black suits and utsukushii kimonos
graduation ceremony at school today for 3-nensei's...
the women teachers are dressed up in beautiful kimonos and i feel out of place in my black suit. one woman in particular is wearing a gorgeous pink and violet kimono with green and yellow flowers, and a shimmering golden obi.
i made sure to wear tights under my pants, and undershirt and long sleeved-shirt under my sweater. no freezing in the unheated gym all day for me!
this weekend we had our second-last Peter ja Pan musical performance in niigata city. it was a good show - everyone was very nervous because many people we knew would be coming (teachers, other ALTs) but that made us very hyped-up before the show, singing 'billy joel' and 'don mclean' in the changerooms beforehand.
i have once again changed my plans for the golden-week holiday in may. first it was holland then kyushu and now that's been changed as well. the friend i was supposed to visit in kyushu now has to meet her sister in malaysia. BUT, if i can find a reasonably-priced flight, then i may well join them for another dose of island paradise. so far it's looking good...
don't pinch me...don't let me wake up...
the women teachers are dressed up in beautiful kimonos and i feel out of place in my black suit. one woman in particular is wearing a gorgeous pink and violet kimono with green and yellow flowers, and a shimmering golden obi.
i made sure to wear tights under my pants, and undershirt and long sleeved-shirt under my sweater. no freezing in the unheated gym all day for me!
this weekend we had our second-last Peter ja Pan musical performance in niigata city. it was a good show - everyone was very nervous because many people we knew would be coming (teachers, other ALTs) but that made us very hyped-up before the show, singing 'billy joel' and 'don mclean' in the changerooms beforehand.
i have once again changed my plans for the golden-week holiday in may. first it was holland then kyushu and now that's been changed as well. the friend i was supposed to visit in kyushu now has to meet her sister in malaysia. BUT, if i can find a reasonably-priced flight, then i may well join them for another dose of island paradise. so far it's looking good...
don't pinch me...don't let me wake up...
posted by Justine at 6:34 p.m.
43 Comments:
Flights during Golden week.....ha!
Im scared my school aint gonna give me the nenkyu, i just got my nenkyu shhet on my desk, back from Kocho, with only ONE of the days hanko-ed....what the feck does that mean?
I feel stressed! No money, and things to pay for. Agghhhhh! JAPAN PLEASE USE CREDIT CARDS!
Nat- oh my god, i checked that idots site out again, isnt he the most atrocious thing, ever? Haha, i couldnt find your coment, but saw he very quickly and quietly changed the cliffs..HAHAHAHAHHA
See, this morons keep my life interesting!
Justine- get us a picture of the pretty kimono, and ill swap ya for a picture of me in mine....it took 2 hours for me to get dressed up yesterday, i couldnt breath!
Best bit? Masami also had this dagger which you could wear too, a dagger her grandfather gave to her grandmammy during WW2...it was engraved with something like " Defend your country, defeat teh enemy" He gave it to her as the war was coming to it's end, should any American soldiers try to rape/kill her.
INteresting, desu ne?
my grammar is awful...sorry about that
Kat my friend... I apologise for my ignorance but who is Masami?
who the feck is Philip?
but for your info Pip, she's what i guess we'd class as our 'Japanese Mother'. She s an absolute legend in Murakami, helps us all out, cooks us AMAZING food, likes to dress us up as dolls too..haha.
I could arrange a fitting if you want?
Justine,
Your blog has been keeping me well entertained all morning. My first time and I'm loving it;-)
BTW Kat, I had a look at that "Irish" guys site and while I'd agree he is a serious plonker, the picture is of the Cliffs of Moher which are in County Clare, Ireland!
Crazy story about the dagger... I wonder if our adventures are going to sound as exciting as some of the stuff the oldies today seem to have under their belts... Like my grandfather for example ran away from home at 15 to join the Royal navy, ended up disabling a nazi sub, getting on to it with his crew and looting the thing and now he has all these insane things in his house that he found on that ship (like this crazy gold telescope-type item )... WW2 engraved daggers, Nazi submarines... How are we gonna provide such tales? - Getting on the job as of today... (Interesting story about the dagger, definitely gave me something to think about for the day...) Invite me down to Murakami next time you do something with her, she sounds like an interesting lady...
i found a flight for Y37000 if you can believe it. we'll see...
yes i will try to snag a pic of the beautiful kimonos. i'd love to see yours kat.
philip - are you irish philip? if it is you, thanks for coming to the show yesterday! did you enjoy it?
'anonymous' - dare desu ka? why didn't u sign your name?
anonymous ROCK: no problem 'bout the chopsticks. and that card-foldy thing is taiwonese, not japanese. it's from taipei. the chopsticks are thai.
must be strange having never met 2 crucial members of the anbeek family - though no worries - none of my boyfriends ever met my father either.
i'm looking forward to meeting you so i can play the big sister part and tell you you'd better not mess with little MJ and blah blah blah...just kidding. but i am tough.
it's me,kelly! i like being anon.
sorry kat i read the rest of the comments and realise that wanker changed the name of the cliffs.
graduation ceremony tomorrow and i am not looking forward to the cold and boredom...
Go to Malaysia! Don't think about the money etc, think about the amazing experience you will have! Also remember that traveling in Japan is expensive so not like you wouldn't spend anything if you stayed here.
Kel
yeah, he changed the picture too Kel......
Actually kel- if youre still here, am i confirming the accomodation? I take it we didnt find cheaper? And getting to Narita? Whats the plan?
It's about 11:40am so I hope my my English came back by now.
How was your first experience of Japanese graduation ceremony? I hope you were ok without any heaters at the gym. Anyway, black suits were totally ok, Justine. Only teachers who have 3nensei's homeroom wear fancy fancy kimonos.
Talking about the play, oops...MUSICAL, it was great! I really really enjoyed and laughed sooo badly! I am so sorry to you and other musical people that I could not go to Immigrants after nomihoudai. Time flew too quickly on the night, I somehow made my last train back but i really wanted to sta longer! I wish they had later trains!! Anyway, i hope all of you had a great time there!
ah, kelly - welcome to the blog!
yes. i'm totally stoked about this malaysia thing!
so the grad ceremony was ok - only lasted about 2 hours. the japanese speaches were a little dull for me but they did bring heaters into the gym this time so at least that was good.
and we get bento boxes for lunch. that defo makes the day worth it.
welcome back, tomoks.
kat,
i sent you a mail re hotel but yeah confirm it. about the shink, we can't really book it til we know what time we need to be at narita. we can book them at the travel agents (not JR ticket place)in niigata eki and get the access pack(10,000 each way niigata-narita). they can be paid for by credit card also.
kel
WOOOO!!
Oh thank god for that!!
Thanks Kel, thats made my day 10 times easier already. Why thankyou!
Also, can i ask you a favour?
Ive asked Hiten already, but if you have any cash, would it be cool for me to pay for hotels etc etc on my card, then get u to give me cash? Do you actually have any cash? haha, if you dont then, i understand, youre just an older version of me ;-)
African Pip- alright ryan. Yes, this lady is fab, and she's super nice too, lots of interesting history to tell, i love it! Murakami is THE place man! Ok, is that true about your grandad? coz that's cool. My grandad is a DDay veteran and the stories he used to tell me were awesome, and when i went to Normandy myself, i couldnt believe how the old fella managed to survive......scary shit.
Yeah my friend... True story... Most incredible life that man... Skipped school,ran away from the easy life, boarded Nazi subs, came back started his own company, ended up living in Cork, Hong Kong, Ceylon, Buenos Aires, Chicago, Harare, Port Louis and then Cape Town and lived the last few years of his life making wine in the most beautiful place I have ever had the pleasure of seeing... Hopefully the world hasn`t changed to much and its still possible to have a life like Masami, my granpops and yours have had... Only problem is you can never really try, it just has to happen that way... Waxing lyrical today... Apologies
arent we all
going for a record number of comments on Justine's site. bet this'll make ya happy, huh J?
hey ryan/dwight/norman/philip/herbert, what are your plans for golden week?
hey are you getting totally stoked about your sister's visit?
don't forget to reserve me a spot on the floor for next xmas's trip to south africa!
yes makes me happy sooo desu ne!
Kat,
I was actually planning the same thing! Fingers crossed Tom can come because I'll just borrow/steal from him! He still has US$ from Russia,the little miser!
You and me,alike,yes but less of the old. I'm still young goddamit!
;-)
I met Masami a couple of times,once at a lantern festival or something like that in Murakami. A cool woman deshou? I stole 2 bamboo lanterns in her presence though and not sure she appreciated it...
WHY IS MY HOTMAIL NOT WORKING???
I HAVE NO CLASSES THIS AFTERNOON AND NOTHING TO DO!
FECK!
What a beautiful day this is? Makes me wanna sing Elton John songs. Don’t ask me why.
My grandfather- had just set out from Mother India to travel to East Africa via ship in the 40’s when it was sunk by Japanese war planes. He survived but lost many of his friends. My grandfather’s brother survived as well. God if he was alive today and knew I was in Japan- he would come out here, kidnap me and simultaneously give a Gandhi-esque ass whooping to every Japanese in sight. God I miss him. I still like to think he might have been an undercover Indian spy (like James Bond) and the Japanese were secretly trying to capture him but he alluded them.
Kat- no problems with money. I have money flowing out of my hindu enriched veins
Kelly- Cant wait for HK-
wow, you guys all have such amazing stories...
shina, if you're still reading this, why did you leave that comment on faust's blog? what did he write to piss you off so much? how did you find his blog anyway? he's a friend of my friend esther, from canada. why did you leave such hatemail on his blog?
also, why did you say that i don't like him either? i've never met the guy, but he seems really nice anyway.
you're pretty wierd, aren't you?
hi guys - blog debut for me! i too had graduation with NO HEATING, it went on for ages but was quite cute!
my hotmail's down too, but may i suggest bored.com - it's the way forward and definitely kept me sane last week!
OH MY GOD i THINK I JUST WET MYSELF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Justine that was so funny
Kat... That webpage you posted, with the donkey who thinks the Cliffs of Dover are in Ireland is one of the most horrendous examples of the de-evolution of humankind that I have ever encountered... I can honestly say that I have come to hate that guy more than I ever thought I could hate someone I had never met... Unfortunately his webpage is like a car-crash in that although you know you are going to see something terrible you can`t help but glance as you drive past... In the same light I can`t help but peruse the utter drivel that is spilled out daily by that ばかサル ... How did you find that manifestation of all that is wrong with the world?? And in answer to your previous comment a) I am crazy excited about my sisters arrival and am just trying to put the last pieces of our journey into place... And you will all have beds in South Africa as contrary to popular opinion we don`t all sleep in mud huts :-)
I know, isn't it great?
Ive never read such crap that's so entertaining! The guy thinks he's a stud, and an intelligent one at that!!
HA!
Oh my god why is it SO difficult to get a visa to Russia...damn it.
so this is what you guys do all day... this is a great way of getting round my schools block of email! wooooooooo! Justine I love your blog and Kate you have now gotten me totally addicted to bored.com!
debs- you're blocked from email? ugh.
i don't have any exciting stories. my grandfather had a mild heart condition so he wasn't allowed to enlist in wwII. i don't know about my dad's dad, he was in the war, but never talked about it.
j-dawg rockin' in the shib-dot, funny finny funny. she's a bit queer, ne?
Hi there, yea I'm 馬鹿猿＆小娘 just studied English in ordinary schools just 10 years or so, also I must say I'm a 100% Japanese spent most of my life here in rural city NIIGATA! If you don't like my non-native writings or giving a DAMN-FUCK to ya GOOD friend, just swept me away from your world & gimme a fuckin' BREAK please!! I'm REARRY busy now, NO time to WASTE!!! Shite!
And sorry J-chan, I already deleted his blog and I can't see that anyway. Who's anonymous left a comment to my latest post?! I have no idea, but SURE my English blog's suffering from sudden attacks from unknown land, you know.....especially for eager readers from SPAIN, I gotta start to learn some cheezy and fishy Spanish a lot!
もう、疲れたよ。わたしのブログに書いてある事が気に入らないんなら、読むのやめたらどう？―Hoangがムカつくって言ったら、そうアドバイスしてくれたよね？わかんね～、何なの一体？ただ、気が合わないって言ってるだけじゃん！そっちだって、陰でこそこそやってないで「あんたムカつくよ」とか私に直接言えば？そうだよ、私はそんなに頭の良い人間じゃないからさ。英語でブログを書いてるのは、気に入ってずっと読んでくれてる友達と、自分の勉強のため。それだけだよ！
Yellow Monkey Jap Girl に馬鹿にされて、そんなに腹が立つわけ？わっかんね～！
Ｊちゃん、どうすればいい？私はもう戦う気もなく、日々仕事に追われて疲れてるよ。申し訳ないけど、携帯ないとこっちじゃ仕事できないんだよね―ましてや、私はフリーランスだからさ！ごめんね、カナダのみんな！！
.....もうあんまり疲れてるから、ひらがなでコメント残す気にもなれなかったよ。今、万代方面から帰ってきたばっかり！それに、今月は翻訳の話をしに東京に行く予定がある。悪いけど、何とか解読してください。
それじゃ、みなさん さようなら！
バカさる より！！
ok im off to give blast billiards a whirl now...
for the record my g'dad didnt do owt of much interest (except being in the same reg. as Roald Dahl) but my bestmates gdad was in a Japanese prisoner of war camp and helped build some of japans railsystem, he survived and was on a ship homeward bound when their ship was blown up by friendly fire. how much does that suck?
I sense the onset of a Bitch/Cat fight looming. WOOOOHOOOOO. I want a front row seat. Time and place please. Ill bring the pillows.
shina-chan,
not sure who left that message on you blog! when did they leave it??? i agree, that is really rude, especially since you've probably worked so hard at learning english.
actually, several weeks ago, an anonymous commentor also told me that my english SUCKED (signed it Rat Rorimer - ?). really wierd, really wierd.
Hiya, finally glad 2 meet U J-chan!! Sorry for Faust's things, but now I have a lot of espanol + ryuugakusei Japanese students online...somehow... *sigh*
And yes, I'm off to Tokyo soon to talk with Joolie from UK - to have a meeting 'bout her book's translation. This is my oppotunity of a lifetime to publish my 1st translated book, in honest.
Please give my best regards to yr friends --- see you when we matched successfully in Niigata :)
I found really nice Japanese komono (small ornamental store) in Furumachi, and bought Joolie some nice Japanese "Omiyage" today :D
Anyhow, my brain's now storming & power-saving mode...hoo.
Wow.
Thats awful, i hope this nasty mess gets cleared up.
Anyway gals, are you all meeting tonight? Is shina gonna meet y'all?
have fun whatever you do..this rain is crap!
hahahahahahhahahaahhaha mwah mwwhaaaa
j-chan, it was so fun to see you lastnight!! i miss you, i loved your photos, so lovely, i think the one of emma and kate dancing was lovely, like a 70's dance club poster
kitty-chan, if you get your ass to the city, i'll buy you dinner and wine!@ i miss you!
Well, if thats an offer, im there!
Seriously, i might come now, although i have a serious date at the gym which i really cannot miss. But for you guys....!
Ha....
Best go and fill the tank up then!
xx
well just had my graduation ceremony and i'm sorry to say it pained me! true to japanese form all the females in the entire gym had a good cry, except me that is,the hard gaigin that i am! yeah right,as you all know i am particularly prone to the auld tears en ce moment however i usually have a good reason, you know. this was the 3 nensei from hell who broke teachers fingers, threatened them with knives, slit their tires etc etc. i know for a fact that all the teachers hate most of them. maybe they were tears of joy but me thinks they were just upholding the japanese patriarchial way. in the same way all the formal important guests were men and the youngest, most kawaii female teacher had to hand the certificates to kocho who them passed them on to the kids. hello kocho, you have two hands! just like the japanese talk/quiz shows.seems to me every man in japan needs a woman to giggle at him and stroke his inflated ego. why oh why do women in this country pretend they are weak, little women when they are not??? maybe i am here too long.
oh my god, i've just been paraded into kocho's office so they could show me off to the important male guests. apparently i am "very,very kawaii". i think i'm meant to be delighted about the fact that a roomful of middle aged men with rotting teeth find me attractive. oh it has made my whole week! these people really don't get me....
Just had my ceremony... Really really cute little event... Everybody looked so perfect, so happy and so proud... The most elaborate kimonos I have ever seen on display and every guy in the best suit and tie he could muster... The mayor shed a tear which was also quite cool cause I always thought he was such a serious and formal guy... Lucky for me that mine was after all of yours as, due to your complaints of the insane temperatures, I attacked myself with those heat packs before and thus seemed to be the only person in the hall not shivering... Awesome awesome start to the day to participate in such a n important event in these kids lives... Off to take photos with the village important dudes as apparently Kocho says I look `dashing` today... :-)
God im yet to have mine...
but anyways, here's one of those pointless quizzes to enlighten your days....it tells you what kind of humour you ahve and what movies to watch...
Im of the 'sadistic humour' variety.....like me a bit of schdenfreude and enjoy pointless, yet totally random humour...have a go, you know you want to.
http://quizfarm.com/test.php?q_id=1389
yeah like i said, i'm here too long.plus i'm a woman so bound to see things differently. also the fact that i am only in this school for 3 months total and i have been physically threatened a number of times,have gotten alot of shit for walking out of classes where students were seriously out of control and i had no backing when i tried to take control etc.etc., makes it difficult for me to warm to these people. i have been at graduation ceremonies like ryan describes but alas not this year. enjoy ryan.
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