Happy New Year

Well it's not a new year here yet, but I am still on Australian time so it is the new year for me! I'm doing absolutely nothing to celebrate tonight, but am off to a shrine or temple tomorrow morning with one of my coworkers. Missing home terribly (I want in on the champagne/orange juice action!).

My New Year's resolution is to tell you to post a comment on this blog! Dad is getting worried about the lack of comments. So please, make my Dad happy and post a brief comment! (You don't have to say anything substantial, just write "I read your blog" or something silly like that). Don't feel shy! Anyone can post a comment!

Don't know how to comment? Click the "comment" link at the bottom of this post. Then write your message on the right. Then write the silly numbers/letters in the picture and then click "login and publish". Make sure the radio button is selected as "anonymous" (it should be already)

My Boxing Day Trip to Kyoto!!!!

(This is not finished yet. I still have more to write but I'm buggered. Check back soon to read my literary works....)

Hey guys, I just got back from Kyoto and I have a stack of photos. I am not posting all of the photos on this page because it would take ages for it to open (if you have crappy Internet connection...)

If you want to see more photos, click on the main photos below and they will take you to a slideshow of more photos of the place!!!!

My Hotel
The hotel I stayed at was great! It was right opposite Kyoto station, and buses ran from the station on a regular basis to all of the popular tourists sights! They didn't speak much English there so I had the chance to use my Japanese! It was fantastic! (Not my Japanese, the experience)
The first morning of my stay, the reception desk called me at 7:30 to wake me up (I didn't ask them to). Upon the fourth or fifth time they rang, I answered the phone. As soon as that was done, I went back to sleep. Fifteen minutes later, a nice old lady was knocking at my door to take me to breakfast. I soooo didn't want to get out of bed. So I promised myself that I would have another hour to nap after breakfast. When I returned to my room, the housekeeper had folded my futon away! NO FAIR!!!!!!I don't have an antenna connection back at home, so I savoured the opportunity to watch TV in the hotel room. There were Japanese people dressing up as Michael Jackson and Elvis. I also had a laugh watching the Japanese version of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire.... in which the top prize was the equivalent of $120,000....

My day of dress-ups

The first day of Kyoto was devoted to dressing up as a Geiko and a Maiko (both types of apprentice Geisha). I had my makeup done first, which basically involved having a thick, cold white paint slathered over my face and having my eyebrows whited out and drawn on again (that took ages). Japanese people's eyebrows are different to westerners'. The growth of the hairs are downwards, whereas I have hair growing outwards.
Following the makeup, they showed me a great wall of kimonos to choose from. I chose one, but they started telling me that it wasn't appropriate or something. Instead they showed me some example photos and I chose a couple. Then the first kimono was put on to make me a Geiko. The kimono was a struggle to put on, I was being thrashed everywhere and the women were tugging at the wrap and the obi. It was fun though!
After two studio photo sessions, I was then taken out into Kiyomizudera Temple to shock the tourists as a Gaijin (foreigner) dressed in Maiko get-up. I had a lot of tourists ask to take photos with me, which was fun. The Shrines and Temples

Seeing I have already written a lot of text, I won't give you complete overviews of the other places I went to in Kyoto. I suppose the pictures tell it all! (Hopefully.....) Just click on the pictures to view a slideshow!

Fushimi Inari Shrine
Kiyomizudera (aka Pure Water Shrine)Ryoanji TempleEikando Zenrin-ji Temple Ginkakuji (aka The Silver Temple)
Kinkakuji (aka The Gold Leaf Temple)

Merry Christmas!

Hi folks,

I had a wonderful day today! I woke up and I first checked my email. In my inbox was a very special message from my brother, Andrew

What a great brother hey?! So of course, one of the first things I did was march to the video games store to buy the XBox 360. The game isn't out yet, so I got "Need for Speed: Most Wanted". It's a great game, but it's in Japanese! Oh well, I suppose it's a good way to study Japanese!I also spoke to the family on my webcam over the Internet. It was fantastic! While we were chatting, Wendy, Marty, Simone and Monique dropped around with some ham. I had a quick chat with Simone and Monique and it was great! My parents also got me a whole load of cool stuff, like boots, boots and ugg boots. Hehehehe. They also included some of my favourite food, like hot chocolate and turkish delights. I got some lovely jeans and a warm cardigan. Thanks soooo much!!! I'd post photos but that would take ages and I should get some beauty sleep as I am going to Kyoto on the 7:30 train tomorrow morning.

This afternoon, I went over to Sarah's place (she lives in my apartment complex) for a Christmas do. Everybody brought a dish, and I cooked up some yummy golden syrup dumplings. I had to speak American talk (all the other westerners were American), and call it "Molasses".

This is Andrew and I. I was wearing a pair of Christmas earrings from Mum. They were supposed to flash, but one of them didn't flash. I think it had turned on during postage and ran out of batteries...

This is Matsunami, Sarah and Emi. Matsunami's and Emi's English was fabulous! Emi had actually lived in New Zealand for a year I think...This is Josh, I-forget-her-name1 and I-forget-her-name2. I feel so bad that I forgot their names! They were also great at English. Number 2 had lived in Australia for a year (returned in June). She was in Sydney but came down to Melbourne for the Australian Open. Number 1 has had 4 exchange students from Australia live with her (for one year each), so her English is fantastic as well. She teaches paper doll making.

This is Emi and Number 2 singing Christmas carols. As the majority of the party was American, we couldn't go without singing carols!!!! They showed us how they sing "Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer" in Japanese. Cool huh?More carol singing. Josh is enjoying being the muso. Sarah had a great voice. I tried to mime my way through the singing.... Not because I'm a grinch! Only because I can't sing! duhhhhThis is Adelle. She came in a bit later, but all was forgiven as she brought some yummy muffins. They were cooked with real candy canes in them! She also topped them off with some cream. They went so quickly that I couldn't get a photo of them!!! Her mum sent her this very Christmassy vest. Why didn't you send one of them to me Mum!!???Well that's it for today. I hope you all enjoyed your Christmas and that your New Year's celebrations are fun! I am off to Kyoto early tomorrow morning, and I hope to return with some good photos!!!

Love you all and I am thinking of you all of the time :-X

The Bon-Enkai

Every year, each Japanese organisation will hold a bon-enkai. This is the equivalent of a staff Christmas party. However, I have been told that the contention of this event is to forget everything that has happened in the past year. So I suppose I should forget that I came to Japan and that I graduated from university.... Noooooooo!!!!!!!!

It all began with us entering the very big room laid with tatami mats and selecting a number. The number determined where we would sit. I drew lucky number 21. I also drew number 41 for the present, which turned out to be three pens. Unfortunately I left them at the restaurant.

This is a view from spot 21. In the foreground is Ono-sensei, who I teach 3 classes with each week. Her English is really great and she is a really lovely person.

Although we are assigned to a seat, the co-workers all move around the inside of the circle. They begin their interaction by filling up a person's glass. I didn't move from my seat all night, I had enough people wanting to come up to me and get me drunk. Most of them confessed that they were scared to speak to me because they didn't know English. Sure enough, with the right amount of alcohol in me, I spoke my somewhat incoherent Japanese. It was a real laugh!

This is one of the guys I was seated next to, Konta-sensei (I think...) He's a sports teacher and he kept on getting up to go for a smoke. Funny huh? This is Kubota-sensei. I teach two classes with him each week. He is the coolest teacher because he is always pushing to do something different from the textbook. I tell him he looks like the guy in the first year's English textbook, Manabu.This is Kyoto-sensei (meaning vice-principal). I don't know his real name though. He's funny when he is drunk.This picture is of the Kochi-sensei (meaning principal). His real name is Mr. Ohashi. I didn't manage to get a real photo of him at the party tonight because he was busy. Instead I thought I would haul this photo out of the files from when we went on an excursion to Ise back in August. He's sleeping on the bus... But he's an awesome guy. Very down to earth, and he speaks great English!After the enkai, I went along with a few of the "party-hard" teachers to a karaoke bar. I was the only female! I sang crappy stupid songs with a crappy stupid voice and drank whiskey watered down with water. It may not seem like it, but I reckon these blokes were pretty drunk.So after the rock 'n roll of karaoke, I was escorted home by the two guys on my left. They live pretty close to me. It was fun walking home. The snow was once again up to my knees, and I had absolutely no idea where I was. I think that was perhaps due to the combination of enough alcohol and the snow covering all of the familiar landmarks. I was lucky to have such gentlemen take me home!

Anyway, I don't want to ramble on anymore. I'm sure I'll check this in the morning and wonder what I was on tonight. I'm also in a great mood because I don't have to go to school until 4th January!! Whoohoo!!!!!!!!

Cya later! Suz

Santa has come early!!!!

Wow! Thanks to everyone that has sent their beautiful Christmas goodies!!! I have promised Mum and Dad I won't open their presents until Christmas Day. I got a parcel from Carley today, and I couldn't resist opening it! How could I?! She had written that the contents were "lollies". Of course I had to open it!!!!!! Here's my stash so far. I feel so spoilt!!!!!

Of course, I knew that my previous comment about Chicken Noodle Soup would come back and bite me! (in a good way). Thanks to Mum; Allison, Jeff, James, Loren and Emily; Carley and Nigel for all of the soup!!! I have figured I have 46 servings of Chicken Noodle Soup! I suppose you know what I will be living on if I run out of money.... (or maybe I could sell them, haha)

Merry December 18th!

Hey! Well I'm glad to report that I am feeling a good deal better, and I am beginning to enjoy the festive season! Today was a day spent at Jeremy's place in Nishi Gifu (south Gifu), enjoying lunch, silly gifts and playing in the snow. Jeremy put a lot of effort into making a wonderful lunch, and everybody also brought along a plate. The food was plentiful and wonderful! Today it was the largest amount of snow I have seen and it was truly exciting (perhaps because I didn't have to go to work...) The following pictures are before and an hour or so after shots of the view from Jeremy's apartment.

We had some fun with snow fights, snowmen and just being crazy. I somehow ended up on the ground making a snow angel. My backside was really wet and cold after that!!!!

Here are some kids making a snowman. I seem to have something against snowmen. I tried to decapitate one with my fist, but I have ended up with a bruised hand... Snowmen: 1, Suzi: 0...

Jeremy somehow got me on to the ground. I think it is some kind of vengeance for me putting snow down his pants. While I was down there, I thought that I may as well try making a snow angel...

Jeremy actually started the snow angel thing. He thought the best place to do it was in a car park...

This was a battle of snowballs. I forget the name of the battle, but we had to stand there and throw snowballs across the river. You weren't allowed to dodge incoming snowballs. I threw like a girl. The balls never quite made it across...

The snow was so soft and it was tasty... Also, people felt inclined to shove snow in my face...

Here are a couple of photos of the pretty snow....

Inside was a different story. We all fought for the heater, and it sometimes had to be turned off because the power kept on turning off (Jeremy was using too much electricity whipping up a storm in the kitchen). Here's Megan the evil Christmas Heater Hog.

Kerry made a wonderful apple pie/pastry thing. But I was so full that I could barely eat anything!

Don't mess with the cooks! Lena and Jeremy are preparing yummy potato pancake thingoes... they were really yummy!

Sarah and David know the best way to keep warm!!!This is a pic of me on the way home from the station in Ogaki. Normally Ogaki is a piece of cement rubbish. It's really grey and mundane. But the snow brings some magic!!!

Last of all, I think it's best I show you that I have truly embraced the Christmas spirit! Here is my Christmas tree! It is half my height!

If I don't post next week, I hope you all have a wonderful and safe Christmas! I will be thinking of you! I am going to Kyoto for 2 nights on the 26th December, so I will make sure I have some nice photos to post!!!!

Lotsaluv,

Suz

Anyone for a snow cone?

I gotta walk to school in that in a moment....

Would you want to be sick in Japan?

Well, the cold has gotten to me, literally.... Yesterday I left school early and my supervisor took me to the doctor. I have been to a couple of doctors already here, and I really don't like them. They don't seem to want to touch you, and ask a minimal amount of questions. Yesterday I felt a cold/flu coming on... the first thing they'd do back at home is check out your throat right? Well they went nowhere near my throat!!! They did check my breathing and prodded at my stomach though.

My last experience was a weird one, which involved curtains which were only half the height of the room, a chair with a mind of its own, and someone prodding me from the other side of the curtain. I don't want to go into any more details because it's embarassing.

So yesterday after my consultation, I am given my prescription and I got the following drugs:

The above stuff is a set of pills and powder to be taken between meals. The powder tastes like crap, and I think it is for stomach ulcers.... called Ulcerlin or something.
This is "nauzerin", which I think is for nauzea. That is to be taken during meals.

This is gastren or something like that. I take them at night.
These little babies ARE NOT bullets to kill myself (although it's times like this I wish I could!).... they are freakin' suppositories!!!!

So.... that means my weekend was a heap of crap. I mostly stayed in bed, grumbling about the state of medicine here. I came to the conclusion that doctors here aren't interested in finding a specific illness, instead they just hit the illness with everything they have. I kind of relate the drugs shown above to a peppering of bullets in war. Hit it with everything you have until you know for sure it is gone.

Speaking of peppering bullets, I am twice as pissed this weekend because I was set to go paintballing/skirmishing! Of course, I paid the $60 fee well ahead of time assuming I would be well enough for it. So when I let the organiser know on Friday arvo that I couldn't go, there was no sympathy, and my $60 is now down the drain! Man, I think I'm really pissed at the moment. You should be glad that you're not in the same country as me!!!!So if you want to make me feel better, want to send me an Xmas present (that is easy to mail), send me some freakin' cup-a-soup!!! Chicken noodle will do just fine. They don't have Chicken Noodle as far as I can tell, just the seaweed laden miso soup which makes me want to puke.

Man, I sound like such a raging bull or something. I'm sorry, I am actually a very sweet girl. I just happen to be writing this at a very fragile moment. Please, don't forget the soup.

Let's do timing how long it takes to heat the bath!

Hello whoever reads this...

I am soooooo friggin' homesick at the moment. I HATE snow!!!! Today I seriously considered impulsively buying a ticket back home for Christmas... Anyway, tonight I went to the gym and it made me feel better, but I come outside and it's all slushy goop. My pants are all wet and soggy :(

So normally after the gym I come home and heat my bath up. Normally it takes about 15 minutes. I thought I would have some fun with it and see how long it will take to heat up tonight, seeing it is zero degrees outside (I reckon it's colder in my apartment because of no insulation)..

11:04pm: Start the heating!!!!
11:10pm: Ummm, is the heater actually working?!?!
11:17pm: I'm pretty sure I paid my gas bill....
11:25pm: It's getting there!!!
11:35pm: Just a few more minutes!!!
11:41pm: Done!

OK, Bye Bye!

Let's do reading Japanese students' work!

This week the students have been sitting mid-term examinations, so I have hardly had to do any work. However, on Wednesday I had a 2nd year class. As they were the only 2nd years I would teach for the week, I set them a task which was separate from the textbook.

Inspired by a conversation with Dad, I compiled six questions about Japanese culture. I then structured the questions into an "email" from Dad. So here are some of my picks (I have 43 students in the class, I wouldn't list all of their responses!!!!)... I have not edited any of their responses, this is exactly how they wrote...

A short greeting:

• "Dear April Foolish, I answer the question" I have no idea where April Foolish comes from...
  
• "Dear the man who is suiting eyeglass"
• "Dear Good Father!!" Must have done something right!
• "Dear The my second Dad"
• "Hello, I'm deeply indebted to her. Beauce Suzi teacher teach English kindness. I love Suzi teacher"
• "Hello, I'm Nodoka Ando. Suzi teach us every week. Suzi is very pretty, and you are more! So, I will answer your questions" Ummmm, Dad is more pretty than I am? Should I feel good about that?

Question One: Why are Japanese toilets so primitive? I don't understand why you must squat on the toilet.

• "Because Japanese people could live primitive life. Do you can image that Samurai man is sitting on water toilet?"
• "Because Japanese people has short legs. So we can't sit on the toilet"
• "Because it is good for health. That stance act as a stimulus bowel, and you can see your excrement clearly. If it was western-style toilet, it have sinked"
• Japanese style toilets is very useful. The style is easy to put our power into relieving ourself. But this style have a big problem. A little child may be difficult to relieve. As a result Japan have a potty that type of duck. When you try Japanese toilets, you may be good if you use potty."
• "Oh! It's very difficult question! I think it is easy to strain yourself when you go to toilet. But, you know? In addition, the old Japanese has more old-fashioned toilet, it called "botton". "Botton" means bottomless. In order to the name, "botton" is bottomless, so sometimes people fall into their excrement. Please imagine the scene. What horrible things!!"
  

Question Two: Why are Japanese bathtubs square? I am very tall, and I don't think I could fit in the bathtub!

• "I think, Japanese people like narrow place"

Question Three: Why do Japanese people make the peace sign when they have a photo taken?

• "It is not peace sign. I think its scissors. Japanese people plays the game of "rock-paper-scissors". They like to use scissors. Why?... I don't know!"
• When we take a photo, we say "Is one plus one?" The people who have a photo taken say "Ni". And they smile. "Ni" means "two" in English. So they make peace sign."
• "Japanese love peace. Now Japan is peaceful. I want to have top of Chinese seeing that."

Question Four: Why are ATMs only open until 9pm?

• "Because in the ATM, it is said to be ghost after nine. His or her name is "money-man" or "money-woman". I have seen them twice in the ATM, when they said "I'll go to Australia. How about you?" So next month they'll go to Australia. Please enjoy to see them"
• "I think that money want to sleep. So Japanese people over works them. Poor soul, they are tired surely. Please give them rest in your country like Japan!"
• "Peope need to eat. Do you have dinner, don't you? The machine have as you as dinner time! The time is 9pm!?"

Question Five: What is natto, and why do Japanese people like to eat natto?

• "Natto is what soybeans are gone off. I don't like it when I was a little child, too."
• "Natto is a kind of rotten soybeans. That is smell bad. Though I am Japanese, I don't like "rotten soybeans". So I can't understand why do they like to eat natto. I'll advice you to wearing mask when you eat Natto. It only taste good..."
• "Natto is rotten beans. But it is very delicious!! Natto is sticky and offensive. The smell is... for example, a shoes which you didn't clean for a long time. But taste in nice. That's wonderful!! Japanese like a smell nasty food!!"
• "Natto is strange food which give us brain wash. Actually, we don't think natto is delicious. But our parents said that natto is delisious to us again and again. And we eat natto and like it without notice. So we are given a brain wash. Then why our parents said that to us otherwise natto isn't delicious?"

Question Six: Why do students fall asleep in class?

• "I think that the teacher's voice is as if sleep song!? Or the voice makes the students relax?!"
• "Because we are all friends"
• "They are studying in their dreams. And they are not sleeping. They make pretense to sleep. If teacher say, "Get up, Tom!" Tom says "I sit up, teacher"
• "I understand that to sleep in class is bad. But while I don't know myself, I sleep. Because I sit up late at night, the next day I am too asleep. In brief, it is unconscious."

Short Ending:

• "Do you undestanding? You may have not understanded, Because I'm very good at witings in English." I think she meant "I am not very good..." Japanese students never talk themselves up, especially when it comes to English!
• "Hi! Suzi's dad. I'm this highschool student. Suzi is very beautiful. We love Suzi as you. She is great teacher. What I like most is her smile."
• "I'm sorry. I wrote an incomprehensible exaplanation."
• "Do you understand? Japanese people has a strange culture."
• "If you come to Japan, you are surprized at being sold so many. It is danger zone. Please you are careful there."