IrishOboe

This post from Daley Ponderings is so cool I have to repost it here, since I know Janet's Internet time is very limited right now and she doesn't have time to check out everything she'd like:

Janet had trouble with the blog, so I'm posting the conclusion to July 31 for her. By the way, I (the webmaster) apologize for the slowness of this blog; I'm addressing the issue, though that's going slowly, too. :) Anyway, from Janet:

To finish up the day yesterday, Niko took us to lunch, then a craft center. It was great! Today people left around 9am and I read out of Hebrews and listened to hymns. I learned a few whistle tunes and experienced my first earthquake! It was small, but the building shook! I have to give up internet now. I can't wait to be set up in my apartment!

Hi all! Sorry it's taken so long to get to a computer again. I am currently using the computer in the library, so at least I know it works. I don't believe I can check email here, but we'll see. I just wanted to post something before I get kicked off (it's Sunday and busy here). I hope Mom hasn't flipped out from my silence. I think it scared her, because I could feel your prayers for me yesterday.

So, what's been happening? I should have written down key points to mention, but I honestly didn't think I'd figure the Japanese computer out . . .

Last night was the welcome party for group A JETs. Group B should be getting in today and we will meet up with them later. Anyway, we hung out at a gaijin (foreigner) bar, which was actually fun for a while until the place got too loud and smokey. Japan is way behind the times when it comes to smoking regulations, but they sure have a complex way of dealing with waste! Anyway, I took a short walk outside )this is in the center of Kofu) and noticed a festival going on so I convinced a friend to check it out with me. It was so, so neat. There was a center stage (360) with singers and a few dancers and on the ground all around it were people dancing. They were dressed up in robe-type things and obviously knew what they were doing. However, people from the crowd would join in once they got familiar with the pattern. The music was less westernized that most Japanese music I've heard here, and so was the dance. It was very neat. We then went up to the castle and took in the view. It turns out that it's very rare for it to be clear enough to see Mt. Fuji. We could see it the day we moved in because the typhoon had just come through. Darn it! I would have taken pictures, but I figured it would be there every day . . . It's only 30 miles away!!

So, believe it or not, I decided to go out with some JETs to a karioki bar (forgive spelling, I don:t have time). We knew we'd probably have to take a taxi back because of the train schedule. Anyway, it was fun, though I think it was too big of a crowd. I didn't think I'd like it, but I had to try it (I'm in Japan after all!) I was hoping there would be a few songs that I knew, but they didn't have any country songs, which are the only popular songs I know. Too bad, I think it would have been hilarious if I sang "My give a damn's busted." Anyway, we ran to the train and we caught it, but only just in time and because they held it a little for us! By us, I mean a whole load of people. I had invited Kasia (fellow Eastman grad) to crash at my place since her ride didn't want to go out. Apparently the invitation spread and the three of us in Kai city ended up with 7 people wanting a place to stay (even though some could have gotten home). Luckily it worked out, and I had fun teaching Kasia an Irish tune (Star of the County Down) on whistle and Mark read us all (I took in two girls) a bedtime story of Harry Potter. It sure sounds nice with an English accent . . .

Well, I've been given my warnin. I have a bit more time. Yesterday during the day Niko (librarian I met) took Mark and I too a waterfall, a temple (HL, I bought a temple book and had them sign it. It is so, so beautiful! Thanks for the idea. Niko didn't know what I was talking about either!) Oops, my watch is not on library time and I have to go. Sorry! I'll come back as soon as I can!

According to my calculations, that makes it 97.5 F in Kofu. How was your un-airconditioned apartment?

I made it to my apartment in Ryuo.  My supervisor and another English teacher took me and another new JET (Mark, who lives in the same apartment buiding as I do) to lunch at a CHinese restaurant then we went to my apartment, then to the school and met some people (though most people are out because of the summer break) and I talked to some students playing trombone outside (the brass band was doing sectionals outside.  Brass band means wind band.).  I waved and said hi because they were looking at me and they introduced themselves.  They were excited that I'm a musician and wanted to hear me.  I hope that will make up for the fact that I don't know any pop culture.  We then came to my apt and met the water, gas, and electric men.  It was crazy!  Kayla left me her internet info at the school, which I did not realize until I was back at the apartment, so I won't be able to get set up in my place in a bit.  I would bike to school, but the bike I bought from Kayla just had the seat stolen and the bike shops were closed so we couldn't fix it and the school is quite far.  Anyway, I am using the computer of another ALT to write this.  He took Mark and I for a walk around our area, which was quite nice.  It's more city than I was expecting, but the place is so endearing - especially the people!  I didn't know what people ment by saying the Japanese were so nice, but they are so, so nice!  I'm getting excited about teaching and living here.

I don't want to take up all my friend's time, so I have to go.  I love you all and I'll try to write again soon!  I'm happy and excited and doing fine.  It certainly helps to have a neighbor going through the same thing I am and one who speaks ENglish and nearly fluet Japanese.  I feel I'm in good hands!

P.S.  I do not have time to check email.  Will do so soon I hope.

Too bad this couldn't have happened a few weeks earlier, while you were still here. Once again we experienced the privilege of walking out our front door to see a space shuttle launch, then several minutes later hearing the low bass rumble. Perhaps you will hear more about this flight than you otherwise would have in Japan, since one of the crew members is Japanese.

Shuttle launches bring out the neighbors just as well as hurricanes do, and they're much more pleasant.

Well, sad to say the lectures today were not much better than yesterday and one was much, much worse.  I'm glad to have that done with, though the prefectural meeting was very helpful.  We take a bus tomorrow morning to Yamanashi (Kofu) where our surpervisors will pick us up and take us to our places.  Tonight the Yamanashi people are going out (most prefectures did this yesterday).  I'm quite tired, but I'm going to go.  The typhoon is now just a tropical storm so I'm hoping it's not too stupid . . .

So, I guess again I won't know when I'll be able to have internet again.  Rest assured that as soon as I do, I'll post again!

Thanks for your continued prayers.

I've added a link to Weather Underground's Tropical Weather page, so you can keep an eye on Tropical Storm Banyan, along with other Pacific and Atlantic storms.

I just realized that I haven't set up post categories so everything so far has just been "general."  I'll try to add some and make things more organized.  Lack of organization is one of my complaints about blogs in general.

Anyway, the rest of the day went fine, though I'm very tired.  It's 7pm and I'm going to sort papers and go to bed.  Today we saw a video showing a day in the life of a JET and it was depressing.  I hope my school is different or I might drive myself crazy.  The kids looked bored to tears and the JET spoke in a monotone with unnatural rhythm and in an attempt to speak simply he dropped articles and other important aspects of English grammar!  The students watched the teachers perform a dialogue, then they all spoke it together, then the practiced it in pairs, then they performed it for the class.  This is all the same dialogue!  They didn't change it in the slightest, so all they did was memorize the particular conversation that will never be used in reality.  I don't know how I'm going to resolve my role as a teacher in this system with my philosophies of unschooling.  I pray that God makes a way for us to learn from each other!  At the very least I can come home able to say I was a teacher and able to communicate more specifically why the system isn't ideal.

Well, I survived day 1.  Tomorrow is another full day of orientation then we leave for our prefectures on Wednesday.

It has been brought to my attention that there are some of you don't know what I'm doing here in Japan so here is a very brief summary.  I am here with the JET (Japan Exchange and Teaching) Program, which is organized by the government of Japan and has brought nearly 45,000 people from all over the world to Japan over the last 19 years to promote internationalization.  Most JETs (including me) are ALTs (Assistan Language Teachers), and in my case I am at a high school where I team teach with the JLTs (Japanese Language Teachers) sometimes following their lead and sometimes creating my own curriculum.  I am just outside Kofu, the capitol of Yamanashi-ken.  Yamanashi is the prefecture just west of Tokyo and has Mt. Fuji on it's southern border.

Why am I doing this?  I lived in Italy for 6 weeks last summer and had a great time learning a language surrounded by native speakers.  6 weeks wasn't long enough so I looked into longer programs and for various reasons I ended up with JET.  My goals are to learn a decent amount of Japanese, get teaching experience and a look into the Japanese educational system, assimilate all the stuff I learned at Eastman and UR and be free to study, practice, and learn what I want to and think about what I want to do with my life now that I'm outside of the Eastman bubble.

Please email me if you'd like my contact info or just want to say hi.  My email is under the About IrishOboe link.

I hope that provides sufficient background!

I do not have time to do this post justice, but I'm guessing that numerous short blog posts are better than long, but infrequent ones.  Let me know if you think otherwise.

Last night I got about 7 hours of sleep, but kept waking up because my body thought it was day.  Today we've been sitting for presentations in business dress (heels, pantyhose, suit and all), but at least we're getting paid for it.  This afternoon my body told me it was time for bed, but I'm resisting the temptation to nap.  They gave us a ton more books and information that I'd like to wade through and sort before leaving for Yamanashi.  I'm writing this because I'm skipping the third time slot for breakout presentations (they were optional, so I'm not being bad) since the first two were not that helpful.  I'm also getting a break from my darn suit.

Random Observation (from now on, RO) #5: It's not as hot and everyone said it would be, but then again, I've only been here a day.

RO #6:  Did I mention that the bathroom has heated mirrors so it won't fog up?  Also, the toilets are push button and have two bidet settings.  The shampoo they provide is good.  There's hot water and green tea in the room, too!

Hm, I wish there was more to report.  After breakfast (which was fairly western style) I took a walk around the block, which was more complicated than it sounds.  Nothing happened in the presentations that is worth repeating . . .  Soon I have to go to the formal reception.  Then hopefully I'll be able to get to bed!

RO #7:  I am still a messy person.  I've been here not 24 hours and my side of the hotel room is a mess.

RO#8:  I love the internet.  I feel like I'm talking to everyone when I post here and I love hearing from you, too!

Janet's first event in NYC was at 3:15, but she needed to check into her hotel, which was near the airport, before then, so we planned what should have been plenty of time for making the trip from Old Saybrook. The first snag was when Porter had just one more, quick thing to do on the computer before we left. If you've ever worked on a computer, you know that I've just written is an oxymoron, as in "only a moron would expect anything involving a computer to be quick." So we were over an hour late starting. (More)

Good morning all!  I don't have much to report since it's only 7:30am here, but since I was on I figured I'd post.  Last night I went to the 45th floor to look at the view and I recognized a kid from UR.  In fact, he's a math major that came in in 2000 like me!  We'd had a few classes together a while back.  How crazy is that?  He knows 3 other kids from UR here on JET besides us.  Wild.

I made it! The whole trip was not without adventure, the most of which happened on the way to NYC, but none the less, I made it and as far as I can tell all my stuff did too. The flight was not the greatest, though service was great and the food wasn't bad. The seats were about the smallest I'd ever seen and we didn't have personal TV screens or moving headrests. The first and the third conditions made it impossible for me to sleep so I spent the time crocheting (no problem with the crochet needle and security). Anyway, I can tell I am being random, which is understandable since I've been up 23 hours. I am in the hotel in Tokyo using their free dial up. :) It's 8pm (7am for those at home). We were chasing the sun and had light the whole flight!

I plan to post details, but we got a ton of information and materials upon check in and I need some time to sort it out before orientation starts tomorrow. They process worked like clock work. We got off the plane and did all the customs stuff then there were JETs in orange T-shirts the whole way to the bus, including a stop for sending luggage on to our prefectures. The buses ran continually so I only sat on it for 5min before we were off. The 2 hour ride seemed short compaired to the flight. When we arrived we were greated by hotel staff and our luggage was taking to the 4th floor for us. We then picked up name tags, JET bags, country specific information packets, then our room keys and were pointed to the elevators. All the while there were three or four people at one place greeting us and showing us the way. When I got to my hotel room I almost didn't know how I got there or what to do with myself. Then I found the free internet . . .

Randome ovservation #1: On first glance, Tokyo and the Narita airport look like any other city.

Random observation #2: I'm a giant! The bathroom has a low celling, counter, and toilet and I fell like I'm at the Maggie P.!

Random observation #3: Alaska isn't always covered in snow. I was able to get a few glances outside when we were over the northern part of Alaska and it was very brown. Maybe I should have known that . . .

Random observation #4: The great thing about a blog is that if you forget an important detail because you're out of it, someone can ask for it in a comment and then it's there for all to see!

I need to get back to organizing for tomorrow. I love you all, and thanks so much for your prayers! The trip here was almost as uneventful as it could possibly have been.

The story of our trip to NYC deserves a longer post, but we just got home and it's late and we're a mite tired, so you get the quick version for now: Janet arrived safely in New York Friday, had her orientation and reception, and made it back to the hotel where she let us know that all was well. When you get the full story, you'll know why there was some question....

We returned home to a phone message saying she was at the airport, having passed the security checkpoint. Her flight took off just after 2 p.m. and right now she is presumably over the Aleutians. :)