Hisashiburi!

Hey there!
So its been a while since my last blog. Almost a month now. What have I been up to since I went surfing? Well, its definitely starting to get nippy. I no longer sleep with my windows open and last night, I had an amazing dream about skiing! Laur, you and I were living together, here in japan, in my house, except my house was literally at the base of the most amazing mountain ever! Waking up this morning was not the easiest thing to do.


Work has been extremely busy. This past weekend was my middle school's festival. It's a two day long celebration displaying what the kids have been up to this past year. Yesterday, the day started out with the opening ceremony. It amazing how much effort they put into their skits. Everything ran so smoothly. Kanpeki! Then there were several japanese speaches. As far as I could understand, two were about global warming, and another was about everyday activites. Ahhh I want to speak Japanese! Following the speaches was two hours of fun filled activities. Each grade was competing against each other. Sadly, due to the weather, we were stuck in the gym, but it was still a great time. The first activity was a massive "three-legged" race competition. Each grade (one at a time) stood in a line and tied their legs together, thus a disaster in the making. See video. The second activity looked like so much fun. Basically an extreme version of tug of war. Blood, guts and all....
..... Okay so I started this blog entry and never finished it about 5 weeks ago. I am bad, gomen.
Let me see if I can pick up where I left off...
After the tug of war, there was an x treme jump roping competition. Each grade had one long rope and they had to see how many rotations/jumps they could get together in a row. The first graders won by a landslide with about 24 jumps. They are smaller and more sprite. My rationalization of their victory. All together the festival was a great experience and I am hoping to get more involved next year.

So that was five weeks ago, what has happened since then?

My third grader, Lisa, who I was helping out with the english speaking competition did very well but did not move onto the national level competition, which would have been held in Tokyo. Im very proud of her. (see picture)

Everyday I love my students more and more. I am starting to make some real connections with them, especially the second and third graders. The other day two third graders asked if they could come over my house after school. So next wednesday I am going to have them over for dinner and we can listen to american music and watch a movie in English! They are soooo cute. Right now Wakasa, Misaki, Miku, and Natsu are coming over. Who knows how much the word will spread by next week, it could end up being a party. Any suggestions on good food to cook? I'm already planning on making some guacamole!

The picture above is from a festival in my friends town. I was not one of the brave souls to carry the floats under the sparks until they caught on fire. Wise decision considering some participants came out with scars.

Last Friday was sports day here at Seinan Junior High School. The students spent the whole day playing volleyball. I was on the red team and decked myself out in all the red that I owned (Eric- including the scarf you gave me for xmas). Unfortunately I didnt get to play. Just made myself look like a fool on the sidelines yelling things that no one understood. I did learn some lingo for cheering in Japanese, such as, oshi oshi and i pon/ mo i pon. Oshioshi means that was close. They say this even when it wasnt close at all. To make their teammates feel better. Kazuki, slightly clumsy thrid year starting getting pissed toward the end when he wasnt close at all and people were saying oshioshi. 'i pon' and 'mo i pon' literally mean 'once' and 'once more'. As in you only have to think about this one serve. And if they do well the first time, you say do it once more... 'mo i pon'. All together each team played 7 games. The red team did not win one. Dead last. But its all good. We had a great time not really caring.

I will finally be able to drive my car this weekend! Yatta! So excited to have the freedom to come and go as I please. My house really isnt in a bad location. The train is easily accessible, but it is still a hinderance. My baby is a 1994 Suzuki Wide Wagon. Little white tub. My first car that I purchased by myself. I feel accomplished!

I think fall is a little delayed here, because the leaves are just starting to change colors, and if my memory serves me correctly, the leaves should be falling off the trees back home in boat loads by now. Next big purchase is a pair a nar skis. One of the JETs here is a professional skiier from New Zealand. And she knows everything there is to know about shredding, so she is going to help me out and match me up with some babies. Can't wait to cuddle up with them in bed!

Three weekends ago I participated in a Inter-prefectural ALT (Assistant Language Teacher) Soccer Tourney. That is held twice a year in of all places but NAGANO!!! And teams from all over Japan and beyond come to participate, there was even a team from Canada! I was a ton of fun. Its a two day event. Boys and Girls have seperate brackets and its all just a bunch of fun. They guys bracket is a bit more competitive. I was soo sore the next monday, it was pathetic. My students and teachers made fun of me as I hobbled down the corridors, wincing everytime I was greeted by a change in elevation. Good times.

Sorry it took me so long to update my blog, I will try to be more consistent. Each of these short recaps of my happenings here I could write pages about. But do you really want to read that? Hmmmm?

Much Love!
Mere

Well, well, well... shall we?

Ha, Looks like I have a little competition for relative doing cool shiz out in the big bad world. Although Todd (see blog) does have 12 (?) years on me of being righteous, I think this friendly rivalry will be healthy and inspirational... Hmmm, what else righteous could I do this weekend and tell everyone about? So Todd might have prime location for surfing, but did he get to speak Japanese with sick brahs while being instructed on how to kick hard enough to catch the waves? I think not, but I did! I went surfing for my first time! Yatta! It was awesome, and I stood up for a bit here and there! Learning conditions weren't prime, but I got a taste. Im so siked on life right now and Japan is sooooo gorgeous. Is there skiing in Hawaii? Saturday I spent the night at a friends house in Hakuba village, the location of all the skiing events during the olympics. The mountains were out of this world. We (whitney...above, dave...below, darby, michelle and I) woke up at the crack of dawn, actually before the dawn's crack was seen, and hopped in the car so we could get to the beach by 6:30ish because thats when the swells were prime. It was a breathe taking car ride as we drove through the mountains the sun was rising and the mist was lifting. At that moment I understood the inspiration behind traditional Japanese paintings... It really was mystical. After driving for 50 minutes, the mountains opened to a larger valley and the ocean could be seen in the distance. As the sun rose the water got bluer and bluer. It almost felt like we were in the tropics. I wasn't expecting to get a chance to ride but at about 9 30, dave took a break and offered to teach me how to catch a wave on his new board (pictured). It was a lot of fun and definitely want to try it again.

Still can't wait for flurries to fly! Mountains will be amazing. Until then I'll try to enjoy the sun and water. Til next time! Ja ne!

School/Accident

Teaching English has been so much fun thus far. I know I'm only a week into school, but I'm loving it. In my school there are three grades about 30 students in each, all together there are 85 students. For each grade there is only one class, so I teach three different classes. The first graders are really cute and learning basic english. They are not as confident in their speaking skills and seem a bit shy when I comes to talking to me, but during class they are roudy and seem like a bunch of fun. The second graders know a little bit more, but it doesn't seem like they know how to use it. Their writing skills are better, but they are still very shy when it comes to talking. This is basically the awkward year, though they are all so cute. Today was the first day I taught the third year students and they were so much fun. They not only used better grammar and had a larger vocabulary, but they were also not as shy to speak with me and seemed like they were having a great time learning English. Almost all the students seem like they want to learn English!

I never realized how difficult of a language English is until I started teaching in. I'm try to brush up on my grammar during my free time. Basically, I want to learn the difference between what is right and wrong. I know the difference because it sounds correct to me, but I can't explain why. So I am learning. Tonight I'm going to study Articles, Determiners and Quantifiers. I want to try and memorized the difference between a possessive noun, possessive pronoun, numbers indefinate pronoun, and demonstrative pronoun. Bah... I wish I paid more attention in 8th grade English with Mr. Smith. Every grade has their own classroom. The students stay in the same classroom for everyclass and the teachers move around. This makes a lot of sense actually. Not as many people need to be shuffling around between classes. All the teachers have their desks in one big office. (Picture) I think it's a lot easier this way when compaired to my middleschool/highschool experiences. This way the teachers are able to interact with each other more easily and discuss how classes are going. Everyone works together more to make things run smoothly.

Physically, the school is split up into several different buildings with coverd walk ways connecting them. (I fear this will be bitter in the winter.) There are two long buildings that run parallel to eachother (2 stories) and two walkways connecting each end. This creates a court yard (where I've been weeding the flower/vegetable beds the past couple of days). On one walkway, on the outside, is a building where all the food is cooked. In one of the long buildings is all the classrooms (homerooms) and it also has a fine arts studio, meeting room, home ec. room and computer lab. The second long building has the main entrance (where you change your shoes when coming/going), the staff/teachers office and kitchen. It also has a nurses office, wood shop, Language Lab, and upstair is the Library, another meeting room, and the music room. Attatched to this building is the gym. And outside the gym, on the far side, is the outdoor fields. Hopefully I painted a picture for you. I think the school is very pretty and well kept.

Outside of the classroom, school is busy. Whether I'm preparing for my next class or brushing up on my Japanese and English, or weeding the school grounds, every day is busy and interesting. Lunch time in particular is very interesting. Seinan doesn't have a cafeteria, all the students each in their classrooms. Everyone is served the same meal by the students. They are in charge of going to the kitchen and carry the pots of food to their homerooms where they serve up the deliciousness on dishes which they place on each desk which are grouped together. The food is so good! This month I am eating with the first year students. I try and make small conversation in both English and Japanese, but they are a little bit scared to talk with me. I guess I understand... I do bite. (^_^) After everyone finished everything on their plates everything is stacked up and taken away. It is very efficient and a lot of fun! After lunch, for about twenty minutes, the entire school cleans. The students change out of their uniforms into matching sports wear. At Seinan it is tradition that the boys all take of their shirts (even in the winter) and wear a band around their head. The girls wear towels/rags on their heads to cover their hair. They have some chant that they say together every once and a while during cleaning sessions to help lift spirits. The teachers and even the principals clean too. Group effort. I love it!

These past couple of days at school have been a little hard. This past saturday I was in a car accident and I'm pretty sore... I'm so unlucky. My friend (a third year JET) and I were driving back from a weekend activity on the highway. We saw that their was a car with its emergency lights on in the distance. Erika, my friend, started to slow down. I thought that because it was raining the car was going slowly, but in retrospect it doesn't make much sense because the car was in the fast lane. Once we realized the car was stopped it was too late. There was a mac truck in the other lane with several other cars behind it. She wasn't able to change lanes and slammed on the brakes. They locked up and we hit the stopped car going probably 15-20 mph. We were both wearing our seatbelts so besides really sore necks and a couple of bruises we are okay. The man whose car we hit was also okay, thank god. He actually wasn't in the car, but standing inbetween the car and the gaurd rail... why? I have no freaking idea. I am soo grateful that he is okay. Definitly could have easily squashed him. The front of his car was banged up, he got into an accident 15 minutes before hand. The front of the car we were in was smooshed, crunched, gone-zo. An ambluance and three cop cars came. We were moved off the highway as quickly as possible. Three hours later everything was worked out. There was lots of deep bowing and apologizing. In Japan, being apologetic can get you really far in terms of tickets and penalties. We aren't sure who is going to get most of the blame. In Japan during accidents, it's never 100% one persons fault. We are the ones who hit his car, but he should not have stopped in the fast lane on the highway, when on the other side there was a huge shoulder and 100 yards away an emergency pull off. To make matters even more difficult, the car Erika was driving wasn't hers, but another JETs. Bah... so is life.

I went to the doctor yesterday and xrays were taken. "Your spinal okay" Ha... thats great to know. I am going to try and see a chiropractor as soon as possible. My neck and back are really sore and stiff. I can feel myself starting to get sick already, sneezing and coughing commences. Bah! Just happy to be alive. I hate car accidents.

Just finish weeding the school grounds with five other teachers I work with. Its amazing the amount of responsibilities the teachers in Japan have. Not only do they teach but they are also supposed to keep the school looking beautiful. It is part of their responsibilities as a civil service worker.

The other week I also sat through a two hour power point slash lecture comparing the nutrition and health of the children in Seinan (my school) to students in Tokyo and Hokkaido. All the niddy griddy details were discussed, from the weight of the students to how much sleep they are getting. This is also part of the teacher responisbilities, to make sure the students are in good health. Its really amazing.

I am still struggling with the language barrier, but I can definately feel myself improving. Haha funny story. So this past sunday I and a couple of other JETs in the area went to an onsen. Onsens are basically hot springs, that people bathe in nude. You wash yourself before you get into the water and again after you get out. Its really relaxing and the minerals in the water are very good for you. Anyway, I went with two other girl friends and we were sitting in the water just starring off into space and this old naked Japanese women comes up to me and we ended up talking for like half an hour. She was really funny, kept asking me about my strait white teeth and big eyes and my "huge" legs. It was kind of awkward considering she was naked and kept getting closer and closer to me, to the point were we could have bonked heads. Anyway, the conversation ended and we went our seperate ways, or so I thought. Later on, when I was sitting outside chatting it up, she comes on over and asks if I have washed my hair and body yet. Originally we weren't planning on going to an onsen so we had forgot to bring supplies. I told her this and that next time I would remember. She offered us her supplies, and I said that was okay, we were fine. She gave me this disgruntled look and walk away. As we were leaving she came up to me one more time and asked the same question, but this time she said I had to wash my hair. It was bad if I didn't. Next thing I knew I was sitting on the stool with her hands in my hair while she was sudsing me up. Hahha it must have been a funny thing for all the other japanese women to see, because it was abnormal behavior for even them. Anyway, she ended up making all of us use her stuff, which was very generous. It did feel good to be clean. After we dressed she asked me to smoke with her. Haha it was such a funny experience, something worth laughing about. She's my new best nude friend.

On Friday I was able to get outside with some good people and climb a great mountian, Ariake-san. It was very difficult but lots of fun. Definately didn't bring enough water and I barely remember the climb down the mountain because I was so dehydrated. I went with 4 other Jets from 4 different countries. Kate, a new JET like myself is from New Zealand and is obsessed with skiing (=awesome), Jo, a fourth year JET, from England is crazy in shape and found myself in her dust the whole way up. Brain, a fifth year, we followed blindly. And Alex (and friend from home) is from Scotland. He started climbing up in sandals and decided against it half way up. So great to get outside and make friends.

Other than that... everything is new :) much love!
Until next time.
Lates

PS the factory next to my house, not a flower factory.... they make chemicals...

So far no strange sents.

Hello everyone! Konnichiwa.

So Ive made it through my first week in Japan. Yata! Actually it hasnt been all too stressful. My English teacher that Im working with has put so much effort into making me feel welcomed. Several teachers scrubed every inch of my house so it was spotless when I arrived. They helped me set up my bank account and helped me get through all the paper work thats involved with moving into a new house in Japan. A couple of things are still confusing/inconvient, for example, I dont have a bike or a car yet so getting around is a task. My internet isnt set up, along with the fact I dont have a cell phone and my land line doesnt work until the 6th. But it seems like everything in Japan takes a little bit of time.

My house is awesome. I was pleasently surprised when I first walked in. So much room! Its still a little bare. I need decorations and a couple more pieces of furniture. But its still comfortable.

This past weekend I participated in a huge festival. It was in the streets of the local city, Matsumoto. It basically involved dancing for three and a half hours, while snaking our way through the streets. Every twenty five minutes we got a ten minute break to drink more beer and chuhi. Basically everyone got choo yoparai. Definately a bonding experience and by the end I was exhausted. The festival is called Bonbon, and there is a set dance that you repeat over and over. It involves fans and jumping and drinking.

Its been rather hott and humid so I wasnt able to see the tops of the mountains for a couple of days, but yesterday the weather was beautiful and I got a wonderful view. Gorgeous! I started to drool thinking about skiing this winter. A lot of local JETs go skiing/snowboarding on the weekends, so Ive been getting lots of advice. There are about 100 ski resorts in my prefecture, Nagano, so I probably wont be buying a season pass. Too many places within a two hour radius! Waku waku suru (Im so excited).

Hope all is well with everyone! Let me know whats up!
Much love
Mere

Made it to Tokyo... its like I never left.
Can't believe I'm actually here. And that my first job would be in Japan.
Super jet lagged, but riding my third or fourth wave of energy.
Crazy Girl. Watch out!
Love and Miss you all!
Mere

Leaving tomorrow!

Hey there,

So yep... tonight is my last night in Blairstown, NJ. Almost done with my packing (Thank you very much laur!). I just have a couple of last minute things I need to throw together. (oh and laur... I am bringing the extra belts.... muahaha!) I bought myself a new camera today. We'll have to see how long this one lasts. I am going to protect it with my life, but who knows how far that will get me. 

I'll try to make as many phone calls as I can tomorrow. I'll be in the city for the day/night, and my flight leaves at 11 am on Saturday. Give me a ring, if just for a sec to say hi.

So I found out about the house that I'm living in and I'll quote the previous JET, "Your house is located right across from the school grounds (A minute walk to the school). The rent is free, and you will just be paying for your utility usage. The accommodation i[s] extremely spacious and is a stand alone house that is next to a factory. The house includes a washing machine, TV, futon, couch, gas range, refrigerator, microwave oven, table, chairs, desks, and a large shower/bath combination." It sounds like I got hooked up! Hopefully they make wonderful things in the factory... like flower arrangements or somethin'.

Oh and the main reason for this entry is to give everyone my home mailing address! 

Zip 399-7601

JAPAN

Send much love! I'll but up pictures of my crib once I'm settled. Ahhhh I'm crazy. Wish me luck! Holler!

Genki de ne.

Sayonara

Mere

Hey Everybody! I'm going to Japan for a year... sweet!

So, I just found out my location for the next year in Japan. I'll be in a small village call Chikuhoku located in Nagano prefecture. Some people might recognize Nagano because thats where the winter olympics were held in 1998. Chikuhoku is about 3.0 hours west of Tokyo, in the mountains between Matsumoto city and Nagano city. The mountains are gorgeous and there is tons of skiing and hiking! Basically, I'll be in heaven.

I leave on July 25th, three days sooner than I thought. So I don't think I'll be able to have the party then. I'm hoping to see as many people as I can before I leave. Let me know what you're up to.

As of right now, I will be there for the year, if I can accomplish my goal of fluency. If not it might be longer, but don't worry I'll be back home at some point.

I'll be using this blog page to keep everyone updated, so I don't have to send out massive emails. I'm hoping my English goes downhill... it means I'm not using it!