By the end of January, I have to decide whether I am going to stay through August ’08 or August ’09. Pretty big decision which I am on the fence about. Two years would have been out of question when I first signed up, due to it being a mind blowing amount of time to commit to.
So here's my pro/con list. I'd love to hear what you think, what would you do, etc. So send me an email or facebook message.
PROS
· It’s a pretty easy, comfortable life here. I don’t have much to worry about. Monday through Friday, I go to school at 825, stay til 415, assistant teach a few classes, chat with the teachers. I have plenty of free time at my job even, time to study Japanese, read, write lists.
· More chances to see Asia, experience Japan. 20 vacation days plus holidays isn’t bad for getting around.
·I’ll be able to speak Japanese very well by the time I leave. 5 months in and I can have basic conversations. It just takes me some time to formulate grammatically correct sentences. It’ll be nice to be able to talk with people. However this has been at the expense of Spanish which has disappeared.
·The surfing is good. I mean there’s always swell, and I’m a mile away from a great surf spot.
· I’ve got friends here, Japanese and other ALT’s.
·I’m saving money, probably about 10,000 by the end of the year. Not bad. The pay is pretty good here, especially with the yen strengthening against the dollar.
· The kids are pretty cool, easy going, etc. I’m starting to have more and more classes that afterwards I can say to myself, wow that was a lot of fun.
· What would I do if I went home? I’m still professionally lost. Whatever’s next I can just start a year later. Word from the home front is that it's not too easy to find a decent job in the US.
· I have the rest of my life to spend in America and I’ll appreciate the good friends and family that much more when I come back. If I leave, I’m not coming back.
CONS
·It’s a pretty easy comfortable life here; I SHOULD push myself to try something different. It’s becoming a bit habitual. It’s been fine for the last 5 months, but somewhere into the other 19 months, I might go crazy.
·I’ve already gotten a ton of new experience from a year here, is another year really going to add that much to it. Experience is kind of how I’m measuring worth nowadays. I could try something new instead or start building towards a career.
·I miss my friends and family, and perhaps they’ll be a little mad at me, but much worse is maybe friends will start to forget about me.
· It’s not the most challenging job, its tough to communicate with the kids, and I don’t feel like I make a huge impact on the students. Though they do like me. Elementary English is not the most enjoyable thing to teach or learn. Tough to get too creative when the Junior High’s follow a strict textbook itinerary and the elementary age kids have about zero English skills.
·A desire to live in NYC, or a city, or in a place where I can FULLY communicate with people. I miss being able to use English.
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Three Busy Weekends
Week 1
Kamakura was the capitol of the Japanese Shogunate around the 12th and 13th centuries, a time in which Buddhism was also flourishing. It was here that I planned to spend my Thanksgiving weekend with some hiking between temples in the fall-time forests. However, there wasn’t a bed left in the city. So after only an afternoon exploring, I headed back to the cheapest district of Tokyo to sleep (Cheap probably because the area is almost exclusively composed of elderly, destitute, drunk, and crazy-looking people). There I met two Brits and embarked upon a big night of drinking, not ideal when the next day’s plan is a serene stroll of temple grounds.
Weekend highlights
An awe-some statue of the Amida Buddha. Sidenote: there are many Buddhas, this one’s not my favorite, he’s a pretty Christ-like Savior Buddha. It was once housed in a building but in the 1400’s, a tidal wave made it the km or so inshore and washed the building away.Japanese people with good camera equipment clustered around maple trees getting their obligatory fall colors shot.
The Kannon 11-headed statue. In the 800’s, a giant camphor tree was found. It was decided it would be carved into not one, but two 30-foot tall statues. The second was thrown into the ocean, and 15 years later it washed up close to Kamakura.
Zeiten Beiran, or as most people know it by, the money-washing temple. A tunnel brings you into a 360 degree valley. Water drips or pours out of cracks in the moss-covered vertical stone walls. Then there’s a grotto, smoky with incense, and with a pool to wash one’s money. Any amount you wash is supposed to come back to you double, paying for my debacle that night in Tokyo. See two photos.
Spinning a giant bookcase full of important books on an axle, supposed to grant me all the knowledge contained in the books.
Scores of hawks gliding low along the cliff faces of Enoshima Island. And an awesome tide pool on a 65 degree day. Looking towards shore, seeing hundreds of black specks dot the water’s edge, all surfers, waist high surf. Surprise, I later discovered I was on the Shonan coast, maybe the most famous surfing area in Japan.
Week 2: Kashima
After an all-morning surf at a new spot, it was a rush to catch my ride to Kashima, the closest city, 45 minutes north. There, I went to a soccer game with two teachers. It was the last game of the season and a very important one. If the local team, the Kashima Antlers, won and the 1st place team lost, then the Antlers won the championship. However, the stadium, built for the 2002 World Cup was far from full. Kashima is one of those cities that many Japanese don’t even know, picture Albany, Trenton, or Fresno.
Well the Antlers won, the 1st place team lost, and an hour of celebrating and speeches ensured. It really wasn’t that exciting, nor even that interesting. There are some die hard fans that compose a section behind one of the goals who seemed pretty happy. Here are some photos of them, color coordinated and with a flag blocking the view of 200 or so. and one of me in front of the stadium, wearing my red and black. Normally I wouldn't like a team with those colors.
One of the teachers was one of those fans, and he got pretty drunk that night. I fell asleep to the soothing sounds of his wife yelling at him from a room downstairs. The night itself was real long, about 7 hours sitting on floors at one of those low tables.
The Japanese don’t know how to leave when they want to. After everyone looked exhausted after 5 hours at the first place, we went to a new place because the teacher had promised to meet someone there. Well, that took about 2.5 hours, and the 3 teachers were all asleep at one point, just leaving me and the guest, an interesting Sri Lankan businessman. You’d think it’d be more rude to fall asleep in someone’s company rather than say I’m tired and need to go home.
Week 3: Tokyo, the next weekend. Highlights
Akihabara: the electronics and nerd district. If you tell the class you went there, half the class will love you and the other half will be like “you otaku (freak)”. My favorite store is Don Quixote, a labyrinth-like discount store which has very narrow halls and weird goods piled to the ceiling. The only thing I bought was a ridiculous surfer Rasta ashtray.
Ryogoku: The Sumo stadium and training grounds are here. Sumo wrestlers and their stylish bodyguards stroll in and out of the gates on their way to or from eating. I also went to the Tokyo Museum housed in a structure that when standing under, makes you feel like you are in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, underneath those giant walker robots on the frozen planet battle scene. See photo.Harajuku
A stroll from Shinjuku to Harajuku through Yoyogi and its park. Nice fall colors. Harajuku is nuts, I’m definitely taking my parents there. It’s the young/teeny bopper/hip center of Tokyo: crepe shacks and expensive second hand good outlets, goth Lolita stores next to hip hop style outfitters. Human sidewalk traffic jams.
Daft Punk
The reason I was in Tokyo this weekend to begin with. I meant to buy tickets for the Saturday show but apparently I can’t work a calendar. The Sunday show meant I couldn’t drink (much) and had to get back by Monday 730am for work. Pretty big hassle.
But more importantly, Daft Punk, so soo good, they totally integrated all the best tracks from their three CD’s, plus a packed, freaking out crowd, and an incredibly good, impossibly bright, full LED (though possibly seizure inducing), 11 tons of equipment light show. Dressed in their robot costumes, they spin tracks from the upper portion of a light pyramid, surrounded by more triangles. Who doesn’t want to rock out to intergalactic robots from the future, introducing electronic music to the masses. I want to be back there right now.
Check out this video of five cuts from the Tokyo show. The first song is probably the most skippable if you’re pressed for time. The vid is 15 mins, maybe a little long if urn t a big dp fan. You definitely had to be down in the crowd to experience it.
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3pi1f_daft-punk-in-tokyo_music
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Culture Festival and Language Learning
School Culture Festival
Bunka-sai, or the Culture Festival, was two Saturday’s ago. And yes, occasionally you have to work on a Saturday, for the price of a Monday off. At least they got rid of the 6-day school week a few years ago. Though most students, and most teachers still end up at school 6 or 7 days a week.
After each class performing two songs in a singing competition, the real fun began. Each class then competed for the most fun and interesting room. My job was to walk around and have fun.
My three favorites were
-Target Practice: One class created a horse out of a rolly-chair which you then got pulled across the room on, shooting arrows at targets for prizes.
-A giant board game with mini-games like guess the weight, mini-fishing and transferring beans with chopsticks.
-A Spring theme where I got my photo as Totoro.
I also lost in an arm-wrestling to 15-year old, with lots of people watching. In my credit, he’s the only one in the school who seems to have already hit and probably finished puberty, and it was a real battle.
The day ended with most of the losing 3rd grade class crying because they lost. I’ve been told the time spent in Jr. High school is considered to be the best years of ones lives and each class wants to go out with a bang. Tough to celebrate and listen to the winning song while hearing sobs and sniffles.
Learning Japanese and English
Today I had no classes because of end of semester exams. So I studied almost 6 hours, all from a grammar textbook. This drive to study has only just arrived for me. I think I realized I could be putting a lot more effort into learning Japanese. Also that learning grammar is much more essential than learning vocabulary or kanji (characters). Now it still takes me a little time to plan out what I’m going to say, but I can make quite a variety of sentences. I think it takes additional time because one has to rearrange the sentence components in order to translate. For instance...
I want to say. At 3pm, I read a book in the library.
In Japanese, the order is I, at 3pm, in the library, book, read
So in Japanese Watashi wa, gogo no sanji ni, toushokan de, hon wo, yomimashita
Sticking with language, while drinking in
Another funny thing is that most Japanese have a lot of trouble with saying English syllables. Which is not a surprise. I’ve come to realize the great difficulty of speaking and learning English. In Japanese, there are about 80 or so distinct syllables which are strung together to make words, which sounds like a lot but really isn’t. English must have at least double that, and then there's the combining of syllables together and the choice of which to stress or draw out.
How do Japanese people deal with this?
They use their syllabary to create the English syllables which works surprisingly well, but still with far from perfect results. Thus words like oh-sue-tah-rah-lee-ah, (
Saturday, November 24, 2007
Flowercare, preventers of DWIs, and poison tasting: a job for Principal-man.
Obviously they do more than this. But the occupational heirarchy here rewards the oldest for a few years before they retire.
1. I had heard about the principal's job as head gardener, but was unsure whether it was really true. My first day at Suda elementary, I made sure to compliment the flowers, then act surprised when the principal said that they were his responsiblity.
My neighbor, Joe-sensei, told a story of his principal really stressed out one day. He asked why? The Board of Education was coming. But not to visit the classes or school, but for the school garden judging contest.
2. The principals always eat first but I figured they just didn't want to wait. I was astonished when the teachers told me it's a tradition that the principals try the school lunch first, to make sure it's not spoiled or poisoned.
3. The drink limit for drunk driving in Japan is like one, and the punishment, strict. Apparently if you're a teacher, some responsibility falls on the principal, too. The principal loses a portion of his retirement if a teacher is arrested for DWI. How ridiculous. So we are frequently given speeches and pamphlets on drunk driving.
Drugs are bad
Even bigger news lately is another ALT from Kamisu, about a half hour away, got arrested for 11 grams of pot. Everyone was given a copy of four articles on the arrest, from papers all over Japan. There was a 15 minute meeting for everyone to discuss the matter. It blew people's minds that a teacher had drugs. Their reaction and the Japanese media's and justice system blew my mind at least 5x more. They don't seem to discriminate between drugs here, heroin's the same as pot as far as they're concerned, both illegal. And if it's illegal, then you're a total social deviant. So the dude has to wait in jail for 22 days until prosecution. If he's lucky he'll be deported.
That day, I decided it was time to remove suspicion; my hippy long hair had to go. Actually, it was just about time, so I went to the local surf shop/salon, an interesting combination. Mostly a salon, but it had 8 boards, some gear, surf DVD’s and magazines, and photos of the owner surfing Indo all over the walls. In fact, he used to be a Japanese pro, and he was my barber.
I hadn’t really thought through how I would communicate the subtleties of my desired haircut, and a drawing did not seem to suffice. I was then handed a magazine of ultra hip Japanese haircuts to choose from. It was then I got worried. Luckily a friend who spoke Japanese came, and now I have a great haircut, shortest it’s been since my mid teens buzz cut. My haircut was a big hit with the Jr. High girls, they even braved the use of English to tell me. Let me correct that it was much more than a haircut. Two hair washes, a facial, an eye glasses clean, and a short shiatsu as well as a robotic and a scalp massage. The whole process lasted nearly two hours. ahhh, Japanese service.
Obviously they do more than this. But the occupational heirarchy here rewards the oldest for a few years before they retire.
1. I had heard about the principal's job as head gardener, but was unsure whether it was really true. My first day at Suda elementary, I made sure to compliment the flowers, then act surprised when the principal said that they were his responsiblity.
My neighbor, Joe-sensei, told a story of his principal really stressed out one day. He asked why? The Board of Education was coming. But not to visit the classes or school, but for the school garden judging contest.
2. The principals always eat first but I figured they just didn't want to wait. I was astonished when the teachers told me it's a tradition that the principals try the school lunch first, to make sure it's not spoiled or poisoned.
3. The drink limit for drunk driving in Japan is like one, and the punishment, strict. Apparently if you're a teacher, some responsibility falls on the principal, too. The principal loses a portion of his retirement if a teacher is arrested for DWI. How ridiculous. So we are frequently given speeches and pamphlets on drunk driving.
Drugs are bad
Even bigger news lately is another ALT from Kamisu, about a half hour away, got arrested for 11 grams of pot. Everyone was given a copy of four articles on the arrest, from papers all over Japan. There was a 15 minute meeting for everyone to discuss the matter. It blew people's minds that a teacher had drugs. Their reaction and the Japanese media's and justice system blew my mind at least 5x more. They don't seem to discriminate between drugs here, heroin's the same as pot as far as they're concerned, both illegal. And if it's illegal, then you're a total social deviant. So the dude has to wait in jail for 22 days until prosecution. If he's lucky he'll be deported.
That day, I decided it was time to remove suspicion; my hippy long hair had to go. Actually, it was just about time, so I went to the local surf shop/salon, an interesting combination. Mostly a salon, but it had 8 boards, some gear, surf DVD’s and magazines, and photos of the owner surfing Indo all over the walls. In fact, he used to be a Japanese pro, and he was my barber.
I hadn’t really thought through how I would communicate the subtleties of my desired haircut, and a drawing did not seem to suffice. I was then handed a magazine of ultra hip Japanese haircuts to choose from. It was then I got worried. Luckily a friend who spoke Japanese came, and now I have a great haircut, shortest it’s been since my mid teens buzz cut. My haircut was a big hit with the Jr. High girls, they even braved the use of English to tell me. Let me correct that it was much more than a haircut. Two hair washes, a facial, an eye glasses clean, and a short shiatsu as well as a robotic and a scalp massage. The whole process lasted nearly two hours. ahhh, Japanese service.
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Two surf stories
Thousands of dragonflies migrating along the coast, not one moving in the other direction.
And this was from a few weeks ago (see above, breaking further out, thus bigger than it looks).
I surfed my nearest spot, which I found out is called Number Five (for the No 5 jetty), but it was pretty big, breaking so far out and I kept getting caught inside. So based on a previous exploratory mission I headed to the beaches to the south, where the outer bar breaks more softly, leaving a decent inside break.
The crappy part is that a section of the road that runs parallel and right along the beach, is privately owned and the owner decided to f the town and shut down his part. I figured I’d take it anyway but I came upon a barking guard dog so took a small inland detour. I rode through an abandoned campsite. I had to throw my bike and surfboard over a fence and then jump it, with two painters working close by. I felt like a spy, heading into the dark heart of Hasaki town.
The evil owner and his henchman, trying to hide a conspiracy from under the noses of the innocent townspeople. The surfer, just looking for waves, innocently trespasses onto a dark secret.Eventually I made it to a real beach break, but it was kinda closing out. Oh well.
And on the way back, I also stumbled upon the local shrine.
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Tokyo Disneyland: The worlds #1 amusement park
we got there at 8, for the gates opening, and stayed until 8. I had a great time.
the differences
everyone wears tons of disney gear, like 9 out of every 10 teenage girls had extravagant minnie ears clipped to their hair.
it was christmas time already, nov 11th. As soon as the Halloween theme comes to a close, (which they dont celebrate so much as embrace the season commercially), Christmas enters.
and gift giving is huge here. Because I went to Disney, I was probably supposed to buy a little gift, like cookies, for all or at least some of my co workers. (But if I keep it secret, then I don't have to buy them anything. A bus trip to Disney hardly seems like an event to bring souvenirs back for people.) The up side is I often end up with bean paste sweets or chocolate on my desk. There are tons of gift shops, and they were all packed.
I saw a 100 person line for curry flavored popcorn, one vendor, mustve taken at least half an hr. i took a picture, they werent happy. The Japanese seem pretty good about following the rules, and being American, one gets used to breaking them and keeps it up while over here. we, or at least I, call it a gaijin (meaning foreigner) smash. When we pulled up to the park on the disney bus and saw the giant mtn, i yelled Fuji san like an excited tourist. we, and I'm sure the other bus riders, got a big laugh out of it. I could see some vicariously enjoying the breaking of social rules. Like all the laughs Joe got when he bearhugged one of the country bears from behind. "those crazy gaijin"
they love only certain disney movies.
Every girl has a stitch doll, from Lilo & Stitch. Nightmare before Christmas is huge. It seems the common demonimator is cute AND scary monsters. maybe they mix up kowai (scary) and kawaii (cute) in their brains. Sarcasm, but I sure mix those up. Also kirai is dislike, kirei is beautiful, and karai is spicy. ahh.
the lines were long, but we played fun mind games to kill the time, like I'm going to a picnic, ghost the letter game, and a japanese game popular at drinking parties, Chun Chun. everyone has two thumbs up, then u say chun chun and a #. if u guess the # of thumbs up, adding them all together, u can take a hand away. loser is the one with a hand left.
We played for embarassing dares, like having to wait on line at the famous picture spot, and kissing belle from beauty in the beast, alone. Or yelling things. Or eating weird things.
An accidental gaijin smash.
In the beginning we were chun chun novices, and thought you said chin chin then the #. Well chin chin means penis in Japanese. So on line for Peter Pan, all these kids around, we were saying in essence saying, penis 2! penis 5! This shouldve been evident in students trying to ask you, what's this, pointing to their chin? twice. But we had forgotten. Sorry Peter Pan kids.
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Tokyo Adventures
Tokyo Adventures
Two weekends in a row, I took the 2 + hour bus ride to Tokyo station to get my city fix. The first was an overnighter. Welsh Joe and I first got over-enthusiastic about being in a large English section bookstore. Then we spent a long time looking for the capsule hotel whose location on a map I had remembered less than perfectly. We nearly gave up and went into a hotel together to ask their rates and maybe see if they knew where the capsule hotel was. The cheesy Greek façade, hourly rates and the too late-noticed sexy costume shop told us we were in a love hotel, an infamous Japanese establishment. The two of us must’ve surprised the clerk asking him for a room so early in the night.
Apparently, these "love hotels", as theyre actually called, arose out of a lack of privacy due to living with one's family into adulthood. I'm gonna jump on a few tangents here, but it’s way more common for adults to live at home over here. In fact, I read that a million adult men, like 23-40 yrs, unemployed, live with and rely on their parents, rarely even leaving the house. There are surely many more million whom live with parents and DO have a job and a life. Another interesting fact, Japan has a declining population rate. They’re expected to drop from 127 million (now) to 100 million by 2050, which would have all sorts of effects.
OK, so back to the capsule hotel, which luckily, was practically across the street. It was good fun. The dimensions of my bed chambers were about 3’ by 3’ and 7’ deep. Our sleek black and white capsules were outfitted with a TV, ac/fan/heat and various other remote controls. They look like they’d be great generic beds for a spaceship in a low budget, made-for-TV Sci-Fi flick. We were in the heart of Shibuya, though, which is like Tokyo’s hip youth central. Some crazy fashions were seen, possibly crazier on the guys than the girls, a rarity.
Tokyo 2
The next weekend, I joined the crew on the way to Tokyo, but let them go off to the Tokyo Video Game festival and spent the day taking a long exploratory walk. Two of the more exciting sights…
I stumbled upon a few thousand (!) of Japanese high school Goths, the least threatening of all the Goth species. They were dressed up for a concert in this park and were waiting around for the stadium to open up. Plenty of red or black colored contacts, clothes striped in black and pink, men’s ties, heavy make-up, face paint, and lots of cutesy photographing of each other. The only other acceptable costume was a black or pink French maid uniform.
I decided to check out the temple for the war dead of Japan, 2.4 million enshrined here. There’s a museum there I checked out, which has some controversial historical facts, and opinions. I only read that which was translated into English, which was only a brief history of Japan’s wars from the mid-19th century through World War II. Wait I mean, the Great East Asian War. I learned some “interesting” “facts” such as
-Japan throwing out the Western colonizers in SE Asian countries led to Independence movements through not only E. Asia but throughout Asia and Africa. They even took a little credit for helping Ghandi.
-America gave Japan no choice but to go to war and waited expectantly for the Japanese to make the first move at Pearl Harbor.
-the Japanese looked to end the war in 1942 but Roosevelt wouldn’t allow any compromises to his goal of unconditional surrender.
-They also loved to rag on the Russians.
I wonder what else interesting I would have found if I could read Japanese. Outside, I received some pamphlets on the Nanking massacre, (in which somewhere between 100,000 and 300,000 Chinese civilians were killed by Japanese soldiers); that it never occurred and was part of a huge conspiracy.
Two weekends in a row, I took the 2 + hour bus ride to Tokyo station to get my city fix. The first was an overnighter. Welsh Joe and I first got over-enthusiastic about being in a large English section bookstore. Then we spent a long time looking for the capsule hotel whose location on a map I had remembered less than perfectly. We nearly gave up and went into a hotel together to ask their rates and maybe see if they knew where the capsule hotel was. The cheesy Greek façade, hourly rates and the too late-noticed sexy costume shop told us we were in a love hotel, an infamous Japanese establishment. The two of us must’ve surprised the clerk asking him for a room so early in the night.
Apparently, these "love hotels", as theyre actually called, arose out of a lack of privacy due to living with one's family into adulthood. I'm gonna jump on a few tangents here, but it’s way more common for adults to live at home over here. In fact, I read that a million adult men, like 23-40 yrs, unemployed, live with and rely on their parents, rarely even leaving the house. There are surely many more million whom live with parents and DO have a job and a life. Another interesting fact, Japan has a declining population rate. They’re expected to drop from 127 million (now) to 100 million by 2050, which would have all sorts of effects.
OK, so back to the capsule hotel, which luckily, was practically across the street. It was good fun. The dimensions of my bed chambers were about 3’ by 3’ and 7’ deep. Our sleek black and white capsules were outfitted with a TV, ac/fan/heat and various other remote controls. They look like they’d be great generic beds for a spaceship in a low budget, made-for-TV Sci-Fi flick. We were in the heart of Shibuya, though, which is like Tokyo’s hip youth central. Some crazy fashions were seen, possibly crazier on the guys than the girls, a rarity.
Tokyo 2
The next weekend, I joined the crew on the way to Tokyo, but let them go off to the Tokyo Video Game festival and spent the day taking a long exploratory walk. Two of the more exciting sights…
I stumbled upon a few thousand (!) of Japanese high school Goths, the least threatening of all the Goth species. They were dressed up for a concert in this park and were waiting around for the stadium to open up. Plenty of red or black colored contacts, clothes striped in black and pink, men’s ties, heavy make-up, face paint, and lots of cutesy photographing of each other. The only other acceptable costume was a black or pink French maid uniform.
I decided to check out the temple for the war dead of Japan, 2.4 million enshrined here. There’s a museum there I checked out, which has some controversial historical facts, and opinions. I only read that which was translated into English, which was only a brief history of Japan’s wars from the mid-19th century through World War II. Wait I mean, the Great East Asian War. I learned some “interesting” “facts” such as
-Japan throwing out the Western colonizers in SE Asian countries led to Independence movements through not only E. Asia but throughout Asia and Africa. They even took a little credit for helping Ghandi.
-America gave Japan no choice but to go to war and waited expectantly for the Japanese to make the first move at Pearl Harbor.
-the Japanese looked to end the war in 1942 but Roosevelt wouldn’t allow any compromises to his goal of unconditional surrender.
-They also loved to rag on the Russians.
I wonder what else interesting I would have found if I could read Japanese. Outside, I received some pamphlets on the Nanking massacre, (in which somewhere between 100,000 and 300,000 Chinese civilians were killed by Japanese soldiers); that it never occurred and was part of a huge conspiracy.
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Busy Weekends Part 1
First a riddle.
The class of three a couple years of the fifth hour of tomorrow becomes one hour.
The class of two pairs moves for three years in the latter half of the fifth hour within the latter half of the sixth hour.
There is a class of three a couple years for one hour, and say, please when there is a class that the teacher wants to do.
The answer: a fax I received entitled ‘for tomorrow’s elementary school class’ from the English teacher. Her English actually is better than this makes it seem. These faxes are quite common but this one was particularly mind boggling.
Busy Weekends
I’ve been making the most of my weekends in the last month or so: two weekends in Tokyo, one in Nagoya, and this past weekend, I stayed in our prefecture, the Nebraska of Japan, the wonderful Ibaraki.
Not only am I in an infamous prefecture, I’m also in the sticks of that prefecture. In many respects, I prefer this location; it has far less strip malls and chain restaurants, good weather, lots of rice paddies, it’s a bit more insular with regards to Japanese trendiness, and of course, it has the ocean. I like to call it contemporary rural. However, unlike the rest of Japan, public transportation is not my town’s strong suit.
The nearest train station is over a half hour bike ride away, in another prefecture, and on the other side of Japan’s widest river, the Tome. This weekend was my first time really seeing what’s on the other side of the river. After crossing the km+ long toll bridge (20 cents for bike) I entered shi-ishi-ba. A town left behind by time: narrow streets, abandoned businesses, antiquated wooden housing and little backyard vegetable gardens. Two and a half hours, four trains, or an episode of the Wire and at least two listens to Radiohead’s new CD later, I was in Fujishiro, in the heart of Ibaraki, staying with Scottish Emma, who had a spare futon.
The plan was to climb Mt. Tsukuba (like SCUBA) the next day. As legend has it, thousands of years ago, a deity descended from the heavens and asked two mountains for a place to spend the night. With its great summit and almost perfect cone, Mt. Fuji refused, believing with pride and arrogance, that it does not need the deity's blessings. Mt. Tsukuba, on the other hand, humbly welcomed the honored guest, even offering food and water. Today, Mt. Fuji is a cold, lonely, and barren mountain, while Mt. Tsukuba bursts with vegetation, and is filled with colors as the seasons change.
We arrived early at the meeting spot and were ushered into a log cabin by an almost too hospitable stranger to wait for the two other JET’s and a Japanese lady who brought to our surprise, 20 little kids. Twenty six long minutes into the main part of the hike, we came to a clearing, which was the top of the mountain. Souvenir shops, cell phone towers, and a rotating restaurant awaited us. There were two peaks on either side of this top, each having a shrine dedicated to one of the progenitors of the Japanese deities and even the Japanese people. One peak was for the male deity, the other for the female deity, and both took less than 10 minutes each to climb. Well at least we didn’t take the gondola to the top.
Then we had dinner with the Japanese lady in her family’s 80-year old house. It had six square rooms, divided by sliding rice paper doors, and a walk around the outside. It was right out of a samurai movie. They even had samurai swords. One room had a Buddhist shrine, more like an armoire, to the ancestors of the house, and every day they are given fresh rice and tea. Then we had an amazing temaki (hand sushi) feast. Just grab a seaweed piece, spread some rice on it, then top with a myriad of seafood: octopus, shrimp, three types of tuna, egg, salmon, mock crab, and natto, which is fermented soybeans and Ibaraki’s specialty food, but also known as not-to food).
Such a great day, but I had to head back to my town for a Halloween party in which I was a guest of honor Sunday. And a midnight ride home in the empty and silent, drizzling night.
The class of three a couple years of the fifth hour of tomorrow becomes one hour.
The class of two pairs moves for three years in the latter half of the fifth hour within the latter half of the sixth hour.
There is a class of three a couple years for one hour, and say, please when there is a class that the teacher wants to do.
The answer: a fax I received entitled ‘for tomorrow’s elementary school class’ from the English teacher. Her English actually is better than this makes it seem. These faxes are quite common but this one was particularly mind boggling.
Busy Weekends
I’ve been making the most of my weekends in the last month or so: two weekends in Tokyo, one in Nagoya, and this past weekend, I stayed in our prefecture, the Nebraska of Japan, the wonderful Ibaraki.
Not only am I in an infamous prefecture, I’m also in the sticks of that prefecture. In many respects, I prefer this location; it has far less strip malls and chain restaurants, good weather, lots of rice paddies, it’s a bit more insular with regards to Japanese trendiness, and of course, it has the ocean. I like to call it contemporary rural. However, unlike the rest of Japan, public transportation is not my town’s strong suit.
The nearest train station is over a half hour bike ride away, in another prefecture, and on the other side of Japan’s widest river, the Tome. This weekend was my first time really seeing what’s on the other side of the river. After crossing the km+ long toll bridge (20 cents for bike) I entered shi-ishi-ba. A town left behind by time: narrow streets, abandoned businesses, antiquated wooden housing and little backyard vegetable gardens. Two and a half hours, four trains, or an episode of the Wire and at least two listens to Radiohead’s new CD later, I was in Fujishiro, in the heart of Ibaraki, staying with Scottish Emma, who had a spare futon.
The plan was to climb Mt. Tsukuba (like SCUBA) the next day. As legend has it, thousands of years ago, a deity descended from the heavens and asked two mountains for a place to spend the night. With its great summit and almost perfect cone, Mt. Fuji refused, believing with pride and arrogance, that it does not need the deity's blessings. Mt. Tsukuba, on the other hand, humbly welcomed the honored guest, even offering food and water. Today, Mt. Fuji is a cold, lonely, and barren mountain, while Mt. Tsukuba bursts with vegetation, and is filled with colors as the seasons change.
We arrived early at the meeting spot and were ushered into a log cabin by an almost too hospitable stranger to wait for the two other JET’s and a Japanese lady who brought to our surprise, 20 little kids. Twenty six long minutes into the main part of the hike, we came to a clearing, which was the top of the mountain. Souvenir shops, cell phone towers, and a rotating restaurant awaited us. There were two peaks on either side of this top, each having a shrine dedicated to one of the progenitors of the Japanese deities and even the Japanese people. One peak was for the male deity, the other for the female deity, and both took less than 10 minutes each to climb. Well at least we didn’t take the gondola to the top.
Then we had dinner with the Japanese lady in her family’s 80-year old house. It had six square rooms, divided by sliding rice paper doors, and a walk around the outside. It was right out of a samurai movie. They even had samurai swords. One room had a Buddhist shrine, more like an armoire, to the ancestors of the house, and every day they are given fresh rice and tea. Then we had an amazing temaki (hand sushi) feast. Just grab a seaweed piece, spread some rice on it, then top with a myriad of seafood: octopus, shrimp, three types of tuna, egg, salmon, mock crab, and natto, which is fermented soybeans and Ibaraki’s specialty food, but also known as not-to food).
Such a great day, but I had to head back to my town for a Halloween party in which I was a guest of honor Sunday. And a midnight ride home in the empty and silent, drizzling night.
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Weekdays: Working and Surfing
Teaching II
Teaching at junior high is pretty great. Partly because it’s easy; I don’t really need to prepare much for class. I generally do the greeting (how are you, the weather, day, date), have them repeat vocabulary or dialogues, perform skits with the teacher, and wander around the class and provide help / make corrections on worksheets. There's also plenty of just standing in the back. Last week, I pretended I was a McDonalds cashier and the 2nd year (8th grade) students would have to come up and order from me, for a grade. The first years have a song of the month they start class with, this time it’s ‘Hello Goodbye’ by the Beatles which I still haven’t gotten sick of. However, I am quite worried about having to sing the Backstreet Boys 25 times. Actually I’m looking for songs that won’t drive me crazy to show to the teacher right now. Little luck so far, maybe a few Motown songs that would work.
The Office
Ahh, office life. It’s just like the show, kind of. Public schools familiar to me in the US, teachers are found in their rooms. Here, the kids stay in the same room and the teachers move, thus the teacher’s office is the center of teacher operations and most of the teacher’s time is spent there.
I have my own desk that also happens to have good neighbors. On my left is the student teacher who lived in Canada and speaks great English which is always nice. To my right is the P.E. teacher who’s my age, very cool guy, isn’t afraid to try speaking English even with making mistakes. Across from me is Shinohara-sensei, though I heard she’s retiring soon. She doesn’t speak any English but we get along really well. The two English teachers I work with (remember I’m an assistant teacher) couldn’t be better as well. There are about 25 employees in the office, and I know about half of them somewhat well. It’s a pretty friendly atmosphere, occasionally facilitated by nomi-kai’s, or drinking parties. Even with the language barrier, we have our office jokes, sometimes play pranks; my stuffed lion toy is always in some new position fighting the imitation snake (which has scared quite a few when placed in desks). Going over the lunch for the day which usually is new and surprising to me, is always good for a laugh, too.
When anyone arrives for the day, first the arriver, and then the rest of the office say “O-ha-yoo go-zai-maaaaaaahsss” (good morning (polite)) and when I leave I must say “O-sa-ki ni shi-tsu-rey-shi-masu” which means “I’m sorry for leaving first”, they reply with “thanks for giving it your best”. It’s my first taste of office life and it definitely makes work a happier place.
I’ve also started to say “eto”, (ayy-to) and “ano” a little, which is the Japanese version of “ummmm”. I definitely say “aaayyyyyy” which means “what????” Or “wowww” and is surprisingly very common. I also throw in lots of aahhhh’s and oooohhh’s. I’m sure I’ve gotten much better at communicating without words.
A way to avoid complex verbal thanking is the bow. I like bowing, it’s a bit like a head nod, which, come on, we’ve all done before. It’s done all the time here, fortunately it is rare that it turns into the bow-athon, where one person bows, the other returns it, and on and on and on, trying to be the last to show gratitude, and so on. Even in vehicular interactions, the hand wave is replaced by the bow.
Surfing Part IV
It feels like half of the last two weeks have had overhead swell and offshore wind. It’s been pretty unreal. Usually I get out of school and head right to the beach, with only an hour before the sun starts setting. The sunsets have been gorgeous, its colors bleeding the whitewater pink or orange. Lately, I’ve been staying in past sunset, until the moon shines brightly in the deep blue sky. The other day we saw a blood red full moon rise just after the sun set. As I get out, scores of bats scour the beach. Then I ride my bike back against the prevailing offshore winds, sometimes consciously trying to avoid breathing through my mouth as I am often hit by moths or mosquitoes.
The full moon's kinda a big deal here. I went to the local McDonalds for the first time and had a limited edition Moon Watching Burger. We also had an honorary school lunch for the full moon, with this egg/meat thing resembling a moon and special candies.
Teaching at junior high is pretty great. Partly because it’s easy; I don’t really need to prepare much for class. I generally do the greeting (how are you, the weather, day, date), have them repeat vocabulary or dialogues, perform skits with the teacher, and wander around the class and provide help / make corrections on worksheets. There's also plenty of just standing in the back. Last week, I pretended I was a McDonalds cashier and the 2nd year (8th grade) students would have to come up and order from me, for a grade. The first years have a song of the month they start class with, this time it’s ‘Hello Goodbye’ by the Beatles which I still haven’t gotten sick of. However, I am quite worried about having to sing the Backstreet Boys 25 times. Actually I’m looking for songs that won’t drive me crazy to show to the teacher right now. Little luck so far, maybe a few Motown songs that would work.
The Office
Ahh, office life. It’s just like the show, kind of. Public schools familiar to me in the US, teachers are found in their rooms. Here, the kids stay in the same room and the teachers move, thus the teacher’s office is the center of teacher operations and most of the teacher’s time is spent there.
I have my own desk that also happens to have good neighbors. On my left is the student teacher who lived in Canada and speaks great English which is always nice. To my right is the P.E. teacher who’s my age, very cool guy, isn’t afraid to try speaking English even with making mistakes. Across from me is Shinohara-sensei, though I heard she’s retiring soon. She doesn’t speak any English but we get along really well. The two English teachers I work with (remember I’m an assistant teacher) couldn’t be better as well. There are about 25 employees in the office, and I know about half of them somewhat well. It’s a pretty friendly atmosphere, occasionally facilitated by nomi-kai’s, or drinking parties. Even with the language barrier, we have our office jokes, sometimes play pranks; my stuffed lion toy is always in some new position fighting the imitation snake (which has scared quite a few when placed in desks). Going over the lunch for the day which usually is new and surprising to me, is always good for a laugh, too.
When anyone arrives for the day, first the arriver, and then the rest of the office say “O-ha-yoo go-zai-maaaaaaahsss” (good morning (polite)) and when I leave I must say “O-sa-ki ni shi-tsu-rey-shi-masu” which means “I’m sorry for leaving first”, they reply with “thanks for giving it your best”. It’s my first taste of office life and it definitely makes work a happier place.
I’ve also started to say “eto”, (ayy-to) and “ano” a little, which is the Japanese version of “ummmm”. I definitely say “aaayyyyyy” which means “what????” Or “wowww” and is surprisingly very common. I also throw in lots of aahhhh’s and oooohhh’s. I’m sure I’ve gotten much better at communicating without words.
A way to avoid complex verbal thanking is the bow. I like bowing, it’s a bit like a head nod, which, come on, we’ve all done before. It’s done all the time here, fortunately it is rare that it turns into the bow-athon, where one person bows, the other returns it, and on and on and on, trying to be the last to show gratitude, and so on. Even in vehicular interactions, the hand wave is replaced by the bow.
Surfing Part IV
It feels like half of the last two weeks have had overhead swell and offshore wind. It’s been pretty unreal. Usually I get out of school and head right to the beach, with only an hour before the sun starts setting. The sunsets have been gorgeous, its colors bleeding the whitewater pink or orange. Lately, I’ve been staying in past sunset, until the moon shines brightly in the deep blue sky. The other day we saw a blood red full moon rise just after the sun set. As I get out, scores of bats scour the beach. Then I ride my bike back against the prevailing offshore winds, sometimes consciously trying to avoid breathing through my mouth as I am often hit by moths or mosquitoes.
The full moon's kinda a big deal here. I went to the local McDonalds for the first time and had a limited edition Moon Watching Burger. We also had an honorary school lunch for the full moon, with this egg/meat thing resembling a moon and special candies.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
It's been a while. This is why
So I haven't written anything in two weeks. Partly because happenings have been a bit disjointed and I like writing about a certain topic. But mostly becaue I've been very busy. The waves have been pretty unreal, and when I'm not surfing it seems like I'm either running an errand or in Tokyo. I'm working for real now, no more sitting around the office all day, and it can take a lot out of you, so after work, surfing and dinner, I usually need some relax-time. But now I have lots to write about, starting now.
Sea Creatures Part II
I get out of school at 415, head to the ocean, and there are never any other surfers. I’m finally meeting a few of the locals but they don’t show up ‘til the sun starts to set because of their jobs. When surfing alone, a mild fear of large sea life (sharks) comes out. What doesn’t help is my local surf spot breaks really far out and there are always tons of fish. The muskrat fish, jumpers, all sorts. A foot-long albacore whizzed by my head the other day. Getting hit in the face by a fish; that’d be something.
I’ve also been seeing this dolphin. At first I couldn’t figure it out because it would do one of those parabolic dolphin-surfaces, I’d see a blowhole, but there was no dorsal fin. After some research I’ve established that such finless dolphins exist; in fact, I’ve identified it as the finless porpoise.
One day last week, when the waves were good, there were about twelve trawlers, releasing their km long nets in circles just outside the lineup. I’d curse them as their wakes would ruin another set. The fishing industry is pretty huge in Japan. Not surprising considering the amount of fish that ends up in my school lunch. Fish seems nearly as common as land-meat, which they also eat lots of. Being vegetarian here would be very difficult.
While on the topic of food, a quick aside into strange seafood I’ve eaten: the bitter brains of a foot long prawn. “There’s always a bitter aftertaste with brains” – other teachers. I also ate my first whole anchovy yesterday. A noodle salad with minnows and whole shrimp, scores of eyeballs pleading with me. I also managed to almost enjoy a whole fish, with the skin on, too. Ok, so back to our mammalian sea friends, queue the suffering.
Tens of thousands are caught every year as by-product. Japanese fisheries report on average, 23,000 dolphin mortalities a year. The Japanese government also allows this coastal town to have a mass dolphin culling, a few thousand every year. The parts that bother me more is that this action becomes lucrative less for the meat than for the dolphins caught and sold to aquariums. Its thought most of the meat is sold to poorer countries which need the protein for little profit. The other problem I have is that dolphins are blamed for declining coastal fish populations while overfishing seems a distinct possibiity. Apparently this factors into the culling quite a bit, too and the cruel (maybe vengeful) ways in which it's done (knives, chainsaws). There's obv. the other side of the issue, too, but I think animal cruelty really should be avoided. Endangering the existence of animal species take precedence but no ocean dolphins are endangered to my knowledge. I think dolphins are pretty abundant, except for those Chinese river dolphins who are on the way out.
Another controversy, whales are still hunted in Japan. Whales are so amazing, it would be so terrible for any species to disappear. A few species are on the brink of extinction and others are endangered. Japanese whalers take about 1,000 a year for 'scientific purposes'. They do their tests and then sell the meat. International whaling seems pretty regulated, avoiding the highly at-risk populations, but I say better safe than sorry.
I’ve heard that people in sparsely populated areas (rural farmers/fisherman) have more voting power than the average city citizen. Politicians avoid upsetting the rural/traditional groups, allowing them to practice in the name of tradition. This leads to what seems too many and often unnecessary public works projects in rural areas. Really I don't know too much about politics and whatnot over here but I'm working on that. I'm also gonna start Moby Dick soon.
Sea Creatures Part II
I get out of school at 415, head to the ocean, and there are never any other surfers. I’m finally meeting a few of the locals but they don’t show up ‘til the sun starts to set because of their jobs. When surfing alone, a mild fear of large sea life (sharks) comes out. What doesn’t help is my local surf spot breaks really far out and there are always tons of fish. The muskrat fish, jumpers, all sorts. A foot-long albacore whizzed by my head the other day. Getting hit in the face by a fish; that’d be something.
I’ve also been seeing this dolphin. At first I couldn’t figure it out because it would do one of those parabolic dolphin-surfaces, I’d see a blowhole, but there was no dorsal fin. After some research I’ve established that such finless dolphins exist; in fact, I’ve identified it as the finless porpoise.
One day last week, when the waves were good, there were about twelve trawlers, releasing their km long nets in circles just outside the lineup. I’d curse them as their wakes would ruin another set. The fishing industry is pretty huge in Japan. Not surprising considering the amount of fish that ends up in my school lunch. Fish seems nearly as common as land-meat, which they also eat lots of. Being vegetarian here would be very difficult.
While on the topic of food, a quick aside into strange seafood I’ve eaten: the bitter brains of a foot long prawn. “There’s always a bitter aftertaste with brains” – other teachers. I also ate my first whole anchovy yesterday. A noodle salad with minnows and whole shrimp, scores of eyeballs pleading with me. I also managed to almost enjoy a whole fish, with the skin on, too. Ok, so back to our mammalian sea friends, queue the suffering.
Tens of thousands are caught every year as by-product. Japanese fisheries report on average, 23,000 dolphin mortalities a year. The Japanese government also allows this coastal town to have a mass dolphin culling, a few thousand every year. The parts that bother me more is that this action becomes lucrative less for the meat than for the dolphins caught and sold to aquariums. Its thought most of the meat is sold to poorer countries which need the protein for little profit. The other problem I have is that dolphins are blamed for declining coastal fish populations while overfishing seems a distinct possibiity. Apparently this factors into the culling quite a bit, too and the cruel (maybe vengeful) ways in which it's done (knives, chainsaws). There's obv. the other side of the issue, too, but I think animal cruelty really should be avoided. Endangering the existence of animal species take precedence but no ocean dolphins are endangered to my knowledge. I think dolphins are pretty abundant, except for those Chinese river dolphins who are on the way out.
Another controversy, whales are still hunted in Japan. Whales are so amazing, it would be so terrible for any species to disappear. A few species are on the brink of extinction and others are endangered. Japanese whalers take about 1,000 a year for 'scientific purposes'. They do their tests and then sell the meat. International whaling seems pretty regulated, avoiding the highly at-risk populations, but I say better safe than sorry.
I’ve heard that people in sparsely populated areas (rural farmers/fisherman) have more voting power than the average city citizen. Politicians avoid upsetting the rural/traditional groups, allowing them to practice in the name of tradition. This leads to what seems too many and often unnecessary public works projects in rural areas. Really I don't know too much about politics and whatnot over here but I'm working on that. I'm also gonna start Moby Dick soon.
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Starting to teach and some real surf
Teaching Part 1: Elementary School Question Time
I mostly work at a junior high school but I also spend about 12 hours a week at elementary schools. Monday, I had 8 back to back morning classes. Granted they were only twenty minutes but still. The first 10 minutes I’d give a spiel about myself that went something like this, (except in slow, strong pronunciation teacher speak)…
"Good morning everyone. My name is Evan-Sensei. I’m twenty two years old. How old are you? (confused silence). My favorite Japanese food is katsu curry (show printed picture of katsu curry). Favorite sports and hobbies… then on to the maps…"
The next ten minutes were question time, which reminded me of Bill Cosby’s Kids Say the Darnedest Things. The kids were soo excited and their questions were either really interesting or funny.
Is that your natural hair color? What color hair do people have in America?
Pretty much everyone in Japan is from the same genetic stock and they all have black hair. I don’t think they like it too much as there’s a huge hair dying trend here.
Short, fat kid: How did you get so tall? From drinking lots of milk? “My dad’s really tall”. Sorry bud, hate to break the fact of genetic fate to you.
One 1st grade class: Are there fossils in America? Are there snakes in America? Are there cobras in America? Are there anacondas in America?
A couple tough questions
What do you think of our class?
Whose cooler, you or the homeroom teacher?
Do you like the Japanese teacher (the one I work with)?
also
Do you have a lover? I think 6 of the 8 classes asked this.
Are you married? “People get married later in America than Japan.”
One boy asked all 3…
When was your first kiss? then later
When was your first love? then later
When was your last girlfriend?
What really wowed them
My dog weighs 50 kg (125 lbs)
I’m 185 cm, even though they can see how tall I am, the number just really did it.
My younger brother and dad are even taller than I am.
Anything about animals or dinosaurs
I live in their town
Have you seen a gun store? I have AND I have friends that hunt animals
Surfing Part III: Tropical Swells
The typhoon was heading our way and there were a few days last week I’d have surfed but it was a little too big, imperfect, and scary to surf alone. Where were the other surfers? It was frustrating. Some people don’t go in the ocean after Obon, (think Japanese Dia de los Muertos), because it’s then that the souls of the dead try to lure you underwater to drown. Although I doubt this is the case with surfers, it is quite common with the regular beach-goers. Also summer surf season is officially over and the water temperature actually did drop considerably.
The morning after the typhoon passed, the surf was already less than head high and a little weak; disappointment. On Sunday, I almost brought my longboard; what a mistake that’d of been. It was a sunny, cloudless day, with perfect offshore winds and 7-10 foot lines freight-training from outside of the jetty. However, the current was strong, there was a bit of a crowd, and it was just tough to surf. Experienced more frustration due to watching so many overhead rights peel for 10-15 seconds but not getting them.
The next afternoon was the same but empty and dark and drizzly out. I jumped in the riptide and made the loooong paddle out by myself. It took a bit of time for me to psych myself up to sit right in the take off zone, as it always seemed there was a big clean-up set looming on the horizon. After a long surf, my neighbor Mike came down with his camera, so although I was exhausted I went back out for a few more. Here’s a sequence. actually im just gonna include a link to the album on facebook which also has Mt Fuji pictures too
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2051906&l=b07f8&id=13302886
and if you dont have facebook and want to see more pictures
Older Japan 2 album
http://claremont.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2049354&l=a1cde&id=13302886
Older Japan 1 album
http://claremont.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2048282&l=dab8f&id=13302886
I also have plenty of surf shots on my cell phone I'll post at some point
I mostly work at a junior high school but I also spend about 12 hours a week at elementary schools. Monday, I had 8 back to back morning classes. Granted they were only twenty minutes but still. The first 10 minutes I’d give a spiel about myself that went something like this, (except in slow, strong pronunciation teacher speak)…
"Good morning everyone. My name is Evan-Sensei. I’m twenty two years old. How old are you? (confused silence). My favorite Japanese food is katsu curry (show printed picture of katsu curry). Favorite sports and hobbies… then on to the maps…"
The next ten minutes were question time, which reminded me of Bill Cosby’s Kids Say the Darnedest Things. The kids were soo excited and their questions were either really interesting or funny.
Is that your natural hair color? What color hair do people have in America?
Pretty much everyone in Japan is from the same genetic stock and they all have black hair. I don’t think they like it too much as there’s a huge hair dying trend here.
Short, fat kid: How did you get so tall? From drinking lots of milk? “My dad’s really tall”. Sorry bud, hate to break the fact of genetic fate to you.
One 1st grade class: Are there fossils in America? Are there snakes in America? Are there cobras in America? Are there anacondas in America?
A couple tough questions
What do you think of our class?
Whose cooler, you or the homeroom teacher?
Do you like the Japanese teacher (the one I work with)?
also
Do you have a lover? I think 6 of the 8 classes asked this.
Are you married? “People get married later in America than Japan.”
One boy asked all 3…
When was your first kiss? then later
When was your first love? then later
When was your last girlfriend?
What really wowed them
My dog weighs 50 kg (125 lbs)
I’m 185 cm, even though they can see how tall I am, the number just really did it.
My younger brother and dad are even taller than I am.
Anything about animals or dinosaurs
I live in their town
Have you seen a gun store? I have AND I have friends that hunt animals
Surfing Part III: Tropical Swells
The typhoon was heading our way and there were a few days last week I’d have surfed but it was a little too big, imperfect, and scary to surf alone. Where were the other surfers? It was frustrating. Some people don’t go in the ocean after Obon, (think Japanese Dia de los Muertos), because it’s then that the souls of the dead try to lure you underwater to drown. Although I doubt this is the case with surfers, it is quite common with the regular beach-goers. Also summer surf season is officially over and the water temperature actually did drop considerably.
The morning after the typhoon passed, the surf was already less than head high and a little weak; disappointment. On Sunday, I almost brought my longboard; what a mistake that’d of been. It was a sunny, cloudless day, with perfect offshore winds and 7-10 foot lines freight-training from outside of the jetty. However, the current was strong, there was a bit of a crowd, and it was just tough to surf. Experienced more frustration due to watching so many overhead rights peel for 10-15 seconds but not getting them.
The next afternoon was the same but empty and dark and drizzly out. I jumped in the riptide and made the loooong paddle out by myself. It took a bit of time for me to psych myself up to sit right in the take off zone, as it always seemed there was a big clean-up set looming on the horizon. After a long surf, my neighbor Mike came down with his camera, so although I was exhausted I went back out for a few more. Here’s a sequence. actually im just gonna include a link to the album on facebook which also has Mt Fuji pictures too
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2051906&l=b07f8&id=13302886
and if you dont have facebook and want to see more pictures
Older Japan 2 album
http://claremont.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2049354&l=a1cde&id=13302886
Older Japan 1 album
http://claremont.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2048282&l=dab8f&id=13302886
I also have plenty of surf shots on my cell phone I'll post at some point
Friday, September 7, 2007
School Part II
Today I’m off school because there’s a typhoon outside. It’s the most serious weather I’ve been in for a long time, as Long Island rarely gets hurricanes. 50-60 mph winds, horizontal rain, my apartment was shaking, whistling, and making all sorts of noises. The worst of it is past now. There should be some good waves before dark or at least over the next few days
Leaf Month (August) has ended and so begins September, or the long month. Next month doesn’t look too much better considering its kaminazuki, or the “month without gods”. Unless of course, you’re in Izuma province, where October is the “month with gods”. There's a mandatory meeting lasting the whole month.
Sports Festival and my first real responsibilities
On Monday, I had to give a speech to the whole school . . . in Japanese. But really that just meant the expectations were low and I could read off a card. It was pretty standard, telling about myself, how I’m excited to be there, etc. I even threw in a joke. Pictured above is my main job location, a Jr. High school with about 250 kids (7th-9th grade US).
I thought I was going to start teaching this week, but no, this Saturday is the Jr. High Sports Festival so they have been practicing all day every day. I could make a cynical comment about how it’s a little Hitler Youth-like especially the opening with all the kids marching around the track in battalion formation. Two kids even do Hail Hitler arm movements at one point. The Sports Festival is a century old tradition meant to prepare children for war. But they march to this heart-warming J.P. Sousa march I’ve been trying to find on iTunes and then the events are just great: laughs, teamwork, competition.
Yesterday, a practice sports festival was held. The blue team, my team, came in last, but we’re just acting as if we’re no good; the element of surprise. My favorite event by far translates as Spin.Spin.Girl-Fight. They should really bring this one to America. Long pieces of bamboo and car tires are placed in the middle of the track and two opposing teams of girls have to bring back as many of these center objects as they can to their side, after dizzying themselves with a baseball bat-spin. These girls are prety tough. i.e. a girl being dragged across the dirt (no grass fields here) still clutching a tire.
Other favorites include a twenty five legged race with a turn, obstacle courses, tug-a-war, and an event where a top “horseman” on a base of three other boys tries to grab the others horsemen’s hats. Also the boys do a real impressive acrobatic display.
Responsibility #2
I’ve also begun to eat lunch with the kids. School lunch is really different here. Two students act as lunch-lady, donning the hairnet and white coat, and bring all the food, drinks, and plates from the basement up to their classroom and then serve their fellow classmates. I once saw in a National Geographic article that 99% of Japanese schoolchildren eat a school-provided lunch compared with some number less than 50% in the U.S.
The food’s pretty hit or a miss. Tuesday was cold mackerel, with skin (no filets here), cold eggs and spinach, white rice, and a kinda stew with potatoes and carrots, and octopus and some other meat which no one can tell me what it is. It’s not a land meat, fish, or shellfish, so I don’t see what other meat is left.
Oh and last week, they had a teacher’s encounter day which doubled as my welcoming party. The teachers played volleyball against each other and we did a Tai Bo work-out. The Tai-Bo craze is just getting to Japan like 10 years after America, and it’s the same dude pushing it, Billy Blanks. It’s not known as Tae-Bo, but just “Be-Lee” (billy), as in “gym teacher Kiya-sensei, can we do bee-lee today”.
Thursday, September 6, 2007
“You are wise to climb Mount Fuji once, but a fool to climb it twice.”
Last weekend was the antithesis of relaxing but in hindsight, it was worth it, i guess. The foggy drive to the fifth station of Mount Fuji (2200 meters) took most of Saturday’s daylight hours. There were 8 other JETs (English teachers), almost all newbies, so it was nice to have some people in my situation to talk to. We started our climb at 730 PM and immediately got above the clouds. The moon was rising and the sky was teeming with stars, which is supposed to be symbolic of something since the principal forced me to mention it in my speech that Monday.
The ascent comes across 10 stations where one can sleep, buy supplies (like nicotine vitamin water and cans of oxygen), and get one’s Mt. Fuji walking stick branded with the station name, design, and altitude, all at exorbitant prices. About halfway up, the climb became a sort of queue due to the huge tour groups whom left in the afternoon emerging from their mountain huts after a few hours rest. At 2am we passed the last station and had only 300 meters left. However, the line was insane; it was like waiting to get on a rollercoaster at Six Flags, except you were on a giant pile of lava rock.
Two-hundred-thousand people climb Mt. Fuji every year. The climbing season lasts approximately 2 months. Everyone wants to get to the top at the exact same time, just before sunrise, because that’s when you’re supposed to get there. So considering it was a weekend and we were on the most popular of the four routes to the top, I figure we climbed with about 2,000 - 3,000 others. This number seems absurd but it was literally a 5-kilometer queue up a monotonous, igneous and ash incline. It was a totally ridiculous and uniquely Japanese experience.
The climb itself wasn't that tough on the muscles, especially since you're forced to go slow, but it was still a lot more difficult than I expected. A feeling of nausea and a headache got worse throughout the ascent. I’m not sure how much of it was due to the altitude, lack of sleep, or the fact I ate only rest-stop junk food that day and no real dinner. But at 4am we made it to the top, 12,338 feet, and immediately set about the summit for a place out of the wind where we could huddle together for warmth. The blackness of the eastern sky was already starting to give way to lighter hues. Yet it was only a tease, the sun didn’t rise until 530, an agonizing wait of body shivering and teeth chattering.
But then the tiniest red sliver of sunlight pokes through the clouds. Your cheer merges with the hundreds of others who suffered along with you. The sun doesn’t come from the horizon but gives the illusion of coming right out of the clouds, a scalding red disk in the middle of a sea of white. And thus the Land of the Rising Sun. I’ll never look at the Japanese flag the same way again.
The way down was miserable, but at least it was warm. Forty five minutes after sunrise I was down to a t-shirt. The view down is of scores of identical switchbacks descending into oblivion. I began to run just to get it over with. And that was that.
thanks joel for the first photo and emma for the next two. The last is of the less crowded way down
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Vacation!!!
After three weeks of free time in the teachers office, it was about time I had a vacation. I spent lots of time planning two alternate vacations I bailed on once I did my research into Nagano prefecture. Thus..
Day 1
After a long day of traveling by train, I arrive in Hakuba, a small ski town nestled in "the Japanese Alps". The place only partly fits the Alpine image. Giant yellow and black spiders' webs glisten under the awnings of kitsch Deutschland roofs. It's been raining intermittently since I arrived but now appears to have calmed down. Anxious to breathe in the mountain air and do some exploring, I grab a mountain bike and head out on a route recommended by the hostel manager. The trail winds through a distinctive forest: tall conifers, branchless until the canopy and little undergrowth.
Shinto, Japan's native religion, posits that all living and nonliving things have a spirit/soul, or kami. Any thing that particularly inspires a sense of awe is often given a kami stone or even a shrine. Here on the trail, it seems every fifty yards theres a small mossy kami-stone, paying honor to particular trees or a distinctive rock. I make it to the other side of a giant lake, with hints of turquoise even in the overcast conditions. It is here, at the furthest point from the hostel, the rain switch turns back on. I accept there's no chance of getting back dry, so embrace the torrential weather. I try to come back through the cross country skiing course used in the '98 Nagano Olympics. Poor directions on a map literally decaying from rain and folding makes that option a little too daring. I stick to the highway, speeding downhill alongside bus-fulls of Japanese tourists staring out their windows at this 'crazy'. I, like most people, are averse to getting wet or dirty, but once accepted, its pure revelry. I laugh and even sing the whole way back
Day 2
I spend the morning waiting for the sky to clear in the spacious, large windowed lounge of the hostel, chatting with a very Swiss man. A train, bus, gondola, and air-tram later, I'm at 6000 feet altitude walking on a boardwalk through a flooded alpine plateau. In a word: pleasant. All sorts of flowers and butterflies abound. There's still snow in the crevasses of the mountain scenery. Everyone I pass gives me a kind Japanese greeting. I watch a trout swimming against a small river current, stationary directly under a footbridge. Occasionally, cloud masses swell against the ridge and then flow through the valley, refreshingly cool and damp, kinetic and wonderful.
Day 3
I'm up and at 'em early. From the train station I head north towards the massive Olympic Distance Ski jump looming over the town at the bottom of Happo-one Ski Resort. Gondola. Lift. Lift. Then I'm off. I had missed the first lift by about 45 minutes so have hundreds of hikers in front of me. Not exxagerating, 90% were old people. Getting trapped behind a group of slow old people on a narrow trail is never fun. I fly through the first part in 1/3rd the time it was supposed to take, undoubtedly leaving a large wake of feelings of inadequacy in the other climbers.
After reaching the mountain lake, the main attraction, I finally was on the real trail. I gain a temporary hiking partner who was the only guy less prepared looking than I was: purple plastic imitation Reebok Pumps, suspenders, thick glasses, supplies carried in a plastic grocery bag, and one goofy smile.
I reach a/the peak way faster than the time it was suggested it would take. I couldn't already be at the goal of my day's hike. I figure this tall peak in the distance must be the one I want. I decide to follow the route of three XC skiing competitors in training who say the peak is Mt. Goryu. I go along an erratic ridge which makes ample use of chains and ropes as it was very up and down. I even get to do a little rappeling.
if you look in the picture, the tallest peak is the one I got to too quickly. The treacherous ridge is just to the left, with the tooth-like projection. And if you're paying attention, you'll remember my camera broke. I took lots of good pictures with my high tech cell phone which I'll eventually post somewhere.
I finally meet someone with a map and realize that first peak was my original goal and I am exactly halfway between peaks. I must choose between heading back the same way I came guaranteeing to make the last lift down OR continuing onwards to a different ski slope and take a lift down there. Obviously the latter. The way back was through a jungle of bamboo that must die every winter than try to make up for lost ground in the warmer months. I had to be careful not to get dragonflies in my mouth or eyes as scores took to the air as I disturbed their path. I made it to the lift down of the other ski slope with half an hour to spare.
Onsen
Due to all the underground activity, hot springs (or onsen) pervade Japan, especially in mountainous areas. Their ubiquitous-ness seem to assure their becoming a part of their culture, extremely popular whether its for vacation or as a daily routine. And what better time to give onsen's a try then after a loong hike in the "alps".
Right when I got there, 20 high school boys showed up so it was packed, certainly not making things easier for myself. The washing ritual is intense and complicated, new standards in cleanliness. Onsen's are mostly gender-separate, thus definitely nakedness presides. Of course as a clueless and rare foreigner, I was the total center of attention. All in all, it was a complicated and very new experience for the young Evan.
Day 4 and 5
Matsumoto: a small city that's existed since the 800's.
The tourist highlight is one of the few original castles in Japan. Built in the 1590's, Crow Castle, with is alternating black and white wooden exterior, and carp-filled moat is really bad ass. During the day I went inside and had not one, but TWO free goodwill tour guides accompany me, the only tour guides I saw. At dusk, I drank beer on a bench with an open panoramic view of the castle, the moat, the mountains and the sunset. Then a looong walk to an all-u-can-eat Thai curry restaurant in North Matsumoto. And a final visit to my castle bench at night.
Also in Matsumoto, a long walk checking out beautiful and deserted shrines hidden in alleys. And staying in an eighty year old Ryokan, or traditional Japanese hotel. Tatami floors, rice paper walls, and an elaborate Japanese tea set and table ready when I arrive.
So that was my vacation. Pretty long post, hope its not too boring. I already have another exciting trip planned, climbing Mt. Fuji this Saturday with some other English-speaking JET's.
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Welcome to the Ring of Fire
Before coming to Japan, I remember telling a few people how it was lame I never felt a single earthquake in California and I hope I get to feel a little one in Japan. Well my wish was answered quite quickly. In less than three weeks to be precise. A 5.3, the epicenter off Chiba, probably 40 miles south of me.
Last night, right before dawn, I awoke to the room shaking with an immediate infusion of adrenaline into my bloodstream. It lasted maybe 10 seconds then a smaller aftershock 10 seconds later. It wasn’t too violent, nothing fell over or anything, but the items in my room were shaking as to produce sound. After an aftershock, I sprang to action, naively considering two doomsday scenarios:
a)the chance of the epicenter being offshore resulting in a tidal wave which could easily reach my low elevation apartment about a km from the ocean.
And
b) I remember hearing the aftershocks can be even worse so I stayed awake half-expecting another earth shaking
After a little time spent reasoning I realized everything was alright. Though it took me a fair bit of time to get my body back into sleeping mode.
Think of all the tribal people of ancient history who must have woke to the earth shaking with similar reactions to myself. It's easy to recognize how ancient myths and religions were born. Huge forces of nature, I think especially an earthquake, really makes one feel small. The discrepency between our perceived powerfulness of an earthquake and how miniscule a small earthquake is relative to the earth as a whole, (just a tiny slip of a tectonic plate) is pretty staggering.
New Cell Phone
Japanese cell phones make America look like a technologically backwards country. I got one of the free phones that come with a plan, a white slide phone with a giant, high-def screen. The manual is in Japanese so itll take me a while to figure out all the features but ive checked out the weather and GPS features. Its an mp3 player and a 3.2 megapixel camera, and a bar code reader. Here in Japan, square bar codes can often be found on advertisements or sometimes just stuck in public areas. Reading them brings you to a special cellphone website. Additionally, every cellphone has an email address and generally this is how people email each other. I also chose a killer whale as my friendly helpful creature which swims around the screen and lets me know when I have mail or whatever.
Now all I need is some friends to call, hah.
Surfing Part III and Problem Solving
It has been a very mixed week for surfing in the life of Evan Schumann. In addition to the conditions not coming together to make it any good I’ve also had a few frustrating experiences. Monday afternoon, I cut my foot up mounting the bike with the longboard and while surfing, I rode a wave a little too close to shore and got thrown onto the shell and rock encrusted sand leaving me with quite a bit of cuts.
The next day I saw so many cars with surfboards that I figured it must be really good. It wasn’t. Like Monday, it was once again abnormally crowded but at least I discovered the reason why. Mon/Tues/Wed is a national holiday in Japan, Obon. During these three days, the souls of deceased relatives come down from heaven and chill with their families, eat some food, and whatnot.
The week wasn’t all bad for surfing. I did manage to get my craft skills on and build a wind vane which I mounted in a mini field in front of my apartment. As per normal, I did a pretty bare minimum job on it, both aesthetically and functionally, but it'll do. I also came up with an idea for giving English lessons during and in exchange for surf sessions.
I also have decided on where to take my vacation, but it is neither of the aforementioned places. I leave next Wednesday for 5 days. Pretty exciting. The location? a surprise.
Before coming to Japan, I remember telling a few people how it was lame I never felt a single earthquake in California and I hope I get to feel a little one in Japan. Well my wish was answered quite quickly. In less than three weeks to be precise. A 5.3, the epicenter off Chiba, probably 40 miles south of me.
Last night, right before dawn, I awoke to the room shaking with an immediate infusion of adrenaline into my bloodstream. It lasted maybe 10 seconds then a smaller aftershock 10 seconds later. It wasn’t too violent, nothing fell over or anything, but the items in my room were shaking as to produce sound. After an aftershock, I sprang to action, naively considering two doomsday scenarios:
a)the chance of the epicenter being offshore resulting in a tidal wave which could easily reach my low elevation apartment about a km from the ocean.
And
b) I remember hearing the aftershocks can be even worse so I stayed awake half-expecting another earth shaking
After a little time spent reasoning I realized everything was alright. Though it took me a fair bit of time to get my body back into sleeping mode.
Think of all the tribal people of ancient history who must have woke to the earth shaking with similar reactions to myself. It's easy to recognize how ancient myths and religions were born. Huge forces of nature, I think especially an earthquake, really makes one feel small. The discrepency between our perceived powerfulness of an earthquake and how miniscule a small earthquake is relative to the earth as a whole, (just a tiny slip of a tectonic plate) is pretty staggering.
New Cell Phone
Japanese cell phones make America look like a technologically backwards country. I got one of the free phones that come with a plan, a white slide phone with a giant, high-def screen. The manual is in Japanese so itll take me a while to figure out all the features but ive checked out the weather and GPS features. Its an mp3 player and a 3.2 megapixel camera, and a bar code reader. Here in Japan, square bar codes can often be found on advertisements or sometimes just stuck in public areas. Reading them brings you to a special cellphone website. Additionally, every cellphone has an email address and generally this is how people email each other. I also chose a killer whale as my friendly helpful creature which swims around the screen and lets me know when I have mail or whatever.
Now all I need is some friends to call, hah.
Surfing Part III and Problem Solving
It has been a very mixed week for surfing in the life of Evan Schumann. In addition to the conditions not coming together to make it any good I’ve also had a few frustrating experiences. Monday afternoon, I cut my foot up mounting the bike with the longboard and while surfing, I rode a wave a little too close to shore and got thrown onto the shell and rock encrusted sand leaving me with quite a bit of cuts.
The next day I saw so many cars with surfboards that I figured it must be really good. It wasn’t. Like Monday, it was once again abnormally crowded but at least I discovered the reason why. Mon/Tues/Wed is a national holiday in Japan, Obon. During these three days, the souls of deceased relatives come down from heaven and chill with their families, eat some food, and whatnot.
The week wasn’t all bad for surfing. I did manage to get my craft skills on and build a wind vane which I mounted in a mini field in front of my apartment. As per normal, I did a pretty bare minimum job on it, both aesthetically and functionally, but it'll do. I also came up with an idea for giving English lessons during and in exchange for surf sessions.
I also have decided on where to take my vacation, but it is neither of the aforementioned places. I leave next Wednesday for 5 days. Pretty exciting. The location? a surprise.
Monday, August 13, 2007
Family BBQ/More Fireworks/First Karaoke experience
Last week I went to the massive Tokyo city fireworks. This Friday I went to the local town fireworks. Here, each 1-2 minute set of fireworks was brought to you by a certain company or sponsor. The sponsors likely compete with each other leading to more variation and a great number of finales. There are many stands with local food and games. Once again ill luck struck as my simple noodle dish was flavored with fishiness taste. I just can’t trust these festivals anymore.
Saturday, I went to a real family BBQ, where we had our own firework show lasting well over an hour. Needless to say fireworks are a big deal over here. Of course I got a little mischievous (the sa-ke the grandfather pushed on me probably helped) and would covertly light the fuse of these loud ones and toss them next to the unexpected. It brought back memories of launching bottle-rockets at a certain group of people, leading to the disgruntled victim on the hood of my car, grabbing my hair through the open window. I closed the power window on his arm and drove with sharp arcs to throw them off the chalky hood of the Passat. It was right out of a movie.
There were plenty of cute kids who were more awe struck at simple sparklers than the air fireworks. One failed to get my attention once and couldn’t fathom the fact that I didn’t understand Japanese. The food was great: lots of meat, grilled eggplant, shrimp yakisoba noodles, shave ices, and giant grapes, among other things. I have leftovers in my fridge. The women do the grilling here, unlike in America. The setting was a small but nicely landscaped backyard complete with Japanese paper candles.
Afterwards I had my first karaoke (NOT kah-ree-oh-kee, you gaijin). I was sober and shy by this point, but eventually did a decent rendition of the Beatles ‘When I’m Sixty-Four’. I’ll get ‘em next time. The place greatly differed from the Tokyo karaoke booth on the corner of a building that Bill Murray and friends use in Lost in Translation except that it was its own room. I think this sort of karaoke, which serves food and drinks as well, could definitely succeed in an American city.
Surfing Part II and a few rudimentary observations on Japanese surfers.
-They like wearing wetsuits even though the water is very warm.
-I figured they’d strictly follow the rules of the water but they don’t seem to mind dropping in on each other.
-They prefer the first wave in the set, which I use to my advantage.
-They’re quite the rippers.
-It appears to be a virtual requirement of fulfilling the surfer identity to bring gallons, (or shall I say liters), of fresh water to meticulously rinse yourself and all the gear down post-session.
-Even though the waves are generally waist high, pretty clean, mushy, and long, Japanese surfers love their shortboards. Most surfers seem to be in their 30’s, likely products of the late 80’s shortboard revolution. They struggle just to get pushed by the waves, pumping like mad. Meanwhile, I caught some of the best longboard waves of my life, including my first legit hang five.
This Sunday I finally crossed Japan’s widest river into Chiba, the prefecture that has all the waves. My only local friends tend to be fifty-year old ladies, so one introduced me to one of her windsurfing friends and we spent the day hitting the surf. It was smaller than I expected but I had a lot of fun in the tropical feeling water. Unlike the plains-like Ibaraki prefecture, Chiba has densely forested mountains and a rocky coastline. From the water, you could even hear the whining of cicadas in Morse code (long, a burst of shorts, then another long) from the trees on the cliff. The spot was at the sand-filled right angle of a jetty and a seawall.
Sea Creatures
Besides the whale blob and decapitated sea turtle I’ve found on the beach, there are plenty of other creatures of the sea. The shoreline is littered with sand dollars and beautifully colored clam shells. In the water there are these hilarious fish that occasionally make an appearance. I thought they were a pack of some bizarre aquatic mammal at first because they like to swim with their heads just out of the water. They also will ride the waves in a school like you’ll see dolphins do. There are also two types of jellyfish, only one of which packs a moderate sting, nothing like the Lion’s Mane Jellyfish which fill the bays of EH in late summer.
Planning a Trip
I’m currently deciding between
- Aomori (Blue Forest) Prefecture, the far north of the main island of Honshu. (6-8 days) There I would climb the sulfurous volcanic “Mount Fear”, Shinto-Buddhist hell. See some cool coastline. Visit a historical castle/samurai city. And climb one of two other mountains and/or spend some time on this giant crystal clear caldera lake.
- Yamagata Prefecture (5-6 days). I would likely spend two days on a tiny island in the Sea of Japan and two days climbing the three sacred mountains of Denwa Za, which to this day remain a pilgrimage within a sect of Buddhism. Maybe a brief stopover in an old feudal town.
Japanese TV
I haven’t caught too much live Japanese TV yet but I found these great links on youtube though. I suspect these prank / game shows wouldn’t last too long in America
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hq_tPCUx9ds
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jm7aX3QfOG0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bK63uSTTNs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3guZda7nku8
Last week I went to the massive Tokyo city fireworks. This Friday I went to the local town fireworks. Here, each 1-2 minute set of fireworks was brought to you by a certain company or sponsor. The sponsors likely compete with each other leading to more variation and a great number of finales. There are many stands with local food and games. Once again ill luck struck as my simple noodle dish was flavored with fishiness taste. I just can’t trust these festivals anymore.
Saturday, I went to a real family BBQ, where we had our own firework show lasting well over an hour. Needless to say fireworks are a big deal over here. Of course I got a little mischievous (the sa-ke the grandfather pushed on me probably helped) and would covertly light the fuse of these loud ones and toss them next to the unexpected. It brought back memories of launching bottle-rockets at a certain group of people, leading to the disgruntled victim on the hood of my car, grabbing my hair through the open window. I closed the power window on his arm and drove with sharp arcs to throw them off the chalky hood of the Passat. It was right out of a movie.
There were plenty of cute kids who were more awe struck at simple sparklers than the air fireworks. One failed to get my attention once and couldn’t fathom the fact that I didn’t understand Japanese. The food was great: lots of meat, grilled eggplant, shrimp yakisoba noodles, shave ices, and giant grapes, among other things. I have leftovers in my fridge. The women do the grilling here, unlike in America. The setting was a small but nicely landscaped backyard complete with Japanese paper candles.
Afterwards I had my first karaoke (NOT kah-ree-oh-kee, you gaijin). I was sober and shy by this point, but eventually did a decent rendition of the Beatles ‘When I’m Sixty-Four’. I’ll get ‘em next time. The place greatly differed from the Tokyo karaoke booth on the corner of a building that Bill Murray and friends use in Lost in Translation except that it was its own room. I think this sort of karaoke, which serves food and drinks as well, could definitely succeed in an American city.
Surfing Part II and a few rudimentary observations on Japanese surfers.
-They like wearing wetsuits even though the water is very warm.
-I figured they’d strictly follow the rules of the water but they don’t seem to mind dropping in on each other.
-They prefer the first wave in the set, which I use to my advantage.
-They’re quite the rippers.
-It appears to be a virtual requirement of fulfilling the surfer identity to bring gallons, (or shall I say liters), of fresh water to meticulously rinse yourself and all the gear down post-session.
-Even though the waves are generally waist high, pretty clean, mushy, and long, Japanese surfers love their shortboards. Most surfers seem to be in their 30’s, likely products of the late 80’s shortboard revolution. They struggle just to get pushed by the waves, pumping like mad. Meanwhile, I caught some of the best longboard waves of my life, including my first legit hang five.
This Sunday I finally crossed Japan’s widest river into Chiba, the prefecture that has all the waves. My only local friends tend to be fifty-year old ladies, so one introduced me to one of her windsurfing friends and we spent the day hitting the surf. It was smaller than I expected but I had a lot of fun in the tropical feeling water. Unlike the plains-like Ibaraki prefecture, Chiba has densely forested mountains and a rocky coastline. From the water, you could even hear the whining of cicadas in Morse code (long, a burst of shorts, then another long) from the trees on the cliff. The spot was at the sand-filled right angle of a jetty and a seawall.
Sea Creatures
Besides the whale blob and decapitated sea turtle I’ve found on the beach, there are plenty of other creatures of the sea. The shoreline is littered with sand dollars and beautifully colored clam shells. In the water there are these hilarious fish that occasionally make an appearance. I thought they were a pack of some bizarre aquatic mammal at first because they like to swim with their heads just out of the water. They also will ride the waves in a school like you’ll see dolphins do. There are also two types of jellyfish, only one of which packs a moderate sting, nothing like the Lion’s Mane Jellyfish which fill the bays of EH in late summer.
Planning a Trip
I’m currently deciding between
- Aomori (Blue Forest) Prefecture, the far north of the main island of Honshu. (6-8 days) There I would climb the sulfurous volcanic “Mount Fear”, Shinto-Buddhist hell. See some cool coastline. Visit a historical castle/samurai city. And climb one of two other mountains and/or spend some time on this giant crystal clear caldera lake.
- Yamagata Prefecture (5-6 days). I would likely spend two days on a tiny island in the Sea of Japan and two days climbing the three sacred mountains of Denwa Za, which to this day remain a pilgrimage within a sect of Buddhism. Maybe a brief stopover in an old feudal town.
Japanese TV
I haven’t caught too much live Japanese TV yet but I found these great links on youtube though. I suspect these prank / game shows wouldn’t last too long in America
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hq_tPCUx9ds
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jm7aX3QfOG0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bK63uSTTNs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3guZda7nku8
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Week 2
My Quarters
So my apartment is pretty sweet besides the bathroom looking like it came directly off the coach section of a budget airline and into my apartment. The apartment came furnished already. I get to start my life in Japan with all the essentials: plenty of Japanese tea sets, a few Pikachu’s lying around the house, a badminton racket, a bunch of mediocre books, and a hand full of Japanese fans, which yes, I do use at school to cool myself down. The apartment also came with a washer, but no dryer. I’m hang-drying clothes for the first time in my life right now, with yet unforeseen results.
Two main rooms. One is a kitchen/surfboard storage/dining room. The other is my sleeping and computer room. It has a floor covered in new tatami straw mats, giving it a delicate barn smell. I sleep on a futon which when not in use should be folded up and put away in a closet. I tend to just throw it on the other side of the room. See, leaving the futon in the same place all the time apparently leads to a mold problem. I’m doubtful. I plan on discovering the exact limits of laziness one can be with moving the futon. However, just today I hung my futon out in the sun as one should do weekly which was good of me. My sleeping room also has air conditioning, which is much needed.
Talk of the Weather will do.
It’s so hot here, every day. I’m pretty sick of it. I’m even planning a vacation to northern Honshu or the mountains to get away from it. The teacher’s office I spend my time in is on the second floor and has no air conditioning. I watch the inside thermometer hit 30, 31, 32 degrees Celsius, which is right around 90. Sweating through a shirt is no fun at all.
The World’s Largest City
I got my first glimpse of Tokyo this weekend. By 12:30 Saturday, Mike, Steven, and I had already set up a tarp to claim prime seating near the river. The Edogawa fireworks are one of the largest fireworks events in the world with over 1.3 million people watching so getting there early is recommended. We bought a 2nd hand cooler, stocked it with beers, tea, sushi, and meat. I spent the day drinking, basking in the sun, and meeting the rest of our tarp crew as they showed up. The fireworks were pretty awesome, lasting the length of a movie. The next day I bailed on coming back to Hasaki for the drinking BBQ. Instead I went to Ueno Park and the Tokyo National Museum, which had some of the most cherished artifacts and artwork in Japanese history arranged in an informative, chronological order. Next was Akihabara, the electronics district of Tokyo. The streets were barred from cars and instead overflowing with pedestrians, consumers, advertisers and solicitors.
The Food
Hitting Mt. Fuji restaurant occasionally is great, having real Japanese food (which is quite a bit different) every day is quite another thing. Here in semi-rural Hasaki, there’s no way around becoming accustomed to eating traditional Japanese food. I haven’t gotten sick of it yet, in part because I keep trying different styles, but the day is approaching when I’ll be craving any food not Japanese. Luckily, they do appreciate international cuisine, though in its Japan-ified form, like tuna, corn, and mayo pizza.
Most of my breakfasts and lunches are from 7-11, actually called 7 and I Holdings here. I don’t know what most things are, so I tend to go by sight couple with trial & error. Some of the weirder things I’ve had so far are Aloe flavored yogurt (with real chunks of aloe plant), raw egg over rice, the egg/dried shrimp/dried albacore/cabbage thing-y, weird radishes are popular, really sour pickled plums, raw meat one cooks themselves over a mini-grill, and lots of fish I wouldn’t normally eat. Pork cutlet over Japanese beef curry has become my new staple. I had it tonight at the local restaurant and two nights ago.
So my apartment is pretty sweet besides the bathroom looking like it came directly off the coach section of a budget airline and into my apartment. The apartment came furnished already. I get to start my life in Japan with all the essentials: plenty of Japanese tea sets, a few Pikachu’s lying around the house, a badminton racket, a bunch of mediocre books, and a hand full of Japanese fans, which yes, I do use at school to cool myself down. The apartment also came with a washer, but no dryer. I’m hang-drying clothes for the first time in my life right now, with yet unforeseen results.
Two main rooms. One is a kitchen/surfboard storage/dining room. The other is my sleeping and computer room. It has a floor covered in new tatami straw mats, giving it a delicate barn smell. I sleep on a futon which when not in use should be folded up and put away in a closet. I tend to just throw it on the other side of the room. See, leaving the futon in the same place all the time apparently leads to a mold problem. I’m doubtful. I plan on discovering the exact limits of laziness one can be with moving the futon. However, just today I hung my futon out in the sun as one should do weekly which was good of me. My sleeping room also has air conditioning, which is much needed.
Talk of the Weather will do.
It’s so hot here, every day. I’m pretty sick of it. I’m even planning a vacation to northern Honshu or the mountains to get away from it. The teacher’s office I spend my time in is on the second floor and has no air conditioning. I watch the inside thermometer hit 30, 31, 32 degrees Celsius, which is right around 90. Sweating through a shirt is no fun at all.
The World’s Largest City
I got my first glimpse of Tokyo this weekend. By 12:30 Saturday, Mike, Steven, and I had already set up a tarp to claim prime seating near the river. The Edogawa fireworks are one of the largest fireworks events in the world with over 1.3 million people watching so getting there early is recommended. We bought a 2nd hand cooler, stocked it with beers, tea, sushi, and meat. I spent the day drinking, basking in the sun, and meeting the rest of our tarp crew as they showed up. The fireworks were pretty awesome, lasting the length of a movie. The next day I bailed on coming back to Hasaki for the drinking BBQ. Instead I went to Ueno Park and the Tokyo National Museum, which had some of the most cherished artifacts and artwork in Japanese history arranged in an informative, chronological order. Next was Akihabara, the electronics district of Tokyo. The streets were barred from cars and instead overflowing with pedestrians, consumers, advertisers and solicitors.
The Food
Hitting Mt. Fuji restaurant occasionally is great, having real Japanese food (which is quite a bit different) every day is quite another thing. Here in semi-rural Hasaki, there’s no way around becoming accustomed to eating traditional Japanese food. I haven’t gotten sick of it yet, in part because I keep trying different styles, but the day is approaching when I’ll be craving any food not Japanese. Luckily, they do appreciate international cuisine, though in its Japan-ified form, like tuna, corn, and mayo pizza.
Most of my breakfasts and lunches are from 7-11, actually called 7 and I Holdings here. I don’t know what most things are, so I tend to go by sight couple with trial & error. Some of the weirder things I’ve had so far are Aloe flavored yogurt (with real chunks of aloe plant), raw egg over rice, the egg/dried shrimp/dried albacore/cabbage thing-y, weird radishes are popular, really sour pickled plums, raw meat one cooks themselves over a mini-grill, and lots of fish I wouldn’t normally eat. Pork cutlet over Japanese beef curry has become my new staple. I had it tonight at the local restaurant and two nights ago.
Friday, August 3, 2007
Volleyball
My contract has started so I have to go to work everyyy day. However, there’s nothing for me to do, so I study Japanese or read most of the time. The other afternoon I went to girl’s volleyball practice as a helper/participant. When I arrived, the team captain made a signal and the whole team made a semi-circle around me, bowed completely horizontally and out came a stream of unintelligible sentences. Then they waited for my reply. This was repeated when I left.
I selectively participated in the drills and still sweated through my shirt. For refreshment, they drink green tea exclusively, no Powerade or water here. I was always personally served mine in a cute, yellow Hello Kitty mug. One drill I did join in was the spike-u drill. Imagine a bunch of 5-foot tall pre-teens and me, at 6’1”, getting perfect passes from the coach on a low net. I felt ridiculous, more so because the team captain was practically hitting as well as I was.
There is no I in team. Unlike America, here the saying is for real. There is no room for self expression of any kind. If a terrible hit happens to go in, ‘Nice-u Hittu’ and only ‘Nice Hittu’, unless it’s a serve, then its ‘Nice serb-u’. If an awesome hit just misses, silence. Besides these compliments, ich-ni-san’s, (1,2,3’s) and Hai’s (yes coach) there isn’t really any talking. It was so different from my Jr. High volleyball experience, in which there was constant joking, making fun of the coach, competitive games, aiming for teammates with the ball. Clubs are a big deal in Japan. You join only one and it becomes your life, your teammates become your group of friends. They practice three hours a day, largely every day, all for a handful of tournaments a year. I haven’t figured out their appeal yet.
Bureaucracy
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday were all spent, at least in part, dealing with the Japanese bureaucracy: getting the necessary documents, long lines, numerous stops. It’s tough to describe, but trust me the DMV is a breeze compared to getting things done here in Japan. The biggest trip was a full day spent heading to Mito, the prefecture capital, to get my working visa, which wasn’t processed in time before my departure to Japan.
I spent the drive trying to read signs. I can read hiragana, but it means nothing to me. Even though katakana spells English words, it isn’t much better. For instance, in front of me is a can with the symbols spelling, Maa-kusu kohee, which actually translates as Max Coffee. Ah-su-to, is auto. O-ou-tsu-leh-lee-ah is Australia. Arriving at 11:25 at the capital office, with four office attendants, and being fourth in line, we were excited with the prospect we would be in and out quickly. However, by noon we still weren’t up yet, and then the office closes until 1. Typical.
Another example, banks are only open when the populace is at work. In fact, I haven’t been able to open a bank account until today because I needed an ink-stamp for official documents. Signatures don’t cut it in Japan, a largely random choice of two easily counterfeited symbols are preferred. My stamp consists of the symbols for picture (E) and evening (Ban, because there are no V’s here)
Quirks
There are lots of funny quirks about Japanese society. Here are just a few.
Traffic lights are horizontal while words and sentences are written vertically
There’s a good chance of a public vending machine being directly outside your house
I need to bring separate indoor shoes to work each day. My outdoor shoes are left near the main entrance.
A serious recycling program in which trash is divided into five categories requiring special bags for each: recyclable, burnable, unburnable, oversized, and hazardous. Likely responsible for the quantity and diversity of garbage on the beach.
Surfing
My first surf was early Wednesday morning, and I mean early. The sun rises around 4:30 AM and that’s when I tend to get up with the jet lag. I was the only one on the beach and I was spooked most of the time. However, I didn’t have to worry about being alone for the afternoon session as there were about 12 people out at my jetty spot. The swell picked up to a little overhead, the water blue-green, and the wind offshore. A large rip pulls sand away from the jetty and creates a bowl-y A-frame. The lefts break into the rip, so their deceptively bad. It was tricky at first but after two more sessions, I think I’m getting the hang of the spot.
The wind has been side-offshore for days. In fact, you can check if you’re sitting in the right spot if you get the stench of rotting beached whale being blown at you. At least I think that's what it is, its more like a giant blob. I also found a decapitated sea turtle on the beach.
Riding a bike to go surf is a new experience for me. Taking the longboard was painful and full of expletives. Bluedorns, I need you to ship out you’re surfboard bike trailer. Riding with the 6’9’’ shortboard, Mr. Magic, is much easier. I carry it like a weapon under one arm, ready to do battle. It’s pretty bad ass.
Driving is done on the left and the roads are narrow making for dangerous riding conditions. Even the major roads will be just wide enough for two larger vehicles to pass each other and shoulders do not exist. Let’s hope I don’t get hit. However, it is inevitable that I’ll take a spill riding one-handed while carrying the surfboard.
My First Real Weekend
Tomorrow I head to Tokyo for the first time, though not to really check out the city. I am going with the two ALT’s here to a giant fireworks festival. Over a million people attend. I’m coming back Sunday for a drinking BBQ Sunday afternoon here in Hasaki. All in all, things are really good here. Steven says I’m in the honeymoon period in which everything is new and interesting. This makes sense, but I’ll enjoy it while it lasts.
My contract has started so I have to go to work everyyy day. However, there’s nothing for me to do, so I study Japanese or read most of the time. The other afternoon I went to girl’s volleyball practice as a helper/participant. When I arrived, the team captain made a signal and the whole team made a semi-circle around me, bowed completely horizontally and out came a stream of unintelligible sentences. Then they waited for my reply. This was repeated when I left.
I selectively participated in the drills and still sweated through my shirt. For refreshment, they drink green tea exclusively, no Powerade or water here. I was always personally served mine in a cute, yellow Hello Kitty mug. One drill I did join in was the spike-u drill. Imagine a bunch of 5-foot tall pre-teens and me, at 6’1”, getting perfect passes from the coach on a low net. I felt ridiculous, more so because the team captain was practically hitting as well as I was.
There is no I in team. Unlike America, here the saying is for real. There is no room for self expression of any kind. If a terrible hit happens to go in, ‘Nice-u Hittu’ and only ‘Nice Hittu’, unless it’s a serve, then its ‘Nice serb-u’. If an awesome hit just misses, silence. Besides these compliments, ich-ni-san’s, (1,2,3’s) and Hai’s (yes coach) there isn’t really any talking. It was so different from my Jr. High volleyball experience, in which there was constant joking, making fun of the coach, competitive games, aiming for teammates with the ball. Clubs are a big deal in Japan. You join only one and it becomes your life, your teammates become your group of friends. They practice three hours a day, largely every day, all for a handful of tournaments a year. I haven’t figured out their appeal yet.
Bureaucracy
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday were all spent, at least in part, dealing with the Japanese bureaucracy: getting the necessary documents, long lines, numerous stops. It’s tough to describe, but trust me the DMV is a breeze compared to getting things done here in Japan. The biggest trip was a full day spent heading to Mito, the prefecture capital, to get my working visa, which wasn’t processed in time before my departure to Japan.
I spent the drive trying to read signs. I can read hiragana, but it means nothing to me. Even though katakana spells English words, it isn’t much better. For instance, in front of me is a can with the symbols spelling, Maa-kusu kohee, which actually translates as Max Coffee. Ah-su-to, is auto. O-ou-tsu-leh-lee-ah is Australia. Arriving at 11:25 at the capital office, with four office attendants, and being fourth in line, we were excited with the prospect we would be in and out quickly. However, by noon we still weren’t up yet, and then the office closes until 1. Typical.
Another example, banks are only open when the populace is at work. In fact, I haven’t been able to open a bank account until today because I needed an ink-stamp for official documents. Signatures don’t cut it in Japan, a largely random choice of two easily counterfeited symbols are preferred. My stamp consists of the symbols for picture (E) and evening (Ban, because there are no V’s here)
Quirks
There are lots of funny quirks about Japanese society. Here are just a few.
Traffic lights are horizontal while words and sentences are written vertically
There’s a good chance of a public vending machine being directly outside your house
I need to bring separate indoor shoes to work each day. My outdoor shoes are left near the main entrance.
A serious recycling program in which trash is divided into five categories requiring special bags for each: recyclable, burnable, unburnable, oversized, and hazardous. Likely responsible for the quantity and diversity of garbage on the beach.
Surfing
My first surf was early Wednesday morning, and I mean early. The sun rises around 4:30 AM and that’s when I tend to get up with the jet lag. I was the only one on the beach and I was spooked most of the time. However, I didn’t have to worry about being alone for the afternoon session as there were about 12 people out at my jetty spot. The swell picked up to a little overhead, the water blue-green, and the wind offshore. A large rip pulls sand away from the jetty and creates a bowl-y A-frame. The lefts break into the rip, so their deceptively bad. It was tricky at first but after two more sessions, I think I’m getting the hang of the spot.
The wind has been side-offshore for days. In fact, you can check if you’re sitting in the right spot if you get the stench of rotting beached whale being blown at you. At least I think that's what it is, its more like a giant blob. I also found a decapitated sea turtle on the beach.
Riding a bike to go surf is a new experience for me. Taking the longboard was painful and full of expletives. Bluedorns, I need you to ship out you’re surfboard bike trailer. Riding with the 6’9’’ shortboard, Mr. Magic, is much easier. I carry it like a weapon under one arm, ready to do battle. It’s pretty bad ass.
Driving is done on the left and the roads are narrow making for dangerous riding conditions. Even the major roads will be just wide enough for two larger vehicles to pass each other and shoulders do not exist. Let’s hope I don’t get hit. However, it is inevitable that I’ll take a spill riding one-handed while carrying the surfboard.
My First Real Weekend
Tomorrow I head to Tokyo for the first time, though not to really check out the city. I am going with the two ALT’s here to a giant fireworks festival. Over a million people attend. I’m coming back Sunday for a drinking BBQ Sunday afternoon here in Hasaki. All in all, things are really good here. Steven says I’m in the honeymoon period in which everything is new and interesting. This makes sense, but I’ll enjoy it while it lasts.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
An interesting but far from fun day off
Yesterday, I decided I would take a long walk on a Japanese beach. From the peak of the jetty, while admiring the somewhat post-apocalyptic view of wind turbines and trash down the beach on this dark and stormy day, I realized my keys were no longer in my pocket. I retraced my steps thrice with no luck. Knowing my neighbor had a spare key for my apartment, I had to wait 6 hours for him to return.
Bugs
My fear of spiders and bugs has much improved over the years since at a young age, the movie Arachnophobia initially traumatized me (and Scotty Bertrand, who had his room fumigated). However, the stairs up to my apartment room is called home by about 25 spiders, all the same species but of varying sizes. Occasionally their webs seem to impinge into head/eye level heights. Although I believe I should try to get over my slightly irrational fear by learning to live with the spiders, as soon as I get some yen, I plan on heading to the home depot-like store to mount an offensive.
I checked an online forum the other day which mentioned some of the nastier creatures in Japan. The mahamushi, a large viper found all over Japan, I often reflect upon as I walk through the narrow brush-filled path to the nearest beach. The scariest creature mentioned was also quite common, the Japanese Red Centipede: it grows up to 10 inches, has a nasty bite, is very difficult to kill, will crawl up your drain, and perhaps worst of all, they travel in pairs, so if you kill one, the next few weeks will be spent in a constant state of paranoia.
Yesterday, I decided I would take a long walk on a Japanese beach. From the peak of the jetty, while admiring the somewhat post-apocalyptic view of wind turbines and trash down the beach on this dark and stormy day, I realized my keys were no longer in my pocket. I retraced my steps thrice with no luck. Knowing my neighbor had a spare key for my apartment, I had to wait 6 hours for him to return.
Bugs
My fear of spiders and bugs has much improved over the years since at a young age, the movie Arachnophobia initially traumatized me (and Scotty Bertrand, who had his room fumigated). However, the stairs up to my apartment room is called home by about 25 spiders, all the same species but of varying sizes. Occasionally their webs seem to impinge into head/eye level heights. Although I believe I should try to get over my slightly irrational fear by learning to live with the spiders, as soon as I get some yen, I plan on heading to the home depot-like store to mount an offensive.
I checked an online forum the other day which mentioned some of the nastier creatures in Japan. The mahamushi, a large viper found all over Japan, I often reflect upon as I walk through the narrow brush-filled path to the nearest beach. The scariest creature mentioned was also quite common, the Japanese Red Centipede: it grows up to 10 inches, has a nasty bite, is very difficult to kill, will crawl up your drain, and perhaps worst of all, they travel in pairs, so if you kill one, the next few weeks will be spent in a constant state of paranoia.
Monday, July 30, 2007
My first few days in Japan
So this is a blog. I made it so I can tell of my experiences in Japan in an efficient manner to all those who are interested. My first entry is a biggie but it'll likely get more managable. Feel free to email me at evan.schumann@pomona.edu, though this email may change in the next few months or facebook me orrr use Skype, or AIm. I'd love to here from you on a personal basis.
My first day in Japan was one of the most emotionally difficult days in my life. It was partly due to having my circadian rhythms off by a full 12 hours, a slightly hung-over 14 hours spent in a cramped airplane seat, and the exhaustion that comes with having 40 to 50 hours merging into the facade of a single day. Throughout the afternoon and evening on that very first day it kept hitting me that this was going to be my life for at least a year. and it was pretty scary/
Ride from airport
Mike, a 32-year old Texan and also my new neighbor, picked me up with a man from the Board of Education and my boss, Mr. Tamugai.
No one speaks English!
The other scary realization I made was that no one speaks English here. Concerning the few words I knew in Japanese, I was unsure of the pronunciation and the appropriate time to use it leaving me pretty quiet. The two ALT’s I met (assistant language teacher, my job) learned Japanese before they came so can now have a conversation in Japanese as well as you and I could in English. As we ran across their former and current students at various businesses within the town, they were able to joke around with them with ease. I didn’t see how I was going to create relationships with any of my future students, something I was looking forward to. I also considered that a necessary part of learning how I liked teaching.
The next day, much better
After a pretty good sleep and some time regrouping in my new apartment, which is pretty sweet by the way, I had a great next day. I made large strides in my Japanese and am optimistic that I will learn quickly. Mike the Texan, and Charles, the other ALT and Pomona alum whose job I am taking over, and I went to lunch at a Japanese family restaurant, bought supplies for my apartment, checked out an electronics/entertainment/manga stores (which was sensory overload) and saw the beach. The beach is a little sad, there’s plenty of trash on it, BUT the jetties are gigantic and I think the waves should be pretty good. Tuesday through Thursday has serious potential with a good east swell and offshore winds, so we’ll see what the beaches of Hasaki can dish out. My walk to the beach is a little under a mile and is pretty beautiful and contemporary-rural.
A town festival and large shrine-moving mayhem.
That evening, Steven, a cynical, laid-back, and heavy drinking Australian ALT invited me to the Hasaki festival to celebrate the convergence of two ocean currents which lead to an abundance of fish off the coast here. While there, many school-age kids wanted to test out their English and were very excited to meet me, which was nice. I tried to eat a Japanese pancake but didn’t make it too far due to the overwhelming fishiness supplied by dried shrimp and dried albacore flake. The festival's gold shrine was supported by about 50 chanting people under four parallel beams about 40 feet long, 8” by 8” and was surrounded by many more drumming, blowing whistles and yelling. The shrine is brought down a walking path to a traditional building but takes an erratic course forward and backward, left and right, much like the path of the indicator on an Ouija board on a grand scale. The unrestrained, Dionysian air to the festival wouldn’t really fly in the States as well as the danger of the gargantuanly heavy shrine being rocked to and fro and sometimes heading at you with unstoppable inertia.
Language school
We hung out with some of Steven’s local friends there, so I met quite a few people, including a Japanese lady, Akiko, who runs a part-time language school. I’m going to teach English there one night a week in exchange for attending her Japanese class. She’s kind, comical and very hospitable. She’ll pick me up for classes and last night, she brought Steven and I to dinner. I had a full meal of amazing Ramen and green tea for a grand total of $4.50.
Are you curious about the Japanese writing system?
So after a tough first day, things are looking up. I'm spending a few hours learning Japanese vocabulary and hiragana, one of the three parts of their writing system which has 46 main symbols, but really about 80 representing all the possible syllable in Japanese. Today its rainy and I plan on going over my vocab and making Katakana flashcards today which are used for foreign words and has the same number of symbols as Hiragana. The toughest writing to understand is Kanji, the complex Chinese characters represetning whole ideas which are an ubiquitous part of the Japanese written language. All three of these are often used within the same sentence which leads to clear suckiness.
What's ahead
Tuesday I meet the Board of Ed, I'll likely get customs wrong and act awkwardly in my new/used LVIS suit.
Thursday I have to go get my working visa in the prefecture capital, Mito, two hours away.
Tues-Thurs, surfing likely, if theres not waves on this swell, then this place prob sucks for surf,ahh
Weekend- Either Tokyo for the weekend, incl. a fireworks festival and meeting Mike's JET friends as well as spending a lot of time confused, alone and lost OR a big Japanese BBQ that sunday with tons of booze that Akiko invited me to.
My first day in Japan was one of the most emotionally difficult days in my life. It was partly due to having my circadian rhythms off by a full 12 hours, a slightly hung-over 14 hours spent in a cramped airplane seat, and the exhaustion that comes with having 40 to 50 hours merging into the facade of a single day. Throughout the afternoon and evening on that very first day it kept hitting me that this was going to be my life for at least a year. and it was pretty scary/
Ride from airport
Mike, a 32-year old Texan and also my new neighbor, picked me up with a man from the Board of Education and my boss, Mr. Tamugai.
No one speaks English!
The other scary realization I made was that no one speaks English here. Concerning the few words I knew in Japanese, I was unsure of the pronunciation and the appropriate time to use it leaving me pretty quiet. The two ALT’s I met (assistant language teacher, my job) learned Japanese before they came so can now have a conversation in Japanese as well as you and I could in English. As we ran across their former and current students at various businesses within the town, they were able to joke around with them with ease. I didn’t see how I was going to create relationships with any of my future students, something I was looking forward to. I also considered that a necessary part of learning how I liked teaching.
The next day, much better
After a pretty good sleep and some time regrouping in my new apartment, which is pretty sweet by the way, I had a great next day. I made large strides in my Japanese and am optimistic that I will learn quickly. Mike the Texan, and Charles, the other ALT and Pomona alum whose job I am taking over, and I went to lunch at a Japanese family restaurant, bought supplies for my apartment, checked out an electronics/entertainment/manga stores (which was sensory overload) and saw the beach. The beach is a little sad, there’s plenty of trash on it, BUT the jetties are gigantic and I think the waves should be pretty good. Tuesday through Thursday has serious potential with a good east swell and offshore winds, so we’ll see what the beaches of Hasaki can dish out. My walk to the beach is a little under a mile and is pretty beautiful and contemporary-rural.
A town festival and large shrine-moving mayhem.
That evening, Steven, a cynical, laid-back, and heavy drinking Australian ALT invited me to the Hasaki festival to celebrate the convergence of two ocean currents which lead to an abundance of fish off the coast here. While there, many school-age kids wanted to test out their English and were very excited to meet me, which was nice. I tried to eat a Japanese pancake but didn’t make it too far due to the overwhelming fishiness supplied by dried shrimp and dried albacore flake. The festival's gold shrine was supported by about 50 chanting people under four parallel beams about 40 feet long, 8” by 8” and was surrounded by many more drumming, blowing whistles and yelling. The shrine is brought down a walking path to a traditional building but takes an erratic course forward and backward, left and right, much like the path of the indicator on an Ouija board on a grand scale. The unrestrained, Dionysian air to the festival wouldn’t really fly in the States as well as the danger of the gargantuanly heavy shrine being rocked to and fro and sometimes heading at you with unstoppable inertia.
Language school
We hung out with some of Steven’s local friends there, so I met quite a few people, including a Japanese lady, Akiko, who runs a part-time language school. I’m going to teach English there one night a week in exchange for attending her Japanese class. She’s kind, comical and very hospitable. She’ll pick me up for classes and last night, she brought Steven and I to dinner. I had a full meal of amazing Ramen and green tea for a grand total of $4.50.
Are you curious about the Japanese writing system?
So after a tough first day, things are looking up. I'm spending a few hours learning Japanese vocabulary and hiragana, one of the three parts of their writing system which has 46 main symbols, but really about 80 representing all the possible syllable in Japanese. Today its rainy and I plan on going over my vocab and making Katakana flashcards today which are used for foreign words and has the same number of symbols as Hiragana. The toughest writing to understand is Kanji, the complex Chinese characters represetning whole ideas which are an ubiquitous part of the Japanese written language. All three of these are often used within the same sentence which leads to clear suckiness.
What's ahead
Tuesday I meet the Board of Ed, I'll likely get customs wrong and act awkwardly in my new/used LVIS suit.
Thursday I have to go get my working visa in the prefecture capital, Mito, two hours away.
Tues-Thurs, surfing likely, if theres not waves on this swell, then this place prob sucks for surf,ahh
Weekend- Either Tokyo for the weekend, incl. a fireworks festival and meeting Mike's JET friends as well as spending a lot of time confused, alone and lost OR a big Japanese BBQ that sunday with tons of booze that Akiko invited me to.
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