Blogs from Shizuoka, Japan, Asia
May 23rd 2012
My head was so heavy this morning that I turned my alarm into a feature in my dream, and let it ring for over a minute. Put out my rubbish this morning, hiding many pieces of ‘recyclables’ within, and planning to continue this operation in the future. Saw a man washing his car with a hose on the way to work, very odd to see, especially in a place that raw-chicken containers are recycled. Every spare minute today I crammed in some Japanese study for my lesson tonight, fending off sticky and crayon-y fingers from my text books. The activity went well, despite several decapitations, and I worked out that next time, I need to have more than a couple of spares. Rebecca was quick thinking, and grabbed the last one to photocopy. A trip to ... read more
May 22nd 2012
Sunday 20/05/2012 Not a very notable day, except for the Ethnic Party in the evening. Had tried not to eat too much too late, but my stomach was feeling very queasy, and I had chicken that had to be cooked, so cooked up a chicken risotto for lunch. Got dressed up, as any excuse will do, and a party is the top of the list, and bicycled over with Dominica to Kazumi’s house. What a beautiful house! There were two levels, though we were only downstairs for the evening. The kitchen was half separated, with large pine sleepers criss-crossed from floor to ceiling, a big paper orb for lighting in the living room, a brown mink rug, and black leather couches. The curtains were the softest veil of white, and the breeze came through the house, ... read more
May 22nd 2012
Woke up so early, tried to go back to sleep but couldn’t, so got up to potter around before work (10am start), and write up this blog. Left early, only to find an ‘undeliverable’ notice in my letterbox from 4.52pm the day before. The postie didn’t even bother to knock on the door, as I was home all afternoon, and heard nothing! Raced down to the post office, and they explained that the item had already been delivered back to Shizuoka (reminds me of many incidents in Hanoi). The lady explained to me that I could call a number, and they would deliver it back to Asabata at whichever time suited me. (And I understood all that too!) So I popped over to the nearby Family Mart to get some lunch before peddling back to work. ... read more
In the words of Barney Stinson: 'Suit up!'
Published: May 19th 2012Asia » Japan » Shizuoka » Shizuoka
May 19th 2012
Friday 18/05/2012 Music class this morning, and after yesterday’s bug obsession, I drew out some ‘In the garden’ colouring sheets for them to do. They had to identify each item before they coloured it in. Of course each of them helped each other out, but either way they were listening to, and speaking the words. Before music class, the first bus left, and the second bus students were getting changed even slower than ever. Miki came in and shouted at them all, and they all sat solemnly on the mat till the bus came. It must have been the mood of the day, as at lunch time, it took over an hour for them to eat, and then four students refused to eat at all. It was chaos. I didn’t get out till 1.20pm, and even ... read more
May 17th 2012
Running out of milk wasn’t going to get me down today! The sun was gloriously shining, I had new socks on (black with pink hearts), and had the most fantastic sleep last night. Arrived at school early, and we took the students over to the playground for a play before school. They had a good hour out in the sunshine, and it really calmed them down. You could easily tell the difference between the students who had been to the playground, and the later students who hadn’t. The later students were screaming, loud, and disruptive during Mat time (even the ones who are generally pretty good), and the earlier kids were relaxed and easy going. I’m still finding it difficult to time Mat Time, but that will come with practice. Rebecca then had the class make ... read more
May 16th 2012
Tuesday 15/05/12 Oh Mr Alarm Clock! Why do you bother me so? Had planned on walking to work this morning due to the rain, but with a very slow head getting ready, I left only three minutes to get to work. With everything wrapped up in plastic bags, and my head in a Little Red Riding Hood hood, I raced to work. The children today were wild with energy, I don’t know why, as rain tires me out. Rebecca did some very active songs with them for Mat Time, I assume in an effort to tire them out. The class was then divide up for their Japanese writing lesson, and the students left started on their ABC books. They have to trace the letters, and then colour in the pictures. A little girl took great care ... read more
May 14th 2012
Friday 11/05/12 Made it to school a little early to photocopy my ice-cream activity for during music class. The students went to music on two busloads: the first bus for the children who were already ready, and the second bus for the students who arrive at 10.05am. We tried out a new program, where, instead of there being two groups doing the one activity outside, whilst the other third was in music, we had a rotation of three groups. So group A started with music, group B read a storybook with Rebecca, and group C did ice-creams with me. It worked quite well, except for the randomness of change-over times, which are decided by the music teacher. The first slot went for a very long time, and all my students were finished, whereas the third slot ... read more
The way to a child's heart ... is through sequins!
Published: May 10th 2012Asia » Japan » Shizuoka » ShizuokaMay 10th 2012
Last night I heard the suspicious noise of glass rattling outside, so I went out into the dark to investigate… It was people recycling bottles and cans! Looking very suspicious, I ran up the street with a big yellow crate that I had stolen from the rubbish pile, brought it to my back door, and filled it (to the brim) with bottles! I only had a few cans to take with me. Then I lugged it all back to the rubbish area, and with a big crash, smashed it down. You’re not allowed to put rubbish out the night before, but many people do, despite the rubbish trucks on my street not coming till later in the morning. I was pretty chuffed with myself for working out the day for glass and can recycling all by ... read more
May 9th 2012
Today marks one month in Shizuoka. Leaving Australia seems so long ago, and yet it only feels as though a week has passed since I arrived. This morning I decided not to take my bicycle, as the sky was threatening to rain, plus I had to dump my rubbish, and go to the Shizutetsu to grab some lunch. Turns out that the Shizutetsu doesn’t open till 9, so I raced back home, jumped on my bike and rode like the river down to the Family Mart to buy some mixed sandwiches and an onigiri. I sweated my way up the hill to the Kindergarten, and somehow managed to get there on time! Today the children went off to music class, and since it was raining, they went in one big group, meaning that Rebecca and I ... read more
May 8th 2012
Sunday 06/05/2012 Dominica came around last night, having returned from Tokyo to find a white paper slip in her door-box the same as mine. We both read that it said ‘gas’ on it, but I was sure it must be the water bill, as it was hand delivered. Dominica had just paid the gas bill, so she was worrying that she was going to be paying that amount fortnightly, not monthly (and gas here is expensive anyway). So I called Tom to ask what was going on. He explained that once a month, the gas company comes to your house and reads the meter, they then print out a slip of paper with your estimated bill, and the date it is due (in this case, the 27th of the month). About a week before the due ... read more
