Yesterday, the two girls I have been having eikaiwa (english conversation) classes with left for a whirlwind tour of Canada. One of them is my former supervisor's daughter, and she is just as nice as her dad. They are both very nice girls and very keen. So keen that they've asked me to continue holding eikaiwa classes with them. I was so flattered to hear that. At least it makes me think I'm doing a good job here. Or at least getting some of my students more comfortable with trying out their English.
So watch out for a couple of Japanese high school girls and their chaperone coming to a Canadian town near you! They're covering most of the coutry -- Vancouver, Banff, Calgary, Toronto and Niagara Falls and a three day homestay in out sister town. All that in only 10 days. Makes me think of my upcoming Christmas trip home...
Monday we had our last class together, and at the end of it they suprised me with thank you gifts. It was so sweet! The week before that they invited me to the cooking club with them for a sample of okonomiyaki -- a Japanese specialty. According to the Junior High textbook we use, it looks like a pizza but tastes different. Really, it's not like a pizza at all aside from the fact that there is flour and toppings involved. But it is tasty.
Thursday, September 28, 2006
colder than a...
Blech. Today's weather reminded me of why living in Victoria would occasionally suck ass. Cold and grey and rainy and wet. In a word: gross. It may be time to fire up the heater...
My day started out as less than good -- I was up late (as seems to be my hobby, no doubt because of my other hobby of not going to bed until late) and then was late for work. It was just an office day, but still. There was some teaching at the kindergarten -- pretty good. However, that does mean I miss morning coffee. Yes, morning coffee is an important part of my office day.
I was supposed to accomplish all sorts of things in the afternoon, but between being sleepy and cold and generally unmotivated, not a lot happened. And sometimes that's just the way it is... It did turn out to be a fun afternoon though. The kyouikuchou (superintendent) was apparently cold too, and treated everyone to pizza during afternoon coffee break. Sweet! Pizza *and* coffee. And a pizza delivery joint in my little town! There's a new coffee shop/cafe that I've been meaning to try -- when I have the time. Time: something I always need more of. Turns out they do pizza and deliver. Double sweet!
There is also some kind of cultural event going on at the Board of Education building tomorrow, so there was a rehearsal that I went and watched going on in the auditorium. There were about five koto players, including one woman on a bass koto. It was another nice say to break up an otherwise long day at the office. Or to avoid doing actual work. Same difference. Lovely instrument, and may explain the reason for nice Japanese hotels and restaurants playing music box-style music. It sounds a little like that, especially when you play something originally from a Disney movie.
Cue plinky-plinky style "When you wish upon a star"...
My day started out as less than good -- I was up late (as seems to be my hobby, no doubt because of my other hobby of not going to bed until late) and then was late for work. It was just an office day, but still. There was some teaching at the kindergarten -- pretty good. However, that does mean I miss morning coffee. Yes, morning coffee is an important part of my office day.
I was supposed to accomplish all sorts of things in the afternoon, but between being sleepy and cold and generally unmotivated, not a lot happened. And sometimes that's just the way it is... It did turn out to be a fun afternoon though. The kyouikuchou (superintendent) was apparently cold too, and treated everyone to pizza during afternoon coffee break. Sweet! Pizza *and* coffee. And a pizza delivery joint in my little town! There's a new coffee shop/cafe that I've been meaning to try -- when I have the time. Time: something I always need more of. Turns out they do pizza and deliver. Double sweet!
There is also some kind of cultural event going on at the Board of Education building tomorrow, so there was a rehearsal that I went and watched going on in the auditorium. There were about five koto players, including one woman on a bass koto. It was another nice say to break up an otherwise long day at the office. Or to avoid doing actual work. Same difference. Lovely instrument, and may explain the reason for nice Japanese hotels and restaurants playing music box-style music. It sounds a little like that, especially when you play something originally from a Disney movie.
Cue plinky-plinky style "When you wish upon a star"...
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
avast me hearties
Just a reminder to all, that is was and still is for many: INTERNATIONAL TALK LIKE A PIRATE DAY! Yar!
So break out the parrots, the peg-legs and the eye-patches.
Tis time fer drinkin yer best grog and talkin yer best pirate lingo. Yar.
If only every day were talk like a pirate day... yar....
So break out the parrots, the peg-legs and the eye-patches.
Tis time fer drinkin yer best grog and talkin yer best pirate lingo. Yar.
If only every day were talk like a pirate day... yar....
敬老の日・けいろうのひ・keiro no hi ・Respect for the Aged Day
Finally, a long weekend. I was supposed to be off to Lake Toya again for more welcoming parties for the newcomers to this fair isle, but I was still feeling under the weather, and not keen to get worse by heading out for a weekend of not enough sleep and too much partying. Fun, but I need a break.
So I took full advantage. I slept in everyday, I made breakfast, I watched movies, and generally did very little. I did make one excursion to a local-ish onsen in the mountains. It's still a bit early for the colours to have changed, but it was breath-taking nonetheless. I drove into the mountains before I got to my turnoff: a single lane dirt road. Yay! I only had to drive backwards at one point, when I met the shuttle-bus coming down the mountain.
I didn't leave myself a whole lot of time for hiking -- I was really just there for a good boil in the onsen. But I did have enough time to go look at the trailhead and kick myself for not having enough time to hike anywhere. Ah well.
I headed back down to the onsen for some soaking. It was a small place -- it really reminded me of the little ryokan/onsen in Aomori that I stayed at with Francis over Golden Week. It was busy for a place with only a small inside bath and three shower stations: lots of hikers coming down off the mountian and people coming up for the long weekend. I'm sure it will be busier in the coming weeks as the colours change. There were so many people using the showers that the flow of water to the bath inside (coming out of a wooden bear's head no less) was cut off.
Not outside though. The water was incredibly hot, and the view was pretty good. I think the other side had an even better view though. Maybe if the road is still open when I head down for the Fall Meeting I'll see it they've switched sides...
So that was pretty much all I did all weekend. It was extremely relaxing. I highly recommend a weekend off for everyone.
So I took full advantage. I slept in everyday, I made breakfast, I watched movies, and generally did very little. I did make one excursion to a local-ish onsen in the mountains. It's still a bit early for the colours to have changed, but it was breath-taking nonetheless. I drove into the mountains before I got to my turnoff: a single lane dirt road. Yay! I only had to drive backwards at one point, when I met the shuttle-bus coming down the mountain.
I didn't leave myself a whole lot of time for hiking -- I was really just there for a good boil in the onsen. But I did have enough time to go look at the trailhead and kick myself for not having enough time to hike anywhere. Ah well.I headed back down to the onsen for some soaking. It was a small place -- it really reminded me of the little ryokan/onsen in Aomori that I stayed at with Francis over Golden Week. It was busy for a place with only a small inside bath and three shower stations: lots of hikers coming down off the mountian and people coming up for the long weekend. I'm sure it will be busier in the coming weeks as the colours change. There were so many people using the showers that the flow of water to the bath inside (coming out of a wooden bear's head no less) was cut off.
Not outside though. The water was incredibly hot, and the view was pretty good. I think the other side had an even better view though. Maybe if the road is still open when I head down for the Fall Meeting I'll see it they've switched sides...
So that was pretty much all I did all weekend. It was extremely relaxing. I highly recommend a weekend off for everyone.
Friday, September 15, 2006
JHS classes
Today after class, my JTE (Japanese Teacher of English) remarked that I'm always sick or tired at school.
Well, today at least, that was a fair assessment. I had a massive coughing/sneezing fit while he was explaining today's recitation exam to the students. Part of me almost thinks that it was an allergic reaction to the recitation exam itself. My JTE believes that the rhythm and flow of the language is very important. Which it is, but not so much if all you can do is recite passages from the textbook. Which these students are very good at. They might as well be learning things like "This is a pen." though, for all the good it does them.
They were reciting a passage about daily schedules. "I get up at 6:45. On weekends, I get up at about 9:00. I eat breakfast at 7:00. I go to school at 7:30. I get home at 5:20." And so on. I'm sure I could do it too, after listening to the same thing 30 times. I would have liked to hear about what the students themselves do. And I'd like to think that it would be easier to remember if there was more application to their daily lives.
It's proving to be an interesting and trying year at the Junior High School this year. Maybe that's what it tiring me out, though I'm sure all of the other commitments I have taken on this year aren't helping. But really, I don't feel very helpful in classes where students are honing their rote memorization skills. That's up to the students. In classes like that, a tape recorder is a much more useful tool. And one, I might add, that I am frequently forced to listen to. Ah, the perils of team teaching.
Well, today at least, that was a fair assessment. I had a massive coughing/sneezing fit while he was explaining today's recitation exam to the students. Part of me almost thinks that it was an allergic reaction to the recitation exam itself. My JTE believes that the rhythm and flow of the language is very important. Which it is, but not so much if all you can do is recite passages from the textbook. Which these students are very good at. They might as well be learning things like "This is a pen." though, for all the good it does them.
They were reciting a passage about daily schedules. "I get up at 6:45. On weekends, I get up at about 9:00. I eat breakfast at 7:00. I go to school at 7:30. I get home at 5:20." And so on. I'm sure I could do it too, after listening to the same thing 30 times. I would have liked to hear about what the students themselves do. And I'd like to think that it would be easier to remember if there was more application to their daily lives.
It's proving to be an interesting and trying year at the Junior High School this year. Maybe that's what it tiring me out, though I'm sure all of the other commitments I have taken on this year aren't helping. But really, I don't feel very helpful in classes where students are honing their rote memorization skills. That's up to the students. In classes like that, a tape recorder is a much more useful tool. And one, I might add, that I am frequently forced to listen to. Ah, the perils of team teaching.
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