It just dawned on me. I just figured out a part of how Japanese thinking (from what I've been told about through their writing style) manifests itself in conversation. Sato-sensei just asked me about how I learned Japanese. I was delighted, as I take pride in the methods I use, as well as how quickly I've advanced. Over the course of the conversation, the target subtly changed from how I learned, to how it applies to the school system here, to how a 7th grader would learn English, and finally ended with how using a Japanese alphabet to produce English sounds can be useful to slow learners. It was then I noticed he was making a worksheet that used a Japanese alphabet to do such a thing for what I can only assume will be used in a 7th grade classroom.
It was quite interested to follow through that mode of thinking and talking. I had been told that Japanese writing followed a similar, flowing path that started off somewhere else, moved toward the target, and then flowed onwards again. To experience it in action was pretty interesting.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Monday, October 12, 2009
Quick China Update (and pics!)
Hello friends, family, and animals that can somehow access the internet.
Here is a long overdue update about what I did in China! It's right here, in the next paragraph:
In my 5 days there, I think we saw everything you could possibly see in such a short amount of time. I really liked the Summer Palace, which blew my mind. The fact that one person could be so powerful, have so much land, and have such beautiful buildings created before the technology we have today is astounding. It was my second favorite place, next to the Great Wall. The palace has a lake in the middle, and all around the lake are temples, palaces, and building architecture. From the middle, there was a palace on the other side that was sort of misty, like it was perfectly placed- it was the type of thing you only see in movies.
The Great Wall was also awe-inspiring. Although the wall itself isn't all that high, it's all on mountains. It's more of the scope that got me. As I walked further and further, there were always more towers in front, always more that you could see on the mountains ahead, and always more to get to. Realizing how far the wall stretched just made it amazing. Unfortunately, the pollution of Beijing even reached out as far as the Great Wall, so there was smog in the air- but it wasn't nearly as bad as the city itself. There are no words that can really describe the wall, and the pictures you'll see really don't do it any justice. I never thought I'd go to the great wall in my life, so this was just an incredible experience.
Here is a long overdue update about what I did in China! It's right here, in the next paragraph:
In my 5 days there, I think we saw everything you could possibly see in such a short amount of time. I really liked the Summer Palace, which blew my mind. The fact that one person could be so powerful, have so much land, and have such beautiful buildings created before the technology we have today is astounding. It was my second favorite place, next to the Great Wall. The palace has a lake in the middle, and all around the lake are temples, palaces, and building architecture. From the middle, there was a palace on the other side that was sort of misty, like it was perfectly placed- it was the type of thing you only see in movies.
The Great Wall was also awe-inspiring. Although the wall itself isn't all that high, it's all on mountains. It's more of the scope that got me. As I walked further and further, there were always more towers in front, always more that you could see on the mountains ahead, and always more to get to. Realizing how far the wall stretched just made it amazing. Unfortunately, the pollution of Beijing even reached out as far as the Great Wall, so there was smog in the air- but it wasn't nearly as bad as the city itself. There are no words that can really describe the wall, and the pictures you'll see really don't do it any justice. I never thought I'd go to the great wall in my life, so this was just an incredible experience.
Beijing itself was an interesting place as well. It was very polluted and there was a lot of litter. The living conditions for the common people aren't that good- I think China still has a long way to go in that regard. Also, the people were a bit rude! There was a LOT of spitting. We'd even be in a restaurant, and we'd hear the unmistakable sound of someone clearing their throat, then the splat of spit on the floor. In a RESTAURANT! It was unbelievable. Also, my friend (and native Chinese speaker) said that they were very rude when speaking to her, no "thanks" "your welcome" or even trying to find information on what train stop to get off to help us, even though they were a clerk at the station! Perhaps I've been spoiled by Japan? Maybe they are too polite here, lol. It was a big contrast though, for example, when we got back to Japan and got in the rail station, there were workers cleaning even the escalator hand-rails , when 12 hours ago there was litter and greasy stuff in the stations.
It was also a bit scary to see how things were censored firsthand. No facebook or blogging allowed! Google Tienanmen Square and there's no mention of the protests there.
That about wraps up Beijing in a nutshell. I had an amazing time, and I wouldn't mind going back to another part of the country.
Aside from that, I've been teachin' the chilluns and sitting in my office. Oh, and I climbed Iwate mountain this past weekend. It was a 2 day hike, and it was blizzard conditions on the top. It was amazing fun though, and very beautiful
For some reason, the computer isn't letting my pictures copy into the blog. So I'll try and fix that sometime later this week.
RaNdOm japan.
Did you know that the swine flu made it to Japan? Well, guess what, all of Japan is ON GUARD! There are hand sanitizers in front of every entrance to every public building. You want into the grocery store, SANITIZE NOW (please imagine the Seinfeld "Serenity Now!" line, not the 13-year old I can speak in Caps you commonly find elsewhere)! You want into my office- SANITIZE NOW! Sigh. It's a good thing I'm foreign and "can't understand japanese."
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Today is Thursday
Huge Rainbow. Outside the window. 3 or 4 leprechauns must live there. Must...get...the...gold. So much gold, probably at the end of the rainbow. Why...does it keep...moving...when I....get...close? Gold...leprechauns...pumpkins...
Ok, whoa, whoa, let me get back from my brain-dead zombie state.
It's Friday now. The day of Fri. I'm in the office again. Help me, I'm going a little stir-crazy. I've been sitting, and sitting and sitting. I'll get up in 5 minutes to go to the bathroom, that's my break. I think, if people can have smoke-breaks, I should be able to have a "stand outside" break. They should institute that.
Institution. Did you know that the old President, Taro Aso, is OUT of office. His single digit approval ratings probably did him in. Yeah, he was that bad. Sorta like Bush, if we didn't have a #### ##### ##### ##### part of the country. Your software automatically blocked out what I wrote, so please use your imagination to enter whatever you think fits.
I'm going to China in a little more than a week. YES! See the great wall, Tienanmen Square, the Summer Palace. I can't wait! One more country off the list. I never thought that I, in my lifetime, would go to the great-wall. At least not until I retired and then was too old to enjoy it. But I'm actually doing it, and it's an amazing feeling. I believe that we should be able to travel a lot more when we are younger, and work it off when our reduced mobility makes us perfect office workers.
I've been reading the Dragonball manga (comic book). One of the groundbreaking manga's, and one of the few well-known ones in the US. It's interesting, and it's stretching my Japanese, for sure. It's good practice, and I can relate to my kids with it. "Hey, remember that time the kid with the monkey tail lifted the tortoise and brought him to the ocean. Yeah, that was good chapter."
I have been scootering around on my new old scooter. It's wicked fun! I can only go up to 50 or 60 km/hr, but that's all I need. I can explore all of the areas that were previously inaccessible. I drive between rice fields, up small mountain paths. I follow rivers and cross shallow streams. There is something so much more visceral about scootering than driving a car. Driving a car, you don't notice the beautiful scenery as much. You don't feel the wind pushing your body, it's ever-present pressure feebly trying to stop your movement forward. You can smell the air around you. Freshly-cut grass, rice, nature. Your body feels the drop in temperature when you increase in altitude, and the refreshing pocket of warm air when you get back to ground level.
Also, a tank of gas costs $5.
-Out.
Ok, whoa, whoa, let me get back from my brain-dead zombie state.
It's Friday now. The day of Fri. I'm in the office again. Help me, I'm going a little stir-crazy. I've been sitting, and sitting and sitting. I'll get up in 5 minutes to go to the bathroom, that's my break. I think, if people can have smoke-breaks, I should be able to have a "stand outside" break. They should institute that.
Institution. Did you know that the old President, Taro Aso, is OUT of office. His single digit approval ratings probably did him in. Yeah, he was that bad. Sorta like Bush, if we didn't have a #### ##### ##### ##### part of the country. Your software automatically blocked out what I wrote, so please use your imagination to enter whatever you think fits.
I'm going to China in a little more than a week. YES! See the great wall, Tienanmen Square, the Summer Palace. I can't wait! One more country off the list. I never thought that I, in my lifetime, would go to the great-wall. At least not until I retired and then was too old to enjoy it. But I'm actually doing it, and it's an amazing feeling. I believe that we should be able to travel a lot more when we are younger, and work it off when our reduced mobility makes us perfect office workers.
I've been reading the Dragonball manga (comic book). One of the groundbreaking manga's, and one of the few well-known ones in the US. It's interesting, and it's stretching my Japanese, for sure. It's good practice, and I can relate to my kids with it. "Hey, remember that time the kid with the monkey tail lifted the tortoise and brought him to the ocean. Yeah, that was good chapter."
I have been scootering around on my new old scooter. It's wicked fun! I can only go up to 50 or 60 km/hr, but that's all I need. I can explore all of the areas that were previously inaccessible. I drive between rice fields, up small mountain paths. I follow rivers and cross shallow streams. There is something so much more visceral about scootering than driving a car. Driving a car, you don't notice the beautiful scenery as much. You don't feel the wind pushing your body, it's ever-present pressure feebly trying to stop your movement forward. You can smell the air around you. Freshly-cut grass, rice, nature. Your body feels the drop in temperature when you increase in altitude, and the refreshing pocket of warm air when you get back to ground level.
Also, a tank of gas costs $5.
-Out.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
The nicest present
I'm in my office as I type this. I should be getting a few more kanji reviews under my belt, but... Anyways, I came back to a coke bottle filled with sake on my desk. It reads Takko-town garlic sake. I never expected to have alcohol just sitting on my desk, let alone in a half-filled plastic coke bottle. I'm not a shady kid, and neither are my coworkers, I swear!
I also had a review today. 5 of my coworkers came and looked at my class. I think it went well, it was a normal middle school class at Shingo. I also reviewed my students' English speech contest performance...they aren't going to win this year, that's all I'll say. 2 days away and they still haven't fully memorized their speeches! There's only so much I can help with if you don't memorize your speech.
I can't go to the contest though, I will be teaching at an elementary school instead. When I asked if I could go to the contest when I finished, I was given the "well, I'll have to ask so-and-so, because it is considered a business trip..." which means no. Too bad, but maybe next year?
Ok, that's all ya get. Suck it up or go to another blog! Once I finally get these stupid kanji reviews done, then you'll get a proper list of updates. Be strong, for me.
I also had a review today. 5 of my coworkers came and looked at my class. I think it went well, it was a normal middle school class at Shingo. I also reviewed my students' English speech contest performance...they aren't going to win this year, that's all I'll say. 2 days away and they still haven't fully memorized their speeches! There's only so much I can help with if you don't memorize your speech.
I can't go to the contest though, I will be teaching at an elementary school instead. When I asked if I could go to the contest when I finished, I was given the "well, I'll have to ask so-and-so, because it is considered a business trip..." which means no. Too bad, but maybe next year?
Ok, that's all ya get. Suck it up or go to another blog! Once I finally get these stupid kanji reviews done, then you'll get a proper list of updates. Be strong, for me.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Mundane, ennui, meh.
I have a confession to make. I've been collecting all of the papers I've been handed since the beginning of the year. I used to put them in the recycling bin or trash, but now I save them. I either put them under my laptop to increase it's height because it was too low and hurt my neck, or use them as scrap paper for practicing kanji.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
RtK- I did that too.
I'M DONE! I FINISHED REMEMBERING THE KANJI! IT'S OVER! This is my replacement for screaming in the office, which would probably confuse my coworkers.
I did it! I learned 2042 Kanji, all of the "necessary kanji" for daily life in Japan. Oh yes, I see and understand Japan.
Well, sort of. I know all of the English meanings associated with the kanji. But, really, when I see 今日, and my brain says (今=now, 日= day), I fully understand it means "today," and further, since I have around 2,000+ words in my vocab, I can read it as "kyou." Most importantly, from here on out, learning Japanese will go much quicker.
I'm going to regale you with my story. I started last winter, when Weldon told me about these books. I originally didn't even want to learn kanji, I just wanted to learn how to speak. But, anyways, he told me about these books which make kanji learning a breeze, and even help you increase your vocabulary and reading speed. So, I gave it a try, and really liked it. I got more and more into it, and more and more separated from other Japanese study, that it became the only thing I studied for the past two months. I just had to finish this before getting back to grammar and vocabulary. And, now I'M done! Woohoo! Only about 6 months, not too shabby for a writing system that is supposed to go from years k-12.
Well, now I suppose I'll celebrate a bit more, and LEARN it up.
Greg, over and out.
I did it! I learned 2042 Kanji, all of the "necessary kanji" for daily life in Japan. Oh yes, I see and understand Japan.
Well, sort of. I know all of the English meanings associated with the kanji. But, really, when I see 今日, and my brain says (今=now, 日= day), I fully understand it means "today," and further, since I have around 2,000+ words in my vocab, I can read it as "kyou." Most importantly, from here on out, learning Japanese will go much quicker.
I'm going to regale you with my story. I started last winter, when Weldon told me about these books. I originally didn't even want to learn kanji, I just wanted to learn how to speak. But, anyways, he told me about these books which make kanji learning a breeze, and even help you increase your vocabulary and reading speed. So, I gave it a try, and really liked it. I got more and more into it, and more and more separated from other Japanese study, that it became the only thing I studied for the past two months. I just had to finish this before getting back to grammar and vocabulary. And, now I'M done! Woohoo! Only about 6 months, not too shabby for a writing system that is supposed to go from years k-12.
Well, now I suppose I'll celebrate a bit more, and LEARN it up.
Greg, over and out.
Friday, August 7, 2009
Fuji- I did that.
Fuji Fuji Foo-ji. San.
I did climb Fuji-san a few weeks ago. It was sort of a "last friend adventure" type thing. We started climbing at 9:30. Spirits were high. People were happy. The stars were beautiful, and so clear. We could see the lights of Tokyo from far away.
It got colder and colder as we ascended, though. The oxygen, too, was thinning out. Even after a couple of steps, we were breathing heavy. The higher up we got, the more the girls were having trouble. Tina was getting dizzy easily, Natalie wasn't doing too well either. Luckily we brought some oxygen, which was very helpful.
I was about 50 meters from the top when the sun started rising. Seth and Tina were about a ridge-back down, and Natalie and I were so close to the top. Natalie, who had been struggling beforehand, and always complains about how bad a hiker she is, was actually in the front! At about 50 meters away, I couldn't keep up the pace, and I sat down. Natalie joined me for about 1 minute, then "I have to pee."
"Ok, I'll meet you at the toilet."
I saw the sun rise from near the top of Fuji. It was beautiful. I've never seen it rise so clearly. The red tip of the sun peaked over the horizon, and it climbed at a very steady rate. "Bonsai, bonsai, bonsai!" I heard.
At the top, there were a few "restaurants" (a nice term I use for the refugee food tents that they actually are). I'll never forget Natalie and Tina sitting next to the toilets, me going up to them and saying, let's go somewhere warm and get food. Natalie looked up at me, wide-eyed and with blue lips, and she stammered questioningly "warm?" I held her hands and walked her and the group to the food area. In actuality, it wasn't warm, it just wasn't as cold as outside.
We all struggled (except the chipper Seth), to get some food down.
On the way down, it was much easier. People were getting more lucid, and more able to walk and talk. Natalie burst into tears at how beautiful the site was on the way down.
All in all, it took us about 7-8 hours up (mostly due to the huge lines of people, Fuji was crowded, man!), and about 4-5 down.
When we got down, we took the bus and then the train back into Tokyo. We really didn't have much time, so we stayed around Tokyo eki. Got some food, relaxed, then boarded our Shinkansen (bullet train) home.
We went to Disney Sea the day before, which was really awesome. I highly recommend it, it was like stepping into another world. I don't even like roller-coasters, and I highly suggest it.
I'm a bit tired and lazy, so all you get is this uninspired writing. Deal with it!
This weekend I'm headed to Tokyo. With all of the old people that just left, the new people coming in, and my recent break-up (yes, I hid it from you, I had a girlfriend for a little while), I need a break, gotta get out of this crazy city! So, I'm off to Tokyo tonight. I'll night bus down and shinkansen back. It'll be good to get out, forget for a bit, and come back refreshed and revitalized!
So, that's about it for now. Told you, smaller pieces more frequently. I'm trying to sate your hunger.
RaNdOm JaPaN:
Did you know they sell square watermelons? A friend alerted me to this fact. Yes, square watermelons. I really want to eat one now. I know they taste the same as regular watermelons, but there is something so satisfying about how they look, how we could probably maximize the amount of watermelon eaten, from each watermelon.
I did climb Fuji-san a few weeks ago. It was sort of a "last friend adventure" type thing. We started climbing at 9:30. Spirits were high. People were happy. The stars were beautiful, and so clear. We could see the lights of Tokyo from far away.
It got colder and colder as we ascended, though. The oxygen, too, was thinning out. Even after a couple of steps, we were breathing heavy. The higher up we got, the more the girls were having trouble. Tina was getting dizzy easily, Natalie wasn't doing too well either. Luckily we brought some oxygen, which was very helpful.
I was about 50 meters from the top when the sun started rising. Seth and Tina were about a ridge-back down, and Natalie and I were so close to the top. Natalie, who had been struggling beforehand, and always complains about how bad a hiker she is, was actually in the front! At about 50 meters away, I couldn't keep up the pace, and I sat down. Natalie joined me for about 1 minute, then "I have to pee."
"Ok, I'll meet you at the toilet."
I saw the sun rise from near the top of Fuji. It was beautiful. I've never seen it rise so clearly. The red tip of the sun peaked over the horizon, and it climbed at a very steady rate. "Bonsai, bonsai, bonsai!" I heard.
At the top, there were a few "restaurants" (a nice term I use for the refugee food tents that they actually are). I'll never forget Natalie and Tina sitting next to the toilets, me going up to them and saying, let's go somewhere warm and get food. Natalie looked up at me, wide-eyed and with blue lips, and she stammered questioningly "warm?" I held her hands and walked her and the group to the food area. In actuality, it wasn't warm, it just wasn't as cold as outside.
We all struggled (except the chipper Seth), to get some food down.
On the way down, it was much easier. People were getting more lucid, and more able to walk and talk. Natalie burst into tears at how beautiful the site was on the way down.
All in all, it took us about 7-8 hours up (mostly due to the huge lines of people, Fuji was crowded, man!), and about 4-5 down.
When we got down, we took the bus and then the train back into Tokyo. We really didn't have much time, so we stayed around Tokyo eki. Got some food, relaxed, then boarded our Shinkansen (bullet train) home.
We went to Disney Sea the day before, which was really awesome. I highly recommend it, it was like stepping into another world. I don't even like roller-coasters, and I highly suggest it.
I'm a bit tired and lazy, so all you get is this uninspired writing. Deal with it!
This weekend I'm headed to Tokyo. With all of the old people that just left, the new people coming in, and my recent break-up (yes, I hid it from you, I had a girlfriend for a little while), I need a break, gotta get out of this crazy city! So, I'm off to Tokyo tonight. I'll night bus down and shinkansen back. It'll be good to get out, forget for a bit, and come back refreshed and revitalized!
So, that's about it for now. Told you, smaller pieces more frequently. I'm trying to sate your hunger.
RaNdOm JaPaN:
Did you know they sell square watermelons? A friend alerted me to this fact. Yes, square watermelons. I really want to eat one now. I know they taste the same as regular watermelons, but there is something so satisfying about how they look, how we could probably maximize the amount of watermelon eaten, from each watermelon.
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