where cider meets condensed milk: Himawari Love at the Institute

where cider meets condensed milk

Saturday, August 05, 2006

Himawari Love at the Institute

What can you do in Rinku Town? Perhaps some shopping at the famous outlet mall? A visit to the biggest AEON shopping center in the world *coughwesternjapancough*? Perhaps some studying with 50 of your JET acquaintances at the Kansai International Center Language Institute, which will only set you (or the ministry of education) back $3000 for 2 weeks? Fireworks on the beach, even though the airport is a just few kilometres away? Let's do all of the above! And perhaps toss in a light illumination show on the pier as well-- Kansai airport is already sinking into the ocean, so might as well try to distract the pilots on purpose. Rinku may be ready for hordes of outlet shoppers and international students, but I doubt it can accomodate an errant 747.

At my schools, special ed classes are called Himawari, or "sunflower". This is A class, and we can pretend the A stands for Amazing, Attractive, and Awesome, but I'm pretty sure it's the last grade we would have received in Advanced Nihongo. We all had to clear a minimum to even be accepted into the course, but I felt like I was struggling all the time, and kept wondering what I've been doing the past 2 years if there are so many things I still can't express properly. I'm very motivated to get back on the studying boat now, if only to shake that sunflower feeling. Me talk pretty one day...

4 Canadians + 3 Americans + 1 Kiwi= Himawari love. IanNova, Rando the Lonely Cowboy, my training room buddy Rafael, Speedytalker Angela, People-Watcher ChrisScotia, Ian-with-an-AI, D-san, Furuya-sensei, me. The teachers rotated through, so we mostly had this woman and Numaguchi-sensei, who was completely wacky/manic/off-the-wall. There was also an older woman who taught us keigo (polite/formal Japanese), who would ask us a question, and then sit on the edge of her chair, shaking, fluttering her hands, hyperventilating, and stage-whispering the correct answer to us until we got it right. Hello, contact anxiety!

Chris, one-half of my Nova Scotia posse, and responsible for many good hours of conversation at Starbucks and some wicked freestyle karaoke.

Wales/HongKong Serena and Venezuela/Michigan Karina and I demonstrate shadow-puppet gang symbols. I think I'm trying for "the goose."

Where the party at? Floor 15! Singapore Julia, Newjoysey Julia, Rani from Oz, me, Max from the UK. Most of us went out for an all-nighter in Osaka on Saturday, ending up at Club PURE, which blatantly wasn't. I haven't seen so many sketch foreigners since being in Phuket, but at least none of the Osaka guys had Thai teen-glamour-model hookers hanging on their arms. While waiting for the first train back, Serena and I were standing in front of a poster for a host bar, trying to choose the best one of the 35 pictures. But with every single one sporting an elaborate mullet, and with prettier earrings than I'll ever own, none looked too appealing. During the week I also met up with lovely April from my Thailand trip, acting as a buffer on a crazy-expensive dinner and karaoke cafe evening with a lawyer she'd met the week before, which predictably was bizarre all around.

We all prepared speeches for the last day of class, and I think I finally understand why my kids trip up on the easiest words and mess up even when they've been practicing for days. Then again, maybe the thin guise of rehearsal amidst the cacophony of karaoke wasn't the best prep strategy after all. Also, when you've been putting your all into writing something in a foreign language, and then the teacher can't stop complimenting the stick-figure drawings on your visual aides, you know you're only one step short of hearing "Well, have you considered learning something easier... like Spanish? Or algebra?"

posted by Raychaa @ 8:51 AM

1 comments:

At 1:00 AM, Anonymous said…

HP in the house (or is that houze????)....you'll be home soon! hopefully customs is short so you can maximize time at the mall!