Tokyo here I come!
leaving Oita,Tokyo
Just hopped on a bus to Fukuoka, for my transfer to Tokyo! I'm so excited to spend a week in Tokyo, mainly because I will see my beautiful friends from Sydney- Anne, Mikey, Holly, and hopefully Amy!!
I'm also anticipating the sites (eg Skytree-the tallest building in Japan), food (if you know me, you will know this also involves a lot of photo taking), bars and clubs (seeing as Oita has none!).
Also, I'm staying at two really nice hostels, so I can't wait to meet new people. And, a TOKYO NYE! Should be fun!
Having lived in the so called "inaka"- 田舎〜 country-side for 5 months straight now (all the locals will protest where I live is the countryside- ahhh, we have a Louis Vuitton...), I think the hustle and bustle of Tokyo, my usual place of staying when I visited Japan, will now be quite a shock!
I'm excited to HAVE to use my Japanese- none of my practically fluent friends in Oita to help me out!
I'm on a bit of a high, partly because I got 5 hours sleep and it's just before 6 in the morning, and partly because I am happy that I successfully rang for my cab, and spoke to the taxi driver for a teeny bit. He told me that I spoke well and my accent was really good! Hoorah!
But of course, being me, when I was at the counter of the convenience store buying a hot lemonade to kill time (and also because my throat is all owwy :-( ), I thought the guy at the cash register asked where I was going. I mean, he looked down at my luggage as he said it. I excitedly told him in Japanese that I was going to Tokyo. As soon as I said it, I instantly realised he actually asked me IF I WANTED A PLASTIC BAG. He kindly carried on, as if I hadn't made such a stupid error.
I guess you win some and lose some!
Sayonara Oita~ ittekimasu!
さよなら 大分！ いってきます！(・Д・)ノ
Thursday, 27 December 2012
Wednesday, 26 December 2012
Merry christmas! メリクリスマス！♪（ｖ＾＿＾）ｖ
Merry Christmas everyone for yesterday!
What did you get up to?
I was going to take the day off, but thought better of it given that all my friends were going to the office to "work".
So we rocked up in our comfiest clothes (except Pauli who accidentally wore a suit!) and put our food stash on the table.
We proceeded to watch The Muppet Christmas Carole which was hilarious! All the while gorging on Doritos, Japanese crackers and sugar.
Then we had Indian for lunch. Yes, six out of seven of us had butter chicken for Christmas lunch.
We then came back and exchanged presents. All of us drew out a number from 1-7, and number one chose first, then number 2 could choose to pock a new present, or steal number 2's. luckily, I was last, so I got to chose last. My present was a bottle of fruity Japanese liquor (thanks Simon!)
Then we played Charades for a bit, and then started watching Love Actually (which right now we are finishing!). (Yes, even though I saw it 2 weeks ago again I am in romcom heaven! Tearing up..)
For dinner a group of us went to us an *all you can eat* yakiniku place. Yakiniku is a Korean adopted Japanese food- you cook raw meat on a hot plate BBQ in front of you and then dip it in delicious sauce.
There was SO much food... I really think we ate equivalent to 10 cows. Different cuts if meat, chicken, potatoes, corn. And even though we were all on struggle street, we ate icecream for dessert.
To finish off the night, we took sticker photos. プリクラ。Hahha they always make your eyes look CRAZY!
It was such a nice day, and as Michelle said was reminiscent if Christmas back at home- we were with the people we love, ate an abnormal amount of food, exchanged presents, and were in high spirits.
What did you get up to?
I was going to take the day off, but thought better of it given that all my friends were going to the office to "work".
So we rocked up in our comfiest clothes (except Pauli who accidentally wore a suit!) and put our food stash on the table.
We proceeded to watch The Muppet Christmas Carole which was hilarious! All the while gorging on Doritos, Japanese crackers and sugar.
Then we had Indian for lunch. Yes, six out of seven of us had butter chicken for Christmas lunch.
We then came back and exchanged presents. All of us drew out a number from 1-7, and number one chose first, then number 2 could choose to pock a new present, or steal number 2's. luckily, I was last, so I got to chose last. My present was a bottle of fruity Japanese liquor (thanks Simon!)
Then we played Charades for a bit, and then started watching Love Actually (which right now we are finishing!). (Yes, even though I saw it 2 weeks ago again I am in romcom heaven! Tearing up..)
For dinner a group of us went to us an *all you can eat* yakiniku place. Yakiniku is a Korean adopted Japanese food- you cook raw meat on a hot plate BBQ in front of you and then dip it in delicious sauce.
There was SO much food... I really think we ate equivalent to 10 cows. Different cuts if meat, chicken, potatoes, corn. And even though we were all on struggle street, we ate icecream for dessert.
To finish off the night, we took sticker photos. プリクラ。Hahha they always make your eyes look CRAZY!
It was such a nice day, and as Michelle said was reminiscent if Christmas back at home- we were with the people we love, ate an abnormal amount of food, exchanged presents, and were in high spirits.
Monday, 24 December 2012
Last week of school!
My last week at school was one of the best I've had!It was such a nice way to the year, and my first stint of being an Assistant Language Teacher.
Monday: A day at my junior high school. Four classes, as usual, all nice ones. I spoke about my Christmas in Australia, trying my hardest to include as many gestures as possible. And a Japanese translation if I knew it! Makes me miss home, and Christmas, having to talk about it for literally the 15th time in class. Surprisingly, the Year 7's were able to comprehend what I was saying significantly more than the Year 9's. It helps that the Year 7's are super energetic, and that some of the Year 9's look like they're going to slip into a comatose.
Tuesday: Wonderful day at one of my elementary schools. Got to teach Year one! In fact, 2 classes at once! (Year 1 is the biggest grade). The focus was numbers 1-10. The kids were SO good- they had obviously been practicing previously because their number recognition was really good. They were all SO gorgeous- the teachers taught them that when they, or myself said "READY?" they would respond by shouting "OK!" and flinging their hand up in a thumbs up or a tick. Year 2's were equally cute, and my usual 5's and 6's were happy as usual! All like the Christmas stickers, was so nice to spread the Christmas cheer!
Wednesday: Played Jeopardy! for all four classes. It went OFF! The kids were so motivated- I've never seen them like that! Mainly a lot of Japanese trivia- such as "How many members are there in the band Exile (Answer: 14, I mean, DUH, doesn't every band have an excessive number of members??....). My teacher asked me to make a Jeopardy game, was so "in the zone" I made it that day. Can't wait to play it with the kids, and watch them squirm as they answer questions like "What year was the spoon invented?". Mwahaha.
Thursday: Took some initiative and played with the Year 2's at lunch. Even though they had no idea really who I was. Skipping! Then, red light green light. I also asked to go to their class during a free period I had. It made me so happy to be around the younger kids. Their energy is contagious!
Friday: Last day of school! Wooooo! Only two classes- same Christmas lessons, except this time we made Christmas cards! I asked to do this with all my classes if we had time, as it's a good break from heavy grammar lessons the kids are used to, and it combines a teaching of Western culture with writing practice (Literally: To..., Merry Christmas and Happy New Year/Season's Greetings, From...). This time I brought the leftover Christmas stickers to give out to winners of games. Note to self: Everyone loves stickers.Then an hour-long "Closing Cermony". For reasons unknown, it has to be ceremoniously recognised that yes, this is the end of term. Absolutely freezed my hands, feet and ass off sitting on the floor. Can't believe I took sitting on a chair when I was in high school assembly for granted...!
Monday: A day at my junior high school. Four classes, as usual, all nice ones. I spoke about my Christmas in Australia, trying my hardest to include as many gestures as possible. And a Japanese translation if I knew it! Makes me miss home, and Christmas, having to talk about it for literally the 15th time in class. Surprisingly, the Year 7's were able to comprehend what I was saying significantly more than the Year 9's. It helps that the Year 7's are super energetic, and that some of the Year 9's look like they're going to slip into a comatose.
Tuesday: Wonderful day at one of my elementary schools. Got to teach Year one! In fact, 2 classes at once! (Year 1 is the biggest grade). The focus was numbers 1-10. The kids were SO good- they had obviously been practicing previously because their number recognition was really good. They were all SO gorgeous- the teachers taught them that when they, or myself said "READY?" they would respond by shouting "OK!" and flinging their hand up in a thumbs up or a tick. Year 2's were equally cute, and my usual 5's and 6's were happy as usual! All like the Christmas stickers, was so nice to spread the Christmas cheer!
Wednesday: Played Jeopardy! for all four classes. It went OFF! The kids were so motivated- I've never seen them like that! Mainly a lot of Japanese trivia- such as "How many members are there in the band Exile (Answer: 14, I mean, DUH, doesn't every band have an excessive number of members??....). My teacher asked me to make a Jeopardy game, was so "in the zone" I made it that day. Can't wait to play it with the kids, and watch them squirm as they answer questions like "What year was the spoon invented?". Mwahaha.
Thursday: Took some initiative and played with the Year 2's at lunch. Even though they had no idea really who I was. Skipping! Then, red light green light. I also asked to go to their class during a free period I had. It made me so happy to be around the younger kids. Their energy is contagious!
Friday: Last day of school! Wooooo! Only two classes- same Christmas lessons, except this time we made Christmas cards! I asked to do this with all my classes if we had time, as it's a good break from heavy grammar lessons the kids are used to, and it combines a teaching of Western culture with writing practice (Literally: To..., Merry Christmas and Happy New Year/Season's Greetings, From...). This time I brought the leftover Christmas stickers to give out to winners of games. Note to self: Everyone loves stickers.Then an hour-long "Closing Cermony". For reasons unknown, it has to be ceremoniously recognised that yes, this is the end of term. Absolutely freezed my hands, feet and ass off sitting on the floor. Can't believe I took sitting on a chair when I was in high school assembly for granted...!
Tuesday, 18 December 2012
High ho, high ho, it's off to work I go...
This week is the last week of school for the year- yay!
Yesterday I had one of the best days I've had at my junior high. Nothing at special happened... But I just felt GOOD. Maybe, I am finally getting into the swing of things... And by that I mean getting used to/accepting how the schooling system works in Japan. I'll write about it later, but there are significant and often confronting differences between my role as a teacher here and back at home.
Right now it's 7:30 and I'm tiredly, but excitedly waiting for my bus to my absolutely gorgeous "small" primary/elementary school on top of a (very exhausting to climb) pretty hill.
This school, let's call it Sakura, is a one-class-per-grade school. Although I have friends that teach at schools with only around 8 kids, and even know of a school ON AN ISLAND WITH ONLY ONE STUDENT, this school is comparatively small to my other 2 primaries as they have 5-classes-per grade.
I'm SUPER excited because today for the first time I'm teaching Year 1 and 2.
Through some bad coincidence, this is the only primary school which has allowed me to teach the younger kids. I only teach Years 5 & 6 at my other schools. Only recently have I been invited to do a class to grades kindy, 1, 3, and 4 introducing myself.
It's frustrating because I love the littlies, and I hear of everyone else teaching them and it sounds like so much fun! Obviously, it helps that Japanese kids are hounds down the cutest kids in the world.
So I'll tell you how it goes... I'm armed with a thermos of sweet, sweet coffee, four layers to protect me against the 6 degree temp, Christmas Winnie the Pooh stickers to give out to all the kids, and a nervous anticipation for my day to come.
Hope you have a nice day too!
Yesterday I had one of the best days I've had at my junior high. Nothing at special happened... But I just felt GOOD. Maybe, I am finally getting into the swing of things... And by that I mean getting used to/accepting how the schooling system works in Japan. I'll write about it later, but there are significant and often confronting differences between my role as a teacher here and back at home.
Right now it's 7:30 and I'm tiredly, but excitedly waiting for my bus to my absolutely gorgeous "small" primary/elementary school on top of a (very exhausting to climb) pretty hill.
This school, let's call it Sakura, is a one-class-per-grade school. Although I have friends that teach at schools with only around 8 kids, and even know of a school ON AN ISLAND WITH ONLY ONE STUDENT, this school is comparatively small to my other 2 primaries as they have 5-classes-per grade.
I'm SUPER excited because today for the first time I'm teaching Year 1 and 2.
Through some bad coincidence, this is the only primary school which has allowed me to teach the younger kids. I only teach Years 5 & 6 at my other schools. Only recently have I been invited to do a class to grades kindy, 1, 3, and 4 introducing myself.
It's frustrating because I love the littlies, and I hear of everyone else teaching them and it sounds like so much fun! Obviously, it helps that Japanese kids are hounds down the cutest kids in the world.
So I'll tell you how it goes... I'm armed with a thermos of sweet, sweet coffee, four layers to protect me against the 6 degree temp, Christmas Winnie the Pooh stickers to give out to all the kids, and a nervous anticipation for my day to come.
Hope you have a nice day too!
Sunday, 2 December 2012
We wish you a Merry Combini-mas
Yes, Japan is combini crazy- there is one basically every 100 m. They have everything you'd ever need (for me that entails riceballs and ice cream), and you can even pay your bills there! (I pay my electricity and gas bill there... it's rather odd!).
And they have very cheap drinks. As in, beers and cocktails for around $1.50. All you have to do to get your hands on a cold, cheap drink is touch a touch-screen which 'certifies' you are over 21. Responsible service of alcohol, eh?
So we all met up, dressed in our Christmas best. By best I mean, we all went to the 100 Yen store (the greatest place in the world where you can literally get anything for around $1) and bought some head gear. Most of the girls, by coincidence, had reindeer horns. The boys were dressed as Santa, and being ever so innovative used plastic bags to make a very convincing Santa beard.
We went to our first combini, grabbed a drink, huddled outside and in Japanese custom, we said "kanpai" (cheers!) and drank our first drink. Then we set about creating the first line of our appropriated version of "The 12 days of Christmas" song- The 12 Combinis of Christmas.
We did this for every combini we stopped at, and took a matching photo (I will post the photos later when I steal them off someone).
As you could imagine, as the night went on, and the lyrics became longer and longer and people drank more and more the song became harder to sing.
The night was made even better when a couple of us chose to end our night with a coffee and cake. As you do!
All in all, a very fun night. It was so nice to be able to feel Christmassy in a country that doesn't celebrate Christmas.
HERE
What a weekend of celebrations! On Friday was the "12 Combinis of Christmas" event.
Com-whatty? A convenience store, my non-initiated friend. 7/11 and the like.
Here's what was proposed: "It has been a tradition for the last two years to travel around the Miyakomachi and eki area and partake in Christmas spirits, spreading love, joy, and Western mayhem in the spirit of the holidays. It all sprang from an Irish "12 Pubs of Christmas" tradition, but we work with what we have. And we have konbinis! Oh boy do we! Basically, we go to the 12 konbinis detailed on the map below and have one drink (of your choice) at each."
And they have very cheap drinks. As in, beers and cocktails for around $1.50. All you have to do to get your hands on a cold, cheap drink is touch a touch-screen which 'certifies' you are over 21. Responsible service of alcohol, eh?
So we all met up, dressed in our Christmas best. By best I mean, we all went to the 100 Yen store (the greatest place in the world where you can literally get anything for around $1) and bought some head gear. Most of the girls, by coincidence, had reindeer horns. The boys were dressed as Santa, and being ever so innovative used plastic bags to make a very convincing Santa beard.
We went to our first combini, grabbed a drink, huddled outside and in Japanese custom, we said "kanpai" (cheers!) and drank our first drink. Then we set about creating the first line of our appropriated version of "The 12 days of Christmas" song- The 12 Combinis of Christmas.
We did this for every combini we stopped at, and took a matching photo (I will post the photos later when I steal them off someone).
As you could imagine, as the night went on, and the lyrics became longer and longer and people drank more and more the song became harder to sing.
The night was made even better when a couple of us chose to end our night with a coffee and cake. As you do!
All in all, a very fun night. It was so nice to be able to feel Christmassy in a country that doesn't celebrate Christmas.
HERE
What a weekend of celebrations! On Friday was the "12 Combinis of Christmas" event.
Com-whatty? A convenience store, my non-initiated friend. 7/11 and the like.
Here's what was proposed: "It has been a tradition for the last two years to travel around the Miyakomachi and eki area and partake in Christmas spirits, spreading love, joy, and Western mayhem in the spirit of the holidays. It all sprang from an Irish "12 Pubs of Christmas" tradition, but we work with what we have. And we have konbinis! Oh boy do we! Basically, we go to the 12 konbinis detailed on the map below and have one drink (of your choice) at each."
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| The reindeers of Oita |
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| The reindeers of Oita |
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| DIY White Russian experts Kaz and Aimee |
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| Christmas cheer with Lena and Katie |
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| I can't believe I met Santa(s)! |
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| Super happy at the prospect of cake-eating |
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| Full moon to light the way |
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| Cakkkkeeee! |
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| Smiles with Cheryl and Aimee |
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| Santa x 5 |
Monday, 26 November 2012
Hello? Japan? Antarctica called and it wants its freezing weather back
Seriously, Oita is getting damn cold! Right now it's 11 degrees Celcius. Ok, that's not so cold. But I feel the cold bad! Sydney at 18 degrees makes me shiver.
Given that all the old JETs here say that this is only the beginning- that it's going to get substantially colder- I am fearing for my livelihood! The wind even makes scary "woooooo woooooo" noises! (no joke!)
I guess it is not helping when my craving and eating of icecream has dramatically increased the colder it gets... Come on, brain, THINK PROPERLY!!
I have prepared by wearing my new down jacket constantly, wearing 4 layers underneath (2 thermal tops most times!), a beanie, scarf and ear muffs (I bought them as a joke, and the probably look ridiculous, but dammit- they work so well!). I am also sleeping snuggled up to the cutest hot water bottle ever (thanks Micky!) and the fluffiest and comfiest winter socks ever (thanks Mads!). And drinking copious amounts of tea (By the way, I HAVE DRANK OVER 200 milk teas since I have been here. Someone call Teadrinkaholics Anonymous!)
Especially as I bike around 35 minutes to and from school, it is important that I'm protected from head to toe!!
So wish me luck on my endeavours to stay warm. And don't tell me to stop eating ice cream. I'd rather freeze to death. (Then they could make a sequel to that movie "He died with a fallafel in his hand"- "She died with an ice block in her hand").
Oyasumi! (good night!)
Saturday, 24 November 2012
Age of Aquariams
(Ha, if only I could keep these blog entries to one word. I can't (obviously- it is me after all!), so I shall continue with many more words...)
The aquarium is one of Oita's main attractions, and I can definitely see why! It goes by the name of "Umitamago"- literally "Sea Egg" (I still don't know why!).
Now, I have been to aquariums in the past- but this was just something else! All the creatures were so breathtakingly fascinating... I could stare at each one for hours and not get bored.
We saw sharks, countless types of fish, eels, dolphins, walruses, stingrays, jelly fish and more. I have got to say, the walruses, dolphins, eels and jellyfish were my favourites!
The selection of sea creatures was amazing, and the whole structure of the place was wonderful. It's designed so that it feels like you are underwater with the creatures. It really did feel like we were right beside them. We could see all the details of their bodies- every line, crevasse, fold and spot. It sounds stupid, but it made me appreciate how similar we are to them in many ways.
Just watching the jellyfish flounce from one area to another, or the tops of the eels fluttering so gracefully in the water, or the walruses perform perfect tricks like bowing, laughing, pretend fainting, it seemed almost unbelievable that they were real.
Take a look!
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| Amazing dolphin show. |
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| Beautiful jellyfish |
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| It's JAWS! |
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| Never would I think sardines were so brilliant! |
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| Only in Japan would they deck out the crab's house |
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| I have no words to describe how incredible these eels were to look at! |
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| Being brave and holding a sea slug! |
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| Seals! |
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| Wow, these eels were just mindblowing |
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| I. can. hold. a. sea. slug. Yes, I can! |
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| Ahh, get a room! |
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| Kids admiring the view of countless sardines! |
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| Is that you, Michael Jordon? |
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| Walrus! |
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| "Paint me like one of your French girls" |
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| PENGUINS!!! |
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| Trying my best to swim with the fishies. |
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