Welcome to my little corner of the world...

Valencia

2010-06-01T14:46:00.002-07:00

Valencia

I'm writing this while lying on the beach in Valencia, Spain, fresh
from a dip in the Mediterrean! The beach is pretty crowded, but with a
good mix of people just enjoying the sun and sea. The water is just
chilly enough to cool you off, but not too cold, and the sandy beach
is really clean. Long story short, it's pretty nice here!

Jessie and I spent thr morning touring the historic district. Notably,
we visited the Cathedral of Valencia, which, in addition to some of
the earliest Renaissance paintings in Spain and two works by Goya,
holda the mythic Holy Grail! Thr cathedral and its art we're really
beautiful and an audio tour was included in the admission price, so we
were able to hear all of the history, which I love. My favorite area
was the chapel containing the Grail. The chalise itself was neat, but
I was more inpressed by the circular stained glass window above it! it
was really simple, with an image of the chalise in the center
surrounded by a colorful background, but with the light streaming
through, it looked pretty magical! Also, we couldn't find a single
angle in the chapel from which to photograph it. It just shows up as a
circle of light. Very cool to go with the Grail. No, we didn't spy
Indiana Jones or any evil Nazis, so I think it will safely be there
when you visit.

Yesterday, we were very hot and very tired by the time we arrived at
our hotel (I don't recommend Ryanair), so after some showers and air
conditioning, we spent the evening exploring the Turia Riverbed Park
across the street from our hotel. Open a new browser window and Google
Image search "Ciutat de les Arts i de les Ciencies' and Valencia. You
will hopefully see what we discovered on our walk - It's actually year
2025 in Valencia, and everyone lives in a biodome wig perfectly
manicured parks and buildings that look like spaceships! We took our
baguette and cheese dinner to the park and enjoyed the evening breeze
and the super cool surroundings. One interesting thing was that since
the sun doesn't set here until almost 10pm, regular people were out
jogging, biking, and walking their dogs at 9:30pm like you'd see
people do after work in the states. I wonder if people are more tired
due to the long days or have more lively lives because there's time to
do all those things we say we'll do but never have time for.

--update--
After the beach, we walked along the shore until we found a restaurant
just opening for the evening (at 7:30pm) that serves paella, the
famous dish of Spain that originated here. Since we were the first
ones in, we got a prime table on the patio facing the sea and had
seafood paella cooked just for us! I wasn't a fan of the crayfish, but
the rice and shrimp were bueno, and the whole ambience was wonderful.
The perfect way to end our visit in Spain!

We leave for Paris in the morning! Can't wait for our biking tour!

Segovia - May 30, 2010

2010-06-01T14:46:00.001-07:00

Segovia - May 30, 2010

An hour bus ride from Madrid, Segovia is a historic little town with
great character, and a welcome relief from the bustle of the capital.

It's hard for me to write a quick blog about this place because I
loved everything about it. The historic part of town is located in
what was a walled castle village, so as you walk up from the bus
station and through the walls, it's like going back in time. Nearly
every building we passed was marked on the map as a historical
landmark, and the whole town is a UNESCO World Heritage site! To top
it off, it's in the running to be the 2016 ambasaador of culture for
Europe (or something like that). Jessie and I both agreed we'd move
there if we were to live in Spain.

We were greeted by a brass band that happened to be playing in a plaza
outside a really old church, and marched up the cobblestone street to
see the remains of the town's Roman aqueduct. I here they're not
uncommon here, but I was just blown away. Roman engineers were
geniuses! And so were the laborers! How did they build them?? Amazing.

Next, we wandered to the main plaza, Plaza Mayor, where there was more
music, dancing and kids playing soccer (which, by the way, is the only
state I've seen kids while in Spain). Just off the main plaza is a
15th century cathedral filled with art from an even older cathedral
there before it. Old churches are everywhere, but this one was
especially neat because though it's definitely a tourist spot, there
was hardly anyone else in there with us, so it was calm and at our own
pace.

We had lunch at an outdoor cafe. I had a chorizo omlette on baguette
(sandwhich) with a bottle of coke and Jessie had machego cheese
sandwhich and sangria. Very tasty.

Then, it was on to the best spot - the castle!!! The town was favored
by the Castile family in the Middle Ages, and Isabel and Ferdinand
made the castle their home during their reign. We saw their throne!
People like Columbus visited there! Backing up, the castle is situated
on the top of a hill, as all castles should be, and the view from it
is of lush valley fed by two rivers. The scenery kind of reminded me
of Northern California because there were a lot of the same trees. I
don't know how to describe the actual castle - the outside looked like
Sleeping Beauty's castle, and the internal layout, etc was really
interesting. The only of castles I've visited are in Japan, so it was
a neat comparison - there are a lot of similarities! We could take
pictures throughout, so those will tell the story better. Short
version: awesome! We got to climb a long spiral staircase to the top
of the tower. Jessie doesn't enjoy spriral staircases, we've
discovered, but the view was fantastic!

This was all within three hours, and we spent another five wandering
around the town, checking out the old Jewish Quarter, having ice cream
sundaes (Jessie's favorite part because our waitress was nice and some
girls from Texas spoke Spanish to us thinking we were locals!), and
just enjoying "real" Spain.

If you ever come to Spain, Segovia should be at the top of your list!

Madrid Travel

2010-05-31T12:42:00.000-07:00

May 29, 2010 - Spain Day 2

After our rough welcome Friday night, we were really looking forward to the fun part of the vacation to start, so a full day of walking around Madrid and seeing the sites was just what the doctor ordered. We were on our feet trooping around for a good 8 hours straight, and we got to see all of the "Madrid Essentials" (according the the guide book). Andreana served as our most excellent tour guide took us the most scenic and fantastic routes. We saw so many things, I can't remember all of the places right now, so I think I'll just write about my favorites right now.

One of the first places we went was the rose garden in a park I can't remember the name of at the moment. Summer just hit, so the flowers were in full bloom and it was so beautiful! Not to mention the light rose fragrance that filled the area. I've heard the garden in Paris are unparalleled, but this rose garden may have them beat - we'll see!

The next highlight for me was an Egyption tomb transplanted right in the middle of town. It was a gift from the Egyption government in 1968 for Spain's help in protecting some other temples. Basically, they shippped the temple over and rebuilt it stone by stone on a hill in a park. It's small and not that exciting to look at (except the neat hiroglyphs inside), but so incredibly cool when you realize there's a thousands years old tomb in the middle of Madrid. I kept commenting, "This is so cool!" - all my years of schooling and that's the best I could come with!

Next, we toured the Royal Palace of Spain - a residence still used by the royal family. It looks almost fake from the outside, since I've never seen anything so magnificent in real life. We had to wait in line almost an hour to get in, and we had no idea what we were going to be able to see inside, so we had low expectations. Those were blown out of the water in mere minutes. There are three main areas you can see. The first the royal pharmacy. We had no idea what that meant until we went inside and saw room after room filled with glass and proceline jars gilded with the royal crest and labeled with Latin and Spanish names - everything from medicinal herbs, distilled water, and arsenic to crocodile skin. There were floor to ceiling shelves filled with the containers and information on the royal doctors of the past. It was all really neat, but nothing compared to what we saw next!

We went into the main palace and were totally awestruck! There was a grand staircase where we entered with a huge tapestry of the Spanish crest on the opposite wall, and walls and ceilings covered with paintings and carvings. All three of us walked up the stairs with our heads back checking out the ceiling and our mouths hanging out! Wow. Later, when we looked out one of the windows, Jessie and Andreana wondered how we got to he second story becuase they didn't remember the stairs part of the staircase! We saw several rooms upstairs including Carlos V's dressing room and bedroom, Isabel's dining room, and the silver "closet" (a huge room), each more opulant than the next. My favorite of all though was the throne room! There were the king and queen's chairs! Right there! I was imagining all of the famous Spaniards who probably knelt before the royals in that very room. It gave me chills. Unfornately, we couldn't take photos at all inside the palace, so you'll just have to take my word for it. I know this is a kind of a lame comparison, but since we try to contextualize our experiences with what we know or have experienced, I kept thinking about Hearst Castle in southern California. I finally get the kind of extravagence Hearst was trying to capture, but his version doesn't even come close.

The last museum in the palace was the armory, which was really neat on its own. The knight's armor looked just like pictures I've seen. I know that shouldn't be a surprise at all, but somehow those things surprise me every time!

As I said, we walked everywhere, so a lot of the day was just taking in the surroundings. I absolutly love the architecture here. I like the plazas and all the balconies. Once again, it's no surprise, but everything looks so Spanish! I know I sound silly, but I love when the things I've read and the pictures I've seen turn out to be real. I had he same reaction the first time I went to Japan, too.

May 30, 2010 - Spain Day 3
We took a bus to Segovia to see the castle that inspired Disney's "Sleeping Beauty," some Roman aqueducts and more.
--More on this later!--

I totally forgot I had this blog

2010-05-18T19:58:00.000-07:00

Does anyone still read this? I forgot about it. Sorry!

Well, I'm graduating on Saturday and moving out of my apartment in SF this weekend. Chico bound for now, but we'll see where I end up. :)

My sister Jessie and I are leaving for Europe a week from Thursday (on the 27th). We're heading to Madrid --> Valencia --> Paris --> Strasbourg --> London --> Bath with a few stops in between, so I'll try to update this blog as we go!

Idea Train! Whooo Whoo~

2009-06-18T18:51:00.000-07:00

So, I have an idea!

Actually, it's a combination of three thought bunnies, as Sally might say.

1. My mom likes to read the articles I write/translate (Hi, Mom!), but they're hard to find on the hokubei.com web site, so I've been emailing her the links. I've only been there three weeks, so that really isn't very hard or very much to send... but wouldn't it be nice if Mom could just see my work all compiled for her whenever she has time to look?

2. This thought involves my mom, too (Hi again!). Mom Post has been telling me I should keep a portfolio of my work and the feedback I get (see the entries below) to have on hand for future jobs or promotions. I definitely agree, but my original thought of clippings and file folders seemed so... tedious. The procrastinator/lazy traits of my personality came out and so while I was saying, "Definitely, Mom. I'll get started on that," the reality is I was going, "Yeah, right." Then I thought, isn't there an easier way to do this?

3. The third inspiration comes from my good friend Raiman, stylist extraordinaire, whom I mentioned a few posts ago. He's working toward his dream of being a stylist in Japan, and blogging along the way. In addition to writing about his own adventures and journey, Raiman often shares tips, quotes, ideas, links, advice, etc on creating successful relationships and businesses, getting organized, and other helpful topics. Now, I'm not starting a business or anything like that, these posts are interesting and informative, and without realizing it, I've learned a thing or two from them (more on that another day). Anyway, to get to the point, one of the things he has been exploring recently is creating an online portfolio as a way to show potential clients the looks and styles he's created. Brilliant. So, why don't I do that?

And so, if you haven't guessed where I'm going by now, I plan to create a new blog/online portfolio for my writing and translations. I'll be doing it on a different site because I want to keep that as something professional, and that way I can keep it separate from the fun, personal posts on this site.

I'm really excited about this project, so hopefully I'll get it up and running as soon as possible.

Of course, I'll post here and let you know the address when I get it set up!

Reader Response - UPDATE!

2009-06-17T14:00:00.000-07:00

I just got another reply from the person!

Thanks for the quick response with the link.

I put in the exhibit's name in the "Search" box, but it didn't come up. Thanks for the link!

Happy subscribers!
-The ***** Family

P.S. Are you new to the staff? Or did I just miss your past bylines?

I made subscribers happy! That's good! We need happy subscribers! (We actually need any subscribers we can get, but happy ones are great because maybe they'll tell their friends how happy they are and it'll spread...)

----UPDATE 2----

I replied again telling them, yes, I'm new, and got this back.

Welcome!
GREAT start! (What a way to start! A very interesting story that you got to have an inside look! Looking forward to more of your stories!
Take care.
Nagafuji
P.S. Tell your boss we're glad you're on the staff and that we're looking forward to more of your articles since this one was so well-covered.

I forwarded it to the main editor. :D

First Letter from a Reader!!

2009-06-17T13:50:00.000-07:00

(Background: In case you haven't heard, at the beginning of June, I began working as an editor/translator/reporter/photographer/designer at a tiny bilingual English/Japanese newspaper in Japantown called the Hokubei Mainichi News.)

I got my first reader response today for the article I wrote about the opening of a samurai exhibit at the Asian Art Museum. (You can read the article here)

I was forwarded an email by the main English editor this morning (the two of us do the two-page English section everyday) from a reader who wanted to know if the Nine-Planet Crest, the family crest of the Hosokawa (samurai lord) family, is based on a Hindu symbol called navagraha.

After I a little googling, I replied:

My information on the Hosokawa family crest came from Mr. Morihiro Hosokawa, the current head of the family. He told me the crest was bestowed upon his ancestors by Oda Nobunaga and that he believed the "Nine Planet Crest" came from India, so it does seem to correspond with the Navagraha you mentioned.

Assistant Curator of Japanese Art Melissa Rinne, of the Asian Art Museum agrees with this assumption. She said on the Asian Art Museum Blog, the crest "design actually derives from a concept in Indian cosmology known as the nine grahas." You can read the rest of the blog here

I hope this information helps.

Then, this afternoon I receive the person's response:

Thanks for your quick response and the great article on "Lord of the Samurais."
Since our grandparents came from Kyushu, we're especially interested in the exhibition.

Could you, please, put the article on the online edition of the Hokubei? It wasn't on there this morning. We'd like to share your article with others.

Thanks again for the wonderful coverage of the new Asian Art exhibition.

(and I sent them the link.)

Isn't that cool?? I'm so excited!!

P.S. I'm going to try and start blogging again. My friend Raiman inspired me with his great blog, raamenchan.com

Let's Get Polictical, Political!

2008-10-09T13:08:00.000-07:00

(That was to the tune of Olivia Newton John's "Physical". Did you get it??)
I'm going to take a bit of a detour from my usual commentary today, so if you're simply looking for whimsy world observations, come back another day. Usually, I avoid political-type blogging because I don't want to polarize my audience and I don't really feel the need to broadcast my opinions on the Web (even though I'm happy to share if you ask). I'm making an exception today because I feel so strongly about this issue, I need to speak up. ("It is a sin to be silent when it is your duty to protest" -Abraham Lincoln)

California's Proposition 8 - A Civil Rights Issue - Vote NO

Next month, as many of you know, the California ballot will contain initiative Proposition 8, titled "Eliminates Right of Same-Sex Couples to Marry" - a measure to AMEND the California state constitution to state:
Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.
If passed, the constitution will be amended, and all Californians (particularly thousands of same-sex couples) will STRIPPED of the right to equality under the law.

I understand and respect that there are varying opinions on gay marriage, especially those coming from a religious standpoint. Let me assure you, the marriage practices of religious institutions (aka your church) have not and will not change based on state law. If your church opposes same-sex marriage, they are under no obligation by law to perform those marriage ceremonies.

This is NOT specifically a gay rights issue. This is a CIVIL RIGHTS issue. Presently, in California, ALL couples (homo- and hetero-sexual couples alike) are afforded the equal right to marriage. By passing Prop 8, we will be ELIMINATING that right - as the title says. In the almost 250 years of our country's history (and 160 of California's), our constitutions have been amended several times -- and those amendments were used to EXPAND and PROTECT the rights of the individual. You are familiar with so many of them - including the first ten, aptly named The Bill of Rights - the right for non-whites to vote; the right for women to vote; the right for blacks and Native Americans to be counted as whole people; etc. We have expanded the rights of the individual to protect and defend minorities. That is what America is about, is it not?

Regardless how you feel about homosexuality, how do you feel about being treated equally under the law? How do you feel about discrimination? What if, next year, there was a proposition to Eliminate the Right for Interracial Marriage? Would you vote for that? Would you TAKE AWAY the right for a couple to get married purely because they happen to be of different races or ethnicity? Would you not care because you're not an interracial couple?

This is about basic civil and human rights. All people should receive the same treatment by the law. Discrimination is simply wrong. Separate is NOT equal.

It is so important that we vote "no" on Prop 8 and protect the civil rights of ALL Californians. We should never disregard the rights of the minority for the whims of the majority. There's this saying (spuriously attributed to Thomas Jefferson), "A democracy is nothing more than mob rule, where 51% of the people may take away the rights of the other 49%"

Let's not be that mob. Let's be real, patriotic Americans and do our duty to protect the rights of the individual.

Protect civil rights. Vote No on Prop 8.

Goooooooooooaaaaaaaaaaaaallllllllllllll!!!!

2008-09-20T13:33:00.000-07:00

It's Saturday afternoon - my first Sasturday I'm actually spending in SF! Ross, the visiting Australian (Stephen's friend), has been staying with me since Wednesday, but he's off today to continue his US tour. I was a bit hesitant when Stephen called me two weeks ago and ~~begged~~ asked me host Ross for a few days. I mean, who wouldn't be when it comes to letting some guy you never met crash in your tiny apartment for three/four days? But, as it turned out, Ross and I got along quite well and I had a really enjoyable time during his visit. He mostly went off on his own for various touristy activities (shopping in Union Square, Alcatraz, Pier 39, cable car ride, etc.), but the bit of time we spent together was fun.

Yesterday, I took him to the Sutro Baths, where we walked along the headlands to Land's End for a view of the Golden Gate Bridge.

After that, we walked back to the Baths, and had lunch/dinner (it was 4pm) at Louis' Diner. It was built in 1937 (according to the LONG story on the back of the menu), and the interior doesn't look like it's been updated since! Kind of funky, but it was Ross's first "American diner." He asked where the jukebox was... :D Since he was going for the all-American experience, he decided on the Chili Burger (an open-faced burger with heaps of chili con carne, and cheese and onions to top it off - it looked DISGUSTING~! - but probably tasted great), which came with fries, and a rootbeer float! Apparently, they don't have rootbeer in Australia, so this was his first try. I suppose it was a success, though I think he liked the ice cream better than the rootbeer.

Anyway, totally bloated and sleepy, we continued our quest to "view the Golden Gate Bridge" by driving aimlessly in the direction of the bridge until I miraculously guided us exactly where we wanted to go: Fort Point. We took some more pictures with the bridge and hit the gift shop. (I took a really good one of him with the bridge! I should be a pro photographer!)

It was a nice visit, and I enjoyed showing him around SF a bit, even though I don't know it that well myself.

Now Ross is gone, and with nothing but the lingering scent of products for men (after-shave/deodorant/hair gel, etc), I find my apartment feeling empty. I'm at a loss for what to do. It's Saturday, I should go out and do something, but I'm not sure where to go or what to do.

It's too cloudy/cold to read in the park... my Berkeley friends are busy/in Berkeley... my brother and Holly have gone camping... hm...

Goals for the near future:

1. Make a list of things to do in SF.

2. Make friends in the city.

If you have any tips of things to do, leave a comment!

...maybe I'll go upstairs and play with the kitties...

Fuji Photos!

2008-09-09T23:36:00.000-07:00

My photos from the Mt. Fuji climb are now posted!

Check them out in this slide show:

Or, click here to see the album.

One Month Later...

2008-09-09T14:02:00.000-07:00

Hi, I sort of fell off the blogosphere there for a while.

A lot has happened in a month, so I have an excuse! (not a very good one)
Well, as you might have gathered, I'm back in California...

Travelwise, my return went very smoothly - no delays or mishaps. My friends saw me off at the Akita airport, I flew to Tokyo (domestic), took a bus to Narita (Tokyo international airport), and flew back sitting next to my friend Lisa (who was studying in Tokyo for the year). My parents met me at SFO and we went first thing to sign the lease on my apartment in SF (and see my brother)!. Then it was back to Chico for two and a half weeks of R&R - mostly spent watching Michael Phelps win gold medals and wishing Shawn Johnson won more. Oh, I also went to Lake Almanor my first weekend with friends, which was great. On Aug 22nd, I went to orientation at SF State, and officially moved into my apartment. The weekend before we went on a MAJOR Ikea shopping spree and built furniture, so when I moved on the 22nd it was all ready to go.

Let's see, Ilana came down from Portland for some business in SF so she was my first non-family house guest and we had a really nice time exploring my new neighborhood together. (Good luck in France, Ilz!) The next day (8/26), I officially started my grad school career! I also made a trip over to Berkeley that week to reunite with some buddies.

Then, for Labor Day Weekend, I flew down to visit Sally in Camarillo, which was a blast. We hung out on the beach (Zuma Beach, in Malibu - apparently it's well-known? Looked like Bay Watch to me!) and got to see some wild dolphins playing in the water. We also went to Solvang, a bit north of Santa Barbara. Have you been there? It's quite cool! It's this little Danish colony/theme-town (like Epcot, but better!), so it was really neat and we went to the Hans Christian Andersen "Museum" (more a collection of his books, but still cool!). Since Solvang is also conveniently located practically on top of Mission Santa Inez (the 19th and best preserved in the state!), I convinced Sally to have a look at it with me (she doesn't enjoy Calif mission history - crazy, I knoooow! But she didn't grow up in CA and have to build a model mission in 4th grade, so it's okay). The gardens were really pretty.

Anyway, back in SF, last week was busy with classes (haha not really) and hanging out with former roommate Jean Louise in Berkeley (she was up visiting from LA). Good times! :D And after a weekend in Chico watching my students test for second degree black belts, now it's another week in SF. But, still no time to settle, because I'm due back in Chico on Saturday for Megan V's wedding!!

I wasn't kidding when I said I've been busy!!! In a month I've been in Akita, Tokyo, SF, Chico, Lake Almanor/Chester, SF, Chico, SF, Berkeley (3X), Camarillo, Malibu, Solvang, SF, Chico, SF...

On the SF apartment:
It's a "Studio Plus" -which means I have and area that can close off to be my bedroom with additional room for sitting/dining areas, plus kitchen and bathroom- in one of those cute looking "San Francisco" houses, located in the Inner Sunset district (one block from Golden Gate Park!). It's conveniently located in the same building as my brother's apartment... actually, directly below his! The neighborhood is great - safe, friendly, lots of restaurants/shops nearby, close to the park, etc. Also, it's a simple commute to school, as I just have to ride the train to 19th AVE and catch a bus to SF State. On a good day when the connections work out, it takes about 25-30min. The apartment itself was recently renovated so everything's clean, nice, hardwood floors, etc. I think I'm really lucky to live in such a great place. I still don't quite feel like I live here yet, but as you've seen, I haven't spent much time here, either! Hopefully I'll get settled in soon and I'm looking forward to enjoying SF life.

On graduate school:
I'm working toward a master's in Japanese at SF State. This semester, I'm taking three classes (full-time load), which all meet only one a week. That means I only have class from 4-7pm M/T/Th! But don't get too many ideas, the classes are pretty difficult and it seems like I'm going to have a lot of homework-type things to keep me busy. The classes are: Second Language Acquisition, Translation Workshop, and Consecutive Interpretation. They're pretty interesting, and the professors are really top-notch, but each class is challenging in different ways. Also, I am looking for a part-time job though, to fill up my days AND hopefully, my pockets (a little anyway, SF life isn't cheap!!!).

So, that's the update! My journey in Japan has come to a close - for now, anyway. ;) As much as I would like to give you all one lasting summary/opinion/etc on my life for the last year, there's no way I can put it into words.
Life isn't meant to be summarized anyway... I'm still living it! :)

I'll try to get some pictures posted up soon. I have ones from my Fuji climb and good-byes, etc. that I'd like to share with you all, so check back here for updates.

Also, I think I'll keep up this blog (no promises to posting frequency though!) with the adventures of my new experience living in SF. So, if you'd like, stay tuned! :D

Take care, and thanks for experiencing a taste of Japan with me.

I'm Alive!

2008-08-04T02:25:00.002-07:00

I just realized I never updated this and thought perhaps you might be worried I'm still lost somewhere on Mt. Fuji. Worry not! We made the climb (got the the top at 4am to watch the sunrise), stood around freezing on the top for a while, and then basically slid back down. It was looooooong and difficult, but we did it! It was totally worth it. The sunrise was AMAZING! Pictures coming soon!

We bussed back to Shinijuku, hung out for a little while and I managed to lose my contacts. They were in a case and I accidentally left them somewhere... oh, and I wear hard lenses, so I only have ONE pair (plus my old pair for back-ups, but one of the lenses is damaged so it hurts). Long story short, I'm wearing glasses till I get a chance to see my doctor in Chico. Anyway, I had dinner with my friend Marie who moved to Tokyo in April. It was nice to see her, but sad to say goodbye. I'll definitely see her again (she wants to work/school in CA in a year or two), so it's okay.

Then we finally made it home at 1am. Which means I was out and about for 43 hours straight. AND I climbed to the highest point in Japan! Very cool!

The rest of the week was a series of goodbye parties and late nights packing. Lots of pictures from those, too (not the packing part), so wait excitedly!

Last night (Sunday) I finished packing/boxing up everything, and today I sent it all off. I mailed 4 packages (a poster tube, 1 small amazon.com box, a big envelope, and a medium sized box) via Japan Post (the post office) and it cost about $150. It sounds like a lot, but I really think it's a good deal. Those things were heavy! I hope everything arrives okay. My favorite lady at the post office, Kawamura-san, helped me get everything packaged and ready, and I trust her to make everything alright. Next I shipped my two big suitcases straight to Narita Int'l Airport, so I don't have to deal with them when I change from the domestic airport (Haneda) and I can just walk up to the check-in counter and they'll have my bags (COOL!). It cost about $35, but I think it's totally worth it.

Now that that's all done, and the stuff for my carry-on bags is set, the only thing left is to clean my house! I've been working on it little by little, but it's really hot and humid, so I have to keep taking breaks (like right now) to sit under the AC in the livingroom. I want to finish tonight (it's 6:40pm so that's totally possible), so when the board of education people come tomorrow to "help me clean" and pick up the garbage bags they can be in and out in a flash. Tomorrow's my last day!!!! Right now I have planned to get a haircut at 10, meet the BOE people and get them out asap, cancel my cell phone service, get dressed in my yukata, and go to Kanto Festival in Akita City with all my friends!

Wednesday morning, I'm leaving here at about 10:40am and a bunch of my friends are seeing me off at the airport. Nice! I'll probably cry.

I'm really going to miss it here!!!!!
But, I'm also excited to go home. Wish I could have both! =/

Here We Go!

2008-07-28T03:21:00.001-07:00

We're having dinner at the 5th station (Subway!) and going to head out at 8pm!

Great views already!

Subway!

2008-07-28T00:11:00.001-07:00

We scouted out a Subway in Shinjuku and I just paid 1300Y ($12) for a footlong Subway Club. You may be thinking, "That's a dollar an inch! Ridiculous!" and you'd be right.

But it was stuffed with meat and veggies AND delicious! Plus, now I have a delicious 6" sub for midnight snack! :D

And we're off!

2008-07-27T16:15:00.001-07:00

We're on the shinkansen to tokyo! I remembered my camera this time! Things are going much more smoothly this time - but I'm on guard, don't worry. :)

More updates later!

101 Dalmations (and posts - not Posts)

2008-07-23T22:59:00.002-07:00

So we went back at 12 for our train only to find they were now stopped until 2pm, which means we'd definetly miss our bus and wouldn't make it to Fuji until really late. Plus, there's no guarantee it would actually go at 2.

We decided to postpone our trip to Monday. We were able to change our tickets and get the bus reserved to Mon. No sweat.

It's not an adventure without bumps, I said to Christian this morning. Too true.

Fuji climb attempt #2 - coming Mon!

What's an adventure without snags?

2008-07-23T16:26:00.001-07:00

Thanks to the earthquake last night, all the shinkansen from Akita are stopped until 12pm! We were supposed to arrive in Tokyo at 12!! uh oh...

We got our tix changed to leave Akita on the noon train, which puts us in Tokyo at 4:08pm - which means will probably won't make it to Shinjuku for our bus to Mt. Fuji at 4:50pm. Maaaaybe if everything magically works out...

We're working on a backup plan as I write. Worry not! :)

p.s. this the 100th post on this blog! cheers!

Shake, Shake, Shaking - Shshshaking!

2008-07-23T08:35:00.002-07:00

I felt another earthquake tonight. I was lying in bed trying to sleep and it went all shaky like last time. Not as violent this time, but still enough to scare me out of bed. I got up and sat in the doorway until the shaking stopped.

I checked the news to make sure there wasn't going to be another one, and they said to relax (also, no tsunami warning). Apparently the epicenter was in Aomori (neighbors to the north) and a 6.8M or something. I'll have more details tomorrow (but I won't post them because I'm climbing Mt. Fuji!!!!).

Anyway, no worries here, and I hope everything is alright everywhere else. Good night.

TWO WEEKS!!!

2008-07-22T08:30:00.002-07:00

I'm leaving in two weeks and I'm kind of (totally) freaking out.
Of course I'm excited to go home and see everyone, but it's really hard to feel that in the midst of saying goodbye to all these really great people!!

TWO! WEEKS! That's such a short time!!!! I'm not ready!!! (emotionally or practically - though, I did start packing today)

Here are pictures from this weekend:

Party Weekend!

Last day!

2008-07-17T09:03:00.002-07:00

Tomorrow (well, today now) is my last teaching day in Japan! (for now) I finish at Yama-chuu with four classes in the morning, and then a farewell ceremony in the afternoon. I'm really happy with the speech I wrote because I said a lot of things to the students I've always wanted to say but haven't had the chance (or guts) to. I hope I can deliver it all right. I haven't really practiced. I'll work on it in between classes tomorrow.

I can't believe in about 14 hours, I will be finished!!* It's been a tumultuous year, but an outstanding one!! More on all of this later.

(*I still have 'work' for two more weeks - it will consist of going to the board of education and sitting at my desk all day reading/writing letters/studying)

Where have you been??

2008-07-12T23:48:00.003-07:00

Sorry bloggy buddies, I haven't been very good about updating this lately. I'm still here, alive and well! There are two main reasons why I haven't been keeping this updated, and neither are very good excuses (but true!). 1. I have been SUPER busy the last three weeks, and will be for at least another week. 2. I've been doing/experiencing so many things, I have waaay too much to write about, and when I get overwhelmed with a task like trying to record it all, I procrastinate. Sorry.

I was going to recap the whole thing now, but that will take too long, so I'll do it in installments over the next little while. Here's the first one:

Sally's Visit
If you don't know who Sally is, you should - she's a good friend from Berkeley (now lives in southern California), and she's been one of my biggest supporters and closest friends (someone I talk to everyday) since I've been in Japan. This summer, she was lucky enough to be able to come to Japan for about a month to visit with her grandparents, and she spent about 6 days of that vacation up here, with me. The following are some highlights from that visit.

-Akita Castle
After meeting Sally at the train station, and a little Starbucks time, I took her on a tour of Senshu Park and the Akita castle ruins. Nothing super exciting, but the park was pretty and it was nice to talk and walk around. We had dinner and headed home to relax and watch Gilmore Girls dvds. Great!
-school
The first full day she was here, we went to Shimoiwakawa Elementary School, and since it was my last visit to the school, we played games in class and did A LOT of running around at recess. (More on school good-byes in the next post)

-karaoke!!
From about 10:30pm-2:30am, we sang everything from Grease's "Summer Nights" to J-Pop, to Mandy Moore, to My Chemical Romance, with my friend Moto and his friend. Exhausting, but soooooo much fun!!

-Oga Peninsula tour
We visited the Namahage Museum, and had a picnic by the lighthouse while enjoying views of the Sea of Japan.

-BBQ!
That night, there was a big BBQ at Christy's house, so Sally and I went and I was able to introduce her to most of my friends. She met Yuta and Tsuru - the guys with whom I always go bowling/play sports/karaoke, etc -, and all of my (and Christy's) English conversation class family. Sally got on especially well with my high school student/friend Izumi, and they decided to wear yukata together the next day to the dance festival.

-Yatose Modern Dance Festival (Akita City)
I don't think I've mentioned it on here, but I returned to dancing with the macarena ladies back in April, and Christy and I practiced with them twice a week to prepare for the Yatose Festival. It was a pretty big, two-day festival (we only danced on Sunday though) with teams from all over, 155 in total. We preformed our dance five times throughout the day in our silly costumes, crazy make-up, and ridiculous hair. Sally, Izumi, and Moto hung out together watching performances and I joined them every time I had a break. It was a long, tiring day, but SO much fun!!! Dancing for crowds of people was great, and having Sally there watching made me put even more into it! In the end, our team earned second place in both the Viewer's Choice and the over all competition!! So great!! After we all changed back into normal clothes, we had dinner together and headed home. Sally and I watched a movie and stayed up late, despite being wicked tired (well, we did that EVERY night she was here!).

-Tazawako, Kakunodate, and mountain driving
We got up early, and headed out on a crazy backroads drive through the mountains down to Tazawako. The mountains were beautiful, and with Sally being a great DJ/co-pilot (feeding me snacks and water as well as reading the map!), the the two+ hour drive went by quickly. We drove around Lake Tazawa, stopping for pictures and souvenirs at all the appropriate places. It was a gorgeous day and the lake was craaaaazy blue! Next we headed to Kakunodate, where we ate lunch at a great little cafe, toured a samurai house, and ended up in a park outside a museum. Neither of us felt like visiting the museum, so we sat in the park, napped on the benches, and took lots of silly pictures.It was a really relaxing afternoon. For the return trip, Sally opted for an even longer mountain route home, so we drove through the pretty pretty mountains on the border of Akita and Iwate. It was great. When we cut back west toward the coast and my house, we drove on this tiiiiiny windy road with NO traffic on it. It was slow going, but we had fun. Parts were a little scary, because there was construction going on, and we'd drive past it to see that part of the road had collapsed/landslid down... Luckily, we arrived home safely (even though I had to stop the car at one point because we were laughing so hard, I couldn't drive). We stayed up REALLY late again.

-train station
Sadly, the last day had come. We drove to the station in the morning, leaving enough time to take purikura (those little sticker pictures), which turned out great. Saying good bye was sad, though. We had SOOOOO much fun in such a short amount of time, when I got home, everything felt so quiet and empty.

-the aftermath
You can't tell from these terse descriptions (or maybe you can), but we played waaaay hard while Sally was here. There wasn't a lot of sleep combined with a LOT of activity. The day after Sally left, I went back to school (exhausted and sore all over), but about halfway through, I started to get reeeeally shiver-y and I almost fainted. I finished my classes for the day in the morning, so the rest of the day I sat at my desk going from shivering cold to sweating hot. I definitely had a fever. I finally made it to the end of the day (I had refused the teachers' offers to go home early and stuck it out), and I passed out for a few hours. I woke up, and since it was Wednesday, my autopilot kicked in and I went to Ikawa eikaiwa. Everyone in class was saying I didn't look well and they too, decided I had a fever. My friend/student Hisashi is a pharmacist, and after class he offered to take me to get some medicine. He set me up with some fever reducers, and one sleep-inducing muscle relaxant. I got home, took the medicine, and slept aaaaaall night. The next day, the fever was gone, the soreness was gone, and I was just little tired. Besides the tiredness I was fine, and recovered fully in the next few days. I don't know if I caught some strange flu or what, but my theory is that I just totally, totally exhausted myself during Sally's visit and my body needed to recoup. hahaha not many people can claim they've played so much they gave themselves a fever!! :D

2008-07-04T07:27:00.000-07:00

I went to school on the fourth of July for the very first time in my life today.
I also didn't watch/use fireworks for probably the first time on a fourth of July.
I didn't even see an American flag!
Nor did I hear any of those uber patriotic slightly red-necky country tunes (a la God Bless the USA or whatever that song's called).

Buuuuuut, I'm okay with it. In fact, I didn't realize any of this until just now, and it's 11:27pm. Oh well.

Happy Birthday, America!

Shake, Rattle, and Roll!

2008-06-14T00:16:00.003-07:00

Earthquake!! Well, first, let me say I'm totally fine, there's no damage to my house or anywhere in my immediate area, so don't worry!

As you may (or may not) know, there was a 7.2 m agnitude earthquake in northern Ja pan this morning. The epicenter was right across the southeast border of Akita in Iwate Prefecture. It seems most of the shock went further southeast, so up to the northwest, where I live, the shaking was less severe. On this map, you can assume I live pretty much where the little "Akita" box is indicating Akita City. As you can see, while the news articles mention the shaking in big city Sendai and even in Tokyo, I'm a lot closer to the epicenter than them.

It occurred at 8:44am, and being Saturday morning, I was still asleep. I woke up to my whole bed vibrating and shaking, and the walls rattling and making noises. It took me a second to figure out what was going on. My bed is in a room where two "walls" are non-safety-glass sliding doors, so my first thought was I should get away from those. I jumped out of bed and did what I'm sure was a cartoon-y, arms-flailing run to the next room where I stood in a doorway, because I remember that's what I was taught in elementary school (kudos for all the earthquake safety lessons, CA public schools!). Anyway, the shaking stopped after a few seconds (this whole ordeal was probably less than a minute, but it felt long), and aside from some papers and books sliding off my desk and table, there was no damage.

Click here to see a video posted by the BBC showing the quake and some of the damage.

It was definitely bigger and shakier (and scarier, to be frank) than any earthquake I've felt before (in Berkeley). Oh, plus, after it ended, I thought I better turn on the TV and make sure there wasn't a tsunami warning, because Akitans always tell me about how earthquakes cause dangerous tsunamis and give me all kinds of scary examples - in the 1980s, a post-quake tsunami killed several people on the Akita coast, including a foreign missionary lady, so I think they think foreigners should be extra careful. Thankfully, no tsunami warning this time. My house is probably not really in danger of a tsunami anyway, but how would I know, I'm from Chico.

From what I'm reading and seeing on the news, there have been four deaths, numerous injuries and missing people. :( Rescue workers are on the job though, so hopefully people will be found an helped. Thankfully, there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of structural damage, and though landslides have blocked/destroyed some roads, the trains are running fine. Some areas lost power when the nuclear plant preventively shut-down, but I believe it's mostly been restored now.

I had plans to go hiking tomorrow with some Japanese friends, but due to recent rainfall and this quake, the landslide danger is too great, so we're going bowling instead. Safety first!

Alright, that's it for the earthquake update. Thanks to those of you who called or emailed to check on me. I appreciate your concern and I'm really happy to report that I'm A-OK. :)

Reverse/Re-entry Culture Shock

2008-06-09T07:30:00.002-07:00

Most of you have heard of “Culture Shock” – the emotional ups and downs of living in and adapting to a foreign culture (I think it’s less about the culture itself and more about how you deal with a different lifestyle. There are phases and the lengths/severities vary by person and experience. If you weren’t aware of it before, you’re probably more familiar with it from reading this blog. I am a poster child for Culture Shock! I covered every little down-tick and up-tick, and every phase on the Culture Shock graph to a T. In fact, you could probably predict my current mental state based on the Culture Shock timeline (currently, I’m in the “I love Japan and don’t want to say goodbye!” phase).

However, I’ve found that, unless they’ve experienced living abroad and its after effects themselves, most people haven’t heard of Reverse Culture Shock (or Re-entry Shock), so I thought now might be a good time to fill you in.

-Nearly two-thirds of JET alumni say they experienced some kind of Re-entry Shock.-

...so, what is it? Responses vary, but...

[excerpt from Living Abroad by Cathy Tsang-Feign http://www.psychinternational.com/abroad/abroad10.htm]

Re-entry Shock – Fitting right in to the “home” circle and returning to “normal” life doesn’t happen overnight. The fact is, a returnee will feel very different from everyone around. This will make him or her feel delighted and special on one hand, but on the other hand it brings confusion and a sense of isolation.

For example, the returnee may be eager to point out that “I’ve just returned from a year in Japan!” By doing so, he or she knows s/he can draw others’ attention and reassures him/herself that s/he is unique, interesting, and different. It’s easy to overdo it, though. Excessive comments like, “I forgot that’s how they do things here! ha ha” to cashiers or servers, for example.

*In a questionnaire given by CLAIR [aka the organization that hires JETs] every year to JET alumni, many state they no longer feel they have a lot in common with people back home. This is a symptom of reverse culture shock. According to many JETs, everybody will inevitably ask, “So how was Japan?” That’s a difficult question. Can you encompass your entire JET experience in a 10-second reply?

*Many JETs say even close friends and family aren’t so interested in what happened “over there”. They often say, when asked about Japan, you get a half a minute into talking about it before the listeners eyes glaze over. Many listeners can’t relate, even if they’re really close. Most people want to hear, “It was great!” and then be done with it, while you want to share what you have been through and how you have grown.
[*credit to The After JET Preparation Guide, 2004 Edition, prepared by CLAIR]

Family and friends will demonstrate interest in the retunee’s adventures, anecdotes, and little comparative comments, but only for as long as their attention span can tolerate. At a family dinner, a returnee may find that the relatives are not nearly as fascinated at hearing about the temples in Kyoto, as they are in hearing Auntie Martha describe Uncle Joe’s hernia operation. To many returnees, this apparent disinterest is a great surprise. It is also a disappointment that leads to feeling disoriented and isolated.

In some cases, returned expatriates carry their feeling of being special too far. They may tend to pick on friends and people in general for being narrow-minded about the world, or unsophisticated. They will repeatedly draw comparisons between home and Japan. For example, saying at restaurants: “This isn’t real sushi,” or constantly remarking, “You know how cheap this would be in Japan?” Such commentary will eventually anoty and bore others, who will take it as showing off. These actions will keep people at a distance and make it difficult to readjust to the old circle.

Most people are oblivious to whatever changes may have on inside a person from living abroad. For the most part, friends and family believe that you still think and act the way they do, as if you’d never left. The returnee may therefore feel inhibited from saying or doing anything that could appear “show-off-y”. He or she may be reluctant to discuss any feelings of disappointment or disorientation at being back, for fear nobody will understand.

Faced with the day-to-day routine, they often begin to long for the favorable lifestyle once enjoyed in the foreign land. The travel, climate, cultural experiences, mingling with an international group of expatriates, as well as the social status and “special treatment” they usually received are missed. A returnee may begin to think back to “the good old days” or refuse/resent readjusting to the lifestyle of the home country.

Given time, returned expatriates will re-familiarize themselves with their home environment and appreciate what is there. They finally accept what they have given up in the foreign society and are happy to settle down. Remember, this will be a gradual process rather than a distinct stage that the person goes through.

A Few Ways to Reduce Re-entry Shock (what I’m doing)
-Expect and prepare for it. (that’s today’s blog)
-Keep family and friends informed while overseas so they have a frame of reference for your stories later. (I try to do that with this blog and posting lots of pictures, and I think I stay in pretty good touch with friends/family via phone, email, IM, Facebook, etc.)
-Keep busy, be active, get involved - don’t just sit around. (No matter what, I’m going to start school, so I’ll be busy with that, and I definitely plan to get back into karate and hopefully, yosakoi, too.)
-Find sympathetic friends who have returned from living abroad and can relate to your re-entry shock. (I’ve got a bunch of friends who have studied abroad, including Erin, who’s been doing the whole culture shock thing with me all year, and will be living close-by)
-Keep in touch with Japanese language/culture/food (That’s what I’ll be studying, plus I’ll be a skip away from Japan Town in SF, plus, thanks to my NSU days, I have plenty of friends to help me out with this)

Who knows how I will react when I return to California. I may be totally fine, or it may take me a while to adjust, so please be patient, and try to be aware that I may be going through this.

Oh, and you have two months, so PLEASE think of something other than “How was Japan?” to ask me when I get back. If you don’t, I’m telling you now, my answer will be, “It was a great experience.”

Two Months...

2008-06-06T21:41:00.002-07:00

As of yesterday, I officially have two months left in Japan. My flight leaves Tokyo at 6p.m. August 6th.

TWO MONTHS!!!!

That is such a short amount of time!!! Yesterday, we had the Akita JET Prefectural Conference. The Returners, like me, when to seminars on tax and pension withdrawal information, good-bye speeches, and reverse culture shock. Then we took one last group picture, and parted ways. It was a surprisingly emotional day for me. Or, the range of emotions was surprising - stressed about tax forms and bureaucracy, sad/nostalgic about saying goodbyes, nervous about re-entry shock, excited for things at home, happy/sad to JET people I don't see often and probably won't see again, etc. It was all pretty exhausting, I guess, because when I got home at 5:30, I passed out on the couch until almost 8!! And then went to bed at midnight.

I've got to squeeze in as much play time as possible the next two months, so tonight I'm off for a cake date at a bakery with Maureen, and then to the movies with a Japanese friend. Tomorrow, I'm going to a taiko festival in Noshiro to see the Namahage Taiko team and some of the JETs play. :D

I <3 Japan

2008-05-31T05:53:00.000-07:00

Not that that really needs to be said at this point, but it's true. It seems like everyday I grow to love it even more.

Generally speaking, I love the geography (both 田舎 and 都会), the history, the culture, the tradition, the language, and, of course, the people! I can break it down to even simpler, daily things, too. Things like traditional style houses and the smell of tatami floors, untranslatable phrases like 懐かしい and 'KY', melon flavored soda, jingly keitai straps, the old ladies selling ice cream, heated toilet seats (and clean public restrooms!), the yellow hats pre-schoolers wear, Japanese-accented English, and a thousand more.

Of course, there are times living here when cultural differences are frustrating, or when I don't enjoy my lifestyle. There are plenty of things that annoy me (smoking in restaurants or inefficient bureaucracies, for example)...
But that's true of anywhere.

Even though my Japanese will never be good enough, and I may never learn to love natto, and no matter how annoyed, frustrated, or homesick I get, it doesn't change the simple fact - I love Japan.
It's true.

With only two months left here, the excitement of being home with my family and friends is growing exponentially, but, at the same time, so is my love and appreciation for all things "Japanese". As divisive and stressful as that is for me, I'm trying to just relax and enjoy it all.

I do take comfort in reassuring myself that when I go home in August I certainly won't be saying "good-bye".
I'll be back. Soon...
because it's love!

Thank you for teaching us gently

2008-05-29T21:58:00.002-07:00

Today is my LAST day at Hachiryu JHS, and even though I've visited this school the least of the three junior highs (started here mid-Nov), saying goodbye is SAD!! Since I'm going to be in town until August, it came as a surprise to everyone that I would finish at this school so early. The English teachers told the vice principal it was my last day and they quickly arranged to have a whole school assembly after lunch.

I just got back from it. The principal gave a speech about how great it was to have me, and how I'm going off to do good things, it was really cute. Then two 3rd graders (9th grade) gave a little speech in English where one boy would talk and the other would repeat key phrases, saying things like "We are very sad to say goodbye. Thanks for teaching us English. Your classes were always interesting (interesting!) and fun (fun!) and comfortable (comfortable!) and exciting (exciting!). Thank you for teaching us gently." and then with double thumbs up, "Good luck!" SO CUTE! and funny!

Then a girl came up and gave me a BEAUTIFUL bouquet of roses and pretty pink flowers. I gave my little speech in English (it was really simple so I think they understood most, if not all, of it). Then one of the funny boys from before did a "translation" which basically consisted of him putting on a funny girly voice and translating a couple of the main things I said. Everyone laughed. :D He's cute!

And then they clapped, and I waved, and the end!

Oh, and in the 2nd grade English class this morning, the teacher told them it was my last day at the end of class. So a bunch of kids came up to say thank you or shake my hand, etc. Two boys came up separately to tell me, "You are very beautiful." One boy (who's a big character in class) said, "I love you!" and then pulled the other teacher over, asked her something, and then came back and said "Will you marry me??" hahahaha I told him, "Sorry, I have to go to America." He said, "OK! See you again!" and went off with his laughing friends.

Cute, cute, cute. I'm going to miss these kids!!!! :(

Okinawa Pics

2008-05-29T07:59:00.002-07:00

The pictures are up! I sorted through them this time, so there's only a little under 300 from a week vacation... I think that's pretty good!

Enjoy! (click the pic below to get to the album)

Okinawan Magic

vacation

2008-05-26T08:28:00.001-07:00

I'm having SUCH a good time!! So far I've visited Shuri Castle and war memorials, went snorkling in a coral reef, done karaoke, seen a trad Okinawan music show, explored an aquarium and an old-time village, rode in a pineapple car at the pineapple park, did a little shopping, and today I went to two karate training sessions! You'll see all the pics later.

This has just been so amazing thus far. Training with all these 9th degree black belts and the grandmaster is just cool!! and I'm really glad I'm here now (rather than when I was in high school) because my Japanese and knowledge of J culture is at a point now where I can really appreciate this experience. I'm kinda proud of how well I've done, too. Apparently, karate is like riding a bike. :)

I'm looking forward to filling you all in!! <3

Okinawa!

2008-05-23T00:10:00.001-07:00

the trip is just getting started, but here's an update so far!

i got here at 1130, went to bed, got up to go the fish market at 330 and then went on an inpromptue tour of naha on the back of my karate instructor's (rented) motocycle. fun, but i didnt get back to bed til 6, slept till 830 and then felt funky because odd sleep patterns don't agree with me... but it's okay. the group made plans to meet in the lobby at 12:30 so i decided to spend my morning exploring International St. I ended up spending too much money on souvenirs - i like too many people! oh well. we all went to some gardens, took lots of pics and then went out to lunch at Charlie's Tacos - yuuum!

now im off to see the famous shuri castle!

Welcome Back!

2008-05-19T00:01:00.002-07:00

Thanks! I do, in fact, officially have a steady, working, wonderful DSL connection at home again! That means after three months (exactly! no joke!), I have the ability to call people whenever I want, email, blog, post photos, read/listen to news in ENGLISH, watch American TV, etc!! It's a good thing!!! :D I will say, after living three months without it, I don't really find the internet as entertaining as I once did, but that's probably a good thing.

Anywho, I've posted and captioned photos from cherry blossom season and from my recent road trip. Yesterday, I went to the Sport Day at one of my elementary school, but I haven't transferred the pictures to my computer yet, so I'll get those up soon. In the meantime, enjoy these:

Cherry Blossoms

Aomori Road Trip

Now that I'm back in the realm of communication, call me! Oh, but I'm leaving for Okinawa for a week on Thursday, so I'll talk to you when I get back! :D

Village Grounds

2008-05-13T17:22:00.002-07:00

Seriously, this hot chocolate is amazingly magic! Even 5 months after Sarah packed me a ziplock full to take here, it stills has its miraculous healing properties. I love it!!

If you're in Berkeley, go get some!

Driving in the Dark

2008-05-12T08:24:00.001-07:00

so... I magically had internet for about an hour yesterday, and then it mysteriously disappeared again! I don't know what's wrong, don't ask. There's a technician coming to my house Friday afternoon. Cross your fingers or something.

For a fun change of pace, let's talk about how my headlights mysteriously died driving home from the city tonight. There was a burning plasticy smell, then they flickered a bit and went out. I think the wiring burned or something because the parking lights and high beams work just fine (thankfully, so I made it home okay despite blinding all the other drivers with my brights). It's not the battery, alternator, or bulb, either, hence the wiring guess. My old supervisor's husband has a body shop so I'm going to contact them tomorrow. Hopefully I can get it fixed quickly (and cheaply).

I think I have bad luck, or disaster-inducing hands.

Oh well, I'm going to Okinawa next Thurs! warm weather, beach, and karate... can't wait! and June will contain lots of excitement as well.

It'll all work out. :)

PS. Congratulations to all my graduating friends!!

Panda :(

2008-05-05T20:41:00.001-07:00

I forgot I saw on the news Saturday that the Giant Panda at the Ueno Zoo died. Remember the post from early April and how excited about the panda I was? I think this panda made a lot of people like me happy. We'll miss him!

Save Cal's East Asian Languages & Cultures Program Petition

2008-05-05T20:24:00.000-07:00

Please take a few min to review and sign this petition:

http://petition.berkeley.edu

Due to the state education budget cuts, UC Berkeley is planning to cut the East Asian Languages and Cultures department in half! This will drastically downsize the Chinese and Japanese classes, and effectively decimate the Korean program. We cannot allow this! As one of the finest university East Asian departments in the world, these cuts will have a HUGE affect on scholarship, international relations, and business!

You can read more details at the website above. PLEASE please please sign the petition - you dont have to be a student or an alumni, anyone can sign!!

None of these silly adventures I write about would be possible without the education and experience I gained from Cal's East Asian Lang and Cult Dept. If you enjoy these, sign the petition.

It's really really important to me.

Thanks!

Road Trip: Day 2 (cont)

2008-05-04T16:57:00.001-07:00

Hirosaki... after an adventure finding our hostel that included getting the car stuck in a narrow alley-ish street and having to do some tricky backing up manuevering, we checked in and the headed to Hirosaki Park. Former castle grounds, this park has over a thousand sakura trees and so it's hugely popular for flower-viewing. Thankfully (or unfortunately), most of the blossoms were finished so the crowds weren't that bad. The castle gaurd tower (the only remaining ruin - and i think it was rebuit) was pretty anticlimactic, especially since my last castle visit was Himeji, but the items on display inside were cool. Walking through the park we ran into Rob and Sherwin, two Akita JETs who also happened to be in town. They were looking for a place to stay so we directed them to our hostel. Then we all went out in search of dinner. We wandered ALL over town looking for this mythical Mexican restaurant for a good hour+. I was starting to doubt its existance, but then! At last! We
found Jalepen~o! It's a tiiiiny place with one cook, one server, and from the speed of the food, probably one burner. It took almost TWO HOURS to make tacos, nachos, and fajitas for 7 people!! And each person's order came out at a waaay different times! As a restaurant it basically failed. The food was good though! So, I was happy. I think I've lowered my standards. haha Anyway, we made it back to the hostel and I went to sleep!

Today it's off to Mt. Iwaki and the Aomori coast (Sea of Japan side)!

Road Trip: Day 2

2008-05-04T08:17:00.001-07:00

After a nice breakfast of toasted English muffins at Nick's, we headed of to our last Akita destination - Lake Towada! It was only a half hour drive so we arrived before all the tour buses and were able to the view for about 10min - then a tour bus from Sendai pulled up! haha, but even with people around the lake and surrounding mountains are gorgeous! We drove partway around, stopping for coffee (water for me!) at a marina cafe, and at the statue of the maidens of the lake. The statue was not very pretty and really not that exciting. What really got me was the shrine for them. It was up a hill, and then you can take an even higher mountain path (which was really stairs) for a good view and another shrine. At the top of this area, there are two sections of iron ladders down the other side to the edge of the lake. You wont understand until you see pictures how high and steep and scary it is. Since it's all that defying death for just a nice view, none of the other girls want
edto go. I went. Going down was freeeeaky! one slip and you'd be splat on the ground below - i held on and didnt slip. :) At the bottom I was all happy to be there, but the climb back up was looooong and tiring. All in all the view wasn't that cool but the scary ladder experience was a blast on its own! :)

Next we continued to Oirase Gorge (I think I'm spelling that wrong), which is a not that amazing river canyon near the lake. The cool thing was how beautiful and full the river was thanks to all the runoff! We went for a walk along the river with hundreds of tourists and took lots of pictures of the pretty waterfalls. We also ran into some older americans - teaches at an American school on the base in Iwate - and they wanted to talk to us forever. weird.

Next we had a long, windy drive over the mountains to Aomori Prefecture. I got a little carsick so I had to close my eyes and miss out on a lot of scenery. :(

We made it to Hirosaki...

Im going to bed, so the rest will have to wait!

Road Trip - Day 1

2008-05-03T07:30:00.001-07:00

I left my humble abode at 7:07 this morning, picked up Christy, then Paula and Ann in the city, and we were on our way! We drove east to Kakunodate and arrive just before 10. We met Maggie (and her visiting friend, Leslie, who we explored Sado Island with on our road trip in Sept) and decided to go to a cafe. We had a lovely little brunch and chatted over cafe au laits (except I drank water). Back on the road, we headed toward Lake Tazawa (see my trips there in Sept and Jan with my sis). Oh we stopped on the way at this honey shop. They have a bazillion kinds of honey and honey products (from jam to lotion!). I decided to try out the popular treat - fresh fruit of your choice blended into ice cream and topped with honey. I got strawberry, banana, and orange ice cream blend with a little lemon honey on top! Crazy good!

At the lake, we decided to rent a paddleboat and toodle around. Oh yeah, it was waaay hot today- 30deg midday in the mountains! so we paddleboated for a half hour in a rocketship-shaped boat.

Then we continued our drive north in the mountains along the Akita-Iwate border taking dozens of photos because it was SO beautiful! Ridiculously beautiful. Our next stop was Hachimantai (it's a volcano!), where we went for a short hike around the sulfur pits and mudpots at the top. They were pretty cool (hot, actually) and smelly. It was fun because there's still patches of snow in that area, but the day was so warm we were hot walking around in T-shirts! The volcanic wonders were neat, but not as expansive as the stuff at Mt Lassen and it kind of made me miss CA in a nice way. The girls were really stoked about it though, because apparently Chicago, Dublin, and Johannesburg don't have volcanoes nearby and had never seen the sulfur/mud before. They kept asking me all kinds of questions that made me wish I'd paid more attention on those Lassen fieldtrips! :P

After mooore driving, we got to Kazuno, our destination for the night. We picked up some groceries, rented a movie and made ourselves at home at Nick's (Christy's bf, but he's out of town) apartment. We cooked a nice dinner and relaxed - now it's time for bed!

It's a small world! (pt 2)

2008-04-29T06:40:00.001-07:00

Tonight I went to a BBQ at a friend of friend's house. It turns out the host, Moto, studied at UC Davis for 3 months and then lived/worked in Williams for a year and a half!! And he'd been to Chico numerous times! Small world!! So he's a rice farmer and he said he was working for a rice farm in Williams doing ag science and quality control stuff. He brought out his laptop and showed me pictures. He had pictures of Chico's new downtown plaza thing! It was sooo weird (but cool) to be looking at pictures of Chico with an Akitan local and talk about the Thursday Night Market and Sierra Nevada.

Oh! And even mooore small world, we were both at SF JapanTown's Cherry Blossom Festival on the same day last year! Raaaandom.

That was a fun BBQ!

I've been patient...

2008-04-27T23:57:00.001-07:00

Now I'm angry. Like, if I were a cartoon character, steam would be coming out of my ears. So, since the new modem they sent did nothing, they're going to come out and check the line again, but apparently EVERYONE is on vacation until the 6th so they're not coming until the 8th!! That is a week and a half away! and they said if that doesn't fix it, to call again... which gives me no confidence that it will. Okay, I get that it's Golden Week but seriously!!! Only Tuesday is an official holiday this week and it's not my fault they didn't get it connected right the first time OR that this should have been resolved in FEBRUARY!!!!!! before the snow melted, before the sakura, and before Golden Week!! (#^O^#)

whew. I'm just SO frustrated that this is taking so long! We're coming up on three months! There's no reason for there to be so many problems either, and it's not really anyone's fault, just a bad series of events. I try not to let it get to me (I'm calm again), but it's doubly compounded because I'm getting frustrated that people don't understand why not having internet is so upsetting. It's not because I can't read up on the latest celebrity gossip or spend hours stalking people on Facebook. I don't care about any of that frivolous time-consuming stuff anymore.

It's about losing my main links to family and friends! My email capability has been limited to the endurance of my thumbs (typing onthe cell phone like now) and with no Skype, I can't make international phone calls (and I can't find calling cards). That means I can't reach any of my support system (and by "system" I mean people), and if I were still in Berkeley, that would be okay, I could manage only talking to my mom once every two weeks. But I'm not in Berkeley, and living abroad is stressful in so many ways you probably only get if you've experienced it - that support system is a lifeline. It's a necessity! Without it, I feel so stranded, frustrated, and lonely. THAT's why I'm desperate for the internet.

Now, I should mention that I have a couple of rockstar friends who are keeping me from going over the edge by making an effort to stay connected- Sally, who email/"chat"s with me for hours everyday, Erin, who calls me from England and lets me rant about the latest internet non-developments, and Val, who leaves me crazy/long voicemails on Skype so when I check it once a week or so I have a good laugh at her latest exploits. And here in Akita, there's Christy, who lets me borrow her internet whenever I ask. I'm really grateful for them and the effort they make for me.

I'm sorry if it seems like all I do is lament this internet thing, but I hope you can understand that it's not just lack of internet- it's being cut off from my lifelines.

---
Okay, I don't like being so negative, so on a more upbeat note, I'm going on a roadtrip this weekend! It's a 4-day weekend, so Christy, Paula, Ann (a city JET from S. Africa), and I are heading north! We're going over to Iwate and up through Aomori to Hirosaki and then down along the scenic Aomori/Akita coast. I'll keep you posted!

2008-04-23T06:03:00.001-07:00

The lead story on the Akita news tonight was thatsome fish died mysteriously. They're testing the water and will have the results tomorrow. the end.

even the enterprise record (www.chicoer.com) prints bigger stories than that (sometimes)! haha

2008-04-22T03:15:00.001-07:00

and then I turn on the TV and see Full House dubbed in Japanese. :D

think positively, right?

gimme a break, gimme a break, break me off a piece of that...

2008-04-22T02:54:00.001-07:00

internet! okay get this in the latest episode of katie's tragic attempts to get connected, today, my supervisor can't help me, so he asks the cute young new guy in the office. After work, the guy comes over to call yahoo for me, but my dang phone is dead even though it's been on the charger for days! I think it's just old and reached the end of its life (it kept dying when i was talking to erin), but dead phone means we can't call today! GIVE ME A BREAK!! Seriously. Well, new guy stayed for a while a checked every possible thing so now we really know it's yahoo's problem.

And so, I'll get a new phone tonight and we'll try again tomorrow.

But seriously! I'm a good person, I don't drink or smoke or swear or consume caffeine, I play with little kids, I help out my friends, I always return dvds on time, I drive the speed limit, etc. I've got to have tons of good karma built up somewhere!! Why can't I get a break?? :(

life is annoying.

I left my heart in San Francisco...

2008-04-21T04:51:00.001-07:00

...and it looks like I'll have plenty of time to get it back!

My acceptance letter for San Francisco State's graduate Japanese program came in the mail today! I actually found out online last week, but the letter makes it official. :) I only applied to this one school, so it's a good thing I got in! Actually though, they have the perfect program for what I want to do - an MA in Japanese with an emphasis in Teaching Japanese as a Foreign Language. And the fact that I get to be back in the Bay excites me to no end!

So that's the big news, otherwise... the cherry blossoms are blooming here now so it's pretty and I've been doing lots of flower viewing. Oh, I was on the news! Christy and I were at a sakura festival in Akita City walking around enjoying the flowers when this guy with a camera spotted us. He whipped around and started filming us (like "wow foreigners!") and then followed us (we were walking to meet some friends). Finally he asks us what we think about the sakura and Christy goes "tanoshii〜!" (fun!) so I say "utsukushii〜!" (beautiful!) and we walk away. The next day EVERYONE said "I saw you on the news!!" hahaha. great, I probably looked like a big dork! Well no one taped it so I'll never know. Oh well.

I posted up all my travel pics using the school's internet, but I didn't have time to caption them, so if you are partial to captions don't look at them yet.

I think I might have internet again sometime in the nearish future, but I've been thinking that for 2 months so I wouldn't trust me if I were you.

k that's all for this update! Only 3months left! Wooowzers.

Denny's!!

2008-04-06T03:16:00.001-07:00

I forgot to write that we went to Denny's for ice cream after the park. I was sooo excited for my first Denny's in Japan (they only have them in Tokyo) and I had a chocolate sundae.

I have to say, I was rather disappointed at how Japanified the menu was! Gone were all the American classics - Grand Slam breakfast combos, burgers, milkshakes, etc. - and instead I found the typical Japanese "family restaurant" style foods like japan-flavored pastas and cheap steak meals. I'm sure the food is all good and tasty, it's just not smothered-and-covered-hash-browns-American-style-Denny's good. (seriously, Denny's with no breakfast combos is just... Gusto)

But, to be fair, I ordered an American Clubhouse Sandwich to-go and just ate it on the train. Even after carting it around for 3hrs it was still a darn good club sandwich! :) Oh and my ice cream sundae was awesome! It had what I think are called cocoa puffs in it for crunch!! Nice touch, Denny's Japan! :P

Work Hard/Play Hard!

2008-04-06T01:35:00.001-07:00

whew! another busy day of adventure! I met Marie, found a place to store my duffle bag, and set off. Yokohama China Town (中華街 - chuukagai) has all fun shops as SF's without the huge hills, which I feel is a plus! We walked around enjoying the general splendor and then wandered down an alley to find the おもしろ水族館 (Interesting Aquarium). It was, indeed, quite interesting! They had all kinds of weird fish and even a section for "babies" (baby fish aren't called babies though, right? What are they called? Hatchlings? At some stage they're called fries, I think...) Anyway, there was a show thing for feeding the babyfish. It was really for kids, but the two guys doing it were so funny, we watched anyway. :)

We ate waaaay too much food at a (duh) Chinese restaurant - I had fried rice and pot stickers. After some more wandering and realizing all the shops were selling souvenirs (including Panda World and Hello Kitty From Japan), we decided to check out the famous Yamashita Park.

The park is right on the bay (I waved towards CA!) and really pretty. Lots of flowers and fountains and kids. We could see the landmark Yokohama ferris wheel, but didn't have time to ride it (plus I'd rather go at night).

We rode back to Tokyo and I saw Marie off. Now I'm waiting for my train to Akita! Good weekend. Good trip.

I'm exhausted. I travel hard. Love it!

Yokohama

2008-04-05T18:49:00.001-07:00

I left Lisa's dorm around 9:30 for my next adventure - an hour and twenty min train ride to Yokohama. Surprisingly for me, I've managed both the transfers without incident AND have been able to sit down! I love Japan and its rail network - so convenient and easy!

Anyway, I'm meeting my friend Marie in Yokohama and we're going to explore its Chinatown. Lisa even found a site last night that ranks the fried rice at all the restaurants so I have the name of one of the good ones. I love fried rice!

Zoo

2008-04-04T22:04:00.000-07:00

Giant Panda!!!

and a lot of other animals, including a few Lisa and i agreed appeared made up (look up a pic of an Okapi). But it's such a nice day! So sunny! I ate a melon snowcone - yum :)

whew!

2008-04-04T18:18:00.001-07:00

glad to have survived that! good thing it wasn't summer, i might have died! lol good tokyo experience.

to the ueno zoo!

Claustrophobia

2008-04-04T17:29:00.001-07:00

the train was late allowing hords of people to line up and shove onto an already packed train. sardines would feel over packed!

Earthquake!

2008-04-04T03:10:00.001-07:00

we just felt one while eating dinner! the building swayed and everyone went "whoa!" I think it was a moderately big one... anyway everything' s fine. it was nothing for a berkeley vet like me :)

2008-04-04T01:53:00.001-07:00

Happy Birthday, Alex!

2008-04-04T00:54:00.001-07:00

I just rode a ride called Flying Pirates (one of those rocking boat rides) and had a great laugh when I heard someone call it "Frying Pilates"(sounded like "pilots").

That would be a very different ride indeed!

としまえん!

2008-04-04T00:03:00.001-07:00

Today I'm doing a little hanami (flower viewing) at Toshimaen Amusement Park while I ride all kinds of rollercoasters and such. The weather here is so warm and sunny! It's a perfect day for riding rides. :) I'm with my Berk. friends Annie and Lisa and two of their friends from the dorm. tons of fun!

Hokkaido Potato: Butter and Corn flavor

2008-04-03T00:21:00.001-07:00

I just ate butter and corn flavored potato chips. Now before I came to Japan, I would have been right there with yougoing "butter? corn? on a chip?" but after 8 months here, it seems perfectly sane. Look at this:
butter+baked potato=tasty
butter+corn on the cob=tasty
corn+baked potato=the best side dishcombo ever

therefore, it only makes sense that
potato+butter+corn=delicious snacking :)

duh. America needs to get more on board with corn. It's great. Don't we grow a very large portion of the world's corn? I've never seen a cornfield in Japan, yet they put it in everything! Like pizza - it's fantastic. I think we need to stop turning American corn into biofuel nonsense and start putting it on pizza! And potato chip flavorings. :P

Mountains

2008-04-02T23:38:00.000-07:00

I'm on the shinkansen (bullet train) to Tokyo now, crossing the big ole mountain range that runs down the middle of northern Japan (look at a map). It's really pretty! The other times I've been through here it's been dark and/or SNOWING, so it's nice to see the pretty mountains, mostly melted snow, gushing creeks, etc. by daylight. :)

It was sprinkling when I left Akita, but I hear it's "sunny as can be" (quoting Lisa) in Tokyo so I'm looking forward to it!

Oh, and randomly, when I was on the local train to Akita City, Izumi, the adorable high school girl who comes to Christy's Eng conv class (and a lot of times i drive her), happened to get onto my car. That was a nice surprise and i got to talk to her for the rest of the ride - she's so good at English! Even when I spoke Japanese she responded in English! Good for her. :)

Anyway, the trip's off to a great start!

Super new super!

2008-03-31T18:34:00.001-07:00

I met my new supervisor today, and he seems great! He's nice AND friendly! He told me all about his two kids, showed me their pictures, and we talked about how I've taught their classes and they liked me. :) The best part is he doesn't seem shy or intimidated by me (which really, why should he be). My last supervisor guy was REALLY nice, but he was shy around me (I think because he didn't speak any English - not that I ever speak English with the Board of Ed people - or I'm a foreigner, a young American woman at that). Anyway, he never talked to me except when necessary, which made me shy, too. But the new guy, Mr. Narita, has already talked to me more this morning than Mr. Tanaka did in 8 months! I think this will work out nicely!

In other news, I'm going to Tokyo Thurs afternoon to spend the weekend reciting poetry under the cherry blossoms. Well, kinda. I'm staying with my friend Lisa who's studying abroad there from Cal and I do plan to see the blossoms, but I probably won't recite poetry. Probably. ;)

I know I still have to update on the Hiroshima leg of my trip and post my 600 photos, but still no internet at home (or work, since I'm at the BOE for 2wks). Hopefully the modem will come soon!

Miss you!

セーラちゃん(^O^)/読んでくれてありがとう! <3

It's a small world afterall...

2008-03-31T08:32:00.001-07:00

I met a man from Chico today! He was the JET in Christy's town like 13 years ago and he came back to visit with his family. I met him tonight and it turns out he was born and raised in Chico! His mother works/ed at Chico State, he went to Chico High (and gave me a hard time about being a PV alum), and most Chico-y of all, he asked me if I missed "amonds" - and started the infamous "amond"/"almond" argument when I replied that I very much miss the "almonds".

It was soooo weird to have such a "Chico" debate here in Akita! It really is a small world! :)

now it's a headless bunny!

2008-03-29T05:52:00.001-07:00

I forgot to say I'm watching Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (dubbed in Japanese) on TV. It's pretty fun - better than my other option (dubbed Titanic). It's a hoppin' Sat in Akita! :P

Choco!

2008-03-29T05:41:00.001-07:00

You know your mom loves you when she sends you a chocolate Easter bunny even when you're 22 and living in Japan! Plus it's the good, solid kind from Shubert's... and the big size, too! That's a lot of love. :)

internetless :(

2008-03-26T17:03:00.001-07:00

now theyre saying the internet is going to take another week or 10 days! apparently the electronics store where i signed up forgot to put in the order!! so ive been waiting for nothing for 5 weeks! im so mad and frustrated i really cant think about or ill explode. gah!!!!!! (>_<)

Bye Bye, Hiroshima!

2008-03-25T01:41:00.001-07:00

I'm waiting for my flight back to Akita now. Sorry I sort of stopped blogging a few days ago. First, my phone battery died and then my travels and visiting Ryuta didn't leave me with much free time! Anyway, I'll fill in the details later.

Six (+) prefectures in six days has been great and I was able to see/experience SO much, but I'm also looking forward to my own bed! I'm on the tail end of this cold and pretty tired. Thankfully, I have the rest of the week to recover, as I'll be sitting at the Board of Ed doing nothing everyday - except planning my next trip! :)

on missing trains

2008-03-21T16:33:00.002-07:00

The bad thing about Japan is that all subways and trains are ontime 99.9% of the time, so one minute of indecision - what platform was it? how much is the ticket? - will cause you to run down the stairs just as the train pulls away. It's a sad feeling. In America, everything is slow, so that moment of indecision will cost you nothing. You'll probably be early.

But the great thing about Japan is that the trains are 99.9% of the time on time, so when you miss the train you almost accidentally got there early enough for, the one you were planning for will come 15min later. Plus, this time you'll be early enough to get a seat. :)

Departing Osaka (GREAT Mexican food for dinner last night and slept in a capsule hotel) for Himeji (big castle).

that would have been bad!

2008-03-21T02:34:00.001-07:00

i got on the train and then realized i forgot to get my bag from the locker! i had to jump of and run back to get it. twenty min til the next train - glad to have all my belongings tho!

Nara

2008-03-20T23:59:00.002-07:00

I've only been here for 2hrs and I've already decided I have to live here.

tourism

2008-03-20T22:20:00.002-07:00

I just got off the train and went to the tourist derk to get a map. I was all ready to ask in Japanese and the lady started speaking English to me! That never happens in Akita! She gave me a map and directions to the main sites and was really helpful! Being a touristy tourist in these cities is fun. :)

Memoirs of a Kyoto Trip

2008-03-20T22:03:00.003-07:00

My time in Kyoto has come to a close and I'm exhausted! I spent most of the yesterday around the Gion district (aka the geisha area). It's one of the older districts so it's full cool alleyways and shops and shrines.

The rain cleared up just as I arrived so I met up with Juls, dropped my stuff at the hostel and went geisha hunting! Just kidding! We went Buddha-hunting is more like it, as we went from temple to temple. We went to one with a giant buddha statue and got a stick of insense with the entrance fee (a mere 200\!). We took pictures of each other adding our incense sticks to the big pot thing and while I was posing, I burned a hole in the sleeve of my jacket from an incense stick. Real smart. Then we got to go inside the big Buddha, which I thought was neat (how many of you can say you've been IN Buddha?)

We also went to Kiyomizu Temple. It's very famous- built on stilts on a hill so there's a great view and it has magic fortune-bringing spring water you can drink (I did!).

Famished and feeling sick, we headed back to the station for a late lunch (Italian) and a break. But we didn't rest long! We caught a train to the Inari Shrine.

It's famous for the hundreds (maybe thousands) of orangey red torii gates that line a path winding way up Inari Mountain. We hiked the path for a good hour up to the top of the mountain so we had an amazing view of Kyoto. Walking through these gates immersed in the woods and mountains was an amazing experience. I love how in Japan, even amid booming urban centers like Tokyo and Kyoto, you can find these fantastic natural sceneries.

After all this hiking, I was exhausted and feeling sicker, but I kept up my spirits and caught a subway to Sanjo (sort of a nightlife area) to meet my Berkeley friend Chris for dinner. It was great seeing him for the first time since Sept (last trip to Kyoto) and we went to this tasty Thai place. I had some spicey chicken and basil dish that cleared my sinuses. Oh, you might not know, but as a rule, whenever I travel to a bigger city, I try to eat as much international food as possible because we don't have many options in Akita. Anyway, after dinner, we took some purikura and said goodbye. We might meet for dinner in Osaka tonight if the timing works out.

Off to bed at the hostel, where I slept on the bottom bunk in a room with 8 beds (only 4 decent backpacking travelers + me though). It was clean and convenient - and cheap (2500Y).

Today Juls and I checked out, had waffles (yes!!) a place in the station. Then we bought 500Y unlimited ride bus passes from the cute old lady in a tiny booth and went to Heian Shrine. It has an AMAZING garden that will be even more fantastic in about a week when the cherry blossoms bloom. It sucks we're just a bit too early, but I'm hopingto catch them in Hiroshima.

Anyway, after a lunch at starbucks, I'm on the train to Nara! bye for now. (^-^)/

Good Morning!

2008-03-19T15:39:00.001-07:00

Greetings from somewhere near Fukui (look it up)! It's about 7:30am and I've been on this train since about 10:30 last night. I had a bunk and managed to sleep most of the night (maybe 6 or 7hrs) but there was a lot of tossing and turning. Trains are bumpy!

Anyway, I'm reclining in my bunk and watching the countryside slip by. Japan is SO beautiful! I think most Americans think of Japan and picture the craziness of Tokyo (or some samurai tea house). Let me tell you, Tokyo and the other cities have some magic, but most of the country isn't like that. It's full of rice fields and beautiful mountains, modern houses built with traditional archetectural details and train tracks that stetch endlessly in both directions. I'm a country-loving kid so I'm sure I'm a little bias, but the Japanese countryside impresses me WAY more than the Tokyo public transit system (which is pretty amazing in its own right).

I love traveling by train!

行ってきまーす！

2008-03-18T17:59:00.002-07:00

I haven't updated this in a while because I still have no internet at home (it's been 4 weeks), and tonight I'm leaving on a five day trip in southern Japan. I'm taking the night train to Kyoto, spending Thursday there, Friday in Nara and Osaka, Saturday in Himeji --> Hiroshima, and Sunday-Tuesday in the Hiroshima area.

I'm really excited! I'm traveling with a fellow Akita JET and I'll be meeting up with Berkeley friends in Kyoto and Hiroshima. I bought an extra 1GB memory card (for only like $18!) to supplement the 1GB card I already have, so be prepared for looooots of pictures upon my return - assuming I have the internet capability to post them!

Anyway, I just wanted to give you a quick update on what I'll be up to the next couple of days. I think this trip I'm going to try something different with the blogging. Instead of one long post when I get back, I think I'll try to post as I go via cell phone (I'm a really fast thumb typer since it's been my main source of email/internet for a month). We'll see how it goes!

Aside from the no internet thing (I'm still waiting for them to send me a new modem), everything's going well here. I hope you're all healthy and happy! Happy St. Patrick's Day and Happy Easter! :) (neither are celebrated here)

Alright, off I go! (^^)/

Spring Sensor

2008-03-03T23:44:00.001-08:00

Spring is here! I can tell! Even thoughit snowed this morning, the birds are back, and the rice fields are starting to poke out of the snow... I can just tell. :)

Other good news: I got my computer back. They replaced the logic board - whatever that means. It works and my laptop is super clean! No grease smudges or crumbs... :)

But still no internet until the new modem arrives. boo. oh well.

Spring!!

R.I.P. Terrible Week (2/15-2/22)

2008-02-29T03:08:00.004-08:00

I've been holding off on this update for two reasons 1. I haven't had internet access in over a week, and 2. I wanted time to put all things in perspective (the bad stuff doesn't seem so bad once it's over). Let's fill you in on all the little things that made it one disastrous week!

Alright, ignoring my Starbucks phone blog, the last thing I updated you all on was my visits to the bamboo fight and snow huts, yeah? Well, I think I mentioned somewhere in there that I was sick and that standing out in the snow was probably not a smart idea.

It wasn't. I got sicker. I mean, nothing major, just a really bad cold that lasted a good 10 days or so. But it was bad timing, like everything that week. You see, according to the Culture Shock Depression Graph (which is probably not called that), about halfway through your international stay you face a major downward spiral of homesickness, and last week, almost exactly six months, was definitely a homesick one. But see with the bad timing that makes it a terrible week, I was sick, too, and nothing makes you miss home more than being alone and sick.

Not to mention, it was cold and snowy, and I didn't think I could take another day of it (but I did)! Physically I was a mess - sick, cold, tired, kind of hungry (because I wasn't feel well enough to shop or cook) - and emotionally I was worse. The teachers at school and my English conversation students were all concerned - telling me I didn't look well, asking if I wanted to lie down, did I have a fever, etc. And then unpleasant things started to happen.

For one, while I was deliriously teaching the conversation class, my internet died. I came home from class and could no longer get online! Being sick and tired, I didn't even bother dealing with it and just went to bed. The next day I still couldn't connect so I decided to try buying a new LAN cable and see if that fixed the problem (it didn't). I figured it must be a problem with the modem, so the next day (Thursday) I asked my supervisor if she could help me call Yahoo!BB (my internet provider). She was busy and said she'd help me the next day, but I got the info to call on my own and fully intended to call after work. Unfortunately, the cold got the better of me and I fell asleep at 5pm. So finally on Friday, we go to my house, my supervisor calls Yahoo, everything's going fine, they decide it's a problem with the modem and they'll send me a new one, problem solved in less than a week. Then my supervisor asks them if they can change the name on the account (it's still in my predecessor's name even though I pay the bills every month). Well, YahooBB is very by the book and once they figured out the situation (i.e. my predecessor no longer lives in Japan), they said we'll have to cancel the service and reactivate in my name - which could take three weeks. GREAT!! (sarcastic) But there's nothing to be done so we cancel and decide to meet the next day to reactivate it, which we did. Keep in mind the internet is my lifeline, not just my entertainment. It's how I stay connected to the US both personally (e-mail, phone calls via Skype, etc.) and in general (reading the news, watching The Daily Show, etc.), so without it I feel really cutoff. [For the not-so-exciting conclusion to my computer problems, please scroll down. For now I will continue with Terrible Week.]

So now I'm sick, sad, and truly isolated, when I get more bad news. Oh, this little bit's also going to reveal a decision I committed to almost a month ago but hadn't announced to you all yet - I'm not recontracting, which means I'll be returning to America in August (more on that later). Other quick background info: My town is poor. It's made up of three smaller towns that merged in 2006 as a way to pool their funds - as a result, they went from having three JETs to two (me and a guy named Stephen). Well, on Thursday, my supervisor (she's the nice lady who helps me with EVERYTHING and goes with me when I visit elementary schools) tells me that when I go home in August, the town (mayor/town elders?) decided not to get a replacement. Which means the area once covered by three JETs (now by two) will now fall to just one (Stephen) - i.e. the students will see waaaaay less of their foreign English teacher. So I feel really, really bad about that (believe it or not, the students actually like having us come to class - it makes English seem worthwhile), but to top it off, my supervisor continues to tell me that as a result of all this, she's getting fired in April. Her job is to support the JETs, and seeing as I'm leaving and Stephen has been here for 4 years and speaks Japanese (i.e. doesn't need support) they decided to reallocate her salary elsewhere. So by leaving, I'm not only disappointing hundreds of students and teachers, but I'm also getting my supervisor (and friend) fired!! Looking at it rationally, I realize that it doesn't have so much to do with me, as it would have happened eventually (i.e. next year) because the town really doesn't have the money, and to be honest, JETs are expensive. But it still feels like it's my fault and last week I felt sure the whole community was going to be mad at me when they found out (they probably won't know for another month or two), not to mention my poor supervisor is totally sad about losing this job (but being very careful to never make me feel like it's my fault because she's sweet like that).

By Friday, I was barely holding it together. I was sure I'd hit the bottom, and almost happy to think it could only get better. But then it got worse. I turned on my heater Friday evening, only to have it read "Error". I couldn't figure out what was wrong until I realized I must have run out of kerosene. I should have thought to check the tank gauge outside earlier in the week, but with the sickness and everything else, it didn't even occur to me. So no gas = no heat = no hot water = no shower. NOW I was at the bottom of the bottom.

...and that's was turning point. I was either going to start sobbing or laughing hysterically. I started laughing. It really couldn't get worse - sick, sad, isolated, disappointing and cold! I just sat there staring at my heater blink "error", shaking my head, and laughing. If you had seen me, you might have thought I lost my marbles! But no, it was just a sign that my attitude was changing. Finally, I arranged to have more kerosene delivered the next morning, set up my tiny electric heater in my bedroom, and decided to go out to dinner.

I called up Christy and Paula and we went out for really great Indian food in the city. I spent the rest of the weekend relaxing and recuperating. And that was the end of Terrible Week.

To make up for it (and because I'm bored out of my mind with no internet), I've been really good to myself this week. I went to Starbucks twice (Sunday and Monday), I reread "The Little Prince", I rewatched season seven of Gilmore Girls, I rented and watched three Audrey Hebrun movies ("Sabrina", "Funny Face", and "Paris When it Sizzles"), I wrote my personal statement for grad school apps, I wrote an essay in Japanese for my correspondence course, I read one and a half novels, and I cooked a healthy, tasty dinner every night. Things are definitely looking up and working out.

That is, except for the computer situation.
[Not-so-exciting conclusion:]
I brought my computer to school on Monday (a school where I have internet access, unlike last week's), but when I plugged in the ethernet, I had no connection! That's when I realized my mysterious internet problems at home were not, in fact, internet problems, but rather a problem with my computer! I called Apple's (in Japan) English support line, told them what was going on and they decided it must be a hardware problem so they would need to take it in to be fixed. And whether it's because of Apple's great customer service or the fact that I'm in Japan, I was told someone would come to my house to pick up the computer on Wednesday (at a time of my choosing). Which all went well - except the repairman couldn't find my house (I don't blame him, my street's not on most maps), so he called me saying he was at the convenience store down the street, and after some failed attempts of me giving directions and him going "huh? I don't understand", I just met him there and he followed me back to my house (he needed to know where it was so he can drop it off again when it's fixed). Anyway, I don't exactly know when it will be fixed (I'm hoping a week?), but I have to wait for my new modem to come anyway, so in the meantime I've rented lots of movies and started a new book! Oh, and this weekend Christy most generously lent me her house/internet/computer while she's away, so I'm able to write this blog (and get work done tomorrow).

Okay, sorry that was so long, but I wanted to fill you in on what's been going on around here! Be well!

Starbucks

2008-02-24T04:58:00.001-08:00

This is my first time blogging from my phone so we'll see how it goes!

I'm at the mall right now because I have no internet at home (I'll write about that another time.), so I decided to come here to watch a movie. While I wait for the movie, I'm hanging out in Starbucks, which is what prompted this blog.

Since moving to Japan, I've become hooked on Starbucks! Now that may not sound so unusual, since there are probably millions of people around the world who could make that statement, but you have to take into account that I don't like the taste of coffee and I can't drink anything with caffeine, then an addiction to Starbucks might start sounding a little strange. I'm actually at a loss for what to order when I go there. I used to love the chai lattes, but too many caffeine-induced nightmares have unfortunately nixed those. I do like hot chocolate, so sometimes I order that, but Starbucks' hot chocolate is powdery and awful world-wide, and therefore not so enjoyable. Basically, as far as drinks go, my best bet is water. Sad!

So why am I addicted? Or to what? It's the atmosphere, the experience. When I was at Berkeley, there was a FABULOUS cafe right below my apartment (www.villagegrounds.com) and a bazillion other local cafes so I pretty much never went to Starbucks. In Chico, I went occasionally with friends or my parents. Now, I usually go once a week (on Mondays) even though it's an hour away. Why? Because there's something comforting about it. About how the decor and music and cups are the same no matter where you are in the world. About how the people who work there are always friendly and cheerful in their green aprons. About the food and desserts that always taste fresh and strangely American. I don't know... I just love going. For the hour or two I sit there with bad hot chocolate and a tasty cookie in one of those typical "comfy chairs" (that aren't very comfy) I feel normal. Like I'm not in a foreign country thousands of miles from home, but rather right down the street.

Sometimes living here can be overwhelming in a number of ways, but with a little time reading in a Starbucks, I feel refreshed and ready to start tackling the world again. I think it's a good thing. It keeps me sane (as long as I avoid caffeine! lol).

Anyway, just thought I'd share my thoughts! Time for the movie. I'm going to see that one with Natalie Portman and a magical toy store - except it's dubbed in Japanese so that ought to be interesting! :)

Bye for now!

More info on the bamboo fight...

2008-02-18T02:15:00.002-08:00

My JET colleague David just wrote a long post on his blog about the festival, including this description:

"My town, Rokugo, holds a festival on the 15th of February every year which involves the North and South side of the town having a square go with 20 foot long bamboo sticks. The concept is simple, as well as being scientifically proven I'm sure, if the North wins then there will be a good harvest for the year to come and if the South wins then the price of rice will rise. There are 3 rounds and during the final round a huge bonfire is set a light. It is also worth mentioning that it has been suggested that this festival is the 6th most dangerous in the world."

in case you were wondering...
This is what poor David looked like after being whacked by bamboo, kicked in the head by four people, and having his face stepped on (on purpose) - 9 stitches.

It's very cold

2008-02-16T23:52:00.002-08:00

and I have a cold. boooo.

I went to two winter festivals this weekend, the Takeuchi Festival (aka giant bamboo fight) in Rokugo, and the Kamakura Festival (a.k.a. snow huts!) in Yokote. Akita is renowned for their winter festivals, so I felt obligated to go check them out. They were neat and totally worth the effort, though I'm not so sure it was such a good idea to stand in the snow at night when I was already sick...

Anyway pictures here:

Takeuchi and Kamakura Festivals

And video of the bamboo fighting here:

Two things...

2008-02-13T21:11:00.001-08:00

I forgot to say Happy Valentine's Day!!!!

Also, I've definitely been in Japan longer than six months now!

Sapporo Snow Festival

2008-02-13T21:06:00.002-08:00

Hello! I'm back from Sapporo and I got the pictures up here:

Hokkai-DO!

I'm not going to really write a recap here, because I pretty much described the whole trip in the captions. So go look and read! :)

Happy February!

2008-02-03T18:20:00.000-08:00

I thought I'd post a little update about my weekend. I went to a masquerade party at a club on Saturday night for a charity called Peas for Peace, so I made a cool carnivale-esque mask and had a good time dancing away with my JET friends. I spent the night at my friend's place close to the city (we got home at 3:30am) and then I got up at 7:30am to meet my Japanese friends for my first snowboarding adventure.

Anyone who knows me is aware of how incredibly uncoordinated and clumsy I am. So, you can imagine if I can walk along a flat road without tripping, strapping a board to my feet and sending me out in the snow could really only mean disaster.

But, I survived! My Japanese friends were really kind and helped me a lot. By the end of the day I could make it down the run only falling twice, and I didn't break any bones - I just have sore muscles and a bruised bottom! (Thanks to Bunny for the pre-boarding advice: "Fall on your butt, not your face.")

And in my utter exhaustion last night, I spent some time thinking...

who invented snowboarding?
I want to know who sat around thinking, "hey, what if we strap our feet to a board and launch ourselves down a steep and icy hill?!"

crazy, is what that is.

But, I participated in this cultural phenomenon nonetheless. It was more frustrating than fun, but a good experience, and I like how every muscle in my body is aching. I also noticed how it teaches a number of good life lessons.

For example:
-it's easier to go fast than to go slow, but the consequences are much more disastrous.
-falling down only stings for a quick minute, it's the getting up that takes enormous effort and strength.
-you can't just give up halfway down the slope.
-even when you try and fail over and over and over, because you have to get up, you will.
-eating Japanese curry and rice makes everything better.

I guess I'd go again. The outing as a whole was more fun and fascinating than the actual snowboarding part, even when I was doing it successfully. But I'm always up for a good work-out, playing in the snow, and fun friends. :)

Pictures coming soon (they wouldn't let me bring my camera because they thought I would fall and break it, so I'm waiting for Yoshiki to send me pictures)!

In case you missed it...

2008-01-31T06:50:00.000-08:00

I turned 22 last week! (on the 22nd! lucky!)

With the whole time difference thing, I determined I got basically two days of birthday, so I cashed in on it and celebrated twice!

The first was on the night of my birthday. Christy came up to my place bearing an ice cream cake from Baskin Robbins, but it wouldn't fit in my tiny-sized freezer, so we put it outside in the snow and went out to dinner. The place I wanted to try was closed, but it worked out and we ended up at this great (and cheap!) Chinese restaurant with excellent food. Then we came back and ate the cake (snow = outdoor freezer... another thing I'd never thought about before). Oh, we even lit candles and Christy and I sang Happy Birthday to me! It was really really nice. =D

The second birthday was on Sunday, and thrown by my Japanese friends. We (8 in total) met up at my favorite place - Round1 Amusement Center, ate curry for lunch, karaoke'd for 2.5hrs, bowled two games, and went out for dinner/dessert at a place next door. I had SOOOO much fun!! So much fun! It was like all my favorite things (okay, bowling's not really a favorite, but I like it) in one day! With really fun people. =D

SEE PICTURES!!

Birthday and Int'l Day

Oh, there's also pictures of the International Day I went to at Christy's school. And of the really delicious cakes my English conversation class made me for my birthday this week. yay!

This weekend I'm going to attempt snowboarding with the same Japanese friends. Wish me luck! (and safety!!)

Photos!

2008-01-26T05:29:00.000-08:00

Gee, you didn't have to wait long, did you? In fact, you were probably all asleep since I last posted, so you didn't even have to withstand suspense for these. Oh well.

I posted (almost) ALL the pictures from when Jessie and Joaquin were here. There's almost 300 of them, so the few I posted on this blog don't come close to encompassing their visit. Plus, in this album I've put all kinds of informative captions AND I mapped them all out (you can do that - Google's so handy!) so you can actually see where we were down to the block!

Click below to check out the pictures!!

Post, Post, and Garcia

ヤッタ！！！！！

2008-01-26T01:01:00.000-08:00

I finally fixed my computer!!!! I can download music! and upload pictures!!

[don't read the rest unless you're interested in computer-y things]
In case you weren't aware, some time back in September, I did something weird that screwed up my computer so I couldn't access iTunes, upload photos via Facebook or iPhoto, update software, etc. It got weirder when I found out I only had the problem when connected to an ethernet cable, and everything worked fine on a wireless connection. It was frustrating, and sad, and my lack of knowledge with Macs left me feeling helpless.

After many failed attempts, I'd kind of given up hope of it ever working again, and was planning to buy a wireless router to see if that worked. Tonight, I figured I'd try one last suggestion from my family - delete Firefox and Safari and try reloading them. I was skeptical, but had nothing to lose, so I deleted Firefox (my default browser) and restarted. Then, I realized when I opened Safari (which I rarely/never use) that it wasn't working! It said it wasn't connected to the Internet, but obviously it was! I was able to use both Skype and iChat! I kind of panicked, because with Safari not working, there was no way I could reload Firefox (and thus fix Safari). I used some smooth talking (okay, I just asked) a friend on iChat to send me Firefox, and while it transfered, I got curious. I decided to check the preferences and settings of Safari again.

It dawned on me - proxies!!! They're helpful when you're connected trying to connect to a secure network, but when you're just connecting at home, they make it so you can't connect! Proxies!! I went to the proxy settings, and, indeed these, unlike the ones you can change easily in Firefox, are managed by the Mac OS Network Settings - which means they control all apps trying to connect to the Internet! AND mine were set for the proxy servers at one of my schools. So, all I had to do was uncheck a few boxes, and TA-DA!! After months of anguish (and illegal music downloads), I'm swept away with joy!

Now that things are working again, look for some photo albums coming soon on my google photos site (I'll let you know when I post).
Yaaaaay!!!!!

Blizzard: Day 2

2008-01-24T23:59:00.000-08:00

Well, the wind stopped, but the snow is coming down like... glitter at an 8-year-old's birthday party. (weird simile? oh well)

I guess with less wind it's not a blizzard anymore; it's just a lot of snow.

I got a new (used) TV today from the vice principal of one of my elementary schools - which isn't exciting news for those of you who didn't know my TV broke three weeks ago (it made a buzzing sound and never turned on). So now I can watch 3 tv channels, and, the real benefit, DVDs of any region again. Yay!

This weekend I'm going to a friend's birthday dinner on Sat night, and my Japanese friends are taking me out for birthday karaoke and curry on Sunday. Oh, and the weather's supposed to be better tomorrow.

Here's hoping! :)

BLIZZARD!!

2008-01-24T02:49:00.000-08:00

They're real!　
(and, no joke, that's these are the graphics for today's weather!)

Okay, so call me a naive California girl, but I always just kind of assumed "blizzards" were made up. You know, like the Abominable Snowman (think of that claymation Rudolph movie)! Well, today I learned I was VERY wrong!!

I did a quick Google to make sure today's weather is what one technically calls a blizzard:

BLIZZARD: Snow with winds in excess of 35 mph and visibilities of 1/4 mile or less, for an extended period of time (eg. > 3 hours).

Let's see, the general consensus from the weather sites is that the wind in the cities nearest me was up to 50mph. I suspect they were even stronger here, because my little town has no trees or anything to act as windbreaks, but regardless, 50mph winds are CRAZY! I know they don't register on the hurricane or the tornado scales (well, F-0 on the tornado scale is "up to 72mph"), but it WOULD be enough to call it a tropical storm if it were, in fact, a tropical storm (it's not). Anyway, so 50mph wind, and the average temperature today was somewhere around 28deg F, but with the windchill factor, they say it "feels like" 13deg. Oh, and let's not forget the SNOW (aka ice daggers that will blind you if you open your eyes too wide!). It snowed in various degrees today, somehow always managing to dump whenever I had to run from my car to a building or vice versa. This morning, when I had to go literally around the corner from the board of education office to an elementary school, the snow was coming down SO heavily and the wind was SO crazy, that one and a half minutes was terrifying. I could barely see 10ft in front of the car!

So, winds in excess of 35mph? CHECK!
Visibilities of 1/4mi or less? CHECK!
Extended period of time? CHECK!! (at least since it woke me up at 5am and it's still going strong at 8pm)

It's a BLIZZARD!!!
My first one! If it wasn't so loud and throwing ice against my windows and making scary noises, it might be kind of exciting.

Definitely on the downside, I couldn't go to karate tonight because I figured a 20min drive in this weather with my snow-driving skills would be certain death. I hope the weather's better next week!

Kakunodate/Tazawako, Akita City, and Matsushima Bay

2008-01-17T18:56:00.001-08:00

Okay, so this is part 2 of Jessie and Joaquin's visit. We drove on the ridiculously uncool icy/snowy roads into the mountains to see Kakunodate and its samurai street (which I think I've posted pictures of before...). Before continuing to Lake Tazawa, we stopped to buy some chains for my snow tires, which helped some. Anyway, the lake is in the mountains and was therefore surrounded by TONS of snow (maybe that's relative, but from a Californian perspective anyway). Click here to check out my visit to Kakunodate and Tazawako in September for a comparison.

Let's see, we also stopped by Akita City to check out the "castle ruins" (a re-built guard tower and a gate).

Then we headed over the mountains to the Pacific coast to Sendai and Matsushima Bay. Matsushima is known as one of Japan's three most beautiful sites, and I can see why. There are over 250 islands/islets in this bay, and many contain Buddhist and/or Shinto shrines, sculptures carved into the island rocks, caves, and other markings from the centuries of monks and pilgrims going there to pray. It was pretty amazing. There's also what's considered the "best" temple in northern Japan - one which was built in 830 (the buildings standing now were rebuilt in the 1600s). It makes you marvel at human ingenuity.

Anyway, after some all-you-can-eat Thai food and crashing at my friend's place in Sendai, I sent Jessie and Quin off to Tokyo to catch their flight home, and I headed back to Akita. It was a really good visit. I hope they had as much fun as I did!

Picture time!

Sliding around on the streets of Kakunodate

Living the samurai life.

Lake Tazawa

Okay, let's compare - gate in Januarygate in September!

Lady of the Lake

Akita City Castle Ruins (guard tower)

Akita City from the castle grounds

View of the Japanese Alps from the bullet train to Sendai.Caves in Matsushima

I was there!

Carved tablets in a cave... I don't know what they said, but I'm sure it was cool stuff.

That's Basho! He's one of the most famous Japanese poets of all time and he spent some time in Matsushima writing about its beauty. He liked it so much, he's still chilling here, apparently.

Caves! They were so cool they looked fake.

Right out of Indiana Jones or something.

Tomb Raider, anyone?

17th century Japanese architecture is neat.

The sun sets on Matsushima Bay

...and we go out for Thai in Sendai! This is Joaquin's third plate!

THE END!!

Time Warp 2008!

2008-01-03T04:56:00.000-08:00

I need to do some catching up on the haps in December, but that's on hold for now. I'm going to post some of the pics from my sister and Joaquin's (her boyfriend) visit so far. They're going to be here until Monday. We spent three days in Tokyo, and the rest of the time here in Akita with all the snow. Check it out!

First night - Sensoji at night in the rain

Meiji Jingu

Goofing off in the park around the temple.

Gateway to the Meiji Temple

Jessie met some koi in a park near Yasukuni Shrine

Out for a walk in the park - Kitanomaru Park (I think?)

Joaquin got some "habanero soup" from the vending machine.

Sensoji again with no rain.

Joaquin's first ramen in Japan. He liked it!

This is good so I won't forget when I went to the Tokyo Tower - 2007! (It says 2008 now)

Daytime in Ueno Park.
In front of a fountain in Ueno Park.

New Year's Day! We went to the Namahage Museum, and Joaquin got to dress up.

Eating some New Year's mochi, pounded by Namahage demons!

Snow?! At the beach???

These were all at the tip of the Oga Peninsula. (click here to see it in the summer)

A random park near one of my schools. We stopped to play around.

Snowball fight!

We went for a hike around the little lake near my house (I posted pictures I took with my phone of it in the fall).

Coming soon... pictures of our visit to Kakunodate and Lake Tazawa (LOTS OF SNOW!).

Kids + Snow = Photo Opportunities Galore!

2007-12-06T18:22:00.000-08:00

Lunchtime recess at Kanaoka E.S. (12/4)

Big kids like to play, too! Hachiryu JHS (12/5)

During "cleaning time", I guess this group got the shoveling snow gig. It quickly degraded to snowball fights (the girls in the background totally won) and...

Snowman building!! :)

Moritake E.S. Arts and Crafts Club (12/6)

We made mini-Christmas trees. Aren't they cute? (kids and trees)

This is my creation. I'm pretty crafty, huh?

::END::

No Classes So I'm Posting Photos

2007-12-06T17:39:00.000-08:00

Let's work our way forward, shall we?

THANKSGIVING! (Akita-style)

Maureen organized this whole day with the help of Seth, who cooked the turkeys!

Corey, Brett, and Tex all GQ'd up for Thanksgiving in their Uniqlo sweaters

Nick (Christy's boyfriend) and I made the mac 'n cheese - expertly, I might add.

Yay! Let's eat!This is my first plate of food: corn, stuffing, turkey+gravy, mashed potatoes, mac n cheese, green bean casserole, and pasta salad. Carb fest!!

Japanese lady who's name I forgot, Maureen, me, Christian, and Juls - still alive after all the food!

Josh (the Australian) entertained these two little girls the whole night.

There were 20 people in total!

While you were shopping on Black Friday, I was...

Pasta/ravioli making at Bella's house in the middle of nowhere!

They turned out to be delicious! Bella's French Canadian with Italian ancestry = good recipes!

Yes, I made a mess and got flour all over myself. As if I wasn't white enough...

We drive to the city for Starbucks - and to see Paula!

Christy and Paula modeling the universally lovely red cups.

Oh, Paula bought some really expensive pink macaroons. Apparently they were worth it.

I went to Sendai to take a test. Here are some photos~

This is at Tohoku University (test site), they still have fall leaves!

hm... Japanese maple?

While I was at a bookstore in Sendai, I ran into Craig, a guy I had some Japanese classes with at Berkeley. Apparently, he's studying abroad at Tohoku University! SMALL WORLD!!! Anyway, he took me on an impromptu tour of Sendai. So here's the founding father samurai guy's statue.

It's at the "castle", which after a half hour hike turned out to be "castle ruins".

Still worth it!

::End::

No Kitties for Katie

2007-12-06T15:55:00.000-08:00

My supervisor told me I can't have a cat here since my house is owned by the town, and because of a bunch of other troublesome things. So, I guess the kitties are going to be left for the good people of Kotooka to sort out... I hope someone steps up to the plate! and soon! (`~`)

Akita was in the news again:
In Japan, Rural Economies Wane as Cities Thrive

This article is really, really about where I live, because the featured town is Noshiro, which is a quick 25min north of my house, and very similar to my area (though, it's a "big city" by comparison to Mitane -aka: my town).

雪の夜とかわいそう子猫

2007-12-04T06:01:00.000-08:00

Tonight, as I was leaving my English conversation class, my supervisor asked if I saw the kittens, and I didn't know what she was talking about, so she explained, "oh there are three homeless kittens outside!" So I went outside in the BLIZZARD, and sure enough, there were three really cute (but sad) mewing kitties!!! Someone from the community center had made them a little styrofoam box house that seemed kind of warm, but they had no food/water and looked cold/hungry!! It was soooo sad!!!

So I got in the car and drove straight to the grocery store, where I bought cat food and towels (because they don't sell blankets). I stopped by house to pick up another towel and gladware tub things for the food/water, and then went back to the community center. As soon as I walked up they starting meowing like crazy and when I put the food down the literally DOVE IN! Gosh they looked so cold! They were gobbling down the food, too. I made sure there was plenty for tonight and set the bag next to their little box-home so hopefully someone will feed them more tomorrow. I also filled them a dish of water, which they happily lapped up - I hope it doesn't freeze tonight! Then I added my towels to their box to make it warmer and cozier. After that, it didn't really seem like there was much else I could do, so I came home. But I really want to go back and check on them (even though I can't do anything)!

I emailed my supervisor to ask her to call the community center people tomorrow and find out if the cats really have no home. I said that if they don't, I'll take care of them. Three cats are kind of a lot for someone who doesn't spend a whooole lot of time at home... but someone has to give them a home! Especially since it's snowing!! Anyway, I guess I'll find out tomorrow.

Send warm thoughts to the kitties!!

I'm dreaming of a white... Thanksgiving?

2007-11-22T00:57:00.000-08:00

I spent this very windy/snowy/blizzardy day teaching about Thanksgiving at Kado Elementary School (the one closest to my home, so the kids in my neighborhood go there, too). Today was curry and rice day for lunch, which is my absolute FAVORITE so I think it was a good Thanksgiving meal. During lunchtime recess, all the kids got bundled up to go outside and play in the snow! I didn't have the right gloves or a hat, but I couldn't resist and I went out to play, too (with my camera!).

She was chasing him with snowballs in hand. I didn't see how it ended...

Everyone wants to pose for Katie-sensei! These are second and third graders I think.

They wanted to show off their handiwork.

A snowman in the works...

Eikaiwa: Round Two!

2007-11-20T04:19:00.000-08:00

I just had my second English conversation class, and I totally rocked it! We reviewed days of the week, names of the months, "how's the weather?", useful English expressions (from "How's it going?" to "good luck!"), and three different "running into a friend on the street" scenarios. Kind of a lot for one class, and we didn't get to practice the scenarios by making skits due to time, but that's okay - it can be review next class! It went 300X better than last class (by the way, the grumpy grandma didn't come back - which is okay by me!), and everyone had a good attitude, learned, and seemed to be enjoying it. I think the level was right on. There were three students that found it kind of difficult, but they worked together and everyone helped each other out, so it was okay. Also, I demonstrated three dialogs by myself, which was pretty entertaining. For two scenarios, I played two characters, and for the third I played three! haha it was tiring, but successful, and not only were they able to understand, but they were also amused and appreciated my obvious efforts.

Tonight, I had a good attitude, a good lesson, an attentive class, and I was a good teacher. So, I am happy.

In fact, I'm in such a good mood, I'll put forth the effort to upload some pictures! Enjoy!

Okay, so this was 11/4, I went to a Kiritampo Party in the woods! Kiritampo is an Akita specialty food. It's cooked rice that's mashed together and boiled in miso broth (so like rice balls), and in this case it was in a kind of winter stew.
I like to party with 70 year olds! :) This is my friend Steph's English Conversation class.
We actually ate outside in the woods. It was awesome!
This is what happens when ALTs want to play badminton but don't have enough rackets (notice Steph in green with a cutting board, and Caito in black with a brownie pan!
Why were we in the woods? One of the ladies in the class makes wood crafts so we were lunching outside her studio. These are the crafts she makes - They're so American! I wanted to buy them!

My JET friends Paula and Phil had a joint birthday party (11/10) at a Japanese restaurant in the city. Maggie was there!
Amelie (from Quebec) and I wore matching shirts!
And, of course Christy was there, too!

Jumping ahead to this past weekend, I hung out with Marie (the friend with whom I went bowling and to play random sports). We went shopping at the mall and to watch a sappy Japanese love story at the movie theater. Good fun! And we took purikura:

The next day (11/18), I hung out with Maggie and three Japanese guys we met at the JET Halloween party. We went bowling then out for Chinese food. Good times! So that's Tetsu, Koike, and Yuta.

After two games, we were bowled out, and I was happy because I wasn't the one with the lowest score (*cough Maggie cough cough*)
hahaha when the guys saw these costumes to try on, Koike jumped at the chance. He's quite the character - and not just when dressed as a bowling pin.

Of course, we had to make time before dinner for some purikura!

*The End!*

Akita in the news again

2007-11-18T19:59:00.000-08:00

Check out this article from the New York Times!
Snowbound in Japan

And, as it happens, snow season has begun - with a HUGE storm yesterday/last night.
I'm going to get my tires changed today. Driving in the snow/ice is kind of scary. Think good thoughts for me!

Updates!

2007-11-10T00:22:00.000-08:00

1. In case you did hear/see/read elsewhere, I will be coming home for Christmas. I'll be in CA 12/15-12/27. I'm going to spend a couple of days in Berkeley when I fly in, and then head up to Chico. :) Hope to see you!

2. I have a new hobby ~ jump-roping!! I decided a winter exercise activity, so I went out and bought a jump rope. I'm going to make some cool jump-roping playlists and try to do some everyday. Let me know if you have song recommendations!

I love karate!

2007-11-08T04:31:00.000-08:00

No matter how tired/frustrated/sad/yucky/lazy/grumpy I am when I get in the car to go, the ride home is ALWAYS full of singing along to the ipod and clapping and smiling.

I had my first eikaiwa (English Conversation Class) this Tuesday, and I don't think it went very well. I wasn't in a very good mood going into it, so I think I made the class too hard - or at least some people were complaining it was too hard afterwards. There's students of really low (no) English ability, and then there are some that are pretty good, and age 20 to age 72. I knew what we were doing was difficult, but I had them working in groups and everyone was trying (and succeeding!). That is, except for this one old grandma lady. She just sat there shaking her head complaining it was too hard and not even trying, even when I tried to help her. And at the end of the class she started people complaining. So yeah, that basically sucked. It's frustrating because some people want to do REALLY basic stuff like greetings and names of the months and stuff, and then most of the class (10 of 15) is way beyond that. I'm afraid if I only do really easy stuff, the higher level students will quit, and I don't want that. Honestly, they're the ones who will benefit the most from an eikaiwa (as opposed to 72 year old grandma who I doubt will ever actually use the things from my class). But, I do have to teach to the whole class. The other part that's kind of annoying is that the Board of Education is watching me like a hawk, and keep trying to interfere (granted in the name of being "helpful"), so my autonomy is kind of limited. I want this class to be something I'm in charge of. The rest of my ALT job I'm just that, and ASSISTANT, so I want this to be something I do on my own. Call me stubborn, but I don't really like/want someone from the BOE telling me what to teach and how to run my class.

Anyway, overall, I left the class feeling pretty bad about it (a bit of a flop), and it's kinda put a downer on my week (even though I started teaching about Thanksgiving today which is totally fun!). But then, tonight I went to karate, and now I feel like everything's okay.

For one, I'm becoming even friendlier with the blackbelts there and I really like them. For two, they saw me practicing some weapons kata (empty-handed) and asked me about it, so I got to tell them all about how I do weapons, too. And then my favorite old man teacher whipped out a pair of nunchaku and let me borrow them!! I only did one kata (nunchaku dai ni), but by the time I was halfway through, the WHOLE room (class and parents) had stopped what they were doing and were in total silence watching me. haha it was a little scary, but mostly funny. I guess they were impressed? They clapped and everything. So yeah, after that I got to tell them about what weapons I know how to use and they asked if I had them here. Unfortunately, I don't, but I said I'm going to bring them back when I come back from Christmas, and they want me to teach them!! I think that's so cool! I'd LOVE to teach weapons - especially to these guys. I'm actually thinking I'll get myself a bo (aka go buy a 6ft dowel at the hardware store), and I know I can buy kama at the 100 Yen store (yes, they sell those scary bladed weapons for less than a dollar each - to cut your grass!).

After class, we were talking more, and I found out two of the teachers are also ski instructors!! They said they'll take me out and teach me! haha I'm excited! They're all just so nice. It's a sort of dojo family. I like it.

Oh, and to top it all off, Itoko (the blackbelt lady who ALWAYS helps me) had come to my eikaiwa, and told me as we were walking to our cars that she really loved the class! And she's looking forward to next time! She said it was kind of hard, but she liked the challenge and I thought I did a good job. Now being in Japan, you never know if that's politeness of genuineness, but she's a pretty genuine person and she seemed like she really meant it. And even if she didn't, it made me feel better.

In conclusion:
Next eikaiwa I will have a better attitude and it will be great.
Weapons are ALWAYS fun.
I'm going to learn to ski from two old men!

11:11pm

2007-11-05T06:11:00.000-08:00

Make a wish! :)

I just wanted to post up a couple of pics I took with my cellphone recently.
Let's enjoying!

This is me and Seth (ALT in a nearby town) pretending to be Japanese high school students for Halloween.

I found this lake when I was riding my bike around. It's behind the baseball fields at one of my junior highs. Soooooo pretty!
This one's kind of blurry, but I took it for Camille -- Japanese ducks! :)
I wish I knew how to rotate.... I guess you can see the symmetrical aspect better...
I LOVE the country!!

WORLD PREMIERE!!!

2007-11-04T08:37:00.001-08:00

Check this out!! My very own home-made video --> Starring YOU!!

Falling into Fall

2007-10-30T05:53:00.000-07:00

Hello! Tonight I returned from a two-day conference in Akita City for all the ALT (assistant lang. teachers = people like me) and JLT (Japanese lang. teachers = the English teachers we work with). It was a loooong two days of lectures and workshops on how to improve workplace relations, resolve conflicts, and, of course, improving our English teaching methods! While there were definitely some boring points (like the two hour lecture on recognizing cultural communication difference - i.e. body language is different between Japanese and "Western" cultures, etc.), overall, I learned some pretty useful stuff I hope to take back and incorporate into my classes.

Also, I learned Akita Prefecture's junior high students have the highest average scores on national English tests, which means we all do a pretty good job! In addition, in all of Japan, only 9.6% of high school English teachers actually SPEAK English in class, whereas in Akita, it's up to 35%. Another yay for us! But, on the downside, 65% of high school English teachers in Akita use little or NO English in class! That is crazy bad! Better than the nation as a whole, but, still, 65%?? Wow!

Other stats (I quickly googled them, so I think they're legit): Akita has the fastest decreasing population in Japan, and the highest suicide rate!
[Though, there should be a disclaimer on the suicide rate, because, though we have the highest rate, the NUMBER of suicides is way less than major urban areas - For example, in Akita, the total number was 412, compared to Tokyo's 2,502, and Osaka's 1,965.]
On the plus, I read somewhere that Akita has the highest number of beauty salons per capita!

As proud as I am of our smart students, and our better than average use of English in the classroom, it makes me sad to read and hear all these things about my adopted home. It is such a beautiful place, and the people are so great! It's economic depression is... well, depressing! At least, on paper.

But I want to show you something else. I want to show you the Akita I'm lucky enough to see and experience everyday.

These are photos from Friday's visit to Moritake Nursery School and Shimoiwakawa Elementary's International Club Halloween Party, followed by photos from my koiyo "leaf-viewing" excursion.

Apparently I'm the only one that go the memo that this was supposed to be a funny picture...

The 5-year olds brushing their teeth after lunch -- it lasted literally 8 minutes!

The International Club carving their first ever Jack-o-Lantern!

They don't celebrate Halloween here, so the kids don't really know much about it.

But don't worry, I taught them to Trick-or-Treat, and even gave them "American" candy (Snickers!)

This is at a mountain temple I saw while I was driving along. I just pulled over, left my car and climbed up.

Can you see the flame-colored hill in the background???

These pictures are of the Shirakami Mountains, a World Heritage Site thanks to its magnificently well-preserved old growth beech forest. Supposedly it looks exactly like it did just after The Ice Age.
Using my car for a tri-pod.

I wasn't lying when I said it was beautiful here.

Do Something

2007-10-25T02:50:00.000-07:00

I just donated $50 to the San Diego County American Red Cross.
You can, too:
San Diego Red Cross

I also just donated $50 to the Los Angeles County American Red Cross.
You can, too:
Los Angeles Red Cross

Hoping for rain

2007-10-25T01:41:00.000-07:00

I had lunch with the first graders today, and while I was eating my mikan (mandarin)and listening to the kids talk excitedly about Tokyo Disneyland, all I could think about was oranges, (*real*) Disneyland, and Southern California.

These fires have come to a magnitude I can't even comprehend, nor truly know how to respond to. Lately, everyone from fellow teachers and my supervisor to my hair dresser and the attendant at the gas station have been asking me about the fires. Mostly they ask if my family, my home is okay, and thankfully, I can tell them my home is a safe, happy 500 miles away. But the fact that people in my tiny town in Japan know about the fires and are concerned about their intensity, scares me more than I probably would be if I was back home. Also, this stupid time difference makes it really hard to get a hold of people, and without a TV or newspaper I feel really disconnected, which totally stresses me out. As far as I know, my friends (and their families) are safe, but I know some have houses in danger and some have been evacuated. It's scary, and, I'm worried.

I wish there was something I could do... I wish I wasn't so far away (because I feel like being closer, I *could* do something - whether or not that's true is a different story).

Take care of yourselves, friends. I hope you/your friends/family/property stay safe.

It's really not that bad here - bad publicity!

2007-10-23T08:57:00.000-07:00

Akita to brush up its depressing image

10/19/2007
BY SAWA OKABAYASHI, THE ASAHI SHIMBUN

Life in Akita Prefecture isn't much fun, if current labels are true.

Home to 1.14 million people, the northern Honshu prefecture faces problems like these:

・Its minimum wage is the lowest in the country;

・Its suicide rate has been the highest in the nation for past 12 years;

・Its birthrate is the lowest in Japan; and

・Its younger residents are fleeing in droves.

Hoping to reverse this trend, the General Policy Making Division of the Akita prefectural government began looking closely in the mirror.

The officials concluded Akita's poor self-image has done much to hinder development.

The division now wants to transform that negative image.

"We agreed that reinventing the prefectural character may bring positive results," a member of the division's 40-person task force on the issue, including residents, said. "We are afraid that we may get left behind in this time of rapid change."

The group has met on three occasions since July to sound out ideas. They took a long, hard look at the Akita image.

It wasn't flattering:

"People here don't speak up unless they have a drink first."

"Akita people are always getting in each other's way."

"People around here don't like change."

Some panel members suggested that the best way to change those traits was to set a good example.

So the group wants Akita's business leaders and local government officials to undergo retraining in how to behave in more socially acceptable ways.

Once residents see their leaders reinvent themselves, others will invariably follow suit, according to the plan.

The prefectural government is inviting people from outside Akita to share their experiences and views on the local character until Oct. 21.

The task force is hoping that locals will then become interested in extending the makeover project, and get the ball rolling to re-energize the entire prefecture.

Shinichi Yano, a marketing consultant and author, is a self-proclaimed expert in local characteristics in Japan's 47 prefectures. Yano has praise for Akita's efforts, but he notes they have a long way to go.

"They should make the best of their positive talents, rather than fixing upon shortcomings," he said. "That way, they will see an improvement in consumption behavior, which will bring other benefits."(IHT/Asahi: October 19,2007)

Upward Mobility

2007-10-23T07:16:00.001-07:00

I just how to blog from my phone! Cool... updates on the go, go, go! ＼(^_^)／