‘Champon’.
A new word to me. ‘Champon’ is when you drink different kinds of
alcohol at a party, and the effects are less than desirable. An old
adage from my university days seems to mean roughly the same thing:
“Wine then beer, feeling queer.” This weekend I was introduced to
this concept among the lively ranks of my third-year staff.
“’Champon’ is very dangerous,” explained the head of year in
grave tones. “It is not ‘champion’.”
So
why did they see fit to fill up my beer glass with wine?! And why all
that sake?! Was it some kind of test?! Do they actually want me to
suffer, and are using a very roundabout way to tell me they don’t
like me?! Because I tell you, champon sucks.
There
were two of us that suffered visibly ill effects from Friday night’s
drinking, and I should count my blessings that I came out the better
of us. My OTE lost most of his memory of that night, and woke up in
someone else’s hotel room. He also nearly fell asleep in the bath
the next morning, and collapsed on the floor of his own room after
breakfast, where he lay for over an hour.
A
good trip, then. I suppose. No, in all honesty it was a fantastic
event, and I am thrilled that I was invited to come along. Awaji is a
beautiful place; maybe a little too touristy to warrant many trips
there in the future, but certainly a great place to visit. And the
weather was perfectly stellar. Clear skies, light breezes, bright
sunshine… Even in the dark, murky midst of a hangover I enjoyed
myself.
On
the Friday afternoon our trip began at something called Fukimodoshi
no Sato. You know what a fukimodoshi is? I’ve been wracking my
brain for the English translation, but I just can’t think of it.
It’s those little party things where you blow in one end and the
paper on the other unfurls and makes a funny noise. You know what I’m
talking about? Like a kazoo, but not actually a kazoo. Anyway,
whatever they are, we went to a factory that makes them. It was this
little blue building in the middle of farmland, and has a constant
staff of five or six whose sole reason for living it to make these
dumb little party things. Making them, and modifying them into
radical new shapes and designs. It looked to me like quite a
depressing way to make a living, dedicating your working week to such
a humble piece of plastic. But the trip was pretty cool, I have to
admit. We made six of the little things each, and the staff taught us
how to modify them to do different things, like hit someone in the
face or flicker like a snake’s tongue. We were only there for a
short while, and that was probably for the best.
After
that it was off to the hotel. A swanky place, all marble and red
carpeting in the lobby but classic Japanese tatami-fest in the rooms
themselves. Nice, comfortable, and with a great view of the sea. Took
a bath before dinner, which was alright. I think the other teachers
thought I was a bit weird for having to get out a mere ten minutes
after getting in. But seriously, I cannot take such intense heat for
so long. I end up feeling nauseous, as I know many of us ALTs do.
And
then there was dinner… I really should expect this sort of thing to
happen, but each time it catches me by surprise. Dinner’s main
course was a choice between king prawns that may as well have been
called god-emperor prawns for how big they were, and a fish’s head.
Just cut off and broiled. Staring up at me from the plate, all beady
eyes and nasty, little teeth. And I ate it. I ate that fish head down
to the bare bones. Not the eye, though. That juicy little marble I
hit under the cheekbones. My OTE did the same, so I have no shame of
it. Other delightful courses included small fish, big fish,
shellfish, and something very hard and octopus-shaped crammed into a
big, spiky snail’s shell. At least, I hope it was crammed in there.
I’d hate to think it lived there… I ate all I could, but
as is always the way with these things, eating gradually dissolved
into drinking, and by the end of the meal I had been engrossed in so
much talking and filling other people’s drinks I could use the
excuse that I just didn’t have time to finish.
The
next day, which was all dark blurs and swaying like the island was
adrift, we went souvenir shopping. Ah, souvenirs. I will never quite
understand you. I ended up buying a whole bunch of octopus crackers,
which apparently are some kind of regional specialty, for taking to
elementary school tomorrow, and another bunch for the teachers at my
main school. I think this is the first time I’ve brought in
souvenirs that I actually would not want for myself. We got back to
the school around half eleven, and I was left by myself by my
hungover teachers, who dispersed off to do some teacher things, I
guess. I know my OTE very bluntly said he was going to sleep in the
nurse’s office. I ended up being entertained by a pair of third
years who tried to teach me famous comedian catchphrases, and told me
how uncool all their teachers are. “Peter, Sakata-teacher has big
face. Short legs. No girlfriend.” It got pretty scathing. But I was
impressed, and touched, that they were able to continually talk to me
in broken English for well over an hour, and didn’t get bored or
tired. When they left, I stuck my head in the staffroom and asked
some of the non-hungover second year teachers if it was alright if I
left. They said “of course”. So home I went, to ease my whirling
stomach.
And
that was my trip. Like I said, I really enjoyed it, and though I
didn’t manage to talk to everyone I feel like my place in the
school has been solidified a little more by my being there. Next
party is the beginning of August, with the farewell party for the
leaving teachers. I do wonder who’ll be going. My second year OTE
is definitely going, as she’s only a part-timer (still not sure how
that works) and her contract’s up this year. Besides that, I just
have to cross my fingers and hope the others don’t beat it, as
well. Third year OTE has only been here three years, and other
teachers have assured me that he still has a while to go. But my
first year OTE has been here for eight, so is overdue. I guess if I’m
planning on staying here for a few more years myself, I’ll have to
see him off eventually. But I’d like to put it off as long as I
can.
Next,
some more school news. I was informed early last week that the
computer I use at school is a rental model from the KEC. A rent that
will expire at the start of the next academic year. This is very bad
news, as I have come to rely on the little NEC brick that lives on my
desk. The open access desktop is often in use, and often breaks down,
especially when I’m using it. At times like this, my own computer
has been invaluable for last minute worksheets and calculations. Also
for lesson planning: having it all stored digitally is far more
convenient than on scraps of paper. So to lose it now will mean a
great deal of data shuffling and time management.
I
mean, it’s funny really. Last year I was stripped of my internet
access and colour printing. This year it’s word processing from my
desk. What can they possible rob me of next year? I know, that’s an
exaggeration. Many ALTs get by without computers at all. Some have to
walk five miles to the next village just to get a sheet of coloured
paper. So please, for just five hundred yen a month… I’ll stop
there.
The
point is, I’m going to need to shape up my staffroom time to not
include a screen. Just think about how relieved my eyes will be! Next
year’s gonna be a big one for changes, it seems, as though any two
years would be identical.
Didn’t
get to go to graduation this year. It’s too bad, but it did fall on
an elementary visit day, so it can’t be helped. I was glad to have
my last fourth year class, but I would have liked to see the junior
high schoolers off. Even the teachers at elementary seemed surprised
that I was there. “Peter,” said one as I was leaving in the
afternoon, “you didn’t go to your school’s graduation?” “No,”
I replied, “I had work to do here.” “Oh…” he said, with an
expression like he’d just eaten a very nice chicken dish that he
later learned was the last dodo in the world. There’s always next
year, and at least I got to see their rehearsal. It’s almost the
same as the real thing, right?
That’s
it from school. What else? Walking Dead’s still good. There’s a
lot of gearing up for a big finale going on, which is better than
doing nothing at all like last season but still a little dull. But
it’s still well-written, and I’m looking forward to seeing how it
ends. And Game of Thrones starts up again next month. That one’s a
funny one; I already know that every character I care about is gonna
suffer, and then meet some grisly end. I know it, Martin came out and
said it. So watching the show is a bit like investing your hopes in a
beautiful locomotive, when the conductor himself is telling you that
the track runs it off a cliff before it reaches the city. But still…
I just… wanna watch it! And I will hope that all the ones worth
saving have some goodness in their lives before they are cut down
like grass.
Still
watching Buffy. Spike is so ace. And I’m impressed they changed the
setting from high school to university without just making it like a
bigger high school. And that’s really all I had to say about
that.
Steph
and I have been playing us some Lego Lord of the Rings lately. I have
to say, though most of the jokes they pull are dumb and don’t make
a lick of sense, this game has me cracking up more than most others.
Even something as stupid as pointlessly riverdancing elves in
Lothlorien. I think a lot of it comes from how they used actual
soundbites from the film for the characters’ voices, and the best
moments are when they repurpose a line like “Looks like meat’s
back on the menu” for something else entirely. It’s clearly
written as much for us adults as for kids, though it’s marketed as
a kid’s game. Even the achievements we’ve been getting. Just
yesterday, for getting through Cirith Ungul on foot, Steph unlocked
an achievement for “simply walking into Mordor”, complete with a
picture of Lego Boromir making a ring shape with his fingers. But
aside from the humour, it really is an incredibly well-made game.
Characters have gotten stuck mid-jump on more than one occasion, and
the split screen takes some serious getting used to, but it plays
well and looks even better. The prologue level, where you play Elrond
and Isildur taking on Sauron, looks spectacular. Indeed, we watched
the first film again the other night, and I was amazed by how the
Lego team rebuilt some scenes brick by brick. It’s a real work of
passion, this game, and that really shows. Just reached the Return of
the King levels now, and we’re looking forward to the end.
It’s
funny, ‘cos we’ve also been playing Lord of the Rings Online, and
both games are very true to the original in different ways. Though
it’s a little odd to have gotten used to the town of Bree in
Online, with its wide roads, smiling populace and towering taverns,
only to see the same town in Lego as the dark, rainy, tiny place it
was in the film. One thing I’m very much looking forward to in Lego
is getting access to the character creator once we’ve beaten the
story, and recreating Glyde Renton, Bree-defender, in Lego form. It’s
a simple thing, but that’s my pride as a citizen of Middle Earth
for you.
Oh,
yeah, DayZ isn’t working well. I had these big plans about making a
survivor diary, like that last post I made, detailing my adventures
in the Russian apocalypse. But it’s clear the game isn’t quite
done yet. A while ago I fired my first ever crossbow bolt, and the
game crashed. I’ve been afraid to go back. That was after I nearly
got run over by survivors from China and their bus.
That’s
it from me, I think. Not a whole lot else to say. No plans for Spring
Break, what with Steph out of the country, so I’ll be entertaining
myself as best I can. Oh, right, some more TV news. I’ve been
watching a show called Hyouka lately, which aired last season. Same
animation staff behind Haruhi and K-ON, one of which I liked and one
of which I did not like. But Hyouka’s pretty cool, well thought-out
and with genuinely likable characters. Maybe I’ll marathon that.
And then there’s Robotics Notes which ends soon, and the
ever-amazing Hetalia. But I’ll need something out of the house to
keep me going, too, else I’ll just go stir-crazy.
Anyway,
thanks for reading.
