Daily Life as a Gaijin

"I want to eat kangaroos."

2011-11-19T03:26:00.001-05:00

Yesterday, my 6th graders started working on speeches about the country they want to visit and why.

Me (to a girl): How's it going?
Girl: I want to go to Australia. What do they have?
Me: Hm, well they have koalas, and kangaroos...
Girl: I already wrote about that...hey, can you eat koalas in Australia?
Me: O_O Uh...I don't think so...
Girl: How about kangaroos?
Me: ...hm, actually, they MIGHT eat kangaroos there...I'm not sure.
Girl: Okay then. writes "I want to eat kangaroos."
Me: ...okay, sounds good...

UFO Catcher Winnings, Part 2

2011-11-07T05:45:00.001-05:00

Click here for Part 1 of my weekend of UFO Catching.

On Sunday, I went to Osaka on a solo shopping trip. I needed to pick up a few things, but I also wanted to visit Denden (the Kansai version of Akihabara in Tokyo) to play more UFO Catcher. After winning two plushies in Sannomiya, I felt really confident that I could win a lot more.I started in the newly-opened Namco Land, which I figured would have a lot of similar machines to the ones in Sannomiya's Namco Land. I took a good walk around to see if there was anything I wanted to win, and ended up coming out with these two items:

I actually happened to run into a few friends on the way out of Namco Land, and one of them offered to take my huge pillow home, which I'm glad he did!I went to Sofmap to pick up a Xbox 360 joystick, and then continued on to visit any and every game center I could find. Some of them were small and didn't have anything worth winning, or the games didn't look as simple as the one I wanted to do. I visited a small one that had a Sentimental Circus plush, but it involved trying to pick it up and make it fall through the gap. I threw in 1000 yen but couldn't get it to move the way I wanted it to, so I walked away from it.I went to the Taito Game Station but didn't see anything I wanted. And then I went to the Sega Arcade and found the EXACT same Sentimental Circus plush that the other place had! The setup was similar to the D-ring game (explained in my previous post), except the ring was smaller, circle-shaped, and on a cylindrical rubber tip instead of a ball:

The other difference was that this claw had both of its prongs, whereas all of the ones I had tried previously only had one prong (because really that's all that was necessary). There was no question that I was going to go after this one.The claws at the Sega Arcade are quite annoying to work with. The way that it drops, it will rotate ever so slightly, which meant that I would end up completely missing the ring if I didn't aim correctly. I think I missed 3 or 4 times, and it really frustrated me. I kept trying though, and went to get more change when I needed it.After somewhere between 2000 and 3000 yen, I finally pushed the ring off, and Shappo, the Sentimental Circus ring leader, fell down the hatch for me to grab.

Carrying two large plushies and a joystick, I managed to get to Namba Marui to look at some designer handbags and for a new umbrella (didn't find one), and then started heading to Shinsaibashi. I stopped by Don Quixote to get a couch cover (the checkered on you see in my pictures), and then to a few other game centers, including another Sega Arcade where I won this Rilakkuma cooking pot (the one I have is the white variation shown on the side):

With that, I was pretty much done. I didn't feel like doing any more walking because my arms were aching from all of the bags I had to carry.I was quite pleased with all of the stuff I managed to win. I realized that I had just as much fun playing as I did when I won the item. It takes precision to win, and it's definitely something I'd like to pick up as another hobby.I'm rather excited to return to Tokyo in December, where I can visit all of the game centers Sunshine 60 Street. I'm wondering how big of a suitcase I might need...

UFO Catcher Winnings, Part 1

2011-11-07T05:43:00.003-05:00

On Saturday, my friend and I were out shopping in Sannomiya. We didn't really find anything, and it was kind of discouraging, so I suggested we go to the game center and see if there were any prizes we could win from the UFO catcher.

We went to Namco Land, which was the biggest game center I knew of in the area. Most of the UFO Catchers here had one type of setup, like in this video (which isn't mine, just one I found through a search):

Of course, this was just the final push for the guy to get the item; the plastic D-shaped ring actually starts perfectly centered on the rubber ball and takes more than one try.

At first I thought that these machines were just pointless to try, because I knew that ball was rubberized, meaning that the plastic ring is practically "sticking" to it. That means that the claw is not just going to make the ring slide off, but only move slightly.My friend saw one particular machine with a large baby seal plushie in it. She said it was really cute, and when I looked at the ring on the machine, I could tell that someone had tried it at least once. So I said, "Well, why don't we give it a try?"

200 yen was for one try, while 500 yen was for three tries. Knowing that the one try would just be a waste, we dug up some 100 yen coins and popped in 5 of them. She tried the first time, and not being very successful, she let me take over. I could see that the ring was moving ever so slightly, and the more I tried, the more I believed I could eventually get that seal. After we both ran out of coins (totaling about 1500 yen I think), we took turns guarding the machine while one of us went to get change for our 1000 yen bills.

Finally, after about 2500 yen and a final pull, the ring fell off and the baby seal plush dropped down into the prize window. We were both so excited (me much more than she) and then we realized that there were two unused tries on the machine.

What I learned was that, when you have extra tries left on a machine, you must tell one of the staff and they will let you transfer credits to another machine (or they'll put another prize in the machine you just used). I took a look around the game center and found a large Doraemon plushie that I didn't particularly want but looked easy to get. I got that one in much fewer tries. Afterwards we took purikura (the Japanese photo sticker booth) to commemorate our winnings:

So what I thought was a difficult game to win was actually quite simple. It's a lot easier than the traditional type where you have to use the claw to push the item itself, because those you can actually screw up. With these machines, the only way you can really mess up is by missing the ring completely, which is what I ended up doing a few times.Part 2 of my UFO Catcher story takes place in Osaka, where I did some solo shopping and came home with three big bags of stuff!

"Getting Damp Taking of Residence"

2011-11-06T06:47:00.001-05:00

Ugh, I said quite some time ago that I would post a blog to go with this video. Finally I'm getting to it. I've been busy playing Dynasty Warriors 7, trying to catch up where I left off before my data got corrupted a few months ago. On top of that, stress was building up again in the last few weeks, but it's settled for now.Anyway, here's a few photos so you can see the Engrish for this dehumidifier yourself.Package from December 2008 (left) and April 2009 (right). Obviously someone realized that the former was utter nonsense."Please gargle with the vomit water..."I'll update this post with the complete text...when I feel like it. I've been feeling lazy lately.

A Last-minute Request.

2011-09-30T19:24:00.002-04:00

I've decided to participate in a gaming charity event going on during October 1st. It's aimed in the USA, but I wanted to participate from abroad. Instead of going shopping in Osaka today, I will be at home gaming for 12 hours straight, seeking donations on behalf of Children's Miracle Network Hospitals.

Please see my donation page here and donate if you can: http://www.extra-life.org/participant/KasumiTorisei

My Hometown.

2011-09-13T07:25:00.002-04:00

In the kitchen after lunch, the secretary asked me about where in America I'm from. I said Maryland. She asked if it was near the sea. I said it was somewhat close. She said, "Wow, it must be very nice," seeming very mesmerized. I wanted to tell her it wasn't a huge deal, but she went on to ask about my hometown, and if it was beautiful.

"Beautiful" isn't the first word that comes to mind when I think of Bowie, MD, but I said yes anyway. She said, "Wow, it must be great having lived in such a beautiful place. And I think you're very beautiful as well." I said thanks, but I was so confused. Either way, she seems to have taken a liking to me.

Everyone else was in the principal's office for a meeting, so only she and I were in the staff room. When the clock hit 4:30 I said goodbye and left, but then I had to go back a few seconds later and said "I forgot something." She laughed and said, "You're funny." I just smiled. She asked if I would make my bus, and I said I was okay. Then I left and headed home.

I thought about it some more, and I realized that Bowie really is beautiful compared to other cities, specifically those closer to and in certain parts of Baltimore and near Southeast DC. Though I don't live there anymore, I recall having days when I looked outside the window and thought about how peaceful my neighborhood is.

10 years ago, on September 11th, 2001.

2011-09-11T05:44:00.001-04:00

Like for pretty much everyone else, it was just supposed to be a normal Tuesday. I was in 8th grade. Shortly after getting to my homeroom--a "temporary" classroom located apart from the main building, I remember sitting at my desk as my teacher, Ms. Crawford, told us that "a plane had struck into a building." At the time, I had the image of a small plane--about the same size as those I've seen belonging to the flying school not too far from where I live--crashing into some random building, and that it was some kind of accident.

I was thinking, "Why is she telling us this? What does this have to do with anything?"

Fast forward to second period, Band class. Instead of practicing, we all sat around the room, and I heard the same thing...planes crashing into buildings. I can't remember if there was a TV on; I don't think there was, because I still didn't quite understand what was going on. All I knew at that point was that they were calling for early dismissal, and suddenly we were moving to the cafeteria.

At that point, I can remember thinking, "My dad is at work. I have no one to pick me up from school." It was then that I saw one of my friends, sobbing. Her mom worked at the Pentagon, which was also hit. She had managed to have her dad come pick her up, and when he arrived, he asked if I needed a ride, and I said yes. I found out a few days later that my friend's mom was safe, thank God.

I was in so much of a daze after getting home that I don't remember who was home first, whether it was me or my mom. I don't remember if my brother had gotten home before or after I did. I think I was the first one home...but all I remember is going downstairs to turn on the TV and finally see what my teachers were talking about.

This wasn't just a small plane, but a passenger aircraft. and it wasn't just a random building, but two very tall buildings in New York. Before that day, I had no idea what the "World Trade Center" was. And it was on September 11th that I finally saw it for the first time on TV, and both towers were smoking and in flames. I think by that time the towers had already collapsed, but all I remember is seeing replays of the towers over and over again.

It was by this time that I had wondered what happened to my dad. He works in DC, and I had no idea if anything else could have possibly happened. I found out later after my dad got home that he had gotten into an unrelated traffic accident; someone stopped to ask him for directions, and shortly after they both got back on the road, that same person accidentally rear-ended the mail truck my dad was in, causing my dad to suffer a back injury from whiplash.

The rest of the day was blurry. I remember not going to school the next day, and possibly the day after that, and maybe even for the rest of that week. I just don't remember.

I tend to not remember many things very well. You would think that my memory of 9/11 would be as clear as a bell, but it isn't. I can only recall that life forever changed after that day.

Playing mind tricks on my students, otherwise known as the A/B game.

2011-09-10T22:26:00.002-04:00

I love tricking my students.So this week was my first batch of classes with the students at one of my schools. The first lesson is always the easiest; it's a self-introduction lesson and I pretty much can do whatever I want. So I told them a little about myself, and then we played a game.This game doesn't really have a name--I just call it the "A/B game." I made a PowerPoint with a series of questions about myself and my family, and gave two answers on each side of the slide, one designated by 'A' and the other by 'B'.After asking the question (and making sure the students understand it), I give them a few seconds to decide which side they think is the correct answer, and then they get up and move to that side. If they're correct, they're safe. If they're wrong, then they do a simple self-introduction. They only have to do the intro once though; if they get the next question wrong they don't have to do it again.So the first few questions were pretty simple, and everyone got those right. But today I decided to play a trick on my students. I came to school wearing a bright pink shirt and black pants, and one of the questions that came up was "My favorite color is..." Answer A was black, and Answer B was pink.The kids were so thrown off by my pink shirt that nearly all but two or three of them rushed to the "pink" side. Then when I told them the answer was black, they ALL had to do their self-introductions!!! It was absolutely great. Eventually I was able to fool the remaining few students with the other questions, such as whether I had a PSP or a DS. Most kids tend to think I have a PSP for some reason, most likely because they think it's more aimed towards adults. But a few kids recalled me saying earlier that I used to play Pokemon, so they went to the DS side.The best thing about this game is that it helps the kids' listening skills, and it also lets them run around a bit. It's always good to get the kids active during your first class, to encourage them to have a positive first impression of you as their new teacher. It also gives them a chance to speak English, as they have to use it to introduce themselves if they get a question wrong. Of course, if there's that one kid that's REALLY good and gets all of them right, you can just make them do their introduction at the end of the game. If you manage to get all of the kids to do it before you use up your questions, then you can just enjoy the rest of the game and let them continue their listening to you recite the questions and answers.

This year's concerns.

2011-08-30T04:33:00.002-04:00

Back from the US

2011-08-10T07:51:00.000-04:00

So, I'm back from vacation.

I haven't been in much of a blogging/video-making mood lately, because there's been so much stuff going on.

I arrived in the US two weeks ago and spent a day or two finishing up my cosplay for Otakon. It was received pretty well, despite my character not being recognized by most people. Oh well, they're missing out on the greatness that is Dynasty Warriors.

After Otakon wrapped up, I celebrated my dad's birthday and got to see some family. The rest of the week consisted of shopping and seeing friends.

I realized a few things about traveling that I should keep in mind the next time I visit:

1. Leave on a Tuesday or Wednesday, and depart for Japan on a Tuesday or Wednesday. That was my original plan, but because my dad had already decided his 2-week vacation period, in order to avoid the conflict of finding a way to the airport I had to depart for Japan on a Monday, which was his last day off, I think. That made packing more difficult, because while I wanted to take Sunday to do so, that was the day that several friends wanted to come and see me. Had I left on Tuesday instead, I could have taken Monday to pack. I ended up leaving a few things behind that I had meant to take with me, just because I had stayed up late to finish packing that night after my friends left. Fortunately none of the items are things that I absolutely need, and my parents will send it to me whenever.

2. Two weeks is really short, regardless of having concrete plans or not. I have no idea why, but even though I stated pretty clearly on Facebook and to people who asked that I'd be in the US from July 25th to August 8th, some of them still had this idea that I was staying longer than that. As much as I'd like to stay longer, I just don't want to use up too many vacation days at one time.

3. I should save up and book even earlier next time. This time I had booked my flight with Orbitz a little under 2 months in advance, but when I proceeded to choose my seats, a lot of them were already filled up.

4. I don't have to check my bass guitar. When I was coming back from Japan after study abroad in 2009, I had two suitcases and I had bought a semi-hard guitar case for the 5-string bass guitar that I bought a few months before that. Because the guitar case was so large, I had to check it and pay a $100 fee, which wasn't really a problem for me.

Since that time, they had changed a few regulations for baggage, and I would've had to pay $200 if I had checked my bass as a third piece of luggage. Not only that, I might have had to pay even more because that semi-hard case is larger than than the size limit for checked baggage.

So this time, I decided to trust the airlines and put my bass in a soft case (as long as they put the fragile tag on it, which was done the last time). Fortunately, the woman at the check-in counter brought it to my attention that I could bring my bass on board as a personal item. She probably wouldn't have said that if she had seen the backpack I was also wearing (I had a backpack, the guitar, and my purse, but you're only allowed a carry-on bag and one additional personal item). So I ended up putting all of my stuff from my purse into my backpack, and then stuffed the purse into my guitar case. There we go--two carry-on items! The bass was able to fit in the overhead bins on the first flight to Chicago, and then when I changed planes I was able to store my guitar in a long, narrow cabin that was located conveniently next to my seat and near the bathroom.

So that's what's been up. I don't know when I'll make another video; I've been really exhausted lately.

Back to the US

2011-07-26T07:27:00.001-04:00

I know it's been a while since I've really done any kind of activity or updates on my blog, YouTube, and even Twitter lately. I apologize for that.

Right now I'm making this post from the plane heading towards BWI airport from Chicago. It's been a very long day. Everything was going pretty smoothly, and my flight from Tokyo had even arrived at 2:00pm Central Time, 30 minutes earlier than scheduled. My connecting flight was supposed to be departing at 4:38pm, and then I found out that it was delayed due to thunderstorms in Maryland. We actually didn't take off until after 7:00pm, which was pretty annoying, but it's not like I could do much about it. What matters is that I'm coming home for the first time in 51 weeks.

It's been an amazing first year as a JET. I love my city of Ono, despite its drawbacks. I've made a lot of new friends who have made life in the inaka so much easier. I was able to contribute to my kids, and hopefully I helped make an impact on their lives. But those kids have also taught me a lot, and I'm very grateful for that.

I think we're about to land soon, so I'll make some more updates when I can. There's a lot to be talked about, so once again, sorry for the lack of updates in the past few weeks!

Strangers

2011-06-27T03:59:00.001-04:00

On my way home from work on Friday, I was waiting on my bike to cross the street, and a truck went by in the direction I had come from. It was pretty quick, but the driver honked his horn and said, "Hi," and I could only see for a split second that it was some black guy possibly in his 40s or 50s that I didn't know.

Confused, I ignored it and kept riding home, wondering if this guy was going to do what I thought he would. And I was right. About 3 minutes later, I'm riding up the hill, and from the corner of my eye I see this truck driving in the same direction, and he pulls over on the other side of the street to wait for me coming up the hill. As I pass him, he says, "Hi, excuse me," I turned my head in his direction and freaked, and decided to keep pedaling. He yells louder, "Excuse me!" but I ignored him.

A small part of me felt a bit rude, because he may have had an honest and legitimate question about directions or something. But I highly doubted that. If this guy needed directions, he would've slowed down the first time instead of honking and saying hello as he whizzed by me. From my experience though, I had a feeling that this guy probably wanted to ask me some personal questions, eventually leading to a "I think you're pretty, can we be friends?" type of thing. It's happened so many times, both in Japan and the US, and I absolutely hate it.

Besides, if he was some gaijin in Japan honestly looking to talk to other foreigners in the area, he probably shouldn't be trying to talk to a girl half his age on a bicycle during a hot summer afternoon. Who in the world wants to stop and talk to a stranger at a time like that?

Apple iPod Repair Outside of Your Home Country

2011-06-14T06:08:00.001-04:00

Just a few minutes ago I just sent my beloved iPod Touch off to [hopefully] be repaired by Apple. Just a mere day before its warranty was set to expire, I had discovered that my 1-year old iPod had a grey line of dead pixels on the screen:

The line shown in the picture is actually what it had grown to over a day and a half; it started out short and in the center and eventually grew longer towards the left side of the screen. I felt really lucky that this happened JUST before my warranty expired, but still somewhat upset that this kind of defect would happen after only a year. I had a bad experience with my old MacBook that I got in 2008, in which the screen failed after about a year and a half, just a few months out of warranty. Hopefully the same won't happen to my MacBook Pro, which is just outside of warranty (I contacted Apple about this because, unlike with my iPod Touch, I NEVER received an e-mail reminder that my warranty was about to expire, and I got them at the same time).

So after purchasing the AppleCare Protection plan for my iPod, I contacted Apple to set up a repair. I bought the iPod in the United States, but of course now I live in Japan. So what do you do when you don't live in the country from which an Apple product is purchased?

Here are two choices: You can go to the nearest Apple store (the nearest one for me is 1 1/2 hours away in Osaka and I'm not waiting until the weekend to go) or you can set up a repair online. For the latter, just follow these steps:

1. Go to Apple's Service and Repair page. Enter in your product's Serial # (this page will help you if you don't know how to find it) and then select the country in which you are currently living, and then click Continue.

2. Your product and Serial # will be displayed on the next page. Under it is a link that says "See your service and support coverage." This is where you can check your product's warranty status.

3. Next to the heading that says "Repairs and Service Coverage: [your product's status here]," there is a button that says "Set Up a Repair." If your product is under warranty, or if it is out of warranty and you don't care about any charges that will be incurred, then go ahead and click that button.

You should be able to follow along Apple's step-by-step process. The country you select at the beginning is important because it will be listed on the page where you enter your address. Also, the services available may vary depending on where you live. For example, when I chose "United States," I expected to receive an empty box in which I would pack my iPod to be sent. But when I went back and chose "Japan" as my country, Apple's website informed me that an actual person from a courier service will come to pick up my product, and that I can schedule the date and time period that I would like them to come. So I chose the next day between 6:00 and 9:00 in the evening.

After submitting my Repair request, my confirmation e-mail was written in Japanese, but when I clicked the link to my iPod's Repair status, the page was displayed in English. So if your confirmation e-mail comes up in another language and you're not sure of what it says, don't worry about it.

So for the next few days/weeks, I will be without my baby :( I plan on buying a new one with a camera within the next few months, but I still want my current iPod to be in good condition and under warranty in case I pass it on to someone else. I wonder if they'd mind that the back is engraved with "Proverbs 3:5-6" on it...

Forgetting Your Alien Registration Card ("Gaijin Card")

2011-06-08T17:44:00.001-04:00

This past weekend I went to Hiroshima to enjoy a Saturday night girugamesh concert. I really love the band; I'd have to say that they're up on the same level as L'Arc~en~Ciel as far as my favorite bands go. Even though the band was performing in the much-closer city of Osaka on Wednesday night, I decided to go for Hiroshima instead because it was on a Saturday, and I'd rather not try to rush right after work and commute 1 1/2 hours to Osaka on a school night.

So I got my stuff packed for the weekend and headed out on Saturday morning. It wasn't until after the hour-long ride to Shin-Kobe station, and then the 80 minute ride on the Shinkansen to Hiroshima, and then getting to the front desk of the hostel where I'd be staying...

...that I realized I had left my Alien Registration Card at home. -_-;

In most cases while in a foreign country, of course your passport is one of the most important things to carry with you. Of course, once you actually move to that country and receive an alien registration card (外国人登録証明書, gaikokujin touroku shoumeisho), you don't need to carry your passport with you on a regular basis. During my winter trip to Tokyo, I carried both since I was staying away from home for over a week.

But this would be just a weekend; I'd leave Saturday morning, stay one night, and come back Sunday evening. So I decided not to take my passport.

However, I had forgotten that, a few days before, I had taken my "gaijin card" out of my wallet to scan a copy of it for unrelated reasons. After I was done, I had completely forgotten to take it out of the scanner and put it back in my wallet.

Fortunately, the receptionist had no problem with me not having my card, and just asked if I had any other picture ID. I still had my Maryland state ID, so I just showed her that and she said OK. Whew!

After I got up to my room, I started getting ready for the concert at Namiki Junction. After looking at my ticket, I noticed at the bottom that it said I had to pay an additional 500 yen for a drink ticket when entering. Immediately I started feeling concerned about whether I'd be carded when going into the live house. I started thinking up possible explanations and was prepared to plead for them to let me in, showing them that I was of age AND that I wasn't here in Japan illegally--I had my Japanese health insurance card with my birthday but no picture; my state ID; and the envelope that contained my ticket with my current address on it.

I was a bit relieved after going to Namiki Junction's website and reading the venue policies. For late night lives, ID is required. But for the girugamesh concert starting at 6:00pm, the only note written was that children 6 and under weren't allowed. Obviously I'm of age so they wouldn't need ID for that.

Long story short, I got into the venue and enjoyed the concert with no problems whatsoever. But there were some things during the weekened that I passed on doing just in case I needed to have my gaijin card for it.

So the moral of the story is: Never leave home without your gaijin card. I know some people out there say, "Meh, I never carry it and I've never gotten into trouble," but I wouldn't advise that you try it. I've been carded randomly before, and besides, you'll still need it if you plan on doing other things like checking into other hotels/hostels, going to a host club, going to a nightclub, or--if you look really young for your age--being in a game center after certain hours. That last one has happened to me before, mainly because the friend I was with looks like she could be in middle school when she's actually turning 24 this year.

So yeah...that card is important.

...when I use Japanese online community sites.

2011-05-29T17:45:00.000-04:00

The screenshot from my last blog post was from a dating/friendship community known as JapanZone Friends.

I revived my profile on JapanZone Friends after what seems like years. All the discussions and topics about AMBW that I've been reading about lately drew me back to using the site. One of the reasons I quit before was because I wasn't meeting many Japanese guys (or Japanese people in general), but rather people from other countries. The other reason was because the options I had as a "free" member were VERY limited, and I wasn't going to pay money to become a VIP member.

But I've returned to the site, to do a bit of an experiment on whether I can easily find an "Ideal Match" (18 to 25-year old Japanese male open to dating or even becoming friends with a non-white, non-Japanese girl). So I restored my profile, uploaded a new picture, and edited my information (it still said that I was "hoping to go to Japan," lol). I added a Japanese translation of my English introduction message in hopes of encouraging more Japanese speakers to contact me.

After my profile got approved, I looked at "My Matches" (few of which looked interesting to me) and waited for some visitors and Smiles (which are kind of like Facebook Pokes). I got what I usually get when I use online dating/community sites: Middle-aged, non-Japanese men. I can't say there's anything wrong with these men, but I'm 22, and I would much prefer to have a guy in the same age range, and not closer to my dad's age (won't lie though, if Fukuyama Masaharu proposed to me I'd say yes :P)

Of the 55 visits to my profile that I've gotten so far (some of these are repeats), about 10% of them were from Japanese men in their 20s. Even fewer were in my 18 to 25 age range--about two or three. The rest were from men from other countries (I'm listed as being in Japan so they may have thought I was Japanese) and about half of them were ranged from 30 to 51.

But since visits don't necessarily mean anything other than the curiosity of seeing the rest of a person's profile, let's look at the smiles:

I have 22 smiles total. 3 of them are repeats, which makes 18 different individuals. 5 of those 18 smiles are from Japanese men. Of the 5 Japanese men, one of them is within my 18-25 range, but he didn't look very interesting; there was absolutely no spark from looking at his profile. Another guy, who is 30, looked pretty interesting and seemed like the type I could hang out with, so I sent a smile back to him. (He has yet to respond again.) Another smile was from a 32-year old who was only listed as being interested in language exchange-related activities and not dating, which was fine by me. I replied to him saying thank you, and he replied back introducing himself and saying he wanted to practice English.

I won't even go into chats--none of them were from Japanese men.

Am I trying to prove anything with these statistics? No, nothing other than the fact that these are the typical results that I get from sites like these. But I'm pretty sure it's a common case; I imagine that the population of men over 30 on these sites is fairly large. I also expect that a site focused on uniting Japanese and non-Japanese people will probably have less Japanese people and more people from other countries...there's a lot of different countries, whereas there's only one Japan. Not to mention that the online presence (not the mobile online presence) of Japanese people, aside from mixi and 2chan, is known to be pretty low. Finally, I may just be doing one single thing wrong: listing my country as "Japan." Even though that's where I live, it may be possible that the Japanese guys I'm looking for are looking for women who DON'T live in Japan, and the middle-aged men from other countries might think that I'm Japanese. I don't think the former is likely, but the latter might be.

What this proves is that even the Internet isn't an easy place to meet certain types of people. The best way to meet anyone is in person, but unfortunately it's not always easy. There's a lot of luck or fate involved, whichever you believe in. There's also money involved if you intend on traveling or paying to get full service from dating sites. It's probably easier if you're the "go-getter" type, but I'm not one of those because I'd rather wait for people to come to me, and then I get to decide whether I'm interested in that person or not. It's easier than for me to continue going after guys who are likely not interested in me because they didn't give me any special attention from the get-go, or guys whose kindness I've misinterpreted as interest. (See my YouTube video titled "I still don't understand Japanese guys." as well as the follow up from White Day.)

As I am finishing up this blog, I just received another smile...from a 42-year old in Germany. And I've also received a chat request from a 41-year old...who, needless to say, is not Japanese. Even if he was, it wouldn't matter...he'd still be 10 years younger than my dad. But if he was Fukuyama Masaharu...

So here are some questions:

Do you use JapanZone Friends or similar sites focused on international communication?
If you do, what kind of people do you tend to get contact from?
Why in the world do I get so many contacts from [much] older men, despite the fact that my "Ideal Match" obviously states that I'm looking for guys 18-25?

This is only the beginning, so should some additional activity come about, I'll write a follow-up.

This is what I get.

2011-05-29T09:37:00.001-04:00

I'll elaborate later, but for now just enjoy this little message I received on a dating/friendship/language exchange community:

The Rapture

2011-05-20T20:15:00.001-04:00

I made a final video for those of you who will be remaining on this earth after the Rapture. Please watch the whole thing before you make any judgments.

That being said, farewell. I'll try to make some last minute arrangements to have people take care of my possessions when I leave.

;)

ESL Games: Calendar Party (Based on Mario Party)

2011-05-18T17:40:00.001-04:00

No, it's not exactly a party with chips and dip, dancing and Spin the Bottle (do people still play that? I've never even done it).

I've heard of making board games out of calendars, but I wanted to add some elements to it to make it more interesting. Calendar Party (I came up with that name on a whim) is loosely based off of Mario Party for Nintendo. I won't explain how Mario Party works, but it's basically a board game involving the roll of a die (or dice).

I did this game for the first time just this morning with my sixth graders. I would recommend trying this game out only after you've gauged the English ability of your target class

So here's what I did:

1. I started with a blank calendar, with Sunday through Saturday written at the top:

With this you can use the calendar of any month and just write the dates in. I laminated it before putting in the dates so I can reuse it with dry-erase markers and change the calendar to a different month.

2. After your dates are in, you can make special spaces. I made plus and minus spaces that will allow players to advance or go back if they land on them. I also made a "Back to Start" space, which is usually assumed to be bad, except for in special cases (which I will explain later). Other spaces are quiz spaces. If a player lands on a quiz space, they have to answer an English-related question. I try to make them pretty simple since these are elementary school students we're talking about, but you're free to make the questions as easy or as difficult as you like.

3. In Mario Party, the #1 goal is to get as many stars as possible. There will be only one star on the board at a time, and the location will change every time a player/team reaches it. (In this case, I've decided to use an American penny, just to make the kids mesmerized before the game starts.)

So let's say the first "star" is placed on the 31st. The rule is simple: Get to the star before someone else does. Players/Teams will take turns rolling the die and trying to advance to the star, running into plus/minus spaces and quiz spaces on the way. Once a player/team reaches the star, that counts as a point for them. This doesn't mean the game is over (unless you're short on time, then you can make it over). When the star is reached, a new star will appear on the board, but in a different location.

How do we decide where the new star will be? Randomize it. Write numbers 1-31 on cards, then put them all in a bag and pull one out without looking inside the bag. Whatever number that is, the new star will be in that space. It could be right in front of another player, beyond reach of everyone in a single die roll, behind a player...who knows.

4. Deciding who goes first. Players/teams will draw a number from the bag, and the order will go from the team with the highest number to the team with the lowest number. I considered the roll of a die or doing group Janken the way my students usually do, but that takes more time.

5. There's one more rule, based on a previous version of Mario Party (Nintendo's up to 8 so I don't even remember which one it was): If a player/team advances and lands on a spot where another player is, those two have to battle it out! The easiest thing to do as a battle is to do Janken (Rock, Paper, Scissors).

So let's say Orange is on the 13th of the calendar. Red is behind, but rolls and moves enough spaces to land in the same spot. Red and Orange now have to play Janken. The winner gets two choices:

"SWITCH": Choose any player on the board and switch places with them.
"BACK": The winner rolls the die, and the loser must move back the designated number of spaces.

There are some conditions to this "shared space" rule. If a player is on a plus/minus space and advances/moves back to the same spot where someone else is, there is no battle. That's just to reduce the amount of times teams have to play Janken, which can really slow things down if it happens too often. Also, sharing a space as a result of switching/being switched does not count as a Janken battle.

6. So where's the English? In the quiz spaces, which I mentioned before. Also, when each player/team advances spaces, I would encourage getting everyone to recite the English date names written in the calendar (2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc.). You can also replace the "shared space" Janken with a quick quiz question instead.

Those are pretty much the only rules I have for now. This game is very flexible, so you can add/remove/change all kinds of things for this game. It's still very much in "beta" version, as I literally came up with this Mario Party thing about an hour before class (though I had been thinking of doing a board game since last week). When I come up with more ideas I'll add them. Also, if you have any suggestions or questions, feel free to let me know!

Asian Guys and Black Women

2011-05-16T04:14:00.002-04:00

Over the weekend I was doing a borderline obsessive search on the Internet for anything related to Asian men and Black women in interracial relationships (otherwise known as AMBW). The biggest question I had in my mind was, "Why is it that I've met so few Asian men willing to date a woman of color?"

I had answers to that question going through my head, but I didn't want to believe them. One explanation is that perhaps some Asian men, either consciously or subconsciously, find Black women (and women who are otherwise darker than they are) to be not good enough. They see the beauty in an Asian woman, and they'll definitely see it in a White woman, but Black women are simply "not for them."

I had an experience in high school in which I had a crush on a Korean guy in my history class for almost a year. He was very kind to me despite how persistent I was, and he seemed to generally care about me as a friend. My Korean half felt some sort of connection with him, and I seriously thought I wanted this guy. But one day, I finally asked him, "Why is it that you're not interested in me?"

His answer was that I wasn't a "pure Korean." I took this as meaning that I was tainted, and thus undesirable to someone--a 100% Korean--like him. (I should also mention that he wasn't even born IN Korea, so that makes him Korean American :P)

I got over him very quickly after that. On top of that, he was a bit of a Korean nationalist and horribly racist against Japan (he kept it to himself unless the topic of Japan came up, which was often brought up by me since I was studying Japanese). He had friends of different races throughout high school, but he would only ever think of dating a Korean. And I don't count.

That incident really messed me up. From that point, my interest in Korean guys slowly faded, and my interest in everything else Korean started to fade as well. I heard about racism in Korea against halfs, including with Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward. I remember seeing his story a few years ago after the Super Bowl about how he was picked on in South Korea simply for being mixed, and then suddenly when the Steelers win the Super Bowl, Korea suddenly have pride in him as if he was theirs. This attitude absolutely disgusted me. Don't take this the wrong way though--in no way am I ashamed of being Korean. I love that my mom is not like that Korean guy back in high
school; she doesn't feel any resentment towards my choice of studying Japanese, or the fact that I'm living here. And I know there are other Koreans who would think the same way. I want to believe that the alleged negativity and racism in Korea is only the minority, and that the rest of the country is okay. I guess I have to go and see for myself. My interest in going has waned, and at this point I feel I would only want to go if my mom came with me.

Anyway, it was because of this Korean guy that I started to become aware that interactions between Asian guys and Black girls was rarer than it should be, and I feared that it was because Asians (and pretty much everyone else in the world) generally looked down on Blacks.

I've been told that being half-Korean gives me more of a chance, but I don't believe that's true at all. A lot of people will probably "one-drop rule" me in their minds: I'm half-Black, so therefore I should be counted as just Black, even if it's a total giveaway that I'm not 100% Black.

And this is why I was searching for information on AMBW, even though I'm half. I can much better relate to Black women that are struggling to find Asian guys open to dating other races (other than White). I know they are out there, but I wish it was easier for me to find them.

In the AMBW Facebook communities, the Black women pretty much always outnumber the Asian men. Whenever an Asian guy posts something in the group, they are welcomed by quite a few women. But when a Black woman posts in the group, where are all the Asian men?

Just look at this 2009 blog from OKCupid. Black women get shunned not only by Asian men, but by men of every race. It's sad. You can say it's the fault of the Black girls (not mature enough to be called 'women') who reinforce the stereotype of being loud and obnoxious, but it's also the fault of people who believe in those stereotypes. And it's the fault of the media (I blame the media for everything, really) for portraying Black women in such a way.

We need to stop eating up stereotypes on TV and actually interact with people. Ignorant people will just sit back and believe that all people of a certain race are more or less the same. Slightly less ignorant people will try to talk to one or two people of a certain race, and if they fit the stereotype that person will sit back and say, "See? I was right." Open-minded people will treat others on an individual basis, and will still believe that there are people who go against the stereotype.

I'm working on blocking out my experience with that one Korean guy, because I know there are Koreans that do not share his racist views. I'm also hoping to meet more guys in Japan that are open-minded.

I'll end this lengthy blog post with a quote from a Japanese girl I found in Japan Zone:

"I like a guy who can play some music instruments and never say 'I love all Japanese girls.'"

I only hope that people will keep an open mind, and to try and look beyond race. Congratulations if you got that dream girl or guy of the race you so desired, but remember that it's their character that is more important, not their skin color. I'm not interested in the hip-hop loving Asian dude trying to get with any Black girl and treat her like some kind of "trophy." I'm not interested in the Black guy who only wants me because I look "exotic." And I want all women to love their guy (or future guy) for who he is, not because he's a "hot [insert race here] guy."

I wanted to make a YouTube video about this, but I haven't yet figured out how to express my thoughts properly.

The Death of a Terrorist.

2011-05-03T23:37:00.001-04:00

I found out about Osama Bin Laden's death after coming home from a picnic outing with my 2nd and 4th graders on Monday. At that point, the news of his slaying was only just a few hours old, but anyone who was up late that night in the US definitely saw it.

My first reaction was shock. For almost ten years, we had been searching for this man, or RATHER, we sent thousands of troops over to the Middle East to ignite a "War on Terrorism," which is really a war on winning control of the Middle East, thus gaining control of foreign oil supply. The search for Bin Laden was just a backstory much forgotten amid the reports of troop deaths, civilian deaths, reporter deaths, fallen ally deaths.

No doubt, Bin Laden's death shocked billions around the world. I saw reports of Americans celebrating in the streets, chanting that ultra-patriotic chant of, "USA! USA!" And at first I was happy to see the coming together of American citizens in joy, as opposed to continuous complaints about the economy, health care, stupid politicians, and how disappointed everyone was in Obama.

But as time passed, I began to realize how messed up everything really is. America is celebrating the death of a human being--yes, a sick, evil-doing human being, but a human being nonetheless. Once upon a time, humans were supposed to be on the same side. Purely coming from my Christian perspective, it was God and man versus Satan. We were all created as God's children, every single one of us. I celebrate coming a step closer to eliminating terrorism--if that's what the demise of Bin Laden means--but I will not celebrate his death.

I agree with the idea that a dangerous man is probably better off dead, rather than have him continue to plot the killings of more innocent people. But isn't it pretty messed up that the elimination of ONE MAN cost us thousands of American soldiers, millions of Muslims, and billions of dollars?

Will this celebration and American pride change the way some Americans think about Muslims? Can we stop discriminating against them for stupid reasons, which we never should have been doing in the first place?

I'd love to say so, but that's not the case. Osama Bin Laden's death means next to nothing. People will continue to die, one way or another. Al Qaeda is still out there. Other enemies exist and will arise. The economy is still crap. People still don't have jobs. We will still have to go to work in the morning.

To celebrate Bin Laden's death is one thing. I can imagine a feeling of relief for someone who lost loved ones as a result of his evil doings. But then there are the insults, the jokes about him being shot in the eye, the desire to see photos of his body, probably just to get a kick out of seeing him dead rather than to confirm that he really DID die. For that reason I didn't particularly enjoy watching Monday's episodes of The Daily Show and The Colbert Report. I thought it was pretty classless, but anything for ratings, right? Except I'm pretty sure Stewart and Colbert were on the side of extreme excitement.

On the other side of the fence, I'll say that cheering when an enemy has fallen is nothing new. Ever played Dynasty Warriors? ;)

I believe the U.S. made the right choice burying Bin Laden's body at sea, as opposed to going old school by beheading him and bringing the severed head to President Obama, which would be all the proof of his death that we need (but not necessarily want--that's gross).

All I wish is for people to show some class. Hide your excitement and
show respect for the troops and the Navy SEALs who carried out the
operation. And to the other side, don't be too hard on those celebrating. Just focus on what you're doing, and don't put yourselves on some kind of pedestal just because you're reacting "the right way."

Wacom Tablet!

2011-04-26T20:09:00.000-04:00

Yesterday the Wacom tablet that I ordered came in. I paid for it by COD. (Yeah, Japan does cash-on-delivery!)

The one I ordered is the medium-sized Bamboo Comic. While I was researching to figure out which one I should buy, I only learned that the Bamboo Comic comes with illustration software, and is only sold in Japan. Once I got my tablet and looked on the back of it, I learned another thing: It's actually a Bamboo Fun. The "Comic" part merely describes the tablet + software package. So to all of you out there wondering whether you should get a Bamboo Fun or go through the trouble of getting the Comic, I advise you to not go through the trouble getting the Comic (unless you live in Japan, then there's no trouble at all).

The other odd thing is that on Amazon (where I bought it), The Bamboo Comic is cheaper than the Bamboo Fun of the same size, despite the fact that the Comic has the illustration software AND came out last year, as opposed to the Fun which came out in 2009 (my guess is that there are no mechanical differences, one just comes with stuff and the other doesn't). But whatever. My tablet amounted to about 14,000 yen (about $170 USD), including the cost of COD service. The Bamboo Fun of the same size seems to be around 16,000 yen at the least.

I had fun playing around with it yesterday that I didn't even turn on my 360 to play Dynasty Warriors 7 (shocker!!). I've done some doodling and posted it in my DeviantArt scrapbook, and I also tried the Handwriting feature to write a few IMs to a friend. Of course when typing is faster it's a bit pointless to write, but it's fun to do anyway. It takes a bit of getting used to, but I'm very satisfied with it so far. Here's a little sample of some Kanji I wrote:

I didn't write the "Sooyong" or "SCHIZO-ALIAS," but you can see how the tablet enables me to make smooth strokes in the Kanji that resemble the font I used for that text.

I'm going to keep practicing, but I still prefer to draw on paper. However, this tablet will make coloring my images a lot easier and less tiring.

This blog entry is not about my apartment.

2011-04-04T21:18:00.000-04:00

Sorry I haven't updated my blog in a while. I've been busy working on decorating the apartment, hanging out with friends, and adjusting to the new school year.

On the first of April, certain teachers leave and transfer to different schools (in most cases), and new teachers come in. I had a chance to meet and get aquainted with the new teachers at my Mon-Thurs-Fri school, but at my Tues-Wed school I didn't get to say goodbye to anyone because I wasn't there (I took last Monday through Wednesday off for a 5-day weekend). I also didn't get to see any new teachers until today.

At this school, hardly anyone left, but a lot has changed. The old vice principal is gone, as well as the school assistant (who made me feel comfortable only because she was often as clueless as I was about things) and saddest of all, one of the former 4th grade teachers who was also my English supervisor. She was really awesome, and teaching her class was the ONLY time that I did the job that I actually applied for; that is, an assistant language teacher and not THE English teacher. She led most of the class and called for me to serve as a demonstrator and English consultant, which is what middle and high school ALTs do. Of course, I didn't mind being THE teacher, but while I had to frantically think of what to do with each of my classes at different grade levels, I could at least rest assured that for the two fourth grade classes, I could relax and give the reins to my supervisor, who did a wonderful job.

She asked me at the end of last semester, "Do you have any advice for me?" and I told her, "Actually, I think you did a perfect job." I couldn't think of anything at the time, because all I could recall was how well her classes went and how much her students learned, even without me talking at them in English like I do with my other classes. I guess now that I think of it, she could probably let the ALT use just a little bit more English, but that's actually what SHE praised ME about. She said that she was very pleased that I would often say more in English than I was asked to say, which was different from other ALTs that she worked with in the past.

Anyway, she was really great, and from now for at least four months before I transfer in August, I'll have to carry on without her. I think I might know who my new supervisor is, but I haven't been told yet.

This blog was definitely supposed to be about my apartment interior decoration...I had it titled "My Apartment" and then realized I had been talking about my English supervisor for two paragraphs. Oops. So the apartment blog entry will come later.

Graduation Day

2011-03-24T20:22:00.002-04:00

On Wednesday I attended my first elementary school graduation as an ALT. It was kind of sad that I could only attend one of them, since they were held on the same day. Fortunately it was the school with the 6th graders that I knew and got along better with over the past few months.

The graduation ceremony, as with any other Japanese ceremony, was very formal and systematic. I think most Americans witnessing one of these events would think that it was a very 'boring' and 'tense' atmosphere.

From the time the graduates started coming in, everyone applauded until the entire class reached their seats. The procession was very precise, from the way they walked in to the way they turned to walk in a different direction and so forth. Once the class came in, the applause stopped and that would be one of the few times you would hear clapping for the rest of the ceremony.

The students--especially the girls--looked so wonderful all dressed up. The cuteness of the girls in their ruffly plaid skirts, dark blazers and cute hairstyles would put AKB48 to shame. One girl, who's a bit of a tomboy, came in wearing a gray suit with slack shorts down to her knees. Some of the boys were already wearing their junior high school uniforms (I love those high collar jackets!). I had wished that I was graduating with them!

Unlike most ceremonies in the U.S., speeches did not come until after the awarding of the diplomas. I'm used to having to sit through a number of long speeches before getting to them, so I was surprised when the diplomas were the very first thing on the list. While most people in the U.S. would end up applauding after every single name called (unless there was an announcement NOT to do so), here it was simply expected to remain silent as each person stepped up to collect their diploma. After that, there were two speeches, one from the principal and the other from the head of the PTA. After the principal's speech, there was a video of a congratulations from Japanese baseball player Saito Yuuki. I was pretty impressed that they got him to make a video message, and I wasn't sure if it was just typical of Japanese elementary school graduations or if it had something to do with the fact that the principal's son is a sports anchor for Fuji TV in Tokyo.

In addition to the parents, school-related officials, and staff, other attendees included the 4th and 5th graders. They were responsible for helping to set up, as well as singing a song for the students and collectively reciting a farewell speech to them. I realized how important it was for them to be there, because the three grades will be together once more when they all enter middle school. The sempai-kouhai ("upperclassman-lowerclassman") relationship in school is very important in Japan, from the very beginning all the way through high school. When I was in elementary school, I never really knew any of the students above or below me, except for my brother who was three grades ahead of me and the kids who lived in my neighborhood.

Towards the end was a slideshow of the 6th graders with photos of them from 1st grade all the way up to now. Since teachers rotate schools so often after 3 to 6 years, I was wondering if any of the staff was even here during the graduates' first two years at the school. As the slideshow went on, each of the students narrated part of a speech about their memories at the school, field trips and the like.

At this small school, where there is only one class per grade (with the exception of the current 4th graders, in which there are two), I realized that this class of 32 graduates had been together every single year, and friendships were probably very tight. Unlike with my school--which was probably four times the size of this one--and even many other schools here in Ono and the rest of Japan, these kids didn't have to think about who was and wasn't going to be in their class the next year. It was always them from the beginning. As I watched the slideshow, I sort of envied these kids, but not for long. I ended up going to three different elementary schools, with one friend remaining by the time transferred to my third school in 5th grade. By 6th grade graduation, I felt fortunate that I had made so many friends in such a short time, and that they didn't treat me like an outsider just because I didn't know them for as long. Some of these people I met in 5th and 6th grade are still my friends today.

As for that one friend I had left when I moved, she has been my best friend for the past 16 years. I had realized after I moved that I really didn't feel like I was truly friends with anyone at my first school. I was well-known throughout each grade, but it was only for being somewhat of a teacher's pet. I ended up not keeping in touch with any of those people, but my best friend had faithfully called me and wrote letters all the way up until internet and then driving became accessible for us.

Anyway, that's beside the point. The point is that these 32 kids have been exclusively together for so long up to now. This will change when they enter middle school, since they'll be mingling with the kids from my other school (at least; I'm not sure if there are any other kids going to that middle school).

After the slideshow, the kids sang a song in front of the stage, and then thanked the staff for taking care of them, and that's when their teacher surprised them by telling them that we the staff were going to sing a song for them in return. As we began the song, I looked at some of the students and some of them looked pretty surprised and were smiling. Then after we were done, the 6th graders sang one more song before the ceremony ended. The very end of the ceremony was probably the most unusual part ('unusual' as in different from America): After everything was over, the vice-principal just said "The graduation ceremony will now come to a close!" and there was absolute silence and stillness, with the exception of the mechanic sound of the stage curtain lowering automatically.

After that, the students proceeded out of the gym as we all applauded once more, which was just like my own graduation. One thing I'm glad I did have was the after-graduation party at school. I think these kids all went home with their parents and then probably had a nice dinner at some restaurant, which is cool too.

A Few Comments on the Situation in Japan.

2011-03-18T00:53:00.001-04:00

I've been keeping up with news coverage on the Japan earthquake, tsunami, and now nuclear crisis since it happened, pretty much from the time I wake up to the time I go to sleep.

Things have been normal out where I live, in the Western part of Japan's main island. I've been going to work, and the students have been coming to school. I was in Kobe on Sunday and everything seemed normal, with the exception of people standing on street corners asking for donations to help the victims of this disaster.

While humor in the light of a dark moment can be good, there are some things that are simply not okay.

For one, anyone who says this crisis was "payback for Pearl Harbor" are uneducated and just outright ignorant. Uneducated because obviously you weren't paying attention in history class when your teacher was telling you about the a-bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki during WWII. You also weren't paying attention to any incident occurring in the U.S. (ex. 9/11, Hurricane Katrina) in which Japan helped US out. Ignorant because obviously not all citizens of Japan were responsible for what a few military officials decided to do. You guys are the same idiots who think that all Muslims are tied to terrorism.

Next, with that douchebag writer from Family Guy, Gilbert Gottfried and that rapper who isn't worth the two U.S. quarters in his name. How about instead of making jokes, you actually donate some money to help out? By the way, none of those jokes were funny; not only because this is a huge tragedy we're talking about, but also because they weren't clever in the least.

I'm watch TV and see Japanese people talking to the camera, asking for contact from their families and friends, looking for people who are still missing, and grieving. Smiles and laughter are good, but not when they are at the cost of someone's loss or tragic misfortune. Have a heart--think about how you would feel if you were in this situation. I'm not saying be depressed 24/7 either. But making fun of tragedy is tasteless, childish (though even children would be more mature than that) and insensitive.

Next, for the scores of people overseas who are either worried about getting overseas radiation or about people living in other areas of Japan. Take the time to read this note that someone named Paul Atkinson wrote on Facebook about the current situation. In short, even in the WORST case scenario, the radiation is highly unlikely to spread as far as areas like China, California, and India. In fact, even Tokyo is not quite at risk as people make it out to be (though I completely understand evacuating that area for safety measures). Iodine pills in California is just plain ridiculous. It's kind of sad how hysterical people will get about what they hear, instead of seeking more information about the facts of the situation. I understand the concern, but asking people who live all the way in Western Japan to come home is not necessary. Demanding exchange students to come home is one thing, but cancelling study abroad programs not happening for another several weeks is not necessary.

My own parents are concerned about me and have been contacting me frequently, but I am happy that they are actually listening to what I have to say and that they aren't demanding that I come home because of something that just happens to be in the same country. Japan is small, but it is not microscopic. A disaster of Chernobyl proportions (which this is NOT) would prompt me to leave. But not this.

This "come home, U.S. is safer than Japan" attitude irks me a bit. I know that those who were living in the eastern region have made a perfectly fine choice by going home to the U.S. temporarily. But rest assured that other regions of Japan are okay, and should someone make the decision to relocate to the west instead of going home, please respect their choice and continue to support them. We are not ignorant to the situation. In fact, I'm sure a lot of us living in Japan is probably researching the news even more than you are. I have been doing so from dawn until dusk (except for when I'm teaching classes of course) and that is why I feel assured about my own safety.

Those of you in Cali, if you just bought a ton of potassium iodide supplements, you have wasted your time and money. Or while you're at it, you can go ahead and put plastic wrap and duct tape on your windows and doorcracks to seal yourself inside the house, free of radiation and eventually free of oxygen :)

Last thing I'll say is, if you care about the situation and want Eastern Japan to get back on its feet quickly, donate some money at http://www.redcross.org/ or http://www.globalgiving.org/.

Using my cell phone (WAON) to pay for things.

2011-03-01T21:25:00.000-05:00

Some of you may have heard the stories of people in Japan using their cellphone to pay for groceries, as a train pass, and buying drinks from a vending machine. When I moved to Japan for the second time, I decided that I was going to take advantage of as many things as my phone had to offer.

Pretty much all Japanese cellphones these days have a function called "Osaifu Keitai" (wallet cellphone), which uses the Sony Mobile Felica IC touch reading system. The Felica symbol looks like this:

Now, let's talk about WAON. I first learned about WAON when visiting a grocery store in Ono, and figured it was just some membership to rack up points while grocery shopping. I didn't intend on using WAON, but then while looking for mobile applications to use with my cellphone, I found a WAON app, so I decided to try it out. At AEON-affiliated stores, they offer a lot of deals for WAON users, so I figured it would help me out if I started using it now for the time that I'm in Japan.

I will explain how I set up my phone (REGZA T004 with au by KDDI) to use WAON. If you have Softbank or NTT DoCoMo and want to try this, I can't really help you in detail but the procedure might be similar. Also, please learn some Japanese if you can't really read that much, unless you're like me and know how to figure things out without knowing what certain Kanji mean.

The first thing I did was download the WAON app. When you launch the app for the first time, you'll see an explanation of Mobile WAON and JMB Mobile WAON. If I'm not mistaken, JMB WAON will give you Mileage points instead of WAON points. Scroll down past this message and select which WAON service you want to register (I'm assuming you want the regular Mobile WAON).

When you get to the application page, fill in your name (last name first, of course) using Katakana in both the Kanji and Kana fields. It also asks for your phone number, e-mail address, and I think your residential address as well. Once all of the fields are filled in, confirm it. You may or may not get a confirmation e-mail of some sort; I didn't get one on my phone even though I turned off the mail filter temporarily.

The next part took me a bit of time to figure out. If you end up exiting the app right after registration, when you launch the app again it'll start all over and make you think that your registration didn't go through (it actually did). So once you register, proceed to your nearest WAON チャージャー (not WAON ステーション), which is likely at an AEON-affiliated department store. The thing about Mobile WAON is that, unlike with WAON cards, you can't charge it with money via credit card (you probably don't have a Japanese credit card anyway), so you have to charge it with cash.

Charging is easy. At the WAON Charger, you just follow the directions on the screen. Place your phone on the Felica symbol and the machine will read it, and tell you that you have 0 yen and 0 points if it's your first time. It'll then ask how you want to charge, cash (現金) or credit card. Choose cash, start inserting as much money as you want. The last time I used the charger, it was only letting me put in one bill at a time, so I had to charge it three times to put in 3000 yen. I think the max is 20,000 yen, I think in the span of a month. When you're finished, press the blue 入金 button. You'll get a receipt and you're done. If you want to check your WAON balance, just open the WAON app and it'll show you.

Using the WAON reader to pay is also very simple. If you're at a cashier, just tell them that you're using WAON to pay, and then touch your phone to the Felica machine. When you hear the sound of a dog's bark (hence the name "waon") it means the transaction went through. Congratulations! You've just made a purchase using your cell phone.

Of course, you can also buy a WAON card, which costs 300 yen and requires no registration. And if you're ever concerned about not having enough money on your card, you can charge right there at the register--just ask the cashier. Yesterday I bought a few items for the apartment, and noticed a sign on the counter about charging the card before making a purchase. So I asked the cashier, and she just asked how much money I wanted to put on it. Then I made my purchase, and voila! I ended up not going home with my items.

Why?

Because they were too big for me to load onto my bike ^_^ So I asked to have them delivered to my apartment. The items were a metal rack for the kitchen, a black curtain, and a cushion for the couch. The box and the cushion were just too big for me to even want to try carrying them home on a Monday night.

So anyway, that's WAON. There are other similar payment services such as Nanaco and Edy. If you're familiar with Suica, ICOCA, and other smart cards for the train and other stores, WAON is just as simple. If you have any specific questions, feel free to ask. Next I want to try mobile Suica, but since Suica is mainly for Eastern Japan, I can't really use it right now. I already have a Suica card anyway so I'm not even sure if I need it.

Chocolate Car.

2011-02-20T01:21:00.001-05:00

I made a 2D car out of chocolate and icing for a co-worker. Let's just say I wanted to show my appreciation for his kindness. It was a follow-up to a card with a message in English that I should've known would be misunderstood: "Will you be my Valentine?"

So in response he said that he wanted to get to know me as a friend first. He was even nice enough to write a response to me in English accompanying his verbal reply, probably thinking that I can't read Japanese (or something along those lines).

So, leaving work, I felt really embarrassed about such a miscommunication that could have easily been avoided on my part. So while I was at my other school on Tuesday and Wednesday, I wrote a letter in Japanese clarifying that I know we don't know each other very well, that I appreciate him as a friend, and that if the car I made was too sweet, he didn't have to eat it.

I gave him the letter on Friday after his students' English lesson, and told him that, in America, "Valentine" doesn't necessarily mean "lover" or boyfriend," depending on the relationship, and that in some cases it means "special person" or even just a good friend. I asked him if he thought I meant "boyfriend," and he said he did, which is why he was so shocked. So I apologized and told him to read my letter whenever he had time. He was busy for the rest of the day, so I take it he'll have read it over the weekend, and maybe even write me a response (which I told him to write in Japanese if he was going to write anything at all).

Oh, the joys of intercultural miscommunication.

Students and Discipline (or Lack Thereof)

2011-02-18T03:45:00.001-05:00

I could've cried today. My first 3rd grade class of the day...they are the reason why I do not want kids. I had to summon all my willpower to keep from exploding. Normally, if I shout once, that's all I need to keep any class quiet. No, not this time, especially because their teacher wasn't there...not even a substitute. I would say, "QUIET!" in English or Japanese, whichever came to mind and reached my lips first. I would hit the chalkboard with my pointing stick (which I smacked so hard that it got bent) and less than five minutes later they would start talking again. It did not help that my supervisor came in halfway through the class and criticized the game I was teaching them (which was my fault because I should've remembered that the class at my other school are actually very good kids and are capable of playing the game, and that this class doesn't have the discipline to do the same). But maybe, just maybe, if she had GIVEN me a lesson to teach them like she usually does every week, we wouldn't have had that problem. And even as I was telling her that it wasn't just the game, but the fact that these kids don't behave, she just kept talking about what I was doing wrong. I bit my tongue and bottom lip so hard that it could've started bleeding.

Fortunately...class ended 45 minutes after it started. And my other 3rd grade class (and their teacher) came in. And they're good kids...noisy when they get to play a game, but it's productive noise.

But I understand why teachers blow up and even throw things when they get frustrated. Because that's exactly what I wanted to do. I wanted to throw a chair at the window. I wanted to take all the noisy kids out of the classroom and send them somewhere else, and just let the quiet kids stay.

I have all of the sympathy in my heart for Natalie Munroe and her frustration with her high school students. In my case, I know we're only talking about little 3rd graders, but I know how she feels when students don't want to cooperate, participate, and would rather do anything other than participate in class. I don't know who's to blame. Overall class behavior seems to be a reflection of the teacher's personality and level of strictness among other things. But are they like this all the time? Even at home with their parents?

So many parents spoil their kids too much, and they believe that teachers are supposed to be eternally patient angels, even if students disrespect them and try to treat them like doormats. Which, of course, students never disrespect anyone, because "my baby would neva do that; no, not MY child. MY child knows how to behave." Reality check: Your child is not perfect, and if you truly believe that it's always everyone else's fault and not the fault of your child, then you suck as a parent.

JET Interviews: One Year Later.

2011-02-09T07:44:00.001-05:00

I've read from Facebook statuses and tweets on Twitter that callbacks for 2011 JET Interviews have started. So far I've seen more people talking about rejection than being accepted, and then complaints from people who didn't make the cut.

Now I'm not part of the JET selection committee, but I think there might be a few misconceptions of how they choose people. Someone who didn't make it probably wouldn't want to hear anything from someone who DID make it and is in Japan right now, so if you happen to be one of those people and are easily offended or not in a good mood, don't continue reading this.

First off, I don't know the exact criteria for choosing people who get interviews, and then people who get in from there. This is only my opinion, based on who I've seen not accepted and my own experience going through the interview process.

1. I've heard of people who have lots of teaching experience (especially foreign language teaching experience), certified in some level of the JLPT, and have lived in Japan for X number of months/years who have gotten rejected. It's possible that those people are overqualified. Before coming here, I had zero teaching experience, no JLPT certification, and lived in Tokyo for 11 months. In my opinion, JET isn't looking for English teachers--they're looking for people to teach English. In middle school and high school, English teachers (called "Japanese Teachers of English," or JTE) already exist, and they're looking for a non-Japanese person to enrich the learning process. Not to say that people who don't get in aren't capable of enrichment. If you're overqualified, chances are you are capable of getting a job other than with JET. Also, if you stated in your application that you have applied to other jobs, that might be another contributing factor. At the time that I applied for JET--just like with college applications--I only had one. I was going to wait until I got rejected to start looking at other jobs, especially because I was still in school at the time so I knew I'd have a few more months to keep looking.

2. It's not true that JET only hires weeaboos and otaku and J-Pop fangirls. I'll be the first to admit that I DO watch anime from time to time and my library consists mostly of Japanese music, but I am FAR from the aforementioned categories. There are people who are interested in other Japanese things, and then there are people who don't know much about Japan at all and are looking for something new. Personally I wouldn't want to hire one of those foreigners who know ZERO Japanese, knows NOTHING about Japan, and just applied "'cuz they felt like it." I don't know if anyone like that has been hired, but I'm sure somewhere in the crowd of ALTs there is someone like that.

3. Maybe you weren't what they were looking for--literally. JET is no beauty contest of course, but I think they're looking for what they believe is the image of an ALT, not only as an instructor, but as a representative from overseas, a mentor, a neighbor, and a member of the community. One of the things that most people know about JET is that ALTs and CIRs end up doing things unrelated to their job, such as joining clubs, teaching extra classes in the community, and writing short columns in the community newsletter. I don't know how they determine who best fits that mold, gets an interview, and then nominated, but JET involves more than just teaching. I will say that looks are definitely not everything, as I once saw a REALLY tall and significantly heavy dude (sweat was visible in more places on his body than I wanted to see at Tokyo Orientation) who was nominated to be a high school ALT...I imagined Japanese kids snickering behind his back about his looks but maybe that's not actually the case.

4. Simply put, you might have done something wrong on your application, or it may have gotten there too late. JET says that any incomplete or late applications will not be considered, and that's that. With three copies pof the application and all the official documents in the world (okay, it's really like three or something like that), if you're not careful you may end up missing something that's supposed to be in that envelope to the Embassy. If I remember correctly, they aren't going to tell you that you're missing something, so you may not know for sure whether that really was the case. As for me, I checked millions of times (okay, maybe like ten times) to make sure I wasn't missing anything. Luckily, since I lived in the D.C. area, all I needed to do was take a train into Washington and hand deliver my application to the Embassy the day it was due. If you're not so lucky, I would suggest getting the necessary documents well in advance. The JET Program website always posts the list of required documents well before they post the actual application, to make sure you have a fair amount of time.

So that's what I can say about JET. The key point in my statement included with my application was that being a JET in Japan was not simply about teaching language, but about sharing culture with Japanese people. It is not just about you being the giver and the students being receivers; it's about cultural exchange. Living in Tokyo for about a year, I didn't think there was really much else for me to learn about living in Japan. And yet here I am, six months and a week after I got on the plane from Reagan National Airport, and I've learned so much already, from everyday life, from teachers, and even from my own students.

I'm sure not getting making it through the JET process is a learning experience as well. People whine and complain about getting in, and it's some of those same people who say things like, "Well I don't really like kids anyway," and, "But I ended up getting hired by [some other company]." JET is NOT the only way to go, so if you don't make it, it's not the end of the world, and if you were going to give up that easily, maybe your lack of perseverance was just another reason for you not to be chosen. On the opposite end of the spectrum, just because you didn't get into JET does not make JET "retarded" or "stupid." It's okay to be disappointed, but ego inflation is just making yourself look like a conceited jerk.

Am I doing too much?

2011-02-09T07:43:00.001-05:00

The 5th grade teacher at my smaller school seems concerned with the lesson that the class is working on this month. The students are supposed to be working in pairs, interviewing each other using the questions we learned over the semester, and then presenting that person in a speech (basically a lesson on 3rd person). Sounds simple, and to me it seems like something a 5th grader can do, especially if I give them half of the speech already written down in a template.

And yet, the class seemed to have trouble understanding what to do. Their teacher was saying that it seems difficult for them and that they don't even learn that kind of grammar in middle school. But how hard is it to understand "he" and "she"? The 4th graders at my other school are going to introduce members of their family. My supervisor at this school, who is one of the 4th grade teachers, taught her class "he" and "she." I think it may be a challenge to pick up, but I'm sure they can do it. Even so, maybe I've done more than what I needed to do.

Interior Decorating

2011-02-05T12:34:00.001-05:00

I've been wanting to decorate ever since I moved here, but never found the time to go shopping and buy stuff. Then recently my friend D showed me this decorating magazine with a lot of good ideas, and it's inspired me to start planning some looks for my apartment. It never even occurred to me that, since I can't paint the walls, I can tack fabric up instead.

What I've also decided to do is to really think outside of the box. I don't have to limit wall decorations to just posters, but instead hang up all kinds of items to create a really interesting look. So far I've put up a girugamesh muffler towel and a belt that I never wear. Needless to say, I'm going for a punk/visual kei design, using black, white and red.. My challenge is going to be finding the things that I've envisioned in my mind, like patterned fabrics that fit my style.

The living room is going to be first to be decorated. Next will probably be the bathroom, and then the bedroom. For the bathroom, I've considered a few options: Taking pages from J-Rock magazines and covering the walls with them; going to visit a host club or two and take a look at their bathrooms (it's been a while since I visited one); or going for ultra-kawaii with Hello Kitty. I'm leaning towards one of the first two...I think it would be very amusing to have pictures of hosts in the bathroom!

Hopefully I'll get to start shopping during Spring Break in March, and finish designing the living room by May.

Grading Papers

2011-02-02T21:20:00.002-05:00

Last week at one of my schools (the one where my supervisor makes mediocre lessons), the 4th, 5th and 6th graders started writing practice worksheets for the first time since I got there in August. I had the 6th and 5th graders hold onto their worksheets, but when I told the 4th graders that what they didn't finish would be for homework, it seems that two of the three homeroom teachers wanted them to finish earlier than this coming Friday. I don't know if they just wanted them to be completed in a timely fashion, or if they wanted the students to get them out of the way so they could do more "important" stuff like math and social studies homework...or something.

Anyway, those two teachers gave me their students' completed papers. One teacher just put the stack on my desk, but the other teacher actually communicated with me a bit, and asked me how I was doing after about an hour of checking. We had a nice little talk about the writing differences among some of the students (some of them writing 'kujira' and some writing 'kuzira', which is Japanese for "whale"). I told him that I was going to take the papers home with me so I could have a closer look at them, but actually I'm going to use some of them as examples in my next video, so you can see what I'm talking about.

Lately I've been busy doing and thinking about a million things at once...making lessons, writing blogs, making videos, preparing to buy tickets for upcoming concerts, ideas for decorating my apartment, making chocolate for Valentine's Day...sometimes I wish I had a househusband to help me get all this done. Or a persocom.

Shopping in Tokyo, Part 3

2011-01-20T07:21:00.001-05:00

Here is the last part of my Shopping in Tokyo 3-part series. Enjoy :)

I found pants that actually fit! I really like them because they're comfortable, casual and fit my style. Another piece from Ozz, which has become one of my favorite brands ^_^
Brand: Ozz On
Price: 1200 yen
Store: closet child, Harajuku

Another pair of pants that fit. I haven't worn these yet, because I haven't figured out how to take care of the drawstrings at the bottom of the legs...I don't want to trip :/
Brand: Ozz croce
Price: 1800 yen
Store: closet child, Harajuku

Brand: Qutie Frash
Price: 4200 yen
Store: closet child, Harajuku

I'm not sure if you can see it, but this is actually a 2-piece skirt, with the lace being a separate piece. This makes the skirt see-through in some areas. I wore this combined with a pair of black shorts worn over stockings. The top piece would probably work with a pair of pants as well.
Brand: Ozz On
Price: 1400 yen
Store: closet child, Harajuku

Sterling Silver rings
Price: 525 yen each
Store: Paris Kids, Harajuku

Dragon Charm Choker
Brand: Ozz On
Price: 1200 yen
Store: closet child, Harajuku

Isn't this just the cutest thing? I carry my phone or camera in it when I go out. I haven't used it lately since I have nothing to attach it to when I go to work, but the next time I go out I'll be sure to have it :D
Brand: HN+nois (h.NAOTO)
Price: 1680 yen (50% off from 3360 yen)
Store: h.NAOTO, Harajuku

Brand: Algonquins
Price: 600 yen
Store: closet child, Shinjuku

So that's pretty much it for my special items from Tokyo. I won't be out shopping for a while since I'm trying to save up for some lives coming up. I think my next shopping trip will be in Osaka, which I STILL haven't visited yet. If you haven't figured it out by now, closet child is one of my favorite stores in Japan. They have an online shop, but I'm not sure exactly what they have compared to their in-store stock. Be sure to check out BODY LINE's website too, they have good stuff and ship overseas as well.

Now to just figure out how I can set up a photoshoot with someone here so I can put some outfits together...

Dear Japan: "Foreigners are more promiscuous" is just a stereotype.

2011-01-15T09:45:00.002-05:00

Anyone who knows me, knows that I am not lewd, perverted, promiscuous, etc. My modeling photos are not overtly sexual--maybe they might have been a looooooong time ago, but if you've ever visited Model Mayhem, you'd think that I was an angel compared to other models.

So, with some of these modeling photos posted, I was a bit surprised to have received messages from several Japanese men on mixi, all expressing interest in dating (or not) and commenting on how beautiful I am. At first, being called 'beautiful' by a Japanese guy was rather shocking to me, because of how much the "kawaii" look and the "blonde-haired, blue-eyed" look is pushed in Japan. I thought that, aside from the hip-hop J-boys who seem to have a Black female fetish (haven't met one but I'm sure they exist), there may actually be some guys who don't care what color a woman is, and recognize beauty regardless of ethnicity. I'm sure they exist too, somewhere out there.

On top of that, I know that there are Japanese men who, not only recognize non-Japanese beauty, but can also recognize and appreciate that woman's personality.

Unfortunately, two of my previous experiences on mixi do not include such men.

One of my experiences is described in my latest YouTube video. This guy was nothing but a horndog, looking for a woman who lived nearby that he could get into bed with. How do I know this? Because after we became friends on mixi, I saw his recent activity and noticed that he became friends with several other women, all around the same age (the youngest being 18 and the oldest being 27) and all living in Hyogo Prefecture, which is where he lives and where I live.

Not long after things ended with this guy, another guy who lives in Hyogo messaged me. His messages were very short, which told me that nothing good was going to come out of this. The conversation went something like this (in Japanese):

Him: Can I talk to you?
Me: That's fine.
Him: Do you have a boyfriend?

Me: No, but...why do you want to know?

Him: I'm just interested in foreigners.
Him: Is it okay if I ask you something?
Me: Sure.
Him: Are you interested in sex? <3
(2-3 minutes later)Him: Was that not okay to ask...?

My mind could have blown up from reading that question. After what had just happened, this only made me more annoyed. I responded as follows:

"That's not okay.

I'm not interested in sex.

By the way, I looked at your profile and noticed that you have a girlfriend...so why are you asking me such a question?"

At that point, I didn't care about sounding rude or making grammatical errors in Japanese. I was really annoyed that this fool had the audacity to think that he could just message some foreigner under the impression that I would be willing to be frisky with some random guy such as him.

His answer was something along the lines of, "I thought foreigners might have been frisky after all. I'm sorry. I do have a girlfriend so I won't message you anymore!!"

One might think he would've felt some kind of remorse for attempting to cheat on his girlfriend of a mere four months, but I'm sure he'll be continuing his search. His words struck me though--did he really think that foreigners would just sleep with anyone if asked?

Other questions popped into my head as well: Did they truly see me as attractive, or did they just think I was some easy foreigner? If the second guy was seeking to cheat on his girlfriend, why would he ask me if I had a boyfriend? If I had said yes, would he have left me alone, under the impression that I was in a happy relationship? Did he find it somehow okay for him to cheat but not for the woman that he asks?

Is this all making sense? Even if it doesn't, it doesn't matter. The bottom line is that they're jerks.

Shopping in Tokyo, Part 2

2011-01-09T22:46:00.001-05:00

More pictures of items I bought while in Tokyo.

Belt
Price: 525 yen (on sale)
Store: MAXICIMAM, Harajuku

Scarf/Muffler
Price: 600 yen
Store: ACDC, Harajuku

Scarf/Muffler
Brand: H.Anarchy (H.NAOTO)
Price: 300 yen
Store: closet child, Ikebukuro

Large Tote Bag & Charm
Brand: Algonquins
Price: 400 yen (bag); 200 yen (charm)
Store: closet child, Harajuku

Handkerchief
Brand: Vivienne Westwood
Price: 1,050 yen
Store: Marui (◯｜◯｜), Shinjuku

Handkerchief
Brand: SEX POT REVENGE
Price: 500 yen
Store: closet child, Shinjuku

(front)

(back)

Handkerchief
Brand: H.NAOTO
Price: 600 yen
Store: closet child, Harajuku

----------------------------------------
There's still more to come!

My Mistake with NHK

2011-01-08T11:30:00.001-05:00

On Japanese television, there is one channel called "NHK," which stands for "Nippon Housou Kyoukai," meaning "Japan Broadcasting Corporation." I can't really go into what type of programs they air, since I don't even watch it. I guess it's kind of like the Japanese version of the BBC.

Anyway, if you are a resident in Japan and own a TV, you're supposedly required to pay a subscription fee. Even if you don't watch NHK. Even if you don't watch TV at all.

With the number of corruption scandals involving NHK in recent years, an increasing number of Japanese people are refusing to pay their subscription fees (just Google "NHK subscription fee and a few articles will come up). There's really no penalty for not paying the fee either.

So this morning, a man I didn't know rung the doorbell. I didn't answer, and he left immediately.

Later in the evening, he came back and rung again. I didn't answer, and then he rung for a second time, and for a split second I thought that maybe it was something important, so foolish me decided to open the door.

Blah blah blah, the same "you own a TV?" crap that I had once gotten a few months ago. This guy looked a little more determined than the first one who showed up months ago, so I felt I couldn't avoid what was coming.

I was also stupid enough to write in my name and phone number as requested, and paid the 1,345 yen fee. I rolled my eyes as this guy placed his bag right in my apartment doorway as he tried to calculate change for my 5,000 yen bill. I would've given him the 345 yen in change, but decided that it wasn't worth the effort to make the math easier for him.

Along the way I pretended like I could barely speak Japanese. And I'd continue to do so, but I don't think I'll need to since I don't plan on answering the door again if I see someone that looks like they're from NHK, and I don't plan on answering my phone if they try to call. They can have my 1,345 yen and hopefully they can manage to use it for something legitimate before some other corrupt CEO gets to it.

Besides, NHK airs Kouhaku Uta Gassen every year, so they're good for something.

Changes in Tokyo.

2011-01-06T23:04:00.000-05:00

Seeing Tokyo for the first time in over a year (not counting my 4-day orientation in August) made me realize how much things change over time. Certainly things are not put on pause while you're away; I've realized that when moving between Japan and the U.S., and it's the same with any place you go.

My first surprise was when I visited Ikebukuro and noticed several changes:

- Rikkyo University was constructing yet another building on their campus. Right before I left in 2009, they had started working on a building and they've finished it and starting building another one.

- On Sunshine 60 Street, there are a number of game centers, and one of them was so worn down and old-looking. When I returned, it was a brand new place, looking so much brighter than it used to be. It was so new, in fact, that there were congratulatory bouquets of flowers sitting outside.

- closet child had moved. At first I thought it was gone completely, but after checking on the internet I found out that they had just moved about a block away. The new location's layout looks almost identical to the old one. I'm relieved that it hadn't closed down.

-HMV closed on Sunshine 60 Street, which was a little sad despite the fact that I never went there. On the bright side, it was replaced by a BOOK-OFF.

- One final change I noticed was that there was a Krispy Kreme that was located near the West side of Ikebukuro station. This made me happy because the only two locations I knew about before were the ones in Shibuya and Shinjuku. It's also very easy to find, which is good. Krispy Kreme makes the best donuts :)

One of my friends pointed out that Harajuku is no longer the only place where there is an H&M and a Forever 21. There are now locations in Shinjuku and Shibuya as well. Personally it's no big deal to me, since I kind of prefer the U.S. stores anyway. But I did visit the H&M in Harajuku and bought a shirt that was on sale for 1000 yen from there.

Shinjuku hadn't changed much, except for the changes in host clubs in Kabukicho. It seems that the hosts doing catch duty are coming out later at this time of year; I used to see a lot starting from 6:00 in the evening, but right now they don't seem to come out until around 7:00. It's cold outside, so that might be the reason.

I did visit one host club with a friend on New Year's Eve. It was only for an hour and it seemed that all of the "good" hosts were unavailable, making the visit not so great as I wanted it to be. Strangely enough, I ended up befriending a host. Now, by "befriending" I don't mean regular small chat e-mail exchanges that I used to do with other hosts. This host actually seems to want to be friends with me...OR, he's either a) very desperate to get a customer, even as far as to break the rules of contacting a customer that's not yours, or b) really wants a girlfriend, and happens to like foreigners. He insists on using English to communicate in our e-mails, although he makes a lot of mistakes. I don't know how long this will last but if he wants to be my friend then it's okay with me, as long as he doesn't do anything weird. He knows that I don't live in Tokyo but he wanted to contact me anyway, which is nice. I was told by my friend to try a host club in Osaka, which she thinks are better (and I can imagine them being so). Right now I have to save up my money, but maybe in a few weeks I'll finally visit Osaka.

Shopping in Tokyo, Part 1

2011-01-04T20:31:00.001-05:00

So I'm back from Tokyo. One and a half weeks is a great length of time to spend on vacation, so I'm happy. There's much to write about, but I'll start with shopping.

I've bought a ton of things in Tokyo, mostly clothes to add to my punk/goth wardrobe. It seems that the end of the year into the first few days of January is one of the best times for shopping in Japan, because a lot of stores are having big sales. I visited KINJI, my favorite used clothing store, and then I went to BODY LINE and the chain of closet child stores in Tokyo (Harajuku, Ikebukuro, and Shinjuku).

closet child was having a big winter clearance, so I took advantage of that and visited each store multiple times. Perhaps it's because I have a salary now, but the prices seemed so reasonable this time around. When I visited back in 2008 and 2009 as an exchange student, I thought the prices were too high...or perhaps I wasn't looking at everything and just stopped at the first price tag I ever saw.

Anyway, here's some of what I've bought:

Brand: Ozz On
Price: 1,200 yen (used)
Store: closet child, Harajuku

Brand: Ozz Oneste
Price: 900 yen
Store: closet child, Harajuku

Price: 735 yen
Store: KINJI

Price: 1575 yen
Store: KINJI

Price: 945 yen
Store: KINJI

After going to BODY LINE and closet child I was starting to feel like I wasted money on normal clothes like this top, but stuff like this is great for normal outings, when studs and chains are too tiring to maintain ;)
Price: 735 yen
Store: KINJI

Price: 735 yen
Store: KINJI

Finally, the petticoat I always wanted!
Price: 1499 yen
Store: BODY LINE

Price: 1999 yen
Store: BODY LINE

I used to think that clothes like what I got from BODY LINE and closet child were always ridiculously expensive, but in actuality they're pretty reasonably priced. Of course, the clothes at closet child are used, which means their original prices were much higher. But now I feel like it's really possible to advance my wardrobe to what I always wanted it to be.

In upcoming blogs, I'll post some more clothes as well as some non-clothing items. Stay tuned!

Jack in the Box 2010

2010-12-28T22:17:00.001-05:00

On the 27th, I went to one of the greatest J-Rock lives in the world (at least that's my opinion). JACK IN THE BOX is an annual concert held by the Maverick DC Group, and features bands that are members of the group. Some of the bands in the group include L'Arc~en~Ciel, girugamesh, SID, and MUCC.

2010 is the second time that I've attended; my first was in 2008 while I was studying abroad. (If you'd like to read my report on that live, go here.)

I got ready in my tiny little room at Aizuya Inn (where I was staying from the 23rd until checking out this morning on the 29th). I had a punk outfit planned, but after some shopping in Harajuku I put together an all black, gothic lolita-like outfit (pictures will be up later).

I got to the Nippon Budokan by train in about 30 minutes, arriving at around 11:30 am. The doors didn't open until 1:00 and the live didn't start until 2:00, but the goods line started at 11:00, and I remember when I got there around noon or so in 2008, I had to wait a really long time. This time the line went pretty smoothly, so it only took about 30 minutes to get in and out. I bought a JITB 2010 T-shirt, some JITB stickers, and muffler towels from the SID and girugamesh booths. I was a little disappointed that it seemed tetsuya (the bassist and leader of L'Arc~en~Ciel, formerly known as tetsu), wasn't going to be performing this year.

Getting into the venue as soon as the doors opened, I looked for my seat in the NW section of the venue. Having been there before, I knew my seat probably wasn't a very good one, as I was sitting in a section behind the stage. I was complaining to myself about it before, but once I found the row I was supposed to be in (Row D, seat 21), I found out that it was actually a LOT closer to where I had been in 2008, which was all the way at the top in the stands. I figured that, no matter where I was sitting, as long as I was there, and could see and hear something, I would be happy.

What usually happened at JITB is an alternation between bands and 'sessions,' which are mixed groups of band members from different bands. At the end would be the Maverick DC ALL STARS, where just about everyone would be on stage and perform.

I was surprised to see that this year, they had four sessions in a row, and then went on to the bands, with two more sessions in between.

The sessions, as always, were awesome. My favorite ones were Session B and Session D. During the MC for Session B, girugamesh drummer Яyo said that the theme for attire was for everyone to shine (minna wa kirakira). Satochi from MUCC certainly did shine. Even though he's the drummer of MUCC, he came out singing with Ken of L'Arc~en~Ciel, and was rather...well, let's just say that Session B was like a drunken night of karaoke, which made it absolutely hilarious. One of the funny parts was when Yukke (bassist of MUCC) sang the opening part of L'Arc's "Lies and Truth," but since he couldn't hit the high notes at the end he switched to the lower octave, prompting an applause from the audience. Satochi really owned the stage though, dancing around in his short shorts and thrusting his hips like a fool. At the end of "winter fall" he got on one knee next to Shinji (SID guitarist) and started caressing him, while Shinji just continued playing like nothing was going on.

Session D was truly great. The report speaks for itself: Ken sang a remixed version of Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance" and "Telephone," which was completely unexpected for me. I loved hearing Miya (MUCC guitarist) and Aki (SID bassist) sing the backup parts. By the end of that session I was probably the happiest music fan in the world. Hearing hyde (vocalist of L'Arc~en~Ciel) sing "Electric Eye" by Judas Priest during Session F was also very awesome.

I have to say that, if I had any complaints, it's that I didn't agree with the order of performances. They put the really great sessions at the beginning, and by the time MUCC came out it was pretty great, but then the last band to play was 44 Magnum, a veteran band of J-Rock. Seeing that they're the oldest band, it kind of makes sense to make them the last band, but judging from the crowd, most of the people were younger and therefore fans of the newer bands. When it was announced that the All Stars session was the last act after 44 Magnum, EVERYONE went "Ehhhhhh?!" in surprise, because we all thought it was too early. We tried to demand and encore, but to no avail. I was disappointed that, despite all members of SID being there, they didn't even perform together as a group (much like L'Arc~en~Ciel in 2008). Hopefully they'll go back to the regular order next year.

That being said, I'm still very happy I was there. I'll put up some pictures later; right now I'm in between checking in and out of hostels, and sitting in an internet cafe where my time is almost up. I also have pictures of some things I bought on my shopping spree, so those will be up as well!

Birthday, Year-end parties, and Tokyo

2010-12-23T07:01:00.002-05:00

I've been so busy that I haven't had time to update my blog in quite awhile. It's been hectic day after day since last week.

In case you haven't been watching my videos on YouTube, my birthday was on December 16th. It's during one of the busiest times of the year, with classes ending and the holidays approaching. I actually found out the week before that the school that I would visit on my birthday and the next day weren't going to have English classes that entire week, so I spent that day at work doing pretty much nothing.

One thing brightened my day though:

This delicious-looking cake was waiting for me after I came back from eating lunch with the 5th graders. Apparently the 6th graders made the cake in cooking class and shared it with the teachers, but the fact that it was on my birthday made me feel really happy.

The next day I had a bounenkai (year-end party) at Kishi. This was my second enkai with them, and the first one was really fun so I was looking forward to this one, and it exceeded my expectations. The seats were chosen by lottery, and I ended up sitting next to the music teacher, who had given me a ride to the restaurant. Despite being separated into two groups, a lot of the teachers moved around, so I was able to talk to the teachers from the other side as well. One of the 4th grade teachers, who is a first-year, is really outgoing and always tries to speak what little English he can to me, mainly because he knows I'm entertained by it. At one point he was looking at me from the other side of the room and started making faces at me, and when the other teachers saw me laughing they turned around and he pretended like he wasn't doing anything, lol.

After we finished eating the main course, one of the teachers explained that since the students all had to take tests at the end of the semester, she was going to give us one to test our knowledge. Needless to say, I hardly knew any of the answers other than the English-related questions, but it was fun watching the other teachers scratch their heads at some of the questions.

A few of us (the younger teachers, except for the 5th grade teacher who's twice my age but really cool) went to karaoke after dinner, which was the highlight of my night. The teachers at Kishi are a lot of fun to hang out with, even though I can't say or understand all of what they say.

The 18th was the big marathon at Ichiba. I was asked to run with the first graders and so I did, but when it came time for the fifth graders to run, some of the girls begged me to run with them. At first I said no, but changed my mind because I was happy that they actually wanted me to. It was really tiring, but near the end the students cheered for me and a lot of the teachers praised and thanked me for running more than I had to.

On Monday I was supposed to have a day off, but I was invited by the principal at Kishi to sing two Christmas songs for the school during their morning assembly. I was a bit nervous because I didn't have much time to prepare, but I think I did a pretty good job. I'll link to the videos once I upload them.

The enkai with Ichiba wasn't quite as enjoyable; I ended up sitting with a lot of teachers I usually don't talk to and no one really moved around because we were sitting at tables instead of on the floor like at a traditional Japanese restaurant. And since the enkai was on a Tuesday night, that meant no afterparty, which was a letdown. Fortunately my next-door neighbors were having a game night, so afterwards I headed to their place to hang out.

After my last day of work before the break, I was busy running around trying to clean and pack. Things were a little more stuffed in my small suitcase than I expected they would be, but my large suitcase that I brought from the states would have been too big for me to want to deal with. Of course I'll probably be bringing back a lot of stuff, so I'm thinking of buying a slightly bigger suitcase and sending some stuff to Ono by takkyuubin near the end of my trip.

Since I'm in my hostel right now, I don't feel the excitement of Tokyo just quite yet, but I will tomorrow when I go to visit some familiar places that I've missed so much.

Lastly, Here's the Christmas tree I decorated before I left:

In the U.S., I've only seen two kinds of fake Christmas trees: green ones and white ones. In Japan, trees are not limited to those two colors, and as one would expect, they are a lot smaller than the ones in America. The Daiso in Sannomiya carries mini trees from about 60cm to 120cm tall, in not only green but sky blue, white, pink, and even black. Anyone that knows me knows that 1) I like to be non-traditional whenever I can, and 2) I like to punk everything up with chains when possible. So I decided to buy a black tree and decorate it with red, white and silver, and make a garland out of chains. Unfortunately, the chains I bought were two heavy for the trees, so I tediously separated the chain into pieces to hang on the branches. I had done the same with this gorgeous purple crystal garland that I found at Tokyu Hands, thus adding purple to my color scheme. I bought a few random ornaments from Loft and Tokyu Hands, and since I couldn't find a star that I liked I just used two of the ornaments and set them on top. I was expecting to find some really nice (and expensive) stars to choose from, but neither store had any that I could find, and instead had cheap and simple plastic stars. Even though I won't be back until January, I think I'll shop around for a star while I'm in Tokyo. In fact, I like my tree so much that I think I'll leave it up for a while and keep adding decorations to it.

Note: the Xmas tree is actually only 90cm, though it might look bigger in the photos.

Shopping Update

2010-12-06T08:38:00.001-05:00

My new backpack which I now use to carry my stuff to take to work. Now I don't have to shove stuff into my bicycle basket when I'm trying to leave for work! The pin on the top flap actually came from an accessory shop. (Algonquins, 7,900 yen)

I fell in love with this piece when I first saw it at the Kera Shop Maria in Sannomiya, and decided to buy it even though I couldn't afford the dress that it was paired with on the dressform. I won't tell you exactly how much it cost; I'll only say that it's the now the single most expensive piece of clothing that I own. (Cutie Flash)

A polyester motorcycle jacket from the same shop in Sannomiya where I bought my long vest and jacket. At 2,100 yen, it was a pretty good deal.

Rings from Marche in Sannomiya, 315 yen each.

Introducing New English Activities, Part 2: Drawing Shapes

2010-11-26T20:16:00.001-05:00

Sometimes I get nervous about introducing a brand new activity to a class because I'm concerned that they won't understand my explanation. That concern grows as the grade levels get lower, so when I decided to go ahead and introduce this activity to the 2nd graders, I really wondered if they would get it...and if they didn't, I had a backup game for them just in case.

I figured out that the 1st and 2nd graders actually know a lot more than I anticipated, so instead of doing an activity with fruits and vegetables with the 2nd graders as the elementary sample curriculum suggests, I decided to teach them the directions up, down, left, and right. “Up” and “down” was no problem for them, but some of the kids mixed up “left” and “right,” which was expected. They picked up the vocabulary very quickly, which made my next activity a lot easier for them to learn.

In this drawing activity (which I haven't given a name yet), a number of students go up to the blackboard and each have a piece of chalk. The number of students can be determined in any way; for my class I chose one student from each table (we were all grouped into tables in elementary school, right? I know I was), to make six.

The shape that these six students have to draw is determined by me. Before class, I drew out several different abnormal shapes on sheets of paper to be done by the students, kind of like the ones shown below:

I choose one shape and show it to the rest of the class, but NOT to the students at the board. I choose a place on the shape to start and show the class which direction we will go.

Once I say “Go!” or “Start!” The class say in unison either “up,” “down,” “left,” or “right,” depending on which direction I designated from the start. The class watches as I trace my finger along the shape, and meanwhile the students at the board start drawing in the specified direction at their own pace. When I reach a corner on the shape, the class specifies the new direction and the kids at the board follow. If they make a mistake while drawing, it's okay; it just makes the game more amusing.

When my tracing finger reaches the beginning point, the class says “Stop!” and the students stop drawing and move aside to show the class their drawings, and we compare to see which pictures most resemble the chosen shape. The class gets a pretty good laugh when they see that the drawings look completely different from the shape, and the students who drew them get a laugh when I reveal the shape to them.

After each student got a turn to draw, I told the students that I was going to draw next, but with a blindfold on. Even though I'm the one who drew the shapes, I let the homeroom teacher choose any one without me seeing it. So this time, I'm being given directions, but not only do I not know which shape it is, I can't even see what I'm drawing! Before class ended we had just enough time to let the homeroom teacher draw a shape while blindfolded.

In the end the game was a big success; the teacher and the class had a lot of fun and at the same time they were able to learn each of the directions both by listening and by reciting them out loud. The teacher and I both noticed that some work needs to be done on clarifying the pronunciation difference between “left” and “right,” because with Japanese pronunciation they sound very similar (“refto” and “raito”). But the most important thing is that they know the difference between the two. It's just hard to hear when they say it all at once.

I'm not sure when I'll be able to do this activity again since I only teach the 2nd graders once a month, but I want to add a few more variations and introduce it to the other classes. Since the 5th graders just learned “Turn right” and “Turn left” and know how to navigate on a 2D map, I want to do this shape-drawing for them as well. As long as the shapes have no curves, the teacher can make as many different pictures as they want and as complicated as they want.

I hope the directions aren't too complicated to understand. I might make a video to demonstrate just in case.

Late Halloween Photos

2010-11-26T08:15:00.001-05:00

I know I'm really late with these pictures. Things have finally settled down a bit, so I had some time to get these photos off my phone.

It's nothing special, just some minor decorations and my witch outfit that the kids really liked :)

Update: Potential Offensive Hangman

2010-11-17T05:52:00.001-05:00

So a friend made me aware after I asked about Hangman that as recently as July, an English teacher (who is American) received criticism for playing Hangman with his class at a middle school where a student committed suicide two years before...by hanging himself.

I went to look up the article, and found it here: http://www.eltnews.com/news/archives/2010/07/english_teacher_3.html. The source is from The Mainichi Daily News, but suspiciously the article doesn't exist anymore on the original site.

I find the details of the story very one-sided. First of all, was this same English teacher at this school in 2008 when the student killed himself? The article says that the teacher used the game "regardless," making it seem as if he was there when it happened or was at least aware that it happened, and that he didn't give a crap and decided to play it anyway. If this is true, then I understand. It does say that the student's friend pointed out the resemblance between the drawings in the student's notebook and the drawings by the teacher in class, so the teacher was likely there.

But I also have an issue with another point: A Japanese psychologist says that if such instruction such as games like Hangman are going on in the classroom, "it shows great carelessness" and that, for the students, it is "similar to power harrassment," even if the teacher meant no harm.

I beg to differ with those choices of strong words. See, there's this thing called 'culture.' And there are different kinds of culture. And the vast majority of us grew up only knowing one culture.

And then there's a phrase called "intercultural miscommunication." It acknowledges that people who aren't familiar with another culture may make mistakes. It's not because they don't care; it's because they don't know. I can't speak for the English teacher at that middle school, but I can say for myself that I didn't know it was going to be a problem.

Is it really that much like "power harassment"? Making it sound as if a teacher is forcing ideas into students' heads? Harassment is aggressive. I'm not sure this English teacher was being aggressive, unless the kids were saying, "No, we can't play Hangman! It's bad!" and the teacher did it anyway. I don't think a teacher would force students to do something that the students truly insist is a bad thing to do.

In addition: Was the homeroom teacher present? IF the homeroom teacher was present, he or she should have stopped the teacher. If the homeroom teacher WASN'T present, the students should have stopped the teacher.

And this point makes me question whether Japanese students have a right to speak out in class. I've always heard of Japanese education as being one where the students are expected to sit and listen while the teacher rambles on. When I took classes at Rikkyo that were mixed with Japanese and exchange students, whenever the teacher asked for someone to answer a question the people raising their hands were ALWAYS the international students. The Japanese students remained silent.

I don't see this happening at my elementary schools; whenever I ask a question there is always at least one person who raises their hand willingly. And if I do something strange or make a mistake, the students are quick to correct me. It's exactly the same as when I was in elementary school. What is it that happens between elementary and middle school that makes the kids stop speaking out?

Going back to Hangman, I did a few more Google searches on the game in Japanese. Guess what I found? A Japanese site of English activities...featuring Hangman.

http://www.eigo21.com/03/hngmn2/fr_daily.htm

I think the problem in this case is not necessarily the game, but the time at which this teacher decided to use the game in his class. If a teacher used Hangman at a school in ANY country where a student hanged themselves, there would be just as much outrage.

Generally speaking, I don't have a problem with this game, but I understand why someone else would. The question is, what can we do to make more people aware that this game can potentially be offensive? And why do some consider it so offensive while others see nothing in it?

One thing I do know is that the 5th graders I taught in class today were way more focused on "_ o o _ S t o r e" than on the limbless body hanging next to it.

Introducing New English Activities, Part 1: Potentially Offensive Hangman

2010-11-16T22:23:00.001-05:00

Today I had classes with the 5th graders and the 2nd graders. As usual, I planned my lessons at the last minute (I always try to do it early but they never really get finished until right before class).

With the 5th graders, our lesson was on giving directions, as well as places to go. They got down the "Turn left," "Turn right," "Go straight" parts easily so it was no problem navigating through a map of Ono.

We went on to review places to go like "post office," "hotel," "restaurant," etc., and they got those down easily as well. So I moved on to a word scramble, and that was pretty easy for them as well.

So I had another idea: Hangman. I'm pretty sure that most people, at least in the United States where I'm from, knows this game. It's a great way for students in ESL classes to learn how to spell words of any category. I explained the game to them in English and Japanese, and they eventually got the rules. We only had enough time to do one place name, but they managed to solve it.

After class though, the teacher (he's one of my favorites for being so enthusiastic and kind) came up to me and calmly said that the hangman picture was ダメ (not good). I immediately understood what he meant by that. On one hand, I felt really stupid for not creating a substitute even when I had slight doubts, but at the same time, I tried to find information on the Internet about "hangman being offensive," and found nothing. Even the Japanese Wikipedia has an entry on Hangman. All my years as a kid in school, when we played Hangman in class, no one--the students nor the teachers--ever had a problem with it.

To introduce the game to a class who didn't know it was a simple mistake on my part, though the kids didn't react to it at all; I think they were just focused on the game. Nonetheless, I plan to change the picture and, since I couldn't find any information on what I was looking for, I decided to make this blog entry on it so that anyone who plans on using Hangman for an overseas ESL class (or even one within the country) will be aware. All you have to do is take a simple drawing and change it (just don't pick a swastika or something). If you choose to keep the line-drawing as a way to tally missed guesses, be sure to keep the drawing simple to an appropriate number of lines. I've actually considered using Kanji stroke-counting as a way to keep score.

You can also choose any other alternatives, such as drawing ten objects and crossing one out with every miss, or starting from a number and counting down to zero. Be creative with it...just don't use the drawing of a lynching. I still wonder why I never came across this issue when I was younger...

Part 2 of this blog will focus on the new activity I introduced to the 2nd graders, which turned out to be a great success and made me feel better after my 5th grade class.

Team-Teaching

2010-11-14T19:45:00.001-05:00

A lot of things have passed by that I haven't been able to talk about. I have so many things to do that I can't bring myself to sit down and blog.

Today is Monday here in Japan, and I have no classes to teach today. I still have things to do though. On Thursday and Friday I have to attend a mid-year seminar for ALTs. The head topic is supposed to be team-teaching, and I have to present a lesson plan that was "effective in having students experience a lot of language activities."

I find it difficult to present something in terms of team-teaching because I haven't done a lot of it. Unlike in junior high and high school, elementary schools don't have a special "Japanese Teacher of English," but rather a teacher who is in charge of helping prepare lessons for the ALT. I think the reason the majority of my teachers and I don't do team-teaching is because I don't ask them to help. Once in a while we might do a role-play, but it's nothing really special or highly effective. The students have been learning and enjoying class a lot even without their homeroom teacher's help. The most the JTEs do is translate my instructions when we don't think the students fully understand.

However, I can identify one thing that DOESN'T help students learn English: Translating word-for-word. One 3rd grade teacher at one of my schools has a much better grasp of English comprehension (but not necessarily speaking ability) compared to the other teachers, so when I explain something in English, he can quite easily explain in Japanese. This is great for when I'm introducing a new game and have a hard time getting them to understand, but this constant translation has become something the kids are used to. Thus, last week when the teacher wasn't there, I asked the class the same basic questions that I ask them every week ("How are you?" "What day is it today?" "What's the date?" "How's the weather?") and they couldn't understand any of it. It was just as I expected, because every time I say something, the teacher is quick to translate. And so I wonder if the children in that class even listen to me anymore.

But I can't introduce a lesson plan on that. Fortunately, the supervisor at my other school is a 4th grade teacher and writes up the lesson plans for her class, and it's the only class where I feel I really am the "Assistant" Language Teacher, and not the main English teacher. I'll probably choose one of her lessons and modify it.

Refresher: About Host Clubs

2010-11-11T06:39:00.001-05:00

Just the other day, a reader left a comment on an old blog post that I wrote about host clubs. I realized that I haven't mentioned hosts or host clubs in quite a long time, so I decided to write my comment response in the form of a new blog post.

Chantelle asks:

"Why would you advise against going alone? And what sort of stuff do they do to make you believe they’re in love with you? And how do they get you to spend so much money??"

Let's break it down to one question at a time.

Q: Why would you advise against going alone?

I advise against going alone (especially for the first time) because I believe that most people (myself included) typically have less self-control than they think they do. Most of us set certain limits for ourselves, saying, "Okay, just one," or, "I'm going to stop now," and we end up not following up on our word. In some cases it's pretty harmless, in other cases it's dangerous--like ballooning in weight because you ate four hot dogs instead of two like you said you would, or getting completely wasted one night because you couldn't stop drinking bottle after bottle of beer. With host clubs, it's no different. A first-time goer might hear all kinds of things and set a certain expectation of how things will be and how much money they'll spend, but they'll never know for sure until it happens. They might end up having more fun than they expected and want to stay at the club longer, or they remember that they brought more than how much they decided to spend and ends up spending more, or they end up meeting a host that they really REALLY like, and it drives them to go further than they imagined.

Because of that, it's best to go with a friend whenever possible. Talk about how much each of you are going to spend and keep each other in check while you are there. And do proper calculations! Host clubs are required by law to add a very high tax to whatever is charged, so a 3000 yen entrance fee + 1000 yen host designate fee + 1000 yen for a pitcher of melon soda is not going to equal 5000 yen; it's going to be even higher than that. Also discuss how much time you're going to spend at a club. Unfortunately, one or two hours can go by very quickly when you're having fun, so it can be tempting to request an extra hour. Friends can remind and encourage each other to stay within their limits. Make a promise to leave together, and within the discussed amount of time.

Q: What sort of stuff do they do to make you believe they’re in love with you?

Please know that not all hosts do this. The hosts that I've met with more than once have never done anything to make me think that they had feelings for me. Our conversations were pretty friendly and normal. Occasionally there was a little flirting and the cute act of feeding each other when food was there, but there was no confession of feelings or suggestive physical contact. Behavior varies from host to host--some will talk to you like a friend, and others will talk to you like they're interested in you romantically. But one thing that customers are expected to know about is the "unspoken agreement" that the host-customer relationship is strictly a relationship of "host" and "customer," and nothing more. Women know that a host club is not a place to get a boyfriend. And although it does happen that a customer may end up dating a host, the relationship is likely to be unstable, either due to jealousy because the host has to talk to other women (as it is his job to do so) or because the host can have very tough work hours, working from around 5pm to do "catch" (recruiting new customers) all the way to 1 or 2 in the morning cleaning up after the shop closes (and if they miss the last train, then it's hanging around until 6am when the trains start running again).

Even if a host does flirt or say things suggesting that he likes a customer, it's still up to the customer to accept it as true or false. Some customers don't even get those signals and still end up falling for their host because they're too hopeful and make the biggest deal out of the most subtle things. If a host says he likes you, but says that the only way you two can date is if you come to the shop, I wouldn't consider him very trustworthy; it would be much more convincing if he actually quit his job as a host to prove that he means what he says.

Q: How do they get you to spend so much money??

I can't speak from experience, as I've never had a host convince me to spend more money. Of course, this might be because the hosts knew I was a college student with no job and thus didn't have a lot to spend. The other issue is making sure that a customer has the money to pay. There can be trouble if a customer ends up spending way more than they can afford. A documentary in English called The Great Happiness Space features several female customers of a host club in Osaka who actually turn out to be sex workers in the red-light district, because it pays enough money to reduce debt. But these jobs can be so stressful and terrible that these women just end up going back again and again to the host club to get away from harsh reality and into a fun fantasy.

In the case of customers that visit regularly and always order bottles of champagne, they might be pushed to spend more for a variety of reasons. Whenever any drink is ordered, it's not just for the customer to drink, but for the host as well. Because of this, drinks tend to run out more quickly. A bottle of champagne can be emptied out if multiple hosts get glasses for a champagne call, or more often when a customer is encouraged to down their glass (or bottle) as they're cheered on by the hosts around them.

But the hosts won't outright tell you to order more drinks or stay for extra hours. It's more like encouragement, and with certain customers it doesn't take a lot of encouragement for them to spend more money. In The Great Happiness Space, some customers were even encouraged not to have any more, because they were already too drunk.

As host clubs push further and further into mainstream Japanese society, I imagine that it's not as necessary to get customers to spend more as it may have been in the past, since more women from the middle class are visiting. With the young single women still living with and being taken care of by their parents, they might feel no pressure at all to spend more money, knowing that they can just get more from Daddy's wallet. So from what I know, I can say that it's not so much what the hosts do but rather a customer's own circumstances and willpower that determine whether they'll spend more.

So I hope this answers your questions! Sorry it's kind of long, but I just wanted to make sure I was being as detailed as I possibly can. I don't have any upcoming plans to visit any host clubs anytime soon, but I do want to visit a few in Osaka, to compare them to the ones I visited in Kabukicho last year. Whenever that happens I'll surely update.

Wednesday Night Headbang

2010-11-10T10:00:00.001-05:00

I just came back from a Nightmare concert.

My head hurts.
My neck hurts.
My back hurts.
I need to take off all of my jewelry.
I need to clean off all of my makeup.
I have to take a nice, warm shower.
I need to go to sleep.

Because I have work tomorrow.

But the concert was great. I made a video about it but I don't have time to upload it and all that stuff. Add it to my tab of things I need to blog about and upload this weekend (like Halloween, good grief!).

Shopping Update #2

2010-11-08T17:42:00.001-05:00

I ended up letting my purchases accumulate again. I've been so extremely tired and busy, juggling work and errands on weekdays and then either cleaning the apartment or going out to Kobe on the weekends.

Here's a few of my latest items:

A cool sweater I found at the used clothing store at Saty. It's pretty big so I suspect it might be a men's sweater. I bought this a while ago but I think this sweater was around 900 yen.

More freebies from women's magazines: a Paul & Joe Sister tote and pouch, and a Coach furoshiki.

At one of the anime goods shops in Sannomiya, I was surprised to find a capsule machine carrying keychains from Star Ocean EX, an anime based on the Star Ocean 2 RPG. I bought enough to complete two sets of 6 with some extras left over. They were 200 yen each.

Cute glass coasters I found at Daiso. 100 yen for a set of 2.

I was at Sofmap in Sannomiya and found these sticker machines selling NANA stickers. The sheets are actually pretty big, and cost 200 yen each.

I finally found a lunchbox right up my alley! This was in the clearance bin at the Loft department store, and cost about 1100 yen.

These purple and grey rose earrings are gorgeous! I discovered yet another accessory shop in Sannomiya called Marche. The tag says "Paris Kids," which is the name of a store in Harajuku that I visited frequently when I lived in Tokyo. The earrings were only 315 yen, which is a great deal!

Here's a collection of "Princess" hair care items that all came from Daiso. All of the items were 100 yen each, except for the large mirror the collapsible brush, and the regular brush, which were 210 yen each.

I wandered into the calendar section at Loft and came across this beautiful one by an artist name Kaori Wakamatsu. Each page is of a beautifully drawn character, and I fell in love with the collection instantly. The 12 pages come in a cardboard tube, and are A2 paper size (594 x 420 mm). The calendar was pretty pricey, at 2940 yen.

The old flats that I wore to Japan are in horrible shape and need to be thrown away, so I replaced them with this set of silver wedge pumps from Saty, which are pretty comfy and flexible. While I was there I also found a pair of dark silver mary jane pumps. Each pair was only 1000 yen, probably because they were on clearance.

I decided to try Tsubaki's line of Head Spa products, since they were on sale at the grocery store. A set of shampoo, conditioner, and hair mask treatment cost 1180 yen, and the extra cleansing clarifying shampoo cost 580 yen. Considering the regular price of a bottle of Tsubaki at 780-ish, 1760 yen for four products is a really good deal ^_^

I'll have more stuff coming up, whenever I have time. I've just been so exhausted lately...

Halloween Hiatus

2010-10-28T08:02:00.001-04:00

Kind of late for this, but I won't be updating anything until after Halloween (or at least after Friday). I might be overdoing it, but I'm preparing some stuff to do for my last pre-Halloween day of work.

Class Observation

2010-10-21T05:47:00.001-04:00

I'm sure many people remember a time when their teacher told the class that a visitor was coming to the classroom (and therefore everyone should be on their best behavior).

At Kishi on Wednesday, my class with the 5th graders was rescheduled for later that day because of an exhibition that was happening during their regular English class time. It was during 2nd period that I was told to visit one of the two 4th grade classes, whose teacher was doing a math activity with the students.

When I was in school, having someone observe the class meant that one person was going to observe, and it was usually not a teacher but a person from outside of school.

I was expecting to be one of perhaps two or three teachers visiting this 4th grade class, but it turned out that ALL of the teachers were there. The class activity was to figure out and explain multiple ways to find the area of an abnormal shape, similar to this:

The measurements of all sides were given, so it was possible to find the area using several methods. The students had 20 minutes to figure out as many ways as possible to find the area.

A number of things crossed my mind while I was observing the class. First, I was wondering if any of the students felt pressured that nearly the entire school staff was watching over their shoulders while they worked. I also noticed that the students' progress varied. One student had practically breezed through 4 different worksheets and was working on a 5th way to calculate the polygon's area. Meanwhile, some students were still struggling with the first method. I actually don't even remember what grade I learned how to do the work they were doing, but I'm sure there are probably people my age who probably wouldn't be able to figure out anything like that. It's amazing to see what you've forgotten after having not seen it for a long time.

In other news, I will have some pictures of some recent items I bought coming this weekend. Lately I've been really busy so I haven't had time to blog a lot.

Natto: I'd Rather Eat Raw Chicken.

2010-10-12T02:26:00.001-04:00

I checked today's school lunch menu to see what I should be looking forward to later in the day. Going down the list, I came across one dreaded item: なっとう (natto).

I had to read it over again to make sure I had gotten it right. Natto? THAT natto? Maybe they mean something else? Is it really written on here? Are kids actually going to eat it? How can I avoid eating it?

In case you don't know what natto is, let me give you a description: It's a disgusting brown mess of expired baked beans mixed with snot that's been sitting next to a garbage dumpster for a week. At least that's what it looks, smells, and tastes like. You know the phrase, "Never judge a book by its cover"? Well, natto tastes just as bad as it looks.

Now let me tell you what natto actually is: Fermented soybeans. It's notorious for its terrible smell, as well as the extremely sticky, slimy residue that resembles a mixture of glue and mucus, and when stretched it leaves these spider-web like strands that stick to anything they touch. Don't think that this is some weird thing that only Japanese people eat; there are even Japanese people who hate natto, and there are foreigners who like it.

The first time I tried natto was five years ago, when I was staying with a host family for a week and they took me to a kaiten zushi (the place that serves sushi on conveyor belts). One of the things they had me try was a roll with a little bit of natto in it. I put it in my mouth and started chewing, thinking, "Well, this isn't bad--" and then the taste came. It was so strong and gross that I vowed never to eat natto again. If it was THAT bad with rice, how bad could it be without it?

I know people who hated natto at first and then became used to it. It's an acquired taste, though I'm not sure why anyone would willingly acquire it, besides the fact that it's healthy. Guess what else is healthy? Edamame, tofu, lima beans, eggplant, carrots...

I saw that the paper cup the natto came in said "においひかえめ," or that the smell was removed. Well, that makes it a little more tolerable, I thought. I was originally planning to not eat it at all, but since the smell was taken out I decided I could focus more on the taste and decide once and for all if I could eat it.

Inside the paper cup, there was a mound of natto covered by a plastic film, and on top of that were packets of soy sauce and mustard. I put the soy sauce in it and started mixing with my chopsticks, and cringed at the sight of the slime activating. After I finished I took my chopsticks out and the slime stretched and clung to my chopsticks, leaving strands of sticky grossness that I had to clean off with a tissue.

I was eating with the 3rd grade class, and one of the boys asked if I liked natto. "I hate it," I answered. "Me too," he said. The girl sitting next to me said she liked it. When the teacher heard, she told me that it was absolutely fine if I don't eat it. Still, I tried a single fermented bean and kept it at the tip of my tongue as I chewed. It wasn't as bad as I remembered, but it was still a very strong flavor. I think the soy sauce made it more tolerable. Nonetheless, I gave up on it and threw it away.

As much as I hate natto, if you haven't tried it, I recommend that you do, just as an experience. It's one of those foods that most people either love or hate. Try looking for a kind of natto that has the smell removed from it, to make it easier.

If you have tried natto and you think I'm some immature little child for saying how gross it is, I really don't care. I also don't like sashimi (sliced raw fish), root beer, or cheesecake. But I do love Spanish olives straight from the jar, as well as cauliflower and tofu that ISN'T transformed into some kind of false meat. To each his own...and you can't deny that natto slime DOES look like mucus.

Rest in Peace, Shota Tsutsumi

2010-10-05T18:14:00.001-04:00

After work and some cold remedy shopping yesterday, I came home and turned on the TV to a heartbreaking news story. Shota Tsutsumi, a 16-year old high school student, was stabbed to death just two days ago on October 4th.

To summarize, Shota and his 15-year old girlfriend were standing by a couple of vending machines and talking, when a man in his 20s to 30s approached them with a knife in his hand. Shota told the girl to run, and as the girl fled he was approached by the man and stabbed. Shota died just after midnight on October 5th.

While the crime rate in the U.S. is pretty high, I've noticed that these heinous crimes are occurring more often in Japan, specifically in the Kansai area. Months ago a single mother left her two small children to die in her abandoned apartment, citing that she wanted time to herself. On October 3rd, a 9-year old boy in Osaka called an ambulance to report that his 3-year old sister was stabbed to death by their mother, a divorced 41-year old woman with three kids.

I don't understand what it is that drives people to kill children. It's really heartbreaking and it makes me so angry. After Shota died, the grandmother of his girlfriend visited the site where he was last standing and thanked him for saving her life. Why Shota didn't run away right after the girl is unknown to me, but if I could guess I'd say that he stayed put to serve as a distraction so that she could flee unharmed. It was a brave act that cost him his life. I hope they catch this coward of a murderer soon.

About Innocence

2010-09-29T05:37:00.001-04:00

As nice as my co-workers are, sometimes I can't help but wonder if it's just a facade from some of them. It's expected in a workplace located in a foreign country where the people around you all speak a different language.

Sometimes I witness whispering, giggling, and gossiping in the staff room at both of my schools. Sometimes I know it's about someone else, but sometimes I suspect it's about me. Today I had a staff meeting at one of my schools that lasted until 5:00, which is an hour after I usually go home. It was my first meeting after the new school term started, so the procedure was a little new to me. I thought the meeting might have lasted until 4:00, but I was prepared to stay longer and didn't mind doing so.

No one told me it was okay to leave at my usual time. Since I was expected to attend, I figured that I was supposed to stay for the entire meeting. When the meeting finished around 4:50, we returned from the conference room and I got some last minute work done and got ready to go. I said my usual farewell, but heard giggles from some people as I was leaving. This happened before when I said "itte kimasu" (I'll be back) when leaving after the sports festival, since I had to ride my bike back home and wait for a ride. When I heard the giggles, I wondered if I had done or said something strange. All I said today was "Otsukaresama desu, osaki ni shitsurei shimasu" (roughly translated as "good work, please excuse me for leaving ahead of you"), like I do everyday. I don't know if the giggling was about something else or directed at my remark, but I smiled and kept walking.

As I was about to leave, one of the teachers ran after me and explained to me that the meeting lasted until five, but that it was okay for me to leave at four. Well it's no use telling me that AFTER the meeting has ended! I was going to explain that I decided to stay until the end regardless of the time, but she ran off again. I walked out of the building frustrated and annoyed, wondering if I was right about the giggling.

It's things like this that make me question who's being sincere to me and who isn't. It's so frustrating when one day I'm having a good time with them, and then the next day I feel like I'm being ridiculed. But that's what encourages me to focus more on the students.

The children (at least the majority of them) like me no matter what. Even though I can't understand what they're saying, even though my skin is darker than theirs, even though my hair is sometimes wild and curly, they still like me, and there's no question about it. Some students will call my name as if they have something to say, and when I say "Yes?" they just look at me and smile. They like to hug me and hold my hand and talk to me, and even the simplest things I say fascinate them.

Unfortunately, it only lasts for a short time until they grow up and get exposed to the wonderful mess that we call "the media," that dictates to them what's desirable, what they should look like, and what they should be looking for when it comes to beauty and acceptance. Curiosity and fascination about people from other countries becomes a matter of "us versus them." And it seems only natural to gossip, of which many if not all of us are guilty. Sure, there's the occasional bullying and the naive declarations of the "strangeness" about a person, but they don't know any better, and so we correct them.

So I tell myself that no matter how much I may embarrass myself in front of the teachers, or what I may misunderstand, I won't give up because it's not about them. It's about the kids. In a country that's constantly glorifying white skin, blond hair and non-brown eyes in the media, the world of Japanese children is one of non-discrimination and acceptance.

Maybe I'm making too much out of something that may not be such a big deal, but I may never know.

Substitute Teachers

2010-09-28T08:01:00.001-04:00

Today I found out that one of the classes was going to be looked after by a substitute teacher. It just so happened to be one of the fourth grade classes ...the talkative one.

Of course, anyone who went to school would remember the feeling of having a substitute teacher. Regardless of whether your regular homeroom teacher was mean or nice, there was always a feeling of excitement and curiosity among some students about who the substitute teacher would be, if they're a new substitute or one with a reputation, a man or a woman, young or old, etc.

I don't know how Class 4-2 acted earlier in the day, but when it came time for me to make my classroom visit for English, I was wondering what would happen. Their homeroom teacher is a nice and outgoing guy but, for lack of better words, he can't control his class. He's a first-year so I guess I can understand.

So could it be any worse with a substitute teacher there? Honestly, no. I don't think it would have made a difference at all. The substitute was a young woman, probably around my age and about an inch shorter than me. I was expecting the kids to be having a field day climbing on desks and yelling or something, but it was only as hectic as it is when their regular teacher is there. As I expected, the lesson plan that goes so smoothly in Class 4-1 couldn't even be finished in Class 4-2.

By the end of class, the substitute bowed to me and said "Sorry," because she knew how difficult it was to get the kids to pay attention. I was about to say that it always happens, but instead I just said "It's okay," and smiled.

Despite how hectic everything was, one student particularly enjoyed the lesson. "English class was really fun today!" she told me in Japanese, which made me feel much better.

Apartment Video Uploaded!

2010-09-24T22:37:00.001-04:00

I finally made a short clip of my apartment. I actually uploaded it on Thursday, but I had to wait for the video to process before I could pick some background music. I had commentary but realized that I could make the video much shorter if I just recorded without it. It's pretty straightforward, but if you have any questions about it or the neighborhood feel free to ask!

Daily Life as a Gaijin, Episode 7: My Apartment

The Big Shopping Blog Post

2010-09-22T08:01:00.001-04:00

I've been meaning to post photos of what I buy in Japan since I got here, but haven't gotten around to it. I figured it would be better to post these now or else I'll have hundreds of photos waiting on my hard drive.

Let's start with food and drinks.

If you can't read Japanese, it says, "It's Ramune." Ramune is basically soda, like Sprite. I found this 6-pack at the drug store and thought it was pretty cute.

It's amazing what you can find at a discounted price just because it's one day older than everything else on the shelf. With three slices at an original price of 298 yen (about $3.50), this is actually a good deal because cakes like this in Japan can be pretty expensive.

Do you know what Chu-Hi is? Think of it as alcoholic soda, with low alcohol content (usually around 3 to 6 percent). I'm not a fan of beer, so Chu-Hi is what I usually buy at the grocery store. They come in all kinds of flavors like apple, peach, grape, and lemon. This one happens to be Ramune Chu-Hi, which I'm sure my ramune-loving friends would like.

Next are some house items:

My new 2-way hair iron (flat + curling) bought from Sofmap in Kobe at 4,980 yen. I had a choice between pink and white...of course I got the pink one!

An artbook for the manga 'X' (or X/1999) by CLAMP. The manga was never completed for a variety of reasons. I hope they finish one day because it was a really interesting story. I bought this for 105 yen (no joke) at BOOK-OFF.

Glass picture frames with a beautiful black and red design. They were 100 yen each at Daiso.

On the left is a figure of Lady Oscar from one of my favorite manga/anime, The Rose of Versailles (a classic girls'/women's series from the '70s). Next to it is a silk flower arrangement that I want to be the base for my interior decorating. In front is a picture frame that matches the ones from before, carrying a picture of my family :)

Now onto clothing and accessories:

A sleeveless long vest (front and back) and a blazer bought from a shop in Sannomiya for about 1500 yen each. The vest is a little big around the waist so I plan to fix it whenever I get the chance (probably not anytime soon; sewing machines are really expensive here).

Lots of tights (ranging from 300 to 520 yen). The second picture is of possibly the most awesome pair of tights I've ever bought.

I bought these from an accessory shop at Saty a few weeks ago. I don't remember exactly how much each item cost, but the total was a little under 2000 yen (about $24), I think.

Some more major items. The bag (by annji, 3,980 yen) is from Saty. It came out as part of the Autumn 2010 collection soon after I arrived in Japan. I had been looking at this bag every time I visited Saty for about 3 weeks, and I finally decided to buy it yesterday after failing to find a bag that I liked more. The bag charm (left; by d'Angelo, 2,990 yen) and train pass case (right; by d'Angelo, 1,990 yen) were purchased in Sannomiya at an upscale department store called Marui.

These two Daisy by Marc Jacobs pouches actually came as a gift with a Japanese magazine called InRed. In Japan there are all kinds of women's magazines that come with free items (which I imagine keeps them in business, because I sure don't read the magazine). I found out after I bought the magazine that InRed is actually targeted towards women in their 30s...doesn't matter to me, I just wanted the pouches. The magazine costs 750 yen, which is a little on the higher end of magazine prices. I use the larger pouch to hold my hanko (name stamp used the same way we write a signature) and account book for my bank account. The smaller one I use for holding wrapped candy.

My collection of flower hair clips/brooches. All of them were bought in Japan but four of them were bought during my previous stay in Tokyo. The prices range from 100 yen to 840 yen.

A keychain from Claire's, 540 yen before a 50% discount. I haven't figured out what I'll do with it yet.

A collection of charms for my camera. the one furthest on the left was 399 yen. The others (excluding the heart and the long chain, those were random items I already had) were 100 yen each.

The three from the left are recent items. The strap (shown in a previous picture) was 315 yen. The cross actually came from a necklace I bought in Sannomiya for 899 yen. The third one was 70% off from around 300 yen at Claire's in Kobe. The fourth I bought about two years ago from a concert, for about 1800 yen.

Last but not least, a cell phone charm I ordered from Rakuten for 1500 yen, which just came in today.

I can't believe how long it took me to write up this post...maybe two hours? But I was watching TV at the same time so that distracted me. I'll post pictures sooner next time.

The apartment video has been re-recorded and will be up soon. I actually have tomorrow (Thursday) off because of another holiday, so I'll use that time to put the clips together.

Kishi Sports Festival

2010-09-19T20:51:00.001-04:00

On Saturday I attended the Sports Festival at Kishi. The festival is a huge event at Japanese schools, not only for the kids but for the community. Maybe it's because it was so long ago but I can barely remember having such an event that was as big when I was in elementary school. We did have a Field Day of sorts, but there wasn't nearly as much preparation involved.

At the sports festivals here in Japan, the staff and the kids work really hard to practice and set everything up. The days spent outside can be so hot and long that there have been cases of children becoming dehydrated and getting heat stroke. This summer was especially hot so we had to be very careful.

So what did the kids do at the Sports Festival? Not "sports," actually, though there was a parade featuring the soccer, baseball, and volleyball clubs. In Japanese it's called an "undoukai," and "undou" actually means "exercise" or "athletics." The kids were divided into two teams--red and white--and participated in a series of games and races. Sometimes even the parents and grandparents would participate as well.

The morning of the festival, I found out I was going to be in a relay race. I was on the team with some of the other staff. We had to do various things during the race, like carrying a ball in a ladle while running, spinning around on a bat 10 times, or running halfway and then skipping rope to get to the checkpoint. I was the one who had to jump rope, which was easy enough for me since I've done it a million times when I was in school. Our team actually ended up winning too, which was great. The kids and other teachers complimented me on how fast I can run, which is probably the extent of my athletic ability since I didn't play sports when I was younger.

The score ended up being tied between the red and white teams. I'm not sure if they did that on purpose or if it actually did happen that way. It was a good way to end my first sports festival, though. Afterward I went out with the staff and some of the PTA to dinner. I enjoyed it but I felt a little uncomfortable being the only gaijin surrounded by a whole bunch of Japanese people. Nonetheless, I still decided to join some of the others who wanted to go to the snack bar after dinner was over. Most of the younger and more outgoing teachers went, which made it really fun, even more enjoyable than the first time I went. I think the mama-san there has taken a liking to me, she's really nice and she always cheers me on when it's my turn to sing karaoke. I don't know when the next big event is, but I hope it's soon. I really love hanging out with the teachers outside of work because they're really different from how they are at school.

So now I'm enjoying the rest of my weekend, cleaning the apartment and thinking about where I want to go today and/or tomorrow. I get my next paycheck tomorrow, so I'll be buying a thing or two from my wish list :)

"Goodbye Food!"

2010-09-16T06:47:00.001-04:00

Today I ate with one of the 6th grade classes at Ichiba. In Japanese elementary schools, the kids eat in the classroom, instead of going to a cafeteria or multipurpose room like we do in the states. They also all eat the school lunch, which is usually the case in the States except for a few kids who always brought a lunch from home (like I did). Before and after the meal, one or two students will lead the class in saying a "greeting."

For those of you who don't know, in Japan the custom for meals is to recite set phrases before and after eating. Before a meal, you would say "Itadakimasu" which is literally the humble form of saying, "I will eat" or "I will receive." After a meal, the phrase is "Gochisousama deshita" which literally means "[That] was an honorable feast" or better translated as "Thank you for the food." For both phrases, you would put your hands together as if about to say a prayer. Note that it's not the exact equivalent of a prayer, so if you follow a particular religion and you're about to have a meal in Japan, saying "itadakimasu" and "gochisousama deshita" is not committing an offense against your faith.

In the U.S. we don't have universal phrases for mealtime because each family is different. My family is Christian, so we would say a prayer before eating, but we didn't say anything after the meal except for "excuse me" when we're about to leave the table. When my mom cooked for us I usually said "Thank you" afterward.

When they asked me about "itadakimasu," I explained that we didn't really have such a phrase in English and that it's okay to say, "Let's eat." But when they asked me about after the meal, I couldn't think of an equivalent nor any phrase that would be easy for Japanese elementary school students to say (I hadn't thought of "Thank you for the food" at the time). So I told the class that we didn't really have a phrase.

So what did the lead student say when we clapped our hands together after the meal?

"Goodbye food!"

Eigo Salon

2010-09-14T01:44:00.000-04:00

Once a month at Ichiba Elementary, I teach a class called "Eigo Salon." Some of the 1st and 2nd graders (and even older) come to the English classroom along with some of the kids' parents (usually mothers). We do some activities and learn vocabulary which is different from my regular classroom curriculum.

My first session was yesterday. There were about 5 or 6 mothers and about 20 kids there. I didn't have much of a clue of what I was doing but fortunately my supervisor helped out. I was thinking it would be easy since I would be teaching adults as well, but it was actually a little chaotic. I think it's because the little ones think of Eigo Salon as an after-school activity. We ended up starting late and finishing 15 minutes overtime, but everyone looked like they were having fun, especially two of the boys that were being told all of the answers by their mothers, lol.

I've got a few pictures to put up but I've been tired lately. I'm at Kishi Elementary today which means no English classroom where I can take a nap.

Just one more week until my next paycheck ^_^ The XBox 360 is on the top of my list. I have quite a few expensive items on that list (by "expensive" I mean above $100) so I decided that I would buy one of them each month, maybe two if I can manage. I might get a Japanese-English electronic dictionary soon as well, because breaking out the Nintendo DS during class is a bit unprofessional. I'm also planning to take the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) next year, so I want to prepare early.

"What's Shibuya?"

2010-09-09T02:21:00.001-04:00

During recess today two 3rd graders came into the English classroom. I wasn't doing anything important, just sitting there looking over some stuff. They came in and saw my iPod Touch (which is very popular with the kids) and so I showed them some of the pictures I had on it.

(in Japanese)
Me: "Oh, and here's Shibuya."
Student A: Shibuya?
Student B: "Eh, what's Shibuya?"
Student A: "It's that place with all the gyaru."

I didn't know what was cuter, the fact that B didn't know what Shibuya was or A's answer about all the gyaru.

Not everyone in Japan will like you.

2010-09-07T01:29:00.001-04:00

Which is the case anywhere you go, really.

At each school, there is a staff member that the other ALTs and I call the "tea lady." In Japanese they're called the 校務員, but since one of their duties is to serve tea and drinks to the other staff, we call them "tea ladies."

Strangely enough, the tea ladies at each of my schools are pretty opposite of each other. They're both about the same age I think (maybe their 60s). One of them is the sweetest lady I've ever met and doesn't complain about a thing. The other one is one of the rudest (probably THE rudest) Japanese person I've ever met. There's a long background story that I won't go into, but for some reason she simply doesn't like me, despite that I've never done a single bad thing to her. When she serves drinks to the other staff, she won't give me anything. Yesterday was a little different though: She actually did give me a drink, but there was no ice in it, though I could clearly see that the other staff had ice in theirs. Not to mention that she kind of shoved the drink on my desk and walked away.

This, however, does not bother me too much. It's annoying, but here's how I see it:

1. I have no problem getting my own drinks. In fact, I bring my own bottle of Aquarius to drink after my biking commute anyway. If I need something else, I'll get it myself in the kitchen.

2. With the amount of money I make, I don't mind putting up with one rude staff member in an entire school three days a week.

3. I'm willing to bet that the children like me more.

On top of that, I actually find her behavior quite entertaining. It gives me something to talk about, and the other ALTs that have dealt with her know exactly what I'm talking about.

You can't expect everyone to like you when working anywhere, especially overseas. It can be especially difficult when that person has been working there longer than you have. Just don't let it bother you too much, because you quitting is probably what they want.

Finally got some clothes.

2010-09-05T20:51:00.001-04:00

This weekend I had thought about going to Osaka to look for some used clothing stores. When I lived in Tokyo I would visit Kinji in Harajuku, and looking at their website I learned that a lot of their shops are in Osaka. In the end I didn't want to spend all that money traveling and suffering from the summer heat (we've been hitting record temperatures in the past few weeks) so I just decided to pick up some supplies and houseware.

I learned that right across the street from Saty is a "Joyful," which sells all kinds of houseware. But downstairs and in the back is a combined 100 yen store and grocery store. Now of course there's a Daiso next to MaxValu and on the third floor of Saty, but this 100 yen shop is a CAN☆DO (キャン・ドウ, pronounced "can doh"), which I personally prefer over Daiso. When I was in Tokyo I learned about three different 100 yen stores: CAN☆DO, Daiso, and シルク (shiruku). All of them have their pros and cons, so I went to different ones for different things. Daiso has large-sized bath towels, but they're actually 210 yen (not everything at Daiso is 100 yen). CAN☆DO has towels that are just as large for only 100 yen. They also have 100 yen hair wax, which I use to smooth down my hair.

Even though I didn't go to Osaka, I still managed to find some clothes. A lot of clothes, actually. At Saty there's a used goods shop that sells clothing, jewelry and designer handbags. They were having a summer clearance so I decided to go in and see if I would find anything, and I ended up buying at least 7 tops. Unfortunately I couldn't find any skirts or pants. I usually don't even bother with the pants because most of them are too small for me; they don't really accommodate for small waists and large hips. But here's one awesome top I bought that I plan to wear in the fall:

I wouldn't wear this to work of course, but I did find some school-appropriate clothes so I don't have to keep cycling through the same stuff each week.

I noticed that I didn't upload Part 2 of Episode 4 in my YouTube video series, so I posted that along with Episode 5. Can't wait to get internet on Wednesday!

Food for today:

Veggies, tofu, bulgogi and rice

Great questions from Elementary School Students.

2010-09-03T01:58:00.000-04:00

Today was my second day of classes, and (fortunately) my last for the week. Teaching is difficult, but for me the planning is even more difficult.

Anyway, I let the kids ask me some questions (mostly in Japanese) after I introduced myself, and here were some of the cute ones:

"Do you have a boyfriend?"
"What's your favorite shape?"
"What time is it in America right now?"
"How is American money different from Japanese money?"

The last one surprised me the most. I had a hard time figuring out how to explain the differences, but I think they got it. The "favorite shape" was adorable, and so was the little girl that asked ^_^ For some reason I always like to be asked if I have a boyfriend, even though the answer is no.

I'm so glad it's the weekend. I'm exhausted.

First Day of Teaching

2010-09-01T23:01:00.001-04:00

I just finished my first two classes of the morning, both 6th grade. I was really nervous but I think things went pretty well for the first day. The kids really loved my pictures of the family and my hobbies, and the quiz as well. I’m probably most excited about the fact that some of my kids know about Dynasty Warriors/Shin Sangoku Musou.

I’m still anxious for internet at my apartment. The router is supposed to come in soon, but I still have to wait until next Wednesday for the connection. I haven’t decided what I want to do this weekend, but I definitely need more clothes. Maybe I’ll venture to Osaka if I’m not too exhausted by the end of the week.

Fruit bowl with melon, nata de coco, white peaches, mandarin oranges, and pineapple. Just looking at it makes me hungry.

Just a little while longer...

2010-08-29T01:42:00.001-04:00

I was just informed that my connection date for Internet will be September 8th. I was hoping it would be sooner, but oh well.

I decided that I would re-do the video of the apartment after that gets set up.

In other news, I went to Sofmap in Kobe yesterday and bought a printer/scanner, an HP Touchsmart. It has wireless capabilities, but unfortunately it doesn't have 802.11n, which is currently the fastest speed. That doesn't matter to me though, because the printer's price was slashed from 12800 yen to about 6900 yen, which is a great deal. I like that I can change the touchscreen's language. Even though I'm pretty sure I can understand the Japanese, if I ever give it so someone else I can change the language to English of whatever language they may need.

Next will be to buy an Airport Express, which I'm very excited about. I'll be able to connect my speakers to it and use AirTunes.

And if my budget allows it, I'll buy an Xbox 360 Slim (which has built-in wi-fi) and have my brother send it to me.

It's only been a week since I got paid and I'm already waiting for the next pay day...

I'm not paying THAT much for Windows 7.

2010-08-25T22:34:00.002-04:00

The cost is mainly attributed to convenience.

For certain reasons, I'm thinking of installing Windows 7 on my MacBook Pro. I had Windows on my old MacBook so that I could use a Windows-formatted iPod Classic, which would make it compatible with any system using Windows. Since I don't have my iPod Classic anymore, I don't have a reason to get Windows 7 except for extra compatibility, since the computers at my two schools use Windows 7.

In order for me to get a FULL, retail version of Windows 7 Professional, I have to pay about $300, depending on where I look. When I did a search on Google, I found that $300 could also get me a 5-user family pack of Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard, which isn't even the latest version. The 10.6 Snow Leopard upgrade is about $25 to $30. After my experiences with OEM versions of Windows, I know I need a retail version so I can move the installation from one computer to another when necessary.

Windows advocates could make the argument that "Snow Leopard is a service pack," and that Windows service packs are free, so the two aren't comparable. True, the two might not be comparable. But I would much rather deal with [very] occasional updates--most of which do not require me to restart my computer--than to be given a new update after I've JUST rebooted from installing another update, and have this happen at least three times, and if I don't want it to update yet, it won't leave me alone until I stop everything I'm doing and click "Install and Restart."

This makes me think back to when I was helping my mom set up her new laptop, which was actually my brother's old one. It runs Vista, and when it asked to install updates, it ended up installing over 100 items...understandable, since Vista is old. When I rebooted, it still had about 30 more items to install. Seriously?

I've had friends tell me they wish they could get a Mac, "but it's too expensive." They are expensive, I'll admit that. However, they are worth the cost when you know how to take advantage of their simplicity and flexibility. I kind of hate seeing people with Macs and NOT using them to their full potential. They're probably people who "grew up using Macs," but Windows is not that hard to use--they could save a lot of money if they just learn how to use them.

I suppose Windows OS software is so expensive in order to make it fair for other OS makers. A large percentage of computer users in the world use Windows, so to make the software more affordable would only increase the ratio between Windows/OSX/Linux users in favor of Microsoft. Also, it's expensive because people are simply willing to pay that much. If they need it, they need it. And they will pay what it's worth to them. I could build a computer and get a Linux OS for free, but from previous conflicts I've had with Linux, I'm willing to pay for the convenience of a somewhat simpler operating system.

Believe it or not, I'm actually very frugal with my money. Whatever it is I buy, I want to spend the least amount possible, and if I can't find an ideal price, I will wait as long as possible until either the price goes down or I have more money in my pocket. It's a challenge to do this in Japan, where nearly everything is extremely overpriced. I guess that's why I buy so many things at 100 yen shops.

Stupid bike key...

2010-08-25T00:42:00.000-04:00

Of all days to end up late for school, it had to be on a day when I had a staff meeting at one of my schools.

I rarely misplace my keys, but it's always my bike key that ends up elsewhere. Here's how my bike lock works:

When I need to unlock my bike, I put the key in, push it to the side, and the lock pops open. The key can't be removed as long as it's like that. When I need to lock the bike, I simply push the latch down all the way, and then the key pops out.

When I lock my bike, I try to attach my bike key to the same keychain with my apartment key and so on, but somehow things are a little hectic when I have to carry bags and stuff, so I lock the bike and put the key in some random place. Because of this, my key usually ends up in my bag, on the dining area table, on the table in front of the TV, etc.

Today, I had to get to school for a staff meeting at 9:00. No problem, since I usually come in at that time anyway. At 8:40 I was on my way out, when I discovered that my key was missing. I checked to see if I forgot to pull it out of the bike lock, but no luck. I went back to my apartment and started pushing stuff around, lifting things, trying to find that stupid key. At 8:55 I gave up and called my supervisor to tell her what happened. She had another staff member come pick me up at 9:20 so I could get there at 9:30. After I got off the phone, I kept looking. At around 9, I finally found my key, stuffed between the armrest and a cushion of my sofa. Maybe I need a bike lock where I don't have to detach my bike key from my regular keys.

I was really angry, but relieved that no one stole it or anything. But since I didn't take my bike to school, I have to figure out how I'm getting home today. I could walk, but I'm sure no one would let me.

Fortunately, none of the staff (particularly the principal and vice principal) seemed angry or anything. I got there, listened to some stuff that I couldn't understand well, and then introduced myself as the vice principal asked me to do yesterday. I think my perapera nihongo ('fluent Japanese') made them forgive me.

Anyway, I guess it's good that this happened early and not later when I had to teach a class or something. I'll spend the last few days of summer break trying to "loss-proof" my bike key.

Food for the day:

Scrambled egg with green peppers, a salad, and toast with butter and apple jelly.

New Suitcase

2010-08-23T00:34:00.001-04:00

I bought a small carry-on suitcase for shopping expeditions. At 7190 yen, it's considered to be pretty expensive compared to those in the U.S., but the price was better than almost all of the other hardshell suitcases I saw at Saty. I had to choose between black and silver, and I chose the silver one. I like all of the compartments inside, and I think my favorite feature is the built-in TSA lock.

It looks pretty business-y right now...as if it should either carry a bomb or 10 million dollars. But I put a cute keychain on it that I bought from claire's in Kobe, so it looks a little more like what I want it to. I'm going to order some stickers to put on it as well.

I would upload my video but for some reason I can't get iMovie to connect to YouTube, so I'll have to wait for later.

Food time:

Gyuudon (beef donburi). There are all kinds of donburi, which is basically something served over rice in a bowl. My favorite is oyakodonburi (chicken and egg over rice) but lately I've been enjoying beef. Donburi is really quick to make when you have rice left in the rice cooker and aren't sure what to do with it.

EDIT: Forgot food pics!

2010-08-20T23:23:00.001-04:00

I forgot to put the photos of recent food that I made in my last post, so I'll add two here.

Okonomiyaki, with kiri-mochi inside (which you can't see)

I grilled some beef in the small grill under the stovetop.

A Hectic Weekend.

2010-08-20T21:04:00.001-04:00

I was going to make a video just now, but I have some shopping to do so and Ono Matsuri is today so I'm going to wait until Sunday.

My Thursday consisted of work and attending an 'enkai' with teachers from my two elementary schools and another ALT's middle school. They had a meeting about the English curriculum, which I couldn't attend because I had to pick up my Alien Registration Card (also known as a Gaijin Card) from the Board of Education.

The enkai was great. We had some good food (I tried beef tongue which is actually much more delicious than it sounds). I also dared to sing karaoke, but the song selection was really small. I ended up singing Utada Hikaru's "Flavor of Life," and some of the young male teachers started backup dancing and supporting me, which was really funny. Afterwards, a small group of us went to a snack bar which is in my neighborhood. Snack bars are prevalent in this area, apparently. It was a nice, humble environment. We all had some drinks and snacks and sang a lot of songs. I got a lot of compliments, though my voice wasn't at its best. One of the teachers said I was "umasugiru" (like saying "extremely good," literally "too good") and said I shouldn't give up on being a singer if I want to. I'm not sure if I'm THAT good, but after hearing some of the performers in the industry now, I think I have a chance.

I'll talk about my Friday and my Saturday as well in the video. On a side note, I can't stand AKB48. I thought Johnny's was bad...but I'd rather listen to them instead.

Food made in the Apartment

2010-08-18T23:26:00.000-04:00

I've never considered cooking something I enjoy doing; I prefer the eating part. But if I want to eat well and save money, cooking is necessary.

It takes time to upload these photos, so I'm going to post one every time I make a new blog.

Today's photo is of a delicious chicken doria I made during my first week. I've made this before in Tokyo but This time I have a gratin dish instead of that little pot. Inside is chicken, eggplant, okra, and green peppers. The sauce is my favorite Hello Kitty doria sauce from the 100 yen shop :D

My YouTube Channel

2010-08-14T02:16:00.001-04:00

For anyone who may not have noticed, I have a YouTube Channel. There are four episodes so far, and I'm also working on two other small projects. I've taken a few videos of my apartment but I haven't had time to compile them into one.

So for now, here's my latest video.

Daily Life as a Gaijin, Episode 3: About Cockroaches

Words of Wisdom from a 5th year ALT

2010-08-08T01:33:00.001-04:00

At the ALT Panel during Tokyo Orientation, a question was asked about inappropriate touching at schools (from both adults and children) and how to deal with it. One of the panelists got into his experience at an elementary school and offered the greatest advice in regards to 30 5-year old kids running towards you:

"I just let them touch me."

This caused everyone in the audience to laugh really hard. He laughed as well, realizing the awkwardness of his statement, and then continued his story by saying, "After class..." which just made the audience laugh harder and start applauding.

During my first few days in Ono, I've been paying more attention to the elementary school-aged kids here, and some even younger. While I was getting my cell phone at the au shop (pictures later) There were three little girls sitting at a table playing with some toys. The toddler dropped one of them and it rolled under my chair and hit my foot. I reached under and held it out to her, and she took it while the other two girls were staring at me. I smiled, waved and said "konnichiwa," and they just waved back. The other ALT and I had to go to our dorm quickly to pick up documentation required for our phones, and on the way out I said "bye bye," and they answered back and smiled.

Interaction with them is no problem, since Japanese kids are so incredibly cute, but the teaching is what makes me a little nervous. I just want to make sure they're learning and having fun.

So what does that have to do with touching? Absolutely nothing. If anything I think my hair would be the most curious thing about me.

In Ono

2010-08-06T05:40:00.000-04:00

I'm finally in Ono. It's not as rural as I thought it would be, so that's great. It reminds me of some suburbs in Maryland, i.e. driving is the most convenient. I have a bicycle so I have to get used to that.

I'm using someone else's internet so I won't say much, but I will say that:

1. I'm nervous about starting work.
2. I finally got a cell phone :)
3. The view in Ono is WONDERFUL.

In Tokyo Again

2010-08-02T10:40:00.002-04:00

I arrived in Tokyo yesterday evening, greeted by the worst humidity I've felt in a long time--even worse than back home. Soon after arriving, I put my stuff down, freshened up, and went out to explore Shinjuku.

It felt like a dream, and at the same time it felt like I had never left. A few paces and turns and I could see Kabukicho, an area I visited many times. I understand the warnings from the JET advisors about the area, which mainly apply to those who have never visited Kabukicho or know what's there. But I felt no hesitation going back there. I didn't visit a host club, but I did some observing. Some things have changed, but much of the area is the same.

After a long first day of orientation today (Monday), I went out again. I just stopped by two 100 yen stores, and then went to Shibuya to BOOK-OFF to buy a few cheap CDs and magazines. On my way back to the station and before the large crossing, There was a group of people standing around. As I got closer, I heard a saxophone, and then a bass guitar and drums. I was listening to some of the most awesome music. There they were, these three guys jamming for a crowd.

Neither all day nor since I arrived at the airport did I smile as much as I did after hearing their music. Believe it or not, I hadn't been all that excited since I've been here, and that band really cheered me up a lot.

I bought their CD and have some short videos that I took of them. I'll post their flyer info later, but right now I should get some rest.

Back to the Future...

2010-07-31T01:03:00.001-04:00

In just a few hours, I will be on my way back to Japan. (I say "Future" because I'm crossing time zones to a country that's 13 hours ahead.)

My room is definitely not 100% clean, especially compared to how it was the last time I left. There are a few reasons for that. One, because my brother's wedding was the week before, and things were really hectic. Two, I didn't want to start packing and cleaning too early because it would have been annoying taking things out of my suitcase that I want to use or wear and then putting them back. And finally, it's because I still haven't accepted that I'm leaving. In my heart I don't want to leave. I know there are great things to look forward to, but I feel like I haven't spent enough time with my family and friends. Leaving them the first time made me realize just how much I really missed them. And now, just when I've gotten used to being back in the U.S. and just when I started having fun with everyone, I have to leave again.

There will certainly be plenty of things to keep me busy. I pray that this experience will be just as good as or even greater than my last experience living daily life as a gaijin.

Here is a video I made last night. I hope to do these videos regularly throughout my experience in Japan.

Finally Started Packing.

2010-07-20T15:29:00.001-04:00

Yesterday my mom and I finally found suitcases. I didn't expect to get hardshell suitcases, but after comparing them with the semi-soft suitcases at T.J. Maxx, they were actually a lot lighter. There's so much space that I'm actually looking for things to put in the first suitcase and I don't even need Space Bags for the clothes that are in there. Right now it's about 75% filled. I'm not trying to overstuff them or anything, and I'm making sure I stay under the 50 lbs. weight limit. I'm going to see if I can use the Wii Fit Balance Board to weigh my luggage...I wonder if that will work.

I was also looking for a color that would stand out, so I wouldn't have to sit there looking for a scrap of fabric tied to my black suitcase. I ended up getting a gorgeous purple color.

Fortunately, They carried two of the same sizes. Whenever I found a suitcase I liked, I ended up only finding one in the store. They both look like this:

They're made by the company Heys, and they seem to have a lot of good reviews for their other products on Amazon. I expect these to withstand many trips through baggage check. Thanks Mom and Dad :)

Posting One Blog Post to Multiple Blogs

2010-07-17T11:14:00.002-04:00

I don't know why I didn't try to figure this out before. I figured that I could only have my blog at one location or the other, because it would be too much work to post at two blogs manually.

I've downloaded a Firefox Add-on called ScribeFire, which will probably help me. Because my Blogger has been around longer, it gets more visitors (and possibly because it's affiliated with Google, hmmm?). But I hated the commenting system because a simple function wasn't available: Trying to reply to comments. I would constantly wonder if the few visitors I got ever saw my responses to their comments. Well for the old posts that won't change, but for future posts (like this one) I've set up IntenseDebate to revamp the commenting system.

This post here is a test to see how this works. I should be able to type up a blog, tell it to post to Blogger, and then switch the option to WordPress without having to retype anything.

Since ScribeFire is a Firefox Add-on, in case I'm at a computer other than my own I should be able to use Blog It, which is a Facebook App. I would have tried that first but I don't like the idea of having to use a Facebook app to do my blogging.

If this proves to be efficient, then Blogger will be back open for business :)

Moving to WordPress

2010-04-26T08:55:00.001-04:00

Well, I've moved the blog. WordPress made it very easy for me to import all of my posts, and so far I like all of the options laid out.

The new address is here-->http://sooyong.wordpress.com

I'll be updating the look and features later on when I have time. Update your bookmarks, and I'll see you over at WordPress!

Blogger Comment Test

2010-04-26T08:30:00.002-04:00

I really hate that Blogger doesn't have a "Reply to comment" option, so I added one. Maybe I'll try to import my blog to a service that has a better system, because I get the feeling that readers aren't seeing my replies to their comments.

If you're reading this from Facebook, just ignore it; I'm just posting this so I can do a comment test.

Stressed Out.

2010-04-21T10:27:00.002-04:00

I'm really tired. I've been tired a lot lately. I have JET forms to get done, people to call, places to go, things to buy.

Been doing a lot of praying that God gets me through the next few weeks, one day at a time.

A thought came to me a few days ago: Even if JET puts me out there in the boondocks, it's still much closer to Tokyo than if I stayed here. It's also easier for me to save money if there's nothing to spend it on.

We still have to see, though. Printer ink to buy today, chest x-ray to get tomorrow, fingerprints on Friday. It'll all happen, one day at a time.

Next Stage.

2010-04-14T20:28:00.003-04:00

This is kind of late...I've been really busy lately, juggling modeling and school and Bible study.

Last Thursday, I was on a dinner cruise by the Waterfront with my friend, who was appointed a few months ago to be a Global Ambassador for the D.C. Cherry Blossom Festival. It was a lot fun; we danced, ate good food, and got to talk to some nice people. I used my friend's phone to check my e-mail, because I was supposed to be finding out about the results for JET that evening.

I got in.

My submission of required forms will confirm my acceptance into the program. I will be leaving for Japan on July 31st.

It really is bittersweet. That day is my dad's birthday. It's also during the weekend of Otakon, which I had been hoping to attend this year. Ever since I returned to the U.S., I had become more and more comfortable with the idea of staying here. I got to spend more time with my friends, caught up with others, established modeling as a new hobby...and now I'm leaving again. And there's no guarantee I'll be placed in a desirable area in Japan. I'll have to learn to deal with my surroundings.

But as I said to my friend, "We can't always do what we want to do, especially not just coming out of college." With this economy, getting a "fun" job really shouldn't be as much of a priority as getting a job in the first place. Once I find out where I will be placed, I should be fortunate that I've secured a source of income at all, and a decent one at that.

We'll see where life takes me. For now, I need to finish up my semester and enjoy the time I have left with my friends.

A Possible Fork in the Road.

2010-04-05T21:39:00.003-04:00

When the JET Interview committee asked me, "If we place you in a rural area contrary to your preferences, how would you deal with that?" I said that I trusted JET to place everyone according to their best judgment, and that "What happens, happens."

In my mind, I was thinking that being placed in a rural area is NOT what I wanted, but that it would probably be better than staying in the States.

I find out about my position in the JET application process this week. This stage is only for notification of acceptance, not for placement. Which means that, if I get into JET, I won't actually know about my placement until May or June.

For a long time I didn't think I'd have any opportunities if I stayed here in Maryland, so I had my heart set on getting into JET. But a lot of things have been coming up. Pop Show Japan, a monthly J-Pop event, has started up recently at Club Orpheus in Baltimore. I attended a few weeks ago and had a lot of fun. And of course, Otakon is the same weekend as the JET candidates' departure date. I really missed being at Otakon last year, mostly for cosplay. Katsucon was a good substitute, but it was really cold and it felt much shorter than Otakon--probably because I usually didn't get to the con until around 11am or 1pm at the latest each day.

And now, modeling. I started back up again, and I've had two photoshoots so far this year. I have two more possibly coming up this weekend, another next Saturday, and more in the future. I'm building up my portfolio for now, but it's possible that I could actually be going somewhere with this. Sure, I could model in Japan, but the opportunities are very slim if I'm in the middle of nowhere.

All I can do is pray and wonder what JET has decided. It's rare that my future has been this uncertain to me; all of my life I've pretty much been given one opportunity at a time: attending Eleanor Roosevelt High School, getting into the University of Maryland, and studying abroad in Japan. I never doubted that I would get those opportunities, and I didn't really have strong alternatives in case I didn't make it. This time, I don't know what I want more--JET, which is certain, or a chance to shape my own future here in the States (with the intention of returning to Japan one day, of course).

JET Interview

2010-02-19T16:48:00.002-05:00

I went in treating it like any other day when a random person asks me about my life and career goals. On the train back from Dupont Circle, I thought, "An interview is basically a fancy way of people asking, 'Who are you and why are you here?'" I went and I told them who I was. Now it's just a matter of whether they find me suitable for the job.

For the past few months, I've realized that as much as I don't like living in Maryland, it does have its perks, with anime conventions and cosplay being the latest rediscovery. So if I don't get this job, I won't be devastated. I just need to find another road to get where I'm going. Even now my destination is still unknown. I'm just going to trust the man upstairs to get me there.

My Honest Thoughts on Cosplay

2010-02-15T10:19:00.006-05:00

Last weekend I went to Katsucon, my first convention since I returned to the U.S. and since Otakon 2008. I cosplayed as Silmeria from Valkyrie Profile 2, and entered my first Hall Costume Contest. For that I got an Honorable Mention, which isn't bad for a first entry.

I'm definitely no professional costume maker, but I do have a good sense of aesthetics. A lot of people talk about cosplay, whether it's actually doing it or looking at other cosplayers and judging what's good and what's bad. I think another topic that people tend to avoid is skin color. Some non-Asian and non-White people might feel discouraged to cosplay because they think they won't look as good in a costume.

I'll tell you, a couple of years ago I saw a black Sephiroth and he looked MUCH better than any of the white ones I've seen. And of course I have dark skin as well, but that didn't stop me from cosplaying as a snow-white Chinese warrior or a blonde--twice.

So skin color doesn't really matter. What matters is how well the costume is made. A black Morrigan whose costume is well-done is more pleasing to the eye than a white or Asian with a crappy costume.

Now, if someone is doing a casting for a Dark Stalkers movie and they want the most accurate, they will look for a light-skinned person. Of course, we all know that. No one suggested a black person to play Goku in Dragonball, or Speed in Speed Racer, or Tony Stark in Iron Man.

But that's not what cosplay is about. At least, not here.

I'm not sure what Japanese cosplayers would say. I'm inclined to say that they'll secretly think that only Asians or white people should cosplay light-skinned characters, but the opposite is just as likely. Everyone has something to say.

Overall appearance is different. If you weigh 300 pounds, don't cosplay as Zero Suit Samus. If you're cosplaying as Lady Oscar from Rose of Versailles, don't waddle or walk like an ape. If you don't know how to walk in heels and your character walks in heels, LEARN TO WALK IN HEELS. I was so disappointed to see a Sailor Jupiter at the con who wobbled in her boots like a four-year old playing dress-up.

Personally, I get annoyed when some fat hairy dude decides that he wants to dress up as Faye Valentine or Tifa. I don't think it's funny at all; it's just stupid and gross. But I can't say he doesn't have a right to do it. Not everyone takes cosplay seriously.

But if you are looking to take cosplay seriously, if you are looking to bring a character to life, you have to learn what characters are suitable for you. I probably wouldn't make a very convincing Sailor Uranus, not because I'm short but because I don't feel that I can mimic her personality and image.

Which brings me to another part of cosplay. The best cosplayers--the ones that a lot of the people are impressed by and want to remember--are the ones who don't just look the part, but act the part as well. I met a woman a few years ago who was crossplaying as Zhang He, and she did well to act as flamboyant and narcissistic as he was in the game. At Katsucon I saw a Neku from The World Ends With You who had a nonchalant attitude and an almost "angry-at-the-world" look on his face--which is EXACTLY the kind of person Neku is. Cosplayers acting out of character can be funny sometimes, but a lot of people would probably get that nostalgic feeling from seeing that character truly come to life as he or she is supposed to.

Perhaps I'm being a little too serious, but this is something I was thinking about long before I even knew how Japanese cosplayers treated their art.

Tips for Packing: During Your Stay (and Takkyuubin)

2010-01-16T08:08:00.003-05:00

A few months ago I wrote a post about packing before going overseas (specifically Japan). You can click here to read that entry. In this post, I will write a few things to consider while staying overseas, whether it's for a few weeks or a few months. But first I'll explain about the takkyuubin (宅急便), the handy service in Japan for delivering everything from small packages to large suitcases.

In my previous post, I mentioned that I did not have my luggage the first night I stayed in Japan. Fortunately I packed a change of clothes for orientation in my carry-on that I brought with me. But where exactly was my luggage?

My luggage was in transit through takkyuubin. After arriving at the airport, I went to the takkyuubin kiosk and my friend who met me there helped me fill the form out with my name and address. Because I had a friend with me, we could have taken our suitcases all the way back to my dorm, but we wanted to make sure we had time to get there before the front desk closed for the night. A couple of heavy suitcases would have slowed us down. We were also able to eat once we got to Ikebukuro station, and didn't have those suitcases in the restaurant with us.

My stuff arrived pretty quickly. By the time I got back from orientation the next day, my suitcases were right there in the lobby. The great thing about takkyuubin is that it's pretty fast, but you should still send your things at least 3 days in advance, or a week to be safe. You can also use takkyuubin to send your luggage to the airport or a different hotel. Just make sure that you have whatever you need in the several days that you won't have everything available.

Now I know many people don't even think about packing in the middle of their overseas stay, but it's good to consider. I'll list a few tips:

1. If you're staying for a short time and only need one suitcase, take an extra if you're planning to do a lot of shopping. Air travel fees are changing all the time in this economy, so I don't know if they still allow up to two pieces of luggage without a fee, but as long as the fee is cheaper than actually sending a package, you should go ahead and take that extra suitcase. If you're only staying for a few weeks and have a Space Bag, you may not even need the extra suitcase.

2. If you're staying for a few months up to a year, pack and send things as early as possible. This can apply to seasonal clothes, gifts for family, and anything you buy that you don't need until you get back. If you send things early, you save yourself the trouble of having to pack it all up at the last minute. You'll also be able to send everything by ship (which takes about two months) and save money compared to sending it by air or express. I had boxes that I had been packing for months, and once I filled them up they were ready to send a few days before I came back home in August. They were mostly CDs and winter clothes, so I sent them by ship and received them around September.

3. I'm not sure if I said this in my first post, but have a couple of extra Space Bags. Take them with you when you leave or order some while you're overseas. Not only will a few extra help in case the old and worn ones in your suitcase become damaged, but they're great when packing out-of-season clothing in boxes to send home.

4. Carefully consider what you buy. Before you buy something large and/or heavy, think about how you will send it home. I know Japan can be really exciting for the otaku and fashion junkie, but try not to spend all your money on things simply because it's "something you can't get at home." No matter how much you buy, when you leave Japan there are and always will be things that you won't have. And there are some things that will still be there if you are ever able to go back.

5. When buying essentials for your living space, shop at the 100 yen shop FIRST. They sell the cheapest items, so if you have to leave things behind, you won't think it was a waste. If you're in the Tokyo area, two of the biggest shops I've been to are the Daiso (ダイソー) on Takeshita Street in Harajuku and CAN・DO (キャン・ドウ) in Shinjuku, located in the building attached to Seibu-Shinjuku Station. You can go here to view Daiso locations all over Japan. However, not all 100 yen shops are the same size. Try to see what you can find at your nearest 100 yen shop, and then you can try the bigger ones.

That's all I have for now. The next part I write will be about packing up before leaving, which I've already gone into a little bit in this post. Hope you find this to be useful :) Click here if you missed my first post about packing before the trip.

How to Buy Concert Tickets Online in Japan, Part 1 (Registration)

2010-01-14T11:45:00.002-05:00

Finally, I'm writing a guide to explain how to register and purchase tickets on Ticket Pia. Ticket Pia is one of the many online services to purchase tickets to concerts, musicals, and other events in Japan. What I love about ordering things in Japan is that credit card is not always required (although that is what I used to buy my tickets). You can have the tickets mailed to you (as I did) but you can also pick them up at selected convenience stores.

Before I go on, READ THIS FIRST:

If there is a specific event that you wish to attend, make sure you register for an account days BEFORE tickets go on sale. You don't want to get stuck registering at the last minute, only for the event to be sold out by the time you finish signing up. Services like Ticket Pia and Lawson Ticket are entirely in Japanese, so if you don't have the least bit of Japanese language ability, I suggest that you get some. (Otherwise, why be in Japan in the first place?) If you have a Japanese friend to help you, then you don't need this guide. But if you're like me and have to figure things out on your own, read on.

Things you will need:
A Japanese address
A Japanese phone number
An input method for typing in Japanese (if you don't have it set up already, click here to enable it for Mac OS X and here for Windows)

Optional:
Rikaichan (A pop-up dictionary extension for Firefox. It helps in case there is something you can't read).

First, the main page, which is here (URL: http://t.pia.jp). The top of the page will look something like this (click to see full size):

Click the link that's circled (that's the member registration link) and it will lead you to a page like this:

Chances are you're a fresh new visitor to the site, so click the orange button in the green box. The next page is just the Terms of Use, so go ahead and click the orange button there as well. Then comes the fun part:

The registration form. I've had issues with Japanese registration forms, because they can be very picky about how they want you to type in your information. Fortunately, Pia is a little easier to deal with. Look to the right of each text field and it will tell you in parentheses how the text should be typed. Japanese text comes in full- and half-width sizes, which is what these parenthetical references are describing. I don't know about Windows, but in OS X Kotoeri automatically adjusts to the required input, so you shouldn't have to manually convert to a different character width.

If you do not have a Japanese name (or any name that uses Chinese characters), you can type your name in Katakana in both the お名前 and フリガナ fields. Remember that last name comes before first name.

The address section might be a little tricky depending on your address. If you don't plan to have your tickets mailed to you, you can leave out a few things in the ビル・マンション名 section until it lets you go to the next page. (For example, when I was in Japan I lived in a building called J-DREAM 富士見台. For this step-by-step I had trouble with that field so I left out the J-DREAM part.) For the phone number, hopefully you have a Japanese cell phone, but if not you can try using the phone number of the building located at the address you're using. I've never had Ticket Pia call me so I don't think it's a big deal.

Next is the payment information. By default, "Don't choose a payment method" is selected, so you can leave it alone until you're ready to make a purchase. If you want to choose right away, you can choose between the convenience store/bank option or credit card. You can always change this later.

You can enter in some alternate e-mail addresses if you want. At the bottom is the confirmation code of course. If something goes wrong with your registration you'll need to type this and your chosen password again along with making any necessary corrections to the form. Once everything goes through, you'll arrive at the confirmation page. If the information is correct, click the orange button on the right. If you need to make changes, click the center button. The grey button on the left is to abort and return to the main page.

While writing this up I didn't submit my sample registration, so I don't remember if anything else comes up. Check your e-mail for the registration confirmation, and from there you should be ready to go. Log in to your account and start searching for events. You can search for events by artist, so you can view all of the upcoming lives that artist or band has scheduled. Be sure to check the location of those lives, so you don't end up having to take a Shinkansen across the country (or not go at all).

I left quite a few things unexplained, which is why I advise you to learn Japanese so that you can figure things out for yourself :) If you have any specific questions, you can leave a comment.

Part 2 will include tips and information for when you're ready to buy tickets. I can't really tell you how to get the best seats, but I can explain a few things about how to get tickets before they run out.

Random Lessons about Japan

2010-01-01T23:07:00.002-05:00

1. The pronunciation of the first 'a' in 'manga' is NOT as in 'mango'.

2. Talking on your cell phone while on a train in Japan is considered rude. (But if you're a gaijin and very discreet about it and keep the conversation very short, it's okay, lol.)

3. Just because McDonald's is an American fast food place does NOT mean you can state your order in English while in Japan and expect the employees to understand you.

4. In Japan, convenience stores really ARE convenient. You can buy food and alcohol, pay bills, make photocopies and purchase concert tickets all in one place. They're also a good shelter in Kabukicho while you're waiting on a host to meet you for karaoke after they finish work.

5. And speaking of shelter, if you ever miss the last train home while in a place like Shibuya or Shinjuku, look for a place to sleep at McDonald's. They're open all night and at least you won't go hungry.

100th post :)

2009-12-28T07:20:00.005-05:00

Apparently this is my 100th post on this blog.

Yay! Okay.

So, for the first time in about two years, my favorite band L'Arc~en~Ciel is releasing something new. The new single is called 'BLESS,' but I'm actually more excited about their alter ego band's release, which is Route 666 2010!!! Route 666 is one of my favorite songs, so I'm pretty excited. I hope they've been able to make a great remake...P'UNK~EN~CIEL's been going a bit downhill lately. Their last good song (to me, at least) was I Wish 2007, but DUNE 2008...let's not talk about that XD

In other Laruku news, I was wondering about this before, but after checking it's certain. I don't follow Laruku like I used to so I'm kind of late...tetsu has changed his stage name to 'tetsuya'.

...

I don't know why he did. 'tetsu' is shorter and kind of more youthful. I guess since my favorite bouncy bass player is 40 now he thought he should change his name :/ It's kind of weird because for almost 20 years, all of his fans have known him and loved him as 'tetsu'. I guess we can still call him 'tet-chan.' I mean, hyde is still hyde and we KNOW that's not his real name!

TETSU69, tetsu, tetsuya, TETSUYA...no matter what his name is, I hope he will always be the same no matter what. I hope his wife didn't put him up to the name change...I can imagine the little brat--err, lady telling him "Only I get to call you 'tetsu'! Everyone else has to call you something else!" Haha...I'm kidding. I hope they're still [happily] married.

JACK IN THE BOX 2009 was on Sunday. I looked at the report and was kind of sad that I couldn't be there. As you might know, I went to JACK IN THE BOX 2008 last year and had a great time there. The great thing about JITB is that it changes every year, so even though I couldn't go this year, I'm still happy about last year's. 2008 had all four members of Laruku (even though they weren't playing together) and I unexpectedly saw Miyavi and T.M.Revolution. Of course 2009's must have been really awesome as well. Who knows, maybe I'll be there in 2010.

EDIT: I should say that "BLESS" is their first in over a year, but not two years. I was thinking about "DRINK IT DOWN" but I completely forgot about "NEXUS 4/SHINE"! I loved being able to see them on the MUSIC STATION Super Live last year on TV...

Jisho.org Sentence examples

2009-12-07T10:08:00.002-05:00

Whenever I'm working on something Japanese-related (which is all the time) I use jisho.org to look up words I don't know. It uses the same database as the famous Jim Breen's WWWJDIC, but the interface is more user-friendly. Every once in a while I look up example sentences for certain words and a peculiar example comes up.

The example sentence of the day is this:

米消費者団体がRealPlayerを「バッドウェアと認定している。
American consumer group identifies RealPlayer as 'badware'.

The translations aren't always 100% accurate; neither are the original Japanese sentences. But it's amusing to find such examples in the dictionary, as if we would really use them in real life. Who knows, maybe someone will find themselves in a conversation with a Japanese person about RealPlayer.

Comment Denied.

2009-12-03T04:36:00.005-05:00

I woke up this morning to find an inappropriately judgmental, offensive and really amusing comment pending approval on my blog. Twice, by two different IDs.

It kinda went down like this:

"I don't know you, never met you but I'm going to judge you anyway."
"Host clubs are dumb and you're an idiot."
"Hosts probably hate you."
"HAI GAIZ, IF YOU WANNA HEAR ABOUT HOW HOST CLUBS SUCK, EMAIL ME AT IAMDOUCHEBAG@DOUCHEBAGCENTRAL.COM"

The poor thing even tried to comment with two different IDs, first with an AOL ID and then thinking that his/her Blogger ID would be able to bypass comment approval.

Then of course, I got my e-mail notification so I could reject both of them.

But this douch--err, person, is right about one thing: Hosts clubs can be dangerous. Some hosts will try and do whatever they can to make you believe they're in love with you. But guess what else? It's no secret that pursuing relationships with them is pretty much no good. If you spend $5,000 in one night, no one *made* you do that. It's a question of self-control.

That being said, never ever go to a host club alone for the first time.

Like I said in my last post, anyone who has questions can ask me. I'm not going to tell you "OMG YOU SHOULD TOTALLY GO IT'S LIKE SO FUN AND YOU'LL FEEL LIKE YOU HAVE A BOYFRIEND!!!!111" I can't control who goes and who doesn't, but I'm going to give a fair and honest account about my experience and what I know.

If you go to a host club and spend all your money there and go broke, don't come back blaming me. Hosts can't force you to do anything, it's your choice. It takes a lot of logic, self-control, and background knowledge. I'll provide a link to this post in all my other posts about host clubs, but I'm NOT going to say "Yeah hosts are bad people and it's totally their fault for the money that customers spend! And oh yeah customers are stupid!" That's not why I researched the topic at Rikkyo.

Yes, I'm still interested in host clubs.

2009-11-22T14:01:00.004-05:00

I'm writing a paper for my computer science class about the Internet's impact on my field of study, which of course is Japanese. I started talking about how Facebook and AIM helped me get in contact with some people that were able to help me, so I figured I'd make a short post right now.

If you happen to come across this post and have a question about host clubs, don't be afraid to contact me (no asking "What's a host club" or anything like that--you can look that up yourself). I'm sure there must be a lot of people out there who are looking for some insight, just like I was when I started researching host clubs last year. Since I'm not living in Japan right now I won't be able to accompany anyone to a shop, but I can at least suggest a few places and offer some tips and information.

President Obama and The Custom of Bowing

2009-11-19T11:28:00.004-05:00

If you've been up-to-date with recent news about President Obama's recent tour through Asia, you're probably aware of the uproar from conservatives in the U.S. about his gesture to the Japanese Emperor Akihito and Mistress Michiko. That is, his deep bow accompanied by a handshake.

According to former Vice President Dick Cheney, Obama's gesture was unnecessary and represented a "sign of weakness," as if the President was recognizing some kind of inferiority to the Land of the Rising Sun.

I mean really, that's not necessarily untrue. The US Dollar-Japanese Yen exchange rate is down the drain for us. Japan makes better electronics, have an overall healthier population, better customer service...I could go on and on.

But that's not the point.

Anyone who knows anything about Japanese culture would realize that a bow is NOT a sign of weakness. It is a sign of respect and a display of humility. It's a formal way of greeting someone.

The President was on Japanese soil, in the Emperor's country. The Emperor is the (supposed) highest authority of Japan. NOT bowing is like walking into someone else's house with your muddy shoes on and not saying any more than a short 'hi'.

Anyone who says that bowing is a sign of weakness, just try going to meet the Japanese Emperor and just shaking his hand like he's your American colleague. Either the Emperor will think you're rude, or he'll wave it off as you being an 'ignorant gaijin.' No doubt you'll be sneered at by some Japanese who feel as though you've done the equivalent of spitting in their face.

For President Obama's case, not only was bowing a way of respecting the Emperor and humbling himself, it was a way of respecting another culture. Some Republicans like Cheney have the ignorant mindset that the United States "bows to no one" because we have too much pride to humble ourselves. They might even be stuck on those movies where the subordinates get on their knees, stretch out their arms, and go "We're not worthy! We're not worthy!" which is a completely different scenario.

So for all of you who are slamming Obama for simply observing protocol, get a clue and try learning a thing or two about Japanese customs. Just because we are the United States of America does NOT mean we are superior to anyone else. That's an old conservative mindset that does not belong in the 21st century, a time where the United States is so far from being #1 that we really don't have any business waving our pride around anyway. Being a "proud American" gives you no incentive to ignore culture and customs while in foreign countries.

Photoshoot and Updates on Life

2009-10-22T12:30:00.003-04:00

My friend Belle and I did a photoshoot last week. The photos came out great, and thanks to her I have a couple of photographers who have contacted me to get some work done.
I recorded another video as a re-submission for avex Star Search 2009.
I'm using what I've learned in my Computer Science class (and what I already know) to design a website for myself as an online résumé for the entertainment industry.
I've been doing Wii Fit Plus regularly, weighing in at an average of 113 pounds and doing 30-minute workouts everyday (except maybe one or two days when I'm extremely busy).

After finishing my midterms this week I'm feeling really refreshed and ready to start the second half of the semester. Things are really looking positive and God has really blessed me all this time, so I'm looking forward to what may be coming up in the future.

JET, avex, and my future.

2009-10-15T11:16:00.002-04:00

For the first time, I finally feel like the road to my future is getting narrower and narrower. Throughout school I took small steps. I wasn't one of those kids who had childhood dreams of becoming a doctor or a lawyer. I just did well in school because I was supposed to.

I'm starting to come up with some kind of plan. Originally, I was going to apply for JET and also do this talent search for avex and see how that goes. But after attending a small meeting and learning more about JET's application process and departure dates, I'm reconsidering it. The departure date for those accepted into the program is weeks earlier than I expected. Not only that, but if I do well in the auditions with avex AND get accepted by JET, I'll have to drop JET. Should something come up and I can't proceed with avex, I won't be able to apply for JET until 2011 (according to JET's rules).

So what I might have to do is pass up applying for JET this year, and try to pursue something with avex or Sony Music Japan. While I'm auditioning for them, I can look for a different job, either in the U.S. or one that starts later in the fall.

The other issue is the departure date for JET. Should I be accepted, I will have to depart for Japan on July 31st. That happens to be both the Saturday of Otakon and my dad's birthday (which I missed last year being in Japan). Of course, for the sake of my future I would have no choice but to miss these events, but it really forces me to think about other options. I was really set on making a costume for Otakon, volunteering there, and not having my dad drive me to the airport on his birthday. (What a terrible birthday present that would be!)

To be honest, JET was never my first option; it was simply the easiest thing to do following graduation while I figured out what I wanted to do. But now I know what I want to do. In fact, I've known what I wanted to do for a long time, I was just to afraid to pursue it.

Trying to get into the music business is risky. It could take years to finally land a contract, or I may live my entire life never reaching my goal. But after receiving so many words on encouragement from my friends and family, I think this is really what I want to do.

All I need is some support, prayer, and some time to practice.

Ooh, a new blog idea.

2009-10-04T19:46:00.001-04:00

When I have time, I think I'll write a short tutorial on using Ticket Pia and Lawson Ticket to buy tickets for shows and concerts in Japan :)

Happy Monday...ehh.

2009-09-28T11:24:00.002-04:00

Instead of slacking off, spending my entire weekend gorogoro-ing (that's 'loafing around') and playing Warriors Orochi 2 on the XBox360 with my brother until it was time to do my homework at the last minute, I decided to get some work done with the minimum amount of play. (I had to play WO2 for two hours on Sunday, otherwise I would've died of boredom while holed up in my room reading Japanese articles.)

I feel good about myself not procrastinating for once. But on the flipside, I feel tired and stressed and a little sad, though probably not as tired and stressed than if I did all my work at the last minute. I hate the idea of having so much work to do. Homework does not necessarily mean learning.

But it's not even the fact that I don't enjoy my assignments. I'd enjoy them a lot if I didn't have so much of it, and if I still had enough leisure time. Weekends are not an excuse for teachers to overload their students with work.

I suppose I should enjoy it as much as I can, because I'm guessing next semester will be even more boring.

I should finish reading this article for my Newspaper Japanese class. I've only read half but I already know I'm more prepared than at least half of the class.

The Prez came to my school yesterday.

2009-09-18T05:25:00.003-04:00

Healthcare Reform stuff. I didn't go. "Aww why not?"

Because 1) My professor didn't tell the class until 6 yesterday morning that class was cancelled, 2) I had work to catch up on, and 3) because that was my only class of the day, it enabled me to stay home. And so I did, because I REALLY needed the rest. I wish I could have Thursdays off every week.

Nothing special has been going on lately. My classes are okay, but I'm a little bitter about the fact that I have each class every other day, and that my homework load takes up all of my time, leaving no room for anything else but the minimum amount of sleep. I'm back to feeling tired all the time.

Anyway, I hope to have some more advice posts written soon, I still don't seem to have a lot of readers besides the ones who read via Facebook. If anyone has any questions about my visit I'd be happy to answer. My Japanese pragmatics class is full of opportunities to talk about my experiences, and every day I realize that my host club experiences have been extremely useful. No joke. I never thought I could learn so much in such an environment.

EDIT: My friend Talia is continuing the UM-Japan Exchange legacy at Aoyama Gakuin University, and she's documenting her study abroad for the 2009-2010 school year. Be sure to check out her blog: http://talia-in-japan.blogspot.com/

Happy Labor Day

2009-09-07T09:03:00.002-04:00

I'll be celebrating my Labor Day by doing all the homework I put off until today.

I got through my first week of school without committing some type of Japanese suicide (i.e. jumping in front of a train). I'm not really excited for this semester. I think I might have senioritis already. I'm in that "I hate school, I'm so sick of it" phase. Perhaps it's because I only JUST finished my last semester in July, instead of May like I usually do.

Once upon a time I had a website going, but I got rid of it. It had all of my old artwork and stuff, but these days it's not really worth keeping up. I have a site for everything important to me: deviantART for artwork; Last.fm for music; Facebook for friends; and of course, this blog for blogging.

My dad has been nagging me about this unpaid internship at JICC...The application deadline is December 1st but he's bugging me now, of course. I've been in a crabby mood lately, and I don't see it getting much better since I'm back to my "Here's all this work to do, it's due in two days" schedule. I liked Japanese class scheduling, where I only had each class once a week. It was a lot less stressful.

One Day Down...Many More to Go

2009-08-31T21:58:00.003-04:00

Today was my first day of class at UM since sophomore year. It was a busy day, from the time I woke up at 5:30 to getting home at 6:30. Yep, that's what my life was like before Japan, and the way it will be until I graduate.

I missed the bus I wanted to catch because it showed up early...so I went back home and waited for the next one, which showed up late. I ended up missing my transfer and took the next bus at New Carrollton, which was 40 minutes later. Once the bus finally reached campus, there was tons of traffic trying to get in. I ended up 10 minutes late to my Professional Writing class, but fortunately it wasn't a big deal.

I'm not even going to talk about my History class because it was boring. But I noticed something interesting: The TA for my History discussion ensured us that our class was going to be the most interesting class this semester, but I couldn't wait to get out...History is my least favorite subject. On the other hand, the professor for my Web Programming class told us that we would probably be really bored with his class, yet he's a really funny, enthusiastic, and overall a seemingly great professor; I think this is going to be an interesting class. I also happen to have some experience with web design and even know a little bit about computer networking, so a lot of the material shouldn't be too much of a problem.

But onto the point of this blog. I do feel like a foreigner on this campus. It's like starting over because it's been so long since I was last here. And since I'm a senior, that means my stay at UM will be just as long as my year at Rikkyo. There's no reason to try too hard to adjust.

I will say, everyone on campus looks so...boring. T-shirts, flip-flops, shorts, sandals, sneakers, hoodies...I miss Tokyo fashion. Everyone was interesting to look at and I could always get great fashion ideas. But not on this campus. Maybe I'll be the one to set the example.