BIG THING, little thing

July 7, 2007

Nothing Happened? Sort of.

There’s not much to say for today. We basically all just stayed up in the computer lab and worked on our intro video and curriculum. Nothing major. A bunch of people wanted to go clubbing, but due to the racist tennis coach wouldn’t have been able to crash at Sprouting House. Thus we decided to work…and goof off. In fact we goofed off a lot. At one point, we turned one of the Macs toward the wall so we could mess with mirror effect of Photo Booth. Here were some of the results.

This:

Became this:

And this:

Became this:

Afterward we all went for dinner at a family Japanese restaurant down the street. We ordered a LOT of food and generally Americaned the place up a bit. It’s interesting to see the different effects we have on people. Some avoid eye contact, some girls yell out “You handsome!” or “Nice guy!”, some people stare at us, and some just stay away all together. We got a few dirty looks at the restaurant, but people give dirty looks to the loud table in America, so that wasn’t unexpected. One particular instance I find interesting occurred at the register to pay for our food. A group of five of us were paying at the register and a group of three or so were backed to the wall so people could walk through. I was in the back group when a Japanese couple entered, turned the corner, and saw us. They stopped and waited for a host to seat them. The host came, stepped between us and beckoned them forward. They began to move and I instinctively looked at them, as eyes tend to do when immobile objects begin to move. They caught my look and in an instant backed away behind the corner. I couldn’t tell if they thought I was waiting to move forward or if they were just scared out of their minds to move in between a pack of ten Americans for fear that we would pull all pull switchblades on them and demand their valuables. One way or the other, I find it interesting. This is kind of the goal of KSEP in a way. We’re not just teaching the kids conversational English. We’re trying to teach them that foreigners aren’t scary, just taller.

The resturant where we ate.

That said, I think I should introduce you to the members of KSEP 2007. I’ve been talking about them for a good five days and I’m sure most of you have no idea who the heck I’m talking about. So let’s get it done on the surface of the sun.

KSEP 2007

Jesse

Jesse is the big head boss man chief master sensei commander. If you were playing the hardest sidescroller in history, he would be the final boss and would literally fill the screen with lasers and kill you. He participated in KSEP last year as an intern, and in his infinite wisdom, he learned Japanese and never left. Good plan. Now he knows Japanese and works as the head of the KSEP program, as well as several other departments of the chool. He hired us and does a good job of taking care of us and making sure we don’t get stuck on a train to Yakuza land. His catchphrase for us this year is “Americans Assemble,” which he yells out in train stations to make sure we’re all following him. He’s also a super geek and I haven’t been able to outgeek him yet. So far, I haven’t mentioned anything esoteric enough to escape his floating eyeball mind. That’s a good thing. He’s also very lenient with our shenanigans, which is good for us. I give him five stars…out of ten…then I add seven.

Ryan

I’m sure most of you know him. I go to school with Ryan. He’s a pretty mellow guy whose quirkiness never outweighs his kindness. He’s teaching photography and enjoys Batman. I rode next to him on the plane and he hated every second of it. Also, he hates it when people interrupt him or pull practical jokes on anyone ever. He’s shy when he wants to be, but never holds back the magic tricks for the ladies. And by magic tricks, I mean charm. And by ladies I mean women. And by charm I mean chest hair, And by women I mean…women. Also, he once iced a bear with meat hooks. I haven’t checked, but that might be a lie.

William

Will is a barrel of funballs. He grew up with Jesse so he and Jesse are very similar in a lot of ways. That said, I’m able to relate to him on a lot of levels. A lot of dorky, zany levels, but many levels nonetheless. He and I are teaching cartooning together and I’m really excited. He also majored in animation and makes funny short films. We biked into Kasukabe recently and it was fun times. The best thing I think is that we easily latch onto each other’s random catchphrases throughout the day. Like “What’s your favorite color? BLOOD!” (Then we stab each other) But I must say “Chimmy-chammy-jomp-chomp Gimme some nuts!” is my favorite so far.

Stephan “Sid”

Sid is teaching photography with Ryan. I’ve known him for a good while. I met him my first year of college when he showed me and a few other first years how to use a power saw. He’s graduated now, but that doesn’t make him any less awesome. He’s kind of the fun life experience guy, I think. I mean, everyone here is constantly party capable, but Sid has 5000 psi back-kicking pistons that pop and lock him into rock mode. I’m just saying, if you want to have fun, call Sid. And also, he has the coolest nickname of all of us. It doesn’t get much better than Sid. I mean, Hamster Boy is okay, but I don’t like being called that.

Chelsey

Chelsey also goes to school with me. She’s really fun and totally chill. Like if chilling was form of battle, she would knock you out before you got in the ring. Not to say she’s boring, because she danced like a maniac in Shibuya. Chelsey is teaching film in affiliation with Alex. My favorite thing that Chelsey has done so far is get lost in Shibuya. She was just trying to be helpful and throw away our trash and we left her. Suddenly we turn around and say, “Where’s Chelsey?” Ha ha ha! Oh Chelsey! Always getting lost in major cities!

Alex

Crazy. That’s all I can say. Alex is crazy. I’ve known Alex for two years now and have only regretted it twice. Ha ha! I’m just kidding! (Secretly, I’m not kidding. Don’t read this.) Alex has the most energy of all us, I think. He’s always talking to people and being friendly to everyone. I mean, in general, we stand out and make a splash wherever we go, but Alex makes sure we never go unnoticed. Also, he’s directing and editing our intro video, which is awesome by the way. He’s also a great resource because he came twelve days early to travel. Because of this he knows more Japanese than most of us, and can help us not get lost or stabbed by the yakuza. One time he saved a lizard from another lizard.

Lauren

Lauren is one of the interns not from my school. She’s from the Midwest so her accent is bangin’! She says she has a speech impediment. I call it an awesome impediment, but whatever. She’s teaching drama to the kids and totally deserves to. She’s stands out as animated among a very animated crowd. It’s also hilarious to see Lauren’s reactions to our nerdiness. Most of the group could be called nerds, dorks, geeks, dweebs, or nerds. But Lauren doesn’t call herself that. In fact, she frequently goes on overload when she’s heard the fifth conversation in a day about Sega Genesis’ blast processing. Of course, this makes us talk about it more.

Cyn

Cyn is short for Cynthia, but I say it’s short for Cyntax, because she may be a robot from the future. Cyn is Asian. Just thought I’d put that out there. She’s another intern not from our school. She’s been to Japan before and speaks fluent Japanese, as well as English and Chinese, and read them Japanesey letters. She knows her away around the city and can tell you which Lemon Butter Biscuit Spaceships taste the best. She is teaching music because she plays two instruments and none of the rest of us know how to do anything music related. Also, Cyn threatened to punch me if I pushed her off her chair.

JDC 2007

There are three other people living in Sprouting House that are not part of our KSEP program. They’re gearing up for JDC, another English/Japanese program involving film somehow. No one cares about that, but these are the other three people I live with.

Mike “Sobo”

Mike is the man. He’s got Nu Rave fashion sense to kick your fashion sense in the jaw. He’s always wearing crazy bright colors and walking around like, “Hey, you there. I’m talkin’ to you. Come over here… You know what? You’re all right, kid.” He’s head of one the documentary/reality teams at JDC. He knows some Japanese, but most importantly, he knows all the hot spots and cool places to hit up while in Japan. He once partied with the Emperor and taught him how to do the worm. No one knows what Sobo means, but some say it’s the password that opens up the secret compartment in his back that hides his weapons.

Aaron

Aaron is like friendly-city. It’s like his body is covered with sprawling buildings, roads, and neighborhoods. And little blue dot people called “Friendlies” would live there. Thus, friendly city. Anyway, he gets along with just about everyone, and he’s always eager to help you learn some Japanese. Whenever I need to know how to say something, I ask him…if Jesse’s not around. He taught me how to say, “My Japanese isn’t very good,” which is a phrase I use a lot. I think I should also learn how to say, “My loud friends and I would like to extend to you an invitation to the loud party. Come and be loud.” Yeah, that’s a good one.

Julie

She’s a girl. Julie is Japanese and lived in America for a while, so she knows that America-talk. She’s also good for making sure we take the right train and don’t end up in Korea. Because, seriously, who wants to be there? No one! Not even Koreans. Anyway, Julie is also cool because she knows all about Japanese music and made me order a Starbucks frappuccino made of azuki beans. I mean, it tasted good, but it was filled with chewy bits of bean. So weird!

Anyway, that’s all. I mean, it’s been two days since my last post and a lot has happened. We went clubbing till 4:00am, met some Yakuza, and biked into Kasukabe. But no one wants to hear about that. I leave you with a video tour of the house we’re staying in. It’s goofy, but it’s a lot easier than posting a ton of pictures.