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

Winter Break Day 1

I may be cheating death by writing this. My computer charger has a little rip in the cord and needs to be adjusted for about five minutes before it decides to work. Well, upon examination of the charger, it's getting really hot and I fear it will spark, set my sheets and, by extension, me on fire. If you notice a strange trail of letters, just picture me trying, with my last effort on Earth, to communicate with you - and know if they are something like "911" or "SOS", please contact someone with international connections. Maybe "SOS" is inappropriate because that may be only maritime but you get the idea.

Yesterday I went on a hike but I only kinda expected it. My friend said we should go for a hike or walk around the harbor. Assuming she was referring to the harbor-area, I ignored the "hike" part and made my way happily to Kobe. When I got to Sannomiya station, I was informed that we would be hiking up a mountain. Although she said the mountain was not that big - how much does that matter? Yes, I am aware that I am not climbing Mt. Fuji but this is still going to be a steep, breathtaking (literally) excursion! People do these things recreationally. This may have been the first plan of Shuko's (my friend) to kill me. I was not dressed properly, I wore the antithesis of hiking shoes and I am not in, what you would call, mountain hiking shape. So while doing my best impression of someone unaffected by walking straight up, she wanted to play a word game. We started with a Japanese word...the next person had to begin their word with the last letter from the previous word. Note: this game can be ended by using a word ending in "ん”(n). Words in Japanese end in this letter but no words begin with it. My strategy, although effective, was no accepted and we continued on. After half of the mountain was below us, we switched to English. I figured at this point, my brain would recover...nope. Shuko knows a lot of English words but wanted to learn new ones, so I had to think of (and then explain) about fifty new words - mostly ending in "ous". Our game continued until we got to whatever the summit was. I think she just decided to turn around and go back at some point - which was strange because if I was going to bust my ass going up - why not go all of the way?? The only reason I can fathom now is that after she killed me physically and mentally, she was attacking my spirit. Don't let any of my desperate rehashing fool you, Shuko is cute and I was happy the whole time - even if I was externally a sweating, struggling dude in a sweater vest. Oh, so once we hit the sweet, sweet ground..."why don't we go up here to look at the view?". I am convinced this suggestion was an improvisation to her plan - I didn't die, the first time...let's go back up the mountain. Great!

Since I've established my martyr act, I am also worried about my manliness. The other night, I waited outside at a train station for my friend, Chieko, to pick me up. As it turned out, she was stuck at work so I stood there for about thirty minutes before walking to her school. But, I was freezing! Granted, I was wearing a sweatshirt with no hat or gloves but it was only about 30..and then whatever effect the wind had. But still, I gave Gino such a hard time because he'd lost his ability to handle cold - is this happening to me? Is my blood thinning?

Stay tuned, tomorrow I am headed to Universal Studios Japan. I'll write back soon!Ha!! Shuko did not kill me the second time either! And my reward for not dying was the beautiful view of Kobe.

Straight up. Straight up.
This is a shrine for babies who've died before they were born...terribly sad but I still don't understand the backwards swastika thing
Pretty
Shuko is probably looking at the spot on the mountain she figures I would die.
A little higher up....new waterfall, still breathing at a normal rate
A beautiful waterfall at the base of the mountain - back when I was genki enough to take pictures and marvel at nature.

メリ クリマス

I've taken to writing entries sitting alone in the Brazilian restaurant I've come to love as one of my family. Writing and eating alone on Christmas should be reserved for psychopaths or...I don't know, Jews? I've worked on Christmas before but never having to miss a family get together. The feeling of working on Christmas was the same to me as it was in America. Something is always happening and there is a certain level of busyness but everything feels slow and mildly depressing. It's comforting to think that people at home are likely asleep for most of my Christmas. I suppose I shouldn't come off like I am the biggest Christmas freak. Like everyone else, I enjoy being with family and friends - but the actual holiday doesn't really mean all that much to me. I suppose I could say it's too commercialized...I mean, it is but that doesn't really affect me much. Let's see, it's usually more of a stress than it is a relief. Again, my family is small and not too focused on gifts, so I can't use that either. Ok, so I don't have a reason for lacking Christmas sentimentality - but I do.

All told, I miss the Christmas season and being able to see the family together, but I signed up for this so it's not a complaint. My one and only complaint of the day was that I had a four year old student say "Merry Christmas" before any co-worker (aside from Jacqui) did. I got to talk with Jeff this morning and he thought it unfair that we don't have Christmas off. Now I don't believe our school should be closed - Japan doesn't celebrate Christmas traditionally so I saw no purpose for that...but our co-workers know we celebrate Christmas, they know when it is, they know enough to make us plan Christmas themed lessons but not enough to give us the happy wishes.

It's a little unorthodox here...Christmas is everywhere. Lights are up all over town, Christmas music blasts in every store, red and green adorn all types of decoration and there are signs wishing everyone a "Happy Fun Time Xmas" (and the like) but I have not figured out why. I've asked my Japanese friends and I've asked my students and I still really don't know why they're "celebrating" a Western holiday. The reason I put quotes around 'celebrating' is that all the people do is eat cake and give their kids a present. Being a little more sociological, I don't think it varies too much from America. Most Americans don't really celebrate Christmas for its intended purposes - they do so to see their families or pretend to be Christian again for one of two days a year. I feel like this entry is bordering on cynical - and I don't mean it to be so I'll move on.

This weekend, a bunch of friends and I gathered at Mike's house for a Christmas party called "Otsukaresecretsanta". "Otsukaresamadeshita" is the Japanese way to thank someone for their hard work, so we made a play on that. Our party was the second in a line of gaikokujin parties - the first was ArigatoGiving. A lot of the same faces appeared this weekend but we also cycled in a new batch. Mike mainly organized our gift-giving activities. We did a white-elephant 100 Yen gift exchange - which turned out to be much more entertaining than the regular gift exchange. Everyone vied for and eventually lost out on (to me!!) a mysterious gift within many balls of newspaper. Once my friend, Chieko (my official card-holder/present opener) finally got to the middle, we found a little dog nose/tongue mask. It served itself well in pictures and again in school this week.

I was given my friend, Shuko, in the gift exchange. Having known her all of a week and, therefore, knowing nothing...I just went to Kobe and spent about twice the limit because I didn't want to waste time finding something she might not like but fit the spending guidelines. The Body Shop translates cross-culturally I've learned! Easily the most enjoyable part of the night were Chieko's drunken antics. She came to the party having already began her alcohol adventure and wine just about did her in. One second she was sipping on coffee, the next she was passed out kneeling and hunched over a chair. After taking obligatory photos putting a Santa costume on her, we decided to get her to a bed. The process included...propping her up with her arms on peoples' shoulders - nope, she was still passed out, couldn't walk. So I threw her over my shoulder (thank you tiny Japanese girls) and carried her to bed, put her down and effectively wrapped her in a blanket as if she was a Japanese burrito. Something must've gone wrong because as we all exited the room, she fell off the bed and onto the ground. Let me tell you, she may be a little Japanese girl but dead-lifting anyone is difficult. Finally we got her to remain stable in bed - and, miraculously, she slept through all of this and remembered none of it. She woke about an hour later and rallied. Well done Chieko! If you know anything about my Japanese life, you know how this night ended.

What's coming up - ohh...BREAK! Even though I will be doing absolutely nothing for the first half of it, it's just about the right time. A week off from the kids is going to make me much less likely to throw one out a window when I return. And, on the 2nd, Gino is coming!! Even though he's only staying for a few days, I cannot wait. It's a little stressful to try planning for Gino - he gives me absolutely no ideas about what he might want to do - basically, it'd be like me coming to visit someone. I am happy doing pretty much whatever that doesn't involve discomfort, so I'll approach it that way! It's somewhere around 75 days until Becky comes! Becky, on the other hand, has spreadsheets and things broken out by time and activity. This is much easier for me because I show up, give her a place to stay, pretend to be a tour guide and fumble through remedial Japanese to impress her. We're going to Okinawa - you may remember my plan to re-enact The Karate Kid 3 - but another fabulous reason to go to Okinawa is that there are four Taco Bells there. My only hope is that they're not closed to the public because they're on American military bases. I'll present whatever form of ID I need to to run for the border again. The only remaining issue with Becky and my parents' visits is that, even though I trust them both, they have not booked yet so I refuse to totally believe either trip. In late April, my parents say they're coming - and then Dave/Scott/Andy/Aubrey come! I am going to have to go through another strenuous ordeal to get days off for their trip but it's all worth it. Alright, my Christmas dinner is about over and I don't want to be the loser that just sits in an empty restaurant hacking away on a laptop so I'll sign out, go home and put some pictures on here for you.

Merry Christmas to everyone and I can't wait to see and talk to you!

Mom, I am wearing the bitchin tie you sent me! It amused more adults than it did children but that's ok!