Assorted thoughts/Becky Pt 2

I think that I've found my calling - and it's babysitting non-English speaking children with happy demeanors while their parents are around to handle any necessary messes...like emotional breakdowns or poop-filled diapers. Last weekend I went to the outskirts of Okayama to meet Shuko's friends and their families. The train ride from Himeji to Okayama takes about an hour. Apparently last weekend was a holiday or something because the trains on a mildly popular line were packed. 'Packed' to me is that all seats are filled and a few people linger in standing areas. But this train ride was different - it was that familiar Japanese scene with formerly docile people shoving each other to make their way onto the train as if it were the last rescue boat after the Titanic - when, in fact, there were subsequent trains every 15-20 minutes for the rest of eternity. As Gino and Becky can attest, train rides here are filled to the brim with people who are passed out within a few minutes of boarding.

Normally I am fairly tolerant of situations and surroundings but being packed in a crowd drives me to insanity. My normal course of action is to internalize my discomfort and make judgments about people and their actions. In this case, I was green with jealous rage (thank you "Hot Rod") - directed mainly at the people sitting down. Here's a sample of my thoughts during this train ride (I was thinking blog while on the train to keep me from jabbing my knee into the back of the man who was sleep-swaying into me):

"Look at the effing guy - he's got a leather jacket two sizes two small and lion hair and I bet that somewhere in his head, he believes he's a total badass and not an effeminate Japanese man from a good family that would piss himself at the sight of a knife outside a restaurant." Please keep in mind that I, too, would piss myself but this is my fantasy judgment world where I am impervious to criticism, realistic thought or judgments of my own.

"Does she have any clue what her shirt means in English?" I don't recall exactly what this shirt read but I've had this thought so many times during my time here that the details run together. Becky made it a mission to locate the best Engrish and came away with some awesome pictures and even a few baby t-shirts. For what it's worth, I was an ass enough to ask one of my Japanese friends about this. She said that most people have no clue but even if the ones that do know just don't care.

"How much can that salaryman make because he's wearing black sneakers with his suit." I've seen this before but never in Japan. Actually I wanted to throw up more here after seeing this than I did in America. The tackiness is too much for me to handle - and I'll accept whatever flak you want to give me for being stuck up.

"That guy genuinely does look like a bad ass but the teeny bubble gum J-pop is what is most likely blasting from his iPod." For the most part my students are the rich, well-behaved types but there are a few that fit into different social circles. With what I perceive to be some peer circle separation, I would assume some variation in interest - especially music. But it never happens - all of my students boy/girl/big/small/older/younger listen to J-pop. I am really curious about this, especially with the infiltration of American pop culture but the kids love the J-Pop...and it's as horrible as you would imagine.

I devised a scheme for Shuko and I to take our standing positions near students because generally they take trains to schools in cities from their homes in the burbs and don't take trains from big city to big city. Sure enough, my theory worked. The kids who seemed to have snuck under the crowd to get a seat only occupied it for a few minutes and we quickly capitalized. I felt like this got me the point back that my manager took from me while suggesting that I couldn't cut paper for a poster because Japanese products are better than American. Let me get back to my story - that was the longest tangent ever, compared to the miniscule length of the story. For about four hours, while Shuko and her friends gabbed in Japanese, I entertained the two little girls. We've all been in an interaction with a child where you either have no clue what the child is talking about or you could not care less. The most beautiful thing about watching kids who don't speak English is that their Japanese is about equal to mine. In America, I would look for another adult to pawn the child onto but, this time, I got to have my first "intellectual" conversation. We shared our points of view on life and the scenery of Japan. "Peeing is fun" and "the sea is beautiful" were just a few pearls of wisdom we shared with each other.

But before these train and babysitting hijinks (I tried four ways to spell that word), I had three more awesome days with Becky before she had to go home. We flew into Kobe airport - which is really really convenient. The major airport for the area in Kansai, which is about two hours from me by train and comes with the normal pains of an international airport. Kobe is a smaller and mainly domestic airport located about fifteen minutes from central Kobe so our arrival there and trip back into Kobe was painless. Becky wanted to experience onsen (hot spring bathing) so she braved a few train transfers by herself and got her hour to relax with other naked old Japanese ladies. In that time, I wrote part one of the blog about her trip. We eventually made our way back to Himeji because I had one of my two days of work that week so I needed my beauty rest.

While I made an ass of myself for children (as I do everyday), Becky explored Hiroshima and mentally prepared for her Japanese karaoke experience to follow that night. Karaoke always promises two things - first, there is never a disappointing night. There are times you don't get to all of the songs you want or someone commandeers the microphone but, overall, it's always a positive experience. Secondly, karaoke always leaves you unfulfilled. Again, whether it's not getting to all of the songs or thinking you should have done certain songs earlier or being pissed that you didn't rock "Man in the Mirror" the way you did in the shower. Above any other time we've karaoked, I felt happiest with this one because we were introducing it to someone previously inexperienced. Japanese karaoke is simple - very simple. There's drinking, a dimly lit room, two microphones, a book of possibilities and friends - it's a recipe for paradise. It has also further solidified my resolve to go to a karaoke place and ask to borrow the song book - only to transcribe songs of interest to a collaborative list for future karaoke wonderment.

It's baseball season again, thank God. The NCAA Tournament ended poorly and I watched far less of it than I have in any year since high school. My adopted team, the Hanshin Tigers, are 3-3 and starting former MLB castoff Kevin Mench. He was known in America and now in Japan as the player with the biggest head in baseball. I have no idea what his opinion of himself is, I just know that he has literally the biggest head in baseball. The head created so much pressure on the helmet here that it cracked.

On the tube - Scrubs, this season, has been phenomenal. Last season they started getting goofier and stupid - like what "The Office" is heading towards but the move to ABC seems to have done something because the shows are still hilarious but have more poignancy like the first six or so seasons did. Why is 30 Rock so amazing? Everything about that show is great. I often think to myself, how could things keep coming out that are hilarious. I've laughed at many different things in my life but people keep finding new ways and that mystifies me...sorry, the grammar of that sentence was probably abysmal.

And if I had guilty pleasures (I don't because, to a fault, I will divulge anything), one of my biggest would be American Idol. I love this show. Maybe it has just been the past few seasons but it's captivating. At least Gino and my aunt watch so my contestant breakdown should pique someone's interest. Scott just left the show and it was bittersweet. I think the guy got further than he should have because he's blind but every week, it's really cool watching someone who can't see master the piano - he's not inventing the wheel there but it's still pretty special. Kris seems to perform well each week and has made my favorite song choices. He's going to be pigeon-holed as the whiny, romantic acoustic guy but it's his niche so good for him. He'd sell some records. Alison is cool...really cool. She has that Melissa Etheridge like frog voice, except that Alison sounds better. Fox wants me to save Adam for last in my recap - for that reason, he goes in the middle. For the first few weeks, no one annoyed me more than him when he shrieked through "Satisfaction" and "Black and White" but in the past few weeks, he's been tolerable - more than tolerable, pretty good...with the exception of "Ring of Fire". Whatever I think and whether or not he wins, he's the most likely to go platinum like my man, David Cook. I love listening to Danny Gokey but I feel like he has Christian rock written all over him...ugh. Lil is extra boring. Normally I don't like the power female singers anyway but Lil isn't even that great with that. Matt is, by far and away, my favorite. He won't win and he may not sell that much in stores but he's just unique enough for me without being ridiculous. Anoop still being around is a joke, I think he's a good singer and a nice guy but does he have any commercial appeal? Any? So that's that.

Lastly, it's sakura season in the Kansai area - cherry blossoms are everywhere. They're beautiful, don't get me wrong, but people are obsessed and I don't get it. Well, I should clarify. People take whole days and bring picnics to parks or shrines and have a day out viewing the sakura and I think that is a great idea. But Shuko is going from city to city to see the cherry blossoms. If that's your thing, great and I like that she's so excited about it but they really aren't any different in different cities. I suppose the scenes change and make you appreciate the view more so maybe I should've looked at it like that. Another interesting thing about life here is that people are so easily impressed. Fireworks and visiting shrines/castles/parks are major events and even though they've seen them dozens of times before. People take pictures as if it was their first time. The tiniest gesture of kindness is acknowledged and you are thanked. Everything is cute or cool. A few years ago, I likely would've raised an eyebrow and wondered what drugs these people are on. Now, I really treasure that everything is appreciated here and it makes for a much happier life, I am coming to find out...but I still wonder about the drugs.

Two more quick ones - the Academy Award winner for Best Foreign Film "Okuribito" made me cry more than "Marley and Me" - just don't let me watch anything emotional while alone. Secondly, let me pimp my friend, Dave's, Cubs blog for the Lafayette Journal and Courier. Please read his Cubs-related musings -

http://www.jconline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=BLOG&pluck_blogid=Blog:696e5224-cbb0-4aea-bf02-c412801cbc50

Stay tuned for news about the Himeji Sakura viewing party, a potential IAABP event and the Family Visit