Monday, May 24

IN A NUTSHELL: An Easy Day

Did I Get Demoted? I walked into the elementary teacher staff room at 8:15, a second after the meeting started (I hate when I do that,) and sat down at my desk. I did a double-take. My desk was ENTIRELY cleaned off. I had massive amounts of books, lessons, and props on my desk and now they were gone. I didn't want to interrupt the meeting, so I sat quietly, feeling a bit confused. I looked in my drawers, however, the contents of my drawers were intact. After the meeting, someone told me that my stuff had been moved to a shelf in the corner behind me (I checked, and it was all there) and that the reason was because they hired a new teacher that would also use my desk. Well, I guess I can't complain. They basically gave me a free shelf! Now I actually have room on my desk to work on stuff.

No Classes Because the students were practicing for their sports day this coming Sunday, I had no classes. It was really nice because I wanted to work on a sort of elaborate activity idea I had for the third and fourth graders, a weather-themed card game. I also had time to finish all my flash cards and get thinking about a lot of future lessons. It was very nice.

More Yosokoi! The kids spent nearly the entire day outside and I one point, I heard chanting so I turned around to look. The kids were practicing a yosokoi souran dance! The music was a little different than the Jr. High and the moves were not nearly so elaborate, but it was still really cool! They had these wooden clappers in their hands which added to the effect. I wonder if all schools do a yosokoi dance at their sports days or if it a Sakugi thing.

IN A NUTSHELL: Not an Easy Day

More Speed Activity Planning At the beginning of the day, I thought I had it easy: three classes and no activities to plan. However, as they day went forth, I realized my elective class had been shifted to today to make four classes (which I don't think I've ever had at Sakugi) and I suddenly had to plan activities for not one, but two of the other classes. Luckily, I had leftover dialogues from last term to use for my elective, but I had to think REALLY fast to come up with a mid-term review. Basically, I ended up doing a team game. People split into their "han" groups (the same groups they clean and eat lunch together with) and I gave each group a magic marker and lots of scratch paper. Then, in one decorated cup, I put a bunch of Japanese words from their vocabulary list, hastily handwritten in my messy kanji. In another cup, I put Japanese sentences (with grammar help from Tomomi) also hastily handwritten. I was literally finishing it up in the 10-minute break between classes. During the game, they had a minute or two to write the correct answer on their sheet. When time was up, they held up the answer and I awarded points. The 9th graders were all like "This is too easy" when I did the vocab. But suddenly, when the sentences turned out to be difficult, they were like "Let's do another one from the word cup." In the 9th grade class, somehow the two smart kids ended up in the same group and so they scored a perfect. No one else did. My last-minute game worked so well that Tomomi decided to use the same concept for the 8th graders, too, but I did not know that until right before class.

At Least Miyoshi Called Early I have a feeling Nishida-san made a call based on my ALT report comments, because the teachers at Miyoshi called at 2:30 which was a new record. Ironically, I couldn't take the call because I had class 6th period. Anyway, I got a hold of them afterward, and it was my own fault for being in a hurry later because I decided to make very overly elaborate "passports" for the students to practice the lesson on "Yumi goes abroad." I'm also bringing my own passport, which was a big hit in the same lesson in Sakugi.

IN A NUTSHELL: My First Miyoshi Melissa's Corner

Feeling Like a Tape Recorder Luckily, I had an easy day today in Miyoshi because of midterms. I only had two classes and both of them right off the bat in the morning. The first class was behind so we did not do the passport activity. However, during that class, I was repeating the textbook so much that I, for the very first time, understood some JETs complaints about being used as a tape recorder. It was very frustrating. Repeating the text over and over was not helping things all that much. I tried to spice it up with some voices, but the dialogue just was not that interesting. At least she had me repeat it faster and faster. Me speaking full speed is not to be taken lightly by learners of English. The other class was more fun and they loved looking at my passport and were amused by my little skit about traveling abroad.

Lunch, Anyone? Because of Midterms, there was a sign on the staff room door that said "No Entry" likely because teachers had exam papers on their desks and such. However, apparently that did not count during lunch because all the kids came in. On top of that, NO ONE was eating. I heated up my bento, but found myself waiting five minutes, ten minutes, then another five. I did not see a single other teacher dig into their bento until well after 1:00. I don't get it. I would think midterms would make teachers' schedules easier.

Putting Up My Corner I have a much bigger space for my Corner than I do in Sakugi. I made another fancy construction-paper "Melissa's Corner" sign and put up stuff from at least three different old Corners (including my silly Celebrity Love Match) as well as some pictures from a book called "Landscapes of America" that Ben gave me because he got a stack of such books for free. It contains over 100 full-color pictures. Two teachers walking by at separate times offered to help so I had them tack things up for me. One teacher said she was worried students would steal my tacks because they are "cute." Well, yes, I suppose, as thumbtacks go, they are pretty cute, with little apples and stars and cherries and hearts on them. But I bought them (and every other "cute" coveted thing at my desk) from the 100 yen store! Anyway, it made me very happy when, toward the end of the day, a different teacher commented to me that my corner was "kakkoi" ("cool").

Trying to Clothes Shop EVERY SINGLE teacher and student in the entire school left between three and three-thirty today. All the teachers were going to some Big Meeting of All Teachers that I guess did not include ALTs (but I am not complaining!) I spent that wonderful quiet time finally doing my Japanese Correspondence Course Final Test, which I had been too lazy to do before despite that it is due Friday. When I finished, I chatted with the secretary for awhile. I told her about my dilemma of finding casual clothes or jeans for Big Sizes. (I'm lucky that Izumi has reasonably priced Large Sized work clothes. And to think, my size is just slightly above average in America.) She thought for a moment and remembered one store so she looked it up in the phone book and called for me, which was very sweet of her. She asked them to 'take care of me.' Another guy who had walked in even offered to guide me there, but her map was clear enough. I found "Fukuyama" (not to be confused with the city) easily. My first impression was "Why in the world did she send me to this place??" It had tiny, overpriced clothes, just like most Japanese stores. Thin, itchy shirts for 10,000, even 20,000 yen ($200) were on sale. Do people really buy clothes that don't even look comfortable at those prices? I nearly left, but the woman did find something I needed - a pair of casual shorts in my size! And, with a matching T-shirt, it cost $30. High, but not ridiculous. I'm glad I bought something because then I got to meet her really cute elementary-school granddaughters. The funniest thing? Free, with my purchase, I received two tiny, pink staplers with a supply of staples. I'm not sure which is funnier, that I received staplers with a clothing purchase or that they were pink.

I Called Katie Tonight... I'm going to try for my driver's license tomorrow, so I called test veteran Katie tonight for advice. According to her (and a few others), here is when foreigners have failed the test for in the past:

Not Staying Far Enough Left in the Left Lane
Missing Even One "Looking Over One's Left Shoulder When Making a Left Turn"
Brushing Against or Going Over the Curb
Not Looking Far Enough Over Your Shoulder
Wearing a Skirt
Going Too Fast
Driving in the Wrong Lane
Being Too Nervous

IN A NUTSHELL: Driver's Test (Take 1)

Even In My Dreams I dreamed all night about taking driver's tests. They weren't bad dreams where I constantly failed or anything, I just kept taking different forms of it.

Poor Mai-chan I went to my first two classes because I only needed to stay at the beginning to give the 'listening portion' of the midterm, then I could leave. I kind of counted on that since I did not know how long it took to get to the driver's license center in Hiroshima. The second period midterm, however, was Mai-chan. I don't think she's taken many midterms. I think my presence, the unfamiliar format of the midterm, and the general off-routine stuff confused her. She had a lot of trouble figuring out what to do, even though she knew all the information. Poor girl. Tomomi helped her a lot, but I was there ten minutes longer than I expected to be. I hope she did all right.

Hiroshima Prefectural Driver License Center I had almost no trouble finding Hiroshima Driving Center. Once I got off the highway exit, big, bilingual blue-and-white signs guided me unerringly to the area the center was in. The problem was that the very last turn into the center had a smaller, Japanese-only red sign, so I missed it the first time around. However, I arrived very early. I loved the layout of the center. The parking lot was huge, the building was huge. The whole place felt nothing like the crowded, confusing Japan labyrinth I expected. Instead, it was spacious, organized, and did not appear to be crowded, even though it was. I went up to the window (only one English sign on the main floor said which window to go to, but I knew the kanji, so it didn't matter), despite that it was not reception hours, and a fellow took my passport, alien card, and American driver's license to get started on my paperwork. Then, a little while later at noon, a bell (sounding JUST like the school bell) sounded the lunch hour and the driving course was opened up for walking. The day was very sunny and hot, but a nice breeze made it perfect weather. I started walking the course! It did not look very different than I imagined in my head, but it made a big difference to see the turns in person and find out ahead of time which turns had stop signs and which ones only had yield signs. Other people were meandering around, too. My favorite part was the fake people statues at the crosswalk. It took me nearly half an hour to walk it the first time (I was talking to myself most of the way, even slowing down my walking when I was supposed to slow down the car.) I opted to just walk it the once and have lunch the remaining half hour. I walked right up to the reception desk at 1:00 (there was no line at the counter for gaijin) and he had all my stuff ready, but there was one tiny problem...

Passport Issues The man had actually spent time going through my entire passport... and it's a mess. It has two visas for Japan, one for New Zealand, one for China (I don't know why it needed to take up a whole page for one stinking week), 2 re-entry permits and an extension permit, my JET application, and several traveling stamps from five years of traveling. Just one blank page is left. Still, he went through it and had a piece of paper with handwritten notes of everywhere I had been in the last five years. Why? The reason is that any foreigner wanting to transfer a foreign license to a Japanese license has to prove they held that license in the country of origin for three months. I have, of course. My license was issued in 2001 and I've been in America for nearly 2 years of that. The problem is that I don't actually have proof! I went to New Zealand about three months after I renewed my driver's license and there is no stamp that says I ever left! (Nor is there an arrival stamp in America, but they rarely stamp it - of the four or five times I traveled back to America, there's only one U.S. customs stamp in my entire passport.) I think he realized that I had almost certainly gone back home (since the visa expired) so he said it was okay, but we spent a half hour talking about it. I must have not told Auckland that I was leaving for good. (Really, REALLY ironically, I drove in New Zealand - I even owned a car there - and New Zealanders don't need to take the practical test to change over! If only I'd gotten a NZ license while I was there.)

Just Let Me Take The Test Already! Anyway, aside from all that, he also asked me a bunch of questions about the American driver's test, like how many questions were on the written exam and did I go to driving school and how often. I'm like, "I was 15 years old when I did that! That was over 10 years ago! I don't remember!" I gave him the best answers I could, but seriously, what does he expect? He also told me that I would have to put a "Beginner" sticker on my car. I've been driving for almost 12 years and he wants me to put a beginner sticker on my car? Give me a break. I whined a little, but not that much. I didn't want to take any chances.

The Written Exam After a little bit, he called me into this special private office with just a desk and a chair to take the written exam. (The Japanese all take it in a big room down the hall, but not me. I get the scary room.) He told me I had 10 minutes and nearly left. I said "But what if I have a question?" and he said "There are no questions allowed." And I said "But I heard the translation is kind of strange." So he stayed. However, the test was, as everyone has told me before, fairly easy. I only had to circle a kanji for yes or no, it's not even multiple choice. The English was obviously not native, but it was decent enough that I understood the meaning of most questions without a doubt. A couple questions I looked at strangely, but I think I went too fast. because at the end, he said "Too easy?" I kind of shrugged, wanting to say, "Well, tell me if I passed first," but I didn't. A couple minutes later, he called me back to the window and gave me the "OK" sign. I don't know if I got any wrong or not, but it would have been massively embarrassing if I failed so I'm glad I got that out of the way at least. He then told me to go ahead down to the course and wait there, so I did. They never did give me an eye exam. Whoops.

Other Foreigners I sat on a bench and met some other foreigners taking the test. Both I talked to had failed it before. Neither were JETs and it did not seem either actually had a car to practice on (like me). They were nice, though. A car pulled up with an instructor inside. He was very, very cool and explained the entire process to us - in Japanese, but still, that's more than I expected. He said he would not tell us what we were doing right or wrong during the course, that he was not an instructor, and he would only tell us when to turn. He also said to pull up to the curb with our front bumper in line with the pole on the curb (which one of my driving schools had told me to do.) Then, unexpectedly, he said that we would take it in pairs, with one person riding in the back while the other person took it! I was really surprised since I heard they did not do that in Hiroshima. I was last (luckily) and it looked like the first person was not doing very well judging by how rough the car left the spot. The instructor spent some time afterwards with him, privately explaining his mistakes. Then I got in the car while the guy from Sri Lanka drove. He obviously knew the 'tricks' but he made a few key mistakes like stalling while making a turn and rubbing up against the curb. I assume he failed, though I can't say for sure. Then I went. Let's not even talk about it.

Hi, I'm a Complete and Total Moron But you knew that already, didn't you. Let's see. This is what I did: I walked around the car, checked under the car, checked both ways before going toward the driver's side then I opened the door and entered the very comfortable, new car. I adjusted my seat, adjusted the rear view mirror, and checked my other mirrors and the location of everything in the car. Then I started, put the emergency brake down, signaled, got into gear, looked ALL around me and just as I was about to pull out, he told me to hold on a second. I was confused. There were no cars coming. Did I need his OK before leaving? No. He said, "You need to put on your seatbelt." D'oh! What is really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really ironic about this is that seatbelts are the one thing I did not need to 'practice'. I'm an obsessive nutcase when it comes to seatbelts, whether I'm driving or riding. People have actually gotten irritated with me over it (including once earlier in my journal when the Japanese people I was riding with took offense when I insisted I put on my seatbelt, even though I was sitting in the back seat, where it was 'not illegal' to go without.) I think what happened here is that I've been teaching myself to put my seatbelt on (in addition to a whole bunch of adjustments) BEFORE I start the car. I had always put my belt on after I started, which I guess is stupid, but that's the way I always did it. Anyway, so I freaked out. I said "Oh my God, oh my god, I can't believe I did that." He told me to "relax" (in English) and just take it slow. I suppose that was nice of him. At least I got to drive the course even though I had already failed.

The Course You would think having failed already would make me not worried at all about the rest of the course, but I was still a little nervous. I tried to do all the things I was taught, but it was hard because the car felt so different from my car. The gas pedal was EXTREMELY sensitive so I kept accidentally revving. I guess revving is better than stalling. I drove sort of smooth I guess. He tried to tell me something as I was making my first right, but I wasn't sure what. Maybe my turn signal had turned off because I was in a curve? I don't know. Anyway, I did very well at the stop signs (3 seconds!) and all the left turns (except there was one where I might have forgotten to check behind me.) I even made it through the S-curve and the crank (so you can bet I'll screw that up next time) and generally stayed to the left. When I was in the car with him and we were talking privately (and I told him how embarrassed I was about the seat belt thing) he told me I didn't stay to the left enough and that I actually went over a line on the right side! I found that surprising of him to say considering that he's on the other side of the car and can't see that line. I guess I'll be careful next time. He also was trying to tell me something else, but I didn't know what even though he drew a picture. He could tell that I'd been to driving school, though and when I told him which one, he knew of it. I hope I get someone as nice as him again.

The Bottom Line Well, to be honest, I kind of wanted to fail the first time because I want to write a handbook about the driving test so I want to know what going twice entails. However, I kind of wonder... will I ever be in a trio with two inferior drivers again? Will I have to go first next time? Will I get a scary tester next time? Actually, the very worst part of this was not failing (I mean, I don't know anyone who has passed their first time) but having to tell people about it. Not other JETs, because I'll get sympathy from them, but everyone else. Nishida-san called that afternoon to see how I did. She was all surprised I had failed. Why? Then she wanted me to, get this, CALL the Jr. High and tell everyone because "everyone is so worried." What the !@#$%&? This woman wants me to interrupt everyone's day so I can humiliate myself? Huh? It's none of their business. Besides, only two or three knew I was taking it anyway. Besides, they never tell ME anything when I'm worried about them (like with Okumiya-sensei's premature baby girl.) I did not tell Nishida-san about the seat belt thing, though. That's just far too embarrassing. Besides, I could get a lecture on why it is important to wear a seatbelt. That's not only preaching to the choir, that's preaching to another preacher! But I have no way to prove it.

IN A NUTSHELL: Another Sports Day Already?

Easy Day Once again today were midterms, so I did not actually have to teach, just say a script for the listening section. I was really shocked, though, that the 7th graders had the same listening section as Mai-chan. Here, I thought Tomomi had made an easy version for her. This has to be insultingly easy for the 7th graders. Well, maybe it will build their confidence.

A Free Day! The principal called me in (which is always a bit scary) and told me that they were having sports day this Sunday. I actually had just recently learned that when Nakamura-san came over and asked if I wanted a bento that day, then invited me to the staff party that night. He told me that everyone had off on Monday in lieu, but that I would be at elementary, so I could take another day off that week if I wanted to. How convenient is it that I'm already taking that week off! I'll just convert a nenkyuu (yearly leave) to a daikyuu (a day in lieu) and I get a free vacation day. Woo hoo! But, wow, they are already having sports day? I'm having several busy weekends in a row here.

Guard of the Staff Room I worked on June's newsletter for most of the day and learned, while making a game where students matched the Japanese and English Miyazaki movie titles, that Miyazaki has a new movie coming out called 'Howl's Moving Castle.' Cool! I'm there! I was debating whether to leave at 4pm when Moriguchi-san came over, told me there was a meeting (what is it with Friday afternoon meetings) and asked if I was staying or going since if I was leaving, she would have to lock up. I decided to stay and study kanji. It seemed like a good thing I did. Tons of kids came in while the teachers were at their meeting, turning in their workbooks and stuff to various teachers. Just before 5, a woman came in, looking for one of the teachers. I did the good Japanese thing and offered her a seat and gave her some coffee. I think I made it too watery. I suck at making coffee because I don't drink it very much. Oh, well. In return, she gave me two tissue packets. OK, that works. Luckily, I don't apparently have to answer the phone anymore. The cordless actually works now and Moriguchi-san always answers from the meeting room. The meeting went really late and the poor woman was waiting almost a half hour.

Laputa I finally decided to watch Miyazaki's "Laputa: Castle in the Sky." What a beautiful movie! It might even jump to number three or even number two on my Favorite Miyazaki Movies list (that Porco Rosso still tops). Good stuff! Go watch!

IN A NUTSHELL: More Proof That I'm a Moron

How Long Have I Been Here? Ten months. Ten months in Japan and I only NOW figure out that I've been able to input Japanese onto my computer all along without having to use NJStar (my Japanese Word Processor)! I didn't even have to download anything! I must have done something earlier because Japanese was the only other language listed on the inputter. But when I switched to it and opened up the settings bar, sure enough I could switch right to hiragana for Word and Internet Explorer and everything. I THOUGHT Windows XP was supposed to do this, I just never figured out how before. Wow, I'm stupid.