Gotta JET!
Sayounara Japan 08/17/2011
 Pretty surroundings. It seems to have become a tradition at the beginning of every blog post to apologize for not updating for so long. This will be no different. I'm sorry I went on such a long blog hiatus. It's funny how at the beginning of an experience abroad you are constantly observing new things and needing to report them. After a while you hit a point when your new surroundings just become your life and things seem less noteworthy. I think that's what happened here. Or I got lazy. Either way, sorry (or as they say in Japan 'gomen ne.')  Stopping to enjoy the flowers in April Well, my JET career has officially come to a close. The last few months were filled with a lot of emotion and mixed feelings. After coming back to Japan following my grandfather's funeral and the big tsunami mess, I found a new appreciation for my life in Japan. Perhaps it was also knowing the real end was near. Regardless, the last four months were some of my favorite times in and out of the classroom. Rather than take you through a timeline, I'll take you to the significant places in my life in Japan and what they mean to me. My Schools  Tsubata JHS After spending two years in a junior high school and several elementary schools, I can say I've been hit with the teaching bug. No day is ever boring unless you aren't teaching. Often JETs complain that they are bored at work, but that is because they aren't given enough classes. I was lucky because I was almost always busy. I taught at least 20 classes per week and that is how I liked it. The kids are so energizing. Even if the material you are teaching isn't interesting, as long as you make enough of an ass of yourself they will eat it up. I think that was the most fun discovery I had about teaching. No matter what you are teaching, it's all about how you sell it. While Japan doesn't exactly emphasize creativity in their national school system, I was amazed at how cheeky some of my kids could be when given the opportunity. Grading papers was always entertaining because I never knew what I was going to be reading next.  Exhibit A: Please write a show and tell paragraph about something related to Japan.  5th grade Class 2 at Tsubata Ele Telling the kids I was leaving was really difficult for me. Not only given the language issue but I also felt like I was abandoning my own. The amount of response I received from all of the classes I taught for the last time was amazing. I have so many cards, letters and gifts. The kids gave speeches in English and in Japanese and put on little performances for me at elementary school. Some of the kids I didn't expect to be sad seemed to be. One memory that sticks in my mind is on my very last day of junior high. On the walk to school I ran into some kids. One of the boys from a 9th grade basic class had just learned the grammar point: _____ makes me ______. While talking on our way to school, he stopped and thought for a few seconds. Then he said 'goodbyes make me sad.' I was so blown away. So proud he put together a good sentence for the moment and so sad because of the content. My last days were full of moments like these. They pulled out some great English and I memorized some Japanese way above my level (thanks to Chelsea's help).  My farewell party I was also blown away by the staff at all my schools. It's funny how once you are leaving, people start opening up to you more. I found this to be just as true in Japan as it is at home. For most of my time on JET, I wondered what the teachers thought of me. Am I any good at this job? Well, in the end my insecurities subsided as I realized that I had made a difference at my job. People seemed as sad that I was leaving as I felt. The staff at my schools showered me with gifts on my last days which was very kind. More than anything, my farewell party at my JHS will leave a mark on me forever. The teachers were all so nice and my principals said they'd take a part of me with them forever. They invited me back once I finish grad school and become a special ed teacher to help them with special ed. At the end of the enkai, they had me lead them in our final 'Readddy break.' Every Monday at the staff morning meeting for a whole year now, I've led the teachers in this silly little chant. The meetings remind me a lot of a sporting event because there are so many teachers and it's so fast paced that it's like watching a basketball game. It stuck. They even put it on their sports day shirts last year. I hope they continue it after I'm gone. The Kamogawas House  Keiko-san on Thanksgiving For almost my entire JET career, I led an English conversation 'class' with a family in Tsubata. The agreement was that I'd eat dinner with them every Tuesday and then we'd speak in English for an hour after dinner. What started as merely that evolved into something much greater. This family, the Kamogawas, slowly became my own family in Japan. On Tuesday nights, we'd play card games, board games, show pictures, tell stories, etc. Soon, we were also going to international events together and we would have special holiday parties whenever a major American or Japanese holiday rolled around. Sometimes we invited some of my friends to participate too. Whenever either of us had a foreign visitor in the area, we'd throw a party as well. When I started, they would give me 'guest' chopsticks for dinner. Everyone in the family has their own chopsticks and box for chopsticks that they use every day. As time went on, they gave me my own set of chopsticks to use every Tuesday. Then after the next family trip, they came back and gave me my own chopsticks box. It was about that time that I realized they thought of me as part of their family. I have so many amazing memories with them. One of the last things we did together was go to a Rotary fishing event. Well, the guys set out nets in the ocean and then sat around drinking beer and cooking seafood. Then a few hours later, they'd reel the nets in and we'd all take the fish home for later. Then they'd cook up more seafood and we had a huge lunch. It was a really fun time. Here are some photos of that and some other events as well. The Board of Education  My actual employer during JET was the Tsubata Board of Education even though I was rarely there. I worked in the Public School Division and had a desk in that office that I used during the summer holidays and other random days where I didn't have classes. The Life Long Learning Division is in the same building but a floor below. Chelsea works in that office. When I started two years ago, both offices were together so I got to know the downstairs people better than the people I actually work with. I grew very fond of many of these people. Occasionally we would go out to dinner or to karaoke. One of my very favorite 'goodbyes' came from my friend Totani-san during our last karaoke night. He sang me his version of a song called 'Elli, My Love' by the Soutern All Stars. You can watch it below. Ikebana and Cafe Arco  Last Arco Night Every Thursday, I took ikebana (flower arranging) lessons with my friends Christy, Carolyn and Melissa. Our teacher lives in Katamachi, Kanazawa and we would go to her house for our hour of flower arranging and chatting. The style of ikebana we studied is called Ryu Sei Ha. While we often questioned whether we really knew what we were doing, I think we did quite well. I enjoyed not only doing my own arrangements, but also seeing what everyone else came up with. After our ikebana hour, often we would head to an Italian restaurant nearby called Cafe Arco where our friend Rob would meet us. For two hours, we would eat, chat and be inappropriate. We got to know the manager and one of our servers pretty well after a while. He would often make beautiful desserts and drinks for us. Our last Arco night was amazing. The food was great. They played a CD of our music that we left there for Melissa's birthday. Even Tantan, our favorite server, came to say farewell even though he wasn't working and had been at a party. Many of my favorite memories are at Cafe Arco. I will really miss these nights! Random Adventures with Other JETs  My JET experience was greatly enhanced by my fellow JET friends. There are times when being a foreigner is really difficult in Japan; and the people that best understand you in these situations are your fellow JETs. It's also very nice to be able to converse in fluent English! I made some amazing friends in our Ishikawa JET group. What makes JET so great is how international of a program it really is. Although half the particpants are American, the other half come from all over the world. I'm very excited to go visit many of my friends in Europe and Australia some day. One frustrating thing about JET is that many of your best friends leave you before you finish the program. New people come every year and some people leave. It can be a very emotionally trying experience when this happens. Many of the people I spent a lot of time with in my first year left before me. Sure enough, some of the new people turned out to be great too and I had just as much fun in my second year. To my JET friends: thank you for all of the parties, wine nights, road trips, movie nights, dinners out, trips to the mall, travels around Japan, sporting events, etc. I have so many awesome memories that I'll never forget! I'm excited to see you again wherever it may be! Even Monks Watch Glee 11/14/2010
Picture this: After sitting cross-legged for 40 minutes in a zanzen meditation sit followed by another half hour in seiza (sitting on your knees) at morning ceremony, my legs had gone completely numb from the tops of my knees down to my toes. It was about 6 in the morning by this point. We had been up for nearly 2 hours already. We had to stand up for the end of the ceremony, but I knew I was in trouble. One sleeping foot would be difficult, but two sleeping legs?! Sure enough, as soon as I stood up my left foot completely bent in half and I toppled down to the ground like a wounded animal. It was at this moment when I had several Buddhist monks and my friend Nick looking at me with concern and horror that I asked myself “how the hell did I get here?” Well, like always, I did it to myself. After I quit Catholic confirmation in 11th grade, I told myself that I’d keep my mind open about spirituality and explore other religions until I found something that felt right. Since coming to Japan, I’ve visited countless Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines; but I’ve never really understood much about what is going on in them. So, when a couple of my friends on JET expressed interest in doing an overnight stay at a Soto Zen Buddhist temple, I figured it’d be the best way to learn. And learn I did.  Nick and I at Dajoji Temple It only ended up being my friend Nick and me and that did this stay. We arrived at Daijoji Temple in Kanazawa at about 1:30 yesterday afternoon. We had no idea what we were in for. We checked in with a monk named Shuse (pronounced: shoe say) and filled out some paperwork. We were given a schedule, but told that we came on a special day, so there were going to be some changes to the schedule. We were shown to our futons and had to carry them into our separate rooms. My room was down a long corridor and through several sliding doors. I ended up having my own wing to myself with a bathroom and all. Nick was put in a different room with another overnighter, a character named Yuuki. The afternoon schedule didn’t involve too much. We were shown around the place and Shuse introduced us to the Zanzen meditation room. It sort of reminded me of a giant collection of monk statues. There is a platform a couple of feet off of the ground with spots marked by big pillows called zabuton and a small more round pillow you actually sit on called a zafu.There is a big statue in the middle of the room and at the beginning you face it. Once the meditation actually begins, you turn around on the zafu and face the wall. I could bore you with the logistics of how you walk into the room and to your spot, but just trust me when I say the process is extensive and after doing it 6 or so times, I never did it 100% right. We had some free time after this introduction was over and I took that time to read the proper mechanics of Zanzen meditation in an English pamphlet. Then it was time for dinner. We walked into the kitchen and found a couple monks doing some preparation. We awkwardly stood around until someone else sat down. We were told we had to do a jikoshokai (self-introduction) following dinner that was to be done in a very exact way laid out on a paper they gave us. We were making sure we had it all down right with Yuuki and then we were able to sit down for dinner. It was at this moment, that we first met Hojin, the person who has put the most human face on religion to date for me. Hojin is the Australian monk we had heard about prior to our visit. We hadn’t seen him until then though and it seemed strange that he wasn’t in charge of us given our limited Japanese and our shared native tongue. He sat down at the table with a very memorable opening line: “so, you’re yanks, huh?” I couldn’t help but smirk. I’ve noticed that in all my time abroad, the majority of non-American westerners can smell Americans miles away as if the stars and stripes have an unpleasant odor. We had a quick conversation about where we are all from, but there was no time for real chit-chat. We had the dinner rules to learn. Dinner is maybe the most stressful part of this whole experience. When you sit down, you must put your dishes in a certain square order. The rice bowl is bottom left. The miso soup is bottom right. The veggies go top right and the tofu goes top left. When you begin eating, you must eat a bite of rice followed by soup followed by one of the other two dishes. Then back to rice. And so on. This goes until there’s a call for seconds. Then after that you can eat more freely. You must grab every bowl with 2 hands, hold it and then put it down with 2 hands. The other important thing is that you must eat as fast as you can. Hojin said that you must take your next bite before another thought can enter your mind. So, picture this scene now: There’s about 10 monks at a table plus us and Nick and I are completely behind in eating and can’t for life of us keep the order of eating straight. Before you know it, everyone is done eating. Props to Nick - he shoveled his food like a champ. It was decided I had too much leftover and would have to eat the rest after dishes. Buddhist monks 1. Alli 0. (The score never gets better for me). After dinner, it was self-intro time. Nick said his first and then I said mine. Then together we had to say something. It was kind of terrifying how formal it felt, but then again it is Japan. Then it was dishes time. The next most stressful thing after dinner is dishes. There is of course a hierarchy for kitchen chores based on seniority (like everything else) and we were both dishwashers with Yuuki. Washers pass to rinsers who pass to driers who pass to put awayers. It is of course an extremely fast pace and we laughed through it. Hojin was helpful though and laughed with us. It became apparent quickly that the Japanese rigidness and hierarchy was not of his liking either. There was also a set way to wipe down the table involving bowing (for the kitchen gods) and passing a washrag. After the kitchen cleaning, I was able to resume eating my dinner. Hojin and Nick sat with me and we were able to chat in a relaxed fashion. We learned that Hojin has been here about a year and a half and as soon as he is told he can go back home, he plans to. His term is about 3 years here. The Japanese way of life was just as foreign to him as us. At one point, Nick asked Hojin how he maintains his sense of humor in such a rigid setting. One of the rules of the temple is ‘no loud laughing’ even. He laughed (quietly of course) and said “well that doesn’t mean when I’m off by myself I don’t have a good laugh. And also, I watch Glee.” Then he smiled Grinch-like. “I’m a bad boy.” I told him how much I too love Glee! We later Gleeked out about the latest episode, which he just caught up on. He has and is able to use the internet to read the news, communicate with family, and secretly watch Glee. The other monks we learned use cell phones to check email, communicate with people outside, and also receive daily newspapers. As time went on, we learned more of Hojin’s spiritual background as well. He is actually monotheistic meaning that he only worships one god; and he grew up Catholic. While we got the impression that Soto Zen Buddhism is quite different from what he practices. He is learning a process by studying there. We were very curious as to what he thinks of all the pictures and art around the temple displaying different deities. He said that for a while, he went so far as to try to picture the different deities as the virgin Mary or other biblical figures or even his own mother. But now, he has sees them as art. I think that’s a good way of looking at it. Even if he can’t relate to everything he has to practice in Soto Zen Buddhism in Japan, he can at least appreciate them. He made a few jabs at the absurdity of the toilet god – I'd hate to have his job! My most memorable zanzen meditation experience came at the end of our first sit of last night. We did 2 back to back and it was more relaxed because it was only us and Hojin and Yuuki. At the end, Hojin came over to where Nick and I were sitting and talked behind us. He was talking about using the good that we are learning for the greater good of people and practicing for a bigger cause. He revealed that his current cause was for Tyler Clementi, the boy who had committed suicide because of intense bullying for being gay. My ears perked up when I heard him say that because I had not told him the real reason I had chosen this weekend for this visit: it was the 3 year anniversary of Bob’s suicide. My cause was pretty close to the same. I got the goosebumps, but I didn’t say anything. I felt then that I was supposed to be there even if I felt completely uncomfortable and out of place by the experience. Hojin also said that it’s like what Ghandi said, “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” I was very moved by his whole speech. After a brief walking meditation (I much prefer walking meditation) and another zanzen sit, we went to bed promptly at 9. Wake up call was after all at 4:15 am. Hojin was nice enough to help me find the light switches in the hall to my room since it was pitch dark and I couldn’t find my way out of it earlier. At 4:15, the bells rang and we had to hurry ourselves to the zanzen meditation room. We had a 40 minute sit with all of the monks and then went straight to morning ceremony. That was an interesting experience. We had to sit in seiza (as previously mentioned) and chant out of our chants book. There were a few other rituals that involved standing up, bowing and sitting down in seiza and bowing to the floor as well. As previously mentioned, my legs were in agony and then numb and then I fell over at one point. I did rebound nicely though and aside from my legs shaking uncontrollably and feeling light-headed, I was able to complete the ceremony. Hojin made me feel better about my seiza fall by revealing he fled from a Japanese temple back in 1993 after sitting in seiza for 4 hours at a ceremony. The monks didn’t have great English and told him to “sit and not MOVE” when they meant “sit and don’t LEAVE.” So he thought he couldn’t get out of seiza for 4 hours! After 30 minutes, my legs were numb - so imagine 4 hours! That night, he actually made a run for it. Nick and I wonder if he’s back in Japan because he left the first time in such a fashion. Next was breakfast and we were beyond relieved to find out it was a relaxed breakfast not involving order or formality. Soto Zen Buddhists are almost vegetarian, but they do eat meat if they receive it. We had sausages this morning, which is a rarity. We also had rice with raw egg, some daikon, and miso soup. Hojin added sugar, water, and soy sauce and the sausages to his rice, which is totally a no-no in Japan. But, no one said anything. Nick noticed, but Hojin just shushed him with a smile.  After breakfast, we had some work time. Hojin, Yuuki, Nick and I raked leaves on the temple ground for an hour. It was actually very relaxing. After a while, Hojin told us to remember to stay in the ‘now’ and then you can start to see more of the beauty in the things around you and what you are doing (cheesy as it sounds). If you daydream or have thoughts about other things, become aware of them and why you have them and then move on from them. Then he told us he thought to tell us this because he had been daydreaming about when he found out Alli Berry was coming to the temple…and of course he thought of my celebrity sound-alike. Something I can never escape with westerners! But, anyway, I actually find it easiest to focus on the ‘now’ when I have a task. So, this was more conducive to my practice.  H and me After work time, we cleaned up our rooms and did another quick zanzen sit. Then it was time to go already. At the end, Hojin wrote down his email address for us. It revealed his real name. I won’t reveal it here, but it also starts with an H. I felt like by giving it to us, he was also letting us know we were now friends. He said to feel free to write whenever, even if it’s just to Gleek out. Then he showed us around the temple grounds outside. After taking some photos with him, he had to go inside for lunch. We bid farewell to each other and Nick and I continued wandering. After we finished taking pictures, we walked towards Nick’s car. “Wow, that was really awful,” Nick said. While laughing I replied, “Yeah, I know. But, I’m really glad we did it.” “ME TOO!” Nick said. And with that it was agreed. We have some bizarrely amazing and intense memories that will keep us laughing for a long time. I highly doubt I found my calling in life. I can’t even handle the kinetics of sitting for long periods of time. There are things that I can apply to my way of life though. For one, I need to spend more time concentrating on the ‘now’ rather than daydreaming about the past and future. I got the sense this visit wasn’t intended for my growth in Buddhism though. Perhaps, I was meant to meet H. And if he needs a friend to Gleek out with like it sounds like he does, I can’t think of anyone more perfect for that job than me. 5 Comments August and September Visits 09/30/2010
 Tsubata's newest members of JET. Wow, my blog had 74 hits yesterday! A new single day record I think. Perhaps I got some hits from google searches combining Glee and Buddhism. :) I also gave the blog a face lift. I took the new top photo at Yasaka Shrine in Gion, Kyoto a few months ago. I do realize I had taken a long hiatus from this, so I figure I may as well catch you up on what I've been up to since July. Well, we got a new batch of JETs, so I was busy being a sempai (senior) to two new JETs in Tsubata. Chelesa is our new CIR and Hantz is our new ALT. Both are Americans and they both rock. I am very lucky.  Melissa and I enjoying karaoke after a festival. We also had a welcome party at the Uchinada beach for the newcomers. I attended some summer festivals. And took a day trip to Kaga to go to Fruitsland and a rabbit farm among other random things. I climbed Mt. Hakusan. Then before I knew it, Shelly was here!  At the baseball game. In August, my sister Shelly came to visit for 10 days! We had a whirlwind of a tour of Japan. I picked her up at Narita and we spent a couple of days in Tokyo. We visited Harajuku and went shopping. Then we met my friend Erika in Shinjuku and went to a Chiba Marines baseball game. It was my first baseball experience in Japan and I loved it!  Shelly in Kawaguchiko. We departed the Tokyo area for Kawaguchiko (the Fuji 5 Lakes). We wandered the area and met up with Chris and Indy for the day. We took the local tourism bus around and visited some caves and an old thatched roof village. It was a beautiful day for it all.  Us and PS at Kinkakuji. We left Kawaguchiko and headed to Kyoto where we spent one insane day with an Aussie we met in Arashiyama. With our new friend PS, we took a 'romantic' train ride, a 2 hour boat ride, visited Kinkakuji and Gion at night. After a whole lot of sake, we bid farewell to our new friend. Hopefully we'll see him again some day.  Gion at night.  We got up the next morning and took our hungover selves to Fushimi Inari and Kyomizudera Temple. Once we got rolling it was worth it. Then we headed to Ishikawa where we spent our last four days. We had dinner with some of my friends and with my eikaiwa family. We also did a very thorough tour of the Noto. It was a great trip!     A dance number by 6th graders at Agata Elementary. Once Shelly left, I went back to work for a month. It was a busy month with undokais (school sports days). I attended my junior high one and also attended part of my elementary school one. It was good times and super warm as always!  Us and Mt. Fuji and the bikes. Before I could blink, Holly was already here visiting in September! We started in Kawaguchiko with some fantastic weather. We rented bikes the first day and rode all around Lake Kawaguchi and Lake Saiko. We stopped a bunch of times along the way for some sightseeing and ice cream. We found some sake and chocolate at the bar next to our hostel later that night. Sake and chocolate? Does life get better?     Our guide, the owner and us. After Kawaguchiko, we trekked across Honshu to Hiroshima. I also dragged Holly to Miyajima that night because apparently a bus ride and a couple of train rides isn't enough. Why not add another couple trains and a boat ride? The next day, we toured Peace Park and the Peace Museum in its entirety. I hadn't been all through the Peace Museum before and it was very emotional. I definitely recommend it though. Then we met some random old man on the street. He told us he was a guide and would help us find some lunch. He took us to an okonomiyaki shop that was closed for construction. Guide, huh? Then he took us to a pretty generic lunch joint by day, izakaya by night. The food was good though and he stayed with us. Apparently he teaches French and is writing a dictionary of French/Japanese automotive terms. He showed us his pages...impressive desu ne! That afternoon, we visited Hiroshima castle. It was a surprisingly big complex...we thought the first building was it, but that was even the main building. It was a pretty cool place. That night we went to the Hiroshima Carp v. the Yakult Swallows (that's what she said). It was a really exciting game and the Carp ended up pulling out the W!        Nijo Castle grounds. From Hiroshima we headed to Kyoto. That's a much more managable trek. We stayed at the most posh capsule hotel perhaps in existance! It was an amazing place! We visited Nijo Castle in Kyoto, which has NIGHTENGALE floors. I am a little obsessed. We also visited Fushimi Inari, but got super lost after a while in a bamboo forest and ended up outside of Fushimi Inari. It was beautiful...wherever we were! Eventually we made our way back to the capsule hotel, but we were too early still. I asked for a bar recommendation and they directed us to a place called Bar Rocking Chair. This place was exactly what it suggests: a dark, wooden bar full of rocking chairs. It was fancy, but they had reasonably priced sake and intriguing ambiance to say the least. It turned out to be a cigar bar, but it wasn't overwhelming. Once we could, we went to the capsule hotel and explored a bit. The beds were so comfy that we went to bed at 9!     On the next day, we got geisha-fied as I like to call it. We were made up to look like geisha. It was a whole lot of fun! After that, we headed straight to Ishikawa. We had dinner with my eikaiwa family that night. That was a whole lot of laughs.  Tiger Shark We spent the next couple of days around Ishikawa. We had a dinner with some of my JET friends in Kanazawa. We also drove around the Noto peninsula. We first stopped at the Notojima Aquarium. It was fun to see the new Tiger Shark exhibit. Then we sort of just wandered around Suzu, Noto-cho, and Anamizu. I couldn't find Wajima, but it was amusing to try. We spent the last day in Kanazawa at Kenrokuen garden, the castle, and the 21st Century Museum. Then before I knew it, Holly was leaving and I had to go back to the reality of work yet again.    Dining With Geisha 08/10/2010
 My eikaiwa family (the family I teach once a week) has turned out to be a wonderful connection. They include me in their family whenever they can and I invite them to things whenever I can. It's like having a host family that I don't have to live with. I'm lucky. In August, they invited me to go with them for an evening to remember. We had a 2 hour dinner in Kanazawa with real geisha. It's rare to find real geisha these days and having the opportunity to actually dine with them is a treat (an expensive treat). We took a party bus from Tsubata to Kanzawa. When I got on the bus, I suddenly felt as if I had walked onto a bus heading to senior citizen bingo night. Even my eikaiwa parents (in their 50s) were among the younger. I'm pretty sure this was sponsored by the Rotary club. When we arrived, we were seated at a couple of long tables with cushions on tatami mats to sit. Everyone had a very elaborate bento box in front of them and beer glasses. Soon the party was about to begin!  We did our kampai (traditional 'cheers' before everyone can begin drinking) and began eating and drinking. The geisha came in and started making their rounds. They would kneel next to people and pour beer. They made light conversation and laughed as the men got progressively drunker and more ridiculous. One of the geisha played the flute for a few minutes. She was very talented. Another sang. There was one geisha that was very young. It turns out she is my age. She sat down with me and started speaking in English. Turns out after she had asked permission to become a geisha and start the training, she was able to still do a year exchange in Texas. She seemed sad that she can't travel much as a geisha. But, some geisha do get to go abroad to teach others about Japanese culture and being a geisha. It was really lucky that I got to talk to her for a few minutes. To be in the company of geisha is rare, but to be able to have a real conversation in English is even more rare!  We took the party bus back to Tsubata with the same crew - only drunker now. Everyone on the bus started calling one man 'Number 8' which I thought was strange until my eikaiwa sister explained that he is the owner of all Hachiban (means number 8) Ramen Restaurants in Japan. And he lives in Tsubata! Apparently these old people are rich and important old people! It was quite a night all in all. A night that I will never forget. Abare Matsuri (Fire and Violence Festival) 07/30/2010
 Melanie, Erika, Melissa, Kris and I on Friday night. Abare is one of the craziest festivals in Japan and it happens to be in our beloved Ishikawa Noto peninsula at the beginning of July every year. It’s a 2- day festival with a whole lot of fire and chaos. The history of this festival goes like this: there was a violent epidemic going on some 300 years ago so the residents of the town decided to start fires in order to appease the gods of rage and destruction. Nowadays, there is a whole lot of fire, portable shrine smashing, drumming, chanting, and a whole lot of drinking.  The kiriko going round and round. On the first evening, the evening kicks off with a fireworks display. Then kiriko, or large floats, are carried around with kids playing taiko drums and flutes. There are some fires set and a big crowd watching. As the fires grow, ash falls on the crowd and the kiriko. There are also food stands and lots of families around. Friday night is definitely the more family friendly night of the festival.  A kid on a kiriko playing the flute.  Portable shrine in the river. The second evening is a lot crazier. People start drinking in the early evening. The kiriko are carried up and down the streets with kids playing taiko drums and flute music. People are chanting. At two different times, a portable shrine, is thrown into the river. Men beat up the portable shrine in the river and carry it to fire. They carry it through fire and go back into the river and continue beating it up. Then they bring it to the big shrine and present its remains to the shrine as an offering.  Guys beating up the portable shrine while being burned by falling ashes.  Putting the portable shrine in the fire before presenting it to the gods. Ishikawa SobetsuPROM 07/30/2010
 Ginny, Nicola, and me. Every year, there is a big JET end of the year party for the leavers. Everyone gets all dressed up and has a classy time. It was 50 bucks for food and all-you-can-drink booze for two hours at this beautiful restaurant in the 21st Century Art Museum. Then we had a dance party at Apre, which is a bar popular with foreigners in Kanazawa. Good fun!  Group mingling. Suzu and Noto Leavers Party 07/30/2010
 Brett and I got into a bamboo fight. Well, it’s definitely summer now, which means yay beach season! I went up to the Noto to play at a beach in Suzu one weekend in May. It reminded me of going up north in Minnesota. True to form, there was card playing, pizza, and lounging at the beach.  Rock Band-ing out. The following weekend, we had an “official” Noto leavers party at Kris’ house. We had a pot luck and Rock Band. What else do you need in life?  Melanie bringing down the house. The Human Scavenger Hunt 07/30/2010
As promised, here is a bit about the first annual JET scavenger hunt that happened back in May. There were about 5 teams of about 5-6 people. My team was called Sherlock’s Homies. We totally forgot to dress up, but other teams got decked out. We received a list front and back of things that we needed to find or do in Kanazawa. Everything was worth certain point values. The more creative the photos, sometimes the more points received. We had 3 hours. Here are some of the highlights. The caption is what the list called for of each photo. Enjoy!  Everyone in a phone booth.  Titanic on a bike.  Freeze frame in the scramble. This didn't go well due to a rookie photographer.  A statue of Jesus.  Lolita girls.  Photo bomb (you have to step into someone else's photo). This is in front of Kanazawa Castle. A Quick Sweep of the Last 3 Months... 06/22/2010
 I just realized how much time has passed since I really updated, so here's what happened from April - now. Reaaaaaaaaady break! Mom and Don came to visit me for 10 days. We went to Himeiji, Hiroshima, and Kyoto before seeing where I live. They got to visit my JHS, the family I teach, my gym, and around town.  After their visit, there was a cool Kenrokuen garden light up with cherry blossoms. I went with my friend Carolyn and her papa, who was visiting, after our ikebana lesson. It was so beautiful!  Then there was this awesome festival in Kaga. Hanami is my favorite time of the year I think. Basically you just sit around under the cherry blossom trees and drink with your friends. What's not to love?   Then I had this epic birthday party at the end of April for myself. I had it at my favorite restaurant in the prefecture, Nihonkai Club. It's a brewery. Basically it reminds me of home because they brew their own beer and serve delicious food. It's in the middle of nowhere and I couldn't believe how many people came! First, though on my way up there, my car broke down on the tollway. I got a flat tire and had no idea what to do. These highway dudes showed up to help, but they were pretty unhelpful. Luckily my friends Ginny and Brett were very close by and helped me out! Interestingly when the camera was on, the highway dudes looked like they were helping! Yes, this is typical highway patrol uniform.   Then I dropped a full freshly boiled tea kettle on my foot and gave myself some gnarly second degree burns! Luckily my friend Leah was around to take me to the hospital!  Then I visited home for almost 3 weeks! It was pretty epic. I saw the Bangles, went to 2 Twins games, hung out with my family, did a ton of shopping, and then hit Chicago for a week of more eating and drinking, 2 Cubs games, and a whole lot of quality time with friends.   After home, I went straight back to work. It was a little brutal. Christy and I taught the home ec and English clubs how to make chocolate chip cookies that week. It was awesome!   Then I took a road trip with 3 friends - Tonya, Brian, and Melanie - to go bungy jumping in Niigata! I was the only jumper, but they went to support me. It was a 42 meter bridge jump like what I did in NZ. It was pretty awesome. A national TV crew happened to show up doing a special on extreme sports and filmed me and interviewed me afterward. I'm not sure if it actually made the show or not because I couldn't watch it, but it was all pretty crazy.  After that weekend, I took a weekend off I think. I'm pretty sure all I did was watch Glee. I love Glee. I am very sad that I have to wait until Sept for another episode. Anyway, the weekend after THAT was epic as well. I started out going to see floating lanterns (tourou nagashi) on a river in Kanazawa. It was the kickoff of the hyakumangoku festival, which is the biggest festival in Kanazawa. The lanterns were awesome!  The next day, the festival had a big parade in the early afternoon. I went to most of the parade and then I left quickly and headed north to see my friends Ginny and Leah do yosokoi dancing at another festival in Wakura. Perhaps, it was a bit overly ambitious to do 2 festivals in a day, but it was great.   And then the next morning, I got up and went an hour south to run an 8K through this very hilly park. There were so many runners and I was the only white person there! The course was so hilly - it was a bit brutal for my undertrained body, but I finished in 51:22. That's not terrible. My friend Masami placed in the 3K race. She's insane! And that my firends is as far as my photos go for now. Last weekend, I went to a fun party in the Noto for the people leaving. And then did a human scavenger hunt with a bunch of JETs. That was a total blast. I don't have the photo files yet though. I'll post them when I have them because they are pretty amazing. So, that's where these 3 months went! Good times. YOSH! 06/22/2010
Back in the day when I worked in corporate event planning, I saw a speaker by the name of Shawn Achor, a lecturer from Haaavard who talks about positive psychology. It sort of sounds like a sham. I mean really, positive psychology? But, one thing he talked about was writing down 3 good things in your life every day. The idea is that by the time you finish, all the crap that happened throughout the day seems less bad now that you are satisfied with these 3 positive things you just thought of. Your are supposed to make a habit of this; so you should do it for 21 days and your level of optimism will increase, you'll be more productive, etc. So, I did that for about 1 day after I saw him speak and forgot about it. Good thought; bad execution. Well, lately I've been kind of stuck in negativity about my job and it's been driving me nuts. I can't stop whining even though I am fully conscious of it and don't want to be doing it. No one likes a Debbie downer. My good friends G and B are having similar issues. They said they made an agreement that they had to each come up with 3 good things about their days before complaining about their days at home. But, then they decided it was too difficult and stopped. This reminded me of dear Shawn and I got all excited again. I decided the 3 of us are going to do this and started yesterday. We are calling it the the YOSH list (yosh is a common J word/sound meaning basically you did it/I did it- almost like phew sound in English). Honestly, I feel a lot more positive already. Here's yesterday's YOSH list: 1. English greetings at the staff morning meeting - Goodu moningu! and Readddddy break! Yeah, I taught the teachers Readdddy break. It seemed appropriate at a meeting. 2. I was talking to a student while she was brushing her teeth. I made her laugh and she spewed toothpaste all over herself. 3. Made an awesome World Cup bulletin board with a country quiz using the 32 country flags. I'll put the photo of it up for full effect. Today's list is more exciting: 1. One student wrote when practicing a self-introduction 'My name is ____. (protecting the innocent). I like rice balls.' Haha, balls. 2. One student that is sort of the class leader and token cool guy was reading a sentence and said 'I was beautiful' instead of 'It was beautiful.' Good thing he can laugh at himself because everyone else did. 3. My JTE claimed in class that he has seen a U.F.O. when he was a little kid, but he was the only one that saw it.I'll keep going...class was funny today....4. One kid sneezed in class so I said 'bless you' which they don't do here. My JTE did a homestay in the US once with a very religious family so he gets super excited at the chance to talk about crazy Catholics. We taught this kid how to be Catholic in 5 words: 'Father, son, holy spirit. Amen.'  | AuthorAn American JET in Ishikawa prefecture, Tsubata town. ArchivesAugust 2011 |
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