Nihongo-a-Go-Go :: Aimee's Journal

Pic of the Day: Horse Sashimi

(Another cel phone pic)
This is a picture of the english menu at Watami, an izakaya that we like. I have eaten the food pictured in the middle (Horse sashimi=raw horse), in a story that Mandy recounted in her journal recently.

Well, it's getting closer and close to vacation. Only two more days now! I can't wait. I totally can't wait. It's going to be so great to have 9 consequtive days off. The plan is to go to Kyoto for 3 or 4 days, then head back here and veg a bit and see stuff around Nagoya that (for whatever reason) we haven't gotten around to. Like the World Expo and sundry other pleasures. We would like to go to Tokyo for a day, but... I guess I don't really want to go very much. I know it's like "You're in Japan, go to Tokyo" but I just don't like crowds. And I imagine Tokyo is as crowded as you can get.

So we'll see what we decide to do. At this point, I'm as excited about staying in a hotel with BEDS as anything else! (You'd be surprised at how comfortable a futon can be, but it's just not a mattress.)

Many of my students keep little notebooks for class. One of my favorite students, Nobuhisa, keeps a little notebook. He practices writing sentences on his own, which is great. It's part of why he can initiate conversation in Englisha nd knows how to talk about things he's interested in. Today during the lesson, I had him partnered up with another student. I was reading his notebook (upside down) while I was listening to their roleplay. It was enchanting. The two sentences that stand out in my mind were "I have pollinosis" and "It is difficult for me because a lot of snot come from my nose." That is totally something that you need to talk about this season. Smart man. Equally charmingly, when I was doing a vocabulary-building game, one of the high school girls suggested "Sky driver" as the word for "pilot." I don't know why, but I really liked it - it's very inventive, almost poetic. I really like most of my students - too bad the day is just so long because the lessons are so monotonous for the teachers.

Today I think I may have abused my position as not only a techer of the English language, but as a teacher of Western culture. Today my language exchange student asked me why Westerners say "Bless you" when someone sneezes. Explaining that it basically meant "good health" didn't really seem to fly with him. So... I recounted the story that my 6th grade Social Studies teacher told us, a story that I've never quite bought into. The story that back in the middle ages, people thought you were sneezing out a demon and so would quickly say a "Bless you!" to try to keep you safe and kinda get the big guy on your side. I don't know why, but this seemed to be easier to explain than any other feasible, correct answer. He seemed pleased with this answer, probably largely because of the little stick figure I drew sneezing out a little stick-demon.

We foreigners sure are weird.

An entry and the Pic of the Day: Sakura Mochi

Pic of the day first, since I know that's what my family's here for:

This is sakura mochi. It's really pretty. It's pink mochi (a sticky sort of stiff rice paste) filled with chunky, sweet bean paste. Wrapped around it all is a pickled cherry leaf. It's gorgeous, but I have to admit it's not my favorite of the traditional Japanese sweets.

Anyway, the last few days have been mostly uneventful. The event of the week is that I picked up a used Nintendo 64 the other day at Aiden for very cheap. This is exciting because we don't have any game systems here, save GBA, and becase this particular Nintendo 64 is hot pink. The man who worked there thought I was crazy. He explained to me, for about two minutes in Japanese, that the Nintendo 64 (at pointed at the *English* writing that said 'Nintendo 64') was an old system, and the new system was the Gamecube. It took a lot of nodding and saying that was okay, and that I liked the Nintendo 64, didn't want a Gamecube... etc, before he'd let me just get out my money and pay for it.* Today I picked up a used copy of what I thought was Pokemon Snap, one of the cutest (thought most inane) games I've ever played. Unfortunately, I was wrong. It's actually a game called Pikachu Genkidechu, a game who's purpose I haven't quite figured out. It's adorable, but unfortunately, I have no idea how to play. Playing other Japanese games would bother me less, because I can muddle along and mash buttons with the best. However, this game requires you to wear a microphone and actually talk to the little creature. In, regrettably, Japanese. The things I can say to Pikachu are extremely limited. Things like "Come here," "Eat ____," and "Good Night." Sometimes I think I'm making progress by reading things from the prompts to Pikachu.... and then Pikachu makes an enthusiastic sound and throws at whatever he's holding off the screen.

Tonight on the train ride home, a Dragon's (baseball) game got out around the time I finished work. So the train was full of drunk men and their sleepy children. These two drunk 40-something guys wanted to talk.... I was kinda trapped by the wall and the handrail, so there was no real way to get away politely. They weren't harassing or anything, but they just kept asking me questions and trying to engage me in meaningful conversation, despite my insistence that I can't speak Japanese. Basically, they asked me about where I was from, how long I'd been in Japan, what foods I liked/didn't like, and told me about the department stores they'd been to in the US.* It was kind of interesting, except that they were just really really close to me, even though there was enough room for them to be standing back a bit, and they were very drunk. They got off, and then their friend (who was going further I guess) leaned over and said, in English, "If I have money, I will visit New York." I complimented him, in English and in Japanese, on his English. It was cute.

* Lately, I find that my comprehension is really pretty decent for simple Japanese. Sometimes my brain almost hears it like English - just the meaning without a translation. It's kind of cool. But at the same time, my speaking ability is just absolutely nil. I have a huge passive vocabulary, but nothing I can actually dredge up to make into sentences. I feel so frustrated. Talking about where I'm from and where I work and what food I like is really all I can do. I can say and understand the things I need to say and understand for my day to day life (buying things, asking where things are, etc), and I can say my interests and my age and all, but that's just so... mediocre. I wish I could learn languages more easily.

One week til vacation!

Pic of the Day: Gratuitous Toilet Picture

This is the spigget on the top of my toilet. It's for the people who are really into water conservation - you can use the water to wash your hands before it goes into the toilet's tank. I know it's pre-toilet water, but I just can't bring myself to put my hands in it. So while I think everyone else who's ever set foot in my apartment has tried it, I have not. Cannot. Will not.

It really kinda creeps me out on some weird psychological level. If it's late at night, I have to be half out of the bathroom before I flush it so I can't see it. -_-* A little neurotic, huh?

Pic of the day: Sunset over the tracks

This is the view from the back of our building. The back of the building is right near the tracks.... but our apartment is on the opposite side. So while there are always trains running, we rarely hear them. And when we do, it sounds sort of like rain. The sunset was beautiful the other night. I took pictures of it from 3 of the four sides of our building. This was the nicest one. The view on our side faces away, the middle view is the beautiful sunset over Sexy World.... so this is definitely the best.

Pic of the Day: Grill It Yourself

I went to this restaurant a couple weeks ago for a going away party for one of my coworkers. It was pretty cool. You buy the seasoned ingredients, then you cook them on the middle of your table. If you're not up to it, they can cook it for you... but it's really fun this way.

In unrelated news, I want to go out and shove my neighbors off their balcony. They're having a party and they're SO loud. Just their stupid gaijin voices. Assholes. You should never be so loud that your neighbors can hear you clearly enough to recognise by accent what country you're from.

Nerrrrrrrrd.

You all it know it's true...

Pic of the Day: Lazy Afternoon in Yaba-cho

Yaba-cho is a stop on the Meijo Line. This picture is taken coming up Yaba-cho (the street) toward Otsu-dori. Beautiful day, huh?

Pic of the Day: Surreal #2

Kiccoro, one of the Aichi Expo characters, makes me squishy. Mascot Kiccoro is super cute... especially when it poses and coos.

Pic of the Day: Surreal Sight #1

(I finally figured out how to get the photos off my cell phone. Behold their high-quality 1.6 mp sharpness!)

At a little shop in Sakae station, we happened to be glancing around in the hat section. Right next to "Whores Powered Pussy Wagon" were two hats for my hometown. Also known as "Some City An Hour East of Buffalo Possessing Nothing of Hat-worthy Interest." Really strange. About a week later, I also saw a sweatshirt of the same design.

Pic o' the Day

Picture of the day:

These are little sandpapery looking fruits on twist ties. They are attached to the edge of the metal shelving unit over our sink We assume that they were left by the previous tenant... they're really weird looking and kind of ugly, but for some reason, we don't throw them away.

Loooongish post.

I feel like just writing about Japan a little to try to give you a better feel for it, or at least my life. Just some little vignettes and descriptions. This will likely not be very cohesive!

I find that my tolerance for unusual foods has gone up dramatically, as has my outlook on food in general. For example, let me relate to you Mandy's favorite "Ha ha, let's laugh at my roommate" story. When Amber and Justin came to visit, we went to an izakaya (drinking restaurant) and just let them pick out whatever looked good to them. The menu wasn't in English, and y reading ability is very limited... though useful in the drink section. ("What is this, Aimee?" "Ehrekturiku Remonado." "She said 'electric lemonade.'" "Oh.") Anyway, we ordered a bunch of our usual favorites, and we also ordered a plate of what we thought was beef sashimi (raw, sliced meat). It was very tasty and enjoyed immensely. About two weeks later, Mandy and I went to that izakaya again and they were super excited because they had a new English menu. We already knew the foods we liked usually, so we just picked them out without looking at the names. We were talking, and I don't know why, but I found my gaze gravitating down toward the menu. I paused, shocked. There, in neat white English, were the words "Horse Sashimi." Soooo I have eaten horse. The story is funny in itself, but it the continuation illustrates how my mindset has shifted. I messaged Amber and Justin to tell them, and I found myself saying "Eh, it's just an animal." Where months ago, I would have been seriously grossed out. And at this point, I think I would eat it again if I was in the mood. It was quite good.

At this point, most food are fair game. I'll try anything once, I think, with the exception of the foods from what Mandy and I term the "Gross Food Section" of our local supermarket. Most of these include pureed seaweed or little translucent dried fish or fish slathered in an indeterminant brown sauce. But anything else is fair. Not only that, I'll eat it raw. Raaaaaw. In my own kitchen, even. bits of raw tuna, scallops... only things I still won't eat raw are chicken and pork. Though I tend to avoid pork anyway.

Mandy and I also occasionally buy Japanese foods and cook them blasphemously Americanly. The most glaring example is how we occasionally handle sashimi meat. At the grocery store, some nights they'll have this GORGEOUS raw tuna, cut into little bite-sized blocks and intended to be eaten raw. Sometimes we buy these and take them home... then fry them up with Cajun seasoning. ;)

We've also started buying food more frequently at the International foods stores. Things like Campbell's Tomato Soup, Kidney beans (for chili), and blocks of gouda cheese. I love Japanese food, but sometimes I just want to go home and have grilled cheese and tomato soup.

Life here is very expensive - today at the grocery store, we were very excited to see a pint container for about 300 yen (about $2.90). We're living in a country where a single, large apple can cost 198 yen, and meat is usually priced by 100 gram increments. It's very hard to explain how that changes your perception of prices - it's no longer a big deal to pay 290 yen ($2.75ish) for a can of import tomato soup. It's just... I don't know. Unless you've lived here, you just can't understand it.

It's also impossible to explain the culture of consumerism here. It's crazy. People are always saying how materialistic and consumption-driven Americans are, but it really puts us to shame. Standing on the subway, sometimes it's almost eerie to look at people because everything looks so... NEW. There's no wear on anything - almost like no one actually does anything, or that they're not quite real. More like faeries or ghosts or something that the real world just doesn't seem to sully them. I look down at my purse, with it's battered strap... and kinda wonder sometimes how I appear to them. Like a shoddy little foreigner, I guess. But the reason everything looks so new is because they are always buying new things and getting rid of the old. The flowerbeds in public places are always in bloom because the flowers aren't usually actually in the ground - they're in little pots that can be switched out for a blooming plant when that one's blossom dies off. It's strange because it gives everything a feeling of plastic newness and unchanging continuity.

In a shallower topic, we also live across from an old woman who is, quite literally, off her rocker. She loves nothing more than to catch us when we're on our way home and fumbling with keys... and then come over and talk to us extensively in Japanese. She knows we don't speak Japanese, and we know she doesn't speak English. She'll go on and on for a few minutes, then stop and ask us a question requiring an answer. We'll sort of blink at her stupidly, then she'll bow and apologize profusely in Japanese, laughing happily all the while. We'll think, "Okay, now we can go in our apartment..." And then she'll start up again. She usually keeps us out for about 5-10 minutes before we can politely bow out and edge our way into the apartment. She does this to Japanese people too, though. The way our apartment building is set up, it's like a very tall, rectangular donut. It's two parallel rows of apartments with walkways on the perpendicular sides. The upshot of this is that there's a big empty tunnel up through the middle of the building that has fantastic accoustics. The crazy lady (as we affectionately call her), likes to stand there, hang onto the railing, lean forward and whoop or shriek up into the echochamber-like open area. When it echos, she will giggle and cackle. She does this for hours sometimes. And while it is rather charming, it can be really creepy at night.

Another sign of my shifting consciousness is the way I regard our junkmail. We have been getting solicitations from various sex-shops since we came. Phone sex places, strip clubs, porn shops, and brothels.... all in little fliers delivered directly into our mailboxes. We clear out our mailboxes once every few days and throw out the pizza menus and porn solicitations (much like clearing an e-mail inbox). I'm not as disgruntled as I used to be. For example, instead of venting "WHY DO THEY GIVE US THESE?! WE'RE BOTH WOMEN! WHAT IF WE HAD KIDS AND THEY SAW THESE?!", I might just say "Oh. This brothel's cheaper than the one with the nipple-pinching advert." Weird.

I also fear that my accent is changing. Turning into a generic Anglocanadioaustrailian American accent. Blargh!

Hmm. I think I'm going to end here because I'm suddenly very tired and must get up early tomorrow. Take care!

~*~ The Post-Japan Plan ~*~

When I get home, I plan to work for several months while cramming for, then taking, the GRE. I will take the general GRE, and then the subject area GREs for science and math. After I take these exams and receive kick-ass scores on them, I will apply to graduate school. Hopefully, in fall of 2006, I will enter grad school in the field of either microbiology, behavioral genetics, or pharmacy. I haven't decided which, yet. My eventual plan is research and/or teaching at the university level.

Though I'm also researching chiropractic.

This is the tentative plan. I am currently researching schools, programs, and careers. I am also trying to enjoy the experience of living in a foreign country that is vastly different from my own, enjoy my hobbies, meet new people, and learn a foreign language.

Always playing catch-up!

It's Golden Week!

Golden Week is a week of staggered national holidays. There are three or four holidays in one week, so many companies just let their employees off for the whole week. As a result, it is a week of travel, shopping, and general hedonism for a large portion of the Japanese population.

It makes no difference for me, unfortunately. I'm working all week, just with slightly different hours on some days. The nicest thing about Golden Week for me is that I don't have any kids classes for the whole week! YAY! That's great. I need a break from the little brats! My kids classes have been horrible lately... every April, kids move from one group to the next if they've reached the ages of 6, 9, or 12. So a lot of the classes have been scrambled, a lot of kids are no longer in classes with friends or rolemodels who they knew before. Added to this, NOVA has drastically changed their kids' program. A lot of the kids are having trouble adjusting to everything at once.... and their confusion is coming out in the form of bad behavior all around.

The worst of my classes is a Junior (aged 6-9) class that I have on Wednesdays. It's a big class, and they're very different students. There are 7 children in that class. There are a few who are very bright, and then I have a few who have no confidence and really need a lot of help. About half the class is wretched behaved, and the other half is trying to be very good. I feel bad because I can't seem to give everyone enough attention, and a couple of them seem SO desperate for it. The most problematic (and changeable) student is Kasumi, a really... exuberant seven year old girl. She's so strange. Some weeks, she's brutally affectionate, and others she's petulant and badly behaved. She's also a weird little pervert. She's reached the point of being extremely interested in the human body, and so is always trying to draw the private regions on the people in her cartoon pages. For the last few weeks, she's also been trying to grope me during lessons. It's really bizarre. It really bothers me because we'll be doing part of the lesson, and she'll just randomly make a grab for my chest or lower. =_= I need to talk to our Japanese staff about it.

I don't really have much news lately!