Kindergarten Graduation

Okay, I don;t know about all of you but the only graduation I ever remember having was my high school graduation. I probably would remember my college graduation except I opted not to go. I mean, there are a gajillion students at UF and most of them are in the College of Liberal Arts and Science so my graduation ceremony would have been about 36 hours long, in summer, in Florida. Yeah, great idea.

Anyhow, I don't remember having anything happen in Middle School, and I certainly don't remember anything from Elementary. And Kindergarten? All I remember from Kindergarten was that we had to sit at an orange table when we were bad. And I only had to sit there once. So, you can imagine my amazement today as I attended to Kindergarten Graduation Ceremony here in Semine. My first surprise was right after I showed up and was gently chided for showing up in only a white shirt and necktie. I had not worn a suit jacket. It's Kindergarten. So, I had to borrow a jacket from the vice-principal of the Elementary in order to not look like a fool.

It began with each student coming out and bowing to the audience individually before moving to their seat. Next, the principal presented each kid with their diploma after which they received a small flower bouquet and then gave both of these to their mother. After each student had been called up, there were a couple of speeches. One from the principal. One from the head of the social center. And one from the mayor. Yes, the mayor. Then they called on all of the 'guests of honor' individually and each one said "Omedetou gozaimasu" which means "Congratulations" to which the students, of course, replies "Arigatou gozaimasu" which means "Thank you." That is, everyone except for me. It was getting almost comical how everyone was saying the same thing so I took the chance when I was called on (Yes, I was a 'guest of honor as well!) to say "Congratulations" in English. I quickly followed it with the Japanese version but the kids were already confused. Still, one little girl managed to get off a "Thank you" in English which got quite the reaction. I tried not to glow.

Then the kids sang us a couple songs and each spoke for a couple seconds about what they remember as something special from their time at Kindergarten. All in all it was a really nice ceremony and I can't help but feel almost ashamed. Maybe years and years from now when these kids finally get out of college they won't remember this day (of course there will be video if the group of fathers in the back with cameras is any indicator). Maybe I did have some little ceremony back when I was five and the memory has just faded away at this point. But even if something did happen, I know for a fact it wasn't as big a deal as what I saw today. And not as big as what I will be seeing soon. The JHS and Elementary graduation ceremonies are coming up soon.

The big thing here is of course the JHS ceremony. Since you have to test into high school here, most of the kids will be splitting up and going to different places. Heck, I went to the same college town as my best friends (I had to say 'college town' because some of those slackers never actually made it through the school part). Point being, we didn't split up until our 20s. These kids will be saying goodbye at age 14-15, on Saturday. I expect tears. Heck, I expect people other than me to cry too. I'm already feeling verklempt.

Wait, it's good?

Okay, so I've been watching a little bit of TV here. Recently I decided to revisit Star Trek: The Next Generation beginning with the earliest episodes I could find. I've watched a few of the earliest episodes in recent weeks and I have to say, they are pretty cheesy. Don't get me wrong, I loved The Next Generation and even watching it now, it's good stuff. It's just that, especially in the beginning, it was kind of silly at times. Even as the series progressed and really hit its stride it never left behind the sense of fun and humor that has always been a part of the Star Trek world. How many episodes of the original series ended with Kirk and Bones laughing while Spock raised an eyebrow?

Now, allow me to switch it up. Last year someone decided to bring back Battlestar Galactica, which was always one of my absolute favorite shows as a kid. As a general rule, I think that remakes are pretty much a bad idea. Just read my previous post about the Star Wars and E.T. Special Editions to see what I'm talking about. As I began to hear a little more about how they were going to change the show, I only got more frustrated. Starbuck and Boomer would now be women. Great. Now we can make it all sexy. And th Cylons? No longer aliens, but robots that man created which then turned on us because they think they can run things better. And now they have the ability to look just real humans. Hold on, didn't I see this years ago with Arnold Schwarzenegger? I was far from interested in seeing it.

But then I read a review on one of the few blogs I regularly visit and that guy talked it up pretty well so I finally decided to at least give it a shot. I watched the first episode.

That was all it took.

The new Battlestar Galactica is seriously good. I mean that in the sense that it's actually very good and in the sense that it is serious. This is why I mentions Star Trek: The Next Generation. As great as it was, it always maintained this sense of lighthearted comedy in the background, and this is something that nearly all science-fiction does. It's almost like an apology. "We know we're doing something a bit ridiculous so we'll admit it through the use of some quips and whatnot." But BSG doesn't do that. They've put these characters in a tight spot that would have to be treated with deadly seriousness if there were any hope to survive, so the characters treat it accordingly. It is incredibly different from the original, but if you want to see something just like the old show, then just watch that. The writing is good. The acting is good. The special effect are surprisingly good, and in fact better than what Lucas gave us in the last two Star Wars travesties, I mean movies.

I know this has nothing to do with Japan or really anything. But the fact is, the new BSG is great. Watch an episode from the first season of The Next Generation and then watch one from season 5 or 6. The quality difference is astounding. Now, check out BSG. This first season is as good as pretty much anything ST:TNG ever did. If it lasts and actually gets better, it has the potential to be one of the best sci-fi shows ever. This alone has probably sealed its doom, but that's all the more reason to watch.

So, check it out. I think this is actually a science fiction show that anyone could dig, regardless of whether or not they are as nerdy as me.

I am 20% Emo.

Okay... so I'm not emo at all.. I am probably not even goth, because goths are just messed up emo kids... I am probably a metal head... or into boy bands...

Take the
Emo Test
@ FualiDotCom

Yeah, that's what I figured. Not that there isn't any good Emo music (Wait, what is Emo again?) but just that all genres are primarily filled with formulaic garbage. That's what makes it a genre. The music is all easily recognizable as being a part of that genre, meaning it is formulaic and unoriginal. Which means it's boring.

But how did they know I'm into boy bands...

Me with my snowboarding gear 

He Just Doesn't Sound Like a Real Alien Now...

Guess I got burned out on this after that ridiculous Australia account. But, I'm back.

So, my 2nd grade students (who would be 8th graders in the USA) have finished their textbook early. The other teachers were shocked when I said that I don't actually remember ever finishing a textbook. I mean, what's wrong with us? Isn't the information at the end important? Isn't it the culmination of everything you've learned the whole year and thereby designed to set you up for the further learning you'll receive the next year? Yeah sure it is, but whatever. So I didn't learn about American History past Nixon until I was... oh wait, I had to do that on my own. Man, what is wrong with us?

Anyhow, point being that since we got done quickly, they thought it would be nice to reward the students by allowing them to watch an American movie which the textbook used to teach some grammar. "E.T. and Elliott become best friends." "It's the most moving science fiction movie." Yes, the superlative grammar point was taught by using E.T. so we are watching it now. But, the video tape they were able to rent is dubbed in Japanese which has been a pretty weird thing to watch. I haven't seen the movie in a long time, and to see it now in Japanese is definitely odd. "E.T. ouchi denwa" just doesn't seem as right as "E.T. phone home." You know what I mean?

But, and here's where I really go off on a tangent, this doesn't bother me. See, they rented a newer video tape which means this is the E.T. Special Edition that was released just a year or two ago. Usually I'm a fan of the Special Editions because it means cleaning up the video quality and, if it's a DVD, including cool stuff like Deleted Scenes and Commentary. But Spielberg decided to go the George Lucas Special Edition route which means actually altering the movie itself. Yes, he thought it would be better if he used some CGI effects to make E.T. more expressive. And while we're at it, we don't really want federal agents holding guns while the kids fly off in their bikes. Federal agents don't use guns! Especially not when kids are involved! So, let's change those to walkie talkies, which will look like they're sort of floating in the guys hands because they're not really there.

I hate this. I hated it when Lucas did it to Star Wars and I hate it in E.T. Lucas and Spielberg can spend all day thinking that these are their movies and that they can do whatever they want to with them, but they're wrong. These are NOT their movies. They're OURS. Star Wars didn't become a long-lasting cultural phenomenon because George Lucas willed it, it happened because millions of fans all over the world loved it and supported it. We loved the movies the way they were and we didn't feel like they needed to be changed. We loved E.T. back in 1982 and we never thought it didn't look good enough. If we had it wouldn't have been one of the world's most popular movies ever. This is the same kind of thinking that got Ted Turner to colorize movies which, if you'll notice, he doesn't do any more. I mean, why not change some other old movies? That scene at the end of Casablanca? Let's put some more panes around so it looks more like a real airfield. And Olivier's Hamlet? Let's digitally add in more buildings in the background so it really looks like ancient Denmark. And ooh, ooh, CGI blood spurting out whenever someone dies in The Seven Samurai. That would make it a better movie.

But, okay, Lucas and Spielberg are nutty and they want to "reward" us by giving us something new to look at. I can accept that. I saw the Star Wars Special Editions in the theater because I wanted to see the new stuff. Whatever. But what really pisses me off is the actual disdain they must have for the people who made these movies what they are. The fact that Lucas has said that he will never release the original versions of Star Wars on DVD is just that, disdain. Star Wars Special Edition wasn't a movie that got people everywhere playing with toys and dressing up like fools. That was Star Wars. And to tell us that we are not allowed to buy it is an insult. Release both versions and make more money! What's wrong with that? What, the guy who gave us Jar Jar Binks is somehow concerned about his artistic integrity? Who the hell are you kidding?

So, I will never buy Star Wars on DVD even though I would like to have it, because it's not really Star Wars. It's not the movie I grew up with and loved. And that should be my option. Instead, as a feeble attempt to lash out at the man I feel has betrayed me, I will download it and try to let others do the same thing from me. If he puts out the real movie I will buy it and immediately delete the Special Edition from my computer (because I'd never want to watch again anyhow). As for E.T., same deal. Don't take something people have loved for multiple generations, slap some crappy CGI in it, and then tell us it's better and we wouldn't want the original anyhow.

On the bright side, I understood nearly all of E.T. even though it was only in Japanese, which felt pretty good.

Australia Part Last

Okay, considering that I got back from this trip over a month ago it has just started to seem ridiculous that I am still talking about it. So, let's fly through the rest of this and get back to talking about things which are probably less interesting (I hope that's saying something) but are at least more recent.

Near the end of my time in Sydney I decided that I should do something a bit more touristy, and I also wanted to show my students kangaroos and koalas. So, the obvious choice was the Taronga Zoo. Now, you don't just go to the zoo, you go down to the Quays and take a ferry. So I took a few scenic shots on the way there, giving you a different view of the famous Opera House. Never thought I would take so many pictures of that thing, but then I didn't figure I would go there more than once.

Once at the zoo, I hit the Information Desk to get a map and the nice lady asked me if I was mostly interested in Australian animals. Of course I was so I got the map with all of the Australian animals highlighted so you can skip the boring stuff likes elephants and giraffes. Now, this zoo is pretty big so it was probably best that I just stuck to a few parts of it. And really zoos aren't that fun when you are by yourself. So, I took pictures of animals. That's really all you do at a zoo, so there's not much to tell you here. Go look at the pictures.

The next day was my last, so of course it was on this night that I met four more cool people to hang out with. Yeah, great. Where were you four a week ago huh? Well, it was a great time on my last night going out with a group of six instead of just two. Still, we went to the same places but it was fun.

Then it was up early and off to the airport. The flight, as before, was great but I had a bit of dread this time. Not because I didn't want to leave. Actually the one time I had a bit of homesickness during this trip I thought of Japan, not America. No, this dread was because of my layover. I was headed back to Taipei, but instead of a 3 hour layover I had a 20 hour layover. That's not a typo. You can imagine that I was not looking forward to camping out in an airport for 20 hours. But then, when I got to Taipei they herded all of us into some room and split us into those who had an overnight layover and those (the other 4 people) who didn't. Those of us who were there overnight *gasp* got put up in a hotel for free! And not just a hotel, a country club! And they gave us breakfast for free too! Yay! So, instead of sleeping in a plastic chair I got a nice bed with a shower and TV and everything. Too bad I checked my baggage which had all of my clothes...

The one amusing thing that happened here was that I decided to check out the mini-fridge and possibly have a beer. Now, I know there is such a thing as Taiwan Beer because I had some on the plane. But what did I find when I opened that fridge? Asahi Super Dry. Japanese beer. The same stuff I usually drink here.

Then it was off to the airport and off to Japan. I took the train from Narita to Tokyo, then took the subway to Shinjuku (which is part of Tokyo) and then took the 6 hour overnight bus back to Sendai. I had to wait for this bus so I got to take some pictures of the Illumination Circus there, which was cool. Then in Sendai I caught the first train at 6:30 AM to get to my town. I stepped out of the station to see the little town of Semine which I have come to totally think of as home. It was covered in snow. It was beautiful. It was ridiculously cold. I woke up the next day sick. Ahhhh, back in Japan....

Australia Part 6

After a few a couple days hitting various establishments in Sydney which coincidentally sold beer, it became New Year's Eve. Scott and I had asked a few locals (only a few, because it's surprisingly hard to find an Australian in Sydney near New Years) and the consensus was that we should go wherever we were going early. Really early. With no real plan we eventually decided on the most obvious spot in the city: the Opera House. With a great view of the harbor and of course the Harbor Bridge how could we go wrong?

So, we headed down there after having some breakfast/lunch on New Year's Eve to see how crowded it was getting and there were already a couple hundred people settled in. This was at about noon. We found a good spot with a light pole to lean against and laid out our blanket, preparing for the wait. Didn't really think this through and after about an hour of simply sitting there in the scorching heat of the midday Sydney sun we began to realize how poorly we had planned for this. Now, because so many people go there at New Year's they close off the gates once it gets too full. Residents of Sydney can get special passes allowing them in even once the gates are closed, but for those of us visiting we just have to get there early and stay there. Still, by 1 PM I was willing to risk it. I left Scott to guard our spot and headed to a nearby convenience store where I grabbed some bottled water, a deck of cards, and some sunblock. The sunblock was ludicrously expensive but was probably the most important thing I bought. SPF 20 and we slathered it on repeatedly and I STILL got people noticing how much sun I got over a week later when I got back to Japan. And it was all from this day.

So, it's maybe 1 - 1:30 PM. The sun doesn't set until after 8 PM. There was a small fireworks show at 9:30 for the kiddies and then the big one at midnight. So we sat there and played cards. And played cards. We invented a game. It sucked. But we still played it a few times. I taught him, like, 4 card games. We played Go Fish for crying out loud. I mean, you almost looked forward to needing to use the toilet even though you'd have to wait in line because it meant doing SOMETHING.

Around 6 or 7 we began to notice people gathering on the 2nd story terrace of the Opera House. This turned out to be a wedding ceremony. Can you imagine having your wedding on New Year's Eve in Sydney in front of about 3000 people? Well, someone did. Seemed like a nice ceremony too. When the groom kissed the bride people cheered and clapped. Hope it made him feel good because I'm guessing someone paid a pretty penny for that.

Sometime after 11 PM some Australian woman introduced herself to us. She seemed nice and had apparently taken a liking to Scott. However, when it turned out she had had her eye on us for several hours ("Did you enjoy your card game? Man, you sure seemed to win more than him!") we were a little weirded out. Still, she was nice. Her British friend came over to distract me so the Aussie could chat up Scott. Of course, the Brit started making claims about how great the fireworks were going to be and how they would outdo anything we could do in America and I could just forget about Disney and blah blah blah.

So, midnight comes and the fireworks go off and they're great and all. I mean, I've seen some pretty spectacular fireworks shows and to be honest the ones they do in Disneyworld are pretty awesome. And they do those every single day. There was this big silver ball on the bridge and we had been waiting all day (ALL DAY!) to see what it would do. It went down a little bit. That was it. Turned out it hadn't worked. It was supposed to spin around and shoot off more fireworks or something but it didn't work. So, after all was said and done and it was obvious that it hadn't worked right I couldn't help but turn to the Brit and say, "You know, in America, our balls work." I know, I know, but how often do you have a setup like that? Huh?

Then it was off to a bar for a few drinks. Actually just one. The sun had sapped our strength over the course of those 8 hours and we weren't prepared for any real partying. So, we headed somewhere which had a live band. They played (you guessed it) cover songs of American rock music. I mean, these guys did Sweet Home Alabama. Then, near the end of the set, the singer starts wishing people a Happy New Year. "Happy New Year to the Australians! Happy New Year to the Brits! Happy New Year to New Zealanders!" He did several countries but there was one country conspicuously missing. Can you guess which one?

Then it was off to bed and back to my lunch-movie-dinner-bar hopping schedule.

Australia Part 5

Having heard so much about the fantastic Darling Harbour, Scott and I decided to head over there while the sun was still up and check it out. Neither of us was really interested in visiting the Aquarium, having been to a few in other places. I mean, I went scuba diving off the Florida keys and had a pair of nurse sharks swim within a couple yards of me shortly after being stalked by a barracuda. Seeing some fish behind glass isn't all that exciting now. And if we weren't interested in the aquarium, you should have seen how long it took us to decide that we weren't going to the National Maritime Museum. I'm not sure stopwatches can record time that short. Oddly enough, all of the ads I saw for the National Maritime Museum seemed to be aimed at kids. That makes sense. You know how much kids love maritime related stuff. I couldn't tell you how many kids I have heard say, "Oh, golly, if only there was more maritime related stuff in my day." Right.

Otherwise, Darling Harbour appeared to be restaurants and sports bars. There was some shopping, but since I wasn't looking for clothing or jewelry (although there was this really nice diamond necklace...) I didn't see much there. And that was it. We grabbed some food, and although my burger was pretty decent Scott didn't eat his chicken because it was smothered in cheese. This was when I found out he didn't eat cheese. Who knew there were people who are not lactose intolerant and yet still don't eat cheese? Huh.

So, we came back that night to see how the night life was in Darling Harbour since it was supposed to be a highlight of Sydney. It wasn't. Not a whole lot going on there. So, after a couple drinks we headed off in the general direction of Chinatown, which is pretty small (at least compared to New York and San Francisco) and was mostly closed. Still we had a beer at a British Pub. In Chinatown. Because that makes sense.

Then we headed back in the general direction of our hostel. In order to do this we had to head to the aforementioned George St. and right when we reached it we saw what looked like a reasonably hopping place across the street. This place was Scruffy Murphy's, which as it turns out is something of a chain. The important thing was that it seemed lively. We headed in to discover that they have a live band every night. A live cover band. Who plays American music. Because, other than the British, we make the best music in the world. We also make the worst music in the world though, so don't start feeling too patriotic just yet. Anyhow, this was one of my favorite places in Sydney. Not overly clean, but the music was familiar and mostly good. And it was crowded which was something we hadn't really found up to that point.

And we would be back. Oh yes, we would...

Australia Part 4

Because all of my money was in Traveler's Cheques I had to break them at the rate of about one every day. Now, as I had understood it based on my own lack of experience, hearsay, and stuff that I just made up in my head, you can use a Traveler's Cheque at any store. This, at least in Sydney, is not true at all. Only larger stores, hotels, and whatnot will take them. Fortunately, there was a Woolworth's not far from where I was staying, which was actually between me and anything I would want to do anyhow.

And here's where we begin to discuss my vacationing pattern.

I would wake up early. You know, 12:00-12:30 in the afternoon. Shower. Get presentable. Head to Woolworth's. Buy something. Anything. I mean, you have to buy something in order to break a Traveler's Cheque but it can be anything. For the most part I didn't really need anything but I had to buy a little something everyday. Gum. Razors. A pen. Something. Then, I would head to SubWay for breakfast/lunch. I worked at a SubWay for a long time back in Gainesville and I thought I had gotten sick of it, but it really is pretty good for fast food. And more importantly they don't have them in Japan so I enjoyed it while I could. Then I would swing by the theater and see what was showing and at what times. A little wandering and then it was back to the theater. It cost a little over $15 to see a movie in Sydney, which would be about $11.25 US. Not cheap, but it's tough to catch American movies in Japan at all where I am so I saw everything I could. Blade:Trinity, Ocean's Twelve, The Incredibles, Meet the Fockers, Saw, and I Heart Huckabees. On a short side note, if you do not see I Heart Huckabees when it comes to video you are doing yourself a great disservice as this is probably the best movie I have seen in a LONG time.
Then it was back to the hostel to bum around a bit more until I found Scott. We would make our plans for the night.
"So, uh, you wanna grab a bite to eat?"
"Yeah, sure. Maybe get a drink after that."
"Cool."
After a few days it became a joke to us.
"Hmmm, let me check my schedule and get back to you."
"Well, I don't normally drink... But since I'm on vacation maybe just one beer..."

Anywho, he would hit the showers and then we would meet up again. Apparently, living in the desert has created in him the habit of showering at least twice a day. Then, we would find somewhere to eat, which was often a pub. Then, we would check out places on George St. This is, in my opinion, where all the good places in Sydney are. We also hit The Rocks (previously mentioned) as well as Darling Harbour. Both of those, according to the little free tourist books I picked up in the airport, are supposed to be the two best places to go. But having been there early on, and then heading to George St., we quickly gave up on going anywhere else.

There are a lot of great bars and clubs on George St., but we didn't find the good ones until we went somewhere else...

Australia Part 3

So, after a relaxing day wandering around Sydney, still experiencing an almost dream-like state, I finally headed back to the hostel about 6 in the evening. Here in northern Japan it starts getting dark about half past four, and by 5 PM it's like night. A little different from Florida, but in Sydney it doesn't get dark until after 8 PM so that was a little hard to get used to. I mean, it would be evening, EVENING, and it still looked like day. I kept thinking, "Oh, the sun is still up so it must be reasonably early," but it was actually 7 at night.
Anyhow, I popped into my room to drop off my camera and bum around, and who knows? Well, the other guy in the room (whose bag was previously mentioned) was there, so we said hello and introduced ourselves. I still find this amusing. His name is Scott and he's British, actually from London. However, he lives in the Middle East, in Oman, where he is teaching the Omanni (sp?) people how to maintain helicopters. Don't hear that everyday. Anyhow, the amusing bit is that he's British, but he lives in Oman whereas I'm American but I live in Japan. So rather than just having two cultures to discuss, we spent the next several days comparing and contrasting four different countries. Pretty fun. Apparently, and there's no joke here, there really are a bunch of camels just wandering around there. They don't actually belong to anyone, they're just wild. However, should one get killed (for example, hit by a car) someone will claim it was their camel and try to get money out of the person who killed it, especially if that person is a foreigner. He told one story where a camel apparently slipped and fell from a cliff, onto a car below. It completely destroyed the car, and of course also died in the process. Someone tried to claim that it had been their camel in order to get money out of the guy whose car had just been totaled, but that obviously didn't go anywhere. The part that I was extra surprised at, was that the guy was IN the car at the time. He was driving it, it wasn't parked, and he apparently walked away without a scratch. Just picture that whole thing from the perspective of the guy in the car behind him. Good stuff.

Okay, so Scott and I became fast friends, partly because we both had this experience of living and working in a country with a significantly different culture (although as far as how different it is, he definitely trumps me), but also because we were traveling alone and wanted someone to hang out with. We headed out to get something to eat and perhaps hit a bar or two. And thus, a pattern emerged. You see, from that day forward, every day in Sydney for me would involve coming back to the hostel from wherever at about 6-7 PM, meeting up with Scott, eating, and then hitting a couple bars. Sounds boring right? Man, it was great.

Sorry, there I go again. So, in Japan, you can usually only get Japanese beer, of which there are really only three: Kirin, Sapporo, and Asahi. There's also Yebisu but that's made by Sapporo. That's about it. I went to a foreign foods store that also had Guinness, Bass, and Budweiser (although why anyone would choose to drink Bud is beyond me) and there's an Irish pub in Sendai that serves Guinness. But seriously, that's about it. And although Japanese beer is decent, it doesn't have much body, and you just don't see anything even slightly dark here. So, I was excited to get some serious beer from a country that takes it seriously, and man does Australia take it seriously. You have probably heard of Foster's because of their delightfully funny commercials. Well, I didn't see Foster's anywhere in Sydney. Not in bars, stores, not even an ad. The two most popular beers in Sydney are Victoria Bitters (VB) and Toohey's New. But most places also carry Stella Artois, which Scott told me is the most popular lager in England. He also warned me that although it isn't a higher percentage than any other beer it has some kind of magical power where it just wipes people out. This, of course, sounded silly to me. And it being my first real night of vacation I decided to have a few. We actually hit several bars, even heading down to The Rocks which was supposed to be where all the nightlife was It wasn't particularly hopping so we managed to go full circle and come back to the sports bar where we had eaten dinner at the beginning, and have another Stella. At some point, I realized I was drunk, and needed to go to sleep. So, I told this to Scott and headed out. Apparently he said he was nearly ready to go himself but I was intent on going to bed. So, I walked back to the hostel which wasn't too far, because it really was a pretty good location, and for the first time I had to use the key for the front door. During the day the door is open so I hadn't needed it before, and therefore I hadn't known that it was ridiculously hard to use even in the best conditions. Put me there with a few pints of Stella in me and I couldn't work it at all. So, I sat down on the sidewalk to wait for Scott. I suppose I could have walked back to the bar to find him, but this just seemed like a better idea. Fortunately he was only 5-10 minutes behind me so it wasn't long before he got there and woke me up...
Ahem...
This was also my first night sleeping on the hostel bed. It was by far the best night of sleep I got the whole time, most likely because I was so tired. Those beds sucked. Still, this was vacation.

Australia Part 2

So, I have to admit that from here on in may not be that exciting to read because I relatively quickly got into a pattern which, although great fun for me, doesn't necessarily make fascinating prose.

Anyhow, I got off the plane in Sydney at about 9 in the morning, and headed through customs and immigration. I picked up my bag with no trouble and headed to the information desk for some information. I asked if they just booked hotels or if they could help me find a hostel as well. I had decided to stay at a hostel because it would cost so much less, thereby saving enough money to hopefully be able to head up to Cairns for some scuba. Well, the lady pointed me to a wall of brochures and booklets. You know those lighted boards with phones you find at airports where there is a picture of different hotels and the phone only dials those hotels? Well, there were a couple of those for hostels in the Sydney airport and I quickly spotted the ad for the hostels I had found through the internet. The rooms, as I remembered, were only about $15 dollars per night if you stayed in a dorm room, and considering the Australian dollar is only worth about $0.75, even with the weak dollar we have now in the States, that's pretty cheap. I rang them up and they were kind enough to inform me that they only had rooms for the next two nights, unless I wanted to stay for ten nights.

Now, think about that. They ONLY had rooms for the next two nights, or the next ten nights. How does that work? Oh, and if you chose the ten night deal you got the super special New Year's Price of $350 for ten nights! Look above and compare that to the price I found online. Yeah, it's their New Year's rate! So many people come to Sydney for New Years that they have no trouble renting out every possible bed in the place at a higher rate than normal. Well, I needed a place to stay so I decided to do the ten night New Year's deal thinking I might still be able to swing the scuba if I was a little more thrifty for a couple days. Heck, this place had a kitchen so maybe I could make my own food a couple of nights. Who knows?

So, they sent a shuttle to pick me up, I finally arrived, checked in, and headed to my room. It was cozy, and by cozy I mean extremely hot with four bunk beds in it, two on each side of the room. There was a fan that seemed to be cooling the area directly in front of it for about 7 inches, and a wide corridor between the beds that was at least two and a half feet wide. A window in the wall opposite the door looked out upon some buildings and as I walked to it I felt pretty good. This was a kind of adventure after all.

Even though there were a total of eight beds in the room, only one of them had any belongings on it. I chose a bottom bunk near the window, opposite the bed my only roommate had chosen, probably for the same reasons. Then I headed out for a walk. This was where I did most of my sightseeing in Sydney, the very first day. I have, of course, tossed the photos I took that day up on the photo site, so here's a bit of an explanation.

You will see the Anzac Memorial, which is a war memorial that I believe honors Australian soldiers who gave their lives in France. Treasure these pictures since, as you may be able to read on the sign, you are not allowed to take pictures in the memorial without specific permission. So, I was only able to snap a few before I was told to stop.
Then, you'll see a statue of a kangaroo and an emu. This was on the outside of a building. That's it. I never even figured out what the building was. But it looked cool...
I also strolled through the Royal Botanic Gardens which are right next to the Sydney Opera House. I was surprised to see dozens of bats actively out in the middle of the day, and I got at least one decent action shot here. I read a sign explaining that as cool as the bats are, they are apparently damaging the trees, so the park service there is currently trying to convince them to leave nicely. There were no details as to how they are doing this.
Since I was right there, I also walked around the Sydney Opera House and took some shots of that. I know it looks big in pictures, but in real life it's HUGE. And it sits right on the harbor so I got some pics of that, including the Harbor Bridge, which is nicknamed the 'coat hanger' because it kind of looks like a coat hanger. I guess no one bothered to explain to the Australians that it looks like a hundred other bridges and that any number of cities around the world would therefore be justified in using the same nickname if they were so inclined, which they likely would not be since there are so many bridges that look like that. But whatever.

There's also a bar and grill right there on the harbor, which gave me a chance to relax and drink a nice, cold beer while looking out over the water as the warm summer sun beat down upon me. As I watched the boats float past and reveled in the 35 degree (Celsius) temperature, I though about how cold it must be in Japan at that moment and realized that THIS is what vacation is all about.

Australia Part 1

The plan was pretty simple. I was to wake up early on December 24th, Christmas Eve, and begin the trip to the Tokyo Airport. Not really a problem. I would be getting up at the same time I always get up to go to work. Now, I did stay up a little late getting ready, and by a little I mean about 3:30AM. Still, I could sleep on the train and the plane.

Five months ago when I had to buy a new alarm clock here (because mine was losing time rapidly due to the fact that the voltage is slightly off from America) I knew it was a bad idea to get a battery operated one, but that was all they had. I knew that one day that battery would die on me and mess things up. What I didn't know was that before the battery died it would just get low enough that the alarm wouldn't wake up an insomniac, and that this would happen to me on the day I needed to get up early and catch a plane. So, instead of getting up at 7:30, I awoke at 11:30. Still, my flight was at 4:30 and I figured I could get to Tokyo in just over three hours so it might be possible.

Well, the train from my town to Sendai didn't come for over 20 minutes. Next, I took the Shinkansen (better known as the Bullet Train in English) from Sendai to Tokyo. Depending on which one you take it can be anywhere from just under two hours to just over two and a half hours from Sendai to Tokyo. I took the next one, which was the slowest one. Then, I hopped on the Subway to go to Narita Airport from Tokyo Station. Heck, I took the Rapid Service subway to the airport. From Tokyo Station to Narita Airport was a measly 1 hour 45 minutes. I should have remembered this from when I came to Japan I guess. Of course, that was 5 months ago, I was horribly jetlagged, and I was so excited time actually ceased to have meaning. Plus, I didn't have anywhere to be back then. So, yeah, I forgot that the Tokyo Airport is actually not in Tokyo at all, it's in Narita nearly two hours away. So, with all the waiting in between and walking and whatnot I didn't get to the desk until 5:30, an hour after my plane had left. I had to wander around the airport talking to various people for a while, even making phone calls to my travel agent back in Sendai a couple times. I have never been more glad that I own a cell phone nor so glad that I can speak Japanese. Otherwise, it would have been an even bigger mess.

Well, because I wanted to fly cheaper I went by China Airlines and they don't fly to Australia everyday. So, they moved me to the next flight at no charge, but the next flight was on the 26th. So, lucky me, I got to start my vacation by spending two nights in a hotel in Narita, a city best known for having an airport and some hotels. The hotel had CNN which was one thing. But, did you know that if you watch CNN long enough it repeats? Yeah, it does.

Finally, I had passed my time in Narita and headed back to the airport, early this time. At this point, it was time to exchange my yen for Australian money. According to the board it was about 89 yen to the Australian dollar if you got cash, or 80 yen to the dollar if you got Traveler's Cheques. So, of course I got Traveler's Cheques. Trust me, this little detail will come up again.
I had no troubles getting to my gate and getting on board my plane this time. In fact, China Airlines is really nice. We had a little TV in the chair in front of us with movies and TV on demand. The food was good, the service was good, the beer was good. I was very pleased to finally be flying. A few hours later we landed in Taipei for about a 3 hour layover. I exchanged a little money for Chinese money (sadly I'm not sure what it's called by I think it mon) and had a bite to eat. All in all, the Chiang Kai-Shek International Airport seemed pretty rundown and unimpressive to me. I snapped a couple shots while I was here which I thought were interesting. One because I was just barely surprised to see a Christmas Tree, and the other because... well, that one is self-explanatory.

Next it was back on the plane for about 7 hours until, at last, I was in Sydney, Australia. Two days late and 1200 yen poorer (because of the hotel) than I had planned but I was here...

Australia: Prologue

So, this is the beginning of my somewhat lengthy recounting of my vacation in Australia. As a forewarning, it is not as exciting as it should have or could have been. But I had a good time and I think there are at least a couple of interesting anecdotes buried in here. Considering that this is about going to Australia in their summer (which, of course, involved a lot of sweating and a little sunburn), it is somewhat ironic that it begins with, ends with, and even in the middle involves snow. But, you'll just have to wait and see what I mean by most of that.

The reason today's post is called the 'prologue' is because... it's a prologue. This takes place before the trip to Australia even happened. I would have written about it before if I had been busy, you know, going to Australia.
What I'm talking about today is the Semine Junior High School Bounenkai, which roughly translates to the "Forget the Year Party." See, at the end of the year they have the bounenkai to look back and thank everyone for their hard work (and drink). Then, after the new year they have the Shinnenkai (New Year Party) where they look ahead and thank everyone for the hard work to come (and drink). New Year's Eve itself is basically a family holiday, reminiscent of how we do Christmas. The family gathers, eats traditional foods, visits a shrine to wish for a good year, and often try to see in the first sunrise. Now, I know what you're thinking right now, "Hey, why don't WE have two parties at New Year!" I simply don't know what to tell you.

Anyhow, December 22nd was the Junior High Bounenkai. This was the last day of school, a Wednesday, and the next day was a holiday. So, after school everyone got prepared and then headed a couple of towns over (actually into a different prefecture, the equivalent of leaving the state) to a ryokan, after driving through a light snow. This is a Japanese hotel, which is actually pretty different from a Western hotel, which is why they use a different word for the two. I got a ride with one of the other English teachers and took a change of clothes with me. This would be an overnight trip.

The really interesting thing here is that this wasn't just a ryokan, it was an onsen. Because Japan is an island nation born from volcanoes there are lots and lots of hot springs all over the place, and that's what an onsen is. The basic idea is that you go to the hotel, relax in the hot spring bath, have a party, sleep, wake up, relax in the hot spring bath again, have breakfast, and head home feeling much better.

Now, entering an onsen is done the same way as you take a bath at home here. Basically, you shower first, becoming totally clean, before you ever get in the bath. This goes way back when the whole family would share the bathwater so they didn't want to make it dirty. Now, they still share the bathwater in nearly all households, but instead of using a bucket of water they actually shower beforehand. The bath is for relaxing and warming up, not for getting clean. The onsen is the same thing.

So, after I arrived at the ryokan, traded my shoes for a pair of slippers (like a coat check), and saw the room four of us would be sharing, one of the other teachers suggested we get a quick dip in the onsen before the party started. Apparently most of the teachers were doing the same thing, at least those who weren't preparing for the party itself. So, Sakino sensei (the music teacher) and I changed into the handy robes provided for us. You take off your pants and socks, but just throw it on over everything else. Then we got on our slippers and headed for the baths. You enter the preparation room where you, well, prepare. In other words, you get completely naked. Even the slippers come off and all you have is a hand towel to cover yourself with. Then, you walk into the bath room (not the bathroom) where you have to shower. So, you pick a spot from the wall of showers and sit down on this tiiiiny little stool which couldn't have been more than 6-7 inches off the ground. These are not shower stalls. There are no walls in between them. Everyone sits down and cleans themselves thoroughly. Shampoo and soap is provided and there's a bucket there to help you rinse the hand towel out (since it has now become you washcloth as well). Once you're all done you walk over and step into the actual onsen itself.

Now, I expected all of this. I knew what an onsen was and I knew what I was getting into. Your butt may be as bare as the day you were born, but judicious use of the towel can prevent anything more personal from being revealed. I also knew that there are a lot of different types of onsens in the country, and only a few of them use 100% onsen water. Most of them mix in hot tap water, and they have to tell you what percentage they use. Because they are considered such a big part of the culture there are several laws concerning this. Sometimes they are outdoors, sometimes they are tiled, sometimes they are little more than a mudhole filled with really hot water (although this type is apparently not that common, you do still have to clean thoroughly before getting in). I was prepared mentally for stripping down, showering, and getting into the bath with nothing more than a hand towel to preserve my dignity. What I had never bothered to consider was that the water might be crystal clear. And it was.

Admittedly, I barely hesitated and just decided to relax but it was a surprise when I realized that the towel was coming off and the only thing taking its place would be some calm, clear water. However, the bath was pretty nice and I did it again the next day.

After the first dip we headed back to the room to get re-dressed and head to the party. This was a blast because all of the teachers really chill out and have a great time. And since everyone is spending the night, there's no reason not to drink. A couple of people simply DO NOT drink so they still didn't, but the rest of us knocked back a couple of liters. Actually, in Japan you don't pour your own drink. You keep an eye on the drinks of those around you and you especially try to top everyone off at least once. This means it's nearly impossible to keep track of how much you've had to drink. So, I don't know how much I had. But it was fun.

One of the things they did at the party was to Top Ten News Stories of the year from our Junior High school. These were culled from suggestions from the whole staff and were interesting. A scroll would be unrolled with a hint, and then if not one could guess it they would give a more detailed hint. For example, one hint was about someone caring a lot. Apparently our principal hand writes every single student a New Year's card which is, understandably, nearly unheard of. One of the news stories was about me, and I felt pretty silly since I had no idea what it was. It turned out that most of the teachers are impressed because I study Japanese harder than the students.

So, after that was the bingo game (somehow I am terrible at bingo which makes no sense since it's totally random) during which I won a video. Everyone bought a cheap, possibly gag, gift for this part. Well, you know those cheap Disney knockoffs you see in Wal-Mart? Imagine that in Japanese. It's Cinderella and Aladdin. I find it hilarious that I'm the one who got the Japanese children's video, and that was random too.

Afterwards we had a sort of guys-after-party. I assume the women did the same thing, but all of the men gathered in our room and drank some more and chatted. The next day we had another dip in the onsen and had a nice breakfast before gathering or stuff and trading our slippers back in for our street shoes. I said good-bye to everyone except Shida sensei (since he was driving me home) knowing that the next time I saw them, I would have returned from Australia. It was at this point that I realized it had snowed the entire time we had been there. The ground was covered with at least an inch of snow and it was undeniably winter.

Time to go to Australia...

Rock and Roll, Dude

Well, Sunday was the big day. My international debut, so to speak.
Yes, Sunday was the big rock show at which I was to be the guest drummer for the band, Good Morning Sox. This was a collection of 8, count 'em 8, local rock bands all playing together in a small club/bar/lounge/rest (the sign actually said Star Light Disco and Rest in English, no idea what that means). Went over well and I was complimented quite a lot, but I figure that had more to do with me being a foreigner than talent. I didn't screw up, but as mentioned before my drum muscles have atrophied horribly and, I'm ashamed to say this, I was reduced to playing quarter notes instead of eighth notes on the hi-hat. Oh the shame of it. (I'm assuming at least three people know what I'm talking about here. Maybe it's better that the rest of you don't. You know, for my ego.)

I found the whole thing pretty interesting. A little long (over six hours) but I figure I learned more about the local rock scene in this one night than all of my teachers combined know. Maybe not saying much there, but...

First shocker, everybody uses the same stuff. Back in the states when we had a show we switched out all of the equipment in between every band. The drum set, the amps, usually even the microphones. The PA was usually the venue's system so that stayed the same, but overall the name of the game was speed. Being able to break down everything and set it all up quickly was important. Here, the amps and drum set are used by every band and are provided by whoever puts on the show. There is a short period of individualization where the levels are set where the guitar players want them and the drummer puts everything in the most comfortable spot, but it moves pretty quickly. Sumiko, the actual drummer for Good Morning Sox, was flabbergasted when I told her how we do it.

Second, all bands do an encore. Every single one of them. The pretend like their done, and then everyone starts a sort of mechanical chant ("on-ko-ru"), and then they play another song. Like it's scripted or something.

Third, Japan's local rock scene is just as alive and vibrant as America's. Sadly, America's sucks. Most of the original music I heard was pretty much like the pop-punk stuff you hear on the radio and think,"Yech, this again." Most of the kids here really like American music, more than Japanese music and of course we don't export the less popular stuff. We export the big hits, which 99% of the time are garbage. They don't know that here, they just know it's "cool American music." Here's an example, everyone here knows who Avril Lavigne is, Radiohead rings a bell with most people but they don't know them, no one has ever heard of Tool. My mission is to bring the sound of true rock and roll across the ocean I think.

Fourth, be careful when you say 'cover.' As far as I know, a cover song is a song someone else did first and a cover band is a band that only does cover songs. But here, there is a distinction between a cover song and a copy song. A copy is when you get the sheet music (which is a big thing here) and play the song the same way as the original band. A cover song is when you change it a bit and give it your own flavor. In other words, a copy song is what I would call "a lazy, unoriginal cover song." But since they're doing it in English here it's still impressive.

Fifth, that's right, they do it in English. I saw two cover, errrr, copy bands on Sunday. One did nothing but Green Day covers, errr, copies. Everything in English and people sang along. I mean, they sort of hummed and mumbled along and then sang the chorus. Now, to be fair, this is what a lot of people do in America and it's the language they speak everyday.
The second band was a Mr. Big cover band. Most of you are probably thinking, "Do what now?" Yeah, Mr. Big. An 80s one hit wonder hair band that came along right as hair bands were on their way out. They had a bit of a pan flash with "The One to Be With You" which is still the only song anyone I know has ever heard by them. Not here though. Somehow they live on, and these guys played an entire set of Mr. Big tunes I had never heard before. People sang along, in English, to American songs, and knew more words than I did. The guitar player was really good. I mean, he played that 80s metal guitar to a T. You wanna know the real kicker? These guys were the headliners.

Sixth, Japanese musicians are pretty talented. I have trouble remembering how old everyone is. If you had these bands play alongside the bands I used to play with in Gainesville no one would see a problem. Yet 90% of the members are too young to drink. They are still in high school. Mostly they are music school students who study guitar or bass or whatever on a regular basis in a structured atmosphere which makes a big difference. Still, it was impressive.

Those are the big points. Otherwise it was what you would expect from a rock show. One band wasn't very good. One band really impressed me. I liked all of the others. The beer was overpriced and not that great. Some people came to watch everyone. Some people came to see one band and then left. It was 1000 Yen ($10) to get in and you got one drink with that. No big surprises.

Except for that white guy playing drums. What was that all about?

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like X-Mas 

The Enkai

Well, it's time for another Japanese culture lesson.
This time we will talk about the 'enkai' or office party. On a basic level all the enkai is, is a chance for people who work together to relax and have a good time. However there are some important aspects that make it quite different from what we might expect in the states.

First of all, Japanese people have absolutely no problem having an enkai on a weeknight. I had one tonight, Wednesday, and everyone had to work tomorrow. Whereas I am used to having parties on Friday or Saturday (or, in college, on Thursday since Friday is the new Saturday) they see nothing wrong with staying up late drinking on a Wednesday night and then getting up early and going to work the next day. So, we had an enkai tonight.

The reason we had one tonight was because Saturday (yeah, I had to work on Saturday) was the 'jugyou sankan'. 'Jugyou' means lecture, and 'sankan' means observation. So, this is the day that parents come to the school to watch what happens when they aren't there, and it's also the day that the teachers put a lot of work into their lectures to make it look good, as well as the day the students are really on their toes so their parents think they always pay attention. I only had one class that was observed but the kids were really on top of things that day. I have never seen more hands being raised in that class before. Of course, since one of the student's mothers is also a student of mine in my adult English class I was able to find out that the parents were well aware that the kids were acting unusual that day. Still, it went well.

Anyhow, this is a big deal which the faculty and the PTA work hard to pull off so they have an enkai to celebrate its success, which was tonight. So, some of the PTA and some of the teachers met at a local restaurant to have a good time. In America a party usually means having people over to your house, but in Japan it simply means everyone goes to a restaurant together. We would call this "going out to eat together" but here it's a full blown party. Fortunately for me I live in town (which many of the teachers don't) so I was able to drink (the legal blood alcohol level here is 0.00%).

One of the cool things about tonight was that three of the PTA members who came are parents of students. Sure, this should have been obvious (hello, P stands for PARENT) but I actually knew who their students were. All three students are some of the better kids (one of them is a star student) which makes one wonder. Are the parents involved because their kids are good students? Or are the kids good students because their parents are involved? The question is applicable everywhere. I remember my father being pretty involved and I like to think I was a good student, so which came first? The chicken or the egg? Hmmm... (In all likelihood I should be saying "Thanks, Dad!", so, "Thanks, Dad!")

What is the point of all of this? I have no idea. I had a party tonight with parents and teachers and I had a great time. Maybe that's the point. Maybe the point is that I drank a pretty decent amount of beer and I have to get up early tomorrow. Maybe the point is that I have to face students whose fathers got drunk with me. Maybe the point is that Japanese people like to have a party at the drop of a hat. Who knows. To me, the point is that I enjoyed myself.

Godzilla

Let me begin with a short history of what Godzilla means to me, otherwise this whole thing won't have any impact.

I have always loved Godzilla, but that love has certainly grown with me. As a young child they movies were simply fun. As I got older they became interesting as well as fun. Some time around high school I began to realize that there was actually something deeper at work with the character despite all of the ridiculousness that had been piled upon it. By the time I entered college it had become a full-fledged obsession and I actually began philosophizing upon Godzilla. I became plugged into the American Godzilla community and started realizing that I wasn't the only one taking this seriously. In November 1997 I made the decision to permanently remind myself of the importance this character had to me and got him tattooed on my left arm. I have (and I know this worries some people) never regretted this. Near the end of my next-to-last year of college my undergraduate advisor, because my GPA was pretty good, suggested I do a senior's thesis. I decided to go all out and asked if it would be possible to do it on Godzilla and to my surprise he was all about it. He told me to spend the summer reading Emanuel Kant's Critique of Judgment as preparation and, to my surprise and the shock of nearly everyone I mention this to, it was right on topic. I ended up writing a 42 page paper on Godzilla and his position as a necessary image in the nuclear age. For my work I graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Florida. It was now official. I was a Godzilla Fan.

Now, allow me to shift gears for a moment and discuss something totally different. I am also a big fan of martial arts movies. I love a great film as much as the next movie buff but when it's time to unwind and simply enjoy something nothing gets me as excited as a great martial arts flick. I also love movies about monsters, which should come as no surprise considering everything written above. So, when I was informed about a little movie called Versus I had to see it. It is an action/comedy samurai/martial arts/yakuza(Japanese mafia)/zombie movie which sounded like it would be right up my alley. Well, it was and the director, Ryuhei Kitamura quickly became one of my absolute favorites. Those of us who loved Sam Raimi and Peter Jackson's early work were elated to hear that they had been given the directorial positions for Spider-Man and Lord of the Rings respectively. These were great, somewhat unknown, directors who had been allowed to really enter the mainstream with major characters and major movies. So, when I found out that Ryuhei Kitamura would be directing Godzilla: Final Wars I couldn't have been more excited.

So now we reach the point of this whole post. Godzilla: Final Wars is the 28th Godzilla movie, making it the longest running film series ever. It is also ostensibly the final film, although when this was announced by Toho (the studio who makes the movies) they were sure to say that it was possible they might change their mind later. Still, it may very well be the last one ever and is certainly the last one in the current series and the last for some time to come.

It was released in Japan yesterday, Saturday December 4th. I headed into Sendai today to see it with four other people. I think my desire to see it during opening weekend is understandable and I am very happy that others were willing to come with me. One of those four people was an English teacher from my Junior High, a Japanese person. So, obviously he understood the whole thing. I followed nearly everything and actually understood about 50% of the dialogue. My other three friends know absolutely no Japanese so I kept them updated on what I was understanding. It really says something that they were willing to see the 28th movie in a series of which they had collectively seen 3 in a language they didn't understand at all. It says something even bigger that they all thoroughly enjoyed it. I on the other hand, had to remind myself to stop grinning. I know it's silly, but when I was officially accepted into the JET program one of the first things I was excited about was today. I would, for the first time ever, get to see a Godzilla movie, in the theater, in Japan, on opening weekend, in Japanese, and likely would be able to follow it. Honestly, I'm still sort of buzzing from the experience.

Although there are many reasons I decided to devote myself to the study of Japanese the one that got me started was the desire to watch Godzilla movies in their original language and be able to understand them. Today, that was realized. Sure, it's not over. I have a long way to go and I am fully enamored with the language and the culture here. But the simple and childish dream which got me to start down the road I find myself was realized in a small (and boy were we surprised when we saw it) theater watching the best Godzilla movie in 50 years, occasionally turning to the people sitting next to me to let them know what was being said.

I know that on some level this all seems ludicrous. I watched a movie where a guy in a rubber suit wrestles other guys in rubber suits today and I'm making a big deal out of it. But as I sit here typing what is quite honestly a rather emotional post for me, trying not to tear up, it doesn't seem ludicrous to me. Whether or not my love for Godzilla carries on for the rest of my life, I am having an absolutely extraordinary experience here in Japan, and Godzilla is what got me here. I have met some of the greatest people since I got on this program and the fact that a few of them were not only willing but excited to join me in this venture today only proved it further. What can I say? I'm a true fan.

And the movie itself? For me, the word awesome (in its truest sense) has never seemed quite so weak.

Thanksgiving in Japan

This may go down as one of the most amazing things I have ever done. I managed to make Thanksgiving dinner for 20 people, on my own, in Japan. Now, I'm sure that sounds at least a little interesting but let me further explain why this was such a challenge.

First, making Thanksgiving dinner by yourself would never be an easy thing but I'm sure people do it all the time. In fact, I wasn't entirely alone here. One of my 8th grade students showed up about an hour and a half before the party time to help out and he was definitely a huge help. I had to send him on a short shopping run which worked out nicely. Plus, he could read the Japanese directions on one of the packages and that was a big help too. Still, I did most of it alone.

Secondly, this was the first time I had made Thanksgiving dinner by myself. I had helped on a few of them but never had I been completely in charge. So, that made it a little more challenging.

Third, I live in Japan. Oh yeah, that makes a HUGE difference. In the past when I've said I was going to make mashed potatoes, stuffing, or gravy I was talking about instant mashed potatoes, instant stuffing, and instant gravy. I have never made the real thing, much less do I know how to do so. But, here in Japan it's not like I can pop into the grocery store and pick up a box of Stove Top Stuffing, some Potato Buds, and a bag of gravy mix. No sir, that is impossible. So, I had to fall back on the savior of the unprepared: the Internet. Fortunately it contained recipes to save my butt. Of course...

Fourth, I live in Japan. I know I just mentioned this, but I was saying that all of the instant food I would normally make is unavailable. The thing is, the ingredients I would normally use are also sometimes unavailable. Chicken Broth? Forget it. Vegetable broth? No way. Flour? Not as easy as one might think but available (this is where the 8th grader came in handy since he managed to find it). Egg Substitute? What's that?

So, in addition to having to prepare several dishes for the first time in my life I also had to improvise on the ingredients. Instead of chicken broth from a can I used bullion cubes. Eggs instead of egg substitute. And don't get me started on the metric conversions. So much of what I did was purely flying by the seat of my pants that I'm amaze anything came out okay. To be honest, I'm not sure I had ever actually mashed a potato before Saturday.

But to be honest, I pulled it off. The mashed potatoes were good. The sweet potato casserole was great. And the stuffing? Well, I guess it was good because it got devoured before it even got to me. It was all in all a pretty amazing experience because for my 20 guests (yes, 20) it was the first time they had tasted many of these foods. No one had eaten turkey before (I had to bake it at someone else's house the night before because almost no one has an oven here!). No one had eaten real mashed potatoes. No one had eaten sweet potato casserole. No one had eaten gravy (of course the recipe I used involved soy sauce and miso soup but whatever). No one had ever eaten red beans and rice (What, mix something with rice? We must be crazy!). And almost no one had eaten cream corn before. I was a night of firsts.

Now, I couldn't have actually done this by myself. My supervisor was kind enough to take me shopping a couple of days before as well as bringing two tables for the actual dinner. Then there were the people who made me dinner while the turkey baked in their oven. And of course, Shouta, the 8th grader who showed up right after volleyball practice to help me cook food he had never seen in his life.

But then, I think that's what Thanksgiving is all about. People of different cultures pulling together in order to have a grand feast. And that's exactly what we did. 21 people from two different countries (I was representing the whole rest of the world here) sitting down together to enjoy dinner. Sure, it wasn't the traditional family dinner I'm used to and I would have loved to have been with my family that day. But to be honest, what I really would have liked would have been for my family to be here, as my guests, alongside my Japanese friends (my Japanese family if you will) to sit down and eat the food I had prepared. I suppose that would have been the best of both worlds. But as it was, I think I had the best of this world. And it was a great meal.

And man did I get stuffed.

Planet of the Man-Purses

One thing which is more popular in Japan than America is the man-purse. I'm not sure if this is what it's really called, but if I remember correctly that's what they said on Seinfeld and that's good enough for me. Basically, I'm just talking about a small shoulder strap bag that men wear. Well, I've never gone in for these before. I mean, it's one step up from a fanny pack (but it definitely a step UP). All I ever used to carry around was my wallet and my keys and that's what pockets are for right?

But after getting here I soon found I needed more, beginning with my cell phone. Then of course, I had to start using a change purse. Yes, I have a change purse now. I have to. Otherwise the coins become too unwieldy. Back in the States I never carried change and it wasn't a problem since you never really deal with anything bigger than a quarter. But because they use 100 yen and 500 yen coins here not using change would be equivalent to never carrying anything smaller than a $10 bill, and that simply isn't feasible. Still, the wallet, change purse, cell phone, and keys were still doable with just pockets.

But then I also like to have my electronic Japanese dictionary with me since it is often handy. And it's nice to keep my digital camera on hand since you never know when you'll see something you'd like to take a picture of. Add to this the fact that when I go to Sendai I have an hour long train ride each way, so I like to bring a book, and the pockets weren't cutting it anymore. So, every time I headed to the city I was lugging around a backpack just to carry these three little items and it just seemed silly. So I broke down and got a man-purse.

Now, the one downside here is that it isn't that big so many books won't fit in it. The book I am mainly reading now is The Wars Against Saddam by John Simpson, which is all about the two Iraq wars and is written by a BBC journalist who has been there many times and has some pretty decent first-hand knowledge. It's fascinating, but as you can imagine that a heavy enough subject that it needs a big book to hold it. So, it doesn't fit in the man-purse. Last time I went into Sendai I discovered this, so instead I grabbed a much smaller book, Planet of the Apes by Pierre Boulle. I've always loved the original movies (I don't want to talk about that horrible Tim Burton travesty) but I've never read the book. It's really short, only about 120 pages, so between the ride in, reading while I ate lunch, and the ride back I was able to tear through quite a bit of it.

I haven't finished it yet so I can't compare endings but at least of what I've read so far BOTH movies were completely different. In this one, the apes do NOT speak English (since that is actually pretty goofy) so the human has to slowly earn the trust of one of them. Eventually she decides he is special and even takes him on walks to the park. Of course, he has to go in the nude since the bestial humans on this planet do not wear clothes. It makes him very uncomfortable and he keeps pleading to be dressed but she insists that it would draw too much attention. A nude human, regardless of how strange it makes him feel, is the norm there. If he were to act like an APE then heads would certainly begin turning. So, regardless of his true nature he has to force himself to fit the stereotype.

Why am I mentioning all of this? Well, I was reading this on a train to and from Sendai in the north of Japan and it began to hit a little too close to home. The main reason I came here was to become fluent in Japanese, to the point where I could converse comfortably and understand books, movies, and TV. This means truly becoming comfortable with everyday natural spoken Japanese, and becoming comfortable with it means practicing it. So, when I pick up something from TV or my students or a movie or wherever, I use it. And it never fails to turn heads. People laugh or seem shocked or simply don;t know what to do if I say something that actually sounds natural. For a while I would always ask what was so strange. Had I said it wrong? Was my timing off? No, it was perfectly natural and that's why it was odd.
And it's not just language. Even having the man-purse got some strange reactions because Americans don't use those. People always want to give me coffee (which I truly dislike) instead of green tea (which I love) because Americans don't drink green tea. Occasionally, someone will offer me a fork instead of chopsticks because... well, you get the idea.

So, yeah, I was identifying with the main character in Planet of the Apes and it was making me a tad bit uncomfortable. Like I said, I haven't finished the book and at this point there is the promise that he will eventually be able to prove his true nature and began acting like himself again. It won't be as dramatic for me (no huge scientific symposiums to make my debut at) but I can see that slowly the people in my town are coming to grips with the fact that I do like Japanese food and can handle learning the local dialect and that I don't care about sports (man that was a shocker!). Hope the book has a happy ending.

Communication

This may seem a bit pedantic at first, but I swear I'm trying to make a point here.

See, I have slowly discovered something as I have been living here. That simple fact is: I can communicate more easily with people who are about the same age as me.

That might seem really obvious. I mean, it is usually easier to chat with people who are about your age since you shared relatively similar experiences while growing up. You lived through the same historical events at about the same ages and were exposed to the same general popular culture. But I'm not talking about other Americans. That's pretty obvious.
I have found that chatting with British people is easier when they are close to my age, and the same goes for Australians, New Zealanders, etc. Even though they may not have been exposed to the same exact MTV clips and Transformers cartoons, they were at approximately the same __ age when Nirvana came out. They know who Radiohead is. They might not have seen Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, but their lives were seriously affected by Star Wars much like mine. So, I can sit and talk with a Briton who is 26 easier than one who is 21.

But I didn't write this to explain that British people aren't aliens. The interesting thing is that I can much more easily talk to Japanese people who are about my age as well, regardless of the nearly complete lack of shared popular culture (although they still experienced Nirvana at the same time). Now, you may be willing to say that this is due to us being in generally the same place in our lives. The odd limbo that exists between college and your 'real' career may form some kind of bond that allows easier communication even across the language barrier.

But still, it's more than that. Recently, while chatting with Sumiko (the girl who invited me to drum for her band, who is 24) I realized that I could understand her Japanese more easily than older and younger people, and she seemed to understand my Japanese easier as well. Whenever I talk to my Junior High students I can do all right, but talking to someone like Sumiko or a few of the other Japanese people I've met of approximately my age is much easier. Even though his English is not as good, I can talk to Shida sensei (who is 30) easier than Mitsuzuka sensei (who is about 50 and has much better English). It's like they have a better idea of what words to use and a better grasp of how to explain things to me when I'm confused. And they seem to more easily understand my word choices. When I speak to parents, it's a bit of a strain. And one day I met three old women on my way home from Elementary and barely understood a thing they said. It was nearly a complete communication breakdown, even though they were asking me the simplest questions. And t's not just spoken Japanese. Just today I got an e-mail from a family friend in Tokyo which I could read with virtually no trouble, all in Japanese. I also received an e-mail from a teacher which had simpler content ("I can't come to your Thanksgiving party. Sorry.") yet was considerably harder to comprehend.

So why is this? Is it because they studied some English when they were in school and therefore better know how to speak Japanese to an English speaker? But then, why wouldn't Mitsuzuka sensei be easier to understand since she speaks great English? Is it because of some kind of instant psychic link forged between people of similar ages? What's going on? I have no idea. But it's fascinating eh?