Re-entry into Japanese Life, part 1

Re-entry into Japanese life, after having spent two weeks on vacation in Mexico and the States, is challenging. Shocking even. I don't have much time now, so I will just briefly share a few of the shocking expriences: This week was the first time this winter I had to scrape ice-- yes, I said ice-- off of my bike seat before riding to work. And this week was the first time this winter that I wore long johns to work. Am I a lumberjack?, you may ask. No, no I'm not. I'm a teacher. This week was also the first time this winter I recall seeing Takei Sensei wearing a full length, insulated winter coat. He was not snowboarding in the mountains. He was not coaching a soccer game in a snow storm. He was making copies...in the copy room.

It's like I'm camping in winter.

Well, the day has arrived. Last night was the first time this year I've had to wear both my ski hat and neckwarmer to bed. I can't yet see my breath in my apartment though, so I'm not complaining. Maybe when that day arrives, I can take a picture of it to post...I wonder if you can see breath in a photo...??

Socks and Technology

I'm wearing snowboarding socks. Not because I'm going snowboarding or because I'm about to play in the snow. I'm wearing them because I'm in my Japanese apartment. It's freeeeezing! And it's only November 16th!

I don't understand how a country that has electric toilets with 8 buttons and 21 different options...and cell phones that can read a bar code and instantly open the web page that corresponds to the coded product...and washers, tea pots, and rice cookers that can be pre-set to go on at a designated time...I don't understand how a country with all this superfluous technology can not have residential central heating. As is true about almost everything here, this runs contrary to my logic.

It's not actually freezing yet...but soon, very soon, will come the day when I will start to wear my hat and snowboarding neck warmer to bed every night. I'm not joking! (But, Mom, don't worry! I don't really mind wearing a hat to bed.)

Finally Some Pictures

This past year has passed faster than any other I can recall. Still there are more stories to tell than any other year I can recall. I can't keep up with them all; they come like wave after wave of the tide washing up on the shore. There's no way I could ever recount all of them here, but I really wish I could! My good friend Sarah just moved to Japan (30 minutes from me!), and already she's posted more pictures and blogged more than I have!-- claims my dad. ;) With a few pictures she's already revealed much of her Japanese experience. I'm not a photographer like her, and actually I don't really like taking pictures. But these from the past year show some of my favorite moments, experiences, places, and people here (minus my students, whose pictures-- sadly-- I'm not allowed to post, and teachers who may not want me posting their pics). This is for you, Dad and Sarah!

trying out a shamisen during orientation with other JETs

views from my 3rd story apt

my school! :)

a couple of the many tambo (rice fields) surrounding my school

my landlords' relatives' pear storehouse; mmm...Japanese pears are SO delicious!

udon noodles hanging out to dry...one of the MANY steps in the process of making handmade noodles; I think this is so cool! I was simultaneously alarmed-- at the questionable sanitation-- and awed-- at experiencing this authentic Japanese tradition.

In the end my awe (and hunger!) won out, and I so enjoyed my meal here with my landlord, Mrs. Sekiguchi.

at Kiyomizudera when I went to Kyoto with several friends for a long weekend last fall

Maiko! (Geisha in training); Everyone says they're rare to see...but we saw several!

We happened to discover a monkey park in Kyoto.

The monkeys roam free...if you want to feed them, you have to go into a cage for protection.

my favorite place in Japan! Arashiyama bamboo forest

"Team Takasaki": Dave, Chris, Lesley, James, and me

Fushimi Inari

Kinkakuji

my smart, funny, kind, thoughtful, beautiful friend, Shiyo

homemade (yes! HOMEMADE! can you believe it?!) bread made by Fukuyama Sensei's wife and delivered to me one Saturday morning =) What a pleasant surprise!

Valentine's Day...Uno, the write-a-quote/draw-a-picture game, homemade chocolate in the great Japanese tradition, Lesley wishing random people 'Happy Valentine's Day' and giving them candy

Sakura!

hanami (flower viewing) with Tsukamoto Sensei and his family

This is the day Mischa and I were temporarily paralyzed; this picture was after we'd only been sitting through one tea ceremony in this style...you can see we're still smiling. If only someone would have had a camera handy an hour and a half later...!! you'd have seen us on our hands and knees, literally incapable of standing!

hiking day in Ota with Team Takasaki and Matt and Mischa

I got to go to watch and "help" (sorta) in Chieko Sensei's family's tambo (rice field). Her husband is driving this very useful tractor that has rotating claws that grab and drop the seedlings...making perfect rows across the field.

One of the most authentic and memorable Japanese experiences I've had! My fascination with this process had been growing as I saw the fields surrounding my school changing day by day, so I was thrilled when Chieko Sensei invited me (well, maybe I invited myself...??) to join her and her family for this Saturday morning undertaking!

koi no bori streaming down the mountain and over the river commemorate Boys' Day, May 5th.

Gunma's beautiful mountains surround.

dinner with friends on my birthday; I'm SO thankful for these friends!
Shie, Daisuke, Yoko, Sayoko, and her daughters Yuka and Aika

The staff at my fav restaurant made my birthday SO fun! Tatsu, Shimada, Manami

We had 4th of July fun despite not being in America...watermelon, polish sausage, corn on the cob, frisbee, a flag waving, sparklers, singing America the Beautiful and God Bless the U.S.A. (well, that was only me...I couldn't convince anyone else to sing along)...SUCH a great day! We even let James, our Australian friend, come along, but he was forced to wear red, white, and blue bling, as well as a pin that said, "I heart the U.S." ;)

This park is the best! We jumped and ran around on these trampoline-like domes for hours!

back to Kyoto when my friend Sarah Lichtwardt came to visit...DOWNPOURED for more than an hour! Thankfully Sarah's smart and convinced me that we should buy 300-yen (about 3 bucks) umbrellas...just 4 minutes before the rain turned torrential! whew!

あいかわらず aikawarazu (as usual)

あいかわらず, I have about a million things to write about, but not that much time or energy. So, here are just a few memorable moments that occurred recently...

1. Today a new Social Studies teacher came to my school. He is very handsome. :) But very young.

2. Arai Sensei teared up and took off his glasses when he read the Good-Bye/This-Is-How-Much-I-Like-You/These-Are-Some-of-my-Favorite-Memories-with-You card I gave to him on Tuesday, which was his last day at our school. I was watching him from 3 desks away. Then I teared up too.

3. Suzuki Sensei, who I haven't had that many chances to talk to, surprisingly brought me omiyage (a present) back from his trip to Kyoto last weekend.

4. My supervisor at the kyoiku-inkai (Board of Education) ended the meeting of all Takasaki City jr. high and elementary ALTs (Assistant Language Teachers) yesterday by saying-- in his cute past-middle-age Japanese man way-- "And never do the drugs, ne." ("ne" is like ending a sentence with "okay?" or "right?") HAHA! He laughed and so did we. It was the best punchline of any meeting I can remember.

5. On Sunday, my friend Mischa and I went to a tea ceremony exhibition that my kyoto sensei (assistant principal) had invited us to. During two back-to-back tea ceremonies and while waiting in line for one of them-- about a total of an hour-- we had to sit in seiza. Please go to Wikipedia and search for seiza. You will find that it sounds like a kind of torture. (And in fact, I have heard that it was previously used sometimes as punishment in Japanese schools). At the conclusion of the 2nd tea ceremony, 18 people stood up and bowed and thanked the hosts and merrily went on their way; 2 people, namely Mischa and Mya, were on their hands and knees in utter disbelief that it had become physically impossible for them to stand up again. With red faces, and eyes wide with panic, we looked at each other and laughed while repeating, "I can't get up....Oh my gosh, what are we gonna do?" Meanwhile the next 20 guests waited outside the door elegantly in their kimonos and chuckled at us.

What number am I on? 6. Okay, probably the last for today. Recently I have been in several situations where I've had to eat seafood...A LOT of seafood. Raw and cooked. And I have eaten it. Not all, but A LOT. And I didn't throw up, so that was nice.

7. Aaah! There's so much to say! The plum blossoms are out. The cherry blossoms are just beginning, and there is much excitement as we anticipate their full bloom...which could be any day now. The honeysuckle trees I smell here and there as I ride my bike take my breath away. Their scent thrills me! Spring in Japan!

Okay, before I think of an 8, I'm going to post this!