(no longer) LOST IN JAPAN: March 2006

2006-03-24

'Nuff said

Bored? Try this. I know I shouldn't be reading Ace but I only do it for stuff like that... and this.

Published!!!

I have been published in Japan! OK, so it was just an essay that I was asked to write for the Nara BOE and it will only be published in a Nara BOE publication but still... It was a fun essay to write because I actually got to speak my mind in a forum that Nara English teachers actually have access to... I doubt it will have much of an impact but still, here's hoping.

2006-03-23

Samantha on MySpace!!!

OK. I know this was probably a bad idea but I am now on MySpace. Everyone is talking about it and it might actually a fun way to keep in touch with people, after I leave Japan. Check it out.

And you thought you knew them...

OMG. For any "LOST" fans out there, allow The Superficial to shed some light on some of your favorite characters... I didn't know Iraqi communications officers could do that...

Copyright

Definition taken from Wikipedia. Bolded text does not appear in the original. The blue stuff does though.

"Copyright is a set of exclusive rights granted by governments to regulate the use of a particular expression of an idea or information. At its most general, it is literally "the right to copy" an original creation. In most cases, these rights are of limited duration. The symbol for copyright is ©.

Copyright may subsist in a wide range of creative or artistic forms or "works". These include poems, plays, and other literary works, movies, choreographic works (dances, ballets, etc.), musical compositions, audio recordings, paintings, drawings, sculptures, photographs, software, radio and television broadcasts of live and other performances, and in some jurisdictions industrial designs. Copyright is a type of intellectual property; designs or industrial designs may be a separate or overlapping form of intellectual property in some jurisdictions.

Copyright law covers only the particular form or manner in which ideas or information have been manifested, the "form of material expression". It is not designed or intended to cover the actual idea, concepts, facts, styles, or techniques which may be embodied in or represented by the copyright work. Copyright law provides scope for satirical or interpretive works which themselves may be copyrighted. See idea-expression divide.

For example, the copyright which subsists in relation to a Mickey Mouse cartoon prohibits unauthorized parties from distributing copies of the cartoon or creating derivative works which copy or mimic Disney's particular anthropomorphic mouse, but does not prohibit the creation of artistic works about anthropomorphic mice in general, so long as they are sufficiently different to not be imitative of the original. Other forms of intellectual property may impose legal protection where copyright does not - such as trademarks and patents."

Is my post about the WBC copyright infringement or merely a separate interpretation of the SAME events, sufficiently different from the original (see "NIHON SEKAI ICHI" post) so as not to be an imitation? You be the judge.

2006-03-22

Can't get enough of it

Well OK. I will be honest and admit that I have a problem. A celebrity gossip problem. It's easy to say that tabloids are trash and we really shouldn't care what celebs are doing... but dagnabbit, it's fun to laugh at others. Especially people who are richer than me and still wear sweatpants... You could probably buy an island with all the money these people have but they insist on purchasing designer sweats for hundreds of dollars.... There is nothing wrong with sweats... Seriously, I love them and I used to wear them to school but I was a POOR STUDENT. Now that I actually have a job, the only time I have sweats on is when I'm about to go to sleep. Oh Japan... thank you for showing me what my father has been telling me for years...
Now I've totally gone off the point of this post. I just wanted to say that I reorganized my links and that I have a new section devoted to celebrity gossip. Who needs grocery store tabloids when you can get the stuff for free?!!!

Is it over yet?

OK. That's it!!! I give up! I am tired of waking up and being cold. I am tired of having to get dressed in front of the space heater because if I venture outside of the heated area, I will freeze my limbs off. Insulation people. Didn't you get the memo?! It's like 12 degrees outside during the day... which is hardly cold... but for some reason, inside the buildings, it feels like -20. I don't understand it. It just doesn't make sense to me. How can it possibly be colder inside? Will someone please explain the physics of this? Sometimes I don't understand this country...

Here's another example. Japan at the World Baseball Classic. Japan, after suffering several setbacks (losing to Korea twice, losing to the US because of a bad call...) actually makes it to yesterday's final against Cuba. (Exciting game, by the way, and usually you have to pay me to watch baseball... but for some reason, Japanese baseball is more interesting than watching all the MLB roidheads trying to boost their homerun records... I wonder why.)

ANYWAY... Japan wins the very first ever World Baseball Classic! YAY! Beats Cuba 10-6. 王JAPAN世界一！I spend 5 minutes watching the post-game celebrations and then spend 10 minutes watching as Bud Selig (MLB Commissioner and weekly MMQB zero) hands the medals to every single player on team Cuba and team Japan. Then I spend another 2 minutes watching as BS (hahaha.... how appropriate) thanks and congratulates Team Japan manager Sadaharu Oh. And then, the moment we've all been waiting for, Selig is about to give the trophy to Oh... drumro----

..................... nope fooled you....... did you actually think we would show Japan RECEIVE the trophy............... mwahahahahaha............ of course not....... silly people.......

Yes ladies and gentlemen. Japanese TV, in this climactic (not to mention historic) moment, cuts to commercial.......... um hello? am I missing something? As I stare blankly at the TV wondering........... WTF?! After 2 minutes, it cuts back to the WBC, for a mere 10 seconds as team Japan hoists up the trophy, and then......... you guessed it........ commercial... again... because apparently, Japanese people would rather watch ads for a plastic surgery clinic instead of sharing in this proud event...
Yeah... like I said... sometimes I just don't get it.

I do get this though. Ichiro Suzuki you are an attractive man. (^_^)b

Thank you Sports Illustrated.

2006-03-19

Spring Break has begun

Today is the official start of the spring vacation. We had our closing ceremony this morning and now I am sitting at my desk, looking at all the club students hand out papers for their club activities. Of course, no one tells me about these things so I had nothing prepared... GAH! But whatever, I digress. Apparently, the inner workings of the school are to be forever hidden from the ALT.
I've had a busy week. I was sick Tuesday and Wednesday. Lovely. And I am still fighting off this cold. The weather has been weird too. Snow one day, rain the next, then sunny and warm... and then rain and snow again... I just wish spring would start already!!! My sister is coming to Japan in 6 days and I want to show her spring... not snow! Don't you people understand that!?!?
After the wedding last week, I spent most of the week spring cleaning. Which actually turned out to be fun. It gave me an excuse to go to the 100 yen store... one of my favorite places in Japan. I've discovered that I actually enjoy organizing stuff. I'm going to try and throw away a lot of stuff.
Boogie Nights was on Saturday. It wasn't as successful as I had hoped but I think the people who came had a good time... I think AJET is dying and I don't know how to save it... I tried to pump new life into it but after Christmas, a lot of the momentum that we gained was lost... Maybe the spring will be better.
Tomorrow is a holiday so I will probably do some more cleaning and planning for Jennie's arrival. I also found out this weekend that Vicky, Kathleen and Marie-Esther (3 of my friends from Montreal) are coming to visit in June! YAY!!! They will be coming with 2 other girls that I don't know which brings the total to 5 people. 5 people in my tiny little apartment. 5 + me... Awesome. It'll be like elementary school all over again! I need to acquire an extra futon by June though or else someone will be sleeping on the floor (probably me)... OMG! With my sister coming on Sunday and my friends coming in June, I am so happy my head is about to explode! And you know what else? I just got paid. This day just keeps getting better and better! How unusual for a Monday...

2006-03-12

Wedding Bells Ring, Are You Listening?

Sunday was Uesugi-sensei's wedding reception and what a wonderful party it turned out to be. Saturday morning I went to Laura's for advice on dresses. Then I went shopping for accessories... (weddings are expensive...) Then I spent the afternoon at the Moritanis practicing and perfecting my speech (although it wasn't as perfect as I would have liked it to be...) . Kimiyo had picked up the money envelope for me and showed me the proper form for handing it it to the receptionist at the reception. When I got home, I got everything ready for the wedding, got my clothes out, put everything in my purse, checked my train ticket for the departure time from Yagi (15:25) and then watched Lost: Season 1 DVD disk 1 (again) then went to bed.

Sunday morning I wake up. Watch Disk 2. Have shower. Then I check my ticket again. !?!?!?!?!?!?! CRAP!!! The departure time is 14:39 from Yagi and the ARRIVAL is 15:25 in KYOTO!!!! What time is it now?! 13:50!?!?!?! Crap Crap Crap CRAP!!! I get dressed in five minutes, throw all my make up in my handbag (I'll do it on the train like any other good Japanese girl), grap my umbrella (because of course it was raining) and run out of the house with my hair in a clip still dripping wet... I made the train with time to spare though.^^

The reception was held in THE SODOH HIGASHIYAMA near Yasaka Shrine. We could even see the 5-storey pagoda from the door of the reception hall. It was a really nice, very Japanese, setting. Uesugi-sensei looked beautiful, the food was fantastic, and although I was really nervous, I still had a great time. My speech was one of the last on the programme so it was dessert by the time my turn came around. I was feeling a little bit better by that time because after the "KANPAI", people had stopped listening to the other speeches... However, being the only foreigner in the room, when I stood up to make my speech, obviously the entire room goes silent. Yay. The speech went well I think. I made a few mistakes but everyone laughed at the right parts so I guess they understood my delivery.

After my speech, the MC tells Otsuka (nee Sakai) sensei to sit down. I follow but the MC says "Samansa-sama, sonomama de itte kudasai"... Samantha, stay where you are. Then she says that the bride and groom have a present for me. Uesugi sensei stands up and says (in English): "Thank you for coming to our wedding. Your birthday was last week so I have a present for you." And then she hands me her bouquet and whispers,"You're the next bride!" I was so completely and totally surprised. I hadn't expected anything like that. Anyway, apparently in Japan, the bride doesn't usually throw the bouquet. She gives it to the person whom she wants to see married next... So although being given the bouquet may not count in Canada... it certainly has meaning here... I don't know whether to be thankful or terrified. The flowers are really pretty though.

At the end of the wedding, everyone got parting gifts. I got a really nice Mikimoto lip brush with a pearl and a box of what I thought was gourmet cream cheese but turned out to be cheesecake. REAL CHEESECAKE. Not the Japanese immitation cheesecake. The box said "Special Cream Cheese" but the ribbon was hiding the part that said "CAKE" so I didn't realize until I opened it. I was pleasantly surprised. And with that, my first (and probably only) experience at a Japanese wedding came to an end. I leave you with pictures.

The reception hall.

The Yasaka Shrine pagoda seen from the entrance.

Sakai-sensei, Ougino-sensei, me and Wagatsuma-sensei standing in the cold rain.

The wooden wedding welcome board (how's that for alliteration). Hand-made by Uesugi-sensei's parents.

The newlyweds.

Cutting the wedding cake (really tasty wedding cake by the way...)

The newlyweds with the KSHS teachers.

The newlyweds with KSHS principal and vice-principal (and teachers). Halfway through the reception they changed from western style into traditional Japanese dress.

Front view of the wedding kimonos.

The intricacies of the kimono obi. Imagine trying to do that by yourself...

Me (and my bouquet) and the newlyweds. Yes, I know I look like a vampire...

The last picture of the night...

The Infamous Speech...

Well, if anyone is interested. In honour of Uesugi-sensei (now Yanagisawa-sensei), I will post a copy of my speech...

私は一年半前に日本に来ましたが、その頃は日本語をほとんど話す事が出来ず、
また不慣れな日本での生活を始めたばかりでとても心細く、少しさみしい思いをしていました。

丁度その頃です。ある日、まるでサウナの中にいるような蒸し暑い職員室で一人仕事をしていたところ、見慣れない女性が近づいてきて、"Hello, my name is Uesugi and I am the Home Economics teacher at Kashiba High School. I want to learn English."　と自己紹介をされました。私は、「誰かが話しかけてくれた！」っと、とても嬉しかったのを覚えています。その女性は今ここにすわってらっしゃいますが、彼女はその日私に生卵を3個くれました。

私は気さくに話かけて下さった事がとても嬉しくて、家に帰ると直ぐパソコンの前に座りカナダにいる家族にメールを送りました。第一印象はずっと人の心にのこるものです。
そして、私はその時の事を今もはっきりと覚えています。

上杉先生、あなたは、とても強くて勇気のある女性ですね。私は初対面の外国人にしかも外国語で話しかけるという事が、どんなに勇気の要る事か良く知っています。

上杉先生、あなたは、とても心の優しい親切な女性ですね。実は、私は日本に来た頃は料理が全く出来ず、お湯を沸かす事ぐらいしか出来なかったのですが、上杉先生は知り合ったばかりの私に「料理を教えてあげるよ。」と声をかけて下さいました。また、私の両親が日本にやって来た時も、とても親切にして下さいました。今カナダにいる家族も上杉先生がご結婚されることを知り、心からお祝いしています。

そして、上杉先生はとても忍耐強い女性です。私達は毎週木曜日には近くのスーパーまで一緒に買い物に行きました。上杉先生は日本の食材や、四季折々の行事など、様々な日本文化について教えて下さいました。買い物の後は私の小さなアパートで、照り焼きタレの作り方から、日本の家電製品の使い方にいたるまで色々と親切に教えて下さいました。
上杉先生のおかげで、私は早く日本の生活に馴染む事が出来ました。どんなに、助かったか知れません。

今日は上杉先生のお祝いの日ですので、私の事はこれ位にさせていただきます。私は、上杉先生と一緒に過ごして様々なことを話した。上杉先生の恋は突然やって来ました。上杉先生がタダシさんの事を話す時はいつも笑顔でとても嬉しそうでした。私は「怪しいなー」と思いました。これはカナダも日本も関係なく、万国共通のサインだからです。初め上杉先生は気付いていらっしゃらなかったようですが、私は「上杉先生がタダシさんに恋をしているな！」と直感していました。

本日はこのような素晴らしい披露宴にお招きいただき有難うございます。また、スピーチの大役を頂きました事を本当に幸せに思います。上杉先生は、素晴らしい先生であり、友達であるという事は、タダシさんの素敵なお嫁さんであり、そして素敵(なお母さんになられるということの証です。どうぞ、末永くお幸せに。おめでとうございます。

Uesugi-sensei, Tadashi-san. Congratulations. May you live happily ever after.

English Translation

18 months ago I was new to this country. I spoke very little Japanese, and didn’t understand most of what was going on around me. So one day, I’m sitting all alone, roasting in the 30-degree heat of the teacher’s room when a woman I’d never even seen before walks up to me and introduces herself to me. “Hello, my name is Uesugi and I am the Home Economics teacher at Kashiba High School. I want to learn English.” You can’t even begin to imagine how happy that made me. Someone actually talked to me!!! And then, this woman sitting right here, gave me 3 fresh eggs. That evening, I went straight to my computer and wrote home about it. First impressions last forever and these are the qualities that stuck in my mind.

Strong. Uesugi-sensei you are a strong and fearless woman. I know it took a lot of courage to walk up to a complete stranger and talk to them in a language that is not your own. But I will be forever grateful that you did.

Kind. Before even getting to know me, you offered to teach me how to cook… A difficult task since I could barely boil water when I first got to Japan. You helped a complete stranger once and then you did it again when my parents came to Japan. And they too, will never forget the kindness you showed them while they were here. They are thinking of you right now.

Patient. Every Thursday you came to my tiny apartment and took me grocery shopping, translated my appliances, taught me how to chop onions and to make teriyaki sauce. Thanks to you, my life in Japan became easier every day.

But this is not my day so enough about me.

I learned many things in our time together and one of the things I learned is that you fall in love when you least expect it. Every time Uesugi-sensei talked about Tadashi-san, her face lit up. Be it Canada or Japan, the signs are international. A friend always knows when a friend is in love… and I knew, even when you didn’t, that you had fallen in love.

So today, I am happy to be sharing this joyous occasion with you. And I am sincerely honoured that you asked me to speak at your wedding reception.

I know that when you are ready to start your own family, the qualities that make you a great teacher and friend, will also make you a wonderful wife and mother.

Congratulations.

To be honest... after reading my original English text, I think the Japanese one is better...

2006-03-09

Wedding on Sunday

Good lord. This wedding will be the death of me. Uesugi sensei, my friend and cooking teacher, is getting married on Sunday. She asked me to make a speech. I was honoured... and panicked. What do I say? I've never been to a Japanese wedding (heck the last Western wedding I was at, I was 8 years old)... what is the etiquette? The only thing I know is that generally you pay 30,000-50,000 yen just to attend... and that isn't exactly a happy thought.

Anyway, Thank God for the Moritanis. My constant source of information for Japanese tradition. I wrote my speech in English and then asked Kimiyo if she could translate. She did and I will be eternally greatful. However, now I have to read it. Easy? Guess again... I practiced it on Tuesday with Miwako but I sounded like a 5 year old reading Shakespeare. Yesterday I spent 2 hours practicing and I can only read about half of it. I had planned on learning it by heart but forget that. Not going to happen. If I can read it without holding the paper in front of my face, I'll be a happy woman. I can now sympathise with my students (sort of) because learning something by heart in a foreign language that makes no sense isn't easy... Granted I could probably learn 5 sentences if I was given 3 weeks to learn them... so on second thought, maybe I don't sympathise so much...

The other issue that has been plaguing me: WHAT DO I WEAR?!?!?! The Moritanis suggested I wear a kimono but I have no idea how to put one on... so that may be a problem... probably. So that leaves me with the dress option. I have 2 nice dresses that I brought with me but they are a little big for me now (usually a good thing but not good now). I could go out and buy another but then I have to go and buy another... besides... nothing in Japan will fit me because I... um... have curves... So I am stuck. Very very stuck. But I will worry about that later. For now, I will take advantage of the empty teacher's room to practice my speech out loud.

2006-03-07

On with the show...

Right. OK. It's been 2 weeks. SORRY. What have I been doing? Well for starters I haven't been at my computer for what seems like ages. My internet at home drives me absolutely bonkers so I stopped bothering about a month ago. I bring my laptop from school and use it from there.
Boogie Nights, the annual Nara AJET charity event has also been keeping me busy. And then there were final presentations, exams, wedding speeches, graduation, my birthday, elementary school... So much has happened this week, it's crazy.

For starters.... Graduation was lovely. Same as always. Angie has a nice graduation post on her blog.
"It had to be the MOST boring and sterile and dry ceremony Ive ever been to. Long speaches, followed by long periods of unexplained and complete silence... I swear we had to stand up bow, and sit down at least 15 times!"
That's how I felt my first year. "Seito, Shokuin.... KIRITSU! REI! Chakuseki" GAH!!! Up, down, up down, up, down... It was worse than church. And they don't even get their diplomas during the ceremony. They get it in their homerooms afterwards. No cap and gown, no craziness... just a typical (i.e. very formal) Japanese ceremony.
This year was different though. Still very Japanese. Still no cap and gown but I knew a good portion of the 3rd years thanks to Katy so I felt like I was watching them accomplish something. And the speech from Bando-san, the graduating student president, was incredible. She was in the 3-7 class so she had Katy in her class all year and she said some really nice stuff about her that made me cry (because I miss Katy)... In fact she had almost every female present crying... The parents were SOBBING. FOR REAL. Speeches are way better when you actually understand most of what is going on.
After the ceremony, some students came to say goodbye to me in the teacher's room. It was sad... I will miss a lot of those kids...
Don't worry Angie, I swear it gets better....

Me and my lunchtime chat buddies, Tomoko and Maiko

Me and the Judo boys Koichi and Naoki (and the manager... I don't actually know her name)

Showa Shogakko.
I love that place. Last week, one of the kids asked me what my favorite place was in Japan and I said "Showa Shogakko"... I'm starting to believe it. Since this is the end of the last term and no one was sure if I would be coming back next year, they asked me to say goodbye to all the students and teachers... It was more sadness. Some of the girls in 2nd grade were crying and I had a group of 1st graders follow me around for an hour asking me "How do you say ________ in English?" But I got little goodbye notes and a bouquet of gorgeous flowers from the 4th graders. Now my apartment smells like flowers as well as cleanliness. Who knew that "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" and "The Hokey Pokey" would have such an impact. ELEMENTARY SCHOOL ROCKS!!!! and yes... I'll be going back. Found out this morning. The principal of Showa made a personal visit to my principal and requested that I come back in the spring. How nice it is to feel wanted.

Jump rope with the 2nd graders.... hadn't done that in AGES! I suck now. Maybe Byron can give me a lesson or 2 before I go back.

Learning ABCs

Saying goodbye to the kids. This is 2-3... The kid hanging off me in the back is Souta-kun. If he were in a North American school, he would have been put on Ritalin ages ago. But he's not, so in Japan, he is allowed to live... (at least until he gets to Junior High School...)

My birthday was Sunday. 24 years old. Female. Pisces. Dog. This year is my year. I had a nice day. Quiet. Just the way I like it. Went shopping. Spent money. Had a lovely, home-cooked Asian 5-course dinner... then in honour of my continuing cinematic education, I watched Blues Brothers (the original... not 2000)... and to make a good day even better, I got chocolate cake... with candles. (click on image for a larger picture) YUMMY!!!

I guess that's about it for my update. I will probably be posting more often this week because I'm at Kashiba and I have no classes for awhile. So I'll be writing "Thank You" messages to all the Showa students that I taught (1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th grade--300 kids in total). Then there's the planning for next year's school year and I just found out that we're getting a new exchange student. Matsuyama sensei told me that I will be teaching Japanese..... HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! Funny. So I have to plan for that too. She arrives from Estonia on March 20th.
And before I forget... I will also be planning my sister's visit to Japan. YAY!!! YAY!!! YAAAAAAAAAY!!!

(no longer) LOST IN JAPAN