observations

Rejoice with me, everyone, for I have my own internet connection. It brings me great joy to be able to communicate with the outside world whenever I want to. Wonderful. Anyway this entry is about random observations (from a western viewpoint) from my 10 weeks in Japan so far. As with any country, there are some very interesting people here. I would like to start with the business man.

Business Man

The business man is up all hours of the day and night. He always wears a black suit and tie and walks extremely fast at all times. You will see him hurrying down the sidewalk, briefcase in hand, everywhere and all the time-whether it's 1pm or 2am.

The Grass and Dirt Sweepers

There I was, the first day at my second kindergarten before the kids came. I was outside; I was handed a broom and told to sweep. Naturally I went to the walkway and began sweeping dutifully but was soon informed that I was doing it wrong. My principal took my broom and demonstrated the right way to sweep--in the grass and dirt. Apparently they don't sweep the walkways, just the grass and dirt. This broom, mind you, is made of a bamboo stick and twigs which break off into the grass and dirt-so not only am I just making lines in the dirt, I'm leaving twigs all over the place. And it's not just at my kindergarten; you'll see grass and dirt sweepers all over the place here.

The maskers

They are everywhere-the maskers, or "day-time ninjas" as some call them. They wear a white mask which covers their mouth and nose, a bit like a surgeon's mask. I have yet to see a martial arts fight break out, so I doubt they're ninjas--perhaps instead they are prophets of doom, protecting themselves from the insuing plague. Really though people just wear the masks when they are sick or afraid of getting sick, and it's perfectly normal-people even teach with their masks on.

The Loud Gang

No really, there are little "loud gangs" whose only purpose is to drive around on their motorcycles and scooters as loudly as possible. I guess you've got to stand out and rebel somehow...

The Man-Woman and the Woman-Man

I must start this section by saying that Japan is full of very good looking people. That being said, it also has more than its share of women who look like men and men who look like women. Never before in any other country have I mistaken so many for the wrong sex. There's a teacher at my school that I was sure was a man only later to find out he's actually a woman. The gender line seems quite a bit more blurred here than in the western world. (The picture...is a guy).

CUTE

Everything in Japan is cute. There are cute cartoon characters everywhere. Really happy music plays at the train station. The kids are adorable and I'm pretty sure they train them to be as cute as possible. Some teens and young adults dress like they're baby dolls. They've even made the poop cute: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kitty80/2443421974 and potty training: http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=QFVoLz88hiUI .

That's all for now. Later! ~kris

Sorry everyone; I fully intended to keep this blog up to date. Little did I know I would be over a month into Japan and still no internet connection of my own…things happen slowly here. Very, very slowly. Thankfully though I’ve discovered flash drives, so now I can write updates on my computer and then post them through someone else’s computer with internet.

The tragedy now is, of course, that I could not possibly update you properly on a full month of goings-on without thoroughly exhausting your eyes or draining your mind’s ability to focus. So with that in mind, I bring you a short(-ish) introductory entry. Welcome to my house:

1) This is the view outside out side my front door. 2) This is a view of my kitchen from my living room—notice the sliding glass door on the right, which separates my kitchen from my living room, and the door on the left is my toilet; I have a tub and shower room too but you can’t see it in this pic. 3) More of my kitchen—my washer, refrigerator, etc…and my “bathroom mirror”—there’s no sink in my toilet room, so all getting ready in the mornings is done in the kitchen. I also have a living room/bedroom. I love it; it’s the perfect size for one person I think. I’m sure yous have questions for me, so here are a few things I thought you might want to know—

How’s school: it’s good. I have 2; Tokiwa Elementary and Kindergarten, and Midorioka Kindergarten. I’m at Tokiwa 4 days of the week and Midorioka 1 day of the week. I walk to both, and for some reason my other teachers seem to think it’s weird or some great physical feat. I’ll probably start riding my bike soon (that is if I finally get over being afraid of it). More details about school to come in another post.

How’s church: it’s good too. For some reason, when people preach in two languages it kind of feels like “home,” whatever that means. I’ve been going to the church where the majority of the other AETs go, which I was wary of at first because I didn’t want to be stereotyped as “one of those Americans” if you know what I mean, and I don’t want to be one of those people who rely too heavily on English and things familiar…but now I don’t think I really have to worry about either one. More on church to come.

How’s the food: mostly good. There’s lots of healthy food, which is a great thing. I have school lunch everyday, which is usually good and sometimes…interesting. The strangest thing I’ve eaten so far was this weird little sea creature, which I ate whole at my first enkai (teacher party); I have no idea what it was.

Biggest victory so far: this past Sunday I was actually able to sing a couple of the songs in church!

Biggest defeat so far: communication in general .

I’ll end with a story: My first week at school we had what seemed like 10,000 ceremonies, but I’ll just briefly tell you about one of them now. So I get to work that morning and waiting for me on my desk is a long note, translated into English through free software from the internet. I have a collection of such notes now. Here’s a selection from that morning’s note:

“….The eyes participate in a PTA general meeting at four time. Both a child and the teacher participate together and listen to the song of the mother chorus and sing a school song with all the members. Thereafter, there is an introduction of the staff. You should bow at the time if called because the principal introduces it…”

I didn’t have much time to decipher the page-long note that morning, not that it would have really helped much. As I was preparing for class, I was whisked off to the gym suddenly and told on my way there that I would be expected to stand in front of the crowd (which consisted of all the parents and PTA members, along with the staff) with the other new teachers and introduce myself in Japanese. No time to prepare! By the grace of God I was able to both recall and say “Watashi no namae wa Kristin Creekmore desu. Yoroshiku onegaishimasu” without any mistakes. That seemed to be enough to please the crowd any way. After that I was lead over to a table full of PTA members where I was supposed to sit and pleasantly converse with them…but of course, I don’t speak hardly any Japanese and they didn’t speak English; so it was a little awkward after we said our hellos and konnichiwas. We sat around awkwardly for a little while, with them quietly speaking Japanese to each other and smiling at me. Then they decided that instead of speaking, giving me more food than I could possibly eat would be the best move. It was good food but I had just eaten lunch, so I was already full. But I ate what they gave me and even drank plain coffee (I’m not a big fan of coffee, but everyone here seems to think all Americans adore it). I’ve found that never knowing what is going on, not being able to speak or read, and confusion in general are all a part of my every day life in Japan. And I’ve found that smiles and broken Japanese go a long way.

okay...

So, I still have no internet...sorry guys. I don`t have time to update at school either (which is what I`m doing now) so it may be a little while longer until I can do a real post. Just wanted you to know I`m still alive.

hello, goodbye

Well here I am again moving across the world, but this time it's my own choice. Friday afternoon I'll be at my new "home" in Japan! How insane. It's so strange though to leave OC, to leave OKC...it's the longest time I've ever spent in one spot in my life. But it's with such a full heart that I leave; I've gotten to know and become good friends with some of the most incredible people on the entire planet. I know it's not really goodbye; the friends I've made here will truly be my great friends for life. Anyway this is just an introductory entry to make sure I know how to do this thing...get ready for the life and times of Kristin in Japan.