"...and I want to play the game with you."

Yesterday, I had the privilege (and I mean this in the sincerest way) of attending an entertainment extravaganza: Saki's Uncle's Retirement and Life-Beginning Party (as the rather large banner hung above the stage informed anyone in doubt). On arrival, each guest was handed a beautifully wrapped present (which turned out to be a really nice ceramic cup), a bingo card, a raffle ticket and an 100 yen coin (about 50p). Little did I know what was in store...

We sat down and we met "Maki" our compere (ess) for the duration. Dressed in a rather fetching puff-ball sleeve circa 1982 number, she introduced herself as a colleague of Saki's Uncle, who would be running proceedings (the alarm bells are a-ringing!). She then went on to inform a room full of 80 people that she was single, had two lovely dogs and was looking for a boyfriend (cue nervous laughter). I felt bad because I fear she spoilt her chances with the dog comment.

So without further a do...Saki's Uncle (dressed in full kimono) kicked off the party with a bamboo flute recital accompanied by 4 rather stern looking Japanese harp (koto) players. We were then told we could start eating while Saki's Uncle continued with a solo performance. Next came the most nerve-wracking part of the party...waiting to see if your raffle ticket was selected which meant automatic enrolment in the forthcoming party games. I was one of the lucky ones but others didn't get off so lightly.

There was the balloon popping game which saw one woman of an extremely nervous disposition, nearly have a coronary at the prospect of a balloon popping within a 2 metre radius of her. Next came my personal favourite: "The dart board game" The sole aim of which, seemed to be to humiliate as many people as possible...each person had to throw a dart which landed on one of the following four categories:

1) You get an invite to Saki's Uncle's next BBQ party
2) You must sing karaoke on your own
3) You must kiss a foreigner
4) You get a free onsen (hot spring bath) at the hotel

(I should probably mention that Saki's Uncle- as an amazing English-speaker-worked for the American Marine Base in Iwakuni so there was a mixture of foreigners and Japanese people at this party).

So, inevitably most people scored numero 3 including Saki's dad who was selected to be kissed by the most pissed off looking American girl i've ever seen! She was a bit of a biffer and apparently humourless but Saki's dad didn' t seem too traumatised! Everyone who participated received a prize (which were really nice) so it seemed unfair to get too annoyed about being selected!

Bingo was next and the prizes kept coming- I was very chuffed to win one but as I walked up to accept it (as the previous bingo winners had done before me) I got heckled (in the friendliest way) by Saki's Uncle which was apparently the cue for " Maki" to get me on the mic.." What's your name? Where do you come from? Do you like soccer? Do you like Beckham?" Microphones terrify me so I kept my answers short and went and sat down, content that I'd got my initiation over and done with...if only I'd had known...

There was a girl from Mexico who had said she would sing La Bamba but they didn't have it so she agreed with another guy that they'd sing something else. Saki's Uncle was then dragged along who inevitably caught my eye ...before I knew it, I found myself on stage in front of the whole party with a microphone in my hand...it became apparent that the Mexican was just dancing, Saki's Uncle was clapping and that the other American dude was mute...leaving me to sing...of all the songs in the world..."She Bangs" by the one and only Ricky Martin. So there I was, in my beautiful Noa Noa dress singing "she bangs, she bangs, oh baby, it's the way she moves, she moves, ooooh" in front of Saki, his entire family and a bunch of American Marines. The word "Bingo!" springs to mind. I think Saki's comment summed up the quality of my performance..."Hannahchan, what WAS that song??"

The party came to an end shortly after this and I'd learnt two things; That organised fun is not my bag, baby but that Saki's family are the most lovely, fun and generous of people. They made me feel so welcome, comforted me post-karaoke and did so in the most genuine way.

Between us, Saki and I also came away with the ceramic cup, a bottle of whisky, a pack of beer, a huge bottle of pure honey, a Japanese wooden tray and a picture ...so all in all, it was just how I imagine winning the Generation Game feels, only better!

Classic!!!

You just can't make some things up and Japanese school children's writing compositions have to be one of the best examples of this. I came across this the other day which made me chuckle:

Writing about her favourite person, one of my students had this to say about a Japanese popstar called Ryo Nishikido...

He is a hard wonker
He is very cool!!
He sings a song hard.
He tolls 170
His weight 50
His body is illness but he is handsome.
His smile through we are smile too.
I like the best him.

I was woken up today by...an earthquake. It was "quite strong" according to Saki's careful evaluation and only lasted about 10 seconds but I was terrified. When I got to work this morning I asked my teacher if she had felt the tremors and she casually tutted a yes and rolled her eyes in a "oh wasn't it annoying that is happened at 5 in the morning" kind of way. I replied in a "actually I was a little on the scared side seeing as it was the first earthquake I'd ever felt" kind of way. She then, this time not so casually, piped up with, "what?! since you were born?"I tried to explain that, coming from the Thames Valley, I was not really accustomed to the earth pulsating. I got the impression she thought I was lying and promptly ended our conversation with "well, if Japan sinks, I'll move to England." Well that's bloody fantastic I thought. Not only is Japan shaking, it's now sinking...

A Ruddy Good Day!

This weekend has been great. On Friday, thanks to Lauren's brother, Kat hosted a Eurovision Party. 4 Brits, 1 American and 1 Aussie sat enthralled, bewildered and baffled repsectively at the spectacle that is Eurovision.
Lordi were of course the outright winners and testament to how long I've been in Japan, I was genuinely quite shocked by the scantily clad offering from Moldova!

We then spent Saturday at the beach on nearby Oshima! We had a great day making sandcastles, playing football, poking jellyfish and throwing an unsuspecting fully-clothed j-boy with a mobile phone in his pocket into the sea. Gomen Sakichan!

Later on, after Saki had bought a new mobile, we headed back to his house for showers. I was terrified at this prospect seeing as it was the first time I've been to his house and only the 3rd time I've met his parents. But his mum welcomed me with towels and open arms despite us both being covered in sand. I also got to meet their dog who, overexcited by a new person in the house, proceeded to lick my mouth and hump my leg...this is why I'm a cat person. A cat would NEVER hump your leg in front of your boyfriend's parents.

We then joined the others for a yummy yakiniku (korean barbecue) dinner! A perfect end to a nearly-perfect day!

Saki minus trousers and Kat plus essential driftwood stick

First Time for Everything

On Wednesday I went to my friend Yoko's house for dinner as I have been doing every two weeks since I got here. This is her here with her two sons Yuya and Shota. This week, Yuya (the younger, cheekier, chubbier one of the two boys) came up to me and asked me if i knew what "hotaru" was? I obviously didn't have a clue, and Yuya was pretty miffed that I didn't know. So out came the electronic dictionary and the word we were looking for was "fireflies". Of course! I'd never seen them before which caused much hilarity so after dinner and birthday cake, we spent the evening catching them by the river. Very Beatrix Potter!

Osaka Me Up!

So after Kobe, it was off to Osaka for the friday night to celebrate my birthday. Numbers were somewhat depleted after the carnage of Kobe so Mark and I set off for the bright lights of Kansai!

We found a hotel and then met up with our friend Eko- this was a guy that we met in Australia and is one of the coolest Japanese person I know. He was travelling in Australia on his own for 10 months which is kind of unheard of in a country where travelling, 9 times out of 10, involves a coach, a brutal itinerary and a uniform clad guide. So, now he's back in Japan studying at Osaka University.

We met up with a group of other JETS from Tottori Prefecture and a few fellow Guchis and had a brilliant evening. Eko booked an izakaya for us all where we all had the tastiest, cheapest meal ever...sashimi( of which I am now quite a fan), karage (fried chicken), yakisoba (noodle dish) washed down with lots of beer in true Japanese style. We then headed to a bar in the main nightlife area called Shinsaibashi. We took the underground which was mental- i have never seen so many people crammed in, sardine-like, in a carriage at midnight! Being in such close proximity to so many people made me realise why they need the female only carriages! It's easy for hands to go a-wandering!

We went to club called "Pure" which is a cross between Revolution and Spearmint Rhino! Had i been in the UK i probably wouldn't have got through the door but the excitement of being in Osaka and out of the inaka (countryside; read Yamaguchi prefecture) and the cheap nomihoudai (all you can drink) eased the pain and got me through the door of, you guessed it, a hip-hop and r "n" b nightclub. I had to admit defeat at 3 am, although I had thoroughly enjoyed my ghetto style night out!

The following day Mark and I headed to Osaka Castle for a bit of sightseeing. This is supposedly one of the top 3 castles in Japan and from the outside it is stunning. So, in anticipation of stepping back in time where courageuous samurai warriors once fought, we paid our 600 yen entrance fee only to be transported through this building in a state of the art lift and computer aided displays. Basically, about 8 years ago they gutted the inside of this beautiful castle and re-fitted it with a completely modern interior. Suffice to say, walking into what feels like an office, somewhat kills the magic of the place.

After this, we headed to Amerikamura for lunch with everyone from the night before. This is a maze of streets, lined with shops, cafe's and bars. It was then home time- a 2 hour bullet train ride right back to Tokuyama. For me the best thing about Osaka was the general atmoshpere and attitude of the people. People seemed confident, and individual. People spoke really good English and were friendly to us but not in a sycophantic way. I'd forgotten how much I love the buzz of cities and while Tokuyama has become my home I'll definitely be going back to Osaka soon!

KOBE 2006: Good or Bad Learner?

So, last week 900 JET's descended on a super swish hotel in Kobe for a three-day re-contracting conference. Of course, the seminar itself was not the main source of amusement although I must say I actually found some of the talks quite useful. The one that struck me the most was about learning Japanese while we're in Japan. They showed this video in which they identified a good and bad learner and as cliched as it was, I knew instinctively which category I fell into.

I have always been interested in languages but it's never been my passion because I've never been able to master one. I've always been too afraid to speak, worried that I'll look stupid and incompetant. And it is this that makes me possibly the biggest hypocrite ever...because I get frustrated, even exasperated when my students won't participate and take risks, yet I am exactly like them. So, I've returned to Tokuyama much more motivated to practise what I preach; to make more effort with my Japanese; to try and brush off the ritual humiliation which will inevitably ensue and to prove to myself and my students that people can and do master new languages.

Equally, I still don't feel teaching is for me but I have learned that, just like languages, maybe teaching is a skill you can learn and hone as opposed to being something you either can or can't do. One of my teachers told me the other day that my teaching had really improved. And rather than brushing it off, I thought about it and realised she was right. Of course, there's always going to be someone who is, or at least seems, more confident and competant but that's not to say my own effort is any less invaluable.

On a lighter note, Kobe rocks. It was so much fun to be in a big city, listening to people busking, seeing people on the streets past 10pm and having more bars and restaurants than you can shake a stick at. We found a couple of small, chilled bars and spent the evenings with the bars to ourselves, talking and playing connect 4 with the owners and trying to conquer our fear of slow dancing under Ginny's instruction. So here's to the slack ballroom hold, racing taxi drivers and the weird man with a dressed-up chicken with painted toe nails/ claws- viva Nihon!!!