So we have officially plastic surgery'ed our blog layout since I for one am a robot enthusiast. Jessica is "a robot dance enthusiast," while Erin claims that she wouldn't call herself an enthusiast perse rather that "robots are REALLY cute." On the flip side of these amazing robot rockets, I can't figure out how to center our picture up there and it is keeping me up late at nights, ha ha ha. Help? I admit that I only learned HTML basics to jazz up my Myspace account circa 2004. Truth.
So today, Erin has her Round 2 lesson of "sadou," or the art of Tea Ceremony. We have all done it before at a schmany fancy "Soroptomist Society" dinner, but she did it FOR REAL with an official 70 year old teacher and was even gifted with a handmade tea bowl, which for the record usually START at around $200, that was made by a local craftsman. Today, I will accompany her and give a shot at sadou. I didn't really take to it the first time because we have to sit in seiza, the traditionally painful method of sitting that results in many bow-legged Japanese folks. In any case, Erin's teacher is so kind and gaijin friendly that we are given the exception to sit normal and even offered a chair. So, sadou here we come.
This is the last week of summer "vacation." One thing that has really irked me this year has been lurking around all JETs since the beginning of time. ALTs have this bad reputation for just taking vacations and having a TON of free time off and basically doing no work. So, as an ALT that does too much, too many lesson plans, blah blah blah, I take great offense to this. Not to mention, sometimes I am a little abrasive, but that is besides the point. Every day has been spent at multiple elementary schools teaching pronunciation and speech recitation. These kids are so very impressive! It's really a shame that so few kids seem to take to English. Sidenote on how extremely traditional/non-international Southern Kyushu actually is. Kumamoto actually takes the cake, ha ha I successfully used one of those "phrases", for being the #1 stubborn folk in all of Japan. And that reputation, still well known now, goes way back to when my grandfather was in Japan back in the 1940s. Anyway... So whenever we meet any person-new or teacher alike- that speaks English, which is YES exciting, said Japanese person always asks the same questions. And yes, their intentions are POSSIBLY good and it is fun to meet new people and I do want to speak English with them to improve their skills and give them new chances. But into my 3rd year, sometimes I get jaded at the fact that they always ask me a. where I traveled to during all my FREE summer vacation time, b. if I will go home during the afternoon since we "don't have to work" or c. if I can eat sushi. Sigh. I am ranting a little bit, but the truth must be told.
In better news, our shujee exhibition opens today! It will be really exciting to see our work, mounted on traditional Japanese scrolls and hanging alongside the masters! Tonight also marks the 2nd night of the Uto Jizo Matsuri in our neighboring town. It is festival season in Japan and that means many things: kakigori shaved ice, fireworks, yukata summer kimonos, food stands!, and humidity. Nothing beats Japanese festivals. Although I have never been to an American/Arkansas festival. I want Fried Everything!!!
Well, I better get to my 12,000 pages of Japanese homework. The saddest part about studying Japanese with such vigor is that Japanese is constructed in such a way that I can be conversationally fluent, yet really retarded when it comes to grammar/reading. When one thinks about Japanese as a language, you are really forced to think.... WHAT WERE THEY THINKING!? when they made the language. Or maybe they weren't. Or maybe they wanted to make the most difficult language possible so as to confuse the populus and stunt literacy and make it 12x harder to get through school. Hm? Either way, I am totally in love with this impossible language.
Almost lunch. Happy dance!
Shanno
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