Bean Ice Cream 豆アイスクリーム, Asari Sakamushi アサリの酒蒸し, first Visit to Hagino 萩野

Yesterday, the 8th graders at the Junior Highschool, were doing volunteer activities are various places around the town to get work experience. I ended up going with the principal to see how the kids were doing. A local supermarket that sells various things that the farmers in the town grow was one such place. The name was Agurikko (agriculture?). The cool thing is that there are baskets with various vegetables, fruits and various other foods, and on the front of each basket is a picture of the farmer that grew the particular food being sold, as well as his/her name and other information. They also were selling ice cream, with some of the strangest flavours you'll ever see. I didn't have much time to take a look at all the different flavours, but my principal was urging me on to try the ice cream, so finally I did. They gave me Mame Icecream, which basically means Bean Ice Cream. Yea, beans. I don't know how ice cream is made, but beans doesn't seem like an ingredient that should be used in ice cream. At first, it tasted a bit strange, but by the time I was halfway through it, it had grown on me already, and I was kind of hoping there was more inside the cone.

Also, just to add in some extra information - when I walked in with the principal, everything was just business as usual. When I bought the ice cream, things were just business as usual. When they handed me my change, I said "Thank you", and everybody just started looking confused. Then I told them I'm a foreigner, I'm not Japanese, and the principal explained that I was the new English teacher. Then everybody was smiling and looking at me more closely, and saying "we though he was Japanese". Priceless. I'm really digging this special "power" I have to just hide or appear whenever or where ever I basically want. It's definitely fun, cause nobody expects a person that looks like me (an Asian) to be able to speak such good English. When they hear me speak English, something in their brains just goes off and they start staring at me, and smiling strangely. Definitely cool.

I also took some nice pictures of 地酒 Jizake, which basically means local alcohol, made in the town itself. Kannari's Jizake is 萩の鶴 Hagino Tsuru. Although I can't really tell the difference between all the different kinds of Japanese alcohol (it all tastes like vodka to me..), I did consume an entire large bottle of this at a local sushi chef's party a few weeks ago. The following day was probably the toughest so far since I've arrived in Japan. I threw up all over the tatami mats in my home, and at the school, I pretty much felt like throwing up every 5 minutes (although I never did end up throwing up). It was actually a great day though, because during the classes, I felt this "extra" energy, and since that day, I've been more comfortable with the kids, talking and messing around with them. Alcohol is very important in Japan. That's a key lesson I've learned so far over here. I don't mind it at all~

Last night, I was invited out to dinner by some people in my town. We went to an Izakaya. I had Asari Sakamushi for the first time in Japan. In Canada is was probably my all time favourite dish. Simple, and amazingly delicious. The Asari I had last night was pretty good as well, but not as great as I expected from a Japanese restaurant. It only cost 370 yen though, so it's probably no wonder why the clams were so small. The soup was great though.

We also had different kinds of sashimi, and some really tiny fried shrimps - they tasted like potato chips. They also ordered "chow men", which is basically the Chinese dish "chow mein". You'd be surprised how many words the Japanese use that are basically just taken from other languages and asimilated to their own pronunciation. I had 4 sapporo 生beers. Then it was off to the next party.

Japanese people are pretty crazy in that they don't seem to stay in any place for too long. After eating, it's off to a bar, or karaoke box, etc. Last night, we went to a Karaoke bar, where I had shochu and wine. It probably wasn't the best idea, since I had to make a visit to an elementary school today. To make things worst, it was the first day at that particular school. But the Japanese, they just keep pouring you drinks. Everyone's pretty cool in that way, at least over here in the inaka. They all knew I had to work, and not just work, but work with kids the next day, yet they just kept telling me it was alright. Some of these people had kids too, kids at my elementary school too! And it wasn't like they didn't have to work the next day either. Some of them had to go to day-long meetings today. I have no idea how they made it through an entire day of meetings, when they stayed out until 1am the night before drinking alcohol and blasting karaoke songs one after the other. Definitely cool though.

They also ended up being right that it would be okay. Although I woke up this morning a bit groggy, I had a great time at the school. Hagino Elementary school is quite a ways from my apartment, and because going there is uphill, biking is nearly impossible. And if I did end up biking, I would probably have been too tired to teach anything at all. The school's vice principal called me a week ago telling me he'd come and pick me up. This time I remembered to bring some indoor shoes with me. The Japanese have this custom where you have to take off your shoes when entering particular buildings, especially schools. I actually bought a new pair of nikes when I first got here just to use them as indoor shoes because the slippers the school lets visitors wear were just too uncomfortable. The last 2 weeks at Kannari Elementary school, I forgot to bring an extra pair of shoes, so I had to walk around in their slippers. It was alright, but I couldn't really move quickly - it's just not comfortable for teaching, especially with small kids, as I tend to like moving around the classroom a lot.

The Vice Principal is a pretty cool guy. His English was great, probably better than the English teachers teaching at my Junior Highschool. I asked him why, and eventually, he told me had taught Japanese for 3 years in Dubai. Amazing. He's a short round fellow, very nice guy.

When I first arrived at the school, I noticed the building was much nicer than the Junior Highschool. The classrooms were newer, and the overall feel of the building was pretty relaxing. The teachers were all cool - unlike the Junior Highschool and Kannari Elementary school, it didn't really feel like work at all. It was genuinely all fun. The teachers seemed much more interested in teaching, and learning about foreign cultures. They also seemed a lot more relaxed. Also, the principal and vice principal were just cool guys - friendly, and mainstream "with it", unlike the old fashioned teachers at the other schools I've visited so far.

The kids were great too. A pair of twin girls were waiting for me at the entrance when I came in. They looked so familiar yet I couldn't put my finger on it. Then they told me they had met me at the town hall, when I had visited one of their painting classes. The hilarious thing was, once I stepped out of the car, me and the vice principal started waving at the first and second graders through the window, and shouting out phrases in English like "good morning" and "hello". The kids got pretty excited and started talking to each other pretty loudly. Then, I heard a few kids say "hey that guy's Japanese isn't he?" (日本人みたい！日本人じゃない？？). There you go again, it's the Asian foreigner in Japan syndrome. But, I definitely don't mind it. I definitely fit in a lot better than most other foreigners. The kids are hilarious, cause all I do is remind them of their older brothers or friends. They always tell me this. And again, the teachers kept commenting on how I reminded them of their sons. These people warm up to me pretty quickly - perhaps it's the inaka effect, or the fact that I look like them, but it's definitely a nice thing.
The fact that I'm in such a small town is really starting to hit me now as everyone seems to be connected to each other somehow. Apparently, a Senior High School student's mom is working at Hagino. I had met him at the Town Hall when I first arrived. And then of course, there was another teacher who had a son that is in the 6th grade at Kannari Elementary. It's definitely cool when people know you but you don't know them. Kind of makes me feel like a star. There are only 8000 people in this town.

Another funny thing is, everytime I do my self-introduction lesson, I show them pictures of myself and my family. Almost everytime I show the kids and teachers these pictures, someone will yell out Peyonju! (ペヨンジュ). Well, what the heck is Peyonju? That's the question I was asking myself for some time. Turns out he's a Korean Drama star. I've never seen any Korean Dramas, nor do I intend to, but I definitely wanna see what this peyonju guy looks like. It's funny, cause during my first week at the Junior Highschool, the students were cutting the weeds and stuff that were growing on the soccer field. I decided to go out there and take some pictures and talk to the students. I had my sunglasses on. I go out there, and they start yelling out "Korean Star!" What's up with that....seriously, I need to find out who this peyonju guy is.

Today was definitely fun. I can't wait to visit this school again, but unfortunately, I only get to visit this school once a month, so it's goodbye for an entire month. Damn.