School- number of lessons is ok, although I do have to fight sometimes to attend and participate in lessons as teachers often want to teach alone because of the constant approaching tests. Of course being English I am useless to help the students study for their english test. I was proud of my self for being more assertive this week. I told one JTE that I wanted to be more involved in his lessons after spending about 40mins doing and saying nothing in one of 'our' lessons. I also asked my supervisor whether it would be possible to arrange a meeting for all the JTEs and myself to discuss progress and expectations. I want to know how they feel about me as an ALT and I want to suggest some things about our lessons, and hope they will do the same. I haven’t been given a date for that meeting but i am hoping it will be before xmas at least. Watch this space.
Friday afternoon at school (because i work FULL DAYS ON FRIDAYS) was the school chorus contest. Basically all of the classes had been practicing at lunchtimes for the past few weeks for this competition which involved singing a song together, complete with conductor and pianist. The songs were pretty difficult as they all had three parts- soprano, alto and tenor. I sat at the back of the hall with Kitajima sensei (sharing her blanket coz it was so friggin cold) , Kato sensei and Tanaka sensei. We along with other teachers were judging! Some of the notes were a little dodgey but on the whole I was impressed! I was especially amazed at the talent of the pianists. The fact that each class had an amazing pianist who could play some difficult music, was fantastic.
This week I went to my first tea ceremony with Matsusaki san from tennis. She goes fortnightly to a session in Maruoka. It was so cool! All the other participants (about 8 women and 1 man which I was surprised at) were so excited to see me and were aware that I would be joining them. I got to wear a kimono style outfit for the session which was fun and I was lent some of the ‘tools’ I would be using. For a lot of the session I followed Mayumi and did exactly what she did, I got down on my knees on the tatami and bowed very low to the sensei. Then we went into a traditional tatami room and watched sensei perform tea ceremony for us. It was so mesmerizing! Every little soft delicate movement was beautifully executed. She made the powder green tea in front of us. I was directly infront of her in prime position. I was sitting in seiza (directly on my knees) which was absolutely excruciating after about 20mins. I had a closed fan pointing to the right of me directly behind my feet which is apparently a tradition. It is considered rude for ladies to point their fans in front of them. The obasan were amazing, they didn’t even flinch at being in seiza for most of 2 hours! After preparing the green tea sensei brought us each our sweets (cake type sweet in shape of a shell with some odd paste inside). We had tissues tucked in our kimonos which we had to carefully place at a certain distance from us, and then sensei would oh so carefully place the sweet on this- at the right angle of course. She bowed as she did so, and so we then responded with a lower bow to show our respect. We then took our little knife implement things that we had each been given before the lesson and began to eat in a very lady like fashion. Using one end of the knife to cut with and the other to prong the cake and put it to our mouths. We then neatly folded our tissues and wiped the knife inside the fold. The tissues and knife were then placed back in our kimono. Sensei then individually gave us our green tea in the large ocha bowls. She bowed to give us the tea, we bowed to receive the tea. We placed the tea to the left of us and bowed to the person on that side, then placed it back in the centre and bowed once more. Obviously holding the bowl in the correct fashion with the left hand underneath and the right hand on the right side of the bowl. The bowl was then lifted and gently rotated slightly three times clockwise. The tea was drunk and the rim of the bowl wiped with the thumb and first finger of the right hand. The bowl was rotated three times anti clockwise and the bowl placed down. After a few seconds we picked up the bowls to examine the pictures and patterns on the bowl. It was great!
We were then taught how to enter into a tea ceremony as a guest. This involved entering on hands and knees and moving using clenched fists to pull and lift ourselves forward. Lots of bows obviously and then careful walking (three steps in each tatami mat and no stepping on the gaps between the tatami- its like not treading on the gaps on the pavements!) to the family alter. We had to then examine the objects with interest and intrigue and then once again very carefully and at the correct angle, move across the room. The next lesson was then to teach us how to prepare the tea. This was really tricky. It involved correctly folding a cloth to wipe out each bowl and then stirring the tea in the correct manner which was really technical! There was me thinking making tea involved a tea bag, milk and bobs your uncle and fanny’s your aunt. No no no. the 2 hours zoomed by and I was so happy that I went. Everyone was so friendly and helpful. It was fab!
On Wednesday I went out with sarah, beata, john and kim to a Chinese restaurant on route 8. It was a really nice relaxing evening chatting with them. On Thursday I went into fukui for Mami’s bday. She had booked a restaurant which I had heard about. It had the most amazing tribal décor and delicious food too. It was a nice evening and lovely to chat to Tomoko (Mami’s friend). Friday evening I stayed in. I cycled to and from school in the friggin horrid rain and on the way not only was it pelting it down and pitch black, I got a flat tyre over 3 miles from home. Great. So when I got home I was drenched and stressed. So I watched a movie and went to bed. Wooo me.
On Saturday I had a lie in and then went to play tennis in eiheji with koyabashi san from the tennis club. He had invited me to join another group, so I was very happy to join. They were better than my normal group which was really nice, and good to meet new people too. Although the main woman running the group did look very mafia with tattoos, 4 inches of makeup, no front teeth, fifty or so years old, chain smoker, gold jewellery and very deep voice. But she was nice enough to me and actually seemed to like the idea of having an international tennis club! I love the way- just as a quick thought- that many Japanese people brings sweets and biscuits to the tennis sessions and manage to smoke a whole packet of cigarettes! Nothing like fresh air and exercise.
On Saturday evening I was graced with the pleasure of a my friend Galina who came to stay. I had a really appreciated relaxed evening getting deep and analytical and then watching pride and prejudice- the new and oh so Hollywood version. Sunday morning we then got up and ran together before Galina headed home and I met Sarah and Jill for an adventure to Ishikawa. I had been given a recommendation from Kato sensei to visit Nata Dera temple. And so being wild and exciting like I am, we headed up there. It wasn’t too far and it was cool to drive in parts unknown to any of us. We found the temple with surprising ease. It was raining but the entrance to the temple was jammed so I assumed that it must be good… or at least I hope it was worth plodding around in the rain.
I wasn’t let down! The temple was stunning. The complex was situated in a forest. There were different sections to the site which contained two beautiful ponds, fire lit autumnal trees and different buildings and statues.
The main temple was raised above the pond and was built within a cave. It was candle lit and had three different alters to pray at. It was special. The autumnal leaves however really did make the experience especially memorable as I don’t think I have ever seen such an array of colours. Some looked painted because they were just so perfect.
After exploring the temple and its grounds we got back in the car and headed towards a huge gold Buddha that we could see from many miles off. We thought that it must have been something special.. how wrong we were on this one! We got to the feet of Buddha and not only was there strange music, weird smells and mist but the buildings surrounding him were closed and looked a bit shady to me! Apparently there was an onsen there plus other things.. It seemed a real shame though as the statue was so grand and can be seen for miles and so could be a real attraction.
We then drove back home and had sushi on our way yum yum yum. Sarah and I then spent a lush hour and a bit sitting in Starbucks (I know I know, a big bad company killing Ethiopians… you don’t have to scold me) drinking coffee and reading books. It was so nice to relax, watch the rain and delve into my book. A good end to a nice weekend with people.
Friday afternoon at school (because i work FULL DAYS ON FRIDAYS) was the school chorus contest. Basically all of the classes had been practicing at lunchtimes for the past few weeks for this competition which involved singing a song together, complete with conductor and pianist. The songs were pretty difficult as they all had three parts- soprano, alto and tenor. I sat at the back of the hall with Kitajima sensei (sharing her blanket coz it was so friggin cold) , Kato sensei and Tanaka sensei. We along with other teachers were judging! Some of the notes were a little dodgey but on the whole I was impressed! I was especially amazed at the talent of the pianists. The fact that each class had an amazing pianist who could play some difficult music, was fantastic.
This week I went to my first tea ceremony with Matsusaki san from tennis. She goes fortnightly to a session in Maruoka. It was so cool! All the other participants (about 8 women and 1 man which I was surprised at) were so excited to see me and were aware that I would be joining them. I got to wear a kimono style outfit for the session which was fun and I was lent some of the ‘tools’ I would be using. For a lot of the session I followed Mayumi and did exactly what she did, I got down on my knees on the tatami and bowed very low to the sensei. Then we went into a traditional tatami room and watched sensei perform tea ceremony for us. It was so mesmerizing! Every little soft delicate movement was beautifully executed. She made the powder green tea in front of us. I was directly infront of her in prime position. I was sitting in seiza (directly on my knees) which was absolutely excruciating after about 20mins. I had a closed fan pointing to the right of me directly behind my feet which is apparently a tradition. It is considered rude for ladies to point their fans in front of them. The obasan were amazing, they didn’t even flinch at being in seiza for most of 2 hours! After preparing the green tea sensei brought us each our sweets (cake type sweet in shape of a shell with some odd paste inside). We had tissues tucked in our kimonos which we had to carefully place at a certain distance from us, and then sensei would oh so carefully place the sweet on this- at the right angle of course. She bowed as she did so, and so we then responded with a lower bow to show our respect. We then took our little knife implement things that we had each been given before the lesson and began to eat in a very lady like fashion. Using one end of the knife to cut with and the other to prong the cake and put it to our mouths. We then neatly folded our tissues and wiped the knife inside the fold. The tissues and knife were then placed back in our kimono. Sensei then individually gave us our green tea in the large ocha bowls. She bowed to give us the tea, we bowed to receive the tea. We placed the tea to the left of us and bowed to the person on that side, then placed it back in the centre and bowed once more. Obviously holding the bowl in the correct fashion with the left hand underneath and the right hand on the right side of the bowl. The bowl was then lifted and gently rotated slightly three times clockwise. The tea was drunk and the rim of the bowl wiped with the thumb and first finger of the right hand. The bowl was rotated three times anti clockwise and the bowl placed down. After a few seconds we picked up the bowls to examine the pictures and patterns on the bowl. It was great!
We were then taught how to enter into a tea ceremony as a guest. This involved entering on hands and knees and moving using clenched fists to pull and lift ourselves forward. Lots of bows obviously and then careful walking (three steps in each tatami mat and no stepping on the gaps between the tatami- its like not treading on the gaps on the pavements!) to the family alter. We had to then examine the objects with interest and intrigue and then once again very carefully and at the correct angle, move across the room. The next lesson was then to teach us how to prepare the tea. This was really tricky. It involved correctly folding a cloth to wipe out each bowl and then stirring the tea in the correct manner which was really technical! There was me thinking making tea involved a tea bag, milk and bobs your uncle and fanny’s your aunt. No no no. the 2 hours zoomed by and I was so happy that I went. Everyone was so friendly and helpful. It was fab!
On Wednesday I went out with sarah, beata, john and kim to a Chinese restaurant on route 8. It was a really nice relaxing evening chatting with them. On Thursday I went into fukui for Mami’s bday. She had booked a restaurant which I had heard about. It had the most amazing tribal décor and delicious food too. It was a nice evening and lovely to chat to Tomoko (Mami’s friend). Friday evening I stayed in. I cycled to and from school in the friggin horrid rain and on the way not only was it pelting it down and pitch black, I got a flat tyre over 3 miles from home. Great. So when I got home I was drenched and stressed. So I watched a movie and went to bed. Wooo me.
On Saturday I had a lie in and then went to play tennis in eiheji with koyabashi san from the tennis club. He had invited me to join another group, so I was very happy to join. They were better than my normal group which was really nice, and good to meet new people too. Although the main woman running the group did look very mafia with tattoos, 4 inches of makeup, no front teeth, fifty or so years old, chain smoker, gold jewellery and very deep voice. But she was nice enough to me and actually seemed to like the idea of having an international tennis club! I love the way- just as a quick thought- that many Japanese people brings sweets and biscuits to the tennis sessions and manage to smoke a whole packet of cigarettes! Nothing like fresh air and exercise.
On Saturday evening I was graced with the pleasure of a my friend Galina who came to stay. I had a really appreciated relaxed evening getting deep and analytical and then watching pride and prejudice- the new and oh so Hollywood version. Sunday morning we then got up and ran together before Galina headed home and I met Sarah and Jill for an adventure to Ishikawa. I had been given a recommendation from Kato sensei to visit Nata Dera temple. And so being wild and exciting like I am, we headed up there. It wasn’t too far and it was cool to drive in parts unknown to any of us. We found the temple with surprising ease. It was raining but the entrance to the temple was jammed so I assumed that it must be good… or at least I hope it was worth plodding around in the rain.
I wasn’t let down! The temple was stunning. The complex was situated in a forest. There were different sections to the site which contained two beautiful ponds, fire lit autumnal trees and different buildings and statues.
The main temple was raised above the pond and was built within a cave. It was candle lit and had three different alters to pray at. It was special. The autumnal leaves however really did make the experience especially memorable as I don’t think I have ever seen such an array of colours. Some looked painted because they were just so perfect. After exploring the temple and its grounds we got back in the car and headed towards a huge gold Buddha that we could see from many miles off. We thought that it must have been something special.. how wrong we were on this one! We got to the feet of Buddha and not only was there strange music, weird smells and mist but the buildings surrounding him were closed and looked a bit shady to me! Apparently there was an onsen there plus other things.. It seemed a real shame though as the statue was so grand and can be seen for miles and so could be a real attraction.We then drove back home and had sushi on our way yum yum yum. Sarah and I then spent a lush hour and a bit sitting in Starbucks (I know I know, a big bad company killing Ethiopians… you don’t have to scold me) drinking coffee and reading books. It was so nice to relax, watch the rain and delve into my book. A good end to a nice weekend with people.
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