Just had the year 6 Farewell Assembly. Each of the year levels had prepared a dance or song as a present to them. The teachers even sang! I had to say "Congratulations" in English which was very taxing. At the end the whole school formed a tunnel by linking hands and the year 6s had to "walk" through it. The tunnel was pretty narrow at the year 1's end so they were crawling! Heaps funny. Good way to waste a morning really. The graduation ceremony is the week after next. I'm hoping that next week will also be my last English class with them.
I am a starvin Marvin! Better go sort out a lesson plan for tomorrow since that's not so far away now...
February 28, 2007
February 27, 2007
An argument and a suggestion
On Saturday I had an argument with a 3 year old. All you need to know to follow this conversation is that ringo means 'apple' in Japanese;
Small Boy Strapped in Abandoned Stroller Blocking My Way in Tiny Clothing Store (hereafter known as SBSASBMWTCS) points at jumper with apple logo: RI - N - GO!
Me: Apple
SBSASBNWTCS: RINGO!
Me: A - pp - le
SBSASBNWTCS: Ri - n - gOOO!
Me: APPLE!
SBSASBNWTCS: RINGO RINGO, it's a RINGO I tell you!
Me: But in English it's APPLE I tell you!
SBSASBNWTCS: What are you talking about? RINGO RINGO RINGO
Me: Apple apple apple
SBSASBNWTCS, turning to the shop assistant for help: You're stupid, RINGO
Me, walking away: OKAY, fine, ringo.... Apple! ;)
BTW - there should definitely be a license issuance situation for strollers or whatever you want to call those things on wheels that contain pissed off kids who are big enough to walk but too small to walk in the direction their parents want them to consistently. Why is it that people thing they aren't gong to be an annoyance to others if they are, say, left in the middle of a narrow aisle? Or parked lengthwise across a bus/train/tram aisle? Why should we excuse their lack of manners just because there is a 'cute' child around? Being in possession of an adorable mini person is no excuse for behaving like a dick and acting without consideration for those around you. Just have a look around and see what inconvenience your stoller placement might be causing others. Just at least try.
Small Boy Strapped in Abandoned Stroller Blocking My Way in Tiny Clothing Store (hereafter known as SBSASBMWTCS) points at jumper with apple logo: RI - N - GO!
Me: Apple
SBSASBNWTCS: RINGO!
Me: A - pp - le
SBSASBNWTCS: Ri - n - gOOO!
Me: APPLE!
SBSASBNWTCS: RINGO RINGO, it's a RINGO I tell you!
Me: But in English it's APPLE I tell you!
SBSASBNWTCS: What are you talking about? RINGO RINGO RINGO
Me: Apple apple apple
SBSASBNWTCS, turning to the shop assistant for help: You're stupid, RINGO
Me, walking away: OKAY, fine, ringo.... Apple! ;)
BTW - there should definitely be a license issuance situation for strollers or whatever you want to call those things on wheels that contain pissed off kids who are big enough to walk but too small to walk in the direction their parents want them to consistently. Why is it that people thing they aren't gong to be an annoyance to others if they are, say, left in the middle of a narrow aisle? Or parked lengthwise across a bus/train/tram aisle? Why should we excuse their lack of manners just because there is a 'cute' child around? Being in possession of an adorable mini person is no excuse for behaving like a dick and acting without consideration for those around you. Just have a look around and see what inconvenience your stoller placement might be causing others. Just at least try.
Good news all round
I've just sorted it so my visitor can come to school with me as a "volunteer" on Thursday and Friday. How much fun is that gonna be!! Work doesn't seem quite so arduous all of a sudden... Also this morning the vice principal told me that I can finish up work on March 23rd instead of waiting for March 31st as my contract says since the kids will be away anyway! How cool is that!! AND, I think I am going to India in April. heheee
February 26, 2007
A fun weekend!
How sleepy am I then? The weekend was a bit full on. Although yesterday I did get a chance to catch up on some sleep with a very lazy arvo. Friday I had my half day at work and the kids who I was eating lunch with this week sang happy birthday to me! It was heaps cute. I had brought in some bicuits for them, since that's what I recall happening sometimes when I was in primary school in Oz. I was a bit taken aback by some of the kids' reactions to this though. I had brought enough for one each, while I was handing them out every second kid would say "can't I have 2?" Or "You should have brought us 2 each!" And similar comments. I felt a bit like snatching the biscuit I had given them back and saying "How about none then? How does that work for you?" There was one kid who is a bit of a shit and he was stuffing about pretending not to want anything and refusing to take a biscuit, it was the last one in the packet so I just took it and popped it all in my mouth - he was horrified! I notice that a lot over here. Everytime you try and do something nice for the kids, get them a treat or some such, the vast majority of them simply don't appreciate it. They must be so accustomed to receiving things, gifts and such, that they simply aren't impressed and certainly aren't grateful. It makes you reluctant to do anything special for them in the end.
At 1pm I was freed from the hell hole and practically ran home. Miss BV was waiting for me with beer, nuts she'd brought from home and chocolate!! What a lovely scene to come home to aye! We hopped on a train to Hiroshima at about 3:30 and arrived 2 hours later. We attempted to find me a birthday outfit - ie. new clothes. That plan was quickly thwarted by a variety of obstacles. Japanese fashion being horrid was one, my fat arse was the other (well, comparatively). Feeling a bit peckish we headed for Hiroshima style Okonomiyaki - often described as a savory pancake thing. It tastes fabulous, no one should go to Hiroshima without having a crack at one. You sit in front of the hot plate and they put it together in front of you. Crepe, on top of which they pile the filling, cabbage, bean sprouts, seaweedy stuff that looks like the contents of a vacuum cleaner bag, noodles (soba or udon), and whatever meat or seafood you have requested. I had the meat yaki so bacon - yum.. Then on top an egg which has been fried into a crepe thin circle the same size as the initial crepe, some speical okonomiyaki sauce on top, spring onion and you're set! FAB. Must be eaten with a beer of course. After satiating that particular desire we headed off for an American bar we used to frequent 2 years ago while we were poverty striken uni students, The Shack. We had one drink, whiskey on the rocks, and hit the road - not impressed with the vibe and the crowd in there - not to mention the drinks prices! And off to Molly Malones where we had yummy shots. I can't remember what it was called, but it sure tasted lovely. I ran into a friend there who bought us a birthday round. We had a lot of talking to do and that's what we did for most of the evening. A lot can change in 2 years - and we sure have. Last time we were living in Hiroshima we'd go out of an evening and drink as much as possible as quickly as possible and dance about until all hours. This time we were much more worried about hangover possibilities and had aboslutely no interest whatsoever in engaging in conversation with anyone around us, let alone men. Ah, so this is what getting old is all about...
A relatively early night and Miss BV's first time in an internet cafe. I think she was impressed, and seemed to have a good night's sleep. Saturday was a long day with not much to do but wander or sit about. At one pont we spent 3 hours in a coffee shop without buying a single thing but drinking the complimentary water! Lunch was a much anticipated God Burger which we practically inhaled we were so hungry. I had decided to try and get a haircut finally but that ended in disaster when they gave me something approaching a mullet. The idea now being that Miss BV will fix it for me herself before she goes home. I really do give up. I have given them a really good crack, they've cut my hair probably 6 times... Japanese hairdressers cannot cut gaijin hair. They are friendly, they give you really good service, you get a head and shoulder massage, a hot towel on your neck after it gets strained hanging over the basin - no place in Oz does that unless you pay through the nose - but they just can't get the haircut bit right. So I am back to the drawing board on the growing hair out plan which is annoying.
Saturday night was dinner at a place called Koba. Very comfy bar/restaurant with great staff and fantastic food. There was only 4 of us there but it was a good dynamic and we were all in high spirits after a few reds and I think made a bit too much noise... I received a book of photos of daily life in Japan which were very very funny. There was one photo of a kid falling over that made me laugh so hard. We moved on to a karaoke bar where more people rocked up and brought with them a birthday cake!! We had candles and all! Yummy chocolate cake, how lucky am I! That was a late night and Sunday morning was very very quiet! Straight home for a nap in the arvo and a little home cooked dinner. It's lovely having someone in the house to just cook with and chat to about whatever comes up. Best weekend yet! Miss BV has now moved on to Sendai to visit someone else until Wednesday, but then she is back until next Monday. heheeee
Photos will follow later in the week...
At 1pm I was freed from the hell hole and practically ran home. Miss BV was waiting for me with beer, nuts she'd brought from home and chocolate!! What a lovely scene to come home to aye! We hopped on a train to Hiroshima at about 3:30 and arrived 2 hours later. We attempted to find me a birthday outfit - ie. new clothes. That plan was quickly thwarted by a variety of obstacles. Japanese fashion being horrid was one, my fat arse was the other (well, comparatively). Feeling a bit peckish we headed for Hiroshima style Okonomiyaki - often described as a savory pancake thing. It tastes fabulous, no one should go to Hiroshima without having a crack at one. You sit in front of the hot plate and they put it together in front of you. Crepe, on top of which they pile the filling, cabbage, bean sprouts, seaweedy stuff that looks like the contents of a vacuum cleaner bag, noodles (soba or udon), and whatever meat or seafood you have requested. I had the meat yaki so bacon - yum.. Then on top an egg which has been fried into a crepe thin circle the same size as the initial crepe, some speical okonomiyaki sauce on top, spring onion and you're set! FAB. Must be eaten with a beer of course. After satiating that particular desire we headed off for an American bar we used to frequent 2 years ago while we were poverty striken uni students, The Shack. We had one drink, whiskey on the rocks, and hit the road - not impressed with the vibe and the crowd in there - not to mention the drinks prices! And off to Molly Malones where we had yummy shots. I can't remember what it was called, but it sure tasted lovely. I ran into a friend there who bought us a birthday round. We had a lot of talking to do and that's what we did for most of the evening. A lot can change in 2 years - and we sure have. Last time we were living in Hiroshima we'd go out of an evening and drink as much as possible as quickly as possible and dance about until all hours. This time we were much more worried about hangover possibilities and had aboslutely no interest whatsoever in engaging in conversation with anyone around us, let alone men. Ah, so this is what getting old is all about...
A relatively early night and Miss BV's first time in an internet cafe. I think she was impressed, and seemed to have a good night's sleep. Saturday was a long day with not much to do but wander or sit about. At one pont we spent 3 hours in a coffee shop without buying a single thing but drinking the complimentary water! Lunch was a much anticipated God Burger which we practically inhaled we were so hungry. I had decided to try and get a haircut finally but that ended in disaster when they gave me something approaching a mullet. The idea now being that Miss BV will fix it for me herself before she goes home. I really do give up. I have given them a really good crack, they've cut my hair probably 6 times... Japanese hairdressers cannot cut gaijin hair. They are friendly, they give you really good service, you get a head and shoulder massage, a hot towel on your neck after it gets strained hanging over the basin - no place in Oz does that unless you pay through the nose - but they just can't get the haircut bit right. So I am back to the drawing board on the growing hair out plan which is annoying.
Saturday night was dinner at a place called Koba. Very comfy bar/restaurant with great staff and fantastic food. There was only 4 of us there but it was a good dynamic and we were all in high spirits after a few reds and I think made a bit too much noise... I received a book of photos of daily life in Japan which were very very funny. There was one photo of a kid falling over that made me laugh so hard. We moved on to a karaoke bar where more people rocked up and brought with them a birthday cake!! We had candles and all! Yummy chocolate cake, how lucky am I! That was a late night and Sunday morning was very very quiet! Straight home for a nap in the arvo and a little home cooked dinner. It's lovely having someone in the house to just cook with and chat to about whatever comes up. Best weekend yet! Miss BV has now moved on to Sendai to visit someone else until Wednesday, but then she is back until next Monday. heheeee
Photos will follow later in the week...
February 24, 2007
That's gotta hurt
Here is a lady. Look at her legs. Look at her jeans. Look closely. There seems to be a hole. That's caused by the biggest camel toe I have EVER seen. I'm not sure she was able to get those jeans off without surgery... Here's a close up of the toe...
OUCH!February 23, 2007
Happy Happy Happy Birthday to ME
Heheheeee! My friend is here, and she's looking gorgeous as ever and we were talking non-stop until she fell asleep (bit exhausting, a plane flight with a massive hangover it would seem;)
Tonight we are off to HIROSHIMA for drinks and dancing and whatever else crops up. YAY!! I'm leaving work at 1pm too so I just have to get through 3 classes and I'm free... Pretty good birthday present nay?
!!
Tonight we are off to HIROSHIMA for drinks and dancing and whatever else crops up. YAY!! I'm leaving work at 1pm too so I just have to get through 3 classes and I'm free... Pretty good birthday present nay?
!!
February 22, 2007
The Countdown Begins
Seven and a half hours til my friend arrives!!!!!
How much better is life when you have a best friend in the same country as you? She'll be in Osaka airport right now, struggling through customs and baggage collection. BOO that I have to be here instead of going to meet her.
Hey! I scored a goal at soccer last night. It was a very tops goal too if I may say so myself. :)
How much better is life when you have a best friend in the same country as you? She'll be in Osaka airport right now, struggling through customs and baggage collection. BOO that I have to be here instead of going to meet her.
Hey! I scored a goal at soccer last night. It was a very tops goal too if I may say so myself. :)
February 21, 2007
Nut encounter of the religious kind
I had a housecall last night. From a religious nutter. First time that's happened to me in Japan! It was very exciting. I was just polishing off a probably over indulgent serve of pineapple when the doorbell rang. I was in a half a mind to ignore it, but thought it might be my neighbour with some blankets I had asked to borrow. I opened the door to a late middle aged woman who launched into a "Where are you from?" question without so much as a salutation appropriate for the time of day, or an introduction of herself. My reaction was to say nothing and stare at her at which point she started suggesting countries, "Australia? Peru?" I had then recollected myself enough to ask her "Who are you then?". Instead of replying with a name she started crapping on about a religious organisation of some description and pointing vaguely behind her. Aha! A nutjob. Well that's easy enough to deal with. I gave her my best bemused smile as she explained that I might like to put my hand in the air for a few minutes while she checks to see how much bad energy I have going on and what that means for my chance of happiness over the next few years. Yeah, I didn't think that I wanted to do that. I told her that I don't believe in religious hocus pocus to which she replied that it didn't matter if I did or not, it still would work on me (refreshing after all those religions in Australia where if you don't believe you just go straight to HELL). She made a second attempt "Just put your hand up like this and see..." and kept raising her own hand up - like she was trying to get a child to put their pyjamas on, all coaxing me along. She finally twigged that I wasn't going to get involved and just left me with a parting gift - a pamphlet explaining her religious association. That went straight into the recycling. Who ARE these nutters who think that ambushing people in their own homes is a good recruitment method?
February 20, 2007
Big Wig
This is a picture of my TV. Haha. And featured on the TV is a bloke dressed as a women hosting a variety show. Nice hair. How can I get mine that big? Not to be funny, but I swear there are women getting around with hair that big. Big hair is BIG over here. Most girls my age get around to the supermarket with hair styles I wouldn't even ask a hairdresser to do for me - just way too much effort. There seems to be an obsession with forcing hair to be exactly what it is not. Straight hair must be curly. Thick hair must be think. Black hair must be... orange. Just have your OWN hair! I know this isn't the only country in the world where women can never be happy with what they've got. Why do people insist on constantly dying, cutting, curling, straightening their hair? Just let it be. It'd look a damn sight healthier if it wasn't full of chemicals constantly, then you wouldn't need those bullshit hair products to make it appear healthy. Although that in itself is ridiculous when you consider that hair is dead anyway. How can something dead be healthy? According to all reliable sources ie. those boys who haven't yet become too scared to make randoms comments about women's bits, the only time my hair looks any good (read: sexy) is when it's been saturated in sea water, tied into many small knots and then wind ravaged. The exact opposite of what women constantly tell each other is nice hair. Go figure. Actually it strikes me that a lot of the time what women perceive as a desirable feature is not all that appealing to the majority of men. Odd.
I live in ignorance
Argh!! How disappointed was I last night to discover that through some miscommunication I was under the mistaken belief that my friend was arrving from Oz TOMORROW when she is in fact arriving on THURSDAY. I know it's only one more day. But seriously, this visit has been the one thing keeping me going for the weeks since the winter break and now I have to wait a WHOLE EXTRA DAY. She's leaving Adelaide tomorrow. I can make it I can make it I can make it.
Today the year 6s threw a thankyou party for all the teachers. I was invited even though most of them hate me and the rest don't care. They made curry popcorn. It was yum. Then they had a quiz and I was able to answer one of the word puzzle questions which was heaps funny, everyone was in shock. No matter how many times I do it, no one can ever seem to get their head around the fact that I can read and write Japanese. What do they think we DO when we study Japanese at uni? They don't just learn to speak English at uni (actually for the most the opposite is true), so why would I only learn to speak Jap? I blame the all too large number of gaijin who live here for years but never bother to study the language and as such can carry out decent basic conversations in Jap but cannot read or write it. If you are going to live in a country, you must make the effort to learn the language. No one has a favourable opinion of those who come to Oz and never learn English - why should it be different just because the Japs have a love affair with English and are therefore too willing to excuse ignorance and lack of respect in those who are native speakers of it. Ah, gaijin worship, so very very convenient and so very very frustrating.
Today the year 6s threw a thankyou party for all the teachers. I was invited even though most of them hate me and the rest don't care. They made curry popcorn. It was yum. Then they had a quiz and I was able to answer one of the word puzzle questions which was heaps funny, everyone was in shock. No matter how many times I do it, no one can ever seem to get their head around the fact that I can read and write Japanese. What do they think we DO when we study Japanese at uni? They don't just learn to speak English at uni (actually for the most the opposite is true), so why would I only learn to speak Jap? I blame the all too large number of gaijin who live here for years but never bother to study the language and as such can carry out decent basic conversations in Jap but cannot read or write it. If you are going to live in a country, you must make the effort to learn the language. No one has a favourable opinion of those who come to Oz and never learn English - why should it be different just because the Japs have a love affair with English and are therefore too willing to excuse ignorance and lack of respect in those who are native speakers of it. Ah, gaijin worship, so very very convenient and so very very frustrating.
February 19, 2007
Precious cargo
Here are the chocolates I received from the girl at soccer. It was, as everything is over here, wrapped up very carefully in shiny paper with a gold bow and sticker on it. It was a bit disappointing to find so little chocolate in there though! And how about the bubble wrap situation. I didn't realise that choccies were so precious! In case you can't make it out through the plastic, they are wee Scotty dogs. It is of course the thought that counts, but when you think that she probably paid about $5 for it and it is mostly cardboard and bubble wrap... bit of a worry.
February 17, 2007
What's going on here?
Pounding head. Wobbly tummy. Inability to complete a ...
Yep, she's been out drinking again.
Yep, she's been out drinking again.
February 16, 2007
Let's shopping!
This weekend I have such exciting tasks to perform as;
- post home a massive box of books and summer clothing
- get a hair cut (eek)
- buy an extra blanket for the extra futon for the extra person I will have in my house from Wednesday next week !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
- sew up the hem of my work trousers which have been dragging on the floor for about 2 months now
- Not talk to any children
Wish I had something more important to do, but the next 2 weekends after that I will be busy busy dancing away the nights and gossiping away the days with The Visitor so I figure one more weekend of nothing can't do too much harm...
But I sure hope everyone else has a better time planned than me!
- post home a massive box of books and summer clothing
- get a hair cut (eek)
- buy an extra blanket for the extra futon for the extra person I will have in my house from Wednesday next week !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
- sew up the hem of my work trousers which have been dragging on the floor for about 2 months now
- Not talk to any children
Wish I had something more important to do, but the next 2 weekends after that I will be busy busy dancing away the nights and gossiping away the days with The Visitor so I figure one more weekend of nothing can't do too much harm...
But I sure hope everyone else has a better time planned than me!
February 15, 2007
Hadaka Matsuri
Since it seems likely that I will not be attending the Naked Man Festival - here are some pics off the web that someone else took at some other point in history. Perhaps it's for the best...
Soccer Star
I noticed 2 things at soccer last night.
1) Making a big show of rolling around on the floor in agony after being involved in any minor altercation is not an activity restricted to professional players. And,
2) It's easy to be a good defender when the people you are playing against are too afraid of you to resist any challenge you make for the ball.
There is one other girl playing with us and she is so afraid of getting hurt that all I need to do to get the ball off her is run up to her! She just stops what she is doing and puts her arms up around her head as though she is bracing for a plane crash and makes "eek" noises and ignores the ball. And I guess the guys are mostly pretty good at soccer (for example, they can actually kick the ball in the direction they intend to, dribble it down the field without tripping over it, and also do tricky things like flick the ball over defenders heads) so they their defence is pretty lazy cos they just want to kick a goal. So I am the only one who chases the ball around trying to get it off of people constantly. Even though I don't know what I'm doing, it WORKS because of coures it is harder to kick a ball straight when you have someone trying to get it off you all the time. Defence boys! They so often neglect it.
Last night there was one bloke who copped a couple of beatings from the others. He just kept being in the wrong place at the wrong time and once even got head butted in the snoz! I was excused from giving him any sympathy though by his sookie lala performances each time something happened. The first couple of times he was totally just acting it up, carrying on like a 2 bob watch "Ouch! Ow, ow owowie!" I've seen primary kids take violence better than that! So when he got head butted even though that one really must have hurt, I just laughed. Cry baby.
Ah yes. Recent development at school here; the homeroom teacher of the class I ran into trouble with lats week when I ejected a girl from English has been replaced! Apparently he is taking stress leave and now the head techer and the music teacher are sharing the load looking after that year 6 class until the end of the year. I wonder if the incident last week had anything to do with it? Come to think of it - I haven't seen him back at school since then! Oops.
1) Making a big show of rolling around on the floor in agony after being involved in any minor altercation is not an activity restricted to professional players. And,
2) It's easy to be a good defender when the people you are playing against are too afraid of you to resist any challenge you make for the ball.
There is one other girl playing with us and she is so afraid of getting hurt that all I need to do to get the ball off her is run up to her! She just stops what she is doing and puts her arms up around her head as though she is bracing for a plane crash and makes "eek" noises and ignores the ball. And I guess the guys are mostly pretty good at soccer (for example, they can actually kick the ball in the direction they intend to, dribble it down the field without tripping over it, and also do tricky things like flick the ball over defenders heads) so they their defence is pretty lazy cos they just want to kick a goal. So I am the only one who chases the ball around trying to get it off of people constantly. Even though I don't know what I'm doing, it WORKS because of coures it is harder to kick a ball straight when you have someone trying to get it off you all the time. Defence boys! They so often neglect it.
Last night there was one bloke who copped a couple of beatings from the others. He just kept being in the wrong place at the wrong time and once even got head butted in the snoz! I was excused from giving him any sympathy though by his sookie lala performances each time something happened. The first couple of times he was totally just acting it up, carrying on like a 2 bob watch "Ouch! Ow, ow owowie!" I've seen primary kids take violence better than that! So when he got head butted even though that one really must have hurt, I just laughed. Cry baby.
Ah yes. Recent development at school here; the homeroom teacher of the class I ran into trouble with lats week when I ejected a girl from English has been replaced! Apparently he is taking stress leave and now the head techer and the music teacher are sharing the load looking after that year 6 class until the end of the year. I wonder if the incident last week had anything to do with it? Come to think of it - I haven't seen him back at school since then! Oops.
February 14, 2007
Naked Man Festival Looms - unfortunately no relation to Valentines Day
I have no words to describe how depressed I am about missing the Fringe Festival this year. I LOVE the Fringe. People get so friendly all of a sudden, and you go out on a weeknight and the city is still awake, it's fantastic. Not to mention all the quality shows. Most of the best ones are usually the el cheapos too so even if you are a broke uni student you can have a good time. Speaking of a good time - I was told about a Naked Man Festival last week. It sounds like hilarious fun, if a little dangerous for the participants (all, as the name would suggets, men though so I am safe). Unfortunately I was too late to express my interest and the buses that will be ferrying people there and back are full. BOO. I am on the waiting list though, so perhaps I will be able to get in on some naked man action yet... If not, I will steal someone elses pictures off the web and put them up here ;) From what I can gather the night entails a stick of some description being thrown from a temple by a priest at midnight into a hoard of nearly naked men (they wear a nappy arrangement, much like the sumo's do) who compete against each other to be the one to plant the stick in a jar of dirt some miles off in front of the town hall. By all accounts it is an extremely competitive and downright violent evening - there is a large cash prize for the one who manages to plant the stick, plus a year's worth of good luck. Apparently the priests also throw out "decoy" sticks so there are some poor sods fighting and kicking their way through a hoard of muddy sweaty men for nothing and they think they have the prize in their hands!
Ah yes, St Valentine's Day. Here in Japan it is a big deal. Of course it is all consumerist driven crap and in true Japanese style, has many rules and regulatations stipulating who should be given what and when. Basically we girls are supposed to give chocolate that we have made ourselves (or at least re-shaped ourselves) to the blokes who mean something to us in our lives. That means not only lovers, but fathers, grandfathers, friends too. And then, a few weeks later on White Day, the blokes must reciprocate. While it is still ridiculous that it should be considered romantic to give a present to someone on a day that has been arbitrarily decided, the chocolate thing I don't mind so much as the expensive jewellery and roses pressure that happens in Australia. Chocolate is cheap, it is yummy, and well, who doesn't want chocolate!! Love is a pretty awesome thing and well worth celebrating, but I say let's not encourage the shops to encourage us to waste more money on something that can't be bought. True romance is free - a note scribbled on a piece of paper and shoved in someone's pocket for them to find later is going to mean far more than a bunch of roses. Flowers are impersonal on a day when they are prescribed. People shouldn't let them (you know who they are, they've been shoving their junk mail in your letter box for the last 2 weeks) convince them that the depth of their feelings can be in any way indicated by the amount of money they part with. That's all.
Bloody hell. I just had to answer the phone here and some guy was talking away a mile a minute and I had no idea what he was on about! It was heaps funny!
Ah yes, St Valentine's Day. Here in Japan it is a big deal. Of course it is all consumerist driven crap and in true Japanese style, has many rules and regulatations stipulating who should be given what and when. Basically we girls are supposed to give chocolate that we have made ourselves (or at least re-shaped ourselves) to the blokes who mean something to us in our lives. That means not only lovers, but fathers, grandfathers, friends too. And then, a few weeks later on White Day, the blokes must reciprocate. While it is still ridiculous that it should be considered romantic to give a present to someone on a day that has been arbitrarily decided, the chocolate thing I don't mind so much as the expensive jewellery and roses pressure that happens in Australia. Chocolate is cheap, it is yummy, and well, who doesn't want chocolate!! Love is a pretty awesome thing and well worth celebrating, but I say let's not encourage the shops to encourage us to waste more money on something that can't be bought. True romance is free - a note scribbled on a piece of paper and shoved in someone's pocket for them to find later is going to mean far more than a bunch of roses. Flowers are impersonal on a day when they are prescribed. People shouldn't let them (you know who they are, they've been shoving their junk mail in your letter box for the last 2 weeks) convince them that the depth of their feelings can be in any way indicated by the amount of money they part with. That's all.
Bloody hell. I just had to answer the phone here and some guy was talking away a mile a minute and I had no idea what he was on about! It was heaps funny!
February 12, 2007
Boring
Today I heard a little speech type arrangement about foreigner rights in Japan. I went because I was bored. Unfortunately my situation wasn't improved by going as I remained bored. So I left, came here, and have been watching random episodes of Blackbooks and laughing my arse off (as much as one can in an environment where noise is frowned upon). Ah, Dylan Moran = funny man.
Lately in Japan there was a magazine entitled Gaijin Hanzai (foreigner crimes) published and sold at the Family Mart convenience stores. Some gaijin noticed it, made complaints to various quarters and the magazine was pulled from the shelves. I saw a copy of it today. It features no advertising at all and so must be fully funded by someone with a lot of cash since it is very professional looking, all glossy and stuff, heaps of articles and pictures and so on. The foreigner population in Japan is about 1%. Not sure what the crime rates are, but it would be a fair stretch of the imagination to consider that foreigners are contributing greatly to the crime levels. Personally I have never experienced any blatant discrimination while here, but there are plenty who have. I get the feeling that most who do are from "undesirable countries" like China, Phillipines, Korea and so on. The bloke who was talking today took legal action against the city he was living in for refusing his daughter and himself access to an onsen based upon their appearance. His wife is Japanese so his kids are half, one daughter looks very Japanese, the other is clearly half foreign - she was refused entry but her sister was allowed in. I have heard of places putting up signs saying "no foreigners" and the like, but have never seen it myself. I guess this whole thing is part of the struggle for those long term foreigners in Japan. To me it just doesn't matter beacuse I have no intention of staying here, and no desire to be considered a local anyway. All the people at the speech today were definitely a different crowd to what I normally see; the lifers. People who have been here for more than 10 years, who have spouses and kids here. Good luck to em, I'm just getting out!
In happier news; it is now a mere 9 days until my friend touches down over here to play with me!!! It's all getting very very exciting.
Lately in Japan there was a magazine entitled Gaijin Hanzai (foreigner crimes) published and sold at the Family Mart convenience stores. Some gaijin noticed it, made complaints to various quarters and the magazine was pulled from the shelves. I saw a copy of it today. It features no advertising at all and so must be fully funded by someone with a lot of cash since it is very professional looking, all glossy and stuff, heaps of articles and pictures and so on. The foreigner population in Japan is about 1%. Not sure what the crime rates are, but it would be a fair stretch of the imagination to consider that foreigners are contributing greatly to the crime levels. Personally I have never experienced any blatant discrimination while here, but there are plenty who have. I get the feeling that most who do are from "undesirable countries" like China, Phillipines, Korea and so on. The bloke who was talking today took legal action against the city he was living in for refusing his daughter and himself access to an onsen based upon their appearance. His wife is Japanese so his kids are half, one daughter looks very Japanese, the other is clearly half foreign - she was refused entry but her sister was allowed in. I have heard of places putting up signs saying "no foreigners" and the like, but have never seen it myself. I guess this whole thing is part of the struggle for those long term foreigners in Japan. To me it just doesn't matter beacuse I have no intention of staying here, and no desire to be considered a local anyway. All the people at the speech today were definitely a different crowd to what I normally see; the lifers. People who have been here for more than 10 years, who have spouses and kids here. Good luck to em, I'm just getting out!
In happier news; it is now a mere 9 days until my friend touches down over here to play with me!!! It's all getting very very exciting.
February 09, 2007
Table Tennis
The class I ate lunch with this week has a very funny situation happening in the room. All the legs of the chairs and desks have tennis balls stuck on them. It is a very amusing sight, but also really quite a good idea. It stops the legs from scraping on the wooden floor and scratching it, and also reduces a lot of classroom noise. Since kids are constantly moving, there is always one chair or another squeaking across the floor, but in this classroom it is relatively peaceful. I say relatively because this particular class has an odd mix of personalities that leads to a lot of tension between the kids. There is always someone fighting with someone and they often turn game time in English into a painful exercise by refusing to play with each other. The girls are the worst, they are always thinking up new ways to piss each other off, or be pissed off an alienate each other. Bloody tough world, being a kid.
Long weekend coming up. Monday off :) Not sure what I will be doing with my time yet. Maybe some dancing on Sunday night. Spanish class on Sunday morning. I do need to get a haircut still. Maybe I will sort that out. AND I have buy my return flight ticket! How exciting is that! I get the price of the ticket returned to me by my employers, but I have to sort it out myself to start with. Too bad they specified an economy ticket...
Long weekend coming up. Monday off :) Not sure what I will be doing with my time yet. Maybe some dancing on Sunday night. Spanish class on Sunday morning. I do need to get a haircut still. Maybe I will sort that out. AND I have buy my return flight ticket! How exciting is that! I get the price of the ticket returned to me by my employers, but I have to sort it out myself to start with. Too bad they specified an economy ticket...
February 08, 2007
Thanks!!
Thank you to everyone who has written with their congrats. Heaps chuffed. Hehe!
Yesterday was just a good day in general really. I went with my neighbour and a few other foreigners to play soccer. I have never played soccer before (aside from a few traumatic weeks in primary school) so I basically ran about hip and shouldering people and kicking them in the ankles. It seemed to be a good tactic because my special female gaijin status meant that I was out of bounds for reciprocal push and shove. There were only 2 other girls there and they were pretty quiet about it, just kinda flapping their hands about and watching the ball around most of the time which was a shame. Our team was all gaijin and the other teams were all Japanese. 7 minute games, 5 a side. It felt really great to be playing sport again (even if very badly) and today my legs are aching - a good feeling. Afterwards off to Tree for some beer and takoyaki and a few stories from the foul-mouthed but hilarious bloke from Kasaoka. I have never heard anyone swear so much or so effectively in my life. I think some of the hilarity may simply be due to the accent though.
Freezing, I ran all the way home in my shorts (first time my legs have seen air for WAY too long) in time for a hot shower, re-examination of my test results (to confirm that I had read it correctly and was justified in being elated) and into bed, exhausted and happy for the first time in ages. How appropriate that such a great day should be followed with a pretty average one...
Today I threw a year 6 girl out of my class after she continued talking despite being told not to. Where I come from this is not an unusual way to deal with troublemakers. She isn't a bad kid, she was just trying it on for size and chucking her out for 5 minutes woud have been a good way of ensuring she tidied herself up while also letting the rest of the class know that I'm not gonna up up with that kind of shit. Unfortunately, I am the only person here who has this opinion. The girl in question went walkabout and had a big sulk, her homeroom teacher called the principal to come and look for her and everyone knew about it in 5 seconds and they all started telling me that I'm not allowed to kick kids out of the classes. I found the girl down at the front doors having a sulk and bitch to her mates (who of course knew where she was the whole time) and had a chat to her about pulling her socks up. I don't care if she hates English, I hate teaching it, but it's much more fun if you just drop the attitude. Anyway it's all good with the teachers now, most of the ones who count (principal, vice-principal) seem to think that what I did wasn't that bad and have forgiven me now that we know the girl isn't out somewhere hanging herself (entirely possible here). Everyone knows that class is a bitch to deal with. There's always gotta be one of these classes in every school it would seem!
Yesterday was just a good day in general really. I went with my neighbour and a few other foreigners to play soccer. I have never played soccer before (aside from a few traumatic weeks in primary school) so I basically ran about hip and shouldering people and kicking them in the ankles. It seemed to be a good tactic because my special female gaijin status meant that I was out of bounds for reciprocal push and shove. There were only 2 other girls there and they were pretty quiet about it, just kinda flapping their hands about and watching the ball around most of the time which was a shame. Our team was all gaijin and the other teams were all Japanese. 7 minute games, 5 a side. It felt really great to be playing sport again (even if very badly) and today my legs are aching - a good feeling. Afterwards off to Tree for some beer and takoyaki and a few stories from the foul-mouthed but hilarious bloke from Kasaoka. I have never heard anyone swear so much or so effectively in my life. I think some of the hilarity may simply be due to the accent though.
Freezing, I ran all the way home in my shorts (first time my legs have seen air for WAY too long) in time for a hot shower, re-examination of my test results (to confirm that I had read it correctly and was justified in being elated) and into bed, exhausted and happy for the first time in ages. How appropriate that such a great day should be followed with a pretty average one...
Today I threw a year 6 girl out of my class after she continued talking despite being told not to. Where I come from this is not an unusual way to deal with troublemakers. She isn't a bad kid, she was just trying it on for size and chucking her out for 5 minutes woud have been a good way of ensuring she tidied herself up while also letting the rest of the class know that I'm not gonna up up with that kind of shit. Unfortunately, I am the only person here who has this opinion. The girl in question went walkabout and had a big sulk, her homeroom teacher called the principal to come and look for her and everyone knew about it in 5 seconds and they all started telling me that I'm not allowed to kick kids out of the classes. I found the girl down at the front doors having a sulk and bitch to her mates (who of course knew where she was the whole time) and had a chat to her about pulling her socks up. I don't care if she hates English, I hate teaching it, but it's much more fun if you just drop the attitude. Anyway it's all good with the teachers now, most of the ones who count (principal, vice-principal) seem to think that what I did wasn't that bad and have forgiven me now that we know the girl isn't out somewhere hanging herself (entirely possible here). Everyone knows that class is a bitch to deal with. There's always gotta be one of these classes in every school it would seem!
Quick Note to say....
I passed my Japanese Proficiency Exam!!!!
No time for details now since I am having a HELL of a day. Suffice to say I am pretty damn excited at having a little piece of paper (and it really is little) that says I can offically speak, read, write and understand Japanese.
How much do I rock?*
*Despite all appearance this is NOT a question so please don't feel obliged to answer.
No time for details now since I am having a HELL of a day. Suffice to say I am pretty damn excited at having a little piece of paper (and it really is little) that says I can offically speak, read, write and understand Japanese.
How much do I rock?*
*Despite all appearance this is NOT a question so please don't feel obliged to answer.
February 07, 2007
Student population overwhelmed
There's a bloke living in the town next to me who is employed under the JET (Japan Exchange Teaching - or something) scenario. Since that area is pretty sparse in the population area he goes around to several different schools in a week. One school he teaches at is on an island so he spends the whole day there. There are 10 students in the middle school and there are 8 staff members! How insane is THAT! In March the year 3 kids will graduate and move on to High School (off the island I think) leaving the student population at 6*, since there are no year 6 kids in the primary school currently to move up and increase the middle school population. How is this possible? How can a school for a mere 10 kids be running with eight staff members? Why does a school with a third as many kids as the average homeroom class need to have a principal, a vice principal, a maths teacher, a music teacher and office dogbodies? How much money does this country have, and why are they not using it for things like giving the kids grass to run around ( I mean LAWN, not pot, although that would also be quite an improvement on school life), or teaching the kids to stop doing the kancho**. I think this story goes a long way to proving that having more money in your budget does not necessarily mean doing a better job.
* Figures may vary from actual figures but you get the idea. Stories heard when drunk are never going to be retold with much precision.
** Kancho - Japanese child invention involving the use of the index fingers to poke adults in the arse when they have their hands full.
* Figures may vary from actual figures but you get the idea. Stories heard when drunk are never going to be retold with much precision.
** Kancho - Japanese child invention involving the use of the index fingers to poke adults in the arse when they have their hands full.
A New Format
OH MY GOD IT'S ALL DIFFERENT!!
Yep, got sick of the old brown blog so have twiddled with a few knobs behind the scenes here and now we are all blue. Matching the blue T-shirt I am wearing in that photo - nice. Even though it's blue, which traditionally would mean "sad" (if this were year 12 English it would anyway), I think it seems a bit happier this way...
Yep, got sick of the old brown blog so have twiddled with a few knobs behind the scenes here and now we are all blue. Matching the blue T-shirt I am wearing in that photo - nice. Even though it's blue, which traditionally would mean "sad" (if this were year 12 English it would anyway), I think it seems a bit happier this way...
February 06, 2007
A New Public Holiday
Yesterday was Despair Of The World Day in Japan. Did you know that? And today is Reconcile Yourself To Never Knowing The Truth Day.
Done.
I might be a very small person in the world and mean nothing to nothing, but might as well have a crack at enjoying it as much as possible without making anyone else hate it. To which end; I think I might stop using petrol. OK I know that it will be impossible to avoid using motorbikes, cars, trains, buses, planes completely - I do want to get home from Japan without getting wet after all - but it's a decision to minimise the use of all these vehicles as much as possible. That doesn't mean just leaving the car at home when it's nice weather, and walking, but walking in the rain too. That means using a car only when it is absolutely unavoidable. It means not even owning a car, which is my situation at the moment - and I do just fine. In fact, the last year I was living in Adelaide I used my car very infrequently and the times I did, it was only because I was lazy rather than because I had no other options. Living in Adelaide is TOPS for this because it is flat everywhere and this means it is excellent for cycling without too much effort or creating those tree trunk legs that come with pushing uphill constantly... Although, it must be said, it is pretty dangerous at times when car drivers seem to think that bicycles have no right to be on the road and don't mind almost killing someone to prove that point.
Personally I think it would be tops if everyone cycled everywhere. For several reasons
a) Fewer cars on the road
b) Fewer Fat Arses - leading to less heart disease and all Fat related illnesses which cost the health care system a packet every year (supposing we have a health care system for much longer)
c) Less NOISE
d) More people arriving at work with sweaty hair and bum like me.
Think how much happier everyone would be! Healthier in general, less grumpy cos they haven't negotiated traffic jams all the way to work breathing in exhaust fumes. There are LOTS of excuses why it can't be done, but there are no good reasons. I can testify to the fact that it actually takes less time to ride into the city than drive during peak hour. Plus you don't have to pay or look for parking. I say stop thinking why it's impossible and start making it possible.
Just a suggestion.
Done.
I might be a very small person in the world and mean nothing to nothing, but might as well have a crack at enjoying it as much as possible without making anyone else hate it. To which end; I think I might stop using petrol. OK I know that it will be impossible to avoid using motorbikes, cars, trains, buses, planes completely - I do want to get home from Japan without getting wet after all - but it's a decision to minimise the use of all these vehicles as much as possible. That doesn't mean just leaving the car at home when it's nice weather, and walking, but walking in the rain too. That means using a car only when it is absolutely unavoidable. It means not even owning a car, which is my situation at the moment - and I do just fine. In fact, the last year I was living in Adelaide I used my car very infrequently and the times I did, it was only because I was lazy rather than because I had no other options. Living in Adelaide is TOPS for this because it is flat everywhere and this means it is excellent for cycling without too much effort or creating those tree trunk legs that come with pushing uphill constantly... Although, it must be said, it is pretty dangerous at times when car drivers seem to think that bicycles have no right to be on the road and don't mind almost killing someone to prove that point.
Personally I think it would be tops if everyone cycled everywhere. For several reasons
a) Fewer cars on the road
b) Fewer Fat Arses - leading to less heart disease and all Fat related illnesses which cost the health care system a packet every year (supposing we have a health care system for much longer)
c) Less NOISE
d) More people arriving at work with sweaty hair and bum like me.
Think how much happier everyone would be! Healthier in general, less grumpy cos they haven't negotiated traffic jams all the way to work breathing in exhaust fumes. There are LOTS of excuses why it can't be done, but there are no good reasons. I can testify to the fact that it actually takes less time to ride into the city than drive during peak hour. Plus you don't have to pay or look for parking. I say stop thinking why it's impossible and start making it possible.
Just a suggestion.
February 05, 2007
Do you know that you don't know?
This morning I had one of those dreams where you are doing what you are actually supposed to be awake and doing. i.e. I was supposed to be up getting dressed, eating breakfast and walking to work. I was in fact still snuggled up in my doona snoozing and dreaming away about performing the aforementioned tasks. Oops. Luckily I am a low maintenance thing in the mornings and 10 minutes proved to be sufficient to get me out of the house in good order making me wonder why I bother waking up a minute before 7:22am every day.
It stumps me to explain why I needed so much sleep after spending a great deal of yesterday either unconscious or lying down, as if unconscious, reading. After such an amount of rest, why would one need to sleep in an extra 22 minutes thus forcing her to turn breakfast, hair taming and dressing into a multitasking frenzy. Perhaps sleep is addictive, the more you get, the more you want until eventually you are just comatose permanently. Perhaps that is why we have to work at least 8 hours a day; to prevent us all falling in to comas? There must be SOME explanation for why I need to be at work 9 hours a day when I am only actually working a maximum of 3 of those hours. It doesn’t seem a very economical use of time to me. Why spend any longer at work than you need to? If you can do the job in 3 hours, go home after 3 hours. THAT seems like a greater incentive to efficient use of time to me. Of course here I am not all that fussed about it since even whenI am not at work I am doing sweet bugger all. But upon my return home I expect I will be a great deal busier with many more fun things I would rather be doing than twiddling my thumbs at work because whoever decided that it takes 9 hours a day to do my job was grossly underestimating my abilities.
Yesterday I was reading a book where every 20th word or so was CAPITALISED. It was fun because in my head I was YELLING random words at myself. It was, in a word, a very DISMAL book. As a result of reading it I felt like a very insignificant blip in the universe and couldn't help but wonder what is the POINT of all this? It's not a new thought of course, either to me or anyone else, but still retains its strength in depressing the hell out of me. I mean, we all just keep DYING. It doesn't matter what I do with my life, in the end I will just be dead and that's the end of the story. Keeping that in mind, I wonder how anyone can care about anything, let alone the shit that is cared on a regular basis in a modern capitalist society. But then when I think we will all be dead one day anyway, does it really matter if Miss Must-have-a-Louis-Vuitton-Bag seems to be missing the bigger picture of the world? What is the point of us running around collecting all this information about the world? What is the point of us being wiser, smarter, faster, bigger, better, longer lasting, prettier when in the end it just amounts to dust? Maybe it is better to be distracted from it all by a cute bag? Maybe I would be better off if I never considered my own purpose in this world, or pondered my own mortality and didn't know that none of us REALLY know what is going on here.
It stumps me to explain why I needed so much sleep after spending a great deal of yesterday either unconscious or lying down, as if unconscious, reading. After such an amount of rest, why would one need to sleep in an extra 22 minutes thus forcing her to turn breakfast, hair taming and dressing into a multitasking frenzy. Perhaps sleep is addictive, the more you get, the more you want until eventually you are just comatose permanently. Perhaps that is why we have to work at least 8 hours a day; to prevent us all falling in to comas? There must be SOME explanation for why I need to be at work 9 hours a day when I am only actually working a maximum of 3 of those hours. It doesn’t seem a very economical use of time to me. Why spend any longer at work than you need to? If you can do the job in 3 hours, go home after 3 hours. THAT seems like a greater incentive to efficient use of time to me. Of course here I am not all that fussed about it since even whenI am not at work I am doing sweet bugger all. But upon my return home I expect I will be a great deal busier with many more fun things I would rather be doing than twiddling my thumbs at work because whoever decided that it takes 9 hours a day to do my job was grossly underestimating my abilities.
Yesterday I was reading a book where every 20th word or so was CAPITALISED. It was fun because in my head I was YELLING random words at myself. It was, in a word, a very DISMAL book. As a result of reading it I felt like a very insignificant blip in the universe and couldn't help but wonder what is the POINT of all this? It's not a new thought of course, either to me or anyone else, but still retains its strength in depressing the hell out of me. I mean, we all just keep DYING. It doesn't matter what I do with my life, in the end I will just be dead and that's the end of the story. Keeping that in mind, I wonder how anyone can care about anything, let alone the shit that is cared on a regular basis in a modern capitalist society. But then when I think we will all be dead one day anyway, does it really matter if Miss Must-have-a-Louis-Vuitton-Bag seems to be missing the bigger picture of the world? What is the point of us running around collecting all this information about the world? What is the point of us being wiser, smarter, faster, bigger, better, longer lasting, prettier when in the end it just amounts to dust? Maybe it is better to be distracted from it all by a cute bag? Maybe I would be better off if I never considered my own purpose in this world, or pondered my own mortality and didn't know that none of us REALLY know what is going on here.
February 03, 2007
Origami - too fiddly
To complete the picture of boredom, here is me being bored. Perhaps I don't seem all that fed up at first glance but when you take into account the amount of inactivity that must precede the descision to take a photo of oneself as though there is someone else in the room you may well appreciate it. Perhaps it is just a vain attempt to convince myself that I do in fact still exist, something easily forgotten when you have gone several days without a single social interaction to speak of. Or, possibly more likely, perhaps it is to remind myself how desperately I need a hair cut.
And it's worked because now I have started thinking about the tiresome task of finding a hairdresser who won't completely ruin my efforts at growing the stuff longer by cutting too much off in an attempt to make me at least appear "oshare" for 2 hours after I leave the salon. 2 hours being about the length of time my hair retains any of the shape, volume or style a persistant hairdresser can inspire in my locks. The following 2 months are invariably then spent trying to recreate that look to little or no avail whereupon I seek a new hairstyle that is more likely to be maintainable by someone who despises hair products of every description. I have failed in every attempt so far and am being extremely tempted by the idea of shaving it all off. One day it will happen, this I guarantee. One thing only prevents me from doing it right now; the cold. Without hair I know I would freeze in my bed, I already find it impossible to sleep unless I have socks on. Too chilly.
February 02, 2007
No Tears Today
Yesterday the little girl in my year 1 class who NEVER stops crying stopped crying! It was eerie. She came in a little late with the part time teacher who helps with that class and she was dry faced and quiet, and remained that way for the rest of the lessson, although she did not participate and seemed dazed and confused throughout. Afterwards while she was washing her hands for lunch I stopped by and told her and her teacher that she did a good job today (never thought I'd ever be praising someone just because they refrained from crying when there was no need to, but that's primary teaching for you). She actually spoke to me, I was a little bit shocked to hear her voice since all I usually get is "Whaaa whaaa whaaa" (hmm, it's hard to spell crying), and she said that she was trying extra hard today cos her dad asked her to. Her dad always comes to pick her up when the kids go home because she is always crying too much to walk with the rest of them. The first time I noticed her she was crying in the dirt of the playground because on her way to line up for assembly a bigger kid had ran into and knocked her over, it was the funniest thing I saw that week, she just flew backwards and sat on her arse and started crying immediately, tears flying out of her eyes without touching her face and onto the dirt. Like a cartoon. And she is TINY so the big kid didn't even notice he'd done it! Yesterday she was doing so well that she even walked all the way out the gate with a year 6 kid who is in her walking group and her dad had to go and chase them down the road to get her back. I wonder what happens with kids like that. If this crying thing is something she will grow out of in time to catch up with her classmates academically and socially, or if it is going to be a permanent thing. There are a lot of troubled kids at this school for some reason. Every class has at least one who obviously has learning disabilities or is socially ill-equipped in some respect. But rather surprisingly, there are only 2 kids in the special needs class. I would have expected the special needs class to be about the size of an average homeroom when you look at the behaviour of some individuals here. I wonder what the qualifications are for getting that extra help when so many of them seem to need it.
February 01, 2007
HURRY UP!!
It is 20 days until my friend flies over from Australia to drink beer with me.
There are no words for my impatience right now.
There are no words for my impatience right now.
Where is a park?
Last night I cooked for the first time in ages. It was only gratin, but still, it felt nice to eat a hot meal for once instead of just fruit and a piece of bread or whatever it is that I usually do. I can't even remember because it's so boring. But it's also pretty boring cooking for one person, especially when it comes to cleaning up afterwards.
After my year 5 class I had the teacher come up and ask me why the sentence I taught today "Where is the ...?" wasn't "Where is a ...?" Finally some REAL English teaching! Well, not necessarily more real, but more grammar related than just passing off vocabularly like any dictionary can do. I love how they are SO skeptical of everything I tell them when I explain grammar and the like, as though I would be a worse source than their dodgy textbook. Although it is probably true that a lot of people who speak English have no idea how it works and you would be better off looking it up in a textbook - but I have seen some of the textbooks here and the example sentences contained within all too often bear little relation to any English I would ever use.
After my year 5 class I had the teacher come up and ask me why the sentence I taught today "Where is the ...?" wasn't "Where is a ...?" Finally some REAL English teaching! Well, not necessarily more real, but more grammar related than just passing off vocabularly like any dictionary can do. I love how they are SO skeptical of everything I tell them when I explain grammar and the like, as though I would be a worse source than their dodgy textbook. Although it is probably true that a lot of people who speak English have no idea how it works and you would be better off looking it up in a textbook - but I have seen some of the textbooks here and the example sentences contained within all too often bear little relation to any English I would ever use.
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