Well, here I am again. I still feel so busy even though I practically didn’t work last week. Last Sunday, Hiroki had a fever which just got worse on Monday, so I took the morning off to take him to the doctor. Like I said before, going to the dr’s here is a pain because of the no appointment system. And there is no way of knowing when his dr will arrive at the office (although I really can’t complain, because I think that she never goes home or has holidays, she goes to her hospital on her time off and people go there if they have an emergency-like a high fever in the middle of the night, etc) We went early and wrote his name on a list and still we were number 15. Anyway, the dr didn’t arrive till late (around 11 ish) and so I ended up not being able to take him in to see her. She gave him medicine for a cold, enough for 3 days. I worked in the afternoon and then taught my evening class.
Tuesday was a regular day work-wise, I went to school then I taught my evening class. Hiroki stayed at home cause he still had a fever.
Wednesday I took the day off to go get my driver’s license renewed. The first time you get it renewed here you have to be there for a couple of hours to watch a video and listen to a lecture. I had also heard that you have to do some sort of group work activity thing that I was NOT AT ALL looking forward to. This was something on my list of things to do before going to Canada. It was a pain because I had to take 2 trains and a bus to get there, and I was worried about doing it all alone, too. Anyway, I didn’t have any problems and the video and lecture were so very obvious that even if I didn’t understand much Japanese I would have been able to do it. The video showed us that drinking and driving is bad, not wearing your seat belt properly is bad (still no law to wear seat belts in the back seat, tho!), don’t speed, don’t use a cell phone and drive, etc. Really dumb. The video was 20 min and the rest of the time we got lecture about the new point system and if we do something that makes us lose points blah blah blah. The man giving the lecture was, as my dad used to say, drier than a popcorn fart. He kept going over the same thing-be careful at crosswalks, look both ways at crosswalks, don’t run out from crosswalks, etc. When he finished I had an awful headache.
Anyway, in the afternoon I met my friend for lunch and we went shopping. Then I went home, made dinner and went to teach my evening class. Hiroki stayed home all day because he still had a bit of a fever.
Thursday was a national holiday here. We didn’t end up doing anything special. Hiroki was still under the weather a little, and it was a little cold and rainy. No evening class. Yay.
Friday I ended up taking the day off again as Thursday night Hiroki was coughing so much that neither of us got much sleep. We went to the dr again. After lunch I went and got my haircut while he was sleeping. At night I taught my evening class.
Saturday I can’t even remember what we did, I guess nothing special.
Sunday Hiroki and I went to the library in the morning, and on the way home we stopped to play on some slides, walked to a grocery store、did some shopping, walked to a toy store and had a look, managed to leave with no crying (and no toys), Walked about 2 kms, no problem for me but I was amazed that Hiroki could do it. Ate lunch and Hiroki had a nap. I made cookies, got some computer stuff done, felt very productive.
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
....2
Oh boy-got some free time again today! Yay! So at the beginning of every English class in junior high school we sing English songs for whatever reason…pronunciation? Listening? I don’t know. We’ll sing the same song for a month. Usually we are pretty limited in our choice of songs as they can’t be difficult for the students. Last month it was Billy Joel’s Honesty for the grade 9s, which I thought was pretty hard to sing. I had also never really paid much attention to the lyrics before. Not one of my favourites. The grades sang a song called The Tide is High/I Get a Feeling or something like that. The Tide is High being the Blondie song. It was sung by Atomic Kitten? And with the grade 7s, it was another Atomic Kitten song-a remake of Eternal Flame. Last month’s songs weren’t really bad. The month before was Micky-a remake of the Toni Basil song by Bewitched? For the grade 9s, Bad Day by Daniel Powell? For the grade 8s, and very sadly, On Top of the World by (Retching sounds) The Carpenters. I really don’t like their music.
Anywhere, this month is Ob-la-di-Ob-la-da for most of the grade 7s, and A-Ha’s Take on Me for the other 2 grade 7 classes. I never knew the words to that song as I couldn’t understand what the man was saying in the really high parts, but the kids actually sing it. The grade 8s are singing some Backstreet Boys song – I’ll be the One-never heard of it. The Grade 9s are unfortunately singing We Built This City by Starship (more retching sounds)
Oh well. I am already making suggestions for the next month-probably Christmas songs, so I am suggesting that we NOT sing Mariah Carey. Oh well.
In other things that are happening here, there have been a lot of suicides lately. Mostly by kids who were being bullied in school. It’s so sad and I just can’t get it. I feel like every day there is a new suicide being reported on the news.
That’s it for now-gotta do some work.
Anywhere, this month is Ob-la-di-Ob-la-da for most of the grade 7s, and A-Ha’s Take on Me for the other 2 grade 7 classes. I never knew the words to that song as I couldn’t understand what the man was saying in the really high parts, but the kids actually sing it. The grade 8s are singing some Backstreet Boys song – I’ll be the One-never heard of it. The Grade 9s are unfortunately singing We Built This City by Starship (more retching sounds)
Oh well. I am already making suggestions for the next month-probably Christmas songs, so I am suggesting that we NOT sing Mariah Carey. Oh well.
In other things that are happening here, there have been a lot of suicides lately. Mostly by kids who were being bullied in school. It’s so sad and I just can’t get it. I feel like every day there is a new suicide being reported on the news.
That’s it for now-gotta do some work.
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
Back
Well, here I am again. I’ve been thinking of all of the things I have experienced lately and wanted to say. I was quite proud of myself a couple of weeks back as I went to the eye doctor by myself and did it all in Japanese. For the most part, I didn’t have any problems. My last eye doctor visit was when I lived in Canada, so it’s been a while.
Going to the eye doctor or even regular doctor here is quite different. First of all, there are NO appointments! It’s really inconvenient. Usually when you go, you have to plan on being there for at least a couple of hours to go through all of the steps. (reception-nurse-doctor-reception to get prescription-getting medicine) When I went to the eye doctor, I got there about 5 minutes before the office opened, about one hour before the doctor started meeting patients. I was number 17 (I had to take a number). Of to course I had to fill in a form (much of which I couldn’t read-had to get the receptionist’s help). Then I waited for about 30 minutes. Next they called my name-and then the nurses did different checks-the glaucoma one (puff of air in your eye),checked my contact lens fit, then checked my vision using the chart thingy, and then I got to do it all over again without my contacts. The thing that surprised me at first is that this was all done in front of all of the other patients that are waiting to see the dr. They don’t use an alphabet chart here, they use circles that are almost shut (it looks like a circle) and you have to say whether the opening is on the left, right, top or bottom. Okay, I can handle that (was nervous about mixing up left and right though). {For Hiroki, they gave him a C figure and he had to make it the same as what he could see.} Then waited again to see the dr. Got into see him and the nurse helping him decided that I needed help. They wanted me to put my head in the usual thing-chin on the bar, forehead on the other bar-got it, no problem. The doc was shining a light in my eyes to check them. The nurse is pushing my head into that machine saying, “Just for a little bit-you can do it” or something like that and I was just getting annoyed. My head automatically pushed back against her hand, so of course she just pushed harder. So I told her that I didn’t really need her to push my head and that I could do it all by myself (I had managed up to this point). Thankfully she backed off.
I was there to get new contacts and so I got the prescription for them and the nurse let me know that I would have to come back in 3 months to get the next prescription and get my eyes checked all over again. Huh? 3 months?! So I asked if it was possible to get more and she said, if I ask, the doc might let me have 6 months worth all together. But I would have to come back immediately after that or he wouldn’t want to give me another 6 months worth. I was really lucky, I guess, to get a whole 6 month supply of contacts! My one question is what do people who work do? It’s so difficult to get there and see a doc without waiting forever. Oh well.
The other thing I have been thinking is weird is when I was walking to the station a while ago to catch a train to work, I said good morning to the (retired) crossing guard who is almost always there, stopping cars to make sure kids can cross the street safely. He said something about the weather getting cooler. I couldn’t hear him well as I was listening to music, I asked him to repeat it and said something back to him. Then on the other side of the street, there was a man walking the same way I was going and he said to me, “You couldn’t understand that, could you?” “You don’t know Japanese, right?” which in itself I don’t find very strange, but he said all of it in Japanese so I was thinking hhmm?
Enough for now.
Going to the eye doctor or even regular doctor here is quite different. First of all, there are NO appointments! It’s really inconvenient. Usually when you go, you have to plan on being there for at least a couple of hours to go through all of the steps. (reception-nurse-doctor-reception to get prescription-getting medicine) When I went to the eye doctor, I got there about 5 minutes before the office opened, about one hour before the doctor started meeting patients. I was number 17 (I had to take a number). Of to course I had to fill in a form (much of which I couldn’t read-had to get the receptionist’s help). Then I waited for about 30 minutes. Next they called my name-and then the nurses did different checks-the glaucoma one (puff of air in your eye),checked my contact lens fit, then checked my vision using the chart thingy, and then I got to do it all over again without my contacts. The thing that surprised me at first is that this was all done in front of all of the other patients that are waiting to see the dr. They don’t use an alphabet chart here, they use circles that are almost shut (it looks like a circle) and you have to say whether the opening is on the left, right, top or bottom. Okay, I can handle that (was nervous about mixing up left and right though). {For Hiroki, they gave him a C figure and he had to make it the same as what he could see.} Then waited again to see the dr. Got into see him and the nurse helping him decided that I needed help. They wanted me to put my head in the usual thing-chin on the bar, forehead on the other bar-got it, no problem. The doc was shining a light in my eyes to check them. The nurse is pushing my head into that machine saying, “Just for a little bit-you can do it” or something like that and I was just getting annoyed. My head automatically pushed back against her hand, so of course she just pushed harder. So I told her that I didn’t really need her to push my head and that I could do it all by myself (I had managed up to this point). Thankfully she backed off.
I was there to get new contacts and so I got the prescription for them and the nurse let me know that I would have to come back in 3 months to get the next prescription and get my eyes checked all over again. Huh? 3 months?! So I asked if it was possible to get more and she said, if I ask, the doc might let me have 6 months worth all together. But I would have to come back immediately after that or he wouldn’t want to give me another 6 months worth. I was really lucky, I guess, to get a whole 6 month supply of contacts! My one question is what do people who work do? It’s so difficult to get there and see a doc without waiting forever. Oh well.
The other thing I have been thinking is weird is when I was walking to the station a while ago to catch a train to work, I said good morning to the (retired) crossing guard who is almost always there, stopping cars to make sure kids can cross the street safely. He said something about the weather getting cooler. I couldn’t hear him well as I was listening to music, I asked him to repeat it and said something back to him. Then on the other side of the street, there was a man walking the same way I was going and he said to me, “You couldn’t understand that, could you?” “You don’t know Japanese, right?” which in itself I don’t find very strange, but he said all of it in Japanese so I was thinking hhmm?
Enough for now.
Sunday, November 12, 2006
....
Okay, I have been neglecting you….I’m sorry. Things have been ridiculously busy here. At school (where I usually do this and where I am now) I have been doing a short conversation test with all of the grade eights. (5 classes of about 35 kids) It’s cutting into my computer time! It’s nice to get to talk to the kids on an individual basis, though. A lot of them surprise me and end up talking really well.
The other day (okay 2 or 3 weeks ago or more??) I finished my (stupid) speech thing I had to do. I am so glad that I went first as the other teachers still have to do theirs and I was sooooooo happy to be finished. I think that it went well. When I was talking to one of the other teachers about my topic-political correct language – he said something to the effect of how I’m going to be able to have a little rant at all of the things people say and do here (especially towards foreigners)….and to an extent he was right. So I was careful about my actual lecture, I didn’t really want to sound like I was complaining about Japanese people. I tried to be very lighthearted and I think that no one felt offended by anything. I was surprised by the level of English of the people who came to it, actually. Many of them spoke quite well. A lot of them got my jokes, too, which was cool. I didn’t really talk about a couple of things that do bother me-like the word foreigner and half. Coming from a different country I am a foreigner, I guess, but seeing as we don’t really use that word any more (at least in my experience) where I am from, I don’t like it very much. I think it’s different because we can’t tell by looking at someone who is from Canada and who isn’t. Also the half thing bothers me a bit, too. My son is half Japanese and half Caucasian, but it just sounds so weird as half (I used to always think of the King Solomon story when I heard that.)
I also didn’t mention the stupid questions we get asked a lot. The latest winner for me was something to the effect that I must see things differently because of the colour of my eyes being different. I was telling my MIL about this and she said something about kids not really knowing much and I told her that this came from a teacher. Hee hee. She was disgusted as I was. She was also disgusted by the teacher who was stating his disbelief a that white person could like mochi, or sticky rice cakes. He used an old fashioned word to express ‘white people’ and my MIL said something like she doesn’t know how some people become teachers.
ANYWAY!
I don’t want this to be an all negative post, so I’m going to stop with that talk. What else has been keeping me busy? I have been at elementary schools a lot lately, too, another thing that cuts into my computer time. Sometimes if I get a free period at the junior high I end up reading the internet instead of doing this blog as I just don’t have much energy. I shouldn’t read stuff on the internet because a lot of it is very negative.
The boy is good. Well, he is mostly good. He has been a little trying lately as he has very strong opinions as to what he wants to do (even when I don’t want him to) which makes for a lot of crying and screaming. (Mostly on his part;P) Lately this has manifested itself while he is sleeping as well. For the last couple of nights he has woken up screaming and crying that he wants something or that he wants to do it or that he wants to do it from the beginning. It’s very difficult to convince him that he is dreaming and it’s not happening now. (I tried the other night-It’s okay, Hiroki, you’re dreaming. Him yelling back-I’m not dreaming! So I tried again-look we’re sleeping, it’s dark. Him-I don’t like the dark! Put on a light! So I turn on a light and he screams –It’s too bright! It took a while to calm him down….)
I think I have to go get ready for class.
The other day (okay 2 or 3 weeks ago or more??) I finished my (stupid) speech thing I had to do. I am so glad that I went first as the other teachers still have to do theirs and I was sooooooo happy to be finished. I think that it went well. When I was talking to one of the other teachers about my topic-political correct language – he said something to the effect of how I’m going to be able to have a little rant at all of the things people say and do here (especially towards foreigners)….and to an extent he was right. So I was careful about my actual lecture, I didn’t really want to sound like I was complaining about Japanese people. I tried to be very lighthearted and I think that no one felt offended by anything. I was surprised by the level of English of the people who came to it, actually. Many of them spoke quite well. A lot of them got my jokes, too, which was cool. I didn’t really talk about a couple of things that do bother me-like the word foreigner and half. Coming from a different country I am a foreigner, I guess, but seeing as we don’t really use that word any more (at least in my experience) where I am from, I don’t like it very much. I think it’s different because we can’t tell by looking at someone who is from Canada and who isn’t. Also the half thing bothers me a bit, too. My son is half Japanese and half Caucasian, but it just sounds so weird as half (I used to always think of the King Solomon story when I heard that.)
I also didn’t mention the stupid questions we get asked a lot. The latest winner for me was something to the effect that I must see things differently because of the colour of my eyes being different. I was telling my MIL about this and she said something about kids not really knowing much and I told her that this came from a teacher. Hee hee. She was disgusted as I was. She was also disgusted by the teacher who was stating his disbelief a that white person could like mochi, or sticky rice cakes. He used an old fashioned word to express ‘white people’ and my MIL said something like she doesn’t know how some people become teachers.
ANYWAY!
I don’t want this to be an all negative post, so I’m going to stop with that talk. What else has been keeping me busy? I have been at elementary schools a lot lately, too, another thing that cuts into my computer time. Sometimes if I get a free period at the junior high I end up reading the internet instead of doing this blog as I just don’t have much energy. I shouldn’t read stuff on the internet because a lot of it is very negative.
The boy is good. Well, he is mostly good. He has been a little trying lately as he has very strong opinions as to what he wants to do (even when I don’t want him to) which makes for a lot of crying and screaming. (Mostly on his part;P) Lately this has manifested itself while he is sleeping as well. For the last couple of nights he has woken up screaming and crying that he wants something or that he wants to do it or that he wants to do it from the beginning. It’s very difficult to convince him that he is dreaming and it’s not happening now. (I tried the other night-It’s okay, Hiroki, you’re dreaming. Him yelling back-I’m not dreaming! So I tried again-look we’re sleeping, it’s dark. Him-I don’t like the dark! Put on a light! So I turn on a light and he screams –It’s too bright! It took a while to calm him down….)
I think I have to go get ready for class.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)