September 1997
September 1997
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the LAUGH of the month ...
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1 Monday
City HallGave my introduction speech to the studentsat Ich-chu. I've come to the conclusion that I start my teaching up onthe podium. Nothing like waiting till the last minute huh? Now I know whatI'm going to do while I'm up on stage, he he he --- watch out Asaka CityStudents!!! Watch out, 'cause Garys' comin' to class. BOOO YAAHH!Philip, Liz, Ms. Kobayashi and I wen to Seiyu(the local department store) to buy some stuff for Liz and Philip. As itturned out I got a seat for my tatami room, and a blanket for the winter.Lucky lucky me. I told them I didn't want the stuff!!! But, Ms. Kobayashiwouldn't have it, she wouldn't let me leave without something! geeesh,golly gee beav, can't I just have a popsicle?Other than that, the day was quiet. Quiet asa rock on Mars. I wonder if rocks on Mars are quiet or if they just haven'tlearned any languages yet, hmmmm I wonder.2 Tuesday
Ni-chuFirst day of school. Well here it is the firstday and what do I do? I read some quizzes over the loudspeaker for someclasses. It appears that this will be a very cool school to work at forthe first two weeks.I made a quiz fir ichi-nensei (first grade--confusedabout this? clickhere). Clickhere to see the quiz for the ichi-nensei.City HallPackage!!! Yes another package arrived, thistime is was slides from mom. Thanks mom, more fun with slides! yiiippppppeeeeeAfter WorkWent to watch KENDO. It looks very very verycool! I think I want to participate, but I'm a little hesitant becauseI don't understand Japanese at all. Hmm, what to do? I'll check with thisstuff soon. I would like to try it though.3 Wednesday
Ni-chuTwo classes today. I wasn't told about the changein the schedule. So when the bell rang ending the first class, I was alittle confused. Hope this doesn't happen again, but if it does then itdoes.Prepared ni-nensei quiz. (second grade--confusedabout this? clickhere). Clickhere to see the quiz for the ni-nensei.Also prepared the san-nensei quiz. Clickhere to see the quiz for the san-nensei.4 Thursday
Ni-chuThree classes today. I found that the ichi-nenseiis much much more active than ni-nensei. I'm feeling my way around theclassroom. I think I'll have most of it down by the end of this week. Ihope I do anyway. There are quite the many situations to be experiencedbut I think that it's possible to get the gist of it after a week of teaching.I believe it's possible.I'd type more if there were more to type, butthere isn't anything else. Bummer huh. There's always tomorrow.5 Friday
Ni-chuWell I was supposed to have four classes todaybut I only had three, one was changed to next Monday. Lunch SUCKED!!! YummmmyI just love WARM WHOLE MILK! The milk is left out for hours and id thoughtto be ok to drink!!! I can't drink it semi-chilled, it's disgusting!! Ahhhhman!! Good thing it's Friday.After WorkI came home and vented. "How did u do that thereisn't anyone there to vent at Gar." I have my faithful handy dandy ....computer. Yes this thing works wonders when I need to vent on someone andthere isn't a someone around. Yes indeed I typed lots and lots and lots!Homesickness is what it's called. It hit bad last night and well I hadmy handy dandy comp to help me out. Take a read to see what I vented about.Clickhere to see the edited version of my venting email I sent.6 Saturday
7Sunday
Kazi's PlaceTalk about alleviating all that tension andmaking me feel better! Ahhh man. Kazi man and I went out to karaoke withhis sister. She didn't talk all that much but it was cool to go out withthe brother and sister act from the Shibata residence! How 'bout that!Shibata's in da house!After we got back I chatted with Kazi, his momand his sister about his sisters' schooling and about me coming back toJapan. It was pretty cool I must say!After that Kazi man and I then chatted till4:30 in the mornin'. We chatted about cool stuff, I kinda liked hangin'out and chattin' about nothin' and somethin' at the same time. Ahhhhhh.8 Monday
Go-chuThe introduction speech went so well that Ithink the students forgot to come to school! They were soooo quiet!! Ihope it's not like that when I go to the school after ni-chu. Ohh-I hope.If it is, then I'll have to do my best to change the shyness. I promise,I'll do my best!Ni-chuTALK ABOUT CRAZY!!!! Ohh me -- Ohh my!! Theclasses were nuts!! It was fantastic! I had a great time! I hope it continueson this path. I wonder if there's a pattern behind this whole student genkiness.Genki is like totally upbeat/happy/crazy.Lunch was a lunch what can I say about a lunchAfter WorkI received two letters from those crazy Wannpeople. Yes the family from the west coast of that crazy U.S.A. place sentme two letters! Thank you much there crazy Wann crew. I thank you. I thankyou. I thank you. I thank you I do.9 Tuesday
City HallYon-chu's introduction went well. The studentslight up when I said I liked Japanese mayonnaise. A good giggle out ofthem... he he he.The first package I sent from the states arrivedtoday. It took about 2 full months. I sent it about 3 days before I left.Not a bad amount of time huh? sure. sure indeed.At HomeWhy yes, I had no school today. Ni-chu's FoundationDay, means Gary gets to chill out day. I had to go to city hall, but gotto leave after the introduction and then return after 3:00. Ahhhh a dayto relax and just enjoy. I like that allot.I posted the home page. Unfinishedand it's not yet finished as of 9/30/97. Sorry, I hope it's updated completelysoon.10 Wednesday
Ni-chuThree classes had the day runnin'! I had myfirst team teaching experience today and I'll tell you this. I'm glad Igot it over with, cause now that the kinks are out, I think I'm ready formore of this team teaching thing while I'm here at ni-chu. Let the goodtimes roll.Here's something to think about: Today at schoolwe had corn on the cob. Very good i must say. but the corn was easy toeat it came right off the cob. NOW the thought. What kind of dental systemis in place in Japan if a mans' tooth BREAKS when he's eating freshly cookedcorn on the cob? Got me, but this dudes tooth was broken right in half!!!One of the front teeth. the incisors i believe. GOD DAMN!!! Not good! Aninteresting thing, no?After WorkWorking on this home page thang yo. Damn thisis taking a long time! Its only just the beginning as well.11 Thursday
Ni-chuWell it is concluded through experience is itnot? I have learned such the statement is true. Today it is concluded inmy opinion that one can not know what is going to happen in the team teachingthing. Each teacher will do different things and it is up to time to showto you what each is like in the class room. Good luck future A.E.T.'s,you'll get it once you try it a few times, I think I have. "U live U learn"Alanis M. true true true.Ni-sho (number two primary school)I thought the kids would be a little bit crazierthan they were today. They were kind of, well, numb. They just sat there,and looked and said very little. Bummer. I was hoping for some fun at thisschool. It was cool, but I was told to expect a great deal of energy, andit wasn't there today. Maybe the next school will have some.City HallTalk about getting excited when I walked intothe office! There it was, on the desk in its plastic wrap. Just waiting,waiting for me to open it up by the likes of a child. Ohhh yes, there iswas, SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN #249. Ohhh joy. Ohhh rapture. A blessed day.After WorkOn a a personal note: I've never made it thisfar before and damn nit it feels good. That's right folks 10 months withthe same woman. It hasn't even shown any sign of puttering out, how 'boutthat. Happy Anniversary babe.12 Friday
Ni-chuLast day at Ni-chu and the classes weren't anythingimpressive. Three classes and they were all pretty much asleep. O-well,I tried.Go-chuTwo new teachers. Lots of classes. About thesame amount of classes in this school as the last. This school is the smallestin Saitama and the other is (I believe) the biggest in Asaka. How aboutthat. This will be interesting.City HallAfter WorkNothing to report for either. Hmmm, ...bummer.13 Saturday
Nagatoro"Huh???? What is that, or should I say whereis that?" Yes the readers are entitled to some space on this crazy thang.Let me tell you that I haven't felt the way I felt in Nagatoro in a longtime. I felt like I was on some planet, not necessarily Earth, walkingaround enjoying the landscape. I was just engulfed by the sights and sounds(aka trees, a river,etc), and lack of sights and sounds (aka cars, concrete).Ahhhhh. Some freedom is available, ahhh. Let it be like this more oftenplease. I really had a good time. It was a nice break from the monotony.14 Sunday
15Monday (Respect for the Aged Day)
At homeKazi's computer got allot of stuff put ontoit Sat. evening. Talk about browsing the web -- geesh. His comp is hap---p.As you can see, holiday's are just as much apart of the Japanese culture as they are of the American culture. A dayoff here, a day off there. It's great, and look at who the day is for,isn't that awesome! They actually respect their elders. Maybe that's somethingto from, respect for the people that made our country what it is today.You may not like the way it is, imagine if they hadn't done what they haddone -- would it be better or worse? Who's to say? Just appreciate whatis in the now, and try not to think, "we'll what if they ......" that won'thelp now will it? nope.16 Tuesday
Go-chuNot a good way to start off a school visit.The rain was ridiculous and I want to strangle this dude with whom I'mworking. Arghhh.The rain was coming down soooooo hard! I gotkinda a little bit wet. Hot damn, or rather, Wet damn! Man-o-manHe doesn't believe the self introduction asimportant at all. I totally disagree with him, the students need to getto no who the A.E.T. is before they will feel comfortable speaking withthem. Hmmmmm, what's gonna happen here? I wonder.City HallSports Illustrated arrived, a little late, butsomething just the same.Philip, Liz and I went to the Asaka City Museumand had fun fun fun! We had a a blast and a half! I think we pissed ofthe camera man, o-well we were having fun. "You can't stop 'em, nothingcan stop 'em." TELL ME WHERE THAT'S FROM AND I'LL BE REALLY IMPRESSED!After WorkLet me think about that a little bit. O.K. I'mdone. Yup that's what happened. Ewwww, stop the presses. I think we'vegot the new headline for tomorrow.17 Wednesday
Go-chuThe strangling! (watch for it on home video-- it's about a guy that goes nuts and strangles this teacher in a skitand really strangles the dude!) Want to strangle. Want to strangle. Wantto mangle. rrrrrrrggggghhhhh. {breath breath breath - better?} yes thanks.The students were dead! I think the corpsesin the Michael Jackson "Thriller" video were more alive than the studentstoday! No really, that's a totally true statement!City HallSpeech ContestVery cool. It is most impressive watching theeffort the kids put into the speeches that isn't even their native language!Most impressive! Most impressive.A thought about the contest. I was one of 4judges (Me, Liz, Philip, Watanabe - from left to right) and I didn't likethe position. I'd much rather be a participant in a contest --no not thisone, I'd probably lose. I'd rather have the pressure on me to perform thanto be looked at as someone whom is to be kissed up to.After WorkVolley Ball was awesome tonight! My verticalis increasing lots and lots! I blocked soo many shots tonight! And my spikes,they are going down much harder than they were a few weeks ago. Pumpedabout this. Pumped pumped pumped!!!18 Thursday
Go-chuHello. I SAID MY NAME IS GARY!. Yeah, that'swhat I thought. Nothing there. Take a guess what happened. It wasn't allthat bad today, the classes had some fun thoughts on Tweety and Sylvestor-- the tie I wore today. We discussed cartoons in Japan and those in America.Cool stuff.This teacher I'm working with is very confidantwith his teaching abilities. I think he's right to think that in termsthat his classes are organized much more differently than any other classesso far -- yeah I've been to one other school. But, he's to dictatorialin my opinion. DO this! YOU MUST DO XYZ AND ABC!! Do it, do it! To harshon people that are scared of taking the entrance exams (english section)for high school. That doesn't help build confidence, just weariness ofthe language.Typhoon number 20 is on its way. School startsat 10:30 tomorrow, and yes the teachers have to be there at 8:30 -- makessense huh.Roku-sho (number six primary school)Talk about energy! Wooooo!!! I like. I like. We all had a good time. Three students walked me to Seiyu because I wasn'tsure how to get back. When we got there, they wouldn't leave till I wascompletely out of sight. I kept yelling, "Good-bye!" and a quiet responsewas hear all the way from the corner to the corner where I stood with mybike. The distance is about ...and I could be very wrong... 1/8th of amile. It was very far for three little girls to yell, in a foreign languageas well, and be heard. Very very very cool day in primary.After WorkHeard from Rille today. First time in a week!Happy about that, email is back and that's gewd. Darrrr-ling, nothing else,ralllllly.19 Friday
PAY DAY!!! Happy Day! Ewwww boy, what to dowith the money? I know I'll put some away for a surprise.... hee hee heeGo-chuHOLY RAIN! I rode to school wearing a rain coat,and something over my pants, and carried an umbrella. The verdict: I neededto borrow a T-shirt from someone at school because mine was wet in thefront. My pants were soaked, and my socks -- right let's not even touchthat one. Needless to say Typhoon number 20 did not come over the Asakaarea and I got that wet, imagine what would have happened if it had. :)I believe that the teacher I'm working withnow limits his students way too much! He doesn't want to try some thingswith them that might pose a little bit of difficulty. In life you learnwhen you have to do things that you originally wouldn't know how to do.(does that make sense? i think it does)Anyway, the skit I wrote was too complicatedin his opinion, so I shortened it and took out a few words (about 5 minb-4 class- thanks for the notice). We did it in class and the studentsunderstood, not with his overwhelming participation in the skit though.He stood there and read directly from it without acting any of the possiblewords that the students might not have known. rrrrrrggggghhh. growl. I'mhappy reallly, see --- =) hmph.20 Saturday
Boy-o-boy was today FUN! I was home all day.... cleaning. yeah :|Yes I cleaned the entire apartment. Behind therefrigerator, behind and under the bed, etc... Sounds like fun doesn'tit?I left for Kazi's in the late evening. We endedup eating at K.F.C. (yes the same K.F.C. that's in the states).We then met two guys at a used cd store. One of them said he'd bring meto his school -- some university near Sakado. Very pleased about that Iam! I'd like to see a college that's HUGE and has NO RESIDENCE HALLS. Ithink it will be very interesting. Both of the guys were 20, maybe I havesome new friends, that are Japanese, that I will be able to learn Japanesefrom..... hmmm.21 Sunday
Kaz and I slept till 12:00, not bad huh? Thiswas after watching "The Cure".It's about a 11 year old kid that has gottenAIDS from a blood transfusion and befriends his next door neighbor. Itgoes through their friendship from beginning to, well I won't tell youwhat happens. The neighbor doesn't know very much about AIDS and treats11 year old kid like the plague, but learns about it through the 11 yearold. Pick it up at Blockbuster or your local video store. I will tell youthis and this alone about the ending: It is almost enough reason to watch"The Cure", it is a very powerful ending in its subtleness.After getting up we went to Kawagoe and shoppedaround for a bunch of things.I bought the Teikyo University Packet with applicationsfor the schools in Japan and America.Kaz and I laughed at the OLD photos in the T.P.U..section. There are pictures in the booklet that were taken before I evenapplied to T.P.U.! Time for some new pictures T.P.U., how bout ithuh?I also bought a Kotatsu, a table with a heaterunderneath the top of the table. It's really fun in the winter time. Yousit in front of the table and put your hands and legs underneath and stayohhhhh so warm. It's a definite must in the states, especially in the northeast. Yes, I will be bringing a kotatsu over to the states when I return,ohhh yes."Gary why did you buy a kotatsu when you weregivin a kotatsu about a month ago?" I wanted a better kotatsu. The heateron the old kotatsu comes down very far making it very difficult to sitin front of with hands and legs underneath. The new one's heater is raisedup more making it much more comfortable.CD's I bought include:Fiona Apple "Tidal"Spice Girls "Spice Girls" (insertsigh here)22 Monday
Go-chuThe principal spoke about his trip into schoolduring morning assembly, and spoke of some crows he saw. He spoke of thecrow and its lifestyle compared to birds that flock together. He told thestudents to be sure not to be a 'crow' because it's not beneficial to thegroup.This completely amazed me. I would think thata person should find the middle of the 'crow' lifestyle and the flock lifestyle,that way it would be possible to work alone and in a group. The best ofboth worlds. I think it's kind of useless to be completely reliant upona group of people because after all, who's going to be there everyday inyour life? ---you and you alone.Only one class today. Very good day, littletension at work, because a teacher wasn't there. Boy-o-boy was I bummed.The class was pretty cool, nothing special to say so I'll leave it at that.I received 2 packages today, so I was quitehappy -- I must say.Both were from mom. One had my year books andstuff, the other had Highlander stuff, and Sunday comics! How coool!!!I get to read American Comics that are printed in the newspaper! Happy,happy, happy! = >Funny things I noticed todayI will see three people on the way to ni-chu,go-chu, and san-chu everyday. They are: O-my god it's a foreigner guy,I'm a walker I'm a walker I'm a walker woman, and O-no O-no O-no O-no woman.O-my god it's a foreigner guy is this dude whomrides a bike that I see look at me the same way everyday. Its the O-mygod it's a foreigner look. This is everyday!! It's hilarious, but I lookto see if he'll do it everyday....... and he does.I'm a walker I'm a walker I'm a walker womanis this woman that walks, I tell you she WALKS. You can see that she likeswalking and that she's getting something out of every step! It's kindaneat to watch.The O-no O-no O-no O-no woman is this womanthat looks like she's scared EVERY TIME I see her! She has got to be scaredof something! Well, I hope she is cause her facial expression would goto waste if she wasn't afraid of something.Kaz wants to meet her and ask her all abouther lifestyle. Maybe he'll marry her. This went in because he won't dropthe topic as I type this stuff. I hope he likes her cause he's apparentlygetting married to her soon.23 Tuesday
No WORK today, what did I do?Updated this crazy home page thing JUST FORYOU. (Allll of August!! Damn I'm Tireds'sa!I just enjoyed the peace and quiet of the day.ahhhhhhhh : - )24 Wednesday
Go-chuThought about: facial expressions. In the WesternWorld people can determine how a person feels by the facial expressionbeing presented. In the Eastern World that is not the case. I can not tellwho thinks what, about anything. The Eastern World is so straight facedwhen it comes to emotions, they truly don't express their feelings via,facial expressions or actions. It's an interesting philosophy that thepeople follow here in Japan.Class 2-1 drained all my energy. I mean theyjust drained all of it, slurp slurp slurp! GONE. Ahhhh!!!! I don't knowwhat they did, but they took it all. Bye bye energy. Buh bye.Another thought. I really don't like the factthat smoking is allowed in the teachers' room. Bummer for the non-smokers.Life in another culture does things like that -- throws you off completelybecause of the little things you takes for granted.City HallTWO packages arrived! What a load! One withSunday Comics and Highlander Stuff! The other had my middle school andhigh school year books. Rock on mom! Thanks much!And. yes there is an and. I received a SportsIllustrated too. I guess it's the issue I should have received last week.25 Thursday
Go-chuI now understand why Italian can be learnedso quickly by the Japanese. Both languages end in vowels! Ahhhh, yes, revelations9-25 Gary. It's the new book to read. : ) The nurse of Go-chu andI discussed languages for a while and I finally understood, through ourconversation, about Italian and Japanese -- kewl!Culture Festival TodayStudent Exhibitions on various things. It wasa very cool day. There were so many cool things to see, some not so cool,but what would you expect?? Nobel Peace winning stuff? That's what I thoughtyou'd say... : ) I have photos, but am unable to deliver themto your eyes, cause I don't have that much space on this site -- rrrggghh.I'll c what I can do about that.City HallAnother package. Three in 2 days?? Could itbe true? That's a big yupper! A package with some rocking cool ties frommom and some Spider-Man lunch bags from Rille. Thanks muchly muchly bothof you's.Annnndddd. Sports Illustrated arrived today;punctually I might add.After Work.........yup that's it.........26 Friday
Go-chuLast day... happens to be the best day at thisschool. Both classes I had today were superb!! Fun for the whole family,unless you fall asleep when people are yelling and laughing and havingfun, if so. bahhh! you wouldn't be reading this if you were like that.San-chuTwo words:ORGANIZED CHAOS. Two more words:ILIKE.City Hallbbbbbblllllllaaaaaaahhhhhh..... nothin'After WorkMet Hiroshi Saitoh for a night out with a formerstudent of his (now 26 i think, getting married in Dec.) and went out foran Italian dinner. GREAT food! Great prices! Lots of laughs! All in all,a great night! What a day! More please, more!!!27 Saturday
KawagoeMet Kazi and shopped! Hee hee hee! I boughtmy first coat while in a Japan! Ha ha ha! "You can't stop me! Nothing canstop me!" ha ha ha! Yes indeed, it was a day of shopping. I bought theTeikyo Guidebook. I'm in it!!! Hiro Yamagata didn't lie to me! Talk aboutsome old pictures! Damn!! They r older than I am, well almost. But it wascool to look at and have some fun laughs with Kazi man.CD's I bought include:Dream Theater "Falling into Infinity"Hits 1 "Hard Rock" I got this one for 100 yen.$1!!! ha ha!28 Sunday
HomeHung out with Kazi and watched "FRIGHTENERS"starring Michael J. Fox. Strange movie, but good at the same time. Notthe kind of movie you'd take a girl out to see on a date, unless it wasElvira. ...Please don't tell me your going to go rent it now. geeesssshit was a joke! A good movie nonetheless, pick it up if your interestedin seeing it at all.OmiyaI met Matt and Martin (about 30 min late wasI. I had to wait for a train for 20 minutes. I've yet to figure out thistrain thing.) We went to Charleston Place and had a great time laughingand just relaxing. I like the fact that I could just speak freely and notworry about being judged because of something I said. Ahhhhhh.29 Monday
San-chuFirst day proved to be very cool. The studentsare nuts, well some of the are. There is this one dude that loves saying"Ohhhhh YEAHH!" He says it about 15 different ways, it's hilarious! Heraps it sometimes. "oh yeah oo-o-o-o-o-hhh-hh-h yeah," it's a kick to hearhim say it over and over again.Had a great conversation with Mr. Araki aboutthe Japanese society and culture. I'm learning more and more about thisplace. There's quite a bit to learn and I've just begun to scratch thesurface.The society here is close to a 50/50 split.The halves are divided by new and old views. The younger generation looksat things in a more individualistic manner. The older generation viewseach person as a part of the family. If someone does something wrong thenit will affect the entire family. Quite a divide huh? I've been noticingthe change in views but wanted to hear it from someone that is Japanese,and now I have. BONUS. Hope to get more...soon, soon.City HallNothing at all! Liz, Philip and I basicallysat there for about an hour and a half talking. Liz got her flight plansready for Dec., it would appear that she waited a little long -- almostall the flights are filled! But she told me that a friend of hers is goingto get her a ticket, a good thing.After WorkI came home and updated this crazy thing, foryou and for me! Yes it's for the both of us! What the hell, y not! Yourreading it and I want to have it to refer to later on, so, sure it's forthe both of us. I guess. At least I think. Ahhhh whatever.30 Tuesday
San-chuWell, last night Philip and Liz told me abouta teacher at san-chu; they said he was not the most reliable of the teachersin Asaka. His name: Mr. Araki. Today he proved to me that he's not. Hedidn't show up for class, it was my introduction! He didn't have to doanything, all he had to do was listen -- ohhh maaarone! What a guy huh!Hoy ve!Class was cool. Yes that's right I had one classtoday, and guess what -- it was the first period! What does one do whenthey have one class to go to and it's the first class? They go to otherclasses and watch/help. I went to a computer class and a music class. Bothwere cool. I thought about my last time in a music class and I recalledthat my last music class was in 8th grade. Not bad huh? Only about 9 years,I remember everything I learned ----- right!City HallNothing at all. Not even a message. I'll spellit out, why? because I can! N.O.T.H.I.N.G.After WorkWent to the Post Office and actually UNDERSTOODwhat the clerk said!! I knew how much I owed! I realized it after I handedhim the money. That rocks! Rock on baby!Updated this crazy page for u and me. I'm notgonna get in 2 that again.On that note... B-- B--- B----B! It's the endof the month and I've got more to come, but it has to happen first ---soooooooooo be ready and come back often. This thing is updated almostdaily! At least now its updated daily. Have a crazy and thanks for reading.ciao cito
