Saigo no hi (my last day)

Minsan ohayo gozaimasu.
Ima made osewa ni narimashita.
Mina to isshoni isshokenmei hataraite, tanoshikatta desu.
Mina ga sugoku yasashikatta. Jimusho no hito mo yasashikatta.
Mina no goshinsetsu wa, wasuremasen.
Takasu chuu no seito mo zettai wasuremasen.
Mo chotto America ni kaette, sensei ni naritai desu.
Shakai no sensei ni naritai desu.
Daitai ichi nen nanaka getsu mae ni Nihon ni kite, subarashii keiken ni narimashita.
America ni kaette mo, kono ii keiken o ikashite, gambaritai to omoimasu.
Yoroshiku onegai shimasu. (followed by a bow)

Good morning everyone.
Until now you've taken great care of me.
Together we worked as hard as we could together and I had a good time.
Everyone is so nice. The office workers are so nice too.
I won't forget everyone's kindness.
I won't forget Takasu Junior High's students either.
Pretty soon I'll go back to America, I want to become a teacher.
I want to become a social studies teacher.
I came to Japan about 1 year and 7 months ago and it's all become a wonderful experience.
I'm going back to America, but I will make the most of this good experience and want to do my best.
It's been a pleasure.

This was my goodbye speech to the teachers at Takasu Junior High School on my last day of work, two days ago. It's a little hard to translate because the over-simplistic tone of it in English is part of what makes it sound more natural in Japanese. In any case, knowing it was gonna be kind of a big deal, I didn't sleep that well the night before. But, I think it turned out quite well and was a great way to finish out my time at this school. I also had to give a speech to the ichi and ni-nensei (7th and 8th grade) students (the san-nensei graduated over 2 weeks ago) in the gym during the closing ceremony. That one turned out well too, and was more a mix of English and Japanese. And for both of these speeches I was fortunate to have my brother Matt there watching me speak to all the teachers and students on my last day of work in Japan.

So I'm all done with work, I've moved out of my apartment, and tomorrow Matt and I leave for Korea for our last hurrah before going back to the states. These past 2 weeks have been especially busy for me and I'm ready for things to slow down some so I have more time to sleep, think, etc... really I shouldn't worry about these things as my next move after Korea will be living at home with my parents in sleepy Medford, OR, looking for work and maybe trying to get into graduate school.

Really I think this might be my last post, lest I decide to post a few pics I'll take in Korea in the next few days. Being in Japan has truly been a wonderful experience overall; I wasn't lying when I said that to my co-teachers a few days ago. And as much as I can try to describe how life is here on my blog, it's not even a close substitute to seeing things in person; since my brother Matt arrived a week ago he's been doing just that and I feel lucky to be able to share some of my life here with him. About a year ago my parents, grandma and aunt came to visit, and my girlfriend Elizabeth has visited me a few times as well. I feel really happy to have had these visits.

I have to say that this whole experience would have probably sucked without all the love and support of my family, friends, and Elizabeth. I know that sounds tacky and simplistic but quite often it wasn't easy being over here, many times feeling alone and way out of my comfort zone. Without all your support I can't imagine how much more difficult it could have been. So to you all nothing you've done is lost on me. Arigato gozaimashita!

As I heard one graduating student say, 'Ima kara arukitsuzukemasu' - from now I will continue to walk. I like the sound of that.

A Staff Retreat (Shokuin Ryoko)

The weekend before last I went on a staff retreat with some teachers at the smaller school I work at, Ogura Chuu. Rather than rewrite what I've already written, I'll just post a letter I wrote my girlfriend right after I got back from the trip.

2/21/10

elizabeth ohayo!

yeah the trip was good! really the weather was perfect all weekend and the countryside looked beautiful where we went. yesterday a few of us climbed a mountain, a two hour hike, and saw an awesome view from the top. it was all snowy up top and the trees had icicles on them - yokatta! it was pretty steep actually and im happy we took the ropeway the way down.

gosh i took 3 baths this weekend. the first thing we did was stop at an onsen place to take a soak before lunch and the hike. then after the hike and checking into the hotel room we took another. i think this pre-dinner bath was like a given for these sensei. and i took one by myself this morning after breakfast while the other teachers were eating or still sleeping. honestly after so much time feeling a little out of my element it felt good to be alone for a bit.

what else...our first meal was japanese style korean bbq - yakiniku, which was bomb! we had that after taking a dip, and last night we had a pretty good feast too - fugu, or blowfish, (real expensive here) in different forms - sashimi, in soup, tempura style, and lots of beer. the group of teachers were more or less informal so there wasn't a lot of speeches or things like that - and there were just 18 teachers who went. anyway after the feast we had the 2nd party outside the hotel - at a 'snack bar' - like a lounge joint where we drank more. i was a bit sleep deprived then and lacking in language skills but everyone was so nice to me the whole time so i never really felt uncomfortable.

really im happy i went. and on the way back we stopped at a place that had these old buddha statues carved from stone on the sides of small cliffs - they looked really interesting and again the weather was good so it was nice to be out by the big bamboo trees and in the sunshine too. anyway we did a mini tour there before heading back.

for whatever reason i ended up bunking in the same room as the kocho sensei (principal)! im not sure how that worked out, i think the room plans weren't totally worked out and they were trying to figure out where to put me and whatever. kind of funny sleeping on a futon next to this guy but he was so polite and a kind of reserved guy anyway that thank heavens nothing awkward happened...
i remember waking up this morning and saying 'ohayo' to him after seeing he'd been up for a while and, because the night before he came back from the snack bar early to sleep, he asked me what time everyone got in last night. i squinted and said 'wakaranai' and felt it too early to be trying to come up with more polite japanese.

and the place we stayed was beppu, a town on the ocean, in a neighboring prefecture, famous for hot springs. i actually stayed there when my family came to visit me last spring for a weekend. anyway those are really the highlights and i wish i had pictures to send but my camera died cuz i was an idiot and forgot to charge it! i'll ask for some pics from the teachers who took pictures tho and email em when i can. it might be 2 weeks tho.

i had a moment today when a nice breeze hit my face after i saw some budding cherry blossoms and i thought gosh i totally love the weather. we most definitely, gotta, have to kick it outside this spring and enjoy fresh air, beautiful views and nature together.

hope u have a sunny sunday

paul

That's it! The only thing I wanna add on this post is that fugu is a poisonous fish and needs a skilled chef to remove the poisonous parts to make it edible.

Thorns and Roses

When I was 13 on a Boy Scout hiking trip in New Mexico, the group I was with closed each night with an activity called 'thorns and roses' where we sat around and said one highlight and one challenge we had encountered that day. Two days ago at a work meeting, we did a similar sort of activity reflecting on highlights and challenges of the past year. Though I could have named many different thorns and roses regarding my work experience in Japan, nothing came to my mind so clearly as the thorn, or challenge, of dealing with the disciplinary system I've seen in these schools.

Maybe yesterday's lessons are a good starting point. Yesterday one of the ni-nensei (8th grade) classes had to give short speeches concerning one of their favorite experiences, sports, movies, etc. This particular class has a few kids who are regularly disruptive and rude to other students and whoever happens to be teaching. Yesterday was no exception. They began the class by interrupting me as I was trying to explain the difference between saying 'good morning' as a polite greeting among colleagues and 'morning' as a greeting among friends. After the JTE (Japanese English teacher) said something to him, one of these students muttered something about not being able to understand me as his reason for interrupting me as he did.

During the speeches, the two boys, who sit next to each other, continuously interrupted the other students as they spoke; they kept laughing among themselves, and even made fun of some of the students as they were speaking. I was at the back of the room while the JTE was at the front and we were both trying to evaluate the students' speeches. About halfway through the speeches, after noticing the JTE wasn't doing anything to quiet them down, I moved closer to where the boys were sitting so I could get them to shut up. I had to keep hushing them up for the rest of the class period because they would only be quiet for a few seconds and then resume their chatting and laughing.

Neither of these students did a speech because they had spent the entire previous period messing around while the other students did their speech preparation. Really, I don't think them acting as they did is what really bothers me, though at the time it bothered me a great deal. Rather in a deeper sense what bothers me is how their sort of behavior gets dealt with by the school. The easy fix in my mind would be to separate the two boys so they don't sit next to each other and get each other going. But as far as I can tell, they've been sitting next to each other for a while now and there are no immediate plans by any of the teachers to separate them; and because in Japan the teachers, not the students, move classrooms, they continue to sit next each other for almost every class and subject, covering most of the school day.

The same day in another ni nensei class, two students, friends, were sitting behind a new student, making fun of him, throwing bits of eraser at his head, and trying to tick him off. This student is new to the school and to my surprise the JTE did nothing to stop these kids from bullying him. During class I literally had to walk over and tell the two boys to sit down as they were getting in his face and taunting him. After class I told the English teacher about the bullying I saw and mentioned that the three students should be separated. She gave me her usual nod and smile and that was the end of our conversation.

Though in this particular instance I think the JTE was wrong to not stop the two boys from bullying another boy, most of the time she seems to be doing the best she can with the situation she's in. She's not a teacher who has by any means 'given up' trying to control her students. Often it seems to me she's acting with prudence, having little to no good alternatives. There's no detention at these schools, nor is there much in the way of expulsions. Compared to my middle class suburban junior high, at this middle class suburban junior high fighting and horseplay tend not to be as big of a no-no. Also I have a strong suspicion that the parent teacher conferences tend to supress these problems because the teachers avoid direct confrontation with the parents about their kids.

Discipline is more indirect here. When I'm in class I feel like there are unspoken rules being followed by the really bad students, depending on their relationship with the teachers. These, as opposed to set in stone 'school rules' more or less dictate the boundaries of how they can or can't act. Also I've heard that in most junior high schools (around here anyway) the teachers move ahead in grades along with the students, so if they teach ichi nensei (7th graders) this year, they will teach the same students as ni nensei (8th graders) the following year. By the third year of junior high school, the same teacher will have taught a group of students for three consecutive years. The teachers tend to really get to know the students and vice-versa in ways that transcend professional boundaries and lean more towards familial relationships.

It's been a real challenge trying to understand and cope with such a different disciplinary system. It aches me to realize that in the hundreds of classes I've been a part of in Japan, working with 14 different teachers at 6 different junior high schools, I've never once seen two troublemakers get separated by a teacher during a class. Nor have I ever seen a student get kicked out of class for being too disruptive. When I was living in Iizuka, one of the JTE's told me that the climate of learning in one of her classes all revolved around one student's mood. 'If he's in a bad mood he'll turn 3 or 4 other students against me, and class will be ruined.' `But,` she said, 'If he's in a better mood those 3 or 4 other students will actually pay attention and class goes alright.' No wonder these teachers so often let rotten students sleep in class.

Overall I wouldn`t say the disciplinary system is broken, but to allow some students to, from class to class and day to day, ruin a junior high education for others simply because they happen to be in the same class as them seems to me an instance of total failure.

Anyway hopefully I can get on with some of my roses in my next post.

Two highlights from last week

Last Friday I went to the school gym to watch the first year students participate in an event called 'Hyaku nin isshu.' This roughly translates to '100 persons' poems.' The students got into groups of 10, with teams of 3 on 3, a judge, and scorekeepers. They sat on the gym floor with each team facing each other, in between them lying 100 cards the size of playing cards. The cards all had the second half of a Japanese poem called a 'waka' written on them. The whole waka was read out by a teacher on the stage with a microphone, and when the students were able to recognize which was the second half of the waka among the cards, they slapped or took the corresponding card in front of them. With about 240 students and 10 students per group, the entire gym floor was covered with small groups of 13 year-olds, all taking turns getting poised, searching quickly with their eyes and slapping the gym floor.

There was a big drum called a taiko on the stage next to the teacher reading the waka. Before the next poem was to be read, a different teacher would hit the taiko with a drum stick, making a deep BONG! sound that echoed throughout the gym. And the wakas were read with a certain tone and rhythm that made their 900 year old roots come more alive for me. When I saw the principal walking around observing the kids I asked him what the meanings of the poems were, and he told me he didn't know because they were written too long ago. In fact all the writing on the cards was in hiragana, the phonetic alphabet used for Japanese (as opposed to foreign) words; another teacher told me this is because the original Chinese 'kanji' characters they wrote the wakas in aren't used at all anymore.

Some of the kids were really fast. If the teacher read just a few syllables from the waka these students could grab the corresponding card almost immediately. It was fun watching these kids, often grabbing or slapping a card on their opponents' side after hearing just a few of the beginning sounds of the waka. A teacher told me that the students could officially start practicing as early as December for the event. But he also said some families play or practice it at home, and a few of the wakas are exceptionally well-known to Japanese people.

Watching this event was a great highlight for me. This game was not something I would expect as part of a curriculum at a junior high school. In that way, and with the drums, old poetry and rhythmic reading of the poetry it all seemed so Japanese. And after the event came another weekly highlight. After all the games were finished, one of the teachers took an opportunity to address all the first year students regarding recent complaints from teachers.

Apparently some students had been using the classroom key to lock teachers out of the classroom when classes were about to begin. It was interesting hearing this teacher speak because I found myself following his Japanese much better than I expected. I found myself understanding him explain to the kids that they shouldn't do that sort of thing cuz they wouldn't like it being done to them. He spoke at a medium pace and his pronunciation was very easy to follow. This same teacher had just spent time reading poems for the kids during the previous games and there his voice was very full and clear as he followed the rhythmic and tonal pattern of the wakas. I thought his voice much, much clearer than the other teachers' who had also read some poems. I decided if I had the chance I'd compliment him.

At the end of the day as he walked by my desk in the teachers' room I said to him (in Japanese) 'You know your Japanese is easy to understand.' Immediately he smiled, said thank you and something like 'wow, that makes me happy.' Right after I said this to him two things happened very quickly. First, I happened to catch the vice principal staring at me from across the room as if he were following our conversation. This immediately brought to my mind the sound of his Japanese, from day one slurry, usually indecipherable, and in total contrast to the Japanese I had just heard spoken in the gym. Second, right after he said this another teacher happened to walk by and asked him what he was so happy about. He smiled and said 'Paul told me my Japanese is easy to understand. I've gotten praised!' At this time, the teacher who asked him why he was so happy I remembered had just given a speech to the students as well, and done it in pretty clear Japanese too. So I said to him 'Oh and your Japanese as well. It's also easy to understand.' He smiled. 'Oh me too? Thank you very much,' he said, as the vice principal continued to stare with a curious look.

After this I packed up my backpack and began my daily walk out of the teachers' room. As I passed by the vice principal sitting at his desk I said my habitual goodbye phrase regarding honorable work being completed. I noticed that funny look he had in his eye, but ignored it and headed towards the door. Then I heard him say (in Japanese) 'Is my Japanese hard to understand?' I turned around and sort of cocked my head a little to the side like a dog and said back to him (in Japanese) 'uhh it's a little...' He said 'You just told Takenaka sensei and Kobayashi sensei their Japanese is easy to understand. What about mine?' He was smirking. I had no excuses to give him. Since last April I've had many uncomfortable conversations with this tall man that ended with 'Sorry I don't understand,' sentences left unfinished or ended only because we had been interrupted. Then he asked 'Is it too fast?' This made me think of his particular pattern of speech where I thought his words were not spoken too fast but all blended together as if he were chewing with a mouth half full every time he spoke. I lied. 'Yes, too fast' I said. Standing there not knowing what to say next I said, "Well, I'll just have study more huh.' Maybe knowing I was in a tight spot he repeated the phrase about honorably finishing work which any other day meant 'good job today' but the way he said it and flicked his hand I'm pretty sure this time meant 'Just go home ya little smartass.'

On Cuteness in Japan

I'm going to try to write more about my experience and impressions of Japan in my final two months of living here. The first topic I've chosen is a light one, cuteness. So from time to time, if I can stick with it, I'll be posting one of these longer entries, like the one I'm posting today.

On cutess in Japan

I don't know if there's a country on earth that values 'cuteness' more than Japan. To start with, I'd bet serious yen to say that no other country in the world makes a greater effort to 'cutify' the most basic and naturally 'uncute' sorts of things. On a trip to Nagasaki, my girlfriend and I walked by a gas station and saw, on the side of one of its buildings, an oil spill, a gas can, and another petroleum related object, all turned into cute little characters. And if you've looked at my photos from winter vacation, you've probably seen 'Mr. Poo,' a piece of smiling toy poop you can by from toy dispensers in Japan. Really these gas products and Mr. Poo are only a few of countless examples of cute characters I've seen while I've been here. Also, since I left Iizuka, a much smaller rural town, more and more of these characters have been popping up in my life. I think in Japan today, it's hard to go out in the city and not see cute, friendly characters smiling and greeting you inside trains, buses and stores; also at railway stations, construction sites, and even police stations.

Admittedly, the creation of many of these characters seem rooted in advertising - like the Japan Railway (JR) company's cute frog mascot that holds hands with a small clock that is smiling. But that doesn't explain the myriad examples of state and city sponsored signs I've seen hanging in bus windows, bathrooms and neighborhoods often giving out information related to public safety or utility by means of these cute little characters.

These characters seem to define a pattern of cuteness that conforms to an age-old cultural trait often attributed to the Japanese - a profound love of simplicity as an aesthetic expression. That is, these characters are not cute in a big, flashy sort of way but rather in an easy, simplistic sort of way. Take, for example, Japan's most famous animation (anime) characters who, aside from having their own cartoon shows on national cable television, are always guaranteed prime shelf space at any bookstore, selling serious after series of their spin-off comics, or 'manga.' And I'm not talking about any of those intricately drawn characters like those you see in much of Japanese manga. I'm talking about the children's classics: the ones more often doodled in notebooks by the students I teach to and the ones more generally well known in Japan.

Maybe the best example of these is 'Kitty-chan,' or, as she's known where I'm from, 'Hello Kitty.' Last week as part of a school exercise I happened to be drawing her face on the blackboard and realized that she has no mouth! Also she has barely a nose and has eyes the size of Minnie Mouse's pupils. The 3 next-biggest-name anime characters I can think of fit this same cute, simplistic pattern: there's Anpanman, whose face is really just a few dots and 4 circles, Pikachu, the yellow Pokemon character who may be the simplest and cutest of all monsters, and, in my opinion the cutest of all Japanese characters, Doraemon. In my first month of living in Japan I was told that Doraemon was actually made into a firework pattern that lit up the sky (as well I'm sure as a bunch of cute little Japanese kids' eyes) at a fireworks festival somewhere in Japan.

Characters aside, I think nowhere in Japan does cuteness make its mark stronger or deeper than with its kids. I've reluctantly come to believe that, on the average, Japanese kids are way, way cuter than American kids. And, for a long time, I ignored this semi-conscious thought because it just didn't seem rational. But, after 17 months of observation and sound confirmation from a few trusted people, I've come to accept this fact.

The other day I saw a little kid coming back from school wearing a school uniform consisting of mid-thigh length black shorts, medium high white socks, black shoes, a black jacket with gold buttons, a matching black hat with gold trim, and a shiny, boxy black backpack that resembled the shape of a mailbox. The way he was dressed made it seem like he was out that afternoon delivering telegrams. He was beyond cute, but in my experience not at all a rarity in that respect.

I think in trying to understand the cuteness of Japanese kids, it's important to note the kinds of clothes they wear. At school, clean, well-fitting pressed school uniforms really help. Outside of school, many times these kids look like they're dressed as little adults. For example, the little girls I see with their families often wear dresses with simplistic patterns that, if larger, would fit grown women, and make those women look cute. Beyond the kids' clothing, I think another big advantage they have in being cute comes from the fact that in public these kids all seem so darn well behaved. Last, there's gotta be something in the language, or tone of the language, that helps gives them an edge. Japanese seems softer and more rhythmic to me than English - a little easier on the ears in general; I think you get less 'funk' and 'sharpness' coming from Japanese kids' mouths when compared to English speaking kids'. So, dressed up like little adults, these small, well behaved, often toothless Japanese kids speaking their softer language seem to me unrivaled in cuteness when compared to children in America.

Another example of prevalent cuteness I find in Japan is in Japanese lunchboxes. Everyday at school, many students and teachers bring a 'bento,' or lunchbox, to eat at lunchtime. These bentos are basically small containers, usually half the size of any American lunchbox. These small containers of food are wrapped with a clean cloth, usually patterned with an eye-pleasing design and often with bright colors. At the top of this wrapping is a knot holding a smaller rectangular box, which contains a pair of chopsticks. Nearly everyday around lunchtime I watch teachers and students carrying these small bundles that look unmistakably like presents, done up with a cute, simple wrap-job.

But inside the bento may lie the greater cuteness. Now, keeping in mind I haven't seen this example myself, I've heard stories from other foreign English teachers that there are Japanese mothers who use cute cookie cutter sorts of shapes to cut out their kids' cooked veggies with - like a little star shaped cooked carrot to go along with their fish /meat and rice. Worse, I've also heard about mothers' getting competitive about how cute they can make their child's bento; but remember these last two examples are only hearsay.

Speaking of cute food, I distinctly remember the first moment I realized such an adjective such as 'cute' could be so applied. Running late to work one morning I stopped at a convenience store to grab some breakfast. Being the only kind of banana available I bought a small, individually wrapped one and brought it to school. As soon as I reached my desk "How cute!" were the first words I heard from the young teacher sitting across from me. Before she spoke those words of my mini-banana I had never in my life thought that fruit could be cute.

The word for cute in Japanese is 'kawaii.' Hearing so many students and particularly young girls say the word since I'v been here, I kind of figured it was a newer word. But, recently I asked my Japanese relative Koki about it and he told me it's actually an older word, as he recalls his parents and their generation using it (Koki is 37). But, he said, back in the day it was applied only to 'truly' cute things like babies, or puppies. Nowadays, he says, for young people, anything is cute. Older people get angry, he said, because the word is used so loosely now. I think my small banana wouldn't have looked so cute to the older generation, at least not enough to be described as 'kawaii.'

I have momentarily run out of things to say so I am forced to bring up the weather. About 2 weeks ago it snowed around here enough to pile up a tiny bit. The first 2 pictures I took from my apartment early in the morning after a night of falling snow. The mountain in the background is called Mt. Sarakura, or Sarakurayama. The next 3 photos are from what looks like a railway company poster, which hangs prominently in the halls of a local busy train station. These kinds of posters are often tacked up inside the trains as well.

Beeches and Peemps

A short conversation I had with a 9th grader (san-nensei) student yesterday. This student listens to a lot of hip-hop, which is probably where he heard these words.

Student (to his friend): Hey, beech.
Student (to me): Beech to iu kotoba, otoko no kotoba aru?
Me: Sore wa warui koto.
Student: Nani?
Me: Boku wa hanashite wa ikenai.
Student: Ah, wakatta. Demo beech wa do iu imi?
Me: Beech wa honto ni onna no inu to iu tango desu.
Student: Mesu?
Me: So so.
Student: Peemp wa do iu imi?
Me: Peemp wa onna o katte iru janakute. Peemp wa onna no bosu.
Student: Shacho?
Me: Shacho janai. Minna hataraite iru. Demo kaisha ga nai.

Student (to his friend): Hey bitch.
Student (to me): Is there a word like 'bitch' for men?
Me: That's a bad word.
Student: What do you mean?
Me: I'm not allowed to say it.
Student: Got it. What does bitch mean anyway?
Me: Bitch literally means a girl dog.
Student: A female animal?
Me: Yeah.
Student: What does 'pimp' mean?
Me: Not a guy who owns girls but... a few girls' boss.
Student: Like a CEO?
Me: Not like a CEO. Everyone works, but there's no company.

(At this point I had to get ready for a class so I left).

Winter Vacation (Fuyu Yasumi)

I'm just gonna sum it up like this- yokatta! This versatile word literally means 'it was good.' But if I had to make a short sentence in Japanese to describe my winter vacation I'd probably say 'boku no fuyuyasumi wa totemo tanoshikatta yo' or 'I really enjoyed my winter vacation, yo'. To start with, I wasn't alone in my apartment all day on Christmas. I took the bullet train (shinkansen) that day and met up with my relative in Yokohama. Overall, I spent 11 days in and around Tokyo and was able to met up with my Japanese relatives and American girlfriend, who I hadn't seen for 4 months. We went lots of new places, saw lots of new things and ate a lot of good food; every single day was full and enriching.

Please check out the pictures above if you haven't already.

Winter Vacation Plans (fuyu yasumi no yotei)

I finished my final English lessons of the year today. Tomorrow is a national holiday because of the emperor's birthday and Thursday, the 24th, will be a day for closing ceremonies at the school. On Christmas Day I am taking the shinkansen (bullet train) up to Tokyo to stay with some relatives in Yokohama. And this weekend, on the 27th, my girlfriend Elizabeth flies into Narita for a 10 day trip in Tokyo with yours truly!

Though I am more than excited to spend this time in Tokyo for the winter holidays, I have to say that this year's holiday season has left me more homesick and nostalgic than last year's did. For me there's nothing in the world like being with the rest of the Meuse family or my friends around these days - chowing down on awesome cookies, opening a pack of Gary West beef jerky in my stocking, Christmas day with the fam, celebrating New Year's with buddies...

Nevertheless there will be some nice highlights around here for sure. Roughly, the plan is this: spend Christmas Day on a train during the day and with Koki and Kazue at night; stay with them for 2 nights in Yokohama; go to Narita and pick up Elizabeth; stay in Asakusa for 2 nights; meet up with Koki and Kazue and go to Hakone (a famous day-trip spot with onsen, hot spring, and some other natural sites) for a day and a half; spend New Year's in Yokohama; spend another 3 days of sightseeing with Koki and Kazue around Tokyo; and spend the last 3 days with Elizabeth, probably checking out some museums and having an adventure at Disney Sea, while staying in Ueno.

Anyway Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to everyone this year! (meri kurisumasu de yoi otoshi o!)

Really Tired Students

Last week I worked at the smaller of my two schools, Ogura Junior High. On Friday, during one of the English lessons with the 7th graders (ichi nensei), the Japanese English teacher and I began as usual by asking the students a few questions to review what they've learned. The Japanese English teacher, Ms. Imamura, asked one student 'Do you like Fridays?' He replied 'No I don't.' Naturally she found out why and it was because he had to go to cram school, or juku, after the regular school day. She asked him 'How many times do you have juku this week?' - he replied 'Three times.' She then turned to the rest of the class (about 16 students) and asked them how many went to juku. Half the kids raised their hands.

I asked the kids 'How long do you sleep every night?' Two girls raised their hands and said 6 or 7 hours. Then Ms. Imamura asked the students who got 8 hours of sleep to raise their hands. Two students out of 16 did. I raised my hand, too. 'How about 7 hours?' she asked. Maybe 6 or 7 students raised their hands. '6 hours?' she asked. Another 4 students raised their hands. That covered nearly everyone save the couple who abstained from answering. 'What about on the weekends?' I asked. 'Do you sleep for longer?' The students had some trouble understanding this question so Ms. Imamura asked just one student to answer. A boy answered in Japanese that he gets 8 hours of sleep on Fridays. 'Wow,' Ms. Imamura said and looked at me. 'The students have regular school, then after school a club activity, then juku at night.' She left out homework they had to do after juku and their club activity happenings on the weekend. All the kids in the room are no older than 13.

This was kind of eye opening for me. I and everyone I knew in junior high and high school slept a solid 8 hours a night and longer on the weekends. I had really till then just kind of 'figured' these kids were sleeping about the same amount. Also hearing these kids talk about their sleep habits made me flashback to the numerous times they looked and acted awfully tired during the lessons and not just because I and the Japanese English teacher were totally boring them. And though I'm sure some of my (unspoken) criticism of these kids' motivation was justified at times, I realize now some of it wasn't at all.

In the following class I saw one student sleeping pretty soundly at her desk. Usually the camp counselor, disciplinarian, strong-willed part of my personality would kind of yearn to wake this student up so she could push herself during the 50 minute lesson. I could tap on her desk and say 'Gambare!' (Do your best!). But, after my previous lesson she looked less like a student to be pushed and more like a kid to be nurtured. Really if they're only 12 or 13 and not getting nearly enough sleep it seems clearer to me that there are times when it's fair to let 'em do their best in catching up on sleep during a boring English lesson.

Amway part 1 and 2

I know it's been a little while since I last posted, and since my last post I caught the flu and was feeling real out of it for a few days. I don't remember the last time I caught the flu so it surprised me how fast it made my body weak. And after catching it I began to feel more empathy for the kids at school that have been catching it left and right - but also curious as to who was the bugger that got me sick...

I had an experience last weekend I think worth sharing but first I need to backtrack a little bit to put it into context. In October my buddy invited me to a sort of 'dinner party' that he said had something to do with a company called Amway, which I later found out was from the states. My friend got invited to this by an acquaintance he used to work with and this acquaintance is now affiliated with Amway. I being a friend of his friend got invited too.

So we arrived at a house and walked into a living room full of older Japanese men - ranging from a couple of guys around 30 to men in their 40's and 50's. We were the youngest by far and I felt a little awkward just stepping (bare)foot into this living room. We sat down and all turned to our host, the oldest among the Japanese men. He began the evening by playing a promotional DVD that was animated, had something to do with how to succeed, and was naturally in Japanese. After we watched the DVD our host began his introductory pitch about Amway, an American company. He, knowing I was American, looked at me a few times during the speech and I, knowing that I had some kind of distant relationship to this company, felt obliged to keep good eye contact and nod a few times in agreement with statements that may as well have been in Estonian.

Despite the entire speech being spoken in (fluent) Japanese I believe I caught the gist of the gist of what he was talking about. The rags to riches narrative of the 2 dudes who started Amway was a springboard from which this man leaped into an overview of Amway's 'ethos,' which had something to do with a formula for success involving time, capital, risk, etc... At one point he did bring out one of Amway's cleaning products, demonstrating the cleaning power of its solution vs. an ordinary solution in removing a stain on a small mirror. At this point, about 2 hours into the evening I realized I didn't know a few important things: what the heck Amway really sells and how much longer this schpeel was going to last. I did know this was an unusual Saturday night activity for me and one that I felt okay about not having to repeat. To be fair after the speech we did have food and drinks and talked informally amongst ourselves and and I generally enjoyed the rest of my evening.

Two days ago I went with my friend to his acquaintance's house to have lunch. This is the house of a guy he knew, not of a guy's he didn't. Also this lunch was only among 5 people - me, my friend, my friend's acquaintance, his wife, and his friend. I can't say there was anything at all formal about the invitation (I made sure ask) or the lunch. The experience became interesting after I noticed an entire cupboard full of Amway products in their bathroom cupboard. Then I saw vitamins and supplements from Amway lining an entire shelf in their kitchen. Then he and his wife began explaining a few products from an Amway catalog. "So they like Amway crap a lot," I thought. Then after lunch he began giving my friend and I an Amway pitch that sounded way too similar to the one I heard the month before. He even pulled out an Amway portfolio that had a couple of pics of those Americans who started the company (Rich who used to be poor and the other guy whose name I can't remember).

What started to make me sick was when I heard those same bullet points that were blasted at me before - something about having time, money, chance, etc... it was more than enough for me to interrupt him. I said (in Japanese) - "No thanks." "I don't want to own a company," "I don't need this right now." I told him my dream was to become a college professor. He replied to the effect of "This isn't necessary?" I said yes. He began to talk about how I would still need money, time was still a factor (I think a review of the bullet points) and turned to my friend. "What about you?" In a more finessed Japanese style response he gave him the runaround. And after leaving we agreed once more the food and drinks were tasty.

Intanashanaru Baroon Festibaru!

Last weekend I went to Saga, a neighboring prefecture, to check out an international balloon festival held every year. Jay and I took a 2 hour train ride from Kitakyushu to Saga City to see the event. We stayed with Jay's friend Jackie, who like Jay is from the Phillipines and working as an English teacher in Japan. Honestly I can't think of anything else to write and I'm not really in the mood to anyway so please just check out the pics!

Everyday Pics

I realize my last post (and previous ones) might leave people thinking Japan is a really beautiful place and there is a 'lack of ordinary' that characterizes my everyday experience here. I don't want to leave that impression so I'm gonna try harder to take pictures of everyday things as well - things I more or less take for granted but are interesting in their own right. Here's a few pics I took lately:

My apartment on the 8th floor.

I've been learning how to cook! I actually just watched my friend Jay cook this one but I think I could do it on my own. Pork, veggies and chinese noodles - I'll find out the name later - famous in the Phillipines but I think originally from China. This meal was delicious!

Where I load the bus most mornings.


A typical bus ride to and from school.

Here comes my bus!

My desk. This is a large room shared by all the teachers and for me its probably the worst spot in the entire room. The sink you can see at the top right is used by the teachers for gargling, brushing teeth, washing, spitting and other things throughout the day that I'm used to being done in the bathroom. It can get real nasty.

Pics of Nara and Kobe

The Great Buddha Hall of Todai-ji

The Great Buddha

Kobe Port

From the ferry leaving Kobe port

Akashi Bridge

Same, from the ferry ride back

Nara and Kobe

Last weekend my friend Jay and I went on another excursion, this time staying in Japan. On Friday night we took a bus from northern Kyushu to Osaka. We left at 11pm and arrived in the morning around 8am. We overslept our stop on the bus (Osaka), arriving in Kyoto a half an hour later. From Kyoto we took an hour long train to Nara, where we spent the day checking out a few sites.

Nara was Japan's first permanent capital, before it was moved to Kyoto. The town is full of old buildings, though many have been rebuilt since the 8th century (Nara was the capital from 710-794 AD). The most famous site in Nara and maybe in all of Japan is the Great Buddha Hall in a temple called Todai-ji. After checking it out myself, I can understand why. The Buddha itself is inside one of the largest wooden structures in the world. In addition the temple gate is guarded by two enormous, impressive looking demon statues. Then there's the Buddha. This dude is HUGE with the most calm face you've ever seen; it is a wonder to me how it was made and got moved around.

Also, knowing that Buddhism was introduced to Japan around the 7th/8th century and has been a big part of its history ever since, I had another moment of wonder as I was staring at this Buddha's large face. When Buddhism was introduced to Japan from India, moving first through China and Korea, what was it about the religion that made it resonate like it did? I mean they built this massive thing to worship, right? I had a little feeling of awe to realize that I was living in a place where this religion became hugely popular in a way Christianity did among people in the West. The cultural differences between East and West really fascinate me, and as I think about this feeling I had, I know it raises more questions for me than it gives answers.

After Nara we stayed the night in Kobe with Jay's Indonesian friend Mazy. The trio we made included an Indonesian, a Phillipino and an American - perfect for this city. Kobe is a city famous as a port for trading and cultural exchange, like Yokohama and Nagasaki. It's also famous for being affected by the large earthquake that hit Japan in 1995. And of course there is the famous kobe beef (Kobe Gyuu) that comes from there. On Sunday we took a cable car up a hill to get a nice view of the city and the port. In the evening we took a ferry to a nearby island and passed beneath Akashi bridge, which connects Kobe to this island. We saw a beautiful sunset from the ferry. The weather was beautiful for us all weekend - on and off sunny/cloudy with a nice autumn breeze blowing crisp air. We took off on Monday morning by bus and arrived back in Kitakyushu in the evening. This was a great, relatively cheap weekend adventure for us and I'm happy I went. A Big Thanks to Mazy our guide and host in Kobe.

Stay tuned for pics!

A Trip to Korea (Kankoku no Ryoko)

This year a string of three national holidays in September fell on Monday-Wed., leaving a five day holiday for us in Japan to enjoy. These holidays, which include 'respect for the aged day,' 'children's day' and 'green day' are informally called 'Silver Week.' For this year's Silver Week, my friend Jay and I went to Korea - specifically Seoul, Incheon and Busan for 4 days. Here are some recollections:

The ferry ride from Fukuoka to Busan was a puke party. It was a very windy morning and the ocean was extremely choppy. The ferry we took was a 'jet-ferry,' which makes it from Japan to Korea in about 3 hours; this is the fastest ferry you can take from Japan to Korea. It was also, because of the weather, the most uncomfortable and sickening boat ride I've ever had. The driver weaved left and right to avoid large waves and, of the ones he couldn't avoid the ferry just slammed into them. A few times these slammings caused passengers and stewardesses walking in the aisles to be thrown against a seat, probably leaving them sore the next morning. As for me and a lot of others the weavings, slammings, and up and down motion of the ferry on the water forced us to breathe deeply to keep from heaving. Many did heave, and Jay and I weren't able to laugh about it until much, much later.

After arriving in Busan, we took Korea's fastest train, the KTX, up to Seoul. In Seoul we stayed in Itaewon, a place famous for its cosmopolitanism and diversity; it was remarkable to see and hear all the diverse people banter about on Saturday night, when stalls line the sidewalks and a lot of people are out late. We saw people from Africa, the Phillipines, America, England, India and elsewhere, and even more diversity in the restaurants. Though we stayed in Itaewon, we did more exploring elsewhere in Seoul. And we were fortunate to have Jay's friend Beck, a Korean and born and raised Seoulite, show us around the city.

Some of my best memories of the trip were in the trendy shopping district of Myeongdong - not of shopping but of some great meals we had there. On the first night Beck took us to a dakgalbi (pan-fried chicken) restarant. This meal was probably my favorite, and it made me sweat quite a bit. The next night Beck took us to a korean barbeque restaurant that was also quite a feast. The restaurant was filled with Japanese tourists, taking advantage of a meal that costs about $9-15 in Korea and around $35-50 in Japan.

Our bleakest day was in Incheon, a port city an hour and half train ride from Itaewon. Jay and I wanted to check out the Chinatown there and spend a day exploring outside of Seoul. Unfortunately it rained pretty hard on us in the morning and was real gray and cloudy in the afternoon and evening. Though nice weather would have helped a great deal, Chinatown was deserted, and the small seaside village we saw (Wolmido) looked like a broken down circus town. Also going there on a Monday wasn't a good idea, but I think after that trip I needn't ever go back to Incheon.

On our last day in Korea we spent some time in Busan, a port city on the southeastern edge of the peninsula. My highlight in Busan was walking through a market and gazing at all the interesting food and items for sale. Kimchee was in abundance, as were fish, veggies and cheap clothes and nicknacks. In one stall we saw a man scraping what looked like caterpillars or worms from twigs into a large wooden crate. The crate was full of these wriggling grey worms, which I guess were being sold as food? We also saw two different beach spots in Busan. The novelty of seeing so much street food and food stalls as part of the regular marketplace in Korea (not nearly as common in Japan) came alive for us near the beach. We saw plenty of these food stalls as we walked towards a nice beach spot called Haeundae, making our choice for dinner very difficult.

This trip to Korea showed us some real extremes, going from a neon shopping area filled with trendsetters in Seoul to the grittier places and people of Busan. If I return to Korea, which I really want to do, I would like to see Gwangju, the old capital of Korea, filled with temples, burial mounds, a large pagoda and an old star-gazing tower - and also Jeju, the island south of Korea with volcanic terrain, beach and countryside landscapes and a different lifestyle and culture from mainland Korea.

The JR 'Beetle" Jet-Ferry in the port of Fukuoka

Myeong-dong, in Seoul

Dakgalbi


Samgyetang (ginseng chicken soup) - super cheap compared to in Japan ($10 vs. $30-40)

Our sleazy motel in Itaewon - $40/night

Me, Jay and Beck inside Gyeongbokgung (Palace of Shining Happiness)

Wolmido, in Incheon. I wanted to capture some of of the dreary atmosphere...

A marketplace in Busan

In the marketplace, kimchee!

Live worms at the market.

Sports Day (Undo-kai)

Every year Japanese elementary, junior high and high schools hold a 'sports festival' - a day of competition, ceremony and school pride held outdoors in the schoolyard. I didn't make to any of my schools' sports festivals last year, so watching the preparation and festival this year was new and interesting. The week before the festival was held much preparation was made by all the students, teachers and staff.

In this preceding week the kids practiced marching in unison in the schoolyard, created team flags for each class, and helped set up tents, ropes, etc. to aide the festivities. I was really surprised how much time the students spent outdoors in the hot sun preparing for this day. It seemed like every detail of the event was poured over - from the angle the students carrying the school flag should turn to the pitch and loudness they should be singing the school song. I was also struck by the idea that the event wasn't exactly a show for parents and families; though many families did show up, there were a limited number and most of their viewing of the events was obstructed by large tents. It was as if the sports festival was first and foremost held for the school (students and teachers) and as a part of the school tradition.

I kept wondering if this sort of event would somehow fly in the U.S., but it's hard to imagine such an event transplanted in a totally different culture. It seems like most students' and teachers' lives here revolve more around their school than you would find at any public middle school in the U.S. The only event I can remember in school for me that was even close to being similar was 'field day' held at my elementary school. Yet for field day no ceremonies were held, no preparation made by the students, and the events weren't all mandatory. Maybe it's because I now have an unforgettable image of hundreds of students in matching uniforms marching together under the beating sun (including the cutest non-athletic kids you've ever seen!) but when teachers and students asked me if there was such a thing as 'Sports Day' in America, I told them not at all.

And after all the hard prep work it turned out to be a really fun event. I'm real positive most students and teachers enjoyed the sports festival. I sure did. To recap the day, I remember an opening ceremony with flag raising and speech making, different relay races and tug of war contests, a dance intermission, lunchtime, a display and presentation of school clubs, a short relay competition between teachers and the PTA, a closing ceremony, and clean-up time. To top it off I ran with some teachers in a relay vs. the ichi-nensei (7th graders), but in the end we were beaten and came in 4th. I think my legs are still a little sore from my all out 200 meter sprint.

Preparation week

Blue and white team getting ready

The 'centipede' race - all the students' legs are tied to a large rope

From the schedule, dancing and pump-you up music before lunch

'It's the eye of the tiger, it's the cream of the fight..."

Back in Japan and avoiding the flu

I'm writing from my apartment in Kitakyushu, enjoying my first weekend back in Japan after taking a month break in Oregon and California. My summer vacation was more than I could have asked for. Spending lots of time with family and friends, plenty of time outdoors in Oregon, eating steak and delicous tacos, drinking beer that tastes beautiful, watching a buddy from grade school get married, taking a road trip to the coast with my parents and older bro, speaking lots of English - these are just a few highlights. But, it's also good to be back in Japan.

I had work this week, Monday through Friday. So far I'm actually feeling comfortable and more or less 'in the swing of things' again. It helped being welcomed back by a few friends, opening my apartment door to a (mostly) clean room, and going back to work and seeing lots of cheery, nice teachers and happy, bright-eyed students.

On Tuesday, all the students returned to Takasu Jr. High and were scheduled to have an opening ceremony for their last term of the school year. To my surprise, the formal ceremony wasn't held in the gym as planned but rather conducted through the P.A. system, as all the students sat at their desks in their respective classrooms. During the lunch break I asked a student why everyone didn't go to the gym. He replied that the teachers were concerned about influenza. He also told me that he didn't know of any student so far affected by influenza.

Two days later one of the English teachers told me that a few students had been affected by the virus. In addition she said one of the local elementary schools had been closed for a little while because of the flu. And, she said that if any teacher came down with the sickness they would have to stay home for a week. I'm still pretty unclear how serious the flu thing is around here, having not read up on local news for a while and only going off of what I hear. It does seem to be a hot topic at my school, because I've received a few handouts having something to do with it (but really hard to decipher) and I keep hearing the word 'in-fu-ren-za' spoken at the morning meetings.

With the school being as large as it is, 2 students being infected out of 800+ doesn't seem all that bad. Also, if the school policy for an infected teacher is just to stay home for a week, the virus itself doesn't sound all that scary (for adults, anyway). And everything else at the school is back to normal - classes, lunch, after school clubs, etc. Aside from curious happenings with influenza, the rhythm of daily life feels the same and it feels good not having to greatly adjust myself.

Summer Vacation (Natsu Yasumi)

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!