Japanese Enkai: All you can eat and drink party!

On November 26, I experienced my first enkai event in Japan. These enkai parties are famous for being fun, loud, and full of food and alcohol. Since people drink at these parties for several hours, people need to first figure out how they are going to get to and from the party (Japan has a zero tolerance for alcohol consumption when driving). So--I took the good ol' bus to and from the Chinese restaurant.

Upon arriving to the private room, you remove your shoes, take off your jacket, and enter the room by saying "Konbanwa!" , which means "good evening". After sitting and having your drink filled to the brim with beer, everyone shouts "Kanpai!", which means "cheers" and the official way to start the party. At these events, you never pour your own drinks, always pouring for others. As the guest and newbie to the event, I made sure to keep pouring everyone's drink all night. Our principal and vice principal were also there...this party was a celebration of our recent observation day when many people from the board of education came to watch our lesson. The teachers were hilarious as the evening went on...getting more and more tipsy. ;)

Enkai's have the same policy as Las Vegas: What happens at the enkai, stays at the enkai. I didn't stay until the end because I had to catch my bus, but I could tell the party was definitely a success. Throughout the night, I drank two cocktails called "Ringo Sour" or Apple sour, and some wine from Australia, which was all included in the price. You pay one price and you get all you can eat/drink for the night. Each dish was brought out separately and beautifully presented.

We ate: dumplings, spicy tofu with rice, chicken and vegetables, fish (not for me ;), yummy coffee cakes for dessert etc...

I am so happy I got to experience this very "Japanese" event where everyone miraculously can speak better English when they are sort of drunk and have a good time. I expect the office to be "normal" when I return next week...but, I'm secretly glad that I got to see my colleagues relax and have fun outside of the normally busy and stressful school environment.

Autumn in Japan

Since leaving California in August, I have experienced extreme weather changes in Takasaki. When I first arrived, the weather was hot, sticky, and unpleasant to walk outside because temperatures were around 40C! But now, the weather has cooled down and during the day, it is about 13-15C and colder at night. As I was on my way to school today, I saw my first snow peak in the distance...it must have snowed up there 2 days ago when we had a big rain shower.

Autumn in Japan has been really gorgeous...the leaves change into bright yellow, orange, and reds...these colors are not really seen back in California. It is exciting to experience four real seasons in Japan. The pictures I have posted today are from the Gunma Flower Park, where I spent the afternoon last weekend wandering around the zen garden, looking at leaves, and eating delicious udon noodle soup.

I also recently celebrated my 25th birthday at a delicious Indian restaurant with other JETs and ran in a local 10K race, which was fun at quite humbling at the same time. I ran with many other high school track teams who certainly ran 10x faster than me! But, I made it to the end in one piece and I even received a commemorative towel as my reward for finishing!

Apparently the weather will be the coldest in January and February, so I'm looking to layer up during those months. The one advantage to having the mini-sized apartment that I live in is you don't have to really heat it...it insulates itself! My apartment is compact and stays warm enough during these colder months. Please enjoy the photos!

On a side note, school has been going well. Today, I had an intense observation from the Takasaki Board of Education. During our co-taught lesson, the JTE (Japanese Teacher of English) and I taught the students about occupations/job, while twenty people (all in black suits!) took notes on clipboards...!! Luckily, this was not a "surprise" lesson and we were able to plan ahead, but the nerves were definitely there with so many eyes watching us. Luckily, the lesson went smoothly and the kids seemed to have fun, despite the tension with having been observed by so many people. We were able to incorporate several minutes of dialogue, activities, and fun games to keep the students interacting with one another, speaking English, and staying engaged and energetic. I was even able to deliver with 3 lines of Japanese I need to say as part of a demonstration without messing up...whew! ;)

Working at the elementary school once a week is such a nice change and the most exciting part of my week. I go to Seibu School once a week and get to play games and teach English all day in a welcoming and fun environment...the kids are so excited to see me and interact in English. They have no boundaries or fear when it comes to talking to me...unlike the junior high students who often get nervous or fear saying the wrong thing in class. I am really enjoying my teaching life here in Japan...I am constantly thinking about the similarities and differences between teaching in Japan and California. Both have their pros/cons...

What I've noticed in Japan:

1. Students remain in the same classroom all day

2. All students wear uniforms

3. After school, students are assigned different rooms to clean in the school

4. Students must stand at the beginning and end of each class

5. Most of the time, students are expected to listen and not ask questions. Although, I think with the JET program and ALT's presence in school, students are encouraged to speak out more/interact in English etc...

6. The textbook seems to dictate the direction of the lesson

7. Genders rarely mix in conversation/activities (unless required by the teacher)

8. Students eat their lunch in the classroom along with the assigned homeroom teacher

9. Japanese teachers/students brush their teeth immediately after eating the lunch meal ;)

10. Students and teachers must wear "indoor" shoes inside the school...i.e. shoes that have never been worn outside...to keep the school clean

11. Creativity doesn't seem to be praised as much as accuracy

I am taking notes during my time in Japan and I hope to come up with an interesting research topic for future studies. I think the education systems between countries is a fascinating place to begin! Thanks for reading :)

Disney Sea Tokyo 10-23-10

This weekend, we drove to Tokyo to see Disney Sea Tokyo!! We drove and it took about 3 hours to get there...after seeing how much traffic Tokyo has, I would never drive into Tokyo again...no thank you! The traffic was horrible during the last hour, but finally making it to the parking lot at Disney was exciting and it felt like being a kid all over agin!! :)

Once we arrived and stood in line for tickets, we were finally able to enter the park and see the amazing Halloween decorations and walk around the park. The lines were unfortunately very very very long for each ride, so I ended up only going on 2 rides the whole day. But, it was really fun to discover all of the different lands and see Disney characters like Minnie Mouse and Jasmine from Aladdin. I tried on ridiculously cute Mickey shaped ear muffs and bought some great gifts for family back home.

I went on two rides during the whole day: Storm Trooper and Journey to the Center of the Earth. Both rides were really fun and the second one was especially fun and a bit shocking. At first, the ride started out slow, but eventually it picked up a lot of speed and we started going down a steep drop and for a brief moment, out into the night sky from the top of the volcano. From the top of the volcano, you can see the whole park and it was beautifully lit at night with the Mermaid castle and the triton as well as Aladdin's beautiful domes and market.

So...if you can't go on rides because of the LONG lines, Disney also has other things...like EAT!! Yes, their snacks were super delicious and I was actually surprised that lunch only cost me $9. I had a cheeseburger and some Mickey shaped chicken nuggets. Later for a snack, I had a delicious churro and some caramel popcorn...it helped me get through the long lines! You need energy people! haha

Disney Sea is really unique and offers many different "lands" to discover such as the underwater kingdom, USA cape code, italian riviera, and many more fun places to discover. The park is smaller than Disney, but the amount of people made it feel like we were in the park with the rest of Tokyo. The experience was fabulous, but I would never return again on a weekend...

Haruna Matsuri Festival 10-16-10

Last weekend, I participated in the Haruna Matsuri Festival. This experience was truly authentic because I actually had the chance to "be" in the festival and wear a traditional "happi" outfit. During the festival, the participants wear white gloves (to protect their hands) while they strongly pull a thick rope attached to a beautiful and moveable shrine on wheels. On the shrine, there are three to four taiko drummers keeping the beat as we work hard to get the shrine up the hill. Working as a group, we finally make it to the top where the festival begins and games and food are everywhere.

Once we made it to the top, the taiko drummers battle it out to see who has the best beat all night long. We were given a complimentary dinner and many thanks for our participation. All of Haruna came to see the "foreigners" who were in the festival. The night was really fun and the lights on the shrines shine beautifully at night.

Dinner was delicious. We each got a bento box full of rice, sushi, and noodles. Everyone was very friendly and I even saw one of the math teachers that work at my school. The great thing about Japanese festivals is the food--everywhere you look, there are amazing stalls of food that smell and taste delicious. For dessert, I treated myself to an ice cone, mixing the cola and strawberry flavors together...yum!

By the end of the day, my arms were very sore, but the pain was worth the efforts. As I was pulling the rope alongside an older Japanese woman and man, I came to realize that these memories will be my most lasting for me this year. I am grateful that I was able to experience the Haruna Matsuri Festival. It was an amazing experience.

The locals were so nice and excited for us to be in their festival. At night, we were treated to an "enkai" (welcome and/or thank you party) with food, drinks, and many smiles.

Trip to the Sea of Japan!

Last weekend, a group of us drove to Niigata to see the beautiful Sea of Japan. I was itching to go because here in Gunma, we are rather land-locked by beautiful mountains. I love the majestic beauty of these mountains, especially when I go running and they are dark purple color, surrounding the valley that Takasaki sits in. But, to see the ocean and smell the fresh salty air was what I really wanted to do.

The drive took about 3 hours each way, but we had enough fun on the way with car games, music, and good conversation. At the beach, I collected some obscurely shaped, but beautiful shells and took many pictures. The Sea of Japan shares the water with Korea, which is not too far away from the coast...but we were unable to see it ;)

For lunch, I ate hot ramen, a traditional Japanese soup dish. The ramen dish was very hot to eat and contained miso broth, meat, and vegetables. It's a must in Japanese cuisine! On the way home, we passed by a giant monk statue, more beautiful coastline, and several tunnels that connect the Gunma prefecture with the coastline prefectures.

Seeing the ocean brought me some relief and calmness. My time in Japan has been really exciting and culturally different, but to see the ocean, reminded me of home. It was nice to see the ocean and know that I will be home with my family in two months :)

At the end of the day, the five of us sat on some rocks and watched the beautiful sunset before driving back to Gunma. I really do love exploring Japan on the weekends...it is really nice to see the other prefectures and what they have to offer.

JET Soccer Tournament

This past weekend, many JETs drove to Nagano, the next prefecture over from Gunma. We spent 1.5 days up in the beautiful mountains of Nagano, playing soccer and cheering on our Gunma men's and women's team.

This was one of the rare opportunities where we got to meet other ALTs (Assistant Language Teachers) who teach all over Japan...not just in our prefecture and not only JETs.

The soccer tournament is held on professional soccer fields high in the mountains of Nagano, the same area where they held the 1998 winter olympics. I am so looking forward to seeing those mountains covered in beautiful snow for skiing season!

After the first day of the tournament, we went to the hotel (which was Japanese style)- 6 to a room, with futons on the floor and not beds. It was certainly very cozy and a great relaxing environment to hang out. The hotel also had an onsen bath to relax our muscles and get clean. Onsens are part of the ritualistic Japanese experience and you HAVE to try it when you are here...(you also have to get over the fact that everyone is naked in them too...!!!)

After dinner, we got to dance the night away at the JET dance party...that was certainly a very fun and interesting experience...there will be stories to tell for many months ;)

Next week: day trip to the ocean and to see Niigata!!!

Education in Japan

Japanese do not like confrontation and this is something I experience on a daily basis when I go to school. Whether its about discipline or saying what you really mean, the Japanese are certainly really good about keeping up polite appearances, even if how they feel inside is the EXACT opposite.

As a teacher back home, I would certainly feel comfortable telling my students to "Pay attention" or "stop talking"...but here the teachers seem to simply ignore these things and it drives me a little crazy!! I mean, shouldn't students listen to teachers and learn rather than draw on each other and talk to their neighbors? Now, don't get me wrong...the bad kids only make up about 2% of my students, but they certainly know how to drive one a little mad.

As for more important educational issues, I am intrigued and interested in how teachers approach lesson plans, greet each other in the morning, and dress so casually its almost funny. Teachers here wear track suits and sports clothes for school and I almost feel overdressed in my polo and black jeans...I really couldn't resist but to chuckle at my JTE's attire the other day...I almost felt like the entire staff was prepping for a marathon, rather than an English lesson.

Prepping for lessons with my JTEs (Japanese Teachers of English) is really fun...it's a constant "what?" and "I don't get it...let me look this up on my translator..." experience...but after awhile, we all seem to be talking the same language. I really like in the elementary how we inciorporate fun games at the end of each lesson to really hone in on the skills we are teaching the kids...

The other day, I played "Fruit Basket" game and the kids absolutely LOVE this game...they learn the names of the fruit and then we play a sort of musical chairs type game as I call out the names of the fruit and then they run around like chickens with their heads cut off until the last kid is standing because he was too slow to get to a chair...it's HILARIOUS!!!

I am really excited about teaching in Japan and commuting by bike instead of driving 45 minutes one way to get to San Ramon...it's a whole different way of teaching here...I am the assistant rather than "Numero uno" and that certainly takes some adjustment...I want to lead and instead, I need to follow and do as I'm told. Often I feel like a tape recorder because I'm told to "Read this" and "Say this"...but I know it's valuable for students to hear native speakers because the JTEs cannot create that authentic experience for their students.

More on this later...

Kyoto with Karen

Two weeks ago, I visited the amazing city of Kyoto. It is both old and new at the same time, having the Gion Geisha District, and modern restaurants along the river. Actually getting to see the real Geisha up close and personal was like walking onto the movie set of "Memoirs of a Geisha"...their make-up, beautiful kimonos, and very very tall sandals were almost unreal. They walk with such grace and timidity and they are very difficult to capture on camera.

During our stay in Kyoto, we saw the beautiful Golden Pavilion Temple, Imperial Palace, and many other beautiful zen gardens. There are so many gardens and temples to visit, it's almost too overwhelming. But, I think we were lucky enough to see the main highlights...I wouldn't recommend going in the summer, or at least this summer...it was SO hot that sweat was more present then I would like to admit or remember ;)

My favorite place was probably the Kinkakuji Golden Pavilion, Tenru-ji Gardens...the bamboo grove there is almost spiritual and well-worth the visit, or the Inari Shrine with its hundreds of orange gates. Kyoto is a special place that everyone must visit before they die...even if that sounds corny, it's true because you can really get lost in the beauty that Kyoto offers.

As a side trip, we visit Nara where we could pet wild deer in the park and visit the largest wooden building in the world. Inside is an impressive golden buddha statue. My trip to Kyoto was definitely memorable and I hope to go back again in the spring when the cherry blossoms are in full bloom :)

In one of the photos, you can see me eating soba noodles with scrambled egg on top from the oldest soba noodle restaurant in Kyoto..this place has amazing food and sits on a little side street off of the main boulevard...so unless you know about it, you ain't gonna find it ;)

So, for your future trip to Kyoto, GO EAT THERE...you won't be disappointed.

xoxoxoxoxo