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So… The past few entries and this one too are a bit unorganized and sort of strewn-together – but at least I’ve gotten into the habit of written regularly. I wish each entry could hold a particular theme, but sometimes my life isn’t just following neatly along one particular theme. So! Here are a few things that have been going on:
Wakkani pictures
I recently contacted my grandfather, who used to be stationed in Wakkanai because I had shown some picture he gave me from back then to some co-workers, and they were really excited. I asked if he could possibly send copies of the pictures because Wakkanai actually has few older pictures of the town! Something happened to the archives, apparently. So, there is a chance of having them placed in the town museum! My grandfather offered to send the actual negatives so that the museum can blow the pictures up to any size they need! It’s really interesting and it makes me happy to be able to help contribute in some small way (basically as the middle-man) to preserving the town’s history!
Note: The fact that my grandfather was stationed here and that I now live here is purely coincidental! I didn’t even know he lived here until after I learned about my placement!
Rebun
The weather continues to suck… I got stranded out on Rebun Island yesterday because of it. By the second night it was boring and I hated it and wanted to go home to my apartment. There is one woman who works at the hotel who is so sweet to me every time. She was actually excited to see me stay an extra night. She worries about me and mothers me incessantly whenever I stay there, but she isn’t abrasive about it. I went to an izakaya (a restaurant that mostly caters to after-work-socializing – especially drinking) one evening with a teacher from the island. That was fun except for one small detail: I was the center of attention in the tiny izakaya. We couldn’t enjoy private conversation sometimes because the WHOLE BAR wanted to know what a foreigner was doing there, where I came from, and of course, wanted to feed me some local foods. It is nice, and they had good intentions, but I don’t like the feeling that everyone is looking at me! Maybe now I know how celebrities feel. I have vowed now that if I ever see a celebrity or something in public, I will never talk to them or ask for their autograph unless they show a sincere interest in me.
Chances are, that wont be the first time I get stranded either. That makes me really stressed about my travels to Germany being disrupted, but I think my office understands the situation and wont let me miss my flight. I think…
My office
A co-worker surprised me today by bringing in some Dr. Pepper that he bought when he was in Gunma prefecture on Honshu! I was really happy because I miss Dr. Pepper a lot, so that was really sweet! I think he learned from another co-worker that I liked it. Tomorrow there is a party for a co-worker’s 3year anniversary of working in the office and (I think?) a promotion. I’m sure I will write about that afterwards. I also have a slew of pictures to upload from the last party in Toyotomi (look for the entry about it in my archives). So, here are some! Sorry it took so long, but I didn’t take any pictures myself and had to figure out how to copy the CD of them that the office had.
That’s when I gave my speech. I had been drinking… yeah.. so, my face is just a little pink… It’s ok though, so was everyone else’s!
This is at the nijikai (after-party). We are playing pick-up-sticks with these game pieces. There is a real game to play with them… but I don’t think anyone wanted to by that point… I also had to add – Jakob thought we were playing Scrabble here when I showed him these pictures 
!! Haha!!!
The co-worker talking to me was about to dedicate a karaoke song to me… It was… charming… 
Me with Miki-san! She is so sweet and always helps me.
See! Drinking on the bus! I was so surprised.
This was the main meeting hall for the enkai. The head boss from our office is giving a toast.
Kohira-san is on the left. He is also always helping me and speaks English well.
Apparently, long after I fell asleep, cello playing ensued. Kanou-shusa is the one w/ the cello, and also the one who brought Dr. Pepper!!
Ok, that’s all I have to talk about for now. To everyone who has heard me talk about people from work, now you know who my co-workers are . I’m looking forward to seeing everyone at the enkai tomorrow.
The sign says “Watashi no namae wa o-[insert kanji I can't read] desu.” or “My name is [kanji Heather can't read].” Such is life in Japan – I miss the important parts of every sentence! I think that cat could be Maneki-neko, but that isn’t the kanji for Maneki-neko (I looked it up), so I have no idea.
There are a bunch of birds flying around because the ships just brought in some fish or crabs or scallops or something. If you hang out here long enough, the chance of being shat on is about 100%.
Boats… and ice… = Wakkanai
People seem to think seagulls are cute. They are not. They are, in fact, kinda gross.
I think they are saying, “I’m cold.”
An icey boat.
This is what I come home to after being stuck out on the island since the ferry was canceled due to weather.
Ok, those are all the pics I have taken recently.
That’s an otera (Buddhist temple) next to the handicapped school where I sometimes teach. The kids there are really kind, and the teachers are always really welcoming, so I like going. Last week, it was my only school visit, though. I had some island visits scheduled, but they were all canceled due to weather. Although I was happy to have some of them canceled (these days I’m hesitant about visiting elementary schools because a lot of the teachers there don’t communicate with me and expect me to pull a lesson out of nowhere 5 minutes before the class.. long story), I was ready to get out of the office… or at least to have some work in the office. I finished all of my reports (which have to be written in Japanese.. As far as I know, I am the only ALT who HAS TO do this), and didn’t have much else to do. I have internet at my desk, but most sites are blocked by security, so I can’t e-mail family and friends back home, for example. So, I caught up on current events (something I get behind on here! I’m trying to follow the campaign, and of course, Japanese news too). I also just sat and thought for a really long time. I’ve gotten really good at waiting, I think. Partially because of all the bureaucracy I had to deal with to get to Japan and the long flight, but also because I travel so much for work. For a while, I was spending over 4 hours per day on a ferry three times per week. I also often have to wait at schools because teacher’s can’t meet with me when they’re teaching and I have little to do until I can talk to them. Anyway, for that reason, a 6 hour trip down to Sapporo or an 11 hour flight now mean nothing to me. I’m very good at enjoying being alone and thinking for long periods of time. However, in the office since there are other people nearby, I always end up talking to them. I feel bad because I know THEY have work to do… but I’m a really talkative person (though not so much here, in Japan).
So, that was my week. The weather is still cold and snowy, but today was remarkably warmer than the rest of the week had been. I walked to Saijo (our local shopping mall) today, and the roads were all slush. I saw one of my high school students in the store, and she almost fell over when she saw me. She seemed totally shocked to see me outside of school. She gasped and said, “Heza-sensei?!” (A lot of my kids call me sensei, but they really aren’t supposed to, I don’t think. I don’t have a teaching license, and that’s a pretty big deal here in Japan. It’d be like calling someone in America “Dr.~~” if they weren’t.) She was with a boy, holding hands, so that was really cute, haha! But she was surprised to see me. Actually, once a co-worker saw me going to Saijo on my bike, a few months ago. He was also totally shocked. I don’t know if they greet everyone this way, or they just don’t realize that ALTs need to buy groceries and laundry soap and stuff too. Whenever I see someone I know in public they always go, “OH! Konichwa!” with the “OH!” part sounding especially surprised. Whenever I see my students though, I always respond in English ONLY. It’s a good chance for them to use it outside of the classroom. Once, I actually gave my student a REAL English test. Not because I wanted to, but I had no choice! I guess I’ll include that story real quick too, because it was cute:
When I go to Toyotomi High School to teach, I have to take the train. Typically, when I return to Wakkanai, I buy a ticket at the Toyotomi station. Once, when I returned, there was no one there selling tickets! I was so confused when the train came. I just got on, and took a ticket from the machine the way we do on a bus, but I had no idea how I was supposed to pay. Luckily, one of my students from Toyotomi lives in Wakkanai and takes the train home after school too. I leaned over to her (she was sitting behind me) and asked the only way I knew how. I had no idea how to explain my confusion in Japanese, or I would have used it. I asked her about the problem, and she understood me just fine. She answered me in Japanese, not English, but that’s fine because it’s a lot easier to listen to a foreign language than to speak it. She explained that I would have to pay at Wakkanai station and I would just need to show them the ticket. We talked a little more until the train came to Wakkanai with me speaking English, which was comfortable for me, and her speaking Japanese, which was comfortable for her. She was soooooo sweet! I think it was also a great opportunity for her to interact with a native speaker not because she was studying English in school, but because she needed it to communicate (which is the best way to learn!) That is one reason the JET program actually WANTS people who are NOT fluent in Japanese. It makes our lives very difficult, but it forces the people around us to use English sometimes and gives them confidence to communicate with foreigners. I have tried to figure out the student’s name so I can thank her the next time I see her, but there are a lot of students at the school.
What else is there to say about life these days? Oh, I have a lot to rant about! I’ll just include on “Japan rant” today though, and save the others for later. So, you can see the snow we have here, right? Even so, there are TONS of Japanese women that I see walking around in knee-high boots and MINI-SKIRTS in this weather. Seriously, are you INSANE? You HAVE TO be cold. They wear tights or long socks, but even so! I’m sorry ladies, you may look cute now, but you will NOT look cute if you die of hypothermia or get frostbite! They were also showing some gloves on a TV show the other day that apparently cover ONLY your fingers, not your knuckles and the rest of your hand. The TV host said to the model, “They’re cold, right??? Too cold!” to which the model wearing the gloves just giggled.
Seriously, ladies, fashion is all fine and good, but let’s be LOGICAL about our decisions, can we? I don’t know if they are trying to be cute for other female friends or to attract men, but either way, I would not be friends with someone who thought I should FREEZE just to look cute.
Ok, I know I said one rant… I lied… I have two, but the 2nd is related to the first and is also about women trying to be cute:
John and I were tired once in Sapporo station and so we were sitting and people-watching. We started talking about how women and girls in Japan walk. Not all do this, but many have this awkward walk they do (I assume intentionally) to try to be cute. John thinks they walk like this because they are wearing heels, but I have worn heels many times and I don’t walk like that! Anyway, the walk is kind of a stumble or trot. They shuffle their feet along and stop abruptly. It is NOT CUTE! Walk like a normal person, please! You are probably even causing damage to joints in your legs or something when you walk like that! It looks like the way a toddler toddles around when they are just learning to walk. You’d probably have to see it yourself to understand. Anyway, I have no idea why they do it.
Ok, I’m off to bed. It’s nice to go to sleep under my warm blankets with the snow outside. It’s so relaxing!
Oh, one more cute story, haha:
Today when I was walking home from Saijo, I passed two little girls (maybe 5 or 6 years old) playing on a snow bank. One was laying on top, hanging over with her head facing downhill. The other was holding on to her hands leaning up against the slope (which was all of 4 feet high, maybe) kicking her little feet in the snow and giggling. The girl at the top let go of the other girl’s hands and she slide down the little hill. She ran back yelling (I think) “Moukai!” which is, I think, “One more time!” It was so cute, and it made me really happy to see the girls doing the same thing kids all over the world would do. I don’t know if they are sisters or friends or what, but I hope I will see them again. They were so cute!
No, you did not log in to the wrong page.
So, why did it get rid of the simple, nice design I had before? Well, a lot of you have been asking if you could subscribe to my blog. You can’t subscribe, but you can use an RSS feed if you know how. To do so, click on the tiny orange box in the upper left corner that says “Subscribe to feed”. The previous layout I was using wouldn’t let me use an RSS feed (though it was prettier!!!). So, this was the simplest, nice one I could find. I can use any photo for the header. For now, it is a picture Jakob took in the Smokey Mountains in Tennessee. But, I am hoping to get the perfect picture to use, somewhere in Hokkaido!
Speaking of Jakob, a few people have asked me why his link doesn’t work anymore on my blogroll. That’s simple. He’s a goober, and gave up on wordpress. I’m trying to convince him to start back up! Anyway, as a penalty for cancelling his travel blog, I am posting THIS photo that his flatmates made:
Also, about the blogroll… I re-organized it so that people are only listed once (not once in each section). So, it’s easier to see which are travel blogs and which are other blogs. I haven’t added the descriptions to them yet though so you get a brief summary when you hold the cursor over, so be patient!
Ok, that’s all for now. Pictures coming soon, and more updates.
Happy Turkey Day in America!
They take it out on each other, of course!
We have an online forum for all of the ALTs in Hokkaido that we call the Listserv. It is intended for people to share information quickly. For example, my friend John is currently in the market for 30 centimeter ski boots (large sizes are hard to find in Japan). Ideally, he can post about this and someone else can reply “Oh. I have some! I’ll sell them to you for 5,000 yen! I can give them to you at the mid-year conference.” People can also post about problems with their Board of Education, co-workers, teachers, etc if they just need some peer support. Ideally.
Unfortunately… there are a lot of people out there who are bored, lonely, or something and instead attack ANYONE who posts on the message board for no reason what-so-ever! Or… they spam them to death with 30+ irrelevant replies. Having felt the wrath of the inbox spam in the past, I tried to be VERY clear that I wanted only relevant replies to my question. This is what I posted:
PLEASE DO NOT REPLY TO THIS UNLESS YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT A) WINDOWS
VISTA and B) IME. If you don’t know what either of them are, want to
tell me about IME for Windows XP, or something else, please please do
not reply.
That said,
Does anyone know how to use IME for Windows Vista to input Japanese? I
can’t find anywhere to download it for Vista, and it has been
suggested that it already exists in Vista… Anyone know how to use
it? I searched for the file and did find something called IME, but
when I clicked it, nothing happened. I would like the little toolbar,
like what I used to use on XP.
Thanks!
Again, please do not reply unless your answer pertains to both Vista
and IME and you know what those are and how to use them. Thank you.
Pointed, maybe, but not inappropriate! I was basically just BEGGING not to be spammed. I mean, you should see the crap I got last time I posted, and some of my friends have received far worse. The listserv has been getting really ridiculous about that kind of stuff. But what happened? Well.. I get a whole ton of replies about oranges that are on sale, the fact that the persimmons are nice in Japan this time of year, etc etc… lots of people who thought they were being cute (yeah yeah, I should have known better, eh?). A few people on the listserv defended me and pointed out how obnoxious the others were being. They also said how tired they were of getting so much spam too. The worst reply was as follows:
Ever heard o’ this crazy little site called Google? All ya gotta do is go there, type in “IME” and “Vista”, hit the “Search” button and you get something like 1.9 million hits! The first one is even titled, “Declan’s Guide to Installing & Using Microsoft’s Japanese IME”!
Craziness, I tell ya!
…and now that I’ve been a bit smarmy about actually adding to the conversation, I’d like to point out that I’m only batting about .250 or so for sweetness with the last few bags o’ mikans I’ve bought. The November batch has some sour little suckers in it! 11.5 sweetness rating, my ass! If you can help it, defo wait for the January shipments!
Yes, I had heard of google. The information I found, though, wasn’t helpful! The last bit is going on w/ the crap about oranges (mikans are these tiny oranges you can buy in Japan). The worst thing is, they haven’t only done this to me. These people insist on being rude and obnoxious and/or offended by almost any post anyone makes. It’s absurd! That leads me into my discussion:
Personality types that somehow make it into the JET program in swarms:
*disclaimer – MOST people are not like this! But there are enough of them to warrant categories. These are a few we have come up with.
I have no friends in America, so I will go to Japan: These kids are the ones who are just flat out socially inept. You know them as soon as you meet them at the conferences! If you’re unlucky, you sit next to one for 13 hours on the flight into the country. They don’t know how to communicate with other people and are super awkward. The will talk incessantly about something no one cares about just to hear their own voices.
Otaku (the intense anime nerds!)
The interview process filters out most of these, but some make it in. Who doesn’t like one or two anime flicks, or at least Miyazaki (similar to Disney)? But this is different. They are only interested in Japan because Japan is where anime comes from. They may have multiple costumes and action figures. They quote anime and ask Japanese people what it means. “I heard such and such on this anime.. what’s that mean?”
I want a Japanese girlfriend
We all know Japanese girls are cute, but that is no reason to move to another country. Sure, lots of people come here and date Japanese people – that’s OK! You find someone you like, you go out, you start dating. Totally normal. But these people ONLY came to Japan so they could date Japanese girls. They’re really creepy, but somehow they always succeed in seducing some poor, unknowing girl.
Japan-o-philes
They are in love with everything Japan. They only watch Japanese TV and movies and only listen to JPOP and watch anime. They will tell you in every conversation how Japan is superior to your home culture. They insist on eating only Japanese food and will scowl if you eat McDonalds. Unfortunately, they also probably know more Japanese than you . They are totally unaware that as a 6ft tall Caucasian, they do NOT blend right in. We also sometimes call this “going native” among ALTs. Like, “Man, I haven’t seen so-and-so in a while. Has he gone native??”
The bad thing is that for some Japanese people, this may be the only foreign person they will ever get to know. I really hate to think about that sometimes! We have a real responsibility to be good ambassadors for our home countries. Also, loving Japan is great. I love Japan. But! You have to understand that like any other country, Japan has good and bad points (and good and bad people!). You can’t just go around indiscriminately declaring that this country is perfect – it isn’t! To love Japan, you don’t have to love everything about it!
And back to the listserv.. aside from unappealing personality-types that somehow make it into the program, I think people just get lonely and frustrated and aggressive sometimes, too. The listserv is a relatively anonymous way to bicker with someone, since communication barriers generally prevent them from bickering with the people they mean to direct it toward such as bosses or co-workers. My post was direct, yes, but that was because I ONLY wanted relevant replies. It’d be easier to understand, I guess, if you saw the kind of stuff I get in my inbox everyday. Anyway, I apparently struck a nerve with a few out there,who decided to go ballistic and get very emotional about it all. At least I didn’t call them “mongoloids” as my friend did, when pushed to his breaking point. They sure freaked out about that.
Sigh… who knew the working-world could be so much like high school? This is what happens when you live in total isolation, I guess.
It is still.. really.. damn… cold…
I’m sure I will eventually grow tired of blogging about this, but whenever the weather does something weird, I will be sure to let you know. Pretty much, last night, Wakkanai was assaulted by snow again. The walk to work this morning was.. wet… and cold! And I was passed up on the sidewalk by some much older – and apparently better accustomed to walking on ice – middle-aged men. I am trying to keep an eye on and observe the snow lots though. I like to see what it’s doing everyday. I would like to see what the ocean is doing too, but it’s not quite within walking distance so I’d have to take a bus! In other news, my ferry for tomorrow is canceled because the waves will reach 6 meters – goodness. Ok, so pictures:
My walk to work in the morning.
View from my office window (one of my co-workers totally laughed at me for taking pictures, but I don’t care! )
This is my favorite picture! Snow! And Japan! Such is my life. That reminds me of a message my professor (his blog is linked there on the right) sent me, haha. I will quote it here:
“japan japan japan.
hokkaido hokkaido hokkaido.
hello kitty hello kitty hello kitty.”
-Mr. Dr. Smith
And it’s true. That is my life.
Also, in other other news, my e-mail on my phone doesn’t work for some reason. And, my friend talked me into changing my phone plan (I would actually save quite a lot of money). I must go to AU and get to the bottom of this….. somehow.
Ok, that’s all for now.
P.S. I actually thought I would hate the snow in Wakkanai since I hate the cold, but I was actually really happy when I was walking home from work. The snow looks really pretty when it’s dark outside! Everything looks soft and white and fluffy… and we really get a proper snow here! No grass sticking through, like in Tennessee. Ask me in a few months if I still like it though…
P.S.S. I also don’t like how I can’t tell what is under the snow. I can never be sure what I am stepping on. I stepped in a big crack near Jomo on the way to work and almost fell on my ass – but I didn’t see it because it was disguised by snow!
So, I went for a walk today since it is the first time we have really had an accumulation of snow. It was nice because I brought my ipod along and listened to Massive Attack – which I have decided is perfect walking-in-the-snow music. Admittedly, I don’t often take walks on my own or just enjoy time alone. Back in Tennessee, I was always with my friends and rarely spent time alone unless I was studying or working. If I went for a walk, in the campus woods for example, it was always with them Taking a walk around my neighborhood in Wakkanai was nice though – despite the stares. I am still not used to getting STARED AT in public. Yesterday in the fish market two men actually stopped and stared right at me and John. The actually stopped what they were doing and followed us across the room with their eyes. I turned and stared right back at them until they stopped looking! I know it shouldn’t offend me, but I was furious!! I ranted about it to John for a long time, but he didn’t seem bothered by it at all. But then, John lives in Sarufutsu, not Wakkanai. He doesn’t get stared at as often… In Saufutsu, since it is SO small, everyone knows who he is, were he is from, and what his job is there. Wakkanai is a bit bigger, and people are, in my experience, very unfriendly to foreigners in public (except this REALLY sweet couple at a bakery here in town! We went in there once to buy bread and then when we saw them in a grocery store a few days later, they actually stopped and talked to us and told us that they were happy that we liked their bread). I’ve had shop owners IGNORE me, people be short with me for absolutely no reason, and some of the male ALTs have been refused service at bars and restaurants. Usually, people think we’re Russian, and as I mentioned before, a lot of people here don’t like Russians (which is really unfortunate).
Anyway, here are some pics to show you just how stupidly cold it is here for November.
The sleet began last night. I took this picture from the shelter of the overhang at kaiten zushi. You can’t really tell from the picture though how much sleet there was. It was really heavy. And wet. And cold. Every car in the parking lot looked like it had been vandalized by an out-of-control Icee machine. Everything was coated in about 2 inches of slush.
Geared up… this is the ridiculousness that I must wear to go outside. Ok, the knee-length down jacket is a bit excessive for right now, but my other jacket is too cold! Besides, in a month or two it’ll be just perfect. And the good news is, when I was outside, I didn’t feel cold AT ALL (except for my face).
They’re like snow tires for your feet! Until a co-worker mentioned snow shoes, I had no clue what they were. Sure, I knew snow BOOTS, but thee are just regular shoes w/ extra traction on the bottom for the ice. It took me a while to find a pair I liked. Some even had retractable spikes! But the spikes were tiny and the shoes were somehow actually more slick than these bad boys – the ones I decided to go with. Notice also the fuzzy socks. I wore them to a school a few weeks ago and a little boy told me “But we only wear those socks in the WINTER!” I didn’t care… my toes were cold already!
This is my neighborhood, with a light dusting.
A bridge not far from my house.
Ibid.
Tracks in the snow.
Just a typical Japanese neighborhood.
A close up.
Ok, so this is a vending machine with the canned coffees I told you about. The top two rows are cold coffee (notice the blue line under them). It says つめた～い or “cold”. The bottom row, the red one, says あったか～い, or “hot”. So, you can get hot drinks out of the vending machines… and actually, they are pretty good. The can or bottle comes out hot. Also, unlike in America where vending machines are only located in front of stores, for the most part, in Japan they are located on practically every street corner. There may be no people for miles, but there will sure as hell be a vending machine. I remember in Okazaki City when I was in Aichi seeing a vending machine next to an old brick building in a freaking RICE FIELD. I have no idea how often it needed to be re-stocked, but I’m sure it was rare. There must be some kind of crazy city ordinance or something . And I suppose the profits go only to the drink company, not to any store or anything. Actually though, it’s quite convenient. If I forgot to grab a drink for my lunch, for example, I can just get one quickly on the way.
Of course you can also get hot drinks at the local coffee shop . Isn’t it cute?
Ok, more snow pictures to come in the future, I am sure.
And indeed! Update! I was just about to go to bed, but it was really noisy outside. My windows here are double-paned and frosted so you can’t see in or out (since I live on the first floor), so i slide the frosted pane aside to look out the clear pain and take a peak at the weather and…. it just freaking snowed everywhere. So, I got to be the crazy neighborhood lunatic going outside at 11PM to take pictures.
People were out driving around on it too!! Bunch of crazies……
So it’s very late here and I’m very tired, but I have nothing to do tomorrow and am trying to be more disciplined with my blogging. So! I will write an entry anyway.
This week I went out to visit an elementary school for 3 days. That entails staying in a hotel for a few nights, and usually I use the time to catch up on sleep or reading. But! This school, despite the many communication barriers (this is always a problem at elementary schools because there are no English teachers, and my Japanese isn’t wonderful) every single one of the teachers at the school took a real interest in me. They invited me out for an enkai (work party) that evening at the school – which is unusual! We met and the principal cooked food and we all drank and talked. What shocked me actually was that every teacher made an effort to talk to me – perhaps because they knew that the principal was especially interested in internationalization. They asked a lot of questions that both shocked and surprised me. It got me thinking about my job here – both in the workplace and outside of it – but I will expand on that later. Some of the questions I was asked:
Q: Why can you use chopsticks?
A: I am not really sure when/where I learned – but there are a lot of Asian restaurants in America, so I have had a chance to try it many times. I think many many young people in America can use them (I would say 99% of my friends can).
Q: Are you used to living in Japan? (EVERYONE asks me this!!!)
A: NO! I don’t think one ever becomes “used to” it. It isn’t my culture. I have good times and bad times living here.
Q: We must understand that all people have the same mind. Many people think another race or person isn’t human (I’m quoting almost exactly because I wasn’t sure how to interpret what he said). They don’t think about them. But, I think all people are the same. All people have the same emotions. Do you agree?
A: When I answered this question, I simply said “yes”. But… my answer is more complex than that, so here it goes: I believe it is easy for us to see the differences in other people, and disregard how much we actually have in common. However, I don’t think all people are the same, and I think that’s good!! I think our thoughts – and even our emotions, to some extent – are influenced by our culture. What is important is that we understand that difference in other people and can accept it and respect it without judging it. We all want the same basic things – to be happy and to live peacefully – but what that means for each person and each culture varies a great deal! Our emotions, how we display them, and how we define them are influenced by our culture (take, for example, poplar perceptions people have about love and romance because of what they have seen in the movies in America!). It’s easy to accept other people if we can simplify it and say “We’re all the same”, but we’re not. The challenge then is learning to accept and respect the people around you while still being aware of the differences.
Finally, the kicker…
Q: What do you think about World War II? What about Pearl Harbor? Who as right?
A: The answer I gave was simple, and really says all that I feel I need to say. “I wasn’t alive then, so all I know is what I have learned in history. But, I think the loss of human life is tragic in any conflict. In a conflict, it’s impossible to say who is right. Each person is doing what he believes is best for society.”
The point I wanted to make is that some of the questions – the nature of them, and the blatant curiosity with which they were asked – made me realize how few opportunities people in this area have had to meet foreigners. It also JUST occurred to me exactly what I am dealing with here (and hence my POINT!):
Prior to my visit to Japan, I had known a lot of foreign people, including many Japanese people. I really believed that I was internationalized and had a good understanding of foreign cultures. I learned about them, and I met foreigners from those cultures – but I failed to notice something that has become painfully obvious to me since coming to Japan. All of the people I met from other countries were much more aware of the outside world. They had, afterall, left their home countries to come to America. My perceptions, then, were not at all representative of the average person. Though many of them knew little about America when they came, they were interested enough and had the opportunities to leave their home country to live in America. Here in Japan, I am having opportunities to meet people I could never meet in America. I am meeting people who maybe A) Will never leave the country or B) Had never thought about leaving the country before. I suppose, at some point, I belonged to Group B when I lived in America. Sure, I always WANTED to travel, but when I was younger, it always seemed like something that was too ambitious or difficult to do. I couldn’t imagine myself actually moving to and living in another country! But then, I met people who were doing just that! I met my roommates and friends who were international students. I saw that they were just ordinary people who were willing to take a risk. It wasn’t easy for them to live abroad, but their experience made all of the difficulty worthwhile. I really grew to admire those people – and they gave me the courage to try it myself! I really hope that while I am living in Japan, when I come across people who are interested in me and my culture, I can encourage them to travel and try it for themselves, just as my friends and roommates taught me to do (whether they did so intentionally or not!). If you live in another country, you experience international understanding on a level that you NEVER could back home because you have a chance to meet people that you could NEVER meet back home. I know what I am trying to say… but I’m not sure if I am making myself understood.. The idea is fuzzy in my head anyway.
And to end, I really must say THANK YOU to some very special people in my life (if I left anyone out, I sincerely apologize). To all of my friends who showed me that this kind of thing was possible, by their example living abroad:
Elena, Tomoko, Aiko – My roommates! We lived together and went through ups and downs together – I value everything I learned while living with you! You taught me about your country and your culture, but also how to be a stronger person.
And also! Jakob, Tomas, Clement, Rommy, Trung, Maki, Masaki, Motoko, Priyanka, Jan, Yukari, Federico, Keita, Seira, Yoko, Tomoo, Sayuka, Anais, Silvia, Betsabe, Michel, Shin, Lisa, Raphael, Carlos, Martin, Guillermo, Hiro, Cindy, Khaled, Nacim, Coralie, Victor, Jimmy, Michaela and anyone I left out… you’re all awesome for showing me that it CAN be done. I just hope I can inspire some people here to expand their world a little too!
Me and Elena on her last day in America, before we went to the airport for her to go back to Russia.
Iceskating with Aiko in Market Square!
Trusting Tomoko VERY much to cut my hair!
Khaled and Rommy on Clement’s back, Tomas, Elena, Hiro, Me, Federico and Wes
Jakob, Jan, Masa, Maki, and more Maryville international students when they all met in France this past summer.
Trung, Aiko, Hiro, Michel, Tomas
Everyone in Global Citizenship Organization
So, I just read a friend’s travel blog entry and it totally cracked me up (check out Brandon Tullock’s blog on my links, to the right on this screen and read the entry called “Serendipity at Augustinerbräu”). It made me think though, I also don’t blog enough about the fun I am having here. I’s easy to write when I’m simply stressed, or confused, or shocked about something, but when things are going well I tend to just sit back an enjoy them. Though this week has been especially difficult, (I caught a stomach virus, threw up for 2 days non-stop and had to go to the hospital to get an IV because I couldn’t keep anything down, tough week at work etc etc) I am still very happy to be here and am really sure that I will miss my time here when it’s over. I guess his entry made me think that I want to make an honest effort to write a)more often and b) about more of the fun stuff I get to do here. I also want to add more pictures – but I’m soooooo lazy about uploading photos. I’ll try to do better though since I have a new [beautiful] and faster computer. Also, I promise, lots of entries about my trip to Germany (I leave in a month!!). Just, try not to be offended by the constant gushing about my boyfriend (he’s planned some really amazing travels for us to Berlin, for example, to see Checkpoint Charlie and the wall). Anyway, again, PLEASE read my friends’ blogs, linked over there on the right. They’re witty, exciting, and probably give you a good taste of what it’s like to live abroad. I’m lucky to have so many friends who are also passionate about traveling and learning about other cultures, so I really hope you’ll take the time to get to know them as well!
So, I’ve been thinking about writing this entry for a while, but I was especially inspired after a recent junior high school visit. It was around Halloween, so I arranged with the school beforehand to get colored paper and markers and various materials together so that we could make Halloween masks. My plan was to describe a popular Halloween monster to the students, show them an example picture, and then have them create their own masks to look like that monster. I thought it would be fun for the kids. But, I was surprised by the responses! A few students became very engaged in the project – but they drew characters that they already knew from comics or television. There were a group of girls who were supposed to be drawing witches – which I thought would be easy for them and give them lots of opportunities to be creative – who were having a lot of trouble. They asked me, “What do we do first?” So I explained again, and describe a witch to them and showed them the picture I brought. Then, they asked if I had more pictures of witches. They didn’t know how to do it “right”. I explained to them that there was no “right” way – they could be as creative as they wanted. I tried describing it again, but eventually the girls decided they wanted to draw pumpkins instead. All 3 girls drew nearly identical pumpkins. Of all the students, not one created a truly original piece. Every single one either drew a character that they already knew how to draw and had memorized the steps for drawing, or they simply replicated the picture that I gave them. This wasn’t my first experience like this at a school. The kids have trouble anytime I ask them to do something really individual or creative – and I don’t think it is a language barrier problem!
It really got me thinking about some aspects of Japanese society. It seems to me that everything is very systematic – from tea ceremonies to martial arts – everything is a discipline. There is a right way and a wrong way to do it. Women here take classes in cooking or ikebana or something like that. If they complete the class, they can get a certificate verifying that they have completed it. It seems to me that everythin has steps and regulations that you must pass in order to proceed further. This does not exclude the workplace either! I have learned very quickly that, in Japan, age matters a great deal. It seems to me that people are promote as their lives progress – they age, marry, have children, etc and promotions come along with it. Individual ingenuity, creativity, and drive seem to have little influence. I have never seen a much younger person who is in charge of many people older than him here in Japan. I also don’t see innovative and thoughtful people moving ahead. I want people to believe that they have some power over their situations and that they can take charge and make positive changes in their lives – but maybe that isn’t always the case. This same thing is demonstrated again in the bureaucracy that is Japan. If yo think there is a lot of red tape in the States, try living here! Everything must follow a system and there are no exceptions, even when it becomes totally ridiculous and inefficient. It’s exactly what Max Weber was warning us about . A fellow ALT told me the outrageous story about what happened when she tried to get salt for her fries at KFC here. You see, KFC does not have individual salt packets prepared, and you don’t custom-order ANYTHING in a restaurant in Japan. The cashier told the ALT that they didn’t have salt except for what they used during cooking. The ALT said that it was no matter, she’d settle for a cup with some salt from back in the kitchen. The cashier PANICKED and it led to a flurry of cashiers who had to then DISCUSS the problem. Eventually, they went to get their manager, because they didn’t know what the procedure for such a request was.
Of course Japan has its culture and its art. I am interested in Shodo, Japanese calligraphy, for instance. But, when I have been taught shodo by anyone, it has always been explained very methodically. It is art, but the point is not to be creative. The point is to make a perfect piece, with the lines that should be parallel appearing as such, and acute and obtuse angles aligned correctly. I suppose all calligraphy is a disciplined art, Western calligraphy included, though. After completing a piece, it is important to go back and check your work, see where you went wrong and notice the imperfections in it. This is what I enjoy about it – the personal reflection and the constant effort to better oneself – but even so, it is not the kind of creative freedom that I really love. Ikebana – traditional flower arranging – is the same way. There must be balance between the flowers of different shapes and lengths. It’s really beautiful, but it is also methodical.
It was Albert Camus who said in The Fall, “When one lacks character one HAS to apply a method.” I’m not saying that Japan doesn’t have character – they have a rich history and culture – but there certainly isn’t anyone encouraging people to explore their own minds. I really want to do that…. when I have the opportunity, I want to help my students express what is going on in their minds – their aspirations and fears and hopes. I’ve always been a fan of creative writing and a painter myself, so I am going to look into every avenue that I can to help them use English to express themselves. It is an expressive language! And if they want to learn American culture, some individualism will have to come along with it (a concept I love and hate at the same time). There’s no limit to what the human mind can conceive, really. I just hope they will know that by the time I leave here.
***A few hours late: Update on creativity***
This is a quote from a fellow ALT’s blog entry (he isn’t on my blogroll because so far he only blogs on facebook.)
“But it seems like even relatively intelligent people operate under the impression that Japan has some sort of super society. I have met several JETs over here who were shocked to find that their students were not obedient, polite, eager learners. They’re not by the way, today alone I had several students walk out during the middle of class to play in the hallway, one student set fire to his homework, and another student take off down the hall with a scythe.” – Tye in Kagawa
I guess some students are at least a little creative But I still stand by what I said.
