Allan Aubrey Boesak
Desmond Tutu Chair of Peace, Global Justice and Reconciliation Studies
(317) 931-4441
aboesak@cts.edu
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Friday, September 13, 2013
Allan Boesak
Friday, September 3, 2010
Back in America
Hey everyone,
We are back and getting our life in order. So far we have a new phone number that you can reach us at: 317 731 2883. This number is forwarded to our cells so all of our stuff rings when you call this one number.
If you can please send us your email, address and phone numbers. We have lost our address book into the abyss of moving homes so please help us out by giving us that info.
We are making our way north tomorrow, first stopping in Ashelville NC to see my sister, then making our way to Indy, Colombus OH and finally to N. Manchester with Scott Hensley. We will be there until December so if you want to come by and see a farming gig and the three of us please let us know. It would be fun to see you!
Other than that our plan is to figure out where life is taking us.....so far no solid long term plans, this is a first for me so I am struggling a little bit but am happy to let things roll into something awesome.....I hope. After the farm we do not know what we will be doing except to head back to NC to my parents place and then who knows.
A lot of uncertainty floating around waiting for some direction. It's an exciting and equally terrfying time. If you pray now would be a good time to give us a shout out. Although I think everyone needs a prayer these days, I guess you can just lump us in there with the rest.
Thanks for all your love and support as we have made our way out and back into the states.
We will be in touch!
Erin and Isaac.
P.S. My parents address for all mail: 418 West Liberty Street, Salisbury NC 28144
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http://loveandengrish.blogspot.com/
http://picasaweb.google.com/EEHoug
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http://loveandengrish.blogspot.com/
http://picasaweb.google.com/EEHoug
Monday, July 19, 2010
In Conclusion...
I started packing yesterday morning. It`s exactly two weeks before we board a train in Yanai Station to catch another train in Tokuyama, to catch another train in Tokyo, to catch our 4pm flight out of Narita International Airport.
But now, those trains aren`t our concern. The piles of our lives` artifacts strewn across our living room floor are our concern; these days anyway.
If there`s something inherently poetic about the literal act of packing your life neatly and safely into cardboard boxes, the sense is only heightened when you`re packing up parts of a life you hardly believe actually happened at all.
The act of taking all of these real things down off the shelves, from the drawers, out of the closets and neatly wrapping them up to be sent off to another land seems like we`re doing one of two things. We`re either making it possible to believe that none of this ever was real or trying to keep its reality alive in the new world that we`re about to rejoin.
It`s impossible to say which we`re hoping for most at this point.
Anyway, it must be poetic, because it`s quite unusual for me to write poetry. But when I got to work this morning, I opened up my notebook and this spilled out.
Costumes:
But now, those trains aren`t our concern. The piles of our lives` artifacts strewn across our living room floor are our concern; these days anyway.
If there`s something inherently poetic about the literal act of packing your life neatly and safely into cardboard boxes, the sense is only heightened when you`re packing up parts of a life you hardly believe actually happened at all.
The act of taking all of these real things down off the shelves, from the drawers, out of the closets and neatly wrapping them up to be sent off to another land seems like we`re doing one of two things. We`re either making it possible to believe that none of this ever was real or trying to keep its reality alive in the new world that we`re about to rejoin.
It`s impossible to say which we`re hoping for most at this point.
Anyway, it must be poetic, because it`s quite unusual for me to write poetry. But when I got to work this morning, I opened up my notebook and this spilled out.
Costumes:
The pile lays on the floor
Before me
There was this
There in the land
Of the Free
We are stuck
On lines in a play
Bills to pay
The money we make
And we pile up
Definitions there like old laundry on the floor
Left from some unknown tomb
In remembrance to lives led before
We knew who we were
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Travel Plans
Hey Everyone!!!
We are back from our adventures in China and Korea. We had an AMAZING time and will write more about it as soon as we can. We are slowly uploading pictures so please see the picassa site for your viewing pleasure. Keep in mind we store our pictures on google for our own needs so not all pictures are fun to look at, in fact some are boring- sorry but that's how it goes. And I promise one of these days I'll title the photos so you can know what you're looking at.
We just got back last week from vacation and celebrated our 2 year wedding anniversary. It was a lot of fun but now it's time to get down to bidness because guess what.....WE ARE HEADING HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's been a heck of a year and now we begin our journey back home, but we aren't just bringing ourselves- we are bringing a crew: 4 Japanese school kids for a two week adventure around America! Tada!!
Some of you will be getting this update twice- sorry- but I wanted to double check with some of you on the details of our plans since you are most likely a part of them in some way or another. Attached is an Itinerary of the trip but below is a highlights list of the spots we will be hitting up. Take note I did it by state so if you don't want to read the whole sha-bang just read the parts you feel are relevant to you.
In short if you would like to meet up with us and the kids please see the itinerary and let me know so we can arrange it. The more the merrier- the kids will be excited to meet any and all of you under almost any circumstances...haha.....anyways- please read below for details and below that for some more fun info!
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
August 2nd-August16th
Chicago:
We arrive in Chicago on August 2nd at 2:30pm. We will catch another plane to NYC at 6:00pm that same day.
NYC:
We will be in NYC from August 2nd-August5th
Washington DC
We will be in DC from August 5th- August 6th
North Carolina
We will be in Salisbury NC from August 6th-10th
We plan on hanging out in the Salisbury area, possibly hitting up Asheville on the 9th on our way to Lexington KY
Kentucky
We will be in Versailles and Lexington KY from August 10th-13th
We plan on visiting my family but are relatively free for one or two afternoons.
We will see a horse farm and possibly go swimming. In the evening we will have cookouts with my family.
Any are welcome to attend.
Indiana
We will head to Indianapolis on August 13th and will stay until the 15th
On the 13th we plan on making a stop in Hanover Indiana to see Hanover College
We would like to have a lunch with some professors and friends of Hanover and walk around Madison. Please let me know if you can come and we can plan a lunch date somewhere as a big group.
Indianapolis
The 13th-15th We will hit up the Indiana state fair and on the 14th have a big dinner with friends and family hopefully in Broad Ripple at Bazbeaux's. Please let me know if you are interested.
Chicago
On the 15th we will head to Chicago and stay with some friends who live there. We will hopefully see some of the city in our time there. The kids fly out of Chicago on August 16th.
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After the 16th Isaac and I plan on driving the rental van back to Salisbury North Carolina where we plan to stay for a couple weeks before heading back to Indiana to farm with our friend Scott Hensley in N. Manchester Indiana. We do not know how long this will go on but we are thinking we will be farming until winter. Then who knows......hopefully we will have some source of income but we aren't holding our breath. I'm only half kidding.
If you're free or have any interest in meeting us during or after our tour with the kids please let me know. We want to see you all and we will have some time to kill since we have no obligations for the Fall.
On a side note I have made business cards for a small business I am starting up in Homestay and Cultural Exchange. I will be planning trips for Japanese friends, co-workers and acquaintances who are interested in educational travel, cultural exchange and English learning. If you are interested in being a host family for Japanese tourists/students please let me know. And in turn, if you yourself are interested in homestay and cultural exchange, or even just pen pal relationships, with the beautiful country of Japan- no matter your age or language ability- I will be happy to organize and lead trips.
I will have more information on the Homestay and Cultural Exchange programs later on in August along with a website, but for now I am generating interest so please let me know.
All in all, things are looking fantastic. Please let me know if you can meet up with us when we return and about your interest in the Cultural Exchange program.
All in all, things are looking fantastic. Please let me know if you can meet up with us when we return and about your interest in the Cultural Exchange program.
Can't wait to see you all.
With Love
Erin (and Isaac says hello!)
Monday, June 14, 2010
Re: I NEED A VOGUE!
Thanks for the replies, everyone! Two Vogues are currently in the mail and they`ll be here just in time for the presentation! Yeah!
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Re: I NEED A VOGUE!
| I have "Vanity Fair"! Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. --- On Sun, 6/13/10, Isaac Weinkauf <i.m.weinkauf@gmail.com> wrote:
|
I NEED A VOGUE!
I can only pray this will be the only time in my life that I ever seriously write that sentence...
But, alas, I do desperately need a Vogue.
My English Club is currently preparing their presentation for our school festival, and they have chosen to present various aspects of American Pop Culture. The Seniors are presenting on American fashion and so have been searching vigilantly around Japan for an American version of Vogue (they sell them in Japanese, but that just won`t do for an English Club presentation). I told them I probably knew a subscriber or two back home, and then I told them of the warmhearted, caring generosity of all Americans and how it was almost inevitable that one of these amazing, sweet, kind-hearted people would find it in their heart to put one of these magazines into an envelope and send it Japan in time for their presentation (in two weeks...). You should have seen how their eyes lit up when they realized that they were depending on such a generous, kind, and thoughtful group of Americas. It was really something. :-)
If you can help, please send it to our apartment:
Weinkauf/Hougland
202 Sunheights 4711-19
Yanai, Yanai-shi, Yamaguchi-ken
742-0021
In other news: we`re coming home in one and a half months! WOOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOO!
Sorry about the lack of updates lately, but at this point we`re really just riding a wave of excitement as it builds for our return home. That, and life is just so regular here recently it seems weird to send out updates about the regular stuff we`re doing. I had granola and tea for breakfast this morning, then I walked to school, it`s kind of hot and humid out, but not too bad...
So, life is good, we`re glad to be here, and we`re really glad about coming home.
Love you all and talk to you soon!
But, alas, I do desperately need a Vogue.
My English Club is currently preparing their presentation for our school festival, and they have chosen to present various aspects of American Pop Culture. The Seniors are presenting on American fashion and so have been searching vigilantly around Japan for an American version of Vogue (they sell them in Japanese, but that just won`t do for an English Club presentation). I told them I probably knew a subscriber or two back home, and then I told them of the warmhearted, caring generosity of all Americans and how it was almost inevitable that one of these amazing, sweet, kind-hearted people would find it in their heart to put one of these magazines into an envelope and send it Japan in time for their presentation (in two weeks...). You should have seen how their eyes lit up when they realized that they were depending on such a generous, kind, and thoughtful group of Americas. It was really something. :-)
If you can help, please send it to our apartment:
Weinkauf/Hougland
202 Sunheights 4711-19
Yanai, Yanai-shi, Yamaguchi-ken
742-0021
In other news: we`re coming home in one and a half months! WOOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOO!
Sorry about the lack of updates lately, but at this point we`re really just riding a wave of excitement as it builds for our return home. That, and life is just so regular here recently it seems weird to send out updates about the regular stuff we`re doing. I had granola and tea for breakfast this morning, then I walked to school, it`s kind of hot and humid out, but not too bad...
So, life is good, we`re glad to be here, and we`re really glad about coming home.
Love you all and talk to you soon!
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
To Everything, Turn Turn Turn
I was ashamed when I checked the last blog entry and saw that things were pretty far behind what`s been happening in our lives here in little Yanai. My inbox is also full of loving wonderful emails that I have been abandoning for a "later date" when I "have more time" which has yet to come. But here I am! At work typing up a monster update!! Woot Woot!
Last we wrote we were about to head down to the tropical Hawaii of Japan: Okinawa. It`s a small subtropical island on the border of the East China Sea and the Pacific Ocean, down close to Taiwan and southern China. When we chose Okinawa we were searching desperately for a hot place to lay around and do nothing. We were hoping for an experience outside of Japan but things were looking too difficult to pull together in the time we had so we decided to pick a place inside Japan. Okinawa had the cheapest tickets, even against Hokkaido where we played with the idea of going skiing in Sapporo. But when we saw 200 bucks round trip to a subtropical island we were sold!
If you don`t know anything about Okinawa it`s history is very interesting but unfortunately also, very sad. This Island of the Ryukyu people has been fought over for many many years by the Japanese, Chinese, and currently Americans. They, like Hawaii were taken over and controlled by Japan and still today stand very much outside the mainland cultural norm. It was a very different place than the mainland. The architecture, people, food, and even some of the language were all very different and it was very much like we had gone to another country. I assume much like Hawaii must feel to a lot of main lander Americans.
Isaac and I had a blast. It was the first vacation we have taken together alone since Istanbul and even then we were surrounded by new friends. This trip was very much like a honey moon, and after all the topsy turvy emotions of surviving winter in little Yanai we really needed this. We spent a few days in Naha, the main city, and travelled around for a few days to the northern part of the island. We rented a car for the northern travel but for our time in the city and the south we rented a motorcycle. I know some of you can only imagine how flipping big Isaac`s smile was on those days. :o)
We spent a few days camping on the beach with some locals. It was free but at a small price: for one there were no toilets or showers but also no bushes or trees to squat secretly in because the beach was just across from a town park and a bunch of well used tennis courts. The other thing that was a little creepy but mostly entertaining was a very very old man who was apparently living in his van- not something you see in Japan......ever.
This van was very old, rusted, beat up, and looked like one day 20 years ago the man pulled into this location and just, never left. Inside, from what we could see, was a ton of junk. Weird junk, stuff we couldn`t understand why he even had it. And the most surprising of all this was the huge flat screen TV he had set up inside. It was a strange contrast to the rest of the van and it`s junk and well, very funny. It got a little creepy when on the second day Isaac and I saw the old man come out of his van with a toddler on his hip. She was a cute little girl, short black hair, a little bathing suite, a white sun hat and a small yellow t-shirt on. He was very sweetly holding her and taking her out to the ocean to play. They got in the water, all the while the old man was holding her and talking to her, and occasionally would give her a sweet pat on the head. The old man, by the way, was always seen wearing a wet suit and his hair flew around on the top of his head like strings in the wind.
Well, Isaac and I had many thoughts about this at first: Wow, he has a little girl. Do you think it is his granddaughter? I dunno- maybe the little girl is from that other group of campers just across the way, maybe they know each other. Hmmmm, but I have never seen her before. Maybe they live in that van? That`s so weird. Why would an old man be living with a toddler......where did he get her? Where`s the mom? hmmm.....that`s weird. But she`s pretty cute, oh look he`s getting her feet wet.....so cute!
We watched them in the water quietly. Then the old man brought the little little girl onto the beach where, while holding her on his hip, they walked around looking at things on the ground that had washed up. The old man would point and then say something to the little girl. I imagined he was saying something like: "Oh look there, it`s a pretty seashell." Or "What color is that? Can you see it?" As the old man approached us, walking along, pointing here and there, chatting it up with his granddaughter I suddenly notice something a little strange about the toddler. She hadn`t really moved her head.....come to think of it, I hadn`t seen her move her head at all. Wait......I take a closer look and suddenly in a loud panicked whisper, "Isaac! That`s a life size DOLL!"
Isaac didn`t believe it at first, and I didn`t want to believe it either. It had seemed very very real and the human interactions the man was having with it led us to believe undoubtedly that it was in fact a young child. Be it weird that he had a child at all, we had no doubt enter our mind from the beginning that it was a real little girl. But as we watched slowly and carefully we saw clearly that the real girl had become a giant plastic doll that the old man had apparently dressed up and who was possibly his only companion on this stretch of beach. We don`t know for sure, but I think that the doll must have washed up on shore, possibly her entire ensemble had washed up, along with the rest of the junk in his van. Needless to say, I had a hard time falling asleep that night.
The next day we went on a very depressing search for a new camp site further south, but no luck. We drove for 6 hours.....that was a bad day. We couldn`t find a camp site, they were all closed or no longer in service. Finally after a full day of sitting and driving and panicking about where we would sleep we decided to ask a beautiful resort hotel if they happened to have an affordable (hah!) room available that night. I knew when we walked in that it would be nearly impossible to stay there for anything less than 200 bucks a night, it was beach front, all the employees wore beautiful suits and the lobby was filled with orchids. I don`t know why we even went in there- it was probably just a delirious act, like seeing water in a desert. We just wanted a place to sleep so bad......
Thanks to God and Jesus and Buddah, we got a room for TWO nights for only 175 TOTAL!!! We were amazed, thrilled, ecstatic, and all those adjectives. We couldn`t believe it. The room was amazing, beach front, balcony looking over the most blue teal ocean I had ever seen. Buffet breakfast included......a giant bath, a shower......it was heavenly.
The rest of the trip we went on some hikes that were famous for WWII fighting and fox holes. We went to a waterfall and peace park. We also went to a big cape at the northern tip of the mountain. All of it was amazing. We learned a lot about the history of WWI and II in that region of the world, not something you hear a lot about on our end of things in the west. WWII, in America especially, is filled with horror stories about Europe and Nazi Germany, which is sprinkled with the events of Pearl Harbor and a slight mention of our mass genocide in Nagasaki and Hiroshima. But we don`t hear much about what happened in other parts of Asia, what happened leading up to the A-Bombs and Pearl Harbor. All in all it was very interesting- I had no idea American soldiers stormed these beaches in Okinawa, and that many and most on BOTH sides were slaughtered.
Currently Okinawa has a huge U.S. Military base that has become a very controversial issue. Many want the base gone. And some, obviously the US, want the base to stay. So still the territory is being fought over and the people doing the fighting- the US and Japan- aren`t even the true owners of the Island. I recommend reading up on it, very interesting stuff.
All in all, the trip was very interesting and fun.
After we returned the lovely Keiko Mantani organized a family outing to a small mountain village called Tsuano in the northern side of Yamaguchi prefecture. We stayed at a Japanese Ryokan style Inn. We ate amazing Japanese food, and we even got to make our own sweet mochi for dessert! Mochi is hot rice you pound down into a doughy like small and fill with delicious sweet things.....like sweet beans and chestnuts. Yummy! That weekend was so fun to spend with the kids and Keiko. They are such a sweet and fun family and Isaac and I had a blast.
We kicked off April with an Easter party. Thanks to all of you who sent packages. They were amazing. Filled with candy and all kinds of goodies! It was really fun for the kids too. Most American holidays that are celebrated here with other ALT English Teachers are Christmas, Halloween and Thanksgiving. But never Easter so most, even the adults, had never had an Easter Egg hunt or decorated Easter Eggs. It makes sense, being that Easter is a more religious holiday. But we didn`t focus on that, we focused only on sugar and eggs and SPRING TIME! It was fun! Thanks again everyone.
With April came the infamous Cherry Blossoms! Japanese Cherry Blossom viewing or Hanami parties are really popular in Japan. It`s like the one time in the year that the Japanese people act a little wild. It`s hard to explain exactly what I mean without being here. The Japanese culture, and therefore most of it`s people, tend to be what we Americans would call a little nervous, cautious, polite, quiet, normal, low-key, serious, a little uptight, pleasant. And basically NOT like most Americans. So when people get drunk and yell something loudly in public, it`s a bit outlandish. But during Cherry Blossom season this behavior is welcomed and embraced. Which is funny and awesome all at the same time.
We got to enjoy a small Hanami party in Tabuse town next door. We went to Hiroshima with Chris and Sarah and the blossoms were perfect. And I got to dress up in my kimono with my kimono class and travel to Miyajima Shrine Island and walk around. It was weird to be the only foreigner in a kimono with a bunch of Japanese women. I got my picture taken by a lot of people, strangers and mostly European tourists. It was an odd and very very strange experience. The kimono was amazingly tiring to wear, you have to keep good straight-back posture the whole time and the tiny zori shoes were killer to walk in. But I was successful! And it was really fun.
Back in March I got a call from a local English teacher, a British guy named Alex, who offered me a part time job at a local Jr. High School in Tabuse. I said yes and with it came a whole new experience of Japan, that included a CAR!!!!
First I had to reschedule many of my private English conversation classes. But most of my lessons have remained the same. But the sad part is I had to change my clubs.....yes my housewife activity clubs got limited down to one: tea ceremony. I stopped kimono and Tai Chi. Unfortunately, I couldn`t continue these lessons because my new work schedule interfered. But I ended those classes well and had some good last sessions. Of course I still see many people from those lessons and I had a wonderful time while I was still in them.
Now I am working and it`s really really really good. In so many ways. For one, I don`t feel worthless. It is so surprising how much a solid financial earning can boost your confidence. Especially in a housewife, working husband relationship. By the way, that relationship doesn`t work well at all for me and Isaac.....good to know I guess.
Anyways, the kids are really delightful and I am having a lot of fun working in the classroom and developing lessons. The kids are at a cute in between age that I really like. Some have hit puberty while others look like elementary school kids. It`s really funny and exciting. All the teachers are really nice and the experience of working as a teacher in Japan is really interesting. All in all, it was a good move.
Now, we have a car. Yes....sweet sweet freedom let it ring with the sound of my motor engine. This car is a genuine P.O.S. and Isaac and I adore it. Our world has expanded to a full circle and no longer just exists on railway line and it`s stations. All the places we have been driven to by our Japanese friends, we never knew if we could go there again, but now with "Freedom" we can. Having a car also boosts the overall feeling of our situation. We are no longer reverted 2 years olds in Japan. We now feel at least 10 or 12, especially as our vocab increases. It`s just wonderful. And I never knew I would love a car so much.
After our world cracked open with my paycheck and "Freedom" we have been feeling great. Isaac still struggles with his job, but even that has gotten a lot better. And all we can say is that we wish these small changes could have happened earlier. We really like it here now and are living fairly fulfilling lives.
But don`t worry too much. The decision to come back to the good ole US ofA remains and in fact we have some news: Our tickets have been purchased and on August 2nd, Isaac and I plus 4 Japanese kids will be flying to Chicago!!! More on this later.
While I have dropped two clubs Isaac has started two new activities: Taeko Drumming!! And Guitar!!!!!!!!!! Around the Easter party we got to know another ALT in town and his family. His name is Jason and he has a beautiful and cool Japanese wife and together they have 3 ADORABLE little girls 2,4, and 6 years old. Jason has been a great joy for Isaac because he has become Isaac`s guitar teacher. Every Tuesday night. We love Jason`s family and Isaac LOVES the guitar........he plays it everyday.....literally. All the time. He doesn`t stop. He plays it whenever he is home. Even when I try to talk to him. Or ask him questions. Or want to watch a movie. Sometimes he even takes it with him into the bathroom. He will be annoyed I wrote that, because it`s not actually true, but it feels true. Because he just plays the guitar all. the. time.
I joke about it, but seriously it`s great. He loves it, and he`s happy to play it. And being happy is really valuable so I really enjoy his enthusiasm for playing. He`s actually learned a lot and has even picked up some songs from our wedding. Very sweet. It`s just his infatuation with learning the song : "The Power of Love" by Celine Dion that my patience dwindles into rage.
Not only is Isaac into the guitar but he is also doing Japanese Taeko Drumming. Which is summed up into one word: Badass. Here`s a link to what Taeko Drumming is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_n-6KC2RdGQ
I would do Teako too but my private lessons keep me busy during the practice times. But that`s okay because I have gotten the rare chance to try my hand at drumming, and it was so fun!! Isaac is taking this class with 3 (now 4) friends. Chris and Sarah, our married friends from California who we have talked about before and Hiromi one of our adorable Japanese friends who just found out she`s having a baby boy! And the 4th is none other than Tiffany Mae Black!
That`s right ladies and gents our dear friend Tiffany is finally here which leads me to.......
On Wednesday April 28th Isaac and I took an overnight bus to Tokyo where we met Tiffany at Narita airport. Just like when my family came to visit me in December. Except this time Isaac and I felt like our heads were on a little better having adjusted to Japan much more since the winter. It was so weird to head back there since the last we had been was to pick up my family on Christmas day. When I think back to it, it seems like such a fog, a dream. But now I feel like I have woken up to my reality here and things seem much more clear and understandable. Culture shock is so interesting.
Anyways, Isaac and I got to the airport right on time but Tiffany didn`t show up for one hour. We were getting really really worried that something was wrong. That she may have missed her flight or couldn`t get through immigration. But finally her beautiful face appeared. And we all ran to each other laughing hugging and saying "Let`s never do this again. Promise?" It had been way too long!
The waiting was due to the airline losing Tiff`s luggage which was fine because it just meant less bags to carry! They did finally find it and mail it to us in Yanai after our trip so it all worked out perfectly. It was funny explaining to our Japanese friends that Tiffy`s luggage was lost by the airline because in Japan that NEVER happens. They were shocked and asked hurriedly which airline it was, and when we told them it was AirCanada they let out a sigh of relief and then asked: "Does that happen often?" We said....well yes. We told them that we even pack for a trip as if the airline may lose our luggage because it happens so often and they were shocked. Another small cultural difference. The reliable and polite service culture in Japan is something I am really going to miss.
That day we took Tiff to Shinjuku which is the main downtown district in Tokyo. The next day, we went everywhere. Asakusa Neighborhood for Sensoji Temple and Market. Shinjuku Neighborhood for the observation deck. Shibuya, Harajuku and Ripongi Neighborhoods along with Meiji Jingu Park. We were so tired but it was amazing. The day after that we walked around the Imperial gardens and then headed to the ferry port to catch our ferry to Kyushu. On this day I got very sick. I couldn`t breath and my body was aching. Luckily we were going to be on a ferry boat for 2 nights and one day, doing nothing but resting.
The ferry was small and we each had our own beds (bunk beds) with little curtains around them. But the food was only available from vending machines and my sickness got worse. I slept most of the day on the ferry while Isaac and Tiffany read. It was relaxing but I would have rather not have been sick. That day we realized that we had forgotten our driver`s licenses for the car we were planning on renting in Kyushu. We were planning on driving down to Mt. Aso, an active volcano, and camping in a park there........but Tiff`s luagge was gone with her tent inside and our car rental wasn`t going to work without our licenses....plus I was getting sicker and was shivering from a possible fever. Needless to say once we arrived in Kyushu on Monday we decided to head back to Yanai.
Luckily the weather was nice and luckily we live next to two huge tourist attractions in Japan: Hiroshima and Miyajima. Once we arrived at home and rested up from our trip we decided to go to Hiroshima for the flower festival and peace park. We even found a hotel that night and spent the night. The next day we slept in and walked around Hiroshima. Then on the way back home on Tuesday we stopped at the Myajima Island Shrine and went on a hike.....probably wasn`t the healthiest decision for me as the hike was long and strenuous. But it was Golden Week! And we HAD to do as much as we could.
On Wednesday we rested all day because the weekend ahead was packed as well. Friday we had a welcome dinner for Tiffany at a buffet restaurant in Hikari a couple towns over. Saturday we got the chance to have dinner at Jason`s home with his family. And on Sunday we got to go to Oshima Island and ride around on a friend`s boat and then have a cookout at The Kimura Family`s home with lots of friends.
This is how things have been going for us. From one day to the next our schedules are packed with things to do. Tiffany has been adjusting well and making lots of friends. Naturally everyone loves her and she even has taken over one of my English lessons and will be starting her own art lessons next week. She will only be here for two months but everyone sees what a rare chance it is to learn art and painting from a young and cute English speaking woman. So they are taking up the opportunity.
We have helped Tiff develop a plan to host 4 workshops for 4 hours each on portrait and landscape painting. I even get to model for her portrait class. haha! So far 6 people have signed up. And it`s going to be so much fun!
In the final weeks of May we have some fun BBQ lunches and outings with Japanese friends planned. We will have an English club dinner at our apartment with Isaac`s high school English Club, we will head to Hiroshima with Jason and his oldest daughter who loves art and therefore adores Tiffany. And I will get the pleasure of watching Tiffany and Isaac perform in a Taeko drumming performance on the 30th.
We are currently planning the trip to China and Korea also. We will be going June 25th-July6th. Tiffany has decided to head back to the states from Korea at the end of this trip. She will need to head back to replenish her bank account and reconnect with her loved ones before we come back in August and sweep her away on another trip for 2 weeks touring the states with the Japanese kids we are bringing back with us.
Until then we have just about every weekend planned which even includes a trip for me and Tiff to go to Kyoto and Nara for 3 days in June. Other than that we will most likely be staying in the Yamaguchi area having fun with our Japanese and ALT friends, making art and planning the trips coming up.
After Tiff leaves Isaac and I will have 3 1/2 weeks before we will be heading home. Just enough time to tie things up, pack, say our goodbyes and maybe see one more last site before we come back.
As it stands now I am, of course, excited to come home. But I am also becomming very nostalgic for this place. Things in the last two-three months since February have really changed and this situation has become a really good one for me and Isaac. Somtimes I wonder though if things look so positive because Isaac and I both know our home is only 2 months away. Or have we really started to fall in love with our life here? Maybe Isaac has a different story but all in all things are good, and seem to be heading to a good place.
I hope we can be more diligent about keeping this blog updated. Thanks for reading if you could get this far. Please email and let us know how things are going. I will leave you with an Engrish moment that I am sure you will all enjoy:
One day Isaac was at school having a meeting with his English club. They have 3 new members and Isaac thought it would be fun for each of the members (all girls) to pick an American/ Western name for themselves. He had printed off girl`s names from the 90`s that would have been popular when the girls in his English club were born. They all passed the sheet with the names on it around the group. They practiced saying the names, they asked about the names. They all looked over it extensively. Then it was finally time to decide on one.
Isaac went around the circle: what is your name? "I am Rachel." Another "I am Jessica." They had all chosen very feminie names: Dorothy, Carol, Elizabeth, Dawn, Kelly. And finally, it was the last student`s turn to decide.
She looked at Isaac, thinking deeply and then replied, " I am E- ree."
"I`m sorry, Evie?" Isaac asked.
"No, no. Eeeh- ree."
"Emily?" Isaac was sturggling to understand. What was it she was trying to say?
"No no no. Eh-dee."
"Eddie????" Isaac said slowly unsure he had said it right.
"Yes!" She replied happily.
Isaac was puzzled, was Eddie on his list of girl`s names? "Eddie??"
"Yes....." she paused and then said, "Eddie Murphy. I like Eddie Murphy."
Isaac looked at her shocked, smiling. He started to laugh. "Eddie Murphy??!!?" How did she know about Eddie Murphy he wondered.
"Yes." she said. "I am Eddie."
And so she was.
You may wonder how this 16 year old high school girl from the rural countryside of Japan happened upon the B-class American actor Eddie Murphy. But this is something we may never know. All we know is that this 16 year old high school girl`s chosen English name is Eddie, named after a middle aged American black man. In one word: awesome. You can be sure we will be watching Dr. Dolittle, any other reccommendations you have ae welcomed.
Precious Engrish Moments brought to you by:
Erin and Isaac
(We love you all)
MARCH CONTINUED
If you don`t know anything about Okinawa it`s history is very interesting but unfortunately also, very sad. This Island of the Ryukyu people has been fought over for many many years by the Japanese, Chinese, and currently Americans. They, like Hawaii were taken over and controlled by Japan and still today stand very much outside the mainland cultural norm. It was a very different place than the mainland. The architecture, people, food, and even some of the language were all very different and it was very much like we had gone to another country. I assume much like Hawaii must feel to a lot of main lander Americans.
Isaac and I had a blast. It was the first vacation we have taken together alone since Istanbul and even then we were surrounded by new friends. This trip was very much like a honey moon, and after all the topsy turvy emotions of surviving winter in little Yanai we really needed this. We spent a few days in Naha, the main city, and travelled around for a few days to the northern part of the island. We rented a car for the northern travel but for our time in the city and the south we rented a motorcycle. I know some of you can only imagine how flipping big Isaac`s smile was on those days. :o)
We spent a few days camping on the beach with some locals. It was free but at a small price: for one there were no toilets or showers but also no bushes or trees to squat secretly in because the beach was just across from a town park and a bunch of well used tennis courts. The other thing that was a little creepy but mostly entertaining was a very very old man who was apparently living in his van- not something you see in Japan......ever.
This van was very old, rusted, beat up, and looked like one day 20 years ago the man pulled into this location and just, never left. Inside, from what we could see, was a ton of junk. Weird junk, stuff we couldn`t understand why he even had it. And the most surprising of all this was the huge flat screen TV he had set up inside. It was a strange contrast to the rest of the van and it`s junk and well, very funny. It got a little creepy when on the second day Isaac and I saw the old man come out of his van with a toddler on his hip. She was a cute little girl, short black hair, a little bathing suite, a white sun hat and a small yellow t-shirt on. He was very sweetly holding her and taking her out to the ocean to play. They got in the water, all the while the old man was holding her and talking to her, and occasionally would give her a sweet pat on the head. The old man, by the way, was always seen wearing a wet suit and his hair flew around on the top of his head like strings in the wind.
Well, Isaac and I had many thoughts about this at first: Wow, he has a little girl. Do you think it is his granddaughter? I dunno- maybe the little girl is from that other group of campers just across the way, maybe they know each other. Hmmmm, but I have never seen her before. Maybe they live in that van? That`s so weird. Why would an old man be living with a toddler......where did he get her? Where`s the mom? hmmm.....that`s weird. But she`s pretty cute, oh look he`s getting her feet wet.....so cute!
We watched them in the water quietly. Then the old man brought the little little girl onto the beach where, while holding her on his hip, they walked around looking at things on the ground that had washed up. The old man would point and then say something to the little girl. I imagined he was saying something like: "Oh look there, it`s a pretty seashell." Or "What color is that? Can you see it?" As the old man approached us, walking along, pointing here and there, chatting it up with his granddaughter I suddenly notice something a little strange about the toddler. She hadn`t really moved her head.....come to think of it, I hadn`t seen her move her head at all. Wait......I take a closer look and suddenly in a loud panicked whisper, "Isaac! That`s a life size DOLL!"
Isaac didn`t believe it at first, and I didn`t want to believe it either. It had seemed very very real and the human interactions the man was having with it led us to believe undoubtedly that it was in fact a young child. Be it weird that he had a child at all, we had no doubt enter our mind from the beginning that it was a real little girl. But as we watched slowly and carefully we saw clearly that the real girl had become a giant plastic doll that the old man had apparently dressed up and who was possibly his only companion on this stretch of beach. We don`t know for sure, but I think that the doll must have washed up on shore, possibly her entire ensemble had washed up, along with the rest of the junk in his van. Needless to say, I had a hard time falling asleep that night.
The next day we went on a very depressing search for a new camp site further south, but no luck. We drove for 6 hours.....that was a bad day. We couldn`t find a camp site, they were all closed or no longer in service. Finally after a full day of sitting and driving and panicking about where we would sleep we decided to ask a beautiful resort hotel if they happened to have an affordable (hah!) room available that night. I knew when we walked in that it would be nearly impossible to stay there for anything less than 200 bucks a night, it was beach front, all the employees wore beautiful suits and the lobby was filled with orchids. I don`t know why we even went in there- it was probably just a delirious act, like seeing water in a desert. We just wanted a place to sleep so bad......
Thanks to God and Jesus and Buddah, we got a room for TWO nights for only 175 TOTAL!!! We were amazed, thrilled, ecstatic, and all those adjectives. We couldn`t believe it. The room was amazing, beach front, balcony looking over the most blue teal ocean I had ever seen. Buffet breakfast included......a giant bath, a shower......it was heavenly.
The rest of the trip we went on some hikes that were famous for WWII fighting and fox holes. We went to a waterfall and peace park. We also went to a big cape at the northern tip of the mountain. All of it was amazing. We learned a lot about the history of WWI and II in that region of the world, not something you hear a lot about on our end of things in the west. WWII, in America especially, is filled with horror stories about Europe and Nazi Germany, which is sprinkled with the events of Pearl Harbor and a slight mention of our mass genocide in Nagasaki and Hiroshima. But we don`t hear much about what happened in other parts of Asia, what happened leading up to the A-Bombs and Pearl Harbor. All in all it was very interesting- I had no idea American soldiers stormed these beaches in Okinawa, and that many and most on BOTH sides were slaughtered.
Currently Okinawa has a huge U.S. Military base that has become a very controversial issue. Many want the base gone. And some, obviously the US, want the base to stay. So still the territory is being fought over and the people doing the fighting- the US and Japan- aren`t even the true owners of the Island. I recommend reading up on it, very interesting stuff.
All in all, the trip was very interesting and fun.
After we returned the lovely Keiko Mantani organized a family outing to a small mountain village called Tsuano in the northern side of Yamaguchi prefecture. We stayed at a Japanese Ryokan style Inn. We ate amazing Japanese food, and we even got to make our own sweet mochi for dessert! Mochi is hot rice you pound down into a doughy like small and fill with delicious sweet things.....like sweet beans and chestnuts. Yummy! That weekend was so fun to spend with the kids and Keiko. They are such a sweet and fun family and Isaac and I had a blast.
APRIL
We kicked off April with an Easter party. Thanks to all of you who sent packages. They were amazing. Filled with candy and all kinds of goodies! It was really fun for the kids too. Most American holidays that are celebrated here with other ALT English Teachers are Christmas, Halloween and Thanksgiving. But never Easter so most, even the adults, had never had an Easter Egg hunt or decorated Easter Eggs. It makes sense, being that Easter is a more religious holiday. But we didn`t focus on that, we focused only on sugar and eggs and SPRING TIME! It was fun! Thanks again everyone.
With April came the infamous Cherry Blossoms! Japanese Cherry Blossom viewing or Hanami parties are really popular in Japan. It`s like the one time in the year that the Japanese people act a little wild. It`s hard to explain exactly what I mean without being here. The Japanese culture, and therefore most of it`s people, tend to be what we Americans would call a little nervous, cautious, polite, quiet, normal, low-key, serious, a little uptight, pleasant. And basically NOT like most Americans. So when people get drunk and yell something loudly in public, it`s a bit outlandish. But during Cherry Blossom season this behavior is welcomed and embraced. Which is funny and awesome all at the same time.
We got to enjoy a small Hanami party in Tabuse town next door. We went to Hiroshima with Chris and Sarah and the blossoms were perfect. And I got to dress up in my kimono with my kimono class and travel to Miyajima Shrine Island and walk around. It was weird to be the only foreigner in a kimono with a bunch of Japanese women. I got my picture taken by a lot of people, strangers and mostly European tourists. It was an odd and very very strange experience. The kimono was amazingly tiring to wear, you have to keep good straight-back posture the whole time and the tiny zori shoes were killer to walk in. But I was successful! And it was really fun.
Back in March I got a call from a local English teacher, a British guy named Alex, who offered me a part time job at a local Jr. High School in Tabuse. I said yes and with it came a whole new experience of Japan, that included a CAR!!!!
First I had to reschedule many of my private English conversation classes. But most of my lessons have remained the same. But the sad part is I had to change my clubs.....yes my housewife activity clubs got limited down to one: tea ceremony. I stopped kimono and Tai Chi. Unfortunately, I couldn`t continue these lessons because my new work schedule interfered. But I ended those classes well and had some good last sessions. Of course I still see many people from those lessons and I had a wonderful time while I was still in them.
Now I am working and it`s really really really good. In so many ways. For one, I don`t feel worthless. It is so surprising how much a solid financial earning can boost your confidence. Especially in a housewife, working husband relationship. By the way, that relationship doesn`t work well at all for me and Isaac.....good to know I guess.
Anyways, the kids are really delightful and I am having a lot of fun working in the classroom and developing lessons. The kids are at a cute in between age that I really like. Some have hit puberty while others look like elementary school kids. It`s really funny and exciting. All the teachers are really nice and the experience of working as a teacher in Japan is really interesting. All in all, it was a good move.
Now, we have a car. Yes....sweet sweet freedom let it ring with the sound of my motor engine. This car is a genuine P.O.S. and Isaac and I adore it. Our world has expanded to a full circle and no longer just exists on railway line and it`s stations. All the places we have been driven to by our Japanese friends, we never knew if we could go there again, but now with "Freedom" we can. Having a car also boosts the overall feeling of our situation. We are no longer reverted 2 years olds in Japan. We now feel at least 10 or 12, especially as our vocab increases. It`s just wonderful. And I never knew I would love a car so much.
After our world cracked open with my paycheck and "Freedom" we have been feeling great. Isaac still struggles with his job, but even that has gotten a lot better. And all we can say is that we wish these small changes could have happened earlier. We really like it here now and are living fairly fulfilling lives.
But don`t worry too much. The decision to come back to the good ole US ofA remains and in fact we have some news: Our tickets have been purchased and on August 2nd, Isaac and I plus 4 Japanese kids will be flying to Chicago!!! More on this later.
While I have dropped two clubs Isaac has started two new activities: Taeko Drumming!! And Guitar!!!!!!!!!! Around the Easter party we got to know another ALT in town and his family. His name is Jason and he has a beautiful and cool Japanese wife and together they have 3 ADORABLE little girls 2,4, and 6 years old. Jason has been a great joy for Isaac because he has become Isaac`s guitar teacher. Every Tuesday night. We love Jason`s family and Isaac LOVES the guitar........he plays it everyday.....literally. All the time. He doesn`t stop. He plays it whenever he is home. Even when I try to talk to him. Or ask him questions. Or want to watch a movie. Sometimes he even takes it with him into the bathroom. He will be annoyed I wrote that, because it`s not actually true, but it feels true. Because he just plays the guitar all. the. time.
I joke about it, but seriously it`s great. He loves it, and he`s happy to play it. And being happy is really valuable so I really enjoy his enthusiasm for playing. He`s actually learned a lot and has even picked up some songs from our wedding. Very sweet. It`s just his infatuation with learning the song : "The Power of Love" by Celine Dion that my patience dwindles into rage.
Not only is Isaac into the guitar but he is also doing Japanese Taeko Drumming. Which is summed up into one word: Badass. Here`s a link to what Taeko Drumming is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_n-6KC2RdGQ
I would do Teako too but my private lessons keep me busy during the practice times. But that`s okay because I have gotten the rare chance to try my hand at drumming, and it was so fun!! Isaac is taking this class with 3 (now 4) friends. Chris and Sarah, our married friends from California who we have talked about before and Hiromi one of our adorable Japanese friends who just found out she`s having a baby boy! And the 4th is none other than Tiffany Mae Black!
That`s right ladies and gents our dear friend Tiffany is finally here which leads me to.......
MAY and GOLDEN WEEK!!!
On Wednesday April 28th Isaac and I took an overnight bus to Tokyo where we met Tiffany at Narita airport. Just like when my family came to visit me in December. Except this time Isaac and I felt like our heads were on a little better having adjusted to Japan much more since the winter. It was so weird to head back there since the last we had been was to pick up my family on Christmas day. When I think back to it, it seems like such a fog, a dream. But now I feel like I have woken up to my reality here and things seem much more clear and understandable. Culture shock is so interesting.
Anyways, Isaac and I got to the airport right on time but Tiffany didn`t show up for one hour. We were getting really really worried that something was wrong. That she may have missed her flight or couldn`t get through immigration. But finally her beautiful face appeared. And we all ran to each other laughing hugging and saying "Let`s never do this again. Promise?" It had been way too long!
The waiting was due to the airline losing Tiff`s luggage which was fine because it just meant less bags to carry! They did finally find it and mail it to us in Yanai after our trip so it all worked out perfectly. It was funny explaining to our Japanese friends that Tiffy`s luggage was lost by the airline because in Japan that NEVER happens. They were shocked and asked hurriedly which airline it was, and when we told them it was AirCanada they let out a sigh of relief and then asked: "Does that happen often?" We said....well yes. We told them that we even pack for a trip as if the airline may lose our luggage because it happens so often and they were shocked. Another small cultural difference. The reliable and polite service culture in Japan is something I am really going to miss.
That day we took Tiff to Shinjuku which is the main downtown district in Tokyo. The next day, we went everywhere. Asakusa Neighborhood for Sensoji Temple and Market. Shinjuku Neighborhood for the observation deck. Shibuya, Harajuku and Ripongi Neighborhoods along with Meiji Jingu Park. We were so tired but it was amazing. The day after that we walked around the Imperial gardens and then headed to the ferry port to catch our ferry to Kyushu. On this day I got very sick. I couldn`t breath and my body was aching. Luckily we were going to be on a ferry boat for 2 nights and one day, doing nothing but resting.
The ferry was small and we each had our own beds (bunk beds) with little curtains around them. But the food was only available from vending machines and my sickness got worse. I slept most of the day on the ferry while Isaac and Tiffany read. It was relaxing but I would have rather not have been sick. That day we realized that we had forgotten our driver`s licenses for the car we were planning on renting in Kyushu. We were planning on driving down to Mt. Aso, an active volcano, and camping in a park there........but Tiff`s luagge was gone with her tent inside and our car rental wasn`t going to work without our licenses....plus I was getting sicker and was shivering from a possible fever. Needless to say once we arrived in Kyushu on Monday we decided to head back to Yanai.
Luckily the weather was nice and luckily we live next to two huge tourist attractions in Japan: Hiroshima and Miyajima. Once we arrived at home and rested up from our trip we decided to go to Hiroshima for the flower festival and peace park. We even found a hotel that night and spent the night. The next day we slept in and walked around Hiroshima. Then on the way back home on Tuesday we stopped at the Myajima Island Shrine and went on a hike.....probably wasn`t the healthiest decision for me as the hike was long and strenuous. But it was Golden Week! And we HAD to do as much as we could.
On Wednesday we rested all day because the weekend ahead was packed as well. Friday we had a welcome dinner for Tiffany at a buffet restaurant in Hikari a couple towns over. Saturday we got the chance to have dinner at Jason`s home with his family. And on Sunday we got to go to Oshima Island and ride around on a friend`s boat and then have a cookout at The Kimura Family`s home with lots of friends.
This is how things have been going for us. From one day to the next our schedules are packed with things to do. Tiffany has been adjusting well and making lots of friends. Naturally everyone loves her and she even has taken over one of my English lessons and will be starting her own art lessons next week. She will only be here for two months but everyone sees what a rare chance it is to learn art and painting from a young and cute English speaking woman. So they are taking up the opportunity.
We have helped Tiff develop a plan to host 4 workshops for 4 hours each on portrait and landscape painting. I even get to model for her portrait class. haha! So far 6 people have signed up. And it`s going to be so much fun!
In the final weeks of May we have some fun BBQ lunches and outings with Japanese friends planned. We will have an English club dinner at our apartment with Isaac`s high school English Club, we will head to Hiroshima with Jason and his oldest daughter who loves art and therefore adores Tiffany. And I will get the pleasure of watching Tiffany and Isaac perform in a Taeko drumming performance on the 30th.
We are currently planning the trip to China and Korea also. We will be going June 25th-July6th. Tiffany has decided to head back to the states from Korea at the end of this trip. She will need to head back to replenish her bank account and reconnect with her loved ones before we come back in August and sweep her away on another trip for 2 weeks touring the states with the Japanese kids we are bringing back with us.
Until then we have just about every weekend planned which even includes a trip for me and Tiff to go to Kyoto and Nara for 3 days in June. Other than that we will most likely be staying in the Yamaguchi area having fun with our Japanese and ALT friends, making art and planning the trips coming up.
After Tiff leaves Isaac and I will have 3 1/2 weeks before we will be heading home. Just enough time to tie things up, pack, say our goodbyes and maybe see one more last site before we come back.
As it stands now I am, of course, excited to come home. But I am also becomming very nostalgic for this place. Things in the last two-three months since February have really changed and this situation has become a really good one for me and Isaac. Somtimes I wonder though if things look so positive because Isaac and I both know our home is only 2 months away. Or have we really started to fall in love with our life here? Maybe Isaac has a different story but all in all things are good, and seem to be heading to a good place.
I hope we can be more diligent about keeping this blog updated. Thanks for reading if you could get this far. Please email and let us know how things are going. I will leave you with an Engrish moment that I am sure you will all enjoy:
One day Isaac was at school having a meeting with his English club. They have 3 new members and Isaac thought it would be fun for each of the members (all girls) to pick an American/ Western name for themselves. He had printed off girl`s names from the 90`s that would have been popular when the girls in his English club were born. They all passed the sheet with the names on it around the group. They practiced saying the names, they asked about the names. They all looked over it extensively. Then it was finally time to decide on one.
Isaac went around the circle: what is your name? "I am Rachel." Another "I am Jessica." They had all chosen very feminie names: Dorothy, Carol, Elizabeth, Dawn, Kelly. And finally, it was the last student`s turn to decide.
She looked at Isaac, thinking deeply and then replied, " I am E- ree."
"I`m sorry, Evie?" Isaac asked.
"No, no. Eeeh- ree."
"Emily?" Isaac was sturggling to understand. What was it she was trying to say?
"No no no. Eh-dee."
"Eddie????" Isaac said slowly unsure he had said it right.
"Yes!" She replied happily.
Isaac was puzzled, was Eddie on his list of girl`s names? "Eddie??"
"Yes....." she paused and then said, "Eddie Murphy. I like Eddie Murphy."
Isaac looked at her shocked, smiling. He started to laugh. "Eddie Murphy??!!?" How did she know about Eddie Murphy he wondered.
"Yes." she said. "I am Eddie."
And so she was.
You may wonder how this 16 year old high school girl from the rural countryside of Japan happened upon the B-class American actor Eddie Murphy. But this is something we may never know. All we know is that this 16 year old high school girl`s chosen English name is Eddie, named after a middle aged American black man. In one word: awesome. You can be sure we will be watching Dr. Dolittle, any other reccommendations you have ae welcomed.
Precious Engrish Moments brought to you by:
Erin and Isaac
(We love you all)
Thursday, April 1, 2010
wow...
Posted: 31 Mar 2010 08:13 PM PDT
Q: Hey, I think this website it great! I love the Japanese race! I think they are beautiful. Now, a friend told me that the Japanese call nappies/diapers “sack-a-poo-poo” (pronunciation) – is this true? or was she messing around? – Alice
A: Yes, it’s 100% true! Nappies/diapers are called サカプープー ”sack a poo poo” in Japanese!!!
Sunday, March 7, 2010
It`s been a while...
I can`t remember when I updated on the blog last... I vaguely remember having last written something about a travelling clown troupe, a man with a dog mask, and a chubby kid in a red halter top singing background during a cover of an Eric Clapton song. Oh, that`s right: it must have been around Christmas time. Ah, nothing like that special charm of the holiday`s to get you in the spirit for a Christmas blog update for family and friends.
Unfortunately, I`ve got to say, the writing has trailed off a bit since then because it doesn`t really feel like much is happening around here anymore. It feels, strangely, like we`re just living in Japan. The last two months have really passed as though we were living anywhere, and life has been somewhat normal and boring; which, in its own way, is a really weird experience.
We`ve certainly had our struggles and our ups and downs, at one point in February we were really ready to abandon ship and get on the next flight home. But these kinds of days always pass, stubbornly, and the general feeling is such that it`s getting harder and harder to find those things that make me think "wow, I have to write home about this."
Here`s a poignant example, from another ALT three towns away. He had a cousin staying with him for some time in January. During this time they went to experience a Japanese "purikura," or photo booth. Basically, this is one of those places where you sit in a booth and pay like 2 or 3 bucks and it takes a series of pictures of you and your friends. You can then proceed to decorate the photo in interesting ways. It`s a really popular activity in Japan and you can find these booths just about everywhere lots of people congregate. So they did this one or two times during the friend`s stay and at the end of the trip, as the friend was packing for the return flight home, they wondered what they should do with all these random photo-booth purikura pictures they had. The ALT beamed about how they would make awesome souvenir presents to give to friends back home. The friend gave him a strange look in response and said something to the effect of, "Dude, these things are really weird. Adult men don`t do things like this back home. I don`t think I`m going to show these to anyone." At which point, the ALT realized Japan had changed the way he was seeing the world...
Basically, it`s getting hard to recognize what should feel weird and what should feel normal. WHICH IS SO FREAKING WEIRD! Seriously, take a second to imagine grown men in business suits tearing up as they huddle closely together around a karaoke box, drunk, belting out Michale Jackson`s "We are the world." Weird, right? Now...try to imagine what would have to happen to your mind for that to seem completely mundane... And that`s what`s going on in my mind, everyday. WHAT THE HELL!?
I was telling some friends the other day that I came here expecting to "learn about " another culture... What I meant by that was I expected to see all of these "interesting" differences between my culture and Japanese culture, review them, and then allow them to inform how I live my life, taking the parts I liked and leaving behind those I don`t. Something like this does happen in some small way, but for the most part what I`ve learned is that culture is hardly reasonable, you can`t review it, and you surely can`t decide much having to do with it. Culture washes over you everywhere, it`s always three steps ahead of you, and you are really left to decide relatively little within the context that your culture has already prescribed for you. Truly experiencing a culture other than your own, then, changes you in ways that you could never expect to change yourself. It changes you in a way that has little to do with your own thoughts and opinions and hopes and dreams.
Another interesting point I want to briefly pull from this is that each of us is a culture. We are all our own unique expression of values and norms and ways of being in the world. Experiencing a foreign culture has so much strength perhaps only because of the sheer number of differences, or the number of individuals with unique sets of worldviews that vary so dramatically from our own. But if each of us is our own culture, then merely interacting with, trully experiencing (the kind of experiencing we usually reserve for "unique" or "exotic" moments, which command our full attention and plenty of patience), even the people right next to us, has the power to change us in ways that we could never expect to change ourselves.
And now, for a list of the stuff we`ve done in the past few weeks:
Whew! See what I mean? Things are getting so boring and mundane around here :-P.
Love to you all,
Isaac and Erin
--
http://loveandengrish.blogspot.com/
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Easter Stuffs
Isaac and I would like to send out a plea to any of you who can send us a package by April 2nd. We are having an Easter Egg hunt and we need egg dye and plastic eggs to hide. We would also love it if anyone would send any Easter treats and decor for the party. We thought it would be funny/fun to have an Easter Party. Because let's be honest: hiding eggs, eating chocolate bunnies and celebrating a guy being raised from the dead is pretty strange, let alone to someone from Japan. They are really excited by the way.
So a big thanks to anyone who can help us out.
Thanks and Love!
Erin and Isaac
--
http://loveandengrish.blogspot.com/
http://picasaweb.google.com/EEHoug
So a big thanks to anyone who can help us out.
Thanks and Love!
Erin and Isaac
--
http://loveandengrish.blogspot.com/
http://picasaweb.google.com/EEHoug
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Fe-buuurrrrr-ary
Whoa- that's right, a blog update! It's currently the day after Valentine's Day here in Yanai Japan. It's cold, wet and rainy(a little). I am currently sitting on my butt writing the blog update because it is the only way I can justify not getting up and doing something with my lazy self. If I write the blog I don't have to exercise today, get my logic?
So here we go- it's been nagging at us for a while, not writing on here, because we have actually experienced some pretty amazing stuff. As you may know my family came in on December 26th, the day after Christmas and we met them in Tokyo. It was an awesome experience seeing them here. We couldn't wait to hug and kiss, chit chat, laugh, cry......but what Isaac and were the most excited about was inducing as much culture shock as possible in hopes of simulating the last 5 months we had experienced in our time here. Ya know, share the love and the misery... :o)
Were we successful? Yes we were. You wanna know how we measured? I'll tell you:
We simply asked ourselves these questions-
How many times did their jaws drop open in shock and surprise? 93
How many times did they ask why? 101
How many times did they ask, "Erin, what is happening?"? 46
How many times did they ask what they were eating? Every time they ate- except when we went to Mac D's.
How many times did we visit McDonalds: 20 (that number is accurate)
How many times did we visit McDonalds in one day: 3
How many times did they ask if there was really fish in this_____? 53
How many times did they utter the phrase "What the F---?" 86
How many times did they vomit? Leigha took one for the team by barfing 12 times in a hole in the ground toilet.....yeah she's a champ.
How many beers did they drink? too many
How much Sake did they drink? a lot
How much Sake did my mom drink? more than anyone
How many inappropriate jokes were made? alot- especially at the end.
This is a basic measure of the culture shock they went through. They also went through the other end of culture shock- the part Isaac and I are only now starting to go through. This is when everything is idealized and seen through the lens of rose colored asian lovin glasses:
Wow it's so clean here. Wow people are so nice. Wow the service is amazing. Wow people are so efficient. Wow people dress better here. Wow this _____ is so smart. Wow they take everything and make it better! Wow they have better______. Wow the women are so beautiful in Japan (This is accurate, sorry men) Wow they are such good drivers. Wow it's so safe here. WOW! WOW! WOW!
These things are all true of course- and it was fun to have all these conversations and experiences with my fam while we traveled around the beautiful country of Japan.
We managed to hit up Tokyo, Mt. Fuji, Mt Fuji's hole in the ground toilets, Shinkansen high speed trains, Kyoto, Osaka, Hiroshima, Miyajima, and the great city of YANAI! We spent one week on the road and then the last week in Yanai traveling around to the various towns and islands off the coast. It was ideal. Especially the last week where my family got the chance to meet all the amazing people we have made friends with in our time here.
They left January 8th and since then Isaac and I have been feeling up- that sounds bad....I just mean we are feeling like we can make it here. After they left Isaac and I decided we were pretty sure we only want to stay for one year. Even though we have been having a difficult time adjusting to life here we had a difficult time making the decision. As you all probably know better than us right now- the economy sucks in the U.S. and Isaac and I are fairly terrified about what will await us when we return. We have pretty much accepted we will be jobless for at least a year......yikes. We get paid pretty well in Japan, life is relatively easy and at the very least it's extremely comfortable and safe.....really safe. Not to mention all the awesome friendships we have made..... So it was difficult to check the "no" box on Isaac's re contracting form.
Speaking of safe- Isaac and I read about all the shootings happening in America right now and we are honestly a little terrified to come home. People are killing each other all the time in America. It's like one troubled person to the next decides to Rambo out on everyone around them. And their weapon of choice: a freakin shotgun, AK47, grandma's pistol you name it. It's no wonder whenever we ask if people will come and visit us in America they tell us they are too scared to come, "No I am afraid I will die if I go there." That's what Americans say about the Congo or Afghanistan, and it's what the rest of the world says about us.....makes you think. I mean, a lot of people in Japan literally think everyone in the states owns a gun, and at first I laughed at this- but now, after reading the U.S. headlines and living in such a safe place I started to wonder myself: Does everyone have a gun? And I find myself wondering how I managed to stay alive all these years.
Needless to say, I think re-entry will be difficult but Isaac and I are looking forward to it. We plan on coming back in July-August, of which we explain more later. And with us we hope to bring some high school and middle school kids that I have been teaching and whose families we have become good friends with. So yay- cute Japanese kids eager to speak english who are NOT as terrified as we are about coming to America. haha. I hope some of you all can meet them when we get back.
So now we are enjoying the time we have left in Japan. January and February have been damn cold but relatively mild compared to you all buried in the snow over there in 'Merca. We have been to see a piano recital, Avatar in 3-D with some Japanese friends, the Mantani Family. We have gone to see some cool temples and shrines, we have hung out with other english teachers. And we have been having fun teaching our classes and I have been having fun hopping around from hobby club to hobby club getting in as much as I can before we leave.
Which catches us up to this past weekend. Valentine's Day was one of the best we have had. We spent Saturday reading, eating good food, watching movies, and writing. Sunday we went out for dinner to a new restaurant- always an adventure, and then headed to Oshima Island to help our friends the Kimura family pick Mikan- oranges! We spent a couple hours filling crates with oranges in the rural island of Oshima next to a hundred year old Shinto shrine- yeah, Happy Valentine's day. Then we went with the family to an awesome curry restaurant that overlooks the sea. It was wonderful.
We have some things coming up that we are looking forward too: A Naked Man Festival (yessss!) A visit from our friends Sarah Johnson and her boyfriend, more hanging out with our Japanese friends, ballroom dancing with one of my students in Hiroshima, another Tai-Chi festival, and a little vacation for Isaac and I on Shikoku island- a tour of onsens (hot springs) and rural country roads. This will be the first trip Isaac and I have taken alone since the wedding- a kind of honeymoon I guess, we are thrilled. We will be renting a car and hitting the roads of Shikoku Island to see one of Japan's hidden regions: Iya Valley. We will be sure to share more when it comes.
And in the distant future: A long visit from Tiffany Black May-June (horay!!!!). A trip to Turkey, and then finally a trip home. Time is flyin'.
We love hearing from you if you get the chance. Thanks for taking the time to read this and thanks for being patient as we get our updates out there.
February is cold here, but March comes bearing the infamous cherry blossom trees. Only 2 more weeks and we will have survived a winter with no central heating.
Love and Hugs
E & I
So here we go- it's been nagging at us for a while, not writing on here, because we have actually experienced some pretty amazing stuff. As you may know my family came in on December 26th, the day after Christmas and we met them in Tokyo. It was an awesome experience seeing them here. We couldn't wait to hug and kiss, chit chat, laugh, cry......but what Isaac and were the most excited about was inducing as much culture shock as possible in hopes of simulating the last 5 months we had experienced in our time here. Ya know, share the love and the misery... :o)
Were we successful? Yes we were. You wanna know how we measured? I'll tell you:
We simply asked ourselves these questions-
How many times did their jaws drop open in shock and surprise? 93
How many times did they ask why? 101
How many times did they ask, "Erin, what is happening?"? 46
How many times did they ask what they were eating? Every time they ate- except when we went to Mac D's.
How many times did we visit McDonalds: 20 (that number is accurate)
How many times did we visit McDonalds in one day: 3
How many times did they ask if there was really fish in this_____? 53
How many times did they utter the phrase "What the F---?" 86
How many times did they vomit? Leigha took one for the team by barfing 12 times in a hole in the ground toilet.....yeah she's a champ.
How many beers did they drink? too many
How much Sake did they drink? a lot
How much Sake did my mom drink? more than anyone
How many inappropriate jokes were made? alot- especially at the end.
This is a basic measure of the culture shock they went through. They also went through the other end of culture shock- the part Isaac and I are only now starting to go through. This is when everything is idealized and seen through the lens of rose colored asian lovin glasses:
Wow it's so clean here. Wow people are so nice. Wow the service is amazing. Wow people are so efficient. Wow people dress better here. Wow this _____ is so smart. Wow they take everything and make it better! Wow they have better______. Wow the women are so beautiful in Japan (This is accurate, sorry men) Wow they are such good drivers. Wow it's so safe here. WOW! WOW! WOW!
These things are all true of course- and it was fun to have all these conversations and experiences with my fam while we traveled around the beautiful country of Japan.
We managed to hit up Tokyo, Mt. Fuji, Mt Fuji's hole in the ground toilets, Shinkansen high speed trains, Kyoto, Osaka, Hiroshima, Miyajima, and the great city of YANAI! We spent one week on the road and then the last week in Yanai traveling around to the various towns and islands off the coast. It was ideal. Especially the last week where my family got the chance to meet all the amazing people we have made friends with in our time here.
They left January 8th and since then Isaac and I have been feeling up- that sounds bad....I just mean we are feeling like we can make it here. After they left Isaac and I decided we were pretty sure we only want to stay for one year. Even though we have been having a difficult time adjusting to life here we had a difficult time making the decision. As you all probably know better than us right now- the economy sucks in the U.S. and Isaac and I are fairly terrified about what will await us when we return. We have pretty much accepted we will be jobless for at least a year......yikes. We get paid pretty well in Japan, life is relatively easy and at the very least it's extremely comfortable and safe.....really safe. Not to mention all the awesome friendships we have made..... So it was difficult to check the "no" box on Isaac's re contracting form.
Speaking of safe- Isaac and I read about all the shootings happening in America right now and we are honestly a little terrified to come home. People are killing each other all the time in America. It's like one troubled person to the next decides to Rambo out on everyone around them. And their weapon of choice: a freakin shotgun, AK47, grandma's pistol you name it. It's no wonder whenever we ask if people will come and visit us in America they tell us they are too scared to come, "No I am afraid I will die if I go there." That's what Americans say about the Congo or Afghanistan, and it's what the rest of the world says about us.....makes you think. I mean, a lot of people in Japan literally think everyone in the states owns a gun, and at first I laughed at this- but now, after reading the U.S. headlines and living in such a safe place I started to wonder myself: Does everyone have a gun? And I find myself wondering how I managed to stay alive all these years.
Needless to say, I think re-entry will be difficult but Isaac and I are looking forward to it. We plan on coming back in July-August, of which we explain more later. And with us we hope to bring some high school and middle school kids that I have been teaching and whose families we have become good friends with. So yay- cute Japanese kids eager to speak english who are NOT as terrified as we are about coming to America. haha. I hope some of you all can meet them when we get back.
So now we are enjoying the time we have left in Japan. January and February have been damn cold but relatively mild compared to you all buried in the snow over there in 'Merca. We have been to see a piano recital, Avatar in 3-D with some Japanese friends, the Mantani Family. We have gone to see some cool temples and shrines, we have hung out with other english teachers. And we have been having fun teaching our classes and I have been having fun hopping around from hobby club to hobby club getting in as much as I can before we leave.
Which catches us up to this past weekend. Valentine's Day was one of the best we have had. We spent Saturday reading, eating good food, watching movies, and writing. Sunday we went out for dinner to a new restaurant- always an adventure, and then headed to Oshima Island to help our friends the Kimura family pick Mikan- oranges! We spent a couple hours filling crates with oranges in the rural island of Oshima next to a hundred year old Shinto shrine- yeah, Happy Valentine's day. Then we went with the family to an awesome curry restaurant that overlooks the sea. It was wonderful.
We have some things coming up that we are looking forward too: A Naked Man Festival (yessss!) A visit from our friends Sarah Johnson and her boyfriend, more hanging out with our Japanese friends, ballroom dancing with one of my students in Hiroshima, another Tai-Chi festival, and a little vacation for Isaac and I on Shikoku island- a tour of onsens (hot springs) and rural country roads. This will be the first trip Isaac and I have taken alone since the wedding- a kind of honeymoon I guess, we are thrilled. We will be renting a car and hitting the roads of Shikoku Island to see one of Japan's hidden regions: Iya Valley. We will be sure to share more when it comes.
And in the distant future: A long visit from Tiffany Black May-June (horay!!!!). A trip to Turkey, and then finally a trip home. Time is flyin'.
We love hearing from you if you get the chance. Thanks for taking the time to read this and thanks for being patient as we get our updates out there.
February is cold here, but March comes bearing the infamous cherry blossom trees. Only 2 more weeks and we will have survived a winter with no central heating.
Love and Hugs
E & I
Monday, January 11, 2010
Pictures
Hey Everyone,
I know I am lame and don't write on the blog as often or....well, at all. But at least I upload pictures and let you know when they are available! yay! So, if interested, please check out the latest pics. There are a lot. My family came to Japan and we spent the holidays hopping from place to place exploring. So please, check them out. I will do my best to go through them and write out the locations and descriptions, but....don't hold your breath because I may get tired and stop half way through. Like I said, this isn't something I am very good at.
Hope everyone had a good holiday season and is looking forward to a New Year and bright future! (yay)
We miss you all and look forward to seeing you when we return!
Love and Hugs
Thursday, December 24, 2009
me-ri ku-ri-su-ma-su to all
Merry Christmas from Japan.
Erin and I are hopping on a night bus to Tokyo 15 minutes after I get out of work, and from there we`ll be hopping around the country for a week, so it`s not looking like I`m going to be able to make Christmas phone calls like I`d hoped. So I just wanted to drop a quick note to everyone and let you know that we`re thinking about you all and miss you all somethin terrible, especially on this day.
As I write this Santa is making the rounds in North America finally. He was here about twelve hours ago but he didn`t leave much for anyone from what I can gather. Something about his sleigh being full of stuff for the Americans.
I, on the other hand, am, for the first time, ringing in a bright and cheery Christmas morning here in my office at school. In fact, I celebrated Christmas this morning by giving out the gift of As on about 25 essays I needed to finish grading before the break. I felt rather cheery about that.
That`s not to say that there`s been no Christmas celebration in Japan. Quite the opposite, in fact. The Japanese do Christmas like they do so many Western traditions that have taken hold throughout the country: on Speed. As early as mid-October shelves at the local Mr. Max (think Wal-Mart with udon and a cuter pet store) started filling up with what I guessed were the Christmas decorations that Chinese companies couldn`t sell to America last year (the stuff that even the people with blow up Snow Globes in their yards think of as tacky). The rule of thumb seems to be that if it doesn`t somehow max out all of the five senses, it`s not good enough for Christmas.
After weeks of anticipation we finally got to see all of these Christmas decorations in their full glory on Wednesday night when we attended a "choir concert" that one of Erin`s students was singing in. We forgot our camera, and that will go down as the single greatest regret in my entire life because it`s never been more true that there simply are NO words. I mean I could tell you that at one point, at this Christmas choir concert, a Jimi Hendrix cover was sandwiched between two Eric Clapton songs, played by a local band named 2theMax, while a pirate clown with green dreads danced with a cross dressing chubby kid in a red halter top, both of whom seemed to be part of clown troupe led by the night`s MC/photographer who was wearing a brown dog mask. I could tell you that, but would it really help you understand the experience of Christmas in Japan? No.
I will tell you, however, that I think December 23 will go down as the day in this adventure where my feelings for Japan finally started to resemble less of a confused, timid fear and moreso a deep abiding appreciation for strangeness.
Well, I`m off to try and make some final preparations. We`re meeting family in Tokyo in 24 hours! That, I think, will probably never be a true sentence again in my life. From there it`s on to Mt. Fuji, Kyoto, Osaka, Nara, and, the highlight of every tourist`s Japanese adventure, Yanai, Yamaguchi, Japan.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
jyu-ichi-gatsu
That`s Japanese for November! Though now it's already jyu-ni-gatsu...
I have two drafts for entries from this month that will have to wait. I just haven`t found the opportunity to fully hash either one of them out up to this point. You see, I`ve had quite a full plate for this past week, constantly bouncing back and forth between studying the slight variations in shades of matte gray that covers my desk and every once in a while standing up to walk around the teacher`s room frantically, so that everyone gets the impression that I`m equally as stressed out about this week as them. That`s what I feel the need to write about right now.
So it`s testing week for high schoolers here in Yamaguchi-ken. You can tell it`s testing week because the droves of kids marching from the train station to school are making the morning commutes from automatic-muscle-memory, their eyes and minds buried in the books relevant to that day`s test subjects. What this means for teachers is that regular classes are cancelled in favor of half day test-o-thons where everyone runs around looking really stressed for the first half and then for the other half of the day they bury themselves in these monstrous stacks of papers and use only small, red pens to dig themselves out. It takes hours and looks terribly tramautizing for everyone. Anyway, as usual, I`m not completely clear about what exactly is going on around me from moment to moment. But, as usual, I know that it`s important and everyone is really worked up about it.
What testing week means for me, though, is absolutely n-o-t-h-i-n-g.
I`ve been through a week like this before. In fact, during my first month here there was a testing week, but I only vaguely remember it. Obviously, during my first few weeks here there was a lot going on and paying attention to variations in my workday somehow managed to fall through the cracks.
This time, however, I saw testing week coming. I didn`t know what to make of it, but as I watched that big, blank, empty page on my weekly planner move closer and closer I felt something akin to the feeling you get when you jump out of an airplane and you don't notice you've left behind your parachute until you're close enough to the ground to realize that it's really going to hurt when you hit it.
So I had the weekend and Thanksgiving came and went (more about that later). Then, like always, I sat down at my desk on Monday, 8:10AM, casually pushed the power button on my computer and pull out my weekly planner while it loads... I open the planner... Nothing but blankness stares back at me...blankly. And I stare blankly back at the blankness, and it stares back at me. And... Hmmmmmm... The wheels started turning. Nothing to do this week. Nothing to do... Hmmmm... Maybe I`ll just get online here and check the news... (10 minutes later) Maybe I`ll just get online here and check the news again... (repeat, for eight hours, then repeat again, this time for three days). Truly, I don`t mean to oversell it when I put it this way, I don`t think my time has ever felt so entirely meaningless in all of my life. Even compared to that summer after freshman year where my job was literally sweeping the dust off of the lumberyard parking lot (which, in retrospect, actually was a good job).
Gradually, excruciatingly, the week passed in shades of gray: I`d awake in the gray light of the morning and put on my grayest suit, eat a gray breakfast, put on my gray shoes and sit on my gray bike seat, pedaling through gray air on my way to gray building where I`d put my gray jacket in a gray locker and go sit in my gray chair at my gray desk and tap away mindlessly at gray computer keys until gray matter dripped out of my ears and piled up on my desk in front of me, where no one noticed it because it was gray on a gray background. I became depressed.
If you know me, you could've seen this coming. You would know that I shamefully SUCK at having nothing to do. Unfortunately, I don't know me as well as you, so I didn't, and it SUCKED.
So, it's likely that you are by now wondering why I decided to make my November update about the most boring, meaningless week I've ever experienced. If you're not wondering, I'll help you: this was the month of Thanksgiving and of working on the farm at my agricultural school and of school festivals and trips to Hiroshima! Are you wondering yet? Because you need to be wondering for me to need to write the next part.
OK. I'm writing about this stupidly mundane experience because 1) it feels like much needed therapy to write about it because last week was seriously very tramautizing in the degree of pointlessness I experienced as time slowly ticked by and 2) it really says a lot about what I'm doing here in Japan and I think it might have been somewhat of a pivotal week for me in my time here. I'll say a couple of things about the latter and hopefully the first one will continue to take care of itself.
I came to Japan mostly for the job. Yes, I wanted to travel, but I could travel anywhere and (truth be told) hold no deep, abiding interest in the nation of Japan specifically beyond the fact that it is not the United States. Erin and I chose Japan, then, primarily because of the sweet career opportunity that the JET program represents. It's competitive, it pays well, and it's a huge, challenging adventure; a perfect fit for a freshly minted college graduate, right? Definitely right. Except there is no JET Program in any meaningful sense. To ask "what's it like to work for the JET program?" is in some ways similar to asking what it's like to work for a temp. placement agency. The only honest answer is "well, it really depends on a LOT of factors." That's because the JET program is only little more than the placement agency that gets you a job with a local school district or board of education. What your job is, then, depends almost entirely on what specific school or schools you end up in. Sometimes it is the "adventure in inter-cultural exchange" advertised on the JET program webpage, and sometimes it's...different than that.
When I got here, and for the first months I was living and working here, I definitely expected the "JET program" to be the adventure of a lifetime as, one could argue, it is advertised. I expected it to be like any job you get in that adventure: Congratulations, you're hired, here's your placement, here's what we expect, this is what your job is, you're not quite meeting our expectations, could you please do a little more of this and a little less of that, you're doing this really well, etc, etc, etc. Like any job, only with more amazing, awe-inspiring, life-changing inter-cultural learning and exchange happening. But the JET program isn't a job, it's a placement agency and what your job is is an entirely different question. My job, it turns out, is to show up for class on time, speak English when asked, and generally be foreign. The JET program does present the opportunity for adventure, of course, but this job is most definitely not the adventure...
To put it another way, what I finally learned in an agonizing fashion this week is that my job is basically entirely up to me. My school really doesn't expect anything of me besides being present during the work day and going to class when one is scheduled. That means that I have to truly come up with my own objectives and find ways to spend my own time if I want to take anything away from this opportunity. That was not my understanding of any of the Japanese way of doing things, Japanese schools, Japanese work-places, etc. In fact, it was so not what I expected that it really has taken me until this week to learn that what I do in this job is up to me.
Friday afternoon, I finally took all of this to heart and the day flew by as I started a craft project creating an English message center where I'll post weekly or monthly discussion questions and the kids can either post public responses or write personal messages to me. I'm really excited about it, and no one assigned it to me and no one ever would because no one has any idea what my job is supposed to be. It's supposed to be whatever I make it be. I`ve heard a big, strange sounding, conjunction of a word used to describe situations like this before. Supposedly, it`s valued by employers and most folks in general. I think it`s called being "self-directed." Hm.
Anyway, that`s what I learned this week.
Also, life is generally good and mundane. I`m still way up in the air about an actual career choice, and for some reason that seems to have been weighing down on me a lot lately. I can`t stop thinking about what I should be doing with my life after the JET program. Any tips will be greatly appreciated.
I`ve had the chance to milk a cow, tend to greenhouse tomatoes, plant flowers, feed a calf, and generally enjoy some other farm-related activities at my agricultural school. That`s definitely my favorite school. Erin and I got the chance to experience three different typs of Japanese festivals in one day on a day off this month. There will be more to say about that later.
And, Thanksgiving was awesome, both of them. For one we went over to another ALTs house and for the other we had this fusion-Japan-American Thanksgiving at the house of a retired Marine and his Japanese wife. Details to follow soon!
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
JAPAN!?
At long last, fall has blown into Yamaguchi-ken with a strong, swift sigh of relief. Thinking about it, it`s funny how in our time here the outside weather situation has become so clearly analogous with our ``inside situations.`` I think back, relucantly, to those stifling, steamy, unbearable few days after we had first arrived, when the heat and humidity pushed down on us relentlessly and once basic situations became impossibly complicated, and all we could manage to think about was how we were going to escape it all. It was hard to move at all during those days, much less 'experience Japan.' Then the heat would break occasionally and we`d be a little bit more comfortable making our way to the grocery store or the ATM, and we`d see glimpses of a life we would be able to bare. Then there were the inevitable storms, even a typhoon or two that barely missed us, that we didn`t fully understand but which left us cowering in our rooms, windows once again closed tight, thinking about the possibility for escape. Sometime in the middle of last month, I think, we started waking up in the mornings and there'd be this breeze blowing in through our windows that actually had a chill to it. We'd have to close up all the windows and began pulling our space heaters out of the closet. We had no idea what this sudden chill meant, but we were enjoying it.
It's turned out, and thank God for it, that fall here is just beautiful. Suddenly, we're walking around outside in relative comfort, taking newly discovered shortcuts to the grocery store, or choosing the long way because we felt like it and not because we were lost, happily choosing from a number of places where we wanted to go out to eat, even getting lost on purpose in our now quaint feeling little town. As I write there's one of those misty, Japanese rains falling outside my window, but it's no longer that sludge that Erin and I pushed our way through on our first night here. Now it's a familiar, cooling comfort, a good reason to finally stay in for an evening and appreciate our cozy little home. It's easy to forget sometimes, but the seasons will always change, wont they?
Of course, all of this slowing down and enjoying has left us with a bit more time on our hands to spend wondering why in the hell we decided to go through all of this in the first place. Let me be clear: we're not at home here. We enjoy ourselves in spite of the fact that we miss everyone all the time, we miss everything familiar, and we have our days where all we want is to be stuck in traffic on some familiar Indiana interestate before the sun comes up on our way to a job that's driving us crazy in America. So why are we here?
Japan was always just sort of the next thing we were going to go for, ever since we first had a friend who did the program up her graduation, while we were sophmores. We chose philosophy and theology majors without any career tracks in mind, basically to keep ourselves free to decide later on, and, it turns out, the JET program is somehow the most logical next step on the career path for a philosophy/theology major. In other words, hey, it's a job... Then there's the passion for travel and experiencing different cultures. Then there's the simple fact that there didn't seem to be anything better to do. Why not have the adventure of a lifetime? As so many of you have told me, "now's the time..."
All of this was good and fine throughout college. Adventure, exploration, etc. etc. Strangely, something started happening for Erin and I about January of last year. We started having thoughts of a family, of the importance of community, and we started talking about the meaningful types of adventure that can be had just by getting to know yourself and where you already stand more deeply. This was the beginning of a somewhat gradual shift in the way each of us thought about and valued ourselves and the world we live in. We were starting to take place and relationships far more seriously than we ever had before. We even started talking about farming as a possible expression of this thinking about life, and have talked about it only more seriously ever since.This is something I've since given quite a bit of thought, still not so much as it's due, and I hope to write about it at length another time. I'm only speculating, but I think this might be what some people are referring to when they sometimes talk about "growing up." Like I said, this change was ever so gradual and ever so quiet, but it was also quite obvious and many of you have probably heard one of us speak or write about it from time to time.
Fortunately or unfortunately, there's no way to tell which, this subtle, gradual change was happening right in the middle of the combination whirlwind/earthquake/typhoon that we usually just call life, and so we didn't really get much of a chance to pay it a whole lot of attention. In other words, this stuff started to come up for us right about the time we found out we were going to get interviews for the JET program... The conversation maybe went something like this: (last January) "Hey, Erin." "Yeah Isaac?" "I've been thinking about the value of community and deep pers...WHOAH HOLY CRAP JAPAN!? WHOAH!?? WHAT THE CRAP WE COULD GO TO FRICKING JAPAN OH MY GOD CAN YOU BELIEVE IT WE'RE GOING TO INTERVIEW TO LIVE IN JAPAN WITH THE JET PROGRAM!! WHOOOOAAAAHHHH!!!!" (eight months later, and in Japan...) "...onal reflection and really considering what is important in my life. I think maybe we should think about buying some land and... Wait a minute..."
So, that's something about how we ended up here and what we're doing (and not doing) in Japan. That's not to say, obviously, that our time in Japan is a waste. How could it be? It's just to say that, as will happen from time to time in life, our priorities didn't quite sync up naturally with our realities. We're making the most of it here, but all of this I think has only made it all the more difficult to adjust to life in Japan, right when we're starting to realize what it is that we want most out of our life in general... It has also, however, made our transition here all the more valuable. It's made us really scrutinize those values and think about what they truly mean and where they are coming from. Our core values are definitely something we take for granted living in the relative comfort of our native society. If you value something and you're in your own society, you go out and get it, or you don't. If you value something and you're in an entirely new and foreign society, you're a little bit stuck both ways... We can't just go help out a friend on a farm here, we can't just dig up a garden, we can't just sign up for crafts classes at the local civic center for a lot of reasons which are difficult to understand until you run straight into them. So we've had to get creative. We have to ask, what do these values mean to us and why do we hold them? Are they too important to wait? If so, how can we express them ASAP? Questions like these can only ever be a good thing. And we're definitely learning more about ourselves and our values than we've ever cared to before...
Long story just a little bit longer, as a result of this questioning, we've begun to find ways to live out our values in our life here in Japan. Erin, like always, is chipping away writing that awesome story that will someday be a an awesome book. She's also really building up "Erin's English Conversation School" and has six students this week, with more on the way. It seems like being self-employed is hella tight. I've befriended a gardening instructor at one of my agricultural high schools who pushes his high-school level English to very max to help me get involved with the fully functioning farm at the school. Tomorrow, he says, I will be onionman! Last week I was flowerman. And, finally, one of Erin's students RUNS A FRICKING FARM with her husband THAT TAKES INTERNS, and they both speak English! She's going to ask this week about how we can get out there as much as possible and help them out to learn from them...
So that's something like what's been going on here recently.
Thanks for listening! We'll keep you posted!
--
http://loveandengrish.blogspot.com/
It's turned out, and thank God for it, that fall here is just beautiful. Suddenly, we're walking around outside in relative comfort, taking newly discovered shortcuts to the grocery store, or choosing the long way because we felt like it and not because we were lost, happily choosing from a number of places where we wanted to go out to eat, even getting lost on purpose in our now quaint feeling little town. As I write there's one of those misty, Japanese rains falling outside my window, but it's no longer that sludge that Erin and I pushed our way through on our first night here. Now it's a familiar, cooling comfort, a good reason to finally stay in for an evening and appreciate our cozy little home. It's easy to forget sometimes, but the seasons will always change, wont they?
Of course, all of this slowing down and enjoying has left us with a bit more time on our hands to spend wondering why in the hell we decided to go through all of this in the first place. Let me be clear: we're not at home here. We enjoy ourselves in spite of the fact that we miss everyone all the time, we miss everything familiar, and we have our days where all we want is to be stuck in traffic on some familiar Indiana interestate before the sun comes up on our way to a job that's driving us crazy in America. So why are we here?
Japan was always just sort of the next thing we were going to go for, ever since we first had a friend who did the program up her graduation, while we were sophmores. We chose philosophy and theology majors without any career tracks in mind, basically to keep ourselves free to decide later on, and, it turns out, the JET program is somehow the most logical next step on the career path for a philosophy/theology major. In other words, hey, it's a job... Then there's the passion for travel and experiencing different cultures. Then there's the simple fact that there didn't seem to be anything better to do. Why not have the adventure of a lifetime? As so many of you have told me, "now's the time..."
All of this was good and fine throughout college. Adventure, exploration, etc. etc. Strangely, something started happening for Erin and I about January of last year. We started having thoughts of a family, of the importance of community, and we started talking about the meaningful types of adventure that can be had just by getting to know yourself and where you already stand more deeply. This was the beginning of a somewhat gradual shift in the way each of us thought about and valued ourselves and the world we live in. We were starting to take place and relationships far more seriously than we ever had before. We even started talking about farming as a possible expression of this thinking about life, and have talked about it only more seriously ever since.This is something I've since given quite a bit of thought, still not so much as it's due, and I hope to write about it at length another time. I'm only speculating, but I think this might be what some people are referring to when they sometimes talk about "growing up." Like I said, this change was ever so gradual and ever so quiet, but it was also quite obvious and many of you have probably heard one of us speak or write about it from time to time.
Fortunately or unfortunately, there's no way to tell which, this subtle, gradual change was happening right in the middle of the combination whirlwind/earthquake/typhoon that we usually just call life, and so we didn't really get much of a chance to pay it a whole lot of attention. In other words, this stuff started to come up for us right about the time we found out we were going to get interviews for the JET program... The conversation maybe went something like this: (last January) "Hey, Erin." "Yeah Isaac?" "I've been thinking about the value of community and deep pers...WHOAH HOLY CRAP JAPAN!? WHOAH!?? WHAT THE CRAP WE COULD GO TO FRICKING JAPAN OH MY GOD CAN YOU BELIEVE IT WE'RE GOING TO INTERVIEW TO LIVE IN JAPAN WITH THE JET PROGRAM!! WHOOOOAAAAHHHH!!!!" (eight months later, and in Japan...) "...onal reflection and really considering what is important in my life. I think maybe we should think about buying some land and... Wait a minute..."
So, that's something about how we ended up here and what we're doing (and not doing) in Japan. That's not to say, obviously, that our time in Japan is a waste. How could it be? It's just to say that, as will happen from time to time in life, our priorities didn't quite sync up naturally with our realities. We're making the most of it here, but all of this I think has only made it all the more difficult to adjust to life in Japan, right when we're starting to realize what it is that we want most out of our life in general... It has also, however, made our transition here all the more valuable. It's made us really scrutinize those values and think about what they truly mean and where they are coming from. Our core values are definitely something we take for granted living in the relative comfort of our native society. If you value something and you're in your own society, you go out and get it, or you don't. If you value something and you're in an entirely new and foreign society, you're a little bit stuck both ways... We can't just go help out a friend on a farm here, we can't just dig up a garden, we can't just sign up for crafts classes at the local civic center for a lot of reasons which are difficult to understand until you run straight into them. So we've had to get creative. We have to ask, what do these values mean to us and why do we hold them? Are they too important to wait? If so, how can we express them ASAP? Questions like these can only ever be a good thing. And we're definitely learning more about ourselves and our values than we've ever cared to before...
Long story just a little bit longer, as a result of this questioning, we've begun to find ways to live out our values in our life here in Japan. Erin, like always, is chipping away writing that awesome story that will someday be a an awesome book. She's also really building up "Erin's English Conversation School" and has six students this week, with more on the way. It seems like being self-employed is hella tight. I've befriended a gardening instructor at one of my agricultural high schools who pushes his high-school level English to very max to help me get involved with the fully functioning farm at the school. Tomorrow, he says, I will be onionman! Last week I was flowerman. And, finally, one of Erin's students RUNS A FRICKING FARM with her husband THAT TAKES INTERNS, and they both speak English! She's going to ask this week about how we can get out there as much as possible and help them out to learn from them...
So that's something like what's been going on here recently.
Thanks for listening! We'll keep you posted!
--
http://loveandengrish.blogspot.com/
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Pictures and Updates
Hey Everyone
New pictures from August are already up and updates will be coming soon! Check them out.
--
http://loveandengrish.blogspot.com/
http://picasaweb.google.com/EEHoug
New pictures from August are already up and updates will be coming soon! Check them out.
--
http://loveandengrish.blogspot.com/
http://picasaweb.google.com/EEHoug
Thursday, October 15, 2009
You Tube Videos Fixed
Hey Everyone. I finally was able to fix part 4 of the Adventures in Yanai. I think it should work now. Sorry it took so long to figure out. I obviously do not know what I am doing.
Peace
Erin
--
http://loveandengrish.blogspot.com/
http://picasaweb.google.com/EEHoug
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Really?
How do we compete with this? This guy just does everything...
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/12/business/global/12iht-speech.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/12/business/global/12iht-speech.html
September-ish update
``Well, wuddaya know? We`ve done it. Two months in Japan...``
That`s how I began this entry two weeks ago when I intended to have it finished and sent out. In retrospect, it`s better that I didn`t get any further at that point because I think that the next lines would have gone something more like this:
``I waaaaaaaaana gooooo hoooooooooommmmmeee noowwwww!!! NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW! This is too hard and I don`t wanna do it! I`m hungry, I`m tired, I`m scared, and sad. I don`t wannnnaaaa. NononononononononononononNO! I want a cheeseburger and french fries and english speakers and food with spices and wide-open, flat, boring country-side and familiar faces and big, loud, obnoxious cars that pour out black exaust and run you off the road and rude people and crappy restaurants with bad service and cheap, crappy, Wal-Mart stuff and guns and freedom and....! I want it nooooooowwwwwwwwwwwww now now now now.``
Obviously, it`s a good thing I got too busy to write there for a while at the beginning of the month.
Once again, it`s been a roller-coaster of a time. I think at this point, though, I can safely say that it`s leveling out more toward the middle instead of the low-points. We`re finally, I think, finding a routine and things, slowly but surely, are feeling somewhat normal.
I think Erin covered most things from September in her entry (sweet road bikes, vacations, etc) so I`ll leave that be. It all seems like such a blur sometimes that I`m not even sure if I could tell you if last week I was on vacation in Kyoto or just getting off the plane (I`m pretty sure it was neither). I can`t believe it`s October! I do remember one time many weeks ago when Erin and I were sorting through all the stuff in our closet leftover from 17 years of ALTs living in our apartment. It was soooooooooo hot out at the time and we found a stash of space heaters and things and just packed them away without thinking about it. In the blink of an eye we have to dust them off and figure out how to use them... My sense of time feels soooo messed up...
We definitely had a few rough patches there around the turn of the month. One week, as the cool fall air was thinking about blowing in, we had about seven straight days of rain. And I ride my bike to work as far as 8 or 9 miles on different days. Needless to say, about Wednesday of that week might have been my low point in Japan...
The high points, though, are many and piling up faster than we can keep track of them. Erin has a few students signed up for some conversation lessons, which will begin this week. She`s going full swing in TaiChi, tea ceremony, kimono, and will begin cooking classes this week. We had Erin`s birthday party along with a friend of ours' party last Friday and had about 18 people there. Half of them were Japanese friends and half were ALTs. We`re really starting to form a community and, like I said, feel a little bit normal about life in Yanai...
I`m studying 25 new Japanese characters a day (I`m up to 450, or nearly 25% of the Japanese writing system!) Contrary to popular belief, I`ve actually found this studying to be hugely rewarding. First of all there`s the obvious benefit of getting around in the culture somewhat easier when you can read a few of the signs. But also, I think I`m learning that Japanese isn`t any more difficult to learn than any other language, it`s just soooo different from English. That`s been a good thing so far, because it`s kept everything interesting. It`s also really interesting to be learning Japanese while trying to teach English. I think that`s shown me that as complicated as Japanese is it can`t be any more difficult than English. I get so many obscure questions about English grammar and spelling everyday that really makes no sense to me whatsoever. English has got to be one of the most inconsistent means for communication ever devised...
Other than that, this has been an overall amazing time for some personal growth and self-reflection. My job isn`t exactly what you might call `time consuming` so I get to take about 30 minutes a day in the mornings to just sit and write my thoughts. That`s been very, very, immeasurably helpful for coping with the stresses. I sent out a couple slices of those thoughts in that IN blog, and I`m really grateful to have the time to sit and process through all of that stuff. I think I`d go crazy without it... I'm still sitting with all of that stuff and am so excited to see how it develops. Lately, these ideas of nothing and nothingness have kept popping up in terms of some Buddhist ideas that keep coming my way. I'm not sure how to study "Buddhist ideas" but I do think that, in general terms, one can safely say that Japanese/Buddhist/Zen/Eastern ways of engaging with and thinking about nothingness and being and non-being differ from those ways and ideas in my culture. More on that on some other boring, existential feeling Wednesday morning...
Now that things are settling down Erin and I have taken some more time to sit still and think about the direction we want our lives together to take. We`re pretty happy with the possibilities but it all still seems so up in the air. Things are really just starting to hum right along as we get into the swing of things, and we`re just now able to really think about how we can make the most of this next year in Japan for ourselves. From where I`m standing, I`m pretty sure it`s gonna be a good one and we'll see what happens from there. We made a pact about a week ago to stop all discussion about how long we will be in Japan until around December, when we will finally sit down and have a discussion about long term goals for our lives and how we will get there... It's tough to put that on the back-burner but life is like any great story...as tempting as it is to jump ahead you just have to wait and see.
I think that`s about all I`ve got to cover for now. Thanks to everyone for the care-packages (Mimi and Papa, Gramma and Papa, Kent and Karen, Jess and John, Daddio, Scott (the bag of Hoosier dirt is hanging on the wall next to me as I write this)). It`s funny that so far they`ve been at perfect intervals so that when we run out of something another package arrives in a few days to stock us up again. That`s been really nice.
I`m sorry this has been all over the place but I didn`t really have any time to plan it out so I just sort of typed stuff out as I thought of it this time. Hopefully, the next entry will be a bit more organized.
Please, everyone, keep writing responses and let us know what`s going on in your worlds. We`re doing our best to keep in touch!!!
Much, much, much love! We miss you and can`t wait to see you again!
Isaac
--
http://loveandengrish.blogspot.com/
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