Sunday, August 31, 2008

They Have Declared War

What a beautiful Sunday morning in Fukuroi! What an adventure last night, as I was bitten by a snake while climbing and had to be evacuated off the top of the mountain by helicopter….

Just kidding. I actually forewent Fuji last night, as I just wasn’t feeling the energy and haven’t been sleeping so well lately with thunderstorms and crazy evil insects invading my apartment at night. It was pelting rain all night and day yesterday and really didn’t want to spend all night climbing in the pouring rain, atop getting no sleep. I also didn’t really think about the fact I wouldn’t be getting any sleep Saturday night, and considering my constant lack of sleep the past four weeks, thought really to attempt this now would just be stupid. So, Fuji isn’t going anywhere, and I will attempt it more likely next summer. I know, no exciting stories to share with you from that, but no worries! My life is still plenty exciting without climbing giant mountains.
So instead I spent the day yesterday inside, reading and napping, enjoying the smell and sound of the constant rain. It was exactly what I needed, to have some downtime to recharge the batteries in preparation for the upcoming week, since I will have to speak at the Opening Ceremony tomorrow (Monday) and then teach all my first classes this week.

The evil insects have not ceased fire. Today I took a broom on the balcony and beat the giant ants until they all went scattering. Then I yelled at the spiders that web themselves all over my clothes-drying bar to do their jobs and start catching some of these bugs, since I was obviously providing a free place to occupy. Friday a bunch of the giant cockroach bugs and beetles decided a team effort was necessary and threw themselves mercilessly at the balcony door… Clunk, clunk, clunk….clunk….clunk. This went on for about an hour, and after I yelled “Are you done yet?” a few more clunks, and then they decided to take a break. Fortunately for me, it started raining so they scurried away to wherever they live. When I discover this, I plan to strike back. That’s right giant, evil bugs! Don’t mess with me!

So since my apartment feels like its in a jungle, the bugs are extremely loud (and have a tendency to be obnoxious). Crickets, cicadas, and various other insects all yelling and screaming at each other. There is one insect, and I am not sure what it is, but it literally, screams. Every morning, after the city bells ring to awaken everyone, the screamer ensures that there is no way I can fall back asleep…”eeeeeeehhhhh eh eh eh eeeehhhhhhhhhhhhhhh eh eh eh eh eeeeeeehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh”. The other night he sounded so ecstatic about something I yelled out the window, “is something going on???? CALM DOWN!!!” When I find the screamer… lets just say he won’t be screaming anymore.

Other exciting news: I found a new backpack at my Japanese REI store, (called Swen so I stop calling it Japanese REI store). I spent about an hour and a half trying on about every backpack it seemed like, adjusting all the straps, walking around with it, throwing stuff in to test the weight, etc. The workers walked by several times but I’m sure it was too intimidating to help me, as I would have been too intimidated to ask for help, since my limited vocabulary would have just forced me to repeat the same things over and over hoping that they would eventually just understand what I meant. Something that has been driving me crazy though, is at every store, they ask if you want a bag when you purchase your item or items. Now, I finally caught this word at the grocery store – “fukura” but as I have been listening for “fukura” now, I have come to realize they use different names for bags at different places. This drives me crazy as I always pause and look at them, “eh?” and they repeat themselves, which doesn’t help since I still don’t understand, and I usually just point to my backpack at that point since in the context I assume it probably is about a bag rather than anything else. Context helps more than I would have ever imagined when communicating in another language and culture you don’t know so well.

From my further random explorations of Fukuroi (my city), I discovered a “Super Drug Store” that reminds me of Walmart, so basically has everything. I roamed around inside for probably an hour, just completely enamored with all the different things they have. I needed mosquito bite medicine, so I finally found what looked to be bug creams. I’m staring at them all, willing my brain to suddenly understand Japanese completely, and believing this wishing might actually work, when a nice woman came up to me and asked if I needed help (in Japanese, and again, context gave that away). I looked at her, debating what I should say so as not to create a big awkward moment, and finally said…”baito kurimu?” while pointing at the box of something I was holding, and then thinking how I could imitate a mosquito if she didn’t understand what I said. She nodded and took the box, and said “Moskite?” to which I responded quite enthusiastically, “HAI HAI!!!!” Then she started speaking in English, just a few words, but turned out she knew enough to say which was the best and the worst mosquito bite cream. I find it ironic, since this has happened to me elsewhere, instead of just asking if they speak English I just start my awkward Japanese-speak and then they watch me, probably thinking why doesn’t she just ask if we speak English, and then respond to whatever I’m saying in English. Needless to say it makes my life easier but at the same time isn’t exactly challenging.

I went to the train station to purchase Shinkansen tickets for my upcoming exciting TRIP to Kanazawa (a city, on the Sea of Japan side) this weekend to see one of my friends… (Shinkansen is the “bullet train”, the incredibly fast ones). So I walk up, say onegaishimasu (please kind of phrase) while I hand the paper I had written all the details so carefully for the worker. Well the guy looked at me, asked about where I was going in Japanese first, to confirm what I had written on the paper, and then he suddenly switches into near fluent English, which completely shocked me as really I spent all that time writing everything out so carefully, even non-smoking and all of that, and the guy spoke English. Figures.

Suppose I’ll wrap up here, as I’ve been sitting in this smoky internet café and choking the entire time – oh can’t wait to have internet, as it should be hooked up sometime this week. Hurrah!

Now off to enjoy the rest of the sunny evening….eh wait never mind the sun probably set by now, sets so early here in Japan. And no daylight savings so rises incredibly early as well. I shall update about my first week of school, later!

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Only Gets Better in Japan

My hair has finally adapted to the humidity. Over the last four weeks I have contemplated chopping off my long locks in favor of a cooler neck and a more manageable mane. Sure enough, my hair has won an exceeding amount of times in our daily battles. However, last week I finally arose victorious as my hair looked its normal self when I let it out of its bun prison that has held it captive during our lengthy struggle. I have taken this as a sign of my further adaptation in my new home as I reached the official one month mark.

The past weekend I hopped on a train to Izu Peninsula to visit a friend and check out the area, known for some of the best onsens and recreation (well, Shizuoka in general). I did not anticipate much trouble on this journey, as I have grown accustomed to taking the trains around here. Well, sure enough I would find some way to display my foreigner incompetence. As I was changing trains, from the main local to a more area-specific local, I remembered my friend told me to purchase a ticket for the train I was about to get on, and put it in the ticket receptor with the ticket from the train I just rode. Well, I did as she said, following the sign also, and stuck both in at the same time. Suddenly alarms go off and the gates shut in front of me…as I realize that my tickets had jammed in the machine. Well, I certainly didn’t freak out and panic, I started laughing. For some reason I found it so incredibly funny that I had stopped everything and the worker had to come out, open the machine and retrieve my tickets. So I was unsuccessfully suppressing laughter as I exclaimed, “Sumimasen! Sumimasen!” (excuse me/sorry) .

Later that evening, upon arrival, we went wandering for snacks and food. We stumbled across a pizza shop and decided to try some Japanese-style pizza. Now, the basic idea of pizza is the same as what you would normally see, but they tend to favor mayonnaise along with the tomato sauce. The pizza we got had lots of different things on it, separated into sections, but some of those ingredients included teriyaki chicken, corn, and potatoes, among things you would expect like cheese and parsley. I thought it was delicious.

After a rather sleep-deprived night, due to staying up late, I awoke to calm, cool temperatures and familiar gray skies, to which immediately I thought of my dear Pacific Northwest. Staring out the window that morning as I munched on yogurt covered cereal and watermelon Kit Kats, I was transfixed by the misty clouds that swirled in and out of the green mountains nearby. A river ran right through this part of town and the view from my friend’s apartment was amazing, as she can even see Mt. Fuji on a clear day (though unfortunately, I have yet to see it, and probably won’t see it until I’m actually climbing it). She commented of how the landscape reminds her of Jurassic Park, and I had to agree, as the trees aren’t like Northwest Evergreens, but resemble a jungle. My mind couldn’t help but wander towards what could have taken place in this spot many years ago, before modernization, and how the people lived – I suppose the exotic nature of it all induced such thoughts. Sometimes I think similar things of the Northwest, and how vastly different it is from the rest of the country, with rugged volcanos, pungent green forests and breathtaking waterscapes. Of course, the last bite of cereal took me out of my reverie and back to the day’s itinerary.

We traveled to Shuzenji, a town somewhat nearby. We wanted to see the famous seven waterfalls but after about an hour of teamwork attempting to figure out which bus went there, when it went, and how much it cost, we decided it was too expensive (only to find out later we could take it to a different place and walk to the waterfalls for cheaper). So we wandered around town for awhile, spent some time in the souvenir shop at the train station and discovered we could get our favorite tempura-soba at the station, which really more than made our day.

Later on we went in search of one of the onsens on the map. We found one, although after going in, realized it wasn’t the one we were looking for, since it was pretty small. An onsen is basically a public bath, and is often hot springs or other types of baths, and you can soak in them (after cleaning thoroughly of course). Well they feel just wonderful (think hot tub type thing). Of course we found ways to embarrass ourselves at the onsen since I had no idea how to tie on the yukata. Well the way I was doing it wasn’t working at all and so I just tried to make it work the best I could. Of course later on that evening a Japanese lady came up as I was struggling with it again and basically tied it properly for me.

Sunday we decided to travel to another town nearby that my friend knew had a really nice onsen. We got there, and I was quite amazed as they had a salt bath, a mineral bath, tea baths, and various temperature baths throughout the area. I could feel my muscles relaxing over the course of the hour and resolved to figure out the closest onsen to where I live.

I actually felt competent for once though on Sunday as I was able to read most of the price/time board at the onsen we went to. Also, I successfully asked the bus driver at the station if he was going to the onsen we were going to. I have asked a similar question before, but it went much smoother this time than in the times past – so smooth it felt normal for me to ask it, as if I actually know Japanese. I have to say it is starting to come easier from being here, though I still have a long ways to go.
Saturday, we went to a traditional Japanese sweet shop for treats, and the ladies that worked there were so nice I wanted to try and communicate with them, but most of what they said to me I really didn’t understand and had to repeat what they said over and over, to which they responded with silence, I’m assuming not to embarrass me or something (of course I never cease to embarrass myself). The more I interact with people the more strongly I feel about wanting to communicate with them. They all seem like such nice people and eager to talk to me, except for the language barrier. Almost all of them that have made some attempt to talk to me try to use the English they know, and I can’t help but feel that I need to meet them halfway by using Japanese. Many people of course have been studying English longer than I have been studying Japanese, but I hope to be able to communicate better with Japanese people in the near to far future.

On another note, I cooked for the first time since I arrived in Japan. I have been mostly doing the cereal thing at home, along with buying food or eating out every evening since it is easier and I am always running around, so decided to settle down for once and make some curry. Of course after figuring out how to get the gas stove to work, finally had it all made, and yes, it was quite delicious. Not that this is any phenomenon since I cooked in the States too… but just the fact that I didn’t eat out for once in four weeks. Signs of settling in, surely.

After a nice quiet evening of food, chatting on my iPhone and working on this blog, I decided to get to bed a bit earlier and actually attempt to sleep 8 hours for once. Well, as I’m nearing dreamland, comfortable on my futon with my amazing pillow, I suddenly hear a strange noise, like someone, or something, trying to get in my apartment. The relaxation I had felt all day after the onsen ceased as my heart started racing and my blood ran cold. I jumped up, flipped on the lights and slowly crept into the living room. I then noticed a large bug, about the size of an electric plug, jumping around by the balcony door. I stifled a scream, ran to find the various bug sprays my predecessor had left behind, located the one with a cockroach on it, and ran back to the bug. I began spraying at it wildly, hoping it would drop dead, but to my horror, it spread its wings and started flying around. This time, I actually did scream, dropped the spray can and ran into my bedroom, shutting the door behind me. I stood pressed against the door, attempting to breathe as I listened to my enemy fly around.

Finally, all was quiet as I carefully opened the door again, tiptoeing over to the corner of the living room where the little beast had fallen. He was upside down, and I thought to myself, “this is my last chance, I must kill him now or I die…” so I picked up the spray can and again, sprayed relentlessly at the invader as he kept making noises and trying to flip himself around. After about a minute, I realized he was on his merry little way to bug heaven, so I ceased spraying, satisfied that I would not die in my sleep that night. I double checked the doors and windows, and then went to bed – after shutting my bedroom door. The irony of this was that I had just been telling someone about how the bugs were all conspiring against me, waiting outside my apartment and plotting their first attack on me. So apparently I understand the language of bugs.

Other than this rather frightening experience, I feel more at home here every day. It feels that I’ve been here for far longer than I actually have, and yet there is still so much I don’t know and need to find out. This weekend though, will be my Fuji weekend. A group of Shizuoka ALTs will be going to Fuji on Saturday night (convenient since Mt. Fuji is in Shizuoka) and climbing through the night to reach the top by sunrise. So far all I’ve heard about the climb is awful things, so I can’t say my expectations are very high, but I know I would go crazy if I didn’t do it.

After this climb, school begin September 1st. I have to give a speech at the Opening Ceremony in English and Japanese, so I need to work on that this week. Then the 2nd will be my first day of actual class! I have been (slowly) working on my self-introduction so hopefully all goes well. I am looking forward to developing a bit more of a routine, but either way I am enjoying everything right now. Even the weather has been great the last few days, aside the intense, drenching rain, the temperature is comfortable and I get to enjoy the many thunderstorms that pass through. It almost feels like fall really, and fall is of course, one of my favorite times of the year. (Although a hard toss up between that and spring.) Now to fend my territory from evil insects…

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Three Weeks and Counting...

3 and a half weeks. It has already been 3 and a half weeks and I am on my way to 4 this weekend. The weather has been sunny and warm (most of you would say hot but I am of the cold-blooded type), and of course quite humid. After being gone for half of the week at our prefectural orientation in Kakegawa last week (the city next to Fukuroi), I resolved to sleep in last Saturday morning and then attempt to organize and clean my apartment. I still don’t quite feel like the apartment has a “me” feel to it- it still feels like my predecessor’s…although my clothes scattered across the floor does make it feel like home. I still lack organizational containers or boxes for clothes and papers, so my goal is to find those in the coming weeks. However, I feel that I am rarely at home to attempt organization, and when I am I tend to spend most of the time on my iPhone with my one source of internet, watching movies on my laptop or Japanese television.

Actually the other night I was watching TV, and it was some teenage soap opera it looked like…I found it incredibly amusing even though I only had a slight clue what was happening. A high school guy and girl were playing beach volleyball with a teacher, when the guy goes for a dig and slams his hand into one of the net poles. Camera pans to guy as his hand is shaking in uncontrollable spasms, and girl gasps. Well, next scene pans to the girl talking with what I think was her guy friend in the classroom (a different guy), and he is sullen and avoiding her questions (I think he was upset about a girl he was interested in who was flirting with some other guy). Suddenly, one of the girls in the class runs in and interrupts them, and sullen boy and question girl get up to follow her to a room as beautiful piano music is playing. Well the door opens and the girl exclaims something as the boy with the “busted” hand was playing the piano. Question girl had gone to speak with the teacher and they got into an argument, when suddenly CRASH! Glass breaking. They rush to piano room where busted hand guy has his not-really-busted but now-busted hand in a broken window. Teacher carefully extracts it and then they go on a camping trip. (I know, I wasn’t sure when this came in). Then a piano appears on the beach and the teacher asks busted hand boy to play, and then music plays as the credits roll. I am not sure exactly what kept me enthralled in this show but probably the fact that I kept laughing at busted hand boy when each event happened with him. I know my sister and a couple of my friends would be in hysterics right along with me. My first experiences with Japanese television…

Another amazing thing about Japan I absolutely must mention is in Japan people generally hang their laundry outside to dry. I have long wanted to do this since I always received angry letters and calls from my landlords in Seattle about ugly eyesores that no one wants to look at from the street. (I wondered, does anyone really stare at people’s balconies when they are walking on the street? I certainly never did.) So it has been quite nice to hang my laundry out in the sun every day, aside being surprised by random spiders that like to hide in some things and suddenly appear when I put a shirt on or shake out a towel.
Speaking of spiders, the other night I kept hearing a “chirp, chirp, chirp” and it was coming from somewhere in my apartment. Well eventually I caught the culprit, a cricket, in the box in my door (not the mailbox but like a mail slot). Of course I was afraid he would attack me if I opened the box so I just taped paper over the vents so it would muffle his serenading that night. I also have adopted a pet spider in my bathroom. He is small and usually hangs out in the upper corner, and sometimes I talk to him in the shower. His name is Fernando. Fernando actually does some pretty cool tricks… he likes to hide until I walk into the shower area and then he suddenly scampers up the wall to greet me. Well then I turn the water on which scares little Fernando so he flattens himself out and fits himself into a crease of the doorframe. I suppose to keep dry.

I am enjoying my bike and love riding it around everyday, it makes things so much easier, although I am probably risking death since apparently the drivers aren’t used to bikers on the road here, but I can’t go very fast if I ride on the sidewalk with the pedestrians (and I have to pull up my front wheel every time I cross the street because of the curbs). The other day I was actually able to get to the local department store in our city, about 3 miles northwest of me. This doesn’t seem very far, but of course if you drive a car it takes no time at all – by bike, on these crazy roads, it took about 35 minutes. Regardless, I have made more discoveries from riding my bike. In fact, just the other day as I was heading up to the department store, I suddenly saw some brands on a building that really attract me like a fly to light. Columbia, North Face, Coleman….I read as I rode closer when suddenly I realized it was an outdoors store! My very own Japanese-REI in MY city! I had been googling sporting stores for a week or so and expected I would have to travel a bit to get to one, (although those ones may be bigger than the one I found) but the store I found had everything in it, and it was pretty large, surprisingly, so that pretty much made my week. Well, among many other things that makes my week every week here in this Disneylandish country.

Japanese children are adorable. Absolutely adorable. In fact my friends and I have been discussing how we can obtain our own Japanese child. Some of the children in my neighborhood were running around one day as I was walking out of my apartment and as they all are running at breakneck pace past me they yell “Konnichiwa!!!!!!” to which I of course responded “Konnichiwa!” while my heart melted on the pavement. Then I was riding the train one day and observing a little family sitting nearby, when the conductor announces the next stop, Iwata. The little boy in the family says “Iwata! Iwata desu!”, mimicking the conductor, and proceeds to make up his own song and sings it the rest of the time I was on the train, “Iwaaata, Iwaaata, Iwaaata, Iwata desu!” over and over.

I also helped one of the teacher’s son’s with some of his English homework. An elementary school kid I would say. Well it was so much fun helping the boy figure out what to put where and when he was done he says “Thank you for teaching me Ashurii” (My name is pronounced that way in Japanese, since they don’t use “L” or “R” sounds and “Sh” is always combined with a vowel). Again, melted heart. It really never ends with all these adorable children.

The first two days of this week were Summer Seminar in Hamamatsu, so I spent that time with other ALTs working with high school students on their English. The students were great and I had a lot of fun interacting with them, and I think they really liked me because they all wanted pictures, and every time they saw me the second day they got excited and said “ASHURII!!! ASHURII!!!” Then I saw a bunch of them after we had left and were getting donuts from, where else, Mister Donut, before we headed back home, and so every time I saw a small group they of course get really excited, and run up exclaiming “ASHURII!”
I still don’t have internet, and don’t expect to for awhile for various reasons. I am planning on heading to the Izu Peninsula of Shizuoka this weekend to visit a friend and (hopefully, if we can find it) see the famous seven waterfalls. I don’t remember the name so I’ll update with that later. We also hope to visit one, or a few, onsens (hot spring baths basically) since she has many near her. The following weekend is a tentatively planned Mt. Fuji climb….we shall see about that though.

OH! How could I forget! I went out to lunch last Sunday with my new Japanese friends that work at Mister Donut. We decided on sushi so they took me to a conveyor belt sushi place in Hamamatsu. THIS place had TVs at every booth that you order off of, by pressing various buttons, choosing what you want, how many, and then the order comes out on a train that goes by all the booths. GENIOUS. The sushi was also amazing of course, and I had some of the most amazing soft serve ice cream ever. It was pretty fun, despite my somewhat poor Japanese skills, but I attempted to talk with the two girls who didn’t know any English, so the one friend wouldn’t have to translate the entire time. Although really I think we spent more time laughing than anything else, especially because I was so amazed at everything and kept saying WOW!!!!!! Then they laughed hysterically. We also made faces at the little babies and children who would stare at us (you know how kids do that, just looking around and checking things out) so that was quite fun.

That day, and the past few weeks, has made me think a lot about non-verbal communication and how often we use it in every day life, because it seems that we can really understand a lot about people simply from non-verbal cues. This is of course a big part of Japanese culture in general (from what I have learned anyway), but in a more universal sense, it amazes me that even though people are from different cultures and backgrounds, in some of the most basic ways, we communicate the same. Even watching children and teenagers here, you can see how they are shaped in different manners, but in essential development, they are similar to their Western counterparts. Of course, this kind of thing always has me fascinated…being a Social Sciences major and all. Communication, at least the essence of it, transcends cultural mores - in otherwords, we, as human beings, are really all essentially the same.

Monday, August 11, 2008

Ah yes, what a grand weekend adventure. Saturday began with a few hours of organizing and cleaning my apartment in preparation of a friend from the Izu peninsula of Shizuoka, who was coming for the festival and then staying the night. The entire day I heard what I assumed was the “practice” fireworks, and since they are shot off very near my apartment. Around afternoon time a fellow teacher arrived near my apartment with my brand new XC bike, which I have been looking forward to all week, since really walking in this humidity can be incredibly miserable. The traffic officers for the festival were hanging out at the end of my road where I met the teacher to get the bike, since they were obviously not allowed outside traffic in, and they all were oohing and ahhing over my bike. One of them asked if the seat was too high, which I got at the bike shop too, but I have long legs and this topic seems to come up quite often since in comparison, my legs are just a lot longer than I think what most of them see. Sometimes I feel incredibly tall, and I usually feel tall in the States, but feel even taller here since I am taller than a lot of the men as well. Needless to say, I love my new bike, as it is fast and light and I was sad that I didn’t get to try it out that very day. However, I did try it out Sunday night, but will return to that momentarily.

So I walked to Aino Station to pick up my friend, and the entire sidewalk, from my apartment to the station, was packed with people. This essentially remained the same the rest of the night, as the festival is a popular event. Some people had commented that I had not seen a crowd until I went to this festival, but I must argue that Seattle is definitely a metropolis and sees its own similar crowds for these types of events, a la Gasworks Park on the 4th of July, Bite of Seattle, Seahawks games, etc etc. I laughed because really it felt much the same crowding as I would experience back home.




Nonetheless, my friend and I wrestled our way through the crowds to try various food items at the vendors lining the park near my apartment. Chocolate-dipped bananas, okonomiyakis (a pancake type thing with lots of random stuff mixed in, vegetables, seafood, etc), crepes, and candied apples (it was a baby apple and I really wasn’t sure what was inside the candy part so wanted to try it). The fireworks were also quite impressive, many just like home and so somewhat boring to me, but there were quite a few that were a lot different, larger, and with various effects that I have not seen before. It was pretty amazing to watch and I was sad not to have my digital SLR for this event.

Well Sunday was more exploring in Hamamatsu, what seems to be my comfort city as of late, and another visit to Mister Donut. Due to my frequent visits, I now have a Japanese friend there, who is very nice and laughs all the time like I do so we get along well.

On Sunday night after my friend left to go home I decided to go for a quick jaunt around the neighborhood. This jaunt soon turned into a couple miles south, and since I have GPS on my phone, I can easily figure out where I am. So, in light of the beautiful evening, a sunset in the west and a thunderstorm in the east (I love all the thunderstorms here right now – my absolute favorite weather), I decided to bike it all the way to the beach. The beach of, yes, the Pacific Ocean. Now, really I think it was only about 3-4 miles away, and counting my various stops and slowdowns to avoid being driven off the road by crazy drivers, took me around half an hour or so. The moment I arrived though was incredible, as there was just a glimpse of daylight left, and as I rode through all these trees, that felt like the jungle, wondering if I really was going to see the ocean tonight, suddenly I came out onto a sandy beach filled with surfers (at that moment I thought how much my sister would love to be there) and large, rolling waves slapping the shore. I absolutely love the ocean, the smell and the movement of it, and so it was a perfect reward for my intense ride to find it. I wanted to stay and sit awhile but since it was dark, and all the surfers were packing up, I thought it best to head back to my apartment. I have to say I am very blessed to be so near the water and mountains, and even just the park near my place with the fantastic view…its really more than I thought I would get but suits me well. There are so many hills and mountains around here that I plan on exploring the trails soon – I did pick up a walking map but its all in Japanese so I’m not sure how helpful it will actually be. So much excitement comes from exploring though, and just venturing to new places and getting “lost” in order to figure out how to get back. It makes me feel like a kid again in some ways, just having one adventure after the other, except it’s real rather than imaginary.

On that note, my friend and I tried purikura on Sunday in Hama, which is basically like photo booths that really only girls can do (or a girl and a guy but I can’t imagine guys wanting to do this) and you take all these pictures in the booth, then decorate them, then print them out. Well, we really had no idea what we were doing and so the first time thought we had lost our photos since we didn’t know they came out of the side. We also saw the time going for us to decorate but had no idea how to so we sat there pressing random buttons. These nice girls found our photos and brought them to us, of course as we were trying to do another set, once again messing up even though we were sure we had it that time. We had a sheep background, which we really wanted, but since we are incompetent at purikura, we lost our sheep photo, but did get one of us with a cat…. I hope to scan these in at some point. We also struck up conversation with some high school girls, or rather they came up to talk to us. We also got our Taiko drum game in – one of my new favorite games.

I hope to get out and bike and hike around more in the coming weeks, but plan on checking out some random place this weekend if possible…and hopefully plan a couple trips in September. Oh and, considering climbing Mt. Fuji the end of August – that is if I can get in shape in time, but I kind of like the idea of the challenge right now. Sort of symbolic almost. I am amazed that it has only been about two weeks, and so much has happened and everything is incredibly new and exciting and different and interesting…. So off I go on another adventure for now!

Friday, August 8, 2008

Contentment

Content. This is certainly what I feel for the most part right now. Quite honestly I expected myself to be taken up in a whirlwind of emotions and constant discomfort, but all I feel now is perfectly content. One might wonder, how exactly, would I feel so content in a foreign country and culture, and I could pose a few apparent reasons – though more likely exist that I am simply unaware of at this point.

I contemplated this thought of contentment as I walked home from Fukuroi Station this evening. The humid air was clinging to my skin as it normally does, resistant to the pleasant breeze, which fatally attempted to ease some of my sweaty misery. Dusk had settled in and a thunderstorm brewed overhead, signifying its presence with thunder and lightning. My thoughts drifted to stopping at one of the many konbinis (convenience stores) on the way home to pick up some kind of sweet treat. (As I said, there is soft serve and delicious treats EVERYWHERE!) The fact that I have access to any number of my favorite foods on a daily basis seems to provide some source of satisfaction. And yes, satisfaction from food is certainly not any type of TRUE satisfaction, but it certainly brings a certain amount of joy to my life.

This brings me to a great realization I had today as I went to a large depato (department store) in Hamamatsu (the closest large city to me). The entire basement floor of this store was FOOD. Not just a grocery store or market or something, it was full of little shop type vendors, kind of like what you see in the cosmetics section at actual department stores, selling various types of food at each. Again, I felt like a kid in a candy store and almost passed out because it was so overwhelming. They even had pack of nigiri sushi (yes the slabs of fish on rice) for only 400 yen, which is about $4. That is much, much cheaper than at home, and tastes ten times better. So for all you food lovers out there, especially of Japanese food, (and aren’t afraid to try new things) you will love eating here. I should also note that some of the candy and snacks are kind of crazy, such as watermelon Kit Kats (they really do taste like watermelon chocolate – sounds gross but is actually quite good).

Another weakness of mine is electronics. Why do I bring this up? There are discount and recycle shops everywhere with “used” electronics. Some of it is used but a lot of it looks brand new…but of course cheaper than the original price, which would be expensive here. I’ve already scoped out my digital SLR camera set that I plan on purchasing once I actually start making money, and a few other fun things have caught my eye, like the PS3. However, on that note, I would like to officially introduce the newest member to my family of electronic toys – the iPhone. Yes, it looked so lonesome in the cell phone store, not only that but it blinked at me with its sleek, shiny face in a way that you could only translate as “pick me! Pick me!” All the other phones looked so self-assured and sociable with their phone buddies, and my iPhone was sitting there all by itself, calling my name, and so of course I took it home. Took about 3 hours, and various translating, but finally it was in my hands and I was connected to the world again with internet. Of course now I can’t stop playing with my phone and my poor iPod is feeling neglected, and my Mac is sad too since all I ever do on it anymore is watch movies and write blogs. Oh toys…
Ah yes, and then a P.E. teacher was nice enough to give me his extremely large flat screen TV for free. I don’t know the measurements but it has to be at least 3 feet across. With all this food and electronics, I am not sure how I will ever be able to go back to Seattle again…

Most of you are well aware of the fact that I frequent bathrooms and public restrooms, and well, anywhere that can be used as a place to pee. (Excuse the crudeness here). Being that I am in Japan, in the middle of the humid season, I sweat constantly. I played basketball with the girl’s team again yesterday for three hours, and I sweated right through my dri-wick clothes. They wicked but then remained soaked themselves…and through the night as well. I also soaked up most of my towel. Of course the two hours following practice I also continued to sweat. Needless to say, it was very disgusting and since I sweat all my fluid these days, I hardly need the bathroom anymore. Are you impressed? I thought you might be. This has also served as a source of contentment for me, as I never worry anymore about using the restroom, or making sure there is a restroom where I am going.

On the topic of restrooms, you might be familiar with what is known as a “squat toilet.” A traditional Japanese toilet of course, still around in Japan, though Western toilets seem to be pretty common. I have to say though, you would think the squat toilets would be horrible but they really aren’t. It is just like going hiking or something. I will end this subject here…
Oh, how could I forget, pillows. They have of course, cotton pillows and down pillows and foam pillows like at home, but they also have these other strange pillows, some with beans and others with some material I am not sure about. I have to say that my entire life I have failed to find a comfortable pillow, and I have spent money looking for one. Cotton, down, latex, they all fail. However, I just found a pillow, it might have some kind of beans inside I’m not sure, but so far it has been very nice to use at night. I will mention too that I sleep on a futon on the floor. The futon is a traditional Japanese futon, not a Western futon, and you wouldn’t think it would be that comfortable but I seem to be sleeping pretty well. This in itself is amazing for me since I am such a light sleeper. Oh, contentment.

I don’t have to drive a car anymore, so my anger level has decreased significantly…and I walk everywhere right now since I don’t have a bike so that seems to keep me full of endorphins (on top of practicing with the sports clubs). The atmosphere is so calm here (yes even in spite of areas with bright flashing lights) and the people are incredibly nice. In fact, I was walking to the station the other day when a woman stops her car, gets out and starts motioning at me. I look behind me to see if she was talking to someone else, since I have no idea who she is. She calls out “Fukuroi Eki?” To which I reply, “Hai, Eki!” while motioning in the direction of the station (Eki means station). She spoke some English, said she would take me to the station. I hopped in the car and her two year old daughter immediately jumped from the front seat into my lap. Her mom tried to get her to come back into the front seat she was in, but the girl just sat on my lap staring at her mom with a look that resembled defiance. (Two year olds really are the same everywhere). I found this generous offer so vastly different from many experiences I have had, and really, I’ve had people offer me rides before, but not a random woman with children, and certainly not of some other culture offering. I am the freaky looking blonde, tall, white girl, so it has been interesting…

Just the other day I walked up to the top of Aino Koen, (Koen means park) which is right across the street from where I live. It is a lovely park, (I will upload pictures soon, I am waiting for an internet connection!) and there are nice trails that lead up this hill to the top. The landscaping of course is enough to take your breath away but to stand at the top of the hill and see all of Fukuroi city, or at least most of it, is pretty incredible. A lot of it is simply agricultural land for rice and green tea, so the landscape reminds me of Bellingham, even with the various tree-filled hills to the south of the city that stand between the city itself and the ocean. It was a nice evening to sit up at the top, and watch the sun turn pink as it sets. It looks large, and the sunsets thus far have been very different from what I have seen at home.

So as I sat and watched the sun set and observed my new home, I felt a sincere sense of contentment. I knew at that moment that I am exactly where I need to be, even if I really am not completely sure why I am here. The interesting and ironic thing about this whole life transition, is that I feel much more relaxed than I have felt in quite some time. Perhaps because the stress of moving is gone, and I am not in school anymore, but really I feel so calm and relaxed. I laugh constantly, I go with the flow, and I feel, in a sense, more like myself than I have ever been, and yet so surprised because I never thought I would react this way after a transition like this. I know, some of you might say to just wait or something like that, but if you know me well, you would know that even a few years ago, something like this probably would have set me off into pandemonium with no end in sight. The idea that I really cannot control anything that happens here, that it is not MY culture or anything that I can interpret with my own lens, seems to leave me with just an easygoing mentality as I really am a foreigner, and interpreting as a third-person (or at least trying to, minus the food part). I merely exist now within a new framework, as I attempt to make sense of me in it somehow. I feel no fear, I have no qualms (aside the obvious discomfort of navigating in a new culture outside your comfort zone)…and many of you knew that a little over a week ago I felt as if I was jumping off a cliff into the unknown. I did that, and now I seem to have found some kind of oasis. At least for now. So as I finish off this bag of cookies I’ve been munching on this evening, after my salmon sushi and matcha-flavored chocolates, I will rest tonight in a wonderful state of contentment.

Friday, August 1, 2008

Stages 1 & 2

They say culture shock has several stages, beginning with euphoria, following with some analyzing, then anger & hostility to be completed by adaptation. I felt the initial sense of euphoria upon exploration in Tokyo, and still feel it for amazing things like green tea in vending machines (I’m not sure I will ever get over this). However I also note some things that are a bit uncomfortable (as to be expected) but leave me analyzing this so-called “culture shock” since I tend to want to prove something with experience before it solidifies as a theory in my mind.

Wednesday we left Tokyo for Shizuoka – a 3 hour bus ride. We stopped somewhere along the way, although I don’t remember where and wish that I did, for lunch. I had a delicious tempura-soba, (soba noodles in broth, with chopped vegetables mixed with baby shrimp and fried tempura style, and completed with green onions). The meal was AMAZING and by far the best soba I have ever had, and I am sad I didn’t remember where we stopped because I would love to go there again, just for the soba. Then a friend and I went in search of soft-serve ice cream, and ordered the green tea/vanilla swirl. Someone informed me, as I was licking my ice cream, that Shizuoka folks love their soft serve, and that its everywhere in all kinds of flavors. I almost fell off my seat I was so in shock by this. Soft serve everywhere??? To a Seattlite who has lacked DQ the past the five years, this is truly a euphoric experience.

Upon arrival in Shiz, we had to give some nerve-wracking speeches to our supervisors and carted off to our respective cities and towns. The first thing my supervisor asked was if I liked Ichiro Suzuki, to which I laughed and said the Mariners are from my city (a better response than: …yes I suppose except that I dislike baseball… better to start off on good foot here). I was informed I would meet my Kyoto-sensei (vice principal) and Kocho-sensei (principal) when we arrived, which really eased my nerves. (If you believed that, need to catch on to subtle sarcasm). After an awkward hour of bowing and hajime mashite’s and yoroshiku onegaishimasu’s, we went shopping for a fridge and washing machine, which were delivered yesterday thank goodness, so I can actually eat. I also bought an amazing toaster oven which is larger than most of the typical toaster ovens here so I can cook more things. (I didn’t want to buy a microwave). These were all secondhand, so cheaper. So for all your secondhand shoppers, Japan would be a dream for you.

I was tired at this point but was also starving so my supervisor took me to dinner with a fellow teacher for – soba. I had claimed all the foods I liked but mentioned how amazing lunch was. Of course I didn’t want soba after lunch, especially since I doubted it could live up to my amazing lunch expectations. I ordered something a little different, good but not euphoric. I have to say since I got to Japan my healthy diet has partially gone out the window. I don’t even know if lettuce exists here…(I did find lettuce, but only two kinds and very small).

Finally I was able to sleep, and started my first day of work yesterday. The day went by quickly, since I had many papers to read and sign, and my supervisor and I ran many errands. I also joined the girl’s basketball practice, which reminded me exactly of high school basketball practice with all the running and work, and I have been lazy for so long. I also haven’t played basketball in awhile so had to get my body used to what I was doing. Needless to say, today I can hardly move my body. The girls also tried their best to communicate with me. One funny moment was when one asked if I was tired (I must have looked like I was dying). I was doing ok, so I said (in English) “a little bit…” They all looked at each other quizzically, unsure of what I said. I thought they had heard little before, so I said “chotto….?” (little bit in Japanese) and they all exclaimed “AHHHHH chotto! Little!” I have a feeling I will be using chotto a lot since I say a little in English a lot.

A sidenote – everytime I speak in English the girls laugh and giggle. I’m not sure if its me, or what, but I have been laughing at myself these days it doesn’t matter anyway. I laugh too, dance around and make funny hand motions. They also make fun of the girls who try to talk to me in English, repeating their words as if they did something wrong. Rather amusing.
I will skip the rest of the day but got a call during work from my sempai (senior) who technically “looks after” us new ALTs. You don’t even know how incredibly excited I was to speak in English, full-on, without worrying about if they understand me or not. She mentioned taking me and the other ALT in my city, who is also new, to meet her friends and get some food. At home, I’m not too social and usually stick to hanging out at home or going out with one or two friends but not for anything huge… but I have to tell you a day full of Japanese and I was DYING. So she picked us up later and we headed to Hamamatsu for dinner.

I won’t go into much detail of the first part of the evening, but I have tried more new food the past few day than I have in a year I think. For dinner I had these yummy mochi balls with melted CHEESE in the middle, and they are fried (I know, so healthy), shredded daikon (radish), yakitori, bean sprouts, and these delightful fried shrimp. By the way, the shrimp were fried…whole, legs and everything. They really just tasted fried and nothing else. Weren’t bad actually. I also have tried chicken heart (texture between beef and fat), some strange seaweed salad, a mashed up fish/veggie “bamboo” ring (it is molded around bamboo so it has a hole), fried mochi balls with curry inside, seaweed and cheese sticks, and some other random food. I basically just start eating and then ask what the food is later.

On the topic of food…. Dessert is divine here. I love Japanese desserts, snacks and treats. I polished off a box of chocolate covered almonds (similar but slightly different than at home), a roll of mini choco chip cookies, some donuts, and my favorite koala choco cookies (found at Asian supermarkets at home). Yes, food, for the most part, is quite excellent here.
Also eventful of the evening in Hama was a long conversation another ALT and I had with a cashier at Mister Donut (donut shop). She spoke some English and so we talked in a mixture of Japanese and English, as we asked about the benefits of becoming a Mister Donut member. It was an incredibly random conversation, but she was really nice, and laughed a lot, so we must have been pretty funny. (Who am I kidding I was laughing the entire time).

After we walked out we wandered down the street, sort of tired and staring into space. Well, suddenly this little gray kitten I had been trying to take a picture of earlier darted across the sidewalk just as a man was riding his bicycle in that same place. I find it hard to describe in a way that will make you fall out of your chair laughing as I essentially did when I saw this, but I will try. Along rides a man on his bike, just pedaling happily, not really paying attention to much. Suddenly, little gray kitten has a spaz attack and streaks from his hiding place like lightning right in front of the man’s bicycle tire. SQUEEEEAK!!!! Man practically flips over the bike as kitten almost becomes kitty pancake. Ashley is doubled over having a laughing attack at this point. Man recovers from near heart attack, as does kitty. I digress, cats have some innate sense that spurs them to run across streets and sidewalks when a large moving object is coming towards them. Why else do so many cats end up on the road? Sad to say, but really…not too bright kitties. And of course, some men walking by started laughing at me, since I was laughing so hard.

The past few days have been somewhat uncomfortable, but in a good way. As each day goes by I start to adjust a bit more, and learn how to live rather than just survive. I am comfortable taking the trains, which I feel is a big step in my adjustment (now I just need a bike!). I also feel somewhat more comfortable greeting others and saying appropriate things at appropriate times. My Japanese is slowly working its way from the depths of my mind back to the surface so I can actually use it. People say the first stage is euphoria, noticing similarities… and the second stage noticing differences. However, I’ve been noticing both, and on an equal level. I cannot speak too soon, but I wonder if people who experience culture shock to a greater level really are incapable of examining the things from a third person type of view, rather than just confronting in first person. When I analyze, I see it as it is within its context, just as I do at home. Getting angry is just letting the situation control you, similar as to home, or anywhere. Something we aren’t used to, something doesn’t make sense, but all of that is within our own context, not theirs. Perhaps these are ignorant words since I have only been here a week… but from a theoretical standpoint (based in sociology) it makes complete sense.

On a lighter note…saw my first gokiburi (cockroach) today and then in fright ran through a spider web belonging to a giant spider. Gokiburi = culture shock.