*... everyone around me is a total stranger...everyone avoids me like a psyched lone ranger...everyone... ((turning japanese, i think i'm turning japanese, i really think so)) ...*
Friday, May 16, 2003
*... my best english student ...* Although most of the people I work with I would rather not, I can say that my favoritist person at school, and my best English student, is Ko-Cho sensei. I love this man, he always brightens my day. Imagine a round little guy (like a snowman, round head, round belly) but a little shorter than me, and ALWAYS giggling, like a little "Tickle Me Ko-Cho" doll. A man after my own heart, the giggler. Today he walked me out of school so he could hop on a big ol' red granny bike and peddle away... strange. He wants me to teach him karate, and I told him that karate isn't karate unless you sneak up on people and scream "Hiiiiiii-YAH!" which was really funny to watch until he scared me half to death at City Hall when he jumped out from behind a pillar. Silly Ko-Cho. 4:03 PM
Thursday, May 15, 2003
*... you don't understand, it's what i do ...* Notes to self: 1) be careful what you wish for. 2) don't choose future housing near train stations.
As I was walking through the train station this morning, I was mobbed, both hands grabbed and shaken furiously, and someone attached to my waste. My surprise blocked out the "bu-ri-tto sensei! bu-ri-tto sensei!" exclamations that seemed to be raining down. It was only when the cute soccer coach lifted me out of the mob (literally) that I realized that I was surrounded by all the now-san-nen-seis from Koshin JHS (my last school) who were all hanging out in the train station, waiting to go on their school trip. They weren't wearing their uniforms, so it was hard for me to recognize them at first... but I definitely recognized the teacher. My hero.
Today I left school early to attend an "English Camp Planning Meeting" with the other 6 ALTs from my office. Despite the fact that I do NOTHING at school these days and that I love to see my fellow ALTs (well, half of them, at least), I desperately dread these meetings. This is the second one we've had, and I accidentally said too much today. See, the thing is, one of the only real career-like skills that i can say that I have any proficiency at is event planning. 5-500 people, give me 24 hours and a phone, throw obstacles in my way (eek! no money! no help! rain! the dj didn't show!) and no problem, I got it covered. This event, English Camp, has a total of maybe 25 students plus 10 teachers attending, there's no need to plan food or lodging (other than call the place and say we're coming) and all that is really left is figuring out the itinerary (meaning dig out about 2 lesson plans each, and present), which is what I thought we did LAST meeting. So I almost got mauled by the group when I asked for an updated itinerary; apparently everything I thought we had decided upon was "tentative" and I was jumping the gun. It's a remarkable test in patience and keeping my mouth shut, but I sort of let it leak that to plan an event for less than 50 people, with no food or lodging arrangements to make, should take at the most 3 hours, NOT 3 FREAKIN' MONTHS. They failed to see where I was coming from, and unfortunately it is yet another catch in the indominable "Japanese Way", where everything moves at glacier speed. What a ride.
And let me just add a special shout out to 2 very special, patient men who I have learned so much from, although my charms only seem to work on one...
*... what a waste of 36 hours ...* I don't think I smiled at all yesterday. Maybe once today. What the heck?! Don't these people realize they are here to entertain me?! 4:50 PM
Sunday, May 11, 2003
*... who says superman is fiction? ...* he's my accountant, mechanic, mr. fix-it, mover, attorney, career counselor (with a bit more focus than my other career advisor), and he's a way better ice skater than me, anyday. I believe he actually is Clark Kent (we have a picture to prove it!). He rides a motorcycle, which I hope he'll let me have one of these days ; ) and even though I usually beat him in Scrabble, he seems to always play 'queue' on a triple-word-score. He gives excellent foot rides, he's a fabulous cheerleader, and he's by far the funniest man I know. ... And if all y'all STILL wonder why I'm so picky when it comes to guys, let's just say that they have a lot to live up to.
* eYeS/hAiR/wEiGhT. brown/reddish?/yes. * cUrRenT wHeReAbOuTs. back back to cali, cali * bEdTiMe. my body has decided to forgo sleep for now. * fOoD. it has also decided it's anti-food. * pHrAsE. ahh! too many people speaking English! * mOoD. i feel weird, yo. Like twilight zoney, in another world weird. * tUnEs. i get to listen to the radio in my car again! * qUoTe: "whereas i am trying to read in the succession of things presented to me every day the world's intentions towards me, and I grope my way, knowing that there can exist no dictionary that will translate into words the burden of obscure allusions that lurks in these things."
*"One, seven, three, five -- The truth you search for cannot be grasped. As night advances, a bright moon illuminates the whole ocean; the dragon's jewels are found in every wave. Looking for the moon, it is here, in this wave, and in the next." Zen Master Hsueh-tou
* tHiNgS i WiLl MiSs... *
* kaori (kojima) and mariko, kaori (honma), marika and etsuko, setsuko, nakano and sakai (aka "the boys"), kelly, alan
* most of my students
* some of my teachers
* the Shin Ken Kan crew
* my granny bike (a little)
* speaking Japanese
* traveling
* tHiNgS i WoN't MiSs... *
* the staring
* the bus
* being bored outta my gourd
* sleeping on the floor
* the Japanese Way
* secondhand smoke
* the fashion
* jApAn, AkA tHe LaNd oF... *
* "We Don't Believe in Cilantro"
* "We Don't Believe in Towels"
* "Obscurely-Sized Paper"
* "Flouride is Foreign"
* "It's Rude to Eat on the Streets, but it is Perfectly Acceptable to Blow Smoke in your Face"
* "9am is Too Early for Stores to Open"
* "We Just Make the Technology, We Don't Use It"
* "Central Air? Never Heard of It. Central Heating? Nuh-uh. Heated Toilet Seats? Well duh, of course!!"
* "Deodor-what?"
* "Open 24Hrs = 7am - 10pm"
* "Our Knees Don't Freeze"
* "We Want to Speak Like Americans and Look Like Americans and Act Like Americans, But We Don't Actually Like Americans"
* "Hey, Free Beer!"
