Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Even Monkeys Fall
Absolutely exhausted at the moment. Lack of sleep, combined with pouring rain and a long track to my farthest school does not a happy boy make. Though I’m impressed with my bike skills; riding through the pouring rain, one handed with a wind blown umbrella, jeans soaked with rain, dodging businessmen and school children and dressed-to-impress housewives and young bachelors/bachelorettes. During my job interview, I was asked what I would bring back from Japan should I return back to America.
I’m beginning to think it’s extreme biking.
Only one class today I’m told. I have no idea what I’ll be doing with the rest of my hours here. I really prefer more work at my good schools whenever I can since it speeds up the day for me. In the meantime I generally find myself sitting around reading or typing up a blog entry. Once in awhile I try to study Japanese—I received some books and CDs for studying Japanese, but since I don’t have earphones for my computer yet, I haven’t really had the opportunity to listen to them while at work. Once I’m at home, I don’t find myself interested in studying anymore. Lately, I’ve been interested in getting a subscription to Japanesepod101.com. I don’t know if it’ll be a waste of money, but maybe it’ll help me more with studying habits. Earphones are definitely a must first.
---
Class went well. Then again, I only had one student in class today. Three teachers and one student is a little overkill, but I liked it otherwise. Teachers here in Japan have a habit of standing and being very professional with their students, and generally I play the role of an obedient assistant, standing along with the teachers unless otherwise told to sit. But with just one nervous student in my morning class, I wasn’t really out to impress anyone, or to intimidate the student any further. So I plopped myself down next to her, flashed a big, happy smile, and proceeded to ask her general questions: “What is your name?” “How old are you?” “What do you like?”
This went on for a little bit until she read her introduction speech and I read mine. Afterwards, I showed her my usual introduction pictures, mostly about food, friends, and Halloween. She had this great wide-eyed look of interest at what I was showing her, which made me happy. Shortly after our introductions, we began to learn the lyrics to Bob Dylan’s song “Blowin’ in the Wind.” Now, I never really thought I’d have to sing so much in my job, but I do it quite often these days—songs from The Carpenters, The Beatles, and John Lennon. I generally tend to like doing it, since it breaks the monotony of repeating vocabulary and sentences. Still, it was a pretty straightforward task. I had a few confused moments with the rhythm of the song—I’m not much of a Bob Dylan fan and I had really only listened to the song a handful of times. Otherwise, it went well and hopefully the student learned what she was supposed to from it.
---
Somehow today is flying by pretty quickly, despite only having one class. During lunch I decided to hang out with the students for a change and try to strike up English conversations with them. Most of them gave me confused faces; I had two girls laughing ridiculously when I was asking about their lunches. I slid away after that and headed toward a group of boys to see if my luck was any better. Thankfully an English teacher was sitting with them, so I joined her on the floor. The boys weren’t too much better about speaking English, but at least they weren’t falling over themselves laughing. But somehow they managed to disappear on me one by one and I ended up being left alone with the teacher.
The teacher suggested I head upstairs to talk to the girls (AKA: my random fan club). Apparently they were working on their play for the school festival to present to the seventh and eighth graders. I agreed to go, since I didn’t have much else to do, and walked upstairs. I quietly snuck into the room, although my entrance distracted them anyway. Their play had something to do about eating well. At what angle they were coming from, I’m not very sure. Healthy eating? Don’t starve? Don’t eat food when you’re not supposed to?
After they finished recording their play, they went straight back to eating their lunch. I tried to make simple conversations with them—“What are you eating?” “Who made it?” “What will you do this weekend?” Generally the conversations are one-sided, so it’s always a struggle to get out of the awkwardness of it. In an effort to get them comfortable speaking to me, I decided to ask them to teach me Japanese.
Usually when I ask this, I get very typical responses. “Konnichiwa” “Sayounara” “Itadakimasu”—polite greetings and expressions I already know. In a surprising move, one of the students started teaching me Japanese proverbs. Now that was interesting, I thought. First the student taught me “isseki-nichou.” She did her best to explain it, although I ended up becoming confused by her long explanation. I eventually told her to write it down so I could actually see the proverb.
Once I saw the kanji (一石二鳥) I immediately knew what she was saying. “Two birds with one stone.” I had seen this expression before in written Japanese so I told them we have a similar expression that means the same thing. I wrote it on the whiteboard in English for them and asked them to remember it. After that, they taught me another Japanese proverb.
猿も木から落ちる
saru mo ki kara ochiru
We don’t really have a very good English equivalent for this (the only thing I found in my dictionary was “Even Homer sometimes nods”), so I had to literally translate it. The saying came out to be, “Even monkeys fall from trees” which I think is suitable as it is without an English equivalent. The girls didn’t go into depth about the explanation; they probably assumed I knew what they meant when I started translating it. Still, I think the idea behind the proverb is that everyone can make mistakes. I’m not sure about the direction of the proverb though. Does it mean to watch out for mistakes? Or does it mean to not worry about mistakes?
Regardless, I think I’ll remember these from now on and appreciate the challenging Japanese words.
I’m beginning to think it’s extreme biking.
Only one class today I’m told. I have no idea what I’ll be doing with the rest of my hours here. I really prefer more work at my good schools whenever I can since it speeds up the day for me. In the meantime I generally find myself sitting around reading or typing up a blog entry. Once in awhile I try to study Japanese—I received some books and CDs for studying Japanese, but since I don’t have earphones for my computer yet, I haven’t really had the opportunity to listen to them while at work. Once I’m at home, I don’t find myself interested in studying anymore. Lately, I’ve been interested in getting a subscription to Japanesepod101.com. I don’t know if it’ll be a waste of money, but maybe it’ll help me more with studying habits. Earphones are definitely a must first.
---
Class went well. Then again, I only had one student in class today. Three teachers and one student is a little overkill, but I liked it otherwise. Teachers here in Japan have a habit of standing and being very professional with their students, and generally I play the role of an obedient assistant, standing along with the teachers unless otherwise told to sit. But with just one nervous student in my morning class, I wasn’t really out to impress anyone, or to intimidate the student any further. So I plopped myself down next to her, flashed a big, happy smile, and proceeded to ask her general questions: “What is your name?” “How old are you?” “What do you like?”
This went on for a little bit until she read her introduction speech and I read mine. Afterwards, I showed her my usual introduction pictures, mostly about food, friends, and Halloween. She had this great wide-eyed look of interest at what I was showing her, which made me happy. Shortly after our introductions, we began to learn the lyrics to Bob Dylan’s song “Blowin’ in the Wind.” Now, I never really thought I’d have to sing so much in my job, but I do it quite often these days—songs from The Carpenters, The Beatles, and John Lennon. I generally tend to like doing it, since it breaks the monotony of repeating vocabulary and sentences. Still, it was a pretty straightforward task. I had a few confused moments with the rhythm of the song—I’m not much of a Bob Dylan fan and I had really only listened to the song a handful of times. Otherwise, it went well and hopefully the student learned what she was supposed to from it.
---
Somehow today is flying by pretty quickly, despite only having one class. During lunch I decided to hang out with the students for a change and try to strike up English conversations with them. Most of them gave me confused faces; I had two girls laughing ridiculously when I was asking about their lunches. I slid away after that and headed toward a group of boys to see if my luck was any better. Thankfully an English teacher was sitting with them, so I joined her on the floor. The boys weren’t too much better about speaking English, but at least they weren’t falling over themselves laughing. But somehow they managed to disappear on me one by one and I ended up being left alone with the teacher.
The teacher suggested I head upstairs to talk to the girls (AKA: my random fan club). Apparently they were working on their play for the school festival to present to the seventh and eighth graders. I agreed to go, since I didn’t have much else to do, and walked upstairs. I quietly snuck into the room, although my entrance distracted them anyway. Their play had something to do about eating well. At what angle they were coming from, I’m not very sure. Healthy eating? Don’t starve? Don’t eat food when you’re not supposed to?
After they finished recording their play, they went straight back to eating their lunch. I tried to make simple conversations with them—“What are you eating?” “Who made it?” “What will you do this weekend?” Generally the conversations are one-sided, so it’s always a struggle to get out of the awkwardness of it. In an effort to get them comfortable speaking to me, I decided to ask them to teach me Japanese.
Usually when I ask this, I get very typical responses. “Konnichiwa” “Sayounara” “Itadakimasu”—polite greetings and expressions I already know. In a surprising move, one of the students started teaching me Japanese proverbs. Now that was interesting, I thought. First the student taught me “isseki-nichou.” She did her best to explain it, although I ended up becoming confused by her long explanation. I eventually told her to write it down so I could actually see the proverb.
Once I saw the kanji (一石二鳥) I immediately knew what she was saying. “Two birds with one stone.” I had seen this expression before in written Japanese so I told them we have a similar expression that means the same thing. I wrote it on the whiteboard in English for them and asked them to remember it. After that, they taught me another Japanese proverb.
猿も木から落ちる
saru mo ki kara ochiru
We don’t really have a very good English equivalent for this (the only thing I found in my dictionary was “Even Homer sometimes nods”), so I had to literally translate it. The saying came out to be, “Even monkeys fall from trees” which I think is suitable as it is without an English equivalent. The girls didn’t go into depth about the explanation; they probably assumed I knew what they meant when I started translating it. Still, I think the idea behind the proverb is that everyone can make mistakes. I’m not sure about the direction of the proverb though. Does it mean to watch out for mistakes? Or does it mean to not worry about mistakes?
Regardless, I think I’ll remember these from now on and appreciate the challenging Japanese words.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Unmotivated
Still haven’t really been in a writing mood lately. Not sure what’s hit me all of a sudden, but maybe it’s because nothing terribly exciting has been happening. But, I’ll do my best.
At the moment I’m at attending one of my least visited junior high schools. I’m only here for a week and afterwards I won’t be here again until another year. Kind of strange really—why not spread the days out? I feel like I’m more of a guest at the moment, on a temporary visit. Still, regardless, all the staff members here are very quiet and nice, and I really like the English teachers here so far. Calm, happy, down-to-earth people. I wouldn’t mind working here more often if I had more a say so.
Ah well.
Recently I was a judge in a speech contest. It wasn’t really my decision; I was unwillingly “nominated” by the Kyoto Board of Education. Still, I always kind of envisioned the contest as something moving and inspiring—young students trying their best to speak English fluently and proficiently, much like how I feel about Japanese.
Of course, the way you think something is and the way it actually is, are of course quite different.
The contest, for some reason, was held on a Sunday. Why a Sunday, I don’t know, but it already put a dent in my enjoyment factor. Furthermore I was fairly tired from the previous night. I had trouble sleeping and I had to wake up around 7:00. That’s more of my problem than the contest’s, but having to wake up early on a day I usually have off is never really enjoyable for anyone I think.
We had a brief meeting beforehand; everyone introduced themselves one at a time unnecessarily to people that probably wouldn’t remember who or what they do. I suppose it was all out of politeness, really. Or maybe it was more of a headcount than anything else.
We later moved towards the school gym, but briefly headed to another room nearby to discuss what our roles were as the judges. A fellow JET and I were designated to handle judging plays. Of course, that wasn’t going to happen until much later in the day—so what do we do until then?
Before anything too serious started, I greeted my base school English teachers and the English Club. I wanted to say a quick hello and to wish them all luck. For some reason I asked the whole English Club if they were nervous. Of course, only two of them were actually participating in the event. I was already aware of this before, since I helped only two students practice their speeches during our Friday club meeting. The students kind of gave me an unsure stare, and eventually a teacher commented saying that the club members were all there to support the other two.
Ah. Whoops. Oh well. My clumsiness never ceases to amaze me.
Now, the polite thing to do when you have nothing to do as a judge is to watch the other events. There were two speech recitations, a small intermission skit, and the last block being original plays. I stayed for the first recitation event, and even saw one of my students from my base school go up to recite. I gave her a big smile and hoped for the best.
She ended up making the same pronunciation mistakes she did during our practice session. I laughed on the inside—not necessarily at her (although she did say “little girl” and “little boy” in strange way), but mostly at how pointless my help had been. I can’t help anyone in a day. It takes a lot more time than an hour’s worth of English Club.
After the first recitation event was over with, it was lunchtime by then and we all decided to head out somewhere to eat. Originally we were interested in ramen, though the shop someone suggested was closed that day, so we all agreed to Indian after that. Unfortunately for me, the restaurant we went to was a little expensive—about $10 dollars a plate (which isn’t terrible—rather normal for Kyoto), but I only had about $5 dollars on me. I really didn’t want to borrow money again from the other ALTs, so I just decided to pass lunch instead.
I ended up getting a lassie (a sweet yogurt drink) and waiting for everyone to finish eating. The meal everyone had didn’t look that impressive anyway and I didn’t feel like I was missing out too much. Though afterwards, when we returned from the restaurant, I did eat my fill of leftover fruit sandwiches and snacks in the judge’s room. It satisfied me until dinner, anyway.
The play part of the contest was… interesting. There were four performances in total, each ranging from about 8-15 minutes. The first was rather impressive, just in the sheer number of people alone. A total of 40-some students arrived to perform, each having a speaking role of at least one student. With that many students, your play had to be a well-oiled machine or you were going to flop.
Needless to say, the play was a well-oiled machine. I didn’t have high hopes for a play called “The Color of English”—I immediately thought “black and terrible as the darkest night” personally—but the students ended up impressing me fairly well and they only had a few minor flaws.
The other three plays… not so impressive. Some of the English was just terrible to the point that I had no idea what was being said. I was probably the hardest judge then; my scores were very low for most of the other plays. Originally, during the competition, I felt like I needed to take the judging seriously—if you’re participating in an English-speaking competition, you need to be clear in what you say. The other performing students were incomprehensible, and to me, weren’t really fulfilling the goal that the competition was promoting.
Looking back on it now, I realize the competition wasn’t really about being able to speak English decently. Really, it was event to encourage students to speak English. Whether the students won gold or silver or bronze prizes didn’t really matter—none of it really mattered. What middle school kid is going to care about a $5 dollar trophy when they’re all grown up? Not many, I would imagine. So while I would’ve liked the students to speak more clearly, I think the next time I have an opportunity (read: forced to) judge a contest, I’ll adjust my expectations.
The boyfriend hit the nail on the head, I think.
“Those kids won’t stand a chance,” he said. He was referring to my strict teaching then, when I tutored him in Japanese. Maybe he was right in a way.
At the moment I’m at attending one of my least visited junior high schools. I’m only here for a week and afterwards I won’t be here again until another year. Kind of strange really—why not spread the days out? I feel like I’m more of a guest at the moment, on a temporary visit. Still, regardless, all the staff members here are very quiet and nice, and I really like the English teachers here so far. Calm, happy, down-to-earth people. I wouldn’t mind working here more often if I had more a say so.
Ah well.
Recently I was a judge in a speech contest. It wasn’t really my decision; I was unwillingly “nominated” by the Kyoto Board of Education. Still, I always kind of envisioned the contest as something moving and inspiring—young students trying their best to speak English fluently and proficiently, much like how I feel about Japanese.
Of course, the way you think something is and the way it actually is, are of course quite different.
The contest, for some reason, was held on a Sunday. Why a Sunday, I don’t know, but it already put a dent in my enjoyment factor. Furthermore I was fairly tired from the previous night. I had trouble sleeping and I had to wake up around 7:00. That’s more of my problem than the contest’s, but having to wake up early on a day I usually have off is never really enjoyable for anyone I think.
We had a brief meeting beforehand; everyone introduced themselves one at a time unnecessarily to people that probably wouldn’t remember who or what they do. I suppose it was all out of politeness, really. Or maybe it was more of a headcount than anything else.
We later moved towards the school gym, but briefly headed to another room nearby to discuss what our roles were as the judges. A fellow JET and I were designated to handle judging plays. Of course, that wasn’t going to happen until much later in the day—so what do we do until then?
Before anything too serious started, I greeted my base school English teachers and the English Club. I wanted to say a quick hello and to wish them all luck. For some reason I asked the whole English Club if they were nervous. Of course, only two of them were actually participating in the event. I was already aware of this before, since I helped only two students practice their speeches during our Friday club meeting. The students kind of gave me an unsure stare, and eventually a teacher commented saying that the club members were all there to support the other two.
Ah. Whoops. Oh well. My clumsiness never ceases to amaze me.
Now, the polite thing to do when you have nothing to do as a judge is to watch the other events. There were two speech recitations, a small intermission skit, and the last block being original plays. I stayed for the first recitation event, and even saw one of my students from my base school go up to recite. I gave her a big smile and hoped for the best.
She ended up making the same pronunciation mistakes she did during our practice session. I laughed on the inside—not necessarily at her (although she did say “little girl” and “little boy” in strange way), but mostly at how pointless my help had been. I can’t help anyone in a day. It takes a lot more time than an hour’s worth of English Club.
After the first recitation event was over with, it was lunchtime by then and we all decided to head out somewhere to eat. Originally we were interested in ramen, though the shop someone suggested was closed that day, so we all agreed to Indian after that. Unfortunately for me, the restaurant we went to was a little expensive—about $10 dollars a plate (which isn’t terrible—rather normal for Kyoto), but I only had about $5 dollars on me. I really didn’t want to borrow money again from the other ALTs, so I just decided to pass lunch instead.
I ended up getting a lassie (a sweet yogurt drink) and waiting for everyone to finish eating. The meal everyone had didn’t look that impressive anyway and I didn’t feel like I was missing out too much. Though afterwards, when we returned from the restaurant, I did eat my fill of leftover fruit sandwiches and snacks in the judge’s room. It satisfied me until dinner, anyway.
The play part of the contest was… interesting. There were four performances in total, each ranging from about 8-15 minutes. The first was rather impressive, just in the sheer number of people alone. A total of 40-some students arrived to perform, each having a speaking role of at least one student. With that many students, your play had to be a well-oiled machine or you were going to flop.
Needless to say, the play was a well-oiled machine. I didn’t have high hopes for a play called “The Color of English”—I immediately thought “black and terrible as the darkest night” personally—but the students ended up impressing me fairly well and they only had a few minor flaws.
The other three plays… not so impressive. Some of the English was just terrible to the point that I had no idea what was being said. I was probably the hardest judge then; my scores were very low for most of the other plays. Originally, during the competition, I felt like I needed to take the judging seriously—if you’re participating in an English-speaking competition, you need to be clear in what you say. The other performing students were incomprehensible, and to me, weren’t really fulfilling the goal that the competition was promoting.
Looking back on it now, I realize the competition wasn’t really about being able to speak English decently. Really, it was event to encourage students to speak English. Whether the students won gold or silver or bronze prizes didn’t really matter—none of it really mattered. What middle school kid is going to care about a $5 dollar trophy when they’re all grown up? Not many, I would imagine. So while I would’ve liked the students to speak more clearly, I think the next time I have an opportunity (read: forced to) judge a contest, I’ll adjust my expectations.
The boyfriend hit the nail on the head, I think.
“Those kids won’t stand a chance,” he said. He was referring to my strict teaching then, when I tutored him in Japanese. Maybe he was right in a way.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
A Quick Update
Just wanted to say that things are well at the moment. For the most part anyway.
I have Internet access now and I've been eating up all my time with that. Music, movies, chatting with friends.
Halloween went by fairly simply. We had the party, but I ended up buying mostly premade food. Custard cakes, pumpkin cake, apple juice... things like that. Overall the potluck was pretty tasty and I still feel pretty gross from everything I ate then.
Anyway, not in my writing element at the moment, but at least I'm officially back online. Keep your eyes peeled.
I have Internet access now and I've been eating up all my time with that. Music, movies, chatting with friends.
Halloween went by fairly simply. We had the party, but I ended up buying mostly premade food. Custard cakes, pumpkin cake, apple juice... things like that. Overall the potluck was pretty tasty and I still feel pretty gross from everything I ate then.
Anyway, not in my writing element at the moment, but at least I'm officially back online. Keep your eyes peeled.
Halloween Has Come
Fall appears to be here in some shape or form. Some of the leaves are gone from the trees, the nights and mornings are chilly, heaters and special autumn foods are out for sale. I’ve even broken out my winter futon blanket.
My gawd is that blanket soft. But my gawd is it ugly. I flip it over when I have it laid out, to hide the blue, green, and brown flowers some blanket designer thought was attractive. I don’t even think my grandmother would use it.
I’ve purchased my plane ticket at the convenience store, which was a little confusing at first. There’s a lot of information on that tiny stall screen! But, after some squinting and eliminating the unnecessary, I managed to find what I was looking for. Unfortunately, the price of the plane ticket went up quite a lot since I last checked it, so I’m not too thrilled with how much I had to pay. After rent, bills, and the ticket home, I’ve been left with roughly $300 until November 21. I think it’s doable for the most part—lots of eating at home, no special trips anywhere, no random purchases. Though not that I was too guilty of the last two very much; eating is usually my downfall. Still, I hope after Christmas and New Year’s I can start actually saving money again.
The Internet installer will be coming sometime in the afternoon on Friday. I’m pretty thrilled about that, although annoyingly I had to take a half-day leave just to wait around for some person to appear to check my connection. And even then the installer won’t be bringing the modem—that comes in the mail! Hopefully that will come on the same day, if there’s any luck with me then. Once things get running though, I hope to start making a few calls to friends and family through Skype back home.
Halloween is this Saturday! Still have no clue what to make and I really don’t wanna buy anything expensive. I did find Oreo cookies, but I haven’t seen chocolate pudding yet, at least where I last shopped. I may still try for the “dirt” themed dessert, but I have a strong feeling I won’t find gummy worms in Kyoto. What can you substitute for gummy worms? Hmm.
Sadly, I couldn’t fit a costume in my budget this Halloween. I wanted to go for a skeleton costume, but it was about $40 here. There’s a cute cape for sale that’s going for about $12, but I know I probably won’t be getting that. There’s a skeleton shirt that I normally wear, so I suppose I’ll wear that and dress somewhere close to what I originally wanted. (Haha)
My gawd is that blanket soft. But my gawd is it ugly. I flip it over when I have it laid out, to hide the blue, green, and brown flowers some blanket designer thought was attractive. I don’t even think my grandmother would use it.
I’ve purchased my plane ticket at the convenience store, which was a little confusing at first. There’s a lot of information on that tiny stall screen! But, after some squinting and eliminating the unnecessary, I managed to find what I was looking for. Unfortunately, the price of the plane ticket went up quite a lot since I last checked it, so I’m not too thrilled with how much I had to pay. After rent, bills, and the ticket home, I’ve been left with roughly $300 until November 21. I think it’s doable for the most part—lots of eating at home, no special trips anywhere, no random purchases. Though not that I was too guilty of the last two very much; eating is usually my downfall. Still, I hope after Christmas and New Year’s I can start actually saving money again.
The Internet installer will be coming sometime in the afternoon on Friday. I’m pretty thrilled about that, although annoyingly I had to take a half-day leave just to wait around for some person to appear to check my connection. And even then the installer won’t be bringing the modem—that comes in the mail! Hopefully that will come on the same day, if there’s any luck with me then. Once things get running though, I hope to start making a few calls to friends and family through Skype back home.
Halloween is this Saturday! Still have no clue what to make and I really don’t wanna buy anything expensive. I did find Oreo cookies, but I haven’t seen chocolate pudding yet, at least where I last shopped. I may still try for the “dirt” themed dessert, but I have a strong feeling I won’t find gummy worms in Kyoto. What can you substitute for gummy worms? Hmm.
Sadly, I couldn’t fit a costume in my budget this Halloween. I wanted to go for a skeleton costume, but it was about $40 here. There’s a cute cape for sale that’s going for about $12, but I know I probably won’t be getting that. There’s a skeleton shirt that I normally wear, so I suppose I’ll wear that and dress somewhere close to what I originally wanted. (Haha)
Seven Eleven
I’ve been trying to write lately, but I’ve found myself either unmotivated or uninterested in what I wanted to talk about. But I’m giving it another go… !
Things have been going okay, although I ran into a rough period for a day or two. Recently, I received another dash of culture shock over something rather simple.
It was raining the other day in Kyoto, as my luck would have it. Annoyingly, no buses go along the rode I needed to take for school that day, so I had to bike it. For me, biking through the rain is usually a disastrous combination that ends in slippery death. The Japanese, however, have mastered an incredible bike riding skill—they can steer their bikes one handed while holding an umbrella. I, on the other hand, am severely lacking in that skill. You can ask the man I nearly hit when trying to do so. But, with no other form of cheap transportation available for me, I had to make due and adapt.
Despite the rain, I was determined to bring my computer with me to school. While my Macbook was already in a fairly waterproof carrying case, I didn’t want to risk it. So, in some last minute move, I wanted to see if I could grab a plastic bag from a local convenience store to cover it more securely. I headed in the direction of the Seven Eleven near my apartment.
I walked in and waited near the counter until I grabbed a clerk’s attention. He was an older man, probably the manager of the store, roughly in his late 60s, maybe pushing 70. I asked him as politely as I knew how if I could receive a “bukuro.” Unfortunately for me, I was off to a bad start, since I said “bag” incorrectly in Japanese. He gave me a blank stare, leaned in, and was totally confused about what I had just said. I repeated the word, certain that I was right, and that he must either be stone deaf or overwhelmed with my foreignness.
It wasn’t getting through.
So I started spouting off Engrish. “Baggu,” “purasuchikku baggu.” Bag, plastic bag.
It finally dawned on me that “fukuro” was the correct Japanese word I was looking for. Gawd knows what “bukuro” means. I was somewhere in the ballpark at least. He could’ve gotten the hint.
He leans back upright, stares at me, and in proceeds to blandly ask me “Why?”
“Naze desu ka?”
Why? I hadn’t prepared myself for a “why” question. Nor did I know how to say, “So my computer doesn’t get wet.” I’m mildly stunned for a moment, but I attempted to stumble through my Japanese.
“There’s a computer, so… and it’s raining, so…”
I gave up in wet defeat. I met a cultural wall, and he was a gray haired Seven-Eleven clerk with glasses who wasn’t happy about a foreigner asking for a free plastic bag.
“Wasurete kudasai.” Please forget it.
I don’t even know if that was the right thing to say. “Ki ni shinaide” might’ve been better. Of course, the annoyed look on my face probably got my point across anyhow.
He looks away, nods. His plastic bags are safe behind the counter. His precious plastic bags.
I was hurt and frustrated for awhile. I thought I was asking for something very simple and, in my opinion, rather worthless. How can you put a value on something that’s thrown away as soon as it’s received? I couldn't wrap around my head why he could say no to me. If I walked into a store in America and I requested a bag, I think I would generally receive one, no questions asked.
Eventually, I accepted that it was just a cultural difference. I was not a paying customer and what I was asking for isn’t something that is necessarily deemed worthless in Japan. But I suppose the point of this whole entry is that I’m still adjusting, and that there are still moments where I run into cultural walls. And hopefully, in some magical way, this will all make me a better, understanding, more open-minded person in the end.
But. And there’s a “but.”
It will be a cold day in Hell when I shop at that particular Seven Eleven again.
Things have been going okay, although I ran into a rough period for a day or two. Recently, I received another dash of culture shock over something rather simple.
It was raining the other day in Kyoto, as my luck would have it. Annoyingly, no buses go along the rode I needed to take for school that day, so I had to bike it. For me, biking through the rain is usually a disastrous combination that ends in slippery death. The Japanese, however, have mastered an incredible bike riding skill—they can steer their bikes one handed while holding an umbrella. I, on the other hand, am severely lacking in that skill. You can ask the man I nearly hit when trying to do so. But, with no other form of cheap transportation available for me, I had to make due and adapt.
Despite the rain, I was determined to bring my computer with me to school. While my Macbook was already in a fairly waterproof carrying case, I didn’t want to risk it. So, in some last minute move, I wanted to see if I could grab a plastic bag from a local convenience store to cover it more securely. I headed in the direction of the Seven Eleven near my apartment.
I walked in and waited near the counter until I grabbed a clerk’s attention. He was an older man, probably the manager of the store, roughly in his late 60s, maybe pushing 70. I asked him as politely as I knew how if I could receive a “bukuro.” Unfortunately for me, I was off to a bad start, since I said “bag” incorrectly in Japanese. He gave me a blank stare, leaned in, and was totally confused about what I had just said. I repeated the word, certain that I was right, and that he must either be stone deaf or overwhelmed with my foreignness.
It wasn’t getting through.
So I started spouting off Engrish. “Baggu,” “purasuchikku baggu.” Bag, plastic bag.
It finally dawned on me that “fukuro” was the correct Japanese word I was looking for. Gawd knows what “bukuro” means. I was somewhere in the ballpark at least. He could’ve gotten the hint.
He leans back upright, stares at me, and in proceeds to blandly ask me “Why?”
“Naze desu ka?”
Why? I hadn’t prepared myself for a “why” question. Nor did I know how to say, “So my computer doesn’t get wet.” I’m mildly stunned for a moment, but I attempted to stumble through my Japanese.
“There’s a computer, so… and it’s raining, so…”
I gave up in wet defeat. I met a cultural wall, and he was a gray haired Seven-Eleven clerk with glasses who wasn’t happy about a foreigner asking for a free plastic bag.
“Wasurete kudasai.” Please forget it.
I don’t even know if that was the right thing to say. “Ki ni shinaide” might’ve been better. Of course, the annoyed look on my face probably got my point across anyhow.
He looks away, nods. His plastic bags are safe behind the counter. His precious plastic bags.
I was hurt and frustrated for awhile. I thought I was asking for something very simple and, in my opinion, rather worthless. How can you put a value on something that’s thrown away as soon as it’s received? I couldn't wrap around my head why he could say no to me. If I walked into a store in America and I requested a bag, I think I would generally receive one, no questions asked.
Eventually, I accepted that it was just a cultural difference. I was not a paying customer and what I was asking for isn’t something that is necessarily deemed worthless in Japan. But I suppose the point of this whole entry is that I’m still adjusting, and that there are still moments where I run into cultural walls. And hopefully, in some magical way, this will all make me a better, understanding, more open-minded person in the end.
But. And there’s a “but.”
It will be a cold day in Hell when I shop at that particular Seven Eleven again.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Azuki Flavored
Just turned in my paid leave form to the vice principal at my base school. He didn’t put up any fight about it, so I’m relieved about that. I can start planning my plane ticket and getting that out of the way. Now the only thing to worry about now is getting to the correct airport. Hopefully Osaka won’t confuse me too terribly.
Finalized the schedule of the Halloween party last night. Emailed my JTE of the details. We’re having the party at 8:00 at my place and then hoping to head out at around 10:00 to go to a dance club. My JTE friend is planning to bring her husband along with her, who I don’t think speaks any English. Not sure how well it will all go for him, but hopefully he will have a nice time. I think she mostly wants to bring him to get him accustomed to hanging out with foreigners. She’s hoping to move to America to work, and I’m pretty sure she’ll have to do some serious convincing to get her husband to come along.
I have an idea about what I want to make for the party!
Banana pudding! (Haha)
Not sure what made me think of it—or even want to attempt trying it—but it’s something I liked eating in North Carolina and it sounds very Southern to me. Do they eat banana pudding everywhere in North America? Or is it mostly a Southern thing?
I really don't think I’ll be able to though if I can’t find banana pudding mix and vanilla wafers. Pudding mix, maybe. Wafers, probably not. I’ll have to check a few foreign food stores here and see what I can dig up. Are there pudding mixes in Japan? Has to be… and what could I substitute for wafers? I wonder if I can find gummy worms here. Now that I probably can’t find. I remember one time with my mother we made little “dirt cups” with chocolate pudding, crushed Oreo cookies, and gummy worms. That would be a neat Halloween treat, I think.
Everything else is going okay. My aunt recently sent me some gift money to buy a few kitchen things so I’m very excited about that! Maybe I can break away from my bad convenience store eating habit yet! If I have time, I’ll try doing it today after work and get my kitchen organized. I just wish I had more shelving in my kitchen. Just means I need to move stuff around and utilize the other spaces I have. I have one cabinet near my door I NEVER touch, since I have no idea what to put in it, but maybe that will change soon.
A friend’s Macbook died recently. She’s had it for years so I suppose it was “its time.” I’m planning to have dinner with her tonight to take a look at it and to let her borrow the startup software that came with my computer. She says its time for a “new hard drive” but she’s been eyeing the used Macbooks here for a while now that are going for cheap. I’m sure it’s cheaper to get a new hard drive in the long run, though I wonder if a new computer for her is on the horizon.
Guess we’ll see!
Addendum:
Today at my base school was very good! I worked with one of my favorite teachers here today. She drips with the sucrose sweetness of a mother, and it makes me just want to bake cookies with her and draw pictures for her to stick on the fridge. We worked with the handicapped class first today, which was pretty relaxed. The kids are very sweet, and some are especially shy. Though there’s one girl that can be very aggressive—she has a hard time listening and responding to requests. She has a habit of growlining while she’s thinking! Still, she does fairly well at English surprisingly, since usually when I’m helping the class it seems like she’s off doing her own thing. She really loves shaking my hand for some reason and one day she patted me on the head.
It was very cute.
At lunch today, I went to a convenience store to pick up lunch. Lo and behold, I found the most amazing thing at a local Seven Eleven.
Azuki flavored Pepsi.
Rows and rows of the stuff. I’ve been looking around for the Japanese Pepsi flavors and didn’t have any luck—until today! There, in bright wrapping and bubbling pink, was Azuki Pepsi. I don’t think I’m allowed to drink soda at school, but I had to have it right then and brought it back with me.
My verdict on the taste? Not bad. I would drink it again. It’s hard to describe the flavor a little though. It doesn’t exactly remind me of azuki (sweet bean paste)—maybe mildly in some way. It kind of has more of a cotton candy flavor, I think. Maybe a cough syrup flavor, if you can imagine that being appetizing in some way. The “zing” of Pepsi is still there, too. I think the main thing that confuses the flavor is I generally associate azuki with a soft flavor and texture. The cola sort of changes the flavor into something harder and tangier.
Still interesting though! Looking forward to the next drink Pepsi comes up with.
Finalized the schedule of the Halloween party last night. Emailed my JTE of the details. We’re having the party at 8:00 at my place and then hoping to head out at around 10:00 to go to a dance club. My JTE friend is planning to bring her husband along with her, who I don’t think speaks any English. Not sure how well it will all go for him, but hopefully he will have a nice time. I think she mostly wants to bring him to get him accustomed to hanging out with foreigners. She’s hoping to move to America to work, and I’m pretty sure she’ll have to do some serious convincing to get her husband to come along.
I have an idea about what I want to make for the party!
Banana pudding! (Haha)
Not sure what made me think of it—or even want to attempt trying it—but it’s something I liked eating in North Carolina and it sounds very Southern to me. Do they eat banana pudding everywhere in North America? Or is it mostly a Southern thing?
I really don't think I’ll be able to though if I can’t find banana pudding mix and vanilla wafers. Pudding mix, maybe. Wafers, probably not. I’ll have to check a few foreign food stores here and see what I can dig up. Are there pudding mixes in Japan? Has to be… and what could I substitute for wafers? I wonder if I can find gummy worms here. Now that I probably can’t find. I remember one time with my mother we made little “dirt cups” with chocolate pudding, crushed Oreo cookies, and gummy worms. That would be a neat Halloween treat, I think.
Everything else is going okay. My aunt recently sent me some gift money to buy a few kitchen things so I’m very excited about that! Maybe I can break away from my bad convenience store eating habit yet! If I have time, I’ll try doing it today after work and get my kitchen organized. I just wish I had more shelving in my kitchen. Just means I need to move stuff around and utilize the other spaces I have. I have one cabinet near my door I NEVER touch, since I have no idea what to put in it, but maybe that will change soon.
A friend’s Macbook died recently. She’s had it for years so I suppose it was “its time.” I’m planning to have dinner with her tonight to take a look at it and to let her borrow the startup software that came with my computer. She says its time for a “new hard drive” but she’s been eyeing the used Macbooks here for a while now that are going for cheap. I’m sure it’s cheaper to get a new hard drive in the long run, though I wonder if a new computer for her is on the horizon.
Guess we’ll see!
Addendum:
Today at my base school was very good! I worked with one of my favorite teachers here today. She drips with the sucrose sweetness of a mother, and it makes me just want to bake cookies with her and draw pictures for her to stick on the fridge. We worked with the handicapped class first today, which was pretty relaxed. The kids are very sweet, and some are especially shy. Though there’s one girl that can be very aggressive—she has a hard time listening and responding to requests. She has a habit of growlining while she’s thinking! Still, she does fairly well at English surprisingly, since usually when I’m helping the class it seems like she’s off doing her own thing. She really loves shaking my hand for some reason and one day she patted me on the head.
It was very cute.
At lunch today, I went to a convenience store to pick up lunch. Lo and behold, I found the most amazing thing at a local Seven Eleven.
Azuki flavored Pepsi.
Rows and rows of the stuff. I’ve been looking around for the Japanese Pepsi flavors and didn’t have any luck—until today! There, in bright wrapping and bubbling pink, was Azuki Pepsi. I don’t think I’m allowed to drink soda at school, but I had to have it right then and brought it back with me.
My verdict on the taste? Not bad. I would drink it again. It’s hard to describe the flavor a little though. It doesn’t exactly remind me of azuki (sweet bean paste)—maybe mildly in some way. It kind of has more of a cotton candy flavor, I think. Maybe a cough syrup flavor, if you can imagine that being appetizing in some way. The “zing” of Pepsi is still there, too. I think the main thing that confuses the flavor is I generally associate azuki with a soft flavor and texture. The cola sort of changes the flavor into something harder and tangier.
Still interesting though! Looking forward to the next drink Pepsi comes up with.
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