The school year in Japan has a summer vacation during the last week of July and entire month of August, with the new term beginning September 1st. I'm really excited about summer vacation because I've been in Japan for about a year now and I get to spend a month with family and friends in Oregon and California. Just reflecting on this past year, I really feel blessed to have had so many varied, enriching experiences in Japan. But, I'm also looking forward to experiencing some of the great things I love about where I'm from. Here are a few reasons why I am happy to go back, in no particular order: I can eat food that has, for the most part, ingredients I can identify with - everyday the lunchbox (bento) I order at school has 6 or so small compartments of food, and I can usually only understand 3 or 4 of them; I can drive my Toyota 4-Runner again, on my own schedule; I can drink quality tasting beer with friends (there are about 3 major beer companies here, which make up the bulk of what you can buy in cans or on tap, and the beer they make all taste hobo-cheap); I can speak English at my normal pace, using a rich and slangy vocabulary, and not have to slow down my pronunciation or repeat myself; I can get and eat good and spicy Mexican food (of the Mexican-American style); I can play my guitar, which I miss a lot; I can walk around the house, barefoot, and not have my feet stick to the floor because of rich humidity of the air; I can enjoy watching people outside walk their large-sized dogs, not just their really little ones; I can avoid the curious, and often too long stare-downs of strangers in public; I can be around enough friends to get a game of pick-up basketball going on a whim; I can instinctively, half-awakenly cross the street and understand that people drive on the right side of the road; I can eat with my hands - fried chicken, shrimp, big, thick slices of pizza; I can enjoy again the wonder of cheese in all its forms; I can be openly sarcastic most of the time and be totally understood (one bullet I dodged was not using sarcasm or jokes during my self-introductions at my schools); I can go to a local church service in English, and understand the songs, sermon, and prayers (though I do particularly like the Japanese word for our father - watashitachi no chi-chi); I can go swimming in backyard pools; I can lay around on couches; I can check out parts of Oregon I've never seen; I can go back to places in Oregon I miss...
P.S. I finally edited my settings so now anyone can comment on my posts, something I should have done last year. Anyway happy summer to everyone!
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Monday, July 13, 2009
A Few Pics from Spring and Summer
A few spring and summertime pictures in Japan and Korea:
A field in Iizuka, around March.
My distant cousin Koki (grandma's cousin's son - ?) and I posing as sumo wrestlers in Tokyo. Koki and his wife Kazue took me to an awesome museum on modern Japanese history (in the background) - which happens to be in the part of town famous for sumo shows.
Cherry blossoms (sakura) in a park in Iizuka. The park is really beautiful, and its unfortunate I only checked it out during my last month or so living in Iizuka. It's quite a contrast to the rest of the city, which I wasn't super keen on taking photos of.
A garden at one of my current schools, Takasu Chuu. The English teacher there said this garden won some kind of award for being the best garden among middle schools in Japan. This picture doesn't do it much justice but now the flowers are in bloom and the grass is bright green and real pretty.
'Banana Man,' a statue in Mojiko, a port town near Kitakyushu.
A fish market in Karato, a ferry ride from Mojiko. My mom and I walked through this place and saw people scrambling around to get fresh sushi at low prices.
The famous 'Peace Statue' in Nagasaki. I came here in early May (Golden Week) with Elizabeth.
A famous Catholic church in Nagasaki, near the site where the A-bomb was dropped. We were suprised to find out that the Christian population killed by the bomb was disproportionately affected because of where it was dropped. I was also surprised when I first saw the church from farther away - as a prominent Christian building it stood out to me in Japan, but it's also set on top of a hill.
I checked out a 'sake tasting' convention with a few friends. It was held inside the Yahoo dome, where the Fukuoka pro baseball team (Softbank Hawks) play. I preferred the Japanese whiskey over Japanese sake (nihon shu, rice wine) and Shochu, a sort of Japanese vodka.
Outside the 'War Memorial Museum' in Seoul, which shows the history of warfare in Korea. The crowd of people are going to see a rock concert in a venue next to the museum.
From Orio station, near one of my schools. This is where I board a train back to Yahata, where I live, sometime around 5 pm. on the weekdays.
A field in Iizuka, around March.
My distant cousin Koki (grandma's cousin's son - ?) and I posing as sumo wrestlers in Tokyo. Koki and his wife Kazue took me to an awesome museum on modern Japanese history (in the background) - which happens to be in the part of town famous for sumo shows.
Cherry blossoms (sakura) in a park in Iizuka. The park is really beautiful, and its unfortunate I only checked it out during my last month or so living in Iizuka. It's quite a contrast to the rest of the city, which I wasn't super keen on taking photos of.
A garden at one of my current schools, Takasu Chuu. The English teacher there said this garden won some kind of award for being the best garden among middle schools in Japan. This picture doesn't do it much justice but now the flowers are in bloom and the grass is bright green and real pretty.
'Banana Man,' a statue in Mojiko, a port town near Kitakyushu.
A fish market in Karato, a ferry ride from Mojiko. My mom and I walked through this place and saw people scrambling around to get fresh sushi at low prices.
The famous 'Peace Statue' in Nagasaki. I came here in early May (Golden Week) with Elizabeth.
A famous Catholic church in Nagasaki, near the site where the A-bomb was dropped. We were suprised to find out that the Christian population killed by the bomb was disproportionately affected because of where it was dropped. I was also surprised when I first saw the church from farther away - as a prominent Christian building it stood out to me in Japan, but it's also set on top of a hill.
I checked out a 'sake tasting' convention with a few friends. It was held inside the Yahoo dome, where the Fukuoka pro baseball team (Softbank Hawks) play. I preferred the Japanese whiskey over Japanese sake (nihon shu, rice wine) and Shochu, a sort of Japanese vodka.
Outside the 'War Memorial Museum' in Seoul, which shows the history of warfare in Korea. The crowd of people are going to see a rock concert in a venue next to the museum.
From Orio station, near one of my schools. This is where I board a train back to Yahata, where I live, sometime around 5 pm. on the weekdays.
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