New Year's Cleaning

I am currently making good on one New Year's Resolution....for the first time ever. Prior to yesterday, I really wasn't happy with the layout of my apartment. It is a cozy apartment--a hall/bathroom, a kitchen, and a bedroom, all in a long rectangle. The big room is 287 cm by 278 cm (random, eh?), which is plenty of room for one person and one person's stuff. The kitchen is about the same size, with no inborn shelving and sink/burner stand in the corner. I inherited a large cabinet, a fridge, a washer, and a vacuum, two shelves, a set of plastic drawers, and a bed, and the apartment came with a table and two chairs. Up until now, I supplemented the kitchen with a pantry on wheels, which was hugely helpful.

None of this was an issue. The issue was the bathroom.

In Japan, the Northeast corner of a building is tremendously unlucky. It's known as the Demon Gate, where evil spirits come in. Castles would have special watchtowers or even make a concave section there to avoid even having a Northeast corner. Obviously, you don't want a door there. It is apparently even more unlucky to have plumbing (a bathroom) there. Guess where my bathroom is. Yep. Dealing with it so far has been costly and endlessly frustrating. An awful smell came from the drain when it's hot and when it storms. I couldn't seem to clean the drain at all. Despite it being a hermetically sealed shower/bath/toilet unit, there was possibly mold. No hooks stayed on the wall, so I had to put shampoo anywhere I could. It. Was. Gross.


Note the past tense. Finally, in a home-improvement frenzy inspired by dreams of rearranging my bedroom to make it look like a 9x9 rather than a 6x3, I caved and bought a cute shower curtain. And drain tablets. And (expensive) textured surface suction cups. And shower racks. Then, while waiting for bookshelves and a laundry rack to be delivered, I hit the drain with every tablet and hair collector I had and cleaned the bathroom until I was the only life form left.

The change was magical. It sparkled! It was...visually appealing! It didn't smell like demons were indeed crawling up my northeast corner plumbing.

Inspired by this, and with the help of Erin, I have moved along to reorganizing the living room/ bedroom so that I could make the most of the natural light and maybe, possibly entertain friends for dinner or movies. We switched stuff around and I already feel more at home.

Pictures after shelves and such.

So, so much more like a home.

あけましておめでとう (Happy New Year)

New Year's is the biggest holiday in Japan. Erin and I decided to try our hand at some New Year's traditions. These included:

1. Not cooking on New Year's Eve. An awesome tradition, but one that makes the delica (deli) section of every grocery extremely crowded.

2. Eating Mochi and other Japanese sweets. Chewy!

3. Watching Kouhaku, the four hour long "song battle" between various Japanese bands after dinner on New Year's Eve. Full of enka and insane costumes.

4. Ringing a bell at a Buddhist Temple. As we were walking back from a friend's apartment where we watched Kouhaku, we heard bells all around us from the flock of temples on my street. The biggest one had red candles placed in the snow just inside its gates. One of the women working at the temple invited us in (in English!) and told us to try ringing the bell. Each temple will have its bells rung 108 times, once for each sin that Buddhists believe holds the spirit back from enlightenment. People in the neighborhood can ring the bell while the priests watch and count.

5. Visiting a Shinto Shrine at midnight. This is big thing. Many families will go to shrines at midnight to pray, use sacred smoke (usually by wafting it over a body part for healing or a possesion for safety), or buy charms. I saw several groups of young boys who were doing a shrine marathon through the snow--they were running all over Komatsu from shrine to shrine, getting the name of the shrine stamped on a white cloth. Erin and I were at Tenmangu, a shrine known for its charms that help students pass exams.

6. Giving thanks and buying good luck charms for the next year. On the recommendation of my vice principal, we visited another shrine later on New Year's Day. Oyama Jinja is in Kanazawa, and is one of most popular places to visit for New Year's the city. Even late in the day, it was full of people. Buying charms was a particular hassle, as there were no real lines; rather, old women just snuck in and elbowed everyone else aside.

7. New Year's Shopping. Most department stores have "Happy Bags," grab bags of goods at a really reduced price. This goes for small stores like Lush, and also for home goods stores--I saw one Happy Bag that contained a bicycle, a space heater, and an electric blanket. Stores are packed and the good bags go quickly.

More pictures here.

Merry Christmas one and all

As I type, I'm watching snow fall on Kanazawa with my fiancé and our friend from college. It's like we're in a snow globe, and it's sticking to the ancient pine trees, bright neon lights, and curved roof tiles. I had a kitty on my lap at the park, and now she's probably cuddled up with her friends in a shed, all full of treats.

The snow is sticking. It feels almost how Christmas should, except for how far away I am from family, friends, and traditions.

Christmas food here is KFC and strawberry cake. Christmas is a lover's holiday; New Year's is for family. It's the opposite of back home, really, and it takes a little getting used to.

Hopefully the white Christmas lasts to the morning for pictures!

Something Awesome

Way, way back in October I went to Gifu to visit a certain someone down in Gifu city. Gifu is famous for 鵜飼 (ukai), cormorant fishing.

Ukai in Gifu has a 1,000 year history, and the techniques are kept much the same as they were back in the day. It takes place at night in the summer and early fall. Lit only by balls of burning pine and sap, two fishermen steer the boat and handle trained cormorants as the birds chase after Ayu, a small sweet fish. The cormorants wear a leash around their necks that allows them to swallow small fish, but not large ones--the fisherman then takes the fish from the cormorant's mouth and tosses it back into the water. It sounds awful for the cormorants, but they're taken care of and live much longer than their wild brethren.

The first catch of the season goes to the Emperor Akihito and his family. The fishermen are living national treasures, their instruments (including the birds!) are national artifacts, and the river is a protected site.

And now, the awesome: video of the ukai!

Erin and I were the only foreigners on our observation boat. Our shipmates were super nice and wanted to know everything we thought of it.

Essays

I've been taking a more active role in lesson planning these past few months, which is part of why you haven't heard much from me. My units thus far have included giving public transit directions, and a cooking unit (make a cooking show in English!) for first years and the basics of logical single paragraph essays for second years. Making my students write feels like a cop out sometimes, but then wonderful mistakes like " one hurf of cabbage" and "fry the ham in a flying pargh" reminds me that it's worth it.

I've been grading said essays (and some written answers on other teacher's exams and homework--I volunteered) and have stumbled upon many gems.

So here it is, your November midterm treasury of quotes. English is full of comedic opportunity.

On Japanese food:

"I owe what I am today to Japanese agriculture."

"onigiri is Japanese soul food"

On cooking (and classical music):

"Wait for five minuets."

"Borb the pasta"

And, finally, on cultural misperceptions:

"I want to tell the truth to (foreign) students. The truth is that actually, there is no samurai or ninja in Japan now. I think that not so few foreigners believe in samurai or ninja. Therefore, they should know the truth. So if they come to Japan, they will not be disappointed."

I love how this kid isn't telling you the truth about samurai and ninja in Japan to end offensive stereotypes--he's telling you so you won't be disappointed.

That's all for now!

Well shoot

So. Been a while.

Massive photo update coming. Beware!

Halloween Stories part 2

And here are the funny stories. The students are finishing a story about taking shelter in an abandoned house on a dark and stormy Halloween night...

They sat and ate their chocolate. Then they heard, "please give me it!" They looked around. But there was nobody. They were so suprised, they shouted and ran away. "Wait, wait!" Someone said. They stopped and someone noticed the man who had spoken. He was their teacher. (by A)

We heard a noise and the lights went out. All of us thought something was behind us. We were too afraid to run. Our hearts began to beat faster, like something was about to happen to us. We tried to go out of the house but the door wouldn't open. Why? Because we pushed the door but the door was a pull door. (by T)

I noticed the doorbell ringing. We were surprised, and we got to be happy because we thought someone familiar had come here to help us. But we remembered we had done a shortcut, so our family can't find us. I watched out from the door...there was a tall man with a knife with blood. I was so frightened that I couldn't move. He said something, but I couldn't hear it because of heavy rain. The sound of tapping became stronger and stronger. At last, the door was broken. There was my brother. He said, "it is a surprise!! Hahaha." I couldn't help punching his face. (by R)