I will be traveling around the south of Japan from March 26th through April 3rd. I will not be bringing my computer with me and will have very limited access to the internet while I am on my trip. If you need to contact me about anything, please do so before the 26th or after the 3rd. Thank you.
-Lana
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Quick update about me.
Hello!
I don't really know what to update since nothing new or exciting has been happening, but I'll just give a quick one so that you all know I'm fine.
Recently we've been having intentional rolling blackouts in the north-eastern parts of Japan to help conserve energy. The last few in my town have been canceled because people have been saving enough energy on their own. That is one thing that I really have grown to respect about Japan, their sense of community and working for the greater good.
I am not leaving Japan as of now. Things are calming down, and I have no real reason to go home. I want to finish my contract, and I want to finish my goal of actually learning Japanese. If I left now, I would feel like I was giving up on my dream. If the situation gets worse, I will reevaluate the situation and change my decision. Nothing is permanent at this point, but I have no plans to leave as of now.
Elliott's contract in Ibaraki, which is a bit closer to the power plant and also closer to the epicenter of the original quake, ends in four days. He will leave Ibaraki in four days and move to Yamanashi, where he will start his new job at the beginning of April. This move to Yamanashi was planned months before the earthquake happened, but it is lucky that this change is happening now. He will be able to move further away from the power plant by moving to Yamanashi.
Try not to be too manipulated by the news. The majority of the coverage is of a very specific part of Japan, and these are the worst effected areas. Almost nothing has changed where I am, and further south it's like nothing ever happened at all. I am safe, and I will be flexible in my decision making if anything happens from this point.
I appreciate all of the warm e-mails, thoughts, prayers, and offers to send items if any are needed. Try not to worry too much, and I'll to my best to stay on the radar during this time.
Love,
Lana
I don't really know what to update since nothing new or exciting has been happening, but I'll just give a quick one so that you all know I'm fine.
Recently we've been having intentional rolling blackouts in the north-eastern parts of Japan to help conserve energy. The last few in my town have been canceled because people have been saving enough energy on their own. That is one thing that I really have grown to respect about Japan, their sense of community and working for the greater good.
I am not leaving Japan as of now. Things are calming down, and I have no real reason to go home. I want to finish my contract, and I want to finish my goal of actually learning Japanese. If I left now, I would feel like I was giving up on my dream. If the situation gets worse, I will reevaluate the situation and change my decision. Nothing is permanent at this point, but I have no plans to leave as of now.
Elliott's contract in Ibaraki, which is a bit closer to the power plant and also closer to the epicenter of the original quake, ends in four days. He will leave Ibaraki in four days and move to Yamanashi, where he will start his new job at the beginning of April. This move to Yamanashi was planned months before the earthquake happened, but it is lucky that this change is happening now. He will be able to move further away from the power plant by moving to Yamanashi.
Try not to be too manipulated by the news. The majority of the coverage is of a very specific part of Japan, and these are the worst effected areas. Almost nothing has changed where I am, and further south it's like nothing ever happened at all. I am safe, and I will be flexible in my decision making if anything happens from this point.
I appreciate all of the warm e-mails, thoughts, prayers, and offers to send items if any are needed. Try not to worry too much, and I'll to my best to stay on the radar during this time.
Love,
Lana
Donations accepted here...
An article in the Daily Yomiuri. It is in English, and specifies good organizations to donate to if you are interested.
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T110320002399.htm
Here is the final list from the article:
List of organizations accepting donations
Yomiuri Light and Humanity Association
www.yomiuri-hikari.or.jp/
The Central Community Chest of Japan
www.akaihane.or.jp/en/
The Japanese Red Cross Society
www.jrc.or.jp/english/
The Japan Committee for UNICEF
www.unicef.or.jp/
GiveOne
www.giveone.net/
Yahoo Japan Volunteer
volunteer.yahoo.co.jp/donation/
The Nippon Foundation
www.nippon-foundation.or.jp/eng/
(Note that some are in Japanese.)
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T110320002399.htm
Here is the final list from the article:
List of organizations accepting donations
Yomiuri Light and Humanity Association
www.yomiuri-hikari.or.jp/
The Central Community Chest of Japan
www.akaihane.or.jp/en/
The Japanese Red Cross Society
www.jrc.or.jp/english/
The Japan Committee for UNICEF
www.unicef.or.jp/
GiveOne
www.giveone.net/
Yahoo Japan Volunteer
volunteer.yahoo.co.jp/donation/
The Nippon Foundation
www.nippon-foundation.or.jp/eng/
(Note that some are in Japanese.)
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Articles in West Virginia
Check out this article in the Princeton Times! Elliott and I are featured. ^_^
http://bdtonline.com/princeton/x977554610/After-quake-land-no-longer-feels-safe
http://bdtonline.com/princeton/x977554610/After-quake-land-no-longer-feels-safe
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
More sites
This is a very informative, interactive site showing what the tsunami did to the coast near Sendai. Please realize that I am nowhere near these sites, so my town looks nothing like this. It was the tsunami that did the majority of the damage and it did not hit here.
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/03/13/world/asia/satellite-photos-japan-before-and-after-tsunami.html?ref=asia
And here is really useful information on nuclear reactors,
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/03/12/world/asia/the-explosion-at-the-japanese-reactor.html?ref=asia
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/03/13/world/asia/satellite-photos-japan-before-and-after-tsunami.html?ref=asia
And here is really useful information on nuclear reactors,
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/03/12/world/asia/the-explosion-at-the-japanese-reactor.html?ref=asia
Still ok here.
Read about the updates of earthquakes and aftershocks here:
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Quakes/quakes_big.php
Or see it visually here:
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/aftershocks/?event=c0001xgp&source=us&title=M8.9%20NEAR%20THE%20EAST%20COAST%20OF%20HONSHU,%20JAPAN
Elliott is updating his first-hand experience of the few days following the quake here:
http://ebrichford.blogspot.com/
His is much more dramatic than mine.
Here is a picture of Friday's big one:
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Quakes/quakes_big.php
Or see it visually here:
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/aftershocks/?event=c0001xgp&source=us&title=M8.9%20NEAR%20THE%20EAST%20COAST%20OF%20HONSHU,%20JAPAN
Elliott is updating his first-hand experience of the few days following the quake here:
http://ebrichford.blogspot.com/
His is much more dramatic than mine.
Here is a picture of Friday's big one:
And a dot picture of the same day, same area:
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Live stream in English. - http://www.ustream.tv/channel/nhk-world-tv
People orderly wait in lines despite the disaster - http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2011/03/12/orderly-disaster-reaction-in-line-with-deep-cultural-roots/?hpt=C2
If you want latest information about earthquake activity in Japan - http://www.jma.go.jp/en/quake/
People orderly wait in lines despite the disaster - http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2011/03/12/orderly-disaster-reaction-in-line-with-deep-cultural-roots/?hpt=C2
If you want latest information about earthquake activity in Japan - http://www.jma.go.jp/en/quake/
Saturday, March 12, 2011
From the BBC - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12724953
Staff are now trying to cool another damaged reactor but radiation has risen above safety limits, reports say.
Friday's quake and tsunami are thought to have left more than 1,000 dead.
The authorities are stepping up relief efforts as the scale of the tragedy becomes clear.
Officials announced that the number of troops helping with rescue work in the region would be doubled to 100,000."
This will be a 23rd birthday to remember...
Live stream, Japanese news - http://www.ustream.tv/channel/tbstv
Blog story from a man in Tokyo - http://blogs.forbes.com/raytsuchiyama/2011/03/11/the-japan-mega-quake-of-march-11-my-surreal-walk-through-central-tokyo/
"An estimated 170,000 people have been evacuated from the area around a quake-damaged nuclear power station in north-east Japan that was hit by an explosion, the UN atomic watchdog says.
A building housing a reactor was destroyed in Saturday's blast but the reactor is said to be intact.Staff are now trying to cool another damaged reactor but radiation has risen above safety limits, reports say.
Friday's quake and tsunami are thought to have left more than 1,000 dead.
The authorities are stepping up relief efforts as the scale of the tragedy becomes clear.
Officials announced that the number of troops helping with rescue work in the region would be doubled to 100,000."
This will be a 23rd birthday to remember...
Live stream, Japanese news - http://www.ustream.tv/channel/tbstv
Blog story from a man in Tokyo - http://blogs.forbes.com/raytsuchiyama/2011/03/11/the-japan-mega-quake-of-march-11-my-surreal-walk-through-central-tokyo/
Pictures
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| Best Indian food, and only two blocks from my house! |
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| This is NOT a Manhattan Burger, but it's funny. |
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| Favorite Cafe so far in all of Japan. |
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| An interesting sign I pass when walking home from the station. |
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| Graduation prep. |
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| Graduation ceremony. |
Aftermath
It was the weirdest feeling... like all of a sudden I was feeling sick, and after two or three seconds passed I noticed the people around me looking confused and shocked. "Oh! An earthquake! Oh jeeze... it's long. It's not ending. Still not ending. Stronger now. Ok, everyone under your desk! What should we do?" "怖い、怖い、大きい、怖い！" After several minutes it finally finished. We got all of the students outside to wait. Even then as we headed outside the ground was still shaking. We sent the students home early and tried to assess any damage as the building continued to shake every several minutes. One student who broke her shin a few months ago was panicked. She can't run because of her shin, and she couldn't contact her parents. I stayed with her after school and distracted her by playing games until her dad showed up. Luckily there wasn't any damage where I live, but there is lots and lots of damage in other areas of Japan. The latest I've heard is that there was an explosion at a nuclear power plant and that there is a warning for dangerous rain coming up.
This earthquake wasn't violent shaking like the last big one I felt, this was a violent swaying. It felt like I was on a boat, and the whole building was just rocking around on waves. Imagine, the BUILDING as the boat, floating on solid land. Once the shakes stop, there is no trusting anything anymore. Our idea of physics is lousy, and land no longer feels safe. Just waiting for the next time the Earth will shake. Wait to see if things fall over or if walls come in.
News casters were saying the same thing. It felt much different than other earthquakes, and at first they thought something was wrong with them. Thought they were about to pass out or they felt dizzy, seasick. More of a rolling feeling than a jerking feeling. Maybe it was because of where I was in relation to the epicenter? Elliott who was much closer felt it differently that I did and said that his apartment was torn apart. The building is still fine, but it looked like someone had gone in and thrown all of his things around. Luckily nothing was broken. His whole city has no electricity or running water however. I think it was the largest quake since 1890 in Japan, and the 6th largest in recorded history.
I felt aftershocks all night, and some areas closer to the center have continued to feel shocks for a full 24 hours or more. My hopes and prayers go to all of those families waiting to hear from loved ones, or who have experienced recent loss. I hope there is some way I can volunteer to help in the coming days.
Well, since I am not very close to the original earthquake the effects in my area are small, but please send out your prayers to those closest to the coast and devistatation.
Thank you!
-Lana
This earthquake wasn't violent shaking like the last big one I felt, this was a violent swaying. It felt like I was on a boat, and the whole building was just rocking around on waves. Imagine, the BUILDING as the boat, floating on solid land. Once the shakes stop, there is no trusting anything anymore. Our idea of physics is lousy, and land no longer feels safe. Just waiting for the next time the Earth will shake. Wait to see if things fall over or if walls come in.
News casters were saying the same thing. It felt much different than other earthquakes, and at first they thought something was wrong with them. Thought they were about to pass out or they felt dizzy, seasick. More of a rolling feeling than a jerking feeling. Maybe it was because of where I was in relation to the epicenter? Elliott who was much closer felt it differently that I did and said that his apartment was torn apart. The building is still fine, but it looked like someone had gone in and thrown all of his things around. Luckily nothing was broken. His whole city has no electricity or running water however. I think it was the largest quake since 1890 in Japan, and the 6th largest in recorded history.
I felt aftershocks all night, and some areas closer to the center have continued to feel shocks for a full 24 hours or more. My hopes and prayers go to all of those families waiting to hear from loved ones, or who have experienced recent loss. I hope there is some way I can volunteer to help in the coming days.
Well, since I am not very close to the original earthquake the effects in my area are small, but please send out your prayers to those closest to the coast and devistatation.
Thank you!
-Lana
Friday, March 11, 2011
Earthquake
Yes, there was a very large earthquake today at 2:46 PM, and many aftershocks after that. I was at school when it happened. There is a lot of damage in the north-eastern area of Japan. Everyone in my town as far as I know is fine. I'll let you know more when I find out. Check the news if you have time.
Lana
Lana
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Graduation is tomorrow
Last night I went out to dinner with a few teachers from the school. The teachers are divided into different sections, teachers who teach first year students, second year students, third year students, and then the “office staff.” Office staff members including myself are considered fourth year teachers. There is no fourth year grade, but because we all do various jobs we are clumped into the final group. The fourth year ladies organized the dinner and invited me along. I went with the two secretaries, the two nurses, and the woman in charge of the school lunches. The librarian was also invited but was unable to go. We went to a bridal company that offers buffet style dinners once a month. It was quite delicious and I ate far too much food so that I could get my money’s worth. I was going to walk to school today to burn off some of the calories but I forgot.
At first the ladies made sure to include me in the conversations and speak slowly enough for me to follow along. After everyone had eaten and was stuffed, the conversations broke off a bit and I had a difficult time following. That, and I was tired and full and partly just zoned out.
I was thinking that I shouldn’t go because of the expenses I’ll have regarding my spring break trip and because I had to buy a re-entry permit for my future Hawaii trip, but I’m glad that I went. I don’t generally get to talk with the fourth year women. Also, at the very beginning of the year one of the secretaries and I didn’t get off to a very good start. Recently I’ve been feeling much friendlier vibes from her, and getting to talk with her and get a feel for our “outside of school personalities,” I think that things have been going much better. I had a very different impression of her before because she is not outwardly friendly, but it does not mean that she is unfriendly. I think whatever misunderstandings we had before have been dissolved and I’m very happy about it. At the dinner we got to talk about a number of different topics. One of them involved losing weight, and the nurses secrets are as follows. 1) Don’t eat anything two hours before you go to sleep. 2) Don’t snack in between meals 3) The stomach only needs to be 60% full. It used to be 80%, but now that people don’t move around much they have changed the numbers. 4) Move, walk, and exercise. The nurse herself is quite thin, and I know for a fact that she eats well, a lot even.
I also found out that the ALT before the ALT before me didn’t have her own desk at the school. She had a spot at the table with the other fourth year teachers. That would have been rather annoying. She wouldn’t have had her own computer or area to put all her books and worksheets. I wonder what she and the ALTs before her did.
The school graduation is tomorrow. Some students who never come to school came to the rehearsal which was today. They don’t have the proper school uniform, and they have dyed their hair which isn’t allowed. Because they have done this, the teachers spray-painted the student’s hair black and then dyed it back black in the nurses room after school. Not dying your hair is part of the school uniform/dress code.
Everyone is ran around school like chickens with their heads cut off today. I’m wasn't expected to do anything… but everyone being so uneasy and jittery about tomorrow made me feel jittery too. I even went around asking people if I could do anything to help and I was sent from one group to another.
At the end of the semester several of the teachers will be moved to different schools. I have heard tell that both of the vice-principals might be switching schools, which is possibly bad news for me. The vice principal that I have to report anything to is vary lenient about letting me run small errands during the days if I don’t have classes. I hope the next person I end up reporting to is similar in that sense.
And to finish today's entry:
At first the ladies made sure to include me in the conversations and speak slowly enough for me to follow along. After everyone had eaten and was stuffed, the conversations broke off a bit and I had a difficult time following. That, and I was tired and full and partly just zoned out.
I was thinking that I shouldn’t go because of the expenses I’ll have regarding my spring break trip and because I had to buy a re-entry permit for my future Hawaii trip, but I’m glad that I went. I don’t generally get to talk with the fourth year women. Also, at the very beginning of the year one of the secretaries and I didn’t get off to a very good start. Recently I’ve been feeling much friendlier vibes from her, and getting to talk with her and get a feel for our “outside of school personalities,” I think that things have been going much better. I had a very different impression of her before because she is not outwardly friendly, but it does not mean that she is unfriendly. I think whatever misunderstandings we had before have been dissolved and I’m very happy about it. At the dinner we got to talk about a number of different topics. One of them involved losing weight, and the nurses secrets are as follows. 1) Don’t eat anything two hours before you go to sleep. 2) Don’t snack in between meals 3) The stomach only needs to be 60% full. It used to be 80%, but now that people don’t move around much they have changed the numbers. 4) Move, walk, and exercise. The nurse herself is quite thin, and I know for a fact that she eats well, a lot even.
I also found out that the ALT before the ALT before me didn’t have her own desk at the school. She had a spot at the table with the other fourth year teachers. That would have been rather annoying. She wouldn’t have had her own computer or area to put all her books and worksheets. I wonder what she and the ALTs before her did.
The school graduation is tomorrow. Some students who never come to school came to the rehearsal which was today. They don’t have the proper school uniform, and they have dyed their hair which isn’t allowed. Because they have done this, the teachers spray-painted the student’s hair black and then dyed it back black in the nurses room after school. Not dying your hair is part of the school uniform/dress code.
Everyone is ran around school like chickens with their heads cut off today. I’m wasn't expected to do anything… but everyone being so uneasy and jittery about tomorrow made me feel jittery too. I even went around asking people if I could do anything to help and I was sent from one group to another.
At the end of the semester several of the teachers will be moved to different schools. I have heard tell that both of the vice-principals might be switching schools, which is possibly bad news for me. The vice principal that I have to report anything to is vary lenient about letting me run small errands during the days if I don’t have classes. I hope the next person I end up reporting to is similar in that sense.
And to finish today's entry:
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This photo was in a shop window.
That's right, "MY BUTTOCKS iS DEaD Good."
-Lana
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Interpretations
I got a response to one of my posts saying that perhaps there are too many differences between America and Japan, and that I might be happier if I moved home. I think that my blog can be misinterpreted due to the fact that I tend to ramble on and on about the differences and the bad days. Writing is an outlet for me. I use it to inform people at home about what I’ve been up to, and I use it to process all of the thoughts going through my head. When I don’t write, it’s probably because there is nothing new or interesting going on, meaning that everything is fine. There are days that I am frustrated with my work or with the cultural differences in Japan, but in general I am quite happy. I wouldn’t have requested to re-contract if I didn’t want to, or if I felt that I couldn't handle it. There are some things that are hard for me to overcome here but I have a feeling that when I go back to America there will be many more things that will be hard to overcome there, and it may be MORE difficult since America is my home country and what used to feel normal will soon feel foreign.. Some examples of things that may be difficult to understand or do when I go back to America include communicating, eating American food, American ideas of public decency, pop-culture, never taking time to eat properly, size differences (of all genres), lack of work ethic, lack of politeness to customers, lack of public transportation, the fact that it is too cold inside in the summer and too hot inside in the winter, how wasteful everyone is and how there are few good recycling systems throughout the states, and the list could keep going on. I am not having a poor time in Japan, but I am trying to account it as honestly and accurately as I can. Moving to a new country, regardless of where, is a challenging yet exciting adventure. It changes who you are on the inside and out, and it gives you a much wider perspective on the way life functions on this Earth. I wouldn’t trade being here, and eventually the time will come for me to go home. Until then…
Much love,
Lana
Much love,
Lana
The Yamanashi Grape Vine
I submitted the following photo to be used in a local JET publication called The Yamanashi Grapevine put together by the Yamanashi CIRs. They said that it is sent as a promotional tool to other countries and communities as well, so my photo can be seen my many! I am excited for it to come out. If I have permission I'll post it here when it is available. For the time being, this is the photo they chose. The story is about Takeda Shrine in Kofu.
In other news, here is a story about life after JET that was posted in an online news website, The Japan Times, and what kind of effect JET has on Japanese international relations. Give it a look if you are interested.
[NATIONAL NEWS]
Former JETs defend program
By BEN DOOLEY
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110210f3.html
Lana
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| Click image to enlarge |
In other news, here is a story about life after JET that was posted in an online news website, The Japan Times, and what kind of effect JET has on Japanese international relations. Give it a look if you are interested.
[NATIONAL NEWS]
Former JETs defend program
By BEN DOOLEY
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110210f3.html
Lana
Thursday, March 3, 2011
まとめた事を
Hello all! I wrote the majority of the following entry more than a week ago, but I never got around to posting it. I am posting it today but I apologize if a lot of the information is outdated.
How have you been? Not having internet connection enabled me to do other things, and made me feel more motivated not to go straight home after work! So some days it was a great, liberating feeling, while other days it really felt like a hindrance. I think that since the Internet is a part of human life now, we should adapt to using it, but we shouldn’t overuse it or become dependent on it.
I’ve started to feel a little like I’ve put myself on overload, but I’m not ACTING like I’m on overload. For example, I have a lot of projects going on at once and I’m just not working on any of them very diligently. I was talking to my Japanese tutor with whom I meet every week or so. She has a similar personality type as I do. She likes to do a little bit of EVERYTHING, but ends up only being able to do everything halfway. Her New Year’s Resolution is that she’s allowing herself to do everything as she pleases, but she’s not allowed to quit anything before the year is up. I guess she has a habit of quitting things and starting new things quickly, like me. Another thing I do is come up with new ideas all the time. Some I follow through with, and others I don’t. I’d like to put more effort into studying Japanese, but there are other things I need to accomplish, and the studying keeps getting pushed back. So recently I had a new idea!! ^_^. I don’t want to have to switch the DVD region code on my computer because then I can’t play American DVDs and you are only allowed to switch if five times total. So I think I’ll buy a 500 DVD player from the used electronic store down the street, and rent DVDs for free at the local library. Since I like watching movies more than I like mindlessly drilling words, perhaps this will be like tricking myself into studying. I can even watch with Japanese subtitles! I’ll be practicing listening and reading. Do you remember the Muzzy language movies? Maybe it’ll be like that. Maybe I’ll also discover some really good movies in the process. Eventually I could use this as my after-work activity. Since I’m usually too lazy after work to do anything really productive, I could use this method to relax and study. I’ll give it a go anyhow. Then I can focus on the other things over the weekend, like all full-time working people.
My supervisor at the BOE asked me to participate in an International conversation with the local Rotary club. They wanted ALTs working in Isawa to have dinner with them and talk about differences between our country and Japan. What were we surprised to see when we got here? What was hard to get used to? This will take place this week on Thursday. (This has already happened… I wrote the ALT Report about this event.) I am going with my supervisor and one other Isawa ALT. We are supposed to do this conversation in Japanese, so I’m really excited about the opportunity. This is the kind of event/experience I want to get out of working for JET. The teaching is just a cover job… and it pays the bills. I have to prepare some discussion topics, as well as look up words before I go and don’t know how to say anything. Luckily, the other ALT going is half Japanese, but is from NJ so she’s bilingual. I don’t want to rely on her too much, but it’s good to know that she could help me express myself if there is a major misunderstanding.
Also, I just finished an article due last week for the local JET newsletter. It goes out to all JETs in Yamanashi, and is available for Yamanashi ALTs and Eikaiwa workers to view. Here is the link to the publication. If you are not a member you may not be able to view it but let me know and I’ll try to post it here some other way. http://www.yetijapan.com/
(Eikaiwa is “eigo”, or English, “kaiwa,” or conversation. People go to Eikaiwa schools after work, after school, and on the weekends to learn English. Eikaiwa English teachers usually end up having the opposite schedules as ALTs. ALTs typically work within the school district, therefore within the school hours.) I volunteered to write the article for a few reasons. I want to get experience with this kind of thing, and I think it’s more related to my original goals for my experience on the JET Program. I will write about ways in which JETs can get more involved with their experience, and I will try to take my own advice as well. This is due after the weekend, so I will probably be putting a little more time into it. (Again, this is outdated. The article is finished and posted.)
Aside from Japanese goals, JET goals, and keeping up with housework, keeping up with friends and family is also a very important part of life and requires constant effort. It takes time to hang out with friends, send letters and e-mails, and write blog entries. Despite all the time I spend with this, it still doesn’t seem like enough. Some people still end up dropping off the radar. To anyone reading who has not been paid enough attention I sincerely apologize. Please don’t take it personally, and I will continue to do my best to keep up.
If you add up all of my time from Junior Year and this year, I’ve lived in Japan for a total of 17 months. One year and five months. With all this time, there are still times when living in Japan is difficult. My listening skills have increased, but my speaking and reading skills are nothing to brag about. I’ve been studying Japanese for six years, but I put “study” in quotes, because I’m more of a passive studier, meaning I don’t learn anything very quickly. Perhaps I should have stuck with Spanish? I wonder why it’s taking me so long to get accustomed to the culture? It is due to a lack of trying, or is it simply because American and Japanese cultures are so fundamentally different? Things that are difficult for me include remembering names, being sorry about everything, not being too American/too loud, omiyage or gift giving culture, seafood, lack of display of affection to anyone, hierarchy in everything, cold house, and spending lots of money.
The Elementary schoolers I pass on the way to school stopped saying good morning to me.
-I bought some books for the English club from my childhood on Amazon. Sadly they’re a little too difficult, and the students aren’t as interested in reading them as I thought they would be. Perhaps the problem is that they want it to seem like they’re reading “big kid” novels, but there aren’t any written in English that they can understand. They got frustrated and gave up quickly. Getting them was fun for me at least. I reread them and it reminded me of good times. It’s true that you don’t know how great things are until they’ve passed. For example, being a kid… being a college student, being… you get the picture. Right now I better appreciate having nothing tying me to anywhere in particular, and go where the wind takes me!
With permission from Julia Israel, I will copy something here that she wrote for the Yamanashi Panache about cold weather in the prefecture. It is supposed to be humorous, but there is definitely a bit of truth to it!
The Cold Bit: 20 telltale signs of winter by Julie Israel
-You can see your breath in the house when you wake up.
-You can see your breath in the house when you get home from work.
-You can see your breath in the house at all times.
-Walking into the kitchen, bathroom, or any room which is sectioned off by sliding doors, causes your nose to run.
-The honey freezes.
-You leave the milk out for more than an hour by accident, but just as you’re wondering whether it needs to be thrown out you touch the carton and realize it is at least as cold, if not colder than, when you took it out of the refrigerator.
-You develop an unhealthy bond with your heater(s), never straying from each other’s side.
-You spend about as much time wearing your down coat, scarf, hat and gloves inside as you do outside. Perhaps more. Layers are not fashion, but a way of life. Survival, to be exact.
-You wash dishes expressly to be able to feel your hands again.
-Your breath fogs up the mirror.
-You wouldn’t cross the tundra without boots; you sure as hell wouldn’t cross the hardwood floor without your indoor slippers.
-Like a dog on a leash in the yard, your mobility at home is only as far as the chord of your electric blanket allows.
-In order to stay warm, sleeping under the covers becomes all-inclusive and takes on a meaning closer to how a teenager with an aversion to sunlight, being woken before two in the afternoon, and a math exam on Monday might sleep.
-Peeling back the covers in the morning is not unlike tearing off a ginormous, full-body band-aid.
-You wake up with songs such as Let It Snow, Winter Wonderland, or White Christmas in your head.
-Turning off the hot water and stepping out of the shower = certain death.
-Hot tea / coffee / cocoa are the elixir of life.
-The only semi-efficient manner of drying your clothes involves using the air conditioner.
-This actually makes the apartment warmer.
-The thought of ice cream is nostalgic.
And that’s winter in a nut-shell. ^_^ I don’t keep honey in my house, but the olive oil did freeze. At first I thought it had gone bad but I double checked and sure enough it had just congealed.
Some time a few weeks ago I walked into a McDonalds for lunch. There is only one in my town so it is pretty likely that you’ll see some students if you go in there. When I went in I saw a table full of boys all covering their heads with their jackets or hoods. I thought that they just didn’t want to be seen by me and were joking around. After ordering my food I realized that the whole table of boys left. Was it really that bad to see me there? The next day I told one of the teachers about what happened in a joking way. She told me that the students aren’t allowed to be there without adult supervision, and that’s probably why they left. “I avoid going anywhere in Isawa mostly because I don’t want to catch children like that because then I have to yell at them,” she said. I agree with her. Not having a car makes it difficult for me to go anywhere else so I guess I’ll have to limit myself to places I know they won’t go, or go at times they won’t be there.
One of these places is the Indian Restaurant down the street from my house. The people that work there are very friendly, and I’ve gone every Friday for the past month. They don’t know me by name yet, but they do recognize me when I go in. I joke around with them a little now. The store is pretty empty on Friday nights so maybe I’ll just go in for a coffee or something after work this week. It’s funny though because we are both foreigners but they don’t speak English, and I don’t speak their language, so we communicate in Japanese.
A few weeks ago the elementary schoolers came to Isawa JH for a demo day. I did two demo classes, and they were paraded through the cooking room as we had English club. It felt a little like we were animals in a zoo. We were playing “spoons,” which is a family tradition, so I hope the kids thought it looked interesting and will join English club next semester.
Is it only Japanese girls who hide in their hair or is it all JH girls? In Japan people reapply makeup and re-groom themselves constantly
I’m sure that I’ll have reverse culture shock going back to the US. Compared to here, people tend to have a lack of concern for their appearance in the states. For example I wouldn’t consider leaving my house with paint on a shirt or holes in my socks in Japan. If anyone sees me without makeup I’m embarrassed.
There is a new student who’s gone between living in Japan and China several times. I don’t know where he’s actually from originally but his Japanese and Chinese are both pretty good. During the speaking drills in our class I thought that it was really interesting that he had a Chinese-English accent while everyone else in the room had a Japanese-English accent, and then I thought that it was interesting that there was a difference and that I could hear it. The sounds in the Japanese and Chinese language are quite different actually. The Japanese borrowed the Chinese writing system, but it didn’t really fit Japanese pronunciation or grammar. No wonder Japanese is so hard to learn!
Recently there have been a high number of Flu cases in the school so instead of meeting all together in the gym, they had a live broadcast on the schools TV system. The technology here at Isawa JH isn’t very high-tech, so I was surprised that they had the capabilities to do that. I didn’t even realize that every classroom had a TV. They’re pretty old, so I think I just assumed that they didn’t work.
I miss Denison; staying at the library late with friends, living close to everyone, not having to wake up at the same time every day, having a warm house, my car, my ACC office, wireless access everywhere, goofing around, EVERYTHING.
-At the school I don’t always feel like a real teacher. Then again, I’m not really. If I don’t have all of the same responsibilities, then I guess I shouldn’t have all of the same privileges either. No special school keys, no locker in the dressing room, no name plate on my shoe locker, no designated seat at the meetings, no packet full of information I don’t really need, and a smaller desk than most of the staff, but I get paid more than the half-time teacher who is at work for more hours than I am.
-I know about hierarchical society in Japan, but I didn’t realize there was such a hierarchy within the school. It is clear that there is some, but the school nurse told me that it is pretty strict here. I guess I didn’t see it because there are a lot of people around all of the time, so keeping track of who talks to who in what way would be pretty difficult.
-In one of my classes, a girl was asking to read out loud. She was not the only one asked, and is usually not a very shy person as far as I can tell. When she was called on she wouldn’t say anything. Eventually she stood up to answer the question, but continued to not say anything and eventually she started crying. The teacher wasn’t being particularly strict, so I wonder what happened.
-Two girls in particular come to school not in uniform. I think they often only come for lunch. I also think that the teachers are too nice to them in response to their behavior. Then again, I was never the bad kid in school, so I don’t really know how discipline here is different. It doesn’t seem like they suspend kids… but like I said, I don’t really know or perhaps don’t understand.
If I posted more often, I don't think I'd have this problem with post topics being so completely random and not related to one another.
Goodbye for now!
-Lana
How have you been? Not having internet connection enabled me to do other things, and made me feel more motivated not to go straight home after work! So some days it was a great, liberating feeling, while other days it really felt like a hindrance. I think that since the Internet is a part of human life now, we should adapt to using it, but we shouldn’t overuse it or become dependent on it.
I’ve started to feel a little like I’ve put myself on overload, but I’m not ACTING like I’m on overload. For example, I have a lot of projects going on at once and I’m just not working on any of them very diligently. I was talking to my Japanese tutor with whom I meet every week or so. She has a similar personality type as I do. She likes to do a little bit of EVERYTHING, but ends up only being able to do everything halfway. Her New Year’s Resolution is that she’s allowing herself to do everything as she pleases, but she’s not allowed to quit anything before the year is up. I guess she has a habit of quitting things and starting new things quickly, like me. Another thing I do is come up with new ideas all the time. Some I follow through with, and others I don’t. I’d like to put more effort into studying Japanese, but there are other things I need to accomplish, and the studying keeps getting pushed back. So recently I had a new idea!! ^_^. I don’t want to have to switch the DVD region code on my computer because then I can’t play American DVDs and you are only allowed to switch if five times total. So I think I’ll buy a 500 DVD player from the used electronic store down the street, and rent DVDs for free at the local library. Since I like watching movies more than I like mindlessly drilling words, perhaps this will be like tricking myself into studying. I can even watch with Japanese subtitles! I’ll be practicing listening and reading. Do you remember the Muzzy language movies? Maybe it’ll be like that. Maybe I’ll also discover some really good movies in the process. Eventually I could use this as my after-work activity. Since I’m usually too lazy after work to do anything really productive, I could use this method to relax and study. I’ll give it a go anyhow. Then I can focus on the other things over the weekend, like all full-time working people.
My supervisor at the BOE asked me to participate in an International conversation with the local Rotary club. They wanted ALTs working in Isawa to have dinner with them and talk about differences between our country and Japan. What were we surprised to see when we got here? What was hard to get used to? This will take place this week on Thursday. (This has already happened… I wrote the ALT Report about this event.) I am going with my supervisor and one other Isawa ALT. We are supposed to do this conversation in Japanese, so I’m really excited about the opportunity. This is the kind of event/experience I want to get out of working for JET. The teaching is just a cover job… and it pays the bills. I have to prepare some discussion topics, as well as look up words before I go and don’t know how to say anything. Luckily, the other ALT going is half Japanese, but is from NJ so she’s bilingual. I don’t want to rely on her too much, but it’s good to know that she could help me express myself if there is a major misunderstanding.
Also, I just finished an article due last week for the local JET newsletter. It goes out to all JETs in Yamanashi, and is available for Yamanashi ALTs and Eikaiwa workers to view. Here is the link to the publication. If you are not a member you may not be able to view it but let me know and I’ll try to post it here some other way. http://www.yetijapan.com/
(Eikaiwa is “eigo”, or English, “kaiwa,” or conversation. People go to Eikaiwa schools after work, after school, and on the weekends to learn English. Eikaiwa English teachers usually end up having the opposite schedules as ALTs. ALTs typically work within the school district, therefore within the school hours.) I volunteered to write the article for a few reasons. I want to get experience with this kind of thing, and I think it’s more related to my original goals for my experience on the JET Program. I will write about ways in which JETs can get more involved with their experience, and I will try to take my own advice as well. This is due after the weekend, so I will probably be putting a little more time into it. (Again, this is outdated. The article is finished and posted.)
Aside from Japanese goals, JET goals, and keeping up with housework, keeping up with friends and family is also a very important part of life and requires constant effort. It takes time to hang out with friends, send letters and e-mails, and write blog entries. Despite all the time I spend with this, it still doesn’t seem like enough. Some people still end up dropping off the radar. To anyone reading who has not been paid enough attention I sincerely apologize. Please don’t take it personally, and I will continue to do my best to keep up.
If you add up all of my time from Junior Year and this year, I’ve lived in Japan for a total of 17 months. One year and five months. With all this time, there are still times when living in Japan is difficult. My listening skills have increased, but my speaking and reading skills are nothing to brag about. I’ve been studying Japanese for six years, but I put “study” in quotes, because I’m more of a passive studier, meaning I don’t learn anything very quickly. Perhaps I should have stuck with Spanish? I wonder why it’s taking me so long to get accustomed to the culture? It is due to a lack of trying, or is it simply because American and Japanese cultures are so fundamentally different? Things that are difficult for me include remembering names, being sorry about everything, not being too American/too loud, omiyage or gift giving culture, seafood, lack of display of affection to anyone, hierarchy in everything, cold house, and spending lots of money.
The Elementary schoolers I pass on the way to school stopped saying good morning to me.
-I bought some books for the English club from my childhood on Amazon. Sadly they’re a little too difficult, and the students aren’t as interested in reading them as I thought they would be. Perhaps the problem is that they want it to seem like they’re reading “big kid” novels, but there aren’t any written in English that they can understand. They got frustrated and gave up quickly. Getting them was fun for me at least. I reread them and it reminded me of good times. It’s true that you don’t know how great things are until they’ve passed. For example, being a kid… being a college student, being… you get the picture. Right now I better appreciate having nothing tying me to anywhere in particular, and go where the wind takes me!
With permission from Julia Israel, I will copy something here that she wrote for the Yamanashi Panache about cold weather in the prefecture. It is supposed to be humorous, but there is definitely a bit of truth to it!
The Cold Bit: 20 telltale signs of winter by Julie Israel
-You can see your breath in the house when you wake up.
-You can see your breath in the house when you get home from work.
-You can see your breath in the house at all times.
-Walking into the kitchen, bathroom, or any room which is sectioned off by sliding doors, causes your nose to run.
-The honey freezes.
-You leave the milk out for more than an hour by accident, but just as you’re wondering whether it needs to be thrown out you touch the carton and realize it is at least as cold, if not colder than, when you took it out of the refrigerator.
-You develop an unhealthy bond with your heater(s), never straying from each other’s side.
-You spend about as much time wearing your down coat, scarf, hat and gloves inside as you do outside. Perhaps more. Layers are not fashion, but a way of life. Survival, to be exact.
-You wash dishes expressly to be able to feel your hands again.
-Your breath fogs up the mirror.
-You wouldn’t cross the tundra without boots; you sure as hell wouldn’t cross the hardwood floor without your indoor slippers.
-Like a dog on a leash in the yard, your mobility at home is only as far as the chord of your electric blanket allows.
-In order to stay warm, sleeping under the covers becomes all-inclusive and takes on a meaning closer to how a teenager with an aversion to sunlight, being woken before two in the afternoon, and a math exam on Monday might sleep.
-Peeling back the covers in the morning is not unlike tearing off a ginormous, full-body band-aid.
-You wake up with songs such as Let It Snow, Winter Wonderland, or White Christmas in your head.
-Turning off the hot water and stepping out of the shower = certain death.
-Hot tea / coffee / cocoa are the elixir of life.
-The only semi-efficient manner of drying your clothes involves using the air conditioner.
-This actually makes the apartment warmer.
-The thought of ice cream is nostalgic.
And that’s winter in a nut-shell. ^_^ I don’t keep honey in my house, but the olive oil did freeze. At first I thought it had gone bad but I double checked and sure enough it had just congealed.
Some time a few weeks ago I walked into a McDonalds for lunch. There is only one in my town so it is pretty likely that you’ll see some students if you go in there. When I went in I saw a table full of boys all covering their heads with their jackets or hoods. I thought that they just didn’t want to be seen by me and were joking around. After ordering my food I realized that the whole table of boys left. Was it really that bad to see me there? The next day I told one of the teachers about what happened in a joking way. She told me that the students aren’t allowed to be there without adult supervision, and that’s probably why they left. “I avoid going anywhere in Isawa mostly because I don’t want to catch children like that because then I have to yell at them,” she said. I agree with her. Not having a car makes it difficult for me to go anywhere else so I guess I’ll have to limit myself to places I know they won’t go, or go at times they won’t be there.
One of these places is the Indian Restaurant down the street from my house. The people that work there are very friendly, and I’ve gone every Friday for the past month. They don’t know me by name yet, but they do recognize me when I go in. I joke around with them a little now. The store is pretty empty on Friday nights so maybe I’ll just go in for a coffee or something after work this week. It’s funny though because we are both foreigners but they don’t speak English, and I don’t speak their language, so we communicate in Japanese.
A few weeks ago the elementary schoolers came to Isawa JH for a demo day. I did two demo classes, and they were paraded through the cooking room as we had English club. It felt a little like we were animals in a zoo. We were playing “spoons,” which is a family tradition, so I hope the kids thought it looked interesting and will join English club next semester.
Is it only Japanese girls who hide in their hair or is it all JH girls? In Japan people reapply makeup and re-groom themselves constantly
I’m sure that I’ll have reverse culture shock going back to the US. Compared to here, people tend to have a lack of concern for their appearance in the states. For example I wouldn’t consider leaving my house with paint on a shirt or holes in my socks in Japan. If anyone sees me without makeup I’m embarrassed.
There is a new student who’s gone between living in Japan and China several times. I don’t know where he’s actually from originally but his Japanese and Chinese are both pretty good. During the speaking drills in our class I thought that it was really interesting that he had a Chinese-English accent while everyone else in the room had a Japanese-English accent, and then I thought that it was interesting that there was a difference and that I could hear it. The sounds in the Japanese and Chinese language are quite different actually. The Japanese borrowed the Chinese writing system, but it didn’t really fit Japanese pronunciation or grammar. No wonder Japanese is so hard to learn!
Recently there have been a high number of Flu cases in the school so instead of meeting all together in the gym, they had a live broadcast on the schools TV system. The technology here at Isawa JH isn’t very high-tech, so I was surprised that they had the capabilities to do that. I didn’t even realize that every classroom had a TV. They’re pretty old, so I think I just assumed that they didn’t work.
I miss Denison; staying at the library late with friends, living close to everyone, not having to wake up at the same time every day, having a warm house, my car, my ACC office, wireless access everywhere, goofing around, EVERYTHING.
-At the school I don’t always feel like a real teacher. Then again, I’m not really. If I don’t have all of the same responsibilities, then I guess I shouldn’t have all of the same privileges either. No special school keys, no locker in the dressing room, no name plate on my shoe locker, no designated seat at the meetings, no packet full of information I don’t really need, and a smaller desk than most of the staff, but I get paid more than the half-time teacher who is at work for more hours than I am.
-I know about hierarchical society in Japan, but I didn’t realize there was such a hierarchy within the school. It is clear that there is some, but the school nurse told me that it is pretty strict here. I guess I didn’t see it because there are a lot of people around all of the time, so keeping track of who talks to who in what way would be pretty difficult.
-In one of my classes, a girl was asking to read out loud. She was not the only one asked, and is usually not a very shy person as far as I can tell. When she was called on she wouldn’t say anything. Eventually she stood up to answer the question, but continued to not say anything and eventually she started crying. The teacher wasn’t being particularly strict, so I wonder what happened.
-Two girls in particular come to school not in uniform. I think they often only come for lunch. I also think that the teachers are too nice to them in response to their behavior. Then again, I was never the bad kid in school, so I don’t really know how discipline here is different. It doesn’t seem like they suspend kids… but like I said, I don’t really know or perhaps don’t understand.
If I posted more often, I don't think I'd have this problem with post topics being so completely random and not related to one another.
Goodbye for now!
-Lana
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
ALT Report
Last week I volunteered at a Rotary Club meeting in Isawa. I wasn't able to do enough preparation for it as the speech had to be in Japanese, but I had a really good time attending the event and giving a short ten-minute speech about culture differences between Japan and America.
After the event, the Vice-Principal at my school asked about it. I told him that I would try to write up a report about what kind of points we spoke on. I didn't have enough time to write anything official however, so I pulled together the notes that I had and turned it into a "rough report."
The main reason I am posting this report below is because it is the only way I'll be able to print it out at school. There are a few people who can read Japanese that read my blog and to them I am very sorry. My Japanese ability should be better than that used in this report, and if I had more time I would have tried to fix the errors and turned it into something legible.
How has your week been?
-Lana
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