Week Six

1) Monday was the third grader's graduation. Before you start thinking ickle little 8 years olds in short shorts and bobble hats, think again. Think young adults, actually your peers, all aged 18 going on 19. Japanese High School comprises the years 1, 2, 3, or 10, 11, 12 in Aussie speak. The ceremony was trully the total opposite of Australian Grad ceremonies. First of all, and I only speak for myself here, Australian Graduations have more clapping for one thing. I was seriously over come by the silence of the occasion. It was like, yay, you have gotten a prize, but we're gonna make you bow and about-turn like a soldier but we're not gonna congradulate you. Jeez, it was like bloody North Korea (or how I imagine Nth Korea to be). Anyway, so we sang, or rather they sang and I mouthed, the national anthem. Actually the Japanese National Anthem is quite beautiful, in a majestic, proud nation of many years kinda way. Very deep and baratoneish.

Anyway, so the grade 3s recessed in. Yay. Awards were given. Painful silence. Speeches were made. Painful silence. More speeches. Paaainful silence. A student made a speech. They played sad elevator music in the background. She cried. Yay. All the mothers cried. Annoying sniffing prevading throughout. Paaainful silence. National Anthem. School Song. Song for the seniors. Yay. The Grade 3s recessed out. Music was played. Everyone claps them as they go. YAAAAYYY!!! Highlight of the afternoon. Music stops. Paaaainful silence. Sniff Sniff Sniff. Mothers leave. I stand up and slowly my bum comes back to life. And seriously, that was it. I suppose it has cultural merit as a point of comparison to Australia. Why did I wake up again?

Oh, and the bowing. I know Japanese bow a lot, but honestly! Bow to the guests, bow to the principle, bow when you recieve a prize, bow at the flag, bow again to the guests, sit down. And there seems to be a lot of stoop-backed grannies about. I wonder why? Oh, and you must yell 'HAI!' when someone calls your name, military style. Actually the whole thing was totally military. I had to stand up (IRRITS!!!), bow (REI!!!) and then sit (SUWATE!!!) like 6 times like a bloody soldier. And they were not sure about reinstating Japan Foundation Day in the 60s because it was originally a day to honour the army. Hmmm

2) Anway, this week is a week of tests. Having been to Townsville Grammar where the idea of block exams is totally foreign, I am finding the idea of going to school for only three hours every morning very weird. And compounded on that I only did the English test last Friday so this week is just a week of coming to school to vegetate in the library because I haven't managed to wiggle out of school yet. Why did I get up this morning? Oh yeah, three hours of reading LOTR in the library while my poor friends slug it out over maths and chemistry. I could be shopping!!! (Now thats a worthwhile enterprise!) However, when in Rome (you take fotos) but when in Imabari, you take part in useless exercises. I had an appointment with my pillow I had to cancel. *sad face* Oh well, I suppose that I have been able to catch up on a lot of emails and update this site and give it a face lift. When given lemons make lemonade. *sigh*

3) On Wednesday I went to a junior school as part of their international interest program. Twas actually quite fun. The principle dude seemed very interested in Australia and everyone was right impressed with my language level, even though its attrocious and poor Mrs. Wiseman (my Japanese teacher) would be holding her head in her hands. Anway, I got to eat the traditional junior school lunch. This is the one thats prepared at the school and the students eat in the classrooms, like you've seen on TV. Anway, its not nearly as delicious as it looks. The rice is cold. The soup was luke-warm and looked like well, for want of a better way to describe it, vomit? Umm, yeah, clear broth with egg and bits of seaweed and mushrooms floating in it. Hmm, passed on that one. Milk, I don't drink milk. Chicken with spaghetti sauce poured onto it (actually quite yummy) and Hinamatsuri Cake. Yes, yesterday was the Doll Festival and to mark it everyone had a slice of pink, green and white cake. You know, its like the Japanese have never heard of the problems surrounding a diet of too much processed and coloured food. Hmmm. Say Hello to colon cancer everyone.

After lunch I went to visit some of the classrooms. We went to grade 1 first. they were sooo cute. Really tiny, with pigtails (well the girls that is) and short shorts and odd socks on their feet. One brave little boy asked me for my autograph, which I was happy to give as this is the first time anyone's asked me for my autograph. Then, another girl came up with her book, and another and another until the whole class just got up and mobbed me in one go, shoving their note books in my face and screaming "SIGN!! SIGN!! SIGN!!" in their high-pitched nasal voices. Well, needless to say, I freaked out. But managed to get a grip and tell them in my limited Japanese to wait (one cotton-picking minute!!!!). After signing like 20 books, the principle managed to extract me and we legged it out of their double-quick.

After the scary children of grade one I was more careful and tried not to let them get the better of me. We visited a grade 6 science class and watched the guppies swim around in their tanks (Oooooh, to be a guppie and happy!) and watched the crawdads (or crayfish, whatever) try in vane to climb the sides of their tanks and escape. Hmmm, I wonder why?

Anway, after visiting some more classrooms it was time to go. However, it turns out that I will be coming back to the school every Wednesday to be a half-ELT-half-student of Japanese (as indeed my level is below the average first grader). Yay, a whole day with the children. Next week, I'm going to Imabari Castle withe grade 6ers to eat picnics in a field. Should be good fun. Then after that, another day I'm going to pick potatoes, and learn to folk dance. Hmmm, I always wanted to visit grade 6 again. NOT! But I'm sure my Japanese will improve exponentially to the point when I can talk with a grade 6er. Go me!

4) So, the weekend has been and gone. How would I describe it? Interesting to say the least. It turns out that they only reason that I needed to go to Tokushima in that first place was to make a 30 second self-introduction in front of a packed auditorium of business men. Thats cool, it gave me more time to enjoy some of the things that Tokushima has to offer. So I left home at 9am and drove two hours across Shikoku Island to Tokushima in a car full of older business men (one of which insisted on furtively smoking through a thin crack in the window and then extinguishing it when I looked in his direction, only to start another one 20 minutes later). Arriving in Tokushima I was immediately struck by how (fricken) cold it was. Anyway, we entered the auditorium and I sat next to some American exchange students. Tierney (pronouced tier-ran-ney) from Portland (go the west coast girls!) and Alex from some small place in Pensylvania (spelling huh?). "Yay!" I thought, "english speaking friends!" At first I thought that they didn't like me, being the ditzy little brat that I am, but they eventually warmed and it turns out that Alex is a total geek like me! Yay! We even like the same music, computers and science fiction novels. Ok, for those that know me, I am a unashamed neeeerrrdd! Like, complex multi-syllabylic words, biomedical trivia and the Dune Novels. Yay! Who would have thought, in Japan that I would meet someone just like me!?

So anyway, after the initial part of the meeting we had this little party get together thing and then a Rotary dude named Yamamota (who is the bomb) took us out to Kareoke (minus him but his shout yay!). It should be noted that Tierney's "I'm looking for a Japanese Boyfriend" shirt was a huge success and ended up in her getting a toy panda from some guy in the street (or did she just go 'Oh cute', grab it, bat her eyelashes and run off?)

We then sampled the delights of Tokushima Ramen. Why is it that the smallest, Mom and Pop places make the best food? Like, 7 bucks australian for the best feed of your life. Serious. I am now totally addicted to Tokushima Ramen (which is apparently Japan renown) and will be returning asap to get some more of that noodle goodness. Thanks Alex for promising to take me to his fav ramen spot. I'm gonna hold ya to it! Anyway, one long night later we woke up, feeling the night before weighing heavy on our shoulders and embarked on another day of Rotary stuff. Not much really, we went to this bridge near Tokushima to look at the whirl pools underneath (which as a huge tourist attraction) but were foiled but the huge white-out that blew up at the last minute. So there I stood in the tourist center, under 4 layers of clothes, eating tofu softserve, watching the snow fall in banks around the legs of small junior school students in short shorts on their school excursion. I would have choked with on my ice-cream had I been warm enough to laugh. Anyway, we gave up and went back to the convention center and I promptly left back for home. It snowed a bit on the way back. Ok, who am I kidding, we had 5 metre visability! I also made a huge fool of myself running around the rest stop carpark with my mouth wide open trying to catch snow flakes on my tongue like a loser. Hey! Its something that I've always wanted to do! Anyway, that was my weekend. I made two new friends that are totally gonna celebrate my birthday with me in 2 1/2 weeks (what you didn't remember? Its the 30th) and ate Tokishima Ramen. All in all, two days well spent.

Until next you make an effort to read my long winded and boring recounts ^-^...