shimane black
TAXI MAY 2010
IS
ALL THAT GLITTERS
NOT
GOLD CULTURE
FOOD
TANOSHII
TRAVEL
Culture Shock
Diet and Recipes
Book Movies
Arashiyama
CONTENTS MAY 2 0 1 0
Profile
featured 3
JET artwork
articles
Pomodoro
Chotto ‌
4
Japanese Education
Monthly Topic
6
Living and Working in a Foreign Land
Travel
8
Escape the crowds of Kyoto
Food
9
Diet, Recipes, and Garden
Culture
E-mail your artwork to be featured in the next issue!
13
Culture Shock
Tanoshii
15
Book Movies
Nandemo
Lauren Wetherington
17
Letter from the Editors, May starts with Golden Week and this month we’d like to contemplate the true gold in our lives. We would also like to apologize for this issue being a little thin. We hope to be back to our regular standard for next month.
Submit your articles, artwork, and opinions to shimane.blacktaxi@gmail.com
2
Disclaimer: Views and opinions expressed herein are not necessarily those of the publisher. Each are expressed by the writer at the time of writing.
EDITORS: Regina Durr, Jonathan Edwards, Greg Ferguson, Betsy Pinkham, Lauren Wetherington Layout: Regina Durr and Betsy Pinkham Cover: Regina Durr
Black Taxi is a monthly magazine for the JET community in Shimane prefecture, Japan, published online. Read us at ISSUU 2 (issuu.com/shimane.blacktaxi ) or be our fan on Facebook.
featuring local businesses and people
profile
POMODORO Italian dining on Oki’s largest island.
If you find yourself on Oki’s Dougo and get a sudden craving for Italian, you have no farther to go than Pomodoro in Saigo. It’s a small Italian restaurant with delicious food and wine. There are only three five-seat tables at Pomodo, each separated from the others by wooden partitions that make each table truly feel private. The atmosphere is perfect for an intimate dinner with friends.. There are only two types of dishes served at Pomodoro. But don’t worry about a lack of options as they have a great variety within the limits of pizza and pasta.. The pizza is made with an artfully twisted thin crust and a generous toppings. One is probably enough for two people, but just to be certain, you might want to get a
dish of pasta as well. Unlike the pizza, the pasta alone isn’t enough for two people.. Local diner Liz Pardee recommends the creamy salmon rigatoni, which after trying it, I also recommend. If you do go to Pomodoro though, try whatever sounds good to you. We wouldn’t want to start some odd rumor that foreigners only eat rigatoni. As for the drink menu, there are the usuals. You can also get a full or half bottle, or just a glass of the house wine. Of course, I’m no wine connoisseur, so quality is something you’ll have to judge for yourself. Expect to pay at least 2,000 yen for a meal. A pasta dish averages around 1,400 yen, while the pizza is more pricey at about 1,800. The food is definitely worth it though.
POMODORO Open 11~2 for lunch and after 6 for dinner. Closed Mondays From the Port, turn onto the main street (there is a Wellness) and turn right just before crossing the bridge. Pomodoro will be on your right. You can see the restaurant’s sign from the main street. 3
3
debatable topics
…
/ chotto …
The Ministry directs its focus to the textbooks…finally Lauren Wetherington would rather not chotto.
When I first arrived in Japan, I was shocked at the amount of time teachers and students (mostly students) spend at school. I see students biking home at 7 and some students are at school before I wake up in the morning. I loved attending school, even when I was in middle school, but once class or after school activity was over, we went home. Teachers went home. The school was locked before dinner, because who would want to stick around? Imagine my surprise when I found out that this method was the more relaxed, simplified method in Japan. Before 1990, Japan was highly criticized for its rigorous, education-obsessed academic environment that caused students to become rivals with one another to pass college entrance exams. Some students dropped out because they couldn’t take the pressure. Therefore, Japan started to “relax” the curriculum and textbook contents, hoping to keep students from burning out before they were 17. Japan has hovered at the top of
the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) ranking for a long time. PISA is a project of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) designed to analyze the skills and knowledge of 15-year-olds. Reading, Mathematics, and Science are the three domains assessed by PISA. According to PISA, they hope to assess how well young adults are prepared to face future challenges, their capability to analyze and reason their ideas effectively, and whether some teaching techniques work better than others. PISA taps into a 15year-old’s ability to interpret real life situations and determine solutions. Therefore, PISA questions don’t always stem from what the students specifically learn in their curricula. Instead, students have to apply the critical thinking skills and creativity that they are hopefully learning in school. Easier said than done. Are such skills actually taught in junior high? Are teachers even aware of such skills? For the most part, I don’t think so.
Here is a sample science question found on the PISA website. The directions are to read a newspaper article and answer the questions. The newspaper article is about biodiversity and describes the chart provided at the end of the newspaper article. The chart shows various food webs with arrows showing the directions within the food webs. So the student has to read the article and analyze the chart in order to answer the questions. The questions require the reader to think of the chart in various situations and to assess various relationships within the graph. Sure, it’s a science question about animals and food webs, but nothing about the questions asks factual information about an animal that a student would have learned from a textbook. The question is more about finding patterns, relationships, and deducing the answer. In 2006, Japan, along with 29 other countries, took the test and the results were disappointing. Although Japan was ranked at the top for applied mathematics in 2000, it slipped to 10th in 2006. Additionally, Japan fell from second to sixth in science and from eighth to 15th in reading comprehension.
…
debatable topics
Out of 30 participating countries, Japan is still doing rather well. Better than the countries most of us are from…except Finland, South Korea, and Canada. Smarty pants. Average isn’t good enough for the Japanese Ministry so experts are debating the best approach to push Japan back to the academic top. Naturally, the PISA analysis would be considered, right? The PISA survey indicated that while possessing basic knowledge and skills, Japanese children have a problem applying them in real life situations. So how does the Japanese government propose to teach young students the ability to use their knowledge and skills memorized in the classroom in real life situations? Thicker and more complicated textbooks. The new policy states that the overall pages in textbooks will increase by 42.8 percent and science/math textbooks pages will increase 67 percent. An increase in textbook size isn’t a horrible idea…as long as it includes practice problems that stimulate critical thinking and creativity skills. I’m thinking they won’t. Japanese experts have their doubts. Critics claim that the textbooks are not the core problem. Some believe that
teachers should allow the students to pick their own subjects. A professor from Hosei University points out that teachers are too busy and can’t offer help after school. He believes that the local government ought to lighten the teachers’ paperwork in order to make them better teachers. Interesting. Yoshihide Ishiyama actually founded his own school in Mie-ken because he was so fed up with the Japanese education system. His school promotes personal expression, creativity, and equality while placing the student in more control over his or her curriculum. He states that Japan’s idea of education requires a great deal of memorization and repetition as opposed to thought and personal expression. Instead of working with the assessment provided by PISA, Japan is simply going back to the way things were. Whether Ishiyamasan’s students are actually learning anything is unknown. In English class, I notice that students can repeat after me, write in their work books, and ace vocabulary tests but they actually aren’t looking at the questions. They are simply regurgitating, not thinking. Critical thinking and logic are two skills that are difficult to learn. Try completing an expert level sudoku puzzle (so
/ chotto …
addictive) or beating the computer at chess (so annoying!). Personally, I didn’t actually start studying logic and critical thinking until I started preparing for my law school admission test. Sure, I had basic reasoning skills that I picked up since my toddler years, but my schools don’t actually teach advanced reasoning skills. Maybe that’s the reason why the USA has horrible test scores. If Japan wants to change its PISA ranking, the government has three options. Option one would be to teach the skills necessary to succeed on the PISA test. Option two would be to convince PISA to change the test. Option three would be to not participate in PISA and stop worrying about it.
Riddle me this…You are walking through a field, and you find something to eat. It doesn't have bones, and it doesn't have meat. You pick it up and put it into your pocket. You take it home and put it on a shelf, but 3 day's later it walks away. What is it? Answer in Nandemo section.
monthly topic by Regina Durr
monthly topic
The world’s image of Japans is the bright lights of Tokyo beaming full of new inventions and high technology.
Shimane, however, has changed our view. Rural Japan is full of rice fields, one long road, and an aging population.There’s hidden perks in our ‘golden’ situation, but also things to cope with. Hence, all that glitters is not gold…
it’s whatever we make it.
We know why we left in the first place, but what makes us stay? When we first go abroad, it’s often for the sheer plunge; the fear and thrill of falling. But when we stay, it’s for the little things. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
A sense of smell Learning a new language Small, brilliant absurdities Live independently Being like a celebrity Saying you lived abroad
3. Mexico English 4. China Teaching 5. Russia Locations 6. Japan 7. Thailand 8. Italy 1. Czech Republic 9. Saudi Arabia 2. South 10. Brazil Korea
Top 10
monthly topic
How to Survive in a Foreign Country Don’t be complacent and stick with what’s comfortable. So you’ve moved to a new country for work/study/selfgrowth, and culture shock has hit. It’s all too easy to hide from the world in that expat pub, speaking English and bonding with others over your cultural hurdles. Instead, follow our tips for immersing yourself in this new country, through food, friends, and language: 1. 2.
3. 4. 5.
6.
Top 10 Scenic English Teaching Jobs 1. Copan Ruinas, Honduras 2. Antigua, Guatemala 3. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 4. Buenos Aires, Argentina 5. Intag, Ecuador 6. Valparaiso, Chile 7. Athens, Greece 8. Tuscany, Italy 9. Prague, Czech Republic 10. Andalucia, Spain
7. 8.
9.
10. 11. 12.
13.
14.
Learn the language to be more independent, meet people cooler than you, and gain affinity Do something outside of work – with nobody you work with. Diversify your social groups and don’t get caught in drama. Use English Telephone Hotlines to vent your frustrations and get a new perspective on your situation Question everything to find out why people do things and how to get the most out of your experience Swallow your pride – you’re like a walking infant learning how to do everything their way, then adapting it to your way. Learn from others. Don’t assume people can speak English and don’t assume they can’t. Most educated people have studied English and it’s easier to speak both languages in a conversation. La ugh. Don’t take everything so seriously. Don’t overreact. Your will always be the “foreigner” and those around you remember every drastic thing you do. Make the job something you like by focusing on being a better employee, or having an active social life with co-workers. Network and milk your new friends when you need them. Hire help to have a positive experience or not get frustrated. Use public transportation or carpool to make trips less lonely and meet new people. Plus, people-watching is free. Splurge every now and then to get a taste of your home country – whether it’s a fancy restaurant, hotel room, or shopping,. Accept all invitations to beat boredom alone at home.
monthly topic How Living Abroad Facilitates The Creative Life Why artists choose to become expats By Sarah Menkedick via matadorabroad.com
There is, of course, a long tradition of the expatriate artist. Fitzgerald and Hemingway left a trail of expat glamour along the left bank that still beckons smitten American intellectuals today, and artists from Gauguin to Kerouac have fled the confining norms and lifestyles of their home countries to search for inspiration abroad. The New York Times recently ran a piece about expat artists in China, profiling several of these artists and exploring their reasons for heading East. Among them are familiar expat justifications for leaving home: lowered costs, the escape from gentrification and market-and-money driven societies, and the creativity that emerges from the challenges and constant stimulation of immersion in a foreign culture. China, with its relentless blind march into modernity coupled with its low cost of living, has a particular appeal for expat artists. Living in Beijing I remember being stupefied by the size and scale of the art in the Dashanzi art district, the way it rambled boldly this way and that drunk on sheer exuberance. There were giant boobs. Massive installations in old factory spaces. Life-size Maoist
soldiers and rooms full of TV’s. Dashanzi didn’t have the stale, postured pretension of other art districts in major Western cities. It was giddy and taken with its own life force. It is this type of energy that expat artists seek, and China provides it (along with a fat heap of frustrations, cultural differences and political threats which are stimulating when not maddening). But the same energy can also be found in many other places, particularly developing countries where artists don’t have to obsess as much over striking the balance between earning and creating, and where daily life serves up a chaos of encounters that get the creative brain off and running. The uncertainties; the need for constant observation and awareness; the thrill in detail and novelty; the conscious and unconscious struggles to dig in deeper; the search for local stories and puzzle pieces to put together; all of these components of expat life are also keys to the creative process. So it seems that living overseas and creating are natural compliments. Then there’s the sense of creative abandon abroad, the liberation from whatever aesthetic, social, cultural norms might reign in the artist in at
home. To put it very simply: you’ve just got to pay more attention living overseas. And that’s what artists do – pay close attention to the world, and then remake it. I live in Oaxaca for a host of reasons – my husband’s Oaxacan, I can’t imagine living in the States after five years abroad, I can survive off of a meager salary and still treat myself to beers and good food from time to time. But living here also keeps me sharp. There is always something to study, intellectually or aesthetically, from the smell of the air to the old man carving spoons outside the market. There’s always a new puzzle, be it one that makes me want to scream and bemoan the loss of cheddar cheese and an easy sense of belonging or one that delivers me once more to that childlike state of awe. So expat life, for many artists, is a way of tapping into and enhancing the creative flow, even if it means at times you get bowled over by a river you can’t control. It allows artists the freedom and stimulation to create. And to take breaks from such creation to eat fresh, warm, hand-rolled tortillas at the market, as I’m going to do right now.
monthly topic
7 Reasons Why Working Abroad Is Your Best Career Move By Kirsty Henderson vi a bravenewtraveler.com
Upon graduating university the last thing I wanted to do was talk about career fairs, interviews and networking. I had no interest in leaping directly into the rat race world of 9 to 5 and even less interest in establishing a career. Instead, I planned to pack my backpack after that last exam and board a one-way flight to Australia. The only problem was a serious lack of funds. Students aren’t known for being the richest bunch around and after 5 years of studying my bank balance wasn’t exactly in good shape. With a bit of research I discovered that Canadians are able to work in a variety of countries, including Australia, as part of the Working Holidaymaker Program. (Other countries also offer similar programs). I decided that working abroad was the way to go. I spent the year down-under in a variety of jobs, and I came to the conclusion that there’s a lot more to working abroad than earning a few bucks. Now whenever I travel I’m always on the lookout for a chance to do a bit of work everywhere I go. So in an effort to open your eyes to the wonderful world of working holidays, here are 7 reasons why working abroad is a great way to travel, and looks sharp on your resume after you come home.
1. Earn Money On The Road 2. Learn New Skills Working abroad gives you the chance to do all sorts of crazy jobs you’d probably never even think of trying at home. Most of the skills you’ll learn, like how to pick an apple or the quickest way to put on a duvet cover, probably won’t specifically benefit your future career but any new skill shows initiative. At the very least will make a great story when you’re being interviewed for a new job. 3. Prove Your Independence 4. Meet the Locals As a traveler you’ll be meeting locals at every turn. But chances are most of them will be working in the tourist industry and will have a vested interest in being nice to you. If you want to really meet the locals and experience the culture, working abroad is the answer. You’ll be able to connect with everyday folks, as eager to learn about your home country as you are to learn about theirs. 5. Make Lasting Friendships 6. Get a Feel for the Destination After awhile, cities can start to look the same. Each temple or museum is less and less exciting as time wears on. As you hop from country to country it can feel as though you’re really only skimming the surface of what it’s truly like in each place. Stopping to work will allow you to see a city or town from a deeper perspective and really get an idea for the pace of everyday life. You’ll will be able to take the time to learn from your surroundings, seeking those ‘off the beaten path’ places on your own instead of relying on your guidebook. 7. Experience Real Freedom While you’re working you won’t exactly be free, but heading abroad to start a new life can be a daunting experience. Once you discover that it’s not as scary or difficult as you first thought, it’s as if a whole new world opens up to you. Having the confidence to head off anywhere in the world to make a living really gives a great sense of freedom. Once you feel as though you can go anywhere and still manage to support yourself, the world truly is your oyster.
… monthly topic
Golden
Quotes
Sometimes the glittering things in life can fill our eyes and minds. They dazzle and blind us. But the true value of something doesn’t lie in its appearance. So it’s important to recognize that the glittering things in our lives may not really be of much worth, and that some of our most precious people and possessions come in plain packaging.
Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver and the other is gold. Girl Scout Song
Nature's first green is gold, Her hardest hue to hold. Her early leafs a flower; But only so an hour. Then leaf subsides to leaf. So Eden sank to grief, So dawn goes down to day. Nothing gold can stay. Robert Frost
Golden slumbers fill your eyes Smiles awake you when you rise The Beatles
Don't gain the world and lose your soul Wisdom is better than silver and gold. Bob Marley 11
Arashiyama
tips and tricks in and out of Shimane
travel
A world away from crowded Kyoto LOCATION Twenty minutes from central Kyoto station on the JR line, bus, or using the Randen tram.).
Regina Durr has traveled to over 23 countries and is rarely seen in the iinaka
EAT
WHAT TO DO
Exit the train station and on the right side along the main street is a very popular lunch buffet restaurant (Gyaatei) with home cooked Kyoto dishes (obanzai).
Pick up a useful map at the unmarked information booth at the train station. Start walking to the left to see the gorgeous, un-developed valley while standing on the Togetsukyo Bridge over the Hozu River. Note: Between 9am and 3:30pm you can see boat cruises coming down the river. To hop on them, splurge on the Sagano Romantic Train (no lover needed) to get to Kameoka Station. The 2-hour cruise will drop you off near the main Arashiyama station. Twenty-minutes up the mountain from the bridge is Iwatayama Monkey Park (¥600) where you can buy peanuts to personally feed monkeys. Past the train station on the opposite side is Tenryu-ji. (¥500) A World Heritage Site, this is one of Kyoto’s Five Great Zen Temples and dates back to 1339. Undoubtedly, the surrounding garden overpowers the temple itself. Exit to the back of the temple to be mystified and surrounded by a bamboo grove. The towering bamboo trees lead to more traditional buildings and parks comprising Okochi Sanso (¥1,000, including green tea). Image sources: http://www.fecielo.com/kyoto-japan and http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?p=34962882
food
recipes and more
SHEDDING $ )(:POUNDS, 47
SHEDDING *22' SENSE? SENSE?
Before giving up on your New Year’s resolution or starting a new diet, give some thoughts to your future AFTER the program. I don’t know about your own country, but the U.S.A. is a nation of dieters. One of our most common New Year’s resolutions every year is weight loss. There is always some new diet promising to be both effortless and successful. Women’s magazines make a fortune with “10 Easy Tips to a Flatter Tummy,” “10 Breakfast Foods to Shrink Your Waist,” and “10 Foods to Cut Out of Your Diet to Cut Your Fat.” Some of these diets really do seem to work…for a few weeks. Before you know it, the pounds on the scale have crept up and you’re right back where you started. So which diet do you choose? Here’s a hint, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. On the subject of infomercial diet pills and special drinks; they are at best usually a placebo and at worst addictive and unhealthy. Money can’t buy you weight loss, it’s too good to be true. What about weight loss plans that have you restructuring your daily diet? Weight loss through diet change alone is possible, but will probably also be extremely rigid. Most dieters fall of the band wagon, and rigid diets are part of the reason. It’s just too difficult. Alright, so what if you just exercise more? Hey that’s actually a pretty good idea. Almost everyone (not including our students who do sports clubs for 2+ hours a day) could use more exercise. Why not go jogging every morning before going to work? Sounds like a
Betsy Pinkham doesn’t diet.
great plan, except for, you know, the morning part, and the jogging part. I can do it for maybe a week or two before I start making excuses or accidentally waking up late on purpose. So what am I saying, diet changes and exercise are impossible? Of course not. These work for some people who can maintain the prolonged changes, but most people fall to the wayside. So what about the rest of us folks who want to shed some pounds? Well, here it is. Don’t diet. Wait. What? Seriously. If your way of dieting includes following a special plan and then stopping when you’ve reached your goal, don’t do it. I’ll pass along some of the best advice I’ve ever gotten about diets and exercise, don’t make any changes you can’t see yourself maintaining permanently. I can’t see myself jogging before work. I don’t like jogging. But I do enjoy and can take long walks. So whenever the weather is permitting, I take at least 45 minute walks around the neighborhood after work. I can’t see myself avoiding carbs, or planning out every meal of everyday. But I can and have made more simple changes to my diet. Actually, just listening to our mothers and making a few
food
recipes and more
(cont…) simple and easy changes would do a lot of good for most of us. Eat breakfast, eat your veggies, drink water, and don’t spoil your dinner by eating cookies before hand. Actually, the typical Japanese diet is pretty healthy, so this month I’ll give you a recipe for a delicious sesame-flavored white salad. Just remember, there is no effortless weight loss. If it sounds too good to be true, it is. Also, I’m neither a dietician nor a nutritionist. Always speak to your doctor before starting a new diet.
Sesame-flavored White Salad Makes two servings of 131 calories. ½ block soft tofu 30g carrot 80g spinach ½ package of white shimeji Dressing 2 tsp ground white sesame 2 tsp white miso 1 tsp mirin 1 tsp light soy sauce 1 tsp sake 1 tsp sugar Sprinkle of white sesame Set the tofu to drain. Chop both the shimeji and the spinach leaves 2-3 cms thick, then quarter and thinly slice the carrot. Place the vegetables in a microwavable bowl, add a bit of water. Cover with plastic wrap and microwave for 1-2 minutes to wilt the veggies. In a sauce pan over low heat, slowly mix the dressing ingredients together and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Crumble the tofu and mix together with dressing and vegetables. Top with sesame seeds.
food
recipes and more
Chicken Cheese Sandwich
Liz Pardee enjoys learning new dishes.
So you’ve had a long day and you don’t feel like cooking. Plus, you had your kyuushoku, and let’s face it, Japanese food can be bland, bland, bland! Here’s a fast, easy, delicious way to rev up after a full day of work with a curry-licious kick! And it only takes 30 minutes!
Chicken Cheese Sandwich (serves 2) 384 calories Ingredients: 6 Cherry tomatoes 2 squares of sliced cheese 1 Chicken Breast (250g) 1/2 Tbsp Oil 1/3 Tsp salt Pepper Curry powder 1) Take the stems off of the tomatoes and fold the slices of cheese in half. Cut the chicken breast open like a sandwich, but be careful not to cut completely in half. The goal is to make a flat square of chicken that is still completely connected. Sprinkle the salt and some pepper on the chicken. 2) Place the sliced cheese on the chicken and sandwich is inside. Use two toothpicks to hold the chicken together at the open end.
4) Put the oil in a frying pan and heat over low heat. Place the chicken in the pan skinside down, cover with a lid, and bake for 4-5 minutes. Turn over and bake the same way for another 4-5 minutes. Now, at this point the chicken probably isn’t fully cooked, so remove from the frying pan, place on a microwaveable plate, remove the toothpicks, cover with saran wrap, and cook in your microwave oven for about 5 minutes on range. Cut into easy-to-eat sections, and serve with the cherry tomatoes. 5)
3) Coat the chicken lightly with the curry powder.
Enjoy!
recipes and more
food
Lexi Sanborn is working on her farmer’s tan.
It's the end of April, and the weather is only now getting its act together. From everyone I hear, this year has been abnormally cold. This coldness is evident in the slow progression of my plants' growth. Having been sprouted from seed sometime back in February, I was certainly expecting more progress between then and now. Technically my plants can still be called seedlings, though some have at last begun to cast off their initial leaves and grow slightly more "plant like." April was marked by my impatience. The situation with growing plants in my apartment was a Catch Twenty-Two. With no sunlight, the seedlings grew weak and withered; but put outside the strong salty wind off the Sea of Japan and lack of sunlight even outdoors (Thanks, Shimane) fared no better with them. Still, the bulk of my plants have now been officially planted outside with only a few varieties still within the confines of my apartment. Here is a status report: 1.) The pumpkin sprout I originally planted withered outside, so I was forced to grow another one which seems to be doing better. I also planted more pumpkin seeds in the gravesite of its kin. 2.) The zucchini, as befitting the hardiness of the plant, are doing the well. Though their progression is minimal, they seem to have a fighting spirit.
3.) Sadly, the tomato sprout-lings withered and are officially dead. It's okay, because tomato plants are easily available here. 4.) The basil sprouts have not grown at all, but at least are not dead. 5.) The green beans seem to be doing well enough. 6.) The seeds I planted out of doors, consisting of carrots, salad and spinach have all popped their little heads out of the ground and seem to be doing fine minus their territory being encroached upon by weeds that are multiplying by the day. 7.) The star to this entire venture is the cilantro. Originally, they were the weakest and sickliest of all plants I grew from seeds. However, they now stand proud and tall and are beginning to shoot off leaves. I am already beginning to mentally plan the Mexican food summer will bring. I will be gone in Korea for a week, but luckily have found a person willing to water my plants. When I return, I am going to try some different weed-killing methods. I'd like to avoid as much herbicide as possible. Besides picking them out by hand (impossible with the amounts I have), does anyone have any alternate suggestions? Let's hope by next months post I can stop using the word seedlings and move onto plants. Baby steps. Baby steps.
culture
everything entertainment language and understanding Japanese life
When Culture Shock
STRIKES The Repercussions of a Gaijin Who Can’t Take It Anymore Why am I here? This question has assuredly crossed the minds of each and every ALT in Japan, although not all will have an answer ready assuming they can formulate one at all. Regardless of reasoning, he we all are now in the land of the rising sun sharing the experience of learning and adapting to a culture quite diverse from the ones we knew. This task is far from easy, so hopefully the desires that sent us here in the first place fuel our drive to push forward and enjoy a unique opportunity many only dream about. But sometimes such desires can be forgotten. In the middle of March I received a link from my close friend to an article from a gaming website known as Kotaku. While the site provides feedback on the Japanese gaming industry for the western market, occasionally their columnists will write other material as well, such as the article I was given. The article, “Japan: It’s Not Funny Anymore” by Tim Rogers, is an epic 35 page length piece on how jaded he has become by just about every part of Japanese society over the past five years of his life; an article long enough to qualify as a graduate thesis. Of the 16,000 word rant, he devotes a miniscule 73 word section to Japan’s redeemable assets. The rant’s only basis is his own experience here in Japan, of which there is no reason to doubt. I agreed with and related to more than a few of his personal stories and observations. However, the purpose and ultimate conclusion of his article was outright appalling: Japan is a terrible
Jonathan Edwards is powering up.
place. While not liking Japan is understandable, Rogers essentially condemns the country for the rest of the world through grand exaggeration and generalization. He attempts to justify this verdict by claiming to be a traveled and therefore tolerant individual. So why care? What is the impact of a game industry drifter in the big cities on English teaching assistants way out in the Japanese countryside? First and foremost, this is our job. Yes we are English teachers, but internationalization is a very important secondary objective for the JET Program and its related counterparts. Internationalizing is obviously done on a daily basis as we represent our homelands first hand to everyone we meet, but that job continues as we share Japan back to those homelands, even when this country is far behind us. We need not sing Japan’s praises, so long as we paint an honest and true picture of what we experienced. Japan’s flaws are many, but that is true of our own countries as well. When someone decries an aspect of Japan that through our own experience we know to be false, we should let it be known. Rogers is a vegetarian and in his article accuses the country of trying to starve him by purposefully throwing meat in everything, yet I’ve known many here who get by fairly well. He tries so hard to win sympathy that he really just makes vegetarians look like self-righteous assholes. He decries Japanese sayings as archaic
everything entertainment language and understanding Japanese life
and stupid, yet English has its own archaic sayings that have lost their original meaning. By his logic, English speaking countries are devoutly religious considering how much we reference God and other religious symbolism, especially when cursing. Yes the Japanese language sounds bizarre when literally translated, but that is because the translation is then applied to English logic and culture, which doesn’t work. Also according to Rogers, apparently drinking at an enkai is mandatory on penalty of being discreetly fired, yet many teachers at my enkais get by on tea, nor am I subtly harassed for turning down alcohol. Pressure from my fellow foreigners to drink has been far worse than that of the Japanese. His list of the country’s sins goes on. Japan Smokes; so does the rest of the world. Japan has bad standup; so does Jerry Seinfeld and he got a hit TV show. Japan has bad weather... how is this one even Japan’s fault? Worse still the article goes at length to make the Japanese themselves look uniformly like a hive mind of ignorant, obnoxious morons with some of the worst examples he could drum up. One would think the article would lose weight where it mattered with a plethora of counter information, and yet it did not, which returns to the question of the article’s impact. Japan has a very tricky place in world pop culture at the moment, a place that for some of us played a part in our decision to come here. There is a segment of pro Japan culture large and vocal enough that an anti-group has emerged to harass them and basically hate Japan on principle. Look up an urban dictionary online for terms they created like ‘wanime’ or ‘weeaboo’, and one will find examples of the anit-group’s mentality. To be fair, there are those among the pro-Japan group who think this country is some sort of geek Valhalla, speaking a pure incorruptible language written for angels, and incapable of wrong; I have seen my fair share of these guys ,
culture and while they are quite annoying, that cannot justify taking the polar opposite view solely on principle. When Rogers’ article was put online, the anti-Japan group was very quick to spread it like gospel among geek forums. There was now a way to say “The land you love is a bitter lie. Why would you ever want to go there?” with “irrefutable” evidence from a primary source. Any who disagree with the article betray sanity and reason, having been assimilated by a fictitious race of inhuman beings. Only countering first hand information can stave off their crusade, assuming they are willing to believe such new input as readily as the first. Therein lies the final problem with Rogers article and its reception, every word is most likely true. Nothing he wrote about came across as surprising, unexpected, or fabricated. I, and surely many readers, have found this country beyond frustrating at times. But on other occasions Japan has offered amazing experiences and insights, some not possible in my home country; Tim Rogers is no different. Due to overwhelming feedback, his article on despising Japan was followed one month later by an equally long explanation on why he came here in the first place, and why he remains. When Japan drives us to the breaking point, we too should not forget our own reasons for coming and staying. Remember even when life here becomes bleak, there are still aspects to appreciate. Do so not just for the Japanese sake, but for your own sanity as well.
Japan: It’s Not Funny Anymore can be read at http://kotaku.com/5484581/japan-itsnot-funny-anymore as well as his follow up, The Life of Game: Why I Live in Japan at http://kotaku.com/5516355/the-lifeof-game-why-i-live-in-japan
/ tanoshii
everything entertainment
t h e
Why I Don’t Buy
BY BO O K For as long as there have been movies, there have been movie adaptations of literary works, and for as long as there have been adaptations there have been critics of them. Chances are you’ve numbered among them once or twice in your lifetime. Think back on a time you saw a movie and complained that it wasn’t as good as the book. Got something in mind? I bet it didn’t take long. All too often after watching an adaptation and discussing it with friends, someone will pipe up and say it wasn’t as good as the book because “they never are.” Now, if there’s one unfair criticism I think gets lobbed at movies the most, I’d say it’s that one – and it’s a pernicious one at that. Why pernicious? In principle, it’s okay to say that one thing is better than another; the book better than the film, in this case. But here, what bothers me most is that books and movies are so fundamentally different – and, furthermore, quite often a matter of difference in artistic vision. In a sense, movies exist for the sake of themselves and should be taken just as they are. Yet, legions of booky-wooky nitpickers persist in feeling affronted when an adaptation strays from the confines of the source material. And that bugs the heck out of me.
Greg Ferguson finds enlightenment in entertainment
rage. Sort of. After all, when some books are turned into movies, it’s more or less an official endorsement – a tie-in or companion piece with the stamp of approval from the actual author or, at the very least, book publisher. So when the “Harry Potter” books are brought to the big screen each year in a truncated form, it’s like a slap in the face to all the fans who know full well that they’re unlikely to see anyone else make another series of “Harry Potter” movies truer to the originals because when a movie studio like Warner Bros. pays millions to license the stories, it’s tough to compete with that. I get that, and my heart goes out to each of you who can’t help but find disappointment in those movies. Yet, as one who hasn’t read a single book in the series, I love the movies for what they are, and no amount of wounded indignation can persuade me to feel otherwise. Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures
With some movies, I can sort of sympathize whenever a disgruntled fanbase emerges to cluck their tongues and pump their fists in nerdy out“Hermione, according to this book, we’re doing this all wrong!”
/ tanoshii
everything entertainment
For a movie to work, it has to create and sustain a world of its own. It must set its own rules and follow them. That’s why movies that rely on prior knowledge of a book very often fail to work for me. Granted, some would argue that such movies aren’t made for me, and true enough maybe they’re not. But that doesn’t make them good. I should be able to watch any movie and be able to work out what’s happening without outside help, and feel rewarded when I do find myself familiar with the book. Surely that’s the best, most inclusive approach to adaptation. Sometimes, an adaptation is extremely liberal in its translation of a book. Maybe the ending has changed, or the setting has shifted, or a character omitted or altered somehow. What then? Well, sometimes bloody outrage, as with the “Watchmen” feature which was initially thought to be unfilmable but in fact did get made, albeit without its original ending intact. Sometimes you get passive acceptance, as with a movie like “High Fidelity” (which swapped London for Chicago) or the entire “Lord of the Rings” trilogy (which, among other sacrifices, proceeded entirely without mention of Tom Bombadil but is still lauded by just about everyone on Earth). On rare occasions, though, you get movies which are thought to be better than their counterparts, like “Away From Her” (which, being based on a short story, exercised a lot of creative power) or “Clockwork Orange”
Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures
Just watch the dang movies!
(which unintentionally stopped just prior to the oft-forgotten 21st chapter, turning the movie into an anti-establishment story by depriving it of its original healing coda). Personally, I tend to hold such wildly different adaptations in higher esteem than the more literal movie versions. I think it takes a lot of imagination to interpolate outside stories – sometimes, stories which have been long told and are popularly familiar – and manipulate them, as if to wring out new discoveries and truths. Indeed, you could even say that the best stories lend themselves to this kind of twisting around of things. I can think of no better example than the works of Shakespeare, which have manifested themselves in a variety of ways in cultures far removed from Take “Hamlet” for 17th Century England. instance, which has been retold as a story of corporate corruption twice (Michael Almereyda’s 2000 version and Kurosawa Akira’s “The Bad Sleep Well”), been depicted only once in its full 4-hour running time (Kenneth Branagh’s 1996 epic, which actually chose a different century in which to take place), and been reincarnated as the family-friendly Disney classic “The Lion King” – complete with a happy ending and lovable songs. Each version has merit, yet none can be said to be an accurate version of the original. So there you go. No matter what changes have been made in an adaptation, the important thing to remember is that each movie is a collection of deliberate ideas which represent the unique vision of the filmmaker. Everything you see on the screen is all the information you’re meant to absorb. I never need to be told again that an adaptation is different from the book. I know, and what’s more is I don’t need to know. I prefer to engage each movie on its own terms because it’s unfair, unhelpful and pointless to criticize one thing by saying it’s unlike another.
‌ / tanoshii
everything entertainment
10 Modern Nonfiction Books Everyone Should Read by marcandangel.com
1.The Road Less Traveled by M. Scott Peck – Pretty much the granddaddy of all self-improvement books, it’s easily one of the best nonfiction works I’ve ever read. By melding love, science, and spirituality into a primer for personal growth, Peck guides the reader through lessons on delaying gratification, accepting responsibility for decisions, dedicating oneself to truth and reality, and creating a balanced lifestyle. 2.Radical Honesty by Brad Blanton – The book’s basic point is sound – honesty is the best policy. With a brash, ‘in your face’ writing style, Blanton states that lying is the primary cause of human stress and advocates strict truthfulness as the key to achieving intimacy in relationships and happiness in life. 3.The Art of Learning by Josh Waitzkin – Josh Waitzkin transformed himself from a championship chess master into an elite Tai Chi martial arts practitioner. This book is part autobiography, part chess memoir, and part martial arts philosophy. Essentially, Waitzkin offers his own approach to becoming a student and applying certain disciplines and habits toward learning and eventually mastering any skill. 4.Scratch Beginnings: Me, $25, and the Search for the American Dream by Adam Shepard – Shepard started his life over from scratch in Charleston, South Carolina, with $25 and the clothes on his back. He lived in a homeless shelter while looking for work. His goal was to start with nothing and, within a year, work hard enough to save $2500, buy a car, and to live in a furnished apartment. “Scratch Beginnings� is sometimes sad, sometimes amusing, pointed and thought provoking - all the makings of a book well worth reading. 5.The Joy of Simple Living by Jeff Davidson – A great resource for anyone wanting to cut down on the clutter and confusion in their life. Davidson takes a step-by-step, easy to follow approach to simplifying your house, garage, office, car, etc. Not only will you learn to create an orderly home, you’ll gain the knowledge necessary to be a more successful spouse, parent, and worker by learning how to prioritize and simplify. 6.Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini – Arguably the best book on the science of persuasion. Cialdini explains the six psychological principles that drive our powerful impulse to comply to the pressures of others and shows how we can defend ourselves against manipulation (or put these principles to work for our own interests). 7.Secrets of the Millionaire Mind by T. Harv Ecker –
This book competently discusses the missing link between wanting success and achieving it. If you suspect that your mindset is holding you back from making more money and achieving your goals, you’d be wise to give this title a thorough read. 8.Management of the Absurd by Richard Farson – Farson zeros in on the paradoxes of communication, the politics of management, and the dilemmas of change, exploring relationships within organizations and offering a unique perspective on the challenges managers face. I highly recommend this book for anyone in a management or leadership role, including parents and teachers. 9.Overachievement by John Eliot – According to Eliot, in order to achieve spectacular success, one must change his or her thoughts about pressure and learn to welcome it, enjoy it, and make it work. Eliot says that goal-setting, relaxation, and visualization, the typical self-help suggestions, just don’t work well for most people. This book provides some great food for thought that attempts to counteract the primary points of other major self-help gurus. 10.The Magic of Thinking Big by David Schwartz – This is another classic self-improvement book. Schwartz gives the reader useful, proactive steps for achieving success. He presents a clear-cut program for getting the most out of your job, marriage, family life, and other relationships. In doing so, he proves that you don’t need to be an intellectual or have innate talent to attain great success and satisfaction in life.
MTV Japan Chart Top 20 Music / BUMP OF CHICKEN
/ 2. 3. / Perfume / THE BACK HORN 4. 5. All about the Girls / MiChi ! "# 6. %&' / mihimaru GT / ASIAN KUNG-FU 7. $ GENERATION * ',-%.+/ 8. () / + 123 9. Best Friend / 0 5678 10. 4 / monobright 1.
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Anything useful…or not useful
Do you really live in the inaka? inaka ? 1. Do you have kumitori marked on your calendar? Kumitori is when people come to your house and pump out the poo in your pit toilet. Yuck. 2. Do your neighbors know everything about you? Kind of creepy sometimes…ok, all the time. 3. Has anyone ever died from politeness? Being polite is exhausting! 4. Do people drop by unannounced and stay for hours? Do you have tea and cake on hand 24/7?
5. Do you have a Starbucks in your prefecture?
If you answered YES to any of the questions above…welcome to the inaka!
food facts facts Instant ramen = around 400 calories
Okonomiyaki (Hiroshima) = 1000 calories
Onigiri = around 80100 calories
12 fl oz Kirin Beer = 145 calories
Chotto Answer: an egg
/ nandemo We love Lady Gaga! Lady Gaga, while on tour in Japan, urged Japanese people to openly discuss AIDS/HIV and having protected sex. Although the number of AIDS/HIV cases is on the decline, so are people getting tested. Want to avoid that pesky intimacy usually accompanied by real relationships? Why not participate in the plethora of dating simulation games for your keitai? “Kimi to Wonder Kiss” is the newest game on the market. Choose your mate, groom them, and BAM! You have yourself a dream come true. The ultimate cheap date.