So, as summer has now started, which can I add is pretty evident from the weather – I can’t believe it can get any more humid! I sweat about 5 full buckets every time I move!
My summer holiday started last Friday, which I celebrated by going back down to Kyoto for the Gion Matsuri (Gion festival). It’s one of the 3 biggest festivals along with the Tenjin festival in Osaka this coming weekend (24th/25th July) and the Sanno (even-numbered years) or Kanda (odd-numbered years) in Tokyo.
I won’t be making it to the ones in Tokyo or Osaka so I figured why not Kyoto? I arrived on the street at 11am, and got to see the main float (or mikoshi, as they’re called in Japanese – the hand-pulled floats) just as the main geisha was getting off to perform a sword-moving ceremony representing the warding off of evil spirits of disease, dating back to the 9th century. However, I didn’t see this, as it was so busy that I could only glimpse the geisha coming down and couldn’t move in any direction at all! Not unexpectedly I guess.
So I decided, no way! And I moved to a small side street where the mikoshi didn’t stop or turn, but at least I got a good view and some good photos. In the Gion Matsuri you have 2 kind of floats – boko, which are massive and really tall, and are pulled by like 20 people, and they have 2 people dancing at the front to the people making music at the top. You als have 4 people on top of the float to make sure it doesn’t get tangled in electricity wires, along with people making sure the wooden wheels stay on straight. These are the biggest and most impressive, and seeing these turn is supposed to be amazing because it's a huge manoeuvre and really complicated. The other type of mikoshi is called yama floats and they’re smaller and have a bit of tree on top, and generally less impressive. The nicest thing about the mikoshi in this parade was that they’re all decorated with tapestries from all over the world purchased over 500 years ago! The photos should be up under the Kyoto folder.
I missed the pre-events the nights before but I enjoyed the parade! Despite all the people. I would recommend people to try and go to at least 1 big Japanese festival, they really know how to celebrate big style!
The Monday after I went to the matsuri here in Nagoya at the port. It was a lot smaller, but very different and more local. There were tons of stalls selling traditional Nagoya fod like yakisoba (noodles in yakitori sauce), fried chicken, takoyaki (octopus balls), Frankfurt on a stick etc. And I mean a LOT of food stalls. There were 2 little parades; 1 band parade, which my school’s brass band played in, and a mikoshi parade, which some of my students participated in. It was funny seeing some of my students outside of school. They didn’t believe it was me! It was also very nice to see because many people put on their summer kimonos (both men and women) and their shoes, so it reflected traditional japan a lot more! Even some foreigners made a lot of effort to dress up for the occasion. In the evening there were also fireworks which weren’t too many – 3500 or so, but they were very impressive – the fact that they didn’t always let off 10 at a time, and the color combos were well co-ordinated! There were even shapes of hearts, smiley faces and diamond rings! I really enjoyed it too!!
The day after I got into the Japanese spirit some more by going to see the sumo tournament held every year here in Nagoya. I thought I would fall asleep, but it was very exciting! Much nicer to see in real life than on TV. And actually the 1st real live sports event I’ve been to. I stayed for thewhole thing. Some were proper fat mofo’s though, and there was one muscular gaijin (foreigner) who was too muscular and not fat enough I’d say! Couldn’t follow who was the winner though, embarrassed as I am to say, they do look alike to me. Again, photos should be up under the Nagoya folder.
So along with those very authentic Japanese experiences, as from today onwards I also have making Japanese clay pottery (setomono) to my list! It was really fun, I was taken there with a friend by one of my teachers. Very interesting indeed.
Intended next post: japanese music and other culture.
Thursday 23 July 2009
Wednesday 8 July 2009
Japanese junior high school dynamics
Let me tell you a bit about school dynamics in junior high schools in Japan.
The most important people in the schools are the kocho sensei (the principal) and the Kyoto sensei (the vice principal). Make sure these are on your side! They’re pretty much untouchable, and often give off the impression of just sitting around and not doing anything (if they do I don’t know). You then get a head teacher (or in my case two I think), and these 4 people sit at the front of the staff room.
Being a teacher is a totally different concept in Japan than in western schools. Teachers here make up a huge part of their students lives, and are almost 3rd parents. They will occasionally make home visits and they are allowed to tell the parents off from time to time (though I think they rarely do). They are role models for the students are work hands-on with these kids (almost mothering them) – the younger ones, especially the males, run around with the tough guys, and they will spend a lot of time keeping them occupied. In my school, the kids are never allowed to be in a room by themselves without a teacher, so they’re always there with the students, they can hit the students, and those that have club activities (mostly sports) will spend a lot of time after school and on the weekends doing this with the kids. In my school especially, the teachers are so busy, that they often stay until 8-10 in the evening, not because they want to make a good impression but because they are so busy. One teacher said to me that he doesn’t really have any time to prepare for class, and many of them almost live at the schools. I asked one of the teachers why people want to be teachers in japan; apparenty stability is a big factor.
So as much as a teacher here may seem like an ideal husband (i.e. good with kids) they wouldn’t have much time to spend with their own!
The kids are pretty interesting. I’m talking about those really annoying moody teenagers.
The 1st year kids are fun, because they’re still innocent, at least in the first term, having come freshly out of elementary school, and some of them are so small and cute, I just want to steal them!
The 2nd years are the most dynamic, and you get such different characters. The easiest to class are the boys. You get your rowdy talk a lot kids that all seem to look the same! They’re all tall, skinny, with short hair. And the way they act in class is always the same too! It’s quite scary. Then you get your loud ones who know it all anyway, and there’s the quiet ones who know a lot, and then the quiet ones who just don’t care and fall asleep. These kids are not like kids in Korea, maybe because I’m in an undisciplined school, but these kids are just like any other local, nothing special school. These boys are actually my favorite, because they’re not afraid to talk to me, because, they’re still very playful in their feelings towards girls, and they actually do show some respect, well, most of them. The girls are a bit different. These will talk to me more, obviously, because I’m a girl, but many of them don’t really speak up in class, and there’s a few annoying ones who will actually fall into a deep sleep. I think I prefer the 1st and 3rd year girls.
The 3rd years are a lot more studious, maybe because they’re all thinking about high school entrance exams. They’re overall a lot more quiet, and if they don’t want to participate they do so quietly. The boys are a lot more shy, because they’re more aware of love etc. but the girls are much more fun. The amount of times they say ‘kawai’ (cute) a week is crazy!
Anyway, this is becoming an essay. These kids go to school, go to their classes (in japan each class has its own room, and the teachers move around from room to room. It’s actually quite a nice system), and at the end of the day have to clean their classroom and sometimes outside. Some that are in clubs come to school early to do this, and will stay late until 6.30 to do more club. Then on the weekend, club activities are on as well, and even in the summer holiday, they come into school for club… They spend a lot of time at school! But they all live very close too…
I'll leave it at that. What do you think about it?
The most important people in the schools are the kocho sensei (the principal) and the Kyoto sensei (the vice principal). Make sure these are on your side! They’re pretty much untouchable, and often give off the impression of just sitting around and not doing anything (if they do I don’t know). You then get a head teacher (or in my case two I think), and these 4 people sit at the front of the staff room.
Being a teacher is a totally different concept in Japan than in western schools. Teachers here make up a huge part of their students lives, and are almost 3rd parents. They will occasionally make home visits and they are allowed to tell the parents off from time to time (though I think they rarely do). They are role models for the students are work hands-on with these kids (almost mothering them) – the younger ones, especially the males, run around with the tough guys, and they will spend a lot of time keeping them occupied. In my school, the kids are never allowed to be in a room by themselves without a teacher, so they’re always there with the students, they can hit the students, and those that have club activities (mostly sports) will spend a lot of time after school and on the weekends doing this with the kids. In my school especially, the teachers are so busy, that they often stay until 8-10 in the evening, not because they want to make a good impression but because they are so busy. One teacher said to me that he doesn’t really have any time to prepare for class, and many of them almost live at the schools. I asked one of the teachers why people want to be teachers in japan; apparenty stability is a big factor.
So as much as a teacher here may seem like an ideal husband (i.e. good with kids) they wouldn’t have much time to spend with their own!
The kids are pretty interesting. I’m talking about those really annoying moody teenagers.
The 1st year kids are fun, because they’re still innocent, at least in the first term, having come freshly out of elementary school, and some of them are so small and cute, I just want to steal them!
The 2nd years are the most dynamic, and you get such different characters. The easiest to class are the boys. You get your rowdy talk a lot kids that all seem to look the same! They’re all tall, skinny, with short hair. And the way they act in class is always the same too! It’s quite scary. Then you get your loud ones who know it all anyway, and there’s the quiet ones who know a lot, and then the quiet ones who just don’t care and fall asleep. These kids are not like kids in Korea, maybe because I’m in an undisciplined school, but these kids are just like any other local, nothing special school. These boys are actually my favorite, because they’re not afraid to talk to me, because, they’re still very playful in their feelings towards girls, and they actually do show some respect, well, most of them. The girls are a bit different. These will talk to me more, obviously, because I’m a girl, but many of them don’t really speak up in class, and there’s a few annoying ones who will actually fall into a deep sleep. I think I prefer the 1st and 3rd year girls.
The 3rd years are a lot more studious, maybe because they’re all thinking about high school entrance exams. They’re overall a lot more quiet, and if they don’t want to participate they do so quietly. The boys are a lot more shy, because they’re more aware of love etc. but the girls are much more fun. The amount of times they say ‘kawai’ (cute) a week is crazy!
Anyway, this is becoming an essay. These kids go to school, go to their classes (in japan each class has its own room, and the teachers move around from room to room. It’s actually quite a nice system), and at the end of the day have to clean their classroom and sometimes outside. Some that are in clubs come to school early to do this, and will stay late until 6.30 to do more club. Then on the weekend, club activities are on as well, and even in the summer holiday, they come into school for club… They spend a lot of time at school! But they all live very close too…
I'll leave it at that. What do you think about it?
Tuesday 7 July 2009
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