All things Spring!

So the snow has fiiiinally melted and the sunny days are becoming more frequent. Hurrah! I can now safely cycle to work now, a big plus :-) With warmer weather brings spring-time activities. I've already sweated my way through two marathons (don't be fooled by the name, it was only 5km!) We were creative and spelled "Toya" (the name of the town where the "marathon" was held) with our bodies!

Nifty, eh?

Had one school sport's carnival: There are always two teams-red and white. The white team won this year with a special Team Dance danced to a song from High School Musical! And they shouted out the English lyrics that they knew :-) Sweet!

And the other day I was invited out by one of the primary schools to plant rice the old-fashioned way. It was very spur of the moment so I wasn't exactly appropriately attired! The entire school jumped in the rice paddy bare-foot and continued to squelch and scream and plant tiny little seedlings. It was so fun!

I've never heard so many squeals (from myself included!)!

This interesting contraption makes the holes where the seedlings are to go. Interesting stuff!

My lovely attire..

The next big even on my schedule is the Yosakoi-a giant dancing street parade in Sapporo which is endless amounts of fun! Amid the frivolity there's a superhero costume party for a friend of mine, for which, with my newly red tresses, I'll dress as Poison Ivy! Putting my sewing skills to the test :-s I'll keep you posted :-)

-S

Hisashiburi=Long Time, No See!

Well, it's been quite a while, an embarassing long time in fact, since I updated my blog! I'll pin it down to having too much fun in Japan ;-) I could spend paragraphs backtracking and updating what I've been up to since *gulp* April 13, 2009...but I'm lazy and can't be bothered ha. Besides, Facebook can tell you all of that! Instead I'll tell you what I'm up to today. And that's counting down the hours before I head to Northern Honshu, (Tohoku) for a week of roadtripping, onsen-ing and cherry blossoms. I'm ridiculously excited and as soon as 4.15 rolls around I'm racing out that door!
Our (that would be Toye and I) plans include: a 7 hour ferry trip from Hokkaido to Aomori prefecture where we'll see the largest outdoor golden Buddha (Seriously, who could pass that up?), and a 4 hour hike and a soak in a lovely milky hot spring (just like a postcard!). After Aomori we're headed to Iwate prefecture...where limestone caves, a rock-splitting cherry tree and...the infamous Wanko Soba. Giggles aside it's basically a small dish of soba noodles and soup, it's served in a tiny little bowl and the idea is to eat as many of those little bowls as you can. One of my friends in Yuni managed to stomach 52. So that's what I'm aiming for! Wish me luck!
Next is Akita prefecture. First up a trip to the deepest lake in Japan (I wonder if we can swim in it?), several 'castle towns' and another hot spring dip! Last stop is Miyagi prefecture where we'll see the Akiu waterfalls, eat cow tongue and yet another hot spring before a ferry ride back home.
The ferry leaves at 12 tonight. Bring it on.

Busy, busy, busy!

I met my eager little 1st graders today (Australian equivalent of year 7). Twelve shy little faces looked up at me when I entered the classroom. I saw some familiar faces; those who I had taught in primary school were now entering their next stage in the rigorous Japanese school system. A game of fruit basket later and I’d already picked out the drama queens and troublemakers. And all that shyness went out the window!

This week is a fairly busy one for me. Tonight I have the final taiko practice before the big performance on Wednesday in front of what looks to be like the whole town (hell yes I’m nervous!). With only three lessons under my belt, it looks to be a promising show!

On Wednesday, little Yuni town is welcoming an orchestra from Australia. I’ve been assigned as the tour guide, translator and MC for the day-long orientation and welcome party.

All of this before flying to Tokyo the next morning!

Old and New

So as I sit here on exam day, my new colleagues busily rushing around me, I get the blog rush. This time of year is filled with old teachers leaving, new teachers coming (and parties for each), 3rd graders leaving and new 1st graders arriving! It’s a very busy time of year, and there are many new names and faces that must now be committed to memory.

Last night I went to a welcome party for the new teachers at one of my schools. Amidst passed plates of sushi and cups of sake, each of the new teachers was given over to scrutinisation by the old teachers-‘Question time’ they dubbed it. Keep in mind this was fairly late into the evening, when many a beer had been consumed, and many a Japanese face had turned that familiar shade of pink. Apart from asking the usual getting-to-know you questions, I was introduced to my new co-workers as well. “Samantha, the witch” they’d said. Now that never gets old does it? I was asked a dozen times how old I was and was also requested to ask the new teachers some questions in English (I love being the party-trick). I asked one teacher how many beers he can drink (it's a popular male braggin point you see), to which he replied “I am Beer Monster! I am drunkard. A little bit.” I was charmed, naturally.
I then asked the new Japanese teacher what his favourite English phrase was, kindly reminding him that if he said “Yes we can!” I would turn him into a toad…well; he certainly trumped that with an enthusiastic “Love and Peace!” to which everyone raised their glasses in merriment. Gah, I felt like I was questioning Miss America contestants.

Two hours later and it’s all over for a small (*cough* ridiculously overpriced *cough*) fee. The next day is so quiet you’d never know they were gallivanting drunkenly the night before.

And…I’m set to do it all again tonight.

WINTER UPDATE!

As the snowy season draws to a close, I thought it time to review the highlights of the 6-month winter that is home to Hokkaido. First the lows, then the highs:


LOWS:

• Paying though the nose for archaic kerosene heating.

• Brushing with death every time I sit behind the wheel…that ice I tell you!

• Not being able to feel my extremities for a considerably percentage of the day

• No sun at 4pm

• Shutting off half of the rooms in my apartment because it’s too damn cold…and then walking into those rooms when I
realise I need something from them.

• My favourite places closing for the winter (Yuni Garden, the Bakery and Ice-Creamery)

• A less-than-satisfying New Years, and a BBQ-less Christmas Day

HIGHS:

• Learning and semi-conquering the snowboard. And doing it every weekend.






• The fluffy white blanket of snow that covers the mountains and falls from the sky like marshmallow stardust

• Snow-ball fights

• Snow-sled races (yes, I took part in one!)



* Meeting Mario and Luigi



* Pounding Rice Cakes


* Finding a Drive-Thru Starbucks


* Getting an iPhone. Yes, geek.


* Seeing the impossible being carved from Ice at the Yuki Matsuri (Snow Festival)


* Making friends with the local ski hill owners and getting a free season pass!

• Way too many ski tours to keep track of







• A trip to Tokyo with grandma to see Mr Fuji himself!



• Scoring a fat 100% on the JET Japanese correspondence course

• Meeting a ton of new Japanese friends (including some my own age at last!)

• An invitation to start Adult English Conversation classes

• Reaching the 6th level of Japanese calligraphy (I started at the 9th level) and receiving a Bronze mention.

• Experiencing a KFC Christmas party

*Hip-hop partying through Hokkaido


* And finding a nice boy to bring home to the parents!


Luckily the highs outweigh the lows, hey?!

Songs, Sleighs and Santa hats!

So this week is my last week of school, and the last week before Christmas. AS the big day draws near, more and more festive activities are happening! My 3rd grade elective English class today made Christmas cards, wrote letters to Santa, and had 'Santa photos':


The closing weeks of school mark the final choral contest. The singing ability of Japanese school students is remarkable! Check them out:

So proud! I'm gunna miss these kids over winter break!

書道Shodo-the art of Japanese Calligraphy.

Recently I joined the Japanese calligraphy club in the next town. Every Wednesday I go to a little old lady’s place hidden in an alleyway and take lessons in a big old musty room, filled with ink stains. For an hour and a half I sit with my legs folded under me, my brush poised just so, and my back as straight as the scroll-clad walls behind me. My Shodo Sensei guides me in the correct swishes, hooks and strokes, and before long I’ve written my first: 永久 ‘Forever’ (I think this will be the hint for how long it will take me to perfect calligraphy!) I leave with a new calligraphy kit in hand, and a zest to spend the rest of the night with my brushes and ink. The kind of calligraphy I’ve enrolled in is graded. Every month I submit a certain number of calligraphy to get marked, and if I pass then I move to the next rank. At the moment I’m 新 (new). There are about 25 ranks and the highest are held by most of the elderly population. I’ll most likely be an “obaachan” (old lady) before I get anywhere near there!
So, word had gotten around that I had joined the calligraphy class. (As long as they don’t look at my attempts thus far I’m fine!) My supervisor’s calligraphy teacher, who was taught by the grand master of calligraphy, also had heard. She wanted to give me private lessons but has retired due to poor eyesight. Instead she wanted to give me her personal Shodo tools. I was beside myself when I heard this. My supervisor took me to her house and at once I was overwhelmed with beautiful hanging scrolls and perfectly written calligraphy from wall to wall. This woman got the highest possible rank. She handed me her shodo set, a soft brown leather case with well-worn brushes lain inside. I felt like I had a little part of this woman’s history, and felt so priviledged that she chose to give it to me. As she handed it to me she said the equivalent of “The importance of practice is the success of Shodo.” Those words rang in my ears for hours afterwards..
Since retiring from Shodo she has taken up Japanese classical singing, and she treated both my supervisor and I to a personal concert. It was so incredibly beautiful.
I hope that in my years in studying Shodo I can come even as close as a 5th to what this woman has become.