Meeting the Big Boss

Tuesday dawned rainy and cold, I had meetings scheduled all day. The first was with Mr. Jimmy Suzuki, an Assc. Prof here at HUTE. He is a legendary figure back at Eau Claire as he studied English as a Second Language (ESL) there some years ago. He is now a teacher training of English teachers at HUTE. He was a very nice man and we hit it off immediately, speaking of mutual friends. We discussed the possibility of exchanging teachers between schools.

Next, Professors Imai and Suzuki escorted me to the Treasury to pick up my stipend, which was very nice. This consisted of several signatures and many bows, and was done in a blink.

From there, Professor Imai returned to his large office for me to relax until the next meeting and so he could work. At 11:30am he took me to the Ostrich restaurant, so called for it's neon ostrich sign out front. I don't know the real name of it. We were joined for lunch by other English teaching faculty: Professors Yoshida, Nakata and one other. We discussed the possibility of an exchange program between schools, among other topics. We dined in a little tatami-matted room with a low table and pillows. I just love that environment, all curled up on the floor in stocking feet and business suits. It just makes it so much more comfortable. We had green tea, of course, and a large pre-ordered meal of miso soup, sashimi, tempura vegetables, rice, pineapple. For dessert, they had coffee and I had a hot black tea. The meal was quickly over, but it was longer than we anticipated, probably due to the great conversation.

Due to the bit longer lunch, we raced quickly back to meet the HUTE President and Executive Director. I was welcomed into a large room with two desks against the far windows, and 8 comfortable, brown leather armchairs facing each other. I was motioned to sit down near the head of the table on the right hand of the University President. I was a bit self conscious in my thrift-shop suit jacket, but I kept telling myself, no one would ever know! ;-) They were most gracious to me, giving me a handsome pen, stationary with gorgeously-printed, famous woodcuts, a bottle of saki, and a lovely report from their visit to Eau Claire. I felt meager with my humble gift of a framed picture of scenes from Eau Claire and a calendar. Man, the University needs to have better gifts! Anyway, the President discussed with me his sincere wish to have more UWEC students visit HUTE. Professor Imai and I shared with him our plan, which he approved of. He asked me about the political situation in Wisconsin, and I gave him my frank opinion. He told us to keep fighting the good fight! I was appreciative that he knew what was happening there and that he supported us.

Professor Imai took me back to my apartment, where I worked for a bit on my email back home, cyber protesting, and this blog. I needed a bit of down time what with all the intense meetings. Professor Imai told me I did very well.

That evening for dinner, we went to a grilled meat place and met with the Executive Director, Mr. Shinya, Mr. Fujita, Mr. Nagai, and another gentleman who did not speak once during the whole meal. What a fun time I had that evening! I felt like the bell of the ball. We discussed many topics from music, bands, university student exchange, food preferences, and drank two bottles of saki! Mr. Shinya and I laughed and laughed. Mr. Fujita and Mr. Nagai did a lot of the grilling of the meat at the table. The meat, mushrooms and other vegetables were brought to the table where they were grilled over little inset grills. The men cooked, I ate, drank and did social chitchat. It was so much fun! I really felt special being surrounded by so many kind, welcoming people and really connecting with them.

Off to Kyoto Today!

Hi friends,
I'm packing an overnight bag for 2 days/1 night in Kyoto. I hear that it is gorgeous! I'm going with Mr. Fujita from the HUTE, who invited me to go. So kind.

More later...

Meeting with HUTE Graduate Students

Hi fellow travelers,
Today was a mellow day. I'm always surprised to find the life is not nearly as stressful when you get out of the US. I could get used to this, if it weren't for the fact that Maddy is not here. I miss her.

My big event today was to meet with the HUTE graduate students who are visiting Eau Claire and the University next week. There were 7 graduates and their professor. I remember the professor from one of her previous visits. The grad students' interests ranged from elementary science, to clinical psychology, EFL, Japanese culture, and elementary education. They will observe and have presentations from a wide swath of professors at UWEC. I gave them some contact names in their fields, so that they could follow up on their individual interests. I hope the colleagues back home will be cordial with them.

They were all very nice and extremely nervous to talk with me. They'd each prepared a personal introduction, so I was polite and attentive while they talked, encouraged them to try without fear of judgment, and asked informative questions.

They asked me questions about Eau Claire and the University, like if there is any Japanese food there, what to wear to keep warm, and which gifts to bring for their host families. They will stay at the Ramada on Clairemont Ave for 3 nights and then go to host families for the remainder of their 11 day trip. They leave there on March 7th. I do hope that they enjoy their stay. As for gifts, I recommended for the 19 year old son of one family who is majoring in Business Administration, a baseball cap of a Japanese baseball team. What do you think? Good idea? I was stumped with him. The girls and parents were so much easier! As for the food, I told them about Shanghai Bistro, Toyko and Infinitea. I also mentioned that they should try chicken and dumplings, chicken noodle soup, chicken and wild rice soup, meatloaf and chili.

Speaking of food, I'm having dinner right now. My dinner is at my apartment tonight. I am having steamed dumplings and green beans. Not bad for frozen food in a microwave, but very salty. I should have put in less soy sauce. Good thing I don't have a heart problem. Live and learn... I am having the most divine cold apple tea with it, too.

I took a walk today and wandered around a bit. Saw the cafeteria on campus and the bakery next door! Awesome. Wish we had a bakery. Fresh pastries are a nemesis of mine. Also, saw some workmen fixing up a dorm. They wore the most interesting work clothes. They all seem to wear the same type of clothing in white or medium blue (I think that's an apprentice), and most tuck their trousers into their socks. It creates this almost genie-look on the panties, which is totally thrown off by the tool belt and hard hat. One of the construction workers was a female.

I'm quite taken by the facial features of many of the folks I'm seeing. I'm not seeing the Japanese "type" I thought I would; Rather, I'm seeing so much variety in the physical and facial features. It's cool. The women are not all petite and super slim, some are healthy and robust looking with thicker legs. I've seen people of all body types, tall and shorter, thin and thicker, etc. I'm pleased to see such interesting diversity.

Really digging on my apple tea. I'm gonna get more of that!

I'm in the mountains south west of Kyoto, and north west of Kobe. The mountains range in the distance of the campus looks like the smoky mountains of Tennessee. This mountain range is very different looking from the ones I saw north of here while flying in. Those white-topped mountains were steep and choppy looking, as though they'd been carved by a huge cleaver. Then, there was the conical shaped smoothness of Mount Fuji, too, rising so effortlessly, sweeping up toward the sky. It is easy to see from these mountains that Japan rests on 3 tectonic plates that are vying for wiggle room to the dismay of the human population.

Tomorrow at 10am, I have my first research appointment. Hiro and I will depart for Kobe, which is a mid-size coastal town. We will meet 3 native-English speaking teaching assistants, like the kind I train and 1 elementary school teacher to interview. We will also observe a class or classes. Afterward, we will do some sightseeing in Kobe and have dinner there. Since it's a coastal town, there should be some excellent seafood! I'm looking forward to getting into my research. I'm chomping at the bit here with excitement. I need to forward my research questions along to Hiro tonight. Gotta remember that.

So, I hope you are enjoying this blog. If you have any questions, comments, ideas or suggestions, please post. Thanks!
k