Found this good collation of Japanese Ads from just the past couple of weeks. The ads here are crazy. I don't watch TV, but gees they're funny haha. Enjoy
A Journey is an Experience - Part Yin
While there is always going to be difficulties when you live a whole year in an entirely new place. It's important to keep a level head and just see the big picture.
I guess one thing I can try and do is simply remain friendly and try and distinguish myself from the hordes of previous ALT's they've seen. For example I decided to attend a PTA dinner outside of school with the staff members. Costly but an awesome opportunity to talk to more teachers outside of a setting where they're used to seeing the ALT. And one of the teachers even said:
"'It's good to see an ALT as interested as you. Most ALT's would say this kind of thing is too expensive and not come. So thank you!'.
Comments like that make it all worthwhile.
And, when you look at the big picture, regardless of how boring classes may get, or how alienated you can feel, this is still an incredible experience. We went to a region meeting of all the nearby ALT's and some are working entirely solo at numerous schools without an opportunity to even talk to their fellow teachers. I have been incredibly lucky with my placement.
While I may still just be a 'foreigner' at this point, I am getting the opportunity to see a new culture more and more every day. Experiencing a culture is not like you can read about things in a book somewhere, it's about the random sporadic differences between this country and my own. A random song sung in the middle of an assembly, a human pyramid being built with all the new teachers during a PTA dinner, a type of food I've never seen before. It's those little traditions that create a 'culture'. The locals hardly remember why they do it, and it's not until they get someone interested and ask that they realize that it's something unique and think about it themselves.
My local train station.
Sunset at my local train station. Rice just been planted
Rice seedlings are grown in-doors in a greenhouse on trays that a machine plants into the mud as the farmer drives through it.
After a while wind can make a green scum on the water. Insects and frogs and ducks love this so much. Occasionally a farmer needs to scrape some of it off.
I guess one thing I can try and do is simply remain friendly and try and distinguish myself from the hordes of previous ALT's they've seen. For example I decided to attend a PTA dinner outside of school with the staff members. Costly but an awesome opportunity to talk to more teachers outside of a setting where they're used to seeing the ALT. And one of the teachers even said:
"'It's good to see an ALT as interested as you. Most ALT's would say this kind of thing is too expensive and not come. So thank you!'.
Comments like that make it all worthwhile.
And, when you look at the big picture, regardless of how boring classes may get, or how alienated you can feel, this is still an incredible experience. We went to a region meeting of all the nearby ALT's and some are working entirely solo at numerous schools without an opportunity to even talk to their fellow teachers. I have been incredibly lucky with my placement.
While I may still just be a 'foreigner' at this point, I am getting the opportunity to see a new culture more and more every day. Experiencing a culture is not like you can read about things in a book somewhere, it's about the random sporadic differences between this country and my own. A random song sung in the middle of an assembly, a human pyramid being built with all the new teachers during a PTA dinner, a type of food I've never seen before. It's those little traditions that create a 'culture'. The locals hardly remember why they do it, and it's not until they get someone interested and ask that they realize that it's something unique and think about it themselves.
My local train station.
Sunset at my local train station. Rice just been planted
Rice seedlings are grown in-doors in a greenhouse on trays that a machine plants into the mud as the farmer drives through it.
After a while wind can make a green scum on the water. Insects and frogs and ducks love this so much. Occasionally a farmer needs to scrape some of it off.
A Journey is an Experience - Part Yang
Yin and Yang are originally a Chinese motiff but everyone can relate to it in some form. About my experience in Japan? It wouldn't be a complete experience without negatives.
The role of an ALT is an ambiguous one. The government 20 years ago pretty much told every school in Japan they must have one. The first few years were a great success, but I'm pretty sure after that, the 'novelty' eventually started to wear off.
Every year the school gets a new ALT. He's either going to be okay, or be a smelly culturally unaware gaijin. He's only staying for 1 year or maybe 2 so it's not really worth investing time to befriend him that much - maybe just enough to feel welcome. The schools aren't given any guidelines on how to actually utilize the ALT so they will make a decision and the working situation varies all over the country.
So as an ALT, some days (with some teachers) I am literally a living tape recorder just reading out new dialogue. Other days I am just allocated a 10 minute 'game time' at the start and do nothing the rest of the lesson, other days I prepare an entire lesson and run the full 50 minutes entirely in English and other days I work in tandem with the Japanese English teacher, bouncing dialogue off eachother, running games together, and engaging students the entire lesson.
So being an ALT, it CAN sometimes be boring, it CAN feel like you'll never fit in, it can seem as though you are a resource rather than a staff member. On bad days of course.
Fish medallions with a chicken stirfry and miso
Egg & ham omlette with oden casserole and soup
Sweet & sour chicken with oden soup and oden vegetables
Green tea and crispy rice batter encrusted fish with vegetables and chicken and egg miso soup
Tuna salad with a pork medallion and oden soup.
The role of an ALT is an ambiguous one. The government 20 years ago pretty much told every school in Japan they must have one. The first few years were a great success, but I'm pretty sure after that, the 'novelty' eventually started to wear off.
Every year the school gets a new ALT. He's either going to be okay, or be a smelly culturally unaware gaijin. He's only staying for 1 year or maybe 2 so it's not really worth investing time to befriend him that much - maybe just enough to feel welcome. The schools aren't given any guidelines on how to actually utilize the ALT so they will make a decision and the working situation varies all over the country.
So as an ALT, some days (with some teachers) I am literally a living tape recorder just reading out new dialogue. Other days I am just allocated a 10 minute 'game time' at the start and do nothing the rest of the lesson, other days I prepare an entire lesson and run the full 50 minutes entirely in English and other days I work in tandem with the Japanese English teacher, bouncing dialogue off eachother, running games together, and engaging students the entire lesson.
So being an ALT, it CAN sometimes be boring, it CAN feel like you'll never fit in, it can seem as though you are a resource rather than a staff member. On bad days of course.
Fish medallions with a chicken stirfry and miso
Egg & ham omlette with oden casserole and soup
Sweet & sour chicken with oden soup and oden vegetables
Green tea and crispy rice batter encrusted fish with vegetables and chicken and egg miso soup
Tuna salad with a pork medallion and oden soup.
School Camp Bonfire
This week while I was at my other school, my usual school had their 'school camps' where each grade went off and did something cool for 3 days. Third years do a trip to Kyoto & Nara and learn some history and the first years go to a camp ground facility in Gotemba.
I voluntarily came to visit the first years after work one night just to see them do a bonfire thingy. Was pretty unique out in the forest and wildlife and Japanese stuff to boot.
I voluntarily came to visit the first years after work one night just to see them do a bonfire thingy. Was pretty unique out in the forest and wildlife and Japanese stuff to boot.
New School!
I teach at 2 schools in Japan. One of them I only teach one week out of a month and this week was the first week I've been to it. It was a pretty awesome experience seeing where the schools differ in terms of strictness and how they run things slightly differently.
It was also a blast being the 'new ALT' again where all the students do double-takes and want to get to know you again. It should be fun coming here only once a month as each time I come it should be a little novelty to see me again :P
The teachers are also a bit younger with 3 other teachers around 25 and most of them speak some English so I can talk to a few more people in the staff room.
Inter school competition is very very competitive. All students are required to be a member of a 'club/activity' and will often stay after school every day of the week to practice and often entire Saturdays are spent at school doing club stuff. It's quite common to see students going to and from school on the weekends.
This is how attendance is taken haha
The desks are always the same at every school and slide around really really easily to make groups or large tables for lunch times and cleaning times.
most schools have access to a big traditional drum (usually quite expensive) for various traditional events/ceremonies.
It was also a blast being the 'new ALT' again where all the students do double-takes and want to get to know you again. It should be fun coming here only once a month as each time I come it should be a little novelty to see me again :P
The teachers are also a bit younger with 3 other teachers around 25 and most of them speak some English so I can talk to a few more people in the staff room.
Inter school competition is very very competitive. All students are required to be a member of a 'club/activity' and will often stay after school every day of the week to practice and often entire Saturdays are spent at school doing club stuff. It's quite common to see students going to and from school on the weekends.
This is how attendance is taken haha
The desks are always the same at every school and slide around really really easily to make groups or large tables for lunch times and cleaning times.
most schools have access to a big traditional drum (usually quite expensive) for various traditional events/ceremonies.
More Fuji faces
It's great living close to such a photogenic behemoth. Especially if you like taking photos!
Every day it's a bit of a gamble to see if she's hidden or the clouds are giving her a generous berth.
Here are some photos I took which I was mildly happy with. Still learning this photography thing. I think maybe i'll need to get some editing software soon.
All these photos are pretty similar but I cant decide which one I like the most. Make your vote and let me know!
1
2
3
4
5
Every day it's a bit of a gamble to see if she's hidden or the clouds are giving her a generous berth.
Here are some photos I took which I was mildly happy with. Still learning this photography thing. I think maybe i'll need to get some editing software soon.
All these photos are pretty similar but I cant decide which one I like the most. Make your vote and let me know!
1
2
3
4
5
My Birthday in Japan
I didn't go into my Bday expecting much given my parent's always forget to send me things, my sisters barely remember to send me an email and I didn't really know anyone here well enough to validate presents. So all-in-all I was positively surprised by the day.
The school sports carnival was on - so I went in on a Saturday to watch for a few hours. A few of the students and the teachers knew so they wished me happy birthday which was pretty cool. The sports carnival itself was funny (ill tell you more about it later), and it was fun to see some of the students coming up and giving me high fives for being older haha.
Later on in the evening I was planning on going to the nearby city to go to an expat's function at a bar & introduce myself to a few random foreigners, but instead the school had a party to celebrate finishing the sports carnival and they invited me to that instead.
We went to an Izakaya and they surprised me by buying me a cake, singing me happy birthday and having a very fun evening with some good food and of course karaoke.
I also got a new car on Thursday and I bought myself a miniature cactus for $1.50, gave some chocolates to my neighbours as a feel-good and took some more fun shots of fuji on a gorgeous spring day.
Yay for 26!
Suzuki Lapin - super mini compact cutesy tin can of a vehicle brand new!
My new cactus friend :)
My new teachers bought me a cake! Wow so nice of them!
For those that can't read it's "Jay" in Katakana
The school sports carnival was on - so I went in on a Saturday to watch for a few hours. A few of the students and the teachers knew so they wished me happy birthday which was pretty cool. The sports carnival itself was funny (ill tell you more about it later), and it was fun to see some of the students coming up and giving me high fives for being older haha.
Later on in the evening I was planning on going to the nearby city to go to an expat's function at a bar & introduce myself to a few random foreigners, but instead the school had a party to celebrate finishing the sports carnival and they invited me to that instead.
We went to an Izakaya and they surprised me by buying me a cake, singing me happy birthday and having a very fun evening with some good food and of course karaoke.
I also got a new car on Thursday and I bought myself a miniature cactus for $1.50, gave some chocolates to my neighbours as a feel-good and took some more fun shots of fuji on a gorgeous spring day.
Yay for 26!
Suzuki Lapin - super mini compact cutesy tin can of a vehicle brand new!
My new cactus friend :)
My new teachers bought me a cake! Wow so nice of them!
For those that can't read it's "Jay" in Katakana
Pizza Party!
My friend in Toyohashi and her sister were hosting a 'Pizza Party' in their backyard with their home-made pizza kiln. Made the journey for the weekend and had a great time catching up with the family again. Was fun to see the comparison of how my Japanese level has changed over 3 months of travelling. Pizzas were fun too.
Fresh udon noodles for dinner
Masako, her sister Mariko and my birthday all around the same time! :D
Behind the house - awesome day
Makiko
Fresh udon noodles for dinner
Masako, her sister Mariko and my birthday all around the same time! :D
Behind the house - awesome day
Makiko
A Day in Gotemba Parks
Gotemba is unique around Mt Fuji as it has a fairly significant mountain range behind it. This offers some really nice views of Fuji and also some hiking and sight seeing opportunities.
Today, I explored some of the things on the bottom of these mountains. A few memorial parks and peace parks and gardens. Some with view's of Fuji, but others with just lots of garden. Another gorgeous spring day but the notorious Fuji still kept her face mysteriously hidden beneath her white veil of clouds. She's a bit of a velcro stick pad for any clouds in the area.
Heiwa Peace park and Chichibunomiya memorial park
Heiwa Peace Park is a park where a temple was given by an Indian someone and somehoohaa. Lots of Buddhism influence.
In the regular fashion of many statues each depicting something unique to allow pilgrimage of worship of the various types.
Cute little JP garden
Chichibunoymiya park. Lots of pines. Supposed to be a memorial. Lots of flowers. I only looked from the outside as otherwise id miss the last bus. Maybe I'll go again later.
Today, I explored some of the things on the bottom of these mountains. A few memorial parks and peace parks and gardens. Some with view's of Fuji, but others with just lots of garden. Another gorgeous spring day but the notorious Fuji still kept her face mysteriously hidden beneath her white veil of clouds. She's a bit of a velcro stick pad for any clouds in the area.
Heiwa Peace park and Chichibunomiya memorial park
Heiwa Peace Park is a park where a temple was given by an Indian someone and somehoohaa. Lots of Buddhism influence.
In the regular fashion of many statues each depicting something unique to allow pilgrimage of worship of the various types.
Cute little JP garden
Chichibunoymiya park. Lots of pines. Supposed to be a memorial. Lots of flowers. I only looked from the outside as otherwise id miss the last bus. Maybe I'll go again later.
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