Way of Thinking, 考え方

It just dawned on me. I just figured out a part of how Japanese thinking (from what I've been told about through their writing style) manifests itself in conversation. Sato-sensei just asked me about how I learned Japanese. I was delighted, as I take pride in the methods I use, as well as how quickly I've advanced. Over the course of the conversation, the target subtly changed from how I learned, to how it applies to the school system here, to how a 7th grader would learn English, and finally ended with how using a Japanese alphabet to produce English sounds can be useful to slow learners. It was then I noticed he was making a worksheet that used a Japanese alphabet to do such a thing for what I can only assume will be used in a 7th grade classroom.
It was quite interested to follow through that mode of thinking and talking. I had been told that Japanese writing followed a similar, flowing path that started off somewhere else, moved toward the target, and then flowed onwards again. To experience it in action was pretty interesting.

Quick China Update (and pics!)

Hello friends, family, and animals that can somehow access the internet.

Here is a long overdue update about what I did in China! It's right here, in the next paragraph:

In my 5 days there, I think we saw everything you could possibly see in such a short amount of time. I really liked the Summer Palace, which blew my mind. The fact that one person could be so powerful, have so much land, and have such beautiful buildings created before the technology we have today is astounding. It was my second favorite place, next to the Great Wall. The palace has a lake in the middle, and all around the lake are temples, palaces, and building architecture. From the middle, there was a palace on the other side that was sort of misty, like it was perfectly placed- it was the type of thing you only see in movies.

The Great Wall was also awe-inspiring. Although the wall itself isn't all that high, it's all on mountains. It's more of the scope that got me. As I walked further and further, there were always more towers in front, always more that you could see on the mountains ahead, and always more to get to. Realizing how far the wall stretched just made it amazing. Unfortunately, the pollution of Beijing even reached out as far as the Great Wall, so there was smog in the air- but it wasn't nearly as bad as the city itself. There are no words that can really describe the wall, and the pictures you'll see really don't do it any justice. I never thought I'd go to the great wall in my life, so this was just an incredible experience.

Today is Thursday

Huge Rainbow. Outside the window. 3 or 4 leprechauns must live there. Must...get...the...gold. So much gold, probably at the end of the rainbow. Why...does it keep...moving...when I....get...close? Gold...leprechauns...pumpkins...

Ok, whoa, whoa, let me get back from my brain-dead zombie state.

It's Friday now. The day of Fri. I'm in the office again. Help me, I'm going a little stir-crazy. I've been sitting, and sitting and sitting. I'll get up in 5 minutes to go to the bathroom, that's my break. I think, if people can have smoke-breaks, I should be able to have a "stand outside" break. They should institute that.

Institution. Did you know that the old President, Taro Aso, is OUT of office. His single digit approval ratings probably did him in. Yeah, he was that bad. Sorta like Bush, if we didn't have a #### ##### ##### ##### part of the country. Your software automatically blocked out what I wrote, so please use your imagination to enter whatever you think fits.

I'm going to China in a little more than a week. YES! See the great wall, Tienanmen Square, the Summer Palace. I can't wait! One more country off the list. I never thought that I, in my lifetime, would go to the great-wall. At least not until I retired and then was too old to enjoy it. But I'm actually doing it, and it's an amazing feeling. I believe that we should be able to travel a lot more when we are younger, and work it off when our reduced mobility makes us perfect office workers.

I've been reading the Dragonball manga (comic book). One of the groundbreaking manga's, and one of the few well-known ones in the US. It's interesting, and it's stretching my Japanese, for sure. It's good practice, and I can relate to my kids with it. "Hey, remember that time the kid with the monkey tail lifted the tortoise and brought him to the ocean. Yeah, that was good chapter."

I have been scootering around on my new old scooter. It's wicked fun! I can only go up to 50 or 60 km/hr, but that's all I need. I can explore all of the areas that were previously inaccessible. I drive between rice fields, up small mountain paths. I follow rivers and cross shallow streams. There is something so much more visceral about scootering than driving a car. Driving a car, you don't notice the beautiful scenery as much. You don't feel the wind pushing your body, it's ever-present pressure feebly trying to stop your movement forward. You can smell the air around you. Freshly-cut grass, rice, nature. Your body feels the drop in temperature when you increase in altitude, and the refreshing pocket of warm air when you get back to ground level.

Also, a tank of gas costs $5.

-Out.

The nicest present

I'm in my office as I type this. I should be getting a few more kanji reviews under my belt, but... Anyways, I came back to a coke bottle filled with sake on my desk. It reads Takko-town garlic sake. I never expected to have alcohol just sitting on my desk, let alone in a half-filled plastic coke bottle. I'm not a shady kid, and neither are my coworkers, I swear!

I also had a review today. 5 of my coworkers came and looked at my class. I think it went well, it was a normal middle school class at Shingo. I also reviewed my students' English speech contest performance...they aren't going to win this year, that's all I'll say. 2 days away and they still haven't fully memorized their speeches! There's only so much I can help with if you don't memorize your speech.

I can't go to the contest though, I will be teaching at an elementary school instead. When I asked if I could go to the contest when I finished, I was given the "well, I'll have to ask so-and-so, because it is considered a business trip..." which means no. Too bad, but maybe next year?

Ok, that's all ya get. Suck it up or go to another blog! Once I finally get these stupid kanji reviews done, then you'll get a proper list of updates. Be strong, for me.

Mundane, ennui, meh.

I have a confession to make. I've been collecting all of the papers I've been handed since the beginning of the year. I used to put them in the recycling bin or trash, but now I save them. I either put them under my laptop to increase it's height because it was too low and hurt my neck, or use them as scrap paper for practicing kanji.

RtK- I did that too.

I'M DONE! I FINISHED REMEMBERING THE KANJI! IT'S OVER! This is my replacement for screaming in the office, which would probably confuse my coworkers.

I did it! I learned 2042 Kanji, all of the "necessary kanji" for daily life in Japan. Oh yes, I see and understand Japan.

Well, sort of. I know all of the English meanings associated with the kanji. But, really, when I see 今日, and my brain says (今=now, 日= day), I fully understand it means "today," and further, since I have around 2,000+ words in my vocab, I can read it as "kyou." Most importantly, from here on out, learning Japanese will go much quicker.

I'm going to regale you with my story. I started last winter, when Weldon told me about these books. I originally didn't even want to learn kanji, I just wanted to learn how to speak. But, anyways, he told me about these books which make kanji learning a breeze, and even help you increase your vocabulary and reading speed. So, I gave it a try, and really liked it. I got more and more into it, and more and more separated from other Japanese study, that it became the only thing I studied for the past two months. I just had to finish this before getting back to grammar and vocabulary. And, now I'M done! Woohoo! Only about 6 months, not too shabby for a writing system that is supposed to go from years k-12.

Well, now I suppose I'll celebrate a bit more, and LEARN it up.

Greg, over and out.

Fuji- I did that.

Fuji Fuji Foo-ji. San.

I did climb Fuji-san a few weeks ago. It was sort of a "last friend adventure" type thing. We started climbing at 9:30. Spirits were high. People were happy. The stars were beautiful, and so clear. We could see the lights of Tokyo from far away.

It got colder and colder as we ascended, though. The oxygen, too, was thinning out. Even after a couple of steps, we were breathing heavy. The higher up we got, the more the girls were having trouble. Tina was getting dizzy easily, Natalie wasn't doing too well either. Luckily we brought some oxygen, which was very helpful.

I was about 50 meters from the top when the sun started rising. Seth and Tina were about a ridge-back down, and Natalie and I were so close to the top. Natalie, who had been struggling beforehand, and always complains about how bad a hiker she is, was actually in the front! At about 50 meters away, I couldn't keep up the pace, and I sat down. Natalie joined me for about 1 minute, then "I have to pee."

"Ok, I'll meet you at the toilet."

I saw the sun rise from near the top of Fuji. It was beautiful. I've never seen it rise so clearly. The red tip of the sun peaked over the horizon, and it climbed at a very steady rate. "Bonsai, bonsai, bonsai!" I heard.

At the top, there were a few "restaurants" (a nice term I use for the refugee food tents that they actually are). I'll never forget Natalie and Tina sitting next to the toilets, me going up to them and saying, let's go somewhere warm and get food. Natalie looked up at me, wide-eyed and with blue lips, and she stammered questioningly "warm?" I held her hands and walked her and the group to the food area. In actuality, it wasn't warm, it just wasn't as cold as outside.

We all struggled (except the chipper Seth), to get some food down.

On the way down, it was much easier. People were getting more lucid, and more able to walk and talk. Natalie burst into tears at how beautiful the site was on the way down.

All in all, it took us about 7-8 hours up (mostly due to the huge lines of people, Fuji was crowded, man!), and about 4-5 down.

When we got down, we took the bus and then the train back into Tokyo. We really didn't have much time, so we stayed around Tokyo eki. Got some food, relaxed, then boarded our Shinkansen (bullet train) home.

We went to Disney Sea the day before, which was really awesome. I highly recommend it, it was like stepping into another world. I don't even like roller-coasters, and I highly suggest it.

I'm a bit tired and lazy, so all you get is this uninspired writing. Deal with it!

This weekend I'm headed to Tokyo. With all of the old people that just left, the new people coming in, and my recent break-up (yes, I hid it from you, I had a girlfriend for a little while), I need a break, gotta get out of this crazy city! So, I'm off to Tokyo tonight. I'll night bus down and shinkansen back. It'll be good to get out, forget for a bit, and come back refreshed and revitalized!

So, that's about it for now. Told you, smaller pieces more frequently. I'm trying to sate your hunger.

RaNdOm JaPaN:

Did you know they sell square watermelons? A friend alerted me to this fact. Yes, square watermelons. I really want to eat one now. I know they taste the same as regular watermelons, but there is something so satisfying about how they look, how we could probably maximize the amount of watermelon eaten, from each watermelon.

Goodbyes, Learning Japanese

Hello one and all,

As of last week, I am officially 23! Can you believe it? Not me. I got my cane and wheelchair ready. I think I've started to emit "old man smell." Naw, just kidding, 23 has been eerily like 22 so far...

Ha, so much for my plan of writing short, sweet little blog-notes to you. Well, I have good reasons, ok, and you can rest assured from now on you'll be getting your fix again. Lately, I have been to more goodbye parties, dinners, and tearful train leavings than I care to recall. Today we lost Natalie to the great maw of "non-recontracting."

Well, I just recently sent an email to a JET who is teaching about learning Japanese to all of the new JET arrivals. I think I wrote some interesting stuff, so I decided to write it and share it on this blog. So, without further ado, here is what I wrote (I would also like to give thanks to Weldon, because both his advice and his research were invaluable in helping me realize the many paths available to language fluency outside of textbook-only approaches).

So, here's the wisdom I have to share concerning Japanese learning, get ready, this might take awhile.

1) The traditional method. You know it, everyone knows it. Get some textbooks, memorize vocabulary, do exercises. Boring, and most importantly, NOT EFFICIENT. You can do it and get good results (Hey, I did it and made it to intermediate in a short time), but it either plateaus too easily, or it's just simply not as efficient as other methods. Which brings me to...

2) Non-Traditional methods. Ok, the hardest part about using a non-traditional method is the social stigma against them because people haven't been using them for the past 200 years. If you can overcome this, you'll be fine. Here's the, (in my opinion), best way to go about learning Japanese.

a) Learn Hiragana and Katana
b) Learn ALL 2000 Joyo kanji! The best way to learn them all (in my opinion, at least) is to use Heisig's method. Depending on how much effort you put in, you can learn all of them in 1 month, though I think 6 months might be the average. You MUST supplement his method with flashcards (outdated and maa maa at best) OR an SRS (spaced-repetition system http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spaced_repetition), which is the best possible thing you can use. More on SRS's later.
If you choose the Heisig route, the website http://kanji.koohii.com/ is a great SRS and community that is made specifically for Heisig.

Here is a snippet that Weldon wrote about Heisig that is great at describing it:
"The basic premise of Heisig is outlined in his introduction (which you should definitely read). Learning a kanji can be thought of as the following: differentiating it from other kanji upon site, knowing how to say it outloud, knowing it's meaning(use) in Japanese. As a bonus you can also know: how to write it by hand, it's meaning (individually) when paired with other kanji. There are two current academic trends for learning kanji. One is to not learn them because they are too hard; the second is to learn them by drilling them, similar to the Japanese style. Many people believe this is the "pure" method because it is the "same" method that Japanese use to learn their own writing system. This idea is 100% false. Japanese people already know Japanese before they learn the Kanji. As a result, they know how to pronounce a kanji singly and in compounds and only have to learn the writing and recognizing of the characters. Foreigners learning via drilling often drill five things at the same time: recognition, writing, on yomi, kun yomi, and meaning. With the Japanese learning 2 facts vs. our 5 and spreading it out over 10 years you can see why kanji learners struggle so much. Heisig proposes spliting up this drilling process. First, learn the writing (by attaching it to the meaning in English). Next, learn the true (Japanese) meaning and the onyomi and kunyomi. At first this appears to be more work, but thanks to mnemonics it ends up being much much less. He also skips recognition completely. The reason being, if you can correctly remember how to write a character, you will always have 100% recognition, period.

Heisig takes all the parts that kanji are made up of (260ish) and names them "primitives" and calls them an "alphabet". Now you just have to memorize the spelling of 2000 "words" (Jouyou kanji) spelled with 260ish "letters". Here's an example. 女 is the kanji for Woman, and the primitive meaning is woman. 子 is the kanji for child, and the primitive meaning is child. 好 is the kanji for "be fond of" and it's mnemonic is "a woman is fond of her child". Now you know the kanji for すき, and you've most likely never written it once. On top of that you'll probably never forget it. Tomorrow when you see a sign that says "りんごが好きですか？" you'll read it as "ringo ga suki desu ka?" and not "ringo ga fondki desu ka?" because your brain won't let you do something so silly. The keywords never get in the way of learning the Japanese, they only assist; and you now can produce that kanji from scratch. Heisig's first book covers all the 2042 base kanji and you can try the first 250 for free. The first day I went home and wrote 50 kanji from memory (always practice from the keyword to the kanji so that you practice production, not recognition) and was completely sold."

Ok, that's the deal about Heisig and kanji. The most important part about learning kanji first is that you can immediately go to reading books, manga, etc. etc. These are the best way to learn words, and get a feel for grammatical structure. Using textbooks along with them is most important for supplementing your grammar, so you understand the why of what you are reading. As you read these things, you make sure they have furigana, that way you learn the readings of the kanji as you go along. In essence, you are killing two birds with one stone.

c) MASSIVE AMOUNTS OF INPUT. Output too early is, frankly, dangerous. For example, I always used the word すごい, whenever I saw something that was cool, or something good happened- basically when I should have been using よし、よかった、かっこい。 No one corrected me (come on, the Japanese are just happy if you can say "おはよ"), so after saying that over and over again, it got stuck in my head, and here I am still struggling to switch it with the right word. It's akin to a dancer practicing the wrong steps for a few months, and then realizing too late he/she made a mistake, and has to go back and put forth a lot more effort to fix it. It's terribly inefficient.

Honestly, do whatever makes you happy. If you like manga, read manga. If Harry Potter is your thing (for some reason EVERYONE reads harry potter when they are studying Japanese, I don't really know why...), read HP. Eventually you can get to listening and watching TV. Throw that in the mix too (but NO subtitles, it's too easy to just read those and ignore the nihongo).

There is a website called AJATT (http://www.alljapaneseallthetime.com/blog/about) about a guy who just did all japanese all the time. His method worked for him, and it has many good facets. Just keep in mind that it isn't all psychologically sound. For example, listening to Japanese while you are sleeping does nothing for your learning. However, his method seems to be about acclimating (なれる-ing) the same way a child does, which is great if you have the willpower to do it! Since we don't have caring Japanese mothers and fathers to correct us every time we make a mistake for the first 10 years of our life, this is the closest we can get to なれる-ing. In fact, I'm going to use his method of putting sentences into an SRS and see how it works for me. Oh, speaking of SRS's, I suppose it's time we had that chat.

SRS's are NECESSARY. If you want to learn the most amount of information, and keep it in Long-term memory, in the most efficient manner, you will use one. Psychologists first figured out the memory curve in the 30's and 40's, but sadly, it never caught on. Basically, they found the rate at which memory decayed and when the optimal times were to test and remind information for the best retention rates. As is common in psychology, no one outside actually uses what they discover (maybe I'll be doomed to a life of obscurity...should I really stick with psych?!). Luckily, some people created programs that take advantage of the learning research. I use anki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anki), it's free and easy to download, though using it is hard at first. It's a very flexible program. For instance, you can insert clips of Japanese dramas and test yourself on what they are saying.

What else is necessary? Getting rid of your silly-foreigner accent. You need to imitate what you hear. It's like when you are trying to teach your students the TH sound. They might do it until the end of the activity if you can force them, but they don't do it nearly long enough to retain it for every time they see a TH word. You need to be better than them. Practice, speak, repeat. Here is a website of people in Poland who did something similar to the AJATT guy (in fact, they came before him, it's where he got many of his ideas): http://www.antimoon.com/how/pronunc.htm. That's their article on pronunciation.

Lastly, MAKE IT FUN. If those Minna no Nihongo books are dragging you down, you can learn grammar from something like Japanese in Mangaland, by Tae Kim. If you can't stand to read another newspaper article, pick up a dragonball manga. The stories you make for your kanji boring you to death, take a break and think of something crazy fun (shredder attending a lecture on abuse, taught by Mr. T, for the kanji for abuse).

A few last notes. Classes and tests are good for a variety of reasons, but taking them alone will NOT get you fluent in Japanese. Some people use classes for motivation, others for clearing up hard to figure out grammar, others to provide competition for themselves if they can't handle just solo study. Tests are the same way. They are great tools, but you will need a lot more than just a once weekly class.

If you are unsatisfied with the above, but aren't resigned to traditional learning methods, here is (another) method for you to use. Find famous polyglots, and research their method for how they learned multiple languages. Many times, you can find a common thread, which is what you want to take and use for yourself.

Some useful websites:
Journal writing, language exchange:

lang-8.com

A website that teaches vocab with audio, pretty good, even if the SRS isn't optimal. You can learn kanji, be tested on just audio, text, learn lots of vocab (they have lists of the most used words, the kanji for JLPT level x, etc. etc.).

smart.fm/

Ok, that's about it. If you like learning languages, take this and use it as you will.

See you soon, when I write about my CONQUERING MOUNT FUJI.

-Greg

And really, what would my blog be without RaNdOm JaPaN:

A few days ago I was walking from my car to the office as usual. Though it was cloudy, it wasn't raining, but I saw a man with an umbrella open in the corner of my eye. Because I was surprised, I turned to look, but the man quickly brought the umbrella down to cover his face. Ok, sorta weird, but, I have this weird feeling. I decided to wait in the lobby area to see who it was, standing slightly out of the way. Well, in comes the boss of my office! Why didn't you want me to see you, sir? Why not say hi, boss?

Oh also, Paul's girlfriend, Maki, says that gaijin (foreigners) smell like butter. Yum?

Bread, Rice, and Stereotypes.

I can't believe I just did that! I made the mistake of confirming their stereotypes. Ok, the general store lady comes to our office every day to sell snacks. It's bad enough that I regularly buy the peanut butter sandwich (yeah, no jelly, but I'm fine with that). Today, I bought some bread because I'm out back home. Well, big mistake, foreigner. The first thing out of her mouth is "You don't eat rice?" Which translates roughly to "Do you eat rice? Because I figured you ate bread for every meal, and since you are confirming my stereotype, I may as well ask if it's once a month or twice a month that you eat rice.

UGH! No! Especially because, if you know anything about me, I prefer rice to bread any day. Oh well, it's not like they would have believed me if I told them I eat rice with 2 of 3 meals every day anyways.

Big Brother, here?

Hello Folks,

Here is your update. I won't take any accusations that it's "about a month late" or anything like that, because I am never late. Time, yes, you can blame time for passing when I explicitly told it not to pass, but don't even think to blame me. It's ok though, my comments section is woefully sad because it has so few posts. Even if I don't know you, feel free to comment, I usually comment back!

So, so much has happened recently, I don't know what to write. About half of the people, and more than half of my friends, will be leaving in the next few weeks. It's scary, sad, and I don't know what I'll do. I am excited to meet the new people who will replace them, but can't we have the best of both worlds and add the new people to our already existing roster?

I'm "Big Brother" to two new arrivals. I can't wait for them to arrive and I can be all Big Brother-y. Not 1984 style, that's a little too much. I mean, forcing people to do exercises in the morning along with the rest of the nation? Please.

In petty news today, my Japanese class has moved to a different building next semester. That means it will take me an extra 10-15 minutes to get there. You can believe it? It used to be so close, so convenient. Ahh well, I'll have my 50cc scooter by then, so maybe it won't be so bad. That's right, I'm buying Matt's old scooter. And, oh yes, it will be glorious.

In other small news today, I am teaching tomorrow, Saturday, at Shingo, in front of parents. I'm not too worried, as the parents can't speak my language, and therefore can't understand at least half of my class.

Travel news: I am going on a 3 day Tokyo trip. I'll be climbing Mount Fuji! Oh yeah, chop that one off the list of things to do.

Next Travel News: I am going around Japan in August on a special ticket that makes all of the non-shinkansen (bullet train) trains free. Yeah, let's see where I'll go! Don't know yet. I would like my friends and I to work our way up north.

2 times later travel news: I have 9 days off for "Silver Week" in September. Where should I go? Out of the country suggestions, por favor.

I don't think I've been anywhere particularly interesting lately. We had the farewell party in Aomori city. All of the JETs in Aomori Prefecture came. There was a nice reception, we went to a sake bar afterwards, and then we all went home to Hach for a sleepover at my place. Ugh, seeing all my friends with the "leavers" crowd was a little tough.

Oh, I went camping at Shirahama a few weeks ago. It was really fun, we had a bbq and everything. The only problem was that the sun rose at 4 in the morning, and my tent was searingly hot at around 5:15. I was grumpy that day, and went to sleep for awhile to recoup on non-grumpiness.

What's next for me? Office days. Many, many office days. Which is good! I plan to finish kanji (finally!) and start my reading and speaking. It's like, I've been only doing kanji for awhile, and me speaking has suffered. BUT, after this, I'll more than make up for the lost time. I'm pretty excited about it.

Ok, ok, let me see, how can I keep you entertained for another paragraph? Uhhh, ummm. Ok, if we can make a deal and I can do these shorter posts more frequently, I promise I'll keep you updated. How about that? Deal?...I don't know what I'm getting myself into, but I'll try this time.

Ok, over and out.

-Greg

RaNdOm JAPan:
Do you know "kancho?" No? Are you sure I haven't explained it? Check this then: http://www.kancho.org/. Now imagine the fear I must live with every time I teach at an elementary school. Yes, pity and be afraid. Props if you can read Japanese, the shirts are hilarious.

Yet another apology, another plea for time, can you please forgive me, if I make this title rhyme?

Hey guys,

You've probably just read the title of my post. You're probably diggin' it and thinking "man, that Greg, I don't mind that he's slow with his updates, because I really can't put a price on pure gold (or fried gold, depending on your nationality and current zombie-fighting status)." And so, you have accepted my limerick and plea for more time, you have congratulated me on reaching 1085th out of 2046 kanji, and you will wait patiently, nay, eagerly with adoring eyes of the purest innocence, for my upcoming post in the next few days.

Wait.

-Moi.

MMmmm Curry Rice.

Hey guys,

Welcome, welcome. Today's post is brought to you by Curry Rice. Whenever I want a quick bite of something delcious, I go straight for my packet of curry rice. Just one chunk, some boiling water, veggies, and rice, and I've got a full meal. And, for a limited time, if you eat the packet without cooking it, a genie will come and grant you three wishes. At least, it will grant your wishes until the hallucination runs out. Oh curry rice, for $2.50 a packet, anyone can have their own personal genie, and tasty meals on command!

Now that our sponsors are out of the way, let's sit down and talk. I'll tell you of the wonders of Hachinohe, and you can listen, and comment if you would be so kind. I'll even reply to your comments, so go ahead, type in the box. Come on... everyone's doing it. Peer pressure....

Ok, I'll start talking now. Typing. Whatever. Why was today sponsored by curry rice? Because that's what I had for lunch! With all of the mysteries cleared up, we can go full steam ahead.

This past weekend was pretty good. We were all supposed to go kayaking at Kabushima island, but it was rained out. So, that was done, and instead we all met up at 4 at Erin's house. We hung out for awhile, the usual shenanigans. DnD was a big part of the night. I guess, well, I guess it's time I do more than just write DnD, and it's time I put some explanation into what it actually is we're doing.

Warning: The following is a descent into extreme nerd-dome, enter, or skip, at your own peril.

Basically, I am the person in charge of the game. The official label is DM or GM, but I also go by "God," "His awesomeness," "The Holy, All-Powerful, Omnipotent One," or "El Duderino." I've created the world and the current dungeon my poor pawns- I mean, characters- are in. We've got a variety of characters from different backgrounds, different races, and different, erm, clothing (or lack of) preferences.

So, this past week, our brave companions entered "The spider room." Ironically, it started off with a fight between two of said companions. Xen (Natalie) got pissed off at Nameless (Wade) and gave him a huge slice across the chest with her war-axe. Wade got his hands on one of her swords, and threw it onto the huge 40 ft. diameter spider-web. Well, of course, the vibration across the spider-web caused a huge, poisonous spider to jump down, and so they began an awkward fight as they were trying to lay down wooden boards on the web to get to the other side. After a tough fight, they prevailed, decrypted a ritual scroll, and then entered a crystal pirate ship to cast the ritual. Unfortunately, this cause all of the lights to go out, and as we left, our adventurers heard shuffling sounds inside their ship.

And that is what happens in a typical round of the game.

After the game, we went to sleep at Erin's, woke up the next morning, and ended up going to to Kabushima Island- lovingly called "Birdshit Island." Over the course of seagull mating season, around 40,000 seagulls inhabit the island. When we got there, it was covered. They have free umbrellas you can use to prevent the seagulls from pooping on you. Although, seagull poop is actually pure good luck. Take the case of my dad, and also my grandma. Both were pooped on by seagulls, and both won money from the lottery on that same day. I still used an umbrella. There's a shrine on the top of the island, I would hate to be a monk at that temple. Too much poop-smell.

After the island, we went to an onsen. Seth's friend, Tamara, was in town, and it was her first time to the onsen. She's a new convert, and cannot wait to come back here for her study abroad. After the onsen, we hit up that restaurant next door. The healthy vegetable one that is supposed to detox you.

Ok, all of that blah blah is out of the way, what other things shall we talk about. Ah yes, I have written here that we'll talk about conformity right now. I find "non-conformists" stupid. I don't find non-conformists stupid, but those with the quotation marks around them do fit in my category. I find the concept annoying because many times the "non-conformists" all end up wearing the same clothing, have the same style, and listen to the same music. Case in point, Indie Rock people back in the US. I don't find them annoying at all, I tend to like some Indie music (though, it can get annoying when your Indie music isn't "Indie" enough for them, "Belle and Sebastian, they're too well-known, they're practically main-stream sell-outs."). But when someone with that distinct Indie style starts to claim everyone else is a conformist, I can't help but think of the groups of people they hang out with, who dress exactly the same, and the bands they are imitating.

So, now we're at this crossroad, where those who are dressing and acting "non-conformist" are actually just dressing and acting like a well-define group in the minority. Hmm. So what would make a non-conformist? Someone who wears normal clothes but doesn't prescribe to normal activities, actions, and so forth? Or someone who is actually dressed in a style that they made themselves (I'm talking, made the actually clothes with their own hands, because anything corporate-made would be conforming)? I am singling out clothes, music, and actions, because those are the things I associate with what I think most others associate with conformity (or lack thereof). Unfortunately, I don't think there is an actual answer to what is non-conformist, because we all conform, and don't conform, to a certain extent. So, perhaps the long-winded conclusion is: there is no "non-conformity," so define yourself by something else.

Ah, but there is one more aspect to this, a part of human nature, ne? What people desire, what they want to see and want to believe, they will. Us humans will actively search for the grains of what we want, and ignore that which doesn't support our claim. Take social psychology, it's really interesting the extent to which we'll do these things. Oh, and if a group of people want to believe something, the effect becomes that much stronger. Take a look at FOX news, for example. Well, actually, for the sake of your intelligence, don't. Take a look at The Daily Show, it'll give you a limited exposure to FOX, just enough to make you see it, but not too much to dumb you down. So, if you want to believe you are non-conformist, and you work hard to buy the clothes your friends/favorite bands do because they don't conform, then you can believe it.

Well, I'm glad we got that little chat done with. And now it's time for me to end this post. Adios.

-Me

May Madness

Yo yo yo, as they say....probably somewhere.


I've got great news for you all! I passed my Japanese Driver's License test! You know what, let's add a few more exclamation points (!!) to show just how excited I am. I'm so excited because usually they fail us foreigners a few times before they actually let us pass, but I did it in one go. Ohhhh, wait, let me back up a few seconds, you might think that that comment would be a derision against the Japanese License Test system. Well, it sort of is, but let me explain a little bit. I do not mean that previous comment to be mean or say they are racist, it is just a mere fact of the way the system works. So, close your eyes, hold your breath, and let's begin the driving test experience together.

The test includes a 10 question paper test. The paper test? Well, let me give you an example question that isn't exaggerated one bit (though, this is not a real question on the test, because somehow the government would find out, then I would be fined and lose my job, I'm guessing).


"When driving, I make sure not to drive over the Speed Limit." TRUE or FALSE (answer below).
(*True)


Ok, so that paper test was a breeze. Now, the big daddy of the test. You drive on a pre-made, insulated course. You must MEMORIZE the course before driving on it. If you ask the instructor where to go, at any point in the test, you fail. That's it. If you do not enter the car in the correct order, you fail. (Don't forget to start off checking the front and back of the car, to check for cats maybe? Then open the door slightly, check right and left, then fully open it, get inside). If you mess up the order, or, god forbid, turn off the car in the incorrect order, you fail. So, I spent a lot of time memorizing this course, and it paid off. I knew when to check left-right, when to stop, double-check. When turning there is a FIVE STEP PROCESS you must follow, or else, you guessed it, you fail. Look in the mirror, flick your turn signal, look in your sideview mirror, look over your shoulder, scootch the car over a little bit, wait a sec, then turn.

After doing my best to follow my memorized course, we finally ended. The instructor, I kid you not, gave me this assessment. "Well, you were good with safety, but you were slow with your blinkers sometimes. I'll need to think about it." Then, she asked the most important question of all "Where did you get lessons?"

"Hachinohe Motor School."


At this point, I'm pretty sure a huge *DING* went off in her head. Yes, say the magic words, "Hachinohe Motor School," and your chances of passing go through the roof! I did get a lesson with them, which was very helpful. So, half an hour later, after assessing whether or not my good safety technique vs. slow blinkers were acceptable, I was notified I passed! So much for the 4-7 times other people have taken. I win, Japan!

It was also quite nice to get lunch with Marti by the sea. She was kind enough both to translate the test, hang out, and confirm that Hokka Hokka Tei is not a good bento place. Not to mention being an all-around cool person. Thanks, Marti!

Alright, now that I own 2 different driver's licenses, what else could I possible write about? Hahaha, well, I think there was a little scandal going on at one of my schools. Again, names shall be spared, but I think there might have been an affair going on. JUICY, NE! Sorry, I can't say more than that, I honestly do believe the Japanese have a magical way of knowing anything I might commit to this blog, so vagaries is all ya get. Side note, it reminds me of my acquaintance, Bill, who used to think that, in 1st grade, his teacher could read his mind. He described how he would try to only think good thoughts about his teacher, with a maddening look on his face. I picture something like that and this blog. Only type nice things...Only type nice things, only type nice things, only type nices things...


In other teacher news, a teacher I've previously written about, who was denied her vacation to go to New York in order that she could help with a Christmas party for a school of 17 students, has FINALLY decided that she wants to get out of the system. She is planning on moving to LA and working at Starbucks. THANK WHATEVER BEING(S) YOU MAY OR MAY NOT PRAY TO. This made my week. I really hope that it's not just something she's saying and hoping for, but actively working towards.

This past weekend was busy again. I went clothes shopping. Yeah, painful, but one of the things you must do in life if you choose to wear clothes. I went with a small group so I could get advice (oh how I miss the expertise of Nii and Geoff, they would probably be ashamed at what I bought). I even tried to push the time back an hour, to minimize actual shopping time, but the shoppers were too savvy. "No Greg, we won't have enough time if we start at 1, we need to start at 12." "But guys, it's a scientific fact that shopping for more than 2 hours causes heart disease, and leprosy." "But those are curable, so we're going."

I did buy some great "Engrish" T-shirts. I was looking for last-year's best-seller "Touch my Truck" shirt, but I guess they didn't have it this year.

So, after the painful shopping, we went to see Erin's concert at City Hall. Support your friends and their school bands. It was really good. And that's about the best I can do describing music with writing. Suffice it to say, they beat Medway High School's band by 3-4 miles.

After that, we went to an izakaaya to celebrate both Erin's concert, and Wade's acceptance to Graduate School in Singapore. Congratulations to both of you! Then we all crashed at Natalie's house. The next morning, we were awoken by Erin's alarm at 7:15. "Ohayogozaimasu! Ohayogozaimasu! Ohayogozaimasu! (Good morning)" After comfortably falling back asleep, we were then awoken by Nick's alarm "Instrumental doodling." I think that's about the threshold for humans waking up. Two alarms and that's about it. So, we just lay around, played mario kart, then made our way for some doner kabobs. Afterwards, we went to my house to play DnD, got some dinner at a nearby ramen shop, and then called it quits. Phew.

RaNdOm JaPaN:
This weekend Jero, the African American Japanese Enka singer will be playing in Hashikami, a nearby town. This man is like a platinum record seller here in Japan. He's the first person of African descent to break into the Japanese music scene. You can wiki him for more info. Apparently though, it is unsurprising for Japanese people that someone so famous would come to such a small town (like, smaller than medway, I'm talking under 10,000 people), even though he so famous. I find it so hard to comprehend. In the US, the huge bands only go to big cities, to both please a larger fanbase, as well as make more money. I guess here, that is not the case? Regardless, I'm gonna see Jero, I'm gonna see Jero.

Golden Rape Blossoms of Sport

Good afternoon,

Well, I am back in full force here in Hachinohe. Back at my desk, doing my job. Yes, I am the model office worker. Now, into the meat of the argument!

Today I got back from my lunchtime errands just in time to hear music playing throughout my entire building. I guess it's the 80th anniversary of Hachinohe being a city, so they celebrate by playing music during lunch. PARTY!

Yesterday I had a sports event at Shingo Jr. High School. It was fun, if cold and rainy. It was like Field day back when we were children, but with some very big differences. There was, I kid you not, 3 hours worth of speeches. 1 hour before the games started, and then 2 after lunch to wrap up the day. ENOUGH! There is NO NEED for a bajillion speeches. The kids had fun, and they knew they had fun. The school administration need not talk. The students need not break up into teams and share 3 sentences about they felt during the day (which amounted to "even though it rained, it was fun" repeat 48 times). And there is no need for the groups to break up and hear separate talks from several teachers to summarize the summary. NO!

The sports events were fun, though. There were some races (yours truly won his heat in the 200 meter sprint), which were normal. There were other things which are by far not normal. We'll start with the cardboard box sprint. During this race, a carboard box that had it's top and bottom cut out were used. A student got in the box, and then crawled forward (hands and knees on the cardboard, which formed a sort of cardboard tire around them. It was very funny when one girl started somersaulted to make her cardboard tire move faster- especially because you can't see where you are going and end up hitting the other team. They also had a cool event where there were 5 tires in the middle of the field, and the two teams had to bring as many tires as possible across their goal line for points. Screaming children lifting heavy tires was great. Sometimes a team would have a tire and get it really close to their goal, but then the overweight kid from the other team would just jump on top of the tire and weigh it down so they couldn't move it.

Another interesting difference is the scary, Communist-style music and marching that blares during sports day. The students must march in sync with olde-fashioned wartime (at least that's what it sounds like) music. There is even a flagbearer who leads everyone. It's quite creepy, especially with the extreme Japanese discipline that goes on.

On Saturday, I went to the Flower Festival in Yokohama (not the one near Tokyo, the one on the Shimokita Peninsula.) They actually only have one type of flower they are celebrating- the aptly named "Rape Blossom." I decided, for your sake, not to call it the "Rape Flowers Festival," sometimes direct translations from English to Japanese just aren't the best. For those of you who are interested in Nihongo, they are called nanohana [なのはな].

The fields of flowers are beautiful, and they have a very pungent smell. The festival itself was very small. Just fields of flowers, a small "maze," a happy bell, festival food, and a helicopter you could ride (pretty awesome actually, even though I didn't go on it). Oh, I didn't even pull one of my patented "make a list of things with one seemingly crazy item, initially ignore it in the list, and then address it as crazy in the next sentence." I am, of course, talking about the Happy Bell. You just ring it 3 times (not 4 and above, not 2 and under) and have happiness. See, not even that crazy.

On the way to and from, however, there was something crazy. TOFU DOUGHNUTS! Yeah, there's a place that sells these tofu everything. The donuts were so good, surprisingly. Fried tofu with sugar, flour, and egg, tastes very similar to fried sugar, flour, and egg. And what taste is that? DELICIOUS. The inside was just like a cakier, better inside. I enjoyed them much better than regular doughnuts, because they aren't as sugary.

Quick question though. Does anyone know when the incorrect spelling of "donut" was entered into the dictionary as an alternate spelling? It wasn't that way for a long while, and I just checked now, and suddenly it's ok? Well, I'm not ok with that. I spent a long while when I was a kid learning the correct way to spell it, and now you've gone and switched it on me. Shame on you, Merriam-Webster. Shame.

In other news, here is my itinerary from the Golden Week trip. We had to move some things around, but please, look, see what we did, what we enjoyed, the websites we used, and the subliminal messages and witticisms Seth and I wrote to each other while creating the itinerary. It is a rough approximation, for sure, but I just can't write out every little moment of everything we did.

http://www.japaneselifestyle.com.au/travel/kyoto_map.htm -Extremely Useful Website, map of Kyoto.
http://www.japaneselifestyle.com.au/travel/kobe_map.htm - Interactive Map of Kobe.

Friday (May 1st)
Travel: Night bus
Lodging: On bus

Saturday (May 2nd) –Tokyo and Yokohama
Lodging: Seth`s grandparent`s house
Go to Yokohama
Chill out in Yokohama and enjoy the most DELISH niku-man this side of the Sea of Japan.

Sunday (May 3rd) –Kyoto
Get to Kyoto by Airplane, From Tokyo Haneda to Osaka Itami
Travel: Flight to Osaka Itami, then bus to Kyoto... MONORAIL--What`s it called?--MONORAIL! MONORAIL!!!!

Monday (May 4th) -Kyoto

Golden Pavilion (Northwestern Kyoto)
To there:Kinkakuji can be accessed by direct bus number 101 or 205 from Kyoto Station. A faster variant is taking the Karasuma Subway Line to Kitaoji Station from where the temple can be reached in a short bus or taxi ride.
In the area: Various temples and shrines.
Saihoji (Kokedera- Moss Temple) (Western Kyoto) (http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3937.html)
Moss and copying Buddhist sutras.

To there: Saihoji Kokedera is accessible in about a 10 minute walk from Matsuo Station on the Hankyu Arashiyama Line.

To make a reservation, send a return addressed postcard with your name, the number of people in your group, the name and address of your "group representative" and the proposed date of your visit clearly included.
Time and Cost: 3000 yen and at minimum 1 hour.
Arashiyama Monkey Park
Home to some 200 Japanese monkeys of all ages and sizes. It is the animals who are free to roam while the humans who observe them are caged in a box!
To there: Enter the park near the south side of Togetsu-kyo bridge, through the orange torii of Ichitani0jinja. Reaching the monkeys involves a moderate hike uphill. It's a 10-minute walk from Keifuku line Arashiyama station.
Tuesday (May 5th)- Kyoto
Chionin- Biggest Bell, largest temple gate, and head temple of the Jodo sect of Japanese Buddhism (Eastern Kyoto, near the beginning to the Philsopher's walk)
To there: Guide says "Chionin is located immediately north of Maruyama Park and Yasaka Shrine. The closest subway station is Higashiyama Station on the Tozai Line." I couldn't find a Higashiyama Station, the nearest one I saw was Keage Station - Kozai, conveniently near the entrance of the philosopher's walk.


Sanjusangendo 1001 Bodhisattvas (On the walk to Kiyomizudera)
To there: Guide says "Sanjusangendo is a 15 to 20 minute walk or a short bus ride (lines 100, 206 or 208) from Kyoto Station." Map says wicked close to Shichijo Station - Keizan.
Hours and cost: 8:00 to 17:00 (9:00 to 16:00 from Nov 16 to Mar 31) Admission ends 30 minutes before closing time. 600 yen.
Kiyomizudera (Eastern Kyoto)
To there:Kiyomizudera can be reached from Kyoto Station in about 15 minutes by bus. Take bus number 100 or 206 and get off at Kiyomizu- michi or Gojo-zaka, from where it is a 10-15 minute uphill walk to the temple. Also, it is 1 mile from Keage Station - Tozai (Philosopher's walk eki entrance), as well as Gojo Station - Keihan.Definitely walkable, if I remember correctly, from the Gojo Guesthouse. If we rent bikes, this'll be a breeze.
Geisha in Gion- It just happens to be at Shichijo station as well, next to Sanjusangendo and near Kiyomizudera!
Enjoy the beautiful, white faces of geisha while they entertain us with conversation, food, and wit.

Cost: More than we can afford.
Side option? Watch them, walk around, have Japanese friend dress up as geisha to please us.
I'll buy the baby powder! (that's what they use for white faces, right? or is it a whole bunch of sunscreen...)
Ochaya, Theatres, and Restaurants are also prevalent in the area, and therefore merited my capitalization of their first letters.

Wednesday (May 6th)-Kyoto
Toji Temple- Ye olde big pagoda. (City center)
To there: accoring to the website:Unlike most other of Kyoto's attractions, Toji is located south of Kyoto Station. From the station, it can be reached in a 10-15 minute walk. AUTHOR'S NOTE: The map says it's about 1 km from the station. If it takes us 20 minutes to walk that....

Fushimi Inari- Let's see some Tori! (Middle/Eastern Kyoto) Wait... there`s a Kyoto in Lebanon? Dunno if we can make it there and back in time...
To there: Fushimi Inari Shrine is located just outside JR Inari Station, the second station from Kyoto on the JR Nara Line. The train ride takes five minutes and costs 140 yen from Kyoto Station.
It takes about 2 hours to walk the entire trail of torii.
Here we can eat the special "fox udon"
Philosopher's walk (eastern Kyoto)- Includes 5 temples and 2 shrines http://www.japaneselifestyle.com.au/travel/kyoto_philosophers_walk.htm
See foxes and old professors (with our imagination)
Silver Pavilion (part of the Philosopher's walk)
To there: Possibly take the Keage Station - Tozai stop. The silver temple is at the other end of an extensive walk.
Estimated time: 3 hour

Thursday (May 7th)-Nara
Head to Nara
Spend the night in Kobe
Friday (May 8th)-Kobe

Akashi Kaikyo- Longest Extension Bridge in the World
Where? Hard to miss, it's a 4 km long extension bridge.
Meriken Park- A nice waterfront Park with a small museum, tower, etc. Was devastated by the earthquake in 1995.
To there: Meriken Park is a 5 minute walk south of Motomachi Station or a short walk from Kobe Harborland.
Kitano-cho- Where the foreign traders used to live. At the foot of the Rokko Mountain Range.
Many boutiques, restaurants and cafes.
To there: Kitano-cho is located north of Sannomiya Station and west of Shin-Kobe Station.

Mount Rokko
Highest peak in the Rokko mountain range, provides pleasant green backdrop to the city. Panoramic views of the heavily urbanized Hanshin region (Kobe and Osaka), can be enjoyed from the mountain and are particularly spectacular around sunset.
Various small tourist attractions can be found on Mount Rokko, including a botanical garden, a music box museum, a pasture with flowers and sheep, Japan's first golf course and Rokko Garden Terrace, a pleasant complex of a few restaurants and shops and an observation deck.
Ohel Shlomo Temple- Located in Chuo-ku, Kobe. Googlemaps has it listed (type in Ohel Shlomo, nothing else).
To there: It's a straight shot from the airport. The closest station is Sannomiya Station. We would have to taxi or bus from there.

Saturday (May 9th)-Osaka
Festival Gate
ride a few amusement rides and push kids outta line so that we can ride in the front!

Spa World
largest hot spring in the world! Let's get naked!

Doutombori: Vibrant nightlife area of restaurants and shops GIVE GREG MONEY
"a strip of restaurants and theatres where a peculiar type of Darwinism is the rule for both people and shops: survival of the flashiest"
chase a random pretty woman in an attempt to recreate Harrison Ford's chase of a robotic stripper in Blade Runner... just don't kill her at the end.
see the temple dedicated to water workers and pee on it instead of putting water on it b/c we'll be SOOO SICK OF TEMPLES BY NOW-true that
Give greg more money

Sunday (May 10th)-Osaka
Fly Back

Foxy

Back From Golden Week

Hello Everyone,



Today is my first day back in the office from Golden Week, the week-long Japanese national holiday. Now, I want to tell you all of the things I did, but, truthfully, the impetus for writing in my blog comes from something much more mundane.



I'm learning kanji right now. You know, kanji, the about 50,000 characters that exist as pictures, used instead of an alphabet. It's past time to start learning the "necessary" 2,000 for daily life. THEY ARE KILLING ME. I just got back and started reviewing on the kanji website I've been using. I'm "at" 534 kanji, but as of 2 minutes ago, I forgot about 112 out of the 254 I'm reviewing. Do you know how frustrating this is? Let's practice with your mental imagery. Imagine trying to butter a piece of toast. Now, pretend that the toast is actually a cat with camouflage running around a forest. That's how I feel. It's SO FRUSTRATING right now. And the part that makes it even more frustrating is that I'm just learning to recognize their English meanings, not the two different ways to read them, nor their changes when placed next to other kanji. I'll let you know that this is alphabet number 3 I need to learn for this silly language. FRUSTRATION!

Ok, now that that is out of the way, let me write about my awesome trip. I went to Yokohama (near Tokyo), Kyoto (the old capital), Nara (deer park -yes, I got attacked), Kobe (had some beef), and Osaka. It was a hell of a trip. And now I'm tired from all of that traveling.

**Author's note: I didn't realize I clicked the "save" button instead of the "post" button, so this wasn't put up when I wrote it last week. Gomen ne!

Allo Allo

Hey guys,

I know you are probably full from my previous post, alerting you to the use of "caliculate" and "equilibriate," but I have decided to add another post, 'cause I'm that nice a guy.

I am still mostly at my office this week. I have the schedule for my inaka (countryside) schools, but the majority of my time, spent in Hachinohe, has yet to be divided up. What did I do? Fight ninjas, of course, it's Japan...Ok, actually, I just studied. Whatever, I now know how to write emminent, concave, and wither in pictograph (kanji) form, so HA!

And "when will this be useful to you, Greg?" you might ask. Well, it's useful when you are fighting a wizard and you can only draw upon the power of kanji to summon creatures and enact spells! "What?" Weldon and I have been emailing each other from the POV of our wizard-selves, and we have created a good basis for a story. Our wizard fight is just taking off, but rest assured, it is already of epic proportions.

And how far shall I delve into fantasy during my time in Japan? I fear to admit it. You already know too much- in for a penny, in for a pound. DnD. Yes, I wrote it, and I mean it. If you check the link though, maybe you'll think twice about who plays it and who doesn't! In order to limit your exposure to any harmful nerd-rays, I'll limit it to a few things. 1) I'm using the world I created for a book I was writing, ergo, I am in charge of the game and couldn't be happier stretching my creative muscle. 2) I am really looking forward to it.

There's a rainbow! I just took a picture with my phone. It's huge, and beautiful.

This past weekend was good. Friday night I met up with Seth and got a drink near the station/where I live. He was headed to Tokyo, so we decided to chill for awhile at a ramen/sushi/bar place. It was pretty good. Interestingly enough, when they poured out Nihonshuu, they kept pouring until it spilled over and started filling the saucer. You are supposed to sip off the top, and then pour in the stuff in the saucer to refill that sip you took. Pretty cool. We also talked to a guy who's accent is the equivalent of this in English:
"Hwhay herrow, whatcha ood ewe fawks laik for dinnr?" He actually had the sushi-chef translate his Japanese into normal Japanese so we could talk to him. Side note, for the first time ever, someone thought Seth was older than me! Rock on!

Saturday I went to the biggest farm in Japan, Koiwai Farm. It was cool, and the homemade ice cream was even cooler. Hilights of the farm include chasing sheep, climbing a jungle gym, and being all manly and shooting arrows at a target (while grunting at times). Laura got on a horse and conquered her fear of horses! Or heights! Or...something like that.

Afterwards we hit up Morioka, a big city nearby. We went to a tree that grew to eventually split a boulder in half. It's called Ishiwarizakura. Awesomeness. Afterwards, we hit up the mall, walked around, and then called it a night. I got home around midnight.

Sunday was good, we hung out for Natalie's birthday party. It's time for me to go home, so I'll continue this post tomorrow. Mata, ne!

My supervisor just used "caliculate" and "equilibriate," more on this tomorrow.

Culture and Analogies

Ok, you caught me. I was going to try and eke by this week without a post, but, well, you didn't get one last week, and I would hate to deprive you of your second air.

I haven't had any schools to go to yet. They are dividing the schedule a different way this term. The head English teacher from all the schools will get together and choose when they want the 9 of us ALTs, as opposed to randomly getting what the Board of Education threw at them. We'll see how it works. I think, until then, I'll be at my office, probably until the end of next week. I have no problem with this though, I get to study, study, study.

On Wednesday I had piano, and I spoke with my teacher after class because she wanted to know what was different in America. I told her the truth: everything. Then I tried to describe heating, air conditioning, and not ever bowing(she was all "bikurishita! bikurishita!" [surprised!]). It was cool because it's like the same thing that happens when I try to explain Japan to people back home. I don't think you really understand how different places can be until you are there. Things you assume remain constant worldwide(ex. stopping at a red light), are by no means constant. It was funny to think of my classmates in Middle School bowing in perfect unison when Mr. Dixon entered the room. "What do you do?" my piano teacher asked. "Nothing," was the reply. This seemed to confuse her even more.

What else has gone on? I went boxing on Wednesday night, good times. Good stress relief (if you can call what we do here stressful). I also plan on buying Matt's scooter when he leaves Japan. He let me try it out after boxing. Wicked Awesome. It goes about 60 km max, and filling up the tank is only about 4-5 dollars. It's pretty fun to drive, I can't wait to get it.

I've finally gotten into studying kanji. The 2000 characters I need to memorize to become in Japanese reading. Well, after the 2000 on their own, I need to memorize the different combinations. And the different pronunciations when a kanji is next to a different word. It's definitely a big task, but it's time to stop putting it off. I also finished the Minna no Nihongo Book II, so I need something to do at work, lol.

Tonight there is a "congratulations for getting into graduate school" party. Dinner at the Brazilian Restaurant, then karaoke. Lookin' forward to that.

Today, there occurred something that I think is a good analogy of Japanese Culture and thought process. So, we were taking old papers downstairs to be recycled from our office. They tied these up in twine, which is a requirement for recycled papers, though we didn't use them in the past in this office. That part is important. Now, this time, with the strings tied around stacks of paper, each of my coworkers took one stack in each hand, since it was easily liftable by the strings. In the past, they would always take a huge stack and balance it in two hands in front of them, holding a lot more. Now that there were strings, they were taking much less per trip downstairs. For some reason, everyone but me did this. I'm not sure why. It seems natural that they would realize they can hold more, like they have in the past, if they hold the papers the same way they did in the past. But, now that there were strings, did they feel compelled to use them? Am I looking too much into this? Perhaps I'm so confused at all of the random standing up and bowing that occurs during the day I'm just going haywire.

I swear, I don't have anything else to say. My life this week is just going to the office and studying. We could compare study notes? Funny to think that, I leave an institution of study, and now I'm spending so much time studying. It's like a bad habit I can't get rid of. Well, now that you've gotten your meager post, I'll go back to the studying, thank you very much.

Have a good day.

Must Every Week Have a New Name?

Hi,

Another week has come and gone. I had my last day of school teaching for the "year" on Tuesday, and now it is officially spring break. This means I sit at my office studying Japanese and writing emails for about 8 hours each day. I actually like it, because I get to study a lot of Japanese. I break it down as such, 8:30-12 is studying Japanese time, 1-4:30 is do various things (email, check up on the news, write to you wonderful people) time. Hopefully I'll be able to add in some more Japanese time in the second half, but we'll see, I have a lot more to do than I suspected, and, well, I can't help but think I'm operating pretty slowly with all of this stuff. How was I able to get stuff done before I had a huge 4 and a half hour chunk of nothing? It boggles my mind.

I got lunch today with one of my Japanese teachers and a new worker, who both just so happen to work in the passport agency on the 1st floor of my building. We went to my favorite restaurant, a small place about 2 minutes away from the office, nestled in a small, suburban neighborhood. We spoke all in English, which was good practice for them (who both speak it fairly well). Sadly, my teacher is getting lost in the shuffle this year, so as of next week, she's out of the office.

Who else is going out of my office? The cool teacher, Maita-san, and the two young'uns (except for the alien kid, drat and double drat!), Noru-san and Kawamura-san. No good, no good at all. We're having an enkai tomorrow night to say goodbye. Ah, zannen.

There's an interesting thing (can't think of the word, not conspiracy, not event, so "thing" will have to suffice) going on with Japanese email addresses. For some reason, they are all in Roman characters (our beautiful english). Ok, makes sense actually when you think about it. The more interesting part is, they don't write their addresses with the English to make Japanese words, they'll instead find some english instead. Often to hilarious effect. Like, that woman over there, her email is something like "celestial.feelings@docomo..." or that one over there "the_zombies_attack_69@naninaninani" Oh Japan...

This past weekend was pretty good. Friday was a day off (Vernal equinox day), so I met up for lunch with some usual suspects at Lapia, and we got some Indian food, in order to prepare us for the rest of the Bollywood movie we watched at Natalie's house. Afterwards, we went to the St. Patty's day JET event at a bar in Misawa. It was very good, and I helped out the band my playing the keyboard a little bit, and throwing my mic in the rap circle. Whoa, what's that, oh yeah, you never heard "There's whiskey in the Jar" done all rap style. DJ Swanasauras and The Hack-Attack brought it for your listening pleasure.

So there was rap, there was green beer and cider, and then it was time to go home. After a kind drive from Jim, we went back to my place for a good ol' fashioned sleepover. Oh wait! Before that, we were waiting in the train station with Alisa and Ippei. Ippei brought out the recorder (woot) and rocked out, of all things, Mario songs. The underwater levels, the opening Mario anthem, yeah, he rocked it, and we danced to it on the platform. All right.

Anyways, back to my place for a sleepover. Well, we got to my house, "cushioned up" my living room (this involves throwing down all of my many futons and blankets on my floor, hence turning it into a giant cushion) and plopped down for Pan's Labyrinth.

I woke up the next morning to my guests trying to plan a surprise attack on me. After pitifully tried to quietly open the sliding door to my bedroom, they knew they were in for it. One squeak and I was up, pillows in hand. I pushed through the half open door and began to layeth the smack DOWN. To quote some famous British turned Spanish torturers (please tell me you get this), "No one expects the comfy pillow!"

And so began Saturday.

We went for lunch at the buffet place next to Gokuraku onsen. After filling ourselves to excess, we went to the onsen and did the stone spa and onsened. But, our day of gluttony did not end there. No, afterwards, we explored a little park, walked around the mall a bit, and then went to get dinner with Paul at Taka's.

By the end of dinner, the original group that met on Friday had been together for about 36 hours. Afterwards, we went to Yurinoki Bowl and played the Taiko game for awhile, honing our skills.

Ok, we finally finally stopped hanging out around 12:30 that night. I went home and called it quits. On Sunday, I did...ummm, not much I don't think. I barely cleaned, went to the gym, ate dinner, and just relaxed. It was good.

Not much else is happening this week. Like I mentioned before, tomorrow I have an enkai. And...that's about it for now. See you next time

Oh wait, I do have one more thing, there is a new chef at the JET restaurant of choice, the Golden Palki. So far, he hasn't received many good ratings. The butter chicken, meh, the Masala Chicken, too much onion, and the cherry-nan thing, whoa he went too far in changing it. We'll see how long he lasts.

RaNdOm JaPan:

Sometimes, I'll get this feeling that people are looking into my grocery cart in the supermarket, and they are.

Tokyo Group Awesomeness

Hey guys,

Wow. I was in Tokyo last weekend and, well, wow. It ranks as one of my most enjoyable weekends here in Japan. Oh, and don't worry, the lack of weird "random japan" that you've grown to know and love is back in full force after this trip. Let's jump in.

I took the night bus from Hachinohe, which is one of the most uncomfortable things put on this earth. The chairs don't recline, and, for those of us above 5'5, the leg space, in inches, is somewhere around the high end of 0. I arrived at 5:30 in the am outside Shinjuku station. Tokyo, in the morning before everyone crowds it, is quite beautiful. I tried to go to my hostel, located in Takadanobaba (Waseda University area), but the hostel did't open until 10, so I stashed my stuff in a locker, and made my way to the largest fish market in the world. The smell was overwhelming, but it was worth it so see all of the weird things Japanese people catch (and eventually eat). I wish that I didn't eat my breakfast earlier at a smoky ramen shop, so that I could have eaten sushi at the fish market. Ah well. I'll spare you the descriptions of octopi, squid, frozen tuna being cut by band saws, and the like, because, without the smell, it really won't do it justice for you. (To imitate my experience, buy some fish, let it thaw and rot slightly, then put both yourself and the fish in a small closet, and inhale deeply for 1 and a half hours. If you've got some sushi, you can even eat the meal I wish I ate!)

The market itself was HUGE. I'm talking about a football sized field of vendors selling fish, not to mention at least another football-field size area of trucks loading and unloading our tasty friends from the sea. It was so cool.

So, afterwards, I made it to my hostel so I could hopefully get some time to intimately explore the inside of my eyelids before meeting up with everyone. The hostel...well, you get what you pay for. I found the cheapest hostel in Tokyo (for 2 nights, it was only 3200 yen,=$32, in a city where a typical room anywhere else costs $45/night). The owner was really nice, but it looked like someone threw up clothes and clutter over each room. Words don't do it justice. Needless to say, I was happy that I had a bed to sleep in, and I didn't spend more than a minute there except to sleep. I would go back though, for sure, again, as long as I only plan on sleeping there.

After the hostel, I met up with Yumiko, one of Sakiko's (confused yet?) friends. We hung out for awhile, both practicing our foreign languages with each other. We went to a government building that had a gorgeous view of Tokyo, where you get to see the scope of Tokyo yet again, reminding you of how small you are, and how big a city Tokyo is. We also passed by the Koei Plaza Hotel, where I spent my first few nights in Japan. Ah, good memories.

Around 6:00, it was time to head to Takadanobaba station, to meet up with the only and only (two and only?) Mari and Kaori! Kaori was coming to Japan for two weeks to visit friends and family, hence the reason for my trip to Tokyo. Mari and I ended up going back to Shinjuku (3rd time for me that day) to meet up with Kaori, who was slightly delayed. After a little Lotteria (McDonalds from Korea), followed by McDonalds (McDonalds from America), we finally were able to meet Kaori. We promptly went back to Takadanobaba (3rd time I've done this trek from Shinjuku to there) and got some delicious something ramen (*not the official name). Then, we headed back to Mari's dorm and just hung out for awhile, almost like we were back at GW.

The next day, we we met up with, the two and only Saki and Elliot. Our awesome quintuplet was ready to explore this crazy, strange city called Tokyo. First on the list, Akihabara- Electric City.

Ok, I'm gonna skip the store with Final Fantasy Action Figures (awesome), the gigglepuff pet picture we took (possibly the cutest mascot thing I've seen yet), and the sex shop (cause really, it's just like the ones back home) and zoom straight forward to the maid cafe.

I...find...it hard...to...explain. I'll try and do this, but really, it's just something you must experience. We get to the maid cafe, thinking we knew what we were in for. Hahaha NO. Silly foreigners (and nationals, who apparently didn't know what they were in for either). We arrive on the 4th floor (or 6th? does it really matter?), and are greeted by a woman in a french maid outfit. Ok, not too bad, I mean, it's a maid cafe, so, sort of expected. Then we step through the door. HOLY HEARTS AND FRILLY PINK THINGS BATMAN! The "maids" are walking around from table to table, serving drinks, food, and jiggling a bit to the techno J-pop music blaring on the speakers. So, we took our seat and just watched.

You can pay to play games with the maids. I think Jenga was about 500 yen ($5). If you want a private "booth" (more like a corner of someone's dorm room, TV and frilly rug and all), you can pay extra.

But talk about service. When we got there, the our maid took us through the magical forest to maidreamin' (actual name of the cafe). How did we get through this metaphorical forest they wrote about on our menu? Why, she lit the green candle with her breath of course (Green electronic blow-candle, $3 at your local store). But, not only that, now that we were in the magical maid forest, we were allowed their secrets. You see, and I'm only sharing this with you in strict confidence, don't tell!, if you put your hands in the shape of a heart, raise your voice as high as possible, and recite the following: doki (hands to the right) doki (hands to the left) moe (hand-heart over your heart) yuu (hands over your food/drink), your meal magically tastes better! Literal translation (Doki=sound your heart makes when it beats)x2, yuu (yun? yon?whatever) = crush. Umeshu (delicious umeboshi wine) never tasted so sweet.[Japanese friends, I know we didn't say exactly doki, doki, moe, yuu, so can you help me out and tell me what we actually did say?]

There was also a creepy guy with 3 photo books of him and maids, and we saw him pay for another photo of him with a maid, wicked creepy.

Ok, enough of that. Well, one more thing. We missed "Nurse day." I know, you feel my pain, it's tough. Oh, you aren't quite sure what that is? Well, for some reason, the large majority of Japanese males are really into nurses. Not exactly sure why, but, ok, that'll just be a random cultural piece of information for you. And...for that reason, all of our kind maids were going to dress as nurses the next day. Oh man, if only we came one day later...

So, after our maid excursion, we went to Asakusa to see some old shrines and temples. So, funny thing about Kaori, she's not actually Japanese (well, you aren't!), though she is from Japa (supposedly). Not only was this her first time in Tokyo, BUT she's never been to onsen, AND she's never been to a Shinto shrine (which happen to be all over the country, AND she's only been to 2 temples (which also happen to be all over the country).

After this, we went to a fortune teller, who had the most interesting things to tell us about our palms. I have a "happy palm" which is very good. Also, I was complimented on my "handsome forehead". Then, she started saying some weirder things. She told my friend that she has a bad liver and kidneys, then recited some story about that time she too had bad liver and kidneys. She also told Elliot and myself that, since we're in Japan, we should have Japanese babies. Right. Then she started talking about cabs, and we'll just leave it there.

Ok, a little bit after that, AU tower in Harajuku. Then, dinner at the Thai place in Harajuku (we met up with Stu there). Then, back to Takadanobaba to hang out in Elliot and Saki's business hotel with a little chuhi of truth thrown in there. Finally, some karaoke to end the night. We sang some disney, we sang some queen, and we sang Moskau twice (props to Mari for sending this joke video)!

Next day, after some Chocro cafe for breakfast (smell the chocolate croissants, let them breathe the sweet nectar of the gods into you), we headed to Tokyo station. We met up with Mari, who is searching for a job after graduation. Ok, let me tell you how it works across the ocean.

So Mari is looking for a job right now, and she is part of, I guess you would call it a class of people, known as job-seekers. She pointed them out to us as we were walking around, after she was attending a job seminar. Basically, all of the women wear black skirts of the same length, tie their hair with a black or beige hair-tie, carry a black bag of a certain size, wear a black jacket with a white shirt, and all try to act the same during the interview. Oh, and by interviews, it can be up to 8 interviews at the same place, all by different people within the company. BUT, here's the thing. You don't apply for a specific position, you just apply to get in the company, and they place you from there. AND, they take you based on your personality, not based on past achievements, etc. Weird, right? Well, it gets weirder. There are books that teach you how to act during the interviews and seminars, so that you blend in and don't make a simple mistake (Mari found out, after reading a book, that she exited the room the wrong way, turning so her back was facing the interviewers when she exited the room). Oh, and, lastly (from what I can remember), they will place you wherever they want in Japan. They might say "hey, you are going to Osaka" or "hey, you are going to Hokkaido," and that's that, you have no choice in what to do. Quite a weird process to me.

We saw the imperial palace from the outside, then headed to Ginza (the 5th avenue of Tokyo), and felt like we weren't worth enough money to even be in the area. Got some coffee, then it was time for me to head to the station and go home :(. I said my sad farewells, got my omiyage for the office, and returned home via bullet-train.

Oh, but you think I'm done, haha, not at all!

Random JaPan!

They sell a special type of gum in Tokyo Station. It makes your sweat smell like roses. Seriously. http://www.japanmarketingnews.com/2007/05/rose_water_smel.html. Elliot bought a pack, and I don't know why I didn't. Oh Japan.

Next up. On the train ride from Harajuku to Takadanobaba, we saw a man playing with his iphone. He was looking at a picture of some woman's eyes. Then, he scrolled down to the mouth. Then, he took the phone and put the picture of the mouth against the lips of the woman sleeping next to him. Then they got up and got off together. Yep.

Hope you enjoyed this week. See you next week!

Le Part Deux

Hello again,

Well, now for the next update to my blog, a continuation of yesterday's (last week's?) show.

Unfortunately, I don't really have any interviews for you on this show, as it's just me, typing. Also, the only people I could interview would end up sounding something like: いそがしい、いそがしい、どうして　にほんごを　はなせますえんか。 And really, I don't know if all your computers can actually read that.

I also don't have live musical acts. It's a shame, I know, so many other shows are doing it, but that's just the way it is here. Really, all I have is that opening intro where you picture me, Jay Leno, Conan O'Brien, or your favorite of choice, letting you know how awesome my show is and trying to open with a few jokes.

Instead, I can let you know how last weekend went.

Last weekend, I went to Rokkasho for the International Festival. Since Rokkasho has a nuclear power plant, the town gets lots of extra money, as well as foreign scientists. What other reason do you need to celebrate? I opened the festival by dancing salsa with a woman from Honduras (and making a good $150 for my trouble...seriously, this town is loaded and that was my thank you gift). It was, yes, you guessed it, fun. It also made me really want to learn more salsa, but, unfortunately, there is nowhere in Hachionhe that teaches that dance. There is a Samba dance place, but, really, that's about it. Here's a little-known fact about me; I think I could be a great salsa dancer if I actually had a place to learn. It's also one of my non-regret regrets. What's a non-regret regret? Well, I don't regret the fact that I'm not learning (and haven't been for awhile) because there hasn't been a way for me to do so; yet, I do regret that there isn't a possibility for me to learn as of now.

Anyways, after the opening act and a foreigner fashion show, all there was left to do was eat! And eating is what I do best. Japanese food gets boring after awhile, and this was the antidote. Spanish lentil soup, French bread with dried meat, Honduran tortilla soup...it was too good. After making my way around, it was time to go home. Unfortunately, we didn't get to go snowboarding that night, but instead I had an old-fashioned sleepover at my place. This was partially to celebrate the new TV that the JET program blessed me with. Yes, they gave me a new, 32 inch TV, to prepare for their impending change to digital in 2011. It's beautiful. If only I could understand enough Japanese to actually watch TV.....haha until then, videogames and movies it is!

Sunday was busy as well. I went to hang out with the other Greg. He teaches at Hachinohe University, and we hung out at his house. It was wicked fun, to say the least. Aside from getting beaten by his children at Smash Brothers, which slightly dented my pride, I can't wait to go back. Also, his wife cooked this thing, there isn't a name for it yet, so we'll call it "pure delicious." We had some "pure delicious" for dessert. "Oishii" as they say.

Sorry to end this quick, but work is almost done. As a sidenote, for those who want a more family friendly album than the one I reviewed last week, try any of the previous Of Montreal Albums, which are all good. I would prefer you tried Satanic Panic in the Attic, or Hiss Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? Ya' dig?

Greg-out

Gosh, Snowboarding, and a Quick Review

Good evening,


How are you? "I'm fine, thank you, and you." That is the response you are cultivated to say if you are a Japanese elementary school student. Other acceptable answers might include "I'm sleepy, I'm hungry, or, I'm happy" depending on if you are the smart kid or not.


What a week. Ladies and gentlemen, we've got a great post for you tonight. In my post, I'll write a little bit about Japan, a little bit about the things I've been doing, and, of course, your favorite tidbits about anything I have to comment about. We'll also talk about the newest Of Montreal album, Skeletal Lamping. I tried to book them for a live show, but they were busy touring in Tokyo. Yes, I'm serious, they are actually in Tokyo next week touring, while I am going to Tokyo the day after they leave. Ah, such luck, but, before I ramble too much, let's get on the with show.

As an English teacher in Japan, we get some interesting questions. Some deal with your gastronomic tendencies (what food do you like/hate?), others with the way things are in America (what food in America do you like/hate?), and some things about your physical appearance (why is your nose so large?). Today, I got, perhaps, the most, um, interesting one. I was asked why my eyes weren't blue. For this one, the teacher had to jump in and explain that people from all over the world get married in the US, so not everyone has blue eyes. Also today, what is your favorite vehicle?

What have I been doing lately? Well, aside from the regular routine, I collected on a snowball fight with my friends in Goshagawara. After buying a snowball fight with hot cocoa and dinner at the service auction earlier in the year, we decided it was time to collect before all of the snow melted away. A 3 hour drive on Saturday (after my enkai friday night with a principal and his favorite teacher), got us to Gosh.

Now, I specifically sent blueprints for a two-turret snowfort, with a small, but stable, perimeter made of ice walls. For some reason, our hosts weren't able to make this in time, so we had to make due. We went to a park in Gosh that was full of snow and ice, and we just jumped around and had a great time.

That night, we had a nabe (japanese soupish food) party, and then we crashed at Katie's place.

The next morning, we went to Ajigasawa mountain for some snowboarding, woohoo. 3rd time in, and I was really loving it, a lot. The snow was so nice and powdery, it didn't really hurt. That was until I fell off the snow lift on my way down and caused the Japanese guy on my left to crash into me. Sumimasen, gomen nasai.

After that, it was time to go back home and sleep. The end of a great weekend. That Friday before Saturday (but really, when else does Friday night come?), I had an enkai with those two previously aforementioned teachers. It was really fun, regardless of the language barrier. We got to the izakaaya, and they just ordered a ton of random food and drinks while I watched and my stomach was happy. Afterwards, I met up with Paul and we went to karaoke with his visiting friend. It was a good time.

I'm starting to get tired of my music now. Not good. I have crested over my need to hear Of Montreal's Skeletal Lamping. And, speaking of that, here's the quick review.

Skeletal Lamping. Wow. This CD surely isn't for everyone, even the previous die-hard Of Montreal fans. From 60's rock and roll sound to melodic, synth rock-pop that sometimes diverges into light funk, this band has evolved by leaps and bounds. Their cd is quite ambitious, and it takes the so-called "ivory tower" upon which indie bands have typically rested upon, and at once levels and extends it. Listening to the tunes are enjoyable, but actually hearing the lyrics ups your enjoyment by at least 80%. The lyrics range from normal-yet slightly weird, to full-blown "you won't understand me without a dictionary and a book on Greek/Nordic/British Literature." What makes it even more intriguing, at least to me, is that the lead singer (who actually is the band and writes all the music) references himself and his life in the music. The more you know about his life, the more the lyrics will make sense to you (even the ones that seem meaningless or put in there just for the *shock* effect).

Now, the real polarizing effect of this album isn't the lyrics, it's the abrupt song changes every 30-60 seconds. Some people cannot handle this. They see potential in a melody he introduces, in a great chord progression he puts forth, and they just can't understand why he would ruin it after only 45 seconds of playing it. If you can't stray from conventional music standards, don't bother with this album. The opening song, along with one or two other songs, are fairly standard, but aside from those, it's full-blown craziness. I happen to really enjoy this new take, and I think it's a great idea that works very well with this album.

I must rescind one of my previous comments though. Sometimes the lyrics are meaningless, only put in there for effect and not for meaning, especially as compared to Of Montreal's previous records, which heap up on the polysyllabic spelling-contest words. But, much of it is not.

Well, that's it for the mini-review. And also that's it for the 1st half of the show. Hope you enjoyed it, come back next week for more.

-Greg