Random Thoughts - The Ideal Blog Post

I recently Googled my blog and discovered that some random quote of mine from an older post has been thrown onto a website providing info on Japanese language schools.  Apparently the site posts just about any blog entry that provides hits on the search query "communication in Japanese language" (not as an exact phrase).  So I've really hit the big time with this blog, it seems.  Anyway, the weekend came and went, and I didn't do anything particularly exciting.  For the past two months, I have had Jehovah's witnesses show up at my door every weekend.  The first time they came, I was quite startled; I was in the middle of an international Rock Band session and they were the second visitors of the day in a place where nobody ever visits.  The first was a local cop who came to introduce himself as a new guy but nonetheless made me very paranoid about my music.  Then the witnesses showed up and read sections of the Bible to me in Japanese.  I was cordial but uninterested.  Still, I acted interested, and from that and perhaps my being a foreigner from a primarily Christian country, they latched on.  The next day, the woman showed up with a man and they thanked me and talked to me more.  They make me generally uncomfortable and I want them to simply stop coming to my house.  This is where I make an epic mistake.  On one Sunday, I decided to play Rock Band with friends from home and have a couple drinks.  The witnesses showed up, as usual.  I was concerned that the doorbell was again a cop, so I checked the peephole and saw nothing.  I opened the door, and to my dismay, there they were.  My spirits were just high enough to not be outright rude to them, but I gradually grew more cheerful.  When they invited me to dinner, I was dumbfounded and did not have the presence of mind to say NO.  So I will meet them next weekend, and after that, I truly never want to see them again.

There is also a party next weekend with fellow teachers that promises to be a good time.  Before that, I have arranged for a dinner date on Wednesday, and it's an interesting predicament.  When I go out somewhere with a friend, particularly a ladyfriend, in America, I typically go out to a restaurant.  I let my personality carry over here, so I do the same.  However, I don't think I've actually had a 1-on-1 dinner ever before, and though my Japanese is good, it's a little intimidating.  I should make a new MTV show called intim-i-date that shows me, flustered, trying to act cool.

Meanwhile, I am at school and promise to let you all in on the upcoming festivities.  High school graduation happened recently.  I took a number of videos but no pictures.  I can pull some screen captures from the videos if I feel like it, however.  The ceremony is quite formal; I went to the rehearsal and the ceremony itself.  A couple teachers put on hakama, a very formal piece of clothing that is put over a kimono.  Most people wear suits and the students wear their uniforms.  The principal makes a speech, the students are called by name, and then a representative from each class comes forward to receive the packet of diplomas.  Imagine homeroom classes from America never separating; instead, the students form a close bond with the homeroom teacher and sit through all subjects with the same students.  That's how these classes work; they each acquire a collective personality of their own.  After the diplomas are distributed, a couple more speeches are made by the student council president, the graduating class representative, and so on.  The whole ceremony is very quiet and lasted a little under two hours.

Last weekend, many students received the results from their college entrance examinations.  A few did not pass and will have to try again or go to a different school.  One student who passed brought back a souvenir (read: food) for me, and I will share it with you now.  First, for any unfamiliar with omiyage, omiyage is the compulsory souvenir that you bring back for people after visiting a different area.  You were able to go somewhere that you friends, family, and co-workers didn't, so you should bring back some token of the experience.  Manjuu, which is mochi (pounded rice) filled with bean paste, is a very common omiyage.  The student went to Miyazaki, a local prefecture, and brought back nanjagora manjuu.  "Nanjagora" is a phrase used in local dialect that means "nani kore?" or "what is that?!".  So, basically, I received a "what is that?!" manjuu that is uncharacteristically filled with a bunch of stuff.  I'm pretty sure that within the mochi, there was bean paste, something like cream cheese, possibly a small potato, and a whole strawberry.  It was very good.  The first three pictures are of this monstrous food in various states of my mouth having disassembled it.  The next pictures are of some textbooks the students use as supplements.  The first one is troubling to me: it says "1800 English words and phrases to remember via sample sentences".  The one that says "600 Basic English Sentences" is similar.  They are both very well-written and edited, but the concept troubles me.  Students are taught certain words and phrases but only remember them by hammering into their heads a specific sentence that often sees little real-world practicality.  They can memorize these sentences, but this usually means that they learn the usage of the sentence as a whole and simply can't apply the words it contains to other situations.  The third book is more practical, I think, as it is a simple vocabulary text with sample phrases.  Lastly, two pictures of me with some recent graduates.

Bye, America!