japan @ Irrational Exuberance

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Entries tagged with japan

Title: A Year Later, Home From Japan
Tags: japan
As many of you (if anyone actually reads these) already know, I am back from Japan. Here are a few thoughts about returning back to America.
Title: Reflections on a Year of Blogging and Japan
Tags: japan reflection
I've been blogging for a bit over a year, and I've been in Japan for a bit under a year. Seems like time for some introspection. As a bonus includes the definitive answer to "Why did you come to Japan?" and "Why did you start studying Japanese?" As an un-bonus I am kind of tired and didn't put in any pictures to make the onslaught of text manageable. Life is give and take, don't cha know?
Title: 小学校と教える授業の最後の日
Tags: JET japan
Translation of Last Day of Elementary School and Classes in Japanese
今週の木曜日は最後小学校に行く日だった。で、最後日本で授業を教える日もだった。ちょっと感動する日になったでしょうね。
Title: Last Day of Elementary School and Classes
Tags: JET japan
Series: JET: Leaving
Translations: Japanese
Thursday was my last day of classes at elementary school. Its sad to be saying goodbye, and there are a lot of kids I'll be missing after getting to know them bit by bit during forty-five minute lessons and brief exchanges in the halls.
Title: Advice for ALTs Considering a Second Year
Tags: JET japan
Many ALTs undergo temporary insanity when considering recontracting for the their second year. Here is my advice for those in the process.
Title: A Thursday: Elementary School
Tags: JET japan
Series: A Week in Japan
The first day in my Week in Japan series. This entry takes a look at a normal Thursday, which is the day I spent the morning at elementary school.
Title: An Introduction to a Week in Japan
Tags: JET japan
Series: A Week in Japan
This is the beginning of a series of articles looking at what a normal week has looked like for me during my job here in Japan as an Assistant Language Teacher with the JET Program.
Title: Things I'll Miss in Japan
Tags: JET japan
Written on a train ride down to Nagoya, reflecting on a few things I'll be missing. I suppose I didn't mention long peaceful train rides, but I will be missing those too.
Title: Looking for Recycling's Lost Sex Appeal
Tags: environment japan
Recycling used to be a topic of frequent discussion, but its lost most of the airtime it once received. Like most of the solutions that actually help, it turns out recycling is difficult, rather than a magical solution that heals effortless. How can we motivate people to recycle?
Title: May in Review
Tags: JET japan
A few pictures, a couple stories, a couple links thrown into a confused medley and labeled with as broad a title as I could think of. Indeed, this is May in Review.
Title: Photographing Japan
Tags: japan photo
Taking pictures in Japan is extremely easy to do, but hard to do honestly. What the hell does that mean? Well, it's easy to take pictures that emphasize the natural beauty, or industrial concrete, but much harder to take pictures that capture both.
Title: A Picture of a Couple
Tags: japan photo
A picture of a couple, one of whom I know rather well, and the other who is more of a brief acquaintance. A picture made interesting because it tells its story better blurred than it would have with proper focus.
Title: A Week In The Job
Tags: JET japan
A look at a week in my job as a junior high school and elementary school ALT.
Title: Failed Night Time Pictures of Sakura Blossoms
Tags: japan
I tried to tackle the task of taking pictures of the blooming Sakura blossoms, but pretty much uniformly failed. I guess a one-handed gunslinger's approach to holding the camera might have contributed.
Title: A Brief Winter Hike
Tags: hiking japan
A few weeks ago I ended up on a short abortive hike on the third tallest mountain in Japan. Here are a few documenting pictures.
Title: Catching Up On Some Thoughts
Tags: JET japan
This is a real grab bag on everything I have been thinking about recently, and on my future dreams.
Title: Quick Reflections on JET in Haiku
Tags: JET japan
Series: JET: Culture and Communication
A quick summary of my current feelings about the JET Program in haiku.
Title: Spring Doesn't Come in February, But Snow Does
Tags: JET japan
The weather here is insane. It was getting above freezing and fairly pleasant for the last four or five days, but then it all flipped.
Title: Teaching Elementary Classes as an ALT
Tags: JET education elementary japan
Series: English in Japan
Teaching elementary lessons has been one of the banes of my time as an Assistant Language Teacher. It just isn't part of my job that I enjoy. Here are a few tips and thoughts about the experience.
Title: My First Sickday in Japan
Tags: JET japan
Had a weird morning today...
Title: Hot Water Is Broken
Tags: japan
My hot water is broken, and its damn cold here.
Title: Introduction to Kamioka-cho, Hida-shi, Gifu-ken, Japan
Tags: JET japan kamioka
Series: JET: Living
An introduction to the lovely town I have been living in for some five months now. Lots of pictures to illustrate the points that words never can.
Title: Driving on the Left Side
Tags: JET japan
Series: JET: Living
A few thoughts and pictures of my stylish Suzuki Wagon R that cheerfully (it has a flower sticker on the door to the gas tank) escorts me through the rural landscapes of Kamioka.
Title: Reflections on the old year, and the new one
Tags: JET japan thoughts
Translations: Japanese
Its been a strange five months in Japan, and I'm sure the next seven will be strange too. But its not such a bad life. It seemed like a good day to write down some thoughts about where I am and where I am going. So I did.
Title: Music Recommendations & Snow Pictures
Tags: japan kamioka winter
Today was my first full day back in Kamioka, and I spent a couple hours of it snapping pictures. Here are a few to share the gift of snow with those who haven't been thusly blessed.
Title: Visiting Kiyomizudera
Tags: japan travel
I went and saw Kiyomizudera in Kyoto on January 1st, and customarily took a few arbitrary pictures.
Title: Packaging of Renu Contact Solution
Tags: japan
A quick look at the packaging for Renu contact solution in America and Japan.
Title: Miyajima and Hiroshima
Tags: japan travel
Some pictures and minimal commentary from my trip to Hiroshima and Miyajima.
Title: Those Annoying Habits
Tags: JET japan
Series: JET: Culture and Communication
Life anywhere has its little frustrations. Normally we just get over it and move on. Sometimes the frustrations keep getting thrown back at you again and again. The best of us move on anyway. The rest of us occasionally find the intense need to dwell on it a bit.
Title: Introducing my Japanese Kitchen
Tags: JET japan
Series: JET: Survival
A quick overview of the kitchen in my apartment. It has accumulated two decades worth of stuff... but still doesn't have a rice cooker. Damn.
Title: Hiking Tengaisan
Tags: JET hiking japan
Series: JET: Living
Some pictures from a recent hike in nearby Yamanomura, part of the Kamioka section of Hida city. Also some pondering about the consequences of modernity on Japan and America.
Title: Reliable Mealtime Friends
Tags: food japan
Series: JET: Survival
A look at a few of my favorite meals for myself in Japan. Nothing fancy, but dependable friends in times of need.
Title: Grocery Shopping in Japan
Tags: food japan
Series: JET: Survival
(This entry contains a number of pictures and may load a bit slowly on some connections.) I spend a lot of my day thinking about the next meal. In conjunction with that I do a lot of grocery shopping. Here is an annotated pictorial of my groceries.
Title: Getting Cold in Kamioka
Tags: japan
Its starting to get cold. I am wearing long underwear (thanks Mom!), and its the middle of October. The thought of the approaching winter leaves me in tears.
Title: Teaching Adult English Classes
Tags: English adult education japan
Series: English in Japan
A collection of my thoughts and advice from my English conversation lessons taught to an adult class. A handful of ideas on topics, and awkwardly generic recommendations.
Title: Expectations and Reality for the lowly ALT
Tags: JET japan
Series: JET: Culture and Communication
When you apply to the JET program you have a lot of expectations. Then you talk to a couple of people who participated in the JET program before, and you get a new set of different expectations. A true JET veteran would tell you that Every Situation Is Different and to stop predicting because you're never going to know.
Title: Eating Cornflakes
Tags: JET japan
Series: JET: Culture and Communication
Much like an awkward date, sometimes you find yourself talking a lot about a topic that no one actually cares about. If you live long enough, that conversation's topics may be cornflakes.
Title: Leaving Tokyo, Arriving in Kamioka
Tags: JET japan
Series: JET: The Beginnings
The transition from Tokyo to Kamioka is a great one. Tens of millions to thousands. Thousands of English speakers to one. Dreams to reality.
Title: From America into an American Bubble: The Flight to Japan
Tags: JET japan
Series: JET: The Beginnings
From one hotel to another, my trip to Japan begins. The morning begins in Atlanta and the night finds us in Tokyo. By boarding the international flight I formally accept my contract, so my year as a JET as begun.
Title: JET Pre-Departure Orientation
Tags: JET japan
Series: JET: The Beginnings
A thrilling retelling of the day when the JET program finally got a bit more real. Beginning with my drive down to Atlanta, and ending with a fluffy pillow.
Title: Picture from Hotel Room
Tags: japan tokyo
Pretty busy, getting rushed from place to place. Lots of meetings and speeches. But I do have a picture.
Title: Heading toward Atlanta
Tags: JET japan
Series: JET: The Beginnings
JET gets a bit more real as I head down to Atlanta tomorrow. This post scores a 0.85 on the 5 point "cohesiveness" scale. Yep, its that bad.
Title: Applying to the JET Programme
Tags: JET japan
Series: JET: The Beginnings
So maybe you want to apply to the JET Programme. Maybe you already did. This is what your experience will be, or was, like. Except its really my experience with the words "I" and "me" inconsistently replaced with the word "you".

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