Orinji Ranji

For those of you not in Japan, there is this song that is sweeping this nation. It is by Orinji Ranji, but is really Orange Range. The song is called "Hana," or 'Flower.' All my kids sing it all the time. It is uber popular. It is weird because the band is really a punk band, but has a few 'pop' songs on their new CD. Hana is a mixture of punk and pop. I think the song is good, but not spectacular. Maybe I just need to listen to it more. A teacher at my Junior High gave the lyrics and I am suppose to memorize them and sing the song next week. That is a tall order, because A: I can't sing B: It is a little punkish and I can't sing that fast; and then C: It is all in Japanese. I know a few words, but I would just be memorizing mostly sounds. So I dunno.
I am so tired today. I get really tired every Friday. For my classes today at Kasamatsu Elementry School I was scraping the bottom of my energy barrel. I got a headache after singing "Five Little Monkeys Jumping On a Bed" just before lunch. I told a teacher that my head was "Itai" and he gave me some medicine. Ok good. So half way through lunch I started to feel really dizzy and drowsy, it fell on my like a ton of bricks. One moment I was asking a kid to teach me some Japanese slang, the next I felt like I was going to fall of my chair. I figured the medicine was the cause of it. So a cup of coffee later took care of everything and got a second wind and performed "Twist and Shout" for my last class. I then spent the rest of the afternoon trying to wind a small Japanese metal top. You are suppose to wind this little thing with a piece of sting and then fling it on to the ground. It is pretty cool. I can sort of do the flinging, but the winding of the top takes some skill. I tried to for like and hour and a half until my hand was aching. So then I went to the Board of Education, as I am suppose to everyday before I return to abode. I have to do this in case they have something to say to me or give me. Sometimes I have mail too. I get nearly everything sent to the office. So yeah, exciting.
Lunch was nice today. The provided school lunch, or Kyuushoukuji, is my staple diet. I can't really cook, I hate going out of my to eat at times. Plus the lunch is cheap and good. Today was a beef soup/stew, rice(which they eat the nearly every meal, even breakfast), Milk(every lunch), and some sort of pickled onion something salad. Salad thing wasn't so great, but I ate it. I clean my plate everytime. Except a few times when I am suppose to eat the fried fish's head or something. After lunch everyone has to fold their milk box a certian way and then put it in a special garbage can. However, Kasamatsu Elementry school makes you tear the box open, wash it, and then toss it. I dunno, the last few times there I forget they are the exception out of my 4 schools and sometimes fold my milk box instead of tearing it open. Like I did today, but I remembered before anyone said anything to me.
Yesterday, I went to the junior high. I taught two classes instead of my usual one because I didn't teach on Tuesday so I made up for it with the 1st grade(7th grade in the US) yesterday. After school I followed a fellow teacher to Gobo(a 40 minute drive) where he helped me purchase my train tickets to Tokyo. The tickets cost me $304 instead of the estimates $360 so that was a bonus. Afterwards we ate at a nearby tea house and talked about cars, or tried to in broken Englisha nd Japanese. He owns a BMW 328i. It is 6 years old. He got a ticket once for going 200KPH on the highway, which I think is about 120 MpH, correct me is I am wrong I just don't remember. His ticket was only $230 for going that fast, or maybe that was a ticket for something else. Anywho I am thinking of buying a PS2 here so I can play Gran Turismo 4.

So yes, have a good weekend

Living low tech in a high tech world

To my 3 readers, this blog would be more frequent and full of pictures if I was able to get a DSL connection in my home. Oh well, such is life in the mountains. On the brightside I have a lot of pictures that I am going to upload soon. I will try an provide a picture or two with every update and also keep them in the archives.
So I am planning to go to Wonderfest in Tokyo in a few weeks, on the 20th. I am going to take the Shinkansen, which will set me back about $360, that is for both ways. The teachers at my junior high were nice enough to help me figure out the times of the trains I will be taking, but they couldn't help me make an online reservation. The internet here is not like it is in the US. It is slow coming, and there are not many internet savvy people here. The teachers cringed at the thought of trying to figure out how to reserve the tickets online. I'll just have to go to the station in Gobo tomorrow or someday soon.
Yesterday was a chill day. I taught no classes at the junior high because the students I was to teach had to take tests all day. It's like every other week these poor kids are having to take all-day tests. The 3rd grade has been away for the last couple of days. I guess off somewhere taking more tests.
I awoke yesterday morning to a thin layer of snow convering everything. Snow isn't a big deal in genereal, but in Miyama it is. So we got a lot, like a half an inch. People were freaking out all day as the wind cranking in and blowing in even more snow. Everyone was talking about snow tires and such. All the talk got me worried about driving to Gobo to go to Miyoko's ALT dinner, which is every Tuesday. However, after a short phone call with Seth, my neighboring ALT, I was informed that the roads were actually fine and that there wasn't really anything to worry about. The worry is that in Japan they don't salt the roads. So ice just form as usual and is sometimes black. Sougawa got a nice heap of snow though. I don't have to go out there until Monday. Hopefully it will be warm.
Last night's ALT at Miyoko's was a feast as usual. I was on time this time. I arrived at 7:00 pm as opposed to 7:30. Everyone seemed a bit out of it. I figure the cold weather is making everyone tired and quiet. Yesterday and today has been windy and cold, about minus 1 celcius, which I guess is about 20-25 degrees Fahrenheit. So not too cold, but it sucks, especially when your house doesn't stay warm and may as well go outside to piss when you go into the bathroom. I shouldn't say that because some people actually have there bathrooms outside. Anyways the food was great and so was the talk. Seth hooked me up with a Carbon( ha his name is Seth Carbon) Monoxide detector, so I won't pass out from the fumes emitted from kerosene heater. I need to get mroe karosene.
I have been at the Board of Education all day. As I do every Wednesday. I always expect to get something done, but I never do. I just screw around on my computer most of the day and study Japanese. I don't have internet at home, but I still fell bad that I never seem to get anything done. My lessons are good, but they could be better. I have ideas for several games and activities but I never seem to find time to create them and make the props or materials.
Last night I went to Roman City to pick up pictures that I get developed at SNAPS!. A cool place with digital developing. They are also more cool because they give you free little photo binders. I had to take money out of the ATM at Roman City to pay for the photos. That all went well. But this morning at the BOE, I got a call telling me I was stupid becasue I forgot my ATM card at Roman City. I remember taking it from the machine, but I guess I must have dropped. Anyways. Japanese people are so nice an cool. The bank called and comfirmed that I was missing and said that they will bring it to me tomorrow. There are bring it to me. They are so nice a cool. I still can't believe I did that. I am also so careful.
Today I did receive some more books to help me study Japanese. One was a workbook to accompany my Japanese for Bust People textbook. The other book was a new text book that is suppose to be great, it is just called, Japanese for College Students. It looks great and uses a ton of Hiragana and Kanji, but seems to be written for use in a classroom enviroment and not for independent study. Plus I already know nearly everything in that new book. I might give it a crack for a good review. I almost done with volume One of Japanese for Busy People. I am on Lesson 27 out of 30 Lessons in the book. I would say the book could be covered in college at somewhat fast pace in two semesters. When I was using the book in college we went at a slow pace and took about a chapter a week. It would have taken us about 2 years or 4 semesters to finsh the book. I am still studying at a slow pace, but I think I am retaining a lot, but my speaking is still horrible, but getting gradually better. Someday. I can't wait to get to book Two of Japanese for Busy People. I like the series, and I think I will stick with it. Book Two goes at a lot faster pace and contains kanji. Kanji won't be new to me, because I gone ahead and put kanji in book One where it should be, that is I have looked up and memorized the kanji for most of the nouns and verbs that are introduced in book One. Japanese is a fun langauge too. Kanji is very interesting and helps you to memorize words better. I just wish I had a better electronic dictionary.
I need to send out some packages to people in the states, but I am just too lazy I guess. I need to do it though.

Mos Burger

Well, last week was pretty solid. Friday was intense. After teaching two lessons and playing dodgeball twice with the kids at Shougawa Elementry school on a glarious warm and sunny day I drove 20 minutes back to the BOE office to find out that there was going to be a mochi maki in Sougawa in 30 minutes. Of course I wanted to go, so I drove all the way back to Sougawa. Not a bad drive either, it is a very scenic drive. Driving along the river with the late afternoon sun breaking breaking over the tops of the moutains. Plus it was warm. So I got back and was picked up by the kyoto sensai. She drove me and the lunch lady down into Sougawa a bit further and then we hiked up the side of this small mountain on a path that was really narrow. Passing through a mini-Torii gate only reveled more of the same steep path, but soon I was at the top and privy to a beautiful view of Sougawa. There was this really small opening with a metal stand with a small shrine near it. The kids formt he school were up there too. Most people were older folk. We waited a bit and then they candy and ramen. It was a feeding frenzy. People diving everywhere. You had to be careful to fall off the edge too. Then they threw tons of mochi. Occasionally they threw a huge mochi, which if you caught, you would get a prize. I had a decent haul and later some of the kids gave me some candy and chips. As I was drving away later, I gave some mochi to an older guy who speaks some English. On my way back I stopped at Kasamatsu Elementry school and shared some of the spoils with the teachers there. It was about 4:30 so all the kids at that school were gone already.
I saw a monkey running across the street and up a mountain when driving back home from Sougawa each time. I tried to take a picture but he was too fast.
Later that night I was suppose to meet up a play Halo 2 with another ALT, but when I got home I just fell asleep.
On Saturday I did meet up with four ALTs at Mister Donut infront of Roman City. Right as I met up with them, the two girls that are about my age that work at the Junior High drove by and said 'hello' to me from their car. From there we walked to the nearby hostpital and practiced some Tai-Chi with a Chinese teacher. The teacher is a great guy, and always laughs one of those hardy laughs. He knows Chinese and Japanese and a little English. We spent about 3 hours there and then some of went and saw Oceans 12 at Roman City. Which was a fantastic movie. I'd say it was worth the $17 I had spend for the ticket. I will probably be able to buy it for that price when it comes out on DVD. From there me and another ALT took a try at a place called Mos Burger.
This place is a healthy burger place, supposedly, with fresh meat and they cook it right there for you.
On Sunday I just hung around a lot and the met up with Tetsuji to have some Unagi at an all Unagi restaurant. It was awesome Unagi. I will definatly go back there again sometime.
And so, today's visit to Kawa-Shou was a good. Most kids enjoyed what I did, and I have took a crack at hiragana in the 5ht grade's Shoudou class.
I missed out on a fire festival down south in some town on Saturday. It is suppose to be a good festival. Hopefully I can get there another time.