Cookroaches

Here is my FAVORITE essay response ever:

"One day, when I was cooking a lunch, tragedy attacked me. Don’t appear big and brack something is coming out of refrigerator. I was struck dumb with astonishment. Brack that as cookroach. Battle was started with that then. My right hand have a newspaper and my left hand have insecticide. I was spraying at the enemy. But the enemy run under the refrigerator again. One story if you find that one, then, there are 20-30 cookroachs in the house can not be seen. May be my house is dominated by cookroachs. I can’t sleep every night that I was very horrible. " -Junior in High School Level (Japanese Student)

Pepsi

Me and Yumi pose with Pepsi-Baobab flavor!

Not sure if I've blogged about the dozens and dozens of kinds of Kit-kat flavors here, but I had no idea that other mainstream products get Japanese'fied/diversified! I remember Pepsi- Iced Cucumber from when I got here, but sort of forgot about it.

When I saw this bottle, I had to buy it! And I didn't like it. BUT I was telling myself not to like it, because good 'ole regular Pepsi is my paradigm. But, I think that if it was given to me in a plain cup, I would have enjoyed it very much!

Be sure to click on the article above, its pretty interesting, if you are into that kind of stuff. :D

Trust

(+1) for Japan! There is a high amount of trust here, and for good reason. Crime is low. People just generally don't steal (although there IS some question to what's going on with Christina's camera).

This is a picture of my school hallway. Everyone was in the gym for some 30 minute assembly on the importance of not using a cell-phone in school. I was just baffled by seeing everyone's personal belongings-valuables included, strewn about the hallway. I used to laugh with others about Canadians not locking their doors. Now, I have turned Canadian/Japanese. I only lock my door if I'll be out all day.

I mean, if I ever had anything stolen, it would be the story of the century. I almost invite people to steal my stuff. I've leave my belongings in my unlocked bike when I go on a quick shopping spree. I could go on. But, I'll just leave it at: Japan is cool. ...Well, rural Japan is cool. (I don't even want to think about my stolen money in Tokyo!)

Lock your doors people! Or move here.

USJ

Last month I went to Universal Studios Japan with Christina!

It was hecka fun, like amusement parks are suppose to be. Not much to say about that, except that super scary roller coasters are only really fun the first time around. The second time is just a let-down!

But one thing I do want to say is that I enjoyed USJ (in Osaka) a lot more than I enjoyed Tokyo Disneyland. Tokyo Disneyland was exactly like California Disneyland. Nothing was translated into Japanese. The electric parade was still 80% English, and I just don't get that! How are little Japanese children suppose to enjoy songs that they can't understand! USJ on the other hand was totally geared toward Japanese people, which I find better for the majority of people that go. Perhaps I couldn't understand the Terminator show as well as I ought to have, BUT I would be much more dissapointed if it was everyone around me who didn't get it. ...

Best thing about stepping onto Universal Grounds....... Trash cans!! Japan is notorious for not having trash cans AnYwHeRe in public areas! I always have to carry all my trash around with me all day until I get home. Thank you Mr. Green trash can.

Omiyage

This is Omiyage! There are many different types of omiyage (souvenirs), but in Japan, Omiyage nowadays specifically refers to regional sweets. There are 47 prefectures in Japan, and each prefecture has its own specialty omiyage.

Whenever anyone goes on a trip in Japan, it is customary to bring back omiyage for their co-workers. This works out great for me, because with so many teachers, there are many chances to grab some!

The tradition, I hear, started in Japan a long time ago when travel was very difficult. Often times there would be a standout student or citizen of a village. The Japanese people knew that it was important to send this smarty out into the world to learn more. So villages would pull their resources together, for years sometimes, to save up enough to send their person from, lets say Yamaguchi, to lets say Hokkaido.

Because so much time, money and effort goes into this trip, the traveller needed to bring back something from their destination to prove that they actually went. That they made it, and didn't get sidetracked in Kyoto with some geishas or what have you. Or so I've heard.

I rarely eat breakfast, so I am always excited to see what kind of omiyage is on the special omiyage table each morning. :D Well, usually Mondays. Monday morning or the morning after a holiday, I can expect lots of sweet bean paste sweets.

BTW, when I brought back tortilla chips and salsa, and Sour belts from my America Christmas trip last year---THAT was the best omiyage ever. Japanese teachers treat eating sour belts like eating grenades; they are so scared.

Firefly Festival

Perhaps you will forgive me......but this is from MAY 29th!!!!

I don't want to just throw out this blog that has been patiently waiting in its queue. A blog opportunity is a blog opportunity, no matter how old it is.

Or maybe not.

So what was this firefly festival again? Oh, yeah. In Yamaguchi city, there is a cute little area. A walkway along a darling river. The river bank fills up with fireflies around this time of year. Before coming to Japan, I have (to my knowledge) never seen a firefly. So it was a nice night, to say the least.

It is appropriate, but by no means mandatory to dress in Yukata for any summer festival. Yumi here (left) was so amazing, and took us to her aunt's house, who is a CYP. "Certified yukata person" (hehe). Yep, thats the best I could come up with. :) But she is a professional, so she dressed us up in 2 of Yumi's yukatas. The belt is called an Obi. You may know the word "Kimono", but Kimono's are even more complex, and are only for the winter. Summer-yukata, Winter-kimono.

The friendship bond between Christina and I was solidified this night! Friends that dress in yukata together, stay together. :D

BTW, Yumi is the most awesome person in the world, and insisted that we both keep the yukata's that we were suppose to just be borrowing.

Good Times in Korea

South Korea is, simply put, heaven on Earth! :D

Interesting people walking down the street...

Christina and I enjoyed street stall dinner for about $2.00, for the both of us! It was so delicious.

We made friends at the hostel we were staying at! It was my first time ever staying in a dormitory style hostel, and it was clean, cheap and fun! Most of the other hostel-goers were European, and could speak 5-8 languages. And I learned that Luxembourg is a COUNTRY, not a city. Yes, I smacked myself, don't worry!

The girls went clubbing, shopping, eating, and just enjoyed the wonderfulness that is Korea. :D

Need a vacation spot? Seoul is the answer! And try to fly Korean air. You might get bumped to first class like Christina and I did!

Korean DMZ

When I went to Seoul, late last month/early this month---it was my first time there. I was in Pusan before, but mostly for shopping and eating, so I wanted to make sure I could get a lot of cultural and learning stuff in, this time around.

Christina and I took a day tour of the Demilitarized Zone.

Here, on the way, in our tour bus, we could catch sight of North Korea, across the river.

It was definitely a very serious trip. We had to be dressed modestly. We were told over and over again to be calm, respectful, and weary of our surroundings.

It was a strange day to go, especially because everyone was on very high alert. The high alert was because at that time, in the Joint Security Area, there were very high level talks occurring about the sinking of the South Korean ship in March.
Above is the actual Demarkation Line. The soldiers on the far end of the picture, stand away from the camera are North Korean Soldiers. We were only given literally less than 30 seconds to take pictures. We were under strict 'orders' to not wave to anyone on the other side, not make sudden movements, and to not even smile. There were some North Korean tourists on the steps on the other side. Whether or not they are government workers paid to pose as tourists or not, I will never know.

That South Korean soldier behind me yelled at me for taking a picture when I wasn't suppose to, on the bus! I didn't know! Our tour guide told us each of the places we could take pictures (like 2 spots, for 10 seconds). But her English was very hard to understand, and I thought that she said we could! I'm still scared of his wrath! (I had to delete the beautiful photo right away!)

Here is one of the fences at the border. These are wishes and prayers hung by South Koreans. The whole situation is so devastating. I can't even imagine, yet it still brings tears to my eyes to think about how families were torn apart. The isolation of the North Koreans.

That day I went and visited the DMZ was chilling and enlightening.

I hope that anyone reads this makes it a point to learn something new. Something about a part of the world you are unfamiliar with.

...and then hopefully one day, the world won't need weaponry like this...

TOA

So officially, all the new JETS that are coming for the 2010-2011 school year, are now here! Welcome everyone! :D

I was Yamaguchi Prefecture's welcome wagon for the first group that came. The prefecture flew me up to Tokyo, to be part of the orientation held at the fabulous Keio Plaza Hotel.

It was such a blast!

The first day I got there, was training and organizing and stuff like that. Each prefecture sent one person to Tokyo, so I made a lot of new friends!

The first night, I was sent to Narita Airport, to stay, because I needed to be up bright and early, to start my "airport duties". For my terminal, I was at "station one" meaning that I got to literally hold the "WELCOME NEW JETS" sign at the airport!

For the rest of orientation, I was doing things like working the Information Desk, participating in Prefectural Meetings, etc. 3 more nights in the Keio Plaza, walking around like I knew everything. Lol.

But when I wasn't on duty, I was chilling with other TOAs, exploring Tokyo, and .........

Drinking Starbucks EVERYDAY!

Oh how I miss Starbucks. :)

A nice view from the Keio Plaza Hotel.

I really love Tokyo! But I don't know if I could actually live there. Maybe if I had a job that paid like 4 times as much.

Speaking of, a recent study still puts Tokyo as the most expensive city in the world! Taking into account many many different factors: i.e. Housing cost, cost of 1lb of rice, cost of a movie ticket, etc etc.

Working the Hospitality Desk (Welcome to Japan!), and chatting with my old friend Mike who I was friends with years ago at U.C.I. I was very surprised to see him coming off the plane! He told me that I was the one that planted the idea of JET in his head, 7 years ago!

Tokyo Orientation was so fun. I totally would do it again and again and again if I could. We should just have JETS come in on a rolling basis, and I'll wait for them at the Keio Plaza. Grand idea.

Until that happens, back to lesson planning...

Toilet humor

A whole year later.... Japanese toilet instructions still strike me as hilarious.

See last year's even funnier toilet instructions --- here ----.

Octopus Balls

I recently had the pleasure of visiting Osaka! More coming, more coming (eventually) but here is one little tidbit on Osaka...

Osaka is famous for Takoyaki, which are Octopus Balls! Well, pieces of Octopus in a doughy-ball. Its a very unique flavor. I must say, when I first came to Japan, it was definitely not my favorite, due to the sweet brown sauce and mayonnaise that is usually slathered on top of them.

But I've come to really appreciate them! The ones I ate in Osaka were "Oishii!" (delicious)

Below: Making Takoyaki is very simple if you have a Takoyaki grill. You can buy the mix, or make it yourself. Add water. Start cooking the ball, and while its still juicy juicy, you pop on the top of the half-ball the octopus, some ginger, maybe some cheese, and then you flip the ball while its still wet. So the half-ball becomes a full ball because the batter was still runny enough. Wow, I don't think I explained that very well. Sorta like carefully flipping ball-shaped pancakes.

Hope everyone is well!

Cultural Bit

Here in Japan, many people adhere to certain superstitions. Although I don't think superstition is the right word, because what I'm about to share with you is connected to a Japanese Shinto belief. I'm not sure if its an official part of the religion, but here is the sign in front of our famous Hofu Tenmangu Shrine:

The character above the highlighted pink lettering is the Kanji for female, and the right side is for males.

The pink side shows three different ages. 19 years old, 33 years old and 37 years old. The male side shows the ages: 25, 42 and 61.

The Japanese version of TODAYS DATE IS: 22/8/2. (August 2nd, 2010). That is because we are in the 22nd year of the current emperor's reign. When the current emperor dies, the clock will reset, I guess you can say.

So in this 22nd year, for females, the unlucky ages are 19, 33, and 37. And if you are a 25, 42 or 61 year old male, you best be prayin'.

I found out about this because my amazing supervisor at one of my schools (O-sensei) is 33, and she does have the feeling that bad things have been happening to her.

So she bought the good-luck charm below, specifically designed for those in the ominous year of their life, and often prays for much needed good luck.
If you are interested in getting clearer information about this practice, please e-mail me at steffieyoung@gmail.com, and I shall get you more information! I think that this little bit that I know now is really interesting, and would love to have the excuse to pry more into the culture, so ask away! :D

Yamaguchi Baseball

I guess its that time of year! I'm not a sports person, so I don't know about what season is what, or what team goes with what sport, etc.

But it was definitely baseball time recently!

As far as I can tell, all the high school's baseball teams had a big tournament. I attended my school's first (and only) game on my day off! Ok, well, technically I used it as an excuse to get a free bus-ride to the side of my prefecture that serves Mexican food...

I really enjoyed the game! It was a really hot day, but the kids worked so hard! My school lost, but to be fair, they lost to the team that went on to win the whole championship! Its like Scotland going against Spain in the world cup-game one. Or something like that. :/ maybe?

Apparently the champion team gets to play in an all-Japan tournament, and that is where the scouts are. I think our team was awesome, and deserves a chance to prove themselves to a scout or two. I'm very sad.

The cheering was amazing. Much more organized cheering than I'm used to in America. But our cheerleaders need a wardrobe overhaul... At least we have cheerleaders! The winning team was an all boys school---so they had cheer leaders in white gloves doing cool hand routines.

Go -insert my school's name here- !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hydrangea Day

Hydrangea day was back on June 20th.

I think hydrangea flowers are super beautiful.

Hydrangea Day isn't a national holiday or anything! I'm pretty sure its a special "Hofu Only" festival, and is celebrated at Amidaji temple, which is not quite in walking/biking distance to me, so I've only been there a couple of times. I will definitely go again next spring! So beautiful...

Like all festivals here, there was a lot of special "festival food" which is a lot of fried octopus balls and such. Its special festival food in the same way that "funnel cakes" are special in American festivals/fairs.

There was also Taiko drumming, and a lot of being "one" with nature (the mosquitos weren't even in full force yet!!! Those were the days...)

I only found out about Hydrangea day at the temple because of one of the essay homework assignments that I gave out! I think the prompt was something like this:

"I'm a stupid gaijin,..teach me something new about your country."

hahah. Not quite like that. But one student wrote about this festival, and invited me to go. It is actually very often that my students enrich my life here.

I love my students!!!!!!!!

I wish it were still March/April, for lots of reasons...

but its not! So as for now...it's time to start wearing a surgical mask while on my bike, so as not to accidentally eat a dozen bugs a minute!

Leavers

Its that time of year. Almost a year ago today, I embarked on a journey across the world! And then decided to stay... There are many other people who were either "termed out" or just decided to go home. And I will miss them so much!!! I really really will.

We had a beachside BBQ up in Hagi to celebrate our time here, and say goodbye!

I was one of the three people that just stuck to BBQ'ing the whole time. I wasn't going to swim, after the whole jellyfish incident a few weeks back!

The BBQ was great, and I want to thank everyone who helped organize it!

Hagi is a beautiful city, and it was my first time there. It is very out of the way for most people in Yamaguchi, so I'm glad I had a reason to force myself to make the trip.

We had end of the year awards. We voted for people in categories such as "The Alcoholic" and "The Slacker" and "Worst Japanese". Luckily, I was voted "Most Dedicated"!!! I was actually very happy! But next year, I will be hugging Mike for "Biggest Nerd!" Its not a category yet, but I'm going to start lobbying for it to be, soon.

Fireworks on the beach were awesome.

Of course, no ALT gathering would be complete without an ambulance! During a game of Dodgeball, two of our bravest went down. One even got a surgery out of it! (hand surgery) Luckily, I was nowhere near that ball-o-death.

The after-party involved some Brittney, Michael Jackson, M.I.A., etc. :D

Monica, Brooke, Whitney, Callie, Matt, Sophie, Mathieu, Mack!, Cyndi, Tiff, Alex, Charles, Tim and just freaking everyone that will not be here soon..... Farewell! I will miss you!