- At our holiday Christmas party, one of the (really cool and about 50) English teachers came to take a picture of us and instead of asking us to say, "Cheese," he goes, "Everyone say, 'Where's the party?'" which was...unexpected. But awesome.
- I was spacing out on the stairs coming home from my last day of work (for 2.5 weeks!) today and all of a sudden, I get a swift punch in my arm. And I'm sure it must be one of the other JETs- cos who else would do that? And it turns out to be one of my fave students- this kid is always smiling! I don't think I know what he looks like without a giant grin on his face! He's the same kid that when I dropped all my stuff at the end of class (I have this basket that I fill with all my class materials), he comes up to me and goes "Pam, I am sorry for you!" Fantastic!
- At the Christmas party, some of the girls were trying to explain the meaning of "betsu gara"- it's really hard to explain idioms! Apparently, it means something like "second stomach"- when you continue to eat, even though you're full, especially with dessert. (It kinda makes sense since "betsu-betsu" is what you say at a restaurant when you want to pay separately, not together. So it's like a "separate stomach."
- In my Advanced Reading class, we're reading part of Fast Food Nation, and the teacher asked me what "taking drugs" meant exactly. He then begins to act out injecting, pill popping and smoking. Trying hard not to laugh, I explain that "taking" is vague and can mean pretty much any of uh...those things!
Wednesday, 19 December 2007
Just a few hours away from the boba...
So I leave for Taiwan tomorrow and I won't be able to write for a couple weeks. I wanted to make sure to leave on a high note so, here's a short (but happy) post filled with random things that happened at school:
Thursday, 13 December 2007
Sometimes Japan can be a little...scary.
So I was on my way home from dinner with Emi- we went to this AMAZING cafe called Spoon with the best tea and food and atmosphere and waitstaff...it reminded me so much of New York! They don't really do too many cafes here. Anyway, we were talking about random stuff and she goes, "You know what? If the biggest problem in our lives is boy trouble, we are pretty darn lucky. We have enough money and friends and family that care about us and we get to have fun like tonight!"
This ran through my mind later in the evening:
On my way home, I had to transfer trains in one of the larger towns in Shiga. It was late and I managed to catch the last train- the 10:24, so I would be home at about 11:15 pm. The platform was pretty empty so I kinda spaced out as I listened to my headphones. The girl next to me suddenly jumps up and runs to the end of the platform, leaving her bag open next to me. I think that's weird, but I see the train coming so I figure she just really wants to get on it. She comes back to her seat and gets her bag and then walks towards the train, so I thought nothing of it.
But the train stops in the middle of the platform and the doors won't open so people can't get off and on. Then, two station people come and start running up and down the train looking underneath it. I figure someone dropped their wallet or something...or maybe like a suitcase full of cash, I dunno.
But then a whole bunch of people come and they're kind of like freaking out and the people inside the train are looking pretty pissed that they can't get out. Mind you, lots of Japanese is being thrown about and I don't really understand it but I realise that someone is under the train. He's on the other side, so a bunch of cops and train station people and medics jump on the tracks. I hear this woman yell "What's your name?" Over and over and over again, like really loud. It was so weird. Then finally, she says "What-sensei?" or something like that- so you realise the guy's a teacher. Which is super scary. By this time there are a TON of people on the platform, mainly talking on cell phones and trying to see what's going on.
Anyway, so fast forward to about 1.5 hours later. I moved to a different part of the platform to get away from the scene, but as they take the guy away on a stretcher behind us, I can hear him coughing and groaning in pain. It's really scary. The police question the girl and I basically understand that she saw him throw his bag down, scream something, and then jump off the platform, hitting his head on something. I think. It's so weird that I had my headphones on, otherwise I would have heard/seen it too, since there were only three of us on the platform besides the guy. The weird thing is, the girl didn't freak out at all. I would have gone ballistic! And the other guy on the platform was eating a Mickey D's sundae like nothing happened. That's why I figured it must have been a dropped wallet or something.
Suicides on the train happen often here. I've been here for four months and I've been on suicide-delayed trains at least four or five times. And that's only when I've actually been on the train! But it's always been something that seemed really far away that you can complain about- being there...was so weird. What could possibly make so many people want to do that? People work SOOO much here. You should see some of the people on trains in the weekday evenings, they look drunk, they're so tired. It's happened so often, they actually charge people's families for the cost of the delay (millions of yen, I'm sure) so as to deter jumpers.
I ended up making it home a little after 2 am. It was a pretty surreal experience.
This ran through my mind later in the evening:
On my way home, I had to transfer trains in one of the larger towns in Shiga. It was late and I managed to catch the last train- the 10:24, so I would be home at about 11:15 pm. The platform was pretty empty so I kinda spaced out as I listened to my headphones. The girl next to me suddenly jumps up and runs to the end of the platform, leaving her bag open next to me. I think that's weird, but I see the train coming so I figure she just really wants to get on it. She comes back to her seat and gets her bag and then walks towards the train, so I thought nothing of it.
But the train stops in the middle of the platform and the doors won't open so people can't get off and on. Then, two station people come and start running up and down the train looking underneath it. I figure someone dropped their wallet or something...or maybe like a suitcase full of cash, I dunno.
But then a whole bunch of people come and they're kind of like freaking out and the people inside the train are looking pretty pissed that they can't get out. Mind you, lots of Japanese is being thrown about and I don't really understand it but I realise that someone is under the train. He's on the other side, so a bunch of cops and train station people and medics jump on the tracks. I hear this woman yell "What's your name?" Over and over and over again, like really loud. It was so weird. Then finally, she says "What-sensei?" or something like that- so you realise the guy's a teacher. Which is super scary. By this time there are a TON of people on the platform, mainly talking on cell phones and trying to see what's going on.
Anyway, so fast forward to about 1.5 hours later. I moved to a different part of the platform to get away from the scene, but as they take the guy away on a stretcher behind us, I can hear him coughing and groaning in pain. It's really scary. The police question the girl and I basically understand that she saw him throw his bag down, scream something, and then jump off the platform, hitting his head on something. I think. It's so weird that I had my headphones on, otherwise I would have heard/seen it too, since there were only three of us on the platform besides the guy. The weird thing is, the girl didn't freak out at all. I would have gone ballistic! And the other guy on the platform was eating a Mickey D's sundae like nothing happened. That's why I figured it must have been a dropped wallet or something.
Suicides on the train happen often here. I've been here for four months and I've been on suicide-delayed trains at least four or five times. And that's only when I've actually been on the train! But it's always been something that seemed really far away that you can complain about- being there...was so weird. What could possibly make so many people want to do that? People work SOOO much here. You should see some of the people on trains in the weekday evenings, they look drunk, they're so tired. It's happened so often, they actually charge people's families for the cost of the delay (millions of yen, I'm sure) so as to deter jumpers.
I ended up making it home a little after 2 am. It was a pretty surreal experience.
Wednesday, 5 December 2007
This is a tribute...to Good Ole Red, White and Blue
No, I'm not getting patriotic. But I am thinking of our favorite old thrift store back in the Jerz. So Kat (and Tessy poo, if you're reading this and any other thrifty aficionados), here are some pics of a super cool thrift store in Kyoto. I wish I had taken more pictures- but as you can tell it was pretty kick-ass!
A bathtub as planter? Ingenious!
A bathtub as random pool of water with shizz in it? Who woulda thunk it!!!? This is (from L-R): Kaori who is super cool and moving to Vegas very soon, my ichidachi Emi about to wash her face in some murkiness, and Rie looking sex-ay in her boots!
All I do is shop here, it's sick. The clothes here are awesome (I'm the 2nd largest size, woo hoo!) and you can get so many cool/cheap/random things for your apartment. e.g. Bathroom paraphernalia- my t.p. has a cute little bear cover!
A bathtub as planter? Ingenious!
A bathtub as random pool of water with shizz in it? Who woulda thunk it!!!? This is (from L-R): Kaori who is super cool and moving to Vegas very soon, my ichidachi Emi about to wash her face in some murkiness, and Rie looking sex-ay in her boots!All I do is shop here, it's sick. The clothes here are awesome (I'm the 2nd largest size, woo hoo!) and you can get so many cool/cheap/random things for your apartment. e.g. Bathroom paraphernalia- my t.p. has a cute little bear cover!
Tuesday, 4 December 2007
Japanese Slang!
So I know I haven't written in ages, I keep writing stuff in my head and taking pictures of "funny shizz" but I keep putting off actually getting it on here. I guess procrastination doesn't end with school!
Anyway, I decided to break with the random stories to offer up some of the "Cool Japanese" as the BBC would call it (http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/german/cool/index.shtml - This helped me garner some laughs in Berlin!). I have this notebook bought at the hyaku-en (aka the Dollar Store, if dollar stores kicked serious ass) that I keep words in cos they're so hard to remember!
These are courtesy of Emi, my Nihon-jin BFF (see first or second post for a pic of her). I actually call her (and numerous others, ya'll know I'm a friend ho) "ichidachi," which is a shortened version of "ichiban tomodachi" (best friend).
Mata kita yo (mah-tuh kee-tuh yoh): I'm back!
Yoku kimasu (yoh-koo kee-mahs): I come here often. (Not used as a pickup line, I swear...)
Furafura yoitsu bure (foo-ra foo-ra yoy-tsoo boo-ray): sloppy drunk
Yoppairai (yoh-pah-rye): drunk [yoppairai ojisan (oh-jee-sahn)= old drunk dude, according to Emi, "Occasionally, children yell it." Didn't ask any more about that.]
Mata ne (mah-tuh nay): See you later!
Oyasumi (oh-yah-soo-mee): Night!
Yamiteyo (yah-mee-tay-YO): Stop it! [This gem I actually got from Naoya, but I use it often here and it gets people laughing like crazy] You can also say "Dame!" (Dah-may)
Subarashikatta desu yo (soo-bah-ra-shee-kah-ta dess yoh): You were awesome! [Said to punk band members after a good show. Or at least that's how I learned it. Got this one from another JET, Katie P.]
Maji de (mah-jee day): For real! [This is another great one- I've used it on my students and boy does it get their attention! One of my students kept speaking in Japanese during class, so I yelled "Maji de?" and he was so shocked, he started debating in perfect English. It was awesome.]
Homa (ho-muh): Really! (or Really?) Sooooo used here- it's Kansai-ben (Kyoto/Osaka area dialect). In Tokyo dialect, they say "Honto ni"- but it's all about the Homa here.
Eh? (Ehhhhhhh?): Huh? and/or Whoa! Said pretty much constantly by our students- it's awesome and you need to hear it in person to truly understand the power that is the Japanese "Eh"!
That's all for this installment. Pictures, more slang
Anyway, I decided to break with the random stories to offer up some of the "Cool Japanese" as the BBC would call it (http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/german/cool/index.shtml - This helped me garner some laughs in Berlin!). I have this notebook bought at the hyaku-en (aka the Dollar Store, if dollar stores kicked serious ass) that I keep words in cos they're so hard to remember!
These are courtesy of Emi, my Nihon-jin BFF (see first or second post for a pic of her). I actually call her (and numerous others, ya'll know I'm a friend ho) "ichidachi," which is a shortened version of "ichiban tomodachi" (best friend).
Mata kita yo (mah-tuh kee-tuh yoh): I'm back!
Yoku kimasu (yoh-koo kee-mahs): I come here often. (Not used as a pickup line, I swear...)
Furafura yoitsu bure (foo-ra foo-ra yoy-tsoo boo-ray): sloppy drunk
Yoppairai (yoh-pah-rye): drunk [yoppairai ojisan (oh-jee-sahn)= old drunk dude, according to Emi, "Occasionally, children yell it." Didn't ask any more about that.]
Mata ne (mah-tuh nay): See you later!
Oyasumi (oh-yah-soo-mee): Night!
Yamiteyo (yah-mee-tay-YO): Stop it! [This gem I actually got from Naoya, but I use it often here and it gets people laughing like crazy] You can also say "Dame!" (Dah-may)
Subarashikatta desu yo (soo-bah-ra-shee-kah-ta dess yoh): You were awesome! [Said to punk band members after a good show. Or at least that's how I learned it. Got this one from another JET, Katie P.]
Maji de (mah-jee day): For real! [This is another great one- I've used it on my students and boy does it get their attention! One of my students kept speaking in Japanese during class, so I yelled "Maji de?" and he was so shocked, he started debating in perfect English. It was awesome.]
Homa (ho-muh): Really! (or Really?) Sooooo used here- it's Kansai-ben (Kyoto/Osaka area dialect). In Tokyo dialect, they say "Honto ni"- but it's all about the Homa here.
Eh? (Ehhhhhhh?): Huh? and/or Whoa! Said pretty much constantly by our students- it's awesome and you need to hear it in person to truly understand the power that is the Japanese "Eh"!
That's all for this installment. Pictures, more slang
Friday, 26 October 2007
Those crazy kids
The vice principal said, "Pam-chan, Ohayo" today! Which is very informal which means he clearly knows that he reminds me of my dad and has gladly taken that role upon himself. Awwww...
I'm trying to think of the funny things my kids have said this week...here are a couple...
So when each kid does a speech, the other kids have to write comments like "Nice clear voice" or "Thought-provoking" (I love when some of them write "heart-warming" or "influential" when some kid just talked about how he likes being in the table tennis club). Yesterday one kid wrote "Don't touch me!" I have to read them out loud so of course I start laughing when I have to say that one! Another kid wrote "So-and-so is so cute! I love her!" which luckily, was written by another girl.
And this is an old one, but it makes me smile. I asked them to fill out sheets about themselves, like favorite movies and how many siblings they have, etc. And the last question is: Do you have anything else you would like to share? And one kid writes, "My lunch." Which I thought was great.
OK, off to dress up as Carmen Sandiego!!! (My sister thought I said "Carmen Miranda"- I haven't written her back yet, so right now she totally thinks I'm dressing up like this:
http://www.hatsinthebelfry.com/Merchant2/graphics/00000001/glitter_carmen_full.jp
Happy Halloween people!
I'm trying to think of the funny things my kids have said this week...here are a couple...
So when each kid does a speech, the other kids have to write comments like "Nice clear voice" or "Thought-provoking" (I love when some of them write "heart-warming" or "influential" when some kid just talked about how he likes being in the table tennis club). Yesterday one kid wrote "Don't touch me!" I have to read them out loud so of course I start laughing when I have to say that one! Another kid wrote "So-and-so is so cute! I love her!" which luckily, was written by another girl.
And this is an old one, but it makes me smile. I asked them to fill out sheets about themselves, like favorite movies and how many siblings they have, etc. And the last question is: Do you have anything else you would like to share? And one kid writes, "My lunch." Which I thought was great.
OK, off to dress up as Carmen Sandiego!!! (My sister thought I said "Carmen Miranda"- I haven't written her back yet, so right now she totally thinks I'm dressing up like this:
http://www.hatsinthebelfry.com/Merchant2/graphics/00000001/glitter_carmen_full.jpHappy Halloween people!
Thursday, 25 October 2007
Some random photos...
So, apparently some things in Japan are still a little gender-biased...and we womenfolk had to stand and watch while the mens pulled this giant floats for the Otsu (yes, el capital aka where Hiro Nakamura on Heroes is RIGHT NOW!) Matsuri (Festival)! However, as you can tell, we were having a pretty kickass time. From left to right: Megan (a JET from Cali), Rie (a very cool local, she works in tourism), Haruko (a JET from Virginny), Kaori (a crazy local who will soon be moving to Las Vegas- exciting but sad), and last but not least, my new BFF Emi (another local).
See, don't they look all tired and hung over? The pointer is John (JET from Britain, he has an awesomely hard to understand regional accent), the middle guy is Jon (JET from...Delaware? I think, he cheerleaded...or is it cheerLED?...in college so I love making him fun of him about it, though he could probably kick like anyone's ass), and the last dude is James (also a JET from England, but he has a posh accent).
The reason for their tiredness! What you can't see is the giant trunk of squid and beer at the back, which the men pillage every half hour or so. Yes- drinking heavily and consuming seafood while operating large floats...it makes sense, no? You can sort of see the cute little boys playing their instruments in the float- Megan and I kept trying to make them laugh, and we made one give a Mona Lisa smile- which was as good as gold to us!
This was my bulletin board before it become Halloween-ized! It's basically all about New Jersey and New York. The vice principal (who, by the way, totally looks like Japanese version of my dad! Sometimes I even feel like calling him that, but I think he'd be a little weirded out.) said he found it "enjoyable." Other reviews ranged from "Nice" to "Interesting" to "It blew my f*cking mind."
This is Azuchi! It's a small town in the south of Shiga with a lot of archaeological sites. A bunch of us went biking around the random fields checking out Azuchi Castle (be warned, there's nothing actually there- just a bunch of stones- the foundation- but an amazing view of the surrounding cities!). We also did a LOT of biking. I also got injured when my leg collided with someone else's pedal and I still have the bruise!
Here we are inside this crazy ancient hut thing. It apparently said you weren't supposed to go inside, but we're crazy gaijin (see Jamie's impression of "craziness") who don't know any better! By the way, this is Jamie, Jessie and Elisa. Elisa lives in Azuchi and did her degree in Japanese Archaelogy so she was all helpful and gave us a tour of her town!
Wednesday, 24 October 2007
Drama, Drama
Yeah, Lux, apparently my anger did not go unnoticed by my students... every person (i.e. you and two other JETs here) I've told that story can't imagine me being angry! But oh, I can be.
So I was talking to some of my students today and they asked me straight out what I thought of the teacher that I got angry at and I was like uh...He's nice, he's nice, but... and they were like BUT! And we all just kind of laughed. Hopefully this will blow over soon- note to self: never display emotion again.
But today was our English Club Halloween party! I dressed as Carmen and the students laughed, we played Halloween hangman, and then we ate large quantities of candy. There's this Japanese brand of candy where it's these little packets of chocolates in different shapes (like really tiny tic tac sized chocolates) and apparently everyone (i.e. a group of 15-17 year old girls) loves 'em!
So I wrote this yesterday and didn't post it cos I wanted to reply to all your posts, but I realised I can do that within the posts! Woo hoo!
Today was good cos I overhauled one of my first grade lessons (I mainly teach the first grade-aka 10th grade in the U.S.- and the second grade-aka 11th grade) to make it more clear and I think it went over really well! I was having trouble explaining the steps of a pair argument (we're doing "Introduction to Debate" right now), so I made up all these magneted signs and put them together. It was time-consuming, but fun! And lucky too, cos today was the day (I had completely forgotten) when about 8 of the other teachers and the principal and vice principal came to observe my class. It was weird having them all in there, but apparently it went really well! And last week, the "head JET" (aka the returning JET who works in the Prefectural Board of Education Office) came to observe with the principal and vice principal and that close went well too. So despite the fact that I fall down in class (happened twice yesterday!), forget to mark things, and showed up (once) without a lesson plan, I don't completely suck as a teacher. Yet.
Anyway, I'm so psyched that you guys are actually wading through my endless sea of words. And that your (well at least Kat, Lakshmi, and Christina- Lux, you've been inspired us!) blogs have been updated too- lots of reading.
OK, it's about 6:30 pm, so I'm gonna head to bed- this week has tuckered me out! And tomorrow is the big Halloween party- apparently it's like the craziest party in Shiga...I guess we'll see.
Oyasumi!
So I was talking to some of my students today and they asked me straight out what I thought of the teacher that I got angry at and I was like uh...He's nice, he's nice, but... and they were like BUT! And we all just kind of laughed. Hopefully this will blow over soon- note to self: never display emotion again.
But today was our English Club Halloween party! I dressed as Carmen and the students laughed, we played Halloween hangman, and then we ate large quantities of candy. There's this Japanese brand of candy where it's these little packets of chocolates in different shapes (like really tiny tic tac sized chocolates) and apparently everyone (i.e. a group of 15-17 year old girls) loves 'em!
So I wrote this yesterday and didn't post it cos I wanted to reply to all your posts, but I realised I can do that within the posts! Woo hoo!
Today was good cos I overhauled one of my first grade lessons (I mainly teach the first grade-aka 10th grade in the U.S.- and the second grade-aka 11th grade) to make it more clear and I think it went over really well! I was having trouble explaining the steps of a pair argument (we're doing "Introduction to Debate" right now), so I made up all these magneted signs and put them together. It was time-consuming, but fun! And lucky too, cos today was the day (I had completely forgotten) when about 8 of the other teachers and the principal and vice principal came to observe my class. It was weird having them all in there, but apparently it went really well! And last week, the "head JET" (aka the returning JET who works in the Prefectural Board of Education Office) came to observe with the principal and vice principal and that close went well too. So despite the fact that I fall down in class (happened twice yesterday!), forget to mark things, and showed up (once) without a lesson plan, I don't completely suck as a teacher. Yet.
Anyway, I'm so psyched that you guys are actually wading through my endless sea of words. And that your (well at least Kat, Lakshmi, and Christina- Lux, you've been inspired us!) blogs have been updated too- lots of reading.
OK, it's about 6:30 pm, so I'm gonna head to bed- this week has tuckered me out! And tomorrow is the big Halloween party- apparently it's like the craziest party in Shiga...I guess we'll see.
Oyasumi!
Tuesday, 23 October 2007
Oyasumi Nasai Indeed
Yay! It's so good to know that you guys are actually reading it- I look forward to reading your blogs too, so we can keep in touch with each other via my favorite method, internet stalking.
So not much today, school was a bit rough as my first new lessons (I do the same two lessons about 12 times apiece) didn't go as smoothly as I had hoped. The best is when I got angry with my supervisor, who kept going "But how?" when I asked the students to form groups. He wouldn't listen to my explanation, so finally I just started angrily moving desks (the kid whose desk I moved looked super shocked as he sat there deskless in his chair) into groups saying it wasn't that hard. But luckily the moment passed! I love my job- I'm in a great situation, smart students and super nice teachers, but sometimes I get really frustrated! Especially since I had worked really hard the past three days on those lessons! Sigh.
OK, then after school, went shopping with Andrew the Brit-Australian and Elisa the multilingual Italian at Omi-Hachiman, which is about the closest to Paramus we've got in Northern Shiga! I got the rest of my Halloween costume (Carmen Sandiego- pics of course to be posted in a few days!) and we ate crazy amounts of food.
OMG, we went to Baskin Robbins where they have the BEST ice cream flavor! It's called "Baseball Park" and it's caramel ice cream with chocolate covered pretzels, peanuts, and caramel popcorn. There might be other stuff too. I love it!!! Though I've convinced others to try it and one described it as "tasting like the bottom of a trash bag." Lies!
I also learned that saying "Oyasumi nasai" ("Good night") has a different meaning in Japan. So when I was saying what I thought was a simple "Good night" to the cashiers at Family Mart, there was a reason why they gave me weird looks! Apparently it's something you say to the rest of your family before all of you go to bed...
Which is what I should do as it's almost 2 am and I have to wake up in less than 4! Dang. Sorry this is so long- next time there will be more pictures!
So not much today, school was a bit rough as my first new lessons (I do the same two lessons about 12 times apiece) didn't go as smoothly as I had hoped. The best is when I got angry with my supervisor, who kept going "But how?" when I asked the students to form groups. He wouldn't listen to my explanation, so finally I just started angrily moving desks (the kid whose desk I moved looked super shocked as he sat there deskless in his chair) into groups saying it wasn't that hard. But luckily the moment passed! I love my job- I'm in a great situation, smart students and super nice teachers, but sometimes I get really frustrated! Especially since I had worked really hard the past three days on those lessons! Sigh.
OK, then after school, went shopping with Andrew the Brit-Australian and Elisa the multilingual Italian at Omi-Hachiman, which is about the closest to Paramus we've got in Northern Shiga! I got the rest of my Halloween costume (Carmen Sandiego- pics of course to be posted in a few days!) and we ate crazy amounts of food.
OMG, we went to Baskin Robbins where they have the BEST ice cream flavor! It's called "Baseball Park" and it's caramel ice cream with chocolate covered pretzels, peanuts, and caramel popcorn. There might be other stuff too. I love it!!! Though I've convinced others to try it and one described it as "tasting like the bottom of a trash bag." Lies!
I also learned that saying "Oyasumi nasai" ("Good night") has a different meaning in Japan. So when I was saying what I thought was a simple "Good night" to the cashiers at Family Mart, there was a reason why they gave me weird looks! Apparently it's something you say to the rest of your family before all of you go to bed...
Which is what I should do as it's almost 2 am and I have to wake up in less than 4! Dang. Sorry this is so long- next time there will be more pictures!
Monday, 22 October 2007
I figure I'll start from the end
Hey, so this is my first post. I'm a little rusty at this whole blog thing, because I haven't had a blog since, well... ever. Therefore, it might suck at first, but I'll try to make it better! I figure I'll just post a bunch of random pictures and let them speak for themselves!
This is my bike- I didn't really know how to ride before (never rode outside of a park before!) so I spent the first couple of weeks teaching myself in the park nearby my apartment. I fell into the bushes on my first try, but luckily there was an elderly woman zooming by on her bike and a fashionable young couple to offer a helping hand by openly laughing. Oh what a silly foreigner I am! But now I can ride on the street- yes!!!
This is the view from the park- check that out, it's Lake Biwa! aka the Mother Lake, the biggest body of water within Japan! Hence, Shiga, my prefecture is nicknamed the "Bellybutton of Japan." And so it is.
Karaoke in Maibara! Not sure if you can tell but those are red velvet walls baby! This is pretty much the coolest karaoke bar ever- it's some guys converted garage out in the middle of a rice paddy. The decorations are amazing and each song is only 100 yen! (Less than a buck- it's about 115 yen to the dollar)
We did a bit of bowling in Minami Hikone (South Hikone) at a wonderful shopping center called "Viva City." However, it is generally pronounced "Viva Shitty" which is sad, since it's got so much to offer! On the left is our scoreboard- all our names are written in hiragana! I'm first (Pamera), then it's Nikoru (Nicole), Tara (Tara), Andoru (Andrew), and Kurisu Tofu (Chris Tofu)! Tara shows off her pair (of bowling balls) while Andrew tries to look away. Both are from London, but Andrew pretends that he's actually from Australia.
This is my high school! Apparently I'm not supposed to say the name of my school, but here it is- isn't it pretty!? Check out that garden! Wait til you see the "water fountain"- it's awesome!
And on the right, it's what I pass by on my 20 minute walk from the train station to school- that would be a rice paddy, yessiree! It's actually quite pretty-I still can't get over all the open sky and the mountains in the not too far distance.
More pics to come soon- but hey, it's a start, right? Hooray!
This is my bike- I didn't really know how to ride before (never rode outside of a park before!) so I spent the first couple of weeks teaching myself in the park nearby my apartment. I fell into the bushes on my first try, but luckily there was an elderly woman zooming by on her bike and a fashionable young couple to offer a helping hand by openly laughing. Oh what a silly foreigner I am! But now I can ride on the street- yes!!!
This is the view from the park- check that out, it's Lake Biwa! aka the Mother Lake, the biggest body of water within Japan! Hence, Shiga, my prefecture is nicknamed the "Bellybutton of Japan." And so it is.
Karaoke in Maibara! Not sure if you can tell but those are red velvet walls baby! This is pretty much the coolest karaoke bar ever- it's some guys converted garage out in the middle of a rice paddy. The decorations are amazing and each song is only 100 yen! (Less than a buck- it's about 115 yen to the dollar)
We did a bit of bowling in Minami Hikone (South Hikone) at a wonderful shopping center called "Viva City." However, it is generally pronounced "Viva Shitty" which is sad, since it's got so much to offer! On the left is our scoreboard- all our names are written in hiragana! I'm first (Pamera), then it's Nikoru (Nicole), Tara (Tara), Andoru (Andrew), and Kurisu Tofu (Chris Tofu)! Tara shows off her pair (of bowling balls) while Andrew tries to look away. Both are from London, but Andrew pretends that he's actually from Australia.
This is my high school! Apparently I'm not supposed to say the name of my school, but here it is- isn't it pretty!? Check out that garden! Wait til you see the "water fountain"- it's awesome!
And on the right, it's what I pass by on my 20 minute walk from the train station to school- that would be a rice paddy, yessiree! It's actually quite pretty-I still can't get over all the open sky and the mountains in the not too far distance.
More pics to come soon- but hey, it's a start, right? Hooray!
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