Karuizawa

Ten years ago, when my dad and I first visited Japan we both stayed with host families. Daddy's host family "Joy" and "Peter" now live in Karuizawa in Nagano prefecture (about 6 hours north by car from Hamamatsu). Karuizawa is a winter ski-haven, summer resort, and home to one of Japan's most well-known missionary language schools. Several weeks ago, I had a chance to visit the area. Here are some of my snapshots. Enjoy!

"Joy" and "Peter" in front of their home

During my trip, "Joy" invited me to join her caroling group (FYI, I'm the tallest, blondest, and only one not wearing the required uniform!)

It was too cold for fall leaves, but too warm for skiing. However, with a bit of strategic snapping, I was able to get a few "fall-looking" photos.

Peter and I in front of a famous waterfall. I have no clue why it's famous!

"Joy" and I eating the world's best ice cream (and I have eaten A LOT of ice cream in my life) in thirty-degree weather! It was delicious and COLD!!!!!!

A local snow-making company's "Illumination" display

I just like this photo!

More strategic photo-snapping

Lunch!

In front of "Crow Castle" -- a four hundred-year-old wooden castle

Thanksgiving

So it looks innocent enough, but it's the stories behind the meal that make it unique.....
Last year my "big" Thanksgiving feast was proceeded by the following direct quote from one of my former elementary school colleagues. "Emily, go to gym. Big fish, cut, cut, cut!" I went to the gym and sure enough there was the largest tuna I have ever seen being sliced, diced, and served raw to the school's staff and students. Needless to say it was a one-in-a-kind "feast" that I didn't ever want to repeat. This year, though, Mommy and Grandma surprised me with a box of Thanksgiving goodies including turkey gravy and cranberry sauce. Well, everyone, I am happy to report that Sarah and I cooked our first Thanksgiving meal. So what if we simmered chicken instead of turkey in the gravy, accidentally hit the "microwave" versus the "oven" button when baking the apple cinnamon muffins, totally forgot about cooking the broccoli, found all the ingredients for a pumpkin pie except pumpkin, and accidentally used "essence of banana" milk in the mashed potatoes. It tasted good!!! (Okay, maybe the potatoes weren't so great, but Sarah maintains that the fruit-flavored spuds were to keep the cranberry sauce from feeling lonely :-)

We were grateful for our food and for the rich blessings of this past year including the new-found ability to read bus maps!

In the past 24 hours I have...

• ...participated in a relaxation course with my fellow teachers.
• ...woke up in a panic wondering where Jamaica really is
• ...had teachers comparing their leg length with mine
• ...confused the Japanese words for hairdresser and hospital (thankfully it wasn't an emergency)
• ...received a flu shot at school by the only person not wearing a mask (or gloves for that matter!)
• ...been asked what I want for lunch on January 21st, 2010
• ...realized that Japanese yoga is very relaxing
• ...had students petting my hair
• ...carried on a conversation in Japanese with a little old man about Cary Grant
• ...traded my natto for a mikan (I don't like sticky, stinky fermented soybeans, the home economics teacher doesn't like tangerines -- we make a good pair :-)
• ...wondered which would be better in January -- hot dogs or whale
• ...used a sport's clock for the very first time (in my English class no less!)
• ...realized I know just about as much Japanese as Carey Grant info
• ...determined that yoga in Japanese isn't very relaxing
• ...questioned my January lunch choice
• ...eaten steamed bean cakes with sweet red bean paste
• ...once again failed to take a picture of my apartment before hanging my wet laundry
• ...had a normal day!
  
  __________________________________________

So what did you do today?

Afurika wa doko desu ka?: Where is Africa?

Scene 1:

In the hallway at school

Characters:

Tomo (a very, very outgoing third-year student)

Emily (wearing a sweater on a very warm day)

Tomo's Friend (smart, but quiet)

Tomo: Hi Emily. How are you?

Emily: I'm a little hot, and you?

Tomo: I'm hungry.

Emily: Why are you hungry? Did you eat lunch?

Tomo: Yes, I did. Sport [sic] make me hungry. Track and field, hungry.

Emily: Can you eat a snack?

Tomo: No, I can't. I hungry.

Emily (attempting to change the conversation): By the way, you sang very well at the chorus contest.

Tomo (to friend in Japanese): ehh?

Tomo's Friend (in Japanese): You were the best singer.

Emily: Listen again. You sang very well at the chorus contest.

Tomo (to friend in Japanese): ehh?

Tomo's Friend (in Japanese): You sang very well.

Tomo: Thank you.

Emily: You're welcome.

Tomo: I like "We are the World." I like Africa.

Emily: Oh, really? Have you ever been to Africa.

Tomo: Yes.

Emily (realizing this is a joke): Really?? Sugoii (amazing) Where have you been in Africa?

Tomo: Jamaica

Emily: Really??? Jamaica is in Africa????? Really???

Tomo's Friend (to Tomo): baka (you're a dunce)

Emily (to herself): When I was in middle school, I would have probably said the same thing!

THE END

___________________________________

Lillis, you live in Africa. Have you ever been to Jamaica?

I Love English in Japan (Flu Version)

文化祭: Cultural Festival Vignettes

Every year, junior high schools across Japan have a bunkansai or "Cultural Festival." Each school has different traditions and practices, but in each, the students work diligently as a group to perform for their peers. At my school, the bunkansai is separated into several sections. First and foremost, each class prepares a special choral work, which they will sing in front of a panel of (teacher) judges. This is especially important for the third year students as it is their last large group project.

Some third-year students practicing on the steps of the school's gym.

(Let me know if you want a video clip of the performance)

The first and second year students watching the older students' performances. Notice each student is not only wearing their required dress uniform but a surgical mask as well. All students, teachers, and parents were required to take influenza safety precautions. So, I was once again bedecked in my own personal glasses-fogger!




If you look closely behind the students, you will see a huge poster that they created out of tiny (approx. 1in x 1in) squares of paper. Each class was given a huge strip of paper and a mini "map." This team-building exercise required the students to work together for several weeks to cut out the paper squares, determine their correct locations and glue them accordingly. The finished panels were connected and the banner was unveiled during the bunkasai.



Another aspect of Shinohara JHS's bunkai is a presentation of personal accomplishments in various subjects. Exceptional students' work was on display for their peers, parents, and others from the community to view.



Some third-year students viewing a poster display of the second and third-year classes "life experience days" ("Life Experience" post for further info).

Beautiful Japanese calligraphy

(I have no idea what it means! I couldn't find it in my dictionary!)

A stone inkan (personal seal) and wooden carrying case made in Industrial Arts class.

One of my personal favorite displays: Japanese characters incorporated into 3D pictures to represent what they mean. For example, the top left one is the character cha which means tea.

Not all of the presentations were visual. During the concert, one student, Emi, presented an English speech. She had competed in a city-wide English speech contest earlier in the year. Although, she didn't win, I was so proud of her. She is an amazing student -- she has so many talents, but beyond that she is sweet, caring, and has a beautiful smile (when I can get it out of her!) Please enjoy her speech (and my very horrible video skills). Yes, I realize its not perfect and a little strange at times, but she improved so much over the weeks that I can only be proud of her strides and her attempt to move from a monotone orator to one with more emotion. I can't imagine being in her shoes and presenting a five minute speech in Japanese! It was such a joy to coach her.

Two very talented piano students also performed. I couldn't help but remember the many piano recitals I used to play in as a student!
Not to be outdone by the girls, several boys wrote and acted in a couple of hilarious skits including one that required two boys to dress up as girls (above picture -- the "girl" in red is actually one of my best boy students) and another about two new Assistant Language Teachers (ALTS -- i.e. my job title) from Peru and Mexico, respectively that came to teach the students English.

Then there was one of the most anticipated acts of the day -- the really, really popular boys singing "We are the World" by Michael Jackson. The main third-year English teacher taught the entire grade level the song and showed them the movie of the making of it. The boys were really inspired by Michael Jackson's supposed desire to assist Africa and decided to make their own version. Frankly, I am not a Michael Jackson fan and don't idolize him as the Japanese do, but when I first saw the boys perform I didn't know if I should laugh or cry. The mere fact that they had the guts to get up in front of their peers and sing a song in English shows a lot of determination (plus, it shows the huge trust that they have in one another -- they still remained "cool" after this performance). You can tell that they spent much time practicing, studying actions, and vocal tendencies of the performers they were emulating. Before you watch this clip (the entire file was to huge too download) please remember that these are fourteen and fifteen-year old boys (who are going through hormone changes and cracking voices). Only one (the second singer-- who is actually our principal flutist) is a musician. All the rest are the school's star athletes (track and field, soccer, volleyball, and basketball). The entire song is actually sung in English. Enjoy and merrily laugh with me! Oh, how I love my kids!!!

Honesty or Humility?

Don't you wonder why they aren't?

Hachiko and Me

When I was a young student (I don't remember how old), I first sobbed through the true story of Hachiko ~ a loyal dog who waited for his master, Professor Ueno, everyday at the Shibuya station in Tokyo. One day, the professor suffered from an stroke at school and died never to return home to his faithful friend. However until his death ten years later, Hachiko loyally returned to the train station waiting for his master. Even when others attempted to adopt him, he would escape and stand vigil waiting for his master. It wasn't until I came to Japan, that I actually remembered the story and realized that it had taken place here in Japan. So, a couple of weeks ago, while visiting Tokyo, I decided to visit Hachiko as well!

笑美理: A Reason to Smile

It has been my observation that in Japanese society, only the very drunk or the very young will naturally smile. As children get older their expressions decrease until finally they develop what one of my English teachers has dubbed "a wooden face." As one who has always been very emotional, living in a society without personal expression can be very wearing. In fact, when I first entered my school, I felt as if I had to smile for all 470 students. Daily attempting to provide cheerfulness to a classroom of 39 students can be physically, mentally, and emotionally tiring. This time last year, I found myself completely exhausted and instead of maintaining a positive outlook on life I was succumbing to the Japanese unemotional behavior. My smile was slipping away. Last December, during my first visit to the Kimura's house and church in Tokyo, I had the opportunity to talk to Daisuke and Yukiko about the Japanese nature. Daisuke explained that in an attempt to "keep the peace of the community," Japanese people are encouraged to not express their true feelings. Thus, they often hide both their joy and sorrow behind still masks. Daisuke encouraged me not to "lose my smile" in the Japanese society but instead to maintain my show of joy, for in, fact I have true joy. Now that I have overcome most of my mono, I feel as if my energy has returned and that I can once again truly enjoy what I have been called to do. The desire to once again smile was reiterated recently, after a friend suggested I look up the meaning of my name in Japanese. To my pleasant surprise "emi" means "smile" while "ri/li" means "a reason to." Isn't God creative? Here I am in Japan, trying to live my life differently so that I can be a witness to the Japanese people, and my name unknowingly describes my calling as a covenant daughter of the Kingdom!

Yes, Family, there are masks in Japan!

I'm sure that if you have been following the news you have heard about the "great influenza scare!" Maybe you have even seen pictures of Japanese people wearing masks attempting to combat infection. The pictures are accurate, masks are an accessory these days here in Japan, literally! In fact, you can purchase them in different colors, sizes, and emblazoned with your favorite cartoon characters. The flu keeps on spreading at my school and, in fact, an entire class was put under quarantine and sent home for a week since over 10% of the students were ill. That afternoon, our school nurse went out and purchased bottle after large bottle of hand sanitizer and from what I have heard recently, parts of Japan have actually run out of both masks and sanitizer since they have become so high in demand (no surprise as no matter where you turn, there are bottles and dentist-look-alikes). However, according to most Japanese doctors, the best way to combat the flu is to gargle with plain water (salt is not needed). How this is scientifically accurate, I have no clue, so I will not further comment... (but I do religiously gargle every night and morning!) I, for one, have successfully avoided the masks for most of my time here in the "Land of the Rising Sun." The two times I have come to school sick with a cold (and thus felt the obligation of wearing a mask, I was promptly sent home by my school nurse). However, today was a different story. When I turned in my paperwork to receive a flu shot in November, my school nurse asked me if I had a mask. I replied, "No" because I can say that (versus "No, because I would feel like a doctor ready to perform surgery") in Japanese. My school nurse is very efficient, very kind, and very prepared! Just a few moments later, I found myself with a mask in hand and instructions on how to wear it. After looping it around my ears and covering my mouth and nose, I found out that it required some fancy placement -- too high up my nose, and it fogged up my glasses, too low and it slipped off! When I finally found a "just right" it lasted for only a few minutes until it tickled the bridge of my nose which was promptly followed by a readjustment and return of mask-maneuvering. One of the English teachers found my whole escapade quite humorous and told me that it was a lesson in Japanese culture, and that I needed to send a picture of myself wearing a mask home. He also informed me (while permanently removing his own mask) that I actually didn't have to wear it -- it was his opinion that they couldn't do much good anyway. Well, I lasted exactly for a class period and a half (a total of about 90 minutes). Then I stripped off the mask and entered my next class full of eager faces each carefully covered in....drumroll please....a mask!

Tokyo -- Shinjuku

A couple of weekends ago I went to Tokyo to visit my friends Daisuke, Yukiko, and Kenshin (age 4). I first met them 11 years ago during my initial trip to Japan. Below are some of the highlights: Yes!!! Krispy Kreme in Japan!! I indulged in not one, not two, but three yummy doughnuts. FYI, they are the same size, shape and exact same taste. You get one free hot one while standing in line to order and can also watch them being made. As for flavors, there are some variations like cheesecake, mixed berry, and orange creme filled chocolate! おいしいですよ！
(They are delicious I tell you!)

We also visited Ueno Park where we had a lovely picnic (Yukiko taught me how to make a Japanese picnic) and enjoyed a swan boat paddle boat rides. FYI, Japanese paddle boats are not made with the westerner's long legs in mind, and life jackets are not required (even for the littlest riders).

While the three of us paddled Daisuke snapped pictures with my camera and found some excitingly huge and hungry fishies! Although they are cute, they definitely weren't as much fun as the conveyor belt sushi restaurant that we visited (and I failed to photograph!) There are few things as creative as seeing your food being served on a conveyor belt.

When Daisuke asked if I liked ice cream, I informed him that it literally pumps through my veins. So instead of stopping at the Red Cross we visited Baskin Robbins instead. Ahh, the joys of frozen cream with friends!!!

I'm not even creative enough to make this one up!

An actual collection of texts from me to Helen-Marie and Sarah:

• Should I be worried? My bus driver just stopped the bus and got out!
• Uh-oh! He is now doing knee bends in the middle of the road!
• Now he's petting random dogs on their morning walk.
• Update. Driver is back in the bus and driving.
• I love the randomness of Japan :-)

Sports' Day

In 1964, Tokyo hosted the summer Olympics. Since then, the second Monday of October is a national holiday to remember that special occasion. Every year, junior high schools around Japan have a special Sports' Day to celebrate Japan's athletic achievements. My school's Sports' Day was last Saturday and I have compiled a video of the students for you to have a glimpse into my current world. Sports' Day is really a perfect example of Japanese society, thinking, and methodology and to help you better understand what you are viewing, I will describe several things. First, there are five third-year student classes. At the beginning of the school year, the tansho (the five guys carrying the flags, wearing longer headbands, as well as arm bands) were each randomly assigned a team color -- red, white, blue, yellow, and green. The younger two grades were then separated by class into these five teams. Therefore, each color team has between 2-3 entire classes. Every student is required to participate and the older students develop their skills as leaders as they teach the younger ones. The students have been working hard for the past five months for the Most Valuable Group (remember, Japan is all about the group!!) award. Each team divides its members to compete in a series of events including recognizable ones such as sprints, relay races, three-legged races, and tug-of-war. The students also compete in very traditional Japanese events such as the "horseman" competition, where three students act as the horse carrying the newspaper origami/earthquake helmet bestooned "samurai" and the "bamboo pull," which is based on an old Japanese folk story. The highlights of the events are the girls' dance competitions and boys' pyramids. Ultimately, the points are tallied from each event and the group with the highest set of points win. To make your viewing of the below video more interesting, I highly encourage you to look for the chair "shoes," the boy who keeps on hopping even when he loses one of his stilts, and the two most colorful teachers (they are wearing their respective team colors). As far as the slogan presented on the banner, it loosely translates as "At Shinohara there are five sleeping buds, that will blossom into flowers at Sports' Day." The art club (all girls!) were so proud of their banner, I'm not so sure the boys were all that impressed!

The rest of the story... So, my camera died right after the band started. Therefore, I missed taking pictures of the revealing of the MVG. When the scores were tallied, the Blue Team beat the Green Team by one point, but the White Team actually was awarded the MVG cup. I'm not sure why, but then again I'm not sure why a lot of things happen as they do here in Japan :-)

Purikura Imitating Life

Sarah had a friend from Korea visit her last week and we decided to take Judy to a purikura booth to experience true Japanese pop culture! (As a hilarious aside, the entire evening brought stares as Sarah and I spoke Japanese while Judy looked completely bewildered as Japanese people kept on attempting to talk to her and couldn't understand why she wouldn't respond back!") Anyway, our two favorite pictures of the night are below. Why do they imitate life...? ...as a foreigner in Japan, people get scared, run away, and sometimes just think you are an alien that has been teleported from another planet!

Guns and Roses: LOL Style

About two weeks ago while waiting for the bus, I heard a pebble bounce across the road. I didn't think too much about it until a second one flew near my eye and hit the wall of the building behind me. I looked up from my Japanese textbook thinking that maybe a sand truck had gone by, but instead of seeing a dump truck, I saw one of my 3rd grade elementary school students pointing a BB gun in my direction. What I thought were pebbles were actually pellets that he had been shooting at the passing cars and bikers. His inaccurate aim found him staring open-mouthed at me for split second before he ran and hid behind a trash can. From his new hideout, he proceeded to shoot thinking he wasn't to be caught. Of course I told him to stop, but yelling in a foreign language across a busy street is probably not the most effective method of instructing a student. It wasn't until a LOL from the school's neighborhood joined me at the bus stop that he retreated completely out of sight...

When the LOL approached the bus stop she proceeded to ask me what time the bus arrived. Thankfully, I had just been reviewing telling time in Japanese, so I successfully answered her question, which led her to believe that I was fluent in Japanese. As she proceeded to chatter away to my blank stares, nods, and Japanese exclamations (that I hoped I could successfully place in the midst of her monologue), I couldn't help but consider the craziness of the current adventure. She then asked me where I was going (or was it where was I from? Or, maybe it was where did I live?) I figured answering Hamamatsu City sounded like an appropriate response because it answered two of the three possible questions and only a little logic would show that I actually wasn't from the city. Whatever the question, she seemed satisfied by my answer and proceeded to present me with two tickets to a regional ikebana (traditional Japanese flower arranging) show that was taking place that weekend. I was totally flabbergasted and proceeded to say thank you many times until the bus arrived (In Japan you can never say thank you or I'm sorry too many times!) I then started contemplating who I should take with me.

The answer to that question was quite easy -- Mrs. Takeyama. She was the first lady in my church to invite me over. Being quite quiet and reserved, I find that sometimes she seems almost a bit intimidated when Mihoko and Kuniko are around so she quietly slips away whenever they interrupt our conversations. I knew that she liked flowers and since her husband Dr. Takeyama had recently agreed to teach me Japanese (with the understanding that I wouldn't hold him accountable for any bad teaching skills since I was his first-ever language student or, as he fondly calls me, his guinea pig) inviting her along wasn't hard at all.

Early Saturday morning we met in front of the exhibition hall, and together enjoyed the many flower arrangements. I learned many things that day about Mrs. Takeyama and flower arranging. For example, I never knew that she liked flower arranging, that she attended a traditional school for summer courses every year, and that she was one of five ladies in the church who make the weekly arrangements on a rotating basis. It is amazing the things you can learn about people by just spending a little time with them!


I also learned a lot about ikebana such as you can use kiwi fruit (and not kiwis --there is a big difference I have learned from New Zealand's Sarah Moffatt) in arrangements and they can still look neat....

...that ikebana does not have to be in a vase and can be a wall hanging instead. (And that there is some crazy whitish globe-shaped flower that looks like a puffer fish)...

...that although it is a very mathematical art form, it is still very creative...

...that it can be both traditional and modern...

...and that Japanese people like to share their experiences with others for I was invited to join a "Let's Ikebana Experience" for free since I was a foreigner! For the next hour after browsing the beautiful arrangements, I strained my brain to understand the class -- "Don't touch the pincushion in the water (or was the word poisonous frog? Either way, its bite did hurt!) "Cut the garadiora one and a half times the width of the water bowl" ("What's a garadiora? The only flowers in front of me are gerbera daisies and gladiolas! Oh wait, the r/l combination! Gets them every time!) "Move the flower forwards." "Move the flower back." "Move the flower to the right." "Move the flower to the left." "Forward" "Back" "Right" "Left" -- As I sat there feeling like my flower was a pawn piece on a chessboard, I realized that although ikebana is a traditional art form, it isn't an exact science and personal preference does play an important role.


Finally, my arrangement was done. I was so proud of myself. It actually even looked a bit balanced! As I reveled in my success and envisioned marching out of the exhibit hall arrangement in hand while everyone congratulated me on my fine and balanced arrangement, I noticed that everyone else was removing their flowers from the water and wrapping them in brown paper. All our hard work over the past hour -- the cutting, the measuring, the stripping of leaves, the moving the flowers this way and that -- was to be completely destroyed in an instant. The pincushion/poisonous frog contraptions and water bowls were to be reused by the next group of students waiting their turn. As I carried my carefully trimmed flowers outside the exhibit hall, Mrs. Takeyama asked me how I had enjoyed the experience. I told her that it had been so much fun and asked her where I could purchase a poisonous pincushion. Maybe, just maybe, I thought I could recreate my arrangement back in my apartment. "Oh, you don't need one of those!" she exclaimed. "You can put the flowers in any glass or vase. You can just cut them to fit." And that what I did! I'm American after all!!

As for my student with the gun, well, let's just say he got in big trouble the next day when I reported him to my vice principal. I might not speak Japanese, but I am not clueless (that is of course, if I am not expected to carry on a conversation with a LOL :-)

Staring Food

I know I have posted a lot about how much I hate it when my lunch stares back at me. So, I thought it was important to include the most recent lunch-time eyes to document that not all eyeballs are bad. In fact when they are on kumapan (bear bread), they are actually kind of cute! (For those of you curious of the rest of the meal, going clockwise from the bread is cold, sweet scrambled egg "cake" with a ketchup/BBQ kind of sauce on top; yogurt with canned mixed fruit, cold curry noddles sauteed with cabbage, pork, and carrots, vegetable soup with tofu and fu (a croutony thing), and a carton of milk. You may be surprised to know that this is actually a "small portion.")

I'm a published photographer!

Okay, I don't mean to toot my on horn (or pull my own harp strings!) but I am really excited about my most recent photography success and I wanted to share. Last winter, the JET association asked for photography and journal submissions that are published in a yearly book for all JET participants. This book is given to the first-year teachers upon arrival in Japan and it is a good beginning orientation. Anyway, long story short, I decided to submit several pictures (In actuality, I submitted a blank CD case and after realizing my mistake had to resubmit!) and promptly forgot about them. Well, the "old" JETs just received our books and when I looked at the cover I promptly exclaimed, "I know that picture." Sure enough, one of my pictures was on the front page in a collage. A friend of mine was thumbing through the book and said, "Here's another one with your name on it." So for you viewing pleasure I am sharing my snapshots. The first was taken early last fall on the Hamamatsu Castle grounds. The dragon was guarding a random temple I happened to stumble across.