Saturday, December 12, 2009
Story Number Two
Okay, here's the second short story as promised.
Hopefully everything cut'n'pasted correctly -- this has been corrected so many times I now tremble at the thought of reading it once again...
ある町に、甘やかされた男の子が大邸宅に両親と一緒に住んでいた。父親は事業で大成功を収め、家庭は非常に裕福であった。面白い事に、両親は銀行を全く信用せず、大邸宅内に設置された大金庫に財産を全て入れておいた。
ところが、親にいつも甘やかされていたので、男の子はお金の事など気にもした事がなかった。毎日毎日、テレビゲーム、おもちゃ、服など 、ありとあらゆる物を両親に与えられていた。彼が欲しがる物は何でも手に入った。
それに加えて、男の子には執事がいつも付いて回っていた。シャワーを浴びる時、着替える時、トイレに行く時など、日常生活の全てにおいて人の手を借りて生活していた。だから、自分一人では何も出来なかった。
男の子は誕生日に「僕は今15歳になった。ガールフレンドが欲しいんだ。買ってよ。」と言った。
両親は顔を見合わせて溜め息をついた。そして、父親は息子の方を向いて説明しはじめた。「太魔(たま)さん、ガールフレンドは買えないものなんだよ。人間だから。」
「嘘!」と叫んだ。「執事は人間だよ。パパは僕に彼を買ってくれた。ガールフレンドも同じだろ。」
それは、ちょっと違いますよ...」と、母親は穏やかに言った。「恋人は、欲しいからと言って、手に入るものではないんです。互いに惹かれ合ってはじめて、恋人として成り立つんですよ。」
「じゃあ、僕を欲しいガールフレンドを買ってくれよ。」
父親はまた溜め息をついた。「そんなに簡単じゃないんだ。女の心を勝ち取らなければならない。私はそれを買ってやることは出来ない。それは太魔さんが自分一人ですることだ。」
「何だって?」と男の子は叫んだ。「自分で?嫌だよ!」
「だけど、そのうち太魔ちゃんは何かを自分一人でやってみた方がいいと思います。」と、母親は言った。
「そんなわけない...」と、男の子は独り言を言った。
男の子は執事に運転させた。行き先は美人の店員が働いている近くのコンビニだった。執事にソーダとチョコレートを買わせた時、男の子はリムジンの窓からその美しい女の子を何回も見かけた。
コンビニに着いてすぐ、男の子は車から降り、初めてコンビニに入った。言うまでもなく、執事と一緒だった。
「なんだ、これは?床がベタベタだよ。」と男の子はぼそっと呟き、足元に用心しながらレジに歩み寄った。
美人の店員は二人に気付き、「いらっしゃいませ。」と声をかけた。男の子は執事を突っついた。
「えへん...」と、執事は咳払いし、「私(わたくし)の坊っちゃまは貴方を恋人にして下さると仰っしゃっています。」
「何?冗談でしょう?」と、美人は返事した。
「冗談ではございません。」
「じゃあ、あなたの言う坊っちゃまって?」と、信じられない様子で聞いた。
執事は男の子の方を向いて、畏まって頷いた。男の子は片手を挙げて軽く振った。
美人は顔をしかめた。「ゲ。あのデブ男?話にもならないわ。」
男の子は顔を真っ赤にし、「デブって?誰がデブ?」と叫んだ。
店員は「あなたはデブよ。デブ、デブ、デブ...」とからかった。
「デブじゃない!お前は貧乏。貧乏、貧乏、貧乏だよ。」
「何ですって?」美人は少し混乱した。
「聞こえただろう。お前は貧乏だよ。貧乏な怠け者だよ。」と、男の子は大声で言い返した。騒ぎに気付いた客はレジの方向を眺めていた。
「怠け者って?私?」
「そうだよ。貧乏な怠け者だよ。コンビ二で働く人は貧乏な怠け者しかいないんだよ。」と、男の子は激怒した。
美人の店員は背を伸ばし出入り口を指差してから大声で、「出て行かないと警察を呼ぶわよ!」と言った。
男の子はまた執事に運転させた。行き先は美人が監視員として働いている近くのジムだった。以前から執事がプールで泳いでいる時、男の子はプールサイドでその美人を何回も見かていた。
着いてすぐ、男の子は車から降り、ジムに入った。言うまでもなく、執事と一緒だった。
いつもの様に、男の子はプールサイドでソーダを飲みながら、執事がプールで泳ぐのを見ていた。しばらくして、監視員の交替の時間になり、美人が現れた。
男の子は飲みかけのソーダをサイドテーブルに置き、手で美人の監視員に合図した。
彼女はすぐにやってきて、座っている男の子に、「どうなさいましたか。」と、心配そうに聞いた。
「僕はたくましいよ。ほら、見て!」と言い、泳いでいる執事を指差した。プールの方を向き、「おい!もっと早く泳げよ!」と叫んだ。
美人は困惑の表情を浮かべた。
「見て見て!僕はこんなに早く泳げるんだ。お前は僕みたいなたくましい男が好きだろう?」
美人は不安そうに執事を見、「あの...」と呟いた。
「でも、それだけではない。」男の子はプールの方に両手を振り、口笛を吹いた。執事は太魔が座っているプールサイドに近付いてきた。男の子は「僕が合図するまで、水中で息を止めててよ。」と彼に命令した。
美人な監視員は従順な執事をじっと見つめた。「何、これ?冗談でしょう?」
「冗談じゃないよ。僕は10分ぐらい水中で息を止めれるよ。見て見て!」と、男の子は自慢した。「僕はたくましいんだから。」
「10分ぐらいって?あなた、おかしくない?あの人、止めさせなさい。」美人は必死になり、「もう十分じゃない?早くあの人を止めさせて。あなた、無責任だわ。」
「無責任って?誰が無責任?」と、男の子は叫んだ。
「あなたは無責任よ。あの人を止めさせなさい。」と、美人は負けずに言い返した。
「無責任じゃない!お前は男みたい。男みたいなんだよ。」
「何ですって?」美人は少し混乱した。
「聞こえただろう。男みたいなんだよ。女性はそんなに筋肉質なはずがないよ。」と、男の子は言い放った。泳いでいた人達は泳ぐのを止め、プールサイドの方向を呆然と眺めていた。しかし、美人の監視員はそれらを無視し、プールに潜り、執事を助け出した。
美人は男の子を睨み、「出て行かないと警察を呼ぶわよ!」と、大声で言った。
「ちぇっ...」男の子は自宅に帰る途中で、リムジンの窓からぼんやりと外を眺めていた。すると、突然ある物が彼の目に止まった。
男の子は運転手に「止まれ!」と叫んだ。執事はソープランドの前に車を止めた。店の看板には「コンパニオン・ガール:1時間=¥5000」と書いてあった。執事は何も言わずに頷き、リムジンから降り、ソープランドに入った。
数分後に、執事と女が出てきた。彼女は赤いミニスカートと白いチューブトップに黒いピンヒールを履いていた。執事は運転席に戻り、ソープ嬢は車の後ろに乗り込み、男の子の隣に座った。
「あなた、太魔ちゃん、ね。あたし、巨乳子。」と、チューインガムを噛みながら言った。
「うん...」ジロジロ見ている男の子は何もはっきり言えなかった。
彼女は、「じゃあ、現金で払ってね。わかった?」と続けて言った。「それから、変な事はダメよ。まだ若いからね。」
男の子はこくりと頷いた。
すべては5日ぐらいうまくいった。毎晩、就寝前になると、太魔は大金庫に巨乳子を連れて行き、父親にそこで現金を渡させた。男の子は大分幸せになったが、時々彼のガールフレンドにイライラさせられた。大邸宅の裏口と大金庫に関して、しつこく聞かれることに疲れてきたからだ。いずれにせよ、ガールフレンドが出来たので心は満たされていた。
しかし、6日目の朝、皆は巨乳子が消えていたのに気付いた。男の子は大金庫が設置された部屋まで必死で走ってきた。両親は泣きながら、鍵が壊された金庫の前に立っていた。丈夫なドアは開けられており、中には何もなかった。
「僕のガールフレンドが逃げちゃったよ。早く、執事に新しいの買いに行かせてよ。」と男の子はねだった。
「ごめんなさい太魔ちゃん。彼に給料をこれ以上払えなくなったので早朝辞めていきました。」と母親は説明した。
「何だって?」と男の子は金切り声で言った。「じゃあ、お前が買わなくちゃいけないんだよ。早く。」
父親は空っぽになった大金庫を指差した。「でも、お金は全部盗まれてしまったんだ。もう買ってやることは出来ない。」
「構わないよ。僕のことを考えてよ!」とわめいた。
「でも、お父さんとわたくしはこんな状態では何も出来ません。」と母親は言った。
「アア...」男の子は部屋を飛び出し、台所の方へ走った。そこで、大きな包丁を手に取り、大金庫の部屋に戻った。
包丁を見た途端、母親は「太魔ちゃん、何をしているの?」と、青ざめた顔で言った。
「包丁を置きなさい!」と父親は命令したが男の子は包丁を更に強く握り締めた。
「置かないよ。」
母親は必死になった。「私たちは本当に何も出来ません。代わりの執事とガールフレンドを買ってやれないのです。信じて下さい。」
「大丈夫。そんな物はもう欲しくない。今は新しいパパとママが欲しいんだ。でも、それは自分一人で出来るから。」
Hopefully everything cut'n'pasted correctly -- this has been corrected so many times I now tremble at the thought of reading it once again...
買ってよ!
built by thom
repaired by 里未先生、えみ先生、剛先生、and 里未先生's mother
built by thom
repaired by 里未先生、えみ先生、剛先生、and 里未先生's mother
ある町に、甘やかされた男の子が大邸宅に両親と一緒に住んでいた。父親は事業で大成功を収め、家庭は非常に裕福であった。面白い事に、両親は銀行を全く信用せず、大邸宅内に設置された大金庫に財産を全て入れておいた。
ところが、親にいつも甘やかされていたので、男の子はお金の事など気にもした事がなかった。毎日毎日、テレビゲーム、おもちゃ、服など 、ありとあらゆる物を両親に与えられていた。彼が欲しがる物は何でも手に入った。
それに加えて、男の子には執事がいつも付いて回っていた。シャワーを浴びる時、着替える時、トイレに行く時など、日常生活の全てにおいて人の手を借りて生活していた。だから、自分一人では何も出来なかった。
男の子は誕生日に「僕は今15歳になった。ガールフレンドが欲しいんだ。買ってよ。」と言った。
両親は顔を見合わせて溜め息をついた。そして、父親は息子の方を向いて説明しはじめた。「太魔(たま)さん、ガールフレンドは買えないものなんだよ。人間だから。」
「嘘!」と叫んだ。「執事は人間だよ。パパは僕に彼を買ってくれた。ガールフレンドも同じだろ。」
それは、ちょっと違いますよ...」と、母親は穏やかに言った。「恋人は、欲しいからと言って、手に入るものではないんです。互いに惹かれ合ってはじめて、恋人として成り立つんですよ。」
「じゃあ、僕を欲しいガールフレンドを買ってくれよ。」
父親はまた溜め息をついた。「そんなに簡単じゃないんだ。女の心を勝ち取らなければならない。私はそれを買ってやることは出来ない。それは太魔さんが自分一人ですることだ。」
「何だって?」と男の子は叫んだ。「自分で?嫌だよ!」
「だけど、そのうち太魔ちゃんは何かを自分一人でやってみた方がいいと思います。」と、母親は言った。
「そんなわけない...」と、男の子は独り言を言った。
男の子は執事に運転させた。行き先は美人の店員が働いている近くのコンビニだった。執事にソーダとチョコレートを買わせた時、男の子はリムジンの窓からその美しい女の子を何回も見かけた。
コンビニに着いてすぐ、男の子は車から降り、初めてコンビニに入った。言うまでもなく、執事と一緒だった。
「なんだ、これは?床がベタベタだよ。」と男の子はぼそっと呟き、足元に用心しながらレジに歩み寄った。
美人の店員は二人に気付き、「いらっしゃいませ。」と声をかけた。男の子は執事を突っついた。
「えへん...」と、執事は咳払いし、「私(わたくし)の坊っちゃまは貴方を恋人にして下さると仰っしゃっています。」
「何?冗談でしょう?」と、美人は返事した。
「冗談ではございません。」
「じゃあ、あなたの言う坊っちゃまって?」と、信じられない様子で聞いた。
執事は男の子の方を向いて、畏まって頷いた。男の子は片手を挙げて軽く振った。
美人は顔をしかめた。「ゲ。あのデブ男?話にもならないわ。」
男の子は顔を真っ赤にし、「デブって?誰がデブ?」と叫んだ。
店員は「あなたはデブよ。デブ、デブ、デブ...」とからかった。
「デブじゃない!お前は貧乏。貧乏、貧乏、貧乏だよ。」
「何ですって?」美人は少し混乱した。
「聞こえただろう。お前は貧乏だよ。貧乏な怠け者だよ。」と、男の子は大声で言い返した。騒ぎに気付いた客はレジの方向を眺めていた。
「怠け者って?私?」
「そうだよ。貧乏な怠け者だよ。コンビ二で働く人は貧乏な怠け者しかいないんだよ。」と、男の子は激怒した。
美人の店員は背を伸ばし出入り口を指差してから大声で、「出て行かないと警察を呼ぶわよ!」と言った。
男の子はまた執事に運転させた。行き先は美人が監視員として働いている近くのジムだった。以前から執事がプールで泳いでいる時、男の子はプールサイドでその美人を何回も見かていた。
着いてすぐ、男の子は車から降り、ジムに入った。言うまでもなく、執事と一緒だった。
いつもの様に、男の子はプールサイドでソーダを飲みながら、執事がプールで泳ぐのを見ていた。しばらくして、監視員の交替の時間になり、美人が現れた。
男の子は飲みかけのソーダをサイドテーブルに置き、手で美人の監視員に合図した。
彼女はすぐにやってきて、座っている男の子に、「どうなさいましたか。」と、心配そうに聞いた。
「僕はたくましいよ。ほら、見て!」と言い、泳いでいる執事を指差した。プールの方を向き、「おい!もっと早く泳げよ!」と叫んだ。
美人は困惑の表情を浮かべた。
「見て見て!僕はこんなに早く泳げるんだ。お前は僕みたいなたくましい男が好きだろう?」
美人は不安そうに執事を見、「あの...」と呟いた。
「でも、それだけではない。」男の子はプールの方に両手を振り、口笛を吹いた。執事は太魔が座っているプールサイドに近付いてきた。男の子は「僕が合図するまで、水中で息を止めててよ。」と彼に命令した。
美人な監視員は従順な執事をじっと見つめた。「何、これ?冗談でしょう?」
「冗談じゃないよ。僕は10分ぐらい水中で息を止めれるよ。見て見て!」と、男の子は自慢した。「僕はたくましいんだから。」
「10分ぐらいって?あなた、おかしくない?あの人、止めさせなさい。」美人は必死になり、「もう十分じゃない?早くあの人を止めさせて。あなた、無責任だわ。」
「無責任って?誰が無責任?」と、男の子は叫んだ。
「あなたは無責任よ。あの人を止めさせなさい。」と、美人は負けずに言い返した。
「無責任じゃない!お前は男みたい。男みたいなんだよ。」
「何ですって?」美人は少し混乱した。
「聞こえただろう。男みたいなんだよ。女性はそんなに筋肉質なはずがないよ。」と、男の子は言い放った。泳いでいた人達は泳ぐのを止め、プールサイドの方向を呆然と眺めていた。しかし、美人の監視員はそれらを無視し、プールに潜り、執事を助け出した。
美人は男の子を睨み、「出て行かないと警察を呼ぶわよ!」と、大声で言った。
「ちぇっ...」男の子は自宅に帰る途中で、リムジンの窓からぼんやりと外を眺めていた。すると、突然ある物が彼の目に止まった。
男の子は運転手に「止まれ!」と叫んだ。執事はソープランドの前に車を止めた。店の看板には「コンパニオン・ガール:1時間=¥5000」と書いてあった。執事は何も言わずに頷き、リムジンから降り、ソープランドに入った。
数分後に、執事と女が出てきた。彼女は赤いミニスカートと白いチューブトップに黒いピンヒールを履いていた。執事は運転席に戻り、ソープ嬢は車の後ろに乗り込み、男の子の隣に座った。
「あなた、太魔ちゃん、ね。あたし、巨乳子。」と、チューインガムを噛みながら言った。
「うん...」ジロジロ見ている男の子は何もはっきり言えなかった。
彼女は、「じゃあ、現金で払ってね。わかった?」と続けて言った。「それから、変な事はダメよ。まだ若いからね。」
男の子はこくりと頷いた。
すべては5日ぐらいうまくいった。毎晩、就寝前になると、太魔は大金庫に巨乳子を連れて行き、父親にそこで現金を渡させた。男の子は大分幸せになったが、時々彼のガールフレンドにイライラさせられた。大邸宅の裏口と大金庫に関して、しつこく聞かれることに疲れてきたからだ。いずれにせよ、ガールフレンドが出来たので心は満たされていた。
しかし、6日目の朝、皆は巨乳子が消えていたのに気付いた。男の子は大金庫が設置された部屋まで必死で走ってきた。両親は泣きながら、鍵が壊された金庫の前に立っていた。丈夫なドアは開けられており、中には何もなかった。
「僕のガールフレンドが逃げちゃったよ。早く、執事に新しいの買いに行かせてよ。」と男の子はねだった。
「ごめんなさい太魔ちゃん。彼に給料をこれ以上払えなくなったので早朝辞めていきました。」と母親は説明した。
「何だって?」と男の子は金切り声で言った。「じゃあ、お前が買わなくちゃいけないんだよ。早く。」
父親は空っぽになった大金庫を指差した。「でも、お金は全部盗まれてしまったんだ。もう買ってやることは出来ない。」
「構わないよ。僕のことを考えてよ!」とわめいた。
「でも、お父さんとわたくしはこんな状態では何も出来ません。」と母親は言った。
「アア...」男の子は部屋を飛び出し、台所の方へ走った。そこで、大きな包丁を手に取り、大金庫の部屋に戻った。
包丁を見た途端、母親は「太魔ちゃん、何をしているの?」と、青ざめた顔で言った。
「包丁を置きなさい!」と父親は命令したが男の子は包丁を更に強く握り締めた。
「置かないよ。」
母親は必死になった。「私たちは本当に何も出来ません。代わりの執事とガールフレンドを買ってやれないのです。信じて下さい。」
「大丈夫。そんな物はもう欲しくない。今は新しいパパとママが欲しいんだ。でも、それは自分一人で出来るから。」
Tuesday, December 08, 2009
Back in Canada...
On Sunday I left Fukuoka behind, only to be greeted by -23 degree weather in Lloydminster. Yay.
Here's a summary of what happened after the translation disaster...
The following weekend, myself and another student were given a guided tour of Dazaifu. This included visits to Tenman-gu shrine, several eateries, and our guide's sizable house featuring a very European theme. I was hoping we'd get a chance to mosey around the Kyushu National Museum, but that didn't happen.
The shrine was extremely busy due to the in-progress 7-5-3 Festival. Many small children in kimonos were being feverishly assaulted by parents armed with digital cameras. The kids didn't stand a chance.
At one restaurant we ate freshly made umegaemochi, and at another we were served a mostly traditional Japanese meal, and by traditional I mean the several-hundred-years-ago sense. (Lots of root vegetables.) Both were very very good. The umegaemochi restaurant is famous throughout Japan and had a ridiculously long line-up trailing down the rain-moistened street. Fortunately, we had purchased special train tickets that included a meal coupon allowing us to avoid the queue.
Some chrysanthemum bonsai thingy on display at Tenman-gu Shrine.
(click to enlarge)
A traditional garden behind a Buddhist temple built around 1275.
(click to enlarge)
The following Thursday, myself and three other students were treated to four free tickets to see day 12 of the Kyushu Basho. The tickets were 11 300 yen apiece! Needless to say, they were excellent seats located very close to the center ring.
(click to enlarge)
(click to enlarge)
The next weekend I was given a guided tour to several used book stores, and returned home with 20 volumes of novels, short story collections, and essay compilations. At one shop I managed to find one of those infamous "revised history textbooks", but my faithful guide would not allow me to purchase it, referring to the authors as Nazi-like.
I actually wanted to purchase the book, partly out of curiosity, but also because this textbook is somewhat of a rarity. Very few schools actually used the book, and I've read that large quantities of unsold copies were destroyed, making it a kind of collectible novelty. For the record, it would seem future textbooks may be heading in an entirely opposite direction.
----------
On a closing note, I'd like to put in a brief note regarding Wahaha Japanese Language School.
As stated earlier in the blog, this is a sort of break-away school that emerged from GenkiJACS. I had found my previous years at GenkiJACS to be worthwhile, but in 2008 it was subtly apparent that the school's character had changed for the worse. Perhaps it was due to the increased number of classrooms, students, and teachers, but the overall instructional quality had become uneven. Although instructors from the previous two years were still as good as ever -- if not better -- the newer staff was a bit of a crap shoot.
In addition, the class sizes have been slowly increasing over the years, progressing from the initial four-to-a-class to the currently advertised seven students. (I've heard unsubstantiated reports of eight or nine in a class...)
Wahaha is more like the oldskool GenkiJACS, but better. Everything felt more personable and friendly.
For example, my total visit to Wahaha was four weeks, whereas my total visits to GenkiJACS add up to 12 weeks. My aggregate time at GenkiJACS featured three dinner parties, one gōkon (an awful experience, to be sure...), two student-organized parties, and only one field trip that was organized by a single student.
There was supposed to be another school-organized field trip, but that was a bust. I was informed they needed a minimum number of students or the trip would be canceled, and by the time the deadline had passed, the sign-up sheet remained disappointingly empty. I assumed a no-go. However, unbeknown to myself, the staff -- accompanied by family and friends -- went anyway. Hmph... A student trip turned into a staff get-away.
In summary, GenkiJACS equated to 12 weeks and seven events, three of which were student organized. In comparison, four weeks at Wahaha resulted in five dinner parties, three field trips, one field trip/lunch party combo, and two guided shopping tours. (One for used books, the other for Christmas presents.) All 11 events were organized by the school. Eleven! That's five more in one-third the time.
The only downside is they don't have a great number of students. I want to attend next year, but will they still be around? If you've reached this page via google and are thinking about a Japanese Language school, please please consider Wahaha. Thanks.
Coming soon, my second story. (Just after I complete a few edits...)
Here's a summary of what happened after the translation disaster...
The following weekend, myself and another student were given a guided tour of Dazaifu. This included visits to Tenman-gu shrine, several eateries, and our guide's sizable house featuring a very European theme. I was hoping we'd get a chance to mosey around the Kyushu National Museum, but that didn't happen.
The shrine was extremely busy due to the in-progress 7-5-3 Festival. Many small children in kimonos were being feverishly assaulted by parents armed with digital cameras. The kids didn't stand a chance.
At one restaurant we ate freshly made umegaemochi, and at another we were served a mostly traditional Japanese meal, and by traditional I mean the several-hundred-years-ago sense. (Lots of root vegetables.) Both were very very good. The umegaemochi restaurant is famous throughout Japan and had a ridiculously long line-up trailing down the rain-moistened street. Fortunately, we had purchased special train tickets that included a meal coupon allowing us to avoid the queue.
Some chrysanthemum bonsai thingy on display at Tenman-gu Shrine.(click to enlarge)
A traditional garden behind a Buddhist temple built around 1275.(click to enlarge)
The following Thursday, myself and three other students were treated to four free tickets to see day 12 of the Kyushu Basho. The tickets were 11 300 yen apiece! Needless to say, they were excellent seats located very close to the center ring.
(click to enlarge)
(click to enlarge)The next weekend I was given a guided tour to several used book stores, and returned home with 20 volumes of novels, short story collections, and essay compilations. At one shop I managed to find one of those infamous "revised history textbooks", but my faithful guide would not allow me to purchase it, referring to the authors as Nazi-like.
I actually wanted to purchase the book, partly out of curiosity, but also because this textbook is somewhat of a rarity. Very few schools actually used the book, and I've read that large quantities of unsold copies were destroyed, making it a kind of collectible novelty. For the record, it would seem future textbooks may be heading in an entirely opposite direction.
----------
On a closing note, I'd like to put in a brief note regarding Wahaha Japanese Language School.
As stated earlier in the blog, this is a sort of break-away school that emerged from GenkiJACS. I had found my previous years at GenkiJACS to be worthwhile, but in 2008 it was subtly apparent that the school's character had changed for the worse. Perhaps it was due to the increased number of classrooms, students, and teachers, but the overall instructional quality had become uneven. Although instructors from the previous two years were still as good as ever -- if not better -- the newer staff was a bit of a crap shoot.
In addition, the class sizes have been slowly increasing over the years, progressing from the initial four-to-a-class to the currently advertised seven students. (I've heard unsubstantiated reports of eight or nine in a class...)
Wahaha is more like the oldskool GenkiJACS, but better. Everything felt more personable and friendly.
For example, my total visit to Wahaha was four weeks, whereas my total visits to GenkiJACS add up to 12 weeks. My aggregate time at GenkiJACS featured three dinner parties, one gōkon (an awful experience, to be sure...), two student-organized parties, and only one field trip that was organized by a single student.
There was supposed to be another school-organized field trip, but that was a bust. I was informed they needed a minimum number of students or the trip would be canceled, and by the time the deadline had passed, the sign-up sheet remained disappointingly empty. I assumed a no-go. However, unbeknown to myself, the staff -- accompanied by family and friends -- went anyway. Hmph... A student trip turned into a staff get-away.
In summary, GenkiJACS equated to 12 weeks and seven events, three of which were student organized. In comparison, four weeks at Wahaha resulted in five dinner parties, three field trips, one field trip/lunch party combo, and two guided shopping tours. (One for used books, the other for Christmas presents.) All 11 events were organized by the school. Eleven! That's five more in one-third the time.
The only downside is they don't have a great number of students. I want to attend next year, but will they still be around? If you've reached this page via google and are thinking about a Japanese Language school, please please consider Wahaha. Thanks.
Coming soon, my second story. (Just after I complete a few edits...)
Thursday, November 26, 2009
A Mistake in Translation
My first full weekend in Fukuoka was spent translating the Lloydminster Wikipedia entry into Japanese. This was an assignment I came up with myself, and thinking it would be a good learning lesson, suggested it to several instructors.
My plan was to write a Japanese version over the weekend, then bring it into school on Monday to be corrected with a teacher during private lessons. But by early Saturday morning it became apparent this was not going to be a good idea.
あるコンビニの棚にミニクイ弁当が住んでいた。いつも暗くてベタベタな隅に座っていて、上品な弁当に囲まれていた。徐々に、隣の弁当は買われて消えてきいき、ある日一弁(一人)になった。
「なんで誰も僕を買わないのか?なんで...?」とすすり声で言った。「優しい買い主(飼い主)が欲しい...」
その時、デブ男がコンビニに入ってきた。棚に歩み寄って、隅に残っていた弁当を見つけた。「何だ、これは?ひでえ!」と叫んだ。
デブ男はミニクイ弁当を数秒眺めてから、「しょうがねえ...」と呟いて、乱暴な手付きで棚から取り出した。
デブ男のアパートに着いた時、ミニクイ弁当はウキウキした。「やった!新しい住家が出来た。どんな所なんだろう...」と思た。しかし、デブ男がドアを開け、一緒にアパートに入った途端、ミニクイ弁当はあまりの光景に愕然(がくぜん)とした。床はゴミと漫画と雑誌で埋めつくされ、部屋中に悪臭が漂っていた。
デブ男はミニクイ弁当をテーブルの上に置いて、フタを外した。でも、箸を握った途端、ミニクイ弁当は大声で「箸!?何をするつもりか?」と言った。
それを聞いたデブ男はあっさりと、「食べるんだよ。だって、弁当だろう?」と返事した。
「ダメ!生きたいよ。生きたい...」
「うるせえよ。」と言って、箸で少量のご飯を摘んだ。
「痛い!」
「うるせえよ。」とまた言って、箸を口に近付けてご飯を食べてみた。「ゲ...腐ってる。何だよ。騒がしい上に、腐ってやがる...」デブ男は立ち上がて窓からミニクイ弁当を放り投げた。
ミニクイ弁当は道路の上に横たわった。「弁性って何だろう?」と思った後に、人間の影とアンモニア臭に覆われた。
影は、「メシ... メシだ...」と囁いた。見上げると、ホームレス男が手を伸ばしてミニクイ弁当を拾い上げた。
「お願い、食わないでよ。食わないで。」と慈悲を乞った。
「でも、ハラへった...」とホームレス男は返事した。
「僕は、生きたいよ。生きたい...」
「でも...」ホームレス男は少しためらった。「じつは、ながいあいだトモダチいねえんだ。ダレもアイテにしてくれねえんだ。トモダチになってくれんか?」
それから、ミニクイ弁当とホームレス男は親友になって、日々を一緒に過ごした。本当に仲良しだった。しかし、陽光がさんさんと注ぐ日、ひどく飢えて衰弱しきってしまい、ついにホームレス男は公園のベンチから立ち上がられなくなった。ミニクイ弁当はようやく理解した。
「お前は、友愛の為に自分の命を危険にさらしている。本来ならば、弁当達は人間の為に自分の命を捨てなくちゃいけない。わかった。それは僕の使命だ。僕を食え...」とホームレス男に堂々と言った。
そして、ホームレス男は食べ始めた。
「うまい... ゲ... ゲ...」
彼は倒れて死んだ。
急に、警官が木立ちから現れた。「逮捕!逮捕!」と叫んだ。「この野郎!この腐った人殺しめ!」
ミニクイ弁当は刑務所へ引きずられながら、「弁性はわかった。じゃあ、人生って何だろう...」と途方に暮れた。
The problem lay in the source material: it is incredibly poorly written. Even if aesthetic issues are ignored, the mind-numbingly poor content alone is enough to cause brain fluid leakage.
For example, there are four paragraphs under the "geography" heading. The first describes Lloydminster's political geography, specifically the dual-provincial status. So far acceptable.
However, the next paragraph tangents slightly to discuss other Canadian cities that span provincial borders, with Lloydminster taking a back seat. This is then followed by information regarding "legal matters" and how they are affected by the Alberta/Saskatchewan border. (Examples include daylight savings time and election schedules.) Finally, the section is concluded by a paragraph that almost (but not quite) resembles a rant on no-smoking bylaws.
Nowhere in "geography" is it mentioned that Lloydminster is located in the Canadian Prairies, nor is it mentioned the city is built upon marshland. Perhaps I'm too much of a traditionalist, but my narrow belief is physical geography deserves far more attention than no-smoking-by-law geography, election schedule geography, and other-cities-for-comparisons-sake geography. But perhaps that's why I'm not a professional writer.
As you can tell, translating the article became quite a chore. "History" is poorly thought-out, "demographics" contain endless meandering statistics that would be better served in chart form, and "economics and taxation" lacks proper research.
What can I say... Wikipedia isn't all it's cracked up to be. (And before anyone asks, I don't intend on contributing a better English article. No offense to my coworkers, but I don't fancy the idea of spending generous amounts of volunteer time thinking deeply about Lloydminster.)
I finished as much of the translation as I could for Monday, but early in the first class it was obvious to both the teacher and myself that this was not a useful undertaking. Thanks to some quick improvising on the part of the instructor, we moved onto something else that was a million times more meaningful.
However, I did promise to write a short story for Tuesday, and on Monday night I managed to do just that. This proved much more worthwhile.
After two classes of revisions, here is the finished story:
弁性と人生
cobbled together by thom
edited by 里未先生 and 順子先生
あるコンビニの棚にミニクイ弁当が住んでいた。いつも暗くてベタベタな隅に座っていて、上品な弁当に囲まれていた。徐々に、隣の弁当は買われて消えてきいき、ある日一弁(一人)になった。
「なんで誰も僕を買わないのか?なんで...?」とすすり声で言った。「優しい買い主(飼い主)が欲しい...」
その時、デブ男がコンビニに入ってきた。棚に歩み寄って、隅に残っていた弁当を見つけた。「何だ、これは?ひでえ!」と叫んだ。
デブ男はミニクイ弁当を数秒眺めてから、「しょうがねえ...」と呟いて、乱暴な手付きで棚から取り出した。
デブ男のアパートに着いた時、ミニクイ弁当はウキウキした。「やった!新しい住家が出来た。どんな所なんだろう...」と思た。しかし、デブ男がドアを開け、一緒にアパートに入った途端、ミニクイ弁当はあまりの光景に愕然(がくぜん)とした。床はゴミと漫画と雑誌で埋めつくされ、部屋中に悪臭が漂っていた。
デブ男はミニクイ弁当をテーブルの上に置いて、フタを外した。でも、箸を握った途端、ミニクイ弁当は大声で「箸!?何をするつもりか?」と言った。
それを聞いたデブ男はあっさりと、「食べるんだよ。だって、弁当だろう?」と返事した。
「ダメ!生きたいよ。生きたい...」
「うるせえよ。」と言って、箸で少量のご飯を摘んだ。
「痛い!」
「うるせえよ。」とまた言って、箸を口に近付けてご飯を食べてみた。「ゲ...腐ってる。何だよ。騒がしい上に、腐ってやがる...」デブ男は立ち上がて窓からミニクイ弁当を放り投げた。
ミニクイ弁当は道路の上に横たわった。「弁性って何だろう?」と思った後に、人間の影とアンモニア臭に覆われた。
影は、「メシ... メシだ...」と囁いた。見上げると、ホームレス男が手を伸ばしてミニクイ弁当を拾い上げた。
「お願い、食わないでよ。食わないで。」と慈悲を乞った。
「でも、ハラへった...」とホームレス男は返事した。
「僕は、生きたいよ。生きたい...」
「でも...」ホームレス男は少しためらった。「じつは、ながいあいだトモダチいねえんだ。ダレもアイテにしてくれねえんだ。トモダチになってくれんか?」
それから、ミニクイ弁当とホームレス男は親友になって、日々を一緒に過ごした。本当に仲良しだった。しかし、陽光がさんさんと注ぐ日、ひどく飢えて衰弱しきってしまい、ついにホームレス男は公園のベンチから立ち上がられなくなった。ミニクイ弁当はようやく理解した。
「お前は、友愛の為に自分の命を危険にさらしている。本来ならば、弁当達は人間の為に自分の命を捨てなくちゃいけない。わかった。それは僕の使命だ。僕を食え...」とホームレス男に堂々と言った。
そして、ホームレス男は食べ始めた。
「うまい... ゲ... ゲ...」
彼は倒れて死んだ。
急に、警官が木立ちから現れた。「逮捕!逮捕!」と叫んだ。「この野郎!この腐った人殺しめ!」
ミニクイ弁当は刑務所へ引きずられながら、「弁性はわかった。じゃあ、人生って何だろう...」と途方に暮れた。
fin
Stay tuned for a wee bit on my trip to Dazaifu, some photos of the Kyushu Basho, and hopefully another short story that most visitors to this blog probably can't read.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Saturday, November 7th
After arriving early at Hakata Station, I decided to aimlessly wander around the in-progress renovations as an attempt to kill time. Giving up, I leaped aboard the subway and headed toward Tenjin. Once there, I meandered in the general direction of my apartment.
Finding my accommodation was far too easy. I had arrived 45 minutes before the scheduled meeting with the school representative who would handover the key. But true to trip form, she showed up 30 minutes early, which equated to only 15 minutes of suspicious loitering on my part.
Surprisingly, the apartment turned out to be somewhat spacious by Japan standards. And just to rub it in for those back in Canada, my arrival in Fukuoka was greeted with sunny skies and 25 degree temperature.
Sunday, November 8th
Another day of nice weather, but rather uneventful in the adventure department. Excitement was limited to the purchasing of school supplies, three language guides, two Yukio Mishima novels, and a collection of Hoshi Shinichi short stories.
I contemplated bringing home a $100 23-volume box set of complete Astro Boy reprints, but decided it would take too much luggage space. However, I still might change my mind as buying them individually would cost about three times that amount. For the unaware, most of this year was the 80th anniversary of the birth of Tezuka Osamu, so there's quite a variety of special box sets adorning the shelves.
Monday, November 9th
The first day of classes, and in keeping with the flow of previous days, everything went smoothly. Surprisingly, my weakest area -- listening -- has improved dramatically since this time last year. How is this possible without conversation practice? Beats me...
Needless to say, reading remains my strength, and that too has improved.
For those not in the know, and despite intentions to the contrary, this year I am NOT attending school at GenkiJACS. Instead I've enrolled in what could be described as a break-away school called Wahaha Japanese Language School. Several of the staff are already known to me from previous visits, and even many students are GenkiJACS refugees whom I've met before. I'm not sure why the split happened, but it does make one scratch one's head in wonderment.
Tuesday, November 10th
This turned out to be an interesting day. While still in Yokohama, I received an email from the school asking if I would like watch sumō wrestlers practice and eat. The invite didn't sound overly interesting, but I accepted.
Skip ahead to Tuesday...
We met outside the school at 9 AM and split into two separate groups of male and female students. I drove with a husband/wife/infant combo (wife is the neice of one of the teachers) and the only other male student -- a German who has a knack for hideous facial expressions. Curiously, the female students rode in a BMW, which are rather pricey vehicles in Japan. This struck me as something worth noting.
I soon discovered the sumō practice building was located north of Fukuoka in the city of Kitakyushu. The drive up was a mix of cityscape and countryside, but to be honest, the farming areas more closely resembled Canadian cities in terms of density. Not what I'd consider agricultural land.
I sat in the back seat with the mother and infant. The mother did not wear a seatbelt and the infant sat in her lap rather than a child safety seat. This is normal in Japan as only front seatbelts are required by law. I've been told the reasoning behind this is highways have a maximum speed of only 80 km/hr and seatbelts aren't considered important at that speed.
We arrived at a nondescript single-storey building, which turned out to be two buildings with a roof covering a pathway between them. One side contained the practice dohyō, and the other contained the kitchen, showers, dorm, etc..
Immediately after exiting the cars, strict instructions were given: Don't make any noise during the practice.
We walked inside the building containing the dohyō, and sat down -- either cross-legged or seiza -- on a wood-floored stage, similar to what one might see in a typical elementary school gymnasium. However, instead of parents seated below watching their kids perform up on stage, we sat up on stage and watched the sumō wrestlers practice below.
The practice itself was rather interesting. Rote stuff included those leg-raising things sumō is famous for, pushing a partner across the dohyō, and other tit-bits.
However, most of the practice consisted of drill matches, whereby one obviously stronger partner would continually chose others to wrestle. Often the higher ranking sumō would stay with one specific wrestler for several matches before selecting a different opponent. If the next challenger did well enough, they might be rewarded by being picked for many successive matches.
After a challenger sumō was either knocked over or pushed out of the ring, the wrestlers in waiting would immediately ask permission to be the next opponent. "O-negai shimasu!" More often than not the current opponent would be reselected, leaving the others patiently waiting off to the side until the next opportunity arose.
The thanking of both opponents and trainers appeared to be strictly enforced, with a more formal bow reserved for the latter. (Five trainers stood attentively around the outside perimeter of the dohyō during the entire practice.) In addition, any chatty people sitting on the viewing stage were immediately scolded.
Four of the wrestlers wore white belts, the rest dark green belts. It was apparent the former were top ranked sumō, as they were clearly larger and stronger. Several of the lower ranking individuals were having a really hard time, and one was puffing and panting so hard, he looked ready to pass out at any moment -- and once nearly puked.
While waiting for a chance to spar, the wrestlers would do a variety of other exercises, including several core exercises using what looked like a medicine ball. I later discovered this ball was in fact made of stone!
When the practice had finished, we wandered outside and took photos with a trainer (a former yokozuna) and one of their top wrestlers (a Mongolian national).
At this point I still wasn't exactly sure what was going on, but did notice the guy with the BMW had brought boxes of produce along with him. As it turns out, we were going to eat with the sumō!
(click to enlarge)
While the food was being prepared, the four top guys hit the showers and then proceeded to have their hair tied up in the traditional style. The lesser wrestlers then had their chance to bathe.
Following this, we were lead to the dining room, which was layed out in a typical traditional Japanese manner. Two planks lay on the floor as tables, and pillows were carefully placed alongside for seating purposes.
The lower ranking wrestlers served the food, and everyone was merry...
Actually, no. Everyone was nervous.
It had now become clear that this was a privileged experience. If you look again at the photo above, the scruffy guy watching the hair cermony is reportedly a famous mangaka who had come as a special guest. (I don't know his name, but he specializes in food manga.) So, yeah... Top sumō wrestlers, top comic book author, and a handful of stinky foreigners. One Yen to whoever can figure out which category I fit in.
Diagonally across from me sat one of the top sumō. I didn't know what to do in terms of etiquette -- which in this setting is very strict -- so I just nervously munched away.
After he left, I had a bit of a broken conversation with BMW-san and the head coach. Finally everything became clear:
The guy with the BMW is the husband of the sister of WAHAHA's founder. For one month before the Kyushyu Basho, this particular heya stays at this building owned by BMW-san's business. Furthermore, BMW-san is the head coach's golfing partner. A-ha... now it all makes sense.
But wait, there's more! The head coach is not only a former yokozuna, but is in fact the top guy for the Sumō Association of Japan. That's right, he's the top sumō administrator in Japan, which in turn makes him boss of the entire sumō world. (I didn't find that out until during the trip home.) All in all, a very privileged experience.
If you're interested, here's an English link to the heya in question:
To see profiles of the top four wrestlers, scroll to the bottom and click on the relevant links. The lower ranking wrestlers have no additional information. Sorry.
(click to enlarge)
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Back in Japan...
It's time once again to revive this blog and entertain random readers with somewhat embellished tales of semi-adventure.
Wednesday, November 4th
This year's trip to Japan began in Yokohama, where I was fortunate enough to receive a tour of the Kenwood offices, and managed to get a small glimpse at the engineering magic behind their two-way radios. The visit only lasted about two hours, but I still managed to glean some useful information.
Unfortunately, I don't intend to divulge much of that information here, as it's probably of no interest to the public-at-large. However, when I return to Lloydminster, I'll be sure to share my tales with all relevant co-workers.
My stay in Yokohama was just two nights, so apart from the Kenwood tour, there's not much to report. However, it's almost worth mentioning that my hotel accomodation was rather upper-crust, and I felt more than a bit out-of-place. (Shin-Yokohama Prince Hotel -- 40 storeys of earthquake-proof snootiness.) To be honest, the staff was very friendly -- it was more the clientèle that was out of my league.
Friday, November 6th
After Yokohama, I hopped onto the Shinkansen (N700 series) and headed towards Kobe. Once there, I met with an email friend and promptly hiked up Mt. Nunobiki, which lies directly (and I do mean directly) behind Shin-Kobe Station.
Part way up exists a series of waterfalls, the largest being this:
(Click to enlarge.)
The motivation for this excursion was to find a GeoCache location for a co-worker. I'm happy to report the effort was a success, and the hippy teddy bear that accompanied me from Lloydminster now has a snug new home, suspiciously resembling a Tupperware container.
After that, I was taken to see a Japanese garden complete with a display of entries from a chrysanthemum cultivating competition. Some of the winners looked like plastic plants, yet they were most definitely real. I also found it quite amazing how a single flower can be trained to bloom in such vastly different ways, sometimes giving the appearance of different species.
Following a trip on Kobe's extremely well-used train system, we walked around the harbour area where an important discovery awaited...
When I was younger, West Edmonton Mall had a couple of ball-sculptures located at opposite ends of Phase I. Something similar currently exists somewhere in WEM, but the original ones disappeared some time ago. Well... I found one nestled inside a shopping mall near Kobe Harbour. The paint was new, but it was definitely one of the original ball-sculptures that I spent many hours observing in my youth. Quite an unexpected surprise.
The next morning, before leaving for Fukuoka, my email friend and I took a ride up the Kobe cable car and visited the Nunobiki Herb Gardens.
(Click on image to enlarge.)
(Click on image to enlarge.)
Saturday, November 7th
Following that little adventure, I once again jumped onto a speeding Shinkansen (N700 series) and headed towards Fukuoka...
Wednesday, November 4th
This year's trip to Japan began in Yokohama, where I was fortunate enough to receive a tour of the Kenwood offices, and managed to get a small glimpse at the engineering magic behind their two-way radios. The visit only lasted about two hours, but I still managed to glean some useful information.
Unfortunately, I don't intend to divulge much of that information here, as it's probably of no interest to the public-at-large. However, when I return to Lloydminster, I'll be sure to share my tales with all relevant co-workers.
My stay in Yokohama was just two nights, so apart from the Kenwood tour, there's not much to report. However, it's almost worth mentioning that my hotel accomodation was rather upper-crust, and I felt more than a bit out-of-place. (Shin-Yokohama Prince Hotel -- 40 storeys of earthquake-proof snootiness.) To be honest, the staff was very friendly -- it was more the clientèle that was out of my league.
Friday, November 6th
After Yokohama, I hopped onto the Shinkansen (N700 series) and headed towards Kobe. Once there, I met with an email friend and promptly hiked up Mt. Nunobiki, which lies directly (and I do mean directly) behind Shin-Kobe Station.
Part way up exists a series of waterfalls, the largest being this:
(Click to enlarge.)
The motivation for this excursion was to find a GeoCache location for a co-worker. I'm happy to report the effort was a success, and the hippy teddy bear that accompanied me from Lloydminster now has a snug new home, suspiciously resembling a Tupperware container.
After that, I was taken to see a Japanese garden complete with a display of entries from a chrysanthemum cultivating competition. Some of the winners looked like plastic plants, yet they were most definitely real. I also found it quite amazing how a single flower can be trained to bloom in such vastly different ways, sometimes giving the appearance of different species.
Following a trip on Kobe's extremely well-used train system, we walked around the harbour area where an important discovery awaited...
When I was younger, West Edmonton Mall had a couple of ball-sculptures located at opposite ends of Phase I. Something similar currently exists somewhere in WEM, but the original ones disappeared some time ago. Well... I found one nestled inside a shopping mall near Kobe Harbour. The paint was new, but it was definitely one of the original ball-sculptures that I spent many hours observing in my youth. Quite an unexpected surprise.
The next morning, before leaving for Fukuoka, my email friend and I took a ride up the Kobe cable car and visited the Nunobiki Herb Gardens.
(Click on image to enlarge.)
(Click on image to enlarge.)
Saturday, November 7th
Following that little adventure, I once again jumped onto a speeding Shinkansen (N700 series) and headed towards Fukuoka...
Monday, October 13, 2008
HDR Kanji
Yes, it's true. Yet another departure date draws near. This time next month I will once again be landing in Fukuoka in a desperate attempt to improve my Japanese language skills.
New features include: An enhanced vocabulary, expanded Kanji capabilities, speedier comprehension of grammatical constructs, and an Asus Eeepc 1000.
I intend to use the latter to assemble some HDR photos. Exciting.
New features include: An enhanced vocabulary, expanded Kanji capabilities, speedier comprehension of grammatical constructs, and an Asus Eeepc 1000.
I intend to use the latter to assemble some HDR photos. Exciting.
Monday, May 21, 2007
Uneventful weekend
Well, the island outing island *did* happen, but not for me. The rules were: if enough people sign up, the trip would be a go. But enough people did *not* sign up. What I wasn't told is they decided to go anyway. Apparently everyone waited for thirty minutes on Saturday wondering where I was before leaving. Hmm... My mind reading skills seem to be a little weak as of late.
Friday's meal was at a different restaurant than last year -- more expensive, less food, not as good, and the entire six hour ordeal was exceedingly boring. At least it was fake Japanese seating, with a hidden hole underneath the table.
I tried to do some laundry on Saturday morning, but my in-suite washing machine leaves much to be desired, such as an agitator. Quiet though it may be, clothes do not emerge from this machine in a cleaned state. Yes, an agitator makes a world of difference.
(If you are wondering how a washing machine cleans clothes without using an agitator, wonder no more. The answer is: it doesn't.)
Also on Saturday, I bought a junior high school reading-level novel called "majo no takkyuubin", which roughly translates to "Witch's Home Delivery Service". This was made into a Miyazaki movie entitled "Kiki's Delivery Service". You may have already seen this film; I haven't.
It's Monday, so that means new students. A little more crowded this week.
On a side note, I noticed an Air Canada jet had it's front landing gear collapse on itself. My Air Canada flight from Vancouver to Oosaka was aboard the most beat-up piece of shit I've ever had the displeasure to fly in. While accelerating for takeoff, the entire body began creaking in a disconcerting fashion, the painted-over rust spots on the wing weren't exactly comforting either, and only two out of the four "economy seating" toilets were working. Are they still Canada's most hated corporation? I sure don't care for them much. But more importantly, will I make it back alive?
Friday's meal was at a different restaurant than last year -- more expensive, less food, not as good, and the entire six hour ordeal was exceedingly boring. At least it was fake Japanese seating, with a hidden hole underneath the table.
I tried to do some laundry on Saturday morning, but my in-suite washing machine leaves much to be desired, such as an agitator. Quiet though it may be, clothes do not emerge from this machine in a cleaned state. Yes, an agitator makes a world of difference.
(If you are wondering how a washing machine cleans clothes without using an agitator, wonder no more. The answer is: it doesn't.)
Also on Saturday, I bought a junior high school reading-level novel called "majo no takkyuubin", which roughly translates to "Witch's Home Delivery Service". This was made into a Miyazaki movie entitled "Kiki's Delivery Service". You may have already seen this film; I haven't.
It's Monday, so that means new students. A little more crowded this week.
On a side note, I noticed an Air Canada jet had it's front landing gear collapse on itself. My Air Canada flight from Vancouver to Oosaka was aboard the most beat-up piece of shit I've ever had the displeasure to fly in. While accelerating for takeoff, the entire body began creaking in a disconcerting fashion, the painted-over rust spots on the wing weren't exactly comforting either, and only two out of the four "economy seating" toilets were working. Are they still Canada's most hated corporation? I sure don't care for them much. But more importantly, will I make it back alive?
Friday, May 18, 2007
Sit still, dammit!
Today is several student's final day, so we are all off to a traditional restaurant later this evening. I presume it'll be the same place as last year, which means two hours sitting in seiza (正座) position. Ouch...
Not too much to report. Today was techno music day for the school children. The weather isn't particularly sunny, but still quite warm. However, I stand out as being the only guy wearing shorts and t-shirt. Most Japanese men are wearing full business suits -- I don't know how they do it.
Maybe, just maybe, if enough people are interested, a group of us from the school will be visiting some island in the Fukuoka bay area. It's twenty minutes by boat and apparently quite picturesque. I'll be sure to take my camera, so if this outing is a go, expect photos on Monday.
Oh, and I went to some monstrous book store on Wednesday. Several stories in height, with each floor easily being the same size as larger bookstores in Edmonton. They sure do like their books here in Japan.
Not too much to report. Today was techno music day for the school children. The weather isn't particularly sunny, but still quite warm. However, I stand out as being the only guy wearing shorts and t-shirt. Most Japanese men are wearing full business suits -- I don't know how they do it.
Maybe, just maybe, if enough people are interested, a group of us from the school will be visiting some island in the Fukuoka bay area. It's twenty minutes by boat and apparently quite picturesque. I'll be sure to take my camera, so if this outing is a go, expect photos on Monday.
Oh, and I went to some monstrous book store on Wednesday. Several stories in height, with each floor easily being the same size as larger bookstores in Edmonton. They sure do like their books here in Japan.
