New roommate — totally has a region-free DVD player.
Pleasure overload…pleasure overload….!
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Archive for February, 2006
We got a new roommate today. Her name is Evelina and she transferred to MM from a Tokyo branch.
I don’t know what to quite make of her yet. Darya claims that it won’t work. I’m more apt to give it a chance.
She arrived earlier than we expected. LS had told us she’d probably come after 3:00PM. She came a little after noon or so.
Darya and I were a bit flustered. We hadn’t expected her and thus, the apartment was in a bit of disarray — Darya’s luggage was out and I was in the midst of making tamago (aka scrambled eggs). I was a little embarassed at the condition of the place, and I think Darya was, too.
Of course, we weren’t the only ones to make a “bad” first impression. Evelina was startled by the size of the apartment, having come from a much bigger one. She made mention of the size quite a few times. It left me feeling unsettled.
She hasn’t come back yet. She left about twenty minutes after arriving to go pick up her work visa. I hope she makes it back to the apartment okay.
I also hope her futon comes. It was supposed to arrive yesterday, but when they delivered it, neither Darya or I were here to receive it. They’re supposed to just come in and drop it off, but they didn’t do that.
Here’s to hoping…
But I miss Denny’s. *ducks head in shame*
Actually, there’s a Denny’s here in Osaka. I can’t remember if it’s in Shinsaibashi or closer to Namba. Either way, we passed it and I laughed. It’s nothing like the one at home, I’m told. It’s actually kind of like a nicer restaurant. I wouldn’t necessarily say “classy”, but definitely more expensive. They don’t even serve breakfast 24 hours a day. It’s right by a Karaoke Bar.
I just want to sit down and read for a little while. There’s no where to really sit and read hereabouts. I could do it in my apratment, but I like to try and get out when I can.
Maybe I’ll try that Seattle’s Best I saw the other day. I just doubt that I’ll be able to sit and read for hours like I’d like to do. Bummer.
Randomly — I don’t suppose anyone wants to stop by my house, pick up the Regionfree DVD player that’s in my room and send it to me.
So I just checked the calendar and at first I was really excited because this concert I really want to see is on March 19th, a Sunday. I work until something like 3:00 on Sunday and I thought, “Score! I can make it to the concert!”
Then I read the time on the poster…
It starts at 1:00.
Drat.
I’m actually really bummed about it because if I understood the advertisement correctly, Alfred Reed is supposed to conduct. I know that probably means nothing to you, but he’s this great composer and they’re supposed to play “Hounds of Spring” and “Aremenian Dances”, two really great Reed pieces.
Sore wa zannen desu ne…
Okay, so I called freaking American Express and all they told me was to sign them, date them with the day I got them, and take them back.
You’ve got to be kidding me! They made it seem like I’d have to go back to America and have someone watch me put my signature on the top line.
*grumbles irritably*
Anyway, since I’m posting again, out of curiousity, are people still having trouble with the password for my address? Let me know.
I’m trying to write in both my fic and in Lint Wars. I’m not having much luck. I think I’m too distracted by all the shiny new things that are around me. Goo.
I had my first traditional cultural experience today.
Since it was my “Saturday” I pretty much ran a bunch of errands. I was thwarted by the damn Travelers’ Cheques, but other than that, it wasn’t all that bad. If anything, seeing the Plum Blossom Garden of Osaka Castle made up for the harrowing experience trying to get money. And yes, I took pictures. Now it’s just a matter of figuring out how to post them. *smiles innocently at Press Master Mark*
I met Darya in OCAT after doing a few things around the apartment. Together, she and I went to the currency exchange since she needed US money and since I needed Yen. She’s going home tomorrow and will be in San Fransisco for a nine hour layover, so she decided to get US currency instead of Canadian money for the time being.
There was a mishap with my Travelers’ Cheques, however. When I bought them at Chase, they didn’t say I had to sign them with the teller as a witness or anything, so I just took them and left. When I got up to the exchange lady, though, she said she couldn’t take them because they weren’t signed. I was just going to sign them right then and there, but she said she still wouldn’t be able to accept them. She sent me to a different exhange on the lower level. Unfortunately, they couldn’t do anything for me either, thus leaving a very unsettled feeling in my stomach. Did this mean I was screwed out of $1,200.00? I had been counting on that money for various odds and ends, considering I wouldn’t be paid until March 15th. The second exchange place told me to call American Express.
Turns out, it’s not that big of a deal after all. I just have to sign them and take them back with my signature already present, then sign them again before I exchange them. I was pretty annoyed, if anything, because this is becoming way too much of a hassle. If I ahd known that it would be this much trouble, I would have just taken this amount in cash instead of paying the extra fee to get cheques.
We were supposed to meet Angela, Darya’s friend who ate with us at AsianDayz, but Darya wasn’t sure if she really wanted to go to Osaka-jo to bother seeing the blossoms since she had to be back at work at 5:30PM — it was somewhere around 3:00PM. She had asked my opinion and I told her it honestly didn’t matter to me what we did.
We ended up going, which I must admit, I’m glad we did. I would have been happy either way, but after walking through the garden, I think it’s a good thing to have gotten my first taste of Japanese culture.
The garden was indescribably beautiful — hence the pictures. I could walk around the grounds of Osaka Castle for an entire day, and I plan on doing so some time when it’s not quite so chilly out. I took a few shots of Osaka Castle, as well as several different trees, and closer shots of particular blossoms. And yes, I’m even in a couple of the pictures, much to my grumbling and protestations. I can’t promise that the pictures are any good, though.
I keep thinking I’ll have someone to show these things to when they come to visit me. Am I crazy for thinking like this, or what?
‘m backtracking a little…
I had my first full day of teaching yesterday (Sunday the 26 of February 2006). I think it went all right. Nothing too bad happened and no one fired me yet. In fact, they asked me if I wanted overtime. Based on the title of this post, you can see I took them up on it.
The way the schedules work is you teach a total of eight lessons, but they’re split by a break. So I taught three, had lunch, and then taught five. I think they go three and five, four and four, and five and three. Personally, I think I prefer a four and four, if anything because the break would fall on a more typical lunch time. Then again, my hour schedule is all over the place that I really shouldn’t take particular notice.
Sunday: 7:30AM – 2:50PM
Monday: Off
Tuesday: Off
Wednesday: 6:40PM – 10:40PM
Thursday: 3:10PM – 10:40PM
Friday: 6:40PM – 10:40PM
Saturday: 10:00AM – 5:40PM
I was literally in the middle of a lesson when one of the LS (MultiMedia office workers) ladies came running up to my booth waving hastily written message beside me. I was a little flustered because my students were in the middle of dialogue practice, thus I wan’t on camera, but because I was distracted, I didn’t change the text fast enough. There was silence over the “class” and I was thrown. After a hasty click of the text, I read the message. “Can you stay until 17:40 and teach three extra lessons?”
I stared at the woman blankly, while at the same time realizing my students were once again sitting in silence. I turned back to my class and threw up the dialogue again, telling them to switch roles. I frantically wrote down, “What’s 17:40?”
Needless to say, I was barely aware of what was going on in my class…for all I know, they were speaking Japanese (which, for the record, they’re not supposed to do). I think I ended up having them practice the dialogue one last time before I remembered I could mute my mic.
“How late do you want me to stay?”
“Until 5:40.”
I shrugged, “Why not? Sure, I’ll do it.” The way I figured it, the more practice I got, the better.
I felt really bad for that particular class; I wouldn’t be surprised if they called in and complained.
That’s maybe one of the harderst things for me to remember about Nova. It’s not a school the way I think of one. It’s still a corporation. These students are paying a lot of money to practice their English with a native speaker. Get this, I found out that for having my degree in education, I get an extra 5000 Yen. That translates to about fifty bucks. Can you believe that?
I actually liked the last two classes I taught — the first of the three was just run of the mill. I had a lot of fun teaching my first M2M (man-to-man) lesson. Kenji was a Fox, as in rank, not in “a catch”; so it was pretty easy striking up a conversation with him. He and I ended up having some similar interests, which was what the lesson was on. Then the lesson after him was a group of Golfs on a lesson in pop culture. They made me laugh. I filled them in on some American trends and they helped me with the Japanese ones.
At the end of that particular lesson, when I was telling them they did well, Hisami laughed and said, “No we didn’t, but it was nice of you to say so.”
I was really surprised by her comment. I wasn’t kidding when I told them they did well. They’re pronunciation was pretty good and while the lesson wasn’t without the usual minor glitches, I really enjoyed teaching it.
I’ll be having my one week observation soon. I hope I don’t suck.
Okay, yeah, I’m hella tired (yes, I did just write that) but I thought I would post quickly.
I had my first day of teaching without any obs. It didn’t seem to go so bad; I taught two lessons of Foxes and Golfs (translation: students more proficient in English) and managed to give a quick grammar lesson. Still not stellar teaching by any standards as far as I’m concerned, but I got the message across all right.
I’m on the 14th Floor, which is a busy one and is where all the Chinese teachers are located, too. Now, I’m not the sort of person to just jump into conversations or strike one up with people I’ve not been formally introduced to really. That and there are so many people, it’s not whoever I try to talk to is going to remember me. I kinda smirked to myself and wondered, “I wonder if none of the other English teachers are talking to me because they think I’m a Chinese teacher.” I made this quip to my roommate and she chided me for being shy. She’s probably right, but I’ve been conditioned by you lot back home so much that I couldn’t help but think it’s ‘cuz I’m Asian. 
We ate at a beef hot pot place called AsianDays – thus successfully not cooking. It’s right by an English Pub. Something about the fact that there’s an English Pub run by Japanese doesn’t seem right to me. Anyway, I met Darya’s friend Angela and Braden came to eat with us, too. It was a fun experience, expensive, but worth it. There was ice cream to be had thereafter from Hagaan-Daz. (“But if she wins, we get ice cream…”)
I also read about the stuff that’s going on in the Philippines right now. I mentioned to Braden this morning about possibly visiting since I’m so close and he mentioned that now is NOT the time to do so. After a quirked brow, he handed me the newspaper. Sucks to be in Manila right about now…but I really do hope that my cousins and such are safe.
I’ll write more again soon. We’re checking internet options and prices so soon, I’ll have a better connection and be able to write more.
But not quite a kender.
If you don’t get the above reference, you obviously do not speak Drangonlance. Anyway, I just got back from an evening of wandering around Namba. You’d think that I had a good idea of the area, but there’s soooo much to see!! This time about, I found yet another Golden Dragon place (“street noodles” vendor) and another side of the area I have yet to explore. So far, I’ve seen one Mister Donut, four Starbucks, three McDonald’s, one Subway, one Seattle’s Best, and a Wendy’s. I have only eaten at one of the McDonald’s ‘cuz it was right by work and Braden and I wanted something really quick to eat, and visited the Starbuck’s twice. Not out of because I was desperate for a mocha or anything, more out of convenience and the fact that I could actually sit down. (I had to go there twice due to phone issues…more on that later.) The way I figure it, I’m making sure I know my way around for the off chance that someone might actually come and visit me.
I’m also trying to find different places to eat. I default to Yoshinoya and Golden Dragon a lot, but I’d really like to expand my cuisine. In my wandering, I ended up picking up a tekka bento. It was about 800 Yen for something like twelve pieces. Not unreasonable. I’m sure I can find cheaper stuff eventually, but for the time being, I’m doing okay money-wise. Besides, I have three months (more or less) of being confined to the Osaka area due to probation; so I don’t foresee any expensive trips any time soon.
As for a few comments I’ve read — dude, if I met a Tru or a Faith, THAT WOULD BE AWESOMELY HILARIOUS!!! I couldn’t help but smile a little when I met a Luce on our first day, so soon after seeing “Imagine Me and You”. (Sadly, I never saw her again, I think she was one of the Okinawa Nova people.)
Tiara is our token minority — for once, it’s not me!! She knew I was from the Midwest immediately, having been born in East St. Louis.
As for the password protected address, blame Mark for that one. It’s his fault.
Hey, I just thought of something. Has anyone seen me Da? Is he still having computer issues? Not that I expect him to comment lots or anything, but so far, this is the only way I’ve heard from people back home.
I can’t wait to get my own internet access. While I do like free, I really think that John’s being so tempremental because of the signal I’m using. That’s preposterous, you say? Well then how do you explain the five minutes — I’m not exaggerating, I timed it — it takes for programs to open when I’m on-line, but the usual few seconds when I take out the wireless card? Also, if the wireless card is still plugged in, I can’t shut down properly. It’s a pain in the ass, let me tell you.
I’m really kicking myself for not bringing that little DVD player. I bet it would work. *grumbles irritably*
I forgot to mention that I got my phone. It was quite the trial. After several hours of various problems, I finally got it yesterday. The first time I went to the ComStation, I filled out the date of my credit card expiration incorrectly. He told me to come back in an hour. (First trip to Starbuck’s). The second time I went there, my ward sheet (the official document that says my alien registration card was being processed) had my birthday wrong…which meant I had to go back to the ward office to get that fixed. Thus, I had to come back the next day.
After fixing the birthday problem (the ward officer totally remembered me from the other day, still don’t know if that was a good thing or a bad one), I had to wait another hour for my phone. (Thus marking the second trip to Starbuck’s.)
It’s a Vodafone, which is the cheapest and most popular phone. Apparently, it’s pretty big in Australia, too. I still haven’t named it yet.
Not long after getting the Vodafone, you’ll never guess what I came across. T-Mobile. My eyes went wide when I saw the familiar pink sign. I ought to check it out, just in case it would be easier to just keep using Mal. I’m sure it wouldn’t be, but you can never be too sure. It might well be that I can still use that service for calling home only or something like that. Highly unlikely…but you can’t blame me for considering it. After all, I had my phone unlocked.
Tomorrow or Sunday, Darya wants me to cook. I stared at her blankly when she first suggested it, since I can only make one dish. We’ll see how well this goes.
Gosh if I don’t have a lot to catch up on….Let’s see….where to begin….Eto…
The teaching is very different. If there’s anything I think I’ll take with me from this experience it’s the ability to multi-task. I mean, I’ve been able to juggle things about before, but this is a whole new level for me in that I have to keep “focused” on the camera, while listening to the students’ pronunciation of English coupled with the ability to correct them, as well as prepare the next portion of the lesson which may include the writing tablet, the typing pad, or one of the various mpegs and hopefully not accidentally switch off the camera while selecting the next image or tool. There’s also the matter of the microphone, which I keep forgetting to take off mute after the listening activity. It doesn’t sound like a lot, but when you’re actually doing it, it’s minorly stressful. Everyone keeps telling us that it gets to be routine after about two weeks. Then it’s tedious, dull, and downright boring.
I can understand that. The lesson plans are set and it’s the same format for every lesson. So far I don’t mind, but then again I’ve only been at it for a week.
The actual teaching itself is nothing like student-teaching in that I’ve never had to really facilitate the actual learning and application of the language. There are a lot of gestures and shortening of the language that I have to learn to use. We can’t be overly polite: “Hitomi, please read the question in yellow and Tsubayashi, please read the answers in white.” Instead it’s: “Hitomi, read the yellow and Tsubayashi, read the white.” It’s a strange thing to be conscious of.
I don’t really have a problem with the rate of speech, I’ve always been able to speak slowly when need be, but other things like the vocabulary I use is another thing I have to tone down. For example, (< — we say this a lot in lessons) they don’t necessarily know the word “pretend”, instead, we use “imagine” — hence the title of this post. “Imagine you are buying…Imaging you are…” They also have a grasp of “=”, so I can write something like “pretend = imagine” and they’ll get it, but the latter word is used more often than not.
The Japanese don’t ask questions too much, either. “Understand?” And everyone will confirm, but then when I ask them to apply the new phrase or sentence, it’s a big fat not so much. I know that this is generally the case with any teaching, I mean, come on, I did teach high schoolers for a spell; but this is a different kind of misunderstanding. My kids at U-High were just plain indifferent and apathetic, these students here are just embarassed to not understand.
I have gotten a few questions here and there, but it’s few and far between.
When speaking about oneself, the Japanese don’t point at their chests as we might in America, but rather their noses. I don’t know if pointing at the chest is a bad thing, but just to be safe, I have to amend how I speak about myself.
I honestly don’t know if any of the students I’ve taught so far have really learned anything from me. I feel like I’m making them dumber, honestly.
On the other hand, I don’t feel as horrible coming out of bad lesson. Like, I do for a time, but by the time I leave work, I’ll have forgotten the crummy lesson. Not really the case while student-teaching. I think the difference is that it’s not my lesson that failed, it may have been my execution of it, but I didn’t put so much of my time and energy into it. Also, there’s a chance I won’t ever see some of these students again in my teaching whereas I had to go back and face the same class again the next day.
I got a little frustrated towards the end because just like student-teaching, the evaluations are based on teaching style variations and preferences. Since I’m still on probation and such, it’s frustrating for me to figure out who to listen to. I’ve been complimented on my use of pauses and of the various tools and how long I keep the text/pictures on screen, but in the very next observation be criticized of it. One chap was actually talking to me and telling me things while I was trying to teach, but since we’re not supposed to look off-camera so obviously, I was at a loss. I couldn’t focus on him, focus on my students, think of how to help them, and implement the tools all at the same time.
Like everything else I’ve experienced in teaching, it all comes down to style and preference. For the time being, I’m jumping through the hoops, but I already have an idea of how I’ll do things.
It’s just different all together.
I made nice with one of the French instructors because I spoke what little French I knew, much to Guillam’s delight; and talked to Alessandro, one of the Italian teachers, about joining his Kendo Dojo. I’m trying to make a few connections, if anything, because I’m going to be working at MM for a year (if I don’t get fired first, which apparently is REALLY hard to do) and while I have resigned myself to being friendless, I ought to make some attempts at socializing.
To celebrate the end of OJT, Braden, Tiara, Helen, and I went out. We ended up meeting in Namba and then traversing Dotonbori. We found a 380 bar, all the food items are 380 Yen (about $3.80), but all other drinks vary in price. We toasted over o-sake and the others, with the exception of Helen and me, had a couple rounds of beers. Tiara’s roommate Adelle came with us, too, so between her, Braden, and Tiara, they must have had at least a dozen beers and four bottles of sake.
Braden’s an odd chap, but a generous one. He paid for the whole lot of it — the bill ended being something in the neighborhood of $100. He’s either generous, he tried paying for various things when we went out for lunch together or when I showed him how to get to the dollar store where I bought a new pair of slippers, or he’s trying to flaunt his money. I’m oddly enough thinking the former rather than the latter. He doesn’t strike me as an ass hole. My roommate is convinced that I like him or he likes me. I don’t think I’ve known him long enough to really make a decision. Oh, and that other potential minor detail…
Helen has become my new BFF. Everyone asked me what I had planned for today. “I have to start my bank account, change some traveler’s checks, and I planned to write.”
“Oh what are you writing?”
I have no qualms about being a loser around these people so I answered honestly. “A fanfic.”
Helen’s eyes brightened, “You write fic? What fandom?”
I turned to her with equal excitment. “You speak fic?” After her nod, I told her about the various fandoms I read and abashadly told her what I write. To make her a thousand times cooler, she is also a Browncoat. She shamefully confessed that she hadn’t seen Serenity yet, but I told her not to worry since I brought it with me. (I’m just trying to get the gorram cable to work still, with which my luck, won’t.)
Also, Hel doesn’t drink much.
Who knows, really. It might all still be forced camaraderie, but the time being, I imagine we’ll all be friends for a bit. If anything, we have a mutual love and devotion to All Things Whedon.
Tomorrow starts my first day of real “work”. I’m a little nervous, though, because for the past couple lessons, we’ve had time to look through the lesson plans before hand. Not so much the case tomorrow, I don’t think. I guess this is the part where I wing it.
“Imagine, I don’t suck as a teacher…”