Some Iizuka history and a note on cannibus air fresheners

Last weekend I visited the Iizuka Museum of Natural History. Asking the receptionist if any of the exhibits were in English (Eigo-de?) - and I was a bit let down to find out that everything was in Japanese. So, it being a small museum, and me not being able to read hardly any Japanese, I zipped through the museum in about half an hour. After returning to the entrance, the same lady introduced me to one of the curators, and she told me that he spoke some English. He then showed me a few things on the first floor of the museum, and, between his semi-decent English and my poor Japanese, I was able to understand a fair amount of what he showed me. He ended up taking me through the entire museum (not big, but really a lot to look at) - explaining quite a bit to me about what I had previously breezed by. I found out that where we are in Fukuoka is very near the port from which all of the culture that came from China and Korea entered Japan. That is, when metal-making, rice cultivation, Buddhism, porcelain, and many other things came to Japan, they came to Kyushu first, and then spread throughout the rest of Japan (with the exception of the northern island, Hokkaido).

This I find interesting I because at my first school I remember seeing clay dolls and dishes in a glass case outside the teachers room that looked a lot like some Japanese artifacts I had seen in slide form while I was taking a Japansese Art History class at Lane Community College. Come to find out, these dolls and earthenware were the exact things I had been studying in college, and just some of the many cultural remnants that first came to Japan through the area I'm now living in! The curator told me about a few excavations that had recently been done, uncovering artifacts like clay tombs that are about 2,000 years old - around a nearby Iizuka elementary school.

Another interesting note he told me was about this group of three, pointy-looking mountains that are clearly visible from where I live in Iizuka. He said that in the 19th century, coal mining techniques were adopted from Europe - and these mountains are part of the result. Basically, the mountains aren't really mountains at all - they are made of "slack," which is the excess material that is left over after the coal is separated from the earth. I find these to be a little bit funny because when I first moved in, I thought "Wow, these mountains look kind of pretty..." and had even thought of posting a picture of the "nice view" I had in Iizuka. Now, after I know they aren't natural mountains at all, they seem really ugly and very unnatural looking.



The faux-mountains in Iizuka - remnants of the days when when it was a coal-mining town.

On a bike-ride to my first school, I noticed a cannibus-leaf air freshener in what looked like a family car, and was really puzzled at the incongruity. But, after seeing that the only selection of air fresheners in what amounts to the "Iizuka Wal-Mart" are cannibus leaf-style, I am really not surprised at all, and won't be surprised to see plenty more in vehicles with non pot-smoking Japanese families. The last picture I'm posting is of the selection of air fresheners at the local "Trial Supercenter," a big superstore and 15 minute walk from my house where I do most of my shopping.


Trial, where I buy most of my household goods...


Trial's selection of car-air fresheners...

My first two weeks at school

I have finished my first two weeks of teaching at my first junior high school. At this particular school there were 4 classes of about 30 7th graders (in Japan they are called ichi nensei, or 1st graders), 4 classes of 30 or so 8th graders (ni-nensei), and 5 classes of 30 or so 9th graders (san-nensei). I assisted the regular Japanese English teachers in about 22 English classes over two weeks, and I did one self-introduction for each class. My self introduction was really just 15 minutes of me showing the class pictures of my family, the American flag, and cartoons I drew that describe myself and where I am from, Oregon. I tried to speak clearly, and showed them all what a 'hacky-sack' is, and demonstrated by kicking it a few times. The students were all exceptionally well-behaved and listened attentively to my introduction. The dynamics of the classes differed between the three grades, each having a different Japanese English teacher, and each undergoing their various stages of puberty.

Three of my intro cards, in order:

I have to say that there has been some laughter, some bewildered looks, and plenty of both from the students after showing them these three cards. There was one class I can remember where I was standing in the front, rubbing my head, saying 'Japanese...' then rubbing my arm, saying 'American...' - only to see puzzled looks and hear silence.

One thing I found really interesting at this school is the lunch time routine. First of all, for the daily 'school routine', students stay in the same classroom for every class, and the teachers move around from classroom to classroom. At my junior high school the teachers stayed put and the students moved around. As for lunch, the students eat at their own desks, after arranging their desks into small groups that are their 'lunch groups.' During my first lunch at the school, I spent some time trying to speak English to the students, and before I knew it, the students were cleaning up their dishes and putting their desks back in order. Actual eating time was only about 15 minutes long! I barely got into my teriyaki patty sandwich that day, and I was pretty hungry after I went back to the teachers room. I've learned to eat a little faster since then.

My involvement in the classroom has been varied between the three Japanese English teachers. While each one is required to work out the textbook handed down to them from the Board of Education, they all varied quite a bit in their teaching styles and so my involvement has been different for each grade. For the ni-nensei teacher, for example, I did much assisting with the lessons that came straight from the teacher's version of the textbook, and for the ichi and san-nensei teachers I was able to create a few games and lessons to supplement their own lessons for the day. Last week I saw that the san-nensei classes were about to begin a section from their books that talked about Stevie Wonder, and so I asked the teacher (a younger girl, 25 years old) if I could play a Stevie Wonder song for the class and hand out lyric sheets that they could follow along with and fill in where I left blank spaces. She was totally game, and so we spent about 15 minutes at the end of class listening to Stevie sing 'A Place in the Sun' while the students wrote down whatever words or sounds they could make out. I was pretty thrilled to watch a group of 30 15-year old Japanese students reading along and listening to Stevie belt out a hopeful song...

Some junior high boys taking a break after lunch...


Some girls playing volleyball in the schoolyard at recess...

My new place, bicycle, and address

I've heard that most housing in the Kyushu area is un-furnished. This means that you are set up in a place with no light bulbs or anything to start with. Also, often times new residents have to pay deposit fees that cover 3-4 months ahead, making moving in a very expensive deal. My place, a newer apartment complex called 'Leo Palace,' is semi-furnished, and I have only one fee to pay for moving in. The downside is that the monthly rent is more expensive than those other, non-furnished places. In any case, my little place came equipped with a washing machine, fridge, microwave, and tv. Today I was hanging my laundry out to dry, a new experience for me that left me hoping for some nice Sunday sunshine. It came, otherwise I would have had to hang my laundry inside somehow...

Upon entering, my place has a narrow corridor, where you must take off your shoes so as to keep the hardwood floors nice. In that corridor you will find my kitchen, and off to the right you will find my bathroom. I have a small bathtub that is deep, and a mobile showerhead. Past the bathroom is my living room, where I recently bought a nice looking tatami mat, which, in my opinion, really ties the room together! My sleeping place is actually a loft, set above the living room which I have to climb a ladder to get to. Its really too hot to be sleeping up there now (even the nice air conditioning unit I have doesn't really reach that far), so I've been sleeping on a futon in the living room. But I do think the loft will serve me well in the winter. Overall, I am really happy with my new place. The smaller amount of space here has really forced me to organize my living so that I am economizing more with food, appliances, and stuff in general. I do miss buying large jugs of orange juice (Simply Orange is my favorite) at a time, though...



The corridor and kitchen...



My living room...


My empty loft...

I also bought a bike to get around. I spotted this shiny red bike at the local 'Trial Supercenter' that really caught my eye, and was relatively cheap. The day after I bought it, one of the guys who led the training for junior high English teachers told me that he had three bikes stolen in three weeks. I said, "Maybe it didn't help that I bought a red one..." He was living in a different city, but I think bikes do get stolen around here as well. There are quite a few local high school drop outs dubbed 'Yankees' here that may be prone to cause mischief. I didn't want to take any chances with my new bike, so I bought two locks, in addition to the one it came with. I have definitely become pretty attached to this bike. I've been biking to and from my first junior high school every work day, and it takes me about 15 minutes to get there or back. I've felt a renewed sense of fun riding this bike, but we are just beginning typhoon season here so we'll see how I feel in the next few months!


My new ride...

Lastly, my new address is:

Paul Meuse
Apt. 111
2-4-32
Komodanishi
Iizuka City
Fukuoka 820-0017

What I am up to for the next seven months

Hello Everyone! This summer I was hired by a company called One World Language Services (OWLS) to teach English to junior high school boys and girls attending public schools in a place called Iizuka City, Japan. I will be working as an Assistant Language Teacher (ALT), or aide to the regular Japanese English teachers at four different junior high schools in the Iizuka area. I will work at one school for two weeks at a time, and then rotate schools until I am back at the first school. Iizuka is a medium-sized town located in Fukuoka prefecture, on the southern island of Kyushu in Japan. The town is located in a semi-rural area of Japan, and is the largest city among the surrounding cities in the area. If you want to know more about Iizuka, you can look here. I you want to know more about OWLS you can check out their website here. I start my first day of teaching tomorrow, so wish me luck!