諫早物語-The Story of Isahaya
I am sitting in the staff room at this hour while the students are taking their English mid-term test at this very moment. Kawasaki sensei was kind and said i do not have to invigilate any of the class so here i am blogging in broad daylight. Spent the first hour being productive by reading and catching up on news on Channelnewsasia, which unlike Straits Times, does not require any subscription.
Now that i am done with catching up the news, finally i can have some time to sit back and take stock of some of the things that had been going on, events and commitments that have been keeping me sufficiently busy on this litle island.
One of the main cause of my extreme business is that i've been going for dance practice every night in preparation for the upcoming performance at my town's annual festival. A month ago while spending a lazy afternoon at this snack bar near my house, the lady boss asked if i would like to participate in the festival some time in mid October by dancing on the streets with 'everyone'. I thought it would just be another round of dancing like the bon odori, which was really fuss free and simple prancing around in circle. Besides, what better way than to experience Japanese culture than through her myriad of festivals, big or small, grand or local so i agreed readily.
So i went home, expecting to go to the shrine a month later to see all those men carrying portable floats and women dancing on the streets. But i got a call from the lasy boss a few days later saying that the dance teacher would like to meet me and start the lesson. I was completely baffled and sensed immediately that there must had been some form of miscommunication(which is not unusual even though i speak enough Japanese to get by around here).
Soon as i reached the community center near my place, i was whisked off to see the dance sensei who gave me a big smile, commented i look just like one of them and helped me put on the dance practice robe while another lady thrusted a fan into my hand. All the while i was panicking a little cos this was not really what i had imagined or rather how i wanted it to be. Before i could comprehend any further, the sensei started teaching me the dance steps and i found myself going 'ichi ni san shi...ichi ni san shi...'
It turned out that they had put me in this dance item, together with another high school girl, to be performed in an auditorium during the night program after all the street dancing is over for the day!
From left, Ayaka Sugi, the 17yr old high school student who i am dancing with. Together, the obachans or aunties in the dance group like to call us Isahaya-chans ;p On the right is Tsuchiyama sensei the dance teacher, who is an extremely elegant and endearing lady. She is so kind and always full of praises even though i knew that i must had looked like a cow trying to be graceful on many occasions, haha.
Actually,the way things unfold really shouldn't come as much of a surprise to me. Yet i still can't believe that it (miscommunication and misinterpretation) happened to me again. I should have learnt my 'lesson' from the 'running festival' episode that happened about a month back when i was unassumingly roped into running A5km race. That was another long story in itself which i will write in a separate entry.
And so the dance item that i will be performing in is called Isahaya Monogatari(諫早物語)and though not exactly traditional Japanese Buyo dance (it's more like folk dance or 民謡), the movements and steps are more or less similar. The main difference will be the music and story behind the origin of the dance perhaps. Isahaya is the name of a mid-sized city right next to Nagasaki city and the music actually sounds more enka-ish. Although no one has really explained to me the meaning behind the dance, I sort of figured from the way the teacher wanted us to sway around in this dainty and poignant demeanor that it is about the story of a lovelorn woman in Isahaya awaiting for her lover to come back to their hometown. And as the name suggests, i believe that this dance is only performed within Nagasaki prefecture. But then again, for all i know, i may be wrong though :p
Initially, I was rather stressed out during the first week of practice as i couldn't seem to remember the steps and the correct ways to twist and turn the fan. On top of that, it just wasn't easy listening to instruction in another language and dance at the same time even though i can tell my left from my right in normal circumstances. At the end of the day, i was kicking myself for the 'mess' that i've gotten into. In Japan, particularly in small, rural places, once you've committed yourself to a cause, you'll find that it's really difficult to get out of it unless you are prepared to face disapproving look everywhere you go or people coming up to ask you why you stop dancing anymore. Moreover the obachans are so no-nonsense in attending practices and perfecting each and every moves that i too found myself striving to get my act together. And so it is with this gambare notion (頑張れ!or work hard, stick to it!)that is so prevalent in the daily aspects of the Japanese lives that i too have been going to the community center every night after work to practice Isahaya Monogatari.
I can hardly wait!
In less than 2 weeks time, I will be picking up Alvin at the Fukuoka International airport and i can hardly wait! To be more precise, he will be coming on 19th October. Yes, he is the first visitor to this island where i call my home in Japan, earlier than dad and mom who had already bought tickets to come on 8th November.
Initially, we planned for him to visit during the last two weeks of 2006 so that we can spend Christmas and New Year together. However he found a new job recently and will start work in mid November. As such we had to reschedule his trip and what could be a better timing than to come during the intervening period. Thanks to his current firm who kept sending him off to Dubai for business trips on numerous occasions, this guy chalked up enough mileage to redeem a round trip ticket to Fukuoka! =)
So on top of my usual work and daily practice for an upcoming dance performance(more abt this in a later post), I've been researching on places to visit, checking out good hotel deals and planning both Alvin's and my parents' itineraries. There's a fair bit of work to look into and can get tiring at times. Not that i am complaining. The fact is i am looking forward to seeing all of them again since August. Ever since i got here, they've been calling me almost everyday to check if i settled in nicely, whether i've been eating well etc. They've listened to my stories at Narao and tried their best to picture the place i am at, the life i am leading and the friends that i made here. Now I am so happy that they are finally coming here and see everything for themselves :)
I asked Alvin a few days ago when we were on the phone what he wants to see when he visits. He said this time he wants to see the other side of Japan, the real Japan which he had heard so many stories through my never ending illustrations of life in the countryside. And i told him that he needn't have to worry abt that cos Narao is as real as it can get. He'd been to Tokyo once 4 years ago but Tokyo is not a real or fair reflection of the whole Japan. It is the capital city, one of the most populated and bustling city in the world, no doubt abt it. But the fact is more than 70% of Japanese actually reside in the countryside and many had never stepped foot outside their own prefectures. Being a much bigger country compared to Singapore, there is still a relatively huge city and country divide. I was told by a teacher at one of my elementary schools a few weeks back that to really experience traditional and authentic Japanese culture, lifesyle and her people, there is no better place to be than in the inaka and i couldn't agree more with him. So this trip shall be what it is, to see the REAL Japan :p
And how can a trip to the mecca of hot spring baths be without a visit to a Japanese onsen(温泉)? In Kyushu, there are many active volcanoes thus ensuring many natural hot spring areas, of which many had developed into sophisticated onsen resorts in recent times. After having watched all these beautiful hot spring ryokans on the tv all this while, it's finally time for a personal experience!
In order to minimise my leave taking and making mulitple trips out to the city to fetch them, we finalised an impeccable plan that will ensure me good company for an entire month. As mentioned, Alvin will reach Fukuoka on 19th Oct and he is going back on the 8th Nov, which is the day that dad and mom will arrive! I can't believe how the timing just falls into place perfectly and my sweet supervisor readily approved all my leave too. So all in all, everything looks set and i can hardly wait!
Mixed feelings
Today is exactly two months since i first stepped foot on Japan.
It's hard to believe how my time here passed by so quickly.
Today ia also the first time i felt a little homesick since arriving on the island.
Perhaps it's cos i know that daddy will be home tonight for the Mid-Autumn festival and everyone will enjoy mom's sumptuous homecooked dinner that i felt a tinge of longingness for home.
Anyway, I received the recontracting documents for the JET program yesterday.It came much faster than i had expected though the deadline is not until 2nd of Feb next year. Some choices in life are harder and really need more contemplation than others i guess and it struck me that sooner or later, i would really have to make the much dreaded decision. That is, to stay on another year or pack my bags and head home.
To be honest, I had been toying with the idea of extending another year for sometime now. I enjoy my life at the moment, be it surrounded by other people or by my own solitude. I like the new found sense of independence and freedom i have here. It does not mean that i am not missing my family and boyfriend much but just that somehow, staying only for a year does not really justify the amount of work and effort that went into the whole process from obtaining my citizenship, the actual application to the long wait for placement. I feel that i ought to give both myself, the island and Japan one more year as i don't see much possibility of coming back so soon in the near future after returning home.
But at the same time, a year feels like a sensible time frame and i know that i should go home to pick up the pieces that were left behind.Afterall, i 've done what i wanted to, even though it was only for one short year.
Whether it is a year or two, one thing is for sure. I have set out and done what i wanted to do so either decision, i will still be contented at the end of the day. Right now, i will just take each day as it comes and enjoy the remaining months on the island.
Head Shoulders Knees & Toes
Today I taught body parts at Iwaseura elementary school and sang the song 'Head Shoulders Knees & Toes' for at least half a dozen times if not more. As i sang along with the kids, i had to point at various parts of the body in exaggerated movements and smiled a lot to engage them in the lesson. It's not the most mentally engaging job i know but it sure was physically demanding. Elementary school visits never fail to exhaust me at the end of the day. The kids are all so innocent and unassuming it is really a joy to see them so active in class, trying their best to pronounce each and every new English vocabulary you teach them.
That being said, i am glad that i only have elementary school visit a week. The kids are so enthusiastic they won't spare the English teacher who only comes once every 3 weeks.I was often invited to play kickball with them after lunch. Kickball follows exactly the rules for baseball. The only difference is that instead of bat and glove, you kick the ball and run to the various bases. With only a meager understanding of the rules to what is their next national sport after sumo wrestling, i found myself kicking and running around like a headless chicken for 45min under the hot afternoon sun!
Plus i had not been sleeping enough since last week and am feeling the effects of it these few days. After school, the tune had been ringing in my head since and is really giving me a headache : |
Head and shoulders knees and toes knees and toes
Head and shoulders knees and toes knees and toes
Your eyes and ears and mouth and nose
Head and shoulders knees and toes knees and toes...
Gonna turn in early tonight to get this song out of my head!
中途半端
I know i said i will post pictures of my nicely decorated apartment over the weekend. Well, it's already Tuesday and the fact is my place is not even half done up.
I was must have been crazy to think that i could return home after work last Monday to find freshly painted walls. Obviously, i had absolutely zero idea on the amount of work that goes into it.
This was how my living room looked like before i left home last Monday morning for work. The walls were an old shade of beige and the wall on one side was dark green in color. The blinds were dusty and old and made the whole room even sadder looking. Sitting in the room especially during night time, it had the ability to make you feel down and unhappy. The other picture shows the area at my front door.
On the left is a view of the kitchen from the living room, notice the terrible looking dark green wall? If you think the state of the place looked appalling, check out the photos that follow... I got a shock when i reached home in the evening to find the painting man still at my place and that the interior looked like a typhoon had just hit and ran!
I was told that it would take them three days before my living room can be returned to normal condition. They had to scrape off the old paint before putting on the fresh coat. I had been wondering all this while how the floor beneath my tatami mats looked like and my curiousity was finally satisfied as they had to take up all 6 of the mats during the painting. I had no idea that the floor is actually made up of wooden planks of wood. Not to be mistaken though, this little old shack is as sturdy as can be, the walls are cold hard concrete, otherwise how would it have survived the typhoon right.
For 2 whole days though, i couldn't move around easily as the place was so dirty and dusty. At last it was completed on Wednesday! I spent the whole of Thursday cleaning up every inch of the apartment. The room instantly looks much more spacious and the new curtains (i love those curtains it has got light flower prints all over) make the whole place so much cheerier. The tiny sofa that was left behind by the generations of ALTs before me was so old and uncomfortable looking that i hardly sat on it so i just chucked it in one room that i hardly use. Guess when winter comes, I might just get one of those electric carpet, throw in a few big pillows and make a cosy corner or something. Beats having a sofa and taking up space.
The house is super clean and comfy now but it's still pretty bare and lacking some adornments. I went home interior shopping over the weekend but didn't managed to get much stuff as the selection on the island is rather limited not to mention expensive! Guess i will just wait till i go to the city to hunt around for some bargains. It would be nice to buy lotsa stuff for the apartment but i got to be realistic. Afterall, my stay here is not permanent. But i spared no effort in putting up lots of pictures of family and friends all over the house! =) Now i wake up everyday to be greeted will all your faces and that always perk me up and get me started for the day : )
I will post more pictures at a later date. In the meanwhile, this is me and my basic sustinance, haha.
From left, Ayaka Sugi, the 17yr old high school student who i am dancing with. Together, the obachans or aunties in the dance group like to call us Isahaya-chans ;p On the right is Tsuchiyama sensei the dance teacher, who is an extremely elegant and endearing lady. She is so kind and always full of praises even though i knew that i must had looked like a cow trying to be graceful on many occasions, haha.
