"Ugly man of Japan" - Osaka

Ohayo!

The weekend in Osaka seemed light years away when I arrived at school Tuesday morning for my weekly pre-lesson run at 745am! The weekend there was my best one yet. Arriving in the bustling metropolis at rush hour on a Friday night made me fully aware of the contrast between city life and my rural existence. I can honestly say that I can`t decide which one I prefer. After spending long periods of time in one I then yearn for the other! Such contradictory attitudes are inherent in Japanese culture. For example, the Japanese rush from place to place in a vain attempt to appear “busy”. Moreover, Japan is a undoubtedly a cash society which never accepts credit cards, yet obtaining any outside of business hours is next to impossible. And (note the grammatical error)although I am getting used to such contradictions, they still seem foolish but I guess you can`t decide to live on the other side of the world without encountering alien traditions/customs!

Having a three day weekend meant that I got to see the majority of “Japan`s food capital”. Arriving on Friday night with another JET, we met up with two other girls and headed downtown for Mexican food and a proper gin and tonic. Also went to a local bar to chill out in. Much laughs were had over one drink unfortunately named “calpiss” (- I guess you had to be there). Rising way too early the next day I wandered around the city and ended up at Osaka`s tallest building complete with a glass elevator – fantastic views. The following day we explored Osaka`s aquarium which boasts a whole array of marine life but the best thing had to be the whale shark and the HUGEST crab ever.

I also couldn`t go to Osaka without visiting Universal Studios for old time`s sake although arriving Sunday at 2.30 perhaps wasn`t the best of ideas! It was kind of surreal going on the classic rides such as “Jaws” and “ET” which were dubbed in Japanese. Hearing Doc speaking Japanese on the “Back to the Future” ride definitely freaked me out! As we were leaving (being the greedy girl that I am), I scoffed a milkshake quickly followed by beer and fell sick. Think it was just the excitement of eating Western food again!

Our final day in Osaka (having slept off the milkshake-induced illness) we decided to check out the castle which is situated in the business district of. Apparently it`s Japan`s most visited attraction and I can see why. The castle itself is beautiful but what`s more impressive are its stunning grounds and the panoramic views of the city you get when you climb to the top. However, one of the nicest things about the brief stint by the castle was meeting an old man who goes to the castle to get foreigners to write messages in English in his notepad so he can translate them in order to learn English when he goes home. He seemed so genuinely keen to learn English and proudly produced a picture of his tiny granddaughter whom he was planning to teach English.

The weekend just gone was action packed too (have of yet to obtain the holy grail of sleeping more than 7 hrs per night!). Friday night went bowling and did karaoke. It was worth it to see Kate and Lily`s (American JETs) colleagues get up on the stage thrusting and swinging the microphone around to Japanese songs such ax “strawberry sex”! We also went with the other JETs to see the Nachi falls. (www.kansai.meti.go.jp /english/top/wakayama -pref.htm) We then checked into log cabins by the sea and camped out and BBqed (Lauren- Lara (or “Rara” her pseudonym in Japan, sends her love.) My favourite part of the weekend was kayaking deep in the mountains. I just wished I could have taken my camera to capture the spectacular views!

Oh, I also forgot to mention that I had my first onsen in Japan. Onsens are hot springs, especially popular in the Autumn. You go in, strip off and wash yourself thoroughly before stepping into the big bath hot water. It`s so relaxing sitting in one, especially as some of them are stunning as they overlook the mountains/sea.

Looking forward to this weekend as I have a sports day at one of my schools and sports days in Japan are VERY important. That is to say schools take weeks off classes to prepare. I have been invited to play taiko for everyone so already starting to get a little nervous. That`s the problem about being the only gaijin in Susami: everyone expects you to do everything perfectly! It is also my town`s festival in a couple of weeks time so am going to watch a practice tonight. They practice every evening nonstop for three weeks to be perfect on the day so can`t wait to see it all! I would have loved to participate but I guess in Susami it`s still a man`s world as women aren`t allowed to take part. I may try and change that tho….watch this space.

Teaching is still going well and I`m starting to get a better idea of what standard the kids are. 90% of my pupils are eager to learn but some have no desire and it`s an uphill struggle to get them to say one word in class which is annoying as they have no qualmx about running up to talk to me in the corridor after class. I think they are just so frightened of getting an answer wrong in front of their classmates. My favourite classes are the ones with the elementary school kids who pick up English surprisingly quickly. I usually start the week visiting one of them so puts me in a good mood for the rest of the week. I have also just managed to negotiate finishing at 3 on a Friday so my weeks look pretty good at the moment.

Anyways 1st grade beckons and I`m going to show them the delights of British cinema……Wallace and Gromit awaits!

Love to you all. Hope to hear your news,

(Sleepy) Sara xxx

PS: to all fellow Alice Ottlians. The school here has an English motto on all of its school textbooks and guess what it is? That`s right. The infamous “If I plan to learn, I must learn to plan, “has resurfaced and seems fated to haunt me for the rest of my life!

PPS Have discovered the delights of skype so let me know your usernames and some of you "lucky" people will get a phone call from me soon!