June 10-14 (Sat-Fri) - Maigo no Maiyuge

Saturday: My little-kids class was going well... but I made the littlest kid cry because I paired her with the other girl, who knows everything, so she kept losing. Awww!! But then I had them color and they liked that.

I’m torn regarding my two other classes. The first one is rather a disaster, because the boy never sits still or pays attention so we can’t get anything done. But I love the second class. So I hate and like Saturdays.

This evening was fun. Hugh, Mako, Kaori, and I drove to the beach, we didn’t have time to go get wood for a bonfire (so prison will have to wait) but we ate snacks, played music, threw rocks at a stick until Hugh hit it and it fell over then we threw rocks at a can. I waded in the water, and when Kaori found a starfish I picked it up, causing the girls to cry out, and Hugh took pictures. Then Hugh and I played with hermit crabs. Then Hugh proclaimed me Maizilla, a hero and savior of Japan who warded away the attacking starfish (and crabs). 

On the drive back we decided, when in this group, to talk only in Japanese from this point on — even ‘katakana’ Japanese is out of bounds (things like mainasu, ruuru, rizumu), which is almost impossible! But we shall prevail. Then Kaori pointed out Hugh’s and my names are ‘katakana’ so we need Japanese names, and she insisted I would be either Mai-yuge (eyebrow) or Mai-go (lost) — causing Mako to go into an endless fit of laughter and keep saying ‘why maiyuge or maigo?’. I thought Maiko was better, but relented and said I could be Maigo no Maiyuge.

There was also an incident regarding a chimpanzee. And another with a giraffe. 

Sunday: Kaori and I walked to the flea market held at a nearby temple. Interesting. Lots of old things, most of it rather expensive (like 500¥ for a tiny old rusty key). But fun. Why didn’t I get any pictures?

Next we made lunch and chatted, then practiced the Cha-Cha with help from YouTube videos. We’ve decided not to attend the classes for a while, since they are preparing for their performance they don’t focus much on us beginners. After the performance (in July) we would like to again attend weekly.

Monday: I spent most of the day doing trip research. Then planning classes.

Tuesday: School classes went fairly well, and evening classes were fun too. Tuesdays are pretty good.

Wednesday: Itou Elementary 5th-grade was fun! We’ve been stuck on lessons 1 & 2 for too long (the kids got it, really), so finally moving to lesson 3 was lovely. I learned janken in other languages.

A note on games in Japan.

Japanese kids are crazy for Bingo (seriously, they don’t get bored, I have no idea why) and Jankenpon — Rock Paper Scissors. Except when we teach them, we have to teach rock, scissor, paper, go! (I try to get them to say ‘scissorS’ at least, but if they’ve been taught before, they don’t notice the difference). 

The sequences is this.

Saisho wa gun —first is rock:

jan ken hoi! — rock scissors hoy!

aiko deshou? — it’s a draw right? [if it’s a tie] 

In French, it’s pierre feuille ciseaux.

In Korean, kawi bawi bo!!!

Of course, the textbook media said the American version was “rock scissors paper 1-2-3”, which is totally wrong, so who knows.

For grade 6, the lesson was ok, but during our meeting beforehand I suggested a game — and we played it, and it was a success. (Credit to Nathan for all his years of game knowledge, and to Hugh who made special cards that he lent me.)

The game is Shichi Narabe (line up the 7s), which we played with months (since there are 12). Deal out all cards, put the 7s (Julys) in the middle, then take turns putting down 1 card, played to the left or right (number ascending or descending) in the line of the matching suit (or, color). 

To top off my victories, in my troublesome (sometimes not so troublesome yet always troublesome) class, the game I picked got both the quiet girl and the unhappy don’t-wanna-be-here boy involved and having fun and — answering my questions in English wO^Ow

Thursday: This day was exciting. Nursery classes went well, school class 1 did not (one girl cried and I was close to following), school class 2 was fun (I think the teacher makes all the difference, honestly), then I had the private class at the Miwa household. This was fun. First, they weren’t ready for me yet, so Mrs. Miwa asked me to wait. I commented on the 3 kotos leaning up in the entry room and asked if she played, she got rather excited and said yes, she does, would I like to try it?

!!!

So she pulled one down and set me up to play with it while she went to pick up her son from school. 

Cool! 

You can move the white 人 to tune the instrument (she had me do that for a couple), then you only play to the right of them. It's played with 'tsume' or nails on the otousan yubi (thumb), okaasan to oniisan yubi (she let me try with the tsume too).

After the English lesson, I sat and chatted a while, and then she asked if I would like to take lessons from her. I accepted. She seemed really excited. She’s played for 7 years, she started learning with her daughter, and her son (one of my students) even plays.

On the way home, I snapped a picture of these sunset clouds.

I hurried home for no reason ‘cause I wasn’t needed for dictation. So I whiled away the hour and a half lesson-planning, then went with Casey and Nathan for sushi.

Friday: To top it off, the mother of the other 2 kids I teach on Thursdays brought me bread. She works at a panya (bread shop). So I had a lovely breakfast.
Doesn’t this look good?

Isn’t this cute? (It was filled with an apple jam.)

At Miyazaki (school) I have made a friend. Her name is Hana and she is a 3rd-year (one of Hugh’s students). She loves me, for whatever reason. Here we are, she is teaching me a clapping game. I got the clap down but have no idea what the words are.

That ends the good parts of the day.

Then we had our meeting, and I had to give a demo business-class lesson. I dreaded it thoroughly, because I have no idea what I’m supposed to be doing. Even knowing what I am supposed to be doing. I am not qualified to teach this class. But the demo lesson didn’t kill me (thought it was close), everyone was nice and gave me good advice. (It was more of a ‘how should I teach this?’ session than a demo lesson, as, you may imagine, the other teachers don’t need to learn English from me.)

Plus, this business class is on Wednesdays, which means I can’t go to Itou Elementary when the schedule conflicts. Yuka’s boyfriend, Ralph, will take over on those days. Supreme sadface, as those are my favorite classes.

I played dulcimer-not-mandolin-but-dulcimer for a while, then in the evening Kaori and I went to Fukui to pick up tickets from the dance teacher, but not to dance, and then to check on a Hawaiian 'cafe' we’d seen before and been wanting to try. (It’s not a cafe. It’s a bar and restaurant. If I can be so generous.)
I got this coffee ’smoothie’ (iced coffee with something that I think was ice cream)

and it was pretty good. Kaori tried the ‘honey toast’ which was thick toast — which they managed to burn — topped with ice cream, honey, and chocolate syrup. Not bad.
However, Kaori’s coffee ole was, uh, barely coffee, and surely not ole. And my garlic ‘chicken’ was garlic-paste cabbage-ends with chicken gristle. It was so horrible we couldn’t stop laughing almost the entire time.

Yatte koukai shita hou ga yaranai de koukai suru yori ii.
It is better to regret for doing than to regret for having not done. (Japanese saying.)

Thus Something and Nothing produce each other;
The difficult and the easy complement each other;
The long and the short off-set each other;
The high and the low incline towards each other;
Note and sound harmonize with each other;
Before and after follow each other.
- Lao Tzu -

In other words, you can’t have lightness without darkness, you can’t have happiness without sorrow, and you can’t have good food without bad food.

Thus we drove home contemplating this deep wisdom while under the light of the yellowing crescent moon.

Recent 日本語:
shigaikyokuban = area code number
hitode = starfish
yadokari = hermit crab (lit. house renter)
suiheisen (水平線) = horizon
hodou = sidewalk
oudanhodou = crosswalk
kisoku = rules, regulations (not to be confused with kizoku, noble/aristocrat)
ochiranai you ni kiotsukete kudasai = be careful you don’t fall
italia e iketarra ii na = I hope to go to Italy (in the future)
heikouteki (並行的) = parallel
taishouteki (対称的) = symmetrical
hitaishouteki (非対称的) = asymmetrical
kumo no su = spider web
hachi no su = beehive
tori no su = bird nest
thumb = otousan yubi (lit. father finger). More commonly oyayubi (parent finger).
pointer finger = okaasan yubi (lit. mother finger). More commonly hitosashi yubi (person-pointer finger).
middle finger = oniisan yubi (lit. older brother finger). More commonly naka yubi (middle finger).
ring finger = oneesan yubi (lit. older sister finger). More commonly kusuri yubi (medicine finger).
pinkie = akachan yubi (lit. baby finger). More commonly koyubi (little finger).
meisou = meditation
yatte minai to [wakaranai] = you won’t know unless you try
mikadzuki = crescent moon
mangetsu = full moon