Listening is Key
Today a student came in to the teacher's room visibly injured.
I witnessed the pandemonium and hoped for the worst.
And I was not dissapointed, it turns out a giant raven took a nip out of his wrist.
Killer crows! Somebody call NHK. Baby bears have been trumped.
But....
Actually I misunderstood the vocab.
My ears: "ca-la-su" (Japanese raven)
Their mouths: "ga-la-su" ( Glass)
So...
The student fell onto a piece of glass...
I thought the contrast is pretty interesting: inert glass pane and agile, sharp-beaked raven with a bloddlust for middle school wristmeat.
Thursday, October 28, 2004
Tuesday, October 26, 2004
| An update: The total number of servicepeople killed in the "war" has topped 1250. |
http://www.newdepression.com/onethousandcoffins/
So many tragic deaths...
Ways to say "I'm going to work"
1. Off to the salt mines
2. Let's cubicle
3. Descend into a fiery hell
4. Time to visit the #$%&$-ers I'm forced to tolerate eight hours a day
5. The place I'd rather not be
6. Well, I get to avoid my wife and kids, so all is not lost
7. Plug in the game of paper-shuffling
8. Step into the world of two-legged ants
9. Win the bread
10. Pick up some free (insert your company's product here)
Favorite teacher's room behaviors
1. Hocking a greenie (usually at lunchtime)
2. Clipping toenails into the sink
3. Smoking (Thankfully they have a smoker's den for that)
4. Scuffing feet.
5. Listening to very boring speeches by the Principal
6. Spending 12 hours a day in the school
7. Talking across each other, rather than getting up and walking to the others' desk
An impasse
.....................
In my ongoing struggle against sameness I have found myself all tied up in knots. Knots comprised primarily of frustration. My big idea for "culture day" was nay-sayed due to my goal of collecting a donation to better the lives of poor people. The donation would have been 50 yen each, or about 45 American cents.
Remember that amount of yen wont buy you any kind of useful item. But multiply that by hundreds of upper-middle class students and some genuine capital could be generated. The funds would have gone to buy cement bricks, plywood and plumbing supplies for hard working, yet impoverished Malaysian Borneans. I am using my precious 10 days of holiday to volunteer. The activity was like a copy of jeopardy! But using hint cards and colored flags to put the world map into relative perspective for my students.
The reason given for the rejection of my plan was that giving money is against the rules. Well my employer dislike change and the powers that hanko (Japanese name seals) have not used the chance to teach philanthropy to the students. With the buzzword in Japan being internationalization, they have far to go to actually follow through in a genuine way.
I just hope my school reconsiders. By not liking or using my ideas at such events and in class, aren't they just future marginalizing my purpose for being here? Japan is after all the richest country on the planet, but surely not among the most generous, worldly or flexible.
Part of a language is having the cultural background to teach it properly. Japan's Ministry of Education needs to take a long, hard and focused look at that; otherwise it is just going to be business as usual. The method of accentuating differences between Japanese and non-Japanese and the practice of hiring English teachers who can only speak Textbook should end.
If you want to be inflexible and fundamentally against making compromises, Washington is hiring.
.....................
In my ongoing struggle against sameness I have found myself all tied up in knots. Knots comprised primarily of frustration. My big idea for "culture day" was nay-sayed due to my goal of collecting a donation to better the lives of poor people. The donation would have been 50 yen each, or about 45 American cents.
Remember that amount of yen wont buy you any kind of useful item. But multiply that by hundreds of upper-middle class students and some genuine capital could be generated. The funds would have gone to buy cement bricks, plywood and plumbing supplies for hard working, yet impoverished Malaysian Borneans. I am using my precious 10 days of holiday to volunteer. The activity was like a copy of jeopardy! But using hint cards and colored flags to put the world map into relative perspective for my students.
The reason given for the rejection of my plan was that giving money is against the rules. Well my employer dislike change and the powers that hanko (Japanese name seals) have not used the chance to teach philanthropy to the students. With the buzzword in Japan being internationalization, they have far to go to actually follow through in a genuine way.
I just hope my school reconsiders. By not liking or using my ideas at such events and in class, aren't they just future marginalizing my purpose for being here? Japan is after all the richest country on the planet, but surely not among the most generous, worldly or flexible.
Part of a language is having the cultural background to teach it properly. Japan's Ministry of Education needs to take a long, hard and focused look at that; otherwise it is just going to be business as usual. The method of accentuating differences between Japanese and non-Japanese and the practice of hiring English teachers who can only speak Textbook should end.
If you want to be inflexible and fundamentally against making compromises, Washington is hiring.
Tuesday, October 19, 2004
Auf deutsch, bitte...
Das ist mein erste Blog auf Deutsch. Entshuldigung, meine Damen and Herrn. Ich kann deutsch gut gescreiben. Ja,...
Guten tag! ich heiBe Ryan Parker. Ich bin ein Lehrer von Englisch. Wer ist Parker? Das bin ich. Ich wohne in Japan.
Mein Teleofonnummer ist 011-81-90-1960-5521. Ruf mir an, bitte schon!
Mein Postleitzahl ist 658-0053. Mein Haus Addresse ist: Kobe Higashinadaku sumiyoshiyamate 5-8-8.
Ich komme aus Amerika, aus Portland. Ich bin verheiratet und habe kein Kinder. ich spreche nur einige Deutsch, aber Ich habe fur drei jahre an der Universitat studerien.
Mein Geburtstag ist am Dezember 28, 1976.
Vielen Dank,
Herr Parker
Das ist mein erste Blog auf Deutsch. Entshuldigung, meine Damen and Herrn. Ich kann deutsch gut gescreiben. Ja,...
Guten tag! ich heiBe Ryan Parker. Ich bin ein Lehrer von Englisch. Wer ist Parker? Das bin ich. Ich wohne in Japan.
Mein Teleofonnummer ist 011-81-90-1960-5521. Ruf mir an, bitte schon!
Mein Postleitzahl ist 658-0053. Mein Haus Addresse ist: Kobe Higashinadaku sumiyoshiyamate 5-8-8.
Ich komme aus Amerika, aus Portland. Ich bin verheiratet und habe kein Kinder. ich spreche nur einige Deutsch, aber Ich habe fur drei jahre an der Universitat studerien.
Mein Geburtstag ist am Dezember 28, 1976.
Vielen Dank,
Herr Parker
Pride (And fatness)
I am not a church-goer. I am not really that in touch with the spiritual world. But, i do tend to agree with many of the values that religous groups support. One is the idea of too much pride being bad. I just was reading what my SA pal had written about his students bragging about various acts of indescretion that might just be considered a Class C felony back in the lower 48. Anywho, the point that entered my mind is how many situations pride causes one trouble. So let's take a closer nonpartisian look at the negatives of prideful excesses.
1. Boasting about skills you don't have. We are all guilty of this, it is called "dating."
2. Pride in relation to doing harm to others. Such as: "Wow, I just scammed a bunch of senior citizens by crafting their dentures out of recycled asbestos!"
3. Pride in being a lazy nothing
4. Pride relating to obsesity. See these "Fat and Proud" links...
http://www.geocities.com/SouthBeach/Strand/4683/rnghm.html
Monday, October 18, 2004
Girls, be tiny!
Me and the Mrs. stumbled upon the underground (literally) doll curio shop in Kobe. For sale are doll parts of all sizes and busts. The idea is to buy a doll to your preferences, and then paint it up to suit your own tastes. We visited several and decided the dolls fall into one of these broad categories:
1. Proper Barbies
2. Busty types fashioned as either: cheerleeder, preteen nympho or lesbian.
Doling further into the world of Otaku (japanese concept of self-isolation and lack of meaningful interaction with humans) we visited an etchi (dirty) comics shop to catch up on what Snoopy and Garfield have been up to.
imagine our surprise when we found all the comics were sealed and of the eeeewww and yuuucky persusaion. The shoppers parusing were all about low-20's and male, and some gave off a Dhamer-esque vibe. Now I am a certified nerd, so not being judgemental here but this place was scary with a capital YIKES!
Our favorite finds of these comic books and DVD's included:
1. High school cheerleader and eager pooch. (Probably a few laws being broken here...)
2. Best friends share their maleness while on a dirtbike. (uhhh....)
The area we went was on the 2nd floor of Sannomiya's CenterGai.
thanks, but a solid-steel NO THANKS!!!
Me and the Mrs. stumbled upon the underground (literally) doll curio shop in Kobe. For sale are doll parts of all sizes and busts. The idea is to buy a doll to your preferences, and then paint it up to suit your own tastes. We visited several and decided the dolls fall into one of these broad categories:
1. Proper Barbies
2. Busty types fashioned as either: cheerleeder, preteen nympho or lesbian.
Doling further into the world of Otaku (japanese concept of self-isolation and lack of meaningful interaction with humans) we visited an etchi (dirty) comics shop to catch up on what Snoopy and Garfield have been up to.
imagine our surprise when we found all the comics were sealed and of the eeeewww and yuuucky persusaion. The shoppers parusing were all about low-20's and male, and some gave off a Dhamer-esque vibe. Now I am a certified nerd, so not being judgemental here but this place was scary with a capital YIKES!
Our favorite finds of these comic books and DVD's included:
1. High school cheerleader and eager pooch. (Probably a few laws being broken here...)
2. Best friends share their maleness while on a dirtbike. (uhhh....)
The area we went was on the 2nd floor of Sannomiya's CenterGai.
thanks, but a solid-steel NO THANKS!!!
Friday, October 15, 2004
Drones to your hive!
I read the transcript of the third presidential debate. I have to say Kerry's body language was certainly more positive. Bush seems to act annoyed, this caters to the arrogance (and confidence in himself) about him that so many God-fearing TV-believing American voters love him for. Before I lived abroad I never realized how unbalanced the media in the US is and how much propaganda the cable news channels crank out. I am not saying I am ashamed of the place; just the opposite. The potential for a fair, equal political system is just boiling over, but those with the ability are struggling mightily to keep the lid upon such efforts. If everyone shot up their TV's then control would be near impossible to maintain.
I am mixed in my feelings in this election year. Why don't self-made successes enter politics? Probably they aren't interested in the same old, tired games and dead horse issues that people have been taught to think (by having the issues emotionalized) are important. Its a wonderful nation with so many warm-hearted people. Those voices aren't being heard, and that is really something that needs to be addressed. November 2 is a monumentally important election, for trust in the government and rekindling the flame of international cooperation and stability.
Inane Cellophane
Packaging is sometimes excessive. Remember Christmas morning? A box within a box covered by wrap, ribbons and a cellotape bow? Showy products I suppose are a better impulse buy than their plainer cousins, but at what cost?
Japan is the king of individually wrapped snack. You can buy a bag of 200 cookies the size of American quarters, all in their own Ryan-proof wrapper. So what you end up with is a mound of these completely unrecyclable bits o' refuse and a furrowed brow. Now before you accuse me of being an environmentalist fundamentalist terrorist exhibitionist, I will admit that it is unreal to expect everything to be recycled. But how about 20-30 percent? That's a pretty good goal, no?
Here are some highlights of individually wrapped things I have found around the globe (but mostly in Japan and Costscos in the US, Korea and Japan):
Individually wrapped sunflower seeds (3-5 seeds per package)
individually wrapped chocolate covered raisins (5 raisins per package)
Individually wrapped cookies (mentioned above)
Individually wrapped breath mints and chicklets of gum
Individually wrapped Chocolates. (the box was sold in a thick vinyl bag and shrink-wrapped.
All that plastic thrown into the bin is incinerated and released for we humans to breathe in. Now that's progress!
Wednesday, October 13, 2004
A hot and steaming colony of grease....
What lacks at the Japanese versions of the following chain shops:
KFC: mashed potatoes and gravy. That's the only thing I liked from the place to begin with.
Dairy Queen: Dairy Queen (exception is Thailand and the Seoul International Airport)
7-11: Slurpees, nachos, wayward teenage punks and armed robbery suspects. The concept of the 52-ounce Supertanker fountain drink has also not caught on outside the US.
Dunkin Donuts: fresh-baked donuts. At DD in Korea, the donuts are okay but are centrally baked. This has the affect of making the donuts taste like ass. Not all is lost, however as they sell Kern's fruit nectar.
McDonalds: Fatty Americans suing you for making them (allegedly) eat to sickly excess.
Denny's: Everything except French toast and the giant yellow sign. That is pretty much the same.
What lacks at the Japanese versions of the following chain shops:
KFC: mashed potatoes and gravy. That's the only thing I liked from the place to begin with.
Dairy Queen: Dairy Queen (exception is Thailand and the Seoul International Airport)
7-11: Slurpees, nachos, wayward teenage punks and armed robbery suspects. The concept of the 52-ounce Supertanker fountain drink has also not caught on outside the US.
Dunkin Donuts: fresh-baked donuts. At DD in Korea, the donuts are okay but are centrally baked. This has the affect of making the donuts taste like ass. Not all is lost, however as they sell Kern's fruit nectar.
McDonalds: Fatty Americans suing you for making them (allegedly) eat to sickly excess.
Denny's: Everything except French toast and the giant yellow sign. That is pretty much the same.
The Ministry of Patriots...(and Veterans Affairs)
In South Korea they are post heinously honoring a Japanese lawyer who tried to assist Koreans during the Japanese occupation of Korea.
Now how about that... The Ministry of PATRIOTS? Good for them.
If only the US would properly look after and fund its own veterans. I used to work within a hospital complex housing the veterans hospital and hospice, and it was a place full of gloom, blank faces, lives shattered and the smell hospitals tend to have.
Vietnam's agent orange afflictions, Desert Storm's gulf war syndrome...What will be next?
Thank god we are ruled (well, for about 20 days more, anyway...) by Mr. Dick Cheney, proud recipient of 4 Vietnam service deferments, and GWB, Texas ANG deserter.
In South Korea they are post heinously honoring a Japanese lawyer who tried to assist Koreans during the Japanese occupation of Korea.
Now how about that... The Ministry of PATRIOTS? Good for them.
If only the US would properly look after and fund its own veterans. I used to work within a hospital complex housing the veterans hospital and hospice, and it was a place full of gloom, blank faces, lives shattered and the smell hospitals tend to have.
Vietnam's agent orange afflictions, Desert Storm's gulf war syndrome...What will be next?
Thank god we are ruled (well, for about 20 days more, anyway...) by Mr. Dick Cheney, proud recipient of 4 Vietnam service deferments, and GWB, Texas ANG deserter.
Tuesday, October 12, 2004
Veggies of Japanese ilk
Having fine conversation with chums yesters I realized how many things I eat now living off US soil that I would never have thrown to the stomach acid wolves prior to John Denvering it to Korea back in 2001. The following veggies are what I have become partial to:
Gobo, burdock root: This root (the name gave it away) is crisp and earthy-tasting. It goes well stir-fried with sesame oil and carrot shreds.
Goya, Okinawan cucumber: A dark green cucumber laden with warty ridges and valleys, this food totes a megawatt or two of your RDA's, with a sour, crispy taste to boot. Sneak this one into any wok-based stirfry and surprise those dinner guests.
Kuzu, pulverized kudzu root: Kudzu, the vine-based castaway from Japan, has pretty much taken over the entire southeastern US where nothing is keen to eat the stuff. So the kuzu root is mashed and then made into something like mashed potatoes.
Lenkon, lotus flower root: Resembling water chestnuts on crack with holes drilled in them, lenkon is probably the first Japanese vegetable I fell in love with. Slice, pan-sear and coat with a skosh of chili oil and you have found a weapon to keep in your culinary arsenal.
Having fine conversation with chums yesters I realized how many things I eat now living off US soil that I would never have thrown to the stomach acid wolves prior to John Denvering it to Korea back in 2001. The following veggies are what I have become partial to:
Gobo, burdock root: This root (the name gave it away) is crisp and earthy-tasting. It goes well stir-fried with sesame oil and carrot shreds.
Goya, Okinawan cucumber: A dark green cucumber laden with warty ridges and valleys, this food totes a megawatt or two of your RDA's, with a sour, crispy taste to boot. Sneak this one into any wok-based stirfry and surprise those dinner guests.
Kuzu, pulverized kudzu root: Kudzu, the vine-based castaway from Japan, has pretty much taken over the entire southeastern US where nothing is keen to eat the stuff. So the kuzu root is mashed and then made into something like mashed potatoes.
Lenkon, lotus flower root: Resembling water chestnuts on crack with holes drilled in them, lenkon is probably the first Japanese vegetable I fell in love with. Slice, pan-sear and coat with a skosh of chili oil and you have found a weapon to keep in your culinary arsenal.
Smoke Em if you got Em:
I am about as anti-tobacco as they come, but the phrase describes the following situation almost perfectly.
I have always been to told to tone down my sarcasm and dry wit, that it would be my undoing and cause doors to slam shut in my face as I stumble miserably toward the inevitable gates of Hell.
Then, yours truly found a book that changed all that: It is called Ten Little Indians, by my favorite author and bone fida Native American, Sherman Alexie. He possesses these two qualities to great excess, while at the same time being a wonderful storyteller.
Inspiration? Perhaps. An "I told you so!" to all doubters I have crossed paths with? Most certainly...
BTW this book can be found at www.powells.com. Have a looky-doodle as that site blows the lid off what one expects from an internet-savvy independent bookseller.
I am about as anti-tobacco as they come, but the phrase describes the following situation almost perfectly.
I have always been to told to tone down my sarcasm and dry wit, that it would be my undoing and cause doors to slam shut in my face as I stumble miserably toward the inevitable gates of Hell.
Then, yours truly found a book that changed all that: It is called Ten Little Indians, by my favorite author and bone fida Native American, Sherman Alexie. He possesses these two qualities to great excess, while at the same time being a wonderful storyteller.
Inspiration? Perhaps. An "I told you so!" to all doubters I have crossed paths with? Most certainly...
BTW this book can be found at www.powells.com. Have a looky-doodle as that site blows the lid off what one expects from an internet-savvy independent bookseller.
Monday, October 04, 2004
I went to a chestnut farm.
The tourists are required to pick the chestnuts.
Thus, one must buy the chestnuts they have picked themselves, for no wage, from the farmers.
Never has there been such a great example of limiting labor overhead as this, at the kuli (chestnut) farm in Sasaeyama, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan...
The tourists are required to pick the chestnuts.
Thus, one must buy the chestnuts they have picked themselves, for no wage, from the farmers.
Never has there been such a great example of limiting labor overhead as this, at the kuli (chestnut) farm in Sasaeyama, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan...
POWERFUL POETRY, ALBEIT TACTLESS
The poem from page 38 of Ten Little Indians by Sherman Alexie, one of my favorite authors, and a Spokane native (quite literally).
The poem from page 38 of Ten Little Indians by Sherman Alexie, one of my favorite authors, and a Spokane native (quite literally).
Poverty
When you're poor and hungry
And you love your dog
You share your food with him
There is no love like this
when you're poor and hungry
And your dog gets sick
You can't afford to take him
To the veterinarian
You can't afford to put him gently to sleep
So your uncle comes over for free
And shoots your dog twice in the head
And buries him in the town dump.
Bob Dylan Visits Work:
Today I witnessed students learning Bob Dylan lyrics from "Blowin in the Wind."
How many r's and l's will we murder until we realize our accents are crap?
How much industrial waste will we dump until all the fish grow a third eye?
How many sheets of paper will it take until my coworker's desk spontaniously combusts?
........................
I saw Dylan live once, at my Uni's old ivy-infested gymnasium back in 98. he was wearing his back trenchcoat, and looked gonged. Par for the course, I suppose. The slightly more than pleasantly plump Van Morrison was also there, but he sorta mumbled having had a few boxes of franzia before the set. He was rolled offstage by some struggling-looking roadies after the show. My conclusion? I paid 57.50 too much for that ticket!!!
Today I witnessed students learning Bob Dylan lyrics from "Blowin in the Wind."
How many r's and l's will we murder until we realize our accents are crap?
How much industrial waste will we dump until all the fish grow a third eye?
How many sheets of paper will it take until my coworker's desk spontaniously combusts?
........................
I saw Dylan live once, at my Uni's old ivy-infested gymnasium back in 98. he was wearing his back trenchcoat, and looked gonged. Par for the course, I suppose. The slightly more than pleasantly plump Van Morrison was also there, but he sorta mumbled having had a few boxes of franzia before the set. He was rolled offstage by some struggling-looking roadies after the show. My conclusion? I paid 57.50 too much for that ticket!!!