Day 13 - Something about Japan that sets it apart from anywhere else.
The other day, after writing my last blog entry, I went over to my friend Mikey's house to watch wrestling. Yeah, I know, me watching wrestling is not quite what you'd expect, but I was persuaded with beer and a heated carpet. We watched the Royal Rumble - 40 wrestlers, 62 minutes, only one champion. It was probably the most ridiculous thing I've watched for quite some time.
So anyway, by the time I get tired it's getting for 1.30am and I have to walk home in the freezing cold. So I wrap up warm, don my gloves and hat and head out into the nighttime streets of Asagaya. And the reason I can do this - walk home alone at 1.30am by myself - is because this is what sets Japan apart from so many other places. I don't feel that walking home at 1.30am is putting myself at too much risk. The Japanese are always very proud of how much of a "safety country" Japan is, yet older people always seem to be talking about how things are going down hill in terms of crime and delinquency etc (note the rise in crime among the elderly). What I like about living here is that I don't feel like a potential victim. When I lived in London, I would always ask Gideon to collect me from Perivale station if I got home after dark, even though Perivale was not like living in crime central at all. In fact, I was thinking about this on the way home from the Royal Rumble. I passed by a really drunk guy and then passed another couple of guys on their way home from work or bars. Had this been in England, I more likely than not would have picked up my pace and avoided them, and although I still felt quite on edge being by myself, I knew that more likely than not, I would get home safely.
And that is your answer for Day 13 of the Japan meme.
I woke up last night with a horrid sore throat and then failed to get back to sleep for much of the night, despite taking painkillers. This morning it felt worse, so I booked a trip to the doctor and cancelled tonight's class. I still got through High School despite progressively losing my voice (no illness could make me lose THAT much money) and then went to see the nice doctor who told me it's just a cold, and not pharyngyitis or any of the other things I was concerned about. Which is good, but still denies me Japanese prescription drugs, which are pretty special.
On the High School note, I received some feedback from my students, only 40% of whom claim to make any effort to review or study for their English classes, according to the survey. The ratings were somewhat erratic, but my favourite bit was the comments. Students were allowed to make comments, both good and bad, and some of mine included: "She is pretty and I can learn English", "She's pretty and friendly", "She is good at drawing pictures so it was fun!", "Since the teacher changed the lesson is much more interesting", "She is good at motivating us" and "Genki". I liked the ones about being pretty best of all - living in Japan makes me feel like a monster sometimes. The negatives mainly focused on not having a Japanese teacher translating every instruction, though one said: "Ishii should work more", "Ishii" being Ishii-sensei, who I never actually ask to do much other than translate for me, so not his fault.
Now I have a free evening, I'm not quite sure what to do with it. Maybe some drawing, some writing and some reading in bed!! Perhaps I should give the bunny some attention as well!!
Here I am looking pretty, despite being sick, on holiday:
So anyway, by the time I get tired it's getting for 1.30am and I have to walk home in the freezing cold. So I wrap up warm, don my gloves and hat and head out into the nighttime streets of Asagaya. And the reason I can do this - walk home alone at 1.30am by myself - is because this is what sets Japan apart from so many other places. I don't feel that walking home at 1.30am is putting myself at too much risk. The Japanese are always very proud of how much of a "safety country" Japan is, yet older people always seem to be talking about how things are going down hill in terms of crime and delinquency etc (note the rise in crime among the elderly). What I like about living here is that I don't feel like a potential victim. When I lived in London, I would always ask Gideon to collect me from Perivale station if I got home after dark, even though Perivale was not like living in crime central at all. In fact, I was thinking about this on the way home from the Royal Rumble. I passed by a really drunk guy and then passed another couple of guys on their way home from work or bars. Had this been in England, I more likely than not would have picked up my pace and avoided them, and although I still felt quite on edge being by myself, I knew that more likely than not, I would get home safely.
And that is your answer for Day 13 of the Japan meme.
I woke up last night with a horrid sore throat and then failed to get back to sleep for much of the night, despite taking painkillers. This morning it felt worse, so I booked a trip to the doctor and cancelled tonight's class. I still got through High School despite progressively losing my voice (no illness could make me lose THAT much money) and then went to see the nice doctor who told me it's just a cold, and not pharyngyitis or any of the other things I was concerned about. Which is good, but still denies me Japanese prescription drugs, which are pretty special.
On the High School note, I received some feedback from my students, only 40% of whom claim to make any effort to review or study for their English classes, according to the survey. The ratings were somewhat erratic, but my favourite bit was the comments. Students were allowed to make comments, both good and bad, and some of mine included: "She is pretty and I can learn English", "She's pretty and friendly", "She is good at drawing pictures so it was fun!", "Since the teacher changed the lesson is much more interesting", "She is good at motivating us" and "Genki". I liked the ones about being pretty best of all - living in Japan makes me feel like a monster sometimes. The negatives mainly focused on not having a Japanese teacher translating every instruction, though one said: "Ishii should work more", "Ishii" being Ishii-sensei, who I never actually ask to do much other than translate for me, so not his fault.
Now I have a free evening, I'm not quite sure what to do with it. Maybe some drawing, some writing and some reading in bed!! Perhaps I should give the bunny some attention as well!!
Here I am looking pretty, despite being sick, on holiday: