I'm looking for...

I know it's been a while since I've blogged- Lately I've had trouble trying to write tweets more frequently, let alone longer blog posts. Plus, kinda sadly, there doesn't seem to be much to report about vein back in Japan. Same experiences and troubles as before, though it's become so normal for me that I don't find the need to report about it as much. I will try, when I can, but don't hold your breath.

One thing I did want to share however, was this. Definitely brought a smile to my face while going trough another class-worth of markings.

buddhist disneyland

A friend told me about 'Buddhist Disneyland' a while back, but I didn't really pay much attention then. I just figured Buddhism and Disneyland were mutually exclusive, so anything that used both words in the same sentence just didn't seem... right. Plus, There were still some huge tourist places that I still had yet to visit, so the prospect of wandering around a Buddhist cemetery over tourist attractions, food and phone straps didn't really sound that appealing.

However, now that a few years have passed where I've visited the large touristy places, eaten more than I could possible imagine, and *sniff sniff* my much-cherished phone straps are now an endangered species, Buddhist Disneyland doesn't sound like that crazy of an idea. Also, with its reputation of being a photogenic spot, I felt kinda obliged to make a visit there to justify my SLR purchase last year, which has been gathering dust since for the past eight months or so. So, with friend in tow, it was off to Buddhist Disneyland, or as it is more commonly known, Okunoin.

I don't know what it is about the place, but despite it being a cemetery that's been in place for centuries and considered the largest graveyard in the country, it doesn't have the same vibe that makes me creeped out when I walk past cemeteries in other countries.

why is your head so small?

I don't know why, but I distinctly remember being in year 8, sitting in the art room learning about life drawing. We were drawing portraits of our friends for a project when my art teacher explained people's body's proportions. I was surprised to find out that a person's arm span is the same length as their height, and that a person's eyes are generally centred on the middle of the face, rather than being  on the upper third of the face. I also remember being told that when drawing people in cartoons, a character's body is roughly height of 4-6 of the characters heads, and for realistic drawings, their height the equivalent of about 8 heads. Why exactly I still remember this after all these years, and a thing from my French classes in uni, is still a mystery, since I didn't really think knowing the amount of heads in a person's body was ever a useful thing to really know. But it is something I can't stop thinking about since this week.

Sitting at my desk on my computer, I overheard most of the other teachers talking about effective print club techniques, such as using peace sign hands to frame your face, and holding your hand up closer to the camera than your face. 

"So when you hold up your hand to the camera, your hand looks much bigger, and makes your face look much smaller in comparison."

"Is that so? I just thought all the girls did it because it was cool."

"Well, not really. Japanese people have big heads, you see, a lot bigger proportionally compared to foreigners. Just look at Narin."

Hearing my name, I instinctually look up to see if someone called me name, only to see the whole staffroom looking back, silently admiring my (supposedly) small head. After the eternally long pause, and probably noticing my discomfort being stared at, someone mentions,  "Narin, your head is very small!", as if to appease my obvious awkwardness.

"Um... Thank you?" Awkwardness not exactly appeased, but soon enough, people stop staring and go back to their regular conversations. 

Awkwardness, staring, and not understanding what exactly is going on? It must be Thursday.

not in kansas anymore

You know that awkward, first day at a newschool feeling? In theory, you know what you’re in for: Being with a new group of students and teachers, a new schedule, and new environment. It’s all the same, but slightly different than before, so even though you’ve done this whole ‘school’ thing before, you still don’t quite know what to expect.

Turns out, even though my school days are well behind me, I still can’t shake that feeling. I’m sure it doesn’t really help either that my workplace also just happens to be a school.

After working at a handful of schools, I thought I had this English teaching thing down. Knowledge of what the present participle is? Check. Handful of games and lesson ideas that incorporate some form of grammar point? Check. Ability to deflect boys’ inappropriate questions (and also their anal-probing fingers)? Check.

What I forgot to prepare for though, wasthe fact that I’m now teaching in Osaka. I’m out of the quaint little town in Gifu and into one of the largest cities in Japan. Despite living in Melbourne, I feel like a country bumpkin who has moved to the big smoke. I’m absolutely swamped with students – 13 classes of 40 students as opposed to 6 classes of 35– and feel it’s even more impossible now to remember the sheer number of students' names. As a result of more classes, it also means I see each class only once aweek, some every fortnight, which also has resulted in me taking charge of the whole lesson to compensate. I know I can do the assisting part of the Assistant Language Teacher thing, but teaching? For a whole lesson? In my old school, sure I took charge of classes, but it was more like elective classes and when the English teacher was away – I was responsible, but at the same time, I wasn’t completely responsible in the event that no work was actually done.

Everything I did learn about Japanese schools may have also been only applicable to my schools in Gifu, too. I got the weirdest looks after asking what junior high school festival was, since it never really happened in Gifu. Chalk it up to paranoia, maybe, but I swear there was a slight condescending tone when I asked if the students ate kyushoku, or the school lunch. “Oh, how quaint. You had kyushoku at junior high in Gifu. We only have that in preschools and primary schools. You know, just for the little kids.” 


Okay, maybe they didn't say that, but I knew they were thinking it. I could tell by their looks. 

an ikea lover's dream

This would be a post showing you pictures of everything in my place, but seeing the lack of anything in my apartment, it seems pictures aren't really necessary. That, plus it's not the largest place in the world - my apartment in Gifu seems like a mansion in comparison. Not that I'm too overly upset about it - I guess it's the price you pay when you're actually close to a major city in Japan, and your train station is literally only a few stops away from the city centre. And yes, the fact I'm starting from scratch with a newly-rented apartment (and not inheriting a bunch of stuff from numerous previous English teachers) means just about every day I'm spending a good chunk of money to buy something that my apartment needs. I'm pretty much only limited by what fits in my bike basket, or up until yesterday, what I could carry home from the station. 

Trying to make lemonade out of lemons, it does give me the freedom to furnish and design my apartment the way I want. Also, while my apartment isn't the most spacious, I'm fortunate enough to be living in a country that is well-versed in space efficiency. I don't have room for a dish-drying rack beside my sink, but not to worry, as apparently they make overhanging dish-drying shelves. 

I also just heard that one of Ikea's few Japanese stores is in Osaka, so I am thinking fulfilling my dream of designing a room straight out of an Ikea catalogue. Yep, I know - who said you can't dream big?

japan take two

As evidenced by the lack of posts on this blog, I've struggled to find things that were noteworthy enough to write about coming back to Melbourne. As much as there is in Melbourne, it just doesn't seem as exciting after living in a foreign country where buying groceries in a different language seemed like an adventure. And while I do appreciate the extensive varieties of cheese and bread on offer at supermarkets, I just don't feel 'Coles' and 'adventure' belong in the same sentence. 

But, in theory, this whole blogging deficiency is about to change. Despite deciding to come back to Melbourne this time last year after tiring of the feeling of starting again that came every year teaching English in Japan, I'm packing my life up and heading there yet again. Am I crazy? Yeah, probably a little. But this year back home and with friends have really put things in perspective. Sure my friends are awesome, and Melbourne really is the place to be, it just might not be the place for me at the moment. The jobs that I really want are few and far between, and involve Japan in some way or another. On top of that, those jobs are also looking for native-like fluency in Japanese, which I still feel isn't where I want it to be. So, all signs seem to point to Japan a second time around. 

While I can't guarantee more adventures that will equal discovering Jesus, or even days at work that are as traumatic memorable as before, my fingers are crossed that at the very least, it involves more food adventures and of course, the resumption of my favourite pastime. 

reminiscing about sendai

 I, like everyone else around the world, have been glued to the screen watching the news coverage in Japan. And like everyone else, I just don't know how to put into words how I feel about the whole tragedy, and can't even begin to imagine how those remaining in Tohoku feel. Their homes, family and friends - their lives - wiped out in an instant, and continue to live in fear of aftershocks on top of a nuclear situation. My heart really goes out to them. It's sad to think that one of the last places I visited in Japan before returning to Australia probably won't ever be the same.

Stepping off the shinkansen in one hot summer day in August last year, I had no idea what to expect from Sendai. Essentially, it was just a town that up north that I felt I should see; What exactly it was that I was supposed to see there, I had no idea. But travel fatigue had set in, and I was tired of moving from place to place every day. So rather than spending a day in Sendai and another in nearby Niigata, I booked a hotel for two days and hoped I would find stuff to keep me occupied for the time.

Although I had heard of this 'Tanabata festival' that was pretty huge there, I pretty much just ignored all information about it, thinking it wasn't really relevant to me. After all, Tanabata is celebrated all around Japan, it from my previous experience, it just involves people tying their handwritten wishes to a bamboo tree, and eating star-shaped jelly for school lunch. Plus, in Gifu it's celebrated in July, so I thought my chance to see a larger festival with more bamboo and star-shaped foods was over.

As I walked around the station and saw the giant paper lanterns adorning everything, however, it slowly dawned on me that I maybe should have read up on the Tanabata festival a little more. Maybe the people of Sendai weren't just being lazy and hadn't neglected to take down their month-old decorations.

Being in a town that was known for its festival, it's needless to say that it was pretty packed. But as an avid Japanese festival fan, I couldn't really complain. With the crowds of people came fireworks, performances, a cheerful atmosphere, and of course, stalls upon stalls of festival food.

It was a weird sense of denouement going to my last festival in Japan, and seeing how much had changed since the first festival I went to during my first week in Gifu. Rather than wanting to try every single food offered at the food stalls, I avoided the often-questionable beef skewers and made a beeline straight for the jaga butter and takoyaki. The novelty of seeing people wearing yukatas had worn off so much that I barely batted an eyelid seeing young guys rocking a yukata with orange crocs and anime hair.

Festival celebrations aside, there was more than enough things to fill my time. Initially it does feel like most other towns in Japan, but walking through the city, you notice the history of the area reflected in everything you see. The town is famous for being established by Date Masamune, who, according to my academic research, is a famous eyepatch-doting samurai that wields up to six swords at once and speaks in a mix of Japanese and English. Okay, so maybe the creators of anime may have exercised their artistic licence on the part, but still, his impact can still be felt in Sendai. Crescent-shaped designs - an homage to Masamune's famous helmet - is incorporated into architecture, street signs, and street lamps throughout the city.

Maybe it's the stories that Masamune was also gourmand that made food a focus there, or maybe it was the food that influenced his decision to relocate there. Either way, it's a city that takes its cuisine very seriously - it's said to be the origin of quite a few different foods, like zunda mochi, hiyashi chuka, and most famously, gyutan. Gyutan is itself is ox tongue that is lightly seasoned, sliced, and grilled, which has become a delicacy all over Japan. It's said to have originated in Sendai after WWII - Occupation forces stationed there often threw away the tail and the tongue, so one restaurant owner decided to use this cheap cut of beef at his restaurant. The restaurant became popular, and now, it's seen in just about every yakiniku restaurant in Japan.

I like the idea of Sendai and gyutan; It shows the people's resilience in tough times, the ability to make the most of what they have, and prosper. Let's hope the spirit of gyutan in Sendai, Tohoku, and the rest of Japan still lives on.

detour to japan

So, after three years in Japan, what skills do I have to show for it? 

... Yeah, I'm not quite too sure either. While some friends specialise in law, or accounting, all that I seem to have expertise in is teaching English to Japanese students, which isn't as useful or transferable as you'd think it would be.

It does, however, make me qualified and experienced enough to do what every other other Melbourne JET seems to do when they come back to Australia; write an article for the local Japanese language newspaper. Trying to avoid the typical narrative of a foreigner finding themselves in a strange and exciting new environment, I decided to go a different route. You know, write something a little more cultured and learned, much like many of the posts on this blog. 

I guess if my current career pursuits reach a dead end, I could always consider a career in writing in some way shape or form... Once my article about well-hung green characters sets the Melbourne-based, Japanese literary world on fire, that is.