News and other stuff in this email… OLD (yeah right) Kanji, MADE IN AUSTRALIA — it’s bold for a reason… FUN? Heard of it before? I was retold of the words meaning…. Cloning cows? naaah. Sweets and candy can be fatal to you if your a student in Japan.. at least when your ‘on the clock’.
From: Gary Ploski                                                        1/21/98 22:29
Subject: New Day — Old Day
To: April Harvey, Brian Trusewicz, Dan Lombardi, Sarah LaPlante, Joan Elizabeth Holycross A brief update on the past few days.
       I actually had a fun evening the past two days. Surprise surprise. Last night I went to Shiki with Liz to get some more pages for my photo album and to get a puzzle. I bought the Disney Vilian puzzle, it’s cool looking and not the typical Disney thing — there’s bad dudes. Yeah. We had a good time and let me get this in…. Australia – is word that schools in AUS put into the heads of all (lots at the minimum).
       Why is this? Australians must say something about AUS in any conversation — I’m NOT kidding! Just today as I was reading a letter that was in the TICK comic I freaked! While I was reading I read something like — from good ‘ol AUS. Instantly I looked at the address, and low and behold it was someone from AUS. What is it with these people??? I don’t get it. A comic is a comic written by someone — does it really care where they are from? Does it really matter where the book is published? AUS products have something on the package that SCREAMS MADE IN AUS!!! or PRODUCT OF AUS!!! It’s nuts. It really is. Geesh.
       Tonight(21st) was great! We had the group(Cith Hall) New Year Party. Philip was absent because of a severe sickness, not good. Bummer to be sick, but the night was fun. One of the teachers Mr. Arakawa sang one song that was in Japanese and translated it into English as the song went along. Food was in rediculous abundance like any Japanese gathering I’ve attended. Let’s see — what else can I say. I did well singing some Japanese songs. It’s sooo hard not knowing the kanji — yucky stuff. I was pretty impressed with that — SOMETHING POSITIVE.  That lasted from 6:30ish to 9:00ish. It was a fun night. THe day on the other hand was hellish. I had 3 classes with Uto sensei — uhh. Talk about needing a place to go to so I could vet some, so I could just let it OUT!!
       His classes don’t pay any attention to him. They just do what they want and what is that? They want to talk to each other that’s all. Soo when an AET comes to class they have to deal with this atmosphere. It’s absolutely horrible. I actually get to a state where I want to tell the kids talking to leave the class so the quiet people can actually listen to what is being said and get something out of the class. THE STUDENTS have NO, I repeat NO RESPECT for this dude. It’s awful. He doesn’t do anything about it either. He has a quiet voice and isn’t able to speak louder than the students. It’s that bad. I DO though. : ) Gotta try
somehow. Enough of that.
       Here’s the great fact of the week — I have 3 more classes with Uto. yeah. yippee. Aren’t I just a happy guy. Anything else? I can’t seem to think of anything else. I have been working on my album and hope to have it caught up to date by this upcoming Monday. That would be cool. It would just be a great thing to have this finished.
       A cow has been cloned, how about that. It may actually benefit we crazy peoples – they’ll be able to make a heard of the ‘same’ cow so that the milk will be in greater abundance. That will help the medical field aparently. I don’t completely understand it all. Ohh-well. Hope this helps to wrap up what’s been happening.
       Ohhh one last thing. Monday on the way home I stopped at Lawson (convience store) and was going to get something to get, but before I could get inside I came across 3 students from yon-chu (#4 J.H.) and they instantly hide what they had in their hands and began saying “its secret” and “I will eat when I get home.” ?????? huh? what are you talking about I thought — then —- BAM! It hit me. I told them that I was from the US and it was ok with me. I had no problem with them eating
the food. They were really happy and began eating their food and walked off towards their respective homes. I just laughed at what had happened. “What?” you ask. I’ll explain.
       Sudents in (i believe) Grammer/Elementary, and J.H. are not allowed to eat ANY sweets/candies once they leave their home until they return back to their home. Interesting huh. The students had boutght some pudding (i think — i couldn’t tell exactly) and they were terrified by the fact that I saw them with it. Incredible! They weren’t going to eat it because of that rule. I don’t know what would happen but it must be pretty severe if they freaked out like that. Follow the rules – that’s the setup here in JPN. And the people know to do it, or you’ll be puished for breaking/bending them. Interesting, no ka.
       That’s it. I wanted to write about that one. Here’s a thing to laugh at — THere is a lot (a lot) of kanji that Japanese people don’t know that are used for random things. On a postcard I was sending home I saw a character and asked what it was (thinking another meaning and different pronounciation went along with it) and the teacher was stumped for a few
seconds. This happened twice no the same postcard. He said it was ‘OLD’ kanji. Yeah right ‘OLD’ kanji, the kind that is harder to read — right. He eventually figured it out and explained it to me. Wild huh. Kanji is on the way out — slowly but surely. Give it some time and there won’t be as many used compared to say — 100 or even 50 years ago. WILD! Wild indeed.
       That’s it for know. Hope this was crazily readable or something. chat with ya lata. Have a crazy day. out out out out out I is. is you. (ka makes a sentence into a question for those of you who got confused with that above use of ka) hehe got it ka. = got it?