The View To Mt Fuji

Dear All,

The cold chill of winter is creeping across the city, even as the changing colours of autumn carpet the countryside. Nothing like a bit of alliteration to warm-up with. the Japanese repsone to the threat of winter seems to be to turn up the central heating until it is boiling hot. I'm sitting here sweating while it is a cool but not cold 13 degrees outside. So much for the Kyoto Treaty on climate change.

Early in November I availed myself of one of my days off and headed up to the Mt Fuji lakes area. I visited there last year about the same time, and it was every bit as good this time around. I spent the time hiking in the forests, and climbing up the hills arounf the lakes. There were stunning views of Fuji-san from every vantage point and it was a very relaxing break of four days. The view from the Lakes area is from the other side of Fuji from Numazu, so it was much less symmetrical and more menacingly volcano-like.

Being higher and cooler, the autumn colours were in full swing and it was gorgeous. I've lots of photos and I have worked out how to use the photo editor on my computer (not bad going as it is all in Japanese) so I will send back a disk for your viewing pleasure.

The autumn colours are now happening in coastal Numazu and I will go hiking through the hills this weekend to enjoy them some more. I went to the Imperial Villa here again this week, as there is a special exhibition of chrysanthemums. Thie flower is the symbol of the ruling house, and the citizens compete with each other to create weird and wonderful varieties of the flower to glorify the Emperor.

It was the Day after Halloween when the Christmas decorations went up in the shops, and the Christmas Carols are in their full amplified glory when you pass by most department stores. Not bad for a country that used to behead Christians. In Nagasaki there is a monument to 12 martyrs and the underground Christian movement from the Jesuit times that survived 250 year or so of repression until the Meiji restoration.

Still there's no Christmas spirtit involved here - it's all about the yen for the dollar and another type of currency exchange scheme. In Japan Christmas is a time when boyfriends and girlfriends get together rather than any Christian message of even a family time.

Anyway, all well here and I'm looking forward to the 'mid-winter' vacation time in January for some more travelling.

Regards,
Keith

Autumn Leaves
Dear All,

The weather has finally cooled down after the mid-summer heat wave. The only saving grace for me was that the locals were feeling the heat too. Life became a quick dash betrween air-conditioned oases, no wonder global warming is a problem. And there are 1 billion people in China yet to discover the delights of air-con!

I did get away each day during the mid-summer vacation period to visit the sights around the Izu Peninula. I went to a couple of resort towns (onsen or hot springs are very big here) and the views from the trains and buses of the sea cliffs and sea-scapes were quite nice, although it was too hazy to see Mt Fuji.

The peninsula is basically a giant lava flow and there are several extinct volcanic cones around Numazu itself. The lava is relatively recent in geological terms so only plants have been able to reclaim it, and the towns and viallages cling to the small flat areas around the coast and next to rivers, so it has little of the urban lanscapes that comprise rail or road travel over much of the rest of Japan.

After the equinox (these traditional calendar based festivals are a big deal in Japan with their own public holiday!) I also visited the folk museum at the Villa of the Imperial family here in Numazu. The villa was bombed out during WWII, but prior to that it was used by the Emperor Taisho as well as Hirohito when he was growing up.

Hirihito, the unindicted war criminal, had a reign entitled Peace and Enlightenment. Rather ironic given the events from 1926-1946, but also appropriate for the latter part of his reign I guess. The villa and grounds were pleasant enough for an afternoon stroll, and the walk back into twon by the river had a spectacular view of Mt Fuji's cone shape as the backdrop (no visible snow).

All in all it is hard to believe 6 months has gone by. Life setteld very quickly into a sort of working rhythm - I still mistakenly call Tuesday `Monday', as it is the start of my work week! Now I have been through one cycle of text books the teaching of grammar is a bit easier and Saturdays less hectic. I can concentrate on teaching better lessons this time around.

Regards,
Keith

Drear All - the weather that is.

It's getting to the rainy season here in Japan, so the weather has been a bit wet. But it is not as bad as the wild weather in the deep southern areas (hope it gets to the dams in Australia).

It has been warm and muggy so I have been catching a bus to work, some of them have air-conditioning so at least I arrive at work fresh. I then walk home (about 25 minutes so I am getting some exercise. I'm not complaining, as after the rainy season is the typhoon season, and Japan usually cops the washout of 2-3 a year, so it can only get wetter. At least the balcony garden is starting to flourish, even the caterpillars eating my vegetables are nice and fat.

Although the working week is Tues to Sat, I catch myself sometimes referring to Tuesday as Monday, so perhaps I am back in the work mindset. At any rate, the days just seem to whiz by, before I know it, it is Sunday again and time for the domestic chores. I have been exploring the neighbourhood around my apartment so I have found the baseball stadium, soccer grounds, high schools and local shops. There is even a swimming pool not too far away.

Things are going along well. The teaching is gettng easier as I get more used to it. This week was a "counselling week" where we held interviews with the students to learn more about their goals and what area of their English they wanted to improve. It was a good exercise to go through, and now I can start working with them to improve. It is more "student care" than I got learning any of my languages, and compared to the courses I took in Australia, the classes seem good value. But it is back to business next week when the lessons recommence.

It was also nice to get some mail from home as my boxes posted from Aust. arrived, with my books, carefully selected before I left, so I can make the most of my large amounts of free time, sans TV or radio in English.

Soon, courtesy of MS certified Laurie, I shoudl be getting online more regularly as I will be buying a computer in the next couple of weeks. So then there will be more regular updates on the blog.
Well that's about all for now. Ja mata.

29 April 2007.

Just a quick note from my new lodgings in Japan. I arrived in Nagoya on April 7th, and settled into training. It was a pretty full on week, but less intense than many times at Telstra. So it wasn't too bad, just a lot to take in and remember.

I arrived in Numazu on April 16th and I struck lucky with the apartment I have been allocated. It is large by Japanese standards with 3 rooms - 1 bed room (futon), 1 living room and separate kitchen, with the bath and toilet off the kitchen.

As another real bonus, it has a view of top of Mt Fuji from the balcony and kitchen, when Mt Fuji obliges that is. I finally got the full splendour of the sight today, as the other days have been hazy and/or overcast. The second day I was here it even snowed down to 200m or so on the local hills, so the air was very crisp.

I have settled into the school. The students are all keen and there are lots of different personalities to associate with the faces, and there are various motivations for learning English, from the career businessman, the office lady, housewives, college and school students, retired people, and those who want to travel. Getting to know them all (over 100 so far!) has been a challenge.

The Japanese teachers at the school are quite experienced and are very helpful. The other foreign teacher is from Australia (NSW), and has been there only 6 weeks or so, and has given me some local info of use, such as this free internet at the locaL community centre. It also has Japanese lessons, which I will sign up for sooner or later.

The Japanese manager and assistant manager are very good to work for, and have helped me set up a bank acount, mobile phone and utilites. So after a little shopping at the local 100 yen store (they are a bit like the Warehouse only better quality) my apartment feels more like home now.

My teaching timetable is quite good, Tues - Sat, and during the week usually 2 or 3 afternoon classes, and then 2 or 3 night classes. Saturday is very busy, with four classes in a row, and then three in a row to finish at 8pm. I was very tired after the first Saturday, but yesterday wasn't quite as bad.

This week is "Golden Week" where there is 8 or 9 days holiday in a row for many Japanese workers. So they do what Ausies and Kiwis do and head for their favourite holiday spots in droves. I will be exploring the town, and the local area on the peninsular called Izu Hanto, which has lots of sea-cliffs and scenery, was well as nature walks and hot springs. Just the tonic before the rainy season, and the typhoon season start. Earthquakes are aways in season, and there were a couple of minor shages while I was in Nagoya.

I don't have all my address and contact details with me right now, but they will follow. For now use my normal e-mail, or send mail to Laurie and he will forward it about once a month with my regualr mail. I'll try to make a posting on this site at least once a month, if not every two weeks or so.