アンドリューの日本ブログ

Winter #2 in Japan!!

2010-02-04T22:31:00.000-08:00

So, yes, I've been neglecting this blog. I prefer facebook, frankly. Go there to see moooore updates...
Anyway, I AM in my second winter over here in Japan. It is cold (though not nearly as cold as Iowa). I was fortunate enough to have been able to go back to the USA for xmas and let me tell you, it was AWESOME! I love the US. Maybe for the wrong reasons... namely the greasy, greasy food... secondly the price of things compared to Japan, but in the good category was definitely friends and family.

As for Japan, my house is uninsulated and I use a kerosene space heater to combat the cold. This year I also purchased a 2nd hand electric carpet that I sit on and play video game and eat chocolate.
This is my alarm clock, which happens to also have a thermometer in it. I wasn't aware of the thermometer when I bought it, but now it is a painful reminder every morning just how cold my house is. Here it is 2 C inside!! That's 35 F!! My shower has already frozen 3 times (my fault for not leaving it dripping, but I forgot).

It really doesn't snow very much here in Ubuyama, but when it does it makes my life miserable. In general, Japanese people freak out about snow and almost everyone has snow tires. It makes sense where I live, but I refuse to buy them. I just use my chains if need be. If I didn't live on such a big hill, I wouldn't even use them. Honestly, the snowy days are so few, that I usually just end up staying home in bad weather and the roads get better within a day or so.

While this is true for most roads, it is not true for my driveway. My driveway is really, really steep and long. Plus it's in the shade, so it takes a LONG time to melt.

This is my car parked at the bottom of my hill. I went to school with chains and it warmed up, so I took them off before returning on the clear road. I figured I would be able to ascend the hill, but I was wrong, so I had to park at the bottom and walk the 1/4 mile to my house. lame

All this snow, however, does have it's advantages... One night I came home at 11:30 pm and failed yet again to ascend my hill. On the hill this time, however, were a bunch of lights and people. Needless to say I was surprised! I live in the MIDDLE. OF. NOWHERE. I never see anyone out here and here were a bunch of people filming and snowboarding on a handrail by the old, abandoned school. Turns out, they skateboard too and know some of my skater friends in Kumamoto City. Small world.

Winter also means that it's my birthday! This year I turned 28 and my friends had a nice party for me. I've got some nice friends! Thanks for the cake!

Swine flu in Japan

2009-09-14T23:23:00.000-07:00

So we've been dealing with swine flu here in Japan for a while now and many people have become infected. Japanese people basically flip out when it comes to stuff like this, apparently. It's a country where even cab drivers wear white gloves to keep everything clean. It is also customary to wear a mask if you are sick, feeling like you might get sick, or even if you aren't sick. In short, everyone here has freaked out about the swine flu.

Events have been canceled, airlines have quarantined people from other countries, masks have sold out on several occasions and so on and so on. Here in Ubuyama, there have not been any cases yet, but it has gotten to small communities in this area now. So far, relating to my life personally, they have canceled the exchange program between Ubuyama and Thailand (both ways), canceled my summer English camp at the beach and flooded my desk (and my head) with announcements about the virus.

When swine flu first came to Japan they called it "buta influenza" or "pig flu" just as in the rest of the world. But about a month after this name became popular the Japanese government thought that associating the flu with pork products might lead to fewer sales of the delicious meat, so they changed the name to "shingata influenza" or "new flu." It was really annoying because I had to learn a whole new word and I liked having the pig mascot leading the flu epidemic. The jokes I made were more fun too. Oh well...

Here is a display in your typical drug store. The sign right in the middle is for masks.

Airline security set up heat detecting cameras to catch and quarantine people with fevers. Foreigners, especially, were targeted in this, sometimes even while traveling domestically. It was ridiculous. Eventually people became annoyed by this unfair treatment and the person in charge of the operation came out saying that she knew all along it wasn't going to be effective. She said it was all a show, basically, to make it look like they were fighting the flu hard.

As the flu got closer and closer to Ubuyama, public buildings (everywhere) starting placing hand sanitizer at entryways. These are the ones at my school:

I also noticed that soap showed up at the spigots outside the building.
Despite all of the efforts, nothing will stop the flu, I'm afraid. That, beyond anything, is what Japanese people (and everyone else) need to realize. People will get it, people will die, and, yes people should wash their hands more, but please just chill out people. Quit canceling fun, educational and important events already! Especially ones where I get to go to the beach!!!

Japanese BBQ

2009-09-07T23:06:00.000-07:00

During a Japanese style BBQ you will notice a few things that are different than in America. Beyond the fact that the fires are started with a blow torch and a fan - no lighter fluid, the first obvious thing that separates western BBQ's with Japanese BBQ's is that, in Japan, it looks like a bunch of alien looking life forms landed on the grill. You might also notice the lack of American hot dogs and hamburgers. Also, there are no steaks, rather bite-sized cuts of veggies and meat to be grilled and dipped in sauce.

This particular BBQ was held at my supervisor's house when my predecessor came to visit. It was fun!

Summer festivals

2009-09-06T18:44:00.000-07:00

Summer festivals are fun. Summer festivals are many. Summer festivals are best enjoyed with beer and sashimi.

Unfortunately for me, the summer is now over but I did make it to some festivals, of course. It's hard not to go to them, since there is a festival just about every day during the summer here. I have yet to go to some of the really BIG festivals, as where I live the festivals are rather small because of the small towns and villages. There are no big cities. However, the feel of these small festivals is really nice and you can go to some of them and be the only foreigner there. These are usually the biggest events in the villages all year, so everyone is out and having a good time. There's lots of cheap food vendors, games and fireworks. Fun times!

some street performances

Goto sensei!

Japanese kids love bugs...

Now that summer is drawing to a close it's time for me to get back to work. Personally this is fine in my book. Japanese people have to work over summer break anyway and students usually come to school every day for studying and exercise/sport clubs. It's really not much of a summer vacation here in a Japan. It mostly just means that they don't serve school lunch, which is awful. I just wind up eating cup noodles or some other instant, just add water foodstuff. The first day of class was a welcome event as I was finally treated to a cheap, healthy and delicious school lunch again... my favorite, curry and rice! YAY

1 year Japanniversary!!

2009-08-06T21:47:00.001-07:00

Yeah, so I've been living the past few months on Facebook, so no new posts here. Though, I just realized that maybe I should write something here. I consider this more the story and diary-like than Facebooks, so I shouldn't neglect it.

So, what have I been up to lately??
I continue to study Japanese almost every day. After one year, I must say that I've made a lot of progress with my Japanese. I can follow most conversations and can often understand jokes and what not. I'm far from great, but just living here has become very easy. I can ask for anything I need and am never worried about not being able to communicate anything that I need to communicate. This next year I hope to get a lot better still.

My favorite thing to do at the moment is go skateboarding and run. I went to this skatepark in the spring and realized how out of shape I am, so I started a plan... well, not really a plan so much as I just started running every day. I started out running for about 1 hour really slow, then after a few weeks I started a 5 kilometer route that takes me up some big hills. Two days ago (August 5) I ran my 150th km of the summer. Now I feel a lot better about myself. Plus, since the Japanese skaters at the skatepark are so skinny and ripped, I don't feel as bad about taking my shirt off on those impossibly hot and miserable days at the skatepark! Though, I'm still much fatter than everyone else there.

Oh Japan... Oh snack bar girls...

In sadder news, one of my closest friends in the area, Austin (above), moved to Sendai. I am sad that he's not around to hang out with anymore, as we always had good times, but his contract went up after his 5th year. He was lucky to get another contract through a school up there so I'm happy for him. Me and some friends are going to be making a road trip up there to Sendai in September. I'm excited, but I hate driving in Japan... At least it will be shared between all of us in the car.

My friend Paul had a birthday and we celebrated with a surprise party! It was fun!
I am also currently taking a "Suibokuga" (Indian ink drawing) class here in Ubuyama. I am learning how to paint flowers, grass and bamboo. It's fun, but hard.
I'm pretty bad...

sensei (below)
BBQ with students and parents: The best part about being in a small town is getting invited to BBQ's. I recently got invited to one by one of the teachers at the hoikuen (pre school). Her daughter (my student) and her friends were there (also my students)! It was great.

We ate a lot of meat and stayed up late as I listened to them all have a very good conversation. Despite the very rapid, difficult Japanese, I had a great time just listening and chiming in every now and then.

So, yeah. Things are going good. I am glad to have a year behind me now with my study and experience here in Japan. Life has gotten a lot easier and hopefully next year will be even better!

Now I leave you with an image... it is a very beautiful woman in a very short skirt handing out cigarettes at a bar one night in the city. It's amazing that anyone can resist smoking when there are such dark and powerful advertising forces at work here in Japan. I'm doing my best...

Passing the Kumamoto Driving Test

2009-08-06T19:54:00.000-07:00

Here are some tips I have for anyone trying to pass the Kumamoto driving test. This may or may not be interesting to anyone else, but it shows just how ridiculous it is to get your license here in Japan.

I took the test with a manual transmission. The manual transmission isn't really the thing to worry about, as the details in the actual driving test are what is the main concern. Manual compounds the problem a bit if you aren't comfy with it, but i would focus on the driving. The clutch in the car is nicer than my own and very smooth. I ended up passing on my second try so it's not impossible, but many people take more than that.

JAPANESE SKILLS:
Obviously Japanese skills help, but as far as I can tell aren't completely necessary. They'll say stuff like "start, left here, right here, stop, go to the front cone, etc." Pretty basic. When they are explaining the test to you it's all in Japanese. He said to me stuff like "if you hit a curb it's okay, just reverse and turn again. Don't driver over a curb... you will fail." Stuff like that.

WALK THE COURSE:
You can walk the course between 12-1:00pm. It will help you get comfortable with your turns.

TIPS FOR THE TEST (from my own experience):
-you will be nervous... it's bad to be nervous... try to relax... impossible tip, I know
-before getting in the car, physically check the front and back of the car
-open the door and get in
-close the door most of the way, then check to see if the seatbelt is in the door
-shut the door
-lock the door
-adjust your seat and touch the mirrors to adjust
-check passenger seatbelts (and say that you're checking all of this stuff out loud as you want it to be obvious that you're checking it, or use big head turns)
-your seatbelt
-pull on the parking break to make sure it's in use
-pump the brake
-put the car in neutral (manual transmission)
-say you're starting the car and start it
-take off parking break
-check right, left and back (big head moves and maybe saying you're checking them)
-turn signal and say (ikimasu= i'm going), 1st gear and go

MEMORIZE: You should have memorized the course. walking it is also a good idea. You can do that from noon-1pm. Below is the routes of course 1 & 2. The day of the test you will be assigned a course number. You will have to memorize that course for the day. If you fail that day, you might have a different course next time.
FIRST PRACTICE LOOP: You will make a loop to the right to get used to the car and come right back. It's good to make sure you ask when you can turn, but anywhere is OK. when in doubt always communicate

- Return to starting point and pull up to the cones and close to the curb. don't ever hit a curb or go past the cones, but you must be close.
- Turn off the car. For manual transmission, put the car in reverse (maybe 1st is ok too) and set the brake.
- Start it again, same as before.

THE MOST IMPORTANT TIPS:
- Making turns or changing lanes=very hard
- Go SLOW. not a race. on long straightaways I got into 3rd gear, then slow WAY down for the rest, as you'll have a lot to think about.

TO TURN OR CHANGE LANES:
- Always drive in the center or a little left in the lane.
- To turn or change lanes, first look back and say (yosh or OK).
- Put on your turn signal but DO NOT rush into the lane from there.
- Count to yourself 3 seconds as you drive forward.
- During these 3-5 seconds move to the side of the lane you are going to turn towards. hug the line, but don't go over it.
- Check over your shoulder again before making turn.
-turn

SUPER DUPER TIPS!!!

****** Put your signal on as EARLY as possible. If you are turning 1 block ahead, put your signal on 1/2 way there or earlier. At least 30 meters early. You will basically be driving every inch of the course with your signal on. It's ridiculous. Oh, and in the "S Curve" and "Crank" sections don't forget to signal early too.

************ The keys to being successful in the test are:
1) Signaling early enough.
2) Counting to 3 to yourself after your signal goes on, looking again and then turning (your focus should be in the front at all times).
3) Checking your mirrors constantly at intersections, cross walks and turns.
4) Not hitting the curbs. You can hit a curb, but DO NOT drive over it. Back up and try again. You can do that up to three times. If you drive over the curb you fail instantly.
5) I found it VERY IMPORTANT to drive in the center of the lane. This is important when making turns. During turns you must move to the side of the lane that you are turning into (in theory, to stop bikes from passing you during a turn). You will fail if you don't do this, so move all the way to the side of the lane without going over the lines or hitting a curb.

As for the stick shift... Just be smooth. On the "S" curve and the "Crank" you will be going very slow with the clutch half way in.
Also, on the straightaways when you get into second or third, take your foot off the clutch and rest it on the floor. Just relax.

It is a stressful thing, but not impossible. I failed the first time because I looked, signaled, looked and turned too fast. I learned to count to myself for 3 seconds after I put on my initial signal, then look again and turn. Also, I didn't signal early enough and moved too quickly to the side of the lane. I also missed a turn, but that didn't seem to matter as much as slowing down and being more deliberate with my turns and checking. Have a rhythm.

CRANK: Here are some pictures of the "Crank" section of the course. You must not hit the curb or those wall things. If you are using a manual, go through this with the clutch half in for slow speed.

FAILING THE TEST: The first day is the longest and requires a reservation with the center, as you have to fill out all the paperwork and take the written and eye tests. If you fail the test the first time (you probably will, but I know people who passed the first time), you will have to come back. There is no reservation, you just have to get there by 11am to sign up and pay the money for the "car rental."

CONCLUSION:
I found the test to be very fair. Difficult and stressful, but fair. I had read a lot online about the testers being prejudice against foreigners, but I simply don't think it's true. Maybe it is in some cases, but I didn't have anything like that happen to me. The officer was very nice and explained to me exactly what I needed to do next time in order to pass.
I rambled a lot, but if you do all of this stuff you will pass the test the first try. I know that it's an event that borderlines on traumatic, but just keep a positive attitude. You WILL get your license eventually!

If you know anyone else that's going to take it, send them this :)

The second time I went it was raining, but luckily it stopped before I drove.

And, alas, I was able to get my license and yet one more card with a retarded looking picture of myself on it.

cheers, and good luck!!!
Just try to relax. Everyone passes eventually (^o^)/
-Andrew

My Parents... IN JAPAN!!!!

2009-04-22T21:28:00.000-07:00

Go here for more pictures and videos:

http://picasaweb.google.com/crooks17/2009Japan_Parents?authkey=Gv1sRgCLvAvcKazez9CA#

My parents might seem disoriented if you see them anytime in the next month. They might need some time to re-adjust after they return from a really strange trip with their overbearing and bossy son in Japan. However, their overbearing and bossy son only lost one parent once (sorry dad), so the bossiness seemed to have worked. It was great to see them!!!

2009-03-12T21:34:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I played soccer! It sucked and I was sore for 3-4 days afterward, but it was fun and we won!

Maybe it's needless to say this, but the Japanese people who play in soccer tournaments (even if it's just a group of teachers) take everything WAY too seriously. There were a couple of times I feared for my life because people got really pumped about the game. Plus, I was the most retardedly dressed person of everyone. I didn't have a wind-breaker, tall socks with shin guards, spikes, or even running shoes. I played in a jacket and my skateboarding shoes. It was funny.

Luckily there were really good players on my team, so I didn't have to do much and we still won. I think the Ubuyama teachers are so good because there is nothing else to do in Ubuyama besides play sports, so they get a lot of practice. I, however, am much to lazy and frightened of the cold weather to venture outside as of late. I'm sure I'll start in again when it starts to warm up. This has been the longest winter of my life. I mean... WTF? Warm up already!!!!! I'm sick of it.

after the games, the male teachers studied the other teams' moves...
i mostly just sat around twiddling my thumbs

My car was in the shop for the shakken inspection, so I had to get a ride early from Ms. Kanayama.

After the game, we went to an onsen and went drinking. I love my double chin here.

Burning a volcano... seems redundant somehow...

2009-03-01T04:59:00.000-08:00

I descended from my small, teeny, tiny, minuscule, microscopic dot of a village today and found the volcano (Mt. Aso) ablaze. That's right... they burn their volcano... BURN a frickin' VOLCANO!!!

wow....

WOW....

that seems really awesome.... and it WAS really awesome!
the best part were the throngs of hobbiest photographers with thousands of dollars of camera equipment around their necks walking in the middle of the roads.

and what do they use to protect the public in case the fire were to get out of control???

a frickin' hand-me-down K-car (white plate vehicles that are powered by lawnmower engines) spray-painted red and outfitted with a siren.

Seriously, that thing couldn't be holding enough water to extinguish a campfire!!

oh, Japan...

3333段の石段やバレンタインスデーやカラオケ！3333 steps, Valentine's Day and karaoke...

2009-02-22T02:40:00.000-08:00

This weekend I went with about 19 other people to climb Japan's 3333 stairs. It was fun and terrible all at the same time. I'm not sure how long it took, but maybe it was about 3 hours round trip. The stairs are all stone and must have really been a task to build, and I must say the cause was not worth it. I think it was a terrible idea, personally. A ski lift would have been a lot smarter.

Apparently there is a larger set of stairs (8888) somewhere around Hiroshima, but those aren't stone. I definitely won't be climbing those anytime soon.

At the top you are greeted by some sunburned Japanese men.

Speaking of red things...
Here are the valentine's cards I made for all of my junior high students because I am such a nice teacher.

In Japan, it's customary for women to give the men chocolates on V-day, so I got a bunch of chocolate. I still haven't eaten it all yet 1 week later. Here was a couple of the more interesting things I got...
Yes, that's wine chocolate... and if you eat one of them in Japan you cannot legally drive a car... go figure. For some reason I got quite a bit of alcohol-filled chocolate. I am now trying to plan them into my schedule, because eating them means that I will either be stuck at home or need a designated driver to get back home.

Oh, and one of my teacher's made me some delicious choco cake.

I will now leave you with some images of me and some teachers singing some mean karaoke!

Mt. Kuju the other morning from the front of my house. Just waiting to turn green...

Yeah... so... so, I completely skipped January...

2009-02-03T03:49:00.000-08:00

So, yes, I completely skipped the month of January with my posts... so, what have I been up to???

I brought in the new year...

I turned 27 years old...

I crashed my car into a guardrail...

I woke up and my house we 34 F inside...

I rode the tallest Ferris Wheel in Kyushu...

I prayed to the Valentine's Shinto Shrine... yes... you heard me right!

and yes... once again... I ate raw chicken :(

Other things to note:
I finally conquered Rubik's wretched cube...
My rice cooker that broke a while back started working again...
I attribute the resurrection of the rice cooker to my celebration of Setsubu (the Japanese equivalent of Halloween- where you scatter beans outside your house to fend off evil spirits and eat one bean for every year you are old. I didn't count how many I ate, but I did throw one on the ground in front of my house).
And, of course, I studied Japanese.

A lot happened, but not really. I'm mostly just lazy because it's cold out right now. Maybe when I thaw this spring I'll keep a better eye on the blog. Sorry...

Christmas in Korea, 2008

2008-12-30T06:47:00.000-08:00

Well, I survived my first Christmas away from home... and oh how far away from home I was. My friend (also an M.F.A. photo grad from ASU now teaching English in Japan) made the trip to South Korea for the holiday season. We took a boat called "The Beetle" from Fukuoka, Japan to Busan, Korea. Korea is very close to where I live; only 3 hours by boat.

(Oh, and yes, that thing above is the UGLIEST Christmas decoration I've ever seen too; downtown, Seoul, Korea)

The Beetle

First sight; Korea

All of the exits are clearly labeled with "WAY OUT!!" It was helpful to find the "WAY OUT!!" of places.

Here is Brad after he found the "WAY OUT!!"
The exchange rate between the Japanese yen and Korean wan was GREAT to say the least!

Busan

Yay! They love Christmas too!!!

hite beer seemed to be the theme of both Korean life and my trip in general.

Yes, apparently they have Papa John's in Korea.

Me juggling on the roof in Busan.

This area was designed specifically for foreigners and they are proud of that. But on the last night I was solicited by Russian prostitutes, so perhaps their idea of "shopping area for foreigners" is different than mine.

Aboard the KTX, Korea's high speed rail system.

I never figured out what this was all about...

The countryside was quite odd. It seemed impoverished, but there were HUGE high-rises everywhere.

That toast did.

Another thing I never quite figured out...

Coolest nightlife in Seoul, Hyehwa.

They are just as obsessed with "Christmas Cakes" as the Japanese... maybe it's an Asian thing.

Hite beer and video games made for good times.

W Bar was the coolest bar in Korea, or the world... and I'm not kidding. This was Christmas eve

We stayed in the cheapest hostel in the city. It ended up costing $12 US Dollars per night, but was pretty terrible. If you're into "comfort" don't sleep here. For us, it was perfect. We dubbed it "the orphanage." The picture below was taken Christmas morning. I felt like poor little Timmy waking up on Christmas morning.

The food was amazingly cheap and mostly kimchi flavored. I liked it.

On the last day in Seoul we visited the De-militarized Zone, the border between North and South Korea. It was a crazy experience.

Juggling at the wall that lines the border.

The hostility between the north and the south runs very deep. Visiting this area was a powerful experience to say the least. One example of the tension takes form in one (of many) childish squibbles between the two...
Interesting fact: Did you know that North Korea is home to the highest flag pole in the world? Yes, North Korea has a 160 meter tall flag pole. On the border between the two (some years ago) South Korea decided to make its flagpole higher than the north's. This, in turn, caused the north to retaliate and raise their flagpole. This went on and on until present when the north's flag topped off at 160 meters. South Korea's only measures 100 meters. Please enlarge the images to see the poles. I couldn't get a good shot of it because cameras weren't allowed past a yellow line on the site. One lady took a picture past the line and an officer came and erased the photos off the camera.

FOLLOW THIS LINK TO SEE THE FLAGS ON GOOGLE MAPS. YOU CAN SEE N. KOREA'S FLAG'S SHADOW WELL.
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=flag+south+korea&sll=37.811954,127.034912&sspn=1.293234,2.329102&ie=UTF8&ll=37.945314,126.66642&spn=0.019358,0.036392&t=h&z=15

In the de-militarized zone there are about 3 million land mines that were dropped after the space was created. In the videos, this DMZ area was referred to as now being a "sanctuary for wildlife and natural beauty." Our guide also referred to the city with N. Korea's tall flag as "Propaganda Village" and their own city with its flag as "Freedom Village." I know there's probably truth to this, but the names are strange and highlight a certain form of propaganda on both ends.

So, I'm not sure if you know this, but soon after the de-militarized zone was created (a 10km landmass between the two countries to keep them from killing each other), North Korea decided that instead of sticking to this agreement to keep their distance, they would instead tunnel underneath the DMZ with the intention of attacking the south. Here is an image at tunnel 3, which was 1 of 4 discovered by the south. There are 8 total, but the other four have not yet been found.

When the tour guide was describing these tunnels she mentioned one tunnel that was "the most dangerous." I thought she was referring to the possibility of collapse. However, she was referring to the fact that "the most dangerous tunnel" is located only 56 km from Seoul and was designed to move 30,000 troops from one side to the other every hour.

Really... this place is insane to visit and really makes you realize first-hand the real tension that still exists between the two countries. Planes cannot fly over the DMZ or they will be immediately shot down. People cannot cross it and it is packed with millions of landmines. Additionally, North Koreans must serve a compulsory 10 years in the army (women too, though I'm not sure how long). In South Korea, men must serve 2 years in the army.

It is a scary place, but was really eye opening to see these places first-hand.

This trip sparked my interest in North Korea. I think this videos illustrate just how terrible life in N. Korea must be. I encourage you to check it out and do your own research on this area of the world. I must say, the border of N. Korea is the craziest place I've ever visited.

http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=VKvf7AGTQQ0

http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=RsrBBJTXnsU

Despite the craziness of the border, I feel that the Korean people are very friendly and I made several friends during the trip that I hope to see again someday. It was truly an amazing trip and a great place to spend Christmas. I only hope that I get to go back someday.

Last sight of Korea... until we meet again, kom-bay!!

Three Cheers for Kimono Contests and Beer Vending Machines!!

2008-12-16T04:28:00.000-08:00

This weekend I competed in a kimono wearing contest in Fukuoka City. I had been practicing wearing a kimono every week for the past three months in a nearby village. It's been pretty fun but Sunday (Dec. 14, 2008) the contest was still definitely nerve racking.

I competed on stage (in front of a packed audience and 12 judges!) in the foreigner category with about 12 other people from around Kyushu. I finished in a very fast 3 minutes 33 seconds. And that's pretty fast even by Japanese standards! Unfortunately, this also meant that I had to wait in the front of the stage for another minute and a half while the others finished. This would be fine if it meant just standing there looking pretty, but no... it instead meant that I would be interviewed for 1 1/2 minutes by the Japanese host (picture below).

If you don't know already, you might be interested to know that Japanese kimono contest hosts do not speak English... go figure! Shocking, right?! Well, let's just say that it was interesting and I understood the majority of the questions (where are you from? what's the hardest part of wearing a kimono? etc.), however, the questions I didn't understand I just responded to what I thought she asked. Turns out that at least one answer was different from the question. Oh well, whatever. I got the audience to laugh and it was pretty fun, actually. I think that people thought it was kind of interesting that I could wear a kimono so well but barely speak the language and have only lived here for about 5 months.

Anyway, I ended up winning third place (men and women are judged together in the foreigner category) and I was the only male entry to win. Winning 3rd place means I will now be going to Tokyo in April to compete in the national competition. It should be fun and I am glad to have a reason to visit Tokyo.
so, YAY!!

Just thought I would share the news that I am the top 3
foreigner-wearing a kimono-champion of 2009 in Kyushu!

Oh, also...
my time was 3:33
the fastest Japanese men's time was 3:40
yay!

backstage!

My lovely, beautiful and hilarious kimono teacher, Mori Sensei. Speaks no English but is one of the few people who gets my humor and laughs at my bad jokes in broken Japanese.

Saori san. Nice girl

Oh, let's not forget about Christmas cakes!!

I would say that my favorite part of Japan is the abundance of beer vending machines. Great invention!

My village, a $1500 puppy, spaghetti you probably shouldn't eat on a date and delicious corn

2008-12-10T05:39:00.001-08:00

In case you were wondering what the middle of nowhere looks like, this is it. This is a picture of Ubuyama- where I live. The school is off the the right. Not much happening, so I'll let the picture describe life here. But I do try to get out as much as possible. Here are a few random pictures that I like. As the title of this post suggested, the puppy conked out there costs $1500. (No, I will NOT send it to you) The black spaghetti (which I only half ate) is spaghetti with squid ink sauce. It is like eating a ball point pen (or many pens) and basically it turns your mouth black. It was good, but I'm sure if I saw myself eat it, I wouldn't like me anymore. Lastly is a picture of corn. Notice the mountain in the background of the corn picture (oh, and yes the corn was DELICIOUS!). It is getting very cold here and now you can see snow on the mountains.

(belated) Thanksgiving!!!

2008-12-10T05:20:00.000-08:00

OK...

So, I'm not stupid...

Wait, maybe that's not true...

Anyway, I know that I am posting this "Thanksgiving" post AFTER my Christmas post, but you must remember that Christmas started here well before Thanksgiving (since they don't celebrate Thanksgiving). Regardless and nonetheless, I was able to find a pretty kick ass Thanksgiving celebration over here. And, I only had to drive an hour and 15 minutes to get there! But, it was well worth it. In a land of fish, rice and seaweed, turkey is a rare commodity. My friend had to drive 2 hours to Fukuoka's Costco to buy it!

I love turkey and gravy!!!!!!!!!!

The party was held in a very nice restaurant, creatively named "Restaurant." Oh, how I love the Japanese people!

A classic image of what it's like to be a foreigner in Japan. Truly...

"Oh wow! Look at the gaijin carving the turkey!!! Quick. Take a picture!"

Yay! Turkey and pumpkin pie! I DO have a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving!

My First Earthquake...

2008-12-07T04:40:00.000-08:00

Last night I experienced my first earthquake ever. It hit Kumamoto city at about 1:10 a.m. Sunday (Dec. 7). I was at my friend Yuko's house exiting the bathroom when all of the buildings in the neighborhood started making a lot of noise and rattling. The quake was a 3.1 which is not so small, but nothing that I know of happened aside from scaring me. The scary part is something I never really thought of before until Yuko mentioned it. In an earthquake you might feel something little and it might seem like nothing, but it could be much worse somewhere else near the center. So, it was weird to think that the little rattling I felt could have just destroyed a city somewhere else. In Japan, usually about 5 minutes after an earthquake you can watch TV and see what happened. Luckily it was fine and there was no threat of a tsunami. So, everything is OK. YAY!

It's interesting because the first place I looked (when I realized what was happening) was up at the ceiling. Of course, if it was a big earthquake and strong enough to make that ceiling fall on me, looking up to survey the situation and ponder the structural stability of the building I'm in would likely be a waste of time. I'm talking boarderline laughable. Like if there was a video camera there capturing the moment that the earthquake hit, the video would probably make its way to YouTube with the title "Idiot Foolishly Looks Up a Moment Before Being Crushed."

I should note, that when I looked up at the ceiling I realized that it was pretty funny that I had chosen to do that rather than run to a doorway or under a desk. I am a stupid human being... but hey, who isn't?

Christmas in Japan

2008-11-25T22:18:00.000-08:00

So, Japanese people are just as crazy as (if not crazier than) Americans when it comes to Christmas.

Literally, the day after Halloween ended, the Christmas decorating started. That means that there are two straight months of decking the halls, roasting chestnuts and all around spreading of Yule tide joy. And let's not forget about the traditional "putting of the plastic cast KFC Colonel into the Santa costume." What joy... What glee...

Starting the Christmas season the day after Halloween might seem ridiculous (and it definitely is), but please bear in mind that the Japanese don't have Thanksgiving. There are no other holidays to fend off that pesky Christmas spirit. In America, people are too tired from eating turkey, stuffing, pie, mashed potatoes, gravy, rolls, butter, corn, heavy whipping cream etc. etc. (you get the picture of gluttony I'm trying to paint here don't you?) to put up that Christmas tree. But anyone who has ever eaten Chinese food knows how quickly you get hungry after eating rice. The Christmas spirit burns like a hunger deep inside these people and nothing will slow them down. They are amazingly efficient when it comes to holidays. They are like Santa's worker ants...

So far, I love Christmas in Japan... not only because there are inflatable Santas adorning the gates of love hotels, but also because the reasons for celebrating Christmas in Japan seem more "pure" here. Since most people in Japan aren't Christians, the season is almost entirely market-driven (yes, maybe even MORE market driven than in America!). It is a western holiday that was adopted by Japan pretty much only due to the fact that Japanese people love presents and cute stuff. At least they know what they like. And if I've learned anything over here so far, the Japanese people will work tirelessly to perfect things they like (manga, ramen, karaoke, J-Pop, convenience stores, etc. etc.).

more pictures will be coming... I want to get a good picture of the Santa by the love hotel at night, when the neon is lit up...

Speech Contest

2008-11-13T22:36:00.000-08:00

We just got back from the prefecture's English speech contest. We didn't win a prize, but that's okay because we already have a trophy.

If you wish to check it out...

but,

"be careful, that's going to be (y)our last wish!"

Best part was I found the Kumamoto Dog Grooming School! But, I'm not sure how well the "Dog Self Shampoo Space" works. I've never known dogs to shampoo themselves, let alone need a special "space" for the "self-shampooing." But, hey... this is Japan... it might be different here.

No... I take it back. The best part was the bento lunch my fellow English teacher, Yamasaki sensei made for me.. FROM SCRATCH and with HAND CUT-OUT HEART SEAWEED!!!
coming back the moon was full and beautiful

Why?

2008-11-09T02:53:00.000-08:00

I often wonder why I'm over here in Japan. Driving home from the city to my tiny village this morning I once again asked myself this question. On the weekends I try to go to the city to hang out with my friends. These people are usually Japanese because most of the foreigners here are not people I care to hang out with. This weekend I went to an izakaiya (food and alcohol bar with little private rooms). It was fun, but unless I hang out with other foreigners, I usually have no place to sleep. I never go with a plan for that sort of thing. I usually end up stumbling back to my car on the 3rd floor of a parking garage and sleep there. My car is actually quite comfortable and I'm paying 1400円 for parking anyway, why pay an extra 3500円 for a capsule hotel too?

All of this is fine and I love my excursions to the city, but every Sunday morning when I wake up in my car by myself I sort of wonder... why? What the hell am I doing here? It's the strangest range of feelings. When I'm with people, it's amazing how nice everyone is and patient with me as we talk in broken english and japanese. Other times I feel like I crash landed on Mars and I'm E.T.

I am just ranting and I'm not a poet or creative writer so I can't fully capture the feeling in words. Today that feeling was particularly strong so I felt the need to write about it.

This is video of the people I typically hang out with on Sunday nights. Maybe you can get some sense of what I mean from it, but probably not.

It's been confirmed! (2 things, in fact)

2008-11-04T16:38:00.000-08:00

Since I first came to Japan, I had been sleeping on a futon on my tatami floor like a real Japanese person. Despite having a bed upstairs, I thought that this would give me a more authentic experience. Well, after three months of sleeping on one futon and waking up with terrible lower back pain yet again this weekend, I decided to do my futon up American style! That's right.. not one but TWO futon patties to slumber upon.

The change was partially sparked a recent fall skateboarding, when I fell with all of my body's potential energy landing on my tailbone. I heard a loud pop and thought I broke it. Sure it hurt, but I never went to the hospital and I'm getting along fine. However, three weeks later it still hurts, so I'm relishing the extra comfort.

So, on to the two things that I am confirming.

1. Two futons are by far more comfortable than one

2. Eating raw chicken is a culinary experience that I have to give a big thumbs down.

It really is the little things in life...

2008-11-04T03:08:00.000-08:00

Oh, I bought a shamisen. This is a picture of the shop where I bought it. Mine is the one with the black on it, on the countertop. If you don't know what a shamisen sounds like, check out this video on youtube.com

Should be fun, once I practice a bit. I actually bought the thing last weekend, but they come unfinished like the image below. It took a week to stretch the drum part on it and get the strings set. And I bet you can't guess what my shamisen's drum is covered with.

That's right, dog skin. I know what you're thinking... but Andrew, I thought that shamisen were usually covered with cat skin! What's up with the dog skin?!?
To be honest, I thought the same thing when the store owner told me that too. Apparantly, the good shamisen are covered with cat skin and you can see the cats' nipples if it is well made. I'm not sure exactly sure what the difference is between dog and cat skin but I'm sure it is very complicated, so I didn't ask in Japanese.

In other news...

I've noticed a few things lately here in 日本... I recently grabbed a drink with a couple of friends and the bartender gave me a 3 leaf clover on the top of my Guinness. Sure, it's not a 4 leaf clover, but hey, it was still a nice touch. Beyond that, the other day I was at a Mos Burger (my favorite Japanese burger joint) and got some ketchup with my fries. The lady made the ketchup to look like an adorable bunny and it made me feel warm inside. Perhaps that was just the hot grease, but you know what... when you live by yourself in the middle of nowhere with very few friends and fewer that speak English you really need that every now and then. Maybe you should also do something nice like that soon.... don't you think?

Oh, and yes, I realize that in the US baristas in coffee shops often make designs in coffee, but the ketchep in a fast food joint was new to me.

In other news, I went to a fun Halloween party the other day in 天水 (tensui) at a friend's house. I thought that 150 people would show up, but it was still fun with around 80 外人と日本人(foreigners and Japanese people). Oh, and I'm just about to the point where I could do this blog in terrible, grammatically incorrect Japanese so don't hate me if I start some blogs in Japanese. It's good practice for me and, hey, you might know what it feels like to not know what the hell's going on like me. Consider it a cultural experience.

she went as a rice ball... it made me happy

the day after the party... i was the first to wake up apparently.

English Recitation: BLINGIN' BABY

2008-10-23T17:12:00.000-07:00

My students recently participated in an English recitation contest in Aso city. It was kind of a pain in the ass for me, since I had to stay after school every day (and sometimes at 7:30 am + after school) to help the kids practice. That meant I was at work from 7:30 until about 6 pm. I am starting to feel like a real Japanese person working such long hours. Though, most of the time I'm just sitting around studying Japanese or checking my email.

Oh... and the above image has nothing to do with the contest. I just like it a lot.

Here are my students owning the stage.

I thought that this was an appropriate shirt to wear to an English recitation contest. "Your word inspired me. STAY!!!"
That's right, we took first place (but was there ever any doubt?)... *BLING!* BLING!*
Take THAT Ichinomia! You got served!

So, now it's more practicing because we are going to the prefecture's contest in mid-November. Really, the extra practice time is okay because I get a day off to travel and get paid just to hang out in the city during the contest... sweet.

Best Two days at Work EVER!!!

2008-10-10T06:15:00.001-07:00

I don't know what your idea of a good day at work is, but the two-day trip that I recently took to Nagasaki tops my list. A few teachers, Thai exchange students and my freakish foreigner body made a the long bus ride to Nagasaki for a fun-filled, all expenses paid (plus salary) trip. We first stopped at (i think) the most famous amusement park in Kyushu called "Greenland," (well, in Katakana it's グリーンランド　"Guriinrando"). It was fun. Not as nice as some places I've been to in the states, but fun indeed. I had a sweet, sweet time... and I mean sweet, sweet, sweet... sweet.

This is by far the biggest Ferris Wheel I've ever ridden, and with a glass floor too! cool

Oura Tenshudo Church, National Treasure of Japan.

Nagasaki is really, really pretty. It's crazy to think that a nuclear bomb exploded in the middle of the city killing hundreds of thousands of people less than 100 years ago.

I made some stained glass, but I think the glasses I wore were sweeter than anything I could make on my own.

Next, it was a trip to the Nagasaki Peace Museum. Very depressing... and I felt very shameful being there seeing everything first-hand. Sure Imperial Japan and Axis countries were doing some pretty evil, evil things, but dropping a bomb is never a good thing. Plus, it seems like the Nagasaki bombing was more to show that America was powerful and that the $2 billion Manhattan Project was worthwhile. Crazy regardless of the motivations, it was still an insanely evil thing to do to people. Aweful aweful...

But, regardless of any shame I experienced I still had a great time and learned quite a lot from the trip. Perhaps the most valuable thing I learned is that when on an amusement park ride called the Super Viking in Japan with a bunch of screaming high school students, you have to take video!

Japanese Amusement Park: The Super Viking!!!

2008-10-10T06:05:00.000-07:00

CNN: Dollar Plummets Against Yen

2008-10-07T03:39:00.000-07:00

Depressing because I am losing money in the U.S., but glad I'm making yen in the short term, I suppose. Weird being over on this side of things...

"U.S. currency drops 4% against Japanese currency, but rises to 14-month high against the euro as bailouts continue in Euro.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The dollar continued to rally against European currencies Monday but plummeted more than 4% to hit a 6-month low against the Japanese yen, as the credit crisis spreads around the globe.

The dollar fell as low as 4.8%, or ¥100.23 during Monday trading from ¥105.32 Friday. It was the first time the greenback traded that low since Mar. 31.

By 6:13 p.m. ET, the dollar had recovered slightly, but was still trading down 3.7% against the Japanese currency to ¥101.45.

"The yen typically outperforms other currencies during periods of extreme risk aversion," said Dustin Reid, ABN AMRO senior currency strategist."

Party in Amakusa

2008-10-06T16:10:00.000-07:00

...went to a party with other JETs this past weekend way down in Amakusa. Swimming too. The water was very very cold. This is a view from the swinging bridge, which a couple people jumped from. A little too scary for me since it's about 60' down.

My work...

2008-10-05T20:28:00.000-07:00

So, yes... I do work over here in Japan, actually. I teach Engrish. Above is is a picture of me "working." I went on a trip the other day to Kumamoto city with four Thai students and a teacher participating in an exchange program. They only speak English and Thai, so I get a bunch of free trips places during work. I love the Thai exchange program.

Below is a picture of a couple of my colleagues. This is the traditional pose of Japanese women.
This is me fighting with the Japanese teacher of English on Ubuyama's dam... epic
Below is another picture of me "working" on our visit to Kumamoto. We stopped at Kumamoto Castle and the guards didn't me in because I didn't have black hair. I took my picture with him because he was actually a nice guy.I was told by a lady at my school that they built the castle with a curved bottom to protect it from ninjas. Apparently ninjas' flying kicks are thwarted by this design and they simply bounce off of the castle midway through the attack.This is actually what my job entails... Playing the monkey and pronouncing words in English in front of elementary and junior high kids. Pretty fun and easy if you ask me.

My house and other things

2008-10-05T04:50:00.001-07:00

(pic 1) This is my house. I live in a small village called Ubuyama-mura (産山村) on the edge of the Aso caldera, which is one of the biggest active volcano calderas in the world. Ubuyama has a population of about 1700 people. No one speaks English and the closest convience store is a 30 minute drive away. Perfect for a weird artist like me. Actually I like it here, it's just going to get really, really cold because it's in the mountains and the houses aren't insulated or heated. Plus my shower is terrible and super touchy, with little more than a hair's turn of the faucet between ice cold and scalding. I've been through two uneventful typhoons so far. Actually the pic of my house was taken the day before the 1st typhoon. In my spare time I've been travelling, but mostly to fix stuff that has broken since I got here. I also study Japanese for about 2-3 hours every day. So far I've made very minimal quantites of art because the transition was harder than I thought it would be. Hopefully some new work will be started soon.

(pic 2) This is the view from the caldera's rim. Yes, there is a town inside the caldera.

(pic 3) They take biking pretty seriously in Japan.

Japan Blog

2008-10-05T04:09:00.000-07:00

Hi,
This is my new blog for people interested in knowing what I'm up to over here in Japan. Keep in touch!
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