Train Staring

I'm sitting on the train with quite a few Japanese surrounding me.
I can see the reflection of my face in the window opposite me.
But my eyes are too dark to see.

Everyone else is trying not to look at me.
They completely avoid me at all costs -
no eye contact -
won't sit beside me -
walk the furtherest they can around me.
but every time I look their way, our eyes happen to meet.
They happen to be looking at me exactly when I look at them - funny that.
Quick glances away to avoid embarrassment.

My reflection however, looks straight back at me.
She holds my gaze for as long as I do.
A relief in this watching but not looking world.

Missy Elliot blasting through my ear phones and staring at myself in the glass.
To avoid the non-stares.

Lucky the trains are fast.

Ever Been Jealous of a CD Player?

I have to say, never thought that this would be one of my experiences in Japan. Experiencing for the first time the feeling of jealousy against a mechanical object sounds like something from a science fiction movie about the future - where all of our jobs are taken over by machines and we become null-avoid within a mechanically run world.

But it's way more simple and in the present tense kind of way. My main job at the Junior High School is stated in this simple line;

"Repeat after Miss Tara"

ahhh, the sound of those four words and I awaken from a somber silent state on the side of the classroom. I jump into action and perform the one task that I am deemed capable of performing (in monkey dancing style). All of the students repeat after me words or phrases that their Japanese Teacher produce and hold up for me to state and them to read.

"Get On"
"Get On"

"Get Off"
"Get Off"

"The bus for Odawara"
"Za bas phor Odawara"

"The train for Utsunomia"
"Za train phor Utsunomia"

"How much is the fare?"
"How much is za pphhare?"

Now it's not that I particularly enjoy this, but it's the only thing I've got right. It's my task.

Well! not so! I find out this week. They actually have CD players and CD tracks of every single lesson and word use that they could possibly need! In one of the lessons last week (and lessons following during this week), my one task has been replaced with a CD player and CD.

In that first lesson, I felt an overwhelming desire to pick the CD player up and throw it out the window for it to crash to smitherines two stories down! Or, what might even have been more direct, stand in front of the machine and start talking louder and purposefully over the American voice.

Never had I felt such jealously, and I found it difficult to keep a straight face for the rest of the lesson. My job has caused me to become jealous of a machine!!

Excellent experience. Here's a pic of my most common pose at work. yeeaa baby.

Crazy Japanese People.. or Crazy me...

I don't know who is insane here - but one of us is definitely a little nuts. Either I am weird thinking that everyone around me is weird, or everyone else around me is weird.

Just now, one of the teachers came running through the teachers room, closed the door to the principals room and made a very quick whispering phone call to someone else.. NOW, all of the teachers are coming back into the room, and they're all whispering and laughing - joke of the century apparently! No idea what it is...

... the other week I was told that all lessons were cancelled for the day and the students would be making fires outside to cook lunch on - that would be all that would be happening that day. I was perplexed why it would take so long, or why they were doing it in the first place until they started. None of the students knew how to make a fire let alone cook on it - it was nuts! Some students were trying to make fires out of paper, others dropped their food into the fires, others decided to try and make different little fires to cook different pots of things on and were perplexed when the fires kept going out after all of the wood had burned. I couldn't believe it. These 12 to 14 year olds didn't know how to build and sustain a fire! They all were reasonable good cooks, but did not know how to cook outside! coming from the land of campfires, damper making and 'going bush', I was opening cans of food with knives for kids that didn't know how, introducing wood to the paper fires and larger areas for baby fires to be built up on.. these kids thought I was amazingly skilled when I was showing them things that I had learnt in Girl Guides (or before) just mucking about.... Afterwards, the kids came up and gave their samples of goodness that they had managed to actually cook or prepare and gave it to their favourite teacher (or actually most of it went to one teacher that seemed to be the most 'respected' or 'feared' in the school)....

... We went on a trip last week to Fukushima City for the finals of the English Speech Contest that one of my students managed to get into. On the way there, it was an unwritten rule that no-one speak in the car. I didn't know this and broke the rule several times before I realised. Then, it became apparent that we had a time limit to get there and no way were we to waste any time on the way - that resulted in some pretty scary and intense driving along the windiest road in all of Fukushima District. I requested to go to the toilet if at all possible, this was met with "It is a while longer" "oh, could we stop soon at one of the conbini's?" "ahh.. It is a while longer" "ohh..." then, my student started to feel a little sick, then a lot sick, then very sick. It wasn't until she actually vomited in a plastic bag when our driver decided that we would take a very short stop at a conbini (convenience store)...

If think that these people are crazy... but it might be that I am slowly going insane and 'normal' things seem to be quite strange to me now...

Wow, what a weekend!

This weekend, Part Two.

We were invited along to the Bunkasai (Japanese Cultural Day) at Tomioka High School.. It was my first experience of Tomioka High School and of a Japanese school that was interested in their ALTS taking an active part in lessons, cultural exploration and being involved in the school environment.. I loved it!

A past exchange student who went to Penrose High School for a little visit had made an Auckland Stand and I was asked to help her with it - so I dressed up as a Ma-o-ri and swung the poi about for half a day :) hehe.

Here's another video clip on the day's events... Mike and Desiree are Americans and they set up a face painting stall, Scott and Catherine are French and they set up an International Post Office... Pretty amazing to be in Japan and be closest to non-japanese! lol.

Wow, what a weekend!!

This Weekend, Part One!

I headed with my mates to a friends place to catch up, drink and 'lax, but also to check out a festival that was happening near by.. It was soooo Sugoi!!!! I loved it!! we pulled the Gaijin card and jumped up and down with the crowds that follow the Lantern 'floats' who were mainly very Genki teenagers - with a few "Hello"s thrown at us when we were listening :)

All of the lanterns have little candles in them, lit up the whole float, filled with men who were playing music on flutes and drums and other instruments and then crazy mo fo's pulling and pushing the huge floats down the street - blundy amazing!!

Here's the vid...

Music is done by Ellegarden - Song is モンスター if ya interested :)

Little Homage to the 21st Girl

So, I couldn't be at Rennies 21st :( was a real shame and I'm sad about it... but I managed to do a couple of things...

* I wrote and videoed a speech for her along with a photo slide of a WHOLE lot of photos of her...

* I wrote a rap for her that I rap'd to her in the afternoon of her party and then mum performed it at the party!

* My Friends and I celebrated in a way on the night of the party - by randomly attempting to collect things that started with R - we didn't do so well, but the intention was there!! hehe.

So, Here are two videos - the first one of the rap and a collection of my mates with their 'R products and me n Ren, and then the second video is the speech.

Yay for the internet and general technology!

Utsunomiya Trip

Went down to Utsunomiya a couple of weekends ago - Unc. Pat n Aunty Puea came to see me in little 'ole Tomioka and then in that weekend, I went down to meet up with them again :) Was choice!! highlights...

* Bought me a baby guitar
*Bought me a kiddy Planner - best thing since sliced bread
*WHANAU!!! yay for whanau!
*Getting outta Tomioka
*Harajuku in Tokyo!! It is a little nuts but a lot of fun too ;)
* Whanau!!
*Shopping
*Rugby (Well, actually, I fell asleep in it. haha)
*Karaoke
*Getting Aunty to do Purikura with me and Brad - hehe.

BubbleShare: Share photos - Share your baby pictures

Journal Entry

Oh My God.

I am sooo going to do a journal entry right now.

I AM SICK OF THE BUGS THAT WANT TO BE IN MY APARTMENT!!!!

I hate to kill them but have no blundy choice!! I can't bear to pick them up!! stuff that!! they are damn fast and HUGE!!!

Japan have the scariest looking spiders, hugest cockroaches, SNAKES!!!

I don't have one part of my body that isn't scratchy and itchy and flitching!!

If someone gave me a flight ticket to anywhere with smaller bugs right now. I'd take and be running to the airport!!!!!!!!!!!!


ARRRGGHHH!!!!! Go Away Bugs!!

phew. feel a little better. thanks for listening.