Sex Education!

Guess who got to sit in on a SEX EDUCATION class yesterday?

I had no idea what I was in for, since my JTE said "so many" students have babies these days. Well I don't know about other JETs, but I haven't seen a pregnant student yet. In fact, they barely seem to like the opposite sex. Maybe I'm just too oblivious to see students making out in dark corners. Or maybe I just want to believe that they are innocent...*cough* right...

I remember sex ed from my middle school years...the girls learn about reproduction while the boys "learn about aftershave," Erich says. The basic premise is: scare the crap out of us. Teach us about STDs, and show us the "Miracle of Life." That video still gives me nightmares and the occasional..."why the hell do I have to be a girl?" syndrome. So I expected it to be somewhat similar.

It was not.

In fact, I thoroughly enjoyed myself. The girls and the boys sat in the room together and were shown a Japanese version of "The Miracle of Life" with a happy couple about to deliver their second child. There were no screams of pain, there was no blood. They did show the delivery on screen, but it wasn't graphic. Surprisingly, the students didn't giggle or squirm at all. I didn't understand every word, but I know there was no rhetoric to scare the kids into abstinence.

Then they broke out the pregnancy suit.

If only I would have brought my camera for the hilarity that ensued. Boys were quickest to try on the suit, and most of them were so skinny it looked like it might break them in half. Utter chaos. Then they pointed to the suit, and pointed to me: "Erica-sensei!" Oh, god. I told them that I am already fat, but they still insisted. Great. I guess it can't hurt to know that I can touch my toes while pregnant.

So what is the point of this story? There isn't one, except for my final thought about Sex Education and Japanese society: Japan has a serious birth rate problem, so they want to depict childbirth in the most favorable way possible. But is teen pregnancy really on the rise here? That remains to be seen...

A plethora of pictures!

I don't really want to spend the whole night writing about this weekend, so I'm just going to lazily post pictures. Consider yourselves spared! But first, you must see Hilda's collection of toilet pictures. I just love anything toilet related, since my mind usually resides there.

This first set of pictures is from Thursday, when I went with the third-year students (san-nenseis) to cook food in Chijiwa. Except for the steaming bowl of pork they tried to feed me, it was fun!

San-nensei Girls

Friday, the lovely Katie invited us to Kunimi for a festival, but my hanabi (fireworks) pictures came out crap.

Saturday, after waking up hungover, we all took a ferry to Kumamoto to go to Mitsui Greenland, an awesome theme park.


Kancho!

Our Mistakes in Fukuoka

Fukuoka pictures

We woke up Saturday with the bitter taste of defeat, because we weren't able to book a hotel. On a whim, Erich called one of the places that rejected him the night before, and strangely enough, we got a room! So we drove our happy asses up to Isahaya to catch the next train up.

Mistake #1: NEVER park in Isahaya.

We drove around for what seemed like hours and found many nearly empty parking lots, only to realize that we weren't allowed to park there. So we ended up parking at the station instead. -¥6400.

Train tickets: -¥5000 each, roundtrip

Our hotel was easy to find, thanks to the proximity to the station. And it was only about ¥8000 a night. At this point, I only had about a man (¥10000, or $100) in my pocket. Regardless, we headed up to Canal City for our first afternoon/night on the town. First stop: Indian food. We ordered samosas, naan, and a mushroom/pea curry dish. It was TO DIE FOR!!! Then, per Erich's request, we headed up to the huge Sega video arcade.

Mistake #2: You know those token machines in America? Well, they aren't for video games here!

Stuck with a cup full of gambling tokens, we blew about ¥500 on those coin machines (you know, the ones where you try to topple an entire dish of coins with one? That's what we did. Lame.) Then, we had a Japanese teeny bopper moment: went to a sticker making booth. This particular mall had an entire plaza filled with different kinds of sticker booths. We chose the most benign one, only to discover that we SUCK AT READING INSTRUCTIONS IN JAPANESE.

Mistake #3: Don't put a doo-doo looking graphic all over the screen when you don't know where the Undo button is.

After you take the picture, you can decorate your picture with strange clipart. I basically ruined the pic, but it makes for good comedy. Too bad I don't have a scanner! Yen blown: ¥500. It wasn't all bad though: Canal City is definitely my favorite place in Fukuoka so far. And even though the stores close around 9, there are still people there. We wandered around the streets that night, greatly impressed by the quantity of people out and about. I could definitely live there.

Day 2: Headed up to Tenjin, which supposedly has good "shopping." That is debatable, since all of the "stores" carry the same basic thing: hoochie mama clothing. I was so dizzy from all of the hooch that both Erich and I had to stand in an empty stairwell and catch our breath. Yen spent: ¥0.

Wandered around, tried to find a shrine and failed. Rode subway/walked instead up to Hawks Town. Found the Gap. Found Toys R Us. Found Starbucks. I know, how American of us! Truth is, you miss these things only when you don't have them. Yen spent: at least ¥5000.

Then, we decided to freshen up and eat at the tofu restaurant mentioned in the previous post.

Mistake #4: Never trust the Rough Guide to Japan, published in January 2005.

After walking around Canal City for an hour, we decided to ask the Information desk, "Ume no hana wa doko desu ka?" (Where is the Ume no hana restaurant?) Iee. It is gone. Bummer. Instead, we went to a conveyor belt sushi place, which is something I've wanted to try since the day I stepped foot in Japan.

Mistake #5: Never go to a conveyor style sushi place with only a few customers at the counter.

Round after round, the same fish-guts-over-rice concoctions rolled by. I wanted some inari tofu, dammit! I wanted cucumber rolls! I eventually managed to order some California rolls. Erich tried natto after I repeatedly warned him not to. The picture of his face says it all! I think we rolled out of there in under ¥1000.

Money in my wallet at this point: ¥2000. We planned to go to the Voodoo Lounge, but it was far from our hotel, which meant we would have to catch a cab. So instead, we bought sake and shochu drinks and went back to the hotel. Oh, I forgot to mention that I bought a ton of Engrish stuff at the station before heading out to Canal City (see the pictures). They are probably going to be given to people, so I apologize for broadcasting them to everyone before handing them over. They are too good!

Uneventful ride back, except for one thing. You know those ticket holders I told you about?

Mistake #6: Don't leave your ticket on the train!

You need your tickets before entering and after exiting trains in Japan. We exited the train, then I realized and sprinted back onto the train. After retrieving the tickets, the train left like 5 seconds later. Whew!

Thanks for sticking with me, typing out my mistakes even tires me out!

Hey kids! It's the ice cream truck...or...something...?

Picture this: you are a child. It's late summer, and you are walking home after school. It's hot - you long for something refreshing to wash down all of your anxieties of the day. Around the corner, you spot a truck. It is playing some sort of music...could it be...

An octopus ball truck?

Yep. I heard the annoying music long before actually seeing it pull in front of my house (still kicking myself for not getting a picture). Takoyaki are fried balls of flour interspersed with pieces of octopus tentacles. On the one I tried, the suckers on the tentacles were intact, resulting in a strange texture. It's hard to imagine children enjoying this - but the pictures of the smiling children holding octopusses (or is it octopii?) on the truck suggest that takoyaki is a children's treat.

This bizarre cultural tidbit brought to you by...nothing, since I ran out of wine.

We went to Hell this weekend

Friday night, I had my neighbors Monica, Suzie, and Makii over for Mexican food. We then headed off to the karaoke place 5 minutes from my house. I jumped around that room like a crazy person - funny how karaoke erases all inhibitions (or was that the alcohol?). Check out the pictures for more stories:

Kate Bush = Strange karaoke!

Saturday night was the NOLA benefit at Shin's in Shimabara. It was really good to see the hanto people, but the crowd was so dense it was hard to talk to people. Didn't get any good pics, unfortunately.

Sunday, Erich and I drove up to Unzen on a whim. I've been wanting to do it for a while, and it was a nice day so we just went for it. The pictures pretty much tell the story: it was absolutely gorgeous. I have never been anywhere so beautiful in my entire life. If you read this, TRY TO VISIT ME SO YOU CAN SEE IT. I actually burned out the battery on my camera by the time we got to the top of Mt. Fugen, which just means that WE HAVE TO DO IT AGAIN! First, we walked around Unzen, a town famous for hot springs and jigoku (steam vents, aka "hells"). In the 17th century, Christians were killed here for not renouncing their faith. We didn't go to the Unzen Spa House (yet, waiting for fall), but we did bathe our feet in the foot onsen. Then we drove on up to Mt. Fugen, took the ropeway, and saw the most amazing views of my entire life. This is the closest I've ever been to an active volcano.


Check out the most beautiful place on earth

Teaching

I am not a very confident person. That is why I've been worried about standing up in front of a classroom and attempting to teach something. Not only do I lack confidence, but I have no teaching experience whatsoever. Recipe for disaster? I think so.

Eight lessons have passed, and I feel much better now. The little cuties actually enjoy hearing about my pathetic life. Talk about a confidence booster! When I tell them my dad was born in Japan and that my sister and brothers-in-law are all lawyers, they get so excited. And my niece! They think she is so "kawaii."

This job may just change me for the better.

PS - Funny classroom tidbit...one boy had a pencil case with the word "hemp" and a pot leaf on it. I wonder if he knows what that is...

The best Engrish I've seen yet...

Last night at the home and garden store, there was this sweet middle age lady looking at plants. Upon closer inspection:



In other news, I'm at work today with a typhoon blowing outside.

Last night, I found the cutest little lizard in my apartment...the little bugger was fast, but we caught him. I love the little lizards here - last week during cleaning, some students let me hold one that they caught and it started sleeping in my hands. I think the approaching typhoon is causing the critters to come out. Looks like we're getting a big one tomorrow, so the students are not coming to school. The teachers do have to be here, but I was told I can take nenkyu (vacation day). This is a bit of a culture shock, since we didn't have to take vacation for natural phenomena in America. I've been questioned many times about Katrina by my colleagues, and whether or not it affected my home. It's hard not to get emotional about it, because a city I went to regularly as a child is destroyed. It seems like yesterday I was walking through the French Quarter, and now it's a disease-infested swamp.

And now for a lighter topic:

This weekend, aka "Around the Hanto in 24 hours"

Part I - Friday night enkai
Friday night was the school enkai at the onsen. We had a fancy dinner at the spa restaurant, which consisted of many things I could not identify, but they were nice enough to only serve me fish (I hope!). One of the teachers made an origami figure with red hair to mark my seat, which is absolutely delightful. I saved it and will take a picture soon. One interesting thing I noticed about the enkai is that although I was told many times in orientation that it is polite to fill up other's glasses, I didn't expect it to be so frequent.

Gaijin Observation #1: Drinking with coworkers in Japan will get you drunk.

I would literally take one sip from my glass before someone topped it off! It was a rather nerve-wracking experience, especially when they put me in the spotlight and asked me questions. I don't usually like being the center of attention, but will have to get used to it here. After the Q&A session with the gaijin, I headed off to the onsen with my JTE and a few other teachers.

Gaijin Observation #2: Getting naked with your coworkers is weird.

In Japan, you always go into onsens naked. For this reason, they have men's and women's baths. So after stripping down, you go to the showering area to wash yourself before entering the onsen. I followed my JTE, and reasoned that it would be a good idea to shower for about the same amount of time. So two other teachers come and go, and my JTE is still washing. About 20 minutes of showering has elapsed, and she is still not done.

Gaijin sub-observation #2: My JTE is obsessive-compulsive.

So I decide to proceed without her. Wrapping my towel around me, I entered the onsen. She calls out, "Erica-sensei - no towel!" Shit. Modesty goes out the window in Japan, but the bath sure is nice. It was so hot I could only tolerate a few minutes of it though. After we got out, they all showered again. So in the end, I did about 30 minutes of preparation for a 5 minute bath. Welcome to Japan.

Part II - "Around the hanto in 24 hours" coming soon!

I got a car!

Hallelujah!
Now I can do what what normal people do without dying of heat. I love my tiny Japanese car!


Check it out!

First Day of School

Last night we went to Suzie's for dinner...she made chili and I brought guacamole...mmmmm...Then we watched "House of Flying Daggers" with Japanese subtitles since Makii was there, and amazingly enough, it was easy to understand. I don't know where in China it takes place, but I so want to go there!

School has started - finally! We have an opening ceremony today, and then the students take tests the rest of the day. Tomorrow, they have more tests, then I do my introduction lesson. I am scared. Found out that several years ago, the school had about 600 students. That number has decreased to 200 because of the declining birth rate.

Today the students greeted me with cheers and "Good Mornings!" What a wonderful way to start the day...