Tokyo

Outside the Hostel

Schools in Japan take a two week break for New Year’s holidays, so two fellow teachers and I decided to take advantage of the much needed time off by traveling to Tokyo for a week of exploration and relaxation.  We stuck around town for Christmas celebrations and headed out on the 26^th.  After a quick train ride to Koriyama we hopped on a bus for Tokyo.  The trip was supposed to take about four hours, but by the time we hit Tokyo traffic it was closer to five.  We could have taken shinkansen (bullet train) and made it in about 90 minutes, but it would’ve cost twice as much.  We arrived on the opposite side of the city from our hostel, so we had to figure out the train system right away after the bus let us off.  Luckily, the Tokyo train/subway system isn’t too hard to navigate (and I also really enjoy deciphering subway maps – strange, but true).  After another 40 minutes and one wrong turn, we were at our hostel.  Checking into the hostel was interesting because it was really the first time I had taken note of the difference between an average tourist and me.  I’ve been in country for a few months now, I can get around alright; the culture might still seem strange to me, but it doesn’t surprise or shock me much anymore; I know to take my shoes off in a genkan.  So when we got to the hostel the worker there started to explain things about the showers, things about trains, when we needed to take off our shoes, etc.  But she quickly realized we weren’t fresh off the boat and instantly became friendlier and more familiar with us.  It’s nice to be able to travel over here while being in the know, at least a little bit.

After we found the hostel and got our bags situated, it was time to hunt for dinner.  Eric and Celeste were my traveling companions for this trip, and before we even left home we made a plan for meals.  You see, it’s not that we are indecisive people, it’s just that we usually don’t mind where we eat.  We’ve had difficulties deciding on food in the past, just because none of us have felt strongly about one place in particular and end up wandering the streets in search of the perfect restaurant.  Ok, I guess we are indecisive.  So for this trip we decided to take turns picking where we would eat dinner.  I think it was Celeste’s turn that first night, but it didn’t matter because the choice was clear.  Almost immediately after we left the hostel we found a yaki-tori restaurant and made a bee-line in that direction.  There was another good thing about traveling with only two others: most things in Japan are smaller than they are in America, and that includes restaurants.  Finding seating for a group of seven has given us problems on past trips, but with the three of us we could go anywhere.  So we entered the yaki-tori joint and they put us in what at first looked like a broom closet, but no, there was just enough room for three chairs jammed around a small table at the wall.  You may be wondering what yaki-tori is.  It’s basically chicken shish-kabob.  You can get different veggies on the skewers or different flavors of chicken, like curry or wasabi (both of which were delicious). 

So what do you do after dinner your first night in Tokyo?  Why, karaoke, of course!  I knew that karaoke was very popular in Japan, but I never realized the extent of it until I made it to Tokyo.  Karaoke is to Tokyo what coffee is to Seattle.  It wasn’t uncommon to see a karaoke place on every block in some parts of the city; sometimes they were even right across the street from each other.  After an hour of singing and laughing we were tired enough to call it a night, ready to hit the zoo the next day.

Cool giraffe beats lazy panda 10 days out of 10.

We woke up and grabbed the free hostel breakfast of toast, nescafe, and soft-boiled eggs.  Not quite my cup of tea, but when we left the hostel we found a bakery right next to the local train station.  Bakeries and baked goods in general are not very common in Japan, so almost every other morning of our trip we stopped there for breakfast.  So many carbs.  Mmm.   But we didn’t know about the bakery that first morning, so it was some toast with jam and we were off to the Ueno Zoo.  The highlight of the zoo happened right after we got there at the giraffe pen.  On giraffe and found a low spot in the fence and was reaching his neck over to snack on some of the vegetation.  Eric was able to get close enough to feed it a leaf or two and got a nice lick in return.  The other animals were pretty cool, gorillas, polar bears, and I guess the panda was pretty cool too, but the giraffe was definitely the best part of the day.  After we were through with the zoo we decided to explore some other districts of Tokyo.  We ended up having ramen for dinner (don’t ask me why we don’t have ramen shops in America, I don’t know, but I do know that we are missing out).  After that we saw a sign for bowling, so we rolled a couple of games before making our way back to the hostel. 

Me and Splash Mountain

Day three, Friday, Disneyland.  We woke up a little earlier than we did to make it to the zoo, stopped at the bakery for breakfast, and hopped on the train to Mickey’s place.  The day started out nice, but it ended up raining in the afternoon through the evening. Brrrrr.  We still had a good time though; we didn’t let the rain stop us.  Splash mountain?  Of course.  Eric and I got seats in the very front of the ride and got a face full of splash after the big hill.  And they even got the rain to stop for the evening’s fireworks.  I was surprised by the amount of English inside the theme park.  It seemed like almost every sign in the park was written in both Japanese and English, but the English usually appeared on the signs above the Japanese.  And some signs didn’t have any Japanese on them at all.  Go figure.  One interesting part of the day was the parade they had in the afternoon.  About 45 minutes before the parade families started laying picnic blankets in orderly rows along the sides of the road and eating snacks while waiting for the parade to start.  Oh, and another thing I think might be particular to Tokyo Disney: churros, turkey legs, and popcorn.  They had plenty of food carts throughout the park, but these were the only three things they sold.  Weird.  Anyway, that was Disney.  We stayed till they closed and road the trains back to the hostel.  

Eric and Celeste under the Tokyo Tower.

We had no set agenda for Saturday, so we did some more exploring.  We spent a good part of the day in Asakusa, doing shopping in some shops that have been around since the Edo era of Tokyo (really old) and checking out some old shrines.  After doing some more exploring we ended up at the Tokyo Tower for sunset.  It was a little cloudy, but the sunset was still great.  We found a Victorian-style pub in Akihabara for dinner and I had some great shepherd’s pie.  Akihabara is famous for its electronics’ stores, so we popped into a couple before heading back home.  And what should I find in one, but the same toy train set that I had when I was a kid!  That brought back some memories.

I had these when I was a kid!  Oh, the memories.

There are plenty of interesting people in Tokyo, but they say that the place to find the most interesting folks is Sundays in Harajuku.  There are plenty of weird shops, and the district is famous for people dressing up in anime costumes and walking around.  We hoped to get a good show on Sunday, but it was pretty rainy and most of the costume people must have stayed home.  But the time in Harajuku was just to kill some time before the day’s main activity, set to happen that afternoon. 

This is where my dad taught.

As most of you know, this trip wasn’t the first time I’ve been in Tokyo.  I actually lived in Tokyo until just after I was two years old.  So I don’t remember any of it, but there are still plenty of people that remember me, so I thought I would take some time during our visit to pop over to my old stomping grounds.  After some effort with online train maps I was able to figure out how to get out to Higashimurayama.  I surprised myself with a memory on the way out there.  I don’t remember anything really about my time in Japan when I was little; who remembers anything from when they were two?  But when we were waiting for the train to take us there I did remember one thing: the yellow trains.  The train line to get from downtown Tokyo to Higashimurayama is bright yellow.  When the train approached the platform I was awash in a sea of nostalgia.  It wasn’t the sight of it so much that I remembered – more of a feeling brought on by the sight.  I didn’t really remember seeing the yellow train ever before, but I knew I had seen it.  Anyway, we got on the train and carefully watched the stops fly by until we reached our destination.  We were picked up by one of the few folks there that I actually had memories of because of his visits to America, Daniel Sexton, and he took us to the mission’s complex/seminary to attend the English church service there.  But first he gave us a tour of the seminary where my dad used to teach and my old house and everything.  It was neat to finally see the places I’ve heard all about, but, again, I didn’t really remember anything from my childhood.  The church service was great; it was the first time I’ve been in an English speaking church since coming to Japan.  We were very much welcomed in the service, and I got more than one shocked reaction from people when I introduced myself.  I’ve never met so many people that knew me even though I didn’t know them.  I even met a Japanese gentleman who translated for my grandfather when he preached over here. 

After the service came the highlight of the week.  But to really explain I have to tell a story about my dad from 23 years ago.  One day my dad was riding the train and saw an old woman get on the train, about half a car down.  The train was fairly packed, standing room only.  No one near the old woman was giving up their seat for her, so my dad (halfway down the train car) got her attention and gave his seat to her.  The old woman was not alone; her daughter was with her (Mrs. Komatsu).  Well, Mrs. Komatsu was so surprised at this act of kindness from a foreigner that she invited my dad over for tea.  So the Komatsu’s became some of my parents’ greatest friends here in Japan, and apparently I have them to thank for my current obsession with ebi-sen (shrimp-flavored chips).  They visited us once or twice in America when I was little, so I had a bit of memory of them but not much.  Anyway, when my dad heard we were going to be in Tokyo he gave me the Komatsu’s email and suggested that I get in touch with them.  It’s a little weird sending an email to someone along the lines of, “Hey, you knew me when I was a baby I think.  I’m going to be in town next Sunday, wanna hang out?”  But I sent the email anyways and arranged to meet up with the Komatsu’s at the English church service.  They showed up with two of their grandchildren (aged five and six) in tow.  We didn’t have much of a chance to chat at church, but they invited us to dinner at their home after the service and we eagerly accepted.  They went home right after the service to get the food started and picked us up a little later, after we had time to talk with some of the other people there after church.  

Us with the Komatsu's

I need to pause again to explain one of the greatest inventions Japan has to offer: the kotatsu.  It is standard in Japan for tables to be low down to the floor.  Chairs aren’t too common – usually you are sitting on a small cushion (called a zabuton) on the floor.  Flexibility is a big help in Japan as it is easiest to sit cross-legged or on your knees in these situations.  Also, Japanese winters are very cold, and Japanese houses do not have insulation or central heating.  But they do have the kotatsu.  Underneath the tablecloth is a large blanket that spreads out to cover your lap and legs nicely.  Beneath the table is a hole in the floor where you can stretch your legs.  And, best of all, at the bottom of that hole is a heater.  Very warm.  I wish I had one in my house here; I think I would sit down and never get up again.  Anyways, when we arrived at the Komatsu’s house they motioned to the kotatsu and we took our seats to wait for the food.  But there was a surprise waiting for us in the kotatsu: after we had been sitting down for a minute something brushed against my leg, and then I saw surprised looks on my friends’ faces.  All of a sudden two small smiling faces popped out from under the blanket.  It was the Komatsu’s grandkids, Kanon and Kein.  They had been very shy at church, but now that they were back at grandma and grandpa’s place the show could begin.  They were chatty and silly and making us laugh all through the meal.  And they both had shockingly good English.  It turns out they both went to an international preschool, all done in English.  So we could communicate with them quite easily, and they even helped translate for their grandparents once or twice. 

The meal started and seemed like it would never stop.  I’ve been fed a lot here in Japan; hospitality is very important.  But I have yet to have a meal like the one I had that night.  Dish after dish kept coming out of the kitchen, and Mrs. Komatsu kept telling us, “Stop talking and eat!”  More than once we thought the meal was over only to be surprised by more food, and then tea, and coffee, and desert, and fruit.  I’ve never felt so welcome in a new place ever before, and I will certainly be back there the next time I visit Tokyo.

Sky Tree to the left, and the Asahi Breweries HQ right behind me.

Monday was our last day in Tokyo.  New Year’s Eve.  We made our way early to the Sky Tree to get tickets and only had to wait two hours after getting the tickets before heading up the tower.  What a view!  Tokyo from 450 meters up is definitely worth the price of admission.  It was a cloudy day, so we couldn’t see Mt. Fuji, but we were still able to look down on all the skyscrapers.  Tokyo is interesting in how there isn’t one main central downtown area, but rather many districts crammed together.  Skyscrapers are almost scattered throughout the city, it seems like.  We were able to look out at the buildings and identify almost all the places we had been the past week. 

After we came down from the clouds we tried to head over to the Imperial Palace.  The palace itself is generally closed to the public, but the gardens are open to walk through.  Or at least we thought they were open.  And I guess most days they are, but for the New Year’s Eve holiday they were closed, as were most restaurants.  But we were able to find a noodle shop just before we started gnawing our hands off in hunger.  We spent the rest of the day doing some shopping, heading to a couple neighborhoods that were on our list that we hadn’t seen earlier in the week.  Around 11pm we made our way to the Meiji Shrine, the biggest Shinto shrine in Tokyo.  New Year’s in Japan is different than in America.  First of all, no fireworks.  That was a disappointment, but we got over it pretty quick.  The big thing to do on New Year’s is to go to a shrine for your first visit of the year.  So we stood outside the Meiji shrine with a couple thousand other folks to welcome in the year of the snake.  It wasn’t a very exciting event; I like to think of it as a good cultural experience.  There were police there, guiding the crowd, letting wave after wave of people go into the shrine, toss some money on a big tarp, and say a few prayers.  And then we filed out the side and walked back to the train station, ready for our last night at the hostel.  Trains and subways in Tokyo usually shut down just after midnight, but for the holiday the trains were to be running until four or five in the morning.  Apparently some people like to go shrine hopping throughout the city as part of their celebration.  I thought I had seen full trains before, but I guess I hadn’t.  I’ll be happy if I never have to physically shove my way on and off a train ever again.  Wow people. 

Totoro donut and a cup of coffee.

Tuesday morning we slept in.  Well, Celeste and I slept in.  Eric had left his ipod at Disneyland, so he got up early to retrieve it as the park opened.  Not a great way to spend your morning on New Year’s, but at least the ipod was waiting for him in the lost and found.  When he got back we made one last trip to our bakery and then found our way to the bus station to catch a ride home. 

It was interesting to be back in a city.  The past four months in Funehiki have been very quiet and peaceful.  Tokyo was full of people and noisy and flashy.  I didn’t realize that I actually missed a lot of that.  But the more I am out in the country, the more I am enjoying the calm that surrounds life here.  Tokyo was a great trip, and I look forward to my next visit, but it will be nice to slow back down to Funehiki pace for a while before I venture out again.  

Tokyo from the Sky Tree.

Feast

Working on a Japanese calendar means no time off for Thanksgiving, so our celebrating was pushed back to Saturday.  We were lucky enough to have Japanese labor day on Friday, so we did get a little extra time off.  In case you were not aware, I am not the only American living in Funehiki, Japan.  There are 11 of us, and a few of those 11 are really good planners.  We all love Thanksgiving, so preparation for the day began at least a month in advance, if not earlier.  Everyone had their own assignments for the big day, special shopping trips were made to get foreign ingredients (including a 3 hour drive to Costco for the turkeys).  I got off relatively easy in the preparation department, being responsible for beverages (I made some great punch) and assisting with turkey prep.  This being the case, I ended up running errands and helping out a little bit with the sweet potato and green bean casseroles too. 

Celeste, me, Jay, and Eric

Earlier in the week I was a little bit worried about how Thanksgiving could be Thanksgiving if I wasn’t with my family, but I fears were assuaged when the day actually arrived.  It turns out, I was with my family for Thanksgiving, just not the family I had been thinking of.  I’m thankful for the family I have here.  They have been a great support for me the past few months, and I can’t imagine what life would be like here without them. 

The prep work for the meal almost felt like a game to me.  Could I make a Funehiki Thanksgiving as amazing as an Ohio Thanksgiving?  The added responsibility was exciting.  We had to make Thanksgiving happen; we couldn’t rely on mom to make sure the turkey didn’t dry out.  And that sense of ownership over the day made the celebration that much more rewarding. 

The Spread

Meal time was set for 3:30, which meant we didn’t actually sit down till after 4.  There were 11 of us plus maybe eight extra friends crammed around three tables set end to end in a kitchen and living room.  And the tables were covered with food.  I don’t know of any traditional dish we were missing.  Garlic mashed potatoes, three turkeys, stuffing, rolls, cranberry sauce, two sweet potato casseroles, two green bean casseroles, we had it all.  I’m glad we were able to have some of our Japanese friends over to celebrate the day.  In my last post I lamented the difficulties of explaining the significance of traditions, and I really think the best way to teach a tradition is to let the person in on it.  I don’t know how much of the significance of the day actually transferred, but I think they learned more from the experience than they could have from me telling them about it. 

After we had all eaten so much that we could hardly move, the tv came on with some turkey day football.  (Yes, I can watch football here!  And it’s even legal!  Thanks to nfl.com and my buddy Jay, we haven’t had to miss any of this year’s installment of “False Hope - The Eternal Letdown,” aka the Buffalo Bills.)  Once we got to the end of the first game, some of us found room for pie.  Oh, the pies.  I love living with people that bake. 

Leftovers are always a part of Thanksgiving, but even more so when you have a whole turkey untouched at the end of the feast.  So we’ve all been extending the feast, I think I’ve got enough in my fridge for just one more meal though, better make it count!  

(Sorry for the tardiness of this post.  Leave it to me to post about Thanksgiving on Christmas Day.  Well, New Year's is coming up, maybe it's time to make a resolution about this blog.  Also, thanks to Celeste and Ashley for photos!)

We Are Weird

Three months in Japan; routines are becoming established; some of the initial surprise and shock at new things has become dampened; I’m starting to get used to life here.  Cars on the left side of the street?  Of course!  Chopsticks and rice at every meal?  Naturally.  Being unable to communicate with most of the world around me?  Has it ever been otherwise?

But new things do still happen here from time to time, I guess.  Thanksgiving was last week.  Although I’m fairly familiar with the traditions surrounding this holiday, this was the first year I’ve had to celebrate Turkey Day away from my family.

As my alarm buzzed me awake Thursday morning all I could think about was how horrible it was to have to work on Thanksgiving.  But I managed.  At school I was wishing every kid I saw “Happy Thanksgiving!”  Most just passed by with a confused smile on their face, but a few stopped and asked for an explanation.  As I struggled to express the traditions in simple English I was brought back to an experience I had in high school Spanish class.  Each year we would study cultural traditions particular to certain Spanish-speaking countries – Los Dias de Los Muertos (The Days of the Dead) stood out in particular.  Their traditions seemed so strange to me, but at the same time I could see how important they were to the people celebrating them.  I knew in class that I would learn plenty about what their traditions were, but getting an understanding of the feelings accompanying the traditions or why they were so important . . . that was impossible.  And however much I could acknowledge that the traditions had profound importance for someone, somewhere, they could never be more than cultural oddities to me. 

So when I started explaining Thanksgiving to students I strongly identified with the opposite side of my situation in high school.  Sure, I could tell students about turkey and football and family and being thankful, but I couldn’t tell them about sitting around a table in Enon, OH, reuniting with family, joking about Erin making an extra green bean casserole sans mushrooms just to accommodate my preferences, falling asleep halfway through the Cowboys game, waking up to pie . . . .  No matter how much I told them about our traditions, there’s no way I could communicate all that to them.

But I guess this all goes along with being a foreigner.  Most of my time here I’ve been stuck noticing all sorts of weird things Japanese people do that are nonetheless essential to their way of life.  This Thanksgiving made me pause and consider some of the weird things that Americans do that are essential to our way of life.   Why do we do the things we do?  Why do we relate and communicate with people in a particular way?  It sure isn’t because one way is more effective or efficient than the other.  At times I’m confused by the Japanese way of doing things because there seems to be a much more efficient way of getting the job done, but sometimes efficiency isn’t the goal.  Maybe that’s some of my American-ness coming through; we tend to place value on brevity and directness, while the Japanese way often seems to prefer indirectness and patience.  But even Americans do not always do things the most efficient way.  I can’t help but paraphrase the words of Tevye from Fiddler on the Roof, “How did we start doing the things we do?  I don’t know.  But it's a traditions, and it's our traditions that tell us who we are.”  (This part in the video starts at 2:10)
 

 Yes, we are all weird, we do things that don’t seem to make sense or have a reason, but that is what makes us, us. 

Bath Time!

Learning about the Japanese work ethic has been interesting over the past few months here in Funehiki.  Students and teachers alike put in ridiculous amounts of hours, and Saturdays are by no means automatic days off.  Work here is really important; there’s always something more to do.  On the other hand, such a dedicated work force can also lead to increased stress and missed time with family.  The Japanese have taught me a lot about the value of work, but this past weekend I learned a new lesson from them: the value of relaxation.  Yes, the Japanese know how to work hard, but they know how to relax as well. 

Last weekend as a thank you for working hard at English Camp (see previous post) our boss took all us English teachers out for two days of rest and relaxation.  Our trip started at 7:40 a.m. - a little early for a Saturday morning but definitely worth it.  We divided between two vans – one was for those that wanted another hour of sleep, while the other was for anyone else.  I had already finished my morning coffee, so it was van number two for me.  One of my friends brought along a trivia book, so the four of us spent the trip quizzing each other.  

Our first stop was a hiking path through Goshiki-Numa, the Five Colored Lakes.  These lakes were formed the last time nearby Mt. Bandai erupted.  Sulfur from the eruption causes the lakes to have very beautiful coloration.  Keep in mind that this was also during the third weekend in October, so the leaves were in their prime.  Greens, yellows, and reds were everywhere.  We had a guide for the hike, and he did a great job at pointing out all the different varieties of Japanese Maples along the path.  The colors weren't quite as spectacular as a NY fall, but was still very beautiful.

After we finished the trail we had bentos for lunch, and then it was back to the vans to head off to another trail.  This trail led to a nearby waterfall, perfectly framed in fall reds and yellows.  The first half of the trail consisted of a large staircase; I took my time on the stairs, focusing on each step as I ascended.  There is a peace in the woods like nowhere else, and I found it on those stairs.  And did I mention that it was a perfect day to be outside looking at leaves?  Sunny, brisk but not too cold.  After getting some great pictures by the waterfall it was back down the stairs to the vans.  Have you ever run down a mountain?  I like to do this whenever I can, so I hit the stairs pretty fast, and ended up wiping out about halfway down.  No, just kidding, I made it down fine.  I think running down those stairs was the best part of the weekend, actually.

Finished with all our outdoor activities for the day our vans took us to the Lake Inawashiro Resort.  The resort is situated right in between Lake Inawashiro and Mt. Bandai, providing a scenic view no matter where you look.  And then came the real treat: onsen.  Onsen is public bathing with water from natural volcanic hot springs, full of all sorts of minerals that are supposed to be good for you.  They are very popular all throughout Japan, and it’s no wonder why.   Four years in Shenawana Hall at Houghton College taught me some of the values of public bathing, but I didn’t even know.  I had always found baths to be relaxing, but I would get bored pretty quick.  The idea of spending an hour sitting and soaking didn’t seem that appealing, but I figured I would give it a try anyway.  There were three different baths, two inside and one outside.  Inside, one bath was very hot.  I couldn’t stay in it for too long before moving outside.  The outside bath was a little cooler, but still fairly hot.  And of course the outside bath had a stunning view of the lake.  The other inside bath was freezing, and taking a quick dip in it was very refreshing.  They also had a sauna at the onsen, kept at close to 200 degrees F.  I spent close to two hours in the onsen that afternoon, and I headed back for another 45 minutes after dinner too.  I’ve never been so relaxed in my life. 

Dinner was a fantastic five-course French feast.  The tables were set with about 10 pieces of silverware (real silver) per person.  The first course included some raw ebi (shrimp), mushrooms, foie gras, and something else I don’t know what.  And it was all pretty good (even the mushrooms).  A quick word on mushrooms: I hate them.  I’ve always done anything I could to avoid them.  But I have adopted a policy here of “Say yes to everything,” and that includes mushrooms.  So I’ve been doing my best with them, and I’ve actually had a few experiences with them that haven’t been negative in the past few months.  One of those times came in the second course: Mushroom soup.  I hate to say it, but it was pretty good.  (Mom, I wish I could see the look on your face right now.  Yeah, yeah, I know, you told me so.)  Course 3 was salmon, and it was the best salmon I’ve had since living in the Pacific Northwest.  But the main course was yet to come: STEAK!  One important characteristic of Japanese cuisine is to have small portions of a great variety of foods.  So we were all expecting the steak to come out in this fashion and be fairly small.  Nope.  It was enormous.  And cooked perfectly.  Desert was course number five and consisted in small portions of fruit, cake, and ice cream.  What a meal.

Sunday was rainy, which was ok because we didn’t have any hiking or other outdoor activities planned.  We drove to Aizu for our final two stops of the weekend.  Aizu is famous for its painted candles, so we went to a shop where they make/sell these candles.  But we didn’t know that we were going to have a chance to paint our own candles.  Once we got in the shop the people there took us upstairs, explained the process of making and painting the candles, and then led us into a room with tables set with paints and blank candles.  We each got to paint our own candle and take it home with us.  I’m sure for some of our group, this was the highlight of their weekend.  As you may know, I don’t have the skills of an artist, so it was not exactly my cup of tea.  But hey, I tried. 

After that we went to a bakery/café in another part of Aizu for lunch.   Bread and baked goods do not really exist in Japan, so it was really special to get a chance to enjoy some fresh bread and pastries.  I think that was the first piece of wheat bread I’ve had since entering the country.  After lunch it was back to the vans for the drive home.  What a weekend.  Yes, people in Japan work very hard, but they also know how to get every ounce of relaxation possible out of a weekend.  And I’m sure I’ll be back to onsen soon.

English Camp!

Tamura is a special place for students to learn English.  I think you would be hard pressed to find another part of Japan with a student-to-ALT (Assistant Language Teacher) ratio as high as the one here.   As such, we can do some things here for students that you wouldn’t find in other parts of the country.  One of these things is English Camp.  English Camp is a two-day program that all the sixth graders in the town get to experience.  All students begin studying English in middle school, so one goal of the camp is to give kids a little bit of a head start in English study.  We also want the kids to start having fun with English, so we play a lot of games and crafts, and teach a little lesson about the most important American holiday (at least in the mind of a sixth grader), Halloween.  Yay candy!  Another goal of the camp is for kids to get to know students from other schools – when kids go to middle school, much like how we do things in the states, students from various elementary schools are combined.  We group students together that will be at the same middle school next year.  So not only are kids getting a head start on English and having fun at the same time, they are also meeting new friends and forming relationships they can look forward to next year.  We ran a total of four camps over the past two weeks, one for each of the middle schools in town. 

Day one of camp was always a little awkward to start.  Kids can be shy, especially when you put them in a group with a crazy off-the-wall American.  But we would always get over that quick enough.  Camps had anywhere from 70 to 170 kids, and we would break them into groups of 15 or so.  We started the day with simple introductions and then played some ice breakers and name games.  It’s fun being in a new country doing these sorts of games because they are all new to the kids here.  I’m used to kids being bored with ice breakers and name games back in the States, because they’ve seen them all already.  Kids over here are hesitant at first, but they get really excited about these games once they understand the rules.  I wonder what Japanese ice breakers look like, or if they even have an equivalent for that over here.  Some students did teach me a Japanese version of Red Light – Green Light a few days ago; they were excited to learn the American variant after teaching me how the Japanese play the game.  After ice breakers we would have to come up with our team name.  We gave each team a list of adjectives and a list of nouns.  They would pick their favorite from each list and combine them to make a name.  This led to some interesting names.  This year English Camp got to see the Big Bananas, Pink Monkeys, Dangerous Underpants, Cool Tigers, and Rainbow Kings, among others.  After choosing a team name students would have time to make a team poster.

The second part of day one was the infamous shopping game.  Each team was a different store (pet store, candy store, school supply store, etc.).  We took time to teach the vocabulary of what each store sold, and then we taught a simple shopping dialogue.  After some practice, we let the kids loose in our makeshift strip-mall, half the kids manning the stores, the other half trying to buy all the items on their shopping lists with the fake money we provided them.  It was a fun game, and a good way to get kids speaking English.  When we would teach the shopping dialogue, most of the students would be really nervous to try and practice.  But the chaos of the kids running around trying to get to each store provided the perfect cover for students to try the dialogue without being afraid of making mistakes.  I’m pretty sure everyone had it down by the end of the day, even the students that had been terrified to speak in English at the start of the day. 

Day two was all about Halloween.  At the start of the day we would have plenty of supplies set out and the kids would get busy making masks and decorating candy bags in preparation for the afternoon’s Halloween Party.  After all the sequins and stickers and pompoms and markers were cleaned up, we would spend some time practicing writing the alphabet; most students already knew the alphabet, but it was good for them to practice, and there were enough students that didn’t know much about writing letters that it was a worthwhile time.  But after lunch came what most of the kids would say was the highlight of camp: The Halloween Party.  All the teachers got dressed up in costumes and paraded around the students, with another teacher and myself giving energetic introductions of each costume.  We had a couple cowgirls, some Barbies, Pooh and Tigger, and I was (of course) Pikachu.   After the parade we would take some time to explain what happens on Halloween in the States, and then we got into a massive jonken (rock, paper, scissors) tournament.  Let me pause here at say a word about rock, paper, scissors.  It is way more popular over here than in the States.  Students are playing all the time; teachers will play with students sometimes to determine how big a homework assignment will be; they have different things you say depending on how many times you throw the same thing (e.g. both throwing rock, both throwing paper).  People take it pretty seriously over here.  Anyway, that to say that a jonken tourney in Japan holds a lot more excitement that a rock, paper, scissors tourney would in the States.  After that we would play one last large group game before ending camp.  That would be sharks and minnows, if the space allowed.  Again, here is a game that is old hat to any kid in the States, but is brand new to the kids over here.  Needless to say, they have a lot of fun with it. 

After the Halloween party we conclude the English Camp.  A quick note on meetings or programs in Japan: formality and structure is highly valued, even when working with 12-year-olds.  Before and after each section of camp it was imperative that someone would announce that we were officially starting or officially ending.  At the beginning of day one each teacher would have to give a brief introduction and say how excited they were about camp.  At the end both teachers and students would get up and say something about their favorite part of the camp.  There is a particular way to do everything in Japan, it seems.  Sometimes as an American the Japanese way seems strange or even inefficient, but what can I say?  When in Rome…

So we did it.  English Camp 2012 is done!  And this weekend comes the celebratory retreat to a nearby onsen, which you will probably be hearing about in a future post. 

This post was long overdue; sorry for that.  As you can see, though, I’ve been a little busy with English Camp the last few weeks.  And maybe a little bit of culture shock has left me without the energy necessary to bang out a new post.  That might be an interesting topic for a future post: culture shock.  Everyone experiences when they come over here, but for each person it looks a little different.  I’m still figuring out how it’s really affecting me, so maybe I’ll let ya’ll in on what it’s like.

(And thanks for the pics Ashley!)