My Life as a Foreigner "Living in Japan"

[#HBC | ZoZo]

Good job on passing the test!

 

[Venus of the Desert Bloom]

Thanks, guys! I felt so relieved after I got it. Mostly because I don't have to do go back there again!

Sorry for the long absence. I have been fairly busy in and out of work. However, testing is over, the parties are over, and it's summer....I still got to work though :/. However, I had some extra time so I decided to sit down and write about my next blog topic!

Teaching in Japan: The Students, Teachers, and I

I had a lot of trouble deciding on what topic I wanted to write about because their is a whole box full of topics I could touch on. The sports festival? Rainy season? Sex in Japan? Business etiquette? Video gaming and teenagers? All worthy topics that I want to write about in the future. However, in this new blog post, I decided to forgo my usual formula of picking an area of Japanese culture and scrutinizing over it. This blog post won't try to question a facet if Japanese society and, instead, I will just be reporting; hopefully unbiased.

I realized that I haven't really detailed exactly what I do in Japan. I said earlier that I am an English teacher here but I haven't actually told what my job is. Therefore, I decided to write a blog post about my job, what I do, what my usual day is, and everything I experience working for the Japanese education system.

To start off, I am what you call an ALT (Assistant Language Teacher). At it's most basic definition, I help teach students English while providing them an opportunity to interact with a foreigner and to use English outside of the class. So not only do I teach English but I also introduce foreign culture to them as well. My duty is to help students with pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, and read comprehension in the classroom while also sharing my culture/values with students in order for them to be more enlightened about the world around them. Fun, huh?
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My Job​

My job duties vary school to school but they stay the same in most cases. I teach English at two junior high schools and two elementary schools and each visit is different from the previous. I go to my own junior high school twice a week, Monday and Wednesday and the other every other Wednesday. I then go to my elementary school twice a week, Tuesday and Thursday and my other elementary school every Friday. So my weeks are pretty straight forward save for the one junior high school.

In Junior High School, I teach with a JTE (Japanese Teacher of English). Basically, a Japanese English Teacher. These teachers usually have previous experience abroad in other countries so they understand that ALTs do things much differently then Japanese. They have gone to college specifically to teach English and, even though they are teaching English, continue to attend seminars, conferences, and classes on how to better improve their English ability and teaching style. Some times they are even taught by the ALTs. So, needless to say, most JTEs have average to perfect English though some have below average and I wonder how they go to be an English teacher (In fact, I teach with a women whose English is downright horrible and incomprehensible.)

In Elementary School, I teach with an HRT (Homeroom Teacher). In Japan, students do not change classrooms. They stay in the same classroom and the teacher comes into the class. In Elementary School, the HRT is in charge of teaching all the subjects while in Junior High, there are teachers who specialize in a certain subject. So it's also the HRT's responsibility to teach English alongside the ALT. In Elementary school, teachers are expected to each a English class twice a week. That means that I miss one of the classes but I can attend one at least. In Junior High school, they have them three to four times a week. These rules were set in by MEXT (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology).

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Elementary School

An Elementary School classroom​

So what do I teach? In Elementary School, I use "Hi, Friends"(Link 1, Link 2). There are two books, 5th and 6th grade, with covers a wide variety of English phrases and grammar such as:
"Hello, my name is _____"
"I like apples."
"Do you like apples?"
"Yes, I like apples."
"I have 8 apples."
"Where is the supermarket?"
"I want to go to Italy."
"I have a mother and a father."
"On Monday, I have English and Science."
I also teach numbers, the alphabet, months, days of the week, days of the month, weather terms, holidays, colors, countries, etc. Since there are no books from 1-4th grade, I usually have to come up with my own teaching plan which usually includes a game, short lesson, and another game.

One example includes the "Number Song". I write on the board "12345678910" I teach them a song which goes like:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8 9 10
8 9 10
1 2 3 4 5 6 7

I then erase a number and do a funny sound, dance, or pose. For example, I did a Halloween theme so it when like:

1 2 3 Zombie growl 4 5 6 wolf howl
8 9 bwahahahahaha

It's fun to see the kids excited and energetic about it and the younger kids are pretty cute and adorable when they howl lives wolves. I also have done musical chairs, hot and cold game, freeze tag, Red Rover, and the parachute game.

However, for 5th and 6th Grade, I usually follow the textbook. I usually greet class with:

"Good morning, everyone. How are you today?"

The students then reply with "I'm hot/cold/fine/happy/sad/tired/sleepy/hungry/angry/thirsty/happy/OK. They then say "And you?" I then say how I feel for the day. I then take a tally of who is what. This is done by them raising their hands when I say "Who is hungry?" It is a good warm up.

In most cases, the HRT will then explain what the lesson is and do some Japanese explanation. Afterward, I will have students practice the vocabulary that is in the lesson. I usually have them repeat me twice before I have them say it on their own in order to check their pronunciation. We then go straight into the lesson. The lesson depends entirely on the level of English the HRT has or the teaching style of the HRT. One 6th grade teacher of mine likes game so we play a lot of games. Another teacher likes English a lot so he does a lot of English exercises and tries to encourage students to use only English. While some teachers hate English and just sit in the back of the class and text on their phones while I teach. It depends entirely on the teacher and the class.

My two elementary schools are very different. My one school, Yachiwa Elementary School has around 1,000 students. I am there on Tuesday and Thursdays. It's the second biggest elementary school in my city. I used to teach grades 1 through 6 as well as a 1st and 2nd grade branch school that is about 30 minutes away by bike but, with a new ALT supervisor, I now only teach 5th and 6th grade. I teach four 5th grade classes and they are usually 1st through 4th period and then I am free after lunch. However, I have 5 6th grade classes so I usually teach 2nd through 6th or 1st through 5th. Depends on the teachers.

At my other elementary school, Taiyo elementary school (the one I am at only once), I teach 5th and 6th grade as well however, there are only two classes per grade so it's much easier. As well, I teach one grade per Friday. So one Friday may be 5th graders while next Friday will be 6th graders. I generally have a lot of time to kill on Fridays. A added bonus that the school is a 3 minute bike ride from my apartment. I can even see my apartment from the classroom I teach at.

After 4th period, we have lunch time. I usually go to the teachers office to get my lunch (Kyushoku) which differs day to day. Sometimes it's rice, fish with fish eggs inside of it, egg drop soup, and bread. Other days is Japanese curry and rice and other days is spaghetti, Italian bread, salad, and pudding. It really depends. Sometimes lunch is amazing and sometimes it sucks ***.

Students serving kyushoku.(Not my picture)​

I then eat lunch with the students, usually the class I had 4th period with. Lunch in Japan is much different compared to in the States. Instead of a cafeteria, students all eat in the classroom. Selected students go get the lunch from the lunch room and bring it to the class where they then serve it for the students. After everyone is served and sitting down, they say "Itadakimasu" (let's east) and start digging in.

I then usually talk and converse with students or just sit and eat. Again, depends on the class I am eating with. Lunch period is usually 20 minutes long and usually a student rep will give out announcements and take a vote on what game to play at recess. I usually participate in recess unless I am tired or have work to do. I love playing dodgeball, basketball, or sometimes I teach them football. They are usually very genki and like when I join them. Lately though, I haven't because it's been too damn hot.

Afterward is cleaning time. The students are all assigned a role such as cleaning the teachers room, the hallways, bathrooms, or the classroom. They first begin by sweeping dust and dirt into a area of the classroom/ Next, they begin wiping down the wooden floors with wet towels while students do more sweeping. After that area of the classroom is cleaned, they begin with the other side. This is done by moving the desks and chairs to the cleaned side. It takes 10 minutes and, usually, I help speed things up when I help clean. Other ALTs clean other parts of the school but I clean with students usually.

Afterward is 5th and 6th period. After that, students are free to leave unless they have group activities (which most do). I have went biking before at 10 pm and seen students just getting out of school. I know my junior high's baseball team practices until 10:30 and then practices at 6 until 7. That is why students are always tired. However, things are a little less strict at elementary school.

Elementary students seem to enjoy talking about: Dragon Ball, Inazuma, One Piece, Pokemon, poop, and grossing out girls. It is everything that I remember from my elementary school days. Every student has a pencil case/bag which usually has some type of design or picture on it. Tony Tony Chopper from One Piece, Hello Kitty, Puma (the brand name), or even Marijuana Leaves are popular pencil cases (marijuana is illegal in Japan but students don't know the difference.) I have even seen pencil cases with ****, ****, damn on it. It's really strange; especially when I first went into my classroom and saw that.

Elementary school is generally fun, care free, and relaxed. I tend to dress done to long-sleeve shirts and t-shirts with an occasional collared shirt. I don't wear shorts unless I am playing during recess. I usually wear slacks or dress pants. However, most teachers wear track suits, basketball shorts, t-shirts, and jerseys. Despite that, I am expected to dress somewhat nicely but I am sure most teachers don't care. My boss does though.
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Junior High School

An Junior High School Classroom​

Junior High differs greatly from Elementary School and that's a fact. Discipline is harsher, the classes are more difficult, and Junior High school kids are generally held more accountable. Teachers also tend to be more serious and strict on students. One thing that really surprised me when I first arrived was when one teacher, who was extremely pissed at a student, full out kicked him in his butt and shoved him out of the teacher's room and began to berate and yell at him until he cried. All the while, the other teachers were telling me "He's the best teacher in the school because he makes kids scared." I felt that was highly ****ed up.

Students in a morning assembly. If they move, talk, or get out of place; they get pulled out to the side and yelled at (Not my picture)​

But it's natural and even expected for teachers to yell and berate at disorderly students. However, it's very rare for a teacher to full on hit a student. At most, they get whacked in their head, slapped with a pointer, or bonked on the head by a book. Junior High students are expected to behave correctly and not to cause an disturbances. Thus, Junior High school tends to have a more tense and restricted atmosphere. Junior High goes from 7th to 9th grade generally.

At one school, Yonchu Junior High school, I teach anywhere from one to four classes and mostly 8th graders. However, despite that, I don't really like it. Particularly, because of one of my JTE's. She cannot use or speak English to save her life and teaching with her is torture. As well, she only brings me into class for the last 15-20 minutes of class only to have students repeat after me (and very un-ethustiasticly). I am 100% in saying this but she is a raging ***** who hates English and ALTs. The other two JTE's are cool though but I never teach with them.

I hardly teach at my other junior high, Hinagu Junior High. It is a very small junior high school and the two JTE's I teach with are old school. Meaning they are not used to teaching with ALTs and generally have their own set way of teaching English. So I usually just make English presentations, worksheets, and grading.

I use the textbook "One World"

There are books for grades 7th-9th and cover a wide assortment of lessons and articles.

Here is an example of a 8th Grade Dialogue Lesson:

Kenta: Treat or trick!
Bob: Hi, Kenta. You should say. "Trick or treat."
Kenta: Oh, sorry. Trick or treat!
Bob: Come on in! Everybody's here.
Jin: Kenta, you should try these pumpkin cookies.
Aya: But you must wash your hands first!
Kenta: OK.
Mei: Bob, this jack-o'-lantern is scary. Who made it?
Bob: My mom and I did.
Kenta: Mmm! Should I wash this cookie plate?
Aya: Kenta! You ate them all!

Here is another example of a 8th-9th grade lesson:

Kenta: So Bob, are there any differences between Japanese and American schools?
Bob: Yes, a lot! For example, students in the U.S. don't have to clean the school.
Aya: Really? I think it's good for students to sweep the floors and empty the wastebaskets.
Bob: Now I'm used to it. Also, we don't have to wear school uniforms or slippers.
Jin: Isn't hard to choose clothes every morning?
Bob: No it's fun to decide what to wear.

Students are encouraged to write diaries and practice writing in English. As of late, they have been studying "After Lunch, I went to ________." or "I ate lunch and then I went to the park to play with my friends." Each class is at a different place so it's important to know which class is where.

Much like Elementary school, I eat lunch with students and then clean the room during cleaning time. I usually don't do recess with them since recess is only like 10-15 minutes long and it's just a break from studies. Junior High school has 6 periods and studies Math, English, Japanese, Social Studies, Home Ec, Science, PE, and Moral Education (Human Rights). Teachers who are specialized in a subject goes to the classroom and begins teaching after the classroom leaders instructs the rest of the class to greet the teacher.

I tried to find a video to better illustrate what happens but I couldn't find any. So I'll try to explain. The classroom leaders instruct the class to stand up. The classroom leaders wait until the teacher(s) are standing in the middle of the blackboard and all the students are paying attention.

They then say (translated) "3rd Period has Started" Students then echo what the leaders said. The leaders then say " Rei" or "bow" and then "Yoroshiku onegaishimasu" which is also repeated by the class. The students bow during "rei" and say "yoroshiku onegaishimasu". I am unable to translate that since we don't have it in English. Loosely, it means "Please have us" or "Please suffer me". It is usually said when asking something of someone, introducing oneself, or when you feel you are inconveniencing someone.

This is also done in Elementary school but they sit down (in most cases) instead of stand up. Again, Elementary school is much more relaxed and happy-happy-joy-joy while Junior High feels like a prison.

Junior High students tend to talk about sports, TV, music, latest fashion trends, sex, boys, girls, models, and foreign stuff. Much like in the States, there are groups that talk about anime and games and groups that talk about sports. There is a evident divide between the two. I asked one student if he likes Pokemon and he looked embarrassed. He looked around the class to see if anyone was listening and nodded his head "Yes". I guess he was embarrassed that he likes Pokemon because only Elementary school students like it. I re-assured him that it's cool to like Pokemon because I like it.

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Lunch Time​

This as an area I wanted to highlight upon. Lunch time is much different then in the States. Like I said earlier, lunch is served in the classroom and students, more often than not, arrange their desks into groups. Students, wearing masks, gloves, and hairnets, serve lunch to the other students. This is not done in High School since they have a cafeteria.

Here are some pictures I found online concerning Japanese school lunches:

And then imagine getting lunch and seeing these guys screaming at you:

No, joke! I hate these guys. Sometimes they come fried. Worst yet there is a hidden surprise. When you bite down, you get a mouth full of....fish eggs. Yes, these are pregnant fish so you get the added bonus of cooked fish roe right in your mouth!​

School lunch can be an adventure and, while it doesn't happen often, some days I just can eat that stuff and give it to my students whose mouths are covered with fish eggs.
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Discipline​

Japanese public schools don't have detentions, suspensions, or expel students. If a student misbehave or gets into trouble, they are expected to apologize to the entire teaching staff and is usually yelled at by the teacher which is embarrassing enough for them. However, if the problem persists, the students parents are contacted and a meeting between the teacher, student, parents, and principal is conducted.

However, I kind of see this as counter-productive due to the parent-teacher relationship. Parents often see the schools and teacher as the "disciplinarian". Parents place a lot of trust in the teachers in helping form their children into responsible individuals. To that effect, Japanese parents don't have too much involvement in raising their children because they see it as the teacher's job. Therefore, if a child screws up or does something really bad, it is generally seen as the teachers fault. In fact, one of my 9th grade students was found at 3 am trying to break into a vending machine and smoking. Instead of contacting the parents, the teacher and school was contacted by police who in turn contacted the parents. It was the teacher who came to get the kid and took him to his parents house. Therefore, discipline comes from the teachers instead of the parents.

However, High School can suspend or expel students since high school in not mandatory in Japan. Public education only goes into 9th grade of Junior High. After that, a student can choose to continue his or her education into high school or to not to. Most often continue their education while those who don't generally get blue collared jobs or go into a technical school of some sort.
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Things Outside of Teaching​

Often I am asked participate or help with other events that often outside of teaching. This includes participating in the Sports Festival, Culture Festival, English Recitation Contests, parades, and teaching classes where either the Board of Education or parents watch (Those suck hardcore!). As well, since I am employed by the Board of Education, I also am given other jobs to do outside of my schools.

For example, the ALTs in my city are putting together a 10 minute English movie using grammar and vocabulary from the books. We have been doing this every Wednesday after lunch for the past month. Additionally, I am in charge of a English Conversation that is held in a community center. Me and four others usually attend this during our breaks such as Spring Break, Summer Break, and Winter Break.

In fact, my Board of Education denied any time off requests for during the summer since we will be very busy starting in August. Not only will old ALts be leaving and new ALTs be arriving; we will also have English Conversation classes for students and adults, Phonics classes, Reading Time for kids, a Three day summer English camp, German, Spanish, French, and Russian Language classes, Cooking classes, and possibly a Haunted House. So we will be very busy come August.

As well, we also participate in festivals and help represent the Board of Education. One particular festival is the International 3 Day March. Basically, we work Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (we get Thursday and Monday off) at this festival. Foreigners from around the world come and....walk. The committee sets up a 5 km, 10, km, 15 km, 20, km, 30 km, and 50 km walking courses for people to follow. This is the second one in Japan and they have them all around the world. A lot of Europeans come to walk the courses and to get badges for walking (a lot of rich Europeans). On Saturday and Sunday, the locals join everyone for walking, entrainment, food, and fireworks. It is fun and a great way to work while having fun.

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Why I Like the Job​

Some days I hate this job. Sometimes enough is enough. Getting asked "Can you eat sushi?" or "Do you like the sex?" every day gets old. Getting fingers up my butt whenever I turn also gets old. However, what makes me love the job when students shows that my hard work is for naught. It really brightens my day when students utilize the English I taught them and show a genuine interest in it. It really makes me happy to see this in students.

I try to reflect the enthusiasm I had for Japanese when I first started studying it and hoped that would reflect on my students. I have some students are amazing at English and I can carry natural conversations with. And there are students who doesn't even know "How are you?' despite me asking that to them every day.

So it can be a mixture of frustration yet a sense of achievement. It truly has been a rewarding experience and something I would like to continue for a few years down the road. I know I have grown as a person and improved for the better.

 

[KoopaTroopa895]

"They then say (translated) "3rd Period has Started" Students then echo what the leaders said. The leaders then say " Rei" or "bow" and then "Yoroshiku onegaishimasu" which is also repeated by the class. The students bow during "rei" and say "yoroshiku onegaishimasu". I am unable to translate that since we don't have it in English. Loosely, it means "Please have us" or "Please suffer me". It is usually said when asking something of someone, introducing oneself, or when you feel you are inconveniencing someone."

I take a Japanese class we are actually required to do this as well, although we don't have a class rep. Just the teacher tells us too. While my junior high never had a prison atmosphere(other than our bland every day cafeteria food) I definitely remember the social divide for games sports e.t.c. How much different is the scale between Japan's and America's grading system? Like do they have percents and what not? Awesome post BTW, always look forward to your blog Venus

 

[Ussi]

..lunch looks so little...

/american

Actually i was thinking about myself now lol. Those kinds of lunch actually woulda been nice in elementary/middle school.

 

[ndayday]

Damn, it's funny how unnatural the text book exercises sound. I mean really, who goes around saying, "Yes, I would like a pumpkin cookie."?

Do you also teach them more of the colloquial phrases and words?

Always interesting to hear from you, keep it up!

 

[standardtoaster]

It was really cool to learn what you actually did at the schools.

 

[Venus of the Desert Bloom]

@Koopa Troopa: The grading system is similar but different at the same time. One remarkable thing about grading from Elementary to Junior High is they technically can't fail a class or even a grade. It is the teacher's prerogative to help and coach the student along if he or she doesn't understand. The teachers usually just circle the homework or classwork and the questions which are correct.

It is more so "Here are the questions you got wrong so be responsible and learn the correct answer by next time." Tests and exams are there to not grade how well they know the material but to test how well they memorized the material. It is really odd. However, test scores do affect on what schools you are able to get into so the tests and exams do mean something.

I only see the A-F grading scale when I grade Junior High papers. The teachers likes me to use those scales but it holds know bearing to the actual score.

@Ussi - It's actually a lot. Those were small what I am compared to. I actually put alot of the food back because it's too much.

@Ndayday: I occasionally teach them colloquial phrases and slang but not in class unless I am able to commandeer it from the class. I usually teach them it during lunch, recess, or in-between classes. In fact, some of my students knows "What's up?". "Sup?", "Cool,", "You're crazy.", and other words like that. I even taught a kid "derp" who uses it now.

@standardtoaster: Thanks

 

[DakotaBonez]

So Halloween caught on in Japan? Do they go door to door asking for candy too?
I've always been interested in this.
Also do you speak japanese or do most of them already speak english?
(Sorry I Only read Your Latest Blog)

 

[Venus of the Desert Bloom]

So Halloween caught on in Japan? Do they go door to door asking for candy too?
I've always been interested in this.
Also do you speak japanese or do most of them already speak english?
(Sorry I Only read Your Latest Blog)

Hmmm....Halloween isn't as big here as it is in the States. So, no, they don't go walking around in costumes and asking for candy. That is for grown-ups and you generally want to avoid the more creepier ones.

But Japanese know what Halloween is and know what it is about. In fact, most of my students know "trick or treat!" That being said, it is not a foreign custom to them.

Christmas, Mothers + Fathers Day, and Valentines Day are the major Western holidays that have caught onto in Japan. However, they are much different. Japanese don't get holiday time off on Christmas. I have been lucky since my first year in Japan (two years ago this December), Christmas was on a Sunday. Then this last Christmas I went back to Ohio for a month.

Mothers + Fathers Day is similar but you just give a present. No breakfast in bed.

Valentines Day is actually for men! The women are supposed to give the men chocolates! My girlfriend and the other female workers had to give chocolates to every single guy in her work's department. So 35 men, 35 pieces of candy at 5$ a pop. She had to give more candy and a present to her boss. She ended up spending $40 out her own wallet or so.

After Valentines Day is White Day (a month later) where the men (grundingly) return to the favor and give candy or a present back to females. My girlfriend overheard one of the bosses try to cut down the budget on spending for the females because, and I quote, "They are...well...girls...they don't deserve this and it's not good to spoil them or they will want more." I guess he's generally hated by the female population now.

As for this blog, I think I am going to start splitting my posts into parts. Doing a blog post update takes a lot of time; especially if I have to dig for pictures or information. That being said, smaller blog updates will be around two separated parts and bigger updates will be three to four with one week or one week and half in between them.

 

[Venus of the Desert Bloom]

Ok, time for another update! Starting with this update, I will be splitting each blog update by parts. Longer updates will have anywhere from 2 to 4 parts while smaller updates will around two parts. Gathering and putting the information together, finding/taking pictures, presenting facts versus opinions, and compiling it all together takes a lot of time and I usually spend a hour or so posting it alongside with pictures. For that reason, I will be splitting each post into separate parts.

I think this format will work best and allow for higher quality blog posts without taking up too much time.

With that, time for the next update!

Living in Japan: My Living Experiences

So I have wrote concerning various aspects of Japanese society and have attempted to correctly explain them while trying to answer them. I try apply a foreigner analysis on it while trying to remain unbiased. I am not sure if I have succeeded but it was what I was striving for. These next two part updates will be less of trying to explain and figure out what Japan is the way it is and, instead, explain living in Japan using facts and experiences.

In this blog post, I will be discussing the living arrangements of Japan. I have planned for it to be a two part blog post. The first part is about my living conditions (i.e. apartment) here in Japan. It will be mostly pictures with descriptions. However, the 2nd part will be about factual information about living in Japan (finding apartments, housing, paying bills, trash, etc etc etc). I hope you enjoy it!

I took all of these pictures just recently. I hope you enjoy mt little tout of my apartment!

The front of my apartment! Welcome in and don't mind the mess! I have sense harvested much of my vegetables (or they died because of the rainy season T_T) I am growing Jalapenos, bell peppers, tomatoes, corn, broccoli, carrots, pumpkins, cucumbers, peanuts, and lettuce). My bike is on the left hand side.

View from my apartment from the entrance hall (well...more like a small square. It's small). I wanted to have a very comfortable living space as well as a place for partys and get-togethers so I arranged my living area to accommodate that. The Board of Education gave me my tables, kotastu (the heated table in the middle), cabinets, stove, and fridge. I bought the TV, fish tanks, couch, white cabinets, game cases, etc)

Yes those are Ohioan license plates. I found them in a American store. And one of them is my actual county!

My 90 centimeter community fish tank. I have neon tetras, angelfish, catfish, glass catfish, twig catfish, Pakistani loaches, clown loaches, gouramis, and various other fish.

My blue German ram

Clown Loach

Japanese Dojo Loach. They are actually eaten o_o

Australian Rainbowfish

The two German rams

Sailfin Pleco

Twig Catfish

Cory Catfish, Horseface Loach, and Dojo Loach

Pakistani Loach and Horseface Loach

My Kitchen! That is my dishwasher which I bought and next to it is my hot water heater for the sink.

Spice rack and French Press for coffee.

Hot water heater and sink!

My stove. No oven so I can't make brownies...

My kitchen table which has my coffee stuff, paper towels, etc.

Inside of my fridge! It's usually packed.

My pantry with plates, glasses, bowls, etc.

View of my bathroom. It is a art project in progress.

It's a 3-D collage!

My toilet. It is pretty small!

My shower. Such a small tub! I can't fit in it comfortable so I just stand and take a shower.

Assorted shampoo and body wash. The right side is my stuff and the left is my girlfriends for when she stays with me on the weekend.

Looking outside my backdoor toward my clothesline. I don't have a drier so I either got to air dry them, fan dry them, or bike 15 minutes down the road to the laundromat.

View from my kitchen.

My fish tank again and TV in the background.

A closer picture of my community tank.

Assorted pictures and things i have hoarded. Some of them are my favorite things but, ironically, it looks like a **** pile lol.

My TV. I love is to death! I have hosted many video game/movie night partys with this TV and, if I end up moving elsewhere in Japan, I am taking it with me.

My video games! I have some wii titles and some Playstation 3 titles.

Some Candy Shrimp (that's what they call them) that I got from a friend for my birthday.

A free tank I received from one of my English conversation students last year. I used to have platys in there and then one African Clawed frog until it escaped and died so I just keep tetras and some shrimp in it.

I like to keep my apartment dimly lit for mood lighting. I have two overhead lights but they are too bright and fluorescent. So to have light, I use my fish tanks, a tall lamp, and this light table.

My third fish tank. It has a Elephant nose fish and a Amazonian Leaf Fish (which I just picked up this weekend). I am making it my expensive fish tank (both fish were $30 a pop).

My South American Leaf Fish. I have just started giving him small shrimp now.

Here is my Elephant Nose Fish. I haven't taken a good photo of the Leaf Fish yet. There is only one small fish store in my city and they mostly have Discus Fish and big goldfish. However, he also has some barbs, tetras, catfish, etc. However, I usually drive a hour to the bigger city to go to their fish stores since they have more different fish. As well, the guy in my city usually sells one neon tetra for $5 a piece. He sells his Discus Fish betweel $200-1000. That is because he is the only fish seller. However, in the bigger city. I can get a Discus Fish for $30.

My fourth fish tank is underneath and I got it from a friend after his newt died. I use that tank to keep small little killifish to feed to my Amazonian Leaf Fish.

Feel of my couch looking from the ground. I have fake hardwood floors that damage easily.

Going down my stairs. I have a upstairs with two rooms.

This is the English Teacher Library. I live in a townhouse complex with eight other foreign English Teachers. This was originally in another teachers house but he left to go move back to Canada so the Board of Education put it into my apartment. I have yet to fully clean it but.....it's a huge work in progress.

My bedroom. It's usually a mess since my girlfriend keeps her stuff in there. I usually have clothes hanged up and blankets on the floor.

View from outside my bedroom window. Not too much to see.

The view from my front window and what I see when I walk outside.

So yeah, I pretty short and simple update with pictures! I hoped you like seeing my apartment. I think it has a Western and Japanese feel to it.

 

[standardtoaster]

How are the keyboards for computers different? I noticed that you've had a few typos throughout some of your blog posts and I'm wondering if they're just a general error or if it's because of a changed keyboard layout from QWERTY.

 

[Venus of the Desert Bloom]

How are the keyboards for computers different? I noticed that you've had a few typos throughout some of your blog posts and I'm wondering if they're just a general error or if it's because of a changed keyboard layout from QWERTY.

Nah, all the typos was mi mistake. I did this blog post before but my laptop shuts off if I don't have it plugged in and, while I was home last week, it got unplugged and erased everything I had.

As well, I wrote all this at work and I had very little time to write (I have 5 classes today). I wanted to get this done and start on the next section as soon as possible.

To answer your original question though, yes they have fairy different keyboards. I always have a hard time typing on them because they are somewhat bigger. Plus I am used to my laptop keyboard.

However, Japanese computers do not have a English spellcheck on them so, if I do write on a Japanese computer, I am unable to fully check my spelling (unless I do it myself which I do not have time for).

 

[KoopaTroopa895]

@Koopa Troopa: The grading system is similar but different at the same time. One remarkable thing about grading from Elementary to Junior High is they technically can't fail a class or even a grade. It is the teacher's prerogative to help and coach the student along if he or she doesn't understand. The teachers usually just circle the homework or classwork and the questions which are correct.

It is more so "Here are the questions you got wrong so be responsible and learn the correct answer by next time." Tests and exams are there to not grade how well they know the material but to test how well they memorized the material. It is really odd. However, test scores do affect on what schools you are able to get into so the tests and exams do mean something.

I only see the A-F grading scale when I grade Junior High papers. The teachers likes me to use those scales but it holds know bearing to the actual score.

Oh ok, unlike here when grades are pretty much everything even if the test scores are good. Feel like i'd be better in that system(not doing any homework can really mess up your grade if it accumulates XD). I also find it more interesting that they just let you go through elementary school so easily. I have more friends who were held back in elementary school than friends who were held back in high school/middle school. Most of the highschool teachers just pass them or they get a stupid amount of homework to make up credits(EPHS).

Good new post by the way, you live in a nice house. I am curious if it is hard to take care of fish though. Someone told me that they could be pretty fragile and they die if your not careful(well all animals are like that but fish especially apparently).

 

[ndayday]

The fish are awesome.

The apartment reminds me of my cousin's apartment, or at least her old apartment. I don't really live in a big city or anything so it's just kind of odd to me. Also funny how personal stuff finds places like that shelf. It's always nice seeing other people's living space also :3

nice change of pace from the other posts

 

[standardtoaster]

*bump*

I don't want this to die yet. :<

 

[Venus of the Desert Bloom]

Yeah sorry. My few moments i have in the day dedicated to the Smashboards have been at the Smash 4 character discussion. I'm going to try and write up a new blog post soon!

@koopatroopa: I've been doing aquariums and terrariums since 8. It feels odd to not have something. But yeah, fish can be fragile if care isn't taken. Some problems come from water quality, some from diseases, others from absive tank mates, or a mysterious reason. I had a healthy bala shark to crashed and died on me after 4 days of buying him.

You can improve water quality, use healthy plants, clean your filters, etc but a fish is bound to die every now and then. You just learn from it. I am just now starting to sink $30-80 on fish that tend to be more difficult to keep (I.e. The Leaf Fish. I have to buy feeder fish at a store a hour away every weekend).

 

[~automatic]

This blog has been fairly interesting. Glad I decided to venture into this part of the forum today, lol.