Why we teach English
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March 29, 2006
March 28, 2006
Cowboy Hat
Felt like wearing my cowboy hat the other day. Mentioned missing it in the morning, but alas, it was not approved for business attire. Planned on wearing it when going out for supper that evening. Sister turned sick, supper plans turned sour. Wore my cowboy hat when I went to get take out for the fam. Then wore it at home all evening as we ate around the kotatsu, watching a New Zealand-made movie (melodramatic acting, but interesting and in English!). And I think the boys working at the Yashinoya (Japanese semi-fast food) got a kick out of the hat, and my compete lack of the language, too!
March 19, 2006
Hazard on Wheels
Off I go to grocery shop, with my granny bike and front and back baskets. At least my knees don't quite hit the handlebars. Like good mennonites we shop at about four different stores, knowing where each item is the cheapest. Really, though, there is a big difference! Lets hope I don't run any little old women off the narrow sidewalks.
March 17, 2006
"Going to a mission field will not make a person a soul -winner. It is at home, before one enters the foreign field , that the spirit of self-sacrifice and soul winning must be gained and exersised" --Andrew Murray
Nothiing like a short quote to say everything it took me multible paragraphs to try to say!
(p.s. note I am teaching English!)
March 16, 2006
What a man
They just don't make 'em like they used to.
I am in the process of putting more picts in my gallery.
This one also reminds me that it is Grand Sumo time again. Seeing as how I keep getting Valentine's and notes from Kotoshu, I guess I'll be cheering for him. What a man.
of dolls, babies, weddings and mochi
So the woman who gave me the man-catcher invited me to accompany her and her daughter to a museum with a hina doll collection. A museum displaying dolls. Perfect. (That was sarcasm, incase it needed explanation.) But along the way we stopped at the Meiji shrine, where wedding pictures were being taken in traditional dress and babies were being blessed in their little kimono wraps (both of which can be seen in the picture). We also had the most amazing Japanese meal I've eaten yet, which they ordered for me in a beautiful little restaurant. They had to teach me proper dining ettiquette with chopstics and multiple little plates and bowls, an experience both interesting and embarrassing. We passed by the D&G, Gucci, et al. shops on the way, which were a spectical in post-modern architecure. Gucci boasted two white-gloved doormen, both of whom could have been models (and that's saying a lot compared to most men I've seen here!) There was a traditional Japanese garden at the museum, and the plum trees were beginning to bloom, which means cherry blossoms are on their way! Afterwards, we wandered the high-end streets looking for a tea house, but could not find one to their liking. This was most fortunate for me since I have learned that dessert tastes can be very nation-specific and they wanted me to feast on red bean cakes. All-in-all, a pleasant day.
Disturbing train culture
I had been enjoying the train system, so far. The trains are clean, warm, and efficient. I miss one and simply catch the next, which is between 3 to 15 minutes later. I get on the wrong train then simply get off at the next stop and head back in the opposite direction. Due to my schedule, I have not been on a train so full that the white-gloved workers pushed people in so the doors would shut. With the train culture of silence and avoidance, you are never spoken to and only watched covertly. The drunken businessmen may smell bad and pee whenever/wherever, but I have not been groped, grabbed or followed home as of yet. But now the stories are alittle more real, after witnessing this aspect of train culture. An older man and a young woman were sitting across from me on a fairly busy train, and he had his arm around her, stroking her cheek, wispering in her ear, rubbing her arm. She made no comments and no movements apart from occationally slightly leaning away from him. At first I thought they might be together, but then I increasingly felt like I should go over there and say something in my non-existant Japanese. I was travelling with two Japanese women who I'm sure also noticed this, but of course would not look over there openly. Suddenly he got up and left, while the girl stayed behind, getting out her cell phone to text message as per usual. The women I were with spoke to each other in Japanese but did not offer a translation to me on this topic. This is apperently not uncommon, and If I had attempted to help here, I would only have embarrased her more, which is what she is trying to avoid for herself and him! I can't imagine! Apparently this was mild compared with what women put up with on the train without a word.
On a different note, my commenting security is so thourough I have effectively barred myself from commenting. I know this should be simple, (it just wants a password) but think I've found how to just turn the whole thing off. So I appologize in advance if heinious posts appear and offend before I check my blog again next Thursday and stumble around trying to delete them.
March 09, 2006
Officially a foreigner
I went to pick up my Geijin card today -- thus if any police officers are wondering, I can show them my card and prove that in fact I am not Japanese. Shocking. My hair, eyes, and size (both height and width) apparently aren't enough of an indication. At least I'm once again saving money on shopping since nothing fits.