This is my first attempt at making a Japanese music video so I decided to stick to something I know. Green public phones! The song is in Japanese but I added subtitles to the video. It’s weird but I hope you find it funny.
Want to know what’s cool for little kids in Japan? Right now it’s a bug that likes biting people in the butt. This Oshiri Kajiri Mushi (Butt Biting Bug) is the star of a song that hit the top 10 in Japan and became an instant children’s classic (until the next one comes along). The song is crazy but insanely catchy.
Many of my students, both boys and girls, have pencils, notebooks, toys, erasers, etc. with this guy’s image on them. And if there is a class with students I just can’t seem to connect to, sometimes I will sing a few lines of this song and just watch their faces like up. “Teacher knows Oshiri Kajiri Mushi, he must be cool!” Because to a six year old, there really is nothing cooler than this.
The other day I was at a convenience store and I saw the Oshiri Kajiri Mushi on a package in the snack food aisle. The product was called “Oshiri Pie” in Japanese, which literally means “Butt Pie”! In what country other than Japan does that sound like something you would want to eat? Yeah, I bought some.
It’s long past Halloween, but I thought I would share a little anecdote with you. As usual when a Western holiday comes around, I plan an English lesson around it. For the last part of my Halloween lesson, I gave the kids the above handout and let then design their own Jack o’ Lantern face. Many students wanted to put their favorite characters on the pumpkin, like Spongebob or Doraemon, but by far the most popular choice was the face of Mario. In some classes more than half of the kids were making Mario. It’s cute and all but I wanted to see the students do some original designs. So in the next class, while explaining the activity I told them not to draw a picture of Mario but rather to draw a picture of their best friend. One little boy handed in this picture…
Halloween isn’t really celebrated in Japan. Recently some Japanese people will put up small decorations or buy Halloween candy at import shops, but it usually ends there. That’s where the Gaijin step in for a little internationalization. We are definitely up to this task as it takes advantage of our special skills of looking strange and throwing a party.
Today was my first day at my new elementary school. It was also my first time to interact with the students. It is summer vacation now but there were kids in school because today is the anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima. A perfect day, apparently, for the new American teacher to introduce himself.
It stated out good. I arrived early and played with the younger students who where thrilled to see a brand new face. One student showed his approval by punching me in the crotch. Then he smiled, obviously satisfied, and gave me a hug. I played with the kids for about 20 minutes before the high energy of the kids combined with the lack of air conditioning (or really any ventilation) made me retreat to the teachers room. The kids kept calling me to come back, wanting to spend more time with their new teacher. As I said it was a good start.
People who have been reading this site (despite the fact that it is never updated) have probably noticed a lovely lady named Misako makes frequent appearances. That is of course because for the last two and a half years she has been a huge part of my life. At the end of April I decided that since I never wanted that to end, it was time to take the next step. So I asked her to become my wife.
She said “Yes” and made me the happiest man in the world.
So it looks like I’ll be in Japan for a bit longer…
On February 3rd I celebrated the Japanese holiday of Setsubun with Misako’s family. Setsubun is a very old celebration that takes place at the change of lunar seasons. Long ago this was the Japanese New Year’s Eve. Like most Japanese holidays, there is a certain amount of ritual involved. And like most Japanese holidays it seems very strange to non-Japanese.
This post has been a very long time coming. Last August my town had is largest annual event, the Gion Festival. This is a 3-day event with fireworks, parades, games, food stands and thousands of people (many of whom are wearing traditional Japanese clothes). So here, as best as I can remember it, was Gion 2006.
Alex and I had a joint lesson last week and of course we wanted to give the students something special. I hope everyone is having a very good Christmas season. And it is my New Years resolution to update the site more frequently in 2007.
I have been studying Tea Ceremony for the last year and a half. I had no idea I would enjoy doing an activity so precise and artistic but it is quickly becoming my favorite hobby. I had arranged an informal ceremony earlier when my parents visited Japan, but in April I had my fist formal tea ceremony where I acted as host. Here are pictures from that event.