The best of~*

the previous post is actually a very lengthy preface to an activity we did with the JHS 3rd years yesterday – my very last class with the loveliest bunch of students. they asked me a variety of questions using superlatives and got me thinking a little about some things i just wanna note down or share:

1. What food did you eat the most in Japan? – It has to be tuna mayo onigiri, perfect for a snack or when you’re in a rush. i prefer the ebi mayo (prawn) version but it’s not as common. Next will have to be kare raisu (Japanese curry rice) and omurice I think.

2. What was the most delicious food in Japan? – The students are actually only referring to Japanese food, which is hard because i like most Japanese food and what i choose to eat depends only on what i’m in the mood for. I’ve really enjoyed the food i had at previous school enkais (at a hotel near USJ and another at the Imperial), the meal that a Japanese teacher’s Kyoto-wife prepared for us, kani cream pasta and this amazing Italian restaurant near Momodani station on the JR loop line.

3. Which place did you visit the most in Japan? – It’s probably the Umeda Sky Building, which is also my favourite place in Osaka. For non-tourist attractions, it’s a fight between the Toho Cinema in Umeda, the izakaya Za-watami at Nodahanshin and another izakaya behind El Panchos. actually, El Panchos (Mexican restaurant) and the Dutch restaurant on Nakanoshima might be in the running too, although i havent been to either in the longest time.

4. Which was the most beautiful place in Japan? – I don’t know the answer to this, but i recall being really fascinated by the mist that formed in the valley below the highway while travelling back from Takayama. i’m only thinking about the places i’ve been to while on JET, otherwise i’m sure Hokkaido will make this list – i will soon find out if my first impressions are correct! *excited* I also think everywhere in autumn is gorgeous when the leaves change colour.

5. Where in Japan do you want to return to the most? – Since i’m going back to Hokkaido it’ll have to be Okinawa. i want to spend more time driving (i.e. being driven) along the coast and to visit Iriomote too. I think Yakushima is considered part of Kyushu, but i’d like to go there too. Okinawa food is amazing!

6. What was the most interesting/surprising thing about Japan? – The most interesting thing I think has to be the host boys along the Dotonbori bridge. As for most surprising, perhaps that people queue to get on the trains, or that women use Otohime** in the toilets. However, many of the female students don’t know what Otohime is (the boys definitely dont know cos male toilets arent equipped with them), which i find even more surprising.

 

and here are a few which i thought of:

7. What are some of the best places to visit? – I love Nara Park; now that I think of it, it’s most probably the place i’ve been to the most. Asuka in Nara Prefecture is great too, especially nearing autumn. I also especially recommend Taketomi island in Okinawa and Kamakura in spring. other nice places to visit would be Miyajima, Koya-san (wakayama), Arashiyama in Kyoto and Hida-no-Sato in Takayama.

8. What are some of the most overrated places/events in Japan? – oooh. Yoshino for sakura wins hands down; others include Dogo Onsen in Matsuyama (too crowded) and Matsushima Bay near Sendai (pretty but definitely not top 3 most scenic material). I’d include Harajuku too, though perhaps not for the first timer to Japan. As for events, Kyoto’s Daimonji is rubbish, and there’s this other fire festival in Nara (a side of the mountain is set alight) that i heard was a huge letdown too. i’m personally not a fan of festivals at all – too crowded, too hot and generally not all that enjoyable. Go once or twice and that’s enough!

9. What are the best things to do in Japan? – Go around the temples in autumn! it’s the most beautiful season in Japan, and temples often open till late for night illuminations. That said, go to all the illumination events there are: Kobe’s Illuminarie, Kyoto’s Higashimaya Hanatouro, Osaka’s Nakanoshima Christmas Light up, Nara-to-kae, etc. Try also to spend a night in a proper Japanese ryokan with a full kaiseki meal – you won’t regret the cost one bit. Sakura viewing is a must too, of course.

10. What will you miss the most about Japan? – The four seasons with their accompanying hype (eg crabs in winter, mango and pineapples in summer), seasonal Kit Kat, omurice, bukkake udon, delicious fried tofu, cheap and fresh sushi and widely available cocktails. For non-food related aspects (i’m making an effort here!) – buses and trains that’re usually on time, buses telling you what stop is coming up next and the convenience of combinis/vending machines.  Maybe also the presence of strange/interesting people on the street.

 

What are some of your best ofs~?

 

*: i dont watch TV, but if I did, the show “The Best House, 1,2,3” would be top on my list of must-watch shows. each week, about 4 tv personalities present the Best (or most amazing, unbelievable, beautiful, etc) 3 things in a theme of their choice. Past themes include mosaics, transvestites, weight loss stories and inventions.

**: Otohime translates to ‘sound princess’. For some reason women in japan are uncomfortable having their toilet sounds overheard by other toilet users, and used to flush in order to cover those sounds. it was declared a waste of water and all toilets (except those in schools, train stations and Osaka City Hall) are now equipped with Otohime – you press a button (sometimes it’s automatic and hence really annoying) and a loud flushing sound will be played for about 25seconds.

soccer, school fees and silly banks

friendly matches leading up to the world cup have begun – south korea played japan on monday and won 2-0. i watched the match, but it was only today that i learned that the japanese men’s team is called “Samurai Blue”, while the women’s team is known as “Nadeshiko Japan” – nadeshiko coming from the japanese word yamato nadeshiko, which according to wikipedia means “"personification of an idealized Japanese woman".

the match was quite a bad one, as both teams played poorly and nothing really happened during the game. the first goal was scored in within 15min of kick-off, i believe, while the second was scored in extra time. unfortunately, the south koreans were significantly better than the japanese; my JTE said that a south korean reporter had declared post-match that korea now has nothing to fear from Japan.

such harsh words!

 

*  *  *

i also learned today that school fees for senior high schools in japan have been removed since April this year; a promise apparently made by Hatoyama’s government. before that, students were paying a whopping 140,000yen per year for an education in public senior high schools!! that’s so much!

my american ALT colleague (i have 2 at my school) says that it’s a lot less where she comes from; i’m pretty sure we pay less than $100 per month in singapore? if anyone knows exactly how much JC school fees are, please let me know cos i’m really interested to find out now!

 

*  *  *

preparations to head home – or at least leave JET – are slowly getting underway, but i’ve recently discovered that my bank, Mitsui Sumitomo, is no longer issuing international cash cards - this means that there is no way for me to withdraw money from this account once i leave japan. it’s the same thing for the Japan Post Bank; both these banks are pretty big banks too, at least in the kansai region for SMBC.

it’s really stupid, cos what kind of bank doesnt allow its customers to get money once they’re overseas? the japanese banking sector is such that it doesnt really integrate well internationally – at least from a user’s viewpoint – which doesnt make sense because it’s not as if japanese people dont travel around and spend money overseas. guess it means that japanese tourists are reliant on credit cards when they’re overseas to borrow money from their banks.

the option for me, as well as the other returning JETs in the city, is to either close our accounts when we leave and have our pension money + transport reimbursement transferred into our home country bank accounts in 6 months to a year’s time, or to open an account with another as yet unknown bank that issues an international cash card. troublesome troublesome.

lessons given and lessons learnt

Mirch Masala, an Indian restaurant just opposite Balabushka in Shinsaibashi, was reviewed in Kansai Scene this month. Lured by the promise of curry, naan, salad and a drink for only 680 yen (ridiculously cheap!) WITH free curry and naan refills (gasp), a bunch of us headed there for lunch today.

I’d just read the review this morning in the office, and pointed out to some of them that is was in KS. i also wanted to comment on the opening sentence of the review, in which the author sounded like a complete nob (my friend’s words, not mine). I might be quoting the latter half slightly wrongly, but he essentially stated that “I am qualified to tell the difference between Indian food and really good Indian food” – after spending all of 6 months in India.

it was a good thing i held my tongue on how arrogant the author sounded – it turned that he was part of the other group dining there, and that the publishers had gotten his byline completely wrong.

sometimes silence does pay off.

(by the way, if you visit Mirch Masala, please stop the owner from refilling your naan and curry if you dont want anymore. We didnt manage to stop him giving us extra naan, and i’m still FULL 8 hours after having had lunch.)

* * *

2,370,000 yen – that’s how much funerals in japan cost. That’s about 10 months worth of a JET’s salary, and more than 3 times the cost of a funeral in the US. I wonder how much Chinese funerals cost, cos they’re not cheap either.

Read more about interesting stuff on Japan at Japan Probe, a website with articles and lots of videos. I particularly like the video of this adorable security guard cat which reminded me of the cat in my secondary school, as well as the dramatic music in this video on racoons damaging national heritage sites.

* * *

someone posted a facebook link to this article titled “40 Singapore foods we can’t live without”.

the usage of “foods” makes me uncomfortable; food to me is an uncountable noun and thus should only appear in the singular. besides, “foods” sounds so awkward too – someone please enlighten me on the usage of it.

i believe, also, that the title should at least have read “Singaporean foods”, since it’s not China food, Japan food, America food or Italy food. Perhaps it’s because a prior article featured “40 Hong Kong foods we can’t live without”, but that’s okay only because there isn’t a word to describe things coming from Hong Kong.

How can sub-editors possibly miss that?

* * *

finally, as an act of public service, let me address one of my pet peeves – that of “with regards to” and “with regard to”.

please, please, please realise that you ONLY ever say “with regard to” – there is no ‘s’! so it’s “with regard to your letter”, “with regard to that point”, “with regard to what you said” and so on.

and if you’re reading, i beg you to also spread the word that the ‘s’ is, in all cases but one, UNNECESSARY and hurtful to the eye. you can say “in regards to”, but it’s very definitely only “with regard to”.

the only exception is when that phrase is used in a very different context with a completely different meaning – when you’re sending your regards to someone, like “with regards to your parents, love Jim”. that is the ONLY time the ‘s’ should ever appear in the phrase “with regard to”.

お願いします！

school, natural light and heat

today i’d like to write about 3 things that I don’t understand.

 

1. senior high school

i’m sure i’ve blogged before that students here have only half a day of school for the first and last week of each semester. what I don’t think i’ve mentioned is that at the end of the school year, senior high school students have no classes after their exams for that term. in other words, they have about 2.5 weeks off school before school officially closes for spring.

for senior high ALTs, this in turn means that after they’re done with marking of papers, if any*, they’ll have 2 entire weeks of no classes. depending on the policy of the contracting organisation, this could mean going to school as usual everyday with nothing to do except sit around from 8.30am to 4.15pm, while for some others it could mean going into the board of education and helping out – for a while – with administrative matters.

i have no idea what the reason behind this weird system of having the students off school for 2.5 weeks is.. after those weeks off, they have to come back to school for one morning to attend the closing ceremony. why not just close the school immediately after exams, since there’s no purpose in keeping it open anyway?

anyway – whinge whinge – that my school is a junior and senior high combined means that unlike other ALTs who teach senior high, i’m now working for junior high full time. this means going to school for perhaps 2 classes a day (where i’m not really necessary), and lovely, lovely English club after school.

*: i’ve never ever been asked to grade test papers, even though teachers are sometimes swamped with marking. usually it’s just ticking off the alphabetical choices, but i’m not sure why we’re never called upon to help. it would sure put us to better use than sitting around the office reading books or watching videos.

 

2. different sense of heat, or lack thereof

so, now that most other ALTs are more or less off school, and that we have to stay back for English club, we have taken to going into school later than usual, since we’re not needed anyway.

two other JTEs were in the ALT room – which is the english language room – when i came into school today, and the first thing that struck me was how WARM the room was. we usually have the heating on at 21 degrees, but it the teachers had set it to 23 degrees and our small room was like a sauna.

what occurred to me then was this: why are my teachers as comfortable in a 23 degree room as they are along the 10 degree (or less) corridors and classrooms, when i get chilled to my bones unless i throw on a jacket before exiting the ALT room? i’m ALWAYS shivering and hopping about when i make the short dash from the room to the toilet, and even the Brit does feel cold along the corridors and in class sometimes, but our teachers are fine!

what is their secret?

 

3. the dislike of  natural light

the second thing that struck me upon entering the ALT room was that the curtains, that are usually open, were drawn, and in place of the nice natural light that comes flooding in was the harsh glare of the fluorescent lights that we don’t switch on when it’s sunny like it was today.

the Brit first pointed this out to me long ago, but we’ve noticed that the lights in classrooms and along the corridors are always on, regardless of how bright and sunny it might be outside and thus rendering the lights unnecessary. what puzzles us too is how, upon entering a sufficiently lit classroom, teachers will sometimes immediately draw the curtains to block the natural light and THEN turn on the fluorescent lights.

why??

i personally like natural light very much. it’s more comfortable and that i can see the view outside makes me happy. on one particularly depressing afternoon – it was sunny and warm outside but we were stuck in the cold, drafty school – we walked into the classroom with its curtains drawn and all, and promptly went to open them. usually we dont interfere with that the teacher has done to the room, but we really couldnt take the harsh lighting that somehow made the classroom seem dull and lifeless that day.

sunlight is free, and should be utilised as much as possible. エコ, people, eco.

love is in the air – random pictures

now is right smack between Valentine’s Day and White Day, on the 14th of March. White Day is unique to Japan, where guys who received gifts from girls on Valentine’s Day reciprocate with something. As implied, Valentine’s Day in Japan is such that only girls give chocolates etc to guys.

at first glance, White Day seems like a nice idea, as a girl who has “invested” in a gift for a guy would be sure to receive something in return. unfortunately though, the chocolates, sweets and other products on sale for White Day are less elaborate, cheaper and not half as appealing as those in the shops for Valentine’s Day. Valentine’s day meant all sorts of belgian, french and other european chocolates from famous patisseries on sale – like pralines and other delectable stuff – as well as liquor-filled chocolates; White Day at my supermarket means more biscuits, cookies and marshmallows than chocolate, many hello kitty and winnie the pooh merchandise, as well as this:

it’s a poorly taken shot, but this box of 3 pieces of turd come with a plastic handle, so you can swing it like cartoon characters do with their little lunchboxes. i found it really amusing, but also very what-the-hell?-worthy. they’re really cute though..

and back when it was Valentine’s Day, Domino’s Pizza had this special offer for only 1300yen:

heart-shaped pepperoni pizza! it was enough to feed 2 people which makes about two-thirds of the price of a usual pizza. I’ve only tried Domino’s Pizza and Pizza Hut here, and i like Domino’s better, as they always send me coupons for my next online purchase. the above pizza only cost 1000yen after using the 15% discount coupon i received from my previous purchase, and it of course came with yet another 15% off coupon.

good stuff!

unique belgian chocolate cup

anyone who lives in japan would be familiar with the amount of packaging here. so many things have to be individually wrapped and often have several layers of packaging too. for example, i buy soap in a packet of 3; each piece comes in a plastic wrapping inside a cardboard box, so that’s 3 layers of packaging in all. cookies and chocolate are almost always individually wrapped too, which means a lot of waste is generated.

packaging has been taken to another level however, in the form of the box of chocolates i received for valentine’s. too bad i didnt take pictures of its initial form – i wasnt expecting anything beyond digging into the delicious chocs – but it came wrapped up in shiny brown paper. a pretty ribbon, on which were descriptions of the company’s chocolates, tied it up, and was also stuck to the wrapping paper in several different places with scotchtape, double-sided tape and promotion stickers.

then came the box – a slide-open one securely fastened at both ends with a round sticker each – and when i opened it…..

 

 

 

 

wait for it…

 

 

 

 

 

unbelievable!! the first thought that came to mind was “er... wth is this?”

 

but this is not all! check THIS out:

 

the chocolate, with its paper cupcake tray in its unique chocolate cup.

oh my.. the chocolates are deliciously smooth and yummy, but the packaging is definitely the unexpected icing on the cake. for all its ludicrousness – or perhaps precisely because of it - you have to admit it’s kinda cute.

:)

home

these two days have been rough. i have so many things i want to whinge about that i dont know where to start, so let me just talk about this thing called "home”.

for some reason lots of people around me dislike japan a fair bit. i hear way too often that they’re so homesick, they miss this, they miss that, they dont like this about japan, why is japan like that, back home we.. etc etc etc. Home is spoken about fondly and favourably when compared to japan, and people talk about missing this or not liking a certain aspect of japan as if just because we’re all on the same programme living in the same city i would understand how they feel.

at dinner today, some were chatting about how it sometimes is necessary to go abroad before you realise how good home is. this statement makes absolute sense, until it’s narrowed down to my particular experience, where it then doesnt quite hold true.

it’s taken coming to japan before i realised what i’d miss out on if i moved back to singapore after JET.

for one, going back means definitely living with my parents, and living on my own is one of the most wonderful things about being here. i can do whatever i want, whenever i want, however i want, and no one is going to say a thing about it.

singapore is too hot, and the heat lasts forever. i’ve been criticised by friends for being “snobbish” and dissing our weather just cos i’ve been overseas, but seriously, having seasons in a country is amazing. i can get through the terrible osakan summer knowing that it’ll end in 3 months; the cold is tolerable cos i know that soon it’ll be spring, flowers will be in bloom and everything will be nice again. seasons bring with them a natural way to mark the passage of time, something which i never really managed to do in singapore, except by the year of school i was in, which doesnt apply anymore. and frankly, it’s winter here now and i think i’m liking it more than the heat of summer, cos i go out and the air is cool and crisp and fresh, and you kinda feel good in it. and in winter i have spring to look forward to; in summer, autumn. winter means you can have nabe (steamboat) to keep warm, and the sweet delicious crabs are in season. seasons mean that my year is varied and a little more exciting.

i have more mobility here too. i cycle so often, and it really gets me when it rains cos my poor skills means i have to leave my bike at home. i can get to places more easily and i dont have to walk, whereas i cant really do that in singapore cos there’re too many people and the pavements are a lot narrower too. the persistent heat also means that if i want to wear skirts which are cooler, i can’t cycle, and if i want to cycle, i cant stay as cool. why do i have to choose?

i dont think my eating habits have changed that much either, which i think is a big thing for quite a lot of them. i get green leafy vegetables here (although more expensive and of lesser variety), i get rice, i get almost everything i want – and whatever’s not available, like chilli, i dont consume all that much of either. also, i eat extremely well; food here is good, and i get some kind of service when i go to restaurants. alcohol is everywhere, which makes me happy, as i like being able to drink without having to pay through the nose for it the way i would in singapore.

of course, lots of things dont make sense about this country; i get frustrated too when i cant communicate and so on, but hey, a sales person in singapore didnt understand me either, just cos i was speaking in full sentences with proper grammar. the city is crowded, but orchard road on weekends is awful, and absolutely frightful when it’s a rainy sunday. plus, if i get sick of Osaka, 1 hour by train will bring me to a more suburban (or even semi-rural) part in some other prefecture which makes for a nice change, but getting to JB is quite a mission – tampines to lavender, then bus for 1 hour just to cross the causeway? and to pulau ubin, you need to get to changi village, then wait for the boat to fill up with enough passengers to depart? W.T.F.

when i went home in december, what occurred to me was that somehow along the way, i’d lost the sense of “this is home, truly, where i know i must be” thing that kit chan sings about. everything felt familiar and i slipped back into old routines and old habits built up over 23 years so, so easily, but that didnt mean that i FELT something for those habits.

definitely, being back among friends and family was great, and i loved it; being able to just chat about stuff – conversation flows so much easier, for sure – but apart from the people… i’m not sure. if “home” is associated with some form of nostalgia and deep emotional feeling, then i have to say that most unfortunately i have no idea where it is. i wouldnt go so far as to say that i like JAPAN more than singapore – japan’s a big place, and i wouldnt even like it this much if i were living somewhere else in osaka city – but i can definitely say that there are things out there that i want at this point in my life that singapore cannot offer me. things might change – like if i want to start a family, for example – but as of now.. nope.

which really sucks considering what i’ve learnt about working in the UK – near impossible, and that’s one thing i want to whinge about – as if i were forced to go back to singapore i would KNOW what i am missing out on. of course my search will not end with the UK, but the likelihood that i might have to go back has become EXTREMELY REAL. and it’s terrible considering going back might mean me losing out on more than just working overseas and stuff like seasons, and it’s awfully depressing.

so the question is, why not extend my JET contract for another year?

simply because despite all appearances, my job is pretty crap. and given that there are few JETs who would (could?) actually say that, and given that a fair number of aspiring JETs come across my blog, i have to say again that i dont really like my job all that much at all. i’ve never mentioned this before, but i think i should because my experience is a JET experience even if it isnt the JET experience, and if you’re unlucky this might well be your experience, so forewarned is forearmed.

but that’s for another day in another post.

back in singapore

i didnt miss home when i was in japan, but it’s undeniably nice to be back.

lying in bed half asleep in the morning with the sounds of other family members moving around outside my door, it’s as if i’d never left. it’s the same being in my grandma’s house – the same place where i’ve spent lots of time since i was born – it feels as if japan never happened.

singapore is the same though. i’m still waiting for the culture shock that EVERYONE says is going to happen.

no doubt, you see things with different eyes. when i came out to the departure lounge at the airport, i was struck by the number of indian and malays around – a sharp contrast to japan, where virtually everyone is fair skinned and east-asian looking.

i’ve grown used to the smooth, soft japanese toilet paper, even if it crumbles and dissolves or tears when you’re trying to wipe.

the service standards back here are quite terrible, and i really wanted to slap the teenager working at sistic today, when i got NO eye contact, a slight slam which accompanied my tickets being placed on the counter, and a surly, barely murmured “thank you”. someone should teach that young punk better manners.

i’ve also, today, experienced the quietest bus and train rides that i’ve had in a long time. commuter noise i can deal with, but it was very different not having countless announcements bombarding you throughout your ride.

i was once told by one of the japanese women i interviewed by my thesis that singapore’s trains are slow, and i didnt believe her back then. but now i do have to agree that our trains are slow compared to those in japan. haha. it’s like sitting on the tsurumi-ryokuchi subway line in osaka, which everyone hates cos it’s so slow. heh.

 

NB: i went out again the day after i wrote this, to tampines mall and central, and received far better service. I feasted on mussels at Brussel Sprouts at Robertson Quay too, and the service there is EXCELLENT. I attribute that to its location in the expat area of singapore. 

bits and pieces

the past few weeks have flown by for some reason. perhaps it’s because i’ve been worked more than usual at my schools – which brings me to the average workload that most people have – and that the students are going to australia soon, so i’ve been busy helping them with translations – make that A LOT of translations – and helping them prepare their presentations and so on.

there have been lots of events lately too, which means that i havent been home as much as i’d like to have. it’s ironic that my schedule is near booked out from now till i return home; when i’m busy i’m really quite busy, and when i’m free i’m bored out of my wits.

this week is another hectic week. i’m going to arima onsen for the weekend (YAY!), and have to rush to complete my CLAIR translation and interpretation course.

next week brings me to Shiga for the seminar for that same course, where i’ll be in class from 9am to 5pm. it’s like being back in school – perhaps worse actually, since i never had such a schedule! – and i’m not sure what to expect, so we’ll see how it goes.

the weekend is the Honjo apartments’ “Round the World Party” – it’s like a pub-crawl in 6 of the 8 JET apartments in that complex, which each apartment having a different theme: caribbean, mexico, UK and Ireland (although the Irish arent happy that they’re being lumped together with the UK), russia, france and japan. i’m looking forward to it, as it’s the last big gathering that we’re having here before we all go home for the holidays.

after that is the last week of school for me, and then a christmas karaoke night to welcome my friend’s boyfriend’s maiden karaoke experience, then it’s my birthday the next day, and then 1 day to pack, and then home very early on monday morning.

busy busy!

i suppose i havent been home much, which makes things worse. in the past few weeks i’ve had enkais, meetups with people, autumn leaf viewing, mid-year seminar, friends visiting, thanksgiving dinner last friday with karaoke after, Inglorious bastards (i never know how to spell it “right”. it was a good show by the way, though rather gory at several points) on saturday, and today, tachinomi and then more drinks at balabushka.

it was crazy today. i definitely had a bit too much to drink and way too much to eat, but it was good fun. i learned that the Caribbean is pronounced differently by people from that region, the americans (and singaporeans) and the irish; that only americans when using fork and knife to eat, switch the fork between the right and left hand; heard a very heated debate on thierry henry’s handball against ireland and zinadine zidane’s headbutt many years ago AND a further debate on henry and FIFA and the whole world cup palava against ireland – as if i havent already heard enough about it since it happened – and chatted about a range of other stuff.

would like to do this more often, but i do have to watch my pocket and my poor tummy AND my liver. boohoo.

suntory BOSS coffee

i love the milk coffee that i get in japan, cos it’s simply awesome. there are people who scoff at these “cheap” coffee that you can buy from convenience stores for about 147yen, but i know i will miss them wherever i go next, even though i dont drink that much.

japan has a lot of coffee chains – doutor, excelsior, st marco/choco cro, etc. and they all have good coffee that’s way cheaper than starbucks, which makes it fantastic cos i dont like starbucks.

but if you ever want bang for your buck, then it’s milk coffee that you turn to. my favourite brand is Mt Rainier coffee, which has gotten into trouble for having a logo extremely similar to starbucks’:

i got this photo from here, and it happens to also be my favourite flavour from that brand :)

but anyway, apart from saying that milk coffee in japan is awesome and amazing, is the main point – suntory BOSS coffee, which has tommy lee jones as the face of their adverts AND has really good commercials.

the commercials might be very specific to japan, in the sense that many things might make sense only if you’re familiar with what goes on in this country. but look at it another way, and it can be said that you can learn all about japan just by watching these commercials :)

here are a few of my favourite:

 

 

 

 

and this is the best of the lot:

western idea of beauty

i heard of this blog about Julie in Japan from a friend, and rather enjoy reading it as she seems to really like japan a lot. i mean, i often blog about the things that annoy me, but she focuses more on the things that interest her, and also writes on a range of issues and subjects.

at the moment, there’s an interesting post about whether japanese people aspire towards the western idea of beauty, which supposedly means a curvy figure, big eyes, sharp nose, double eyelids and curly/wavy hair – do take a look at the comments to that post too.

what interests me the most are the comments by Kris and Anonymous #2.

i do wish i had wavy hair instead of my poker-straight hair, and that i had bigger boobs. but that has nothing to do with those being “western notions of beauty”!

wavy hair is gorgeous. it appears styled, it cascades down your shoulders and it looks sexy. i remember the times in jc when i stood during morning assembly admiring L’s wavy hair, but i certainly didnt go, “wow, her wavy hair is so nice because she looks western”. instead, it was just a “wow, she has pretty hair in a way that i can never achieve even if i used a hair curler”.

and the thing about boobs.. come on, boobs are womanly, they make you able to fill out your clothes in an attractive manner and it’s definitely nice to be able to not have extra space in your bra and have something worthy of being called a cleavage. what has that got to do with being western at all?

im not saying that there arent asian people or people of asian decent who wish they had western features like bigger eyes and so on. but what i’m saying is that most of the time, asian girls arent just sitting down there wishing they were western, or wanting a particular feature because westerners have them, because i’ve never associated those traits as being exclusively western ones. believe it or not, there are asians with big eyes, boobs and curly hair too, you know?

this discussion reminds me of another that i’ve once had, about the japanese obsession with being fair. some of my caucasian friends thought that this was to to with wanting to emulate white-caucasians, when in fact fairness is something that has been valued for eternity in east asia, because fairness was associated with being upper-class and well-to-do. nothing to do with white people at all. (and by the way, there are quite a lot of girls in singapore who value being tanned, because that makes you look sporty and outdoorsy. not every asian wants to be fair!)

i’ve also received comments on how straight my hair is and how amazing that is and how they wish they had straight hair like mine on several separate occasions, one of which involved my JTE walking all the way over and asking if she could touch my hair and exclaiming that it was beautiful (yes, i know i’m showing off here. heh. but i was sooo flattered :D).

so no, i dont think japanese or asians in general are jealous of western features or have bought into the western notion of beauty.

living costs in osaka

i just realised that i’ve always intended to blog about this, but never got down to doing it.

i remember worrying before i came over, whether my pay would be enough to cover living costs and so on, and looking back now, it seems so ridiculous because the pay that JETs receive is incredible.

i get about 285,000yen a month after taxes and so on are deducted. a quarter of that goes to rent, at a bit more than 61,000yen. i think this is the most that any JET would ever pay, unless you’re living in the city in an apartment that’s larger than 6 tatami mats with a kitchen and bathroom (the other osaka JETs in the bigger 2-bedroom apartment pay around 80,000yen).

utilities – gas, water and electricity – average to less than 6000yen a month. it increases a bit in winter when i turn on the electric heater and in summer when the aircon is on, but i think my expenditure is fairly low because i dont leave my heating or aircon on the entire night, whereas i know many people who do.

food-wise, it depends entirely how much i go out that month. a dinner out will often be around 2000yen, lunches 1000yen. drinks are in general about 500yen or 700yen, depending on where you go. i definitely dont scrimp on eating out or grocery shopping, and i’ve spent between 31,000yen and 50,000yen a month. i bring bento to school most times though, so i eat lunch out only about once on weekdays. dinner on weekdays would perhaps be once to a max of 3 times – it’s usually once – and on weekends, anything goes. i think i go out a lot, but that’s the price of having company and socialisation. no choice.

internet – i share that, but it’s 4000yen for KDDI’s wonderful fibre-optic service. not all apartment buildings have fibre-optic, installed, but broadband should be around that price, unless you get a package deal. usually when you first sign up they’ll give you a really good discount – for us it was 2000yen for the first 6 months, but JETs who came this year got a far better deal.

mobile phone – all depends on how much internet you use on your phone. in japan, you can only send SMS to people who subscribe to the same company. to contact people with another phone company, you have to use email or call. calling is really expensive though, but the internet is very useful. i use it to check train times all the time, and sometimes the weather. but my bills are on average about 2600yen i think.

transport – is expensive! i already cycle to school most days of the week, but i think i easily spend almost 10,000yen a month. if i didnt cycle to school, i think i’d be spending maybe at least 15,000yen?

apart from those, there’s also expenditures on things like household items ( e.g. toilet paper), toiletries, clothes and shopping, etc. those all vary, and it’s difficult to give an estimate for stuff like holidays too. but i think it’s reasonable to say that a 7 day trip somewhere in japan would cost around 100,000yen, how much more or less would depend on how watchful you are of your wallet. i think that estimate is for a comfortable holiday, where you dont splurge but do spend some on enjoying yourself.

japan uses floppy disks!

a few days before i saw this in a store, my JTE handed us a floppy disk requesting that we help to edit a document she had saved on it.. havent touched a floppy myself in, what, 10 years?

and when we went down to the computer section in the main staff room, we discovered that all the dell desktops came with a floppy disk slot!

today

was a most eventful day. for some reason so many teachers wanted to discuss lessons, and me having to cycle all the way from school to the bank and back took a fair bit of time too.

i’m going home in dec/jan, and the SGD is so low now! or perhaps the yen is strong, but whatever.

much time was spent too, on recording my answers for the CLAIR translation and interpretation course. seriously, who these days still records to cassette tape? it’s such a huge hassle, and i had to go around the school finding a tape recorder that actually could do that well. and when i found one which another teacher had used before, i sat there for quite a while fiddling with the controls so that my recording could actually be heard, not to mention the time taken to rewind and playback to check the recording.

somehow, 2 drivers today also tried to knock me down by turning – dangerously! – when the ‘green man’ was on. that has to be one of the things that annoys me A LOT about japan, because all these idiots assume that just because the first batch of pedestrians have crossed, no other people would be using the crossing. i mean, cant you at least look both ways before driving?

ah ha, another thing that has been bugging me – classrooms with windows and doors wide open, yet with the aircon turned on. just about all the classrooms on the 4th floor in my school are like this, which is such a huge, huge waste of resources. and you have students complaining that they’re cold when the aircon is on, or students grumbling that they’re hot and stand up to lower the temperature while they’re in 3 layers of clothes in summer. or classrooms with the aircon set at 27, when simply opening the windows and doors would give you a nice, cool breeze that’s less than 27 degrees.

yet japanese keep talking about being “eco”, or environmentally friendly. pish pash.

* * *

on a happier note, the weather has cooled down – the nights are really cool and require a cardigan of some sort, and that basically applies when there’s no sun!

anyway, here are some pictures from outside my front door on a beautiful summer’s day. i’m glad the heat’s gone, but i know i’ll be miserable when winter arrives:

 

 

being yellow in japan

this not good especially if you’re trying to teach english or land a job as an english teacher.

the teachers in regular schools are okay enough, i dont ever feel like i’ve been discriminated against in my schools just because i dont fit the stereotype of an english speaker. in fact, i’m often complimented on my supposedly clear pronunciation and easily understood accent (of course, i dont speak in class the way i do with my singaporean friends).

however, things are different once you start talking about being a private language teacher. firstly, it helps to be male. in that way, the older men can relieve their youth by interacting with you, and the older women are happy to be speaking english with a young (and possibly not-bad-looking) male person.

if you’re female, you’re already disadvantaged, but that can be redeemed if you’re blonde and blue-eyed. apparently, someone knew someone else who could charge a steep hourly price for english conversation lessons because of her genes.

of course, no matter what, if you’re white things are going to be easier. there’s so much to be said about being a white person – especially if you’re male – in japan that i dont want to talk about it here again. but anyhow, even if you’re not white, it’s ok if you have a “white person’s accent” – that is, you sound either american, canadian, australian or british* (and maybe new zealander). that’s because it’s the accent the japanese want to learn too.

so basically a person like me is three-times disadvantaged in this business because i’m female, asian (seriously, i get mistaken for being japanese all the time) and have the wrong accent. awesome, isnt it?

 

*: the japanese are fairly pro-american when learning english – they use american spelling and terms, and in some rare cases teachers might even request ALTs to speak using an american accent rather than their native one. however, there are people around who prefer the Queen’s English, and those who do feel rather strongly about it. To the extent that i know of someone who, by virtue of being British, is getting paid 10000yen/hour for english conversation lessons. that, by the way, is a bit more than USD100 or SGD160.

moving to and living in japan – tips and suggestions (edited)

surprisingly, it’s only now – when i can put a name and gender to the newcomers in osaka – that i realise how soon it is before the 2009 JETs arrive in Japan. everyone must be in the midst of preparations, and it’s with that consideration that i jot down some thoughts on moving to and living in japan:

 

1. toothpaste – everyone blogging about moving to japan always mentions this. i’ve never actually verified whether japanese toothpaste has fluoride or not, simply because i’ve been using colgate toothpaste brought from home all this while. no doubt, my family replenished my supply the last time they visited me in march, but this should be easily accomplished for JETs whose family plan to visit (or make use of friends!). toothpaste also lasts a long time when you’re living alone! besides, tokyu hands sells colgate – at least that’s what i’ve heard about the one in osaka. you can get Aquafresh toothpaste in japan too, although while the singapore version has fluroride (i think?) i’m not sure whether the japan one contains it too. but at least it provides the fresh, minty sensation which i do require in my toothpaste.

 

2. shoes – japan sells A LOT of dangerously high-heeled shoes and there are a lot less flats and pumps available in shops. the same goes for shoes with low heels to average-height heels, i.e. those less than 6cm. most of them are made of hard material and likely to make your feet hurt really badly, as i’ve painfully discovered. unless you’re lucky AND find a pair of shoes on sale, it’s near impossible to find comfortable shoes between 2000-3000yen. most of the time, shoes worth looking at will start from 6000yen – which is why when i found a pair of soft ballet flats in a nice design for 6865yen the other day, i snapped them up immediately.

to be completely honest, i think that the design of shoes in japan are rather ugly. it’s either that, or they look cheap, or that they are just plain and very normal, or that they’re uncomfortable. or a combination of some or all of the above. in addition, i have trouble finding shoes in japan as the cutting is slightly smaller than those in singapore – usually the length is just nice but the front is too tight. shoes in the next size would be just nice at the front but too big at the back, which makes things difficult as well. so if you have broad feet, like flats or have large-ish feet, do bring enough shoes from home!

 

3. indoor shoes – not all schools require students and staff to change into indoor shoes when they enter – both my junior high schools do not have this policy. it’s best to check with your school first, but if that’s not possible, shoes whose soles have been wiped clean would do just as well. also, indoor shoes can be slip-ons, crocs and the like; they dont have to be formal-looking, so it shouldnt be difficult to look for indoor shoes after arriving either.

 

4. accessories – forget about buying cheap earrings the way you can in singapore, as they’re REALLY EXPENSIVE. the cheaper ones would be far east/bugis street type of 3 for $10 earrings (i.e. they look cheap), just that they’ll be quite a bit more expensive than those in singapore. earrings that i’d consider buying due the design usually begin from 1350yen, which is a lot. necklaces are cheaper in comparison, although prices also start from 1350yen too. so far, most of those that i’ve bought are about 2300yen. there are a few shops around that sell accessories for 350yen, although they can be a bit limited in terms of design and choice.

 

5. food – anyone familiar with chinese cooking should face no problem in japan, as the sauces and raw materials available arent too different from those you’d see back home in singapore. rice is the cheapest staple, although it’s still quite expensive. the lazy ones like me can also choose from instant udon, instant soba and pasta – you can easily get instant sauces for all of these in any supermarket. there are also foreign food stores scattered around the city where you can get things like campbell soup and american/western products, but for a high price of course. japan also sells a huge variety of heat-only things like gyoza, croquettes, nuggets and other yummy side dishes that make things very convenient.

fruits and vegetables can be a bit pricey, but considering they’re staples there’s nothing really much that can be done about it :( note also that smaller fruit and vegetable shops might not have lower prices than supermarkets, although they’re always worth checking out.

ahh.. if you cant live without your milo, brand’s essence of chicken, chinese herbs and liang teh, chinese dried goods (e.g. tao kee and black fungus), do consider bringing a decent supply from home, as they are EXPENSIVE when purchased from Chinatowns in japan. also, things like pre-mixes for curries are expensive too. milo is available in the big supermarket near my house – japan has it – but it’s pricey.

 

6. household and bath products – once again, singaporeans and others from southeast asia and perhaps east asia should have no problem buying things in japan, as brands will be familiar ones like biore, kao, etc. so even if you dont understand much japanese, based on the packaging and visuals, it’s possible to figure out whether you’re buying facial wash or shampoo. note though, that such products are usually cheaper at drugstores – you usually find them in pedestrianised shopping alleys or along the main roads – than in supermarkets. things are cheap enough that you dont really have to bring any from home if you use japanese products to begin with (duh).

of course, foreign products like body shop and clinique are a bit more expensive than in singapore. i think body shop’s body butter is about 2300yen, which makes it about 1.5 times more expensive? similarly, clinique facial products are also numerically similar to what i paid for in singapore (although i bought them from one of those cheap cosmetics shops in chinatown).

 

7. clothes – i’m actually blogging this for guys! japanese guys tend to be more [fashionable/flamboyant/ adventurous/ gender neutral (and i’m saying this in the nicest possible way)/ stylish] than singaporean men – pick one or some from the above choices – and this is reflected in the design, cut and colour of the clothes available. so if you’re an average singaporean guy who just likes to wear normal clothes, you’re pretty much limited to foreign brands like GAP and zara, or uniqlo. note however, that uniqlo is still, ultimately, a japanese brand, and can sell some somewhat questionable clothes. it does lots of basics, however, and is good if you’re ok with simple stuff. the foreign brands are probably more expensive here than in singapore too.

note also that japanese men tend towards tshirts with sleeves that end about mid-arm or slightly lowever, so it might not be that easy to find tshirts if you like your sleeves to end just above the elbow, as many guys i know prefer. japanese men are a bit slimmer in built too – either that or they prefer their clothes to be a bit more fitting – than singaporean men too.

(someone i know, a japanese girl, recently commented that singapore lacks hot men. i wont argue whether this is true or not here, but what i will say is that japan isnt anywhere near having a good supply of hot men. its not that i’m trying to be defensive, but honestly, once you’ve been here long enough you’ll know what i mean. fashion and style arent everything – sometimes you just want a man to look like a man and behave like one, never mind if i’m heading towards dangerous territory like stereotyping what is or should be ‘male’ and what is ‘female’ behaviour. moreover, for every not-too-bad guy here is a nerd far nerdier than any you’d find in singapore!)

 

9. makeup – concealer is hard to find in japan; i encountered the same problem when i was in london 3 years ago, and wonder if it’s just singaporeans who use a fair bit of it.. besides the “branded” cosmetics in department stores (that i didnt check out cos i’m not that rich), only maybelline and another japanese brand sell concealer. for loreal, only their coverstick (this magic tip wand thingy) which isnt very good is available.

also, although Elizabeth Arden beauty counters are present in all department stores in singapore, there arent any here as far as i’m aware of, so buying anything from that brand (i used their Green Tea eau de toilette before i was forced to change brand) might be difficult.

 

8. others 

• blutack doesnt exist in japan, so bring your own.
• 100yen (or 105yen) shops sell almost everything you can imagine, so be sure to check them out first if you’re looking for anything
• swimsuits and bikinis are insanely expensive (they’ll usually be more than 8000yen – you have to hunt around and be in the right place at the right time before you can find something for about 4000yen), so bring them with you!
• in relation to the above point, things in japan are usually branded in some way – there’s no way you can find normal swimsuits for example, nor normal dance wear. so you tend to either do without, find a substitute or pay crazy amounts for a branded something. be warned.
• for electronics like cameras, i’ve noticed that stores usually only stock the very latest models. this means that once a newer model is released, the older ones are taken off the shelf, rather than continue to be sold but at a markedly reduced price. also, goods might not be cheaper in japan even though the brand is japanese, and apparently cameras dont come with all the freebies like memory cards, tripods, etc like what we’re used to.
• i commented on a previous post to bring traditional costume (my punjab suit) – i’ve yet to use it!! nor have i ever come close to have reason or occasion to wear it..

i cant think of anymore i have to say off the top of my head, but do tag or comment if there’s anything in particular you’d like to know more about!

snippets of school

my friday school is next to a park, and seems to be in a rather windy area as there's always a wind or draft of some sort in the corridors and classrooms. the windows of classrooms are also always open, and it was in the 3rd period today that i looked out of the window overlooking the park and was overcome by this sudden sense of calm. the students were doing their work and it was all quiet without; green and tranquil.

it was a similar sort of calm that i experienced yesterday, cycling along a side street from the supermarket in the early afternoon. for some reason, there was none of the buzz of children and their mothers or of office workers, and it was very peaceful.

* * * *

people in japan often form neat, long lines to board trains, and i always bring up this phenomenon whenever someone asks me what i found surprising about japan. as far as i know; of all the countries that i've been to and from talking to all the various JETs here - some of whom are very well travelled - japan is the only country where this occurs, but any japanese you mention this to will be extremely surprised that foreigners (might) find this surprising, as this is what's natural for them.

my teacher feels that this is something to be proud of, and asked what i thought about queuing to board trains in class. frankly, i do see its merits, but i certainly miss the mess of just standing around a train door; the 'strategising' of where's the best spot to place yourself so you can get through the doors first; the tingle of excitement when you've got your eyes on a seat, and the sense of satisfaction when you've actually got one*.

everything in japan is so orderly - at least on the surface, that is - and everyone so superficially polite that i cant remember when was the last time i tried rushing for a seat. i dont even bother to do so anyhow, since when you're in a line its pretty obvious that any of that would be a waste of time anyway.

maybe its the kiasu singaporean in me trying to assert itself, but writers to the forum pages always like to compare us to so-called 'more civilised societies' like the UK, and i have it on good authority that people push to enter trains in the UK too. the bottom line is, there's something about NOT queuing to board a train, and i dont really think that queuing is necessarily something to be proud of.

* * * *

chalk is a scourge that gets on everything, and students are surprisingly incapable of copying words from a blackboard accurately. 

* * * *

there's this teacher in my school who assists students with special needs, and she's this cute, petite lady. so it was somewhat surprising to see her today in a cardigan with prints of beetles, bees and cockroaches all over. wearing something like that probably indicates that she has an edge to her cuteness, which is nice, cos it makes her appear to have character, unlike quite a lot of her peers.

* * * *

my teacher also seems to be a rather interesting man. i suspect that he might be very funny in japanese, spewing dry one-liners, if the things he says to me in english are anything to go by. just today, i offered him some snacks which he declined, saying that he makes it a rule not to snack. when asked why, he gave me this:

"Your hobby is eating. My hobby is drinking. So I'm not interested in food."

what a gem :)

 

*: and the smugness when you've got one in a crowded train!

around the neighbourhoood

have had more free time recently, and it was really nice to cycle around today as it was warm AND sunny. superb weather in my opinion, although it's going to get a little colder again all too soon, starting wednesday.

i discovered some nice sights in the neighbourhood, like this interesting house - more like a collection of houses actually - with brick walls. i quite like it, but someone else said that it looked gaudy. i like it all the same, as it's houses here are often nothing more than plain and dull coloured.

a closer look at the grilles:

 

i like the lamps outside the houses too, and the glass on the windows:

also chanced upon a nice looking cafe, although the pictures didnt turn out that great:

small cafes like these are quite commonplace in japan - there are quite a few scattered around my neighbourhood - but they're often patronised by old folk and reek of cigarette smoke. one thing i really dislike about japan is that people can smoke indoors. in more eateries than there ought to be, the air can be so thick with smoke that you literally choke and find it hard to breathe.

japan also has no visible form of land use planning and zoning, so it's not uncommon to find elongated buildings like these that fit into the little strip of land that it's standing on:

i looked into the office located in the building below, and it was tiny and really odd shaped. what i honestly dont understand is why people bother to construct buildings like these when they're such inefficiently shaped and cramped!

handphones in japan

i previously blogged that handphones* in japan are apparently too complicated with too many functions before i arrived here, but i have to say that it's certainly not the case for my phone. perhaps it could be because it was the cheapest (it was still very expensive by singapore standards) on offer at yodobashi camera, the assumption being that more expensive phones would have more complicated functions, but at least based on this one, phones here dont seem to be any more complicated than whatever i was using back home.

i dont believe i've talked about it, but i can watch the tv on my phone as well as surf the internet. the latter is definitely the most useful and amazing function that my phone has, because the internet is EXTREMELY handy.  i use it to find out what time the last trains** are, or which route is the best to take, what the weather is going to be like and so on; having internet on my phone allows me to check stuff when i dont have access to a computer, or when im in too much of a rush to turn my computer on and wait for everything to load.

the reason why all phones in japan have internet access is because the most common way in which people communicate to each other is via keitai-mail. it's expensive to call, and SMSes have a message limit of 70 characters (!!!) and are restricted to people subscribed to the same service provider. you email everyone else instead, thus phones in japan have both a number as well as an email address. it's really convenient because it allows you to send really long messages without worrying about the message limit, and because everything is via the internet, you pay for the amount of bytes you transfer, rather than per sms you send.

apart from these, i dont think my current phone has anything that the nokia phone i was using before i came here doesnt also have.. perhaps it has a bigger memory and a better camera, but to be fair my nokia was 2 years old, and was a close-to-$0 phone when i got it i think :P

 

*: apparently singaporeans are the only people who use this expression. the brit once said something to the effect of 'handphones' being a silly term, as there's nothing else you'd use to hold a phone.. i was, of course, rather annoyed at that statement, but couldnt think of anything to rebut him with.

**: that's usually for when we're out late. i mistakenly thought that the taxi ride i took in tokyo would be the last one i'd take in japan - i couldnt have been further from the truth! i take taxis more often here than i do back home!! they are for far shorter journeys though, and usually shared among 3 to 4 people, making it really cheap (about 300yen per person).

the interesting things that happen in class

well, maybe they're not that interesting after all, but they sure make class time really enjoyable!

i sort of look forward to fridays cos that's when i have 2 of my most interesting classes. they're both senior high year 2 english classes with this particular teacher, and though we do the same thing for all 3 of the classes we have together (another one is on wednesday), it isnt boring at all cos the students in each class are bundles of fun.

one of the classes is enjoyable cos the students are so cute. actually, it's only a few that are cute, but they're the loud, noisy and chatty ones, mainly comprising 5 girls who sit in 5 different rows and talk across the classroom almost all the time. one of them is the cutest of the lot, and she tends to say things such as what she said today:

"I want Kit-to Kat-to! (i.e. kit-kat) I am smart student, so give me Kit-to Kat-to!"; "Joanne, I love you! Kit-to Kat-to please!"

written like this, she sounds somewhat obnoxious, but really, you have to listen to her voice and see her - not forgetting the curls in her bob that frame her face - to understand what i mean. haha. there're also 2 boys who are quite nice, in that you can always count on them to answer your questions. that has got to be one of the best ways to make teachers like you! things got competitive today, such that when i asked them how to spell some words - 7 in all - some of the noisy girls and the two boys sort of competed to see who could spell the fastest in the loudest voice. oh my. it was SUCH FUN and they are SO endearing!! i see quite a few kids in this class twice a week*, and i think that helps in the dynamics with them too :)

the other class is really interesting and fun too, but in a different way. while the girls 'dominate' in the previous class, boys in this class are more 'prominent', though in a different way. basically, there are about 6 boys here, all of whom are either manga addicts, arent very interested in doing their work or a mixture of both. and they're rather blatant about reading manga in class too, partly because teachers here are rather 'soft' on students who dont pay attention in class***. because there's a significant number of them - and some are rather tall - it's so obvious when you have all 6 of them with their heads bowed down and reading at the same time.

so last week, one of them went to the manga stash next to his friend - A-kun - at the back of the class to occupy himself when he was meant to be completing his worksheet. another friend saw that happening and asked A-kun to pass him a few manga. now, the manga stash was in the middle of the aisle right in front of me, meaning that i had a clear view all the way to the back of the class where the 'action' was happening (and classrooms here have a raised platform where the teacher stands, which means an even better view from which to observe students!). deciding that enough was enough, i walked straight down the aisle all the way to the back and took away the plastic bag that contained the stash of manga...

... and i couldnt believe how just easy that was! A-kun didnt even notice me approaching even though it's soooooooo obvious what is going to happen when your teacher walks purposefully straight up to you.. it was only when i reached down AND had the bag grasped firmly in my hand did he let out a shout of protest.

my goodness.. he was super S-L-O-W can... i would never be able to pull off something like this back in singapore, unless i've improved a lot since my stint in -cough- "singapore's premier institution" back then, which i seriously doubt.

and today, two of the kids - who happened to be sitting next to each other - were reading manga again. one of them was asleep last week (over these 10 or so weeks, he has been awake only at the beginning and end of class to say hi and bye to me, so it was rather surprising that he was awake during the ENTIRE lesson today) and so probably didnt know what happened last week, while the other simply doesnt care (one of the few things he says to me is "-pointing to himself- english very goot-to!")

i gave them quite a few warnings, as did the other teacher, but they continued reading, so i tried to take away their manga but failed the first time round. the guy who doesnt give two hoots actually said to me - in japanese, of course - that i have to be quicker if i want to succeed, which made me want to slap him even though it's a fair and true comment. haha. but he stopped reading his manga - though he still didnt do his worksheet - so that meant only the sleepy one who still insisted on continuing his manga reading.

and woohooo! some time later, sleepyhead was reading while his 5 friends in the seats directly adjacent and around him - all boys i think - were slacking off. i headed towards his table ready to snatch away his manga, while looking at his friends who were watching me approach, expecting them to nudge him any time now to alert him that i was reaching his table, cos that's what any kid back home would do right?

but no, they just sat there and didnt do anything, perhaps because they wanted to see if 有没有好戏看. that was Unexpected No. 1. Unexpected No. 2 was that sleepyhead was sooooooooooooooooo slow as well. i actually paused for a moment when i was AT his table before reaching out to grab his manga, and he didnt even notice me!

my goodness. of course, i succeeded in taking his manga, which made me really pleased, cos i've been itching to do something like that ever since i saw them reading manga in class a few weeks ago****. and his friends whom i'm sure enjoyed the 'show' actually said that i was "as fast as the wind", which definitely made me feel even better about myself. -beams-

hahahaha. it's times like these that make me really like working here, in this particular school, with these particular students. some classes arent as great, but others, like these two especially, simply rock.

i do think though, that japanese students, or at least those whom i teach, are a bit slow on the uptake when it comes to hiding their actions from their teachers, and sort of lack the teacher-radar - which allows you to detect when the teacher is in your vicinity - that singaporean students i've encountered possess. besides the two examples above of really my slow students, i've also experienced kids here exclaiming among themselves that i "いきなり来た" - approached out of a sudden - to check if they're doing their work when it wasnt sudden at all, or i can stand a little behind students and look over their shoulders at what they're reading - while trying to decipher the japanese - for like 5 seconds before they realise with a slight start that i'm there. (5 seconds doesnt seem like a long time, but try counting 5 seconds to yourself now while imagining having a teacher looking over your shoulder!)

also, there're things like handphones.. while we were able to type messages under our desks or behind our chairs while looking straight ahead at the teacher, kids here look down at their screens while typing, and then give a guilty smile when they're caught at it. perhaps that they've gotten very good at appearing guilty in order to appease their teachers over the years, or that they dont care at all.. but either way it's just very interesting how things are.. :)

i realised that i havent actually talked about the stuff i do in school and the classes that i teach - and yes, there had been a request to describe that aspect of my life here - so maybe i'll do that sometime soon..

 

*: the kids in my school - i dont know about other schools - take "credits" like how we do in university, so a class for a certain subject** would comprise students from various homeroom classes.

**: even this term is misleading, as a subject like english would have classes like "english II", "english conversation", "L.L." (which is listening i think), "writing class" and so on.

***: being 'soft' is how things are in japanese schools, because of the way the relationships between teachers and students are. teachers are meant to be like mother and father figures, which affects the attitudes adopted towards kids sleeping, not doing work, doing work unrelated to the current lesson and so on in class.

****: plus i've never succeeded (and i dont think i've actually ever tried) in taking things from students. besides, i think my stint in -cough cough- "singapore's premier institution" probably shaped the 'evil teacher' in me considering i dealt with classes of teenage boys who think that just because you're young they're gonna be able to walk all over your head.