So, I've been what my dad calls a CEO Catholic or... my new term (that I like better, sorry Dad!) ECO-Catholic.
There's a Catholic church on the island, and I met the Father a while ago (He's German!). But, I haven't actually gone to a Mass. Now that I'm living by myself I find it hard to get up in time to go. Or, I'm really busy. As the weekends are the only time to do some island hopping.
Well, since it was Ash Wednesday, I felt I really should go.
So, I finally went.
It is soo small. The Church is actually a converted house. And, along with the Father, there are two sisters.
So, about Mass in Japan. When I got there I thought I was really early, even though I knew I was a minute late. There were less than 10 people -- including the two sisters and father.
Let me tell you, Communion goes a lot faster with that few.
Of course, the whole Mass was in Japanese. And, I was confused as can be. But, about 15 minutes in, one of the sisters handed me a pamphlet that had the Japanese written down in both characters and roman letters, the English translation, and the Latin translation. Really helped!
Like I said, the congregation is really small 5 people, so during the homily, the father just kind of chats to us. There is a topic, a moral from the reading, but he knows everyone so well that he kind of just chats about life on the island and things that each person does. It's really different, but in a good way. Everyone knows each other so well, that it's just like old friends getting together. And... to be frank... I do mean older literally. I think I'm the youngest by about 60 or 70 years. I can't help but wonder if these few islanders converted when there was an American base on the island? Interesting though, huh?
So, about Ash Wednesday. We went up to receive the ashes and I realized that they were given on top of the head, not on the forehead. Being so tall (I feel like a giant here), I had to squat a bit so he could put the ashes on my head.
Also, the part of Mass where we usually shake hands, we bow here. You know you're in Japan when... right? ;)
After mass, everyone just kind of stayed put and chatted. They wanted to know everything about me. And one of the women there has a sister living in Ohio! Imagine that. She can't remember where, but she said she'll try to find out.
Pretty nice time. And the talking after is great Japanese practice!
Oh, the coolest part: like I said, the Father is from Germany originally. He's one of the only Catholic priests on the Kagoshima islands (as I gather) and he ferries back and forth between this island and the island just North of me about every two weeks or so.
So, he doesn't really know English, or he did learn it at one time but it's been so long since he's used it. So, we communicate in Japanese.
Now, I remember (and Casey if you're reading this, you should remember too!!) that when two people who speak different native languages use a third common language to talk there's actually a linguistic term for it. I believe (after a little internet searching, Thank you Google!) that the common language you use to talk in is called Lingua Franca. It was a very interesting moment to be able to use Japanese, a language that a few years ago I could barely form a coherent sentence with, to have a full, long, conversation with another person who's native language isn't Japanese.
Phew, you guys get two posts in one day!!
~Steph
Thursday, March 10, 2011
End of School Fun Day
The school year in Japan is on a completely different schedule compared to the U.S. The end of the school year is almost here, with the 3rd graders in Junior High Schools (JHS) around the country gearing up to graduate next Tuesday.
This week, the 3rd graders (American 9th Graders) sat for the public high school Admission test on Tuesday and Wednesday. So, at my Favorite school, we had a reward party the whole day for them.
It began at 8:45 with a ceremony, it is Japan you know where ceremonies are a HUGE staple. The ni-nen-seis (2nd graders/American 8th graders) put on the party for the 3rd graders. So, they gave announcements and speeches during the opening ceremony. After that, we all walked to the top of the biggest mountain on Erabu. It's called 大山（おおやま/ooyama). Which means "Big Mountain" in Japanese. But, it's pretty small. So, it only took about 30 minutes to walk up to the top. Once there, we had a beautiful view of the island. I took some pictures: (on the way)
We got there and played Frisbee-style dodgeball. Pretty fun!
Afterwards, there was another ceremony put on by the 2nd graders. They gave out gag gifts to the 3rd graders and talked about how they would miss them once they started high school. Pretty emotional stuff!
Afterwards, we all headed outside to enjoy the sun (with a little chill in the air, thanks to the wind) and ate our bentos (home-made lunches...). I headed off to eat with the teachers. I try and grab whatever opportunity I can to hang out with the teachers. I love the teachers at this school -- we are always laughing at some joke or other. Joking in another language is seriously hard, because you never know if your type of humour is going to work out or not. But, with these teachers we just mesh. So, it's great.
After lunch, we headed back down the mountain. Again, beautiful pictures!!
And then, the students had class vs. class sports off. The girls played volleyball and the boys played soccer. I would guess that volleyball and soccer ... well, and baseball, are the top sports in Japan.
Days like this make me want to stay another year. And, you know, I think if I were at this school more than once a week. Maybe the decision to stay another year or not would have been different. But, for now, I'm happy with my decision!
I hope the nip in the air leaves before the parents arrive. When you don't feel the breeze its warm enough to go sunning. Keep your fingers crossed for good weather!!
~Steph
P.S. T-8 days!!!!
P.S.S. NO SPELLING MISTAKES. Though, grammar is probably another issue. :(
This week, the 3rd graders (American 9th Graders) sat for the public high school Admission test on Tuesday and Wednesday. So, at my Favorite school, we had a reward party the whole day for them.
It began at 8:45 with a ceremony, it is Japan you know where ceremonies are a HUGE staple. The ni-nen-seis (2nd graders/American 8th graders) put on the party for the 3rd graders. So, they gave announcements and speeches during the opening ceremony. After that, we all walked to the top of the biggest mountain on Erabu. It's called 大山（おおやま/ooyama). Which means "Big Mountain" in Japanese. But, it's pretty small. So, it only took about 30 minutes to walk up to the top. Once there, we had a beautiful view of the island. I took some pictures: (on the way)
We got there and played Frisbee-style dodgeball. Pretty fun!
Afterwards, there was another ceremony put on by the 2nd graders. They gave out gag gifts to the 3rd graders and talked about how they would miss them once they started high school. Pretty emotional stuff!
Afterwards, we all headed outside to enjoy the sun (with a little chill in the air, thanks to the wind) and ate our bentos (home-made lunches...). I headed off to eat with the teachers. I try and grab whatever opportunity I can to hang out with the teachers. I love the teachers at this school -- we are always laughing at some joke or other. Joking in another language is seriously hard, because you never know if your type of humour is going to work out or not. But, with these teachers we just mesh. So, it's great.
After lunch, we headed back down the mountain. Again, beautiful pictures!!
And then, the students had class vs. class sports off. The girls played volleyball and the boys played soccer. I would guess that volleyball and soccer ... well, and baseball, are the top sports in Japan.
Days like this make me want to stay another year. And, you know, I think if I were at this school more than once a week. Maybe the decision to stay another year or not would have been different. But, for now, I'm happy with my decision!
I hope the nip in the air leaves before the parents arrive. When you don't feel the breeze its warm enough to go sunning. Keep your fingers crossed for good weather!!
~Steph
P.S. T-8 days!!!!
P.S.S. NO SPELLING MISTAKES. Though, grammar is probably another issue. :(
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
English is Difficult
So, part of this post is inspired by a blogger living in Brazil and teaching English. You can find her blog here. She, I believe, majored in linguistics and a lot of her posts focus on the intricacies of English, Portuguese, and teaching English as a Foreign Language. Really interesting and I highly recommend it!
Anyways, my lovely friend Liz sent me a little moleskin notebook that I can carry around in my purse and record thoughts/sketches (not sure if the sketches will be happening, as I'm a horrible drawer, but we'll see).
Today, during my Eikaiwa (Adult English Conversation Class) my students asked a lot of really good questions. They usually do ask good questions, but I was surprised today. First off, the difference between "former" and "previous". This was really hard for me to answer at first because I couldn't explain why I use it differently. Think about it. The former president Bush (vs.) the previous president was Bush. There is a small difference. I tried to explain it as "former" being something that 'was, but is not anymore'. Like, my former professor. This person was my professor, but isn't anymore. Also, I think former is referring to any period before not just the one just before. While "previous" means more 'the one before this'. Like, the previous book I read. Means the book I read before this. What do you think? Is this totally wrong? I don't know why this was so hard. I think it's the little nuances that can be the hardest to explain.
Another point we discussed was how to say 'a lot of something'. My students (bear in mind, they are both middle-aged mothers) often tease me about different things. Like, when I sometimes buy foreign food online (I live on a tiny island... so foreign food really isn't American foreign food... just not Japanese food) it usually comes in a big size because I don't buy it often. They tease that it's American sized. Anyways, recently, we've been teasing about gokiburi (cockroaches) coming out. Ewwwwww! I killed my first cockroach of the season yesterday (still a little scarred). And they told me the place that has the most cockroaches is the bathroom behind the toilet.
So, one of my students used the bathroom today and I asked her if there were any cockroaches. She responded, "Yes, many, many cockroaches, " jokingly. And then paused and asked me if using "many, many" was correct. I explained that we don't say "many, many" though I've become used to it while living in Japan. And that we say "a lot of". But, then I said... more conversationally, we say "lots of". When they asked me why it changes I explained that I think American English likes one sound to kind of lead into the other. When you say "a lot of" you have to pause between "lot" and "of", but with "lots of" it flows and almost becomes one word. I think we do this with a lot of words. Is this true, or am I making stuff up and teaching my students wrong??
During the lesson, I also found out how amazingly cheaper university is in Japan. They told me the average price for public is about $5,000 a YEAR. WHAT?! I was so surprised. Whereas, private is about $20,000 a year, which makes more sense to me. And also, public university is better than private. Interesting, huh?
Also, the san nen seis (third year students) in both middle school and high school (so American 9th and 12th graders, respectively) are taking their public examination this week. The 9th graders to get into public high school and the 12th graders to get into public university. And, apparently at the high school just ONE student has passed the public university test. I hope my students are just exaggerating. Is education on the islands/inaka (rural) area of Japan really that bad?
Also, my parents come in 9 days!! Can't wait to see them and have our tour of Japan!
~Steph
P.S. I had SEVEN spelling mistakes in this blog. Apparently, I can no longer spell surprised. Kept spelling it suprised. I tell you, I'm losing my English. I forgot the word for crutches and transcript today.
Anyways, my lovely friend Liz sent me a little moleskin notebook that I can carry around in my purse and record thoughts/sketches (not sure if the sketches will be happening, as I'm a horrible drawer, but we'll see).
Today, during my Eikaiwa (Adult English Conversation Class) my students asked a lot of really good questions. They usually do ask good questions, but I was surprised today. First off, the difference between "former" and "previous". This was really hard for me to answer at first because I couldn't explain why I use it differently. Think about it. The former president Bush (vs.) the previous president was Bush. There is a small difference. I tried to explain it as "former" being something that 'was, but is not anymore'. Like, my former professor. This person was my professor, but isn't anymore. Also, I think former is referring to any period before not just the one just before. While "previous" means more 'the one before this'. Like, the previous book I read. Means the book I read before this. What do you think? Is this totally wrong? I don't know why this was so hard. I think it's the little nuances that can be the hardest to explain.
Another point we discussed was how to say 'a lot of something'. My students (bear in mind, they are both middle-aged mothers) often tease me about different things. Like, when I sometimes buy foreign food online (I live on a tiny island... so foreign food really isn't American foreign food... just not Japanese food) it usually comes in a big size because I don't buy it often. They tease that it's American sized. Anyways, recently, we've been teasing about gokiburi (cockroaches) coming out. Ewwwwww! I killed my first cockroach of the season yesterday (still a little scarred). And they told me the place that has the most cockroaches is the bathroom behind the toilet.
So, one of my students used the bathroom today and I asked her if there were any cockroaches. She responded, "Yes, many, many cockroaches, " jokingly. And then paused and asked me if using "many, many" was correct. I explained that we don't say "many, many" though I've become used to it while living in Japan. And that we say "a lot of". But, then I said... more conversationally, we say "lots of". When they asked me why it changes I explained that I think American English likes one sound to kind of lead into the other. When you say "a lot of" you have to pause between "lot" and "of", but with "lots of" it flows and almost becomes one word. I think we do this with a lot of words. Is this true, or am I making stuff up and teaching my students wrong??
During the lesson, I also found out how amazingly cheaper university is in Japan. They told me the average price for public is about $5,000 a YEAR. WHAT?! I was so surprised. Whereas, private is about $20,000 a year, which makes more sense to me. And also, public university is better than private. Interesting, huh?
Also, the san nen seis (third year students) in both middle school and high school (so American 9th and 12th graders, respectively) are taking their public examination this week. The 9th graders to get into public high school and the 12th graders to get into public university. And, apparently at the high school just ONE student has passed the public university test. I hope my students are just exaggerating. Is education on the islands/inaka (rural) area of Japan really that bad?
Also, my parents come in 9 days!! Can't wait to see them and have our tour of Japan!
~Steph
P.S. I had SEVEN spelling mistakes in this blog. Apparently, I can no longer spell surprised. Kept spelling it suprised. I tell you, I'm losing my English. I forgot the word for crutches and transcript today.
Saturday, March 5, 2011
E.T. Phone Home
I believe all across Japan in many JHS Second-Year English classes (American 8th graders) students have been learning about E.T.
It's funny teaching kids words like alien and spaceship. One thing that would be interesting to find out is if all the hype about people seeing spaceships and Area 57 (or is it 51) that is abound in the U.S. occurs in Japan too. That will be an interesting question for my ni-nen-seis (second years) next week.
Like I said, the kids have more or less stopped using their textbooks as the school year is almost finished. Two weeks until graduation. But, the third years (American 9th graders) will graduate and not have to come to school, but the 1st and 2nd years keep coming to school until the 26th. Then they have a week and a half long Spring Break.
Anyways, as the school year is dying down my teacher decided we should reward the students with a fun class day. Imagine my suprise!! So, we took the kids down to the theatre room at school and transformed it into a movie theatre. So cool! He wanted to have the kids watch E.T. My teacher kept asking me about it and I have to say... I haven't watched E.T. in ages. When was the last time you did? I don't think I've even seen it all the way through. So, I kept having to tell him I had no idea what he was talking about when he asked me different questions about the movie.
So, watching the movie was fun. The kids were amazed by how big the house was and that they had a green front yard. And a dog! Oh, I miss Chip!!
The kids enjoyed the movie (and the boys enjoyed sleeping... so naughty!) for the most part and I did too. But, the sound track kept reminding me of Star Wars. I think the kids would have enjoyed that more. I know I would have!
Now, my kids understand why I kept saying "E.T. Phone Home" in a funny voice in class last week. Phew!
Also, T-two weeks til the parents visit. Bought our plane tickets to the mainland. The islander discount (if you live on the island you get a discount on your ticket cuz... it's the only way to get to the mianland if you dont want to take an 18 hour ferry ride) only applied to my ticket. Which sucked. I was hoping to get all the tickets for a discounted price. Still need to reserve a rental car in Okinawa though. Also, checked with almost all my schools and they are excited to have my parents as show-and-tell guests. I'll be teaching 5 classes the two days my parents are here so the rest of the time is free time. But during the classes my parents will give their Jikoushokais (self introductions). In English, though my Mom wants to be able to say it in Japanese! Exciting!!
That's all for now.
Love and Miss you,
Steph
It's funny teaching kids words like alien and spaceship. One thing that would be interesting to find out is if all the hype about people seeing spaceships and Area 57 (or is it 51) that is abound in the U.S. occurs in Japan too. That will be an interesting question for my ni-nen-seis (second years) next week.
Like I said, the kids have more or less stopped using their textbooks as the school year is almost finished. Two weeks until graduation. But, the third years (American 9th graders) will graduate and not have to come to school, but the 1st and 2nd years keep coming to school until the 26th. Then they have a week and a half long Spring Break.
Anyways, as the school year is dying down my teacher decided we should reward the students with a fun class day. Imagine my suprise!! So, we took the kids down to the theatre room at school and transformed it into a movie theatre. So cool! He wanted to have the kids watch E.T. My teacher kept asking me about it and I have to say... I haven't watched E.T. in ages. When was the last time you did? I don't think I've even seen it all the way through. So, I kept having to tell him I had no idea what he was talking about when he asked me different questions about the movie.
So, watching the movie was fun. The kids were amazed by how big the house was and that they had a green front yard. And a dog! Oh, I miss Chip!!
The kids enjoyed the movie (and the boys enjoyed sleeping... so naughty!) for the most part and I did too. But, the sound track kept reminding me of Star Wars. I think the kids would have enjoyed that more. I know I would have!
Now, my kids understand why I kept saying "E.T. Phone Home" in a funny voice in class last week. Phew!
Also, T-two weeks til the parents visit. Bought our plane tickets to the mainland. The islander discount (if you live on the island you get a discount on your ticket cuz... it's the only way to get to the mianland if you dont want to take an 18 hour ferry ride) only applied to my ticket. Which sucked. I was hoping to get all the tickets for a discounted price. Still need to reserve a rental car in Okinawa though. Also, checked with almost all my schools and they are excited to have my parents as show-and-tell guests. I'll be teaching 5 classes the two days my parents are here so the rest of the time is free time. But during the classes my parents will give their Jikoushokais (self introductions). In English, though my Mom wants to be able to say it in Japanese! Exciting!!
That's all for now.
Love and Miss you,
Steph
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Long time gone
Oh, I can't believe it's already been a whole month! Time has flown by.
With the beginning of March, I now have less than half a year in Japan. That's a big turning point! 5 months. It seems like such a short amount of time. I'm happy with the decision to stay a year and looking forward to whatever's next. But, I'll certainly miss the beaches.
Speaking of beaches, while everyone back in the Mid-West and Eastern U.S. were bundling up because of the snow, I was lounging on a beach trying not to get a suntan. I know, horrible for rubbing that one in ;) But, it has been beautiful down here. The sun has been out, and as my neighbors have informed me, soon the gokiburi (cockroaches) will follow. Eeeek!!
This week has been a great one. All the weeks feel like they are going faster.
Was at my favorite school today. My kids have already finished their English Textbooks for the year. So, all the classes are more fun. Except for the third-years, my most favorite group, who are cracking down and studying for their upcoming high school entrance exams next week.
In Japan, students have to take a high school entrance exam, a seperate one each for private and public school. What school you get into can really set up what your life will be like. There are schools for just about anything. You want to work on ships, there's a school for that. Unfortunately, on Erabu we only have one highschool. Because of this, though, it's a pretty high-performing academic high school (or so I'm told). So it's a bit harder to get into. If kids want, they can try to take the entrace exam for a school on the mainland. If they get into a mainland school and can afford it, they'll be living in college-like dormitiories. Sounds pretty interesting! I can understand their desire to get off the island -- island fever, dontchaknow!
But, most of my kids just want to go the high school here. I guess, being there age, I would be afraid to go out on my own too.
The past few days have been a bit cold and dreary, but getting everything set up for my parents visit in two and half weeks has been great. Just bought the tickets and finalized what we will be doing on the island. Super psyched to see them as I haven't seem them for 7 months.
Also, lately I've been thinking about creating a seperate blog. I enjoy blogging about life here and who knows where I will be next! But, it's a great way for family and friends to keep in touch. What do you say, is blogger (what I'm currently on) or wordpress (what my study abroad blog was hosted on) better? Thoughts would be great!!
With the beginning of March, I now have less than half a year in Japan. That's a big turning point! 5 months. It seems like such a short amount of time. I'm happy with the decision to stay a year and looking forward to whatever's next. But, I'll certainly miss the beaches.
Speaking of beaches, while everyone back in the Mid-West and Eastern U.S. were bundling up because of the snow, I was lounging on a beach trying not to get a suntan. I know, horrible for rubbing that one in ;) But, it has been beautiful down here. The sun has been out, and as my neighbors have informed me, soon the gokiburi (cockroaches) will follow. Eeeek!!
This week has been a great one. All the weeks feel like they are going faster.
Was at my favorite school today. My kids have already finished their English Textbooks for the year. So, all the classes are more fun. Except for the third-years, my most favorite group, who are cracking down and studying for their upcoming high school entrance exams next week.
In Japan, students have to take a high school entrance exam, a seperate one each for private and public school. What school you get into can really set up what your life will be like. There are schools for just about anything. You want to work on ships, there's a school for that. Unfortunately, on Erabu we only have one highschool. Because of this, though, it's a pretty high-performing academic high school (or so I'm told). So it's a bit harder to get into. If kids want, they can try to take the entrace exam for a school on the mainland. If they get into a mainland school and can afford it, they'll be living in college-like dormitiories. Sounds pretty interesting! I can understand their desire to get off the island -- island fever, dontchaknow!
But, most of my kids just want to go the high school here. I guess, being there age, I would be afraid to go out on my own too.
The past few days have been a bit cold and dreary, but getting everything set up for my parents visit in two and half weeks has been great. Just bought the tickets and finalized what we will be doing on the island. Super psyched to see them as I haven't seem them for 7 months.
Also, lately I've been thinking about creating a seperate blog. I enjoy blogging about life here and who knows where I will be next! But, it's a great way for family and friends to keep in touch. What do you say, is blogger (what I'm currently on) or wordpress (what my study abroad blog was hosted on) better? Thoughts would be great!!
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
School Pics
Thought I would share a couple pictures from around school.
Yes, that is the Grateful Dead and a bunch of technicolor teddy bears. One of my students from my 3rd grade class (American 9th graders) owns this pencil case. However, she's never heard of the grateful dead and I'm sure she thinks I'm crazy after trying to explain that her pencil case is the namesake of a 70s band.
And that is a sideways book. Well, manga actually. Like a comic book. The title is "Macbeth". So, yes a Shakespearian-inspired comic book. The student who owns this, also from my 3rd grade class, was reading this instead of doing his in-class English work. Oops!!!
There ya go!
Check me out, I'm giving y'all more updates than you can comment on! Def becoming a better blogger
- Love and Miss you!
Steph
Yes, that is the Grateful Dead and a bunch of technicolor teddy bears. One of my students from my 3rd grade class (American 9th graders) owns this pencil case. However, she's never heard of the grateful dead and I'm sure she thinks I'm crazy after trying to explain that her pencil case is the namesake of a 70s band.
And that is a sideways book. Well, manga actually. Like a comic book. The title is "Macbeth". So, yes a Shakespearian-inspired comic book. The student who owns this, also from my 3rd grade class, was reading this instead of doing his in-class English work. Oops!!!
There ya go!
Check me out, I'm giving y'all more updates than you can comment on! Def becoming a better blogger
- Love and Miss you!
Steph
Monday, January 31, 2011
It's Official
Really official. Papers for going home were just sent in. Is it weird that I don't know how I feel about it? Ever since I've made the decision to only stay one year I've really been having a great time. I just don't know why I wasn't enjoying it as much before?
Anyways, this past Friday I had my first Japanese lesson. One of the women I teach English to is being kind enough to help me along with Japanese. The lesson is right after school and about an hour and a half. Check out my notes:
Need to designate a notebook for Japanese study.
I've also discovered the library in china, the town next to me, it's way nicer than the library in my town. Going to study there from now on!
On Sunday I helped the women I teach English with the English interviews for their English students. It was a lot of fun, then after us the four of us went out to eat at a restaurant where, very soon, you can see whales from!! How cool!!
Today, I was at an elelmentary school for half the day and at the BOE for the other half. The sea and sky were so pretty that I had to take some pictures!!
This is the view on the other side of the island. Check out those waves!!
This is from a shop right down the road from me. If the trees across from the apartment were shorter then I could see this from my apartment!!
Can you see the boat in the distance?
Better view of the sky!!
So, while I was taking these pictures I was approached by a woman asking me where I was from. Well we were talking and I found out she's from China! So, we're going to meet once a week or so for a language exchange. She'll teach me Chinese and I'll teach her English. But we'll be teaching each other with Japanese as the common language. Psyched about that!! Also, to make this even better, she owns one of the facial salons in the town!
As you can see, it's been really great on the island lately even though it's still cold... Think Ohio fall cold. So, I was sad sending in my papers. Such a difficult decision. I wonder if I'll ever feel completely happy with the decision. But, as much as I've been enjoying the time here lately, I know that teaching is not for me. And I don't think I could just teach for another year.
Luckily, I found an Okinawa-Ohio association in Columbus. How crazy?! I contacted the woman who runs it and they have an Eisa festival in September... That's the dance I'm learning right now. So, I think I'll be able to keep up my japanese and dancing skillz when I get back.
Off to the gym. Which I've been pronouncing as タラソ (ta-ra-so) because that's how you say it in Japanese. But just found out it's originally Greek and pronounced Thalasso... I think. Oh, japan. How you're ruining my English.
- Love and Miss you!
Steph
Anyways, this past Friday I had my first Japanese lesson. One of the women I teach English to is being kind enough to help me along with Japanese. The lesson is right after school and about an hour and a half. Check out my notes:
Need to designate a notebook for Japanese study.
I've also discovered the library in china, the town next to me, it's way nicer than the library in my town. Going to study there from now on!
On Sunday I helped the women I teach English with the English interviews for their English students. It was a lot of fun, then after us the four of us went out to eat at a restaurant where, very soon, you can see whales from!! How cool!!
Today, I was at an elelmentary school for half the day and at the BOE for the other half. The sea and sky were so pretty that I had to take some pictures!!
This is the view on the other side of the island. Check out those waves!!
This is from a shop right down the road from me. If the trees across from the apartment were shorter then I could see this from my apartment!!
Can you see the boat in the distance?
Better view of the sky!!
So, while I was taking these pictures I was approached by a woman asking me where I was from. Well we were talking and I found out she's from China! So, we're going to meet once a week or so for a language exchange. She'll teach me Chinese and I'll teach her English. But we'll be teaching each other with Japanese as the common language. Psyched about that!! Also, to make this even better, she owns one of the facial salons in the town!
As you can see, it's been really great on the island lately even though it's still cold... Think Ohio fall cold. So, I was sad sending in my papers. Such a difficult decision. I wonder if I'll ever feel completely happy with the decision. But, as much as I've been enjoying the time here lately, I know that teaching is not for me. And I don't think I could just teach for another year.
Luckily, I found an Okinawa-Ohio association in Columbus. How crazy?! I contacted the woman who runs it and they have an Eisa festival in September... That's the dance I'm learning right now. So, I think I'll be able to keep up my japanese and dancing skillz when I get back.
Off to the gym. Which I've been pronouncing as タラソ (ta-ra-so) because that's how you say it in Japanese. But just found out it's originally Greek and pronounced Thalasso... I think. Oh, japan. How you're ruining my English.
- Love and Miss you!
Steph
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Black Sugar
Have you ever heard of "black sugar"? I mean, you know brown sugar, and white sugar, powdered sugar and granulated sugar... but do you recall the most famous sugar of all?
Well, maybe not famous.
First of all, black sugar is not molasses. Though, it is made with molasses, I think.
Erabu is FULL of sugar cane. And about now is when the sugar cane harvest starts.
So, I've been invited (by my Thursday middle school) to make black sugar with the second graders (American 8th graders). I am psyched!!
I'll be sure to take tons of pictures and video of the black sugar (and possibly molasses by-product) being made!
Exciting!!!
Steph
P.S. Recently, schools are so nervous about the flu that they now make students sit in rows, instead of groups during lunch. Also, no one can talk and everyone has to wear a mask. I wonder if me being so sick got them scared??
Well, maybe not famous.
First of all, black sugar is not molasses. Though, it is made with molasses, I think.
Erabu is FULL of sugar cane. And about now is when the sugar cane harvest starts.
So, I've been invited (by my Thursday middle school) to make black sugar with the second graders (American 8th graders). I am psyched!!
I'll be sure to take tons of pictures and video of the black sugar (and possibly molasses by-product) being made!
Exciting!!!
Steph
P.S. Recently, schools are so nervous about the flu that they now make students sit in rows, instead of groups during lunch. Also, no one can talk and everyone has to wear a mask. I wonder if me being so sick got them scared??
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Bike!
At my elementary school this week, I asked one of the teachers if she knew a good place to buy a bicycle. It is SO nice having a car, but on sunny days and days that I'm at the BOE I'd like to bike. It'd be nice to get some more exercise, plus I really miss biking.
Anyways, she told me that bikes on the island would be expensive, but that she has a friend who's daughter has gone to university and left her bike. She called the friend and they said I could use it!
So exciting! So, today, this teacher picked me up at my apartment after school and we went and got the bike. It's old, but RED just like my bike in Osaka!! Pretty rusty, but honestly I'm so happy for getting a free bike!! I biked home from their house and holy lord I am out of shape. I mean, I've been going to the gym and all, but biking up hill.... WHEW totally different. I will definitely get my butt kicked, but that's good! :)
It started raining almost as soon as I got home (perfect timing), so no picture of the bike yet. But, I'll take one later this week and put it up.
Yes!!
~Steph
P.S. it's cold again.... I want beach weather!! :)
Anyways, she told me that bikes on the island would be expensive, but that she has a friend who's daughter has gone to university and left her bike. She called the friend and they said I could use it!
So exciting! So, today, this teacher picked me up at my apartment after school and we went and got the bike. It's old, but RED just like my bike in Osaka!! Pretty rusty, but honestly I'm so happy for getting a free bike!! I biked home from their house and holy lord I am out of shape. I mean, I've been going to the gym and all, but biking up hill.... WHEW totally different. I will definitely get my butt kicked, but that's good! :)
It started raining almost as soon as I got home (perfect timing), so no picture of the bike yet. But, I'll take one later this week and put it up.
Yes!!
~Steph
P.S. it's cold again.... I want beach weather!! :)
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Half-Week in the life of an Erabu ALT
So, it's official! Sent in the papers that I will not be recontracting.
I think this is the right decision, but I don't think I'll ever know for sure.
I definitely enjoy Erabu's weather and being near the ocean, but I'm happy to know I'll be home soon with familiar things around me.
I am beginning to think that making this decision has improved my attitude in Erabu. Isn't that crazy? But, I feel like the past few days have been really fun and great!
Monday I went to one of my favorite Elementary schools to teach. One of the teachers there lived in the U.S. for a while so her English is near fluent! When I teach at an elementary school it's a full day of classes. From 8:30 until 4 I am teaching, playing, eating, or cleaning with the kids. But, I enjoy the elementary schools so much! The students are always super excited to learn new English words. And we play A TON of games.
Their favorite game is a tie between Fruits Basket and the Number game. Fruit Basket is a game where you assign each student to be something. For example, the category will be fruits and you have 20 students. 4 students are oranges, three are bananas, two are strawberries... and so on. Then you make the kids stand in a circle (with you in the middle) and you call out a fruit. There is one less space than the number of people, so it's a race to get a space. If you are left out, you call out a fruit. And, if you say fruits basket EVERYONE has to run and find a spot. It's MADNESS. But, sooo fun!
The Number Game is also very fun! I divide the class up according to the number of teachers. Usually just in half then because there is usually the homeroom teacher and me. The kids sit in a lin facing the blackboard. The teacher and I secretly decide on a number. Then we write that number on the back of the student closest to us in our line. Then the students have to write the number they think it is on the back of the student in front of them. 3's become 8's, 1's become 4's, and once we had a 3 become a 10. Always tons of fun.
Tuesday I started back up at my main middle school. I was with the teacher who teaches the lower level students, which is actually more fun than the higher level students (at least in class). With the higher level, the class is very structured and my role is mininal to non-existent. But, with the lower level I really am a co-teacher. The difficulty is keeping the students on task, which can be fun. Yesterday, some of my third graders (so, American 9th graders) kept taking our teacher's electronic dictionary, changing the language to spanish, and trying to learn spanish words. WELLL, I decided we could learn both English and Spanish. And started to make a list of some easy phrases on the board, but with the translation in English. And they had to figure out the Japanese. Tons of fun!
Tuesday, I also had my Eikaiwa. Eikaiwa stands for english conversation (class). I have it with two ladies on the island. One has travelled around the world, speaks close to fluent English, and woks at the hospital pharmacy. The other is an English teacher for the English Cram School, ECC, but her English isnt that good. We get together, drink some hot cocoa (THEY LOVE SWISS MISS) and chat. While we chat, I correct their grammar or pronounciation and teach different idioms. I wish I had this class everyday. We always end up leaving laughing!! Last night I said that something "stinks" as in it's "bad" and one of the ladies, C, asked what smalled. Well H knew what I meant so we both giggled a bit and I struggled to explain "stinks". Then, I explained the idiom "being hit over the head with.... (English)". Very fun!
Now, I'm at my main school again, but it's testing today, so I'm free to do anything. Got to keep myself busy!
Love you all!
Steph
I think this is the right decision, but I don't think I'll ever know for sure.
I definitely enjoy Erabu's weather and being near the ocean, but I'm happy to know I'll be home soon with familiar things around me.
I am beginning to think that making this decision has improved my attitude in Erabu. Isn't that crazy? But, I feel like the past few days have been really fun and great!
Monday I went to one of my favorite Elementary schools to teach. One of the teachers there lived in the U.S. for a while so her English is near fluent! When I teach at an elementary school it's a full day of classes. From 8:30 until 4 I am teaching, playing, eating, or cleaning with the kids. But, I enjoy the elementary schools so much! The students are always super excited to learn new English words. And we play A TON of games.
Their favorite game is a tie between Fruits Basket and the Number game. Fruit Basket is a game where you assign each student to be something. For example, the category will be fruits and you have 20 students. 4 students are oranges, three are bananas, two are strawberries... and so on. Then you make the kids stand in a circle (with you in the middle) and you call out a fruit. There is one less space than the number of people, so it's a race to get a space. If you are left out, you call out a fruit. And, if you say fruits basket EVERYONE has to run and find a spot. It's MADNESS. But, sooo fun!
The Number Game is also very fun! I divide the class up according to the number of teachers. Usually just in half then because there is usually the homeroom teacher and me. The kids sit in a lin facing the blackboard. The teacher and I secretly decide on a number. Then we write that number on the back of the student closest to us in our line. Then the students have to write the number they think it is on the back of the student in front of them. 3's become 8's, 1's become 4's, and once we had a 3 become a 10. Always tons of fun.
Tuesday I started back up at my main middle school. I was with the teacher who teaches the lower level students, which is actually more fun than the higher level students (at least in class). With the higher level, the class is very structured and my role is mininal to non-existent. But, with the lower level I really am a co-teacher. The difficulty is keeping the students on task, which can be fun. Yesterday, some of my third graders (so, American 9th graders) kept taking our teacher's electronic dictionary, changing the language to spanish, and trying to learn spanish words. WELLL, I decided we could learn both English and Spanish. And started to make a list of some easy phrases on the board, but with the translation in English. And they had to figure out the Japanese. Tons of fun!
Tuesday, I also had my Eikaiwa. Eikaiwa stands for english conversation (class). I have it with two ladies on the island. One has travelled around the world, speaks close to fluent English, and woks at the hospital pharmacy. The other is an English teacher for the English Cram School, ECC, but her English isnt that good. We get together, drink some hot cocoa (THEY LOVE SWISS MISS) and chat. While we chat, I correct their grammar or pronounciation and teach different idioms. I wish I had this class everyday. We always end up leaving laughing!! Last night I said that something "stinks" as in it's "bad" and one of the ladies, C, asked what smalled. Well H knew what I meant so we both giggled a bit and I struggled to explain "stinks". Then, I explained the idiom "being hit over the head with.... (English)". Very fun!
Now, I'm at my main school again, but it's testing today, so I'm free to do anything. Got to keep myself busy!
Love you all!
Steph
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Doing Laundry
So, I thought I'd post some pictures of what it's liked doing laundry here.
Washing my clothes is the same as in the US. Just the washing machine is a bit smaller.
But drying my clothes is interesting. I hang my clothes outside on my porch.
This picture is from inside my apartment looking out.
This picture is of my sheets drying on the line.
Another picture!! Can you see the blue thing with laundry clips toward the top right?? They have tons of devices like that here. It's handy because I can clip a lot of clothes onto it and maximize space.
Hope you enjoyed a piece of Erabu life!!
P.S. I wrote this whole entry on my iPhone. How cool??!!!
- Love and Miss you!
Steph
Washing my clothes is the same as in the US. Just the washing machine is a bit smaller.
But drying my clothes is interesting. I hang my clothes outside on my porch.
This picture is from inside my apartment looking out.
This picture is of my sheets drying on the line.
Another picture!! Can you see the blue thing with laundry clips toward the top right?? They have tons of devices like that here. It's handy because I can clip a lot of clothes onto it and maximize space.
Hope you enjoyed a piece of Erabu life!!
P.S. I wrote this whole entry on my iPhone. How cool??!!!
- Love and Miss you!
Steph
January Update!
It's been so long, I'm such a blog slacker! Sorry!!
Since I last updated, I've visited my cousin and her husband in Korea, saw some snow, and enjoyed American food! I am now back on Erabu and back to teaching.
I've also decided to only stay one year, so I'll be back to the States in August!!
Not much new going on here. I've joined an Eisa group. We practice every Thursday. I'll post up a video soon!
I'll be heading to one of the bigger islands around me in a few weeks, Amami Oshima. I'll be visiting a friend who teaches on my island once a month. Then we'll both return and celebrate Valentines Day out on the town!
Hope everyone is doing well!
Oh, and for Uncle Scott: Japan has two main religions: Shinto and Buddhism. But, most Japanese aren't really one religion or the other, nor are they very religious. So, Shinto is used for wedding ceremonies (but nowadays more people are opting for a "western" wedding, in a church, but not for religious reasons), and Buddhism is used for funerals. So the same family can have a shinto wedding and a buddhist funeral. Interesting, huh?!
Since I last updated, I've visited my cousin and her husband in Korea, saw some snow, and enjoyed American food! I am now back on Erabu and back to teaching.
I've also decided to only stay one year, so I'll be back to the States in August!!
Not much new going on here. I've joined an Eisa group. We practice every Thursday. I'll post up a video soon!
I'll be heading to one of the bigger islands around me in a few weeks, Amami Oshima. I'll be visiting a friend who teaches on my island once a month. Then we'll both return and celebrate Valentines Day out on the town!
Hope everyone is doing well!
Oh, and for Uncle Scott: Japan has two main religions: Shinto and Buddhism. But, most Japanese aren't really one religion or the other, nor are they very religious. So, Shinto is used for wedding ceremonies (but nowadays more people are opting for a "western" wedding, in a church, but not for religious reasons), and Buddhism is used for funerals. So the same family can have a shinto wedding and a buddhist funeral. Interesting, huh?!
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