Two weeks ago we had an opening ceremony for the new school year with all the current students except for the youngest, newest class. A lot of bowing and a few speeches took place. Overall it took less than 30 minutes, but I still had to come to school all day and wear a suit. The day after that was almost exactly the same except that it was called the entrance ceremony. The new classes filed in and their mothers watched from the back of the gym. There were speeches and more bowing of course. All the teachers were introduced including myself. Again, less than 30 minutes and I had no classes for the rest of the day. In the afternoon the kids cleaned the school. Easiest money I ever made.
Many of my classes have been shortened lately because the homeroom teachers need time in the afternoon to have parent teacher conferences. They drive to every single student's house and meet their parents for about 10 minutes and move on to the next student's house.
There is such a thing as a PTA in Japan, and what I find really amusing is that it's actually called the PTA despite the words parent and teacher starting with completely different letters in Japanese. I wonder how that got started.
Monday, April 23, 2007
Elections
The local elections were held on Sunday. I haven't been able to ask many people about them, but from what I can tell candidates were allowed to campaign for about 3 or 4 weeks in very restricted ways. There were boards with grids on them posted on major streets where each candidate was allowed to put one square poster. I didn't see any political ads on tv. However, for the past two weeks I've heard nothing but loud, shrill, annoying recordings being played at top volume from slow driving campaign vans. I have no idea how anyone could understand what was actually being said, and even if they did, how they could really evaluate a candidate's agenda and values based on the 15 seconds that the van screamed through their neighborhood.
In the local elections, citizens vote for individuals. However, in the national election for Prime Minister, citizens vote for a party and the party chooses the actual Prime Minister.
As a side note, I found out a couple days ago that Japan doesn't have juries in its judicial system!
In the local elections, citizens vote for individuals. However, in the national election for Prime Minister, citizens vote for a party and the party chooses the actual Prime Minister.
As a side note, I found out a couple days ago that Japan doesn't have juries in its judicial system!
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Mom's Entry
Many apologies to the faithful readers of Jane’s Blog for this late entry. Jet lag from our trip to Japan took us much longer to recover from than anticipated before jumping back into our work schedules and travel schedules.
Our tour guide in Japan was the BEST! We would never have seen as much as we did if it had not been for Jane and her Japanese skills. She has already highlighted many of the places we visited, so I will share some stories as requested.
I was impressed with the uniforms, white gloves and professional/courteous train, bus, and taxi drivers. All forms of transportation were efficient and clean. However, if you ever board a crowed city bus in Kyoto, be aware of the mighty little old ladies that board the back of the bus. They transform into a football-charge stance and plow through people to get to the front of the bus in order to get off at their destinations. I almost landed on the floor as one of these women shoved me. Jane said something in Japanese to her and she stopped her charging.
Most people have washing machines, but no dryers. Laundry is hung out to dry on balconies. Dirk and I found a western-style Laundromat in Kyoto to wash/dry our clothes. The washing machines automatically dispensed detergent. We met 2 chatty young men from Australia who were staying in a hostel and touring Japan for a month. It is interesting how much people like to visit when they meet someone who speaks their native language. We saw lots of people from Australia visiting Japan.
We did a lot of eating out due to our touring schedule. I craved fresh vegetables and salads. They were usually nowhere to be found. Jane whipped-up her soon-to-be-famous rice/veg/chicken recipe twice. It was delicious and satisfying. I have not been able to reproduce it yet. Jane, I will need a lesson in August. We have been putting ground roasted sesame seeds on everything since returning. My favorite restaurant dish was the okonomiyaki lunch in Hiroshima. Entertaining and delicious!!!
The junior high students at one of Jane’s assigned schools were a delight! The second class was especially enthusiastic about participating in interviewing us and playing Jeopardy. It was especially fun to see Jane’s interaction with them. We were asked what our favorite sport was and how old we were! One girl asked me if I loved my husband and later asked me “how much do you love your husband?” Ha ha
Three of my favorite and lasting memories were seeing the beautiful Gold Pavilion in Kyoto and the peaceful surrounding gardens, relaxing/rejuvenating in the onsen at Nishi-iya followed by dinner with Justin and Mailena at a Japanese restaurant, and the awesome pottery shops in Naruto.
Our tour guide in Japan was the BEST! We would never have seen as much as we did if it had not been for Jane and her Japanese skills. She has already highlighted many of the places we visited, so I will share some stories as requested.
I was impressed with the uniforms, white gloves and professional/courteous train, bus, and taxi drivers. All forms of transportation were efficient and clean. However, if you ever board a crowed city bus in Kyoto, be aware of the mighty little old ladies that board the back of the bus. They transform into a football-charge stance and plow through people to get to the front of the bus in order to get off at their destinations. I almost landed on the floor as one of these women shoved me. Jane said something in Japanese to her and she stopped her charging.
Most people have washing machines, but no dryers. Laundry is hung out to dry on balconies. Dirk and I found a western-style Laundromat in Kyoto to wash/dry our clothes. The washing machines automatically dispensed detergent. We met 2 chatty young men from Australia who were staying in a hostel and touring Japan for a month. It is interesting how much people like to visit when they meet someone who speaks their native language. We saw lots of people from Australia visiting Japan.
We did a lot of eating out due to our touring schedule. I craved fresh vegetables and salads. They were usually nowhere to be found. Jane whipped-up her soon-to-be-famous rice/veg/chicken recipe twice. It was delicious and satisfying. I have not been able to reproduce it yet. Jane, I will need a lesson in August. We have been putting ground roasted sesame seeds on everything since returning. My favorite restaurant dish was the okonomiyaki lunch in Hiroshima. Entertaining and delicious!!!
The junior high students at one of Jane’s assigned schools were a delight! The second class was especially enthusiastic about participating in interviewing us and playing Jeopardy. It was especially fun to see Jane’s interaction with them. We were asked what our favorite sport was and how old we were! One girl asked me if I loved my husband and later asked me “how much do you love your husband?” Ha ha
Three of my favorite and lasting memories were seeing the beautiful Gold Pavilion in Kyoto and the peaceful surrounding gardens, relaxing/rejuvenating in the onsen at Nishi-iya followed by dinner with Justin and Mailena at a Japanese restaurant, and the awesome pottery shops in Naruto.
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