When I first decided to go and teach English after graduating, I chose to go to Japan. I knew that there were jobs-a-plenty in South Korea, but I picked Japan. After spending a weekend in Seoul, my first thoughts were “why aren’t I living in Seoul?!”. I fell in love with the city—English everywhere, delicious food, good public transportation, things to see…. so I had to consult my internal list of why I chose Japan. (Although in fairness, it’s also because Japan chose me). And I realized I’m not the only one who wonders why I did, so I thought I’d share my reasons with you. It’s also one of the most asked questions I get after “How are you today?” “What are your hobbies?” and “How do you enjoy your life in Japan?”.
Culture
I went to university in New Brunswick. In a small town. I loved my years there, but New Brunswick is not a cultural hot spot. It has some great sights, but I am of the opinion that of the provinces of Canada, its one of the 2 you’re going to forget when you list them off. South Korea has some great sights, it’s got the DMZ, temples, kim chi, but Japan is renown for it’s culture. South Korea is kind of the New Brunswick of Asia. Living in Japan I’ve been to Nara, Kyoto, Tokyo, Hiroshima, Kobe, Osaka etc. Places that I knew of before I came, chock full of historic and beautiful sights.
Program
I am a JET. I am an employee of the Japanese government (more or less) My job is secure, accountable, reputable, and pays me well enough. I had to do very little research, I’m lazy.
People
I have friends in Japan. I made some Japanese friends when I was in university, and it’s been great to reconnect with them. I better understand what it must have been like for them coming to Canada and it’s surreal for them to see me here. Also, coming with JET meant that I came over with a pile of others, and would be part of the JET community—99% of my friends in Japan are fellow JETs.
So while my visit Seoul made me do some soul searching (clever, I know) I am happy to be in Japan, and happy to be staying. I’ll save those reasons for another post.
2008年6月26日木曜日
2008年6月18日水曜日
I went to Seoul. Insert pun(s) here.
Last weekend Gabrielle and I took some time off, jumped on a plane and headed to South Korea. We were there from Friday afternoon till Monday morning, and had an amazing time. We stayed with Rhoda and Johan who are connected to me in many various ways, and were excellent hosts. Johan had to work/watch soccer while we were there, but Rhoda was free and showed us around the city. I've never been such a lazy tourist, but it was nice not to worry and just relax. Here are some photos from our trip.
On Saturday we went to a palace. Happily, they also had traditional garb to try on for free, so we indulged our inner top model and went for it. You can see that Gabrielle and I retained our inner Japanese spirit with the peace sign.
After the palace, we went to Insadong-- a fun (and touristy) market street with some art galleries scattered about. We were approached twice by people wanting to take a quick survey. First by 2 little girls who were out on assignment from their English class and then by 4 law students who wanted to know what our shopping habits are. Both groups spoke better English than nearly all of the students I teach. A little depressing, but maybe a little inspiring too?
These photos were taken in Daejeon city-- where my friend Erin lives. We met up with her and Julia, who lives in Pusan, for dinner. We didn't eat the chicken feet or silk worm larva, but instead feasted on Korean BBQ and reminisced about our university days. We had our own mini Mount Allison reunion as all 4 of us were in the 2007 graduating class.
On Sunday we headed back out into the depths of Seoul for some shopping and soccer. There was a free game at the World Cup stadium-- FC Seoul vs FC Tokyo. It was a nice way to spend the afternoon, enjoying the beautiful weather (and Tokyo's win).
On our last night we went up to Seoul Tower. There was a random art exhibit (hence the flying man) which added a little something to the tower. At the top there are chain link fences that lovers put locks on to symbolize their love.. awww. Well "awww" until you realize that they must cut off 90% of the locks every year, we found very few with dates older than 2007.
On Saturday we went to a palace. Happily, they also had traditional garb to try on for free, so we indulged our inner top model and went for it. You can see that Gabrielle and I retained our inner Japanese spirit with the peace sign.
After the palace, we went to Insadong-- a fun (and touristy) market street with some art galleries scattered about. We were approached twice by people wanting to take a quick survey. First by 2 little girls who were out on assignment from their English class and then by 4 law students who wanted to know what our shopping habits are. Both groups spoke better English than nearly all of the students I teach. A little depressing, but maybe a little inspiring too?
These photos were taken in Daejeon city-- where my friend Erin lives. We met up with her and Julia, who lives in Pusan, for dinner. We didn't eat the chicken feet or silk worm larva, but instead feasted on Korean BBQ and reminisced about our university days. We had our own mini Mount Allison reunion as all 4 of us were in the 2007 graduating class.
On Sunday we headed back out into the depths of Seoul for some shopping and soccer. There was a free game at the World Cup stadium-- FC Seoul vs FC Tokyo. It was a nice way to spend the afternoon, enjoying the beautiful weather (and Tokyo's win).
On our last night we went up to Seoul Tower. There was a random art exhibit (hence the flying man) which added a little something to the tower. At the top there are chain link fences that lovers put locks on to symbolize their love.. awww. Well "awww" until you realize that they must cut off 90% of the locks every year, we found very few with dates older than 2007.
2008年6月9日月曜日
Nihonjin (Japanese people)
This weekend I fully appreciated the Japanese people that have befriended me.
On Friday I went to Osaka and met up with Nobuko for coffee and Miyuki and her boyfriend for dinner. I know Nobuko and Miyuki from university, they both came to Mount Allison on the MASSIE program and were my friend Julie's and my (respectively) conversation partners. I randomly met up with Nobuko at the Osaka train station last fall, and she helped me get in touch with Miyuki. This was my second time meeting up with each of them. Nobuko and I chatted about life as a teacher (she's thinking of maybe becoming one) in the afternoon, and then I met Miyuki and her boyfriend for a Mexican food dinner. The first time I met up with Miyuki, I told her I was going for Mexican food later and she said that she couldn't even imagine what that would be like, so I told her I'd take her. I also got to meet her boyfriend and they were really cute together-- and they liked the food.
On Sunday I went to an all female choir concert in the next town over. I was invited to go by Yuki, whose mother was in the choir, and used to be a teacher at the junior high (the mother)-- which is how I met Yuki in the first place. The music teacher from the Junior high was the pianist, and some of the choir members looked familiar, I have a feeling half of them live in my town I and that's how I recognize them. It felt good to feel like a part of the community and not just be staring a sea of strangers.
There were 4 parts to the concert, and costume changes for each part. The 2nd and 3rd acts were my favourite.Act 2 was all English songs. Over the Rainbow, Moon River, Shall We Dance, Amazing Grace- gospel style, and Hail! Holy Queen a la Sister Act! They got really into most of the songs and had some pseudo dancing with them, and a tambourine for Hail! Holy Queen. The pronunciation wasn't perfect, more "Over za rainbow" than "Over the rainbow" but some of these songs were really difficult and fast, so I was pretty impressed.
The 3rd act was The Sound of Music themed, but the songs had all be put into Japanese. There were Japanese versions of "Do re mi," "Edelweiss," and "So long, farewell", all sung by elementary school students, many of them my students. They were amazingly cute and swayed to the music, along with some choreography copied from the movie. After the concert the performers all lined up for people to congratulate-- my students were super excited to see me and I gave them all high fives. Yuki's mom was also really happy to see us there (even though she's been singing in the choir for about 10 years, this was Yuki's first time seeing her sing). The choir was great-- they have been practicing for about a year and their hard work paid off.
Later I went to my ikebana class, did the arrangement and then talked a bit with my teacher, which lead to her inviting me to go out for dinner with her and her husband! We went out for Kansai style okonomiyaki and talked about places they've visited and the height of foreigners.
Even though my Japanese is minimal and I only have known most of these people for (less than) 10 months, they were all generous with their time, willing to talk, and even went out of their way for me. Sometimes I wonder why I decided to stay in Japan, and then I remember that the kindness of the people I meet makes me feel at home in a land that couldn't be more different than Canada. I want to get to know them better and have the opportunity to show them the kindness they've shown me.
On Friday I went to Osaka and met up with Nobuko for coffee and Miyuki and her boyfriend for dinner. I know Nobuko and Miyuki from university, they both came to Mount Allison on the MASSIE program and were my friend Julie's and my (respectively) conversation partners. I randomly met up with Nobuko at the Osaka train station last fall, and she helped me get in touch with Miyuki. This was my second time meeting up with each of them. Nobuko and I chatted about life as a teacher (she's thinking of maybe becoming one) in the afternoon, and then I met Miyuki and her boyfriend for a Mexican food dinner. The first time I met up with Miyuki, I told her I was going for Mexican food later and she said that she couldn't even imagine what that would be like, so I told her I'd take her. I also got to meet her boyfriend and they were really cute together-- and they liked the food.
On Sunday I went to an all female choir concert in the next town over. I was invited to go by Yuki, whose mother was in the choir, and used to be a teacher at the junior high (the mother)-- which is how I met Yuki in the first place. The music teacher from the Junior high was the pianist, and some of the choir members looked familiar, I have a feeling half of them live in my town I and that's how I recognize them. It felt good to feel like a part of the community and not just be staring a sea of strangers.
There were 4 parts to the concert, and costume changes for each part. The 2nd and 3rd acts were my favourite.Act 2 was all English songs. Over the Rainbow, Moon River, Shall We Dance, Amazing Grace- gospel style, and Hail! Holy Queen a la Sister Act! They got really into most of the songs and had some pseudo dancing with them, and a tambourine for Hail! Holy Queen. The pronunciation wasn't perfect, more "Over za rainbow" than "Over the rainbow" but some of these songs were really difficult and fast, so I was pretty impressed.
The 3rd act was The Sound of Music themed, but the songs had all be put into Japanese. There were Japanese versions of "Do re mi," "Edelweiss," and "So long, farewell", all sung by elementary school students, many of them my students. They were amazingly cute and swayed to the music, along with some choreography copied from the movie. After the concert the performers all lined up for people to congratulate-- my students were super excited to see me and I gave them all high fives. Yuki's mom was also really happy to see us there (even though she's been singing in the choir for about 10 years, this was Yuki's first time seeing her sing). The choir was great-- they have been practicing for about a year and their hard work paid off.
Later I went to my ikebana class, did the arrangement and then talked a bit with my teacher, which lead to her inviting me to go out for dinner with her and her husband! We went out for Kansai style okonomiyaki and talked about places they've visited and the height of foreigners.
Even though my Japanese is minimal and I only have known most of these people for (less than) 10 months, they were all generous with their time, willing to talk, and even went out of their way for me. Sometimes I wonder why I decided to stay in Japan, and then I remember that the kindness of the people I meet makes me feel at home in a land that couldn't be more different than Canada. I want to get to know them better and have the opportunity to show them the kindness they've shown me.
2008年6月5日木曜日
Okayama Bira
A few weekends back I went to a villa (or in Japanese, a bi-ra) on Shiraishi island in Okyama prefecture. It took a good while to get there, and even involved a ferry, but in the end it was a fantastic 2 1/2 days on a tiny island. The population is largely made up of people over 60 and I think there are about 8 cars on the whole island. Gabrielle and I showed up early enough to drink some red wine while watching the sunset on Friday. Saturday Gabrielle Paul and I biked around the island and I stayed late with Paul, Caoimhe and Kim on Sunday enjoying beach side beer. That's pretty much all we did, very excellent and very relaxing. (Well, aside from the town alarm clock/public broadcasting that goes off at 6am every day...)
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