Blogs from Tottori, Tottori, Japan, Asia - page 3

Asia » Japan » Tottori » Tottori November 23rd 2006

Things that annoy me/I dislike about Japan: - the lack of sidewalks - the lack of insulation and central heating - the rapid change of seasons - school lunch and getting bread instead of rice on Wednesdays - the garbage separating situation - the dust constantly building up in my apartment..I can't keep up with it! - Japanese people keep thinking I'm Japanese "Nihonjin desu ka?" "Amerikajin desu!!!" - Japanese boys are afraid of foreign girls or don't really know how to deal with them - students aren't made accountable for their actions, they may get a good talking to, but heaven forbid if they actually call a parent because their kid is being bad - I don't think there is a grading system in Jr. High School...you either pass the test to get into high ... read more

Bunkasai times 2!

Asia » Japan » Tottori » Tottori November 6th 2006

Tacos Party!

Pear Kimchee

This past weekend both my schools had their annual Cultural Festival or Bunkasai. Since I'm at Koto now, I was more involved in their Bunkasai. I listened and watched to the students practice for the chorus competition. Basically what bunkasai consists of is one day of chorus competitions, movies students made, skits, photo slide shows, music performances, art displays, and English and Japanese speeches that were done at the speech contests. It's a huge deal and the kids practice for the chorus competition for weeks before the actual festival. It is a very big deal for them because they want to win 1st place in each of their grades and also the overall first place which is called the "Grand Prix". You get a huge trophy if you win. I found it fascinating too how at ... read more

Wyrd Sisters and the Gundam class

Asia » Japan » Tottori » Tottori October 26th 2006

Wyrd Sisters cast and crew

Pear Kimchee

So we are doing the production of the Wyrd Sisters in January and we took a group pic last night and just wanted to share. Rehearsals are twice a week and they really do make the time fly. I am usually really exhausted Wednesday night because we are seriously running lines and blocking for a few hours straight with no breaks. We started late this year and didn't find a script we liked till this months so we have to work extra hard to stay on track. Being stage manager isn't too bad right now, but I do have to know exactly where everyone is supposed to be at any given time. With people doing multiple characters, it gets a little confusing at times. Hopefully some organizational skills will kick in and I can pull it ... read more

I think I'm losing my voice...

Asia » Japan » Tottori » Tottori September 20th 2006

Pear Kimchee

Today was another unpredictable and crazy day at Koto Chugakko. I was scheduled for 3 classes right? Wrong! One of my classes got moved to another period so I ended up going to another class instead. I got one ADDED! This is a pretty common thing, but I was hoping today it wouldn't happen...fat chance. Basically I did my self-introduction presentation 4 periods in a row. One of the classes 1-1, were pretty rowdy. They weren't paying attention, they were chatting to each other..I talked extra loud or stopped talking to make them listen to me. Then during my quiz, I called on the kids who were talking during my presentation. I just walked right up to their desks and said you, please answer, dozo. Hmmm, and then they shutup and can't say anything. Seriously, some ... read more

First Day at the big school

Asia » Japan » Tottori » Tottori September 19th 2006

Pear Kimchee

The differences between the two schools where I work are even more striking after today. I had four classes and they were all first years (7th grade). At the big school there are 7 first year classes...at 33 students each that makes 231 students just in one grade alone. At the small school there are 63 students...in the entire school. Man am I overwhelmed! Did my self intro 4 times today...I have to do it a total of 14 more times because there are 18 classes total. It's gonna get real boring after awhile. That's basically what I'm doing for the next 2 1/2 weeks. I don't even have a computer at my desk there so no time to check emails until I get home. The students are definitely more rambunctious. Four 3rd year girls introduced ... read more

Screaming Children ALL DAY!

Asia » Japan » Tottori » Tottori September 11th 2006

Pear Kimchee

Today was probably one of the more rewarding days for me so far here. I went to Konan Shogakko (elementary school) today and taught 4 classes. These kids seriously have so much energy, I can't believe that they can keep going like this all day! I was supposed to teach a lesson 1st period for the 2nd years (8th graders) at the chugakko (JHS), but my JTE let me skip the lesson because they were really just reviewing for the test that's coming up. Plus I was busy making big flash cards of animals because that was my theme today at the shogakko = animals! I actually visited the shogakko last Friday for one period with one of my JTEs and we met with their English club. The kids are so sweet and there are only ... read more

Koto Chugakko Enkai

Asia » Japan » Tottori » Tottori September 5th 2006

Sasaki sensei and Fujita sensei

Pear Kimchee

Friday night was the Koto chugakko enkai (drinking party). Fujita sensei was supposed to meet me at Mr. Donut to take me to the place where we were having the enkai. He ended up being late, but at least he texted me to tell me he was on his way. This is something I don’t understand about the Japanese. We were warned about how they like to be on time, yet I have definitely encountered many times when people have been late. I am getting used to showing up to places early, mostly because I don’t have anything else to do. Another thing was that Fujita sensei originally told me it was casual dress, but when I saw him he was wearing a tie! Thank goodness I didn't believe him. I dressed as if I was ... read more

Sugoi Sensei!!!

Asia » Japan » Tottori » Tottori August 31st 2006

My students

Pear Kimchee

Today was the first day that I really felt like I was having fun at school. I had the first years today and I re-vamped my self introduction so it went a lot better than the first one I did. For the second years, I thought there would be a projector so I brought my lap top and I was going to show them pictures on it. Well once we got to class it turns out that there is no projector and I was going to have to show them my photos on the actual computer. It was just not good and not everyone could see. I got frustrated because things weren’t going smoothly. After that experience I decided to just blow up the photos that I had and put them on cardboard and then ... read more

A typical day

Asia » Japan » Tottori » Tottori August 30th 2006

Yoshioka Onsen bus stop

Pear Kimchee

Wake up between 5-6am, shower, make breakfast (this can vary, if I sleep in a little I just have toast, if not, I have toast and eggs or leftovers or miso and rice). I take the 7:20am bus to Yoshioka where Konan chugakko (JHS) is. The ride takes about 25-30 minutes and I almost always nod off in the morning and in the afternoon when I'm riding the bus. It passes by Koyama pond, which is supposedly the largest pond in Japan, but I think they are fooling themselves by calling it a pond because seriously...it's a lake. I've seen enough lakes to know what they are and Koyama 'pond' is definitely a lake. I pay ￥520 and get off then walk about 3 blocks to Konan. Enter school, take off shoes and change into the ... read more

Random musings

Asia » Japan » Tottori » Tottori August 29th 2006

Pear Kimchee

Yesterday I got bit by mosquitoes....a lot. I have two huge bites on one leg and I have no idea how they bit me! I was wearing pants all day yesterday. I think they got me here at school under my desk. Mosquitoes here are different too, they are bigger I think and look more deadly. I'm trying really hard not to scratch, but it's hard! It is also possible that there is a mosquito in my apartment because I think I got a new bite this morning! I got a bike over the weekend for only ￥3000 plus I paid ￥600 to register it with the police and ￥1200 to get the back tire fixed. Total, that's not too bad. It is a second hand bike, but it works fine now and has a basket! ... read more

Brief history of Japan

In 1603, a Tokugawa shogunate (military dictatorship) ushered in a long period of isolation from foreign influence in order to secure its power. For 250 years this policy enabled Japan to enjoy stability and a flowering of its indigenous culture. Fol...more history

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