CashiSan

Little cuties

2005-06-30T14:56:00.000+09:00

Little cuties
Originally uploaded by pupcas.

The day Jenni left I was sitting in the train station waiting to go home when all of these little cuties showed up. They were on a field trip to the train station. I couldn't help but stand in the background and make funny faces at them the whole time

Fishing Hole

2005-06-30T14:55:00.000+09:00

Fishing Hole
Originally uploaded by pupcas.

Last Saturday I went finshing with some teacher. This was the first place we stoped at. No fish but still a breathtaking view. It was a ful spot to climb around as well. Nobody seemed to care the fish wouldn't bite.

More Fishing

2005-06-30T14:54:00.001+09:00

More Fishing
Originally uploaded by pupcas.

This was our third spot of the day. The second stop was the best for fishing. I am proud to say I caught the biggest fish that day. Unfortunatly it wasn't good for food. I would really love to eat a fish I caught my self. Very Japanese.

Mr. Hokoyawa's son seemed to be more into just throwing the bait into the ocean rather than actually fish. It didn't really matter though, we had tons of shrimp for bait and besides, he was having a blast.

Painting 1

2005-06-30T14:54:00.000+09:00

Painting 1
Originally uploaded by pupcas.

I thought I would throw some of my painting on this site so that some of you could see what sort of stuff I have been working on. I did this one the week that Sarah had her baby.

Painting 2

2005-06-30T14:53:00.000+09:00

Painting 2
Originally uploaded by pupcas.

Sorry these pics aren't so great. I just took quick shots while they were hanging on the wall. This is one of my bigger peices, and the most detailed as well.

Painting 3

2005-06-30T14:48:00.000+09:00

Painting 3
Originally uploaded by pupcas.

This is one of my more recent painting. I have two like this that are three small panels wide. They end up being about the same size of my arm span. I finished this one just two weeks ago.

Ahhh Birthdays

2005-06-30T08:36:00.000+09:00

Today is my 25th birthday and it is sort of wierd to be here. I am at work right now and don't have anything to do today because my students are taking finals. This afternoon one of the classes with finish there testing and then they will be watching Totoro in English. I think I will join in on the viewing to help add a little excitement to my work day. Other than that I have nothing to do. So that gives me about 5 hours to kill at my desk before the movie. I was thinking about duckingout and running home for about 30 min just for kicks. Luckily Tetsu just asked me if he could barrow my video out cord so now I have an excuse to leave for a bit. It's not like anyone will notice. Everyone is so busy with finals. I am pretty sure I'm the only one in the building with absolutly nothing to do that is work related.

My time here in Japan is quickly coming to an end and I have so many mixed emotions about it all. It will be hard to say good bye to so many wonderful people who have been so welcoming toward me. Still I am very much looking forward to once again being closer to the people that I love the most in this world. I know that I will miss the people her very much, but even more that that I think that I will miss the sureal overwhelming sensations that I get from these awe inspiring Japanese landscapes.

Last Friday I had the night to my self just as I do most friday nights. Around 9pm I decided to go for one of my night ride that I had been missing since I have only just started riding my bike again recently. I grabbed a Chu-Hi from the frindge, some tunes, and dug my my bike out of the cob webs. The night was a perfectly cool, clear summer night. I rode out to a quiet bridge that I have been to a dozen other times this past year. The bridge crosses the Souzu river at a wide calm point and is in the middle os a vally full of rice paddies. The water was like class and the stars were reflecting in the water just enought to light up a silouet of the mountians in the distance. I parked my bike on the side of the bridge, cracked open my drink and cranked up my music through my head phones. I couldn't help but dance up and down the bridge and sing along to the music at the top of my lungs the whole time. Pure joy and was just rushing through my veins. I could have stayed out there all night and enjoyed the sky but after an hour I noticed a cop car pacing around the area. I figured I should go home then in order to presearve the feeling and use it for fuel to paint back at home. It is moments like these that I will miss the most. Still, I find peace in knowing that these moments can exisit anywhere, not just in Japan.

A little help from a friend.

2005-06-09T18:28:00.000+09:00

A little help from a friend.
Originally uploaded by pupcas.

A perfect finish to a perfect vaction with perfect company.

Soooo Beautiful

2005-06-09T18:26:00.000+09:00

Soooo Beautiful
Originally uploaded by pupcas.

I can't even put words to it. No one has ever had a more perfect campsite.

Lovin it up!

2005-06-09T18:25:00.000+09:00

Lovin it up!
Originally uploaded by pupcas.

I can't say I know who I am anymore. This place has definatly changed me in ways I could have never imagined. What am I going to do without Dave to accompany me when I get back to the States. I can't say I have a new calling in life but I most definatly have a new pass time.

Tomb Raiders

2005-06-09T18:22:00.000+09:00

Tomb Raiders
Originally uploaded by pupcas.

I can almost smell the green moss just looking at this picture. It doesn't get more Japanese than some moss, bamboo and a couple of giant tombs to make you feel right at home.

Jenni's new best friends.

2005-06-09T18:19:00.000+09:00

Jenni's new best friends.
Originally uploaded by pupcas.

I couldn't tell you what there names are, and I don't think Jenni could either but I'm pritty sure she had a blast with them while I was off singing and dancing. By the end of the night she was given a cute little gift from one of them and went home with lots of wonderful pics to reminder her of there everlast frindship.

Going Home

2005-06-09T12:06:00.000+09:00

It's started. I have a little less than two months here and I have begun to prepare myself mentally for whatever may lie ahead. Mentally I am feeling more ready than ever and it seems to have just suddenly hit me like a train wreck.

My very dear friend Jenni was here for the last two weeks. Her time here seemed to put so many things into perspective for me. There may be a lot of thoughts that have still gone unfinished but there are many new thoughts that have begun and were very much wanting to. Jenni and I spent one week together in my beautiful little town as I showed her around and she asked me question after question about my time here. I had no idea how much these questions were what I needed to help me begin thinking about my time in Japan and my journey back home. I do know that nobody could have asked such questions of me without spending time with me here. I didn't realize the gift that her visit was to me in this way untill just after she flew out and it hit me like a ton of bricks. Returning to my empty appartment was nothing like it had been a million times before. It was more empty than it ever had been because I was reminded of what it is like to be living in a home surrounded by people who love you and want to share with you.

In these next few weeks I have taxes to do, paintings to paint, a house to pack up, a job to find, and what seems like a never ending stack of paperwork. Oh yeah, then I have my current job, the reason I am here in the first place. So with all of this I have no doubt the time will go fast for me. It's hard to feel lonely when you have so much to do and you know that the second the work is done you will be home again. So see ya soon. I'm sure I will write again but I just felt the urge to say that I love you all and I can't wait to give out hugs again.

Nobody's family is and awesome as mine!

2005-05-13T10:38:00.000+09:00

Being in Japan this last year has really helped me to appreciate my family more than ever before. I have always thought that my family was the best, but being away from them and communicating with them from a distance has helped to heighten my appreciation for all of the different relationships we share.

My Grandpa passed away recently and my vacation plans with my mother were turned upside down. Instead of her coming to Japan I rushed home to be with the family. After a literally crippling 38 hours of traveling I finally made it to my Grandfathers wake. I had no idea how I would physically make it through the evening but when I saw all of those beautiful familiar faces my spirits were quickly lifted. I was home. When we are all together there is no place on earth that is more comfortable. That night my sister read my grandfathers Eulogy for the wake. She perfectly captured our memories with her elegant words. Sometime I wish I had a gift for words as she does, but at least I have the priviledge of saying " that's my sister".

The ceremony was a sort of three day event full of food, stories, crying, and a little bit of freaking out as well. It was perfect, everything was done just right. I know it was a party he enjoyed. Imagining his presence there was no task, he was there. He was the happiest one to see us all together.

Kochi seascape

2005-04-27T15:08:00.000+09:00

Kochi seascape 2005
Originally uploaded by pupcas.

This is another great picture from our drive in the country last weekend. This is what we were facing while we took the picture of the ladies next to Dave's car. This place never quits. It seems like there is something new and wonderful to see around every corner.

David's Angels

2005-04-25T15:36:00.000+09:00

David's Angels
Originally uploaded by pupcas.

Just a silly picture of the girls infront of Dave's amazing car. It was a bit rocky and I was about a second away from falling so that's about as good as it gets for my modeling career on crutches.

My mom flys in on fri and so my next pictures should be of the two of us coasting the coast. Can't wait!

Karlee Rocks

2005-04-25T15:31:00.000+09:00

Karlee Rocks
Originally uploaded by pupcas.

Karlee basking on the rocks. Unfortunatly I didn't get to see this. I was stuck at the other end because the rocks were too much for me and my crutches. I can't wait to go back there soon when maybe I can walk on my own. It reminded me of climbing on the rocks with all my girlfriends on Madaline Island. It was a great memory but thinking about Madaline Island made me more anxious to go out on the rocks this past weekend. Anyway, its a great picture.

Yuko with Squid Yum!

2005-04-25T15:25:00.000+09:00

Yuko with Squid Yum!
Originally uploaded by pupcas.

Luckily we found a place for Yuko to get some fresh squid. Only one day dried! This was very obviously the highlight of her day. Unfortunately for the rest of us the car didn't smell so great the rest of the day.

Kochi ricefield

2005-04-25T15:23:00.000+09:00

Kochi ricefield
Originally uploaded by pupcas.

The following pictures are from our Sunday drive in the country. The four of us, Dave, Karlee, Yuko and I have gotten into this new weekend habit of exploring our little part of the world. The second the sun started smiling a little bit more we became addicted and haven't been able to stay away from those country roads. It's the beginning of the season and the rice fields are beautiful. The little green frogs are loving the paddys and you can hear them singing away. Personally, I like the way the mountians show thier reflections on top of the perfectly symetrical rice fields.

Cute Little Principal Story #3

2005-04-20T16:19:00.000+09:00

Today it was raining hard and I had to walk to school on my crutches. I put on a semi waterproof jacket and tied the hood on tight. Still it didn't matter. I had to go slow because I didn't want to slip so I was just getting soaked. I was about half way when my Principal came out to meet me with an umbrella. He took my bag and slowly walked me into the building. Once we got there I looked at him and noticed that he was easily three times more wet that I was. What a cute little Principal.

Cute Little Principal Story #2

2005-04-20T16:06:00.000+09:00

Yesterday, the same day he gave me the sandwich, he decided to sit next to me at lunch. I like it when he does this because he is fun to talk with but I know that it bugs the Japanese English teachers because he is always asking them to translate everything. Yesterday was good though because none of the English teachers were around so we both had to try a little bit harder.

Anyways, we usually always have rice with our lunches. Also our lunches are usually in really big portions. But for some reason yesterday there didn't seem to be as much food as there usually is and there was no rice. Even weirder was that everyone got a big doughnut for dessert and we usually only get dessert on special days. So the Principal sits down with me and he is all confused because the lunch is small and he wants rice. He asks me, "where's the rice", as if I have any clue at all. I think he thought that maybe they forgot to put it out or something. Anyway, I just responded " we get doughnuts instead", and he thought this was the funniest thing he had ever heard. As more staff walked into to staff lunch room he quickly stopped them to say that we had doughnuts instead of rice. He must have explained it about 8 times and every time it was equally funny to him. I'm glad he got so much mileage out of my comment. I was also glad to have a doughnut instead of rice.

Ohaiyo

2005-04-19T08:31:00.000+09:00

Every morning at work we have a short 5 to 10 minute staff meeting just to let everyone in on the days events. I go to these meeting every morning but it doesn't really matter. I don't know what's going on so I guess once again that leaves me clueless about the days events. I just have to hope I don't miss anything important. Yesterday was a bit of a disaster as far as knowing what was going on. Apparently we had this big meeting in the afternoon and the whole staff was to get up and formally introduce ourselves to the members of the PTA. Unfortunately nobody told me this and I didn't have anything prepared in Japanese. Also I didn't have an interpreter. I felt so stupid. I just stood there and blurted out some English facts about myself to a gym full of adults, bowed, and then stepped back into line with the other teachers. My vice principal just gave me this little smirk and I'm sure my face turned all red from embarrassment. Oh well, at least it was over fast.

So just a little bit ago, right after our meeting this morning my Principal gets up and asks me if I want to eat. I was very confused because work had just started about 15 minutes ago and I didn't understand why the principal would ask me in front of the whole staff if I wanted to eat something. I just said okay because I didn't want to get yelled at by the music teacher again for not responding to the Principal properly. Then I looked at him and said eat what. It's hard for me to just agree to eat here sometimes because you never know what you are going to get. He quickly went back to his office and came back a moment later with two little sandwiches. One egg salad and one tuna. They were cut into triangles and even had the crust cut off ( actually this is common here for sandwiches). I really wasn't hungry but something told me I was suppose to eat them right away. I felt funny though just eating these sandwiches at 8:15 in the morning with all of the staff still sitting around. I took the sandwiches into the coffee room and quickly ate them. A bit awkward but all in all a nice surprise. It is always nice to start out the day with a little surprise.

Cherry blossom petal shower.

2005-04-18T16:16:00.000+09:00

Paint Shop
Originally uploaded by pupcas.

The night of the accident.

2005-04-18T16:14:00.001+09:00

P1010180
Originally uploaded by pupcas.

The morning after.

2005-04-18T16:14:00.000+09:00

P1010181
Originally uploaded by pupcas.

Gumby or Batwoman???

2005-04-18T16:13:00.000+09:00

P1010043
Originally uploaded by pupcas.

Yummy Flesh Fish!!!

2005-04-18T16:12:00.000+09:00

P1010041
Originally uploaded by pupcas.

Pictures

2005-04-15T10:59:00.000+09:00

For some reason my uploading program doesn't like the pictures I've been sending. I hope to get onto this flicker site that Shawna uses and I will be posting many pictures very soon. Just sit tight for now. I know you are have a hard time controlling yourself but I promise I am doing my best.

Ohamani

2005-04-12T10:15:00.000+09:00

What a beautiful time of the year. The Cherry blossoms are finally here. These two weeks are anticipated by Japanese people all year. Even though I have a bum leg at the moment I have still been able to get in plenty of time under the Cherry Blossoms. Last Tuesday a bunch of us went out at night and had a big Japanese style BBQ under the blossoms and drank lots of cherry wine and Sake. It was a wonderful Japanese experience.

On Saturday Dave, Karlee and I decided we would go on a road trip toward the beach in Kochi in order to find the best Cherry viewing place between here and there. The drive is a little over an hour and once we got to the beach we concluded that the best Cherry viewing place is actually just out my back door. Lucky me!

Ohanami is the Japanese word for Blossom Viewing Party. It seems to me that the Japanese have mastered the skill of appreciating the spring time. I can't say I have ever taken an evening to sit and have a picnic under a magnolia tree. Actually, I can't say that I have ever taken much time to enjoy the new vibrant life that emerges during the spring season. I have never thought much of the miracle of it all. Hopefully I can hold onto this appreciation of spring when it comes around next year.

Gray

2005-04-12T10:03:00.000+09:00

I just need to take a moment to be irritated. I am incredibly board at work because there is absolutely nothing for me to do. I think I am going to hobble down to the nurses office in few and put my leg up for a while. This desk is just making me more and more uncomfortable and my foot feels like it is going to blow up at any moment. I can't wait for lunch time so that I can take some more pain killers.

In addition to that I want to throw this computer out the window. For some reason none of my picture will post onto my blog and it is just irritating me more.

Oh yeah, it's raining, walking home with crutches should be better than Christmas morning.

My Left Foot

2005-04-05T10:17:00.000+09:00

Like the improvements I recently made to my left foot. I just couldn't handle having such nice looking feet any longer. It was really going to my head and I thought I should do something about it. So luckily I don't have that problem any more.

I was playing basketball Saturday night when I went up for a rebound and rolled my ankle in on the way down. My left ankle isn't too strong because I broke it playing basketball in high school so this rolling action has been known to happen from time to time. Only this time my ankle decided to quit on me. After two visits to the doctor and several hours of poking and pulling they were finally able to tell me the good news. I have a chipped bone fragments and two torn ligaments awaiting surgery. The whole healing process should take a pretty long time so don't worry, all of my friends and family back home should get a chance to watch me hobble around.

Right now I just have to make a decision about where I want the surgery done. In Japan or in America. People here seem to think I should have it done in the States but I'm a bit worried about my insurance situation so it's a tough call. Personally I would much rather have it done back home but it may not be the best to wait so long. Anyway, I've got 6 weeks in a cast to make a decision. I'll keep you posted.

I don't even want to think about how this is going to effect all of my vacation plans. I do know that that week long hiking trip in Kushu is out. I guess I'll have to get a car to go there after all. As long as my money holds out after all the extra expenses I will be taking on soon.

Okay maybe I should get going before this turns into too much of a pity party. I just figured if I can complain to anyone it would be my blog. I am reserving the right in advance to post more complaints about my current situation. Besides, this is my blog, you don't have to read it.

In the mean time take care of your ankles.

2005-03-18T10:32:00.000+09:00

I recomend the bamboo, I'm just not that into fish heads.

Yummy!

2005-03-18T10:10:00.001+09:00

One of my co-workers recently told me that that his 1 1/2 year old son likes English very much and that his favorite word is yummy. I'm not sure what is more cute, a grown Japanese man telling me how much his baby likes English or the cute little Japanese baby yelling yummy.

Anyway I just wanted to post these pictures of some Japanese cuisine. I was just wondering when I actually started to look forward to going out to eat and being served a large plate of raw beef. This has become my favorite meal here (we cook it ourselves by the way). Also I found this other picture humorous. It's not abnormal to be served a plate this size with only a couple of little things on it. This one has two little fish, a couple of funny green asparagus like things and a piece of bamboo. All to be consumed. I swear these people eat anything and then they will even tell you it's delicious. I still haven't figured out if they are serious or playing a joke on me. Meanwhile I can't help thinking why such a big plate?

2005-03-18T10:10:00.000+09:00

BEEF, it's what's for dinner!

2005-03-18T09:13:00.000+09:00

Camera shy

Shawna always has better titles than me.

2005-03-18T09:02:00.000+09:00

What kind of place encourages its workers to go out and drink heavily until 1 in the morning and then go to work at 8 am? It's a good thing we don't operate heavy machinery but still, were teachers for cryin out loud. At least I have the comfort of looking around the staff room and knowing that everyone here feels exactly the same way I do this morning. I guarantee you that anything the students learn today is not going to be from there teachers.

My hangover this morning is somewhere between "am I still drunk" and "I wish I could cut my head off to eliminate the pounding". What's with that "am I still drunk" thing anyway? I wonder because I know I couldn't walk a strait line at the moment. I'm just not sure if it's because I still have liquor in my system or if it's simply sheer laziness and I lack to effort to try and walk strait. Anyway it doesn't matter this morning because I am going to be sitting at my desk for the next three hours.

So I was thinking that maybe it would be a good idea if Americans weren't introduced to Japanese drinking customs. Basically when your out drinking in Japan you never have an empty glass. Actually its not even close to empty, its always full. Its custom for the party your with to always pour more for each other. If your glass is full it doesn't matter, you are expected to have a sip so that they can fill it to the top again. Also if you are at a bar and your glass is not totally full you can count on the bartender to fill it up the second your head is turned. All of this makes it impossible to ever count your drinks. It also makes it impossible for the bartender to count your drinks which is why they just pull a price out of a hat when your ready to leave. Last night this women couldn't decide if I owed her 10 or 20 dollars so we pushed the money back and forth for a while until I just got up and left. I gave her 20 in case your wondering. I don't want anyone in this tiny town thinking I'm cheap.

Anyway I was thinking that maybe it would be good not to let Americans in on this type of behavior. It's just that I think most of us have a problem with saying when enough is enough. I would also say that it's a pretty American thing to always want more. I'm pretty sure that the concept of an addiction was created by Americans. Addictions are usually something that we create to compensate for a lack of genuine love in our lives. And the American society is one that always wants things bigger and better. Which is a concept, should you choose to believe in it, that would then create the idea that the love you have in your life isn't big enough. So now your an addict, choose your poison, sex, food, drugs, rock and roll. Oh so many choices.

Okay, I think I have said enough this morning. Maybe I've given you something to chew on this morning. I am going to start right now by saying enough is enough and stop writing.

Sharing the wealth.

2005-03-14T15:03:00.000+09:00

I just thought that I should let everyone know that I have now passed on the yogurt. I had some friends come down from the city and spend the weekend with me. On Sunday morning we all slowly woke up hanging out in the kitchen together drinking coffee. It was a perfect morning and what made it even better was the I was over the stove preparing my new apple pancakes that I have been addicted to lately. Most of my close friends back home all know that I am never happier than when I am cooking and dancing over the stove with loved ones near by. So the pancakes were lovely and the company was better but I think that the best part of the morning was when my friends decided to give my homemade yogurt a try. I was sure to make about five jars of it before they came so that I could show them how to make their own and pass on the love. Sure enough they thought the yogurt was great and they each took a jar home for themselves. Now Rina and Louise can spread the yogurt all over Matsuyama. And who knows maybe Louise will even take some yogurt back to England with her. Just imagine the possibilities.

A new little buddy.

2005-03-09T09:53:00.000+09:00

So Sarah my old roommate finally had her baby. Little Cobe was born Sun. Around noonish from what I understand. Thanks to my friends Jenni and Shawna I have sort of been able to keep up with the news. The whole thing started Friday night, around 1 am Tokyo time, when Shawna emailed my phone to let me know that Sarah went into labor. I was so excited I could hardly sleep that night. The next day I was too anxious to wait for the details so I called around to find out the news but nobody seemed to know anything.

I was having a dinner party Saturday night so I figured I would turn it into a birthday party. I made a point of announcing the news to everyone that showed, figuring it gave us all a good excuse to celebrate. I also called my cousin Jason who's birthday was also on Friday and told him that he was sharing a birthday with my roommates new little babe whose name I didn't know yet. I'm not really sure how much he cared but he did a good job sounding excited and seemed grateful that I called from Japan.

In no time the weekend passes and I didn't hear a word about the kid. Until I crawled into bed Sunday night and notice that I missed a message from Shawna. False labor. I couldn't help but laugh at all the fuss I had made with my friends thinking that Sarah had already had her baby two days prior.

So naturally when Jenni called me a 4:30 in the morning on Monday I wasn't just out of it because it was early but I had already celebrated and didn't know how to react at this point. Not to mention when I picked up the phone from my deep sleep she shouted "It's a boy!" which we already knew so I was left sort of dazed and confused to say the least. I suppose when you wake someone up at four in the morning your probably going to get a sleepy but honest reaction. Anyways congrats to Sarah and Nixon. I can't wait to get home and step in with my duties as cool aunt Cassie.

And by the way Shawna, don't worry too much. I'm single and don't have any kids so I will still be needing happy hours. Especially if my job is anything like it was last year.

Average days

2005-03-04T13:31:00.000+09:00

It's just another day and work and I have once again decided to slack off. This is becoming a habit here that I rather enjoy. I am not used to enjoying laziness at work but it comes so naturally here. See there really isn't very much for me to do in the first place. Some months are busy and others are completely dead. I have been in a dead patch for a long time and am becoming a little too comfortable in it. Lately I have only been going to maybe two or three classes a day because it is the end of the school year. So during the rest of the time I sit at my desk and try to look busy. Most of the time I end up surfing the net, studying Japanese or writing in my journal. I'm not really suppose to be on line so much but they don't say anything because any authority over me here doesn't speak English and they know that there isn't anything for me to do anyway. I only have to work when other English teachers ask me to, so if they don't ask I get online.

I know many people who would love a job like this but I am starting to feeling like going so long without any challenges is getting the best of me. I don't want to move back to that states and have zero ambition. I actually had the thought of moving back in with my mother this morning so that I could relax for a bit after I leave Japan. Relax from what, this is a vacation!?!

Not to mention I am currently ditching my clean up duties to write this blurb about laziness. I figure if your going to do something you might as well do it right. We clean every day, they won't miss me too much. Besides, nothing ever really got cleaned by just pushing around a damp towel.

Are aprons that comfortable?

2005-03-01T14:34:00.000+09:00

I don't know why but I recently noticed how many women walk around town here with their aprons on. Actually its not that I just noticed it, I have always noticed it but for some reason I never thought twice about it until now. Women of all ages walk around town with their aprons on as if its perfectly normal street attire. Its as if they are saying, yes I am a house wife and I'm sorry but I am too busy to take the time to hang up my apron before I leave the house. I'm glad that nobody here is too self conscience to where their aprons around town. I just wanted to share this with you. I hope you find it as amusing as I do.

Spelling ?!#&!%

2005-02-16T15:33:00.000+09:00

It's no secret that I am a horrible speller. It's just not a gift of mine. When I play the game cranium you can always count on me to act something out or draw a picture for you to guess, but please don't ask me to rearrange letters. And while were on the subject of games, I also hate scrabble. I know lots of people that love it, including my mother and my sister. Good for you if like scrabble, just don't ask me to play, I haven't a chance in the world at winning so forget it. I often wonder what I am doing teaching English in Japan, I don't know all the names of different grammatical points, and I'm always asking the Japanese teachers how to spell different English words. Okay, maybe it's not as bad as I say it is, most Americans have horrible grammar, and I am teaching low level English so actually I get along fine.

My spelling shortcomings are most noticeable to me when my dear loving friends point them out. I love writing letters but I rarely check them over. I have always known that I'm a bad speller, it's no surprise to me, so when other people make joking comments about it I always seem to sink down into my chair. Nobody has ever corrected my spelling to ridicule me, only to show me how it is humorous to them, in the most loving way possible. Still I can't help but be embarrassed about it from time to time. So I'm working on it, not my spelling but just dealing with the fact that I suck at it. I'm writing this blog right? That's a step, and I'm not going to stop writing letters to my friends either, I enjoy it too much.

Then earlier today I noticed how much I enjoy grading vocabulary test. I realized I get the same enjoyment out of my students spelling errors as many of my friends must get out of my own silly mistakes.

This week some of the vocabulary words for level one English are: arrive, island, the Statue of Liberty, received, last, and the Empire State Building. You may have figured out that this chapter is about Mike's trip to New York City, but why do the Empire State Building and the Statue of Liberty have to be on the vocab test? It just makes me feel bad for marking them wrong when they misspell "Statue". On the other hand I don't have a problem with marking them wrong when they spell arrived, allived, or island isrand. I could go on from there. Last becomes rast, received becomes lecieved and so on. It's not there fault that the Japanese language doesn't have an rrrrrrrr sound. Their ears and tongues are just not trained for such crazy sounds. I don't blame them, and I'm not laughing at them either because I know it's not their fault. The whole thing just makes me smile a bit and so I enjoy my job a little but more. Maybe that's all my friends are doing when they read my horrible spelling. Just enjoying the letter a little bit more. After all, it's not my fault that me ears weren't trained right (at least that's what I have decided), and I can promise that it isn't going to get any better while I`m living in Japan.

Yogurt Craze!

2005-02-15T13:11:00.000+09:00

I may be wrong but I think that yogurt is sort of this new phenomena in Japan. When I first arrived in Japan there where many parties thrown in my honor, welcoming me to the town. At one particular party I remember the principle of Johen Jr. High and the superintendent of the Board of Education going around bragging about how long they have had their yogurt growing. It was some sort of strange male competition between the two of them that I really didn't understand. One said his was growing for 5 years and the other claimed to have a whopping 7 year old yogurt. Wow, what amazing accomplishments. I found the whole thing to be somewhat humorous and sort of enjoyed that they were trying to impress me with their vast knowledge of yogurt growth.

Over time, talk of growing yogurt sort of phased out until the other day at lunch. Apparently the the home economics teacher and the school nurse also believe that growing yogurt is the new craze. I expressed a mild interest in their lunch conversation, which is not always the wisest thing to do, and sure enough today I was given the gift of yogurt. See, in Japan, as a foreigner, when you say that you are interested in something, or something looks nice, expect a gift or a lesson in the near future. The other day I told a teacher I liked her house coat she made and a week later she brought me my own.

So, this morning the home economics teacher came over to my desk with some of her yogurt and some milk. We mixed it together and I am to let it sit for 10 hours. Then a few minutes ago the school nurse called me into her office and gave me a jar of yogurt she made and explained how to make it grow. I'm just worried I'm going to screw this up. Shouldn't I put it in the fridge? I'm not sure because once again, their instructions were in Japanese. I'm also worried that these two teachers may not know the other gave me yogurt. Should I be hiding my jars of yogurt so that they both believe that they were the only ones to give me the gift of yogurt. I'm putting one jar in the fridge and the fermenting one in my desk drawer so the school nurse doesn't see it. I already excepted both gifts, was that wrong of me? I've suddenly become a yogurt hog, and I didn't even ask for any. What's happening to me. I can't wait until school is over so I can quietly sneak out of here with my two jars of yogurt and that will be that.

From now on I am a new person and whenever I'm low on yogurt I just take a spoonful of what I have, mix it with milk and overnight my cute little pet yogurt has grown up to be a big girl yogurt. I can decorate her with any fruit I like and never go hungry for yogurt again. Maybe some day I can brag about my 7 year old yogurt as well, now wouldn't that would be something.

2005-02-10T16:23:00.001+09:00

Tiny little peaceful snowmen.

2005-02-10T16:23:00.000+09:00

My pimpin ride.

Coming of Age

2005-02-10T16:18:00.000+09:00

I’ve been listening to David Bowie all week at work. Not average Bowie but the soundtrack to The Aquatic life of Steve Zizzon. I highly recommend it; it is a wonderful mix of instrumental, classic Bowie, Bowie in French acoustic, and just a touch of some old school Casio keyboard jams. I don’t know if people at work think it’s rude to always have head phones in but let’s be honest, they all speak Japanese so it’s not like we have a lot to say to each other.
I wanted to toot my own horn a bit and tell you about this crazy adventure I went on with my Ni Nensai students last Friday. It was coming of age day and so we were embarking on a journey with all the students who were about to enter adulthood (in other words, 12 year olds.) I was asked to join the mission. We left school at 8:30 in the morning on our bikes, heading for Mt. Saseyama. Saseyama is 19 km away, up and down lots of foot hills. For those of you who don’t know, Japan really doesn’t have any flat land. Whatever flat land they do have has become a city because they don’t have a lot of flat land for building and japan has more people per square km than almost any other country. Anyway, just a side note, so we biked 19 km and the best part was that I got to show off my beautiful old grandma bike with the hand painted flames on the back and the 50% off sign on the front basket. I think everyone liked it. By 10:30 we got to the base of the mountain and ditched our bikes. The hike up the mountain was another 8km and took 2 ½ hours. We could have made a little better time but some of us had to stop when we hit snow in order to make mini snowmen and of course chuck a few snowballs at each other as well. This makes my second snowball fight in Japan with students of mine. The first one was by far the best but either way I just love the way that we are all allowed to throw snowballs at each other as much as we want and there’s never any pouting or whining. We just clobber each other and deal with it. That would never happen in the states, everyone is so paranoid. We weren’t even allowed to touch snow at the schools I went to growing up.
So we made it to the top of the mountain, ate lunch and worked our way back down to the bikes. At 5:30 in the evening we finally made it back to school. Everyone was ready to collapse to the floor by the time we got back but at the same time we all had such a great sense of accomplishment. I would have never dreamt of doing something like that on my own. Further more I can’t imagine an entire class of students in the states taking the day off to go on a marathon together. Too many students would come up with excuses as to why they can’t go. I find it irritating how many excuses we make for ourselves sometimes. Well anyway, when the day was done we had all biked 38 km and hiked another 16 up and down a mountain together. My body was killing me the next day but it was all worth it just throw some more snowballs and show off my sweet ride.

2005-02-08T15:14:00.000+09:00

Another cute little Japanese man.

2005-02-08T15:04:00.000+09:00

Out on the town with my Ekaiwa class.

2005-02-08T15:02:00.000+09:00

Cute little Japanese Men.

2005-02-08T14:56:00.000+09:00

The porcelain squatter

Simple and Perfect.

2005-02-08T14:36:00.000+09:00

Today I received a wonderful package in the mail from an old, dear friend. One of the best things about getting the package was that it was delivered to me in the middle of my work day. It was originally sent to my house but since I wasn't home they couldn't leave it there. I took the notice to my work and a co-worker helped me to track it down. One of the wonderful things about the Japanese postal system is that if you were not home to receive your package you can simply call them up in the middle of your work day and say "I'm not home right now but I'm at work so if you could please just bring it to me here that would be great." My package arrived at exactly the time my friend asked them to deliver it and I was immediately the envy of the office. Tetsu, my friend who made the call to the post office for me, pulled up a chair as I slowly unwrapped my mystery box. He seemed to be more excited than I was and it made the whole experience that much more joyful. Inside the box was a water bottle full of little goodies. It was all wonderful and reminded me of my mother's wonderful gift for stuffing our stockings at Christmas time. Still, I would have to say that my favorite little goodie in the bottle was a little package of soap strips. I have never seen these before so for those of you who are in the same boat they are a package of dry soap sheets, almost like those Listerine breath strips, but these wash your hands. You just place one in your hand, get your hands wet, and lather up.

My friend Sarah I'm sure has no idea how wonderful these are to have in a place like Japan. Nearly every day I deal with the frustration of no soap or paper towels in the bathroom. It's hard enough that they don't have hot running water in the dead of winter but at the same time public bathrooms often lack soap and paper towels. Public bathrooms in most parts of Japan are to be avoided at all costs. You can either have a wonderful experience or a horrible one.

A wonderful experience in a public bathroom means this. Finding a western toilet for starters, but not so western in the sense that these toilets have sound affects to cover up any unpleasant noises your body might make. Just push the little music note button and you will hear the electric sound of water rushing just enough to cover up some other private noises your body may be making. Better yet, many of these high tech potties also have the luxury of heated seats. There is nothing worse than having do pull down your pants to the cold air until you feel that lovely heated toilet seat on your tush. Lastly no musical heated toilet would be complete without a bidet to help you feel just a little bit fresher after the deed is done. That would be a wonderful experience in a Japanese bathroom.

A not so wonderful experience in a Japanese bathroom is what you will get probably 8 out of 10 times. I'm sure you have heard of these lovely eastern inventions before, I believe many people call them squatters. It took a while to get used to them. I'm really not a fan but they get the job done. Just imagine a urinal in the ground instead of the wall. That's all I'm going to say, I think everyone can figure the rest out enough to know that it's not the most preferred method. So the beginning of your bathroom experience begins with squatting and as I mentioned earlier it is usually finished with wet, cold, unsanitary hands due to no soap, no hot water, and no paper towels.

So I guess I just wanted to thank my friend Sarah. The little soap strips will really help to make these not so pleasant trips to the bathroom a little more pleasant. Thanks Sarah for giving me a gift that is so so simple but will be loved so so much.

The Unmacho MAN

2005-01-19T15:56:00.000+09:00

I am caught in a world that seems to mix flamboyance with chauvinism in the most intriguing way. It seems as though many of the men I have met here in Japan have a wonderful sense of what is cute and at the same time strutting there male chauvinism with no shame. Let me illustrate.
In this country a snack bar is not what most would think it is. When I think of a snack bar I would probably think a couple of beers, maybe some wings or fries. Yeah, not really the same thing in Japan. Some of my friends and I were wandering around my lovely little town shortly after I arrived, looking for a decent bar, when we decided to check out Rokoko, the snack bar. We sit down and suddenly, at the end of the table is a very beautiful Japanese woman, ready to pour our drinks and lite our cigarettes. While I’m sitting thinking why is this woman sitting with us, we don’t even speak the same language, I soon realize, oh, she’s my hostess. Just as I was taking another sip of my drink she decided to pour a glass for herself, at my expense of course. I’m sure this would have all been great if I was into Japanese women, but unfortunately it’s not the sort of thing I really care get into let alone pay for. Needless to say the whole thing was a pretty funny misunderstanding on my part. The thing that floors me so much is that Japan is crawling with these places and furthermore they are considered just every day bars (mostly for men), and not to be looked down upon.
On the other side of the coin is that these same men have no problem pointing out cute kids, beautiful flowers, and even fluffy cartoon characters. Just a few days ago I had one of my co-workers, a buff P.E. teacher, show me a new pen he was given by one of his students. The pen was decorated with some cuddly little Japanese cartoon character and had a big three dimensional cartoon on top to push for the pen to come out. He pointed at the pen and with the proudest look on his face said “so cute”, as if it was the only English he knew. I smiled so big and tried my hardest to hold back the laughter. He had no idea how much he had just made my day.
So what’s my point, well to be honest I’m not sure. All I know is that I'm enjoying watching these two male attitudes co-existing. There is no need to be macho here. You can be cute and still be a man. It was just a thought I wanted to share. I hope you made it though to the end, thanks for reading.

2005-01-19T15:52:00.000+09:00

Snowfall at Mt. Fuji

2005-01-19T12:26:00.000+09:00

Tokyo Tower lit up for the new year.

2005-01-19T12:24:00.000+09:00

Kevin and I at a Temple in Kyoto.

2004-11-25T19:26:00.000+09:00

Yummy! Japanese BBQ!

Back from my American lifestyle

2004-11-25T18:57:00.000+09:00

It seems like my trip to that states was just a dream it flew by so fast. Still it was a sweet dream. I am once again back in the quiet and I am falling in love with this place all over again. Everyone seemed so excited to see my safe return to Johen, in some ways they seemed more excited than many of the loved ones I greeted on my trip home. It is sort of strange when I think about it but good at the same time, considering this is where I will be staying for a while yet. There is something about the people here that makes me so full of joy. There bright attitudes seem to rub off on me in the most satisfying way. I hope to soak up a lot more of this before it is time to go home again.

Don't get me wrong, my time home was incredibly wonderful, still there was something nice about knowing that I was returning to Japan. Nothing has ended, I was simply given this wonderful opportunity to drop in on some the people I love the most in this world.

Well I guess there was one minor set back when I went home. That is with all of my cravings. I thought I would have a problem getting them all in because there were so many, but that was hardly the issue. Instead my stomach seemed to reject all the food I had been daydreaming about for months. It must be the Japanese school lunches. They are so grotesquely healthy that my system couldn't seem to handle anything American.

That's it for now, to all my friends and family I hope you have the happiest Thanksgiving. I love you all very much. Also you should know that Kevin just booked a flight and will be arriving on Christmas day so it looks like I won't be alone for the holidays after all.

2004-11-02T10:58:00.000+09:00

At the tea ceremony in Yoshida-cho.

2004-11-02T10:47:00.000+09:00

Back home again.

2004-11-02T10:46:00.000+09:00

Would ya look at the obi on her!

Simple Update

2004-11-02T10:22:00.000+09:00

Hey friends, I wanted to get a couple pictures up here to show you all what I've been doing with my time.

Kodo is probably the most famous Japanese percussion group in the world. I had the pleasure of seeing them perform once when I was much younger in Chicago and was so excited to see them again in their home country. This isn't the only percussion event I have enjoyed lately. Actually my last three weekends have been full of giant taiko drums and lots of Japanese men shouting and shaking their tassels. I really couldn't ask for more.

In addition to the taiko overdose I had the opportunity to go to a formal tea ceremony last weekend. I would say over all the tea ceremony went okay. I was a bit nervous about doing everything wrong and did manage to drop my mochi on the floor. No big deal though, only a couple of gaijin noticed and we all had a bit of a laugh over it. Beside the stupid gaijin incident I was absolutely overwhelmed by all of the beautiful kimonos. This was my first time being in a place with so many beautiful kimonos at once. It was hard to keep my camera in it's case.

2004-11-02T10:20:00.000+09:00

Look at those men in thier cute little diapers. I could watch this every day.

2004-11-02T10:18:00.000+09:00

Fred, Viv and I at the Kodo show in uwa.

2004-10-20T15:54:00.000+09:00

Oban Festival in Matsuyama

2004-10-20T15:52:00.000+09:00

A night on the beach with the wild boars

Bad Dreams

2004-10-18T13:46:00.000+09:00

I woke up in a complete panic the other night.

I'm going home to the states in a few weeks to hopefully soak up some lovin' from my friends and family. I know I have mentioned in the past, stories about some of the food here. It's not that it isn't good, there are many things that I know I will be craving for years to come after I move back home. It's just that sometimes there is food set before me that in order to swallow, takes more bravery than I have ever known. Plus there are so many foods that I am craving from the states. Just the thought of a bacon cheeseburger makes my heart melt and my knees weak. I think you get the idea.

So this dream I had. I woke up in a panic. It was the night before my flight back to the land of the rising sun after a week of actual heartfelt conversation with English speaking people. Then suddenly it dawns on me that I have completely forgotten to satisfy all of my greasy American food cravings. This is possibly the worst thing the could happen at this point. In a complete frenzy I begin to binge like there is a million dollars at stake. What a horrible dream, thank God that's all it was. I have now made a list of cravings to prevent this from becoming reality. It is the least I can do to insure that my trip home will be a happy one.

2004-10-05T16:31:00.000+09:00

struttin' the streets of Shibuya

Yes, I have electricity.

2004-10-05T16:08:00.000+09:00

I know that the nearest movie theater is an hour away, and I have yet to see a plain fly over head but it's not as bad as some would think. All I have to do is get on my beautiful ride, a bike about as old as I am with the rust brilliantly covered up by acrylic flames, and cruise down the road. I have chosen Prince as my soundtrack to most bike rides, it seems to clash in the same wonderful way everything else does here. For example I live in a town of 6,000 yet for some reason the people have decides to build a baseball stadium overlooking the town that could seat at least half of us. What a brilliant idea! I have been taking a bit too much pleasure in how wonderfully odd things are here. I may not get to communicate with people too much, but that is probably a good thing, I might just end up offending the whole town by accident.

2004-10-05T15:59:00.000+09:00

Cruising the town on my beautiful ride.

2004-10-05T15:43:00.000+09:00

The night lights of Tykyo

Taking it in.

2004-10-04T15:07:00.000+09:00

I'm still waiting to wake up from this dream. The days go by faster and faster making me more and more convinced that this isn't really happening. Life in the countryside of Japan is so much simpler than I knew life could be. Simple and overwhelmingly beautiful at the same time. If my life here were not so easy going I would probably be entirely unable to comprehend half of the beauty that is constantly occurring around me. I hope we can all have moments like this one.