Today is a public holiday in Japan - Culture Day. I did ask my students yesterday what that entailed but neither they nor my JTE could explain it to me. I had a 'special days' lesson with a different class last week where I assigned groups of students a special day to make a small presentation on, but unfortunately none of them did Culture Day. Having said that, though, I'm not sure how accurate their information would have been. The students in charge of Children's Day drew a carp streamer on the board and, with the aide of an electronic dictionary, wrote 'a crap streamer' above it. I had to bite my cheeks really hard as they were doing their presentation.
There are people milling around outside and there seem to be events going on at the university across from where I live, but I've not really been out today apart from walking my friend to the bus stop. You see, last night I met up with two friends for okonomiyaki in Nishinomiya, and afterwards we went for drinks at a small bar that reminded me of a 1950s black and white flick. It was small and clean and there were not many tables for people to sit at; mostly the customers were sat at the bar and talked a lot to the barmen. The seating charge was 300 yen. I'm not used to paying seating charges, but it's fairly standard in Japan and 300 yen is nothing compared to some of the seating charges in Kobe! I had a really good time, as I always do when I go out with these particular friends, because we always laugh a lot. I also like the fact that our meals / drinks together sound like the start of a bad joke - 'a Brit, a Kiwi and a Yank walk into a bar..'
It's true that we're supposed to be sampling the culture out here and seizing as many opportunities as possible, but sometimes you really need gaijin company. Only another gaijin will truly understand what you mean when you say 'I feel homesick', or realise immediately that you have just delivered the punchline to a joke, or give you a straight yes or no answer when you ask a question. And, depending of course on their character (I obviously can't lump all gaijin into the same category), they tend not to judge you when you drink more than you should on a Tuesday. Generally.
So after downing five beers last night I am, understandably, feeling a little green around the gills today and didn't make it to Ikea where I hoped to buy a new bed. Darn it. It was worth it though. Despite my firm resolution to make the most of my public holidays and go somewhere everytime one appeared on the calendar, I have spent the whole of today in my apartment eating junk food (mmm.. instant noodles..) and listening to music. Wrapped in my duvet for the most part. I would add that I do not regret this arrangement one bit.
It's pretty cold in Japan now, though obviously it's a lot colder back home, so I have invested in these:
Hand warmers! They're really good; when you take them out of the plastic, the chemicals inside the teabag-like warmers react with the air and start to give off heat. They last a long time too, about twelve hours, so I have taken to setting one going five minutes before my first lesson and taking it into the classroom with me (no heating in the classrooms) and warming my fingers on it in between writing on the board. In the evening it's still going strong so I cozy up with it in front of the laptop or as I get stuck in with my Japanese lessons. So Japan fails on one count for not having decent heating or insulation in its buildings, but wins on the accessories front.
I don't really have any news as such. The past week or so has been a hard slog of overtime at work, helping students to practise for the speech contest and preparing special lessons that have had mixed reactions (as ever) from all my classes. I've started adding ginger to my soups to keep me warm, wearing extra layers to work, and allowing myself to get excited about Christmas and New Year. In a couple of weeks (when the new bed is ordered, paid for and assembled) I'm going to go out and spend some money on winter clothes, yey! A coat, elbow-length gloves, heat-tech tops, as well as other wintery accessories. I'll keep taking pictures of Japanese things for you all, I hope it's not too cold where you all are. I was lucky enough to receive a parcel recently of chai tea and custard cream biscuits (thank you!), so every time I stop for a tea break I think of all my Frenchies :) Missing you all.
There are people milling around outside and there seem to be events going on at the university across from where I live, but I've not really been out today apart from walking my friend to the bus stop. You see, last night I met up with two friends for okonomiyaki in Nishinomiya, and afterwards we went for drinks at a small bar that reminded me of a 1950s black and white flick. It was small and clean and there were not many tables for people to sit at; mostly the customers were sat at the bar and talked a lot to the barmen. The seating charge was 300 yen. I'm not used to paying seating charges, but it's fairly standard in Japan and 300 yen is nothing compared to some of the seating charges in Kobe! I had a really good time, as I always do when I go out with these particular friends, because we always laugh a lot. I also like the fact that our meals / drinks together sound like the start of a bad joke - 'a Brit, a Kiwi and a Yank walk into a bar..'
It's true that we're supposed to be sampling the culture out here and seizing as many opportunities as possible, but sometimes you really need gaijin company. Only another gaijin will truly understand what you mean when you say 'I feel homesick', or realise immediately that you have just delivered the punchline to a joke, or give you a straight yes or no answer when you ask a question. And, depending of course on their character (I obviously can't lump all gaijin into the same category), they tend not to judge you when you drink more than you should on a Tuesday. Generally.
So after downing five beers last night I am, understandably, feeling a little green around the gills today and didn't make it to Ikea where I hoped to buy a new bed. Darn it. It was worth it though. Despite my firm resolution to make the most of my public holidays and go somewhere everytime one appeared on the calendar, I have spent the whole of today in my apartment eating junk food (mmm.. instant noodles..) and listening to music. Wrapped in my duvet for the most part. I would add that I do not regret this arrangement one bit.
It's pretty cold in Japan now, though obviously it's a lot colder back home, so I have invested in these:
Hand warmers! They're really good; when you take them out of the plastic, the chemicals inside the teabag-like warmers react with the air and start to give off heat. They last a long time too, about twelve hours, so I have taken to setting one going five minutes before my first lesson and taking it into the classroom with me (no heating in the classrooms) and warming my fingers on it in between writing on the board. In the evening it's still going strong so I cozy up with it in front of the laptop or as I get stuck in with my Japanese lessons. So Japan fails on one count for not having decent heating or insulation in its buildings, but wins on the accessories front.
I don't really have any news as such. The past week or so has been a hard slog of overtime at work, helping students to practise for the speech contest and preparing special lessons that have had mixed reactions (as ever) from all my classes. I've started adding ginger to my soups to keep me warm, wearing extra layers to work, and allowing myself to get excited about Christmas and New Year. In a couple of weeks (when the new bed is ordered, paid for and assembled) I'm going to go out and spend some money on winter clothes, yey! A coat, elbow-length gloves, heat-tech tops, as well as other wintery accessories. I'll keep taking pictures of Japanese things for you all, I hope it's not too cold where you all are. I was lucky enough to receive a parcel recently of chai tea and custard cream biscuits (thank you!), so every time I stop for a tea break I think of all my Frenchies :) Missing you all.
