Blogs from Hiroshima, Japan, Asia - page 41

I've learned that Christmas is (almost) entirely commerical in Japan. The Japanese enjoy the ideas of decorations and lights, pop versions of Christmas carols, and exchanging gifts. December 25th here is actually a day for couples....like Valentine's Day part-two! So knowing all of this, I went with the 'go with the flow' mentality when planning my lessons this month! At all my elementary school visits in December we had a lot of Christmas fun. In the younger grades we coloured Christmas pictures and decorated trees, and in the older grades we made Christmas cards....all the while listing to songs like 'Last Christmas' by Wham, 'All I Want for Christmas' by Mariah Carey, and with some Chipmunks and the Muppets thrown in there too! I could go without hearing all of those songs for quite a while ... read more

Okay, okay, I know...You can't just title something "I'm in Love" and let it go. I know what many of you are thinking...Stacey hasn't mentioned a male courting her? How can this be?! Well, when love doesn't come to you, you have to go out and find it. And, found it I have... ...in my rice cooker! And they say it's hard for a foreign woman to find love in Japan. Gaffaw, I say! Just add some rice, some water, press a button...and presto! In thirty minutes you have perfectly cooked, warm, sticky rice. Really, what more could you ask for?! It even made perfect Stove Top stuffing for me last night, when I had some friends over for a Christmas dinner. Versatile too! All I can say is, wow... In this entry, I also want ... read more

This weekend, I visited my friend Heather in Innoshima, an island that's a 2-hour bus ride from Hiroshima City, as we both taught at an International School Day in the neighbouring town of Setoda on Saturday. The purpose of the day was to introduce elementary and junior-high school students to "international" culture with lessons conducted in English, that could be about anything but the subject of English. Some of the day's lessons included swing dancing, country line dancing, how to make collages, making rice krispie squares, and Spanish. Heather and I taught a Christmas-themed lesson which included making "gingerbread" houses from graham crackers, and the game of pin-the-nose on Santa. The students seemed to enjoy themselves despite the goeyness (?!) of putting the graham crackers together with Nutella spread (an innovative solution to icing, which is ... read more

On the neighbouring island of Ikuchijima I went to Setoda town to join the International School Day. The purpose of the day was to introduce junior high school students (and a few elementary and high school) to 'international' activities. The classes were taught all in English, which I'm sure was overwhelming for the kids**. There were about 14 English teachers and 65 students. Some of the classes were country line dancing, swing dancing, Spanish, collage making and Rice Krispie Square baking. I taught a Christmas-themed lesson with my friend Stacey. We made gingerbread houses....with graham crackers substituting the gingerbread, and Nutella substituting the icing! It was a gooey mess! Have a look at some of the creations! **Funny story. It surprised me a little that there was a group of high school boys that came for ... read more

The town I live in, Fuchu-cho, is a pretty international place. Not only is there the only international course for highschool students in Hiroshima prefecture (conveniently located at Akifuchu High School, where I teach), but there is also the Matsuda (as it is known in Japanese, and Mazda to the rest of us) Head Office and Factory, which is also home of the Mazda Museum. The Mazda factory is located a convenient 10 minute bikeride from my apartment. Many people that work for Mazda have lived abroad, mostly in the US, to work for the company, adding to the international feel of Fuchu-cho. Last Wednesday, Dob and I visited the museum for a tour. The factory itself is huge, and to get from the main office, where you check in for the tour of the museum, ... read more