Let's Adventuring!!!

Wow! Lindsey and I just returned from our first mini-vacation in Japan. We journeyed to Akita prefecture, just about 4 hours away by bus, which is an eternity for the Japanese people. If you remember from a previous post, the total square mileage is basically the same as that of only one US State- Montana- so a 4 hour trip is a pretty huge undertaking. I did 6-8 hour round trips in a car practically every weekend in the US.

This was the first time that we tried to 'get outta town' as it were. It was an amazing experience that we took plenty of photos doing and also video. I'm still working on some previous videos, but you'll be sure that this will be up as well. For the mean time, I'm sure Lindsey will put some photos up sooner than even myself. Remember her blog is http://lindseyscoop.blogspot.com

We had an extended weekend due to 3 holidays occurring this week. A while ago, the Japanese government moved all of their holidays to fall in such a manner that they all create an extended weekend. This chance it gave me 5 days to work with.

So, on Saturday, we got up, missed our first bus from our village and my supervisor drove us to Sendai, about 45 minutes away. That was very nice of her, and luckily she was going that way anyway. We were actually at the bus stop about 35 minutes early, but somebody had told us the wrong bus stop. We caught the second bus and it took 4 hours from there to Kisakata in Akita prefecture which is on the west side of Japan. We got off the bus and there was a town map. We saw that there was a tourist center and a camping spot by the beach, so we went to the tourist center first and got a bite of Ramen to eat. By the way, for those of you who don't know, Ramen is different in Japan. It is actually good and cooked in a restaurant. They do have the bagged and 'cup ramen' like in the US, but it's like comparing your box of macaroni and cheese at home to going to a nice italian restaurant- technically they're both pasta, but totally different.

At the Ramen shop, the manager invited us to his friend's house for supper later that night and we accepted. Since it was still afternoon we decided to go to the camp and put up our tent and put our stuff away. On our way back to the ramen shop, we ran into a really great guy named John who was backpacking with a LOT of stuff on his back. Lindsey and I thought he was about 30 and later he told me he was in his late 40's. He told me that he had been travelling the world since about 1991 and this is the longest he has been in one place since then. I thought it was awesome and he had some good stories. I wish I had gotten a chance to talk to him longer. He lives in Japan with his wife who is a Japanese woman, although oddly enough, they met in Tibet. Right now I think he's still on his backpacking trip around Japan. Even though he lives in Japan, he's spent a lot of time outside of Japan even during those 5 years.

Also, John inspired me to try a new hobby: Poi. While I was living in Taiwan, I saw this performed by a man on the street when I was in the hip part of Taipei which is called GongGuan. I got the impression that he did it fairly regularly, so if you're there, and in GongGuan, keep a look out for him. If you happen to know if he's still doing it or not, leave a comment to let people know.

Now, to explain what it is. Basically there is a ball attached to a rope which is attached to a strap-handle. There are two of them and you spin one in each hand. It was invented and attributed to the Maori tribe in New Zealand and I think most people outside of NZ (though not all) aspire to perform this feat with fire attached to the end of the chain. That is how I saw it performed in Taiwan. That is what John does some of the time. That's what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna spin fire. Don't worry, I'll wait till I know what I'm doing first.

The sunset over the Japan sea was amazing. With the flaps open the breeze felt great through our tent. We woke up at 4:30 in the morning, packed up our tent, bid farewell to John on the other side of camp and walked to the bus stop for our bus to leave at 6:10. We got up the the base camp, called Hokodate and checked to see if there were any places to stay at the lodge. There weren't, big surprise on a national holiday, haha. It took us about 4 hours to climb to the top, well, not technically the summit, but the highest part really worth climbing to, especially with our time constraints. At the summit the view is basically the same, but you can't see the awesome part as well. In the crater in the middle there is a lake. The lake is very beautiful and we could see clouds spiralling and swirling in and out of the crater- real clouds, it's not hot or volcanic anymore. It was amazing looking all around at all the fall colors (there's a word for that in Japanese: Koyou) and both being above the clouds and also as we walked down we were able to walk THROUGH the clouds. It was amazing to just stand and look around and just see the middle of a cloud. It was so different than being in a cloud in a plane. This way we could actually FEEL the cloud, which is indescribable. Being in a cloud is not the same as fog, contrary to what people say.

We met some other great people on the trip, and did other fun things, but those are the highlights and I need to go.

I would like to say that I hope you all get a chance to experience the joy of spending time in the sea, on the mountains, in the trees, and in the clouds. I hope you all experience the joys of meeting strange and kind people that are both foreign and alike. I hope you all meet new people with kindness and give kindness in return. Without these things, what would adventure be worth?

Wow. It's been a while since I've written. A lot's gone on. I kept wanting to write about it and then I would be off doing the next thing worthy of writing about and my list kept getting longer and longer. I kept thinking... how am I going to fit all of this into my next blog? Well, let me start off with giving you a source for supplementary information at times like these. Lindsey has a blog also and she's been great at keeping up with it since arriving here. Please go check it out because her stories also coincide with mine and add a different perspective than my own. Often they are different stories since we're not always together. The blog is found by clicking this link: http://lindseyscoop.blogspot.com

Before I start, here is a list of questions that I asked my classes in my self introductions... answers after the post:

1. Which is bigger, California or Japan?
2. Which is bigger, Miyagi Prefecture (where I live) or the state of Iowa?
3. Which has more people, Miyagi or Iowa?
4. Which has more people, NYC or Tokyo?
5. Which U.S. State is about the same size (sq. mile) as the whole of Japan?


From my perspective, these last couple weeks have been a whirlwind... starting with the moment we picked up Lindsey. Everyone here had been VERY excited to meet her. My supervisor and another person brought me to the airport to pick her up. Afterward, they brought us to a restaurant to have her first meal in Japan... shoes off inside the restaurant of course. The next day, we took her around to sign all the necessary paperwork for living in Japan. We also introduced her to many of the people I work with (or for) and also the mayor. The mayor immediately offered her a part-time job at what is the equivalent of an after school program for the elementary school kids in the village. She accepted. Then that same night was the night schedule for my own welcome party with the JHS Teachers. It is not automatically assumed in Japan that your spouse is invited to an event like this, but they were all excited to meet her, so she was invited along as well. It was a really great time.

The next day we played a game called "Park Golf" with all of the Kindy, Elementary, and Junior High School Teachers. It's like a mix between real golf and mini-putt. You hit the ball hard and it's a bigger ball than a golf ball. I'll get pictures on here as soon as possible.

Our town festival was that weekend as well. It was called ManYo Matsuri, which literally means 10,000 leaves Festival, but the 10,000 leaves thing has other significance in Japan in reference to some type of ancient tradition. They use this same word "ManYo" in reference to a type of ancient poetry as well. It was a great festival and I have lots of video that I will edit and give to you.

I feel like we've had back to back celebrations since Lindsey's been here. I feel like there were a lot before she got here even. There was one in Sendai, our region's capital city which is about 25km or 15mi. from Ohira, and at this one Lindsey got to meet a bunch of the other JETs and got to speak some English with someone other than me. We had a welcome party for Lindsey last week with the people from her work and my Supervisor and the Mayor. The Mayor made me drink a lot. After 1 1/2 beers they asked if I wanted more and I said no, that I'm good, so they proceeded to order me more beer... and a bottle of sake (rice wine). Later the Mayor asked how many beers I had. I told him that I was on my 3rd, he said, "No! CHALLENGE 5!"

Last night we had a welcome party for me thrown by my Elementary School Teachers. Lindsey was invited for this one as well. It was a great time. My Vice Principal (which is the guy that is really in charge in Japanese Schools, not the Principal) was a bit toasty and it took him about 15 minutes to find his keys in his man purse... don't worry he's not effeminate, all Japanese guys carry a man purse. I think it has to do with the RIDICULOUS amount of pocket change that we have to carry here. Oh... and don't worry about being toasty and looking for keys... they were his bicycle keys. His bike (like a lot of other bikes here) requires a key before it can start moving. Which, by the way, is still illegal to ride a bicycle while drunk, but when there's no one on the street or sidewalk in a small town or village, no one seems to care. I think the law is more for cities.

I've started work and it's been going great! Lindsey has too, but you can read more about her experience at work on her blog. I've done a bunch of Self-Introduction classes where I tell people about myself, the U.S. and Iowa.

My favorite so far has been the Kindy. I taught the kids the game Simon Says, but switched it from Simon Says to "Please... (insert action" That way instead of learning a useless phrase, they would learn the term "Please" at the same time. They loved it and I interspersed playing it through the whole class period and they loved it. Anytime something was the same as something else, I would make them do it. For example, I would say, "I like pizza. Do you like pizza?" they would then SCREAM their answer in excitement, "I LIKE PIZZA!!!!" I would then say, "The same? We are the same! So... Please... Jump! Please Sit! Please Jump Spin! Please MARIO JUMP!"

What really got them was when I would say, "Please frown." then the next on woul be just, "Smile," and if you remember your Simon Says rules, since I didn't say Simon says (or "Please" in this case) that means you can't smile or you lose! So the kids would all eventually crack under the pressure of not being allowed to smile!

By the end, with all the physical exertion I had put them through, they ended up sweating. I made KINDERGARTENERS sweat! They had a great time, though!

So, it's been a very good time here in Ohira, and I'll keep letting you know how it's going.

Here's the answers from earlier:

1. California
2. Iowa
3. Iowa
4. Tokyo
5. Montana

How'd you do?

Today IS fun. Let's start with the obvious: my wife arrives today. I am ridiculously excited after not seeing her for almost a month since I've been here. Just about 4 more hours until I see her. Okay, enough about that or else that's all I will talk about.

Today I am sitting in my Elementary School office and writing this during work. Yesterday, the Vice Principal/Head Teacher (who, by the way, is in charge- not the principal) told me to bring my swimming suit so that I could swim with the kids. I was not completely excited about it, not that I don't like to swim, but getting in the water half-dressed with a bunch of kids that are scared of talking to me (and simultaneously thinking I have rockstar status) was not an event I was relishing.

However, I answered very enthusiastically and with a smile that I woule LOVE to swim. So I did. And for some reason there were only two little kids when I went. It was right before lunch so I think the rest of the kids had left. Again, the kids were hesitant to speak at first, but then started splashing me with water and ganged up on me. I have now earned my rockstar status with two kids.

Then, later, some Junior High Girl who is on break came to the Elementary School, and while I'm not completely certain of this, I think she came just to meet me and talk with me. I'm a hero. I've been hearing that if you need to build up your self-esteem, just move to Japan and teach English to kids... although I hear the real fun starts when all the kids are there... but more on that when it happens. Anyway, it was great meeting her.

Another encouraging thing was that I met a woman today that was from Ohira and now lives in San Francisco. She went to grad school for teaching English as a second language. It was proof that my students can learn!

Finally, my favorite even of the day, and the MOST encouraging was when I called my Vice Principal (again, the head honcho) a liar. That's right, I said it, a liar. Okay, so now you're thinking... oh no, what has Luke done... alienating his coworkers... sometimes maybe he shouldn't speak up so much like he always does...

...But don't freak out. I called him that as a joke (within a funny context)... it was a big risk, since I didn't know if the humor would transfer between languages, especially to someone of higher societal rank than myself. However, with big risk often comes a big payoff. Not only did he laugh for about a minute straight, but so did the rest of the office! Now, why is this such a big deal? I have said a couple small jokes that usually they don't understand, or if they do, they smile at, but one of the hardest things to learn when studying a language is humor. Because of the cultural differences and the lack of a real understanding of the way the language really works it often comes off poorly.

If you think about it, humor is difficult even when you are speaking in your own language. Today I feel like I have broken through a brick wall. Not only that, but later in the conversation, I made another joke and they erupted even longer!

Now I feel that I am getting a grasp for the language. Today is a good day.

Now I will leave you with a Japanese kid's joke that people don't think is funny when they grow up:

Futon ga futon da.

Translation: The futon flew.

Since my last post (besides the tech one), I have been a bit busy, which is great! I hope you all enjoyed the video, and there will be more to come in the future. In fact, I just saw a REALLY scenic spot in Ohira (my village) last night. I am able to see my apartment, the seven mountains of the neighboring town of Taiwa (and then some more mountains past that), rice fields, and much of the village all from this high vantage point. I especially liked it because it was at sunset and the mountains were in profile within a sea of cherry-red sky. I was told that from that same spot grows many Cherry Blossoms in the springtime (known as Sakura in Japanese). I'll make sure you all get to see it in different seasons.

By the way, speaking with my Dad today, he didn't realize that I can see rice fields from my window and balcony which is a point worth mentioning. They're really beautiful to watch when the breeze blows over them and creates waves of green.

Also, I'd like to quick answer a couple questions that were posted about my living situation. I have a washing machine for my clothes, but you might have noticed in the video that I was drying my clothes in the kitchen. I can also do this on the balcony, but it had been raining as of late, so I was keeping them inside. Also, I forgot to show you my bedroom. It was messy anyway... haha, but anyway, I do have a REAL bed, which is not the standard to my understanding. Most people sleep on futons on the ground and roll them up for the day. This may be changing, but I'm not sure. My bed is somewhere between the size of a full and a twin in the US. Enough for two people to snuggle... which is good for the winter. They don't do insulation very well here, but I am set. I have more than most people in my job position have here. I have an air conditioner and heater, and also two space heaters- one electric and one kerosene. People love the kerosene ones here- it's much cheaper than electricity. And finally, size-wise, I have a big place. My apartment is considered family-size. I feel very lucky to be in the place I am. Oh, and yes, I do take my shoes off before I come into the apartment- and school for that matter, but I put a "clean" pair on there.

Moving on... Yes, some people have asked (some even worried) and I did feel the big earthquake that you might have heard about. It felt pretty big to me, but I guess I was in a *relatively* mild area where it struck. Although if it had been just one notch higher in our area, there would have been sirens, the TV would have had big warnings, and I would have been obligated to call my Board of Education and my JET Prefectural Advisor to let them know that I hadn't been injured. That's just to give you an idea of the scale that we're going on. Needless to say, I am fine, and so is everyone I know. I appreciate all of the concern from people about my safety.

Last Monday through Wednesday, I went to a nearby town called Tomiya for an orientation for all of the new ALTs in Miyagi. It was a fun time, and I got to meet all of the people from Group B that I hadn't seen yet, since I was part of Group A coming to Japan. There are a lot of really great people in our prefecture.

I had my first couple days at the Kindergarten here, although again, it is break-time until the 25th of this month. There was one kid there, though. I hung out with him. He was 4 years old and knew his abc's, how to count to seven in English (although he skips six), and also apple and banana. He seemed to really grasp and appreciate the idea that we speak different languages, and that that is why we have a slight communication barrier. It was still fun talking to him about the cartoons that he likes. I discovered that we both like Hayao Miyazaki. I like to think of Miyazaki as the Walt Disney of Japan, but different. For those of you who don't know who he is, he has a new movie coming out in theaters in the US that you might have seen advertised: Ponyo. I urge you to all watch it and tell me what you think! He is one of my favorite filmmakers. I can't wait to see Ponyo and it's already out on DVD here, but I will have to watch it in Japanese. Anyway, it's one of that kid's favorite movies, so I have extra incentive to see it... as if I needed any!

Yesterday there was a mini festival in my village. It was really only a festival for a section of the village. The big festival for the full village is this next weekend and I'm so excited for Lindsey to be here to see it with me! I feel like there are so many festivals all the time here and parties as well. I think it has something to do with how uptight they are all the time here. Work is work and play is play, and all work and no play makes Johnny the worker to apologize to for not working as hard as him. Don't get me wrong, I love the people and I enjoy being at work, and so do other people, but there is a difference in the way they approach their lives with regards to work that I hope to illustrate during my time here. Parties and festivals give people a chance to unwind, but then in the morning when they put on their suit, all of the previous night's goings-on are forgotten because it's work-time. This is all, I think, due to their constant view of themselves as part of a group, and not as an individual.

Which brings me to my last topic. I would like to share with you a few things to mull over until the next time I blog. Perhaps think about them as you are out doing your day to day things, and wonder how they would change the way you live if you felt differently about them.

To begin: in the Western world there is a saying, "The squeaky wheel gets the grease." In Japan there is a saying, "The nail that sticks out gets hammered down."

In the US, one of the first words that we learn to say and/or write is "I" or "me."
In Japan, a person very infrequently uses the word for "I" or "me." Instead they often favor speaking about themselves in the third person by using their name, or using a phrase "for my part" instead of "me."

In conjunction with that last thought, when learning to write, it takes until 2nd grade until they learn to write the word "family" which is a pretty complicated character, especially for a second grader. By the same token, the character for "I" or "me" is very easy to write, but children don't know or learn how to write it until they are in 6th grade.

People in the US often wonder how the Japanese can say... stick with the same company for their whole lives- and that's only one aspect of how deeply this sense of their being just a small part of a whole affects their whole lives.

Hello everyone, it's been about a week, or maybe a little over since I last posted. I wanted to let you all know that when classes start, I plan to get into a routine of posting about twice a week (or more when I feel especially inspired).

I have heard a couple mumblings about the fact that there are no dates stamped on the posts, and I'm working on it. I've been looking at the code that makes up the page and haven't figured it out yet, but if I can't, I may change the look of the blog in order to remedy the situation.

There is also an "archive" section on the right side of the page. If you want to look at an older post that I've made, you can look it up by month and the name of the blog.

At the bottom of each post, where it says the time that I posted, there is also a spot that says how many comments have been left. If you click on that, you can leave a comment yourself, if you so choose (and see what interesting things other people have written!).

If you have a google (gmail) or yahoo email service provider, please subscribe to the posts to be sure that you are notified when a new one comes out. You can do this by clicking on the "Posts RSS" tab at the top of the page.

For others that would like to subscribe, I am working on a way to get this to you as well. For now, please make sure that you all put the blog in your "Bookmarks" or "Favorites".

Thank you very much and if you have anymore questions or comments about the workings of the blog, or even about things that you would like me to comment on, please let me know.

Thank you,
Luke

For your viewing pleasure, I have created a gift for all of you to share. Please enjoy.

For those of you who haven't heard, you will be much surprised to learn that I am on the Village Hall Baseball Team. I was practically forced into it. One of the first things that my supervisor asked me when I got to Japan was, "Do you like Baseball?"- this is all in Japanese by the way. My supervisor doesn't speak a word of English.- I just responded... "ummm... I played it sometimes for fun in elementary school..." And then she informed me that I would be part of the team, just give her a few days to get it set up. Ecstatic I was... not.

I admit that being part of the baseball team is a good way to get involved in the community and to get to know people, but me... in sports? The Japanese people are obsessed with hobbies. Everyday someone asks what my hobby is, and usually they want to answer in some form of a sport. I tell them I was in Cross Country in High School, and it usually gets them off my back without needing to participate in another sport.

So, this last Tuesday was supposed to be my first practice. We got rained out... darn. There are also practices on Thursdays, so when nobody said anything all day, I thought maybe they forgot, and I got a little excited. Then I got a phone call that said someone would pick me up soon. My anxiety rose.

I got there and I was lent a glove and we started playing catch and I met a few of them and had the hobby conversation a few times. I caught the first throw. I threw back and the guy caught mine. Not too bad, I thought. Then they told me to go to second base, and my anxiety rose once again... it's showtime.

Then everybody else got in their positions and stood around while the pitcher threw some poorly placed throws to the batter. I realized that there were not enough for two teams, so we just switched out batting. I eventually batted and hit a few. In the field we would just dink around and talk about other stuff, and sometimes hobbies again. And then we were done. And then people asked if I like to drink. They said they like to drink after practice sometimes- not tonight, but probably next time.

Then it dawned on me. It wasn't so bad. I kind of liked being on the team. This wasn't high-school-kill-yourself-and-still-play-the-bench Sports, this was kind of fun! It didn't occur to me that in other countries, people actually have fun during sports instead of killing themselves to be the best. I will continue going to practice.

Changing the subject and moving on, My first day at the Elementary School was on Friday and so I met some of the Teachers and took a tour of the school. Oh, and I've had a request or two to tell more about my experiences teaching the kids, but I just wanted to let everyone know that while the Japanese have year round school, they do have some breaks, and right now is one of them. They will return on the 26th of August to classes, I think.

Continuing with the physical exertion theme, yesterday was quite an accomplishment for me. As it was my day off, I felt I had a few errands to run, and since I only have a bicycle, I readied myself for the task. I needed to buy some track pants and some slacks, both for school. The mall where I wanted to buy them was somewhere around 9.5 miles from where I live, or so I was told. I biked it... and survived! I biked back... and became the king of the world! Look out Japan, if I can bike 19 miles in a day just to get some pants, then I can survive learning your ridiculously difficult language, eat your smelliest "Nato", eat your octopus when served, and fight of a raid of your ninjas all without a tear or stain on my "Yukata." Your samurai are no match for my "Genki."

I'll admit, though, that it was a little difficult trying to figure out my pants-size in centimeters... but I did it! "Yata!!!" Also, I bought my first Manga today (a japanese-type comic book). I am determined to be able to read it from beginning to end. I think- and hope!- that it will help my Japanese ability tremendously.

In conclusion, here is a picture of a silly shirt that I bought by the silly Japanese who don't understand English.



P.S. I've dropped two or three belt-holes since moving to Japan. I'm feeling healthy as an ox... a healthy ox, anyway.