Melon Pan

I went to Tokyo Disneysea for the first time on Saturday.

My day started extremely early, and only seemed earlier by the fact that I was late the night before at a yukata party (which I'll talk about later). I got picked up from my apartment at 5:30am. You might think that no one else in their right mind would be up at 5:30am on a Saturday, but you'd be wrong because this is Japan where people get up freakishly early for no real reason.

Anyway, I got picked up at 5:30 and we picked up one more girl after me, so we left my town around 6:00. Our party was made of two boys, three girls, me, and the dad of one of the guys, who served as our driver, and all were from church. The drive to Tokyo is only about 2 hours, and we stopped at a rest stop along the way for some breakfast, and also got very lost once *in* Tokyo, and arrived at the park around 8:30. Along the way, we also got a glimpse of Mt. Fuji because it was a nice, clear day, and wow that is a big mountain.

So we waited in line to get into the park, which opened at 9am. We bought our tickets beforehand at a convenience store (well, someone bought mine for me), so we just had to wait. There were a lot of people, but not quite as bad as I expected.

The gates opened and in we went. Out first stop was Tower of Terror so that we could get fast passes for later, but the line was short enough that we went ahead and rode that first thing. That is an intense ride. The girl behind me was crying "I wanna get off, I wanna get off" from the moment we step into the elevator. It's definitely one of those rides where the anticipation is half the ride. Also, it's really high.

After that, we went in search of more fast passes and rode some other rides, as one does at Disney Theme Parks. I think we got all the major rides, like Indiana Jones, a small-ish one called Raging Spirits, a Sinbad one that I think was a Japan only thing (kind of Pirates of the Caribbean-ish), and a Little Mermaid one that I forget the name of. We also saw two shows, both of which were very cool. The first was the Genie's Lamp which was a combination magic show and 3D show. There were live actors on stage that did some magic, and then when it was the genie's turn, he came out of the lamp onto a screen above the stage and interacted with the actors. And we had glasses. It was really fun.

We also saw the Little Mermaid show, which was *awesome* and one of the must-sees for those of you who make it to Disney sea. Almost all the actors were on wires and "swam" in the air, and the songs were in English with the dialogue in Japanese. It was so cool to watch. An interesting thing though, was how they changed the story a little. They started with Part of Your World, then went to Poor Unfortunate Souls, to introduce Ursula, but Ariel turned her offer down. It was very Japanese to be "I'm happy with my life here and I don't need to go changing things" and the moral of the story is to be content with what you have, which is kind of the opposite of the movie? But yeah, very Japanese. And then they finished with Under the Sea, which was also fun. The Dry Ocean thing they had going was gorgeous.


I also got to see the Legend of Mythica, which is like the boat parade/show thing. It was incredible to watch. There were several boats that were all character themed that paraded around in the harbor while dancers put on a show on the shore.

It was a very exciting show and the costumes were incredible. There was just so much energy and it was awesome.

I only got my picture taken with one character, Scrooge. The dad that drove us kept telling me to jump ahead of the kids in line because I was a foreigner and I could get away with it, but I didn't want to cut in front of some kids. But really, the only other characters I saw were Stitch, Pinocchio and the wolf guy from Pinocchio. And we found Stitch just as his time ran out, which was sad because I would have liked to get that picture.

We stayed at the park until just before closing, which was 10pm. Completely exhausted, we headed back home, and I slept half the drive. I got home around midnight, and to bed around 1 because I had to ice my foot. I'd pulled a muscle or strained it or something about a week ago, and it swelled up a bit from all the walking I did.

And then I slept. For eleven hours. And even then, I only woke for a couple hours to eat and such before falling back asleep in a five hour nap. That's how tired I was.


But it was definitely worth it.

After school, I help students prepare for an upcoming English competition. We've been meeting for about a month already, so I've gotten to know these students pretty well, and they've gotten really comfortable speaking around me. So sometimes they say some really strange or funny things. Here's just a few:

Mi: Want to see my boyfriend?
Lauren: *somewhat confused and surprised, as she is really shy and quiet* Okay?
Mi: *pulls out her tennis racket* This is my boyfriend! He is very kind. We are always together.

Or this conversation, which was all English, and somehow went on for 5 minutes. Note that these are all really sweet, 2nd year girls. And both K and A are on the kendo team.
Mi: What would be a better pet, a lion or a gorilla?
A: A lion!
Ma: Me too! He could eat people!
A: Like K!
K: No!
A: K tastes delicious!
Ma: Oh really?
A: Yes! Her meat is delicious! I ate her last summer.
K: No no no!
Ma: How about you, A?
A: My meat is not so delicious. K's meat is delicious. Let's eat K.
K: No no no! Don't eat me!

Some kids in my classes often forget that I can understand most of what they're saying.
*While waiting for class to begin, in Japanese*
Snotty 1st year: This sucks. I hate English.
Mr. C: That's too bad.
S1Y: I don't wanna do this.
Mr. C: You know Lauren can understand you right?
S1Y: Eh?! Well, she's ok, then. She's a teacher after all, so...

There's also the same group of 3rd years that come clean the teachers' room everyday, so they get to know me a little bit, too, since I help. For the first few weeks or so, I always got the same question (from everyone, though this kid had more chances to ask since I saw him so often). It became something of a game.

Ka (in Japanese): Are you married?
Lauren: (in English): Can't say, it's a secret. :)
Ka: Secret?! Always the same answer! Always 'secret, secret, secret'!
Another student (in Japanese): Well you always ask the same question, stupid!"

Sorry for the delay between posts! I'll try to be better.

I have a couple things to talk bout, the first of which is earthquakes!

There have actually been about three or four since I've moved into my apartment, but the first few felt just like a large truck had driven by. Or like when I had classes in the JKHB while it was still under construction.

But yesterday, we had one that was undeniably an earthquake. It lasted about 30 seconds, which feels quite long when you're in a shaking building. This is the one that I felt. It was a 6.1 at the epicenter, which is actually pretty big. I don't know how strong it was where I was, but nothing fell over or anything like that. I did brace myself against the wall, but that was probably more out of nerves than anything else.

The next thing to mention is packages! I've gotten two (THANK YOU), and both have had macaroni in them. ^_^ The cheese in Japan is not good cheese, and there is no prepackaged mac'n'cheese at all. Even the Doritos which say they are Nacho Cheese Flavored are a lie. They taste really, really bad. Any cheese worth getting is from the import store.

And speaking of food, corn does not belong on pizza. I don't know why, but it is impossible to get a corn-less pizza. It's the strangest thing. Broccoli is also a popular topping. Pizza in general is just not good here. I wish I could make my own, but alas I have no oven. I got an ad for a pizza place kind of near the station that I still have to investigate, and it might actually be good, but we shall see.

Also, Mexican food isn't nearly as difficult to find as I thought it would be. Lots of snack bars have some kind of taco or fajita (or not good nachos with crappy cheese).

But the pizza always kills me.

Here it is, the Sports Day post. And really, a picture is worth a thousand words, so here's a bunch of moving pictures to tell you about it better than I could.






And that was pretty much my Sports Day. I just chilled and watched the kids compete. It was entertaining, definitely, though I wish I could have been a part of it somehow. Maybe for the next one.

(No this isn't about Sports Day. I still haven't gone through my pictures yet.)

Japanese teachers tend to wear one thing to work: track suits. It makes a lot of sense, because they do their fair share of chasing down kids and running around, so it's good to have something they can move in, and can get dirty. Plus, they have long days, and I don't blame them for wanting to be comfortable. For example, my 1st grade teacher said he gets to school around 6am because he's the sponsor for the kendo club, and they have practice every morning. Meanwhile, my 2nd grade teacher mentioned that she didn't leave until 9pm the other night. Crazy! My hours are nothing like that - I arrive around 8:15 am and leave between 3:30 and 4pm.

However, track suits aside, they always have a spare business suit in their locker. And when those come out, you know something important is going to happen.

Like today. I was with my 2nd grade teacher in the classroom, waiting for the bell to ring, and I realized she was wearing her business suit. Then she turned to me and said, "Oh, we have visitors today, and they'll probably come to this class first."

Awesome.

Not ten minutes later, five or six men in business suits walk down the hallway. Our principal and vice principal are two of them, and the others are from the Board of Education, I believe. They all had clipboards and all filed into the classroom.

Meanwhile, we were just starting our warm-up song. At the beginning of every class, the 2nd graders sing Abba's "Thank You For the Music" to switch to English Mode. My teacher had warned the kids about the possible visitors, and told them to be extra energetic.

That might have been the wrong thing to say to this particular class, but they certainly were energetic. They can only really sing the chorus at this point, but they belt it out with all their little hearts. And the Suits take notes.

After that is Q&A, where the students stand and read questions and answers off a worksheet to each other for 30 seconds at a time and see how many they can do. They do this every class, so they perform like pros, and the Suits mingle for a bit.

Thankfully, they leave at the end of Q&A. I'm really glad I didn't really have to do anything, because they were really intimidating. My role was simply to sing with the kids, and meander around the class to listen to their questions and make sure they're doing what they're supposed to. So basically, look happy and make my presence known. Which I can do at this point.

I never heard the results of the visit and probably won't, but my teacher was pleased and told the students how awesome they were at the end of class. So that's good.

The point of this post is that you should pay attention to what your teachers are wearing. I thought it was funny how obvious it was when I realized what was going on. The previous day during cleaning time, they didn't just sweep the teachers room and hallways, but mopped, too. And the teachers do look impressive when all in business suits. One of them even commented how cool they all looked when dressed up like that, haha. At one point, they were all gathered to meet with the BoE visitors, and they just looked so official.

I'm still at the point where I wear a suit everyday, and I have to continue to wear business dress as per my contract. So I always have to look spiffy. Which is nice in a way, because I don't have to worry about sudden visits and not being appropriately dressed. But at the same time, I do miss the days of college of jeans and a hoodie.

This week is Golden Week, where three national holidays all fall in in the same week, so the country pretty much goes on vacation for a week. And since my school's Sports Festival was Thursday, which was also a holiday, we got Friday off to make up for it. Then there's the weekend, and Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday are all holidays. It's fantastic. Most people travel, but I'm keeping it local and seeing what I can find around here.

Yesterday, I was invited to lunch by one of the secretaries at my school. We went to her friend's house, and were joined by her daughter (who is about my age), her friend's husband, and their former host-daughter, who is an ALT in Mito with another program.

I had a really fun time, and the food was sooo good. Everyone was really nice, and we spoke English most of the time. And we were there for about 4 and half hours. It was a really long lunch, and we played mini-bowling on the kitchen table with a super cute little bowling ball and pins made of wood.

In other news, I've also got my alien registration card! I simply had to go to the main City Hall and take the form I got when I went with my IC. I showed it to the host, and he took me to the right place, and the worker gave me my card. I was worried it would take like 30 minutes, and it ended up taking less than five. Which was really nice, it gave me some time to shop at the mall by the station.

I am working on a Sports Day post, I need to go through my pictures. I can't post anything with my students' faces or the school's name, so I have to be kind of careful. But hopefully I'll have something good for you in the next couple of days. This was just kind of a general update post, hopefully I'm have some more interesting ones coming.

My first week of school was a little different from most people's, I think. Because my school is under construction, they don't have grounds to hold the sports festival (more on that in a later entry). So, they're holding it at the elementary school this coming Thursday, because that's a holiday and school is out. Usually the festival is on a Saturday and class is canceled the following Monday to compensate. Not so much with my school's situation. And as a result, classes are canceled half the time in order to prepare. Which means I don't really have a lot to do.

Additionally, the school year only just started, so there's all the textbooks to hand out and beginning tests to do. So far, I've just given my introduction to each homeroom, which was about 14 times. And I think I still have a couple more third year classes I haven't gotten to yet. I've also assisted in a couple 2nd year classes, which means I read flash cards or lyrics or short paragraphs from the workbook. Nothing terribly exciting, and lots of time in the teachers' room. This week is going to be a lot of the same, but after that, things should go back to normal.

Instead I'll talk about how my school runs, for those who aren't familiar with the Japanese system.
Each grade is divided into homerooms, and those homerooms are where the students stay all day. The teachers switch rooms according to the schedule, and when they aren't in class, they're in the teacher's room. Everyone has their own desk, and students are often in and out. Before a student can enter, they have to announce their grade, homeroom, name, and purpose. At the beginning of each class, students come down to the teacher's room to see if the teacher needs any help carrying materials to class. Sometimes they come down to get the schedule for the following day, to report back to the rest of their class. As you can imagine, it can get very noisy and busy in between classes.

This isn't my picture, it's from wikipedia, but my teachers' room looks almost exactly like that. My desk is on the inside facing away from the window, right in the middle. The other ALT has a desk right across from me, though he's only there on Mondays and Wednesday.

As for class itself, it always starts with the aisatsu, or greeting. The students stand and the script goes like so:
Japanese Language Teacher: Good morning, everyone.
Students: Good morning, Ms ___
Assistant Language Teacher (me): Good morning, everyone.
Students: Good morning, Ms Lauren
ALT: How are you today?
Students: I'm good, thank you. How are you today?
ALT: I'm ____( usually fine, good, or sleepy). What day is it today?
Students: It's *day*
ALT: What's the date today?
Students: It's *date*
ALT: What's the weather like today?
Students: It's *mumble mumble*

And then I repeat all the answers and they repeat after me and then we go into the lesson or warm-up. A couple of my teachers use songs for warm-ups, and as a result, I had ABBA in my head for a couple days. Good times.

I think that's it for one entry. Next time will probably be about the sports festival. Let me know if you have any more questions about the school. :)