Showing posts with label Cooking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cooking. Show all posts
Saturday, October 13, 2007
Monday, September 17, 2007
Respect for the Aged Day
Today is Respect for the Aged Day and with it concludes my three day weekend. Although today was spent sleeping and watching FNL, the rest of my weekend was full with activities. After a good time at dinner on Friday with a group of ALTs, I woke early Saturday to attend my elementary school's Sports Day. I haven't taught a class there yet (my first will be this Friday), but the date had been mentioned to me earlier so I thought I'd see what all the excitement was about.
There were so many people at the school. I even saw many of my junior high school students. Sports Day is like a prolonged half-time show at a football game. There was a little sport, then maybe three dances, then another short race, followed by more dancing and pom-poms.
It was a lot of fun. I think I will enjoy the middle school one more since I will know the people participating, and might be able to help out instead of just watching.
Some pictures:
Sunday was the trip to Karuizawa in Nagano. I almost missed it. Although I had set my alarm, I never heard it go off. Luckily I woke up without it, but I woke up with less than 10 minutes before the train I wanted to be on left. Needless to say, I missed that train, even though I was able to make it from bed to out the door in less than two minutes. After the stress of getting to the train station (all along wishing my bike was in working order), I managed to arrive at the meeting place just minutes before the bus pulled up. It was a delightful bus ride through winding roads, mountains, and forests. Bottles of tea, boxes of rice cakes, sweet potatoes, ginger, and sweet buns were passed around. Our first stop was a local grocery store where we were able to stock up on local produce and omiyage (gifts for the co-workers). Next was the meal. It was scrumptious. No pictures of the meal since we ate it so quickly. But here is a post-picture. You can spot the deserts.
After lunch, we went to a museum. It's an old house, and apparently very famous, but I couldn't figure why that was. It was a lovely house though.
After that, we went to a famous street with lots of shops on it. It seemed very European. I even spotted a Turkish store. For souvenirs, I bought a belt (which I had been regretting not bringing) and a small framed picture of the town, Karuizawa. Around 6, we boarded the bus to head back to Ota, and encountered the worst traffic. We didn't move for an hour. Finally the traffic broke, and we were able to continue back to Ota.
There were so many people at the school. I even saw many of my junior high school students. Sports Day is like a prolonged half-time show at a football game. There was a little sport, then maybe three dances, then another short race, followed by more dancing and pom-poms.
It was a lot of fun. I think I will enjoy the middle school one more since I will know the people participating, and might be able to help out instead of just watching.
Some pictures:
Sunday was the trip to Karuizawa in Nagano. I almost missed it. Although I had set my alarm, I never heard it go off. Luckily I woke up without it, but I woke up with less than 10 minutes before the train I wanted to be on left. Needless to say, I missed that train, even though I was able to make it from bed to out the door in less than two minutes. After the stress of getting to the train station (all along wishing my bike was in working order), I managed to arrive at the meeting place just minutes before the bus pulled up. It was a delightful bus ride through winding roads, mountains, and forests. Bottles of tea, boxes of rice cakes, sweet potatoes, ginger, and sweet buns were passed around. Our first stop was a local grocery store where we were able to stock up on local produce and omiyage (gifts for the co-workers). Next was the meal. It was scrumptious. No pictures of the meal since we ate it so quickly. But here is a post-picture. You can spot the deserts.
After lunch, we went to a museum. It's an old house, and apparently very famous, but I couldn't figure why that was. It was a lovely house though.
After that, we went to a famous street with lots of shops on it. It seemed very European. I even spotted a Turkish store. For souvenirs, I bought a belt (which I had been regretting not bringing) and a small framed picture of the town, Karuizawa. Around 6, we boarded the bus to head back to Ota, and encountered the worst traffic. We didn't move for an hour. Finally the traffic broke, and we were able to continue back to Ota.
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Blah-Cakes with Anger Icing
I had cooking class tonight. It was a lot of fun, per usual. I am glad I signed up. However, it took much longer than I thought it would, ending almost and hour later than scheduled. Already exhausted and missing home-time, I was looking forward to taking the train, riding my bike, and arriving home minutes later to crash and refresh. I went to grab my bike from the train station's parking lot and discovered that someone had removed the key to the back wheel lock. Without the key, the lock keeps the wheel immobile. I couldn't ride my bike. I had to carry my heavy bike all the way home. It sucked. I can't figure out why someone would take the key. Either someone was thwarted while trying to steal my bike, or someone meanly meant to frustrate me and piss me off.
Yesterday was a school wide practice for the upcoming Sports Day. It's the Japanese version of Field Day. Everyone must participate. I'm not sure what exactly happens, but there is certainly more pomp than my Field Days. The students were made to practice marching in straight lines around the track. They were led by students with signs and flags for each class. The brass band helped keep the rhythm. When the students with the signs or the flags passed the principal, who was standing on a raised platform, they had to slow down and turn the flag/sign so he could admire them. It was all very militaristic. The teachers were particularly hard on the students who were not marching with enough enthusiasm.
After the practice (which ended with a sprint around the track for the whole school), I returned to the staff room, where I refreshed my internet page and saw that the Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, had resigned.
Japan doesn't have a leader right now. No replacement is in office yet. His resignation was expected in general, but no one thought it would be yesterday. Congress had just reconvened three days earlier. The other teachers were shocked, and quickly turned on the news.
Sports Day practice suddenly seemed even more hollow than it did when we were outside with teachers manically swinging their arms and stomping their feet to the beat of a patriotic march. The practice, a display of national pride, no longer bolstered that aim, but seemed ill-timed and ignorant.
Yesterday was a school wide practice for the upcoming Sports Day. It's the Japanese version of Field Day. Everyone must participate. I'm not sure what exactly happens, but there is certainly more pomp than my Field Days. The students were made to practice marching in straight lines around the track. They were led by students with signs and flags for each class. The brass band helped keep the rhythm. When the students with the signs or the flags passed the principal, who was standing on a raised platform, they had to slow down and turn the flag/sign so he could admire them. It was all very militaristic. The teachers were particularly hard on the students who were not marching with enough enthusiasm.
After the practice (which ended with a sprint around the track for the whole school), I returned to the staff room, where I refreshed my internet page and saw that the Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, had resigned.
Japan doesn't have a leader right now. No replacement is in office yet. His resignation was expected in general, but no one thought it would be yesterday. Congress had just reconvened three days earlier. The other teachers were shocked, and quickly turned on the news.
Sports Day practice suddenly seemed even more hollow than it did when we were outside with teachers manically swinging their arms and stomping their feet to the beat of a patriotic march. The practice, a display of national pride, no longer bolstered that aim, but seemed ill-timed and ignorant.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Oddities and Other Ends
Without a self-introduction to give, I was curious how classes would be. I had two first-year classes where I felt mostly useless. I was called upon occasionally to repeat the new vocabulary word. "Band." "B-mumble-mumble-d-nd." "Band!" "B-a-o-n-d-mumble." I hope that situation improves.
The other class I had was a third-year. I was able to lead a warm-up game that actually worked. Written on the board was a word for each team. One by one team members would come to the board to write a new word that started with the last letter of the word preceding. Kids liked it, and that's really the most important aspect of these games right now. I need to figure out what is both at their level and engaging. Found one, now I only need a dozen more.
The rest of my day was consumed with speech competition kids (who are just awesome), rain, trying to figure out the activity for tomorrow's 2nd years, and saying goodbye to a friend from home.
Matt, who is currently at his orientation for Fulbright, visited me over the past two days. It was really fun, especially the time when he, I, and Can talked over Skype. It felt like a mini-reunion from senior year. Yesterday evening, Matt, Leslie, and I went out to eat at a nearby restaurant. It was delicious. Edamame, squid, rice, miso soup, chicken, tenpura, eggs, pork cooked to perfection, sake, and Sapporo (support your local brewery!) beer.
That was feast one this week. On Sunday I am going to Nagano with my cooking class to this restaurant
to eat this meal
I am looking forward to it. We will also be going to a museum and a famous shopping district.
To end I must fulfill the title of this post. Japan is odd. Anyone have ideas as to what these are, or why these are?
The other class I had was a third-year. I was able to lead a warm-up game that actually worked. Written on the board was a word for each team. One by one team members would come to the board to write a new word that started with the last letter of the word preceding. Kids liked it, and that's really the most important aspect of these games right now. I need to figure out what is both at their level and engaging. Found one, now I only need a dozen more.
The rest of my day was consumed with speech competition kids (who are just awesome), rain, trying to figure out the activity for tomorrow's 2nd years, and saying goodbye to a friend from home.
Matt, who is currently at his orientation for Fulbright, visited me over the past two days. It was really fun, especially the time when he, I, and Can talked over Skype. It felt like a mini-reunion from senior year. Yesterday evening, Matt, Leslie, and I went out to eat at a nearby restaurant. It was delicious. Edamame, squid, rice, miso soup, chicken, tenpura, eggs, pork cooked to perfection, sake, and Sapporo (support your local brewery!) beer.
That was feast one this week. On Sunday I am going to Nagano with my cooking class to this restaurant
to eat this meal
I am looking forward to it. We will also be going to a museum and a famous shopping district.
To end I must fulfill the title of this post. Japan is odd. Anyone have ideas as to what these are, or why these are?
Saturday, September 08, 2007
Pic-Spam
My first week of teaching is over. I survived, the kids survived, the school came away with minimal damage. Totally not my fault though. On Thursday the typhoon landed in Gunma. Around eleven at night the winds picked up. Small tree branches were stripped from some of the trees at the school, and the tar paper on the roof was blown off. The damage to the roof was the worst since it caused a series of small leaks in the building, and some of the debris hit the school clock, breaking it.
Overall, the storm was no worse than a severe thunderstorm. By Friday morning the wind was gone, and the rain was slight. I spent most of the evening of my first typhoon in downtown Ota at a cooking class. Odelia, another JET, and I have signed up for a weekly lesson. It was a lot of fun. The class is about 10-12 people. Last week we made this:
The thing on the left is my favorite. It is thinly sliced chicken with a layer of seaweed spooned on top, covered in yellow, red, and green peppers, hot green pepper, and cheese. I think I might even be able to reproduce this one. The small bowl at top has pickled vegetables. I won't be making that at home since it takes three days to pickle. The soup in the other bowl was delicious, but requires equipment I don't have.
You might think this post has a lot of images in it. You'd be right, but we are no where close to being done. Today's activity was a walk through my neighborhood with my camera. The walk was delightful. A full two hours of discovering unseen gardens, houses, temples, and staircases. A walking guide to my neighborhood:
Overall, the storm was no worse than a severe thunderstorm. By Friday morning the wind was gone, and the rain was slight. I spent most of the evening of my first typhoon in downtown Ota at a cooking class. Odelia, another JET, and I have signed up for a weekly lesson. It was a lot of fun. The class is about 10-12 people. Last week we made this:
The thing on the left is my favorite. It is thinly sliced chicken with a layer of seaweed spooned on top, covered in yellow, red, and green peppers, hot green pepper, and cheese. I think I might even be able to reproduce this one. The small bowl at top has pickled vegetables. I won't be making that at home since it takes three days to pickle. The soup in the other bowl was delicious, but requires equipment I don't have.
You might think this post has a lot of images in it. You'd be right, but we are no where close to being done. Today's activity was a walk through my neighborhood with my camera. The walk was delightful. A full two hours of discovering unseen gardens, houses, temples, and staircases. A walking guide to my neighborhood:
Friday, August 24, 2007
Atsui desu!
It's another hot one. At least this Friday was busy, so I wasn't stuck sweating at home. The day started with me biking to the next town for a Board of Education meeting. I finally got to meet the English teacher at the elementary school (who was home sick when I was there). She is nice with decent English. Best of all, she is organized. She gave me a schedule of when I should be at the school, what classes I'll be in, and most importantly, what topics I should teach each month. I wish the teachers at the Junior High School were so motivated.
After an hour long speech in Japanese, I was told to go downstairs for the measles check. I wanted to tell them that I was vaccinated against measles years ago, but considering this is Japan and saying no doesn't fly (and I didn't have any paperwork to back up my claim), I proceeded down the stairs to the make-shift medical room. There was no privacy. Just wait, sit in a line of four, get a needle jammed into your arm, and have them draw out an inordinate amount of blood, then get a small pad of gauze and told to hold it (with your thumb, no other finger will do) to the puncture place for exactly three minutes.
After the meeting concluded, Leslie, Arthur, and I ran to catch the train. We missed it by minutes and went to the local grocery store for lunch. We ate out of containers as we walked back, determined not to miss the next train. Eating in public (especially while walking) is considered very rude in Japan. We definitely got some glares and strange looks from people passing by.
Afternoon Japanese class passed normally. It was the last class though, so at the end we had to present a speech in Japanese introducing ourselves and our hometowns. I was told mine sounded very formal. Probably because I lifted whole portions from a textbook.
After class, Odelia, one of the teachers, and I drove to a bakery in Ota where Odelia and I will be taking cooking classes. We start the first Thursday of September. I think we learn to make cheesecake, soup, and some main dish.
I stupidly went home after the bakery, messing up my transit times so that I missed a group outing to all-you-can-drink-and-eat karaoke. Ah well. Tomorrow, Jihan is visiting me, and we are going to Tokyo!
After an hour long speech in Japanese, I was told to go downstairs for the measles check. I wanted to tell them that I was vaccinated against measles years ago, but considering this is Japan and saying no doesn't fly (and I didn't have any paperwork to back up my claim), I proceeded down the stairs to the make-shift medical room. There was no privacy. Just wait, sit in a line of four, get a needle jammed into your arm, and have them draw out an inordinate amount of blood, then get a small pad of gauze and told to hold it (with your thumb, no other finger will do) to the puncture place for exactly three minutes.
After the meeting concluded, Leslie, Arthur, and I ran to catch the train. We missed it by minutes and went to the local grocery store for lunch. We ate out of containers as we walked back, determined not to miss the next train. Eating in public (especially while walking) is considered very rude in Japan. We definitely got some glares and strange looks from people passing by.
Afternoon Japanese class passed normally. It was the last class though, so at the end we had to present a speech in Japanese introducing ourselves and our hometowns. I was told mine sounded very formal. Probably because I lifted whole portions from a textbook.
After class, Odelia, one of the teachers, and I drove to a bakery in Ota where Odelia and I will be taking cooking classes. We start the first Thursday of September. I think we learn to make cheesecake, soup, and some main dish.
I stupidly went home after the bakery, messing up my transit times so that I missed a group outing to all-you-can-drink-and-eat karaoke. Ah well. Tomorrow, Jihan is visiting me, and we are going to Tokyo!
