All Good Days Start With Bayern Wins October 26, 2010
Posted by Earthdragonette in Cultural Exchange, Dance Troupe, FC Bayern Munich, Gym Adventures, Julie Gets Philosophical, quick quips, Student Moments.Tags: clemente, culture exchange, fall term, fc bayern fangirl, Halloween preparations, hermione, Schweinsteiger Awesome, The Band, the dance troupe, the gym, The Japanese Best Friend, The JTE
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I firmly believe this, and it’s an official part of the “get at least eight hours of sleep and eat a good breakfast” dogma that surrounds my evening-to-morning behavior. Granted, getting up at 3:30 in the morning to watch Bayern win games often contradicts the “eight hours of sleep” part, but inconsistency is just one of those quirks that one learns to live with.
So, first of all, a Bayern win automatically necessitates showing this video/sound file:
And then this video shows us the much-exalted second goal. This video also shows why (as I have always maintained) Basitan Schweinsteiger is a demigod who breathes in oxygen and exhales awesome. Keep in mind that he was the player that got us the first goal as well.
So, it’s been about a week since I checked in. I apologize for the delay, although I did know that my schedule was going to get pretty rough. The end of this month is an extremely busy time for my junior high school, and then I’m also trying to pull together a Halloween event for one of my elementary schools. In addition, The Dance Troupe went to a festival, The Band has been recording and practicing new songs, life has been active at The Gym, I’ve finalized everything regarding the new car, and I’m nearly done with graduate school applications.
I think that things will probably settle down by mid-November.
So, briefly and in no particular order, here are 7 memories from the past 7 days:
1) The junior high school had a massive open-school event last Wednesday where all the teachers in our town came to inspect and comment on our lessons. By and large, the English lesson I did with the JTE was one of the favorites. I credit enthusiastic students and a few moments of well-executed improvisation on the part of the English teachers.
2) Clemente is one of the funniest people I’ve ever met in my life. In the days leading up to to the open-school event, he helped me stay sane with wry and well-timed quips. He also continues to sing We Are the World at random moments, and it does my heart a world of good.
3) I’ve formed a connection with the sixth graders at Thursday’s elementary school over the system of cursive writing. For some reason, they are extremely taken with it and we’ve become Extremely Good Friends now that I’ve taught them how to use it to write their own names.
4) I met The Japanese Best Friend last Saturday and we had a long, leisurely lunch together. Plans are now in full swing for next month’s Thanksgiving shindig. Early reports suggest that The Mentor will be attending.
5) The Dance Troupe and I headed south on Sunday to attend the largest of the festivals that invite us to dance. We danced on three separate stages, with our last performance being the best. I got to enjoy The Celebrity Magic for most of the afternoon, which was mostly strange but it also had its entertaining moments.
6) Hermione and I had a conversation on Monday where she found out that I will “most likely” be leaving in March. She was not pleased, and although I want to talk about it with her on a more comprehensive level, I’m not sure that I’m allowed to do so. Japanese schools are very secretive and deliberate when it comes to teachers that are transferred at the end of the school year. Normally, this behavior doesn’t apply to ALTs, but I’ve been here so long and I’m leaving at such an unusual time, that I’ve been told by some Authoritative Powers that I need to keep my situation quiet for the time being. So, she is left with suspecting that I will leave but not knowing for certain. Either way she’s mad. -_-;;
7) I made a slideshow about Halloween to show my students. It has Disney cartoons, lots of pictures, a time-lapsed video of pumpkin carving and a section that highlights Michael Jackson’s Thriller. It’s quite spiffy, if I do say so myself.
And on that note, I better be off. I have another four days of Spectacular Spectacles ahead of me and much to do.
Wo wird lauschent Angegriffen wo wird Täglich Spioniert?
wo ist Presse wo ist Rummel wo wird immer Diskotiert?
This is the captain speaking… October 18, 2010
Posted by Earthdragonette in Cultural Exchange, FC Bayern Munich, Gym Adventures, Just Bizarre, Student Moments.Tags: chaos, fall term, fc bayern fangirl, field trips, growth opportunities, Japan, The Band, the first years, the gym, third years, unintended lessons, we are the world
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I just want to let you know that we will be experiencing some slight turbulence this week.
Dude to a number of tricky and demanding threads that have all decided to run through my life at the same moment, each with its own emotional, temporal, financial, and occasionally verbal demands, I cannot promise that a) there will be the customary updates for this week or b) that these updates won’t be worse than no updates at all.
On my smörgåsbord of Stuff I Have to Do, we have: purchase new car because my old one is beyond repair (this story will definitely get its own post once the process is complete), assist in gigantic and fantastically demanding school-wide seminar on Wednesday, prepare significant presentation about Halloween, assist in gigantic and fantastically demanding school-wise Halloween activity next Friday, continue daily devotions and sacrifices to a multitude of spiritual entities in the hopes that Mario Gomez will keep scoring goals for Bayern and that Ribery and Klose will actually be back in action next week. Also: continue to apply to graduate school in the hopes that I will have a new Place to Go when I depart Japan in a mere 162 days.
So now, very quickly: memories.
~ Last Thursday = Survived a class with The First Years. Their home room teacher is, for some reason, on leave for an indeterminate amount of time and I missed her dearly. Although the love that these students and I have for each other is real and unshakable, they are the LOUDEST CHILDREN IN THE WORLD and trying to go and record music for The Band after a day with them is kind of like trying to milk a chicken. You could try, but there is no reason in the world that you should.
~ Last Friday = Field Trip with Friday’s Elementary School. This entire day was entertaining and enjoyable. Perhaps my favorite part was when one of my students came up to me and asked me about the difference between telling somebody to “go to heaven” or telling somebody to “go to hell”. This is not a question that I normally field at an elementary level and the answering process was both delicate and ultimately futile. This student is a very smart boy, and despite my best efforts he quickly understood that he had discovered, as it were, one of the much sought-after diamonds of English insults. So guess what I got to listen to for the rest of the day? Kids say the darnedest things.
~ Saturday and Sunday = There was The Gym. Also some progress on the car issue. Also I may or may not have forgotten that cheese nan is a dangerous thing. I have since remembered.
~ Monday = My third year students had a singing test for We Are the World and, in order to make the process less embarrassing (singing by oneself in front of a class can be kind of intimidating), I sang with them. This means that I sang the song about 20 times in a row (the kids came up and did it in pairs). Definitely not the kinds of activities I’d envisioned for myself when I decided to sign up for the JET Program back in 2005/2006.
And that’s about it for now. I hope that I can stay organized and productive so that I can keep up with the posts this week. I think we’re in for some really interesting experiences.
Then I saw his face
Now I’m a believer
So, moving is still problematic… October 13, 2010
Posted by Earthdragonette in Just Bizarre, Student Moments.Tags: cat and mouse, clemente, fall term, german soccer team fangirl, hermione, Japan, Japanese, mr. bayblade, muscle pain, penelope, penguins, The Child, third year fun
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…thanks to Monday’s two-hour exercise extravaganza. I wish I were exaggerating, but the shooting fire-like pains that skitter down my thighs whenever I shift my weight say otherwise.
But in the true spirit of this blog, we shall not linger on unpleasant affairs.
These (adorable) penguins wish for us to look on the sunny side of life.
Wednesday was rather productive on the whole, and I had a lovely time chatting with Penelope during lunch and Hermione during the lunch recess. Mr. Bayblade made an appearance after lunch as well and we both lamented that Japan wasn’t able to beat South Korea in Tuesday night’s soccer game. I exercised restraint and did not point out that Germany (mercilessly, completely, and fantastically) schooled Kazakhstan with a final score of 0 – 3. See? I told you that that game would put me in a good mood.
The day isn’t quite over yet, I still have dance practice to go to and that may very well provide an entertaining and worthwhile memory to hold on to. Still, looking back over the day itself, I think I want to highlight the classes that I had with my third years.
There are some days when I don’t feel particularly close or of interest to these students, but today wasn’t one of those days. They had a speaking test where they had to recite the first stanza and chorus of We Are the World. Walking around and helping them was a lot of fun. Even The Child got into the activity (albeit about two weeks later than he should have…), and Clemente and I had sang the song together about five times. If I do say so myself, we make a nice duet.
I also had some free time on my hands since the kids were mostly preparing for the test. So, when I wasn’t helping students with their pronunciation or coaching them through the memorization process, I Got Up To Tricks. Specifically, I made it my mission to sneak around and steal things off of students’ desks to then hide them in ridiculous places around the room. (I should add here that I only harassed students who’d passed their test and were just sitting around.)
Today wasn’t the first time that I’ve done this and it quickly became a spectacular battle of wits. They would try to keep an eye on their notebooks/pen cases/textbooks/erasers, and I would do everything in my power to put those much needed items in locations ranging from on top of the classroom television set to on top of somebody’s head. Any and all attempts to foil me were met with devastating acts of revenge later on in the class period. That’s one way of saying that I may or may not have taken and switched the contents of at least two pencil bags.
I guess I like this memory because it’s of something that the third years and I don’t get a chance to do all that much together these days: play. I’ve known them since they were fifth graders and now that they’re about to go into high school, they seem so grown up and beyond that kind of activity. It’s nice to go back down that path on occasion, and remember how we can make each other laugh through a simple game of cat and mouse. I hope that I never grow too old to acknowledge, or rekindle, the playful and mischievous side of my personality.
Je veux ton amour
Et je veux ton revenge
I like updates and I cannot lie … October 11, 2010
Posted by Earthdragonette in Cultural Exchange, FC Bayern Munich, Gym Adventures, Julie Gets Philosophical, Just Bizarre, Lessons Learned.Tags: car accident, fall term, fc bayern fangirl, field trips, german soccer team fangirl, gym adventures, Japan, long phone calls, new lessons and friends, TGTIDNLBIDLHE, the masked man
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So we have, as usual, a lot of content and not a lot of time for me to write about it this morning. There’s one specific incident that I want to linger on, so let’s briefly touch on the other Events of Note:
1) The Car Accident
I’d intended to write a longer post about this, but perhaps its better not to dwell on Unfortunate Events. To make a long story short, as I was waiting to merge into traffic after getting off of the expressway last Tuesday, somebody hit me from behind. Luckily, nobody was hurt. In addition, the police and insurance companies have determined that it was entirely the other person’s fault and he is supposed to pay to have my car fixed. I suspect, however, that the cost of repairing my car is going to be more than the car is actually worth, so I’ll probably just get money to buy another (not very good and slightly unsafe) automobile. I was initially emotionally distraught at the thought of losing my car (and still am to a certain degree), but things could be a lot worse and I’m willing to be flexible at this point.
2) Field Trips!
Thursday was entertaining because I got to go to a small theme park outside of Nagoya city with my first year JHS students. It’s called Little World, and it’s set up so that visitors can explore what houses, food, and clothing are like in other parts of the world. I’ve been to this theme park many times (about once a year for the last four years), so I wasn’t anticipating finding anything new to be excited about. However, on the way to the park I was perusing the map and I discovered that the area of the part of the park dedicated to Germany is actually dedicated to Bayern. This information did something strange to me, because as soon as we got to Little World I dashed to the German section (all the way at the back of the park) and made my students take an absurd number of pictures of me pointing to signs that had “Bayern” written on them. Still, I’ve never claimed to be sophisticated or not easily excited/amused.
3) Friday it Rained. I skipped the gym, came home, and had a four-hour conversation with my father.
4) Saturday it also Rained. So much that I normally would not have gone out except that The Japanese Best Friend and I had one of our International Dinner Nights planned. We had a lot of fun, and I got to watch The Haunted Mansion, which wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be. OH, ALSO, GERMANY WON ITS SOCCER GAME AGAINST TURKEY.
5) Sunday morning The Super Young Guy and I drove each other to hysterics (think: mass giggle fit) while goofing off during my workout. For somebody who has been chastised for talking to me too much, he doesn’t seem to be all that fazed.
6) Monday was the Most Ridiculous Workout Ever (and the main event I want to highlight)
So, Monday was a national holiday in Japan and I had the day off. In addition, the gym organized a special series of lessons meant to tempt their customs away from revelry and games of all sorts. I was a little curious about a special event that they were holding at 7 in the evening. It was advertised as 90 minutes of the three most intense classes that the gym has to offer (one is body shape/muscle toning and the other two are combination martial arts/aerobics lessons). It sounded interesting, so after running some errands I made my way to the gym by 6:30 and got ready for the lesson.
The lesson was entertaining if only because the gym staff made a huge event of it. They had special shirts and pants, they played special music, and one of the trainers dressed up as a Power Ranger. The first lesson (one of the aerobic martial arts ones) was a little rough for me because it was conducted by none other than TGTIDNLBIDLHE who, not surprisingly, has kind of a sadistic “OF COURSE EVERYBODY CAN DO FIVE HUNDRED AND FORTY TWO SQUATS IN A ROW” attitude. This was the lesson where I had to keep reasoning with myself as to why throwing up in the gym studio would be a bad idea.
The second lesson was also a little rough because it was the strength training portion and I was feeling drained. This is where things got very interesting, though, because to my utter shock TGTIDNLBIDLHE took up a position behind me and, well, became my buddy. You see, we had about seven of the gym trainers spread around the room, helping out the different participants and just generally offering encouragement. After he’d finished his class, TGTIDNLBIDLHE was free to offer support and he spent about 95% of the lesson doing that for me. He checked my posture, suggested alternatives when I found something to be a little too difficult, and offered constant encouragement and what I would guess to be about two hundred high-fives. This was all spectacularly fun during the third lesson, when my energy returned with a vengeance and we were both feeling really silly and full of endorphins:
POOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWERRR!!!!!!
Still, you have to remember that TGTIDNLBIDLHE has been so aptly named because since the day I got to the gym he has been nothing but Snarky and Not Nice. On more than one occasion I’ve considered asking him to stop greeting me when I come into the gym just because he sounds so insincere when he does it and it makes me feel bad. I cannot for the life of me fathom what inspired this change in attitude, although I’m certainly happy that it’s happened. I’m not sure if it’s a change that will last outside of this class, but the genuine and not-superficial smile that he gave me after the class finished leads me to believe that some kind of truce has been called. I’m not saying that we’re going to become BFF, but at least I don’t have to worry about him hating me. So, this is a good thing.
Therefore, I do believe another name change is in order. Henceforth, TGTIDNLBIDLHE will now be known as “The Masked Man.” I say this because he was wearing a mask throughout most of yesterday’s workout (it might have been what gave him the courage to show me such kindness) and because it’s so hard for me to figure out what he’s all about. He is a mystery.
Code Monkey get up, get coffee
Code Monkey go to job
Some Technical Difficulties October 6, 2010
Posted by Earthdragonette in Hear Ye.Tags: gemini, kittens, technical difficulties
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I apologize that the posting, which is arguably not that heavy to begin with, has been on the light side this week. I’m still fighting a cold and then I got into a car accident on Tuesday and so I’ve been dealing with those details. The accident wasn’t serious (I’m perfectly fine) and thankfully it wasn’t my fault. Still, it did some significant damage to my car and there is a lot that I’ve had to sort through. I’m going to do my best to update on Thursday with just a bit more detail and commentary.
In the meantime, please enjoy a picture of this cute kitten:
This is a cute kitten.
And (even though I am not the biggest fan of Romeo and Juliet) this song:
The vacuous night
Steps aside to give meaning
To Gemini’s dreaming
10 Observations From the Sick Couch October 4, 2010
Posted by Earthdragonette in Dance Troupe, FC Bayern Munich, Gym Adventures, Just Bizarre, Me Time.Tags: cheese nan, deaded mukade race, fall illness, fall term, fashion issues, fc bayern fangirl, Thanksgiving prep, The Band, the dance troupe, The Japanese Best Friend, the super young guy, why yes I do enjoy crocs
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So, I’ve spent most of the last five days fighting (and to some degree succumbing) to a fantastically annoying autumn cold. It’s not serious, but it keeps fading away only to jump back at me as soon as I skimp on sleep or eat copious amounts of cheese nan.
And on the 42nd day, God said: "Let there be cheese, and nan, and let it be known as cheese nan." And He saw that this, too, was awfully good.
By the way, I’m not saying that I’m a cheese nan addict. I’m also *not* saying that I’m *not* a cheese nan addict. I am, however, blaming any potential addict-status on the influences of The Japanese Best Friend, so if a suspicious cheese nan-related incident ever occurs, you know with whom to speak.
So, because I’ve been feeling a little under the weather, I haven’t been out and about as much as usual and when I have been out and about, I’ve been slightly oblivious and addle-minded. Thus, I bring to you today 10 Observations From the Sick Couch. These are a variety of things that I’ve been thinking about over the last four days. Some are Japan-oriented, some are student-oriented, and some are focused on iTunes. Please enjoy, and I hope to be back to our regularly scheduled “memory collecting blogging” by tomorrow evening.
10) I am very glad that I am foreign and not subject to the strict trends of Japanese fashion. The two most popular forms of footwear right now are Ugg Boots and high heels, both of which cause horrible foot problems. I will keep my Purple Crocs of Love and my Pumas, thank you very much.
9) I am a little confused as to why there is a shortage of canned pumpkin this year. I had to order this year’s Thanksgiving supply over a month in advance.
8) Apparently, Jay and Silent Bob are Getting Old.
7) All of my teams failed me this weekend: The Gators, The Steelers, Hopewell High School, and Bayern Munich all got soundly thrashed in every game that they played. It was not a good weekend to be Me and a Sports Fan.
6) Rainy days at Thursday’s elementary school make for extremely hyperactive and enthusiastic children. I was mobbed by first and second years The. Entire. Day.
5) Sunny days at Friday’s elementary school make for extremely hyperactive and enthusiastic children. I was mobbed by first and second and third and fourth and fifth and sixth years The. Entire. Day.
4) I have forgiven The Super Young Guy for last week’s Event of Extreme Embarrassment. It is, as they say, water under the bridge.
3) I started a new class at the gym, this time on Saturday nights. It’s a kickboxing/aerobics kind of class and so far it’ s a lot of fun. It’s not exactly dancing, but it’ll do for now.
2) Sunday’s festival with The Band and The Dance Troupe was cancelled on account of rain. I was sad that we didn’t have a chance to put all of our hard work on display, especially since it doesn’t look like we have many festivals left in our schedule. I used the rest of the day to run errands.
1) Trying to plan lessons while simultaneously resting one’s head on a pillow and hugging a stuffed bear is not a good idea.
And now I leave you with a video of the Dreaded Centipede Race that I avoided this year. After you watch this, and truly understand the concept, perhaps you will see why even now, over a week later, the knowledge of my escape gives me strength and peace.
Code Monkey not say it out loud
Code Monkey not crazy just proud
Where I Intended to Be 