Second Culture Shock Meltdown

OF COURSE, as Murphy's Law would have it, if something CAN go wrong (at the most inconvenient time), it WILL.

Well guess what?

My hard drive crashed.

HELLO?! This laptop is not even 4 months old yet!
Not to mention that the week I need my laptop for almost every class... of course, the HD would decide to crash now.

Well it also crashed at 11:30p.m. so I couldn't call the HP-Japan Technical Support People, I couldn't look up emails, BUT I do have internet on my cell phone (THANK GOODNESS). So I phone-emailed my parents, my Prefecture Advisor, my Head of English JTE, and a family friend in the electronics business. Thankfully, all of them got back to me within 10 minutes and began to help me out.

So I will call the HP-Japan people after my first class with the help of a Japanese Teacher of English (JTE) and hopefully they will uphold the U.S. Warranty. If they do not, esssentially I am screwed. If they do, HALLEJUAH, because they will send me a box, I put my laptop in the box, I fill out some paperwork about the problem. They find the problem and in 2-3 business days after the problem is found (AND BETTER BE FIXED!) they will send the laptop back to me.

I suppose it is not a full-out meltdown like I had last time... but if the phone call this morning does not go well, I am sure you will hear my wails from 8,000 miles away.

Oh, and by the way, it's Tuesday...

======================================
Eons Later... (10:44 am)

So my HD did NOT crash.

So what happened...?

I use my laptop too much.

According to the lady at the HP-Japan place, if I run the laptop too long on battery or just plugged in without shutting down regularly and giving my laptop a rest, my computer will not start up. What happens is that all the electric charge is stuck inside the computer and needs to be released. So I turned off the laptop, unplugged it, took out the battery, waited five seconds before replacing everything again and VOILA! It works!

But I am still going to order an extended-care package from Japan... like... tomorrow... or today... or something. Sheesh...

What's the Big Deal?

So I am learning new things everyday...

Yesterday, I learned that beer tastes worse than it smells.

Seriously, people, why do you drink the stuff?

Having faithfully and honestly kept the contract of an HU student, I was not exposed to alcohol until moving from home. This came to a shock to my new JET friends who were so surprised that even 2 years past the legal drinking age, not a drop of beer had touched these lips. And although Mom kept sake in the house for cooking, I was never tempted to drink any of it. To me, it wasn't worth risking my place at HU to experiment with alcohol. Maybe I just have more resolve than most.

Of course, I have had wine for communion in Europe, and that also wasn't a pleasant experience, but my first "drink" was at the Welcome Dress-Up Karaoke Party in Kakegawa. I had what my brother, Wilson, calls "fru-fru" drinks: fruit-based drinks. The first was a shu-hi. Yuck. The second was a Cassius Orange. More acceptable.

But beer.... UGH! It smells awful, it smells worse on a person's breath or clinging to their clothes, and it's even more awful still actually swishing around upon the palatte.

It's not that I think drinking alcohol in-of-itself is "wrong". But I just do not understand what the craze is about. Yes, it is enjoyable to go out with friends, celebrate a birthday, eat out at an awesome restaurant, fellowship, end off the evening in a karaoke booth until midnight singing and yelling classic 80s and 90s music into we're hoarse, and then dash to the train station to catch the last train home. It makes for a very memorable, pleasant experience to be with others.

I'll stick to my Calpis Waters and juices though. I wouldn't mind trying more "fru-fru" drinks though like a Mimosa (orange juice + champagne.... I think).

GREAT days DO exist!!!!!

I had a GREAT day at school today!!!

I just thought I should let you know and add as a little reminder to myself that I have a great job with really great students (most of them) and a really nice, supportive group of teachers. So here is the short version of what made today so fantabulous.

Morning meeting--
I got invited to go with all the teachers to a play tomorrow. School will end a little before lunch with some shorter periods and then all the teachers will go to the culture center and then an enkai (drinking party?) afterwards. I will probably just drink a lot of juice.

2nd period--
I have one of my favorite junior classes on Wednesday. They are not the smartest, but they always greet me enthusiastically whether I am in the hall or at class. And they work REALLY hard! Today, we (the JTE and I) returned the midterm tests and then had a celebration of awards about the Olympic project. And then the students proudly put up their posters around the room. Before dismissing the class, I told them about the next project--commercials--and the kids really ate it up. They cannot wait to watch American commercials next week (a little bit of super bowl, herbal essence, diamond ring commercial, gillette, a little bit of everything).

4th period--
I have a good sophomore class. Again, they are not the smartest, but they do all activities in class with great enthusiasm. I (and I am sure they too) got really bored with reinforcing grammar points previous to midterms. So their project will be show and tell. I introduced Japanese-exclusive items to them today in the form of a Jeopardy game. They LOVED the game and it built their confidence to see pictures of things they KNEW. Then I had them do a worksheet activity of American-exclusive items that required them to talk to other students to get the information. And then they could draw too. Of the 8 pictures they had to draw, I really enjoyed looking at their interpretations of bison and cowboy. HA HA HA! So the sophomores will be in pairs and do a show-and-tell of Japanese-exclusive items like Anpan-man (anime), shitajiki (plastic sheet used between pages when writing), sumo-wrestling (Japan's national sport), and so on.

6th period--
Because my juniors are doing commercials next week, I had to clear some things with the head of the computer department. We met during one of his free periods in my classroom to setup my laptop to the school network and check to make sure the links worked. And come to find out, the head of the computer department speaks English! What?! He totally surprised me!
I have come to decide that secretly, all the teachers can speak English, but have been commanded to make me try speaking Japanese as much as possible. And it's good practice for me anyway so I can't really complain.

Okay, so that wasn't so short of an update as I thought, but it was a REALLY good day and tomorrow will be good too because it'll be an opportunity to spend time just with the teachers and not worry about classes!

The "I Can't Do This" Morning...

It is sad that I start looking forward to the weekend on Monday.

I keep trying to pinch myself that I am in Japan, a place I have always wanted to be, and that I have a really sweet set-up paying only $150 in rent a month, getting lunch everyday, getting to see so many things, studying Japanese with the help of native speakers, etc.

And yet, when I come to school, I feel so insignificant and incapable of managing the task set before me: teaching.

Today is another one of those mornings.
I do not feel fully prepared, my room is a mess thanks to some students who eat in there, I had to confiscate another cellphone, and I have yet another Tuesday ahead of me.

I am debating with myself to either do a new seating arrangement of the whole class, of only particular students who need to be moved, or not at all.
1) If I do the whole class... that is A LOT of work. And since I do not know my students very well, this could turn out to be more of a disaster than the original plan. Maybe if I make it clear that this is a temporary setup...
2) If I only do the particular students who are disruptive... I am predicting/paranoia that the students will go home and tell their parents what happened. Hello? You are disrupting my class, openly disrespectful to me and to the JTE, what did you expect? Of course, in a passive-aggressive country, this may be considered more of a bold move than option #1. I am tired of being passive-aggressive. I want to say exactly what has been burning in my mind for the last 3 weeks. The students wouldn't understand all the words, but I am sure that the tone of voice and the deadly look on my face might communicate better. My patience is coming to an end...
3) If I do not change a thing about seating... I will be pushing insanity if I thought that this situation will resolve itself on its own. I would love to wait until the next term, but I am not sure that I would feel any more eager to do this than in December or January.

I am so homesick.

And just thinking/typing/reading that almost got me crying.

No matter how I feel now, tomorrow is coming, so I might as well brace myself for it.

Billboards

I have been in Japan a little over 2 months, and I just noticed that my town of 60,000+ does not have a single billboard. Especially contradicting ones.

Not that I have been avidly looking for billboards, but it was just something I noticed on the long bus-ride home from JUSCO that I wasn't having to combat visual pollution to see the gorgeous scenery of rolling hills around me.

Epiphany... I mean, RIGHT NOW.

What if, like everything else in Japan, billboards are smaller and shorter than their American counterparts?

I must investigate this phenomenon.

Frump Night

This is probably the greatest creation known to man.

And it is always shared with my best guy-friend, State.


It started last fall but I am not really sure why. Maybe because I was fed up with State catching me when I was frumpy.

Frumpy (adj): meaning without make-up, messy hair, and clothes resembling sweat pants, worn-out t-shirt or otherwise embarrassing attire to be seen wearing in public, but honestly, the clothes and get-up are very comfortable.

I think Frump Night began around fall mid-terms tests and the Homecoming musical. Musical rehearsals were going from 6:30pm-11pm at least 3 nights a week and mid-terms were just around the corner.
So to take a break from it all the rush and demands, State and I planned a movie night in our "frumpy" clothes and to eat only comfort foods, aka, junk food. For the first night, we watched "Pride and Prejudice", the Keira Knightley version while eating Ben and Jerry's ice cream.

Since the first successful Frump Night, State and I agreed on some rules.
1) Frumpy attire must be upheld.
This could be athletic shorts, sweat pants, tank tops, old t-shirts, or hoodies. I usually rocked a ponytail, sweatpants, and a tanktop or hoodie. Here are some screenshots from an anime that can relate to how I look when I am "frumpy".



2) No make-up, no cologne.

3) Because State and I are hopeless romantics, only chick-flicks and romantic comedies should be watched with an occasional suspenseful thriller thrown into the mix.

4) There will be no talking about classes, homework, tests, or school-related duties. However, possible school-related romances were encouraged to be discussed.

5) Only junk food shall be eaten.
I usually enjoyed something salty like popcorn or potato chips or osembe with a glass of iced Dr. Pepper. State liked his sweets so he would eat ice cream or something my mom would offer him that we had in the house like chocolate-chip poundcake, mocha ice cream pie, cheesecake, you name it.

Since coming to Japan, I have not had an official "Frump Night" since usually it takes two people to enjoy the momentous occasion.

For my faithful viewers, you are perfectly welcome to have and or create your own "Frump Night" agenda so long as you give credit to the creator: me! :D

Tagged by Jessica Grasham

Here's the rules:

Grab the nearest book.
Open the book to page 56.
Find the fifth sentence.
Post the text of the next two to five sentences in your blog along with these instructions.
Don’t dig for your favorite book, the cool book, or the intellectual one: pick the CLOSEST.
Tag five other people to do the same.

From 彼氏彼女の事情 (Kareshi Kanojo no Jijyou)
さくら：　教室’からカバン持ってきてくれ３分で (You have 3 minutes to get my bag from the classroom)
たけふみ：　えーーーーー？！(WHAT?!)
さくら：　んだろ (Do it.)
たけふみ：　わかったよ... (Yeah... fine...)

I tag Alex Ritchie.

Universal Characteristics

It is my 6th week of teaching and even though I have made this discovery in the 2nd week, I thought I'd share it with you all anyway.

No matter where I go, how far from home I am, or what new culture I am in... students will remain universally the same.

You have the jocks, the "plastics", the nerds, the smart ones, the "not-so-smart" ones, the eager-to-answer question ones, the if-you-call-on-me-I-will-sink-into-the-ground ones, and the I-just-want-to-sleep ones.
And then you have the attitudes towards a particular subject.
-- I really want to learn English and I want good grade so I will work hard for it.
-- I really want a good grade, but I do not mind if I forget all the English I have learned along the way.
-- I really want a good grade... so you're going to give it to me, right? I know I didn't do the assignment, but that doesn't mean I -really- get a zero, does it? Sure, I was talking the whole time in class and not working as I should have, but... I was HERE, wasn't I?
-- I would be ASHAMED if I did not get a good grade so I will work hard and stress about it even though I really do not like English.
-- I really do not need this class... I think I will work on other homework
-- I really do not enjoy this class... I think I will sleep.
-- I really want to annoy the teacher and "be cool" among my peers so I will be disruptive in class.

And despite being 8000 miles away from the culture in which I was raised that I originally thought these titles and attitudes were culturally unique, they aren't.

But some things about me have changed:
1) I really do not mind if the students do not like me.
I just want my students to do their best and give their best in class. When students sleep in class, I am not offended that they may be uninterested in what we're doing. I am only disappointed that they do not value education and its possibilities.
And by the way, I was a high school student once too! There was the "schoolwork", then the homework, traveling to Little Rock for youth orchestra rehearsals, piano lessons, violin lessons, hanging out with friends and family, etc. So I do not blame the students for being sleepy. But that doesn't mean I will not ask you to wake up and do your best.
Being a teacher is a kind of stressful role. I have the responsibility to teach the students are core curriculum for them to pass when they take the entrance exams into college. Let's look at that sentence again: I have the responsibility to teach. I will NOT give you a good grade, it must be earned. I will NOT do anything less than give my 100% best effort to making activities fun, interesting, and an incorporation of concepts you are learning in your grammar class.

2) I am less up-tight about neatness and clutter.
My classroom will NEVER have straight rows and columns. I have conceded to that fact after spending tremendous effort the first week to correct the lines after every class. Instead, I am satisfied if rows are in the general vacinity and everyone has enough leg room. Plus, I have a group of students who help me clean everyday but Thursdays.

3) I have learned to separate a student's dislike for English from a student's dislike of me.
I sometimes catch my students giving dirty looks during class. This usually occurs after an assignment, worksheet, etc is given. The student isn't necessarily directing the dislike towards ME but rather that the student does not enjoy one of many things--having to work, having to practice, having to study, having to take English, etc.
And during the Sports Day Festival, I discovered that many of the students who gave such looks in class were really pleasant towards me. So it is not necessarily ME that they dislike, but rather the tasks set out for them. My advice to those students is "get over it"! Life will continue to hand you tasks and you can do them or you cannot and reap the consequences either way. School is just practice for such times to come.

5 yen, please!

I've been fortunate and blessed in life to have had many opportunities to travel abroad and learn "cute" idioms of other cultures.

In Uganda, it is considered inhospitable to not fill a glass to the brim.

In Europe, ketchup and other condiments cost extra.

In Japan, as of October 1st, you must pay for eco-friendly grocery bags, 5 yen each.

体育祭 - Sports Day (Sept. 26)

So I'm FINALLY getting around to posting some pictures from the Sports Day Festival at my school!
The pictures look small, but if you click on them, they should enlarge (I hope).

2nd year student sprints.
From left to right: Noboru (purple), Naoto (green), Kaito (yellow).



And then an obstacle course relay race.
First pick up a yo-yo in a spoon and race it to the other bucket. Then spin 20 times around a bat before running to the next person...


...who must blow a balloon and with a partner, carry the balloon between them to the next person...

...who must pop it...

...and then run through a net...

...and search for the gummy candy in a pan of flour...




Instead of skis, groups of 5 have their legs tied together in a rope and must run around the track. The colored ribbons are used instead of batons. The group then hands off the sash to another group from the same home room.







And then the "typhoon" relay race. It's called typhoon because students must spin around the cone before going on to the next cone and coming back.




When they come back, they pass the pole beneath their team's feet. Everyone must jump at the same time otherwise they'll eat dirt.

Then the pole is passed back over the team's heads and into the hands of the next row to run the "typhoon".




I never knew "Tug-of-War" was officially a sport, but it's quite intense. Whole homerooms battle it out. This is HR 15.

Faces of intense pain.
From left to right: Alex, Syuhei, Kyohei, and Shintaro.


The students seem totally different during Sports Day than in my classroom. I am glad I get to see this side of them and that they can see me cheering them on from the sidelines.
This is HR 33.


And HR 24.


And HR 23.



Even the teachers and coaches get into the festival. They especially want their own homerooms to win. I am not a homeroom teacher, but since I teach practically everyone in the school, I feel as though I can cheer for everyone without favoritism.
And HR 21.

And HR 15 again.


The faces of victory!


And a video. Yes, I am the one yelling really loud.