Graduation Ceremony and Wedding Dinner

It is slowly getting warmer in Japan right now, really looking forward to it not being cold both indoors and outdoors. This past Saturday we had our graduation ceremony for my third years. I arrived at the school in the morning with all my teachers sharply dressed in white shirts, nice suits and dresses. I wore my suit, but had a blue shirt instead of a white one. I didn’t know that in Japan you are suppose to wear white for graduation ceremonies. Hopefully, no one really noticed. These Japanese customs- that no one tells the foreigner - pop up from time to time. The graduation ceremony went pretty well. It wasn’t too lengthy but a bit boring as you had an endless parade of speeches and songs. Even though some of my third years were horrible students, I will miss a few of them. It was pretty touching when all the third years were singing their goodbye song and all the girls wear crying. Some of my teachers were really sad to see a few of the students go and were definitely teary eyed. The funniest thing of graduations day was when the graduating students did their final walk out the door and all the girls were sobbing as the walked away, while the guys had the biggest grins on their faces.

That evening the teachers also had a goodbye dinner/celebration for the third year students. We went to a pretty nice restaurant and it was an all you can drink, so a lot of my teachers were quite tipsy by the end of it. As per usual Japanese custom, there was a lot of drink pouring and speeches by the teachers. You really get to see the love and care the teachers have for their students when they give their speeches. Seeing all the work they put in and the sincerity and responsibility they place on themselves to educate these kids is something I really admire. Some of the teachers cried and even felt that they had failed some of the students because the graduating class in a whole were quite troublesome. The dinner was fun as I got to know a few more of my teachers that i hadn't had the chance to chat with. In the end, I really wish the graduates well and I will miss their hellos in the hallways and even perhaps, their screwing around in class. (Picture below: The newlyweds Jason and Mel)

On Sunday, there was a wedding dinner for my friend Melody and Jason. A large number of the Kure JETs and people around Kure met up for dinner at a Chinese restaurant. Melody and Jason had been engaged awhile back and tied the knot last month in Japan. We were all really happy for them as I can’t think of any other couples that fit each other so well. They are a pair of the nicest and most kindhearted people I have had the pleasure of meeting. The dinner even had a violin performance by another JET named Julie and various games. All in all it was a fun night, as my supervisor came and we all had a good time chatting. (Picture Below: My Supervisor Mr. Sakata and his family)

As for the hockey tournament in Okayama, it was canceled again due to poor weather. I was really disappointed since I was really looking forward to playing some competitive hockey. Luckily, the summer season is coming and there is pretty much a tournament every month. Hope to get out there and play more often. The last week of the school year was just spent wrapping up my lessons at elementary school and getting ready before Joel comes. He’ll be arriving on Sunday night.

Japanese factoid #19: It’s a sushi video- according to me it is 100% authentic…especially the salt licking which I due every time I eat sushi. Enjoy, http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4946101556303618610&q=sushi

End of the Year and Dinner with Murayama sensei

The past week has been spent just wrapping up the school year. All my grade 9’s are set to graduate and i think all my teachers have party hats on in anticipation. I’ve started my final lesson which is basically an English pub quiz. The kids are doing pretty well and they are listening hard to all the questions that are being asked. I give the winners some pencils and erasers- I want to give them candy, but you aren’t allowed to give candy in Japanese schools. This also marks the end of my lessons with my English teacher Ms. Murayama, as she will be on maternity leave as her baby is due in late June. I also wrapped up our grade 9 classes with a newspaper project. For about a month I had the students create their own newspapers in groups and write an article on a specific topic. After a few drafts, and hounding down certain students, we were finally able to complete the newspaper. I’m really proud of all my kids as they did a fantastic job on the paper, which I photocopied and bounded for each 9th grade student. (Picture below: One of my favorite students Daigo, who on the last day didn't stop talking and wasn't finishing his newspaper. So i stuck him outside the classroom to finish his work- it worked well as he finished his article)

Last weekend, Asuka and I made our way to Hiroshima and met up with her cousin Kazuya and her friend Aki. We went to a local flea market and spent about 2 hours walking around. Needless to say I was finished in about 20 minutes while Asuka took her time walking and checking every stall. I managed to pick up to nice Sapporo beer mugs, 2 t-shirts and a Naruto doll- which I was a bit embarrassed to ask for. But all in all, it was a fun day walking around and eating on the street food after the flea market. (Picture below: Me playing with Sougo)

For dinner, we made our way to Yasuura (where my school is located) and had dinner with Ms. Murayama, her husband and her son, Sougo. Sougo was adorable again and I had fun playing with him. He’s a little rascal sometimes, as we brought cake for everyone but he ate all the fruit off his cake, and then also his mothers, leaving her with just cream. We had a really good dinner, chowing down on Sukiyaki (grilled beef) and chatting. I’ll really miss teaching classes with her, as I’m always able to chat with her about anything- more often then not, we end up cracking up in class while the students are doing their work. Her English pronunciation is really good too, with almost no accent. I’ll try to meet up with her when she has her baby. They are hoping for a girl, probably because after Sougo they want to lessen the testosterone in the house. (Picture below: Sougo has finished all his fruit and is about to devour his mom's cake too)

The next day I made my way to Hiroshima and played hockey by the Yokogawa River again. It’s been awhile since I’ve played regularly and I guess my Japanese has improved a lot, as everyone was surprised that I was speaking to them in Japanese. It really helped as I got to know a few more of the players and we ended up joking around a bit when we played. We got a good 4 hours of hockey in and it was a blast. Some of the best hockey I’ve played in awhile. I’m really looking forward to the hockey tournament next week in Okayama, but it looks like it might be canceled because of rain again. (Picture below: My first graders (Grade 7) on the last day of class- the kid hugging always hugs me and tells me he loves me when he sees me in class, i'm not sure he really knows what that means... )

The rest of the week, as said I’ve just been finishing up my lessons and taking lots of pictures of my kids. I make each class take a picture at the end of our last class. The kids really like taking pictures, but they are really shy when it comes to making any contact with the opposite sex. At first they always split in half between boys and girls when posing, then they just spread laterally so they can’t even fit into the frame. It takes some prodding before they move closer together and then we can usually take the final picture. (Picture below: Another 1st grade class)

This upcoming weekend I have my grade 9’s graduation ceremony on Saturday. It is our final farewell to the students and I will definitely miss some of them. The bad ones, probably not. But they are a few exceptional students throughout the grade. Also after the graduation, we have a dinner with all the teachers to celebrate the graduation. If the hockey tournament isn’t canceled then I will make my way to Hiroshima and sleep over at my friends Hiki’s place and make our way to the tournament Sunday. Here’s hoping it doesn’t rain.

As for Japanese factoid #18: Well I usually have the bladder the size of a teacup, so I frequent the bathroom quite often. In Canada, the hand dryers just take too long to dry as you have to stand for 5 minutes before your hands dry. In Japan, the dryers here are much stronger and dry your hands in a few seconds. You usually put your hands in a dryer the surrounds it completely. Some bathrooms have the “Super sink”, which has water on the right, soup lather on the left and a dryer at the bottom all built into one and all motion sensored for convenience and ease. We must get these in Canada someday.

Well glad to hear the trade deadline past and the Canucks shored up their blueline and goal position. Wow three defensemen and a goalie. I hope the Canucks make a long playoff run this spring even though I will miss watching them live. I’m seriously considering flying back if we make the Stanley cup finals. Which to an eternal optimist like myself, its always in the realm of possibilities.

Cyrus' visit and Kochi-Ken

It is finally getting warmer and sunnier in Japan now. It has been chilly for the past few months and I’m glad I don’t have to wear a coat to work anymore. Well the past two weeks have been busy. It seems like there has been something going on everyday or every weekend.

As mentioned before, a friend of mine stopped by in Japan for a few days. Cyrus started out in Tokyo and stayed here for 3 nights before heading back to Tokyo to take a flight to Thailand. He is backpacking across Southeast Asia and then he’s moving to Shanghai to start a new career-all with just his backpack. We had a good time chilling. On the Friday, which was his last night here we went to the local Onsen in Kure with Masato. It was Cyrus’ first experience bathing nude with other men - and it seemed like he thoroughly enjoyed it. We soaked for a few hours and then went to dinner.

We had some really good soba noodles for dinner, that came with fresh Wasabi in its root form, you had to grind it on a board. After dinner we tackled something I swear only existed in Heaven. The UBER sundae! It was huge and when I saw it, it was seriously love at first sight. Cyrus and I were so pumped for it- Masato was a bit reluctant as he was just getting better after been sick during the week. So after dinner the four of us tackled the monster. I swear I had the biggest grin on my face and even though it was huge, the four of us managed to finish the whole thing. It only cost 1800 yen or 18 dollars and we all had the time of our lives eating it. It’s definitely a place I plan on visiting again- probably when Joel comes next week. (Picture below: We finished, but at what cost?)

Well after bidding adieu to Cyrus last Saturday, I made my way to my Junior High School and hoped on a bus with all my teachers to Kochi-ken on Shikoku Island (Just below Hiroshima). I was a tad nervous being on a trip with all my teachers, since I haven’t had the chance to get to know all of them in school, because the opportunity doesn’t always present itself. Luckily, this was my chance and I ended up having a great time. The bus ride there was fun, as our Japanese bus had bench seating and everyone started drinking bus once we got on the bus. We rode the bus and I chatted with a few teachers. Our first stop was this weird towel museum. It was basically a really big building full of towels. Like truckloads of them with different companies. So yea, we saw that- which also included gigantic reproductions of desserts in cotton form.

After the towel museum we made our way to Asahi Beer Brewery. We got a full tour of the beer making process in Japanese. It was interesting from the bits I understood. The highlight of the tour was a 20 minute all you can drink at the Asahi beer hall. They had a pretty good Munich style beer and they even gave you smoked meat and cheese to go with your beer. (Picture below: they even taught you the proper way to pour beer in order to maximize its taste- shown on the billboard)

After the Brewery we finally reached Kochi city and checked in at the hotel/onsen. I had a good soak in the hot spring with my teachers and then we had a feast of a dinner. Whenever you stay at fancy hotels you get like a 10 course meal. I ate like there was no tomorrow. Whenever everyone stopped eating, I was still going. It was nuts- at one point I put down my chopsticks and was amazed by the sheer amount of food I was consuming. Needless to say, when I came back I wanted to just drink water and eat vegetables for a few days. (Picture below: Fukuda- sensei and Morita-sensei)

The dinner was really good as I got to know a few teachers really well. A lot of the teachers aren’t sure how good my Japanese is or whether I’m just a weird foreigner. So it was nice talking to some of them and establishing a certain comfort level. The teacher I sat across from during dinner, Mr. Moritaka seriously looks like a samurai general. He the PE teacher and he just has this, I can kill you with my samurai sword look. I even told him that when I first saw him I thought he looked like a Samurai- and he replied in translation “don’t be ridiculous.” It was pretty funny and we had a great time chatting. He was amazed of what I’ve don’t since I arrived in Japan, as many Japanese people never do the things that I have done- like climb Mt. Fuji.

So it was a fun and after dinner I chatted for 2 hours with the music teacher in our hotel room. Mr. Fukuda is one of the nicest people I have met in Japan and he was so friendly and patient with my Japanese. I’ve gotten to the point where I can pretty much convey anything I want with my Japanese, but it’s not necessarily grammatically correct. But if the listener is patient and speaks slowly we can pretty much figure out anything. Mr. Fukuda was so patient and we were able to chat about a wide range of topics. It’s a good lesson for me with English too, as it takes practices to speak slowly and simply. Some teachers will speak Japanese to me really fast and when I don’t get it, they just give up and never try again. To some, there is no middle. But if the person is patient and friendly, some really rewarding conversations and experiences come out of it. (Picture below: Kochi castle)

Well the next day is when a tropical storm hit Kochi. It was seriously raining so hard, it woke us up. It was just crazy and even though we had a day of plans, we were scared we wouldn’t be able to head out and enjoy Kochi city. One stop I really wanted to go see was Kochi castle. The teachers told me that it was pretty far and because of the rain, we probably wouldn’t go. But luckily, the ran tapered off and we walked down the main street of Kochi, where they have this street market that’s been around for 300 years. While walking down this street we made our way towards Kochi castle. I always like seeing the different castles and I was pretty stoked to see this one. The teachers all chuckled with me when we got there because they knew I really wanted to see it. It was a cool castle, an original and not the common concrete reproductions. We had to walk up some super steep stairs and this castle was created by a famous samurai, called Yamanouchi Kazatoyo of whom there is currently a weekly television show. In Japan, they have had samurai dramas every Sunday at 8:00 for the last 20 years or so. Every year they focus on a different samurai, and it just so happens this year is about the ruler of Kochi-ken and his wife. I try to watch it but the Japanese they speak is really formal and an older dialect that makes it very hard to understand. (Picture below: Me, Morita, Takayama, Kihara, Nishiki, Ideguchi, Fukuda)

After Kochi castle we made our way to the south coast- literally to the pacific ocean-to a beach called Katsurahama. This area had huge waves from the pacific. I took some pictures with my teachers and it was a good time. I had some really funny pictures of my teachers chasing the tide. There is also a shrine on the cliff side that we visited. This area is also famous for a large statue of Sakamoto Ryoma, a famous samurai who spearheaded the Meji Restoration in 1868. He had a pistol he carried around and he is considered to be a national hero. I even picked up a T-shirt with his pistol on the front and a picture of him on the back. (Picture below: Sakamoto Ryoma's statue)

The rest of the day was spent making our way back to Hiroshima. We took a bus that crossed the Seto-Ohashi bridge- the longest bridge in the world that connects Japan’s main island with Shikoku. Overall, it was a long weekend, but it was good getting to know the teachers a bit better and it was fun seeing another part of Japan. (Picture below: The Katsurahama shrine on the cliffside)

Here is Japanese factoid #17: I saw this at the towel Museum for sale and I thought it was pretty neat. There were many different types of towels but this one was by far the best. It in a complete block for easy storage. What is it you ask? Well its an earthquake kit. When you add water to the block you get a T-shirt, towels, gloves and even slippers. As you can see in the picture, it's actually quite handy for emergencies. Especially, in an earthquake hotspot like Japan.