Going Home...

Since the nuclear power plant situation has not improved within the last few days I've decided to go back to California for the time being. Hopefully I'll be able to return to Japan after everything gets under control.

I'm okay!

So as you may know on Friday, March 11, 2011 there was an earthquake near Tokyo. However, I live on the western part of the island so the earthquake didn't reach here. There were tsunami warnings but Hiroshima is blocked by an island so the threat was not very great.

I just wanted to let everyone that I'm okay! Keep everyone who was affected by the earthquake in your thoughts and prayers!

Pictures

Just to let you all know...

I uploaded a TON of pictures onto facebook. Too many to post on this wee little blog. If you'd like to see them but don't have a facebook account send me an email and I'll send you a link so you can look at them without having to create a facebook account.

Ja ne,

Jessica

My Apartment!

So this is incredibly late since I've actually been living in this apartment for almost a year! I hit that milestone in two weeks. Anyway, I think these pictures are actually from July. I can't believe I never posted them. Then again, since it's me and I do not update this blog nearly enough I'm not so surprised. Without further ado... these are for you Aunt PA!

My kitchen. Look! I washed dishes!

My shower room (separate from the toilet room).

My "living area."

The view from the balcony. These pictures are actually so old that the empty lot to the left is actually an apartment building now....

Gems From the Students

So today I had a 6 year old girl in my class learning prepositions. The cards she had were "desk" and "library book" and she was supposed to ask me a question about the location of one in relation to the other.

So she asks, "Is there a library in the desk?"

I start to say, "No..." but she cuts me off and says, "No, no! It's a dream door."

"A dream door?" I ask.

"Yes, a dream desk. But not sleep dream," she says.

Awww, my little student was talking about her imagination. So I tell her, "Well if it's a dream desk then there is a library in it."

When I was a kid I never realized how much adults humored me. I guess nobody really does but it seems important to let the kids have their "kid-ness" for as long as they can

.... or at least until they've made it out of the first grade. ;)

On another note, there's an older elementary school boy who always comes an hour before his lesson starts. Usually he's invading the staff room and taking all of our games and props to entertain himself while he waits which drives me up the wall. I go to get a prop I need for my next class and I have to go hunt down this kid and try to explain to him in a language he doesn't really understand why I'm taking his toys away. But he's a big kid, I reason, he knows better!

Now the past couple of weeks I haven't seen him at all it seems until I stumble around a corner and find him laying on the ground engrossed with his PSP. He's so quiet and doesn't take any of our things anymore but now.... now he looks like a zombie. Not to mention it's impossible to get his attention unless you put your hand over the display screen and then it's more like he just pushes your hand away rather than actually acknowledges you.

For instance, today I opened the door to my classroom which usually is not closed and turned on the lights to find him sprawled out on the floor, catatonic and playing his little game.

I'm torn as to how I should feel about his change in behavior. On the one hand it's nice not having someone wreck havoc in our staff room, stealing our stuff but on the other hand.... well, I can only hope I never looked (okay, look) like that when I play(ed) video games.

Bizarro Christmas

Well, it's December 22nd and it hardly feels like Christmas is a few days away. Sure there are all the old Christmas classics playing away in the department stores, the streets in downtown have quite extravagant light displays, and the bakery is even serving snowman and tree pastries (covered in strawberry frosting and filled with cream). I even tried to get with the holiday spirit when I bought a Christmas tree (see below).

I guess what it comes down to is that most Japanese only kind of celebrate Christmas. I have students who believe that Santa Claus brings them presents but a lot of them are going to their schools or studying or going shopping on Christmas Day. It's just not the same but I think that it may be for the best. Now I won't feel so indignant about the fact that I have to work on Christmas or about the 8 classes I have to teach...

I'm even attending a Christmas party on Christmas Eve. We'll eat Christmas cakes and eat Christmas chicken because that's how they celebrate Christmas in Japan. But the festivities might be cut short for me since I have to leave the party early so I can work the next day and teach 8 classes... Ok, so I'm still a little bitter. Anyway, to everyone back home: Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

This is my 105 yen tree complete with ornaments. Some might say cute. Some might say sad. What do you think?

Hiroshima Carp vs. Nagoya Dragons

So this happened in July... I know. I'm a bit behind in updates.

On one of our shopping trips, I mentioned to my coworker Fumie how much I like going to baseball games and how I wanted to go to one in Japan. (Btw, I'm starting to think that we go on so many shopping trips because I suggest it would be fun and she feels obligated to accept, lol. I have fun. I hope she does too. At least now that my Japanese is improving a lot more.) A bit later she tells me that her family wants to invite me to go to a game because her dad works at a university and can get tickets. I was so surprised and thanked her profusely and said how sweet it was to think of me (but I'm starting to realize that people can be nice to me because they're curious about this English teaching gaijin and just want a foreign experience so I guess it's win-win? lol).

So the day of the game, I decide I need to go shopping for the things I need to make a dessert. Earlier in the week I realized if would be in very bad taste to go empty handed after they had gone to all the trouble of inviting me and getting the tickets. I wanted to make an "American" dessert but as I only have a toaster oven it's a little hard to bake and although I've been told that I can bake in my microwave (it's a literal microwave oven) and that the previous NET would make brownies I"m still wary of sticking a metal baking sheet in it and pressing start.

So what's an American dessert that doesn't require baking and that has relatively simple ingredients… Funnel cake! So my mom emails me the recipe and day of, I go to get all of the things. But of course I didn't plan this well and time is ticking away and getting closer to the time I'm supposed to meet them at the station. So I get all the ingredients, even a measuring cup and a mixing bowl and heal the oil in the pan, get a spoonful of batter, go to grab a funnel when I realize, I forgot to get one. So after 30 seconds of staring blankly into the oil wondering what I should do I wing it with the spoon. The shape doesn't affect the taste, I reason. And no it doesn't but presentation is very important here. So I bust out a batch top it with powdered sugar (remembered that) put 'em in a cute bag I picked up at the 100 yen store, don the carp jersey I got my dad and head out the door. Now, I"m writing this in December but back in July when this happened it was just starting to become hellishly hot so I wasn't wearing a jacket. i got my fair share of stares as I walked around in my bright red oversized carp jersey, a little foreign girl who rarely ventures into the city during the daylight.

I made it with time to spare. At the station maybe I stood out less. People everywhere were wearing bright red and white jerseys. Or maybe a stood out more as the only person in a red jersey standing alone, haha. They were late, surprisingly and I got profuse apologies for it. No worries, I'm always arriving after Fumie when we go shopping even if I am actually on time. I always feel late.

So we made our way to the stadium and I snapped some photos along the way. There was this giant crowd and we sort of paraded in the direction of the stadium.

Fumie's parents don't really speak English, kind of how I didn't really speak Japanese at the time. We both knew a few words and phrases but Fumie was our translator. Still, it wasn't the least bit awkward. For me, anyway.

First thing, we found our seats and then Fumie's dad asked who wanted beer. I politely declined but they insisted that we all drink and that they pay.I took a moment take scan the staium and all I could see was red, save for this one area in the nosebleeds where people were rocking the Nagoya Dragons blue.

The cheers were deafening. There was even a band made up of fans not affiliated with the team or stadium that played each player's cheer.

Fumie's dad gave me a pair of thundersticks so I could join in on the cheering. But soon we decided we were hungry and went to peruse the food counters. I never would have thought udon to be a viable food to serve at a stadium what with all the raucous cheering and recreational beer drinking but as I've learned, things just have a way of working out in Japan.

There was takoyaki, udon, okonomiyaki, yakitori, etc. We settled on okonomiyaki and afterwards snacked on squid jerky and cheese with a dried fish coating (surprisingly good).

After dinner, I brought out the funnel cakes. Turns out, they don't keep well. They were soggy from the oil and the powerderd sugar was already absorbed but Fumie's family ate them up and told me how good they wre. I kept offering and they kept accepting even though they'd said they were stuffed after dinner. Thank goodness for excellent manners and oseiji (complimenting someone even though you don't mean it just to make them feel good).

During what we would call the seventh inning stretch (although it didn't take place during the 7th inning, I want to say it was the 5th but I can't remember) we got balloons. Really big, red balloons that we blue up and while they played the carp song we sang along (I tried to, at least) and then we let the balloons go. Once the balloons deflated back to the ground they were cleaned up extraordinarily fast.

As the game drew to a close we realized the Carp would be shut out but the cheering never once let up. Not even when the Dragons were up to 7 runs (5 of which I think all happened in 1 inning). Even when the last out was called and the game was officially over, the fans left the stadium relatively cheerful possibly satisfied with the enjoyable time they just had.

As we made our way out of the stadium, I got a few souvenirs- the only things I actually bought that night. I got a hello kitty carp baseball player phone charm and a "Slyly" key chain. While the team is called the Carp, "Slyly" (the mascot) is a cross between a Sesame Street monster and an oddly colored muppet. He's bright blue and green with some orange and red. Similarly, the Nagoya Dragons have a giant blue koala who riles up the fans and gets them excited.

We didn't get back to the station until after 10pm. We walked with the crowd of people and caught a taxi to where they had parked and they insisted on driving me home. When my sister came to visit, I had her bring me some jerseys (Matsui and Ichiro) and I gave them to Fumie's family as a thank you. Her dad wrote me a nice letter which she translated.

All in all, a highly enjoyable experience. :)

More stories to come soon!