Do you know the muffin man?

My Daughter Solara

2009-12-31T11:03:00.000-08:00

虹色光　aka Solara (Care Bear Monster!)

2009-12-24T21:45:00.000-08:00

Hello Baby Solara! Welcome to the World!

Born Dec. 7th, 2009. 8lbs. 3.5 oz.

My new daughter Solara Sapphire Vick! She decided to make a bold statement by being born on the anniversary of Pearl Harbor. She's our 'peace baby' as she symbolizes the wonderful relationship Japan and the U.S. now share, so much so that her American father could meet her beautiful Japanese mother allowing for the chance for a beautiful baby to be born. Peace baby!

My daughter Solara becoming extremely disgruntled when she found out that sucking the Care Bear's arm did not dispense with the milk. Grrr...! Give me milk!!!

Angel Eater

2009-12-14T00:54:00.000-08:00

So my students are writing about their "future dreams" of what they want to become when they grow up. Girls tend to want to become flight attendants, teachers, nurses, and pastry chefs. Boys want to become pilots, firemen, salary men, and teachers. These answers are standard, often unoriginal on purpose (as they're all trying to fit in), but in the land of the homogeneous every once in a while you get a Koji.

Koji wrote about how he wanted to become a god. Why? Because Koji wants to rule the world. Sounds well enough, but how does one become a god I asked? Koji informed, "You must first find God, and ask him to make you a god, and then you become a god."

Ah, sounds easy enough, I replied. Koji nodded in the affirmative. "It's that easy," he said.

Then I asked, "What do you do when you become a god?"

"Well," Koji said with a contemplative grin, "I will eat angels."

"Eat angels? What? Why?!"

"Because!" Koji said confidently, "That's the type of god I will become."

I asked if there was anything else he would do other than conquer the world and eat angels, and he simply said, "Nope. That will keep me pretty busy."

A few minutes later the JTE (Homeroom teacher) came up to me and asked if Koji's essay was acceptable for the open class tomorrow. I said yeah, it was fine. A little strange, but every class needs a Koji once in a while, a unique personality type, with an over active imagination, and a class clown to boot. But this is the type of originality and unique independent spirit which is so rare in Japan. I sometimes find myself wishing their were more angel eaters like Koji.

Do As Infinity

2009-12-09T05:42:00.001-08:00

Because I'm in the mood, and it's a great song. Enjoy!

Fall Keitai Photo Dump #2

2009-12-03T07:03:00.001-08:00

Fall Keitai Photo Dump

2009-12-03T06:57:00.000-08:00

Smelly Girls!

2009-11-13T08:02:00.000-08:00

Living in a foreign culture can sometimes be challenging. But other times, it's downright exciting. The exchange I can have with my students is not only informative, but we can all enjoy the oddities, or rather peculiarities, of one another simultaneously learning about each other in the process. This multicultural exchange is what makes being an ESL Teacher worthwhile.

This time, I had the pleasant experience of quirky off the wall humor. It's an epic of silliness. It's one of the reasons I enjoy living in Japan. Namely, the Japanese culture is so different from my own that every little difference is startling! For example, in Japan tattoos are BAD! Really bad. Not like, I'm a good Christian and my Pastor dad will kill me if he finds out kind of bad, but, literally society will shun you and you'll be driven out sort of bad. But then again, they love to bathe communally... in the nude... together. Go figure. Just don't get caught with a tattoo.

Even so, it's these differences which I find amusing. And one of the best examples happened today. Let's call it: the case of the smelly girls.

It all began after fourth period, before lunch, when a group of students convened in the hallway to chat with me. As they were excitedly all talking to me at once about numerous topics of interest, I noticed the girls continually sniffing in my direction. I looked at them and they all giggled and then stared back at me. As a habit, I turned to the boys and asked, "What are they doing?"

The boys laughed, and informed me that I smelled good. "Oh, you think so too?"

"Yes," they confirmed. And then one of the girls asked, "Are you wearing perfume?" All eyes and ears intently focused on me anticipating a response.

"No," I informed, "I am wearing deodorant."

"Di-ode-o-ra-n-to" they replied in staccato Japanese accents. But in Japan deodorant is scentless, and moreover, nobody wears it. It's only meant for really active boys who are doing sports, and then Gatsby, one of the popular brand names, only sells aerosol sprays and paper-powder-wipes, both non-scented. Not exactly what they think about when they smell my Old Spice Aqua Reef gel based antiperspirant and deodorant.

So I thought it would be a good time to do some show and tell. I retrieved my stick of Old Spice from my school bag and opened it to show them. The boys took a big whiff and instantly retracted, eyes tearing up, noses wrinkled. "Pheeew-that's strong!" One boy exclaimed.

The girls, on the other hand, loved it. Of course, in Japan girls are accustomed to wearing perfume, and so anything new and exotic entices them. Then, without warning, one girl grabbed my Old Spice and started rubbing it on the back of her hand. She then proceeded to make her friends smell the back of her hand, informing, "I smell like Vick-sensei!"

Without hesitation she passed it to her friend, who did the same, and then there were seven girls, all rubbing my deodorant on themselves giggling frantically because they smelled like Vick-sensei.

One of the boys turned to me and asked, "How do you put it on?"

"You rub it on your body," I said.

"Your naked body?"

"Yeah, basically," I told him. His eyes got big, he looked at all the girls frolicing and rolling around in the scent of Aqua Reef, and then doing a double take looked back at me.

"Which part of the body?" he inquired quite earnestly.

"My armpits I told him."

He started laughing hysterically and ran off to tell all the other boys that the girls were rubbing my deodorant all over themselves, which I use on my armpits!

Then the lunch bell rang, and retrieving my Old Spice, I watched as seven smelly girls danced and pranced down the hall all giddy with the excitement of smelling a little bit smellier than they smelled before. And all this made me chortle, as I found it so funny that they got so excited about something so mundane back home. It was entertaining to say the least.

Middle Mountain Madness

2009-11-09T22:18:00.000-08:00

Sometimes students change a little, and sometimes a lot! I was at a culture festival and ran into her, and she ran up to me and asked me if I remembered who she was, and I said, "Yeah, but don't you have a little too much make-up on?" And she hit me and laughed. Then we had a good long chat and caught up on each others lives. It was a nice mini-reunion.

At any rate, we had a good half hour chat about her future goals and aspirations and we caught up on old times. She is one of my all time favorite people, quirky, fun, beyond interesting. It was a real pleasure to run into her. I enjoy seeing every one of my ex-students whenever and wherever we happen to bump into each other at. It's always a great chance to see them develop into fully fleshed out adult people.

Puri-Kura Time!

2009-10-29T04:25:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I made the arduous journey from Hiroshima to Kumamoto. Arduous because, if you've ever driven on the densley packed Japanese toll high ways, well, then you probably know exactly what I mean. Short drives are fine, but over six hour trecks are more than nerve wracking. Anyway, a guy has gotta' do what a guy has goatta' do. The bottom line is, I was happy to see my wife again and get a few days off work. The baby is "super genki" and is kicking like a ninja/soccer player. Future Shaolin soccer master? Perhaps.

For those who haven't heard, we've already decided on a name. People have names after all, and we only thought it would be fair greet our baby daughter properly. So in three weeks we shall welcome Solara Sapphire Vick into the world!

Sayaka's mother accompanied us to the print club photo fun booth, called puri-kura (purinto-kurabu) in Japanese. Taking puri-kura photos is a popular past time for Japanese, as they do it in middle school and high school every weekend with their friends. Sometimes adults just can't help feel a little nostalgic and hop in one for old times sake.

Say Hello to Mr. Nezu!

2009-10-22T05:54:00.000-07:00

Here's my best Japanese friend Mr. Nezu. He's a really cool guy.

Aliens and Predators Ate my Student's Brains!

2009-10-17T04:37:00.000-07:00

Funny story. One of my third year boy students (same as a high school freshman in America) came up to mean and started telling me how excited he was that the movie "Aliens vs. Predator" would be on television this weekend. He continued to inform me about how awesome scary movies were, and we have a really fun geeky conversation about scary movies.

He had mentioned that he loved the television series "Supernatural" also a personal favorite of mine, and then asked me what my current favorite scary show was? I informed him about "True Blood" and he got overly excited about a new Vampire TV series which will come to Japan soon. I responsibly added that the show was rated for adults and had too much gore and nudity in it. This, however, seemed to only excite him about the show. Oh well, can't say I didn't try.

A few minutes later I was talking to a girl student in the hall and she told me with great excitement that she was going to watch "Aliens vs. Predator" this weekend on TV. Deja vu struck me, and I couldn't help feel that I had just had this conversation. Low and behold, this lovely young lady was planning to watch this scary movie with her boyfriend, and she was excited, not because of the Aliens and Predators which were going to terrorize her imagination, but she was extatic about snuggling up to her man and enjoying time together amid the Aliens and Predators.

A little while later I ran into them both again, and asked them if they were dating. My students got embarassed, but then informed me that they were "sort of dating." They were boyfriend and girlfriend, but dating is a real big word here in Japan, so they didn't want to admit that... just that they were boyfriend and girlfriend. I told them I understand, dating implies serious comitment and even a physical relationship, so boyfriend and girlfriend it is then. We all continued to talk about scary movies, and if I'm not mistaken "Aliens vs. Predator" should be airing any minute now.

Catch you all next time! Have a great weekend! I'm gonna catch myself some B-rated sci-fi, and hope that everyone has a good time this evening.

Japanese Bento (Homemade!)

2009-10-09T18:40:00.000-07:00

School lunch services got canceled due to the typhoon Melor. Since it was a test day also, students got out at 2:00 pm instead of 4:30, so it was a bring your own bento day! A bento is like a Japanese lunch box... except a lot more preparation goes into making one. Take a look at the delicious and verily artistic bento my lovely wife Sayaka made for me!

Kyoto Trip Kinkaku-ji

2009-09-30T04:38:00.001-07:00

Kinkaku-ji (the Golden Shrine) also known as Rokuon-ji (the official name) is one of Japan's biggest tourist attractions.

Having a macha-tea break. Yummy!

Kyoto Trip Kiyo Mizu Dera

2009-09-30T04:19:00.001-07:00

Yayoi's Beauty Contest and a Trip to Kobe

2009-09-30T03:57:00.000-07:00

A beauty proportions (body diet, fitness, and toning shape, beauty) pageant in Kobe, sponsored by Nissen.

Yayoi wins the beauty proportions contest for the 20s age category.

Little sister Yayoi feeling the baby kick.

Happy for lil' sis.

Sayaka and I at the Pier in Kobe. (My students ask if I'm pregnant too... I tell them, yes. I have a "butter baby" which is due any moment.)

Incognito

2009-07-10T20:12:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lack of blogging presence. I've been swamped with work this month, and the month before we had our Kenshu-kai divisional/Prefectural open class presentations. Basically they are an over-rehearsed class in which the kids reitterate the same lesson they've been practicing all week for a bunch of Prefectural board of education supervisors who then proceed to tell you how to improve your teaching methodologies of the totally "fake" class you just acted out.

It's totally useless! But the Japanese love their pomp and circumstance, and sometimes I think the ritual itself is more important than the actual act of learning.

This goes with school assemblies too. So many hours wasted listening to down talking style lectures in which the Principal is obligated to speak for and hour or more drilling safety lessons, about how to behave as responsible adults, and other moralist high horse preaching into the kids heads before summer break. As if they will remember anything he said or just absorb a sophist behavior through osmosis. Yet junior high school students rarely ever recollect anything past the fifteen to thirty minute mark let alone over an hour of preaching. It's just another example of ceremony for the sake of ceremony and is, in my opinion, a huge ceremonial waist of time. Especially since everything which is ever said at these assemblies could be completely summed up in 15 minutes or less. The drawing out of events just for the events sake is a monotonous, but we all happily endure it because it means... in an hour... summer vacation begins!

One of the biggest cultural difference of K-12 education back in the U.S. where I'm from, is that the teachers get time off when the students do. In Japan, regrettably that's not the case. In Japan... when the students get let out for vacation the school teachers come right back and work all summer long. Of course, I find that Japanese teachers are some of the hardest working people I know, and it's really a challenging job, and I admire all the teachers I work with even though much of the system they are forced to work in restricts their teaching abilities or what and how they can teach.

One of the things living and working as an educator in Japan teaches you is how to be patient when it comes to having your time waisted by ridiculously near obsessive compulsive cultural traditions (which have only arrisen in the last 60 years). Much of the modern Japanese school system is modeled on the Western one with the exception that they ignore the proven teaching methods which work to incorporate distinctly "Japanese" ones--regardless of whether or not it increases the quality of education.

For example, if I try to have the kids learn an extra vocabulary word that's not written on their weekly vocab sheet... the teacher always informs that it's too difficult for them, because going above and beyond demands the kids put pressure on themselves to learn more... instead of learning just the same amount as everyone else. This insular close-knit everbody is the same feeling which creates a strong sense of unity in Japan, also is present in the classroom. To distabilize such a traditional mode of thinking by asking the students to try a little harder... perchance to actually learn... sparks instant excuse making on why such a request is impossible. Often times I think the teachers simply mean to say, "This isn't how we do it in Japan." And then deny the children a chance to learn if the learning pushes the accepted boundaries of what is considered "acceptable" teaching in Japan.

Part of this is legal of course. The government regulates exactly how class curriculumns should be taught, but it always is a dissapointment at how futile and useless the "English" model of teaching in Japan actually is. This is probably why Japanese have over 8 years of formal English education coming out of such a rigorous curriculumn without so much as the ability to form a single coherant English dialogue, but countries like South Korea and China will have their students fluently chatting English in two to three years.

It's the system that's flawed. And it needs to change if Japan wants to stay competative in today's global ecconomy where English plays such a vital part.

This is the most common gripe among foreign English educators in Japan, because it is a real obstacle and a real hinderance to our jobs. We can't teach English very well if the system doesn't allow us to, and that can get downright frustrating. JETs last an average of only two years because they get so frustrated of being under-utilized and unable to teach that they just throw up their arms and let the Japanese suffer the consequences of their own inflexibility toward the necessity of change. But I have toughed it out for the long hall, and in my opinion, after five years, I've learned one thing... Japan isn't going to change because nobody wants it to.

And those who desperately do want better educations opt to send their children to International multricultural private schools where the little children get the highest quality educations. The public school system continues to have high standards of standardizing the children to a homogeneous group of intelligent young people... but if you ever have wondered why Japan has so few Einsteins, Platos, Aristotles, and people who stand out above the rest of the pack... it's because the system is designed to make it so nobody stands out at all. Everyone must be the same.

This has certain pros and cons. But the bottom line is, in the arena of English Education, it's dreadfully maladaptive. By keeping everyone the same it holds the brightest students back. And that's no way to equip future generations with a skill they are going to absolutely need.

But enough complaining. There's not much Educators like me can do. We're not even supposed to have a "political" opinion, and by law it is illegal for us to partake in any political action. So all we are left with are opinions, which go unheard by the Japanese, because they still haven't learned the required English they need to understand our complaints. Ironic, isn't it?

And even for those like me, who speak conversational Japanese relatively well, and can voice such opinions in the native tongue, I risk losing my job. So I don't say anything. But it's best not to let it get you down. The way I've survived so long is that I take every opportunity to engage on a cultural level with my students. By showing a great interest in their lives, their culture, their interests and ambitions... I can spark greater curiosity in them about my own exotic and exciting culture.

Last week one of my seventh graders came up to me and handed me a note from her older sister, a girl who graduated two years ago. I read the letter with a huge smile as she wrote asking for some private English tutoring as she was thinking about speninding her senior year of high school as an exchange student in Australia, and wrote to tell me how much fun she had in my class and that she thought I was a great teacher and wanted to speak with me about this new exciting chapter in her life. It's the little things like this which really keep me going... keep me interested in working endlessly and tirelessly against the machine knowing that even if I can reach just one student that it's all worth it in the end.

Well, I can't promise any frequent or exciting updates, let alone on a regular basis. This years Hiroshima English Camp is two weeks away and I'm gearing up to do some real hands on intensive English teaching. I've been promoted to camp Coordinator, or rather invuluntarily voted into the position, and have some more responsibility this year. Hopefully it will all go smoothly and work out in the end. I guess we'll see. I should have some pictures and camp updates posted in a few weeks. Until then, stay cool, drink that refreshing ice lemonade, and have a great summer!

Green Tea Coke!

2009-06-15T02:01:00.001-07:00

Yeah, I thought it was weird too.

Sha-Wing!

2009-05-14T07:11:00.000-07:00

Say Hello to my little friend!

School Life

2009-05-14T06:59:00.000-07:00

School Life

School Life

March 2009 Graduation

2009-03-12T02:29:00.001-07:00

Final shots before everyone heads off to various high schools and onto new exciting lives as young adults. Good luck everyone! Sorry I couldn't put up pictures of all my students, but here are a few photos of the fine young men and women I have grown fond of during my time in Japan.

A pyramid of girls! I jumped up on a desk suddenly surprising them. Got a few screams before taking some final photos together. Then they had their graduations ceremony and the long walk, which is a walk all the way down the school drive and then out into the street where they disappear forever--off to high school and their exciting new lives as young adults!

My students all looking serious. I had a great shot of everyone smiling and laughing, and then it came out all blurry. I'm really bumbed about that since everyone looks so serious in this shot. But it's better to have the memories than not, wouldn't you agree?

I spent three fun years with these amazing kids and got to watch them grow into real people with dreams, aspirations, and goals for the future. Their personalities all came shining through, which was quite fitting considering the school motto is "All will Shine!"

建国記念の日

2009-02-10T20:31:00.001-08:00

今日は建国記念の日です。６６０年前ぐらい日本が建国された日です。愛国心の休みの日。だから、今日は休みですから仕事がありません。Happy水曜日！

So basically, today is called "Kinkokuki no nenbi" which is the dawning of the Japanese identity as a country and as a nation circa 660 B.C.E. This is not Imperial Japan, Modern Japan, or Democratic Japan... this is a holiday celebrating the birth of Japan herself.

Granted there were many people on the Island before that time, 660 B.C.E. is the date estimated for when the "Japanese Identity" as an independent region came into being. As such, it is sort of like Japan's unofficial Birthday. Meaning it's a national holiday filled with patriotism or "Aikokushin" i.e. love of one's country.

And to celebrate Japan's ancient history I am sharing with you a TAICHI SAOTOME video. He is a male Kabuki dancer/performer. He specialized in modern Kabuki dance styles, and does Kabuki acting as well. He is the most famous Kabuki star in Japan. They say every 100 years there is but one Kabuki actor as graceful, elegant, and awe inspiring as this man.

Kabuki is traditional Japanese song and dance and is usually performed by men, who dress up as females, wearing glamorous Japanese kimonos, wigs, and women's makeup and use 'feminine' grace and elegance to enhance the dance performance. It's one of Japan's most ancient and well respected art forms, and may be why so many men dress up as women on modern Japanese variety television (something I may blog about in the near future). In Japanese culture this transvestite cross-dressing behavior is totally acceptable and is a cultural norm. After seeing the amazing Taichi Saotome dance, you'll understand how it can be so well accepted.

Kabuki theater according to Wikipedia is:

Kabuki (歌舞伎 kabuki^?) is the highly stylised classical Japanese dance-drama. Kabuki theatre is known for the stylization of its drama and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers. The individual kanji characters, from left to right, mean sing (歌), dance (舞), and skill (伎). Kabuki is therefore sometimes translated as "the art of singing and dancing." These are, however, ateji, characters that do not reflect actual etymology. The kanji of 'skill', is however generally referred to as a performer in kabuki theatre. The word kabuki is believed to derive from the verb kabuku, meaning "to lean" or "to be out of the ordinary", so kabuki can be interpreted to mean "avant-garde" or "bizarre" theatre.^[1] The expression kabukimono (歌舞伎者) referred originally to those who were bizarrely dressed and swaggered on a street.

Crazy Japanese TV

2009-02-07T06:13:00.000-08:00

I do love the Tommy Lee Jones Boss commercials. They're hilarious. Just seeing one makes me want to grow up to be Tommy Lee Jones.

Anyway, the rest of Japanese TV is pretty strange. Amusing, but strange. Sometimes I just feel like a good show with a story instead of variety hour. But every once and a while there is something I just have to laugh at on Japanese TV. This video is one of them.

1st Year Anniversary!

2009-01-11T00:12:00.000-08:00

Sayaka and I just celebrated our first year anniversary together! It came so fast we didn't even notice it. After the New Years vacation, well rested and ready to go again, we jumped straight back into the thick of it.

The first week of school began, then Wednesday hit and low and behold it was our one year anniversary! So my wife made reservations at our favorite local French restaurant and we ate some amazing food by a certified French Chef (who is Japanese)!

Sayaka had the jumbo shrimp platter. We both had the bread with a cinamon pear spread.

Of course I had the diced steak and vegetable platter. Lovely!

Happy New Year & the Mari Mokkori Energy Drink!

2009-01-11T00:04:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!

I was lucky to catch up with the lovely Inoue Yukari (Yukari-chan!), an old aquaintance from my college time in Japan.

Met up with my good friend and college buddy Takumi Nezu!

Yes, and my other college pal Kikkuchi (Mr. Takahiro) came along too.

The lovely Inoue (Yukari) came along with us for some eating and remeniscing of the good old times in college.

It was funny when Yukari told me that she wanted to ask me out on a date when we were going to school together six years ago, but that she was too afraid of the fact that my Japanese wasn't good enough, so she never did. She came to all of the parties though and we hung out quite a bit. It was interesting getting to know her now that I can speak more affluently and communicate with her. We laughed about a lot of stuff.

Here's another picture of the adorable Yukari!

Some special cookies wrapped in a nice "Japanesey" box as a Xmas present for my family back home (it's in the mail).

Decided to jump into an anime and hang with Totor, b'cuz why not?

My Christmas peresent from my father was a sleek PlayStation 3 extremely rare Metal Gear Solid Gun-metal grey finish edition. I can actually sell this think on Ebay for over $1,000 if I wanted to.

Any PS3 is fine with me, but because of my specific tastes in accessories to color coridinate and go with the rest of the stuff I own, I requested Santa track down a very rare version of the sytem for me. Granted I was spoiled with a stunning sleek charcoal grey polished to look like gun-metal limited edition PS3. They only made 10,000 of these in the whole world!

On the way home, after new years, we stopped at a rest area and in the giftshop I found a really amusing energy drink with the infamous Mari Mokkori on the can!

The Japanese hiragana and katakana reads "Mokkori Power!" Mari Mokkori is the beloved character from Hokkaido who sport a large erection while wearing a speedo. もっこり mokkori litterally means to 'rise up'.

The drink was basically vitamin D with some other stuff thrown in. It doesn't promise to actually help erectile disfuntion, no you'll need viagara for that, but it does wake you up and give you a jolt! Plust the little icon Mari Mokkori is just so cute! Everybody knows him in Japan.

Christmas Dinner in Japan

2008-12-20T02:46:00.001-08:00

Some Christmas cheer and decor.

Gift giving (not a Japanese tradition so everyone is having fun playing 'Secret Santa' gift exchange for the first time.)

Some fancy Christmas decorations to liven up the dining room.

(Bellow) The glorious dining room with Christmas feast laid out, including some lovely Christmas roast beast!

The Inoue sisters lined up eldest to youngest: Kumiko, Naomi, Hiromi, and Aya.

Here I am posing with the gorgeous and captivating Hiromi Inoue.

The adorable little Haruka taking a picture with Sayaka.

Sera ALTs left to right: Ryuta, Arend, and myself.

A Christmas hug from the wife.

The arrival. Here we are arriving for the Christmas party. Here is Sayaka entering the front gate to the Inoue Estate. Yes, it has its very own front gate! Very nice.

Off yoner is the Tea Ceremony house. It's a seperate building in the middle of the Japanese garden in front of the Inoue's lovely estate.

A mansion is actually hiding behind this Japanese garden: believe it or not. A nice shiny reflection of the Japanese garden and evening sky.