After school today I went over to Tsuji-san’s place for a Japanese lesson, and then went back to school to meet up with Mr. Hayashi. He was planning a get together at Amuse, and he didn’t invite a few people, so it was a delicate situation. I bumped into the history teacher as he was leaving, and I had to lie and say that I wasn’t sure where we were going.

Mr. Hayashi pulled into the parking lot a moment later with Ms. Yamamoto in the car, but I don’t think the history teacher saw them. I was thinking that it was a bad idea to go to Amuse since the history teacher often goes there anyway.

We picked up Mr. Komuri, and then the four of us went over to Amuse to do some eating and drinking. We talked and laughed – comparing stories about the end of the term and the next few weeks of “meaningless” classes. Mr. Komuri and Ms. Yamamoto teased me a little about the history teacher always visiting me to chat, and it was just about that time that the door opened and in he walked.

The history teacher went right to the bar and either didn’t see us or pretended not to. We nervously sat there waiting for him to see us, but since he didn’t look over, Mr. Hayashi decided not to attract his attention. I’m sure he could hear us talking and laughing in English, though. I guess he sensed that he wasn’t invited.

Finally the history teacher made a trip to the bathroom and gave us a big hello. He didn’t stop by, just kept on walking, and later said a quick goodbye when he was finished with his dinner.

We left shortly afterwards, having drunk six rounds of beers and endless plates of food. Mr. Komuri and I took the same train to Akashi, and we were the annoying loud drunk guys on the train. Mr. Komuri has a great laugh anyway, but add a lot of alcohol and the fact that we were speaking in English and we got a lot of attention. What the heck, it’s that time of year.

When I got home I snuck over to the yakitori to chat with the master. He had originally planned on bringing some friends over to my place for dinner tomorrow night, but when I got there he told me that some people had requested that he open up the place on his day off for an end of year party, and the money is too good to refuse. That gets me off the hook for drinking Tuesday night. My body could use the break.

It wasn’t until I got home and the thought of the history sitting at the bar alone eating dinner and listening to us laughing and carrying on really got to me. I felt bad for him – on one hand he’s got nobody to hang out with, and other people make specific requests that he not be invited to various events. That’s sad and I feel bad for him. On the other hand, it’s entirely within his power to change how people feel about him. A little introspection would do some good. It’ll be interesting to see how he acts in the future towards Mr. Hayashi and I.

Here’s more information and some pictures of the spooky buildings we visited last night. Kuniko did some research and found some new information. It’s a waste treatment facility!

Sometimes a day doesn’t go anything like you expected it to. Sometimes that’s a bad thing, but today it was a great thing.

Kuniko picked me up in her car a little after noon, and we hit the road. Originally we had thrown around the idea of going to Himeji and looking around there a little bit. Kuniko had other ideas, however. We decided to drive into Osaka and have some fun there.

A while back Kuniko had told me that at Universal Studios Japan they have the tallest Christmas tree in Japan. We decided to go check it out. We took our time getting there, and both of us went through our first drive-thru in Japan to get lunch.

Finally we arrived, and the place was packed. We parked so far away – it was a 15-20 minute walk just to get to the entrance. The good news was that they had a special for people showing up late in the day – a little over half price to get in. We took advantage of that and started walking around. Unfortunately, as soon as we got in it started to sprinkle. Also the lines were pretty long, with the longest wait time at 150 minutes.

But did we let it get us down? No! We bought a cheap umbrella, walked around people watching, did the Backdraft ride which was only a 20 minute wait, and finally wrapped up our visit with a trip to the tallest Christmas tree in Japan. They had a lighting ceremony at 5:45, and I’ll admit that it was very impressive. They had a Japanese boy band singing at the start of the ceremony, and the lights of the tree were timed with their song – it was pretty good.

I hadn’t planned well since I thought we’d be local. I didn’t bring my camera or my phone on this trip so I can only let you imagine the sight of the tallest Christmas tree in Japan.

We left the park around 6:30 or so, and went across the way to eat dinner at Bubba Gump’s Shrimp Company, a guilty favorite of mine from America. We ate big and the food was really good. We sat and enjoyed the seafood and the servers didn’t bug us too much like they tend to do in American Bubba Gump restaurants.

At one point a guy in a Santa Claus suit walked by outside, working the crowds and waving to everyone. This was a foreign guy like me, and I couldn’t help but wonder what career choices put him in a Santa suit in Japan this holiday season, and how close my career path might run to his. The guy stopped at the window outside our table and waved to us, and then smiled under his fake beard at me and pointed a finger pistol at me before being ushered off by his helper.

Filled with shrimp and all Gumped out, we made the long trek back to the car in the rain. Good news – only one umbrella, so it was a great way to stay close to each other on the way back.

Still feeling a little adventurous, we got in the car and drove across the bridge to a couple of big building complexes that we had noticed a couple of times in the past. The buildings from a distance look like part of a giant cartoon castle. It reminds me of modern art, Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory, and Aladdin’s Castle all in one. Up close there was nothing to change that impression.

We both were kind of creeped out by the buildings, empty but lit up, strangely painted walls and towers built to look like half tree, half stone. I noticed a tree growing out of one of the windows on the side of the building. The signs in front of the building said that it was for a construction company, but it seemed like more than that. I can’t begin to do it justice by describing it – it’s surreal and is too big to be a joke.

Kuniko and I got out of there in a hurry and we headed back home. Kuniko dropped me off and went home, but then found my sunglasses in the car and drove all the way back here to give them to me. It gave me a chance to exchange gifts with her parents. I sent a bunch of cream and raisin filled pastries, and they sent back some chocolate, a homegrown radish and some shitake mushrooms, and a gigantic apple. Kuniko invited me to spend New Year’s Day with her family in Kakogawa. That should be a lot of fun.

I’m off to bed – I’ve got classes tomorrow on a strange schedule. I’m not sure how it works, but I guess I’ll figure it out when I get there!

Talk about taking it easy… I slept in this morning, fighting the effects from my partying last night. At around 11 in the morning a crew came in to clean out my drains – they were going room to room throughout the whole complex. If the guy felt like commenting on my appearance he hid it well. It probably smelled like a pub the morning after in here.

I spent most of my day studying, but I did manage to take in a movie and to take a nap. Now I’m feeling much better and I think I’ll be back in action tomorrow.

One of my old teachers from the YMCA class called and asked me out on Monday, and when I told her that I had other plans, she insisted on leaving her number with me. She called a couple of weeks after my classes ended, and I kind of pretended that I didn’t understand. Now she’s calling again – persistent! I’m going to have to figure out how to break the news to her delicately that I’m not interested. She speaks no English, but maybe I can drop some subtle hints in Japanese. Or maybe she won’t call again – even better.

Rico sent me a couple of boxes of egg nog chai from Amy’s Kitchen, and I had a couple of tall cold glasses while I was studying today. This is something I look forward to every year.

Well – I’m off to bed now – tomorrow I may go for a drive with Kuniko, but it’ll otherwise be a quiet day. I’m booked up next week with events, so the pace will pick up again soon.

Every year in December the school holds a year end party, called the Bonenkai. It literally means “forget the year party”. After school I went home to relax for a few hours before going into Akashi to meet Mr. Hayashi, Mr. Komuri, and Mr. Kimura. We went to a nearby izakaya for a little “front-loading”.

Mr. Hayashi was skipping the party but he wanted to hang out with us a little. We ordered the big beers – mugs the size of our heads. Mr. Komuri ordered a bunch of food and we talked, ate, and drank for almost an hour. One of the employees recognized Mr. Hayashi – he was a student from a few years back. Mr. Hayashi did a great job of talking to him and asking him lots of questions, but later told us that he didn’t remember the student at all. It did pay off, though, and the kid bought us a round of beers.

Mr. Hayashi loves to talk about his erectile dysfunction and as usual we talked about it tonight. He is taking some mysterious medicine – he paid some witch doctor almost $900 for three months worth of potency pills. Supposedly it helps with the synaptic connections between his spinal cord and his, well, you know.

We rolled out of there just a little late, and Mr. Hayashi paid for the whole thing. He then went off to Sannomiya to meet up with some friends. He doesn’t like going to the year-end party – it’s not really his scene.

The rest of us went on to Nishi-Akashi station and then made a short walk to the Castle Hotel. We got in there a little late for the speech – that’s too bad. They started serving food and the drinking began. After that it’s a bit of a blur, but I’ve got these pictures in my camera. Everyone was having lots of fun.

I remember winning a prize in bingo – but it was some kind of strange stuffed animal. I think it was called an “odor dog”. I left it on the table “accidentally” when I left. Mr. Maeda was drinking water and whiskey with me, and the vice principal told me I “drink like a horse”. At one point I left to use the restroom and Mr. Kimura was curled up on a chair outside the banquet hall.

Mr. Komuri and I took off after the fun ended there and went to Donkey in Akashi. The darts started flying and at one point we had every single person in the bar playing one giant game of baseball. I was a little off my game due to all the alcohol, but it was still lots of fun. They are a great group over there.

I managed to catch the last train to Higashi-Futami, and I made an ill-advised stop at the convenience store for some “I’m drunk and I want some snacks” snacks. I think I got fried chicken and some bread stuffed with ground beef and cheese.

Now’s the time to forget the last year and focus on the next one. Just as soon as the hangover and heartburn passes.

Thank God for microwave pork rinds.

I read today about the death of Dimebag Darrell during a show in Columbus, Ohio. You might be wondering, why do I care about that? Especially if his name is “Dimebag Darrell”. This guy was the guitarist in a band that I listen to occasionally, Pantera. With songs like “Good Friends And A Bottle Of Pills”, and “Fucking Hostile” they are my band of choice for headbanging.

There is a vague connection between Dimebag Darrell and myself. Back in my college days at Fresno State we piled into my friend Chuck’s pickup and made the two hour drive to Bakersfield to see Pantera and Skid Row at the Bakersfield Fairgrounds. There was a large group of us, and even a brave girl, Theresa, came along dressed like girls usually dressed at a concert like that in Bakersfield. Yeah, like that.

We went right down to the mosh pit for Pantera and were very close to the front of the stage. The show started and at some point somebody threw one of their shoes onto the stage, landing right in front of the guitarist. He looked down at the show, and then looked into the crowd, and right then I knew what was going to happen. He stepped back and kicked that shoe as hard as he could right at us. I ducked and the shoe smacked the poor guy behind me in the face. I looked back up at him but he was already moving on to the next song.

Today after getting home early I took a three hour nap, and then had a nice simple dinner of salad, salami and cheese. After dinner I went over to the bookstore and talked with my friend that works over there. She told me that she had been transferred to the Tokyo store, so next month she’ll be leaving. Bummer!

She was transferred, but I’ve heard from various people that’s really how you get fired. Imagine working a low paying job in San Diego, kind of like what I did at Barnes & Noble for a while. Then, the manager comes to you and says, “Guess what, you’ve been transferred to the Barnes & Noble in Eureka.”

I don’t imagine that many people would head north to Eureka – most would quit. That’s a nice non-confrontational way to get rid of somebody here in Japan. I hear in the big companies that they transfer you to overseas positions, which can be really disagreeable, and tough on families. I don’t know if I would prefer getting transferred hundreds of miles away or outright fired.

Tomorrow is the school’s year end party. I’m predicting total havoc since we will be front-loading before the party, doing all you can drink beer, wine and sake at the party, and then collecting the survivors for darts at Donkey after the party. Is there anything I can do now to prepare my body for the abuse tomorrow?

Mr. Hayashi offered to buy the gang lunch today since he did some translation work the other day. His pockets were jingling, and it was to our benefit. We went next door to the cafe and had a set lunch there. They have a great price – it only set him back about 500 yen a head.

We talked about the upcoming party next week. Lots of people aren’t going, but I think I convinced Mr. Komuri to go with me. In keeping with tradition, we’ll be meeting somewhere first to do some “front-loading”, and then head over. They always have long speeches at the beginning of these, so if we arrive with a good buzz we won’t mind as much sitting there staring at the beer. It’s a fine line to walk, but we’re professionals, here.

After lunch I went home to do chores and organize my place. I’ve sent off the last of my Xmas packages, so I had lots of boxes, wrapping paper, bubble wrap, and other debris laying around the living room. Now things are back in order. I did a little laundry, and started burning data to DVD with my new burner. It’s a relief to have backups now.

At around six I went over to Azusa’s place to do some English conversation lessons, and as usual her mother fixed me a big cup of coffee for the long walk home in the cold. As a bonus she put out a bunch of sandwiches – six of them – for me to eat. I only ate one, but the hospitality seems to go up a notch each time. Next week is our last lesson before Christmas, so I need to think of something fun to do.

When I got home I cooked up some rice and shrimp with Korean sauce and green onions. It turned out delicious.

Lately I’ve been feeling a little out of whack. Usually I walk around with a smile on my face, but recently I have to remember to smile. Last year for two days I was in a blue funk and found myself locked in my house feeling like crap for no apparent reason. I’m wondering if this is another episode coming up. This week was supposed to be all fun and games after the completion of my test, but my attitude hasn’t really matched it. I guess I just need to catch up on my sleep and be a little more social. Friday’s big party should be a good way to do that.

After work today Mr. Kimura and I took a trip to Den Den Town in Osaka. It’s kind of the center off all things geeky – the high tech area of Osaka. Walking through there was kind of like how I expected Japan to be before I got here – lots of computers, software, video games, porn shops, toy stores, all concentrated into a huge area of Osaka.

We took the JR Loop Line to the southernmost part, Shinimamiya station. From there we walked north for about ten minutes to get to the southern gate of Den Den Town. The name Den Den Town comes from the Japanese word from electronics/electricity – Denki. This place earned it’s name.

I was glad that I had Mr. Kimura around to steer me in the right direction. He pointed to shops where he had found good deals in the past, and sometimes led me away from stores that were overpriced. He and I compared prices on DVD Burners, and after comparing amongst seven or eight stores, we decided on this one. We picked it up for about 15500 yen, roughly $160. That’s $50 less than the lowest price I could find on the internet.

Another cool place I found was a toy store, just a tiny place that was lined with glass cases filled with famous Japanese toys. I recognized lots of toys from my childhood – some from back when I first moved to Glen Ellen. They had every Transformer robot since the beginning of the series. I asked the guy if I could take some pictures but he said “no way”. It was like a shrine to toys, and Mr. Kimura and I were both walking through “oohhing” and “aaahhhing”.

We gathered up our stuff and headed out, catching the train back to Umeda. On the ride back I was telling Mr. Kimura that I’m just not geeky enough to take advantage of all Japan has to offer. Maybe it’s a good thing that I’m not dropping money on lots of toys from my childhood, but sometimes I think of all the people I know back home who are crazy about comics and toys from Japan. If that’s you, come out and visit me and do some shopping.

Mr. Kimura caught the next train back home, but since I was in Osaka already, I sent a message to Kuniko and then dropped by her place. She had dinner on the stove, and it looked great! It was called Jaganiku (I think), literally “meat and potatoes”. They tasted excellent and with a little rice and a bowl of miso soup it was a real feast. Kuniko said that it was completely different from how it is supposed to taste, but since I’ve never tried the original, it tasted great to me.

At around 8:30 I went out to Shin-Osaka and caught a train home. I’m now able to sleep on the train and not miss my stop. It’s like slipping into a trance – you’re not really asleep, but it feels good to rest your eyes and also to think about the plan of attack for the days ahead. I was zoning out all the way to Akashi, and then again on the train ride to Nishi Futami.

I hooked up the DVD Burner when I got home and it powered up just fine. Tomorrow I’ll try to burn a couple DVDs and see what happens.

I left my flashcards at home and went in today to work to sit around and read a book for pleasure. I’ve got easy days ahead this week, so I’m taking advantage to relax a bit from the studying. People were a little shocked to see me doing something other than studying, which may be a good thing.

Mr. Hayashi got me out of there by 11:30, and I was home preparing packages to send out this week. I made two trips to Ito Yokado to get tape and wrapping paper, and now I’m finally finished packing everything up. I hope it survives the trip!

Tomorrow I’m heading into Osaka with Mr. Kimura after school – I’m shopping for some hardware for my computer – a new DVD burner. I’ve been fearing for the data on my computer, and some judicious backing up would be a really good idea. If I get a chance I’ll try to visit Kuniko on the way home, if I can make up a good excuse to part ways with Mr. Kimura on the return trip.

Despite having almost half a day off I’m inexplicably tired, so I’m going to go to bed early tonight. Maybe I’m catching a bug, I don’t know.

I’ll spare you the boring post for Saturday – just cramming vocabulary into my head and reviewing piles and piles of flashcards. Kuniko came through on her way to party in Takasago, and a few hours later came back with some rum raisin ice cream for us to share and a bottle of Bailey’s Irish Cream. Now my cold weather bar is complete!

We had the ice cream with some Bailey’s and then we hit the rack.

I was up early the next morning for a quick breakfast with Kuniko and then I left her to meet Yuri at Sannomiya station in Kobe. From there we went on to Konan University, the site of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test. It was easy to find – there was a steady stream of foreigners heading that way.

They were very serious about the exam, with yellow cards, red cards, long explanations of the instructions, and of course everything was in Japanese. It was split into three parts – kanji and vocabulary, listening, and reading comprehension and grammar. I think that I did adequately on everything but the listening – that one was flat out tough. I need to find a way to practice listening more.

The results come back in the middle of February, and some people I was talking with theorized that they don’t want to ruin your holidays with a failing grade. I’ll just have to wait and see!

Yuri was taking the first level test – the highest one that they have. She has some Japanese heritage though, and she speaks great Japanese. I waited up for her to finish her somewhat longer exam, and then we went back to Sannomiya to meet up with Kuniko and Tamura sensei, who were shopping and having fun.

We met up and got dinner at Pastel, a pretty good Italian place. The food tasted great and wasn’t too expensive. We all got out of there for about $40. After that we walked over to the movie theater, but before we went up there was a boy band playing in front of the shopping center. They were lip-synching to their CD and they had people circulating in the crowd passing out flyers.

Upstairs we say “The Incredibles”, which for some reason is called “Mr. Incredible” here in Japan. My quick review is that it was right up my alley – great movie with so many salutes to my favorite movies – James Bond, Indiana Jones, Star Wars. I highly recommend it.

Now I’m back home and getting ready for bed. I’m giving myself five days off from hardcore Japanese study. I’m going to continue to memorize kanji (I’m up to four a day now) but other than that, relax and recharge.

We’ve got the big heaters installed in the staffroom at school now. That means that it’s nice and warm when I get there in the morning. The down side is that in the afternoon when things warm up outside, they’re still cranking the heat up in the staffroom. It’s not uncomfortably hot, just warm enough to make you sleepy. Combine that with lots of studying for an exam, and you have one tired foreigner.

The good news is that I didn’t fall asleep and I kept studying. I went home early, about 4:30, and then did some studying at home as well. I’m starting to approach the burnout level, so I’ll need to be careful and to take a nice long break after the exam.

I cooked a big dinner of rice, beef, and red peppers, and was sitting around digesting it when the phone rang. It was one of the guys heading to the yakitori, and he invited me along. I decided it was a good chance for a study break, so I went over and hung out for a little while.

He ordered up some raw octopus and wasabi over raw potatoes (takosabi), and I changed my drink to shou-chu on the rocks. I listened carefully to the Japanese being spoken and was able to catch a little more than what I’m used to. Still not enough to get by – I’ve got a long way to go.

Everybody wished me luck on my exam, and the guy who invited me picked up my tab. It just goes to show you that when you’re sitting at home with a stomach full of food getting ready to hit the sack, that in no way precludes the chance to eat raw octopus and drink strange liquors surrounded by people speaking a strange language. Another huge reason why I love living here.

I moved the link to my archives from the right hand side of your screen to just below the big picture on your left. I don’t know why you’d want to read any of my posts twice, but there you go.

I had three easy classes in the morning, and now I’m just coasting into the weekend. I had the whole afternoon off to study, and tomorrow I have just a few easy classes to do. Next week after my exam, the students will have exams, so I’ll have lots of free time to relax. I’m not really stressed out about my Japanese exam, but maybe I should be. The practice exams that I’ve been doing lately always seem to point to some little point that I didn’t quite understand. Also, it’s a timed exam, so I may be racing against the clock.

I got an interesting phone call from Hasegawa Sensei, the head of the Hyogo Board of Education. He was inquiring if I’d be available for another top secret project in December, and I said that I would be. He asked me to keep it to myself, but I’m sure all the teachers were wondering who was calling me. I’m definitely on the short list of hired help for the Board of Education. How can I turn that into a job prospect down the road… hmm…

In one of my classes today Mr. Hayashi had set the students to work on autopilot and prepare for their exam next week. He and I were talking about various things in English, and Mr. Hayashi was offering his opinions on how to attract women. He told me that personality doesn’t work – you need something more, like money. I couldn’t help but laugh and I asked him if that was his experience talking. He’s definitely from the camp that says that the more money you have, the better women you will attract. I offered the opinion that women that are with you for money will leave you easily for someone with more money, but he didn’t seem convinced. I have a lot of strong feelings on this particular subject but I didn’t push them on him.

I heard from the master of the yakitori this evening. We’ve been trying to organize a time when he and some of the gang can come over to my place for a fiesta. We’re aiming for the middle of December, but since the master works every night but Tuesday, it limits our options. I hope it works out – it would be fun to have a bunch of crazy people over to drink. What should I feed ’em?

I’m resisting the temptation to go out tomorrow night – instead I think I’ll stay in and study. There’ll be plenty of time for fun after the big test. I’m off to bed a little early tonight. Tomorrow should be a piece of cake!

More interview tests today. I baffled the students with such questions as “How are you?”, and “Do you enjoy studying English?”. To be fair, they are all so nervous that it’s tough for them to catch the question. Still, most of them did great and it went very well. Tomorrow is my last set of interviews, and then I’ll be coasting into exam week, when I will have a ton of free time.

Some of my students received the results from their STEP tests and they passed! It is really a good feeling to hear from them after you’ve been coaching them for so long.

My students can be pretty far out there – and then some of them are completely normal. You just never know for sure until you talk to them. I was explaining to one of my students that his favorite band – “Rip Slyme” was named after tearing snot. He was astonished, and a little disappointed I think. Another student today asked me how long my nose is (in centimeters). One of my ESS students gave me some omiyage from her trip to USJ a couple of weeks ago. She also wrote a nice note in English explaining the present. She’s one of my favorite students – she always tries hard.

I’m becoming more and more at home in a classroom full of students running around. In the few minutes before class officially begins it can be a bit chaotic in the classroom. Today some boys were playing a quick game of baseball – they kicked their slippers off their feet to pitch, and the boy would swing with his arm at the flying slipper to try to get a hit. Girls are screaming and chasing each other around, and the whole scene is how you imagine a food fight would be without the food. I just step out of the way of the flying slippers, or talk with some students in English.

There’s some serious behind the scenes drama going on between the English teachers right now. It’s a long story, and it goes back all the way to World War II, believe it or not.

At the end of the war, American occupying forces initiated a change (one of many) in the Japanese education system from the learning of German to the learning of English. Traditional English instruction in Japan consists of a lecture and lots of grammar rules – not conversation. For many years, up until the mid 1980’s, people just didn’t learn how to have a conversation in English. This led to lots of teachers knowing a whole lot about English, except how to speak it.

Now in present day Japan, there has been a movement over the last 15 years to teach conversation. This has put a lot of teachers on uncomfortable footing. Some teachers are afraid to get up in front of a class and speak English, because of the fear of making mistakes. They don’t mind doing it alone, but in front of other teachers, or an ALT like me, they don’t want to appear clueless.

Mr. Hayashi is great at speaking English, and he’s part of a minority of teachers that can not only teach it but speak it, as well. He makes other teachers nervous. At some schools, none of the teachers want to speak English, and so I’ve heard of situations where ALT’s have to learn Japanese to communicate with others. There is a seniority structure in these situations, and people get used to being the top dog in their pool of teachers. The wild card here is that every year, random teachers are transferred to other schools.

Ms. Mori is one teacher that was the boss at her previous school, and is used to having her way. Last year she transferred to our school and is very vocal about how English should be taught. She’s not very confident about speaking English, and she’ll only talk to me under strictly controlled conditions or if we’re alone.

She and Mr. Hayashi are clashing in a very Japanese way – subtly making power plays and allegations – recruiting friends and identifying enemies. Mr. Hayashi gives me the play-by-play daily, and sometimes tries to bait me into participating. So far I’m not having any of it, but it’s interesting to watch.

I don’t know how it will turn out, but a battle is brewing, and sooner or later somebody will come out on top. Very dramatic, and just one of the subplots going on in my workplace.