Tuesday 26th September - David's third day in Japan!

David arrived safely at Narita Airport just after 9am on Sunday morning. After a few 'technical' problems I was there to meet him and help carry all my heavy presents he brought from back home (!!!). After navigating our way around the aipport to try and find the train station, it was a good few hours before we were well on our way back to Nagano on the Shinkansen. We had an hour between trains in Nagano so indulged in a Starbucks and a walk around the city. Once we were on the wee train back to Iiyama, we met a few groups of my students who all got very excited at seeing David (or "Davido" as they called him!) and took plenty photos (mum - please note correct apostrophe use!) on their camera-phones.

Yesterday, I had a few classes to teach in school so left David to catch up on some more sleep . I had organised to have him visit one of my classes in the afternoon and the students had been preparing questions for him since last week. He surprised us all by turning up in his kilt and the students stood up one by one and asked him their question. The questions varied between "how tall are you?" and "how much do you weigh?" to "what are your dreams?" and "do you think Japanses girls are beautiful?". David answered all their question for them and although most of the students were quite shy, they all began to relax in his company. I had brought in some cakes for the students and some of the sweets David had brought from home for them to try. When we were walking through the corridors after the lesson, you could hear students in classrooms whispering "Davido, Davido" and waving to us from behind classroom windows. A few of the boys even stood up next to David to see how much taller he was than them - very amusing!

Photo - David outside Iiyama Eki.


So, we spent the evening walking around Iiyama and being greeted by students (although it always confuses me when I see them outside school because I can never be sure if they are my students or not! At least in school, if they have tartan-like skirts/trousers on I know they belong to Minami!). We were meeting Makoto and a few others at 7pm for David's welcome party so once everyone had arrived we headed on down to Sabo - the nearest Izikaya to the station.



Photo - Makoto, David, Yoko, Makoto's wife, Jo and Belinda. Later on, Tanaki from the city office also joined us.

Makoto ordered the beers straight away for everyone and chose some 'safe' food options from the menus. We had Tofu and *natto, salads, potato wedges, chicken bones, cheese platter and mini green torillas. A random selection but tasty all the same. The beers were flowing nicely and Makoto even commented that it was so hot today that his beer had evaporated! He then went on to say his glass must have a hole in it! My Japanese friends even surprised me by presenting David with a welcome gift from Iiyama. Very cute!

Friday 22nd September - Yogo Gakko.

Today I visited my second visit school - Yogo Gakko, a school for chidren with disabilities. It was such an experience and one I'll never forget. The school is Elementary and Junior High School combined with classes of 5 or 6 students and maybe 50 students in total. There are so many teachers around the school, with some caring for individual children who are wheelchair bound or suffering from a more severe disability. The general feeling around the school is a very happy one. The day started with an "Ohayoo Gozaimasu" (good morning) song in the classroom and then the students were given their schedule for the day using flashcards and plastic clocks. They then hosted a Takoyaki (fried octopus) party where the children got together in little aprons and yellow bandanas (which I also proudly donned for the occasion) to make their own Takoyaki and then eat... all before 11am! Luckily for me, the Takoyaki wasn't actually made from octopus and just had slices of sausage in the middle instead!

After the party, my teacher and I went to get the children ready for lunch i.e. more aprons and bandanas. For those who are able, they are taught to set their own tables and dish out their own food so lunchtime is set from 11.15am - 1.15pm to allow time for everyone to take part. Teachers and students have their lunch together and I watched as a girl of about 8 or 9 with Downs Syndrome dished up my lunch for me. My teacher told me she would normally never go near a stranger, but by 2pm she was hanging off my arm. I couldn't understand their Japanese and they only knew 'hello' or 'ok' so communicating was left down to gestures and body language. Yuki-chan, the wee girl who served up my lunch wanted me to read with her so as you can imagine i struggled immensly!!!

After lunch (which was rice, miso soup, cold vegetable stew, eel tempura and a bottle of full fat milk) it was cleaning time where all the students did their best to help with the cleaning. The emphasis is not really on the actual cleaning, but more the concept of working together and doing 'normal' school duties. At 2pm there was some dancing and more singing, followed by study time. Each student had their own set of plastic drawers that had different activities depending on their ability. They all quietly got on with their work for about 20 minutes which was then finished off with story time. I didn't quite understand what was being said but at one point one of the teachers pretended to eat a blue fish (cuddly toy), stuffed it under his jumper to show it was in his tummy and then proceeded to act out going to the toilet which produced the story they were going to read!!!! Very funny, and the kids thought it was hilarious! After story time it was free time for the students to play in the park or gym hall with all the various toys laid out for them. At the end of the day, the teachers went to see off all the students onto their buses or meet their parents who had come to pick them up.

I met so many lovely children and hate to single any out but this one wee boy had his own language which only the teachers and his parents undersood. It was amazing to see the teachers communicate with him and know him so well. He was trying to tell them about a TV programme he had seen the previous night and they couldn't work out what it was called, so one of the teachers went to get a newspaper and went through it with him! He was 11 years old, but looked much younger and was so tiny and frail. He insisted that I help him with the mopping after lunch and he was blabbing away the whole time but didn't understand that I couldn't speak Japanese (or even his own special dialogue!).

It was such a memorable day and I enjoyed not having to deal with 17 year olds with big egos and attitudes! Roll on my next visit in October!

Photo Update!

Here are two pics from my cycle in the 'typhoon' with Kyla on Monday - I'm still confused because the weather looks amazing!!! A little old man offered to take a picture of the two of us which was sweet but he insisted that we stood next to this sign?! Not sure what it says though...

The next picture is my lunch to go - its sushi of some kind, tuna I think, and tastes delicious! Very filling! Thought it looked very Japanese in my bento box.

The others are pictures of my 1 room apartment. Through the rice door in the 2nd and 3rd picture is my kitchen and bathroom. Behind the blue curtain is my balcony. And yes, that IS an exercise ball you see next to my desk!

Cuteness Overload...

EVERYTHING in Japanese teenagers' lives is "kawaii", or "cute" to you and me. Shoes are cute, Harro Kitty is cute, Maderin Sensei is cute (!), cell phones are cute... even bugs are cute in their world. But today I experienced the ultimate in cuteness... I went into the school office to pay my rent and was greeted by the office lady (no English remember?!) who handed me a bag. In the bag was a tartan pen holder that she had made for me during the holiday weekend. She looked suitably pleased (and so she should) when I shreaked "kawaii" in my best Japanese teenager accent and thanked her over and over again.

Cute!

Wednesday 20th September

Was at my visit school yesterday and the kids were awful! I could hardly talk at the end of the two lessons because I was trying to shout over their noise! I've started to think they are just rude and inconsiderate, as opposed to not understanding. When I gave them worksheets to do, they usually answer in Japanese and then continue talking. They DEFINITLEY know its English class so I have decided they are just being lazy!!! Grrr....

Spent "Respect the Aged" Day with Kyla after her hike up Mount Fuji (check out the link to her blog as I think she will be posting her pics soon!) and she still managed to rustle up enough energy to go for a cycle to help me find my new school that I will visit on Friday. It was soooo windy and it got a bit scary when we were cycling across the bridge into the next town! Makoto told us it was another typhoon but there was no rain so I’m still a little confused on that one...

Have arranged to have dinner with Makoto, Yoko (my other student), Kyla and... DAVID (!!) next Monday to welcome David to Japan. I also want to make the most of Makoto's Japanese so I don't order dried eel for Dave by mistake! Thursday morning Makoto has offered to drive Dave and me around outer Iiyama to some beautiful places that he has been so keen to show me. We will then go for some Iiyama soba noodles (different from the soba I made at Togakushi...apparently the snow in Iiyama weighs down the wheat crop in winter so.... blah blah) before catching the Shinkansen to Tokyo. Disneyland (or Disneysea we've not decided yet) on Friday and then hang out in Roppongi, Shinjuku and Harajuku on Saturday.

Sunday 17th September

Today's purchases - two tickets for the shinkansen on Sunday 24th September! Yay!

Yesterday's purchases - a whole new wardrobe for just under £80 (I have discovered UNIQLO - Japan's answer to GAP!)

Life is good...

Friday 15th September

Busy week at school - and starting to feel like a real effort! Cycling to school up a huge hill, dodging dragonflies and little green frogs, in torrential downpours (yip, it's still raining and turning everthing in my bag to mush) does not put me in a good mood! Until, I see my favourite vending machine lit up by lights from above (cue angelic harmonies and everything in slow motion) offering me my daily intake of iced coffee. I have 8 brands of iced coffee to chose from, with my favourite only registering 'drastic' on the calories scale (as opposed to 'maximum daily intake' on the others). I choose to wait until I am sat at my desk before I can enjoy, but honestly... it's the highlight of my day! I lead a VERY simple life here in Iiyama.

So, taking inspiration from Kyla's blog I have decided to post some pics from one of my 1st year lesson that I had today. I was teaching them body parts which involved me shouting out parts of the body, which they had to write onto post-it notes and stick to the corresponding body part. Worked quite well - they had fun so I was happy!




I have a long weekend coming up - Monday is 'Respect the Aged' day (seriously) so I have an extra day off. Working so long at the Hydro I forget what public holidays actually feel like! Also, the countdown is on - David flies out in exactly 9 days! (or actually, he flies out a week tomorrow but he won't get to Japan until the Sunday!). He will be a celebrity at my school because once some of the students saw his picture they were convinced he was Orlando Bloom! We have plans to stay in Tokyo for 3 nights and if the weather stays dry I have somehow managed to convince him to take me to Disneyland! Woohoo!!! So, watch this space for more updates!

Sunday 10th September

My bike has been christened... Ricycle the Bicycle!

Courtesy of David. J. Clark, 25, Glasgow.

After a very wet week, the clouds cleared and out came the sunshine in time for the weekend! My weekend started on Friday night with my enkai (office party) at an Izakiya in Iiyama called Hyorokudama. There were 7 of us and my teacher ordered a wide range of food for me to try...

Chicken neck and thigh on skewers (very safe and very yummy!)
Tofu and rock salt
Caeser salad
and then.... I ATE RAW FISH!!!!

We were served up a platter of raw squid, tuna steak, untranslatable shellfish (i.e no one could tell me what it was in English!) all of which I tried and two other raw fish specimens which I didn't try. I very quickly adapted a way of being able to eat the raw fish without gagging - pretend to be struggling with chopsticks while my 'bit of fish' soaks nicely in my bowl of soy sauce which also conveniently covers up the smell! Yuk! It was bearable though and it was only the texture that freaked me out.

Lots of lovely cold beer (called ASAHI - if you can find it in the shops, its really nice) and randomly sparkling sake (!!). Having spent the week mastering cycling in the rain (which involves steering with one hand and holding on to your brolly with the other), I was lured into a false sense of security and thought after a few beers and some sake i'd be perfectly capable of cycling the 3min journey back to my apartment. Lets just say, sake hits you from the feet UP and after spending the whole night sitting on your knees, a random feeling of pins and needles takes over!


Up bright and early on Saturday morning to head into Nagano to meet Kat, Kyla and Belinda for a walk around the shops followed by lunch. Kyla knew of this place in Nagano that served up 'all you can eat' Indian platter of curry and nan for £4.50 (oh and the girls get ice cream) so we set off to track it down. It also doubles up as a jazz cafe with our waiters singing various Carpenters songs in a cheesy karaoke style performance. The whole restaurant was a random mis-match of things - lots of neon signs, cartoons, antiques, Japanese tac and a mini piano akwardly shoved up against the wall. Very Hard Rock Cafe meets Antique Roadshow!




















After a lovely lunch, I headed back to Iiyama to meet Makoto who was taking me to his community Autumn festival called Akimatsuri (sp?). The festival has been a tradition in his neighbourhood for a loooooooong time and basically celebrates the upcoming harvest. It was a great evening - I had dinner with his family and then we went out to wait for a group of young men carrying a huge bonfire over their backs! The idea is quite similar to 'trick or treating', so when the men come round to your house you ply them with sake and watch while they throw things onto the bonfire - usually firecrackers and more sake (the cheap stuff, obviously!). There are sparks and flames dangerously close but still pretty spectacular!

The man in the white top and glasses is Makoto - he was worried that he might look drunk in this photo and didn't want me to show mum and dad if he did! The older guy is Makoto's dad - he sat in this position for hours and was mesmorised by the performances. There is lots of dancing while men play flutes (and drink sake...well, pour it down their throats until they fall over is a better way to describe it) and two children who are selected months in advance give an hour long solo - twice. The pic below is the two 'chosen ones' for this years festival. Apparently Makoto, his father and his son have all been 'chosen' and so are very keen to watch the new ones and explain how difficult their moves are!

7th September - Monsoon Season!

I was going to post yesterday to tell you all it was the worst rain I had EVER seen... untill today that is! Same rain as yesterday x 10 with added fear factor of thunder and lightening. Thought I was going to die today and not because I was soaked through (come on, i live in Scotland) but more the fact that I lost both contacts on the cycle home, the rain was coming at me from all directions and I couldn't see the road!!! The drivers also don't think twice about driving past you at full speed, sending a 12 ft wave of cold puddle water flying through the air to make sure the actual rain didn't miss a bit.

So think we caught the tail end of a typhoon because it has not stop raining!!! I got soaked cycling home from school yesterday (much to the amusement of the students and locals!) and then had to catch a train into Nagano for Club Konnichiwa (My Japanese class, original isn't it?!). My train gets me in far too early for class so I enjoyed my dinner in Starbucks and managed to dry off slightly. I met up with Justin (our PA - Prefectural Advisor - who has the amazing ability to remember everything about everyone and memorised their photos to make sure he doesn't miss anyone!) and Belinda to head on over to our Club K meeting.

Kyla was already there but apart from us, she was the only one! Not many people were brave enough to venture out in the downpour. So, we all sat down and did out introductions before moving on to traditional Japanese tea ceremony lesson. Our teacher kept it very informal and let us try the sweets and bitter green tea. We were then shown how to do Shodou (like Japanese calligraphy) and got to paint words that we like. Subsequently, love and boyfriend were too difficult so I settled with 'genki' which means happy. Kyla did 'yume' which means dream, and Belinda did 'hana' which means flower.





After the class, Belinda and I legged it in the rain back to the Eki to catch the last train home. When I arrived back in Iiyama my poor wee bike was swimming in water and made for an uncomfortable ride home! 'Rusty' is looking like a more appropriate name now...

School this week has been good - students are definitley better when they are kept busy. I had 3rd years design their own Island Nation and prepare posters last week and present to the class today. It went very well considering they are not huge fans of public speaking! I have my first 'enkai' (office welcome party) on Friday night with teachers from my visit school. They keep winding me up about making me eat horse... I just hope they are actually winding me up!

A star is born... 3rd Sept 06

I am now the proud owner of my very own 'Mama Cherry' bike - ain't she a beauty?!

I would like to enlist all of my freinds help in coming up with a name - please write your suggestions in the comments section!

The decision will be made 1 week from today!

P.S Happy Birthday mum! How cute - your birthdays are on the same day!

On the menu tonight... 1st Sept 06

Went to a local Izakaya for some food and drinks on Friday and thought I'd let you know what was on the menu (and I ate them all!!):

1. Liver on skewers
2. Pigs heart
3. Chicken muscle
4. Chicken cartilage (tasted like crackling!)

All washed down with cool beer and sake!

Grass Cutting Day - 1st September 06


Having been told that Friday 1st September was 'grass cutting day' I set my alarm for 5.30 AM (!!!!!!) to meet my neighbours in the carpark to cut some grass. Now, beacuse I haven't seen any grass other than the rice growing in the paddys, I presumed that I'd be hacking down the rice crop. But instead, we were led to a desert patch behind my building to cut down weeds and overgrown trees. I was handed a caveman tool (dad - the wise one - says this is called a sickle) and told to get on with it! I was dodging spiders, toads, grasshoppers and a few unidentified bugs whilst hacking away. This lasted for about an hour and at the end we all bowed at each other and the organiser handed us a can of ice coffee.

Right, well I'm ready to take on these kids now!