Ducks, Frogs and Blasts from the Past

Ducks: We had to go to a silly teachers conference on Tuesday, all the way down in Anan. That meant me, Giuseppe and Jordan had to leave my place (where the boys had stayed the previous night, after a violent game of Crazy 8s) at 6.30am. Bleugh. It was not a nice drive. Until we got to south of Tokushima. Sat in heavy traffic, we noticed a truck, a removal truck, edge up alongside us. It had a duck painted on the side. And a big "DUCK!" printed under it. We raced that truck all the way to Anan. It was fun. Jordan had a fight with a hedge, and Joe looked like Neo from the Matrix while helping to push a stalled car off the road. Later that day, at Christine's, we had a small rubber duck as our poker button. Christine had a book, I'm told, called 'Magic Things You Can Do With Ducks'. Or maybe 'Things You Can Do With Magic Ducks'. I forget. Either way, it was magically ducky. We listened to a band called Duck Missile. And our duck button was thrown to shouts of "DUCK!"; in warning that a duck was coming your way, and you should duck avoid being struck by this duck missile. We're clever kids, us. Funny too.

Frogs: Had about 9 years shaved off my life just this morning. Our school janitor, Usuki-san, is quite possibly the coolest cat in school, and something of a practical joker. No, he IS the coolest cat in school. He saunters up to me, and offers me Something in his hand. Like a fool, I make to take it, but then the Something jumps out of his hand and onto the floor, eliciting a "MWAH! JESUS!" from me, and much clutching of the chest. The Something was a small frog, and the poor little thing was covered in dust, having been living in the staffroom for a while. Usuki-san cackled while I regained my composure, sent him filthy looks, and rescued the amphibian from the floor. I like frogs.

Blasts from the Past: I had an email from Stu. Well, I emailed him first, I won't go into details, but I sort of had to. Anyway, Stu emailed me, and it was actually really nice to hear from him. I had hoped he wouldn't email me back, but he did. And when I read his mail, I remembered him, and it was a nice feeling. I'm over him, and I've stopped missing him, but hearing from him was sweetness. I'm not sure if we will keep in touch. I don't know if I would want to. Then again, maybe I would. I don't know. I'm not trying to analyse it, I do that too much. I simply wanted to state that he had written to me, and that I liked it. And it didn't hurt. So for now, emails from him are welcome sights in my box. I also had an email from Alice, who I miss fiercely. Alice has the best listening ear of anyone in the world. I like nothing better than going to the Bailie with Alice, having a pint, and getting it all off my chest. And she does the same. Alice is the least judgemental person I've ever met. Nothing I say has ever fazed her. She's gold.

I am grammar checking my near-sister-in-law's PhD thesis. Title? 'Later Prehistoric Settlement Pattern in South Scotland'. Yikes.

I have a huge weekend ahead. Poker (hope Mum's not reading this) on Friday, Frisbee, Halloween costume shopping, swing dance lesson with Dave, and then Halloween party on Saturday. Possibly dying on Sunday. Or maybe just sleeping for a long time. Dreaming of ducks, frogs and my precious blasts from the past.

Chitter

Yeah, it's cold. It got very cold over the weekend, cold enough for me to turn on the space heater in my house. I think I had a grand total of three weeks without the need of aircon of any sort. Three damn weeks.

The weekend was pretty quiet, and truth be told, pretty murky. Lots of stuff happening that needs to be thought out and considered very carefully. Wishing that I was at home, or that at least I could SEE someone from home.

I did have a good time at a small-scale poker game on Friday (sorry Mum, but I think I deserved it!). I made a couple of good bluffs, and kept most of my money.

On Saturday, the weather was cold, grey and rainy, yet I had to cycle about 10km to a new private eikaiwa class. A mother and her two young kids. It was good, as far as eikiawas go, but there were many other things I could see myself doing on such a nasty afternoon.

On Sunday, it was the festival at the local onsen. I had a lovely time hanging out with the locals, watching some performances on stage, dancing myself, and playing with the kids. I haven't spent a day like that in a while, so it was nice. It cheered me up.

I haven't really a lot to say. Just lots to think about.

Cracked it!

Finally! I have discovered how to team teach with Noda-sensei! Sensei and me have had something of a love-hate relationship since day 1. I always dreaded teaching with him, because he left the entire lesson up to me, and it was always such a hit-or miss affair. In retrospect, it has probably made me a better teacher, but the road to that has been a little bumpy. Anyway, things are different now, and we work a lot better together. And now, the answer to good lessons which make me, the kids AND sensei happy is MUSIC! And it was staring me in the face all the time. Dummy. I won't go into detail, but this week, for the first time ever, we were united: in disbelief that out of the 75 third graders (14-15 years old) in the school, 5 of them knew or had heard of John Lennon's 'Imagine'. Shock-a-rooney. So we have decided to take the bull by the horns and introduce the kids to a song that at first glance is beautiful and idealistic, but by the time someone is 15 years old, they should be beginning to question its message. Jings!

Speaking of music, I am in a musical wonderland just now, with all the new stuff I am listening to. If anyone is in need of some new sounds, then let me know. I can put together a zappy CD for ya, and send it off! Maybe the stuff I'm listening to isn't new (I don't think it is), but you need to remember, that I have more or less been out of the Western musical loop for over two years now, and there's a lot of stuff that has come out during that time. I have a lot of experimentation to do when I get home! Maybe I'll try to get a job in a record shop when I get home as a stop gap...

Travels in my more immediate future are on the horizon. I want to go to SE Asia this winter break (sick birds and suicide bombers be damned!). I'm hoping for Cambodia, as it's pretty cheap to get to from this end, but I still need a travel partner. I would travel alone, if only it wasn't Christmas. We'll see. I've always wanted to visit Cambodia, and I want to go before it becomes too much like Vietnam or Thailand: overrun by white backpackers with degrees and a burning desire to find themselves. I think at the moment that it's not quite that bad. And I might not get such a good chance to do it so cheaply again...

Must be off!

Too sleepy

I feel so tired this morning. It's been a busy time of it this last week. The weekend was back to usual madness after a rest last weekend.

I went east on Friday night for a get together at a friend's house. It was a good time, nice to catch up with people that I haven't seen in a while.

Had a long lie on Saturday (having spent the night at another friend's house), then woke up and had the best breakfast ever. Scrambled eggs with peppers, onion, garlic, loads of Danish toast, fresh tomatoes, apples and juice. What a feast!

After that I went into the city for a haircut, and a spot of shopping: winter is on its way, and I need some new clothes badly. I got a couple of jumpers and some new underwear, so I was happy. Then I went for a haircut, before heading to Big Brothers', a local sandwich shop run by a couple of Americans who have been in the country for a long time. Good food, and there's always people there to talk to. As it happened, I was meeting my friend Kenji.

Saturday night was spent out on the town. One of the most popular (the most popular?) gaijin bars was closing it's doors. Mabuhay (better known as Ingrid's, for the name of the kind but crazy Phillipine owner) is the tiniest karaoke bar ever. The bar is only big enough for six seats, and there is only room to stand about 10 people after that. So patrons would regularly just stand behind the bar, and pour their own drinks, or hang out on the balocony. However, Ingrid has decided that she and her customers have outgrown Mabuhay, and so she is moving. I went along on Saturday to see the place for the last time. But it was so crowded, I didn't even try to get in amongst it. Dave came and joined me, we chatted to Ingrid for a bit, then bid the place farewell, and headed for a jazz bar a little way down the street. There we met some other JETs, had a drink, enjoyed some live jazz, and headed home at about 1am.

Sunday was by far the best day of the weekend! Up early doors to go and play in a local Touch Rugby competition. The fields we play on are down by the river, and on Saturday, it rained non-stop. The result was that we had to play on water-logged pitches on Sunday morning. We didn't so much as run around, as we did slip, slide and fall. By the time we were done (my team won), I was caked in mud, and I rather doubt my trainers or t-shirt will ever be the same again. Still it was a good time, and I enjoyed the exercise, fresh air, and after-match BBQ that we had.

But I wasn't done with physical activity yet! After the rugby, I headed north to Naruto for some Ultimate Frisbee. I had a great couple of hours in the company of about seven other JETs, throwing the 'bee around. We had a face paced game, that wasn't quite Ultimate because we were lacking in numbers, but it was still a proper 'scoring points' kind of thing that left us knackered but feeling very alive and invigorated.

Finally started the long drive home with Smitha and Nate about 5.30pm, stopping on the way for food, and a trip to Book-Off (second hand book/CD/game shop), where we all bought some cheap Y250 CDs, and then blasted our heads off all the way home to Japanese punk and Euro techno. All right.

Those kids...

Long weekend was pretty quiet. Sadly. But everyone was tired from shenanigans the previous weekends, or had dates, or stuff... What did I do?

1) Watched films. Lots of films. Including, but not limited to, the entire Indiana Jones series, Twister, and US Marshalls. I felt American.

2) Slept.

3) Ate entirely too much junk food.

4) Attended a meeting for the upcoming AJET musical, which I feel I will regret becoming involved in.

Then it was back to work today, Tuesday. Tuesday is my least favourite day of the week. Today, I was dreading it, but it was actually not bad. Thus far anyway... Two good third grade classes, and a not-bad junior class, followed by a disastrous senior class, both in the mountains. It could have been worse. They could all have been disastrous. :) Eikiawa tonight, which I always feel pretty nonchalant about, but always enjoy. Yeah, this could have been a worse day. I like being busy!

I also got given a lot of omiyage (presents) yesterday for no apparent reason. From the vice-principal of the mountain elementary school (such a nice bloke, he is), and from one of my eikaiwa ladies, who just had a holiday in Okinawa. Sometimes these people just blow my mind with these random acts of kindness.

I also taught my eikaiwa class Einstein's Theory of Relativity last night. They didn't know it! So I feel that I have finally taught something of import to these people: EVERYONE should know Einstein's Theory of Relativity.

Dance Practice

Minoda-ren is part of a group of five rens all based in the Miyoshi-gun area. We all perform at the Highway Oasis on a weekly rotation. From time to time, all the rens get together and do a big performance. One such date is coming up in a couple of weeks time. It's for the Minoda-matsuri (the festival named for the Minoda rocks, which are a feature of the river at the Oasis).

We had a practice for the matsuri last night. Usually dance practice is at the weekend, but to get ready for the big show, all the rens have been getting together on Thursday nights. Practicing mid-week always serves as a reminder to me of how diverse the Dancing Fools of Tokushima really are. People turn up fresh from work: teeneagers in their school uniforms, construction workers, electricians, teachers and so on. Seeing people of so many backgrounds come together for a common purpose is, I think, one of the best things about being in a Awa Odori ren. It really is for everyone! I love how it brings people together so that we can enjoy dancing, and so that we can entertain people.

If you would step into any of the high schools in the county, and look at the sullen faces of the students, you'd be forgiven for thinking that doing something as community-minded as Awa Odori would be their idea of hell. But come down to the Oasis on a Thursday night, and watch them as they transform themselves into fools. It's a great spectacle, and something I will be forever grateful to be involved in!

I hope to see some of you on October 23rd at the Miyoshi-cho Highway Oasis!

Weekend pictures

Here we are: a spot of star-gazing in Nate's garage roof, and me, Julie and Joe doing battle with the tree.

Lunch

Yummy. I got to have some school lunch today: it was my favourite cream corn pasta stew type thing. It's wonderfully comforting food, and since it's a rainy day today, it's just perfect. And then I ran home and snatched the bag of Maltesers that Mum sent me. Which I am munching as I type. And all the while the Mad School Nurse is screeching away in my ear.

I like rainy days. I'm going to stay in tonight, have an early shower, maybe actually go to the onsen, then hole up with a film.

Need inspiration. Feeling bored this week. Must gee up.

Trees and Bad Shoes

Last week was one of those weeks that you just want to be over. Not because you are having a bad time of it (I had a good week at work, actually), but because you have some stonking activities planned for the weekend. But my plans bit the dust on Thursday night (we were supposed to go and play Frisbee on another part of the island, but we cancelled because of time contraints), and I spent the evening in a blue funk, because I'd been waiting ages for it to happen.

However, the weekend was still one to remember! It started late on Friday afternoon, by teaching my 2-nenseis (2nd graders). I always dread these classes, as they are the last classes of the week for both kids and teachers, but the students are always great, and I love teaching them. They set me up. Anyway, Friday there, I taught them the phrase 'Happy Friday'. And during cleaning time after class, two or three of them passed me in the hall and wished me a Happy Friday. All right!

After that, it was time to head over to Julie's place in Mikamo. The rough plan was chat, films, erm poker. D'oh! Nate is a total poker monkey, and so once again, I found myself staring two cards in the face. But THIS TIME I WON! I tripled my buy in (so more or less recouping my losses over the previous two weekends). Happy! But still aiming for no poker next weekend. We had a really great night, everyone was on good form, and it was a good substitute for Frisbee. Joe and Nate came back to mine to watch a film called 'Saw', which I think may have been scary if I had been by myself, and the mood of the group wasn't as happy. It was an ok film I guess, but I was sort of tipsy, and we were all wired so I didn't watch it like I should have. Then a pillow fight ensued, then a half-serious argument about the distribution of blankets and pillows and things, and then 3.30am we finally crashed.

On Saturday, we got on the road about midday. We picked Julie up, and headed for the nearby city of Kawanoe (paper milling capital of Japan, hence smelliest city in Japan) to do some shopping. Nate is still kitting his house out to make it feel like home, and on his list was a tree. He wanted a tree for his kitchen. So we got one. But we had to get it back to Higashiiya. Hilarity. We were in Nate's car. Nate's car is tiny. It was crammed with four people, and their stuff for nights away at people's houses. And now we wanted to fit a tree in aswell. A six foot tree. This will go down as one of my classic JET memories. Nate putting this tree in through the back window, me having to recline the seat all the way back, thus pegging Joe in place, then sitting with the tree trunk on top of me. The foliage of the tree was in Joe's face. So he was breathing leaves. It is one of the funniest situations I have ever found myself if. A giggling Nate ran round the car taking pictures, so when I get copies, I will post them.

It was a long drive back to Iya, what with a tree lying on top of me, but we got there, tree and all! Quick stop at Nate's to dump gear, and then we drove up the mountain to an old samurai house for the annual jazz concert. This is one of the coolest events ever: all these people sit round an old iryori (open fire used for cooking), and listen to these cool cats go mad on vibraphones, double bases and pianos. Jazz in the mountains. Sweet. The concert is made all the better for the great home-made Japanese food laid on (food with a distinctive Iya twist).

After the concert, we went back down to Nate's to par-tay. There was our Kawanoe crew, plus Jordan, Dave, and a few other JETs who had been rafting that day. It was a really great night: I was in an ass-slapping sort of mood, we played some mad games, Dave and Amber showed people how to swing dance, and there was swimming in the river outside Nate's house. Some people were more dressed than others. :) Again, it was 3.30am by the time we finally crashed out: drunk, tired, but happy.

I wish I could have slept in longer on Sunday, but I was due back in Miyoshi by 12.30 to dance. So I left my nice futon, said my goodbyes, and drove back towards civilisation with some of the other revellers. I hadn't danced for a while. Things have been busy. And Minoda-ren is having something of a membershiop crisis. However, tired as I was, I always like to dance.

Yesterday, though, was the worst I have dance for a very long time. Maybe cause I was so beat, but I think it had more to do with the poor shape my shoes were in. I always carry two pairs of geta with me (wooden thongs on wedges that you dance in) in case one pair breaks. My first performance was horrible because the rope of the thong was about to snap, and I could feel it getting weaker and weaker with each step. it made me lose all concentration, and I guffed up dances I've been doing with my eyes closed for two years. And Dave was watching! So sad! I always like to dance well if Dave is seeing me: he's my Awa Odori mentor, and I always want to impress him, but alas, not yesterday. Quick shoe change, no worries. But the second and third performances were no better! The wedges kept dropping out the bottom of my shoes, making me stumble and forget my timing! Then a blister formed and popped right between my big and second toe, where all my weight rests when I'm dancing. As you can imagine, that's excurciating!

So all in all, a pretty grim day onstage, but good to see the ren and hang out. There are only a couple of shows left before our winter break, sadly. It's been a quick season! I hope that next season (from about March time) will see a newly revived Minoda-ren dance up a storm. I'm sure it will.

So back at school today, Monday is when I have no classes. That can be a blessing and a curse. A pretty average looking week lies ahead, and then next weekend is another long one, with the 10th being Japanese Health and Sports day (which is so important, it warrants a National Holiday!). I'm going to do lots of studying this week, maybe see Hanna and Kunihiro for dinner, and try to catch up on some sleep. No plans for the long weekend as yet, but I hope it'll be good. Sure it will. :) The pictures are of Joe on Saturday (VERY late on!), and Joe, Nate and new JET Sara looking philisophical on Friday night.