Eating for a Cause

Monday, May 26, 2008

Parsley really is a funny plant. It was all wilted and kind of limp this afternoon from not being watered for more than three days. I drowned(ed) it right as the sun was setting and now suddenly it's alive and healthy again.

Huh...go figure.

So recently, I've been noticing that I've continued to lose weight. Others have noticed too. I'm again accused of having an eating disorder. Though no one would flat out say it to my face. Instead I catch it through hearsay and Freuden slips.

The truth is though that I haven't been eating very healthily recently. In fact, I haven't been eating much of anything. The end result is that now, I am under 100lbs. And remember those pants I was so happy I could fit into again? Well, they don't fit anymore. They're too big.

But the worst came last Wednesday what I was sitting at my desk really trying hard to work on a 500 word essay for the PA position which I am applying for. I was staring at my computer screen and just wanted to fall asleep. I could barely read what was on the screen. I couldn't think clearly. The mind felt like sludge.

And so I decided I needed some drastic changes. My life has now gone into full on eat mode. No meals will be skipped. High carbs are what's on the menu. I've started (as of Thursday) waking up early before work and riding my bike to help wake myself up enough to not feel sick when I eat breakfast. Because now I'm eating breakfast! Haven't done that since 9th grade.

On top of that, I've joined a soccer team.

What? Nina? Playing sports?

Yeah. It's true. But it's only for 3 weeks. ;)

Still, the exercise gives me an appetite like a horse and I really pack it in after a good 2 hours of sweating it out in the park.

But now, thanks to the carbs and the exercise, I suddenly had crap tons of energy! Which means that midnight rolls around and I'm still wide awake! What do I do with this time?! I blog of course :D

Let's hope that I keep this regime up. But most importantly, let's hope I get the weight up too!

Kyushu

Saturday, May 24, 2008

For once I have a single morning free to do as I please and you can thank your lucky stars I'm finally writing about something interesting!

Golden week - a time when there are so many national holidays all at once, the week turns into a golden vacation of one day off after another. I took 3 vacation days and took an 11 day trip! I love it (^^)v

This year I took some friends as we camped all over the beautiful island of Kyushu. We drove my tiny K-car all the way there and back and didn't kill ourselves on the way!

The navigator

The driver

The innocent bystandard

The fake hot springs in Beppu! They're naturally hot but not naturally blue. It cost $4 just to look at this place and we couldn't even go in! Granted, it probably would have naturally burned all of our skin leaving us stripped and tinted blue.

So we decided to get our money's worth in pictures.

Our second night camping! It was a beautiful place to pop tent and the weather was always on our side the entire trip! It rained for only two days both of which we had made no plans to go hiking or site seeing. The first day we stayed inside a museum all day and the second was the last day of our trip which consisted of us driving home! Score :)

Helicopter ride to see the inside of a magnificent LIVE crater in the mountains of Aso.

Said crater. We later hiked up an inactive one which was probably one of the best hikes I've ever been on. And it was amazingly beautiful. Something right out of Lord of the Rings. Pictures could never come close to describing it's beauty.

Kumamoto Castle or something such thing. I can't ever remember names :P But it was a magnificent castle anyway.

Then as we were driving through the mountains, we saw REAL volcanic activity. This was just on the side of the road! We couldn't believe our eyes. It was smoking all over and it smelled like rotten eggs. That's a sure sign that there is a hot spring near by. Directly in front of us is a tiny rest stop that had park benches to relax on (in the middle of nowhere) but it was all roped off. The entire thing was corroded and rotting. Turns out, the hot volcanic spring waters got a little out of control and bubbled over making the entire place unsafe. It was awesome!

Heat rash: 0 Nina: 1

I was driving so much and the sun was so intense at times that I started developing heat rash. I decided to break down and buy these expensive gloves that I see lot's of women wearing here in Japan. They look kinda weird, huh! But I LOVE them! I didn't really want to wear them but I wanted heat rash even less. Once I put them on, I didn't stop wearing them for the rest of the trip. They are so damn cool!!!

One of the many waterfalls on one of the many hikes we went on. Worth every moment of exhaustion :)

We later made it to the southern island of Yakushima. Not too many people make it that far. It was pretty isolated but one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. The trees were lush and green.

Something straight out of a movie. Oh wait, what does this sign say? Mononoke no hime no mori? The Princess Mononoke Forest? That's right folks. I was there. And it was awesome.

We later got to soak in this $1 onsen. Natural. Unmanned. Throw your coin in a box and get naked on the beach. Bathe in all the glory of naturally heated water right on the edge of the Pacific Ocean as the sun sets to create the perfect end to the most perfect trip I've taken.

Soul Searching in Tokushima

Monday, May 19, 2008

In the beginning of May I went out on a solitary journey to Tokushima. The only prefecture in Shikoku that I hadn't visited yet. (Iya doesn't count. It's a valley all on it's own)

I went with the purpose of finding myself.

Really?
Yes really.
Did I find me?

Truth be told, I don't think I was really lost in the first place. I just needed the time to get the hell outta dodge! After the Genki performance and the chaos that ensued both during and after was enough to drive me to have a psychotic episode!

The chaos is still around, btw, just in easier to manage bites and now that I've "found myself" it's all the more fun ;)

And by chaos I mean I'm busier than anything! One party after the next until it all comes crashing down in a giant explosion known as the Sayonara party! People are leaving and that means party party party party.

I just want to curl up in a ball and read book...

Anyway, I went and saw the very underwhelming Naruto Whirlpools. They were cute but let's thank my luck stars I didn't go there for the soul purpose of seeing them....pun maybe intended. You be the judge.

Basically, my greatest accomplishment for this weekend was that I did everything myself. I booked the hotel myself. I made the plans for myself and I went by myself. And I enjoyed myself. I've truly grown as a person since being here. It only took me a year and a half of living in Japan to finally be OK with doing things alone. For the first time in my life I enjoy my alone time!!!

Back with my soul intact

Thursday, May 15, 2008

There is sooooo very much to write about. There's no way I could even attempt to do it all here. It's just like the combined mess of the dirty dishes in my sink, the winter and summer clothes all over my floor from a poor attempt to switch over and the mess that is currently my car after having taken a 10 day camping trip with it!

I have to write about:
My trip to Tokushima
My trip to Kyushu
The new school year
Tea picking!!!


So let's start with the easiest and most recent (^^)v

TEA PICKING WITH MY STUDENTS FROM THE MOUNTAIN SCHOOL

Yup. That's right. I skipped out on a day of work and went into the mountains of Oodochi to pick some tea! It was surprisingly exhausting.

Half the English club! Let's go boys!

Pictures

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Strawberry picking. $12 for all you can pick and eat. No take out boxes

I was just trying to take a nap! Then Michelle comes by and steals my couch right from under me. I had to retaliate somehow!

Hanami viewing party at my place. But we were too interested in trying to start the grill than enjoy the scenery.

Later that night

International music party. I sang acapella when there were no other acts to be had. Everyone was too drunk, myself included. Which is why I was able to get up there in the first place!

Dancing at the first genki performance weekend.

Again, the first genki performance weekend. That's right. I'm in a towel on stage and then I get to kick ass to the "Wild Wild West" in that same towel. YeeHa!

Goofing around in the only 3 minutes I have to just relax during the whole play. Every other minute, I'm either on stage or waiting for my cue. I'M TIRED!!!

And I still have another weekend to go. Anyone else taking a vacation day Monday? Say "aye".

AYE!!!

How I Spend My Lunch Break

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

It is now the end of the break between school years. AKA, one of the two times out of the year that I sit at my desk with nothing to do for more than a month at a time. It's actually a little hard to say since the days seem to drag on and have kind of molded into one another, but I'm pretty sure this has been going on for a month and a half now. A MONTH AND A HALF!!!!

At first, I was really great about keeping productive. I've actually gotten a lot done! I mean, you all know how much I don't want to be a teacher. But I actually wrote up a whole sylabus and enjoyed it just because it gave me something to do! (Also, I think it'll be a really kick ass class if I can pull it off but that's another story for another time)

But thank god that the time is coming to an end. Hopefully, classes will start just in time for my birthday. I don't know if I should take this as a bad omen or not but....eh

Anyway, one of the great things about not having classes is that I can take a long lunch break. Normally, I'm not allowed to eat off campus. I'm allowed to leave to run errands and to actually go buy my lunch but it's frowned upon if I stay out too long. I can understand this.

But over the school holidays, I can take as long as I like. I got the idea from my fellow teachers! They'd take me out to lunch and the break would last anywhere from an hour to three!

It took me a while, but this time around, I finally learned the joys of going home for lunch. Making my own (cheap) meal and playing around during the daylight hours in my own, relaxed, Flows To The Tune Of Nina, apartment.

But recently, the middle and elementary schools have caught up with the high schools and my fellow ALT friends in the area are also stuck at their desks doing nothing. Complaining that it's going on the second week in a row. Cry me a river!!!

Anyway, it just means that we can go out for lunch together! And since it's spring, we've certainly enjoyed searching around our area for beautiful Hanami viewing spots. Hanami only blooms for two weeks at best, so really, this time shouldn't be squandered behind a computer screen or a book (which I happen to be reading 5 of....out of sheer boredom!)

The two hour lunches help to break up the monotony of the day. Plus, I'm looking forward to hosting my own Hanami party. I'll be sure to post pictures!!!

Cookie Dough Party

Thursday, March 27, 2008

11 girls came
10 girls stayed the night
And I couldn't manage a single picture of the actual cookie dough...
It was gone too fast

But we burned off those calories the next day at the genki dance retreat
putt putt putt

Nina is...

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Nina is enjoying her Cesar salad with Cesar dressing, croutons, real bacon bits and delicious tomatoes.

Nina is beginning a book called the Memory Keepers Daughter. She hopes it'll be as interesting as it sounds.

Nina is eating an everything bagel with plain cream cheese now that she has finished her salad. Jealous?

Nina is surprised how long it took to clean just half of her apartment. It's too cold to clean the other half. She's decided to do it in shifts. Day one: heat the living room and kitchen and clean. Day two: heat the bedroom and bathroom and clean. Then vacuum all parts of the house in one sweep before she get's cold again.

Nina is gorging herself on beef jerky (she ate more than half a rope in one sitting...ewwww)

Nina is excited about how many books she got at the book exchange! Still, she wonders how she came back with more than she exchanged.

Nina is freaking out about her cookie dough party this weekend. She didn't think 12 of the 15 people invited would actually come! Now where is she going to put everyone when it's time to sleep? She's thinking of snuggling up with someone in her very own tiny but quite comfortable bed. Good thing it's a girls only night....or is it?

Nina is bored at work because she has no classes until early to mid April. She could be studying her lines for the genki musical but she's too busy reading all these new and interesting books.

Nina is eying that last half of the beef jerky (^_~)v

Is it spring yet?

Monday, March 3, 2008

It's getting warmer!!! I can feel it :)

Whoo, well how things move on! Genki practices have started up again. This is what I've been doing every weekend for the past 3 or so weeks!


I missed saturday of this past week though because I had to attend graduation at Yamada. That's right, the Seniors are gone! For me, this only means that I have a month of sitting at my desk until school starts again in early April :P

A couple of weeks ago I participated in a choir workshop. Like I mentioned before, I want to make the most out of my third year here. It's most likely my last. The workshop was with the Kochi Brighten Mass Gospel Choir.

Now, I know what your thinking...or at least what you should be thinking...Japanese people singing Gospel? Well, they do a very good job. But like with everything that is taken from a foreign culture, they'll change it to fit their own style. So things weren't done exactly as they would have been in America. That was fine. It's what I expected.

The people were extraordinarily friendly and the atmosphere was so uplifting! I loved most every minute of it. They sang all in English but really, it was the energy of the music that moved me the most. I had a great time.

However...

This particular group of gospel singers were a bit on the crazy side. Specifically the director. It was no argument of their talent. It was just the style in which they used that talent.

The main song that we sang was "Let it be" by the Beatles. First, they had to change the song a bit to fit the gospel style. Next, to keep the choir from freaking out about the English, the teacher explained that when Elementary school kids listened to "Let it Be" and were asked what they heard, they said "Heh, leh, bah" So really, "Let it Be" was only "Heh, leh, bah" so don't worry about it. Next, she said that the "Be" in "Let it Be" was too flat and weak of a sound so she really wanted us to pronounce the "Bah" in "Heh, leh, bah" The song really wasn't English when she finished with it.

Next, she said that for "Whisper words of wisdom" she wanted us to spit out the words like they were a ball, throw the up into the air and then catch them again. So we would all puff out our cheeks and really pronounce the W in Whisper then when we'd say only wo- of words, fade out then come in again for the -ds.

WI-sper WOoo...........rdSSS ov wizdum

And that was only the chorus! During the normal versus of the song, when a soloist would sing, the choir would fill in her pauses in singing with dog barks.

I think the director was trying to get the group to say "whoosh" like air. She wanted us to puff out our cheeks like we had done with "Whisper words of wisdom". But instead of WHOoosh, it came out more like WHOooffff.

Really, you'd have to see it and hear it to understand exactly how creepy it was to watch and then sing this way. A friend who went with me agreed that it was like something you'd see in a crazy horror movie. It left us feeling quite disturbed.

I'm debating if I want to join them and practice songs like this on a regular basis...I'm thinking not. But if I can't find a better group, well, they're always better than nothing!!!

Lastly, this past Saturday, after graduation, I went to see a performance that Erinn was in. Erinn is the type of girl that no one knows because she's always practicing dance. Dance is her life. If she's not in school, she's dancing. So it was exciting to see her actually perform!

Mostly, in Kochi, she does contemporary dance. This particular performance was held in a furniture store. Only about 5o people were allowed in and they stood around while the dancers danced among them. It was a really powerful experience. I loved it!

I can't really explain the concept. Most people didn't understand it. The only thing I know for sure is that the dancers were supposed to be mannequins. The doors opened at 7:30 but the show didn't start until 8. While we were waiting around, the dancers were actually all on the floor already, sitting in various positions, and not blinking! It was very surreal. They were all truly talented.



Again, it's one of those things you have to see to really grasp. There's just no way to put it into words.

Lastly, this week I'll be hosting a cookie dough party at my apartment! My apartment is a nice size but there have been about 10 people to confirm that they'll be coming and most likely staying the night...I have no idea where I'll be putting everyone! Ack!!! But it'll sure be fun no matter what ;)

I have a cold and I feel feverish

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

A direct quote from the interview test I will be administering next week. My students will be given a card with pictures on it that they need to remember. They have to understand the difference between "I have" and "I feel". They can't very well walk around saying "I have feverish" now can they?

Thing is though, I can't study with them this week because I have a cold and I feel feverish. Seriously.

Monday was a holiday so I woke up really early and went about 2 hours up a mountain, waited an additional 45 minutes to find parking on said mountain, waited around in the cold for another 2 hours for the show to start only to then leave as the show was just beginning because my cold was no longer bearable. It was one of the worst days ever. I had a fever of 39 Celsius. That's pretty bad.

I had a horrible headache, a worse backache, my nose was a little runny but mostly I felt like I was going to faint. When I went to the emergency room, the doctor stuck a cotton swab up my nose which hurt WAY more than I thought it should and told me that the test came back negative for the flu but that the test was only 90% accurate. So chances are good that I don't have it but right now, I feel pretty miserable.

I stayed home Tuesday and checked my temperature all day long. I was back to normal but still felt super dizzy. Today I thought it'd be alright to go into work. I checked my temperature there as well and it was fine. But I still went home. I now have a cough and a horrible runny nose! This is the worst!!!

And I just got over TWO COLDS not THREE WEEKS ago!!!! I must be allergic to Japan. Or my students have been giving me one cold after another. Or I'm not getting enough vitamins. Or it's all of the above.

I dragged myself to the grocery store to stock up which actually was a lot harder than it sounds. I bought myself lot's of veggies and juices. I'm taking the rest of the week off. I have Genki practice this weekend as well as a choir workshop that is sure to be the highlight of my life! I don't want to miss it because I was careless!!!!

Look at what I've been reduced to!!!! Water, mango juice, mikan, carrots with peanut butter and internet tv on my comfy couch with a cute pink blank that doubles as a shall and a heater with a humidifier. Man, it looks like I know what I'm doing...but it's all a lie. I didn't even remember that peanut butter could go on carrots!!! (I had to look it up on the internet. I thought I had made it up from a false memory!)

Eating food means that I don't cough or blow my nose nearly as much. And my nose could use the break!!! Sucks that I have to chew with my mouth open though....I feel like a cow. A sexy cow. With the flu.

In other news, it snowed heavily today in Yamada. Woot



The end

Test Results

Wednesday, February 6, 2008

2 months later, I finally got my JLPT 3rd level test results in the mail today.

I passed!

Don't know how I did it to tell the truth. The score they gave me was pretty low but it says pass so I'm not going to argue ;)

To Third Year or Not To Third Year

Sunday, January 20, 2008

It's Sunday morning. It's drizzling outside and I'm freezing and alone in my apartment debating if I should stay in this place for a third year. It's something I've been rolling around in my head since before Christmas. It's not as easy of a decision as I think it should be so I'll explain things here and maybe it'll become more clear to me.

When I was still in college I knew that the JET contract was able to be renewed twice giving me a total of three years in Japan. It was an easy decision to make! I hadn't even left yet and I was already willing to give JET my full three years without hesitation. I was only more thrilled to find out that as of the year that I was accepted, JET changed their policy to extend up to five years. It was too good to be true!!!

Then I got here. And for anyone who actually read my essays of posts that were my first 5 or 6 months of life here in Kochi, you'll know that things didn't really work out how I had planned. Maybe that was my problem. I had too many plans and expectations. I doubt that they would have been met regardless of where I lived, but here in the countryside that extends the entire prefecture, they were even less likely to be met. Still, I had goals. There's nothing wrong with that.

Even though the contract I have runs from August to July, my decision to recontract or not has to be made in early February. Last year, I was miserable. I didn't go home for Christmas knowing that I'd intentionally miss my flight back and never return to Japan. I'd be bitter and sad that I hadn't accomplished anything but instead let the inaka (countryside) dash my hopes and leave me a broken woman.

So it was easy to decide to stay. I wasn't going to let the inaka get the better of me. And I knew that things would get better. They could only get better! And all my hopes hadn't been crushed. There were still plenty of things that I wanted to do and see and accomplish before my time was done in Japan!

And I was right. I'm worlds happier here. I enjoy my life here :) My Japanese has improved, I've made plenty of friends and I even look forward to going to work occasionally.

Ahhhh work. I never wanted to be a teacher. I still don't want to be a teacher. It's funny because most of my friends in High School aspired to be teachers and I always fought them. I hated the idea of standing up in front of bratty kids lecturing at them and wasting my time while they slept at their desks. I didn't even realize it, but it was worse than I had ever imagined even then. Ironically though, I became a full time teacher before any of them. *sigh*

But with that said, I learned that teaching is more rewarding than I had originally imagined. Everyone knows that my class is worthless. At least the way the curriculum is set up (another rant for another day) but my students get something out of my presence. I'm not completely worthless to them. Many of my students really look forward to my classes and sometimes I actually make a difference to them. I just don't know it because they don't tell me. But I think that's something that happens in all schools. Not just my little on in the inaka of Japan.

I've learned to work with my kids and my teachers. I get along with people. It took a long time to learn how to write lesson plans and entertain my students so that they'll get more out of my lesson than some day dream. I've come a good ways from where I began.

But these are skills I don't think I care to use later on in life. I don't think I'd like to be a teacher. Even now. I wasn't born to be an entertainer. That's really what the job of a teacher is. I could sit down and teach you about everything I know. I'd get a real kick out of it. But that doesn't mean that you'll understand or even care. A teacher had to take knowledge and present it in an easy to understand and interesting way. Basically, an entertainer. I just don't see that as fun.

But I digress...

So now it's that time again this year. Should I stay or should I go? Have I accomplished everything that I set out to do? Kinda. If I stay, will I be able to accomplish those things still unfinished? Probably not. If I go home will I be able to accomplish those goals still unfinished? Not really.

What wishy washy answers!!!!

If I go:
I'll go back to my parents place and live there until I can find a job that will pay the bills. Buy myself a car, find an apartment and move out. Pretty much start a new life just like I had to do here. Only it'll be easier and harder in different ways. I'll be able to speak the language and take care of myself in ways I can't do here. But the job won't be handed to me on a silver platter. The job market isn't good back home and I don't see it getting any better. My degree (Liberal Studies) doesn't help me out either. I only have skills as a retail assistant manager and teacher. And lord knows I don't want to do either of those things.

Still, I think there are a number of jobs that I could do. The only catch is that I actually have to like the people that I work with.

In all honesty, I'd love going to work everyday here. I would love working with my students and I'd enjoy lesson planning if I were actually friends with any of my coworkers. If we ever had conversation that were more than just what lessons to plan and how the weather is. Maybe in a perfect world things would be better...

So basically, there's not a lot waiting for me back home except for the beginning of another uphill battle. Both easier and harder than life here.

If I stay:
Welp, right now, I'm making a pretty good income. I can tell you this because everyone on the JET program gets paid the same amount so if I didn't tell you here, you could just go look it up. So it's not rude ;)

I get paid about $30,000 a year. Yeah I know, small beans right? Well I don't get any taxes taken out of that because I am not living in the States and I'm not a Japanese resident. A friend of mine went back home and is now getting about $40,000 a year and after taxes, he's getting the same thing I do. Only he's almost in debt since he had to buy all new furniture (I didn't) and he's had to lease a car (small cars in Japan are way cheaper and the gas is pretty much the same price these days) I know that both of these incomes aren't that great, but for someone fresh out of college, I think that's pretty good!

At the same time, after my second year, things change and I'll have to pay Japanese taxes. I've heard rumor that they give me a raise to make up for it but I can't be sure about that. Also, when I leave, I get a pension which is a nice sum of money :)

But speaking of raises, that's a downfall of the JET program. There is no future here. I can't work my way up to anything. I come and I go and that's all. All this time spent will amount to nothing in my future.

Next, I can learn Japanese here. My Japanese isn't improving nearly as much as I'd like it to. But I can guarantee that if I go back home, it won't improve at all. In fact, I'll just forget it all. Thing is, I just don't see myself going back to school for Japanese. It'd almost a lost cause.....

Next, a lot of my friends will be leaving this year. Every friend that I make here will eventually leave. Or if they stay, then I will eventually leave them. Nothing is permanent to this place. But at the same time, if I stay, the friends that leave will be replaced. Maybe I'll meet someone new and interesting. Maybe I'll like them better ;) Is it worth the gamble?

Next, if I stay, I'll be going back to the same job every day like I am now. I don't see it improving too much. Can I tolerate that a third year?

Finally, if I stay, to help give me a sense of fulfillment and accomplishment, I think I'll apply to be a Prefectural Adviser (PA). There are three PAs in Kochi and two of them will be leaving this year. They don't get paid anything extra but CLAIR will pay for them to learn how to council others on things like homesickness, culture shock and coping skills. I think as a third year, I could help other new JETs with most of the problems they'll come across by living out here in the inaka. I think I have a lot of advice to give and I think that helping out will really make my third year worthwhile.

Assuming that I stay of course...

Tasmanian Christmas

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Good Golly!!! It's been almost a month since I last posted!!! I had no idea... where did all the time go?

Well, I'll tell you.

About two days after my last post, I took a bus to Osaka where Nick and I caught a plane to Australia. Did anyone know that you needed a Visa to get into Australia? Yeah, neither did I. Almost didn't make it (^^;) Luckily, our plane was 4 hours late. That was an international flight too. We took JET Star which is an Australian company. It's the cheap spawn of a very wonderful company known as Qantas. Basically, JET Star is super cheap (kinda) but I think with every single one of the flights we took which totaled to about 6, they all had problems including but not limited to, late flights, missing bookings (as in we weren't given a seat on the flight because they didn't know we were coming despite our printed receipts) and extra charges for things like food, blankets and pillows.

The flights weren't all that bad though. They had larger seats than expected and the staff were very kind and patient while they sorted out everyone single one of our problems. (^u^)

And we even got to Tasmania on time!

Even though it was summer there, Christmas day weather was very similar to Florida's so it felt nice. After that it heated up and I felt right at home!

Nick's family is wonderful as well. I met all 3 million of them! Hahahaha! I don't think a day went by that I didn't meet a new person.

Since most of the time was devoted to family and friends, I really didn't mind that we didn't go to many touristy places. I enjoyed everyone's company and we never sat around doing nothing so it was fine that I didn't get to buy little trinkets that had Tasmanian Devils painted all over them.

And speaking of which, I got to see a Tasmanian Devil. They're small, kind of ugly and look nothing like the Looney Tunes Taz. I have no idea how those two are anything alike! Also, the Tazzie Devil has the worst growl I've ever heard! It is very well named for it :-/

In other animal news, I got to see lots of Australian animals! I even got to pet a kangaroo!!! That was really awesome (^u^) But Nick's camera died that day so there aren't any pictures which is really too bad (ToT)

In closing, Tasmania was gorgeous and I loved every minute of it!


~~~~~~~

Once I got back, I really did hit the ground running like I thought I would. Thank god there wasn't any jet lag!

We got back into Osaka on Sunday night and spent Monday getting back to Kochi. On Tuesday, I was right back to work. Wednesday I made a special trip to give Kae and the family the souvenirs I bought for them, then raced off to get the next thing done. Friday night was spent at an Ex JETs English conversation school. We drank lot's and had some crazy fun with her adult students!

Actually, we had dinner at an Izakaya (Japanese pub) and the ladies decided that they wanted to dress up in costumes. Since it's the new year and also the year of the rat, they decided that should be the theme. I was donned with mouse face paint and everything! It was a lot of fun.

Later in the night when I had forgotten I was actually wearing anything, I walked out of our private room (there were a lot of us) to use the toilet and another customer came walking up the stairs just then. He stopped dead in his tracks and wouldn't stop staring at me. I brushed it off and thought he was a jerk for fully gaping at me just because I am a foreigner. That is until I took a look in the mirror. I fully burst out laughing!!!

(Will post pictures when I get them from Nick)

I went from that party to having a morning party with Sara's little kids (she's the woman that runs the English conversation school). After that, I went home, and cleaned up for another party I was hosting with a couple of friends that I had missed since I wasn't here for New Years.

Now the weekend is over, and I'm back to classes. But tomorrow I'm actually skipping class to go to the Wonderful Mid Year Conference of which all JETs will attend. It's a great time of the year because it means I get to see friends that I haven't seen for months since they live so far away at the edges of the prefecture. You can guarantee that many parties will be had ;)

And so it continues.....

(I always write about how happily busy I am and how many parties I have every weekend...but still, I'm debating if I even want to recontract. It's a decision I have to make in the beginning of February. I'm actually not sure if another year will do me any good.... parties? or the real world.... not as easy a decision as you'd think)

Have I mentioned Today How Much I Love My Students?

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

So today was spent a Yamada High. I had an extra few classes just because everyone wants to do Christmas stuff and that's always fun so I can't very well say no :)

One of the teachers asked me to teach her 2nd years. I hadn't taught those students since last year so I was pretty excited to work with them again and see how they had improved. They were equally happy to see me because it meant that they could play games and not do any book work. Fun was had by all in English! I thought that maybe I should bring some candy for the winners seeing as it's a holiday lesson and all but in then end I forgot. Really though, it didn't seem to matter much because it didn't need to motivate them. The idea that it was a free day was good enough!

And then, as I was racing out of the building on my lunch break to get some much need prep work done before I leave for Australia, a student stuck his head out the window and called me over. He actually thanked me for coming to his class. He said he had a really good time. I told him I had a really good time too.

It almost brings tears to my eyes.

What a mix of students and experiences!

This is one of the reasons why I'll probably stick around for a third year (^^)

I'd Rather Have Nothing

Monday, December 17, 2007

There is a Japanese trait that I both admire and hate. It is the concept of "what I need".

I remember reading about this sort of thing in one of my language books. A Japanese person and a gaijin walk up to a vending machine. There are two bottles of coke, one normal sized and one extra large. The extra large one is exactly the same price as the normal sized one. So the gaijin (probably from America) goes for the bigger one and the Japanese guy chooses the normal sized one. The gaijin says "Why did you choose that one? You get way more with the bigger one and the price is the same! It's a great deal!" and the Japanese guy replies, "Yeah but I don't need that much coke."

The American mentality is that regardless of if we need it or not, it's a better value and that's what's important to many of us. For the Japanese, in an exaggerated case, they would almost pay more for the smaller one because really, that's all they need and "もったいない" (don't be wasteful)

At first, I thought this was great. I thought it was a good way to live. It makes you a better person for not being wasteful because lord knows I can't drink a normal amount of coke and I'd probably have bought the bigger one too!

And that's all well and good until you get a bunch of (irritating) high school seniors and you try to give them FREE stuff.

I've talked about it before. At Oodochi high school I have a special Nina Dollar reward system. If the students do something right, they get various amounts of Nina Dollars as payment. I then collect them and put them into their Nina Bank Accounts (seriously). And at the end of the term, I hold an auction where they can buy things with their Nina Dollars.

Let me remind you of the obvious: These dollars have been accumulating for months and they're completely useless outside of my classes.

duh

Today is the last day I'll see my Seniors forever. I like the third years. Just not the ones that I teach. I happen to teach the lower of the two levels (why, I'll never know) and this means that not only are they way below average but they're lazy on top of it. They have to try to get scores that low.

(Seriously guys, I'm not making this up. The school is closing because there aren't enough students to fill it. You have to be THAT SPECIAL to get in)

The last time I did an auction, I brought in some pretty junky stuff but still more than I had originally planned. I originally was just going to give them candy. But the Largo exchange group had given me all their extra gifts so I had plenty to auction off.

This time around, I had TONs of really cool things that I brought back from my August trip to the states! I had stickers and bags and candy and toys ! It was such a pain in the ass to get it here too! And it wasn't cheap either!!! And let me give you a hint, the school didn't pay for my excursion to America, they didn't pay for the stuff I'm giving away to my kids and they didn't pay the extra baggage charge when it was overweight.

and my students paid with Nina Dollars. Meaning that really, it was free for them.

Well. Do you know what their response was to me?

*unimpressed glares* ".....seriously? You want $15 Nina Dollars for that? Pshh.. I don't need it"

It wasn't even an "I don't need it, but thanks." It was just a flat out, "I don't want your junk Nina. Leave me alone, I'd like to put my head down until class is over."

At least in America the students would have grabbed for it just because it was free.

There are these bags that I'm trying to get rid of from the Largo group. They're the plastic "back packs" that have a draw string as both the opening to the bag and then they come down to make the straps for your arms. No one actually wants them regardless of if they're American, Japanese or from anywhere else, but I've seen many a time that people have grabbed for them just because they were being given away for free as a promotional item.

But still, my students turned their nose at them.

I could understand it when I did the auction the first time. I did actually have some junk. But I put a lot of effort and thought into this one.

I even gave one veeeeery special student an extra $5 just because he had $0 and I didn't want him to go empty handed. It wasn't hard to get these bucks either. They just needed to participate. And the students that fought me tooth and nail about that STILL got more than $5!!! But regardless, I'm pretty sure this kid walked away with nothing. He didn't even want the super cheap $5 candy that I had priced just for him.


*bitter rant begin*
You know, sometimes I just really hate those students for being such ungrateful brats. They have no idea that the only reason why the government pays for me to be here is to teach their sorry asses. What a waste of money. What a waste of my time.

Honestly, I applaud anyone who enjoys being a teacher and I give a standing ovation to anyone who's good at it. There are plenty of people who love teaching and are good at their job. I work with a number of them!

But I am not one of them. And I hope to all that is holy that I don't end up doing this for the rest of my life.

But hey it could be worse. I could be teaching middle school! HAHAHAHAHHAHAHA...hmmmm

Freefalling from one event to the next until New Years!

Thursday, December 6, 2007

Thank god the JLPT is over!!! I can't promise anyone that I passed. Whenever I was practicing I always tallied the points wrong without realizing it so I was actually doing worse than I thought.

See, the test is broken into 3 parts. The first 2 I always do pretty well with but the last part, grammar and reading, I do so poorly in that it usually brings me down to just barely passing. What I didn't realize until the day of the test was that the third section is actually worth twice as much as the others. :P I think I did pretty well on those parts but we'll see when I get the results in February.

Now I'm in auto pilot as I bounce from one event to the next. This past Wednesday, without anytime to really recover from the test, I hosted an International Day at my school, 3 other ALTs from around the prefecture came over and we internationalized 20 of my students to their breaking point! Let's just say that Vegemite and PB&J are two snacks that Japanese students most certainly don't enjoy (for the most part) but the hip hop dancing was quite well received ;)

Tomorrow, I'll be off to the city to host a present exchange party for those of us who celebrate giving presents to friends around December. Saturday, I'll be volunteering at a Children's English Language Christmas Party but I'll be leaving early to go to a film festival which will be showing and judging movies that have been made by the people of the prefecture. The contest was to create a movie that represented Japan through the eyes of Kochi prefecture. Sunday will be spent making a ginger bread house with Wakako and the family and that'll then begin my next week where I'll be going through similar things all over again until I leave for Australia on the 21st.

*Whoo*

But when do I get to breathe?!?!? As soon as I get back from Australia, I'll be hitting the ground running! With the new year comes the start of the Genki Musical!!! Stay tuned for the shenanigans which are sure to ensue ;)

Bad Luck Driving

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Forgot about this in the last post.

So yesterday Nick, Dave and the other CIRs all over Japan went to Tokyo to have a mid-year conference. On Sunday, Nick stayed the night at my place while I was in Odochi (Japanese language makes everything complicated) and Dave picked him up on Monday morning and they were off to the airport!

Only they didn't get that far. At least not how they planned.

I must be giving off unlucky vibes or something!!!

After Dave got Nick, he was backing up his enormous and beautifully powerful machine out of the parking area of my apartment complex, when he got too close to a large ditch/sewer system and his two right side tires fell in. The ditch is about three feet wide and four feet deep. He thought for sure that entire car would fall in!

But it didn't. Instead, he told my land lady, handed her the keys and raced off to the airport to catch their flight. I got a nice call that afternoon from Nick as their were waiting for the plane. I came home and was kindly handed the keys to a very nice car that was sitting in my parking spot. The Landlady called some friends of hers and they fished it out of the ditch after the guys left.

She really is a very kind woman. I wish I could speak more Japanese to her!!! (ToT)

And really, through this whole thing, no one thought to take a picture :P

I Don't Want To Study for the JLPT Right Now

So instead I'll write out a post :)

This past weekend I had the pleasure of participating in a Murder Mystery game with about ten other people. I was given a character profile, I dressed in costume and played the part to try and figure out who the killer was while not getting caught red handed with my own scandals. It was loads of fun!!!

I was Madam MeMe Wannabe married to the host of the evening Don Wannabe. My story was that I had been brought up in brothels only to move my way up the ranks to own my own string of them. I'm a classy businesswoman who treats her woman and clients well. The evening began with my husband and I holding a grand opening party for our new Speakeasy club (right?)

Don and I were doing the bookkeeping for "Big Jim" the head of the fo-mafia in Chicago. This everyone knew. But what was a secret was that his estate was worth about $4,000,000 until we skimmed a little bit off the top. After that, it was only worth about $40,000. But no one needed to know...until he was murdered and he left his daughter, mother and new wife the inheritance.

But I'm not gonna tell who dun it ;)



NEXT
There's an article I'd like to discuss that I'd seriously like to share with the world at large.

As of today the Japanese government has put into effect new policies for entering the country if you are not a Japanese citizen. It used to be that if you held a visa and a re-entry permit (which I do) then you could just go through customs in Japan as if you were actually Japanese. (pretty nice) Now however, they have a new system where all foreigners must be finger printed and photographed.

Ok, whatever. To me this only means that it'll take longer to go through customs. I didn't think much of it until I read this article.

Please note before you read this article, there's some information you might want to know about the NOVA group.

See, NOVA was the biggest English conversation school in Japan. It was known for being cheap on all sides. It wasn't a good school for students to go to or foreigners to work at. It was just an easy way for the Japanese to practice English and it was an easy way for foreigners to get to Japan.

Well, about a month ago NOVA finally went bankrupt. It was a bad company all around. Thousands of foreigners were without a job for a couple of days later another company snatched it up. Basically, everyone saw it coming.

NOW, you may read this article ;)

And these are my questions because I seriously think I'm missing something here:

1. Is there something that is "restrictive" about photographing and finger printing every foreigner that goes to Japan? How will this keep people from entering the country? How will this deter people from living here?

2. Does this man think that if a few foreigners leave Japan that the need to be able to speak and understand English will just magically disappear?

3. This man makes it sound like he wants to close off the borders of Japan! How does finger printing and photographing people do that?!?!??! Doesn't the US do the same thing?!!? I don't see that stopping anyone! I just see it making you late to get to your connecting flight!

4. Does this man SERIOUSLY think that foreigners had ANYTHING to do with NOVA's collapse? NOVA is known for it's by the books, telling you exactly what to say and when to say it kind of teaching program. It was fail proof. The easiest no brainer job ever. Just read from the card.

And the felling I'm left with is something I've gotten used to since coming to Japan; the sense that I'm missing something important.

Ya wanna know what I bet it is, this "high ranking official" is probably just a nobody pulling opinions out of his ass. Either that, or there's finally some hard evidence that the Japanese are as self centered, bigoted and "wanting to stay unique as only an Island Nation can provide" as the stereotype says.

PLUS!!! Rumor has it that the birth rate is soooooo bad that the Japanese government is thinking of changing some immigration laws to bring in more foreigners into the workforce! But that's another can of worms that I won't go into. Every gaijin girl has her own opinion about Japanese men. ;)

Other than that, it's gotten significantly colder here. Which makes me hungrier than ever which is so NOT cool! I don't want to gain absolutely ANY winter weight!!

News Flash: PANTS

Friday, November 2, 2007

I was just going through the switch between summer and winter clothes when I came across my favorite Target pants that I stopped fitting into by October of last year thanks to the stress and over eating that was had in my early months here in Japan.

I decided to try them on just for giggles and guess what??!!??!?!

THEY TOTALLY FIT!!!

AND THEY'RE EVEN BAGGY!!!!


Just thought I'd let you in on that little update ;)

For now, it's back to studying. I have school culture days, international days, lessons, parties, and a Japanese Language Proficiency test to do before I go to Australia for Christmas! WHOO!

Three Nina Style Issues and Visitors from home

Thursday, October 25, 2007

And starting from the beginning:

The first weekend of October was the Muroto English camp. (See previous post #4) The day after, I found a good sized bug bite on my inner thigh. I thought nothing of it but two days later it had more than doubled in size. Not only had it starting growing however, it also started finding veins and was traveling in two strips up my thigh in the direction of a very important place to every woman.

I made an absent minded comment about this on facebook and immediately I got a reply from an old acquaintance telling me about how she once got a very nasty bug bite which started doing the same thing as mine. She had gone to the doctor only to be told that it was just an allergic reaction. 5 days later she was in the hospital having the wound drained of poison. Apparently it was a super poisonous spider that had bit her and if it had been on her foot rather than her ass they would have had to amputate it.

With that email, I was off to the doctor. He told me it was just an allergic reaction and sent me on my way with some nice super strength, could kill a horse, Japanese meds.

It's been a little over two weeks since that time and the spot has turned into a faint bruise and nothing more. Let's hope it stays that way.
(Issue #1: solved)

The day after I went to the doctor, Christina and Chrissy, my two good friends from Uni came out to visit me! We had a blast! And it was so cool to watch their eyes bug out as they tried to take in all the things that I've come to take for granted. Mountains for example ;)

The first thing we did was have a party at Nicks and then we were off to Kagawa for the weekend. We made Udon, saw some great sites and came home in time for me to go to school for a little bit and then take them site seeing some more around Kochi. Friday we were off again to Hiroshima where we visited the very intense A-Bomb Dome and Museum. After that we took the typical trip to Tokyo which no visit to Japan is complete without. I flew back into Kochi last night and they were off back to Florida this afternoon.

All in all it was a nice and somewhat relaxing vacation. The girls were not all about rushing to the next tourist site. Instead they enjoyed taking their time and if we didn't happen to get to do everything that was on our list that was ok. As long as they were enjoying themselves there was no reason to worry. :)

Unfortunately 4 days into their vacation I got into a car accident.

I was driving down a back road that I don't normally take (sounds just like Nick's story...creepy). I was turning right at a blind intersection. Instead of coming to a full and complete stop like I should have, I rolled through while looking at the two mirrors that they have placed across the intersection so that you can see oncoming traffic. Only after the accident did I come to realize that the mirror showing the right side of the street was tilted so I couldn't actually see much of anything in it.

So I looked in the mirrors and saw that there were no cars. As I pulled into the intersection I looked to my left and saw no cars. By the time I was in the middle of the intersection I looked to my right and saw that there was a car RIGHT THERE!!! So I sped up so as not to be hit by the car, I underestimated the width of the street, over shot the turn and drove up onto the curve and over a pedestrian crossing sign.

It could have been worse. I could have hit a pedestrian.

The cops came out almost immediately, everyone was very kind even the passers by who asked me if everything was alright while I waited at the scene and cried to myself.

In fact, while I was talking to the very kind police, my old host mother, Mari drove by.

Now this is not my current Japanese mum, Kae. This is the woman that I stayed with the last time I came here with the Largo crew. She is the woman who introduced me to Kae in the first place who was actually hosting a different Largo student at that time.

Mari was shocked to see me and instantly stopped her car to make sure everything was alright. Before I could blink my eyes she already had her family mechanic on the line and within an hour of the accident my car was picked up and replaced by a free rental. (oxymoron?)

The repairs are costing me about $1000 and honestly I sat and really thought about how much this car was worth to me. I realized that I had gotten a very good deal when I payed only $2000 for it in the first place and it's a good car that I have bonded with even if only over the past 5 or 6 months. Besides, I won't find a better car for less or equal that price.

I do actually have insurance and it'll pay for the pole but it won't pay for the damage to the car. If the damage were over $2000 then they would pay for it but then my rate would go up $2000 so it really doesn't matter in the end. Needless to say, I never thought I'd hit a pole. I mean honestly.

Thankfully it didn't ruin Christina or Chrissy's vacation.
(Issue #2: solved)

We were still able to drive around to the places we wanted to go but we weren't able to drive as comfortably to Hiroshima as we had planned. My car is huge when in comparison to other Kei (small style) cars in Japan. We were planning to drive it north about 5 hours to Hiroshima and Nick would drive it home. Instead, we took Nick's car which is much smaller and much more manual so it was a little bit of a pain in the ass since Nick is the only person able and authorized to drive said car. Poor Nick.

This past Sunday night we said our goodbyes to Nick and took a night bus to Tokyo where I thoughtfully left my cell phone (on the bus not the entirety of Tokyo)

I swore up and down that I left it on the bus but it took them 2 days to actually locate it (turns out they couldn't locate the bus I was on. The bus driver actually found it immediately but didn't think to contact anyone about it)

Now I'm waiting for my cellphone to be shipped back to me and then maybe I'll finally be able to get into touch with people. For example, the mechanic working on my car. He said he'd have it done by today but there's really no way for anyone to get into contact with me so...

Well, things could be worse.
(Issue #3: being solved)

And this is the story of my life.