Super Duper Fantastic Voyage

Who knew I would be dodging TV crews and cameras in anticipation of the super friends.  This pig flu thing has dominated news coverage.  Reporters and cameramen swarmed Kansai's international terminal waiting to talk to someone from Flight 885 - the only incoming United flight from America that day.  In the end, I was able to squeeze between everyone when I caught my first friend glimpse.  There was Scott, looking so masculine, Andy and Aubrey donning homemade vacation t-shirts complete with kanji and the ever-present Dave Cantos baseball hat - either Cubs or ND, I don't recall.  Since my patience had been running thin, waiting for them to emerge from behind the customs doors, I attacked them with the force of a large white man who'd been away from his family for ten months.  It was a cross between a polar bear and a really happy...minus the collar but plus the uncontrollable urination - apologies.  After my hug flurry and Shuko introductions, we all got on the escalator and began the trip.  But, to my surprise, no tears fell...perhaps replaced by shock.

The next few hours seemed like a whirlwind to me but I can only imagine what it was like after coming off a 12 hour flight without much sleep.  But they were willing participatory zombies.  After stopping in the middle of the street in Shinsaibashi to gather ourselves, we found our Nazi camp doubling as a capsule hotel.  This is a place that not only forced me to write my Japanese address but insisted I do so in kanji (I would include that here but I can't even figure out how to make it on the computer).  Once Shuko told me that she was not allowed to enter our room or any of the lobby bathrooms.  It was then I assumed it was commandeered by the Third Reich and the term 'group showers' lost its allure.  We would have high-tailed out of there if it wasn't for the promise of a group capsule room...and the lack of options.  You can deal with anything for two days, including a militant hotel whose decor idea seemed to stem from the idea that jamming a room full of chairs constituted comfort and style.  Chairs outnumbered people and beds.  Thankfully we planned on inviting the other dirty, travel-weary tourists and the drunk Japanese businessmen to a nice sitting party so it worked out nicely.

Well, onward to Koshien for the Hanshin Tigers/Yokohama BayStars clash.  Man, did I feel like a Dodgers fan.  After showing up in the middle of the fourth, we absorbed the different baseball culture, sent balloons flying during the seventh inning stretch and were exiting our really nice seats in the top of the eighth inning with the Tigers trailing 2-0.  We would learn later that the Tigers came back to win 3-2.  (New info: my student recounted the game - two outs in the bottom of the 9th, Hirano singled and wass tripled in by Imaoka 2-1.  An error by Yokohama's shortstop allowed Imaoka to score and Sekimoto stood at first 2-2.  A single by Arai moved Sekimoto to third and he was singled in by the ageless Kanemoto for the game winner) In fairness, none of  us are used to our teams coming back in late innings and we had no reason to suspect such activity and we headed off to Kobe for okonomiyaki.

Okonomiyaki was the first time I got to see what it would be like for a bull of a man like Andy to adjust to Japanese surroundings.  I would not say I don't face similar size-related challenges here but I am a touch more graceful with my actions.  What I was curious to see was how he could control his body having to duck under low ceilings or, in this case, contracting his legs to fit under the okonomiyaki table.  As is the case with me most times, it wasn't totally smooth but nothing was broken either.  The Japanese tend to kneel and then sit back on their legs and that's the common sitting position at restaurants like this.  I've accustomed myself to withstanding the Japanese pose for a while but, inevitably, I lose feeling in my legs and resort to the western 'indian-style'.  Transitioning between the kneel and indian style makes for some high comedy for its viewers...especially people of a more rotund shape.  If anything could remind you of Tommy Boy in the airplane bathroom, this is it.  Elbows and knees are flying and trying to work with the stomach to maintain some semblance of fluidity but, mainly, to not allow limbs to fly and things to break.  I noticed Andy making this attempt and I must say, I was impressed because the first time I tried this in Okayama, I nearly obliterated a partition at a restaurant with my new trainee friends.

After a very exhausting and non-stop first day, adrenaline wore off and the super friends hit the capsules.  I know a great deal about the friends but I hadn't really seen what happened when they were tired and delirium set in a little.  I learned that Scott's years (as few as 28, as many as 59) as a man served him well because he exhibited patience and willingness while still keeping his wits about him.  Even though tired, he was on his game...you know, as a man.  Andy was exactly how I am at that point - still generally good-spirited on the outside and when talked to but in down times, stares blankly at nothing and is a small step behind reacting to things.  I probably can't remember everything but I must say that I couldn't imagine living a day in Dave's body...he loves sweets more than anyone, yet is lactose intolerant, he has the bladder of a hummingbird, can be extremely tired but not sleep for 30 minutes after going to bed, can't fall asleep touching someone or being touched and I am fairly sure the list goes on and one...spectacular!

Our second day together started the way every day should start...showering with your best friends on buckets and no real understanding of common procedure or bathing technique.  Don't take that the wrong way, in our years on this planet we've learned to hit the major spots while cleaning ourselves.  There were buckets to sit on, faucets that didn't pour continuously, confusingly marked bottles of soaps, conditioners and shampoos and a slew of naked J's traipsing around.  Have you ever had that feeling of everyone's eyes fixed on you and your every move?  That's the best way to describe this, except that we were all naked and formed into a line, almost as if we were going into a nude battle.  I'd say it was uncomfortable but I never felt that way.  What made me a little uneasy was that the super friends and I were having a gay old time but everyone else remained stone silent.  Maybe if their best friends came to naked time with them, they'd be a little happier.

What a wonderful way to start the day that will live in infamy as one of the greatest of all time...for anyone, anywhere.  Following shower time, we all got ready and made our way to Kyoto.  Despite being a few minutes late, I was amazed at our morning efficiency and the ability to make our 10am appointment - to become geishas.  It took phone calls to several different places ad the explanation that we weren't looking to be made into samurais to get this appointment scheduled.  In the same manner as the Sears photographer displayed last year, the girls about to make us over took some extra interest in approaching their jobs that day.    We were a rowdy gaggle of gaijin that were overly-excited about being painted as pure Japanese ladies.  Here are reasons I know I was not made to be a geisha.  1) The kimonos did not in my preferred blue and orange.  2) The kimono needed some ingenuity used in order for it to look appropriate.  3) The entire make up process was wholly uncomfortable.  We sat in a thin robe and underwear watching other people get started - like going to prison and waiting for the delousing powder.  Once it was time to roll, we sat on stools about eight inches high.  This left little room for our legs, and we're a tall bunch.  So, we sat hunched over while the girls plastered our faces with white make-up - which was remarkably cold.  Upon finishing with the plaster, I closed my eyes for what seemed like an eternity.  My quads were burning and starting to shake a little from holding my position on the mini-stool and trying not to fart - for fear the makeup girl would get startled and jam the brush into my eyeball.  Along with the shaking legs, I had sweat running from the back on my knees down my calves and my torso contorted strangely so the girl could apply the make-up properly.  Between the ticklish lipstick application and Dave telling me he was "as hard as a rock", I could barely maintain a straight face.  Overall I'd say the experience was fun, interesting and made me a better person but painful.

Finally we were cinched into the kimonos, and the ceremonial head wear was placed on (weighing roughly a Japanese child) and we proceeded down really steep and narrow stairs.  Although there were no accidents, I could just imagine us idiots pouring head over heels down a staircase, dressed as geishas with people feigning concern and holding back laughter.  We were each called in to get our professional photos taken.  As some of waited in a separate room, I commented that I hoped the staff wouldn't leave us to our own devices with cameras because we just may devastate the reputation of the whole country.  Well, they did and we might have.  We took a lot of regular shots but we took some questionable ones.  One picture shows Shuko kissing me - it looks more creepy that funny in retrospect.    A few more iffy pictures involved spider monkey and Pooh-san stuffed animals.  I even thought I was a more bad-ass Gene Simmons.  In the end, we got through everything without really embarrassing ourselves.  Earlier in the week, my Japanese lesson was the grammar for "Among _______, who/what/where/when is the most ______?"  I put it into practice and asked the girls who looked the most beautiful and the most Japanese.  They copped out and said 'everyone' to both questions.  Come on!  My friends didn't understand the question and they wouldn't have understood the answer, I just wanted some opinions.  Oh well, maybe you can offer some.

Still reveling in our geishadom and with makeup still hiding in our facial crevices, we hit the road to Smile Burger.  I'd heard about this place from a friend, ate there once with Gino but it had been closed the other three times I tried going.  I found they close when they run out of meat for the day.  But it was lunch so there was no danger of that.  We all partook in wonderful, juicy burgers - a true Japanese culinary cornerstone.  Shuko ate the entire thing, despite it being roughly the size of her whole body.  Andy needed to consume two because one was roughly one millionth of his.  Smile Burger was one in a long line of wonderful food consumed.

After lunch, we took the subway to the south of the city to the shrine at Fushimi Inari.  This is the same place David, Hirman and I wandered around at night and was the focal point of three months' worth of nightmares.  The shrine was much less frightening but more beautiful during the day.  The foxes protecting the shrine looked more like protectors and less like soul suckers this time around.  This shrine is known for really long paths lined with toriis (gates) - some were old toriis but most were newer ones donated by people or companies with names, insignia or messages inscribed.  And just one train stop from Fushimi Inari was our next stop, Tofukuji - this is a temple I'd never visited before.  It was particularly gorgeous...located in the middle of a neighborhood full of trees and traditional Japanese homes.  I am not sure what the specific significance that separated Tofukuji from other temples is but it was spacious and not very crowded - my kind of place!  Before dinner we rested near the Kamo River and watched a koi fish attempt to swim upstream.  He'd likely been trying since 1904 because I am not sure he moved more than 1/4cm in an hour and a half.  Alas, he was a player in the super friends drama and, therefore, worth noting.

Despite the presence of beer and sake, our dinner at the unagi (eel) restaurant went without an incident.  No one lost their balance and fell on a table or anything.  Unagi was probably the most unheralded meal of the trip.  It was good but wasn't totally exceptional so it was lost in the shuffle during our recaps.  We started the day at roughly 7am and it was nearing 9pm at this point - being tired from walking and geishaing, we returned half-dead to the capsule hotel and passed out...ending a truly blessed day, with more to come.

The next morning, Andy and Scott woke up extra early and decided to take naked time together, eschewing the pre-established foursome but I guess they needed their alone time.  Day 2 got off to a later start than I had hoped but it was acceptable because we were heading to Iwatayama - the monkey mountain!  I figured early on that our transport to and up the mountain plus the time there would eliminate my plans to see a few more temples but that's fine.  Nothing could have prepared us for the monkey mountain; a true sensory overload.  As Andy and Aubrey followed a few minutes behind us - Dave, Scott and I saw our first macaque monkey.  He was making his way down the mountain stopped on our path to lie down.  I got a nice close picture with him but Dave chose to ignore the 'don't look them in the eyes' rule.  He was growled and swiped at but this, of course, only strengthened his desire to be among the monkeys.  From that point, we fed the monkeys, watched them climb fences, steal food from unsuspecting people, throw poop from the ceiling, fight our peanuts, hump each other - sometimes without consent, groom their young, make Andy run like a scared schoolgirl and provide years worth of memories.  From someone who will watch monkeys at a zoo for an uninterrupted hour, it was difficult the leave but this experience went above and beyond any expectation.  We snacked on food from the train station for lunch and our Kyoto journey had come to an end...it was on to Nara for the afternoon.

At this point, I should just post some kind of link to Dave's travel journal because it's more factual and approaches our trip from a point by point perspective.  Instead you get a tangential narrative.  Yay!  The reason I mentioned that is because I did some fact checking while proofreading his journal and learned more about the history of Japanese capital cities.  Nara served as the capital for some 74 years before it was moved to Tokyo.  Even though it was only capital for under 100 years, Nara is celebrating their 1,300th anniversary of existence.  That is truly astonishing to me.  America has no real recorded history older than 500 years, right?  At that point, Nara was getting its pubes as a city.  Visitors to Nara come to see one thing above all others and that's the five story Buddha that lives there.  Of course, our trip to Nara began after it closed for the day so we settled for whatever was open to the public.  Almost immediately after being welcomed by my friend, Ami, we saw a deer.  Along with the Buddha, Nara is also known for having a ton of deer...and they're respected or even revered in the area.  They graze freely and barely pay any attention to their surroundings - including over-zealous foreigners.  Again Dave proved himself the animal man - as he befriended a few deer...whose names became Rick, Bowlegged Murphy, Stubbs and Yentyl.  Dave and Rick met first as Rick was trying to put his little deer lips down to the cool, clear water and bam!!!...a f***ing bullet rips off part of his head (what movie, anyone?).  Once Rick's novelty wore off, we searched for more furry friends.  The next hour or so included my dare to Dave to remove a straggling leaf from Yentyl's under-carriage and my juvenile exploits of throwing leaves on three deer that we're lying under a tree.  I wanted to see if there'd be a reaction - there wasn't so I brushed them off - then threw some more on and ran away.  Ami brought us to a temple that was flanked by enormous devilish looking statues.  Andy was roughly up to their ankles.  Finally my mind tricks paid off, the super friends were done with the sightseeing and wanted food.  Our first attempt at food was at a kaiten sushi place (conveyor belt) but it was loaded so we landed in my favorite restaurant in Japan - Coco Ichiban Curry House.  In Himeji, I can enter this place and basically ask for "the regular" and I walk out without saying more than "thank you".  Getting back to Himeji from Nara was just tedious.  Already exhausted from the day, we had to change trains in Osaka, stop in Kobe to pick up luggage and then get back on the train for the Princess Road.

For the next few nights, we would tip-toe around each other as we cramped ourselves into my mini-apartment.  This place is fine for me but a crowd of five (and six the night Shuko stayed) was pushing it a bit.  Getting ready in the morning took a longer time than I would have liked but what else should I have expected...it wasn't easy or convenient but it was free!  My favorite part of home-time was listening to the comedy stylings of Jim Norton and Mitch Fatel while Scott, Aubrey and Andy slept.  In fact, one night Andy rolled over and in his best sleep-talking (or whiny three year old) voice asked me to turn down the volume.  I did so but I was very confused by the tone.

On the morning of May 3, we headed to the train station, grabbed a few roadies and boarded the shinkansen to Hiroshima.  As I've told people, Taco Bell is located on a naval base near Hiroshima and is open to the public only one day per year - for an air show.  Well, May 3 was two days before this annual opening by St. Pedro.  Yes, Taco Bell is Mexican heaven.  We came to Hiroshima on Children's Day and the day of a flower festival so the Peace Park area - which is probably always busy was downright manic in spots.  We navigated through crowds, giant origami-inspired cranes and countless food booths to the information building.  About a month ago, Dave's sister sent me a ginormous box of paper cranes for us to deliver to Hiroshima.  There is a famous story that after the bomb dropped in 1945, a girl named Sadako got very sick and thought that if she made 1,000 paper cranes, there would be peace restored in the world.  Unfortunately she died while trying to fulfill her dream.  Since then, people from all of the world visit the Peace Park with 1,000 paper cranes - decorated in beautiful patterns and have them stored near a crane bell - which people ring and ask for peace.  So the students from the high school Dave's sister teaches at worked together to string together 1,000 cranes and we were honored to bring them to Hiroshima for them.  It's truly an amazing and heart-warming story and I am glad to have been a part of it.

Once we escaped the controlled chaos of Hiroshima, we went to Miyajima - famous for the water torii and a few temples on the island near it.  We didn't expect Miyajima to be among our favorite places to visit but it certainly was.  The entire scene was great.  We had to take a ferry from the mainland to the small island port and had a chance to see the torii from different angles - while continuing our day-long game of password.  This was day-long partially because Scott visited the outer reaches of his brain to come up with some of his passwords.  Thankfully Dave tried his hand at deer charming again.  This time, after feeding a particular deer a few times, the deer wanted some more corn but Dave was out.  Instead of satisfyingly leaving us, he opted to lunge toward Dave and take a bite out of Dave's plastic bag.  It's really fun to watch humans react to seemingly harmless animals.  On more than one occasion I've let out girl screams because a bird has flapped its wings way too close to me.  I suppose this was the same phenomenon.  We're such weak creatures...cowering at the sight of a pigeon flying or a deer nibbling at a plastic bag.  In a stroke of luck, we were able to find a kaiten sushi restaurant on the sixth floor of the Hiroshima train station.  Even though it was near closing time and not that high in quality to begin with, we got one of our necessary food experiences crossed off the list before heading back to Himeji.

The next day was spent strictly in the Kansai area and was my favorite day I believe.  A few weeks before the trip, I asked my Japanese teacher/Himeji tourism board member to set us up with an English speaking tour of Himeji Castle.  Becky and I took this tour as well - it's a world of difference to hear things explained, rather than relying on your powers of perception.  I don't think that our tour guide was as good as the one with Becky was it was still very interesting.  Going during Golden Week was the only real problem here because the place has more people than I have ever seen in my ten months here.  There was a wait to get into the actual main building of the castle that would have taken 3 hours to get through - had we waited in that horrific looking queue.  We chose to take many pictures from the outside and allow some time for souvenir shopping.  During their shopping time, I went home to charge my phone and ended up passing out on the floor.  Apparently it took the super friends about a half hour to get back inside - as I had not responded to the doorbell.  I was quite shocked and disoriented to see them but it was a well-deserved nap.  It was time for my most anticipated meal - Kobe beef.  Our potential problem was that we arrived in Kobe at about 2:30 - and many Japanese restaurants close between lunch and dinner hours.  I set out to find the first place I could that didn't look like a poophole that served Kobe beef.  We landed upon a place called Steakland.  I was worried by the name but we gave it a shot.  Its decor reminded me a bowling alley lounge.  Again, a negative but the food looked wonderful at the other teppanyaki tables so we stayed.  We each got Kobe beef which came with garlic chips and a bunch of vegetables.  I cannot remember food that had been so built up living up to expectations, but this did.  It was so tender and juicy...one of those meals where you ration your bites and finish the sides before the main dish because you just don't want it to end.  Oh, and I didn't.  I believe I had about 10 pieces to start...everything but the meat was clear and I had six pieces to work with...heavenly.  My student had given me 5000 yen worth of gift certificates that just so happened to work at this place so I had the best meal of my life for less than 700 yen.

Still basking in its glory, we wandered around Sannomiya, Chinatown, Motomachi and eventually to Harborland.  At Harborland we explored a little memorial to the Kobe earthquake in 1995 that killed over 40,000 people.  I don't think I'll ever understand how devastating an earthquake will be unless I experience one...but this place gave me a pretty good idea.  We walked along the harbor with a promise of crepes keeping us going.  Inhaling the crepes took a few minutes and we hopped on another train to Nada for some organized naked time...at a public bath called onsen.  It sounds dirty and horrible but it's not like what you'd see in the states.  It's family friendly, very clean and supposedly very relaxing.  This place was a series of baths...one hotter than the next.  We moved from bath to bath for a few reasons.  One reason was because the temperatures were affecting us and we needed to keep moving.  More importantly we were approached by a man who wanted to speak English.  I've come to learn how to deal with these people but this guy had an ulterior motive...we think.  Suffice it to say, upon the mention of my girlfriend and Dave's wife, we were excluded pretty rapidly from the conversation.  We would enter a bath and quickly leave in the hopes that he would get the message and not follow us...he did not get the message.  I am not sure how he was finally left behind because I do believe I abandoned Andy and Dave with him and headed for the bamboo to lie down and stare at the sky.  Onsen is interesting.  After so much naked time in Japan, being free in Japan doesn't really bother me but the onsen just gave me a queasy feeling and I am not sure I'll be back.  We ended the night the way so many have for me in Japan...with karaoke.  My only wish on this trip was that karaoke was a little better.  We'd been so tired every day and it came out during karaoke.  It was fun and lively at times but you're putting weary people in a dark room with couches.  No one fell asleep but it wasn't too far off.  Day 4 concluded with six of us occupying every square inch of my apartment.

In the morning, we left Aubrey and Shuko in the apartment to get ready as the rest of us went to visit my friend, Koba, and get some ramen.  I was glad to hear later that Andy really loved the ramen...because that is really the only place I demand for visitors to go when they come to Himeji.  Although I think the food is really good, the place is almost a rite of passage for foreigners here.  Koba and Tatsu are two of the nicest people I've met here and each foreigner that lives here feels somewhat obliged to introduce Koba to visitors and send inquiring tourists to his place.  It's a special and unique relationship we all have with a local shop-owner and I think it's pretty cool.  Buying green tea powder was vital to Scott, so we hit the grocery store before rushing him off to his train.  A few hours later, we saw Shuko off and headed for Tokyo.  Our plan to stop at or near Fuji hit some snags...namely rain and darkness.  We had to forego that idea and get to Tokyo and check into our musty hotel.  We went on a sojourn to find a small place called Monster Cafe in the middle of a maze of tiny streets.  Eventually we found the place and gorged ourselves on burgers and taco rice.  Mmm, delicious...right Becky?  The next day was full of Tokyo.  Tokyo is nothing more than New York to me.  I can live without either place but I understand that it's a destination for tourists.  We got to Tsukiji for sushi in the morning and headed off to Shibuya, Asakusa, Shinjuku and Imperial Palace before Dave and I left Andy and Aubrey because they were staying to explore Tokyo for the next few days.

On the shinkansen rides, Dave and I watched "Hot Rod", "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" and episodes of "Arrested Development"...doesn't get too much better than that.  Before going to sleep, Dave and I watched American Idol and talked like 13 year old girls until we couldn't keep our eyes open anymore.  The next day was the end of the trip...maybe if I didn't sleep, it wouldn't happen!  In the morning we talked and got ready before going to the Sakura Cafe for a traditional Japanese lunch before I had to start work.  And with that, the trip was over.  The Super Friends trip is something that I truly will never forget.  It was so great to see them all again, even for a few days.  As Dave wrote (and I'll paraphrase because I am too tired to look it up), "I realized that it's only with this specific group of guys can I have this kind of fun."  I really love that, with us, we don't need distractions or something else to focus on to have a great time.  We could all be holed up for five days and just talk...and it would be just as fun.  Since we had the setting and the opportunity, we got to share a once in a lifetime trip...I wish that Gobel and Jeff could have made the trip but I am not going to complain at all because this whole thing was a blessing and there's no reason to cast any negative light.  I hope you've made it to the end of this marathon blog without falling asleep.  I intended on placing photos in strategic spots but, again, I am tired so here they are! 

I am not sure that I even look human in this picture but I don't even recall where this was taken...maybe in the elevator down to the international terminal
Scott was the first to be hug attacked
Unbridled happiness!
Andy and Aubrey Go to Japan!
Andy attempting the escape from his capsule lair
Ah Pooh-san!

Missing our baby girl but the family picture was reprised
To haunt your dreams...
My friend, the spider monkey
Five lovely geishas and my undoubtedly proud girlfriend

Smile.......burger!

Under one of the thousands of toriis at Fushimi Inari
I have been waiting for a picture like this for years...and years.

Monkey see, monkey do
The remnants of a building destroyed by the A-bomb at Hiroshima
The water torii at Miyajima from the ferry
A nice group shot of us just in front of the cast of thousands waiting to get in Himeji-jo.
I believe the man in front of me was a pirate.  One of Dave's jokes of the week was, "Hey Matt,  think a gay pirate came by and left his shoes"

Hello/Goodbye

I have some pretty vivid memories from certain instances in my childhood.  Like many people, my childhood was mostly happy and I wouldn't have traded it for another, even if I had a chance.  But there is one bad set of memories that stick out in my head.  I can visualize the front windows from all of the houses where I grew up.  The reason I remember these places over any other parts of the houses is because I had some really sad Saturday morning seared into my subconscious and those front windows were always the setting.  Until about halfway through high school (or even earlier perhaps), my biological father had visitation rights on alternating weekends.  Although we were never close, I looked forward to spending that time with him.  While I can't account for when I was really young, I do know that as I got older and was able to understand what was happening...my father routinely blew me off on these weekends.  Sometimes it was with a series of "I'll be late" phone calls, followed by "I can't make it this weekend" and sometimes it was completely without communication.  What I've noticed about myself, both during that time and since, is that no matter how times I've been disappointed, I always get excited about things like that...seeing and looking forward to spending time with the people in my life.  The only real negative consequence is that, while I am always excited, I don't usually believe good things will happen until they actually do.  I've learned over the last ten years that my friends do not let me down but I still had that aching feeling of impending disappointment until I knew their visit would actually happen.  Last Thursday, it actually happened.  The super friends all arrived.  I had never looked forward to anything more in my life.  I realize the magnitude of that statement and that it was, simply, four friends visiting me but it meant the world to me and I can appreciate it.

I am not going to recount the trip in this post because it's too much of an emotional release to throw in stories of ridiculous antics and pictures of the same but, believe me, they are coming but not now.  One thing I only thought about in passing was that this trip had to end.  For the most part, I kept it out of my head as long as I could.  A few days ago before leaving with the remaining group...Shuko, Dave and I walked Scott to the train station.  He was very near missing his train so we said a quick goodbye.  He emailed later about his subsequent journey and he mentioned getting choked up while saying our goodbyes.  I thought about it more and realized that I didn't.  It was likely a combination of rushing for his train and being the first to leave.  Although I was sad to see him go, I didn't react the way I thought I would.  Last night before boarding the shinkansen back to Himeji with Dave, Andy and Aubrey saw us off from the lobby of their hotel.  Tears formed and it became tough to swallow but I didn't let it all out and I came to understand what was transpiring.  Obviously I was upset seeing my friends leave but I was getting more upset with each goodbye because I was being left alone again.  This morning the wheels came off.  I dropped Dave off at my apartment and said goodbye before leaving for work.  Again, I teared up but not much more.  It wasn't until I got to work and went to the bathroom and again now did I think of everything as a whole and really break down.  Like a ton of bricks, it hit that I was alone.

"Alone" is a tough experience to define.  First, my family and friends are always going to be around and there for me.  They're a phone call or airplane ride away.  I have a great girlfriend, good friends and a bunch of happy kids that I see every week.  So, I am never physically 'alone' but I still feel a bit of loneliness and that life is carrying on in America without me and that makes me sad.  When I look at my friends and see them all making or potentially starting families and maturing with their lives, it gets so much more difficult to rationalize my time here.  Thankfully I understand that these things would be happening whether I am here or not and that it's part of being an adult.  I've made this choice for myself.  I'm happy with the decision I've made.  I still don't have any plans of coming home anytime soon and I am very happy with where my life is taking me.  But today is the first day I can say that I really wish I wasn't in Japan.

Super Friends Trip Preview

I don't think I could anticipate anything more than the upcoming Super Friends trip.  Days at work are spent less planning lessons and more planning each hour of the minimal time we have together.  Here is the general rundown of my plan...and for all of you wonderful people out there in readerland, please take note because when you come to visit, I want you to have ideas.  Andy, Aubrey, Dave and Scott's flight arrives on 4/30 at 3:20pm; Shuko and I plan on meeting them at the airport.  She suggested making a welcome sign - a la a limousine driver looking for his passengers.  I told her she could do that if she wanted to but that requires some semblance of patience upon the first sighting.  And, knowing me, patient will be the last characteristic to describe this.  Dave has told me that he will be actually disappointed if their visit's initial meeting doesn't draw tears.

This is another reason I wish that Jeff could come...he's a fellow crier and would likely have a few run down his cheek.  After all, Jeff and I have engaged in 'who cries first' contests in the past so I know what I would get.  With the crew coming, I just don't know.  Dave is the most emotional person I know but he's not a crier so I am not setting expectations high there.  I'm holding on to this though:  if I was living in Atlanta still and saw Dave for the first time in ten months, it'd be almost impossible to squeeze a tear.  But this is Japan...this situation can be likened to the Bulls/Celtics series.  With Garnett (living in Atlanta), there's almost no chance at all.  Without Garnett (living in Japan), the chances are much greater but still a long shot.  By the way, I am writin this on a Sunday afternoon after staying awake until 5am watching Derrick Rose and Rajon Rondo kill themselves but the Bulls emerging victorious in Game 1.  I know that Andy is capable of tears but I don't believe I've seen them.  He might be too focused on amping himself up to lift me in the air upon first sight.  That takes some serious preparation.  Plus, he has had Aubrey around since I've been gone so I didn't really leave him alone so he hasn't developed enough of a loss.  Aubrey is really awesome but I don't know if we've known each other long enough to have a tear-inducing welcome...but she is a girl.  Scott is the wild card.  On the surface, Scott is relatively emotionless - or a nicer way to put this is that Scott contains himself in the fashion of a man.  As a matter of fact, Scott is a grizzled veteran of a man but that makes him the wild card.  I grew up with Mort and his city worker friends.  They are also grizzled veteran men but anyone in the know will tell you, they are quicker to tears than most and that's what I am curious about with Scott.  We've shared some monumental life experiences and that could all come to a head at Kansai Airport.  I'll cry...I'm fairly sure, so the only real mystery is if I can get it from someone else.  Please root for the active tear ducts...for my sake.  Well that was tangential.

I've planned our first night to some amazing detail and I am really looking forward to hitting the ground running.  From the airport, we're taking a train back to Osaka (Shinsaibashi to be exact) and will head to our capsule hotel - our lodging for the first two nights of the trip.  We've reserved a group room at the capsule hotel.  We will have the capsule experience but we avoid two downfalls of getting single capsules on public floors - 1) the smell of drunk Japanese men or the smell of Euro men and 2) Aubrey would have to stay on a woman's floor.  After a quick check-in, we're getting right back on the train and heading to Koshien for the Hanshin Tigers vs. Yokohama BayStars.  It's too bad the Tigers aren't playing a cooler name - Hiroshima Carp or Nippon Ham Fighters - but it is what it is.  Shuko's friend works for the Hanshin Railways and managed to get us some nice tickets for only 1000 Yen apiece.  I've been to one game and it's definitely a different experience...plus Koshien Stadium had a few renovations in the offseason so maybe we're in for additional treats.  We're looking forward to seeing the newly acquired Tigers right-fielder, Kevin Mench.  He was only known for his giant head in America and, aside from being crap to begin the JPB season, he's only known for that here as well.  The BayStars are trotting out some pitcher who had a cup of coffee with the Cubs a few years ago...surprisingly I had never heard of him.  Being a mainly fact-based blog, I've spent the necessary two minutes to look up his name again...Les Walrond.  Maybe a few of you know him...if you do and haven't read Dave's Cubs blog, please look at the previous entry to access the link.

Once the game ends, we'll try dodging the crowds and head back near Kobe where we have a reservation at an okonomiyaki restaurant. Okonomiyaki is termed a Japanese pancake.  I don't totally understand it because it tastes and consists of nothing reminiscent of a pancake but it is circular and flat.  It means something like "anything you want, grilled".  I met David in Kyoto for okonomiyaki and took Becky to a Himeji place and both seemed to have enjoyed it immensely.  I've taken Scott's quote to heart, "this is my vacation, I can sleep on the plane".  We'll be going non-stop from their arrival until the early morning so I hope I am not dragging zombies around.  After a few hours of sleep in the capsules, we're taking a morning train to Kyoto.

My goal was to keep a mystery appointment concealed from the super friends but I was just unable.  First, I had to tell them the appointment would cost 6500 Yen and that you had to be relatively clean-shaven.  Dave correctly guessed it had something to do with geishas.  So, in fact, we are going to a Maiko shop and will get made over as geishas..complete with white makeup, hair, kimonos and commemorative pictures to serve as the second edition of the brophy.  Please check back in mid-May for those pictures.  I can't promise many things but I promise they will be priceless.  The remainder of the first day should be sightseeing at the Kyoto National Museum, Nijo Castle, Fushimi Inari and Kiyomizu-dera.  Once our feet are ready to give up on the rest of our bodies, we'll head back to Gion for a traditional unagi (eel) dinner and we can walk amongst the nightlife of Kyoto.

On Kyoto Day 2, we'll try hitting Kinkaku-ji (Golden temple), Arashiyama (perhaps the romantic train), Iwatayama (monkey mountain) and maybe Ginkaku-ji (Silver temple) if there's time.  Hopefully we can get out by around 2pm and hop the train to Nara to see the giant Buddha, deer and whatever else there is to see in Nara.  Most of the places we're going in Kyoto, I have been to but I've not been to Nara so I am looking forward to it.  My friend, Ami, is from Nara so she has given us some great ideas of what to see.  Nara shouldn't take us late into the night.  So, if it doesn't, we may have to make another stop but we can see where the wind takes us.  Eventually we will end up in Himeji because the next day begins with an early Shinkansen to Hiroshima.  As the story was relayed to me, a Japanese girl during World War 2 thought that making a thousand paper cranes and hanging them up would bring peace but she died in the middle of her quest.  People heard the story and finished the thousand cranes for her.  Over the years, Japanese and others have been bringing paper cranes to the Peace Park in Hiroshima.  Meg, Dave's sister, told this story to her history class...they made a bunch of cranes, strung them together and sent them to me.  So, we'll be hauling that giant box around to contribute to a pretty heart-warming and nice story.

Aside from the Peace Park and seeing Miyajima (temple in the water), I am not totally sure what else we're doing in Hiroshima but Shuko is from near there so I am sure she'll enlighten us.  One thing is for sure, we're going to a restaurant near Miyajima called Irori Sanzoku - which means "the hearth of a mountain pirate".  I've had to assure the super friends that it is not a pirate themed restaurant.  I am quite sure that was initially disappointing but it should be an experience nonetheless.  My guess is we'll spend the evening in Hiroshima but, if not, we'll make a detour to Okayama or Kurashiki on the way back to the Princess Road (Himeji).

May 4th is the day to explore the general area I live in.  We'll take a guided tour of the Himeji Castle in the morning, followed by lunch - either at this little amazing cafe in Himeji or we'll head to Kobe for some Kobe beef.  After a few hours tromping around Osaka, we'll take the train up to Arima onsen.  Onsen is a hot spring bath...it's remarkably popular here and Arima is one of the more famous places to go.  And onsen time is naked time.  Men and women are separated - which may or may not be a good thing.  One thing is for sure...we'll be stared at for multiple reasons and will likely cause an international incident.  So I may be coming home soon but against my wishes.  On our last night as a five-some, we're going to see Kobe at night and return to Himeji for some obligatory karaoke.  We will be making videos of this - you can count on that.

The next day Scott is leaving - thus ending the really well-planned segment of the trip.  I am terrified of lag times or being unprepared in Scott's presence.  Once he takes off for the airport, the rest of us will head north to Fuji and Tokyo to see what will transpire.  The breakdown of that on a future blog should be a total surprise...for everyone.  I don't even want to think about the day this trip ends but I can take solace in knowing that I will be creating a trip DVD that will premiere at Shuko and my visit to America in December.  I hope you will all be able to attend the premiere viewing party.  And please, submit some ideas of things to film while the super friends are here.  Time to take my leave and enjoy the remainder of my weekend.  Kiyotsukete...sayonara!

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

Becky Visit Part 1

Obligatory self-deprecating comment about the small readership and mediocre writing...and off we go:

Last Tuesday I patiently conducted lessons but, all the while, just waiting for the last lesson of the day. At the end of the final lesson, Becky arrived to meet the students to whom she has been writing letters. Shuko met her at the train station and brought her to Amity. I had not seen her, so it set up a crazy American 'long time, no see' welcoming. In Japan, the run/scream/jump thing does not really happen and some Japanese get noticeably startled when they see it. Well, Becky and I saw each other...she ran in the building, arms up and letting out a high pitched squeal. Almost before I knew it, I had to stop her from entering the school with shoes on. It set up a pretty awkward ten second wait before we could hug and say hellos. I worry about this for the Super Friends visit in May - except that'll be at the airport and I feel I control more of the variables that might alter my dream hello sequence.

After sitting through a half awkward, half surreal meeting between Becky and my students, I finished up my work chores and left to meet Shuko and, eventually, Jacqui for dinner. Somewhere during the meal, Becky's adrenaline wore off and she got super tired so we called it a night. The next morning, my Japanese teacher, Yumi, gave Becky a Japanese lesson - with useful phrases for her trip to Tokyo. And, with that, Becky was off to fend for herself for a few days in the largest city in Japan. Thankfully she returned three days later and we were off to Okinawa. I don't know any better way to recap the trip than through the majesty of song. During the trip, Becky and I decided to write our own lyrics to the song "Strawberry Wine" to encapsulate our adventure. Here is our song, "Pineapple Wine" --

We were watching the takeoff on a video screen
Travelating through airports. We rented a car (Yeah)
Hotel was somewhere between The Art and Tifany
One random store, we stole pearls from the clerk
Oh Taco Bell of my dreams on a well-guarded base
Funny how that Taco Rice, it tastes...

Drinkin' Pineapple Wine
Gettin' Lost
Damn GPS lady wouldn't shut up
Tasting Blue Seal
Oh sugar cane
And Wave 89
Drinkin' Pineapple Wine

Old man bites tenderly on the Silent TV
Biggest fear were stalactites drippin' water on my nose
Answer to trivia was Central Texas College
They called and they called. Scotty said they were wrong
Day after day we'd visit Family Mart
and the American bars

Chorus

The fish are so big somehow
Carts drive themselves and now
Even the roads are gorgeous
Footprints in the sand
Sunset over water so grand
I think I'm gonna throw up

(Attack Scream)

Chorus

We were watching the takeoff on a video screen - We got on the plane and watched the safety information segment. Normally these are not very amusing and I pay no attention but this was Japanese and I am in the habit of listening to see how much I can pick up. It's still minimal. Anyways, after the safety instructions, it looked as if they were showing pictures of airports but we'd come to realize that the picture moved when the plane moved. Oooh, they have a camera showing the takeoff!! It was really cool to watch. It lasted from the takeoff until about five minutes into the flight. Kobe is a port city so we mainly flew over water but it was still amazing to watch things passing so fast. I can't believe this doesn't happen on American flights.

Travelating through airports - Okinawa's airports had moving walkways. It's not too newsworthy on its own until you put an Engrish spin on it. What is a regularly mundane mainstay in airports had become something of Okinawa legend, "Please enter a Travelator carefully". Not only were there travelators at the airport but also the aquarium. It takes very little to entertain us twenty-somethings.

We rented a car - It's possible to get around Okinawa by public transportation but, looking back, I am glad we made the choice to rent a car because we probably would've just been stuck staring at downtown Naha the whole time otherwise. Becky had her international driving license and took the wheel. It's important to know that the steering wheel is on the right and the traffic lanes are reversed from America. Handling those seemed to cause no real issues but the turn signal/window wiper signals were switched. There were countless times when I would hear the "duh-duh-duh" of the wiper clearing dry glass and knowing we'd be turning sometime soon. The car was also the reason for Becky's vacation nickname "Okinawa Drift" - I spent some time worrying about hitting curbs and other cars because we'd continually swerve to the left and right of the white lines.

Hotel was somewhere between The Art and Tifany - We used a group tour package to book our trip. Booking things a la carte in Japan gets horrifically expensive and most people use tour packages when they make vacation plans. Instead of paying $800 for a flight - we ended up paying just under $300 for a flight and three nights hotel. With the good price comes some sacrifices - like a nice hotel. To be fair to the actual hotel, the rooms were clean and that's all that was a real concern. But the Hotel Continental Special lied directly in the center of an entire neighborhood of hostess bars - but that denigrates the name of hostess bars. Hostess bars are places that men go to spend time with girls and pay them for time (whatever happens from there...who knows) but these places were just all out whorehouses. In the sea of whorehouses that was a backdrop for a majority of time, the two we identified as "our whorehouses" were The Art and Tifany. No trip to Okinawa is complete without a three toothed Filipino girl paying her way through coll..univ..high sc..I don't know.

One random store, we stole pearls from the clerk - Becky was on a concerted mission to find black pearls. I don't know anything about these things except that they are pearls, they are black and they are expensive but maybe cheaper in Japan. I suppose it worked out. Becky found earrings in a small shop for about $45. They wrapped them up and handed the bag to Becky and, noticing we were still lingering in the shop, they began the upsell. The only problem was that we hadn't paid. Two minutes of confusion resolved itself when telepathically, we told the clerk we hadn't paid. We realized just after leaving that if we had the intent, those pearls were our's without paying. But we are nice, honest people...paid the money, chatted for a bit and ate the brown sugar candy which we both dislike.

Oh Taco Bell of my dreams on a well-guarded base - I'll get to this a bit later but you should all know that I love Taco Bell, have not had it since June 20, 2008 and Okinawa has four locations. Note - the story will have a bittersweet ending.

Funny how that Taco Rice tastes - One famous food in Okinawa is taco rice. I assumed before hand that it was some octopus (tako) based rice dish. Nope, it's the ingredients of a taco mixed with rice. That's all...but it was delicious and we ate it about four times.

Drinkin Pineapple Wine - Our internet research had proven worthwhile when we discovered the Nago Pineapple Park. Among other activities (which will be covered), the place made and sold its own pineapple wine. We were able to sample sweet, dry and kids' pineapple wine. Champagne for kids in America is a sparkling white grape juice I think with no trace of alcohol. Okinawa is different. Kids' wine just has a lower concentration of alcohol than the others (5%, related to 9%). I would've loved to see a kid get a little sample-happy and start cursing out the staff in Japanese. Alas, it did not happen and we had to settle for our two bottles of pineapple wine as a memento of the pineapple journey.

Gettin' Lost - Pretty self-explanatory. We got lost going everywhere except the aquarium (which was highlighted on signs as if it was something important like Wall Drug in South Dakota). To our credit, we never really got lost returning to the hotel...must've been a tractor beam to the Tifany.

Damn GPS lady wouldn't shut up - Most every car in Japan comes with GPS and so did our rental car. We warned beforehand the car's GPS feature only came in Japanese. This was helpful at points because I can read enough to find things but, otherwise, it was a constant annoyance. We didn't know how to set locations or, more importantly, turn the GPS lady off without also turning off the radio. Every time we would pass a street, GPS lady decided we need to turn around and she would politely tell us to take a left. If Becky wasn't driving and so inclined, she could've learned more Japanese by listening to GPS lady because she said they same thing over and over. Becky could have ascertained meaning and figured out the language. But, as it stood, the damn lady would not be quiet. She became quiet the island nemesis. We defeated her by reaching our destinations in spite of her orders for us to turn around. Two stubborn foreigners 1 Programmed GPS Lady 0.

Tasting Blue Seal - oh sugar cane - Thanks to Shuko we tried Blue Seal ice cream. I guess this is an American ice cream company but is extremely popular in Japan - along with A&W. They had great ice cream with mostly standard flavors but they also had sugar cane and Okinawa Salt Cookies - two of which Becky tried and loved.

And Wave 89 - Wave 89 was the only radio station that broadcasted in English. It was operated by the military on the island. Half of the time they would have local hosts doing shows and half of the time, they took a feed from somewhere on the west coast of the US, I gathered. In between hearing that damn Pink song (about being a rock star and her husband leaving her or something), Becky and would learn about the currency exchange, weather, movie times, special social/educational programs being offered on bases...as well as PSA's about sexual harassment and military family issues...oh, and recollections of lesser known stories from American history related to boosting soldier morale. It was really interesting radio - and, not surprisingly, they would have Fox News programming piped in for news segments.

Old man bites tenderly on silent TV - If you haven't seen it, please watch -

Biggest fear were stalactites drippin' water on my nose - This came from our trip to the Gyokusendo Cave. You'll see some pictures below. Thanks to Becky, I now know that stalagmites are rock formations going upwards and stalactites are rock formations going downwards. The mnemonic used was "Boys' mites go up when girls' tites go down." I bet, if you didn't know that, you'll now remember.

Answer to trivia was Central Texas College. They called and they called. Scotty said they were wrong - Wave 89 was trying to give away some prize and asked a trivia question covering the interview they'd just finished. There was an optional educational program being put on for the soldiers and was being provided by Central Texas College. The DJ asked what school was providing this program. He returned after the song saying that there were a few close guesses but no one one got it. He had to say the name of the school again and run the contest again. Oh low budget radio for idiots!

I will share the Taco Bell story here. On our two hours drive to the aquarium, we had the idea to request a song. Rather than thinking of a song, I daydreamed the following : I would call in and get on the air and bare my soul about how I've gone so long without eating Taco Bell. Some caring and amazing soldier or ten would call in and offer me a sponsorship and I would feel the joy Harold and Kumar must've felt when they found White Castle. So I wanted to hear the song "One Shining Moment" in honor of the NCAA Tournament pairings being just announced. We had the phone number to the station but no idea what area code. I had to resort to sending an email to Arias D (the morning DJ) requesting the song and telling him that I was here to eat Taco Bell. After making fun of me for the "Sent from my iPhone" appearing on the email, he said he couldn't find the song but would pass it along to the afternoon DJ, Scotty Mac. About ten minutes, Sergeant Scott MacAdam sent me an email promising to get "Girlfriend" (my back up choice because they didn't have my first song) on during his show and telling me there was Taco Bell at Camp Foster. This is information I already knew but it enabled me to ask if I, indeed, needed military contact to get to it. Sergeant Scotty Mac wrote back and said that I needed a sponsorship but that I should try Okinawan food. I wasn't going to get Taco Bell but I had to send him one back explaining that I wasn't some dumbass American hell-bent on only eating things I could find at home.

While this didn't end as I wanted, I made a good effort and I got some karmic intervention when Shuko told me that Camp Iwakuni (Hiroshima area) opens for an air show during Golden Week - this includes Taco Bell. It just so happens that the air show this year should fall during the Super Friends visit to Hiroshima. So, Super Friends, I'll be going to Taco Bell that day - please don't judge me..you can eat what you like but I need this.

Day after day we'd visit Family Mart - I've never gotten terribly lost or needed to find places with a map in mainland Japan so I wasn't aware of the Family Mart power. Family Mart is a convenience store and they are.....everywhere! Every place we went was met with Family Mart as a landmark - turn at the Family Mart, if you've hit Family Mart you've gone too far, pick up the hostess at Family Mart and bring her back to Tifany...whatever.

And the American bars - Kokusai Street is the main drag in Naha and it's filled with crazy Japanese trinket stores and American bars.

The fish are so big - We hit the aquarium to see large, brightly colored fish. I think aquariums are amazing and this is the best one I've ever been to - please look at pictures.

Somehow carts drive themselves - At the Nago Pineapple Park, there was a cart tour through the park but the carts moved automatically seemingly without being connected to anything. It was some crazy, robotic Japanese cart system that was half-astounding, half-frightening.

Even the roads are gorgeous - As most of the island is beautiful, so too, are the roads....Becky loved that there was not a pothole to found. Everything was so smooth - smooth enough for Okinawa Drift to earn her nickname.

Footprints in the sand/Sunset over water so grand - I slept on the plane while Becky wrote this - my guess is that she wrote these lines describing the beach where we spent a few hours but, more importantly, I think she wrote these to set up the last line...

I think I'm gonna throw up - At the beach, Becky's headache turned really bad. The ride home did not help matters at all and she ended up diving for the toilet when we got back to the hotel. She spent the remainder of St. Patrick's Day sleeping off sickness - aided by no green beer.

(Attack Scream) - While Becky slept, I went out for some food. She must have subconsciously convinced herself that our hotel and area was unsafe. It was gross and she's not wrong for thinking so. But when I opened the door, I heard what I thought was a recovered Becky trying to startle me. Initially I was surprised but nothing I would classify as scared. Apparently this primal scream that came out was intended to ward off potential intruders. I laughed - so I guess it didn't have the intended effect. Ah well, it's a great way to end our song.



Gobelfish
As close as Becky and I are gonna get to being lions.
Curtain stalactites
Becky shadow yoga pose
Something like a Mighty Morphin Power Ranger
Enjoying a giant........garlic breadstick

Long Time, No Write

It's been a long time since I've written - a time filled with procrastination and pressure from my loyal readers (ie - close family and friends...my circulation is small but devoted) so I feel I owe you a wonderful entry. Maybe sometime in the future that will happen and maybe this one will be mediocre enough to kill 20 minutes at work - less if you just look at pictures and decide that I am too wordy and a skim will do...more if you dissect my sentences for grammar/speling errors (haha) or if you have trouble reading.

A few months back, I learned that Coldplay would be playing a show in Kobe. Since Jeff and Rachael raved about their concert and because I love their latest album, this was a must-see for me. I bought two tickets as soon as I could. As I was riding the train to Kobe the day of the show, the whiteness of the whole experience really hit. I know that I have mentioned and included links to this site before but I'm gonna do it again. (http://www.stuffwhitepeoplelike.com) Generally I am taking a year off (#120) teaching multilingual children (#78) and am usually the only white person around (#71). I rode my bicycle (#61) from my apartment near the water (#51) to the train station to travel (#19) within Japan (#58). I left the apartment wearing a sweater (#103), scarf (#97) and New Balance shoes (#96). I picked up some tea (#13) from Starbucks (how is this not on the list!?) and sat on the train updating Facebook (#106) on my iPhone (#40), reading the latest David Sedaris book (#25) and going to meet my Asian girlfriend (#11) and we'd be standing still at a concert (#67). Oh what a typical day.

As I thought it would be, Coldplay was really entertaining. We enjoyed the show and even had the chance to act like a 13 year old girl when Chris Martin ran by us and we tried like hell just to touch an arm hair. No luck...he positioned himself perfectly between the two swarms of people trying to grope him...didn't even get a sweat spray like the misting from Palm Sunday.

On February 3rd, while the rest of the world celebrated my half birthday, Japan celebrates setsubun. I think the word means something about the separation of seasons but on this day every year, Japanese hold rituals to cleanse evil spirits from the past year and wish good luck for the new year. Most people go to shrines on this day and someone wearing a devil (oni) costume dances and everyone throws beans at it. Some people keep it civil and respect the ritual...some people take this opportunity to channel their inner Daisuke and fire beans at this poor guy. I was among the latter. The ceremony I attended was the weekend before Feb. 3 but I did do some recognizing on the appropriate. I went to Shuko's apartment. She managed to get a few paper devil masks and when her friend unsuspectingly came in, we pelted her with beans. In fairness, we all took turns getting nailed by beans. In case you want to play at home next year, get some roasted soybeans and appoint a devil. When they've managed to protect certain protectables, fire away but make sure you include this phrase: "Oni wa soto! Fuku wa uchi!" (Devils out! Luck In!). If you don't use the expression, you're just throwing roasted soybeans at people - and that is probably assault.

Oh, I am here to teach children English so maybe you'd like to read about that. The Japanese school year starts in April so, in accordance with that, our new schedule and classes start in April. This was a comical process. Our manager called a meeting with Jacqui and me to discuss the progress of our students and what our recommendation was for their new classes. Well, that was the stated purpose of the meeting. What it turned out to be was our manager 'asking' our opinion and then saying she had scheduled students already - if we didn't agree with her decisions, she asked in a variety of ways until we relented or became too confused with her pronoun-mixing-up English and our heads exploded. One way or another, the students I thought could progress or needed some additional help will be going onto whichever lesson best fits our schools best-case-scenario to make money. Although I understood coming into this job (and it was stressed during recruitment) that this is, first, a business...I was not really prepared for this. Over the past eight months, I've come to care a lot about my students' progress and was blinded to the idea of profitability. I was smacked in the face and realized that I just have to do my best for the company and students simultaneously...even if the students are not put in the positions I'd prefer because it would cost the company some money or time. Three months ago I extended my contract for three months...essentially buying myself three months to gain some insight into my life here and whether or not I want to continue it. Amity's policy is ask for contract extensions/notices of expiration six months before the stated end of the contract and that means that I should be expecting another offer pretty soon.

I've been tossing and turning over this year because it has some layers. The concentration on business has recently soured me on the Amity experience. That and the thought of dealing with my staff for longer than I have to are the only roadblocks holding me back. The staff is alright but I occasionally have run-ins with my manager and there really is no sense of team that I've seen in other Amity schools and I'd really like that. On the positive side, I care about my kids and it would be really difficult to leave them. My day to day work life is great...days/weeks fly by, I see happy kids everyday and my schedule is full but not overwhelming. Amity, itself, is a ridiculously organized and supportive company to work for (in my experience anyway). On a grander scale, I've established some roots in the Himeji area and I can't see myself leaving anytime soon. Basically my current stance is that I'll be living in Japan indefinitely but my question lies with whether I stick with Amity or find something else.


Learning Japanese is a constant battle between thinking you've grasped it and knowing that you can communicate at the level of a six year old, except you still can't understand what most people say. If I see Japanese written, it's pretty easy for me to grasp meaning but I am guessing that's more because I can surmise context and know enough basics. Thankfully I have become a little better understanding the language if it's spoken slowly and relies heavily on numbers. My goal is to eventually pass Level 3 of some proficiency exam. I don't really know what that means but it seems to be a common thing people do.

Just in closing, last night Becky arrived in Japan. She landed while I was at work so she made her to way to Himeji from the airport. Shuko met her there and then guided her to Amity so Becky could meet two of my students - one of whom she's been writing letters to...what a surreal meeting of two vastly different parts of my life. Just awesome! Becky is off to Tokyo for a few days and then we're going to Okinawa on Sunday and staying through Wednesday so I will try to write some more about her visit. Here are pictures:

Pictures