Sakura season!

Ah, spring. Back in England, spring means snow drifts, hats and coats, but in Nagoya spring means sunshine and sakura! And the city turning en masse to wearing surgical masks to protect themselves from pollen.

     Nagoya Castle with the sakura in bloom

Japan loves the cherry blossom, and for good reason. The trees are everywhere, and are beautiful right now. People have been gathering for various hanami (flower viewing) across the country, where sakura trees are particularly concentrated.

 Late-night hanami at Tsurumai Park, complete with jugglers, musicians, and vastly overpriced food.

I've only seen the trees at night so far, but no matter the hour, the more central hanami locations are always absolutely packed. After a tip-off from one of my students, I was able to take a less-travelled route home from work one night, and found a river that was covered on both banks by the sakura trees. The scene was pretty amazing, and it was an experience hampered only by the fact that I think I was the only person strolling by the river without a date! It was by a university and it's spring break at the moment... Need I say more?

Meanwhile...

Getting used to my new apartment has been... interesting. (Since my last post, I have learned that my particular apartment has been known as 'The Cave' by a number of training groups who have worked for my company. They put their new recruits in touch with an independent housing agent, who has a number of apartments in the area. The name is quite apt, as there is virtually no natural sunlight. Being on one of the lower floors of a multi-storey building, the window faces a narrow and secluded courtyard/car park with a good six storeys on top of me.) As I type this, a plumber, Plumber-san, is grunting and groaning his way through fixing my bathroom. I'm not even sure what the problem is! I know I had a dripping tap, but apparently Plumber-san found something else wrong while fixing it and has had to come back to fix that. On that note, charades is quickly becoming my first language in daily life, although I think I'll start taking Japanese lessons next week.

I live in an area called Fushimi, famous for, um, being fairly central, perhaps? It's certainly quite a convenient location, [oh dear, Plumber-san is making confused sounds], and has a very expensive traditional Japanese theatre, which the great and the good of Nagoya seem to enjoy visiting in their kimonos. It always amuses me when I walk past and the man who flyers for them, (dressed as an ancient Japanese monk, of course, complete with hand bell to ring at people), pauses in his flyering just long enough for me to get past unharassed before ringing his bell and carrying on.

The Science Museum! Home of all things sciencey. Closed on Mondays.

Also in Fushimi is the Science Museum. Our one attempt to get there after an abandoned trip to Nagoya Castle because of rain was also cancelled as it was closed, because it was a Monday. It transpires that Monday is broadly equivalent to what Sunday used to be in Britain - everything's closed. Even the supermarket next to my house is closed on Mondays!

Interesting food item of the week: takoyaki, or octopus balls. Verdict: surprisingly tasty. I think it's a special Japanese dish. However, I thought that about gyoza, but it transpires that that's Chinese. For my Australian friends, eating octopus tentacles is nothing special, but for me, it was pretty eye-opening that something I would once never have dreamt eating could actually be pretty good. The actual 'restaurant' was quite an experience as well. It seemed to just be a couple of tables with bar stools round in the middle of a corridor underground somewhere. Fairly unusual. But the man was so grateful for our custom that he ran our food to us, and gave us a complimentary dessert! 

Takoyaki, half-eaten because I was enjoying it so much I almost forgot to take a picture!

[Plumber-san has just left and given me a shiny new tap, shower and piping system. I believe this place was built in the '70s, and given the state of the pipes, I'm not convinced they had been replaced since...]

Surprising event of not-quite-the-last week: St. Patrick's Day being observed, and Easter being ignored. So, St. Patrick's day got quite a celebration on the day and night of 16th March, 17th being a Sunday, with bands in Irish/British-style pubs and a big party in a nearby district. Easter, however, was all but forgotten. The one sign I saw of some possible recognition was one of my students eating some mini chocolate eggs. The exchange of traditions between East and West is a curious phemonenon when considering which traditions get across, and which do not.

 St. Patrick's Day: big in Japan

  

So, the new academic year starts for me on the 13th, but I'll try to keep up to date with the blog nonetheless. Let me know if there's anything in particular you'd like to hear about! I'm always open to suggestions. 

Finally, remember that when you're on the train, various people should have priority. Especially the following people: the elderly, those with child, those with young children, the infirm, and the, um, lovesick...?

   

Image:

Nagoya Castle image taken from http://www.yokoso-japan.jp

Life in the Land of the Rising Sun: First Impressions

It scarcely seems more than a few days ago that I was saying goodbye to friends and family, and boarding a plane for Japan. But almost two weeks have passed since then, and so much has happened already!

 Nagoya, City of Dreams. Behold the bustling metropolis at its finest.

Firstly, a huge thank you to everyone who extended their friendship and support to me in the months and weeks approaching my departure. You made leaving much harder than I ever would have imagined, and you remain in my thoughts and prayers. I'm sorry I haven't been able to get in touch sooner, but as I'm sure you can imagine, I'm always rushed off my feet getting used to life out here.

Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, I'm very sad to report I haven't seen anyone either wearing a tail or piloting a robot, (see the second post). Sorry to disappoint you. I know that's what you were hoping for. I'll keep my eyes open and let you know if anything turns up.

The lack of tails does actually raise a point of some interest: I think that we in the West have often overstated how different Japan is. I can imagine why we might, as the more apparent differences are inescapable in day to day life. The use of symbols rather than Roman script, a wildly different culture, religious background and history, and from that, some very different attitudes towards social interaction, all combine to give the impression of mystique. However, having been here for even just a short while, I'm struck by the similarities rather than the differences to home. Of course, being unable to speak the language, (I am functionally illiterate, deaf and dumb), is a massive challenge. Not that it was unexpected; but most of the more interesting stories I now have stem from communication difficulties rather than dramatic cultural differences.

Going East

 Japan's finest fresh roasted coffee always goes down a treat with pasta aficionados...

So, after saying good bye to my whole family who saw me off, I endured around 26 hours of travel, (including a stopover in Hong Kong), before getting to Nagoya. Customs were very suspicious of me, and wanted to go through everything I had. Must have been that glint in my eye. Or the bags underneath them. Much gesturing later, I got through, and then had to work out the Nagoya train system. Not a simple task even when fully awake, but thankfully the two Japanese ladies in the information booth spoke a 'chotto' (little) English, and I was able to just about work out enough to make it into central Nagoya. There I was greeted by my Canadian housing agent, who, after stopping just at the side of the very busy road, invited me to vault over a small barrier and drag my bags over to his van. Oblivious to the blaring traffic queuing up behind him, I tumbled in and then we were off through what I thought were the backstreets of Nagoya to the hostel where I would stay until my apartment was ready. In reality, I think Japanese roads are just quite narrow, with lots of one-way streets.

That night was interesting. By then I think I was approaching 28 hours without any sleep, and made a great first impression on my fellow teachers who were already there by, um, resting my eyes in the common room and having people point at me and exclaim in the time-honoured Japanese tradition: 'Kawaii!' ('How cute!'). We went out for dinner to an izakaya, or Japanese pub, where I sampled the delights of Japanese cuisine, including a dish I vaguely recall being described as chicken knuckles. All I remember for certain is that it was pretty nasty. Everything else we had was great though.

Food in Japan: weird at the best of times. 

I had a sakura flavoured fish sweet thing. I think I'll go for the chocolate one next time...

And so life in Japan goes on. I got to know my fellow teachers better, who are uniformly great chaps, and I'm so grateful for that. I've had a week of training with one more to follow, and after that my employer will let me loose on some students! The apartment's a bit of a dive, but it's in a good location, so everything balances out. I've had two karaoke sessions, no karate lessons, and I think I'm learning how to make a gyoza, (Japanese dumpling), tonight.

One final story for your amusement: In my never-ending search for food, (harder than you might think), I eventually stumbled across a supermarket close to home. Such joy! Brands I actually recognised, staple foods to fill my cupboards with, and abundant quantities of fresh fruit! I got to the checkout and said hello to the girl, who kindly put all my purchases in a yellow basket and gave it to me. Not knowing what to do next, I followed everyone else with their yellow baskets to a long shelf, where they were transferring items from said yellow basket into rucksacks that they brought with them. Taking a rucksack with me to a supermarket was not an idea that ever crossed my mind. Oh dear. After bothering a lady with a plastic bag, and politely enquiring as to where she got it, she told me that it was from a different shop. Oh dear indeed. It transpires that you need to buy plastic bags from supermarkets in Japan, but I didn't know that. So in the depths of my increasing worry, a kindly old Japanese man shuffled up to me, started mumbling something, and produced plastic bags from his magical coat pockets that had an inexhaustible supply of them. I bowed, said thank you profusely, and he shuffled off, still mumbling, with nary a backward glance. Anonymous Japanese man, I'm sure you're not reading this, but if you are: thank you.

Hopefully it won't be too long until my next post, but do keep in touch! I hope you're all well, and I'll try and get some nice pictures of the sakura trees for you as they come into bloom. So, in the words of the sinister sounding Keisuki M:

               

Into the East

It seems most things are taken care of in preparation for my move to Japan! In under a week I shall be flying half way around the world to find a new home in a town by the sea, using my skills to make a living. Hm, this all sounds a little familiar…*

As I was unearthing and dusting off my English textbooks, I was reminded of a couple of questions that a few people have asked me which may be of interest to a wider audience, so I’ll answer them here.

‘I’ve often thought about teaching English. What course did you do?’

I did a CELTA (Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults) course, full time, for five weeks. Some places squeeze it down to four, but the five week course just gave us a little more room to breathe. It was fairly intense, and serves as a solid entry level professional qualification to those looking to get into the TEFL world. It has the added bonus of being Cambridge certified, so people the world over will think: Cambridge=smart, ergo, Cambridge certified teacher=smart.

‘What books would you recommend so that I can improve my English?’

Yes, both English nationals and internationals have asked me this. Honest. There are a few good ones, but everyone has different favourites. I prefer a more academic approach to learning, so I went for Bas Aarts’ Modern English Grammar, (OUP, 2011). Very thorough, but isn’t the most accessible. Others will swear by Michael Swan’s Practical English Usage, (3rd ed., OUP, 2005), and I too have found it useful. Alternatively, despite being written for English teachers, Martin Parrott’s Grammar for English Language Teachers, (2nd ed., CUP, 2010) presents most things in a very clear and accessible style, even if you have no intention of teaching.

But do you need any of these?! Well, do the test below to find out. It only takes a couple of minutes:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/teacher-network/teacher-blog/quiz/2013/feb/04/grammar-punctuation-quiz-test

Next stop: Japan.


* For the uninitiated, Kiki’s Delivery Service revolves around a very similar plot. I, however, shall not be travelling by broomstick. Or with a cat. And I’m not convinced Nagoya has more than two trees to its name…

Image © Studio Ghibli, 1989

So, why Japan?

Of all the questions people ask me when they find out where I’m going, the most common, understandably, is why Japan? This is normally accompanied by a look of mild bewilderment as they ponder the enormity of moving to the far side of the world, and what sorrowful and earth-shattering circumstances must have driven me to such extremes.

Well, there are a number of reasons, not all of which are earth-shattering. Firstly, I do have a faint idea of what it’s like as I’ve been to Japan before, a few years back, playing with my swing band in Tokyo. Many Japanese people have never really met any Westerners, and I found a uniform curiosity regarding our strange habits and customs. Nonetheless, they are also one of the politest people groups that I have ever come across; something I hope to learn a little from!

Secondly, I think that seeing life from a completely different worldview will be an invaluable experience. Japan is unique in terms of its rapid technological advancement from a feudal system of government to a world power. In under a century, Japan evolved from a country that had virtually no contact with the outside world to being embroiled in a world war that would give rise to some of the darkest moments in recent history. Culturally, they remain distinct, and I look forward to seeing more of how they reconcile their past with modernity.

Finally, I get to be a teacher! This is a massive change professionally, as my background is in law and lobbying. I’m very much looking forward to getting into this new profession, learning new skills and helping people develop their English, as I learn more about them and even myself.

That’s the answer to ‘why Japan’ in brief. Also, you can buy a mind-controlled tail. Yes. Yes you can. You might even be able to wear it whilst piloting a real life terminator which fires at its target when you smile.

Welcome to Japan, indeed.

Videos ©:

Neurowear, neurowear.com

Suidobashi Heavy Industry, suidobashijuko.jp

A brief introduction

Due to popular demand, (alright, about three people), I've started a blog! The aim is to chronicle my travels in and about Japan as I begin my job as a teacher of English as a foreign language, and also to provide a way to those who wish to know what I'm up to of doing so, and finally, to a wider audience, what life's like over there.

Of course, I won't be there until the end of February, so this blog is arguably a little premature. Nonetheless, preparation is an important part of travel, so I hope to update this blog on a fairly regular basis as I know it will be of interest to some.

So, welcome, and I hope you enjoy reading! Any questions or comments, do please leave them below.