Nihon no Tabi

Interacting with Interac

2011-07-21T11:11:00.003+09:00

I applied for a job with Interac, the biggest private organisation that puts ALTs into schools. The position I want is teaching at high schools in my area — a position that recently opened up when the previous ALT — who, along with his wife, is also a friend of ours — handed in his notice and relocated, soon to return to the US.

I am in the middle of the application process. I have had a phone interview, but tonight I have a face-to-face video interview. Last night, I made a teaching demonstration video to submit. ~~I'll pop that up on the blog when I have the means.~~

So, it's all going ahead. Prayer and determination will see this through and me successfully welcomed into a position that is ideal.

We shifted house last weekend. We had a lot of help from Ps. Taniguchi and his wife, and Mika's dad. We got everything shifted over and the old house completely cleaned. It's been difficult to try and set everything up in the new house, but we are pacing ourselves as we try and unpack and sort through everything, and work out what to put where.

As yet, we haven't got an internet connection at home. That means I will be setting up at the old (empty) place tonight for my interview, since there is still both power and an active cable internet connection there. We are trying to get ADSL hitched up, but so far haven't even found out when that will be activated, or with whom.

As for cable TV; well, we are going to get cable installed (at a fairly large cost), but the installation won't take place until October. So until then, I guess we try and hook the TV up to a regular aerial. I dunno if that will do anything, as so far we haven't tried. Heck, I haven't even set up the home theatre system yet!

There was a farewell nomikai last week with the main office in K-town, which I attended. And there is a local welcoming/farewell one next month for the new ALT and myself to attend.

I filled out a survey for leaving JETs. Following are the comments I wrote at the end of the survey:

"Educate all shougakkou teachers a lot more about what JET and its ALTs represent and do. Instead of "omakase", they should be leading and participating in the ALT classes like the rest of their classes, without fear of not being able to use English.

"Offer more training that invokes team teaching and how an ALT can be effectively used at junior high school. We are not human tape recorders, and ALT lessons should not be grammar cramming time. If all JTEs knew how effective classes could be if they would just work with the ALT and find a good balance, then both parties - as well as students - will be much happier in the long run.

"Those are the two biggest issues I have. Because if primary school teachers have their foreign language class confidence boosted and junior high English teachers better understand team teaching, then there is more potential for JET ALTs to be involved with effective and ongoing lesson planning - and thus more for ALTs to actually do during non-class work hours, and more of an overall positive language and cultural effect on students across the board."

I really can't imagine things changing for the better anytime soon, but maybe one day this whole internationalisation thing will have a paradigm shift and we will see much more interactivity in the classroom and a lot more assessment and adjustment to teachers really utilising the human tools that they are being given.

I didn't have an altogether bad experience, as some of the schools I taught at gave me a very rewarding experience as an ALT. But, there are issues over homeroom teacher involvement and team teaching relationships that could be better addressed. Think of the kids!

That's all from me, for now. I really hope that we will get internet at home soon, as it is difficult to live without it (the things we have become accustomed to, eh). ~~I also hope to be able to upload my teaching demo video here.~~ Because it's all about enjoying yourself whatever you apply yourself to. :)

Edit: Here is the video!

Interac Teaching Demonstration from Tim Gough on Vimeo.

Peace.

Timotheos

Four Quizzes in a Month

2011-07-07T08:52:00.000+09:00

I ran a quiz at Shouwa chuu, posting up results in Wordle format weekly. The students were very cooperative, and we ended up with some nicely stylised quiz results. Good stuff!

My time on JET is very close to finishing. Today I have my last classes at Shouwa JHS. We are playing Jeopardy with the kids, using the quiz questions that I made in the last month or so. Next week will be my final classes overall, so it's just over a week until my last appointment as an ALT for Shimanto primary and junior high schools.

I can only hope that both English Zone and English Corner will carry on with new ideas and a different kind of flair from my successor. And yes, I realise that I still have to put up my collection of photos from those projects!

What the future holds is anyone's guess, but I do have some prospects on the table. Teaching is likely still on the agenda, but I won't know for sure until possibly after my contract actually ends at the end of this month.

For Tokawa, I was submitting a monthly "short story". Even though my time there was cut short — I had my last class before the end of June — I still submitted a little editorial for the final month before natsu yasumi — summer holidays.

April 2011 - Anzac Day
In recent history, we have had two "World Wars". Many countries fought for what they believed in. Almost a hundred years ago, the 1st World War took the lives of many millions of people. Some of those people were New Zealanders and Australians: ANZACs.

ANZAC stands for “New Zealand and Australian Army Corps”. In 1915, thousands of these soldiers died on a beach in Turkey, called Gallipoli. But we remember those soldiers every year in commemoration of what they fought for. April 25th is Anzac Day.

Anzac Day is a day of remembrance. Many of the soldiers from the World Wars are dead now. But we still remember their sacrifice. We are reminded that war is terrible - but there will always be people who believe in freedom.

May 2011 - Golden Week
What did you do for Golden Week? Did you enjoy the time off? Did you travel? Did you see relatives?

This year, on the first day of Golden Week, my family and I travelled to Niihama, in Ehime prefecture. We visited the National Science Museum there. There was a lot to see and do.

The museum has a lot of hands-on (interactive) displays. There were many things that we could look at, play with and experience; a science show for children; craft that my daughter could make – she made a hovercraft; giant model dinosaurs that moved and growled; and a planetarium with a very cool astronomy display.

Even if you were unable to go anywhere for Golden Week, I hope that you had a good time. And I hope that you will have the chance one day to visit the museum in Ehime.

June 2011 - Four Seasons in One Day
Before we get the expected muggy, stiflingly hot weather that brings with it giant bugs and the desire to swim, here in Japan we have to experience heavy rainfall. Rainy season is as predictable as the mukade that try to creep into your house.

Rainy season is a strange concept to New Zealanders. The weather in New Zealand is so sporadic and unpredictable all year round, that people joke about there being “four seasons in one day”. In fact, there is even a famous song about it!

As with Japan, different areas of New Zealand experience the different seasons in different ways: It snows down south in winter, but throughout most of New Zealand we only experience cold wind and rain and the occasional frost. In summer it gets incredibly hot on the east coast and a lot more humid up north than anywhere else. My own city is fairly temperate: not too hot in summer, and seldom icy in winter.

I hope you enjoy rainy season and look forward to swimming in the river!

July 2011 - Goodbye Message
Dear students

My three years teaching in Shimanto have brought me through many experiences: from attending school sports days and graduation ceremonies, to getting married and raising a family. Part of me wishes that I had taken more advantage of my time as an ALT and done more – been more involved with the various schools that I teach at. But one can only be happy with as much as one actually does.

My time as an ALT may be at an end, but it is merely a change of season. I am not leaving Japan – and very much doubt that I will leave Shimanto any time soon. You could still see me around: at Sunshine, in Kochi city, at various festivals that we have. Please say “hi”, and know that I am always willing to say “hi” back!

I wish everyone at Tokawa chuu a bright future. Aim for the skies and keep your dreams alive. And never forget that English – no matter how frustrating to learn – opens up a whole new world of intrigue and diversity.

がんばります。

--

I will try and sort through my photos of both display walls to present those in a couple of slideshows, spanning the past year or so that I have been doing display projects at two of the three junior high schools I have been teaching at.

And even though I will no longer be on JET from next month, I will continue to update this blog. Because it is the Japan Journey; not the JET journey! There are many years ahead of me of discovery, experience and all-round continued Japanese immersion.

Peace.

Timotheos

Four Seasons in a Year

2011-06-16T08:44:00.002+09:00

The months rolled by and I simply couldn't bring myself to sort through all of the photos from the school display walls since last year; or any video I've captured; or basically anything that I've done in the last three months. Yes, pictures are great — and it would be wonderful to put up pictures from school, and Engrish pictures I've taken, etc. I will. Just not now.

Rainy season is upon us in full swing — and yet, we are still getting colder weather than I remember at this time of the year. It is even cold enough to wear a long-sleeved top at times, though not so mild in most places indoors as to warrant quite that. It is nice to wear short sleeves — and it is nice to not yet soak my trousers through with sweat.

Love is the Greatest — 1 Corinthians 13:1-13

My JET contract is creeping towards its end. So far, we haven't yet found a new place to move into and I haven't found a replacement job for when I finish at the end of July. I trust in God completely. I will not be out of work because I have never been let down in that regard. If you want to hear about a miracle, watch this space. Because God always, always comes through — and that is something I can testify to throughout the course of my entire life.

The hotaru (fireflies) have been out recently. We went for a walk the other night — as we try to do now and then, when it is not raining — just as twilight was fading beyond dusk, the yellow moon gibbous but obscured by strata. We tried finding the telltale lights of those amazing little glowbugs, but either it wasn't quite dark enough or they were just being evasive. Still, I think there is yet time to head out before they disappear for the year — when it is truly dark and serene enough to find some.

Just a few weeks of school left now. I will definitely make the most of it. My ties to Japan — to Shimanto — means friendships will be easier to retain. Now, if only we had more friends...

Take it easy, and I hope that this entry finds any wayward readers well. Remember that the greatest need we have is also the greatest tool that we can choose to carry and extend beyond ourselves in the greatest way: love.

Peace.

Timotheos

Spring Break - April 2011

2011-03-29T10:10:00.000+09:00

What is a writer without his writing? What is a blog without photos and video? Perhaps it is partly because I simply can't be bothered to go through the hassle of sorting out all the photos and video that I have collected these past four months; or perhaps it is partly because I just let the weeks pile up simply because they were piling up and I wasn't writing a blog entry. Either way, it has been nigh on four months since I put finger to keyboard (I type with five fingers and a thumb, thank you very much): and for that, I am sorry.

It's not that I haven't been writing - far from it. Nothing substantial or worth mentioning, as most of my daily writing is in the form of my personal diary, at home. But not a day goes by that I don't write something.

Still, if one intends to make a career out of writing, one could at least make the effort to throw something up onto their blog, regardless of life.

We came back from New Zealand near the start of January and settled back into life here. School was back in full swing in pretty short order, and the last term for the academic year went by pretty fast. In fact, these last three months have gone by rather swiftly, wouldn't you say?

Since then, graduation has happened for many students, and we are currently in the interim between terms - between academic years. It is spring break for students; for us, not so much. Gotta sit in the office and find things to do. And seeing as my last term as a JET is about to start, it's a good time to think about how I want to finish off my time here at the Taisho branch of Shimanto town's Board of Education.

Mika was offered a receptionist job. We just found out a couple of days ago that it is at Shouwa primary school, one of the schools I teach at weekly (Thursday afternoons). It means that we have to sort our lives out a lot more. So not only am I looking for a job that starts in August (after my JET contract ends), but we have a few more things to balance.

Maya will start in daycare next week. Mika starts at her new job this Friday. And on the same day, I have to go see a dentist in Kochi (technically, Nankoku, which is just past Kochi city) regarding my wisdom teeth.

As far as display walls are concerned, I have a lot of photos from the last few display walls. It's just a matter of whether or not I do anything with those photos. No promises!

There has been a Christmas display, a display about New Zealand, a Valentine's Day one, and a St Patrick's Day one. As a matter of fact, I have to work on a big one for K-town Junior High School for April: Easter. So before I start back at school, that is one project that I aim to have finished - or at least partially done.

Here's to the first term of the new school year!

Peace.

Timotheos

Happy New Year 2011!

2011-01-19T08:55:00.004+09:00

A belated happy new year!

We went away for Christmas and New Year, and now that school is fully back into the swing of things, it's time to kickstart this blog for 2011.

Yes, I am still alive and fully functional. I am still going about my business, doing my best to assistant language teach here in Shimanto. And the Japan journey continues, day by day.

I'll write another blog entry to talk about our family trip to New Zealand, complete with a few photos. But right now, there are two things I want to talk about. The first is a little story.

It all started on Saturday night, this past weekend. The temperature dropped ever so low and white flakes had begun drifting down as the evening wore on. Our hot water heater had just been repaired that day, so it was as dry as Tutankhamun's face. We were forced to vacate the premises in order to wash, so after dropping the kids off at their grandparents', Mika and I went to an onsen out in Hiromi; a town in Ehime prefecture that we have visited on occasion.

The snow continued throughout the night and we were greeted in the morning with a white blanket that covered everything in sight. Getting to church was ok, as we had parked the car down at the hospital parking lot the night before and we drove carefully along the icy road.

But driving home was a different story. As we came around a corner, the car started to slip on some ice. Too late to do anything, we slipped out of control and the car spun and crashed into the guard rail.

Everyone was fine, but the poor car now needs some cosmetic repair work done. We trust God for the finances to get done what needs to be done. We are thankful that no one was hurt and that the car is still functional. It is hopefully going to be repaired this week, as Mika is going to call back the garage where we are getting it fixed.

So that was our little ordeal on the weekend. The hot water pipes freezing over a couple of days in a row are minor compared to filling out a police report over a car accident.

The second thing I want to address in this blog entry is a collection of comments I just submitted to a survey regarding English teaching and learning here in Japan. It is a survey being conducted by a fellow ALT here in Kochi prefecture. Her goal is to "keep the enthusiasm for language learning from primary school going all through middle and high school."

You can find the survey here.

Here is what I submitted. I have changed the titles slightly. Note that I only wrote about "middle" school (chuugakkou), even though the issues surrounding classroom English teaching are tied into more than one level of academia.

Good points about the way English and other cultures are approached
We have the freedom to talk about almost anything regarding our culture and things from our home country. There is an open mindset regarding foreign cultures, as students find the "different" to be interesting, no matter how disinterested they are in practising any sort of spoken English.

Limiting points about the way English and other cultures are approached
There is little room for simply a cultural interaction approach. It is mostly work, work, work.

Students are not encouraged to speak English outside of the classroom. For those that don't have any sort of interest in the subject or find the academic approach to be boring, they struggle and get left behind and by the time they leave "middle school", they may have developed a hatred for foreign languages - due to the difficulty of learning and effort required to make progress, and the current classroom approach to learning.

Learning English in the classroom is limited. Students are not given enough freedom early on to realise that languages learned within the classroom don't need to be all repetition and grammar. It often feels confined, and even though repetition and group work are both good, Japanese schools seem to hang onto the past and not move forward at a pace that keeps up with advancements in the synergy between learning and teaching.

How can these limiting factors be improved upon?
It's difficult to say how anything could be done differently. If students are shown at primary school level that there is more to learning anything in the classroom than working out of a textbook and "learning" by rote - including foreign languages - and are given real examples - really shown - why they are learning English and how it can impact them: then that is a start and a good launching pad for entering chuugakkou.

Feeding more life into English class is getting away from the preaching and lecturing followed by repeating and scribing approach. But how that life is fed into English class is a metamorphosis that takes a lot of thinking, a lot of effort, and a willingness for teachers and possibly the entire education system to accept and adapt.

My overall opinion about the way English and other cultures are approached
The cultures themselves are approached with interest. Anything foreign is unique - and unique is good. It broadens the students' world view and shows them that they are not alone here with their language and their culture and sub-culture.

If language and culture can be tied in together a lot more, then more students are likely to find that motivation that they need to embrace the language associated with any given culture.

--

It was hard to put into words or to pinpoint the problems surrounding the current methodologies and systems in place for teaching English in the classroom. Cultural exposure is one thing; tying in culture and language and really encouraging students to embrace something so foreign is an ongoing struggle.

Peace.

Timotheos

Yarrr, Hoist the Sails and Swab the Deck

2010-11-16T21:23:00.006+09:00

On Saturday, we took the car in to K-city to get a checkup. We spent the whole afternoon at the car dealer's pretty much, where we took it to get done. We did go for a short walk and bought the Lion King soundtrack for 250 yen from a second-hand store.

On Sunday, after church, we went to Susaki - about 30 mins east of K-town. There was a sailing ship in port: the Kaio Maru (海王丸). A lot of stalls and vendors were set up at the port where it was docked. After ascending the gangplank and walking around the deck, we disembarked and grabbed ourselves some food for a late, unhealthy lunch.

The ship is mostly steel - although the deck is wooden - and it has four steel masts with some insane rigging. Apparently the ship is used for training young sailors. This particular 3,000 tonne sailing ship is 19 years old but it is in excellent condition. It was interesting going aboard and seeing everything so close. It wasn't my first time aboard a sailing ship, but it was my first time aboard such a snazzy one.

It was a nice family day out. Below is a slideshow of photos that we took:

We are going to make a nice apple pie soon. I made the dough tonight. I may put a picture of the finished product up if it turns out well.

Peace.

Timotheos

English Recitation Contest

2010-11-11T16:20:00.001+09:00

Sorry about the long overdue update.

Last Tuesday, we had the Taisho-Towa English Recitation Contest here in Taisho at the local town hall. Students from Taisho, Showa and Tokawa chuugakkou, as well as the local high school here, competed in the contest.

There were four categories, each of which had both a first and second place: 1st grade, 2nd grade, and 3rd grade junior high students; and high school (all three grades together).

Mika came along with Maya, and we enjoyed sitting through each of the recitals and performances.

Every student that I had helped did well, and others that I had some association with also won awards. The 3rd graders from Showa, whom I had helped with a Romeo and Juliet performance, did excellently. They came in second, but were beaten by Mei-chan from Taisho JHS, whom we tutored throughout last year. So I was happy.

In fact, all three grades at Showa got either first or second place! For the high school students, one of our very own church members, Yuu-chan, whose speech I helped to revise, came first. Mika and I were both glad; especially since she gave a testimony of how her life had changed. The essence of her speech was to respect your parents, no matter what. I think it even brought tears to my wife's eyes - I know it brought a lump to my throat!

So the speeches went well. It was my first time to attend, and this is my third year here! Unfortunately, classes had clashed with the contest in previous years. So my attending was another reason to be happy. :)

Coming up: display walls at both Kubokawa and Showa Junior High Schools. Stay tuned!

Peace.

Timotheos

Awajishima no Onokoro

2010-10-12T12:17:00.004+09:00

Yesterday was a public holiday. We drove to Awaji Island, a large island between Shikoku and Honshu. It proved to be good practice for when we go to New Zealand at Christmas time, as if we do decide to drive, we will take the exact same route to get to Kobe, on the mainland (and take a ferry from there to Kansai airport).

Onokoro World Park is a small, rundown theme park - much like any in Japan. Travelling there was a mission in itself. We left very early - 7am, by the time we actually got away. We took our lunch with us and ate upon arrival. It was nice spending the afternoon walking around, looking at the miniature world wonder replicas, the world museum and going on some of the rides. Eddi really enjoyed herself - it was a great family outing.

The trip home was just as arduous as the trip there. But at least we got a sample of how it could well be come December and our travel to and from the airport.

Below is a slideshow of pictures that we took - there are about 50 pictures, so it may be a bit sporadic as they load. I'll get some video up at a later date.

Peace.

Timotheos

Ōnaro Shougakkou - Class Summaries

2010-10-06T14:04:00.006+09:00

Here is a summary of the lessons I did this morning. Every lesson started with a greeting: "How are you?" > "I'm fine, and you?", so there is no need to mention that.

Period: 2
Grades: 1-2 (6-8 year olds)
Number of students: 6

Focus
Animals.

Activity 1: Song: Old MacDonald Had a Farm
Unlike yesterday, only three of the six students knew this song. But it was easy enough to teach E-I-E-I-O after introducing the animals and their sounds.

Activity 2: Song: B-I-N-G-O
We sang through it. Even though the same students who didn't know Old MacDonald also didn't know this song, it was easy enough with such a small class to teach them and get them to clap.

Activity 3: Game: Bingo
We played animal bingo. Probably the highlight of the lesson. I gave stickers to the winners in each of the two rounds we did.

Conclusion
Introducing the animals and their sounds and singing through the song took quite a while. Never assume that kids know something. I also want to try and reduce the amount of Japanese that I use. I need to use more gestures and actions and to let the pictures speak for themselves a lot more.

--

Period: 3
Grades: 5-6 (10-12 year olds)
Number of students: 10

Focus
Countries; the body (revision).

Activity 1: Body parts review
After the initial greeting we reviewed body parts for a while and tested that the students could listen and respond. The teacher says a body part and the students have to place their hand (or hands) on it as fast as possible*.

* Another suggestion for this is to just play Simon Says, but if students don't know the game, it can be difficult to explain it without using Japanese.

Activity 2: "I want to go to..."
The teacher put up pictures of flags and we reviewed country names in English. We then had the students suggest things in the nine countries that were on the board: landmarks, food etc. The target sentences were introduced: "I want to go to to..."; "I like..."; and "I want to see...". Each student chose a country and after some practice they used the target sentences.

Conclusion
Not a very exciting lesson. We could have had more fun with reviewing body parts and the country exercise could have been a bit more interactive. The teacher chose to not use Eigo Note 2; the lesson was simply based on the section on countries. Things could have been done differently, but at least the students got to practise talking about foreign countries.

--

Period: 4
Grades: 3-4 (8-10 year olds)
Number of students: 8

Focus
Numbers.

We reviewed the numbers 1-10 and then clapped through them a few times, starting out slow and getting faster.

Activity 1: Body Numbers
The students divided into their respective red and white teams*. I used my number playing cards to randomly select one number at a time and the groups tried to make each number on the ground using just their bodies. Everyone had to participate. I gave stickers to the members of the winning team.

* Japanese schools have their students divided up into a red team and a white team (akagumi and shirogumi), kinda like how we have houses. This makes splitting the class very easy, as you just need to ask them to get into their prearranged teams.

Activity 2: Memory Game
I gave the numbers 0-10 to the 3rd grade students and the numbers 11-20 to the 4th grade students. The cards were shuffled and spread out face down. Each student took turns to flip two cards to try and match the numbers. Each time someone got a pair, they held onto it and it moved onto the next person. At the end, total pairs are tallied and the person with the most is the winner. I gave a sticker to the winner in each group.

Conclusion
The body numbers game is great fun and can be used in just about any sized group. Children love competing against each other and it is interactive and engaging. The memory game is easy to implement, as most kids know how to play instinctively. It works a bit better when you have more cards (and more kids!). This lesson went well.

So, yet another recap. It helps to reflect on the lessons that I'm involved with and to see how I can improve.

Peace.

Timotheos

Niida Shougakkou - Class Summaries

2010-10-05T15:20:00.004+09:00

This is my first shougakkou English class recap. Hopefully I can consolidate lessons, activities and ideas from these summaries over time.

Period: 2
Grades: 3-4 (8-10 year olds)
Number of students: 19

Greeting and warmup
"Hi, how are you?" > "I'm fine." After the initial greeting, I asked each child in the front row, and had them turn to do a greeting with the student behind them, and so on to the back. This is a good way of getting individual responses and engaging with the kids from the start.

Focus
Animals and directions.

Activity 1: Animals at the Zoo
We had both this and the fourth period class in the gym, at the school's suggestion and my acknowledgement. It makes activities with this many kids a lot easier.

I wanted to mix a couple of things together today, that involved both animal names and giving and reacting to spoken directions. I started off by introducing Left, Right, Forward, and Back, and had the kids repeat them a few times before singling out random kids to respond and then testing them again together, speeding up until they were able to react well.

Once I was confident they could both say and listen to directions, I introduced the 12 animals I would use for the activity. Once I had them all up on the board, I asked them where you would find these animals together (I chose to use a little Japanese here to explain). None of them could get it, so I wrote the word Z-O-O up on the board. Usually with something like this you will have at least one person who clicks. It took a few seconds before one student called out "doubutsuen!" (zoo in Japanese).

While the teacher went to get a blindfold, I took my A4 animal cards off the board and had the kids stand at one end of the gym. I then went over the directions again and had them turn and move until everyone could do it. After that, I placed the animal cards in random places, spread across the floor of the gym. It was then a matter of choosing a volunteer to blindfold and having the rest of the kids call out directions to each animal that I chose.

Conclusion
It was noisy and fun and I was pleased with how the activity went. The entire period was spent having the kids yelling out directions and finding animals. This activity works well in any size group. The more kids, the louder and more confusing - and therefore fun - it will be. But even with just a handful of kids you can still have a boatload of fun. I have used the compass points (four, then eight) as an introduction to this game with a smaller group and it worked really well too. You can be more focused with a group of 5-10, with more specific directions, and in a larger group you can just let them go crazy because everyone is involved.

--

Period: 3
Grade: 6 (11-12 year olds)
Number of students: 9 (supposed to be 12; 3 were absent for that period)

Greeting and warmup
We skipped a warmup and went straight into the lesson after a brief greeting. For the senior primary school kids, there is a greater balance between their teacher leading the class and the ALT's involvement. This is especially workable with the use of Eigo Note 1 and 2, the 5th and 6th grade students' activity books that we use for these more focused English lessons. With the younger kids, the ALT tends to very predominantly lead the class, so a lot more preparation is necessary.

Focus
Today's focus was on the months of the year. We worked from Eigo Note 2.

Activities

Repeat after me: students repeated the names of the months in English as I placed them up on the board.

Listen to the CD - a rhythmic chant: 12 months. We did this a few times.

Listen to the CD - festivals activity: where and when are Christmas, New Year and Halloween celebrated? They worked in groups of three for this.

Keyword game: a very handy device for any lesson. Students place an eraser between them and their partner. A keyword is place on the board and I will say the lesson's related words. If I say the keyword, the first person to grab the eraser wins that round. The second stage is where one student forms a mouth (like a crocodile) with their hand and their partner places their fingers, palm facing down, in the mouth. If the keyword is called, SNAP!

Repeat after me: students repeated the days of the month (first, second, third... thiry-first).

When is your birthday? Students worked out when their birthday was (March twenty-first, November eighth, etc), and reported back to the class.

Conclusion
Structured lessons like this are very easy. You just have to engage the students as best you can and allow the teacher to lead the lesson. Teachers have a lot more confidence when there is a textbook that is written in their native tongue, and the students are happy with the structure of the lesson and the physical presence of having a book to work through. Chanting along with a rhythm on the CD, filling in the blanks and the keyword game are all good activities that work better when the kids and their teacher have become familiar with the material. In the second term, as we are now, there is no need for the home teacher to explain very much anymore, and you can focus more on interactivity and enjoying the lesson.

--

Period: 4
Grades: 1-2 (6-8 year olds)
Number of students: 17

Greeting and warmup

"How are you?" > "I'm fine."

Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes: Children don't need to remember the names of body parts but they are always enthusiastic about doing this song. It is a great warmup and even more welcome as the weather gets colder. I start off by getting the kids to repeat each body part as I touch it (head > nose). We then start off slowly and build momentum until they can't keep up and half the kids fall to the floor in fits of laughter. :)

Focus
English songs

Activity 1: Old MacDonald Had a Farm
I introduced six farm animals along with their sounds. I knew that the kids knew the song already, so when we sang, I had them fill in the E-I-E-I-O parts, the animal names and the sounds that they make. I had written the names and sounds up on the board using katakana, the Japanese syllabary mostly used for foreign words and sounds.

Activity 2: B-I-N-G-O
After E-I-E-I-O was B-I-N-G-O. The kids also knew this song, so it wasn't difficult to do. I had them fill in the letters and the clapping.

Activity 3: Bingo
Singing B-I-N-G-O was a good segue to the game of bingo. We did animal bingo and played through it twice. I gave stickers to the winners of both rounds.

Conclusion
Choose songs that the kids are likely to know. Having a CD is great because music helps, but I tend to make do without. It was fun just singing and doing animal noises, and giving stickers to kids is always a bonus, as it feels like such an accomplishment to them.

And those were my lessons this morning. I'll try and summarise a lot more if I do future recaps, with basic descriptions of activities. I will file these lesson summary entries under the categories taught.

Peace.

Timotheos

Omoshiroii Undoukai

2010-10-05T15:00:00.001+09:00

Omoshiroi does not mean interesting. Look in any Japanese to English dictionary and you will find something similar to this: Omoshiroi (面白い): amusing; funny; interesting. Japanese people think of something omoshiroi as laughable; something that is silly. Interesting is quite the opposite. Things of interest engage the mind rather than the emotions.

Mathematics is interesting because the numbers, shapes and formulas are logical and involve brain activity. But maths is definitely not something we enjoy laughing about. Acts of nature are interesting because they are so very different from what we experience in the course of our normal human existence. It is this uniqueness that makes them interesting. But more often than not they are not funny in any way.

Japanese humour also differs to ours. What we find to be clever, witty or punny may not incite a humoured reaction from someone here. And things such as strange slapstick comedy or saying silly, redundant things that we would find inane and pointless, Japanese would laugh and say the situation is omoshiroi.

Don't let this word get lost in translation. Never apply it to something serious. Just remember that for something to be omoshiroi you have to be able to laugh about it. So next time a colleague does something weird, laugh quietly to yourself and whisper "omoshiroi".

A couple of weekends ago, we had Eddi's undoukai (school sports day). Undoukai is something that parents look forward to all year. The kids put in weeks of practice to make sure the whole day is perfectly memorised.

The weather was nice. Mika packed up enough lunch for us, Eddi's grandparents and her uncle and cousin. The kids had a lot of fun, with various running races and a lot of activities involving their parents. Mika and Eddi did a giant pants relay together, and there were other fun games that the various grades did, such as pushing a giant ball, firing water rockets into the air, and balloon popping.

[Video] Giant Pants Relay

I have decided to try and recap my shougakkou classes by posting blog entries. This will allow me to reflect on and critique my own classes, and will create a record of successful activities for future reference. Feel free to take ideas, as a lot of the things I do are ideas that have either been taken or adapted from other people's experiences. I will do my best to tag English class summary entries as accurately as possible for future reference and may even add an extra menu section for better searching.

Peace.

Timotheos

Tickets, Toes and Tournaments

2010-09-21T14:43:00.003+09:00

The summer break finished and school kicked off again. It's a slow term for me, over all, as I don't have as much primary school as last term. Part of this is due to the kids' undoukai (sports day) preparation. I'm not sure exactly why I have so few shougakkou classes scheduled for October, though.

This month so far has been pretty quiet. With so much free time at K-town chuu, I made a pretty neat wall display. Part of my duties there when not in class teaching is to make a monthly wall display. I settled on focusing on summer - namely, the summer break. As I didn't do much during the break (most of my time was spent in the office), I had to be quite creative. I'll try and get a photo of it when I have fixed all the bits of paper that have curled away from the wall. >.<

We went to K-city on Saturday. I had a wire installed in each of my big toes to try and counter the ingrown toenails. So far it is turning out to be effective. I just have to wait for my nails to grow for another two months before we see if there is a substantial change. I'm hoping that it will permanently fix the problem, but we won't know until November. I have to be very careful, too, that I don't make contact with anything - as any pressure could tear the wires out of the holes in the nails. :/

On Sunday, we stopped at Kitanokawa to see a little of their undoukai. Mika used to work at the junior high school and she said hi to some of the teachers that are still there. Eddi's school's undoukai is this coming Sunday, and I intend to attend the Shouwa shou/chuu combined one on Saturday.

The weather has continued to be pretty hot. It may be Autumn but there is still a lot of green around and the overall temperature hasn't dropped a great deal. The humidity has eased off somewhat, and nights are a little cooler. But we do still need to run the fan to try and cool our room down. Could be a few weeks until we see a noticeable change.

We got a refund (minus a huge cancellation fee) for the botched up tickets that the travel agent booked for us. I wouldn't recommend IACE Travel. They are impersonal, unfriendly and cost us a great deal of money due to their incompetence. We hope to book our (real) tickets to and from New Zealand for Christmas time before the end of this week.

Peace.

Timotheos

25 Ways To Express Yourself

2010-08-31T09:51:00.002+09:00

I think I've seen enough Japanese TV by now to know how to express my appreciation and enjoyment of culinary creations. From commenting on the textures and array of flavours inherent in your mouthful, to allowing an exaggerated smile to spread across your face as the juices trickle across your tongue and your taste buds dance with delectable delight at this wonderful accompaniment of gourmet excellence, here are 25 ways of expressing yourself in the dining room.

Learn To Express Yourself
#	English	Japanese
1.	This is delicious!	oishii!
2.	This is nice.	oishii!
3.	This is good.	oishii!
4.	This tastes great!	oishii!
5.	You've done a good job with this.	oishii!
6.	Mmm, sweet and fruity.	oishii!
7.	Not bad.	oishii!
8.	Very nice. I like it!	oishii!
9.	Very refreshing.	oishii!
10.	Juicy and tender.	oishii!
11.	The sauce really complements it.	oishii!
12.	Nice texture and not too salty.	oishii!
13.	A wonderful combination of flavours.	oishii!
14.	My tastebuds approve of this.	oishii!
15.	You've really outdone yourself!	oishii!
16.	A masterpiece of culinary excellence.	oishii!
17.	Herbalicious!	oishii!
18.	Stupendous.	oishii!
19.	Wonderful.	oishii!
20.	Magnificent.	oishii!
21.	Truly appetizing.	oishii!
22.	Tasty!	oishii!
23.	Delectable	oishii!
24.	Flavoursome.	oishii!
25.	Yummy!	uma-!

Timotheos

Just Passing Through

2010-08-16T10:50:00.002+09:00

August. Summer is well under way and it won't be too much longer before school is back in session. I'm definitely looking forward to getting out of the office and back out there, doing what I enjoy most in this job: assisting kids in learning and experiencing another language and culture.

Passports
We have been planning to head to New Zealand at Christmas time. In order to go overseas, Mika needed to update hers and Eddi's passports, and Maya needed one as well. I took the day off on Wednesday to go with my family to Nakamura to try and sort this out.

Getting a passport when you have a foreign surname is difficult enough because of the difference between actual spelling and katakana romanisation. There needs to be a link somewhere; a reference. And when you spell your daughter's name differently in English than its hiragana to romaji equivalent, it just adds to the bureaucratic nightmare.

Despite spending a good deal of the morning in N-town, we are still waiting even now - five days later - for confirmation of everything having gone through. The link that we provided - my "Gaijin card" - has not yet been confirmed as an official connection between the actual spelling of my surname and the romanisation of its katakana counterpart here in Japan.

Our planned trip is still four months away. My family's passports will come through eventually, so we are not worried at all. Everything always works out, given enough time.

Passing on
I was "trying" to sell my car for quite a while - basically, ever since getting the shaken (vehicle inspection certificate) renewed at the start of June. When I say trying, I wasn't really putting in a great deal of effort. I had a sign on my car, had posted it two or three times to the Kochi JET message board, and had mentioned it around the place.

It wasn't until we decided to really pray and I made up fliers and we decided to advertise it in the town newsletter, that we found a buyer - miraculously. See, I didn't get a chance to print the flyers, and we didn't even have to advertise it in the news. It was truly an answer to pray that someone local approached us with great interest towards buying the car.

And so, last weekend - just days after praying and starting to take real action - I sold my car. One less burden, and just one step closer to making this holiday happen. God blesses us at the right time, always.

Now, we have all but purchased our airline tickets. We found the ideal flights (direct both ways, and at good times of the day to allow for domestic travel at both ends), and will pay for our tickets today. Everything is going ahead because we trusted in God, and allowed his timing and blessings to lead the way for us.

Passing away
Early Thursday morning, Mika's maternal grandfather died. He was 91 years old and had been in hospital for about 18 months. I only knew him as a stroke victim; the old man lying in a hospital bed. Being non-Japanese wasn't the only thing that made me stand out during the family proceedings over the weekend: I didn't know Mika's grandfather as everyone else in the family did, with their entire lives a part of his.

On Friday, I took the day off in bereavement leave. Mika had a lot to sort out - especially with travelling to get appropriate attire for that night - and so I was able to look after Maya for the four hours that she was away during the day.

On Friday night, we had otsuya (formal "o"). Tsuya is a pre-funeral ceremony, where people can pay their respects to the dead. We went to the funeral home, where most of the extended family gathered. Kira ojiisan's casket sat at the front, decorated with various icons, and there was a huge display of flowers behind.

A buddhist monk came and sat between us and the casket, performing some sort of ritual. He chanted and rang a bell and the deceased's children and their spouses went up, one at a time, to pay their respects. Incense burned as we sat in black; a sombre occasion. A number of people had small circles of prayer beads that they held both during tsuya and the funeral.

After the small ceremony, there was eating and drinking. Mika's relative like to drink, as I found out over the weekend. It's quite sad really, how much alcohol people feel they need to imbibe. :(

The funeral was the following day. It was like an extension of tsuya the previous evening. More people showed up and more family members went up to pay their respects, as their names were called. We went up together as a family as the monk continued to chant, hit a metal bowl that rang like a bell, and beat a hollow item that thumped like a drum.

The funeral ceremony lasted about an hour. Many people came up to a small table that had been set up between family and the rest of the visitors - more distant relatives and friends. They would take a pinch of something and add it to a bowl - possibly incense, as it began to smoke more, the more that was added.

When everything was done, the casket was brought out to stand in the centre, completely open. Everyone was able to gather around and add flowers and other items, which were arranged around the body. When it was done, the lid was replaced and a whole lot of items and tall saplings decorated with various coloured banners and lanterns and such were brought out. They were distributed amongst 22 family members and the monk - Mika carried a basket of fruit - and everyone walked around the coffin a few times, the monk leading. Men wore woven straw baskets on their heads, women wore white cloths draped over their heads and Mika's brother shook a basket on a sapling, filled with confetti.

The procession went out of the funeral home and the casket was loaded into a hearse, a gold and black shrine incorporated into the vehicle - very fancy. We got into our cars and followed the hearse to the crematorium.

It was my first visit to a crematorium. The operator explained that it would take about an hour and a half to complete the process of cremation. A small shrine was set up in front of the cremator and everyone placed sticks of incense into small pots of sand as the monk chanted some more. The baskets and white cloths were collected and we all went into the waiting area, where we ate a rather substantial meal as we waited.

When it was done, we all went into the preparation room, where Mika's grandfather's remains sat. It was a truly amazing sight. There were some whole bones and most of the skull sitting there and the whole room simply smelled of heat - like a hot iron. Nothing of the coffin remained: just discoloured ash amongst the white bones and pieces of bone.

Everyone was able to put the cremains into the urn and the technician crushed some of the larger ones. At the end, the jaw and skull were placed on the top and the urn was closed and placed inside a box, which in turn was covered with a decorative covering.

We all returned to Mika's grandmother's place and people ate (and draaaank) more. I wasn't hungry until everyone else had left, leaving the immediate family to clean up and spend time together. The urn had been placed on a small shrine that is set up in one of the family rooms.

On Saturday night, we went to the K-town bridge to watch a 40 minute fireworks display. Not bad for a small town.

All in all, it was a busy weekend, but very family orientated. It was my first experience of a Japanese funeral and gave me more insight into a typical Kochi family get together.

We were all pretty tired by yesterday, which consisted of church, a church lunch, a meeting with the guest speaker, and then spending the rest of the afternoon and evening at Mika's grandmother's place again.

Onward, to another week in the office!

Peace.

Timotheos

Engrish, Two Years and A Special Occasion

2010-07-27T22:30:00.007+09:00

Tomorrow, I am going to the airport with Marisa (CIR*) and Toda-san from K-town kyouikuinkai (Board of Education) to meet the new JETs. It will be nice to welcome Candice's and Brittany's replacements to Kochi, and it is a good opportunity for me to say hi to JETs that I haven't seen since Mid-year Conference back in January.

This means I have been in Japan for two years. Sugoi!

*Coordinator for International Relations - what Laurel used to do here.

Sunday was Mika's and my first wedding anniversary. :)

We went to K-city after church and booked into our hotel. After just chilling for a bit, we went out for a wonderful Italian dinner, complete with a bottle of wine.

Out on the town

After dinner, we walked down to the station and took a taxi to Aeon. We saw Inception at the movies. Good movie. See it if you get the chance.

Have I ever mentioned that Japan is big on bicycles? There is a two-storey storage area tacked onto the end of Kochi train station that houses hundreds of bikes.

Bicycles, bicycles, bicycles

Back to the hotel well after midnight, as we decided to walk from the mall and the movie had finished just before twelve.

After checking out on Monday, we spent a good deal of the day at Aeon mall, shopping and looking around, while waiting for my doctor's appointment. I had my ingrown toenail assessed and another appointment made for September.

Well, aside from such excitement over the weekend, there are a couple more things I want to mention in this blog post.

Firstly, I've talked about the fireworks displays here before. I had no idea, though, that the launching equipment was so industrially... huge.

The Susaki hanabi is on the 7th of August

We are looking forward to both the Nakamura fireworks display and the Tosa-Shimizu one, which is supposed to be magnificent. There will also be the usual fireworks at the end of the Ayu festival.

Now is a good time to go swimming in the river.

Swimming in Shimantogawa

Lastly, I wanted to put up a few Engrish pictures. I don't have my whole collection, but these range from a poster in a shopping complex near where we had MYC in January, to a sign on the door of the bathroom in our hotel room just this last Sunday.

Engrish in Kochi

In the last picture, it says "Sound the alarm for steam." The Japanese roughly translates as "The alarm will sound because of steam." I understand the thinking behind this. They translated "the alarm will sound" as "sound (of) the alarm" or "sound, the alarm"; and "because of steam" as "for steam" - ie. the reason being steam. It just goes to show how differently we think. No wonder I struggle so much with Japanese. :/

Peace.

Timotheos

Dragonflies and Kappa Sculptures

2010-07-20T17:20:00.003+09:00

Yesterday was uminohi - Marine Day. We decided to go to Nakamura. Before leaving town, however, we stopped at the local concert hall to see a large collection of sculptures. The theme was kappa, a legendary water spirit. There were some truly impressive sculptures on display, and they ranged from fist-sized to about a metre high.

Below, you will find my top two pick as well as a slideshow of all the photos I took. Click the slideshow to view the album in its entirety.

A turtle-shelled kappa squatting on a gnarled tree - my top pick

A very unique snapshot of action - a sumo being effortlessly tossed

A slideshow of the exhibition

We ate lunch at McDonald's upon arriving in Nakamura. The weather was a bit funny - it rained on and off, as if temperamental rainclouds just kept moving across the sky constantly, sometimes dumping their contents unexpectedly as we found ourselves often caught without the means to deflect such reckless and sporadic precipitation and at other times scowling at us reprehensibly in preparation for another release of their contents.

Not that we didn't bring umbrellas on our excursion; we just didn't always have them with us as we went between car and shop.

After some shopping, we visited the tonbokouen - Dragonfly Park. Despite the drizzle, a few of the flying insects could be seen flitting from stem to stem near the ponds. We saw red, yellow, and black and white dragonflies, and even blue ones whose wings were of a solid hue as opposed to the usual veined, transparent appearance so prevalent in the genus. Suffice to say, I took what photos I could, as seen in the slideshow below (click to view album):

A slideshow of our visit to the tonbokouen

All in all, a nice day out. Had the weather been better, our visit to the Dragonfly Park may well have been more exciting, but as it is, I was happy to get a few closeups of these unique and beautiful creatures.

This was my first use of slideshows in these blog posts. If people like them, I may continue to use them in place of individual photos; except when I want to highlight a particular snapshot. Please leave a comment regarding my use of slideshows in this entry.

Peace.

Timotheos

Super Invaders

2010-07-11T16:00:00.000+09:00

A friend of Mika's met us for lunch today. We decided to eat at a cafe just this side of K-town, called Super Invaders. As you might have guessed, it is a play on Space Invaders.

The decor is anything but limited to videogames, though. Greeted by a giant Ernie as you approach the door, you soon see that the entire restaurant is full of entertainment paraphernalia. Warner Bros. collectibles seem to make up the bulk of the displays, though from Col. Sanders to hundreds of Simpsons models, a Terminator head to a giant pair of jeans, there are hundreds of toys, models and posters on display; not to mention the two arcade machines sitting in the entrance.

What arcade machines you might ask? Well, Space Invaders for one, of course. But there is also a Pac-man machine. These cabinets look like the original top-down ones, as you will see shortly.

Suffice to say, after eating a very satisfactory lunch, I proceeded to take snapshots around the place. You can find all of the photos I took [here]. It definitely made for an interesting place to eat. I doubt I've seen a larger collection.

Super Invaders

Goliath called - he left his pants on the wall

Just one display

Many characters! Left side!

Pac-man | Space Invaders

What's your score?

Sorry about the poor quality of the photos. They looked sharper on my wife's phone than the ones I first took on mine. Looks like cellphone photos are hard to take well, however they look at first glance.

Peace.

Timotheos

A Blog Redesign

2010-06-25T14:02:00.004+09:00

I changed the layout and look of the blog. It needs a new header and I'm not sure if the current background image will be my final choice, as I picked it from among the default selection. But so far it is shaping up quite nicely.

Comments on what I've done are welcome, as are suggestions for further changes or additions.

Not much has been happening around here. I didn't have school today because Hashimoto sensei, the JTE I work with at K-town chuugakkou had a meeting. I still drove all the way out there only to have to drive back to the office after eying the schedule. So much for communication. :/

There will be no junior high school classes for me next week, either, as the current term (来学期 | らいがっき | raigakki in Japanese) is coming to a close and the summer holidays will be upon us before we know it. The students have exams next week.

This weekend, we are planning on heading into K-city to have a picnic lunch and then to check out a botanic garden that Mika has wanted to visit for a while now. Hopefully the weather will clear up by tomorrow, as it is raining today and is the middle of the rainy season. You never know how long it is going to rain for or if the ever-present clouds will suddenly release some precipitation.

When the weather clears up I will try to get out and take some photos for another much more visually appealing blog entry; and for want of things to talk about.

So until then, and until we are hit with summer festival fever.

Peace.

Timotheos

Hotaru Matsuri

2010-06-06T16:05:00.001+09:00

Yesterday, we attended the Hotaru Matsuri -- the Firefly Festival -- in Shimotsui, deep in the hills northwest of here. It was during the day, so we didn't do any firefly watching. That is something we will do one night this month, perhaps.

The festival had a few things going on. There were performances -- we arrived too late to see the taiko drummming, but could hear it as we approached; there was a raft race; the kids had a treasure hunt and caught eels; and there was mochi (rice cake) throwing.

The Hotaru Matsuri was a nice way to spend our afternoon.

Photo collection here.

ho-ta-ru-ma-tsu-ri

Ready, Set, Paddle!

Raft race

Taisho JHS girls' band

Girls' Band Performance

Mochi throwing

A bridge over calm waters

This bridge was actually by the road on our way to the festival. We thought it was cool so we stopped on our way home to take a few photos. The same goes for this water wheel.

And this tunnel video:

Tunneeeeeeel

Peace.

Timotheos

Hook, Line and Scooter

2010-05-30T21:55:00.002+09:00

We spent the weekend in K-city. I had to get the shakken (2 year checkup) for my car. It was very expensive but actually less than I expected.

We did some shopping: I got presents for some family members' birthdays. As the sun went down, we met up with Mika's sister-in-law for sushi -- Ten Ten Maru, our favourite kaitenzushi place.

That was yesterday. We stayed overnight at Mai-san's. Mika's brother was down here to do some go-karting and he stayed with their parents. It was like we did a swap between Kochi and Shimanto.

This morning, we attended the K-city Pentecostal Church before grabbing ramen for lunch. On our way back to Mika's brother's place to get Eddi, we spied this fellow riding gaily along as if he didn't have ten fishing rods, a net and goodness knows what tackle and bits and bobs hanging off his scooter:

Between a Rod and a Hard Place

And thus I captured a taste of rural Japan. People around here love fishing. Mika's uncle and her younger brother went fishing a couple of weeks ago and netted us a good feed. Cuz it's all about the sashimi, baby. ;)

Here's to continued warmth and a good week over all. :)

Peace.

Timotheos

Birthday Party and Chopsticks

2010-05-26T07:55:00.003+09:00

A couple of weekends ago, we celebrated Eddi's 7th birthday. I baked and decorated her birthday cake and Mika made a piñata for the party we gave her on the Saturday.

I also made cupcakes

Happy 7th Birthday!

Smash that bee piñata

Axt weekend, we made chopsticks. The father of one of the girls that went to Eddi's kindergarten, Mr. Kawashita, was kind enough to invite us and a couple of other families over to learn to make chopsticks. He does it as part of a cultural / tourism activity, usually charging people for his time. He has a blog and an advertisement in the local tourism brochures.

So the kids were all able to play together, and we all had a big barbecue for lunch.

We made hashi

The finished product

Mika's skills

We didn't do anything this past weekend, really. Just relaxed on Saturday and had the usual church service on Sunday. During the last few weeks school has been pretty standard, too, although I did teach at a primary school a couple of Fridays ago instead of at K-town JHS, and last week I didn't have classes at Shouwa JHS because they had a sports event.

My shakken (2-year car inspection) is due this month, as is the tax for both our cars. Huge expense right there, but we should manage. Planning to go into K-city this weekend to do some shopping and hopefully get my shakken done. :)

Peace.

Timotheos

Springtime Tabi

2010-05-02T16:00:00.003+09:00

We have been having wonderful weather. God has really blessed us with cloudless skies and warmth. And even though the mornings are still a bit chilly, we can be thankful that for most of the day, when life permits, we can revel in the sunlight. Summer is coming!

But it is still spring, and for that we are all thankful. Once the humidity and insect-ridden weather hits, the clamminess is unbearable. So praise God for spring!

Last week, Eddi's school had a sports day -- just the morning, actually. As my job allows it, and I had no school that Wednesday, I went; along with Mika and baby Maya. The kids all had fun, but here in Japan it seems less competitive and more about balance between the red team and the white team -- akagumi and shirogumi. That, and they play old fashioned music and all do warm-up exercises in unison, reminiscent of some Chinese military regimen. [Photos]

Eddi in the relay race

Thursday proved to be yet another sunny day, and one that we were especially pleased to have fine weather on. It was a statutory holiday, so we took the day to go out to Uwajima. On the way, however, we stopped to take photos of the koinobori strung out across the river at the entrance to Tokawa. Koinobori are streamers of carp, much like wind-socks, that everyone puts out around this time of the year. You can see them on a lot of houses and all around Japanese towns, in different colours and sizes. [Photos]

Koinobori strung out across shimantogawa

After lunch at McDonald's in Uwajima, we got a good deal on some end of season fruit and then tracked down a garden in the middle of the city.

Built by feudal lord Date near the end of the 19th century, Tensha garden has 22 different types of bamboo and a lake in the middle. During the month of April, the irises and wisteria -- fuji, in Japanese -- come out in full bloom and light up the garden with floral elegance. I'd say we went at the right time. [Photos]

A trellis bridge over the Tenshaen pond

We left the city and headed out to a park where Eddi could play and we could relax. It was quite tricky to find, but worth the trek. Eddi had a good time playing. She has no problem finding other little girls to run around with. [Photos]

Maya likes to sliiide

Late in the afternoon, we headed off. I had promised everyone ice creams, and took up my own offer. Because who doesn't enjoy a nice cold treat at the end of a family outing in spring? Well, my wife and daughter, that's who. They ate an onigiri each -- a Japanese rice ball -- rather than have ice-creams. I told Mika I was going to mention it in my blog because it was just such a Japanese thing to do. :p

Now it's the weekend and also the start of Golden Week. Too bad I had school on Friday, otherwise I could potentially have had a whole week off! As it is, Golden Week goes from Saturday until Wednesday, and so I will be back at work on Thursday. Mika's brother and his family have come down from Osaka to stay with his and Mika's parents, so we should be seeing them a bit in the next few days.

Yesterday, we went to K-city without Eddi. She stayed with her grandparents and uncle, etc. We met up with Mikey at Aeon to have lunch together. He is finishing up on JET in summer, so we're not sure how many opportunities we will get to see him before he goes back to the US.

Our main reason for going into the city was to get Eddi a present for her birthday. We also got something on behalf of her grandparents, who wanted to get her something special. More about that after next weekend, when Eddi has had her birthday. The party is next Saturday.

I don't think I ever put up photos from Eddi's youchien graduation, so here they are.

Eddi, having received her graduation certificate

That's all from me for now. I look forward to having three days off work and enjoying this fine weather!

Peace.

Timotheos

Noichi Zoo

2010-04-14T17:05:00.003+09:00

Two weekends ago, we went to Noichi Zoo, near Kochi city. We met Michael afterwards, at Starbucks, followed by a (very) late dinner at Tentenmaru, our favourite kaitenzushi place.

Meerkats were having fun

Aren't they cute?

Sealions were swimming

Giraffes romped around

The anteater was a beast

Mama bear climbed a tree

Because she was thirsty

The baby bear was also cute

Colourful parrots

Otters :)

A lone red panda paces his cell

American beavers. From AMERICA!

Sea lions bask in the sun

Sorry about the quality. I had to take all of these on my cellphone! You can view the rest of the photos here.

School starts for me again tomorrow. My schedule is different this academic year. I will be teaching at K-town chuugakkou, among other things.

Peace.

Timotheos

Changeover

2010-04-01T13:46:00.003+09:00

Today is the start of the new fiscal year. That means that everywhere in Japan, staff changes are taking place. For us, this means that teachers in schools all around the place are getting shifted to and fro, and that town office workers have been swapped around and relocated.

In my own Board of Education office, we had one woman leave -- New Lady, I called her, because she only got swapped in this time last year. She has been replaced with another woman, whose name I have yet to learn; and whose nickname I have yet to concoct. ;)

Some people have retired. The chief of the town office has retired and will have been replaced by someone else. We just had the five new people for the town office come into our office and introduce themselves, as this is their first day in their new office.

This afternoon, we have a meeting at the Kubokawa office, where we will get to meet the new school principals. As with any Japanese meeting, it will be boring and tedious; but I have to attend to introduce myself, even if I won't interact with most of them after that. But perhaps that is the point. :)

I'm not sure if all school principals will be there, or if there will be a mix of just the ones that have been swapped and Board of Education people that have been swapped around. I won't assume anything for now. All I know is that I don't like Japanese meetings and I'm glad I don't have to attend any very often at all.

Next Friday (the 9th), we have an office nomikai (drinking party) to farewell those that have left and to welcome new people. As only one person from our office has been replaced, it will be a rather small affair, I'd imagine. But it will be the first enkai/nomikai that I have attended this year -- not including the small get-together with a handful of Mika's old co-workers for yakiniku that we had on Tuesday night.

Happy April Fool's Day everyone. Find your sense of humour if you've lost it and take it easy. ^^

Timotheos

Still Cold

2010-03-29T11:30:00.000+09:00

Despite the fact that the sakura are now out in full bloom, we still have cold nights and mornings. It is nice to see the sun burn away depressing shade, but we still have to turn the heater on first thing in the morning and at night when the cold creeps back in.

I managed to retrieve a hinamatsuri photo from my phone:

Hinamatsuri cake

I captured the last snow of the season near the end of school. It is still cold enough to snow up north, but here the weather should only get warmer.

The last snow of winter 2010

Last Monday, it was a public holiday. We went to Kochi and had a picnic at One Park. We also looked at the animals at the small zoo there. There was a "bird show", with falcon trainers sending a bird between them. It flew really low over our heads and even caught a training pigeon in mid-air. Afterwards, people queued to hold the falcon and take photos.

Holding a peregrine falcon

On our way home, after shopping at Aeon mall, I saw the following pimped van. It was worth a keitai snapshot. ;)

Pimp my van

Next weekend is Easter. Yesterday, after preparing throughout the week by blowing the contents of eggs out of their shells each time we used eggs, I filled the empty eggshells with chocolate. Some are less hollow than others, but I did leave air in most. Now, we're ready for our chocolate fix!

I am also going to make hot cross buns on either Wednesday or Thursday, so that we can eat them on Friday. Easter is not celebrated in any way here in Japan. It's understandable, as it is a Christian celebration, but you'd think that with the affection that Japanese have for festivals, they would have at least embraced the commercial side of it.

So until the celebration of the greatest and most amazing sacrifice this world has ever known, be at peace. ^^

Timotheos

Blooming Kochi

2010-03-18T17:15:00.004+09:00

It's the end of the academic school year. Everyone moves up a grade or finishes school at the end of this month. I had my last chuugakkou classes today.

We had graduation on Saturday. I attended the one for Shouwa chuu. Now that I have no school, it will just be office work between now and when the new term starts.

On Sunday, we dedicated our daughters at church. It's always important to pray God's blessing on your children. Because Eddi had never been dedicated, we had her prayed for at the same time as baby Maya.

Dedication at church - 14 March 2010

To backtrack a bit, it was my birthday on the 28th of February. On the 27th, we went out for dinner to a steak restaurant with Mika's brother and his family. We went back to their place for cake.

30th Birthday Cake

The Cutting of the Cake

A couple of weeks ago, it was Hinamatsuri, the Doll Festival. We also had cake for that and Mika's mum set up a doll display according to the tradition. Unfortunately, the photos we took have been lost, otherwise I would put something of ours here.

Hina Matsuri - The Doll Festival

Two weekends ago, Michael came for a visit. He and I watched a couple of movies and went to Yamagoya to eat. It was somewhat nostalgic (in a recent sense).

Now that spring is almost here, the sakura -- cherry blossoms -- have started coming out. The weather has struggled to warm up and we even had a smattering of snow this month. But it will get warmer, the blossoms will come out and we can enjoy new life among all of the changes that come with April.

Sakura - Cherry Blossoms; The First Sign of Spring

That's all for now. Sorry about the lack of updates. I had to cram a lot into one post. I'll try and be more diligent in posting blog entries throughout the rest of this year. ^^

Timotheos

Baby's First Video

2010-02-23T20:52:00.006+09:00

Took some photos and video tonight:

Timotheos

Maya Shimada Gough

2010-02-16T11:15:00.000+09:00

Our baby was born at 5.45pm on Friday night. The day started off well, with us leaving for the hospital after a regular breakfast. Mika went into labour around 3pm (I say labour, being the time that she went to the delivery room in great pain and close contractions).

I snapped some photos with Mika's camera, just minutes after Maya-chan was born. Since then, I have been receiving a photo a day to my phone from my wife in the hospital. Our little angel is so beautiful. I look forward to when they come home on Thursday!

So, six days in the hospital. It's a long time. Not sure why, but I guess she just wants a break, and to make the most of this time of recovery in a comfortable place. Our house is freaking cold, and isn't something I would look forward to bringing a newborn baby to. Still, winter is almost over, and we will do our utmost to heat the impossible-to-heat place. Or at least one room. ;)

I drove to Kochi city four days in a row, and so today I'm quite tired. You could say that the timing was really good. Being born on Friday, it meant that I could spend the weekend travelling to and from the hospital, visiting. And then yesterday, my hard drive finally gave up the ghost, so I went to K-city to buy a new one; and to visit my wife and new aka-chan once again. Suffice to say, she was surprised to see me, unannounced!

Eddi stayed with her cousin over the weekend and has been with her grandmother since then. It's good because I have to get up early most days for work and can't possibly get her from youchien during the day. That, and it made it much easier to just jet into the city last night.

Today, it's a bit of a relief that I don't have school. Kitazoe sensei is away today, so I am in the office instead of teaching classes. It means I can take this afternoon off (three hours of nenkyuu, since I started early this morning), and spend time just resting -- and probably installing my new HDD (and all that that entails).

I currently don't have any photos of Maya that I can put up, as I haven't retrieved any off my phone. I can, however, affix photos that other people have put up on Facebook, having received them from Mika over the last few days. And I promise to do my utmost in getting some photos up once my family is home.

Timotheos

Mada and fada

2010-02-09T16:00:00.003+09:00

Mada means "not yet", and is a fairly common expression in Japanese. The not yet that I refer to is our baby. Mika's due date is this Thursday (the 11th). I suspect that after she goes to see the doctor tomorrow, things will start moving pretty fast. Our current plan is for her to go and stay with her brother from Thursday until she goes into labour. Thursday is a public holiday, so it's an ideal time to go back into Kochi, whether the baby is ready to pop out or not.

Life here in Taisho is the same as usual, as we await the birth of our newest family member. My schedule is pretty full as I visit my regular schools as well as the odd infrequent appearance; such as tomorrow, when I will be teaching at Kageno shougakkou, about 40 mins from here -- past K-town.

Well, the Japan life stuff out of the way, I want to expand this entry to reference a few blogs and sites that I frequent. And by frequent, I mean when I get time to read my google reader feeds (hint: it's not every day). ;)

Sentence First: A blog about our wonderful, intricate English language. Stan has posted a few comments to my blog in the past, as we exchanged thoughts; and I enjoy leaving comments on his posts from time to time.
Stuff Christians Like: Jon Acuff is funny and insightful. I just wish I had the time to read his very frequent entries. It's almost as if he runs a pictureless webcomic. Classy stuff.
The Kitchn: For all aspiring chefs out there, it is a great source of everything kitchenesque; from recipes to tips and tricks that you can use between the kitchen sink and the cupboard.
Kotaku: My source of gaming news. And a lot of news there is.
Lifehacker: A lot of great articles, from home improvement to invaluable computer resources.
Japan Probe: So I can see more of this country within which I dwell. As if there wasn't enough excitement in Shimanto... -_-

Webcomics
Because I follow a few, I decided to list some notable ones under their own heading:

Dominic Deegan: I have been following this since 2002. I think it's the only webcomic that I have read consistently for more than five years.
Ctrl+Alt+Del: It is more of a drama these days with the occasional standalone bout of gaming hilarity. The sillies keep me coming back (especially Fail Druid!).
Dark Legacy Comics: My favourite World of Warcraft comic.
Looking for Group: For pony!
Least I Could Do: I found this through LFG (same authors), and wish I had followed it from earlier on. I really dig the "Beginnings" strip that they post once a week.
Out at Home: I only recently started reading this (within the last six months). I like the art style and the stories have been pretty good so far.
Others: There are other webcomics that I follow, which I haven't mentioned. Some are gaming comics and others are mostly just dramas or short stories.

Timotheos

Hiroshima Till Now

2010-01-20T10:56:00.003+09:00

Before dad left, we took a trip to Hiroshima. We spent Friday the 8th visiting Peace Memorial Park, the peace museum and the castle. We also tried Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki, which has egg on the top and soba noodles added.

Check out our photos from Hiroshima!

Since then, I have got back into the swing of things. The following week was fairly broken, as that Monday was a public holiday and the last three days of the week we had the mid-year JET conference.

This week, I have just been teaching as usual. Not much else to report, really. We try to relax on weekends and Mika is now going to see the doctor in Kochi city on a weekly basis. She is getting closer to giving birth. Hopefully we can visit the doctor together next week, as it could be the only opportunity that I have to meet him before we scream into Kochi city while Mika has contractions, whenever everything kicks into action.

It has been pretty cold, but that's winter, right. Hopefully it won't get any colder between now and the end of winter. But if it does, we will just have to handle it. Our house has terrible insulation (yet another disadvantage of living in a country that doesn't embrace change and encourages people to do everything inefficiently and with as much inconvenience and difficulty as their false pride can muster).

My schedule is pretty full, so I will be spending a lot of time at school during this last term. I just pray that I can gather the energy that I need to enjoy lessons and really have a good time -- especially at shougakkou. :)

Peace.

Timotheos

Happy New Year 2010!

2010-01-04T10:26:00.003+09:00

Hello and welcome to a new decade.

We had a good Christmas. Mika and I both had to work on Christmas Day, but I had a good time, and we had a good weekend following it, with skyping my family and opening presents.

Last Sunday (the 27th), I picked up dad from the airport in Kochi. He flew in from China and has been staying with us over the New Year period.

We haven't done anything really exciting, but we did go to Kochi one day to see Avatar in 3D while Mika and Eddi went to see the Disney movie, Up. We also went to Uwajima to see the castle, and one day last week it snowed a bit, forcing us to cancel our planned trip to Nakamura.

So things around here have been pretty slow, and now I am back in the office ready to face a new year. I've taken nenkyu for the rest of this week so that dad and I can spend the time together, and possibly travel a bit while he is here. That all still needs to be sorted out, but is definitely something to look forward to!

Mika finishes work on Thursday. At eight months pregnant, she is doing very well.

Also, as promised (a while back), I have uploaded all of the photos from my cellphone memory card. Some of them were taken on my camera, as during some of last year and 2008 I was using the same micro-SD for both devices.

Go to my Picasa web album to see some photos and videos from my time here in Japan. It is not a complete collection, but there are some there that I haven't uploaded here; and most are interesting to see. Of special note are the ones about making mochi, which Mika's mum did around Christmas time, in preparation for the new year.

That's all for now. I am planning on getting my hair cut this afternoon and taking advantage of this sunny weather -- despite the cold -- to clean my car. I am still on the lookout for a buyer. The sooner, the better!

Peace.

Timotheos

A Decade in Review

2009-12-21T15:45:00.004+09:00

Now is the time of year when people reflect on the last twelve months and look forward to what the next year will bring. But this is a special year. It signifies the end of one era and the beginning of the next. I am, of course, talking about the fact that next year we enter into a new decade. Many changes hover on the horizon.

But before I wax nostalgic or delve into my predictions and desires for next year or even the next ten years, let me bring my readers up to speed with life here in Japan.

Presents sit under the tree in our lounge, and my presents to New Zealand arrived safely. My dad has the final details for his flight to Osaka this coming Sunday, and we will be bussing him down here to Kochi the following day.

Last night, we had a shard Christmas dinner at church, which was very nice. They called it a candle party, but we only lit candles for the ten minutes or so that it took our pastor to read something from the Bible and play a song.

And as Japanese are very big on bingo, we played a bingo game using characters from the Bible. Eddi and I were the last two people to get bingo. Go my family. >.<

That about sums up where things are at. I didn't have school at all today because Tokawa chuugakkou had some parent meeting regarding high school entrance, or something.

As this is Christmas week, the few times that I do have class -- including three classes on Christmas morning -- I will make the lessons as Christmasey as I can. This is a great opportunity to tell the Christmas story. I borrowed some large flashcards, a book and a video from church last night. Let's see what I can do with them!

Well, 2009 is almost over. I'm not sure that I will write another entry between now and 2010, although it would be nice to give one final update before this decade hums to an unpreventable close and becomes yet another part of history.

I'd like to just talk a little bit about my last ten years and then what I'm looking forward to or what I expect for next year. And now, to take this blog away from Japan briefly and down a more personal track.

A brief look at the last ten years:
2000 The millennium crept up on us very suddenly. No fear of Y2K was going to prevent me from enjoying a great historical moment. It was a rather uneventful year, however, as I simply gave up on the degree I was studying for and moved back home to live with my parents, play games and work at Burger King.

2001 I continued working at Burger King and attending our local church, not really doing much else aside from the occasional youth focused event, watching DVD movies, going to the cinema and playing computer and video games. Of course, it was September of that year that the terrorist bombing of the twin towers happened, but it didn't really affect me much beyond seeing muslims as a greater threat than I already perceived.

2002 This year changed my life. After battling with a decision, I chose to attend Faith Bible College. It turned out to be a very good decision, as I grew a lot spiritually and saw myself mature as a Christian. It was a fundamental year for me and can't really be summed up in a few words.

2003 I spent half the year in South Korea, after an opportunity came up to work for a small organisation that took in students to teach English through Bible input. It was my first time overseas and far from my last. There were times in South Korea when I felt very isolated and alone, but also great times of friendship and fun. And my three-week trip to Canada during the summer was a great experience, too. I also got my full driver license before moving back home.

2004 An opportunity came up for me to work for my church for a year. It was an awesome year for me as I did small jobs around the church and was highly involved with a project that saw hundreds, if not thousands of copies of the Jesus movie put into homes throughout New Zealand. I also joined our church music team as a drummer, which continued right through until I left New Zealand in 2008.

2005 I went on a missions trip to India and Sri Lanka with my pastor, celebrating my 25th birthday in Singapore. It was a good start to the year and a good way to finish up my stint with the church. I moved into full-time work again, landing a job with an electronics retailer. Despite the stresses involved, I enjoyed my work environment; especially my colleagues. We all got along well with each other and it was a good experience overall. My brother and I also started playing World of Warcraft that year, about six months after its release. Later in the year we moved out of our sister's place and went flatting together.

2006 Continued working in retail full time until the second half of the year, when I switched to part-time to finally start on a Bachelor's degree that I could stick with and see through to the end. So the second half of the year was juggling work and study. I moved back in with my sister and my brother moved up north.

2007 I quit my job in December of 2006 because they wouldn't give me time off over Christmas. It wasn't a sudden leave, either -- I gave two months notice. I had a wonderful holiday with my family in Northland, where mum and dad were teaching. The rest of the year saw me studying full time and playing World of Warcraft during most of my free time. I also regularly attended church events, including our cell group and my worship team involvement. I didn't however, grow very much spiritually, as my time since Bible College was too much about me, despite my ability to keep myself occupied with church-related activities.

Took a holiday in the Gold Coast with my sister and her family in September. It was a great getaway and we enjoyed ourselves immensely. The theme parks were all fun and it was good to just get away from life and study for a time.

2008 I had applied for the JET programme, knowing full well that I would finish my degree in time. I also started this blog the previous year at the beginning of the application process in the hopes that I could carry it through into my experiences here in Japan. I finished my degree, with the last semester keeping me very busy, and came over here in July. And as mentioned back then, I was able to spend some time with my parents before heading over here. My first few months in Japan were difficult, as documented in earlier posts; but my immersion into my life here wasn't really all that bad.

2009 A huge year for me. I met my wife and we got married within three months of dating (actually, on our three month anniversary). Now, we are expecting a baby in February, our daughter Eddi starts school next year, and the last few months have just flown by before we can blink.

So, here's to 2010, a great year full of promise. I will be 30 years old next year and will experience the birthing of my first child. I will sign up for a third year on JET and continue teaching at primary and junior high schools, keeping myself occupied with this and that both in teaching and with our church.

I am excited about this next decade. I may get a few grey hairs by the end of it, but there are just so many things to look forward to! A new baby, a new job at some point, paying off my student loan, furthering my studies, developing a closer relationship with both my wife and present daughter. And that just scratches the surface of this wonderful gem called life.

Praise God he has blessed us with so much to look forward to in the decade to come!

Peace.

Timotheos

On the Second Day of Christmas

2009-12-15T14:26:00.003+09:00

I read an interesting article today:
Here.

It's about changes in the Japanese language because of modern times and the way that English has somewhat taken over.

I've been getting a lot of headaches recently. It could be because of the cold weather, but whatever the cause, it makes it hard to get through the day whenever I do have a throbbing head.

The preschool had a Christmas presentation last week. The kids put in a lot of effort to perform songs and plays.

On the weekend, we were quite busy. I went to Nakamura to do some Christmas shopping while Mika dressed Eddi up in a kimono and had her hair styled. She had some photos taken, which I will try and put up on Facebook to show people.

On Sunday, we all went into Kochi city to do more shopping. I have finished getting all the Christmas presents I need to for people. I posted off my family's presents last week, after having bought them all the weekend before last.

I have been trying to do Christmas themed lessons but haven't really done anything exciting. Hopefully I will be able to do some nice Christmas stuff with the kids at school tomorrow.

Peace.

Timotheos

Thanksmas

2009-12-03T14:05:00.002+09:00

Did I mention Thanksgiving? You know, that American holiday that happens near the end of November every year? I guess not.

We had a Thanksgiving dinner on Saturday night. There was turkey and gravy, stuffing and pie -- both pumpkin and custard creme. We invited Mikey, Candice, Brittany and our Friday night student, Mei-chan. All in all, it was a really nice time.

This week has been pretty slow. On Monday there was a very boring meeting at a school. A workshop of sorts, but it was all in Japanese. The only thing I got out of it was a big headache. Japanese meetings are just so lifeless.

On Tuesday there was no school. I think there were too many cases of influenza, or something.

Yesterday, I only had a single class at shougakkou. I'm not entirely sure why, but it may have been related to the flu as well.

Today, I didn't have any classes, but I did spend the entire morning at school. We planned the questions for next week's interview tests with the students, and I did some Japanese study.

Speaking of which, I am still working through my textbook and trying to use Japanese both in emails to my wife and when we talk at home. It's still very slow going and I struggle to remember anything, but with continued practice, I know that I will improve. I may even actually be ready for the level 3 JLPT when it rolls around next year. Or at least sit it, regardless.

This coming weekend we plan on doing some Christmas shopping in Kochi city. We need to get some decorations so that we can set up our Xmas tree. That will be fun. ^^

Peace.

Timotheos

Infrequent Updates

2009-11-24T10:40:00.001+09:00

I'm not sure what it is, but I just don't fell like blogging these days. Even when I find myself with free time, it is difficult to sit down and do anything like this. And the more time that goes by, the more I have to try and pack everything into one entry -- or at least remember the notable things that have happened since last writing.

The photos are coming, as soon as I can find the time to work out how to get them from my phone to my computer at home.

School is school, and sitting in the office hasn't changed. I am still studying Japanese and living each day as per normal. Everyone is gearing up for Christmas and this month has gone pretty fast. Just over a month and we will be in the next decade. Contemplate that for a minute.

Mika and I went for a walk yesterday, and I kept coming back to the issue of learning Japanese. It has been a real struggle for me to motivate myself to actually study effectively or consistently. Renshuu.org has been a great help, as it is an interesting way to see what I remember. The way it is set up, where it tracks your review progress, is interesting enough to keep me coming back regularly.

Reviewing vocab -- the English meaning, kanji characters and pronunciation -- is about the highlight of my Japanese study. Sure, I delve into whichever chapter I am currently studying, from time to time; but I just feel as if I am not getting anywhere. It's been an uphill struggle the entire time since I began studying 14 months ago (from September last year, when my first JET-based study book arrived).

Part of me really wants to improve and be able to have a conversation in Japanese, if not be able to read and speak to people to improve more and more as I absorb more of the language. But the difficulty of it all, and having to read things over and over, only to not have them make sense or see how to utilise them, or even remember how they should be used or what they mean, has dissuaded me from getting enthusiastic enough about learning the language to really make good progression.

Things just do not make sense. The whole structure of it is so alien and the thinking behind how to say things doesn't even make sense to me. But I will keep trying and keep slowly making my way through my textbook, and keep coming back to review words and their kanji and what they mean.

I don't do enough speaking or listening practice. I think that's pretty obvious. It's not that I don't want to, it's that I don't ever see the opportunity to. Japanese TV? It's really boring and pointless. What they show on TV doesn't interest me. It all seems so foreign and uninteresting and doesn't make sense at all.

Speaking to people? I try to do this, but if they ever respond -- which of course is a pretty normal thing to do -- my brain freezes as I struggle to pick out the words that I know. And even recognising words doesn't really help, as I don't know the form, the tense, or the context within which they are being used. Not to mention that I have absolutely nothing to say to people to begin a conversation -- and blurting out random sentences from a textbook would only make people think I've lost my mind, I think.

That said, there have been the occasional times when I've been able to involve people in what I am struggling to grasp. And I do ask people -- especially JTEs at the junior high schools I teach at -- to explain things to me, or to check my attempts at Japanese sentences, or even to just try and elicit a response from them so that I can better understand what it is that I'm learning and practising and trying to embed into the language centre of my brain.

It's not all negative. I don't want this to be a gripe post about the near impossibility of learning the Japanese language. Perhaps I am just not happy with how seldom I tend to practise speaking and/or listening to the language. When you live in a country where the language is different to your own, you are supposed to have more opportunity to learn the language. But that just hasn't been the case here. After 15 months, there is so much beginner stuff that I just don't know, and it is frustrating week after week to not make any progress, or to make progress and then realise that I've forgotten what I should have learned, or don't fully understand it.

There was a festival in Nakamura from Sunday. Why it wasn't happening on Saturday didn't really make sense to us, but we found out that it hadn't started when we went into the city then. It was nice to go over and do some shopping, though.

Yesterday was a public holiday. We just stayed at home while Eddi's grandparents took her over to the festival. It was simply a lazy day for us. I even baked cookies from some cookie dough I had made the previous day. :)

So we have a four day week, I don't have Taisho chuugakkou today because Kitazoe-sensei is away, and I don't have any school on Friday. It's a good week!

Well, back to my headache-inducing studies / internet browsing. ;)

Peace.

Timotheos

Christmas is Coming

2009-11-11T09:25:00.000+09:00

It's been a struggle to submit regular entries here. I don't want this blog to turn into simply a reflection of my diary, but to keep it relevant to my experiences in Japan. Perhaps being married to a Japanese national and somewhat settling down has desensitised me to the wonder that Japan once held. Or maybe I've just become complacent and haven't put in the effort that I should have.

I've wanted to put up a set of photos for quite a while, but wasn't able to find my micro-SD reader. After church on Sunday, I bought a new micro-SD card that came with a reader, but upon inserting my cellphone's card into my laptop, it wasn't able to read it. Go figure. So, I'm still working on getting the photos from my cellphone to the computer so that they can in turn be put up here. Whew.

I had a flu shot yesterday. It meant I had to drive through the pouring rain, to and from K-town. The hospital was very busy and there were no parks. So I prayed, drove around again, went down to the end of the carpark and took the single, last one that God had provided for me. So you see, he always comes through when we need little things like that!

Mika baked an apple pie on Monday night. Half of it is gone already (although one quarter went with Eddi to her kindergarten), and we should be able to finish it off tonight when we go to Mika's parents' for dinner. Her mum has been at her grandma's for the last week or so, looking after the old lady. We have had Mika's dad around for dinner once, and so tonight it is our turn to go there and eat with him.

The flu is going around -- or at least, that is the fear that many people have. They are so serious about health and getting sick here that I wonder how much of it can be attributed to this overshadowing fear of getting sick and passing sickness onto others. On Monday at shougakkou (primary school), every single person -- teachers and students alike -- was wearing one of those face masks. And apparently there were ten students away sick that day.

Some classes have been cancelled this month. We were supposed to have an upcoming class on the 18th where a whole lot of teachers would come to observe the proceedings, but that has been cancelled. A couple of junior high days have had their classes cancelled, but this is mostly due to JTE activities, not sickness. Still, there have been some complete school cancellations because of the influenza that is "going around" right now -- such as this coming Friday, which I will now spend in the office twiddli- erm, taking care of important documents.

There was a festival in K-town on Sunday. So after buying my new micro-SD, we checked it out. It wasn't that impressive, but there was a whole lot of shiny farm equipment (should have taken pictures, doh!), the meat-on-a-stick was yummy (o)()(o) and they had a huge bingo game. We had four cards but only got a couple of "reaches" (one square short of bingo). Seems that I have no problem with Japanese numbers. ;)

Christmas is coming up. We went into K-city on Saturday to do some shopping. It was a very long, tiring ordeal, but we all got new clothes and it was fun looking at Christmas stuff. The atmosphere is definitely festive, and Christmas is taking on more of a tangible presence here. It will be a great opportunity for me to share with the kids at school about why we celebrate Christmas. Any opportunity to tell them about Jesus should be snatched up without restraint!

Move over Santa, Jesus is King and he's the Real Thing.

My Japanese study is going well. I may not see much progress, but I know that one day I will be fluent enough to improve exponentially, as I listen, speak, read and write regularly. As I continue to struggle through each thing to learn, it's encouraging to know that somewhere down the track, something will click and the things I have learned will begin to make sense and will take shape in my mind. So far, very little makes sense and remembering words and structure has been very, very difficult. But I will speak it one day, and knowing that is what keeps me going!

Renshuu.org is a great Japanese study review website. Even though I haven't specifically studied for the JLPT level 4, I have included the entire thing in my review schedule. This way, as I encounter words that I am unfamiliar with, either from a meaning perspective or even kanji pronunciation, I will eventually get to know everything. Also, as I continue to progress through my Genki I textbook, I can add the chapters to my schedule as well. So far, I have studied up to chapter 8, which I am working through when the mood strikes (ie. when I have free periods at school).

My aim is to finish Genki I and to get through all of Genki II -- or at least its equivalent -- by the time the JLPT rolls around in June next year. I may not make it that far, but I still intend to sit the level 3 during the next JLPT intake, prepared or not.

Today, I will no doubt continue both study and vocabulary practice. I don't make many opportunities to flex my conversation skills, but this is mostly due to not being able to think of anything to say. It's not a fear of getting things wrong, as I do that all the time in writing. It's being unable to express myself adequately, and not understanding what people say to me whenever I have to use Japanese. But I try!

Peace.

Timotheos

Life After The B.O.E

2009-10-20T15:35:00.001+09:00

I just came across this webcomic today. Go, have a chuckle. It's free.

Timotheos

Is it a Boy or a Girl?

2009-10-14T11:00:00.002+09:00

Suffice to say, life has definitely been busy. Between school and family, I switched blog entry priority to low. Now that I have an hour left in the office this morning, it's high time I updated this thing. Life in Japan is hard... >.<

A few Saturdays ago, I had to go to K-town hospital to get the prescription for my second of three courses of antibiotics. Another half-day wasted, but it wasn't as bad as the previous time.

That week wore on, with chuugakkou classes pretty much as regular as usual, and some time spent in the office. The annual English speech competition is coming up, so I have had a small hand to play in preparation so far -- mostly just editing and proofreading stories and speeches.

On the technology front, I reinstalled Windows Vista on my laptop a couple of weeks ago. It more or less fixed the Internet connection issues I was having, but the connection is still not as consistent as I would like.

My wife and I were able to take a break two weeks ago. We had Eddi babysat and went out for dinner together, before taking a walk. How necessarily romantic. ;)

I've been doing a little Japanese study, on and off. My progress is still slow and I continue to struggle, but the more I do it, the more I will understand and remember, right?

The weekend before last was more or less relaxing. We went to a park on the Saturday, up in Ehime prefecture. It was also tsukimi, which means "moongazing", and we had a fun time of it that night, eating dango that Eddi and Mika made.

The week came and went, with me buying my wife a rose on Monday and receiving Eddi's set of bunks; starting a new series called FlashForward on Tuesday; having dinner at the in-laws on Wednesday night; going for a walk on Thursday evening; and getting our brand new double bed and table on Friday!

And I've got to say, it is wonderful to have a proper bed, and great to be able to eat at a table! Unfortunately, the table top is slightly cracked, so we are waiting for them to replace it.

On Friday we also dropped Eddi at her grandparents' to stay for the night. Turns out we didn't tutor Mei-chan that night either, so Mika and I watched a movie together. W00t.

Saturday was a lazy day. I even took a much needed nap in the afternoon. See, life in Japan really is hard. I had to sleep on our brand new soft mattress for a couple of hours, eat a yummy curry and play on my computer a bit. /yawn

Eddi's undoukai (sports day) was at her youchien (kindergarten) on Sunday morning, so we were unable to attend church. We managed to film everything that our daughter was involved with, which added up to an hour of footage. Perhaps I will sift through and edit it sometime.

After the undoukai, we ate leftover curry and packed up the car with all our camping gear. We headed out to a place called Kashiwajima. Shima/Jima means "island", but it was an island that is connected by a land bridge. The area is a hotspot for scuba diving and fishing, even though the shore is terribly polluted. I wouldn't recommend going there if you don't like the sight of garbage. They really should clean the place up, because it is a quaint little town and the surrounding area is incredibly beautiful (I have photos, but can't upload anything until I find my Micro-SD converter).

Camping was great. We weren't completely organised, but it all worked out anyway. The nights are getting colder, but with blankets we were quite comfortable in our tent together.

After a nice walk on Monday -- which was a public holiday, and hence why we were able to go out camping -- we drove to a cliff trail and walked up to have a look at the view. After that, we went to a nearby monkey park, and saw a whole lot of monkeys. There was also a great lookout on the promontory, which afforded us a view of the entire surrounding area, with islands dotting the sea and the sun glinting off the water. We could clearly make out the beach we had camped at overnight, too. The weather on Monday was perfect.

Lunch and icecreams on the way to Nakamura, and then in the city we visited the onsen, paying for a private family bath. We got 50% extra free (1 1/2 hours instead of just one), as it was our first visit. Even being naked can be enjoyable. Guess Japan really is changing me. :)

MacDonald's for dinner, a little shopping and then the drive back home via our regular route through Iejigawa. Tired? Yup, but Tuesday is always an early start, so no time to think about sleeping in.

That brings us to yesterday. I spent the entire day at Taisho chuu, as my classes were spread out to period 6. Kitazoe sensei was away. The students mostly did work out of their workbooks, which wasn't very fun at all. And the extra class I oversaw was disappointing, as the kids obviously didn't want to be there. Sometimes you just have bad days, and yesterday wasn't one of the better school days I've had. But you just move on, huh. Every day is a new and wonderful day that God has created!

Today, I finish at 11.30am. I am taking this afternoon off so that Mika and I can have lunch together and then visit K-town hospital. She has an OB appointment and I want to be there for once to see our baby on the monitor during the scan. We believe that today we will find out our child's gender, too! Exciting. ;)

Going out for dinner tonight, too, which will be great. So all in all, today is a huge step up from yesterday. We have been anticipating this Wednesday for quite a while.

Onward!

Timotheos

This Week Had A Silver Lining

2009-09-24T12:00:00.000+09:00

I've probably said this before, but a lot of things in Japan are undersized. Except bugs. Everything from spiders to cockroaches and wasps are huge here. I love what spiders do: they keep down the insect population. But some of the spiders here are just plain huge and scary. I just saw a spider the size of my palm in the toilet at work this morning. Eight-legged freaks indeed.

This weekend, a number of schools around my area had their undokai (sports day). Mika had to work on both Saturday and Sunday. She gets daikyuu (time in lieu) next week on Monday and Tuesday.

Eddi stayed with her cousin from Friday night until last night (Wednesday). On Saturday, I spent the day at home. We finally had the last of the airconditioning installed, and I managed to clear out the living room (lounge) closet and rearrange some things. Since then, we have cleaned up a few more things, including our bedrooms upstairs. There is still a space issue and a number of items don't yet have homes, but progress has definitely been made.

I baked a carrot cake on Saturday night and iced it in the morning. We had our monthly birthday lunch at church, where we also paid respect to the elderly. My cake was a real hit. I was proud of how it turned out; it was as yummy as it looked. I stopped in at Kitanokawa chuugakkou on my way home to see Mika.

As a reflection of May's Golden Week, we had Silver Week from Saturday to Wednesday. It was nice to be able to spend a full three days with my wife and no work. We were able to relax without worrying about rushing around, trying to get things done by a certain time.

On Tuesday night, we went camping out by a beach near Nakamura. We wanted to take our daughter, but she wanted to stay another night at her cousin's. We had a great time, with a starlit walk along the beach and sitting around a campfire in the cool Autumn night air. Even the steaks that we barbecued for dinner were delicious, as I had marinated them earlier in the day.

Yesterday, after packing up and visiting the beach once more -- and a ham and egg English muffin breakfast -- we took off for Kochi city. It was time to buy some furniture, and we finally purchased both a dining table and a double bed for ourselves. We are going to get Eddi a set of bunks this weekend. Our new furniture will be delivered next month on the 9th.

We picked up Eddi from Aki-chan's house in the afternoon, and drove back home at a reasonable time. Both Mika and I were very tired by the time we got back, but we managed to get everything away, and she even cooked a proper meal.

Suffice to say, we had a fairly early night last night. I'm glad that I have no classes today. Yay for no school. ;)

Peace.

Timotheos

Sometimes it is Free

2009-09-14T13:50:00.005+09:00

The week before last isn't really worth noting, save for the fact that it was my first week back at school. That weekend, the only thing of note was that we went into Nakamura to do some shopping; items for the house and all that.

Then came last week, half of which I was out of commission. I felt very weak on Monday, and the last period at Tokawa shougakkou was very difficult. Once I got home, I went straight to bed. Turns out I had a bit of a fever, and my body ached all over.

The following day, I called in sick and went to see the doctor. After a battery of tests and two hours spent at the medical clinic, they diagnosed me with tonsilitis and gave me a prescription for antibiotics. I took the Wednesday off as well, but wasn't able to get it off as sick leave; rather, I took a day in annual leave.

The rest of last week was ok. I am not sure just how serious my sickness was, but Tuesday was the worst day of the three. Once the weekend came around, things were pretty much back to normal.

On Saturday, we went into Kochi city, as planned. Mika had to get her two-year shakken (car warrant of fitness), and we borrowed a courtesy car to go to Aeon mall while that was taking place. After a little shopping we went to Yamada Denki and I got a wireless router so we can set up the network at home.

We got my wife's car back and went to her brother's house to have dinner together. As is usual with going into the city, we got home rather late.

Yesterday, we went to a town in Ehime, between here and Uwajima (out on the west coast). We have visited the aquarium there before, but this time we went to the onsen (hot spring). I'm not quite Japanese enough to go full monty, so I took my laptop to watch an episode of Stargate SG-1. I had a massage in one of the chairs there and spent the rest of the time dipping my feet in a hot pool and reading a book.

On our way to the town, we had grabbed some drinks from a vending machine. 60 yen for a can of Aquarius -- with an extra 150g! So not only was it the cheapest I have ever seen a drink from a vending machine, but it was one of those special, oversized drinks too. Bonus!

We went for a walk and let Eddi play before heading to a restaurant for dinner. She fell asleep on our way home, so we put her straight to bed. Mika shopped online while we watched a movie.

And that brings us up to date. Today, I only had classes this morning, after which they invited me to eat the school lunch. So yes, sometimes there is such a thing as a free lunch.

Here in Japan, people are not big on turning on their headlights. Whether it be overcast or raining, driving under a canopy of trees or getting darker because the sun has gone down, it seems to be the norm to brave the elements (and oncoming traffic) and keep your lights off. And woe betide any driver who has their lights on at the slightest hint of light in the sky. For he shall be flashed by oncoming traffic as a reminder that, "Hey mate, what have you got your lights on for? It's not pitch black yet!".

Then there is the issue of MLS*. It turns out that it is indeed a global phenomenon. I'll bet it's illegal to not have two working headlights here, too. But there isn't much opportunity to find out, considering the somewhat fanatic aversion to switching them on at the threat of appearing weak.

*Mono-Light Syndrome. See my original blog post on the subject.

But hey, let's not generalise. I'm sure that just as there must be people who won't go to onsen, there must also be people who switch their lights on at the first sign of lower visibility. Perhaps the two are connected somehow...

Peace.

Timotheos

The Great Move: Success!

2009-08-31T11:15:00.000+09:00

The shifting may be over but the settling in has only just begun.

I had all of last week off (marriage leave), which gave me a chance to finish filling and painting the new place and start moving stuff in. Mika also took time off work -- between a whole lot of pre-term* meetings -- so that we could get everything shifted.

*The new school term starts tomorrow. Yay for real work!

Everything was out of my old apartment by the end of Wednesday and we had shifted quite a bit of stuff from Mika's place. On Thursday I went to Nakamura to get some organisational things for our rooms and cupboards. I went back again on Friday to return some things and find alternative means of arranging everything to fit into our limited space.

Eddi came with me on Friday. We stopped at the beach on the way. It was really nice. We also popped into the furniture store for a little while. We want to get real beds some time soon. I took her to MacDonald's for lunch, we shopped at a hardware store and we had ice creams on the way home. ^^

Over the weekend we continued shifting things out of Mika's place -- when we weren't waiting at the hospital. Saturday was a bit of a waste of a day because we went to the hospital in K-town so that I could get my ingrown toenails sorted out. After a lot of waiting and going to see two different doctors, the only thing I got out of it was a prescription for another toenail issue and the recommendation not to get surgery on my toes.

Which means that after all that we have to go and see another doctor (probably in the city) to sort out getting my feet fixed for good. Yay for stubborn Japanese medical professionals. At least we managed to slip in some much needed shopping.

Yesterday was possibly the most difficult day for us, in terms of shifting. We still had a lot of Mika's possessions to move. But now that it is all over and done with, there is merely the task of unpacking our hundreds of boxes and bags and finding room for everything. It seems that things have been non-stop since the wedding. :/

A guy came and installed an air conditioning unit, too, removing the old, decrepit one from the lounge. He also removed the one from my old place but we can't get that installed until next weekend. Oh, and it was raining yesterday, which made things interesting.

At least things should become somewhat normal now. We have a place to live, summer holidays are over and we have schedules to follow. We can get into a good pattern of living as we work our way through everything at the house and accustom ourselves to the new environment. Bring on the next few weeks of settling in...

Peace.

Timotheos

A Year In Review

2009-08-14T10:45:00.000+09:00

My experience here in Japan seems to differ somewhat from other people's. Not only am I in a rather isolated place, but culture shock has never been an issue for me. Sure, I have been surprised at some of the things that I encountered here, but nothing really life-changing -- in the sense of cultural differences and adjustments -- has occurred. Getting married within a year of coming to Japan was pretty huge (and unexpected), but that's beside the point. :p

And in reverse, I really can't see myself having to readjust to life in New Zealand, if we move there in future. If culture shock was the boredom of not having a laptop on arrival or experiencing a very chilly Christmas, then reverse culture shock will be surprise at petrol costs or how cheap milk from Pak 'n Save is.

When I write a book about my experiences in Japan, I'll have to exaggerate everything, including my sudden plunge into Japanese society. But the truth is, I don't feel as if I interact with Japanese culture enough for it to really affect me. All of this bowing and being polite hasn't really rubbed off on me yet; and I have passed the one year mark.

Mind you, the language sure is taking its time to sink in. You'd think that after a year I would be highly motivated to dive into my books and really focus on shoving Japanese into my head so that I could communicate. But without the dire need to converse in Japanese, the motivation just hasn't come. But I'll get there -- I know I will...

So yes, it has been over a year. Which means that life will begin to repeat itself. This last week was Kochi's infamous Yosakoi festival again. I, however, didn't see any coverage of it. I did see some people practising when my family were here, though.

Then, of course, is the upcoming Ayu festival, which takes place around these parts. And then we will be graced with various summer fireworks displays. This year, we plan on seeing a bigger display than Nakamura can offer.

Mika and I still have two houses between us; we will hopefully be able to paint Mikey's old place next week. She is back at work on Monday so it might have to wait until the weekend. I just want to be done with this whole split between two houses arrangement that we have going on. We are both still paying rent plus all of the utilities that come with having a place -- twice. So, the sooner the better for us, both financially and as a family.

Yesterday, I had a migraine, so was resigned to take a day off and suffer in pain. My head actually started hurting on Wednesday afternoon, so I finished work an hour early and went home to bed. Mika was away for Tuesday and Wednesday nights, staying with her brother's family at their new house in K-city. I didn't eat between Tuesday and Wednesday lunchtimes, but after talking to my wife on the phone, she encouraged (read: ordered) me to go to her house and make something to eat. Which I did, despite the agonising pain in my head. It was also good to get out and about, and I was able to recover enough to not have to go back to bed after returning home.

It's no wonder I suffer like this, though, sitting for so long in front of a computer screen. I should be dividing my time between browsing, learning and preparing. It would actually be quite wise to get onto more preparation for the new term, as I may not have as much free time during the week to prepare shougakkou lessons. It seems that I have a more permanent schedule after summer, teaching at four shougakkou consistently and an extra chuugakkou (Taisho). Because now that Michael has gone, they need me to fill in at least some of the gap -- the new ALT is living in K-town, which makes teaching all the way out here too difficult, I guess.

On a final note, the weekend is upon us -- well, pretty much. Mika doesn't want to do any driving this weekend, after all the driving she has done this week. I am going to assume that that means no long-distance travelling, which puts the idea of looking for a bed and/or table out of the question; at least for now.

What's most important for us at this stage is getting the go ahead to paint up the place we are moving into so that we can begin moving our stuff in. My biggest issue is getting rid of these JCF library books. We are still looking for a replacement librarian. Hopefully it will be someone in this prefecture, as that would save a whole lot on courier fees (if I were able to take the boxes somewhere myself).

Here's to continued beautiful weather!

Peace.

Timotheos

The Wild River

2009-08-10T17:29:00.009+09:00

I went to the river after work and took some footage on my phone. Filmed about two minutes' drive from my town, from a bridge by the local michinoeki (rest stop). This is the Shimanto River (shimantogawa) after some serious rain. It is also very foggy up here in the mountains, as you can see from the video. Enjoy!

The Shimanto River Rages

Timotheos

Changes Forthcoming

2009-08-10T13:49:00.001+09:00

On the matter of updating the style and appearance of The Japan Journey: I fully intend to implement some very noticeable changes. In fact, a complete overhaul is in the works. However, until everything is settled and our lives are back into a standard rhythm, I can't conceptualise or implement any real changes to the blog.

Stay tuned.

Timotheos

It's Raining, It's Pouring

2009-08-10T13:40:00.003+09:00

Rainy season is supposed to be over, and yet we have had a rather incredible spell of rain that saw the river rise immensely and the local trains brought to a halt. There was a lot of lightning last night and yesterday the river was simply amazing (and very brown) to look at, with the choppy water flowing rapidly between its very wide banks.

Today, sun showers have kicked in, although the clouds may very well extricate themselves of their last vestige of super-soaker solution tonight on a slightly grander scale. Then again, considering how much precipitation has actually fallen, we may have seen the last of it for a good while yet.

Now the real heat begins.

Let's take a step back though, shall we? Although Mika and I have yet to move into our very own house -- we are still split between our two respective places -- our living arrangement hasn't been all bad. Sure, we are still paying rent for two houses, one of which is seldom visited (mine), but things haven't quite been worked out yet regarding our shift. And so we shuffle back and forth on occasion, trying to live a normal married life.

It's not always easy at first; especially with all of the changes that take place. Our intentions are good, though, and we do have goals in sight. One step at a time will see me get my PS3 slim us happily settled and ready to focus on building a life as a family and getting involved with whatever pastimes and activities we can spare the time to pursue.

The Friday before last (we need a word for this, much like oxt is used for the week(end) after this one -- maybe axt?)... So, axt Friday, I spent the day in the office. Yes, this is August. This is my summer routine.

Well, as with every August office day, it passed without much ado. Just your usual Facebook and Google Reader activity. I installed Windows 7 on my laptop that night. How this relates to ninjas is beyond me, but I'm talking about it anyway. After all, if ninjas knew where I lived, do you think I could continue to write so freely?

Ah, so, I spent a long time that evening fiddling with my display settings, but finally managed to get everything working fine. And no ninja attacks, either. Whew!

It also turns out that we are not tutoring Mei-chan this month, which is yet another relief as we try and get to the point where we can settle into our new life. Because until we have shifted into our new place, things just won't be settled.

Axt Saturday, we went to Tosa-shi to do some shopping. We had left Eddi with her grandparents. We followed Tosa up with a visit to Mika's brother's new house. It's-a very nai-su. :o

After a MacDonald's lunch, we looked around the lovely house and even set up their flash new dining table. We took Aki off Mai's hands and went to get an oil change. Worst oil change ever, as it took around two hours. Why?! Well, at least we went to Mr. Donut...

That night, we dropped Aki off at her grandparents' to stay over with Eddi. Yay for an evening to ourselves. ;)

After church the next day, we paid off some of our outstanding wedding expenses. We ate with Mika's parents that night: yakiniku! For some reason, the girls stayed over for a second night. Lucky!

Last week's Monday through Wednesday isn't really worth mentioning. We had Tuesday night to ourselves again and so watched a movie at my place. A/C is very nice to have, too.

On Thursday, I took nenkyuu. We had planned to go to Nakamura but in the morning I cut my finger quite seriously, having to get stitches, and so we spent most of the morning at home.

We did, however, manage to get out to K-town, which was good. We paid the last of our wedding expenses and did some good old-fashioned grocery shopping. Also, the Board of Education in K-town gave us two wedding gifts! How nice of them.

The custom here in Japan is that you return more than just a thank you card to those that gave you a wedding gift (although money is very common to give / receive too -- we actually received quit a large sum altogether). It is customary to go to the effort of using some of the money that you recived to buy gifts and give them in return. It seems like a strange thing to do -- after all, I instinctually want to use all of the money that we received to help us set up our new life together.

But that isn't how things work here. I now see that it is actually very nice to buy gifts for everyone -- although the effort that you have to go to is just as tiring as most other such things around here. Because honouring custom is more important than how you might feel about something. And because everyone does the same thing, you can actually expect things to happen in a certain way, which I guess gives people extra security. Because knowledge is power? Something like that, anyway. ;)

The weekend came and went. I met Mika's uncle and aunt on Saturday night. They recently travelled to China, and showed us pictures of the Great Wall and other places that they went.

My Japanese has not progressed in the last few months. I just need to find the motivation to delve back into my textbook or to pick up some kanji cards and go over (and over and over) the vocabulary. Without the drive to actually do something I sit in a perpetual zone of language frustration. Until something pushes me into a mode of actually wanting to learn rather than grinding my teeth at not being able to express myself or understand anything that is vocalised around me, I will continue to simmer in this hiatus.

I reflect on this part of my Japanese life from time to time. But reflection is not enough to download understanding into my brain. Learning a language is a very slow process and one that takes dedication and opportunity. It's enforcing that dedication and grasping those opportunities that results in progression.

It is actually my hope that once we have settled our lives somewhat and we are back into the swing of things -- when school starts up and lesson preparation is obligatory rather than a sidelined event -- I will find those opportunities to practise and break out those materials again.

Something akin to Japanese Wednesdays would be a good starter, as would consistently shoving vocabulary into my head and then using it at random times. Perhaps it is the summer heat. Perhaps it is the lax office attitude. Or perhaps I am still whirling somewhat from the stresses involved with all of our wedding planning and implementation.

Whatever the case, the day will come where I get focused and get serious about language learning again. I do have all my life to learn my wife's language; but why take an entire lifetime to learn something when you could spend that time enjoying the benefits of knowing and using it?

We shall see when August comes to a close. Here's hoping that we will move, settle and get into a good weekly routine that benefits not just us as a family but our own individual lives and the lives of others around us.

Peace.

Timotheos

The Wedding Bells Have Gone Silent

2009-07-30T09:35:00.000+09:00

What a fortnight! The time leading up to our wedding was pretty hectic, and since then I have hardly had a chance to sit down at any computer for more than a few minutes. Now that I am back in the office, I have all day to do whatever crosses my path; and that includes writing a full blog update.

Since coming to Japan, this is definitely the longest I have gone without writing an entry. But weddings only happen once. I could never have foreseen that in three months I would propose, and that we would plan and implement a wedding; not to mention see most of my family again, within a year of coming here.

The days leading up to when my family began arriving are a bit of a blur. We were definitely busy and under a little (ie. a lot of) stress. It was a relief to get everything finalised and see everything through to the end; but even now there are still things to sort out.

Mum, dad and the two youngest -- Amy and Simon -- travelled from their city in China (Shenyang) to Incheon (Seoul, South Korea) and then over here, to Okayama, on Saturday the 18th. We had organised for them to stay overnight at a hotel and then to travel by bus to Kochi.

The next day, I drove into K-city and met my family at the station. We went out for dinner at Masala and then drove back here to Taisho. Mika was excited to meet them. They brought out my suit and her dress, which they had got last weekend for us, and it was a good time of introductions, presents and settling in. Dad and Simon came back to my apartment to stay with me.

The following day -- Monday, the 19th -- we all went into the city to do some shopping. We stopped in Tosa to get a few things from Daiso 100-yen store and shopped at Aeon in K-city. It was a pretty full day, and we got back kind of late.

On Tuesday, I had to work. I inroduced my family to my office workmates in the morning. I could have written a blog entry but the thought didn't even cross my mind that day. It was google reader all the way. ;)

I finished work an hour early and went back to my place to sort some things out. Dad was there, working on his sermon for the coming Sunday morning service. He spent a lot of time on my computer last week preparing that.

We had dinner with Mika's parents that night. Her mother took my wedding suit to hem the pants and she measured Mika's dress or whatever to adjust that for the wedding. Dad, Simon and I watched a movie after getting back to my place.

On Wednesday, we went to Nakamura to do some shopping. We also travelled out to Ashizuri cape, which was nice. We got some good photos, too. We ate a very late dinner after getting home. Dad, Simon and I watched another movie before bed.

It turned out that because Nick's flight from NZ to Syndey was delayed, he and Lish missed their flight to Tokyo. They were put up in a hotel in Sydney and were able to spend Thursday checking out the city, but it meant that we had to book a new domestic flight here, between Haneda and Kochi airports. Mottainai. I hope that Qantas will reimburse me for their incompetence that resulted in spending another 50,000 yen. Well, at least they made it in time!

Because of Qantas's stubbornness, we had to change our plans around. Instead of travelling to the airport on Thursday, we set up the church, wedding style. It turned out very nice! I left the sound system for Saturday, but everything else was prepared. However, we couldn't have a proper planned rehearsal without Nick and Lish.

Friday came and went. Ok, so there was more to it than that. We all went into the city, to Aeon mall. Mika, mum and dad went shopping (with Eddi) while I took Amy and Simon out to the airport to meet our brother and sister. We picked them up and came back to the mall. It was a touching moment for mum and Lish to see each other. Why couldn't she have cried when she saw her oldest son after a year? :p

We came back to Taisho (again -- sheesh, I did a lot of travelling last week), and got everyone settled in. We had a fairly late meal before the boys came to my place and we had my bachelor party. Mikey came around with his PS3 and we watched Die Hard 4 and ate junk food. Simon had to stay at Mika's with everyone else, with Nick staying at my place. So I took him back after our little get-together.

Saturday was the big day. I was rushing around all morning, finalising stuff: ironing, printing, organising lunch for the "boys". I got to the church with very little time to set up the sound system, and jumped into my suit at the last minute. I still had to cut my wedding vow flashcards out, too!

Mika was absolutely stunning. The whole ceremony went so well, praise God. Simon even did a good job of the music. We had a whole lot of photos taken by our good friend, Narae; especially afterwards, with all different compositions (parents, various family members, the pastor and his wife, etc etc). It was exciting to be the highlight of the day with my beautiful bride!

I don't have any photos to put up here on my blog, but I will definitely link to various facebook albums as they get put up.

The reception was great. Everyone was happy, the food was good and our cake was amazing. Mika and I had changed from our wedding clothes into different clothes for the occasion: from white to black. It made for some nice photos.

Afterwards, we made sure everyone left safely and then drove to a hotel in Susaki to spend our first married night together.

Skip ahead to the next day... ;)

My whole family (well, those that were here in Japan, which was everyone save Leah and Jonny) were at church on Sunday morning. Dad preached and we had a wedding lunch afterwards.

It got quite late in the afternoon and we had to get back so that mum and dad could pack for leaving in the morning. We all spent some time together at Mika's house before dad, Nick and I crashed at my place. Nick and I stayed up for a bit finalising some file copying (movies and TV shows for my old external HDD which I gave to dad and the kids).

Monday rolled around and we saw mum and dad off at the station in K-city. We said our goodbyes and then the six of us (we had Aki with us, because she and Eddi had spent the night at their grandparents') spent the day in the city. We went to Masala for lunch and looked around Obiyamachi, before heading to Aeon. We gave Aki back to her parents and left the city.

Monday night was pretty uneventful. I decided to stay with my wife while Nick had my apartment all to himself.

On Tuesday, we wanted to go somewhere, but Eddi was finishing yochien early, so we merely went to the stone windmill and its surrounding area, opposite the nearby michinoeki. Lish and Nick were able to take some nice photos.

I had a rest after we picked up Eddi -- Mika had a nap, too. I guess we were all pretty tired. We had dinner with Mika's parents that evening. Nick made a good impression, drinking sake with Mika's dad and doing his best with his anime-learned Japanese. I think her dad was also impressed that I drank a bit of sake with them, as he just assumed that because I don't drink beer every day, I don't drink sake. Nommunication, people. :o

Nick and I watched most of Aliens before bed. It was before 12am when we finished up, with less than an hour to go, but we were both just too tired to continue.

Mika had to work yesterday, so I took Nick and Lish to the airport by myself. It was funny, because the first group of JETs were arriving at the same time. I wasn't aware of this until Candice called me and asked if I was at the airport, because she had just seen my brother. I went downstairs, and she and Laurel were standing there, haha. It seems that a number of our fellow Kochi JETs had shown up to meet the new JETs coming in; even Michael was there with a sign.

We ate lunch at the aiport and then I saw my big sis and little bro off. That was the last of the family to leave. I drove back home and had a rest because I was really tired.

We went out for dinner last night in K-town. It was the last time we will see Laurel before she leaves, and was a good way to get introduced to Michael's replacement, Brittany. She is being placed in the K-town BOE rather than in my office here in Taisho. Michael will be spending his last few days with our BOE over there as well, I guess, as he is no longer here in the office.

So now things have quietened down. I am waiting for both my Birth Certificate and a Certificate of No Impediment from Births, Deaths and Marriages, so that Mika and I can be officially married. We still have wedding stuff to pay off and will be moving into Michael's old apartment as soon as he has completely moved out.

I'm sure there are other things to sort out, such as trying to make Qantas cough up some form of reimbursement for having delayed my siblings and forced the procuring of another domestic flight, not to mention the grief cause for us having to change our plans around just before the wedding.

But all is well in Taisho on this beautiful Thursday morning. The wedding bells have gone silent but a life of marriage has only just begun.

Peace.

Timotheos

The Power of His Love

2009-07-16T14:46:00.003+09:00

Nine days to go. Three until mum, dad and the youngest siblings arrive; seven days until the other two do.

So what has happened since last I wrote? School finished. Wedding planning continued. And it's hot.

Last weekend, my parents got my suit and Mika's dress from a huge mall about an hour from where they live in China. Meanwhile, we sorted out details for the reception, the cake and the flower arranging.

After the weekend, it was back to business. School this week has been very slow. There were no classes on Tuesday or today at the respective chuugakkou. However, I travelled to Tokawa on Tuesday afternoon to receive a wedding present that they wanted to give us; and today, I went to Shouwa before being told that there would be no English class at all. Which meant a day in the office!

Did I mention that it's hot?

With school over for the summer, all I will be able to do for the next month and a half is scan google reader, play on Facebook and prepare resources. I guess I could throw in some Japanese study from time to time. Oh, and I have next week off to spend with my family. After all, I'm getting married next weekend. :o

As far as planning goes, we still need to work out some decoration details for both the ceremony at the church and the reception at the restaurant we have booked. Aside from that, it is now just a matter of getting through the rehearsal this weekend and finding accommodation for my family.

We also need to find a new house. So far nothing has shown up on our radar. But since God has taken care of everything so well so far, this is a minor issue that will be taken care of pretty quickly and easily.

Here's to the weekend～ ^^

Peace.

Ps. I will get around to making the stylistic changes. I'd like to get married first and focus on more important things than playing around with blog colours. :p

Timotheos

Something About Ninjas

2009-07-10T16:18:00.008+09:00

Friday, Friday, Friday. The weekend is here! Two more weeks until we get married. Just over a week until I get to see my parents and two youngest siblings, and then a few more days after that my brother and older sister. It's going to be great!

Last Sunday, we went to church in Kochi city. We spent some time at a wedding hire place, trying on respective suits and dresses. We decided not to hire anything from there. Neither of us has our wedding costume yet, but we still have two weeks, right? Actually, my parents are going to find a suit for me tomorrow, at a mall in their city in China.

We did some further shopping, at Aeon, where we also ate. Got home pretty late, especially for a "school night".

I taught at Tokawa shougakkou on both Monday and Wednesday. Spent some time trying to sort out domestic travel for my brother and older sister, but we didn't get anything finalised that night. We did, however, get a good deal a couple of days later. One less burden, huh. Still trying to sort out accommodation for my parents for when they stop in Okayama, both on the way here and back.

There was a crazy rainstorm on Tuesday afternoon. I came back to the office because I didn't have afternoon periods at Tokawa chuu, and the heavy rainclouds came over and just dumped their water onto Taisho in one huge torrent.

On Tuesday night, we went out to K-town to see the Book of Hope class that Laurel takes every Tuesday night. I am probably going to take over when she leaves. I also brought my home theatre system and tested my speakers in the church. Sounds good, so we should be using that setup for the music for the wedding.

On Wednesday night we ate at Mika's parents' house. It was yakiniku, and was very nice.

We spent some time at Mika's afterwards looking up wedding clothes online, but didn't make a definite decision about anything.

Last night, we went out for dinner at a local place, while Ps. Taniguchi used the house to take a small bible study with a couple of local high school students. We went for a walk afterwards, which was nice.

We still haven't found a photographer for the wedding. Going to take it easy this weekend -- at least, that's the plan. There are still things to work out, such as Mika's dress and finalising the order of events for the ceremony itself; but everything will be sorted by the day.

Oh, and God is good. ;)

Finally, expect changes to my blog sometime in the not too distant future. I have some ideas about what I want to do, so keep an eye out for that! (It will be pretty obvious when ninjas jump out and throw shuriken at your face).

Peace.

Timotheos

Frenetic Fast-paced Formulating

2009-07-04T20:40:00.003+09:00

To be honest, even now I don't feel like writing a blog entry. I guess the whole week has been pretty taxing. But I have free time now and it has been just over a week since my last entry. So here goes nothing.

We did go into Kochi city last Saturday. We took a picnic lunch and went to One-park to eat and to let Eddi run around for a bit. After that, we made the obligatory Aeon mall stop. We found the ideal pair of wedding rings, which we will be getting resized before the wedding. We also did some shopping; I got some new clothes (T-shirts and shorts).

A visit to the 100-yen store saw me acquiring a whole lot of useful organisational stuff for my teaching resources in the office. We ate before coming home.

On Sunday it was a regular morning at church. We were, however, invited to eat lunch with our pastor and his wife, which was very nice. We did some grocery shopping before heading back to Taisho. Started to feel the stress of wedding planning. We prayed together that night, which was a little relieving.

I had my meeting at the Kaizen centre in K-town on Monday morning. It went well. They just wanted to make sure I would be extra careful about checking the times for scheduled classes. They also wished me omedetou gozaimasu -- congratulations -- for the recent engagement. ;)

After work, Mika and I headed back to K-town together to try and sort out this Docomo bill issue that I had. We managed to sort out getting access to a detailed bill online but that deadended when we actually tried it on Wednesday night. However, that night, Mika was kind enough to spend over an hour on the phone for me, getting them to agree to a refund on certain costs; and she also had my plan changed so that I should be paying less each month for my keitai!

Anyway, back to Tuesday (since nothing else out worth mentioning happened on Monday). I taught at Tokawa chuugakkou, as usual. I told Igei-sensei about my engagement. She gave a similar reaction to everyone, showing complete surprise. It was fun telling the students that I am getting married very soon, haha.

We ate okonomiyaki that night. Started working on the wedding invitations. I had got some materials from Ryubi in K-town after work. We decided we would hand-make the invitations for everyone that we are giving them to. It ended up taking us until very late Thursday night to get them finished, so I posted off the ones to my various family members in both China and New Zealand yesterday after work.

So we entered July. The month of our wedding! 25th, here we come!

I was at Yoneoku shougakkou from first period on Wednesday morning, which meant a very early start for me. The school is about 40 minutes from here.

We had an awesome little storm on Wednesday evening. It poured really hard for a while and there was thunder rumbling across the sky. As I mentioned, Mika sorted out my Docomo stuff. I cooked dinner while she did that and we watched The Wedding Singer. I didn't see most of the first part because of preparing dinner, but I've seen the movie more than once, so meh.

We also worked on the invitations that night, but were both pretty tired and couldn't get much done. It was good to space it out and take until Thursday night to get them finished -- but it also meant that we both stayed up very late that night. :/

There was no school on Thursday, so I spent the day on Facebook and Wikipedia and resource prep. (printing, laminating, etc.). I managed to keep pretty busy. ^^

We had dinner at an Italian restaurant about five minutes past K-town, called Kitchen Yano. We intend to have the wedding reception there. The food was nice, and the atmosphere is nice too. We think it is an appropriate place. We have a meeting to discuss details next Saturday afternoon (the 11th).

Getting the invitations finished that night was relieving, even though I didn't get to bed until about 1.30am. :/

Had two shougakkou on Friday, which, added to all the other stress so far this week, really tired me out. In the morning, I taught ichi-nensei at Kubokawa shougakkou and in the afternoon it was my regular Shouwa visit. I say regular because I go there often; but the time changes from week to week and I am not scheduled to visit every single week.

We tutored Mei-chan, our Taisho ni-nensei student. She is very clever and is very interested in English, so it is great to see her getting through the exercises that I prepare and really put an effort into learning and improving her English. Now, if only every student in this entire region was as diligent and motivated!

Orally tested students at Tokawa chuu on Tuesday. I was quite disappointed with the san-nensei especially. Their level of English should allow for answering the most basic of questions, but not one could answer "How was your weekend?", a first grade level question, without assistance. :(

Now it is Saturday. We had our first pre-marital counselling session this morning at our church in K-town with Taniguchi-sensei, our pastor. We ate some delicious soba ramen for lunch before coming home. I had a headache and felt very tired so came home to rest. It was good to take a break from everything. Spent time online and just relaxing.

However, back to the fast-paced madhouse that is wedding planning tomorrow. Not much rest for those on a tight schedule!

As a final note, my recent submission to Engrish.com was front-paged yesterday. ^.^

Peace.

Timotheos

Full Speed Ahead

2009-06-26T13:06:00.007+09:00

Things aren't really that hectic yet. We have decided to tackle one thing at once, when it comes to wedding planning. This week has been more about family and telling people about our engagement than anything else. Next week we will probably organise things that need to be done asap, such as booking a photographer and finding out about wedding clothes.

As far as school is concerned, I have been building up my resources. Some of the A4 sheets I have laminated need to be redone, because I didn't back them properly. I can use what I have for each of those topics but by the end of Summer I should have replaced them all as well as built up some new sets.

I have also been making bingo cards, and spent some time laminating and cutting out some bingo tokens that I made to go with them. I got some stickers on the weekend that I can give out to kids. Apparently I should expect tears at some point once I start introducing stickers to my classes. Awesome!

In the last two weeks I have been late for school. And not just a few minutes late, either. I'm talking missing entire periods. And both times I have no excuse save that the schedule was different than usual and I failed to read the differences. It was simply misreading what I should have double checked.

And so on Monday I have to meet with Supreme Commander White-hair in Kubokawa (that would be the section chief "head honcho" of the Shimanto Board of Education). I guess I will get something along the lines of a lecture on punctuality and ensuring that I understand my shougakkou schedules and how important it is to abide by my contract, etc etc.

Not that I would ever excuse negligence. But this could have happened to anyone who had curve balls thrown at them when they weren't expecting them.

Let's look at what went wrong:
Ok, so my shougakkou schedules consist of a cover sheet that has periods 1-6 with the periods I will be teaching in containing summarised information regarding those lessons. Then there are individual sheets for each period with more detailed information regarding what I will be teaching.

The first time I missed a period at a school I was supposed to be at, they had omitted period 6 from the summary sheet and scheduled me to teach in periods 4 (before lunch) and 5 (after lunch). Since I failed to notice that they had anomalised the summary sheet, my brain registered the schedule as being periods 5 and 6 -- the last two periods.

Firstly, I wasn't expecting them to split classes with lunch-time. Secondly, this was the only time that the summary sheet had ever been reduced to 5 periods rather than 6; regardless of when classes are. So from that I learned to be more vigilant in double checking exactly which periods I should be teaching in at school.

The second time I was late, I didn't even realise it until the end of the lesson -- which came just 20-odd minutes after I arrived. It took me by surprise, because until that point I thought that I had somehow managed to be a couple of minutes late and the teacher had gone ahead and started without me. Not the case.

My afternoon classes always start at either 2pm or 2.05pm. This is when period 5 starts at every shougakkou. Except on Wednesday. They decided that they would begin at 1.35pm. It was written on my summary sheet, so I have no excuse for coming to school halfway through a period I was supposed to be teaching in. I once again simply failed to see the changes from the norm.

As I said: this could easily have happened to anyone. I have now learned to read and re-read my schedules before the day, on the day and before school. Any anomalies or divergence from the normal flow of events and I need to know about it -- and prepare accordingly.

But I still have to face the music on Monday morning. So be it.

Last night was intense. Mika and I met Michael's twin brothers and his auntie who are here in Japan for a holiday and currently staying with him. We also had planned to go and see Mika's parents together, for the first time. Our food took too long to come (we were at Yamagoya) and so we had to leave. But then, Mika's dad was late anyway, so we sort of rushed for nothing.

I talked to her parents about where we stand in terms of getting married. We survived; that's all I can say. And today, Mika is in a much better mood. It is as if a burden was lifted from her shoulders. Like I said: we are doing one thing at a time. And going to see her parents was the biggest hurdle so far, and I know it was weighing her down a lot. Having got that out of the way -- for now -- we are free to move onto the next step of our journey.

Still, I will definitely continue to pray for her parents, both in terms of acceptance -- that they will be assured that our getting married is very good for us and for Eddi -- and for their eventual salvation. In time they will both get to know who I am -- language barrier aside -- and will see the strength that Mika and I possess in our relationship.

Tomorrow: K-city and wedding rings?

Peace.

Timotheos

The Rules of Engagement

2009-06-22T13:16:00.010+09:00

And boy, was it a life-changing week!

As mentioned in my last entry -- all that time ago -- Michael and I went out shooting. We travelled around a lot, as far afield as Nakamura and beyond, and finally settled on a random soccer field in a small town in the middle of nowhere, to take pot shots at cans.

That night -- Saturday -- we watched a movie at my place.

The Sunday was totally uneventful. I missed Mika because she and Eddi were in Osaka, if you remember. Little did I know that our lives were about to change.

Last Monday, I had both Iejigawa and Tokawa shougakkou. We didn't go for a run that evening, as Mika had to come home late. They were tired from their Osaka trip anyway, so we didn't really do much that evening.

I got paid on Tuesday, which was a relief. I had a bit of a cough last week and needed to get some throat lozenges. I also got my car insured, which was great because it meant I could finally drive it!

Had my usual prayer and Bible study group that night, but it was just me and the leader, as everyone else was away. Still, nice time of prayer. I went to see Mika afterwards to spend time with her. ;)

Did more resource preparation in the office on Wednesday and had school that afternoon. We managed to go for a run as we had a really nice spell of fine weather last week; quite odd for rainy season, but good for us. Didn't do any Japanese study that evening, though.

Showed the kids at Shouwa chuugakkou my car on Thursday. Went to see the dentist after work. Talked to dad on Skype at my place after dinner. We were meant to talk to mum but she wasn't there, so we decided to meet again on Friday night.

Friday itself was a normal day -- office and school. I spent time in the office preparing for Mei's lesson that night.

We did a short run, had dinner, tutored Mei and put Eddi to bed. After that, we connected to my family on Skype. Mika and I had decided that we want to get married, but she had no idea mum was going to suggest that I propose right then and there. Which I did! So now Mika and I are engaged! And we did it in front of my parents, which was a very special time. ^^

After some serious talking and prayer, I went home. What a night!

Mika went to see her parents on Saturday morning. I went on Facebook, cleaned and prayed for her while she was there. We just chilled at my place for the rest of the afternoon while Eddi stayed with her grandparents. We were both very tired. All in all it was actually a very stressful week for Mika, and she needed to just rest.

I watched a movie on Satuday night, So I Married an Axe Murderer. >.>

We talked to our pastor after church on Sunday and settled on a wedding date: Saturday, 25th of July. Very soon, I know, but it will work best. It is better to move quickly than wait and press fate, right? We also decided on three pre-marital counselling sessions with him.

After lunch and some shopping in K-town, we came home and talked to Nick on Skype. After which, we took a walk down to the river, where Eddi went swimming. We saw a lone duck swimming around down there.

Eddi and the duck

He was a friendly chap

And the water was more tepid than we thought. It is very hot at the moment, and has been quite muggy these past two days. So no wonder the river is very inviting! I also skimmed a stone across the water that did 15 skips. My record :)

Last night I made scones and soup for dinner for us. After Eddi went to bed, Mika and I talked to her spiritual parents -- Eddi's American grandparents -- through video on MSN Messenger. It was my first meeting with them and we had a nice chat. They are very happy for the both of us and for Eddi.

Now it is Monday again and I have been in the office all day. I really must get some Japanese study done. I really haven't made much progress at all in my 10 months here. I'm just really bad at languages and have trouble remembering things. I hope that with enough repitition I will be able to recall the vocabulary -- but it is so much more than that, and that is where I have problems. Being able to put things together just isn't making any sense to me. It seems that I will never be able to communicate in Japanese, but I know that that isn't true. With enough time and study I will eventually be able to do more than say hello to people. ;)

Peace.

Timotheos

SiR-T and Last Week

2009-06-13T12:51:00.004+09:00

Time goes so fast. We're already almost halfway through the year. It's hard to keep up with everything. But I am finally writing this overdue blog entry.

Last weekend, we went into Kochi city, together with Michael. We went to see Terminator Salvation at the movies after eating lunch at Aeon mall. Afterwards, Mika got her hair cut and Michael and I walked around for a bit. We met up with Katsu and family, who had had Eddi for the day, and we all ate together at a restaurant.

Sunday was pretty normal. We had a picnic lunch at the park after church and came back to make some pizza for dinner.

The week went by pretty quickly with school, sending in my car documentation, preparing resources in the office and making and sharing a huge carrot cake, complete with cream cheese lemon frosting, which we baked early in the week. :o

I went to Kochi city on Wednesday afternoon by train. I picked up my car and drove it home through the heavy rain. I'm really happy to finally have my car. I am unable to get it insured until Tuesday next week, so until then I am not going to drive it. I did, however, take Mika and Eddi out for a drive when I got home that day.

There she is

Gonna chrome cap the mufflers eventually

Side-angle + wheels

From the front

Now it is Saturday. Mika and Eddi went to Osaka with their family to see the newest member: Mika's younger brother's baby boy, who must be over a month old by now. Michael and I are planning on taking our guns out today to do a bit of target practice in Nakamura. We will probably watch a movie tonight.

Next week is next week.

Peace.

Timotheos

Driving Me Wild

2009-06-03T16:18:00.007+09:00

I have a car! Well, not exactly. But I bought a car. There is still some paperwork to get back from the police station and then send off to the car dealer from whom I purchased it. Change of ownership and all that. Then there will be the matter of insurance, which I will take care of when I pick it up from Kochi station in about a week.

Honda Torneo Sir-T 2.0L. Colour: white. Year: 1999. Distance: ～76,000 Km. Total cost: ¥410000 (NZ$6,514). Yes, I got a good deal. I pray that it runs well!

We went to Takamatsu on Saturday. Mika's brother Katsu and his family came over as well. He and I both test drove the car (funfun) and I decided then and there that I would buy it. As an answer to prayer, I paid exactly what I had brought with me. In the morning, I had withdrawn 400,000 and was carrying 10,000 already in my wallet. I told Mika that God would sort out the rest. And he did! It's fun to do things like that, where you listen to the voice of God and he works everything out. Because as it says in Romans 8:28: "We know that all things work together for good for those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them." This includes, but is not limited to, listening to God's wee nudges and obeying them. Goodgood.

After forking over my entire bank account's contents, we tracked down an udon place for lunch. Kagawa prefecture is supposedly known for its variety and regular consumption of udon. We ate late because of all the car paperwork.

The rest of the afternoon was spent shopping at an Aeon mall outside of the city, in a nearby town. We travelled back to Kochi and did a little grocery shopping before stopping in at Katsu's place to eat. Then, back to Taisho, where we arrived pretty late. But all in all, it was a good Saturday. I bought a car!

Aaanyway, we had a lunch on Sunday after church. Mika made Mexican food and I made a lolly cake. I ate way too much and was unable to eat dinner that night. We baked brownies in the afternoon with Mikey and he came around again for dinner -- which I couldn't eat.

It has been raining a bit. I guess we are getting into rainy season. At least it was fine on Monday. I had taught at Tokawa shougakkou. That and Shouwa are my regular places to teach. Guess I shou up there a lot. >.>

Yesterday was a normal day for me at Tokawa chuu. I was exhausted though, and went to bed after getting home. I couldn't even get up to eat later, and missed my usual Bible study. I'm not sure if it's because I stayed late at Mika's the night before or if my body just needed extra sleep.

Today, I had to get up early and head to Maruyama shougakkou. It is about 10 mins past K-town. Yet another small school. It was my first time there and I guess it went well enough. Nothing really exciting, but it wasn't bad or anything.

So now I wait to see when I will be getting my car. There is a lot I want to do to it, but there are more important things to spend my money on. For now, I'm broke. So I just have to bear with it until pay day, and do my best to conserve money for those important things.

Movies I want to watch:
Star Trek
X-Men Origins: Wolverine
Transformers 2
Terminator Salvation

Peace.

Timotheos

The Legend of Pocky

2009-05-29T17:29:00.006+09:00

My couch arrived today. Yay! My beautiful, black leather 3-seater. Mika and I are going to test it out later tonight (watching a movie, of course).

At Tokawa chuu on Tuesday, classes were as normal in the morning, but in the afternoon, the students from both chuugakkou and shougakkou cleaned the pool. I think I was supposed to join them but no one really communicated with me properly and I read a book in the office for a while...

On Wednesday, I was taken to Shiwa shougakkou, which is very small. The town itself is about 25 mins past K-town, and some of the road is very windy, downhill and narrow (ie. a normal Kochi mountain road). Shiwa is a coastal village and the area is quite beautiful. The classes themselves were fun. I stayed through lunch (with my obento) and took a combined class in the afternoon: of all eight students.

That night, I started working on a two-page Pocky comic strip. I finished it last night.

--Click to enlarge--

Page 001

Page 002

Who knows; it could turn into a regular thing. Imagine: a webcomic about a Pocky ninja (the Pocky Ninja). ^.^

Yesterday was just an average day at Shouwa chuu. I hadn't been there in three weeks, so it was good to see everyone. Nakaoka sensei and I refused to speak any Japanese in our ninensei class. It made things really interesting; especially since the girls were trying to trick me into speaking Japanese. >.<

This morning, I taught gonensei at K-town shou. Afterwards, I was able to do some quick shopping while in town before heading back. I'm going to make a lolly cake for Sunday. We have a lunch at church and Mika is making tacos. XD

Well, now that my couch is here, all that is left for me to get is my car. I am still unsure as to whether I will be going into Takamatsu tomorrow (the dealer won't transfer the car to Kochi, but it is still in the lot). We haven't heard back from Katsu to see if he is free to go there with us. I really need his expertise and input if I'm to make a decision regarding buying this Torneo. So yeah, it is still on the table. More time to pray about it, too. :)

Peace. (Eat Pocky).

Timotheos

Go Kart, Go!

2009-05-25T14:05:00.009+09:00

For the second week in a row, I had no school on Thursday. Some sports day or something. We went out for yakiniku in Tokawa that evening.

I taught at two shougakkou on Friday: one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Friday evening saw us go for a great run in the wonderful sun. I cooked some sort of Italian dish for dinner and we tutored Mika's student, Mei. Baked a chocolate cake after Eddi went to bed, and just chilled out like a normal Friday night.

On Saturday, we went to a go-kart track somewhere between Nishitosa and Nakamura City. Mika's brother Katsu has a go-kart. We had fun driving around the track on it. I must have got up to 70km/h.

Ready to go

Tight corner

Zoooom!

Saturday afternoon saw us enjoy a late pizza lunch in the city, followed by donuts, and then we did some shopping and furniture browsing. That night was similar to Friday night, except we iced the cake before relaxing in each other's company.

Church on Sunday. Okonomiyaki for lunch, and a little time in the park. We visited Mika's grandparents at the hospital. I went home for a little while before joining Mika for dinner.

And that was last night. So now I have been sitting in the office all day again, intending to do Japanese study but spending time on Facebook and not really making any sort of worthwhile contribution to the world or my life.

More information on my car buying progress when it is available. For now, I am waiting to see if the Takamatsu dealer can transfer the car to a dealer in Kochi. If all goes well, I won't have to travel so far to test drive it and make a buying decision.

Peace.

Timotheos

A Torneo in Takamatsu

2009-05-20T13:41:00.002+09:00

On Saturday, Mika took me to see an opthalmologist so I could get my eyes checked. It turns out that there isn't anything they can do about the twitching muscle in my left eye (annoying) and the black specks that I see are pretty normal (also annoying). So unless things get worse, there isn't anything that can be done.

That afternoon, we took Eddi to a party at the church in K-town. There were about twenty kids there. We left her to go and do some shopping. I organised for the furniture store to pick up my couch again, which only arrived on Thursday. I am getting a different one: a black, leather 3-seater that is merely a couch, not a fold-out bed as well.

On Sunday, it was church as usual. We had a picnic lunch at the park, with Laurel and a friend of Mika's, whom she had worked with at a school a couple of years ago. Just had a relaxing evening.

This week it has been very nice. Following a good weekend, it is enough to make anyone happy. I taught at Tokawa shougakkou on Monday afternoon, and at a new school, Nanasato shou, this morning.

Yesterday, because I didn't have afternoon classes at Tokawa chuu, I took two hours of nenkyu and went home for the afternoon. I ended up sleeping for a few hours. Talked to my sister and her husband on Skype in the evening. Mika joined me for a little while, but I had my regular Bible study meeting at 8pm, so she had to leave. :(

I won't be getting my new couch until the end of the month, and I obviously haven't bought a car yet. But there is one car that I am very interested in, which I hope to go and check out this weekend. We have plans to go camping on Saturday, but if things work out, on Sunday I may be able to travel to Takamatsu -- three or four hours away -- to check this car out; provided it is still there and no one else has staked a claim on it!

So now I have the rest of this beautiful afternoon to sit in the office here and find interesting things to do. Facebook quizzes and Wikipedia browsing, here we come. :p

Almost every day, I frequent the following sites:
Gmail
Bible Gateway
CNN
Stuff.co.nz
Facebook

On Monday, I checked out these webpages / sites, among others:
Maze Maker
Wolfram|Alpha -- Computational Knowledge Engine
British Comedy Guide

Peace.

Timotheos

Holy Birthday Barbecues Batman

2009-05-14T14:10:00.002+09:00

On Friday, I spent most of the morning preparing for school in the afternoon. It went really well -- both preparation and classes. I actually made a whole lot of flags and cards with flags and country names on them. It allowed for a fun, card-exchange game with the kids that practised "I am from...", as well as a bit of geography.

Mika and I took Mei-chan for an English lesson (after okonomiyaki for dinner) on Friday night, and afterwards we did a whole lot of baking for Eddi's birthday. I made a chocolate fudge cake frosted with delicious chocolate icing, and Happy Birthday written with yellow white chocolate icing. The cup cakes turned out pretty nice, too. So much sugar!

On Saturday, I spent the morning doing my own thing (*cough*playing WoW*cough*), then Mika, Eddi and I went to K-town. We met Mika's brother and family, and some ex-neighbours of hers, and had a barbecue at the park. It was a beautiful day and was good fun.

Somehow, we managed to send Eddi off with her uncle to stay with her cousin for the night. So Mika and I were able to spend time together. XD We watched a movie at my place and just had a relaxing time.

Mother's Day
Sunday morning saw us head into K-city, to attend the pentecostal church there. We spent the afternoon child-free, which made it easy to go shopping. Furniture stores, Aeon mall and Starbucks were our main points of interest. All in all, it was a nice afternoon, and I know that Mika appreciated the break.

We had dinner with Katsuhiko -- Mika's brother -- and family, at a kaitenzushi restaurant. We left the city quite late, so weren't back in Taisho until late. What a weekend. :)

On Monday and Wednesday mornings I taught at K-town shougakkou, and on Wednesday afternoon it was Tokawa.

I was very tired on Tuesday. so it was good to have a bit of a break between my chuugakkou classes. That night, I just watched stuff and had my regular prayer group / Bible study meeting. Mika and I didn't see each other at all, for the first time in three weeks -- since we started going out. And I lived to tell about it! :p

Also on Monday and Wednesday, we went for our usual runs. It has been lovely weather all week and running feels so good (despite how hot it is getting). Oh, and I went to the dentist yesterday, for what has become my usual monthly checkup.

Today, Shouwa chuu have some sort of field trip for the students, so I have been in the office all day. Yet again, it is beautiful outside. Would be nice to go for a run, but I have my couch arriving after work, and I want another day of just staying at home, relaxing (after a hard day's thumb twiddling...).

Peace.

Timotheos

2009-05-12 Announcement

2009-05-12T18:58:00.003+09:00

Photos have been added to my Golden Week post. A Mother's Day weekend blog entry to be added soon.

In the meantime, check out one of my Tobe Zoo videos, complete with commentary by Mika (just to embarrass her :p):

I will upload more to YouTube some time.

Later.

Timotheos

Golden Week

2009-05-07T13:59:00.007+09:00

Edit: Photos have been added!

Current weather: stormy. Hopefully it will clear up by running time this evening. That's right, seeing as I have been pretty busy, we haven't run once this week. It was beautiful this morning and I really looked forward to slipping into my running shoes tonight. Guess it's just a matter of waiting to see how the weather turns out a bit later.

Ok, so let's back up a bit. In my last blog entry, I talked about my change of relationship status. That's about the most personal I have been around these parts, and it is unlikely to be quite so again. That said, things between me and Mika are going very well. Glory to God. ^^

Last week, I didn't have any shougakkou. Wednesday was actually a holiday, but Mika had to work, and so Michael and I went out to Katsurahama beach, near Kochi-shi. We shopped at Aeon mall and stopped in at Starbucks for some dark berry mocha frappuccinos.

That night, Mika helped me with my final beginner's course Japanese test, from the sixth book. Inevitably, I stayed as late as usual, too. ;)

So the rest of the week was uneventful. I had lunch with Mika last Thursday because she didn't have work, seeing as she had had to work the day before: the public holiday. I cooked chicken carbonara for us for dinner that night and made an apple crumble. We watched a movie together. Hey, this is starting to sound like my diary.

*Ahem* Let's get back on track and look at... wait, my life consists of a bit more these days. I have a girlfriend and that part of my life can't help but flow into my blog entries. And so it is.

Friday: day in the office. Survived. Went for a run. Mika, Eddi and I had dinner with Michael -- yakiniku. We talked about our Matsuyama trip, which was to commence the next day.

Golden Week
And so, Golden Week arrived. Early Saturday morning, the first day of this much-deserved time off, Michael, Eddi, Mika and I left for Uwajima, out West in Ehime prefecture. We visited the castle and had a brief look around the town. It was proving to be a very nice day, too.

Isn't she cute?

Uwajima Castle

Uwajima

We travelled up the highway to Matsuyama, the biggest city in Ehime. After a ramen lunch, we went to Matsuyama castle (I still have to get my photos from Michael's memory card), up on a hill overlooking the city. We took the gondola up. Michael and I rode the individual seats back down instead of taking the gondola.

After checking into the hotel, we all rested up for a bit before heading out for an okonomiyaki dinner at a nice place just next to the hotel. Mika and I started watching a movie together in my room (I always take my laptop with me when I travel), but she was pretty tired and took Eddi back to their room to sleep. I finished the movie alone. :(

On Sunday morning, we all went to Ninomaru historical garden. It was very nice, and had some interesting pools that were in place of where the buildings of a house had stood many years earlier. We could see the castle from where we were, too, as the original property had been part of the wider castle town.

Ninomaru Garden

At the gardens, we watched a performance by about a dozen ladies playing taisho koto. The koto is a Japanese stringed instrument. It was interesting to listen to.

Taisho Koto Performance

The bulk of our day was spent shopping around the local shopping arcade. I bought a couple of expensive shirts, which will be nice to wear out during the Summer. We all rested yet again at the hotel. Walking around all day sure tires one out!

I took Mika and Eddi out for Italian and then we rode a huge ferris wheel that sits on the ninth floor of a large department store -- actually on the same level as the restaurant we had eaten dinner at.

Watched a movie with Mika -- all the way through, this time -- as Eddi slept. We both enjoyed it.

Monday saw us pack everything up after breakfast and check out of the Check-in Hotel. We went to a nice park up on a hill across from the castle, where there was a western-style castle structure. It was very cool, and afforded an amazing view of the city and the harbour.

The Castle

The Gazebo

The City (Matsuyama)

That afternoon, we visited the Tobe Zoo. We had lunch at its restaurant and enjoyed the afternoon, walking around looking at animals.

So big!

Just like a puppy... with a horn

Squawk!

Graceful?

Rawr!

Prowling

We travelled all the way back down to Kochi-ken and stopped in Susaki for dinner. It is a small city about 30 mins from K-town.

Two more days of golden week remained!

Tuesday saw the three of us go into Kochi-shi. I drove. We enjoyed a late lunch at the Indian restaurant that Michael and I have been to many times: Masala. It was Mika's first time to eat there and she was impressed. We headed over to Aeon mall and met up with her brother and niece to do some shopping -- and eat donuts; cuz you gotta have donuts.

I went on a bit of a shopping spree. It seems that spending money comes easily when you are out and about; even when you are determined to save up for a decent car.

We arrived home late, and I dropped all of my purchased goods off at my apartment. Mika and I hadn't seen enough of each other, so I stayed at her place until late; though not nearly as late as other nights in the last fortnight. >.>

Spent quite a bit of time cleaning yesterday. I even went so far as to clean out my drains and wash the floor. And with the mosquito deterrent and cockoach poison, I should have an easier job of handling insects this Summer!

Had a very late lunch with Mika and Eddi and then played chess with Mika. A chess set is one of the things that I had bought the previous day. We went to K-town late afternoon and I ordered a couch / bed from the furniture store there. I can't wait! Having a couch will be nice; having one that doubles as a bed will be a blessing!

We did a bit more shopping around Kubokawa and then came back home. Ramen for dinner, and then I made some chocolate dumplings. It's a dessert that I had never made before, and they turned out pretty nice. At least, they tasted nice. Not sure it was my best baking effort, but it worked.

Did a little Japanese study last night; but I must say that I much prefer French. :p

Thus ended Golden Week. It was actually five days, but I'm sure that if it had started on a Monday, rather than a Saturday, it sure would have made for an epic week. Ah well, the weekend is now very close!

And then today arrived. I've been in the office all day; except when I went home for lunch and sorted something out at the post office bank. So now I just need to wait for 4.30pm to arrive, whence I can go home and pray that the clouds will drain themselves and move on, to allow for a rainless run.

It might pay, also, to plan for tomorrow's afternoon lessons at Shouwa shougakkou, huh. But then, that would be work. :p

Peace.

Timotheos

29 Years Later

2009-04-27T11:26:00.000+09:00

Friday night worked out well. I had spent most of the day praying and sorting things out in my head, with regard to what I am about to divulge publicly.

To put it simply, I now have a girlfriend. Big news for anyone that knows me, and not something I take at all lightly. I'm at a point in my life where it is pretty serious, as decisions like this will affect me, and her, long-term.

I won't go into details, as this is merely my blog, but things are really good right now. God is, and always will be, in the centre of this relationship. If it is his will, things will progress as they should. If everything is done properly, there will be so much contentment, peace and joy.

I got barely any sleep on Friday night. On Saturday, Mika, Eddi and I picked up Laurel from K-town and the four of us drove out towards Nakamura. We stopped at a beach on the way and then fed a couple of horses nearby. We went to a batting cage in Nakamura, which was pretty cool, as I had never really swung a baseball bat before.

After some grocery shopping and donuts, we came back home. I didn't get an opportunity to talk to my family that night, but I did see them last night and told them about recent events. They are happy for me. :)

So, in case it isn't obvious, my new girlfriend is Mika. We just got closer and closer and realised that we both wanted the same thing. So now we are in a relationship and looking towards a bright future together, where we work out our vision and long-term Kingdom-building plans (that's Godspeak for doing his work).

I went to bed early on Saturday night, having had so little sleep this past week. It was refreshing, even though I woke up with a headache on Sunday. The service at church was good, though. We had the same guest speaker from Wednesday night. Heimo-san also prayed for people after the lunch we shared together.

Following that, Mika and I talked to our pastor and we had him pray for us. A very good start to any relationship, ne.

We took Eddi to the park, by which time it was actually getting quite late in the afternoon. We stopped at the hospital to visit Mika's grandfather, before coming back to Taisho (church is in Kubokawa, as is the hospital). I talked to mum, dad, Amy and Simon on Skype before going to Mika's place for dinner.

We watched a movie together last night, at my house, and spent time talking and praying together.

So things are really good, on a personal level. I wouldn't usually talk about such private issues, but I am happy to write this stuff in my blog. It's all a part of the Japanese experience. As a Christian, my experiences and the way I relate to the world are probably different. But it is great, because life is full of so many blessings that secular-minded people would simply overlook.

There is much joy to be had in Christ.

Peace.

Timotheos

Hamburgers Are For Winners

2009-04-24T13:41:00.002+09:00

It has been 11 days since I last posted an entry here. Boy, how the weeks fly by. Some days seem to take a long time to get through, but in retrospect, each week seems to go by pretty fast. I've been in Japan for nine months, and it's almost May already!

Let's take a look at the last week and a half in review:

The rest of last week was the standard fare: school and time spent in the office twi- erm, preparing and... stuff.

On Saturday, we attended the Genki Musical. Every year, JETs from around the prefecture put together a play, performed in the regional dialect of Tosa-ben. They did a really good job with Makino and the Beanstalk, this year's production. Pre-reading the script in English really helped, too, as I was able to follow it and enjoy it.

We Shimanto-ites went out for dinner afterwards, which was very nice.

On Sunday, I didn't feel too good (headache, despite having decent sleep), so didn't go to church. I spent a lot of time resting and some time on my computer.

It poured with rain on Monday, so I had to forgo the usual evening run. However, Mika and I ran on Tuesday instead, as it was a beautiful day.

On Wednesday, there was a guest speaker at our church in K-town: a man from Sweden, who had been involved with missions here in Japan and had helped to plant the church. Mika interpreted his message into Japanese. It was really good to see 15-20 people attending the meeting, and it was a very encouraging time (the message was mostly about hearing the voice of God and the power that he gives to each of us).

I stayed up very late that night. I'll skip over the details for now, but I ended up getting around three hours of sleep. :x

On Thursday -- wait, that was yesterday. Ok, so we are almost up to date now. ;)

Yesterday it was a nice day, too. I felt pretty tired and was glad to have a small break between classes. Fourth and fifth periods land before and after lunch, respectively, and I had those free; which gave me a few hours of time to just rest and not do anything significant.

Mika and I went for another run. So intead of running on Monday and Wednesday, this week we have run on Tuesday and Thursday.

Last night was nice. I was up until almost 2am (yet another late night), but it was worthwhile. ^^

So yeah, I'm being a little vague here, but for good reason. Some things you can type for all the world to see; and sometimes you just have to be discreet, allowing your readers to just imagine what they will. Suffice to say, I have been spending less and less time logging into World of Warcraft and more time trying to get my priorities straight.

God is good.

Peace.

Timotheos

Enkai and Trifle

2009-04-13T08:38:00.006+09:00

The new academic year started last week. We were introduced to new teachers at our respective schools. There are five new teachers at Tokawa chuu, and I'm not sure how many at Shouwa. But there is a new English teacher there, Nakaoka sensei.

So Tuesday was all about the start of the new year. There were no classes but I had to attend two assemblies. The one in the morning was more casual and was just an introduction of the new staff to existing students. In the afternoon, everyone wore formal attire (I'd worn a suit all day, actually), and we had an opening ceremony for the new first years -- of which there are a mere six.

Of course, Monday, Wednesday and Friday were all days spent in the office, "working". I always work hard when I have no school. >.>

Thursday saw classes at Shouwa chuu, but they were mostly introductions and questions. There are 11 new students there.

As an office, we had hanami on Friday. Hanami is having a picnic lunch beneath sakura trees. It was nice to sit outside and eat a prepared obento.

On Friday night I attended an enkai with Tokawa chuu teachers. We ate at a yaki-niku (Japanese barbecue) place. Afterwards was the obligatory karaoke. Good times.

On Saturday, Michael and I packed up our air pistols and corresponding gear and headed into the hills to do a bit of shooting practice. We continued on to Nakamura to do some shopping and he ordered a proper shoulder strap for his gun and extra clips. I got some groceries; including the necessities for making a trifle.

Back home, I made a trifle for our dessert evening that same night. Michael, Mika, Laurel, Narae and I ate at Yamagoya before heading to my place to watch Rat Race. Mika had to leave early so missed out on dessert, which we ate after the movie. It was mostly my trifle and some icecream that Mikey had brought.

I spent most of Sunday at home. Nothing productive.

Went to church last night with Mika and Eddie. Taniguchi sensei (our pastor) gave us each hard-boiled eggs with cute Easter labels. I ate mine at breakfast this morning.

After church, I grabbed the rest of my trifle and shared it with Eddi and Mika at their place. I chilled there until quite late. But it happens. ;)

Monday. Tired. Whole day to look forward to in the office. Some interesting activities coming up, though. Aside from school, of course.

Moti-va-tion!

Peace.

Timotheos

Osaka Holiday - April 2009

2009-04-07T21:23:00.007+09:00

I've been putting off this blog entry for a few days. Last Monday, Michael and I drove up to Osaka to stay for three days. We stayed in Kobe for one night, also, and then drove back down here on Friday.

Since then, I have not been motivated enough to write an entry. So don't expect anything inspiring or entertaining.

On the night that we arrived, we checked into our Hostel in Shin-Osaka and took the train to Osaka central (Umeda station), where we had a brief look around. We would travel a lot on either the subway or local train system over the next few days.

Tuesday morning was spent around Osaka proper. We ventured further out from the station than we had the night before but nothing really eventful took place.

After lunch, we met my friend Eri - a Kansai university student who had boarded with my brother's girlfriend's parents back in New Zealand earlier this year. It was the first time I had met her in person. The three of us went to Osaka Castle. There was a lot of history depicted inside, in various artifacts and folding screen paintings that showed battles between various noble families.

大阪城 (Osaka Castle)

A Gold Tiger Statue

Tim, Michael and Sakura (tree)

On Wednesday, we went to the Osaka Zoo. It was pretty cool. Lots of nice animal enclosures and a good selection of animals. The elephant enclosure was especially cool. You walked through a jungle-type area and then all around the two large areas that the elephants were in, being able to see them from various angles.

Elegant Giraffes

Vicious Tigers

Ferocious Wolves

And Monstrous Elephants

That afternoon, we ventured around "Denden Town". It was the Akihabara of Osaka (minus the pr0n). We looked in a lot of gaming and electronics places and spent some time in an airgun place. We both purchased air pistols, as well as all the knecessary knick knacks (BB pellets, extra clips, gas, etc.).

I got myself a Beretta M9. It's pretty sweet. Haven't had much opportunity to test it yet, but we will have plenty of opportunity to shoot each other during the Summer.

Thursday saw us travelling some more. We went to Himeji and visited the Museum of History and then the famous Himeji Castle. Amazing place and well worth visiting, the White Heron of Himeji.

The White Heron - Splendiferous

The Sakura Were Blooming - Beautiful

Another Nice Angle - Artistic

Driving to Kobe and then finding our final place of rest was a mission. Navigating anywhere in Japan is a nightmare unto itself. Then, when you finally get near your destination you have to keep stopping to ask for directions. Because in Japan, every location tries to avoid you. They really have made it hard to find anything. I guess the words "street address" don't exist in Japanese. :/

Well, we made it back to Taisho on Friday in one piece. And that was our Spring Holiday.

Have a look at all of my photos and video here. Enjoy! ^.^

Timotheos

The Blue Pen or the Black Pen?

2009-03-29T23:40:00.003+09:00

A few years ago, I worked at the Burger King in my local town. One morning, I was the only person at the register. Who should walk in but Laurence Fishburne. He was with someone else, and I don't remember what they ordered. But one thing I will always regret is having passed up two opportunities: one was to ask for his autograph; the other... well, in order to understand, you need to know something first.

You see, at Burger King, much like MacDonald's, you could upsize your meal. It was called Kingsizing®. They also had two different coloured cups: regular cups were red and large cups were blue. You see where this is going? You do know who Laurence Fishburne is, right?

What I regret is not having asked a particular question that would have imprinted memorably on my life -- much moreso than simply having served Mr. Fishburne at Burger King on that slow morning. I should have asked him if he wanted the blue cup or the red cup, holding one out in each hand. Instead, I served him as I would a regular customer and chickened out completely. Such an opportunity only comes once in a person's life. Don't miss out when you get this opportunity. You will still have a story to tell, but it's not the sort of story that will get you a Time interview.

If you're confused as to a. Why I have this in my Japan blog; and b. What the heck I am talking about, then I shall explain. Briefly.

You see, Laurence Fishburne is perhaps best known for playing the character Morpheus in The Matrix. One key scene had him offering Neo, our protagonist, the option to either exit the matrix or continue on, oblivious to the truth of their slavery. The way this was to be decided was through two different coloured pills: a red pill, and -- you guessed it -- a blue pill. So you see the connection between Burger King cups and Morpheus' offer, reflected in his sunglasses, to either learn the truth (insert Genesis story here) or continue on as a computer hacker in a computer-generated existence. Ne?

Both the irony and wit would surely have left an astounding impact on both our lives had I taken the opportunity to act with courage. Instead, Mr. Fishburne enjoyed a burger and continued his holiday in New Zealand; none the wiser. And me? Well, I thought about it afterwards. And thus my anecdote was born.

As for the reason why I have threaded it into my blog, I felt that it would make for a good introduction to my next -- much shorter -- story. Which, incidentally, in turn paves the way for other recent recountings and random rhetoric.

A couple of weeks ago, I went into Ryubi, the stationery shop in K-town. I grabbed three blue pens and two pencils and brought them to the counter. The shop clerk proceeded to tell me that what I was buying were blue pens. Well yes, they were blue because I had chosen blue pens. But because I am an ignorant gaijin, she had to ensure that I understood that what I was buying were not black pens. That's right, the pens were not black.

I assured her that I intended to buy blue pens because I always write in blue. She even went so far as to pull out a black pen and write on a scrap of paper to show me that indeed, it was black -- but my ones were blue, not black like her example. But I wanted blue pens. I was confident, and I was sure.

It wasn't till later, when I recounted my tale to a friend, that I realised why the lady was insistent upon making sure I understood what I was doing. Apparently, Japanese people commonly write with black pens; just as you and I grew up writing with blue pens at school (at least, I think most people did). To this day, I frequently write with a blue pen (when I'm not using a pencil). I don't shun black pens. I just prefer blue.

That cleared up, I now wonder why there is such a huge selection of blue pens available. Perhaps they need a little Morpheus there holding out a blue pen and a black pen. When you approach you would see them reflected in his wee sunglasses, and he would ask you -- in Japanese, of course -- if you wanted the blue pen or the black pen. If you chose blue he would yell out, "Gaijin alert!" and proceed to lower his shades and laser you in the face. But the laser would hit you in the chest because the designers hadn't accounted for the height difference...

Well, I have my blue pens, but it makes me wonder about other differences between Japanese culture and Western culture. There are bound to be plenty of small things that if one is only observant, one will pick up on; and have a story to tell as a result.

Take, for instance, rice. It is highly frowned upon to put soy sauce on white rice. Not just any rice: white rice. I'm not sure if there is an emphasis on the colour (or texture, or quality) but people always tell me not to put soy sauce on white rice. So I take this to mean that it's ok to put it on any other rice? Fair enough, right? What I should have done on St. Patrick's Day, then, is to have made some green rice, poured shouyu (soy sauce) all over it, and then, when someone gasped and told me that it is offensive to do such a thing, I could have pointed out that it was, in fact, green rice that I was eating; so it should be ok! All hail St Paddy, patron saint of beer guzzling and grossly coloured foods.

Green eggs and ham, anyone? I would eat them in the park. I would eat them after dark. I would eat green eggs and ham. I do so like them, Sam-I-Am.

Today, after two church services, Mika, her daughter Eddie and I drove out to Iejigawa (Mika drove; we just came along for the ride). We went past the shougakkou that I sometimes teach at, and stopped at the nearby dam. There were groups of people having hanami: a picnic under the sakura trees. Although in Kochi, hanami means getting pissed under the blossoms and making a loud racket. It's all about the sake, baby.

We crossed the dam, with an exclamation from me of "dam!" at the great concrete structure with its large steel gates preventing the water from passing -- or at the very least, controlling its gentle flow. What a joker!

On the other side, it was nice to walk along next to shimanto-gawa -- the Shimanto River -- and throw pebbles at a fish that was sitting there, barely moving. It took a lot to eventually persuade him to languidly undulate away. Upon our return, he was back -- and with four friends, all lazily floating around, waiting for the insects to come close enough so they could lure them into their pool of sudden death. I threw no more stones but rather let them enjoy the overcast day that would have looked all the murkier through their river-soaked pupils.

We went to the shougakkou to fly a kite. If you were to say that as two syllables, like it would be said if directly transcribed into Japanese characters, it would be ki-te (kee-teh). This could mean "tree hand". Or it could just be those sweet, purring animals we find just so loltastic.

Incidentally, the ki-te did end up in a tree. It was as if the tree hand reached out and snatched it greedily into its embrace. I had to climb up and retrieve it -- or at least assist in shaking it loose while Mika tugged on the string, as it was too far out on a narrow limb to reach by hand. Even by tree hand. :p

There are also three swings and two rope swings in the small playground. It was relaxing, and nostalgic, to play around for a while. Pull up a swing. Stay a while. Ah, youth: I call thee back at whim.

Having swung on the rope swing, I came to realise that today was very Indiana Jonesesque. After all, I crossed a raging river (see: peaceful and barely moving), climbed a gigantic, swaying tree (see: not-so-gigantic, completely stationary) and swung mercilessly across a large chasm on a fraying rope swing of death (see: solid, knotted rope hanging from a tree, hanging over flat ground). 'Twas an adventure worth noting!

The discussion of names came up this evening. Mika told me that she once met a Chinese girl who had taken the name Jojo. Brand-name much? She told me it would be like her calling herself Yamada Denki. At which my response was, "What did you say about my mada?".

Yamada is so fat, when she went swimming they mistook her for a whale, dragged her to shore, carved her into pieces and sold her meat to the best sushiya in Tokyo city. Take that, PETA.

Time for bed. I should have hit the sack (note: futon -- and hitting it would avail naught but sore fists) well before now. We leave for Osaka early tomorrow morning. Which means I have to get up at least five minutes before we leave. And I haven't even packed! At least I remembered to replenish my Oxyride battery supply for my digicam (that's Japanese for "digital camera").

Good night, sleep tight, and I will be sure to take photos in Osaka.

On the road again, yo (that's what she said). And the sky is clear, yo (at least we hope it will be). Gonna meet some hotties, yo (that's what I was promised!). I'm gonna be bushed tomorrow (neeeeee). ^^

Peace (yo).

Timotheos

Jesus Rode on Dinosaurs

2009-03-25T15:45:00.006+09:00

I found this blog. Looks interesting. I've added it to the sidebar.

Also, check out this link. We called it Chinese Whispers. But that's probably PI these days, eh. /shrug Who cares. I live in Asia. That means I can say Asian-related stuff, right?

とにかく。。。　＾＾

On Monday, I started running. I didn't just buy my Asics running shoes on Saturday to sit in my doorwell and look nice! I will run on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Exercising three days a week will work out nicely. I still want to get some dumbells to work on my upper body as well. Together, my exercise regimen will keep me fit and healthy. Then I can get the ladies. XD

It was my last day of school for the (academic) year yesterday; and my only day of school for this week. My legs were a little sore, but not as much as I thought they would be after suddenly going for a run the day before. I also did a fair amount of Japanese study during my afternoon in the office.

Today, I have just been cruising around online, reading stuff and mucking around with World of Warcraft things...

So anyway, my legs are still a bit stiff from Monday's run (see: slow jog). But I will get used to it and eventually feel very good as a result. I am a bit tired today, but nothing short of a broken leg will stop me from running tonight. I also have Japanese practice at Mika's tonight, and have book five's test to do and submit.

I am currently working through the sixth and final book of the JET Beginner's Japanese Course. It moves too fast for me to keep up, but hopefully I will actually get something from it that will help me to continue pursuing my learning of the Japanese language.

I've seen some really beautiful sakura trees around, sometimes in large groups together. Makes me wish I carried a camera with me everywhere. There is this one place on the road between here and Shouwa. As you exit a tunnel coming back toward Taisho, there are five to eight sakura trees all lined up together to the right of the road. And I'm talking huge, fully blossomed trees in a beautiful, radiant pink.

I wish I could show people what I see every day. Like a JapanCam built into my sunglasses. Hmm, intriguing idea. I might patent that. :p

Hopefully I will be more proactive in taking pictures when we go to Osaka next week!

Peace.

Timotheos

Sakura Evolution WRX

2009-03-22T17:29:00.006+09:00

Friday was a public holiday. In the afternoon, Michael and I decided to explore some of our area. There are actually a lot of roads that go in various directions, if you cross the river at any point. We did a circuit randomly out in the mountains, absorbing the nature that we encountered and enjoying the fine weather.

The sakura started coming out last week, so there are a few trees blossoming. The weather also suddenly got warmer. It has been raining a bit, but there is a noticeable increase in temperature and humidity. I guess it will soon be time to switch my A/C to cool.

Once again, I apologise for the poor quality of my keitai camera. I really should learn to bring my camera with me when I go anywhere.

The sakura are blossoming

Yesterday, we went into Kochi city. There was a used car bonanza across the road from Aeon mall that is only there for this three day weekend. I want to get a car, and I like cars, so we took a look. I will definitely get a car by Summer; it's just a question of what I decide on.

I saw three cars that I wouldn't mind having: A Honda Integra, a Honda Civic and a Subaru Impreza WRX (boy racer, much?). Guess my Skyline will have to wait, because they are just too expensive. I watched the Fast and the Furious last night. It makes me want to get a decent car and twink it out. XD

We went to Yamada Denki. The SD card I had got for my camera the other week was too fast for my old snapper, so I had to swap it over for a slower card. Once again, I stretched my limited Japanese language skills. I don't pretend to understand what people say to me. I usually just give them a blank, gaijin stare. :p

I'm kidding. I try and understand as much as I can, even if it involves gestures or drawing on a piece of paper. Because communication is more than simply speaking. ;)

Mikey and I went to see Dragonball Evolution at the movie theatre in Aeon mall. I enjoyed it. However, it was a little disjointed in its presentation: the synergy of the dialogue was a bit lacking. And it was rather esoteric, so any non-Dragonball fans would probably have been lost. But Chi Chi is hot, so go and see it anyway. XD

KA-ME-HA-ME-HAAAA!

One more week until the big Osaka holiday commences.

Timotheos

Bad Shellfish

2009-03-19T14:05:00.003+09:00

I was sick on Monday. I think I may have contracted mild food poisoning from the barbecue on Saturday afternoon. I took the afternoon off with a stomach ache.

On Tuesday, I only had classes in the morning. I still felt quite bad, but at least I only had to sit in the office for the rest of the afternoon.

Yesterday, Michael and I went out to K-town. With Laurel and Candice, we visited a facility for disabled persons. They appreciated our presence. After lunch, we went to a disadvantaged peoples' workplace, much like the yamabiko that we have attended here in Taisho a couple of times. We helped the people there with their work for a while.

I had a headache and a very sore neck; probably as a result of how sick I was on Monday. Michael and I cut our visit short and ran a couple of errands before heading back to the office (for all of 15 mins before finishing).

After getting home, I slept for a while. I still feel quite weak today, because my energy reserves are quite low; but that's what you get when your immune system works on overdrive.

My last classes for the year for Shouwa chuugakkou were today. Next time I see the students, they will be in the next grade (ie. 2nd years will be 3rd years). I just put together activities for each of the two classes: one was a gameshow of sorts, and the other was a word unscrambling exercise.

There is an enkai tonight that I will be attending. I'm going to make the most of it, despite how low I currently feel.

Tomorrow is a holiday. I'm not sure what I will do during the day (aside from sleeping in). Of course, tomorrow night I will be helping with English practice at Mika's. :)

Kanji learning has come to a standstill. I really want to spend some time reviewing what I have learned. Pacing myself is better than rushing, confusing and unbalanced learning.

Eventually, I will see improvement in my Japanese. In the eight months that I have been here, I have barely learnt to communicate. Who knows, perhaps there will be a sudden change one day? I guess I'll look back but barely remember the learning process or the areas where I most struggled. So many hurdles to overcome, but overcome them I will. Zettai.

Timotheos

Graduation Without Tears

2009-03-15T17:07:00.003+09:00

Almost a week between entries. Guess I am just lazy. It's not like I have a lot to do. That is something that I want to change, but as yet I have not found much to occupy my free time. And free time is one thing I seem to have in abundance.

I spent the only lesson I had on Tuesday revising students' speeches. A lot of what was written sounded like it had been put through an online translator and hung out to dry. Trying to decipher what was meant in some cases really didn't help with the headache I had developed. :/

With no classes on Wednesday, I continued to study Japanese. My kanji count is 395 now, but I realised that despite the success of my learning method, I need to slow down somewhat and just take more time to review what I have covered before stuffing any more stories into my head.

On Thursday, the best class would have been sixth period, with the third years. It was my final class with them. I had burned the first, double episode of Legend of the Seeker to a DVD. We watched half of it in class.

On Friday, I taught at Wakaigawa shougakkou. I always enjoy going there. I like small schools. You can be a lot closer to the students because the classes have so few in them. It's also fun to play with the kids between classes.

That evening, I went around to Mika's with the intention of holding Japanese conversation practice. It wasn't quite Japanese but it was conversation. XD

Saturday saw graduation ceremonies for the sannensei at all of the chuugakkou around this area. I attended the Shouwa graduation ceremony. It's where I teach on Thursdays. The ceremony itself wasn't as long as I thought it would be. Small schools rock! It was boring too, but at least no one cried. I heard that Japanese Junior High Graduation Ceremonies can be very depressing and are often treated like funerals. But they should be a happy occasion! The kids are moving on, sure. But everyone should be happy for them moving up into senior school, where they will further hone their life skills. Or something.

Anyway, a couple of students spoke. One was a ninensei, whom I assume said nice things about all of his sempai. The other was one of the sannensei, who thanked all of the teachers individually - including me, as their ALT! That in itself was surprising, but seeing as it was on behalf of all of the graduating students (nine in total), I guess it makes sense. Very nice. :)

Phil, my predecessor, had come down to attend the graduation ceremony. He had also brought along a friend, Jerrmarco. We met up with Michael and went around to someone's house for a barbecue. We stayed there all afternoon. It was actually really cold yesterday, despite the sun being out, so sitting around a brazier was nice.

I ate a lot of oysters and chicken and even had some shitake mushrooms and inoshishi (wild boar) meat. All in all, it was a nice afternoon.

Last night, I went around to Mika's again. I helped her with the tutoring she gives to the young girl I mentioned last week. This week, however, she came on Saturday rather than Friday. It was another opportunity, also, for me to have conversation practice. I must admit that I didn't make much effort to speak in Japanese. But I did teach Mika how to play chess, and she kicked my butt at Bejewelled... :p

Today has been pretty slow. We are going to church tonight, so I will just chill for a little while. This coming week I only have chuugakkou classes, but there are other opportunities for me to serve during the days I would otherwise be sitting in the office for seven hours, twiddling my th- erm, I mean, being productive and improving my teaching methods and Japanese language skills. :/

Laterz.

Timotheos

Doubutsuen

2009-03-09T18:18:00.004+09:00

Laurel, Mika and I attended a pentecostal church in K-city yesterday morning.

In the afternoon, we took Mika's daughter and niece to the zoo. It was free and rather small, but it was interesting to see what few animals they did have. Unfortunately, most of the big animals are in cages that are far too small for them, with lack of room to run around in. I'd like to think that they let them out of the cages after hours to run around Kochi city; but that's just wishful thinking... :(

All he can do is pace

King of the small cage

Monkeys with cool tails

I spy two lemurs

I want to drive one

The park and lake nearby served to keep the girls - and us - occupied for a little more of the afternoon.

Between the zoo and the park

We stopped at two major places on the way home, too: a restaurant to eat dinner; and my favourite store: Yamada Denki. XD

Today, I had classes at two different schools. It isn't often that that happens. It's a bit more tiring than having four periods at one school, because of the travelling and extra preparation. But I enjoy teaching at shougakkou. Kids are great. ^^

I am determined to exercise more. The first step is to get some running shoes. Then, eventually, I will get some weights and an exercise ball to do what I can at home in getting my fitness level up. I've also decided to eat more fruit and vegetables. Tinned pineapple on my cereal just doesn't cut it.

Kanji count: 352. I have a lot to review, though. :(

Bring on conversation practice!

Timotheos

Coffee, Cars, Church

2009-03-07T23:15:00.005+09:00

I just got home from Kochi city and am making some coffee with my new coffee plunger. I grabbed some random coffee from the supermarket in Aeon mall and it smells quite nice, so I guess I made a good choice. I don't need coffee, seeing as I am still full from our meal; I just want to use my new toy. ;)

Michael and I went to K-town for lunch today, and then headed into the city to do some shopping. Laurel had booked Masala so that a whole lot of JETs could show up. We were having a dinner in celebration of multiple people's birthdays around this time; including mine.

Dinner was great, but we decided not to stick around. I have to get up early tomorrow for church anyway. I am getting a ride into the city with Mika, a Japanese lady that lives in my town and whom I will be spending some time with each week practising conversational Japanese.

We are going to attend a pentecostal church in the city. Laurel is staying in Kochi tonight, so we will pick her up tomorrow once we get into the city, and we will all go to church together. I hope to make this a monthly thing if it works out well. It will be especially doable once I have my own car.

I do have my sights set on getting a Nissan Skyline, but I may have to settle for something like a Sylvia or a Primera. It depends on what bargain I can find; and on my research regarding buying second hand cars in Japan. T'will be a challenge.

Today, I bought three books. The first is Oliver Twist, by Charles Dickens. I don't think many Japanese people even know who Charles Dickens was, so I intend to use the book to help civilise (I mean, enlighten) the few people I know who speak English. The second book is a collection of 203 Aesop's Fables. I can just imagine the uses. Thirdly, I got a Jap-Eng / Eng-Jap dictionary. The Japanese is, unfortunately, in romaji (that's English letters rather than Japanese hiragana / katakana). But that's ok, because it also has kanji for a lot of the entries. I just don't like reading Japanese words in romaji because I then review them in my head in romaji and it hinders my reading practice and progress.

My kanji count: 323 now.

Since I have to get up early, I had better go to bed. After my aromatic coffee, of course. :)

Timotheos

Another Change

2009-03-05T11:20:00.003+09:00

I have class in a few minutes, so will make this very quick.

I have completely changed the formatting of my blog again. I will tweak the changes over the next couple of weeks to make it less generic, clean up some elements, etc.

Kanji: 299.

I added a new watched blog to the sidebar. It answers a lot of questions about Japan and should give me some ideas for conversation practice, which I hope to start by this weekend. :)

Timotheos

Tanono Kindy Birthday Celebration

2009-03-04T19:19:00.005+09:00

Kanji count: 276. My progress hasn't slowed at all. I really do hope that I can keep going at this pace until I get to my goal of 2,042.

As for the Japanese language side of things, I continue to do my daily studies, but it really is slow going. I have found a language partner now, but haven't worked out a schedule for conversation time yet.

At the kindergarten this morning, they were celebrating March birthdays. I was told that they have a birthday celebration for the kids at the start of every month. We played party games with them: pass the parcel and pin the tail on the donkey. Candice was involved in the birthday congratulations because it is her birthday this month (on Saturday, actually -- she is exactly one week younger than me).

Afterwards, some photos were taken of the kids (and us) sticking their (and our) heads through these character posters -- emperor and empress. There is some Spring festival happening at the moment that involves a display of dolls and mochi, Japanese rice cakes.

I apologise for the poor quality of the following photos. To conserve space I have my phone camera set to a low resolution, and it doesn't exactly have a high-quality lens either. But it was all I had on short notice. Maybe I should carry my camera around in my bag...?

Doll Display

Laurel and Candice

No shougakkou at all this week. Facebook Friday, perhaps? :p

Timotheos

Red Flag, White Flag

2009-02-27T15:43:00.003+09:00

It seems that many things in Japan are depicted by the colours white and red. Currently, this blog's main colours are just that. This is not coincidental.

Take, for example, roadworks. Back home, we sometimes have workers directing traffic, but other times there are temporary traffic lights or temporary lanes for travelling slowly down. Here in Japan, there are always roadworkers assigned to directing traffic. Said roadworkers always have two flags: a red one and a white one. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that if the red flag is out: you stop!

Look at the Japanese flag. It is only red and white. They say that Japan is the land of the rising sun (nihon literally means sun origin). I learned the kanji for that last week, near the beginning of my dedicated kanji learning. It is represented by the number nine (whose primitive is baseball) and the sun. I simply imagine a baseball being hit into the sun and I remember that it means rising sun.

The red circle on the white background is obviously the red sun, displayed in all its glory. The typical "gambarre headrag" worn by Japanese has a more distinctive sun, whose rays extend out in all directions. Incidentally, I also know the kanji for ray. Its elements are little and human legs, so I imagine tiny human-like dust creatures floating through the rays of the sun that come through the window.

At school, dividing students into teams is easy. Why? Because there already exist two teams: red and white. If you want to divide a class (or classes), simply tell the white team to stand in one place and the red team in another. The main purpose I have found for there being red and white teams is for school sports events. I'm sure there are other purposes, but it sure makes things handy for competitive activities in the classroom!

Too bad the Japanese football team wears blue. Red and white seem to suit this country well. Perhaps this is one change that will lead to others, politically, socially and educationally.

Red flag.

Timotheos

Continuing the Kanji

2009-02-25T10:13:00.005+09:00

On the weekend I went into Kochi city to do some shopping. I bought some more speakers, which I set up on Sunday. I now have four speakers and a sub connected to my computer. The bass comes through a lot better now too, since I had to play with some settings to make the rear speakers work!

I still need to buy some new sunglasses, which was one of the things I wanted to get on Saturday. Still, I managed to scratch most things off my to-get list.

Monday saw me sitting in the office. It's nice to have no classes, but there isn't much to do in the office save for whatever preparation I can think of and Japanese study. Oh hey, there's always Facebook.

I am now at 126 kanji. I didn't manage to get the book or flashcards from a store but I did order them from Amazon. I unintentionally found out how to switch the website to English.

There are still plenty of kanji for me to imagine stories for before reaching the end of this first part of Heisig's book in PDF format. One thing I didn't find out is if the numbering on the flashcards I ordered matches the order of the kanji I am learning.

I figure that the more I learn, too, the easier it will be to equate images and sounds (yes, imagined stories can have sounds too) to the kanji. So far I am able to conjure up most of the meanings by accessing what I have imagined. Only time and review will tell how much I actually retain.

I can't think of anything interesting that is happening around here. It's just going to scheduled classes and living my monotonous life day by day. Here's hoping that I can make friends with a language partner, too. I really do need more structured conversation.

Timotheos

Starting to Remember the Kanji

2009-02-18T16:08:00.002+09:00

The introduction and first part to Heisig's much famed book can be read here. I read through the introduction, absorbing his explanation. It opened my eyes a little. I then did the first two parts that are covered, with their primitives and key-words.

After covering the 15 primitives and 18 key-words covered in those two parts, I then explained each one briefly to Michael and told him what the meanings were. I just wanted to prove to myself that this method of visualisation through story-telling recognition worked. And I'm happy with the results so far.

It will be great to get hold of this book and start putting into practise the learning of kanji writing in earnest. Reading will come later. So long as I can associate kanji with what they actually mean, I will have the advantage of learning to read and pronounce them when the time comes.

My brain works in a certain way. As a writer, I have a rather vivid imagination, and so associating an explanation to ideograms such as Japanese kanji will work very well for me. It will also help me to develop my memory a lot more for learning vocabulary, and eventually Japanese grammar.

I will, of course, move at my own pace. My Japanese studies will continue as they have been, but the learning of kanji has taken on a new meaning for me. I look forward to seeing how much I can get into this and whether I actually can learn 2,042 kanji - at least their meanings - in less than a year. And whether in practise and review I will be able to sear the meanings into my long-term memory.

That website is really going to come in handy, too.

Timotheos

Ka-n-ji

2009-02-18T13:37:00.003+09:00

I didn't mean for yesterday's followup entry to sound so emo. But there was a sparkle of truth to how I feel regarding Japanese language learning. It is frustrating -- especially knowing that other people pick it up so much faster -- and being at a loss as to how to improve really doesn't help at all.

When I go into the city this weekend I will try and find a bookstore that stocks kanji learning devices. There are actually two specific resources that I am after, having done a little research online. I even read an interview with the author of the book I wish to acquire, which documented how he formulated his method of learning kanji.

The book I want to get is titled Remembering the Kanji, Vol. 1: A Complete Course on How Not to Forget the Meaning and Writing of Japanese Characters, and it is written by Prof. James W. Heisig. There is also a website I found that takes his book and expands on it, by providing an electronic form of a flashcard learning tool that assists with the practise and long-term memorisation of kanji.

The website is Reviewing the Kanji; obviously an homage to Heisig's learning series, Remembering the Kanji.

The second resource that I need to check for is a set of kanji flashcards. The best one I have found is Japanese Kanji Flashcards, Vol. 1 (Third Edition), by Max Hodges.

Both of these resources are available from Amazon.com, but it pretty much requires you to have a credit card, and international shipping costs are heinous. Amazon.co.jp also has them but they are much more expensive than buying through the American-based website and I would have to receive help in setting up a new account.

So I will check around in K-city to see if I can get hold of these. If not, then it looks like I will have to try and get them either through Amazon.co.jp or wait till Spring Break when we go to Osaka.

I wasn't able to get a Japanese credit card upon application for one. They never gave me a reason why it was declined, but I assume there is a stand-down period. Maybe when I've been here for more than a year then, huh. Sure would make things easier.

It's time I delved back into the text book that I brought over with me, too. If I work through that, I am guaranteed to improve my understanding of grammar and to build more vocabulary. I can also review the kanji that it introduces, in lieu of having the resources that I want.

Still, I will wait until this weekend passes to see if I get the resources I want. Chances are very slim, knowing K-city. So little is available here, even in the major centres.

I am determined to succeed. But I seriously do need a language partner in order to progress. Kanji memorisation is something I must do alone. But improving my understanding of the language and having a hope of ever being able to communicate in Japanese will require that I dedicate time to speaking with someone who can really help me to improve.

I think the people in my office, upon indication of my desire to practise with a native speaker, haven't thought beyond physically meeting. And so in all this time, nothing has advanced past my requests to find someone suitable to practise speaking with. I'll gladly speak to someone online regularly if that works best -- and in fact, it probably will. If I can find someone, that is.

「にほんごを　れんしゅう　したい」

Timotheos

Soshite...

2009-02-17T22:03:00.004+09:00

I added three new links to the sidebar:

Danny Choo - Portal to Japan and Akihabara News are in the Links and Downloads section, and I put Really Cute Asians in the Blog List (insert "The Todd" innuendo here and proceed to high-five anyone within arms reach).

I like Japanese girls. It's no secret. I'd love to meet a cute Japanese girl that was happy to spend time with me. At least that way it would make learning the language interesting; and a whole lot more productive.

My skillz is lacking, yo. Language frustrations continue. At least I've started focusing a little more on learning necessary kanji. That will take time also, but it is all a process. I just hope that once I've been here for a year I will be at the point where I can actually put words together into a coherent sentence and will actually be able to think of something to say to people.

You see, my biggest problem is not being able to phrase what I want to express. We are spoilt in English with our vast range of vocabulary and having to compile everything into its appropriate contextualisation. The thinking behind how to structure what you wish to express in Japanese still eludes me; as do these notorious particles.

Learning various forms is all very well, but when one thing goes in, it seems that two things go out. I may learn the informal way to command someone to do something, but the next day I learn another way of doing it and so what I learned previously is no longer there. At all.

And so it seems that all of the study I have done these past four months has amounted to my learning a bit more vocab and just confusing myself on when to use which particles. I cannot as yet put a coherent sentence together, even though my studies have gone over how to do so multiple times.

Perhaps the futility of it all is just really wearing me down. As I said, it's frustrating not being able to think of anything to say to people. At all. Sure, I could say something like: kono neko ha oishii desu ne (this cat is delicious, huh), but it would probably freak people out.

I'm not worried about making mistakes. I just don't have a single thing to say to people that would be relevant to anything at all. The conversation would consist of my opening with a sentence I had painstakingly constructed - most probably completely butchered anyway - and then if someone responded I would just stare at them blankly and wonder if what I said meant what I thought, or if they were asking me a question in response.

It's a dilemma and not one that I see any form of solution to. I do try talking to people at school, but it often ends in neither one of us being able to express enough of either language to form a complete understanding. General conversation in English is hard enough for me. When a foreign language is introduced, I'm just at a complete loss for words.

My life is far from boring. I just don't have anything worthwhile to talk to Japanese people about. Yet.

Timotheos

A Bird in Hand

2009-02-17T19:41:00.004+09:00

It's been a rather slow week.

Valentine's Day in Japan is where girls give guys chocolate. It's their own take on the whole thing. Of course, I was never one to put stock in the day at all -- and barely ever noticed it back home. Being handed chocolate cake and chocolate hearts from people that you know is pretty awesome though. I like Japanese Valentine's Day.

Reciprocally, White Day happens in May where guys give girls chocolate. We'll see if I feel like a nice person on the day and want to give anyone anything. The romantic side of the two days is lost, I think. And that's just fine with me!

On a slightly different note, check out this trailer for Scorched Earth on drugs. Seriously, that game was freaking awesome, and now there is a realtime multiplayer version that has been revamped for the 21st Century. The terrain doesn't look destroyable, but it still looks pretty damn fun!

Also, an artist and Guile fan went the extra mile in creating this amazing 3D rendition of his favourite Street Fighter character. I was blown away at the detail. Imagine this sort of modelling in-game. Oh, the future is coming, folks!

Ah, I am a geek at <3. I have to otaku my blog from time to time!

People have been getting their JLPT* test results back this week. Actually, I think that everyone who sat it last year received their results on Monday. Michael passed his level 3 test, so to celebrate we ate out last night at our favourite izakaya. There doesn't need to be an excuse to go out and eat, but when there is one it's worth taking up. Not cooking from time to time is beneficial to my mental health.

We intend to go into the city this weekend. I have a handful of things to get from K-town on the way through (or back through). It will be good to go into the city, anyway. It might be time to hit up Quantum of Solace, if it is still screening.

Just recently I have started getting dried, cracked fingers. I think it might have been overexposure to cleaning products when I scrubbed my bathroom down on Sunday. A little uncomfortable, but I have started using a cream from the pharmacy. I'll try and get my hands on some moisturiser when we head into the city, and will definitely wear gloves to clean from now on!

Wanna see something really cute? The Korean girl group, Girls' Generation, have a song called "Gee". Reallycuteasians.net posted up two versions of the music video. Did I mention how cute this was? Now try getting it out of your head!

Wish I could just download Korean and Japanese into my head. It sure would make things easier.

And remember: with great innovation comes great impact!

*Japanese Language Proficiency Test.

Timotheos