This week has been one full of travels, new adventures, FOOD and fun! Did I mention FOOD!
After three days in Osaka with Brad I headed to Fukushima-shi for a mid year conference. And of course what would a mid year conference be without a tour of the Asahi Brewery Nomihodai style (all you can drink) and Yukiniku Kohitsuji (grilled lamb) before a night of dancing with 60 of your new closest friends.
But before we get to that, Osaka. Beautiful Osaka.
On Thursday Nov. 11th Brad and I jumped on a night bus from Aizu Wakamatsu at 6pm and reached our destination in Osaka at 8am Friday morning. The 14 hour bus ride was excruciating...
insert by Brad
"the polythythmic duallng pair of the indian men... we could have done without, but I have to admit while they were sawing logs, or more like clear cutting the sacred landscape of our peacful midnight run to Osaka, it sounded at times like two old friends finishing each others sentences in an unconscious latenight conversation...or an organic dream machine whose synchronized engines, puttering away, could somehow be tethered to these two individuals through an invisible telekinetic drive shaft. However annoying it was, at least it kept me from falling asleep and missing the subtle nuances (4:40am) like how a small bump in the highway could change their melody, rhythm, or even give a quiet pause before, like a precisely placed crash cymbal crescendo, being violently kick started again by the imploding human necessity for the constant oxygen intake, at the very least I know at least two people are able to get some sleep on this bus ...
and then a delirious vision...
A pair of bobbily headed Jabba the Hut dashboard ornaments, heads back, mouths wide open, with their fat tongues flapping loosely covering the hole like a drain plug in the kitchen sink, all the while the familiar pulsating sound of a hibernating two headed brown bear emits from the seats behind me
...light is creeping in through the velcrowed curtain, morning is here - ohiyou gozaimasu Kyoto (6:32 am)
end of insert
Osaka itself is a beautiful city! It is known for its food and although you can get much of the same cuisine throughout Japan, Osaka is known to have the best of the best. The city even has its own motto "kui-daore no machi" which literally translates to "eat til you drop".
We are lucky enough to have two amazing friends- one was born and raised in Osaka but lives in Canada and a member of a foodie blog here in Japan. Her husband, is a Chef de Partie at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel- Both love food and found all the good places to eat without the high prices. And just to make things better, they were here to visit and share in all the mouth watering goodness that Osaka has to offer.
Some of the things we ate, just to name a few include: Takoyaki (succulent octopus dumpling balls with octopi in the middle and then loaded with mayo, sauce, nori and fish flakes on top- all I got to say is don't knock it til you try it!), Okonomiyaki (you will have to look this one up), fugu (puffer fish), Otoro (raw tuna belly) and many different types of delicious sushi, and the infamous Kobe Beef. Now, I could talk about food for days- but what I want to talk about is the Kobe beef.
Kobe Beef- sweet, fatty, melt in your mouth Kobe beef....Better than one could possibly imagine. Who knew beef could taste that good! Raw, seared, covered in egg, eaten with kimchi- every bite of my 16oz portion of Kobe Beef tasted better than the one before. We were served a variety of cuts including the temple and tripe of the cow and I would have gladly eaten more had it been available! This beef was grade AAAAA level 12 of 12 Kobe Beef (Canda only has AAA) - Just to give you an idea of how tender the meat actually is- the number of "A's" that follow signify the fat marbling. And the best part- the owner of this small restaurant goes directly to the farmer himself and fills his order for upcoming week. One more reason why I love Japan.
In between all the eating, we also visited the Osaka Kaiyukan (Aquarium) which is famous for housing a pair of whale sharks. The aquarium itself is worth seeing however, Brad and I couldn't help but laugh at the fact that we had seen many of the exotic animals in the wild during our travels- "Oh look a Capybara" (the words largest rodant), "Oh yeah we saw that while hiking in the Amazon- next", "oh look Parana's, yeah, we went fishing for those in South America too- next", "oh look, whale sharks! wait, didn't we swim with those in the gulf of mexico on our honey moon?" The four story aquarium spiraled around one main tank and was surrounded by 14 smaller tanks that exhibit marine life in 15 regions found in ring of fire. It was fantastic, but nothing can compare to the real thing. LOL.
We have been very lucky in our lives. Now, i think the travel bug has officially set in, i have seen some things, but all i can think about is everything still left to see- so many places to go and things to do.
We then preceded to ride a 112 metre Ferris wheel and view Osaka from the top. I hate Ferris wheels but I can say the view from the top was amazing, I am thankful the seat was encased in glass and I am also very thankful my sister was not there to rock the carriage like she always does ;)
Next Sky Gardens- more heights, another great view, but no more gardens......I payed 700 Yen to stand on the top of a building.
Of course we couldn't miss out on seeing the oldest Buddhist temple in Japan -Shitennoj Temple and the Osaka Castle. There is something so intriguing to me about seeing the old contrasted with the new. These building have been destroyed numerous times throughout war and natural disasters but the Japanese people value the presence of these buildings and rebuild each time without modification or alterations while the modern world encroaches around them.
Lastly, but certainly not least, we traveled down Doguyasuji (aka. Kitchen Street). Personally, I think this is the best concept of a street EVER. The theory behind it is if you travel from one end to another you would have everything you need to open your own restaurant. It is conveniently located next to Dontonbori (the restaurant district). We picked up a couple toys for our own kitchen at home and Brad drooled over some knives that are made by the same family that has been making Samurai swords for the last 2000 years.
All this packed into three days-Needless to say we will be making another trip soon;)
Thursday, 18 November 2010
Saturday, 6 November 2010
Dilema
This weeks delima is a conflict between empathy and professional responsibility.
While teaching this week, I was shocked at how many students sleep during class time (and not just during my classes). It is astounding! Some try to hide the fact that they are napping by opening their book and propping their head up on their hand to imitate a reading stance while others make themselves comfortable and sprawl out on the desk- one student even used his jacket as a pillow.
However, what surprised me most was the teacher's response(s); some gently nudge their student(s) as they walk by, some do the typical teacher maneuver and calls on the sleeping student to answer a question while the entire class snickers as they wake from their slumber and look around dazed and confused. But more often than not, the teacher(s) just ignores it- plain and simple.
I have asked numerous teachers about this "problem" and have been told by all about how hard working the students are and have been told in great detail about the students rigorous schedule; between waking up, traveling to school, club activities, travel home, and homework. Often, students are only left with 5 or 6 hours to sleep before repeating this routine not only five days a week but six, sometimes seven!
Initially, my nurturing, empathetic side feels for these poor kids- this exhausting, monotonous life style that is ingrained into Japanese society- these poor kids, they have no choice! Then, my professional and disciplined ultra ego steps in and starts to get angry as I look at all the drooping heads in my classroom, those lazy eyes that can barely stay open. I feel it is very rude to sleep when I am teaching. I feel it is disrespectful- as if the students are telling me, whatever I am teaching is not important enough for them to feel the need to pay attention.
I can't help but wonder, in a society that values balance- zen- how did things get so off balanced? Students are sleeping in their desks, teachings are sleeping at their desks.....I see no balance between work and play- there is only work.
So as an ALT teaching in a Foreign country, what do I say to my students? Last week I assigned sleep as homework- lol. I told my students, "You have 7 hours of sleep for homework tonight" (did I mention sarcasm is not understood nor appreciated in Japan). "You sleep at home, not at school, ok? "
Was I the one being rude?
While teaching this week, I was shocked at how many students sleep during class time (and not just during my classes). It is astounding! Some try to hide the fact that they are napping by opening their book and propping their head up on their hand to imitate a reading stance while others make themselves comfortable and sprawl out on the desk- one student even used his jacket as a pillow.
However, what surprised me most was the teacher's response(s); some gently nudge their student(s) as they walk by, some do the typical teacher maneuver and calls on the sleeping student to answer a question while the entire class snickers as they wake from their slumber and look around dazed and confused. But more often than not, the teacher(s) just ignores it- plain and simple.
I have asked numerous teachers about this "problem" and have been told by all about how hard working the students are and have been told in great detail about the students rigorous schedule; between waking up, traveling to school, club activities, travel home, and homework. Often, students are only left with 5 or 6 hours to sleep before repeating this routine not only five days a week but six, sometimes seven!
Initially, my nurturing, empathetic side feels for these poor kids- this exhausting, monotonous life style that is ingrained into Japanese society- these poor kids, they have no choice! Then, my professional and disciplined ultra ego steps in and starts to get angry as I look at all the drooping heads in my classroom, those lazy eyes that can barely stay open. I feel it is very rude to sleep when I am teaching. I feel it is disrespectful- as if the students are telling me, whatever I am teaching is not important enough for them to feel the need to pay attention.
I can't help but wonder, in a society that values balance- zen- how did things get so off balanced? Students are sleeping in their desks, teachings are sleeping at their desks.....I see no balance between work and play- there is only work.
So as an ALT teaching in a Foreign country, what do I say to my students? Last week I assigned sleep as homework- lol. I told my students, "You have 7 hours of sleep for homework tonight" (did I mention sarcasm is not understood nor appreciated in Japan). "You sleep at home, not at school, ok? "
Was I the one being rude?
Monday, 1 November 2010
Universal Language
Did you know the "thumbs-up" is not a universal symbol? LOL
As I was teaching a lesson today I was worried about all the blank looks I was getting from the students- there seemed to be more than usual. I started to wonder if I was blabbing away for my own good? I panicked. I flipped through my mental roll-a-dex of teaching strategies... As a quick survey, I asked my students to give me a `thumbs- up` if they understood the passage we just read, a thumb to the side of they understood a little bit, and a thumbs down if they didn't understand anything. I thought it was a logical solution to the language gap. Well, the kids just sat there staring at me wide eyed, not moving, and definitely not showing me their thumbs. I stood there looking back at them just as confused.
*side note *
The Japanese classroom is not one for interaction. In most cases it is merely listen and regurgitate, a skill they are extremely good at. My paranoia about a non responsive class was relinquished last week when i observed one of the Japanese teachers at my school ask a question IN JAPANESE and still receive the same reaction- sit and stare without batting an eye...lol.
Finally, after the teacher said something in Japanese the thumbs slowly started to lift. Although I was able to distinguish what percentage of the class understood what, I felt completely deflated- why wouldn't they respond? Are they really that shy? Am I speaking to fast? It my lesson that boring!?
After class my JTE (Japanese Teacher of English) shed some light on the situation- the kids don`t know what 'Thumbs up mean'! I really was speaking a foreign language. HAHAHAHAHAHA.
In Japan the thumb and index finger create a circular shape and the other three figures stick straight up to signify `OK`. I am so naive. I just assumed the `thumbs- up` was as international as 'the finger'.
Note to self- never take the little things for granted.
As I was teaching a lesson today I was worried about all the blank looks I was getting from the students- there seemed to be more than usual. I started to wonder if I was blabbing away for my own good? I panicked. I flipped through my mental roll-a-dex of teaching strategies... As a quick survey, I asked my students to give me a `thumbs- up` if they understood the passage we just read, a thumb to the side of they understood a little bit, and a thumbs down if they didn't understand anything. I thought it was a logical solution to the language gap. Well, the kids just sat there staring at me wide eyed, not moving, and definitely not showing me their thumbs. I stood there looking back at them just as confused.
*side note *
The Japanese classroom is not one for interaction. In most cases it is merely listen and regurgitate, a skill they are extremely good at. My paranoia about a non responsive class was relinquished last week when i observed one of the Japanese teachers at my school ask a question IN JAPANESE and still receive the same reaction- sit and stare without batting an eye...lol.
Finally, after the teacher said something in Japanese the thumbs slowly started to lift. Although I was able to distinguish what percentage of the class understood what, I felt completely deflated- why wouldn't they respond? Are they really that shy? Am I speaking to fast? It my lesson that boring!?
After class my JTE (Japanese Teacher of English) shed some light on the situation- the kids don`t know what 'Thumbs up mean'! I really was speaking a foreign language. HAHAHAHAHAHA.
In Japan the thumb and index finger create a circular shape and the other three figures stick straight up to signify `OK`. I am so naive. I just assumed the `thumbs- up` was as international as 'the finger'.
Note to self- never take the little things for granted.
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