Just an update: I will be taking the Kanji Kentei level 9 test this Saturday.

Here’s a link so I don’t have to explain what it is: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanji_kentei

Basically, I’m going to be taking the same kanji test that a Japanese second grader takes. The test will determine if I am fluent in the 240 kanji second graders are expected to know. The test is entirely in Japanese and I need an 80% to pass. Currently, my practice test scores have been constantly improving; however, my best score is only 70.6%. I have a week left to study, which hopefully is enough time raise my score.

After the kanji test, I will leave for Akita-ken, a prefecture to the north of Miyagi-ken, with Kasukawa Elementary School. You may recall the blog post about nipple baths. Well, Saturday night I will finally experience the bath. A post will surely follow.

I’m pretty sure I’ve already told you how delicious school lunch is here in Osato. Everyone is required to purchase the lunch, and it is therefore tastier than a lunch from a program with no money. I tend to eat–and by tend to eat I mean almost always eat–with the teachers in the staff room because I want access to seconds; the food is that good.

Whenever I go to elementary school, however, I am made to eat with the students. There are two issues with this scenario: I’m not in the teacher’s room where I can get seconds, and the portions are always smaller at elementary school. Don’t get me wrong. I love to eat with the students; eating together is a way to promote internationalization and English education…but I don’t get seconds.

Anyway, last week I was at 粕川小学校 (Kasukawa Shogakko (Elementary)) eating with the second graders. I had a blast talking with the students and forgot about my second grade lunch portion. What I didn’t forget though was what was offered to me as an appetizer:  grasshoppers.

I was surprised enough the be served insects during lunch, but was more surprised that most of the second graders got excited about the treat! The grasshoppers were coated in something sweet like brown sugar, but was distinguishable as a grasshopper. I ate it–as any true ALT would–and took in the experience. After the first few bites, my mouth turned from down to a slight grin. The bug was pretty good and I could hardly feel the crunchy legs and antennas in my mouth.

As for the dino part, I went to visit my friend Rothgeb who is a fellow Hampden-Sydney alumnus and JET who is living in Fukui-ken. This was my first time visiting Fukui because it’s so far away from where I live. It took me over six hours by multiple bullet trains. Upon arriving I knew I made the right choice in coming to visit. I hadn’t seen Rothgeb in far too long and I got to explore a different prefecture. Fukui was beautiful and had a lot to offer. The best, however, was the Dinosaur Museum. That’s right. Fukui has the largest collection of dinosaur fossils in all of Japan. Reason being, Fukui-ken used to be a dino-haven back in the day, or at least a lot of dinosaurs died there.

Here are some pictures from the grasshopper lunch and Fukui:

Last week, the １年生 (ichi-nen-sei (1st graders in Japanese, but by American standards 7th graders)) were learning about a conversation focused on the phrase “What do you have for breakfast?”. Here it is straight from the textbook:

Mike: “What do you have for breakfast?”

Judy: “I have cereal. How about you?

Mike: “I have rice and miso soup.”

Judy: “Oh, really?”

Seems interesting enough right? Well I asked my JTE if I could make it more interesting. Being that she is amazing and willing to try new things, she said “Of course!”. The plan was simple: incorporate actual food into the lesson so to introduce the students to American breakfast foods while also practicing and varying the textbook conversation.

I brought in Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Oatmeal, Grits, and fruit. We held class in the school kitchen, which was a nice change of pace for the students and allowed me to prep the food during class. The first class didn’t know we were gonna eat the food because we started out practicing the vocabulary and phrases. Halfway through the lesson, my JTE made a point to say she was hungry and started eating the food! I promptly joined her which made the students eager to join us. We informed the students they could eat too, but only if their respective team could score enough points in a quiz game.

My JTE started asking the questions while I prepared the oatmeal and grits in the microwave. By the time I finished, one of the groups had answered enough questions correctly and could choose two breakfast foods; I served them cereal and oatmeal.

Eventually all the groups earned enough points to eat some food. No one was too eager to choose the grits so I made the lowest two teams only choose one item because the other was gonna be grits!

Here are some pictures from the lesson:

On a sidenote, I would like to complain about katakana words in Japanese. Katakana is part of the Japanese syllabary and is “most often used for transcription of words from foreign languages.” The words usually sound VERY similar to the original word. Take for example “video.” The katakana form is ﾋﾞﾃﾞｵ which is pronounced “bi (sounds like “be”)-de-o.” “Video” and “bi-de-o” sound pretty close and I feel like a Japanese speaker should understand what I mean if say the former. However, Japanese speakers have a difficult time if you don’t say the word EXACTLY the wron…I mean “right” way; that is, the katakana way. As an English speaker, I can sometimes decipher what a French or Spanish word is because it sounds like an English word. I would expect this concept to transfer to Japanese. If a Japanese person hears an English word that sounds like a katakana transcription of an English word they should be able to get the basic idea, especially with context clues!

My ichi-nen-sei girls, however, stared at me as if I was speaking gibberish when I said the word cinnamon. Here is the context: the girls wouldn’t eat the oatmeal because it looked gross; I said it was delicious and even tried some; I used some Japanese and said it tasted really good and was sweet; then, I said, “it has cinnamon. cinnamon. ciiiinnnnnaaaammooooonn.” This went on for a good 30 seconds, repeating cinnamon a bajillion times. They didn’t understand. I then got out my electronic dictionary (i.e. iPod touch) and looked up cinnamon. Guess what it is in Japanese…..

シナモン　shi-na-mo-n

The second I said “shi-na-mo-n” really slowly and broken up the girls said “OOOHH….shi-na-mo-n” 

I proceeded to slap my forehead while the girls started to eat the oatmeal. And guess what: they liked it.

resting in the grass

the Sendai Jazz Festival

super mario

This past Thursday I had a meeting with a teacher from 粕川小学校 (Kasukawa Elementary School) about a visit next week. When we finished planning the lessons, the teacher got out a small sheet of paper with some English writing and a map. The map was of the area surrounding 仙台駅 (Sendai station) and the following was written: “To Wesley, we would like to drink with you. Please join us this Thursday.” 粕川小学校 has tried inviting me out to drink about four times, but each time they asked a day or two before the event and I always had something else planned (especially during my busy summer). This time, however, I had nothing planned and couldn’t say no.

My Japanese is still limited, but I felt accomplished when I was able to read the map and find the restaurant on myown. I showed up right on time and found the room with my coworkers. Once everyone showed up, it was time to order our first round of drinks. Right away I knew this party would be different than those with my 中学校 (junior high school) because it was a smaller event and the teachers were more willing to interact and attempt to speak English. However, they were all about me speaking Japanese too. When the waitress arrived to take our first order, they made me order for everyone. Mission accomplished; I was able to order 7 rounds of drinks.

As we all began to loosen up, one of the teachers suggested we have a name quiz to see if I knew everyone’s name. Now, I have to say that I’m terrible with remembering Japanese names. Part of it is because a lot of names sound similar (e.g. Ryoichi v. Ryuichi) and another part is because it’s hard to have meaningful converstations with people, which helps to establish and remember names. Even if I know the persons face, what grade they teacher, what their personality is like I still forget their name. Anyway, the name game started and I wasn’t doing well. The teachers had fun with this rather than making me feel embarrassed. If I didn’t remember a teacher’s name then they would try to give me English hints. The best by far was from a guy named きくち (kikuchi). His first hint was “flower.” He couldn’t remember chrysanthemum so it took me a while to get the first part (kiku). Then, the second clue was “blood” and he held out his arm and made a squirt sound accompanied by miming a needle going into his arm. For the rest of the event his nickname was Flower Blood. The man next to Flower Blood was just as funny. His name is ひかわ (hikawa) and his two hints were ひ (hi) and (かわ). The latter was easy enough because it means river in Japanese. Now, the first part was a bit harder. Even though the Japanese for “sun/day” can be read “hi”, the kanji in his name means something else. He tried to explain in English: “Rain…roof…” followed by hand gestures for water going down a pipe. I said, “Oh, a ‘gutter’”.  He was extatic that I understood and said, “I’m Gutter River.” I then had to explain how gutter has a negative connotation so I looked up the Japanese word for gutter which happens to be associated with sewage. Upon hearing this, everyone erupted in laughter at Gutter River’s new name.

Later into the night, Gutter River asked me if I would join the teachers on a trip in November to Akita, a prefecture to the north. I was having so much fun with them that night I figured it would be just as fun in November. “Sure” I said, “What are we going to do.” His response was holding up his hands to his nipples and pretending to twist them. I cracked up and asked for an explanation. He started saying, “Nipple Bath, Nipple Bath.” Ok, so I got the bath part. We’re going to go to an onsen. But, the nipple part? Is it because we’ll be in the nude? Turns out, the name of the onsen we’re going to is actaully called nipple bath in Japanese. By the way, nipple is 乳頭 or にゅうとう (nyuutou) in Japanese.

So, come November I’ll have to update you on how the Nipple Bath experience was.

The rest of the night with the elementary teachers was a lot of fun. I got invited to the after party by those who chose to make one. Then, after that I got invited to the after after party with the same group. More hilarity ensued and I got to know the teachers a lot better. I also got invited to play music for a play the students will put on next month. In the states, a drinking party may seem rauchous and unprofessional but here in Japan it is a great opportunity to really get to know your coworkers; it is a way of life.

SO

I’m back. I haven’t forgotten about this blog–even though I haven’t posted in over two months. In fact, I have often thought about fun things to write about but I never got around to doing it. I know what some of you are thinking right now….but this blog is just for fun and to try and capture some anecdotes about my life in Osato, Japan.

This summer has been amazing but jam-packed with activity. I had four different people each make a trip to visit me. I also assisted with both Tokyo Orientation for all the Group A new JETs and the Miyagi Orientation for all the new Miyagi JETs. Grill outs and beach trips rounded out the summer activity.

Now I’m back at school and getting back into the swing of things. I plan on posting regularly once again, so be on the look out.

Thanks for reading.

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:

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:

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.