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.