Graduation

Here are some pictures from the 3nensei graduation send-off last week. It's sad to think that this is the last graduation I'll attend at Kizaki! =(


Here are some of my boys. Aren't they cute with their flowers?? Aww. Hehe.


Students who have their hair past shoulder-length are required to put their hair up; that's why you never see my girls with their hair down! A few days after graduation, I bumped into some of them and I could hardly recognize them b/c they had their hair straightened and let down....to start looking good for high school. Hehe.


School uniforms...with knee-high socks and all! =)


A student I'm actually taller than! Woot!


Here are my trouble-makers, who are actually well-behaved compared to trouble-makers at some other schools. Seriously. They are angels in comparison.


Here's my JTE in her kimono. Some teachers choose to wear kimonos over suits for the ceremony. Isn't hers pretty??


One last look at my kids. Aww...I miss them already!


Wait, wait...I want to show you this photo of my students with their masks. I think I've been in Japan for too long....I don't even notice them any more!

April Fools

I know, it's only March still. But yeah, I must relay this story before I forget. Tonight at my eikaiwa (English conversation class), the topic of April Fools came up. First my student asked me, "Oh, America also has April Fools' Day, just like Japan??" UMM, yeah. Then we started talking about pranks that have been played on us or that we've played on people in the past. My student, Sumie, told me a story that her mom told her had happened a long time ago in their small town in Okinawa. Apparently, one April Fools' Day, someone had spread the rumor that a tsunami was approaching the town. In order to protect themselves, most of the people in town left their homes and fled to higher ground, including Sumie's mother and Sumie, who was just a baby back then. Of course later everyone found out that it was just a prank and that there really wasn't a tsunami coming. Sumie told me that her mother was "shocked" that someone had played such a prank. I asked Sumie how many people lived in their "small town." Her answer: 20,000. HAHAHAHAHHAA.

My other student, Noriko, told me that when she was in jr. high school, she pretended to have a terrible headache one morning on April Fools' Day. She even put a thermometer under her dog's leg? to fake a fever. She told her mom she was too sick to go to school. It worked. Her mom said she didn't have to go. However, being that this was just an April Fools' "joke," she fessed up and went to school that morning, anyway. UMMM, I understand that it was only a prank, but STILL. I don't get it. It must be GREAT to have Noriko as a daughter. Seriously.

Test Results for 3nensei

Although the 3nensei had their graduation ceremony a couple of days ago, today is the day they find out whether they got into the high schools of their choice. The 3nensei study all year in order pass high school entrance exams. About a month ago, 69 of my kids went to the high schools they were applying for and took the exams. 30 of them passed. For those who didn't pass or chose not to take the exams the first time around, there was a second round of exams held over two days on 3/8 - 3/9. Graduation was on 3/13 and the test results for the second round of exams are posted today, 3/15. Can you imagine going thru your graduation ceremony without knowing which high school you would be going to?? Eek.

The 3nensei teachers are visiting various high schools to check the results, while some have stayed to receive calls from the students themselves....they call to let the teachers know whether they got in or not. If I haven't explained already, teachers here are not solely "teachers." They also act as the student' parents, counselors, etc. The 3nensei teachers are very anxious today, almost at much as the students. When my 3nensei JTE found out that some students whom she wasn't expecting to pass, did, she teared up. It's very touching to see just how much these teachers care. The anticipation for every phone call received is nerve-racking in itself.

For those who didn't pass, they are supposed to come to school in the early afternoon to see the teachers about alternative options, ie) private schools, night schools, etc. For those who did pass, they come later in the afternoon. The teachers separated the times for when the students come to school b/c they know that the kids who didn't pass might not want to face the ones that did. SAAAAAD.

I think the stress induced by such a system for entrance into high schools is INCREDIBLY burdensome for the students, who are only 14 or 15 years old. Poor things! Kawaisou!

In other news, my 1nensei JTE has "complained" (in a very Japanese way) throughout the year that the 1nensei's English ability this year are the lowest she has experienced in the 20-something years she has been teaching. However, she recently found out thru a nation-wide test that the 1nensei students are actually ABOVE the national average. Arienai. She can't believe it herself. She says that there is either something wrong with the results, or that students in Japan these days are just really dumb. Well, she didn't put it in those exact words. =)

Strange

Thought of the day:

You know you're in Japan when two teachers help a student tweeze HIS eyebrows minutes before the graduation ceremony.

Hokkaido

Hokkaido is the northern-most island in Japan. Every year, there is a yuki masturi (snow festival) held in its capital city, Sapporo. This year, Jeff and I flew up there to see what the craze was all about. It was a very fun, cold and DELICIOUS trip! Haha. I'm lazy, so here's info from Jeff's blog!

"The yuki matsuri is held over seven days every February. The festival began in 1950, and about two million people come from all over the world to see the festival. The main part of the festival is in Odori Park, where artists make huge sculptures out of snow and compete to see which sculpture wins. There are also smaller events throughout Hokkaido during the yuki matsuri."

Here are some pictures from our trip. Enjoy!


Hokkaido is famous for its milk and anything dairy-related, because unlike other parts of Japan, there is a lot of uninhabited space, leaving room to raise cows and such!


Isn't he adorable?! And no, I don't know who this kid is. I was just being a stalker b/c I thought he was so cute! Isn't he?? Awww. By the way, if Japan is struggling with its low birth rates, it isn't apparent in Sapporo, as we saw babies and toddlers every direction we turned! Seriously!


At our hotel, we found this! It's a hot-food vending machine! Awesome! Even more so because although Japan has the highest number of vending machines per capita, with about one machine for every 23 people, very rarely do you see vending machines sell food. Sadness!


Here's a shot of our favorite man (bun) stand. They have such delicious and fresh man in Sapporo. Well, they just have GREAT food all around. But yeah, my favorite man was the half-custard, half-red-bean-paste one. Mmmm...amazing!


Here is the famous "Ramen Alley" in Sapporo. Sapporo is very famous for its ramen, and the city alone has more than a thousand ramen restaurants! Sapporo is especially known for its miso-ramen (ramen in miso-flavored soup), so that's what we tried. Needless to say, it was yummy!


Takaagi sensei (my teacher-friend at Kizaki) has a son who goes to college in Sapporo. When I asked for food recommendations, he suggested Spark, a trendy little restaurant that is popular for its "soup curry." Jeff and I LOVED Spark and its soup curry so much that we went there twice on our 3-day trip to Sapporo! Haha. Mmmm.


We made a half-day trip to Otaru, a port town on the coast of the Sea of Japan, which was a 30-minute train ride from Sapporo. During the yuki masturi, Otaru also has its own candlelight festival. In this event, about 400 floating candles in glass balls are put in the Otaru Canal, one of the main tourist attractions in Otaru City.


Now here are some pictures from Odori Park, where all the snow sculptures are displayed. Look, it's Stitch and Mickey! Kawaiiiiii!!


Here's me and Anpanman! His character's name comes from the fact that he is a "man" with a head made of "pan" (bread) filled with "an" (red bean paste), called an "anpan." Yes, what will the Japanese think of next?? But I'm totally sold...I love Anpanman! =)


Here's Jeff with a fake Totoro. I say "fake" because the sign didn't officially say this was Totoro. But yeah, it doesn't look exactly like Totoro to me, either. Hmm.


Hikone Castle, which looks like all the other castles in Japan, especially Osaka Castle...at least to me. Hehe.


This is a sculpture of the Royal Grand Palace in Thailand, built in 1782. I mean, the Palace was built then, not the snow sculpture, which was built in 2007, obviously. ;-)


More Stitch and Friends!


The Japanese LOVE SpongeBob SquarePants, especially young women??


We were worried that the yuki matsuri would be canceled due to the unusually warm weather in Sapporo this year, a sad effect of global warming. However, it snowed heavily toward the end of our trip, so the snow sculptures stayed in tact. Although on our last morning there, it was as if we had to walk in a blizzard with our luggage to get to Spark. But you know we HAD to, as we LIVE to EAT. Hahaha.

It's Official

I guess I should let you all know that I've decided to return to the States in August. That's right, I've already declined to stay for a third year in my re-contracting papers. The decision was easy, just as it was easy for me when I had to decide whether or not to stay for a second year. As many of you know, I can be very indecisive at times. However, when it comes to big decisions as such, it's like I already know what I want/don't want in the back of my head. That makes things a lot easier. Anyhoo, as much as I love Japan, I think it is time that I go back to the States to face reality. I must prepare myself, as I think I might feel disconnected in more ways than one, having been gone for 2 years. Eek! Kowaiyo!