Friday Halloween

Well, the Halloween party yesterday went well but I was at school until 8pm! I would probably have stayed longer (notebooks...), but the only other person still in the building was leaving and I didn’t want to lock the door.

That being said, the party entailed bobbing for persimmons (apples are pricey), learning a dance, playing a donut game, carving a wicked jack-o-lantern (best I’ve ever seen, to be honest & I have roasted pumpkin seeds today – yum!), going trick-or-treating in the staff room and just hanging out and having fun. It was worth being here late.

Today is Halloween, as you probably know. I arrived at work in full Halloween garb, and while most of the students aren’t proving very knowledgeable about the American political system and election (takes a while to explain who Sarah Palin is when you have to explain who McCain is first), I’ve been getting a lot of comments about the Palin get-up I chose to wear today. The real fun will come at the Halloween parties in Osaka tonight (added a little twist to the costume, but you’ll have to wait for the pictures to see what), and I’m getting used to the Classics teacher (and hilarious kendo coach) behind me turning around and laughing every time he sees me. Carrying around pictures of Palin also seems to work. I’ve heard niteru (sp?), or resembles, too many times today. 面白い.

Oh, and other big news:
*My business trip to Tokyo was approved (and the reports are finished and translated),
*we’re going to actually visit a junior high school to replace the JHS conference day I’m missing (even better for me),
*Megan did alright in the speech contest (5th place, but against the best kids at the best schools in the area),
*I sent in the forms to get my license translated by the Japan Automobile Federation (JAF), thus starting the process to get a Japanese drivers license (!!)
*and last – but not least – I think my brother and I are going to pursue getting Greek passports. We’re eligible for dual citizenship through our grandfather, who was from Kalamata, so citizenship would also grant us privileges in the rest of the EU. Pretty exciting!

I need to finish these notebooks so I can get out of here in time to run home before Japanese class, but I hope you have a Happy Halloween! Pew! Pew!

Just to leave you with a laugh: My coworker just asked me about this Minnesota law, which was featured in one of our textbooks: “A person may not cross state lines with a duck atop his head.” Yeah, I have no idea. Apparently Alaska also has a law saying that “Moose may not be viewed from an airplane.” Interesting when hunting from one seems to be OK...

Happy Halloween, Guys and Gals!

Here's a little preview of my costume. This was taken with my cell phone, so the res isn't great, but you get the idea :) I'll post a better quality shot when I have them...

Strange Day

I am catching a cold and am particularly feeling it today. I am sure I need to sleep more and will probably dip into the supply of American cold medicines that I brought with me to battle this, but it really sucks to talk for an hour straight (five times in a day) when your head is swimming. Yowzas... feeling a littel woozy.


That being said, today has been a funny one. I have the ESS Hallowee party after school (I'll post pics from carving pumpkins later) and we did a Halloween lesson/party with my second-year English Expressions class earlier today. I was going to do the Thriller song and dance with them, but they seemed a little intimidated by the dance when we watched the video, so we ended up doing the "Casper-Cha-Cha" instead. It was really fun in the end and better review for directions than I realized it would be beforehand. When we did bobbing for apples, none of the students wanted to get wet, so it ended up just being a coworker and myself dunking our heads in the bowl. My mascara was everywhere after the game, but one of the kids was laughing so hard he was crying... so was I, actually... and we used English, so I'm happy.


I had a class immediately after the Halloween party/lesson and some of my kids were a little confused about what had just gone on in the previous hour (why I looked like I had been crying, for example), so I decided to don my with's hat for an impromptu introduction to Halloween. I asked some questions about what Halloween is and ir's orgins, and thought it would be good to give the kids candy as rewards for correct answers. Well, I pulled out my jack-o-lantern shaped bag full of candy, and my coworker got really upset, saying that we weren't allowed to have candy in class. At first I was a little shocked by the reaction, because other teachers have definitely encouraged this stuff from me (especially when it's American candy and for a special event... especially Halloween!). Some of the students were also a little sour for the rest of the class (puting because because they didn't get a treat), but I later learned that many of the teachers had related a new policy about not having candy at school just a few hours earlier (during homeroom), so I can understand the effort to enforce new rules. I am just not always the strictest teacher, so I was surprised about the sudden good-cop-bad-cop game and more restrictive conditions.


But anyways...


I think I am going to run to the post office and get some packages (and my ballot!) out so I've gotta run. Blah. Peace!

"Coming Soon"... Unless you Live in Japan!

I was just checking out info on Baz Luhrman's new flick, Australia (starring Nicole Kidman), thinking it looked alright and might be fun to see before I hit up the Land Down Under in December. Well, to my disappointment, the movie doesn't come out anywhere until Christmas and Japan is essentially TWO MONTHs behind that (and pretty much a month later than the next latest country.)

I know Japanese is a difficult language, but I find it really hard to believe it takes that much longer to translate the film. Annoying. I wonder if they're just accounting for the the long line of personal stamps on the contract and paper trail that can accompany big decisions and that's why it takes so long for movies to be released here?

I guess I'm just venting (or commenting on an observation), but doesn't it seem silly that, in one of the biggest economies in the world, they would wait until a movie is practically available on DVD (at least through the American Amazon.com) to release it at the theatres here... when they charge $20 a seat?!

Unless it's a huge blockbuster (Indiana Jones, Harry Potter, etc, etc...), this is pretty much the norm.

Sidenote: To follow-up on the AU theme, thought I'd also share an interesting article I just saw online about the effects dought is having on human conditions in Australia, the driest continent in the world (Blue Skies, Blue Days in Australia).

Americanization & Japan

Who Killed Our Culture? We Did.


Author: Youki Kudoh
Publication: Time.com
Date: May 3, 1999


A Japanese actress mourns her country's obsession with American values.

I belong to the generation of Japanese whose parents are the children of those who grew up during and after the war, suffering from hunger and poverty. It was our grandparents who really experienced the long and agonizing war.
Afterward, the people of Japan could gather the strength to get on their feet again only by directing all the frustration they had built up in their minds--grudges, remorse, negative feelings--toward the state. They even refused to sing the national anthem. The result was that we of the younger generation were taught that patriotism is bad. If you express your love for the country, you are called "pro-war," you are considered a right-winger.

The Americans, meanwhile, had Coca-Cola, chocolate, family life, music and dance--all the pleasures we lacked. The goal of post-war Japan was to catch up with America by every means available. The economy took off; we ran up the ladder and became a first-class economic power, pretending all the while not to see the huge hole in the mind, the distrust of our own country.

Most of today's young people grew up in the absence of some important values. They aren't positive about being Japanese, nor about their own identity. They are losing their integrity because they always pretend to be like someone else. Whatever becomes popular, they want to follow. When girls put on the platform shoes that are fashionable now, it is as if they are trying to step up to another level, to be someone they are not. These girls want long legs, big breasts and Caucasian features. The sense of beauty has changed. Young women don't recognize what is good about themselves.

It is good to be flexible and open to other cultures; that is a quality young Japanese have that their parents did not. But at the same time we have to hold on to our own culture. We have become polluted by American culture, contaminated by materialism. We don't love our country, don't respect it. We are negative about our culture: traditional things are seen as old-fashioned, and everything new is good. Social order and moral standards have disappeared. Some people are even obsessed with denying their Japaneseness. Many girls dye their hair and tan their skin. The streets and towns of Japan are made to look like France or America. Our cities were destroyed and re-created to resemble a foreign country. Traditional culture is not even accessible to most of us; it is disappearing into oblivion. This makes me very sad.

We are following America, in good ways and bad. The good thing is that people are becoming more independent. It used to be impossible for people to get promoted in a company unless they were the right age, now matter how talented they were. Now that's changing. It's more competitive. Someone with the right skills can advance. But the bad thing is that we are losing all respect for older people. We are copying everything about America just because it is American.
I was lucky enough to start working in the U.S. when I was 17. By getting an external view of Japan, I have learned how important it is to hold on to your identity while accepting other cultures. In American film, Asian women usually are cast as either prostitutes or bitchy dragon ladies. This bothers me. An American director offered me a typical Asian role, as a bitchy type. I told him I didn't want to be laughed at. I want to play a character I can sympathize with. He decided to go the "traditional" way, so I didn't take the part.

Usually, we compromise too much of ourselves. What is missing in young people, I think, is the ability to establish a relationship with somebody without trying to copy that person, or comparing whether you are richer or poorer, or better or worse. We need to love ourselves, take pride in our homeland and establish fair and equal relationships with people from all over the world. You can accept someone without losing your own identity. We need the confidence with which to see the good qualities hidden in our history and tell the world about them. We need a flexible mind with which we can learn about mistakes in our history and turn them into positive lessons.

I want Japan to prosper as a peace-loving superpower, a great nation that can love itself and other nations, too. As a young Japanese, I hope I can help our country to reach that goal. I came to America because there is more opportunity here in film. But I don't think it always has to be that way. I am just working here. I haven't abandoned my identity. My heart is in Japan.


Youki Kudoh, 28, won international recognition for her role in the 1989 Jim Jarmusch film Mystery Train. She will be seen next in the upcoming adaptation of the American novel Snow Falling on Cedars

Tuesday At Takanan

I cannot believe how fast time is flying. Halloween is on Friday and then... November? Already?

To celebrate the swiftly passing season, I hosted the first of the several upcoming Halloween parties (with the Harima East High School English club) yesterday afternoon. It turned out to be a lot of fun! Some of the girls wore full-on character costumes (had a Stitch, a Winnie the Pooh and a few witches) and we kicked off the party with bobbing for persimmons. Kaki (as we call them here) are a lot cheaper than apples, and the game has the same effect...although I got talked into participating and probably could have gone as Carrie (rather than a witch) after my mascara smeared. Blah.

We also did a mummy race (with toilet paper), a donut-eating competition, ate way too much candy and listened to a Halloween music mix I made. The kids sort of brought too much food to snack on (in addition to the candy we provided), so we ended up staying a lot longer than usual so they could finish at least some of the massive piles of chips, popcorn, cookies and candy spanning across several tables, but it was OK. I've also noticed I am starting to get to know the girls (um, we only have girls in our club) better and really have fun with them, too. That being said, it still shocks me how different the student culture is from my regular school. At one point, my coworker and I were doing the “Casper Cha-Cha” with one kid and turned around to see them passing cookies with their mouths. That definitely wouldn't happen at Takanan.

So I think I've mentioned this, but I’ve also been getting into the bad routine of taking a nap after school and then staying up way too late recently. Well, I fell victim to my habit again when I got home from the party yesterday evening, completely dozing off for a few hours while I was reading the news online. I was definitely tired after the weekend, so I probably needed the extra Z's, but to work off some of the post-nap energy (which always follows...), I decided to go for a little bit longer run.

I took a random path this time (still along lit streets) and stopped at the both the used clothing store and the new shopping mall along the way. I didn’t have any money with me, but I found everything I need for my Halloween costume on the trip to the reuse store (score!) and was utterly amazed by the new mall by my house! I knew we were getting a Max Value (large grocery store "big-box style" chain) in place of where the Carre Four (like a French Walmart) used to be, but I had no idea we'd get a whole mall with it! There's even a cheap fruit, veggies & wine shop and a big Blockbuster/Tsutaiya-type rental shop.

I have class soon, but I am dreading walking through the cooridors to get to my classroom :-p One of the factories near our school is burning chemicals and it's emitting this awful, rotten egg-like smell. Not quite the wafting chocolate aromas that came from the Malt-O-Meal plant during college...

Paper Magic Secrets Revealed!

The colleague that made me the really cool pop-up cards a few weeks ago has been at it again. Today I got one with three pumpkins and a bat... but I also found out his secret. He gets the patterns from a website.

I should probably keep this info to myself and just start sending these out (under the premise that I actually know what I'm doing)... but they're just too beautiful, so I have to share.

The site is in Japanese, but there are enough pictures to navigate without reading the kanji. Check it out!

Class Updates Needed - '04 Oles

Hey guys! I got an email from a St. Olaf alumnus who is trying to put together an alumni newsletter for the Class of 2004. I know some of you (meaning my classmates) read this thing, so thought I would just post the notice here and ask you to pass your info on. Thanks :)

Hello 2004 Oles!
Falling leaves, football, and memories of Halloween at St. Olaf are almost here, which means it is also time to collect information for the St. Olaf Class of 2004 newsletter. St. Olaf always provides me with some news excerpts of what alums have reported to the college--but it's way more> fun if I connect with people and hear from more of you.

So, here's your chance--let your classmates know what you're up to really quickly (that's right, make St. Olaf do the work--you just send me an email). So, help me out so we get a great update out this year---PLEASE SEND UPDATE BEFORE SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 2ND.

Let me know if you had a wedding last year OR if any of your Olaf friends did. Please include the names of both parties (and if they are both alums or just one) and the date of the wedding. Let me know if you had a baby or had an Olaf friend who> did. Include name of baby, date of birth, and parent(s) name(s). Not quite that much of a banner year? Hey, tell me you bought a hampster...or got a new job...went to the bahamas...became obsessed with the election...clipped your toe nails...whatever you want to share with your classmates. Please keep updates to 1-2 lines and I will be able to include it! And feel free to fwd. this email along to your other Class of '04 friends. I look forward to hearing from you!

Um Ya Ya, Lauren Wendt '04
> From: smilesfromlauren23@yahoo.com> >

To Takebe... and Beyond!

Weekend at the Okayama International Villas (Foreigner Cabins)
I spent the weekend in Okayama Prefecture at one of the five International Villas, these huge houses the prefecture rents out to foreigners in an effort to promote tourism. Each house, one of which is the house in Ghible's Totoro movie, has about 5 bedrooms so you can rent rooms and share the massive living spaces with other visitors (if you're lucky, nobody else will come that weekend) or you can get a group together and rent out the whole house. We decided to go with the latter option, which is pretty awesome considering we rented a huge house in the middle of a hot spring resort... for about $25 pp/night!
The group I went with were all friends of ours from Hyogo Prefecture, our area of Japan, but we're kind of scattered in terms of where we work and live, so we all decided to travel separately and just meet at the house on Saturday night.

I had to stay after school to work on speech training for a bit on Friday, so I made plans to ride up with my friend Kate, who was driving from Awaji Island and had to go past my city anyways. My neighbor Tu also came with and we picked up Portia, who lives near Osaka but took the train to Okayama, on the way. The ride was going incredibly slow on the normal roads and old highways, so we decided to take the newer highways (which all have tolls) to cut some time. Luckily for us, it made a difference, but we still didn't get to Okayama Station (where Portia was waiting for us) until after it closed.

The car was packed once we had four people, with Portia and I squeezed into the back seat with a lot of luggage and not much foot room (my feet were propped up on the seat so Portia could use the lower space). I still love car trips, but again, it was good we took the highway.

I knew Kate had a car navigation system (common in Japan) and I had printed some maps off the website before leaving, but we somehow managed to drive an hour past Takebe, the town we were looking for, arriving at the house after midnight. I was pretty awake by the time we pulled up, having napped in the car, so I ended up staying up, just exploring the house, surrounding area and talking with a few other people in the group until about 5am. It was a nice night, but definitely a long trip.

Saturday turned out to be a really nice and beautiful day. I was pleasantly surprised by the onsen resert area around the large house, and spent the afternoon going for a solo run to a local family resort (admiring the mountainous landscapes and changing leaves) and then for a bike ride with Dave’s brother, Chris, Portia, Tu and Kate.
In the evening, we enjoyed a soak in the local onsen (including the outside onsen, which was only separated from the men’s bath by a little stone wall… ad from the main highway by some hedges!) and then barbequed in the house. It was pretty funny watching barbeque experts Chris (H.) and Kate battle to see who had the better mushroom sauce (no complaints from the tasting committee… think the best combo is something with onions, beer, butter, pepper and soy sauce!), but dinner was great. We ended the night with a bit of DS, a few cards games and then – every mid-20-something’s favorite game, Sardines (actually a lot more fun than you’d realize) before calling it a night. I also got a text message from a coworker telling me “Megan” placed 5th in the speech contest. I’ll have to talk to her on Monday because I know she wanted to win, and I’m sorry I couldn’t be there, but 5th isn’t bad when some kids have spent time abroad. Very proud of that girl!

On Sunday, a few of the boys were planning on spending the morning checking out some local sights (including a pottery center), but it was raining so it was called off. Instead, we made a big breakfast, spent a few hours in the onsen and then said our goodbyes before taking off (some on the train, and us back into Kate’s cute little car). This time we took the highways back and somehow made the trip to my apartment in under two hours (and for a fraction of the price of a train ticket)… guess the directions TO the villa really were bad!

It was still early in the afternoon, now sunny and I was itching to do something when Kate dropped Tu and I off at our apartments so we decided to walk over to our local shrine to see if the weekend town festival was still going on (literally following the sounds of the beating drums). I ran into Deyi, another one of my neighbors, on the way to my apartment, and was free, so the three of us headed over together.
When we arrived at the shrine, I was honestly a bit surprised by hopping things still were (no pun intended – check out the vide belowo). All eight of our town’s moving shrines were still out, and while I didn’t see anyone else I recognized from town, there was a strong overrepresentation by the local yankis (“yankee’s) or thugs. Almost every other girl was wearing booty shorts, stilettos and had huge hair, while the boys had bleached theirs and died it funky colors. It was part cool and part realization that we live in a somewhat ghetto area. But it still made for good people-watching, we only witnessed one fist fight and I got a cookie-on-a-stick, so I was happy.

Here's a short video of the festival (at Futami's Main Shrine, about two blocks from my house):

After the festival, I went home and made dinner, napped for a few hours (probably catching up from Friday night!) and was going to run, but ended up Skyping for almost four hours before going to bed.

Overall great weekend.

Note: If you’re interesting in learning more about the cabin we visited (or the other Okayama Villas), video tours of each of the International Villas are now available on the Okayama International Villa website and January dates just opened on the calendar, so it looks like they’re going to be open a bit longer. I highly recommend checking them out: http://www.harenet.ne.jp/villa/

Getting a Japanese Driver's License
After the weekend, I have also decided that I am going to get my driver's license here. Ok, ok... I know it seems silly to do it this late in the game. I do still have a license from home (the US), too, but my international permit was only valid for a year and this weekend made me realize how nice (not to mention cost efficient) roadtripping can be! Cars aren't expensive to rent, either, and after talking to my friend Kate, also American, about the process for getting a license, I'm going to try out the process sometime between now and Jan/Feb. Many people do fail on the first round, and the process for getting the license is more involved for Americans (than those coming from countries that also drive on the left side), which is part of the reason the costs can add up, but they don't even let you use your own car for the driving test... which works in my favor. The testing center is also located in my city... so there you go! I guess things can change and maybe I won't take the test... but I'm hoping that, looking back on this experience years from now, roadtrips will end up being somewhat synomomous with my last spring in Japan!

When Virtual Reality Becomes a Little Too Real...

I am sorry, but this is absurd. I really wasn't kidding when I mentioned that CNN.com has been posting a lot of really wacky stories about Japan on their main page, but the most recent of which is just plain stupid.

I guess this could give you a laugh (or maybe a warning-call, if you play these reality games), but check out this story about a Japanese woman that was arrested for killing her online husband's avatar (character persona).
Maybe a breach of security (using your fake-husband's log-in information to get into his account) would justify some form of legal action being taken, but arresting this woman seems a little severe. Who knows if this woman has a real-life family that is also affected by her punishment, but even using tax dollars to transport this lady to Sapporo is such a waste of resources and I really think some people take these games too seriously.
That being said, I do know someone here that earns real money from his virtual job... enough to pay the rent. Hmm... judge for yourself (article taken from CNN.com, Oct 23):

Woman Arrested for Killing Virtual Reality Husband
A 43-year-old Japanese woman whose sudden divorce in a virtual game world made her so angry that she killed her online husband's digital persona has been arrested on suspicion of hacking, police said Thursday.

Online environments such as "Second Life" -- where users control avatars -- have emerged in recent years.

The woman, who is jailed on suspicion of illegally accessing a computer and manipulating electronic data, used his identification and password to log onto popular interactive game "Maple Story" to carry out the virtual murder in mid-May, a police official in northern Sapporo said on condition of anonymity, citing department policy.
"I was suddenly divorced, without a word of warning. That made me so angry," the official quoted her as telling investigators and admitting the allegations.
The woman had not plotted any revenge in the real world, the official said.
She has not yet been formally charged, but if convicted could face a prison term of up to five years or a fine up to $5,000.
Players in "Maple Story" raise and manipulate digital images called "avatars" that represent themselves, while engaging in relationships, social activities and fighting against monsters and other obstacles.
The woman used login information she got from the 33-year-old office worker when their characters were happily married, and killed the character. The man complained to police when he discovered that his beloved online avatar was dead.
The woman was arrested Wednesday and was taken across the country, traveling 620 miles from her home in southern Miyazaki to be detained in Sapporo, where the man lives, the official said.
The police official said he did not know if she was married in the real world.
In recent years, virtual lives have had consequences in the real world. In August, a woman was charged in Delaware with plotting the real-life abduction of a boyfriend she met through "Second Life," another virtual interactive world.
In Tokyo, police arrested a 16-year-old boy on charges of swindling virtual currency worth $360,000 in an interactive role playing game by manipulating another player's portfolio using a stolen ID and password.
Virtual games are popular in Japan, and "Second Life" has drawn a fair number of Japanese participants. They rank third by nationality among users, after Americans and Brazilians.

Double Standards

There has been a lot of scrutiny over the Republic National Party's campaign budget this week, with  much of the focus being directed toward money spent on the Republican Vice Presidential nominees wardrobe.

I can understand why people would find spending $150,000 on Sarah Palin's makeover outlandish, but before you get too worked up about this story, check out this video (below) with CNN's Campbell Brown.  It's short and simple, but definitely points out the very realistic double standard behind this makeover criticism.  And I gotta agree with CNN.  

I know they could have merely sent Palin to H&M and White House Black Market, places where people like Michelle Obama shop for campaign attire, but I'm guessing the Republicans are probably just not taking any chances, ensuring Palin is of equal caliber (erm, at least appearance-wise) as anyone else she may come face-to-face with.  

And OK, yes, 150,000 US dollars is a *ridiculous* sum of money to spend on appearances (and there may be some hypocrisy involved), but I've also heard that John McCain's stylist (the girl primping him up before the Katie Couric interview he cancelled on Letterman for) gets paid a whopping $4,000 EACH TIME she applies make-up for an appearance.  I guess you can charge that when you've worked for Britney Spears, but seriously, had you heard about McCain's makeup fund before right now?  Probably not.  

As far as the focus is concerned, Campbell's got a point:

With two weeks left in this election, we really should try to stick to the real issues.  

Even without seeing all the negative campaigning (commercials) on television, the vilification that has characterized this election so far certainly does seem  to seep across international borders easily enough (and definitely goes both ways)...

H&M ♥ Tokyo

It's a Swedish invasion!  This summer, people waited over two hours just to get inside the new Kobe IKEA... and the lines were apparently no better when retail giant Hennes & Mauritz (H&M) hit Tokyo this fall.

I can only imagine the same chaos and frenzy is inevitable when H&M unveils it's limited-edition line by Comme des Garçons next month.  The designer clothing line will have a higher price point than most of H&M's regular fashions, but the global release date is set for Nov 13th (or November 8th at the opening of the Harujuku location, if you'll be in Tokyo) and is expected to be as big as Madonna's H&M line last year.

Until this announcement, I have to admit I had always thought of Commes as sort of a Japanese MACY's because you see so many people wearing the brand apparel and we have locations in both Kobe and Osaka (so I assumed it was everywhere).  In reality, there are only about a dozen stores in Japan, with other locations in some pretty high-end shopping districts of London, Paris, New York, Beijing and Hong Kong, so maybe we're just lucky to have access to this stuff.

Anyways, just a heads up for all you H&M-fiends (I can think of a few)... 

Late Night Spanish Music Mix

It seems like ages ago now, but when I was working at Target Corp Headquarters a few years ago, we were lucky enough to host Juanes for a small concert, as part of an in-house event organized by one of the company's internal diversity-awareness groups.  

I hadn't heard of Juanes before the concert, but I really enjoyed his live music, and started listening to whatever else of his I could get my hands on after that.  I actually listened to the souvenir CD from the Target concert in my car so much that I know almost all the words to "La Camisa Negra"... despite the fact that I don't speak Spanish :-p

Anyways, while I am not a diehard Juanes fan, I'd recommend his music, especially this new song I just heard.  I can't really tell you what it's about, but if you haven't heard of Juanes (or heard this song)... I thought I'd pass it on.

Full Week. Long Week. Flew By.

This week has gone by faster than almost any other I've had in Japan, probably because it’s also been one of the busiest. At least it's been definitely been anything but dull.

Monday
I was at the new school on Monday and had a full day of classes (with English Club after school), but I woke up with sort of a bad eye (red, painful & puffy) and wasn't feeling that well, so I decided to get eye drops and just spend the night in. I spent most of the evening cooking (something I forget I really like to do...) and relaxing. Miwa, my neighbor, did have to come over to help me when I went a little overboard with the simple idea of a taco salad (making enough for four, plus other dishes) and two other neighbors stopped by for a bit, but we pretty much just laid around for most of the evening, talking (and Miwa actually helped me with some Japanese homework, which I decided to do, for once!).

Tuesday
Tuesday was a new music lesson that I had fun making a mix for over the weekend. I didn’t have speech training after school (Megan's sick), but I did have a lot of notebooks to correct, so I did as much as I could and headed off to Japanese class in Kobe. The class was good, but the atmosphere was definitely funny this week. People seemed to be in a funny, chatty mood. I got called on a lot more than normal and the 15-year-old-exchange-student-Chinese-boys were picking on me maybe a bit too much (one stole my train pass for a little while!). It was at least productive to use Japanese for a bit. Afterwards, I just headed home to meet Dave for a late dinner (which he brought ingredients for... wow) and a movie.

Wednesday
So this brings us to yesterday, Wednesday. I had four totally new classes, but the lesson I planned went well (whew). In the evening, I stayed up pretty late, talking on the phone to a few friends. I have a really good phone plan, but I should try to make my catch-up calls more frequent (or use email more)... I think I was on the phone for over 4 hours!

Today - Thursday
I just saw a survey online stating that 1/3 of workers admit to calling in fake sick days. Let me just tell you right now that this wouldn't work at my job (they'd come to my house to check on me or want a doc's note), but if it did, today would be the day. I guess I can just be happy knowing tomorrow is Friday and we're off to Okayama Prefecture (TGIF!).

Random Sidenote about the Election...
On another interesting note, I was just looking for an election article I had seen on the front page of yahoo.com earlier today about Palin being a liability to the McCain campaign. I can't find it anymore, though, and am wondering if Yahoo might have gotten their hand-slapped and pulled it down. Let's hope they don't filter their news like that.

I found similar content on Yahoo Answers, a similarly-themed poll and a few other bits and pieces here and there... but the article itself is definitely gone. あいやしna...

LOST in Lesson Planning

I am currently working on a lesson plan which includes showing a movie clip that demonstrates how foreigners see Japan. I immediately thought of Lost in Translation.

Here's the thing, I just watched the trailer and I don't know if my kids are going to understand what is so strange about the things they are showing. Actually, I am starting to realize even I don't see them as weird anymore. Just normal in a bizarre fashion (even the silly Suntory commercial... have you seen Tommy Lee Jones in the Boss Coffee ads (Boss should sue if the campaign came out before the movie... Bill Murray basically is TLJ in this role!)??



I've had all my visitors to Japan watch this movie before they leave (and hopefully before or when they come).  To be honest, I thought Lost in Translation was kind of boring the first time I saw it, the second time it kind of grew on me and I thought it was funny, and now - after quite a few viewings - the movie still continues to entertain and affect me differently (or I notice more) every time I see it.  It's funny how fast your impressions of this place change, but you often don't realize it until someone gives you a meter (like this movie).  

Tough Time in Retail: Mervyn's Is Over

Earlier in the week, CNN.com did a feature about the economic crisis hitting factories in China.  I am sure a ripple effect of these changes will hit retail stores across America in the next several months, but in the meantime, some more localized (nostalgic?) sad news from the retail home front: Mervyns is closing.

I think this has been coming for a while, but it's sort of sad to see this mini-Dayton's at the end of it's days...

Owning a Car in Japan

You learn something new everyday. Today's lesson: Cars.

My attention has often been drawn to the different - and sometimes quite funny - cars you see here in Japan: usually smaller than home, often boxier, and often with additional accessories (four video screens for passengers, a camera in the back to show the driver what they are backing into, feathers and boas strewn across the dashboard, etc). They also come in wacky colors (the pink ones are my favorite), but one thing you almost never see, however, is a car that needs repairs. Dents, rust... you name it... they're just not on the street. I'm starting to suspect you pay such a high fee to get rid of a car here (trash it) to cover the shipping costs of sending all the less esthetically pleasing vehicles abroad!

Until recently, I had always assumed the reason for the well-maintained state of cars here was the expensive car tax car owners pay on their vehicle every two years (called "shaken"). Cars are generally cheaper to buy here, but the shaken can really increase the general cost of owning a car and gas is getting more and more expensive.

Well, to add onto those costs, one of the worst things that can happen here is getting in an accident. If you don't have the money to fix your car right away (and remember Japan is a cash-based society), it seems you are actually expected to not drive at all. This seems a little extreme to me, but a friend of mine got in an accident this week, and we learned that if she doesn't get the (minor) dent hammered out, she risks getting pulled over and fined by the police. Yes, you can get a ticket for havig damage!

In addition, you need to register any and all accidents with your workplace (which means a ridiculously long paper trail for even minor accidents), even though you are dealing with the insurance separately, and you also need to factor in the cost of presents for the person you were involved in the accident with. I thought the presents part was a joke, but my neighbor, Miwa, was in an accident last week, too... and it's true. Her car is totalling, the other guy was alright, she is already paying the man money out of her own pocket (in addition to him getting NINETY percent from the insurance company)... and she still needs to give him presents. This is obviously a cultural difference. Wow.

Anyways, I found all of these details sort of strangely fascinating and wanted to share. While it would be nice to have a car here at times, I still love being able to ride my bike all over the place and am starting to be glad I don't have to deal with everything that can come with owning a car...

The Weekend Review - The Beginning of Fall

Another excellent weekend with a bit of hiking, something I am so grateful to be able to do in the beautiful place. The leaves are only just starting to show a hint of the forthcoming hues (we're apparenly behind on the already dramatic MN colors back home), but the weather has been generous and the landcapes beautiful.

While the weekend was relaxing, however... I think I needed it. Friday was a really busy day and I left work kind of upset after a run-in with a coworker. I wouldn't normally post this kind of stuff on my blog, but for some reason I feel like the story is worth sharing (or maybe just documenting for me to remember?). Anyways...

The Situation
So I've really never had any problems with anyone at my job here (a few little cultural differences but it's much to the contrary, actually; I've been really lucky and love where I work), but I guess the situation I found myself in (and sort of trying to get away from when I left school on Friday) was just an annoying case of just being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Basically, it all surrounds this junior high school (JHS) teacher conference one of my teachers has been planning and a conflicting business trip I'm supposed to take to Tokyo. The conference is actually at my school and teachers from various JHSs will visit our school to watch us do samples classes in various subjects and talk about our pedagogy and what our school has to offer. I told my office and coworkers a while ago that I would be in Tokyo for a conference on the dates they chose for the conference, but they forgot about it, need me to teach a class for the JHS teachers, and now I'm being told I might not get to go to Tokyo at all. OK, I can understand it's my office and all... but I gave more than fair warning about this trip and we've been working on the reports we'll be presenting to CLAIR, MEXT & MOFA (government ministries in charge of education) for some time (I can't take all the credit for them, but my committee has worked hard and needs me there). The think that got to me was that the teacher who did the planned actually yelled at me (people were watching) and I had to literally put my hand on her arm, ask her if she was angry and tell her to calm down. She did, but it was a surprising encounter (stemming from this teacher just being totally overworked) that I just didn't want to deal with.

The Conference in Question
The conference itself sounds pretty cool. We're planning on demonstrating examples from the International Studies course we've established over the last two years (and I've been very involved with), which includes me giving sample lessons and probably participating in a discussion. 　I've actually been looking forward to the event since I heard we might do it, and normally I would say my base school (and everyday job responsibilities) comes before volunteer stuff, but this Tokyo trip is with representatives from the three government ministries responsible for the education system in Japan. I really thinking getting perspective at that level is more beneficial than the JHS event, and to be honest, I did everything I was supposed to do and it would be really unfair to the other people working on these reports (and on the committee in general) if I told them I wasn't coming this late in the game.
The meetings we're going to will span two days (held at CLAIR headquarters), with an additional two days of meetings with just the committee members (only one of only a few times a year all the members of the non-profit I'm working with can meet in person and we're from all over Japan).

I'm sure everything will work itself out, but it's unfortunate to have to choose between the two events (or present a case for one and hope I get permission to do what I prefer).

Coworker Collision
Oh, and as for this colleague, I still really like her. I just need a break. Normally she's not that bad, but she's been really stressed with counseling duties (helping with college apps), coaching badminton, as well as all her regular classes, and I think the thought of her seminar going awry just upset her so much that it sent her over the edge. Professionalism isn't usually an issue in Japan (and especially not with this teacher!), where it is considered a weekness to raise your voice or show anger, so I suppose I'll just take the positive approach to all of this and take it as a compliment she actually shared her emotions with me and move on. Yeah.


So after the intense end to the week and a smidge of speech training with my student, I headed into Kobe for my language class. I love my Friday-night Japanese teacher (he's really animated and funny) and class went well, so I decided to treat myself (versus going home to study or sleep) and stay out in Kobe for a bit longer than originally planned. I was going to go to my friend Dustin's birthday party, but the group was still at an all-you-can-eat/drink dinner so I headed to Polo Dog, a local expat pub, with some people from the Hyogo International Association (where we take classes). Had a few drinks, took last train home... it was fun.


I wasn't feel very well on Saturday morning (the cold & flu season has arrived), so I spent half of the day in bed. In the evening, I went to my friend Katie's birthday dinner at Ippus, a really famous ramen restaurant in Kobe. I had the red ramen with pork, which I recommend, and have to admit the bathroom was one of the (weirdest/coolest/most interesting) I've seen in a while, with tilted ceilings and mirrors on all sides and above. It's definitely strange to see yourself from all angles when you're going to the bathroom!

Afer the party, we went to Chris's place for a bit and then stayed up talking past 5. Most of the talking was me listening to a debate (observing can be more amusing than I had realized), but I probably would have gone to bed sooner had I realized just how late it was... especially considering we all had to be up early to meet for a hiking adventure on Sunday morning.

I've been to the Rokko Mountain chain before, but this was my first time actually hiking to the top. We started the hike in the morning, going about 8 kilometers in three hours (parts were hilly and we took our time, also stopping for lunch) and finishing at Arima Onsen town, where we all took some time to divulge in a relaxing soak in the famous gold-colored hot spring. The leaves were starting to change color, but only in a few, sparse spots, so I think we're going to do the same hike again next month, when the colors will be more drastic. I was also dissapointed that I didn't see any wild boar, which are supposed to be really tame and easy to spot, so maybe I'll catch them on the next trip.

After the hike, we took the Shintetsu (most expensive train line in Japan!) to Kobe and had a quick dinner with the group at La Pause (cheap italian joint in Sannomiya) before heading home.

Going Bonkers for Bananas

The new diet fad in Japan?  BANANAS.

Last week, I was grabbing lunch at the konbini (convenience store) with some friends when one of them commented on the recent lack of bananas in Japan. I eat the things pretty regularly (it's fruit and it's cheap for Japan), and while I hadn't noticed a huge change in availability at my grocery store prior to the comment, I have noticed that they really are missing from the shelves at a lot of places since.

Anyways, a lot of people around me have started to talk about (or try) this diet, it's been on the news and now three different people have sent me articles about this crazy new diet idea (bananas for breakfast).  SO, I decided to send it on... consider it your pop culture lesson for the day.  Dozo!

Dinner Party Dress-Up

Yesterday was quite a day! The morning started off a little hectic, mostly because of the 100+ lb suitcase (full of books) that I was carrying. There are no elevators in the small town train stations I use to get to work, so it was a little bit crazy (and probably hilarious for onlookers) lugging the stuff up and down stairs.  At least the large boxes I moved are finally out of my house.

Most of the materials I was trying to relocate came from the volunteer organization I am working with. We publish educational and support materials for expats living here, so I was sent extra for the people in my region... only the materials were sent to me at home, where I have no room for a big box, not at work.  I have been trying to move them 2 books at a time for a while now, but finally decided the process was going too slowly and just moved everything in one suitcase.  Not the I was probably a sight to see at the stations.

Lesson Planning

Not having classes this week has been nice.  I still have to come to work, but I've been trying to use the time to plan the next round of lesson plans. 

I was going to do the next 1st-Year Oral Communication unit on both shopping and money (last time I did this unit, we did a Price is Right game), but I decided to extend the lesson into a two-part series... and we're going to play Monopoly!!  I am pretty excited because it's fun for me (loved the game as a kid) and I have a copy of the game in both Japanese and English (together on each card), so I think it'll be easy to explain to the kids (have translations if I get stuck).

As of right now, the plan is to split the class into teams, make a giant game-board poster (to hang on the blackboard with giant, magnetic playing pieces), give each team dice and then just use the cards and money from the actual game.  I'm just hoping I get to hear someone say "buy, buy, buy!".  Wow, my job can be cool sometimes.

Other than that, I'm also working on a music lesson (going to try to have the kids rap...haha) and a lesson about sounds for the next Open High School, but most of the rest of my time has been spent correcting notebooks (yes, again), planning the upcoming Halloween party (we got a huge pumpkin!) and just catching up on the news and internet stuff.

Lunch with Friends During my Free Time

The exam schedule has also given me the opportunity to leave work for some longer lunches. Two days ago, I went to a really good Japanese-style family restaraunt chain with some teachers. The place wasn't too far from my house and is really inexpensive, so I was surprised I didn't know about it. I'll definitely go back.

Yesterday, I got to leave work pretty early, so I met some of my foreigner friends at Ito Yokado, the little mall next to my house. We went to the sandwich place on the 3rd floor, yet another delicious eatery which, for some odd reason, I have never gone to! Good club sandwiches, too!

Thursday

When I got home from lunch yesterday afternoon, I spent most of my time watching the debate (haha, you might have noticed the massive Youtube post?).  I did decide to go with the italian theme (found some amazing recipes online), but I basically just had the computer going while I cooked dinner all afternoon.  In the evening, I went for a run and then my friend Emerald, who I have hardly seen since last spring, and my neighbor, Deyi, came over around 7 and we had dinner before more people joined in.

The dinner party took on a silly vibe when my other neighbors stopped by and we had an impromptu dress-up party with all of the costumes I have somehow acquired (hey, Halloween is coming up), but it was a lot of fun.  Emerald also ended up staying the night instead of biking bike home (about an hour's trip) late at night, so it was fun just staying up and chatting.  Reminded me of slumber parties (or having a roomie again) :)

The Third US Presidential Debate

In case you missed it, here is the third - and final - US Presidential Debate between Senator Barack Obama and Senator John McCain. The debate took place at Hofstra University on Thursday...

Part 1 (of 16):

Part 2:

Part 3:

Part 4:

Part 5:

Part 6:

Part 7:

Part 8:

Part 9:

Part 10:

Part 11:

Part 12:

Part 13:

Part 14:

Part 15:

(part 16 coming shortly...)

My absentee ballot arrived in the mail today (my neighbor found my excited reaction pretty amusing...) and I will just say that - like many Americans - the debate didn't affect who I am voting for.  However, we did see some of the important questions (economic strategies, running mates, education, dirty campaigning, etc...) addressed on a more detailed level, and I appreciated that the candidates (sort of) stuck to the questions and (sort of) directly addressed each other.  Hope you enjoy.

Washing Clothing- This Isn't Little Italy, folks.

It may surprise you, but in Japan, most washing machines are kept outside (often on the balcony, even in apartments).  Furthermore, most washers don't have a warm water cycle, only cold water for everything.  Dryers do exist, but they aren't as common and the ones I have seen seem to be smaller than common dryers in America.  The machines have a spin cycle, but it is also a lot rougher than the machines at home (ask any foreigner living here about the condition of their clothing from home after a few washes if you don't believe me) so we also use little mesh bags for fragile items.

Futons (not the couch-to-bed contraption we have in America, but the cushion-beds that Japanese people sleep on and fold-up to put away each day) are also occasionally washed outside, or else merely hung out on the balcony to "bake" in the sun and air-out.

Personally, I have a washing machine at my home, but no dryer.  I wash my clothing outside (even in the winter) and then hang them on the balcony to dry (again, even in the winter).  I have a standard clothing line (thick cord) and a long metal pole (my balcony came with special holders to put it on and I also hang a circular, plastic-hook device that I bought at the super market from it)to accommodate this.  One thing I do pretty standardly, however, that a friend just pointed out is not very Japanese of me, is also hang my underwear and socks outside.

I hadn't noticed it before, but after my friend mentioned it this week, it really does seem like Japanese people don't hang their underwear outside.  

One reason for this - at least with many women - could be the prevalence of underwear snatching, but I do also remember hearing or reading something about people covering up underwear they hang outside as a courtesy thing.  

Either way, my apartment is not that big and I don't plan on getting a dryer anytime soon, so hopefully my apartment complex isn't too scandalized by the underwear hanging outside my sliding doors.  Maybe I'll start hanging them on the inside just in case...

Hump Day in the Middle of Midterm Exams

It's Wednesday and there's not much going on... just tying up loose ends here and there while I have the free time.

I worked with "Megan" on her speech this morning, did my monthly article for the Hyogo Times newsletter, corrected some essays and caught up on email. I just need to proof-read some reports for my volunteer stuff and then I am going home early to study.
Honestly, I think I would probably be better off bringing my study books to work with me and studying here, even if I can leave early this week. It's beautiful outside and I know I'm just going to want to run and do other stuff. I might head to the Harimacho library later if I'm not doing enough, but we'll see.

I should go, but I have one thing to share before I do...

I am making dinner for a friend tomorrow night and I found an interesting recipe for stuffed onions (to go with my ravioli) that I thought I'd pass along. The recipe is apparently from am italian cookbook (entitled Il Cuoco Piemontese) dating back to 1766. Recipes during this time provided general directions, not detailed instructions, so there is no ingredients list (etc), but I think want to try to make this (or possibly do tuna-stuffed onions) if I can use Miwa's oven.

Check it out:

Piemontese Stuffed Onions
Take several onions and trim away tops and bottoms.
Boil them until they're cooked, but not overcooked.
Remove the onion hearts.
Take the crumb of day-old Italian bread (discard the crusts) and soak it in milk or fish broth for several minutes. Squeeze out the excess moisture and put it in a bowl with the crushed yolks of two hard-boiled eggs, a cup of grated Parmigiano, five well-minced roasted almonds, salt, two ground cloves, and two beaten egg yolks.
Mix well, fill the onions with the stuffing, roll them in flour, and fry them in hot oil until golden.
Arrange them in a pot with a little fish broth and simmer them until soft and fork tender, then sprinkle them with lemon juice, dust them with lemon zest, and serve.

Long Weekend - 体育の日

As I mentioned last week, we have exams (so no classes) this week. It's already halfway through the day on Tuesday, however, and I have to admit that while I have no complaints about the extra free time, the long weekends seem to sort of mess up my internal clock.

That being said, the long weekend was nice. I watched a lot of movies and didn't really go anywhere, but sometimes that's exactly what you need.
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On Friday, I went to Japanese class in Kobe (back to the old routine with HIA classes twice a week), this time walking to the Hyogo International Center from Sannomiya instead of switching trains to get there. I've been to Nada, where my class is held (and the Prefectural Art Museum and Earthquake Museum are based), a million times, but this was the first time I had actually attempted walking from central Kobe. I was suprised that it only took a little over 20 minutes and was really easy to get to; I swear it takes longer on the train.
The class went pretty well and I knew most of the kanji on my test (suprisingly - hadn't studied & left my books on the train last week), so after class, I walked back to Kobe again (this time using another, prettier route) with a few friends and hung out & talked over a few beers before getting home and going to bed.

I was up early on Saturday for group gardening (ie-Saturday morning "community time" with the apartment complex), which meant cutting the grass and weeds with a little sife, again. It went by quickly, though. I talked to my neighbor for most of the time we were working. Class with the old ladies later in the morning turned out to be a lot of fun, too.
On Saturday afternoon, I headed over to Amagasaki to hang out with Dave before meeting some friends and going to a wine and cheese party at our friend Katie and Rob's house in the evening. The gourmet grocery store closed before we could get any decent cheese (which is expensive and can be hard to find in Japan), so we ended up only bringing red wine. When we arrived, we found out there was also a Bordeaux-theme for the night, which I thought was a great idea (getting to know different variations of one kind of wine). We ended up with mostly bottles of red, but the theme (which Rob was strict about) allowed some white, and someone even brought a box of Bordeaux (learned the old box-wine-camping-pillow trick) that wasn't half-bad.

I was originally planning to do a long run on Sunday (gotta get back into it!) morning, but I realized that wasn't a good idea after the late night and ended up sleeping in pretty late instead. I guess I should've known better after a wine-and-cheese party, but I did get out to Kobe to meet up with my friend Ben and his two guests from California in the afternoon.
Ben's friends were literally just-off-the-plane (had only been in Japan a few hours) when I met them, but Ben had decided that sightseeing would be good for their immediate arrival (prevent them from getting tired and wanting to go to bed on America time) so we headed for the Nada Sake Breweries and did some shopping before parting ways for dinner.
I have tried to get to these breweries a few times, once also dragging a visitor to Japan there after a long day of sightseeing, but they'd been closed every other time I'd gone (or I'd gotten lost), so I was pretty pumped to actually make it to one of these places. Both Kobe and Kyoto are renowned for their Sake production, but we were told that Kyoto was more of a women's variation, while the Kobe breweries made stranger ("manly") sake... which was, of course, "the better of the two." I haven't been to Kyoto to confirm this, but I will agree that the sake in Nada (Kobe) is pretty good. I don't generally like Japanese sake, but I enjoyed all but one of the samples I tried (the tour of the brewery is pretty much just taste testing and maybe a museum - you don't get to see the production lines or anything). I'll definitely try to go back sometime before I leave, hopefully trying out some of the breweries I didn't go to.
Sunday night was also low-key. I went back to Amagasaki, got some chinese food to go (starting to have a thing for Osho - cheap, fast and tasty Chinese food chain) and just watched a few movies before calling it a night.

Monday was 体育の日 (Health and Sports Day), a national holiday which commemorates the opening of the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo and is supposed to promote sports and a healthy & active lifestyle. I did go for a long run along the Mukogawa River in the morning, so at least did something in spirit of the holiday, but the main attraction of my day was actually just getting a free day off work... and watching TV all day:-P.
We ended up watching the last half (5 hours) of the Shogun series (finally!) and doing barbeque for dinner. Rob and Katie (the wine tasting bunch) brought some delicious stuffed figs (figs wrapped in bacon with blue cheese and walnuts inside and a thick, sweet balsalmic vinegar sauce... my mouth is watering!) and another friend, Charity, made her aunt's special cocktail weinie sauce. The end of the Shogun series was OK (was a little disapointed that it didn't end on a more excited note), but coupled with all the food (including teriyaki cheeseburgers from Costco), it was a pretty excellent day.

Financial Update from Japan

Following the problems with Lehmann Bros and in the sub-prime lending market in America and the run on Northern Rock, HBOS and Bradford & Bingley in the UK,uncertainty has now hit Japan.

In the last 7 days Origami Bank has folded, Sumo Bank has gone belly up andBonsai Bank announced plans to cut some of its branches.

Yesterday, it was announced that Karaoke Bank is up for sale and will likely gofor a song, while today shares in Kamikaze Bank were suspended after they nose-dived.

While Samurai Bank is soldiering on following sharp cutbacks, Ninja Bank isreported to have taken a hit, but they remain in the black.

Furthermore, 500 staff at Karate Bank got the chop and analysts report thatthere is something fishy going on at Sushi Bank where it is feared that staff may get a raw deal.

Cheap humor, yeah, but I thought it was pretty cute. Cheers to Loz for sending this!

No Room at the Inn & CNN.com

I read a few different online news sites (mostly from the US) to try to keep up with what's goin on in the world, but lately I've noticed that CNN has been posting quite a lot of short and very quirky articles about Japan, many of them featured on their front screen.

I thought I would share the latest, about Japan's tourism industry's discomfort with accomodating foreigners.

According to the article, "No Room at the Inn for Foreigners", a survey conducted by Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and released this week shows that 70% o the Japanese inns and hotels said they "don't have facilities for foreigners". Over 70% of the places that didn't have foreign guests in the last year also said they don't want any - now or in the future.

Japan can be a pretty easy place to get around, with it's modern transportation systems and cultural fascination with the West (so things may be more familiar here than in, say, China), yet I am not totally surprised by the findings if this survey. I am just curious how these inns would define "accomodations" for westerners. I think many tourists to Japan would prefer to try sleeping on a Japanese futon instead of a western bed, even if it means they are on the tatami floor. Assuming foreigners can't handle this is simply naivity... but it's also commonplace and a byproduct of the strong culture and heritage Japan has retained and works hard to preserve.

Anyways, I might post more of the interesting tidbits here from time to time, but it's funny to see how Japan projects itself to the rest of the world (or at least to see what the rest of the world picks up).

Housewarming Party & TGIF tomorrow

There have been a lot of changes to my life in the last few months. Granted, I would say I am now acclimated to the culture (I would hope so after 2 years...) and I have a good situation (ie I'm also still happy to be here after 2 years), but among the changes: a lot of the people I have been close with or gotten close to since coming have now left the country, I have a new school (and a foreign coworker), and more recently, several other foreigners moved into my apartment building, making my living situation more social than it's ever been (at least without me having to leave the house). This last change is actually a good thing, but it's a transition from being alone in my little tower to sharing it with several other foreign women. Remember when I went a week and a half without seeing another foreigner when I arrived?

Deyi's Housewarming
Anyways, I'm rambling, but the reason I am thinking about all of this is that last night was a housewarming party for one of the new foreigner women in my building, a lovely American named Deyi. I have known Deyi for about 2 months now. She's been living in Himeji and commuting quite a ways to work each day, so she decided to move and was successful in getting a place in our block. It's nice to have an American girl around again and she's a lot of fun (and has cute style - I really like what she did to her apartment); it almost feels like living in a dorm again, though, with your friends down the hall.

The party was pretty laid-back. Deyi and our friend Hitomi made nabe (Japanese stew) and everyoe brought a gift and something else to eat. I brought Deyi some sake and made a yoghurt dip to go with pita bread. At one point, we were discussing Halloween costumes and I ended up showing-off my hideously-fabulous 80s prom dress for a friend who is considering going as JEM, but otherwise, it was just a fun night of talking and hanging out.

Thursday
Not much else going on. I biked to school today, which wasn't bad and I actually enjoyed (especially now that the humidity is gone and I'm not all sweaty when I arrive). I was also surprised when I got here to discover a little bag of old-fashioned candy on my desk, a random gift from my Vice Principal (with an itsumo arigatou). I definitely didn't expect that one, but it was pretty cute of him - and now I have candy for my jack-o-lantern candy dish :)

Midterms start next week so things are winding down for the staff. We're letting kids study in a lot of the classes, and while I've had to write two tests today, I will be pretty much free all next week (other than correcting notebooks and ramping up on the self-study time). I am not planning on going very far for this weekend, but we have Monday off for Health and Sports Day and I'm definitely looking forward to the extra time and nice weather.

Things

My mother, of all people, sent these lists from the VitaMN newspaper on to me. I thought they were cute:

It’s a guy thing
1. Laughing at farts no matter how old you are
2. grilling
3. Wearing clothes multiple times without washing
4. Peeing outside
5. Growing a beard
6. Watching football for days on end
7. Avoid any conversation or eye contact in the restroom.
8. bugs
9. Hard time admitting, another guy is good looking.
10. Fixing things with duct tape

It’s a girl thing
1. shoes that aren't intended for walking
2. period-specific clothing
3. knowing that black doesn't always go with black
4. taking off your bra without taking off your shirt
5. tear- jerker movies
6. having a dozen+ jackets, each with a very specific purpose
7. gossip magazines
8. owning 1", 2", 3" and 4" silver hoop earrings
9. Oprah
10. pop music

Register. Vote.

It's Been a Long Time Coming...

I just cannot get enough of this song right now. It's a cover, yes, but what a good treat to start your week with:

Biking Awaji Island

I'm at the new school today and three more kids (in a different class) just made the connection between this LEAH DIXON character and myself. She's apparently some kind of American singer/actress ("... or maybe Japanese"), who is well-known here but not at home in the States. I can't complain that they think I'm the long-list twin of some model, but I can't help but think it's amusing that she's Asian.

As for the weekend, well, another one has come and gone, and I'm happy to report I made it around Awaji Island (between Honshu and Shikoku islands) on my solo bike trip... something I've been hoping to do for a long time. I actually feared that I would be in a lot of pain today after the ride, but I'm feeling totally fine and it was definitely a lot of fun.

The trip was about 150 kilometers (93 miles) in total and I spanned it out over two days, staying at my friend Kate's house on Saturday night. I left early on Saturday (early bedtime on Friday), biking to Akashi, taking the ferry across to the island and then biking down the east coast (Hwy 28). Kate lives in Fukura, on the southern tip (where the Naruto whirlpool sightseeing ships leave from), which was a convenient stopping point for the first day. I stopped at a few places on the way, including Sumoto Castle, but I got really lucky with beautiful, sunny weather and it was a pretty flat path. Smooth trip to say the least.

I arrived in Fukura around 4pm and met Kate at a local ice cream parlor. Then we went for a walk, exploring the temples and fish markets in her town, before meeting some of Kate's friends to watch movies and talk. Fun, low-key evening.

We had originally planned to also visit England Park, sort of an animal-farm amusement park (with emus, koalas and onion-flavored ice cream) on Sunday morning, but it was raining and I still had a long trip home, so we just made pancakes and talked before I had to leave around 1:30pm.

It took me considerably longer to get home than it took me to get to the south of Awaji, but I was also on rural roads and it was raining and windy the entire ride. Despite the unfavorable weather conditions, the scenery was stunning, with the small road following the coastline for almost the entire 60+ kilometer trip (and often next to mountains). There were also only about 2 big hills on the west side of the island, which I didn't find bad, and I stopped at a few quaint little ma'n'pa shops along the road to buy onions and yuzu (a special citrus fruit the island is famous for). Just before the ferry stop back to the main island, I also took the time to visit a natural onsen (hotspring) in Iwaya city, with glorious views of the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge (world's largest suspension bridge). I know, I know... I had already gotten wet enough for one day with over three hours of biking in the rain (my clothes were soaked through - even with a rain jacket and poncho!), but relaxing in the steaming, warm baths while watching the lights change on the rainbow-colored bridge was such a treat. It probably took me another 2 hours to get home from there, but I was so happy it seemed like nothing.

This trip inspired me to explore bike tourism a bit more, something I have been interested in since getting involved with the PEPY Ride program in Cambodia this past spring. It's a great way to get personal with your surroundings and explore, not to mention that it's really good for both you and the environment :)

I'll post more details about the Awaji ride with my photo album (will be a link on the right side) soon, but I would definitely recommend the bike trip to anyone... even in the rain. It can be done in a day if you're ambitious enough to try it (and get up early... the Tako Ferry from Akashi goes 24 hours, and it'd probably take you around 13-15 hours). Beautiful trip!

Strange Day for a Thursday

Today has been a strange day.

Under the Weather
I came home last night and decided to eat dinner and relax a bit before a run. Well, I hadn't been feeling well all day and ended up really ill, not being able to hold down any food, within an hour of walking in the door. I’m not sure if it was a 24 hour bug or something I ate, but my stomach was just really weak and I had no energy. Needless to say, I spent the rest of the night just laying in bed, watching movies and hoping whatever I had would go away... soon.

I got Punk'd >'-(
I felt totally better when I woke up this morning, so I decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather forecast and bike to work (something I plan to start doing more now that the humidity is gone). It takes about 45 minutes each way, but I still wanted to do the ride, just taing it slowly and enjoying the easy exercise. So I go to get my bike around 7:30am, which I had left at the grocery store the night before, and when I went to get it, I discovered that some idiot had taken the pins out of the wheels. At first I just thought it was a flat tire, but then I realized there was no needle to pump new air into... and that "they" (probably the gangsta 13 year olds that hang out outside the grocery store and smoke) had done the same thing to all the bikes. It could be worse, but let's just say getting punk'd is not so funny when it happens to you.

I'd seen packs of bike-needles for sale, so I know the bike is fixable (and thank goodness... I just replaced the tire they messed up last month and spent more money to fix the other tire last week), but the bike shop didn't open until 9am so I decided to go to school and deal with the wheel later.

Discipline
When I got to school, my first class was pretty routine, but I got angry at a group of girls for the first time since I have come to Japan. I'm doing a restaurant unit with my freshman classes right now, and as part of the lesson, I have the kids sit in groups that represent tables at a restaurant. Well, I let the kids choose where they want to sit and had so much trouble with one group of cliquey girls who talked the entire time. I can understand a little bit of talking, but the girls talked louder than I did, in Japanese, for the entire hour. I couldn't believe it. First, I playfully hushed them, then I asked them to be quiet a few times and then I waited for them to finish gossiping (in louder voices than I was using) while the class waited (took more than a minute for them to realize everyone was looking at them, waiting for them to finish so we could play a game). When it was time for pair work, we had an uneven number of students, so I made sure I could fill in as a partner for one of the girls at the table as I assigned partners.
When I sat down and practiced the dialog with my partner, I realized that not only were the girls not paying attention and gossiping loudly, but that one of them was doing her math homework. This has never happened to me in Japan, and I am rarely angry, but at that point I took the girls math homework, turned it over and told the girls that their behavior was out of line, especially speaking louder than I was, and that it was rude to both me and the rest of the class. I told the girl doing her math homework that this was not math class, it was English, and that I would give the assignment to her homeroom teacher if she could not focus on the subject being taught. And then I told them they needed to finish the current acitivity before we could move on. In Japanese.
I normally have a good repore with this group of girls, and ok, maybe it was just the end of the week or an early morning, but the fact that I had to ask them to stop so many times and then use Japanese with them in the end was not OK in my book. They were better behaved afterwards, but maybe we'll go back to assigned seating. I told a close colleague about the group of girls and she told me that people often discuss how I never really get angry about things, and said that kids have asked her if it's ever happened. Well, I guess I have one for the record now :-p

I had two more classes in a row after that one, and after the next class, a different group of first-year girls stayed after class to ask me questions about sex, a topic which I don't discuss with my students (don't think it is professional). How random that all of this would happen in one day.

At least the rest of the day went pretty well and I had a really fun small-group lesson at the end of the day where we played 20 Questions (couldn't believe how fast they got "window").

Dinner
In the evening, I stopped by a new neighbor's place to wait for the gas man to install her gas (did the translating) and ended with an impromptu movie and dinner night at my house with Deyi, Tu and Ann Chow. It was fun, but I feel like there have been a lot of out-of-the-ordinary events going on so far. TGIF... tomorrow.