Ok this week hasn’t been anything like last week, but its still been pretty sweet.
After getting back from Tokyo last week, I had a huge cold, and going to work on Monday with relatively no sleep was not nice. After just about getting over it on Tuesday, I went to work on Wednesday. One of the teachers here has gone back to Canada so while we wait for a new teacher I was filling in. The classes were ones Id taken before (since the same teacher had taken a week off last month and I had filled in). So I knew what to expect.
The first 2 classes were young bratty kids that always started fights and cried and didn’t pay attention, so that was a bit of a chore. In one of the classes, one of the students objected so much to me (being a newish teacher and a break from the norm) that he refused to come into the classroom. Eventually he did, but only on the condition that he could be cuddled at all times by one of the female Japanese teachers. Im sure she had other things to do but she stayed for nearly the whole class, bless her.
On several occasions the kid fell asleep in her arms which was pretty funny. He was awake and on his own for the last 5 minutes tho so I suppose at least there was a bit of a lesson. Felt a bit sorry for the other 3 students tho.
On Thursday I had a similar day of teaching except the kids were all pretty well behaved this time. I also had an adult class this day which was quite good fun as they all had quite a high level of English.
On Friday I had a much needed day off. Ayae was going to her parents for the weekend so I went to the station to see her off. After that I went to a bookstore and bought another book on learning Japanese (I must have about 10 now!). I spent most of that day reading
and trying to get better. Ironically since Ive been here I think my Japanese has probably gotten worse. When I was in the UK I was a dedicated student, studying for hours every day and now that Im here, I never seem to find the time. I justify it to myself that as Im here I should be subconsciously getting better, but Im not really talking to people in Japanese enough so theres no way that can happen. Occasionally me and Ayae do talk in Japanese, but I don’t push it enough. Since going to Tokyo last week where I was chatting Japanese I have decided to really try harder, so hopefully my new book and new attitude will help me get better. We will see!
On Saturday I had work, and afterwards I did my usual thing of checking out Sakae although there was not as much on as usual (there was a couple of bands playing in the park and on the street but they were p
retty awful). I did however come across a new department store which featured a Tower Records with some awesome discounts, and also a new live music venue. It seemed to play to some pretty big acts in the past (such as Stereophonics) so Im thinking it was a good discovery for the future.
I also went to an `English pub` called The Hub, to check if they would be showing the live Tottenham - West Ham game Sunday. I was told `Tabun-ne` which basically translates as `I think so`. I decided I would definitely go anyway as even if they weren’t showing it, it seemed like a cool place worth checking out.
Sunday was a big day for me. I had been wanting to see some live football ever since I got here, but the 9 hour time difference means unless it starts around 12 or 1 its not really possible. There are bars open late, but the last train is around midnight, so I have to go th
en anyway (unless Im staying out all night!).
The game would start at half 10 but I decided to go into the city early as I had nothing else to do. First I explored a park which I hadn’t been to before in Fushimi, near Sakae. There were a couple of cool sculptures, as well as lots of nice trees which had changed color because of Autumn so that was cool.
After that I decided to go to Osu to do a bit more exploring. On the way I came across a really beautiful shrine althou
gh it was right next to a busy main road. I also found a temple which was really nice.
When I got to Osu I was bombarded with ridiculously bright lights everywhere. The first thing I saw was some fire eating dude surrounded by a wall of Christmas lights and topped up with a huge cat statue thing that is everywhere in Japan. Awesome.
Next I wondered through the indoor market thing which again had Christmas lights everywhere. On the ceiling, on the trees, and even on the archway thing. Nagoya is well and truly ready for Christmas.
After this I headed to Sakae which again was decorated to the hilt. I decided to e.jpg)
xplore Sakae again as this time I had lots of time (it was still about 3 hours til kick off). After walking up as many streets as I could, I discovered Sakae was actually about 3 times bigger than I thought it was; it just didn’t stop!
As the light faded, the seedier side of the city exposed itself. Whilst there wasn’t a red light district per say, the streets seemed to go : Shop, shop, restaurant, shop, brothel, shop, restaurant, brothel and so on. Women on the street started offering me massages and as it got later they were everywhere (even on a Sunday!). As I tried to get away I somehow managed to double back on myself and had to walk past them again! I eventually found refuge in `The Hub` and sat down with a refreshing pint of Guinness.
The crowd in the hub
was about 50-50 gaijin and Japanese, and most were aged mid to late 20s. Though it was on one of Sakaes busiest roads, the interior replicated an English pub very well although the emphasis on the fact they sold fish and chips was a bit much. As I perused the menu I noticed they sold Strongbow. I have been looking for Cider in Japan for a very long time, and so to finally find some was a huge victory for me. It was ludicrously overpriced of course, but I have come to expect that about drinking in Japan.
After sitting on my own for the best part of an hour, I decided to make a bit of an effort, and got talking to this Australian/Polish bloke called Max. He was sitting at a table with an English girl and a Japanese guy and girl so I chatted to th
em for a bit. Max and the English girl were both English teachers so there was a sense of camaraderie there. After a while the football started and I warned them that I could get a bit anti-social watching football. They laughed a bit and carried on talking. I managed to fire off a few words of terrible Japanese to the guy and girl, which was just about understood and so a great step forward in my language learning.
After a few minutes I happened to notice in the corner of my eye Tottenham scoring. I jumped off my seat and screamed `Fucking Come on! Yes!!!!`. As I did this I noticed that.jpg)
no one else was actually paying attention to the game. They were however staring dead at me and most were laughing. To make matters worse, the goal was ruled offside so it didn’t actually count. I took to my seat again and proceeded to act like nothing happened. The other guys at the table thought it was really funny tho and were very curious as to how a game could mean so much to someone.
After drinking and chatting for another hour or so, it was midnight and although the game had another 15 minutes to go, the bar was closing so I left. Although I hadn’t missed the last train home Max insisted I had and that his mum would give me a lift home. Max was about my age and had lived in Japan for around 2 years, after moving here from Australia with his Polish mum. The lift home was pretty surreal being as I was drunk and Max`s mum tho very friendly had what she called a `lead foot`. Im sure we were close to careering off the road many times but eventually we got to the station. Because
I didn’t really know where I lived I asked to be dropped at the nearest train station (although this wasn’t actually at all near to where I lived).
From there I got in a taxi and asked to be dropped at the nearest landmark I knew- which was Ayaes University. The driver (a nice middle aged women with about 5 very bad teeth. Come to think of it the taxi driver in my first blog had no teeth….. Hmmmmm…….Maybe theres some sort of weird sadistic initiation ritual involved in getting a Taxi license here……..I wonder…..) must have taken from this that I spoke fluent Japanese and proceeded to talk at me the whole way home. I nodded and smiled through the whole thing and I think she was none the wiser although for all I know she could have just spent 10 minutes badmouthing me
.
After she dropped me off, I got into my apartment and fell straight to sleep. I had work the next day so was not too pleased to notice I had a hangover. Luckily my shift didn’t start til the afternoon so I caught up on plenty of sleep. Although it was a pretty stressful day (I don’t like Mondays), my last 2 adult classes cancelled, so I got to go home 2 hours early which was awesome. All in all it was a very strange but very cool and worthwile night out.
Next week me and Ayae are off to Kyoto again to see the changing leaves so Im thinking that should be pretty awesome; expect a gratuitous amount of pictures!
Anyways, thanks for reading, and hopefully Ill catch you next week.
Peace out
Jack
After getting back from Tokyo last week, I had a huge cold, and going to work on Monday with relatively no sleep was not nice. After just about getting over it on Tuesday, I went to work on Wednesday. One of the teachers here has gone back to Canada so while we wait for a new teacher I was filling in. The classes were ones Id taken before (since the same teacher had taken a week off last month and I had filled in). So I knew what to expect.
The first 2 classes were young bratty kids that always started fights and cried and didn’t pay attention, so that was a bit of a chore. In one of the classes, one of the students objected so much to me (being a newish teacher and a break from the norm) that he refused to come into the classroom. Eventually he did, but only on the condition that he could be cuddled at all times by one of the female Japanese teachers. Im sure she had other things to do but she stayed for nearly the whole class, bless her.
On several occasions the kid fell asleep in her arms which was pretty funny. He was awake and on his own for the last 5 minutes tho so I suppose at least there was a bit of a lesson. Felt a bit sorry for the other 3 students tho.
On Thursday I had a similar day of teaching except the kids were all pretty well behaved this time. I also had an adult class this day which was quite good fun as they all had quite a high level of English.
On Friday I had a much needed day off. Ayae was going to her parents for the weekend so I went to the station to see her off. After that I went to a bookstore and bought another book on learning Japanese (I must have about 10 now!). I spent most of that day reading
and trying to get better. Ironically since Ive been here I think my Japanese has probably gotten worse. When I was in the UK I was a dedicated student, studying for hours every day and now that Im here, I never seem to find the time. I justify it to myself that as Im here I should be subconsciously getting better, but Im not really talking to people in Japanese enough so theres no way that can happen. Occasionally me and Ayae do talk in Japanese, but I don’t push it enough. Since going to Tokyo last week where I was chatting Japanese I have decided to really try harder, so hopefully my new book and new attitude will help me get better. We will see!On Saturday I had work, and afterwards I did my usual thing of checking out Sakae although there was not as much on as usual (there was a couple of bands playing in the park and on the street but they were p
retty awful). I did however come across a new department store which featured a Tower Records with some awesome discounts, and also a new live music venue. It seemed to play to some pretty big acts in the past (such as Stereophonics) so Im thinking it was a good discovery for the future.I also went to an `English pub` called The Hub, to check if they would be showing the live Tottenham - West Ham game Sunday. I was told `Tabun-ne` which basically translates as `I think so`. I decided I would definitely go anyway as even if they weren’t showing it, it seemed like a cool place worth checking out.
Sunday was a big day for me. I had been wanting to see some live football ever since I got here, but the 9 hour time difference means unless it starts around 12 or 1 its not really possible. There are bars open late, but the last train is around midnight, so I have to go th
en anyway (unless Im staying out all night!).The game would start at half 10 but I decided to go into the city early as I had nothing else to do. First I explored a park which I hadn’t been to before in Fushimi, near Sakae. There were a couple of cool sculptures, as well as lots of nice trees which had changed color because of Autumn so that was cool.
After that I decided to go to Osu to do a bit more exploring. On the way I came across a really beautiful shrine althou
gh it was right next to a busy main road. I also found a temple which was really nice.When I got to Osu I was bombarded with ridiculously bright lights everywhere. The first thing I saw was some fire eating dude surrounded by a wall of Christmas lights and topped up with a huge cat statue thing that is everywhere in Japan. Awesome.
Next I wondered through the indoor market thing which again had Christmas lights everywhere. On the ceiling, on the trees, and even on the archway thing. Nagoya is well and truly ready for Christmas.
After this I headed to Sakae which again was decorated to the hilt. I decided to e
.jpg)
xplore Sakae again as this time I had lots of time (it was still about 3 hours til kick off). After walking up as many streets as I could, I discovered Sakae was actually about 3 times bigger than I thought it was; it just didn’t stop! As the light faded, the seedier side of the city exposed itself. Whilst there wasn’t a red light district per say, the streets seemed to go : Shop, shop, restaurant, shop, brothel, shop, restaurant, brothel and so on. Women on the street started offering me massages and as it got later they were everywhere (even on a Sunday!). As I tried to get away I somehow managed to double back on myself and had to walk past them again! I eventually found refuge in `The Hub` and sat down with a refreshing pint of Guinness.
The crowd in the hub
was about 50-50 gaijin and Japanese, and most were aged mid to late 20s. Though it was on one of Sakaes busiest roads, the interior replicated an English pub very well although the emphasis on the fact they sold fish and chips was a bit much. As I perused the menu I noticed they sold Strongbow. I have been looking for Cider in Japan for a very long time, and so to finally find some was a huge victory for me. It was ludicrously overpriced of course, but I have come to expect that about drinking in Japan.After sitting on my own for the best part of an hour, I decided to make a bit of an effort, and got talking to this Australian/Polish bloke called Max. He was sitting at a table with an English girl and a Japanese guy and girl so I chatted to th
em for a bit. Max and the English girl were both English teachers so there was a sense of camaraderie there. After a while the football started and I warned them that I could get a bit anti-social watching football. They laughed a bit and carried on talking. I managed to fire off a few words of terrible Japanese to the guy and girl, which was just about understood and so a great step forward in my language learning.After a few minutes I happened to notice in the corner of my eye Tottenham scoring. I jumped off my seat and screamed `Fucking Come on! Yes!!!!`. As I did this I noticed that
.jpg)
no one else was actually paying attention to the game. They were however staring dead at me and most were laughing. To make matters worse, the goal was ruled offside so it didn’t actually count. I took to my seat again and proceeded to act like nothing happened. The other guys at the table thought it was really funny tho and were very curious as to how a game could mean so much to someone.After drinking and chatting for another hour or so, it was midnight and although the game had another 15 minutes to go, the bar was closing so I left. Although I hadn’t missed the last train home Max insisted I had and that his mum would give me a lift home. Max was about my age and had lived in Japan for around 2 years, after moving here from Australia with his Polish mum. The lift home was pretty surreal being as I was drunk and Max`s mum tho very friendly had what she called a `lead foot`. Im sure we were close to careering off the road many times but eventually we got to the station. Because
I didn’t really know where I lived I asked to be dropped at the nearest train station (although this wasn’t actually at all near to where I lived).From there I got in a taxi and asked to be dropped at the nearest landmark I knew- which was Ayaes University. The driver (a nice middle aged women with about 5 very bad teeth. Come to think of it the taxi driver in my first blog had no teeth….. Hmmmmm…….Maybe theres some sort of weird sadistic initiation ritual involved in getting a Taxi license here……..I wonder…..) must have taken from this that I spoke fluent Japanese and proceeded to talk at me the whole way home. I nodded and smiled through the whole thing and I think she was none the wiser although for all I know she could have just spent 10 minutes badmouthing me
.After she dropped me off, I got into my apartment and fell straight to sleep. I had work the next day so was not too pleased to notice I had a hangover. Luckily my shift didn’t start til the afternoon so I caught up on plenty of sleep. Although it was a pretty stressful day (I don’t like Mondays), my last 2 adult classes cancelled, so I got to go home 2 hours early which was awesome. All in all it was a very strange but very cool and worthwile night out.
Next week me and Ayae are off to Kyoto again to see the changing leaves so Im thinking that should be pretty awesome; expect a gratuitous amount of pictures!
Anyways, thanks for reading, and hopefully Ill catch you next week.
Peace out
Jack
1 comment:
i laughed out loud at the goal scoring moment, i can just imagine the scene! im glad to hear youre really enjoying your time there dude, how long you thinkin of staying till then? i still really wanna come see you but again, not sure if thatll be possible. although im sure you'll go again, right?!
keep on truckin'
Z
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