Rocking in Hakata

Ok – I usually refrain from asking for job-related help on here. But I’m gonna toss this out and see if I can come up with any input. I am delivering a presentation at the Midyear Seminar for my neck of the woods about Motivation. (Ironically, I was asked to do this presentation because nobody would voluntarily pony up. Hmmm.) Does anyone have any thoughts on how to motivate students in rural Japan to want to learn English? I’d be most appreciative of anecdotes and whatnot. Mine, unfortunately, stem from the completely uninterested side of things. The “missing the target” end of the spectrum. Hmmm. Sorry. Just thought it’d be smart to ask here, in case someone had something better than what I’ve got.

Deas Customary Drivel

Hey all – just wanted to say that I hope all of you folks out there, Americans as well as those from other countries, vote in your home countries’ elections – if that right is yours. My absentee ballot information has arrived at last, and I will be voting shortly in my home state of South Carolina’s presidential primary election. While I was home over the winter break I also filled out the necessary paperwork for a local government election in summer, and of course the big bad General Election coming up in November. I cannot imagine not having a say in my government, and I urge all of you who have opinions to get educated about things and make a choice – and use this chance to have your voice heard. If you don’t vote, you forfeit your right to whine in my opinion. So, if you’re up to it – make an effort to get in contact with the appropriate authorities, deal with the red tape, and make sure you are counted. And encourage others, too. It’s your right. It’s important. (Having said that, if you are disinterested in politics, ill informed about the candidates, or otherwise suffer from political ennui – a common condition, please don’t vote. Please. The act of voting doesn’t make you a good citizen. The act of voting responsibly and for reasons you strongly believe in does. Make the judgment call for yourself.)

As a side note, I’d like to point out that I was amazed to discover that a ballot arrived in my email inbox. I had no idea that you could have ballots emailed to you when I checked the box on the application form a few weeks ago. I sent a reply message to the lady who sent me my ballot with a few questions. Chief among them: Is there a fraud prevention mechanism in use so that absentee voters can’t just forward copies of their ballots around to their friends and neighbors for extra voting? (If not, I’m bothered by the potential for fraud which seriously degrades the meaning of my vote.) I personally believe that voting should be harder to do than it is at present – it is too important to be lenient with the rules. I support legislation requiring a photo ID for voting, for instance. I want to make sure that my vote is not discounted because of a lousy system.

If you’re able to participate in your home country’s government while living abroad (in Japan), and you’ve got a vested interest in doing so, I really hope you take the time to do it. Ok, I’ve said my piece. Enough, already. I know. Ha ha.

Deas Customary Drivel, Politics, Unsolicited Commentary

Things that went through my head as I thought about what to write today:

- I need to install Leopard on my iMac, but I’m debating how exactly I want to go about it. Do I want to delete my current Windows partition and start from scratch with a clean install (easily done, with the little I actually have on the computer), or just update the current installation? I think maybe clean install is the way to go, since I’d have the licensed version of BootCamp running, instead of the old public demo. Hmmm. Also – I know the OS brags about doing this automatically, but should I take the time to make a partition on which to store all of my files? MP3s, photos, videos, etc. Then I could update or wipe or do whatever I wanted to the OS without freaking out about the data. Right. I’m a huge nerd. Moving on.

- Actually, hold that thought – another nerdy thing I need to do is properly configure my AirMac Express so that I have a wireless network at my apartment. Then my iMac, Wii, and DS can all be online at the same time! Yay! Ok, now we’ll move to slightly less geeky stuff.

- Super Mario Galaxy is the best game I’ve played in a long time. Brings back the lazing about on the couch in some afternoon sunlight feeling of so many summers. (Tony Hawk’s Proskater 4 also does that for me, if for no other reason than I played it into the ground with my family for so long. Love it.) I am actually considering moving the TV and Wii into my bedroom so I can play from under my blankets, though. Cause it is freaking cold.

- I am pondering posting one or two old essays from my college courses in a sort of “bonfire of the vanities” kind of post, where I put my shamefully naive old stuff on display for the world to giggle over. (I’ll laugh with you. It’s funny how serious I thought I was.)

- I am very proud of an English student of mine from Imabari Minami High School who won at the regional level to become a prefectural representative at the Tokyo Recitation Contest. She didn’t place, but we’ll be better prepared for next year. It turns out the the Ehime Prefectural judges prefer an animated, emotive speech style, while the judges at the national competition prefer a more sober, adult-like approach to the recitations. Because of the disparity in judging standards (really just subjective preferences related to oration, not to the English itself), the kids are often really confused about what is natural for native English speakers. Also, frequently half-Japanese students enter the contests, which freaks out the other contestants. Some feel that it is completely unfair – but the truth is, those who have lived or studied abroad are completely disqualified from taking part in the meet. Kids who speak English at home have a huge advantage. (I coached a half-Japanese half-Filipino boy this time around as well, and he was knocked out by a judge who told him that his English speaking past was unfair in the competition.) I dunno how I feel about it. But yeah.

- I suddenly got a bunch of emails about the workshop I’m supposed to run in Matsuyama at the Ehime Prefecture Midyear Seminar. I still need to get the ball rolling on it, but with my visitation schedule, I’m going to be visiting my base school to confer with my supervisor / co-presenter after other school visits on other islands. Makes our time rather scant. Then again, I’ve oft been told that I function better under pressure. This should be great!

- Man, it is freaking cold.

That’s about it, I think. Just another Tuesday.

Deas Customary Drivel

Will and I were talking a day or two ago about how being a foreign person on the island is rough because you can never be out of line. A consequence of being foreign is that everyone knows who you are, what your job is, and likely the general vicinity of your home. If you walk around with a foreign person of the opposite sex, you are instantly married to them in everyone’s mind. (Heck, walk around with ANYONE at all and you’re married to them.) You can’t tell anyone off, you can’t really walk around grubby looking, you can’t buy anything questionable. Not that I feel the need to do these things. But it does limit your freedom quite a bit. There is truth to the notion that this is a 24-7 ambassadorial job of sorts. But I digress. Here’s an anecdote for you.

UPDATE: The semi-humorous anecdote has been pulled due to escalation of the situation. I officially have a stalker. I’m in that club now. Too bad it’s not an online only deal. For crying out loud. I’ll be gone for the weekend. Don’t worry – not dangerous – I think, and appropriate measures have been taken.

Deas Customary Drivel

Here’s a video recap just over 4 minutes long that follows me from my front yard in Charleston, SC to my apartment’s stairwell on Hakatajima, Ehime Prefecture. I put in titles that show the general timing of the whole shebang and what part of the route I’m currently on in each clip. The time disparity around Osaka is due to a quick trip to the Shinsaibashi Apple store, where I picked up Leopard and an AirMac Express. (It was that or sit in the ferry terminal’s waiting area for like 3 and a half hours.) Unfortunately, I took all my luggage with me, so my arms are still aching – but it wouldn’t have fit in any coin locker here. The total door-to-door time for the trip home came to 39 hours and 15 minutes (figured by converting my arrival JST time into EST time and finding the difference). Whoooooo. Fun ratio there. Almost 1 minute for every 10 hours I spent in transit. Enjoy.

Deas Customary Drivel, Media, Trips, Video

Hey there folks – I’m back on my island. And man did I hit the ground running. Hopefully I’ll be able to get some good posts up soon, but I got back yesterday morning and did a half-day at work. Full day today, and then my insane January school visitation schedule starts up and I become another English speaking nomad for a while. Then there’s the midyear conference, at which I’ll be doing a talk on Motivation. (HA!) Should be a scary, sparking, downhill, breakneck slide through the month. Stick with me. And hope that there are no splinters. Being in America for winter vacation was amazing, and just what I needed. Having said that, though, it’s good to be back.

Deas Customary Drivel