By the way... sorry about the other night (yesterday). The guys building a monster home across the street hit some cables and down went my Internet, television and telephone... for almost 24 hours!
The guys at the cable company were surprised to learn that people in my neighbourhood were without service. They asked me why I didn't call them sooner. I told them I didn't have any telephone service (again). They asked why I didn't use my cell phone. I don't have one, I told them. This stunned the person trying to help me, as apparently I am the only person in Canada without a cellphone. Hey! No one is belling THIS cat, Roger that!
(Bell and Rogers are two of the bigger telecommunications companies in Canada). They then attempted to sell me on a new cell phone and plan - rather than work at resolving the main problem of me not having any services. Idiots.
It's Friday, August 30, 1991.
I have to go into work -- the Ohtawara Board of Education (OBOE) - I do, and spend it putting together some of my prefectural newsletter for the English-speaking teachers in Tochigi-ken (Prefecture of Tochigi).
I leave at 11AM and head back home.
My mom is leaving Ohtawara-shi (City of Ohtawara) to go back to Toronto.
I change clothes and then carry my mom's two suitcases downstairs. The taxi comes at exactly 1PM, per my friend Naoko's orders.
We travel via Shinkansen (bullet train) from Nasushiobara-eki (Nasushiobara train station) down to Ueno-eki (Ueno train station) in Tokyo, and then hop aboard a Skyliner shuttle train to Narita airport in Chiba-ken (Chiba Prefecture).
My mom is talking a lot to me, but I have to admit I am kind of stunned, and I have no idea what she said to me. While the first part of our vacation together worked out great for me (we met in Thailand where I abandoned her in the evenings after sight-seeing together, to go and hook up with a security guard and waitress at our hotel for awesome fun sexual times). The middle part I was moody, but luckily she went off on her own to see Japan herself. When she got back - well, let's just say the last three days were great thanks to the efforts of Ohtawara International Friendship Association, friends Naoko and Tokunori, and the OBOE. Without their help I fear she might have had a crappy time with me. Instead I have memories to last a lifetime--and now after putting it here in this blog, it will last until we get hit by an EMP (electro-magnetic pulse) that could wipe out computers and thus civilization as we know it. EMPs are usually caused by nuclear weapons et al. Let's hope that never happens.
At the airport, we have our last snack together: an apple pie and an espresso for her, and a banana choco-pie and a beer for me. I just love that you can get such a wide mix of stuff at a kiosk in Japan.
Then we say our good-byes. See you next year... maybe. I really do like Japan a lot, and am already thinking of staying a third year. I wish I could even stay longer, but the JET (Japan Exchange & Teaching) Programme only allows participants to stay a total of three years--if their educational office wants them of course.
I'm not sad or depressed or anything... but rather glad... glad I got to spend some time with her. I didn't realize she would be dead in two years.
I go out and purchase some magazines--one of which I will utilize in a blog tomorrow to explain a few things about Japanese culture and language (I hope).
Heading home via bullet train, it's packed and I have to stand all the way... probably making some Japanese person a little afraid that the big gaijin (foreigner) is looking down her top. I was, but she had no reason to be afraid... I mean, it's nothing I haven't seen before - especially since arriving here in Japan 13 months ago.
Back at the train station, I'm too tired top bother going down to a closer train station and then catching a bus home, so I just take a taxi all the way.
Arriving home at 9:30PM, I fry and egg or two, drink a Coke and watch some videos of Tiny Toons that my brother, Ben, had taped for me. Ben, by the way, won an Emmy award for writing for Roly Poly Ollie, a kids cartoon/computer-generated show that won best children's television program... all of the writers got one. That was maybe 10 years later. I do recall that at home, we had to enlarge all of the doors at the top so he could fit his head through there! I kid. I'm proud of my entire family.
Back in Ohtawara-shi, Matthew - ever the good friend - calls to see if things went well for my mom's departure. I assume so. After chatting for a few minutes, I suddenly hit a wall and get very tired and am actually in bed at 11PM.
Somewhere in my apartment by myself,
Andrew Joseph
Today's blog title is by Queen: EASYCOMEEASYGO.
PS: It is speculated the song is about lead singer Freddie Mercury personal demons with relationships. I'll just leave it at that and not speculate any further... but I think I just figured out that personal demons with relationships - that's what my ramblings of my past are all about. I'm not gay - not that there's anything wrong with that in my opinion... but really, life is all about relationships. Work, home, whatever. I can't write a cool song like this, so I do this blog. It's not in the same league, of course, but one does the best one can.
PPS: Lots more to come.
Showing posts with label Suzuki-san. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Suzuki-san. Show all posts
Sharp Dressed Man
It's still Friday, July 5, 1991.
I'm an assistant English teacher (AET) inthe JET (Japan Exchange & Teaching) Programme living in Ohtawara-shi,Tochigi-ken, Japan. I've been here for nearly a year and despite being stalkedby a gorgeous Japanese woman 21 years of age who could have been a lingeriemodel - if she liked wearing lingerie, Japan has been a great place to getlaid. Oh... and I've learned a lot about the Japanese culture too—so verydifferent from those old Godzilla and AstroBoy movies and cartoons. I think I wasactually a bit disappointed to learn that Japan doesn't have a lot of robotseverywhere.
I was at the OBOE (Ohtawara Board ofEducation) office today where they all kind of had a great laugh with me tocheer me up.
They all knew that while I was happy toget rid of Junko and her stalking, they all knew a beautiful woman like thatwas going to make Andrew also miss her stockings. That's a joke. While theaverage Japanese woman thinks nothing of wearing pantyhose in July, asmentioned before, Junko tended to shun lingerie–or at least she did when shewas around me. Keep that 'lack of lingerie' thought in mind as you read on.
At 2:30PM I leave the OBOE and head hometo prepare myself for a KENSHO enkai. I believe kensho means 'enlightenment' -but in this case, it essentially a party for us JET people to say good-bye tothose who have been here and are leaving.
Matthew has his boss Suzuki-san pick meup at 3PM, and the three of us drive down to Utsunomiya-shi (Tochigi'scapital).
We arrive at 4:45PM - but Suzuki-sandoesn't come in. He just dropped us off and went back home. What a nice guy!Suzuki-san is the atypical Japanese stereotype. Sure he has a dark blue suit,tie and black hair and glasses... but he's one of the funniest guys I've evermet!
The party really is a good-bye party, andto be honest - whoopee. Aside from Mary, her boyfriend Peter, Catherine (akaGasoline), the Izatt family - all of whom I had afair bit of contact with and were always more than kind... the rest of them I didn't really know. It's not too surprising... there was an age difference,and experience difference - (some had been there three years and didn't want tobaby-sit a first year - I understand that), some were a couple, some preferredhanging out with the Japanese only and still others were either loners orsocial outcasts.
At the party the wife of the JET Japaneseliaison keeps asking me personal questions: if I'm married, do I have agirlfriend, when will I get married - the real important questions in life...They are important, but who the heck can answer any them - especially when Idon't even know if I had a girlfriend this week or just a sexual predatorstalking me.
I don't mind the questions, to behonest... at least she's asking in English, and at least she is talking to ME.She might have done it to everyone, but at least I wasn't ignored. I suspectshe wanted to talk to me as I already had a bit of a reputation for being ...flamboyant... and pretty happy-go-lucky. I guess my board of education may havealso said some nice things about me. I'm sure every Japanese person knew I wasbeing stalked though I sure as heck haven't told any JET people about it!
I wasn't sad at the party... until I sawAnita Brudos. God what a sexy woman. If only she was single... but I'm way toimmature for her.
I spend most of the evening talking withChris Rathbone and Nicholas Strachan - two of the most impressive drinkers Ihave ever come across - and that's saying something considering my ownabilities.
Nicholas, has a posh English accent and actually lived about threekilometres north of where I grew up in Toronto... but we had never met prior toarriving in Japan last August. Chris... he's a big guy. Shy.. I'm trying toremember... but I think he's from Saskatchewan... He's a CIR on the JETProgramme... which means his Japanese is sublime.
After the enkai, the three of us arejoined by Sarah Knight (not her real family name) and go out drinking. I don'tknow Sarah very well - and 20 years later I'm having a bugger of a timeremembering what she looks like... I did write down in my diary, however, thatshe was very, very sexy.
A whole bunch of AETs look for a placecalled 'Masquerade', but no one seems to know where it is, so the four of usbreak away from the group and go into a tiny bar. There we each have fourtequila shooters and three beers. At that time Chris calls up a lady friend ofhis - Yumiko. When she arrives - zooey mama! She is hot! Almost Junko-like hot!
The five of us move to a place call the'Sahara Club'. Even with a discount, it costs us Y3500 ($35) each to get in,though we do get a couple of drink coupons.
You needed to have a suit and tie or areally short dress to get in... and I'm going to leave the joke up to you as towhat I was wearing.
The place looks like I would imagine alate 21st Century dance joint. Lasers. Dry ice. Weird papier-mache statues. Thedance floor has a dual riser ringing it with people dancing atop the risers...or rather only slutty looking Japanese women in very short skirts were dancingon them. They were perched at just the right level so guys could look up theirskirts. Not all of them wore underwear. I had to check.
We all head out to the dance floor... meby myself and not really caring, either. Damn tequila.
I danced for about 30 minutes and headedback to the table we had scoped out for a rest. Waiters immediately rushed overand gave us (I was followed back by the others) towels to wipe ourselves down.
I'm asked to go dance by Sarah... Nickdoesn't care... I think they are just friends. But, as the two of us head backout, we are followed by Yumiko, and a suddenly hard-charging Chris.
Nick is wasted. Yumiko ignores Chris anddances facing me. Aw crap. Sarah leaves. Aw crap. So I concentrate on Yumiko -much to Chris' chagrin.
Chris, correctly feeling jealous, tells meto go and check out some of the other woman. He's cool about it so I do. It'sthe right thing to do after all. But Yumiko follows me and asks me to dance.Chris, Yumiko and I do this several times more... but when Chris finally asksher to dance - he hadn't previously - Yumiko squeezes my thigh and tells me tocome, too.
Since I am now feeling the effects of thetequila and I'm trying to get away from Yumiko for Chris' sake... I hop uponto a riser and begin dancing wildly. I'm actually a decent dancer... shhhhh,don't tell anyone.
I dance with one of the slutty dancers -but when I spin around, she's gone, and in her place is Yumiko. She grindsherself against my crotch... I have to slow down on the booze, because I'mpretty sure that right now I couldn't finish what she's wanting me to start.
Regardless... Chris is pissed off at me.I don't really care, because I am doing my darndest to avoid her... but she keeps stalking me all across the dancefloor.
I stop drinking booze and just have Coke.
At 2AM, we leave. I think Nick and Sarahfollowed me back to my hotel room - but fortunately he's not there for thenight, as I sleep with Sarah.
Somewhere not even trying to get laid,
Andrew Joseph
Today's blog title is spun by ZZ Top:ELIMINATOR!
Plus you should check out THIS video... the guitars aren't great, but the drummer is Awesome!
PS: I'm pretty sure I never talked toSarah again after that evening... not because of anything - just that I nevercame across her again... and you can read whatever you want into thatstatement. She may have gone home. Or she just never came out to another JETevent again. It's a pity, because I'm sure she would have remembered me.
PPS: Another blog in 24 hours.
PPS: Another blog in 24 hours.
New Year's Day
And then I remember that I'm in Japan.
I've been afforded an opportunity to experience a new language, people, foods and culture that, relatively speaking, few people will ever get to do.
It also helps to have a great friend like Matthew Hall.
There was a fair bit of snow on the ground - 30 centimetres (12 inches), it was chilly with a slight wind, but generally quite a nice night. For those of you who think that Japan is a tropical clime - well, maybe it is in Okinawa way, way south of the main island, but here in Ohtawara, the weather is very close to Toronto's... just not as cold in the winter (and less snow) and more heat and humidity in the summer.
It was around 7:30PM. Feeling down about life, I took a swig from a 2-litre bottle of Coca-Cola and flipped on the television.
THUD-THUD! went my door as someone knocked on it. My friend and supervisor, Kanemaru-san had broken my doorbell yesterday in THIS BLOG.
Grumbling under my breath as to who it could be now (VIDEO), I glanced through the peephole seeing Matthew and his teacher Hideaki Suzuki-san.
This Mr. Suzuki was the first Mr. Suzuki I had ever met in Japan, and he was by far the funniest.
Matthew and I must have lucked out/in (whichever one is good luck), because we seemed to be surrounded in good-natured folk who not only took an interest in our work-life, but also in our home-life, without being overly intrusive.
Anyhow, Matthew and Mr. Suzuki had dropped by to see if I would like to join them at the Ohtawara Temple to ring in the new year. Seeing as how I had nothing better to do and liked these two guys, I did not hesitate to say HAI! (yes!). Although in fairness, if I was closer in distance to that babe Kristine, I would have dropped these guys like a bowl of natto! I'm just saying, is all.
So... we arrive at Koushin-ji (ji means 'temple;) in downtown Ohtawara near the AiAi town grocery store.
It's packed to near over-flowing with people, but I don't see any priests or monks. Apparently it's a tradition for folks to go to the temple's bell (bottom right corner of the temple, and the photo at the top of this blog), make a small donation, pray in front of it and then pull the rope to make the bell ring--I might be wrong, but I believe the ringing of the bell is to wake up the gods to make them hear your prayer/wish.
Maybe it was the fact that there were suddenly TWO gaijin walking amongst them like Godzilla versus Mothra, but we created quite the stir there. I can't speak for Matthew - though in this blog I have certainly tried - but as we moved closer to the bell near the centre of the complex, I kept hearing my name whispered about in growing crescendo.
"an-do-ryu-sensei, An-do-ryu-sensie, AN-do-ryu-sensie; AN-Do-ryu-sensei; AN-DO-ryu-sensei: AN-DO-RYU SENSEI!" (which translates into Andrew Teacher, if my name was said in Japanese Katakana-alphabet phonetics).
It was cool. Having been extremely shy until I was about 24 years of age, I was reveling in my new-found glory at the age of 26.
I was famous. Almost as famous as I was in my own now-egomanical mind. Not surprisingly, I cracked a smile and waved to a few of the people chanting my name--all of whom seemed to be students there with their respective families.
As I walked to the steps toward the bell, a thunderous hush came over the crowd, as they waited breathlessly to see just what the hell a gaijin was going to do at their temple.
The thought did enter my mind that what I was doing might be sacrilegious, but neither Mr. Suzuki or Matthew seemed concerned, and both continued to march alongside me.
I hope they didn't feel like C-3PO, R2-D2 and Chewbacca standing around while Han and Luke got a medal from Princess Leia. NO MEDAL video.
As I approached the bell's rope, Mr. Suzuki whispered that I should toss in a five yen coin, clasp my hands together like I was praying, close my eyes and lower my head slightly; pray; and then pull the rope.
Seems simple enough.
I pulled out my Hanshin Tiger's coin purse (the Tigers are a Japanese baseball team that had ex-Toronto Blue Jays Cecil Fielder on it. Cecil is the big daddy to Prince Fielder, an all-star with the 2010 Milwaukee Brewers).
The crowd sucked in a ton of air, causing many a nearby flaming torch to go out.
Apparently you have to specifically use a five yen coin - not five one yen coins.
I figured, what's the difference? It was the only way I could get rid of these stupid coins!
After Mr. Suzuki quickly explained to me my gaff while interjecting the word bakayaro (stupid idiot) a few times, I offered to do it again, but with the proper coinage.
He shook his head in the negative and gave me one of those looks suggesting that it was alright and that I should continue. I believe it involves a squint and the pushing up of the lower lip hard into the upper lip, while shaking your head.
I prayed. I pulled the bell's rope ringing the 1,875-kilogram bell. I moved to the right and began walking away--to applause.
I was getting a standing ovation - probably because there were no seats - but people seemed to appreciate my effort.
I turned and watched Mr. Suzuki toss in five one yen coins and do his thing. His coins toss was followed by a chorus of "Yata"'s as everyone suddenly realized that using one yen coins was just as good as using a five yen coin! Yata is like a "hooray!" and no one really cares for the one-yen coin, which is the monetary equivalent of $0.000112903 CDN. Visit HERE, if you don't believe me.
Although I had now been here in Japan for five months, this may have been the first time I was actually able to sway people into trying something new.
There's a cultural thing in Japan where if you or I were to present the greatest thing since sliced bread to the Japanese, they would suck in air between their teeth and try and find a nice way to suggest that the old way they've been doing things is still the best way, sliced bread be damned. They prefer rice, anyhow.
Somewhere, a ringing bell means another angel has got his wings---that's from the Jimmy Stewart movie where I swiped the title of this blog from. Jimmy rules!
Okay, that ending was lame. Let's try again.
Somewhere, it's a new year, and I feel good about things again,
Andrew Joseph
PS: Today's title by U2.
PPS: With all that bell pulling, Suzu-ki translates into Bell-tree.
PPPS: What did I wish for? Better times with Ashley? Any time with Kristine? My apartment to defrost? Believe it or not, I wished for the altruistic world peace rather than the women.
PPPS: Wish I had a do over. My apartment is freezing, but better times with the women might have helped me feel warmer.
I, Me, Mine
Wednesday, November 7, 1990
Today is the last day of my self-introductions. The Chikasono Junior High School 1-1 class (class number one, of the grade 7¹s or first year's) actually ask me questions.
The 3-2 class (class number two of the grade 9's of third year's) is my 72nd and last self-introduction. When class ends at 11:30AM, I toss up my hands and say Yee-haw! People look me funnily, but chalk it up to my strange foreign ways.
I play video games on the school's computer, eat lunch again with the principal and vice-principal - it's not natto, but a very tasty meat and vegetable stew that warms me up from the chilly day. It's about 7C outside
and inside‹there¹s no central heating in these schools. In fact, heat is derived from a boiler moved into each room when it gets really cold - apparently, this is not considered really cold despite the shivering students, teachers and gaijin (me).
After lunch I watch a kendo (Japanese fencing) class hammer a tractor tire with their wooden practice swords to develop good striking technique. Looks like it's working. I'll have to remind myself to never to piss off a
teenager in Japan in case they know judo, kyudo or kendo.
In the afternoon classes, we play'"Guess the word' featuring: "I like to watch (blank)". Unfortunately, it takes 25 minutes for Sasanuma-sensei to explain the instructions to the kids (in Japanese). Hey! At least he tried something different! Apparently, the kids who were unable to answer a translation of the blank word room English to Japanese would be forced to stand until it was their turn to answer again. There were 30 kids in the class. Last kid sitting wins.
I real aloud the questions (about Australia) from a book. Yawn.
After school I join the table-tennis club and hold my own against these Olympic-level athletes whom I am sure are taking it easy on me. After I leave the gym, I can hear the speed of the ping-pong ball suddenly get louder and faster. Yup. They definitely took it easy on me. What nice kids.
I head home with Sasanuma-sensei at 5:15PM. Ashley¹s already there, and so is a package. It¹s from Jeff Seaman, a cool dude from Yuba City, California who accidentally stepped in a Japanese commode on our second night in Japan. There but for the grace of stronger kidneys plod I.
Jeff has sent me comic books. Jeff knows I have a large collection around 20,0000 in 1990 and Jeff, well, he wrote his Master¹s thesis on Batman: The Dark Knight, a four-issue graphic novel that redefined the super-hero as an anti-hero. Besides his choice of thesis material, Jeff is so even-keeled, charming and witty, there¹s nothing there to dislike.
No time to read the books right now, though. I hop in the shower and wait for Kanemaru-san to come and pick us (Ashley and I) up for kyudo. Every Wednesday.
I'm still pretty pissy, however when we go to kyudo. For one and a half hours I sulk as I can't participate because of my still sore ribs. Nothing broke, but I did bruise the bone‹and that always takes longer to heal than a break.
After Kanemaru-san drops us off back at my place, Naoko and Suzuki-san of the Ohtawara International Friendship Association drop by and I agree to start teaching on a full-time basis on Mondays at 7PM beginning December 10 & 17 (before the Christmas break) (Hey! Are they celebrating Christmas over here???!!) doing one-and-a-half hour classes. Ashley declines to teach, but Matthew joins up. He will teach the more advanced students owing to his more advanced Japanese language skills. I'm still not sure where or when he learned that, but even after just three-plus months here, he is light-years ahead of me on trying to pick up the Japanese language and Japanese women.
Suzuki-san gives Ashley and I a Christmas cactus and explains that it is supposed to bloom in Christmas. It's blooming right now, though.
Ashley and I relax, eat pizza, drink Coke and watch videos. Someone phones and hangs-up. Matthew comes over. Drunk. Damn. No sugar tonight. One day, I will get him back by snoring so loud at his house in Vermont that no one there will get any sleep. Hee-hee.
They all leave at 10PM. I call Jeff and thank him profusely for his kind gift in advance of my birthday in a couple of days. He's the only one in this country who calls me A.J., which is what all my friends back home call me. Who's Andrew?
I clean-up and am in bed by 11:30. I¹m too tired to do any ironing though. It may sound stupid, but prior to arriving in Japan, I had never ironed before, but there is something cathartic about it. I do a lot of ironing in
Japan.
Somewhere holding my own (thanks, Matthew),
Andrew Joseph
Today is the last day of my self-introductions. The Chikasono Junior High School 1-1 class (class number one, of the grade 7¹s or first year's) actually ask me questions.
The 3-2 class (class number two of the grade 9's of third year's) is my 72nd and last self-introduction. When class ends at 11:30AM, I toss up my hands and say Yee-haw! People look me funnily, but chalk it up to my strange foreign ways.
I play video games on the school's computer, eat lunch again with the principal and vice-principal - it's not natto, but a very tasty meat and vegetable stew that warms me up from the chilly day. It's about 7C outside
and inside‹there¹s no central heating in these schools. In fact, heat is derived from a boiler moved into each room when it gets really cold - apparently, this is not considered really cold despite the shivering students, teachers and gaijin (me).
After lunch I watch a kendo (Japanese fencing) class hammer a tractor tire with their wooden practice swords to develop good striking technique. Looks like it's working. I'll have to remind myself to never to piss off a
teenager in Japan in case they know judo, kyudo or kendo.
In the afternoon classes, we play'"Guess the word' featuring: "I like to watch (blank)". Unfortunately, it takes 25 minutes for Sasanuma-sensei to explain the instructions to the kids (in Japanese). Hey! At least he tried something different! Apparently, the kids who were unable to answer a translation of the blank word room English to Japanese would be forced to stand until it was their turn to answer again. There were 30 kids in the class. Last kid sitting wins.
I real aloud the questions (about Australia) from a book. Yawn.
After school I join the table-tennis club and hold my own against these Olympic-level athletes whom I am sure are taking it easy on me. After I leave the gym, I can hear the speed of the ping-pong ball suddenly get louder and faster. Yup. They definitely took it easy on me. What nice kids.
I head home with Sasanuma-sensei at 5:15PM. Ashley¹s already there, and so is a package. It¹s from Jeff Seaman, a cool dude from Yuba City, California who accidentally stepped in a Japanese commode on our second night in Japan. There but for the grace of stronger kidneys plod I.
Jeff has sent me comic books. Jeff knows I have a large collection around 20,0000 in 1990 and Jeff, well, he wrote his Master¹s thesis on Batman: The Dark Knight, a four-issue graphic novel that redefined the super-hero as an anti-hero. Besides his choice of thesis material, Jeff is so even-keeled, charming and witty, there¹s nothing there to dislike.
No time to read the books right now, though. I hop in the shower and wait for Kanemaru-san to come and pick us (Ashley and I) up for kyudo. Every Wednesday.
I'm still pretty pissy, however when we go to kyudo. For one and a half hours I sulk as I can't participate because of my still sore ribs. Nothing broke, but I did bruise the bone‹and that always takes longer to heal than a break.
After Kanemaru-san drops us off back at my place, Naoko and Suzuki-san of the Ohtawara International Friendship Association drop by and I agree to start teaching on a full-time basis on Mondays at 7PM beginning December 10 & 17 (before the Christmas break) (Hey! Are they celebrating Christmas over here???!!) doing one-and-a-half hour classes. Ashley declines to teach, but Matthew joins up. He will teach the more advanced students owing to his more advanced Japanese language skills. I'm still not sure where or when he learned that, but even after just three-plus months here, he is light-years ahead of me on trying to pick up the Japanese language and Japanese women.
Suzuki-san gives Ashley and I a Christmas cactus and explains that it is supposed to bloom in Christmas. It's blooming right now, though.
Ashley and I relax, eat pizza, drink Coke and watch videos. Someone phones and hangs-up. Matthew comes over. Drunk. Damn. No sugar tonight. One day, I will get him back by snoring so loud at his house in Vermont that no one there will get any sleep. Hee-hee.
They all leave at 10PM. I call Jeff and thank him profusely for his kind gift in advance of my birthday in a couple of days. He's the only one in this country who calls me A.J., which is what all my friends back home call me. Who's Andrew?
I clean-up and am in bed by 11:30. I¹m too tired to do any ironing though. It may sound stupid, but prior to arriving in Japan, I had never ironed before, but there is something cathartic about it. I do a lot of ironing in
Japan.
Somewhere holding my own (thanks, Matthew),
Andrew Joseph
You Talk Too Much
Tuesday, October 30, 1990 – the Speech Contest
Matthew arrives at my place at 8:15AM, and we make the five-minute bike ride to the Ohtawara City offices to judge a speech contest featuring junior high school students from Ohtawara and surrounding small villages (where Matthew and Jeanne Mont Blanc teach. Jeanne lives in the same building as Ashley in Nishinasuno, and is a mature-acting, very intelligent young woman from Quebec who I’m sure likes to have fun, but is still a very private individual).
At the contest site, no one comes over to talk with us, except for Shibata-sensei of Dai Chu (Ohtawara Junior High School) and Suzuki-san (Matthew’s boss who was probably the funniest person I met in Japan and a super nice guy). Jeanne rolls in at 9AM – better she should have stayed away.
The speeches begin. There’s little difference in their reading styles, though the three girls I helped yesterday at Sakuyama are quite good and earn high marks from me. Oh yeah. We weren’t introduced at this contest or told how to mark the contestants, so I made up my own system – but we did get to sit right at the very front.
At lunch (it’s raining), we three AETs are served a bento box lunch by the female teachers, who also serve the other male Japanese teachers in attendance. Sexist or what?
Anyhow, after eating, we three head over to Mosburger for more food. I stop by the nearby Iseya department store and hand in some film and post a few letters.
We head back to the contest to listen to the remainder of the speeches. Boredom can’t even come close to how I felt. When its finally over at 4PM, all of the results are collected—but not ours. Now I’m mad. Why are we here? Did we do something wrong? Is this our punishment?
Tomura-sensei (English teacher at Wakakusa Chu (Wakakusa Junior High School) asks the AETs to make a few comments about the speeches we just heard. Wha-?!
I make up some stuff on the spot, as do Matthew and Jeanne. We’re all pretty angry as we ride home in the rain.
At 7PM that night, Ashley calls telling me she has no get-up-and-go (no kidding… it’s pretty much the cause of my friction with her). She says she knows she has schoolwork to prepare (She’s probably a far better teacher than me, because I have never prepared and will never prepare a single thing for my team-teaching classes in three years), but doesn’t want to do it. I want to call her a lazy cow, but think better of it. I know what I was like when I was her age (22 – I’m 26 in another week). I was lazy. I tell her to stop reading my Shadowland book and write a letter to her sister, folks and friends back home – her schoolwork can wait.
Matthew comes over – we make fried chicken (okay, Matthew does) and watch episodes of Quantum Leap and Max Headroom that his folks sent over in VCR format. I tell ya, that Matthew was a life-saver for my fragile mental and emotional health.
On a bathroom break, I pass by the room I call my den that has a balcony facing the west. I discover why my apartment is so friggin;’ cold—as my building superintendent must have come by to fix the lock on my den’s outside sliding door, and neglected to close it. I’ve had cold air blowing into my apartment for three weeks! The apartment quickly warms up, though a quick glance at my five-gallon goldfish aquarium shows me my fish are facing away from me with their large bulbous heads in a corner. I wonder if they suffer from depression. Does Ashley? Do I?
Somewhere asleep at midnight,
Andrew Joseph
Matthew arrives at my place at 8:15AM, and we make the five-minute bike ride to the Ohtawara City offices to judge a speech contest featuring junior high school students from Ohtawara and surrounding small villages (where Matthew and Jeanne Mont Blanc teach. Jeanne lives in the same building as Ashley in Nishinasuno, and is a mature-acting, very intelligent young woman from Quebec who I’m sure likes to have fun, but is still a very private individual).
At the contest site, no one comes over to talk with us, except for Shibata-sensei of Dai Chu (Ohtawara Junior High School) and Suzuki-san (Matthew’s boss who was probably the funniest person I met in Japan and a super nice guy). Jeanne rolls in at 9AM – better she should have stayed away.
The speeches begin. There’s little difference in their reading styles, though the three girls I helped yesterday at Sakuyama are quite good and earn high marks from me. Oh yeah. We weren’t introduced at this contest or told how to mark the contestants, so I made up my own system – but we did get to sit right at the very front.
At lunch (it’s raining), we three AETs are served a bento box lunch by the female teachers, who also serve the other male Japanese teachers in attendance. Sexist or what?
Anyhow, after eating, we three head over to Mosburger for more food. I stop by the nearby Iseya department store and hand in some film and post a few letters.
We head back to the contest to listen to the remainder of the speeches. Boredom can’t even come close to how I felt. When its finally over at 4PM, all of the results are collected—but not ours. Now I’m mad. Why are we here? Did we do something wrong? Is this our punishment?
Tomura-sensei (English teacher at Wakakusa Chu (Wakakusa Junior High School) asks the AETs to make a few comments about the speeches we just heard. Wha-?!
I make up some stuff on the spot, as do Matthew and Jeanne. We’re all pretty angry as we ride home in the rain.
At 7PM that night, Ashley calls telling me she has no get-up-and-go (no kidding… it’s pretty much the cause of my friction with her). She says she knows she has schoolwork to prepare (She’s probably a far better teacher than me, because I have never prepared and will never prepare a single thing for my team-teaching classes in three years), but doesn’t want to do it. I want to call her a lazy cow, but think better of it. I know what I was like when I was her age (22 – I’m 26 in another week). I was lazy. I tell her to stop reading my Shadowland book and write a letter to her sister, folks and friends back home – her schoolwork can wait.
Matthew comes over – we make fried chicken (okay, Matthew does) and watch episodes of Quantum Leap and Max Headroom that his folks sent over in VCR format. I tell ya, that Matthew was a life-saver for my fragile mental and emotional health.
On a bathroom break, I pass by the room I call my den that has a balcony facing the west. I discover why my apartment is so friggin;’ cold—as my building superintendent must have come by to fix the lock on my den’s outside sliding door, and neglected to close it. I’ve had cold air blowing into my apartment for three weeks! The apartment quickly warms up, though a quick glance at my five-gallon goldfish aquarium shows me my fish are facing away from me with their large bulbous heads in a corner. I wonder if they suffer from depression. Does Ashley? Do I?
Somewhere asleep at midnight,
Andrew Joseph
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