"Crunky Nude Ball", anyone? Or a pancake milkshake?

Do either of these new Japanese products need ANY explanation? I mean, obviously they were created to fulfill a need in society (...weren't they?!). Sorry- the title of the milkshake is not "pancake" but "hotcake" milkshake...hmmm, that is a nice rhyme...there may be a poem in that! Except in Japan "Hotcake" is pronounced "hot-to-ca-kie" with four syllables, so it would be "hot-to ca-kie mir-ru-ku-sha-kie"!

Summer is a-comin' in...Loud, sing cu-ckoo!

Happy Easter to one and all. I woke up very early this morning and decided to ride my bike to the ocean---it is a stunning day here. I was sitting enjoying the view and listening to my music (today was Diana Krall, Rickie Lee, and the magnificent Charlotte Rae--hence the title of today's blog!). An older man came walking up with an entire flock of pigeons following him and he stopped and started to talk to me like we were old friends. I went along with him because, well, he was pretty old...and that is just the way I am--talkative!-- when he suddenly realized that I wasn't who he thought I was. I don't even think he realized I was foreign, which is kind of funny, given my height when compared to most Japanese... not to mention my sunglasses, a ridiculous headband and the bright orange-swirly patterned sweatshirt I was wearing. Still, he asked where I was from, if we hadn't met before, and if I rode my bike there often. We chatted a while and then he walked off after a few "domo's" and bows. Nice guy, but I am glad those damn pigeons followed him! I hope the Easter bunny is generous to you all. The photo is of the "winter roses" in the small garden next to my driveway.

Japan is my Second Home

Beyond the insanity of the last week because of nature's recent wrath here in Japan, it was a long week of goodbyes, speeches, and present giving-and-receiving for me. I swear, every vessel that can be used as a flower vase in my house is in service! It is nice to feel so loved by my students and colleagues. Teaching can have very, very strong emotional perks: One hundred and ninety 7th graders making a speech in English for me, giving me flowers, and clapping as I left the auditorium...200 or so 10th graders making a speech, giving me flowers, singing "Sing a Song" in English and then making a "canopy" of their arms above me as I left the multi-purpose room, in tears...and the same number of 8th graders doing something similar. I am happily drained of energy.

Yesterday was the "biggie" though: the all-school assembly in which five of us "leaving or retiring" teachers had to make a final farewell speech to everyone (1100 people). I often try to give speeches in both Japanese and English so that everyone can understand...but this year I barely had time to come up with a rough outline so I decided on English only. Since I am still recovering from a cold, I decided to make it short and sweet because I feared my voice wouldn't last. Well, listening to the other teachers' speeches-- luckily I was fourth!-- gave me better ideas...

I reminded students of all of the times we had studied the "What do you want to be when you grow up?" units, and how everyone always laughed when "teacher" or especially "English teacher" was mentioned...and then I talked about how I love teaching and that it is like opening a gift every year, and every day...you never know what it will be: sometimes it is a small thing (Oh- that girl couldn't pronounce that word last week...now she can!), and sometimes it is a big thing (Hey! I remember that girl hated English in the 8th grade...and now she is trying out for the prefectural speech contest!). I spoke about the various traits I loved in each of the groups I taught, and how I hoped for their continued success in English. I encouraged them to travel-- not just to experience the world, but to better understand their own country.

Then I lightened things up a bit (these ceremonies can be deadly serious!) and spoke about/sang the various sounds that will remind me of them and the school: our morning "quiet time" song, our school chime, the various songs I often heard at lunch-- I mentioned a few extremely popular Japanese band names and did a little imitation of Lady Gaga singing "Poker Face", which they loved-- and then I hummed the song that always plays at the end of the day : "What a friend we have in Jesus" (though only an instrumental version- I don't know if any of my students realize it isn't a Japanese song!).

That is when I switched gears and told them how much my family has been in contact with me since the earthquake and how much they want me "home." But, I told the students, I feel like I AM home, at least in my second home...and I just couldn't leave. I don't know if it was then when I started to cry or not, but that set off quite a few students, too! I have spent nearly half of my life here, how can I leave in a time of crisis? I can't.

Lastly, I talked about "Life=Change", a motto in my classes. I reminded them that one of the retiring teachers was born during the Second World War and that the head of our Board, who was sitting on the stage had lived through it. Then I talked about how proud I was that America, a country they fought that war with, had sent two huge ships full of food, blankets, kerosene, medicine and rescue helicopters just to help the Japanese people. Now THAT is change! I said that I hoped that they would find the good in every change in their lives.

At the very end, I sang a verse of our school song and a tiny bit of a beautiful song they sing here at our school festival which is full of reminiscences and hope at the same time. It is never easy to say goodbye, but this year was especially hard.

Several students ran up to me for a hug after the ceremony-- and this is a country that does not often show public displays of affection! I was so surprised by it I started crying all over again!

The link I am trying to include is to my latest photo book. This one is especially for my colleagues and students at Futaba Gakuen, but I hope everyone will enjoy it and that the love I have for this special place comes through the photos.

Shizuoka Futab...

...details I want t...

By Jennifer Hansen

Book Preview

Jennifer's Very Busy Day 9-15-10

This is a photo of the "Shinkansen Goods" (Bullet Train Goods) I bought recently: Bullet Train Chopsticks, Bullet Train Playing Cards and a Bullet Train Tape Measure with all of the stations along the way spelled out for you! These things will always remind me of my recent, VERY busy day: September 15th, 2010.

6:30~8:00 a.m.: Overslept, finally woke up, said a little prayer for my brother-in-law Perry who passed away recently and whose memorial service was later in the day (actually, the next day, Seattle time),took shower, hung up clothes stranded in the washing machine overnight, tried to finish packing for trip to Kofu city, gave up, slurped a hurried and weak cup of tea while my piece of toast toasted, slabbed some peanut butter on it and dashed out the door to get to work just in time.

8:15~8:30: Cooled off using my personal fan on my desk at school while listening to the Principal and VP’s give us the morning news....went up to 4th floor to teach 1st class.

8:40~9:30: Taught a joint-class with my friend Mrs. Eguchi, to give our 11th Graders a chance to ask any last questions they might have on the articles they have been reading in “Girls’ Life” magazine before the test. Slow bunch...there were not many questions!

9:40~10:30: Taught 7th Graders all about prepositions of place and reviewed the gestures we made up for them: On= hand on your head. Above= Hand above your head, In= finger pointing in mouth, etc. Gave them a quiz and sang “There were 10 in the Bed” song.

10:40~11:30: Went to observe one of our student teacher’s classes (she is also a former student of the school). The content was about Hawaiian and she started the class with “Aloha”. Things get blurry in the class after that, as my mind was racing ahead in the day...

11:30~12:20: Finished printing, collating, stapling together and folding the prints I needed for the talk I was giving in Kofu city the next day. I finished just as the chime rang for the end of the hour.

12:20~ 1:10: I raced home and finished packing for my trip to Kofu city (two hours away in another prefecture of Japan). I ate a popsicle for “lunch” and sat under my air conditioning for ten minutes because it is still grotesquely hot here...Rolled my suitcase back to school, stuffed it in the womens’ locker room and dashed back upstairs for 5th hour class.

1:15~2:05: Taught the 10th grade South class about making and replying to requests and had them tell me about their summer vacations in three sentences in front of the class. When they finished, one of their friends had to ask them a question. Fun for all (and easy for a tired teacher..).

2:15~ 3:05: Used nearly the same exact lesson plan for the 10th grade East class...it had been a very long time since I had seen them, though, and so spent even longer on summer speeches.

3:15~3:45: Changed in to a T-shirt, jeans and apron to supervise (and help) 12 girls do “Chu-Soji” which means “Medium Cleaning” in the auditorium before our school festival this coming weekend. They had to sweep between seats for 1500, wipe down the wooden arm rests (not ALL 1500 though...) and sweep the stage. We found a pair of shorts in the aisles and had a good laugh about who forgot them there...various teachers names were offered...literally whistling while we worked (the auditorium has great acoustics), cleaning went by pleasantly.

3:46: Realized I had forgotten to pack the ONE shirt I wanted to wear for my presentation...changed back in to teacher clothes.

3:50~4:30: Practiced with a student who is participating in the Prefectural English Speech Contest soon....she speaks well but needs some more practice with her gestures and timing.

4:35: Dashed home ONCE MORE for the forgotten shirt...doused my body with a cooling powder spray, then dashed back to school.

4:55: Grabbed my suitcase from the womens’ locker room and met another teacher I was traveling with in front of the school to wait for our taxi.

5:00: Watched (no, in this heat, I MARVELED) as several girls from the cross country team came running back through the school gate from a long run in the park....

5:05: Got in the taxi, rode to the station.

5:15: Bought some bottled water, a newspaper, and some VERY CUTE “Shinkansen (bullet train) Goods” which I had JUST read about in the newspaper (and which are pictured above). Thought briefly about getting something to eat for dinner but decided to wait—surely there would be something on the train.

5:40~... There was nothing on the train. About half way through the two hour train trip I find some old Tic-Tacs I have in my bag and snack on those to tide me over.

7:10~ The other teacher is snoozing and I am listening to a Wait, Wait, Don’t tell Me podcast when WHAM! There is a horrible, horrible noise that comes from the train and the tracks below us. Immediately everyone is wide awake, big-eyed, and silent. We are all looking at one another for some kind of explanation but there isn’t one. As the train screeches to a halt, I realized I was bracing myself to by hit by another train (gruesome thought, I know!). Luckily, the conductor came on to say that we had hit an animal on the track. I was relieved that there wasn’t going to be another train involved, but I couldn’t imagine what kind of animal it was. We were half an hour late and our Principal, who had gone up earlier in the day, called to ask where we were...he was waiting for us at the station.

8:15 p.m. It is now nearly 8 hours since my pathetic popsicle lunch and the Tic-Tacs are doing nothing to stop the growling sounds my stomach is making. We decided to go to an Italian place in the station and ordered some local wine- the area is famous for it. Without that wine and my raging appetite, I don’t think I would have eaten most of that food...what is it about fake Italian places thinking they can fool people with ketchup in place of tomato sauce?! I was too tired and hungry to care though.

9:15: We checked in to the Royal Garden Hotel (not “royal” at all and no “garden” in sight!) and said our goodnights. I started peeling out of my clothes as I was locking the door and stood in the shower for 25 minutes.

9:45: It wasn’t until I was out of the shower that I realized the room was like an ice locker...so I spent about ten minutes searching for the controls. I had no luck and of course I was wide awake after the long shower, so I watched weird game shows and a mesmerizing documentary about people who have brains with “total recall”...I couldn’t turn it off!

12:00: The brain documentary ended and so did my energy- I plopped in to bed and reached above my head to turn off the room lights- happily discovering the air conditioning controls right next to them. The last thought I had was, “How could I have missed those earlier?!”.

FYI:
The next morning the newspapers told us that our train had hit an Inoshishi (ee-no-she-she) which is WILD BOAR in Japanese!
And, just in case you were wondering, my presentation went well. The other teacher and I absconded somewhat early from the conference to visit a winery and then a hot-spring, which advertised a wine-bath! It was heaven- just what I needed to relax and forget the crazy-busy previous day.

From the sweaty end of summer

Hello all...it has been far too long since I have written. Busy summer, as many of you know. It all started out on the 4th of July...I chaperoned 18 students to Lennoxville, Canada (two hours southeast of Montreal) for an English language camp. No- I take that back- it was an English language camp with a whole lot of French thrown in! Mon Dieu! Upon arrival we were treated to the hottest heat wave that part of Canada has ever experienced-- between 95 and 100 for the first week, and NO air conditioning! It wasn't as humid as Japan, but still it was miserable. Zut alor! (Alors? I scraped the bottom of the barrel for my high school French while talking with the French-only nurse at the camp...my head still hurts). The girls eventually figured out when English was being spoken and when their teachers switched to French. Only a few became homesick, so that was good.

My principal told me I could have some free time-- but of course still had to be available in case of an emergency-- in the middle of the month. So, I visited my friend Amy in New York. It was just wonderful--- Amy let me use her apartment, WITH AIR CONDITIONING-- and showed me some fantastic restaurants, etc. It was very important that she had air conditioning because New York was ALSO having a heat wave...worse than usual I was told. Still, I went to lots of museums, saw some very impressive views, cried at the 9/11 memorial (more exactly at the church right next to Ground Zero), visited with a former student, and in general got a very large dose of Americana, which I sorely needed. I traveled from Montreal to New York (and back) on the Adirondack line for a mere $62 each way. Having only ridden on the West coast version of Amtrak, I was VERY pleasantly surprised, and highly recommend this train to anyone who wants a break from flying in to New York. Granted, it did take nearly 11 hours...thanks to Homeland Security having to do an on-board check of passports, etc., but I just snapped photos and read my books until we were back on track.

I stayed the last few days of the camp with my students and escorted them back to Japan...it took 50 hours (!!) bed to bed because of the last-day Farewell Dance and the fact that we were scheduled to leave the school at 3:30 a.m.! The students didn't even get back to their dorms until 12:30. We had a loooong layover in Vancouver because our scheduled pilot was ill and it took them a while to find a replacement. Still- I am thankful that nobody was ill or got hurt on the trip. I had all of two nights in Japan before taking off for Seattle, and spent the second night with my friend Mary, from Ireland, and Kod, singing karaoke! It is something of a tradition for Mary and I...I think we sang every ABBA song ever written, plus a few other gems.

Visiting everyone at home was just what I needed. Unfortunately, all of the planes and trains and buses I had been on finally caught up with me: I caught a doozy of a cold that settled in my throat. I couldn't speak at all for three days and my throat is still weak! I have to give a presentation this coming Thursday in front of 60 people, so I am trying to rest my voice before then...

The worst part of the summer was that my brother-in-law passed away...we knew he was sick but hoped that he had longer to live. I am so glad my niece and nephew were there to support my sister. I just wish I could have stayed a little longer for the memorial which is this coming weekend.

At the moment I am sitting directly in front of a fan-- the only air-conditioner I have is upstairs-- feeling a little guilty for writing this blog when I should be working on my presentation...but it was about 102 degrees today and is still in the high 80's now, and still huuuuuuuumid. I am tired of every single surface I come in to contact with (including my own arms and legs) feeling slightly sticky. I hope it is more pleasant where you are. Wish me luck.

NYC

Hello All!
Just a moment to type before my time runs out on this hotel business center computer! I am in New York while my students try their best to survive in Canada using English without me! I'm sure they be fine...but still I worry! I will get back to blogging when I have a little more time. Send me your ideas for what to see and do while I am here in the City that never sleeps.

More Teacher Thanking and Me-he-HEM-RIES...

Maybe it is only because it is the first testing season of the year (there are five here in Japan, conveniently every two months or so), I don't know-- I just seem to be in a reminiscent mood about my own school days. So, I will continue my earlier writing where I thanked some of the teachers I had. Today I'll write about THE DARK AGES (more commonly known as "Junior High School"!). Oh, and before I go on, I DID remember that the dog which so kindly scarfed up my left overs in the 4th grade was named Cuddles! I have the feeling it was David Denny's dog that just sort of followed him to school one day though it was against the rules...Mrs. Duffy had more sympathy for that dog that us students!

Onward, ever onward. My introduction to "Canyon Park Junior High" began with one Donald Halazon. He was my homeroom teacher, my social studies teacher, my language arts teacher (I think), and later the man I T.A'ed for in 9th grade. Is T.A. a verb?! His first words to me were "Hansen?! Jennifer? Uh...are you by any chance related to Margaret and Amy?!" Labeled! The first day! Still, it turned out all right. He was essentially a very fair man who loved teaching. Loving his work did not stop him from making his favorite quote every other day though: "Do you know that teachers earn LESS than GARBAGE MEN?!" When he wasn't teaching or ranting, chances were you could find him imitating Donald Duck. He not only was head of the "Traffic Safety" club (?! We helped guide cars into parking spots for school events! I can't believe it but it was actually a cool club at the time!!), he introduced the people in that club to Greek food. He told us his name was actually Halazonetheopolis, or something close to that. He married a lovely woman who had a younger sister not much older than us. I thought at the time that she had enough hair for three people. I hope they are still happy and healthy together. Thank you, Mr. Halazon.

Other Junior High teachers: Mrs. Patricia Legget, who had great red hair, a constant smile, and knew how to teach math despite the near-perfect inattention of her charges. Priscilla Hickey (I SWEAR I am not making these names up!!), P.E. teach and gymnastics coach extraordinaire, all 4.5 feet of her! Barbara Brodniak, another P.E. teacher/coach who I have thanked many times for coaching me in basketball and "life" in general. We went to see the Sonics play at the Key Arena and that was my first professional sporting event of any kind. Mr. Estes, an English teacher and counselor that, by some magic, actually got through to a lot of junior high students. Mrs. Kunkle, the strict but elderly and forgetful English teacher who we fooled by putting an afro wig on Mike Battista and telling her a new "girl" called "Michelle" had joined the class. "Michelle" had her head down on her desk and started "crying"...causing Mrs. Kunkle to try to figure out how to deal with a crying new girl delicately. We got a TON of homework that day when she finally realized she had been had! It was worth it. Mrs. Peck, the art teacher, with thick black hair nearly down to her knees. Ms. Cohee, English/French/Drama/Dance teacher and cheer leading coach...energy to spare and sincere to the end. We loved her and were lucky enough to attend her beautiful wedding to Dennis. Oh! Mr. Ted Freemantle, who WAS as cool as his name sounds! He was like a modern-day Shakespeare, physically: tall, balding on top but longish black hair curling under on the sides and a beard and moustache too. He used to wear what can only be called "smocks" with V-necks and geometric designs on them. And his PENDANTS! He had a few- all large and all very hippy-cool. He would play Cat Stevens for us as we wrote. He was an English teacher. We wrote a lot and I can still sing all of the lyrics to most Cat Stevens songs!

Let's see....digging a little further in to the memories...who can forget Lwanga Lwanga! I didn't even HAVE him as a math teacher, but I had enough interactions with him (YOU! No run! WALK!) that I can never forget him. He was from somewhere in Africa, had a thick accent, an unsmiling face (most of the time), and a talent for scaring kids straight. He made my brother WALK home once to retrieve the math book he had forgotten. We lived 5 miles from the school! Ms. Wright, a cool art teacher. Mrs. Shoemeyer, a slightly ditsy home-ec teacher who had a co-hort called Ms. Heinzen. She taught us sewing, supposedly. A friend and I, inspired by an outfit she wore to school, gave her a prank call and sang "She wore BLUE VELVET!" to her at the tops of our lungs. I refuse to admit exactly how many times we did this. I don't think she ever suspected us because she took us to lunch at the Ranch Drive in at the end of the school year! Thank you, Junior High School Teachers, one and all. I know my list is not finished yet, but my energy is. For those of you tired of reading about these long ago memories, well, I will try to mix it up a little for a while.
P.S. The pic included in this post is an original drawing of yours truly from a friend in my local pub...I think it is a dead ringer!