Kyoto

I went to Gion on Monday, last Monday. I'm not sure if you guys know but there was an accident in Gion last... Saturday? Maybe? A man passed out while driving and drove right into a crowd of people. Seven or eight people died and ten were badly injured. When I was in Kyoto I was with some friends and they felt real uneasy around that area. Japan is kind of superstitious about the supernatural. They believe that that spot where the accident happened will be an area for future accidents because of the negative energy left from those who died. I wonder what caused the man to pass out at the wheel.

I swear I haven't forgotten you

It's been a while. I'm going to try to get back into the swing of blogging again. I've just gotten so distracted and I know I've probably said this three or four times before but I say it because it's true. My goal is one blog post a week. Maybe two. Even if they have nothing interesting to say.

It's spring time in Japan, you can tell because all the cherry blossoms are in bloom. I've been to three separate cherry blossom picnics. One was in Kyoto, one was in Osaka and one was in Kakogawa. The one in Kyoto was for the KCA (Kansai Canadian Association) where I was invited to be part of the staff because I plan on being in Japan for a while. It was interesting to have all these people come up to me and ask me when I was going back, to which I'd reply "I live here." And they automatically went, "For now, right? Because of work?" I'd have to say, "No, I live here with my husband and his family. There's no going back for me." Sometimes we'd go back and forth between the "I live here" "For now" Which got a little tiresome, I'll admit. Oh speaking of that, I saw a young boy playing in around the park that we had the picnic at and thought his shirt was amusing so I took a picture.

Mail time!

Monday was on of the busier days that I've had in a while. During some part of the day I went to the post office to mail a ton of stuff ( letters, packages, postcards, etc - 50 in total). After it was finished my husband and I were driving to the convenience store to pay our cell phone bills when I received a phone call. This was unusual as most people tend to just message me so I guessed that it wasn't someone that I knew. When I answered the phone I heard a woman speaking frantically but all I could understand was "post office". So I asked Hide to pull over saying that there was some sort of problem at the post office and made him take the call. After it was finished he said "The woman forgot to give us our receipt. She will send it in the mail."

You can use the Wii for Internet?

While I admit that this seems a little stalker-ish, one of the ways I can see how people are seeing my blog is by Operating System. This wasn't something I opted for, it was just something that was already there. I casually went over there today because it also allows me to see by country as well and that's always fun (The most views I've received this week are from Germany). I've taken a screen shot so you all know I'm not lying here, but someone is looking at my blog from a Nintendo Wii. Now I've got a Japanese Wii so I don't really go into any of the options that I'm not 100% familiar on and I think I vaguely remember (from playing on friends' Wiis) that there is an internet option but I didn't realize that you could go on the actual internet. I thought it was, like, a Nintendo version where you could only go to Nintendo things. Buying games from their online store, playing online on their server, that sort of thing. Now I know. You can surf the web on your Wii. It probably costs something every month and I don't think the ease that you get from accessing the web from a computer would be there. You probably have to type things on an on-screen keyboard and such. But people do it. Neat. Hello Wii viewer!

I haven't updated in a while

And I apologize. I was really getting into the blogging groove back in February and then things got in the way. Here's the stuff you missed.

There was an art contest that I attempted to enter with the help of my best friend but in the end we couldn't meet the deadline. We're a great team, I think, her and I... we just don't do so well with deadlines, haha.

Then Shinji's girlfriend decided to stay in his room for a full week which made me feel awkward for being in this room for whatever reason so I tried to avoid this room - the one with my laptop in it- as much as I could.

After that there was a brief moment of panic when I thought that my jobs were being taken away from me.

The person who had given me his jobs, before leaving Japan with his family, emailed me and the way that he had worded it made me think he wanted them back since he was returning to Japan with his family. While talking to the bestie above I decided to take her advice and ask what the students think about it, did they want him to return as a teacher or did they want me to continue teaching them, they were the ones paying to learn after all.

Hopefully it wouldn't come down to me giving it back to him, hopefully they wouldn't choose him over me, and hopefully he wouldn't outright ask me. It was a lot to wish for since, I'm sure, he's a more experienced teacher and also because he's probably double my age (he's got more life experience than I do, enabling him to talk about a wide range of things that I'm unable to just yet) there's not too much of an age gap between him and the students and I figure that they'd be more comfortable around him than I. However they assured me the next time we met up that they'd like it if I continued teaching. A great big sigh of relief for me but it also got me thinking that I really should get my TESL certificate. What happened next was the thing that sold me on really doing it and not just thinking about it.

The next thing that happened was getting fired from the preschool job I had. I don't know if "fired" is the right word. They sorta... let me go I suppose. I did what I usually did there, played with the kids until it was time to teach them some English. But this time I had people take my picture with the preschoolers and I was video taped, asking about my "memories" None of the people taping me knew how to speak English, they just said the word "memories" over and over until I figured out that they wanted me to speak of my time here. With five seconds of preparation before the little red light went on, I sorta blundered my way through but the big issue I had with it later was that I said everything in the present tense, as if I still worked there. Koro suggested that they should put a caption on the bottom of the video saying Note: She didn't know that we fired her at this point.

I had no idea, at the time, why I was being treated like a mini movie star until the very end when the teachers said "So you're going back to Canada, eh?" And I'm confused because I had no idea what they were talking about, "I-I am?" I respond in broken, horrible Japanese. "We heard from the head teacher..." My answer confused them, just as their casual statement confused me. I left, still feeling confused and asked my husband to phone them up the next day. When he came back from work he told me that they were "Updating their program and will not be needing an English teacher anymore". I suppose telling me that I'm leaving for Canada is easier to explain to someone who can't communicate very well in Japanese than the truth. I should point out that I never indicated to anyone from the preschool that I was leaving for Canada and since I got the job from the same man who is returning to Japan I had wondered if he said something to them, because of the strange wording of his email. In the end I decided that he probably didn't contact them and they just decided to lie for the benefit of the kids. They know I'm Canadian but they also know that I have a husband and life here so whatever they were thinking I can't guess.

So when that happened I applied for a course online. I'm now getting online education. It's a new experience for me, kind of daunting because of the way that it's set up. You have to make absolutely sure that you answered to the best of your ability. If they feel that your answers are up to par, or if you just copied from the material then your overall grade will be lowered. The same policy for plagiarizing exists - if they feel you've done it then you get booted out. And the way it works is I have a tutor who sends me the unit material as well as a worksheet. I read the material and put down the answers on the worksheet and then send it back to him. (My tutor is a dude, I'm assuming, since his name is Darren.) I'm allowed to ask him any questions but so far I don't have any for him that couldn't be answered by looking at the material. There are about 20 units. I'm allowed to do two a day but he won't send the next one until I send him the previous first. I'm also allowed to take as much time as needed but it's recommended that I try to do one a day or every two days so the information is kept fresh in my mind. At first they say that I'm allowed to take as much time as needed. That's what the site says. Then in the information package he emailed to me it says that I'm allowed to take as much time as needed in a six month period. I doubt that I'll be needing six months but it would have been nice to know that there was a limit before I signed up.

My husband's parents bought Yuika a piano yesterday. It's all set up in the living room. So far it's been a $5000 waste of space since she still uses the keyboard. I still think it's a $5000 waste of space but some part of me, I think the part that wanted to learn piano when I was younger, wants to learn it again. So I've been borrowing it from her while she's at school. And yes, it is hers. A nine year old girl has her own piano. I've been begging everyone for a single shelf for all my books for months and no one's helped me with that. Yuika asked once for "a real piano" and the following week she gets a piano. If I sound bitter it's probably because I am. She's NINE. And hasn't even touched it yet. I honestly think it was a waste of money and space. However. Until they land on the same page as Hide and I, and even if they never do, I might every so often attempt to learn how to play.

For whatever reason lately I've been getting more attention from strangers. They come up to me and want to have conversations, or they shout "Hello!!" In English while they walk by me. Some give me broad smiles, some give me shy waves but apparently someone put a "Notice me!" sign above my head that I can't seem to get rid of. Nothing seems to motivate me more to learn Japanese than when a stranger comes up to me and wants to have a conversation so instead of automatically spouting "I can't speak Japanese, sorry." (In Japanese), I turn it into a test. How much can I say? Can I sound polite? Natural? Can I carry the conversation without pausing and thinking too much about the words? So far the answers to all of those questions is a resounding No. Well, all except the first. The answer to that one being Not much. I've got to step up my Japanese studies.

Zelda Skyward Sword

Again, if you don't want things spoiled for you, feel free to skip this post.

Oni are creatures from Japanese folklore, variously translated as Demons, devils, ogres, or trolls. They are popular characters in Art, literature and theatre.

Depictions of oni vary widely but usually portray them as hideous, gigantic creatures with sharp claws, wild hair, and two long horns growing from their heads. They are humanoid for the most part, but occasionally, they are shown with unnatural features such as odd numbers of eyes or extra fingers and toes.Their skin may be any number of colors, but red and blue are particularly common.

They are often depicted wearing tiger-skin loincloths and carrying iron clubs. This image leads to the expression "oni with an iron club", that is, to be invincible or undefeatable. It can also be used in the sense of "strong beyond strong", or having one's natural quality enhanced or supplemented by the use of some tool. (Wikipedia)

Recognize this? That's because they use Oni in Zelda. Skyward Sword and also in Twilight Princess - Although they are more recognizable in Skyward Sword.

Also they are in DBZ.

I Should make More Mistakes

When learning Japanese. Seems simple enough, but when you think about it, we’re wired to try to avoid making mistakes. It’s embarrassing. It’s painful. Yadah yadah yadah. Mistakes aren’t things that we as humans like to make.

There’s a few reasons for this.

1. If you’re not making mistakes, you’re not pushing boundaries. If you’re not pushing boundaries, you’re going to end up learning at a slower pace.
2. If you’re afraid of making mistakes, you won’t try to learn new things. To learn new things, you have to make a lot of mistakes.
3. If you make a mistake, you can learn what you did wrong. Going back and learning why you did something wrong gives you better insight into the thing you’re learning. If you’re not doing this, you’re just skimming the surface.
4. If you’re not willing to make mistakes, you’re probably not willing to practice conversation with people. Practicing conversation is really important. It helps you to practice recalling things you’ve learned in new and different situations. Remember how important recalling information is for learning?
5. Mistakes mean you’re trying. If you’re trying… well, that means you’re trying. You should try more.

The list actually goes on and on. No matter who you are, you can strive to make more mistakes. The important thing, however, is learning from them. This also isn't just for learning languages but can apply to anything that involves learning.