Partying with the Sensei

The sensei, teachers, must celebrate the end of the trimester with a drunken party. They simply must. While not everyone gets drunk, there is certainly more alcohol than food consumed in the course of the night as a whole. The food usually consists of a set meal of many courses, not unlike what you would get at a Japanese inn, and preferably an all-you-can drink menu of some sort.

I was kindly invited to one of my elementary school’s start of summer parties, and had a wild time followed by karaoke. On Tuesday, I was invited to both of my junior high school parties and managed to make them both thanks to one starting earlier than the other. I started out with Minami-chu, where I got to see many of the teachers in jeans and a little sloshed for the first time. Then I went to Kita-chu’s party nearby and drank with them for about an hour before going off to karaoke with the younger crowd among the teachers. We sang for about two hours and had a rockin’ time.






The school parties have been a huge boost to my self-esteem, though not all compliments are entirely deserved. In addition to praise for my farewell speech, I’ve gotten tons of compliments on my Japanese ability, English ability, teaching ability, and understanding of Japanese culture. Japanese people being kind and complimentary in general, I’ve heard this before and responded with the usual denial and self-deprecation which is both expected and oddly liberating.

However, several male teachers, in varying states of drunkenness, have also told me, “I love you!” during the past week, and I haven’t known quite how to react to that statement! Of course, none of these are confessions of secret emotions; it’s either that the teacher wants to exaggerate with a taste of American effusiveness, or just that he doesn’t know any other way to compliment me in English. Nonetheless, it’s cute, and my response of smiling, laughing, or putting my hand to my mouth as if surprised or embarrassed has seemed to be appropriate.

Teachers in Japan work incredibly hard and have a ton of responsibilities in addition to teaching, and though I find some of these burdens and expectations unfair, I’ve come to have profound respect for these teachers and what they do. As hard as they work, however, they can play just about as hard, and still come into work the next morning!

Farewell Address

My time here in Kawanoe is coming to an end, and there’s no better indication of that than the fact that I’m done teaching and saying goodbye to my students. I started my goodbyes with the elementary schools, but as this trimester ends, I’ve finally said goodbye to the junior high school students, too.

I gave the following farewell address at both of my junior high schools this week. Let me know what you think! I gave it mostly in Japanese, but I’ve added English translations in brackets between the paragraphs for the reading pleasure of all. I hope it’s pleasing...


Good Morning! How are you?

Next month, I will go back to America. I’m sad to leave Kawanoe. But I’ve enjoyed studying English, playing games, and talking with you this year. I’m happy to have made many great memories with you.

分かりましたか。なんとなく？全然？全部分からなくても聞くことは大切です。途中であきらめると分からないのは当然ですね。だからあきらめるのはあかんよ！

(Did you understand? Mostly? Not at all? Even if you don’t understand everything, it’s still important to listen. If you give up in the middle, it’s only natural that you don’t understand. Therefore giving up is not allowed!)

違う言語を勉強するのは難しいことです。特に勉強し始めの時、間違えはたくさんありますよ。私が日本に来たばかりの時、ラーメン屋さんに入って、”キムチ”の代わりに”気持ち”をつけてくださいと言ってしまいました。店員さんがちょっと笑いましたがラーメンはとってもおいしかったのでキムチと気持ちを両方つけてくれたのかもしれません。恥ずかしかったけどその後は一回も同じ間違いを繰り替えしませんでした。

(Learning another language is difficult. You make a lot of mistakes, especially when you start out. When I had just come to Japan, I went to a ramen shop and instead of kimchi, I asked them to put kimochi, feeling, on the ramen. The waitress smiled a little, but the ramen was really good, so maybe she put both kimchi and kimochi on it! I was embarrassed, but I never made the same mistake again.)

私が日本語の勉強を初めてから七年間になりますがまだ時々間違えます。でも間違えは失敗と同じではないと思います。実は間違いは勉強になりますよ。とくに話す時は宿題や試験と違って間違ったら相手が教えてくれるチャンスもあります。会話をしないと上手になりません。自分が恥ずかしがり屋でも挨拶と簡単な会話は必ずできます。新しい先生が学校にいらっしゃる時、英語で暖かい挨拶をしてください。

(It’s been seven years since I started studying Japanese, and I still make mistakes sometimes. But I don’t think that mistakes are the same as failures. In reality, mistakes are learning experiences. In particular, speaking, more than tests or homework, gives you the chance to be corrected by the person you’re talking to. If you don’t speak, you won’t become proficient. Even if you’re shy, you can definitely say greetings and do simple conversations. When the new teacher comes to school, please greet her warmly in English.)

みんなさんはオバマ大統領の　Yes, we can　の言葉を知っとるね。Yes we can の意味は分かりますか。私たちはできますということです。何ができるかというと、私たちなら何でもできるという気持ちです。立派なイメージですね。

(Everyone here knows President Obama’s phrase “Yes we can,” right? Do you understand the meaning of “Yes we can?” It means that we can do it. What exactly can we do? The feeling is that if it’s us, we can do anything. Isn’t that a great image?)

今日はもう一つのアメリカのフレーズを紹介したいと思います。これは　The American Dream　です。意味はアメリカの夢です。アメリカの夢は誰でも自分の努力でがんばったら豊かな人生を贈ることができます。みんなは平等だし、自由だから、自分の夢をかなえるために限界は自分だけです。例えば、オバマさんは子供の時にお金があまりなく、人種差別がまだ残っている世界に生まれてもアメリカの大統領になりました。マイケルフェルプスは勉強がとっても苦手でも水泳をしっかり練習して金メダルを１４個（こ）とりました。アメリカ人は夢の力を信じています。

(Today, I’d like to introduce another American phrase to you. It’s “The American Dream.” The American Dream is that anyone can have a rich life if he or she works hard and puts effort into it. Since everyone is equal and free, the only limit to your dreams is yourself. For example, even though Mr. Obama was not wealthy as a child and was born into a world where racial discrimination still exists, he became the president of the United States. Even though Michael Phelps was not strong in school, he practiced swimming very hard and now has 14 Olympic gold medals. Americans believe in the power of dreams.)

でもアメリカ人だけが夢をかなえるというわけじゃありません。アメリカ人だけが大きい夢を持つわけではありません。南/北中のみんなさんには大きい夢を持ってほしいです。かなう可能性が高いかどうかは関係ありません。大きい夢のためにがんばることは大切だと思います。もちろんみんなが大統領や金メダリストにはなりません。しかし、自分の夢のためにがんばったら成長して優秀な人になります。そうすると、いろいろなこともできるし、自分の家族、友達、町、国、世界に役に立つ人になります。それは最高です。

(But that doesn’t mean that only Americans can realize their dreams. That doesn’t mean that only Americans can have big dreams. I would like everyone at this school to have a big dream. Whether or not it’s easy to achieve doesn’t matter. I think that working hard in the name of a big dream is what’s important. Of course, we can’t all be a president or a gold medalist. However, if you work hard for your dream, you will grow and become an outstanding person. Then you can do many different things and be a useful person for your family, friends, town, country and world. And that is a fantastic thing.)

私は夢を二つ持っています。ひとつは大学の教授になってアメリカで日本の文化について教えることです。長い道ですけど、この川之江南／北中の経験を含めて、自分の国で日本についてたくさん紹介するつもりです。みんなさんがこの一年間の間に私に学校生活や日本の行事、伊予弁などについて教えてくださってとてもありがたいです。Thank you very much.

(I have two dreams. One is to become a college professor and teach Japanese culture in America. It’s a long road, but I plan to introduce Japan to my own country, including the many things I’ve learned at this school. I’m very grateful to everyone for all you have taught me about school life, Japanese holidays, the Iyo dialect, etc. over the past year. Thank you very much.)

二つ目の夢はあまり大きな声では言わないけれど、有名な作家になることです。私は小学生のときから趣味として物語を書いています。家族、友達、先生たちがずっと私を励ましてくれますが、この夢をかなえるひとは私です。夢はほとんど締め切りがないので自分の努力で毎日がんばる方法しかありません。私はできるだけ毎日うちに帰ったら書きます。有名な作家になれるかどうかまだ分からないけど、もし書かないと絶対作家になることはできません。休みなしで毎日書くのは時々大変ですが、話を書くのがそんなに大好きになったので、有名にならなくてもいいです。

(I don’t usually announce my second dream, but it’s to become a famous writer. Ever since I was in elementary school, I’ve written stories as a hobby. My family, friends and teachers have always encouraged me, but only I can make this dream come true. Most dreams don’t have deadlines, so the only way to realize them is to make the effort every day. I do my best to write every day when I get home from work. I don’t know yet whether I’ll become a famous writer, but I certainly can’t become one if I don’t write. Sometimes it’s hard to write every day without break, but I’ve come to love writing so much that even if I don’t become famous, it’s fine.)

みんなさんは同じように大きい夢を見つけてその夢のためにがんばってください。これは英語の能力より大切です。夢がないと人生は寂しくなると思います。夢のおかげで今はアメリカ人なのに５００人ぐらいの日本人の前に日本語で発表しています。夢のおかげで日本に来ました。南／北中のみんなのおかげで一つ目の夢をかなえるまであきらめません。みなさんも自分の夢のためにあきらめずにがんばってください。みなさん一人一人を信じています。アメリカに帰っても応援しますよ。YES WE CAN!

(I hope that everyone here will also find a big dream and work hard for it. That’s more important than your English ability. I really think that life is sad if you don’t have a dream. Thanks to my dream, I am giving a speech in Japanese in front of about 500 Japanese people even though I’m American. Thanks to my dream, I came to Japan. Thanks to everyone here, I will not give up until I’ve achieved my first dream. Everyone, please do your best to fulfill your dream and don’t give up! I believe in each and every one of you. Even when I go back to America, I will be cheering for you. YES WE CAN!)

どうもありがとうございました。

(Thank you very much.)


I’ve gotten a ton of positive feedback about my farewell speech and have been really gratified by some of the specific comments I received. Many teachers praised my emphasis on the importance of having a dream, lamenting that so many students don’t really have any dreams or ambition in life. One teacher thought it was great that I pointed to the Japanese flag when talking about being a useful person to family, friends, town and country, because he doesn’t think Japanese kids have much pride or feeling for Japan as their country. Several teachers said they were touched by my speech, and a few said my speech was better than the principal’s! But by far the best thing I heard is that the students really listened to what I said, thought about it and even talked about it afterward. That’s what I was really after! Though I admit that I did want to make a lasting impression so that they might remember me, my true goal was to make the students think about their future and what they want to do with their lives. Apparently a success!

A Weekend in Kochi

This weekend I went to Kochi with Amy and Tomoko. Kochi is the southern prefecture on the island of Shikoku. Since it’s on the Pacific Ocean rather than the inland sea, it’s a popular place for surfing, scuba, snorkeling, and general beach activities. It’s the birthplace of Sakamoto Ryoma, a leading samurai who helped to overthrow the Tokugawa shogunate and begin the Meiji era, or the era of modernization. He's is the subject of a current NHK drama and is hugely popular in Japan. However, we went for the beaches!

We left Saturday morning and drove through the mountains until we finally saw the seashore. After a nice lunch with a view, we drove a little further and found Ohki Beach, a lovely expanse of sea and sand with blue skies and relatively few people. Amy and I swam around while Tomoko looked on indulgently.

The clouds in Kochi are amazing. They are so huge and bulbous against the bright blue sky, which is reflected in the bright blue water. Occasionally the clouds gather and darken and drop a sudden rain below. We had a number of instances of getting rained on or driving through rapidly changing weather, but even the wet spells didn’t really feel dreary.


Once back in the car, we drove away from the sea and through some misty mountains to get to the Ashizuri Cape, our final destination. We stayed at a gorgeous hotel right on the cape which was white and built like stairs against the rock, so the front lobby was on the top floor and we were on the second floor. Our room had its own patio with plants, a stone bench and a view of the ocean. Sweet!





The hotel also had a pool and hot spring baths, which we took advantage of both before and after our evening meal, a Japanese inn-style fish-filled feast. Amy and I stayed up and had a little champagne before retiring for the night.

In the morning, we ate breakfast, checked out reluctantly and headed toward the actual cape, where we saw some neat rock formations, a small white lighthouse and the beautiful ocean. We headed back north for some lunch before dropping Amy off for her surfing lesson. Tomoko and I explored Shimanto City, which wasn’t much of a city but had a nice museum in a castle-like building that had great views.









When we got back to the beach, Amy was working the board and riding the waves for several seconds at a time! She did wonderfully for having only had a 2 hour lesson, as the following pictures can attest.




On our way home, we stopped off in Kochi City for some yakiniku (grilled meat, but we also had vegetables!) and an hour of karaoke. By the time we got home we were all exhausted, but we had a great time and can highly recommend spending some time in Kochi!

South Africa Festival in Town

Yesterday we had South Africa Festival in town, which was really more like a seminar, but it was a very cool event. It started out with an apartheid experience: the attendees were given cards that defined them as white or black. Whites could register for the event in Japanese, drink juice and tea, and were treated with courtesy; blacks had to sign up in English, were not allowed to have refreshments (at the beginning, that is!) and were treated coldly. While there was a lot of positive feedback about the event as a whole, a lot of people talked about the experience and how it really gave them a taste of discrimination.

The highlight of the day was a talk by my friend Safiyya, who came out from Matsuyama and gave an hour-long introduction to South Africa, complete with a few maps and an awesome powerpoint presentation on projector. She discussed the different racial groups, the history, the present day and her own experiences, covering a ton of topics and linking them together seamlessly. Nate did an amazing job translating everything into Japanese while I had the much less challenging task of switching the slides for Safiyya and snapping the occasional picture.

They took a few questions and had a short break (with beverages for all) before putting on the movie Cry Freedom, a 1987 film directed by Richard Attenborough about anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko and journalist Donald Woods. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it. Steve Biko was an important and inspiring speaker on black empowerment and self-worth, and his cruel death at the hands of the police was publicized by Donald Woods, a close friend who had to flee the country after being targeted by the government for his efforts to expose police brutality.

Afterward we split into groups for discussion, English and Japanese. The four groups discussed various topics at length and then shared their observations with the whole. We ended the afternoon by raffling off some juice and rooibos tea, and several people came up to talk to Safiyya and ask her a few more questions. The event was definitely a hit, and Nate hopes to do similar ones in the future.

Now That's A Lesson Plan

A few people have inquired as to my long hiatus from the blog, and I'm terribly sorry if I've alarmed anyone! I'm doing fine, just busy, and though I actually have a few entries waiting in the wings pending photo uploads, I thought I'd do a quick one now.

I've been teaching a lot of elementary school lately thanks in part to the reduction in my number of schools and then to the Ministry of Education for making "international activities" mandatory for fifth and sixth graders. I go to each of my six elementary schools at least once a month now, and though I usually spend significant time with the fifth and six graders, I do get to teach the younger grades, too. Even with the older students, who have an English "textbook" and need to learn specific things, I still play a lot of games and get to be fun and silly with them.

Today was one of my 6-class days, which are pretty rare and only happen at elementary school, but it was not without its rewards. Not only did I teach colors, fruits, numbers, body parts, directions and the names of the months, but I also played enough active games to get my exercise for the day (maybe even two!). I played Fruits Basket with the first and second grade classes respectively, Red Light Green Light with the third and fourth graders (again, two separate classes), and a pretty action-packed game of Cops & Robbers during recess.

My crowning achievement of the day, however, was performing part of the Thriller Dance for the fifth years and teaching them how to do it. A teacher actually suggested it after hearing of my Halloween performance, and I've been practicing the dance here and there for fun, and in earnest for the past week or so. I had taught them body parts and numbers last time, so we reviewed these first, and I had the kids moving their shoulders in tune as I sang and danced around. Then I got them to do the key moves of the chorus, and they did it! And loved it! Apparently they've asked their teachers if they can get the lyrics and perform it themselves at a mini concert sometime soon.

Now I know that if nothing else sticks in these students' memories, they'll remember this and tell their friends in years to come: "Yeah, I know Thriller. I learned it from this American teacher named Emily back in fifth grade." Even if that's all they remember, I don't think I'd mind!

書道ガールズ：Shodo Girls, the Movie

I have to do a little advertising for the movie Shodo Girls, which came out in early May. Not only does it take place in my very own town, but having just seen it yesterday, I can also state firmly that it's a good movie, too.

The basic story is about the girls of the Shodo-bu, the calligraphy club, at the town's high school. Like the real Shikokuchuo, the town manufactures paper and has the chimney and smoke to prove it, but there are a lot of struggling and closed small shops in the streets and shopping arcades. The young women have their various family and friendship problems, but the arrival of a new teacher as their club leader changes the dynamic a bit. They decide to do a calligraphy performance, which involves writing on a large canvas with huge brushes. But their decision does not come without some trials and misgivings of its own, of course.

The plot isn't particularly original, but it is a good story, and I admit I was touched! It's so cool to see a place you've walked or driven by a thousand times on the big screen, all the more if it's a small town or a place that feels like home. I know most of you won't be able to see it, but I thought I'd mention it at least.

Mifune Matsuri

I was really fortunate to be able to participate in the Mifune Matsuri in Arashiyama, a beautiful mountain just outside of Kyoto that attracts loads of tourists, and for good reason. The mountain and the river are gorgeous, especially in fall, and the mountain park boasts a bunch of semi-tame monkeys. However, this annual festival involves several of the old guilds of Kyoto getting on boats and paying their respects to the local god, and I got to do more than watch from the shore. I got to be on a boat!


For this honor, I must thank my dear friend Irena, who has lived in Japan for five years and has been my traveling companion and guide many a time. She has studied the shakuhachi, the bamboo flute, since her first year here, and her teacher happens to belong to an old shakuhachi family who has the honor of being one of the guilds represented. She brought me along as her guest, but more importantly, she brought her shakuhachi in order to play for the god himself. She also dressed up and looked absolutely lovely.


We arrived at the river in Arashiyama and boarded the small boat with her teacher, his son and wife, and two other students and their wives. We were ferried around by a pole-wielding water master, who kept us from going too far out of range and largely from hitting other boats. At first, we watched the procession of the god, represented by a decorative box that is lovingly handled by several Shinto priests from carriage into the special boat.






The boats filed into order to pay their respects. Other guilds included the fan, kimono, paper, and the ever popular sake guild. While other guilds offered their wares to the god and his priests, the shakuhachi guild, once we approached and stood alongside the god boat, played him a song. In fact, they broke out their instruments and played a song periodically throughout the afternoon, especially after we had received an offering from the sake guild :-)






After the festival was over, we drank tea and ate traditional sweets in a pavilion for the participants, and then parted ways. I really enjoyed meeting Rena’s teacher and his family, who have become her Japanese family.

The Parents Come to Japan!

My parents came to Japan at the beginning of April. We meet up in Kyoto and spent a few lovely days there before I brought them to Ehime. I'm going to try and do this scrapbook fashion, with loads of pictures and a little description for each.

4/2: Arrival in Japan and meeting up in Kyoto! Exhausted, but delighted to see each other. We ate conveyor belt sushi and then went back to our lovely townhouse, pictured below.




4/3: We did the Philosopher's Walk, a scenic stroll with a lot of temples and shrines along the way. We started at Nanzenji and worked our way over to Ginkakuji, the Silver Pavilion. It was pretty chill in the morning but very crowded by the afternoon, being a sunny day during cherry blossom season in Kyoto. Our brief detour to Heian Jingu, a bright red shrine with a huge shrine gate, was worth it for the fantastic garden with loads of cherry trees and beautiful ponds.








4/4: We spent the morning doing a taxi tour which brought us to Ryoanji, Kinkakuji, and Nijo Castle. Our taxi driver came and walked around each place with us, providing tons of useful information which I did my best to translate. We relaxed in the afternoon and met up with Irena at night for a shabu-shabu dinner!







4/5: We walked from our townhouse up the back way to Kiyomizu-dera, where we enjoyed the temple and its lovely view. We made our way leisurely along the old-fashioned streets with their many delectable shops and ended up at Yasaka Shrine. At night, we watched Maiko Odori, a dance performance by apprentice geisha in the Gion district of Kyoto. Mutz especially enjoyed it!









4/6: We visited Fushimi Inari, one of my favorite shrines in Japan. It's a fox shrine just outside Kyoto with tons of torii, red shrine gates, on a scenic mountain path. Then we packed up and headed to Shikoku, crossing the Seto Bridge around sunset.





4/7: My parents came to school with me! It was still spring break, but the teachers were there, of course, and most of the sports and clubs still meet. Although the poor teachers were tied up in a very long teachers meeting, we walked around the school and watched basketball, tennis, kendo & judo. Most of the students were shy, but some said hi and a few words to my parents. We had lunch with my supervisor and Reiko, met Nate at the city hall, and then had a much-needed relaxing afternoon before a light nabe dinner at Nate & Amy's, where they also met Jonathan and Tomoko.

4/8: I joined my parents for breakfast at their hotel before going to work, but they headed off with Tomoko to Matsuyama and saw the castle and the main shopping area.

4/9: Again, just breakfast for me and then work! Reiko and Tomoko took my parents to Marugame in Kagawa Prefecture for the day. At night, Reiko and her husband threw a small party for my parents at Mikubo, a delicious seafood restaurant in Kawanoe.

4/10: We drove to Matsuyama and spent the day and night in the Dogo area, where the famous Dogo Onsen (hot spring) is located. The hotel we stayed at had a few really nice private baths for couples, family, or the onsen-wary, which we all enjoyed.




4/11: The parents left from Matsuyama Airport, which was very sad. However, we had a fantastic time together during their trip!