Friday Flash

Bento Lunch Box
Originally uploaded by pookie_san99.

This bento or lunchbox consists of cold soba noodles and three sweet rice cakes.Some small strips of pork and egg are also included along with chopped green onion.A small bag of vinegar like sauce is also provided which you pour over the noddles.
A cheap (¥360) small light bite for summer.

The Screaming Mee Mees

Japanese Cicada
Originally uploaded by pookie_san99.

Not the Kiwi band of my youth but Japanese cicadas.(semi).For the past month or so their morning chorus ,a metallic mee mee has awoken me from my sweaty summer slumber.Of course a repeat performance is held each dusk.
A high pitched decibel deafening sound that each summer fights to be heard above the cacophony of a noisy Nagoya.
Towards the end of August their dead,dessicated spent corpses litter the streets and footpaths.I found this windblown hulk near my front door.
The first sign that summer is drawing to a close and the more user friendly autumn is at hand....

I Could Go at Any Time...

Another boiling week.Punctuated by a sharp jolt Friday night.A reminder that like New Zealand, Japan is prone to earthquakes.
I recalled the Neil Finn lyrics"I could go at anytime/Theres nothing safe about this life" earlier in the week on hearing the plight of several people I know.One returning from an Asian vacation was struck down by some mystery illness.After four days in hospital and a battery of tests he's still none the wiser.
Life is fragile.Short if you happen to be a cicada.Tragically short in the case of three children drowned last weekend.Their car was hit from behind.It then plummeted off a bridge.The family was returning from a day out bettle hunting....

Friday Flash

Takeout Sushi Lunch
Originally uploaded by pookie_san99.

Yesterdays lunch from the bento shop at Tajimi Station.With another 36 degree centigrade day and bathed in sweat due to the humidity the sushi pack seemed ideal for lunch.
Located in an area surrounded by low hills Tajimi City in Central Japan regularly is one of the hottest places in Japan over summer.

Flat Out Like a Lizard Drinking

Paper Mache Lizard
Originally uploaded by pookie_san99.

Another hot, busy week.Temperatures remain high.I had a friend stay over the last week as he sorted himself out a new apartment.Did well considering it was the middle of the Bon holiday break.Many businesses were closed for the vacation.One also has to factor in such matters as 1) many landlords dont want foreign tenants, 2) the language barrier and 3) the initial set up costs.
As well as paying for the real estate agents time and services you have to fork out for a fee to pay the cleaning company before you move in and other numerous charges including the two months rent in advance etc,etc.It all adds up.

I felt sorry for Peter as he kipped on my kitchen floor.Despite having a portable fan the heat rarely dropped below 30 degrees.Luckily his new apartment comes equipped with a new air conditioning unit.

I've never got round to getting one.Not just the price puts me off.I dont know how long I'd use it or if I actually need one.Sure it gets hot in my apartment and it can be uncomfortable at times to sleep.But its only for a month or so.I can always use my portable fan should it get unbearable.Air conditioning seems to make me more susceptible to colds and germs.Besides I usually lose a few kilos in summer due to the heat so not having a/c has its benefits.

On Mondays the school I work at is located in a huge shopping complex.The a/c is always set too cold.Last week some students were shivering and I ended the day reeling with a headache and sore throat.Seems absurd to resort to wearing a jumper in the middle of summer.There is nothing that can be done as its controlled from a central control point for the whole mall.

Paper Mache Reptile.
Finally got round to completing this creature in the photo above.Been working on it over the last couple of months.Some minor finishing touches and its done.Not sure what I'll do next.probably not reptiles as the last three have been frogs and lizards.....

Friday Flash

KitKats
Originally uploaded by pookie_san99.

A local variation of KitKats.A student gave me this packet of melon flavoured KitKats that comes from Hokkaido.They have a rather odd sweet cloying taste.
Hokkaido is renowned for its melons both the rock melons and the more common garden variety.During summer melons are often given as presents the more expensive ones cost anything from 10,000yen upwards.

Traditionally its a quiet time of year...

Monday 14th August 2006.
The peak of O-Bon holiday break.Trains are reported as being packed to 120 per cent capacity.Not only dangerous but to my mind logically impossible.Yesterday 16 people drowned in Japan.The result of water accidents.Rivers,lakes,oceans,pools.

A busy week at work.The large number of students and the lack of instructors gives lie to the badly scrawled notice on the teachers room wall.."Traditionally August is a quiet time of the year...
Been a surge in the number of students wanting TOEIC classes.There are four tests each year.The next is at the end of August.Hence the demand.I had five of my eight lessons yesterday related to TOEIC.

TOEIC classes make a pleasant change from regular Nova lessons.For one thing they are organised and well thought out.They have a point.A bit more nuts and bolts.Hands on.You can help students differentiate between "Im boring" and "Im bored".Present participles..got to love em.TOEIC classes give the oppurtunity to explore and examine grammar.Something Nova doesnt address in its teacher training or lessons.To the detriment of students.In fact teaching grammar is not exactly encouraged or frowned upon by the powers that be.One could suggest that would require more training and upskilling than Nova is prepared to provide rather than its current policy of recruiting any English speaking native fresh out of university....

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck.Published by Penguin Books.476 pages.
Finished the book last Friday.Watched the John Ford movie over the weekend.The film ended on a more optimistic,hopeful note than the novel.
The book changes the sequence of events.Instead of moving from the well run government camp to the prison like private Hooper Ranch camp as in the book the order is reversed.There is no sense of desperation or a downward spiral of failure.Battling the odds and losing.
The film did stick faithfully to the dialogue and conversations of the main characters.It also provided a few images that the printed word couldnt.The shadow of the family falling across the bulldozer tracks as it demolishes their house.Or the shots of the Hooverville settlements.
I dont know why it took me so long to read this.It wasnt assigned reading at school.With its tale of migrant workers and economic exploitation it raises issues as relevant and pressing today as when it was first published in 1939.

Friday Flash

Friday Flash
Originally uploaded by pookie_san99.

Wagashi is a seasonal Japanese confectionery.There are different kinds using various ingredients.The flower sweets above are made from wasanbon(high grade premium fine Japanese sugar).
According to some of my students they are used as decorations and offerings to your dead relatives during the O-Bon festival.
The O-Bon festival is like an annual family reunion where people return to their home towns to visit and clean their ancestors graves.
O-Bon is celebrated in either July or August depending on whether you live in Eastern or Western Japan.
At the end of the festival the sweets are used in a shoro nagashi ceremony(spirit of the dead ceremony).Again these ceremonies vary according to local areas and customs.
In some areas the sweets are put on lanterns or boats and floated down streams and rivers.In places near the sea, apparently the sweets are thrown into the ocean as offerings to the departed family relatives..

Monkey See Monkey Do

Monkey See Monkey Do
Originally uploaded by pookie_san99.

I had my six month class observation last Thursday.My boss sits in a cubicle behind me as I instruct.After the class theres a feedback lesson with him.He tells me what I did well and how to improve on other areas.
Overall a useful exercise.I thought the lesson was only average.He thought otherwise so who am I to disagree.
Throughout the feedback session I got the feeling that because Im older,been there longer and therefore had more experience he was often on edge,nervous and at times even apologetic.An interesting contrast to when he's not one on one ,face to face.Strutting round the school carrying sheaths of unimportant paper full of his own self importance.
Whatever the results dont carry much weight unlike the end of contract evaluations so Im not too worried.We did talk about repeat lessons and ways to vary them.I`m happy theres some leeway and freedom being given as far as lesson planning is concerned.As one colleague remarked recently "Im feeling guilty teaching the same students the same thing for the fourth time"....

Of Cockroaches,Earwax and Things

cockroach
Originally uploaded by pookie_san99.

The Met Office announced the official end of the Rainy Season late last week.Since then the weather has been blazing.
Round the mid 30`s in Nagoya.Today Monday the forecast was for 34degrees,dropping to a balmy 25 degrees at night.
One unfortunate result of the extended rainy season has been the increase in vegetable prices.Dull days,too much rain,too liitle light have pushed up prices.This week the green-grocer was asking 280yen for a shrivelled,shrunken head of lettuce.Usual price 150yen.

Anyways,summer isnt all sunshine and beer gardens.unfortunately it also brings with it goki-buri or cockroaches.I had the equivalent of an insect home invasion this weekend.Raided by four of them seeking shelter from the heat.The one in the photo was the biggest.I think the most unnerving thing apart from their speed is their ability to fly.
It doesnt matter how clean one keeps the place they still arrive unannounced like Mormons or the NHK TV guy.In fact it appears that an inverse relationship operates.Cleaning and vaccuming seems to attract rather than deter the critters.
However there are plenty of baits,poisons and traps to combat them.
My favorite is the cockroach hotel.Its a small covered box.Once attracted by the bait they become immoblished in a sticky substance equivalent to sinking sand.Struggling merely brings a quicker end.

As for ear wax I havent ever been able to find any liquid ear drops in Japan.I usually get some on holidays or get friends to bring some back.Students Ive asked are oblivious to its existence.Of course cotton buds are available or their local counterpart a thin strip of bamboo with a small scoop like bowl at one end.

Things...Currently reading "The Grapes of Wrath" by Steinbeck.Part history,part novel and sociology.One of the reading highlights of the year for me....

Friday Flash..

Tajimi Summer Festival
Originally uploaded by pookie_san99.

One of the highlights of the Tajimi Summer Festival Fireworks display is the Niagara Falls display.About a hundred metres in length and hung from three cranes above the Toki River the display lasts for about three minutes at most
.It looks spectacular like a fiery giant waterfall.Once again my photo doesnt really capture this impressive spectacle,although you can get some idea of the light and smoke produced....

Tajimi City Summer Festival

Tajimi Summer Festival 2
Originally uploaded by pookie_san99.

Tajimi City had its annual Summer Festival yesterday.A chance to dress up in your yukata and clip clop about in your geta.
Throughout the day from nine a.m various groups performed on the temporary stage near the station.A very colorful spectacle.

The main event of the day was the hour long fireworks display from 7:30pm.The fireworks were launched from two sites nearby the Toki River banks.The best vantage point is the bridge between the two sites.Failing that a spot near either of the sites is also good.By 5:30pm most of the good positions had gone.Marked or reserved with chairs,mats,tables,cushions or tarps.
The food stalls on each bank were doing a roaring trade.The smell of squid,grilled noodles,burnt bacon and crepe batter hung over the area.
The fireworks got underway on schedule.The crowd "uhhed" and "ahhed" as each series of starshells and rockets exploded.
In the background a massive stereo system blasting out the soundtrack of "Top Gun" and Bon Jovi.
The detonations of some of the larger explosives set off some young children crying,while someones dog equally shaken began to howl.Which begs the question..why bring a dog to a fireworks display?
Trying to capture the pryotechnics on camera proved difficult.I swopped tips with an elderly man afflicted with the same problems.Too much exposure,too little?..a matter of trial and error.Seems the best results were obtained by waiting for a rocket to rise then count to two and shoot.Hopefully one captures the resulting explosion.Then again good timing has never been one of my virtues.
The photo above, shot from the bridge over the Toki River, was one of my better if not great efforts from last night.

GoldFish Scooping

GoldFish Scooping
Originally uploaded by pookie_san99.

Apart from choco-bananas (see below) a typically Japanese summer festival activity is goldfish scooping.For a small outlay one is given a small paper scoop.About the size of a tea strainer.
Covered with tissue like paper.The object is to capture the elusive fish before your scoop gets sodden.Once wet the paper crumbles and splits rendering the scoop useless.
Its very difficult.Supple wrists and dexterity are required.As also are patience and concentration.
I marvelled as a young boy skimmed at least six of the wary creatures into his saucer before his scoop was destroyed.
It appeard from the short time I watched that no one left empty handed.Even those who were unsuccessful in capturing a fish were given a bag containing a couple from the generous vendor to take home.

Tajimi Summer Festival

Choco-Bananas
Originally uploaded by pookie_san99.

For me choco-bananas are as much a part of Japanese summers as are fireworks and hot weather.
Yesterday,Sunday 30th July,Tajimi City had its annual summer Festival.It started around 9a.m with a big stage set up near the station.From that time till I left round 9pm various performing groups ranging from traditional drum groups to hip-hop dancers took the stage.
It was difficult to work as the noise from "the music" filtered into our classrooms as a continuous dull thud.Headache inducing.
Distracting to those trying to master the complexities of the English language.
Anyways after my release from work I sampled one of the above choco-bananas..they seem to have all the food groups combined on one stick for a relatively cheap 200 yen.

Friday Flash..

Fireworks Hanabi Season
Originally uploaded by pookie_san99.

After Mondays blog about the rainy season the weather has suddenly transformed into full blown summer mode.Its been very hot from Tuesday onwards round the mid 30s and dipping to around 25 degrees at night.
Nows the time for "natsu-kaze" (summer colds) as people rush from the arctic air conditioned subway cars to the outside heat at train station platforms and then again snap-frozen on the JR trains and their refrigerator like carriages.
Nows also the time for summer festivals and also hanabi (firework festivals).Seems each small town and city has its own fireworks display usually in early to mid August.Tajimi City has its own festival on Sunday.Weather permitting I'll try and get some photos....

Eel Appeal

Unagi Day
Originally uploaded by pookie_san99.

Since the Edo Period it has been traditional to eat eel on the 23rd of July,the Day of the Ox under the old Chinese calendar.It marks the start of the hottest period of summer.
Usually...
Usually Japan is in the fiery grip of early summer.Eel is said to ward off the debilitating energy sapping heat.
This year however the rainy season has been prolonged.Outstayed its welcome.An active rain front remains.Bringing floods,mudslides and death.
Tajimi where I work has several unagi-ya,eel restaurants.In the past freshwater eels were caught in rice paddies and streams.Now, however most is raised on eel farms.Aichi Prefecure has a number of commerical farms but the leading area is located in Shizouka Prefecture.
Each region has its own recipes and dishes.Even the way of gutting eel varies from Kanto to Kansai.
In Nagoya, hitsumabashi is a popular way of serving eel.Its a style of eating grilled eel together with rice.Tare, a thick soy based sauce is basted on to the eel to add flavour.After grilling the tare basted eel turns a rich golden brown.Green tea is also poured over the eel to add flavour.
Most of the students I talked to yesterday had or were going to have eel at some meal.Although most regarded eel as expensive this didnt seem to deter them from following tradition...

Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament RoundUp

Entering The Ring Ceremony
Originally uploaded by pookie_san99.

Yokozuna Asashoryu won his seventeenth Emperors Cup as the Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament ended on Sunday.He finished with a 14 win 1 loss record.His only loss was to Hakuho on the final day.
Hakuho finished with a 13 win 2 loss record.Unfortunately his promotion to yokozuna will have to wait.Hopefully a good performance at the September basho will see his elevation to the top ranking.Also on hold for promotion is Miyabiyama.
The other wrestlers I follow, Kaio and Baruto, both managed to finish with winning records.
The photo shows the daily dohyo-iri (entering the ring ceremony) held before the start of the maku-uchi or top five rank bouts.The wrestlers enter the ring wearing ceremonial aprons or kesho-mawashi.After performing a short ritual they depart...

Friday Flash

Friday Flash
Originally uploaded by pookie_san99.

Good Weather For Ducks

The rainy season is having a final burst of activity.Its been raining for the last two days.Non-stop.Steadily.Damp.Dank.
Even the cockroaches have taken to using umbrellas.
As I blog this,at least 14 people throughout the country have been reported killed.Victims of heavy rain,floods or mudslides.
The inclement weather is set to continue for another day or two yet...