Apr
28
2008
--

Park Golf and PE Teachers

It’s Spring, and that means the park golf courses open. Park Golf is a cutthroat sport native to Hokkaido involving the head of what could be a 3 wood driver, the shaft of a putter and a ball slightly smaller than those used in hockey but of the same texture and solidity. It’s really just a larger version of putt-putt, but woe betide any gaijin who takes this sport lightly. Weekends see the courses full of ernest-looking men and a few women, replete with their clubs, golfing attire and utility belts full of tees, extra balls, gloves, collapsible Gundam and so on. I have been on golf courses with less-devoted players! One basically whacks the hockey ball-thing with your club much like you would if you were putting on a 45m green and had quite a distance to the pin. I like to pretend I’m really aiming for a line through the course, when the reality is I’m basically just hitting a ball along a flat line over and over again. This sport is very popular in Hokkaido, I should add, with professional leagues and equipment costing upwards of R1300.

Park Golf in all its glory

So Chris and myself headed out and played a round. This is because there are no golf courses within easy driving distance and all the snow has melted, so it’s either play park golf or watch the town garbage truck make its rounds through the town. The truck plays Mozart on loop from 6am on Saturday, so it was a tough call to make.

My pale body was unused to so much sunshine as well, which resulted in a slight dizziness later in the day. It’s sad to think that just 3 hours of being out and about in real sun would do that. Testament to the ravages of Hokkaido Winter I guess. Park Golf is entertaining enough for a while, and the scenery is certainly quite beautiful. I wouldn’t play more than one round a week though, as it can get rather monotonous!

School wise I got to teach the tiny new 1st grade elementary kids. They’re six years old and the one school had 5 of them, 4 of which were little girls. ‘Cute’ doesn’t quite cover it. They enjoyed watching the South Africa DVD I brought and wanted to know if SA also had rabbits. In the Junior high the PE teacher seems to be on a mission today, ranting and screeching at everyone. I don’t think he likes Mondays. Kinda sucked for my second grade class, as they’re usually really excited in English and we get along great with them. Today we entered the class to find PE teacher chewing out some of the kids for god-knows-what. Most likely running in the hall or something equally silly, but the end result is that we were handed a class of kids who looked very sullen. Some, of course, were on the verge of tears.

Next weekend is a super long 4 day effort, so I’m scheming to go a camping with Chris and hopefully some others to a huge lake in the middle on Hokkaido. Should be fun, unless it rains. Pictures will be taken, with luck!

Written by admin in: Things Japanese |
Apr
21
2008
--

Working Weekends

For some unfathomable, ungodly reason, this past Saturday was a school day. Now I’m a lazy oaf at the best of times, so working 6 days a week is ridiculous unless I get paid overtime or it’s in order to finish my honours research paper. So with much consternation did I rouse myself at 7am to go to school on a Saturday!

Curiously enough, nobody else seemed to be bothered at all in the slightest, or if they were they hid it with sleek professionalism. I was only able to mask my grumpiness after a few cups of coffee. The students at least looked how I felt, with many a bottom lip being dragged through the hallway.

Following the day’s classes was a PTA meeting/pseudo-cocktail party held at the school (collectively known in Japan as Enkai’s), to which I gladly retreated to! I have been to many of these things since arriving to Japan, as it seems to be the substitute for going out on one’s own. The transformation witnessed by staff always amazes me. During the day my colleagues are stone-faced educators, oozing professionalism and work ethic. And yet, when the ties are loosened and the beer starts flowing, they’re you best friend(s)! I don’t think I’ll ever get used to this disconnect, as I’m more accustomed to folks acting pretty much themselves regardless of whether they’re in the office or sharing a beer. This particular enkai was a small affair, barely lasting 2 and a half hours, of which I spent the majority learning Japanese culture from the new science teacher. Of course, this ‘culture’ I speak of mostly involved us taking turns downing beer glasses, a thing I’ve never seen from a co-worker before. He is now my best friend!

I’ve written before (LINK) on how kids here cry at the drop of the hat, regardless of gender, and this week was no exception. The elementary kids are the worst, who will bawl at the merest hint of physical injury. At elementary schools it’s kind of cute, as they’re still lil kids, but if I see another damned Junior High teenager crying because a teacher reprimanded him, or he has a boo-boo on his arm, or the wind changes direction, I might just swear out loud! In Afrikaans, of course, lest my cursing cause even more tears!

In the classroom I have taken to pinning up an English comic-of-the-week at the back, next to the many pictures of naked Zulu warriors prancing about, all in the hopes that the students find some manner of humour in learning this language. I doubt many, if any, actually read the damned things, but at worst reading Calvin and Hobbes or Garfield once a week entertains me, which is really all that matters when one thinks about it!

A 5 day public holiday is fast-approaching in early May. Entitled ‘Golden Week’, I had hoped to visit a friend in Taiwan and get some more stamps in my passport, but it seems flights are rather… inflated… in prices for the holiday. I’m tempted to just drive to someplace new in Hokkaido and see what I can see. I have yet to visit Asahikawa, which might be nice…

The maths teacher just erupted in what I think was rage during his class. It seems the students weren’t paying sufficient attention to his ministrations. I wonder how many students will be crying now…

The Nerve Centre of the Chaos. Maths teacher not included.

Written by admin in: Things Japanese |
Apr
14
2008
--

Things I Wish I Could Do in the Inaka (rural Japan)

Living out in the middle of nowhere deprives one of many things I had previously taken for granted, as well as several things I’d hoped to partake of while in Japan. And to be certain living out here has repaid this deficit tenfold in other areas which I would never have dreamed of, there are still certain things I wish I could have done.

First and foremost is a Japanese martial art, particularly Kyudo, Japanese archery. It always intrigued me and it certainly looked like good fun, but obviously finding even half-English instruction this far out is impossible. Indeed, the sport isn’t even that popular way out here. Kendo is the main thing being taught in my village, and it certainly looks cool what with the armour and bamboo swords and whatnot, but that equipment is expensive, and I’m pretty sure the 1st graders here could kick my ass if I were to even begin learning!

Kyudo

Kyudo, in case you were wondering.

Secondly is Ice Hockey. In Sapporo I know there is a league and active players, and I think even in Asahikawa such a community exists. I’ve played normal field hockey for most of my life, and ice hockey is something I’ve wanted to try for years. It strikes me as the perfect balance between violence and skill, and it’s pretty damned fast to boot. Alas the nearest ice rink is in Nayoro, 2 hours’ drive away, so that’s out as well seeing as I’d probably have to learn to skate before I could play hockey…

… thirdly is Japanese language classes. With virtually every damned JET person in Hokkaido speaking near-fluent Japanese and possessing an impressive command of Kanji and Hiragana, I feel woefully unequipped in my language capability. I’ve certainly learned plenty of Japanese on the job and through simply listening and conversing with the locals, but it would have been great to have been able to attend some proper lessons conducted with English, so that I might understand just why I should append the mo instead of the wa at the end of my subject noun, and so on. Nonetheless, I’m not staying here much longer, so I’m not too fazed about it anymore. I can more or less converse in horrid 3 year old Japanese and it’s enough to get by on, so that’s ok!

Fourth is the access to shops. Even in Wakkanai finding decent non-Japanese food, English books, computer hardware and other assorted things is nigh impossible. I certainly miss having a grocery store at the end of the road. With the local convenience store being the largest thing we have here for food, it’s a bit inadequate! I can go to Hamatonbetsu to get my groceries, but it’s just the more complicated foodstuff and miscellany which I wish I could get. In Sapporo it’s all terribly easy, albeit frighteningly expensive, so perhaps I shouldn’t gripe too much as I can save a considerable amount of money by NOT buying all that stuff at these horrid prices!

And although I regret not being able to do these things, I’m very grateful for where I’ve been put. Out here in the wild, with a car and the freedom to go wherever I want, whenever, I’ve been able to see parts of Hokkaido that I don’t think any city ALT’s would ever see in their first year (and perhaps beyond if they never get a car). The cities are great to visit, but I think I would be missing out on a LOT of really beautiful countryside, weekly snowboarding trips and visiting other towns if I wasn’t placed in a position where a nice comfy public transport system existed. I may not have experienced nearly the traditional Japanese lifestyle I was expecting, but in exchange I have been able to explore Hokkaido and see it on my terms, which is ultimately, I think, pretty damned awesome!

Written by admin in: Things Japanese |

Powered by WordPress. Theme: TheBuckmaker