You scored as Postmodernist.Postmodernism is the belief in complete open interpretation. You see the universe as a collection of information with varying ways of putting it together. There is no absolute truth for you; even the most hardened facts are open to interpretation. Meaning relies on context and even the language you use to describe things should be subject to analysis.
Postmodernist | | 69% | Cultural Creative | | 63% | Existentialist | | 50% | Idealist | | 50% | Materialist | | 44% | Modernist | | 38% | Romanticist | | 31% | Fundamentalist | | 19% |
What is Your World View? (updated)
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Hmmm...not sure. Spose all these quiz results are open for interpretation though! ;)
Some real characters
Just for my own happy memories (and maybe your amusement), I felt I should record some of things that my students have said and done over the past couple of weeks. These things have often shocked, surprised, or worried me…but always made me laugh! Ok, here we go… Base-school boy 1 This kid is hilarious. He is one of my first years at my base school, and from day one has always felt very comfortable in trying to talk to me. His English is not as good as other students in the class, but he always gives it a go, and does so with great humour. For the past few weeks, the students at this school have been working on speeches (‘My Dream’) for their speaking test. In the first class, I walked around watching the students thinking about what they would talk about, and stopped occasionally to ask them one-on-one what their dream was. I asked Mr Baseball…to which he tightly screwed up his face, but continued to grin, and confidently stated ‘my dream is to be……girl’s nurse.’ Now, I’m not sure if he just meant he wants to be a nurse…or if he meant a nurse for girls….or a gynacologist…or what….but he was obviously being a little bit cheeky, because when I asked him ‘why?’, he replied ‘because I like girls.’ I was surprised by this career choice (but not his reasoning), and so I said ‘really?’. He then informed me that he actually wants to be a police officer who drives fast cars. He didn’t tell me that in English…he instead did a wonderfully vivid mime of being in a fast car, screeching though streets, turning corners, the noises….the lot! Fantastic! When he finally gave his speech this week in class…..what did he talk about?....nursing?....driving?...no, according to his speech he now wants to be a cook! Hey, at least he’s leaving himself lots of options! In the same class as our conversation about being a ‘girl’s nurse’..he also confided in me that he has a girlfriend…and she’s a second year!! Wow…scandal! He broached the subject with me by asking me how old I was when I had my first kiss. I told him it was none of his business…but then realised that perhaps he was asking for a reason. So, I went on to ask him ‘when was your first kiss?’…to which he said ‘today….2 hours later.’ My skill in deciphering broken English is pretty damn good now, and I realised that he meant that his first kiss was going to be that day, 2 hours after our class! Ah, bless him! He was going to meet his girlfriend after school, and they were going to have their first kiss. So cute, and so funny that he’d already planned it! I then asked him how long they had been seeing each other….and (I think it was this long…it was a couple of weeks ago…my memory has faded a bit)…he replied 4 months!! 4 months and no snog! I asked my supervisor later if this was normal in Japan, and she told me it wasn’t. So, he is obviously a complete gentleman…and maybe also a teeny bit terrified! I saw him the next day, and he gave me the thumbs-up, so it looks like everything went according to plan! So sweet that he felt he could just tell me about this big ‘secret’, and his mates looked impressed that he was managing to have a conversation in English with me about his girlfriend. I’ll be sad when I have my last lesson with his class. The Tabuse boys I have written about my students at my school in Tabuse before, but they never cease to amaze me with their random comments, choice nuggets of English, and ridiculous hairstyles!! Last week they had to do a speaking test also, and were practicing a dialogue that they would then come out on the corridor and run through with me, one-on-one. As I entered the classroom that morning, they were all their usual noisy selves, and had made the decision that the class should only be conducted in English. They therefore were attempting to speak to one another in ‘teacher’ English, using phrases such as “sit down please”, “good morning class”, and “open your textbook” as greetings to one another! It was really quite surreal! The speaking tests themselves were a real mixed bag, ranging from students who had learnt and could adapt the dialogue perfectly, to students who looked like their whole world would come tumbling down if I tried to speak one more word of English to them! Some of my favourite moments were ; - Mr Mori shaking my hand at the end of his test-time (bless him!). - Mr Mizuki doing a pretty good test, and evidently realising that he’d done well, and so giving me a high-five! He then went back into the classroom and proclaimed rather happily that he had touched me!! - Watching one of the kids and wondering if he will grow up to be some kind of silent killer or assassin! He’s one of those boy who is very quiet…looks confused by the whole concept of learning another language…has a glazed /sedated look on his face…and …wait for it…has long fingernails! I cannot stand long nails on men…it freaks me out! To me it is a sign of being a little un-hinged, and having the potential to become a killer!! Haha! So, all the time I was trying to do his speaking test with him, I was also writing a bestselling thriller novel in my head! - One boy who didn’t quite understand what he was supposed to do! He didn’t even look in the bag, and started to describe his own object that he had thought of…turned out to be a red clock! - And my favourite moment…Mr Kawakami. The speaking test was a dialogue on descriptions. There were 5 bags…in each bag there was an object (triangle, CD, ball, orange, mobile phone). Students had to choose a bag, look inside, and I had to ask questions to guess what is was (although I obviously knew the options!). The conversation had to start with the students saying ‘Guess what’s in my bag”…however, this students’ dialogue went as follows ; Student – Guess what’s in my orange. Me (stifling giggles) – Hmmmm….Is it round? Student – No, it isn’t…it’s orange Me (trying to stop smirking) – What’s it made of? Student – Orange Me (already knowing what the answer to this one will be) – What’s is used for? Student – eat…orange. Me (relieved it’s all over!) – Is it an orange? Student (now smiling) – yes! Oshima girls The first year girls at my school on Oshima love me!! Plain and simple! They screech my name in the corridor, as they enter class, when they see me at the bus-stop etc etc. One girl in particular seems to have taken a liking to me, and insists on shouting ‘kawaii’ (cute) all the way through the lesson at me, as well as stroking my hair, asking me about my earrings, asking me about love, boyfriends, and sex, and finally last week the weirdest question of all ‘do you wear a bra in bed?’ Yeah, I’m a little bit scared of her now!! In the class last week, the students had to make Valentines cards. They weren't supposed to be for me…but a couple of the girls did present me with their cards at the end of class. Most of them were just cute, sweet cards. But this particular girl also gave me one….which had my name scrawled all over it, had love hearts, she had addressed it to ‘my girlfriend, roren’…and then she had drawn a poo on the back. Yep, nothing says romance like a green turd on your valentines card! A little weird, to say the least…but a nice anecdote all the same…especially since I wont be visiting that school after march! Base school boy 2 There is one boy in class 1-5 who has recently started showing amazing interest in English. He was always good at it, and never looked bored or anything in class, but over the last few weeks, he has started coming for chats with me, and showing enormous enthusiasm for furthering his English study. First of all, he asked me to recommend some English books for him to read. When I asked him what kind of books he was interested in, he replied ‘anything..I want to read the classics’. I was impressed, tried to suggest some titles for him. Then, he started to discuss the language used in English-speaking movies. We chatted about ‘The Incredibles’…he asked me about the use of certain phrases in the film, and then let me borrow the dvd so we could talk about it further. Finally, last week in class, in the ‘my dream’ speaking test, his ability and ease amazed me. Whilst most of the students gave quiet, simple, yet technically accurate speeches, he gave an amazingly natural, funny, and fluent speech, which even included some ad-libbing! He used the board to draw chemical symbols (his dream it to be a scientitst), and just as a teacher would, he picked out students from the class to answer his questions. It was hilarious to watch, as it was so unexpected to see this 16 year old kid speaking in English in such a comfortable and comedic way. He later described chemical symbols as ‘cute, pretty and elegant’ which I also found funny! It goes without saying that I gave him full points. He was great! At the end of the class he came to talk to me and confided in me that he plans to go to America to study when he finishes high school, and therefore he knows he has to study English hard! It’s great that he has such a high, yet achievable aim, and it’s lovely for me to see a student enjoying my subject so much! I wanted to document all of these kids here, so I will remember them in years to come…and also, if I ever decide to write a book about school in Japan, then I have some characters all ready for the page!
Movie mania
Recently I've started renting quite a few dvds and vids from my local shop. I blame it all on winter! I don't want to go out in the cold, and so I quite happily rent a video, and snuggly sit under my kotatsu for an evening! I'm sure my fellow Yamaguchi JETs know where I'm coming from, and have probably done the exact same thing quite a bit these past few months! Anyway, the main reason for this post, is that I want your recommendations! The videos at my rental shop are all 90yen for a week! Thats ridiculous / amazing! Therefore, I want to increase my movie knowledge, and see some real classics / must-sees / cult gems etc etc. Pretty please leave me your comment here with your top 3 movies....i.e movies that you think everyone should see once in their lives. I reckon there are quite a few 'essential movies' that I have just never seen...and I don't know what they are!! So please give me your hot tips...I don't care about genre...I'll give anything a go, if I can get it for 90 yen!
Times are changin'
I have just found out that I am loosing one of my schools after this term. From April I will not be teaching at my teeny tiny agricultural school out on Oshima. Before you say it, no it's not because they don't like me...no, it's not becuase I'm a rubbish ALT (although...that's up for debate!)...it's because my technical school (who used to share me with Oshima..i.e alternate weeks at each)..now want me every week cos they're merging with my commercial school who currently have me every week! Anyway...that sounds more complicated than it it...basically they want the same ALT time as the school they're merging with! Fair enough! So as from April, I will only have 4 schools...the furthest away being Tabuse. I have mixed feelings about this new loss in my life! On the one hand, I will really miss the students...some of them are sooo sweet. I will miss the girls who come and talk to me at the end of classes, and show me the pokemon pictures that they draw. I will miss the first year girls who screech my name down the corridor, and have a weird fascination with my hair. I will miss teaching such small classes (9 students, compared to 35 at my base school), and I will miss the friendly intimate atmosphere in the staffroom. However, I wont miss struggling to come up with activities and games for that few students. I wont miss playing the part of entertainer and English monkey, rather than teacher. I wont miss the train and bus journey to get there! I wont miss wracking my brains to come up with a new aspect of UK life to teach them about. Instead, I will pass the Oshima baton on to my fellow Brit, Keith! I'm sure he'll enjoy the school, and i'm positive the kids will love him! It's quite strange to realise that I will have my last ever visit to a school in this month. I didn't think I was going to have to do good-byes until July! Oh well, I suppose it's good prep for that time, and I can have a farewell speech all ready. Things are already starting to change, and move on, as I move closer to my time for leaving. I feel nervous, sad and excited all at once!
Snow scene
So far no snow has really settled in Yanai...but for the last day or 2 there has certainly been more than a few flakes in the air. On monday the mountain behind my apartment appeared to be dusted with snow...yesterday there was an icy chill to the air...and right now...it is snowing...a lot! I'm still not sure if it will settle...but it's very amusing to watch all the teachers in the staffroom, rushing to the window to watch the falling snow as if it was their first time to see it! It's a little ridiculous, but also very funny to see the look of concern and panic on their faces. As for me...if this carries on...I'll be calling for a taxi home, and then ordering in coco curry tonight!
Nothing much to say
I really don't have a lot to say today...no huge rants...no exciting news. So why blog? Because I'm bored, and so cold at my desk that I cannot think of anything productive to do. I just thought that I would note that on February 6th...I am starting to get a cold (sniffling..rubbish!)...and it's not being helped by the fact that it's freezing cold today, and I have not felt warm all day! Even the teachers' room is a little icy feeling today...brrrrrrrrrr. It's monday, it's freezing, it's raining, and I feel blue in more ways than one. Roll on spring! In the summer I was wondering which of Japan's seasons I dislike the most. I thought maybe it was summer, because everything just makes you sweat, and the humidity is unbearable. However, I have now made my final decision on this matter....Winter sucks the most! Everything's just such a depressing colour, all clothes look rubbish, becuase the shape of them is covered by the other 4 layers you are wearing, and getting out of a semi-warm bed in the morning is just...tough! Therefore, as it turns out, I did have something to say...and that is, winter is rubbish, and wins in the 'suckiest season' category of this year's weather academy awards. Next winter I intend on either being somewhere warmer (Thailand??), or somewhere with central heating (Europe?). That's all my frozen fingers can be bothered to type...keep warm everyone!
I'm going to explode unless....
...I have a little rant. It's what blogs do best...allow to have our little vents, rambles etc...an outlet for the niggles, narks, and general grumpiness!!...so here goes! 1. Am I invisible this week or what? Yesterday I was at my base school. I am there every thursday...lessons in the 2nd and 5th period, and leave around 4.30. The usual pattern that I have been following for the last 18 months! However, yesterday it appears that the rest of the staffroom just didn't realise I was there. Not only was I blanked on more than one occasion by some teachers when I gave them a smile and a 'konnichiwa' on the corridor, but I was also locked in the staffroom when they all went off for a teachers meeting!!! Thats right 'locked in'!!! I was sitting at my desk...I had just finished cleaning supervision...and I saw the teachers starting to file out of the room for their monthly meeting. I had been told about the meeting, and so it was no surprise to watch the room becoming gradually empty. What was a surprise, however, was the room being suddenly plunged into dimness, as all the lights were switched off, and then hearing a click, as the door was locked from the outside! What the heck!! Hello.....Roren's still here....at her desk.....with no light.....and now she can't see, nor can she leave! Well actually, I soon realised how to unlock the door from the inside...but still...that's not the point! Jeez...way to make a girl feel wanted in the workplace!! I left 10 minutes early, on the basis that they had been mean to me!! 2. Why doesn't this country have raspberry yoghurt? This week I really wanted a big tub of organic raspberry yoghurt (Alex, what's the name of that one that we both realised we liked...I've forgotten!)....but what am I stuck with...boring strawberry, not-right apple, or stupid aloe! Aloe!!! Who wants aloe yoghurt!!!??? Not me! 3. Why can Japanese people only walk in a straight line? They seem to have no ability to walk around someone...or move to the side....therefore it's always down to me to move, even if it means me walking into a lampost, a door-frame, a rubbish bin. For god sakes, move over...if you're in a group, learn to move into single file, just for a minute to show some common courtesy to the person walking in your direction. 4. Why are people in this country allowed to teach high school english even if their ability is so poor that they come out with the following sentence ; "another....type...twice."...the teacher then corrects himself after minutes of stammering, to reveal to me that the sentence was supposed to be "it will be cold for another 2 months." And the government wonders what they can do to improve English proficiency within schools...I'll tell you a very easy way....make sure all your English teachers have a good grasp of the language!! 5. Has anyone else had one of those classes where you are asked to speak about your country...only then for the teacher to criticise and pick out their perceived bad points about your homeland. So today, I was talking about England...and my teacher interrupts me to comment "oh, but the food in England is very bad. Tell us about that!" I gave him a look, and then said I disagreed, and actually liked the food in England a lot. Especially at this cold time of year, British food is hearty, warming and filling...and if cooked right...very tasty! Can Japan provide me with a lovely roast meal, some chunky homemade soup, a good ole pie with gravy...no! His argument..'ah, but it is not healthy!'....oh, but I suppose coating everything in breadcrumbs, and using msg whenever you feel like it, is great for the health! Back off! 6. Not everything belongs/comes from Japan. When I said 'bye bye' at the end of class, last week, some of my students were shocked! You see, Japanese kids always say bye-bye...and a lot of them actually think that the word is Japanese! No my dears...it comes from the word 'goodbye'....therefore, don't look shocked when I use words from my own language! Also, Thomas the tank Engine is not Japanese! One of my kids (16years old....a little worrying!) said that he was interested in the Japanese animation, 'Thomas'. I quickly realised (through drawing a picture, establishing that he meant the little blue train) that he meant Thomas the Tank Engine. The look on his face as I told him it wasn't Japanese, but actually British, was priceless! Ok...rant over! Thanks for listening!
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