It's been awhile..... starting some new classes.

Well....I'm back at the technology.   In spite of having lots of tech background....there is always something new to use.  SO.....I'm back in class again to learn how to use some of the cool new things out there as well as how to better use some things I already kinda use.

If you're a student....expect changes NEXT year if it's something big.   Otherwise...you might get some cool new stuff to do still this year.

Feeling pretty darn smart

As I've mentioned before, wifi in Japan is hard to come by.  This has been a pain because any pictures I take with my phone have to be downloaded to my computer and then uploaded to blogger again from my laptop.   

Well, they say necessity is the mother of invention.   Here's what I figured out. I started thinking if a phone can be tethered to a computer so the computer can have Internet, the reverse should also be true.   Turns out I was right. Now this means with my newly tethered phone I will be able to post more pictures easily.   

So I'll start with what my lunch was yesterday. 

Raw salmon with cucumbers and octopus over rice.   Yummy!

Also, this past week my youngest was on of the lunch helpers in his class. He had to wear the outfit you see here when serving.  We have to wash it and take it back on Monday. 

Well....it's been a few days since I last blogged. I can't remember what all I've done. Last Friday night I met my friend, Mitsuru Yamada, for dinner. He is a caricature artist in Niigata, but lives in Toyosaka which is about 45minutes away by car. He also is on a live, weekly Saturday morning show. Since he his show is early in the morning, he spends the night in a local hotel so he doesn't have to get up super dooper early. As a result, he has become a regular at a restraunt near there. I'm not sure if he knew of it before, but when we went, he was greeted with, “We were waiting for you!” and “I wasn't sure if you were coming!” There I met the マスター(owner), Suzuki-san. 

(Suzuki-san has the gentleman to my right and Yamada-san is the person to my left. Everyone else are other customers)

 I brought up Mr. Yamada coming for a visit to meet all of my students (again) and then also put out the idea of Suzuki-san coming to visit the CACC culinary classes and teaching/introducing some Japanese dishes. Hopefully I'll be able to get them to come sometime in the next year. Probably in the spring. The only catch is the Saturday live broadcast broadcast....so it may have to be a short trip. Also, because his wife's sister passed away, it's best not to travel. Japan has a different view on death. The year after someone passes away travel is frowned upon as it is a period of mourning.

On a different note, a few American friends and I were talking about Japan and the things we liked. It occurred to me that one of the things I like about Japan is how Japan's culture is very similar to America's 1950s. Since I only have TV as a reference to the American 1950s, here's why I say that.

1. If you live in a house, you definitely know your neighbors.
2. There are a lot of sharing of things. If you go fishing and catch a bunch of fish, you share them with your neighbors. If a neighbor gets some apples, they may share them with you , etc.
3. There are a lot of small “mom & pop” stores and restaurants. More and more chain stores are moving in...but at this time there still are a lot of small shops, stores and businesses.
4. It's also pretty easy to become a “regular” at these smaller restaurants. I used to be a regular and my friend Yamada-san is currently a regular.
5. There is a real sense of community in the traditional areas of Japan.

All of that being said, it isn't the same living in an apartment or big city. Things are also changing with the times and make up of the population. My explanation may not be very good....but many aspects of Japan remind me of what I think the 1950s was like.

Now for a few other things that I find interesting. Those of you in my class may remember when I talked about going to a store when they first open and having the clerks bow and say, “いっらしゃいませ”. You also may remember how I said that traditionally the customer just walks by and doesn't really acknowledge this and how I can't do that. I was in a store the other evening and watched some people walking in. Even though the clerks aren't at the door bowing and greeting, they do shout out a greeting (“いっらしゃいませ”). I watched someone walk in and not even flinch when this was said to them yeserday. This is reminded me of how I cannot do this. I always need either respond verbally or do a little bow (おじぎ）.

Last, I would like to address the ENGRISH on the t-shirts. I was talking to my wife after showing her the picture of a shirt I took a picture of earlier in the day.  We were discussing how weird the shirt was which led to a discussion about reading t-shirts. Americans as a whole tend to read the t-shirts that others wear.

However, Japanese people don't really read the shirts they wear. They tend to choose their shirts by style, color and design. 

I decided to put the picture below after debating on it's appropriateness. It's not a shirt I'd ever wear or want my student to wear...but it is a good example of something you might see.   If you google for Japanese Engrish.... there are tons of sites that feature the various English mistakes. I've often wondered, with all of the native English speakers living here, why they don't have someone quickly check the English before making the shirt.

Even though I've have more than my fair share of laughs over some of the shirts and other English mistakes I've seen, I know the same thing happens in America. My wife (and I) have seen mistakes in Japanese on shirts here. Even worse, we've seen mistakes with people's tattoos. I guess my only thoughts are, if you're going to wear a shirt in a foreign language...make sure you know what it says.

*Just Added*  Here is a picture of 3 stores with interesting English names.  I don't really know what 2 of the 3 sell....

This is all for now......if you haven any questions or comments.... fire away.

My busy first week is over and more details about the Sendai Ikuei Gakuen exchange

Wow....what a busy 1st week that was.  BUT, it was really cool.  I got to meet many of my former ACs and catch up.  Some it had been several years since I had seen them.  That was really cool.   Ok...now to talk about what I did.


If you look at the Kizuna Blog, you will see a bit where we met some college students doing some volunteer work that involved flags of countries that helped Japan made with paper cranes.  Well, I had kept in touch with Suzuki-san and I had a change to meet up with him in Asakusa. Suzuki-san is just finishing his training as a rickshaw "driver" (shafu) and I bought a ticket for his company and he got to pull me around Asakusa for 45 min. while telling me about the history of the area.   I'm not going to lie.... I felt like a king.  A very enjoyable experience.

 This is the Sapporo Beer HQ...they designed this building to celebrate 100 years.  Actually, it is probably longer but I can't remember.  Anyway, what does it look like?

 

Suzuki-san, the Sky Tree and me.

Sorry the photos are a bit out of order.  This is the Sky Tree.  It is the tallest building in Japan.  Taller than the Tokyo tower by quite a bit.

After spending most of the afternoon in Asakusa, I went to Akihabara for a bit just to look around. Found lots of cool toys I don't need and managed to leave with out buying anything (which if you know me is pretty impressive!)

Then I was off to meet some former ACs from my first USA Summer Camp I was the director of.  3 live near Tokyo/in Tokyo and one just happen to be in Tokyo on her way to Malaysia. It was great to catch up.  It had been about 6 years since I'd seen them.  It was good to catch up.

Then on the 10th, I was off to Sendai to talk to the folks at  Sendai Ikuei Gakuen.  On the way to Tokyo station to catch the shinkansen I realized I was close to the temple that has the graves of the 47 samurai. If you're not familiar with the history, definitely look it up.  They are held up as the exemplary example of loyalty in Japanese culture.  Here are some pictures of the graves, temple etc.  I didn't have time to check out the museum....but maybe next time.   :-)

After a quick look at the graves at the Senkakuji Temple....I was off to Sendai.  There I met Jim and Ted. They are two of the English teachers there.  We had beef tongue for lunch (and local dish),  looked around the school campuses and talked about setting up a sister school and exchange relationship.
First the pictures:

 

Now....for the exchange details. We're thinking for CPS students to go over, you'd go September to June.  At this time you would probably have a home stay BUT you could also be put in the student dorm if a family wasn't found.  Up until this point they've always found host families.  You also need to be prepared to purchase your own lunch (host families will provide breakfast and dinner but may not provide lunch), you will ned travel insurance, and of course, you're own spending money.  Oh... you'll also need to get yourself to and from Sendai.    Since this is a work in progress, we will learn more this fall.   We are hoping to start this next year. ALSO, if you're graduating, you can also go right AFTER you graduate for a "gap year" before you start college, so seniors...you're not left out.

I think that's all for now.....more updates to follow as I do things in Niigata.  

You would think it would be in the shower room

I'm currently staying at a friends place in Tokyo. My friend Chris, Who is also another former AC (AmericanCounselor) from when I was a camp director here. 

Anyway he is gone and I was trying to shower. Unfortunately all I could get was cold water.  I'm looking all over for something to turn on a switch or like a small water heater they have here that instantly heats water and I am finding nothing. 

Unfortunately it's not until after I take my shower I find the thermostat in the hallway that walked by a bunch of times and didn't even look at. 

Upon further reflection I  remembered that many times light switches are outside the bathroom for lights etc. but I didn't think the water heater would also be outside.  Apparently I've been away too much. 

Meeting some old friends

7-8-13

So, the last couple of days I've been meeting old friends.  First I met John ( former AC from 2010) and his lovely wife Shoko.   

That's John and I on his balcony.  What a cool view!

The. I was off to see Brandon(another former AC) who I haven't seen since 2007! Wow....where has the time gone !? 

He took me to a JoJo's Bizarre Adventure ( a popular manga) themed cafe.  That was really cool.   I have the entire 1st series and was shocked to find out there is an EIGHTH one being published right now.   Wow.  Who knew? Anyway, check it out if you have time.  There is also an a Ike out there somewhere. 

Log Kit is good eats!

7-6-13. 11:37am

Log Kit is a local chain of hamburger shop.  They have their own take on cheese burgers (and burgers in general).  

Keith and Ashley brought me here for some local culture and cuisine.

Keith and I had the Special Burger. 

Yum!

Sadly after lunch we had to part ways. It was great seeing them.  They rock!

Now, I'm sitting on my train to Hakata and I'm right behind the conductor.  Pretty cool view. 

Camp Kyushu facilities look great!

7-6-2013

Yesterday I met with Guy Healy and we walked around the facilities at Huis Ten Bosch.  It has really nice rooms to stay in and nice classrooms and rooms to use for various camp activities.  Then across the river is a really really large amusement park.  In the Park there are many European attractions in architecture from Holland. Plus there's a dojo. You can learn how to throw a shuriken At the dojo.  How cool is that?!?

There is also a one piece ship. 

Then we went to second camp facility we would be using just outside of Nagasaki city. That was a really really cool facility. I took a bunch of pictures which you can see below.

This is me and Guy Healy. Is the guy in charge of USA Summer Camp. I worked as a camp director for him for three summers. He's been doing all sorts of camps for about 20 years in Japan.  We are both really excited for this camp.  This camp will be a go next year. It will be in early July for about 10 days.  

Oh also behind us is a really cool jungle gym that goes down the hill and has a whole course to it.

So while at camp Guy and I have been  talking about various  activities such as Doing martial arts, Learning a Japanese dance, Participating in the tea ceremony (Which is really cool because they one they do here is the one to use with the Emperor And not the usual one you see), creating a skit then performing it At a Japanese kindergarten, visiting a high school a d weekend homes stays.  The dates will probably be July 3-14, 2014. So mark your calendars and start saving! 

I also was able to meet another former student, Joel. 

Then after my time with Guy I went out with Keith and Ashley and went to the Peace Park and museum. This would be another place we would go at camp. 

After That we walked around a bit took some purikura and headed back to our homes.  

On a sidenote, as a teacher, it makes me really really proud of my students who have come to Japan and use their Japanese. I've got to see them in action using their Japanese and it is so cool. 

Later Keith. Ashley and I are going out for some killer cheese burgers ( I know You were thinking you're in Japan eat Japanese food.. But this is a restaurant that gas taken the cheeseburger and made it their own thing and its only here) and Then I'm off to see some other friends who I worked with at camp and see other parts of Japan.