In schools in Japan, teachers and students all brush their teeth after lunch. The progression of my thoughts and experience with this reached an unexpected peak last week. When I started working here, I was surprised to see everyone brushing their teeth at school. It was especially interesting that teachers were all standing around or sitting at their desks in the staff room. In the staff room?! It seemed strange that they didn't go to the bathroom. At first I thought, 'I don't need to brush my teeth after lunch. I don't usually...so why now?' But then, I realized that there's really no reason not to. I mean, why not? It makes your breath smell good, which it should if you're going to be teaching and talking to a bunch of students all afternoon. So, I joined the club and brought an extra toothbrush and tube of toothpaste to school! BUT, I felt self-conscious about public tooth brushing (when I brush my teeth, there's always toothpaste foam on my face!) so I just brushed in the bathroom. I thought it was so strange, yet entertaining, whenever students came into the staff room and teachers had conversations with them while they were still brushing their teeth. I'm talking about teachers with toothbrushes hanging out of their mouths and toothpaste nearly dripping while they murmur something about homework or the volleyball tournament to students. Whaaat?! Who does that? At some point I decided it wouldn't be so bad to brush my teeth in the staff room with everyone else...and more convenient. 'Now I'm one of them!!', I thought. Ha! THEN, one day I had my first verbal interaction with a student while I had a mouthful of toothpaste! ??!! I couldn't believe it! Did I really just do that? Who does that? (me!?) I was so amused at this. I thought I had gone as far as I could go in this progression of my Japanese school tooth brushing experience. I mean there are those teachers who talk on the phone while brushing their teeth, but I don't talk on the phone in the staff room...so I'd never join that club. However, I couldn't have anticipated what would happen last Thursday.
I'm standing next to my desk brushing my teeth. I've been brushing for awhile at this point, so my mouth is FULL of toothpaste...when unexpectedly this businesswoman-- who I've never met before, but who has been hanging out in the staff room intermittently for the past couple days-- walks up to me and says, "Mya San?" Eh?! (How does she know my name?) "はい Hai", I nod. She introduces herself, so I bow and smile and mumble, "よろしくお願いします。Yoroshiku onegaishimasu" (nice to meet you). Then she pulls out a small package of Kleenex like ones I'd seen her give to other people. (Oh, she's just gonna give me Kleenex.) Wrong!! She shows me that the Kleenex are in a Hello Kitty package and asks me in Japanese if I know of Hello Kitty. "Hai." She tells me that Hello Kitty is the mascot for blah-blah-blah. I don't know the last few words she said, so I ask, "それは何ですか Sore wa nan desuka?" She tells me that it's the name of her company. "ああわかりました Aah, wakarimashita." She proceeds to tell me that Hello Kitty is famous. I concur and tell her, "アメリカでもゆめいです。 America demo yumei desu." It's at this point that I wonder if any of the surrounding teachers have noticed this conversation. It's so comical to me all of a sudden. I begin to chuckle as I realize that I'm taking a survey about Hello Kitty IN JAPANESE while brushing my teeth (and trying to keep the toothpaste from running down my chin)! Who walks up to someone while they're brushing their teeth at work to ask them about anything, let alone Hello Kitty?! Besides that-- who walks up to the obvious foreigner and assumes that she can, not only, understand and speak the foreign language, but that she can do so well enough to be understood with a mouthful of toothpaste? This is my real life. Next, she pulls out her clipboard to record my answers, then puts the Kleenex back into her bag, thanks me, and walks away. Whaaaat?! I really wanted those! Are you kidding?! All this, and I don't even get the Kleenex?
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Finally Some Pictures
This past year has passed faster than any other I can recall. Still there are more stories to tell than any other year I can recall. I can't keep up with them all; they come like wave after wave of the tide washing up on the shore. There's no way I could ever recount all of them here, but I really wish I could! My good friend Sarah just moved to Japan (30 minutes from me!), and already she's posted more pictures and blogged more than I have!-- claims my dad. ;) With a few pictures she's already revealed much of her Japanese experience. I'm not a photographer like her, and actually I don't really like taking pictures. But these from the past year show some of my favorite moments, experiences, places, and people here (minus my students, whose pictures-- sadly-- I'm not allowed to post, and teachers who may not want me posting their pics). This is for you, Dad and Sarah!
views from my 3rd story apt
my school! :)
a couple of the many tambo (rice fields) surrounding my school
my landlords' relatives' pear storehouse; mmm...Japanese pears are SO delicious!
udon noodles hanging out to dry...one of the MANY steps in the process of making handmade noodles; I think this is so cool! I was simultaneously alarmed-- at the questionable sanitation-- and awed-- at experiencing this authentic Japanese tradition.
In the end my awe (and hunger!) won out, and I so enjoyed my meal here with my landlord, Mrs. Sekiguchi.
at Kiyomizudera when I went to Kyoto with several friends for a long weekend last fall
Maiko! (Geisha in training); Everyone says they're rare to see...but we saw several!
We happened to discover a monkey park in Kyoto.
The monkeys roam free...if you want to feed them, you have to go into a cage for protection.
my favorite place in Japan! Arashiyama bamboo forest
"Team Takasaki": Dave, Chris, Lesley, James, and me
Fushimi Inari
Kinkakuji
my smart, funny, kind, thoughtful, beautiful friend, Shiyo
homemade (yes! HOMEMADE! can you believe it?!) bread made by Fukuyama Sensei's wife and delivered to me one Saturday morning =) What a pleasant surprise!
Valentine's Day...Uno, the write-a-quote/draw-a-picture game, homemade chocolate in the great Japanese tradition, Lesley wishing random people 'Happy Valentine's Day' and giving them candy
Sakura!
hanami (flower viewing) with Tsukamoto Sensei and his family
This is the day Mischa and I were temporarily paralyzed; this picture was after we'd only been sitting through one tea ceremony in this style...you can see we're still smiling. If only someone would have had a camera handy an hour and a half later...!! you'd have seen us on our hands and knees, literally incapable of standing!
hiking day in Ota with Team Takasaki and Matt and Mischa
I got to go to watch and "help" (sorta) in Chieko Sensei's family's tambo (rice field). Her husband is driving this very useful tractor that has rotating claws that grab and drop the seedlings...making perfect rows across the field.
One of the most authentic and memorable Japanese experiences I've had! My fascination with this process had been growing as I saw the fields surrounding my school changing day by day, so I was thrilled when Chieko Sensei invited me (well, maybe I invited myself...??) to join her and her family for this Saturday morning undertaking!
koi no bori streaming down the mountain and over the river commemorate Boys' Day, May 5th.
Gunma's beautiful mountains surround.
dinner with friends on my birthday; I'm SO thankful for these friends!
Shie, Daisuke, Yoko, Sayoko, and her daughters Yuka and Aika
The staff at my fav restaurant made my birthday SO fun! Tatsu, Shimada, Manami
We had 4th of July fun despite not being in America...watermelon, polish sausage, corn on the cob, frisbee, a flag waving, sparklers, singing America the Beautiful and God Bless the U.S.A. (well, that was only me...I couldn't convince anyone else to sing along)...SUCH a great day! We even let James, our Australian friend, come along, but he was forced to wear red, white, and blue bling, as well as a pin that said, "I heart the U.S." ;)
This park is the best! We jumped and ran around on these trampoline-like domes for hours!
back to Kyoto when my friend Sarah Lichtwardt came to visit...DOWNPOURED for more than an hour! Thankfully Sarah's smart and convinced me that we should buy 300-yen (about 3 bucks) umbrellas...just 4 minutes before the rain turned torrential! whew!
views from my 3rd story apt
my school! :)
a couple of the many tambo (rice fields) surrounding my school
my landlords' relatives' pear storehouse; mmm...Japanese pears are SO delicious!
udon noodles hanging out to dry...one of the MANY steps in the process of making handmade noodles; I think this is so cool! I was simultaneously alarmed-- at the questionable sanitation-- and awed-- at experiencing this authentic Japanese tradition.
In the end my awe (and hunger!) won out, and I so enjoyed my meal here with my landlord, Mrs. Sekiguchi.
at Kiyomizudera when I went to Kyoto with several friends for a long weekend last fall
Maiko! (Geisha in training); Everyone says they're rare to see...but we saw several!
We happened to discover a monkey park in Kyoto.
The monkeys roam free...if you want to feed them, you have to go into a cage for protection.
my favorite place in Japan! Arashiyama bamboo forest
"Team Takasaki": Dave, Chris, Lesley, James, and me
Fushimi Inari
Kinkakuji
my smart, funny, kind, thoughtful, beautiful friend, Shiyo
homemade (yes! HOMEMADE! can you believe it?!) bread made by Fukuyama Sensei's wife and delivered to me one Saturday morning =) What a pleasant surprise!
Valentine's Day...Uno, the write-a-quote/draw-a-picture game, homemade chocolate in the great Japanese tradition, Lesley wishing random people 'Happy Valentine's Day' and giving them candy
Sakura!
hanami (flower viewing) with Tsukamoto Sensei and his family
This is the day Mischa and I were temporarily paralyzed; this picture was after we'd only been sitting through one tea ceremony in this style...you can see we're still smiling. If only someone would have had a camera handy an hour and a half later...!! you'd have seen us on our hands and knees, literally incapable of standing!
hiking day in Ota with Team Takasaki and Matt and Mischa
I got to go to watch and "help" (sorta) in Chieko Sensei's family's tambo (rice field). Her husband is driving this very useful tractor that has rotating claws that grab and drop the seedlings...making perfect rows across the field.
One of the most authentic and memorable Japanese experiences I've had! My fascination with this process had been growing as I saw the fields surrounding my school changing day by day, so I was thrilled when Chieko Sensei invited me (well, maybe I invited myself...??) to join her and her family for this Saturday morning undertaking!
koi no bori streaming down the mountain and over the river commemorate Boys' Day, May 5th.
Gunma's beautiful mountains surround.
dinner with friends on my birthday; I'm SO thankful for these friends!
Shie, Daisuke, Yoko, Sayoko, and her daughters Yuka and Aika
The staff at my fav restaurant made my birthday SO fun! Tatsu, Shimada, Manami
We had 4th of July fun despite not being in America...watermelon, polish sausage, corn on the cob, frisbee, a flag waving, sparklers, singing America the Beautiful and God Bless the U.S.A. (well, that was only me...I couldn't convince anyone else to sing along)...SUCH a great day! We even let James, our Australian friend, come along, but he was forced to wear red, white, and blue bling, as well as a pin that said, "I heart the U.S." ;)
This park is the best! We jumped and ran around on these trampoline-like domes for hours!
back to Kyoto when my friend Sarah Lichtwardt came to visit...DOWNPOURED for more than an hour! Thankfully Sarah's smart and convinced me that we should buy 300-yen (about 3 bucks) umbrellas...just 4 minutes before the rain turned torrential! whew!
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Lessons in Communication
I have learned about so many aspects of communication this year. The "Communicator" IB (International Baccalaureate) Profile card that used to hang in my classroom flashes in my memory time and time again. I keep thinking that I will be a better IB teacher or any teacher after this time in Japan. I guess, though, the point of the IB Profile of Communicator is to develop not teachers who can teach communication, but people who can communicate...which is something I can do better than I did a year ago.
Lessons:
#1. If+I+want+your+help+I+will+tell+you. does not equal "If I want your help I will tell you."
I was SO shocked when one of the English teachers gave this reply when I offered to help her with a project that was keeping her busy. After about an hour of replaying the scene in my mind and trying to process my feelings-- of shock, hurt, annoyance-- I suddenly realized that to a non-native speaker of English, those words mean just what they say...that if she wanted my help.....she'd tell me. To native speakers-- in this case, me-- that sentence means more than the sum total of its parts. It means, "I DON'T want or need your help!! Back off!" Languages are tough.
#2. To communicate in Japanese I have to use more than Japanese words. I have to use a Japanese mind.
When I ask a Starbucks employee if they have Chai Cream Frappuchinos, and she responds by saying that they have Chai Tea Lattes...and then I say (using Japanese words), "So you don't have them?", forcing her to clarify by saying, "No", I am not speaking Japanese. I am using Japanese words to speak English, which is direct-- and entirely un-Japanese-- and which coerces a Japanese service industry employee into saying "No"-- which is even less Japanese.
#2b. To speak a foreign language, you can't just think of what you want to say in your own language and translate it into the same words in the foreign language and then say them.
When people say, "Thank you" to me I often reply with, "Of course!" If someone thanks me in Japanese, and I reply with the Japanese word for "of course", I sound dumb. Correspondingly, if Japanese people in America directly translated the Japanese words they want to say into English words, we'd have people walking into my American elementary school greeting Shannon and Nancy by saying, "I am under your care." Whaaaat?! That's crazy talk! "I am under your care??!!" What does that even mean?!
#4. It is impossible to understand Japanese people better by intently watching their lips.
If I'm having trouble hearing someone who's speaking English in a quiet voice or trouble understanding someone who speaks Engish with a think Irish accent, I can improve my comprehension by watching and semi-reading their lips. This does NOT work in Japanese. It is unnecessary and even strange to move your mouth much when speaking Japanese.
#5. Personality is largely expressed through communication.
Before this year I think I would have said that "personality" is how someone acts. Not being able to easily communicate with people around me-- because my Japanese skills are rudimentary, as are their English skills-- has produced a quieter version of Mya. It's a Mya who doesn't feel like the real me, a me who feels trapped in a personality that is not my own-- a quiet, non-joking, non-friendly Mya. Which really isn't a Mya at all. It's hard to be me when I can't communicate with words.
Lessons:
#1. If+I+want+your+help+I+will+tell+you. does not equal "If I want your help I will tell you."
I was SO shocked when one of the English teachers gave this reply when I offered to help her with a project that was keeping her busy. After about an hour of replaying the scene in my mind and trying to process my feelings-- of shock, hurt, annoyance-- I suddenly realized that to a non-native speaker of English, those words mean just what they say...that if she wanted my help.....she'd tell me. To native speakers-- in this case, me-- that sentence means more than the sum total of its parts. It means, "I DON'T want or need your help!! Back off!" Languages are tough.
#2. To communicate in Japanese I have to use more than Japanese words. I have to use a Japanese mind.
When I ask a Starbucks employee if they have Chai Cream Frappuchinos, and she responds by saying that they have Chai Tea Lattes...and then I say (using Japanese words), "So you don't have them?", forcing her to clarify by saying, "No", I am not speaking Japanese. I am using Japanese words to speak English, which is direct-- and entirely un-Japanese-- and which coerces a Japanese service industry employee into saying "No"-- which is even less Japanese.
#2b. To speak a foreign language, you can't just think of what you want to say in your own language and translate it into the same words in the foreign language and then say them.
When people say, "Thank you" to me I often reply with, "Of course!" If someone thanks me in Japanese, and I reply with the Japanese word for "of course", I sound dumb. Correspondingly, if Japanese people in America directly translated the Japanese words they want to say into English words, we'd have people walking into my American elementary school greeting Shannon and Nancy by saying, "I am under your care." Whaaaat?! That's crazy talk! "I am under your care??!!" What does that even mean?!
#4. It is impossible to understand Japanese people better by intently watching their lips.
If I'm having trouble hearing someone who's speaking English in a quiet voice or trouble understanding someone who speaks Engish with a think Irish accent, I can improve my comprehension by watching and semi-reading their lips. This does NOT work in Japanese. It is unnecessary and even strange to move your mouth much when speaking Japanese.
#5. Personality is largely expressed through communication.
Before this year I think I would have said that "personality" is how someone acts. Not being able to easily communicate with people around me-- because my Japanese skills are rudimentary, as are their English skills-- has produced a quieter version of Mya. It's a Mya who doesn't feel like the real me, a me who feels trapped in a personality that is not my own-- a quiet, non-joking, non-friendly Mya. Which really isn't a Mya at all. It's hard to be me when I can't communicate with words.
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