Saturday, February 18, 2006
Burookubakku
Brokeback Mountain is coming out in Japan in March, woot! I saw a commercial for it last night at HMV and it reminded me how translations of films can totally change the meaning/impact of the story and dialogue..."I wish I knew how to quit you" is translated as "It's too painful!" Um, no. Sigh. Oh, well, at least I can see it on the big screen now!
Friday, February 17, 2006
Dirrty Spelling
So today I had my 3nensei doing word finds (dude, Japanese kids LOVE English word finds…even the “cool kids” who usually don’t do anything in class!) while I graded other kids on their dialogues. One of the puzzles’ themes was careers, and so there were words like “lawyer,” “doctor,” “cook,” etc. All of a sudden one of my students turns to me and says “Jeff, how do you spell cook?” (in Japanese, the word for cook is Jengrish and is spelled “kokku,” and sounds a lot like something that you wouldn’t want to be when you grow up, if you know what I mean). Before I could answer, she asked, “Is it c-o-c-k?” Um. Hmmmm! Thank god I somehow could control myself and not give away that that was a real word, as well. I don’t know how I suddenly became mature but I was just like “Oh, no, actually it’s “c-o-o-k,” but good guess!” Hee hee. Oy, I am easily amused.
Thursday, February 16, 2006
Japan and Mexico both suck!
K, I realize I am probably the only American to ever fly from Japan to visit fucking Mexico, but could we please make the fares a little less ricockulous? I can’t find ANY flights after taxes under 10 man ($1000). Hello, Jeff doesn’t pay this much for flights! NOT ACCEPTABLE! Since I am going to end up paying so damn much, I am looking into JAL since they have a non-stop flight to Mexico (but not back? I don’t get it), and I might as well get Asian service and food if I’m gonna spend a bazillion dollars. Hrm. We’ll see.
On another note, why are Japanese people so unorganized when it comes to travel? First of all, I don’t enjoy the lack of being able to buy tickets online (everyone uses travel agents; I am a control freak, god dammit!), and I don’t understand why they don’t book sooner. Most airlines don’t even release their flights or prices until TWO MONTHS before departure? That is freaking ridiculous! I want my ticket now, dammit! So I am reluctantly waiting until two months before departure, but I hope it doesn’t fuck me over. Mehhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Let’s swimming to Mexico!
On another note, why are Japanese people so unorganized when it comes to travel? First of all, I don’t enjoy the lack of being able to buy tickets online (everyone uses travel agents; I am a control freak, god dammit!), and I don’t understand why they don’t book sooner. Most airlines don’t even release their flights or prices until TWO MONTHS before departure? That is freaking ridiculous! I want my ticket now, dammit! So I am reluctantly waiting until two months before departure, but I hope it doesn’t fuck me over. Mehhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Let’s swimming to Mexico!
Shucchou
Yesterday was an amazing day for three reasons: 1) I got to sleep in for 2 1/2 hours, 2) it was SUNNY and WARM and 3) I didn’t have to go to school! WOOT! Tobu ALTs had an orientation kinda thing in Tatebayashi in the afternoon, so I managed to skip out of all of shougakkou, which was wonderful, as I needed a break from it. I love shou, but I was totally in need of a week off! Woot.
The orientation was at Scott’s school in Tatebayashi, i.e. the nicest school I have EVER seen in Japan by far. Holy shit, it is an amazing school, I’m so jealous! It’s only three years old and has solar heating, heating in the hallways, wide corridors, nice bathrooms, TECHNOLOGY, is clean, (sort of) doesn’t look like a prison, etc etc etc! It is fucking amazing. Most schools in Japan were built like the day after World War II and have NOT been updated nearly enough since then (or at all, it seems!), so it was like being in a whole different country. It is weird that in a country with so much unneeded construction, that they never build new schools. I don’t get it.
Anyway! Um. Orientation. So, we watched Scott’s class (um, his students are creepily good, and apparently are even when there aren’t like 20 scary gaijin staring at them), then discussed the class and team-teaching in general. I found it amusing that this is the second day of the orientation….when was the first day? Oh, yes, SEPTEMBER. The dude in charge mentioned “day one” multiple times in his speech, and fuck if I can remember that far back!
The orientation was fine….a bit boring, but not as bad as some. Also, that BOE dude was full of shit. I know everyone who was there knows what I’m talking about!
After orientation Cindy and I were thinking of going to Mexico (a very simple name for a Mexican restaurant) for dinner, until we saw how unbelievably sketchy it looked. So, instead Mami drove me, Cindy and Angie to Ota (thanks, Mami!!!) to meet up with people for yummy-ass sushi at our favorite kaiten place. A couple of beers and lots of sushi later, we all didn’t want to go home and face the fact that we had work the next day (it SO felt like a Friday), so we went out for unneeded dessert at Typhoon. It was cool because we got to watch the Olympics on a huge projection screen. At first downhill blah blah skiing was really exciting, until we got to the motherfucking 35th person, at which it was NOT EXCITING AT ALL. Hello, were they just letting random tourists go down the slopes?! Bah. I want some bobsledding and skating up in hea!
Anyway, eventually we faced the fact that we had to go home, as it was a school night (sniff sniff), and the night ended. Boooo work! But yay fun day.
The orientation was at Scott’s school in Tatebayashi, i.e. the nicest school I have EVER seen in Japan by far. Holy shit, it is an amazing school, I’m so jealous! It’s only three years old and has solar heating, heating in the hallways, wide corridors, nice bathrooms, TECHNOLOGY, is clean, (sort of) doesn’t look like a prison, etc etc etc! It is fucking amazing. Most schools in Japan were built like the day after World War II and have NOT been updated nearly enough since then (or at all, it seems!), so it was like being in a whole different country. It is weird that in a country with so much unneeded construction, that they never build new schools. I don’t get it.
Anyway! Um. Orientation. So, we watched Scott’s class (um, his students are creepily good, and apparently are even when there aren’t like 20 scary gaijin staring at them), then discussed the class and team-teaching in general. I found it amusing that this is the second day of the orientation….when was the first day? Oh, yes, SEPTEMBER. The dude in charge mentioned “day one” multiple times in his speech, and fuck if I can remember that far back!
The orientation was fine….a bit boring, but not as bad as some. Also, that BOE dude was full of shit. I know everyone who was there knows what I’m talking about!
After orientation Cindy and I were thinking of going to Mexico (a very simple name for a Mexican restaurant) for dinner, until we saw how unbelievably sketchy it looked. So, instead Mami drove me, Cindy and Angie to Ota (thanks, Mami!!!) to meet up with people for yummy-ass sushi at our favorite kaiten place. A couple of beers and lots of sushi later, we all didn’t want to go home and face the fact that we had work the next day (it SO felt like a Friday), so we went out for unneeded dessert at Typhoon. It was cool because we got to watch the Olympics on a huge projection screen. At first downhill blah blah skiing was really exciting, until we got to the motherfucking 35th person, at which it was NOT EXCITING AT ALL. Hello, were they just letting random tourists go down the slopes?! Bah. I want some bobsledding and skating up in hea!
Anyway, eventually we faced the fact that we had to go home, as it was a school night (sniff sniff), and the night ended. Boooo work! But yay fun day.
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
How do I get into these situations?
So, I go to the same barber at my kick-ass 1000 yen haircut place every time. He’s really nice and cool and fun to talk to. However, I fear I may need to stop seeing him because I have gotten into a true Santilli sibling predicament (only Kris can understand what this means)!
So, last time I was there I was saying how I was going to Thailand for winter break and he was like “Oh, you’re going with a lot of girls? You’re going to get a lot of action!!!” A lot of my students go there, plus I didn’t really feel the need to come out to my fucking barber, so I went along with the conversation, but now he thinks I am like the biggest pervert EVER! According to him, I am fucking my way through Japan and now I don’t know how to deny this! Saaaaaad.
On top of this, yesterday he was like, “You know a lot of girl ALTs, right?” I said yes, and he proceeded to tell me that he had a few friends who are interested in going on a “gokon” and I should invite my girl friend ALTs to go with them! ACK! A gokon is when a group (usually of five guys and five girls) go out together for dinner, see who best matches with who, and break off into single dates in the end. It is pretty much like group speed-dating or something. In other words, NOTHING I would ever recommend my friends get randomly involved in! I was like “Hmm, well, most of them don’t speak Japanese!” to try to get the idea out of his head, but I promised that I would tell my friends. So, er, if any girls out there are interested, do I know some boys for you! ;)
Oy. Jeff may wait a while before he gets his hair cut again!
So, last time I was there I was saying how I was going to Thailand for winter break and he was like “Oh, you’re going with a lot of girls? You’re going to get a lot of action!!!” A lot of my students go there, plus I didn’t really feel the need to come out to my fucking barber, so I went along with the conversation, but now he thinks I am like the biggest pervert EVER! According to him, I am fucking my way through Japan and now I don’t know how to deny this! Saaaaaad.
On top of this, yesterday he was like, “You know a lot of girl ALTs, right?” I said yes, and he proceeded to tell me that he had a few friends who are interested in going on a “gokon” and I should invite my girl friend ALTs to go with them! ACK! A gokon is when a group (usually of five guys and five girls) go out together for dinner, see who best matches with who, and break off into single dates in the end. It is pretty much like group speed-dating or something. In other words, NOTHING I would ever recommend my friends get randomly involved in! I was like “Hmm, well, most of them don’t speak Japanese!” to try to get the idea out of his head, but I promised that I would tell my friends. So, er, if any girls out there are interested, do I know some boys for you! ;)
Oy. Jeff may wait a while before he gets his hair cut again!
Putting the “gay” in geijutsu
So the other day I was sitting at my desk during lunch (as I do), and Ms. Ito turned to me and said, “Maybe during lunch you can go outside and play basketball with the boys?” After a moment of pure terror at this thought, I informed her, “Um….I can’t play basketball.” She then proceeded to ask me what sports I do play, at which I made a big dame sign with my arms to inform her that Jeff+sports do NOT mix at all.
I made excuses for my lack of sportiness by saying that in high school I was in band, drama and the student body president (wow, that looks SOOOO nerdy on paper, sad!), and she was like “Ah, geijutsu dane!” (“You’re artistic, huh?”). Yes, I am indeed VERY GEIjutsu!
Also, I don’t want any more of this “her wanting me to participate in school more” shit. Hello, I already teach four classes a day, I’m like twice as busy as most ALTs! Meh! Let me read and write E-Mails in peace, woman!
I made excuses for my lack of sportiness by saying that in high school I was in band, drama and the student body president (wow, that looks SOOOO nerdy on paper, sad!), and she was like “Ah, geijutsu dane!” (“You’re artistic, huh?”). Yes, I am indeed VERY GEIjutsu!
Also, I don’t want any more of this “her wanting me to participate in school more” shit. Hello, I already teach four classes a day, I’m like twice as busy as most ALTs! Meh! Let me read and write E-Mails in peace, woman!
Monday, February 13, 2006
I swear I don't work for the marketing team of The NY Times
An interesting op-ed. I would elaborate, but I think the article concludes it better than I could.
Who did I sleep with for this to happen?
After two months of dreading the moment that my Japanese Language Proficiency Test results would arrive on my desk, they came today and I was fucking surprised to see this:
How the HELL did that shit happen?! It’s about as giri-giri as one can get for a passing grade, but we’ll ignore that! Dai shokku, I tell you, dai shokku!
How the HELL did that shit happen?! It’s about as giri-giri as one can get for a passing grade, but we’ll ignore that! Dai shokku, I tell you, dai shokku!
Shuumatsu wa dou deshitaka?
That question summarizes every Monday class of Japanese throughout high school, and now summarizes every blog entry on Mondays. So, on to my weekend-ness!
On Friday I felt very productive by getting my ass all the way to Tatebayashi (i.e. the fucking corner of Gunma that might as well be in a different ken) by 6:30. Of course I only went there to eat, but still! Some of us got together to celebrate Helen’s birthday (happy birthday, Helen!) at an Italian restaurant called GUM (as Helen pointed out, why WOULDN’T a nice Italian restaurant be named GUM?). I put my lactose intolerancy to the test by getting the lasagna there, which was pretty much a big bowl of cheese with a noodle or two thrown in. Fortunately I didn’t die.
I was also happy to FINALLY see Mami for the first time since December! Damn. And yeah….it was a fun night!
Saturday “morning” I got to talk to Eduardo, which was nice, as we usually only get to talk on Sundays. I fear he may need my housewife duties ASAP, as macaroni and cheese proved to be “too much work” for him to make for dinner that night. What is Mexico doing to him?!!! Eduardo, I’m on my way :)
After sitting on my ass for most of Saturday, I was actually happy to bike all the way to Iwajuku in order to get some much-needed exercise. I trained from there to Maebashi for Jenny and Skye’s birthday party (happy birthday, Jenny and Skye!). It was MUY fun, yo! We had two hours of nomihoudai and tabehoudai (all you can eat and drink) at Ninnikuya, followed by two more hours of nomihoudai at karaoke. Yes, my friends, that combination may spell abunai! It was a lot of fun, but Jeff gets very loud and judgmental when he is too drunk in Japan! I apologize if I pissed anyone off accidentally! I also apologize if I flirted with anyone (I vaguely remember saying something dirty to Scott, but I fortunately repressed what exactly I said). I remember most of the evening, tho, which is generally a good sign. I was amused how Jenny and I fell on the ground in karaoke (usually a sign that the night should end soon) and she was immediately whisked away into a car! It was like the Secret Service were watching out for her or something. Anyway, good times were had!
It was a little depressing how at Ninnikuya all of the tables had plenty of food except for the one with Ota peeps, at which all of the food was devoured in about ten seconds, followed by grumbles of “Um, when is more food coming?” A bad sign, indeed! It’s also bad how Cindy and I are such bitches that we never bother to mingle with anyone we don’t know. You know, because we have enough friends, we don’t need more ;) Hahaha.
Anyway, I biked my drunk ass back from Iwajuku and perhaps talked to myself in a combination of English and Japanese the whole way there. Drunk Jeff of course had to make a detour at Ministop in order to get the LAST man (um, you know there would have been drama if there hadn’t been any at all!), then assed out.
On Sunday I talked to Eduardo some more (yay!) and my parents called saying they want me to try to go home. Meh, I don’t wanna! They can come here, dammit. Hehe. I watched the last episodes of Arrested Development, which were FUCKING HILARIOUS. I want it to live on on Showtime, but if it doesn’t, I thought it ended perfectly. I also watched The Virgin Suicides, which I didn’t dig so much (k, for some reason I have been using the word “dig” lately, and it is weirding me out). Like…I don’t know. It wasn’t what I expected, I guess, and I just didn’t get the point of the film? I think I am just too old and bitter now because I don’t understand teenage shit anymore (Catcher in the Rye and Vernon God Little had annoying-ass teenage characters and I had to stop reading them ‘cause they were just too irritating).
So, yes. A weekend full of birthdays! Muy fun. Photos to come soon (Drunk Jeff and Jenny accidentally stole each other’s cameras, so there will be a bit of a delay).
On Friday I felt very productive by getting my ass all the way to Tatebayashi (i.e. the fucking corner of Gunma that might as well be in a different ken) by 6:30. Of course I only went there to eat, but still! Some of us got together to celebrate Helen’s birthday (happy birthday, Helen!) at an Italian restaurant called GUM (as Helen pointed out, why WOULDN’T a nice Italian restaurant be named GUM?). I put my lactose intolerancy to the test by getting the lasagna there, which was pretty much a big bowl of cheese with a noodle or two thrown in. Fortunately I didn’t die.
I was also happy to FINALLY see Mami for the first time since December! Damn. And yeah….it was a fun night!
Saturday “morning” I got to talk to Eduardo, which was nice, as we usually only get to talk on Sundays. I fear he may need my housewife duties ASAP, as macaroni and cheese proved to be “too much work” for him to make for dinner that night. What is Mexico doing to him?!!! Eduardo, I’m on my way :)
After sitting on my ass for most of Saturday, I was actually happy to bike all the way to Iwajuku in order to get some much-needed exercise. I trained from there to Maebashi for Jenny and Skye’s birthday party (happy birthday, Jenny and Skye!). It was MUY fun, yo! We had two hours of nomihoudai and tabehoudai (all you can eat and drink) at Ninnikuya, followed by two more hours of nomihoudai at karaoke. Yes, my friends, that combination may spell abunai! It was a lot of fun, but Jeff gets very loud and judgmental when he is too drunk in Japan! I apologize if I pissed anyone off accidentally! I also apologize if I flirted with anyone (I vaguely remember saying something dirty to Scott, but I fortunately repressed what exactly I said). I remember most of the evening, tho, which is generally a good sign. I was amused how Jenny and I fell on the ground in karaoke (usually a sign that the night should end soon) and she was immediately whisked away into a car! It was like the Secret Service were watching out for her or something. Anyway, good times were had!
It was a little depressing how at Ninnikuya all of the tables had plenty of food except for the one with Ota peeps, at which all of the food was devoured in about ten seconds, followed by grumbles of “Um, when is more food coming?” A bad sign, indeed! It’s also bad how Cindy and I are such bitches that we never bother to mingle with anyone we don’t know. You know, because we have enough friends, we don’t need more ;) Hahaha.
Anyway, I biked my drunk ass back from Iwajuku and perhaps talked to myself in a combination of English and Japanese the whole way there. Drunk Jeff of course had to make a detour at Ministop in order to get the LAST man (um, you know there would have been drama if there hadn’t been any at all!), then assed out.
On Sunday I talked to Eduardo some more (yay!) and my parents called saying they want me to try to go home. Meh, I don’t wanna! They can come here, dammit. Hehe. I watched the last episodes of Arrested Development, which were FUCKING HILARIOUS. I want it to live on on Showtime, but if it doesn’t, I thought it ended perfectly. I also watched The Virgin Suicides, which I didn’t dig so much (k, for some reason I have been using the word “dig” lately, and it is weirding me out). Like…I don’t know. It wasn’t what I expected, I guess, and I just didn’t get the point of the film? I think I am just too old and bitter now because I don’t understand teenage shit anymore (Catcher in the Rye and Vernon God Little had annoying-ass teenage characters and I had to stop reading them ‘cause they were just too irritating).
So, yes. A weekend full of birthdays! Muy fun. Photos to come soon (Drunk Jeff and Jenny accidentally stole each other’s cameras, so there will be a bit of a delay).
Sunday, February 12, 2006
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