I know it's all a big cliche to say that with a New Year comes new resolutions, the turning over of a new leaf, and all that. But recently - this week, actually - I've felt that something has changed in my outlook on my time here in Japan. I've suddenly started feeling a lot more comfortable here. It's probably due to a lot of things- I'm slowly but surely improving my Japanese (and have actually found a class that lets me learn how to SPEAK in Japanese as opposed to learning obscure grammatical rules); I'm approaching the 6 month mark of being here; I've pretty much resolved to stay here for another year, beyond my original one-year contract; and the fact that Leanne, my high school friend, is visiting from Australia.
Travelling with someone who is seeing Japan with a completely fresh outlook has made me aware of how much I actually do know about Japanese language, society, culture and trivial things. Even just knowing a nice cafe to take Leanne to, only a 5 minute walk from my house, made me realize that I'm not so much of an 'alien' here, but that I actually live here and am a functioning part of society... well, somewhat, anyway.
Now, I also don't feel so much like I'm part of some big imperialist effort to 'spread English to the masses' around the world. Being hired by the Japanese government to go inform people about English and Australian / Western culture didn't sit 100% comfortably with me. But I know it's up to me to make it what it is. I can go in there and demand the students 'say this', or 'do that', but the more classes I teach, the more I realise that my role is not to change them into outspoken, opinionated pseudo-Western English speakers. They are what they are, even if their behavior in class does come across as a little catatonic or 'robotic' overall. If I can make a few students a bit more passionate, a bit more motivated, a bit more confident about English, then I've done what I came here for. Sounds idealistic, I know, but last weekend something happened that made me feel it was happening. Five students from my school participated in an English Speech Competition in my city. The other ALT and I coached them for about 2 weeks, every day after school, in pronounciation, delivery, gesturing, etc. And we really saw an improvement. Most importantly, I could see that just practicing a speech they had written by themselves was giving them a lot of confidence and motivation. Especially for one student, Shiori, who I could tell was naturally shy and afraid to speak English. But she worked incredibly hard on practicing her speech, and took in everything I told her. She ended up winning the competition! In fact, all 5 of our students (3 of which we had coached) took the top 5 spots. Granted, only 2 schools were competing, but nevertheless, it would have meant a lot to those students. And to our school. I've never really been in a position to feel 'proud' of someone, since I've never been a teacher or coach before, but it really does feel great.
The other thing that has given me more confidence in my job is that yesterday one of my colleagues (a Japanese Teacher of English, or 'JTE') told me that every time she goes to teach a certain class, they ask 'where's Jessica?'. Apparently they really love my class. All this time I've been feeling that they weren't getting much out of it, they were bored, didn't understand anything I was saying, and so on. But all my efforts to make the classes fun and understandable are apparently not in vain. Japanese students, as I've been at pains to explain to people back home, are extremely shy, reserved and downright unresponsive compared to students in the West. Now, when I came here, I knew all about Japanese culture putting emphasis on the group and 'hammering down the nail that sticks out', etc. But it has been really hard to accept that Japanese students could actually be interested in a class, despite acting like they've had a frontal lobotomy. I'm sure there are some that really don't want to be there, but I think the majority of students do get something out of my classes, and I'm so glad to know that. The other thing is that Japanese people (ie. my work colleagues) don't tend to give feedback or talk about how a class or project went. So generally, I've had nothing to go on as far as working out whether my lessons are acceptable/worthwhile or not.
Anyway, to round out this deep and meaningful post, I guess I'll jot down my resolutions for 2008. Until this year I've never actually had resolutions. But now that I'm a 'real adult'- 25 and living alone, thousands of miles from my family - I've become aware of few things I need/want to do:
-Be more decisive. There are no right or wrong decisions, but make a decision and if it turns out not so good, deal with it.
-Eat healthier and try to exercise more. (the old staple)
-Be more open with other people.
-Find a hobby and actually stick with it.
-Trust your instincts.
Ok, let's go 2008!
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Akita-ken in Gifu-ken
Random post alert. Very random.
I've been thinking about dogs in Japan lately. I've seen alot of them in my time here. In fact, I saw more in Tokyo than I see here in Gifu most days. In Tokyo, they were all little 'foo-foo' dogs- you know, pomeranians, daschunds (sorry Sarah), toy poodles, usually dressed in some kind of jacket and with a 'hair-band' or two. Undeniably cute, but city dogs, if you know what I mean. Reminded me of the poodles you see in Paris, eating at the table at a cafe with their rich French mistress. (I really did see that in Paris once.) Walking through Tokyo, I spotted many weird and wonderful canine characters, including:
A pomeranian peering out of a Gucci backpack...
Four identical miniature daschunds wearing different coloured jackets like some kind of dog boy-band, all on leashes (one is being carried in the photo below)...
More daschunds at a 'dog cafe'... the owners were enjoying the experience way more than the dogs.
And, although photographic evidence is lacking, I spotted a smokin' hot leather-clad Japanese yakuza-boyband member-pimp holding a tiny chihuaha-type dog wearing a pink bow.
But in Gifu, good old country-bumpkin land, the dogs are straight-down-the-line REAL dogs. Introducing the Akita-ken. ('ken' is the another pronounciation of 'inu', meaning dog.) I just wikipedia-ed them, so of course now I'm an expert. Anyway, I always thought these dogs were cute. They look kind of like a cross between a fox, wolf and dingo. Their tails are curly and they're really alert.
They seem to be the national dog of Japan. Because you know Japan has a national everything. They were originally bred in the north of Japan as bear-hunting dogs, so you know they're agressive underneath all that cuteness. Just like all things Japanese, there have been attempts to keep the breed 'pure'. Akitas were also used as guard dogs for the Emperor and his children, so they must have some kind of 'sacred' connotations too. And normal people used them as babysitters for their children too!
Japan's most famous dog, Hachiko, was an Akita. Yes, Hachiko- the most valiant and loyal embodiment of man's best friend since Lassie. The legend says that he met his master at Shibuya station, Tokyo, every day. When his master died, Hachiko returned to the station every day for the rest of his life to wait for him. So now Hachiko has been immortalized as a statue outside Shibuya station. It's become a very popular meeting point. On my recent trip to Tokyo, I couldn't get near it, it was so crowded!
So anyway, 99 percent of the dogs I see here in Gifu-ken are Akita-ken. (Hard-working down-to-earth dogs for a hard-working down-to-earth place, I guess.) They seem to embody the Japanese spirit somehow. And not least because their temperament sounds pretty much like the national character! With only a little imagination, I'm sure anyone familiar with Japanese society can see the parallels:
"They are naturally wary of unknown people and animals and should be well socialised to avoid undesirable aggression. They are highly pack oriented, thus, isolating them from a social environment causes them great stress. Akitas are known to be very quiet dogs, only barking "when there is something to bark about". An Akita is not likely to shower affection on someone that is not a member of his family or a close friend that he sees frequently, and can be extremely aloof. The dogs are known for their loyalty, and a pet Akita will patiently follow its master from room to room, without ever getting underfoot."
I'm not sure about the 'underfoot' bit, but I'm sure it's a metaphor for something! ;)
Anyway, enough rambling. Woof!
I've been thinking about dogs in Japan lately. I've seen alot of them in my time here. In fact, I saw more in Tokyo than I see here in Gifu most days. In Tokyo, they were all little 'foo-foo' dogs- you know, pomeranians, daschunds (sorry Sarah), toy poodles, usually dressed in some kind of jacket and with a 'hair-band' or two. Undeniably cute, but city dogs, if you know what I mean. Reminded me of the poodles you see in Paris, eating at the table at a cafe with their rich French mistress. (I really did see that in Paris once.) Walking through Tokyo, I spotted many weird and wonderful canine characters, including:
A pomeranian peering out of a Gucci backpack...
Four identical miniature daschunds wearing different coloured jackets like some kind of dog boy-band, all on leashes (one is being carried in the photo below)...
More daschunds at a 'dog cafe'... the owners were enjoying the experience way more than the dogs.
And, although photographic evidence is lacking, I spotted a smokin' hot leather-clad Japanese yakuza-boyband member-pimp holding a tiny chihuaha-type dog wearing a pink bow.
But in Gifu, good old country-bumpkin land, the dogs are straight-down-the-line REAL dogs. Introducing the Akita-ken. ('ken' is the another pronounciation of 'inu', meaning dog.) I just wikipedia-ed them, so of course now I'm an expert. Anyway, I always thought these dogs were cute. They look kind of like a cross between a fox, wolf and dingo. Their tails are curly and they're really alert.
They seem to be the national dog of Japan. Because you know Japan has a national everything. They were originally bred in the north of Japan as bear-hunting dogs, so you know they're agressive underneath all that cuteness. Just like all things Japanese, there have been attempts to keep the breed 'pure'. Akitas were also used as guard dogs for the Emperor and his children, so they must have some kind of 'sacred' connotations too. And normal people used them as babysitters for their children too!
Japan's most famous dog, Hachiko, was an Akita. Yes, Hachiko- the most valiant and loyal embodiment of man's best friend since Lassie. The legend says that he met his master at Shibuya station, Tokyo, every day. When his master died, Hachiko returned to the station every day for the rest of his life to wait for him. So now Hachiko has been immortalized as a statue outside Shibuya station. It's become a very popular meeting point. On my recent trip to Tokyo, I couldn't get near it, it was so crowded!
So anyway, 99 percent of the dogs I see here in Gifu-ken are Akita-ken. (Hard-working down-to-earth dogs for a hard-working down-to-earth place, I guess.) They seem to embody the Japanese spirit somehow. And not least because their temperament sounds pretty much like the national character! With only a little imagination, I'm sure anyone familiar with Japanese society can see the parallels:
"They are naturally wary of unknown people and animals and should be well socialised to avoid undesirable aggression. They are highly pack oriented, thus, isolating them from a social environment causes them great stress. Akitas are known to be very quiet dogs, only barking "when there is something to bark about". An Akita is not likely to shower affection on someone that is not a member of his family or a close friend that he sees frequently, and can be extremely aloof. The dogs are known for their loyalty, and a pet Akita will patiently follow its master from room to room, without ever getting underfoot."
I'm not sure about the 'underfoot' bit, but I'm sure it's a metaphor for something! ;)
Anyway, enough rambling. Woof!
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