1 Week Later

You know... I envy Joel, being able to write in his blog everyday. It's not that I have a boring life and can't... just have such an exciting life I have no time LOL

This week has to be one of my most relaxing weeks in awhile. I had a lot of assignments but NO tests/quizzes. In Spoken Japanese we finished watching the drama, had a conversation day with Gaidai students, did our skits, and then reviewed for a test Monday. Our skit went well :) I hate that we have to vote for the best... some people take it to heart. No, my group didn't win, but I just want a good grade... I don't care about cross-dressing people and making something funny, as long as I get a good grade. We got to eat cake :D I have it on video too. That will be some good memories.


CAKE <3 from the 99 store haha

In Reading and Writing Japanese we just continued on with kanji study. We did sing karaoke in class one day HAHA. In my relationships class we are just continuing on with lecture. In Communication we are just doing presentations. Communication class is basically over. I did my presentation Friday... nothing else to do except show up and listen to everyone else! WOOT! Relationship class I have a short paper due Tuesday then my final paper due next week. Japanese classes I have some final tests and assignments and Oral test at the end of this week and written tests next week. I'm done with classes next Tuesday.

This past Tuesday I went back to Tonoyama Daiichi Elementary school. Teaching plan was "I am ...ing". I feel like it was pretty difficult for the students to learn all the vocabulary that fast. I go again this Tuesday for the last time and there is a workshop at Komatsu Friday but I'm not sure if I am going there yet.

It was a pretty awesome week :) Sunday I watched Angel and Demons with a friend, we also watched Liar Game together and rented Eurotrip and 1 Month to Live (a Japanese movie) to watch. Have watched the 1 Month to Live yet... Excited to see it though <3 Friday was karaoke with the dance booth members.





Rocking out to lord only knows what XD

It was fun :) Saturday I went to Kuzuha to hang out and go to a pet shop to shop for my kitty and the new addition to our family... our dog Toto. Toto got a pillow and my kitty got a new toy.



I saw this puppy... I so want it <3 KAWAII!!!

I was suppose to go to Takuma's for a Nabe Party with his family but... well long story short... I was running late (blame the cute puppy!) and I got his message too late and went off to Yakitori and Karaoke instead. Shikata ga nai.

Status: not motivated to study (is that even a status???)

Adventures in Volunteering and Modeling

This week was filled with awesome activities... and some not so awesome activities *cough* tests, quizzes *cough*

Tuesday, I had a test in Spoken Japanese, went to my teaching meeting and received the lesson plan, went to my relationships class, then to Tonoyama Daiichi Elementary school! We taught "I like..."/"I don't like..." using mainly school subjects. Speaking of school subjects, here is a schedule of a class at Tonoyama Daiichi. Subjects include: Reading, Japanese, Social Studies, Calligraphy, Integrated Studies, Math, PE, Music, Math, Science, etc etc



Wednesday, I had permission from my Kawano-sensei to go to an intercultural exchange at a kindergarten rather than going to class. I found asking the teachers and telling me what I am doing and I why I find it important and a great opportunity etc etc works very well. So, I went with a small group to Konoike Kindergarten. Note: This seems a lot like a preschool, meaning kindergarten is in preschools here, and also I'll note here elementary schools are 1st-6th grade.



This is Konoike Kindergarten. Looks like a castle eh? Pretty cool! We played with 5-6 year old kids. When we got there, we went up to the room and the kids were playing just some indoor games (tag, jump rope... wait those don't sound indoor LOL) and I jumped in and introduced myself and played with kids until they left temporarily. Basically here we played head, shoulders, knees, and toes with them and taught them Rock Paper Scissors in English. No matter what language I play this game in, the Japanese kids always win. I'm not sure why they are so good at! Moving on, I had a test that day in Communication. While studying, I was sitting in the lounge by myself when a guy came up to me and started chatting. Then he got to why he wanted to talk... he has a friend at a fashion school who needs someone to model clothes... well been there done that, guess I'll do it again. I gave him my email to pass on.

Thursday I had a quiz in Japanese, started watching a drama called "Kekkon Simulator" (Wedding Simulation) and we did our role plays in relationships. Ours was so-so. The other groups had some great ideas. My group had an idea but when I was trying to work on the script, I was finding it too short, so I started thinking the idea was too simple and slept on it... and wrote up a rough idea and new script which we adopted. This past Monday the group put it together. I guess because it was so hastily put together, it wasn't so good. It worked. At least I'm not the only one who feels the role play didn't act the actions perfectly...

Today, Friday, I woke up early and Skype'd with my family for Thanksgiving! It was nice to see them and talk... even though it was 5:30 am >.< I have decided to buy one of those tiny fleece blankies to wrap up in. Given they are worth the price.

This morning, another quiz in Japanese and continued to watch the drama. I took my work due in Communication to my professor since I was taking another holiday to do an intercultural exchange at an elementary school. Before going, I met up with Takuma and his girlfriend in the lounge near the atrium. We talked for awhile, his girlfriend and I trying to get him to stop smoking. It's a funny conversation. She is very pretty :) I'm going to his house next weekend for a Nabe party. His girlfriend will be there too.

I went to Kasuga Elementary with a decent size group of Japanese and exchange students. It took 4 taxis, free for us, to get to the school.



There is the school. We arrived and the kids were so excited to see us... constantly saying hello... in fact some started yelling "HISASHIBURI" (long time no see) and I was thinking "Hisashiburi???? Have I met you before???" haha. We made name tags and visited two classrooms where students made various booths and taught us about various aspects of Japanese culture such as places, pop culture, sports, etc. Afterward we played dodgeball outside. Not as scary as the dodgeball game from hell that we played at Meirin.



Mai and I sitting at the tiny desks :) Oh elementary school... to be young again!

After volunteering I broke the Amber record from walking to the station from the school. Today I was meeting Junko, the design student, to model clothes in the a photo shoot. I was only a few minutes late thanks to my fast walking. I didn't realize the school was so far away so that messed me up.

The school is in Shinsaibashi and originated in Paris. A very good school, very pretty. The guy who took the photos designed the clothes and the photos are for a competition, if he wins he gets to go to London. A girl did my make up for about 15 minutes before doing my hair. I wore 3 different outfits. Took a lot of photos. Modeling is harder than it seems, but it was enjoyable :) I was paid too, a bit more than I expected... I do not mind them paying for my travel expenses and buying a drink for me... but anymore just makes me feel weird. I understand though from the previous stylist I modeled for in the fashion show that even as students they take their work seriously and it's like a business to them. I hope the guy does good! His clothes were awesome! He is going to mail me pictures as well. I'm excited to see! I kept hearing good compliments during the photo shoot, and I laughed inside when he said "STAY" and took the picture of my pose from every angle.

Tomorrow, I'm going to hang out with Ryota. Looking forward to it :) This week has been pretty good.

Current status: PooPeD!!! as in tired...

Time to layout my schedule for next week to see what to expect! Going back to Tonoyama Daiichi :)

Another Day at the Elementary School <3

Today is the Uni's anniversary so no school! My plans: go to Meirin Elementary, go to Kuzuha, go to karaoke. I give this day 100 out of 10 stars :D

So I had to meet at the bus stop on campus at 8:45 am. It didn't hit me til last night that because the school is on holiday, that unless something is going on, the East gate (which is how I get to school, through the East gate) might be closed. I thought I'd leave a bit early. If it's not closed, I can get breakfast, if it's closed, I won't be late. It's funny how I actually made it early! I'm usually late for my 9am classes, but I can make it on time to meet for this.

It's raining... and yes the east gate was closed. I looked at the time and I still had 20 minutes which was enough time to get to the Main gate. Two girls are standing outside the gate, thank goodness, they are apart of the group because the campus is closed the guards are not letting people in without a good reason. So they are my good reason. We stand around waiting.... I think it was the Japanese students + 6 exchange (inc me). Only 4 (inc me) showed up. So we walk about 10 minutes to the school.

We arrive at the school, switch our shoes for slippers, and go to the boardroom where maybe the principal? speaks to us. He speaks Japanese so slow hoping we will understand LOL. I understood just fine. The school only has around 200 students, 1st-5th grade MINUS 4th grade... no 4th grade. In the boardroom we make name cards to wear and a poster where we write down a hobby we have. I put Karaoke and draw some pictures.

Next we head to the Gym where, for some reason us 4 international students go ahead with full applause. Yet another celebrity like experience. It was even more so because people were taking pictures constantly, EVEN THE PHOTOGRAPHER FOR THE HIRAKATA SHINBUN! So we are going to be in the paper :D When I find out when, I will buy a bajillion copies! In the gym we introduce ourselves to the students: name, nationality, and hobby.

Afterward, the first thing we do is watch the 3rd grade perform Eisar, which is a Okinawan dance I believe. It was awesome, and I had realized I left my camera in the boardroom ;_; The other American guy got a small video though so I want to try to swipe it. That is all we see of the 3rd graders. They leave and we play with the 1st and 2nd graders.

First game is TAG! Two students were chosen as "police" and everyone else was a "thief". The police tagged people and then when tagged the person and police held hands and they became police. You hold hands until you have 4 people the split into two. I got tag quick because I wanted to run with a kid and not away from one ^.^ THEY ARE FAST LITTLE BOOGERS! The game was timed and in the end only maybe 5 boys were not tagged.

Second game was Janken... Rock Paper Scissors. The lady wanted us to explain to the kids how we play in our home countries. I was first. I told them we call it "Rock, Paper, Scissors" then call go or shoot, whatever, maybe you call nothing just go. And the lady kept saying "Scissors, Paper, Rock" o.O Well, I learned from the Australian girl, that is how it is said there. Whatever. Mai, from Vietnam, had fun teaching how to say it in her language. So we marched around to this song, when the music stops, you play Janken with whoever is near you. The loser gets behind the winner and you start forming a train. I won once... but it wasn't fair because I think I lost at first but the girl thought I was confused and we did it a few times. I lose the second time around. We trained around and finally lost in the end. But it was so much fun.

Third game is hard to explain. It's called the Hunting Game. This one male teacher said these 4 phrases... then pointed twice going "AH!" then said a word. Depending on the syllables of the word, you formed a group with that number of people. It was pretty random, I don't think there was any winning or losing. For instance, if he says "kutsushita" that is "ku-tsu-shi-ta" 4 so you make a group of 4. At one point the teacher handed me the paper to read the phrases... I don't know if I did it right. But it was fun.

That was the end of playing with the 1st and 2nd graders. We gave them comments, thanks, and they went on there way. We took a short break and went back out there to play with the 5th graders.

The first game was long rope jumping. We were in two teams and timed for 5 minutes how many jumps we can get. I amazingly could run in the spinning rope, jump, and get out... after all these years. Pretty good for an old college senior :D We got 134 jumps I believe. And won.

The second game was Dodgeball... the dodgeball game from hell. I have NEVER played dodgeball like this!!! I play dodgeball, two teams, throwing balls, you get hit, you are out, if all your members get out, you lose. This... is the worst game ever. I am standing on my time watching for balls coming from the opposite side and a ball hits me in the back... and I'm like "WTF" it came from behind. So the teachers are telling me to go over to the other side, standing behind the team... then I realize that if you get out, you go behind the other team and throw balls from behind (which is how I got hit)! So not only do you have you have to pay attention to the people in front throwing balls, but the people behind as well.

Out of all the games we get to play again, it had to be dodgeball from hell. Three times. The third time, this one girl got hit in the eye, soon after my foot got stepped on, so I went over to where she was crying and comforted her. AND HERE THEY COME WITH CAMERAS!! I'm thinking "please don't take pics of her crying!!! especially because people will think I made her cry!!"

The games ended and we said our comments, thank yous, and the 5th graders went on their way. We headed upstairs where we went into one big empty room with two doors for two separate classrooms. We peeked in on two classes. I love the set up of the schools here. It's so awesome. After peeking, we entered a similar room, for another grade level, but not empty. Kids were playing in what we call centers (different groups doing different activities). We were going to do activities with them :D

Now, I think centers in America, I think coloring, board games, play doh, fun stuff. In Japan, it's totally different. The first corner (as it is called here I think, that is what we called it) I went to was juggling. I juggled cute bean bag animals with the little kids. I felt bad because they told me to choose my two favorite animals, and I picked two and started juggling them because I know how and they wanted to teach me how! SORRY! I let them teach me how to juggle with two people.

The second center was the spinning top. I spun some regular tops first then a girl taught me how to wrap a string around a top and let it go with the string. This I never mastered. I'm not sure what was harder... wrapping the string or letting it go properly. I was bad at both.

The third center, I played with this awesome toy that I want to find a buy. You stack these round blocks and with a little hammer/mallet, you hit them really fast out from each other one by one so the one you hit shoots out like a hockey puck and the others crash down. You have to do it fast enough so the stack of blocks do not fall over. It took me awhile to actually master this but I did! I know trick :D

The fourth center, I played with the cup and ball toy that I have experience with, but still not very good at. I learned a new way of holding it so I do better and I can flip it around but I cannot catch the ball still. This one little girl could flip it on its side and upside down and catch it every time. She was really good.

I did get pictures and video... but due to privacy I cannot post them. SORRY But if you are ever curious about the schools or want to see (especially that block and mallet game) just ask me :)

After leaving the school, I returned the dorm. Carly, Joel, and I made a quick lunch then began our walk to Makino, stopping for Carly to get money, then taking the train to Kuzuha. I have never been to the mall there. Nothing really good there besides Uniqlo but there is one in Hirakata-shi station, a bookstore, a sucky HMV... I think I'll go back before I leave because there was a Loft. I bought a new sweater at Uniqlo :D 2000 yen = a steal!

After the mall we returned to Makino and hit up Karaoke. Somehow we got out of karaoke very cheap. We payed 100 yen for 2 hours plus 200 yen for a drink... so 300 yen. My roomie was wondering how that happened because it is 100 yen per hour before 6 pm. Oh well. After singing we did purikura in my favorite booth with the monkey bars. My awesome friend Erin downloaded the pic so I have in my keitai now :D

All in all, today was awesome. I hate that I cannot share pics here of the school, but I can understand. Days like today, being at the school, bring me so much joy. I cannot remember when I felt so happy. Its days like these I wish someone from the JET Program was peaking around the corner and could see how much I enjoy it and really want to be apart of the program. I did mail in my application... so I can let it go until next year.

Get Ready... GET SET...

GOOOOOING TO AOYAMA THELMA'S CONCERT TOMORROW :D

Until then, here are some pictures from Tonoyama Daiichi Elementary School. Remember, we were introducing Halloween, hint my kitty costume <3

(I removed pictures due to privacy of the children)

I'm sharing this one because it is taken in the hallway so you can see the setup of Japanese school.



This is the girl who was also the black cat in the "I am a _____. And you?" exercise.

(see above)

The little girl in the middle is the girl that looks like my little sister but in Japanese girl form. Seriously, if my little sister morphed into a Japanese girl, she'd look just like that... I promise you.




Mameshiba Trivia #2

"I am a cat. And you?"

Today, I had a crappy midterm. We won't talk about that. It is midterm week and it sucks. But that is a depressing subject...

Moving on...

Today was my first day volunteering at the Elementary School :D We taught kids about Halloween and taught some English grammar. When I got there (half way through with the second group) the kids learned to say "I am ______. And you?" They were given a card with a Halloween themed picture (ghost, pumpkin, etc) and had to find their match by asking others (we played too).

Then we played a Trick-or-Treat game. The kids were matched up, some with us students, and went to the Japanese students and the dialogue was like this:

Kid: Knock Knock. Trick-or-Treat.
Student: Who are you?
Kid: I am a ________.
*kid gets sticker*
Student: I have a question.
*show kid one of the English pictures, ie. wake up, eat breakfast, read book, etc*
Kid: __________.
*kid gets another sticker*

So I traveled with my little girl and encouraged her. It was so much fun! I cannot wait to go again.

Anyways, I'm starting something new on my blog...

I really love Mameshiba characters here. So I am going to introduce them one by one to my readers. Daily trivia...



Bye. Time to study!