Wednesday, March 10, 2010
YOU KNOW YOU'RE IN JAPAN WHEN...
The breath of the students condenses into a gray steam as they practice singing one of the three songs they must sing as graduation in the coldest gym.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
a simple post to pass the time
hi blog!
i went to the mall today. the new facebook is really bad at uploading photos, and this is enough to make me frustrated. so i am going to talk about it while the website decides if it wants to upload my photos, or if it wants me to go to photobucket. okay. so the mall is 40 minutes away along a windy road that goes through some mountains and bumpy tunnels. my plan was to go to mcdonalds because my body and mind need chemically induced nostalgia from time to time. okay! the photos are up. lets get some more on there. here we go.
i walked around a bit before i was hungry enough to eat. clothes are either normal and super expensive or very flimsy and cheap, and they are all way too small for me. i think everything i bought is a size too small, so i will have to stretch everything out. here is the mcdonalds meal i got. the new york burger's time had passed, to my surprise, and now the hawaiian burger was available. the hawaiian burger is a big burger with bbq sauce, mayo, lettuce, cheese, bacon, and a huge fried egg thing. look!
was there a tomato too? very likely. it tasted ok, not as special as the texas burger from a few weeks ago, but i was satisfied. then i walked around the mall some more and got an idea of what i wanted to buy. there were 3 levels and the building is very long. it reminds me so much of the palisades mall at home. i went in one electronics store because i was wondering how much a decent video camera costs. answer: too much. but i did stumble upon this wonderful experience, which i somehow missed the first time i went into this electronics store. are you interested in buying a gundam model kit? the pieces snap together and there is no glue necessary. maybe you will have to draw little lines with a black pen or paint some pieces with a special marker but you will have fun making a model of a robot at 1/100 of the robot scale. the only problem is first you have to choose one.
not an easy thing to do. i think i stood here for a good 15 minutes just looking at different boxes and realizing that i don't even know any of these robots, half of them are from the newer tv shows that i have never seen. some were cool looking. maybe i will buy a few before i come home as a gift to myself. okay what next? oh yeah. so the japanese, as you probably already know, don't speak english. but they like to pretend they do, while giving off this vibe of "it's complete b.s. and we don't take it seriously at all, so thanks for trying, but we got this". want some evidence? here are two, the best two, stores in the mall with ridiculous, stupid names. the first might not get to you like it does some people.
so it's called Spicy Marmalade. no big deal right? it sells lady clothes. can marmalade even be spicy? what is marmalade? isnt it like jam? it has to be sweet then. so this is really just confusing nonsense. okay. i get it. nothing to get alarmed about, move along. you think everything is going to be okay, until you get up to the third floor and you see this utter monster staring back at you.
WHAT IN THE. okay. take a breath. i know, it's difficult. imagine if you had to live here and teach these people how to speak english. try to imagine that for a second. i know right? okay. so. this store, like it or not, and there is no way you can like it at all, is called Starvations. it sells childrens clothing, more like toddler clothing, in only bright neon and pastel colors. it is one of the worst things that has ever existed. i cannot imagine the process that led some unfortunate person to pick this name. did they have a dictionary? i hope not. were they picking random words out of a hat? did it sound cool? was a mistake made? did they think it meant something else? nobody will ever know. okay. calm down. there are more photos to see. like this one.
a nice stage performance with songs and dancing, featuring a giant vegetable costume, for kids. this was nice. there were so many little kids in this mall. there is an entire childrens arcade on the top floor, with blacklight ball pits. i think a lot of the young parents take their young kids here for entertainment, and the mall provides. this vegetable performance was good because it gave me a chance to get maybe the best photo i have ever taken, from inside an elevator as i was about to go downstairs and leave the mall. check this out.
at first only the baby was in the photo, looking down at the show from the same angle that i got the last shot at. but then mom walked into the frame and i dont know, i think she might have made it a better shot? more composition and elements. nobody will ever know. so around this time i bought the one too-small shirt that i had my eye on and exited the mall. i decided to drive a little further north towards takamatsu city, because i had never been beyond the mall/airport area. i saw a sign for a tunnel straight ahead after a while so i turned around, but there was a videogame store i like to go to called Geo (pronounced gay-oh) connected to a grand opening clothing store called jumble or something. i liked their style, a lot of the clothes seemed used or handmade or just weird and cool, so i got some pants and shirts there. i think i found the best, most perfect shirt i have ever found. you will know about it eventually, but not now. my plan was to drive back and stop at the mall again for dinner. now, don't be fooled into going to the hamburger restaurant.
actually, maybe you should check it out. it's not really hamburger per se, since hamburger as we understand it includes bread and is like a sandwich. this is more accurately called hambaagoo, because it is just the meat, in a skillet, with other things around it, and rice on the side. japanese people love this. here you can see all of the plastic display dishes, and the crazy (racist?) mascot who is holding a big skewered beef patty in a pike. i don't know about him. well, i already ate a hamburger today, a real one, and i didn't want to go to the italian buffet with the chocolate fountain, because who does that? so i waited for a half hour to get into this wonderful establishment.
this is called kaiten sushi. it is a restaurant where sushis come by on little plates that are on a little track that circulates throughout the place. you just pick up a plate and if it is a good place like this, every plate is a little more than a dollar. you can get all kinds of eel, tuna, and different types of fish! and there is tea in a little cup, and a spigot of hot water. here you see some little plastic tops to keep the fish fresh as it circulates. i had to wait a half hour to be seated! but it was so worth it. okay, i am going to spoil the mystery for you right now. don't be devastated, this is about the industry.
so they have a little machine to form the rice into perfectly shaped sushi carriers. this is okay, we have to not be upset about this. yes, you used to make this shape with 2 fingers and the palm of your hand. but that era has passed. this is post-fordist sushi construction. why is this ok? because it allows for this to be possible, and eaten.
this is fresh bacon and mayonnaise sushi. i think the bacon has been cured, because it looks mad raw. this tastes like pure butter, and it is the most devilish, amazing concoction i have ever experienced. if you didnt notice, the hawaiian burger had 2 bacon pieces sticking out of the bottom, so today was a very good day for my bacon intake. that's it! i hope you had fun learning about and looking at my day.
great!
i went to the mall today. the new facebook is really bad at uploading photos, and this is enough to make me frustrated. so i am going to talk about it while the website decides if it wants to upload my photos, or if it wants me to go to photobucket. okay. so the mall is 40 minutes away along a windy road that goes through some mountains and bumpy tunnels. my plan was to go to mcdonalds because my body and mind need chemically induced nostalgia from time to time. okay! the photos are up. lets get some more on there. here we go.
i walked around a bit before i was hungry enough to eat. clothes are either normal and super expensive or very flimsy and cheap, and they are all way too small for me. i think everything i bought is a size too small, so i will have to stretch everything out. here is the mcdonalds meal i got. the new york burger's time had passed, to my surprise, and now the hawaiian burger was available. the hawaiian burger is a big burger with bbq sauce, mayo, lettuce, cheese, bacon, and a huge fried egg thing. look!
was there a tomato too? very likely. it tasted ok, not as special as the texas burger from a few weeks ago, but i was satisfied. then i walked around the mall some more and got an idea of what i wanted to buy. there were 3 levels and the building is very long. it reminds me so much of the palisades mall at home. i went in one electronics store because i was wondering how much a decent video camera costs. answer: too much. but i did stumble upon this wonderful experience, which i somehow missed the first time i went into this electronics store. are you interested in buying a gundam model kit? the pieces snap together and there is no glue necessary. maybe you will have to draw little lines with a black pen or paint some pieces with a special marker but you will have fun making a model of a robot at 1/100 of the robot scale. the only problem is first you have to choose one.
not an easy thing to do. i think i stood here for a good 15 minutes just looking at different boxes and realizing that i don't even know any of these robots, half of them are from the newer tv shows that i have never seen. some were cool looking. maybe i will buy a few before i come home as a gift to myself. okay what next? oh yeah. so the japanese, as you probably already know, don't speak english. but they like to pretend they do, while giving off this vibe of "it's complete b.s. and we don't take it seriously at all, so thanks for trying, but we got this". want some evidence? here are two, the best two, stores in the mall with ridiculous, stupid names. the first might not get to you like it does some people.
so it's called Spicy Marmalade. no big deal right? it sells lady clothes. can marmalade even be spicy? what is marmalade? isnt it like jam? it has to be sweet then. so this is really just confusing nonsense. okay. i get it. nothing to get alarmed about, move along. you think everything is going to be okay, until you get up to the third floor and you see this utter monster staring back at you.
WHAT IN THE. okay. take a breath. i know, it's difficult. imagine if you had to live here and teach these people how to speak english. try to imagine that for a second. i know right? okay. so. this store, like it or not, and there is no way you can like it at all, is called Starvations. it sells childrens clothing, more like toddler clothing, in only bright neon and pastel colors. it is one of the worst things that has ever existed. i cannot imagine the process that led some unfortunate person to pick this name. did they have a dictionary? i hope not. were they picking random words out of a hat? did it sound cool? was a mistake made? did they think it meant something else? nobody will ever know. okay. calm down. there are more photos to see. like this one.
a nice stage performance with songs and dancing, featuring a giant vegetable costume, for kids. this was nice. there were so many little kids in this mall. there is an entire childrens arcade on the top floor, with blacklight ball pits. i think a lot of the young parents take their young kids here for entertainment, and the mall provides. this vegetable performance was good because it gave me a chance to get maybe the best photo i have ever taken, from inside an elevator as i was about to go downstairs and leave the mall. check this out.
at first only the baby was in the photo, looking down at the show from the same angle that i got the last shot at. but then mom walked into the frame and i dont know, i think she might have made it a better shot? more composition and elements. nobody will ever know. so around this time i bought the one too-small shirt that i had my eye on and exited the mall. i decided to drive a little further north towards takamatsu city, because i had never been beyond the mall/airport area. i saw a sign for a tunnel straight ahead after a while so i turned around, but there was a videogame store i like to go to called Geo (pronounced gay-oh) connected to a grand opening clothing store called jumble or something. i liked their style, a lot of the clothes seemed used or handmade or just weird and cool, so i got some pants and shirts there. i think i found the best, most perfect shirt i have ever found. you will know about it eventually, but not now. my plan was to drive back and stop at the mall again for dinner. now, don't be fooled into going to the hamburger restaurant.
actually, maybe you should check it out. it's not really hamburger per se, since hamburger as we understand it includes bread and is like a sandwich. this is more accurately called hambaagoo, because it is just the meat, in a skillet, with other things around it, and rice on the side. japanese people love this. here you can see all of the plastic display dishes, and the crazy (racist?) mascot who is holding a big skewered beef patty in a pike. i don't know about him. well, i already ate a hamburger today, a real one, and i didn't want to go to the italian buffet with the chocolate fountain, because who does that? so i waited for a half hour to get into this wonderful establishment.
this is called kaiten sushi. it is a restaurant where sushis come by on little plates that are on a little track that circulates throughout the place. you just pick up a plate and if it is a good place like this, every plate is a little more than a dollar. you can get all kinds of eel, tuna, and different types of fish! and there is tea in a little cup, and a spigot of hot water. here you see some little plastic tops to keep the fish fresh as it circulates. i had to wait a half hour to be seated! but it was so worth it. okay, i am going to spoil the mystery for you right now. don't be devastated, this is about the industry.
so they have a little machine to form the rice into perfectly shaped sushi carriers. this is okay, we have to not be upset about this. yes, you used to make this shape with 2 fingers and the palm of your hand. but that era has passed. this is post-fordist sushi construction. why is this ok? because it allows for this to be possible, and eaten.
this is fresh bacon and mayonnaise sushi. i think the bacon has been cured, because it looks mad raw. this tastes like pure butter, and it is the most devilish, amazing concoction i have ever experienced. if you didnt notice, the hawaiian burger had 2 bacon pieces sticking out of the bottom, so today was a very good day for my bacon intake. that's it! i hope you had fun learning about and looking at my day.
great!
Sunday, February 21, 2010
just normal things
blog of blogs,
i just got back from what i like to call "the mountain school", iuchi elementary school. i call it that because to get there, i have to drive for ten minutes up a winding, incredibly thin road alongside a river. at multiple points in this road, only one car my pass through, so the oncoming traffic must stop and wait to go. but today, when i got to the mountain school, the door was locked and nobody was there. some of my students were playing in the playground at the kindergarten across the street, so i asked them what was up. they said that the 6th graders, the oldest kids at the elementary school, had a graduation party or some such event yesterday, and that as a result, there was no school today. i go to the mountain school on mondays in the afternoons. it is a normal sized school, but there are only 30 or so students total, so 1st and 2nd grades are together, as are 3rd and 4th, 5th and 6th. usually i teach one of the lower classes and then the older class by the textbook. i was going to have to make up a lesson, because that is how i do it, which probably would've involved me saying "run, stop, jump" and just telling kids what to do in english while their teacher, a nice old woman, literally slept in the corner. every other week, a native japanese teacher who has some english ability because she works for a private english teaching company comes to this school, makes the lesson plans for me, and we teach together, but today i was supposed to be alone. the thing is, nobody told me about this or invited me to this party yesterday, at all, so when i called my home school, this middle school where i am now, people were surprised and said they would give the mountain school a call. "you're an adult, aren't you?" was said to me, which i answered with "aren't i?" it is really too bad. but at least now i dont have to teach anything, and i can sit here for the next two hours and read about whatever i want to on the internet. this experience is a metaphor for the mountain school as a whole: sleepwalking, lazy, not thrilled to have me.
on a positive note, lunch today was hamburger patties with shiitake mushrooms, and i got two and a massive serving of rice because i am a foreigner. i have badminton tonight which should be fun. i skipped karate all last week because i was playing metal gear solid 4: guns of the patriots on the ps3, so i have to get back into karate this week. or not! when i took the drive up to the mountain school, i noticed that it had become much warmer and nicer outside. this is wonderful, because i hate the cold, especially since my house and buildings in general here do not have central heating. okay wait this paragraph is supposed to be more upbeat. the fact that its getting warmer means that i am closer to coming home. eventually i want to go back to osaka or maybe kyoto when my japanese tutor from college gets there, but i see it as just a wate of money for a weekend. which reminds me i have to pay my rent at the bank before i go home. i decided i am going to start growing my beard back on my birtday, may 21st. that way i will be fully bearded by the time late july rolls around. february is almost over, i keep telling myself that.
also, i just learned about this:
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/print/nn20100221a3.html
which should give you an idea of exactly what kind of country i live in.
great!
i just got back from what i like to call "the mountain school", iuchi elementary school. i call it that because to get there, i have to drive for ten minutes up a winding, incredibly thin road alongside a river. at multiple points in this road, only one car my pass through, so the oncoming traffic must stop and wait to go. but today, when i got to the mountain school, the door was locked and nobody was there. some of my students were playing in the playground at the kindergarten across the street, so i asked them what was up. they said that the 6th graders, the oldest kids at the elementary school, had a graduation party or some such event yesterday, and that as a result, there was no school today. i go to the mountain school on mondays in the afternoons. it is a normal sized school, but there are only 30 or so students total, so 1st and 2nd grades are together, as are 3rd and 4th, 5th and 6th. usually i teach one of the lower classes and then the older class by the textbook. i was going to have to make up a lesson, because that is how i do it, which probably would've involved me saying "run, stop, jump" and just telling kids what to do in english while their teacher, a nice old woman, literally slept in the corner. every other week, a native japanese teacher who has some english ability because she works for a private english teaching company comes to this school, makes the lesson plans for me, and we teach together, but today i was supposed to be alone. the thing is, nobody told me about this or invited me to this party yesterday, at all, so when i called my home school, this middle school where i am now, people were surprised and said they would give the mountain school a call. "you're an adult, aren't you?" was said to me, which i answered with "aren't i?" it is really too bad. but at least now i dont have to teach anything, and i can sit here for the next two hours and read about whatever i want to on the internet. this experience is a metaphor for the mountain school as a whole: sleepwalking, lazy, not thrilled to have me.
on a positive note, lunch today was hamburger patties with shiitake mushrooms, and i got two and a massive serving of rice because i am a foreigner. i have badminton tonight which should be fun. i skipped karate all last week because i was playing metal gear solid 4: guns of the patriots on the ps3, so i have to get back into karate this week. or not! when i took the drive up to the mountain school, i noticed that it had become much warmer and nicer outside. this is wonderful, because i hate the cold, especially since my house and buildings in general here do not have central heating. okay wait this paragraph is supposed to be more upbeat. the fact that its getting warmer means that i am closer to coming home. eventually i want to go back to osaka or maybe kyoto when my japanese tutor from college gets there, but i see it as just a wate of money for a weekend. which reminds me i have to pay my rent at the bank before i go home. i decided i am going to start growing my beard back on my birtday, may 21st. that way i will be fully bearded by the time late july rolls around. february is almost over, i keep telling myself that.
also, i just learned about this:
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/print/nn20100221a3.html
which should give you an idea of exactly what kind of country i live in.
great!
Sunday, February 14, 2010
so much candy and so many snacks
hi blog
thought i would make a boring post. i went to the city with my friend aaron two days ago. ate sushi, went to a few bars, ran into some other english teachers. wound up sleeping at a girl's friend's house who let us use her place instead of a creepy internet cafe. sleeping overnight in an internet cafe is still an experience i have not had, but i am not sure if it is one that i really want. i am back at work right now on monday, and february is almost over, which means that soon it will get warm again, which makes me happy. i have been playing videogames and watching the sopranos in my free time. i hope i got paid last week, i will probably get a statement sometime soon. after work today i have to go to the bank and do a major food shopping. hopefully i will be able to fit in metal gear solid 4: guns of the patriots, and the sopranos, and dinner in before badminton. mgs4 is just like watching the sopranos. you have to devote an hour minimum, and if someone looks at you funny you have to kill them and put their body in a dumpster. work has been pretty boring. i only have to teach a few classes each day, and only at one school do i have to think up my own lesson plans for elementary school students. i need to get more creative with those but it really just seems like a chore of having to be a strange clown for 45 minutes. i am very happy not to be spending another year here like everyone else i know. today it was rainy and now is very cloudy and foggy. i can barely see the mountains across the river. tried a ramen place down the road near the videogame shop the other day, it was quite tasty. my throat has been bothering me in the mornings ever since i had a small cold a week and a half ago. gargling with salt water has only been helping slightly, i feel like it should get better once some warmer, less dry air comes into the area. lunch today looks gross. hope everyone has fun watching the winter olympics.
great!
thought i would make a boring post. i went to the city with my friend aaron two days ago. ate sushi, went to a few bars, ran into some other english teachers. wound up sleeping at a girl's friend's house who let us use her place instead of a creepy internet cafe. sleeping overnight in an internet cafe is still an experience i have not had, but i am not sure if it is one that i really want. i am back at work right now on monday, and february is almost over, which means that soon it will get warm again, which makes me happy. i have been playing videogames and watching the sopranos in my free time. i hope i got paid last week, i will probably get a statement sometime soon. after work today i have to go to the bank and do a major food shopping. hopefully i will be able to fit in metal gear solid 4: guns of the patriots, and the sopranos, and dinner in before badminton. mgs4 is just like watching the sopranos. you have to devote an hour minimum, and if someone looks at you funny you have to kill them and put their body in a dumpster. work has been pretty boring. i only have to teach a few classes each day, and only at one school do i have to think up my own lesson plans for elementary school students. i need to get more creative with those but it really just seems like a chore of having to be a strange clown for 45 minutes. i am very happy not to be spending another year here like everyone else i know. today it was rainy and now is very cloudy and foggy. i can barely see the mountains across the river. tried a ramen place down the road near the videogame shop the other day, it was quite tasty. my throat has been bothering me in the mornings ever since i had a small cold a week and a half ago. gargling with salt water has only been helping slightly, i feel like it should get better once some warmer, less dry air comes into the area. lunch today looks gross. hope everyone has fun watching the winter olympics.
great!
Saturday, February 6, 2010
overt attept at an upbeat post
what's really good, blog?
oh you know i'm just eating some curry i made. usual curry action. onion, garlic, carrot, peas, meat, potatos, rice, etc. you know the deal. this bowl of curry is basically as perfect as a bowl of curry can get. i think i may be getting a cold, so i am popping vitamin c pills and trying to stay hydrated. since there is a karate tournament or something next month, sensei added an extra practice on saturdays were the adults and elementary school kids practice together and you can wear regular workout clothes and sean paul or soulja boy tell 'em is playing. my left leg kind of hurts because i forgot how to kick with it properly. oh, i cleaned up the house today, which was much needed, since i had not done so in like 2 months. tomorrow i am going to perform my regimented chore of doing laundry, and then shopping for food during the 30 minutes that the clothes take to dry at the laundromat. been trying to download some new music, which reminds me that now is a pretty good time to listen to some of it. today was pretty risky meal-wise. i woke up at found no frozen curry here, because i purposely didn't buy any so that i would have to leave my house on the weekend. that was a bad idea! i couldn't go out because i stayed in to listen to liz's sarah lawrence radio show which was wonderful. i ate two slices of pizza toast, and then i felt like driving up the hill across the river to get some curry udon. i guess i didn't realize that this would be my second curry style dish of the day but i dont think of it like that, i think noodles vs. rice. anyway after that i had some takoyaki from the guy around the corner and that was pretty good, but karate practice wsa at 7 which is a weird time, so i couldn't eat before. thus, curry right now. mostly i have been spending my time in front of the computer or the tv playing videogames, so i developed a little eye twitch action last week that is almost gone by now. this means i need to find other better things to do. i guess that is my main challenge for next week. i honestly cannot think of much more to type. i am extremely tired. sleeping until noon is absolutely in order tomorrow.
great!
oh you know i'm just eating some curry i made. usual curry action. onion, garlic, carrot, peas, meat, potatos, rice, etc. you know the deal. this bowl of curry is basically as perfect as a bowl of curry can get. i think i may be getting a cold, so i am popping vitamin c pills and trying to stay hydrated. since there is a karate tournament or something next month, sensei added an extra practice on saturdays were the adults and elementary school kids practice together and you can wear regular workout clothes and sean paul or soulja boy tell 'em is playing. my left leg kind of hurts because i forgot how to kick with it properly. oh, i cleaned up the house today, which was much needed, since i had not done so in like 2 months. tomorrow i am going to perform my regimented chore of doing laundry, and then shopping for food during the 30 minutes that the clothes take to dry at the laundromat. been trying to download some new music, which reminds me that now is a pretty good time to listen to some of it. today was pretty risky meal-wise. i woke up at found no frozen curry here, because i purposely didn't buy any so that i would have to leave my house on the weekend. that was a bad idea! i couldn't go out because i stayed in to listen to liz's sarah lawrence radio show which was wonderful. i ate two slices of pizza toast, and then i felt like driving up the hill across the river to get some curry udon. i guess i didn't realize that this would be my second curry style dish of the day but i dont think of it like that, i think noodles vs. rice. anyway after that i had some takoyaki from the guy around the corner and that was pretty good, but karate practice wsa at 7 which is a weird time, so i couldn't eat before. thus, curry right now. mostly i have been spending my time in front of the computer or the tv playing videogames, so i developed a little eye twitch action last week that is almost gone by now. this means i need to find other better things to do. i guess that is my main challenge for next week. i honestly cannot think of much more to type. i am extremely tired. sleeping until noon is absolutely in order tomorrow.
great!
Sunday, January 31, 2010
it's been a week
hi blog! burning a mix of all covers right now.
i have not been keeping up with you. the truth is not much has been going on here. weeks have been passing by one by one. i have been watching the sopranos, keeping busy with a playstation 3 i bought and modern warfare 2 that a friend lent me. i took an hour drive each way to mcdonalds today to try the big america texas burger, which was amazing and worth every minute of the trip. i am going to try to replicate it in the kitchen one day this week, after i get back into the curry game. something in my mind told me that the big america texas burger was monstrous and should not exist, but it was very satisfying and ideal. i could feel the years falling off my life with each bite (originally typed as "bight") and now i can feel certain arteries slightly more hardened than they were before. but it was all in good fun.
january is just about over, or it will be in a few hours, which means i am beyond the half way point of my contractually year long stay in japan as an english teacher. i am thrilled about this, and i was even more exited to circle the option and sign the document that stated that i will not be recontracting for another year. everyone else here, in this part of shikoku, the foreign english teachers who i have come to know, are all sticking around, and i cannot imagine how.
lots of the time i feel more and more like japan is a country with absolutely no future. their population is hitting a horizontal asymptote, and since they don't allow massive foreign immigration, their population, and that means their workforce, will begin to shrink gradually every year. and they should be learning chinese, not english, becuase they already know half of the chinese characters from their use as kanji in japanese, and china is so much closer and more inevitable, rather than face the extreme shame of having poorly pronounced, poorly thought out english to embarrass themselves with. but i am being a little bit harsh. really i am just excited to come home soon! i have a life outside the educational system to start.
recently watched 3 movies: moon, antichrist and the hurt locker. i want to write a 3 part movie review like i did before but i dont think this blog is the right place for it, so expect to find a link to my livejournal or something one day soon. it looks like 11 pm has snuck up on me yet again, and i have to go to bed now so i can get up at 7 for work tomorrow.
great!
i have not been keeping up with you. the truth is not much has been going on here. weeks have been passing by one by one. i have been watching the sopranos, keeping busy with a playstation 3 i bought and modern warfare 2 that a friend lent me. i took an hour drive each way to mcdonalds today to try the big america texas burger, which was amazing and worth every minute of the trip. i am going to try to replicate it in the kitchen one day this week, after i get back into the curry game. something in my mind told me that the big america texas burger was monstrous and should not exist, but it was very satisfying and ideal. i could feel the years falling off my life with each bite (originally typed as "bight") and now i can feel certain arteries slightly more hardened than they were before. but it was all in good fun.
january is just about over, or it will be in a few hours, which means i am beyond the half way point of my contractually year long stay in japan as an english teacher. i am thrilled about this, and i was even more exited to circle the option and sign the document that stated that i will not be recontracting for another year. everyone else here, in this part of shikoku, the foreign english teachers who i have come to know, are all sticking around, and i cannot imagine how.
lots of the time i feel more and more like japan is a country with absolutely no future. their population is hitting a horizontal asymptote, and since they don't allow massive foreign immigration, their population, and that means their workforce, will begin to shrink gradually every year. and they should be learning chinese, not english, becuase they already know half of the chinese characters from their use as kanji in japanese, and china is so much closer and more inevitable, rather than face the extreme shame of having poorly pronounced, poorly thought out english to embarrass themselves with. but i am being a little bit harsh. really i am just excited to come home soon! i have a life outside the educational system to start.
recently watched 3 movies: moon, antichrist and the hurt locker. i want to write a 3 part movie review like i did before but i dont think this blog is the right place for it, so expect to find a link to my livejournal or something one day soon. it looks like 11 pm has snuck up on me yet again, and i have to go to bed now so i can get up at 7 for work tomorrow.
great!
Monday, January 18, 2010
it is cold outside
dearest blog,
i am taking my second JET program japanese advanced-level japanese test. you need to get at least a 70% on all but 1 of the 6 tests that they give you and you get a certificate of completion. i got a 68% on the last one, so if i miss this one by another single question, it's pointless to keep trying, but i might anyway. i did not study these past weeks really at all because i was busy hanging out with liz, and these lessons are very poorly designed and make hardly any sense at all.
back at work now on a regular schedule. last night was badminton, and i won a single game after losing three, which always feels better than winning one and then losing three. today i have english conversation group with half a dozen little old japanese ladies who like to chatter in japanese to eachother most of the time, so i have to think of something interesting or concrete to talk about or do. tomorrow i have karate class after maybe a month of not going. various things got in the way. liz was here, then my friend robbie invited me to his birthday party, then it snowed (and when it snows, nobody goes to karate as an informal rule, because the driving is dangerous and nobody wants to be there as the only person), then i had the end of semester part with my coworkers which was fun, then i got sick last friday which was miserable. it was a 24 hour stomach bug, which i learned is actually an infection of the small instestine. i am just about 100% back to full normal strength again, after lots of water and a banana-based diet. my guts still need to remember what it means to work properly again.
it's been cold, and i have been lonely since liz left, so i bought a playstation 3 to entertain me after work. it is not as big an investment as i thought it would be. i guess this just means i have to buy an hd tv so i can actually watch blu-ray movies when i get home. i have 3 games right now, a fighting game, a shooting game, and another action game is in the mail. i used to play lots of videogames, so getting back into it takes some getting used to.
well i just learned that i have to go help teach an english class in five minutes. it should be my only one today. i am a third of the way through this test, i should be able to finish it and mail it in after work, a day earlier than the postmark due date. forgot today was recycling day.
great!
i am taking my second JET program japanese advanced-level japanese test. you need to get at least a 70% on all but 1 of the 6 tests that they give you and you get a certificate of completion. i got a 68% on the last one, so if i miss this one by another single question, it's pointless to keep trying, but i might anyway. i did not study these past weeks really at all because i was busy hanging out with liz, and these lessons are very poorly designed and make hardly any sense at all.
back at work now on a regular schedule. last night was badminton, and i won a single game after losing three, which always feels better than winning one and then losing three. today i have english conversation group with half a dozen little old japanese ladies who like to chatter in japanese to eachother most of the time, so i have to think of something interesting or concrete to talk about or do. tomorrow i have karate class after maybe a month of not going. various things got in the way. liz was here, then my friend robbie invited me to his birthday party, then it snowed (and when it snows, nobody goes to karate as an informal rule, because the driving is dangerous and nobody wants to be there as the only person), then i had the end of semester part with my coworkers which was fun, then i got sick last friday which was miserable. it was a 24 hour stomach bug, which i learned is actually an infection of the small instestine. i am just about 100% back to full normal strength again, after lots of water and a banana-based diet. my guts still need to remember what it means to work properly again.
it's been cold, and i have been lonely since liz left, so i bought a playstation 3 to entertain me after work. it is not as big an investment as i thought it would be. i guess this just means i have to buy an hd tv so i can actually watch blu-ray movies when i get home. i have 3 games right now, a fighting game, a shooting game, and another action game is in the mail. i used to play lots of videogames, so getting back into it takes some getting used to.
well i just learned that i have to go help teach an english class in five minutes. it should be my only one today. i am a third of the way through this test, i should be able to finish it and mail it in after work, a day earlier than the postmark due date. forgot today was recycling day.
great!
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