so i landed myself a job in the land of the rising sun...this is a collection of my misadventures and earth-shattering epiphanies...or at least some quasi-interesting stories...i hope.
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not 2 days ago i was sitting at school, chin in hand, absently staring out the window at the spring-iest day we’ve had yet, lamenting the fact there may not be anymore snowboarding in my near future. the last couple days have been a sloshy, rainy, icy mess that have done absolutely nothing to help the cause. although there may still be enough snow to make runs at a couple of slopes, i’m trying to do the right thing and nurse my bum ankle. the joint was the size of a grapefruit but is now like an orange that doesn’t hurt bad enough to keep me from really, really wanting to use it aggressively. in reminiscence, thought i’d post about a trip lizzy and i took a while back to hang with some outta town friends. on a saturday morning we met at cupid valley ski resort. since i have a season pass to ikenotaira's slopes, i don’t usually make it to other mountains so this was a nice change. there were tons of paths stretching down the mountain that could be reached by several lifts and gondolas. and the weather was perfectly warm. lizzy and i basking in the rays for a bit. we retired for a late lunch and a soak in the onsen before heading to nagaoka for a dinner party. the girls rounded up quite a mixed crew and it was nice to meet and mingle with new people. lizzy and i with michelle, the official hostess with the mostess. megan [another of the talented hostesses] and i sandwiching hase. i have a serious [luckily reciprocated] crush on this man. from there it was off to dance the night away at a local club. once again, good job ladies with the organizin’ and fraternizin’! and thanks to liz for the pics i stole.
and a supplement to the penis party post. i’m all about fairness so i was pleased to see there is a festival honoring the other major sex organ as well, the vagina. too bad i've already missed it. next year… -Aichi's festivals let it all hang out-
-friday was a school-wide sports tournament at naoetsu high school where the homeroom classes competed against each other in events like volleyball, soccer, badminton, table tennis and dodgeball. it got me thinking about sports’ day during my senior year of high school. although it was fun, it did little to encourage athletics or physical activity in any real way. we raced with eggs balanced on spoons held in our mouths, crawled on all fours to a diaper full of chocolate pudding and raced to be the biggest glutton. these types of activities were possibly designed to be inclusive, so that even the most athletically inept student could have fun, but in promoting this type of athletic activity, we are giving youngsters a skewed sense of what healthy physical habits are comprised of. i always liked p.e. although i do remember so many students, often the girls, who would don their dorky shorts and t-shirt uniform only to sit on the sidelines and chat. in japan people well into their senior years are extremely active, riding bikes everyday, shoveling heavy snow, hiking mountains, walking every night after dinner down main street. it’s easy to see where these good exercise habits were formed. its also interesting to think about this comparison in light of the current youth obesity crisis that’s plaguing america, facing much of the world, but is no where evident in this country.
-i often find that i have absolutely no clue what’s going on around my schools, mainly because i can’t decipher or am not given memos, or didn’t understand an announcement made during the morning meeting. so was the case recently when i noticed a flyer about an upcoming party on another teacher’s desk. i inquired to find out it’s a retirement party. naturally i wanted to attend so i approached the organizer for details. he said he’d give me an info sheet later but never did, so the day before the party i went to ask again but couldn’t find him. i decided not to attend as i had no info about time or place and there were some other things happening that evening. here’s the good part: i wrote a note, entirely in japanese, uber-politely explaining that i couldn’t go and left it on his desk. the next morning he thanked me for the memo and we talked about it for a minute. no problems understanding my message and he hadn’t even asked any of the english teachers to translate. that’s a huge triumph.
my Japanese friends think it’s quite odd that i go out to eat by myself because solo dining is rarely done here and solo eating out by women never happens. sometimes it’s nice to be cooked for and waited on and being in another environment keeps me from getting distracted by things that need to be done around my apartment when i wanna study Japanese or read [avoid it and it’ll go away right?]. last week i went to one of my favorite spots to dine and study, gyu kaku, a yaki niku ya [grilled meat restaurant]. one reason i frequent this place is because it is literally 20 seconds from my apartment. this pic was taken from the hall outside my door. you choose from different cuts of beef, pork, internal organs, odds and ends parts of animals, seafood and vegetables then slap ‘em on the hot grill over the coals in the center of the table. i opted for negi shio kalbi [slices of beef that you grill before smothering with a blend of olive oil, diced scallions, garlic and salt. yumm.], hotate [scallops grilled in spices and a pat of butter on a cast iron hotplate.], a hefty bowl of rice and a couple of draft beers. this type of dining is delicious, hands-on, social [except when you go alone] and sorely needed on the other side of the big pond.
carrie, liz and i assembled quite a motley crew to hit the town on friday. we met at nest for happy hour and marveled at the bizarre mix as people trickled in. a frizzy haired fella we’d met a couple weeks ago showed up with a kimono and flip-flop clad friend, then liz and a clean-cut guy she met in osaka who was visiting for the weekend, then a breakdancer from the local club. we headed on to an izakaya for dinner where a more subdued [read: less drunk] friend of mine from out of town joined us, along with another pretty boy friend of a friend. the dynamic was surprisingly pleasant although it was the first time many of us had met each other. i take great interest in these types of get-togethers because its fabulous social training for japanese people who are usually mildly socially inept, extremely shy and anxious. guess lots of beer probably enabled this smashing success.
on saturday carrie and i went to help a friend pack boxes in preparation for a move out of town. we arrived sufficiently late and ended up doing more socializing than working [sorry alexi and carolyn]. then the girls hit the road, headed to tocchio for a friend's house party. these girls are well-practiced socialites, with skills honed during years in sororities, and managed to gather about 30 people for dinner, drinks and a team competition that got dirty and hilarious. then it was on to karaoke where our group comprised the entirety of the clientele. it was nice to have free-reign over the place but it definitely facilitated our shenanigans.
the next day i had one of the most bizarre japanese experiences yet. tocchio is a small mountain town famous for two things: its fried tofu and its hodare matsuri, or fertility festival. we arrived in a snowstorm and trekked to the festivities. first we stumbled upon these men making mochi, rice cakes, the old fashioned way... pounding the hot grains until they become sticky, gooey goodness.
there was a huge, 2.5 meter wooden phallus that people lined up to toss coins at and pray to before sipping sake presented to them by a priest. before long men began swarming around the massive penis, tying ropes around the statue and hauling it from the little shrine down to the street where they placed it on a wooden frame meant to hold the organ in a horizontal position. then the beauties of the fest mounted the phallus, clad in exquisite kimonos with all the dressings. the men in the crowd used the beams of the wooden frame to lift the heavy carving and women off the ground and carry them up and down the narrow road. then it was time for the rest of the women to beg the gods for fertility and of course i couldn’t resist. ladies mounted, 3 at a time, and the men hoisted them up over their heads. it was actually pretty scary and a lot more like a bucking bronco than i’d expected. glad i’m not superstitious cause the get pregnant quick thing doesn’t interest me. an older japanese man i met there said if i wasn’t looking to have children, i could use the fertility blessings i’d earned riding the big penis in other ways, like to make my farm prosperous. the whole setting was bizarre. some people appeared to understand why we found humor in the occasion, some chuckled quietly with friends, but there was an unbelievable sense of seriousness there, even amongst the assorted penis memorabilia for sale. *further development: i got an email from carrie the other day that read ‘have you seen this!’ with a link. i clicked and couldn’t believe my eyes. it was a video clip of me riding the beast posted on the internet. its on a popular video sharing website, i have no idea who shot it. i’ll repost it here so you guys can watch. ha, ha. how ridiculous.
thanks to michelle, from whom i stole some pics. xoxo
had a really interesting experience the other night playing the translation game with the new man i’m lusting after. we went to dinner and rented a movie on the way back home. we opted for ‘the color of money’ as we’re both billiards’ fans. i could remember ‘the hustler’ but questioned if i’d ever actually seen the sequel. his english is really pretty good, much better than he usually lets on, and he was curious about many of the lines he couldn’t make out. of course, he relies mainly on the subtitles for content info, but its remarkable how much garbled, slurred slang he was able to pick out. now imagine me, in my broken japanese, trying to explain things like:
-i gotta split -he’s got the flake thing down. but can he flake on and off? i dunno… -you’re a piece of work man. -while flirting: -pick me up later. i get off at 10. -not with out me you won’t… -if you’re too old to cut the mustard, you can still lick the jar. -you didn’t win the game, i dumped. -cocaine allusions like: man i hate that shit. can’t you look in the mirror before you leave the john? -you’re a hard broad
who knows if he got the actual meaning of the phrases via my fuzzy japanese descriptions. the complications and impossibilities associated with the translation game make it a winner every time.
i've read a bit about japan's questionable habit of executing death row inmates w/out any warning. this is the most recent article i've seen on the topic. what a fabulous way to instill sheer terror in a criminal, but, if this were america, it would undoubtedly be argued this causes cruel and unusual mental anguish...hmmm...
so thanks to a new feature on the site that hosts my photos, i can now post video too. unfortunately, there is some quality degradation. but the timing of this addition couldn't be better- it's been 1 year exactly since my trip to papua new guinea so i've spent some time lately pouring over pictures and waxing nostalgic about the life changing adventure. now i can share some short clips with you in an attempt to convey the sincere warmth and humanity that greeted me there. these were shot at eu primary school during our welcome.
the end of this, where the boy [named noah as i came to learn later] charged me is an effort to extend friendship by showing that he had the chance to kill me with his spear but refrained.
they love to sing and dance, whenever, wherever...
their voices were untrained but clear and powerful...
this is our welcome to a neighboring village, nestled on its own island, boasting a totally different language and culture.
this was shot at a pre-sunrise service on easter sunday. the lack of available light left the image dark but their voices still shine.
this group lead us from the water's edge to the jali angsie school. [i butchered that spelling i know]
a performance by some of the younger kids at eu primary school shortly before they showered us with homemade gifts, like canoe models, coconut shell bowls and hand-carved, over-sized chopsticks.
it was a sad, sad goodbye. bizarre to feel like you connected so deeply with people in such a short time. i remember so many of these kids names and their contributions to my understanding of the world; such testament to the strength of human bonds. can you catch the touching lyrics?
shot from the bus we used to travel around the capital city of port moresby. it's the frontlines of a battle in which a poverty-stricken 3rd world country is struggling to find self-supporting economical resources. still poor enough to breed crime but progressive enough to have somewhat reliable electricity and foreign products on stores shelves.
just returned to the teacher’s room after my second trip to the basement where all the nihon shu making machines live. one of my schools [which shall remain nameless in light of recent blog troubles] offered a technical emphasis in this art, but unfortunately this is the last batch they’ll ever turn out. the student population is being thinned [no new students next year] so that they can close this facility and unite with another nearby mountain school. so today was the annual, it’s almost ready, taste for yourself, no one really spits in the bucket, free-for-all. after the graduation ceremony, when most of the students had cleared out, you’d see small groups making the last of their pilgrimages through the maze of winding halls and endless staircases to the brewery. there were three hand-labeled bottles and in front of each sat a large ceramic cup covered with a glass disc. nearby index cards described the method of making, alcohol content and acidity. I did my best to discern what I could about the alcohols by listening to the conversations. everyone drank from the same cups and really took time to commune and discuss their opinions. my favorite was the medium-spicy [direct translation from Japanese] sake with the highest alcohol content.
was watching tv yesterday when a piece aired about a recent nationwide competition. get this- it was the big claw that you use to try and grab cheap prizes or candy out of the glass box video game tournie. although I knew some people were gifted with this odd talent, I hadn’t seriously considered the technique or strategy involved. the winner was unstoppable, besting machine after machine to claim his poorly stitched, cheaply made, dusty, year old treasures.
they are painting and re-wall-papering my apartment building which means you get a mean paint thinner headache whenever you come or go, but the colors are brighter and the place looks cleaner than ever before.
before coming to japan i was infamous for my un-sweet tooth. it was rare a crumb of cookie or cake crossed my lips [i’d order french fries while everyone else got ice cream] and even more infrequently would i actually purchase sweet foods. i’ve consumed more sugary snacks here in the last 20 months than in my whole life leading up to moving to japan. while it’s still rare i order dessert, i can’t help but eat all the little snacky things that are given to me relentlessly at work. literally everyday some teacher is walking around passing out cute, individually wrapped, tooth decay. most of them find there way to this drawer until i’m sleepy and a tad hungry and fool myself into thinking a sugar-high would do me good. and along with this little habit, i’ve picked up a slight coffee addiction. i’ve always savored the smell of the brewing grounds, but couldn’t until recently stomach the sludge. at first i didn’t know where the sugar and creamer were housed so i pretty much just go it black these days too even though i have discovered where the fixins are kept. i’ve recently been trying to replace my joe with daily green tea after reading about its healthy properties. it lowers the rate of some cancers [including esophageal and breast], helps rheumatoid arthritis, improves immune system function and has great implications for heart health. it reduces the overall levels of cholesterol as well as improving the ratio of good to bad cholesterol and it reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease thanks to its EGCG anti-oxidant. as i become closer to the age at which mom died of a heart attack, i am increasingly aware of my need to control things detrimental to and encourage things that are healthy for my heart. bottoms up. no, not the strip club in columbia. i mean on your 5 cups a day.
eiichi has been really good about taking me to out of the way spots with washoku [japanese cuisine] specialities. on our last outing, we joined 2 of his friends at a boisterous izakaya near the university. to my surprise, it was not only cheap but had the best bar-style cuisine i’ve eaten yet, including taco wraps with what appeared/tasted like real hamburger meat and perfectly sauced, delicate tuna tataki and avocado salad. we had 2 hours of all you can drink + food for less than 2500 yen each. unfortunately it’s far enough from my place that we’d have to taxi and i have no idea what the name of the place is so we couldn’t instruct the cabbie how to get there. afterwards we headed to karaoke. these are eiichi’s friends…watching him slam dance and sing. she was exceptionally cool and sympathetic to my foreign-ness, as she’s from korea but has been living in japan for about 7 years now. her language ability is fabulous enough to attend university with classes only taught in japanese. any time the conversation turned serious and employed difficult vocabulary [like the discussion about her soon to expire visa which means they are probably soon to be married] she would pause and urge eiichi to translate a bit for me so i could stay up to speed. she was also patient talking with me, admittedly surprised that i knew as much japanese as i do; she expected it would be more laborious to communicate. a few weeks before that, eiichi and i hit a traditional tempura restaurant. we were the only ones dining which provided us with the unique opportunity to sit at the counter and monopolize the master’s time asking questions and chatting. we opted to let him choose the evening’s meal for us. he first whipped up some fresh batter and then began plucking vegetables and seafood from the beautifully displayed fresh fare on the counter. he was gracious about responding to my questions with an explanation and a perfectly deep-fried chance to taste the food in question. another great thing about hanging with eiichi is that he isn’t embarrassed by my avid picture taking, as he spent several years in boston so he knows what it’s like to be intrigued by foreign culture.
in america we view obsession with backing into parking spaces as an alpha male trait. i'm not sure how they view NOT backing into parking spots here in japan but, it usually appears that i'm the only one in the country who doesn't do it incessantly. the usual line up at school...
