So, are you quivering with antici...

...pation?

Well, here's the low down. I have seen how the other half lives (that is to say in giant palaces of houses.) Today I saw how the other half works. That's right, I got to help out at an elementary school!

A group of JLSP students met at Ichigaya station at 9:20 this morning and were met by two of the JLSP coordinators. There were maybe 15 students total. We rode 3 trains and a bus (about an hour's trip) to get to the school.

As soon as we walked in the door, the oohs and aahs started. As is customary, we traded out outside shoes for the in-school slippers. My slippers fit perfectly... on the first half of my foot. I've had more comfortable "church shoes". We had a small group of student on-lookers and several murmurs of "Wow, what big foreigners."

Next we were escorted into a meeting room where we had coffee and tea and were introduced to the vice principal. The vice principal gave an overview of the schedule for the day. A bit later, the principal came in and gave a brief introduction. We sat around in the meeting room for a bit before an assistant came in and told us "the gym was ready."

We shuffled into the gym which was packed with children. All of the children and teachers were there, it was very intimidating. There was a roar of "Woah!" as we entered. There was a row of chairs set up in the front of the gym for us. the principal said a few words before we each gave a quick self-introduction. Mine went something like "Hello, I'm Mike from America. Nice to meet you." Next the students sang us the school anthem. The young students sang louder and the older students sang more in key. Finally, everyone (us included) sang "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes"

After the "assembly" ended, two very small girls came up to me and stood next to me. They looked as if they wanted to ask me a question. I asked what they wanted and they pulled on me to get me to stand. Evidently they were the envoys from the class, sent to get me. I was taken over to there my class (2-3: second grade class 3) where I was greeted by another round of oohs and aahs. I greeted everyone and said hello to the teacher. We then left the gym and went to the classroom.

The teacher and I made small talk on the way and the kids followed along in awe. The two "envoys" were still holding my hands and did so until we got in the classroom. The classroom looked like, more or less, any elementary classroom on the planet. The desks were arranged in a circle. My desk was larger than all the rest and had a sign on it that said "Ma-i-ku sa-n". Everyone took their seats and class began.

On the front chalkboard was a beutyfully made sign noting what our class was going to do. Two students acted as MCs and announced who was doing what. First a student who has a Phillipino mother got up to give a speech in English, but was too shy, so he did it in Japanese. Next I was asked to give my self-introduction again.

Continuing on, the theme of the day was "what we do for fun". Various students showed off thier skills like "Cat's Cradle", Slip-rope (dangerous in the classroom), Judo, and Yo-yo-ing.

Once everyone had shown off thier abilities it was time for Q&A. There were a lot of good questions, asked in Japanese... and answered in Japanese (yay mad skillz.) Some questions I expected like, "How tall are you?" and "Where exactly are you from?" Some I didn't expect like, "What kind of bugs so you like?", "How big are your hands?" (19cm it turns out), and "How do you study Japanese in the states?" There was also a round of "What is ~~ in English?"

Next we played a rousing game of Japanese Duck-Duck-Goose. In the Japanese version everyone is silent. The outer person drops a hankerchief behind the runner. The rest is just like DDG. After the game was over and we returned to our desks I was presented with a wonderful set of origami cranes. The teacher explained what they ment but I didn't quite catch what. Below: the cranes hung up in my room.

Lunch was awesome! Some of the kids split off and put on uniforms and brought the school lunch into the classroom and put it on a cart in the front. All of the kids moved thier desks into groups of 4 and there was an EPIC game of "Rock-Paper-Scissors" to see which group my desk would be put with. I was requested to stay seated and be served, which was fun. For lunch there was some sort of vegitable mix, a baked-chicken-burger, milk, and REALLY good roll (I find good bread hard to come by here.)

As lunch ended a student asked for my autograph. Seeing a classmate get one, everyone came over and had to get one. Eventually someone gave me thier name (in roman charecters) So everyone else did so too. Below: everyone's autograph on origami paper.

There was a massive "Sayonara - bye bye" as I was lead by the two envoys back to the meeting room. On the way we were stopped by several students from various other classes who wanted my autograph too.

Back in the meeting room, after everyone arrived, we gave feedback to the principal and vice principal. We were also asked to provide E and snail mail addresses so the students can keep in contact. Then we departed for the train station and home.

"Lean On Me" (A good Morgan Freeman fix) is on the tele in English with subtitles (A good English language fix). Tomorrow's plan is to visit Odaiba, a man made island in Tokyo bay. It's more or less the Tokyo equivalent of Mt. Trash-more. There's a famous convention center there, as well as a giant ferrisweel, and a nice view of the Rainbow Bridge (another Tokyo landmark). Sunday I plan on hitting up the Tokyo Motor Show if I can find where it is being held. Hmmm, turned out to be a long post, oh well, movie time.

Ja Mata Ne.

I have a problem. It's quite a nice problem, but it's problem anyhow. It seem that I no longer know when I leave the house in the morning what I will end up doing during the day.

Today at the end of morning classes, just before lunch, a fellow student asked if I wanted to see the Ghibli museum. I of course said yes and he said that a few people were going this afternoon, had an extra ticket, and wanted to know if I wanted to come. How could I say no? HOW!?!?

A very quick aside for those not in the know. Studio Ghibli is Japan's premiere animation studio. They've made some of the most famous animes ever produced including Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle, and many others. More here. The Ghibli museum showcases exhibits concerning Studio Ghibli's history and works.

Luckily the station closest to the museum is on the same train line that runs by school. We had tickets for 2:00pm so we had a quick lunch before setting out. (The museum is so popular only advance day tickets are available. You're assigned a time to enter. You can stay as long as you like, however.) When we got the our destination station we got on a bus and took a short ride to the front entrance of the museum. (There's no parking, visitors are encouraged to use mass transit.)

The building itself if quite colorful. It has 2 stories and a roof garden above ground and one lower level.

This is the entrance. When you enter, you go down a flight of stairs and begin on the lower level. On this level are a room which explains the history and basics of how animation works. Here there is a very cool 3d spinning set of models that, then spinning fast and seen in a strobe-light looks like the models are moving. Also on this floor is the theater where you can see one of three Ghibli film not able to be seen anywhere else. Unfortunately you have to pick one of three films (you can only see one per visit.)

On the ground floor are a permanent exhibit with a mockup of Miazaki's (head Ghibli director) work room and a special exhibit. The mockup was really well done and went into more detail as to how Studio Ghibli makes their films. From beginning inspiration to finished film, it was all covered here. Of special note were screenplays for all 13 Ghibli films which you could browse through. The special exhibit on display was about "Heidi" a TV animation from, maybe, the 60's. It was popular in Japan and Germany, but I have heard very little about it. Regardless, it was a nice exhibit.

On the Second floor are the Cat-Bus-Room, a bookstore, and the gift shop. Yes, I said Cat-Bus-Room. The Cat-Bus is from "My Neighbor Totoro" and is a bus that is a cat. (For more info, use the Wiki link above.) In this room there is a large plush cat-bus that children (darn it!) are allowed to climb in, over, and around. I purchased a copy of the Princess Mononoke screenplay in the bookstore and restrained myself (sooo difficult) in the gift shop.

This fellow is in the roof garden. It's a life sized replica of the robot from "Nauzica: Valley of the Wind". It's probably the most famous part of the museum. (Pictured are myself, two of the French students, and the Russian student.)

The back part of the museum is a courtyard with a cafe. We stopped and had a bit to eat. I had a parfet which was quite delicious. Afterwards we headed back to the train and home.

Some interesting notes: like any museum, photogrphy is forbidden inside, so I have no pictures of the interior, even tough it was so cool. The whole building (on a sunny day like today) is lit by sunlight. There are windows in every room. It really gives it a warm feeling.

All in all the museum was completely worth it. It was really nicely done so as to appeal to people of all ages. There's a chance I may get to go again next week with another group of students. Mentioning that you really like Ghibli films seems to have benefits.

Now as to what I'll be doing tomorrow. I surely hope it is what I think it will be... Enough suspence for you?

Ja Mata Ne.

Another short session of Q&A.

Q: Have you eaten sushi yet? Do you like it?
A: I have yet to eat sushi on this side of the Pacific. There are at least two really good sushi places near my apartment, but I don't want to go in alone, and I have yet to find the right time to invite anyone. In general I do like sushi. I am actually quite the fan of Saba which is raw mackerel on sticky rice. Maybe tomorrow after my "super-secret-thing" I'll ask some of my classmates if they'll join me for some sushi.

Q: Have you read any graphic novels there yet?
A: Not as of yet. In Japan comics come in the form of "manga" which has a set of maybe 10 to 15 different comic books in one volume. Most manga are monthly publications. After a comic is run in a manga for long enough a compilation is usually published. That compilation is the graphic novel as it is know in the U.S.. Also, all the manga here is, well, in Japanese which makes it a little bit of a slow read. It is good practice, as it forces me to look up words I don't know.

Q: Okay, this "hip-bag", what on earth is it!?
A: Ta-da. It has a strap which can be used as a sort of belt, worn as a "man purse", or as seen here, looped through my belt loops. It also has a caribeener which you can use to attach it you a belt loop. Most people wear theirs on the back of their thigh, but I find that makes sitting problematic on the trains.

Q: Is it Kendo that uses a bokken, or just the shinai? If both, why each?
A: Good question. A bokken is a wooden training sword shaped and sized like a katana. A shinai is a round training sword made of strips of bamboo attached to one another by leather bands. In Kendo, the shinai is used for physical training and the bokken is used for form training. Because the bamboo of the shinai is flexible, so it produces less injury when striking an opponent. However, because a shinai is round it very hard to tell if you're correctly swinging it. Enter the bokken, with it's sword shape, you can tell which way the blade is facing when you swing. The shinai was developed to avoid the inherent injury striking an opponent with a hardwood sword caused in practice.

I'm so very worn out. Kendo is a lot of hard work. I got to practice hitting an opponent tonight, which was cool. As expected my freshly bought Shinai needs some work before it can be used. If I use it without preparing it first (sanding it and oiling it) it will shatter faster. To top off tonight's practice, as we were packing up there was a loooong earthquake. It wasn't very powerful, but it lasted long enough for us to comment on how long it lasted. Google news says it was a 6.2 quake located out a sea.

I also learned today that I get to skip classes on Friday to do something. I'm going to keep what it is a secret for now, but it should turn out to be a good experience (read: fun).

Ja Mata Ne.

Today was a slow starter that turned out to be a great day. First, I got an e-mail warning in my mailbox saying that there's a typhoon in the area (probably won't make landfall) which made it rain all day. I took off from home a few minutes early as to get a bagel from a really good place in Shinjuku station. They seem to make them fresh daily and in the traditional style (long and short, they taste great.) In class this morning we started on the second book today. Class "A" uses book 1, class "B" (my class) reviews in book one and goes onto book 2. Because these aren't the same books I used in the states, the review had some new material and the new book covers some old stuff. The biggest difference between books one and two is that book two teaches more colloquial Japanese, which is all the more useful when living here.

At lunch I went to the Office Max across the street from the school to get a new mechanical pencil as I somehow broke my old one. While browsing I found that this Office Max sell the similar hip-bags to the ones Sparks and I bought in Harajuku. I actually asked a Japanese student sitting in on yesterdays JLSP class (who had one) what it was and what it was called. He told me that they're based on the "tool" bags that hairdressers use. He told me that name, something having to do with cutting hair, but it was in Japanese, went over my head, and I forgot it.

Next I bought a quick lunch from the conveince store on the corner and went to the room where we have JLPS classes (and where you can eat lunch if you please.) I was surprised that there was no one there. A fellow student stopped in after a few minutes and informed me that afternoon classes were canceled and we were going to a museum instead. This was super news as I am (and many fellow students are) not a fan of the tuesday lecture and it got me out of my Kanji class too.

At 1:00 we all got on the train and headed down the line to the Tokyo-Edo Museum. This is a really cool place I was actually planning to visit this weekend. It is devoted to Tokyo throughout it's history (starting as the fishing village called Edo.) The exhibits were well done and all had English language signs describing them. There were many detailed, large, scale dioramas of what Edo used to look like. There were even a few full sized recreations of period buildings. The modern era section covered from the Meiji era through the great Kanto earthquake and up to the beginning of WWII. Then there's a convenient gap and a section on post war Japan.

This gets it's own paragraph because it moved me so. Located in a back corner in the section about immediate post war Japan was (it HAS to be a recreation of) the "Instrument of Surrender". The document signed aboard the Missouri that signaled the end of World War II. As I stood and read it it occurred to me that I hadn't read it before. For those interested you can read the text here. I can't explain why, but it gave me chills thinking what this document represents.

At 4:00 our group met up in the lobby and parted ways. I stopped on the way home in Suidobashi, where I heard I could find some martial art supply stores. At first I went the wrong way out the station and had a nice walk AROUND the Tokyo Dome. After asking at a police box I found the district I was looking for. After a bit of shopping around I found a decent store and bought my first Shinai. Want strange looks in Japan? Be 6'4" tall. Want stranger looks? Carry a Shinai around (in the traditional bag of course.)

KFC for dinner before coming home. Gonna cut it short for now as my favorite Anime is about to come on. For those who like Anime and have the means, I highly recommend "Bleach".

Ja Mata Ne.

Instead of a normal exciting weekend update I'm going to take this chance to post some more answers to questions that have been asked. I decided after Kendo practice this morning that I'd be a slacker again today and hang out around the house to get some work done. Not the most exciting thing to write home about. So here I go:

Thanks to Vorrt for posting this set (as well as other sets) of questions.

Q:How is the class structure for college in Japan in comparison to the class structure here in America?
A: The Japanese classes are more or less structured like a foreign language class in the states. You learn the new grammar or vocabulary lesson first, then practice by applying it. The JLSP classes, which are lectures on various aspects of Japanese culture are given like lectures in the states. One class that is different from anything I've had before in "Conversation Class" in which we sit and talk (in Japanese) with a Japanese volunteer one on one for an hour and a half.

Q:Do you have one teacher who teaches all day or do you have different teachers for different subjects?
A: Actually we have a team of 3 Japanese class teachers who each teach class 2 days a week (one teaches only once a week.) Each teacher teaches for the entire class session. They're all really nice and helpful. We have 5 different JLSP lecturers. 2 native Japanese, 1 American, 1 former American (naturalized Japanese now), and 1 former Russian (again now a naturalized Japanese). Each JLSP teacher has their own quirks and I like them all. The "teacher" for my Conversation Class is one of my Japanese language teachers. Also my Kanji instructor is one of my language class teachers. Long story short: different teachers for different subjects.

Q:What is the college campus like? Is it beautiful and old like UofM or MSU? or is it dilapidated and death-trapish like WMU?
A: Neither. The campus where I attend class isn't a campus at all but a building in a downtown area. I understand that some of NiDai's colleges have very nice campuses (i.e. the Liberal Arts college near my apartment) but I haven't checked any of them out yet. I suppose to sort of answer the question asked, it's not "old and busted" but it isn't "the new hotness" either.

Q:Will you post any pictures of the college you are attending?
A:These are pictures of the main NiDai building. I attend classes in the Annex building down the street. There's a good cheap cafeteria for NiDai students I frequent in the basement of this building.



Q:What is your class compostion like?
A: As mentioned above; language class is lesson, practice, lesson, practice. JLSP class is strainght sit and listen lecture. Conversation class is the most fun as there is no composition, we just talk about whatever we wish (although typically conversation starters are supplied, just in case).

Q:Is it all Americans or are there students from other countries in it as well? Is there more women or men?
A: This is a remarkably difficult question. I am one of two mainland Americans, but the other guy attends Cambridge in the U.K. There are also two students from Hawaii, but they're not in the JLSP program (they're true exchange students). So no, there's not a lot of Americans. I'd say maybe 60% of participants are German. Maybe 20% Finnish (yeah, I'm supprised too). The rest are a smattering of various countries (China, France, Sweden, Russia, etc.) I believe there are more women than men. I haven't done a head count, but I think that's how it is.

Q:What about student groups? Anything like what exists here in the states? or something completely different?
A: For various reasons I haven't sought out any student groups through NiDai. I'd have to assume that there are students groups quite a bit like in the states but I have no data to back that up. The Kendo club I'm with isn't part of NiDai.

Q:Did you find an Otaku group (ala my misconceptions from watching "Otaku no video")?
A: I haven't seen "Otaku no Video" so I don't know exactly what misconceptions are out there. For those who don't know the lingo and "Otaku" is a person so involved with anime and video games that he (or she, but more "he") dosen't ever leave his (or her, but really it's a male thing) house. Actually, the word "Otaku" means person who dosen't leave the house. I've heard about Otaku and seen some on TV, but by nature Otaku tend to be loners and don't form groups. Here the term Otaku carries slightly more negative connotations than in the states. If you think about it, someone in a group based culture who is a loaner is looked down upon. If and when an Otaku leaved the house it's either for more food or to go to Akihabara (totally otaku central). Okay, I know this paragraph describes me but... next question!

Q:Is grading structure any different than what you are used to? Is it a pass or fail system, or ranking like A's&B's style?
A: The JLSP course is very flexible in it's grading. It can send a transcript in whatever form the home university wants. I, for example, will be receiving ABCDE grades. Some participants have actually already graduated from their universities and will not be getting grades sent.

I hope this satifactorally answers these questions. If it didn't or you have more questions, please feel free to post a comment or send me an e-mail.

Ja Mata Ne.

Hooray! Just experienced my first earthquake! What fun. I think it was perhaps only a 1 or 2 on the Richter scale, but it lasted for about a minute. At first I though one of the trains was going by or my neighbor was moving a heavy piece of furniture, but when it began to shake more I knew it was an earthquake. I did what I learned at the disaster preparedness center and got under my desk until it subsided. There goes another thing off my 'while in Japan' to-do list.

Edit: According to several sources found through Google news, the earthquake was a 5.1 on the Richter scale. The epicenter was located north of Tokyo.