(01/09/03 - 30/09/03)

 

See September's photos

 

 

01/09/03

 

First Day of School

 

Got up really early, and left in plenty of time (owing to the fact that despite hunting for hours, and getting very lost, I still didn't know precisely how to get to school...).  I did actually find the school, and found yet another new route there in the process...

 

We had a "Morning Meeting", involving the whole school and including the "Opening Ceremony", during which I had to make a speech.  In Japanese.  It went ok, but I was surprised to find that throughout the whole ceremony, half the kids were sound asleep and the other half were talking quite loudly.  Not the quiet, withdrawn, well-disciplined kids I'd been told to expect.

 

When the Principle (the kocho-sensei) introduced me to the whole school, he made them all repeat my name several times, which was actually considerably more embarrassing than doing my speech.  Especially since the Japanese can't pronounce "Adele".  My new name is "Adam".  And I'm from Ireland.  (They can't cope with "Channel Islands", either).

 

02/09/03

 

First attempts at Team Teaching

 

Although I don't officially have to teach until next week, I requested to be included in some classes.  And so I was introduced to 1-3.  What a start!  I think I want a career in engineering.  The first grade English classes are split into two - hence there are six first grade classes (1-1, 1-1*, 1-2, 1-2*, 1-3, 1-3*).  1-3 has to be the, um, worst.  They are very enthusiastic.  Just not about English!  It wasn't as bad as all that, though!  And the next class was 1-1*, who were to the other extreme - very quiet.  And they think I'm called Chris.  Or maybe Geoff.  

 

I've also been involved in marking some exam papers.  I've included some of  the answers in the Students Words of Wisdom.

 

03/09/03

 

Taught my first two evening classes for the International Club.  The first was a class of three girls, aged 7 and 8, who are just so full of excitement and enthusiasm (although not really with English).  The second was an adult class, but only one student turned up today.  Her English is very good, so I just got her talking (i.e. we had a good old chat...).  

 

04/09/03

 

Fukui TV turned up to record five of us rehearsing for the Yosakoi competition.  It was quite mortifying, as I'm really REALLY bad.  Despite practices every night, I can't remember any of the steps.  I'm also about two or three times the size of anyone else there.  To make matters worse, they interviewed Brandon (my gaijin Yosakoi partner-in-crime) and I, and Yoshi translated for us...

 

05/09/03

 

My Welcome Party (Enkai)

 

Organised by the school, and attended by about 20 teachers.  It was held at a very posh English/French style restaurant (with a patisserie on the ground floor).  The meal consisted of six courses, and alcohol.  I had a really good time, and was surprised at the high level of English spoken by some of the teachers (especially after a few beers).  

 

06/09/03

 

Suzy and her brother, Daniel, arrived.  They were very tired after the long journey (flying in to Tokyo, then getting the train to Fukui).  We went out for dinner, then went to bed.  

 

07/09/03

 

Suzy, Daniel and I went to meet a Japanese friend of mine - Tamami.  Tamami took us to Katsuyama, where they have not only REAL Jersey cows, but also Jersey milk and ice cream.  We all had Jersey ice cream, of course!  We then went to Heisenji Temple, near to the ice cream place.  This is Tamami's favourite temple.  It's Shinto, and very old.  There is moss everywhere, and it's very beautiful and peaceful, and not at all commercialised like Eiheiji.  (Hehehe.  On re-reading this para I realise I sound just as I do when I talk to Japanese people.  Apologies to English readers!)

 

See the photos!

 

FIRST TIME ON JAPANESE TV

 

Yes, tonight was my debut!  But it wasn't the interview, etc, which had been filmed on the 4th.  This was a feature long airing of the Takefu Festival (from last month), in which we'd worn Yukatta and danced through the streets.  Apparently we weren't on for very long, but we were there nonetheless.  Unfortunately I was at a rehearsal and missed it.  

 

08/09/03

 

First proper day teaching.  This week I'm doing my introduction lesson - basically introducing myself and Jersey in the form of a game.  Everything went ok, apart from the map falling on my head.  Twice.  The students actually seemed to be listening, though, which surprised me a little.

 

This evening, Suzy, Daniel and I met up with Brandon, Katie and Flick, and we went for a Mexican meal.  The food was absolutely delicious, and very cheep (max. £4 per head).  We had a very nice relaxed evening.  The restaurant is lovely but very very small (like most restaurants here).  We sat on tatami mats around a low table - traditional Japanese stylee.  Strange for Mexican.

 

SECOND TIME ON JAPANESE TV

 

Yes, this was the airing of the interview!  And again I missed it (although I've since been given a copy of the tape, which I'm putting off watching).  Another gaijin friend (Laura), who had seen it on the TVs in the gym sent me a text message to let me know it was on.  My infamy is spreading...

 

10/09/03

 

Received script for school play

 

Yes, I'm going to be in a play.  Yes, it's all in Japanese.  Yes, I have lines to say.  No, I don't understand the script (which is all in Kanji).  I am to play Kayo - one of three sisters.  Ok...Brief synopsis:

      

Three brothers are training to be monks under the supervision of a head priest.  Three sisters turn up on doorstep one day asking for help.  They start working at the monastery - doing chores, massaging head priest (my job!) etc.  The brothers  fall in love with the sisters.  Some evil gangsters turn up, and try to kidnap the sisters, unless a huge ransom is paid.  The monastery is poor, but the brothers have some inheritance hidden far away at their birthplace.  The head priest offers himself as insurance, and the girls are released.  The three sisters and three brothers go on a long, arduous journey to get the gold.  When they find it, the sisters try and seduce the brothers, attempting to persuade them to run away with them and the money.  The brothers, after much deliberation, start to refuse, and the gangsters re-appear.  The girls rush up to the chief gangster - they were working for him all the time.  Amusing scene where gold is thrown about between brothers, trying to avoid gangsters.  One of the sisters (me) persuades one of the brothers that she is truly sorry and wants to run away with him - he passes her the gold.  She runs away with the gold, gangsters and her sisters.  The brothers, feeling dejected, go back to where they dug up the gold and keep digging.  They find a letter from their mother disclosing the identity of their father - he is the head priest.  So, although the brothers have no money, their hearts are lighter and their lives have more meaning (or something). 

 

Evening classes again tonight.  The kids class was a bit mad!  And as for the adult class, I am now to teach a private student who speaks virtually no English at all.  Like many middle-aged Japanese, she can read and write English ok, she just can't communicate verbally.  It was very awkward.

 

12/09/03

 

Took Suzy and Daniel to make paper in Imadate (and we went to the patisserie, of course!).  We also watched them hand-make huge sheets of paper, which was really interesting (despite comments from the paper-maker about the size of my breasts...). 

 

See the photos!

 

In the evening we went out with Tamami and her boyfriend Yuichi, and also with Ajiko (a friend of mine from the International Club), and Ko.  We went to an Okonomiyaki (a bit like an omelet, but not really) restaurant (where you cook your own food at the table).  It was very delicious - I think between us we must have ordered most of the variations, then shared all the food out between us.  After the meal, Yuichi took us to Joyland (one of the many amusement arcades).  We had a really great time, including getting group photo-stickers done in one of the photo-booths (if I get a scanner soon I'll put the pictures online).  Got home really late!

 

13/09/03

 

Went out for a fantastic sushi lunch with Yuichi and Tamami.  It was at a conveyor-belt sushi place, and the food was delicious!  I just love sushi, and I think Daniel and Suzy liked some of it, too! 

 

This evening I held a "pizza and wine" party, which was just fantastic.  There's a really good take-away pizza place nearby, and we stocked up on alcohol.  There were about 15 of us and we got very drunk, but not too rowdy, then headed out for a night on the town (starting off at a Salsa party). We met up with the rest of the crowd while we were out. 

 

14/09/03

 

Extra-specially long Yosakoi rehearsal (we met at 1pm, and I got home close to 10pm).  The last 3 hours of the practice was in a mirrored room.  Which was especially painful!  I think I nearly know the dance now.  Which is good, seeing as the competition is tomorrow!  We've also been given our costumes - short yukatta in bright colours.

 

15/09/03

 

Respect for the aged Day (National Holiday)

 

Wakasaji Festival

I met up with my Yosakoi team and Yoshi (who founded the International Club in 1998, and has run it ever since), and we drove the two and a half hours to Obama for the Wakasaji Festival, which included the Yosakoi competition.  The festival took place at four venues in Obama, and we were at the port, which was absolutely beautiful.  The weather was also noticeably more comfortable -cooler and much less humid. 

 

The event was actually much larger than I had been expecting, and 17 or so teams were competing in our area.  The performance went really well, and we had a really excellent time.  We won for best lyrics (but not for the dancing).  In the end, though, it didn't seem to matter!  We spent the rest of the afternoon/evening at the festival, before heading back to Fukui City. 

 

THIRD TIME ON JAPANESE TV

 

Getting to be quite a celebrity now!  (I didn't actually see it, but Fukui TV were doing live coverage of the whole event).

 

See the photos!

 

16/09/03

 

Suzy and Daniel left for Tokyo.  The apartment suddenly feels very empty. 

 

19/09/03

 

Went to Devon's for dinner, drinking and a gossip, then headed over to Brandon's where we met Laura, Kara, Teresa and Mary for card games and more drinking...

 

20/09/03

 

Rice Harvesting with the International Club

 

A crowd of us went to a field near Fukui City, which the International Club helped to plant in May.  We had to take our shoes and socks off and stand barefoot in the mud (and it was no where near as muddy as I had been expecting - just damp, slightly squelchy soil) and harvest the rice by hand, tying the bundles up with strands of the rice plant.  It was a fantastic experience, enhanced by the presence of some officials from the prefectural office, who joined in with the fun.  It was so interesting so see how the rice grows and what it looks like.

 

After about an hour or so, they brought a large machine out, and finished the rest off very quickly.  We all then sat round to lunch together (home-made rice balls), and were then given a tour of the family's rice refining machinery.

 

See the photos!

 

This evening was another night out in Katamachi (the clubbing area of Fukui City)!

 

23/09/03

 

Autumnal Equinox (National Holiday)

 

Kara, Christina, Jose and I went on a mini shopping spree around all the shops we've been wanting to go to for a while, including a large place which stocks "foreign" food.  Like Pesto, Cambell's soup, Patak's curry sauces, pasta, cheese, and...CADBURY'S CHOCOLATE!!!  Which you can't buy in ANY of the normal shops here.  The only recognisable "western" chocolate bar to be found in Japan is Snickers, and that's only in very small doses!  (having said that, the other chocolate you can buy here is absolutely delicious). 

 

We went to a tiny, hidden away Vietnamese restaurant for dinner.  The food was so good!  When your living off a staple diet of rice and noodles and other such bland foods, the more spicy alternatives are really appreciated!

 

26/09/03

 

Party at school and play rehearsal.  The party was held in the chemistry lab, and we had huge plates of sushi, various types of "chicken on a stick"  (yakitori) and a HUGE vat of stew which I helped to make yesterday.  The food was all very delicious, and the beer was flowing.  Afterwards we had another attempt at a play rehearsal.  It's actually going ok, but I keep messing up my lines!

 

 

27/09/03

 

FINALLY I AM ONLINE!!!

 

Pottery

 

This afternoon, Laura, Brandon, Kara and I went to the Echizen Pottery Village, where we had fun making pots (funnily enough).  For only 1000 yen (about £5), you get 1kg clay, as much time and help as you need, and you get your pot glazed and fired.  We can collect our masterpieces in about a month.

 

See the photos!

 

30/09/03

 

Teacher's play (see the synopsis).  It went really well, and I remembered my lines!  Although, I did cause a bit of a sensation when I walked on-stage in all that makeup.  I don't think any of the students knew I was going to be in the play...!

 

See the photos!

 

First day of school festival.  Students set up games in one of the gyms, and there were various stalls selling food.  Some sport was going on somewhere, and there was a fantastic arm-wrestling competition.  Congratulations to Itou-san and Nagai-san, who made it through the the finals.  Both are 3rd Grade students, and Nagai-san is, quite simply, huge!  He's very tall, even by western standards.  Needless to say, he won!

 

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