A PhD student [Sandy Bartell] at the University of Washington in Seattle is looking for Japanese ESL (English as a Second Language) individuals over the age of 18 who have taken the TOEIC exam within the last 5 years for an online study. She is looking for recruits with ALL LEVELS OF ENGLISH PROFICIENCY—from beginner to advanced. The purpose of her dissertation study is to use the input from survey participants to help develop guidelines that improve English-language web sites for nonnative English speakers.
Participation is entirely voluntary. Participants will need to submit their TOEIC scores when they take the survey but all of their responses will be kept strictly confidential.
Participants will read two short articles and answer some survey questions. At the end of the study they will have the chance to enter a drawing for some Amazon.com or Amazon.co.jp (their choice) gift certificates.
To participate in the study, go to the following URL and follow the directions to proceed with the study:
https://catalysttools.washington.edu/webq/survey/sandybar/102698
If participants have other friends or colleagues who might qualify or be interested in participating in this study, the PhD student will be grateful if they pass on this information to them.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Artsy Fartsy
Photos
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| Saw this on my way home from work. A rising moon over the mountains. |
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| I made this bag for my Kindle! The strap is adjustable. It can become a shoulder bag, or a waist pouch. |
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| I used a 5 yen piece for the button. They are said to be lucky. |
Just because
Hello everyone.
It's Sunday, and although I don't have much to write about, I'll just chat a little so as to satisfy the people who actually check here. :)
The other morning, I heard some teachers laughing with each other while talking about a student. I wasn't able to understand much, but I heard them telling a story, then laughing, then calling the student a liar. I'm pretty sure this particular student doesn't always tell the truth, but I wonder why it was something to laugh about? Perhaps she had fibbed about something that clearly couldn't have been true and the teachers found it funny.
Some days this January have been warm(ish), but one morning I thought to myself, "While some people are scraping frost off of their car windows, I'm scraping frost off of the inside of my bedroom windows.
Every class within the school has a TOTALLY different atmosphere. Some classes like to joke around and raise their hands to answer questions, while some classes are just disrespectfully loud, while other classes are painfully silent. I think a lot of it has to do with the chemistry of the students in the class, as well as the chemistry with their homeroom teacher.
Recently I've either been busier at school, or not yet back to my old routine/schedule. This past week I was very tired when I got home, and didn't get much done in the way of house work. Hopefully this week will be a little better. I've started helping a third year practice English after school on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. She is trying to get into high school in the Philippines, so she has to practice taking an interview in English. I enjoy this time with her, so I don't mind meeting after school. Also, it makes the time before I go home seem faster.
Sometimes during class when I'm trying to talk loud enough for students to hear, or when I've been talking for a while, I spit by accident. This isn't really worth mentioning in the blog, but I think it's funny because it's something that happens that no one really talks about. The students don't say anything, which is really kind of them, but it's also kind of embarrassing. Once I was helping a student correct something he had written, and I accidentally spit on his paper. Immediately I wiped the little droplet up and said sorry, but he acted as though he didn't notice even though he had been looking right at the paper when it happened. Thank goodness for that. :-)
If you don't know already, in Japan many people wear face masks when they're sick in order to prevent others from getting sick, but people will also wear them even if they're healthy because they think it'll prevent them from getting sick as well. The other day I asked a student if she was sick (because she was wearing one) and she said no, she just had a runny nose. I guess that's cause enough to wear one! I was surprised.
Remember those morning sheets I was reading and "translating" in order to understand the daily schedule? Well, the first one took me over an hour to read. Since then, I've gotten it down to taking less than 30 minutes or so. It's amazing what repetition and a little bit of studying can do for a person. ;)
Also, I told you about the trip around the Kofu shrines that I took on December 31st. Well, I have some pictures from that day now, so I'll post them below. (I also received a few pictures of the mochi-making day, however they are physical photos opposed to digital photos. If I ever get digital ones I'll post them here too.
Lana
It's Sunday, and although I don't have much to write about, I'll just chat a little so as to satisfy the people who actually check here. :)
The other morning, I heard some teachers laughing with each other while talking about a student. I wasn't able to understand much, but I heard them telling a story, then laughing, then calling the student a liar. I'm pretty sure this particular student doesn't always tell the truth, but I wonder why it was something to laugh about? Perhaps she had fibbed about something that clearly couldn't have been true and the teachers found it funny.
Some days this January have been warm(ish), but one morning I thought to myself, "While some people are scraping frost off of their car windows, I'm scraping frost off of the inside of my bedroom windows.
Every class within the school has a TOTALLY different atmosphere. Some classes like to joke around and raise their hands to answer questions, while some classes are just disrespectfully loud, while other classes are painfully silent. I think a lot of it has to do with the chemistry of the students in the class, as well as the chemistry with their homeroom teacher.
Recently I've either been busier at school, or not yet back to my old routine/schedule. This past week I was very tired when I got home, and didn't get much done in the way of house work. Hopefully this week will be a little better. I've started helping a third year practice English after school on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. She is trying to get into high school in the Philippines, so she has to practice taking an interview in English. I enjoy this time with her, so I don't mind meeting after school. Also, it makes the time before I go home seem faster.
Sometimes during class when I'm trying to talk loud enough for students to hear, or when I've been talking for a while, I spit by accident. This isn't really worth mentioning in the blog, but I think it's funny because it's something that happens that no one really talks about. The students don't say anything, which is really kind of them, but it's also kind of embarrassing. Once I was helping a student correct something he had written, and I accidentally spit on his paper. Immediately I wiped the little droplet up and said sorry, but he acted as though he didn't notice even though he had been looking right at the paper when it happened. Thank goodness for that. :-)
If you don't know already, in Japan many people wear face masks when they're sick in order to prevent others from getting sick, but people will also wear them even if they're healthy because they think it'll prevent them from getting sick as well. The other day I asked a student if she was sick (because she was wearing one) and she said no, she just had a runny nose. I guess that's cause enough to wear one! I was surprised.
Remember those morning sheets I was reading and "translating" in order to understand the daily schedule? Well, the first one took me over an hour to read. Since then, I've gotten it down to taking less than 30 minutes or so. It's amazing what repetition and a little bit of studying can do for a person. ;)
Also, I told you about the trip around the Kofu shrines that I took on December 31st. Well, I have some pictures from that day now, so I'll post them below. (I also received a few pictures of the mochi-making day, however they are physical photos opposed to digital photos. If I ever get digital ones I'll post them here too.
Lana
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Winter days
Wow! It snowed for the first time last night. Not the first time in history of course, but the first time since I've been living in Yamanashi. It wasn't too cold outside, but it's quite cold inside. I've been using the heater off and on all weekend. (Go figure. It is winter after all!)
I got a package from my host-aunt in Saitama, and it was full of delicious, easy to make food products. Apparently, I lost a little weight since two years ago, and she was nervous that I wasn't eating enough. So now she sends me packages with food every so-often just to make sure. ^_^
A friend from University is coming to Japan at the end of March, and we're going to spend a week traveling around. We are discussing places to visit and things to do while she's here, and I typed up a document about cultural things to be aware of. Having to see Japan from new eyes again is quite fun. I'm looking forward to her coming, and hoping to feel re-introduced to Japan through her eyes.
While I was searching for pictures online, I stumbled across this site. http://beta.phokki.com/
It is for people who want to alter a photo artistically. I might buy one some day when I go back to the US and have a photo I'd like to make interesting.
I've finished The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and have moved on to Pride and Prejudice.
Lana
I got a package from my host-aunt in Saitama, and it was full of delicious, easy to make food products. Apparently, I lost a little weight since two years ago, and she was nervous that I wasn't eating enough. So now she sends me packages with food every so-often just to make sure. ^_^
A friend from University is coming to Japan at the end of March, and we're going to spend a week traveling around. We are discussing places to visit and things to do while she's here, and I typed up a document about cultural things to be aware of. Having to see Japan from new eyes again is quite fun. I'm looking forward to her coming, and hoping to feel re-introduced to Japan through her eyes.
While I was searching for pictures online, I stumbled across this site. http://beta.phokki.com/
It is for people who want to alter a photo artistically. I might buy one some day when I go back to the US and have a photo I'd like to make interesting.
I've finished The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and have moved on to Pride and Prejudice.
Lana
Friday, January 14, 2011
End of the first week back
If I have no 5th and 6th period, I tend to get really sleepy around 2:00. Perhaps it’s because the staff room is really warm by that point? Or perhaps it’s because I’ve already had four classes in a row? Or perhaps it’s because I didn’t get enough sleep?
I finished The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and I watched the film immediately after. It was nice to get visualization, like for the setting of the town, but I’m pretty convinced that if you read a book first, you should not watch the movie. Either read the book, or watch the movie, but you’ll inherently be disappointed if you do both. The book is better if you read it first, and the movie is better if you watch it first. For example, to make the 600 page book fit into a 2 hour film, they had to alter, change, and drop many parts of the book. I’d say the movie was good standing alone, but isn’t really good if you’re trying to find a replica of the book.
Enough about that.
Now is the time that currents JETs have to decide if they’re going to re-contract for next year. I have already sent in my forms, but they’re due at the beginning of February I believe. I got an evaluation from my JTE and it was pretty good. Based off of that, I think I would get rehired. I’m not sure how the process works exactly, but I’ll let you know when I find out about the decision. During the conversation about my evaluation however, the JTE and the school principal said that I am the teacher with the most number of classes per week in the whole school. They were a little worried, because there are more first years coming in than there are third years going out, so my number of classes is only going to increase. If it gets to be too much, they’ll probably switch some of the classes for every other week to make some free time. I’m legally required to go to every class however, due to the new educational laws in Japan. The new schedule will start in April.
About my break:
I had originally planned stay in Yamanashi for Christmas, go to Nagano to ski and see some sites, go to Tokyo to catch up with old friends, and then go to Ibaraki until the end. After looking into Nagano, it turned out that the sites were closed around the Christmas/New Year’s season, and the only way to go skiing was to book a hotel, but around the ski resorts you were required to book a full three days. After all that, including transportation to and from places, it would have cost way more than it was worth. We called off the Nagano trip (and will go another time to see the sites…), and did things around Yamanashi for a little longer than planned. I did get to see some friends in Tokyo which was nice, and I got to explore a few new places in Ibaraki as well. I’ve been feeling a lot of rumbles recently, and I can’t tell if they’re shakes from the large trucks on the bypass near my house, the construction on the bypass, or mini earthquakes. I’m getting used to them anyway. I wonder if earthquakes are one reason houses are built the way they are here. It’s definitely colder in NY right now, but I think that we’re more prepared to wear warm clothes there, and our houses don’t leak so much heat. I guess I could proof my house a little better if I wanted to, but I think I’ll leave it for next year. I’m doing fine so far as it is. I think Japanese people are embarrassed to dress in too many clothes though, and might be happier if they’re cold, but look nice. They have those heat packets that they use, and many THIN layers of clothes. I’m used to hats, gloves, scarves, parkas, boots, oh well. Perhaps it’s just this area? It doesn’t snow very much here in Isawa. If I went to Hokkaido or Shimane or Snow Country, I’m sure it’d be different. I think…
The first few days back were reserved for the opening ceremony and the tests, but things are back on track now. Something happened to the pipes where they cook the school lunch, so it was a big drama and everyone had to bring their own 弁当 bento to school for three days. A bento is a boxed/packed lunch.
The first day back after break the students spent a full hour for ‘cleaning time.’ I think it had to do with the New Year. Instead of spring cleaning like we have in America, they clean right before the New Year. (The students clean their school. They don’t do a very good job so from time to time they hire real janitors. Other than that, they have the one janitor who is at the school in the morning. He cleans a little bit, but not very thoroughly. He’s here to do the odd jobs.) I was surprised when the students were cleaning windows with damp old newspapers. It seemed to work pretty well actually. Maybe I’ll try that this spring when I clean my house.
On Wednesday I was going to go straight home after work to catch up on some ‘after break’ stuff, but a co-worker invited me to a free movie in Kofu. She won two tickets to a free showing of a movie that comes out in a few weeks. It was all in Japanese, but I was pleasantly surprised to the amount that I could understand. Of course there are still large gaps in my knowledge, but I can at least see an increase in ability! Since I haven’t been in school however, doing formal assignments, my written ability has significantly decreased. When I try to write a letter to my old host family, it’s seriously like pulling teeth. I’ve been writing the same letter for months. Literally. In Japanese, I would say I can understand the language best in the following order, listening, speaking, reading, and writing. For Spanish, I would say reading, writing, listening, speaking. Funny huh?
My kindle should be coming in about a week!
On a very unrelated note, if you’re ever having a hard time with your job, you should watch the movie “The Devil Wears Prada.” There is once scene where the main character Andrea complains to a coworker, and basically he says something to the effect of, “You’re not trying Andrea, you’re complaining!” I think people should watch this scene when they need a boost or inspiration.
Ok. All for now.
Lana
I finished The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and I watched the film immediately after. It was nice to get visualization, like for the setting of the town, but I’m pretty convinced that if you read a book first, you should not watch the movie. Either read the book, or watch the movie, but you’ll inherently be disappointed if you do both. The book is better if you read it first, and the movie is better if you watch it first. For example, to make the 600 page book fit into a 2 hour film, they had to alter, change, and drop many parts of the book. I’d say the movie was good standing alone, but isn’t really good if you’re trying to find a replica of the book.
Enough about that.
Now is the time that currents JETs have to decide if they’re going to re-contract for next year. I have already sent in my forms, but they’re due at the beginning of February I believe. I got an evaluation from my JTE and it was pretty good. Based off of that, I think I would get rehired. I’m not sure how the process works exactly, but I’ll let you know when I find out about the decision. During the conversation about my evaluation however, the JTE and the school principal said that I am the teacher with the most number of classes per week in the whole school. They were a little worried, because there are more first years coming in than there are third years going out, so my number of classes is only going to increase. If it gets to be too much, they’ll probably switch some of the classes for every other week to make some free time. I’m legally required to go to every class however, due to the new educational laws in Japan. The new schedule will start in April.
About my break:
I had originally planned stay in Yamanashi for Christmas, go to Nagano to ski and see some sites, go to Tokyo to catch up with old friends, and then go to Ibaraki until the end. After looking into Nagano, it turned out that the sites were closed around the Christmas/New Year’s season, and the only way to go skiing was to book a hotel, but around the ski resorts you were required to book a full three days. After all that, including transportation to and from places, it would have cost way more than it was worth. We called off the Nagano trip (and will go another time to see the sites…), and did things around Yamanashi for a little longer than planned. I did get to see some friends in Tokyo which was nice, and I got to explore a few new places in Ibaraki as well. I’ve been feeling a lot of rumbles recently, and I can’t tell if they’re shakes from the large trucks on the bypass near my house, the construction on the bypass, or mini earthquakes. I’m getting used to them anyway. I wonder if earthquakes are one reason houses are built the way they are here. It’s definitely colder in NY right now, but I think that we’re more prepared to wear warm clothes there, and our houses don’t leak so much heat. I guess I could proof my house a little better if I wanted to, but I think I’ll leave it for next year. I’m doing fine so far as it is. I think Japanese people are embarrassed to dress in too many clothes though, and might be happier if they’re cold, but look nice. They have those heat packets that they use, and many THIN layers of clothes. I’m used to hats, gloves, scarves, parkas, boots, oh well. Perhaps it’s just this area? It doesn’t snow very much here in Isawa. If I went to Hokkaido or Shimane or Snow Country, I’m sure it’d be different. I think…
The first few days back were reserved for the opening ceremony and the tests, but things are back on track now. Something happened to the pipes where they cook the school lunch, so it was a big drama and everyone had to bring their own 弁当 bento to school for three days. A bento is a boxed/packed lunch.
The first day back after break the students spent a full hour for ‘cleaning time.’ I think it had to do with the New Year. Instead of spring cleaning like we have in America, they clean right before the New Year. (The students clean their school. They don’t do a very good job so from time to time they hire real janitors. Other than that, they have the one janitor who is at the school in the morning. He cleans a little bit, but not very thoroughly. He’s here to do the odd jobs.) I was surprised when the students were cleaning windows with damp old newspapers. It seemed to work pretty well actually. Maybe I’ll try that this spring when I clean my house.
On Wednesday I was going to go straight home after work to catch up on some ‘after break’ stuff, but a co-worker invited me to a free movie in Kofu. She won two tickets to a free showing of a movie that comes out in a few weeks. It was all in Japanese, but I was pleasantly surprised to the amount that I could understand. Of course there are still large gaps in my knowledge, but I can at least see an increase in ability! Since I haven’t been in school however, doing formal assignments, my written ability has significantly decreased. When I try to write a letter to my old host family, it’s seriously like pulling teeth. I’ve been writing the same letter for months. Literally. In Japanese, I would say I can understand the language best in the following order, listening, speaking, reading, and writing. For Spanish, I would say reading, writing, listening, speaking. Funny huh?
My kindle should be coming in about a week!
On a very unrelated note, if you’re ever having a hard time with your job, you should watch the movie “The Devil Wears Prada.” There is once scene where the main character Andrea complains to a coworker, and basically he says something to the effect of, “You’re not trying Andrea, you’re complaining!” I think people should watch this scene when they need a boost or inspiration.
Ok. All for now.
Lana
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Frosty
First weeks of January
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| I was heading to Tokyo very early in the morning, and I decided to take this one back street on my way to the station. I thought it was a very interesting blend of old and new Japan, which is what Japan is all about! |
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| This is a completely digital vending machine. It has a touch screen! |
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| This is what it looks like when it's off. |
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| A very interesting game at an arcade in Ibaraki. |
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| You smack the table as hard as you can. At the very end, you flip the table up, as if throwing it. I think this was designed for really aggravated business men or high school students who needed to release some steam. |
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| Went to see a 3D movie... Tron. I wonder who this really cool guy is? |
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| This man was walking by the cafe I was studying at. He was wearing a face mask and hitting the drum. I was informed that this might have something to do with the way blind people used to travel around Japan, but that may only be a rumor or hear-say. Can anyone tell me what this really means? |
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| It took me more than an hour to look up and write down all of the words I didn't know on this piece of paper. Everyone in the staff room gets a paper like this every day. It is the schedule and announcements of the day. The original is on the left, and the altered version on the right. |
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| Close up. Goodness gracious. Remind me again why I decided to study this language? |
-Lana
Saturday, January 1, 2011
2011, Shrines, Mochi, Style, e-reader
Welcome 2011!
Well, on the first of January, year 2011, I am taking the day to chill out and catch up. It looks like a bomb exploded in my closet and sent my clothes flying around my room. Various adventures this week have left me wanting some quiet time at home just to sit and reflect. Instead of "spring cleaning" like we have in America, in Japan they do New Year's cleaning. If it weren't so cold, I'd agree that it makes sense to reorganize and clean up your life to start the new year out on the right foot!
So far, I have come up with a few new year's resolutions. Here they are!
1) Answer all e-mails and letters within one week of receiving them.
2) Be more productive in my free-time by utilizing time management skills, and focusing on one task at a time.
3) Take more/full advantage of language tools while living in Japan, for example television, Japanese films, magazines, and daily life conversations outside.
I don't have many photos, but yesterday (December 31st) we went on a mini Kofu pilgrimage. There is a road that runs through the back streets of Kofu on the north side, and it takes you to 52 different temples, shrines, and other important sites. We only hit a handful of them, but it was still fun to do this. At first, we were paranoid that we were doing something wrong. A Japanese teenager who looked like he was helping set up at one shrine, followed us to another one nearby. Then a police car seemed to be following us. It turned out we were doing nothing wrong, and these two events were just coincidences. Most Japanese people go to the shrines on January first, so we were just getting a head start. My camera battery died, so I only got a few but I'll try to post some more later.
Also, on the 30th we got to make "mochi" at one of my coworker's home. She and her family are among the few that still make their own mochi for New Years, so it was fun to go and experience this! I don't have pictures of this either, but hopefully I can get them soon.
New Years Traditions in Japan (Wiki) - Click this site to learn more about "mochi" and Japanese traditions on new years.
(Above) Making it looked something like this. Take special steamed sticky rice and dump it into this large mortar. Then the men pound the sticky rice while the women flip it, and then roll it into a desired shape. The rice was still steaming the whole time, so dipping the pounder and your hands into cold water helped the process.
We went to the internet cafe across the street, simply to say that we had experienced it, and I searched through some magazines while we were there. Here are a few pictures of fashion and home design that I thought were neat.
And from this point down, are the photos I was able to get from the shrine adventure.
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| "Yamasuso, Inishie no Michi" = foothills, the road of antiquity, aka the ancient road? |
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| This was a garden in someone's backyard that I someday hope to be able to replicate. It was so green despite the cold! Such a garden in December? Up in the mountains? What is their secret? |
On an unrelated note, I'm currently reading the book Eat, Pray, Love. I think it's good, and hope to watch the film once I finish the book.
On another unrelated note, I'm thinking about purchasing a Kindle or a Nook with my Christmas gift money! Why not put it to use other than paying bills... Do you, or any of your friends have either of these devices and do they advise or suggest one over the other? I'm interested in hearing your advice or comments on either of them. Thank you!
Love and Peace.
-Lana
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