cream collon

Some Cream Collon anyone? Found these at a little import store. A Japanese snack.They are little tubes filled with cream. Hmmmm... Interesting name choice.

Aerobic English lessons

LMAO!!! There are so many of them, too. If you like this one, check the others out.

Japanese Toilet Training

Just a little something that I thought you would enjoy. ;)
Showing you how to do it; complete with dancing poo!

Japanese kids.

Most of the students in the school are, of course, Korean, but there are also some others that attend. There are a few mixed children, with one Korean parent and one western parent. There are also several Japanese kids. The Japanese kids are all so cute. I teach 4 of them - Maho and Aono are two girls in the other 6 (4/5) year old class, Luna is a girl in one of the 5 (3/4) year old classes, and Yudai (pronounced "you die") is a boy in one of the 5 year old classes. They all speak a strange mix of Japanese, Korean and English.[Luna - during the fashion show]
[Aono waiting to be picked up on Children's Day][Maho and I - She was waiting to be picked up. Yes, I had my hair in pigtails. :P]

Japanese goldfish...

This is so strange. Great idea but very strange. I wonder if many fish end up dead trying to feed off of their 'surface'. I know our fish always splashed at the surface. Also, the water must get quite hot, with the oil heated that much. Must be very hardy fish. [I saw this video posted on And Far Away. I think everyone needs to see it!!!]

VISA Run to Fukuoka, Japan... part III: March 12th

I slept in a little and then got ready to go to the Korean Consulate. The Consulate is very near the Fukuoka Dome (for baseball) near Toujinmachi station (6 stops from Hakata Station, where my hotel was). I was getting close and then remembered that my recruiter said in a message that I had to have 60000 Won (Korean money) for the processing fees. I thought that was a bit strange, being that it was in Japan, not Korea. I had that much in my hotel in an envelope but had forgotten to grab it so I went back. It was a waste of money to go back as they don't accept Korean money, of course. The subway trip is 250Yen each way (~US$2.11, CA$2.45).
On the way back there were a couple of guys on the train that were also heading to the consulate. Every day, there are many people going to Japan to get VISAs for Korea. As it was almost 11 by the time we got to Toujinmachi, we shared a cab to the consulate. Not a cheap method of transportation there, but it was fast enough to get us there before they shut the gates for the 1.5/2 hour lunch break. There weren't many people actually at the consulate so it was fairly quick once we were there. The guys had only arrived that morning and had not even stopped to check into the hotel yet, and were a bit tired. I think neither of them had slept the night before.We went for lunch at a little Italian restaurant near the Dome and then they headed back to Hakata Station to check into the hotel and get some rest (it seems that most people that go to Fukuoka for their VISA run end up staying in that hotel). I decided to do some more walking and sightseeing. My first stop was Ohori Park, one station from Toujinmachi. I walked, of course, as to go one stop on the train would have cost me 200Yen!!!Ohori park is quite large and is basically a huge man made lake with a park through the middle and around the edges.At one end, there are HUGE koi and other such fish. There were so many of them it would be nearly impossible to count them all. People were feeding them, so there was also a huge flock of seagulls and pigeons. They kept trying to scare the birds away, though, as the food was meant for the fish.[The birds started flying as just as I took the picture. They had been all on the water.][This might give you an idea of the size of the fish. That wasn't even one of the biggest ones!]I watched them for a while before heading along through the park that split the lake in two (the first part is a huge bridge, though, not actually park). Along the way, I was a bit confused by the signs. Fishing is allowed only in certain areas of the lake.Along the park, there are signs saying fishing/no fishing, no fishing/fishing, fishing/no fishing, etc. What difference does it make, really?
There were huge ravens all over as well as the pigeons and gulls.On a small island in the lake (not accessable), there were also some massive birds. I'm not sure what all of them were, but I know some were herons (on the ground and in the water on the left).
Once across, I tried to go to a Japanese garden that was shown on my map, but the gates were closed. The Fukuoka Art Museum was also closed, due to the fact that it was Monday (I was later told). So I headed on to the Gokoku Shrine.The Gokoku Shrine covers a very large area. Most of it is just open space. The meaning of Gokoku is something along the lines of guardian of the State. Where I was standing to take this picture is on a big tarmac. Beyond the gate is a huge grassy area with a wide gravel path leading all the way to the building. There is also a gravel path intersecting that one.ALL of the gravel is kept raked (there is a lot of it). The lines in the gravel basically followed the edges; running the entire length of the paths, for example. In this pic, I am standing on the steps of the building. There is a set of lines going around the building and then the other ones follow the edge of grassy area.
From there I went to the Fukuoka Castle Ruins and Maizuru Park.At the ruins there isn't much to see other than very high fortress like sides with gardens of different types of flowers and trees on the different levels - plum tree garden, cherry tree garden, azalea garden, iris garden, etc.Some of the trees around the place are MASSIVE!!! There is a woman standing beside the tree in the picture (front right), to give you an idea of its size.
At one of the higher levels of the Castle, (the sign for the area said the Tamon Tower courtyard), there is a very long building along the edge but I'm not sure if it is part of the original Castle or not, as it looks fairly new. Maybe it was re-built?There is only one very old looking building on the other side (the Kinen Tower).When I finally tired of walking around the ruins, I went to Tenjin Station (2 stops away) which is supposed to be a very good shopping area with underground malls and such. I wandered about for a while and then went for a walk. I decided to try to find the Yanagibashi Market. I didn't find it, but did see quite a bit of the city. By the time I got back to the hotel, I had walked for over 9 hours since the guys had left for the hotel. I was exhausted.
I took advantage of the little bathtub. Even though it was small, it was quite deep - about knee deep on me (I have long legs).
For more info on where to stay in Fukuoka, check out

Kushida Shrine in Fukuoka, Japan

Kushida shrine lies at the heart of old Hakata, the centre of the old city and is from here that the competitors in Fukuoka's most famous festival, the Yamagasa depart on their long early morning run.
Founded in 757, Kushida shrine is not only spectacular but contains a variety of items of interest. Note in particular the Eto Arrow plate with its carvings of the Chinese zodiac and the brace of anchor stones recovered from the harbour that belonged to the Mongolian invasion fleets. Note also the Yamakasa portable shrine.
There is a ginko tree in the forecourt that a 1918 monument claims is 1000 years old. The grand deity, Ohata Nushina-mikoto, is enshrined here.
But it is in mid-July that the shrine is best enjoyed - it hosts the "Oiyama" event of the Yamakasa-gion festival. Hundreds of near naked men clad only in tight loincloths and tighter buttocks vie to carry heavy wooden shrines through the streets over a set route in the fastest times. The main event commences at 4:59am.
[Kyushu.com]

[All photos taken March 11, 2007]
[If you're traveling to Fukuoka and need to find a good hotel, check out Fukuoka Hotels for a large variety of options.]

VISA Run to Fukuoka, Japan... part II: March 11th

I had planned to get up a little bit early in order to do a lot of sightseeing, since I would only be there a few days. I did let myself sleep in a little, though, and didn't get up until 9:30. I went down to the little restaurant for my complimentary breakfast. A Japanese breakfast. I am NOT a big fan of Japanese food. Almost everything is fish or seafood of some sort.Breakfast consisted of [clockwise from top left]: rice (of course), sauteed mushrooms and veggies (kinda good, actually), fermented mung beans with oil and mustard (just tasted like rotten who knows what), plain tofu (I did eat that, with some soy sauce), 2 pieces of fried egg (the little rectangles), some sort of fish egg, shredded dried seaweed, yellow something or other (maybe candied ginger?), a huge chunk of fish, and a bit of bean paste soup (slightly fishy but not so much that I couldn't eat it). Since I don't usually eat much to begin with, what I was able to eat was enough.
After I ate I headed back to my room to get ready to go out for a day of wandering about.
My plan was to go to Gion Station to wander about the area, as the map shows several temples and what not there. I wasn't sure what the distance was between stations, but since it was only one station away, decided to just walk and find out. They aren't too far apart, so it only took about 10 minutes to get there. I'm not even sure how many temples and shrines I went to, as I know I saw more than what is shown on my little map. I love Buddhist temples and shrines. The structures are always so beautiful, and I love the little gardens and such as well.
I also did a little bit of shopping (or looking) every time I found any sort of shopping street.I think the covered shopping streets are a great idea. They are easier to keep clean and don't have to worry about covering things when it rains. Behind one of the covered shopping streets was a small river/canal, of which there are several in the city.
I was looking for a folk museum that is mentioned on the map, and wasn't sure where to look, so I kept walking and ended up at the Fukuoka Asian Art Museum.

Tserennadmidin Tsegtmed, 1958-
(Mongolia)
Orkhon
1993,
oil on canvas
The Orkhon River is 1123 km in length and flows through the eastern Khangai ranges of Mongolia. The scene depicted here shows an actual site, the Red Falls on the upper reaches of the river. These falls are highly revered by Mongolians, whose grassy plains do not contain many waterfalls. Tsegmed is known for his depiction of the lively exchange between nature and people in Mongolia. The primary theme of this work lies on the sublime power of nature long revered by Mongolians. Similarities can be found between the artist's expression in this painting and the feminine lines of the traditional Buddhist figures unique to Mongolia.

I spent some time there, and quite enjoyed it. I had walked quite a ways past the museum I had been looking for, and so started to make my way back the way I came. On the way, I stopped for lunch at a fairly large bakery/cafe.

I was very pleased with my sandwich and mocha. :)
I did manage to find the Hakata Machiya Folk Museum. There do several demonstrations there at different times. The ones I saw were Hakata-ori textile weaving (which I got to try) and Hakata doll making. Hakata is a district of Fukuoka, and at one time, I think, was a merchant town.

After the museums, I checked out a couple more temples before heading back to the hotel. The clouds were starting to roll in and it was getting a bit cold. The last temple I wandered around, the Shofukuji Temple, seemed deserted; I didn't see a single person (and it was a huge temple!).

Note: I'll put up some pics of the temples in another post.

My hotel room in Fukuoka

I stayed at the Sun Life Hotel 2&3.My room was so tiny,as was the bathroom, which seems to be some sort of prefabricated plastic bathroom, with a fancy toilet and a small but deep tub.
I was amused by the instructions for the toilet, especially #1: "Sit down on the seat."

VISA Run to Fukuoka, Japan... part I: March 10th

I went to Japan last week for 3.5 days (I left on the 10th and came back on the 13th). It is the most common place for foreigners in Korea to go for a VISA run.
Leaving on the 10th was quite stressful, as I didn't know that I was leaving then, until the afternoon of the 9th. My VISA expired on the 9th. Everyone (my boss, my friends, my recruiter, etc) had heard/said that I had a 2 weeks grace period after my VISA expiry date in which to leave the country. I had no choice in the matter, as my school didn't get my VISA confirmation letter until, I thiink, the 8th or 9th, and I wasn't the one that was booking tickets and such. The original plan, thinking about the 2 weeks grace, had me leaving on the 23rd to spend an entire weekend in Japan and then doing the run. Then on the 9th, they were informed that my last school handed in my release forms to immigration on February 28th, which would mean that my VISA probably ended on that day (so they were thinking), and so the 2 weeks grace would end on the 14th. The other teacher was going then, so I had to go ASAP.

And, they emailed me my e-ticket and such the evening of the 9th, but I don't have a printer. I was busy from other plans on the 9th so that only left the Saturday morning to get everything done (find somewhere to print out my tickets and such, pack, etc). Luckily Revo was able to come to feed Tokki while I was away. If not, I would have been even busier that morning, as I would have had to take Tokki to the vet for "hotelling", IF they had space, that is. I got to the airport around 2 hours ahead of time. I checked in in an express lane for those that aren't checking bags, and then went and had some lunch (I hadn't even had breakfast that morning from all that I had to do). My flight was to leave at 6:10 PM. At a little before 5, I went through security without any problems... they had to check my bag, though, and put all of my 'liquids' and such into a small ziplock bag (you are allowed what will fit into a sealable 1L bag). Then at Immigration I had a problem. My VISA expired on the 9th and it was the 10th. BIG PROBLEM. There is a bit of a grace period in terms of not having to pay any fines, but it is still a problem, and paperwork and such still had to be done. I had to sit around and wait for them to do who knows what. Then, a girl working at the airport literally ran with me to the little immigration office out in the public area (before security) where I had to draw a number and wait some more. Then, we had to sprint all the way back across the airport, where I had to go through security once again. I had to wait for a couple of people go to through infront of me, before they let me go. It was already take-off time for my flight!!!! And then they stopped me and wanted to check in my bag, to see the liquids. They said one of my containers was too big. It was 115 mL but they only allow a maximum size of 100mL. It was ONE OF THEM that took it from my other bag and PUT IT IN THE PLASTIC BAG BEFORE!!!!! The airport girl that was with me had gone though to take my passport to the immigration past security to get the rest of the stuff done there. She came back and told security that I had already gone through and such, so then they said they would let the extra 115 mL pass that time only. Then I had to go to get my passport stamped and run to the gate, which was, luckily, straight ahead. I was exhausted from running with my pack on my back, and my feet and legs were killing me (I've been having other problems and the doctor has told me several times I shouldn't even be walking much, let alone running with extra weight).

They had held the flight for me, and so they welcomed me by name when I finally got on. I only wanted to sit down in my seat. When I finally got there, I could do nothing to prevent a few tears from going running down my cheeks (if I weren't in such a public place it would have been a lot more). So much stress.

The food on the flight was disappointing. No choice. Just a dish of rice with some sort of seafood and slices of ginger and some sort of strange shredded fluorescent pink stuff all over it.

Once I was actually in Japan, everything was fine. I didn't have a hotel booked for that night, only for my last night (my school was only paying for one night and so would only book one for me). My plan was to go to that hotel and hope they had rooms available when I got there. The hotel was easy to find. The subway system goes right to the airport, and my hotel was right beside the main train station, only 2 stops from the airport. That night all I did was relax and go go sleep early, as I hadn't slept much the night before and had an extremely stressful day.

one of the best signs ever

in Ohori Park, Fukuoka, Japan
[taken March 13, 2007]

or not...

I've had a busy week. Every night it was something different... and my home is still not arranged, as the closet that my school got for me is about 2cm bigger than the space I told them it had to fit in. So, I have to rearrange my entire room in order for it to fit somewhere; anywhere. The table they got me is also too big. I asked for a little Korean style fold up table, as my home is so small. They got me a normal height table.... with only one chair.
Word itself is good. I am enjoying it, and I love my kids. I think my class is the best in the school (and not just because they are my class).
SO.... TODAY I am flying to Japan. I found that out only YESTERDAY!!!!! I was supposed to go in 2 weeks, but they found out yesterday that because my other school sent in my release forms on February 28th, my VISA actually finished then, instead of the 9th, as my actual VISA says. There is a 2 week grace period after the VISA ends, which would put it at the 14th.
I am going to Fukouka. I'm not exactly sure where it is... somewhere in the south of Japan. The other times I have gone on VISA runs, I've gone to Osaka. I don't know where anything is in Fukouka. I had told them right from the beginning that I wanted to go on a weekend so that I could actually do something there, or see something while I am there, rather than just going and getting the VISA. I hate going to a country and not seeing anything while there. It seems like a waste (I did that the last 2 times, as I had no money then).
AND... they booked my tickets yesterday afternoon and only booked my hotel for Monday night, as I have to pay the others (the VISA run now takes 2 days). I had asked them to just add the other two nights but they said they couldn't as it was too late. AND... I asked my boss to print out my e-ticket for me. He said okay, went and printed out a page and handed it to me. I assumed that it was my e-ticket. It was only my itinerary. I HAVE NO PRINTER. I would have done it myself, but I didn't get the email until later that evening. So NOW I have to go find some place that will print it out for me. I also didn't have a chance to figure out what I can do when I am there. I was going to use the next couple of weeks to look it up. Now I am going to a place that I know nothing about. AND I don't yet have a hotel for tonight. I am hoping that if I go to the hotel that they booked me in for Monday, that maybe they will have a room available. And I haven't yet checked what I am allowed to take on the plane. I haven't yet packed anything and I have to leave my home less than 4 hours.

Baduk

Baduk is more commonly known as Go. It is a board game that is considered to be the most complex game in the world (more challenging than chess). It originated in China but is very popular in China, Korea, and Japan, as well as around the world. The game is played by two players (black and white) on a 19 by 19 board (grid). The players take turns placing their stones on vacant points/intersections (there are 361 intersections!).

What Is Go?

You can find online games of baduk, downloadable games, and there are even tv channels here that are strictly baduk (showing games and strategies and such).

Anyway, I found this article and found it very interesting. It is sort of related to my last post about hagwons (private schools/academies that the kids go to after school). I'm posting the whole article because I think it is worth reading.
I'm not sure if I've mentioned it before or not, but when Koreans do things, they go all out. They always play the part/dress the part/live the part/etc. (I'll save explaining that for another post.)

Becoming a Professional Player in Korea
During 60 years of professional baduk history in Korea, there have only been about 210 professional players. Only 35 of them were female. As in other sports, becoming a professional baduk player means taking a long and difficult road.
In Korea, a certified student who studies baduk at Hankuk Kiwon (Korea baduk Association) seeking to become a professional player is called a yongusaeng. At any time in the yongusaeng league, there are 120 boys divided into 10 classes and 48 girls divided into four classes, class 1 being the strongest (for both the boys and girls) and 10 the weakest (4 for girls).
A tournament among the yongusaeng takes place every month, and classes are reorganized each time according to the results. The top four players of each class will move up to the next class, while the worst four will be demoted to a lower class. When a new yongusaeng joins the league, he or she will get the lowest position in the weakest class to start with, regardless of his/her strength.
A qualification tournament to select new yongusaeng takes place every four months. To be selected, an applicant must be under the age of 18 and be in the top 12 of the hundreds of players participating in the qualification tournament.
Every month, four of these newcomers have the honor of joining the weakest yongusaeng class in place of the students cut in the monthly yongusaeng tournament. All 12 new students are incorporated into the yongusaeng classes, four at a time, over three months.
The competition among all the yongusaeng _ including the lowest ranked newcomers _ to join a higher class and not to be kicked out of the league, is incredibly intense. During week, when there are no league games, the yongusaeng spend most of their time studying baduk. They replay the professional games, review their own games from the yongusaeng league, study new joseki variations, solve life and death problems and play other yongusaeng.
Some of the yongusaeng, whose ages range from eight to 18, even give up regular education to have more time to study the game. They study baduk from morning to night, except for a little exercise during the day to keep their health.
There are about 15 private baduk academies in Korea (otherwise known as baduk tojang), with between 10 to 20 yongusaeng. Most of the teachers at these private academies are professional players, and they play teaching games and review them with their students.
Each academy also has other students who aspire to join their ranks of the yongusaeng. Their number ranges from 50 to 150. That means there are more than 1,000 students at any given time who want to become yongusaeng.
However, the number of players who are able to go professional is very small. The number of newly made professional players differs each year according to the situation of the Korean baduk scene, but it is always less than ten.
In recent years, new professional players were born in the following manner.
The three players with the highest scores in the yongusaeng tournament, and five who qualified in the annual professional qualification tournament become professional players. Since a student older than 18 cannot stay a yongusaeng, a player over that age is technically barred from becoming a professional player.
The fiercer the competition, the more miserable the students who do not succeed by the time they turn 18. Most of them develop future careers that have something to do with baduk because they love the game so much.
However, even for those few students who are able to go professional, there is still a long and difficult way to go, for the competition becomes even more cutthroat once they enter the professional baduk world.
The writer is a baduk professor at Myongji University and a professional player of the game.
[The Korea Times]

a bit more than just a prank if you ask me!!!

Guys Pranked While Relaxing in Sauna
sooooooooooooooooooo funny... but...
jaw dropping!!! I couldn't imagine.

Pictures by Ayumi.K of Japan

I found this site and like the girl's art...Very cute...