Nomad

ATM bank transfer

10 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

The banks here have inconvenient hours. If you want to do a bank transfer, it can only be done between 8am and 3pm. Also, the local dry cleaner is open from 9am to 5pm. Inconceivable! Anyway, so it's possible to do a bank transfer at the ATM until 5pm, which is better than 3pm, except I can't read the ATM. So I strolled into the bank at 4pm and asked about doing a bank transfer. The teller stated that they only do bank transfers until 3, so I should come back tomorrow. I asked for help with the ATM, it being all Chinese. She blinked. No eye contact, but in my direction. 8 times, precisely. After the 8th blink, another teller came over -- the mom of two of my students. She asked me to fill out some paperwork, which took 5 minutes, and we didn't use the paperwork and later shredded it. But after the paperwork, she helped me figure out the ATM. If only I had a photographic memory... Here's a step-by-step walkthrough of doing a bank transfer (振り込み; furikomi) at a JA Bank ATM. Note that in rare cases (extremely expensive purchases, for example), a bank transfer must be done inside the bank with a teller. Press the bank transfer button -- 振込 (short for 振り込み; furikomi). It's on the right in the middle. This warning tells you that you're about to do a money transfer. Press green button in the lower right. Press the top button, 電信振込 (denshin furikomi). This will do a wire transfer, which is normal. The bottom button, 文書振込 (bunsho furikomi), is for a paper transfer, and it's very rare. Put your card in the slot. Enter your PIN (暗証番号; anshou bangou). Enter the amount of money, followed by 円. If the amount of money is OK, press the green button in the lower right. Choose how to select your destination. To do a registered furikomi for which you have a number, press 登録番号 (touroku bangou). To look up a registered furikomi number, press 登録照会 (touroku shoukai). However, I've never done this, so I can't be sure. To search by bank name, press 振込先指定 (furikomi saki shitei). This is very common. To use a furikomi card you already have, press 振込カード (furikomi kaado). Choose the appropriate button for your destination. If you're sending money to a regular bank, press 普通銀行 (futsuu ginkou). If you're sending money to JA Akita Shinsei Bank, press 秋田しんせい農協 (akita shinsei noukyou). If you're sending money overseas, press 外国銀行 (gaikoku ginkou). There are two screens here I'm missing. They involve choosing what branch of the bank you want, and should be rather obvious. Enter the account number (口座番号; kouza bangou), make sure it's right, and then press the green button in the lower right corner. If you want to make a furikomi card, press the top button, 振込カード必要 (furikomi kaado hitsuyou).If you don't want a furikomi card, press the bottom button, 振込カード不要 (furikomi kaado fuyou). Take your receipt, ATM card, and furikomi card, if you made one. It's done. %cc_by_img%

Japanese Karate

09 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

In Japan, it seems there are 3 popular flavors of karate. The flavor I practice is Japanese Karate (日本空手協会; nihonkaratekyoukai), sometimes called JKA. It's a variation of Shotokan Karate. Kyokushin Karate is the third popular karate style, and it is quite different from JKA and Shotokan. My club has 3 tests a year, and each test has three parts: kihon (fundamentals), kumite (sparring), and kata (forms). Kihon is simply fundamental techniques -- we demonstrate various kicks, punches, and blocks with no opponent. Kumite is sparring. For beginners, the moves are determined ahead of time. For example, Person A will try to punch Person B in the head, and Person B simply has to block it and counter. High level sparring is free sparring (自由組手; jiyuukumite), where you can attack and block as you like. This is the same as at tournaments. The third part of a karate test is a kata. A kata is a 30-60 second routine that one memorizes in advance. Karate tournaments are much like karate tests. There are two categories, kumite and kata. Men only fight men, women only fight women, kids only fight kids their own age, and for adults there are no age classes. There are no weight classes, there are no skill classes, opponents are chosen randomly, and it's single elimination. There are categories for individuals and teams (3 people per team). In Akita, there are only two tournaments a year: the All-Akita Tournament, and the All-Tohoku Tournament. Our rank starts at 10 kyuu, white belt, and we work our way down to 3 kyuu, brown belt. After about 3 years, if things go well, one can obtain a black belt, and become 初段 (shodan) -- literally, first degree black belt. After first degree black belt is second degree black belt, and so on. Adults don't use yellow, green, or purple belts -- we just go from white to brown. Anyhow, different branches of different martial arts all have their own color scheme. RankBelt color 10 kyuuwhite 9-8 kyuuyellow 7-6 kyuugreen 5-4 kyuupurple 3-1 kyuubrown shodan-black 2009-07-05.tohoku_taikai.ogv The kata here is Heian Godan. 2009 Tohoku Taikai. Hirosaki, Aomori. 青森県弘前市。 2009-09-13.akita_taikai.1586.ogv The kata here is Heian Nidan. 2009 Akita Taikai. 秋田県立武道館。 2009-09-13.akita_taikai.1588.ogv Kumite. 2009 Akita Taikai. 秋田県立武道館。

My Grandfather

28 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT

One of my pictures is in the 2009 JET Journal, page 189. The following is an essay I submitted to 2009 JET Journal. It was rejected. My Grandfather's Last Journey My grandfather died last June, and I didn't go to the funeral. It was too far away, too expensive. The truth is, I didn't want to go, though. Getting together after someone dies is a way to bring closure and to grieve, and no doubt that's important. But it's much more important to get together before the person dies. That's what we had done. In May, a month before my grandfather died, he came to Japan. His friends told him not to go, asked him to think of his failing health. But I think it was precisely because of his failing health that he insisted on going. The man loved to travel and be with his family, and to have that taken away is a burden I don't want to imagine. Neither did he, as it turns out. So, in May my grandfather came to Japan with my parents. The four of us went to Tokyo and Kyoto and Himeji. We worried, my parents and I did, that my grandfather might wander off somewhere and get lost. So when we got to the hotel, we gave him three hotel business cards -- one for his wallet, one for his jacket pocket, and one for his pants pocket. We worried because there are three things my grandfather wanted every day: coffee, the New York Times (or failing that, the International Herald Tribune), and to check his email. Every morning, he got up and tried to find these three things. Of course my grandfather spoke no Japanese, so watching him find a newspaper was a sight to see. In the train stations he walked from vendor to vendor asking whether they had a newspaper in English. Most of the vendors had no idea what he meant, but nobody was ever rude, and in any case he didn't give up until he found something to read. I clearly remember the day he died. I went to Yashima Junior High School, and when I checked my email after first period, there was the sad news. "Oh shit ... shit ..." I said, not loudly, but surely audible to the other teachers in the staff room. Nobody said anything. Not knowing what to do, I decided to take a walk through the hallways. This is a good strategy: when you're at a loss for words, go take a walk and look around. It will no doubt not solve your problem, but nobody would expect it to, anyway. Yashima is an old building. It turned 61 this year, and the tea lady remembers when she studied there, the year it was built. When she was a student, the building was heated by a stove in each classroom. Steam pipes were added later, and they weave through the hallways at head level. As is standard for buildings of that era, the exterior is drab concrete. Off-white paint is peeling, and the wooden gym floor is buckling. I walked through the hallways that morning trying to figure out how I felt. The school has character, and places with character have the quality that they color the memories you form there. This April, Yashima is moving to a new building, and I think the old one will be torn down. I can't help but imagine that the memories I have, what my grandfather meant to me, will somehow be taken away too. This doesn't make sense, but even so. In the hallway of Yashima there hangs a sign. The sign, which displays the school motto, reads, 「自分で決め　自分で歩く　自分の道。」. "Make your own choices. Walk your own pace. Choose your own path." I have always liked that motto, and it seems my grandfather did too. He loved to travel, and visiting Japan was his way of chasing his dreams, even in the end. Especially in the end. And that makes me smile.

Jinego Festival

06 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT

The annual Jinego Festival (月山祭り) was on Saturday and Sunday, September 5-6. Jinego (笹子) is a village in Chokai (鳥海町), Yurihonjo (由利本荘市), Akita (秋田県). 2009-09-05.jinego_matsuri.1561.ogv Men banging signs together. 2009-09-05.jinego_matsuri.1562.ogv Women often walk up with tea kettles of sake and give them a glass. You can see it near the end of this clip. 2009-09-05.jinego_matsuri.1563.ogv These guys are holding a tree. The tree was in someone's house when the festival started -- they brought it down a flight of stairs and out the front door. I don't know why. 2009-09-05.jinego_matsuri.1564.ogv In 2008, I helped carry this float. We had too much energy and almost injured several people and buildings. 2009-09-05.jinego_matsuri.1566.ogv Girls doing a traditional dance. In the background you can see Jinego's main street. 2009-09-05.jinego_matsuri.1571.ogv Boys playing drums. Sorry about the low resolution video -- it's for the kids' privacy.

Elementary school Japanese

08 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT

My junior high school students were overjoyed to find my Japanese study books. This month I'm reviewing elementary school 2nd grade kanji and grammar, using practice books for 7 year olds. In particular, Kumon Kanji Drill (くもんの小学ドリル国語漢字) books. There's a standardized kanji test, the kanji kentei (漢字検定), or kanken for short, that I wanna take with my students. Many foreigners studying Japanese take the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT), or in Japanese, 日本語能力試験 (Nihongo Noryoku Shiken). There are four levels, 4-kyuu (beginner) to 1-kyuu (expert). In 2010, a 5th level will be added. There are many good studying websites you can easily find. In particular, The JLPT Study Page has word, kanji, and phrase lists in Japanese and English. For kanji radicals, see All About Radicals or Kanji Radicals. There are two good Japanese study games for the Nintendo DS. First, 250 Mannin no Kanken (250万人の漢検) is a kanji quiz game. It's designed for Japanese kids taking the kanken, but works well for foreigners too. You can practice reading, writing, stroke order, and stroke count through simple quizzes. Second, Kanji Sonomama Rakubiki Jiten (漢字そのまま楽引き辞典) is a Japanese-English dictionary. You can look up words in English or Japanese, using the pen to write kanji. The cheapest electronic dictionaries cost $100 or more, and this game costs $40, so if you already own a DS it's a good buy. These lists are taken from the National Course of Study, written by the Ministry of Education (MEXT). Here are the 1st grade kanji (80字).一二三四五六七八九十百千日月火水木金土上下左右大中小手足目耳口人子女男名年山川林森田空雨天気夕花草竹犬虫貝石王玉力糸車音学校先生字文本村町赤白青円正早入出立休見。 Here are the 2nd grade kanji (160字). 春夏秋冬光風晴雲雪朝昼夜午明星野原岩谷海池公園東西南北時分週曜今元間親父母兄弟姉妹自友体毛頭顔首声心思考才言記話書読聞国語算数理科社会図画工作楽歌絵色紙黄黒形点丸線直角合計何答電教知万毎回半当番組交通道場地方京市里家寺店門室戸台汽船弓矢刀牛馬魚鳥鳴羽肉米麦茶食活用前後内外遠近多少古新太細強弱長高広同歩走行来帰止売買引切。 Here are the 3rd grade kanji (200字). 悪安暗医委意育員院飲運泳駅央横屋温化荷界開階寒感漢館岸起期客究急級宮球去橋業曲局銀区苦具君係軽血決研県庫湖向幸港号根祭皿仕死使始指歯詩次事持式実写者主守取酒受州拾終習集住重宿所暑助昭消商章勝乗植申身神真深進世整昔全相送想息速族他打対待代第題炭短談着注柱丁帳調追定庭笛鉄転都度投豆島湯登等動童農波配倍箱畑発反坂板皮悲美鼻筆氷表秒病品負部服福物平返勉放味命面問役薬由油有遊予羊洋葉陽様落流旅両緑礼列練路和。 Here are the 4th grade kanji (200字). 愛案以衣位囲胃印英栄塩億加果貨課芽改械害街各覚完官管関観願希季紀喜旗器機議求泣救給挙漁共協鏡競極訓軍郡径型景芸欠結建健験固功好候航康告差菜最材昨札刷殺察参産散残士氏史司試児治辞失借種周祝順初松笑唱焼象照賞臣信成省清静席積折節説浅戦選然争倉巣束側続卒孫帯隊達単置仲貯兆腸低底停的典伝徒努灯堂働特得毒熱念敗梅博飯飛費必票標不夫付府副粉兵別辺変便包法望牧末満未脈民無約勇要養浴利陸良料量輪類令冷例歴連老労録。 Here are the 5th grade kanji (185字). 圧移因永営衛易益液演応往桜恩可仮価河過賀快解格確額刊幹慣眼基寄規技義逆久旧居許境均禁句群経潔件券険検限現減故個護効厚耕鉱構興講混査再災妻採際在財罪雑酸賛支志枝師資飼示似識質舎謝授修述術準序招承証条状常情織職制性政勢精製税責績接設舌絶銭祖素総造像増則測属率損退貸態団断築張提程適敵統銅導徳独任燃能破犯判版比肥非備俵評貧布婦富武復複仏編弁保墓報豊防貿暴務夢迷綿輸余預容略留領。 In total, there are 1006 elementary school kanji. Here are the 6th grade kanji (181字). 異遺域宇映延沿我灰拡革閣割株干巻看簡危机揮貴疑吸供胸郷勤筋系敬警劇激穴絹権憲源厳己呼誤后孝皇紅降鋼刻穀骨困砂座済裁策冊蚕至私姿視詞誌磁射捨尺若樹収宗就衆従縦縮熟純処署諸除将傷障城蒸針仁垂推寸盛聖誠宣専泉洗染善奏窓創装層操蔵臓存尊宅担探誕段暖値宙忠著庁頂潮賃痛展討党糖届難乳認納脳派拝背肺俳班晩否批秘腹奮並陛閉片補暮宝訪亡忘棒枚幕密盟模訳郵優幼欲翌乱卵覧裏律臨朗論。

Pictures on cellphones

18 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Here's how to take images (maps, in my case) from your computer and put them on a Docomo FOMA P703iu cellphone. The phone can read microSD cards, and using a microSD/SD adapter, so can the computer. Of course, you can grab images from the internet using the phone directly. In that case you don't need a microSD card, but there's less storage and you pay for bandwidth. Put your microSD card in the adapter and put that in the computer. Make the following directory: /path_to_card/dcim/999_pana. Use any 3-digit number instead of 999. Choose an image to put on your phone. Convert it jpg. According to the FOMA P703iu manual, the maximum dimensions are 1632x1224 and the maximum image size is 700kBytes. To resize and convert, use a program like the GIMP or ImageMagick. According to the manual, the phone supports gif as well as jpg, but my phone can't display gif at normal resolution. Copy the jpg to /path_to_card/dcim/999_pana. Rename the jpg to STIL0010.JPG. Use any 4-digit number instead of 0010. Put the microSD card in your camera and try to view the picture. メニュー -> DataBOX -> My picture -> 6. microSD. The picture should show up. If the file is listed but not viewable, maybe your image format is wrong. If the file isn't listed, maybe it's too big, maybe the file name is wrong, or maybe the directory name is wrong.

Hot water

14 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT

The other day I came home after basketball practice and there was no hot water. Ten o'clock at night, and the onsen was closed. So, I took a freezing shower and caught a cold the next day. After that miserable experience, here's what I learned.... For cooking, my apartment has propane, and for hot water it has kerosene (灯油) -- the big kerosene tank in the garage. To get them filled, I have to call Sato Toshinobu Shoten (佐藤寿信商店), 39.106539, 140.291390, (0184) 59-2020. While we're on the topic of utilities, you can see from the above picture that my stove has a "fish drawer", a small oven for cooking fish. I never use it. In Japan, it is said that Western-style gas ovens were not uncommon decades ago, but now they're quite rare. Instead, we have fish drawers. And, the microwave has a heating element in the top of it, which isn't good enough for cookies but works well for frozen pizza. It snows a lot here in Chokai, but for some reason there's no central heating. I heat my apartment with a kerosene heater. They sell kerosene at the gas station and the hardware store. In the winter, I fill a can weekly. There is an electric heater too, but maybe electricity is much more expensive than kerosene.

Shurei Bow

03 Apr 2009 00:00:00 GMT

For formal ceremonies in Japanese schools, everyone bows at the beginning and end of the ceremony. This bow is called a shurei (修礼). First, everyone stands at attention. On the piano, a C chord is played. Next, a G7 chord is played, and everyone bows. Finally, a C chord is played, and everyone stands at attention again.

Romaji styles

04 Mar 2009 00:00:00 GMT

There are many ways of writing Japanese in romaji. In Japan, all elementary school 4th graders study Kunrei style romaji, which is approved by MEXT. However, when writing names of places and people, we usually use Hepburn style romaji. Here are some examples of Hepburn style romaji. ローマ字はスタイルいくつかがあります。日本では小学校4年生は訓令式ローマ字を勉強します。文部科学省は訓令式ローマ字を選びました。しかし、場所の名前や人の名前を書くときに、普通はヘバン式ローマ字を使われます。これはヘバン式ローマ字の例です。チ = chi. ちなつ = Chinatsu. 川内 = Kawauchi. シ = shi. 柴田 = Shibata. たかし = Takashi. オウ = o. こうた = Kota. 鳥海 = Chokai. 本荘 = Honjo. 佐藤 = Sato. オオ = o. 太田 = Ota. 大竹 = Otake. ジ = ji. 笹子 = Jinego. けんじ = Kenji. 藤原 = Fujiwara. フ = fu. 富士さん = Mt. Fuji. 三船 = Mifune. Actually, when writing names, we use something like the Hepburn style. But where Hepburn style romaji has characters like ' (Ken'etsu) and ō (Satō), we often simplify those and just use a-z, A-Z. For example, Kenetsu and Sato. 実は、名前書くときに、ヘバン式ローマ字はほとんど使います。ヘバン式ローマ字には、「'」（「Ken'etsu」）や「ō」（「Satō」）がありますけど、普通は、そのことをスキップをして、「a-z, A-Z」だけを使います。たとえば、「Kenetsu」や「Sato」。

Graduation songs

03 Mar 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Here are lyrics for some songs sung at elementary and junior high school graduation in Japan. Tabidachi no hi ni (旅立ちの日に) was written by the principal (小嶋登) and music teacher (坂本浩美) of 秩父市立影森中学校 in Saitama. SMAP's cover of Tabidachi no hi ni is very nice. Ai Kawashima released a different song with the same name, which could be confusing. 旅立ちの日に Tabidachi no hi ni 白い光の中に　山なみは萌えて遥かな空の果てまでも　君は飛び立つ限り無く青い　空に心ふるわせ自由を駆ける鳥よ　ふり返ることもせず勇気を翼にこめて　希望の風にのりこの広い大空に　夢をたくして懐かしい友の声　ふとよみがえる意味もないいさかいに　泣いたあのとき心通った　うれしさに抱き合って日よみんなすぎたけれど　思いで強く抱いて勇気を翼にこめて　希望の風にのりこの広い大空に　夢をたくして今　別れのとき飛び立とう　未来信じて弾む　若い　力信じてこの広い　この広い　大空に今　別れのとき飛び立とう　未来信じて弾む　若い　力信じてこの広い　この広い　大空に Shiroi hikari no naka ni yama nami wa moete Harukana sora no hate made mo kimi wa tobitatsu Kagiri naku aoi sora ni kokoro furuwase Jiyu o kakeru tori yo furi kaeru koto mosezu Yuki o tsubasa ni komete kibo no kaze ni nori Kono hiroi ozora ni yume o takushite Natsukashi tomo no koe futo yomigaeru Imi mo nai isakai ni naita ano toki Kokoro kayotta ureshisa ni daki atta hi yo Minna sugi takeredo omoi de tsuyoku daite Yuki o tsubasa ni komete kibo no kaze ni nori Kono hiroi ozora ni yume o takushite Ima wakare no toki Tobitato mirai shinjite Hazumu wakai chikara shinjite Kono hiroi kono hiroi ozora ni Ima wakare no toki Tobitato mirai shinjite Hazumu wakai chikara shinjite Kono hiroi kono hiroi ozora ni Furusato (ふるさと) is a traditional Japanese song that may be sung throughout the year. ふるさと Furusato うさぎ追いしかの山こふな釣りしかの川夢はいまもめぐりて忘れがたきふるさといかにいます父母つつがなしや友がき雨に風につけても重いいずるふるさと志を果たしていつの日にか帰らん山は青きふるさと水は清きふるさと Usagi oishi kano yama Kobuna tsurishi kano kawa Yume wa ima mo megurite Wasuregataki furusato Ika ni imasu chichi haha tsutsuganashi ya tomogaki Ame ni kaze ni tsuketemo Omoi izuru furusato Kokorozashi wo hatashite Itsu no hi ni ka kaeran Yama wa aoki furusato Mizu wa kiyoki furusato Kimi Ga Yo (君が代) is Japan's national anthem. 君が代 Kimi ga yo 君が代は千代に八千代にさざれ石のいわおとなりてこけのむすめで Kimi ga kayo wa Chi yo ni ya chi yo ni Sazare ishi no Iwa oto narite Koke no musume de Sakura (さくら) was written by Naotaro Moriyama (森山直太朗) in 2003. Here's a video of Moriyama singing the song. さくら Sakura 僕らはきっと待ってる君とまた会える日々をさくら並木の道の上で手を振り叫ぶよどんなに苦しい時も君は笑っているから挫けそうになりかけても頑張れる気がしたよ霞みゆく景色の中にあの日の歌が聴こえるさくら　さくら　今、咲き誇る刹那に散りゆく運命と知ってさらば友よ　旅立ちの刻変わらないその想いを今今なら言えるだろうか偽りのない言葉輝ける君の未来を願う本当の言葉移りゆく街はまるで僕らを急かすようにさくら　さくら　ただ舞い落ちるいつか生まれ変わる瞬間を信じ泣くな友よ　今惜別のとき飾らないあの笑顔で　さあさくら　さくら　いざ舞い上がれ永遠にさんざめく　光を浴びてさらば友よ　またこの場所で会おうさくら舞い散る道の上で Bokura wa kitto matteru Kimi to mata aeru hibi o Sakura namiki no michi no ue de Te o furi sakebu yo Donna ni kurushii toki mo Kimi wa waratteiru kara Kujikeso ni narikakete mo Ganbareru kigashita yo Kasumiyuku keshiki no naka ni Ano hi no uta ga kikoeru Sakura sakura ima sakihokoru Setsuna ni chiriyuku sadameto shitte Saraba tomo yo tabidachi no toki Kawaranai sono omoi o ima Ima nara ieru daro ka Itsuwari no nai kotoba Kagayakeru toki no mirai o negau Honto no kotoba Utsuriyuku machi wa maru de Bokura o sekasuyo ni Sakura sakura tada maiochiru Itsu ka umare kawaru toki o shinji Naku na tomo yo ima sekibetsu no toki Kazaranai ano egao de sa Sakura sakura iza maiagare Towa ni sanzameku hikari o abide Saraba tomoyo mata kono basho de ao Sakura maichiru michi no ue de Sayonara Tomoyo (さよなら友よ) was written by 阪田寛夫 and 黒沢吉徳. さよなら友よ Sayonara tomoyo 心を映して　空の色少し悲しく　光る朝別れの時が　今迫るさよなら友よ　さよなら友よ忘れまいこの日を　いつまでも何にも言わない　校舎さえ心ありげに　見える今日勇んで行けと　声がするさよなら友よ　さよなら友よ忘れまいこの日を　いつまでも草の芽伸び行く　春の道行手示して　浮かぶ雲別れの時が　今迫るさよなら友よ　さよなら友よ忘れまいこの日を　いつまでも Kokoro o utsushite sora no iro Sukoshi kanashiku hikaru asa Wakare no toki ga ima semaru Sayonara tomoyo sayonara tomoyo Wasuremai kono hi o itsu made mo Nani mo iwanai kosha sae Kokoro arike ni mieru kyo Isan de ike to koe ga suru Sayonara tomoyo sayonara tomoyo Wasuremai kono hi o itsu made mo Kusa no me nobi yuku haru no michi Yukute shimeshite ukabuku mo Wakare no toki ga ima semaru Sayonara tomoyo sayonara tomoyo Wasuremai kono hi o itsu made mo The Yurihonjo City Song (由利本荘市歌) is used for commencement, graduation, and various other events. The city website has PDFs of the vocal and piano sheet music. 由利本荘市歌 Yurihonjo City Song 時に添い歴史つらめき里をうるおし人をむすんで小吉川　海へと向かう水の道その海はせめぎあう世界へひらく先人の知恵に学んで今日を生きる la la la la la la ふるさとの四季おりおりに花はほほえみ風は薫って鳥海の　山きよらかに裾をひき頂きはめくるめく宇宙につづく子どもらとともに夢見て明日を創る la la la la la la aah aah Toki ni soi reikishi tsurameki Sato o uruoshi hito o musunde Koyoshigawa umi e to mukau mizu no michi Sono umi wa semegi au sekai e hiraku Senjin no chie ni manande kyo o ikiru La la la la la la Furusato no shiki oriori ni Hana wa hohoemi kaze wa kaotte Chokai no yama kiyo raka ni suso o hiki Itadaki wa mekurumeku uchuu ni tsudzuku Kodomora to tomo ni yume mite asu o tsukuru La la la la la la aah ahh 鳥海中学校校歌 Chokai Junior High School Song 鳥海の峰　　空に映えけだかき姿　わが誇り縄文の丘　　つつじ咲き出で歴史を胸に　よろこび学ぶすこやかに　すこやかに英知を磨きああ鳥海中学校理想に燃える若鮎躍る　子吉川清き流れぞ　わが鏡勤労の日々　汗さわやかに大地の恵み　永久に忘れじたくましく　たくましく体を鍛えああ鳥海中学校いのち輝くぶなの林の　やまどりは希望はばたく　わが未来文化薫りて　のびゆく町の夢語り合う　友情の和ようつくしく　うつくしく心一つにああ鳥海中学校明日を拓く Chokai no mine sora ni hae Keda kaki sugata waga hokori Jomon no oka tsutsuji sakiide Rekishi o mune ni yorokobi manabu Sukoyaka ni sukoyaka ni Eichi o migaki Ah ah chokai chuu gakkou risou ni moeru Wakaayu odoru koyoshigawa Kiyoki nagarezo waga kagami Kinro no hibi ase sayaka ni Daichi no megumi towa ni wasureji Takumashiku takumashiku Karada o kitae Ah ah chokai chuu gakkou inochi kagayaku Bunano hayashi no yamadori wa Kibo wa bataku waga mirai Bunka kaorite nobiyuku machi no Yumegatari au yujo no wayo Utsukushiku utsukushiku Kokoro hitotsu ni Ah ah chokai chuu gakkou ashita o hiraku 矢島中学校校歌一清く淀みなき小吉川の流れは我らの心を洗う耳を澄ませ聞けよあの深淵の響きを矢島中学の永久の教え二天の上原はきわまりなく学びの広野はつきることなし科学正義我らみないそしむところ矢島中学の強き信念三土に香りありふるさとあり伸びゆく我らの望みも豊か若葉萌ゆる八汐の木かげに思う矢島中学の窓は楽し四雲にそびえ立つ鳥海山白雪輝き我らをみがく仰げ進め希望の高峰をさして矢島中学の永久の使命

Going to the top of Akita

18 Feb 2009 00:00:00 GMT

The following is an essay I wrote for the Feb 2009 Hanabi, the Akita JET quarterly. I got up too early, put three rice balls, a chocolate bar, a bottle of water and a thermos of tea in my bag, and walked out the door. Conbini Sato wouldn't open for another hour. In Jinego there's only one convenience store and it was closed. The vending machines were open. So I bought two cans of coffee instead of sunblock. Forty-five minutes later, I arrived at Haraikawa, the trailhead. It was a beautiful April day. Maybe in Kisakata spring had arrived, but not here on the slopes of Mt. Chokai. The snowbanks by the road formed a tunnel. The mountain was sitting snow-covered, waiting patiently. Fifteen minutes later, Mr. Murayama arrived. He's the oldest teacher at my school and is somehow faster for it. He loves to hike and so do I. The trail up Mt. Chokai winds its way, zig-zagging over rocks and streams, but not when it's covered with snow. When it's covered with snow you can go straight to the top. I suppose you could turn, but your boots might lose traction. A hundred people were hiking that day, most of them with skis. Mr. Murayama and I weren't carrying skis, because we believe in the saying, "No pain, no pain." Still, we wanted to have fun going down, so we brought two pieces of heavy duty plastic. Calling them sleds would be an overstatement. We got to the top three hours later. Not a bad time, all things considered. I suppose you don't want to stop for long water breaks when, if you sit down, your butt gets cold. Like I said, it was a beautiful April day, but at the top it was windy. It was ridiculously windy and very cold too. So we quickly took some pictures, feeling pretty good about the ascent, and started back down. We couldn't use our sleds at the top because it was too steep. But a little way down we could, and in 10 minutes we slid back to the halfway point. I had assumed we would go up and down fast, maybe finishing with a late lunch in Yashima. But Mr. Murayama disagreed -- apparently it's traditional in Japan to have a large lunch when hiking. Mr. Murayama took out his stove, canned meat, tea, ramen, rice balls and chocolate, and gave half to me. I felt a little embarrassed, considering how little I brought, but that feeling soon passed and we enjoyed the bleak and lifeless, magnificent and pristine, scenery. We could see Yashima and Honjo to the north and the Sea of Japan to the west. After lunch and some more sledding, we got back to the cars. Mr. Murayama drove home, and I drove to the onsen to nurse my sunburned face. It was a bad sunburn that hurt even a week later before my face peeled and I grew a new one. But the mountain and onsen are still there. I'll be back to visit both, as soon as it snows a bit more.

Chokai schools

12 Feb 2009 00:00:00 GMT

If you want to see what my schools and students look like, try the school websites. They're in Japanese, but pictures are pictures. You can find a map using the listed latitude and longitude. Try Geohack or maps.google.com. Hitane Elementary School (直根小学校) 39.165510, 140.162719 Jinego Elementary School (笹子小学校) 39.109151, 140.289370 Kawauchi Elementary School (川内小学校) 39.189577, 140.193805 Chokai Junior High School (鳥海中学校) 39.181451, 140.194441 Yashima Junior High School (矢島中学校) 39.234190, 140.140507 Old Yashima Junior High School (古い矢島中学校) 39.225410, 140.135848 Chokai ALTs 2007-2010Douglas PerkinsNorth Dakota, USA 2005-2007Kevin KellyIreland 2004-2005Cisco DilgCalifornia, USA 2002-2004GregCalifornia, USA 2001-2002TracyCanada

Yurihonjo gyms

24 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Here are some gyms in Yurihonjo (由利本荘市), Akita (秋田県). You can find a map using the listed latitude and longitude. Try Geohack or maps.google.com. 鳥海町トレーニングセンター (Chokai Training Center) Near Momoya in Kawauchi. 39.187039, 140.187103. 矢島青少年ホーム (Yashima Seishonen Home) Next to the old Yashima Junior High School. 39.225121, 140.137361. 市民第二体育館 (Shimin Daini Gym) Behind Ozaki Elementary School, east of Honjo Park. 39.383844, 140.050138. 本荘体育館 (Honjo Gym) Kyuushimin Daini Gym. 旧市民体育館。 Next to Minami Junior High School. 本荘南中学校近い。 39.38028903, 140.04264722. --> セミナーハウス (Seminar House) Behind Ozaki Elementary School, east of Honjo Park. 39.383336, 140.049875. 石脇体育館 (Ishiwaki Gym) Northern Honjo. 39.398574, 140.047633. 本荘由利広域交流センター (Honjo-Yuri Kouiki Kouryuu Center) Near Higashi Junior High School in Honjo. 39.375624, 140.063134. --> 本荘由利市ソフトボール場 (Yurihonjo Softball Stadium) Between Highway 107 and Highway 108, near the industrial area. 39.35239069, 140.08208807. --> 由利本荘市総合体育館 (Yurihonjo Sougou Gym) Very large gym in Ouchi. 39.441896, 140.087869. 岩城総合体育館 (Iwaki Sougou Gym) Near the Town Office in Iwaki. 39.543393, 140.057423.

Chokai stores

19 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Here are some businesses in Chokai Town (鳥海町), Yurihonjo (由利本荘市), Akita (秋田県). You can find a map using the listed latitude and longitude. Try Geohack or maps.google.com. ちひろ (Chihiro) Restaurant, open by appointment. At the traffic light in Jinego. 39.1081, 140.291239. ほっといんレストラン (Hottoin Restaurant) Ramen restaurant. At the Jinego Rest Area. 39.109561, 140.291593. ももや (Momoya) Soba restaurant. Next to Sairando on the 108 in Kawauchi. 39.188594, 140.188806. 横丁 (Yokocho) Ramen restaurant. Across from the Chokai Town Office in Kawauchi. 39.194522, 140.191252. こうや (Kouya) Ramen restaurant. Across from the Yashima Max Value. 39.227138, 140.148656. どん平 Soba restaurant. Between Yashima Station and Lawson's. 39.231173, 140.141017. 矢島日新館 (Yashima Nishinkan) Community center. Behind Yashima Station. 39.231593, 140.139461. --> 清吉そば (Seikichi Soba) Ramen restaurant. Near the Lawson's by Honjo Park. 39.382764, 140.049527. 一平 (Ippei) Restaurant. Near the Honjo Board of Education. 39.38606, 140.137138. --> 一よし (Ichiyoshi) Expensive restaurant. Near Hotel Iris in Honjo. 39.39094, 140.040887. --> 鳥海荘 (Chokaiso) Onsen and hotel. Near Okojoland Ski Area in Hitane. 39.168199, 140.133373. フォレスタ鳥海 (Foresta Chokai) Onsen and hotel. 10 minute drive from Yashima Ski Area. 39.170567, 140.110668. --> (Hotel Masaka) Hotel. Near Okojoland Ski Area in Hitane 39.169293, 140.130189. --> Aコープ (A-Coop) Grocery store. At the traffic light in Jinego. 39.108248, 140.290786. ほっといん直売所 (Hottoin Chokai) Vegetable store. At the Jinego Rest Area. 39.109561, 140.291593. Saison Fugetsu (セソンふーげつ) Dessert store. Near Yashima Station. 矢島駅近い。 39.228805, 140.140706. 菜らんど (Sairando) Vegetable store. Next to Momoya on the 108 in Kawauchi. 39.18876, 140.18847. BARBER ONUMA Barber. Across from the Chokai Town Office in Kawauchi. 39.194082, 140.191316. Conbini Sato Convenience store. Highway 108 in Jinego. 39.13556,140.268631. --> Daily Yamazaki Convenience store. Highway 108 in Kawauchi. 39.200311, 140.190007.

Japanese grammar

15 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Junior high school English teachers in Japan use this grammar vocabulary on a regular basis. It may be useful to know in order to explain mistakes to students. See also Jim Breen's WWWJDIC, goo dictionary, and Tae Kim's Japanese guide to Japanese grammar. EnglishKanjiKana Sentence文ぶん Grammar文法ぶんぽう Composition作文さくぶん Noun名詞めいし Pronoun代名詞だいめいし Proper noun固有名詞こゆうめいし Relative pronoun関係代名詞かんけいだいめいし Adjective形容詞けいようし Adverb副詞ふくし Particle助詞じょし Verb動詞どうし Helping verb助動詞じょどうし Participle分詞ぶんし Preposition前置詞ぜんちし Conjunction接続詞せつぞくし Gerund動名詞どうめいし Object目的語もくてきご Question word疑問詞ぎもんし Reference term指示語しじご Comparative比較級ひかくきゅう Superlative最上級さいじょうきゅう Same rank同格どうかく Past tense過去形かこけい Present tense現在形げんざいけい Future tense未来形みらいけい Normal form原形げんけい Perfect form完了形かんりょうけい Continuous form進行形しんこうけい Singular form単数形たんすうけい Plural form複数形ふくすうけい

ESL flash cards

24 Aug 2008 00:00:00 GMT

I compiled many flash cards and art for teaching elementary school English in Japan. Many files are Creative Commons licensed (if written in the file itself) or in the public domain (see the COPYING file), so you can modify them and redistribute them, if you like. The flash cards cover many topics: days of the week, months, weather, fruit, emotions, family members, greetings, pizza, school rooms, buildings, vehicles, and more. For each topic, there are A4 flash cards and karuta cards. You probably want the PDFs. If you want to edit the files, download the original images or the odg files. You can edit Open Document Graphics (odg) and Open Document Text (odt) files with OpenOffice, among other programs. OpenOffice is free. See also Clker, PD Clipart, and Wikimedia Commons. I find it disgusting that I can't include mp3s of The Beatles' "Hello Goodbye" or Eric Clapton's "Willie and the Hand Jive" on my website. These 40-year-old songs that I can use in my classroom, that I think you should use in yours, they are part of our history. They are part of our culture, but they're locked away from us, and for no good reason.

The price of oil

15 Aug 2008 00:00:00 GMT

The following is a letter I wrote that appeared in the Grand Forks Herald on August 15, 2008. The title given was, "Lower oil prices are no longer an option". The August 12 Herald carried an editorial about a supposed tradeoff between lower gasoline prices and reduced dependence on foreign oil ("Energy policy has a question at its core," Page A4). In reality, there is no tradeoff. No matter what we do, gasoline prices will keep going up. The world is running out of oil, global demand for oil is increasing, and there's nothing we can do to stop it. The resources in Alaska, North Dakota and offshore seem large, but in fact the amount of oil in those places is just a fraction of global demand. And developing those resources takes a decade, so they certainly won't help us any time soon. On the other hand, there are many good ways to deal with high oil prices. They all involve using less oil.

ALT Course of Study

03 Jun 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Two of my pictures are in the 2008 JET Journal, pages 95-96. The following is an essay I submitted to the 2008 JET Essay Contest (Japanese Language). It was rejected. ALTの練習課程ダグラス　パーキンス私は去年8月、小さいながらも居心地よい家を出て日本に来ました。自己紹介で、「日本語は上手じゃないですけど、英語は上手です。だから、みんなは英語の勉強をして、私は日本語の勉強をします」と私は言いました。自己紹介を5回しましたが、5回とも同じ事を言いました。何度も同じ事を言い続ければ、だんだんそうなると信じ込むようになります。私は毎日日本語の勉強をします。多くの方法を使います：本や教科書やカード、漢字プリントや会話やエッセイです。実は私はこのエッセイを書きましたが、一人で書いた訳ではありません。数ヶ月前、中学生と話して、「日本語でエッセイを書く。でも日本語は難しい。だからYou should help me with it.」と言いました。もしかしたら彼らにはそのアイデアが面白く聞こえたのかもしれません。彼らは「should」と「must」と同じ意味としてとらえたために「yes」と答えたかもしれません。つまり、私は「一緒にしましょう」と誘ったわけですが、彼らは「しなければならない」という責任や義務として理解したわけです。もしかしたら生徒は分からなくても、「yes」と答えたのかもしれません。私には分かりません。「私と生徒たちの努力が成功するだろうか？」と今思っています。今あなたが読めているということは成功したことになります。まあ、読めなくても私たちはとても楽しめたと思います。中学校で、日本語の学ぶことは興味深い事だと思います。もし時間に余裕があるなら、あなたも毎日使う機会のある日本語の勉強をされたらいかがですか。学校の先生方も喜んであなたの勉強を手伝ってくれるはずです。先日、教頭先生が私にポエムをプレゼントしてくれました。漢字の練習のため、私はそのポエムを手本にコピー、手書きしました。でもポエムの漢字はまったく分かりませんでした。今に至ってもそのポエムの意味は私にとって不可解です。辞典で漢字を調べるのは長い時間がかかり大変です。そこでお話を作りました。モンスターと魔術を使って戦う魔法使いの話です。その呪文は日本語でしたので、魔法使いは一生懸命日本語を勉強しなくてはなりませんでした。つまり私が言いたいのは、「Slime Forest」と「Number Crunchers」とファンタジーロールプレイ、双方の利用ということです。おそらくあなたは紙で書く練習が好きでないかもしれません。でも幸運な事に、学校には漢字練習に使えるニンテンドーDSの漢字ビデオゲームがあるはずです。僕はまだそのゲームを試してみたことはありませんが、試してみた人がいたら、メールを下さい。何か分からない日本語に出会うとき、あなたは廊下を歩き回り、生徒を見つけ、質問をします。でもその生徒はあなたから逃げてしまいます。しかし10秒後には、その生徒のクラスメイトたちがその分からない日本語を説明してくれます。生徒たちは最初、日本語で説明します。でも10秒後には、なんとか英語で説明してくれます。その時彼らの英語は正しい英語ではないかもしれません。しかしそれは大事な事じゃないと思います。生徒のアドバイスは後でチェックすることが無論大切ですが、「学生に助けを求めて質問することは有益な戦略です。」「たしかに、眺めてみればなにかが見つかるのが普通です。しかしそれが求めていた何かでは、かならずしもないかもしれません。」とトールキンは書きました。つまり日本語の宿題やCLAIR日本語テストの準備をするとき、その事実を私たちは忘れてはいけません。なにしろ生徒たちはまだ敬語などの文法を十分には習得していない訳ですから。日本語は色々な場所で勉強できます。自分の家で、中学校で、図書館で、Mr. Donutで、小学校で。小学校では、一年生は優しいですが、大変です。ALTと一緒に折り紙したり、絵を描いたり、遊んだりすることは大好きですが、自分の言っていることがALTに通じないことを気付きません。子供たちは大学で勉強したテキストの日本語では話しませんので、ちょっと大変です。その結果、私は二つの日本語を勉強しています。ひとつはですます体や敬語の日本語で、もうひとつは動詞がなくてもいい、1・2語文の日本語です。一年生と話す時ですます体を使えば、子供たちは私が言ったことを原形でリピートします。つまり、子供たちは動詞の変形をしてくれます。うれしい動詞活用サービスです。 ALTは学生と日本語で話してはいけないと言われています。時々そうではありませんが、ほとんどの場合において真実です。もちろん、ALTは少しどころか、全く日本語を教室で使いません。また、ALTが日本語を使えば、何人かの学生は日本語だけで話したがるでしょう。それはよくないことです。ですから、私は度々いくつかのトピックに生徒たちを引きつけるために、ほんの少し日本語を交えながら話します。間もなく、自分が話していることが分からなくなり、英語で話さなければならくなります。それでも、私の戦略はいつも上手くいくとは限りません。佐藤君というある優しい学生は、教室以外では決して私に英語で話さないことを人生の目標に決めました。しかし、ある日私たちは互いに中国語で挨拶をしましたから私は楽観的です。一方、もう一人の同姓の佐藤君は恥ずかしがり屋です。でも、「趣味は何ですか」と私は佐藤君に聞いて、彼は少しリラックスしました。先月、「佐藤君の趣味はバスケット」と言うのを見てから、今では「NBAでは誰がナンバーワンフォワードか」を一緒に論じています。クリーブランド・キャバリアーズのレブロン・ジェームズです。お互いの共通の興味を知らなければ、私にとって最初に紹介した佐藤君は、二番目に紹介した佐藤君と同じくらい離れた存在です。つまり、もしあなたが全くコミュニケーションをとらなければ、何を言語で話すかはあまり問題ではありません。ですから、昼食時間、バスケット練習、ブラスバンドクラブでチェロを弾いている時、何人かの生徒たちと私は日本語と英語の両方を使って話します。英語と日本語の程よい組み合わせで話すことによって、その彼も英語と日本語でもっと会話ができるために準備をするようになります。ここでの目的はコミュニケーションです。コミュニケーションはとても大切だと考えます。とりわけ、コミュニケーションは海外旅行、学校生活、親善、国際交流、エッセイの執筆、龍と会話、15小節をどの楽器が演奏するか尋ねたり、空手で新しい方を習うなど好奇心の真髄です。コミュニケーションはおそらく、いいえ、きっと楽しいですから。 ALT Course of Study Douglas Perkins Last August, I left my comfortable little home and came to Japan. In my self-introduction, I said "I don't speak Japanese very well, but for the classroom maybe my English is quite good. So, you will study English, and I will study Japanese." I gave my self-introduction only five times, but perhaps if you say something enough times you start to believe it. I study Japanese every day and in many ways: books, flashcards, writing drills, conversations, and essays. This essay was written by me, but certainly not me alone. Several months ago I told some junior high school students they should help me work on it. Maybe they thought it sounded interesting. Or maybe there was a translation error with the word "should" -- sometimes "should" is a command, but other times it's an invitation. Or maybe they simply said "yes" without understanding. I don't know. Sometimes I wonder whether our collective effort was a success. If you're reading this, then perhaps it was. Even if you aren't, we enjoyed it. Studying Japanese at junior high schools is an interesting thing. If you have some extra time, why not spend it learning a language that you use every day? Other teachers will happily help you with your studies. For example, one time the vice principal gave me a poem. I copied the poem for kanji practice, but I didn't know the kanji. To this day I have no idea what the poem meant. Of course, looking up kanji takes a long time, so I made up a translation. It was about a wizard fighting monsters with magic, but the spell's words were in Japanese, so the wizard had to work very hard. I guess I'm saying it was a cross between Slime Forest, Number Crunchers, and fantasy role playing. Perhaps you don't like practicing on paper. Fortunately, there's a kanji video game for the Nintendo DS that one can use to practice kanji at school too. I haven't tried this yet. If you do, please email me. And when you don't understand something, wander the halls until you find a student. The student will run away. Then, ten seconds later the student's class will be explaining the Japanese you don't understand. They'll explain ... in Japanese. And ten seconds after that they'll figure out how to say it all in English. It may not be proper English, but I think that's not a problem. Asking students for help is a useful strategy, though it's important to double check their advice. As Tolkien said, "You always find something, if you look, but it is not always quite the something you were after." This fact should be borne in mind when doing Japanese homework and CLAIR Japanese tests. After all, kids may have not learned such grammar (honorifics) yet. Japanese can be studied in many places: at home, exciting classes at the library, Mr. Donut, junior high school, and elementary school. At elementary school, first grade students are friendly and frustrating. They love to do origami or draw pictures or play, but they cannot tell when you don't understand what they're saying. This is challenging because they simultaneously use Japanese and basic English, but not the Japanese taught to foreigners at the university. Consequently, I know two Japaneses. On the one hand, keigo and masu and desu verb endings, and on the other hand, one- and two-word sentences, verbs optional. If you use desu and masu with first graders, they will repeat what you said except in direct form. It's like a happy and free conjugation service. It may be remarked that one should not speak in Japanese with the students. Most of the time, this is true, but sometimes it isn't. Of course, in the classroom there is little or no role for Japanese. Also, there is a risk that if the ALT uses Japanese, some students will speak to the ALT only in Japanese. This is no good. So, I often use just enough Japanese to get them hooked on some topic. After a while, I will not understand something, so we will have to start using English. Even so, my strategy does not always work. One friendly student, Sato-kun, has decided it is his goal in life to never, ever, speak to me in English outside the classroom... Although, the other day we greeted each other in Chinese, so there is yet hope. On the other hand, another student, Sato-kun, is very shy. Yet, when I asked him, "Shumi wa nan desu ka?", he relaxed a little. After finding out that his hobby is watching basketball, we now regularly argue about who the best forward in the NBA is. It's LeBron James. Without finding that common interest between us, Sato #1-kun would be as distant from me as Sato #2-kun. In short, if you aren't communicating at all, it simply doesn't matter in what language you would speak if you were to do so. So, during lunch or at basketball practice or when playing cello with the brass band, some of the students and I speak to each other in both English and Japanese. By talking in a reasonable mix of Japanese and English, we become prepared to talk more, later, in Japanese and English. The aim here is communication, which I think is very important. After all, communication is at the heart of our interests, be it for travel abroad or school or friendship, cultural exchange, writing essays, speaking with dragons, asking what instruments play in measure fifteen, or learning a new form in karate. Or maybe, mostly, because it's a lot of fun.

Continued growth

27 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT

The following is a letter I wrote that appeared in the Grand Forks Herald on April 27, 2008. The title given was, "World can't sustain continued growth". Brett Narloch of the North Dakota Policy Council wrote, "Sustainable development is nothing more than socialism by another name." ("'Socialism by another name' at UND," Page A4, April 22). Narloch is wrong. I don't know the group he mentions at UND; it doesn't matter. What matters is this: when you have increasing demand for resources that are running out and can't reasonably be replaced, you're setting yourself up for disaster. That's a simple fact. Sustainable development says to develop along lines that work with this fact. For instance, continued growth is not sustainable. You run out of things such as oil, farmland, water and clean air. Unsustainable development is ... unsustainable. That means it won't work later, even if it does now. Let's face development with our heads on straight so we don't get surprised at where we end up.

Nanoblogger plugin

29 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT

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