~~Bobbi-ko chan's in Nihon~~

School Sports Festival

2000-12-19T12:13:00.000-08:00

'We had our athletics day on Saturday. Absolutely nothing like Australia! We had been practicing all day, all week. By the time Saturday arrived I was as red as a crayfish and about as cranky as one too. This is as it is the middle of summer over here, and we had spent from 7:30 to 4:00 every day for the past week sitting in the sun. And, as much sunscreen as I lathered on myself, it still did not work, me being a "typical Aussie". Anyhow, by the time Saturday arrived, I was well and truly ready for the big event. I was up at 6, as we had to be at school by 7:30, and school is a half hour bike ride. Got to school, threw on my sports uniform and started moving chairs for the parents to sit on. At 8:30 we all (my school is big - over 1000 students) met on the oval and split up into our various teams. I was in the ao-blue-block. The band then started and we marched around the oval. It was a big thing and all the students were extremely proud of their school. I tried to be, but being a beginner at this marching thing, I found it hard enough just to move my feet and sway my arms in rhythm! Events of the day included group skipping ("jump rope" - 20 kids per team, VERY muzukashii), tug of war, chair relays, a folk dance and 3 legged races. All this time we sung well-practiced cheers. However, due to a typhoon that arrived, we cut everything short. We finished the day off with the traditional Japanese dance. Truly sugoi (amazing). We (those not in the dance) sat in the stands and held up "panels", making many colourful pictures. I am told this is some what common in America, but it was completely new to me! At the end we had a ceremony, to congratulate the winners. Guess who won? US!!!!!!!! I feel so proud of my friends, my school and myself- now I feel a part of Japan.
ao wa ichiban!!!

Failing English...

2000-09-10T12:12:00.000-07:00

'The most noticeable American/British spelling that I have noticed is in things like "realise" (Brit) and "realize" (US). Very confusing when I fail English tests, just because I spell them wrong!!!'

'About teaching American English-It appears that before the war they taught British English as a rule. After the war, they changed and now teach American English, and learn all about America. It does get annoying learning the American history, but I have a head start on most of the students [some of my family is from America].'

'Anyway... Yes, there is a big difference between American English and British English. One example is when I was showing some friends at school a picture of my family. They pointed to my Aunty, and asked who she is. When I said 'My Aunty', they didn't understand me. I then got my dictionary and found the word. They then said 'Oh, you mean "Anty"'. (Of course that's not the right spelling, just the pronunciation). It's very different, and confusing. At the moment I am (embarrassingly) failing English Grammar. I have never learnt Grammar before. All we learnt in school was 'Nouns, Adjectives and Verbs'. I don't even know what an Ad-verb or a pronoun is. My teacher in Australia is sending me some information, which should hopefully help me.'

Weather

2000-08-24T12:12:00.000-07:00

'I am also having trouble adjusting to the summer. It is very hot, and reminds me of when I visited America. In Australia whenever it gets this hot we usually go home in fear of bushfires, but in Japan we have to attempt to study. In the middle of July we start school holidays. That will be lots of fun, because I have never had such a long summer holidays before. Sleep - here I come!!!!'

'I am so happy! Today I woke up and jumped in the shower as usual. But, what was different was that today I didn't use all cold water - I had to use a little hot as well, because I was too cold! Later today, when getting dressed, I realised that I could wear some jeans again. I went out and celebrated with another foreigner. Winter is on the way, and I for one am EXTREMELY happy!!!!'

'We had a typhoon a couple of days ago. It was not as scary as I expected, the lead up was worse. We were told to be extremely careful, and make sure we always had shelter nearby. Coming from Australia, I had no idea what to expect, so I conjured up this huge hurricane in my head. As it turns out, a typhoon is when, in the middle of the summer, it turns completely cold, and it rains really heavily and the wind is very strong. It wasn't fun, but it certainly put my fears to rest.'

'Today I had a 'hajimete' (first time) experience. We had an earthquake. A very very small one (some people didn't even notice it) to be sure, but to me, coming from Australia, it was a very big deal!'

'Ok, scrap what I said about typhoons not being scary. That is what is called getting bigheaded and thinking you know everything. On the news last night they said that a typhoon was approaching Kyushu, and it should arrive soon. I asked my host sister what that meant and she told me a tale of her own. After a lot of dictionary consulting, it turns out that 5 years ago, the house I am staying in lost its roof (it was blown completely away) to a typhoon. Don't worry, I have been told that this is a new house now, completely typhoon-proof. If a typhoon does come, school is cancelled, and everyone stays inside. What I said about being in a typhoon before was wrong. We only got the tail end of the typhoon - it changed courses before it got to us, but I wasn't told.'

A day in the life of a student

2000-07-12T12:10:00.000-07:00

'At the moment, my classmates have been doing a lot of tests. Luckily I haven't had to do most of them, but I feel so sorry for them. Before school they usually study for an hour or two. School starts at 7:30am, and doesn't finish until at least 5:00pm. Then they have club activities and don't usually get home until 8:00pm. After dinner students study until about 11:00 or 12:00pm. I am not sure how they do it, yet they also manage to stay awake in class! I am slowly getting used to the different time table, but it is very hard.'

Transport

2000-06-24T12:08:00.000-07:00

'Riding to school on the pushbike? It is very hard, and in the winter I get to school soaking wet and annoyed, but it is all part of the experience. The Japanese students laugh when they see me dripping, because, as they say, "You look like a real Nihon-jin (Japanese person)". Any other foreigner would just catch the bus - but I do it the hard way! I think it all adds to the experience, because this is certainly not something that I would experience in Australia!!!'

'I went to Fukuoka, the main city, about a week ago, on my own. It was quite an adventure. I had to figure out all the transportation by myself, which, in a different country and different language, is no easy feat. First I had to find my way to the eki (train station), by bike. Once there I had to decipher the ticket machine (everything over here is a machine). Finally, I found myself, after an hour, in Fukuoka. After looking around I decided to try my luck on the subway. I managed and enjoyed myself a lot.'

'The cars here are quite different. Most of them are tiny. You know how a standard car has room for 3 people in the back? Well, in Japan, there is only room for 2 people. They are incredibly narrow, because the roads over here are so small! In fact, like I was commenting yesterday, sometimes the cars drive on the footpath, because it is bigger than the road.'

'One thing that I have found hard to get used to is the fact that bikes ALWAYS have right of way over here. If you're riding on the footpath, and you come across a little side street, you can keep on going, not bothering to slow down and watch for cars. It is very hard to get used to, because in Aus the bike is the smaller, therefore the person who is on the bike has to be alert at all times. In Japan, everyone rides bikes everywhere. About 30 of the 40 kids in my class ride their bike to school. When you go down the street, it is hard to find a place to park you're bike, whereas it is not so hard to park a car.'

The land of opportunities....

2000-05-05T12:08:00.000-07:00

'I know that this year will help me so much when I decide what I want to do with my life. At the moment, I have no idea, but I just know that I want to do something with foreign countries and languages. Whenever I start to feel homesick, I remind myself of what I will be able to do once I finish this year, and I get so full of myself - with all my ambitions - that I stop feeling sorry for myself, and start wishing I am going to be here for more than a year! I think the only way to succeed, though, is to have many ambitions. I also feel that there is so much that can be learnt from studying in another country. Not just the language itself, but how it is applied and how people use different sayings and react to different words. These are all things that cannot and should not ever be taught from a text book.'

Japanese festivals

2000-04-18T12:07:00.000-07:00

On Friday it was "Tanabata". Tanabata is a Japanese festival. It is on this date (the 7th of July) when two certain stars in the sky can see each other. People write their wishes on paper and hang them from a "tanabata" tree. I also did this, at the local department store. It was lots of fun, but I didn't know how to write 'I wish for a fantastic year for everyone'. However, a student from my school was there, and she showed me how to write it. Everyone is so nice!!!!'

Japanese students study like crazy!

2000-03-30T12:05:00.000-08:00

'I find it interesting that if you came to Japan and found a student aged 15-16, chances are they would be able to understand you well enough to be able to talk to you. Almost all students in Japan learn English, and it is taught well enough for them to be able to carry out a conversation. Although I had studied Japanese for almost three years before I came to Japan, I realise now that I simply could not converse with a Japanese person. English classes over here are so intensive that they almost resemble an Australian English class - the difference being that in Japan, English is not the primary language. At times I believe that these students know more about my native tongue than I do! I have so much respect for them, because, while they are studying so hard, trying to increase their chances of getting into university, they also make time to help me. If I don't understand something in class, it is not unusual for half of the class to stop studying and explain so that I understand. When I go down the street and see anyone from my school - even if I don't know them and they don't know me- they always, always come up and say hi. Everyone is so helpful.'

~*~Bobbi-ko chan's in Nihon~*~