Oh Football...

So there's a nutcase in charge of FIFA, apparently.  Having no idea what's happening in the land of spheres, I happened upon an article describing power struggles in the world of football.

I then read this statement, by the current head of FIFA:

"I thought we were living in a world of fair play and respect and discipline.

I unfortunately see this is no longer the case because the famous Fifa pyramid is suddenly unstable and there is a danger.

On Wednesday I will speak to you on this danger that is lurking, and tell you how we can fight and work against this threat."

Now I admit I know nothing of football, but did FIFA elect Colonel Gaddafi as president?  He acts like a despot, talks of plans to destabilise his regime, like a despot, and crucially, holds elections like a despot.  That is to say, he is a dictator:

'Blatter is the only candidate as his rival Mohammed bin Hammam is suspended.'

I find it incredible that we get outraged, as a nation, by despotism in other countries - but actively endorse and fund despotism in sport.  (Of course I'm not so naive to believe that we don't fund criminal dictators in other countries, of course we do, but at least that serves a national purpose.  Pouring advertising revenues and government funding into a corrupt, incompetent fools lap, while everyone is watching, is criminal genius.)

This man is, plainly and for all to see, a genius.  He runs an organisation that employs thousands of people worldwide, is guaranteed to be re-elected for as long as he feels like, makes an absolute packet, secures his legacy (to be remembered as the hero who saved football), and takes bribes.  It's a challenge to pull this off when you're running a country, but when you're running a sporting organisation, it's a cakewalk.  You don't even have to do much killing and maiming.

What do I want to be when I grow up?  Either Chairman Cat, or Sepp Blatter.  Both men are criminal geniuses.

And Then There Was Me

I would love to show you the photographs of all the teachers in this elementary school.  Of course I can't, but the contrast with the stupid picture I took is, well, something.  All the teachers are featured in a small pamphlet sent out to parents, detailing how the kids will be indoctrinated, and how they'll be brainwashed.  In line with this pessimistic view of education, all the teachers had their likenesses captured in the same way - head and shoulders, facing forwards without a smile.

There are more than a dozen of these pictures, taken in the same way.

Then there is me.

Here I am, championing the cause for foreigners everywhere in Japan.

In order to take this, I quickly struck the pose while the shutter was being pressed, before the image was displayed on the screen.  When it did reveal itself, I was promptly called back by the photographer and asked to retake the photograph.  It is, obviously, not in keeping with the Japanese way.

At this point I used my daily gaijin card, and walked away, pretending not to understand his demands.  And here we are, a couple of lines of nonsense about favourite colours and foods, and a picture that makes me look like a gimp eyes wannabe david.

When the Weather is Interesting

So today we're experiencing a small typhoon.  Apparently they close down schools when the weather's this bad they usually close school for half a day, but not this time.

I am absolutely soaked.  I am currently creating a puddle under my chair, and I can only imagine the kids fared worse - they travel for more than 5 minutes by bike.  I was wearing my raincoat, and it was pretty effective for about three of those minutes.  To put this into context, this raincoat is the most effective one I've ever used.  It's a good coat.

Couple this with the fact that I didn't use my brakes once on the journey here (the wind was strong enough that I never broke 5Km/h and I stopped dead a number of times without meaning to) and I suspect the management made the wrong decision with regards to keeping the school open today.

My feet are so wet.



On a side-note, English people often become extremely defensive and incomprehensible when the BBC is called into question about anything.  The BBC is a news outlet, just like any other, and is not the bastion of neutral reporting many claim it to be.

This article is a perfect example:

'The attacks on Cate Blanchett also reveal an instinctive suspicion of people in Australia perceived to be part of a cultural or educational elite - especially by the populist right.'


This is not a quote from an individual, this is written as the voice of the BBC.  Since when does a subjective opinion become fact?  Since when is defamation of the ideals of a political movement acceptable?  Let the people make their own minds up - it's for programmes like Have I got News for You to comment on the validity of an individuals' views, not the main news department.


P.S  Australians, seeing as you are all the same, and you are all suspicious of the cultural and ruling elite, and you are all therefore part of the populist right, to some extent, don't you think it's time to let go of jealousy and live your lives?


P.P.S  To the BBC:  Do you see how it could be construed as opinion, when quotes are not identified?  Not every Australian is suspicious of the ruling elite classes (whatever they are), don't present opinion as fact.


Then again, this is on their website, so a flunky is probably responsible for writing this article.  がんばって flunky, you can improve!  The whole world is behind you!  <--- Presented as a fact.

Paranoia

So in the end I wasn't fired.  It seems to me (the little I understood) that the teacher was merely pointing out the ludicrous situation, where a child identified as being handicapped, should still be in the classroom.  Even a stupid monkey idiot foreigner with an IQ like a potato can see she needs to go into a specialist school.  Something along those lines was said, I'm sure.

That may be an imperfect translation (of course no translation is ever perfect).

I'll try my best label all the delinquent students, in the hope that they're whisked away before my eyes.

Just be thankful this isn't china, where this kind of shit happens.

Oh Shiiiiiiiiii

I just heard my name called out by one of the other teachers in a big office meeting at one of my primary schools.

The reason I'm typing so quickly?  It has something to do with a comment I made about a disabled child in one of my classes, not being suited to this environment because she was plainly out of control. (She wasn't violent, she just needs a school more suited to her (I'm being purely altruistic in this sense, it was fun teaching her (unlike the other students who act out, whom I wish were not present in my classroom because they're a pain, so I have ulterior motives with regards to them))) <---- a new record number of embedded parentheses.

Everyone looked at me, I crapped my pants.

Am I fired?

I Feel For You, Denmark

The worst news ever given to a Danish person, wasn't just confined to an individual.  It appears the entire country will receive devastating information soon.

It amuses me that the Danes, Swedes and Fins compete for the most disgusting use of fish - namely in national 'delicacies.'  Pickled herring being the most benign of these national dishes is indicative of their desire for strong tastes.  To my mind, there are few stronger (or more delicious) tastes than Marmite.  It's a shame the scandinavians are denying themselves the most nutritious of polarising tastes (how many vitamins can be found in a rotting trout, for example) and, while I don't necessarily agree with post-process additions of vitamins/minerals (I'm currently drinking Japanese milk that is nearly solid, due to the iron, calcium and assorted vitamins they add) I'm sure the taste of Marmite is more than partly due to these additions.  Lick an iron bar, for example, and you will find it has a distinctive taste.  Just because Vitamin B12 bars are only to be found in secret government bunkers, does not mean they are devoid of unique tastes too.  (I use iron bars as an example because, like me, I assume everyone has licked one at some stage.)

So I urge this: 'outraged expats in the country are already threatening a campaign of civil disobedience,' to happen.  Or I could, you know, sell you some at a markup.  How does that sound, expats of Denmark.

Japanese Students

So Japan recently won the coveted 'best behaved students in the world,' prize.

Let me tell you, this is nonsense.  There isn't a single class in any of the three schools I teach in, that isn't noisy.  The truth of the matter is plain for all to see, noise is not indicative of learning achieved, nor of classroom discipline; yet this study used 'time taken for the class to quiet down,' as the objective measurement for this survey.  I'm sure everyone can come up with a couple of reasons why this is ridiculous, so I won't bother stating them here.  What I will say, however, is that roughly 75% of my classes are average/strong with regards to achievement of learning objectives - that is to say:  I feel a sense of accomplishment when I walk out of those classes, I feel the students have gained something.

Being a student in England, my own sense of achievement would have been roughly 25% of lessons.  This of course soared to 26% at the sixth form level, where the morons and unwilling were weeded out - leaving nothing but the rest of us.

University is dictated by your own standards and rules, so it's hard not to feel a sense of accomplishment in that kind of environment, and is the primary reason why I vehemently believe in higher education being a useful tool for anyone, regardless of intended vocation or course of study.  If you can't handle it academically, then don't apply, but for everyone else - please go to university.  Preferably a university outside america or England, so the tuition will be better and cheaper.

The point of all this?  I don't doubt that Japan has a significant lead over the West in terms of educational aptitude (Notice how I am deliberately not saying their smarter?  They're not.  Much to the chagrin of Japanophiles and the department of education.) but not for their lack of noise in a classroom.

If a student is asleep in class, they are left to it.  If they are noisy and disruptive, no attempt is made to settle the child down.  There is no provision for mentally disadvantaged children.  Let me just reiterate - no provision for ADHD, no provision for anger issues, no provision for any of the 'mild,' mental health issues that essentially nullify the ability of the child in question, or anyone within a forty foot radius, to learn.  If a child can dress itself, control his or her body physically, and doesn't require a wheelchair ramp - they're fair game for the comprehensive classroom.

England tried doing this, I was part of the generation where ultra-liberal policy (inclusion of everyone in the classroom, everyone deserves to learn nothing afterall) was misinterpreted and implemented.  Primary education sucked because we had to endure this nonsense, secondary education sucked through the compulsory period, and only became tolerable when we reached the sixth-form.

Japan may have the quietest students on average (I don't believe that for a second), and it may well produce perfectly educated clones - but it is not the 'best,' system because it doesn't cater to individual needs.  It doesn't cater to special needs, it doesn't cater to the most able students, it doesn't even fulfil the remit of catering to the average (in this sense, average meaning the largest demographic of students possible, in order to include everyone) because the average is skewed by those are the top and bottom.  It is by no means the best.

Schools in England are set - at least in core subjects; and this simple addition means that for these subjects, everyone is treated to the education they are capable of assimilating.  This exceedingly simple process doesn't occur here, and as a result, Japanese universities receive clones, produce clones and nothing comes of it.  Ever wondered why the top Japanese university doesn't even rank in the top 25 of worldwide universities, despite having the 'best,' students in the world, and being the most technologically advanced country in the world?

Then again maybe I'm misunderstanding the intention of Japan as a country.  They don't care about international sport, they don't want to excel academically - perhaps striving to be average, with full body, mind and spirit, is the accepted way in Japan.





I know a lot of people will misunderstand this particular post, brought about by the wilfully misleading BBC cited article about global child 'behaviour.'  Japanese students (for the most part) listen well, work hard and try their best.  This rant is about the ridiculous basis for the article, and the inherent flaws in an education system whose remit is to provide an equal opportunity to learn for everyone.  They've misinterpreted this statement, as has the UK, to mean everyone should be lumped in together, regardless of ability or disability.  To my mind, it means that everyone should be equally able to access the information available, something that is impossible when the mentally retarded child in the class is equal parts punching the other boys, and pulling the girls hair for forty-five minutes, while screaming bloody murder.  It's true, everyone in this scenario has equal access to education; but it's equal access to no education.

Telecommunicable

So the past few days I've been a little ill.  It's nothing major, but I feel it best to stay away from exercise.  As such, my new found collaboration with a rugby team up the road (coaching kids) was interrupted on Sunday.  I tried contacting the coach several times, but despite a phoneback from him (which I missed by a fraction) I was unable to relay my sickness.  What makes it more frustrating is that he's left messages for me, that I can't access because my phone is indecipherable.  Endeavour to make contact, I suppose.

I also haven't been to the gym for a week, which is unlike me. In this time I've been toying with the idea of running to the gym, as I feel general fitness is my current weakness.  The route covers a lot of road, and has a number of stops (for traffic lights etc) so it would suit my generally desired type of fitness (I always have an eye focused on rugby).

There are two problems I can foresee with this:  It takes twenty minutes by bike, when I'm burning.  By burning I mean I spend the entire time, trying to overtake cars.  I'm all over the road, swinging left and right trying to get there in as little time as possible.  When I do arrive, I generally do half an hour of upper body work before I start on the legs, because they're pretty jellified upon arrival.  Ultimately, this means a 45-50 minute run to the gym, a workout, then another 50 minute run back.  I despise running, in all shapes and forms - it's torture.  To spend the equivalent of an entire rugby match just running around; with nothing to tackle and no try line seems ludicrous.  On the flip side, there can surely be fewer things better for fitness than that.

The other problem is one of shoes.  I have a viable pair of shoes to run in right now, but they won't last a year of running like that.  At least, they won't offer any kind of protection for a year.  My knees are aching now, and I've not even tried running there yet.

I predict this cold will have flown by Friday, at which point I will attempt running to the gym.  Luckily, the two week hiatus will result in me losing at least a kilo, (as was the trend when I first arrived) so it will be slightly easier to haul myself along.  I don't know what other people experience when they go for a run, but I just feel like I'm trying to push a walrus along sandpaper that's glued to the floor.  It's like pushing an immovable weight, on a floor with an infinitely high friction coefficient.  I feel the same when I play rugby, especially when I don't have the ball or I'm not about to tackle someone - the difference is the disappearance of this burden when the time comes to act.  I guess that's the amazing effect of adrenaline.

#Edit

I'm watching a group of kids warming up to participate in P.E.  I can't remember ever warming up for P.E, except in the rare case that we actually had to do some exercise (this was rare, in the compulsory portion of my education).  What I notice, is that they completely disregard conventional Western wisdom (contradictory?) with regards to correct warmup procedure.  We're all taught not to 'bounce,' that is to say, fling a body part to the point at which it is fully extended/stretched and quickly tense that muscle to pull it back to the starting position.  This view hasn't reached Asia yet, apparently, and while fine for these kids (they're not really trying and don't care enough to injure themselves) I wonder if this is one of the reasons for relatively poor performances among Japanese athletes.  I've seen rugby teams here do the same thing, and I cringe.  I watch people in the gym do the same thing, and cringe.

Watching the chinese warm-up on the track prior to their events during the Olympics, I noticed they employed a more 'Western style,' approach to warmups.  Perhaps it is more indicative of a lack of interest in improvement, then, than one of the myriad outright causes.

#Edit 2:  So Japanese people use e-mail with their phones, not SMS.  SMS is outdated enough that you can't send one, unless the recipient is on the same network as you.  Imagine that in England, with the 50 different networks available.

Change of Plans

So originally I was going to write about how my sunburn has kept me up for two nights straight now.

Then I saw this: 

I have always said that south sea islanders and kiwis play the game rougher than the rest of the world.  The difference between them is that the islanders don't have skill, they just make up for it with aggression (the exception to this rule being the Fiji 7's, they're exceptional by any standard).  It's par for the course that you'll get a few late tackles playing against a group of uncoordinated thugs, it's just how it is.  Whenever I played against them, I would just politely step out of the way and let them sail past, while they were sprawling, I'd be running through the overweight hole they left in their defensive line.

This, however, is not in the same category.  I don't care whether the retard throwing the punches is nineteen years old or fifty, he should know better.  An obviously late tackle, that he had plenty of time to stop, followed by three punches, (you need to work on your technique, by the way) should earn this delinquent a stay in prison.  Of course, should he go to prison he would be screwed.  In prison, he would not fight someone half his size, and he certainly would not have the opportunity to land three punches.  The fact that Ashton stayed on his feet is indicative of his rugby league roots, and of the tuilagi brothers penchant for bullying - all talk and no walk (are you really happy with yourself tuilagi?  You couldn't even lay out an opponent who wasn't fighting back, had no intention of fighting and who was letting you punch him in the face, you even got a combination left/right on him and nothing happened.  I bet you cried yourself to sleep that night.).

Let's just hope he never puts on an England jersey - apparently he qualifies through residency clauses.  Think about it, he would go around throwing his toys out of the pram, costing England matches.  International referees aren't as blind as domestic ones; he would absolutely be red carded.

On a side-note, I love the youtube comments for that video.  You can really tell the ozzies from the sane.  They just don't forget, do they: 

On a summarising note: tuilagi's aren't cut out for international rugby, or even high level domestic rugby.  They're too violent, and have not an iota of intelligence between them - something international rugby players absolutely require, and something lacking in those who just play to bully others.

The Most Sunburnt, What Do I Win?

So yesterday I helped coach a group of kids from a neighbouring town.  I cycled all the way there, from 8AM, to arrive at 9.20.  We proceeded to play for a long time, and I eventually arrived back home at 3.30 PM.  I wasn't out in the sun for the duration, but I managed to get horrifically sunburnt.  I'm sure there's cancer in this, somewhere along the line.

I can't remember what I was like when I was 16, but these kids were pretty average.  There were a couple of solid prospects, but one was only such, because he was was bigger than those around him.  If he doesn't learn some skills in the meantime, he will be a liability when everyone else is his size, or at least not afraid of him.  Such appears to be the path of all rugby players, starting out from a young age.

In the meantime, I am in agony.  This sunburn really is bad.

I also forgot my lunch.  At this point I'm wondering what the calorific value of coffee is, and if it's potent enough to sustain me through the day.

On a side-note, does anyone know any home-brewed recipes for sunburn cream?  Preferably things I would have already stocked in my fridge.

To Value Minority Views

Now before I begin, let me preface this post by saying that I am currently reading (as widely as possible) about research methods for my upcoming indoctrination into the world of Masters education.  I am required to submit (for my first module) a research proposal, without fully realising the research itself.  In this way, the kings of university hope that I will learn the requirements and expectations surrounding credible research.

Upon my embarkation on this long, (probably arduous) journey I came across this book (part of the essential reading list for the course): 'Teachers Investigate their Work.' It's written by Herbert Altrichter, Peter Posch and Bridget Somekh.

Notice how I haven't used a formal, accepted method for citing this particular book, and neither will I for citing the page number and references - I'm not writing a formal essay here!

Much of this introduction to research focuses on basics, which is great.  Prior to this book I had little idea what was expected, and this covers a lot of theoretical ground.  I would have preferred a few more case studies, perhaps coming at the end in the form of supplementary reading, with key points highlighted in order to give a context to the theory.  As such, it does an adequate job of isolating particular aspects of the theory, and I may simply be nitpicking as to the validity of this criticism.

Anyway, on writing under the heading 'the function of dilemma analysis,' (P. 152) a particular sub-heading, entitled 'valuing minority views,' caught my eye, and immediately sparked a thought appropriate for this blog.

The crux of this sub-heading is simple - by using the specific method of post research analysis (dilemma analysis), a problem that can be overcome is the ever prevalent de-valuation of minority views.

This is not a racial argument, before you stop reading.

Think back to history class.  How many views have been held in esteem for centuries, to be debunked in an instant.  How many of those met with fierce resistance?  Using a specific example, the discovery of us not being the centre of the universe, the minority view (of Galileo) was shunned because it contravened religious doctrine.  The religious held power, his view was discredited.

Luckily for Galileo, he made a discovery that was based in a land of mathematics and observable, re-creatable fact.

Unfortunately, the loft values held by scientists and students everywhere, specifically of us 'being past,' the dark ages where the powerful few could dictate truth, is a mirage.  Think about global warming.  The priests have been replaced by politicians, the bishops by big company spokesmen, but we are all equally ignorant of the truth.

In a few decades I'm sure the truth will out, but in the meantime I suggest the scientists of the world read this book, specifically chapter six.  While not a manual on empirical research, should you wake up and realise that everything has some involvement of human perception, and therefore the resulting pitfalls associated with interpretation, you will come out ahead of the pack, and possibly contribute something useful to society.  More frightened, closeted individuals too frightened to assess the 'minority view,' humanity does not need.

Watch the Video, Before Continuing

So this article made me laugh.

Firstly, the guy obviously wasn't serious about the suicide attempt, otherwise he wouldn't have been waiting for them to inflate the giant balloon.

Therefore, the man pushing him should be convicted of attempted murder, as there's no justification for 'helping him on his way,' as he wasn't intending to be on his way in the first place.

Secondly, both of them being prosecuted isn't surprising.  I have to wonder whether this wasn't simply an exercise on behalf of the chinese though - I find it hard to believe that they care about an individual enough to employ inflatable cushions for every once in a lifetime high-diver.  Afterall, communists aren't exactly known for being particularly touchy-feely about, well, anything; I'm certain he'd have been violently apprehended, or 'taken care of,' before he'd jumped anyway.

Anyway, the guy pushing him is a dick - but at least they can share a prison cell together for the rest of their lives.  (Again, communists aren't exactly known to be lenient with punishment, regardless of crime.)  Perhaps the pushee will find out why the pusher felt it necessary to be an ass.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Also, in this article, comes this peach of china versus the world thinking:





"China and Asia dominated world trade for 1,500 years, so maybe we are just returning to equilibrium, where the short period of western domination will be seen as little more than a blip".




(I particularly enjoy the reference to china initially, and then tacking asia onto the phrase, after china, to make it seem as if the statement is not directly addressing china, but asia as a whole, while simultaneously dismissing asia as irrelevant to the conversation at hand. Fleet footed double meaning trickery!)




I've mentioned before that the chinese are brainwashed (as we all are, in differing ways but similar ends) to think that the chinese have been repeatedly wronged by the west, and to a certain extent their immediate neighbours, (although they conveniently forget the wrongs of their neighbours when a 'united front,' needs to be shown to competitors) conveniently forgetting their own wrongdoings. Indeed, it would seem that all chinese wrongdoings have been forgotten to chinese historians, so infrequent and mild are their own mistakes. Not ten seconds after destroying countless acres of land for their water projects to the north, were the environmental impacts of such projects forgotten. Not to mention that they now espouse their green credentials - hypocrisy run rampant.




However I take issue with the extract above, not just for the patriotic fervor, but for the fact it's based in pure fantasy. The European powers dictated 'world trade,' (what was world trade before global telecommunications? A few trade ships and some spices?) from the sixteen hundreds onwards, with Spain, France, Portugal and Great Britain leading the way.




Before this, 'world trade,' as the right dishonorable (see: stupid) chinese representative Mr. Tandon phrases it, did not exist.




No Mr. chinese man, one cannot dominate world trade that does not exist, and if you do happen to count the ten barrels of spice X that were traded in 500 A.D I laugh at your pathetic attempts to create a past where you have global relevance.




The point being, back then, no country was 'dominant,' in world trade, in the way that america and Europe were, and china now is.




Grow up and eat some dimsum.

Of Japanese Education, and Other Things

So I though I'd pretend to do some work today, and scan some stuff into the computer.  Of course it was a ruse, nothing constructive was being accomplished, I was merely scanning in some pages to illustrate a point I'm about to make.

Previously, with ridiculous textbooks, I've felt uncomfortable freely using examples in case someone sues me for defamation or libel or something; the textbooks we use are common across Japan however, and I'm sure an entire nation could care less about one man blogging about them.  Therefore, without further ado:  The problems of language teaching in Japan; part two.

So you'll have to forgive the horrible expressions, crappy cartoons and generally poor layout.  They've modelled this after a Japanese comic book (they're massively popular here) and it was made in 2000.  That aside, what you may immediately notice is that everything has the Japanese pronunciation written next to it.  This is the best page I could find in the whole book, that is to say, this page has the least transliteration.  Most pages have more, with detailed descriptions in Japanese for everything.

For the average student who could care less about English, I'm not necessarily against the idea.  The point being that these students will never speak with an Englishman, or Australian, or american ever again.  Leaving school means leaving English interaction.  Essentially, English is a means of testing.  Including the Japanese pronunciations would, at first, appear fine.

However, Japanese has fewer sounds than English, and all their sounds are accompanied with vowels.  Think about this for a moment.  There is no 'm.'  It has to be accompanied with a vowel.  'M,' becomes one of, 'ma, me, mi, mu or mo.'  That means when learning the letters of the alphabet, no one can initially pronounce the consonants correctly.  This would be fine if the students learnt English in isolation, something along the lines of 'this is how it is, if you don't initially learn English along with Japanese sounds, you'll be fine.'  Of course they don't.  I just had a lesson - teaching the kids English sounds, where the Japanese teacher was approximating the sounds into Japanese.  Some of the sounds were reaching three katakana letters in length, just for a single syllable/sound!  Incredibly stupid.

The particularly annoying thing was the insistence of the teacher and student to pronounce everything incorrectly, after I had just corrected them.  Learning 'm,' instead of 'mu,' took a solid minute, only for the teacher to write up 'mu,' in Japanese on the board, and all the kids to immediately embed 'mu,' in their brains - and there it will stay.  Incorrect for all eternity.

On a side note, the chair I'm currently sitting in, while scanning these pictures looks like this starship.  Geek, right?

So basically there is no hope for these kids to ever learn English - they will forever learn Japlish.

To be fair, I can't think of a single teacher I've met who pretends that they teach English.  They all realise the errors, flaws, mistakes, misconceptions and lies perpetrated by their education system.  Afterall, the teachers I work with have been through the system themselves, and have studied English to a level most of these kids won't.  I would be surprised if a single student in this school went on to study English at university.  There must be four hundred and fifty kids in this school.

So ultimately I have to illustrate my frustrations with another page.  I decided I wouldn't pick a page meant for students, as these things are always full of holes.  Instead, how about some spiel aimed at the teachers themselves, in English.  To preface this, it was obviously written by a fluent speaker, and isn't a typical, crazed translation likening life to falling cherry blossoms, and the transience of youth to a flowing river.

Ok so blogspot won't upload the picture.  Maybe I'll try at home.

To be continued.

Update:

This is the page I tried to upload earlier.

Check out the heading 'Human Education.'

Perhaps I was wrong about the wishy-washy Japanese style of writing; it can be, and is translated directly into English.

'English language teaching should contribute to character building and world peace.'

What the.

The words flow like rivers among an ocean of rocky precipices, deftly dodging...  Ok I can't keep this up.  This nonsense has no place in an English language teaching manual, especially one designed for a syllabus whereby the sole aim is to get kids through tests.

And they still haven't taught the kids how to run properly, but now they're making them jump the hurdles.  Literally.  They're running up to the hurdles, stopping, jumping over them, and carrying on.

Ever wondered why you've never seen a single Japanese sprinter/hurdler/sportsman/athelete?  (Except for sumo, where the native Japanese competitors are beaten by south pacific islanders all the time anyway.)

Golden Week Blue

So here we the photographs from a particularly eventful Golden week.  Amanda came down to visit, and be entirely bored by my surroundings.  As I've alluded to before, it's mainly farmland.  This first picture is directly outside my front door, looking down.  There are some annoying chickens that make a lot of noise, but apart from that it's generally quiet.  There are one or two cars every now and again on the main road - it's all stuff that doesn't annoy me now that I'm used to it.

So this golden week (a period of three days of consecutive holiday in Japan) had mixed results.

It was extremely fun while it lasted, but it was only three days.  What's more, it's a ridiculous three days, falling on the Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.  Why not push the three days forwards or backwards by a single day in order to get five straight days of holiday.  Ridiculous.

You can see some of the noisy chickens here.  They look delicious, but I'm not sure the farmer would appreciate my eating them.

The bikes are locked up under the stairs.  I live on the top floor.  One is a complete junker - luckily I requested a bike that actually worked, and after some deliberation they relented and bought me a granny bike with a basket on the front.

Obviously Amanda got the decent granny bike.

This is the view of a relative nice house behind my apartment building.  I shudder to think how much this cost, considering land prices all over Japan.

I think this picture is a good example of the general rural nature of my area.  It is awfully similar to the countryside surrounding Peterborough, around 'cowbit.'  (I think that's what it's called, anyway.)

The view up the back alley to my house.  I take this road every day, either to school or the supermarket.

It's extremely flat around here, perfect biking country.

I don't know what the main crop is, but the next few photos are of the area behind my house.  Presumably something leafy will be grown in these areas (I think rice needs more water).

This roaming store was selling delicacies such as - chicken skin (which I partook of) and liver.  It's not substantial, but it was extremely tasty.

We ate with one of my Japanese English teachers.  He showed us a wealth of Japanese style delicacies, of them the sashimi above (I don't know what the difference between sashimi'd fish and sushi is) was particularly tasty.  Archetypal Japanese cuisine.

We also had these shelled monstrosities.  Not my particular cup of tea.

And this, a favourite of the Japanese teacher we were with.  Scroll down for some closeups.

Finally, these two thousand yen bills are considered lucky by the Japanese teacher, because of their rarity.  I had never seen one before, and I'm not sure how many people know about them.  They're extremely funky looking.

This will probably be the last time I us Amandas camera, as we've decided not to see each other anymore.  The distance is too great, the opportunities too infrequent and the whole situation too difficult.  If we were closer I'm sure we'd still see each other, but it's difficult when you live so far apart.