahead about these things.
The weekends in between those long holidays will probably be spent the same way as the last couple have: indoor rock climbing or local 1 day climbing trips, trips to parks with lunch and dinner, hiking trips, etc. Those kinds of things are relatively easy as we can make-up our minds (usually, I suggest something, then we do what she wants) the day of or the day before.
Although Michi has lived in Japan her whole life, there are still many places that she wants to see. Since I've just arrived, there are tons of places that I've never been, so we have a huge number of possibilities for trips, and have tentatively began suggesting places we could visit next year. We both have a bit of the traveling bug.
My last girlfriend happened to be Asian (Thai), and 5 years older than me. I mentioned before that Michi was born in the year of the dragon, but I don't think that really means anything to Westerners. This is a round-about way of saying that she is 33, although one of my friends has complimented me on dating someone who looks like a 14 year old. Why is it that I'm dating another Asian girl who is 6 years older than me? I can't be that much more mature than other 26 year olds. I'd probably argue for the opposite, in fact.
In any case, somehow we get along, despite coming from different countries, growing up speaking different languages, being raised in different cultures, and even being born 6 years apart. What does any of that even mean in the face of common interests, shared likes, and compatible personalities?
As something of an aside, should you ever come to Japan, or I'd bet any Asian country, you will see tons of foreign male-Asian female couples, but almost no Asian male-foreign female couples. In my couple watching (which as a long-term single person, is something like worrying at that one sore spot on the inside of your check with your tongue: it hurts but you can't seem to leave the thing alone) I've never seen a single one. Michi and I have even talked about it, and we can't quite find a good answer as to why. I'd like to find one of these couples and take a picture of them just to prove that it does happen. What is it about the first combination that makes it so common, while the second is never seen?
Cheers,
As I'm sure you're all familiar with, when you have something you're looking forward to in the near future, time seems to slow down, making the anticipated event seem farther and farther away. For me, that event is what I've began thinking of as my "big weekend" with Michi. Appropriately, things have inexplicably slowed down a bit at work, so that I've recently only been teaching two classes per day (average used to be around 4), which leaves me 6 hours of free time....in which I have nothing to do except think about this weekend. I've taken to walking around the school grounds rather than sit at my desk.
Today I bought another 6 sets of flashcards (another 666 cards in total: 111 in each set), as I've filled up all my other ones: some 333 with kanji, 666 with words, and 222 with verb conjugations. Both the words and kanji actually over- and under-estimate how many I know: I might forget a couple kanji or words that I've written down, but there are still kanji that I can read that I haven't entered, and words that I know that I haven't written down yet.
Requests to The Company for information regarding possible positions next year have been disappointing. No, they probably don't have any office positions available. They might have part-time elementary school positions available in Tokyo, but that means getting at least 1 other job just to make the same amount of money as I do now: same pay for much more hassle. Boo.
In case anyone has been wondering, no, I most likely will not return to the US this year. Because Michi and I have extremely limited time together, we both have taken to making plans for long vacations several months in the future. For example, this weekend we're going to Yugawara, but we're already making plans for a 3 day holiday in late November (probably spending it at her family's second house near Ogawayama), and for Christmas break (probably spending part of it in Nikko, hiking, sightseeing, and relaxing in onsen). I booked Yugawara 2.5 weeks in advance, and there were only 3 rooms left at the hotel, so yes, I'm finding it is necessary to think ahead about these things.
The weekends in between those long holidays will probably be spent the same way as the last couple have: indoor rock climbing or local 1 day climbing trips, trips to parks with lunch and dinner, hiking trips, etc. Those kinds of things are relatively easy as we can make-up our minds (usually, I suggest something, then we do what she wants) the day of or the day before.
Although Michi has lived in Japan her whole life, there are still many places that she wants to see. Since I've just arrived, there are tons of places that I've never been, so we have a huge number of possibilities for trips, and have tentatively began suggesting places we could visit next year. We both have a bit of the traveling bug.
My last girlfriend happened to be Asian (Thai), and 5 years older than me. I mentioned before that Michi was born in the year of the dragon, but I don't think that really means anything to Westerners. This is a round-about way of saying that she is 33, although one of my friends has complimented me on dating someone who looks like a 14 year old. Why is it that I'm dating another Asian girl who is 6 years older than me? I can't be that much more mature than other 26 year olds. I'd probably argue for the opposite, in fact.
In any case, somehow we get along, despite coming from different countries, growing up speaking different languages, being raised in different cultures, and even being born 6 years apart. What does any of that even mean in the face of common interests, shared likes, and compatible personalities?
As something of an aside, should you ever come to Japan, or I'd bet any Asian country, you will see tons of foreign male-Asian female couples, but almost no Asian male-foreign female couples. In my couple watching (which as a long-term single person, is something like worrying at that one sore spot on the inside of your check with your tongue: it hurts but you can't seem to leave the thing alone) I've never seen a single one. Michi and I have even talked about it, and we can't quite find a good answer as to why. I'd like to find one of these couples and take a picture of them just to prove that it does happen. What is it about the first combination that makes it so common, while the second is never seen?
Cheers,
Monday, October 12, 2009
That's How You Spend a Weekend
hey all,
So this weekend was quite long and jam-packed. Saturday, Michi and I hung out for a bit, ate lunch together, and then went rock climbing at an indoor gym. Sunday, we spent the whole day at a park, and today, I organized an indoor climbing event for the outdoor club, and Michi came to that as well. So, basically, we've spent a ridiculous amount of time together this weekend. Altogether, a good warm up for our rock climbing trip next weekend. The only smoke on the horizon is the weather looks rainy.
Some pictures from the park we went to on Sunday:
Going back to the daily grind of work will be tough.
Cheers,
So this weekend was quite long and jam-packed. Saturday, Michi and I hung out for a bit, ate lunch together, and then went rock climbing at an indoor gym. Sunday, we spent the whole day at a park, and today, I organized an indoor climbing event for the outdoor club, and Michi came to that as well. So, basically, we've spent a ridiculous amount of time together this weekend. Altogether, a good warm up for our rock climbing trip next weekend. The only smoke on the horizon is the weather looks rainy.
Some pictures from the park we went to on Sunday:
Going back to the daily grind of work will be tough.
Cheers,
Wednesday, October 07, 2009
Typhoon
hey all,
Yet another typhoon is supposed to be sweeping through Japan tomorrow. School might be canceled, but I'll still have to show up.
Pretty relaxing day at work. I taught two classes, studied a little Japanese, took a nap, and talked (I couldn't believe it myself) to one of my teachers for an hour or so.
Friday I teach again at the elementary school, and Saturday Michi and I are going indoor rock climbing, just the two of us. I suggested we could see a movie that she had mentioned being interested in, but she brought up rock climbing. I think I'd marry her just for that. Monday is a holiday, so I think I might organize an outdoor rock climbing trip to somewhere in Okutama.
That's all for now.
Cheers,
Yet another typhoon is supposed to be sweeping through Japan tomorrow. School might be canceled, but I'll still have to show up.
Pretty relaxing day at work. I taught two classes, studied a little Japanese, took a nap, and talked (I couldn't believe it myself) to one of my teachers for an hour or so.
Friday I teach again at the elementary school, and Saturday Michi and I are going indoor rock climbing, just the two of us. I suggested we could see a movie that she had mentioned being interested in, but she brought up rock climbing. I think I'd marry her just for that. Monday is a holiday, so I think I might organize an outdoor rock climbing trip to somewhere in Okutama.
That's all for now.
Cheers,
Sunday, October 04, 2009
Weekend
hey all,
So my date last night went really well. We went to a park in Kichijoji Tokyo, whose local goddess is Ben-Ten, apparently a lonely goddess who likes to break up couples (according to Japanese legend, so Michi tells me). Michi and I have not broken up, but we are postponing our excursion to Yugawara. Nothing serious, just some circumstances beyond our control that I can't really get into here.
Anyway, we rented a swan boat and paddled around the lake a bit, and I gave her a drawing I had made: her climbing a rock wall in Ogawayama, with a Japanese style dragon-spirit imitating her pose behind her, and a stylized dog spirit wagging his tail at the top of the climb. Michi was born in the year of the dragon, and I was born in the year of the dog. Kinda silly and childish, but she liked it.
We walked around the lake afterwards, then had some yakitori (broiled chicken meat on skewers) at a restaurant, and went back to the park to sit by the lakeside for a couple hours. We had to say goodnight, as I had important things to do today.
Today, I did my usual indoor climbing event in Kinshicho. A couple first timers showed up, as well as some of my regulars. Fun as usual. When I first started climbing here in Japan, I felt that I was climbing really slow compared to how I used to climb, but today, I was blazing up the routes. In Ogawayama, I think I regained some of my speed and confidence. Although I have been improving steadily over the last 2 months, I feel like at first I was hesitating at crucial moments rather than just attempting a move and taking a fall if I fail. Most often a fall will help you figure out how not to do a particular area, and really isn't a big deal: after all that is why we are wearing harnesses, using ropes, and have belayers we trust in.
Overall, this weekend was great. I got to rock climb, and I got to spend a solid 5 hours with Michi. The more time we spend together, the more I like her. My friends and acquaintances know me as a really picky guy when it comes to just about everything, especially women, so I feel like this kind of experience is kind of like some kind of amazingly rare event, like being struck by lightning while reading a book about Benjamin Franklin. Wow, did that last sentence come out weird.
Cheers,
So my date last night went really well. We went to a park in Kichijoji Tokyo, whose local goddess is Ben-Ten, apparently a lonely goddess who likes to break up couples (according to Japanese legend, so Michi tells me). Michi and I have not broken up, but we are postponing our excursion to Yugawara. Nothing serious, just some circumstances beyond our control that I can't really get into here.
Anyway, we rented a swan boat and paddled around the lake a bit, and I gave her a drawing I had made: her climbing a rock wall in Ogawayama, with a Japanese style dragon-spirit imitating her pose behind her, and a stylized dog spirit wagging his tail at the top of the climb. Michi was born in the year of the dragon, and I was born in the year of the dog. Kinda silly and childish, but she liked it.
We walked around the lake afterwards, then had some yakitori (broiled chicken meat on skewers) at a restaurant, and went back to the park to sit by the lakeside for a couple hours. We had to say goodnight, as I had important things to do today.
Today, I did my usual indoor climbing event in Kinshicho. A couple first timers showed up, as well as some of my regulars. Fun as usual. When I first started climbing here in Japan, I felt that I was climbing really slow compared to how I used to climb, but today, I was blazing up the routes. In Ogawayama, I think I regained some of my speed and confidence. Although I have been improving steadily over the last 2 months, I feel like at first I was hesitating at crucial moments rather than just attempting a move and taking a fall if I fail. Most often a fall will help you figure out how not to do a particular area, and really isn't a big deal: after all that is why we are wearing harnesses, using ropes, and have belayers we trust in.
Overall, this weekend was great. I got to rock climb, and I got to spend a solid 5 hours with Michi. The more time we spend together, the more I like her. My friends and acquaintances know me as a really picky guy when it comes to just about everything, especially women, so I feel like this kind of experience is kind of like some kind of amazingly rare event, like being struck by lightning while reading a book about Benjamin Franklin. Wow, did that last sentence come out weird.
Cheers,
Saturday, October 03, 2009
Speech Contest
hey all,
A few days ago I was a judge at an English speech contest. The last few weeks, I've been spending a little time tutoring 2 students from my school so that they could compete. I've felt a little bad about it, because my 3rd year teacher kept asking me to stay after school and tutor them, but I always left. You see, school ends between 3:35 and 2:25, depending on whether they have 5 or 6 classes that day. I'm only scheduled until 4:15, so if my students didn't come to me before 4:15, I'd book out of there like a bat out of hell.
After all, I'm not a volunteer worker: I'm only paid to come in from 8:15-4:15, after that, I'm literally working for free. There is no overtime. I know some of my fellow ALTs did in fact choose to volunteer, but when I talked to them, I found out that they like their schools. Some of them even hope to teach at the same school next year, so great is their love.
In any case, like all Japanese events, there is a huge amount of ceremony surrounding the speech contest. I didn't describe all the speakers (and speeches), special guests, and important announcements that were made during my school's sports festival day, but the speech contest was much the same. Maybe go back and re-read my post about the first day at school, and all the bowing, speeches, "Do your best"-ing, etc surrounding the beginning of the school year.
There were about 30 students competing, and only one of them was a boy. His speech wasn't even that good, which made me feel kinda bad for him. Both of my students choked: they hadn't memorized their speeches very well, so they stumbled and paused, a lot and probably went over the 5 minute time limit. They both scored close to last place out of the 30.
Their pronunciation was ok, but my idiot of an English teacher actually insisted that we waste precious practice time working on Ls and Rs. We spent 10 minutes trying to get this poor girl to say "Europe" not "Eulope," and finally got her to do it correctly 3 times in a row, only to have her go back to "Eulope" on the very next time. I told her "Every student is going to make this mistake. We shouldn't bother with it. The judges (all ALTs) know that most Japanese people can't hear the difference between L and R." I wanted to say that even my Japanese English teachers make this mistake, but I don't think they would have appreciated that.
Tonight, Michi and I are heading to a park with a lake in Western Tokyo, and renting a small paddle boat to do the couple thing. I'm also booking a hotel room for us in Yugawara for the weekend after next, so we can relax after a hard day of climbing. Tomorrow, I've organized yet another indoor climbing session at the gym in Tokyo. Next weekend, I might host another one. Not sure yet.
Cheers,
A few days ago I was a judge at an English speech contest. The last few weeks, I've been spending a little time tutoring 2 students from my school so that they could compete. I've felt a little bad about it, because my 3rd year teacher kept asking me to stay after school and tutor them, but I always left. You see, school ends between 3:35 and 2:25, depending on whether they have 5 or 6 classes that day. I'm only scheduled until 4:15, so if my students didn't come to me before 4:15, I'd book out of there like a bat out of hell.
After all, I'm not a volunteer worker: I'm only paid to come in from 8:15-4:15, after that, I'm literally working for free. There is no overtime. I know some of my fellow ALTs did in fact choose to volunteer, but when I talked to them, I found out that they like their schools. Some of them even hope to teach at the same school next year, so great is their love.
In any case, like all Japanese events, there is a huge amount of ceremony surrounding the speech contest. I didn't describe all the speakers (and speeches), special guests, and important announcements that were made during my school's sports festival day, but the speech contest was much the same. Maybe go back and re-read my post about the first day at school, and all the bowing, speeches, "Do your best"-ing, etc surrounding the beginning of the school year.
There were about 30 students competing, and only one of them was a boy. His speech wasn't even that good, which made me feel kinda bad for him. Both of my students choked: they hadn't memorized their speeches very well, so they stumbled and paused, a lot and probably went over the 5 minute time limit. They both scored close to last place out of the 30.
Their pronunciation was ok, but my idiot of an English teacher actually insisted that we waste precious practice time working on Ls and Rs. We spent 10 minutes trying to get this poor girl to say "Europe" not "Eulope," and finally got her to do it correctly 3 times in a row, only to have her go back to "Eulope" on the very next time. I told her "Every student is going to make this mistake. We shouldn't bother with it. The judges (all ALTs) know that most Japanese people can't hear the difference between L and R." I wanted to say that even my Japanese English teachers make this mistake, but I don't think they would have appreciated that.
Tonight, Michi and I are heading to a park with a lake in Western Tokyo, and renting a small paddle boat to do the couple thing. I'm also booking a hotel room for us in Yugawara for the weekend after next, so we can relax after a hard day of climbing. Tomorrow, I've organized yet another indoor climbing session at the gym in Tokyo. Next weekend, I might host another one. Not sure yet.
Cheers,
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