Well, maybe that's a little too dramatic of a title, but I certainly did get a reminder of my impending departure from Miyoshi. My successor's name. And only her name. They won't tell me anything else yet. Which is kind of ok with me. I just had a lovely weekend, and I'm not ready to gush details of my town to someone else quite yet. :)
Joe came round Friday night, and we cooked a superb pasta dish. I think it could have used more sauce, but it was yummy all the same. Then we watched The Crow, and I got a big natsukashii feeling in my tummy, and remembered how into all that Gothic crap I was. Before Gothic became cool. Good film. Glad I'm not 16 anymore. Who'd be that age? Seriously....
On Saturday, I bought Mika lunch then waded shin deep in the most glorious mud ever in order to plant a few, erm, plants? of rice. What does one call that? A sheaf of rice? A bunch of rice? I have no idea. Whatever. I planted a few, in bare feet, back all bent. The mud was the best feeling I've ever had between my toes. Hope that Japanese B Encephalytis vaccine still has some punch, though I suspect not... Then I went to an Awa Odori meeting, and didn't follow most of what was going on, but I have been neglecting the ren, I feel, so it was good I went. Things are just stupid crazy at the minute, and it's hard for me to get to all the practices.
Then I came home, and watched Bad Santa (so funny!), and Nate came knocking at my door needing a place to stay, so we chatted about our trip next week, and watched the film.
On Sunday, we got up at 11.30 (great sleep), and then I spent the day watching The Notebook (and cried unashamedly at it), and sleeping some more, and walking a bit, and watching it get dark from my balcony with a cold beer in my hand. It was a nice weekend spent in town, being quiet and not getting crazy. The next load of weekend will be far from that!
Monday, May 29, 2006
Thursday, May 25, 2006
A Year on AJET
It's DONE. I am through, more or less. My life is pretty much my own again. A love you, AJETters of 2005-2006. What a crew. I can't sum them up in words (I've been trying for the last three days, and there's too much I could say. So I shall simply let my pictures (actually a lot of them are Christian's) do the talking. You guys rock my socks, I love you all!
Thursday, May 18, 2006
Typhoon Numer 1 and Other Stories
So yeah, Typhoon Chanchu is currently showing the poor people of China the back of its hand. Down here on Shikoku, we were caught in the fingers of the storm, and had a lot of rain all day long yesterday. We're still rather cloudy today, but it looks like it's going to blow itself out before it hits us. I sort of like typhoons. I hope I get a big mother of one before I leave here to give me a lasting impression...
In other news, I got beaten up by a three year old boy on Tuesday. But he was cute as a bean, so I resited the urge to hit him back. Yuuki has started at Higashiyama's nursery school. He has a gammy leg, so he walks and runs with a limp. He's a a tyke, though. He ran towards where I was sitting on the floor the other day with a big slavery smile on his face, and squealing "Errriiiii!", and when he got to me, gave me a cuff round the jaw. It was pretty sore, but he giggled so much, as did everyone else, so I just poked him in the belly, which made him laugh all the more. Bless.
I had one of those lovely walks the other day, between my house and the Daimaru, where practically every car that passed me had someone in it I knew, and who waved to me. I had the 'Cheers' theme tune running through my head.
Neto-kun and I are off camping in two weeks time. We're going to hike and camp Mount Ishizuchi, the tallest mountain on Shikoku, and the tallest in Western Japan. I am so looking forward to it, but I think it'll be hard. On Nate's advice, I have started running everyday, just a short way to begin with. It feels good, and I am fitter than I thought I was, which is encouraging. I am looking forward to getting up into the mountains, it SO LONG since I topped out! I only hope with weather will be fine.
But this weekend is the biggie in Tokyo: my last AJET meeting. And I won't pretend I'm not looking forward to handing all this over. When this is done, it'll allow me to concentrate on packing up, CV writing, looking for a job, and all that sort of crap. But I'll miss the crew tremendously. There are so many good people on the AJET council, and I have had a lot of fun with them, particularly at the Tokyo Orientations.
Speaking of AJET, it's time to finally bid goodbye to my baby, the Team Taught Pizza. I am now well into the process of handing the beast over to its next nuturer, a person who goes by the name PJ. He sounds well up for his challenge (I certainly hope he is), and I think he'll do a grand job. He has much more experience than I did when I took over, so I have no worries at all.
The Japanese have just passed a law that will make it compulsory for all foreigners to be finger printed on entering the country. They're worried about a threat from terrorists. Well... in my memory, Japan has only been attacked by terrorists once in recent years... and that was by one of their own kind! But no. The gaijin (how I hate that word) must be watched. We are dangerous, dontcha know? I sort of like being dangerous. Sometimes I get eyed up in the street, like I might pounce any minute, and kidnap the next cute little chibi-chan that walks past me. Other times, I know these people are just curious about me. What a mental country this is.
I want to eat pizza. I wonder if there's a Pizza Hut in Kabuki-cho. Maybe slotted between the pachinko parlour and the Russian-staffed soapland. Yummy.
In other news, I got beaten up by a three year old boy on Tuesday. But he was cute as a bean, so I resited the urge to hit him back. Yuuki has started at Higashiyama's nursery school. He has a gammy leg, so he walks and runs with a limp. He's a a tyke, though. He ran towards where I was sitting on the floor the other day with a big slavery smile on his face, and squealing "Errriiiii!", and when he got to me, gave me a cuff round the jaw. It was pretty sore, but he giggled so much, as did everyone else, so I just poked him in the belly, which made him laugh all the more. Bless.
I had one of those lovely walks the other day, between my house and the Daimaru, where practically every car that passed me had someone in it I knew, and who waved to me. I had the 'Cheers' theme tune running through my head.
Neto-kun and I are off camping in two weeks time. We're going to hike and camp Mount Ishizuchi, the tallest mountain on Shikoku, and the tallest in Western Japan. I am so looking forward to it, but I think it'll be hard. On Nate's advice, I have started running everyday, just a short way to begin with. It feels good, and I am fitter than I thought I was, which is encouraging. I am looking forward to getting up into the mountains, it SO LONG since I topped out! I only hope with weather will be fine.
But this weekend is the biggie in Tokyo: my last AJET meeting. And I won't pretend I'm not looking forward to handing all this over. When this is done, it'll allow me to concentrate on packing up, CV writing, looking for a job, and all that sort of crap. But I'll miss the crew tremendously. There are so many good people on the AJET council, and I have had a lot of fun with them, particularly at the Tokyo Orientations.
Speaking of AJET, it's time to finally bid goodbye to my baby, the Team Taught Pizza. I am now well into the process of handing the beast over to its next nuturer, a person who goes by the name PJ. He sounds well up for his challenge (I certainly hope he is), and I think he'll do a grand job. He has much more experience than I did when I took over, so I have no worries at all.
The Japanese have just passed a law that will make it compulsory for all foreigners to be finger printed on entering the country. They're worried about a threat from terrorists. Well... in my memory, Japan has only been attacked by terrorists once in recent years... and that was by one of their own kind! But no. The gaijin (how I hate that word) must be watched. We are dangerous, dontcha know? I sort of like being dangerous. Sometimes I get eyed up in the street, like I might pounce any minute, and kidnap the next cute little chibi-chan that walks past me. Other times, I know these people are just curious about me. What a mental country this is.
I want to eat pizza. I wonder if there's a Pizza Hut in Kabuki-cho. Maybe slotted between the pachinko parlour and the Russian-staffed soapland. Yummy.
Thursday, May 11, 2006
A Very Mixed Bag
I have been in this country for the best part of three years now. It's had it's ups and down, and I generally have a healthy love-hate relationship with the place. More often than not, it's hate, but I think that's more for my job than actual society and culture.
Yesterday I had one of the saddest moments I've ever experienced here. I have started teaching regularly at nearby Hiruma elementary school. This is the largest school in the town, yet they never got regular ALT classes until this April. As such, a lot of the kids don't know me. I was sitting in the staff room yesterday waiting for my class to begin, and girl came in. She would be in the third or fourth grade, so she wasn't a total baby. She saw me and stopped dead. I said 'hello' as I usually do to all kids who stare at me. She jumped a MILE into the air, said, in Japanese, that I was really scary, and ran out of the room. Well. That went well. Most kids in town, whether I teach them or not, have seen me. Most would say hello, or konnichiwa back to me. This girl didn't know where to look. That's the first time that's ever happened to me. It would have been fun if this girl had smiled, or given some hint that she had seen me before, or had some sort of twinkle in her eye. But she didn't. Ugh.
Things like yesterday make me want to take the collective Japanese population and shake some sense into them. The level of their insularity in this day and age is staggering and frustrating. I think I have given up on trying to internationalise them. The task has become tedious and repetitive. I remember my friends who were going home last summer felt this way as well. I am worn out in this job, bored to tears. I don't regret for a second staying three years. But it's time. And it's time that is causing me problems.
I am stuck between a rock and a hard place these days... I have so many things planned that I am looking forward to (frisbee, camping, visiting Kochi, rafting etc...), and yet they are all in the future. The faster they come, the faster going home comes as well. I am so ready to be finished this damn job, and be out of this damn country for a while. I am not ready to say goodbye to all these people. I guess that's why I'm coming back. I am such an odd mix of feelings these days. I am happy to be finishing, but so unhappy to be leaving. I keep meeting all these wonderful people, and I know that I would love to spend a significant amount of time with all of them. But time is pretty much up. I don't know how to balance myself out. I feel like I'm bobbing along with little control over my life. Which is nonsense, I have total control. I am dying for something to change, but afraid because I know what form that change will take. I need some sleep.
Yesterday I had one of the saddest moments I've ever experienced here. I have started teaching regularly at nearby Hiruma elementary school. This is the largest school in the town, yet they never got regular ALT classes until this April. As such, a lot of the kids don't know me. I was sitting in the staff room yesterday waiting for my class to begin, and girl came in. She would be in the third or fourth grade, so she wasn't a total baby. She saw me and stopped dead. I said 'hello' as I usually do to all kids who stare at me. She jumped a MILE into the air, said, in Japanese, that I was really scary, and ran out of the room. Well. That went well. Most kids in town, whether I teach them or not, have seen me. Most would say hello, or konnichiwa back to me. This girl didn't know where to look. That's the first time that's ever happened to me. It would have been fun if this girl had smiled, or given some hint that she had seen me before, or had some sort of twinkle in her eye. But she didn't. Ugh.
Things like yesterday make me want to take the collective Japanese population and shake some sense into them. The level of their insularity in this day and age is staggering and frustrating. I think I have given up on trying to internationalise them. The task has become tedious and repetitive. I remember my friends who were going home last summer felt this way as well. I am worn out in this job, bored to tears. I don't regret for a second staying three years. But it's time. And it's time that is causing me problems.
I am stuck between a rock and a hard place these days... I have so many things planned that I am looking forward to (frisbee, camping, visiting Kochi, rafting etc...), and yet they are all in the future. The faster they come, the faster going home comes as well. I am so ready to be finished this damn job, and be out of this damn country for a while. I am not ready to say goodbye to all these people. I guess that's why I'm coming back. I am such an odd mix of feelings these days. I am happy to be finishing, but so unhappy to be leaving. I keep meeting all these wonderful people, and I know that I would love to spend a significant amount of time with all of them. But time is pretty much up. I don't know how to balance myself out. I feel like I'm bobbing along with little control over my life. Which is nonsense, I have total control. I am dying for something to change, but afraid because I know what form that change will take. I need some sleep.
Monday, May 08, 2006
The River Wild-ish
Well, Jillsty arrived on Monday night! And how! It was so wonderful to see them, and be able to show them around. They have arrived right at the start of the good weather: our temperatures now are the very highest that Scotland would see in summer.
After a couple of days kicking it around Miyoshi, we jumped in our funky-ass hire car on Thursday morning, and headed for Iya. At Oboke, we met James, who generously offered us his car and chauffeuring skills for the day (accepted!), and got on the road proper. As expected, Iya was crawling with tourists who couldn’t drive (bloody Kagawans!), but no matter. We arrived at the remote Okuiya vine bridges, and spent a happy 45 minutes playing on them and chewing the fat. After a nice lunch where James and I introduced Jillsty to some more traditional Japanese cuisine, we hopped up to Chiiori to pick someone up, and then hit the onsen. Jillsty LOVED the onsen, although being Golden Week and Iya’s Hikyonoyuu, it was pretty busy. After the onsen, we headed to Happy Raft, struck camp, had some BBQ, went for walks, and finally crashed about 2am. It was a really fun day. I learned about Australia’s political system, listened to Van Halen’s ‘Jump’, which immediately made me feel like I was 5 and dancing with Dad, and had my hiccups cured by listening to people debate abortion.
On Friday, it was time, once again, to climb into our rafts and take on the Yoshinogawa. As always, it was a total blast. Although Jill had a nasty fall while climbing up a rock she had intended to jump off. She gave herself a bad knock on the elbow, enough to send her back to base for the rest of the day. Her new name is Rockfall. The day once again reinforced my intention to do some time on the river before I find myself a ‘career’. The river wasn’t as big as I’d have hoped for, but I think that for first timers in our crew, it was quite big enough. It was a beautiful sunny day, though, and we all got the sun rather a lot.
Saturday and Sunday saw us three in Kyoto taking in the sights. This was my third time in the city, and I think I saw more this time than I have ever done before. I enjoyed myself a lot, but we were all really tired. Going to the city is a lot of fun. But when I get off the bus in Miyoshi, smell the heavy wet air, and hear all the frogs and insects, I know that I really belong in the country.
Back at school today, longing to be outside, in the mountains or on the river with friends. Jillsty heading up to Tokyo today, giving me a chance to tidy the apartment up, and gather my thoughts a little. I feel like I haven’t stopped for a week. Which is pretty accurate really.
I have pictures to post, but they aren’t ready yet.
After a couple of days kicking it around Miyoshi, we jumped in our funky-ass hire car on Thursday morning, and headed for Iya. At Oboke, we met James, who generously offered us his car and chauffeuring skills for the day (accepted!), and got on the road proper. As expected, Iya was crawling with tourists who couldn’t drive (bloody Kagawans!), but no matter. We arrived at the remote Okuiya vine bridges, and spent a happy 45 minutes playing on them and chewing the fat. After a nice lunch where James and I introduced Jillsty to some more traditional Japanese cuisine, we hopped up to Chiiori to pick someone up, and then hit the onsen. Jillsty LOVED the onsen, although being Golden Week and Iya’s Hikyonoyuu, it was pretty busy. After the onsen, we headed to Happy Raft, struck camp, had some BBQ, went for walks, and finally crashed about 2am. It was a really fun day. I learned about Australia’s political system, listened to Van Halen’s ‘Jump’, which immediately made me feel like I was 5 and dancing with Dad, and had my hiccups cured by listening to people debate abortion.
On Friday, it was time, once again, to climb into our rafts and take on the Yoshinogawa. As always, it was a total blast. Although Jill had a nasty fall while climbing up a rock she had intended to jump off. She gave herself a bad knock on the elbow, enough to send her back to base for the rest of the day. Her new name is Rockfall. The day once again reinforced my intention to do some time on the river before I find myself a ‘career’. The river wasn’t as big as I’d have hoped for, but I think that for first timers in our crew, it was quite big enough. It was a beautiful sunny day, though, and we all got the sun rather a lot.
Saturday and Sunday saw us three in Kyoto taking in the sights. This was my third time in the city, and I think I saw more this time than I have ever done before. I enjoyed myself a lot, but we were all really tired. Going to the city is a lot of fun. But when I get off the bus in Miyoshi, smell the heavy wet air, and hear all the frogs and insects, I know that I really belong in the country.
Back at school today, longing to be outside, in the mountains or on the river with friends. Jillsty heading up to Tokyo today, giving me a chance to tidy the apartment up, and gather my thoughts a little. I feel like I haven’t stopped for a week. Which is pretty accurate really.
I have pictures to post, but they aren’t ready yet.
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