Happy New Year everyone!

Today is the 31st December. As of tomorrow I will have been in Japan for five months; nearly half of my contract is complete. Time really flies and it's scary to think how quickly this time has passed.

It's 20:15pm as I start to write this post. Naturally, I have a list as long as my arm of stuff to do and tonight it's going to be a bit of a rush as the cleaning of this apartment needs to be finished before midnight in order to welcome in the New Year with a clean slate. I have a final load of laundry going so I don't have to wash any clothes tomorrow, but actually apart from that, all that remains to do is clean the bathroom, put the binbags out and hoover the apartment. Currently I feel like I am winning. We shall see.. I currently have BBC radio 1 open in one tab and flight departures open in another. I have been breaking everyone's balls for the last two months about my excitement with regards to a certain visitor, and not too long ago he got on his plane. Writing this post is one way to stop me pinging off the walls with excitement! Not long now. I have to be up at 6am tomorrow to go and meet him from the airport but it's around the time I would get up anyway to commute to my visit school so it isn't much of a trial. The question is though.. will I sleep tonight? I feel more excited right now than I did as a child on Christmas Eve!

This time last year, I had sent off my application to the JET programme, but I hadn't yet heard if I would go through to interview or not. I didn't honestly believe I would get an interview, and certainly not a place on the programme. Once I sent off the application I realised the idea actually really scared me. Japan? For a whole year? It was pretty ridiculous.

But I did get the job. And I did make it out here. And I have managed to make it work so far. Mindblowing stuff.

So in another moment of self reflection, here is a summary of my year:

Things I have learnt in 2010

- How to be strong and take control of my own future.

- How to fake confidence in front of forty teenagers.

- Enough Japanese to hold a very basic conversation (mostly about myself and my dietary requirements but hey, babysteps here.)

- How to make yakisoba, miso soup and onigiri.

- That no matter how many times I will up-sticks and move my life to a different country for a year, I will diligently ensure that packing is left until the last minute.

- That I love teaching more than I have been willing to admit.

- That despite my love for teaching, I simply don't command enough respect to be able to succeed in a British classroom.

Things that have surprised me in 2010

- I still put myself under ridiculous amounts of pressure to study and pass very difficult exams even though University is finished.

- I don't miss any British foods in particular, except for the good old ploughman's sandwich.

- I can eat more or less anything I want - I burn so much nervous energy whilst teaching that my cake-a-day habit has so far (touch wood) not seen me expand the waistline too much (for the record, I always put on a little weight at Christmas, for those of you who may have noticed me looking a little chunkier in recent photos :P)

- The supermarket is the place which is most likely to make me homesick. Nothing stresses me out more than being surrounded by infinite and incomprehensible kanji.. when all I want is a bottle of vinegar or a carton of milk.

Best things about 2010

- Closing old chapters and opening new chapters. No regrets.

- Getting to know friends better and building friendships that I truly treasure.

- Getting through my degree and getting the mark I wanted. Just.

- Passing my driving test. It took three flipping goes and there were many hairy moments, but the joy of passing..!

My resolutions for 2011

- To pass Level 4 of the JLPT (probably not in July, that's a bit unrealistic, but maybe in December.)

- To go to Church a bit more. I won't say every Sunday, because I know I won't, but every once in a while.

- To try a bit harder to inspire my students to travel and meet other people. Just recently I've re-discovered the excitement of making myself understood in a foreign language that I've been studying. If I can inspire that same excitement in at least some of my students, I'll feel like I've done a good job here.

- To keep in touch with my friends a bit better. It's hard because of working hours, timezones, and because of how dispersed you all are. But I think of all of you a lot, despite being so far away. I'm going to keep trying hard to write and call as often as I can.

- To learn to make a few more Japanese dishes.

- To pay my bills as soon as they come in and not wait until I have three to pay at once (and as a result eat rice and soy sauce for dinner three days in a row because I can't afford anything else.)

- To ring my Grandad more often.

- To eat fewer cakes.. maybe one every two days, instead of one a day. I am greedy, I admit it.

- To persevere with the KitKat challenge (this doesn't contradict the previous resolution as I am bringing joy to people back home :P)



Ah, my laundry is done. All that's left to do is to wish you all a HAPPY NEW YEAR! I hope it brings you all happiness and fulfilment.

皆さん、新年おめでとう　ね　(^_^)//

Karaoke in class

Today I had a class with my third years at my base school. There are seven of them in the class and their level is such that I can have fun with them and we can all chat and understand each other. At the 忘年会 (end of year party) with the teachers last week (details of that to follow in a separate post) the JTE for that class hinted that the students wanted to do something of their own for that lesson. At school, sober, I confirmed this with him a few days later and was told not to plan any lesson because he and the students would take care of it. So, somewhat nervously, I agreed to take this micro-holiday from lesson planning.

The lesson was, in fact, beautifully planned out and I was treated to performances and demonstrations by the students, who were eager to show me how the Japanese celebrate New Year's Day. Posters had been made detailing the food they eat (the best picture by far was of a lobster), the students also drew on the board and spoke of their favourite traditions. They got really excited at times, which is what makes me feel the happiest about teaching. Seeing the students flap around, resorting to charades and pictures to help them fill the gaps in their vocabulary makes me feel like we're really getting somewhere. It seems paradoxical but it shows that they are grasping the importance of the work we're doing. They are discovering why language study is so vital, and the honest satisfaction on their faces when I grasp what they are saying is so rewarding.

Sentimentality aside, there was a surprise waiting for me, just as I suspected there was. Towards the end of the lesson I was told I would be tested (nerve-wracking, to say the least.) The students taught me a typical children's song about being excited for the arrival of the new year - and then the JTE asked me to sing it for the class to show I had learnt it.

WHAT?!

Yes, I squirmed and tried to wriggle out of it a little. But no-one was letting me off the hook so I gave in and sang for them, finishing just in time for the bell to ring. They were so excited about having got me to sing that it kind of felt worth it!

But next time I am told not to plan anything before the lesson, I might take a swig of vodka before going up to the classroom!


**Disclaimer** I was joking about the vodka.

Time for a haircut

This evening I'm waiting in for a parcel so I thought I would share with you my first experience of Japanese hair salons. I know, I know. I write about such riveting topics.

I had my haircut in the UK a few weeks before I left for Japan. It was getting out of control really and I needed it to be decent enough for my graduation photos, so I had it cut more or less shoulder length with a trimmed fringe and layers. I think I remember paying a lot of money for it at a salon in the city centre, determined not to let someone hack into it and do a terrible job like the previous year (it still plays on my mind now.) Bad haircuts are somewhat traumatizing after all. This goes partway to explaining why I waited until December to get it cut in Japan; I didn't trust anyone enough as I couldn't go on word of mouth about which salon was best. The other, perhaps more obvious reason, is that my Japanese is still pretty pitiful and I didn't trust myself to communicate my wishes to the hairdresser. In two and a half weeks, however, my fella will be arriving from the UK so I decided I would prefer him not to find a birds nest with nearly six months of split ends. Swallowing my fear (and a little of my pride) I began studying phrases to face this mammoth task. The challenge itself can be broken into two:

Part 1) Making the appointment
Part 2) Going through with the appointment

I chose a salon near to the station as I had seen its staff out and about leafleting regularly. A young and friendly bunch, they all had decent hairstyles themselves. Even if they didn't understand what I wanted, I reasoned, they might still do something that suits my face. Right?

So I sat down and studied. よやくはできますか。(Could I make an appointment please?) カットです。(Just a cut and blowdry.) あした、四時半から。。(Tomorrow, from 4.30pm...)

Then, one day after school, I marched into the salon without thinking too hard about it so I couldn't change my mind. Five minutes later, I walked out with an appointment for 4.30pm the following day with the top stylist (second cheapest hairdresser) - Part 1 accomplished!

Studying for Part 2 commenced with a feverish desperation. しゃしんがあります。。 (I have a photo..) 前髪 (Fringe.) まえがみはみじかくきりすぎないでください (Please don't cut it too short at the front.) ここまでカットをしていますか。 (Could you cut it up to here please?) パッツン前髪 (Hairstyle with the fringe cut completely straight.)

The last one was to illustrate what I didn't want doing.

In any case, it turned out I didn't need to panic, as it turned out to be one of the best hairdressing experiences of my life - what service!! My hair was washed by a lovely guy who, despite talking very quickly, managed to coax enough Japanese out of me to maintain a conversation for the ten minutes he was washing my hair and giving me a head and shoulder massage. Three guys then fought over who got to dry my hair and comb it for me (they rotated in the end, two dried and combed whilst one would talk to me - who was my favourite rock band? Did I know Oasis? What did I think of Japanese boys? What was my favourite Japanese food?)

The haircut itself was exactly what I wanted - that is to say exactly what I had done last time I got it cut. The guy cutting my hair was funny and kind and patient, and took plenty of time to work out what I was trying to say with my pidgen Japanese. His colleagues continued to hover and joke around, firing more questions at me and showing me things they had that had English writing on them. One of them, upon hearing that I was a vegetarian, disappeared for a few minutes and came back with a keyring that had a large button on it. The character on the button was from Dragonball Z and it said 'Vegeta' on it. It's a present for you because you are a vegetarian, he said, handing it to me. When you press the button, it says phrases in Japanese. He said I should listen and repeat in order to improve my Japanese (which I won't be doing as I have no idea what it says, but I love it all the same!)

Finally, when my haircut was over (not a single stray hair was left on my neck to irritate me) I was handed my coat as three of the guys in the salon broke into You're beautiful by James Blunt (only three lines of the chorus mind, I don't think they knew any more of the words). What an amazing experience! I could speak so little of their language and yet they treated me like a princess. Customer service is something else in Japan. Not in Kobe, customer service is pretty shoddy in big cities, but out here where I am I have managed to find some truly lovely people.

And I'm happy with my haircut. Win.

KitKat Challenge (and iced tea)

Greetings KitKat fiends! Here are my latest two conquests, a gift from a friend of mine when she went to Kyoto.



This one is Kyoto tea. It has a strange flavour. Whilst there are definite hints of teabag in there, there was also an unfortunate overtone of something a little odd. It resembled the aftertaste of seaweed.



This little gem is Kobe pudding. It was almost unbearably sweet - not inedible, but best in the bitesized bars that were presented in this box. It was like a cross between creme brulee and white chocolate. A good one to have with a strong mid-morning coffee maybe.



A bonus for you. One of Lipton's (limited edition?) special Christmas iced teas - milk tea and custard flavour. It was like drinking sweet, watery, cold custard, but with a very convincing tea aftertaste. No, I will not be buying it again!