I’m The Invisible Man

Posted on June 8, 2007 by tokyofox

Two examples yesterday of the frustration at times of being a foreigner in Japan. Of course there are many times when being an ‘alien’ works in my favour but its annoying when you’re trying to just go about simple things and you have to endure problems. First of all I went in to the post office (a place which has p*ssed me off before with its anal rules although I guess in some way that is what makes this country operate smoothly) and gave the clerk two cards and said I wanted to send them to Igirisu (England) but moments later I see him pointing at England and asking his colleague which country that is in Japanese. “Excuse me, but I just told you in Japanese what it is” I think to myself.

Next, I meet my friend Shinji and after some ramen we go to ‘Dennys’ to just sit and relax over a dessert and a few soft drinks. Ready to order another drink I call over the waiter. “Excuse me, one of these please” I say to him in Japanese and he replies “chotto matei kudasai” (just a moment please) which I thought just meant he was busy and would take my order soon but then seconds later a waitress comes to the table and asks for my order which Shinji gives this time.

It seems that as often happens the Japanese get flustered when someone obviously foreign speaks to them and right from the start they are not gonna even try and understand anything I say even though it’s in their language. Sure, my pronunciation is terrible at times but they switch off as soon as I open my mouth and panic and don’t listen to anything I say. Shinji said he thought that the waiter probably just assumed I was speaking in English and didn’t listen to me at all.

A couple of years ago I was out with my ex-girlfriend and as always the waiter goes over to her when it comes to ordering which is fair enough and maybe the same would happen in England but it did irk me somewhat when they always wanted confirmation and reassurance from her for the order. I guess most of the time everything goes well and of course they don’t mean anything intentionally bad but every now and again things like this happen and make me feel like I am invisible and don’t exist.

Posted in Japan Life | 2 Comments

My Trusted Old Bag Is Head-ing For The Bin

Posted on June 8, 2007 by tokyofox

For my birthday in 1992 I was given a black ‘Head’ ruck-sack by one of my sisters and almost everywhere I’ve been since then that bag has been with me. However, last months trip to the Philippines may well have been its last stand as one of the straps broke. Luckily for me it came apart when I was back on dry land but only just. If it had happened a few minutes earlier some of my most important possessions would have got soaked and without doubt would have been useless thereafter.

Back in 1992 I was a high school student and at some point in the following year I thought it cool to scrawl the name U2 in the bottom corner in tip-ex as they were my favourite band of the time. 15 years later and that graffiti still remains on the bag and I guess I should be thankful that I still really like them. When I think of the other bands that I liked back in the early 90s i feel lucky that I didn’t write any of them on it.

As the years have passed the bag has inevitably suffered wear and tear but for my next trip i will now have a new companion. Will I miss the old one and the memories (I will resisit the temptation to namedrop the countries I’ve been to with that bag) that go with it? I doubt it as after all its just a bag isn’t it?

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Lessons To Be Learned

Posted on June 1, 2007 by tokyofox

Had some feedback a couple of weeks ago from my observation lesson at the start of May. This should have been the day after that but I asked for it to be postponed as I didn’t want to get up early that day as there was a big football match in the early hours of that morning. A justified reason I thought!

My ADOS (assistant director of studies) observed one of my KG lessons where I had to get the kids to identify a few stationery items such as a ruler/pen/pencil/pencil case etc as well as asking the question ‘What is it?’ and recognising when we use ‘a’ or ‘an’. Of course this sounds very easy to you but for 6 and 7 year old kids its not such plain sailing.

You can speculate among yourselves about the negative thoughts on my teaching but what he did like was my enthusiasm, use of space and realia and also music!

A month or two ago I decided to glam-up my lessons a bit by a quite simple method. I made a couple of compilation CD’s and introduced my classes to intro and outro music for each lesson which started off with the students walking into the classroom to the sound of the Star Wars theme and leaving to that of ‘Matsuken Samba’ which is a famous cheesey Japanese song.

Since then the Rocky theme and famous classical music pieces by Prokofiev and Carl Orff have been used at the start of lessons and ‘The Exorcist‘, ‘Terminator‘ and ‘Back To The Future‘ themes playing lightly in the background while they’re doing the boring bookwork bits is an idea resurrected from my training course in London a couple of years ago. I guess all this is bringing out the frustrated radio DJ in me!

Also, I photocopied my page on Keikotomanabu.net and placed it on my desk for the students to blatantly see. In this game you have to amuse yourself how you can so it made me smile when i could practise my David Brent (of ‘The Office’ fame) impersonation by asking the students “is that in your way?”. Ah, how little things can amuse but I figure if I’m cheerful then that will hopefully transmit its way to the students who will also be happy.

In the world of teaching you tend to steal ideas from whoever you can. This doesn’t just include other teachers where I’m concerned but also includes knicking radio features such as ‘Guess the intro’, ‘Guess Who?’ and ‘Defend The Indefensible’ from BBC Radio Five Live’s excellent Fighting Talk which I play in my TOEFL lesson.

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The Philippines 2007 Pt IV – Puerto Princesa

Posted on May 20, 2007 by tokyofox

Yes I know I’m stringing this Philippines stuff out and milking it for all its worth but this is the final chapter………probably! After only a few hours sleep Donald, Evelyn (aka ‘the Belgians’), Nichola and myself took an adventurous three hour jeepney ride (about one pound sixty) along the bumpy roads back to Puerto Princesa which is the main city on the island of Palawan. This ride was an experience in itself as the journey is only about two hours but it takes 50% longer due to the constant p*ssing about in terms of stopping for locals to jump on and off or load and unload all number of materials such as timber or fish!

ridning on the back of the jeepney  Philippines AprMay '07 271

Following a fairly sudden parting of ways with my travel companions I was left to my own devices once again. I had the whole afternoon to see what I could of Palawan’s capital so hired a tricycle and my driver Bo (not just your average driver but also a man in the running for Councilor) first took me 16km south to the worlds largest free penal colony in Iwahig. It was a nice area but most of the prisoners were on lunch (or had they escaped?!) though I did get to meet one who rushed over to sell a t-shirt to me when I got out to take a photo.

a horrible dirty criminal....and a Filipino prisoner!!  Iwahig penal colony farm

We also took a very bumpy road to a beautiful river which was full with bathers enjoying the crystal clear water but stupidly I had forgotten to pack my swimming shorts despite putting my towel in. After that we stopped off at Palawan Wildlife Rescue and Conservation Centre in Irawan where I got to hold a baby Crocodile called “Francesca” and our little tour ended with a quick visit to Honda Bay which was nothing too special having seen the beauty of El Nido. I did get to see a fairly big group of workers going about their fishing business which was quite interesting and that was more-or-less the end of my holiday.

Francesca  Philippines AprMay '07 246  the crocodile hunter  Philippines AprMay '07 236  Philippines AprMay '07 227  Football Volleyball in Puerto Princesa

Overall, it was a great trip where I managed to do and experience more than I could probably have hoped for amid a cast of hundreds of happy and smiling locals in such a beautiful part of the Philippines. As mentioned back in Part I, I sampled a country of kind friendly people, lovely turquoise-green water, amazing islands, cute kids, mostly great weather, beautiful women, good snorkelling and lots of adventure. I was lucky to hang out with some nice fellow travellers particularly Donald who was an interesting funny guy and it was good to have eye contact with people which rarely happens in Tokyo and the fact that there was never any hassle from sellers and beggars was pleasant too.

Wanna go to Palawan? Get Php500 off of your adventure trip by going to LetsPalawan.com and enter the code TokyoFoxC034

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The Philippines 2007 Pt III – Subterranean River

Posted on May 14, 2007 by tokyofox

Sad to say it for an area so beautiful but my interest in the islands of El Nido and its snorkelling had started to wane and I fancied seeing a new part of Palawan so at 7am I joined Donald, Evelyn and Nichola on a boat from El Nido down to Sabang which was more preferable than taking the bus or a jeepney though when we encountered heavy rainfall mid-journey I maybe thought differently!

On arrival we checked into ‘Dab Dab’ and its lovely designer cottages before taking a quick mangrove tour where we also suffered another sizable downpour. After that we took a boat to the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park which was the reason why we went to Sabang. It was something I had wanted to do but didn’t think it would be possible as i was thinking I’d be spending three whole days in El Nido.

The Subterranean River is the worlds longest navigable river of which tourists can travel along a quarter of its 8km length seeing and listening to loads of bats flying around the cave. It was really nice and is what Lonely Planet refers to as being like you’re in the Jules Verne novel “Journey to the Center of the Earth”. Along the way our guide pointed the resemblance between the many many rock formations and Holy figures, women, vegetables and so on.

Donald, Evelyn, me, Nichola  Philippines AprMay '07 156  Philippines AprMay '07 170  Sabang mangroves en-route to Sabang  ending the tour with a song!

Thanks to our driver giving them some bait wild monkeys suddenly appeared on cue when we had finished the river cruise. There was also a spotting of an alligator. Not a bad afternoons work given our time restrictions.

Night-time brought about yet another fine example of local hospitality when a couple of us were invited to sing karaoke and drink beer in one of their homes with their family and a few other hangers on. Unfortunately my throat was in pain from the previous two nights drinking and furthermore the choice of songs was fairly poor as the Filipinos seem obsessed with the kind of love songs that I despise. All in all though it was a good night.

Philippines AprMay '07 209  Philippines AprMay '07 187  Philippines AprMay '07 184  Philippines AprMay '07 173

Wanna go to Palawan? Get Php500 off of your adventure trip by going to LetsPalawan.com and enter the code TokyoFoxC034

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The Philippines 2007 Pt II – Island Hopping In El Nido

Posted on May 9, 2007 by tokyofox

After taking a cramped bus to Taytay the Belgians and I decided to just carry on for an extra couple of hours to our intended destination of El Nido in north-west Palawan which we did by paying the driver a handsome sum (still very cheap by our standards). About the only available accommodation belonged to a man who looked put-out when we showed up offering him money to stay at his place for a night or two. Still it was only P300 (just over £3) for the night though probably the most basic of all the accommodation I stayed in and thats saying something! After some dinner and a couple of Red Horse beers we booked on to a snorkelling tour for the next day.

I woke up to what sounded like Noahs Ark outside but was in reality just a pig chained up behind my hut. Not surprisingly we changed places after that with me going to a hut with splendid views of the Bacuit Bay. It was fantastic weather on the snorkelling tour which took us on a boat tour around many islands with the main one being Matinloc Island where we went to the beautiful Secret Beach which true to form is not really secret as everyone knows about it as its in all guidebooks and maps. This was lovely turquoise coloured sea well-hidden and provided our first area for snorkelling.

After that all the islands blended into one as we stopped off at many and did lots and lots of snorkelling and of course I ended up burning my back despite applying my Japanese-bought sun lotion. Thats the last time I use that! At one of the later islands I was invited on to a big boat where a family and their friends were having a birthday party and I was treated to some unbelievable Filipino hospitality and I even got the chance to cut a piece of meat from the pig they had cooked.

            

In the evening we had some local fish specialities and after that myself and Nichola (an English girl on our tour) went out for a few drinks where we met a Filipino called Lester whose name alone was of great interest to me! We played pool for beers and then went to a karaoke bar which was basically empty and we partied till about 2.30am.

It was a cloudy start to the following day which saw us take another tour around the islands and it even rained a little (it did get back to normal later thankfully) when we got to the crytsal clear saltwaters of Big Lagoon on Miniloc Island. There was also a Small Lagoon which was only accessible by swimming through a small hole.

Both were very nice and there was another lagoon to come in the form of Secret Lagoon which was accessed by climbing through a hole in the rock. I saw a nice sunset at night near my lodgings and had drinks at a beach bar with a load of people from the two tours and after a spot of dinner we attended a fiesta which was taking place on the street right outside my place and this festival of dance, music and drinking carried on into the early hours. Having had a big one the night before I lasted until about 1am before hitting the sack.

Wanna go to Palawan? Get Php500 off of your adventure trip by going to LetsPalawan.com and enter the code TokyoFoxC034

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The Philippines 2007 Pt I – No Thriller In Manila But It Was OK!

Posted on May 7, 2007 by tokyofox

I was a little apprehensive beforehand about whether my Philippine travel plans would be realised but in fact they were surpassed on what was a fantastic weeks holiday. Kind friendly people, lovely turquoise-green water, amazing islands, mostly great weather, beautiful women, good snorkelling and lots of adventure. First of all though I had to survive a night in the capital of Manila.

Dinosaurs at Intramuros  Intramuros  Philippines AprMay '07 020  Philippines AprMay '07 025

Due to the length of time spent at the Airport going through immigration, searching for an ATM, deciding where to go and taking a taxi it was already mid-afternoon by the time I found some suitable (i.e. cheap!) accommodation; the ironically named ‘Lovelymoon Pension’ at P400 (just over £4) for the night in the Malate area.

Once I hit the streets I walked along Baywalk promenade to Rizal Park where I met a Filipino called Eddie (or Eduardo) who I was suspicious of from the start but travelling must affect the brain as I kept talking to him when he approached me. I eventually gave him the benefit of doubt as usually they’re only after money.

Rizal Park, Manila  thankfully not our bus!  Manila Baywalk  Lovelymoon Pension Inn

We watched a quite nice sunset together before walking back through the park to see Intramuros which is a ‘must-see’ in Manila according to the guide books. Having read about it I still didn’t really know what it is but after a night tour I discovered it was the oldest district in Manila with old style buildings buily by the Spanish which were closed and poorly lit at night so I wasn’t really any wiser!

After that we took a ridiculously cheap jeepney (colourful indigenous public transport) back to the Baywalk and had a few ‘San Miguel’ beers while watching a live band consisting of hot girls in short skirts and boots performing a medley of songs by the likes of the Sugababes, Pussycat Dolls, Mary J Blige and a load of other predominantly female bands or singers.

The following morning (Mon 30 Apr) I was up early to take a couple of jeepney rides to the Airport for my domestic flight to Puerto Princesa on the “last frontier” more commonly known as Palawan Island in the west of The Philippines. As soon as I arrived at the airport I took a tricycle to the bus station ready to take a bus up north to a town called Taytay and it was here that I met a really nice Belgian couple called Donald and Evelyn who would become my travel companions for the rest of my travels.

Wanna go to Palawan? Get Php500 off of your adventure trip by going to LetsPalawan.com and enter the code TokyoFoxC034

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The New Face Of English Learning In Japan??!! (Part II)

Posted on April 28, 2007 by tokyofox

Last Wednesday I made my appearance at long last on Keikotomanabu.net which I talked about last month after I had had the photo shoot. There is an interview with myself which can be seen (though probably not read as its in Japanese!) here by clicking on my face. For those who have forgotten what I look like I am the one in the bottom left corner with ‘friendly’ written next to me though I don’t know who decided on such a thing! There are a few other teachers featured from other English schools as well as two other teachers from my company (we are in green) though I don’t know one of them.

Keikotomanabu.net
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Football Fever

Posted on April 27, 2007 by tokyofox

Last Saturday was a nervous sweaty night for me and not just because I was on ‘standby’ for work the following morning. Instead I was very worried about the plight of Leicester City who looked like they could have been heading down to the third tier of English football for the first time ever had it not been for a vital last gasp winner at Preston.

Though we did ‘the great escape’ act in 1991 it is a whole new game now and we have encountered Play Off finals, Cup Finals and top half Premiership finishes since then. However the last few years have been absolutely dreadful but now we’re virtually assured of starting next season in the 2nd tier and hopefully with a team of players who are committed to the cause of helping Chairman Milan Mandaric realise his dream of getting us back where we hopefully belong.

It was a busy night for me with so much going on. I was rather scared of looking too much at what was happening in our game. I had one eye on the Leicester Tigers’ Heineken Cup semi-final (which they won and keeps their dreams alive of a clean sweep) while also dipping in and out of the Sky Sports on-line videprinter.

However, my main viewing was the three live Premier League games which are shown on SkyPerfect which I have recently had upgraded for the end of season games at home and in Europe. Every Celtic game is also shown thanks to Shunsuke Nakamura’s involvement and it’s fair to say he was very involved last Sunday with an injury time winner to give Celtic the title.

It might cost me a fair whack but it’s already proving its worth with many, many live games as well as highlights shows which saves me from downloading the BBC’s ‘Match Of The Day‘ (although I did see last weekend’s as I was intrigued to hear how the programmes first female commentator faired) which can be dangerous in terms of potential viruses. In fact I recently bought a portable hard drive to back-up all my photos and music as I’m getting more and more paranoid about the computer dying.

Due to the 8 hours time difference games are shown here at unsociable hours so it’s nice to be able to watch the games in bed rather than having to go out all night to watch a game kicking off at 3.45am. This has been highlighted in the last couple of days with a couple of big Champions League semi-finals involving British teams.

After watching the last World Cup with Japanese commentary only its been so nice to hear familiar voices which are taken from the BBC, ITV and Sky feeds. Never thought it would be so delightful to hear David Pleat’s voice! Sadly there is no presentation of the games so half time is very long with no analysis and just adverts and ground atmosphere and unbelievably they don’t edit any of this out on the many re-runs.

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Climbing To New Heights In Kokubunji

Posted on April 21, 2007 by tokyofox

It must have been over 15 years since I last did some proper rock climbing but that drought ended last Sunday when I went to ‘Run Out’ which is in Nishi Kokobunji. I didn’t really know what to expect as I’d never done any indoor climbing before and was a little disappointed when I saw the place as I had expected a tower building of some sort.

Little did I know that once inside this wasn’t to be like the climbing towers which I encountered all those years ago at cub scout camp. They were a doddle compared to these which had various gradients with colour-coded routes of varying difficulty. I just could not follow such things as I have always just made-up my route as I’ve gone along.

Indoor Climbing Apr '07 001  Indoor Climbing Apr '07 003

As some of you will know I am no stranger to heights having done a skydive and three bungy jumps (which I don’t really like to talk about!!) but that certainly didn’t stop me from bricking it a little when I had to let go of the rope and descend. Some of the climbs were managed by an auto-belay device which helps you climb alone and retracts itself at the top and when you let go or fall your life is in its hands as it slowly lets you down.

Indoor Climbing Apr '07 004  Indoor Climbing Apr '07 012  Indoor Climbing Apr '07 006  Indoor Climbing Apr '07 013

All in all, 2500 yen (about £11) for three hours including instruction, shoes and the harness belt thing was good value although with the majority of the instruction being in Japanese it made it a little bit scarier as I had no idea whether I was grasping all the essential information. I remember going rafting up in Nagatoro on the Arakawa in Chichibu-tama National Park, Saitama, a couple of years back and being afraid that I would miss a very important, if not life threatening, instruction by simply not being able to understand it. Luckily I lived to tell that tale and this one too.

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