11 July 2014
I'm intrigued by the availability of natural resources here and this is beneficial for generating new ideas. My collection of unusual (to me) leaves and flowers are growing. And I'm keen to show my latest collaboration with caterpillars to produce watercolour pieces. Before I get accused of animal/ insect cruelty, I did use multiple caterpillars (abundant here!) for each pieces to reduce their stress level, if any. It's interesting to watch them leaving coloured trails.
I would like to think that what I'm doing is experimental and not a waste of time. The same goes for my purpose here. It's odd that some friends who once knew of what I do here begin to make comparison to a maid (no offense to domestic helper). The conversation in whatsapp goes something like this:
Friend: So what are you up to?
Me: I'm wwoofing. Working in Hokkaido in exchange for food and lodging.
Friend: Cool! What do you do at their home?
Me: ... (whatever I wrote last week in my blog)
Friend: Ooh...like part-time maid?
Me:if you think so (I didn't say this but couldn't be bother to further justify)
Making judgment about your work is a common phenomenon in Singapore. I used to work in an animal hospital and my parents and extended family advised me to quit all the time because all they see was me cleaning animal pee and poo. That was part of the job and I was thoroughly enjoying myself for that 2 years. I eventually resigned not because I surrender to all the nagging. But I found another way that I can help animals indirectly, through education.
An example about making judgment about your work: a waitress job may not be deem as prestigious as a doctor. Even a teaching position depend on who your students are or the school you are teaching in. Once, I had someone asked me why primary school teachers need to have a Bachelor's degree. I was quite surprised. Many thoughts about how best to present my argument flashed across my mind when I was confronted with this question. First , he is making the assumption that teaching primary school children is easy. Talk about classroom discipline, learning abilities, their parents, setting papers, administrative work, Co-circular activities, writing proposals etc. He had no idea what encompass teaching in Singapore government schools. Second, he is making the assumption based on the fact that he can manage the content BUT not make the students learn. I'm not going to dwell further into "where you teach" may also determine your status.
I've only had experience working with a family so my outlook would perhaps be limiting. Whatever work I've been given does seem to be the daily household chore. However, this is the best way to get a glimpse of how the other staff go about in their daily work. I do all my work with dedication because I want to assist. Not knowing the language means that you can't sugar coat your words when you do lousy work. You can only let good work do the talking.
It is true that sometimes I crave more mental stimulation. Teaching in Singapore would be more sustainable for me. As much as I enjoy my stay here, not knowing the language causes me to miss out a lot. Apart from conversations on weather, transport or school, I can't delve deeper. I do enjoy listening to the staff here conversing and often interject with my ungrammatical Japanese and secretly beamed with pride if I receive any responses. Fortunately, I brought my Japanese dictionary along and my vocabulary have since expanded. It helps that I'm constantly bombarded with Japanese radio broadcast, human conversations, food labels and Japanese signs. Also thanks to the friendly staff here who always tell me the meaning of Japanese words and the slang unique to them.
The role of language is so important. Besides the capacity to think rests on language, it is also the centre of misunderstanding of reason with itself.
Ok, back to the topic about the work. Look at the photo below:
This is uncommon for me because back in Singapore you will never see a young Singaporean lady or man. Why? because collecting trash is deemed "unglamorous". This young lady in the photo always come smartly dressed, wore her hair in a long braid and donned a face mask. Her effort in making herself presentable tells a lot about how she sees her job.
It seems that in Hokkaido, all jobs are important. Everyone plays an important role and they work with pride and deliver good service. They lived simply and embrace nature. Work changes according to the seasons and people are interdependent on each other. I say interdependent because I see my host collecting tofu byproducts as feed for his chickens from his friend's tofu shop. He also exchanged flowers and plants with his friends for his front lawn. On top of these, my host would receive fresh seafood as gifts from his fisherman's friend. As the Chinese proverb 来而不往非礼也 suggests, friendship is not a one-way traffic. They would also reciprocate by delivering fruits that are in season as gifts to friends or business partners.
A wise person once told me: the more you earn, the more you will spend and eventually you will have less savings. Perhaps it's true to an extent. Spending a lot of time at work leads to the belief that we ought to spend more (on things) to pamper ourselves. The locals here are hardworking and thrifty. Their form of relaxation often incorporate nature as part of their hobbies (e.g. hiking, water rafting, skiing, cycling) unlike Singapore where the shopping malls lined the streets.
I'm intrigued by the availability of natural resources here and this is beneficial for generating new ideas. My collection of unusual (to me) leaves and flowers are growing. And I'm keen to show my latest collaboration with caterpillars to produce watercolour pieces. Before I get accused of animal/ insect cruelty, I did use multiple caterpillars (abundant here!) for each pieces to reduce their stress level, if any. It's interesting to watch them leaving coloured trails.
 |
| No caterpillar was harmed in the making |
Friend: So what are you up to?
Me: I'm wwoofing. Working in Hokkaido in exchange for food and lodging.
Friend: Cool! What do you do at their home?
Me: ... (whatever I wrote last week in my blog)
Friend: Ooh...like part-time maid?
Me:
Making judgment about your work is a common phenomenon in Singapore. I used to work in an animal hospital and my parents and extended family advised me to quit all the time because all they see was me cleaning animal pee and poo. That was part of the job and I was thoroughly enjoying myself for that 2 years. I eventually resigned not because I surrender to all the nagging. But I found another way that I can help animals indirectly, through education.
An example about making judgment about your work: a waitress job may not be deem as prestigious as a doctor. Even a teaching position depend on who your students are or the school you are teaching in. Once, I had someone asked me why primary school teachers need to have a Bachelor's degree. I was quite surprised. Many thoughts about how best to present my argument flashed across my mind when I was confronted with this question. First , he is making the assumption that teaching primary school children is easy. Talk about classroom discipline, learning abilities, their parents, setting papers, administrative work, Co-circular activities, writing proposals etc. He had no idea what encompass teaching in Singapore government schools. Second, he is making the assumption based on the fact that he can manage the content BUT not make the students learn. I'm not going to dwell further into "where you teach" may also determine your status.
I've only had experience working with a family so my outlook would perhaps be limiting. Whatever work I've been given does seem to be the daily household chore. However, this is the best way to get a glimpse of how the other staff go about in their daily work. I do all my work with dedication because I want to assist. Not knowing the language means that you can't sugar coat your words when you do lousy work. You can only let good work do the talking.
It is true that sometimes I crave more mental stimulation. Teaching in Singapore would be more sustainable for me. As much as I enjoy my stay here, not knowing the language causes me to miss out a lot. Apart from conversations on weather, transport or school, I can't delve deeper. I do enjoy listening to the staff here conversing and often interject with my ungrammatical Japanese and secretly beamed with pride if I receive any responses. Fortunately, I brought my Japanese dictionary along and my vocabulary have since expanded. It helps that I'm constantly bombarded with Japanese radio broadcast, human conversations, food labels and Japanese signs. Also thanks to the friendly staff here who always tell me the meaning of Japanese words and the slang unique to them.
The role of language is so important. Besides the capacity to think rests on language, it is also the centre of misunderstanding of reason with itself.
Ok, back to the topic about the work. Look at the photo below:
This is uncommon for me because back in Singapore you will never see a young Singaporean lady or man. Why? because collecting trash is deemed "unglamorous". This young lady in the photo always come smartly dressed, wore her hair in a long braid and donned a face mask. Her effort in making herself presentable tells a lot about how she sees her job.
It seems that in Hokkaido, all jobs are important. Everyone plays an important role and they work with pride and deliver good service. They lived simply and embrace nature. Work changes according to the seasons and people are interdependent on each other. I say interdependent because I see my host collecting tofu byproducts as feed for his chickens from his friend's tofu shop. He also exchanged flowers and plants with his friends for his front lawn. On top of these, my host would receive fresh seafood as gifts from his fisherman's friend. As the Chinese proverb 来而不往非礼也 suggests, friendship is not a one-way traffic. They would also reciprocate by delivering fruits that are in season as gifts to friends or business partners.
A wise person once told me: the more you earn, the more you will spend and eventually you will have less savings. Perhaps it's true to an extent. Spending a lot of time at work leads to the belief that we ought to spend more (on things) to pamper ourselves. The locals here are hardworking and thrifty. Their form of relaxation often incorporate nature as part of their hobbies (e.g. hiking, water rafting, skiing, cycling) unlike Singapore where the shopping malls lined the streets.
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