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Published: February 26th 2006
Hello Everyone,
It´s a rainy Sunday morning in Kobe, a perfect time to tell up about what I´ve been up to in the past week. Training continues to go well, we have moved on to the final stage and are no learning about teaching children. The kids classes begin with children who are 1 year old, so its quite possible that I´ll be teaching a variety of levels of students ranging in age from 1 to 100, we´ve been told not to be too suprised if we encounter students who are quite elderly. The lifespan in Japan is significantly longer than in the West and one of my trainers said that he taught a student who was 103!
On Wednesday we met our second trainer, Bill. Like most of the ECC trainers Bill is from Canada, Picton in fact, which is from the same small Ontario town were my dad grew up! It really is a small, small world!!!! It turns out that Bill´s dad was the local barber and cut my dad´s hair over the years and my ncle taught Bill in school!
Marissa is having some friends over this evening so I am looking forward to meeting some more people who live in the Kobe area. There is a large Costco store in Kobe so we´ll be enjoying some comfort foods from home like pizza and ice cream and watching an English movie or two which will be nice!
I continue to enjoy my daily commute to Osaka because it provides me with the opportunity to soak up more Japanese culture and take in the sights and sounds that surround me. I´ve noted several interesting thimgs:
-- In the evening th trains are full of overscheduled Japanese kids making their way from one afterschool activity to another. Japanese kids usually rise around 6am and head to school for a couple of hours of sports practice before putting in a full day of classes. Afterschool is off to cram school, where most study for a couple of more hours in preparation for university entrance exam tests which may be years away. After this, around 7 pm they´ll head to English classes, like those offered by ECC. Around 9pm they´ll head home for dinner and homework ... So needless to say the kids I see on the train are often pretty tired.
--There are women only cars on the train and areas on the platforms reserved for women only, I´ve heard stories of confused Western guys who unknowingly board these cars, think they are in heaven only to be yelled at in Japanese.
-- On the trains everyone does one of 2 things; sleeps or checks email or watches tv on their cell phones. Everybody has a cell phone here, and they are fancy. They are often decorated with lots of stickers or beads. Also, I´ve been told that you haven´t truly experienced Japan until you´´ve fallen asleep on the train. I would say 80% of people sleep on the trains. Somehow they always no when to get off, I haven´t quite reached this comfort level yet, I´d miss my train for sure!
Its also not uncommon to see a stressedout businessman downing a beer on the trainride home!
--In training we learned that WW2 is not a good topic to discuss in our coversation classes!
--- The sevice industry in Japan continues to impress me. All cab drivers are required to wear identical uniforms and little white gloves and the taxi doors automatically open and close for customers. Also, I´ve noticed that in many of the upscale restaurants in Kobe the entire wait staff will walk customers outside when they are done their meal and thank them over and over again for coming!
--- We have street meat vendors at home who make a fortune selling hotdogs on the streetcorners. Here octopus balls are sold out of carts on the street!
---Going to a movie is a pricey venture in Kobe. An English new release will set you back about $18.00 Canadian. There is only one cheap night a month!
We have 5 more days of training and then I´ll begin teaching on my own, I am really looking forward to getting my schedule!
Well that´s it for now. I continue to enjoy my adventure and everyday brings lots of new exciting experiences for me. Thanks for writing to me and I will to my best to respond promptly. Have a great week, stay warm!
love, Melissa
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Cathy A.
non-member comment
Octopus Balls?
OK, I have a picture forming in my mind ... of octopus balls. Are those like crab cakes? Or have I got it all wrong ... Frankly, I didn't realize that octopuses (octopae?) had balls, but after all, where do little octupae come from? Anyhow, I am dying to know if you tried them, and if so, how were they??