February Photos

04/02 - Back to Japan (Seoul Airport)
05/02 - Nagasaki
07/02 - Dazaifu
14/02 - Valentine's Day
18/02 - Linden Hall Winter Concert
26/02 - Yoshimatsu-sensei's Party

(Last updated 26/2/06)

Tasty Tea

I had tea in the afternoon, and once again, Big Bird came too. She was not in the way as much this time, though, and she brought a multitude of dictionaries along. It is such a silly way of doing things. I could bring my own dictionaries. Twice I managed to figure out a word before she managed to look it up. I despise the use of dictionaries during conversation. If you have one, then you will always use it. It simply slows the conversation down and everybody stops thinking. It is so much better to think of different ways of explaining things.

Anyway, I enjoyed making the tea. It was slightly more drinkable this time as well, in terms of both taste and thickness, that is, it actually moved when you tilted the bowl! I am getting slightly better, which adds to the enjoyment. I can do certain parts seamlessly now. This also speeds the ceremony up, which in turn means I do not have to set on my legs for as long. They still hurt, though. I need more practice, and maybe need to lose some weight! Then I would not be as heavy on my knees and ankles. I think practice makes perfect, though, and the more time you spent sat like that, the more you get use to it. I can go for quite a while now whilst still be able to stand up at the end.

I told the sensei that I had been to kabuki, which pleased her no end. I think it was the fact that I enjoyed it as well, and maybe that I had understood something that she had said to me previously. Anyway, she started going on about the Tokyo kabuki house – I think she wants to go. I also get the impression that she also wants to go with in June when it returns to Fukuoka. She is a kabuki addict, I think, having seen a couple of hundred shows!

For some reason, there is a break from lessons at Cambridge House in March. Therefore, instead, she suggested that we go to her house! So we will go (Big Bird, too) on Thursday starting next week. He house is very close to the university and will be just after I finish classes. That should be fun, I think.

Singing in the Class

Lesson was not as boring as usual, and when I say that I mean that I didn’t fall asleep. We learnt a new verb mode today: the volitional. That is things like “let’s go” and “shall I?” We have learnt it before, but in the polite form. This time we are learning it in the plain form, which is more useful since one can combine it with other grammatical structures to make sentences that are more complicated. Not sure exactly what these are going to be yet, as that is probably for tomorrow’s lesson. I doubt it’s that exciting, though.

We also learnt a song in Japanese using this new form. It is “If you’re happy and you know it”; it has the same tune at least and the same basic meaning.

shiawasenara te o tatakou (if you are happy, clap your hands)
shiawasenara te o tatakou (if you are happy, clap your hand)
shiawasenara taidode shimesouyo (if you are happy, show your attitude!)
hora minna de te o tatakou (look! everybody clap your hands)

The next verses replace “te o tatakou” with “uinku shiyou,” (wink) “ashi narasou,” (make sound with your feet) and finally “kata tatakou” (slap your shoulder). Don’t you just love singing in class? Anyway, the point of the song is that every line ends in the volitional mode.

In the afternoon, most of us hung around in the international office waiting for the bus. I did my homework, what little of it there was, and then spent the rest of the time being bored. One of Kanashima-san’s friends came in with her baby who is only 11 months old. That provided a little light entertainment for us all. His name is Nishiki, though I cannot remember which kanji it is written with. It could mean “west tree,” but it doesn’t! I can’t decide whether it is odd to have a naming system wherein (1) seeing a name doesn’t necessarily tell you the pronunciation and, (2) hearing a name doesn’t necessarily mean you can write it down. I suppose that it is the same in English, though to a much lesser extent. Point (2) is definitely true, e.g. Katherine, Kathryn, Catherine, etc. I suppose an example of (1) would be Louis, though perhaps that’s only the children called that at my mother’s school who will have problems.

パーティー (Paatii)

After Aikido, I went to Yoshimatsu-sensei's house with Felicity. It envolved taking a train to Kurume (久留米) and then a bus onto Nishiizumi (西泉). The journey took about an hour altogether, mostly due to the waiting at the station and the bus centre.

Yoshimatsu-sensei lives out in the country and it was really wonderful to get out of the city. Everyone was already there, including all our teachers, when we arrived, eating away. Watanabe-sensei's son, Yūta-kun, was there too. He was sweet and only five years old. Flick and I got stuck into the various Japanese foods on offer: sukiyaki, shabu-shabu, and nabe. There was plenty of alcohol flowing as well, since everyone had bought something to drink. We partook of various wines (red, rose, and white) as well as a few glasses of port.

After eating we played a couple of games, both played in Japanese. The first was listening to a word and grabbing the card of the corresponding starting syllable. I got three, but Lauma won with about six - she was miles ahead of everyone else. The second involved two teams, one of whom was blindfolded: me and Rushen. We were then directed by our teams into placing bits of face onto a piece of paper with a head drawn on it. All in Japanese, and with the other team screaming rubbish in your ear. We won, mind you!

We then went for a little walk around the garden, and then down some of the back streets to a little garden. It's peaceful in the countryside: the sound of nature is very calming. We walked up a hill to a little temple. There wasn't a very big building there, but there were lots of little statues dedicated to different kami (spirits) and some of demons. There was a bamboo forest that was impressive to see, especially since we have nothing like it back at home.

Everyone except Ohnishi-sensei (who was guarding the house) came to see us off from the bus stop, which was nice. It was a good little day out enjoyed by everyone. We invited ourselves back for next week!

Kabuki

I went with James to Hakata-za this morning for 11am. We easily bought our half-price student tickets for the B seating section, which afforded us a good value-for-money view. Not too far away, all the action being clearly visible, but not too expensive (about £30).

Kabuki is definitely a very unique experience: the costumes are amazing, as are their colours; the sets are simple, yet well made and sometimes even move on their own; the music is very foreign but enchanting; and the voice acting is incredible. The emotion that goes into each line must be immense as the actors create the most amazing devlivery. The pitch of speech varies from a high falsetto to a deep, low grumble, and all with comparative ease. It's a joy to listen to, even if you don't understand anything that they are saying. Even the Japanese require modern day translations via a wireless, headphone set.

The first piece was entitled "Tenmangu Natane no Goku - Shihei no Nana Warai," or "The Seven Laughs of Shihei." This was interesting since it concern the story of a man called Michizane who was exiled to Dazaifu, who who's shrine is now there. This was only a 30-minute piece, ending with the actor playing Shihei laughing manically, probably in seven different ways. He continued laughing even after the curtain had been drawn.

A small break was followed by a Kojo, or stage announcement. Twelve of the top actors of the company knelt in a line, each saying something in turn. They remained in a bowing position when not speaking. The Kojo was to celebrate the actor Nakamura Ganji III taking a new acting name of Sakata Tojuro, the name of a late 17th century acting legend.

A longer break followed, in which we wondered around the various stalls in the theatre, though we didn't buy anything. The main piece followed "Meiboku Sendai Hagi," or "The Troubles in the Date Clan." This lasted about 1hr30, though it was amazing. It told the story of how the young head of the date clan is being kept hidden by his nurse to prevent his being assassinated. She has trained her own children to taste his food before he eats to make sure that it isn't poisoned. Alas, the leader is presented with some poisoned cakes, which the nurse's son eats. A secret scroll listing all the conspiritors in the plot, though the nurse is then attacked. She survives and kills her attacker, but the scroll is stolen by a rat, who turns out to be the head of the conspiracy, and who escapes with the scroll. The great thing about this was the two children that were playing the lord and the son of the nurse. I didn't know children could be so well behaved. The son even had to play dead for about 30-minutes and he didn't flinch once! The children also speak in a different way: instead of changing their pitch frequently, they pick one very high one, and then say everything very monotonously. It's quite impressive to listen to.

Another break was followed by three dances: "Kane no Misaki" (The Temple Bell) was an abstract dance about love. The second was "Dango Uri" (The Dumpling Peddlers) and celebrates marital bliss. It opens with a lively dumpling-making demonstration that was very entertaining. The final dance was "Onna Date" (The Gallant Female Fighter) was the most impressive, and was a dance-like fight. One woman is attacked by many men, and she defeats them all. It's all quite symbolic as there is no actual fighting, but there were acrobatics: mostly forward- and back-flips. Fun to watch and a good way to end the 4hr30 minute performance.

I want to go again!

Le Puits

This evening we went to "Le Puits" (the well) in Ijiri for Kanashima's leaving party. Her husband was also there, and everyone arrived eventually, apart from Brendan who presumably is still in Tokyo but noone has heard from him!

The food, when it came, was delicious. Japanese restaurants are strange in that you order your food and then they bring you some completely different things. These are in fact called "service" and are free little dishes to whet your appetite. We had a salad, salad with bolied eggs, and salmon on salad.

Our main meals themsleves were amazing. Most of us had the "Steak Frites," which turned out to be a huge, square hunk of delicious beef. For a moment I forgot I was in Japan. Delicious. Lauma even gave me half of hers as she couldn't eat it all.

We drank much wine as well, and it only came to about £15 each in the end. We're all thinking of going back, as £7 for a lump of steak is a steal.

Reams of Homework

I had two Japanese lessons today, though they weren’t that interesting: more confusing that anything, I suppose. I’m enjoying it still though, and I’m just about getting my head around the concept of transitive and intransitive verbs. We don’t make that much distinction in English: we just use that same word, but in a different way: “I open the door.” (transitive) vs. “The door opens.” (intransitive). The Japanese have separate words for each usage. Granted, they are often similar, but there is no rule for forming one from the other. It means you have to remember two verbs instead of one, and which is transitive and which is intransitive. A little complicated, I think.

That’s been my day, as I’ve just been doing my homework since I returned home. It took about three hours in total! At least my weekend is free now, though! We have Kanashima-san’s party tonight at a French restaurant in Ijiri. We have been told that it should not cost more than £25: it’s quite posh, I’m lead to believe. I’m not sure how much I like French food, either, but I have a cup-a-soup at home for when I get back if necessary. There is also Family Mart if I am starving.

Knasher Returns

For the first time in ages, I didn't have to go to Linden Hall today... so I didn't! Instead, we had two Japanese lessons today, though I was falling asleep in the second. We seem to be moving through the textbook at a rate of knots now, though no doubt tomorrow we will halt again. Today we learnt how to say that something has been done with intent, that is, on purpose. We also learnt how to say that something needs to be done for the next thing to occur (preparation). They seem to be rather alien concepts to me – not very precise – and I am sure that I could get away without ever using them. It is good to be able to understand them, though, I suppose.

I paid Kanashima-san, back from her house move, the money for our Hokkaido trip next month: 39,800yen or about £200. I feel rather poor now! Oh, well. We are all going out tomorrow in the evening for her leaving party as well. We are going to a French restaurant, which should be interesting, in the evening.

After getting back from school, I went with Rushen to You-Me town, which is the local department store. He wanted a shirt and some football shoes, which he found and purchased. It took him ages, though. I bought a t-shirt with bad English on it and a CD soundtrack of an anime film: Howl’s Moving Castle.

This road is a left turn prohibition.
…Be not it is not possible not to bend here though there is no time and severe.
Let’s think about the loophole by some means.
Quieting quieting…
It is so.
It becomes a shortcut if coming off to the next road.
It is finally a destination.
It managed to wear it safely though it was somewhat late.

I think it is rather funny! What do you think? Prizes for the best translation back into proper English.

Bill Gates

I repeated the same day that I have had since the start of this week: a Japanese lesson in the morning, a huge break, and then teaching at Linden Hall.

During the huge break, I asked Hirata-sensei (our teacher for today) whether she could help James and I book some Kabuki tickets as Kanashima-san is still away moving house.

私たちは歌舞伎へ見に行きたいです。でも、切符を予約することが分かりません。そして、手伝って下さい。
watashitachi wa kabuki e mini ikitai desu. demo, kippu o yoyaku suru koto ga wakarimasen. soshite, tetsudatte kudasai.
We want to go and see Kabuki, but we do not understand how to reserve the tickets. Therefore, could you help us?

She had a look at the website and then phoned the box office. They only had one cheap seat left on Saturday morning, which is the only time that we can both make. However, the lady at the box office was "90% sure" that if we turn up in the morning, 20 minutes before the play starts, they would offer us the second cheapest seats at half price to us since we were students. Therefore, we are going to do that and hope for the best. It will only be marginally more expensive if it works: about £30, though it does last for four long hours of total misunderstanding. It should be a good experience though: the music, the costumes, and the agonisingly slow dances. Felicity went to see it the other day and she cannot see what all the fuss is. The actors train from the age of three, but she reckons that she could do what they did. I shall have to see for myself.

Linden Hall was easy-going, which was good as today was the third time in a row. Before the lesson, Tsuzuki cornered Flick and I in the corridor. He look rather dishevelled, with a towel around his neck and his shirt only half-tucked in. He looked at us smiling for an awkward moment, then turned toward me and grunted "Bill Gates." I just smiled, as I did not know what else to do. Luckily, he smiled back and then walked off to tell other people whom I looked like. Supposedly, "Bill Gates" is also his pet name for Brendan! Obviously, any white-boy with blonde hair and glasses looks like him.

Thick Tea

I hung around after lesson again, and once more went for a stroll in the English garden with Brendan. We went somewhere different this time, where there were tables and chairs. We did our homework for ages, so that it was about 2.30 when we came back. We normally finish dinner at 1pm-ish, so that’s a lot of homework!

I read some of my book on the history of Japanese literature. It’s quite heavy going, but it’s not an academic book by any means. It’s a translation from Japanese though, which means it has a rather large glossary that one needs to keep referring to. It’s long, but I hope to get somewhere with it. Maybe not the most ideal bedtime reading, but I shall persevere!

Linden Hall again today (hence why I hung around!). I was going to do it with Rushen (with Brendan doing the 2^nd years), however the Chancellor wanted to see Brendan, so Rush and I were left to teach separately. Rushen’s not meant to teach the 2^nd years since Rena (the Chancellor's grand-daughter) complained about him, but he did anyway since she wasn’t there. That left me with a bunch of 1^st years to look after. I wanted them to take it in turns reading a book to me, though half of them got there own books out to read, and the one’s that were paying attention all read together. Half way through they got bored of reading too, so I finished reading the book to them. Once we’d done that, I got them to draw a picture based on the book title: “Dinosaurs’ Day Out.” Two of them drew pictures of boats, and the rest copied from books. A girl called Rina did the best work, colouring in the whole page with a self-imagined dinosaur in the middle, some trees and some other things. It kept them quiet at least!

This evening I came straight back and went to tea ceremony. One of the Taiwanese girls that hangs around the reception came too, though I found out it was because the teacher had asked for someone to come to translate for me! She wasn't that helpful as she only translated the most basic things that even I understood! Anyways, I find it part of the fun trying to understand what the teacher is trying to say. I don’t think she even tries to make what she says remotely simple though, using whole sentences of words that I’ve never heard before. I just blank out at those times. It was still fun, though, with some nice cakes. I’m pretty good at the regular ceremony (the thin tea) and can do long bits now without assistance. We’re doing another part of the ceremony now, though (the thick tea) that I only did for the second time this week, so that wasn’t as good. There’s more to it as well. I’m sure I’ll learn quickly, especially since I’m the only one doing it at the moment. The others come back mid-March, so I have until then.

Story Time

I went to get a cake after lunch with James, Ciarán, and Flick. I had a strawberry éclair. It was quite yummy and wasted some time. The current bus timetable is so very inconvenient. If you are teaching at Linden Hall, you have to stay at the university all day long. I also went for a little walk with Brendan through the English garden where we sat overlooking the lake for a while before going to the Hall.

We arrived quite early, as Brendan was hoping that he could sign his contract, though the Chancellor was busy so he couldn’t. Instead, we went and sat in with the kids as they did their homework. Yūki seemed rather pleased to see me and came running to sit next to me with her Japanese homework. She did it rather quickly before fetching a book, which she then read to me. It was called “The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse.” She read rather well, though she got stuck on a few words. We didn’t have time for me to ask her questions about it, though, as we had to start our English conversation lesson.We made fortune-telling pieces of origami: those ones with the numbers on the outside and colours on the inside (it was my idea!). We had them write different adjectives under the flaps. They behaved very well and seemed to enjoy doing it. After the lesson, they ran around all the teachers in the corridor and played it on them. I was rather worried as the Chancellor was on the roam and one of the adjectives written on these things was, for example, "rude." That could have been potentially embarassing. I even bowed to him at one point when he noticed me, though I swear he doesn’t remember who I am! He promptly bowed back, bending a good 90 degrees at the waist as if to show me up. I’ll have to bow even lower next time.

Aikido

I went to Aikido this morning with Flick. We went a rather long way to get there as we took a wrong turn and ended up cycling all the way round the school to get into it. We know which way to go now, at least. You can actually see the building from Cambridge House: Tempaizan Junior High School. In Japanese, that's 天拝山中学校 (tempaizan chuugakkou, or more affectionately: tempaichuu). The practice room is smaller than the at the police station, though is a downstairs as well, which the younger children went to today. We were allowed to stay today with the big boys who are better than we are. We did some cool moves, though, some involving knifes. Not real knifes, though, more wood carved in a vague shape resembling knifes. I can defend myself against three different knife attacks now though, if only I could remember how! Oh, well. It was fun doing it and I was able to wear my new clothes. I look like the real deal now, though I feel like a fool!

In the evening we watched "Garden State" together, starring Zach Braff and Natalie Portman. It's a strange little black-comedy written and directed by Braff, though it's pleasantly uplifting. Also, the sound track is excellent! Everyone enjoyed it.

Linden Hall 2nd Annual Winter Concert

I got up when Jouzaki-sempai phoned me at 12pm to remind me that Aikido had changed locations. It's now in Tempaizan Junior High School, which is visible from Cambridge House. I went shopping at Cosmos so I could have something to eat and drink when watching my Sunday film. Firstly, though, we watched an episode of Monty Python's Flying Circus (Episode #40: The Golden Age of Ballooning). Oh, so funny. I then watched "Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind," another Studio Ghibli film. This one was just as lovely as their others, though I did get slightly lost towards the end. Their films normally have but one protagonist that the film follows throughout, though this one had three seperate peoples that it continually switched between. I just don't think I was ready for it!

In the evening we went to Linden Hall's 2nd Annual Winter Concert. The Chancellor and his merry load of workers were there, and we also had reserved front row seats. I felt a little guilty sitting there blocking the view of hundreds of doting parents, especially since we are taller than most of them. It was a very enjoyable evening. It's fun watching children that you know performing, and I know see something in school productions that I've never noticed before. Not being a parent though, I wasn't devoting my attention to one single child, but could appreciate the performance as a whole. Some of the English pronounciations that some of them came up with were questionable, but it was quite understandable. I think I might buy the DVD, though it's going to cost £30. I think it is worth it as a nice little memento of my time in Japan and at Linden Hall.

After the performance, Izumi the English gardener, took us to a chankonabe restaurant. Chankonabe is a type of nabe eaten by sumo wrestlers as it contains high levels of protein. A deep bowl is placed on a gas stove and filled with chicken stock. The diners then place pieces of chicken, bacon, pork, mushrooms, tofu, onions, etc. into the bowl and cook them. They eat together from the bowl. After the food has been eaten, either rice or noodles are placed into the remaining stock to create a kind of risotto as a second course. It was a good meal and a new experience. I think England might enjoy some "cook it yourself" restaurants. I think Izumi paid most of the bill, telling us that it was only £5 each, instead of the £10 that it probably was more like. She then gave us all a lift back to Cambridge House, which was nice.

Drummond Plays

I worked for Noriko in the afternoon after school. I really am starting to enjoy working with the children, especially when the lessons are planned for me. Some of the children even remember who I am, which I know I keep going on about but it really is wonderful.

When we came to the end of the second lesson, Noriko announced that there was one more lesson today that she had forgotten to tell me about. Then she announced that she was going to go and do a little shopping and disappeared for 15 mintues. The two girls, Riho (maybe) and another girl (I wish I could remember their names!), that I was teaching look just as scared as I did. She paid me for it, at least! We got on passably, though, and we played a variant of the popular card game Uno for about 20 minutes. That game never ends!

We made more Valentine's cards, writing "I like you" on a piece of paper with a chocolate stapled to it. I wrote one for Tabatha, who is Rio's little sister. She is very cute and kept sticking her head round the door during the lesson. I asked her her name and she answered in English, then she said "thank you" when I gave her a sticker!

We also played "What's the time, Mr. Wolf?," though they actually say "What time is it, Mr. Ulf?" When I caught Daiki, he just collapsed on the floor and burst into tears! I think he thought that I was actually going to eat him! Oops.

In the evening we went to Kurume to "Jimmy's Bar" to hear Drummond play his guitar. He is a true prodigy on the six-stringed instrument. We had a good time and spoke with some Japanese people. Seb and his wife Misako where also there, and one of Seb's friends called Aaron, though he's Canadian so pronounces it "Erun". He does some English teaching and also marries people as a fake priest. Since Christian wedding are not legal ceremonies in Japan there is no requirement to be ordained. It seems to be the newest craze in Japan to have a Christian style ceremony! In fact he is performing the marriage of his wife's sister tomorrow at 2.30pm.

Everyone else left, or went elsewhere, apart from me, Flick, Brendan, and of course Drummond. We went back to Aaron's apartment to listen to some music and drink some wheat tea. It's quite tasty, in fact. We stayed and chilled for a long time and we eventually got in at 4.00am after taking a taxi.

Edd Hunted

So, there I was walking back from dinner when Seb called me. He said that Mr. Tsuzuki had been impressed with my demeanour and wanted to offer me a job! I said that it was a very kind offer, but that I had all ready signed a contract to work in England. During our second Japanese lesson of the day, Seb phoned me back saying that Mr. Tsuzuki really wanted to employ me and could I come to Linden Hall after class for a talk. Any of the other males that were interested could come as well.

So, after class I went to Linden Hall. Brendan and Drummond showed up a while later. After about 15 minutes, we were met by gentleman from Los Angeles who was half-Japanese and over 6 foot tall. I was taken downstairs to the canteen by him, whilst the other two waited in the teachers' office. I met two other businessmen in the cantine and we started our discussion.

Basically, they wanted to give me a job with the organisation and were willing to do anything to have me. I said I'd all ready got a job, they said they would apologise to the company. They even offered to double my salary, which is rather crazy, since they don't know how much I will be earning next year! I turned them down, but thanked them for their kind offer.

When I got back upstairs, Brendan and Drummond had disappeared. I believe they were having a chat with Mr. Tsuzuki himself, presumably with Seb acting as a translator. I was free to go, so I left.

The reason why they want to give me a job: Mr. Tsuzuki liked my demeanour when he saw me yesterday. I think it must have been the bow I did when I left the room...

Meeting the Chancellor

Binks, Flick, and I were 'lucky' enough to meet Chancellor Tsuzuki and his wife, the Principal of Linden Hall. Supposedly, he and his large entourage just turned up and the Hall this morning, where they had to drop everything. Tsuzuki-san is the man who sponsors are stay in Japan, so we were a little apprehensive about meeting him, though we didn't know we would until we were about to enter the shcool. So, we stood outside in full view wondering what we were going to do and making ourselves look a little smarter.

Seb attempted to introduce us to the main man, though he speaks Hakata-dialect that we have no real chance of understanding at this stage of our education. He seems a little deaf though, so after "these are the Oxford and Cambridge students that teach the after school English classes" he turned away and sat back down, just as Seb was getting to "this is Binks...". Oh, well. He seemed much more happy when we left, giving us a little white-gloved wave and a smile.

Chancellor Tsuzuki is a man with many a strange habbit. Whether these are just rumour, his paranoia, or just things people have decided he would want, we may never know. Here is what I know:

• His office is like a submarine, i.e. it has an airtight door. Coupled with this is his team of men that burst in at regular intervals to spray fresh air around;
• The colour red must not be worn in his office;
• No mobile phones, nor watches to be worn in his office;
• He doesn't like people walking behind him.

We love him though, as he's giving us lots of money.

I went to see "Flightplan" with Binks and her friend Eiko, whom we had dinner with on Saturday with Flick and Ciarán, in Kurume. It was a rather good pschological thriller starring Jodie Foster. Many a possible plot line is suggested, though only one is correct.

In other news, Hirata-sensei gave us some late Valentine's chocolates.

Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day in Japan is different to that in England. At home it is a mostly anonymous affair with a myriad cards, ending in question-marks, being posted internally via makeshift postboxes in schools. In Japan, the direction of "love" flows from the girls to the boys, mostly in the form of dark chocolate. Girls will go up to the guys to whom they are attracted and openly present them with their gift, in the hope that they have reciprocal feelings. Due to this one-sided nature, White Day was invented to be held exactly one month later on March 14th. At this time the guys that received gifts should give back in the form of marshmallows and white chocolate, even if they are not interested.

In class this morning we all received chocolate Euro money from Yoshimastu-sensei, and some white chocolate balls with dried-strawberry centres from Watanabe-sensei. Kanashima-san produced an assortment of chocolates at lunch time, before giving James and I a lift back to the dormitory as she was taking Lauma there anyway.

In the afternoon/evening I taught my four classes, of whom I am now becoming slightly fond. We gave Haruka-chan and her mother a lift again; she's so cute! Then Eri (with whom I do Aikido) from the second class gave me a Valentine's Day gift. She made clear to me that it was a giri gift, i.e. an obligation, and not a love-based offering, which would have been odd as she is only ten. Still, it was good to know that I'd been remembered by some of my class. Unfortunately that was the only one, though I thought I heard my third all-girl class saying that they hadn't been told I was coming (at least I'll pretend that's what I heard). Noriko also gave me a little chocolate as well, which was nice.

Posted

I posted my acceptance to DB today at the post office in Futsukaichi. It cost me £7.50 to send five sheets of A4 by registered mail, though this isn't too bad as they reckoned it would get there in three days! If it does I'll be surprised as it took a week to reach me via UPS in the first place.

Other things I've done today include: play my new guitar (I've missed the sound of a six string); all my homework (kanji, and two exercise books); eaten dinner (battered fish, seemingly straight from a British fish & chip shop); mess around on the internet doing nothing interesting.

Aikidogi

Flick and I received our aikidogi (aikido clothes) today: all white and over-sized, they shrink in the wash. We are starting with white belts, though I don't know whether this is a generic colour as we are older, or really is the lowest belt level. We also paid our membership fees, though surprisingly I didn't feel anything parting with such a large amount of money!

The children in the first class that passed their examinations a fortnight ago received their certficates for the next level. Printed, but still a very nice calligraphic scroll with their name on it. Some got new belt colours as well. That did mean 10 minutes of constant seiza.

Some of the moves they try and teach us in the second class are difficult, especially for us beginners who have yet to master the basics. When your black-belted partner doesn't know what he's doing either, then you're in trouble! (I gave up with that move.)

In the afternoon I watched most of the film "Detroit Rock City" on TV with Rushen. It was about four teenagers trying to get to a KISS concert and was pretty bad, though after you get so far into a film, you feel you have to finish watching it. I watched "Kiki's Delivery Service" (魔女の宅急便 - Majyo no Takkyubin), which was rather lovely, uplifting, and relaxing. A lovely little film that also contains a character called "Tombo" who, I'm told, looks like me! Thus "Tombo" is one of the names they call me. Afterwards I filled in most of my employment application form, all 19 pages of it. Lovely.

In the evening we watched a film the Keiko and Brendan had watched: "Hitch," starring Will Smith. It was quite a good movie as well: nothing special, though calming and very watchable. Bed followed, after I spoke with Hannah, as I had a headache.

Job Offer

My job offer came today. It's a tome and I have only nine days to return my acceptance form, so taking into account the posting time, that makes about two days. Now there is no post tomorrow, so it's cutting it a little fine.

I went out with Ciarán and James to a little place in Futsukaichi called Rojiura Canteen. An interesting name, and an interesting smell of paint to accompany it. The food was nice though: we all had the chiken set menu and a drink. All for only 730yen (£3.65), which is quite reasonable.

In the evening I went out again with Binks, back to Futsukaichi. This time to Son House where we met Binks' friend Eiko. Felicity turned up after a while, and later Ciarán joined us from work. I had a hamburger with cheese, and a couple of cocktails - half price at only £1.25 each. All together dinner was £6.00, plus we got to practice and learn some more Japanese.

Rushen saw Binks' friend, Akiko, again tonight for the second time. This time he did go in for the kiss, which, as I understand it, was initially unreturned, but the second attempt was more successful. He had invited her around as she said that she liked cooking, so he got her to cook for him. She made okonomiyaki.

Failed

I failed the test... by 7 marks! 1.5% off passing. Oh, well! I shall have to do some work for the next one. James, the jammy git, got 73%, which he reckons he guessed his way to. I think he also did a little work, which may explain it.

I have a new resolve to study harder and become great at Japanese. I think speaking skills are what I can gain most from being here as anyone can study kanji and vocabulary from their room in any country. I spoke to Nozomi tonight for a while, mostly in Japanese. It was good practice I think. I just need to do it more often and with different people.

Thank you also to the Floras, who sent me a birthday card that I received today. I'm also a little worried that my job offer has yet to arrive. I hope I didn't put the wrong address down...

JLPT Level 3

Today we sat the JLPT Level 3 (we did the Level 4 last year before Christmas). It was rather taxing, though it turns out that you are normally only ready to take it only after having completed the second text book, which we have just started. There were a couple of the better Taiwanese students sitting in with us, whilst the others took Level 4 in another room.

We had the first two papers returned to us in the afternoon. I got 63 and 67 on the vocabulary and the listening papers, which means I need 110 out of 200 to pass overall (the pass level is 60%). I'm a little apprehensive about it, as having received these results I'll now be disappointed if I don't pass.

Level 3 requires the knowledge of 300 kanji, 1500 words, and about 300 hours of study. There is no way that we have done 300 hours of work: we only have 10.5 hours of lessons a week, though I suppose we have homework, etc.

Teru Teru Bouzu

Teru Teru Bouzu is a doll made by children, usually out of white cloth, and hung outside by a window so as to bring good weather the next day. It is made by first rolling a ball, then wrapping cloth around it, and tying a rubber band or some cord around the ball to make a neck. Finally a simple face is drawn on and a string attached. The song below is sung to the doll.

照る照る坊主　照る坊主　明日天気にしておくれ
いつかの夢の空のように晴れたら 銀の鈴上げよ
照る照る坊主　照る坊主　明日天気にしておくれ
私のお願いを聞いたなら　甘いお酒をたんと飲みましょ
照る照る坊主　照る坊主　明日天気にしておくれ
もしも曇って泣いてたら　そなたの首をちょん切るぞ

Teru teru bouzu, teru bouzu. Ashita tenki ni shite okure.
Itsuka no yume no sora no you ni, haretara gin no suzu ageyo.
Teru teru bouzu, teru bouzu. Ashita tenki ni shite okure.
Watashi no negai o kiitanara, amai osake o tanto nomimasho.
Teru teru bouzu, teru bouzu. Ashita tenki ni shite okure.
Moshi mo kumotte naitetara, sonata no kubi o chon to kiru zo.

Oh, good weather charm, shining priest. Bring good weather tomorrow.
If the sky is like one I once dreampt of, I will give you a silver bell.
Oh, good weather charm, shining priest. Bring good weather tomorrow.
If you grant my wish, then you will drink sweet alcohol to your heart's content.
Oh, good weather charm, shining priest. Bring good weather tomorrow.
If it is raining and you are crying, then I will cut through your neck.

Tea

I was alone at tea ceremony today as Yuu, Akaya, and Erika have all gone home on study leave until the end of March. That means I get individual tuition on the way of tea.

Today we did a different form of the tea ceremony: we made thick tea (koicha). One bowl is shared between all the guests, which is good as it doesn't taste very good. It's a pity you eat the little cake before drinking the tea as it would be ideal for getting rid of the taste.

The tea is supposed to be drunk after a light meal in a ceremony that can last for three hours, or sometimes more. The implements used to prepare the tea are passed around the guests for examination after everyone has drunk, and then a conversation between the head guest and the presider-of-tea about them should ensue. Needless to say that my Japanese isn't up to it; I barely understood what Kaede-sensei was talking about.

A nice little difference is the pot containing the tea: it is of a different shape and comes in a little cloth bag from which it needs to be removed and later replaced. However, two hours of sitting on one's knees is not so pleasant. I had to give up due to the pain/lack of feeling in my legs.

End of Year

It's the end of the year for some people at Cambridge House. Nozomi, Akiko, and Humie are all going home tomorrow, and the others will probably head off soon.

This evening I played an hour of pool with them, whilst they all took photos of each other. I'm just concerned that my game has plummeted and I hardly potted a thing all evening!

Back at the Hall

First Japanese lesson for a week, and I felt it - slightly. The rest of the class had only been reviewing the things that we have learnt up until now, and inly spent one day on doing new material. Hopefully I should be back up to speed by Wednesday with all outstanding tests completed.

Linden Hall was a little bit interesting. I shall now be doing my Monday classes with Brendan as Binks and I swapped. We made them make bedroom signs to hang over their doorknobs, only realising at the last minute that some of them didn't even have their own rooms, let alone doorknobs on which to hang them! Oh, well. Most of them copied Brendan's "traffic light" example one anyway, with only two or three doing anything original. Misato was the most creative and experimental drawing a lovely little picture of herself playing with a beach ball on one side, and a night scene on the other.

Playing in the gym afterwards was notable: imagine that a bean bag represents some form of arms, or munition. Brendan and I were passing bean bags back and forth between ourselves, which the boys then wanted to join in (Jealous of weapons the other countries had, they were massed produced until everyone had some - Arms Race). While friendly for a moment, it quickly devolved in war (If you have guns, use them). Teams (alliances) were formed and all out throwing with no rules began.

Initially without structure the children gradually developed tactics, hording bags until they had enough for a big attack (total war tactics). They then developed rudimentary defences (fortifications) hiding behing things in the gym. Finally we noticed the development of a charge-and-throw tactic (guerilla warfare).

During this time the number of bean bags (guns) was for some reason depleting. It turned out that the girls were stealing and hiding them (Feminist Pacifist Movement). Does this prove that war is instinctive?

Nagasaki

The coach trip to Nagasaki left at 9am from Hakata station. Kanashima had been worrying all week about us turning up on time for the coach, so the prank phone call telling that we were just leaving and we would see her at 10 was inevitable. After the noises of horror on the other end of the phone grew to an unbearable level, we had to put her out of misery; it was just too cruel.

Our tour guide was a lovely, round-faced, middle-aged man, though I think he was scared of us. We sat at the back of the bus and he delegated with us through Kanashima who was sitting just in front. We each got a little badge, presumably identifying us as being on that tour, and a timetable for the Chinese Latern Festival that was taking place.

After about 45 minuted of driving we stopped for the first time: a toilet break. Maybe the tour guide has had accidents in the past, I don't know, though it seemed a little over the top seeing as we stopped again only an hour later. This time at a cake factory. We'd had a sample on the bus, and now we could witness it being made: from the automatic egg-breaking machine, through the big "Wallace and Gromit"-esque contraption, and out the other end. The giant square slab of sponge was cut and more free samples were handed out. The opportunity to purchase sponge cake was extended, though we were content with just eating the freebies.

We finally reached Nagasaki where we had food in a Chinese restaurant-cum-train station. I don't know where the trains were, but they kept making annoucements about platforms. The food was all right and came in largish quantities. There was a spinnable section in the middle of the table that kept us quite amused for a few minutes. I also had my first cup of oolong tea, which was quite nice.

After lunch we made a break for the epicentre (they call it the hypocentre) of the atomic bomb, which we found. It's a strange feeling standing there, knowing that only 500 metres above your head a huge nuclear bomb had once detonated - only 60 years ago.

We quickly high-tailed it back to the coach, where it drove us to the parking lot, only to decide afterwards that we would catch the Nagasaki tram back to the peace park. This was not before we popped into the Latern Festival and saw some dragon dancing. It was all very impressive, especially some of the giant lanterns.

We walked around the large peace park, the main monument being a giant, blue man. He is sitting with one hand pointing to the sky (representing the threat of nuclear weapons), another pointing out to his side (representing peace). His eyes are closed in rememberance, and he has one leg up in a half-meditative pose, his other leg poised for action in assisting humanity.

The Atomic Bomb Museum was full of pictures of the aftermath: pictures of burnt people. There was a timeline of events before and one for after focussing on nuclear testing and related issues. There was also a replica of the "Fatman" bomb, and a collection of melted coins and bottles that were recovered. It was quite a full-on, shock therapy experience.

Afterwards we went back on the tram to the wharf where we had a drink. The girls stayed for food, whilst the guys went off in search of Chinese food. On this front we utterly failed: we were in the middle of a packed China town, during a festival, and all the Chinese restaurants were full. In the end we settled for Korean cuisine at a little place run by a single woman on her own. She forgot my order and had to do it quickly at the end, though it was tasty when it came. We spent most of our time there trying to name as many fruits as possible, due to the fact that Brendan told us that a study found that the average Thai child could name and identify over 120 varities. We managed 61, though I'm not sure whether they all counted.

The girls burst in during our eating, rather drunk, though we had only a little left before we had to return to the coach so they left to enjoy some more of the festival. Before we left, the woman took our photo to pin up with the rest scattered around the room. It's strange knowing that our likenesses will be pinned up in Nagasaki for a while, where I'll probably never see it again.

Back at the Lantern Festival we were in time for some more dragon dancing, though this time it burst forth onto the street right next to us, which was cool. After a while it ran off down the back streets, followed by another dragon operated by an all female crew. Dragon dances seem to consist of a long dragon with many wooden poles hanging down by which it is operated. There is also a man in front of the head that has a golden ball on a stick that the dragon follows about.

We all made it in time back to the coach and we departed from Nagasaki, the journey broken on the way back only by the obligatory toilet stop. After returning Binks called everyone together, whereupon I was given my (belated) birthday present: an acoustic guitar. A wonderful surprise, and an excellent end to a good day out. Thank you everyone!