That Which Blossoms from a Queezy Stomach

The only reason I'm a writing right now is because I can't sleep due to an upset stomach (mostly likely brought on by the soda and bag of chips I ate).

That being said. While lying in bed, resting with this nuisance, a thought crossed my mind. I realized that I was at peace. I realized that nothing over the past month has surprised me about Japan. There has been no culture shock, or reverse culture shock for that matter. Every day seems to flow with a purpose that I have yet to grasp. I feel at peace. I feel at home.

Honestly, I'm here on a business trip, in a city I know nothing about, in a prefecture I know just as little about, in an area of Japan I only know a small amount about, yet my biggest concern is an upset stomach. I'm not worried, as I have been in the past, about women or life. I still have a general distaste for human beings of course, but I think that my here in Japan has made me a little more forgiving. Maybe.

While in the US, everyday felt like a struggle with loneliness and an unquenchable thirst for purpose, yet in Japan I relax and let loose. I find little to be worried about, and far less to panic about.

It just seems that while I'm here in this country, nothing and no one can touch me or harm me in any way.

The views I have from my hotel are awe inspiring. There is an entire town before me. Surrounding by row upon row of ever rising mountains, each portraying a different hew of blue as they vanish into the distance. Yet these mountains do no even come close to looking like those found within the US. Soft and gentle, their slopes covered in trees, these mountains courteously rise into the clouds as if asking for permission to enter the heavens. Much to the contrary of the jagged and aggressive peaks found in the US, especially in the west.

To put me even more at peace is the thought that in only a few days I will be at an onsen in the mountains. And to make this thought even better is the promise of snow in the coming months and the beautiful scenery I will be provided as I relax in new onsens shrouded in the mountains which encircle my little piece of heaven known as Akita-shi.

Going Up?

Before I begin my schpeel about my life in Japan, I would first like to introduce you all to a little story. I call it "Thirteen High School Girls and One Foreigner in an Elevator." That's right. Going up to my room after work I'm greeted by an elevator filled with high school girls (in uniform, no less) with just enough space for me. I take the plunge and before I know it I can hear the little whispers as I quickly become the center of all conversations. Of course, they had no idea that I spoke Japanese, so it was quite a shock for them when I got off at my floor and told them "Gaijin ga chotto shitsurei ne. Gaikokujin da." (Translated, *Rude Form* Foreigner is a little rude. You should say *Polite Form* Foreigner.)

Gave me a good chuckle. I love surprising the Japanese with my language skills. Always makes my day.

Today, what I really want to talk about is something that has been on my mind for about two weeks now. This little mental bookmark revolves around a movie I saw recently called "Tokyo Sonata." Without giving away too much of the plot I will just say that it revolves around a father/husband who gets laid off and proceeds to hide the fact from his family.

This is a good movie when it comes to warning society about the dangers of the world's ever crashing economy, but for me the movie is nothing more than a horror story meant to inspire fools to do what fools do best and act foolishly.

The movie pretty much takes the worst case scenario possible and gives it a lethal injection of Steroids. I'm talking about kidnapping, rape, theft, suicide, child abuse, etc. It is obvious that the movie is trying to make a point about the dangers of our current economic/business systems but I cannot support something that refuses to give reality even the slightest hint of an homage.

I truly appreciated the movie and its commentary until it truly did being to "jump the shark" after the home was ransacked and the wife kidnapped by a man who was also laid off. From that point on, I lost a lot of respect for the movie since it was obvious that the writer ran out of good ideas.

The last qualm I have with this movie is it's title and advertisement. It portrays itself as being mostly about the son learning the piano through all of the hardships, yet the subject vanishes 1/3 of the way into the film and only reappears at the end briefly for, what I will admit as, a heart wrenching song. I would have thought the piano would play a stronger role. Instead a good 1.5 hours of this 2 hour movie was focused on the mother and father.

If you wish to see a good Japanese movie that has a powerful, and true, commentary on society, I suggest you see "Departures." It may take a little bit of a learning curve to understand the subtleties, but it is a much stronger and accurate depiction of Japanese society as a whole.

Looking Down One's Nose

So, I don't know about you guys, but I hate it when people speak down to me.

In fact, just the idea of it fills me with quite the contemptible feeling.

That being said, I'm tired of being checked on by my company and spoken down to by the "higher-ups." They feel the need to lecture me for far longer than necessary about any small mistake. I will admit to my mistakes of course, but that does not mean that I am open to being over criticized and spoken to as if I were a child.

The more and more I think about it, the more I realize that it seems that the only way to get ahead in this company is to be a giant ass and most likely snitch on others. I don't think I will be spending a great deal of time at this company. I will most likely be looking for work once my contracts nears its end.

I love working with the kids and meeting the parents, but this company is honestly sucking the life from me and it's only been four weeks!

ON A LIGHTER NOTE...

Japanese people are awesome and extremely reliable. Don't believe me? Here are two great examples.

1) The other day the cap to my bike tire went flying off while I was pumping air and I spent the next morning searching for the cap (since it is a metal nozzle that keeps all the air in). The old lady next door saw me doing this and helped me look. After a short while, a young man (maybe 26) showed up and also helped look. He quickly offered to go to the nearby store and buy me a new cap. I had to leave then to prepare for my trip to Odate. As I came back downt he stairs on my way to the station I saw that not only was there a new cap on my tire, but that the tire had been filled with air!

Now honestly...can you see a perfect stranger doing that for you? Especially in the US.

2) Tonight, I left my room key in the keyhole for my door and forgot about it. It was not until four hours later that I heard a knock on my door. Upon opening the door I am greeted by someone on the hotel staff who politely tells me about my key. Now lets review this. That key was in the lock for four hours, and no one touched it. To top it off, someone on the hotel staff was just wandering the hall and saw it and took it upon themself to tell me.

So yea...Japanese people = extremely reliable.

Business Trip (That's right, moving up in the world)

Well....here I am in Odate, about two hours away from Akita-shi. I will be staying here until Saturday as the school I am teaching at here is too far away for me to make the journey too everyday for a week.

Of course that means I also get a chance to save on electricity and gas since there is nothing on in my room minus my fridge.

At the same time, Odate is kind of boring, minus the shrines and such. I love shrines, but I'm sure that after a few days or visits I will have nothing left to do in the city. Maybe there is a good Onsen (hot spring) nearby.

Well, I'll take pictures of anything that seems interesting. Since this is Northwestern Japan, the city is completely surrounded by mountains.

Anyway, I best get used to making this trip once a month. ^_^

久し振り笑って顔 (Long Time No See Happy Face)

It's strange. In the matter of one month my mind and thoughts are changing. Though I am stressed with my money situation and with my job I find myself waking up happy and eager to begin the day. This is a side of me I have not seen for a very long time. It is an aspect that I have long wished to once more be present within my life. Each day begins with the same routine and I follow the same path to the train station on my bicycle, yet each day feels brand new and the cool afternoon breeze uplifts my spirits and makes the upcoming hour long train ride seem inconsequential. Though I spend almost everyday on my own with no human interaction (minus my students and the random old ladies who like talking to me) I don't feel lonely. I don't feel sad. I just spent all day in my room watching TV shows I had to catch up on and not for one moment did I wish that there was someone beside me. Where is the loneliness and soul crushing sadness that has dogged me for the past two years?

Could my hopes and theories possible be true? Is Japan really healing my soul and building me back into the person I wish to be? Perhaps I could equate this feeling to the everlasting thirst felt by a desert wanderer as he comes across a cool glass of water after an arduous journey dotted with infrequent droplets of dew found upon the needles of each cactus scattered before him.

My prior rhetoric had always referred to America as poison, yet I never honestly believed those words to be so true. Yet with each day I spend here in Akita my soul seems to filter out any toxin once present. With each moment I become stronger and more resolute. I become more confident and driven. I come home to an empty apartment everyday and it's not a punishment. It's a haven. I can feel my wounds healing far more quickly than I ever imagined.

Last night I went to the beach. Beside witnessing a night sky that would have calmed even the most enraged beast (minus the heavy club music in the background) I took part in a small conversation with a man from New Jersey and a woman from South Africa who couldn't understand why I don't miss America and why I feel so at home in Japan. They were stunned by the fact that I don't go through times when I wish I was in the states or even in a McDonald's. Is it so strange for my "home" to not be the country within which I was born and raised? Isn't this fact a prime example of my shadowing the actions of Hemingway and other American expatriates who sought refuge in Paris?

Suffice to say, I can once more have faith in my actions and confidence in my decisions.

No matter what happens with my job, I am remaining in Japan however I can. I belong here. My Soul belongs here.

To be the Monkey Wrench

Over the past few days I have found myself becoming more and more uncertain about my position at Peppy Kids Club. After the incident with the child breaking her toe, I also managed to misread my lesson time and arrived 25 minutes past my check in time. I had enough time to prepare for class, and great the kids, but I doubt the company will be very pleased with my recent performance. This adds a lot of stress to me since the company can fire me at any time for the first three months of my employment.

The odd things is that even if I do survive this, I'm not sure if I fit in with this company. Like any large company (be it western or Japanese) it really seems like every person must become a cog in the machine. At this moment it is unclear to me whether I am capable of becoming a cog. With faxing paperwork, filling out forms, and calling in to head office for my personal "attendance check" I am quickly seeing how incapable I am at such things. I don't know if I'm like this because I'm a free spirit or because I'm just lazy/stupid.

That being said, it's not that I don't want boundaries put on me. I would appreciate having them since I tend to forget my own. Its more like I don't want to be told what to do within those boundaries. I do things my way. I don't refuse to do things other people's way because I don't agree with them. I am just incapable because they are hard for me to wrap my head around and practice. Perhaps it would be better if I transfered to a smaller company or eikaiwa. Perhaps later in life I should strive to own a small business and be my own boss. These are all questions for a later time of course.

As promised, here is a picture of my awesome bike. And before you ask; no, it is not a girl's bike (almost all bikes are unisex here).

...And All for Spite

So....I'm kind of fucked....

I found out today that one of my students during training broke her toe in one of my classes. Of course when it happened the girl told me she was fine and proceeded to walk over to another teacher to talk to them. For the rest of class she seemed fine to me -- and she even walked and went down stairs!

But nope...now I'm kind of fucked because I didn't inform the company (since I thought she had just fallen) and didn't tell the parent either...So, I might get fired pretty soon....joy....

If that happens, I will head over to Sendai and crash with friends until I get back on my feet. Wish me luck...

On a lighter note...I GOT A BIKE! It's a cool bike that I am very proud of ^_^ Pictures to come when the sun comes back up :P

I also opened my bank account today as well and finally cashed in all my travelers' checks.

I even met a nice old woman named "Ohashi-san" She used to be a Japanese Teacher. She said she would be my teacher since my Japanese was good enough for me to insult her by using the wrong form >_<>

You see...there is a certain buffer zone against insulting people when you are learning a language. If they can tell that you are just starting and struggling, they look the other way. But the moment they believe you have a grasp of the language....well....you better brush up on your p's and q's.

So....I'm here in Akita, finally. The trip here wasn't half bad (besides missing my train and having to sit in non-reserved seats, which are no different from the reserved ones). The apartment is awesome. I'll make sure to attach pics of it real soon, in the coming blogs.

But, what I really want to go over now are two things. My first night in Akita, and my first class.

-- My First Night --

After arriving in Akita and getting everything figured out with my apartment, my PS (Performance Supervisor...aka boss) had me meet up with a few other teachers. The night culminated in meeting with a Japanese salary-man named Sona, though we all call him Elvis. We went out drinking to commemorate the death of Elvis Presley and spent the entire night drinking and singing Elvis' greatest hits. In the course of our drinking we went to two very different bars. One was called "The Duke Room" and the other was called (Insert Name Here...i forgot). In both places I quickly made friends with the bartenders and now feel very comfortable just showing up on my own whenever I feel like it. I was served a lot of Nihon-shu (sake) -- It apparently surprised the Japanese that I liked Nihon-shu and that I could drink so much of it and be completely fine ^_^

-- My First Day of Teaching --

This day did not go as well. Though I managed to get all my errands done in a timely manner (while walking two miles in a typhoon to city hall) the class itself was kind of tough. Both my classes today were filled with "Problem Children." Almost as if the gods were helping my parents get pay back for the hand full that I was....am.....

Suffice to say that both classes left me exhausted. Thought it was nice to go so far out int he countryside and get on and off at a pretty nifty rural station (pics provided).

Anyway, I'll be sure to invest more time in describing my apartment and Akita when I feel like it...since right now I just don't feel like it....so there :P

Have I ever mentioned how much I hate westerners? Honestly, half the reason for my departure to Japan was to get away from westerners and surround myself with Japanese people. That being said, I am very glad to be leaving for Akita-Shi in Akita Prefecture on Monday. There is only a very small amount of westerners there, and a large amount of rural Japanese who tend to be very kind, polite, and interested in people like me. I don’t plan on spending a lot of time with foreigners. I’ve had my fill after 22 years in the US.

Anyway, on another note…TRAINING IS OVER!!! I am finally getting the hell out of Nagoya. I’m pretty much done with Nagoya. After living in Tokyo, this city is just boring. There is not much interesting history or entertainment here. It’s pretty dull for such a large city.

So training. It was tough. Not mentally challenging – Just physically and emotionally draining.　Waking up around 6:30am every morning has been pretty tough for me. I can get up and all, but my body aches and my eyes have been swollen for two weeks. Continuing with the soul draining qualities of training. During the middle of this week I found out that my training and another higher up in the company though I would not be able to do the job as if I was some sort of fool. I even had to wake up early on a day I should have been able to sleep in so that I could do demo lesson for my trainer. I hate it when people doubt me like that. Well, I showed him anyway. Got the 2^nd highest score in my training group for the company aptitude test and have received pretty good reviews from the other teachers who have observed me dealing with children.

I got my new inkan (stamp) today….it’s made of awesome, per usual. The character is “Kishi.” It means “Shogi Player.” I think that fits rather well with me since my last name meaning “Chess Player.” I’ll make sure to attach a picture to this blog.

I don’t really have too much to say about the past two weeks. I trained hard…Have swollen eyes and had a kid continuously pull my arm hair. I hope at some point to have pictures of some of the kids I will be working with, but I have to wait for the parents to take the pictures and for them to give them to me due to company policy.

I’ll make sure to write lots about the awesomeness/lameness of Akita (won’t know until I get there, right?)

Nagoya-ing It Up!

Well…it was fun but it all had to come to an end at some point I guess. I can’t keep going to karaoke and riding back and forth on the subways with some kind of income to sustain my “exorbitant” tendencies. At this moment, while I write this (obviously not while you are reading this two weeks from now), I sit inside an eerily familiar McDonalds in the Iisha area of Nagoya which looks like a model replica of any McDonalds you might find in the US. Creepy. The only difference is that the food and service is purely Japanese – In other words, better. The reason for sitting in the restaurant stems from the fact that I am supposed to show up at an allotted time to meet with Peppy Kids Club and get myself a nice, cozy, well-used room for training. I arrived in Nagoya at around 7:50am after sleeping on a night bus for about 10 hours from Sendai.

Speaking of Sendai, perhaps I should fill everyone in on my ridiculous exploits. When I first arrived in Sendai, I met Kevin at the station. Kevin was late – He’s always let. But I have to love him anyway because he has such pretty blue eyes. After walking about 15 minutes to his apartment as the morning was just beginning to feel the effects of the Summer Sun we got to his apartment where he and I both fell to the ground and partook in a small cat nap. Of course, Kevin slept much longer than me since he hadn’t really planned ahead and stayed up far too late the night before meeting someone at 7am. After reading through most of “Darling ha Gaikokujin da!” (My Darling is a Foreigner) I got a little antsy and headed out into the bustling streets of Sendai on my own, telling Kevin to call me when he was awake. First Stop: Tsutsujigoaka Park (Try saying that three times fast). There I just relaxed for a shot while and enjoyed watching the little kids play out in the field briefly before retreating to the trees to cool down. Afterwards I headed towards one of the main streets of Sendai where I finally found some Chocolate Chip Melon Bread! *Cue Angelic Singing* Along the way I also came across and bakery called “Pi-ta- Pan” (Peter Pan) I even took a picture of the sign since I thought the word play was wonderful. After walking up and down the road a few times and watching little kids play in the artificial streams along the sidewalks I finally met up with Kevin.

Kevin decided that we should go see Sendai Castle. It’s rubble now, but it is still a very amazing place. Of course, this adventure turned into an endless quest very quickly. Forgetting which bus stop to get off at, Kevin had us get off way up the mountain (past the castle). This would have been fine if Kevin had not seen a “giant Buddha statue” on a nearby mountain. So after a brief rest at Tohoko University we headed further up the mountain towards this mythical statue. After about 20 minutes of walking, Kevin decided to ask for directions from a local construction work. Kevin’s questions was greeted by a “You’re on the wrong mountain.” Yea…Wrong Mountain. So we walked back down the mountain all the way to the castle. Of course this was an adventure in itself since we now had to walk down winding mountain roads with no sidewalks while cars buzzed around the corners.

After about 30-40 minutes of walking we finally got to the castle site and I enjoyed some delicious little Sendai treats and received a wonderful fortune (FOR A CHANGE!). It said that everything will go well for me this year. I hope so. I would really like things to. Kevin and I proceeded to do the tourist thing and pray at the nearby shrine before going to take 1000 pictures of the statue of Date Matsumune (Daimyo of the Sendai area during the Warring States Period) and the beautiful view of Sendai from the base of the castle grounds. While taking pictures we bumped into a large group of Koreans who were part of some very large Universalist Church group. They began singing and praying that it would rain or thunder too much. Well… I think their singing angered the gods more than anything else and as Kevin and I began our return trip to the nearest bus stop it started raining.

Seeking shelter in the local International Center, Kevin and I looked at all the gifts given to Sendai by her sister cities. This experience serves as a great example for how much the US sucks. One of the sister cities was Dallas, Texas and it had given gifts just like everyone else. With all the states given colorful dolls, pots, antiquities, and exquisitely crafted items the Dallas gifts seemed slightly out of place since they obviously came from any of the numerous tourist shops present in the city (They gave them a freaking Souvenir PEN!) I don’t know about you, but if I was Sendai, I would be greatly insulted by this. I mean, it’s just unbelievable that they thought that would be ok. For God’s sake, give them a nice horse shoe or something! Anyway, everyone already knows that the US pisses me off.

Finally getting on the bus for Central Sendai, it starts pouring bathtubs. That’s right, bathtubs. Not buckets. Not cats and dogs. Big Victorian Bath Tubs! Of course we have no umbrellas (along with the rest of Sendai) and got sufficiently drenched before we found shelter.

Going to meet up with Kevin’s new lady-friend Marika we were confronted with a serious Moses like problem. The streets had flooded and turned into rivers! But since we are not Moses (no matter how Kevin’s beard may suggest otherwise) we had to wade through the water. It’s a good thing I was wearing flip-flops.

Meeting up with Marika at a star bucks in Sendai Station, we proceeded to take care of a few errands while I helped Marika figure out a kind of word problem for her English phonetics class. Here was the problem. Please provide an example of word that uses only soft syllables and ends in a soft vowel. I’ll post the answer at the bottom of this note for those of you who want to try and figure out for themselves.

Proceeding to a game center, after meeting with Marika, Kevin and I were surprised to find Marika looking for us at the game center later on. Apparently the subway had flooded a little and she couldn’t get home. Due to these rather unfortunate events we headed over to Saizerya (a very cheap Italian restaurant) and chilaxed. I sang many love songs for the two love-birds (hoping to get Kevin to join in – He didn’t). With the subways in working order again we parted ways and Kevin and I headed home.

While trying to sleep in Kevin’s apartment I realized that I was highly allergic to whatever was in it. Sleeping through it all I decided to stay with Mu-chan and her family. There I was treated to delicious meals and warm company. It was a wonderful family. Of course, Mu-chan made me carry all my heavy stuff through the heat to her house from the train station (even though her father could have come and picked us up!) Silly Mu-chan.

My day with Mu-chan included going to a beautiful shrine called Shiogama and meeting up with another friend. We all walked around and relaxed for a while and then headed off to meet with Kevin and go to dinner with him, Marika, and a few other friends.

Little did I know that this was a surprise party and was very worried when they brought me into an apartment complex. At this party there was even more delicious food and the great company of my two new friends Yuna and Mao. After dinner we headed out for all night karaoke where I destroyed my voice by singing Foo Fighters with authentic screaming. It was great fun. I got to sing Jero!

Returning to Kevin’s apartment to relax a little after the all nighter I headed over to the apartment of some more new friends (Sei and William). Enjoying a nice dinner and small bottle of sake with them I raced to catch the bus that brought me to Nagoya (we kind of lost track of time with all the drinking).

And that is pretty much my story for now I believe. I’m sure my friends who were present for these adventures could mention some other stuff too if they wanted.

So yea…. Party on Wayne


Party on Garth…

Eh eh….all right….ok


Add-age!

Place: Web Café in Fujigaoka
Time: 8/1/10 -- 10:45pm
Mood: MY FEET HURT!

I’ve got an apartment here in Nagoya! Just a small two bedroom deal that I share with my new, short term roommate Nigel. It be cool. I gots a futon to sleeps on!

So far Nagoya is awesome. I’ve looked around a lot and spent a lot of time with all the other trainees… A few nights ago I went with a few of the guys out to a yakitori grill and it was great. One of the waiters just kinda sat down and spoke with us (me) about where we came from and who we were. I love that celebrity aspect of foreigners in Japan ^_^

I bought new shorts! Because my other pair tore when I bent down to pick up my gigantic bag for the 5000th time…..yea…ouch

Nagoya city is pretty relaxed. There is no big hustle or bustle like Tokyo, but it’s still pretty nice. Been to one or two little restaurants…they were great! Even got a glimpse into the World Cosplay Summit being held here this weekend!

I start training tomorrow! I’m kinda excited…but you guys know how I don’t really get excited about anything except really cute things :P

Can’t wait to get going to Akita!

Beginning of Bill, Ted, and Andrew's Awesome Adventure

I'm in a dream state. That's the only way I can describe it. My mind is still dealing with the fact that just 24 hours ago I was in a plane from Dulles to Tokyo. My mind is greeted by a stampede of memories and emotions with each station I enter, each train I ride, and each store I see.

I am very glad to be back in Japan. yet it will take time for me to find my home here. Scents once familiar to me are now just as alien as they were two years ago. I remember the scent well but it sticks out significantly in my mind each time I smell it. I'm reminded of the first few weeks in Tokyo when I was in college. I'm reminded of the over priced cereal, the ugly brown floor of my room, the "not quite milk" I always drank from the Lawson 100 Yen store, and the many nights spent with my friend Katie watching movies on our laptops.

Some memories are not as welcomed, of course. As I feared, memories of Chihiro have come flooding back and I am unsettled. I know I will have to go to her home at some point to thank her family and present my thank you gifts, but I am fearful of the repercussions should she be there as well when I visit. Maybe it is a good thing I snapped over Chihiro earlier this spring. It feels like I got the worst of it out of my system. To have had to deal with those strong emotions here might have been near impossible for me.

On a lighter note...TOKYO IS FUCKING HOT! I have never sweat so much in my life just from walking. Seriously walking outside in Tokyo during this time of year is like taking a bath each time you walk out the door. Unfortunately it's a really hot bath that makes you quickly seek shelter in an air conditioned room or store. I need to get used to this weather again. You guys think Southern Virginia or DC is bad...you have not lived in Tokyo.

My first meal was Gyu-don (A beef rice bowl) I couldn't get it at all in America and desperately needed it last night as I walked through Akiba in hopes of finding a prepaid cell phone (the quest failed, btw). To sit down in a quiet "fast food" joint and enjoy a bowl of delicious, precooked rice and beef was amazing and made me so happy. It reminded me of all the nights I spent walking to Matsuya for dinner because I didn't feel like cooking and always ordering Gyu-don (there curry is too spicy for me).

As it stands. Right now I am in a dream state. I still can't believe I'm here again. Hopefully I will not fall from this cloud too hard as I journey to Sendai on the 25th, then to Nagoya on the 29th, and then back up to Akita in August.

My new life has just begun, and I couldn't be more sedated....curse you jet lag!