August

For the last month, I’ve been living a life of two extremes, filled with intense planning and socializing on the one hand, and mind-numbing boredom on the other.

Intense…
August was the month of new JET arrivals. As a second-year JET, I was appointed to the role of RPA (Regional Prefectural Advisor) in April. Usually there are only PAs, not special regional ones as well, but since Gifu is such a big prefecture, it’s necessary to have representatives for each of the five regions. There are two of us for each region, so I’m working with another JET to help the new people settle in. So during August, much of my time was taken up with the following tasks, some of which were pretty tanoshii (fun), others which were more of a drag, and kind of scary, to be honest:

-Contacting new JETs at their schools, the week they arrived. This sounded easy enough. Simply dial a number, use super-polite, rehearsed Japanese phrase to inquire as to whether a certain ALT is available, speak to said ALT in English. And it was fairly simple, although I fear that I scared most of the JETs, who were a) not expecting a phone call at work, and b) had no clue who I was. From the first tentative ‘moshi moshi’, or ‘hello?’, I became all-to-aware of the trepidation and bewilderment in their voices. No doubt most of them were somewhat dazed, partly as a result of the fact that only days before, they had been teleported from a five-star hotel in Tokyo to a shack/apartment in the middle of some rice-fields. I tried to explain that I was calling just to “see how things were going”, but still I could sense that most didn’t feel comfortable enough to answer honestly. I’m sure calling them helped at least a little in their adjustment to life in Gifu, though.

-Making a video about Gifu. This appeared to be an overwhelming task, which me and the other RPA avoided doing for quite awhile. The aim was to introduce ourselves and our region via video to the new JETs, some of whom we will probably never meet in person. Eventually, we borrowed a camera on what turned out to be the hottest day of the year (around 40 and humid)… a trek around Gifu city was required, and overall, we did really well considering the conditions! We also ‘voluntold’ my visiting Australian friend to play camerawoman and director. We really didn’t have much of a plan, so we used our improv comedy ‘skills’ to liven up the video. Uh, yes…it was hilarious…?

-Writing a guide about Gifu. Still working on this one… another endeavor to make this place more accessible to the newbies. Maybe once we’re done, I can finally grant the people at Lonely Planet their wish and write that book for them- I’ve been in demand there for a few years now, you know. *sigh*

-Organizing presentations for Orientation: another task we successfully managed to avoid until close to D-Day. Ultimately, the orientation went well, but not without a bit of anxiety. Especially since I hardly feel qualified to tell other people (some of whom are trained teachers) how to teach English to Japanese kids. One cool thing we RPAs got out of orientation was brand spanking new Gifu T-shirts (limited edition, of course). With ぎふ (Gifu) on the back, and a map of it on the shoulder (MY idea!), we were looking pretty snazzy. The best part was, one stroke of the ぎ was drawn as an ayu fish, and the ふ was made to look like a cormorant. You really have to be Japanese or a Gifu JET to get the reference- but cormorant fishing (ukai) is Gifu’s claim to fame. Check it out:




-Organizing welcome events. One of the more fun jobs. Lots of meet-and-greets, bringing out the ‘social butterfly’ in me… actually, probably more like a ‘social caterpillar’. It was exciting to meet some fresh faces for a change. Plenty of drinking and eating and sweating under the hot summer sun (during the walking tour of Gifu, conveniently conducted on the other hottest day of the year).

In between being a busy little RPA and dealing with the summer heat, I also squeezed in a quick getaway to the US to visit my Grandma. My August schedule was so full that I had to book my trip for the day after the orientation. Once I arrived, it was so much the complete opposite of everything I’d experienced for the past month and year that I was a little dazed. Not only was I in the US - radically different from Japan in every way - but I had nothing I had to do… except bond with Grandma. I have to admit I spend many quality hours in front of the TV, absorbing all the English I could and rejoicing in being able to understand everything! Unfortunately, my trip was so short (6 days) that I didn’t get a chance to venture into Chicago or enjoy much of the outside world, except a couple of restaurants and the optometrist’s clinic. But no matter; in many ways, the trip recharged me for my next 11 months in Japan. In other ways though, it made me a little more fed up with some aspects of living here that I will explain in the next post.

Mind-numbing…
So as a foil to my RPA persona, my alter-ego was bored ALT. It was the usual scenario, which I don’t believe I’ve described here before. Probably because it’s so boring, even writing about it is boring. Basically, in Japan, teachers have no official holiday periods. Well, aside from a week in August (Obon-week) when many Japanese return to their hometowns to pay homage to their ancestors and dance in a circle- yes, really. But there are no school holidays for teachers, not in the way there are in Western countries. The situation is confusing, and I’m no expert, because no one has ever explained it properly to me, but many teachers have to be at their desks all summer in case a student comes with questions about their school work. Yes. In summer. Summer ‘break’ is only about a month here anyway, and for the first part of the break there are ‘supplementary classes’. (Don’t ask me, I don’t know why they’re necessary either.) A LOT of students continue to come to school, in their uniform, all through summer. They come to prepare for the school culture and sports festivals, which are held during the second week back. Their dedication is unbelievable, but to me, as much sad as admirable. In my first classes back with students I ask them, ‘Did you enjoy summer vacation?’. To which they invariably reply, ‘No.’ Why? Because they spent every day either at school, studying, in sports training, or traveling to some obscure part of the country to participate in a compulsory sports match. In Japan, the emphasis on just doing what you’re supposed to do is reflected in the fact that there is no phrase (that I’m aware of anyway) equivalent to ‘Have fun!’. Only がんばって (Gambatte), which roughly means ‘try your best’. But, some students managed to go to Disneyland – the height of adolescent pleasure in Japan. And a few went on a study trip to Australia. How could anyone not enjoy Australia??

Needless to say, I got a lot of my planning and RPA work done at school each day. Along with a whole lot of web-surfing, emailing, reading, and some Japanese study. My other free moments were filled with staring across the empty staffroom, gazing wistfully out the window, and marveling at the tasks my colleagues had managed to accomplish during a summer spent at their desks. Like making a model ship out of paper. Or cutting their toe nails. (Seriously.)

And now, to demonstrate a typical summer’s day in the staffroom, here’s snippet of a blog entry I wrote a few weeks ago, but never finished, since 35 degrees doesn’t lend itself to being thoughtful- or coherent for that matter…

It’s so hot I can’t think properly. And I’m at work. What about air conditioning, you say? Well, it seems our school or our prefecture is close to bankruptcy, because even though it is over 30 degrees in the staff room right now, the air conditioning is off. I am baffled as to why it is sometimes on and sometimes off. There seems to be no rhyme or reason regarding the on/off schedule. At first, I was told it had to be over 28 degrees in the staffroom, and after the date of July 1, for the air conditioning to be on. But now, those two requirements have been filled. And yet I am sweating like a pig.

This is summer in Japan. Occasionally, a bug or two enters the staffroom. Sometimes it’s a wasp, sometimes a mosquito, sometimes a fly, sometimes a bumblebee. Heck, we’ve even had a bird. Other times, I am so cold from the air conditioning blasting right at me (due to my unfortunate seating position) that I need to put on a sweater even though it’s 30 degrees outside. But mostly, I’m just hot. And my mind is fuzzy.

Ayu Party

I just came back from a very Japanese experience. Actually, a very Gifu experience. One of the Japanese teachers of English at my high school invited me and the other ALT, Khaleelah, to an ayu-eating party. What's ayu, you ask? It's 'sweet fish', a small river fish that is a speciality of this area. They like to boast that it only lives in clean water, hence the Nagaragawa River, which runs through Gifu, must be incredibly clean.

Anyway, this trip was interesting in more ways than one. Mari-sensei was supposed to pick me up at 4pm. A little after 4 I got a phone call. Her: 'Hello. Sorry I'm late.' Me: 'That's ok, no problem.' ....[silence]... Her: 'I'm waiting for you.' I hadn't seen a car pull up or anything. But I went outside, looking for her car, and 2 minutes later found it waiting at the corner 100 meters from my house. heh

After that we went to pick up Khaleelah, then took some very narrow roads towards what must be the wealthy area of Kakamigahara. We ended up stopped in front of a house. I guessed it must be her house, although she hadn't said anything about going there. The place was like a fortress. You would have though we were in South Africa, not Japan. There were rolls of barbed wire below the windows, a high fence, a metal gate with a chain and lock wrapped around it, and two burglar alarm lights. Mari-sensei pressed the intercom and after a full-on conversation with a man who I guessed must be her husband, he emerged from the house, unlocked and unwrapped the chain, and we were permitted to enter. We went into the house, changed shoes, as per usual, and walked into the living room. One object dominated the space- the TV. It was... monstrous. I can't think of a better word. Not big, not huge, monstrous. A plasma TV of 3 meters by 1.5 meters, I'd say. And appropriately for Japan, the baseball game was on. To the left of the couch was something that can only be described as an electronic horse saddle. It was a black leather, fake horse saddle, stirrups and all, mounted on an electronic base. No horse to be seen. Apparently some kind of exercise equipment. Maybe they watch footage of rolling hills on the plasma screen while they ride this thing, to imagine they're horse riding...? Anyway, after sitting and gawking at the TV for 5 minutes, Mari-sensei's husband announced it was time to go. I don't really know why we went to their house in the first place; maybe so they could let us see their TV and horse saddle!

We arrived at the riverside restaurant 40 minutes later and walked into a room full of Japanese sitting on the floor, obviously waiting to start eating. But of course they couldn't start until everyone was there (we were the last to arrive). I sat down next to Hiramitsu-san (Mari's husband), on my knees, so as to be polite, whereupon he immediately told me I could sit cross-legged (only Japanese men are supposed to do this). Considerate of him! After pouring our drinks and toasting ('Kampai!'), we tucked into the Ayu. All-in-all, we ate 6 fish each. The first pair of fish were simply grilled. The second were deep-fried and the third were coated in a miso sauce. They cook the fish bones, organs and all, and usually eat the head. I couldn't bring myself to do that, but the rest of the fish was delicious; it really does have a sweet taste. Of course, during the the meal, I was praised for my skillful use of chopsticks (if you are non-Asian and make any attempt to eat with chopsticks in Japan, someone will inevtiably tell you this). I was also asked if fish was daijoubu (ok). Um, yes.

In what must be true Japanese style, we came, we ate, we left. No languishing over beer or after-dinner chatting. You come to do the job, and when it's done, you go home. The drive there and back was as long as the meal itself.

Speaking of the drive, that was also interesting. Mari-sensei's car is unbelievable. It has a GPS navigation system and TV. It also tells you the mileage you have accomplished every 5 minutes. And best of all, it has a camera at the back so you can see what's behind you when reversing, and estimates the angle you will need to turn the wheel in order to clear things. Oh, and it's so quiet and smooth that it feels like you are in a hovercraft, not a car. Khaleelah and I joked that Honda, Toyota, etc. send their old, crap models to the West and keep the better ones for their own country. Another thing about the drive was that it was a team effort between Mr. and Mrs. Hiramitsu. She was driving, but he would tell her what to do every step of the way and say 'ok, ok, ok' if she was doing it right. And there didn't seem to be any complaining or sentiment of 'Shut up, I'm the driver' from Mari-san.

On the way back, we stopped at the Nagaragawa river in Gifu city, where they do cormorant fishing (ukai). This is an ancient tradition in which men go fishing off boats... BUT... they use birds (cormorants) to do the fishing for them! The birds do it for themselves naturally, but in cormorant fishing, about 8 of them at a time are tied onto leashes and when the dive for fish and bring them up, the fishermen take the fish. I don't understand why the cormorants cooperate, but they do. Some of the fish they catch are ayu, the very ones we ate tonight. Anyway, they still do some fishing the old way in Gifu, on long canoe-like boats, only at night, with a lantern of fire to light the way. And the fishermen wear the traditional clothes as well- including funny-looking elf-like hats. It's really almost a sacred practice, because you must be authorized by the emperor to do ukai, and positions are passed down through families. It's now big tourism business, so there were other boats following them with tourists on board. But when I saw the ukai-fishermen floating down the river with the flame guiding them, it looked kind of spooky and you could really imagine how it might have been 500 years ago or so.

So now I've eaten ayu and seen ukai! My Gifu experience is complete, at least according to the tourist brochures...