The Traveller's Typewriter

Hi there. I seem to have found the paper on which I scribbled various insights about school life and various other tidbits here in Japan. It was in my language text just waiting to be found, this paper was.
About the following, this is soley my experience, viewpoint, and so forth, and so on. I in no way disagree or disregard anything with contempt that I am about to share as I have been so warmly welcomed into this here community, etc. I am happy to share with you as I continue to learn-up these many things about Japan.

BUT
Let me note-le a little bit first. I have indeed been living on the fritz for the past few days. No hot water. Just what is the temperature outside now? I don’t have to tell you. Because I don’t want to. Let’s just say that it’s temperature enough for snow, blowing snow, and wind. And then the water gushing from my when-used taps is rather cold..

A CLUE
After returning from my week-ish meeting last week and last weekend, before I up and left I had to untap my pipes, leave faucets open and air-susceptible, and I had to leave my furnace burning -all so that my house, my stuff, my things and I wouldn’t freeze or be frozen upon my return.

The only problem with this is that after draining my boiler, too, the thing won’t now pump me hot water.

SO
For that last two days I have been living like the Romans and sponge-bathing and cold-washing an assortment of things. If you happen to have the thought spring to mind, the Romans indeed did have their Roman baths but on a quick evening a sponge-bath would have done well for Roman bodies. Let’s just imagine that so.

My laundry was happy and clean though as we, or at least I, don’t have a hot water washer. Cold and only cold. I have since discovered after coming to Japan that there are many ways to save on power, or denki (電気) as we would and do say here.

FLASH!
But JUST in this second my supervisor came up to me and informed me, after careful investigation of my homestead, that due blowing and flurry-ous snows the vent to my boiler was upped by snow and there was no air for the pilot light, and on, and on.

This discovery, so simply a nattle, almost makes me feel like I’ve been living without hot water since Sunday for fun. Do I feel dumb-ish? Well, no. There was no way I could have known -aside from the fact that I feel like I’m living in Alaska sometimes (and I kind of love it -except when I can’t fight my way into the staff entrance at the rear of town hall because the wind is so vexing and horrid that I almost fall back onto the street from which I climbed up to the door from).

Anyways, I’m sure you get the idea.

Let me end this sudden and quibble of a post with a top ten of things that have surprised me at school here in town thus far:

10. Students rattling on during class and the teacher(s) seemingly appear out of place like a friend trying to have a serious conversation with someone at a teenage movie-night. Just like the out-of-place friend the teacher’s presence can seem like a conundrum at times in a loud classroom.
9. Blowing your nose anywhere and everywhere. I may just be living in a small town but in class, at work, in the hall, in the bathroom, you name it. Usually I am built with the sense to flee to privacy before snuffling my sniffles into a tissue -but there appears to be nothing wrong with blowing your nose during class or in an otherwise ‘quiet’ workplace.
8. Clipping your nails at work. There have been many instnaces where both men and women, in the office or at school have brandished their clippers and snipped away at the desk while the rest of us are punching away at keys or staring at the wall in shock of the clipping sound while trying to think of a fun game for a lesson. You get the idea..
7. Hitting. It is apparently very fun and riotous to hit each other when you make a mistake, say something wrong, or if you are just trying to be funny. Hitting on the head is preferred. This don’t happen all the time but students will hit girls on the head, or they will hit each other boys-boys, boys-girls, etc. It must be attached to the humor here. The ‘hitting’ can be anything from how you would swat a fly to slapping someone’s hand away from your cookie. The reaction? The person hit usually blinks, and then carries on -never retaliating like one may expect..
6 ~ 1. Let me just leave the rest for listing later. You’ve been a dear if you’ve read on thus far. Lastly let’s just say that rock paper scissors is played to decide who gets the last hamburger pattie at lunch (communal classroom school lunches), palm sizes and finger lengths are compared almost daily, yes, students secretly type away on cellphones during class, sleep with their head down on the desk infront of you during class, stand up, walk around, throw things, etc.

Now this ain’t all that bad, and I hope you’re not shocked at me saying that. Were you to fit yourself into the classroom, school, the cleaning duties, and lunch time charade and all else that happens during the day these activities listed might just make some sense. If you were here in Japan you might see the context for these things. But nevertheless, I am a person not from this place and I notice some of these things and others.

Say, don’t you have something you should be doing instead of reading this?

Me, too. That being said I’ll get back to it. But I just thought you should know. Golly I could go for a coffee right now. The tinn’d brew that I just gobbled up was a dollar’s worth of coffee with green tea matcha stirred in. Not a bad drink. Grab yourself some joe or tea and let’s put a wrap on the day. What do you say?

Be seeing you again,

ciao

The weekend was great. In fact so was last week’s two day work week. Okay, alright, it was a little more than that. Last week’s two-day meant that I was up and out to go about to Sapporo for a business trip. Business trip? Well, you could call it that. It was instead our mid-year seminar for JET Programme participants.

This wasn’t just an excuse to out and spend loads of time shopping and lulling about. No. The two days of the latter half of last week were filled with listening to speakers, taking notes, and exchanging ideas with other ALTs here on JET, some not from JET; and chatting with our invaluable Japanese Teachers of English (JTEs) without whom our work would be impossible, really.

I have to say that I am a sucker for wise fellows and/or learned people. One of our guest speakers was a professor from Sapporo University. I was nearly clawing at the walls, or at my handout feverishly taking notes; and simply gaping while we were delivered a speech on various histories revolving around Japan-America relations, presidents and their need for sound inter-Asia Japan advisors etc.
Now, I won’t ask for your excuse if you were at the conference and didn’t take to, but having already mentioned my like for learned lustre you won’t get an adverse babble out of me.

And so, I am amazed. Recently I have been whittling up a little word document making a fine list about what is pleasing and trying about my position. Without re-upping the list here a few things stand out to me about my work.
First, and then just a few, I love that I can go on business trips; dress in shirt and tie, take pride and interest in developing lessons, being creative in what and how I teach. I am glad that I can continue to read and study to better myself as a teacher. And above all I love being in the classroom seeing school and education from another walk of life. I almost feel like I am a fly on the wall, in no better regard, with the chance to see school life from kindergarten to high school in Japan. Would it make sense if I said its almost like I am living life anew? Forgetting that I am a teacher in the class and sometimes learning right along with the students. Maybe this is what is meant be reincarnation.. as I laugh out loud at myself.

Thanks for the patient reading. Let me get to some highlights.

In Sapporo at recent one can enjoy the Winter Illumination -photos to follow. An entire central strip of park along street spanning for city blocks along -city blocks where way down the way I was able to pick up a re-entry permit now allowing me to travel from and back to Japan- city blocks alight with Christmas lights like I have not seen with these eyes on my continent prior. You may boast that the House of Commons due Ottawa may look special with winter lights, but Sapporo has even a television tower that is kind of look-ish to the Eiffel Tower all bright up with Christmas colours.
With a nearby friend, I enjoyed the stroll through the icy park -it was like skating for free- trying to keep balance while lolling through the Munchen Christmas Town and staring at caribou hides and matroshka dolls.

Another bit of fun was the Hokkaido Association for JETs social event that took place after day one of the seminar. The DJ was jammin’ and at a flashy and fun hotel venue it was a great opportunity to slap one’s name down for an item at the art auction or to chat, dance, or eat your way to fun in a warm space on a cold Sapporo evening.

Beyond the two days of listening and speaking, I had the chance to do a bit of shopping and then to find my way to Sapporo University. The campus is huge and something inside of me was beating louder than my heart as I addressed the bust-statue of Dr. William S. Clark, wandered through the cafeteria, and snapped photos of cockish ravens bathing in the chilly waters of the campus grounds, and stared at the remarkable old university buildings just imagining I was a student there -or something like that.
When I go back next time, and yes, a next time there will be, I will buy myself a tiny mug to commemorate my wanderings there.

Let’s get to the break-down,
I found a great and reasonably priced sports store, picked up a snowboard that is temporarily binding-free, ate good chinese (don’t hate for not eating Japanese cuisine alone. They do other foods really well here. Almost too good…), wandered for hours around the station, caught up on life via the web in a stylish internet cafe, sang karaoke, watched some girls play guitar in a shopping arcade, watched a guy dance and sing while wearing feathers in the same arcade, bought a handsome city-scape palm-sized vignette, strolled around the city to breath the cold winter’s air with tall buildings around doing the same, almost fell a few good times on the slippery ice that coats the roads -but so almost did everyone else, and on, and on the list goes.

If you haven’t a good idea of what the trip was like I would advise you to stop here and start reading from the beginning again. Hah. But no need. For I am nearly done.

The last note that I will stake is about coffee. Having worked at a tremendously popular coffee chain twice in my part-time work career I even once asked during a training meeting at said coffee shop if it would at all be possible to get my hands on a burlap coffee sack from the wicked countries where they grow the fruit-ish beans we consume as coffee. I did two better this weekend.
Not only did I find a coffee shop and a hidden stairwell leading to a network of who knows what under some bit of Sapporo station, I also found a coffee roastery selling burlap sacks -from the wicked countries that grow the fruit-ish beans known as coffee. Oh, and the coffee was the best I’ve had in Japan to date. My heart melted. And with a melted heart I rode a busy bus back home to my country town nearby roaring ocean.
I don’t know why our ocean here is so roar-ish all the time but I am sure it has good reason to be upset at something.. but what?

Right. The entry of a nonsense remark like that one bades the end of today’s post.
I had scribbled notes on vocabulary sheets about school that I wanted to share with you today. But if we’re all lucky I can get around to those this week. If the end-of-year workplace party/celebrations don’t get to me first.
There is just too much to share.

Well I hope that you are finding happiness and warmth wherever you are dwelling in wait of Christmas. If you don’t like this special holiday, you should -or maybe you have your reasons not to. But whatever the case my hope is that you find some-thing to delight you this holiday time. Be it egg nog or some hot wine with spiced berries.

Have you a great week and should you feel the need to connect, let’s chat again soon. Farewell to foolish days, for their delights were best had though now no more.

ciao

(above: football makes the world go round)

..stone-walled by snow. The ETC (or Electronic Toll Collection system/aka toll highway) or express highway to and from Sapporo was shut-up due to snowfall. It was a rare occasion indeed. But this bit of information has to do with my travels to and from Sapporo this last weekend. A thing that I’ll arrive at later in the post. Now, if you will excuse my absurdness, let me begin a-right below..

Hi there. Fancy meeting you again here. You just gotta love it. I mean, at this point in the week, okay, it is a Monday, but it is so nice to have you guys here to settle back down with and share a few words.

I won’t lie, I was a little betrodden on what I could write today, on what I should write about. But we always have life to turn to, beauty in the mundane, glory in nature, wonder in the unseeable, etc. Maybe I should save creative spurtings for books -and that being said, I should read more books. And I am, and I will !

SO. All that being said, I thought I would treat you with not just a story but a few snippits on a few different subjects on what life is like these days here in Hokkaido.

First, my town is under attack. My town is under attack by snow. I kind of love it. I won’t lie. When I wake up in the morning, long underwear donned (I feel like of like a logging man or winter trekker in my long-laden sleeping outfit) I do grace to the whole other lot of five year olds and youngsters that peer out their morning windows to see if its snowing. Peering out the window just hoping, wishing, waiting on more snow because with fresh snow there is so much to do ! Like walk to work in it. Haha. But really, I love the snow.

These days, somehow since day one here in Japan, I have established a hard and fast routine in the morning. I like to peel myself out of bed a good hour and some before work and I usually get right to cooking up a storm for breakfast. Miso soup with a litter of ingredients, alongside toast or rice, coffee -the stir-in kind, and a side of sliced apples, etc. My tiny tiny table near the tv is always spotted with plates and shuttles of drink and coffee in the morning. I like to have a good start to my days.

Speaking of days, and day’s at week’s end,(I’m afraid you won’t have any mercy with the spontaneity of the commenting today) the weekend was a blast. Some fantastic friends in town here offered to charity me to a soccer match in Sapporo. Me? Well, how can I say no to a car ride, a football match(soccer game, I just like to say football), and the chance to eat food out of town?
Consadole Sapporo was on for their last match of the season against FC Tokyo. The stadium, Sapporo Dome was packed to near-capacity with a blundering thirty-nine thousand and then some fans.

Now speaking of football, I have always wanted to see a football match in the UK because when you watch those broadcasts of the European matches on tv you hear the amazing chanting and parading of the corresponding team-sections, etc. This match did not disappoint. Drum beating, shouting, yelling, mega-phoning all coordinated made the cheering just as much of a spectacle as the match itself.
Of course the last fifteen of the game were the best and yes, Consadole won at 2- 1. It was a brave game. Gosh, there is just something about a ripe-gree soccer pitch, soccer boots, a match ball that just makes me want to tear across that field and put ball-to-net with those players. I love it!

A few things about the match stood out to me. The players of Consadole (no, I’m not spelling that wrong..) did a ‘thank you’ circuit around the pitch to thank the spectators for their support during the game.
And each player has their own chant. Whether injury or goal, each player, at the right time, is chanted and supported.
Plus, who can say no to stadium foods like spicy-tofy donburi; and stamina meat-packed bento boxes? Huh? You’re thirsty? Wash it down with a melon soda. Gosh I love the selection.
And so this was Saturday this last weekend. Football, food, and snow as we exited the stadium. I promise to share photos.

Golly, what else..?
Oh, yes !
I am more than happy to say that I will be working two days this week and then I am off by bus to Sapporo again for the mid-year conference for JETs in Sapporo. The two day conference runs just to Friday meaning that I can spend the weekend in Sapporo as well. Travelling on Wednesday means getting to the conference venue early. And weather permitting the weekend just might be a fun one -I have planned for myself karaoke for one, more noodles to eat, and a romantic stroll in O-dori park to view the Munchen Christmas town and spectactular Christmas light-up in Sapporo. Oh gosh, some hot coffee, fresh pastries, window shopping, people watching.. it’s so easy to get carried away. I feel.. I feel like I am alive for the first time seeing and doing all of this. What an elation..

Now, I don’t want to disappoint but I have more paper work and text book study calling for me at this hour -and I have a gleaming new kotatsu, or table-blanket-heater-warmer thing to set up at home. And new books to read. And deer meat to cook for dinner. And packing to do for my travels.
Did I mention that I’m going to Tokyo for Christmas? Well, maybe that’s still a surprise to you AND me!

Anywho, all excuses aside, with your permission I am to log off and organize myself for the week in due. And speaking of life, you know what? I always wondered when I would have that office job, all the meetings, travels, and time to try and buy new things but hey, all in the blink of an eye life is along and here I am doing it all -though I have to say that filing papers and scripting lessons is a little tougher than a thought. But all in good time !

I hope that you are looking forward to your holiday plans. And should it all be so kind, I would dearly like to squeeze a few more posts in here this week !
All the best to you -oh, and don’t overshop for Christmas!

(above: a dinner that does the body good. After eating I wasn’t the only one singing)

Okay, gosh, golly !

Alright, I won’t say I forgot about this, or about you today. No, that’s not it at all. It’s mostly that I am on a slight, albeit slight lack of sleep. Now the lack of sleep could have something to do with the fact that I stayed out late in the marshall spirit of karaoke late Saturday night with a slew of other performer expats from our annual charity event -that I’ll get to later, or I could be smashingly tired due to the fact that my house-living space is a bit cold and a bit dry in the night and I couldn’t quite wrestle well with slumber last night. That is, I couldn’t sleep due the cold and dry air in my house.

But ho !
Listen, I am involved in taiko here in town. And as a member of our local taiko team we have since been preparing for just this last weekend’s charity event that took place at our local community theatre and performance hall (to be honest I don’t really know what to call the building. The building is something of a mix between a concert hall and a recreation centre and it’s spankingly brand new).
So Saturday rolled around this last week and I was happy to find myself in town, in town meaning I was saving money and sitting on my keester which has been all but a little bit tired from work in the past week !

But Saturday at about six pm we all gathered and floundered backstage at community theatre only to meet people dressed as magicians, singers, flashy retro suits ready to song and dance, comical baka-tonno Japanese outfits, kimonos, yukatas, fake eyeglass and moustaches.. you name it it was backstage.
It was a little like when you visit your grandparent’s home for a Christmas dinner and while wandering through their ancient house you pull a heavey old story book from the shelf and the book slams onto the floor, pages flutter open and you find yourself wound up in a world of story book characters and dancers, dragons, magicians, undersea waterscapes -oh?

Sorry, has that never happened to you? Well, maybe you should watch Disney’s Pagemaster and refresh your creative thinking on that one.
Anywho, that was backstage on Saturday night. We had a blast stretching and gearing up for our two song taiko performance. Black bandanas donned, matching t-shirts, festival coats shouldered, it was beautiful. There is something magical I must admit sitting in wait behind the stagefall curtain (that heavey main curtain that rises and falls with each opening and closing act) that just captivates me every time.

Okay, so the perfomance went well. So good ! One of the songs we played was a song from my taiko group back home in Canada. Props to them ! After all the drum beating and sweating was done, just like that we cleaned up shop, took to the stage one last time and had a group farewell and send off to thank the audience for coming to see our event.

What a grand thing it was.
The moments of sitting backstage in the dressing room, sharing a drink whether a beer or hot water with locally cured honey stirred in to aid an overused singing throat there was magic all around.
Did I mention someone gave me about nine pounds of deer meat? Maybe I really am living in a story..
Well, I am most greatful and I will be fed for at least a month on that. Oh, the joys of living in a small community. Just like home.

Haha.
But hang on a float, the after dinner once all the clean up was done was a great time. We sat in at a local ‘Snack’ as it is called, a place that offers food, drink, chatter and karaoke. Nibbling on simmered squid stuffed with local mochi-gome rice, local mountain veggies simmered in fish stock, more squid and daikon rings, the food was fine and the fare was fun.
Peformers were amongst our post-event celebrating crowd. And just as people trickled in, once the clock hit midnight and everyone had sung at least one karaoke song before the bunch, people began to trickle out and leave into the cold night and find their ways back home.

So that one turned out to be a late night but it made for the most fun of all. Gosh, what a weekend it was.
Sunday made for some late sleeps and good rests and a fresh look at the coming week.

Have I bored you? I hope not. For I solemnly promise that there is more to come in the following week-days.

I hope you are having a fine time where you are at. I know that these days I am thankful for warm covers and the prospect of finally buying a kotatsu, or blanket covered table with a sure little heater underneath to warm chilly limbs.
What are you looking forward to?

Again, photos to follow.
And all my best to you,

Ciao.

A parse note on the winds of this here place.

This place and town where I live, I really must say..
there is something about the winds. And I mean the winds right this now moment.

—
Let me regale you for only but a breath,

As the winds tear along the street-scape of this simple and fade-blazen town
it is as if the fiery winds of hell itself, as if this plane of existence has but for a moment been razed and the hellish winds of some unknown otherworldly place curl up and scare across the streets of this town -of my now town.

This is another-worldly wind.

The winds are so rash in this moment that I feel almost as if I was tasting and facing my last moments on earth. Perhaps walking some lonely winter-ish scape across a barren and snow-swept land tasting nothing but the ripping blasts of wind on my face and against my tired body.. and those winds, these now winds pushing and pressing me away and on to a next plane of existance.

As if the winds were pushing.. tearing the very life out of me.
As I take a step I am hit aback, I cannot step.
—

Let’s take a breather for a moment, shall we?

This evening I have enjoyed a very happy dinner at some local family/friend’s home. And what a time it was. But right before I was to set foot to way and press home for the night, tonight, I could already, from the warm comfort of my host’s hovel, hear the winds screaming at me from outside.

Now, hang on, I understand this post is a little bit beyond a normal voice, my normal voice, but I implore you, readership, I have never seen nor felt winds like this. It is only a little hope that I have that maybe my above descriptions will give you some taste of what these winds here are really like.

And maybe then, there is you telling me that I should travel more and see more places where more winds rip across the scape.

And just maybe I will. For if I survive the winds of this here town maybe my next journey will be to a mountaintop where winds not only blow but with a wicked force shape the very peaks upon the face of this earth. Strong winds that mountains, too, form and weather.

Anyways, maybe you can taste my dramatic point.
And with this happy story do I commend you good night and wish you the best of days as you, too near your Friday and week’s end. I suppose I could be grateful for the wonderful wind-energy these gusts provide me/us/my town.
Thank you for the listen. Thank you, and good-night.

Ciao.

And that it does. It looks like someone blew up the Ghostbusters Stay Puft Marshmallow Man from the end of the Ghostbusters film. In fact it has been snowing so steadily here that the snow has chilled the windows of our office building and the snow has caked on to the outside panes. The caked snow-on-windows outside looks like puffy bits of marshmallow all over the windows.

But let me cast that aside. I won’t go into detail about how I need to trek to work in full-on snowboarding gear, fighting the wind the whole way down from my home and to the office -and to every school that I go and visit!

Instead there are brighter things to be talked about. Like my travels to Sapporo this weekend. Now upon returning home last night after exiting the bus, I trundled home and fell into bed and had not the time to bring some photos with me to office and post them here for you, but I assure you the photos will follow.

And these photos will include pictures of the Nijo Fish Market and the amazing bounds of fresh seafood available for devour and purchase out there in Sapporo. In fact, upon finding the market and waddling around there I was able to sample the huge-ish variety of king crab-like crab (one of several varieties available)clicked fresh from its shell at vendor-side, chomp fresh o-toro tuna at a standing room only sushi spot, eat fresh oyster from the shell alongside a slew of other Japanese tourists following suit, down a bowl of sea urchin-crab-salmon roe-and fresh sashimi donburi (or rice bowl), and follow it all with a photo of me holding a crab while people shuffled on by.

Yes. It was a rather successful weekend.
More successful becuase I was somehow able to circumnavigate this trip to Sapporo before the blizzards have set into town here. My goings to Sapporo begot me the purchase of heavey snow gear and other winter-Alaskan necessities like long underwear and an alarm clock that looks just like the one that the Tic-Toc Croc from Peter Pan swallowed. Except my wind-up clock is better because the company that manufactured it is called Dulton co.
That’s right.

In my fleeting last minutes in Sapporo after my shopping, noodle-slurping, and money-spending was done I stood for an armful of minutes at the JR (Japan Rail) ticketing gate. Right behind where rows of people sat waiting for their trains, with people waiting for people to get off the trains, etc. I would like to say that I’ve seen many busy train stations in my time, but Japanese train stations really take the cake. No I haven’t been to India but I hear train stations can be busy there, too.

I stood with my back to the wall waiting out my last minutes before my scheduled bus was to pull out and head back up the coast toward the last northern town in Hokkaido. And in those waiting minutes I had the richest time just watching people of all sorts -all mostly Japanese of course- wondering and wandering left and right. The business of JR Sapporo Stations filling my mind and my heart before my returing back to the country town where I work and live.

It really was a good weekend. And I really will post pictures more. I’ll just have to bring them from home.
And now, if you’ll excuse me I have a blizzard to walk home in. Thank-goodness for the long underwear.

I had a little walk today. I stood up from my desk and trundled along to the main front and entrance of our town hall to peruse our Sister City stuffs. Photos, picture books, and happy smiles of people on exchange in both Canada and Japan. I was reminded a little bit, happily of course, of how much I love my home. How nice my familiar parts of Canada are to me. Don’t you love home, too?

But this is not the time for sap. No, it’s not. The reason I bring this up is because on this walk away from my desk I was on a break from staring at a screen or textbook, breaking and considering what about to teach our kindergarten children this week at our end-of-week class. I was planning.
As I was planning and walking and breaking, I was staring out the window at, yes, the snow falling. And so that falling snow led me to reflect on home, the pictures of home being there infront of me in cabinets in our town hall’s front entranceway.

You get the flow here? I sure hope not because that’s about all the ‘trying to be literate and explaing what I’m thinking’ that I’m going to do. Hope I don’t make your head hurt with all this.

Speaking of work, however, I was on my rush to clock-in this morning and in the process of picking up a lunch box for lunch at our local and divine convenience store(s) here in town, and our usual selection of foods was interrupted. I was astounded to see that we have seasonal offerings in our lunch boxes! Seasonal offerings even at a convenience store! Golly, goodness, me!

Now you can’t blame me for being excited at this, it’s food, remember? The selection jumped at me right off the shelf. In Japanese it was a tasty Go-moku gohan with Shio-yaki sanma. That is a five-flavoured/ingredient rice (rice with tasty bits mixed in -like mountain vegetables and stuff), and grilled mackeral-pike/saury -whichever way you wanna spit that one.

The lunch was a good one. There was nothing like being filled with flavours-of-season, and filling the lunchroom with a fishy stench that can only be described as ‘all that is Fall’ to many coworkers here in the office. I did have to down a breathmint after because though tasty, that fish packs a punch in the olfactory department.

And now to keep this post readable and to keep you happy let me change again topics and say just one more..
Students changing in class. I am sure all of us ALTs and CIRs and whomever the like (hello to you all) have seen your share of things already in your time here in Japan that have made you wonder and almost want to gape. But you don’t. Or at least I hope you haven’t stared at anything you found unfamiliar.
Today, for example, while finsihing a splendid class with a game of Twenty Questions (which, for all you ALTs, works wonders in my middle and high school classes with the students. They love it) I was walking out of the room with my Japaenese Teacher whom I teach with and one of the boys in the class threw down his bottoms so fast he was almost flash into a new costume before I realized what had gone on.

Now luckily changing in public isn’t a problem here in Japan -in case you haven’t been to a public bath house here yet. And maybe I am just a flip and a step behind classrooms being used as changerooms (maybe I am yet to understand that). Forgive me either way.

Today’s event was just something that I wasn’t expecting after a ripe hour of teaching and learning English with the third year high school students. It was one of those moments like when you see someone dropping a flat of eggs out of the corner of your eye at the market and you just know not to stare. Or maybe YOU would stare, but not me.

Anyways, that’s the hat. I have loads of more things that I would love to cherry you on about but you would have to buy me a cup of coffee and I would have to promise you interesting stories. Maybe we will have time for that sometime. Hmm.

Right. It is snowing here in town and I still need to find me a decent winter coat. Any brand name suggestions? If not I will have to lose myself somewhere in the floors about doors of department stores in Sapporo and find myself something warm enough to run about in the snow in.

And here’s hoping you enjoy a cup of cocoa by the fire. I know that I’ll be having mine right after I cook up some veggie-stocked-full curry this evening. And I hope you have a great-on week. I’m not kidding about the Twenty Questions game either -for all you ALTs out there. Give it a whirl and think about it over cocoa afterwards at home. Or don’t. Maybe you just want the cocoa.
Either way, until next week..

Ciao,

Yes, today’s picture is an elephant playing in the snow. I think it’s cute.

This post is meant to be about Japan. Well, so is this entire blog, in fact. Hah. Well, rest assured that is the case. And, no. Things won’t be changing -much everything will remain very Japan.
But being one of, one part in Japan does not mean that I cannot enjoy the frigid and welcome waters of the rest of the world. Movies, too. I am talking about film and film plays a big part in my life.

Without digging deep into the pit of why, and what, and how -all regarding film- let me spout for just a moment. This last week was a hard one. Things were tough. The struggled-jugglings of keeping in touch with family and friends abroad, navigating a fresh work environment a fantastic but foreign country -Japan.. well, maybe you get the idea.
The side-long part of working at not just one workplace but several -four, in fact, you can imagine that you have to deal with four/five bosses, numerous supervisors, and loads of fresh faces, needy faces -children, students and BAM. There you have it. I suppose I should be open to the fact that I can and do feel a little stressed at times. All of this leading to the makings of a busy and bursting week.

The week did have its highlights. Highlights including a stellar taiko practice. Learning and teaching a new taiko song from home to the wonderful members of our local group. I almost tore myself away from going to practice. I almost said, no. But because I went I was granted the ripping workout that taiko provides; and because I was given the straining directive of our fearless taiko group leader I now feel rewarded. Nothing like a Japanese taiko teacher saying (all after the fifth playthrough), ‘again’. Play it again.

So the week had its rough bits. And yeah, I admit that is bound to happen every now and again. Welcome to life, you would no doubt tell me.

But okay. Here is the bit. My weekends are sacred. And on this sacred Saturday night, well, Saturday-day, I don’t think I left my house once. I did however watch a few films.

The first film blew me away. I have been wanting to watch Ben Affleck’s THE TOWN for some time. And no, the film did not disappoint. I was dragged along through the watching moments right up to the last bit. The sappy ending. But the ending theme song fit though I felt they could have ended the film five minutes earlier without reassuring me that all the happy details in the film were indeed ‘happy’ right up until the end credits rolled in.

Fine.

But the real cake-taker was Darren Aronofsky’s BLACK SWAN. Now do me this favour and count me this fair. Yes, I am here in Japan to do the whole Japan thing, but it is -let me swathe this at you- in my job description to share my culture with the world. To share my culture with Japan. How can I share my culture if I don’t keep up to date on things non-Japanese as well?

So, BLACK SWAN has the music, the acting, the flash-frame scene scapes -all the tell-tale signs that I director knows what he’s doing with the camera -and everything else that you are no doubt experiencing. All in ball the film blew me away. I think that I actually clapped out loud as I sat by myself on the floor of my apartment/house-thing as the end credits rolled. There is nothing more straining and shatter-braining then a director cutting the film-to-black and rolling the credits as you are gaping for breath during the last scene.

Do you disagree with me? Was either of these two films something that you have maybe seen and hated? Or just maybe not liked -even a little. Well, thank you. That makes these films all the better for me. Films, like paintings, pictures, or arts speak volumes if only to those of us who have a heart for them. Everybody loves something we don’t -or something like that.

Well, with my ravings aside -and in case you couldn’t tell that I was really swept away by film this evening.. let me end this post with a photo unrelated to what I’ve been talking about -in true blog fashion. Enjoy this picture of food. Because food photos have I promised to many; and with food am I far too obsessed.

Oh, and if you have a sensitive mind, please do note that the above-mentioned films do have some prickly content..

Good night and when I have my head back in the world-real, I will write you again.

Ciao.

Hello again,

This week I hope we can make due with a short reflection.
At about this time and season here in Japan for those of us who are participating in JET (this Japan and Exchange Teaching) program we are at present faced with the soon decision of whether or not we hope to recontract for another year of sushi, fun, snow-plowing, snow-playing, travel and fun (Yes, I said fun twice in this list because life here is well, fun). Well, it’s not all a big festival out here. Mind you there is the odd day where we actually have to work.
*I can just picture any JET reading this just smirking or staring in disbelief over that last comment*

Yes, some of us are rather busy while at other times some others of us are sitting on our hands waiting to warm up, or just waiting for something to happen. Which bucket do I fall into? Well, things are usually pretty busy. So busy some days that I wonder when I’ll ever have time to myself again. Haha. But no, work and life has been most agreeable lately.

So with the prospect of recontracting on the horizon, and again that horizon is zooming into view by February at the latest, I am prompted to reflect.

You know how sometimes, okay well, years ago when we watched vhs tapes and you would hit rewind and after a blur and squiggle of images you would stop to see if you had found the part of the film you were looking for? Well every now and again usually during my workdays I am hit with the recollection and excitement of why I came to Japan and just how it felt the first time. You know, how arrival here in this country was. (Come on people, keep your heads on straight)

I remember that in the smashing heat of summer on a late July day our plane, Tokyo-bound from Vancouver was hovering just over Narita Japan. After surviving a near-drenching airplane ride with several other wild and roasty JETs (it really felt like we had the plane to ourselves) we were about to land atop the tarmac.

I remember after having a resourceful conversation with the rather amicable JET next me that we for some reason caught the attention of an aged Japanese lady sitting across the aisle us. After squabbling with this JET-friend about what Japanese resources we could use to study once we were landed and established in Japan, the Japanese lady called out to us -probably because one of us had dropped something in the aisle or something like that.

In that moment, all the emotions, excitements and flashing lights within me that were just waiting to burst out of me upon my arrival in Japan were brought to life -again. The JET whom I was talking with burst into moderately conversational Japanese with the lady thanking her for pointing out our silliness and ‘item-dropping’ etc.

Right then I was awash with excitement. The excitement of one waiting to hit the ground running. To get to teaching, living, eating all the food up that I could in Japan. Hearing that JET speak Japanese made it all so real. Like when you’re dreaming about breakfast and then you wake up to find breakfast ready-made on the table (ready-made by a loved one, a lover, or an expensive hotel -it matters not).

From then on, parading through the airport and security and the like I was able to find myself. Only long enough to make it through the days of orientation in Tokyo, business suits, people trying to lookg important, or people acting like they were just so they could fit in and hide the wild craziness they were feeling themselves.

After those three days of orientation came the wham-bam flight to Hokkaido. Arriving in yet another airport we were all of us participants faced with saying goodbye to the happy/safe group we had travelled thus far with, and then one by one we were plucked up and collected by our supervisors and flung into a world of Japanese and work-life like we never expected. Or at least I never did.

I think I was forced to go from using next to pittle-bits of Japanese at home, to communicating in a daily level buying groceries, planning lessons, buying cellphones. You name it I’ve had to try it.. so far.

Gosh, I get all whispy in the head just thinking about this all again.
But yea, every now and again, mostly on tired mornings, it serves as a good reminder of what it was and IS all like being abroad and doing all this fun stuff. Really. I find I can go from an unplanned week (that is nothing extra curricular in the calendar outside of a taiko practice or two, and me having to swash around some laundry) to after school events, sudden travel plans, surprise lessons, or just a lonely friend calling on me to go and visit on onsen together. Onsens are not a crime, by the way. They are heavenly bliss.

Well, let me replace the stopper here and thank you for perusing with me. Golly. There is still so much to be had with snow tours on their way and friends to meet. Mind you there is work to be done.
I am still in awe every time when I stand in a classroom and watch what my students do as we teach -the teachers and I. I count myself lucky, and you should, too.

Today? Well today and this evening for instance I was plodded to partake in a sudden dinner engagement. Which is all nice and warm considering I won’t have to scramble up a dinner myself. And just when I was looking forward to using the new laundry detergent that I got yesterday on my ripe pile of laundry.. oh well.
Plans are plans and I am glad to have them.

In the meantime, thanks for the read and if you have a chance, buy someone a cup of coffee -a good friend or your mum or something like that. Recently, though my trips out of town to any nearby metropolis are few and far between, and I know I often look forward to a steaming cup of joe myself. I take mine black, thank you.
Hope you’re enjoying your Fall. And with that,

Ciao

(p.s. no, this is not a picture of a napkin)

Oh, sorry. Did I not happen to tell you? To inform you that I was famous? Oh, no. Hang on then, I did that.
Well, let me sidle past that and get on to the other bits.

This last weekend the culmination of much planning, preparing, staying late-ish after work, and a lot of stretching (that one will make sense in just a second) we came to the presentation of our forty-third annual cultural and arts festival here in town. What did that mean for me? Well, no, I didn’t just attend and snap a few photos. My involvement even spilled beyond staying after it was all over to help clean up. Nope, I indeed had a mini debut in not only a drama that a few people and I presented from out department here in town hall, but I had the delightful honor to play and perform two taiko songs that I have just so freshly learned (re: the stretching). Gosh it felt good. I mean, everyone wants to beat a drum every once in a while, right?

The play was something simple. I share desks with a few radical individuals that work in the healthcare and outreach department here in town hall. I was invited to act as a ‘care manager’ in the play presenting aid to an ailing family who was dealing with a beloved grandmother suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. Now maybe my misspellings may lead you to think that this was a woeful play but it was not. The play was instead drafted to be informative, smartly outlining our town’s social services, while putting up a bit of a laugh.

Having spent the last several weeks committing to memory some Japanese that I am yet to fully understand, the play was a success. The grandmother character actually had a bit of a double take, it was in the script, saying something like, ‘golly since when do we have such handsome foreign social service workers here in town?’
Well, you get the idea.

The taiko was just grand.
One of our performing members fell short of showing up just due before the show and we had to improvise. Having played and practiced taiko back home abroad a little crinkle of an event like this came as no surprise. In the end, two songs learned, two songs performed. And I just have to tell you, there is nothing like standing on a stage, staring into the ‘bright nothingness’ behind which is a crowd of peeping eyes watching as you pull and heave your arms at an ancient drum that is something akin to a wine barrel covered with hardened hides. The sound echoes deep and just as swiftly as you strike the drum. You not only hear the sound it gives off, deep and bowl-filling, but you can feel, almost really sense the voice of the drum itself. Sigh.. It is so worth every beat. And this is just the beginning. Well, I mean, there is more drumming to come.

At least I think so. I was given a t-shirt by the group I have been practising here with in town. I suppose that being given a t-shirt means that you are part of the group. Or maybe being given a slivet of dried fish with a sip of sake at the last summer festival after drumming hour after hour could have meant one in the same..
Either way. I’m in. Haha.

The last bit of this post I will commit to music and not just drum beats.
Our middle school’s brass band had the final slot in the event. Now I have to admit that I was skeptical having heard bands back home in high school and such. But let me tell you this, as soon as they broke into When You Wish Upon a Star, that well-known tune by Disney, I was lost in thought and dream all at the same time. The students so seamlessly stood for solos, slid between xylophones when accenting melodies, and on. I was astounded. Not to say that I wasn’t expecting something grand but this performance really took the cake. I now have a better idea of what the scraggely-haired, blue jacket-wearing music professor I sit across from in the middle school teacher’s office teaches in class. That teacher works wonders -and he drinks his canned coffee black. Just like me.

Oh, sorry. Didn’t you know that here in Japan we buy our coffee canned and from vending machines located on most street corners? Aghast! And say, you didn’t know that Coca-Cola comes around at the turn of the season swapping one machine for another -another machine that sells hot beverages, too? Oh. Well, now you know. Golly, being in a small town with no coffee shops was a dread at first. But the selection is so good, even at convenience stores, that I can choose to indulge anywhere from ninety cents to nearly two dollars for a tin of coffee and be swept into an aromatic bliss.

Don’t get me wrong, even if the world goes down I’ll probably be found in a coffee shop when it happens -I love cafes, but the canned coffee can work its penniful wonders for the soul. I won’t get on about having to switch to instant coffee in the mornings before work..

Anyways, thanks for tuning in again. With stories spouting from my finger tips I’ll have more to share soon. But speaking of that I had better let you get back to your doings, too. Goodness knows I have to prepare for a teaching seminar tomorrow the next town over. Gosh I love lucnes out while on the job.
Cheers to you, and take care.

Ps. Have you had your fill of Fall-time leaves yet? Get out there and do some more viewing!

PPs. This photo is dedicated to everyone who has ever enjoyed a film with the above cahracters in it. Guess that proves how much of a film geek that I can be. But you gotta love it. The women’s chorus at this weekend’s event also sang the theme track from the above-mentioned film.