Ok, I was wrong. Japan does have fire drills and earthquake drills. A few posts back (”Some things are International…”) I said that my school did not have any drills. Well, today we had an earthquake drill. I would love to recount it, but I was unaware of it until it was half way over! No one told me about the drill this morning so I wasn’t prepared. Granted, I noticed something scheduled for 4th period but couldn’t translate the kanji. I plan on doing that after I finish this post.

The other drill we’ve had since that post a few weeks ago was what I like to call “The Creeper Drill.” After writing that my JHS didn’t have any safety drills, we had a drill to practice what to do if a stranger comes into the classroom. I found this a little odd because at this point the school had not conducted any other drills; the first one I experienced was the what if scenario of a sketch ball coming to school.

I noticed a long time ago these long poles with crescent moon shape ends in the staff room. I decided they were for holding or putting something up in hard to reach places. After concluding this I thought no more of them.

Ten minutes before the creeper drill started I was informed of it by my JTE. Confused and totally excited, I grabbed my camera and was ready to fulfill my role. I was to tend to a student who was attacked by the intruder and help carry him outside. A siren began to wail when the drill started and police officers and men in suits were monitoring the halls. I thought it wise not to whip out the camera and make a mockery of the serious (and potential??) threat. My teachers grab the poles from the staff room and head to the room with the creeper. No way. the poles couldn’t be…

Yes. The poles are designed to trap and restrain a person. One of the newbie male teachers was playing the role of the creeper and holding the infamous clear plastic umbrella to distinguish himself as an anonymous stranger. The other male teachers, armed with a long metal pole, approached him cautiously and were speaking like negotiators. They trapped the intruder in the corner while I stood by the “injured” student. Another teacher and I carried the student down two flights of stairs and to the front of the school on a stretcher. The rest of the student body was already assembled there.

What followed was a speech by the policeman and man in a suit. As previously stated, I don’t speak Japanese and my understanding is limited; however, the jest of the speech was this:

“The Internet can be dangerous and so can cell phones. Don’t give out your information to sketchy people and don’t invite them to school.”

Here are two pictures that I was able to take covertly:

I’ve noticed that among middle-aged Japanese men the answer to this questions is typically yes. I can’t begin to count the number of times I’ve been driving along the road only to see a man peeing on the side of the road. Granted, I live in a rural area, but still…

The most egregious was at a rather busy intersection when I saw an old, beat-up truck stopped in the middle of the road with hazard lights flashing. I drove past the truck, but couldn’t help to notice the old driver relieving himself onto the guard rail.

That being said, take a look at this hilarious Japanese TV commercial:

Alright, let me being by clarifying that ninjas are not dbags. In fact, ninjas are one of the raddest groups of people second only to pirates (maybe). The title of this post is about two different stories: one about my principle and the other about an advanced san-nen-sei class. Let’s begin:

So the other day I was eating lunch with the cool teachers because that’s what I do. I used to eat lunch with the students quite often until I realized that eating in the staff room meant access to extra food. Here at Osato JHS, the kyuushoku (school lunch) is consistently amazing. Some ALTs complain about their lunch, but not this one. Not only is the food delicious, but the town doesn’t recycle the menu; there are constantly new culinary experiments that always yield a positive result. 

Anyway, mid-meal I spot my kocho sensei (principle) walking into the staff room from his office. Strange. Normally he comes in only when he’s finished eating. Since I hadn’t even touched my gohan (rice) yet I knew he couldn’t have eaten his whole meal. My imagination takes off.

Then I see that he is holding something in his hand. I couldn’t make out what it was, but when he held it up to a female coworker she jumped back. Kocho was closer to me now so I thought I made out a dead mouse. Ok, so he killed a mouse and is parading around the staff room showing off his prey. Wrong.

He came over to the cool teacher table and held out his hand. In it was a squirming–very much alive–little bird. My eyes widened with astonishment and I started questioning in English; I was too shocked to attempt Japanese. I couldn’t believe that my kocho-sensei caught–with his bare hands–a living bird. What was even crazier is that NO ONE but me thought this feat was nothing less than amazing. I was wiggin’ out at how awesome this was and all the cool teachers were like “oh, a bird.”

I then asked my kocho-sensei if he was a ninja. He said no. Too bad true ninjas don’t reveal their identity.

And now on to dbags.

Starting a few weeks ago, the san-nen-sei English classes were divided up in to A-class and B-class. A-class is basic and B-class is advanced. It may seem out of order, but the point is that the class is divided based on skill, which I didn’t think happened (very often) in Japan. I’m in support of this idea and am excited to see how effective it actually is.

When the classes were divided, the students had the opportunity to think of a class name. One advanced class desperately wanted S&M because those are the initials of my JTE and just so happen to be associated with sexual deviants. That is, they thought it would be hilarious. I said they couldn’t just be “S&M” but had to think of English words instead. After collecting a list of their favorite words, the class picked two: Special and Mustards. I had to give it to them, they’re pretty clever. When I heard that a students favorite word was Mustards I knew something was up, but I went a long with it.

The other class was a little more classy and actually tried to think of a fitting name. After a few ideas were tossed around, the idea “Dream Boys and Girls” came up. Ok, sounds great until  they started saying the initials instead…DBAG. I couldn’t explain how “The DBAG Class” sounded bad so I just told them to go with DBG instead. The students were happy with that and I was glad to have avoided the advanced students being called DBAGs.

All was well until my JTE asked during the first advanced class what their name was. The students said, “Dream Boys and Girls” to which my JTE said,”Ah, DBAG.” I tried to explain to her that DBAG was a shorted form of douche bag, which colloquially isn’t a positive thing. Unfortunately, the concept was difficult to explain. My best shot was to mention the movie E.T., which we watched last year. In the film, Elliot’s brother calls Elliot a douche bag and their mom says “No douche bag talk in my house.” I don’t think I successfully conveyed the meaning of douche bag, but we finally settled on DBG instead of DBAG.

Look for "special" and "mustards"

What the advanced boys said they wanted in a wife

What the advanced girls said they wanted in a husband

First of all, is Peanut Butter a hyphened word? Peanut-Butter. Peanut Butter. Peanut-butter. Peanutbutter. This is a matter of importance because there is a newly formed alliance at my Junior High School: the Peanut Butter Alliance. We don’t plan to enter the international stage or delve into politics. In fact, I’m not sure what our agenda is.

This all started when I brought bagged lunches for two of my colleagues. Last Saturday was PTA Day–yes, there is a PTA in Osato but I’m not sure everyone really knows what the letters stand for–so I had to go to school. On specials days like PTA Day, kyushoku (school lunch) is not provided; teachers and students alike must provide their own lunches. I mentioned the idea of peanut butter and jelly to two of my teachers and they sounded interested. One of the teacher’s favorite sandwiches is peanut butter and honey. As a kind gesture–and act of internationalization–I offered to make them “an American packed lunch.” The teachers accepted.

The next day I woke up earlier than usual so I could make two bagged lunches. I packed a peanut butter and grape jelly sandwich, SunChips, Oreos, and a banana. When I arrived to school I gave the two teachers their lunches and was given in return many thanks and a few giggles.

On Wednesday of this week, one of the teachers approached my desk with a package of food in her hand. She gave the food to me and said “my favorite.” The gift was a pack a peanut butter crackers from they daiso (dollar store). Here are some pictures:

Daiso Peanut Butter Crackers

The Big Mac of peanut butter crackers

A few minutes later, the teacher looked over and said: “We are Peanut Butter….(something Japanese).” I gave a confused look and she got out her handy electronic dictionary. She found the word she was searching for and said: “Peanut Butter Alliance”

So look out, the PBA is on the loose.

I’ve been living in Japan for sometime now; it I was an expecting mother, I would have a newborn by now. Even after all these months I still find Japan fascinating and enjoy the daily cultural exchanges. I’ve noticed many things are internationally appreciated. The grocery store, for example, is something that developed countries across the globe take advantage of every day. Mine, fortunately, is a mere twenty second walk from my apartment door. The layout of the grocery store is identical to any Food Lion or Harris Teeter back home.

Another concept that is internationally shared – despite having been busted by those Mythbuster guys — is the three second rule. I know, I know, some of you live by the five second rule, but the basic idea is the same: something falls on the floor, and you have 3-5 seconds to pick it up before it’s gross and inedible. Yesterday my JTE dropped a hard candy on the ground, but rather than accepting defeat she quickly reached for the fallen candy and said “Ahh, three second rule; it’s ok.” Everyone in the staff room was focused on the JTE because she had announced her victory in saving the candy. I then said that we too have the three second rule, but I usually go by five seconds. Everyone then had a good laugh and thought it was amazing that I knew about the sacred three second rule.

Despite universal ideas like grocery stores and the three second rule, different countries usual are governed by different customs and cultures. The diversity of cultures is what makes living in a foreign country so much fun (but frustrating at the same time). One thing I’ve noticed in Japan is that the schools never have any fire or earthquake drills. For a country that is prone to literally every natural disaster, it’s surprising that there are no drills performed at school. Back home I recall fire drills being conducted even as late as college. I’m not sure why the Japanese (at least those in my town) don’t have fire or earthquake drills. Perhaps it is because the students and staff alike have been trained from birth how to react during a natural disaster. Whatever the case may be, the idea of safety drills in school is not a shared international custom.

Lastly–somewhat related to the topic–I just got a little portable grill in the mail. I’m excited because the weather is warming up and the days are growing longer. The day I got the grill I quickly put it together and got some charcoal started. I’m positive the Japanese know about grilling and that it is an international concept; however, when I was starting the grill outside of my apartment EVERYONE in viewing distance stared and me or did a double-take. One woman driving out of the grocery store parking lot actually did about a quadruple-take! She was lucky not to drift into oncoming traffic the way she was staring. Once the charcoal was ready and I brought out the chicken and vegetables, the stares were out of interest rather than shock.

Below is a video (I will post it once I get home) of the change in attitude once I started grilling. Once one little boy comes over, more and more people start to crowd around the grill. Once two of my foreign ALT friends show up though, my Japanese neighbors scattered!

The school year in Japan begins in April, which might make more sense the beginning in the fall like many of us are used to. After all, April is right at the beginning of spring when nature starts it’s cycle again; Sakura trees are blooming and in feels right that school is starting again.

The new school year has brought a lot of changes to my daily life thus far and classes haven’t even started yet. First, all the teachers moved their desks. I found the day of the move and thought I would be immune since I was an ALT and my job wasn’t changing. Nope. I too had to move desks. I had a decent seat in the middle of the office that faced big, tall windows. Not to complain, but desk now faces a wall and is right by any traffic to the phone, copier, and break room. The day I moved my desk I had two people comment on whatever I was doing on my computer. So, my new desk leaves my computer use open to commentary by any passerby.

The desk moving was because the teachers who didn’t leave were shuffled around to different grades. Last school year I sat with the ni-nen-sei teachers but now we all moved to the san-nen-sei block. The move made way for the new staff who started just last week. There are eight new staff members, but I haven’t tried talking with any of them in English. It’s always a hope of mine that a staff member is just gonna bust out perfect English and be interested in talking about things in English. Hey, an ALT can dream.

The best part about the new school year is also somewhat sad. My amazing JTE was the coach of the Table Tennis club last year, but the emphasis is on “was.” She was moved to Kendo club for this school year. She loves the students in the Table Tennis club and has devoted herself to their improvement. Sadly, the Kendo coach was one of the teachers who was transferred so my JTE had to take over since she played Kendo in school. Though I genuinly feel sorry for my JTE, I must admit that I’m excited that she, more than anyone else, took over Kendo. I’m interested in learning Kendo and my Kocho-sensei has yet again asked me to join. Now that my JTE is the coach I will be able to communicate during practice and hopefully be able to learn Kendo.

That’s all for this ramble.

Bushidō is essentially the “way of the warrior” and governed the life of Samurai in old Japan. Part of the idea behind bushidō is perseverence and a strong will to fight through. This concept is awesome if you’re on the field of battle and about to take on a bunch of bad guys. This concept is decidely not awesome if you’re a Junior High School teacher in the 21st Century.

Today is the first day of spring break here in Osato and yet I’m writing this blog from my desk in the staff room. For some reason, only the students are given a two week vacation; the teachers must come to work everyday or use nenkyu (paid vacation) if they want a break.

It seems the idea of bushidō has persisted beyond the days of the Samurai and into our modern era. The teachers here likely don’t want to come into work during spring break any more than I do, but they’re not complaining on their blogs because they possess the bushidō mindset.

Well, here I say boo for bushidō. The teacher’s deserve a spring break and should take some time off from work. Even though the teachers are here today I bet the majority will only do a few hours of work the whole day. The requirement to come in seems to be only out of honorary duty not because of a real need to do any work. It’s the same reason that teachers stay late into the evening during the school year. Efficiency and work are not the main reason, but rather a cultural pressure that requires the teachers to stay and show their dedication to the job…even if they play mah jong on the computer; their mere presence is enough.

What’s crazier is that the students–who have the spring break and can do what they want for two weeks–still came to school today! The arrived this morning all dressed in their club uniforms to practice their respective activity. The kids are being trained for later in life when they too will have to stay late after school and won’t be given a spring break.

 

On a completely different note, eight of my colleagues are leaving the school. It’s not that Osato Junior High School is a bad school or that we are cutting back because of the economy, but rather because it’s normal in the Japanese education system. Teachers regularly switch schools and stay at one location for only one to five years. At the end of the school year, the kocho-sensei (principal) announces who is leaving during a staff meeting and the respective teachers stands up, says a host of humble phrases, and bows.

In the newspaper this morning, all the teacher transfers across Miyagi were posted. Hundreds of teachers around the prefecture are being shuffled around the different schools. None of the new teachers are from schools that where I know the JET so I”m not sure what they will be like. I must say, though, that I’m anxiously awaiting the new staff. I’ll likely write a post about the new teachers when they come.

This past weekend was a three day weekend because of a national holiday, Vernal Equinox Day, on the Friday. Two of my friends and I decided to take advantage of the break and head to Tokyo. The main reason was to visit the 2009 Tokyo International Anime Fair in Odaiba, an island in Tokyo. Behemoth, the company that makes a favorite game of ours, was going to be there in addition to countless other companies and anime groups. I’ve only really watched Naruto and some Full Metal Alchemist so I’m not that into anime; however, the event was a blast.

The venue, Tokyo Big Sight, was packed with fanatics from all over the world, but mainly Japanese. Cosplay was not permitted so we didn’t expect to see anybody dressed up as anime characters; nevertheless, some die-hard fans arrived in full costume.

The rest of the weekend was spent visiting famous places around Tokyo such as Asakusa’s Sensou-ji Shrine and Yoyogi Park. It was great to get out of Miyagi for a while and take a short vacation. Below are some pictures from the weekend:

Where have I been? Why haven’t a posted? What’s the world coming to?

Well, to be honest, I just got out of the routine of posting every Monday and Thursday. I won’t attribute any one cause for this but will leave it at my communication skills have diminished recently.

But here I am, back again and ready to post on a regular basis. I was always particular about posting on Monday and Thursday and wouldn’t post on any other day. This habit was helpful in that it forced me to constantly update the blog; however, it was dangerous because when I broke the habit–about four weeks ago–it was hard to start it back up and I didn’t want to post on any day other than Monday or Thursday. Also, sometimes cool things happen other times during the week, and waiting to recount them a few days later means the story won’t be as detailed.

So, hereafter I will post whenver something worthing of posting happens. I won’t hold meself to a schedule, but I will hold myself to posting regularly. Plenty of fun stuff happened the last month but I’m not going to write about it. Instead, I’m going to start clean and write about new stuff.

I’m headed to Tokyo with two of my friends soon so look out for a post about our trip. Thanks for reading.