Graduations

Spring is here again (finally) which means graduations, parties, saying goodbye,  flowers, holidays and change. At my last visit to the big Junior High School I was given a package of letters addressed ‘to the ALTs’ from the graduating third graders, saying thank you for two years of occasional English. They ranged from ‘I enjoyed game’ to more detailed messages such as ‘thank you for teaching English and abroad culture for us. We had a good time at the ALT. I will go to foreign country and use English taught by you’ Here are some highlights (and this formatting is frustrating):

 ”Thank you for teaching us English. It was very fun. See you again.

PS JEF UNITED ICHIHARA CHIBA is very strong team!! Soccer is interesting”

(I finally asked this girl is JEF United are good at soccer last week. Her reply was あまり- not really)

“thaksyou. With all my heart <3″

(this next one was written all in katakana)

“I am a Manchester United fan. We won’t lost to Liverpool!! Gerrard’s kick is the best!! Please come to [name of Izakaya we sometimes go to for 三次会s] and have a conversation. see you SAM day”

“genki de ne <3

your happy <3

ba—-i [picture of hand waving]“

“thank you for real English”

“At the time of class of the ALT, I was very happy. The various time when I played a game was the most pleasant in that.

Thank you very much so far”

“Thank you for teaching us English. It was exciting”

“Thans. See you again. Take care” (this boy spelt Sam’s name wrong)

“I like you [picture of smiling face giving peace sign]“

“thank you very much. three years. very good class”

one boy made up Kanji for my name: 流胃酢 style of/stomach/vinegar. And then thanked me from the bottom of his heart.

“I learned many things from you. Thanks to you I became interested in English. Please check with a dictionary.” (I’m not sure about the last part. What am I meant to check?)

“I don’t like English, but I came to like English. Sam & Louis are BEST OF TEACHER”

“English very X100000 difficult…but ALT is very interested”

“Thank you very much. The English was very fun. I want to change myself. I will try to do every thing and enjoy doing it”

“If I am going to meet studying English peaple, I will said “America and Australia are lived by great English teacher. Their name is Sam and Louis.”

“Thank you so much for the last two years. I couldn’t grow up without you!! You changed my life!! I wish your happiness!! See you someday!! Your forever student Kento”

I worry about that boy sometimes.

 

Planning for home…not sure where home is…

The Tim Tams I found on my desk this morning made me a little 懐かしい、and the open window means I have to wear a scarf at my desk (I shouldn’t have decided against the jacket this morning), add that to the general fatigue related ennui, I was pleased to flip open my diary and find that I will be on my way back to Australia in seven and a half weeks.

But that number is bigger than I thought.

I keep saying I’m going home but home is a slippery concept, considering I live and work here, and have for the past year and a bit, which is about as long as I’ve lived in any single house since high school. Without dragging out tired cliches (wow, I just did then) I don’t actually know where my heart is now. Shimizu? Kochi? Shimokitazawa? Perth? Somewhere else? But I have been gathering a list of things I miss, things I will be hoping to spend my 16 days in Western Australia doing.

First is the list of things I want to do in Melbourne:

Shopping- Genki, that vegan shoe store I’ve never been able to find, Chapel St, basically anywhere.

Coffee- my first port of call will be a cafe, any cafe. I’ll get to Flinders St (nerdy side point; my favourite train station in the world) walk up to federation square, get coffee and then search out Dad’s apartment.

Drinking- The Girsch Institute (I hope it’s as dead-quiet as last time, that was awesome. It really added to the atmosphere of the bar to be the only ones there. All night. We were the only people out on the stormiest January night in Melbourne history, except for a bunch of backpackers who of course had no idea about this bar)

People watching- can be done anywhere.

Public transport- although this will be more of an unavoidable fact of life than anything I’ll go out of my way to do.

The on to Perth for more of the same. Plus:

The boxing day test

Beer and Pizza at Little Creatures

Actual vegetarian food at Analakshmi, That Hare Krishna restaurant whose name I forget, Lotus, Maoz, possibly even a trip out to Curtin just for kebabs

Beer and Frits at the Belgian Beer Cafe

Maybe Pizza at Centrepoint, and I might make a mix CD of Japanese experimental music for John

Beer and…food, I guess, at the Parky

Coffee, shopping and indy film in Leederville.

Coffee, shopping and maybe more indy film in Mt Lawley

Burgers at Alfred’s

Burgers and a $5 shake at Retro Betty’s

Crepes, cherries, shopping at Fremantle Markets

Picnic in King’s Park, with cheese, olives, sundried tomatoes, bread, Tim Tams, Ocean Spray Red Grapefruit juice!!!

Rottnest and the Pinnacles, because it’s been a while

Margaret River for Southbound, and hopefully a day at the beach

Swapping of books (I’m thinking of reading Crime and Punishment on the way, giving it to Dad in Melbourne because I will have finished it during my ten hour transit in Thailand, and picking up other books as I go along, leaving ones I’ve read behind to save space in my suitcase)

 

I will make a similar list of things to do during my four day return transit in Thailand. And maybe one for me eight hours in Fukuoka. Although that will either be spent meeting old friends or relaxing in a public bath. Next week in Tokyo I will set out a detailed plan so I can probably not actually follow it and just spend the whole time doing whatever. I’ll try to get a phone so people can contact me. Although of course every time it rings I’ll have to say もしもし just because I’m a real Japanese Salary Man now.

 

More 漢字 study

Every now and then while studying I come across something that’s so insanely stupid I will always remember it- like people I’ve talked to who said the only Japanese they could ever remember is the counter for chickens （わ） or Tamara, who despite being vegetarian knows the international sign language symbol for abattoir. These things just seem so useless that you always remember them, mainly because of their uselessness.

I do this with characters in Japanese (by characters I mean letters). You see I tend to isolate seperate parts of characters to remember them individually. So I can remember older sister (姉) is the character for woman/female (女）and the character for city （市） Therefore an older sister lives in the city. Same with 妹　which means younger sister…although I remember that mainly because I remember older sister.

But then 女 pops up in some really weird characters. For instance 安 means cheap, 安全　means safe (there was a great moment in Tokyo when I saw a taxi from a company called 安全タクシー dart across three lanes of traffic and turn left through a red light without indicating. Really living up to its name) 

furthermore 好 means to like, or be fond of (the two characters smooshed together are woman and child) and the one that I just realised today (because I mustn’t have been looking before, or I just saw the characters together for the first time) is 始- which means begin. Its made of 女 and 台、which means very big, and is also the counter for cars and large pieces of machinery.

It makes no sense I know. This country is messing with my mind.

 

Sometimes I have long days at the office with no work…

And this is one of those days. I should make a category on my blog entitled ‘long days at the office’

In fact I just did.

 

This is the product of one of those long days. My first translation into Japanese. Now, keep in mind its difficult enough for me to express myself in Japanese, let alone someone else, but I try. And I can only get better. Really, this isn’t very good…

 

First Day of my Life by Bright Eyes

 

This is the first day of my life

今日は僕の人生の最初の日
I swear I was born right in the doorway

このドアで生まれたを誓う
I went out in the rain suddenly everything changed

雨に出て俄かに全部変わった
They’re spreading blankets on the beach

浜で毛布を床を伸べる
Yours is the first face that I saw

あなたのは最初見たの顔
I think I was blind before I met you

会った前ではブラインドと思う
Now I don’t know where I am

今どこですかと
I don’t know where I’ve been

どこ行った知らんけど
But I know where I want to go

どこに行きたいか分かる

And so I thought I’d let you know

そして知させると思った
That these things take forever

こんな物は千代
I especially am slow

特に僕は遅い
But I realize that I need you

けどあなたを要るの気づく
And I wondered if I could come home

と帰られる考えた

Remember the time you drove all night

夜中運転したの時覚えてる？
Just to meet me in the morning

朝で会うばかりなのに
And I thought it was strange you said everything changed

変なと思ったあなたは「全部変わった」と言った
You felt as if you’d just woke up

しばらく前起きたの感じそう
And you said “this is the first day of my life

と言った「今日は私の人生の最初の日
I’m glad I didn’t die before I met you

会った前死ななかったから嬉しい
But now I don’t care I could go anywhere with you

けど心配しなってどこか行けって
And I’d probably be happy”

幸せかも知らない」

So if you want to be with me

だから一緒にしたたら
With these things there’s no telling

こんな物卜えない
We just have to wait and see

見送れいけない
But I’d rather be working for a paycheck

しかし宝くじの勝ち待った
Than waiting to win the lottery

働いて報を食むほうが好き
Besides maybe this time is different

と多分今度は違う
I mean I really think you like me

あなたは僕に本当に好きと思う