Playing in the snow and other simple pleasures...

Last week my friend Craig & I headed off to Hokkaido for a little snowboarding and skiing. Unlike our trip to Mt. Fuji there weren't any real hitches in our departure. We met up at Itami airport in Osaka as scheduled (Craig got there a few hours early just to be safe) caught our plane with no problems. After landing in Sapporo we found a lady directing our 'tour group' and she told us where to meet to catch our bus to the resort. Anytime you buy a package trip in Japan you are officially joining a tour. This doesn't mean that there will be guides or anything else organized like that but it does mean they'll do their best to make sure you catch all your connections.

The Rusutsu Resort in snowy Hokkaido

I was a little shellshocked when I first reached the resort. It was huge! The building we were in had two large wings that were jammed full of restaurants, shops, animatronic bands, carousels, antique cars, etc. It was like a really big Chuck E. Cheese restaurant. Not to mention the other buildings that were all connected via a monorail.

Most of the new cars in Japan are right hand drive.

I won't eat one but I'll still ride one.

carneys everywhere, I set you free!

After being led to our room by a bellhop we went for a little walk around the buildings to find a) the all you can eat restaurants, b) the ski lockers, c) our equipment rental shop, d) the heated wave pool and e) a comfy bar. It was in this oh so comfy bar that a strange encounter happened. Craig and I were both in full Japanese mode when it came to conversing with the hotel staff so we were momentarily stunned when a young Japanese waiter began speaking to us in extra-strength Australian English. Not quite knowing what to do I continued to speak Japanese for a little while until I realized he wasn't Japanese at all. He told us that while his mother was Japanese he had grown up in Melbourne and was just here for a working holiday. It was his first night working there and apparently he got scolded a little by the other staff for not bowing to us when he served our beers and for not coming back to pour the remainders of our beers into our glasses quickly enough. His name was Yosuke and he chatted with us for a short while.
We were hoping to have had dinner in the 'Viking' all you can restaurant but it was far more expensive than we had thought. 4500 yen was a little steep, especially for a veggie like me who would probably be hovering around the spaghetti and salad dishes most of the time.
On our first free day we hit the slopes for a little snowboarding. In fact I hit the slopes quite often and sometimes with a lot of force. Good thing I'm packing a big backyard. It was my first time snowboarding and it is quite difficult to get a hang of. I was able to stand up on my own and was able to cross the slopes facing in either direction. Sometimes I was even able to make the small turns that would allow me to cut back across the course but more often than not I fell down and had to twist my board around in mid-air while I was sitting in the white powdery stuff. Craig is a pretty good snowboarder so he would often go down the first quarter of a run with me and then speed off on his own. He was able to go down, take the lift back up and catch up with me before I had gotten to the bottom. Anticipating the amount of time I'd be submerged in the snow I didn't take my camera with me this day so there is, luckily, no photographic evidence of my 'learning curve' that curved straight down.
The next day I opted for skis. It would be a little less frustrating and painful for me, and Craig & I would be able to try some more challenging runs. I'd forgotten to mention earlier that there were hundreds of school kids on the runs with us. They were obviously on school trips and were taking lessons throughout the day. Hundreds of kids all wearing the exact same snow suits and filling up the cafeterias at lunch time. It was a little disappointing for us when the cafs would be sold out of half their food by 12 noon.
It was such a relief to be back on skis after the snowboard debacle. We went on lots and lots of runs and found some nice deep powder. This time it was my turn to laugh at Craig as he was the one doing all the wiping out on the 2nd day. It was great fun.

2 of the shorter runs.

Craig imagines he's touching his nose with his tongue.

Whereas I'm always styling. Is my nose really that big? Really?

After skiing things generally deteriorated into a nerd party. We both brought our laptops with us and we hooked them up and played a head to head game called Unreal Tournament 2004. But it was all Craig's idea. I didn't want to lug my PC all the way up there. I especially didn't want to pack the LAN cable required for head-to-head gaming. Craig made me do it.

Unfortunately we only had 2 full days of skiing before we had to head back. It was probably good that we came back when we did though as it was snowing very hard when we left and many of the flights out of Sapporo were cancelled. Craig and I both had work the next day so we couldn't stay another night. Luckily, we were flying a magically enchanted, +4 vs cold Pokemon airplane that whisked us home with no problems.

This plane did everything but transform into a fighting robot. But we were only on it for a few hours so maybe it could.

In the end I learned that fighting never solves anything, money and the new Sony PSP are the roots of all evil, and snowboarding really sucks big time. But I'll try it again sometime. Maybe Yukiko can take a lesson sometime as she has never tried it. But now I've got to focus all my ki on Okinawa and diving. Yah, holidays are great.

strange blog spellchecker recommendations:

carousels - chrysalis
monorail - manorial
Pokemon - bogeyman
soundtrack - counteract

December getaways & more!

Last week I wrote the Japanese proficiency test again. It's only offered once a year on the first Sunday of December which must be the worst possible time of year to offer it. At least for people teaching in schools because this is when term finals begin and everything is just crazy. A few friends of mine (Dan, Mika and Cliff) were also there but they were taking different exams. While my test turned out to be slightly harder than expected the most interesting thing for me was the cheating going on. Not as bad as the cheating scandal that swept South Korea but still annoying none the less. In previous years I had often noticed students openning their exam booklets early despite the verbal and written instructions not to do so. It's one thing for junior and high school students to cheat, it's another for adults. They are supposed to know better. This year things looked promising though as the test monitors in my classroom (the test was held at Kobe's Konan University, the monitors all appeared to be University students) began the morning session by explaining a new 'card' system. Openning a test booklet early, speaking during the test to another student, etc, would result in a yellow card which was a warning. Two yellows would equal a red. Looking at another student's paper or having a device make a noise (watch alarm, mobile phone, etc) would also lead to a red card. A red card meant automatic expulsion and a grade of zero. They seemed very strict and every test monitor was armed with a set of cards. I was relieved because this cheating had always angered me.
During the morning session of the test (the vocabulary and kanji recognition section) a girl's mobile phone began to play a very loud and annoying ring tone; about 5 or 6 times. Everyone was stunned, including the test monitors who remained frozen at the front of the classroom. It was a big classroom holding a few hundred people but everyone near me could see the embarassed young woman reaching into her bag to turn off her phone. I put down my test for the next few minutes as I was eagerly awaiting the coming red card. A red card, it would be a sight to behold. A beautiful, vengeful, scarlet red card. But it never came. I couldn't understand it. I was clearly distracted for a time waiting for the hammer of justice to smite the wrongdoer. And wasn't this exactly why a mobile phone ringing during the exam meant disqualification? Because it would distract everyone. But nothing happened. So I continued on with the test under the pretense that maybe, just maybe the test monitors would take action after this first session had finished. It made sense. Perhaps asking the young women to leave would make an even bigger scene and cause more problems. Yes the young but hardworking test monitors were surely wiser than me and had long before come to the same conclusion.
Approximately 45 mins later everyone filed back into the classroom to begin the 2nd test session, the listening test. Lo and behold the girl-of-many-distractions returns. Hmmm, this is strange I thought. Once again the test monitors unsheathe their red and yellow cards as the rules are clearly explained. Subsequently the test booklets were handed out. And again, as in previous years,I saw a few students opening up their test booklets early before the test had begun. 1 of them was the girl with her 1-man-band mobile phone. The other one was sitting next to a buddhist monk dressed in his yellow robes. It certainly takes a lot of gumption to blatantly cheat while sharing a desk with a monk. I was getting very annoyed as the test monitors walked up and down the aisles checking everyone's ID and handing out the answer pages but not doing or saying anything to these 2. When one of the monitors walked past me I asked her if it was alright to open the test booklet. She replied no. So I asked about the 2 students sitting a little in front of me who were busy looking through their books. She went up to both of them and politely asked them to close their booklets and then went back to the front of the classroom to await the starting bell. I couldn't believe it! These were obvious yellow card fouls but again nothing happened. I realize these are not burn in hell sort of sins as no answers were copied but they were clear rule violations. And I did in fact see 1 student turn around, look at her friend's paper, and write some answers at the end of this second session. When the session ended I approached the monitors and their overseer (well the only guy to use the mic) and told them I didn't understand the yellow/red card system. I asked why the girl with the mobile phone didn't get a card during the first session. The head monitor explained that it was a big classroom and they weren't sure which student had made the infraction. I replied that the mobile phone rang enough for any of the monitors to have located it. I also told them that if they had asked anyone in the area they could have found out. They could have asked me in fact. Then I asked about the 2 women who had opened their booklets early. I had pointed them out to a monitor so there was no question as to who the perps were. The man gently replied that in cases like this merely making eye contact is enough to get a person to close their book. Huh? In other words the test monitors were not willing, not prepared, and simply weren't going to use the cards they had so brazenly swung about earlier. Then again, they were just University students (probably younger than most of the people taking the tests) and probably were just getting paid minimum wage. Accusing a foreigner of cheating on a test and causing a scene was probably the furthest thing from what they wanted to do and I honestly can't blame them. However, it was their job. The last thing I told them before heading out to lunch was that I was worried that no one would respect them if there were no consequences for breaking the rules and cheating. They bowed and duly thanked me for my valuable input. Then I left.
The 3rd and final session of the test began as had the others, with a display of the yellow and red cards and a firm explanation of the rules. I could only laugh quietly to myself. Actually I could have laughed out loud like a madman without any repercussions I suppose. Once again I saw the woman sitting next to the monk reading through her question booklet before the test began while carefree test monitors casually strolled by her. I didn't say anything this time though. What would be the point?

Yesterday a bunch of Yukiko's friends came over for a lunch party. We laid out an assortment of food and everyone rolled their own sushi. It was fun and tasty. Yukiko's friend Yoko brought along her 1 1/2 year old girl Fuka again. She is lots of fun and likes playing. It's also interesting to see how stereotypically girlish she is becoming. I don't mean this to sound derivative in any way, but it's easy to see how she is imitating her mom and is fascinated in traditionally female things. Her two biggest thrills came while wearing different purses on her shoulder, and looking through Yukiko's jewellery. I played with a ball with her for a short while but she quickly lost interest in that. The first time I met her, during the summer, she spent much more time playing ball with me. Perhaps I'm just boring?

Tonight I'm headed out with Owen for a beer. Owen is my best friend from Canada's cousin. When I was a university student I would often go to his house for Sunday dinners. His family always treated me great so I'll probably buy him a beer or two tonight. I also coached his highschool volleyball team (assistant coach to be precise) but haven't seen him since last year at Neil and Rachel's wedding. If he's grown any taller in the meantime I don't know anywhere that'll fit him.

All of my winter holidays are set and ready to go. On Tuesday my friend Craig and I are going skiing in Hokkaido for 4 days. We're staying at a really nice resort called Rusutsu Resort. It's even got a wave pool. Nice. Then over New Year's Yukiko and I are going to Okinawa where hopefully we'll be able to do a little diving. So I'll be hitting both the northenmost and southernmost spots in Japan in a 2 week span. Should be great.

All done!!

Sorry for the lack of updates for the last month. I've been pretty busy but now I've got nothing but free time to write about it. Hopefully I can remember the significant stuff that's happened.
First of all Yukiko and I went to a Thanksgiving Day dinner with some friends. Most of the others were teachers from Kwansei Gakuin University and its attached senior/junior highschools. Thanks to my friend Dan for inviting us. The great dinner was hosted by Dan's (and now hopefully our) friends Kelsye & Matt. The food was great and we got to meet a lot of new people. Yukiko made a wonderful vegetarian lasagna which I really enjoyed, and she got to dig into some traditional Thanksgiving turkey with the others. There was one girl at the party named Kiomye that I hadn't met before. She was a little shy at first but after a little while she was really all over me. She even surprised me by giving me a kiss on the lips before I left. Nice to know I still got IT. Did I mention she was only 2?
School finished up for the year and it was pretty interesting. There were a couple of exchange students from Singapore for a few weeks and they were very shocked to see: 1) how low the English level was at an 'International School' in Japan and 2) how poorly behaved the students were. I told them that's how I felt when I first arrived at the school. I was also reacquainted with just how lazy some of the students are. My 3rd year students (the seniors) were given a speech presentation project in their last 3 weeks. I wanted to make a speech contest but the other teacher I work with convinced me it would be too difficult and too much pressure for them. He had a point, as a few of them have absolutely no, zip, zero English ability after studying in the international program for 3 years (not too mention 3 years of jr high English). So to make things real easy for them we decided to make it a 50 word speech. Now that's about 5 sentences. So we explained the project to them and told them that they had 1 week to complete the opening sentence of their speech, "In the future I want to..." They could finish the sentence any way they wanted. I want to:

go to...
study...
be...
do...
etc, you get the idea.

This would become the theme of their speech. Pretty easy homework given that they had 1 week to do it I figured. Well I figured wrong, 0/16 kids did it. So when we started writing the speech in class the next week it took 10-15 minutes to go around and 'pester' the students to come up with a first sentence. So at this pace you may wonder if they could finish even 50 words in 50 minutes of class. Well no they couldn't. Well, 2 students did and my hat is off to them. Now before you think that I'm making fun of my students just because they have a very low English level I should mention that, while my students do have a low English level, they spend most of their time in class using mobile phones, reading comic books, sleeping, drawing on their desks, etc. So don't have too much pity for them. And I wasn't expecting them to come up with anything mind blowingly literate. We had practiced the future tense in class many times and this shouldn't have been difficult at all for them. Some kids decided to write their speeches in Japanese first and then translate it afterwards. While I tried to tell them this method would take twice the time and encouraged them to translate in their heads as they were writing they wouldn't hear any of it, not least because of the headphones they were wearing. However most students couldn't even come up with 50 word essays in Japanese. So while one may understand their difficulties in English, what does this have to say about their Japanese skills? As only a few students finished their speeches we decided to give them another class to work on their speeches. When I looked at the (Japanese) speeches that were written in the other class (we have to collect their papers at the end of every class as they are physically unable to keep anything from 1 class to the next) I realized that the students had no idea what a speech should be like. Even in Japanese they were awful. One student's essay went something like this:

In the future I want to: be a baseball player, go to Italy, study business, marry a beautiful woman, be rich, drive a nice car, and so and so on.

Not so much a speech as a grocery list. So I asked the other teacher to explain a little bit to his class what a speech was. As it was only to be 50 words it shouldn't be too complicated. Just talk about the theme. When do they want to do it, how are they going to do it, why do they want to do it?
Unfortunately I was sick for the next class and asked the other teacher to take both groups himself. When I came back I was surprised to learn that many of the students still had not finished! So we gave them a 3rd and final class to finish. Apart from 2 kids, who had to finish them after school, they all did it. So the hard part was over I thought. Boy was I wrong. The students were then told that they had 1 week to memorize their speeches. The chorus of cries of 無理！無理！ was nearly deafening. I expected this though and reassured them that if they memorized only 7 or 8 words a day they would be able to do it. The students nodded as if to say that this minimal amount of homework may just fit within their busy schedules. We also explained that besides memorizing their speeches they would also be marked on pronunciation and posture. They didn't know what 'posture' meant so I demonstrated what was good posture and what was bad posture. In fact they should have known this because we had practiced public speaking a few weeks before and I talked to each of them about their posture. Fast forward to a week later and what do you know but only 2 students had memorized their speeches. One student was even gutsy enough to give me this excuse "I didn't have time to memorize it because I went fishing yesterday." For me this merely begged 2 questions: why couldn't you memorize it during the 6 previous days? or if you hadn't memorized it yet why did you go fishing?
Because 88% of the students hadn't memorized their speeches we told them that they could simply read their essays but forfeit half their possible points. Then, to lift themselves up to even greater heights, 6 or 7 of the students were unable to even read their essays because they no longer had them. Sometime during the week they had lost them, thrown them out or folded them into fishing lures. Luckily we had copies of their essays, in order to see how well they'd memorized their speeches, so we could make copies of their essays for them to read to us. It was a nice way to finish off their last class. The 3rd year students have no classes from January and effectively graduate in December. I'd been hoping to have a fun/party style class to finish off with but all the delays during the speech writing process destroyed that plan. I was also hoping to not have to ask them to not use their mobile phones during our last class when other students were in the midst of making/reading speeches but alas this too was but a dream.

Pretty in Pictures

Pictures of my 2 favourite babies and their support units:

Cat got your tongues?

Nope, there it is.

Keiko and Yuka are doing well. Strange to think that Yuka's 1st birthday is coming up.

In other news, my brother was one of the first in line to register for a gay marriage in Ohio.
Just kidding. Actually he just got his American citizenship. Congratulations and my condolences. Sorry, my Canadian instinct raised its ugly tuque.

Rob and Ann and little John seem to be doing very well. It'll be nice to see them all again this summer.

"I vow to celebrate Thanksgiving in November and only in November."

The picture hungry judge just wouldn't leave them alone.