International Festival

It's been SUCH A RIDICULOUSLY LONG TIME since my last blog post. I really don't like writing blogs...but I know I'll enjoy reading them someday. So, future-self, you're welcome! I'm starting with an event from about 5 months ago-I know, I know. But it was so much fun and so memorable, that I'll have no trouble relating the event. :)

In Kumamoto City, there is an annual "International Festival" held at city hall. I don't know how long it's been held, but it's incredibly successful and popular. Many people come and it's a day that exudes acceptance, understanding, and enforces global-mindedness. I think it's such a cool event and I've had a fantabulous time, 2-years running.

I'm afraid last year was bad timing. The previous night, we attended a fairly raucous halloween party and I was wearing sweatpants. A no-no in Japanese societal affairs...but I got over it and had a good time anyway. However, this year was thoroughly enjoyable! I traveled to and from with my host family: we always have a good time together, so it was bound to go well from the start.

The actual event includes information booths (Ozu's exchange group is pictured above!), food stalls, other merchants, and "international" entertainment (also pictured). A lot of the entertainment is middle-aged women doing hula (as cute as be!), but this year there was also a vintage kimono fashion show (pic), a children's chorus, fan dance, tai chi exhibitions, and a Japanese drum group. Also pictured is a guitar/vocal duet from Ozu-they're amazing!! If I didn't do anything but watch all the entertainment, it would be a wonderful day! However, you can also dress up in international clothing, get something painted on your face, eat any cuisine imaginable, drink Japanese tea, and rub elbows with other foreigners and cool Japanese people. See what I mean? It's just like a whole bunch of amazing people, activities and things brought together for one day of peace and unity and community. It was beautiful. :D

I really think I'll miss events like this one when I go back to America. Or maybe I should organize one. It's so rewarding and interesting to celebrate diversity. I don't know if it's because Americans are just used to diversity, or what, but I think it could certainly be celebrated and appreciated more often in my homeland. This event, and others like it, always make me feel refreshed and glad to be different. Sometimes living in a monogamous society can be tough...but on this occasion, I felt like even though the attendees were all different and unique, we had a common interest. Amazing how an event held to celebrate diversity can simultaneously create a community.

Yakushima

They say that in the beginning of time when the gods were creating the earth, a god cried five tears which became the five islands of Japan. I think that god must have really felt for that last southern tear of Yakushima. I recently visited the island and I know that its creation, via tear, god, volcano or other, was certainly inspired. It was so beautiful. We had a three day weekend, and a very nice, generous friend invited me on a journey to the southern reaches of Japanese civilization. I didn't know what to expect, but I certainly got way more than I expected! We left my apartment at 6am and drove 2 hours to the southern tip of the mainland, Kagoshima. There we met another member of our party and departed on the ferry for Yakushima. The ferry took two hours and we arrived to find beautiful sunny, breezy, island-y weather. It was so refreshing to walk up and down cobblestone sidewalks, chatting in Japanese with new acquaintances, and taking everything in. After some tea and brunch at a cafe, we departed for our hotel by taxi and arrived to find a charming flower garden, accompanied by a charming gardener who happened to be the owner of this charming hotel as well. (By the way, while we were in Yakushima, we ate at our hotel too. Everything was homemade and delicious and there were ten dishes to every meal. We were so incredibly full!) We got checked in and after a few moments, left again for our first adventure: kayaking. It was such a great time! I'd never experienced kayaking before, but I really enjoyed it and found it was a lot like canoeing. Same basic principles, only with more conveniently engineered "oars". We floated (well, my partner and I had a little trouble and we zigzagged instead...) down a river gently carved between extraordinary green giants. My favorite parts included a giant red bridge we floated under, trickling waterfalls, getting caught in the rain and the occasional monkey chattering. On our return trip, we stopped for snorkeling while our guide made trail cakes with honey and hot tea. MMmmm. Our second day in Yakushima was SUCH a challenge, but I will remember it for as long as I live! It is truly one of the things that made the trip special for me. As you recall, our first day started at 6am and was full of activity and we were all a little tired. Well, our SECOND day started at 3am and I've never had a day so chock full of exercise. We were greeted by our guide for the day at 4am, we picked up two more members of our hiking party (from Tokyo), then chugged our way up the mountainside in a gas guzzling van. We arrived around 4:30 and ate breakfast amongst thousands of stars. We were some of the first people there, though we were surprisingly not alone. After some stretches and edible fortification, we commenced what would be a challenging, memorable day. Our hike included lots of trips and tumbles, green, trees, monkeys, deer, mountains, and moss. We walked through a forest, along a river, and our final destination was the oldest tree in Japan. It was certainly a day of immense proportions. Afterwards we retreated to our hotel's hot spring bathroom and soaked then ate ten courses at supper and to round it all off, drank a healthy amount of alcohol and conked out on our futons. Our last day was also lovely and enlightening. We started by making our very own chopsticks! I'm afraid that I found I have no talent for this particular craft, and no particular enjoyment for it either, but we have lovely souvenirs that will likely give us tongue slivers evermore. :P Our second task was to find the biggest waterfall in Yakushima. To get there we had to rely on the trusty driving of our comrade through winding mountain paths. Along the way we saw more monkeys and deer and Shelby almost got car sick. We managed to avoid regurgitation and road kill and found our way to a lovely little waterfall with picture ops abounding. The waterfall itself wasn't really huge, but it was hugely lovely and we sat on the rocks at its bottom and enjoyed feeling the rebounding spray on our tired skin. Next, we visited a fruit farm for brunch. They gave us a plateful of fruit and a tour of their facilities for $5 each. A bit of a rip off, but fun nonetheless. Finally, we scrounged around in town for some souvenirs, ate the most delicious soft-serve, green tea ice cream, and almost got left behind by our ferry. Everyone slept on the return voyage. :) Our final little adventure was on the mainland where we ate dinner. There were some live musicians playing and we gladly took part in the "local" dancing and singing. It was so much fun! I felt really lucky to visit such a cool place and the people I traveled with were so kind and generous. It's a week later and my leg and arm muscle pain have finally subsided. However, my heart and mind muscles will be churning from my experience for some time to come.

omedetto and happy birthday!

Today I went to a birthday party! It was a combined party for the nephew and father of my friend, Mariko. Their birthdays are only a few days apart, so they went to a sushi restaurant to celebrate and they invited me to come along! It was so much fun!
I've been to birthday parties before in Japan, but never to a one-year-old's. Number one is special in Japan. During the day today, Grandma, Mom and baby made mochi (rice...pudding...sticky rice stuff). That's a traditional thing to do. When they made it, they used ten cups of rice. Ten in Japanese is "ishyo", which also means forever. So using 10 cups is significant and they do it to wish the baby a long, good life.
Then the fun begins! My friend Mariko bought baby Mitsukun a backpack. It was bright orange and very cute and he was wearing it when he arrived. Grandma also brought all the mochi they had made, which she said was also around ten kilograms. And then, the traditional thing to do is combine the two gifts and see how much baby can carry! Well, Mitsukun WEIGHS 10 kilos, so he had a difficult time at first when they put it all in. After that though, I thought he did extraordinarily well! I think he could carry half anyway, which I thought was mighty impressive. If I had to carry half my body weight...well, let's just say no one could make that much mochi! I didn't know about this traditional birthday ceremony, but I thought it was fun and interesting.

Happy Anniversary to me...

Yesterday, I realized that I have seen/slept through 365 sunrises in the land of the rising sun. What a marvelous realization! I've been thinking about this day for a long time, trying to imagine all the experiences I'd have at this point and hoping with all my being that they be numerous and sparkling. And now the day of retrospection has arrived...for me and for you because now I'm going to recount them all. :)

When first I laid eyes on Japan, I saw what would become my favorite and most treasured aspect of this culture: its people. From the moment I was greeted by the welcome party at the airport, through welcome parties, dinner invitations, and road trips to this very day when I shared a lunch with hospitable fellow teachers, I feel like I've been welcomed most enthusiastically. The Japanese people have taught me about hospitality; its importance, the sacrifice it requires, and the feeling of gratitude that is always present. I'll be ever-striving to imitate the openness of Japanese generosity.





The second thing I experienced in Japan, and also one of my favorite things about living here was school. School, and more specifically the students and teachers at school, are so refreshing and encouraging. I’m glad that my first year of teaching took place at Ozu Junior High. I've observed that Junior High is a magical age where students transform from children to young adults before your very eyes. It takes a few years, through a slow, rocky transformation, but when the journey is complete the evidence of a teacher's impact is clear. For better or worse, a student's progress in junior high is tangible and it's helped me see how very important the role of teacher is for young people.



















































I don't know how to classify the many and various experiences I've had this year. I've traveled, learned another language, met new people, listened to different music, driven on the other side of the road, and eaten all kinds of foods that haven't been cooked. ; ) For example, if my year's experiences in Japan were represented by a conveyor belt of sushi, the sushi would contain the following assortment: tamago (sweet egg-symbolizing memories that always make me smile), tako (octopus-for all the "firsts". Who knew I would enjoy raw octopus tentacles?! But I do and I'm so glad to have had the experience.), ikura (salmon eggs-There are some things that I just couldn't swallow. Of course, Japan isn't perfect. There are bad memories as well as good. I'll keep trying ikura and I'll try to keep an open mind. I don't want to miss a thing!), and finally, "maku ando chizu" (mac and cheese sushi-Remarkable, isn't it? That people across the globe can share so much. From language to pop culture to social values and even to comfort-food-faves, we have a lot in common.)








It's been a year; a great, unique, life-changing year. I'll never have these experiences again and I feel like I lack the pores necessary for soaking it up. There is much I want to do in the next year: I'd like to make an English club at my school, travel to another Asian country, buy a sanshin (Japanese guitar), and learn 365 kanji (Japanese/Chinese writing characters, one for each day!). I'm already dreaming and wishing and imagining the possibilities of my 2nd year anniversary. Will I have done everything I set out to do? Will I be satisfied with my time in Japan? I have 365 more sunrises. All I can do is take it one sunrise at a time.

The Legend of Tanabata-sama

These are pictures of a Tanabata tree at my school. This tree was decorated by the special-needs students and I thought they did an exceptional job. They decorated the tree for a special Japanese summer holiday, the legend of which I will now transcribe. ;) ...

This is a tale of long and long ago, when the King of the Sky was still busy making stars to hang in the heavens at night. The king had a very beautiful daughter. She was called Weaving Princess because she sat at her loom all day long every day. She wove the most delicate stuff in the world. It was so light and airy, so thin and smooth, that it was hung among the stars in the sky and draped toward the earth. It is this cloth that we now call clouds and fog and mist.

The King of the Sky was very proud of his daughter because she could weave so beautifully and was such a help to him. He was very busy making the sky, you see, and needed all the help he could get. But one day he noticed that Weaving Princess was becoming pale.

"Well, well, my little princess," the king said, "you've been working too hard I fear. So tomorrow you must take a holiday. Go out and play among the stars all day long. The please hurry back and help me. I still need much more mist and fog, and many more clouds."

The princess was very happy to have a holiday. She'd always wanted to go and wade in the stream, called the Milky Way, that flowed through the sky. But she'd never had time before.

She put on her prettiest clothes and ran out among the stars, right over to the Milky Way. And there, in the middle of the stream, she saw a handsome boy washing a cow in the water.

"Hello," the boy said to the princess, "who are you?"

"I'm the star Vega," she answered. "But everyone calls me Weaving Princess."

"I'm the star Alitar," said the boy. "But everyone calls me Herdboy because I tend the cows that belong to the King of the Sky. I live over there on the other side of the Milky Way. Won't you come over to my house and play with me?"

So the herboy put the princess on the back of the cow and led her across the stream to his house. They playd all sorts of wonderful games and had so much fun that the princess forgot all about going home to help her father.

The King of the Sky became very worried when the princess failed to come home. He sent a magpie as his messenger to find her and tell her to come home. But when the magpie spoke to the princess she was having such fun that she wouln't even listen. Finally the king had to go himself and bring the princess home.

"You've been a very bad girl," the king said. "Just look at the sky-not even finished yet. You've been away playing and the sky needs clouds and mist and fog. So you can never have another holiday. You must stay here and weave all the time."

Then the king poured more and more star water into the Milky Way. Until now it had been a shallow stream that you could wade across, but the king poured in so much star water that it became a deep, deep river. The princess and the hearboy lived on opposite sides of the river, so now there was no way they could get across to each other.

The princess went into her little house in the sky and sat in front of her loom, but she was so lonely and longed so much for her Herdboy that she couldn't weave at all. Instead she just sat there weeping all the time. And the sky became emptier and emptier, with no clouds, and no mist, and no fog.

Finally the king said, "Please, my little princess, you mustn't cry all the time. I really need clouds and fog and mist for my sky. I tell you what I'll do. If you'll weave again and work hard, I'll let you go and play with the heardboy one day each year."

The princess was so happy when she heard this that she went right to work, and she's been working very hard ever since.

But once each year, on the seventh night of the seventh month, the King of the Sky keeps his promise to Weaving Princess. He sends a flock of magpies to the Milky Way, and with their wings they make a bridge across the deep river. Then the princess goes running across the bridge of magpies to twhere the herdboy is waiting for her. And they have wonderful fun playing together for one whole night and one whole day.

That's the reason why Japanese children celebrate a holiday called Tanabata-sama, "The Seventh Night of the Seventh Month." Children everywhere love to play and it makes them happy to know that the Princess and herdboy stars are having such fun together there up in the sky. So the children on earth decorate bamboo branches with bright pieces of paper and wave them in the sky, to remind the King of the Sky that it's time for him to keep his promise again.

"Yes, we Kan!"

Another English teacher at school told such a funny joke the other day that I feel obligated to share: What's the new Japanese Prime Minister's slogan? ......... "Yes, we Kan!"

While I've been blabbering on about differences and sports festivals, I've neglected to update you all on a very important happening in Japan! Though, if you follow current events you'll have already heard about it: Japan got a new Prime Minister and his name is Naoto KAN! (hahaha!) On my second day in Japan, Mr. Yukio Hatoyama was elected prime minister of Japan by a landslide. A very popular person; he seems very refined, sophisticated, and serious. Apparently, that was eventually his downfall...Now the new Prime Minister, Mr. KAN has taken office.

But I digress. First I shall tell you all about the climb that led to the fall. When Mr. Hatoyama was campaigning, he promised to remove the military base on the southern most island of Japan, Okinawa. This is obviously a strategically important position for the U.S. with China and North Korea close enough to launch tomatoes and missiles and whatever else. But the people in Okinawa feel that it's equally important for them to have their island and their independence back. Understandable, yes?

I'm grateful to be in Japan at this important time in foreign relations. I feel like it's a great opportunity to see this issue from both sides! Of course, I naturally feel an understanding about the U.S.'s need for ultimate power. That's what Americans do...not my cup of tea to be honest. I think (and perhaps the rest of the globe is with me) that America should stick it's big nose in it's own problems. And yet, I think the rest of the globe is a bit frightened for the peace. I know I am. Peace is so fragile and even though I don't support war or violence, especially when it's unecessary, it seems like a shakey time to remove military forces that for better or worse, help keep the peace.

And I can understand the feelings of Japanese. Can you? American military bases are not the most pleasant of neighbors, I'm sure. And the Japanese, in my estimation, are very polite, reposed, and thoughtful about the matter, but sick and tired of American influence in Japan. That is a huge generalization, by the way. There are many Japanese who strongly believe the base should stay where it is and want America's influence in politics, culture, and other areas. With each person you ask, you'll likely get a different answer.

So, poor Mr. Hatoyama was booted out of office and a new Mr. Kan took up his mantle. Since that time, Mr. Kan instigated a plan to move the base to a less-populated area of Okinawa. Mr. Kan's approval rating is also starting to fall like his predecessor's did. I think the public is jaded, and tired of leaders that disappoint them. They've had five prime ministers in the last four years and I imagine it's frustrating and detrimental to the interests of the public to have revolving door Prime Ministers.

No one knows what will happen in the next year, but it seems like an important issue internationally. It seems to me that one political leader's decision and tenacity will change the world, one way or another. Now Japan just has to choose which leader.

Honoring Our Differences

I've heard it said that we creatures are more alike than we are different. After traveling round the globe, I must say that I heartily agree. People, no matter where you go, are people. Different sizes, colors, and languages, but in the end all generally homogenous. We all have hopes, dreams, wants and needs. I find these similarities encouraging. When you think about our similarities rather than our differences, the world is an easy place to live in; full of sisters, brothers, and friends!

BUT small differences are everywhere you look! And it's the differences between our cultures that make interacting with each other so interesting! I don't really find differences to be all that significant most of the time. But it is fun to occassionally point them out. :D

There are a lot of differences that I could write about. For example, Americans are used to driving on the right side of the road, threading a needle, turning a key counter-clockwise to lock something, and reading from left to right. All of these practices are opposite in Japan! (Japanese drive on the left side of the road, hold their thread steady and maneuver their needle instead, keys turn counter-clockwise when locking, and Japanese is written from right to left, top to bottom.) And there are certainly more differences for me to discover in Japan, but the most obvious to me are the ones that relate to my job at a Japanese Junior High School.

Now, like I noted, Junior High students are the same world-wide as far as I can tell. They have generally the same interests, priorities, and behaviors. But the schools that they attend are not as identicle. For example, Japanese students belong to a particular homeroom. They stay in that classroom all day long and don't rotate classrooms (other than for P.E., music, and science). Instead, the teachers rotate from classroom to classroom.

Also, students don't have lockers. They keep ALL of their things in their classroom (crowded!).

And school lunches aren't gross. They're actually (usually) quite tasty! Though I do take issue when lunch includes iriko (the little bitty dried fish that still have their eyeballs. they occasionally get decapitated in my soup--hard to eat floating fish heads).

And musn't forget (but I often still do forget!), everyone has indoor and outdoor shoes. So the flip flop of sandals is heard all round inside our school. Probably about 90% of Japanese school students also have uniforms. Our students have a winter uniform and a summer uniform. Appearance is strictly regulated-all students must have black hair (even if your hair is not naturally black!), girls must tie their hair up and they aren't allowed make-up, and boys aren't allowed longer than average hair. Appearance is important in Japan and I think, especially in J.H., the Japanese value uniformity.

There is one "janitor" at my school (at my school of 600 students). I wouldn't really call her a janitor though...she does a lot of miscellaneous, necessary stuff, but everyday there is a cleaning period and the students clean the school (yucky j.h. bathrooms included!).

See? Wasn't that fun?! ;) We have plenty of differences! Japanese and American Junior High Schools are different in a lot of ways. It's interesting to think about all the differences. And I think it's important to recognize that we are different and unique. In the end, differences are great.

But what's truly remarkable is that we're all the same.