Exploring guide to Azumino/Hotaka launched

Avid readers will remember I taught a few classes very early in the spring, up the road in Hotaka, for the Azumino City Tourist Association. I was not the only one! There were also classes given in Chinese & Korean - younger, prettier, better teachers they were too...

Wednesday evening was the wrap party, but actually a lot more importantly it marked the launch of the English, Chinese & Korean language Exploring Guide. While the teachers hogged the limelight, the very hard work of a few local people seemed to go largely unnoticed. Step forward Whitney Conti in particular, who I know has been burning the midnight oil getting maps properly annotated, photos properly proportioned, full stops in the right places (been there done that, with Matsumoto & Norikura already!). Check out the good work here

Now, no matter the hard work of well intentioned volunteers & neo-natives, if the locals don't get their act together & get the basics sorted? I mean, the super simple stuff like menus, credit cards, sign posts? After that, even a little bit of imagination would go a long way - you know the social media dimension...get a fan club on Facebook, or Twitterise themselves? Think about Google maps & Doublesquare...

Something better than nothing? Yes, for sure. Late entries? Absolutely. Shinshu's best kept little secret for discerning travellers? Could be.

Passing out in Korean

The Korean school had its graduation ceremony this morning, and it was a pleasure to attend again this year. Must admit, the speeches are a bit dreary but I assume a lot worse back in the motherland. The children Tana has been teaching most recently deserve a bit more of an emotional send off we reckon.

Anyway, best uniforms on and enter into the spirit of things :)

Tana has been very popular with her students, which was obvious this morning - staff and students huddling around for photos (OK, Eleanor was a draw too!). The mood at this school is always communal and friendly; two of the new staff Jim recognised as ex-students from a dozen years back, and even better they didn't run away! Let's cross our fingers that Tana will be back and get a hero's welcome...she deserves it :)

Korean school graduates

Today was the last class before graduation, which is a happy and a sad time for me as I have been fortunate enough to have taught these students for some time now, and have watched them grow and increase their English skills considerably since the time we started together.

This is a particularly spirited group, adventurous and full of fun. Before class I am always greeted with boisterous hello's from the boys and sweet hello's from the girls, along with a barrage of questions and other attempts to communicate.

Before the class started the teacher rounded us up and took a photo, and at the end of the class they presented me with this delightful little card. As you can see it is all in English! Very impressive!

And so, to the kids in this class I wish you all the best for the future, keep studying, stick to your dreams, and remember me from time to time!

Much love,
Tana

A North Korean Wedding

I went to a lovely wedding on Saturday at the Buena Vista in Matsumoto. Japan. So I got the nationalities wrong? Nope! There is a vibrant and resolute community of non-Japanese in this country, a carry over from Japan's colonisation of the Korean peninsula at the beginning of the last century. Hundreds of thousands of Korean nationals were brought to Japan as cheap or slave labour, and worse.

I am proud to have been involved with the local community here in Matsumoto for the last 13 years or so, since my very good friend Yong Mi asked me to help her teach English at the North Korean school here in town. I and my school have been associated with the school ever since, and every single one of my teachers over the years has thoroughly enjoyed teaching at the school. There is something palpably different and cheerful about the children there which I wish we could bottle.

Thirteen years ago there was a 'troublesome' class of lads none too keen to study; on Saturday they were on centre stage celebrating the fifth wedding from their small class. I attended because I have taught every single one of the family of the groom over the years, at the school and at Luna, and I was delighted to have been invited. Both bride and groom studied to become English teachers...so Yong Mi and I both felt maybe we  contributed a little bit.

The well-matched couple changed no less than three times, punctuating the meal with sashays into the room. I don't think they ate at all. There were drums - old Matsumoto Mongrel football team members will remember Chi Hiro as our star player years and years ago (his year - class -  had too few boys to make a team, and besides they were not allowed to join the local school league anyway)...front & centre!

There was Karaoke; I remembered the night years ago the groom's father took me out to sing Beatles songs in Korean (I'm fluent?!) and spent Y50,000 in an hour. The hostesses still stole my favourite hat! All the men in the room joined the chorus, while the poor bride looked a bit lost.

There was dancing - I was going to wish the happy couple well but got collared into an arm waving dance instead. For once I was the most sober in the room! The groom's mum was a picture of elegance in her Choguri. Her two daughters were later described to me (by my daughter) as 'princesses'. I always thought so, especially O.R. whom I have known since she was knee-high to a grasshopper.

My grasp of Japanese is ropey, and my Korean is non-existent, but it was obvious everyone enjoyed this union immensely. I chatted to the bride's sister & her fiance in English, and hope to meet them again in Matsumoto soon. A couple of the lads from the class have really made something of themselves & are getting ahead in the world; there were children everywhere which means a healthy next generation to teach at the school.

It was refreshing to see the speakers at the end get heckled! Broke the ice a lot. The bride's father made a great speech and had everyone in his spell, both mums tearing up and not really a dry eye in the massive audience either. Sometimes you don't need to know what is being said - the context and the emotion does the trick. This was a wedding I was very glad I didn't miss.

Talking the talk

I had a couple of fun lessons today which I'd like to share.

This morning I was up at Daiichi, where we were learning some more adjectives - enthusiastic, jealous, frustrated and some other juicy ones. As usual, Chihiro & Nomado got really into it. Always helps when you have a couple of performers in a class, as they give the quieter students a bit of cover - as well as a level of participation they can try to rise to. I've noticed lately some of the very reluctant girls have been trying harder, which is great. Last week we built adverbs out of the adjectives we already knew (mostly adding -ly) and mimed out some strange sentences eg tap dance confidently, kiss your grandmother angrily etc, which turned out to be rather hilarious!

Later in the day, I was with my cool class at the Korean school. This class are soooo much fun. They learn really quickly, and help each other out which I really respect. I only see them once a month or so, so we have to motor through stuff; nevertheless they 'get' it. They can now confidently tackle short /a/, /e/ & /i/ sounds. From this launch pad, reading & spelling is a breeze. Sadly, our year together is nearly finished...and another class I taught ten years ago graduates next month.

Getting old :(