Sorry it's been a while since I've done an update. It's been a bit of a crazy month. Since returning from Japan, I have been teaching English Camp on my own for three weeks. English camp is during the winter vacation and its kind of like summer school, only more fun and all about english. So, I would see 4 different groups of 8 students a day and I would play games, do activities and discuss the stories they were reading on the computer program they use. The whole point was to use story telling to get the children reading, writing, and most importantly speaking English. Anyway, it has been fun but a lot of work because I have to come up with my own lesson without any curriculum or text book every day. Add to that that I'm leaving for Thailand tomorrow, and its been a little bit a stressful week! Actually, Sarah is already on the plane making her way there, so it definitely feels real now. In two days, I'll be in the sun and heat of Bangkok.
So instead of thinking of something to write and talk about, I thought I would just put up some of the stories my 5th and 6th grade students have written in my class. They are actually pretty clever and I'm proud because their English has come a long way. Here's three that I like the most...as you'll see these kids love drama!
"Two Dragons"
Once upon a time there was a good dragon and a bad dragon that lived in a cave. The bad dragon ate all of the people, but the good dragon helped all of the people. One day the bad dragon and the good dragon were fighting because they both wanted a cake. The cake looked delicious. The bad dragon won. So he ate the cake, but it was very very very hot. So he was dead. All of the people and the good dragon were very happy.
"Elephant Hero"
Once upon a time there was a lion and a tiger that lived in a cave. The tiger was very sleepy and hungry. So he told a lie to the lion that he was very sick. The lion went out to the jungle to the other animals. The lion asked the other animals for help. The other animals went to the cave to help the tiger. But the tiger wasn't sick. He was lying. He was hungry so he ate all of the animals. Then one day, the elephant heard about the tigers lie and he was very angry. He went to the cave and the tiger was asleep. The elephant sat on the tiger and killed him. THE END.
"The Opposite Frog"
Once upon a time, there was a mother frog and a son frog. The son frog was very bad. He always did the opposite of what he was told to do. Then one day the mother frog was very sick and dying. She wanted to be buried in the mountains, but she thought her son would do the opposite. So she told her son she wanted to be buried in the river. The son was very sorry to his mother because he thought he made her sick so he didn't do the opposite. The son buried his mother in the river. Now on rainy days, the frogs all cry because they think the mother's body is washing away.
...deep stuff, I know.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Discovering Kyoto...
After two days in Tokyo, my friends and I pulled ourselves out of bed at 5 a.m. to catch the early train to Kyoto. We were taking the Shinkansen (probably the world's fastest and most expensive train) which took us a quarter of the length of Japan in under 2.5 hours. When we arrived, our hostel was only a ten minute walk from Kyoto Central Station, so we dropped off our things and set off to see the city. I call this entry "Discovering Kyoto..." not because of the how it sounds, but because Kyoto is like a treasure chest of history and everywhere you go and everything you see in the city has something to discover from the past, which was truly incredible.
Kyoto is the former Imperial capital city and with over 2,000 Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines, it is considered the most well-preserved city in Japan. With just two full days to explore, we knew we couldn't come close to seeing everything we wanted to, but we made sure to pack as much sightseeing in as humanly possible, or at least we tried. Our first destination was the famous Kinkukuji Temple, also known as the Golden Temple. We hopped on the bus using our $5-a-day tourist bus pass (best deal in all of Japan) and made a quick stop at Nijo Castle on the way. Unfortunately, the castle was closed for the holidays which gave us a little bit of the "uh-oh" feeling that perhaps other things would be closed as well, but we didn't think too much about it. We got back on the bus and were dropped off at the entrance to the temple grounds. It was pretty crowded with tourists, which I was suprised about being that it was the middle of winter, but even with a lot of people walking around, it was suprisingly calm and quiet. This was a theme mostly everywhere in Japan (except on New Years Eve). It was worth the crowds though when we made our way down the pebble path and caught our first glimpse of the stunning Golden Temple, seemingly afloat on a beautiful pond in the middle of a lush zen garden. We snapped a few photos and then just hung around for a while, staring in awe at the magificence of the temple. It's hard to describe the difference between seeing something like the Golden Temple in a picture and the feeling you get when you're standing in front of it. It makes you feel insignificant and special at the same time. Like you're such a small part of this big, incredible world, yet you're also lucky enough to share in it all. It's the same feeling I had at the Colosseum, at the Grand Canyon, and at Sagrada Familia in Barcelona. And I think that feeling is exactly the reason that I love to travel so much.
After an exciting morning, we made our way back downtown and grabbed some delicious green tea ice cream which we had read so much about (and ended up having four more times during our trip). We then hopped back on the bus and set off to Nanzen-ji temple which was supposed to be a stunning temple set on expansive grounds on the side of a mountain. When we arrived, it was unfortunately closed, so I opened up my guide book to find something close by. I read about another temple that is off-the-beaten path for most tourists. We followed the directions and found ourselves in front of a gigantic wooden temple that looked it has never been restored. Next to the temple was a huge brick aqueduct that connected water through out the different temples in the area. We walked along the aqueduct and explored the temples for the rest of the afternoon. That evening, we headed to the downtown area, in search of some really good Japanese food. It was much more difficult than we expected because we were in the ritzy, commercial area. Everything was expensive or too westernized. After an hour of hunting around and asking locals where to go, we were finally directed to a little hole in the wall that didn't look like anything special at all on the outside. Inside was very simple too, but we were greeted with big smiles by the three chefs behind the Japanese style counter. We couldn't read the menu but the waiter helped us decide on Pork Ramien and we eagerly awaited our food. We watched as the chefs sliced the pork and floured the fresh noodles in front of our eyes, and we were served within 10 minutes. The ramien may very well have been the best soup I've ever had (no offense Mom, I really like your soup too)! The savory broth tasted like rich, creamy mushrooms and the pork and noodles just about melted in my mouth. We left the restaurant with full bellies and went home to rest up for another big day in Kyoto.
On Day 2, we began with brunch at a restaurant full of locals, inside of an old Japanese house. We asked for the lunch special (which my Lonely Planet book instructed) and the chef nervously asked us "cod? cod?" We nodded yes. I guess he wasn't sure if we would like it, but the beautifully displayed lunch of cod tempura, rice, miso soup and tofu was delightful. Next, we checked out some temples and museums downtown and then made our way to the old area of Gion, known for its antique streets and Geisha spottings. We wandered around for the entire afternoon, discovering beautiful houses, gardens, temples, shrines and even an enormous cemetery at the top of the hill, which over-looked the entire city. We had seen many people in kimonos but were disappointed that we did not have our Geisha spotting. Finally, as we were just on our way back to the bus stop, two Geisha's appeared at the end of the street we were walking down. We approached them and they happily took photos with us, and we bowed gratefully. I'm still not fully convinced that they were real Geisha's but I have no reason to think that they weren't! That night, we had sushi around the corner from our hostel (in which we had a fantastic japanese-style room where we slept on the floor) and then we finished the day off with a delicious sake tasting.
The next morning, we once again dragged ourselves out of bed at the crack of dawn and got on the Shinkansen to return to Tokyo for the New Year. This time around, the train ride was much more enjoyable. I didn't let myself doze off as I had on the way there, so I was able to take in the beautiful scenery of the Japanese country-side. About an hour from Tokyo, we had perhaps one of the best sightings of the trip, Mt. Fuji. For nearly a half hour, the train approached the mountain and the excitement continued to build and build, until we were right there in front of it. The bullet train got so close to the mountain that I honestly feel like I've been there. If I do go back to Japan, which I hope I will, I wont feel the need to visit Mt. Fuji (unless of course I decide to climb it) because we were so close. It was definitely one of the most beautiful mountains I've ever seen. After an great time in Kyoto, full of unique experiences and exciting discoveries, we headed back to Tokyo, still with New Years and a visit to the Imperial Palace ahead of us.
Kyoto is the former Imperial capital city and with over 2,000 Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines, it is considered the most well-preserved city in Japan. With just two full days to explore, we knew we couldn't come close to seeing everything we wanted to, but we made sure to pack as much sightseeing in as humanly possible, or at least we tried. Our first destination was the famous Kinkukuji Temple, also known as the Golden Temple. We hopped on the bus using our $5-a-day tourist bus pass (best deal in all of Japan) and made a quick stop at Nijo Castle on the way. Unfortunately, the castle was closed for the holidays which gave us a little bit of the "uh-oh" feeling that perhaps other things would be closed as well, but we didn't think too much about it. We got back on the bus and were dropped off at the entrance to the temple grounds. It was pretty crowded with tourists, which I was suprised about being that it was the middle of winter, but even with a lot of people walking around, it was suprisingly calm and quiet. This was a theme mostly everywhere in Japan (except on New Years Eve). It was worth the crowds though when we made our way down the pebble path and caught our first glimpse of the stunning Golden Temple, seemingly afloat on a beautiful pond in the middle of a lush zen garden. We snapped a few photos and then just hung around for a while, staring in awe at the magificence of the temple. It's hard to describe the difference between seeing something like the Golden Temple in a picture and the feeling you get when you're standing in front of it. It makes you feel insignificant and special at the same time. Like you're such a small part of this big, incredible world, yet you're also lucky enough to share in it all. It's the same feeling I had at the Colosseum, at the Grand Canyon, and at Sagrada Familia in Barcelona. And I think that feeling is exactly the reason that I love to travel so much.
After an exciting morning, we made our way back downtown and grabbed some delicious green tea ice cream which we had read so much about (and ended up having four more times during our trip). We then hopped back on the bus and set off to Nanzen-ji temple which was supposed to be a stunning temple set on expansive grounds on the side of a mountain. When we arrived, it was unfortunately closed, so I opened up my guide book to find something close by. I read about another temple that is off-the-beaten path for most tourists. We followed the directions and found ourselves in front of a gigantic wooden temple that looked it has never been restored. Next to the temple was a huge brick aqueduct that connected water through out the different temples in the area. We walked along the aqueduct and explored the temples for the rest of the afternoon. That evening, we headed to the downtown area, in search of some really good Japanese food. It was much more difficult than we expected because we were in the ritzy, commercial area. Everything was expensive or too westernized. After an hour of hunting around and asking locals where to go, we were finally directed to a little hole in the wall that didn't look like anything special at all on the outside. Inside was very simple too, but we were greeted with big smiles by the three chefs behind the Japanese style counter. We couldn't read the menu but the waiter helped us decide on Pork Ramien and we eagerly awaited our food. We watched as the chefs sliced the pork and floured the fresh noodles in front of our eyes, and we were served within 10 minutes. The ramien may very well have been the best soup I've ever had (no offense Mom, I really like your soup too)! The savory broth tasted like rich, creamy mushrooms and the pork and noodles just about melted in my mouth. We left the restaurant with full bellies and went home to rest up for another big day in Kyoto.
On Day 2, we began with brunch at a restaurant full of locals, inside of an old Japanese house. We asked for the lunch special (which my Lonely Planet book instructed) and the chef nervously asked us "cod? cod?" We nodded yes. I guess he wasn't sure if we would like it, but the beautifully displayed lunch of cod tempura, rice, miso soup and tofu was delightful. Next, we checked out some temples and museums downtown and then made our way to the old area of Gion, known for its antique streets and Geisha spottings. We wandered around for the entire afternoon, discovering beautiful houses, gardens, temples, shrines and even an enormous cemetery at the top of the hill, which over-looked the entire city. We had seen many people in kimonos but were disappointed that we did not have our Geisha spotting. Finally, as we were just on our way back to the bus stop, two Geisha's appeared at the end of the street we were walking down. We approached them and they happily took photos with us, and we bowed gratefully. I'm still not fully convinced that they were real Geisha's but I have no reason to think that they weren't! That night, we had sushi around the corner from our hostel (in which we had a fantastic japanese-style room where we slept on the floor) and then we finished the day off with a delicious sake tasting.
The next morning, we once again dragged ourselves out of bed at the crack of dawn and got on the Shinkansen to return to Tokyo for the New Year. This time around, the train ride was much more enjoyable. I didn't let myself doze off as I had on the way there, so I was able to take in the beautiful scenery of the Japanese country-side. About an hour from Tokyo, we had perhaps one of the best sightings of the trip, Mt. Fuji. For nearly a half hour, the train approached the mountain and the excitement continued to build and build, until we were right there in front of it. The bullet train got so close to the mountain that I honestly feel like I've been there. If I do go back to Japan, which I hope I will, I wont feel the need to visit Mt. Fuji (unless of course I decide to climb it) because we were so close. It was definitely one of the most beautiful mountains I've ever seen. After an great time in Kyoto, full of unique experiences and exciting discoveries, we headed back to Tokyo, still with New Years and a visit to the Imperial Palace ahead of us.
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Domo Arigato Tokyo!
I'm back in Korea after a week long trip to Japan that exceeded all expectations I had about the fascinating country. I think the thing that struck me the most, which is probably the same for most visitors, is the extreme contrast between the modern city of Tokyo and the rich history and tradition that the people still so strongly preserved. I was only there for 6 days, but there is soooo much to say about the sights, the food, the culture and all of my experiences, so today I'll write about Tokyo and then I'll do Kyoto sometime in the next few days.
I arrived in Tokyo by myself, as I had booked my ticket for a day later than my friends and would be meeting them at our hostel that evening. Coming into Tokyo Narita Airport, I was surprised at how efficiently I went through customs, and the train ticket office and on to the one hour train ride to Tokyo. I had expected to have problems finding my way through the chaos or communicating where I wanted to go, but everything was very calm and easy. After an hour on the train we arrived at Tokyo Metro Station and I got off to catch the subway to the hostel. It wasn't until then that the madness of Tokyo hit me. It was more crowded than anywhere I had ever been in New York and to make matters worse, I couldn't figure out which of the 5 different subway systems (yes 5, owned by all different companies) would get me to Akebonobashi Station, where I needed to go. But with all of my experience traveling alone, I remained calm and eventually figured it out. An hour later I was at our hostel, checked in and ready to get out and see the crazy city!
I had three hours to kill before meeting the girls, so I went straight to Harajuku, an area famous for the crazy youngsters who dress in elaborate punk rock costumes. There weren't as many of these characters there as I'd imagined, but it was a really cool shopping district filled with great clothes, cool people and lots of neon lights. After wandering around for an hour, I passed a big building that seemed like some kind of technology design center (it looked similar to a big Apple store). On the street there was a big screen TV showing a punk band playing, and I could hear that the music was coming from inside the building. I continued walking, but then thought, "why not go inside and check it out?" I was so glad I did. The crowd was full of gitty teenage girls, singing along with every Japanese word that came out of the lead singers mouth. It was such a Tokyo pop moment, and that's when I first really felt like I was in Japan. After the set was over, I headed back to the hostel to meet the girls and we decided to find a Kaiten-Sushi restaurant for dinner. Kaiten-Sushi is a type of restaurant where the sushi is placed on a conveyor belt and you pay for each plate you take. Most plates are between 100 and 300 yen ($1-$3) so you end up with a pile of plates by the end. We found one in Shinjuku, in downtown Tokyo, and tasted our first sushi in Japan. The eel, tuna and salmon were all out of this world, better than any sushi I had tried before. After a long and exhausting day, we went back to the hostel and prepared for a 5:30am wakeup, in order to catch the Shinkansen, the famous bullet train, to Kyoto.
Japanese punk rock band
Kaiten-sushi...sushi on a conveyor belt!
Shinjuku, downtown Tokyo
After two exhausting days in Kyoto (which I'll describe later in the week), we left historic Japan behind and made our way back to the center of technology. What better place to bring in the New Year than in the middle of Tokyo? On New Years day, we continued our sight seeing, making stops in the old quarters of Asukasa, which is full of temples and souvenir shops, and then tried to see the view from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building, but it turned out that it was closed, so we had to go back the next day. We went back to the hostel, allowing several hours to relax and get ready for the big night. We started the celebration off at our hostel, where they hosted a pre-party and we hung out with our new friends from Australia, England, Spain and New Zealand. By 10 p.m. we were all feeling "electric" as Pau from Barcelona put it and we decided it was time to head out to start the main event. We went to Shibuya Crossing, the intersection famous for having over 2 million people cross it everyday. We had specifically decided to go there over the clubs in Roppongi because we wanted to meet Japanese people rather than just run into foreigners at the clubs, and we were soooo happy with our choice! Standing in the crossing waiting for the countdown, we met so many interesting Japanese people. From Harajuku girls to Tokyo breakdancers, to college students who taught us to countdown from ten and say Akemaste Omeneto (Happy New Year)! We had a great night partying and wandering the streets meeting tons of different people, doing as the locals do.
Meeting some characters on NYE
Countdown in Shibuya Crossing
After New Years, we had two more days and I was determined to see as much as possible. It was easier said than done, because on Thursday, the city was completely dead as Japanese celebrate quietly at home with their family, but we managed to find some great sushi and went to the Government building where the observation deck was open. On our last day, I wanted to go to the Imperial Palace and I had heard that January 2nd was one of two days out of the year that the royal family was there. We decided to get up early and go, but had no expectations of any royal sightings. But when we arrived, we were stunned to seeing literally hundreds of thousands of people being herded through the massive gates, into the palace grounds. My friend Nat guesstimated that there were "at least a million people" but I convinced her that one-twentieth of Tokyo's population could not fit inside, and we eventually agreed that it was probably more like 20,000-30,000. Still, it was a lot of people! And to our suprise and pleasure we were some of the only foreigners! We were coralled through the gates and after about 45 minutes of slow, silent, zombie-like walking we ended up in the main courtyard, waiting in front of a large glass window of the palace. We still didn't know what to expect. It was eerily quiet for the amount of people that we stood with, and it was a perfect example of the reserved, quiet nature of the Japanese people. After about 10 minutes of waiting, the Emperor and Royal family appeared behind the glass and a faint sigh emerged from the subdued crowd. Everyone began waving their paper flags proudly, but no one clapped or yelled or jumped up and down. The royal family waved and then gave a brief speech (in Japanese of course) and then retreated back into the palace and it was over. We were all amazed. It was truly a magical ending to the trip; the icing on the cake. Japan was fantastic and I hope I get a chance to return and see more of the fascinating country.
More to come soon about Kyoto. In the mean time, here are my pics: http://picasaweb.google.com/lcurrie711
I arrived in Tokyo by myself, as I had booked my ticket for a day later than my friends and would be meeting them at our hostel that evening. Coming into Tokyo Narita Airport, I was surprised at how efficiently I went through customs, and the train ticket office and on to the one hour train ride to Tokyo. I had expected to have problems finding my way through the chaos or communicating where I wanted to go, but everything was very calm and easy. After an hour on the train we arrived at Tokyo Metro Station and I got off to catch the subway to the hostel. It wasn't until then that the madness of Tokyo hit me. It was more crowded than anywhere I had ever been in New York and to make matters worse, I couldn't figure out which of the 5 different subway systems (yes 5, owned by all different companies) would get me to Akebonobashi Station, where I needed to go. But with all of my experience traveling alone, I remained calm and eventually figured it out. An hour later I was at our hostel, checked in and ready to get out and see the crazy city!
I had three hours to kill before meeting the girls, so I went straight to Harajuku, an area famous for the crazy youngsters who dress in elaborate punk rock costumes. There weren't as many of these characters there as I'd imagined, but it was a really cool shopping district filled with great clothes, cool people and lots of neon lights. After wandering around for an hour, I passed a big building that seemed like some kind of technology design center (it looked similar to a big Apple store). On the street there was a big screen TV showing a punk band playing, and I could hear that the music was coming from inside the building. I continued walking, but then thought, "why not go inside and check it out?" I was so glad I did. The crowd was full of gitty teenage girls, singing along with every Japanese word that came out of the lead singers mouth. It was such a Tokyo pop moment, and that's when I first really felt like I was in Japan. After the set was over, I headed back to the hostel to meet the girls and we decided to find a Kaiten-Sushi restaurant for dinner. Kaiten-Sushi is a type of restaurant where the sushi is placed on a conveyor belt and you pay for each plate you take. Most plates are between 100 and 300 yen ($1-$3) so you end up with a pile of plates by the end. We found one in Shinjuku, in downtown Tokyo, and tasted our first sushi in Japan. The eel, tuna and salmon were all out of this world, better than any sushi I had tried before. After a long and exhausting day, we went back to the hostel and prepared for a 5:30am wakeup, in order to catch the Shinkansen, the famous bullet train, to Kyoto.
Japanese punk rock band
Kaiten-sushi...sushi on a conveyor belt!
Shinjuku, downtown TokyoAfter two exhausting days in Kyoto (which I'll describe later in the week), we left historic Japan behind and made our way back to the center of technology. What better place to bring in the New Year than in the middle of Tokyo? On New Years day, we continued our sight seeing, making stops in the old quarters of Asukasa, which is full of temples and souvenir shops, and then tried to see the view from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building, but it turned out that it was closed, so we had to go back the next day. We went back to the hostel, allowing several hours to relax and get ready for the big night. We started the celebration off at our hostel, where they hosted a pre-party and we hung out with our new friends from Australia, England, Spain and New Zealand. By 10 p.m. we were all feeling "electric" as Pau from Barcelona put it and we decided it was time to head out to start the main event. We went to Shibuya Crossing, the intersection famous for having over 2 million people cross it everyday. We had specifically decided to go there over the clubs in Roppongi because we wanted to meet Japanese people rather than just run into foreigners at the clubs, and we were soooo happy with our choice! Standing in the crossing waiting for the countdown, we met so many interesting Japanese people. From Harajuku girls to Tokyo breakdancers, to college students who taught us to countdown from ten and say Akemaste Omeneto (Happy New Year)! We had a great night partying and wandering the streets meeting tons of different people, doing as the locals do.
Meeting some characters on NYE
Countdown in Shibuya CrossingAfter New Years, we had two more days and I was determined to see as much as possible. It was easier said than done, because on Thursday, the city was completely dead as Japanese celebrate quietly at home with their family, but we managed to find some great sushi and went to the Government building where the observation deck was open. On our last day, I wanted to go to the Imperial Palace and I had heard that January 2nd was one of two days out of the year that the royal family was there. We decided to get up early and go, but had no expectations of any royal sightings. But when we arrived, we were stunned to seeing literally hundreds of thousands of people being herded through the massive gates, into the palace grounds. My friend Nat guesstimated that there were "at least a million people" but I convinced her that one-twentieth of Tokyo's population could not fit inside, and we eventually agreed that it was probably more like 20,000-30,000. Still, it was a lot of people! And to our suprise and pleasure we were some of the only foreigners! We were coralled through the gates and after about 45 minutes of slow, silent, zombie-like walking we ended up in the main courtyard, waiting in front of a large glass window of the palace. We still didn't know what to expect. It was eerily quiet for the amount of people that we stood with, and it was a perfect example of the reserved, quiet nature of the Japanese people. After about 10 minutes of waiting, the Emperor and Royal family appeared behind the glass and a faint sigh emerged from the subdued crowd. Everyone began waving their paper flags proudly, but no one clapped or yelled or jumped up and down. The royal family waved and then gave a brief speech (in Japanese of course) and then retreated back into the palace and it was over. We were all amazed. It was truly a magical ending to the trip; the icing on the cake. Japan was fantastic and I hope I get a chance to return and see more of the fascinating country.
Asakusa area
View of Tokyo city with Mt. Fuji behind
Making our way to greet the Emperor!
The Emperor of Japan and Royal Family
View of Tokyo city with Mt. Fuji behind
Making our way to greet the Emperor!
The Emperor of Japan and Royal FamilyMore to come soon about Kyoto. In the mean time, here are my pics: http://picasaweb.google.com/lcurrie711
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