Well, my fiber optic internet has finally been set up. It's running smooth and incredibly fast so hopefully I'll be able to get some more stuff up here pretty quick. I've got a few different interesting stories to tell about the past couple of weeks so I'm gonna try and catch up on all of that.
Anyway, last week I took a day off work in order to go to the prefectural driving centre to get my Canadian license converted into a Japanese license. I had gotten all the prerequisite forms completed, had my Canadian license translated into Japanese, and booked my appointment at the DMV in hopes that I could get my license that day and buy a 50cc bike the upcoming weekend. Well, obviously things didn't go quite as planned.
I woke up at 5:30 (an hour before I normally wake up for school) in order to get the the license centre between 8:30 and 9. I made it there no problem and then was escorted to a room where another Korean guy was doing the same thing I was. First, we had to fill out a questionnaire about how we obtained our license in our home countries (driving tests, time period between permit and full license etc.) The DMV employees came in after we had finished and asked us a few questions about the questionnaire and about our licenses. Then they left again and we had to wait for about 45 minutes. The lady dealing with the Korean guy came back first and finished up the paperwork with him and he moved on to the next stage. I was still waiting when my guy returned and told me that it was going to be necessary for me to get my driving records from Ontario before they could process my application and there was nothing else they could do at the time. There's no mention of any of these forms being necessary for the license conversion process on the DMV website, but according to the man who interviewed me they are essential (in my case at least).
With nothing left to do I slinked out of the meeting room feeling quite defeated. I can't say it was a total surprise though. The guy I had seemed like a bit of a jerk and was giving me the run around during my interview. I later learned that many of the DMV employees in Shiga are former police officers, who for one reason or another, were cut from the force. I had done my best to be extra polite with my language and answer the questions the best I could, but I guess it wasn't enough. I do think that if I had the lady the Korean guy had interviewing him I would have my license now though.
On the plus side, when I go back I still don't have to take the road test like Americans do. The road test takes place on a closed course and is extremely strict. It's said the first time you go it's basically just for show and so you can book your second try. This isn't just for foreigners either, most Japanese fail the first time as well, and it takes people upwards of 4 or 5 attempts before they pass. In the history of the Shiga DMV, there is only one foreigner who has passed the test in one try.
And this is the story of how I wasted a day of paid vacation at the DMV.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Sunday, September 16, 2007
体育祭
Yesterday was the school sports festival. Ever since the 2nd semester started classes have only run for half the day. After lunch is dedicated to sports festival practice. Even though most of the day is taken up by various athletic events the majority of practice is spent working on the roughly 5 minute dance routine each team is required to perform. The school is divided in two teams, red and yellow, with each team being made up of one of one of the two classes from each grade. All of the teachers were part of a certain team mostly based on their homeroom classes, but not having a homeroom myself was teamless. I quickly affiliated myself with the yellow team since my supervising teacher was part of the yellow team.
We managed to do pretty good in the races. We swept most of the first place spots in the running events and the 3 legged race on both the boys and girls side, but we lost a lot of the higher point events like the individual grade competitions and the handball throw. We also lost the all important dance competition which has a huge point value attached to it. Just how high, I'm not quite sure, but it's gotta be big if we spent 2 weeks trying to get it perfect. The red team had a high energy dance to the tune of Avril Lavigne's "Girlfriend" and, disregarding the song choice, they really did have the better dance. This isn't to say that the yellow team didn't give it their all, but in the end it wasn't enough.
I competed in two events myself: the PTA vs. students tug of war, and the mixed relay which was a red team vs. yellow team vs teachers team 1400 m relay. I ran 100 m in the 4th and 14th positions. The first time was a fairly decent run and I was able to maintain our lead, but in the middle we had some weak runners so when it came back around to me again we were in last place and my shoe came undone so I was only able to gain minimal ground on the students in front of me.
I also managed to get a wicked sunburn even though it was overcast with patches of rain yesterday. It's mid-September, but you wouldn't know it with the weather here. The temperatures are still pushing the 30 C mark. It got cool for a bit last week, but the heat and humidity picked right back up. People say it's autumn already because in Japan when the first school semester ends at the end of July "summer" begins. When school starts again "summer" ends even though only a month has passed. You can say it's autumn all you want, but you aren't fooling me. Summer is sticking around.
Anyway, after the sports festival all the teachers headed out for a party to celebrate the job well done, but that is a different story for a different time, so for now enjoy the pictures and taiko performance while I enjoy being off until Wednesday. Tomorrow is a national holiday and because the sports festival was on the weekend we get the following school day (Tuesday) off as well. How sweet it is.
We managed to do pretty good in the races. We swept most of the first place spots in the running events and the 3 legged race on both the boys and girls side, but we lost a lot of the higher point events like the individual grade competitions and the handball throw. We also lost the all important dance competition which has a huge point value attached to it. Just how high, I'm not quite sure, but it's gotta be big if we spent 2 weeks trying to get it perfect. The red team had a high energy dance to the tune of Avril Lavigne's "Girlfriend" and, disregarding the song choice, they really did have the better dance. This isn't to say that the yellow team didn't give it their all, but in the end it wasn't enough.
I competed in two events myself: the PTA vs. students tug of war, and the mixed relay which was a red team vs. yellow team vs teachers team 1400 m relay. I ran 100 m in the 4th and 14th positions. The first time was a fairly decent run and I was able to maintain our lead, but in the middle we had some weak runners so when it came back around to me again we were in last place and my shoe came undone so I was only able to gain minimal ground on the students in front of me.
I also managed to get a wicked sunburn even though it was overcast with patches of rain yesterday. It's mid-September, but you wouldn't know it with the weather here. The temperatures are still pushing the 30 C mark. It got cool for a bit last week, but the heat and humidity picked right back up. People say it's autumn already because in Japan when the first school semester ends at the end of July "summer" begins. When school starts again "summer" ends even though only a month has passed. You can say it's autumn all you want, but you aren't fooling me. Summer is sticking around.
Anyway, after the sports festival all the teachers headed out for a party to celebrate the job well done, but that is a different story for a different time, so for now enjoy the pictures and taiko performance while I enjoy being off until Wednesday. Tomorrow is a national holiday and because the sports festival was on the weekend we get the following school day (Tuesday) off as well. How sweet it is.
Thursday, September 13, 2007
First Visit to Elementary School
Today, I made my first trip to one of the four different elementary schools I'll be teaching at. Incidentally it happened to be the farthest one away as well, taking over an hour by bus to reach. On the plus side, because it's so far out there the first bus to the school doesn't run until 9:25. This means I get to sleep a whole hour and a half compared to my normal schedule. It was quite nice I must say.
When I made it to the school the students were in the middle of a practice for their sports festival. There's only 17 students between the six grades so the teams are quite small, but nevertheless the had an impressive routine of some complex formations with the older kids supporting the littler ones. After watching this for a few minutes the vice principal led me into the principal's office where the three of us had a bit of a chat about the school, Canada, and some Japanese history.
The kids had a recess after this before some more sports day practice. During the recess all the kids came up to the window at the principal's office to get a good look of the new foreigner. One of the first grader's took a particular interest in me and she ran off screaming "He looks like him! He looks like him!" Although I never found out who this "him" was. She's absolutely adorable by the way. Super cute, very talkative and friendly. Throughout the rest of the day she would hang off me, hold my hand, or grab my leg, or climb all over me any chance she could.
Anyway, after the second sports day practice there was a class before lunch and the vice principal invited me up to the computer room for his science class with the 6th graders. The plan was to watch this internet video from NHK (Japan's BBC) about growing rice, but only the sound would play so the students just ended up playing games on the NHK website, all educational of course.
After this my little first grade admirer came to the teacher's office and led me down to the lunch room. After lunch was dodgeball in the gym. I think these kids must play everyday cause they're pretty decent. Obviously the bigger kids we ganging up on me to see who could take out the new English teacher and a few of them actually tagged me pretty good as I tried to dodge the onslaught.
Following recess all the kids gathered in the gym for my English lesson. At first all the kids introduced themselves one by one. Then, they got to ask me some questions about myself. Next, I introduced them to a variety of body parts via the oh so classic "Head, shoulders, knees and toes" song. We learned a few animal names as well, and the remainder of the time was spent with each of the classes trying to see if they could keep pace with the pre-recorded "Head, shoulders, knees and toes" which kept getting faster and faster. All in all it appeared like a good time was had by all.
With my first and only class for the day done I had about an hour and a half to wait until the bus back home. This school is out there, really out there. 3 buses come by the whole day so if you miss one and you had some important place to go you're gonna be SOL. Pretty much everyone has cars though. It's basically a necessity living way up in the mountains like that. In this hour and a half I spent some more time in the teacher's office as the kids had their last class and got things ready to go. The first graders didn't have a last class so once they were all done getting there things together to go home, my adorable friend popped her head into the teacher's office saying in her sweetest voice (translated from the Japanese, of course) "Excuse me, Mr. Tyler. Can you play?"
Adorable. And yes, of course I could. All of the first graders and I played a tag like game in the gym for a while. Then my little friend wanted to show me Kamishibai story she had made about a family of birds going for a picnic. We all gathered around to listen as she told her story. Again, also adorable. It was almost time for me to go, so we headed outside to wait for the bus, and to pass the time played another classic game "Red light, Green light." I'm not quite sure of the Japanese title though. All of the students had made their way outside just before the bus came and we said our good-byes as the kids shouted "See you next month!"
As a final note to this trip, the bus ride, while long, is definitely the most scenic bus ride I've ever taken. My predecessor had recommended to take a book for the long ride, but I don't know why as I was more than entertained looking out the window trying to take it all in. Unfortunately, I forgot to take my camera with me, but next month I definitely will.
When I made it to the school the students were in the middle of a practice for their sports festival. There's only 17 students between the six grades so the teams are quite small, but nevertheless the had an impressive routine of some complex formations with the older kids supporting the littler ones. After watching this for a few minutes the vice principal led me into the principal's office where the three of us had a bit of a chat about the school, Canada, and some Japanese history.
The kids had a recess after this before some more sports day practice. During the recess all the kids came up to the window at the principal's office to get a good look of the new foreigner. One of the first grader's took a particular interest in me and she ran off screaming "He looks like him! He looks like him!" Although I never found out who this "him" was. She's absolutely adorable by the way. Super cute, very talkative and friendly. Throughout the rest of the day she would hang off me, hold my hand, or grab my leg, or climb all over me any chance she could.
Anyway, after the second sports day practice there was a class before lunch and the vice principal invited me up to the computer room for his science class with the 6th graders. The plan was to watch this internet video from NHK (Japan's BBC) about growing rice, but only the sound would play so the students just ended up playing games on the NHK website, all educational of course.
After this my little first grade admirer came to the teacher's office and led me down to the lunch room. After lunch was dodgeball in the gym. I think these kids must play everyday cause they're pretty decent. Obviously the bigger kids we ganging up on me to see who could take out the new English teacher and a few of them actually tagged me pretty good as I tried to dodge the onslaught.
Following recess all the kids gathered in the gym for my English lesson. At first all the kids introduced themselves one by one. Then, they got to ask me some questions about myself. Next, I introduced them to a variety of body parts via the oh so classic "Head, shoulders, knees and toes" song. We learned a few animal names as well, and the remainder of the time was spent with each of the classes trying to see if they could keep pace with the pre-recorded "Head, shoulders, knees and toes" which kept getting faster and faster. All in all it appeared like a good time was had by all.
With my first and only class for the day done I had about an hour and a half to wait until the bus back home. This school is out there, really out there. 3 buses come by the whole day so if you miss one and you had some important place to go you're gonna be SOL. Pretty much everyone has cars though. It's basically a necessity living way up in the mountains like that. In this hour and a half I spent some more time in the teacher's office as the kids had their last class and got things ready to go. The first graders didn't have a last class so once they were all done getting there things together to go home, my adorable friend popped her head into the teacher's office saying in her sweetest voice (translated from the Japanese, of course) "Excuse me, Mr. Tyler. Can you play?"
Adorable. And yes, of course I could. All of the first graders and I played a tag like game in the gym for a while. Then my little friend wanted to show me Kamishibai story she had made about a family of birds going for a picnic. We all gathered around to listen as she told her story. Again, also adorable. It was almost time for me to go, so we headed outside to wait for the bus, and to pass the time played another classic game "Red light, Green light." I'm not quite sure of the Japanese title though. All of the students had made their way outside just before the bus came and we said our good-byes as the kids shouted "See you next month!"
As a final note to this trip, the bus ride, while long, is definitely the most scenic bus ride I've ever taken. My predecessor had recommended to take a book for the long ride, but I don't know why as I was more than entertained looking out the window trying to take it all in. Unfortunately, I forgot to take my camera with me, but next month I definitely will.
Friday, September 7, 2007
The Forgotten Umbrella
As I left my house yesterday morning for school I took my umbrella as the sky was looking rather ominous. A typhoon hit Japan yesterday night, but it landed more west towards Tokyo. In any case we had a bit of rain and some strong winds as a result nearly 500 km away in Shiga. This is all beside the point though, the thing is I left my umbrella on the bus stop bench yesterday morning rendering it completely useless in the event of the impending rain. This morning the skies were looking rather gloomy as well and I thought to myself "it's a shame I left my umbrella on the bus stop bench yesterday. I'm gonna have to buy another one at the convenience store today." However, I arrived at the bus stop to find, lo and behold, my umbrella, right where I left it. This tells us one of two things. Either:
1) I'm really out there in the countryside. So far in fact that no one else but me uses the bus stop on a daily basis.
and/or
2) Japan is the only country where you can leave something that's easily stolen, like an umbrella, somewhere and can come back the next day to find it right where you left it.
1) I'm really out there in the countryside. So far in fact that no one else but me uses the bus stop on a daily basis.
and/or
2) Japan is the only country where you can leave something that's easily stolen, like an umbrella, somewhere and can come back the next day to find it right where you left it.
Monday, September 3, 2007
The First Day
My internet seems to be pretty steady and fast at the moment so I'm gonna try and do this. Still don't have my good fiber optic internet yet. The guy came to look at the set up and gave me a form to be stamped by my landlord giving me permission to get the wire and internet installed in my apartment. The funny thing is the JET before me had the same internet set up so the wire is already there and in my apartment. So basically I'm forced to wait another two weeks for the internet company to receive the form from my landlord saying it's ok for them to install the wire (which is already there) for the internet in my apartment. Gotta love the formalities of certain things in Japan, right?
All that aside, today was the first day of the second semester. We had our opening ceremony and I was formally introduced to all of the students. I had met a fair deal of them in August as I wandered the school watching various club activities, but this was the first time I've "officially" met them all. After that was cleaning time and I wandered around a bit chatting with some students. The baseball team students seem to have already taken a shine to me and they spent most of the cleaning time teaching me about popular gags, their nicknames for each other, and other subtleties of the daily life of a Japanese 2nd year middle school student.
I also had a bit of fun with the kid, who's name I have yet to learn, who seems to be similar to the student body president of a Western high school as he gave a little speech at the opening ceremony welcoming my supervisor teacher who is returning from maternity leave and I. We were up in the dojo and he was trying to grab me and I just tossed him around like a rag doll for a little while. He kept trying to best me, but just didn't have what it takes to tackle the T-Mac just yet.
There were no English classes today so I still haven't taught, but tomorrow is a double lesson with all of the 3rd year students. 100 minutes with 65, 15 year olds should be quite fun, especially when I'm doing an introduction lesson with pictures and all kinds of personal information.
Anyway to wrap this all up since my internet seems to be moving quite well today I'm going to try and upload some pictures of my apartment. Let's see how this goes...
Nagayama Heights
Entrance
Sink at the end of the entrance hall
The washing machine and doors to shower and toilet
Shower. It's a little separate room and not part of the bathroom like in Western houses
Toilet. No bidet, but the seat is heated.
The kitchen. I didn't buy the Pooh towel. It was in the closet and I just hung it up
More kitchen
The living room. I bought the "sha-cho"(company president) chair and the cushions because the ones that were in here before were paper thin and cushioned jack squat.
Some of my clothes in the living room
The bedroom
The view from the bedroom veranda. A freshly harvested rice field and what I can only assume is a rice threshing plant or storehouse.
Another view of the bedroom
From the veranda looking east. Somewhere way over those mountains in the distance is Mie Prefecture.
All that aside, today was the first day of the second semester. We had our opening ceremony and I was formally introduced to all of the students. I had met a fair deal of them in August as I wandered the school watching various club activities, but this was the first time I've "officially" met them all. After that was cleaning time and I wandered around a bit chatting with some students. The baseball team students seem to have already taken a shine to me and they spent most of the cleaning time teaching me about popular gags, their nicknames for each other, and other subtleties of the daily life of a Japanese 2nd year middle school student.
I also had a bit of fun with the kid, who's name I have yet to learn, who seems to be similar to the student body president of a Western high school as he gave a little speech at the opening ceremony welcoming my supervisor teacher who is returning from maternity leave and I. We were up in the dojo and he was trying to grab me and I just tossed him around like a rag doll for a little while. He kept trying to best me, but just didn't have what it takes to tackle the T-Mac just yet.
There were no English classes today so I still haven't taught, but tomorrow is a double lesson with all of the 3rd year students. 100 minutes with 65, 15 year olds should be quite fun, especially when I'm doing an introduction lesson with pictures and all kinds of personal information.
Anyway to wrap this all up since my internet seems to be moving quite well today I'm going to try and upload some pictures of my apartment. Let's see how this goes...
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